Work Text:
His lover was next to him, holding his hand firmly; everything was alright. He turned to face the figure again, but this time, they were gone; they seemed to have vanished from his grasp completely. He looked down at his own hands, no remnants of the warm embrace left on them.
Rob woke up, panicked beyond repair. He stayed silent for a moment, trying to fully grasp his own thoughts. It must’ve been a dream, or more of a nightmare in this context. He fervently looked around the dim room, struggling to make out objects, as the only light in the room was a sliver of the milky moon sneaking in from the crack of a shade.
Rob’s first area of inspection was the spot in his bed, the one that was next to him. He breathed a breath of relief when he saw dark curls, almost perfectly, on top of a silky, smooth pillow. From there, he saw Joe carefully tucked into the covers, eyes lightly shut, covering up his gorgeous green eyes.
Joe’s expression must’ve looked almost comically calm compared to the worried expression that painted Rob’s face, as the older one’s expression was calm and staid, lightly inhaling and exhaling. He looked more at peace than he would look if he were conscious.
Although everything was fine, he was awake, and Joe was right next to him, peacefully sleeping, Rob let out a labored sigh, one that sounded like it could turn into tears at any moment. He felt like he was lying to himself that everything was fine. He sniffled a couple of times, wishing the tears would stop welling in his eyes, before he started sobbing.
Rob silently cried, hoping that he wouldn’t wake up Joe. However, after the first signs of tears, the damage was already done. Without Rob noticing, he’d been pulled into a tight hug, one that didn’t show any signs of loosening.
“Shh, you’re okay, Rob. You’re fine, you’ll be alright,” Joe softly whispered to the man he was holding. Rob continued to cry, burying his head further into the oversized t-shirt that Joe was wearing, slowly slotting his torso between Joe’s legs so his head could lie on the taller man’s chest.
Rob could’ve sworn his worries dissipated whenever his boyfriend comforted him like this; he was the only person who could ever see the sensitive side of Joe, the side that would baby Rob just to make sure that he was okay. Joe was so warm, physically and emotionally, whenever Rob needed him like this, and he absolutely loved it.
Joe slipped his hand under Rob’s shirt, rubbing his bare back with his hands, as his other hand played with a lock of Rob’s silky, well-conditioned hair. “You’re okay, Rob. I’m here with you. We’re fine; we’re gonna be okay,” Joe calmly told, slowly kissing the top of Rob’s head.
After more tears soaked through Joe’s t-shirt, eventually landing on his skin, Rob let out breathy sighs that indicated his crying was coming to an end. He lifted his head, wiping away the tears from his eyes, before looking at Joe, who looked sympathetic.
“Sit up,” Joe softly instructed, so as not to get Rob more upset. Rob obliged, seating himself on Joe’s lap in a way that he could face him. The shorter of the two slowly used both of his hands to cup Rob’s face, gingerly moving his thumbs at a slow pace.
“What’s wrong? You went to sleep happy and snuggly, and now you’re all upset,” Joe puzzled, using his index finger to trace circles on Rob’s chin. “I had a terrible dream. I was with you one minute, and the next, you were gone,” Rob said, squinting to look at Joe without his glasses.
“Poor baby,” Joe teased before saying, “I’m not going anywhere without you. Meeting you was the best part of college. You’re like so cool, dude. You make the band complete; you make me complete. Plus, I wouldn’t put up with the way you snore if I didn’t love you as much as I do,” hoping to lighten the mood a little bit.
Rob lightly tapped Joe for the last part (which earned a fake, “oww,” from Joe), before wrapping his arms around him, and quietly whispering into Joe’s ear, “I love you.”