Sleep, My Young Love

[resoluteprotector]

“I love you… I love you… I love you…”

He doesn’t dream; Whispers could still get to him that way. For Will it’s as though no time has passed between falling into unconsciousness in the passenger seat of the ambulance, telling Riley over and over again that he loves her, and slowly waking up. His eyes remain closed, but even through his eyelids he can tell that he is surrounded by light. Small arms are wrapped around him and he can feel his body rocking gently back and forth. For a second he is reminded of falling asleep in his mother’s arms. But this is not his mother holding him, he knows that. It’s Riley – Riley – safe and well. She must sense that he has regained consciousness because she begins to sing to him, an old Icelandic lullaby.

“Sofŏu, ung stin mín…”

Sleep, my young love. It’s all he hears before her voice quickly fades away. Everything fades away – the light behind his eyelids, the rocking motion of the boat, Riley’s hand on his chest, and the warm feelings of I love you and You’re safe radiating between them. Instead, he feels cold, hard floor against his back. The only warmth and comfort remaining is the blanket and BPO jacket draped over him.

Will had forgotten what it was like to feel this alone.

“Riley?” he whispers.

He opens his eyes. Darkness. His mind and body are still a little slow and blurred from the sedative, but his police training is still coming through enough to tell him to remain calm and think.

Light. He needs light.There's a fluorescent sliver coming in through the edges of a door, but it’s not enough. He could wait for his eyes to adjust, but there’s a quicker way. Will throws off the blanket and jacket, sitting up dizzily, feeling too weak to stand just yet. Thankfully, his phone is still in the pocket of his jeans. He shines the bright glow of the screen from side to side. Shelves of boxes and folders surround him. Will thinks he knows what this room might be - the records room at a police station.

Comments

[artoflove]

Will's blush makes Lito smirk, given that the incident that caused such a reaction is one that Lito will never forget as it had been a very special time for him, one that he will forever share with Will and Wolfgang and Nomi. Perhaps, one day, if he is ever to reunite and rekindle with Hernando, he will tell him of the company they had. For now, though, he digs out his keys and gestures for Will to follow him as they begin their ascent.

"I can try," he says, very serious about this. "But I do not think it will make much sense. If it weren't for the connection and the things we've seen, I'd worry that you will think I'm crazy."

[resoluteprotector]

"I won't think you're crazy. Just start at the beginning." Will has known since he was a child what it's like to have others think that he is crazy, and to wonder it about himself. All eight of them had thought they were losing their minds when their connection had first begun, only weeks ago. But he knows that everything Lito had told him so far hasn't been a lie, and he can see the evidence of the city around him. If Lito has gone crazy, then Will is stuck in the same delusion.

[artoflove]

Lito breathes in and decides to start at the beginning. "I was kidnapped here, I don't know how. I was drunk one moment and then I was here. There is no escape," he says, grateful that Will is going to believe him because he knows every bit of Lito himself. "And we cannot leave, and there are many strange things like bees and changing into a woman or a child."