"Alison..." She said her name like a prayer, slow and soothing, stressing every syllable but continuing in a rhythmic stream. "It's okay."
The blonde was shaking in Emily's arms and gripping on to her for dear life. One minute she was sound asleep, the next she was screaming out. And Emily knows his is bad, she knows it from the way Alison's voice was reduced to pure fear. Nonsense was spilling from her mouth, and tears were spilling from her eyes.
The nightmares were happening almost every day now - who knows how long they've been going on when Emily wasn't here to keep track. But she knew that ever so slowly, she would heal. With Emily, Alison would always heal.
She was starting to calm down, loosening her grip on Emily's baggy shirt. Emily knew the first thing Ali would say was that she was sorry, and Emily would always tell her that it was alright, that either she wasn't having that good of a dream either or she wasn't sleeping at all.
"Ali..." Emily pulled Alison closer, nuzzling. She spoke sweet things into her ear knowing full-well that of anything on the planet could work, it was the infectious power of the calm.
Inhale, exhale.
Alison slept with her tonight, at her house, because it was the one place where she was honestly welcomed by everyone in it. Mrs. Fields never hesitated to offer some snacks or comfort food (whatever Alison could dub as comfort food), and Emily, Emily would always be there. Always.
And of course, they were both fed up with the lies and the mess that their world has become but for the love of anything good Alison was only human. Who had a brain, and moral, and a good-sized heart, and lungs she was using at the moment very well.
Emily kissed at her temple, then trailing down to the spot by her ear. A small smile graced its way on to her face, she knew she was doing it right.
She was just so glad that of all the places Alison could possibly be, she was in Emily's arms and not that damn closet.
Don't you ever leave me again.
All was calm once again. The clock ticked to 3:01 AM, and the sprinklers started to turn on to shower the plants on their yard.
"...Em?" Alison's voice had gone soft.
Emily pulled away and stroked strands of yellow hair out of her face, then resting her hand on Alison's cheek. "Hey."
Alison opened her mouth to say something, but the brunette stopped her, telling her that she didn't need to apologize.
"Bad dream?"
Alison nodded slightly, then fluttered her eyes half-closed because she was tired but couldn't close her eyes. Not yet. "I don't want to go back to sleep."
Emily doesn't frown.
Alison recalls her mother, who would frown and look at her with such annoyance and disbelief telling her to just close her eyes, as if it were that easy. And she would grip at her limbs with such ferocity with nails digging into her wrists, shoving her back into the covers.
Tides have turned. Alison feels a variety of things, but relief is one of them.
"That's okay." Emily traces her thumb over Alison's cheekbone.
"...Will you?"
"I might drift off a little."
They stay pressed up against each other, while Emily is hit with accomplishment over the fact that Alison calmed down much quicker than before.
She is ready to say those three words, she is, but at the same time she isn't, and the exact feeling is mutual in the air. So instead, Emily watches as Alison's tired face ever so slowly relaxes and her eyelids finally close. Instead, she kisses Alison's forehead, knowing that tomorrow will be better. Instead, she waits.