It was 4:37 a.m. when you padded into Adam's room, a Mickey Mouse nightlight in your hand. His light had been on when you woke up to get a drink of water, and you knew why: the nightmares were keeping him up. They were a constant in his life ever since he came back from hell.
You found him sitting up in bed and staring at the ceiling, resting his back against the headboard. He gave you a confused look when you walked in and stopped at the foot of his bed.
You shook the Mickey once, making it glow to life, and again, turning it back off.
"It's dorky," you said, going and placing it on his nightstand, "but it helped me when I..." You scratched the back of your neck, electing not to finish that sentence. Adam didn't know that you'd spent time in Purgatory. Because of the way things were there and the things you were forced to do, it wasn't something you advertised. "When I woke up from nightmares, I would look at it and remember where I was."
He picked it up, shaking it experimentally before replacing it on the nightstand, now lit up. He seemed pleased with it, and with that, you turned on your heel and headed for the door.
"Y/N?" he asked.
You turned back around, lifting your chin a bit in acknowledgement.
"Do you have nightmares often?"
"All the time."
He nodded thoughtfully. "I, um... are you ever able to get back to sleep afterwards?"
"Nowadays I am, yeah."
"How?"
You gave him a small smile, walking back over to the bed. He scooted to the side, giving you room to sit next to him, which you did.
"I sing to myself," you said. "To calm down and clear my mind. I pick a song that I know all the words to and I sing it to myself. I focus so hard on remembering the lyrics that I'm no longer stuck on the nightmare."
He nodded again, taking in what you were saying.
"You want me to demonstrate?" you asked.
"Please."
You closed your eyes, tilting your head back as you tried to think of a song. Then, after a minute, you began to sing. "I'm doing this tonight. You're probably gonna start a fight. I know this can't be right. Hey, baby, come on." Opening one eye, you glanced over at him, trying to see if he recognized the song yet. He didn't seem to, but you were sure he would eventually. "I loved you endlessly when you weren't there for me, so now it's time to leave and make it alone. I know that I can't take no more, it ain't no lie. I wanna see you out that door. Baby, bye, bye, bye."
His eyebrows scrunched together, the first sign of recognition.
You sang a little bit louder, and a little bit more enthusiastically, letting yourself get lost in the song. "Bye, bye. Don't wanna be a fool for you, just another player in this game for two. You may hate me but it ain't no lie. Baby, bye, bye, bye."
He began to laugh, placing a hand over his mouth.
"Bye, bye! Don't really want to make it tough. I just wanna tell you that I had enough. It might sound crazy, but it ain't no lie! Baby, bye, bye, bye!"
You ended it there with a big smile on your face. Adam had thrown his head back, laughing and holding his stomach. When he was done, he looked back at you with a smile that mirrored yours.
"I wasn't expecting 'N Sync."
You shrugged. "It was the only thing I could think of."
He shook his head in amusement. His body seemed more relaxed than it had when you came in. "Thank you for that," he said.
"Glad to help. And hey, if you ever want serenaded again, I'm right down the hall."
"I'll remember that."
You patted his knee and got up, stretching, and headed for the door.
"Hey, Y/N?" he asked again.
You stopped and looked at him.
"Thank you for the nightlight and the advice."
"Any time, Adam. Goodnight."
