• MBTI Imagines •

(17.2) ENTJ X INFJ

2nd part of wHenReAliteAhItS's request

ENTJ (male) x INFJ (female)

60 hours have passed since the moment they unconventionally met at the tree. Well, roughly 60 hours, Mala has been losing track of it since she would unconsciously fall asleep and wake up at odd hours when the night has gone chilly and there is nothing that could be heard aside from the soft grunts Ben makes in his sleep or the heavy beating of her heart. 

Ben had thousands of stories to tell, but neither of them was his. He would talk about the people he would encounter at the public library and the lives they share with him at times. He talked about his friends back in school and how he was considered a smart-ass at times by his jealous classmates. But when Mala would ask specific questions about him, he found ways to shut them down. Sometimes he would change the subject smoothly or he would flash a smile at her and ask, "Is this your way of flirting with me?" 

Mala could not understand how she felt about it because, weirdly, it made her heart stop beating for a millisecond or that her breath would hitch at the back of her throat. She's not aware that she brings the same effects to him, as well. 

In this time of turmoil and endless deaths, they both are each other's silver linings. Who would have thought that in the arms of the enemy one would find comfort?

One night, as Mala is awoken by Ben's soft grunts from beside her, she does the unthinkable and scoots closer to him and hesitantly rests her arm over him. He visibly relaxes, prompting Mala to start rubbing circles on his back. 

Suddenly, he tenses and gasps softly as his eyes flash open in an instant. Mala notices the shift in him and she shushes before he could say anything. "It's just me," she reassures him in the dark of the dugout.

"Shit, Mala, I almost got a heart attack."

"I thought you might need a warm body."

Ben swallows thickly, his eyes blinking as they try to adjust to the darkness. He slowly moves a bit closer into Mala's embrace and even rests his head in the crook of her neck, feeling her soft skin and aimlessly tracing it with the tip of his nose. "...I do," he admits breathlessly, wrapping an arm around her.

Both their hearts are erratically beating against their chests. Mala's especially since she's never been this close to a man. 

But she doesn't want to push him away. Ben does not want to as well.

"You always seem like you're struggling when you sleep…" Mala whispers slowly, careful not to move too much for she might accidentally hit the man's wound. "Is it because of something you see in your dreams?"

"Nightmares," Ben breathes out, correcting her.

"Nightmares," Mala repeats. Saying that word sends a shiver down her spine. She gets nightmares, too, but she has a feeling that they are not as intense as Ben's. "What do you see in them?" 

He exhales heavily, "My sins."

Mala halts at that and Ben immediately feels her against him. "Don't be afraid," he continues, "they only hurt me, not you." 

"But still, I-"

"I'm used to them." 

"Ben," Mala whispers in a stern manner, "just because you are doesn't mean that I am."

"...You're too kind to me, Mala."

And with newfound confidence, she replies, "And you're scaring me, so kindly shut up and go back to sleep." Though in the end, it was Mala who couldn't fall back asleep.