Opening Up

It happened again.

The boy lay in his bed, huddled against the wall, his face pressed into the pillow to muffle his sobs. His body shook in his sleep, trembling and jerking as the tears slid down his cheeks, unable to escape the pain and the fear that he was supposed to have left behind. During the night, he could forget it all, stay awake, talk to people. But during the day, when his eyes closed, there was no way to avoid it. And all he could feel in his dreams were the icy hands covering his body.

"Non... non... maitre, non! S'il vous plait!"

Jason awoke hazily, turning his head to the side to see who disrupted his sleep.

Camille, who was sleep talking.

Before he drifted off to sleep again, his eyes widened as he registered his 'little brothers' tone, ragged breath and jerking body.

Out of his bed in a flash, almost tripping over Amandine, he cradled Camille in his arms, pulling to boy upright. Stroking his red hair, he tried to gently wake Camille up and away from his terrors, careful not to scare the boy further.

He jolted, crying out when he felt somebody touching him, his eyes shooting open. But, the scent was familiar, and comforting, and as he slowly realised that it was only Jace, he calmed down slowly, burying his face into the crook of the man's neck as he sobbed.

The warmth of the Jace's body was comforting and his hands curled on his "brother's" chest as he slowly started to calm down, taking deep, shuddering breaths as started to remember how to breathe again.

Rocking backwards and forwards slightly, kissing his 'Little brother's' forehead, hushing gently.

He waited patiently for the heaving boy to ease his crying, letting him sob into his shoulder.

"Je suis ici. Il va bien maintenant." He used his 'little brother's' mother tongue, figuring that it might be more comforting and that the boy will be able to register it better, considering his state. He hoped that it won't bring back his 'little brother's' terrors.

Sitting properly on the bed, he pulled the shorter vampire into his lap to hug him and to bring him closer.

"l va bien maintenant."

He pushed a few red strands that stuck to Camille's forehand back and kissed the damp forehead again, wiping the tears away from under his bloodshot eyes.

"Voulez-vous me dire ce que votre cauchemar était sur le point?"

His voice was hushed and gentle, careful not to wake the other occupants in the room.

He buried into the man, arms slipping around his shoulders for comfort, sobbing softly, the heaving of his chest gradually becoming more infrequent, fading away. The boy lay heavily in the other vampire's arms, choked breaths muffled in Jace's neck, his racing heart finally beginning to slow from the comforting.

He didn't tense from the question as he might, were he fully awake. Only pressed closer to him, mumbling into the man's shoulder.

"Un memoire."




(Translation: "a memory")

Leaning against the wall, holding the smaller vampire close, he continued to wait for the vampire to calm further down. He rubbed soft circles into the redheads back, waiting for him to answer.

A memory?

Pressing another kiss onto his 'little brother's' forehead, he mumbled into his hair: "Mais plus qu'un souvenir."

Stroking the smaller's hair, he debated in his head on what else to say. He was never one to ask about others pasts. But, he remembered this one thing that his sister would often ask him, which often made him feel better, like he gotten something heavy off his chest. Chewing his lip, he asked anyway.

"Voulez-vous parler?"

((please don't hit me if google translate it wrong ;a; ))

He tensed a little in Jace's arms at the question. His past was something he did not talk about, but then... perhaps it would help. And it was Jace, after all. It was his "big brother". If he couldn't tell him, he couldn't tell anyone.

"Je me souvenais..." he broke off, burying his head further into the man's shoulder. It hurt to try and talk about it.

But he knew that once he had talked, it would feel better.

"Je me suis souvenu le temps avant j'ai arrivé ici. Quand j'ai habité chez Sergei."




(Translation: "I remembered the time before I arrived here. When I lived with Sergei")

Continuing to hold the boy, massaging his back, his brows twitched a little at the name.

Sergei? Wasn't that his creators name?

He waited to see if his 'little brother' would elaborate, not pushing him to speak.

His breaths choked at the back of his throat, arms tightening around the man as he prayed for the tears not to come flooding back.

"Il était mon amant, quand j'étais humain."

It was all starting to flood back now, that endless sea of pain which he had tried to lock up. That he couldn't have locked up forever. And suddenly, there was no stopping it. But he did not allow himself to cry again, only taking deep breaths and burying himself in the crook of Jace's neck.

"Mais... il a changé...et il me fait mal."





(Translation: "He was my lover, when I was human."
"But...he changed...and he hurt me.")

Continuing to run his fingers through his 'little brother's' red hair, he let him bury his head in the crook of his neck, trying to calm his heavy breathing down.

He still did not question the smaller male, letting him explain in his own time. Yet, in his head, he already felt passionate hatred for Camille's ex-lover - despite not knowing what he did.

"Il a essayer a..."

He couldn't say it. He just couldn't. Although he knew the words, they didn't seem to be able to fit what had happened. Words didn't mean anything. They couldn't describe how he had felt.

The boy lay silent in the man's arms, heaving sobbing breaths, damp cheeks nestling into the man's shoulder.



(Translation: "He tried to...")

