A/N: I wrote this very quickly because I can't sleep. I wrote it and am uploading it from my iPhone, so I apologize in advance for potential mistakes.

Edit: I've gone back and fixed some mistakes and other things I wasn't too happy with. That's what happens when you write a drabble in the middle of the night on your phone. xD

Warning: I dropped an f-bomb in this drabble. Please read at your own discretion. Don't be mad at me for swearing!

Night Terrors
By S. Muffin

(Ash and May are both ~20 years old)

Panic set in.

May shot up in bed. Her fingers gripped the sheets with great ferocity as she breathed in deeply through her nose and exhaled loudly a few moments later.

Her heart hammered loudly against her ribcage and for a moment she was convinced that she was dying. The frantic beat echoed in her ears like a drum.

Thumpthump-thumpthump-thumpthump.

Her thoughts swirled erratically in her mind as she continued to breathe in and out deeply. She tried to rationalize and make sense of it all, but she couldn't. She searched her brain for answers and found none. She couldn't even bring herself to move and it scared her so bad.

What do I do? she wondered. What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?

Tears stung at the corners of her eyes and her throat started to feel like it was going to swell shut. The panic increased instantly and her echoing heartbeat persisted.

Thumpthump-thumpthump-thumpthump.

She didn't know what to do. She didn't know what else to think. This was bad - badbadbad. She was horrified. She was hyperventilating, possibly even dying. She wanted to die. She wanted it to end no matter the cost. Her throat hurt, her eyes hurt, everything fucking hurt.

She curled up into a ball and began to sob with abandon. Tremors wracked her small frame, tears flowed freely down her cheeks, and May willed herself to let go completely. She cried and screamed and rocked back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. Her breathing grew harsh and frantic and desperate. Her heart continued to pound.

Thumpthump-thumpthump-thumpthump-thumpthump.

Thumpthump-thumpthump-thumpthump-thumpthump.

"May?"

May gasped and looked up. Through her watery gaze, she saw her boyfriend sitting up beside her in their bed. She froze, her expression crumpling in shame.

"Did you have another nightmare?" Ash asked gently.

Weakly, she nodded.

Frowning, Ash reached for her and pulled her into his arms without another moment's hesitation. May accepted the gesture and returned it wholeheartedly, burrowing into his chest. She continued to cry against the cotton fabric of his shirt and clinged to him with all she had. Her hands dug into the backs of his shoulders as he adjusted his grip around her and drew her into his lap.

Ash shushed her and began to stroke her hair back away from her face, whispering "It's okay" and "I got you, baby" and "Everything will be all right" over and over and over again. He cradled her in his embrace and comforted her as best as he knew how, whispering reassurances and trying to make her feel safe.

Seconds stretched into minutes, and the couple remained in the same state for at least twenty of them. At long last, May gradually relaxed in Ash's arms. The panic slowly dissipated as rational thought returned to her.

She hated waking up like this in the middle of the night without any indication why. Her night terrors had no rhyme or reason, and as hard as she tried she simply couldn't remember what awful stories they spun in her subconscious mind. The anxiety attacks and sheer panic she experienced afterward would never, ever make sense. She hated it. She hated it.

But one thing, she thought as Ash peppered kisses across the top of her head, would always make sense. And that was him, his arms around her, and the gentle, steady beat of his heart beneath her ear.

Thumpthump.

Thumpthump.

Thumpthump.