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shadowlight501-2 · 2 years

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Somniphobia AU

How it felt to fall asleep, how it felt to wake up.

☀️🌗

A dark sensation on my back, a feeling all too well known. Crawling along my shoulders, clawing at my vary core, trying to find my bone, to bind my lungs, to carve his name into my heart. Gentle love tattooed across my beating organ turned to violent hatred etched into my bleeding insides. Tears trace my skin, yet they aren't mine.

Golden eyes holding a beautiful red hue swelled with anger and confusion. I couldn't move my body as I gazed apon his face that held such disgust. Letting go of the once black staff he leaned back trying to stop himself from shaking, deep breaths in and out, he opened his mouth to speak, barly a croak of a broken, trembling, sob came out.

"Why?"

I held no answer, I don't remember or rather I simply don't know what just conspired here. What I did, I hold no shreds if a clue to what I did you my sunshine, I'm used to waking up covered in blood but this... All I know is when I woke up I had the love of my life dashing straight at me with a cold, loathing stare and a rocked hand. My body had gone limp before he even tackled me, like chains and shackles of the previous puppeteer where lingering, fighting to keep control of my body. However he did know this... He held no clue that whatever happened wasn't me, at least, I like to view this nightmarish side I can never met as another entity from myself. There's nothing I can do about it, no way to get rid of it, no way I can live while this thing exists.

I wish I could answer him. My lack of sound is only making his face go redder, his eyes shrink as his pupils turn back into slits, his expression distort more as he bares his fangs at me. He just about crushes my neck, gripping into my flesh with his claws as he pulled be forward just a smudge.

"Just tell me WHY?!?!" I could feel the staff inside my head, it was an odd feeling to have something touching nerves and muscle never ment to be touched. It was excruciatingly painful, however... "I didn't..."

"I DIDN'T Want to do this I-." A deep breath in "You could have-" His face kept changing like he didn't know what to feel, how he should feel. "You SHOULD have left I would have, I-." His breaths hitched more and more "I would have forgave your ridiculous Monstrous self I-" he couldn't breath he could barely speak. "I would have overlooked your disgusting actions I-" Each pause at first took longer than the last. "Why, just WHY?!?-" He sharply slanched over, his head hovering over my lips, my slow breaths just barly reaching him. "why?- Why!?- WHY?!?-" Every breath he took was another muttered why. Shaking more and more each time he demanded. When he pulled away his eyes where fogged over, any residue of his normal glow completely exicutded.

He shifted his body back then forward in one smooth motion, the staff shifted inside my skin as contact was placed to my cheek. My head was suddenly dropped followed by an on-slot of blunt force being delivered to me almost a rhythmically. It hurt, it was more painful than anything in my entire life but even when I felt I could actually move again, I couldn't. I didn't want to. I welcome this agonizing feeling, my punishment for whatever deeds I did in my cursed sleepwalking. His crying was what truly mad this torchure. The pain got less and less, rather that was because he was slowly, messily, coming a hult or because of blood lose I couldn't tell. "Liu'er" His voice was so horse, exhausted and just hardly there anymore, if it weren't for having six ears I wouldn't have heard it. His eyes had softened when he pierced the one I had left, then he gasped an line of what I think was silent "no"s , his eyes where widened like planets. "We- we could," My eyes felt heavy, it took everything to just keep them open. His warm drenched hands cupped me like I was all if a sudden made of glass. "We could go back if you just wait-" My eyes began to shut on themselves, I couldn't stop it no matter how much I refused. "No,nononono" He could have made a lake by now, heh... "Don't go please I- I didn't mean to I- please stay stay stay"

This was the end, I couldn't stop it and the only reason I didn't willingly fall yet was because he was here. He was acting as my life line, but even that's not strong enough when you've been turned into dough. "Liu'er please I love you" Using the last of my strangth I gently held his face and attempted to wipe away some of the stream falling down his cheeks. "I'm so sorry." I felt it more appropriate to tell him that then let my last words be how I loved him.

I felt everything go numb, I felt nothing, the muddied ground on my back was gone, the cold breeze from the howling winds was gone, the weight on my chest was gone... The last thing I heard was a scream... A blood curdling vibration that had gone through my body and etched it's sound into my soul. What did I do? What could I have done to have hurt him so much.

The place I was in wasn't as bad as I expected. It was an endless void of what appeared like the northern lights with stars all mixed with purple hues of indigo and a sunset slurry of stars. It was oddly peaceful, not how I thought my death would be. In fact I had expected to hurt, but this feeling, I welcome it. Maybe I could get a second chance once I reincarnated, I mean my sunshine was immortal and I highly doubt he'd ever die. I hope he moves on, that he forgets about me. I think I'll just, go back to my head, daydream of all our good memories before I started going insane. I also don't feel tiered... This truly is something I don't deserve but this is a wonderful feeling.

"Hello dear" A voice of a young girl echoed throughout the once peaceful atmosphere. Blue mist began to take over the area as hands began to take shape from them. I tried to get away to escape this but chains out if no where attached themselves to me. My body burned, it felt like a million bolts of lighting surging in my blood. I felt like I could explode at any moment. Everything turned dark, I felt cold crisp air inside my lungs, a chill down my spine, my eyes opened to see a kid with what looked like a red version of Wukong's staff. "No, no I- I'm nit ment to be here, I'm supposed to be dead, I'm supposed to be at peace I-" "do you really think you deserve that? Come now your destiny is to be my puppet little restless moon."

The kid infront of him had Wukong's magic running through him. Looking around he wanted to see if woking was anywhere near. Under a pile of his shadow clones Wukong was staring in disbelief the saconed he noticed who had been under the shadowed Vail LBD has previously placed over him. It was only now that she had managed to get him in the mortal plain. MK attacked the dark monkey only to miss as the man began to run away dismissing his clients back into the shadows, a bolt of pain coursing through his nerves stoped him in his tracks. Blue chains appeared on his wrists and ankles violently turning him around. He couldn't move, it was sleep paralysis all over again only he was truly wide awake. MK threw his staff at him before anything else could happen missing and destroying an engine in the process. The ship like craft crashed into the water. The dark monkey no where to be seen. The grate sage felt like he had seen a ghost, his blood boiling from what this ment that blasted demon was doing, he doubted that would be the last time they saw him.

____________

Aaaand done! That was fun to write, started getting a headache around the end though so sorry if it kinda degraded as it went. Also I have no idea why I changed the perspective this is what my head started doing and I just went with it.

This was apart of my Somniphobia AU and I'm so happy with it. I hope if anyone read it they enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing the bit with Wukong and Macaque at the start. Everything will probably be in pieces and no piticular order to how I write stuff since this is all for fun.

#lmk macaque #lego monkie kid #lmk six eared macaque #lmk sun wukong #lmk au #lmk mk #shadowpeach #lmk swk #lmk qi xiaotian #lmk wukong #lego monkey kid #Somniphobia AU #tw blood #tw death #tw violence #i had fun with this #i wanna write emotional violence more #I'ma go torture my OCs now

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blood-and-pizza · 1 year

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(TW: substance abuse, fnaf-typical murder) Have you ever noticed the bizzare connection between moon and themes of substance abuse? Between the "sleepy-time candy" which many people have theorized moon (under Afton's control) used to drug and kill kids, and the somnophobia story, which is an extremely thinly-veiled metaphor for substance abuse, it's a weird pattern! its only 2 nickels worth but if it comes up again we're going to have to deal with the implications of that and I'm not ready-

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH

Yeah, that definitely is weird and way too coincidental, man! Yeah, I always thought them giving candies to the kids to make them sleep was WEIRD. I mean, melatonin pills exist but I don't think that's what they are... knowing Fazbear Entertainment it's probably straight up drugs! GOD THEY SUCK!

And yeah, I agree, Somniphobia was definitely a substance abuse allegory. A well-done one, at that. I kinda wonder what Scott was trying to get at by making this a Moon-related story...

There's no way Scott isn't trying to tell us something, but I don't know what... if it does come up again, I don't think I'll be ready either!

#fnaf #tw: substance abuse #fnaf moon #fnaf somniphobia #fnaf moondrop #ask #tw: murder

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kittieshauntedourfantasy · 1 year

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sad jd headcanon:

he has nightmares so often that he’s developed somniphobia (fear of sleeping) and he does sleep but definitely doesnt get enough so he’s tired a lot. he sleeps super well with veronica there though

Fluffy addition: Veronica frequently comforts him!

#ask #veronicaslvr #jdronica #jd heathers #veronica heathers #veronica sawyer #sad headcanons #fluffy headcanons #headcanons #heathers headcanons #tw: somniphobia

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echo-echo31 · 2 years

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Hey Echo, I know you’ve talked about Night/Dark & somnophilia, but what about somniphobia (fear of sleep)?

~ @sammys-magical-au (who has experienced somniphobia for a brief period of time in my life and it wasn’t fun lmao✌️🙃)

SFW

Night can feel the anxiety around you. He tries at first to draw the need for sleep in closer, but that just leads to increased stress and panic on your part.

Instead, he ends up just holding you through the night, releasing you from your tiredness for a while and soothing you with his warm and gentle strokes on your back.

Eventually, you do actually have to succumb to your human needs. That's when Night whispers praises and reassurances into your ear, telling you he'll guard over your sleep, that nothing bad can happen while he's the god of this realm.

The first time you sleep through the night, you wake up to him still watching over you

"How're you feeling, my starlight?"

You feel better than you have in years.

