Quiet Kiss of Dawn

Iris's full-bodied jolt is what woke BT. His groggy mind was still half in sleep as he glanced to his left, watching as Iris suddenly flew from the bed and raced toward her apartment door. The frantic way she moved forced him into full wakefulness, watching as she slammed her body against the wood and started checking and double-checking that all of the locks remained in place.

"Iris?" he called calmly as he slid out of the bed.

It was like she didn't even hear him, her hands now resting on the door as she muttered to herself in breathless whispers. The panic that she had spun herself into left her entire body shaking, hands trembling on the solid door as though making them an extra means of reinforcement. She kept her pressure, even though they shook. Her upper back was so tight that he could see the shape of her scapula from the tension through her shirt.

"Iris," he tried again, taking slow steps toward her around the foot of the bed.

When no answer came, he reached out for her carefully and touched her shoulder with the barest caress of fingertips.

It was the contact that finally broke her from her moment, a shriek disrupting the silence of the room as she spun around and slapped aside his hand with more force than he was expecting. The look on her face was one of absolute terror. Back connecting with the door, it rattled upon impact. BT's hands immediately lifted in surrender, his heart hammering at the sudden change in her demeanor.

"Iris! It's BT! It's okay, it's me!" he assured quickly, erratically patting at his chest and waving his hands in front of himself as he desperately tried to wipe that look from her face. The sight of it directed at him made him sick to his stomach.

It took a moment longer, but her expression began to soften. The terror was replaced with tears. Her eyes glistened with them, brows drawing down as she finally dawned on what was happening around herself. "I'm sorry," she breathed brokenly, her hands lifting to her mouth. BT rushed forward before she could say more, wrapping her in his arms and pulling her away from the door.

She shook like a leaf. The tremors quaked through her body enough that BT could feel them all the way down to her legs. She burrowed deep into his embrace until her nose pressed against his sternum, like she wanted to dig herself inside of him where she knew she'd be safe. Rubbing at her back or stroking her hair, BT wasn't sure what else he could do to offer her any real comfort.

"I've got you; you're safe," he assured quietly.

Her body jerked with a sob she tried, unsuccessfully, to contain. "Even in my sleep, he's there."

"He's not here," he whispered in her ear. "Just you and me, Iris. And I swear, he tries to get in when it's you and me, he's definitely leaving with some broken bones."

Her shaking didn't cease, but he was certain that it eased at least slightly as her weight pressed in against him. Continuing to stroke a hand across her back and through her hair, BT wished there was more that he could do for the tiny woman in his arms. He wished he could give her a night of peaceful sleep.

Just a few minutes in which her parents—and the fear that they had engrained in her—didn't exist.

Stooping down, BT swiped her legs out from under her and lifted her slight form easily into his arms. She barely made a sound as she was caught and carried, hands clenching in his shirt as she gazed up at him with eyes so heartbreakingly sad. Shuffling on his knees, he brought them back to the center of her bed and burrowed down into the blankets and pillows like the embrace of an old friend.

He kept her in close, pressed to his chest with his arms and clothes, her blankets and even a pillow were all pressing in on her to give her a cocoon of safety. Briefly, he worried that he might make her feel claustrophobic, but she showed now signs of increased distress.

"We're always going to be here for you, Iris. And you know that there's a safe place for you to stay with us if that's what you need. You're always welcome."

She didn't respond, but he could feel the gentle ease that was coming to her bow-string tension. "I want to live my life; I keep wanting to prove that what they did to me won't make me hide anymore. But then…-" her words choked off, her throat strangling against actually bringing up what they were doing to her aloud.

"What they did was unimaginable," BT started quietly. "And no one is going to expect you to just…walk away from it. No matter how long it's been since you've actually seen them, you've still lived with what they did to you all this time. However long you need to heal from that, you take it. In the meantime, rely on us. Whether it's to feel safe while you get a goodnight sleep, someone to hold you or even just tell you everything's okay—we're here."

Thin arms encircled his waist, and he could feel her entire body press in closer to his, from her ankles to her head.

"I feel like a burden to you. Everything you guys already have to deal with in your own lives and now I'm adding to it," she murmured mournfully into his chest.

