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He woke up with Goro in his arms again.
Well. In his arms was a technical description; Goro had some difficulties sharing a sleeping space. He was in Ren's arms, but he was also laying on top of Ren. Goro had managed to jab his elbow into Ren's nose, his knee was pressed against where Ren thought his spleen was, and his head was propped on top of Ren's chest. It was kind of nice, but also felt kind of like Ren was slowly being smothered alive by the weight of his boyfriend's body.
But even that would have been endearing if Ren didn't wake up because he had to pee.
Slowly and gently, as not to wake Goro up, Ren tried to move Goro's limbs so that they weren't being used to pin him down. Ren got as far as lifting up Goro's arm before Goro made a grunt of complaint, rolled over, and then latched on like a clingy octopus to Ren's body.
"Why," Ren whispered to the ceiling. The ceiling, predictably, did not respond.
"Honey," he said, and Goro buried his face into Ren's neck, getting his hair into Ren's mouth in the process.
"Honey," he said again after spitting out Goro's hair. "Please. I have to pee."
Goro growled and did not let go.
"My bladder's killing me."
"Tell your bladder to fuck off and kill it first," Goro mumbled, still half asleep.
Despite the pressure on his body, Ren laughed. "That's a line to share with the group chat." Goro pinched him on the side of his stomach, and Ren winced. "Seriously. I need to go."
W... ... ... Tr... ... ...se...
Goro mumbled something at the same time a whisper of static filled Ren's ears.
"What?" Ren said, but he wasn't sure to whom he was asking that question.
Goro made a petulant noise in the back of his throat before rolling off Ren. Ren endured the pressure of Goro's limbs pushing on his body, but when Goro got off him and then proceeded to shove him out of their bed, Ren yelped.
"You're so tetchy this morning," Ren muttered. The floor was cold, and he had no idea where his slippers went. "Do you want me to make you some coffee?"
"'S cold," Goro muttered into a pillow. "Go pee then come back."
Ren smiled as Goro burrowed himself further under the covers. He braced himself against the cold floor as he walked out of their bedroom. The gray light of morning peeked through the windows, casting their apartment in a hazy, dreamlike glow.
... ...Trick... Ple... ... ... wake... ...
A surge of vertigo overtook him. Ren braced himself against the wall. His vision blurred. Was there someone speaking to him?
A second later, the moment passed. Ren rubbed his eyes, then the pressure on his bladder made itself known again. He shuffled quickly to the bathroom and relieved himself without incident.
As he washed his hands, Ren glanced at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. Only a tiny bit of the morning sun made it into the bathroom, and in his rush, Ren had not turned on the light. The darkness cast strange shadows on his face. He looked...not quite like who he was at present. The darkness made him look younger. Much younger. Like how he was when he was still in high school—
Trickster... Please... ... ... ...endure ... ... ...no longer...
Ren gripped the edges of the sink with all his might. His hands were still soapy. The faucet was still on. The sound of the water rushing out, the sound of the water draining down, the sound of his own breathing— Was it real? The darkness made everything indistinguishable. Was the water overflowing in the sink bowl? Was that just his imagination? He couldn't tell. The sound of water. The sound of his breathing. Which was louder? He couldn't tell.
Please... You must... ... ...up!
With shaking hands, Ren groped the walls with slippery hands until he found the lightswitch. He flipped it, and the lights came on, casting everything in the bathroom in its fluorescent white glow.
Ren looked in the mirror. His reflection showed him as Ren knew himself to be. Nothing was wrong. Nothing was off. Everything was fine.
...Everything except the soap he'd managed to get all over the sink and walls.
As he wiped away the soap, Ren remembered that he had gone to bed late last night. Clearly, the lack of sleep was taking its toll on him. Goro had the right of it; he needed to go back to bed and sleep more.
He yawned as he left the bathroom, turning off the lights before shutting the door. The pale morning light felt like a fog, and Ren kept his eyes half closed as he relied on memory to guide him back to their bedroom.
Their bedroom. The bedroom he shared with Goro. Goro, who had huddled beneath the covers with Ren's pillow and was now a misshapen lump.
Ren sat on the bed and patted the lump. The lump twitched before it stretched out, Goro's head emerging from the covers. Ren stroked Goro's head as he settled back into bed, wrestling with the covers before taking Goro back into his arms and wrapping the blankets around them both.
"Where'd my pillow go," Ren muttered sleepily before pressing a kiss to the crown of Goro's head.
"Dunno," Goro murmured. "Sleep."
"Mmm," Ren said, and then he closed his eyes. Their bed was warm. Goro was warm. It was so easy to slip back to sleep—
Please, Trickster! You must wake up! Your body cannot endure much more!
—Ren opened his eyes.
It was dark. Cold. There was no one in bed with him.
He fumbled beneath the pillows. There was his phone. Oh. He'd forgotten to charge it. There was no power.
Why was it so cold? So dark? Where was the gray morning light?
Where was Goro?
He was dreaming, wasn't he? A nightmare. He had them, sometimes. Goro had them, too.
They both had them less frequently when they held each other.
He thought about shutting his eyes. If he slept in the dream, maybe he would wake up. It would be warm again. Goro would be there.
His stomach clenched on nothing. He was starving. When did he last eat? He thought about where to eat later. Maybe they'd go with their friends. It was so hard to get everyone together. But wasn't everyone free...?
You mustn't! You mustn't fall asleep again! Please, I beg of you... My power is waning... Your strength is fading... Please...
He thought he saw a butterfly in the corner of his vision. Ridiculous. Butterflies didn't exist.
Ren closed his eyes.
Please... You must wake up...
Who was calling him?
"Ren," he heard Goro say. His voice was so warm, so gentle. "Wake up. You're having a nightmare."
Slowly, Ren opened his eyes. They were blurry from unshed tears, and he blinked several times as he looked up into Goro's face. Goro reached down and gently wiped away the moisture with his thumb, and Ren let out a shuddering breath before leaning into his touch.
"Sorry," Ren mumbled.
"What are you apologizing for?" Goro asked. "You didn't ask to have nightmares."
"I felt like I had to apologize to someone," Ren admitted. "I don't know why. I don't remember what the nightmare was about."
Goro leaned down and kissed him. Instinctively, Ren reached up and wrapped his arms around Goro, tangling his fingers through Goro's bedhead. He loved being kissed. He loved holding Goro. He could smell Goro's skin, feel his heartbeat, taste his lips, hear his soft sighs of pleasure, see nothing but Goro, Goro, Gorogorogorogoro—
"Ren," Goro whispered against his lips, "go back to sleep. I don't want to get out of bed until it's past noon."
He pressed one last kiss on Ren's lips, then settled on top of Ren. Beneath Goro's warm, comforting weight, it was easy to slip back into sleep again.
Ren did not dream.
— — —
He woke up with Goro in his arms again.