Work Text:
Somewhere in 1980 during Shark Sandwich tour.
David didn't like to share room with Nigel but when there was no option left, he just had to roll with it. After all it was only for one night, they were leaving in the morning, this was just an emergency stop.
It was nothing personal, nothing against him, he was his friend after all but it was just that, he was so annoying as a roommate. First, he would talk until your ears couldn't take anymore and before you could even shout him to shut up, he would be asleep, in a really deep sleep. So deep that you would think he was dead. No making breathing sounds of any kind, planting a seed of worry and having to get up every five minutes to check if he was still alive or something, making impossible to have a good night sleep.
David just thought that maybe the source of his deep sleep came from his brain being tired of all the stupid things he said and did during the day, you know. The poor muscle has to recharge itself for the waterfall of stupidity it will have to bare the next day. Without mentioning the composing in the day and the playing in the evening. Geez, he now understands why Nigel seemed to die every night.
And this was one of these nights where David couldn't close his eyes because of Nigel's deep sleep. Is not that David thought he could die, but it was best to be sure, so after quickly checking if he was still breathing, he laid on his back on the bed, watching the ceiling with one of his arms behind his head and figure out that maybe was best to do the sleeping meditation that Jeanine, his new girl, has taught him.
He closed his eyes, slowly starting to inhale and exhale, just like Jeanine told him to. Then, as he was feeling more relaxed, he sort of began to visualise this big, warm and cozy bed all for himself in the Astral Plane. Seeing himself putting his head on what it seemed to be a cloud instead of a pillow all comfortable and great. Jeanine always tells him that he had to separate his body from his spirit and, if he wanted to have a nice sleep, the spirit had to sleep better than his body. So, he figured that he could visualise a bed for his spirit to sleep on.
David didn't know if it was working or he just got bored of visualising but either way, it did work because he started to get sleepy and with a smile on his face, he turned sideways ready to sleep when, suddenly, a very distant and soflty moan reached his ears. He didn't open his eyes, but he tuned his ears to check if it was actually a real sound or just some... what was it? Oh yeah, a psychophony. David believed that was the correct word. Jeanine told him that could happen if you spend to much in the Astral Plane but after some seconds, it will go away.
The problem was that it wasn't going away. David kept hearing these... whimpers that were not getting any softer. He thought it was probably a couple next door giving some love to each other, so he, once more, tried to ignore it searching for that sleepy feeling again.
... Mh... N-n...
Well, that moan sounded closer and louder than David thought. He started to get a little anxious about these sounds, the situation was getting a bit scary. They were still somewhat distant but as the same time, that last one at least, sounded as if it was right here. But that last moan sounded more like a voice than just breaths and thanks to that, he recognised it and it was a voice he knew very well.
A relief washed him over knowing it was just him.
"Nigel if you are pretending to be a ghost just to scare me I'm telling you is not working." David raised his voice a little for Nigel to hear and, to be honest, he was somehow scolding him for not letting him sleep. Cheeky bastard, David Thought. Is not enough for him to not letting me sleep that he wants to prank me.
...Mgh...Can't...
"Cut it out, Nige..." David warned already annoyed. He could throw him his pillow but he really wanted to go back and try to sleep. Throwing the pillow to Nigel would mean having to get up to get it back and David was starting to get comfortable.
... go... please...
David, who had lost all patience with Nigel, would have angrily yell at him if it wasn't for that sob at the end of his last mumble. Only then he opened his eyes and in a flash he sat on the bed, looking over at Nigel with his eyes winded a bit, feeling how the curiosity and the worry were creeping in, slowly and at the same time. Not that he would admit it but, Nigel was scaring him.
"Nigel?" But there was no response. Instead, David was able to hear a couple of soft sobs accompanied by short gasps. "Alright Nigel you win, you scared me..." David said, hoping that Nigel would finally stop whatever he was doing. He was hoping, but something in his chest was telling him it was not going to work. Something felt wrong, it was like a hunch. There was still no response from Nigel and David just discovered why; he was fast asleep.
Everything went quiet for a while and when David thought that was the end of it, a loud snivel coming from Nigel made turn his whole attention to him completing forgetting about going back to sleep. The moan was quite loud and David would have thought that Nigel just hurt or hit himself with something if it was not for the fact that he was lying there, in a deep sleep, completely still.
