Tobi shifted in his sleep, before awaking with a start. His heart pounded as he looked around, his eyes adjusting to the light filtering through the window. This wasn't his apartment. Where was he?

"Tobi? Are you alright?" Emilio asked groggily, adjusting his glasses which were askew on his face. They had left an indent where they had pressed into his cheek.

Tobi calmed as he realized he had fallen asleep on Emilio's couch while they were watching the movie. "I'm okay. I just had a nightmare." It had been a recurring dream. Tobi was glad that at least he didn't need to try to remember the dream until he got home. He never wrote out the same dream twice.

"What was the nightmare about? Do you want to talk about it?"

Tobi shook his head. "I'm alright, I promise," he said, giving Emilio a small smile.

"Would you like paper to write it down so you can transfer it into your notebook when you get home?" Emilio offered.

"No, thank you. I don't write if the dream is recurring."

Shit.

Now Emilio was going to pry. Tobi wasn't ready to discuss his nightmares.

Emilio raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued, but to Tobi's surprise, he didn't say anything. Instead, he stood from the couch and offered Tobi his hand. Tobi allowed himself to be pulled from the couch and into an embrace. The last of his anxiety from the nightmare melted away as he stood there in Emilio's arms.

After a few moments, Emilio pulled back and asked, "Would you like breakfast?"

Tobi nodded and watched as Emilio walked off to the kitchen. He grabbed his phone from the arm of the couch where he had left it, and checked his texts. There were a few from Mattias.

:How did the date go? Have fun?:

:Are you still there?:

:Tobi?:

Tobi quickly typed back a response. :Sorry. We fell asleep while watching a movie. I'm still at Emilio's house.:

:Don't you have classes today?: came Mattias's reply a few minutes later.

:Yes.:

Tobi turned off his phone and stuck it in his back pocket, ignoring the buzz of notifications, and went to the kitchen. He grabbed a piece of toast off of a plate next to Emilio and bit into it, smiling as Emilio turned to give him a look.

"Food will be done in just a moment," Emilio said, his eyes betraying his amusement. He divvied out eggs between the two plates and carried them to the table.

The two of them ate in a comfortable silence which was broken by Emilio asking, "Do you have nightmares often?"

There it was.

"Why?"

"You said the one you had last night was recurring."

"I've only had it two or three times, and never two nights in a row. I don't have many dreams more than once."

"But do you have nightmares often?

Emilio always seemed to notice when Tobi avoided a question.

"No more often than the average person, I believe," Tobi lied. His nightmares could be addressed with Emilio later at a better time. After he brought Emilio to the church.

If he brought Emilio to the church.

He still hadn't decided.

"Will you be staying much longer, or do you need to go?"

"I have classes today, but I don't feel like going," Tobi shrugged.

Emilio gave an amused smile and placed his hand on top of Tobi's. "I have a shift at the hospital later, but you're welcome to stay until then."

Tobi nodded and sighed contentedly, revelling in the domesticity of it all. He had never been able to imagine himself in a situation like this, yet here he was. Perhaps it wasn't that he couldn't so much as he didn't allow the thought.

Once Tobi finished eating, he stood and stretched. His shirt rode up slightly in the back, revealing the tip of a red scar which caught Emilio's eye. He recalled the large scar shaped like a crucifix that he had seen when Tobi was first admitted to the hospital.

He reached out and brushed a finger against the scar, which caused Tobi to jump. Tobi had shot down Emilio's previous attempt to ask about the scar, but they were closer now.

"How did you get your scar?"

"What scar?" Tobi asked awkwardly, attempting to feign ignorance.

"You know what scar I mean."

The nightmares and the scar? Ask for my social security number next, Tobi thought bitterly. "I got it in the fire," he lied.

Emilio frowned. "Tobi, I'm a nurse. I know about scars. It wasn't fresh when you arrived at the hospital. Where did it come from?"

"It doesn't matter. It isn't a big deal."

"I sure looks like a big deal," Emilio rebutted.

"Please just drop it."

"Tobi, were you abused?'

"I said drop it, Emilio!"

Emilio fell silent. The anger in Tobi's glacial blue eyes was unlike anything Emilio had seen before. The glare was cold and caused him to drop his gaze. "I'm sorry. I'm just concerned."

Tobi's eyes flitted from Emilio, shame burning through him. He shouldn't have snapped. Of course Emilio was concerned. He cared.

"Don't be. I'm fine," Tobi lied.

He cared, too. He didn't want Emilio to know what he was dealing with— didn't want it to become Emilio's problem too. It was too risky to tell him. What if he got overwhelmed with it all and left? Things were better kept a secret.

"Let's just forget this," Tobi said, giving a lopsided smile that didn't reach his eyes.

Emilio nodded reluctantly, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. "I'm here if you ever need to talk," he tried.

"Thank you.

It was quiet after that. Most of the tension had already been dispelled, but the exchange hadn't erased itself from existence. They sat on the couch, Tobi curled against Emilio's side on his phone, Emilio with one arm around Tobi's shoulders, reading a book. Neither fully paid attention to what they were doing, their thoughts straying to reflect on the fight they'd had.

Could it really be counted as a fight? Tobi wondered. It was more of a conflict of interests. It no longer matters, though. It was one disagreement. They're bound to happen. They just need to be worked through.

A small part of Tobi's brain reminded him that things like this were exactly why he wasn't cut out for relationships, but he pushed it away.

He liked Emilio. He wanted things to work out.

They could both turn a blind eye to things in Tobi's past until it was a good time to talk about them. After he brought Emilio to the church seemed like a good time.

If he brought Emilio to the church.

Emilio glanced up at the clock and put his book down. "My shift starts soon," he said.

Tobi turned and placed a gentle kiss to Emilio's lips, healing over any hurt that remained from their argument.

"Remember, you can talk to me," Emilio whispered, not wanting to break the moment.

"I know," Tobi replied just as quietly. "I'll see you soon."

After Emilio had walked Tobi to the door, his eyes landed on his purple notebook. He picked it up and thumbed through it, stopping at an empty page.

Curiously, he pulled out his phone and opened the search engine, then typed something into the search bar.

There's no harm in knowing a bit more, he told himself as he scanned the results for "Schneien".

A/N Happy Wednesday! Thank god for personal hotspots meaning I don't have to use school wifi, amiright? My "wife"@shortinsomniac7 (this may be incorrect) insists that I mention that she has provided information and help with several of the chapters. Chapter title from "(Wilson) Expensive Mistakes" by Fall Out Boy. I'm in a musical and rehearsals are going to start to run late, so I'm moving my updates to Sunday until the show has finished, so don't worry about me if I don't make next Wednesday's update.