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Amidst the sounds of crickets singing in the night, wind blowing gently through trees and tall grass, two riders were sleeping side by side under the canopy of stars. The faint campfire painted them both in warm light, contrasting with the cool shadows of that time of day.
Many creatures were resting by now, though it was also the time for some to awake into their nocturnal lives. One of them was, however, forcibly pulled away from the land of dreams and peace.
Johnny's mind only vaguely registered being woken up with a startle, his body feeling it way before. Once he caught up with it, though, he quickly pulled himself to sit up, feeling as if the air from his lungs was stolen from him by some unknown force. He looked around, hands shakily grasping the sleeping bag he'd been resting on.
Right. It was a dream… a real unfortunate one, at that. His frantic mind showed him fragmented glimpses of Nicholas, the warmth and joy of life that was only temporary before he had nothing left. That's how his life worked.
It wasn't some nightmare where a big bad scary monster chased him, like he might've had as a little kid. No, it was something that felt more like his own reality being shoved in his face unkindly. He barely trusted anyone anymore, except…
Johnny swallowed hard around a tight throat as his eyes landed on Gyro's sleeping form. His back was turned to him, but his breaths were all steady and deep, unlike his own. He looked peaceful.
Gyro was… definitely an interesting individual. One who came into his life in the most unexpected and odd way, but even so, he was the only person he genuinely trusted anymore. He couldn't quite pinpoint as to why, but sometimes, his partner's presence invoked a sense of warmth, belonging, and of safety, even. Things that were scary if only because he'd experienced a pattern of it all being taken away from him time and time again.
How could Johnny be sure it wouldn't happen again, with him?
He took a slightly gasping breath and his palm came over to his hurting chest. In times like these, he knew what he always did. It became routine, somehow.
Johnny carefully crawled over to Gyro, very lightly wrapping his arms around him from behind. It was almost pathetic, in his mind, as to how much comfort even this gave him. His warm body, steady breaths, his sturdiness… even the tickle of his way too long blond curls.
He nuzzled slightly into Gyro, closing his eyes shut for a couple moments while he desperately tried to calm himself down. Admittedly, that was only made harder by the lingering dread that everything here was temporary again.
Meanwhile, the combination of quick breaths against Gyro's neck and Johnny's arms accidentally squeezing the air out of him pulled him from his own sleep.
Gyro woke up confused and barely aware of the world around him. Then the tightness surrounding his chest made him believe there was some sort of attack, or who knows what. His heavy eyes opened wide, darting around, but there was no sight of an enemy. In fact, he realized it was a pair of arms as he looked down slightly. Arms belonging to none other than Johnny.
When he turned over carefully, Johnny froze up a bit then pulled away with a startle.
“Shit, I didn't mean to wake you up!” Johnny said, all hurried and agitated. “I know you were like, sleepin’ good, I just… I mean, I didn't wanna-”
“...Johnny.” Gyro's steady voice broke through the rambling. “Nevermind that, just take a deep breath. Uh, look. Match mine.”
Gyro took Johnny's hand and held it over his own chest. Right now he had no clue what was going on or why, but his partner looked to be in distress, so he'd rather leave the questions for later, if they'd even be answered.
He exaggerated his breaths, slow and deep, Johnny trying his best to mimic them despite his current state of panic.
Each breath felt like a real effort for Johnny. Like trying to make it out of a thick rainforest back into the open, but at every turn there was more and more foliage to push past. Sometimes there was a real glimpse of the light, but he wasn't quite there yet.
His struggle wasn't met with annoyance or impatience though. Gyro just stayed exactly as he was while Johnny tried to get out of his head enough to be able to reason again.
Despite feeling a bit lightheaded, Johnny eventually got better. For now, at least. He came back to the quiet sound of Gyro's voice. Had he been talking all this time? Maybe his subconscious had been aware of it, but he hadn't registered it.
His blue eyes met Gyro's own green ones, a quiet glance to check in.
“How are you feeling right now? Is it any better?” Gyro's voice was quiet but steady. He didn't seem to be talking to someone far too fragile, but rather someone who needed a bit of care.
Johnny fumbled his words a bit to begin with but he nodded.
“I- yes. I think so, yeah. I still feel kinda bad, but… not as much.” Then, he added, “Sorry I woke ya up like that. Didn't mean to.”
Gyro shook his head. “No, it's fine… I mean, I was real confused why it felt like someone was trying to leave me without oxygen in my lungs, but I realized it's just you.” He still looked a bit tired, but not necessarily upset.
The silence between them lingered for a bit, and Johnny realized his hand was still on Gyro's chest. He quietly pulled it back, fidgeting with it afterwards. He wasn't quite sure what to do now. Probably… he could just convince Gyro that nothing's wrong, and he could go back to sleep after this inconvenience.
But Gyro seemed to already make up his mind on what to do.
“You know, if you wanna talk at all about what's bothering you… I'm listening. Only if you think it helps.”
Johnny bit his lip slightly as he thought it over. A plain and simple invitation that he could take.
“Well, I…” He sighed. “I don't know, actually.”
Gyro nodded. “That’s fine too. We can just both… exist a bit. I'll stay awake with you.”
After that, he laid back down and patted the space next to him. After a moment of hesitation, Johnny crawled over close to Gyro again, laying on his side, facing him.
The proximity was pretty nice, though he craved a bit more, in his mind. Like what he'd been doing before he accidentally woke Gyro up.
He didn't say anything, though he quietly extended a hand towards Gyro. In turn, his partner took it in his own, which made Johnny's face feel warmer than before.
Still, he didn't pull back from it.
Soon enough, the hand holding turned to them ending up even closer together, then eventually Johnny had his head resting on Gyro's head, hearing his steady heartbeat under his ear. Neither of them made a big deal of how they held each other. They'd probably not mention this in the morning, but for now, Johnny liked it a lot more than he'd admit out loud.
The way one of Gyro's hands suddenly came up to play with Johnny's hair nearly made him cry. It was so simple, but it felt like everything he'd wanted in troubled moments like these. Gyro just… did it without question, as if it was natural.
“Hey…” Johnny's voice came out a bit strained. He cleared his throat. “It’s us both in this, yeah?” Of course, in his heart that was him chasing even a speck of hope that maybe this wouldn't go how things have gone so far in his gloomy life.
“Always,” Gyro replied immediately.
Johnny nodded quietly into Gyro's chest, closing his eyes and pretending just for tonight that things would be okay. That the steady warmth of Gyro's arms around him was there to actually stay. Maybe it was.