Nightmare
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters they belong to JK Rowling and Warner Bros.
He awakes screaming like he has done nearly every night for the past year. He breathes in shallow breaths. It had been the same nightmare, the same one that he has every time he closes his eyes. It forever haunts him at night. In his waking hours he finds some small comfort, but when darkness falls the terror grips him and he is forced once more to remember.
Suddenly her hand catches his and he turns towards her. His eyes drink in the sight of her and he focuses on his breathing.
"It's okay. I won't let the Nargles get you, Dean. You're safe with me," she whispers softly.
That one whisper is all it takes; her voice immediately calms him as it always has when the terror grips him. In this moment, he forgets the screams of anguish, the stench of blood which filled his nostrils and the cries of his fallen comrades as he walked across the battlefield. In this moment it just the two of them, simply Dean and Luna. The ghosts of the past vanish for this limited time.
Dean pulls her into a hug, his grip on her as tight as always, which helps him believe he is, in fact, awake. He puts his head on her shoulder and he breathes in the scent of her radish spiced perfume. He simply needs to touch her and he clings to her. She has stayed with him all this time. She is loyal and forever faithful. Dean sometimes finds himself wondering why she stays and puts up with him.
He pulls back ever so slightly from the embrace and looks once more into her eyes. He sees nothing but love reflected in them. It is then that he realises that she stays because she loves him every bit as much as – if not more than – he loves her. Luna sees him when he is at his most vulnerable and when all his walls are down. They are two halves that make a whole.
Dean does not know what he would do if she was not here with him. She keeps him sane and for that he is grateful. During these nights and the intimate moments between them, all the demons from his past are gone. It is in these moments that Dean realises he is the luckiest man in the whole wizarding world to be married to her and to be able to call her his. During these moments everything else fades away and all that exists is the two of them and the love they feel for each other. That is all that matters – especially to him.
Author Note: I hope you all enjoyed reading this story. This story was written for the gift-giving extraganaza 2013 challenge. This is the first of my January stories for Amber (CheekySlytherinLass). I hope you enjoyed this Amber. I would also like to thank Paula (Exceeds Expections) for betaing this story for me. Please read and review as I love hearing all your comments and feedback.