#divine romantic <3 #tw: somniphobia #echo writes #echo answers #sammy

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imsosocold · 1 year

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When somebody suggests tea, long walks, and better scheduling for my sleeping problems

#i wish it was that simple #somniphobia #insomnia #vivid dreams #tw violence #tw vent post #i know they mean well #but i’m sick of hearing the same things suggested to me repeatedly and it being implied i’m just not trying “ hard enough” to “get better”#sleeping issues #noelle's rants

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dismie · 2 years

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"They took a little look at my brain

They come to find: all insane

They took a little look at my heart

They found a prince living behind bars"

#body horror tw #body horror #horror art #somniphobia #yeah so basically

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heartsforsserafim · 8 months

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g!p yunjin?

Sleep Over

gp!Yunjin x fem!reader

tw;somniphobia,unprotected sex

For weeks you and your best friend yunjin have been waiting to be able to plan a day for you two to spend the night together. Tonight was that night, she didn't have any schedules and you were off aswell.

The night went as planned, you two watched movies and played games. You fell tired before she did, so you both just lied on the couch together, her being behind you. It was all normal until she got hard by your movements.

"Come on this is a horrible time" Yun said under her breath as she felt her cock getting harder by the second, she knew there was no escaping this moment thanks to you waking up if she isn't holding you anymore.

Her last option left her here, embarrassingly humping her best friend like a dog in heat. Her whimpers being decently low but somewhat grew louder as time went on.

Her high was close and thrust became sloppy, until you moved, waking up, "Y-yun?" you asked, she stopped her movements and her heartbeat became faster. "Yea?" "What were you doing?" "Uhm" You felt her cock already in between your thighs, so you knew but you wanted her to say it. "you moved in your sleep and i got hard i couldn't help it i'm sorry" yun said her eyes welling with tears as she feared you'd be weirded out by her.

"Well, continue with what you're doing. I want to be able to feel good too yun" You say, "you're serious?" "Mhm, so get to moving before i change my mind." With that confirmation, yun was set on making you cum before she got to herself.

She started going insanely fast, playing with your tits to bring you more pleasure, she rubbed your clothed clit, "A-ah fuck. Yun i'm close" you say and it gives her more courage to just pistol inside of you and making you cum. You cum whilist shouting her name, and her own orgasm following behind yours.

You both lay there panting before she falls asleep on the couch, you kissing her forehead before turning back around and falling asleep.

an : i really only wrote what came to mind, sorry if it wasn't so good

#kpop #girl group smut #kpop smut #le sserafim #le sserafim smut #lesserafim smut #huh yunjin #yunjin

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fl3shm4id3n · 10 months

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ᴄᴏɴꜰᴜꜱɪᴏɴ

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐧𝐨 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐞. 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚'𝐯𝐢, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞. 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐲𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐧𝐚'𝐯𝐢 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐤𝐞. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐠𝐮𝐲. 𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐨𝐟, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞, 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫.

ᴘᴀɪʀɪɴɢ: ɴᴇᴛᴇʏᴀᴍ ᴛᴇ ꜱᴜʟɪ ᴛꜱʏᴇʏᴋ'ɪᴛᴀɴ x ꜰᴇᴍ! ᴛᴀʏʀᴀɴɢɪ ɴᴀ'ᴠɪ! ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

ꜱᴏɴɢ: ᴄʀʏꜱᴛᴀʟ ᴄᴀꜱᴛʟᴇꜱ - ᴠᴀɴɪꜱʜᴇᴅ

TW: Avatar Frontier of Pandora Spoilers, a bit of Somniphobia, insomnia

A/N: Sorry if it feels short :(

Masterlist

You were in the Avatar's tent, you were laying on a hammock that was in the far corner of the room. You couldn't sleep, more like, you didn't want to sleep, you feared that if you go to sleep, you'll end up sleeping for another fifteen years. You tried your hardest to keep your eyes open, you thought of the things that you did in the past and remembered some memories you made with your teacher, Miss. Cameron. You still wondered what could of happened to her, but when you asked about her to the human, it was as if, they didn't know her. It was odd.

As much as you tried to be awake, you ended up falling asleep. That you had dreamed many things, they were confusing dreams, as if someone or something was trying to tell you something. But you also dreamt of that couple you would dream of years back, except this time you saw them a bit more clearly, you couldn't completely see their faces, but you got somewhat of an idea of what they looked like. Who could they possibly be? Was this couple related to you in a way?

The next day you had gone back to the old school building, to your old room, to get some of your things. When you looked around the old not dusty and vine covered room, you couldn't help but remember the things that would happen in the room. How you and Carmella would stay up pass your bedtime and talk to each other about whatever. You missed her dearly, same with your classmates.

You looked at your things, you only got a few things, mainly what you needed, according to you. The Scientists had allowed you to stay with them in the avatars tent. You had slept in a small corner which was now your spot in the tent. The main reason was so that they could keep an eye on your health, perhaps later on you could make your tent, after you learned how of course. You were back at the tent, in your small corner. You had brought back a change of clothes, a vest that you had, other stuff that you were given to by the RDA, and a notebook. The notebook still had your old school notes, but since there as no more school to go to, maybe you could start writing your thoughts in it.

'Where do I begin? It has only been a day that has passed since I woke up. A lot has happened since the last time I could remember, I mean, I was in cryosleep for about fifteen years now and not only that but my classmates are still in Cryosleep and I have no idea where my teacher is, It was as if she disappeared... I don't know... Everything is just confusing.'

'Not only that but I had that dream again. The one with the couple, but this time I was able to see them a bit more clearly. The woman had some kind of red on her skin and the man had some kind of armor? I couldn't tell what he was wearing, but this was my first dream in fifteen years you could say.'

You finished writing and you closed the book, it was a short summary of what's happened to far, you could maybe write something later, for now, you just wanted to process everything that is happening around you. Then you heard someone come in, the tent had been empty since the Avatars and the scientists were out doing there stuff. When you looked up to see who it was, it was none other then Tuk. Ever since you had met her, she had grown some kind of interest in you and she had liked you right away.

"Hey y/n!" she called out to you and approached you. "Hey Tuk, how are you?" you asked politely towards the kid. "I'm good! You want to come with me?" she asked, maybe the woods could do you some good. "Sure why not" you said, getting up from the floor and placed your notebook on the hammock. Tuk then took your hand and lead you out of the tent, before you both could go any further you were stopped by Jake. "Where are you two going?" he asked, approaching you and Tuk. "I'm gonna show y/n around the village" she said, turning to look up at her dad. Jake then looked at you both. "Alright, if y/n doesn't feel any good, you bring her back to the avatar tent, got it?" he told his daughter, who simply nodded and proceeded to take you away.

Tuk had been showing you around the whole high camp, first she showed you were she lived, who her friends were and where the ikran would hang around. It was interesting to see how the na'vi lived. Lastly she took you to meet both her mom and grandmother, since you had already met her dad and siblings, they were the other people you didn't meet. She had been pulling your arm so that you could walk fast towards the tent.

"Mom! Grandma! This is y/n!" Tuk yelled to get the attention of both a older and young woman. They both stopped what they were doing and looked over at the younger na'vi and the teen who was being pulled around by the child. You did the greeting gesture towards the women out "oel ngati kameie" you said, hoping that you had sad it right. Both them women did the gesture back, out of respect, then the much older woman approached you.

You didn't move, instead allowed her to get a look at you. She got a hold of your hand to look at it, seen that you only had three fingers and a thumb, it surprised her a bit, she thought that you might of been an avatar. Then she looked into your eyes and inspected them closely. "You look familiar." She said to her self, examining more of you. "Her name is y/n! She' the one that was woken up from the sleeping pod" Tuk talked for you. All Mo'at did was hum. "Well, It seems that you'll need to be taught how to live like us, unless you want to?" she said looking at you. "If that's what appropriate I will ma'am" you said.

Mo'at then turned to look at the other woman. "I believe that Neteyam would be a good teacher, what do you think Neytiri?" she asked. Neytiri nodded. "Yeah, Neteyam can teach her" she responded. Mo'at then turned back to face you. "My grandchild, Neteyam, he will teach you everything that you need to learn." She to you, then she turned to Tuk. "Tuk, could you go get your brother?" she asked, without hesitation, Tuk went out of the tent to get Neteyam.

A couple minutes had passed, Neteyam and Tuk had come in the tent. "Grandmother, Mother" he said bowing his head towards Mo'at and Neytiri. Then Mo'at went up to him. "Neteyam, you're responsible to teach y/n everything that you know of our ways, since she's already learned the Dreamwalkers way, she'll now known ours, understood?" she asked towards the young boy. Neteyam nodded and responded "yes Grandmother, I will" he said politely and respectfully. "First things first, get her something else to wear." Mo'at instructed him. Then Neteyam guided you out of the tent, followed by Tuk.

You were given a change of clothes, but instead of human clothes, it was the clothes the girls would wear. The top was of feathers that barely covered anything and the loincloth was, how could you describe it? It was basically underwear with a cloth that hanged. You looked down at yourself, to see how you looked with the na'vi attire on. "What do you think? I thought It would fit you since we're some what of the same size, later I can help you make your own" Kiri said while her and Tuk were helping you with your hair, they had put it up and added a couple braids with some beads.

You were moving a bit on the floor, trying to get used to the loincloth. "Are you sure this suits me? Aren't I showing to much?" you asked. "You look fine!" Tuk said, finishing a small braid and putting in a bead. "Yeah, you'll get used to it" Kiri said, while adding some kind of ring accessory on your queue. "Done! You look like one of us now!" Tuk said excited, helping you get up from the floor with Kiri. You felt your face heat up a bit by her complement. "I just hope that I become one of you later on." You said with a shy chuckle, while touching your hair, feeling the many little braids on your head.

