Jay's breathing was unsteady, interrupted by the occasional whimper or gasp. He was dreaming again, the same nightmare as always. Running through the forest, twigs and branches scratching at his face and clothes, no light save for the weak pinprick of red light indicating that the camera in his hand was still recording. He had just gotten to the part where he stumbled into that awful tunnel, bloody and exhausted, and Alex was there telling him to come closer, it's just a little further to absolute peace...
His eyes flew open and he sat upright, chest heaving. Jay put his head in his hands and tried to calm himself down. He was on the verge of tears. When was the last time he'd actually had a solid night's sleep? These nightmares had become much more frequent as of late. The sound of movement from the other side of the room made him jump. Tim was awake. He'd been good enough to start staying in the same hotel room as Jay, just to make sure nothing bad happened to either of them.
"Did I yell?"
"Yeah. It's fine, though. You okay?"
"Y-yeah. I'm fine."
Tim sighed. The bedside lamp flickered to life, illuminating the room with a harsh light. Both men had dark circles under their eyes. Neither of them got much sleep these days.
"No, you really aren't okay. Every single night for the past week, Jay. What's going on? Are you feeling alright?"
"Nothing's wrong." Jay flinched. He knew he was a terrible liar.
"Didn't we promise to stop keeping secrets?" Tim sat upright, swinging his legs over the side of the bed so that he was facing Jay completely.
Jay stole a nervous glance at his friend, expecting him to look angry or annoyed. Instead he saw only genuine concern. In fact, Tim looked a little hurt. He was right, though. They had promised to stop keeping secrets. And it wasn't such a big deal, really, the Nightmares. He sighed.
"I just...Nightmares. That's all. Nightmares." He mumbled as he lay back down, turning over so that he was facing the wall. "Just, go back to sleep. I'm fine."
Jay closed his eyes. For a moment, things were still and quiet. He heard the quiet click of the light switch. Another moment of silence passed before he heard Tim stand up and move towards his bed. The side of the bed sank slightly under the weight of someone getting in. Jay furrowed his brow.
"Tim, what are you-"
He felt a strong arm drape gently over his side. He felt someone else's body press against his own beneath the thin covers.
"Oh."
"Go to sleep." Tim mumbled, his face buried in the back of Jay's neck.
Jay smiled a little despite himself. He felt safer, somehow, with Tim there. For that moment, everything was almost normal. Everything was fine. As Tim's breathing slowed, deepened, and finally became even and steady, Jay sighed contentedly.
I'm okay as long as Tim is here. He won't let anything happen. I'm safe with him.