Chapter Text
He still had nightmares about it sometimes.
Like now, when he found himself sitting straight up in his bed in the mirky dark before dawn. Heart beating frantically out of fear, lungs straining to catch his breath and cold sweat pearling down his forehead.
That day had been the worst he ever lived through. Worse than the day they had to flee their village and leave their parents and so many others to die on their own.
Though over a year had passed, since the day that had once again sent tremors through his mind, the memories were hauntingly vivid. And equally so was the suffocating dread, the crushing sorrow and the hollow sensation of being left utterly alone in this world.
A gentle hand came out of the dark and found his naked back.
“Again, my love?” she whispered, as she too sat up to wrap her arms around him and stroke his sweaty skin. He found himself able to breathe a little calmer but could not avoid the shudder as he forced himself to draw a deep breath.
“Mhm,” he muttered shakily. He willed the tears not to build as he began to release the stress.
“Come here,” she offered, guiding him down to rest his head on her shoulder.
“It’s been a long time, hasn’t it? Since the last time, I mean.”
“Yeah …” He could not get himself to tell her just how intense this nightmare had been. Every painful moment wrung out and made to feel never-ending.
“Sleep, dear heart. I got you.”
He sighed and let himself drift off, hoping desperately for dark and quiet sleep.
“Brother. How can I ever move past the day I lost you?”