From the tumblr...
While most nights he's holding her, there are nights like this one where she ends up cradling him back to sleep. In the best of cases, it's after they've ground out their demons against each other's skin. In the worst, it's after his demons have ground his nerves down to silt with vivid nightmares. In either case, she counts his breaths until they're soft and even, cards her fingers against his temple, and presses out the worries in his neck. It's through trial and error that she's developed a belief that without all three, they'll be starting the process over in a few hours.
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His legs were spaghetti, he almost missed the step onto the train his toe catching by an inch. The near miss made his heart leap, adrenaline coursed through him as he hung out over the gravel. The passengers from Amity looked disapprovingly as he leaned out and let the wind in. But it helped him wake up and gather his resolve to be civil. Even more, it helped him allow himself to feel excited about seeing her.
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He misunderstood the looks they gave when he passed. Each glance was accusatory. Every nod of the head dismissive. Tilts of their chins put him on the defensive, prepared for a challenge. He swore his back was on fire from the focused power of so many eyes. When he finally made it up to the front, hauled up to stand among the leadership, he expected cat calls and heckles. So he braced, and the noise nearly knocked him over for the sheer joy and praise they all stamped into the ground and rattled through the air. Surprise displaced doubt, he was home.