Closed Dreams

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava was having the sweetest dream. She was in her old home. The smell of Nan's cinnamon apple tarts filled the house. Her mother's laughter rang through the air. Ava hurried down to the kitchen. Nan and Mama we're standing there, flour everywhere. They were baking, their backs to her. Inbeteeen them was a boy, tall with dark hair. Her breath caught in her throat. He turned to her, flour smeared on his cheek. 'Avaria!' He hurried over, tucking a bud of lilacs behind her ear. 'We've been waiting for you, love.' He kissed her sweetly and she giggled. 'You could have told me, silly,' She brought a hand to his face, kissing him back as love filled her heart. He took her hand and lead her over to the counter.

Ava opened her eyes, the familiar sight of her room washing over her. She sighed, rolling onto her back. Out of habit, she reached out her hand blindly to grasp for her mother's music box. Only... It wasn't there. She groaned. Right. Vader. Well, she knew she was feeling too melancholy to sleep with out it. So she did the one thing that would help. She sat up and slipped on her shoes, not bothering to change out of her pajamas. She left a note on her pillow, telling her dad she was having nightmares and was going to Vader's house.

She snuck out and within fifteen minutes had crawled into his bedroom window. She was relieved the music box was in plain sight. She wound it up again and slipped under the covers, settling in with a content sigh between Vader and the wall.

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader had been struggling to sleep even over the holidays, with all the stresses of school gone, Vader had assumed that like always he would end up sleeping well, but for some reason sleep had been difficult, some nights it took him hours to fall asleep. He would toss and turn, read a chapter of a book, mess around with his camera and eventually use Ava’s music box to help him sleep. It worked most of the time but not others. He knew that he would need to only use it when desperate so that he didn’t just get used to it. That night it had taken him a long while, the anxiety of breaking up with Isabelle the next day weighing heavily upon his mind. But eventually after using the music box to help him sleep, knowing he would need to be as awake as possible for that, he had managed to sleep.​

​

It wasn’t long into him falling asleep that he was stirred awake, with a new weight on his bed, the music box was playing again, but it wouldn’t be Padme, she was having a sleep over in Leia’s room. If it was them he’d have felt the weight of the two of them on the bed, but it was just one. Despite his better judgement, knowing that sleep slipped away from him if he woke up after even the smallest amount of sleep he opened his eyes blearily, noting the blonde next to him, ”Oh, hey Ava,” he spoke tiredly, his voiced ladened with sleep. ”You okay?” he asked, figuring that if she’d come to him without warning that something was a little wrong. He let his eyes close briefly as he let out a contented tired sigh. The music could maybe help him get back to sleep but he just wanted to be sure she was alright first.​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava opened her eyes again. "Sorry to wake you," she murmured. "I just... Didn't want to be alone." She decided on. It was true. She rolled and cuddled into his side. "I had a really good dream. About my mom and grandma. And Philip, only he was sweet and kind. But I woke up and I was alone." She shook her head. The feeling of hopelessness was sneaking back up on her and she hated it. Her eyes watered and she buried her head in his chest to try and hide it.

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader hummed lightly, shifting a little on his bed to accommodate her and how close she wanted to physically be. He listened as she spoke about her dream, he was a little surprised that what had brought her here had been a good dream, that she had been dreaming about something good. He nodded a little, ”You aren’t alone Ava,” he told her softly, his voice sleep ladened, shifting tiredly in his position to gain more comfort and fall asleep easier. He couldn’t understand how hard it might be for her, since had never experienced that sort of loss. He had never really lost anyone. He also could figure that maybe a little of this was because Vader had the music box and not Ava, ”You can take the music box back if that helps you feel better when this happens,” he said to her, his eyes were closed and he was still trying to ensure he fell back asleep, ”I need it tonight, but you can just stay here tonight and tomorrow you can have it back,” Vader told her, he was rambling a little, his voice rough and low and an almost distance to it where he was saying things without much of a filter or thought to what the words were.​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava sniffled, but nodded as Vader told her she wasn't alone. She knew that. She laughed lightly. "No, I like this better. The music box helps a little, but I usually just cry myself to sleep." She admitted softly. She pulled the blanket up tighter over her shoulders, laying a hand on Vader's chest to feel his heart. Her eyes started to flutter shut, soothed by his warmth. "Mmmm, I love you Vader," she reminded him.

 

[Vader Hume]

”No. No crying,” the boy replied tiredly, ”Come here,” he told her but he felt the blankets around them shift a little and the hand placed upon his chest. He leaned in towards her and hummed in agreement, ”Love you too,” he spoke without even thinking, there was no need, he just loved her without it really crossing his mind as something that was true. He did love her, not in the way his parents thought, since they kept referring to Ava as his girlfriend no matter how much he insisted his girlfriend was Isabelle, though they mostly were happy that he had a girlfriend. He was surprised that despite his difficulties that night at getting to sleep and being woken up, he found himself lulled back to sleep with her familiar presence and the soft music box still playing in the background. ​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava murmured softly, quickly being lulled to sleep by the warmth of Vader next to her and the sound of her mother's lullaby. Before she knew it, everything was much too bright. She groaned, scrunching her nose and turning away from the light, burying her face in the pillows. She yawned, snuggling down deeper into the blankets. This was so comfy. It took her several minutes to realize she wasn't actually in her bed. Probably because she wasn't alone. She groaned, thinking. Where...? Oh, right. She was in Vader's room, she'd snuck out to come see him last night. She didn't mind. She snuggled closer to the boy and tried to fall back asleep.

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader stirred slowly as the light streamed in the room, and a body shifting next to him. He opened his eyes and was for a moment confused about the second lot of blonde hair in his bed, before the memories of the night before came rushing back. He groaned heavily, remembering what he had to do that day, in a few hours. Isabelle. He looked back down at Ava and hoped he didn’t wake her, but her shifting had woken him slightly. He could hear his parents stirring about the house. He let out a long sigh, rubbing his eyes with his free hand, he knew he needed to do it, but the thought of it gave him such deep anxiety. He looked down at Ava and sighed, ”I’m breaking up with Isabelle today,” he spoke quietly, almost hoping that she was still asleep and therefore might not actually hear him. ​