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CHARACTERS: October and Bells.
LOCATION: October's room.
WARNINGS: Mentions of gore, character death, general horror movie-esque things.
SUMMARY: Bells comes to comfort October after a bad dream.
NOTES: Nadda.

[ The pills were supposed to help. That's why she'd gone to talk to Dexter, why she'd actually caved and asked for help from medical. They were supposed to make sleeping possible, make it so she could get an entire night's rest without waking once. Whether she dreamed or not, she didn't really care so long as she didn't remember it in the morning.

Then Kirk left, at least the one she knew, and she grabbed the leftover pills he had in his room when she went to say goodbye. (It didn't feel like it mattered at all, though; it was just an empty room without him in it.) She took one of his tonight because they'd worked before but tonight...

It's Phin's lifeless body in front of her, contorted and shockingly pale beneath the dark red blood, that pushes her through the haze of sleep. She doesn't even realize the scream she's hearing is coming from her, even when it breaks as the same time that the tears start. Her hands grip the edge of the bed - the covers had been kicked off onto the floor at some point during the night - but she can't seem to get a grip on herself.

The pills were supposed to help her sleep, not make her an uncontrollable, sobbing mess. ]

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[ His sleeping patterns are pretty rough. Sometimes, honestly, he doesn't sleep at all, and nothing bad's ever come of it. Angels really don't need to sleep, though he's sure the mechanics are just a little different when compared to a Fallen like him. Still, when he feels restless, he takes to wandering. It's always the same paths, riding the lifts and walking each level in hopes of running into someone with the same problem or seeing a person he might know so he doesn't feel too terribly alone. Usually, it's boring. Usually, it's quiet.

Tonight? Tonight, it's not either.

He's passing by October's room when he hears the scream, the noise that seems to bleed through the walls and into his ears. Bells stops and turns to go towards it, alert and trying to listen. He wants to be sure there's no one in there, no one hurting her, and really, it doesn't seem to be the case since she's not calling for help or screaming again. That doesn't mean he isn't going to do something about it because he's testing the door to see if it'll slide open for him. Oddly enough, it does—which may or may not say something about the entire situation. But he's in, eyes immediately focusing on her and nothing else. ]

Hey. [ It's meant to be soothing, something to get her attention and distract her from whatever it is that's going on, but it's almost like a question. He's no stranger to bad dreams, and this has nightmare written all over it. Bells eases closer, entirely unaware of personal space. ] It's gonna be okay.

[ She doesn't hear the door slide open - she's sobbing too hard and even if she wasn't, the pounding of her heart in her ears would've drowned out the sound easy - but she does hear Bells' voice and her eyes snap up at the sound of it. Not that she really sees anything but a blur of color thanks to her tears. As he moves closer, October pries her hands off the mattress and lifts one to cover her mouth because the last thing she wants is an audience for this and if she can't control the tears, she can muffle the sobs. Her eyes squeeze shut and she shakes her head, disagreeing with him and trying to clear it at the same time, and though his words are meant to be soothing, her sobs get worse.

Both hands move to cover her face then and she curls in on herself, feet on the frame of the bed, hands and face pressed against the tops of her knees. All she wants is to get control of herself, to be able to breathe and act like a normal human being again, but she can't. She can't and she hates it, and that makes her cry even harder, body shaking slightly with the intensity of it. ]

[ He's never been too good with comfort, but it's not as if he can simply turn around and ignore what he's seeing. The way she shakes, curls in on herself and avoids him altogether. Bells frowns, rubbing a hand over his face before he decides to cross that threshold and get onto the bed with her. He sits carefully, easing a hand out to touch her arm. As if she could actually hurt him, but it's better to be cautious about it anyway. ]

October. [ Saying her name as quietly as he does seems weird, and he can't shake the fact this seems to be more than what he's normally capable of handling. ] You're here with me, okay? It was just a dream.

[ As far as he can tell anyway. Maybe they'll talk about it. Maybe he'll pry and see what he can get out of her since they've, at the very least, moved into the sharing part of their friendship. Bells slides his hand around to press it against her back, idly brushing at some of her hair. ]

You're safe. I'm not gonna let anything get you.

[ The hand on her arm has her tensing but she doesn't pull away and eventually, when his hand moves to her back, she relaxes (as much as she can) beneath his touch. She still shakes her head to what he says, though, because it wasn't just a dream. It was a memory, sort of, disjointed and horrifying as it was, and that's why she's so shaken.

She manages to get herself under enough control that she can talk, but her face is still in her hands so her voice comes out muffled. ] It wasn't. [ She swallows, tries to keep her voice from cracking, but it doesn't help. ] It wasn't just a dream.

