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The nights were always the same for Mihaly, looking at the ceiling while laying on their bed, they couldn't remember the last time they slept an entire night. The panda plushie their mother gave to them was a bit of a relief, they could sleep a bit more while hugging it, but at this moment, Sara had that plushie, she didn't knew about how much it helped Mihaly, and they weren't planning to tell her either, since she looked so happy when they finally agreed to let her borrow it for a few days.
But that night was different, Mihaly wasn't going to sleep on their mother's castle, neither their father's hotel, since Sara and Wanderlust insisted so much, Brezziana, Jack and them finally agreed on making a sleepover on Swan Tower, Jack's home.
The portal opened, and Jack immediately saw the familiar faces coming out of it before it closed behind them.
"It's been a while since we've been here, huh?" Brezziana said while looking around, the tower looked very different from the last time they came, instead of the scary swan decorations in dark purple and black, the place was more adapted to Jack's liking, with red and golden rose decorations.
"Ooh! I like what you did with the place!" Sara said, admiring the work. Jack just gave her a small "Thanks" and Mihaly immediately noticed it.
"Are you okay? You seem... Nervous."
"Uh- Yeah! Yeah, I'm fine, it's just that this is my first sleepover ever." Jack made an excuse quickly, an ability he learned from when his mother was still on the power.
"Don't be so nervous, is also Mihaly's! Everything's going to be fine, you two." Wanderlust said while giving the two of them a thumbs up, Jack gave the group a small smile, but Mihaly still noticed his small nervousness.
"Yeah... Yeah, you're right."
The night went on normally, the group played games, watched movies, Wanderlust and Jack fought (like always), Brezziana talked about her girlfriend (a lot), Mihaly taught Sara a few songs, they eated until they could not stand anymore, and they went to sleep on a fort made of sheets.
Jack didn't knew what time it was when he woke up suddenly. 'Another nightmare...' He thought to himself, he looked around and everything was normal, everyone was sleeping... Except for one person.
'...Where's Mihaly?' Jack looked around a few more times to see if they were just hiding in the dark, but there was no sign of the shaman, until Jack noticed the door of the room opened and the light coming from the halls. 'There you are, what are you planning now?' Jack thought while standing up, slowly to not wake up anyone else.
Jack walked through the halls a few minutes and went upstairs, until he finally saw them. Sitting on the edge of the roof, with their earbuds on, there they were, looking at the stars with a face full of peace. Jack couldn't help but admire how beautifully the moonlight hitted on their face, and he didn't knew how much time he were just standing there before Mihaly turned to look at him, with a hint of a playfull smirk and taking off one of the earbuds.
"Staring at the people where they're distracted is creepy."
Jack chuckled a bit and went to sit next to them. "Dissapearing in the middle of the night is creepy too."
Mihaly laughed softly, and Jack could swear that it was the most beautiful sound he heard on all his life. "Okay, you got me there, Rose. Why are you awake by the way?"
"I could ask you the same question."
"It's nothing, just..." They trailed off. "I wanted to see the sky, the midnight is the most beautiful moment of a day in my opinion..."
"I see..."
They sat there, in silence, just enjoying the nightsky and each other's company. Jack could notice from the corner of his eye how Mihaly looked mostly at him and not at the stars, which made him wonder if they wanted to be alone, but also confused him a bit, because he could see on their smile and the way they looked at him that they were sincerely happy with the fact that he was with them.
Jack turned completely to them, and Mihaly felt like the time had just stopped. They never understood the phrase "I got lost in those eyes" until that exact moment, his gaze was like a drug, and they just got addicted.
But still, they didn't wanted to look like a creep, so they shook their head slightly to snap out of it and looked back at the sky, acting like nothing happened. "So? You didn't told me why are you awake, that's unfair, y'know?"
Jack kept silent, should he told them the truth? He didn't wanted them to worry, but on the other side, he would hate lying to them, he lied to his mother and a lot of other people all his life, but with Mihaly it just felt... Wrong.
"I... Have nightmares... Constantly, actually... I can't remember the last time I slept an entire night."
Mihaly's eyes immediately filled with concern, and Jack regret saying that outloud. "You can't sleep?"
"No, that's why I was so nervous when you arrived, I didn't wanted to wake any of you up in the middle of the night for such a fool thing."
"Fool thing?! Jack... Your rest time is not a fool thing, it can have very bad effects on the future. And the fact of knowing that you can't sleep is... Horrible, don't try to make it sound foolish, because we both know it's not."
That sentence took Jack off guard, making him turn back to the shaman with a confused expression. "What do you mean by 'we both know it's not'?"
They took a deep breath before continuining. "...I have insomnia, Wander was the only one who knew it, maybe it's not as bad as post-traumatic nightmares but... Yeah, I can't sleep either. I'm not awake because of the sky, I'm awake because I know I won't be able to sleep more than 1 hour."
Jack stayed silent a few seconds, not knowing what to say. "Insomnia..."
"Yup, I was able to sleep a few more hours while hugging a panda plushie that my mother gave me because it made me feel safe, but right now, Sara has that plushie."
That made the performer blink a few times. "That plushie is not hers?"
"Nope, it's mine."
"And why don't you ask her to give it back to you?"
The shaman shrugged. "I don't know, I just like how happy she looks with it."
"...Are you putting her happiness over your health? Mi, are you crazy? If that plushie helps you sleep better then you should have it! You said it yourself, not sleeping can bad very bad effects on the future."
Mihaly sighed before turning back to Jack. "Fine... I guess I'll ask her to give it back to me tomorrow."
"Can't you ask her now?"
"She didn't brought it, she didn't wanted to lose it here, but don't worry, I'll ask her to give it back to me."
The two of them looked at each other's eyes for a few more seconds. "Do you promise?"
"...Yeah, I promise. Now let's go, we have to come back before the others realize we're not sleeping." Honestly, Mihaly just wanted to change the topic, since talking about their feelings was very hard to them.
The shaman stood up and offered a helpful hand to Jack, which he accepted with a small smile, before starting walking inside again.
The night was just as normal as always for Mihaly, just looking at the ceiling while laying on their side on the fort of sheets, and on their right side there were Jack and their sleeping friends. Mihaly easily noticed Jack's gaze fixed on them, but they didn't say anything... Until they felt his arm surrounding them and pulling them closer.
"What are you doing...?" They whispered while feeling their cheeks getting warmer.
"You said that you hugged that plushie because it made you feel safe, right? Maybe, all you need to finally sleep it's... Warmth and safety." The performer said while pulling them a bit closer to him. "Though I can pull back if you want me to."
Mihaly stayed silent a few seconds, they didn't wanted to admit it, but they actually felt safe on his arms. "...Don't pull back, please."
Jack felt their small arms surrounding him as well and he smiled softly before pulling them closer and closing his eyes.
"Good night, Mi."
"Good night, Rose."
For the first time in months, Mihaly slept an entire night, and Jack was not awakened by his nightmares, for them, that was the calmest and prettiest night to ever exist.