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Often, when you woke at midnight, your brain still pulling itself from unremembered dreams, the other side of the bed would be empty. Legato was a restless man, and this was something you didn't have much trouble accepting. You'd hug your pillow a bit tighter, feeling the blankets grow colder as Legato busied himself with a book underneath the dim lamplight. You'd asked him why he did so before, and he'd waved it off each time. Yet another part of his life he didn't feel ready to share; something else you accepted quickly. You felt the mattress dip from his weight, feeling his warmth as he pressed against you and buried his face in your shoulder. His movements felt tense and restrained as his arms carefully wrapped around your waist. You don't say a word. You turn to face him and see the emptiness in his eyes, as though he were trying to detach his mind from the world and retreat into himself. You slowly move your hand to touch his face, softly running your thumb over his cheek. He closes his eyes and sighs softly, leaning into your touch before his breath begins to slow, sleep taking him once again.
More nights go on like this; Legato abandoning you in the bed before returning to embrace you, holding you closer than when he first went to bed that night. Trying again at a sound sleep, trying to see if holding you tighter will keep his demons at bay. You stave off sleep just to try and make sure that his dreams are unremarkable, holding him in your arms and praying that he could shake off the weight of his past for just one night. You knew only vague details of his past, but even those were enough to fill you with guilt and a simmering rage. When his breathing picks up again, pained whimpers falling from his lips as his eyes flutter wildly beneath his eyelids, you tighten your grasp on him. You whisper in his ear, softly coaxing him from the nightmare and back to you, wanting so badly in your soul to reach into him and take all his pain away.
He wakes with a gasp, eyes opening wide as he pulls away from you to sit up with his face in his hands. His entire body shudders with each breath he takes, and you sit up to gently place your hand on his shoulder, fingers rubbing circles into his skin to try and ground him.
"It's okay, it's okay, Legato." You say, moving to wrap your hand around his and ease it from his face. He stares into your eyes, his shaking beginning to cease. You speak again, intertwining your fingers with his. "It's okay, you're safe. I promise you're safe."
He looks at you for a moment before his eyes fall to the blankets. Tears begin forming at the corners of his face, and he's desperate to keep his voice steady.
"I'm sorry."
He sinks back down into the bed, body still and staring at the ceiling. You move to him again, looking to him for his permission to wrap yourself in him. He nods, and you nuzzle your face into the crook of his neck, arm wrapping around his torso. "It's alright."
The two of you remain focused on the feeling of each others closeness, breathing in tune and skin embracing the others warmth. When you finally fall asleep, you feel his body relax along with yours, calm in the safety of one another.