Challenge: 4; Dark
Fandom: The Daily Show; John Oliver/Rob Riggle
This is for the 100 Themes Challenge I'm doing for dA. You can read it if you're curious.
WARNINGS: slash, malemale. No likey no ready. Implied sexual themes.Phobia.

Author's Note: I HATE this. I do not feel I did either character well, and I just don't like it. But I need something for Challenge Four, otherwise I was going to rip my hair out trying to think of something else. I am definitely not going to try more with this pairing until I feel I can even slightly get them in character. Well, not "in-character", just in character. Ah well. Maybe you'll like it.

Disclaimer: Any similarity between the fictional version of the person portrayed here and the actual persons is purely coincidental. This is a work of fiction. This is not an attempt to defame the character of said person on the basis of libel, as the work is FICTIONAL (and NOT an intently false statement created with the express purpose of misleading others about the actual character of said person).

Any mention of 'The Daily Show', 'The Colbert Report', 'Viacom', any associated entities, or any copyrighted material pertaining therein is reasonably protected by the Fair Use Rule of the United States Copyright Act of 1976 and is not intended to infringe upon any copyrighted material.

John scooted closer to the man beside him, squeezing his eyes shut. 'It's all in your head, Oliver. All in your head.'

But how could it be? How could those horrible wails and loud moans be all in his head? They were so clear. If only he could see the source of the noise. The room was so dark; he could barely make out Rob's features. And then he heard that blood curdling scream. Now he was curled into a ball at Rob's side, eyes shut against the darkness, praying that nothing would get him.

No one knew about his fear of the dark. I mean, it's quite embarrassing. He's British for Christ's sake! It's always dark there. And yet, he's still absolutely terrified of the dark. The kind of terrified that has currently made him incapacitated and plastered to Rob's side.

John, absolutely drenched in a cold sweat, opened one eye. He looked around the room cautiously, trying to identify what could have made that horrible noise. After seeing nothing for several moments, he opened the other eye. Still seeing nothing, he decided to be brave.

After all, the only way to get over something is to face it head on, right?

So he sat up slowly, not realizing that he had a death grip on Rob's wrist that would surely wake the man up in minutes. He peered around the room and tried to ignore the darkness that had begun to suffocate him.

He froze. 'What the hell was that? Did something just move?' John swallowed hard and tried to focus on the farthest corner of the room. He was positive that something had just moved over a bit to the left. He stared at the corner for what must have been hours before deciding that he had just imagined it. But then again… he wasn't wearing his glasses. Which were over on the dresser.

In that demon-infested corner.

And he damn sure was not going over there.

Then again, he never was one to listen to sense. John slid off of the bed carefully, to avoid waking up Rob.

Or so he thought. Rob opened his eyes groggily and resisted the urge to yawn when he saw John walking away from the bed. 'What is he doing?' he thought curiously. 'Has he been awake all night?' His eyes shifted beyond John to the alarm clock on the dresser.

5:00

This only made Rob worry. John never stayed up past midnight. Ever. Even when he was working he would fall asleep by 11:45. And after a good, busy night, he slept like a rock. The momentary flashback of the night's previous events made Rob blush lightly. And worry more.

John was halfway across the room, taking the smallest steps he could manage, when he thought he saw the thing. He leaned in to get a closer look when…

"John?"

John Oliver is not a woman. But he sure as hell screams like one. Crouching on the floor in the feeble position didn't help much either. Neither did the sobbing uncontrollably.

"PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!"

"John! JOHN! It's me! Rob!" Rob had jumped out of the bed and rushed over to his friend. He leaned down and touched John's shoulder hesitantly, not wanting to scare the man any further.

John's sobs quieted considerably and he looked up at the other man. "R-rob?"

"Yes, John, it's me. What's wrong?" He wrapped his arms around John's small frame. John leaned into his chest, tears soaking both of their chests.

"It's the bloody darkness! It's trying to kill me!"

Rob blinked in confusion. "The… darkness?"

"Yes! Couldn't you hear the screams?"

"John, what the hell are you talking about?"

John sighed and scooted away from Rob, face coloring in embarrassment. "I-I'm sorry. I'm imagining things. Let's just go back to bed." He began the stand, but Rob held him down.

"John. You can talk to me. You know that. Now what is going on?" He hoped that a bit of a beg snuck in. John always liked to feel needed.

"It's nothing. Back to bed!" John wriggled out of Rob's grip and crawled back over to the bed, climbing up onto it. He could still feel the heated blush on his cheeks. Rob gazed after him, wondering where the sudden stubbornness came from. Had he done something wrong?

Sighing, he stood up and walked over to the bed, flopping down. It was then he realized how tired he was. Knowing he wasn't going to get anywhere with his adamant British boyfriend, he let himself drift off to sleep.

John watched him for a little while, noting the lines of worry that were still creasing the marine's face. This made him strangely happy. Rob actually worries about him. John smiled and leaned back against the headboard. Gradually he became more and more tired, sliding down to rest on his pillow. Rob snored softly and rolled over, throwing his arm over John's chest.

After the initial crushing sensation, John shifted over so he was curled into Rob's chest. Rob unconsciously pulled him closer, tightening his hold on the man he loved. John giggled quietly at how they must look right now.

After his giggled subsided, he began to get comfortable. He gazed up at the ceiling, noticing how much lighter the room seemed. Well, with his big, strong marine so close, what could possibly get him now?

Wasn't that horrible?

I know!

Anyway, good or bad, comments are love.3