#hellben

He could feel the humid air against his face, sweat sticking his clothes to his skin as he moved through the undergrowth. It was hard and uneven under his bare feet but he moved silently, each step carefully chosen, the branches and plants bending but never snapping under his weight.

There was a creeping fear as he advanced, a shiver of anticipation cresting across his skin in cold waves of anxiety. It was getting closer.

And closer.

He could feel eyes on him-- a breath on his neck-- and he rounded with gasp to find-

Nothing.

His heart raced and his breaths came in anxious pants as he darted his eyes around in the darkening light. There was a noise above him and he raised his gun to the branches only to find his hands empty as a shadow flitted just out of view.

Ben turned then to run, abandoning his military instinct under the panic that descended, only to find his way blocked. On all sides the trees had enclosed him, and a low grumbling growl shook through his very core, the noise oscillating behind him. His hair stood on end as he froze in fear, unable to move his feet like they were rooted into the ground.

He was trapped and afraid and utterly trapped. He could hear the growling getting closer and closer until there was the thumping of heavy paws sprinting towards him, bearing down on his position and he turned his head--

Ben sat up with a gasp of breath, fighting to get air into his lungs as he lurched over his knees, hands over his face. He was sweating and shivering, and soft whimpers escaped him as he fought to ground himself through the panic of the nightmare.

“Ben?” The half asleep but concerned voice helped, and Ben threw out a hand to the man beside him, landing somewhere on his stomach and feeling the warm skin under his palm. Large fingers wrapped over his and after a few long seconds Ben managed to settle himself enough to lift his head and open his eyes.

He was thankful that there was always a low level of light in Hellboy's rooms; it made the place look warm, and on nights like this it was nice to not wake up in blind darkness.

“Nightmare?” Hellboy sat up slowly, stone fist leaning behind Ben as he leaned to press a sleepy kiss to the man's shoulder.

Ben let out a tired snort, “No, this is just how I wake up,” he quipped, before he leaned back against Hellboy's shoulder with a sigh, letting him take his weight. He was still taking deep measured breaths and closed his eyes again when Hellboy nosed against his hair. He pulled his hand over his stomach to get more of his warmth, and relaxed into the comfort as his body settled.

This wasn't how these nights usually went for Ben.

Before Hellboy a nightmare like this would have shaken him for days, largely because he would find himself unable to sleep, too worried the nightmare would come again. And there was no escaping it. Every look in the mirror, every heightened emotion, even the worry of having the nightmare itself was like a vicious cycle spiking his adrenaline and making the jaguar inside rouse just a little.

But now, breathing in the comforting scent of the room and listening to the steady heartbeat of the man beside him, it was enough to settle him back to almost normal in just a few minutes. A thumb brushed gentle strokes over his stomach and a weighty tail draped over his leg under the covers to keep him grounded.

“I'm okay,” he finally said when he knew he meant it, turning his head to look up at Hellboy and instead only getting as far as resting his forehead against his brow.

“Think you can sleep?” Hellboy murmured, clearly no longer very awake, and Ben breathed a fond laugh.

“Yeah.”

He lifted his head to press a chaste kiss to Hellboy's mouth before leaning away so they could resettle; Hellboy lying back down against the pillows followed by Ben curling up against his side. He placed a hand on the red skin before him, hand over Hellboy's heart, and felt the steady beat as it gently lulled him back to sleep.