Midnight Comforts

It wasn't the first time Goro had that dream. At this point, he had almost grown used to having Loki's hands on his neck, in an iron tight grip that made him unable to breath. Goro tried pulling his hands away, but he always failed. Just like how his voice wouldn't come out no matter how loud he tried to scream.

He woke up screaming, for a moment being startled by his own voice, then panting. He was all wet with sweat, and he could still feel his heart beating as fast as if he had just ran a marathon.

"Hey, are you okay?" Ren asked him, putting his hands on Goro's shoulders.

"I'm fine." Goro said, but tears immediately started rolling down his cheeks.

Ren hugged him, holding him to his chest.

"I'll go make some tea." Haru said before leaving the room.

Goro hugged Ren back and finally let himself let it all out, sobbing as Ren gently pat his hair.

"It's okay, we're right here." Ren whispered as he held him closer, laying his chin on top of Goro's head.

Ren's embrace was comforting enough so that he didn't even notice time passing as he managed to stop crying. He still couldn't help but sob a little bit, but even those were fading slowly. Ren's heartbeat was almost like some sort of calming lullaby to him.

Just a few minutes later Haru walked back into the room, carrying a teacup with her.

Ren let go of him. Goro wiped any leftover tears from his cheeks as he sat on the edge of the bed.

"There you go." Haru smiled as she handed him the teacup. She sat down beside him. "Just be careful, it's still a little hot."

"Thanks." He gave the tea a little blow before taking a small sip.

Haru leaned a hand on his shoulder, and looked at him worriedly. "What was it this time?"

Goro took a deep breath. There was no use trying to pretend it was nothing. He had learned ages ago that he couldn't hide anything from them. "Loki… Choking me…"

"Yikes." Said Ren.

Goro couldn't help but giggle at his reaction. "Don't worry. I'm fine."

Goro hadn't been having those kinds of dreams for a while. Things had been getting so much better the past few years, specially since he had Ren and Haru there for him through all of it. They were there for him everytime he felt like he started doubting he deserved them, or any of the happiness he had earned. They always assured him that they would stick by his side, and tell him if he ever made any stupid decisions. He was thankful he had them with him.

"Just don't worry too much about it, okay?" Haru kissed his left cheek. "We love you."

Goro's cheeks warmed up, and he tried telling himself it was just the tea's warmth. "I know. You two say that everyday."

"Because it's true." Ren kissed Goro's right cheek.

"I love you too…" Goro mumbled, thankful that the lights were off so the other two couldn't see how red his cheeks were.

"Could you say that again? I didn't hear it well enough." Ren chuckled, probably with that stupid smirk of his.

"Stop teasing him." Haru giggled, lightly slapping Ren's shoulder. Ren just laughed.

Goro couldn't help but giggle as well. "Thanks for doing this for me everytime." He set the empty teacup down on the table by the bed. "But I'm sorry for waking you up. I know we are gonna be busy tomorrow."

"Don't worry about it. The world isn't going to end if we open up the shop a little late." Ren said as he pulled the covers over himself.

Goro meant to get under the covers as well, but Haru stopped him.

"You're laying in the middle." She pushed him slightly so he would move aside, making him stay in between her and Ren as she pulled the blanket over both of them.

"Why?"

"So we can hug the nightmares away." Ren giggled.

"I'm fine-"

Haru brought a finger to his lips, so he stayed quiet. "No buts or anything else. Just sleeping."

Goro sighed, but still smiled. There was never much he could do whenever those two decided to get cuddly.

He finally laid down properly, and the other two immediately wrapped their arms around him. He sighed and closed his eyes, slowly falling back asleep.