You then heard both Neteyam and Lo'ak coming in the tent, they were talking about something, but Neteyam went silent as soon as he saw you. He couldn't help but stare at you, feeling his cheeks turn purple b the sight of you. "Is something wrong?" you asked worriedly, looking down at yourself. Neteyam tried to say something, but all that came out from his mouth was babbling, his brother was fed up and decided to talk for him. "I'm sorry about him, what he wants to say is that you look stunning" he said in a flirty way. Making your cheeks warm up. "Thank you.." you said shyly. Then both Kiri and Tuk decided that they wanted to take you out, so they both got a hold of your hand and dragged you out of the tent.

"Bro, what was that?" Lo'ak asked his older brother who manage to get a hold of himself. "Sorry, I don't know.." he said a bit embarrassed, then Lo'ak had an evil little smirk. "Oh~ I see~" he said teasingly. "What?" he asked. "You like y/n don't you?" Lo'ak asked while wiggling his eyes brows. "N-NO! Not at all, I am to be her teacher, and don't like her that way" Neteyam shouted, with a purple blush on his cheeks. "Uh huh, sure. You know, maybe after she completes her rite of Passage you could court her" Lo'ak adviced him. Neteyam stopped to think, maybe his brother was right for once, he could try and court you. "If not then I'll court y/n, I mean, who wouldn't want moi as their mate?" Lo'ak said with confidence, making Neteyam laugh. "You wish" he said to his little brother, earning a fake pout from him.

ᴘʀᴇᴠɪᴏᴜꜱ ᴘᴀʀᴛ, ɴᴇxᴛ ᴘᴀʀᴛ

Taglist: @afro-hispwriter, @avatar4eva

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bella-goths-wife · 2 years

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Slashers helping S/O with their phobias

Tw- gore, blood mentioned, unknown cannibalism mentioned, toxic behaviour (mostly Asa), manipulation, drugging, forcing someone unconscious, death mentioned, dead body description

Michael Myers: hemophobia- fear of blood

When you were younger you had seen your father cut his thumb off and he had to be rushed off to hospital to get it reattached, but in that chaos the blood had sprayed straight onto your face causing you to always feel sick at the sight of blood because it took you back to seeing your fathers open hand leaking blood all over the kitchen floor

Now Michael is not the most understanding of the slashers because he is barely able to understand your basic emotional needs so phobias is gonna be a hard one for him

At the start of your relationship there would be many nights of Michael coming back soaked in blood after a night of murder

This would cause you to break down crying while telling him to clean himself, practically shoving him into the shower

Honestly if it was anyone else he would have killed them straight away for ordering him about

Once your able to calm down you explain what a phobia is and what yours is and you also explain why you have it

He doesn’t understand fully and probably never will but he will at least try to not be covered in blood near you

And further on in the relationship when he is fully in love with you he will learn how to clean blood out of the carpet because he always hears you gagging when having to clean his messes up

It’s the bare minimum but what do you expect from good old mickey

Bo Sinclair: Somniphobia- fear of falling asleep

When you were younger you were left alone with your parents dvd collection a lot so to keep yourself entertained you basically watched them all

Your parents didn’t think to separate the horror movies though so at a young age you were exposed to many scary things and while it made you love horror films later on In life it caused you to have a lot of nightmares as a child which carried on into adulthood causing you to have an irrational fear of going to sleep because of the possibility that you would go back to being that scared child who clutched their blanket out of fear

So when you and bo first got into your relationship you would be in separate rooms so Bo would never suspect that you weren’t sleeping and although he grew concerned for the dark bags under your eyes and the constant dazed look in your eyes he just told himself that you must have trouble sleeping

It wasn’t until you had first spent the night together that bo had truly realised that you just don’t sleep until you physically pass out. He knew this because he waited all night for you to fall asleep but every time your eyes would start to droop you would snap them back open

He will confront you about it in his usual brutishness but you can tell he’s coming from a place of worry so with a sigh you explain your fear to him and what had caused it

And although it sounds ridiculous to Bo he won’t mock you because of how exhausted you looked like you were done trying to fight it

He won’t tell you but because of how deep your eye bags were getting and the lack of sleep effecting the way you would go about your day- you were a shell of a person and it scared the hell out of bo

So when you weren’t with him he slipped some sleeping pills into your hot chocolate just so you could have a few hours of rest to put you back into your regular self

When you realised that you couldn’t fight off sleep anymore you looked at Bo with a look of betrayal as if he’d just sentenced you to hell

He holds you while you let out soft whimpers and cries as your eyes slowly close whilst whispering gentle reassurance that he was there to protect you and he would keep you close all night

Bo would never tell anyone but he swears that his heart breaks every time he does this but he tells himself it will be all worth it once you wake up fully rested and back to yourself again, he’ll stay with you until you wake up and won’t let you go in case you wake up and think he’s abandoned you

This will become a weekly routine and Bo will do anything in his power to make it as comfortable for you as possible

Vincent Sinclair: Automatonophobia – Fear of ventriloquist dummies or wax statues

You had developed this fear from a young age when your older siblings would put a wax, child sized doll in your room while you were asleep and move it around your home when you weren’t in, you were convinced it was alive and would scream and shout whenever it was in the same room as you

So undeniably this caused many problems in yours and Vincent’s relationship

Because of your phobia you would avoid the house of wax with all you energy but everywhere in that damn town you would run into a wax person

It got to the point where you would cling to Bo and Lester whenever Vincent wasn’t with you which annoyed the hell out of Bo but he put up with it because you were dating his brother, and Lester was just happy to have some company

This still caused extreme jealousy issues in your relationship with Vincent thinking your only dating him to get close to his brothers

This constant argument caused you to confront the problem head on and you admitted your phobia

At first, Vincent was shocked and also a little bit offended, was the work he spent his life completing really that scary for you?

But after you explain why you have this phobia he calms down and starts understanding where your coming from

To compromise he makes your shared home a safe haven for you, he hides all wave figures in the house and keeps his work separate from you

This makes your day to day life way less stressful and makes your relationship go more smoothly with you finally admitting why you were scared

Thomas Hewitt: Necrophobia: Fear of death or dead things

As a child you were friends with a group of children who loved exploring the local woods

One of the days you went exploring you and your friends had found the dead body of a woman who had fallen off of a ledge, her head had cracked open

This caused you to fear death and any dead things because of the exposure you had gotten as a child

As we know the Hewitt residence thrives off of death and dead things so this did cause some problems

Because you knew of what happened in the basement after being a former victim to its stained floors you avoided it with all your energy

You couldn’t stand to be in there for more then a few seconds because the smell and aura of death surrounded the place

Unfortunately this caused Thomas to think you couldn’t stand to spend time with him since you bolted to the basement door after saying whatever you came down there to say

After Thomas had acted off with you for a few days you confronted him about it and he opened up to you with his insecurities

You quickly reassured him that you loved spending time with him before admitting to your fear

Thomas understood quickly that yes some people would be distressed with death so he quickly forgives you and offers to come visit you upstairs instead of you having to face your fears of the basement

You both work out compromises to make both of your lives easier

All Thomas hopes is that you don’t ever come to learn the truth that you weren’t eating a separate meal from everyone else and that your chicken was something much more sinister

Tiffany valentine: Androphobia: Fear of men

You had bad experiences with men your entire life

And because of that you grew to fear them and their intentions

That’s how you met Tiffany, she had defended you from a drunk man trying to usher you into a taxi

This instantly earned her your trust and you both began a whirlwind romance which ended up with her moving into your apartment

You were open about your fear from the very start and Tiffany was very understanding about it and did her best to help you in any way she could

She would kill any men she knew specifically frightened you when you were forced to interact with them for various reasons like work

She would kill any man who made you slightly uncomfortable and would shield you from any vulgar language men would direct towards you

Overall a very understanding partner who would kill god them self if they made you uncomfortable

Asa Emory: claustrophobia- fear of confined spaces

When you were younger you were bullied a lot and one of your bullied favourite methods would be to lock you in a cupboard under the sink in an art classroom

After this you developed a fear of any small or confined space

At first the Asa would use this to his advantage and purposefully put you in confined spaces as a method of torture

But as soon as you gain the title of “the collectors pet” he quickly stops that from being a daily thing and will comfort you through your panic attacks after being in a confined space

This is probably how you develop Stockholm syndrome because of the attention and affection you would get after being scared half to death

Will still use your fear to his advantage if you try to escape or disobey the rules

It would be his new form of punishing you

#bo sinclair x reader #thomas hewitt x reader #vincent sinclair x reader #asa emory x reader #Tiffany valentine x reader #tiffany valentine #bo sinclair #vincent sinclair #Thomas Hewitt #asa Emory #phobia #x reader #michael myers x reader #michael myers

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centipedelightning · 1 year

Note

Hello, one was hoping to request separate headcanon sets for Tommy and Python who are in QPRs with a gn reader who has Somniphobia + Nyctophobia! If not, one understands!

One thanks thou for taking the time to read this!

do you use like?? old english pronouns? Bc if so that is so incredibly cool.

Mafiafell Sans & Papyrus x gn!Reader w/ Somniphobia and Nyctophobia || queer platonic || comfort

no cw/tws || not proof read sorry :/

Tommy

He gets the nyctophobia thing. Being a mob boss doesn’t really lend itself to restful sleep.

