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Zane clutched the phone in his hand, holding it firmly against his ear as he waited for the tone to be replaced by the voice he so desperately wanted to hear.
His body was shaking, the remains of his nightmare still clinging on to him, even thirty minutes after he’d woken up. Zane couldn’t even remember what the dream had been about, but he remembered it being bad enough to have him waking up gasping for air, as the memories of every horrible thing that had happened to him, starting with Becky’s death, flooded his brain all at once, leaving him nearly paralyzed with the intensity of it all.
It was a rare occasion for Zane to be so shaken by a nightmare that he still hadn’t calmed down after half an hour, and it had been so long since the last time it had happened that Zane was reaching for his phone and finding Ty’s number before he knew what he was doing.
It took six rings before Ty’s gruff voice answered.
“Grady.” He muttered, the introduction giving away the fact that he hadn’t even checked the display of his phone before taking Zane’s call.
“Hey, doll.” Zane greeted softly, and the moment the words left his mouth, he could hear the rustling of sheets coming from Ty’s end.
“Zane?” Ty murmured into the phone, sounding as if he was mid-movement as he spoke. Zane could picture him sitting up in alarm. “What’s wrong? Where are you?”
The concern so clear in his husband’s voice was almost enough to ease some of the shakiness in Zane’s body. Almost.
“I’m at home, everything’s fine, I just…” Zane paused, glancing at the alarm clock on the bedside table. It was two in the morning; Ty would know that everything definitely wasn’t ‘fine’.
“I had a nightmare, and I couldn’t stop shaking.” He admitted when Ty remained silent, giving him the time to tell him what was going on without pushing him. “It’s been thirty minutes and I still can’t stop shaking.”
Ty was silent for a long moment, and Zane felt like an idiot. Ty was in Aberdeen, a fifty-minute drive away from their home, meeting up with Sidewinder for the weekend. Zane had been invited to come along, but he’d declined; wanting Ty to have the chance to just be with his friends without Zane trailing along for once. Ty hadn’t been particularly happy about going without his husband, but Zane knew Ty would realise he’d done him a favour when he got home.
Shaking his head, Zane continued. “I’m sorry for calling. I’m being ridiculous, I know, but it hasn’t been this bad in years, Ty, and I just…” He trailed off, biting his lip and shutting his eyes. “I just didn’t know what else to do. I’m sorry, go back to sleep.”
“Zane.” Ty said, voice gentle.
“Forget I called, okay? I’ll see you when you get home on Sunday.” Zane insisted, feeling like a complete fool. One really bad dream and he was calling his husband, who was in a different city, spending time with friends he didn’t get to see nearly as often as he would have liked.
Since when had Zane turned into someone who was that needy?
“Zane.” Ty said again. Zane shook his head, then remembered that Ty couldn’t see him.
“I’m fine, Ty.”
“Zane.” Ty repeated, and this time, his voice was firmer, but still gentle. Zane remained silent, knowing better to protest a third time. “What do you need?”
Zane knew the answer; it had been on the tip of his tongue since even before Ty had picked up the phone, but he still hesitated – still debated with himself for several moments about whether he had the guts to say it or not.
“I just really need to have you here right now, Ty.”
The words were but a mere whisper, and Zane’s heart stuttered as he listened to himself utter them. There was more rustling on the other end of the call, and Zane winced, imagining Ty tossing himself back onto the bed in exasperation, irritated because Zane had called him because of a bad dream.
More rustling followed by a good moment of silence gave Zane plenty of time to mentally kick himself for calling, then Ty’s voice was back on the phone.
“I’ll be home in forty minutes.” He said.
Zane’s eyes flew open and he sat up, a protest hanging off the very tip of his tongue, but somehow, he couldn’t get it out.
He could hear Ty moving; could hear articles being tossed and a bag being zipped up, a door opening and closing, and footsteps moving down an empty, carpeted hallway, followed by the ‘ding’ that announced the arrival of an elevator.
“Thank you.” Zane eventually managed to utter, words breathy and low after several more moments of listening to Ty moving out of the hotel and out onto the street.
“Getting into a cab now, baby. Just stay on the phone with me, okay? I’ll be right here right until I get home.” Ty said, having given his address to the driver of the cab and told him to step on it. He’d send Nick a text when he’d gotten home and Zane was okay again, explaining why he’d disappeared on them early, but right now, that could wait.
“I love you.” Zane was saying, and he sounded so relieved that Ty’s chest ached.
“I love you too, darlin’. Forty minutes, okay? Forty minutes and I’ll be right there with you.” Ty promised.
That was all Zane needed to hear for a tiny ounce of the tightness in his chest to lighten up, and there was almost a smile on his face. Almost, but not quite.
“Forty minutes.” Zane echoed, and he knew that in forty minutes, he would be okay.
Ty would make him okay.