Vierapril 2025 Day 6

[gaiages]

Vierapril Day 6 - Dream
Nightmare

Not all nights are peaceful.

Rating: General Audiences

569 words
Relationship(s) / Characters: OCs/OCs
Tags: Post-Canon ; dreams ; nightmares ; comfort
CWs: none

When you go through as much as these two, nightmares are to be expected, honestly. :(

Other links: Tumblr | AO3

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Gale's eyes flutter open, and through his grogginess, he quickly takes stock of his surroundings.

It's dark… it must be late in the night. Did I hear something? If so, Reyna would also be awake, right? Unless something—

Shaking off the weariness, Gale sighs. No, what am I thinking? Those days are long behind us… But then why…?

Suddenly, Gale feels Laurent turn over abruptly in his sleep, and he frowns. "Oh…" Gale looks over at his slumbering husband as he mumbles something incoherently and notices the faint sheen of sweat on his forehead.

Reyna's having a nightmare again… Given how much they'd endured over the years, neither Viera were strangers to bad dreams—but Laurent tended to have them more often.

"Oh, my love…" Gale lies down and gently holds one of Laurent's hands. He tried a few different ways to soothe Laurent in the past, but anything that startled the ex-assassin in his sleep tended to be a poor idea. As much as Gale hated to see Laurent like this, he knew the best thing to do was to wait.

Eventually, Gale feels Laurent start with a small gasp, and he rubs Laurent's arm. "It's okay, it was just a dream…"

Laurent squeezes Gale's hand before slowly breathing out. "My apologies, my love, did I wake you…?"

"Reyna, you know I never mind being awoken if you're having a bad dream—or for any reason, really." Gale turns over to face his husband and opens his arms. "Come here."

Laurent frowns, hesitating for a moment before shifting into Gale's arms. Gale gives him a gentle peck on the top of his head, then strokes Laurent's folded-down ears a few times before continuing. "Do you wish to talk about it? It may help…"

With a sigh, Laurent wraps his arms around Gale and squeezes. "It's nothing new, Eir. Same one as last time."

"Oh, my love…" Unlike Gale, who mostly had nightmares during his time as the Warrior of Light, Laurent's go back a bit further, to the days they were in the Dalmascan Resistance. Laurent was often on the frontlines, and though he never talked about it much, Gale knew that he'd seen more than his fair share of horrors. Far more than he ever deserved…

Gale returns the embrace. "I'm so sorry, Reyna… but I'm here, and I'm okay." He pulls back a bit so Laurent can look at his face. "See? Just the same as I always am."

Laurent gives a small smile and strokes Gale's cheek—before giving it a light pinch.

"O-ow! Why did you do that!? You're supposed to pinch yourself to make sure you're awake…"

"Yes, still the same Eir I know and—ow!" Gale chuckles as he pinches Laurent's cheek. "That hurts—"

"Well, now you know how I feel!" Laurent huffs and rubs his cheek as Gale's expression softens to a warm smile. "Are you feeling better? Do you want to go back to sleep?"

Laurent sighs. "I do feel better, but… I don't think I'll be able to sleep the rest of the night."

"Alright." Gale makes to get out of bed, but Laurent grabs his wrist to stop him.

"Eir, you don't need to get up for my sake."

"Nonsense, my love." Gale maneuvers his hand to grab Laurent's wrist in turn and gives it a light tug. "Let's go get a bath, then—those are always relaxing."

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