The last time Archie'd had dreams so confusing, so steeped in terror he'd been locked up in El Ferrol with Horatio and that horrid Hunter for company.
Now, though, after seeing Simpson, knowing he was out there, it was all too easy for that fear to slip back in no matter how much he thought he was past it. However much he fought it while awake, his dreams were another matter entirely.
That sneering face, that voice...
Archie knew - the way he fought to wake, the sweat covering his body, the fine tremors from head to toe - he knew he'd just had his first fit in years.
The cries woke William. Incoherent they were, pained, nigh-on animalistic. He started awake, and in the muzziness of leftover sleep, it took him a few moments to decipher where they were even coming from.
He knew that Archie had once had fits, but seeing one was another matter entirely. Panic rising in his throat, he shook the younger man, gently at first, and then with growing insistence when it did not rouse him. He hissed Archie's name under his breath, but when that did no good, he was soon all but shouting it.
William was still gripping Archie's shoulder when he came to. But when he met Archie's gaze, William was silent, his eyes wide with shock.
Archie was unsure what he felt more at the moment he realized William had done his best to stir him - embarrassment, blooming hot in his face, or fear that his fits would start up regularly again.
He could, at least, say he was glad for the other man's company, and he closed his eyes as he did his best to catch his breath and calm his racing heart.
When Archie spoke, William let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "Don't be a fool," he told Archie, quiet and gruff. "It doesn't matter. Is there anything I can..." He trailed off, uncomfortably unsure of what he could say.
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Now, though, after seeing Simpson, knowing he was out there, it was all too easy for that fear to slip back in no matter how much he thought he was past it. However much he fought it while awake, his dreams were another matter entirely.
That sneering face, that voice...
Archie knew - the way he fought to wake, the sweat covering his body, the fine tremors from head to toe - he knew he'd just had his first fit in years.
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He knew that Archie had once had fits, but seeing one was another matter entirely. Panic rising in his throat, he shook the younger man, gently at first, and then with growing insistence when it did not rouse him. He hissed Archie's name under his breath, but when that did no good, he was soon all but shouting it.
William was still gripping Archie's shoulder when he came to. But when he met Archie's gaze, William was silent, his eyes wide with shock.
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He could, at least, say he was glad for the other man's company, and he closed his eyes as he did his best to catch his breath and calm his racing heart.
"Did I wake you?" Archie finally asked quietly.
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"Don't be a fool," he told Archie, quiet and gruff. "It doesn't matter. Is there anything I can..." He trailed off, uncomfortably unsure of what he could say.
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