Work Text:
WARNER POV
I jolt awake when I hear her scream. The fog of unconsciousness is shaken off instantly as her emotions accost me. She’s terrified. She seems like she’s in agony. Whimpers escape her lips as tears cascade down her cheeks. Juliette struggles against the blankets, kicking the sheets off and swinging her arms violently.
“No!” She’s saying, “No! No, no no!” Her words turn to mumbles and pleas as her nightmare carries on. Juliette’s always had trouble sleeping but it’s been getting better with time. She’d been able to relax easier and wakes up during the night with far less frequency. The nightmares had been getting less vivid and less numerous, as well. She hasn’t had one this bad in… I can’t even recall.
I sit up quickly. “Juliette.” I say, my voice gentle but powerful. “Wake up, love. Come back to me.”
She continues to struggle and I grasp her arms so I can get closer to her without her accidentally hitting me. “Wake up, Juliette. It’s just a dream.”
She shakes her head as if she can’t fathom there’s an end to her suffering. Her eyes are squeezed painfully shut as more tears flow. “ Juliette.” I’m practically begging at this point. “It’s not real. You’re dreaming. Juliette, please.”
Her eyes spring open and I’m so far taken aback by the sheer terror in them that I freeze. It’s physically painful to see her so distressed; I would do anything to quell it. She looks at me as if she can’t believe I’m here. She whispers my name. I nod. Then, she repeats it, louder. “Aaron.” She says. “Aaron.” She can’t stop saying my name and I have no idea why but I respond to her nonetheless. “Yes, love. It’s me.” I say, “I’ve got you, you’re safe now.”
She places her hands on my chest, her fingers running up and down it as her eyes scan me rapidly, repeatedly. She keeps repeating my name under her breath as tears fill her eyes and she’s shaking her head like she can’t believe what she’s seeing.
“What happened, Juliette? What’s wrong?” I’m begging her to speak with me, to give me some insight into what’s shut her in her head. I want to know how to help her but I can’t unless I know what’s wrong. I hate feeling so helpless as waves of her pain and sorrow and disbelief crash into me. I place my palms atop her hands, stopping their motions over my chest and I look deeply into her eyes. I rub my thumbs back and forth, hoping to ground her. “What’s wrong, love?”
She breaks. I feel her relief start to peak through as she throws herself into my body. She wraps her arms around my neck and I’m quick to bring mine around her waist, anchoring her to me. She sobs into my neck and her body shakes with the effort, tiny fissures spreading from head to toe. I can’t remember the last time I was so worried. “It’s alright, sweetheart. Whatever it was, it wasn’t real. No one can hurt you now. You’re safe here. I promise, love, you’re safe here.” I repeat phrases of comfort into her ear, rubbing her back the whole time.
It takes at least fifteen more minutes for Juliette to settle. All the while, she just clung to me, shaking and sobbing silently, save a moan or whimper of agony. Each sound was like a knife in my heart.
She pulls back and looks at me. Her gaze is desperate. “You’re really here?” Her voice is broken and wet from her crying, small from the disbelief I hear coloring the words.
I nod my head, confusion mixing in with my concern. “Of course I’m here, love. I’ll always be here.”
Her chin wobbles and I quickly place a hand on her cheek, cupping her face. She leans into the warmth of my palm immediately and closes her eyes briefly. When they open, the same disbelief is still there. “But you- I saw you-” She breaks off, shaking her head again. More tears gather in her eyes and I wish I knew how to make them stop. I nod my head, silently encouraging her to continue. “I saw you die.” She whispers, tears spilling as she barely gets out the last word.
It is only now that I realize the extent of her nightmare. The whole time, I imagined she dreamt some sort of physical pain to herself, perhaps at the hands of my father or her parents. I thought she’d seen images of the torture she’d undergone her entire childhood. I thought she’d dreamt that our rebellion had lost and that all her suffering and sacrifice had been for nought. Never did it even occur to me that she’d ever be this distraught about losing me.
“Oh, sweetheart,” I begin, tilting her chin up so she meets my eyes. “I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere, I promise.” I kiss her softly, swiftly. Just a reminder. “I’m with you, love. No one will ever take me from you.”
Juliette nods but I still feel her residual terror. I take one of her shaking hands and place it over my heart. “Do you feel that, love?”
