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A body shifted in his sleep, fabric moving enough to show a bare chest. Remi curled up tight, a neon green octopus plushie clasped loosely in his arms. Gentle breaths brushed over his tiny mustache. He sighed and snuggled his octopus to his face. A soft smile crept on his lips.
Hours ticked by. The dark grew darker and later. Even an anxious boy should surely be asleep by now.
A whimper. Quiet. Discomforted. Remi shifted to his back, one hand streached above his head. It clenched into a fist as a whine escaped his throat. His head turned back and forth. The movement quicken as the minutes passed. A murmur of words no one could hear. Remi's breath grew labored, panting.
"No." A desperate whispered prayer. He hands turned white as he clutched his plushie. "No, don't."
Tears streamed down his closed eyes. A stream of 'no' came from his lips. It grew louder. His movements quicken.
Remi jerked awake, gasping for breath. Red and silver eyes darted around the room. Shadow danced across small piles. The silence only broken by his own panting.
Remi pulled his plushie closer, attempting to chase away the shaking of his limbs. They only shook harder. He closed his eyes and jammed his face into the soft fabric. Still silent. The dark constricted closer and closer.
Remi shot from the bed as something growled from the corner of his room. He raced out into the hallway, barely stopping himself from crashing into the walls. He traveled down and down a circle of stairs. Ignored all the other doors on separate landings. A bright gold door. A mysterious purple. A dark brooding red. A blinding, neon blue. Till finally a dark blue, nearly black, door just before the common room.
With barely a pause, He slammed the door open. It banged on the wall as Remi ran inside. His dual color eyes frantically searched the icy dark. An icy cold hand snatched at his throat, constricting tightly, almost painfully.
"Who would dare enter my domain without permission?" A baritone voice breathed into Remi's ear. Cold, calculating.
He choked out a single letter "L?"
The hand released their grip slightly, the thumb gently tracing a line back and forth. "Hello Remi dear." Another hand began playing with the ends of his silver hair. "What brings you here, this time of night?"
Remi sniff. "I just" sniff "it was"
A finger brushed against his lips, as he processed that L's hands moved, and a familiar stoic face appeared in his vision. "Are you crying?"
Remi nodded. His head ducking down to hid his tears. He scrubbed at the tracks.
"Don't cry." Something warm dropped around his shoulders. Remi looked back up to see L adjusting the blanket he placed on him.
L looked him in the eye and gave him a small rare smile. "Hey. It's okay." Remi startled slightly as two arms wrapped around him, pulling him closer to L. "Everything is going to be okay."
Remi melted into the warmth. He rubbed his face into L's silk sleep shirt, placing his ear right over L's heart.
Ba dum. Ba dum. Ba dum.
They stood together for who knows how long. L's steady heartbeat echoing in Remi's ear. Remi slowly becoming more boneless. More and more of his weight being held by L.
A chuckle rang through the air. "Are you tired dear?"
Remi hummed and snuggled closer.
Another chuckle. Nails scratched the back of his head. "Use your words Remi. Are you tired?"
Remi blinked slowly. Quiet brain muddling through the sentence. "Yes."
"Good boy." Tingles of pleasure ran through Remi's body. He shivered but closed his eyes. Waiting.
"Follow."
Remi rubbed at his eyes as he obeyed, following L over to a bed in the middle of the room. He watched through lidded eyes as L turn down the covers with precise movements. Hands tugged Remi down, leading him to lie down on the bed. He hummed as the covers get tucked under his chin.
A hand stroked Remi's hair. "I'll be right back dear."
Remi laid in a sleepy haze, not quite asleep but certainly not awake. A soft click and rustling of fabric came from somewhere. Then a warm body entered the bed with him. Remi shuffled closer, one hand reaching over to gently grab at it. An answering arm wrapped around him. Nails lightly trailed across his spine.
"Go to sleep dear. I will be here when you wake."