Night Terrors

2

Shiro woke with a start to hear screaming down the hall. Having no idea what it was, he jumped out of bed and ran into the hallways to check where it was coming from. He came to the door of Curtis' room and shoved it open to find him curled up in a ball, shaking and shrieking.
Shiro knew what this was, but what he didn't know was why the man hadn't told anyone. Staff on the Atlas were supposed to submit a form detailing any medical problems they might have and if they were on medication, but there had been nothing on Curtis' form mentioning the night terrors he was obviously suffering from right now. He glanced at his nightstand to see a pill bottle, no doubt the medication he took for these screaming fits.
Shiro sat down on his bed and looked at Curtis as he shivered. He knew that along with the night terrors, he was probably experiencing a nightmare. His mother has suffered from night terrors, so thankfully he knew what to do. He sat on the edge of the younger's bed and whispered comforting words, rubbing his shoulder until he calmed down. It felt a little odd, comforting one of his officers like this, but somehow it didn't quite feel wrong either.
The shrieks quieted to whimpers, and tears were visible on his face. Shiro looked at him, a little shocked. What was it that was bad enough to make a man who heard about entire races dying almost every week cry in his sleep? The younger shifted on the bed, curling up tightly. As his shoulders stopped shaking and the sound of quiet crying turned to silence, Shiro was left to stare at the man asleep on the bed.
Looking closer than usual, he had a very nice face and his body wasn't a disappointing match to his sharp jawline and soft looking lips. Shiro looked down at his feet. 'Get yourself together Shiro. He is an officer who works underneath you. Get out of his room and go back to sleep.' But some other part of him was mesmerized by this man's quiet, calm breathing, and the way his face looked so serene and peaceful even after a nightmare. He often looked pained, like something was bothering him, and other times the smiles he gave seemed forced. Nevertheless, Shiro had unconsciously caught himself staring at Curtis for almost a week, and he really felt bad about it. He knew he had employed him to do a job and he didn't want any distraction to keep him from doing what he was being paid to do. But he couldn't help himself when he walked around with those sharp eyes of his, that witty smile, everything. But when Curtis' eyes locked with his, he always snapped his attention back to the task at hand. He should really work on focusing better, what with being the captain of a spaceship and all.
Regardless of how important that was, the man was driving Shiro crazy. He was always selfless, putting others before himself any chance he got, and so Shiro didn't get to see him show off his skills very often.
He was shy, an because of this Shiro didn't get many chances to catch him alone without being around other crew members or locked up in the privacy of his room. When he did catch a glimpse of him, it was usually in the cafeteria, where Curtis sat alone.
During the times he would see him there he always seemed a bit distant, sad almost. Shiro wondered if he was okay, and the same question he had been pondering all week haunted the back of his mind.
Looking for answers, he searched through Curtis's small dorm room. Not doing any more than opening some drawers, trying his best not to invade on the man's privacy. He didn't quite know what he was looking for until he found a blade hidden under some papers in Curtis' drawer, the sharp end stained blackish-red with dried blood.
Shiro sucked in a breath and walked back to the edge of the bed. He looked at Curtis's hands to see, in the light filtering through the cracked-open bathroom door, cuts and scars running up and down the small area of his wrist that was visible.
The man even slept in long sleeves, and how long he had managed to hide it was worrying. Shiro went to his drawer, took the blade, and left a note in its place before turning off the lights and exiting the room quietly.

"Meet me in my office tomorrow morning. We need to talk."
-Captain Shirogane