#ᴛʜᴇɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟᴇᴛᴛɪɴɢ ɢᴏ;; ( volume 4 )

[becomeshield-a]

@saecris

           there is only panic.

           it consumes him, takes the very breath from his lungs as he is submerged in ice cold water. it ceases his lungs, his limbs, he can’t breathe-- he’s going to drown. he’s drowning. his eyes are open, blue and wide and panicked. he can see the roof of the inn through the dark, the blades of the ceiling fan clickclickclicking by as it twirls. but he is under water. his bed is far away.

          a shallow, raspy gasp fills his lungs, burning from lack of oxygen when he finally convinces himself to breathe. only air fills them, yet it feels just as heavy as liquid. where is he? what’s going on? he sits up, wobbles like a drunk to the side to try and find his bearings. the heel of his palm slips off the edge of the bed and he slides to the floor. 

           something’s happening. something bad, it’s bad, his chest hurts and he’s scared. why is he so scared? hands tremble as they reach up to touch his face, as if to prove to himself he is real. then, they’re sliding up into his hair where fingers grip tight over his ears. 

          stop, stop stop go away. not again. his head shakes, sitting up to pull knees tight to his chest, where he buries his face. 

[becomeshield-a]

@talariia

           where this bravery comes from, he isn’t sure, but jaune’s back is straight and his teeth bared for this confrontation. he is alone, seemingly outmatched if something were to escalate, but he doesn’t appear to care, “do you...have any idea....how many lives you helped destroy?”

[becomeshield-a]

@saecris​ || cont

it’s incredibly rare, almost unheard of for ren to fall asleep later than any of his teammates. back in beacon, even during those times he didn’t give into midnight galavants, it often took an unreasonable amount of time for sleep to claim him. perhaps he had the fall of the nuckelavee grimm to thank for a temporary respite from his insomnia. ren was still a regrettably light sleeper, the instinct to leap from the bed and arm himself residual from their so many months on the road. the twitch in his arms long for the feel of his pistols, but he stops them, letting out a sigh and pushing his bangs from his eyes instead.

jaune vaguely reminds him of a child seeking embrace after a nightmare. the look of distraught feels familiar, and his eyes crease, chest aching. roseate hues blink slowly, mind clearing, trying to process what the other was saying. ren shouldn’t feel as hesitant as he does, jaune’s request is one nora makes all the time, does not even ask on most occasions. he briefly hoists himself onto his elbows, gulping audibly before tugging up the end of the blanket, inviting jaune into the space beside him.

ren shifted onto his other side so he was facing away, although it was hard to ignore the press of the other boy’s weight, the heat radiating off his form. he moved to curl in on himself, the arm under his pillow clutching at air. he tried to even out his breathing, feign sleep, although it was becoming clearer that would not be a possibility. over ten minutes his even breathing faded away into silence, a clear sign that ren was awake. by this point his heartbeat was thrumming in his ears. after lip—biting deliberation ren shifted so he was facing jaune once more, unsure of whether he wished the other had found sleep or not.

          the dragon says nothing, and for a second there jaune thinks he’s made a mistake. this was too childish, they’re not kids anymore and asking to sleep in each other’s beds when you had a nightmare was something only little toddlers did, right? he is the youngest of seven sisters - on nights when the boogeyman lurked under his bed or the creaks in the floors sounded like ghosts, any one of them would scoot over, half asleep, when their little brother hobbled over and murmured his fears. he guesses it was something he never grew out of. 

          instead of mocking or denying him, insisting he go back to sleep, ren is moving his blanket aside and scooting over. oh...ok. so he didn’t mind? he still wasn’t saying anything, though jaune is somewhat used to that from ren. he doesn’t know why he blushes when he moves to sit down on the side of the bed, pulling up long legs to tuck underneath the covers the dragon had just moved aside for him. 

           his spine could have been a board as he lays back, flat and rigid at first because ren still won’t speak. he’s not looking at him, turning away instead. was this wrong? it...didn’t feel wrong. the comfort of hearing him breathing and not...not was what jaune had been seeking in the first place. the boogeyman was no longer found under the confines of his mind. no, his nightmares were much more real now - losing ren, losing nora, losing ruby, and...losing pyrrha, all over again. he sees it almost every night and he hates it. but if ren was right here it would be better, right? 

          eventually, he settles, muscles resting and letting himself relax as he listens to ren breath. the dragon may have turned from him, but jaune cannot help the desire to turn toward his back, and press close. it’s as close to spooning as he can get without actually holding the other, though long raven locks are close enough to smell if he wanted to. he’s contemplating doing just that (he doesn’t know why it’s just an urge) when ren turns back to face him. their eyes meet, a blue ones widen a little as his face dusts pink. should he say something? it’s quiet in their room, and now ren’s breathing is making his head spin a little because he can feel each exhale, warm and soft, on his face. 

          “...i...didn’t mean to wake you.” he mumbles, just to fill the space, “i just...still have the, uh, y’know....nightmares.” the last word is uttered like a child trying to get away with a curse word. he almost doesn’t want to admit it. 

[becomeshield-a]

@lotusisms

           “you and nora are ok, right?” cue the worried, big doe eyes as they roam over his teammate’s person, looking for any lingering cuts or abrasions, “you guys took some heavy hits out there...”

[becomeshield-a]

@saecris

           as soon as they step off the airship, feet firmly planted in mistral, their destination, jaune is watching his teammate with a hard expression. blue eyes narrow on him, fists clench at his sides, and for just a moment, he looks angry. like he might bark an order, or stomp away. he does no such thing, of course, and that same expression melts into one of relief within seconds. he doesn’t think twice, long legs closing the distance in a single step to pull the other in for a firm embrace.  ren had been someone else there for a moment on the battlefield. jaune’s heart was still finding its way back down from his throat.

            “don’t...don’t scare me like that.”

[becomeshield-a]

@azuraei

           “we actually just landed yesterday.” he explains, one arm resting along the hilt of his sword at his hip, “everyone’s in one piece. but we, uh...haven’t heard anything from ruby’s team.” not even a letter, despite knowing it was capable to still send them. ruby did every day if she could. “we’re supposed to talk with lionheart at some point. you’ve met him, right?”  

[becomeshield-a]

@sunsations

            “yang?” was she mad? she looks mad. oh, boy. 

                “w-what are you doing here in mistral?”

[becomeshield-a]

@slcyer

          “do you want to like...celebrate? or something?” he’s tired enough to sleep for the next five years, truly, but it would feel incomplete if they didn’t end off their epic quest with some good spirits. “i...have no idea how we’d do that but...we made it, right? finish line. gooooal! we should do something...”

[becomeshield-a]

tag dump #1