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XX
"Karin." The quiet, insistent voice wakes her immediately. Onyx eyes meet aquamarine, sleepy meets frantic. Through half-lidded eyes she notes his rigid body, jaw clenched and eyebrows furrowed.
"Did you have the dream again?" She asks with a raspy voice.
He flinches, though only she would be able to tell. "Do you need me to…?" she trails off, the unspoken question hanging in the air between them.
Toushirou ducks his head, which she takes as a yes. Stifling a yawn, Karin stands, meeting his eyes even as she feels heat rise in her cheeks. She tugs her shorts down first, along with her panties, then her shirt; she shivers lightly as her skin comes in contact with the cool air. There is no heat in his gaze, but at the same time, Toushirou's eyes feel like they're burning into her very soul, like her already pale skin is translucent. She lays down next to him and closes her eyes, forcing her muscles to relax.
For once, he starts at her feet: lightly touches each toe, traces the veins there, follows them up to her calves and shins, over her knees, up her thighs. She bites her lip and forces her body not to react as his fingers ghost over her hips and pelvic bone, then trace nonsensical shapes and letters on her stomach, her breasts, her shoulders, inside of her arms. Throughout it all, Karin keeps her body perfectly still and quiet despite what her more primal instincts are telling her. Finally he traces her collarbone and face, over her lips and eyelids, before laying a hand lightly on her neck. The entire examination, per se, takes less than twenty minutes, and like always, leaves her breathless and wanting more.
They lay in silence, him simply reassuring himself that she's okay, she's here, she's alive; her trying to catch her breath. Eventually she opens her eyes and meets fierce, brilliant, deathly afraid eyes. She does not look away but does not speak.
"You were strangled again," he whispers, so softly she strains to hear it. "He—he lifted you up and slammed you into a wall," licks his lips, "You struggled, but—but you couldn't—he was too strong—and you—you were so afraid," his voice breaks, "And I couldn't do anything."
Somewhere, she hears the faint sound of glass shattering as his reiatsu rages out of control. Fighting the shudder his tortured voice always paints for her, she ever so gently reaches up and runs her delicate warrior hands through his tousled hair, murmuring, "It was only a dream."
He presses his forehead to hers, breathing hard with the effort of reigning in his reiatsu. "I felt so helpless."
"Hey," she separates their heads only so she can look intently into his eyes. "You would save me."
The raw belief and assuredness in her voice releases the tension in his body; the trust in her gaze slows his rapid heartbeat. He nods slightly and kisses her tenderly. "Thank you. Once more."
She makes a small sound of agreement before a yawn overtakes her features. Once more with sleepy eyes she asks, "You okay?"
Toushirou nods, still stroking her face, never able to stop touching her in some way or another. "Go back to sleep."
Though he sleeps fitfully that night, no nightmares come.
XX
Excuse me while I go vomit from the angst-slash-fluff ^.^
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