Not Acid Nor Alkaline ~ Sleep Token FF ~

23.Sleep

I woke up by an arm that pulled me closer. At first I didn't know where I've been, so I looked around me. The piano, some guitars, basses, drums. It all became clearer.
I heard a very regular breathing from behind me. Very slowly I turned around and got a better look at the sleeping man. There it was, this tingling feeling inside of me.
How lucky I was for having him.
I studied at his face, his lips. Both of us got older and both of us had changed a lot after school. He grew up to be a really beautiful man in my eyes.

I softly stroke over his hair and leaned against his bare chest. He was so warm and I felt so save next to him. I could have stayed like this for hours, but his grip tightened around me and he took a deep breath, a sign he woke up as well. Just a bit later he opened his eyes and looked right at me.
'Good morning.', I whispered with a little smile on my face.
'Good morning, darling', his raspy morning voice returned. Did he call me darling? I was pretty much melting in his arms over his words. I kissed him quickly before I moved a bit to let him stretch. How tall can someone be? He was about 6'4 and so skinny even without much if a workout his abs were showing off. And even with my average 5'5, I felt so small next to him.

'Have you slept well?', he asked me. 'Since I am with you, yes. I finally stopped having those dreams.', I replied not thinking where this would end.
'Tell me more about those dreams that seem to bother you.', he told me.
I blushed and actually told him about it. Not every detail, but I explained that I had been dreaming about him and even this one dream before we met at the chapel that was strangely similar to it as it would have been a prediction.

He listened to every single word and nodded. Just a little grin here and there. 'This is interesting. Maybe Sleep speaks with you as well.', he said to me.
'Sleep? Who should speak to me in my dreams?', I frowned as I wasn't getting what he was trying to tell me.
'Sleep. Deity Sleep appeared in my dreams as well.', he began explaining everything about the first time he had seen Sleep in his dreams.

'And why am I not dreaming when I'm with you?', I asked him.
'Sleep only communicates when you're alone. Sleep wants all your attention.', he explained to me.

Was it really Sleep or was it just myself that caused dreaming about this man in front of me? I wasn't sure how to handle this. I couldn't be staying around him every single day to stop having those dreams.

Vessel's POV:

I had watched her the first hours when she had been fallen asleep. She was so beautiful and she looked so relaxed.
Usually I spend the night making more music, so now it had changed. Emma needed that sleep. She looked like she hadn't slept that much over the past days. But for me it was hard to just lie down and try to fall asleep this early. I knew I had been awake for a while and my mind was going round in circles when I was doing nothing. The only thing that helped me was looking at the wonderful woman next to me. Her hair was placed all over the pillow and her chest that rose and fell with the rythm of her breathing.
I placed my arm around her and closed my eyes. My breath tried to follow her rythm and then somehow after a while I began drifting off into the darkness as well.

The next morning I woke up when something was touching me. I felt something stroking my head and then there was a little weight on my chest. Emma was obviously lying on to me, her hair tickled me a little bit. I could definitly get used to that morning cuddles.

When I had opened my eyes, I looked right at Emma who was watching me as well. Her hair was a little messy, but she looked so sweet and more relaxed.
'Good morning', she whispered with her cute smile.
'Good morning, darling', I replied to her. She blushed over how I had called her. Her pale skin shows it so easily every time.
She quickly gave me a little kiss that I wished it would have lasted longer. I'd love to start every day with her next to me, her caress.
She moved a little, so I stretched my body. It felt years older than it actually was.

When I had asked her how she had slept and she opened up to me about her dreams, I really got surpised.
Obviously she had been dreaming about me...about us. Was it all predeterminded by Sleep?

I told Emma about the deity that had appeared the first time in my dreams a couple of years back. I was in one of my worst nights after I had tried to kill myself and before I started therapy. Sleep accompanied me during all this time. Did Sleep lead me to Emma as well? Or did Sleep help Emma finding me instead?