(Untitled)

[anewwaive]

It'd been a fucking while since Gideon did this shit, but it wasn't too hard to remember how to set it up. Once they got back to the hut, he got to work making two lines from the stuff he grabbed, using the desk since it was the only fucking flat surface in their hut

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[all_happening]

It was all Penny could think to do to try to sleep it off after coming down from being high. Neither wanting to do more when it would all be gone soon anyway nor sitting around being miserable wouldn't have done either of them any good, so she'd turned in early. It was, as far as she could tell, a win-win situation.

When she did finally wake up, it was still dark out, but closer to morning, as far as she could tell. She probably wouldn't have gotten up for a few more hours were it not for the fact that Gideon, beside her, had cried out and was now sweaty and shaking, which was worrisome enough for her to reach over and turn on the light, squinting against its brightness.

"Hey," she murmured, lips curving into a frown as she reached over to gently shake him, hoping it would be enough to wake him up. "Gideon, baby, wake up, it's okay."

[anewwaive]

He hadn't had so vivid a dream in fucking months, especially not about this shit. It was always the same, but now, in more terrifying detail. It was to the point he could almost fucking feel the hot breath of that thing on his neck, and it was around then that Penny started shaking him awake. It took a few moments, but just as the thing was about to rip his fucking throat out or something, he woke up.

He sat up immediately, breath exhaling in a gasp. For a few moments, he half expect to be pushed back down by that thing, and he was near frozen in fear. Eventually, though, he realized where he fucking was - and where he fucking wasn't anymore - and let out the breath he'd been fucking holding.

"Shit," he said, still feeling his whole body shaking. That was all he could fucking think to say.

[all_happening]

Penny was almost relieved when he sat up, but the way he was acting negated it pretty fucking quickly, even if she wouldn't have expected anything else. She was tempted -- beyond tempted, really -- to move close, wrap an arm around him; for all she knew, though, that would only have made things worse at this point, so she held back, hands clasped in her lap as she sat up more fully.

"Hey," she murmured, shifting so she would be able to meet his gaze, finally, but tentatively reaching out to lay one hand lightly on his arm. "Look, it's me, you're okay now." She wanted to know what was wrong, of course, but she knew better than to ask so soon. With as shaken as he still obviously was, it would wait.

[anewwaive]

Gideon let out another huff of a breath, eyes focusing on Penny when she came closer. He was never so fucking glad to see her in his life. She'd been dead in the fucking dream, and that image wasn't anything that'd be fucking going away any time soon. He reached out to place his hand over hers.

"Sorry," he managed, realizing what must have happened. There was no way she'd be up this early - especially because he was sure she felt like shit too - if he hadn't woken her up. He didn't even want to know how loud he'd gotten.

[all_happening]

"Shit, no," she murmured, shaking her head, and, on an impulse, pulled him to her so she could hold him close. Yeah, it was early, she was tired and still felt pretty fucking terrible, but that was inconsequential. If she needed to sleep more later, she could. Right now, as far as she could perceive, he needed her, and that was all that mattered. "Look, I'm here, alright? It's okay now."

[anewwaive]

He leaned into the embrace, too shaken to even pretend he fucking wasn't. He still wished he could just black out that whole experience just so this stuff didn't happen anymore.

"I just...need a few seconds, and I'll be fucking fine," he murmured, obviously a little more composed now. He didn't want to needlessly worry her, after all.

[all_happening]

Still holding him close to her, she lifted a hand to stroke his hair, turning her head enough to press a kiss to his temple. She was still more than curious about what could have upset him like this, but for now, she was keeping that to herself. She could wait and ask when he was a little calmer about the whole thing.

"Don't worry about it," she replied, lightly dismissive, when she finally eased back enough to meet his gaze. "Everything's fine. You've got me." It was all she could do to try to reassure him, even if it didn't seem like quite enough.

[anewwaive]

His head tilted up to look at her, managing a small, weak smile. He leaned closer, resting his head against her.

"Yeah, and I'm fucking glad for that," he murmured, barely loud enough to be heard. It was easier now to focus on her than on anything else.

[all_happening]

"Well, I'm not going anywhere," she promised, her hand trailing lightly down his arm until she reached his hand, fingers threading through his. "Come here, why don't you lay back down? I can just sit with you if you don't think you can sleep again." It would mean she would probably wind up sleeping most of the next day once he was settled again, which would throw her off, to say the least, but it was a price she was willing to pay. Compared to the lengths she would have gone to for him, it was nothing.

[anewwaive]

He felt fucking ridiculous almost immediately. Of all the stupid things to get upset about, he couldn't believe he was letting this shit get to him again. He did slide down slowly into a laying position, not letting his hand leave hers as he did, but that hardly meant he wasn't going to protest her idea of staying awake with him.

"I'll be fine, if you want to go to bed," he sighed, rubbing his head. Fuck, his entire body just felt devoid of energy; he almost didn't have it in him to argue. "Just needed a fucking second to calm down, that's all."

[all_happening]

"It's really fine," she assured him, still a little concerned, as she slid down too so she was facing him properly, propped up on one elbow. "I don't mind, if you want the company. I mean, shit, I offered, right?" Once settled, she gave his hand a squeeze before lifting it to run through his hair again, leaning in to press a light kiss to the corner of his mouth. Whatever it was that had gotten him so shaken, despite how curious she was about it, didn't matter as much as the fact that he was upset at all. She fucking hated to see him like this.

[anewwaive]

He was too fucking out of it to argue. Sighing, he just fucking gave in, shifting closer to press his face against her neck. Maybe, this once, he'd just fucking let her do what she wanted. He could blame the withdrawal from the shit they'd taken in the morning.

"Thanks," he murmured, leaning up slightly to press a kiss against the skin by his mouth. He settled again, letting out a slow sigh. This shit fucking sucked.

[all_happening]

"You want the light on or off?" she asked, though she stayed close, her arm sliding around him completely when he moved in towards her. Even still feeling pretty fucking terrible, all she wanted was to do whatever would make this easier for him. Being where they were, she doubted that would be difficult, either. She never would have objected to just lying there with him, even when it meant she wouldn't be getting enough sleep.

[anewwaive]

He found himself tempted to tell her to keep it on. He knew he'd look even more fucking stupid, though, so that was out of the question.

"You can turn it off," he said, arm sliding around her now, too. As long as she was there, he'd be fine. He just had to fucking deal with this shit.

[all_happening]

She let go of him only for a moment, stretching a little as she reached over to turn the light back off again. As soon as it was dark again, she eased back towards him, getting as close as she could, the only real way she had of trying to be reassuring. A part of her wished that there were something more she could do, that he would tell her what was going on without her having to ask, but she couldn't bring herself to give that too much thought now.

"You want to talk about it?" she asked gently, her arm winding around him, hand twisted up so she could thread her fingers through his hair. She had a feeling he was going to say no, but in case he did want to talk, she wanted to have the offer out there.

[anewwaive]

It wasn't that he didn't want to talk about it, it was just he said it all before. It was always the same fucking thing. A year and a half later, it still fucking got to him. He was sick of it.

"Same thing as always," he murmured, just sounding fucking frustrated now as he rested his face against her shoulder. "That fucking...thing that attacked me on Halloween."