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 Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2016 7:20 pm
Her breath caught at his touch and she gave a delighted little shudder, half-closing her eyes. "I'm glad you stayed," she admitted. Her voice remained hushed but it no longer quite counted as a whisper. On the other hand, the warmth in it could not be denied. "It let me get another dance with you." Misha rested her head against his shoulder. "I really like dancing with you, Brian. A lot. I'd do it again in a heartbeat."
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Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2016 7:25 pm
Brian twisted his neck to kiss the side of Misha's head and smiled. Yes, this was exactly what he had needed. It was a perfect end to a stressful visit home.
"We can do it again some time. If you'd warned me, we could have gone tonight." He turned to look at the clock. They still could go tonight, but he wasn't really in the mood. When he turned back to Misha he was smiling again. "I don't dance in public often. I think we make a good pair though, hm?" She'd certainly had him going that second time.
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Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2016 7:32 pm
"We really do. I would, in fact, say we make the best team." Misha smiled a hidden sort of smile into his shoulder. "I can't think of anyone else I'd rather be stranded in a dire situation with... Or a dance club."
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Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2016 7:36 pm
"Well that's quite a compliment, thank you," Brian said. Really he was referring more to the "dire situation" thing than the dancing. He had seen her dancing with other guys and while it was mighty flattering to have her say such a thing, he wasn't sure it was entirely true.
"Dance clubs, active battle, haunted houses..."
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Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2016 7:53 pm
As much as she fought to control it, Brian felt her tense slightly in his arms at his mention of the haunted house. Misha clearly tried to relax right away but the effort failed and she sat in his hold, very still and breathing quietly. Then she turned her head a bit and pressed a kiss against the side of his neck. He wanted her to vent to him, to tell him when something bothered her. She knew she could trust him but it still went against her nature in some ways to talk about things like that. But this was Brian and he cared and she did not want to disappoint him. "... I've had that dream again. Since. I mean... I've dreamt the same dream that I had that night since that night."
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Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2016 7:57 pm
The tension was obvious, and Brian cursed himself for saying the wrong thing yet again. Tonight was about healing, though, and Misha seemed willing to talk about it. So they would. The hand on her back began to rub in slow circles in an attempt to comfort her and let the words flow.
"What dream is that?" He remembered the one he had had, but they hadn't discussed it. There hadn't been a reason to, he thought. Apparently there had been. Misha was clearly disturbed.
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Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2016 10:54 pm
Misha closed her eyes and wanted to curse herself for saying anything. She tried to focus on the warm weight of his hand moving over her back. Finally, she exhaled on a soft sigh and adjusted her position just enough so she would not be talking directly against the bare skin of Brian's neck. She still kept her face out of his line of vision, though. Just in case. "I had a nightmare that night. It was... Wrong." She hesitated again, uncertain how to explain all of the ways in which it had been off-color. "It was about a party at the beach. A memory of one, anyway. My freshman year of college. It was all wrong, though. I..." She curled up tighter, squirming until Brian's warmth and strength nearly enveloped her as she sat on his lap, wrapped in his arms. "... Waking up like I was drowning was actually better than where the dream was taking me," she whispered.
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Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 2:32 pm
Brian frowned honestly. That was no good. He'd had a dream too, but it didn't have the implications Misha seemed to be putting forth. He hadn't been the one in danger, not really. Misha had experienced something so upsetting that it still haunted her dreams.
"I had a dream about one summer before I deployed. It was wrong in a lot of ways." Had it been the water spirit's influence, then, if they had both had terrible versions of memories replayed in their heads? He continued rubbing Misha's back as she had seemed to like the affection in the first place and might now even need it. "Do you want to talk about it?"
He expected a "no," but venting helped him more than he thought it would. He was comfortable here under Misha's weight. Maybe she needed to talk about things more. Maybe it would help her too.
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Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 6:37 pm
The length of silence that followed his question made him think the answer was, quite clearly, a no. The fact that her body slowly melted against him, though, fell onto the positive side of things. Her head settled easily against his shoulder, face pressing against the crook of his neck. Her warm breath drifted easy and even against his skin. She moved her free hand to settle over his chest, directly over where his heart beat steadily. "... It was an ex. A guy I was seeing at the time Nothing serious..." Her voice was soft but it did not shake.
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Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 7:03 pm
Brian reached up and stroked Misha's hair. This was bad. Whatever she had dreamed, she was more upset than he had seen her. Of course he was probably a part of that, considering that he was making her discuss her problems this time, rather than distracting her with kisses.
"Yeah?" It was only a gentle urge to continue. She could stop at any time without his judgement or insistence, but he felt like there was more pressing at the back of her tongue. It seemed almost like she wanted to talk about it. Only "almost."
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Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 7:12 pm
"Stefan. Nice guy." She took a breath. "And I know he would never do what he was going to..." She caught herself, corrected herself. "What I thought he was going to do in that stupid dream. I know better." She took another breath, slower, fighting down the twinges of panic as her words made the almost-reality of the dream too close for comfort. "He... would never force me to do something." The statement hung in the air between them and Misha was suddenly glad that she could not see Brian's face. Her eyes closed, her hand over his heart, she just knew that he would and could decode any hints.
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Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 7:27 pm
That was indeed enough of a clue-in. It was something she didn't want to talk about, and involved force. Yes, he knew exactly what she meant. He winced. Considering how real his dream had felt, he could only imagine living hers. If it had been reality, he'd be on his way to break someone's legs.
"I'm sorry," he said, and he could just imagine the "it wasn't your fault" on her lips. "I can't say I know what it's like. I don't. I just know that it must be awful. If you ever need someone in the middle of the night, you're always welcome in my room. I know what it's like to have dreams that... hit you hard."
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Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 7:48 pm
The combination of his concern and understanding hit her almost as hard and Misha lifted her head without thinking about what sort of expression her face held or what sort of clues he would catch in her eyes. "Brian," she whispered on a long exhalation. Her hand left his chest to cup the side of his face. Her pale eyes searched his as she bit her bottom lip. "Brian, I'm sorry. I'm so very, very sorry." She moved her thumb to rub an affectionate line along his cheekbone. Then she leaned in to press her forehead against his. "I'm okay. I'll be okay. I promise. Please don't worry about me." A sudden shift and her lips were pressed against his forehead in a lingering kiss. "If you need me, I want you to come to my room, too, okay?"
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Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2016 5:38 pm
Brian smiled softly when her hand came up to touch his cheek. It was so sweet and gentle. The smile began to flicker away, though, when she apologized. At least it turned to half again, but wasn't quite a smirk. There was a bit of a furrow to his brow.
"No. No, Misha, you have nothing to apologize for. Please." He reached up himself now to stroke her shoulder. "It's fine to be not-okay sometimes. Really." He laughed and his smile returned, and then he voiced why: "In fact, you're the one who helped me with that. Maybe I still have a ways to go, but..." His hand lifted slightly and he brushed against her jawline with the tips of his fingers. "I'm not afraid to come to you, and I want you to understand that I want to help. You can't make me not-worry. It's in my blood. I'm always going to worry, but it'd make me feel better to know that I can help, or at least I can listen. Everyone needs someone."
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Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2016 7:54 pm
"And sometimes I need you." Misha rewarded him with a crooked smile, honest and unashamed in her instinctive words. "And I hope you sometimes need me." She reached up and looped her arms around Brian's neck. Then she snuggled into him. A soft sigh left her as she tucked her head back down against the juncture of his shoulder and neck. "We'll both worry. It's what friends do when it comes to each other," she murmured. "And I'm not sorry for telling you. I trust you. I'm sorry that you've had bad dreams, too."
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