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Shuichi woke up teary-eyed and out of breath, quiet gasps echoing against the walls of his empty bedroom. When he sat up, his head was swimming, heart racing too fast when he pressed a hand to his chest. The nightmares were nothing new, unfortunately. He'd suffered from them all along, more or less. They came in waves. Sometimes he went weeks without having any, but then, especially if something stressful happened, they'd come back full-force, making him dread going to sleep every night. He wasn't the only one, of course. Going through an experience like Danganronpa didn't leave anyone untouched by trauma.
It was nearing the one year anniversary of when it ended. No wonder he was suffering now.
He grabbed a bottle of water from his nightstand, uncapping it and taking a sip. It soothed his dry throat, but did nothing for the lingering fear. He needed something else to ground him. In here, alone with the quiet and the shadows, it was hard to remember that he was back in the real world, safe. All the horrible things in his nightmares were nothing but memories. He just had to prove it to himself.
After drinking a little more of his water, Shuichi put it aside again and got up. Once he left his room, the destination was obvious. He crept down the darkened hall as quietly as he could, shushing the cat when it meowed and brushed against his leg. When he reached Kaito's room, he paused there for a moment, hand on the doorknob. He'd feel bad if he ended up waking him, but at the same time, he wouldn't be surprised if Kaito was struggling too. And it wasn't like him to ask for help, so...
Gently, he opened the door. Sure enough, he was greeted by warm lamplight and Kaito sitting up in bed, propped against his pillows. There were dark shadows under his eyes, visible even from across the room. He didn't even react to Shuichi's presence at first, seeming to need to shake himself out of a haze before he could properly respond.
"Shuichi? Is something wrong?"
"No, no," he replied at first, reflexively. He wanted to ease that look of concern on Kaito's face, and really, it wasn't anything that serious. But then, realizing that he was falling prey to the same sorts of thought patterns as Kaito himself, he shook his head, a hesitant smile at his lips. The door closed behind him with a quiet click.
"Actually, there is, kinda." Shuichi sat down on the bed beside Kaito, stretching his legs out in front of him and smoothing one hand over the comforter. "I had a nightmare about you and I just wanted to make sure you're okay. Sorry, I know it's a little silly."
"Nah, don't apologize." Kaito wrapped an arm around him, giving his shoulder a pat. "Not like you woke me up or anything. I was just sitting here thinking, so no harm done. If being here with me is what makes you feel better, then by all means."
He didn't say anything about whether he was okay, Shuichi noticed. Maybe it was just that he thought it wasn't necessary — that he thought, correctly, that the anxiety from the nightmare was about his physical wellbeing, and just seeing him was enough. That was true, but he was concerned about Kaito's mental wellbeing too.
"Thanks, Kaito." He leaned in closer against him, exhaling in a soft sigh. "I feel a little better already, actually."
"Good, good. Do you... wanna talk about it or anything?"
It took a few moments of thought, weighing the options. The dream wasn't anything new. It wasn't anything he hadn't talked about before. It was just reliving Kaito's death in the simulation, over and over again. Never able to do anything to stop it. No, talking about that wouldn't help either of them right now. Especially since it would eliminate what small chance there was that Kaito might speak up about his own problems. He shook his head, soothed by the warmth of Kaito's body against his own.
"No, it's okay. Can I just...stay here, maybe?" He trailed his fingertips up and down Kaito's arm, the touch feather-light. "Might be able to sleep better here than in my own room."
"Yeah. Of course."
"Yeah. While we're at it though, if there's anything you want to talk about..."
"No." Though it was accompanied by a laugh, there was no mistaking the forcefulness of Kaito's response. "No, I'm good. I appreciate the thought though." He pressed a kiss to the top of Shuichi's head, a sign that the conversation was over.
"Sure."
Being present might just be the best thing he could do at the moment. He was too tired to press the issue. Shuichi snuggled closer, wrapping an arm around Kaito in return.
"I'm always here for you though, you know," he said softly, inhaling the faint scent of Kaito's cologne as he nuzzled his face into the crook of his neck.
"Yeah, I know."