Hate to tell you that both humans and monsters need to sleep at some point though, so Tommy makes it his mission to get you to bed as easily as possible.

If your relationship is the type where you sleep in his bed with him, be that every night or just some, he makes sure to keep his room as comfortable for you as possible.

You got nice lamps giving off a very low ambient light. You got a bed overflowing with nice, soft blankets and pillows perfect for you neck.

He only does this for you btw, that man could sleep on a cement floor like it’s the queen’s bed.

Hell, he tries very hard to be home more often to help you get to sleep. If your somniphobia stems from a sense of safety (or lack thereof) there’s nothing safer than one of the scariest boss monsters and mob bosses around.

He’s willing to do damn near anything you ask if it’ll help you sleep. Massages, stories, he will even sing for you if he knows it’ll help. He’s not great at singing for the record. Fine, good even, but not great.

Hint: ask him to hum instead <3

On nights where you just can’t sleep no matter how hard you both try, he’s prepared to stay up with you to keep you company.

If you live with him, he installs nightlights and ambient lights in every room so you can walk around at night. If you don’t live together, he does the same thing. He just gets more obnoxious about checking them because he’s not over every moment of every day to make sure none of the bulbs blew.

Python

You want a man you can bond over having a sleeping fear with? You got him right here. Python is a Don. Can you imagine how bad his anxiety must be?

At first, your mutual sleeping fears will blend into a cesspool of anxiety and paranoia. It. Sucks. After you two have a heart to heart about how the other looks like garbage and has been barely functioning, y’all will come up with solutions.

Python has massive safety/security fears that makes it hard to sleep. You two come up the idea to install a state of the art security system that’ll alert Python the second there’s trouble. You explain your specific issues and you both come up with the most perfect, foolproof solution.

Naturally anxiety and phobias are by definition irrational, so this isn’t a perfect fix. That’s what you have each other for! Python makes some delicious teas, so on nights where one, the other, or both can’t sleep, he’ll get up and make some.

He’s definitely more of a wait until the fear passes enough to sleep kind of guy, but if you express that you aren’t and want to get to sleep, he does his best to help. In a similar, if not more stilted manner, Python does some similar stuff to Tommy. He’s willing to talk and tell stories. If you need him to just drone on so you can sleep, he will. You will hear about budgets, and territories, and resource allocations. It’s some of the most boring stuff in the world, but whatever helps right?

Nyctophobia he gets in theory.

Like, yes he understands that you have a fear of the dark and he even gets that there’s a lot of things that could stem from. But honestly? He’s so used to working at night and he’s able to handle himself that it’s never been a real concern for him.

He obviously is willing to help though. He offers to buy a nightlight or dim lamp to keep in your room. If you two sleep in the same bed ever, he’s gonna grumble about it.

Python is the kind of guy that needs absolute darkness to sleep. He gets you a nightlight no matter what, but he will also treat himself to a Very Fancy sleep mask.

He will never tell you that he’s been practicing acclimating himself to sleeping with more light because he wants to make sure you are as comfortable as possible. No way.

#•centipede writes•#mf!papyrus #mf!sans #undertale x reader #sans x reader #undertale #papyrus x reader #undertale scenarios #mafiafell #mafiafell papyrus #mafiafell sans #mafiafell sans x reader #mafiafell papyrus x reader #underfell #request

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parad-ice-lostandfound · 1 year

Text

Prompt:

Pairing: OM!Brothers x GN!MC, Simeon x GN!MC, Diavolo x GN!MC, Barbatos x GN!MC

Genre: Hurt/Comfort ig?

TW: Small paragraph of what sleep anxiety is and entails directly below (please skip if you don't feel comfortable reading it, not really relevant to the headcannons), fear of dying in sleep, mentions of random pains. If there's anything I've missed, please do let me know!

Sleep anxiety, also known as somniphobia is a sleep disorder that describes discomfort sleeping alone or a general fear of falling asleep. Those who experience somniphobia explain it as extreme anxiety that makes it difficult to get to sleep even when they are tired. It is often associated with other disorders that cause negative sleep experiences, including sleep paralysis, frequent nightmares, night terrors, and parasomnias.

Lucifer

At first, Lucifer doesn’t realize something is wrong. He has brothers who are prone to staying up late, so usually, he’ll tell you to sleep as he does his rounds. It’s only after finding you up a couple of times at unholy hours of the night despite showing signs of needing the rest that he thinks something is wrong.

He calls you into his office one night, long after his brothers have gone to bed and carefully pries out the reason for your unhealthy sleep schedule.

After you tell him about your fears, he’ll offer for you to sleep with him in his room. If you accept, he’ll quickly take you to his room and get in bed with you, but he won’t sleep. Instead, he’ll be playing with your hair, trying to lull you into sleep, assuring you that he is right there.

He will do his research and ask you if you want to visit a therapist to help with your situation. In the meantime, he’ll do subtle changes to your schedule and eating habits that’ll help.

Lucifer starts paying closer attention to your mood as it is a clear indicator of whether you’ve been sleeping enough or not. Will try not to look as if he’s too worried about the random pains, but they do keep him up at night sometimes and so he takes you to a doctor to make sure nothing is wrong with you physically.

Lucifer is reminded of just how fragile and delicate humans can be. Of course, you’re no damsel in distress, but you aren’t as resilient as demons either. So expect him to fuss over you like a concerned parent the moment you seem to be in pain.

Mammon

Mammon, being your first demon (and your biggest simp) catches onto the fact that you don’t sleep pretty fast. He is observant when it comes to you; neither the bags under your eyes from lack of sleep nor the way you seem reluctant to go to your room at night slip past him.

His confrontation is quite straight-to-the-point. Just a simple “Hey human, did ya not get enough sleep last night?”, but the concern in his eyes and tone is as plain as day.

Once he finds out about your fears, he relates it to how bad Beel’s nightmares were after they had just fallen. Sure, they weren’t the same thing, but the essence of it was pretty much the same; in both cases, a loved one was afraid to sleep and thus harming themself.

Invites himself over to your room for sleepovers. Don’t pay attention to the way he blushes seeing you in your nightclothes or how he tenses slightly when he gets into bed with you. Give him some time and he’ll wrap his arms around you, pulling you close and humming a calming tune to help you fall asleep.

Panics a little when you tell him about the random pains and immediately takes you for a medical check-up, multiple medical check-ups in fact. You can never be too cautious, y'know?

Hates the fact that you worry about dying in your sleep. Hates it even more that he’s become slightly paranoid about it as well. Sometimes he’ll wake up in the middle of the night only to check whether you’re still breathing.

He’s lost you once, and he never wants to experience that again.

Leviathan

Leviathan didn’t really find it odd that you remained awake at odd hours of the night. The otaku was the same way, so he couldn’t really judge you when you answered his messages almost instantaneously even if it were 3 in the morning.

It took Asmo pointing out the exhausted look on your face for him to notice at first. After that, he becomes extra observant around and during his interactions with you.

One night, after a long gaming session in his room, Levi asks you why he always sees you online or awake at weird hours. He knows he does the same, but he actually gets some sleep since he doesn’t really have any obligations aside from RAD classes, which he attends online.

Once he finds out about your fears, he is sympathetic. Anxiety is a tough thing to deal with, but don’t worry, he’s here to help you. On nights you don’t wanna sleep, just come over to Levi’s room. You’re tucked in his bathtub bed carefully, lo-fi music playing in the background while he plays a game on his PC. The dim light from Henry’s aquarium, the clacking sounds of his keyboard and the music seem to ease your mind and help you to fall asleep quickly.

Levi gets worried when you tell him about the pains and even goes with you to your doctor’s appointments that he arranges with Lucifer’s help. After all, the Lord of Shadows couldn’t possibly leave his Henry to suffer alone, could he?

Satan

Satan is a smart demon. He is quick in catching onto the practically non-existent nature of your sleep schedule but doesn’t know whether it is his place to ask. So he waits for a few days, reasoning to himself that maybe it’s a one-time thing, maybe the stress from RAD is getting to you, maybe-

Yeah, he doesn’t last long.

He pulls you aside from his rambunctious brothers one day and gently asks you if you’re feeling okay. He assures you that he won’t make you talk if you don’t feel like it and reminds you that he’s always here to listen and help.

When you tell him about your fears, he is at a loss for a moment. If it was something else making you sad, Satan would’ve immediately offered to destroy it. But this was something your mind was doing to you. Satan immediately starts researching on it, advising changes to your schedule and diet to help you get over it.

Will talk you into meeting a therapist and getting medication if necessary or if the changes in your routine and diet don’t help much. He becomes very worried when you tell him about the random pains and sees if there’s a spell to help you with it, just in case it’s not something physical that can be controlled or healed.

Asmodeus

Asmo quite often gets on your case about not taking care of yourself but chalks it up to either one of his brothers or schoolwork keeping you up at first. It’s only after he does a little digging that he finds out that it’s not his brothers or RAD homework.

Asmo worries, and he shows that by inviting you to his room to relax and enjoy a stress-free spa day. As he pampers you, he coaxes you to talk to him and tell him why you haven’t been sleeping.

Once he comes to know of your fear, he’ll do everything in his power to help you get over it. He’ll suggest that you two have sleepovers in his room at least once a week. He chooses a calming scent like lavender on those days and treats you like royalty. The atmosphere in his room is calming and his soft voice makes you feel safe enough to fall asleep comfortably.

