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Harry Potter's home in Starlet Town was quiet as he tossed and turned in his sleep.
He was having a nightmare.
In the nightmare he was married to a local Merfolk by the name of Semeru.
Everything was fine at first , everything seemed normal. He had finished everything that needed doing for the day on the farm and was turning in for the night when he realized that he was completely alone.
He searched the house , searched all the barns and coops , searched the cellar…but his husband was nowhere on the farm they shared together.
Loneliness washing through him he checked the town's inn but Semeru wasn't there either. He searched everywhere he knew Semeru liked to go on land and he searched in the ocean. Checking the barracks, the Palace , the bar and everywhere else he could think of…he couldn’t find him anywhere.
He awoke still alone, bursting into sobs , the panic , the fear , the loneliness of the dream still overwhelming him. It took a few moments for him to remember that he wasn't even married to his beloved sharkman yet and they weren't living together yet. They were dating and their relationship had gotten serious but neither one of them had proposed yet.
Still , he needed to see Semeru. Needed to know where he was. He got up out of bed , got dressed and left his farm , not caring about the time , nor that it was still dark out or even that right now it was raining outside. He just needed to see his boyfriend.
He was quiet , fighting back fresh tears as he walked to the inn of the small island town he had been living in since his early twenties. He dried his tears on the sleeve of his shirt , cleaned his glasses of the rain water , performed a quick spell to dry himself off and entered.
Due to the late hour the Inn was quiet , but one of the inn owners Alice was still up , doing some late night reading behind the counter.
The blonde woman noticed Harry and smiled , “Ah Harry, bit late for a visit isn’t it? And it’s raining too!”
“Yeah…yeah , sorry. I just…I just wanted to see Semeru. Is he staying here at the moment?”
Alice nodded. “Yes , he’s here. He will be in his usual room, has something happened?”
“No, no…nothing’s happened, I’m fine. I just really need to see Semeru right now”
“Okay , well don’t be too loud if you do anything together, alright? It’s pretty late , most of our customers will be asleep. Is there anything else I can help you with?”
Harry shook his head , “I’m fine Alice and we’re not going to do anything. I just want to see him” said Harry.
“Of course,” Alice said , smiling cheerfully. “Good night”
“Good night” said Harry , before heading upstairs to the room where his merfolk boyfriend usually stayed in.
Harry knocked on Semeru’s door , feeling calmer and relieved now that he knew that Semeru was here.
Harry knocked several times upon the door , and he waited quietly.
After a few moments he worried that maybe he shouldn’t be doing this. He shouldn’t be waking Semeru up just because he had a nightmare . He should just return to the farm, maybe distract himself from the nightmare with some hard work in the greenhouse.
He stepped away from the door and was about to leave when the door opened.
There stood Harry’s boyfriend , the half shark merfolk he had been dating for a year now. He was a handsome man in his early thirties…only a couple of years older than Harry was , he was taller than Harry was , and had a muscular build. His hair was short and a silver blue colour , he had a large diagonal scar across his face and he had blue eyes.
Right now Semeru was shirtless and wearing a pair of pajama pants , he was staring at Harry with a surprised yet concerned gaze.
“What are you doing here Harry? It’s late…” he asked. An attentive look was in his eyes and he frowned with worry , “Have you been crying?” he asked. “What’s wrong? Has something happened?”
Harry didn’t answer for a moment , “I…I…nothing’s wrong…I just…I sort of had a nightmare…I’m sorry…I’ll go…I’ll let you sleep, it’s late”
Semeru’s gaze was soft , tender , loving , he brought one of his hands to gently cup one of Harry’s cheeks , caressing the skin softly before pressing a soft kiss to Harry’s forehead.
“No, you’re not going anywhere. I don’t want you to go , it’s dark , it’s raining and you’re upset. Come in please my love, I’ll sleep better with you beside me..”
“Okay..” said Harry and together they went inside.
Semeru led Harry to the bed and they sat down before he claimed Harry’s lips in a brief kiss , “Tell me about your nightmare.”
Harry nodded , but for a moment didn’t speak. Semeru was patient and grabbed Harry’s hands , kissing them both softly before holding onto them, his grasp firm but gentle.
“Well…we were married and everything was fine at first , everything was normal but…”
“Did I hurt you?” asked Semeru , his voice quiet and worried.
“No! No , of course not! You just weren’t there…”
“If we’re married in this dream of yours why wouldn’t I be there?”
“I couldn’t find you. You were just…gone…I couldn’t find you. You didn’t leave any note and I couldn’t find you anywhere. I searched everywhere I thought you might be. Everywhere on the farm , the places on land you like to go , the Inn , the ocean , the barracks , the palace , the bars, the underwater farm…I searched everywhere. I felt alone and scared…and…and…”
Harry was crying again , he burst into quiet sobs. Semeru pulled him into his arms in a comforting hold and Harry wrapped his arms around the sharkman , returning the embrace.
“It’s okay…It’s okay…I’m here. I’m here, I’m right with you. I will never abandon you Harry” said Semeru, his hold on his human boyfriend firm. He pressed a kiss to Harry’s head again.
Semeru let Harry cry , his human’s sobs paining him , he held Harry close to him until Harry calmed down, occasionally running one of his hands through Harry’s black messy short hair.
“I’m sorry” Harry said , after a while.
“Why? You've done nothing wrong. I'm happy that the man I love can come to me for comfort , no matter the reason. I hate the thought of you going home and crying yourself to sleep.”
Harry said nothing at this but he smiled.
Semeru kissed Harry again , a brief but loving kiss on the lips.
“Do you still want me to stay the night?” Harry asked.
Semeru nodded.
Harry smiled , removed his glasses and soon got into bed with Semeru joining him shortly after, pulling Harry as close to him as he could.
Harry wrapped his arms around Semeru , his hold firm and he tried to forget his nightmare. He focused on the body against his , the arms holding him , the hands caressing through his hair. He focused on the words of comfort that were spoken quietly to him and the lips that would occasionally press against his forehead. He focused on Semeru.
Eventually Harry fell asleep , feeling content and loved in Semeru’s embrace , the rest of the night nightmare free.