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Epel couldn’t sleep. It had been a problem ever since Vil’s overblot and only had gotten worse when Idia and Malleus also went berserk. He’d sleep for about an hour or two and wake up covered in sweat from another nightmare. From there, he’d usually grab his phone and open up his group chat with his friends and text them if any of them were online. At least one of them was always online, also plagued with the same nightmares of ink and destruction like his. They’d type for hours until one of them eventually fell back asleep.
Tonight however, it seemed that the only one unable to sleep was Epel. He sighed and turned his phone back off. He stared at the ceiling for a long time before sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. His feet softly pressed into the carpet below. He already knew he’d be in trouble if the bags under his eyes got any darker, but he could barely even pretend to be relaxed. A chill ran down his spine as the covers fell off of him. He pulled his cardigan closer over himself and quietly crept out of his room.
He moved as silently as possible throughout the dorm, not wanting to wake anybody else up. He’d already been caught by Rook multiple times after he apparently stepped on a creaky floorboard. Epel wasn’t even aware that there were any kind of creaky floorboards in the dorm at all. Rook was just a freak of nature.
Epel breathed a quiet sigh of relief when he made it to the lounge without alerting anyone. His stomach burned with hunger and throat was dry from thirst. Since no one was awake, no one would know if he snuck in a late night snack or drank some apple juice. It was his family’s anyway, so they really couldn’t say anything to him.
Just as he was about to enter the kitchen, he heard a click and saw a warm light flicker. He froze where he stood, blood turning to ice. He slowly turned around to see his dorm leader, Vil Schoenheit, sitting in one of the arm chairs with his arms and legs crossed and a stern look on his face. Epel mentally prepared himself to get scolded.
“And why are you awake, Epel?” Vil inquired.
“I, uh, well ya see-” He swallowed thickly, stamping down his accent before continuing, “I was just really hungry, was all.”
Vil’s eyes narrowed. “Lying is not going to help you in this scenario.”
Epel flinched and cast his gaze down at his slippers. “A-ah, s-sorry.”
A beat of silence passed between the two before Vil let out an exasperated sigh. He stood up, and Epel for sure thought he was going to be berated and criticized before he was forced back into his room. That was what happened every other time. Even Rook had begun to lightly scold him when he would find him instead of Vil.
To his surprise, Vil moved to sit down on the couch, gesturing to the seat next to him. “Sit,” he commanded.
“Wh-what?”
“I want to talk to you about this concerning habit of yours.” Epel hesitantly inched closer, unsure where this was going. “You haven’t been sleeping through the night for weeks now. Your bags have grown darker and puffier.”
“Sorry,” he replied automatically.
Vil winced and didn’t acknowledge the apology. “You clearly don’t want your sleep to be interrupted, otherwise you wouldn’t be committing repeat offenses and ruining your appearance and mental function.”
“My brain is just fine.”
“A full eight hours of sleep is not a suggestion like my makeup tips are. Chronic lack of sleep can lead to brain damage if this keeps going on. And don’t think I’ve noticed that your grades have been slipping.” Epel looked down and fidgeted with his hands. “Taking care of yourself is the baseline for succeeding in life, regardless of how you look. If you’re not sleeping, it concerns me.”
Epel could feel Vil’s dark, amethyst eyes on him. “I don’t wanna worry anyone,” he mumbled.
“You only worry me more by hiding the truth.”
“It’s just…” How could Epel put it in a way that didn’t offend his housewarden? He couldn’t exactly tell him that he had nightmares about Vil nearly killing him, could he? Or nightmares about when Vil nearly died himself when they fought Idia? Or when they all fought Malleus together? He didn’t know how to say it without acting like all of it was their fault.
Vil let out a small sigh. “It’s about me, isn’t it?”
The freshman tensed. “N-no! Why would you think that?”
“We’ve been over the fact that you pull on any loose thread on your clothing when you lie. Don’t insult me by denying my claim.”
He tried his best to salvage the situation, unsure of what he was even trying to salvage in the first place. “It’s not entirely about you! You just kind of so happen to always be in the center of my nightmares whether you overblotted or not-” He realized how he sounded and quickly tried to amend his statement. “-Not that you’re the reason I keep waking up! You’re just always kind of there when I have nightmares and you-”
“Epel. Relax,” Vil commanded, his amethyst eyes softening. Epel went quiet and forced himself to take a deep breath before finally being able to look Vil in the eye. “It’s natural that you would have nightmares about what happened at the VDC. I’ve talked about it with Rook many times. He’s described my appearance as “terrifyingly ethereal” many times, though I believe he is just trying to comfort me.”
“I mean… you were kind of beautiful in a dark and twisted way.”
“Now I know you’re trying to make me feel better. You can be honest with me, even though I know you most likely don’t trust me.”
Epel shook his head frantically. “Th-that’s not true!”
“I don’t blame you,” Vil replied solemnly. “Anyone would be traumatized by seeing that and needing to defend yourself. And I nearly killed you. I just wished you’d let me know before your nightmares got even worse.”
Epel shook his head again. “It really wasn’t you, Vil,” he explained. “I mean, yes, you are the center of most of my nightmares, and I did have a lot of nightmares about your overblot. It’s, um, mostly just been about what happened at the Isle of Woe and in your dream.”
Vil blinked at him, confusion flickering in his expression. “During Malleus’ overblot?”
“Yeah. It’s just- You turning so old from your magic being drained and you falling in that pit and not knowing what happened to you, was terrifying. That’s what I’ve been having nightmares about. And I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t want to make it seem like I doubted your abilities.”
The slightest frown graced Vil’s face. “It’s okay if you do have doubts after-”
“I don’t. I know how powerful you are. You taught me how to be powerful in my own way and play to my strengths. You helped me realize that this thing that I hated about myself for so long can actually be a good thing. I don’t doubt you Vil. I’m just scared that you’re going to disappear and I won’t know what to do.”
Epel felt his throat getting tight and tears burning in his eyes. He really didn’t want to cry in front of his dorm leader, but here he was. He could feel Vil staring at him for a few moments in stunned silence. He briefly wondered if he said something wrong that might’ve offended him. He was really trying to avoid that.
Vil held out his arm and gestured for Epel to sit closer. “Come here,” he commanded softly.
Epel’s eyes widened for a second before greedily scooting closer into Vil’s space. He felt Vil’s arm drape over his shoulders and pull him close to his side. Epel rested his head on Vil’s shoulder, absorbing his warmth. Perfectly manicured hands gently ran through his lavender locks.
“Even if I was gone, you would be okay,” Vil assured him. “You still have a long way to go, but I trust that you’d be able to find your way without me.”
“I don’t want to. I’m not ready yet,” Epel whispered, feeling a wave of weariness wash over him. “I want you to stay as long as you can.”
Vil chuckled fondly. “Well, I’m not ready to leave you quite yet, so you’re in luck.” Epel hummed contentedly in response, and Vil couldn’t help but smile. “I’m going to be okay, Epel, and you will be too. I’ll make sure of it.”
Epel couldn’t help but close his eyes and inch closer to his dorm leader. He drifted off into a peaceful sleep, finally feeling like things might turn out alright.