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Dave suffered nightmares. They all did. The traumatization and horrors they had suffered in Sburb had made a permanent scar on their psyche. Rose suffered from them most frequently and John theorized it was because of her time spent in Grimdarkness. The thing that was different about Dave though is that he'd suffered from them all his life. He remembered being younger and waking up in terror at the images his subconscious had thrown up for him. Those were the particularly bad nights when he would shuffle to Bro's room and sleep in his bed. Bro never turned him away and the presences of his protector was comforting, chasing away the nightmares and allowing him sleep once more. Yet as Dave grew older and too proud to seek comfort from his guardian, he had to deal with the bad nights alone. Normally the nightmares wouldn't wake him so violently or freak him out so badly. It was the times that happened every so often that sent him skyrocketing from the bed, muffling a cry and fighting back tears. Those nights were the worst.
Those were the nights he'd sit in his bed huddled under the covers feeling numb and vulnerable like nothing else ever made him feel before. It was made worse by the loneliness. Way too stubborn to seek out Bro and knowing his friends were asleep, Dave suffered the aftermath of those nights alone. Or he did until he figured out timezones and that Jade was usually awake at the hour he was up shivering like a coward. Jade kept weird hours to begin with and honestly Dave didn't entirely know her timezone. What he did know is that when he was unable to sleep at three in the morning, he could log on to Pesterchum and talk to Jade. He never told her why he was pestering her at these particular times and she never asked. They talked about nothing in particular but it was such a source of comfort to him, sitting alone in the dark under the covers with only the glow of his iPhone to look at, that it didn't matter. He was glad for it. Jade understood dreams better than the rest of them. It was some kind of unspoken understanding that she knew the truth but that it was okay that she knew.
Now a young adult several years later, Dave still struggled with night terrors. They were worse now though thankfully they were infrequent. Once in a blue moon, though, they would strike him hard when he was least expecting it. Terrible visions of black beasts slitting throats and tearing limbs off of everyone he had ever cared for. Witnessing and experiencing a thousand deaths, blood running from an innumerable amount of wounds. That saying that dying in dreams means you die in real life was bullshit because Dave watched himself die thousands of times in his dream. Not only that he felt it too and it was as awful as it had been in the past when the Tumor had exploded or when bullets had burst through his chest. He awoke gasping and shaking, sitting bolt upright. He gripped at the blankets and was panting so hard it felt like he'd run a marathon. He felt so cold and disoriented.
But just like in the past, Jade was there for him. Yet now she wasn't just green text on a screen. She stirred beside him when he jolted awake, easily woken up by the movements and the frightened noise he had unconsciously made when he had jerked awake. Jade wasn't a heavy sleeper anymore. Dave sometimes wondered if it was somehow on purpose to escape nightmares of her own.
"Dave…?" she murmured as she rubbed sleep from her eye.
Dave had his face buried in his hands, still visibly shuddering. Fuck, that had been a particular bad one. He couldn't calm his racing heart. What was worse for Dave was the feeling his nightmares left him with. That empty void of numbness that made him question whether he was even alive right now. He couldn't feel anything. Everything around him just felt cold, lifeless and unreal. He jerked his hands away and suddenly reached for her, blindly searching in the dark. Jade came to him willingly and he gripped her, pulled her to him into his lap. They were both naked from earlier love making and her skin was warm. It was the first sensation he could recognize that penetrated the cold numbness left by the nightmare. Dave pulled her forward until she was straddling him, knees on either side of his hips, and he wrapped his arms completely around her slender waist. He pressed his face against her neck and inhaled deeply. She still vaguely smelled like sweat and sex. Jade returned the embrace gently and stroked his hair lovingly. Her long hair veiled their faces as she dotted a few kisses against his sweaty forehead. The sheets pooled around her waist but did not fall away completely.
"You're shaking," she observed. He was still trembling but having her in his arms lessened it considerably. He was somewhat angry now too. When he was intimate with her and then went to sleep after he never got nightmares. Why did this happen? Why had they been so bad this time?
"Another bad dream?" Jade spoke again after a moment of silence. "It's been awhile."
Dave gripped her tighter. "I'm fine." His voice was shaky too and failed to convince either of them.
Jade continued to stroke his hair fondly. "Ssh…"
He slide his hands down over her back side, feeling the curve of her ass and then moving his hands slowly over her hips. He stroked her warm skin up the curve of her sides and back. His movements were so slow and precise as if memorizing by touch every curve of her back. He felt her shiver slightly in his arms and became so painfully aware at how cold he still felt versus how warm she was against him. He gripped her hips and pulled her flush against him. Jade shifted a little and drew her arms back a bit, hands on his shoulders. Dave found the soft skin of her neck and kissed her there, gentle at first and then quickly growing desperate. Half his brain was still slightly confused, still lost in the nightmares, and wanted to make sure she was real. He wanted to make very sure of that.
