Dreaming of you - Endless_Crimson_Dream

Summary:

After for more than a year being tormented by the realistic dreams about the gorgeous, cat-like teenager, seventeen-year-old Raha was sure he was losing his mind: falling helplessly in love with a figment of his imagination.
...what to do then when not only he find that his dreamed-up fantasy is quite real - and stubbornly determined to get him...?

Two silly dorks in love, being ridiculous about it.

Universe: Earth

AU - G'raha as human | Miqo'te as shapeshifters.

M/M | M/F | explicit | smut | humor | fluff | high school/small town drama | Shapeshifters - freeform | Egyptian mythology - freeform


Chapter 1

Living in a small town surrounded by a deep, dark forest had its up and downs. Especially when one knew that said forest rested at the bottom of the mountain, famously containing one of the biggest lairs of the shapeshifters.

Not that it mattered to Raha much, since other than the fact that it brought the biggest crazies others would gossip about, in his opinion, he had far bigger issues to deal with than the beasts that no one had ever seen... so far he knew, at least.

Mostly: living in a small town where everyone knew each other – and their families – up to x-generations back, and figuring out that he didn't like girls... like: at all. And at seventeen, that... sucked.

Really, really bad...

More than having a twin brother that was smarter than everyone around or having the misfortune to inherit the creepy, red eyes that apparently sometimes popped up in his father's family... And he knew since he was afflicted by both of those! And every-fucking-body around him knew and loved to point it out to make him miserable! And he refused to add to that by letting anyone know that while other boys not long ago started to see girls in a different light... he was downright plagued by far, far too realistic dreams about another boy.

And even if his goddamn imagination cooked up the most impossibly gorgeous male in existence to torment him with, night after night for a year now, he would be damned if he let anyone know about that!

Raha sighed miserably, closing his notepad and shoving his phone inside the pocket of his pants before shifting carefully to lay down belly-down, sprawling on top of the branch he was earlier sitting on, leaning against the tree it sprang from. Looking down at the mossy ground sprawling down below the tree he picked today to be his perch, alone and far, far from the prying eyes, he closed his when he dared to recall the last night's... dream.

He came here early morning on Sunday when his whole family still happily snored away in their beds to somewhat naively attempt to exorcise his... stupid imagination by trying to write down the 'nightmare,' but staring at the open page of the file... the only thing he could think of was how... adored he felt in those stupid, impossible fantasies.

It started a bit over a year ago, basically when hormones hit his system, and his body began to change from the far too skinny, tiny kid to... still not that tall, awkward teenager. And one night soon after that... his dreams changed, too.

It was warm and innocent at first. 'Waking up' to an older-looking, beautiful (cat-like!) teen was a surprise by itself. He put it up to Damon – his twin – never shutting his big mouth about the nearby-living shapeshifters. His brother was fascinated by them, but even he wouldn't dare to get anywhere near the 'border' of the lair. It was common knowledge that the crazies who attempted that were never seen again. Since they were kids – as with all other children in the town – it was laid upon their heads constantly never to cross the 'marked' line of trees that announced the beginning of the lands belonging to the 'beasts.'

One time over dinner, his twin asked their parents why they never considered moving away from their neighbors – and both looked baffled at the very idea.

The truth was: other than the occasional visitors from outside (who, as mentioned, tended to disappear swiftly, anyway), their small town was probably the safest place to live in the whole state. A few over the decades that decided to leave for bigger cities tended to return after a while, bringing back horror stories about rampant crimes and abuse, swearing of leaving again. None actually seemed to know why – but their town, Gatesville, had none of those to speak of. Crimes that is.

There were some occasional conflicts and arguments, and they had a tiny sheriff station... but as long as he was alive, he never heard of theft or murder happening here. The current sheriff, Thancred Waters, every year famously threatened to quit his office due to boredom. And every year, he was pacified by some carefully placed compliments about how well he looked in the uniform and the plethora of home-baked goods offered by the worried townspeople. And he was the longest-running sheriff they had – with five years behind his belt – because apparently, all others before him did quit after a year at the very most. Hence worry, because their parents believed that the lack of a sheriff would work to invite the trouble that so far looked to avoid their community.

