Author's Note: Hiya! First Soul Eater fic!

Summary: Eruka is suffering and she needs a distraction. Solution? Free's the key. -oneshot-

I was actually planning on making this a serious fic but towards the end it didn't quite turned out that way.. oh well!

This is a friendship fic but could be fluff if you choose to see it dat way.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Don't own. Duh.

Recurring nightmares were the worst kinds.

They refused to let her be, as if the sheer trill of her agonizing torment was too much to pass up, and so they stuck around, quietly hidden in corners where shadows masked their presences, just waiting until the time came once more for them to pounce on her rapidly thinning state of mind.

Even on occasions when she vehemently tried her best to evade the searing temptation of sleep, it would prove to be futile for they both knew the inevitable end to every one of her pathetic attempts. She would lose out in her efforts, and they would always be at the ready, awaiting her arrival into their terrifying embrace.

Go to sleep.

No. Go away. I'm not tired.

Liar…

It did no good to lie to them, especially when she barely believed in herself. They were a part of her, strengthened by that massive mount of fear choked up within her timid soul. They knew everything going on inside her head, the emotions she was trying to bottle up and see through the flimsy seams of her fabrications.

Yet, even despite her lack of conviction, those feeble lies were the only things that kept her awake most of the time. Even if it was just for a little while.

Hisses and enticing coaxes always sounded within her head whenever she grew too weak to hang onto her consciousness. And in a few moments, she would find herself falling; falling into a black void of nothing in which they waited for her. They would always be waiting.

Liars must be punished.

And then, they pounced.

Once again, Eruka awoke to find herself soaked in cold sweat, her breath caught in her throat. There was no surprise to that. How long has it been? Weeks or maybe months since the nightmares started. She was getting used to waking up in the middle of the nights.

However, what she didn't expect was to have a large, calloused hand gently nudging her shoulder, and a masculine voice calling her name. She was caught off guard by a prickle of surprise. The voice stopped talking and the hand was pulled back when she finally brought herself into an upright position.

"Free?"

There was a deep bark of laughter from the man perched at the side of her bed. "Finally. I thought I'd never get you up. Was just about to fetch a bucket of water,"

The long haired woman blinked in confusion, not quite grasping the reason to what her partner was finding so much mirth about. It was far too early in the morning to understand bleak jokes, particularly when she was still trying to fight off the lingering exposure of sleep.

She rubbed her eyes and gave out a yawn. She was shivering slightly, but not from the cold. No, it was definitely not from the cold. For a moment, she sank back into a daze, recollection of her most recent dream played out like a movie on rewind.

She was being chase again by the same thing which she could not see. But she knew it was there. She could hear its callings with a voice that were more comparable to the hisses of snakes than any other creature she would know of. It was so close, slithering across the floor at a taunting speed. It just wanted to see her run; run like the cowardly frog she was. She didn't care, she simply kept on running. She just wanted to get away.

And then she tripped on an invisible crack in the floor. The creature loomed behind, drawing up to its full height and she felt her entire body immobilized with dripping fear. She could almost see its diamond-shaped head, eyes shining a crimson red, smirking cruelly at her fallen form.

Again, it had won.

The last thing she remembered was her own bloodcurdling scream piercing the emptiness around her.

Almost like a light finally being shone through, it dawned upon her. Eruka groaned, clutching her head in both hands. "I woke you up again didn't I?" she muttered in misery.

There was a short pause of deliberation. "Well, at least you weren't as loud as last night,"

Wonderful. It was bad enough that she was suffering from a developing insomnia and permanent eye bags but now she was dragging her partner along with her. If it weren't for her and those bloody nightmares, Free wouldn't have to be rudely awakened by her screams every single night. Everything was her fault. How wonderful.

Suddenly, the depression on her bed was removed as Free got up. "Don't think too much about it," he said, yawning as he walked over to his bunk just opposite hers. "Think about happy thoughts. Something distracting. Like action movies or racing cars. It always works for me,"

In spite of herself, Eruka chuckled softly at the silliness of his words. Such a childish demeanor. It wasn't hard to imagine what there was going on within Free's amusingly naïve mind. If only he knew what was going on inside of hers, the aching battles she had to endure, maybe then he would understand.

She didn't know how long she sat on her bed in the same position, but it was only when she was sure of the slumbering figure on the other bed that she made her move. As lightly as she could manage, she eased herself out of the bed, taking only her blanket with her. Very careful, she tiptoed towards the door. Her heart missed a beat when a rough grunt escaped the sleeping Free, but it was quickly calmed over when his even breathing returned.

"Goodnight, Free," she whispered, before closing the bedroom door.

A sigh of relief gushed out from her. Her partner deserved some sleep. For now, her living room couch would serve as an adequate bed. It wasn't the best accommodation in the world, but it would do. If she screamed again, at least it won't be as piercing as when she was in the same room with him.

With that resolve, she settled herself onto the hard two-seater sofa, the blanket pulled up to her chin. The cold was finally sinking in. She hadn't realized just how truly chilly the air in the room was. She tightened the woolen material around her petite figure.

Erukaaaaa. Back so soon?

No. Stay away from me.

She wasn't going to fall asleep. She was just hoping to rest her eyes, just for a little while without having to deal with that evil voice and dreadful dreams. Was that too much to ask? She didn't want to face whatever was waiting for her anymore. No more. She couldn't take it. She was so tired. If the nightmares carried on any longer she'll go insane.

