Disclaimer: Middleman does not belong to me. Neither does the song lyrics. They belong to A Perfect Circle.
Author's Note: This is the continuation and elaboration of my two drabbles (Counting Bodies...and Imagine) in Minutes to Midnight...
Sleep
Don't fret, precious, I'm here. Step away from the window. Go back to sleep. Safe from pain and truth and choice and other poison devils…
He wasn't sure if he was dreaming. Each emotion struck through him like a physical blow. Fear, pain, and the knowledge that this happening because of him. Everything was in chaos. The world was ending. And there was nothing he could do to stop it.
He closed his eyes and hoped he was dreaming. Opening his eyes he watched the streets from the large picture window, watching as the sky turned red and the streets fell into darkness. He heard the sounds of heels on the hardwood floor behind him.
He turned and saw her standing there. Her arms were folded across her chest. Of course, she would be at his side at the end of the world. Her expression revealed nothing, it was pleasantly blank. He was glad she was beside him, knowing that in this world, she was the one that he could always count on. Just her presence calmed him.
"What do we do now?" he asked her, turning his attention back to the window.
"Go back to sleep." She whispered her voice far away.
"Go back to sleep?" he repeated, turning around and finding her gone.
The Middleman bolted upright, his skin covered in a cold sweat. His eyes searched the darkness for her. He sighed deeply, realizing he was alone. He ran his hand through his hand and lay back down. Sleep claimed him again, almost instantly. This time, he was thankful, that it was a dreamless sleep.
He stood at the window again. The sky was still red, the streets still dark. She was still beside him. He reached out for her hand this time, anchoring her to him with the lacing of their fingers. The sun was bright orange in the sky. It was unstable, its rays flaring, bursting.
"Could we have prevented this?" he asked her.
"Imagine." She murmured, her free hand coming up to touch the cool glass of the picture window.
"Imagine what, Dubbie?" he asked.
"Imagine all the people, living life in peace." She whispered, her eyes meeting his.
A small smile touched her features and she began to fade away.
"Don't leave me, Dubbie." He said, desperately trying to hold on to her as her small hand slipped away.
The Middleman bolted upright in his bed, once again covered in a cold sweat. Once again he looked for her, his touchstone, and was relieve that she was still beside him. He took her in, his eyes adjusting in the silvery moonlight that shown across her body.
She was covered in the thin white sheet of his bed. Tangled was the more appropriate word. It was drawn up around her thigh, exposing her bare leg. She stirred and opened her eyes, finding him sitting up, staring off into the darkness.
"Are you alright?" she asked, sitting up, drawing the sheet to her naked chest.
"What would you do if the world was to end?" he asked, "And there was nothing we could do to stop it?"
She raked her hand through her hair and looked at him. She touched his arm, fingertips skimming along his skin.
"I would be with you until the end." Wendy said softly, her voice filled with conviction.
She leaned over, kissed his cheek.
"Go back to sleep."