A/N: Greetings, fine shippers of le Bicely!

Sorry for the long wait for this chapter. I took a break from TBANC to write some other fics, like a multi-chapter angsty supernatural-themed Bicely (there is death and fighting and stuff, along with immortal shapeshifters and spirit thingies), and a Nannigan!AU Angel!Brannigan crackfic... either of which may be done and published before the end of the summer.

But now I have returned, and bearing gifts nonetheless! This is the fluffy and cute chapter 18, in which I finally address Nicely's dreams.

*BOATS*

Also, the line about them being on a small ship is totally not a metaphor.

Well, enjoy! And PLEEEEEEEEASE REVIEW I'M AT 28 REVIEWS AND IT NEEDS TO BE 30 IT'S BUGGING ME thx

-BaconWrappedRainbows

P.S. A special cuddly thank you to i'm-a-Harry-Potter-rebel and Rue Sue (I'm waiting for your story hehehehe) for favouriting this story! You are both awesome!

P.P.S. If you're worried because I haven't introduced General Cartwright to this story, don't be; she's okay. In fact, I could say she's DoingNicely. (Cassie you fiend)

OoOoO

It was all going fine. It was a beautiful summer day, the sun was shining, the wind wasn't too fast, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Nicely was watching the light blue water rush by under the boat, feeling oddly peaceful, especially with his husband by his side. It seemed like nothing could possibly go wrong. Nicely looked up, staring out at the vast ocean ahead of him. It was then that the first grey, angry clouds blew in. He wasn't nervous; it was just a few clouds. But the wind was picking up, the boat begin to rock under his feet. He looked to Benny, hoping to find comfort in his brave companion. But the other man was even more nervous than he was. Somehow, the blue sky had been covered entirely by the monstrous clouds. Nicely wordlessly thrust himself into Benny's arms, squeaking in terror. Benny was shaking. The waves were large, crashing on the sides of the boat. Nicely was very frightened. Thunder boomed around them, wind howling; the boat was rocking dangerously now as well, every wave threatening to overwhelm them. After all, the two were on a very small ship. Nicely clutched onto his husband for dear life, looking up at him. Benny was scared. The smaller man made the mistake of looking into the swirling dark water, he gasped in fright. One last wave hammered the side of the boat. They were capsizing, Nicely barely had the time to scream before he and his husband plummeted into the frigid water to their doom…

Nicely sat up, eyes widening in terror. It was dark, and Benny lay immobile beside him. He felt tears clouding his eyes. He clamped both hands over his mouth, trying to remain silent. But as he tried to breath, tears began to stream down his cheeks. He let out a strangled sob, overwhelmed with residual terror. This caused Benny to wake up; he turned onto his side to face his husband. "Nice'? You okay?"

Nicely removed his hands. He nodded, shakily lying back down.

"What's wrong?"

He turned away from the other man, swallowing hard.

"Nicely, what happened?"

The younger man bit his bottom lip, remaining silent.

Benny sat up, placing his hand on Nicely's shoulder.

Nicely shrugged it off, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Alexander Southstreet, talk to me!"

The smaller man sobbed loudly, finally turning over to face his husband. He clutched Benny's shirt and pulled himself close as if his life depended on it.

"Nicely?" Southstreet was more than somewhat concerned.

Nicely took a deep breath before managing to squeak out: "I-I had a nightmare, Benny…"

Benny sighed. "Aw, sweetheart…" the elder of the two hugged his lover tightly.

Nicely tried to stop his crying, but to no avail. He sobbed into Benny's chest until the older man felt the wetness of his tears soak through his shirt.

"It's okay, baby, you're okay now," Benny muttered against the top of Nicely's messy-haired head.

Nicely whimpered, moving so that he was hugging the taller man.

"Shh, Princess, you're alright. I'm here."

Benny let this go on for a while until Nicely's crying had almost ceased.

"Do you feel better?" the older man whispered to his husband.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Nicely replied, shifting to the side so that he wasn't touching Benny.

"You wanna talk about it?"

"No."

"Are you sure? You seemed pretty scared, and a lot of the times talkin' about it makes it less scary."

Nicely shook his head. "No, Benny, I'm fine. It was stupid anyway; I shouldn't have been so scared of a dream. I'm sorry I woke you up."

Benny frowned. "Is that what all this was about? You thinkin' it weren't important enough to wake me?"

"Yeah, I suppose."

The taller man put his arm around Nicely's shoulders, trying to get his lover to look him in the eye. "Nicely, that's complete nonsense and you know it. That's why we sleep together, because I love you and I'm okay with you wakin' me up in the middle of the night because you're scared. Nothing ain't important enough to wake me for. Anytime you can't get to sleep, or you had a nightmare, or you need to talk to me, just wake me up."

"You never wake me," Nicely muttered.

"I have so! It's usually an accident, however, but I have definitely woken you before."

"But you don't start crying like a baby because you had a bad dream."

"You got me there. But I haven't had a nightmare for a long time."

"Lucky you."

"Yeah I'm pretty lucky. I feel like I'm the luckiest man in the world."

Nicely frowned.

"But mostly 'cause I get to hold you every night," Benny said, shifting so that he had the smaller man in his arms.

Nicely turned to face Benny. "You really think so?"

Benny nodded. "You better believe it."

Nicely smiled and let his arms travel to around Benny's waist, bringing the pair close together again.

"So, Nice', are you gonna tell me about that dream you had or not?"

"Nah."

"You sure is stubborn."

"Can't we just cuddle?"

Benny laughed. "Yeah, alright."

The younger man was about to nuzzle into his lover's chest when Benny stopped him. "But you just have to promise me that you'll always wake me up if you need me, okay?"

"Okay."

"Give me a kiss?"

Nicely smirked, leaning in to kiss the other man. He pulled away after a few seconds, gently touching his nose to Benny's. He then squirmed down, snuggling close to the older man. Benny held Nicely close, breathing a sigh of content.

"Nice'," he muttered, "I love you."

"Love you too, Benny."