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“Hey, baby, are you asleep?”
Abby’s voice is a whisper to match the darkness of the room.
“Yeah” you mumble, full of sleepy sarcasm. You shuffle deeper into your blankets.
“Can I turn on the light?”
This makes you peep open one confused and bleary eye to look up at your girlfriend.
“Uh, okay?”
The giant room is suddenly flooded with light from the bedside table.
The open floor layout serves as a surprisingly large studio sized apartment, with a living, dining, and bedrooms in the same area as the kitchen. It's wonderfully packed full of found books and pieces of art that took ages to collect. You and Abby have lived here together for almost 17 months and each of you brought your own collections into the one space. Thanks to Abby's rank within the leaders of the WLF, the apartment is big enough for you both to create a proper safe haven for yourselves.
However it’s not always as safe as you’d like it to be, especially tonight.
It’s been extremely stormy this winter and today has Seattle bracing itself against winds coming from the bay and right against the stadium's walls. Fortunately, everyone was prepared for it. Like making sure the animals are safe inside and the crops are covered so everyone can hunker down for the big ocean storm. This storm has you and Abby having a movie marathon. While on a mission, she had found a bunch of intact dvds for the Stadium’s collection and was rewarded with a functioning tv and dvd player for the storm. You had picked out a romcom and a movie about “found family” while Abby picked out two scary movies.
Now four hours later, here you guys are, in bed, Abby's bedside lamp blinding you for a second.
“Mmnph, you okay baby?” you mumble. You close your eyes again, but turn your body to face Abby. The bulky girl has moved to sit up against the headboard. She’s breathing heavily and clutching the blankets in her fists. Her eyes are flitting around the room. When she doesn’t answer, you again peek up at her with one eye.
“Baby?”
“Yeah,” Abby says when you move to sit up next to her.
“I'm fine. I just couldn’t sleep. But you can go back to sleep, I’m sorry.”
“No, no, it’s fine!” you try to make eye contact with your girlfriend but it’s like she’s actively avoiding your eyes. “Abby baby? Did you have a bad dream?”
She looks at you from the corner of her eye. Your face is earnest and full of love but abby knows what’s gonna happen next.
“I, uh, I had a dream about being sucked into a black hole. Kinda like, like the movie we watched.”
Now, Abby's nightmares are rare. If she has them it’s either based on a book or movie she recently watched or the day at the hospital in Salt Lake City. Growing up in the apocalypse, your nightmares are usually the least of your worries.
Still you did warn Abby about the potential nightmares. She already had a messed up schedule because in the three days leading up to it, Isaac had her helping to prepare for the storm. But when you warned her about the scary movies, she brushed you off and swore she’d be fine. Now she was at the mercy of her know-it-all girlfriend.
Your lips twitch upwards. You lay back down and shift under the blankets until you’re back in your previous warm spot. You look back at abby.
“Am I allowed to say ‘I told you so’?” you smirk at her.
She rolls her eyes, but can’t help but feel comforted by your light teasing. “Yeah, whatever.”
You pout. “Hey! Be nice to me! I tried to warn you, you big baby! Now, come here and let me cuddle you!” you open your arms and Abby eagerly falls into them. She snuggles down into your chest. Your hands go up to her loose hair and comb through the waves.
“I got you. You can go back to sleep, baby” is all Abby hears before she lets sleep take her.
When you wake up, it’s to a giant tree limb slamming itself against the large stadium window. You jump in fear before you recognize the noise for what it is, taking a breath. Abby had you tucked against her chest with your head under her chin, so she feels you wake up. Her warm hands run up your back and she lets out a groan when you pull your body away from her.
“Sorry! I gotta go pee!” you apologize, practically running for the bathroom to keep the warmth in your body. Abby looks out the window. All of your responsibilities have been put on hold until the storm is over and you're going to take advantage of being able to lay in bed a bit longer than usual.
You quickly come back to bed and climb into Abby’s open arms.
“Did you sleep okay?” you mumble against Abby's collarbone. Abby's midnight worries are gone now that the sun is up. Well it’s technically up there, behind the clouds.
“Yeah,” she sighs. “Sorry about that.”
“You don’t have to apologize. You remember when I had nightmares for a week after we watched that killer doll movie?”
Abby snorts. “Yeahhh, that movie was fucked up”
“It was! And the black hole movie was also fucked. You don’t have to apologize… But am I allowed to say I told you so?”
Abby playfully squeezes you tight to make you giggle.
“Yeah,” she grins down at you. “You can.”
“Okay!… I Told You Watching That Movie Would Give You Nightmares.”
“Why’d you say it like that? Are you decreeing it?”
“Well yeah. You know I like being right. Besides, when you get scared I get to protect you so honestly it’s a win for me.”
“Glad my misery brings you happiness”
You respond to her grumble with a kiss.
“My sweet scaredy-cat,” you say against her lips. “I'll always protect you. Don’t worry” and then you give her another, longer kiss.