Insanity is freedom.

I don't want that sort of freedom.

Really? Such a ssssshame.

Why couldn't they just go away? "Leave me alone," she began to beg as shrill maniacal laughter resonated within her head. "Just leave me alone. Leave me alone," Tightly, she clasped her hands over her ears, but that did nothing to stop the laughing.

You foolisssssh girl.

A whimper sounded from her lips. Tears leaked out as she sobbed. "Please, why won't you just leave me alone?!" she screamed.

"Goddamnit,"

Eruka shrieked as a pair of strong arms scooped her off the couch. Instinctively, she kicked and tried to wiggle her way free but she was held firm.

"Jeez, why do women have to be so difficult?"

The frog witch's mind was simply a blur until she found herself tossed unceremoniously back onto her bed. It was only when she realized that the voice in her head had suddenly fallen silent did the jolt brought her back to reality. She found her partner daunting form towered over her, arms crossed and a scowl on his rugged face.

She was in the bedroom, on her bed. And then, she felt a bite of anger.

"What do you think you're doing?!" she demanded.

"Saving you from neck pains. Sleeping on stiff couches sucks. You'll thank me in the morning," he said without missing a beat.

Thank him? She was doing that for his sake! The bastard! A cry of fury erupted from the elfin-like witch. Without thinking, she did the most illogical thing she have ever done to harm another being. Her usual modes of destructive methods were tossed to the back burner as she banged her tiny fists into his hard chest, tears now flowing freely as she did so.

She didn't care how she must have looked or how stupid her actions were; especially when the person she was trying to hurt was an immortal. She just wanted something to release her anger on. She needed something to vent out all the frustration and anxiety that have been haunting her for weeks. She just needed to feel alive again.

Eventually, her beating became slower and more strenuous, like each hit was a tall order for her. It probably was considering her sleep deficiency. It became slower and slower until finally, she stopped. She laid her forehead against his chest and continued to sob into his shirt.

Free sat down on her bed for the second time that night and held her close. He stroked her soft silver hair while humming a quiet little tune.

"Free?" suddenly came her voice, muffled slightly by his shirt.

"Yeah?"

"Were you even asleep when I left the room?"

"If I say no, will you hit me again?"

The bastard. She knew he must have found the whole thing amusing; a skinny witch trying to beat the crap out of the Demon Eye. He better not start teasing her about that. Actions conjured up from that spur of a moment were meant to be forgiven and forgotten.

"No," she said truthfully. "But I will be mad,"

He laughed. "Fine. You caught me. I just wanted to make sure that you wouldn't stay up the whole night again,"

"Again?" There was a note of suspicion in her tone.

"Oops," He chuckled nervously. "Yeah, well…the thing is, I can't sleep if you don't sleep. It's some kind of uncontrollable malfunction within my system,"

Eruka sighed roughly. She pulled herself away and looked him in the eye. "That's stupid, Free. You need your sleep. Don't worry so much about me," On a quieter tone, she added. "I'm not worth it."

The man laughed loudly. "I figured you would get that sort of idea," he said, his head shaking with laughter. "Women. They are so typical."

The small witch puffed up in indignation. "What are you laughing about now?"

"What I meant was, I can't sleep if it's too quiet," said Free.

A short beat of silence followed that sentence. Eruka couldn't make heads or tails of the situation anymore. What are they even discussing about now?

"Ok, I really don't understand where this is going," Eruka admitted. "That's your problem then. It has nothing to do with me."

"Oh, but that's where you're wrong. Like I said, I can't sleep if it's too quiet. It's a habit I picked up in prison, I guess. When you've been stuck in a cell blindfolded for as long as I have, you'll tend to grow dependant on your hearing."

Uncertainly, Eruka nodded. "Right…but I still don't see what I have to do with that odd habit of yours,"

"Don't you get it yet?" Free laughed again. He leaned in closer, until Eruka could feel his breath on her face. "You are my solution!"

A heat rose up the witch's neck and spread itself across her cheeks. Thank the Shinigami that the room was too dark for Free to see the color of her face. He may be dense but with such an unpredictable personality, Eruka wasn't going to risk finding out if he was the sort of man to notice such things.

"Huh?" she managed to squeak out.

Free grinned. He moved his head to one side and very tenderly, whispered into her ear. "For such a little frog, your croaks sure are loud when you sleep."

"Goddamnit,"

It was 3am in the morning and a certain immortal found himself struggling and failing to find a comfortable sleeping position on a hard two-seater couch.

"I knew I should have kept my mouth shut," he muttered angrily. "Tsk. Women are so difficult."

Back in the bedroom, Eruka snuggled into her warm sheets, feeling an unprecedented bliss surging through her body, lifting all the tension off her shoulders. The voices have stopped.

She sighed in content. Her partner has been right all along. All she had to do was think of happy thoughts. Very briefly, her mind wandered to how Free was coping. It made her smile.

"Goodnight, Free," she called happily in the direction of the bedroom door which was half ajar.

She received a displeased grunt in reply and something akin to a whimper.

Eruka was still smiling as she closed her eyes. Ah, yes, sweet, lovely happy thoughts…

Author's Note: For those of you wondering, the nightmares and voices were caused by the snakes inside Eruka's body. Lolz.

Ok, I gotta go dissect my lil bro!

R&R plz! Hope you guys enjoyed it!