Dangerously Close (Aris x Reader)

78) Protective Fighting

Aris’s P.O.V

I’d like to sleep. It’d be super great if I was able to. It's be awesome if I could just shut my eyes and drift off.

Instead, I have a cat laying above my head, my girlfriend tossing and turning in her sleep while also trying to steal the blanket and kicking me, the urge to make sure said girlfriend doesn't have any nightmares, and the overwhelming fear that she’s going to run off before morning.

I get it. I chose this life the second I said I let her in. She gave me every possible chance to be back out, and I turned those all down without a second thought. If I had to repeat history, I wouldn't change that. I’d stay by her side over and over and over.

I just wish we could be this in another world. That we can be in love where it's always safe. That she’ll still carefully overpower me after we play with the cat but before I read to her. That we go to bonfires except nobody says or does anything that can hurt her. That we go to sleep cuddled together and wake up early just as close for the simple fact that we get to be alone for a little bit.

In another universe, she takes off her clothes for a different reason than telling me the story of her life.

When she turned again, nuzzling her face in my side while resting one of her legs over me, I sighed as I gently ran one hand through her hair and rubbed small circles on her outer thigh with my other. As she draped her arm over me, I held in a sigh as I kissed her temple.

How much physical contact would it take to make sure she couldn't leave without me waking up?

Probably too much. I don't want to freak her out, and I feel like making her wake up to someone anywhere close to on top of her is a good way to do that.

She scares me. A lot.

But not having her is absolutely terrifying.

× ~ × ~ × ~ ×

She didn't have any nightmares which is a good thing. I admit it surprised me a little since stressful situations like this can cause them, but I’m not complaining.

I am however upset about something different.

“What the hell, Vince? What in the world made you think explaining anything was a good idea?”

“Morning to you too.”

“I’m serious,”I promised.

“Kid, I can see that. I just don't know why you're scolding me yet.”

I took a breath that came out more like a frustrated huff. Closing my eyes for the sake of being coherent, I silently counted to three before opening them.

“Why would you tell Y/N about banishing those guys?”

His eyes flickered with something I couldn't read before he gave me a pity smile. I crossed my arms to try to seem as firm as I was, but something about the sympathy in his face made me feel like I was trying to prove a point that doesn't exist.

“If they were just gone, she'd realize. Even if we kept it a secret, she always finds these things out. It was better to be honest so she could prepare herself before it happened than make her feel guilty and stressed,”He reasoned.

“You don't know if she would have questioned it,”I said quieter than intended.

“You do. So would she?”

I turned my gaze to the grass under my feet as I bit the inside of my cheek. Now that someone asked directly and I have to actually stop and think about it, I’m not sure how great of an idea the plan would be. It's hard to keep anything from her. Not only that, if she found out I purposely broke my promise like that, she'd be far from happy with me. More importantly, it'd break her heart to know that I was willing to lie and that I did what she had been forced into on my own free will.