Work Text:
Nathaniel stands still next to the mayor as they take the elevator down to the ground. There’s a quick blur that passes by them as Marc screams from outside, but it should be fine. Chat Noir will catch him.
The elevator rings as it reaches its destination. Strange. Ladybug and Alix haven’t stopped yelling yet. Surely, Marc is okay by now? Unless Chat stuck his baton in the side of the Eiffel Tower to stop their fall and they’re still not on the ground.
The doors open and he walks out, eyes widening at the sight.
Blood. There was blood all over the ground, oh god. Some of his limbs were crushed under the weight of his body during impact. Red streams are trickling down his face and obscuring it. His hair was matted with it, you could even see the darker stains on his hoodie-
Nathaniel can’t even say anything as he collapses to the ground, amidst the horrified cries of everyone else at the scene.
You killed him .
You killed him.
You killed him.
Y̷̜̫̣̊̇̓O̸͍̥̘̓͛U̷̢̩̓͠ ̷͖͓́̌K̸͇̯͙̏͛I̶̙̽Ḽ̴͇̓̃L̴̦͊̔E̷̡̋͜D̸̖͉͝ ̵̪̮̦̐H̵̦͔̏̽Ị̶̢͌̍̋M̶̫̀.
Nathaniel shot up in his bed, eyes flying open, breathing heavily and clutching his chest. He glanced around at his dim room, the dark sky outside his window telling him it wasn’t morning yet.
There was a small grumble from his side, leading him to clutch the bedsheets under his other hand tightly to pull himself back to reality. Right. Just a dream.
It felt so real though. Probably because that’s what would’ve happened if Chat Noir was just a tiny bit slower.
Nathaniel took a shaky, deep breath. It’s too early in the day to start crying. There’s a small noise as the person next to him sits up slightly using his arm, rubbing his eyes.
Marc blinked up at his boyfriend, mumbling out through drowsy lips, “Nightmare?” It should be alarming that he’s done this enough times that Marc can immediately recognize the signs.
Nathaniel slowly nods his head, sinking back down onto the bed, “Yeah. This time was… like a horror movie. It felt like it would never end."
There’s a beat of silence before Marc is reaching out with his arm to pull the redhead towards him, Nathaniel letting out a surprised noise as the writer buries his face in his chest. Marc promptly wrapped his arms around the other, mumbling incoherent words. Nathaniel feels his heart melt at the sight.
“Hugging… nightmares away.” The sentence is said so quietly, Nathaniel barely hears it before it’s replaced by snoring.
It’s dumb. So dumb. A decision made while half asleep. And yet, it’s exactly the thing Nathaniel needed to calm himself down.
He smiled as he starts threading his fingers through his boyfriend’s hair. Marc is safe in his arms. The terror of the dream faded from his mind as sleep called to him once again.
Nathaniel is lulled to sleep by Marc’s soft snoring, a reminder that he’s still alive, ready to live out another day tomorrow.