March 8th
I waited
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"Where on earth have you been?"
Peter froze in the doorway of the kitchen, having been not expecting to hear a voice coming from the dark room.
He felt around on the wall for a moment before flicking on the light switch, not entirely shocked to find Edmund sat at the table, staring at him.
"Why are you sat in the dark?" Peter muttered, heading over to find himself some food.
Edmund raised an eyebrow. "Why were you out so late?" He asked. "I've been worried sick Peter!"
Peter looked slightly guilty at this, but shook it off. "I'm fine okay." He said. "Just lost track of time."
"It's half past two in the morning." Edmund told him. "I waited for you. Had to convince Mum that you would be home soon so that she'd go to bed at a reasonable hour, told her I'd stay up, and nearly four hours later, here you are."
Peter sighed, unsuccessful in his search for food. "Look, I went for a walk, sat down on the grass in the park, and fell asleep okay?" He muttered.
Edmund frowned deeply. "You fell asleep?" He asked, sounding genuinely confused.
"Yeah, I fell asleep."
"Why?"
Peter shrugged. "I've just been really tired lately." He explained. "No biggy."
"You're not sleeping?" Edmund questioned.
Peter hesitated. "Not exactly." He murmured. "Got too much on my mind."
"Like - Narnia?" Edmund asked, unsure considering it had been weeks since their last visit and they'd only just returned from school for the holidays.
Peter shrugged. "A little." He sighed.
"Dreams or-?"
"Nightmares." Peter whispered. "About you."
Edmund hasn't really expected this at all. "Me?" He murmured, confused and maybe slightly scared.
Peter sighed, sitting heavily down in the chair next to Edmund. "Yeah." He grumbled. "You and the witch, which is weird because there is absolutely no reason I should be dreaming about that."
Edmund stared at him for ages, before swallowing hard. "Sorry." He whispered, feeling guilty.
Peter looked confused. "It's not your fault." He said firmly. "Don't be sorry, seriously."
Edmund nodded a little, but it still didn't change how he felt. "How haven't I noticed?" He murmured. "We share a room?"
Peter shrugged. "I didn't want you to notice, so I made sure you didn't." He told him. "You would've forced it out of me tonight though, my fault for falling asleep on the grass in the park, that's why I told you so easily."
Edmund sighed. "If it happens again please wake me up." He murmured.
Peter looked unsure.
"Please?" Edmund tried again, looking desperate. The last thing he wanted was for Peter to suffer in silence. "Because I know you sit and watch me breathe after these nightmares, I might as well be awake for extra reassurance."
Peter smiled weakly at this. "Okay." He murmured. "I'll wake you next time."
But he really, really hoped that there wouldn't be a next time, because those dreams were awful, and he didn't think he could cope with another one.
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