Work Text:
The screams of the dead are deafening, no matter how Deon tries to close his eyes and ears, he still hears and sees them. Deon saw their faces contorted in agony, as if they were frozen at the moment of their death. They cursed, desired, and begged him to die. Their screams deafened him, but he could still understand what they were shouting about.
-"Die, DIE!"
-"Why are you still alive?"
-"WHY YOU, AND NOT US!"
The icy hands of the ghosts held him tightly, he could barely move. No matter how he tried to grab them and detach them from himself, his hands went through them, but they could grab him. He could feel his skin peeling off under their cold fingers, exposing his flesh, blood flowing down his body. It hurt, it really hurt.
Every scream and curse penetrated deep into his head.
He felt guilty for something he didn't know. Deon knew that he could not escape either from their screams or from their frantic gaze. Every word, every curse pierced him like icy needles, and fear and guilt squeezed his heart.
What did he do? What did he do to them?
No matter how hard he tried to remember, he couldn't. Something was eluding him, but he couldn't figure out what it was.
Deon closed his eyes, desperately trying to think of what he could do to make them leave him.
Out of desperation, he screamed:
-"Stop! Please!"
And silence. Suddenly, he plunges into something viscous, but just as quickly as he got stuck, he also surfaced and flew down. He opens his eyes and stands up abruptly. Deon is soaked in sweat, his whole body is shivering, and eyes are frantically scanning, trying to see ghosts, but no one. It's still dark, but gradually the room takes shape. This is his bedroom. He nervously scanned the room with his eyes, trying to make sure he was safe.
-"..dear, my love, you need to breathe" - suddenly Deon hears a soft and caring voice. It was as if he had been talking for a while, but Deon had only just heard him.
Oh, right. He suddenly remembered that he needed to breathe. Without realizing it, he held his breath.
Deon took a deep breath, feeling the oxygen fill his lungs. His heart was racing, as if he had run a marathon, his body was shaking, and his thoughts still couldn't come together, and cold sweat was still rolling down his forehead. He was still cold and, for some reason, his chest was heavy.
-"You're doing a great job, my dove It's just a dream,"- the voice said again.
He looked at the source of the voice and saw one of his boyfriends - Cavert.
Deon only noticed that he was being hugged tightly from both sides. He didn't know how he could have missed them when they were so close to him, apparently his consciousness was in such a bad state that he ignored everything. But the very thought that he was not alone, but with his beloved, it became much easier for him. He snuggled closer to Cavert and Eduardo.
-" Sorry... I...," - Deon tried to say something, he still felt the touch of ghosts on him and remembered their screams, but now their sound gradually faded away, leaving only whispers in his head.
-"You don't have to apologize, Deon,"- Eduardo said softly, running his hands over his body -"You're safe now and we're here with you dear"
They stayed like that for a while while he was recovering.
-"Are they bothering you again?" - Cavert asked him, gently stroking his head. This slow but gentle touch calmed him down.
-"Mmm," - Deon mumbled affirmatively and leaned closer to the hand that was stroking him. He heard Cavert's soft chuckle and felt him snuggle up to him.
-"Are you wanna talk that"
-"Not really..."
-"Are you sure..? " - Eddie asked him, - "You're waking up to them more and more often, are you sure you still don't want to discuss this?"
In recent weeks, he's been having nightmares about these dead people. Everything starts out calmly, he never notice the difference between a dream and reality. The beginning was different, but always so natural. Either he's going to work and goes outside, or he goes to his favorite cafe to relax. Nothing special, just his life. But at an unexpected moment the whole world collapses and many hands drag him into a personal hell.
He doesn't know why it started, because nothing unusual has happened in his life. Initially, he thought these were isolated cases, but weeks later, he couldn't sleep properly. This has definitely become a problem. Honestly, it was very difficult not to fall asleep during the day, he many times managed to fall asleep in the most uncomfortable positions, after which everything hurt him. He almost fell asleep at the wheel once, and it was a good thing that Cavert was in the car at the time and noticed it. It is unpleasant that he is temporarily banned from driving until this problem is resolved.
