A/N: I'm in a really bad mood at school thanks to my friends so this just happened. I really have a thing for sad Vince, don't I?

"Howard? Howard, wake up!"

"Mmm..."

"Howard, please."

"Vince, go back to sleep, it's too early."

"Howard-"

"I don't care about some stupid story you have stuck in your head," Howard groaned irritably, hating being woken up so early. Vince was a sucker for this; he'd wake up in the middle of the night with an amazing story or dream and wake Howard up, chatting excitedly.

The room fell back into silence, and Howard presumed Vince had fallen into slumber until he heard a few sniffs. He rolled over in his sleeping bag and turned to his friend.

"You okay?"

Vince was sitting up in his sleeping bag, knees drawn up to his chin and tears streaming down his flushed cheeks.

"Vince?"

"Don't worry, I'm not going to keep you up," the small man said bitterly, shifting so that he was facing away from Howard.

"Hey, don't be silly," Howard breathed as he sat up, moving closer to his friend. "What's up, hmm?"

"Nothing."

"Vince."

The mod shook his head, closing further in on himself. "It's not important. Go back to sleep."

Howard frowned. "I'm sorry, little man. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions." Pause. "But why are you crying?"

Vince said nothing for a moment, then mumbled "Bad dream." He let out a small sob. "Really bad dream."

"Shh," Howard soothed automatically, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Vince squeezed his eyes shut, tears leaking out.

"I dreamt that you'd... That you'd died." He said the last word almost inaudibly, eyes opening and looking scared. "It was horrible. I was all alone a-and..." Vince trailed off, another small sob escaping him.

Howard wrapped his large arms around his friend, tears filling his own eyes. Seeing Vince cry was one of the most unnatural sights and it broke the tall man's heart.

"Oh, Vince," he whispered, "I'm sorry. But I promise I'm not going anywhere, no sir."

"But-"

"No. I'm right here, okay? Death ain't coming for me any time soon. And if he does I'll go at him like a Northern bullet! He won't know what's going on!"

Vince smiled a little, relaxing into Howard's arms. "Will you sleep with me tonight?" he blurted out.

"Sorry?"

"Not like in that way, you know, just like..." he trailed off again, embarrassed.

"Of course I will," Howard smiled, lying them both down and wrapping his duvet around them. He pulled Vince close to his chest and pressed a small kiss to his forehead. "I'm not going anywhere. Don't worry."