When you inform Asmo about the random pains, he immediately suggests a massage to try and help with it. Of course, there are other remedies as well, so if a nice massage by him doesn’t really help, he will do everything in his power to help you.

Probably ropes Solomon in to help you as well.

Beelzebub

While it is true that Beel often has a one-track mind when it comes to food, he is very devoted to his family. And since he considers you a part of his family, he is very attentive to you as well. That’s how he finds out about your almost non-existent sleep schedule.

When he comes to your room for the third time after a nightmare and finds you awake, he asks you if everything’s alright. The worry in his voice and the face he makes convinces you to tell him about your fears.

Beel knows how bad not sleeping can be for your body, but doesn’t really know what to do, so he settles for doing what you always do when he has a nightmare; he gets into bed with you and cuddles you, hoping it can help. He’s extremely relieved when it seems to work and you go to sleep.

Beel suggests exercising to help with making you sleep. If you’re exhausted by the time you need to go to bed, you won’t have the energy to think and get scared by the prospect of sleeping, right?

Being an athlete, I think Beel has had his fair share of pain and injuries. So when you tell him about the random pains that freak you out, he immediately goes to Lucifer.

Beel asks Belphie to look over you when you’re sleeping and also talks to Lucifer about seeking professional help for you. He just wants you to be happy and safe.

Belphegor

Wonders if it’s because of him that you fear dying in your sleep, considering, y'know, sleep being part of his domain and his past with you.

Belphie doesn’t show he’s concerned; even if you don’t sleep at night, he can always get you to nap with him. Imagine how betrayed he feels when he finds you don’t actually sleep when he naps with you. On one hand, he’s kind of happy that you don’t push him off or anything when he clings to you for hours on end, on the other hand, you need sleep dammit-

He tries to ease you into talking about it, but somewhere along the line he loses his patience, his tone bordering on begging, asking you to tell him why you won’t sleep. He knows what not sleeping can do to someone, and he shudders at ever seeing you that listless and dull.

After telling him about your fears, Belphie will immediately ask you to nap with him. He will also offer to look over you while you sleep, slipping into your dream to make sure you aren’t plagued by nightmares when you finally decide to sleep.

Suggests going to a professional when you mention the random pains you get. Belphie also becomes very clingy, not wanting to stay more than a feet away from you.

Simeon

Simeon is perceptive; not a lot goes by this angel unnoticed. So it’s safe to say that he finds out about your lack of sleep fairly quickly.

Simeon isn’t the confrontational type. He gives away little hints that he knows you’re not getting the rest you should, feeling that you’ll come to him when you’re comfortable letting him know what’s going on.

Once you approach him and let him know of your fears, he will gently soothe your worries. His presence in itself is very calming, and there is no judgement in his eyes when he listens to your fears, however irrational they may seem to you as you say them out loud. He assures you that you are safe and protected, surrounded by people who would do anything for you.

Simeon talks Lucifer into letting you stay over at Purgatory Hall more frequently to help with your fear of sleep. He does everything to make sure that you have a good time whenever you’re over, be it baking treats with Luke, experimenting with Solomon or just cuddling and being lovey-dovey with him.

When you tell him about the pains, he offers to use his angelic powers to ease them. It’s only a temporary measure, so Simeon advises you to get it checked out, coming along with you to the doctor if you want him to.

He buys things said to help a person fall asleep, like soothing scents and candles and gifts them to you whenever he sees you.

Diavolo

Diavolo is a very devoted partner. Although he does not get as much time with you as he likes, he asks Lucifer to keep him updated on your condition, what you do etc. That is how he comes to know of your lack of sleep.

The next time you visit the castle, Diavolo inquires about your well-being, asking if you’re okay and if there’s anything he can do to make your stay in the Devildom better. Gently, he pries the truth from you.

There is absolutely nothing this demon will stop at if it means you get your sleep. Diavolo immediately asks you to stay at the castle so he can take care of you himself. No matter how busy he’ll be, he makes time from his schedule just to help you with this.

He gets Barbatos and Lucifer to help him in his research, finding out ways to help. Any lifestyle or diet changes that can help are implemented immediately. If those do not help, Diavolo seeks out the best therapists and psychiatrists.

When you tell him about the random pains, he gets a little freaked out. He offers to help you with magic, but also advises you to get a thorough medical check-up, just to make sure nothing else is wrong with you. He treats you like a delicate little flower and spoils you during all of this.

He comes to all your doctor’s appointments, eager to make sure that you’re alright.

Barbatos

Barbatos is meticulous in all aspects. Not a single detail goes unnoticed, so it was only a matter of time before he would come to know about your fear of sleep.

He brings it up one day as you’re helping him in the kitchen to make something for his young lord’s lunch. He makes sure you know that he will not force you to answer him, but also tells you that he worries about you and would feel much more at ease if you told him why you wouldn’t sleep.

Similar to Diavolo, Barbatos asks Lucifer to keep an eye on you. He knows he won’t be able to focus on you as much as he’d like due to his duties and responsibilities, but he does try to be there as much as he can.

He researches ways to help you with it. On Lucifer’s suggestions, he takes the evenings off for a few days so that he can be with you. Barbatos implements certain changes to your diet and lifestyle that may help you.

He is also there to all of your doctor’s appointments, though you’re not quite sure how he does that. He is a bit concerned when you tell him about the random pains and takes you to get them checked out as well.

Sometimes it may feel like Barbatos is behaving like a overprotective and concerned parent to you, but it all comes from a place of love. If you ask him to back off a little, he will most certainly do so, though a little reluctantly. He just wants you to be safe and happy.

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eliemo · 2 years

Text

Somniphobia

Summary: Somniphobia: The irrational fear of falling asleep Bruce has to protect them. It doesn't matter how long he's been awake, it doesn't matter how exhausted he is. He's never safe when he shuts his eyes. No one is. Why can't they understand that? Notes: Superbat, Justice League as a family, tw for panic attacks, nightmares, and Bruce having lots of issues also this got deleted but it's back now!

If Bruce was in a better mood, he might have teased Clark over his choice of car. Really, it would have been less ridiculous if they’d all just taken separate vehicles.

As it was, Batman driving a minivan full of exhausted superheroes through the desolate countryside wasn’t something anyone was finding a way to make light of right now. It was a testament to how grim their situation was that Barry hadn’t even cracked a joke when Bruce had kicked Superman out of the driver’s seat, and Clark had slid over to the passenger side without a word.

Flash had, however, complained for the first fifteen minutes of the drive, fidgety and restless where he was sat in between Green Lantern and Aquaman, insisting that it would be safer if Bruce gave him the address so he could scope the place out before the rest of the league arrived.

“Absolutely not,” Clark had said, clearly run ragged with the weight on his shoulders, voice tighter than he usually would have allowed. “Like Diana said, we need to limit using our powers as much as we can. We have no idea how they’ve been tracking us, we can’t risk it.”

“But we can't just–”

Batman had met his eyes in the rearview mirror, leveling Flash with a steely glare, and Barry had immediately shut his mouth without further complaint.

Really, as if Bruce would ever bring them somewhere that could be compromised.

He’d lost track of how long they’d been driving for, the world outside of the road in front of him blurring dangerously, but he knew the way to all of his safehouses like the back of his hand. It had to be pushing six hours or so by now, the sky darkening to a sea of orange and gray as the sun sank behind the endless scenery of dark forest.

Bruce hadn’t been this exhausted in a long time. He was used to going days without sleep, night after night spent patrolling Gotham’s streets, but the last week had taken a toll on all of them.

The Justice League had been kept on their toes, running from battle to battle for four days straight, their enemy always two steps ahead, never giving them a chance to rest. The Watchtower had been compromised and the founding members of the League had been sent running, left on the defensive without a solid plan of attack.

They needed to lay low as long as they could, gather their bearings and come up with a plan before someone got killed. Nobody was thrilled about it, sitting back and waiting when a hostile force could change tactics and start targeting innocents at any moment, but there wasn’t much of a choice until they figured out what it was they were up against.

Hence the minivan with tinted windows, and Bruce driving them to one of his remote safehouses. He’d done everything in his power to ensure they weren’t being tracked or followed, and the roads were desolate, but he hadn’t let himself drop his guard for a second.

Clark and Diana had both offered to drive several times, worry lacing into their tones as they tried to coax him into pulling over, but he’d barely offered them a word of response, shrugging off their concern and keeping his eyes fixated on the road, stubbornly ignoring the way the right one had begun to twitch.

Most of the others managed to doze off a bit during the car ride, Bruce able to breathe just a bit easier each time he saw one of them sleeping soundly, even if it was only for a few minutes. Even Clark managed to rest his eyes when it became clear Batman had no intention of willingly giving up the wheel.

Bruce was used to running himself this thin. He’d been burning the candle at both ends his entire life, he could handle a few more days. He’d rest when the Justice League was safely back in the Watchtower where they belonged.

“We’re here,” Bruce said, turning the van onto the dirt road. He ignored the spike of guilt in his chest when Hal jolted awake at his words. “Get in as quickly as you can, then check and make sure every door and window is locked.”

They all went without argument, Clark and Arthur moving around to the trunk to bring in what little supplies they’d managed to grab. Bruce slowly made his rounds along the outside of the cabin, scanning the walls and the ground, double and triple checking for any signs of life.

There shouldn’t be anyone around for miles, the cabin one of his more secluded safehouses, and everything seemed to be just as untouched as it was when he’d left it last. They hadn’t been followed, he’d been doing this long enough to know when he was being tailed, and they had a decent vantage point in case anyone did try to ambush them. Still, it never hurt to be wary.