“Yes.” Her response is wobbly, off-balance as she flip-flops through hope and panic and relief and terror that she’ll realize this is the dream and the nightmare is just her inevitable reality.
I take her other hand and place two of her fingers over the pulse point in my neck. I want her to feel every beat of my heart. I want her to know that she’s the one it beats for. “I’m alive. I promise you, Juliette. This is real. I love you – I love you so much, sweetheart. This is real. We are real. It was only a dream.”
“But it felt so real.” She whispers.
“I’m so sorry. I am so, so sorry, Juliette. I assure you it wasn’t real. I promise.” I wish I could rewind time and take her dream for myself. I’ve never been able to stomach her being in such pain.
“You’re really here?” She asks again. But this time, I can tell she’s starting to finally believe me. I feel her begin to relax.
“Yes, love.”
Air whooshes out of her lungs as she allows her muscles to unclench and she collapses against my chest. Her arms wrap around me once again and her fingers dig into my back, desperately seeking purchase. I gently reposition us so I’m lying down against the headboard, Juliette nestled in my arms with her head pillowed against my chest.
She looks up at me and the sight of her red-rimmed eyes breaks my heart all over again. “I’m right here.” I whisper again, bringing my index finger to trace the length of her face. She shivers in response.
“I couldn’t stand it if anything happened to you.” She says. “I don’t – I don’t want to live in a world that doesn’t have you in it. I don’t want that. I don’t ever want that.”
“You won’t have to.” I reassure her. “Not a single force in this world could pry me away from you.”
She nods rapidly and I pull her closer to me. She suddenly shoots up, again. I look at her, alarmed and concerned about the movement.
“I woke you up! I’m so sorry, Aaron, you’ve been so tired and I must have–” She breaks off and her face is so distraught that I become serious.
“I don’t mind at all. I’m glad I was able to help you. I don’t care about losing an hour of sleep, love. That’s the least of my worries.”
“But you work so hard,” She trails off lamely, as if she can’t believe I’m okay with this. I laugh, very softly and very quietly. I bring her knuckles to my lips and place a soft kiss on them.
“I love you for worrying about me, Juliette. But I assure you I hold none of this against you. It wasn’t your fault and I’d gladly never sleep again in my life if it meant you were okay.”
She frowns at that. “Aaron, you can’t neglect yourself for me. I love that you care so much about me but you are just as deserving of love and rest as I am and I won’t have you working yourself into the ground. I couldn’t stand knowing I was the reason for your suffering.”
“You’ve never been the cause of my suffering.” I say it so matter-of-factly that her frown breaks into a look of affection that I would die to earn again.
“I love you.” I tell her, and the affection in her gaze only grows.
“I love you.” She repeats. She leans forward, capturing my lips with hers. The kiss is sweet and full of promises of a future of safety and happiness and contentment. It’s full of everything we’ve never had but have always fought for. It’s us.
When we break away, I lean forward to press my forehead against hers. “Do you think you’ll be able to get back to sleep?” My voice is soft, gentle.
Her eyes immediately grow panicked at the thought of being pulled back into her nightmare.
“I’ll be right here the whole time. Nothing will happen to you. Please, love, try to sleep again.” It’s still only 3:00 in the morning and she’s been so tired recently. I would hate to see her walking around exhausted for the whole day because of this.
Juliette nods cautiously. “I’ll try. But if I start to panic, I’ll stop trying and attempt it again after an hour.”
I smile. “Of course, sweetheart.”
She smiles back at me and leans forward to press a kiss to my forehead. I think my love for her might burn through and melt my body from the inside out. She laughs lightly at my expression as she pulls back.
She yawns as she curls back into my side, my arms instinctively surrounding her. Even so, I feel her fighting against her body’s need for rest. I lightly scratch her back through her shirt to try to coax her to relax.
“Would it help if I read to you?” I ask.
“That sounds perfect.” She says and gently kisses my chest.
“Any preference?”
I feel her shake her head against me. I reach over her head and grab the copy of A Midsummer Night’s Dream from the bedside table. As I read, I draw consistent patterns against Juliette’s skin. My voice grows quieter with time as she is lulled closer to unconsciousness.
I am so beyond proud of her. She’s so strong and her resilience is rivaled by none. I hold her to me and watch her face for any signs of distress. The peace I see instead has me brushing a kiss against her forehead and eventually allowing my eyes to close, as well.