His and Damon's parents, Katie and Sol Mallory, told them it wasn't always like that. That the almost unnatural peacefulness seemed to arrive with the widespread knowledge about their uncommon neighbors.

The shapeshifters used to be a myth connected to the ancient forest, that years before Raha was born, came to life when humans apparently stepped over the unwritten line, introducing the threat of nuclear warfare. And the Miqo'te – as the shapeshifters called themselves – took offense, swiftly and mercilessly squashing the man-made weapons and introducing an ultimatum to ever-waring, volatile humankind: any further attempts on the production of the weapons of mass destruction were to be ceased... or else. And since they apparently commanded far superior magic... yeah, wasn't much of a contest there.

Then they backed away, marking off their territories (fourteen total, all around the world) and warned that uninvited guests in those areas would be dealt with according to their customs. He didn't know what those were, but living in this town his whole life, Raha – like any other kid raised here – with some interest, watched the crazy bastards that attempted that breach of conduct from time to time.

Story – that most commonly brought to Gatesville the outsiders – was that the shapeshifters were somehow able to give one immortality. He didn't know if it was true – and, honestly, didn't care either, busy with his own problems – but the 'myth' itself was enough to drive in the craziest-looking assholes. They arrived, asked about the town about their 'neighbors,' and went into the forest... to never be heard from again, and their sheriff's most common task was dealing with their leftover cars or belongings. Or so he heard, at least.

The latest of such arrivals, he had a chance to witness himself by accident. Coming home from school and passing the small inn, buried in dark thoughts, he almost stumbled into a not much older-looking girl with white hair and blue eyes, and probably he wouldn't pay it much mind if not while he was apologizing awkwardly for his distraction, the girl's twin brother joined in, smoothly smoothing down her apparent annoyance. And there was no confusing their familiarity, especially for him, while they were nearly more identical than he and Damon were. Or the fact that he never saw them before, and even if he left swiftly – embarrassed about causing a scene – that encounter engrave itself in his head.

Later that day, over dinner, Damon snickered all the way throughout the meal about the 'supernatural-chasers' who apparently stubbornly decided to investigate the shapeshifters while trying to avoid the fate of their predecessors. Calling themselves 'Scions,' the small group of teenagers, with one accompanying them adult, rented rooms in the inn and set upon the townspeople with a bunch of weirdest questions. His twin dubbed them 'Scooby-do's team' and spent the whole afternoon stuffing their ears with the most ridiculous stories – clearly enjoying himself by causing the 'investigators' to still be here two weeks later, chasing the provided ghost stories. Raha figured that sooner or later, they'll either get bored or make the mistake of going into the wrong part of the forest... and mostly shrugged it off, busy with his issue.

His ink-haired, pale-eyed, nightly... trouble. Because as time progressed, the dreams were getting increasingly... intense and realistic. Though he couldn't hear anything in them – even seeing his dreamed-up boy's almost too-pretty lips move, shoving tantalizing hints of too-pronounced fangs – from the first apprehension at dreaming the same thing over and over... eventually he got faaar too comfortable with the fantasy.

As hormones raged, he went from trying to understand the meaning behind the stubborn images to... enjoying them far, far too much.

Each night when he fell asleep, he 'woke up' in something that looked like a cave with the walls decorated with a multitude of various gorgeous crystals. With a strange, wooden contraption filling most of that cave, climbing up to its ceiling, the only other thing in there was a messy nest made of a mix of furs and blankets. And that's where he always woke up, naked – no matter what he wore to bed that night – and to a ridiculously gorgeous brunette who at first looked almost as shocked as he felt by the strange dream.

It was weird and awkward, and at first, he was more than freaked out by the whole thing. Everything looked so real in it, so clear... if not for the fact that he couldn't hear or touch anything inside it other than himself, he would be almost tempted to believe that it was somehow true. But no, his hands passed through anything... including his dreamed-up cat-like boy. He knew... because he tried.

