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The nightmare came unbidden and unrelenting. The electrocution, the laughter, the sound of the Joker’s voice. He couldn’t quite tell if it was himself or someone else that was being hurt, fading in and out of awareness as he was. Was in Andrew? Jason? Duke? Aaron? Nicky? Kevin? Dick? Cass? Steph? Babs? Damian? He couldn’t breathe.
Time seemed to slow to a pittance. At this point, Neil had figured out that he was dreaming, there were too many things that didn’t make sense for it to be anything else— but that didn’t stop the panic from taking over his body as he shot upright in bed, giggles already making themselves home in his throat. “Ha— fuck, hahaha— oh shit— Ha, hahahahahahahahahahaha—” he took in a shuddering breath before bursting into laughter again, “HAhahahahahahahahaha— Fu— Hahahahahaha— Fuck— Fuck— hahahahahahahahahahahaha—”
Neil couldn’t breathe, couldn’t stop laughing, couldn’t stop the laughing from getting louder and louder and more unhinged from giggles to cackles to pure manic laughter. He dug his nails into his palms harshly, praying that the pain it would bring would help. It didn’t. He took in another shaking breath, but that just made the laughing worse.
“Neil, what’s going on?”’Matt’s voice sounded sleepily from across the room, “Why are you laughing?”
The laughing stuttered for a second, before picking up again, “HAhahahahahaha— can’t— Haha— I can’t— HAHAHAhahahahahaha— Stop— Ha— help— HAHAHAHAHAHahahahaha—”
“Neil, what?” The light flickered on, letting Neil see both a disgruntled Aaron and a worried Matt. “What do you mean you can’t stop? Neil— oh shit— Neil, breathe.”
“What the fuck’s wrong with him,” Aaron questioned, “I’m trying to sleep over here.”
Meanwhile Matt was already out of bed, moving over to Neil to help. “Neil, I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s going on— please, breathe, calm down— oh shit uhm… Fuck this, Aaron— go get Andrew, now.”
Aaron sighed, getting up from his bed to shuffle over to the door when there was a knock. Opening the door, there stood Kevin, Andrew and Nicky. “We heard laughing,” Nicky said. “What’s going on? Is everything okay over here?”
“We don’t know—” Aaron said irritatedly, “Neil woke up, started laughing for some reason and can’t stop. We haven’t managed to get anything else out of him through the laughter.”
Andrew stepped forwards, past everyone else and to where Neil was laughing. He held his hands above Neil’s wrists, “Yes or No?”
“HAHAHAHAHAHAhahahahaha— n— Hahahahahaha— no— no— Hahahaha—” Tears rolled down Neil’s cheeks, but he was smiling— he was smiling and he couldn’t stop laughing and he couldn’t breathe and— A hand grabbed his hand, not restraining, not like Andrew had asked to restrain his wrists, just holding. At this point most sound had faded away, but he could still vaguely hear people talking amongst each other, their voices sounded worried. A sob-laugh tore it’s way out from his throat, sobbing and laughing getting mixed until he was about to pass out.
“Breathe,” a vaguely familiar voice kept saying. I’m trying, hr wanted to yell at the voice, but the laughter made it impossible. “Neil. Breathe.”
Neil didn’t know when he stopped laughing, when his tears dried, when most other people had vacated the room, leaving only Andrew, Matt and Kevin with him. Andrew, who was holding his hand and telling him to breathe. Kevin, who was just standing there, near the door for some weird reason and Matt, who looked infinitely more worried than Neil thought he had the rights to be worried about.
He came back into focus with hitching breaths and eyes focused on Andrew’s hand in his. He tried following Andrew’s breathing pattern, and found it to be infinitely easier now that he wasn’t laughing the lungs out of his body. “I’m fine,” he muttered instinctively, and Andrew hit him over the head without a word.