Hey guys! Another one that wasn't requested but came to me and demanded to be written. May I say right up front that this fic is heavy on emotions but has zero smut. I have an ace friend who brought to my attention that putting warnings before each chapter is a good idea so I'll be doing that from now on for any ace readers out there. So, no steam but heavy feels. Read and review!
The warehouse around him burned hot with fires he could easily extinguish, but his attention wasn't on the walls. No, it was on the body curled in his arms and still coated liberally with fire despite his best efforts to put it out.
Terror the likes of which he hadn't felt in centuries pierced his very soul as his hands desperately ran across her skin. Despite his continued frantic commands, the fire continued burning as if he hadn't been the source of its creation. His horror only increased as it devoured the one he cherished most in the world while he was unable to stop it.
He could feel as it ate at her skin and bones, the flames ignoring his commands but still maintaining their link with him. As if they were taunting him, you can't stop this, even though it is your fire. He had felt many of his enemies burn under his power before, but now as it vigorously burnt through his wife's body he wanted nothing more than to never see the flames again.
That same fire glanced harmlessly off of his own skin, reminding him suddenly of his ability to coat her in his essence. His movements were frantic as he threw his essence out over her like a blanket, desperately praying that he stopped it in time. He had smelt the burning scent of charred flesh often in his life, but never before had he been so close to retching because of it.
As his aura coated her, his fire began to die away as if finally heading his frantic commands. Relief poured through his body, only to be replaced with soul searing pain when the damages became clear to him. He could see her bones where the flame had burnt straight through her muscle and tissue. The skin that was left on her body was shriveled, burnt black, and breaking apart to show the vulnerable muscles underneath.
Soon his terror increased to a fever pitch, surpassing his pain and self hatred, as he realised that no new skin was growing. Her muscles weren't knitting back together, nor were her bones shifting back into their proper place. A cry ripped past his throat as he crushed her against his chest, his hands desperately roaming over her cheeks in an attempt to rouse her. "Come on Leila! You need to heal! Heal, my darling, heal. Please!"
When his desperate pleading statement received no answer, he tightened his hold before throwing his head back to release the pain of his soul ripping itself apart. The knowledge that half of his heart, more than half - all of it, was now past his reach sent a familiar but even more devastating pain through him. He knew this pain, felt it sharply over the centuries after finding Clara's body in the river. Only now it felt even worse, before he had made himself pick up what was left of his soul and forge on ahead. Now, there was nothing left to rebuild. It all died with her.
His forehead lowered to hers, tears he hadn't noticed and didn't care to stop flowed freely before dropping onto her cheeks. "Not again, I can't do this without you. Don't leave me alone. Please, Leila. Don't make me go through this again." His voice was broken, carrying all the pain he felt and more even as he knew it was pointless to plead with a corpse.
He had felt the instant her soul had left, had felt it rend from his own, leaving him empty for the first time since she had walked into his life. The familiar aching coldness swept through his body even as the pain continued to rise.
As his fire rose around them from his place cradling her body to his chest, he begged for it to be a nightmare. Wake up, this has to be a nightmare. It can't be real, wake up! Please, wake up and let her be by my side, safe and whole!Sitting up ramrod straight, his gaze swung around the room wildly. Fire was everywhere, but this wasn't the warehouse. The familiar stone walls of his room sent waves of relief cascading through him. It had been a nightmare, just a nightmare…
Glancing over to Leila's side of the bed, a flare of panic speared through him when it showed to be empty. Only ashes from the fire that still burned on the sheets and surrounding area met his gaze. Briefly, the nightmare came back to him of her body barely holding solid form in his arms. Nausea twisted his stomach harshly as he battled his fear.
Swiping an arm out, he doused the remaining flames before leaping out of the smoking wreckage of their bed. His eyes swept the room, desperately searching for Leila's form. When he didn't find it, the previous terror from his nightmare came crawling back. He hadn't burnt her to death in his sleep, had he? Even with his increase in power, it would take him several minutes of contact in which she would have woken up and run away.
Unless, she had stayed to try to wake him… Wrenching himself from his thoughts and the echoes of the soul tearing pain of his nightmare, he swung around and made toward the door. He was being ridiculous, Leila would never endanger herself like that. She would have retreated to a safe distance until he woke up. He repeated his weak reassurances despite not believing them in the slightest.
A sound from the room on the other side of the lounge brought reality back to him with crystal clarity and with it a burst of relief so strong he had to stop momentarily to regain his bearings.
Leila was fine, the reason she hadn't been in bed with him was because earlier they had gotten into an argument. She had elected to sleep in her old room, not wanting to share their bed while incensed with him. Considering the damage his nightmare could have caused her had she been sleeping next to him, he was suddenly grateful that she had chosen to sleep elsewhere.
Even through his relief and the logical part of his mind that told him his wife was fine, he still felt a niggling doubt. He had to see her to verify that she was truly alive and well. He doubted he would sleep either way after such an intense nightmare, but he didn't relish the thought of his most likely unfounded worry badgering him all night.
Resolving to take a quick glance into the room before leaving her to sleep, Vlad opened the bedroom door as quietly as possible. The familiar shape of his wife amongst the blankets set his worries to rest. Before he could think better of it, he walked closer. His eyes greedily took in her unblemished skin, the moonlight bouncing off of it to create a luminescent glow. Lowering himself onto the mattress, he rested his hand near her own on the bed spread without touching.
He should leave her be, they were still having an argument and she wouldn't be pleased if she awoke to him staring at her while she slept. Even as he admitted what he should do, his body did the exact opposite. His hand inched toward her own, wanting to feel her skin on his, her electricity pulsing waves into him.
