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Itaru woke up with a gasp. Bolting upright, his lungs heaved for air as his foggy brain let the details of his nightmare slip away.
Unconsciously, his hand tightened their grip on the mattress’s sheets, before something warm covered them.
“...Itaru?” His voice was slightly raspy with sleep, but Itaru immediately felt relieved upon hearing it. Chikage had taken Itaru’s hand in his, rubbing small circles on the back of his boyfriend’s palm.
It was a silent reassurance, almost as if to say “I’m right here, you’re not alone” .
“I—” Anything else that managed to get past the lump in Itaru’s throat was a strangled noise.
“Hey, breathe.” Chikage sat up and fully turned to him. He didn’t move his hands away from his however, and Itaru felt grateful for that. It was grounding.
After taking a few shaky breaths, Itaru wordlessly slumped forward and rested his head against Chikage’s shoulder. It was probably the middle of the night, and he wasn’t feeling rested at all. On top of that, he felt sorry for waking Chikage up. The guy barely gets enough sleep as it is, no matter his “I don’t need much sleep” demeanor.
After a few seconds, Chikage gently rested his head over Itaru’s. The action was slow and careful, so as not to startle his partner.
Itaru felt something unclench in his chest and sighed. “Sorry. I’m okay.”
“If you say so.”
And if Chikage stayed closer to Itaru than usual for what was left of their night, neither of them mentioned it in the morning.