Work Text:
Ivy took in her reflection as water slowly dripped off her flesh, she looked exhausted, to say the least. She was currently leaning over the bathroom sink, the bland fluorescent lamp above her being the only light source as the sun had set quite a while ago. Typically Ivy would’ve been in bed right now, however, her mind refused to give her that peace. She had barely been sleeping for the past week due to the onslaught of bad dreams that had become quite common in the last few days. She wasn’t sure what triggered them, all she knew was that they were keeping her from soundly sleeping throughout the night. What was even worse is that she was alone now.
Not entirely, of course, she had Player and Zack but Carmen was off on a mission at the moment. The ex-thief had been requested to do some recon on a potential VILE stronghold in the north. Ivy had of course been supportive, and they promised to keep in touch while she was gone. However, not even a day after she left, the night terrors latched onto Ivy’s mind. The redhead sighed at that, she had been convinced that she could handle it but as more and more nights passed it was getting harder for her to believe that.
Ivy gingerly rubbed her face off with a soft towel, she had hoped splashing cold water onto her face would have woken her up a little bit. Unfortunately, it had not. In fact, she was starting to feel even more drowsy. She sighed softly as she tossed the towel aside and glared at herself for a moment, she had to get through this. She ran a hand through her hair as she tried to conjure up some sort of idea as to what to do.
She needed a distraction, something to keep her from falling asleep, something to take her mind off all the anguish she had been experiencing for the past five days. An idea seemed to invade her mind as she stumbled out of the bathroom, gaze snapping to her work desk as she leaned against the door frame. She had plenty of projects that could cast her worries away, even only for a moment.
The redhead slumped in her chair at the worn wooden desk and flicked on the overhead light, before getting to work. It might’ve taken her a bit to shake off her wooziness, but as soon as she did the world around her melted away. She hadn’t even seemed to notice hours ticking by as she worked, nor did the sound of the door unlocking register in her brain as she tinkered away.
The moon was high when Carmen finally arrived. Her mission had been long, and her flight felt like it had been even longer. By this point, the exhausted and jetlagged thief just wanted to collapse beside her partner and pass out. She pulled herself through the door, yawning softly before noticing a faint glow of light near a certain redhead's work area. Carmen bit her lip softly as she walked towards the light, desperately hoping that it had just been left on by accident. But upon entering the room her theory was confirmed as she watched Ivy silently working, oblivious to Carmen’s presence behind her.
“Ivy,” Carmen shouted, startling the freckled woman who lost grip on red drone briefly before stabilizing it in her hands. Ivy nervously glanced at Carmen over her shoulder, giving her a sheepish smile.
“Oh hey, C-Carm. I wasn’t expectin’ you ta be back so early,” Ivy stuttered, clearly noticing how upset the auburn-haired woman was.
“Ivy, it’s 3 AM. Why are you still up,” Carmen asked while gesturing to the wall clock as she stormed up to the redhead. Upon hearing that Ivy turned to the clock, reality hitting her as she read the numbers on the display.
“It’s that late already,” the smaller woman muttered to herself, clearly stunned by the time. Carmen sighed as her shoulders slumped, her fatigue wavering her anger as she spoke.
“Look, it's late, I’m tired, and,” the auburn-haired woman paused upon finally taking in her partner's appearance. To say the redhead looked exhausted would be an understatement. Ivy was haggard and drained. Her usually bright eyes were dull, her hair was messy and tangled, and her eyes were barely keeping themselves open. As the auburn-haired woman soaked in Ivy’s appearance, concern and confusion infected her mind.
The taller of the two knelt down next to Ivy, worry swirling in her tender grey eyes as she gently took the redhead's hand. Ivy was tense for a moment before softly rubbing Carmen’s hand with her thumb, instinctually relaxing as she stared down at their clasped hands.
“Ivy,” Carmen started in a gentle tone. “What’s wrong? Why are you up so late? You look as though you haven’t slept in eight days.”
“It’s only been five,” Ivy chuckled a bit, clearly trying to keep the conversation light-hearted.
“That’s not much better,” Carmen muttered. “Why haven’t you been sleeping?” Ivy was quiet for a moment, clearly lost in thought as she glanced up at the ceiling.