When he was centimeters away, Leila stirred, making him stiffen in anticipation. Briefly he considered sprinting back to their room, but the thought of returning to their room, that was coated in ashes, made the lingering disquiet from his nightmare spike dangerously.
Instead, he stayed still and waited for Leila's reaction. She would most likely be displeased, but he knew that if he explained the situation then she would offer comfort. While he would never admit so out loud, he needed that comfort right now more than anything except maybe her touch. The need to wrap her into his arms pulsed through him until it became a fierce ache in his chest.
He held himself back, if she was aggravated then his pawing at her would only make it worse. Explanations first, then he could wrap his body around her until morning.
Blue eyes opened in the next instant, locking with his own despite there being no light in the room. Instead of the anger he had expected, concern and alarm flashed across her face. In one motion, she had sat up to be level with him and her hand had raised to his jaw where her thumb stroked his beard.
The touch sent a soothing calmness over his frazzled nerves, the last of his discomfort disappearing under her careful stroking. He was pulled back to the present at her next shocked question.
"Vlad...why are you crying?" Her voice was barely a whisper, but it brought the wet trails he only now noticed painting his cheeks to his attention. Apparently he hadn't only been crying in his nightmare, unsurprisingly the despair had been potent enough to cause tears to come to his physical body as well.
Under normal circumstances he would try to brush the tears off as nothing to be concerned about, but after the heights his emotions had been to in the last half hour he couldn't find it in himself to care that his wife was seeing his tears. He had thought she was dead by his fire, it was all he could do to be thankful it had been a nightmare and that day in the warehouse hadn't taken such a turn. It wouldn't have taken much for it to have been that scenario…
Turning his attention to Leila's concerned eyes, he leaned into her hand before replying. "A nightmare, about the warehouse and how it could have ended." Understanding immediately settled into her gaze, followed by a grimace. He had been correct when he had told her that he would carry pain from her near death encounter with him for many months to come. The nightmares had been dialing back lately, but tonight's was by far the most intense of them all. Most likely due to their earlier argument and not having her by his side in slumber.
The reasons behind it mattered none to him, all that he cared for was her hands that now caressed his face and the lips that traced the wet trails on his cheek. Her thumbs stroked away the leftover wetness after she slid open mouthed kisses across each trail.
She scooted closer until she was plastered against his side, her fingers twining into his hair as she spoke. "Ah. Well, how about we make tonight into a movie night since I doubt you'll get anymore sleep. I'll probably fall asleep once dawn gets closer but that gives us a few hours."
The love in her eyes sent warmth sliding through his veins, melting all the places that had been turned to ice with dread not thirty minutes ago. His wife always knew what he needed in situations such as this and never hesitated to offer any support she could give.
His arms encased her, no struggle coming from Leila as he did so, before he pulled her against his chest. The familiar electricity danced across his skin, further proof that she was alive and safe. "Even if you were to fall asleep seconds after the movie began, simply holding you is more than enough for me. When I first awoke, I hadn't planned on waking you at all. I only intended to see for myself that you were healthy and whole. Once I saw you though, my body had a mind of its own."
Leila's mouth twisted down into a frown, "Why wouldn't you wake me after that? You tell me all the time that if I have a nightmare that I should wake you. That applies for you too. I want to help in any way I can." Her hands dropped from his hair to grip his hands, he returned her squeeze before answering.
"We argued earlier, I wasn't certain how you would react to me waking you before we had resolved it." If possible, Leila's eyes darkened further and her frown became deeper.
"I don't care that we were arguing, you and your comfort matter more to me than anything we could possibly argue over. We can pause a fight and if it is important we can deal with it later, but I'll never turn you away when you need me." To accent her words, she slid closer and rested her head in the hollow of his throat before dropping a kiss against his long silent pulse point.
A choked sound left him as he tipped his head further back, exposing more of his throat for her. Taking the silent request for what it was, Leila swept closed mouthed kisses along the line of his neck before dropping to his chest.
Her mouth stopped its trail directly over his heart, stopping for a moment to give an extra long kiss before rising to connect their mouths. Leila sighed as his walls faltered, allowing her to feel his love as well as the echoes of pain from the nightmare.
When they pulled away, Leila scooted back to grab the remote off the nightstand. Handing it to Vlad, she grabbed the pillows from the head of the bed as well as the top blankets before turning them into a makeshift nest. "You pick the movie, I can pick next if I'm still awake."
She sat in the middle of the blanket mess, her hand outstretched for his own while she waited for him to take his place beside her.
An amused huff left him even as he moved next to her. He went to lean back, only for her to prod him. His confusion disappeared when she laid down first before opening her arms in an obvious offer. She spoke up when he didn't move to lay against her chest. "Aren't you the one who is always telling me there's nothing to be ashamed of in wanting comfort after a nightmare? I curl up on you all the time, so there's no reason you can't do the same."
Her words had the desired effect, after a moment of internal deliberation Vlad laid his head on her chest. It took some adjusting, neither of them being used to the reversal of positions, but once finished Vlad had most of his weight settled on top of her while her fingers stroked through his hair. Sometimes they trailed down to rub at his back, but mostly they were content to remain in his hair.
Absentmindedly, Vlad put on the first movie he came to before placing the remote to the side. He had no opinion on what they watched, he wouldn't be paying it any attention after all. Resting his head against her chest, he inhaled her natural scent deeply. He was glad she had woken up, despite it going against what he had originally planned. Being wrapped in her arms was much nicer than working in an attempt to take his mind off his former unease.
The feel of her fingers working through his hair, carefully undoing the knots he had yet to brush out, and lightly massaging his scalp lulled him back to sleep after two hours. When he woke up the next morning, her fingers were still tangled in his hair and he still rested on her chest. After a moment of consideration, he shifts closer into her chest before dozing back into a peaceful sleep.