A Glimpse of Us OUT-TAKE #1 It’s not rare for Uki to wake in the middle of the night, especially when someone else is having a rough sleep – psychic senses. But sometimes he’d sleep through the quiet warning bells in his head regardless, drawn into a deep sleep, courtesy of prolonged sleep-deprivation, and Uki would find himself being shook awake by another one of Noctyx’s members – usually Yugo, whose room is closest to Fulgur’s.

“Uki. It’s Fuu-chan.” Uki would hear, and despite how drowsy he is, Uki would manage to force himself into enough wakefulness to make an acknowledging sound and stagger out of bed. A supporting hand will steady him if he sways and guides him to where he is needed.

When they reach Fulgur's room, the man is twisted in his own sheets, low sounds of pain and misery escaping from him, stuck in his own form of abyssal nightmares, and Uki perches himself on the bed without a thought of his own safety. Fulgur might get angry at him again in the morning, if he finds Uki in his bed after a rough night. (He still thinks that he might accidentally hurt Uki, and Uki still disagrees.)

He waves Yugo away, and as soon as the door closes, tips sideways to lay his head next to Fulgur's.

The easiest way to soothe Fulgur when he's asleep like this is through contact. Uki, drowsy and not fully lucid, rests his palm lightly against Fulgur's cheek, and shushes the sharp whimpers and startled little flinch the initial touch draws. His head throbs slightly as he eyes the stark scarlet thread against Fulgur's pale skin, the same shade of red as the lines on Fulgur's face, above his eye.

Uki gently brushes the stray strands, and absentmindedly admires how similar they looked. Even though Fulgur's fate string is gone, it feels like they're still present just like this, the thread drawn across his left eye instead.

"You're safe. It's just me." Uki would whisper between them. "No one can hurt you here. There's only me and you in this room right now, Yugo and Sonny and Alban are safe in bed. No one can hurt us."

He doubts that it is his words that calms Fulgur, spoken softly as it is, but perhaps his voice does reach Fulgur in his troubled sleep. Or perhaps it is his touch that Fulgur recognizes specifically (the connotations doesn’t escape Uki, because of course it doesn’t), but the creases on Fulgur’s forehead eventually smooths itself, and his breathing deepens.  

Uki doesn't retract his hand. Instead, he closes his eyes and silently prays to whoever may be listening (hey there, stars, work your fucking magic) to grant Fulgur better dreams.

On these nights, whether intentional or not, Uki would fall asleep without remembering when he had done so; when he wakes, their legs are tangled, and Fulgur’s arms are looped around him in a gentle but protective embrace, and Uki would be warm even if the covers are in disarray. He doesn’t care when Fulgur gives him a disapproving look when he wakes up.