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“What should we do with him first?”
Figures shrouded in darkness haphazardly mishandled him, ignoring his protests. They talk quietly amongst themselves, hushed enough so that Charlie is unable to hear them for the most part, but able to make out exactly what he doesn’t want to hear.
“I’d like to take a look at his blood.”
Charlie didn’t want to know what that entailed. His vision was too blurry to know where he was, but he could judge from how claustrophobic he felt that it was nowhere good. He knew there was likely no chance of freeing himself, his hands were tied far too tight behind his back for that. The only indication he had that he was still alive was the sound of his own panicked heartbeat.
He could almost--
“BWAH!” Panda awoke with a start, unable to breathe. He pawed at his end table for his inhaler and took in a few deep inhales. This didn’t stop him from hyperventilating, though, his body still trembling.
“Panda? What’s wrong?” Panda had unintentionally awoken Charlie, who rubbed at his eye with one hand as his other hand held Panda by the shoulder. “Pumpkin, you’re shaking like a leaf.”
“C-Charlie, you’re…”
Panda was having a hard time parsing nightmare from reality. He knew Charlie was next to him, but he couldn’t be sure this wasn’t another nightmare and Charlie wouldn’t be taken away from him again.
“Here, pumpkin,” Charlie took Panda in his arms and held him close, pulling the blanket over both of them. He ran his hand over Panda’s back in an attempt to soothe him, and Panda kept his head on Charlie’s chest. Charlie’s heartbeat comforted him, and helped him get his breathing back on track. “Tell me what happened. I’ve got ya’.”
“They took you,” Panda sniffled, clinging to Charlie with his whole body, trying his hardest to sound coherent through tears. “They took you, Charlie.”
Charlie made a concerned noise, furrowing his brow a bit. If Panda’s nightmare distressed him in any way, he chose not to put voice to it.
“I’m sorry, darlin’,” Charlie said, leaning over to turn on the lamp on his end table so he could get a better view of his fiancé. “Don’t worry, I ain’t lettin’ anyone take me nowhere.”
Panda was glad Charlie wasn’t downplaying his fears. He was glad Charlie didn’t tell him it was “just a dream,” because that didn’t make it any less terrifying. He knew it was a dream, he knew it was silly to be afraid of that, but even the thought of losing Charlie and not being able to help him was just…
“It felt so real,” Panda mumbled against Charlie.
“I’ve been around a long time, sugarcube. Ain’t nothin’ took me away for long then, and it ain’t happenin’ any time soon.”
“I’m just scared that it could happen,” Panda bit back another sob, looking up at Charlie. Though he was just barely illuminated by the bedside lamp, Panda could still make out all the features that he found so handsome. Charlie had a soft, comforting smile on his face, his eyes full to bursting with love. He felt so embarrassed that Charlie was seeing him in this state, but he wanted comfort so badly he pushed that aside. “I’m sorry I woke you up.”
“Aw, don’t apologize, sweetie,” Charlie said. He leaned down and his lips met Panda’s, the latter leaning up at the touch. He held Panda’s face with the hand that wasn’t resting on Panda’s back. The kiss was over before it started, and after a beat they kissed again. “We’ll go through this together.”
“I love you,” Panda whispered.
“I love you more.” Charlie whispered.