Archive of Our Own ^beta

You woke up suddenly, panting in fear. You grabbed onto the couch cushions, trying to wake yourself up.

Nightmares were a common occurrence for you, but they seemed to be getting worse ever since you joined the 141 Task Force.

You were staying in Simon Riley's apartment, against your will, of course. You needed a place to stay since your apartment had been destroyed, and he so nicely offered his couch for a few nights.

As you tried to get a grip on reality, you think back to the dream. It was in black and white, blood was everywhere. The last thing you remember seeing was Simon's dismembered body across the dirt. Tears starting streaming down your face as you remembered it all. Although you would never admit it, Simon was probably the only person you truly cared for in the whole group. You had grown up on the theory that it's every man for himself, but there was something about him that made you want to keep him alive with every ounce in your being.

You stood up from the soft couch with your pillow and blanket, feeling the wetness from your tears.

Maybe I could just go check on him?
You walked down the hall and carefully opened his door, wincing at the creak as you pad across the hard wood floor. You set your pillow and blanket down, tears falling below you.

All I need is just to hear him breathing.
You tried to keep the whimpering down to a minimum, not wanting to even imagine how angry Simon would be if you woke him up.

A few seconds go past before you hear it.

Soft snores coming from the beast himself. You feel your muscles relax at the sound. He was okay. Of course he was okay, you just needed to make sure.

A few more seconds pass.

"Y/N."

Oh great.

The beast awakens.

His gruff voice made your whole body cold. A wave of goosebumps erupted as he shifted in his position. You didn't answer, trying to either act asleep or pretend you weren't even there.

"Y/N." He said again, deeper. More serious. You were too scared to avoid him again.

"What?" You whined, and a few stray tears fell as you lifted your face up to look at him. His head was still on the pillow, staring at the ceiling.

"Get up here."

You almost gasped at his urgency. He didn't tell you to get out, he told you to get closer.
You started to argue as you were interrupted,

"Now."

You immediately stood up, waddling over to his side of the bed. Simon groaned as you kneeled over him to get to the other side.

He turned to face you; eyes barely open. His hand reached up to your face and wiped the remaining tears away.

"Are you going to tell me what you're doing?" Simon asked, almost sarcastically.

You scooted closer,

"I had a dream you died, I needed to make sure you were still breathing."

He hummed; you swore you even heard him chuckling.

"I'll never die," he said smirking, putting a hand around your cold bicep. Your body was hot wherever he touched you, and all you could do was stare at him.

His hands slowly drifted down your arm, playing with one of your fingers before grabbing your hip gently.

"I'm gonna pretend I'm dreaming, so you can't blame me for touching you."

He whispered so quietly, and it was all you heard. It was all you thought about as he touched you.

You decided you were going to pretend you were dreaming as well, so you snuck your palms up his chest and around his neck.

"Deal," you said, carefully running your hands through his hair as you fell asleep in his embrace.