[old] neah book!

Not Exactly A Hero - Chris x Riley - Nightmare

Hurt/Comfort

(By the way Riley goes by they/he and Chris goes by he/him here)

-----------------

As my eyes open, I feel a sense of fear grow in me.

Where am I...?

The area around me is dark, and I can't help but shiver.

What if... this was SMAKS...?

No, that's not right. We just got most members arrested! There's not enough to pull a stunt like this...

BANG

I hear the distant sound of a gun, and it all comes back...

I feel like I'm going to panic. This feels... oddly familiar.

Get me out of this place...

Suddenly, I feel someone grab me by the shirt, and I yell. Well, I try to, but nothing is coming out.

Oh my God...

I try to fight back against the SMAKS guy, but I can't move. I'm so damn scared.

I feel my body trembling. What the-

A gun?

"GET THAT AWAY FROM ME!"

BANG

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Chris! Chris are you okay?"

"...Riley...? Is that you?"

"It's just me, alright? I heard you screaming and I came to check on you. Were you having a nightmare?"

"I... no. I'm... fine."

"You're not fine, Chris. You're panicking. If you don't want to tell me, that's okay, but don't cover up how you feel."

"...fine, I did..."

"What happened? I heard you mutter something about SMAKS, so were they in the dream?"

"...yeah...they held me at gunpoint and shot me... but I woke up before I got hit..."

"Oh... do you... need a hug...?"

Suddenly, Chris wrapped his arms around Riley as the tears streamed down his face.

"It felt so... real..."

"It's okay, Chris. I'm here. You're alive. SMAKS are down, alright?"

Chris nodded slowly, as a small smile creeped onto his face. Riley couldn't see the smile due to the limited lighting, but they had a feeling they were helping.

"Are you feeling better?"

"Riley... I know this sounds weird and a little bit... cliche... but can you come in the bed? I mean... this is your bed after all, you shouldn't sleep on the co-"

"I'm okay with sleeping on the couch! You deserve comfort!"

"No, I mean... can you stay with me...?" Chris' face turned a bright red, and he felt relieved that Riley couldn't see.

"If it'll make you feel better, than sure!" Riley stuttered a bit while saying that. They were flabbergasted.

"I-I mean you don't have to! I'm sorry I was so stupid for ask-"

"Shh... it's okay." Riley put a finger up to Chris' mouth (and surprisingly got the location correct, as it was still pretty dark). "Just lay down, darling."

"Oka- wait... DARLING!?"

Riley blushed a lot, realizing what they just called Chris.

"I- um... uh... just forget what I said, okay? Get some sleep..."

Chris laid down, and Riley laid next to him. He couldn't get sleep for two reasons.

1: He was worried about having another nightmare.
2: He was thinking about Riley calling him darling.

He decided to fake it till he makes it, and he closed his eyes, hoping to get some sleep. After a few minutes, he heard a whisper.

"Chris, I'll protect you, alright? I'll do anything for you, my love."

Then, Riley wrapped their arms around Chris, thinking the latter was asleep.

Well, if there was any chance of Chris getting sleep, it was damn gone now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Riley opened his eyes slowly to realize where the hell they were.

They were in their bed with Chris, holding onto him.

They just smiled. They loved this moment and didn't want it to end.

"Uh... Riley, you awake?"

"AAAAA CHRIS YOU'RE AWAKE!?"

They quickly let go of Chris in embarrassment.

"Riley..."

"I'M SO SORRY, I'LL GET UP-"

"No... stay with me..."

"Wait... what?"

"I like when you hug me..."

Riley blushed in embarrassment and trembled a little bit.

"Alright, I'll stay with you..."

And they stayed like that for 20 whole minutes, until CHIEF decided to start a radio call.

"Chief, we're in the middle of something here!" Chris yelled into the radio.

[-1 Maintainers Point]

"...ugh..."