And he usually worked from home, his personal presence was not always needed. But as luck would have it, during the period of nightmares, there came a time when he had to leave the house and fall asleep at work, which was awkward and uncomfortable.
He didn't want to tell anyone about it. I didn't want to make you worry about him, he wasn't a child, he could take care of himself. But it was very difficult to hide it.
He has a very caring older brother, whom he saw every weekend or called if he couldn't see each other. Because his brother apparently couldn't accept that he wasn't a child. Looking into those empty and tired eyes. They looked at him sometimes as if he could disappear at any second. It seemed to him that his brother was older than his years. That tired expression on his face that could never completely relax had always been there for as long as Deon could remember. No matter how hard he tried to get something out of Cruel, he always refused. Deon wasn't stupid, and he saw things he couldn't understand himself.
One meeting was enough for Cruel to notice that something was wrong with him, and after a few questions, he told me that he had started having nightmares.
There's not much you can do about it, because it's not a disease, it's just nightmares.
There are good friends who were very worried about him, and as soon as they noticed the bruises under his eyes, they started asking questions. All his friends appeared in such a natural way, as if he had always known them. There were guys working in one place, a nice cafe, who were nice to him from the very beginning and jokingly called him "captain".
Although sometimes they ignored the concept of "personal space" and he had to wait for the moment when they decided that he had had enough and could let go. Miss Rienna was very helpful, one of the frequent visitors to this cafe, who happened to witness such group hugs and dispersed them shouting:"
-"YOU'RE GOING TO STRANGLE HIM NOW."
Den is a freshman at the university, when Deon was in his 4th year, he accidentally stumbled upon him when he couldn't find the right audience, and he helped him find it. After that, he often turned to Deon to help, and over time they spent time together, he was like a puppy who had regained his master. And after Deon graduated from university, they still communicate. He can't get rid of the feeling that he adopted a puppy.
Ben, the doctor he went to see once when he was feeling terrible. He started calling asking about his health, apparently he was really surprised by the tests, they were generally always very bad, but he learned to live with it. Later, he met Ed, a nice guy, At that moment, he changed jobs and it turned out that he and Ed were working together. Over time, they started chatting, and Ed was always funny and sweet with him. He helped him settle into his new workplace. And as it turned out by chance, Ben and Ed had known each other for a very long time. The three of them began to spend time together, they became close friends during this time. He also tried to ignore the stares when they thought he wasn't noticing them. It was as if they felt guilty towards him.
He damn well has his boyfriends that he lives with and shares the same bed with. During one of these nightmares, he punched one of them in the face while he was sleeping. Not the best way to report a problem, but okay.This is also suitable.
And the fact that this action left a mark on his face, he was sorry, he wasn't. But considering the fact that he's always being marked by these two, it was nice to leave something on the Cavert.
And Eddie was very amused by this situation. Although as soon as he heard about the nightmare, his face instantly changed and became gloomy.
He really didn't know what he was hoping for, trying to hide it, the people around him were too attentive.
-"We can talk about it in the morning, tomorrow is the day off anyway, I just want to sleep now"
They didn't insist any further that they talk about it, and a moment later Deon felt himself being kissed from both sides, one on the neck, the other on the cheek.
-"Just try to leave the marks again, you insatiable animals.." - He knew that they just wanted to distract him still, but he still wanted to complain about them. They love to kiss too much, especially when he's not expecting. It's sweet, but please. He always looks like he's survived either a pack of wild dogs or mosquitoes.
He was comforted by the sound of his partners' heartbeats and, in general, it was warm and comfortable between them, so his consciousness gradually fell asleep. He loves his boyfriends so much and was glad that he met them.
Deon felt the position he was in change from sitting to lying down. They're lying on the bed again. His consciousness is gradually blurring, a sure sign that he is falling asleep. After nightmares, he never felt like he was asleep, so it wasn't difficult to get back to sleep.
He hoped the nightmare wouldn't happen again, and if it did, he knew he wouldn't be alone.