The rest of the team was already inside by the time he slipped through the front door and locked it behind him, (Three locks. All of his safehouses had three sets of locks.) all of them doing exactly what he’d said and checking every window latch and every back door. Bruce could feel Superman’s eyes on him, scanning his movements for any sign of fatigue, but he refused to waver under Clark’s gaze.

He was fine. He’d been hiding his entire life, disappearing in order to survive, weaving lies and shadows to everyone who laid eyes on him. A situation like this wasn’t something that was entirely unfamiliar.

He just wasn’t used to having other people to worry about.

He should feel better this time. There were people here he trusted with his life, people who had proven time and time again that they had his back as much as he had theirs, capable heroes who could hold their own no matter what the world threw at him.

Instead, it was only sending his thoughts spiraling farther downward than they would have if he’d been alone. Too many things could go wrong. Too many people could get hurt. One wrong move could mean he loses a teammate. One bad decision could get his friends killed.

This was exactly why he worked alone.

“We should be safe here for a couple days at least,” Bruce said . Should be. They had to be. “I’ll keep an eye on things and make sure we don’t have any company. The sooner we come up with a plan the better.”

“Nice place,” Hal commented, plopping onto the flimsy armchair in the corner of the main room. Bruce didn’t think that thing had ever been sat on before now. “If it wasn’t for the impending doom, this might actually be a nice getaway.”

“It is a nice view,” Wonder Woman agreed. Bruce rubbed his temples, barely registering their words through the mush his brain was quickly melting into. “Right now all we can do is wait for J’onn to get back to us with more information. Until then, we all need to get some rest. We’ll be useless in battle run ragged like this.”

“She’s right.”

Bruce did his best to tune back in as Superman voiced his agreement, a shudder of relief falling over the rest of the team, but his mind was stuck elsewhere.

This was one of the largest safehouses he had access to, but there was still the question of having enough room for everyone. The manor would have easily been able to house all of them, but putting Alfred or the kids at unnecessary risk was out of the question.

It would be a bit cramped here, but it was far better than wearing themselves thin staying on the run, or dead on the battlefield. Though he’d never willingly admit it, he was beyond grateful to be out of that damn car, his stiff legs still protesting every little movement.

They’d need to take shifts throughout the night. Bruce had no plans to leave his post or drop his guard anytime soon, but he could admit to himself that he wasn’t running at full capacity. He could use a second pair of eyes tonight. Not to mention he still needed to take stock of what supplies they had left, and gauge whether or not it was safe enough to make the drive into town to pick up more food or water or tools.

Bruce knew how to remain unseen, blend into a crowd and slip in and out unnoticed, but the idea of leaving the cabin for even a few minutes sent a rush of alarm shooting down his spine.

Then again, sending someone else would mean one of them would be alone and defenseless, and Bruce wouldn’t be able to have eyes on a member of his team. They could be followed or hurt or captured, and Bruce would have no idea.

He could send Barry, he’d be in and out in the blink of an eye and nobody would even notice, but that would mean using his powers, running the risk of being tracked down, and they couldn’t take that chance either.

Which meant they’d need to hold off on making the trip for now, and hope they had enough supplies for all of them. Bruce always kept his safehouses stocked, always prepared for the worst, but he only ever planned on one person using them at a time. Two at most, if he and Dick managed to get caught up in something together.

There were countless other things to worry about, whirling around his scattered mind like a torn up checklist. He should make another round of the house, double and triple check his security, maybe even scan the surrounding woods again just to make sure they weren’t being watched. After that, he still needed to–

“Batman?”

Bruce blinked, careful not to make it too obvious that he’d completely lost track of the conversation. They were all staring at him, expectant and a little concerned, and Bruce ignored the frustration threatening to rise up in his chest. He’d usually never let himself zone out like this, and he felt a spark of panic flicker to life in his chest. He couldn’t afford to be off his game, not when the situation was so dire. Not when he had so many people relying on him.

“There’s two beds,” he explained, taking a wild guess as to what they were asking him. He had the odd sensation that he was floating, his voice far away to his own ears. God, he was so tired. “One in the bedroom down the hall, one in the loft upstairs. You can all work out who’s getting the couch. I’ll keep watch for the first few hours, but after that I need you to start taking shifts so I can handle some work around the house. I’ll need at least one of you to help me go over–”

“Batman,” Clark said again, more forceful this time, and he almost looked surprised when Bruce snapped his mouth shut. He didn’t have the energy to try to talk over Superman right now. “You’re sleeping first. We can handle the rest.”

Bruce hoped the way his panic skyrocketed wasn’t as obvious as it felt, silently grateful he still hadn’t removed his cowl. Not that it would do anything to deter the alien who could hear his heartbeat from across an ocean. “No.”

“You need to sleep,” Diana said, the princess leaned far too casually against the kitchen counter, like she didn’t expect this to turn into much of a debate. “We can handle whatever it is that needs to be done, go on and get some rest.”

“You all need to sleep more than I do,” Bruce argued. He was the one who was used to pulling all-nighters, running himself into the ground, being pushed forward by nothing but fear and spite. “I have work to do.”

“What work?” Clark asked. His voice was soft, treading carefully, and Bruce was quickly becoming sick of being treated like a cornered animal. His skin was crawling, but snapping and creating an unnecessary argument was the last thing any of them needed. “Checking inventory and keeping watch? Any of us can handle that, it doesn’t have to be you.”

“It’s my safehouse.”

“This isn’t our first rodeo, Bats.” Hal was smirking at him from across the room, but his smile didn’t reach his eyes, shoulders held far too tense for his nonchalance to be genuine. “Seriously, man. We got this, go lay down. You look like shit.”

“I’m fine.”

“You are not fine,” Diana said, voice tilting towards something that teetered dangerously between affectionate and authoritative. “All of us managed to sleep in the car, and I know you. You didn’t get a chance to sleep before any of this started, did you?”

And Bruce… didn’t have an argument for that. Because she was right. Just before the League had called him in to deal with what turned into an endless week of dodging extraterrestrial attack after extraterrestrial attack, he’d been trapped in a game of cat and mouse with Joker, keeping him on his toes for two nights in a row before he finally sent the clown back to his Arkham cell.

He’d managed to snag maybe an hour and a half after that, dumping himself unceremoniously on the couch in the early afternoon sun before Alfred shook him awake to inform him of Superman's distress call.

But that was his job. He was supposed to be able to handle this.

And he could, he was fine. They’d stay here a day or so, two or three at the most, and Bruce would keep himself occupied watching the treeline and working on a way to understand their new enemies and locate a weakness.

It would be over soon enough, and then he could go home and… and maybe try to find time for a nap. Maybe. He was sure he could spare a couple of hours at most before his next patrol.

“I’m fine,” he said again, but it sounded weak, his strength fading. The exhaustion was finally catching up to him now that attention was being called to his less than ideal sleep schedule, weighing him down, every little movement making his chest ache. The pressure behind his eyes was building, his throat tight, and Bruce quickly bit back the helpless frustration.

He was supposed to be able to handle this. How was he supposed to keep his team safe if he couldn’t even handle a little fatigue?

But they were all still looking at him, unrelenting, and Bruce knew he wasn’t going to get off that easy. He took a steadying breath, blinking a few times to clear his tilting vision. “I can’t… I can’t risk it. You’re not used to this like I am, you all need to sleep. We don’t have time to argue like this.”

“Nobody here is sleeping until you do,” Flash said, and Bruce’s heart sank. “If you’re staying up so are we.”

“That’s not fair.”

“And it’s not fair for you to stay up and do all the work,” Diana said. “You already drove us here, we wouldn’t have a safe place to go if it was not for you. You’ve done enough today. Please. Before you collapse.”

Bruce wanted to argue, wanted to point out every little danger, everything that could possibly go wrong, everything that he needed to stay awake to prevent. He wanted to throw every worst case scenario in Wonder Woman’s face, the probability of them being attacked while Batman was asleep and unable to help, until she relented and let him get back to work.

He wanted to fight, because the idea of letting himself be defenseless in a house full of people with danger looming in every corner, the next attack inevitable, made his vision hazy with a new wave of uncontrollable fear.

But he was so tired. He couldn’t find it in himself to even open his mouth again, his entire body lethargic and slow.

There was a hand on his shoulder, gently gripping the heavy material of his suit. Bruce flinched before he could stop himself, shoulders hunching under the other’s stares, blinking as he registered Superman now standing at his side, refusing to pull his hand away. Bruce found himself silently grateful for the steadying warmth.

“Hey,” he said, achingly soft as he gestured to the door at the end of the hall. “Come into the bedroom with me for a second, okay?”

Bruce averted his gaze, staring stubbornly at the wall. “You can’t order me to sleep.”

“I’m not ordering you to do anything.” Clark’s grounding touch was somehow making Bruce feel more weightless, but he couldn’t bring himself to shove him away. “I’m asking you to come sit down with me.”

He’d like to think that if he was more awake, if his head was clearer, he would have refused, twisted out of Superman’s hold and stalked out the door until everyone gave up and just left him alone.

But he’d never been able to deny Clark Kent anything, had he?

He grumbled a barely audible “Fine,” adamantly not looking at any of them as he pushed his way past Superman, making his way down the hall and into the small bedroom as quickly as he could.

Clark was right behind him, gently shutting the bedroom door as Bruce hovered in the middle of the room, glowering at the double bed up against the wall like it had personally offended him, like it was laced with traps or poison.

