MHA #2 | Thursday Morning

[knife_bender]

Diego had been having some weird ass dreams lately. Creepy ones, really. He dreamed about his father occasionally, but usually they were flashbacks to training and Ben's funeral. But these were focused on the rare (so very rare) moments where his father had given him praise and when Diego woke up he was left with a vague feeling of wanting his father to be proud of him.

Which disturbed him even more than the nightmares, really.

He was considering just not sleeping again, so he was doubling up on the coffee this morning.

[Open]

Comments

[defenderofdesmoines]

Annie had gotten up pretty early to squeeze in a strength workout before her final (which was actually quite the cardio exercise with all those damn stairs.) When she returned this morning, she probably didn't need more coffee, but like, Diego was looking pretty inspirational, there.

"Morning, you," she greeted him, crossing over for a kiss before even considering that one-more-cup-of-coffee thing, really. "Fun fact: those stairs are still a bitch even with wheels involved."

[knife_bender]

"No kidding," he said. "Everybody on this island should have the leg strength to kick a door off the hinges by now."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I feel like you just like having excuses to do that anyway," Annie noted fondly. "Knocking is for suckers."

[knife_bender]

"It's more fun that way," he said, pouring coffee into a large container most likely meant for a protein shake. "I'm not sleeping ever again."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Oh no, why?" Annie asked, growing a little concerned as she watched him pour. "Sleep on your neck funny? Bad dreams?"

She herself had had some weird dreams about Madelyn Stillwell this week, but given that the last time they'd seen each other Annie had made vague threats about stock prices, she kind of figured they were work-related stress dreams from being, you know, totally right and thus now somewhat overwhelmed by her own success. So there, Stillwell.

[knife_bender]

"Last one," he said. "I keep dreaming about Dad."

[defenderofdesmoines]

Annie softened slightly, moving over to run a hand along Diego's arm comfortingly. "Want to talk about it?"

She could only imagine the kind of nightmares you'd have after a childhood like his.

[knife_bender]

"It was just weird," he said with a shrug. "I woke up feeling...nice."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"So they weren't bad dreams?" she asked, a little puzzled by how anything involving his dad could possibly ever be nice.

Though, like, that was definitely better than having nightmares.

[knife_bender]

He would have preferred the nightmares.

"No, that's what was so weird about it." Weird and unnerving.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Do you remember what happened in your dream?" Annie prompted, going ahead and getting whatever remained of the coffee for herself. "Or was it like one of those vague ones that's mostly just feelings?"

[knife_bender]

"I don't know, just vague memories of stuff," Diego said. "Back when I was Number Two wanting to impress him."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"And now you're swearing off sleep because you don't like feeling like that?" Annie asked with a little half-smile. "I don't know if that's going to work, Diego."

That was maybe a little deliberate use of his name in response to the Number Two reminder, yes.

[knife_bender]

"I think it's worth a shot." Let's be real, he'd probably be taking a nap this afternoon once the caffeine wore off.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Definitely the best approach. Just stop sleeping," Annie teased lightly, going to press a kiss to his cheek. "I had a weird dream about my old boss, if it makes you feel better. Maybe it was like, something we ate?"

[knife_bender]

"I'd find that reason more plausible if it was you or I who attempted the cooking," he joked.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Island could be doing a thing?" Annie suggested with a shrug, much like how someone might suggest it seemed like it could rain later in the day. "No one's ever told me about, like, weird dreams being a thing the way they've warned me about volcanoes and waking up as a guy."

[knife_bender]

"How was your dream about your boss weird?" he asked.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"It was weird that I had one. We were just, like, talking in her office," Annie said, making a little helpless face. "Like, Ms. Stillwell's been gone since...May? It's not like I spend a lot of time thinking about her. But I guess that's how dreams work? It's your brain working through...stuff without you really meaning to?"

Deep analysis from Dr. January.

[knife_bender]

"I guess," he said, though he didn't feel like he needed to work anything out with his father, thank you very much. "I feel like me and Luther swapped dreams."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"That would be a lot worse, probably," Annie offered, trying to be comforting (even if, yeah, she would not be shocked if this was just his mind working through some of those daddy issues that everyone knew he had.) "Though who knows, maybe Luther's off, like, dreaming of saving the world with an awesome blonde at his side."

She was just going to assume that's what Diego dreamt about, normally. Obviously.

[knife_bender]

Diego smiled slightly. "That's actually eerily close to what I actually dream about."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I kind of had a hunch," Annie replied with an answering smile. "Can I, like, help? Maybe we'll do like...tea at bedtime tonight. Soothing music. I'll give you a back massage. Maybe if we get you really calm before bed you won't dream at all."

Or he could talk about his dad and maybe that was what the dream was about, but that seemed like a harder sell. But not dreaming seemed better than not sleeping, at least?

[knife_bender]

"The back massage part does sound nice..." Mostly because he knew where it would lead to.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I somehow knew you'd like that part," Annie teased, setting her coffee aside as she went to wrap her arms around his waist. "Are you feeling okay otherwise?"

Like, maybe he had a fever? That would be an explanation.

[knife_bender]

"I guess so," he said, wrapping his arms around her. Tangling himself up in Annie always seems to make him feel better. "I just feel a little off balance, you know?"

Anger towards his father he was used to. Other feelings? Not so much.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"How do you mean?" Annie asked quietly. Her first thought had been to just agree and sympathize, but -- if Diego was actually talking about his feelings regarding his dad, she absolutely wanted to give him all the conversational room and invitation to do so.

[knife_bender]

"I don't know," he said, shaking his head. "It's just--I learned my lesson about Dad. I don't worship him anymore, and I don't like feeling like that again."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Of course not," Annie acknowledged, gently running her hand up and down his back a bit. (Mindful of knives as always, of course.) "Are you feeling weird about it being, like...a nice dream? Like, was he nice in the dream?"

Because she could see how that would be...disorienting.

[knife_bender]

"As nice as he can be, I guess," he said. "Just imagine Five being nice, but worse."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"So like, still awful, but maybe with some good intention behind the awfulness?" Annie offered, because that was how she thought of Five a lot of the time. "It sounds -- confusing to deal with, Diego, I'm sorry."

Her dreams of Stillwell had seemed positive and nice, too, but Annie hadn't thought much about it. Dreams were dreams. But her relationship with her late boss was also, admittedly, a lot less fraught than this one.

[knife_bender]

"I'll get over it," he said, leaning for a kiss. "They're just stupid dreams."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Maybe," Annie agreed, smiling into the kiss. "You know where to find me if you need anything while you get over it, though."

Like to talk. Or a back massage. Or whatever.

[knife_bender]

"I know," he said, giving her a smile. "I love you."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I love you too," Annie replied, going onto her toes to kiss him again. "You can tell because I'm actually interested in hearing about your dreams even when I'm not even in them."

Everyone knew hearing about other people's dreams was, generally, super boring. (Unless you were a fortune teller, maybe?)

[knife_bender]

He laughed. "That really is a sign of true love. I am a lucky guy."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"You are," Annie noted, threading her arms up around his neck. "But I feel pretty lucky too, so it evens out."

And all teasing aside, if he suddenly started wanting to talk to her about his dreams regularly, Annie would happily sit and listen every single morning for the rest of their lives. She was that far gone.