He tried to... What?

A subtle frown etched on his face, an expression on his face not normally seen. The line between his brows almost foreign to his face.

Well, what ever he tried, it was it must of been traumatic. Jason ran through a few scenarios through his head, each one as horrible and gut wrenching as the other.

"Je vous promets qu'il ne fera rien de nouveau."

He lay silently in the man's arms, his breaths starting to slow, though his body still felt icy with dread. It had all felt so real. Now he knew that it wasn't, yet it almost felt as if this were the dream, that in a second, he would wake up and be back with Sergei once more.

The boy shuddered, squeezing the man tightly for comfort.

"Thank you."

He gently, as if his smaller 'brother' work break as easily as delicate china, squeezed the boy back to comfort him.

Kissing his forehead once more, he pulled Camille away from his shoulder and wiped away the remaining tears for his sore eyes.

"Je vais être absent pendant une seconde seulement." He murmured, sliding off the bed to silently retrieve some tissues from his bedside tables. Quickly returning to Camille, he pulled his little brother close to him again, handing him the tissues.

Camille nodded silently, releasing him. He felt a little cold as Jace left him, but thankfully took the tissues, burying back into his arms again on his return.

He took a deep, shuddering breath, now almost recovered as he squeezed him tightly for comfort, nestling into the crook of the man's neck and shoulder. His heart was still pounding madly in his chest from fear and pain, but he was slowly starting to get adjusted to the real world and becoming more in control than he had been before.

"I'm sorry."

He resumed running his fingers soothingly through his 'brother's' red hair, letting the smaller relax back into him.

If Camille was reverting back to French, that meant he had calmed considerately down... Right?

"Don't be."

Another thought of what his sister used to do, and would probably still do, when ever he was upset flickered into his mind.

"Are you okay sleeping alone for tonight? Or do you want me to stay with you?"

He know that his bed was just a few meters across the room, but in his mind, it was nice to have someone there next to you when going back to sleep - warning off the night terrors and dark thoughts. Especially after nightmares such as the one Camille just had.

No. He didn't want Jace to leave.

Camille clung tighter to him, tensing up in the man's arms as he hid his face in Jace's neck. He could deal with it if his brother was there. He didn't want to be alone again. Jace made him feel safe. He couldn't deal with it if he left now.

"Please stay."

"I will."

Lifting the covers over them, he slowly rested down on Camille's bed. He kept his arms lose, letting the shorter curl up into him or away from him - depending on what ever made him feel more comfortable.

"Sleep well." He murmured, voice still hushed with the other ocupants in the room.

He curled back into him, burying his face in the man's chest, the warmth slowly lulling him to sleep. His eyes slid closed softly, the darkness surrounding him in a more pleasant way this time as he started to lose consciousness, twitching a little as he drifted off to sleep.

"Don't leave me." he mumbled quietly in his dreams.

It was unclear whether it was part of his dream or whether it was directed at Jace. It could be either, or both. Even he didn't know.

Arms wrapped around the tinier body, not holding him to tight so that he could not breath, but not so lose that his arms that his 'little brother' won't feel protected.

"I won't."

Slipping into a semi-sleep state, he found that he could not fall back into his blissful sleep he was recently in. Worry still in place for the smaller male. Sighing a little, he waited for the boy to awake again. And hopefully, this time, it would be a little you relaxed.

Camille twitched in his dreams, stiffening suddenly in the man's arms. A hand gripped Jace's shoulder suddenly as the boy let out a soft cry, arms and legs suddenly lashing out as he was plunged back into his nightmares.

"Non... s'il vous plait... ne pas me toucher..."

He let out a dry sob, shuddering as a cold swept over him suddenly.


(Translation: "No... please... don't touch me...")

Jason pulled the smaller closer to his chest as soon as he felt the boy thrash about in his sleep.

"Don't touch me"? He frown deepened, one of his worst suspicions sounding more of a reality.

Hearing his 'little brother' let out a dry sob, he shook him a little to snap him out of it, not wanting his nightmares turn darker like his previous nightmare.

"He won't touch you." Jason murmured into Camille red hair. He guessed it was a he, the he being Sergei.

He continued to twist and thrash in Jace's arms for a moment before collapsing into him, sobbing quietly.

His sobbing slowly started to calm down as he began to wake, lying heavily in the man's embrace, hands gripping Jace's shoulders as though he were trying to cling on to the real world. He was slipping in and out of his nightmare now, slowly coming around.

"Jace... ne pas le permettre..."


(Translation: "Jace... don't let him...")

Jason did not bother trying to make Camille release his grip on his shoulders, despite the fact he knew that there will be bruises there in the few hours in the shape of Camille's hand. Instead, he rubbed soothing circles in Camille's back.

"Je ne vais pas le laisser te faire de mal." He whispered before kissing the smaller males head.

He clung to Jace's shoulders, breaths starting to slow down. His eyes flickered open, burying into the man as he started to come around. He could no longer remember his nightmare, but he could still feel the cold sweat on his skin and the feeling of dread consuming him.

"What... what happened?"