Nightmares and Mages

He's still not here.
He was supposed to be here an hour ago. No, two.
The stressed girl tapped her pencil on her page of notes for that day, eyeing the entrance. For once, her mind was so focused on something other than schoolwork.
Lately, every time Aswan had seen him, Roland had been chipper and energized, to the point that she'd snarkily joked about his eagerness to try coffee (she'd heard about someone who was outright crazy for it - one of the college students). But... She could see through his charade.
Biting her lip, she glanced towards her phone screen, which showed the time in big white numbers. 12:40.
Class was going to end soon. And he still wasn't here.
"Aswan," the professor called to her, "can you tell me anything about"
She cut the professor off. "It's double displacement, between an acid and a base, which is known as the process of neutralization."
Nodding, he wrote the answer on the board. "And that is all the time we have today."
She was already heading out the door as the bell rang, a familiar droning sound.
Where was he?
- - - - -
After three more classes; an unfruitful search of the cafeteria, library, and common hall; and a lot of worrywarting, Aswan came to two conclusions.
One, Roland was sleeping in his dorm.
Two, he was probably avoiding her. For what reason, she couldn't place. She really hoped it was the latter. A few minutes later, and she'd arrived at his dorm. Not bothering to knock, she took a deep breath, shut her eyes, and phased right through, tiptoeing through the room.
Nothing. Not even a coffee on the table, nor a journal -
She heard a little grunt and a shift from the next room over. Mumbling. Talking in someone's sleep. Could it be Roland was so tired he was studying in his sleep? No - as soon as Aswan walked into the room, she could tell something was NOT right in this room. Not with it, not with the mumbling, not with the disturbed mage that was her boyfriend tossing and turning.
Oh, no.
"Roland?" She asked softly, worriedly, for once sounding her age - maybe even younger. Like a kid.

Instead of just standing there, or leaving, or making him a cup of coffee - like any sane, logical, non-worrywarted person would - she threw herself onto his bed with a worried look. Grabbing his arm, not even caring about the sudden sensation that made her want to retch, the brunette was already very close, clearly very worried. "Roland..." She murmured. "Shhh...." Fuck, she had no idea what to do now - what was it she'd seen in movies? Something, she remembered vaguely, about asking what went wrong. That would be the most logical plan. Indeed. She took a deep breath and, composing herself, asked. "Roland... A-Are you okay?" Damn the little wobble in her voice. Aswan cleared her throat. "Is everything okay?"

Aswan gave him a sharp, concerned look. Said nothing. It was clear he was NOT okay. And she was NOT okay with that. Clearly Roland was sad - probably, she concluded, by a nighmare. A violent nightmare, one that probably haunted him. She felt so bad,1) for being there to witness it and 2) that she couldn't do much. What she was doing, though - she was purely relying on instinct now, what felt right to do in this situation. She simply wrapped her arms around the dark-haired mage, and still stayed silent, attempting to... Aswan had no idea what she was trying to do. HUG the nightmare out?! Ugh - absolutely no logic. But if it helped Roland, then it helped. And she was going to keep doing it.

For a while, they stayed that way - it was.. Comfortable. Aswan could no longer think, all her emotions were being poured out to care for Roland. That handsome, funny mage... He bore a pain like many she'd seen, but not experience firsthand. And it hurt, she realized. It hurt to watch Roland suffer from something she couldn't really help. Even so, she didn't dare let go. Something told her to not let go. She couldn't let go -
And then she felt the tears drop one by one on her shoulder, and she was glad she hadn't. Instead, she held him closer than ever, murmuring in his ear. "It's alright... Let it out...it's okay..." And damnit, now her voice cracked a little on the end of "okay"...

"Roland." She said, and her tone indicated - quite sternly - that he needn't worry. "It's alright. Gazing into his eyes, the truth of her statement was clear. "It is no problem. " With that, her tone became a bit lighter, pleading. "You should have told me sooner... I have quite the roster for preventing nightmares." She pulled him back into a hug, giving him a peck on the cheek. "I know from experience." She whispered, almost to herself. Aswan spotted him rubbing his temples and took a deep breath. "You can borrow some of my Advil - they are chewable." For the reason of, she didn't want him to choke on one. Choking was awful... She also knew this from experience.
Silence reigned for a minute... And then Aswan spoke up. "I love you. And.... I think, what that means, is... Well, I care about you. A lot. And so, it's not a bother to help." A tentative smile.