Not As It Seems (Huntbastian) [Discontinued]

XIX

Hunter had woken up to the sound of restless movement, shifting towards Sebastian, who he couldn't see in the dark. He was about to ask if he was awake when he heard a whimper- and not the good whimper, the terrified whimper.

"P-please, please leave me alone."

He immediately panicked at Sebastian's words, flicking on the light beside his bed. But there was nobody in the room.

Sebastian was curled up in the fetal position, shaking. His hands were covering his head, as if blocking someone from attack. Hunter realized he must be having a nightmare.

He blocked his head, pinned down to the concrete. He couldn't believe this was happening. "P-please, please leave me alone."
"Come on, you know you're going to like it. Besides, with that thing on your hips? You should thank us."
"Yeah, what the hell is that, anyway? Burn yourself or something?"

"N-no, I don't know, I don't know," he called out desperately. Hunter felt his heart break, in too much shock to try to wake him up.

"What about the rest of these scars? Come on, you've got no chance. Just stop fucking struggling."
His arms were pinned down, keeping him from moving. The cold air bit his vulnerable skin.

"Please, please-"

Hunter couldn't handle it. He stood up, cautiously making his way over to Sebastian. His lamp wasn't bright- half the room was still enveloped in darkness. "Sebastian, wake up."

"Please, what? Please, more? Please, proceed? If you insist."
"Nice one."
"You do the honors."
"Aw, you flatter me."

"Sebastian, Sebastian wake up-"

Hunter was cut off by a scream, a blood-curdling scream. It was awful. If he hadn't heard it- well, if it hadn't just blown out his eardrums- he wouldn't have thought anyone was capable of making such a noise, much less Sebastian.

Sebastian was awake, and he was sobbing. Aside from small gasps for breath, he was absolutely silent. He was sitting up and shaking, pulling both of his legs up to his chest. He wrapped his arms around them, keeping his injured leg from slipping back down.

"Sebastian, Sebastian you're okay. It was just a dream," Hunter soothed.

He panicked upon hearing him, before realizing where he was and crying harder. "It's not, it's not just a dream," he said between sobs.

Realizing it must have been a memory, Hunter amended his statement. "It's in the past, then. You're okay. You just dreamt it, it didn't happen again. Can I- is it okay if I hug you?"

"I'd rather you didn't," he said quietly, still crying.

Hunter nodded, putting out his hand and presenting Sebastian with an option if he needed it. "You're okay, okay? You're going to be okay."

Sebastian let out another sob, taking Hunter's hand. He cried until he ran out of tears, finally falling back asleep from exhaustion.