BT's lips pursed, knowing that he could assure her that she wasn't a burden until he was blue in the face—that kind of insecurity needed more than just hurried assurances.

"After you and Barry met the first time, we were all talking about it—trying to figure out why you ran away. We were so worried about you because we knew that to have twenty-three soulmarks must have been…too much. We had each other to help make it through people not understanding us, both with the alters and with marks that were clearly all written in the same writing; we were worried that you had no one. We understand the fear of being a burden."

She pulled herself away from him just enough to look up at him, red rimming her eyes from her tears and the strangle of emotion that continued to rage within her.

"But Dennis said 'she has us'. And he's right. You're not a burden, Iris. You're…you're ours."

He stroked the hair from her face gently, offering a soft smile as he held her teary gaze with all the softness he had in him. "Thank you," she breathed out, finally closing her eyes as she relaxed completely. BT drew her in against him again, kissing her forehead and the crown of her head. The remaining tremors eased off as well, leaving her to lie against him like a limp pasta noodle. Emotionally wrung out and deprived of a decent sleep—it was unsurprisingly that she eased against him so abruptly.

"Get some sleep, Iris. I'll be here. We'll all be here."

Even after she had drifted back off to sleep, it took another hour or so for BT to grow tired enough to join her. He was half afraid that she would jolt up again, panicking and throwing herself against the door. But she was blissfully slack with unconsciousness, no longer tight with tension or fear. Sleep welcoming her back with open arms—even as she remained secure in his.

Powerless against his exhausted body and mind, and wrapped up in warmth from the small heater and thick duvet, he eventually drifted off.

It was Barry that woke with their soulmate wrapped in his arms the next morning, his cellphone's alarm blaring the usual annoying tone. His arms automatically tightened around Iris, drawing her in close as she heaved out a breath upon waking. "Turn it off," she grumbled around his chest, her nose feeling slightly chilly through BT's thin shirt from the day before.

"It's in my coat," he grunted back. Her little whine of unhappiness made him smile, waking up that much more from the adorable noises she was making. "Sorry," he breathed out, releasing her from the warmth of his arms in order to roll from the bed. The damn thing would go for two minutes—even when it stopped it would only resume in the next five.

"New rule in the apartment, no alarms," she mumbled into the duvet, the top of her head the only thing he could see once she had pulled it up over her face.

Barry chuckled at her actions, relieved that she seemed to have rolled into a state of sleepy contentment even after the day she'd had; and subsequent night, apparently. "I don't think either of us can pull that off for long, morning shifts and all." Resuming his place on the bed, atop the covers this time, he grinned as he pulled them down enough to expose her closed eyes. "It's nine AM, that's more than either of us usually get to sleep in."

Those whiskey eyes he loved so much opened then but still carried the glaze of lingering sleep.

He smiled in greeting. "Coffee?"

Her head bobbed tiredly. "I'll make some."

"No, no, no," he protested immediately, half-draping himself across Iris's body to keep her lying down when he felt the movement of her shoulders begin to lift. "Let me. I'll ask you if I can't find something, but you stay here."

The further support his decision, he tucked the sheet and duvet tightly around Iris's torso and legs, pinning her arms in against her chest. The woman immediately burst into giggles, unable to control the reaction as he went all the way down to her feet. Soon, she felt like she was wrapped up in a feathery cocoon. She whined half-heartedly, "Barry!"

"I got this," he assured, leaning over her carefully to place a gentle kiss against her cheek. It was pleasantly warm, flushed pink from her laugher and encompassing body-heat of sleep. He could even feel the lift of her cheek as she smiled, eyelashes fluttering against his skin like the tease of butterfly wings.

"Coffee's above the tea, French press is on top of the fridge." She sounded resigned, relaxing back against the pillows; moving only to adjust her head and give herself the chance to watch him. Still wearing BT's clothes from the day before, he looked so different from the time they'd spent together in the past. The tight t-shirt he was wearing revealed his arms, including some of the marks that Iris tried to ignore.

He paused occasionally, looking for what he needed, but he worked diligently. Once the water in the kettle was set to boil, the coffee prepped and waiting in the French press, he rejoined Iris on the bed. The sleepy appearance had eased and she looked at him with clear eyes and a peaceful smile.

