Here’s that fic I promiced, its not good and I wrote it at 3 am so I’m sorry.
You can read it here or on my Ao3
Sleep was already hard enough. If it weren’t from the racing thoughts, then it was the nightmares and disturbing dreams that grew from it. And lately, they had all been about Dark. Somehow.
Darkness, mostly always in darkness did the dreams start, I felt cold and empty. Or- in contrast I felt anxious and hot. Either way, I knew I had to run. Run until my legs give out and my lungs burn. Of course, that would never happen in dream land. But everything feels real when you believe it is. So I ran, I ran from an invisible enemy that seemed to always be on my tail.
It was a wolf sometimes, sometimes a panther. It was always shadows and mist, not completely solid but the teeth.... the teeth were always solid, always gleaming white in the impossible darkness around me. These silver knives were the only thing I remember clear enough to really know what they were. It was terrifying. I could see clearly as I ran and ran and ran, running from something I didn’t even understand.
I would wake in a cold sweat when they would pounce, presumably sinking their long, sharp daggers into my neck, my shoulders, my arms. A splitting pain would erupt through me and cause me to scream awake sometimes. Alone in almost darkness, in my own bed with the moon shining her silver light through the windows of the manor.
Just like tonight, where I screamed awake for what felt like the hundred time. The full moon settled me for a moment, but the phantom pain of teeth in my neck still shook me to the core. I hugged myself under my covers, begging to slip back into a dreamless rest but fate was not kind.
Instead there was a soft knock on my door, the first of months of staying in this house. I didn’t believe the sound at first, thinking it to be part of my imagination but it happened again. Three quick taps against the solid wood of my bedroom door.
“Y-yeah?” I call out, sitting up just enough to look at the door from my bed. The door cracked open and a sliver of orange light flowed into my room. It was slightly comforting. But it was quickly covered by a body getting in the way, and Dark’s unmistakable head peeked into the room.
I didn’t dislike Dark, not one bit. I admired his cunning, his control, his looks and the way he carried himself. But I’d always wanted to keep my distance. I didn’t know what would happen if I got too close to the demon of a man. What horrors I would face if I suddenly found myself between a bed and his teeth.
“I heard you scream. Is everything alright?” He asked, soft and caring. A facade? I didn’t know and I was honestly too tired to care.
“Yeah- I’m fine. Just a nightmare. I’m sorry I woke you up.”
“Nonsense, I was already awake.” I glance at the clock now illuminated by the light of the hallway. At 4 am? Likely, but I’d always had a suspicion that Dark never slept anyway. I shrugged, rolling over to the side of the bed closest to the doorway.
“Well- I’m sorry to disturb you anyway.” He smiled, a small one really, but it was still a smile. One that sent a message of ‘I want something’ through me, but perhaps that was just the anxiety.
“Nightmares are not kind, would you like some comfort?” A little too familiar but—
“Yes.” The word comes out of my mouth before I even have time to process it. The smile grows, and—
Teeth. Tearing and ripping, blood dripping down his chin at the end when everything is still and it’s only the smell of iron and a lust for something feral. I shook, the shiver rocketing through me with ice and fire at the same time.
But as quickly as it came, it went. Dark was closing the door softly with a click, and I can see that he’s wearing sweatpants and a simple black t-shirt. It was very very jarring from his usual black tie aesthetic. I guess even people like him deserved a moment to be comfortable and relax.
I didn’t know what it was about him that made me feel different things as quickly as flipping a coin. Or why his teeth were so white. I’d heard several theories about the human mind, how they highlight things so clearly when you think you’re in danger. Like how people wake up and see eyes in the darkness, glowing. Only to find the next night they cannot see it in the same blinding color. But I expected it to go away at some point.
Dark‘s foot falls are soft against the carpet of my room and it only takes him a moment to reach the bed. I scoot over silently to let him lie down, questioning why I feel comfortable with this after such a toxic and intrusive vision from just his smile. Perhaps I felt safe... or— rather I did feel safe with him around.
He opted to stay on top of my comforter, even after much protest from me that he will be cold. But he insisted and opened his arms for me instead. I hesitated for a long while, which didn’t seem to bother Dark at all, and soon I accepted the odd display of affection and awkwardly snuggled up against his chest and torso.
I decided he did make me feel safe, wrapped in blankets and darkness, strong arms and silver moonlight. Perhaps it was his imposing figure that would strike fear into demons, or his power that would destroy anything that came my way. And as I drifted back to a restful and dreamless sleep, I decided that it was the sharp and gleaming teeth, hiding behind a panther’s smile.
