To Keep Nightmares at Bay

Note: My first JeanMarco. Really not sure my position on how much I like this, but I figured it's at least good enough for publishing. Even so, it seems so similar to other stuff I've read... Hopefully the next one will be much more original. Either way, I hope you guys like it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Attack on Titan nor any of its characters.

It was a dark night, and the moon was just a tiny sliver just barely peeking out from behind the clouds. That just made it creepier to Jean, though. He had barely remembered to put on some slippers before he left his dorm room. Jean had power walked over half the way to Sina already, but it still wasn't fast enough. Even so, he was too afraid to run, or they could get him…

Jean shook himself and wrapped his blanket tighter around him. It was a cold night, but he barely noticed the temperature. All Jean wanted was to get to Marco, and fast.

After what felt like an eternity of walking, Jean reached Sina and shoved his way through the door. No one was sitting at the front desk, which only made it easier for him. He hurried through the halls until he reached Marco's room, breathing a little easier as soon as it came into view. Jean took a deep breath and knocked softly on the door, hoping Marco was still awake, or at the least not in a deep sleep.

A moment later, a soft voice called out from inside. "Who's there?"

"Marco? It's me. I ha- I need to come in. Please," Jean replied. The trembling was setting in. If Marco didn't hurry, he'd have a meltdown in the middle of the hallway.

Soft footsteps approached the doorway, and after a moment of fumbling Marco finally pulled open the door. He had a corner of a blanket in his hand and was dragging it behind him. "Jean? What are you doing here? It's gotta be, like, two in the mor-!" Marco began. Jean cut him off by falling into his chest. "Jean?! What's wrong?"

Marco half-carried, half-dragged Jean to his bed, falling backwards on top of the blankets. Immediately, Jean wrapped his arms around Marco's waist, taking in his presence. After a moment of doing so, however, he moved one arm to reach under his stomach. He pulled out an open DS, softly playing the battle music of Pokémon X. He looked at it for a moment before shutting the DS and putting it on Marco's other side and reburying his face in Marco's side.

"Why were you playing Pokémon at whatever time this is?" he mumbled. Marco reached up and put a hand on top of Jean's head, running his fingers through his hair.

"I could ask you why you're awake and here," Marco replied. He paused. "I couldn't sleep. Why are you here, anyway?"

Jean was silent. The entire room was silent. The clatter of one of his slippers sliding off his foot and onto the floor broke the silence before anyone spoke. "Nightmare," Jean mumbled. He nuzzled his face into Marco's side and said nothing else.

"How bad was it?" Marco asked. Jean looked up at him.

"I appreciate the offer, but I don't want to talk about it." He looked away. "Stupid fucking nightmares…"

"That bad, huh?"

Jean nodded. Marco sighed through his nose and ran his fingers through Jean's hair again. They were silent for a while. "Do you want to watch a movie or something?" Marco asked. Jean hesitated before nodding. He released his hold on Marco's waist so he could go get his laptop.

Marco loaded up Netflix and started the first non-scary movie he could find, which ended up being Ghostbusters. Balancing his laptop on his knees, he slid down in his bed so his head and shoulders were propped on the headboard. Jean sat up and, using his foot, dragged a side table over to the side of the bed. He moved Marco's laptop onto the table and kicked off the other slipper before climbing over him. He wrapped his arms around Marco's chest and moved himself as close as he could, the small scowl slowly disappearing from his face.

Marco looked down as Jean put his head on his shoulder. "I bet right now is one of those times you're glad I don't have a roommate, right?" he asked. Jean nodded.

As the movie went on, Jean slowly calmed down some. Even so, the memory of his nightmare was still floating around in the back of his head. He had to keep checking to make sure Marco was alive. Eventually, Jean slid the arm that was resting on Marco's chest down to his waist. When Marco didn't move, he slowly slid his hand under Marco's shirt and rested it against his side. That got a reaction out of him.

"Jesus, Jean, your hands are freezing! Did you put them in the freezer before you came here or something?"

"Sorry…" Jean mumbled. He began to move his hand away, but Marco caught his hand.

"If it's comforting you, I don't care. I'll get used to it."

Despite what Marco said, Jean could feel him shivering. "You sure about that?" he asked, hesitant to continue doing something that was uncomfortable to Marco.

"It's fine."

After a moment's hesitation, Jean relented and placed his whole hand against Marco's side. Marco shivered violently, but after that he did nothing. Silence overtook them yet again. After a while, though, Marco had evidently not grown used to Jean's cold hand, as he reached down to the foot of the bed and grabbed a blanket, which he then wrapped around the side of himself Jean was not fiercely holding onto, placing a corner onto his head. It wasn't a problem until the next time Jean decided to make sure Marco was alive.

When Jean looked up, the blanket was covering Marco's right half. From his vantage at Marco's shoulder, combined with his already compromised mental state due to memories of the nightmare and the darkness of the room, it looked like his right half was completely gone. Jean stiffened. In all honesty, he should have known that that was impossible, as he had been holding onto Marco the whole time, but he wasn't thinking straight in the slightest.

"Marco, where's- Where's your face?" Jean whispered, his voice hysterical. Marco looked over at Jean, causing the blanket to slip off the top of his head.

"What do you mean? I'm right here, Jean, everything's fine," Marco replied. He reached over with his free arm and patted Jean's shoulder. "It was that one again, wasn't it?"

Jean nodded. "Well, why didn't you tell me?" Marco asked. He wriggled down so he was lying directly beside Jean and wrapped his arms around his chest, moving one hand so he could stroke the back of Jean's head. "Better?"

"Yeah… Thanks, Marco…"

Marco smiled. "You're welcome, Jean. Now try to get some sleep." Jean nodded, burying his face in Marco's chest. Soon, he was able to fall into a peaceful sleep.