Just a little oneshot of Niko waking up in the middle of the night not long after Rob Thurman's Nightlife. Spoilers for Nightlife
Niko woke with a start. He did not call out – even half asleep he was too disciplined to do so. He did look down at his hands, however. The memory of Cal's warm blood covering them was still vivid. Even now he could hear Darkling's gloating laughter in the darkness. Niko shuddered and rubbed the back of his neck. He took a deep breath and tried to still his pounding heart.
Rising out of bed, Niko padded soundlessly to the bathroom. It was only a couple of hours past midnight, but he didn't think he would be getting any more sleep. He splashed some cold water on his face and looked up, half expecting to see his own reflection before remembering he'd removed the mirror before they'd moved in. Cal could not stand having one in the apartment, having a near panic attack at the mere thought of it so soon after his ordeal, so out it went. There was nothing there now except the wood backing of the medicine cabinet door. Correction. There was also now a picture of Bruce Lee taped up. Bruce Lee with a cut out of some model's blond hair from a magazine pasted over his own black hair. Niko sighed. Cal would have his little jokes. He supposed he should see it as a good sign, that Cal felt he could tease Niko again. That didn't mean Cal wouldn't be doing extra miles on tomorrow's run, though.
Niko went to Cal's bedroom door to look in on his little brother. He still slept with the overhead light on, so Niko could see Cal sprawled out on the bed. He was sleeping soundly for the moment, another improvement over the first month or so after Darkling.
Just then Cal inhaled in his sleep sharply. "Nik?" his voice slurry, eyes slitting open as he tried to pull himself up from the heavy tide of sleep.
Niko mentally kicked himself. Although he'd made no sound, Cal would smell his residual anxiety from the nightmare. He rapped his knuckles on the doorframe. "Time to get up and go for a run, little brother."
Cal's sleepy concern turned to sleepy disgust. He flopped over on his belly and yanked the comforter over his head. "Ten more minutes, 'kay?" he grumbled, and was promptly asleep again.
"Sure, little brother," whispered Niko. He went out to the living room to wait for morning.