Which was stupid. It was his bed.

Clark didn’t say anything for the moment, carefully crossing the room to put a gentle hand on the small of Bruce’s back, never forceful or unwanted, guiding Batman towards the edge of the bed like he was trying to coax a wild animal into a crate.

“Clark,” Bruce tried, hating the way his voice broke. “I can’t—

“Just for a minute,” Superman said, and Bruce didn’t fight when he was eased down onto the mattress. “You look like you’re about to fall over.”

“I’m fine,” he insisted, even as his vision tunneled the second he made contact with the bed, the longing to lay down and close his eyes forever nearly overwhelming. “I can’t… Clark, I have to keep watch. We don’t know if we’re safe here.”

“We’re as safe as we can be for now,” Clark said. “And the rest of us can handle it. We’re a team, B. It doesn’t always have to be you.”

“Something could happen.” Bruce’s heart was racing, breathing coming too fast as every possible outcome flooded his mind, every bloodstain and cry of pain and gunshot he’d be too slow to save them from. He knew Clark could hear it, the wild racing in his chest, knew he was honed onto Batman’s rising panic, but there was nothing he could do to stop it. “While I’m asleep they… something could–”

“Then we’ll wake you up,” Superman said, steady as ever. Bruce never would have let himself fall apart like this in front of anyone else. “I think we’ll be alright for the night, Bruce. But if we’re not, you can’t help us if you’re dead on your feet. We need you sharp.”

Bruce closed his eyes and let out a shuddering breath, feeling almost childish, small and vulnerable. “I know.”

“Then you need to rest,” Clark said. “Let me help you, Bruce. Please.”

Bruce didn’t agree, not out loud anyway, but he didn’t stop Clark’s hands from slowly removing Batman’s cape, gloves, and boots, carefully undoing the belt and chest piece, his movements gentle and steady like he was handling a delicate piece of glass. Bruce’s face burned, shame and frustration waging war in his sluggish mind, but he just clenched his jaw and refused to look up from the floor, well aware his own hands were far too shaky to undo his suit right now.

It was only when Clark moved to pull off the cowl that Bruce jerked back, gripping Clark’s wrist before he even registered he was moving.

“No,” he growled, tugging protectively at his mask, his hold trembling and weak. “No, I… someone- someone could–”

“I understand,” Superman said, and Bruce dropped his hand. It was terrifying sometimes, just how much he trusted Clark. “You can keep it on, that’s alright. Just lay down for me, okay?”

He didn’t have the energy to protest anymore, even as that frantic voice in the back of his head screamed at him to get up, get up, don’t you dare drop your guard for a second. You’ll get them all killed. You’ll lose someone again.

“There you go,” Clark said, and Bruce definitely would have had something to say about his coddling if he had the strength. “I’ll keep an eye on things, I promise. Nothing’s going to happen, you can rest.”

Bruce hummed, lips pressed into a tight line as he was eased back against the blessedly soft pillows, a thin blanket draped over the remaining armor on his chest. “Ten minutes. Then wake me up.”

He felt more than saw Clark hesitate, his vision more than a little hazy now. “Bruce, you need at least a few hours.”

“Ten minutes.”

“Give yourself three hours,” Clark said. “I promise you'll feel better if you do.”

“I can’t be gone that long,” Bruce argued. Then, because Superman clearly wasn’t going to budge, “Twenty minutes.”

“Batman–”

“I’ve survived off less.”

“But you shouldn’t have to.” Clark sighed, visibly composing himself, and Bruce fought to keep his eyes open. “You have a team of people watching your back now, and we can look after ourselves. Nothing bad is going to happen, Bruce. We’ve got you.”

Clark didn’t get it. He didn’t understand that Bruce couldn’t. He couldn’t let go like everyone else, couldn’t drop his guard for a second, couldn’t be stupid enough to let himself rest when so much was at stake.

One wrong move would get someone killed. Just a second of hesitation could rip his world apart. Letting himself rest could mean he loses everything all over again. Someone could sneak in, get past their defenses, and incapacitate the rest of the League while Bruce was helpless- useless. Someone could hurt him in his sleep again-

“Bruce,” Clark said, in that horribly soft, understanding tone that Bruce always selfishly wanted to bask in, as if someone like him deserved that kind of comfort. “Just a few hours, okay?”

“Clark, I can't.” But he was so tired. Maybe… maybe it would be okay. Just this once. “I… half an hour.”

“Two hours.”

“Clark–”

“Two hours,” Superman repeated, but it sounded more like a plea than an order. “That’s all I’m asking.”

Two hours. So much could happen in two hours. “One hour.”

“Bruce–”

“One hour,” he snapped, surprised that he still had the strength, even as the force of his own words made him dizzy with exhaustion. “Please.”

He couldn’t handle more than that. He couldn’t–

“Alright,” Clark agreed, still sounding painfully hesitant, but Bruce let out a trembling breath of relief. “One hour. But you have to close your eyes and relax.”

“I know how sleeping works.” It would have been more effective if his words didn’t come out heavy and slurred, eyes already drooping shut despite his best efforts to level Clark with a glare.

Clark rolled his eyes, but there was a smile tugging at his lips. “Sometimes I’m not sure you do.”

He didn’t give Bruce the chance to respond, not that he could have formed a coherent sentence if he tried. He heard Clark stand, Superman keeping his movements intentionally loud so Bruce would be able to track them, and he adamantly ignored the flutter in his chest at the patience he was being shown. Most people wouldn’t have bothered. Clark turned off the small lamp in the corner, shrouding the room in darkness as the moon rose outside, and slipped into the hallway, quietly shutting the door behind him.

Bruce could count the number of times he’d woken up slowly on one hand. He was sure there were more when he was younger, simpler times when he was safe and unafraid that he could hardly remember anymore.

But ever since that gunshot in the alleyway, waking up was something that came suddenly, bringing a wave of panic and adrenaline when he gasped awake, distant screams from whatever nightmare that had been plaguing him following him into the conscious world before everything swam back into focus, plunging him right back into a familiar state of racing paranoia and uneasiness.

Today was no different.

He’d dreamt of the League, of a losing battle, of the stench of blood and the faces of dying friends. He’d dreamt of being useless, weak, trapped on the sidelines, forced to watch his team fall. He’d dreamt of his safehouse soaked in blood, trashed and demolished from the attack they hadn’t been ready for.

It was a dream he’d had countless times before, just another nightmare he’d added to the list after the Justice League had become something important to him.

The only difference this time was that Bruce didn’t wake up in his own bed. Or anywhere in the manor, for that matter.

He jolted upright, tangled in unfamiliar blankets, heart beating so hard in his chest it was painful, gasping for air as he fought to piece reality back together, the nightmare still seared into his mind, lingering screams drowning out his own ragged breathing.

He was in his safehouse. He recognized it, gradually, the dark wood floors, the bare walls, the tan comforter strewn across the bed, the flimsy curtains parted just enough to let the first rays of the dawn’s light seep into the room.

Bruce froze, breath catching in his throat.

It was dawn. The sun had just barely set when he’d closed his eyes. They hadn’t woken him up. Nobody had woken him up.

What if there was no one left to wake him?

He was out of bed in the blink of an eye, the room spinning dangerously the second he was on his feet, body still fighting to adjust to the waking world. He’d slept through the night. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been allowed to do that.

The house was empty. The house was covered in blood. He’d slept through the battle. There was no one left to scream for him.

He grabbed for what the armor he’d allowed to be removed, suiting up in record time despite his shaky hands and tunneling vision, foregoing the gauntlets and utility belt as he yanked on his gloves and fastened the weighted cape over his shoulders, already running for the door in a panic.

There wasn’t time. There wasn’t time, everyone was dead and he needed to… he needed to assess the damage, save who he could, and find a way to protect himself. He’d have to run. He’d have to be on the run alone again, lost in guilt and grief with nothing to pull him out again, and he couldn’t–

Batman practically crashed into the adjacent wall as he flung the door open and burst into the hallway, shaking so badly he almost couldn’t get a proper grip on the door handle. His legs were unsteady, nearly sending him tripping over his own boots as he stumbled into the main room, eyes watering at the overwhelming stench of blood–

All eyes turned to him when he screeched to a halt in the doorway.

There was no blood, no broken dying faces, no sign of a struggle. The team was staring at him, all of them awake and alert, albeit a little confused. Clark and Diana were at the dining room table, Barry and Arthur were on the couch, and Hal was slumped across the armchair in the corner, clearly having been woken up from his doze by Batman’s uncoordinated entrance.

Bruce froze in his tracks, reality fighting to make itself known, his panicked mind still clutching to the images of the nightmare, his blood like ice in his veins.

“B?” Superman called, brow furrowed in concern, exchanging a worried glance with Wonder Woman. “Are you okay?”

Bruce blinked, scanning each of their faces in frozen silence, fighting to convince himself that this was real, that they were alive, that he hadn’t been too late to save anyone.

But there was sunlight shining through the kitchen window, it was morning, and he was supposed to be back hours ago–

“What happened?” he demanded, voice rough and far too quiet, turning back to Clark almost frantically. “What… what’s going on?”

They were all still staring at him, unmoving, like their lives weren’t in danger, like Bruce hadn’t been too late to protect them. Clark just blinked at him, shifting slightly under Batman’s stare. “Wh-? Nothing happened, Bruce. What’s wrong?”

“You didn’t wake me up.” It was the only thing he could manage for a moment, throat unbearably tight. “You said you’d wake me up in an hour.”

