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The warm, Sunday morning breeze came in through the windows, gently brushing past the curtains every so often. One of the few positives to living in the middle of nowhere was the lack of any outside noise. No busy streets infested with honking cars, no one mowing their lawns before the sun was full up- just pure Mother Nature wrapping her loving embrace around their base. The slightly cloudy March day made for favorable weather, so there was no real need for the fan sitting on the nearby writing desk to be blowing. Still, the white noise made the space more comfortable.
In the cheap, creaky bed that rested bellow the window, two bodies laid beneath the sheets. Both were adorned in white muscle shirts and boxer shorts- the preferred pajamas set as the weather began to get hotter. They breathed softly in slow intervals, lost in the feeling of a good nap, despite it not even being noon. Unfortunately, the mercenaries were so used to waking up at five every day that they couldn’t help initially waking up so early. Though luckily for them, it was much easier to go back to sleep when they were intertwined in one another.
Suddenly, Demoman opened his eye and frantically looked around. He could feel his heart racing, despite just have woken up from his light slumber. He frantically looked around the room and had also shifted to sit up when his newly-awoken body became caught up with nerves. There was a weight over his chest- a muscular arm, in fact.
Glancing to the other side of the bed, Soldier was lying there, still fast asleep.
Demoman let out a deep breath and put a hand to his chest. Soldier was still asleep, that’s good. After the nightmares became more frequent lately, especially with Demoman getting punched in the stomach once two weeks ago, it was incredible to see how much progress they’ve both made. Then again, if Demoman had simply bolted upright and woken Soldier up, he would be met with a very crabby boyfriend.
Demoman laughed to himself and scooted back to Soldier’s face level underneath the warmth of the sheets. He supposed a crabby Soldier was better than the post-night terror Soldier- shaking, incoherent, and in permanent fight-or-flight mode for several minutes. It was terrifying to see his love be brought to his knees in fear and being powerless in stopping the process. He just had to watch as Soldier’s breathing strained and he shook like a leaf as the past haunted him relentlessly.
He brushed a finger along Soldier’s jawline, tracing that wonderful spitting image of masculinity. In the depths of his sleep, Soldier groaned and tried to shake his head away from the delicate annoyance. Demoman rolled his eye and smiled at the way Soldier’s face momentarily scrunched in his sleep.
Though he could never blame Soldier for the recent resurgence of this issue; these were delicate times for him for reasons he had no control over. Even the strongest warriors had their Achilles’ heel, but Demoman had no problem reminding Soldier there was no shame in it. All Demoman could do was just be there for him and help him through these difficult, frightening times, and that was just fine.
He snaked his arms around Soldier and pulled him closer to his chest, being careful not to jostle him too much. He pressed soft kisses into Soldier’s slightly greasy hair, enjoying the scent of his natural musk. The next time his eye popped open again, he’d sneak off to make breakfast/lunch and let Soldier rest. Despite Soldier’s previous protests, for once Demoman was allowed to take care of his love and not make him lift a finger.
Soldier hated Father’s Day. Thus, Demoman made it his personal duty to replace the bad memories with new, pleasant ones, no matter how many punches to the stomach it took.