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Through the sounds of rain hitting the roof and windows, loud claps of thunder cut through it. It was 4:27 in the morning and while many were sleeping, Rafe wasn’t. He could blame it on the storm, but that would be a lie. The images and scenes that plagued his dreams are what left him restless.
Ever since he was young he’s been prone to sleepless nights. He’d never thought too much of it; he mainly just saw it as a nuisance more than anything. It mainly started off with him not being tired, but as he got older his stress kept him awake. Anxiety had a play in it as well. While that was still a factor, it now wasn’t falling asleep that was the problem. All because of the nightmares he had, staying asleep was the problem.
He can’t exactly pinpoint the moment this started, all he knew it was his early adulthood. That’s when he started taking the treasure hunting business seriously. So many near death experiences and betrayals he’s been through and they stuck to him in the form of vivid nightmares. Jerking up in cold sweats and heavy breathing, he could recall almost every moment he saw in his sleep. Then it would become almost impossible for him to fall back asleep.
He took an early night and went to bed right before 12 a.m. and fell asleep instantly. Now he’s been awake since 2:06 due to a nightmare he’s rather not discuss. While listening to the storm outside, he scrolled through his phone reading random articles and taking random quizzes. The brightness was turned all the way down so it wouldn’t strain his eyes too much, and so it wouldn’t wake the person sleeping next to him. That wasn’t much of a problem however, he was usually a heavy sleeper.
Rafe’s phone was almost dead, and he told himself he would attempt to fall asleep when it finally died. Still, that could be a failed attempt. Even though he didn’t have any business to attend to until the late afternoon, he was most likely going to be exhausted by the time it rolled around. A few extra cups of coffee in the morning were in order.
A brash strike of thunder startled Rafe, causing him to lose his grip on his phone. It went up in the air for a moment, only to fall and hit him on the face directly on his nose. “Fuck,” he groaned louder than he intended too. He picked it up off his face and moved to place it on the stand next to him. The action caused the person next to him move, and he realized he was most likely awaken by the sounds. Unbelievable he thought to himself. Harry could sleep through alarms and storms, but this simple act woke him up.
Harry turned from his side to his back and sat up. He was half-asleep and confused as he looked over at Rafe. “How long have you’ve been awake love?” His voice was groggy.
Rafe looked away for a second, thinking about whether he should lie or not. Harry knows about the problem he has sleeping and what type of nightmares he has, but that doesn’t mean he want to bother him with it every time. Yet, the hand placed on his shoulder told him to tell the truth. “Since two,” he admitted.
“Do you wanna talk about it?” Even though it was formed like a question, it really wasn’t. Harry knew talking through stuff like this could help a great deal, and Rafe had to agree. However, that didn’t mean Rafe wanted too but that didn’t stop Harry’s persistence. “Just tell me what it was about.”
Rafe sighed and brushed Harry’s hand off him. He was silent for a moment, trying to figure out how to word what he was going to say. This was a reoccurring nightmare of his, and to him it ranked high of being one of his worst. “It was about you,” he admitted. His tried to hide the trembling in his voice. Just thinking about the nightmare upset him.
Harry didn’t really know what to say. A nightmare about him? From what Rafe’s told him, his nightmares usually stem from events that happened to him on past jobs. Most of their jobs have been successful and they all didn’t have anything too life threatening happen. “What happened?” he asked. He just needed to know.
Rafe kept his gaze away. “Remember the job in Warsaw? Where we got ambushed by guards?” Harry mumbled a yes and Rafe continued. “I know we made it out obviously, but we almost didn’t. You almost died and I keep dreaming that you actually did.” He stuttered though other words that Harry couldn’t make out.
He stared at him for a moment, an urge to hold him ran through his mind. He didn’t act on it however, not wanting to overstep any boundaries. Yes, they are together, but he didn’t wanna make Rafe anymore upset. “You have nightmares about losing me?” he said without thinking.
Rafe finally looked over at him, a few tears fell down his cheek. “Yes you idiot. You mean so much to me that I can’t stand the thought of losing you. God, I fucking love you. I don’t wanna imagine my life without you,” he sobbed. The words might’ve came out harsher than he intended, but it got his message across.
Without another thought, Harry wrapped his arms around Rafe and pulled him close. He kissed the top of his head, and then moved him so they could look at each other. “Look at me love, I’m never leaving you. I know that it might be hard, but you know this nightmare isn’t real and it’s never gonna be real. Ever since I met you I can’t imagine my life without you and I promise that I’ll never die on you. I love you too much to allow that to happen.”
For the next few moments they only held one another in silence. Nothing else needed to be said. All they needed now was sleep, and Harry was going to make sure that happened. He pulled Rafe down on top of him, and then turning so they both were on their sides. Their arms were around each other, and Rafe’s face was buried in Harry’s chest.
They whispered a few things to each other, which caused them both to smile. Harry was the first to fall asleep, just like always. Rafe listened to the sounds of Harry’s heartbeat, and it began to calm him. He closed his eyes and started to drift off into sleep. He had another dream about Harry, but this was different. It was much better.