[Topple they do, Ryou doesn't feel like staying upright any longer. He pulls Atem onto the bed with him, atop him, even. His grip is strong, and he even threads his tail around Atem's leg, below the knee.

One hand gently reaches up, pushing itself up into Atem's hair with slender fingers, trying to be of comfort.]

I'll stay here with you. Of course. It was stupid to want to go...

[Stupid to think that AM would somehow help Ryou with his punishments. Very, very stupid.]

I just...I n-needed to know...that I'd be...that I'd be...

[Fuck. No, no no. He's crying again, he can't stop himself, or keep the words from sticking in his throat.]

Hnn...I...couldn't hear a-anything past...past the darkness...

[He sucks in a breath that sounds so painful, so harsh, that he might have very well been in the hallucination again, struck over and over...]