Chapter Text
Tubbo laid in his bed, silence filling his room as his eyes darted to every corner. He wanted to close his eyes, let sleep take him peacefully, but there was a negative side effect to the sleeping pills he took: for some reason, they made him hallucinate in the dark. He couldn’t try to sleep without feeling like something was standing right in front of him, staring at him maliciously. Bursts of adrenaline would rush through him as his eyes ripped open, looking at what he could only describe as his own personal nightmare fuel. He always ended up seeing a monster in his dream, jumping up in his bed like he was about to visit his grave.
He knew these weren’t real. They were just bad side effects he had just so pleasantly been cursed with. Sometimes he would laugh at himself, trying to shake off the paranoia. He wanted to stop taking the pills, but he knew he would just end up staying awake until 2 am, staring at the ceiling and mind racing with thoughts. He either slept until 9 am or 3 pm, he could never truly get his sleep schedule together. He thought he could just deal with it, hoping it would stop eventually, but as each night progressed, his nightmares would get worse.
And that’s what happened. He had finally managed to fall asleep and eased into a dream. It was a short dream, but it was enough to panic him. He found himself standing in a black room, wondering where he was. Well, he knew where he was, but he didn’t recognize it. He couldn’t wrap his head around it.
He then looked to his right, and there it was: this distorted skeleton son of a bitch he saw before he even went to sleep. Except, here, it was more defined and detailed, he could see each and every bone with frail white skin clasping to it desperately. Its ribcage and spine were so small that some bones tore through its skin to look like extra spikes or claws for god knows what. Its horrible, long claw-like nails were bigger than its own fucking head. Its head, oh god, it had black, soulless eyes, but he still felt its glare on him with an unfulfilled need for gore. Its jaw reached far behind where its ears should have been, teeth looking like they could maul him with a single bite. Tubbo didn’t even dare look down to see the rest of it, it was too late anyway: the creature started to walk towards him, eyes already explaining what Tubbo was going to experience. Tubbo could only stand still, adrenaline and fear pumping through like it expected him to do something. He just stood there though, watching the creature dead in the eyes as it charged towards him. The second he felt claws pick at his skin, he snapped out of his trance.
Tubbo woke up in his bed, immediately sitting up as his heart pounded against his chest. His breathing was erratic as he looked around his room. He couldn’t sleep here tonight, not after that.
After calming himself down, he grabbed his favourite pillow and got out of bed. He knew there weren’t any monsters or anything out to get him but he still stayed quiet in fear that something would catch him when he least expected it. He tip-toed to his door and tried to open it slowly without it creaking, but it creaked anyway, making Tubbo’s hair stand on end. Another shot of adrenaline coursed through his blood. He took a moment to reassure himself.
“It’s fine, Tubbo, you’re fine. Everything is fine, you’re okay,” He mentally reminded himself as he walked over to Tommy’s room. Luckily, Tommy’s door was already open, so he quietly snuck in, careful where he stepped. “Jesus, Tommy, why can’t you clean your room once in a while?” He mumbled.
Tubbo walked to the farther side of the bed, quickly checking if Tommy was actually asleep. Tommy’s soft snoring gave him the green light, so Tubbo slowly moved the messy blankets and put his pillow down, sliding himself in next to his (half) brother.
“Hm… Tubbo?” Tommy groaned, slightly confused why someone was getting into his bed.
Tubbo froze. “Sorry, Tommy,” Tubbo apologized, taking the assumption that he accidentally woke him up, “I had a nightmare…”
“Was it the Unisom?” Tommy croaked, referencing Tubbo’s medication. His voice was noticeably hoarse with sleep.
“Yeah…” Tubbo sighed, sliding down into the blankets to get comfortable as he watched Tommy reposition himself.
“We should probably bring that up with Phil, Tubs. It seems like your nightmares are turning into night terrors.”
“I thought it would just pass, but tonight was just… so real. Can…” Tubbo paused, looking at Tommy with pleading eyes, “Could we maybe cuddle?”
Tommy let out a snort, “Sure, come here,” He wrapped an arm around Tubbo’s torso, letting him get comfortable in his new sleeping quarters. For extra measure, he scratched Tubbo’s head, since head pats always soothed the boy.
“Thanks, Tommy,” Tubbo whispered, letting his eyes close without needing to flick them open every five seconds. Tommy could only smile.
“Anytime, Big T.”
Tubbo let his mind slip away to a more comfortable place. The faint feeling of head pats slowed as Tommy started drifting back to sleep, arm lazily resting itself on Tubbo’s torso. Tubbo finally fell asleep peacefully, with no hallucinations or nightmares to twist his brain.
What would he do without his Tommy?