The nightmare always starts in the same way.

There was a cheery and high-spirited atmosphere that was so strong it could be felt even in dreams, which would lull him into a false sense of security. It was like re-watching a film he remembers he enjoyed, yet he couldn't remember each detail.

The unease would set in rather early. It was as if he remembered enough about the film to know that a scary scene was ahead, he just didn't know when. This was… unusual to say the least, especially as there appeared to be no cause for concern. And he was hardly one susceptible to paranoia.

Of course, you only realise your dream is a nightmare when it's too late.

Even in his dreams the tremors are still recognisable and just as jarring as they had been in real life. And the sound, dear GOD, the sound! It is the kind of sound that is not heard, but felt. The sound would vibrate through his frame, rattling him to the core.

He is running, running, run faster, FASTER DAMMIT, he trips, he falls, falling, falling, the sound is right behind, hot on his heels, he hears a scream, a SCREAM…

Steven wakes up abruptly, taking a moment to reassure himself that what had just appeared to have happened was but a bad dream. Calm down. There's no danger here.

The nightmare had become so familiar that he no longer woke up terrified. Instead, he would wake up feeling an awful sense of uneasiness that he just couldn't shake idling in bed. Eventually, he got up and slipped to the bathroom.

The harsh light of the bathroom dragged the former champion back to reality. The introduction to cool air after the stuffiness of the main bedroom caused Steven to realise that his whole body was covered in a fine film of sweat. In the mirror, he noticed how mussed his hair was, how bloodshot his eyes were, and just how damn pale he'd become. In short, he looked a wreck. Pull yourself together man, the nightmare couldn't have been THAT bad… right?

Leaving the bathroom and switching off the light, he tiptoed back to his bed. He had just reached his bedside and was easing himself back in when…

"Steven?"

Well, that caught him off guard. "Bleeding heck, Wallace, you scared the living daylights out of me." A slight exaggeration? Perhaps. But the sudden voice when he wasn't expecting it had caused his already fluttering pulse to skip.

"I do apologize." He sounded sarcastic somewhat. "What are you doing up?"

"Well I could ask you the same thing."

"I usually tend to wake up at around this time. You don't." He yawned. "You were awfully fidgety too. I was going to wake you up, but then you got up yourself… Are you alright? You're not ill or anything?"

"No, no, I'm fine." Am I though?

"Steven, I know you well enough to know you're lying." He stretched, yawning again. "Were you too warm, too cold, was it a bad dream perhaps?"

Wallace must have noticed him tense ever so slightly at the last guess. "Aha, so you had a bad dream. Would you like to talk about it? You look rather shaken."

"Do I?" Though Steven could hear the nerviness in his voice.

"Very. And you sound shaken as well." There was a distinctive rustle of bedsheets being raised. "Would you like to get in with me for a while?"

Steven hesitated for a moment. Although they had been courting for quite a while, and the others sharing the room with them were fully aware of their relationship, sharing a bed with his boyfriend whilst in the company of others was something that made the former champion a little uncomfortable to say the least.

On the other hand, it wasn't like they wouldn't understand if he explained to them the next morning. With a soft sigh, he slipped under the lifted covers, nestling his head beneath Wallace's chin and nuzzling into his neck. "I'll tell you about my dream tomorrow…"

oOo

The café they had found was a far better location to discuss the events of the night before. It may have lacked the total privacy of their hotel room, sure, but at least they knew no one would eavesdrop. Also this time round they didn't run the risk of waking anyone up.

"So what exactly did you dream about last night?" Wallace had picked a curious, yet careful, tone. He'd been dating Steven for a long time, and this was the first time he'd ever known him to wake up following a bad dream.

Steven leaned back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling of the café. A soft, nervous chuckle escaped from his lips. "Ah, well, were do I begin…?"

"Well, it's a recurring dream. I… wouldn't call it a nightmare though, since I've been having it for so long that it rarely scares me, but… it's more of a bad memory. Or a memory attached to a bad experience… oh, let me just tell you what happened."

"About… six or seven years ago, I went on a trip to the Sinnoh region. It was a caving trip, of course. And it was my first trip away without my parents, so I was, well, rather excited as you can imagine!"

"I was… travelling with a group of cavers, I'd say maybe intermediate in level? None of us were old enough to call ourselves veterans… but quite a few of them had rather... intimate knowledge of the network. Or, intimate enough to know some of the deeper caves that most people wouldn't dare go near."

"And I take it you dared to go near?" Wallace asked teasingly.

"Oh, goodness, of course we bloody did. And it was amazing. Though, well, you can imagine how it all ended. Let's just say that none of us were predicting an earthquake to strike."

He chuckled nervously at the memory. "I actually don't remember the cave collapsing… or at least, not when I'm awake. It's something I'm only able to remember in my sleep... ergo, the nightmare I had last night. I wonder why it happens though…"

"I do actually remember the aftermath though. I mean, it's still a little bit fuzzy, but I remember waking up in the hospital, about… a week or so afterwards. And… one of the things I distinctly remember was that, when I woke up, both of my parents were at my bedside."

"According to the doctors, I was so badly injured that I… well, they thought I was going to die… so they had invited my parents to come and say their last goodbye."

He stopped speaking, a strange and faraway look behind his sterling eyes.

"Does that bother you?"

"Hm?"

"Does it bother you? Coming so close to death, I mean."

"Not really." Steven paused, gathering his thoughts. "Well, it bothered me at the time of course, but I suppose I never wanted to dwell on it too much. I mean, one has to get over these things. And it's not too pleasant being reminded of it when I'm trying to sleep."

"I see…"

"Does it bother you?"

Wallace shifted. "Well, it's not every day you find out that your boyfriend nearly died when he was a teenager." He didn't mean to sound as abrupt as he did.

Steven bit his lip. "I suppose you're right."

There was a pregnant pause between the pair. "Just… don't let it happen again."

"Don't let what happen?"

"Don't let yourself get into that situation again. I… just… don't die. Or almost die. Can you promise me that?"

Without hesitating, Steven took Wallace's hand, interlacing their fingers.

"I promise."