Hypervigilance

Violet’s eyes shot open in the dark.

Something felt wrong, so terribly wrong that she had to sit up to glance around her room. There was no noise in the dead of the night. That should’ve been a comfort to the black cat, but something felt missing. Something important. Maybe even something comforting. Violet felt around the bed, looking for what it could be, but found nothing but blankets and pillows accompanying her. Air filled the space where she thought she’d find it. Something, no, someone, was supposed to be there.

Wait, what’s it that woke me up? Violet thought.

She tried to remember what had caused her to stir so suddenly. She tried going back to when she opened her eyes, but she couldn’t remember anything that could’ve caused a disturbance. She decided to go back a bit further, to when she was still half asleep. She remembered feeling someone sliding out of bed, abandoning her for something else. She remembered that almost immediately after she had first pricked up her ears to listen, she heard the quiet sound of the bedroom door closing, sealing the separation between her and the other person. That’s what had prompted her to open her eyes.

Shit, did Lumi leave me here? Violet thought.

That’s right, Lumi had been sleeping with her that night. Violet was having nightmares again earlier in the week, so the orange fox had insisted on sleeping by her side to help her feel more comfortable. Violet didn’t mind, even if the two of them sharing beds always ended in them cuddling at minimum, and frequently with them doing… a bit more than just resting together. Lumi wasn’t here now, though, so he must’ve gotten tired of comforting her. Either that, or something much worse had happened to him.

Fuck, why am I being so dramatic? Violet thought. Lumi wouldn’t abandon me. He’s probably just going to the bathroom or something, he’ll be back shortly, …right?

Violet’s logical side did nothing to make her calm down. She sat up and remained on high alert, with her ears and eyes shifting around every few seconds. Every little creak that shattered the night caused her to flinch. If something had endangered Lumi, she was in danger, too. She needed to stay safe. Violet considered producing some Ira magic in case she needed to fight, but she decided against it, not wanting to damage anything in her room.

The door creaked open, and Violet jumped up from where she was sitting with her claws unsheathed. A flash of orange fur in her vision gave her pause. She froze in place, forcing herself to look around and assess the situation.

“Violet, it’s just me! There’s nothing to worry about!” said Lumi, flailing his arms around in a panic.

Violet let herself plop back down onto the bed, sighing with relief. No intruders, at least not that night. She felt herself start to sink deeper into the mattress.

“...Shit, you startled me.” Violet held her forehead in one of her hands.

At least he’s okay, I guess, Violet thought.

Lumi closed the door softly, almost like he was in a horror movie, walked over to the bed, and sat down beside Violet. He outstretched his arms, causing Violet to look up at him before she climbed into them. Lumi’s warmth allowed her to relax her body a bit, and she could feel herself start to go a bit limp. Once she was settled into them, Violet proceeded to shift herself down a bit more so she could bury her head in Lumi’s chest, which prompted him to start petting her with one hand. Her heart rate also seemed to slow down, although she hadn’t noticed it’d sped up earlier.

Lumi’s okay, and he didn’t abandon me, Violet thought. Why do I always jump to the worst of conclusions? 

Violet tightened her grip on Lumi and started to shake a bit. How could she have been so stupid? She was supposed to trust Lumi, and yet she’d assumed the worst of him. She really was an awful——

“Violet, did I wake you up earlier?” Lumi finally asked.

Violet let out a small sound as a confirmation. Her brain was still hounding her for not having more faith in her boyfriend, so she didn’t say anything.

“...Sorry about that, I just needed to get a drink of water. I won’t do it again.”

Lumi’s last sentence dragged Violet out of her miserable thoughts and prompted her to look up at him with an irritated expression.

“Lumi, if you gotta piss you gotta piss,” Violet said. “And if you need water you should get up and drink some fucking water. Just let me know next time or something, okay? I was worried about you, even if that was my own fault for assuming the worst.”

“…Okay,” Lumi whispered.

Silence overtook the night again as Violet and Lumi continued to cuddle in their embrace. She was no longer trembling so much. Sleep threatened to drag Violet back into darkness, but she squeezed onto Lumi a bit more to stay awake. He seemed to be tired, too, since his body was starting to become a bit weak in her arms. However, he still seemed to have something on his mind.

“Maybe I can write you notes when I get up?” Lumi asked. “That way you know where I am if you wake up, but you aren’t disturbed if you stay asleep.”

“Yeah, sounds good,” Violet said. “Now go back to bed, we’ve been up too long.”

Violet pushed Lumi onto the bed, causing him to let out a slight yelp. She then laid down beside him and pulled the blankets over the two of them. Lumi had sat back up and burst into a fit of giggles by now, which prompted Violet to pull him into her arms and hold on as tight as she could, with her claws dug into his shirt.

I’m not letting you leave quite yet, Violet thought. 

Lumi tensed up at first, but he started to relax as he adjusted to being squeezed. Violet felt her body start to rumble in an engine-like purr as she started to rub her hands around Lumi’s back, causing him to let out a soft sigh before he fell asleep. 

  Good, now you can’t leave me again. Violet allowed herself to relax her grip as she felt the warm and comforting darkness start to overtake her as well.