In a quick instinct move that he didn't even had the time to think about, he grabbed his worry and his curiosity and got up from the bed and did the clouple of steps to the one in front of him, kneeling at the side, not knowing exactly what to do, he could feel himself trembling. His best friend was covered in sweat, with a expression of fear as he shifted uncomfortably from time to time, still hearing those little whimpers that, most of them, ended up in sobs. There was not tears in his eyes, but his cheeks were red and wet.
Damn... Something must be really bothering him in his dreams. David thought. Even though he tried to tell to himself that he just got up to wake Nigel up so he could shut him up and finally go back to sleep, deep down he knew he did it because hearing him sobbing has touched David deeply.
"Hey... Nige" David whispered putting his hand so carefully, as if Nigel was made of crystal, on top of his chest for then start to slowly shake him. He knew he had to be careful, he had read somewhere that you shouldn't wake someone from a nightmare but David couldn't go back to his bed and see Nigel suffering without doing anything.
Nigel's breathing became quicker as he gasped for air, turning his head away from David but he wasn't waking up which started to worry him even more, thinking that maybe he shouldn't have done it. "Come on Nigel, is just a dream" Out of the panic, David shook him again with a little more enthusiasm this time, hoping he didn't sound as scared as he was. What if he doesn't wake up and keep-..
"NO" He suddenly screamed making David jump for then going backwards with his hands.
Nigel sat on the bed, breathing heavily but trembling as he did making his body shake like a leaf. His eyes were everywhere, probably searching for the confirmation that he was awake and after looking at his hands for some seconds that seemed to last an eternity, he turned to David "Where's your pitchfork?"
"What?" David breathed.
"Your pitchfork! You had it two second ago!"
"Nigel, what are you talking about?" David asked not knowing of he was still worried or he was took aback by the absurdity of the situation. Then, Nigel just froze, looking at some corner of the room but his eyes seemed million miles away from here. He started to breathe normally but still, he looked a little bit in shock.
David approached him slowly "Hey, you're okay?" He tried to touch his arm but when he did, Nigel turned his head violently looking at David with such fear in his eyes, just like as if he didn't recognise him. He avoided the touch in such a desperate and violent manner that scared David, making him jump again. David never saw Nigel this scared and he wanted to stop seeing it for it was overwhelming his chest.
"Hey Nige, is just me... it's alright" David tried again quite successfully this time as Nigel looked like he was slowly coming back to his senses. He just left his hand over Nigel's, not feeling weird about it at all.
He just laid back on the bed and after a moment of silence where Nigel was looking at the ceiling, he turned his head to David. "Uh, hullo David, I thought you were the Devil" He said and David let out a big, noisy sigh of relief by hearing him talk in his normal self.
"The Devil?" David gently titled his head. That... that explains the pitchfork.
"Yes, the Devil..." He winded his eyes and he whispered the name making David smirk.
"He was... doing something to you?" David asked, letting his worry show as he remembered what Nigel was saying in his sleep a few moments ago.
"Well, he wanted me to eat drums" He said, casually, as if it was the most common thing in the world.
"He wanted you... to eat.. drums ..." David repeated slowly almost doubting he understood correctly. "You mean a drum kit?" That last question made him sound more in shock than he intended to.
"Yes, exactly" Nigel nodded enthusiastically. "He was standing in front of me with his devilish smile and he said 'You will eat drums, Nigel!'" As he said that, he changed his tone for a lower one to do the effect. "And I said to the Devil 'But drums are meant to be played, not eaten!' How I was going to swallow the bass drum? But he didn't care! "He spoke really fast and David was trying to follow him, trying to picture in his head what Nigel was telling him but he failed miserably, it was just so bizarre for his comprehension. "And then, he was using his pitchfork to poke me, David!" Nigel dramatically told him, sounding really offended by the feeling of himself being poked with a pitchfork and David couldn't think of anything else but laugh a little bit at that point, having to cover his mouth with his other hand as he saw a little smirk on Nigel's face, fighting his way to become a smile.