“...I’ve been, uh, havin’ a lot of not-so-good dreams lately,” the redhead finally admitted. “The first one was just hard ta get through. But after that, they kept getting more and more horrifyin’ with every passin’ day….I thought I could handle ‘em….but after last night I…”
“If you’d like, we can talk about them. Maybe getting them out of your system will help. After all, I'm here to listen,” Carmen suggested. Ivy glanced at her for a moment, before sighing and nodding.
“Yeah, it won’t hurt ta try at least,” the redhead shrugged, before slumping more into her chair. “Well, the first one was set after you vanished. I remember trackin’ ya down. But when I finally got to ya and tried ta talk to ya, you were just confused. It took me a moment but I remember realizin’ you had no memories of me or Zack. After that, you left and I woke up…”
Carmen stared at Ivy, her heart sinking upon hearing her partner recount the dream. She could hear the cracks in Ivy’s voice as she spoke. It was clear that this dream did a number on her.
What’s worse is Carmen knew that the mechanic hadn’t talked about this with anyone. Ivy was the type of person to bottle up her troubles, probably a holdover from when she and Zack lost their parents. Ivy had taken the responsibility to raise her little brother on her shoulders, and that meant that she had to keep her emotions guarded. Carmen had admired that part of Ivy before, but as time went on she watched as the redhead had begun to allow herself to feel. She allowed herself to be emotional, and honestly, the auburn-haired woman was grateful for that.
However, this was only when Carmen was around. Without encouragement from the thief, Ivy would revert back to guarding her emotions. After all, she was the big sister. Carmen shook her head gently and sighed.
“I’m sorry you had to go through that dream Ivy….,” she finally said while glancing at the freckled woman. “But after that, you said the dreams just got worse? How so, no offense but that seems pretty bad already.”
“Yeah, it was,” Ivy nodded softly. “But the next dream topped it. It was nighttime. I was sleepin’ when I heard a noise downstairs. Turns out Coach Brunt had busted down the front door. I wasn’t even able ta get out of bed before she tore through the house….all I remember hearing was Zack screaming then I woke up. ”
“What,” Carmen gasped upon hearing that. “Ivy, that’s terrible. Why didn’t you call me? Or, I don’t know, talk to Shadowsan or anyone?”
“I don’t know Carm,” Ivy sighed while rubbing the back of her neck nervously. “I thought they’d go away. But they didn’t….” Carmen stared at Ivy for a moment, before sighing and pulling the redhead into a tight embrace.
“If this happens again, please don’t bottle this up. Talk to someone, anyone. Just…don’t do this again,” the auburn-haired thief stated, voice dripping with concern and care for the woman she held in her arms.“Okay?”
“...Okay,” Ivy repeated with a small tired smile as she hugged back.
“Good…now I know you’re worried but you should try to sleep. It’s late and I’m tired from my flight,” Carmen relented as she rested her head on Ivy’s shoulder, something she had missed so much over the past week.
“Mmm, I don’t know,” Ivy sighed, clearly exhausted from the previous week.
“You’re not going to be alone this time,” the auburn-haired woman said as she sat up to look the redhead in the eyes. She placed a gentle hand on Ivy’s cheek while giving her a gentle smile. “I’ll make sure of it.”
“Alright Carm,” Ivy relented. Carmen nodded softly and gently guided the redhead to their room, practically shoving Ivy into bed while she changed into her sleepwear.
Ivy silently waited for Carmen as she took in the serenity of the night outside the window, the stars shimmered beautifully over the sea beside the base. It was a nice sight, but it, unfortunately, didn’t distract the tired redhead from the anxiety that was creeping into her brain. But all that washed away once she felt warmth as Carmen nestled into her side. She glanced down at the auburn-haired woman who gave her a reassuring smile. Ivy gave her a weak smile before finally laying down and allowing sleep to sweep her consciousness away.
