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There was one thing Woz had never accounted for when he had decided to move in to Sougo's house. That was having a nightmare. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence for him. It was rare he could go an entire night without some horrible thing coming to his dreams.
But now there were people around. And he was sharing a room with one. One who didn't necessarily like him anymore. That was just a recipe for disaster. And unfortunately, Woz found that out the hard way.
He didn't know when he had first woken up, but it had been a few hours at least. He had been having a nightmare taking him back to a particularly rough day he had had in the past (or future if he went by the time he was in now). It had triggered a full-blown panic attack when he actually woke up from it, and to make matters worse he started getting flashbacks of the event as well.
Woz tried to control his breathing. He tried every method he knew to calm down. But it was hard. His mind was still recalling that day and the pain that had come with it. He couldn't get it to shut up and stop reminding him of the torture he had suffered.
"Will you shut the hell up!" Geiz's voice broke into the silence of the room. "Stop being a fucking crybaby! Can't handle a bad dream?"
The yelling only made it worse. Woz instinctively curled up, making himself as small as possible. The tremors increased across his body. His breathing was getting worse and more frantic. He was prepared for more yelling.
"Woz?" This time, Geiz's voice was quiet and quite concerned.
Woz didn't have the ability to reply. He desperately wanted to explain. Explain that he wasn't trying to be annoying. That he didn't want this to be happening. To give any reason to not be yelled at for what was happening again.
"What's up with you? Why are you so... panicked?" Geiz was now beside him.
He placed a hand on Woz's shoulder. Woz flinched at the touch and tried to make himself even smaller on the bed. Geiz quickly retracted his hand.
"Do you... want me to get Zi-O?" Geiz questioned. He sounded lost on what else to do.
Woz managed to shake his head. The last thing he needed was his demon king seeing him so unrefined like this. He had to keep up his image. He didn't need Sougo to know this was the reality of who he was.
Geiz let out a sigh and sat down beside the bed. "Is there anything I can do? It feels wrong to just leave you in this state."
"I'm sorry..." Woz found his voice a little.
"If anything I should be the one saying I'm sorry. I... made things worse by yelling at you..."
Woz hadn't expected an apology. Then again, Geiz was clearly thrown off by the major change. This wasn't like him, after all. Woz always seemed more put together even when he most certainly wasn't.
"I had a nightmare... and it triggered flashbacks..." Woz explained. He was calming. It finally was over. Geiz talking to him seemed to have helped ground him again.
"Oh..." Geiz responded.
"I'm sorry for... waking you, Geiz-kun..."
"God, Woz, stop apologizing. You're trying to play this off as something little when it's a lot more serious." Geiz scolded, much to Woz's surprise. "Having a nightmare is one thing, but having full-blown flashbacks is another."
Woz wanted to explain why he kept apologizing, but he couldn't get the words out. Couldn't tell him that he was beat if he dared show emotion like this. Couldn't let him know how truly broken he had become.
"Woz?"
"Y-yes?"
"Do you want to talk about it?"
That was not what he had been expecting to be asked. Woz didn't know what to say. Part of him wanted to tell Geiz everything, but part of him was afraid. They weren't on the best terms anymore. Was this too much to ask of him to bear?
"It isn't pretty... are you sure you'd want to hear it?" Woz asked in reply. Part of him hoped that would deter Geiz from digging more and this dilemma inside could be over.
"I'm prepared for anything."
"I... I know you hate me for what happened back then... but, I didn't intend for any of that. I... I was way in over my head. He hurt me... he hurt me a lot." Woz felt tears beginning to form in his eyes as he recalled those events. "He would've hurt me more if I didn't tell him our plans... I'm sorry... I was a coward..."
"What does hurting you entail?" Geiz questioned, "It'll explain a lot more if you go into detail. If... you're able to."
"Torture..."
"Woz...?" Geiz took in a sharp breath at the word.
"That's how he... made sure no one close betrayed him. He broke them. Made them too afraid to resist." Woz mumbled. "Fear keeps people in check... that's what he kept saying."
"I knew Oma Zi-O did some messed up things but... even to his trusted advisors and all?"
"Everyone."
Geiz sighed. "I'm sorry I accused you of betraying us. I should've realized there was more to it."
"It's not your fault... I should've come clean when we met again."
They fell into silence for a while. Woz had shifted and buried most of his face into a pillow. His eyes were closed and he was trying to keep himself from losing it any more. Geiz was still sitting on the floor next to his bed.
"Has... this Zi-O ever hurt you?" Geiz asked quietly.
Woz opened his eyes and stared at Geiz for a while. He seemed startled by the suggestion that Sougo would have laid harm to him.
"No... he is kind. Even when I have made him frustrated, he never lost it on me. He always tried to find a better way to go about things." Woz replied, "I... do not see how he will turn into the demon king from our time."
"Well, we are his first friends it seems. That might've changed everything for all we know."
"It could be..."
"Are you going to be okay?"
"I'm fine... thank you for helping me, Geiz-kun."
Geiz looked away. "I-it's nothing... I couldn't just not do something..."
"Can I ask for a favor?"
"I... guess so."
"Will you join me on the bed?"
Geiz whipped his head back to stare at Woz. His eyes were wide.
"W-what?!" Geiz sputtered out.
"It would make me feel better."
"Now you're using this to your advantage!"
"You could just say no. No need to throw a fit over my request." Woz hummed.
Geiz huffed. "When did I say I wasn't going to do it?"
"Eh?"
"Move over, dumbass."
Woz moved back. Geiz climbed into the bed beside him. They stared at each other for a long awkward moment. Neither seemed to know what to say or do next.
"Can... can I..." Woz was hesitant to ask. Maybe that would be pushing it a bit too much.
"Can you what?"
"Nevermind..." Woz mumbled. "Goodnight, Geiz-kun..."
Geiz sighed. The next thing Woz knew, there were two arms wrapping around him and pulling him into a hug.
"This is what you wanted, right?" Geiz questioned.
"How did you... know?"
"We were dating for how long and you think I never learned how to read you?"
"Right..."
Woz wrapped and arm around Geiz and moved in closer. It was a bit awkward but it was also nice. The remaining emotions from earlier were starting to fade away now. He was safe here. He wasn't going to get hurt. No one was going to take him back.
"So... what exactly are we now?" Geiz asked quietly.
Their relationship status had certainly become quite complicated. What were they anymore? Or really, what did they want to be now?
"Do you... want to pick up where we had left off?" Woz asked hesitantly.
They had sorted out their differences. They could start over now, right? They had made amends for what had happened in the past between them. There were no ill feelings between them now.
"I... would like to try... I think." Geiz replied, "But, no one can know."
"That's fine with me. It might be a bit much to suddenly throw this onto them when we were at each other's throats not that long ago."
"Then... it's a deal."