Vents and the sense that came after [Cassius & Dominic]

Cassius felt slightly more tired compared to the day before, but it was surely nothing. Probably just the stress of everything happening and with the upcoming exams creeping closer. The fact that he was soon graduating from the university still felt unreal to him. He closed the book in front of him and gathered his things before he stood up from the chair he was sitting in. Cassius had spent the earlier half of the morning cooped up in one of the libraries in the city studying for his exams. Sleep hadn’t come easy to him that night, so he might as well have spent his time doing something productive.

Though now he had to get to the EFA HQ, he had agreed with Dom to come earlier, before the meeting, and then he had that boring party to attend later in the evening. Though now his mind was starting to clutter with the thoughts about that article, as well as every single possible outcome and consequences it could bring. It was all Cassius could think of as he walked from the library to Erast, and then through the streets towards the HQ.

The reason why he had agreed was because of the message Dominic had left him. It had left Cassius worried by the urgency he felt in it and clearly something had happened since they last spoke to each other. Perhaps that worry had been a part of why the trip from the library to the HQ had been somewhat in a daze, a hurry to get there, to see his friend and how he was actually doing.


Suddenly he was at the front door to the apartment, quickly doing the knocks he always did before entering. “Hey Dom, I am sorry if I am a little late, I lost track of time for a while” He said as he glanced around the room for his friend.

The sunlight streaming into the apartment felt like daggers stabbing into Dominic’s eyes. To limit his exposure to it, Dominic had placed himself in the chair at the end of the dining table, facing away from the windows. On the table in front of him laid yesterday’s newspaper, Irene Ford’s article mockingly facing upward. He needed to read it through one more time before the meeting started. But just like the article, his headache hadn’t vanished overnight. It was tough focusing on small printed letters when a pulsating pressure thumped in his temples. Every now and then, he would close his eyes and massage his neck or temples in an attempt to alleviate the tension, but it didn’t help. Instead, images of Gwyn’s teary expression or echoes of Edita’s last words to him replayed in his throbbing mind.

The guilt made his headache worse.

He was the only one in the main room when Cassius knocked and then entered. Cadmus was out in town, maybe on a job, Dominic didn’t know, and the refugees were in their room. As was standard for when an EFA meeting takes place, but the meeting was still an hour from now. Dominic had a thorny inkling that they were hiding from him. He had fucked up. He needed to fix that. After the meeting.

And after Cassius.

“Hey,” he greeted him, still glaring down at the paper, the letters flooding together before his eyes, “It’s fine. There’s coffee in the pot.”

He made a vague gesture towards the kitchen. He wasn’t drinking coffee himself. Instead, next to the papers stood a half-filled glass of water, he had tried curing his headache with. It hadn’t helped either.

Dominic wasn’t used to feeling awkward with Cassius’ presence, but he did so now. His friend had only gotten here earlier because of Dominic asking him to - he had sent him a text, asking if he would mind showing up earlier so Dominic could let out some steam to him about everything that was going on. But he had written to text when he had been at his lowest, right after the conflict, in a spontaneous attempt at reaching out, and he regretted it instantly the second he had pressed ‘send’. Now, he didn’t feel like talking about it at all. So, instead, he found himself avoiding looking at Cassius too much while trying to figure out what subject to talk to him about instead. If only his aching brain would work for just one second.

Cassius moved towards the coffee pot while looking at Dominic, his body language and movements, the expression he wore. While filling up a cup of coffee, Cassius observed everything else, the newspaper from yesterday on the table and the water glass next to it, the way Dominic seemed to glare at the paper, and how he seemed to avoid looking at Cassius.

Cassius sat down across from Dominic, the slight dizzying feeling lessened, and took a sip from the cup as he stared at his friend. He let the silence settle between them for a few minutes, letting Dominic get the chance to speak, even though he knew he would not take it.

Cassius sat the cup down in front of him, his hands still lingering around it as if he would pick it up at any moment. “Dominic, spit it out” Cassius spoke up. His eyes did not leave his friend, remaining steadfast on him. They both knew what Cassius meant, and hopefully Dominic also knew that Cassius wouldn’t back down until Dominic talked .

He could tell that his friend wasn’t doing too good. The tiredness seemed to cling to every feature on Dominic’s face, as if life had taken a paintbrush and put strokes of weariness here and there, especially around his eyes; it didn’t help that Dominic was glaring at the paper. The furrowed brows only deepened the tired and weary look. It almost made him look slightly old.

Cassius picked the cup up again, taking another sip before placing it down again. His hands once again hovering around the cup. Cassius' mind seemed to have taken a break from everything else that had been haunting it lately, as if to focus solely on being there for Dominic. A slight sense of relief at the quietness in his head washed over him. Although, wasn’t it quite selfish of him to be relieved over the quietness when his friend was suffering? Such thoughts were better left in the little box in the back of his mind. This moment wasn’t about him, it was about Dominic, his friend who clearly needed someone to talk to, whether he himself was aware of it or even wanted it.