when she shows up at his door in the middle of the night, dom wordlessly picks her up and carries her back to his bed. it goes without question: astrid either needed the company or had another nightmare. either way it meant that she was spending the night. heâs not stranger to this. not after years of friendship.
he has her lay on his chest, his fingers gently carding through her hair. he keeps his breathing slow and even to relax her. what she needed first was to calm down. dominic is no stranger to how wired these nightmares could have her no matter how ridiculous they may be.
âdo you want to talk about it, bumblebee?â he says gruffly, sleep still clinging to his voice. he wasnât one to complain about lack of sleep. not when it came to her. heâd gladly forfeit a few hours to make sure she was okay. âwhich nightmare was it this time?â
astrid never shares with people that she suffers from frequent nightmares. in fact, astrid doesnât share a lot of her perceived âflawsâ with anyone. that is, anyone besides dom. dom is one of, if not the only person sheâll comfortably let see her like thisâvulnerable. her cheeks are tear stained, and sheâs wearing one of his shirts she âborrowedâ a long time ago. she often wears his shirts to bed, because theyâre big, and comfy. sheâs got slippers on, but her legs are bare as she waits outside his dorm, looking up and down the hallway nervously, worried someone will see her sneaking into his room at such an odd hourânot that sheâs a stranger to being caught going into guys dorms late at night, or leaving early in the morning, but this particular guy has a girlfriend, much to her... dismay.Â
itâs easy, simply their routine; dom picking her up at the door and carrying her to his bed, where he lets her lay on top of him to calm down, head on his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart. it helps almost instantly, his warmth, paired with the slow, steady rhythm drumming beneath her cheek. his voice, then, too, helps somewhat. she wishes she could stay like this forever, but an ache in her chest reminds her she canât.
with a sigh, she shifts a little, tilting her head to peer up at his face, before moving a little further up to tuck her nose into the side of his neck. âthe one... where itâs everything... yâknow where my parents are disappointed in me because i didnât have a husband, or a good job, or a child and then i found out i couldnât have kids and they were even more upset with me and-â she cuts herself off as she feels the panic begin to return. often her nightmares are to do with his parents, and their expectations, and her letting them down, or her finding out sheâll never attain her dream of becoming a mother. âjust... the same really...â
