Taliesin
“Taliesin!” Nik yelled until he finally opened his eyes. Tal gasped violently; his heart was pounding against his chest. Did he wake up? Was he still inside his dream? Was this the next chapter of his demons’ cruel torture? Tears gathered in his eyes when he caught a glimpse of Nik. He was dead. He remembered how he died. Was his demon impersonating him to break his will even further? Tal began to struggle against Nik’s grip on him. “It’s me,” he said, his voice straining when Tal dug his nails deep into his flesh. “Taliesin, it’s me. Please calm down.”
Nik’s body was heavy on top of his own. He had him pinned to the sofa, his hands grabbing his shoulders. “Taliesin.” His voice was filled with concern but Tal was still struggling. He wanted to cry and scream but his heart began to calm down with each gasp, his body trembling under Nik’s weight. He sat on top of the blanket, his legs stemmed into the sofa next to Tal’s waist. “You’re awake.” Tal took a shaky breath. He let go of Nik’s arms, felt his skin like dirt under his nails. He was slowly realising that he had escaped his nightmares. Nik was alive, he was safe.
“Nik.” Tal whispered into the dark, barely able to make out his features in the dim light. “I’m here, Taliesin. You’re awake.” Nik’s grip around his shoulders loosened and he brushed a strand of hair behind Tal’s ear. His hand lingered there for a moment and the boy leaned into the touch. He tried to collect his thoughts. Nik’s touch helped. It was warm, comfortable. He felt safe. “You had a nightmare.” Nik whispered as he withdrew his hand and leaned back. “It’s still early, you should try to sleep more.”
Tal, whose eyes were already feeling heavy again, nodded. “Can you stay with me?” He asked, stumbling over his own words, and stuttering each syllable. When he looked up, he caught Nik’s eyes in the pale moonlight. “Oh,” he gasped. Tal sat up and cupped Nik’s cheek with one hand. The other widened his eyes in surprise. “You’re not wearing your eyepatch.” He stated, his heart beating faster now for a different reason. “It would be rather uncomfortable at night.” Nik explained. He gently wrapped his hand around Tal’s and moved it away from his cheek.
“Go to sleep. I’ll stay.” Tal was too tired to complain. He wanted to look into his eyes a little more, wanted to marvel at the way the light reflected in his bright green, even in this darkness. He let Nik push him back onto the sofa and pull the blanket up to his chin. For a moment nothing happened and Tal closed his eyes. Then Nik shifted and got up from the sofa. He sat down in front of it and leaned his head against Tal’s legs.
He hadn’t noticed it at that moment but when he woke up hours later Nik was still holding his hand.
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