Jade gasped softly as he pinched the skin between his teeth, harder than he intended. That was a good sign and he soothed the ache with his tongue. Her skin tasted just as good as it felt and just as real as he wanted it to be. He kissed her hard all along her neck, traveling up to her jawbone. He felt her nails dig into his shoulders and dug his nails into her hips in response. Quickly he reached one hand up to tug her chin down so he could kiss her, practically suffocating them both with the intensity of it. His arms were back around her, hugging her so tightly against him that he could feel every detail of her body against his. It was perfect. More importantly, it was real. This was the real Jade, not the blood soaked corpse he'd held in his dreams.
She broke the kiss to suck in air, panting heavily against his lips. He couldn't see her in the darkness though sans the faint outline of her features. Not being able to see her griped him with panic. Dave groped to the side for the lamp light on the nightstand near him. He flicked it on once it was found and Jade blinked at the sudden flood of light. She squinted at him and looked slightly indignant.
"Bright…" she complained. "Dave, whaaahh!"
Abruptly he had flipped them over and now she was laying flat on her back, shoulders pressed against the pillows. He hovered over her, blinking bleary red eyes at her naked body sprawled out on display for him. It caused the first spark that chased the numbness in him away and he shivered. She was so beautiful and warm, breasts full and heaving with heavy breath. Her long hair was scattered around her head and her cheeks were red from arousal and embarrassment. He stared at her longer than he probably should have, red eyes roaming up and now her torso. She was really laying there underneath him. She was really there, alive and bright, not dead and cold. This was what was real.
But then why was he still so afraid? He closed his eyes and took in a shuddering breath, but then grew fearful when he couldn't see her. He berated himself for being such an uncool idiot right now. He felt Jade's fingers brush gently against his face and opened his eyes. She smiled gently at him as her fingertips traced his jawline and cheek. His gaze met hers and did not turn away as she studied his face with her kind touch. When her fingers passed feather light over his lips he kissed them, tongue darting out to capture a digit before it passed. Jade blushed and Dave turned his head slightly, laying small kisses on her palm and wrist. The fear ebbed away just slightly but it wasn't enough.
He ducked his head and pressed eager kisses on her breasts. He nipped gently at the sensitive skin. Jade whimpered as he explored, feeling the swell of them with his lips. He ran his tongue over her nipple once he reached it and drank in the louder sound it drew from her. It was such a sweet sound that sent electricity down his spine. Dave quickly closed his mouth around it and sucked. His fingers teased the other. He rubbed quick circles around the erect nipple with his thumb and was satisfied when she squirmed. Her back arched to press her chest further into his ministrations so he redoubled his effort. She was amazing.
"O-Oh…!" she gasped as she arched again. "Dave, w-wai…aahh…"
He pulled away and went back to gentler kisses, groaning softly. He felt her fingers thread into his hair and stroke again. "It must have been a really bad one, huh?" she said quietly.
Her voice was sympathetic. She probably recognized his behavior since this was a bit like what happened last time he had dreams this bad. It was the same numbness that made him so desperate to feel something and he didn't know how else to accomplish that but to experience the most intense sensations he could think of.
"Don't make me beg," Dave breathed against the flushed skin of her chest. He was way too needy and horny for that.
Jade hummed softly. She moved her hand to stroke his face again. " I won't. It's okay…"
Dave continued down, kissing a straight path down her stomach. The goal was obvious and Jade's breath hitched. There was always one surefire way to get Jade going and that was with his mouth. Oral sex was her favorite and Dave wasted no time. He gripped her hips, shifting them up a bit so he could bury his face between her legs. He pressed deep kisses along her slit, sliding his tongue upward in long, slow strokes. Instantly she was moaning, shaking in his hold and trying to buck her hips. Her thighs parted more for him and he took full advantage. He found that particular button of pleasure and sucked which made her hips jerk from his grasp and grind against his mouth. He took the hint to use more tongue than lip. Jade moaned louder, voice somehow still soft but passionate. Her cries were melodic and intoxicating and real. She grabbed at his hair and writhed against the mattress, panting and whimpering. Dave relished in how quickly she got wet and lapped hungrily to taste her. He could keep doing this until she orgasmed, really, but he pulled back eventually.
Jade groaned in disappointment and Dave slithered up, kissing her stomach again and licking her taste from his lips. He became aware that he was so hard it was hurting. His fingers slipped between her legs, rubbing her gently to gather some of the dampness there, then the same hand slipped further down to grip his erection. He groaned and pressed his face against her breasts as he stroked himself. He lay half on top of her and felt her hands glide up and down his back. She scratched lightly at his back and made him arch a little, inhaling sharply. She squirmed impatiently. Ironically Jade was usually way more impatient when it came to sex than he was.
