Vulnerability was not something taught in the King household. Her mother had said something as horrid as vulnerability could make Iris look weak, and in the world, people jump at the opportunity to cut someone down at the first sign of weakness. She was right, of course. Iris had seen many of her friends expose a flaw, something weak or intimate about themself, and she had just as soon watched others tear them to shreds in an instance. She herself had even been known to behave in such a way - which may or may not have been the other thing her mother had taught her.
But Dominik Blair cared not for what others thought of him, and little seemed to ever effect him. Where Iris King was built upon a facade that she kept up so no one could ever cut her down, Dominik Blair simply couldn’t be cut down. And she envied that slightly more than she hated him.
Yet here she stood, as vulnerable as she could get, crying in front of a man she’d hated for a good portion of her life. And even with such a high fight or flight instinct with Dominik, her body would do neither, and she could only hear his attempts to ease her worries. It was bizarre to be standing before him, and odd that he seemed not to care who she was and who he was, but just genuinely cared to make her feel better. Iris decided she didn’t mind this sort of attention from him, and it was an odd comfort in her current state of distress. It was short lived, of course.
It’s going to be okay. How could he possibly know that? She tilted her head up at him, and for a moment her anger almost overpowered her. But then there were those eyes again, staring down at her, and instead of whatever he was always looking at her like in class, there was something soft in his gaze, something that almost made her feel safe. Iris sniffled loudly and turned to look around the bathroom, because that gaze made her feel like her world wasn’t crumbling when it so clearly was, especially with the thing that was going to start growing inside of her. “This wasn’t supposed to happen like this.” She admitted, crossing her arms and looking down at the tile around them. “How am I ever going to know what to do?” Her question was honest and desperate, and the quiet sob that came out at the end certainly did not make her seem anywhere near calm.
Iris despised feeling out of control - and that was exactly what this little bathroom had made her feel. Uncertainty sat in the pit of her stomach, and her heart beat heavy as Dominik took another step forward. Despite her mind yelling at her body to step away from him, Iris took a small, hesitant step toward him. “You’re an odd one, Dominik Blair.” Iris almost laughed, which was a sudden feeling to have in the midst of crying. She let their eyes meet for only a moment, and she let herself show him an ounce of trust as she began to reach toward him. Even if her mind was telling her not to trust him, Iris wasn’t listening. She needed this. So, Iris wrapped her arms around his waist, and pressed her tear stained face against his chest. And in some vain attempt to maintain control of the situation, she offered a muffled threat from against Dominik’s chest,
“If you tell anyone that I cried on you - I’ll castrate you.”
Dom was more than relieved as Iris wasn’t dismissive, as he so expected, but rather accepted him, and it appeared not to be so begrudging. It was noticeable in the way she let her eyes meet his, no matter how brief, contrasting the way her gaze had darted all over the place looking for a safe place to land, and this was more telling above any roll of the eyes, glares and stolen glances they’d ever shared. This felt pivotal.
He stepped towards her more confidently, more comfortably, to somehow assure her of his sincerity. That this wasn’t all just to mock her later in front of the school or through whispers within the hallways. It was clear she wasn’t used to opening up like this, revealing all her chinks in armour and hoping no harm would come to her in return. He wasn’t used to seeing her like this either, but he found himself admiring her for it. Perhaps it wasn’t so much the fact that she wasn’t used to this level of intimacy but more so being used to the kind of hurtful responses whenever she, or anyone around her, tried that brought her hesitation. Flashbacks to her very public but unfair break-up came to mind, and it made him even more careful in his approach.
The room faded away when she stepped into him his embrace. He wrapped his arms around her, gingerly rubbing her back with one hand and the other on the back of her head, hoping it’d be reassuring. Until a sudden recollection came to mind, and Dom quickly lowered his hand from her head in hopes she wouldn’t realise he’d been stroking her hair with a hand that’d touched her own urine.
Could she sense it from the way his heart beat sped up a little? Dom was pleasantly surprised from the way she fit into him, as if he was made to hold her forever. He never realised she was so petite but he supposed that was the Iris King attitude making her seem bigger than she really was. And it came into action once again.
A low, throaty chuckle rumbled from the pit of his chest as he drew back slightly to look at her with a feigned frown. “You were crying? No, that’s impossible...” He said, voice gentle with a teasing lilt, whilst bringing one hand up to cup her cheek, wiping a tear with his thumb. “I must’ve missed it. Besides, I would have never have walked into the women’s bathroom.” Only Iris would make a threat in a situation like this and he hadn’t expected any different from her. Whilst his lips curled into a soft smile as an attempt to lighten the mood, a part of it came from being absolutely charmed by her.
“Hey, it’s going to be alright,” and this time, Dom believed it a little bit more. He wasn’t sure what changed in the last thirty seconds but he could feel it in his chest. “There isn’t anything the Iris King can’t handle. And even if you can’t, if you don’t feel like going to anyone you particularly like, then I’ll be here for you if you ever need me. Sometimes it’s easier to talk to someone you don’t really know. Or, to be more precise, hate.”