Lights in his eyes

Max

"What happened?" asked Alec, laughing.

"Oh, it's been a long time since I've seen him like that. Church is happy. So am I. - added Magnus - How about we eat before dinner gets completely cold?"

They had dinner, talked, and watched the lights of the vibrant city through the window.

"Magnus, thank you for making this terrible day so good, would you mind if I went to bed? I've been up since 3am and I'm incredibly tired."

"Go ahead. I'm tired too. I'm going to put everything away and go to bed. Thank you for this day, neighbor."

"Good night Magnus" said Alec, and went to his own apartment.

"Good night Alexander."

Magnus washed the dishes and went to bed, because he was very tired too. It had been a physically and emotionally exhausting day. He fell asleep quickly. In the middle of the night he heard what sounded like a faint whimper. He woke up, sat up in bed, but heard nothing. He thought he was dreaming. He lay back on his pillow, but after a few minutes he heard it again, and then a scream.

"Max, please don't die" and more whimpers.

The voice was Alec's voice. Magnus jumped up and ran into Alec's apartment without thinking. Alec was lying in bed, his body sweating. He was having a nightmare.

"Alexander, wake up." Alec continued to whimper. A tear escaped from the corner of his eye. Magnus was frightened. He knew he had to wake Alec. He began to shake his shoulder gently.

"Alexander, please wake up, you're having a nightmare."

Alec opened his eyes. But it was obvious he didn't know where he was. "Max, no!" he shouted again.

Magnus took his hand. Alec blinked at the touch and finally realized where he was. He sat up in bed and hugged Magnus. He began to cry quietly. Alec's tears fell on Magnus' bare shoulders.

"It's okay. You had a nightmare, you were screaming. It's over. Calm down."

"I'm sorry I woke you up." Alec said as he wiped his eyes. Then Magnus' shoulder when he noticed it was covered in tears as well.

"I'll get you a glass of water. Shall I turn on the light? Is that better?"

"Yes, please. "

Magnus returned with the glass of water.

"What time is it?"

"Two in the morning."

Magnus handed him the water, took a big soft pillow from the couch, put it on the floor and sat down on it next to the bed.

"Thank you. And please don't be mad at me for waking you."

"It's okay. Do you want to talk about it? If it helps, I'm here. If you don't want to talk because it's better for you, that's fine."

"What did I say? What did you hear?"

"You screamed the name Max."

Alec sighed, thought for a few moments, then began to speak.

"Max was my little brother. He died two years ago, in my arms. He was 8 years old. We played on the sidewalk in front of our house. A car came, ran up the sidewalk and swept him away. Me too, but I was just grazed. The driver was drunk. Max died right there in my arms. They said he didn't suffer. But he looked at me when I was holding him. He looked at me. His eyes were peaceful. He said he loved me. Then he closed his eyes and stopped breathing. I felt unbearable pain then. And I have been reliving the nightmares ever since. If I have repeated nightmares, I take sleeping pills for a few days. But I don't want to get addicted. So I only take it if I have nightmares for several days."