Work Text:
Leon was a heavy sleeper. It was a habit he’d picked up as a child when he’d been in his abusive group home. There was always some kind of noise to ignore. He’d gotten good at it. Most of his friends had too. Selphie in particular could sleep through anything.
He wasn’t a morning person either, but he saw no reason to need grace in order to wake up. Starting the day was hard enough as it was. He didn’t need to do it with enthusiasm.
That said, because of said dangerous childhood, he was extremely quick to wake when touched, no matter how deeply he’d been sleeping seconds prior.
That’s why, at three in the morning he jerked upright into a sitting position the very moment he felt something hit his side. With wide eyes he looked beside him in the dark room and tried to sigh away his adrenaline when he realized it was just Cloud. Just Cloud. Just his boyfriend. Yeah, he was still getting used to that.
They’d only shared a few weekends together so far and he was not used to sharing his bed just yet. This was probably the forth time he’d woken up just because Cloud shifted.
When Cloud’s hand lightly whacked into his side again he frowned. Cloud didn’t usually move around that much but his legs were slowly shifting against the mattress and it took Leon a second to realize his breathing was labored.
“Cloud?”
His eyes were moving under his eyelids and there was a fresh sheen of sweat across his visible skin. For a third time Cloud lifted his hand and it dropped just as fast, Leon caught it.
“Hey?”
One by one, the strange behavior finally penetrated Leon’s sleep-addled mind. Cloud was breathing hard, soft noises leaving his lips. They weren’t words but he seemed desperate to get them out all the same.
“Hey, come on.” Leon reached out with his other hand, grasping Cloud’s shoulder. “It’s just a nightmare. C’mon. Wake up.”
He was altogether unprepared for the way Cloud’s eyes shot open, but he didn’t seem to see him. His dream panic carried over into the waking world and he was already on the move. He’d shoved Leon’s hands away from him, not registering his presence at all. Trying to get out of bed was less than smooth. He made it to his feet but the blankets tangled around his legs had him collapsing to his hands and knees when he tried to take a step.
“Fuck! Cloud!” Leon followed him, crawling out of bed, hesitating to touch him again. “Hey. Hey, look at me. It’s alright.”
Cloud stared at the floor, eyes glazed over and threatening to be filled with tears. He was shaking so hard Leon could see it even in the dark.
Leon knew about Cloud’s PTSD. He knew he’d been a soldier, or something closer to it anyway and that it was something he was still working on healing. Cloud had once casually mentioned his nightmares. He’d brought them up as a courtesy when they started sharing a bed but he’d been so flippant about it that Leon hadn’t expected anything like this at all.
“Hey…” Leon reached out slowly, touching Cloud’s shoulder. When he wasn’t shoved away he rubbed his hand up and down his spine. “It’s okay. It was just a dream. Just a bad dream.”
Cloud breathed in shakily, slowly beginning to look around. His slacked, clueless expression said it was taking him a moment to figure out where he was. With as often as he traveled to make deliveries, being in a strange place wasn't unique.
“You’re with me, Cloud. We’re fine.”
Cloud finally turned his head to give Leon his attention, a look of terror still etched into his features. “Squall…?” He whispered.
“Yeah, i’m right here.” Leon said, inching closer. “Let’s get you back into bed.”
“No!”
He’d tensed all over again as if moving would be the end of the world. He bent forward, his forehead touching the floor.
“Okay…” Leon muttered. “Okay. Can i get you something? Water?”
When he didn’t get an answer, Leon just sat there for a moment, trying to puzzle out what his next move should be. He was questioning on how awake Cloud even was. He wasn’t even sure he’d ever heard Cloud raise his voice like that before. He was usually so mellow.
“Okay.” Leon repeated, moving up onto his knees, grabbing two pillows from off the bed. He dropped them and pulled the blanket from the bed too, draping it over both him and Cloud. “C’mere.” he muttered, wrapping his arms around Cloud’s middle to pull him closer.
Cloud was oddly pliant and despite his unwillingness to move let Leon change his position.
Leon was on his back, pulling Cloud to be half draped against his side.
“It’s alright. It was just a bad dream. It’ll be okay.” Leon said softly, noting the way Cloud’s breathing was slowly going back to normal but he was still shaking. He’d slowly curled up on Leon, suddenly looking exhausted and weighed down. Leon wasn't sure he could even imagine the kind of dream that would spook Cloud so bad.
“Squa…”
“Shhh... “ Leon rubbed his back still, staring at the ceiling. “It’s okay. Try to sleep. The bad dream is over. It wasn’t real.”
“Mn…” Cloud’s eyes shut, but it took over an hour for him to relax again. Probably half an hour longer for him to fall asleep again.
Leon was just relieved when his breathing even out and he seemed to settle again. That wasn’t what he’d expected when Cloud had mentioned nightmares at all. His own experience with nightmares weren’t like that at all either. Yes, sometimes they upset him, sure, but he just rolled over and went back to sleep. He hadn’t had the luxury of seeking comfort, but they’d only ever been childhood fears.
