Sandman
pairing ; james x reader
summary ; you can’t sleep and james won’t have any of it.
words ; 765 ─ drabble.
warnings ; is insomnia even a warning?
note ; this is something i wrote while being my insomniac self, completely deprived of much-needed sleep. you have been forewarned.
masterlist
Most say “If you go to bed earlier, then you’ll definitely get more sleep,” and by “most,” it’s referencing every parent ever.
But, for you, that never worked. You had to go to bed at the right time, or you wouldn’t be able to sleep right at all, and that would be the end of it. Your boyfriend, James, knew this very well, your friends knew it well, and your parents were sort of oblivious to it now that you lived states away. (Seriously, mom, everything is absolutely wonderful here with James. Don’t fly over here.)
And this small fact brought you to now, lying awake while James snoozed away beside you. Waking him up is something you couldn’t bring yourself to do considering he never got a good rest without waking up and having a horrible coughing fit or something of the sorts, so letting him rest was the only option you chose to have.
That night, you had decided to go to bed with James a little earlier, much to his surprise, completely disregarding the sleep schedule your mind had. With your boyfriend thinking about it before you, he did ask if you’d be able to sleep through the night, to which you had assured him that you would, just because he was there.
Lies, really. Although he did keep the nightmares away, and he was a nice thing to cuddle up to in the middle of the night, he wasn’t the sandman and he wasn’t able to keep you asleep. Nothing could, if you were honest, not when it came to times like this.
Shifting so that you were on your side and your forehead was on James’ chest, you took a deep breath in and out, slipping a careful hand onto his waist and letting it rest there. Because James was such a big guy, what with his muscles and rather bulky body frame, it was easy just to be enveloped in his arms and be able to lay there all day.
He provided endless warmth, a lot of cuddles, and some good kisses if you did say so yourself. So, since you put your hand on his waist, his reaction would be to encase you in his arms and hold you close, all the while still asleep. But tonight, once you sighed and did so, he not only wrapped his arms around you, but also stirred and frowned ever-so-slightly upon realizing you were awake.
“Babe,” he whispered gruffly, his voice thickly laced with sleep.
“Yeah?”
“Why are you awake?”
“Couldn’t sleep,” you began tracing patterns along his hipbone with your fingers, trying to keep yourself calm, as well as him.
“Why?” He sounded a little more awake now, grunting a slight bit to clear his throat and shifting so that he was a little more comfortable.
“Dunno, just couldn’t. But you should, so go back to sleep.”
“No,” he whispered firmly, “not until you’re asleep.”
“James, please, you know that isn’t going to happen tonight,” you began to plead for him to go back to sleep, just because you knew how solemn it was that he got a good night’s rest.
“And? I’ll stay up with you. You know I don’t like it when you’re sleep deprived because you didn’t give yourself a chance to stop thinking and just sleep.”
He was right. The reason you didn’t sleep once you woke up was that your brain was coursing with thoughts that poked at you, begging you to think through them, of them, about them. Of course you thought during the day, but nighttime was when the worser ones came out, simply because you were behind closed doors and no one but James would see you break down if you were brought to it.
Your silence provided him with the response he wanted, a breath escaping his lips as he placed a kiss on your head. “Just try to sleep for me. That would be enough, my love.”
“I’ll try,” you whispered into his chest. Snuggling deeper, you closed your eyes and forced your thoughts to come to a halt, if just for a moment. James brought you closer, you wrapped more of your arm around his waist, and your legs tangled together.
“I love you, y/n,” James whispered once he felt your breaths begin to become more even.
“I love you, too, James,” you replied just before you slipped off the precipice of awareness. You were asleep in moments, which made James happy.
You’d soon realize that James was the sandman, just in a different form – for you, and only you.
