keepers of the stones. [avengers infinity war]

chapter eighteen.

❝ NIGHT TERRORS ❞
( KEEPERS OF THE STONES )
xviii. the heroes have lost
chapter eighteen

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AVENGERS TOWER, TWO YEARS AGO

             Sloane was awoken by the feeling of shifting weight on the bed and the coolness of the air as the covers were suddenly tugged off her legs. She sat up slowly, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she squinted in the darkness, the only light source being the moon peeking through the curtains that guarded the window across the room. Sloane could make out Tony's outline beside her, the man twitching and grasping at his chest as he muttered something in his sleep.

                " Tony. " Sloane whispered, pulling her legs up to sit on her knees; she gently placed a hand on his arm, " Tony, hey, Tony, wake up, "

                   With a sudden gasp, the man shot forward, sitting up abruptly, making Sloane flinch as he heavily panted, hand still stuck to his chest, where the arc reactor scars were. Even in the darkness, Sloane could see wet trails reflecting down his face. He seemed to just realize where he actually was, quickly looking over at Sloane with an expression of panic before he squeezed her forearm.

               " Sloane, I—I. . . " It was like he couldn't catch his breath, continuously panting as his eyes darted around rapidly, scanning her face for some sort of reassurance before they fixated on her eyes as the nightmare he had just woken from flashed through his memory again. " I. . I. . "

                   " Tony, it's okay, just breathe. " Sloane said in a calm voice, eyebrows pulled together in a concerned look as she placed her hand over his, which was tightly gripping her forearm in fear; she soothingly rubbed his knuckles with her thumb as she tried to comfort him. " Breathe, babe, you're okay. It's just you and me, okay? You gotta breathe, just breathe, "

                  That wasn't the first night terror Tony had experienced, and it surely wasn't the first one that Sloane had been a part of. For years now, ever since she had met Tony, he had been having nightmares. He used to have one every night, and, thankfully, it had been reduced to about one a week. Still, when she was awoken in the middle of the night by Tony's terrified shouts or quiet cries, she was startled, but she eventually learned how to handle them.

                  Sloane did her research, and she even asked Bruce for some advice. He had told her that she just needed to try to calm him down, and that when he came to his senses that he would be okay. It was easier said than done most nights, and each nightmare was equally as bad as the last. Sloane could remember a particular instance when she had heard a crashing noise from the guest room of Tony's Malibu beach house. She hurried in to his room to find him sitting against the frame of the bed, a vase shattered beside him, nearly choking on his own breath as he muttered something about the Chitauri.