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There wasn’t much you could remember from the nightmare. An overwhelming sense of loneliness combined with the darkness pulled you from your slumber before much more could be imprinted onto your mind.
Sitting straight in bed, you cast your eyes around the dimly lit room. The fire was beginning to burn low; the multitude of candles dotted around the room flicker gently, only adding to the warm glow of the room.
As you remain in your bed, your breath starts to come faster and the walls start to feel as if they are closing in on you. Your pulse pounds in your ears; the urge to run growing. Pushing back the covers, you give yourself enough time to grab your robe before leaving your bedroom and the nightmare behind.
It wasn’t often you saw the palace at night. There was the occasional party where everyone was required to stay up far too late, drink far too much wine and indulge in far too much fun. Through those times, the palace comes to life – bright lights, laughter and music shine from every room creating an almost heady atmosphere as you would walk from room to room looking for Nikolai in and amongst the revellers.
Tonight, however, there was no party and the many rooms of the palace were silent and pitch black. You do not know how long you wander; the corridors bleeding into one as you turn left then right and then left again before ascending some stairs and finding yourself on a different level of the palace entirely.
Without you realising, you had landed on Nikolai’s corridor. At the sight of his closed door, you realise that there was no-one else in the entire palace who you would rather talk to, or see, than Nikolai. He could provide you with all the answers without talking; he could provide you with all the comfort with only a single smile.
It is cold on your short trip to Nikolai’s room. You worry your bottom lip with your teeth, silently hoping that the prince would be awake and willing to provide some much needed comfort. Tugging your robe tighter around yourself, you remain focused on your mission.
Taking a much needed deep breath, you knock on Nikolai’s door.
Counting the seconds in your head, it takes Nikolai five seconds to answer his door. He doesn’t hide his surprise at finding you at his door in the middle of the night. “(Y/N), love? What are you doing here at this time?”
Skin stretched taut across his stomach, you cannot help but ogle the skin left visible by his forest green robe. A satisfied smile crosses Nikolai’s lips as he watches your gaze crawl across his body. “Surely you haven’t knocked on my door, in the middle of the night I might add, to stare at me?”
You gasp, forcing your eyes back to his face. You feel your skin begin to heat from being caught. Caught out, the ability to speak leaves you. Unable to form words, you simply shake your head.
Now, Nikolai frowns. “Is everything okay?”
Again, you shake your head. Nikolai reaches for your hand and pulls you into his room.
This wasn’t the first time you had been in his room. Your friendship having spanned years at this point; you had been in the prince’s room plenty, but always in the day time. You had never ventured past the doors at night. It was no different to the day apart from the rumpled bed covers, but there felt to be a tension hanging over the room. One that had been there since Nikolai had pulled you through the double doors of his bedroom.
Nikolai leads you to the couch closest to the fireplace. “Your hands are like ice,” He complains, sitting down beside. “You need to warm them up.”
You turn your hands to the heat, feeling some of the stiffness leave your shoulders as the heat seeps through your fingertips and up your arms. Silence descends upon the room; the two of you watching the low flames of the fire, listening to the crackling of the dying logs.
At some point, Nikolai’s gaze turns to you. He doesn’t miss the dark circles under your eyes from an incomplete night of sleep; the frown that is set into your lips as whatever has upset you remains on your mind. A sharp burst of need rushes through Nikolai’s body; a need to protect you, a need to know about whatever has upset you and brought you to his door in the middle of the night. He wants to be the one to help you through the dark, to find the light in whatever this upset is.
“I’m here when you’re ready,” Nikolai reminds you gently, his hand squeezing your shoulder.
“I had a nightmare,” You explain, meeting the crystal blue gaze of the prince.
“Do you want to tell me about it?” He offers, wanting nothing more than to be a listening ear for you after all the times you had been there for him.