"Don't laugh!" Nigel protested for then, finally smile, giving David a wave of relief that he didn't know he needed so badly. "It was scary actually... because I didn't know how I was going to do it." Nigel's smile slowly dissappear into a blank expression again, as if he was remembering the dream in a flash. As he watched Nigel, David felt how he just gently squeezed his hand that had remained in Nigel's all this time. He was still looking for the reassurance that he was awake and safe.
As much as David laughed, thinking that his nightmare was rather bizarre, he had to remember that it has actually scared Nigel to the point it made him, for a moment, forget where he was and who he was with, shivering in fear and letting that desperate cry when David managed to woke him up. He, for a few seconds, behaved like a distrustful dog, not wanting to be touched. And no matter how funny the whole thing seemed to be, the scene of Nigel whimpering in his sleep with his cheeks all wet and his worrying gasps for air was something that David wishes he hadn't witnessed. He never been so scared in his life before, he knew that nothing bad would happen to Nigel just for having a nightmare, but still, the situation has struck him deeply.
David erased his own smile and placed his other hand on the knee of Nigel's covered leg, patting it a couple of times hoping that would be helpful in anyway. It was weird, but he seemed to develop the urge to take care or Nigel, probably it was the thrill of the situation but now that thinks about it, Nigel always has been the more sensitive of them two and David was always the one who protected that sensitivity. In the neighbourhood, in primary school, high school, work environment... David has always been Nigel's shield.
"You know what?" David broke the silence making Nigel turn to him with his big round eyes filled of curiosity. "I'm going to make sure that bastard doesn't come back" He got up from the floor and went back to his bed and with the strength of Tarzan as he was trying to keep balance, he grabbed the mattress, lifting it up making the pillow and half of the sheets fall.
"What are you doing?" Nigel asked in between giggles as he was seeing how David moved the thing towards him with but from Nigel's point of view it looked like a walking mattress. He seemed to be in a fight with it but thankfully their beds were separated by a couple of steps so the struggle didn't last long.
"I'm going to.." He interrupted himself with a grunt before letting the mattress fall aside Nigel's bed. "... sleep here in case the devil decides to come back and if he does, ooh, poor him! I will tell him to fuck off like never has been told before, you know what I'm like" After saying that, he let himself drop on the mattress that surprisingly was quite high, he wasn't even with Nigel just for a couple or inches. He stretched his his arm to grab the pillow that was at his feet for then covering himself up to his neck.
Look at us, adults, having a sleepover. David thought and before his intrusive thoughts started to give him reasons to regret all this, Nigel spoke making David turn his head to look at him, seeing he shifted position. Now he was with his tummy facing the mattress with his head twisted to look back at David.
"Would you mind... uh... you know..." He soflty said looking at David nonstop with those big puppy eyes that he knew very well.
"What?" For a moment David thought that maybe Nigel didn't want him to sleep here with him. Probably he wanted some space but before his thoughts could go any further, he saw Nigel dropping his arm on David's mattress, moving his hand close to him.
Oh
Nigel didn't say a word but he didn't need to either, David understood perfectly. He contemplated he hand before him, thinking when it was the last time they shared a very intimate and personal moment between them. Because they always had been quite intimate, they knew each other better than their own parents but lately they had been quite distant. None of them was to blame, the touring atmosphere can change a person inside out so they tried to get along as they could but at the end of the day, they knew it was them two against everything. Well and Derek too.
Oh yes, he remembered, how he couldn't forget. It was that night when they cried their eyes out together because they couldn't hold it back anymore. Their background, their pains, their fears...
This situation reminded David of that one.
"No, no I wouldn't..." He slide his hand without hesitating, reaching over Nigel's to grab it once more. David silently scoffed with a side smile, who would have thought? Nigel Tufnel, the most important lead guitarist of the moment was here, behaving like a scared child after waking up from a nightmare, which this was, that exact situation.
They remained in silence for a while, pretty much feeling the warm of the other's hand. They really didn't need to talk but of course Nigel was not the silent type.
"You know, he, in my dream, had me all tied up actually... with ropes...very kinky if you ask me." He said looking at David's eyes, completely serious watching how the blonde's lifted his eyebrows. Then, both at the same time, burst into laughing loudly gaining themselves knocks on the wall. Probably to tell them to keep it down by the people how was next door, making them laugh even more louder.