Arcane Sequence: 1987 (WLW)

November 24th, 1987: Later That Night

This novella contains mature language.

Jaime stared at the ceiling fan above her head and relaxed her arm behind her head, deep in thought. When she told Kevin she would be keeping an eye out for Yua this evening as he hopped into his patrol sedan, this wasn't exactly what she had in mind. She listened to the even breaths coming from her bed and sighed.

Clusterfuck of massive proportions.

Even though she was pleasantly surprised by Yua's suggestion that she sleep in her room, Jaime wished she'd refuted it now more than ever. Granted, there was no way she would allow Yua out of her sight for the night. Or rather, she was terrified to leave her anywhere but right in front of herself and wouldn't ever make Yua do a thing that may make her feel uncomfortable. Yet still, this wasn't at all what she thought would happen tonight. Then again, she hadn't really thought it through completely.

The hell had she even been thinking? Well, that was it, wasn't it? She wasn't thinking at all. As soon as Yua suggested they bunk down together for the next two nights, she'd let it happen. Like she had no damn control over a fucking thing in her life.

The hell is your problem, Schmidt? You got what you wanted and she's safe. Stop thinking so--

A soft moan came from the bed and Jaime lifted her head, peeking over the end. There was no way she was going to sleep on a cot and be at eye level with Yua when the temptation to just watch her sleep was too great. Yet, having to literally lift off of the ground just to get a peek at her posed other problems. Maybe she should have just gone out and gotten the cot.

She sat up a bit further and noticed Yua's tossing and turning. Little beads of sweat glistened on her forehead and her features were severely strained. A nightmare.

Jaime got up and walked over to the side of the bed, contemplating sitting down or standing. She chose to stand. Leaning over Yua, she gently jostled the bed, fearful if she was touched while having the night terror she may lash out. She didn't seem like the type, but neither did Jaime's little sister and she was a beast on the loose when woken from sleep.

"Yua?" Jaime whispered as Yua persisted in her jostling movements, but remained locked in fright. With a grimace, Jaime sat down on the edge of the bed and reached out to tap her shoulder, then saw tears. "Y...Yua...?"

Tears broke through Yua's long lashes and she whimpered. If this kept up, her parents would notice from the living room pull-out and think those whimpers weren't necessarily the innocent kind. Jaime leaned down and wiped away the tears, trying to lull Yua back into unconscious bliss. It didn't work.

Yua turned over and tucked herself into a ball as full-on sobs came out. Fuckin' hell... Jaime moved her hand to the other side of Yua's body so that she could lean over her better and bent down to her ear.

"Yua, you're having a nightmare. It's okay. I'm--" She stopped when realizing just what she was about to say. Whatever. It wasn't like Yua would really remember she said anything and after their last...encounter, Jaime felt like Yua was getting more used to her relatively physical nature. "I'm here, Yua. It'll be okay."

Yua turned onto her back and her face was mere inches from Jaime's. All at once, the heat she felt earlier was back again, but she tried to push it down for Yua's sake. She backed away and rubbed Yua's shoulder as she began to settle again. However, a jolt ran through her body and she cried out, lunging forward. Her arms were wrapped around Jaime's neck in an instant and she buried her face in her neck.

"Shh. It's okay. You were just having a nightmare." Jaime explained as she cupped Yua's face, running her fingers down and to the nape of her neck. She gently massaged her hairline and waited for Yua to push her away, but it didn't come. Yua looked up at her and Jaime felt the need to fill the silence. "I heard you crying and just wanted to--"