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Your eyes fly open as you’re wrenched from your sleep, startled and confused. You let your eyes adjust to the darkness of your bedroom as you try to figure out what woke you. It’s hard when your mind is still foggy with sleep, thoughts moving with the slow surety of a glacier.
A soft whimper comes from behind you, swiftly followed by sheets being thrown off of someone. You just barely sit up in time to see Rex leaving the room, tense back a silhouette against the soft light of the living room, before the room falls into darkness again.
You feel your chest constrict in desperation.
Since returning from his last mission, Rex has been withdrawn, sullen even, and asking him what happened has only resulted in a sharp dismissal that left you feeling shattered.
Carefully, you remove the sheets, crossing the room and opening the door to the living room as silently as you can.
The muted lights of the living room make it hard to make out where Rex is, but you can see a figure on the sofa. With tentative steps, you cross the room to the sofa, sitting at Rex’s side with slow, careful movements.
This close you can see the hunched curve of his back. He’s curled inwards on himself, arms wrapped around his head, body shaking with muffled sobs.
Sorrow twists in your chest and your heart stutters to see him so in pain, so desperately sad. You place your hand on his shoulder, keeping your movements slow and gentle.
“Rex? Baby, what’s wrong?” you murmur. Your voice cracks at the end. It’s so painful seeing him like this, knowing that there is so little you can do to shield him from the horrors of the war he fights. “Tell me, please,” you beg, trying to keep the desperation from your voice. You don’t want to upset him more.
“I- I ca-can’t,” he sobs, stuttering hiccups and hitched breaths wrack his body, and you reach around him, pulling him against you.
“Take all the time you need, my love,” you whisper, placing delicate kisses on his shoulder, rubbing your hands in soft, gentle patterns over every inch of his body that you can reach. “I’m here, Rex. I’ve got you, my love.”
A cracked wail leaves Rex, and then he’s flinging his arms around you, face shoved into the crook of your neck, arms going tight around your back. Your heart aches as you whisper soft murmurs of reassurance to him, trying desperately to keep the fear and sadness out of your voice. You’ve never seen him this upset, and it’s genuinely scaring you.
Rex’s harsh, stuttered breathing slowly evens out with each sweep of your hands until the only sounds in the dark living room are quiet sniffles and shaky breaths.
“I can’t sleep,” Rex says, voice rough and tired. You can hear the weight of his sadness in his words, and it makes something in your chest crack.
“Don’t worry, my love. I’ll help. You can use me as a pillow,” you whisper.
Rex sighs against your neck, and before he can refuse, you tell him, “Don’t worry my love. You can go to sleep now. I’ll keep watch.” Your hands continue to rub soothing patterns against his back, one hand coming up to card through his short hair as you begin to hum a soft lullaby.
“But-”
“I’ll take care of you, Rex.”
Slowly, Rex relaxes against you, body going lax as he finally falls asleep to the soft sound of your humming.
“I’ll take care of you. I promise,” you whisper with a shaking voice, throat tight with worry.
You stare into nothing, eyes unseeing as you hold Rex through the night. You’ll do whatever it takes to prevent this from happening ever again.