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Nagisa jolted awake, clutching desperately at his chest. He was distantly aware of the tears streaming down his face, but he didn’t have the energy to wipe them away. His heart was racing, breaths ragged and uneven, and he could feel cold sweat beading at his forehead.
After sitting there for a while, he was able to sit up and shakily throw his covers off. He pulled up his left pant leg of his pajamas to stare blankly at the scar that ran up his leg. He remembered the pain, the sound of metal screeching and crunching as it fell, the desperate clicking as he rattled the controls to his robot, the pain as it came crashing down on him, the distant sound of an explosion as everything went black-
A sob tore itself out of his mouth before he could stop it, pained and guttural. Clapping a hand over his mouth, he stifled the remaining sobs that attempted to surface. He really hoped that he hadn’t woken anyone up with his unintentional slip-up, but that hope was dashed when he saw a light in the hallway flicker on.
Quickly throwing his covers back over himself, he laid onto his side facing away from the door. He could see the light flood into his room as the bedroom door opened, and he hoped that whoever had come to check on him would believe that he was asleep and go back to sleep.
“Nagisa? I know you’re awake, sweetie.” His mama’s voice ringing throughout the room made him flinch. He heard her approaching his bed, but he stubbornly refused to roll over and look at her, ashamed that he’d wake her up over something so silly as a nightmare. Her footsteps stopping signified that she’d reached his bed, and he felt the mattress dip as she sat down.
“I know you don’t want to talk about it, but it’s not good to be alone right now. Why don’t you come get in bed with me and your mom?” She offered.
Nagisa’s heart immediately said “Yes! Yes!” but another, smaller part of him felt ashamed that he was still having nightmares at all. It’d been a year since the big incident, so why couldn’t he just get over it already?
Apparently his thought process was very clear, because Komaru smiled knowingly at him. “It’s okay to have nightmares you know,” she said, ignoring his wince. “Toko and I still have them too. Toko especially.” Nagisa gasped, finally opening his teary eyes to look at her.
“Really?” He asked, voice raspy from crying.
“Really.” She assured, reaching for his hand and looking to his eyes for affirmation before holding it and caressing the back of his hand with her thumb. “Trauma isn’t something that just… goes away. No matter how much you push it down or ignore it or wish it wasn’t there, it sticks with you. What you went through was very real and very scary, and I think you and your siblings are the bravest kids ever for getting through what you did!”
Nagisa didn’t realize that he was crying again until his vision was too blurry to see his mama anymore. He sniffled pitifully, lower lip wobbling as he tried to hold back sobs.
Komaru scooted closer, her arms open if he wanted to hug her. “It’s okay to not be okay, Nagisa. We’re here for you.”
And with that, the blue-haired boy sobbed violently, diving into Komaru’s arms and clutching on to her as if she’d disappear at any moment. He buried his face in her shoulder, his whole body heaving with shaky sobs, heart-wrenching and raw. His mama simply held him close and rubbed soothing circles into his back, humming softly as he cried himself out.
They sat there for a while before Nagisa’s sobs slowly faded into soft cries and whimpers, and his shaking lessened. He pulled away, wiping his cheeks and trying to get his breathing under control.
Komaru carefully cupped his face in her hands, wiping away the leftover tears before softly kissing his forehead. She stood up and stretched a little before turning back to her son.
“Do you think you can walk?” She questioned in a hushed tone, offering her hand to him. He swung his legs over the bed and attempted to stand, crying out as a rush of phantom pain shot up his left leg. His knees buckled, but Komaru caught him easily. She slid one arm under his knees and the other under his back, lifting him up bridal style. He flushed as if he were embarrassed, but wrapped his arms around her neck and tucked his head under her chin anyways.
Komaru carried him to the kitchen and sat him onto one of their stools so she could get him a glass of water and an ibuprofen. He took them gratefully, slowly nursing the water afterward, as it helped him calm down a little bit. Once he had finished, he allowed himself to be picked up again and carried into his moms’ room.
His mom was awake too, but she looked extremely groggy. Her hair was sticking out every which way and she didn’t have her glasses on, but she became more alert once Komaru laid him onto the bed. He scooted under the covers, tucking himself into a ball and curling up against his mom’s side.
Toko smiled, though her eyes betrayed a hint of sadness. “Is it o-okay if I wrap my arm a-around you?” She asked, pulling him closer once she received a nod. Komaru was just about to climb back into bed when their door opened again.
The remaining three kids stood there, each holding their special plushie. When the kids had first agreed to be taken in by Toko and Komaru, the two girls had given them each a special plushie that they could vent to if they didn’t want to come to either of them about it. Kotoko received a white bunny with a pink bow wrapped around its neck, Masaru received a brown and white floppy-eared puppy with curly fur, Jataro received a red panda with gold coloured paw pads, an Nagisa received a light gray cat with a white muzzle and messy fur.
“Can we come in too?” Kotoko questioned, the two behind her nodding.
“Of course,” Komaru replied warmly.
The other three darted in, hopping onto the bed and quickly snuggling under the covers. Nagisa kept his eyes shut until he felt something soft pressed against his chest.
He opened his eyes and saw his own special plushie, handed to him by Jataro. When he looked up to his sibling, eyes questioning, their response brought tears to his eyes again.
“U-um, I have nightmares a l-lot too, and I like to c-cuddle with my stuffie wh-when I get scared, s-so I grabbed yours from y-your room to bring in c-case you had a nightmare…” They mumbled, holding their own stuffed animal close to their chest. Nagisa smiled and accepted his stuffed cat with a quiet ‘thank you’.
After all four siblings were snug and warm under the covers, Komaru slipped in on her end and smiled when Masaru wrapped his arms around her. Kotoko and Jataro were in the middle, so they snuggled up to each other and their plushies.
Nagisa smiled to himself, and he slept through the rest of the night without any issues.