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Orange, the faint smirk, a flash of lightning. She awoke clutching the covers. Even though it was summer, she shuddered. Ema struggled for breath, as surely as if those hands were tight about her throat. She reached for the lamp with trembling hands. The shadows were beat back, and in none of them were a hint of gray, or those piercing eyes, which she would never forget.
Beside her, he stirred awake. His silvery braid slipped down his shoulder.
"Ema, Ema...." He kissed her forehead, and stroked her hair. "It's all right. It was just a dream."
He pulled her close, but he shuddered still.
"The shadows of the Twilight Realm remain?"
"...It wasn't a dream, it was a memory," she said softly..
Nahyuta's green eyes were filled with concern. "Whoever they are, they cannot reach you any longer," Nahyuta said.
The spaghetti strap of her tank top slipped down her shoulder. Over the green front it said Science Is Rad, but time and many washes had faded the letters. A deep chill filled her. She rubbed her forearms, but even that contact didn't bring enough warmth. The clock read 3AM. She threw off the covers, and started to gather her clothes. A bit of caffeine would help the grogginess, though she'd feel completely groggy by the time noon came around. A shower would do the rest to wake her up.
"You're getting up so early?"
"I can never get back to sleep when I remember that. I'll just toss and turn and feel miserable. I might as well just go work on processing some evidence."
He patted the bed beside him. "Stay a while. You no longer have to shoulder this alone."
She'd said the exact same thing to him, just in different words, not too long ago. He'd shouldered years of blackmail, a mask of ice, and bitterness, and the whims of a red queen. And he'd never said a word to anyone. He held out his hand. For a moment, Ema stared down.
"I'll just keep you up with all the munching," Ema said.
"His ghost can no longer haunt you," Nahyuta said. "We will beat it back to the twilight realm."
Ema crawled back into bed, until she was back in his arms. He preferred to sleep shirtless, even when it was damn cold. If somebody ever forced her to put a gratitude journal, that would be a top tier entry, right up there with science and Snackoos.
"If you wish to speak, I will listen and comfort as much as I can. If not, then I will simply stay by your side."
"I...you already know about the case. You said you always look up whoever you work with. You're always thorough with research like that," Ema said.
"A few stark lines, an autopsy report and the contents of a trial only show a shadow of the pain you must have known," Nahyuta said.
Ema closed her eyes. Memories flooded her. "He almost got Lana convicted. He--" she couldn't say the words, how the room had filled with lightning. Gant had made her life a nightmare. He'd stolen away Lana's smile, and almost her life.
"I thought I was going to lose everything. Mom and dad died in a car accident, and Lana was all I had. Watching her try and take the blame when I knew she was innocent was some of the hardest times of my life. And..." She couldn't speak the words to describe then.
He pulled her closer. His touch broke through the impenetrable coldness of those memories.
"When I was a young child, and couldn't sleep, there were lullabies. Let me share with you one I used to hear every night."
His voice was low and soft. The Khura'inese was just simple enough for her to follow along without any halting, or reaching for her Khura'inese to English dictionary app.
Little dove, rest your wings and stay
The snakes have gone far away
Soon comes the day
In the Holy Mother's hands you will stay.
Little sleeping dove, please stay
Make your nest within this hay
Rest your little eyes until day
Rest your little eyes until day.
Despite everything, his serenity, the warm of his arms, and the softness of the song slowly lulled her. She found her eyes fluttering shut.
"Thanks. For being there, and everything else," she said. She let out a yawn, and curled against him.
"One day, are you going to talk about what happened?"
Nahyuta remained quiet for a moment. "The wound is still too fresh. It must be bandaged and left to heal before I can speak of it."
"I can't sing worth a crap, but I can pick up a boombox and put on some Mozart for Babies or something. My mom had all these CDs. She was convinced they would turn me into a genius. She used to play them while I slept."
"She must have been right, for you certainly did turn out brilliant," Nahyuta said.
Ema smiled. "The scientific studies on the results are mixed, but I still listen to Mozart by habit when I'm researching stuff. Anyways, I'm always here, you know?" She leaned up to gently kiss him. "Like you said, we can beat the ghosts back together."
She heard a rustle, and glanced towards the window. His singing had attracted some night birds, who all huddled in the windowsill, waiting for more.
Jeez, I really am dating a Disney princess, Ema thought to herself.
"Shall I sing for you some more?"
Ema yawned again. "At this rate, you really will put me right back to sleep. Just make sure your birds don't break the glass. They look about ready to party out there. I almost figure they'd start waving around glowsticks at this rate," she said.
Nahyuta glanced over, and smiled. "They're usually well behaved. Mother would open the windows and let them roost on the bedposts."
After meeting Queen Amara, she wasn't even surprised.
He started to sing again. Just beyond them was a the cooing of night birds, and the flutter of wings. The nightmares, and memories, were defeated for another night. One day, she thought, as she teetered on the edge of sleep, she'd pay him back.