Who the fuck wouldn't...? He was beyond gorgeous, that older teen and looking at him night after night... God, anyone would get... ideas, right? Veeery tall and with pale skin covering the taut, impossibly well-defined muscular body, the cat-like additions in the form of ears, tail, and vertically slit eyes didn't take away any of his... charm with those impossibly beautiful features of his slightly triangular face. If anything, they only added to it... and a few weeks of those dreams were more than enough to ruin his interest in any 'real' people completely.

A year later... he was hopelessly, helplessly in love with a fucking figment of his imagination!

...how pathetic was that...?

He went even as far as to attempt to communicate with him! Growing perhaps a tad... desperate, the last night he ended up drawing with his finger on his arm time after time: 'Are you real?' but, predictably, the brunette only looked on without understanding, only funnily waving his long, black tail with enthusiasm. Kneeling in his 'nest' opposite his and as naked, the other teen always looked impossibly happy to see him. Always attempted to touch him and bared his fangs at him with increasing frustration when his hands passed through Raha's form. For what felt like hours of his fantasy, the brunette would stubbornly try... to kiss him. He would get sooo close, Raha could easily count his long, ink-black lashes... if he weren't busy losing his fucking mind, wishing to touch him. Dying to feel his touch, too...

It was getting so increasingly, impossibly, and painfully frustrating he started avoiding sleeping whenever he could. Inhaling unhealthy doses of caffeine and trying to stay awake... because with every next dream, his heart broke, especially when his stupid mind decided to give his dreamed-up boy's ice-blue irises the same expression of heartbreak he felt every time his hand passed through him.

The last night he broke, after almost three days of not sleeping simply passing out – during some very annoying lecture from his twin about how shitty he looked lately. And, predictably, he landed straight back in that dream... and to the initial, matching his brother's worry in the pale eyes. To his gorgeous 'fantasy' trying to put his big hand against his cheek, a mere breath away... and him so, so painfully wishing he could feel its warmth. And leaning his head into his palm... weeping as he couldn't feel anything.

And waking up... he just needed to be alone and away from anyone who could ask questions about his fucking misery. At least until he could think of it without feeling like crying...

It was pointless and stupid, and he had no idea why his brain decided to torment him like that... but he was so fucking tired...

...no wonder, really, that he missed the scratch mark set at the base of the tree he chose to climb on. The border... and his perch, a branch hanging on the wrong side of it. And staring numbly at the mossy rocks spread about the area below him, well covered by the leafy branches around him, he realized his mistake when a massive feline beast entered his vision, insistently sniffing at the moss.

Raha froze, not daring even to breathe as his crimson eyes darted toward the base of the tree he was on, and he swore internally, seeing the telltale scratch mark. He paled instantly as his eyes darted back to the gigantic cat – a somewhat strange mix of something between a panther and a leopard. Covered in a thick coat of ink-black fur, its long tail swiveled slowly as it circulated about the base of the tree, audibly – and intensely – sniffing. Holding his breath and clinging to the branch for dear life, he fought not to utter a sound: praying in thought that it wouldn't raise its triangular head and look up. With eyes wide like saucers, he followed with his gaze the massive... animal? No, it was far, far too big...

Oh, fuck...

Understanding how badly he fucked up wasn't any comfort when the beast very pointedly looked up, and his huge eyes were caught in the snare of the sky-blue, wide, and vertically slit irises. Sweating profusely and terrified beyond reason, he squeaked embarrassingly loud when the big cat sat down on its haunches and still staring at him, its maw parted, uttering a human voice between far, far too many fangs...

„You're aware you passed the border, kit?" it said in a distinctively male voice that strangely enough seemed a tad... amused.

„I-I'm... s-sorry," he stammered nervously, gawking at the feline as he swallowed thickly. „I didn't... m-mean to..." and because his fate just loved to fuck with him, when he tried to sit up shakily, his hand slipped, and with a yelp, he tumbled down right on top of the shapeshifter!

Sure now he was dead, he groaned loudly and covered his face with his hands, praying for a fast end after awkwardly scrambling away from the ink-black beast.

