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Autumn stared at the ceiling, lost in thought as she absentmindedly combed her fingers through Vanessa’s hair. Vanessa had fallen asleep hours ago, her head resting in Autumn’s lap. Autumn looked down at her friend, smiling softly.
They had finally decided to reconnect after a few months - Autumn wasn’t sure what happened, but she knew she was glad to be back to spending time with Vanessa again. Vanessa had abruptly withdrawn for several months beforehand. Autumn remembered the first night that Vanessa lashed out; they had been at Vanessa’s place, having dinner. Vanessa had offered for Autumn to try out her VR set.. but seemed to have a panic attack at some point. She had suddenly started insisting for Autumn to take the headset off and leave. Autumn was confused, but eventually obliged due to how distressed Vanessa seemed. Autumn remembered leaving the house, wondering if she had done anything wrong.
After that, Vanessa had withdrawn for several months. She eventually reached out again - but she seemed different. She had tired eyes, and flinched when Autumn touched her without warning. Vanessa had clearly been through… something. That seemed to at least get somewhat better once she quit her job at the pizzaplex. Autumn didn’t want to pry, so she was just waiting for when Vanessa was ready to open up about what had happened.
Autumn was pulled out of her thoughts by a soft groan - Vanessa stirred, waking up.
“Ugh… what- time is it..?” She mumbled, making no move to get off of Autumn. Autumn smiled, looking down at her friend with affection.
“About 11:30 PM.” Vanessa blinked in surprise. “Oh shit, I didn’t realize it was that late-“ Autumn laughed, cutting her off.
“It’s okay, Nessie. We live on our own, it’s fine to be up late. Besides, you’re cute when you’re asleep.” She said teasingly. Vanessa’s cheeks flushed slightly at Autumn’s words as she sat up.
“Shut up..” Vanessa mumbled, clearly slightly flustered. Autumn stood up, stretching slightly.
“Oh please, I know that you don’t want me to shut up.” She teased, walking to the TV. She pulled the DVD they had been watching out of the disc player, tucking it back into it’s case. “However, I do have work tomorrow. It’s pretty dark, so you can just sleep over if you want.”
Vanessa paused. She hated driving in the dark, but she was also nervous to stay the night with Autumn. Vanessa still had frequent nightmares from… everything… that had happened. Autumn raised an eyebrow at the silence. Vanessa realized that she hadn’t responded yet, quickly speaking. “Oh- sorry- o-of course… I think that’d be nice..” She stammered. Autumn grinned, oblivious to Vanessa’s anxiety.
“Great!”
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Autumn fidgeted with the blanket, staring into the pitch black. Vanessa was asleep beside her, having fallen quickly. But Autumn just wasn’t able to fall asleep, despite knowing she had work at the office in the morning. Hesitantly, she got out of bed, walking to the bathroom.
Autumn dug through the medicine cabinet, pulling out a small container of melatonin pills. She opened the jar, popping a pill before returning to the bedroom.
Only when Autumn could see Vanessa clearly in the hallway light did she notice something - despite being asleep, Vanessa had a rather tense expression. She was moving quite a bit, clearly restless - clearly having some kind of nightmare. Autumn furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, shutting the door. She sat down on the bed, shaking Vanessa awake.
“Hey, Nessie- are you okay-?” Autumn asked quietly. Vanessa stirred slightly, opening her eyes. Almost as soon as she was awake, she had an expression of slight shame.
“Shit, sorry… did I wake you-?” She mumbled. Autumn raised an eyebrow, caught off guard.
“What- no, Nessie, you didn’t. I couldn’t sleep either way. I just noticed you seemed restless. That’s nothing to feel bad together.” Autumn explained, clearly concerned for her friend. Why did Vanessa seem to feel bad for being restless-?
Vanessa sat up, avoiding eye contact with Autumn.
“…I’ve been having a lot of nightmares lately… sorry, it’s stupid, especially for a grown woman..” Vanessa admitted quietly, clearly embarrassed. Autumn sighed.
“Vanessa, that’s nothing to be ashamed of.” Vanessa glanced up in clear surprise.
“Wh- but he always-“ Vanessa froze almost immediately upon mentioning ‘him’, fidgeting with her hands. “Nevermind… I’ll just go home..” Autumn tilted her head slightly, before shaking her head.
“No. It’s the middle of the night. Nightmares aren’t anything to feel bad about, Nessie. I’d be an asshole to get mad at you over them.” Autumn insisted, moving to sit beside Vanessa.
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After convincing Vanessa to stay, the two were in bed again. Vanessa dozed off, immediately seeming restless again. Autumn frowned in concern, before trying something. She pulled Vanessa close, wrapping her arms around her.
“..this is kinda gay..” Autumn thought to herself. But regardless, Vanessa finally relaxed after a few minutes, seeming to fall into a deeper, more restful sleep. Autumn smiled, before finally dozing off herself. It’s okay to be a bit gay with your best friend.