Elijah pursed his lips, his heart aching for her as she sobbed, refusing to look at him as if afraid of what she'd see. He readjusted his approach, letting go of her so he could sit in front of her, then reached forward to grab her waist. He hauled her onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her securely, his chin on her shoulder and cheek pressed against her head. "Ali," he whispered into her ear, "I'm here, I'm okay. Open your eyes."
She wasted no time in burying herself in his arms, though she did take some time opening her eyes. She didn’t want to see him bleeding, even if the rational part of her brain told her there was no way he would be. Eventually though, she pulled away enough to look at him. Her eyes opened slowly, small choked back sobs still jolting her as her puffy gold and red eyes met his. “You’re okay. They didn’t-you’re here.”
Elijah reached up to brush some hair out of her face, pulling back some more to let her see him fully—see that he was okay. "I'm here. Nothing's happened." He moved his touch to the back of her head, smoothing down her hair and keeping it out of her face, even when it continuously wanted to block her view of him. His other arm stayed firmly wrapped around her waist, holding her close and steadfast. He wasn't planning on letting go anytime soon.
Ali looked him over longer than maybe necessary, needing to know over and over that he was okay. Then she pressed her forehead to his, breathing deeply. “Okay. Okay.” She pressed her hands to his skin, one over his heart and the other just at his pulse, feeling the beat. Alive. Alive. Alive. Alive. “I’m sorry. I thought-I thought they would stop. And in the dream-they…they had-“ She couldn’t make herself keep going, choking on her own words.
Elijah unconsciously leaned into her touch, something he's always done, even as a dragon. His eyes fluttered half-closed as Ali pressed her forehead to his, and he held her closer, the hand in her hair tangling into the disheveled, silky strands while the arm around her waist tightened its hold. "It's just a dream, Ali. None of it's real. I promise. I'm okay, you're okay, we're okay."
“We’re okay.” Ali repeated, her voice so soft and hoarse from crying, a raspy and barely there sound. He was safe. He was right here. He had come back to her, and he wasn’t going to leave. The didn’t kill him that day. “Don’t leave, please. I promise I won’t let them take you away.” Maybe she was talking to him, maybe to herself about him. She wasn’t quite sure.
He slid his touch to her cheek, tracing her cheekbone with his thumb. Touch, he thought, would help bring her back to reality, to calm her down until he didn't see those dreadful tears in her beautiful eyes. "I'm not going anywhere," he whispered, his breath mingling with hers from how close their faces were. He didn't seem to notice—or if he did, he didn't think much of it.
He was right. Feeling, touch, contact. They were all things she was best at, even if she didn’t partake in them as much as someone should. They made things real for her. Grounded her to reality, tying her feet down when she needed them there. “Thank you. I’m sorry. For disturbing you. I should have been more quiet.”
He gently shook his head, careful to not disturb her. "No, don't say that. You didn't bother me. You were having a nightmare." Never in a million years would he be upset with her for waking him up due to a nightmare. He would rather be woken up and warned of her traitorous thoughts so he could help, than not hearing her and not being able to help pull her out.
“My nightmare is what disturbed you.” She said softly, looking down to avoid his gaze, hands still feeling his heartbeat. “And I hate that. You should be sleeping. Not dealing with me.” Sighing softly, she nuzzled his nose lightly with her own, like another apology.
He closed his eyes and let out a soft breath through barely parted lips. He then opened them again and lightly grabbed her chin with the hand on her face, forcing her to look up at him and meet his gaze. "I would rather be woken up and able to help than be sleeping and ignorant, unable to help. I don't want you to suffer alone. Not anymore."
She choked back another sob, this one more guilty relief than anything. There were no more tears now. Just the tracks they’d left down her cheeks and the puffiness to her eyes, signs of crying but no more actual crying. That was good. “Okay. I-Okay.”
Elijah scanned her face for a brief moment, looking for any lies. He seemed to be satisfied with the answer when he tilted his head to press a soft kiss to her cheek, then pulled her into an embrace, holding her tightly against his chest. "I'm not going anywhere, Ali. I'm staying right here by you."
Ali finally moved her hands then, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her face to his chest, With each deep breath, she was greeted by his familiar and comforting scent, soothing the still-fast pace of her heart from the nightmare. "I know. I won't let anything pull us apart again."
Elijah simply nodded and rested his chin on her shoulder, face slightly turned into the crook of her neck with his eyes closed. He felt slightly bad for forcing her to sleep, seeing how it led to this nightmare. But there wasn't anything he could do now besides be there for her and try to make it right again.
"I slept better for a little bit." Ali said softly. She knew him too well, knew what he was thinking more often than not. "I don't think the nightmares are gonna go away immediately. But they usually show up right after I fall asleep." She lifted her head to nuzzle the side of his, pressing a kiss to his cheek.
He leaned into her, reaching up to mindlessly play with her hair. "That's good," he murmured, opening his eyes a bit to glance over at her. He made no move to let go of her, her closeness both comforting and necessary. He wanted to make sure that she absolutely knew that he wouldn't leave her side willingly, and that, should he be forced to go, he would fight with all of his strength and then some to stay.
She had been so touch-starved since she'd returned to the palace. Suddenly having Elijah back, someone who was fully willing to give her that contact she needed…it was almost like a too-good-to-be-true dream. Now, she just had to keep this one from becoming a nightmare like her others. "Thanks, Ellie. Thank you."
He smiled at the nickname, holding her tighter against him. "Always, laʻu afi," he murmured, "Always." He nuzzled into her neck a little more, strangely comfortable with her. He wasn't very comfortable in his human body in general, but that feeling melted away when he was with her.
The trade off of nicknames had a smile pulling at her lips, the familiarity something great. Over and over again, she said she had missed him, and it really was true. But it was incredible to have him back. A miracle, maybe. "Can we stay like this forever? Just us, away from the rest of the world?"
"I really wish we could," he murmured against her skin, not wanting to detangle himself from this wonderful woman. He shifted them slightly, grabbing onto Ali as he leaned back until he was lying on the bed, bringing her with him so that she was lying on top of him. He looked up at her, featherlight fingers brushing over her sides. "So let's pretend that we are," he added with a slightly playful smile, opening up a little more.
A shudder ran through her, but she managed not to squirm this time, biting her lip to stifle a noise. "I can't-say I disapprove of that. Pretending-pretending sounds like a great idea." She smiled down at him, his smile bringing a certain brightness to her own as she played idly with his hair.
He hummed and closed his eyes, leaning into her touch as she played with his hair. A strange but not unwelcome sensation. He took note of her reaction to the touch to her sides and refrained from that, one hand moving to brush over her arm while the other ran down her spine. "Yeah?" he whispered, opening an eye to look at her.
"Yeah." She whispered back, gold eyes soft and warm and happy. She continued to play with his hair, absolutely happy to lay atop him. Shivering slightly at the touch, she leaned down a bit more, bumping his nose with her own. "We can pretend nobody else exists. It's just us, in this room. The only people left. With all the time in the world."
"Mmmm," he hummed, his smile breaking out a little more as he lifted his head to bump noses with her as well, "Sounds perfect." His voice was a quiet murmur, though it held a tone of happiness within it as he smiled up at her with his eyes and lips. Only for her, he would be this open. Only for her would he smile. They were so close, but weren't they always? They had always been close to each other, in each other's space because they enjoyed it. He wasn't about to complain about it now, it'd be a lie.