"How do you feel today?" he asked quietly, reaching up to stroke a lose wave of hair from her face.

She blinked against the sensation, but Barry was relieved that his question didn't dull her smile. "Better. A few good hours of sleep definitely helped." It took some wiggling, but she freed her hand from the sheets and gently stroked her thumb along his jawline, grounded by the beginning sensations of stubble she encountered there. "I doubt I would've slept at all if you guys weren't here."

Barry's smile lit up his face like the sun. "You know we'll always be here when you need us. Or at the very least we'll be close by."

"I don't know if there's much I can offer you guys, but that goes both ways. If there's something I can do for you, please let me know?"

Drawing her in closer so he could rest his forehead against hers, Barry gave the faintest nod. "All we need is you, Iris, but I promise we'll let you know." She could feel the breath of his words against her lips, prompting a new flush to creep into her cheeks at the thought of just how close he really was in that moment.

Tipping her head just slightly, it separated their foreheads but caused her nose to skim against his. Meeting the brilliant blue of his gaze, she pause a moment to take in the various flecks of blue that melded together and created the beautiful shade. "I love your eyes," she breathed softly against his lips, the hand that had remained at his jaw lifting to trace the silky skin beneath one eye.

"You're stealing my lines, Sweetheart."

The giggles that his comment prompted were quickly swallowed when his lips came across hers, so warm and comforting. They both smiled against the other, hands cradling the other's jaw to keep close. Iris fought the tremble in her hand as her heart started racing inside her chest. Even though this was not their first kiss, it still felt that way. It was caused her body to thrum with exhilaration and excitement. The love for him, for her soulmate, warmed her chest better than even the sun was capable.

"I love you," she whispered against his lips, barely drawing back enough to get the words out.

His smile prevented him from kissing her like he wanted, from claiming her lips with the passion that gripped him fiercely at her words. He would never tire of hearing them.

"I love you, too."

The quiet moment between them was ended with the beginning sounds of her kettle, not quite whistling yet.

Barry parted from her with one more quick kiss smacked against her lips. Reaching the kettle before it started screaming, he resumed the task of making their coffees for the morning. Iris extracted her upper body from the sheets and adjusted the pillows to give them something to lean on—rather than the headboard. She had to direct him toward the sugar, remembering the last time he'd slept at her apartment had revealed his love for super-sweet coffee, but he was doing remarkably well on his own thus far.

Soon, she had a hot coffee cradled in her palms and Barry had resumed his place beside her.

"BT said you have work later today?" she started once he was comfortable.

"Yea, four until 9. Bit of a weird one today. Do you want me to come back after work?" She knew he was asking about the offer BT had made the night before. Have someone stay with her, or go and stay with them again.

Sitting in silence for a minute, Barry let her organize her thoughts.

"I think I'll be okay here. I won't answer any unknown or private numbers from now on. And I'm going to call Officer Montez; I don't know if what happened that night has to do with that phone call, but it doesn't seem like a coincidence."

Barry was nodding along, looking down at her hands—she hadn't noticed that she was spinning her cup nervously, the liquid swaying almost too close to the lip. She immediately stopped. "I agree. And I do want to offer again—if you ever feel scared or unsafe here, please call us. You'll always be welcome to stay in my room, Felicia's got a standing invite as well from what I've heard. You have other places to go if you want to get a good night sleep. Or just a few hours to relax."

She had never doubted the invites already offered, but it helped soothe any remaining concerns to have it repeated. "We'll see how tonight goes, but thank you." Leaning sideways, careful not to tip her mug, she pressed a lingering kiss against the corner of his mouth.

Instantly, Barry turned his head to meet her kiss properly. Her soft lower lip, slightly bitten from the nerves she'd endured the day before, was caught between his for a quiet moment of peace. He almost lost his composure when she parted her lips, but quickly changed her mind from any actions she was considering as she pulled back and ducked down to take a slow drink from her coffee.

Copying her, Barry took a long sip from his coffee as he pondered how he'd function as an intellectual person if she had gathered her courage to deepen the kiss.