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This wasn't close to the first time that Evelyn had woken up in the middle of the night with tears running down her cheeks. However, it was the first time that she had done so with someone sleeping with her. Doing her best to keep her gasps and sobs stifled, she curled up and faced away from him. She even began to move towards the other side of the bed, but her feeble attempts proved futile when she heard something behind her.
"...Evelyn?"
Closing her eyes tight, Evelyn moaned weakly.
"Evelyn, what is… what…" She could feel the sheets being pulled as Emmet sat up. "Evelyn?" The sleep clinging to his voice faded so that concern could replace it. "Are you crying?"
She seriously considered pretending that she wasn't, but Evelyn was bad at many things, and lying was one of them. Instead, she tried moving away towards her original goal of the edge of the bed. But it wasn't enough to deter Emmet, because she could feel him inch closer to her. "What happened?"
Unable to escape the situation, Evelyn sighed, wiping at her eyes. "J-just… had a nightmare."
"Oh…"
"I'm… I-I'm sorry I woke you…"
But Evelyn was silenced as Emmet pressed his body to her back, making a gentle noise of comfort. The gesture was so sweet that it brought a fresh batch of tears to her eyes. "You have nothing to apologize for," he said in that matter-of-fact way of his. He stroked her side, and she turned to face him. His usual smile was subdued. "So please don't." He brought his hand to her cheek, and Evelyn closed her eyes automatically in response to his touch. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked after a minute.
"I…"
It wasn't so much that Evelyn didn't want to talk about it so much as she really couldn't. Dreams were tricky things, and the specifics of hers had already mostly slipped from her mind. It was never really about the circumstances inside her dreams, anyways. It was more about the feelings they inevitably stirred up. The worries.
The worry of whether the Battle Maison would be able to avoid going in the red another year.
The worry about the ever-tumultuous dynamics between her and her sisters.
The worry that she would inevitably screw up in some horrible, unforgivable way, and not only humiliate and disgrace herself but everyone close to her. Morgan. Dana. Nita.
Emmet…
"N-no," she mumbled, shaking her head firmly. "No t-thank you. I rather just…"
"Stay like this?" he hummed, and he softly kissed her cheek. It was another tender gesture that made her feel like she was going to burst into sobs again. Evelyn did her best to stave them off by throwing herself into Emmet's chest. Emmet exhaled in surprise at the impact, but he soon began to stroke her back. "It is alright," he said. "Everything is alright. I am here…"
He really was so kind. It should have comforted Evelyn, and it did. And yet, it also stoked all of the awful emotions that the nightmare had provoked. She felt inadequate… constantly paranoid that he was giving her everything in this relationship while she provided nothing to him. But she also felt envious, a jealousy over how self-possessed he seemed. And the fear…
The fear…
The overwhelming terror that one day he would look at her with hatred.
It was so strong it caused an actual ache in the bottom of her stomach. Welling up again, Evelyn burrowed even further against Emmet's chest. The soothing motion of his hand stopped. "Evelyn?" he asked, voice concerned.
"I c-can't…" she whimpered into his shirt. "I just… don't want to think about it."
"I…" Emmet seemed a bit lost. "Is there something I can do?"
Taking a deep breath and doing her best to get a hold of herself, Evelyn looked up at Emmet. Blue eyes found silver. "H… help me," she begged quietly. "Just… d-distract me a little… please."
It took him a second to understand. He blushed. "O-oh…"
They had made love before. And after that gentle, almost painfully sweet first time they had shared together, Emmet had seemed to been assured that he wasn't going to scare off Evelyn, and ever since then he had been more… energetic with her in bed. But now, at this moment, with her so vulnerable, with her asking for comfort and initiating for the first time, there was no sign of his usual playfulness. As he moved in to kiss her long and deep, his hands came to grasp her and carefully ease her on to her back. Emmet turned with her, so he was on top of her, pressing his whole body to hers with a slow, surprisingly graceful motion. Serious, Evelyn thought. He's being serious.
That motion turned into a continued repetition of the same movement, a rhythm that led mainly with his hips. So steady. Almost sleepy. In and out. In and out. Evelyn sighed with Emmet's mouth still on hers, being more than eager to lose herself to the pleasurable rocking between her thighs.
"Ohh… a-ahh…" It usually felt embarrassing to let herself cry out during sex, but tonight she didn't care. She let her voice out unabashedly, desperate to let her mind go blank. "Ahhhnnn… Em… Emmet…"
"I am here," he whispered. Emmet had broken away to bring his lips to her ear. "I'm here. I am not going anywhere. I promise."
"Please…"
"Yes," he replied quietly. As he rolled his hips again, he brought his hands down and somehow managed to bring her pajama pants down in the motion. He must have managed to shed his own somehow at some point, because with the next rock of his body, she could feel his stiff cock against her entrance. Evelyn heard him inhale, and for the first time that night he let a little of his usual energy back in. With a snap of his hips, he entered her.
"Aa… aahhhh…!!!"
The pleasure felt like it was pulling her up in the air even as she was flat on her back. It was so nice… but even at this zenith she could feel the remnants of that awful nightmare… she could remember her doubts-
"I love you."
Evelyn gasped. Even as Emmet fucked her, he kissed the side of her jaw lovingly. And in between kisses, he spoke. "I love you, Evelyn. You make me so happy. And I want to make you happy too."
"A-ah…"
"I know you can't… help but worry about many things." He was straining to speak as he moved his hips faster and faster. "But I promise… I will help you with those things… as many things… as I can. I am here for you, Evelyn. No matter what happens, I am not going anywhere."
And as he plunged into her, Evelyn lost herself, the heat of orgasm finally blowing her mind blissfully blank.
Eventually, she had to return to lucidity, of course. She did so, panting, and with sweat making her top cling to her skin. But those few blessed seconds had been an unbelievable relief. The thoughts that always weighed her down were still there, but they were a lot quieter now. And when she turned to her side, Emmet was there, smiling as always.
"...thank you."
"Of course."
It was hard for her to believe his assurances that he would never leave her. But, she thought, reaching forward to grasp his hand with hers, at least for tonight, she could try.