Alex woke sharply at the tapping sound at her window. She sat upright in bed, lifting the sleep mask she wore. "What the fuck?" she whispered, climbing out of bed to push the curtains aside...and was startled to find Emily kneeling on the roof outside her window.
Emily grinned sheepishly, her shoulders up near her ears.
Alex rolled her eyes, but opened the window to let Emily inside anyway. Once she'd checked that no one in the cul-de-sac seemed to have seen, she whirled around and shot Emily a glare. "What are you doing here?"
"Couldn't sleep," she admitted, embarrassment colouring her cheeks. Then, in a smaller voice, "Nightmares."
"Oh..." she whispered, feeling bad for snapping at her. "Come sit down," she offered, reaching for Emily's hand so she could tug her over to the bed.
Emily dropped heavily onto the mattress, kicked off her shoes, then settled back against the headboard. She stared off into the distance, looking lost and forlorn. It was a look Alex didn't think she'd ever seen Emily wear...
Alex spent a few minutes watching her, uncertain what to do – if anything – to comfort her. Ultimately, she sighed and settled next to her on the bed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Do you, umm... Do you want to talk about it?"
She chewed her lip for a few moments, then mumbled, "You'll judge me if I tell you."
"Em, you literally know my deepest darkest secret," Alex pointed out.
"I do?" Alex gave her a pointed look. A beat passed before realization dawned. "Oh...right." Still, though, she seemed reluctant. But only briefly before she visibly deflated a little. "Okay, just...try not to hate me too much."
She leaned her head against Emily's temple in a silent gesture of solidarity.
It took several long moments before she found her courage and Alex gave her that time, simply waiting patiently in silence until Emily grew bold enough to speak. "I, umm... I..." she started, faltered. With a sigh, she seemed to bolster her nerves, then tried again, "When I was fifteen, I lived in Rome and...well, I was – shall we say – going through it and I, umm, I got pregnant."
A beat.
Then, "Oh... I-I didn't..."
Emily shook her head. "Even Erik doesn't know." She flicked her tongue out over her lip. "Mother is the only person who knew – and the adoptive family, of course, but they signed NDAs at Mother's behest."
Again, "Oh." Another beat. "And that's what your nightmares are about?"
She nodded. "I didn't exactly want to give him up," she admitted in a whisper, sounding so heartbreakingly ashamed of herself.
"Then why?" Alex dared ask, if only because she couldn't stop herself from speaking the question aloud.
Emily sighed softly, shrugged. "Because I knew I couldn't give him the kind of life he deserved – not at fifteen and without access to my trust fund, which doesn't kick in until I turn eighteen."
"I'm sorry," she murmured, rubbing Emily back soothingly.
Once again, Emily shrugged. "I'd be fine if it weren't for the nightmares," she insisted. "Every time I think I'm finally over it, they show up again and it's like giving him up all over again."
"Do you want me to..." Alex offered, trailing off with a waggle of her fingers by her temple.
"To what?"
Alex smiled softly. "Put you to sleep," she explained.
"You can do that?" Emily asked.
She grinned mischievously. "You have no idea what I'm capable of..."
"Whatever. Show off," Emily muttered, but there was no heat behind it. She smiled with reluctant fondness, just starting at Alex in silence for a few moments. Then, "What if your parents come in?"
"I'll lock the door," Alex said. "Or I can just sleep on the couch and..."
"Alex..."
She raised a brow. "What?" she asked, seeming genuinely confused by the interruption.
Emily rolled her eyes. "I've literally had my fingers inside you, I think we can share a bed for a few hours..."
Blushing furiously, Alex spent a few moments stammering awkwardly before shrugging and conceding, "Yeah, okay..."
A beat.
"Well?" Emily prompted, laying back on the bed and patting the spot beside her.
Alex hesitated a few moments more, then climbed into bed next to her, snuggling into her side, resting her head on her chest. "Is this okay?"
Emily smiled, nodded. "It's...nice," she reluctantly admitted. The part she didn't say was that she literally couldn't remember the last time she'd snuggled anyone, that it felt good to feel close to someone. (Whether Alex knew what she was thinking remained to be seen...)
With a contented little sigh, Alex wrapped an arm around Emily's waist and when she didn't protest, Alex smiled, if only to herself.
"So, how does this work?" Emily asked.
"Hmm?"
"Your brain voodoo," she said, "Do you just knock me out or...?"
Alex laughed softly. "Close your eyes." She glanced up at her, waiting for her to obey, then when she did, she continued, "Call to mind a happy place."
Emily cracked one eye open to give her a pointed look. "Really?"
"Just shut up and do it," she insisted, rolling her eyes. She waited until Emily begrudgingly obeyed, then murmured, "Where are you?"
She whispered, "I'm at my grandfather's cabin in the French Alps. It's late at night and it's raining outside. We're sitting in front of the fireplace, drinking cocoa and roasting marshmallows."
With a fond smile, Alex continued, "Smell the cooking marshmallows, taste the cocoa, feel the warmth of the fire's heat on your skin, head the patter of rain on the roof." As she spoke, she used her powers to attune Emily's senses to match the description, imbuing each one with a more dreamy quality to it.
She could tell it was working because Emily's breathing slowly evened out, her muscles slowly relaxing, the tension in her face fading away. "Good night, Em," she whispered once she thought Emily was asleep.
Emily's lips quirked up slightly, but it could just as easily have been a figment of Alex's imagination.