The Eight Of Us? (Sidemen Fanfic)

6

Josh's POV

After I said good night to the three boys sleeping in JJ's room, I went to Simon's room. I walked in to see Ethan and Harry already in bed. Harry was wrapped in Ethan's arms. Simon was stood by his desk, doing something on his computer. I moved over to the two in bed.

"Goodnight boys, sleep well," I said as I bent down and kissed Ethan, then Harry. They both mumbled back their good nights as I stood up. I made my way over to Simon and wrapped my arms around his waist. He stood up fully and turned around in my hold to give me a proper hug. His head snuggled into my neck as I tightened my hold around him.

"Love you, Si," I whispered into his ear as I kissed the side of his head.

"Love you too, Joshy," he replied and kissed my neck. I know he is upset that he can't sleep with me tonight. I have quite a bit of work to do and I don't want him trying to stay awake for me.

"Now go cuddle with Harry and Ethan and sleep well," I said as I pulled away from the tall blonde. He yawned and nodded before making his way to the bed. He slipped in beside Harry and cuddled up to the smaller blonde. I smiled at the scene of the three. These are my boys. I turned to leave the room but stopped when I heard my name.

"Josh?" The voice of Simon called. I turned back and went and sat on the edge of the bed, next to Simon. "Do you think Riley will be freaked out when we tell her tomorrow?" He asked as he played with Harry's hair, who was already asleep.

"I don't know. I surly hope not, but even if she declines, our friendships should stay the same and she will still be welcomed to work for us," I said as I ran my fingers through Simon's hair.

"We're all nervous, Si, even JJ," Ethan spoke up from the other side of the bed.

"Really?" Simon asked looking rather surprised. I nodded. I lent down and connected mine and Simon's lips in a sweet, reassuring kiss. I pulled away and he smiled at me before cuddling back up to the small blonde. I then lent over and kissed Ethan with the same emotion. He was the one to finally break the kiss.

"Now get some sleep, the both of you," I said as I stroked my hand over Harry's cheek and then stood up.

"Yes, daddy," both boys said, teasingly. I rolled my eyes and turned away from the bed, hopefully hiding the blush that stained my cheeks. I turned the light off before gently closing the door. I made my way up to my room and began my work that needed to be finished.

Three hours later I had finally finished my work. I made sure that I saved everything before shutting my computer off. I took off my head phones and went to turn my lights off when a noise caught my attention. I stepped out into the hallway and listened. I could hear whimpering and sobbing. It sounded like it was coming from the guest room.

I quickly made my way to the room and peered through the slightly ajar door. Riley was laying in bed, thrashing back and forth in her sleep. Buddy was standing over her, licking her face and trying to wake her up. She is having an episode in her sleep. Buddy let out a soft bark, trying to alert someone that something was wrong and that he needed help. I burst through the door and over to the bed. I got onto the bed and picked Riley up so that she was in my arms. I made sure to hold her arms down at her sides so she couldn't hit me during her episode.

"Stop.... let go of me.... please..... don't," she said quite loudly. Not loud enough to wake up the others, but louder than her normal talking. She started thrashing more and kicking her feet. I lowered my lips to her ear.

"Wake up, Riley. You are okay, nothing is going to hurt you. It's just me, Josh. I'm here for you, but you need to wake up," I whispered in a soothing, calm voice. After a few more minutes of me talking to her and her thrashing and yelling, she awoke with a jolt. She was now full on sobbing. She tried to pull away from my grasp.

"Shh, Riley, it's me, Josh. You're okay. You just had an episode, but you are just fine. Nothing is going to hurt you," I whispered out to her. After she realized it was only me, she instantly clung to me. She was curled into my lap with her head on my shoulder and her arms around my neck. My arms were wrapped protectively and securely around he body. She cried for a while with me just rocking her and whispering reassuring nothings to her.

"I'm sorry that I woke you up," she said quietly, her voice scratchy from crying and yelling.

"You didn't wake me up, I was already awake, I had actually just finished my work when I heard you and then Buddy," I said as I kissed the side of her head, hoping that she wouldn't think too much of it, yet. Buddy was laid in front of us with his head resting on the dark blonde girl's stomach.

"Thank you, Josh, it really means a lot," she said as she cuddled her head into my neck.

"Not a problem. I know that you have PTSD, but you have never told us why," I said gently and slowly, not wanting to trigger anything else. She slightly stiffened in my hold. "You don't have to tell me yet, I just hope that soon you will be able to," I said and she relaxed once more.

"I'll tell you sometime soon, but I want to tell all of you at once so that I don't have to repeat myself. It is very triggering just for me to talk about," she said and her words drifted off towards the end.

"Why don't you come and sleep with me in my room tonight?" I asked, somewhat hesitant. I know that if she has one episode, it's more likely for her to have more afterwards. Plus, it may make it easier for our conversation tomorrow with her.

"Are you sure? I don't want to be a bother and I especially don't want to get between you and the boys and-" she spoke worriedly until I cut her off by placing a finger to her soft lips.

"It is completely and utterly fine. I would have been sleeping alone tonight anyway because of my late working," I said and let my hand fall back down to her side. "So will you join me?" I asked after a minute of silence.

"Y-yes," she slightly stuttered. With that I shifted my hold around the small girl so that I could carry her bridal style. "Buddy, come," she called without moving her head that was tucked into my neck. Her lips brushed the skin of my neck which caused me to shiver slightly. I walked out of her room and down the hall to my own. I didn't bother turning on the light and once Buddy was in the room, I closed the door softly with my foot.

I gently set Riley down onto my bed. She carefully got under the duvet and Buddy jumped up and settled at the foot of the bed. I moved over to my dresser and changed my shirt into a sleeping shirt, since I was already wearing sweats. I turned back to the bed and slipped in next to the somewhat cautious girl. Once I was settled, laying on my back, I glanced over at her and she seem hesitant. She was near the edge of the bed while I was more towards the middle. There was quite a bit of space between us as she was laying on her side. I moved my arm to the side and motioned her over.

"Come on, I don't bite," I said gently. I didn't want to pressure into doing anything she didn't want to do, but I also wouldn't mind cuddling with her.
She slowly wiggles her way closer and cuddled up to the side of my body. It has been so long since I have cuddled or gotten to hold a female, I know this might sound weird, but it feels amazing to be holding her close to me and showing her comfort. My arm wrapped around her back and rested on her lower back while my other hand ran through her somewhat short blonde locks. She sighed out, and I can only guess that she was content.

"Get some sleep, I'll be here all night and when you wake up and I'll be sure to help you through any more episodes you may have," I said and kissed her forehead lightly. She slightly nodded her head as it rested on my chest and her hand that was also resting on my chest slowly relaxed along with her breathing. And with the girl asleep in my hold, I slowly drifted off myself. All of the worries of tomorrow slowly slipped away.

Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed! Until next time, Ilya, bye!!!