But you're gonna be okay. I swear. [ He can feel that tension, still not bothered enough to draw back and give her space. Bells thinks that isn't what she needs, though he would give it to her if she indicated as much. His hand settles a little more firmly at the center of her back. ]

Wanna talk about it? What happened? [ He really doesn't know what else to say. ]

[ But she's not. She's not going to be okay unless she stays here and then okay is pretty relative. This place is so fucked up that October's surprised she's made it this long, that sleeping and nightmares are the only issues she's had, that she hasn't snapped completely. (Except maybe she has and she just hasn't realized it.)

Wiping her cheeks off, despite the fact that she's still crying (silently now, at least), October drags her hands through her hair and grips her shoulders. She keeps her forehead pressed to her knees and tries to breathe slowly, to get a better semblance of control.

No, she doesn't want to talk about it, but burying it doesn't help. Especially with how foggy she still feels thanks to the pill she took. ] My brother-- [ Her voice cracks and she forces herself to sit up, arms wrapping tightly around herself, but she doesn't look at Bells. Her gaze stays focused in front of her, not really seeing anything, just refusing to look at him. ] The fucking idiot went off by himself and she...

[ But October can't finish that sentence. Can't even finish thinking it, honestly, so hopefully Bells will figure it out himself. ]

[ He feels himself freezing up again, actually hating the fact she's crying like this. Even if the worst is over, there's still too much to sort through, and he doesn't know where to begin, continuing with the pressure of his hand against her back so she knows this, at least, is real. Not imagined or some twisted game the ship wants to play. He understands, too, that they're hardly close enough for this, but anything is better than nothing.

Bells knows what it feels like to suffer over and over the things he could not change.

And she doesn't need to spell it out for him, the other conversations they've had piecing themselves together slowly. It doesn't paint an entirely clear picture, but it's enough so that he knows. He sighs and shifts just a little closer. ]

You don't have to say anything else if you don't feel like it, okay? I get it. [ Sort of. He thinks this is one of those times he should keep his mouth shut, and he isn't going to tell her he's sorry because it's not going to bring her brother back, it isn't going to fix this. Besides, Alex had told him, once, that people only said they were sorry when they didn't know what else to say.

He can think of something now. ] I won't leave you.

[ Her hands fist against her sides, nails digging roughly into her palms, even though the hand on her back and his presence in general is comforting. It's just, unfortunately, not enough. She does nod to what he says and sniffles quietly, tears still falling down her cheeks.

With the grogginess still in her system, all October really wants is to lay down and go back to sleep, but she knows that it's impossible now. Even if she could get back to sleep, there's no way she'd be able to do so without more nightmares and that's the last thing she wants.

She swallows roughly and closes her eyes for a moment, brow furrowed. ] I miss him so much. [ Her voice is quiet and scratchy, even a little strained, and it cracks again. If she weren't so emotionally raw and mentally foggy, she'd hate herself right now. ]

[ And that's it. This is what he doesn't understand because his brother... Well, his had never really been worth missing. October knows that. He'd explained it a little, though the story's really only half finished, and he's not sure if he ever wants to weave his way to the end of it. So, he brushes at her hair once more, trying to find a solid way to reach her. ]

That's something that's never gonna go away. But uh. He probably misses you too, you know.

[ Wherever he is. He doubts it's somewhere bad. Most people didn't deserve to go there. Bells hopes it's a small comfort. ]

[ That gets a quiet, unamused snort as she finally pulls a hand away from her side to wipe her cheeks off. She then drags her hand on the sheet that's covering her to dry it off, though there are still more tears coming. (Will they ever stop?) ]

No offense, Bells, but I don't exactly believe in the whole afterlife thing. [ Besides, she came here instead of going to Heaven or Hell (though she'd argue this is the latter), which means, to her, that neither of those are an option. They're just fairytales told to people so they'll behave or repent their sins. ]

Believe whatever you wanna believe. A lot of it's shit, but there's a place better than this out there. [ He frowns, using his free hand to rub at the back of his neck as if thinking about it. ] I wouldn't lie to you about that. 'Cause you know what I am.

I'm not the only one either. [ But that's not really relevant, is it? Bells reaches out to touch her face, just a gentle touch of fingertips. ] Maybe try thinking about that for a little while instead. Forget this damn boat.

[ Her throat feels tighter as he continues talking and the tears seem to get worse again, but she still doesn't pull away when he touches her face. She considers it and part of her wants to, but the touch is more comforting than just having his hand on her back. Swallowing roughly again, October closes her eyes, brow furrowing as she silently prays (oh, the irony) for no flashes of her nightmare or her memories while they're closed. ]

That's easier said than done. This place-- [ She sniffles and reaches up to wipe off the cheek he's not touching. ] It makes thinking about anything else fucking impossible.

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this somehow got lost in space /bad puns

boo.

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