The night was calm at first, with peaceful dreams passing as Ivy slept. But she felt a chill as the world around her filled in. She was in an old familiar parking garage, one of ACME’s she assumed. The concrete walls around her were cracked and worn down, water dripping through some of them as the sound of rain filled her ears. She had just stepped off the elevator, its doors creaking closed as it moved to the next floor hailing it. She had just gotten off of work judging by how dark it was outside. The sprawling city she could see was warped in ways she couldn’t even really process, and yet it seemed so normal to her. The garage was eerily quiet, the only sound to be heard was the occasional soft splash of rainwater hitting a puddle and the tapping of her footsteps hitting the asphalt. Something was off, Ivy could feel it in the pit of her stomach. She felt as though eyes were watching her from the darkness of the shadows, which consumed the corners of the open area. Her calm gate quickly shifted to a nervous jog as she sped towards her car, footsteps echoing throughout the chilly concrete expanse.
As she continued to jog her eyes locked onto her car, relief washing through her as she sprinted towards her vehicle. Carmen and Zack soon came into view. The two chatted softly to each other as they stood beside the car, waiting for Ivy. The redhead felt at ease as the two looked up at her, both giving her a warm smile as she trotted towards them. She smiled back, finally ready to leave all this anxiety behind her.
Thunder echoed through the garage as Ivy felt a sharp pain in her chest. But that wasn’t thunder, Ivy wasn't sure how but she knew it wasn't.
Ivy pressed a hand to her chest, it was wet. Why was it wet?
She looked down at her palm to see a deep red liquid staining her skin. Her eyes met Zack and Carmen’s, terror in their eyes as they stared at her. The redhead felt her heart drop as she stared into the pained eyes of her family, before her legs, now numb and cold, finally gave out from underneath her. She felt her back collide with the pavement, the warmth of her blood being the only sensation she could feel as the world around her was quickly being consumed by darkness. Ivy’s vision blurred, tears forming in her eyes as she barely felt Carmen gripping her hand. She could see Zack desperately trying to put pressure on her wound as her blood stained her shirt. They were trying to say something to her, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn’t make it out. She was dying beside her two closest friends in silence.
Carmen’s eyes snapped open as heard soft pained murmurs. Her eyes flicked to Ivy, concern gripping her as she took in her partner's condition. Night light reflected off of the tears streaming down Ivy’s face as she shook her head back and forth, mumbling more as she clutched the bedsheets. Carmen gently nudged Ivy, calling her name as she desperately tried dragging the redhead out of her nightmare.
Green eyes shot open as she nervously took in her surroundings, breathing heavily as she tried to calm down.
She was in bed. She was home. She….
Ivy gripped her chest gently, relieved upon finding a dry sleeping shirt. She sighed loudly as she relaxed, finally looking at Carmen who had been holding her hand the whole time. They stared at each other for a moment before the redhead pulled Carmen close, burying her face into the taller woman's shoulder as she softly cried. Carmen hummed a soft tune as she held Ivy, trying her best to convey that she’d be there for her no matter what. Ivy pulled Carmen closer, her tears slowly ceasing as she listened to Carmen’s gentle voice. The room fading around them as they basked in each other's warmth.
Ivy groaned softly as sunlight crept onto her face, disturbing her peaceful slumber. She huffed quietly before covering her eyes with her free arm, once again relaxing in the darkness.
Wait a minute.
Ivy tossed her arm to the side as she finally opened her eyes, silently taking in the warmth of the morning sun. She sat up slightly, careful not to wake the sleeping woman pressed against her chest. The sun shined outside their window, its light flickering across the sea as it moved.
It was morning….She had slept…She had slept!
She blinked, bewildered at actually feeling rested. She glanced down at her partner, who was still passed out from last night, and smiled softly. Ivy leaned down and planted a kiss on Carmen’s forehead, before feeling her lover stir. The redhead chuckled softly as Carmen kissed her gently, hugging Ivy close as she pressed their foreheads together.
“Feeling better I hope,” Carmen cooed as she stared into Ivy’s eyes.
“Much better,” the chubbier woman confessed with a warm smile.
“Good,” Carmen purred, before pushing Ivy back down onto the bed. The auburn-haired woman quickly snuggled into Ivy’s arms. “Because I think we deserve some downtime.”
“Sounds good ta me, boss,” Ivy sighed happily. Finally feeling relaxed thanks to the woman she held close in her arms.