„That's better," he heard and blinked, then peered through his fingers at the huge feline, still sitting in the same place, like he didn't just fall squarely on its back. Perhaps seeing his baffled look, it bared its too-many fangs in something that very much looked like a crooked grin. When it stretched its paw between them, he yelped with fright and backed away instinctively... and its sky-blue eyes betrayed far too-much amusement at his reaction. Taking deep, calming breaths, only after a moment Raha realized what it was pointing to: in his mad scramble, he involuntarily – blessedly – landed behind the tree... and the border. „Next time, take better care, kiddo," it chuckled, then stood up to all fours and, with a slight wave of its long tail, calmly walked off, soon disappearing between the foliage.

Raha stared after it for a long, long moment with a wide open mouth – even wider eyes – until he realized how lucky he was to still breathe and scrambled to his feet, soon sprinting home. And though he probably shouldn't... already dying to wake up his twin and pointedly rub this encounter into Damon's face!


Internally still gushing at the sheer cuteness of the human kit when he entered the lair, Ares – if he weren't distracted by it – would easily avoid his baby brother's pounce. Since he didn't, and the corridor was empty of the other clanmates, he let Senri pin him down, chortling at the kit's victorious croon and the wild satisfaction on his adorable muzzle.

Fuck it, he might be the leader, but he never hid that he had a massive weakness for his youngest brother. Perhaps because he – and their middle brother, Hades – spent years fighting to keep their baby brother safe and happy. And maybe... they spoiled him a little as a result.

„This time, I got you!" Senri crooned, a tad awkwardly setting his paws on top of his back, visibly unsure what to do now that he achieved the win.

„You did..." Ares sighed morosely, then purposefully tossed his brother a solemn look. „Now you're going to lead the Clan, Sen."

The kit yelped and scrambled, his paws slipped off Ares's fur, and he landed nose first in his back – that shook while Ares laughed at his expanse!

„Will you two stop fooling around?" he heard down the corridor leading deeper into the lair, and when he looked up, Hades headed toward them with a downright deadpan expression on his white muzzle.

„Ares... you smell nice," meanwhile his babe brother nosed at his fur, sniffing him insistently. „...what is that? Like spices..."

„Ah..." he pushed him off and stood up, shaking off his fur before sitting on his hinder paws and putting the right front one on Senri's nose when the kit tried to move around him. „A human kit fell off the tree on me."

„...inside the border?" Hades scowled darkly, putting his paw on Senri's back and pinning him down when he wouldn't stop trying to get around him. „Sen, behave... what got into you...?" he shook his head when the kit whimpered sadly but obediently froze, looking up between them with huge, pale eyes as his tail waved with agitation. „A human got inside the border, and you let him leave?" his younger brother didn't sound impressed.

„Barely a step inside... and it was just a kid," he shrugged somewhat helplessly, then pushed his head against Hades's shoulder, forcing him to back off Senri. Internally he swore when the kit didn't move when being freed, still assuming the submissive pose. He exchanged a quick look with Hades above him, and his white-furred brother laid his ears back slightly, giving him an apologetic look before nudging his nose into the kit's side.

„Up and at them, Sen... it's dinner time," he said, and with an uncertain look between them, their baby brother finally hesitantly rose to all fours, if his ears were still flat against his head and his tail was low when he turned around and headed deeper into the lair. „Sorry, Ares... habit. But even if it was a child, you know you shouldn't let him go. What if he brings more humans along...?"

„I couldn't resist... he looked not much younger than Sen, Hades, and had those absolutely gorgeous crimson eyes..." Looking at his brother, he missed how their youngest sibling froze, and his ink-furred head swiveled back toward them with impossibly wide, ice-blue eyes. „Almost like in the legends about the Allag..." he shrugged again, then shook his head and, with a chuckle, walked around Hades and followed their brother. „And he was almost as cute as you, Senri," he said, swatting him with his tail as he passed him.

„And... you could touch him?" his brother asked, catching up with him. „Like... really touch him?"

„As I said... he fell right on top of me," he laughed, then shook his head again, twitching his whiskers at the curious expression on his baby brother's muzzle. „...what of it? And why so excited suddenly?" he pointedly looked toward his waving madly black tail.

„No reason," Senri sped up, soon disappearing down the corridor, and he exchanged confused looks with Hades when he caught up to him.

„Suspicious," his brother remarked, and he could only nod in agreement.