Night Terrors

12

When Shiro woke up, His lover was still curled up next to him. He smiled, and looked at the clock on his nightstand before lightly shaking the other's shoulder.
"Baby... we gotta get up."
He whispered quietly, causing Curtis to groan.
"But whyyyyy..."
He buried his head in the pillow, and the older sighed. He wrapped his arms around the other.
"Because I've got to go to work and so do you."
"Fine."
The brunette rolled over and looked up at Shiro, eyes still blurry with sleep. He looked at him for a second, smiled, and then proceeded to get out of bed. The captain got up as well, and joined Curtis in the bathroom to get ready. At this point, The younger had grown comfortable changing his shirt in front of Shiro, so he did. And the other was certainly okay with that.
Once both of them had changed into their uniforms, they headed to the control room. There were some whispered when they came in together, but Curtis was somehow okay with that now. He knew that nobody could touch him, and it made him more confident. The two girls next to him continued their gossip, but he had learned to tune it out. Every once and a while Shiro would look back and give him an encouraging glance. It made him smile, and that's really all he needed.
By the end of the day, the officer was completely exhausted. He sat down, having returned to Shiro's dorm, and collapsed face first into the sheets. They smelled like old paper and cologne, a smell he'd grown oh-so-familiar with. He took in the scent, holding the sheets to his nose. When Shiro entered the room, he was cuddled up in the blankets on their bed, snoring quietly. Although the captain hated to wake him, he didn't want another screaming fit, so he lightly rubbed the others arm.
"Hey, you have to take your meds. We don't want any nightmares or screaming, yeah?"
"Oh, yeah. I'm just tired of work is all. There's too much thinking required."
The other laughed, getting up from the bed and taking his pills from his lover. He took them and laid down, quickly drifting off again. The older slipped into bed next to him, pulling him close. He placed a light kiss on the other's head before falling holding onto him.
— — —
Over the next few days, they got to know each other better. They'd wake up together, talk in the mornings, work, then talk at lunch, and then work till bedtime. Shiro would give Curtis his meds and he'd fall asleep quickly, the captain always laying down with him and holding him until morning came again. There was a noticeable change in the way the younger behaved, he seemed much happier and a little more confident. But that does give someone a kind of self esteem doesn't it, knowing someone else really, truly likes you for you. It's comforting knowing there is someone that can look past what you don't like about yourself and care so much anyways. The other had told him a few days ago when he asked, "Why did you choose me? Why not anyone else on the atlas?"
He had given a small smile and simply said,
"Because you complete me. It doesn't matter if you're not perfect, neither am I. We've been through so much and you still show me everyday a million reasons I should love you anyways. I could even ask the same question to you."
"I love you because I fell in love with the way you care for people. It breaks me to pieces the way I feel, but somehow you just fix it. You care so much and I'd never throw away my chance to spend every second with an amazing person like you."
Another small smile and Shiro had wrapped Curtis up in his arms, kissing his cheek. He was glad he was able to make his lover so happy and to be his family when everyone else related to him was gone or had forgotten him. The captain knew what happened with his dad, and he hated it. But his father was dead, and that meant it was only his brother that could carry on his dad's legacy of hate. But his brother was back on earth, sheltered in the garrison. And Curtis had Veronica, she acted a lot like his sister. She had helped Shiro when the other wasn't eating, and she checked in and administered his meds if the captain had to work late. She was always a big help.
The only thing that was bad about that was every time he thought about Amelia, it brought Adam to his mind. They had been in the same regiment, died in the very same wave of planes. He didn't want to think about his ex-fiancé, it made him miss him again. And he knew he'd never fully get over him, but he had to move on at some point. It had been almost two years, and Shiro was with someone else.

Nevertheless, he pushed these thoughts out of his head as he looked at Curtis for around the 17th time that day. The other looked back at him, vibrant blue eyes glinting in the light.
"Damn."
"Shiro stop staring at him like an animal, save it for the bedroom."
Veronica smirked, and Shiro whipped his head around, squinting at her.
"Oh save it McClain, you can't say anything."
"Don't even start captain."
He shook his head, ignoring Veronica and looking back at Curtis.
"You're so smitten."
"Shhh, he'll hear you."
"You're such a dork."