Haruka 3 - The nightmare is over

It's dark, but just light enough you can see the ceiling above you.

The ceiling fan rotates with a very low noise, a white noise that you have come to rely on to help you sleep.

You know its late, but not sure how late, so you lay there, staring upwards until you fall back to slumber once more.

But before you do, you look over to your left, and you see Haruka, sleeping next to you.

You had hoped you could watch her peaceful sleeping visage before you could fall asleep, but she was stirring, shifting.

You've woken up several times in the middle of the night in the past, and every time you see her gently sleeping, but this time, she moves unconsciously.

Her face, looks troubled, words being muttered underneath her breath.

Haruka's tossing and turning continues, her voice becomingly noticeably louder, you can now make out what shes saying.

She begins to what sounds like pleading, begging for something not to happen.

"No...wait...no...I'm...." she mumbles. That's when it occurs to you, shes having a nightmare.

It never really occurred to you that she could get those, she always seemed so strong and and untouchable, even for her line of work as a shinobi.

As you go reach your arms around to her, in an attempt hold her so that her shifting would not awake her or somehow hurt herself.

But before you do, she practically cries out, "NO....please...don't...". The words seem to fade away, you are unable to figure out what she is saying before she stops all together.

All you can think about is holding her close, hoping your embrace will somehow reach out to her inside and calm her.

As you hold her close to your chest, stroking her hair, it seems to be working, her movements lessen and her voice becomes quieter.

It works a little too well, her warmth and the smell of her hair begin to ease you, you become more comfortable and relaxed, sure to fall asleep soon.

But before you do, you hear her mumble "Anon...", and its the last thing you hear her say before you would fall asleep.

 

Your eyes open again, but its much brighter, the Sun has risen.

You remember holding Haruka before you fell back to sleep, it seems she got up without waking you.

You roll out of bed, put on some clothes, and head into the kitchen.

"Good morning, Anon. Did you sleep well? Was I comfortable?" Haruka asks, smiling before taking a of sip tea.

"Good morning to you too, honey. I slept fine, did you sleep well?", you ask, not sure if she knows that you noticed her last night.

"Oh, I slept great, thanks to a certain cu-tie~.", she responds.

Haruka hands you a cup of tea, to which you gratefully accept.

"So, what was that dream all about? It must have been something awful." you ask.

"Oh, it was nothing, I appreciate your concern for me.", she says.

"You sure, it sounded pretty bad, it got to the point where you were yelling, and I had to hold you to calm you down."

"In the time we've been together, I've never seen you have a nightmare like that, if there's something you need to get off your chest, you can tell me, I swear I won't laugh if it sounds silly.", you tell her as you take a sip of tea.

Her face turns a bit forlorn, she pauses for a moment as she sets her cup of tea on the counter. "Everyone left me..."

"What?" you swallow your drink when she said that, you put down your drink and listen.

"And there was nothing I could do to stop them from going, to stop you from going." she says.

"I know its a silly dream, I don't believe such a thing would happen like that, but it does cause me to think."

 

You stand there for a moment, trying to think of something to say.

"Well if it makes you feel better, I had a dream a couple weeks ago where I was at work without pants, I felt really awful about it."

This has made her giggle and returned a smile to her face. "Oh Anon, you know that's not the same thing."

You laugh a little, just trying to brighten the mood, before telling her what you think.

"Sometimes, dreams are just dreams, and a nightmare is just that, they can be real or a figment of the imagination, its up to you really.", you tell her.

"But you said you believe it won't happen, so just keep it as a reminder, of whats important to you."

"Now, I don't want to ramble on about the hows and whys of dreams anymore, so instead, I'll tell you what you need to hear."

You walk up to Haruka, and wrap your arms around her waist, as you pull her in for a hug.

You look her directly in the eyes, her arms now around you, as you say, "I love you..."

"And I swear that I will never leave for work without pants.", you say as you try to hold a straight face, but can't help but laugh.

She now laughs, as she presses her head against you. You both laugh together, but as it begins to stop, she looks back at you.

"Thank you, Anon, you always seem to know how to lift me up."

"The secret to it is using more than just your arms, but also have to put your legs and back into it, too."

"Oh stop, it's bad enough I hear Homura make jokes, but now you too." she smiles.

"Would you like for me to leave the jokes then?"

"Yes, that would be fine.", she says as you both break the embrace.

"But you know, there's one other thing you can leave behind.", as she begins to walk past you.

"Yeah, and what's that?" you inquisitively ask.

"Your pants." She says, as she walks into the bedroom.