Simon is on day four tossing and turning in bed, the sheets feeling uncomfortable even though they were freshly washed and him as well. 

His left nub is aching, his legs are restless and holy hell his head and eyes hurt like a mother fucker but he just. Can’t. Fall. Asleep. Nightmares have been plaguing him for the past ninety-six hours with a probability of five hours of sleep total before he’s thrashing, panting and waking up in sweat, panicking. 

With a frustrated growl, Simon gets out of the bed tossing the blanket away and makes his way into the living room. It was still early in the evening, Simon wanted to try and sleep before his Star came into bed. Grace has been a little worried now since he was on day four of barely sleeping. Though Grace can’t really say much about his own sleep schedule. Simon even had a stream set up for this afternoon but cancelled due to how much strain the computer screen did to his eyes. No way in hell was Grace going to let him stream in the condition he was in, not after the promise to rest was broken last time. 

Grace looks up from grading his students papers as Simon enters the living room. A frown plays on his lips, knowing Simon should be sleeping by now. “Love, why are you up?” He questions gently, no malice or sorrow in his tone. Just comfort and questioning. 

“…sheets feel wrong. Too much in head, can’t sleep. Very fucking frustrating.” Simon mumbled as he sat down next to Grace on the couch. “T-they feel so real… I can’t… it’s so hard to tell what’s real and what’s the nightmares right now.” He whispers, hand dragging down his face. Grace hums, setting the pen down and angling himself to face Simon. 

“Moonlight. I am all ears if you need to talk about the nightmares.” Grace’s tone is gentle, not like he’s speaking to someone so fragile that contact will break them but as someone who sees how strong they have been to try and push through this without help until now. 

“No.” Simon replies too fast and voice on edge but Grace doesn’t flinch even as Simon winces and apologizes. “Sorry…” Simon sighs and looks up at the ceiling before he leans on Grace. “Can… can you just talk to me. I need to you to just… fill the silence with anything. I… I need to know this is real. I feel so… delirious.” 

Grace looks at Simon, brushing some hair out of his eyes and behind his ear. “Of course. I’m halfway done with these papers and then we can move to the bed.” He says, turning back to grade while Simon got as comfortable as he could beside him. 

Grace starts to talk about his students first, always animated, always with a smile. Then he went on to labs that he needs to get ready for and how a pop quiz is coming on Friday. 

Simon closes his eyes and leans against his husband, breathing in a few seconds then out some more. He focuses on how Grace’s voice is music to his ears. How soft and comforting the sound is. He focuses on how his body is leaned against Grace’s, grounding him there. 

Every time, it caught you by surprise. You would think that, after decades experiencing it, you would be better at managing it, but that was certainly not the case. Fae cycles were irregular and much less frequent than humans’ and other species, but nature balanced it out by making them worse. Much, much worse.

You felt like an idiot for not having seen it coming. For weeks you had felt more tired than usual, and in the last few days you had started to feel a dull ache right below your stomach and occasional headaches. You had simply brushed it aside as stress.

All of the signs added up in your head in a single second when, in the middle of training with the Valkyries, you felt the unfortunate moisture underneath your leathers and pants. You had let out a swear and finished the fight quickly, excusing yourself rapidly, mourning the plans you had for the next few days. Once the bleeding started, the excruciating pain wasn’t far behind.

All of it had resulted in your current position, curled in bed like a cat, clinging on to a pillow like your life depended on it, silently cursing the Mother for this supposed blessing. You had skipped training for the second day in a row and, despite the pain, you were also bored out of your mind.

A quick knock at your door shook you from your queasy state.

“There’s no one here” you groaned; the barely audible words nonetheless making your head throb even worse.

The door opened slowly, Nesta’s familiar figure striding into the room unbothered by your comment. She tried to give you a reassuring smile but winced nonetheless when you let out another long whine.

“I would suggest that you train with me to lessen the pain,” she said, “but I rather like the world of the living, so I will abstain.”

“Wise decision.” You groaned. “Anyone who tries to remove me from this room will lose a limb.”

As if in support of your words, another blanket appeared around you. The house understood your pain, at least. The cup of herbal tea on your bedside had kept its perfect temperature all day, and new books appeared at your bedside at regular intervals.

Nesta sighed fondly at your empty threat as she stripped of her leathers. “Hm, no exceptions?” she taunted.

“None.”

“Even when it would help lessen your suffering?”

You looked up from your nest of blankets with narrowed eyes. You wouldn’t put it past Nesta to find some ruse to force you out of bed. “I’m listening.” you mumbled, as she leaned in the doorway leading to the washroom, arms crossed. She had completely stripped down, and you couldn’t help but lowly whistle. Your mate looked stunning despite her workout, her face slightly flushed and her untied hair falling over her shoulders in waves, leading your eyes down to her slim body.

She rolled her eyes at you, but you felt the golden thread between you tugging with love. “Your mate is standing completely bare in front of a running bath,” she said, “I believe you might be able to come to a conclusion yourself.”

Oh. You flushed as you realized, and Nesta smirked, probably sensing the warmth that rushed through you. The idea of standing up though…

“But walking hurts…” you whined again. Truly, you were almost embarrassed at your behavior, but the pain really was that bad.

She pushed off the doorframe and stepped towards you quickly. Before you even realized what was happening, she had scooped you out of the bed and stripped you of your shirt and shorts. You yelped as the fresh air hit your ass as she carried you towards the washroom, kicking the door closed behind the two of you.

She lowered you in a gentler manner, setting you on the edge of the bath. You sighed when she pulled away, your body instinctively searching for more of her comforting warmth, but she returned quickly with a damp cloth. She softly wiped it over your lower body, discarded it and then focused on you again.

You tested the water with a finger and, as always, felt it was the perfect temperature. You stood to step into it, but Nesta swiftly held you up again, pulling your back against her chest and lowering you both into the water without you moving a muscle.

The water enveloped your body and you fully relaxed against your mate, a relieved groan escaping you. “Thank you, my love.” you murmured, raising a hand to run it through her locks. She chuckled, her breath tickling your ears.

“Don’t fall asleep on me now,” she said, “this isn’t all I have planned.”

You nodded absentmindedly, distracted by the relief and the pleasant feeling of her fingers dancing on your skin. Her fingers went lower and lower, innocently caressing your outer thigh, but changed direction to stroke at the apex of your thighs. You startled at the touch and tried to turn around to reciprocate, but Nesta held you firm against her.

“Just enjoy it,” she whispered, “don’t worry about me tonight.”

You opened your mouth to protest, but the only thing that came out was a moan as she expertly stroked you. You bucked slightly against her hand, searching for more friction, but her free hand kept you from moving too much. She knew what you liked most, and it didn’t take long for you to reach your peak.

You gasped when her lithe fingers entered you and pressed up at just the right spot. You writhed, begging for your release. She only kept you at the edge for a few moments, softly kissing your neck.

“Come for me.” she finally instructed, nipping at your ear.

Your entire body shook as you moaned loudly, calling Nesta’s name like a prayer. She laughed softly as you settled back, satisfied and completely exhausted.

Maybe your cycle wasn’t all bad after all.

I really am back! This req threw me for a loop because I haven't experienced a period in almost a decade lol but I really enjoyed writing it, it's my first time writing any WLW in general, a first of many i hope.