𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐆𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐒 ~| 𝘓𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘴

Iris

~'~

𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐈'𝐝 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐮𝐩 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮

'𝐂𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐰

𝐘𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞

𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐠𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰

‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿

Cassi

The storm must have rolled in sometime before dawn.

It wasn't the rain that woke me, though it pattered steadily against the windows, soft and insistent, but the thunder. A low rumble first, distant. Then a crack that split the silence in two. Not sharp like lightning, but deep, like the sky had come unstitched.

I blinked into the dark.

The room was still veiled in night. That strange, uncertain hour before morning, when the world felt more like a memory than a place. Usually, thunder didn't bother me. Not really. But this storm was loud. Too loud.

I reached for the blanket and found nothing. It had slipped to the edge of the bed in the night, leaving only the chill behind. The sheets under me were cool to the touch, and my bare shoulders prickled. I curled inward slightly. A gust of wind pressed against the windows. Another roll of thunder chased it, closer this time.

I turned my head.

He was still beside me, his shape visible in the low light, all shadow and outline. His back rose and fell in that slow rhythm of deep sleep, one arm flung carelessly over the pillow where I had been earlier in the night. We must've drifted apart sometime after I fell asleep.

My fingers found their way to his shoulder. I didn't mean to wake him fully. Just to touch him. Anchor myself to something warmer, steadier.

He stirred. A soft, sleepy noise escaped him. His body shifted toward mine, and I felt the brush of his leg against my shin. His breath was slow and warm when he exhaled near my cheek.

I stayed quiet, hoping it would be enough.

The loudest crack yet, sharp, brutal, right above us. It rolled through the sky like it was tearing something open. I tensed. Reflexive. My breath hitched. My heart kicked against my ribs like it had somewhere better to be.

He moved again, enough to lift his head slightly. "Mmm... you alright, baby?"

My throat was tight, and another flash lit the room behind my closed eyelids, followed by a rumble that didn't wait. Stupid storm. I didn't even know why it was getting to me. I never cared about this kind of thing. But now I felt too cold, too exposed, like the whole world was outside that window trying to get in.

He heard it in the silence I didn't fill. "C'mere."

He shifted again, slower this time. His fingers slipped down my arm to curl around my waist, gently pulling me down into his chest. The warmth of him bled into me all at once.

"There," he murmured, voice quieter now. Awake. "You're alright."

My face found the space between his shoulder and his neck, pressing in without hesitation. His skin was warm. He smelled like sleep and home. His other arm settled over my back, hand wide and heavy and still, keeping me right where I was.