You shake your head. “That’s the thing,” You murmur, “I don’t remember the events of it. I just remember how alone I felt, and how that loneliness was crushing me to the point where I couldn’t breathe. I thought I would be fine when I woke up, but when I was sat in bed, it all came rushing back and I simply couldn’t stay in my room any longer.”
“So you came to me?” Nikolai states; his tone more of a question than a statement of fact. His heart rate quickens at the thought of you coming to him in your moment of need.
“My plan was to wander the palace for a little bit, to wear myself out with all the adrenaline in my body, but I found myself walking to your room, wanting to talk to you.”
Flattery and affection washes over Nikolai as he watches you play with your fingers – a nervous habit, one you had had since you were children, playing together in the palace and getting in trouble with the cook for stealing one too many iced buns. He watches the movement fondly. “I’m glad you came to me, love.”
The term of endearment startles you but you don’t let it show on your face. Instead, you revel in the joy of how right it feels to be called his love. “I don’t think I can face going back to my room just yet,” You confess, staring at Nikolai’s bedroom doors, wondering how long it would before the first of the servants were to wake.
“What will you do?”
You shrug. “Walk around the palace until it’s light enough for me to face my room.”
Nikolai frowns, not liking that idea in the slightest. “Do you want to stay with me?” Nikolai asks after a moment. The words are sincere though he blushes when the question hangs in the air, waiting to be answered.
Your eyes widen as you meet his stare. “With you? In your room?”
“Where else?”
“Are you sure?”
“I wouldn’t offer if I wasn’t certain, love,” Nikolai murmurs; the term of endearment slipping out naturally now.
You think over his offer. If your nightmare was to return, you wouldn’t be alone in the aftermath, plus a nice warm bed feels like a better deal than a cold palace and a dark room.
“Alright,” You accept. “I’ll stay with you.”
Nikolai smiles; standing from the couch and offering you his hand. He removes his robe; leaving him bare save for the pair of pyjama pants. He slides into the bed effortlessly, shifting onto his side as he waits for you to join him. After a moment’s hesitation, you take off your robe, letting it drop to the floor before sliding into his bed beside him.
“That wasn’t so scary, was it?” Nikolai teases.
A short laugh leaves you. “No, you aren’t scary in the slightest.”
“Good,” Nikolai sighs before turning sincere. “I wouldn’t want you to ever be scared of me. Do you still feel lonely?”
The question hangs in the air as you debate your answer. On the one hand, you could reply with a simple ‘no’ and be done with it. On the other hand, you could go one step further for you could never be lonely, or feel alone, when you were with Nikolai. He brought out a side to you that you not only admired, but you liked. He could make you smile on your darkest days, and he could make you feel as if you were worth all the gold in all the world. At some point along this lengthy friendship, it started to turn into something more for you and it was that quiet love for the prince that had you answering.
“I could never feel lonely with you,” You say quietly, choosing honesty to be your best policy. “I think that’s why I came to you tonight. On some level, I knew that as long as I have you, I could never be alone or lonely.”
Nikolai throws caution to the wind. He moves towards you, reaching for you. You go into his embrace willingly; his arms anchoring you in place as you tuck yourself into his side.
“This is new,” You comment lightly, inhaling the spicy scent of his cologne and committing to memory how his skin feels pressed against yours.
“Does it bother you?” Nikolai asks quietly; a touch of vulnerability in his voice as he prepares to move away, leaving you to your own space.
You shake your head. “No, it doesn’t bother me at all.” You take a deep breath before continuing, “In fact, I could get used to it.”
Admission out in the open, you hold your breath, waiting for Nikolai’s response.
His arms hold you tighter. “I could get used to this too. Having you in my bed, holding you in my arms… I might have to thank your nightmare for bringing you to me.”
Turning your face towards him, you press a kiss to the corner of Nikolai’s mouth, not missing the hitch in his throat when your lips touch his skin. “I’ll thank it for you,” You whisper, “So long as I get to stay in your bed.”
“Always,” Nikolai murmurs, closing his eyes, silently thanking the nightmare that brought you through the dark to him.