Golden Hour || Robert 'Bob' Floyd x OC

glimpse of relief

A/N: Hi! Just popping to say this chapter is set after the movie, so it is a future!fic. Enjoy!

After the mission, Bob had nightmares.

Abby would wake up in the middle of the night to an empty bed and Bob's glasses gone from the nightstand on his side of the bed. He'd claimed it after the mission, spending most nights at her apartment since then.

It was one of those nights, the only exception being that Abby woke up before him. Roused from her slumber by his tossing and turning, drenching their sheets in sweat.

She rubbed sleep out of her eyes and rolled over, placing a gentle hand on Bob's chest, hoping to wake him carefully.

He jolted awake, sitting upright, his breathing shallow and uneven. His dark blonde hair clung to his forehead, and Abby could see droplets of sweat running down his back.

He looked over his shoulder, chest heaving, eyes slightly unfocused as he met her gaze. Abby didn't know if she read him right, but he looked almost relieved to find her awake.

She sat up and bumped her shoulder lightly against his. "What's going on in that brain of yours?"

He looked down at his hands, where they rested in his lap. "I didn't think they were going to make it."

Abby nodded, not knowing exactly how to respond to that. She'd been in the operations room, listening to everything as it happened. She had been so relieved that Bob was okay and coming back to the ship. To her. She had only managed to be happy for a few brief minutes before Maverick went down, and Rooster followed.

She'd felt so helpless in that room.

When they returned to base, Abby called her mom and broke down in tears of terror and relief, telling her what little she could about the mission. It was also the first time she mentioned Bob to her mom.

She felt helpless now, sitting next to the man she loved as he wrung his hands, trying to let the nightmares go.

For someone who made a career out of being helpful, this was one of the worst feelings in the world.

She placed her head on his shoulder, listening as his breathing evened out and settled back to normal. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up."

Abby sent Bob into the shower to rinse the sweat off while she got to work stripping the bed and putting fresh sheets on.

She put the dirty sheets in the hamper just as Bob came out of the bathroom. His hair was damp, and his glasses were slightly fogged from the heat in the room. He wore clean boxers and pajama bottoms.

Abby smiled and met him by the bathroom door. Some of the tension had left his shoulders, and the flush on his chest no longer had anything to do with the nightmare. At least, she hoped so. He smelled like freshly cut grass and home.

She wrapped her arms around his naked torso, placing her cheek against his chest and listening to the sound of his steady heartbeat. She felt the muscles in his back ripple and move under her palms as his arms engulfed her body in a hug.

His lips placed a gentle kiss on her hair, and it felt like he was comforting her, not the other way around.

"I'm sorry I woke you up," he whispered into her hair.

She pulled back a little, looking up at him, and shook her head. "No, it's okay," she said and placed a kiss on his chest. "I'm sorry you're having nightmares."

Abby swore she felt his entire body tremble for a brief second. "Want to go back to bed?" He asked.

Abby shook her head again, letting go of his torso but grabbing his hand. "No," she told him and led him out of the bedroom towards the kitchen. "We're having tea and talking about this."