"Fuck, Jade…" Dave groaned and pumped his hand a little faster. Yes, this was real. This was real. Reality was her, living and squirming underneath him. "Jade, Jade..."
Her name felt so good to say and he felt like such a sentimental asshole but he couldn't help it. He had never cared about anyone like this before. He wanted her in every way a person could want another. Each time they were together like this he was reminded of that and now more than ever when his mind needed that comfort. Jade, always a comfort to him ever since they were kids. Dave shifted to press his lips near hers, almost a kiss but not quite.
"Please, Jade… I want to fuck you. Please." He meant to be a lot sweeter in his request but his head was hurting suddenly. He didn't need slow love making like earlier he just wanted to feel. He needed to know what he kept telling himself: that this was undoubtedly real.
"I thought you said you weren't going to beg," Jade giggled breathlessly.
"Fuck, I'd get down on my knees and kiss your feet and beg if that's what you wanted." He wasn't even being ironic. He would do it if she willed it.
"N-No, just… stop teasing me already…"
Dave pressed a real kiss to her lips this time, forcing her lips apart with his tongue. She didn't resist and groaned against his mouth as they playfully fought for dominance in the kiss. She bit his lower lip and won. He shuddered and a small whimper escaped his throat. Dave willed himself to focus on her entirely. His entire mind fixated on her and pleasuring her. Or, rather, fucking her. Dave drew a very distinct lime between what was considering sex, love making and fucking. Right now fucking is what he wanted. Frantic, desperate sensations to chase away the lingering numbness. He withdrew his hand from himself and grabbed at her hips again. For a moment he rutted up against her, sliding his erection against her entrance with slow rolls of his hips. It made Jade pant audibly. He watched her eyes flutter close and her lips part on tiny noises of pleasure. Dave suppressed a moan. Quickly he turned her hips sideways, forcing her to lay on her side, and raised himself up on his knees. A few small adjustments and then he pushed hard inside her as deep as he could go. This time he did moan and didn't even bother to swallow it. She felt so good. She always did and he could never, ever get enough.
Jade cried out and gripped at the sheets beneath her, bunching the fabric in her fingers. She pressed her forehead against her knuckles and gasped. Dave bent her leg up so it was pressed against his side. He was fit between her legs now, one hand holding her leg and the other stroking her stomach and hips. Like this he was free to move roughly and that was what he did. He pulled back only to slam forward, hard and deep. Jade yelped and arched her body instinctively. She tossed her head back, face flushed and hair a tangled mess. Strands clung to her sweaty and flushed skin.
God, he was so glad he turned on the light so he could watch her. It was perhaps his favorite part, seeing her reactions and listening to her moan without restraint. Their apartment neighbors hated them. He forced his eyes to stay open as he moved, thrusting into her with hard jerks of his hips. She couldn't do much moving on her own but that was how he wanted it. He just wanted to pound into her with everything he had and be overwhelmed by the physical pleasure he could give them both. So that's what he did. Jade only encouraged it with her cries of ecstasy and how wonderfully tight she was. Always tight, warm, wet, inviting…
He curled his back forward and continued to drag his fingers up and down her stomach. His lips found her shoulder and he bite her hard enough to leave a mark. Jade yelped again at how rough he was and he felt a twinge of guilt. It wasn't like they were never rough with each other during sex (sometimes they got ridiculously competitive with each other) but maybe he was being too harsh. He kissed the minor hurt apologetically. His breathing grew more ragged, coming out in quick, hot pants against her sweat soaked skin. He tightened his grip on her leg and breathed her name. Sometimes Dave wished he could come inside her just because that was such a fucking hot idea to him but he knew better.
He felt his limit building fast and didn't hesitate to pull out of her, groaning loudly as he spilled his release on the bed instead. Jade had not followed him, though, so he ducked his head to suck on her clitoris and push two fingers inside her. He moved them just as frantically as he had moved his hips. She followed him quickly after that, shaking and crying out with the most melodic cry yet. She spasmed around his fingers so he continued to move them to draw out her release. When Jade was spent, laying gasping for breath, Dave crawled beside her. They both took a moment to catch their breath. He wrapped his arms around her from behind, pulling her against his chest. He pressed his face against her hair and felt safe. Safe, warm and firmly grounded in reality. Jade whined a little in protest because she was hot and didn't want another equally hot body so close to her. Yet she didn't shove him away and eventually her breathing slowed. He pressed gentle kisses to her neck and felt her pulse slow as well. Eventually all signs indicated she had fallen back asleep.
Dave followed shortly thereafter. No nightmares haunted him this time.