Clark blinked, but something in his eyes softened. “Bruce–”

“You said you’d wake me up,” Bruce repeated, swallowing thickly when his voice shook. He couldn’t lose his composure like this, couldn’t showcase his fear so plainly. Not in front of the team. “You… you didn’t wake me up, I thought- I thought something happened.”

“Everything’s alright,” Diana spoke up, her expression unbearably soft as she watched him from the table. “Everyone’s safe- we’re all safe. We only thought it would be good for you to sleep through the night.”

Sleep through the night. He’d been asleep all night.

“You said one hour,” Bruce practically snarled, his eyes only for Superman. “You said one hour.”

Clark’s face shifted into something that perfectly resembled a kicked puppy, and if Bruce wasn’t spiraling so violently he might have felt guilty for snapping. “B–”

“One hour wasn’t gonna do shit,” Hal piped up, clearly still groggy from being startled awake so suddenly. “You were barely standing, and we would like to have you lucid enough to get us out of this mess. And god knows you’re too stubborn to sleep normally on your own. So yeah, we let you sleep through the night. You’re welcome.”

Bruce only heard about half of what Hal was saying, breath catching in his throat when he turned to Green Lantern, ice cold dread flooding his lungs.

All he could see was blood. The living room was coated in it, splattered across the walls, the floors, bodies strewn across the cabin. All he could see were Hal’s lifeless eyes, the wound in his chest, the battle he’d slept through–

“Spooky? You with us?”

He couldn’t latch onto Hal’s voice, reality slipping through his fingers, the world coming apart by the seams only to be replaced with the nightmare he couldn’t shake, not when the panic was fueling his worst fears, the putrid stench of blood making his eyes water behind the cowl.

He backed into the hallway before he retched, a hand clamped over his mouth, stumbling to the bathroom before slamming the door shut behind him and dropping to his knees in front of the toilet.

He hadn’t eaten in days, Bruce recalled suddenly, and there was nothing in his stomach to throw up. It didn’t make the dry heaving stop, didn’t make his throat burn any less as he hunched over the toilet bowl, gripping the porcelain with trembling hands, gasping for breath around the sickening panic.

It felt like an eternity before he stopped, slumping in an exhausted, breathless heap, chest still unbearably tight, head fuzzy with confusion and fear. He was dimly aware of the commotion outside, the knocking on the door, diligently ignoring it as it faded to a background hum, drowned out by his own heartbeat and labored breathing.

Bruce scooted backwards, legs far too unsteady to support his weight, and found himself pressed into the bathroom corner, his back against the wall and his knees pulled up to his chest. His hands found the ears of the cowl, yanking the mask off so hard a few hairs were pulled along with it.

Everyone was dying, everyone was dead, and he hadn’t been able to save them because he’d fallen asleep.

He’d been asleep for hours, alone and vulnerable and defenseless all night, where anyone could have walked in, someone could have–

“Bruce, hey. Breathe, just breathe. Deep breaths, you’re alright.”

He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t catch his breath, shaking and gasping in a pathetic pile on the bathroom floor, choking on the smell of blood. Hands flew to his hair, dark strands a tangled mess after being under the cowl for so long, yanking hard enough to make his eyes water.

“Hey, careful.” There were hands on his wrists, gentle but firm, coaxing his fingers away from his hair. “None of that. You need to breathe, B. Come on, look at me. Copy my breathing, Bruce.”

Bruce blinked in the direction of the voice, pressing himself further back against the wall. Superman was crouched in front of him (In a puddle of blood, his chest caved in with Kryptonite. Unmoving. Dead) his hands warm against Bruce’s skin, eyes brimming with concern and confusion.

“Clark,” he choked out, the sound nearly lost to his own hyperventilating. “I was- I was too slow, I was too slow to help, I–”

“Nothing happened, B,” Clark said, dangerously close to feeling real. “You fell asleep, and the rest of us took shifts throughout the night. Everything was quiet. We would have woken you up if it wasn’t.”

“You were supposed to wake me up,” Bruce snapped in between gasps, but there was no room for anger anymore, his voice nothing more than desperate wheezes. “Everyone- everyone died because I wasn’t there. You’re dead and I couldn’t help, I- I slept through it–”

“Bruce–”

“I don’t know what they did. I don’t… I don’t know what they did to me I don’t know who… I... I was asleep, I don’t–”

“Bruce.” Clark's hands were torn away from his wrists, only for the warmth to be replaced a second later on his face, that indestructible steel grip now carefully cradling his face finally free from the confines of the cowl. “I’m alive, I’m okay. Everyone’s safe, Bruce. They’re all just in the other room, they have been all night. J’onn is meeting us as soon as it’s safe. I think… I think you just had a nightmare, B. I think you’re confused.”

Bruce squeezed his eyes shut against the phantom screams lingering in his ears, the stench of blood he knew wasn’t there, the image of his teammate’s lifeless eyes, of the grief he couldn’t bare to live through again.

“You didn’t wake me up,” Bruce said again, for what felt like the hundredth time. “I thought… I thought it was real. I thought you were gone and there wasn’t… there wasn’t anyone left to wake me up.”

“I’m so sorry,” Clark said, barely a whisper, and he sounded like he meant it. “We just… I just thought you needed more rest. We were keeping watch and one hour didn’t seem like enough to–”

“It’s not,” Bruce said, focusing on his shaky breathing, forcing himself to copy the Kryptonian’s steady breaths. “I know it's not. I’m not stubborn just for the hell of it, Clark. I can’t sleep.”

This was real. Superman was alive- the team was alive. There was no blood, no death, no lost battle. He’d slept through the night for the first time in years, undisturbed, and everyone had made it to tomorrow.

“The world isn’t going to end if you let yourself rest,” Superman said. “You can’t be expected to watch everything all the time, especially when you have people who want to help. That’s not fair to you.”

“I can’t risk it.” The fading panic had apparently loosened his tongue, the words leaving his mouth before he could think about them. “Something always happens when I close my eyes. Someone… someone always needs me.”

Clark was silent for a moment, two superheroes still crouched in a heap on the tiny bathroom floor, practically on top of each other, and Bruce belatedly realized Superman's hands had never left their position cradling Batman's face. He didn’t make a move to pull away.

“I know how you feel,” he said softly, and Bruce didn’t doubt that. “I promise, I do. But you can rest, B. Nothing happened last night. No one was hurt, no one was in danger. We just needed you to sleep.”

Bruce hesitated, one hand wrapped around himself, the other fiddling absently with the material of Clark’s suit. “I know. I do, it just... I always have nightmares when I sleep. I always think they’re real.”

“We’ll work on something to help with that,” Clark said, eyes softening when Bruce scoffed. “There’s always something, and I promise I’ll help you find it. You deserve a proper night’s sleep.”

It was a hopeless idea, as nice as it was to imagine, even just for a moment. Bruce hadn’t slept properly since he was eight, since he’d had everything ripped away from him in that alleyway. Even before that, he’d always had a hard time falling asleep, always restless, always plagued by an overactive imagination.

“And for the record,” Clark added before Bruce could voice his doubts, one hand moving to gently tilt Batman’s chin up. “Nothing will ever happen to you in your sleep. Not ever. I swear on my life, I won’t let anyone even get close.”

Bruce blinked, chest heavy, struggling to comprehend the meaning behind the words, the weight that promise held.

Because he knew Clark meant it. Superman had his heartbeat memorized, a secret he’d sheepishly admitted months ago, Batman’s life a noise he could pick out from a crowd thousands of miles away.

If Bruce’s breath so much as hitched, if there was an intruder or an unwelcome guest, Clark would know. Nobody was going to get to him, as long as Bruce allowed him to listen. As long as he trusted him enough to believe he would.

“Thank you,” Bruce forced himself to say instead of the million other things he couldn’t find the words for. “I’ll… work on it.”

“I know you’re scared,” Clark said, and Bruce quickly pushed down the defiant protests already rising up in his throat. “I’m not asking you to change overnight, B. But you don’t have to be dead on your feet all the time. You can trust us to look after you.”

Bruce just nodded, dropping his hand to pull the discarded cowl closer to him, not yet making a move to put it back on. “I still have work to do. And I want to keep watch this afternoon.”

Clark watched him closely for a moment, almost like he was studying him, picking apart the look in his eyes. He must not have minded what he found, because he smiled softly as his shoulders relaxed, just a little, slowly pulling his hands away from Bruce’s face.

“Breakfast first,” he declared, not quite an order, but not something that left room for argument either. “The kitchen's stocked, we've got enough food for a while. I was planning on pancakes, if you want to help.”

Bruce moved to stand, still unsteady on his feet, face still stinging with dried tears, his body violently protesting the sudden movement. He didn’t shove Clark’s hand away when he quickly moved to help, steadying him without a word. “Alfred’s had me banned from the kitchen since I was sixteen.”

Clark barked a laugh, warm and grounding. Real and alive. “How about you just brew a fresh pot of coffee, then?”

His hands hadn’t quite stopped shaking, the anxiety still settled deep in his gut, but it was manageable now. He knew it would fade by the time they all sat down to eat together, when he could really see for himself that they were all alive and well for the time being.

“Alright,” he agreed, letting Clark lead him back to the main room. “Coffee first."

#batman #dc #dc comics #bruce wayne #superman #clark kent #angst #diana prince #wonder woman #j'onn j'onzz #martian manhunter #hal jordan #green lantern #barry allen #flash #superbat #superbat fic #writing #fanfiction

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