Cloud’s nightmare seemed more akin to a night terror. Something he couldn’t break free from. Leon couldn’t stop rubbing his back or stroking his hair. He wanted to be able to fix this. Not that he thought Cloud was broken, he just wanted him to feel better. He wanted Cloud to have that comfort he never had as a kid. Once the over protective notion struck him, he couldn’t get rid of it. He didn’t want Cloud to have these nightmares alone anymore.
His soft breathing against Leon’s neck kept him calm. Cloud relaxing after the sudden wake up call oddly had Leon feeling better. This wasn’t the worst thing in the world. He could sleep on the floor.
That thought didn’t strike him as strange until he was waking up again the next morning and recalled instantly his middle of the night adventure. He was still on the floor, and Cloud was still asleep next to him. He was a little surprised he’d gotten back to sleep at all with as worried as he’d been but the sun was up now. Evidently they’d both needed to sleep in.
Looking up at his ceiling again he had to admit, this wasn’t normal behavior for him, but his normal behavior had flown out the window the second he’d met Cloud. This wasn’t a relationship he was running from. In fact, he continuously wanted more.
There was almost some kind of perverse pleasure in seeing a new side of Cloud that had been hidden from him up until now. Cloud having a nightmare had startled him, but it wasn’t a deal breaker by any means.
His puppy crush had been full blown love for ages now. He was in love with Cloud.
Leon was absently stroking Cloud’s hair again when he began to stir. Unlike him, Cloud actually was a morning person so it wasn’t unusual when he shifted, realized something was off and snapped his eyes open.
“Lion?” His voice cracked from sleep. He looked around in confusion. “Why are we on the floor?”
“It’s where we fell asleep?” Leon shrugged and yawned into his hand.
Cloud pushed up onto his elbow and frowned faintly. “Huh? It’s not.” He was looking up at the bed as if trying to puzzle out what happened.
Leon just grunted an affirmative. “You had a nightmare an-” He paused when Cloud tensed. “And it’s okay, Cloud.”
Cloud shifted himself to sit up, embarrassment sinking into his features.”Sorry.” he muttered.
“Shh…” Leon said just like he had last night. “You told me you had nightmares, now i know how to take care of you when you have one. No big deal.”
“Take care of me?” Cloud’s face went pink. “What are you even saying? I’m usually such a mess.”
Leon groaned as he sat up, back cracking. “You were fine, just freaked out. At least i didn’t seem to bother you. That’s gotta be a good thing.”
“Well...yeah.” Cloud muttered, still obviously feeling awkward about it. “Did i fall off or what?”
“Mm, not exactly, blankets tripped you but once you were down you decided it was a good spot.” Leon explained. “It wasn’t so bad. You just didn’t feel like moving.
Embarrassment seeped under Cloud’s skin and he fidgeted. “You could have stayed in bed, stupid. Didn’t have to have a terrible nights sleep because of me.”
“It wasn’t all that bad, besides, i like laying beside you.” It was borderline sappy, and one of them usually pointed out when the other was being mushy but Cloud just sat there, blush dark and his hands limp in his lap.
“Hey.” Leon continued. “I’m not put off. I’m glad i was here. I’m glad you didn’t have to deal with that by yourself.”
“I…” Cloud looked a little nervous. “I don’t usually go back to sleep after a nightmare. I dunno, i usually snap out of it.”
“Well, probably because you’re sitting up or something. I got you to lay back down with me.” Leon nodded, that made sense to him at least. “Once you relaxed again, you fell back asleep”
Cloud winced. “Sorry to be a bother.”
“You weren’t.” Leon said, reaching out to take one of his hands. He loved playing with Cloud’s hands. “Next time you have a nightmare, i’ll be there too.”
“Next time?” Cloud puffed out a startled breath of air. “Really?”
“Should there be a next time, yes. I’ll be there.” Leon said. “I don’t plan to stop sleeping next to you any time soon.”
Cloud’s face was still red but a smile twitched at his lips. “I’ll try to keep them to myself.”
“Share them with me.” Leon said instead. “Let...me love you.”
“Lo…” If Cloud wasn’t embarrassed before, he sure was now. “You…”
“Love you…” Leon repeated. “And i want to be here for you.”
Cloud nodded weakly. “You always are...I’ll have to make it up to you.”
Leon smiled. “If you want to make it up to me, you can make breakfast.”
Cloud cracked a smile. “I always make breakfast.”
“We all show our love differently, i guess.”
That seemed to have Cloud relaxing a little more. “Yeah, i guess we do.” He squeezed Leon’s hand back. “I..love you...too.”
That silly warmth in Leon grew tenfold. “C’mon Rain Cloud. Let's go eat.” Dragging themselves off the floor made them realize how stiff they both were but they had no plans for the day. Chances were good they’d find the bed again later. This time, without an impromptu nightmare.