He wasn't sure what woke him at first, but from the darkness of the room he could guess that it was still the middle of the night. Aaron was still sleeping, soundly, so it probably hadn't been a noise inside their house that woke him, but it could have been a dozen other things, like worry or a nightmare that he had already forgotten. His pulse was slow and steady though, so he ruled out nightmare. A sharp pain in his neck finally told him what the problem was. He had slid down the bed and his head had fallen from his pillow, leaving his neck at a bad angle for sleeping.
Eric took a deep breath and pressed his cheek against Aaron's back. It was a good back; strong and solid. The slight chill in the weather had led to Aaron wearing one of the worn-out undershirts that was soft from many washings. It felt good against his skin, warm and soft and it smelled good, like Aaron, so Eric took another deep breath before slowly uncurling his hand from the fabric over Aaron's ribs, and moving to sit up. He had barely moved away from his boyfriend when Aaron's whole body jerked and Eric could hear his sharp intake of air as he gasped. He jolted upright, reaching toward Eric's side of the bed, and only abandoning the movement when he saw that Eric was watching him with concern.
"Still here, are you okay?"
Aaron nodded slowly, frowning, "Nightmare, but it'll pass." He shook his head, glancing around the room for a moment, "Why are you up?"
"Sore neck. I was going to get a glass of water before getting comfortable again. Want one?" Eric had moved to the side of the bed, ready to get up, but he stopped for Aaron's answer.
"Sure, but I think I'll come downstairs with you, I want to get that dream out of my head."