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After such a long time staying on guard, never not moving, Wallace finally allowed himself a moment to relax. He took several deep breaths as he let what had just happened sink in. They had won. The plan had truly worked. The Legendary Pokémon retreated, and Wallace smiled, letting out a joyous shout, barely registering the weak and shallow breaths of the man next to him.
"It's over, Steven!" He panted, grabbing and squeezing Steven's hand, interpreting the shaking he felt as adrenaline and elation over their victory.
"Yeah."
"We managed to contain the destructive energy with Regirock, Regice, and Registeel...mission accomplished!"
"Yeah..." Steven's voice was distinctly quiet, wavering in a way that made Wallace turn to him, seeing how pale and exhausted he looked. Typically that wouldn't worry Wallace, as Steven had a tendency to overwork himself in pursuit of perfection, but now...he looked dead on his feet. "That's...grea—"
Steven fell like a ton of bricks, Registeel's metal body clanging as he landed, the empty sound ringing out ominously. For a moment, all Wallace could do was stare at Steven's crumpled form, his heart beginning to pound erratically in his chest as he realised what was going on. Ignoring the jolts of pain in his legs and wrists he dropped to his hands and knees and bowed over Steven, desperately trying to work out what was going on, hoping beyond hope that his worst nightmare wasn't playing out in front of him.
"Hey, Steven," He said tentatively as he placed a hand on Steven's shoulder. His was bizarrely still, not even reacting when he was shaken with more force than was likely necessary. "Steven!"
Wallace became frantic, his head spinning as he called Steven's name and tried everything he could think of to rouse his fallen partner, begging and pleading and screaming for him to move, show some sign that he was okay.
Nothing worked, but he couldn't accept that. Steven Stone couldn't be dead. It was impossible.
"STEVEN!"
---
Wallace jolted awake, panic seizing every muscle in his body, leaving him panting and trembling as his heart slammed repeatedly against his ribcage like it was trying to break its way out. His clothes were glued to his body by sweat, mused strands of hair clinging to his forehead for the same reason, but he felt cold, warmth drained from his body despite the blanket covering his form.
Blanket. Pillow. Bed. It was a nightmare. Just a nightmare.
Wallace swore quietly in Sootopolitan as he shut his eyes again, rolling onto his back. Deep breaths, in, out. In, out. Beside him, Steven was snoring, deeply asleep after a long day exploring some cave or another. He was alive, very alive, Wallace told himself. What had just transpired in his sleep was nothing but a nightmare, and illusion that in no way reflected real life. How could it, anyway? He'd never seen the Legendary Golems in his life, much less during the recent legendary conflict. They had not been present, Steven had never collapsed, therefore what his mind had forced him to witness had no truth.
He clung to that thought as he rolled over again, facing the still sleeping Steven now. He slowly reached up, feeling warm skin on his palms as he gently cupped Steven's cheek, smiling as he let out a quiet, sleepy noise.
He had been truly exhausted when he walked into the house that evening, his pack filled with new specimens to investigate the next day. He would likely talk about them for hours while he did, which comforted Wallace just slightly. Steven would excitedly tell the stories of how he found each new rock, how Aron tugged on his trouser leg to get him to come look at something, how Beldum had impatiently glared at him until he moved, how he carefully carved each stone out of the wall of the cave, what he would do with it once he was done investigating it. Wallace would listen to every word, asking questions to get Steven to keep talking in that wonderful, elated tone he adopted when allowed to speak without consequence about his findings, or his favourite Pokémon. He would be alive and well, not still and lifeless like he had been in that horrific dream.
Wallace was broken out of his thoughts as Steven suddenly seemed to feel the soft touches against his face, pushing his hand away and grunting as he rolled over, away from the offending fingers. Uneasiness still flowed through Wallace and, tired mind desperate to know that he was still there, he moved closed to Steven and snaked his arms around him, burying his nose in the fluffy, silvery hair at the back of his neck and ignoring the tickling sensation as he breathed in, basking in Steven's earthy, comforting scent. He took everything in, feeling warmth flood back into his body and Steven's rhythmic breathing as he held him close to his chest. If Wallace flooded his senses with Steven, it would surely drown out the lingering terror from the nightmare, allowing him to sleep comfortably, without fear that he could slip away at any moment. This was real. Steven was real. Steven was alive. Wallace wasn't alone.
His anxieties sufficiently quelled, able to begin to drift off again, Wallace let out a soft sigh that tickled the back of Steven's neck enough to cause him to shiver and stir awake. Awake probably wasn't the right term though, as when he turned his head just enough to look at Wallace his eyes were still mostly closed, as if it was too much of an effort to try to open them anymore. Steven mumbled something, a short, messy jumble of sounds that Wallace assumed was meant to be his name. He smiled, learning forward to press his lips to Steven's cheek; or he tried to, they ended up landing closer to his temple.
"Get some more sleep, my love. We have all the time in the world to talk tomorrow." Wallace whispered. Steven didn't have to be told twice, and Wallace decided to take his own advice and close his eyes, confident now that his sleep would be peaceful, assured that Steven was with him, alive and well.
A hand gently grasped and squeezed his own. He reciprocated, tightening his embrace.
Wallace fell back to sleep with a smile on his face, his nightmare forgotten about for now.