Gentle sniffles echoed down the hall, drifting into Noir’s ears; his light sleep disturbed. He knew who was sniffling. Illness or just overwhelming emotions, he didn’t know that bit. Grunting softly, he got up and stretched his long limbs. A trembly hand snatched the glasses from his bedside table, pushing them up his nose. He stood carefully, floorboards quietly under his feet.
“Sweetheart?” He carefully called down the hall. Noir reached the door he was looking for, knocking lightly. “Are ya alright?”
The sniffles stopped urgently. Noir heard the rough shuffles of blankets getting kicked away, soft thumps of feet hitting the wooden floor. Peni answered the door. Her face wasn’t clearly visible in the dim moonlight, but Noir was very well aware that her eyes would be red and puffy; her lips split from incessantly chewing them as she tried to quiet herself.
“Darlin’?” Noir questioned, voice calm.
Peni’s small frame shook with suppressed sobs. Her hands curled to grip at the empty air.
“Dad-“ Her voice shook, body trembled. Noir’s heart cracked. He gathered his little girl into his arms, cradling her tenderly.
“It’s alright, doll. I’m here now, I’m right here.” He ran his hands over her back, rubbing down her spine.
“Daddy-“ Peni choked out the word. Noir held her tighter, pulling her closer to his body. She sobbed into his nightshirt, tears soaking through. Her face nearly fully buried in his chest.
Noir kept one hand firmly on her back, the other running through her midnight hair. Peni’s hands clutched the back of his shirt, gripping onto her father like he was the only thing keeping her tethered to reality.
“What happened, darlin’?” He has asked once her cries subsided enough. He swore, if it was that bastard Miguel O’Hara again.. His monochrome mask would be the last thing that man would ever be able to see before Noir’s pistol would take him out.
Peni shifted in his arms. Like she always did when she was trying to hide something. “It’s.. it’s dumb.”
“Nothing is dumb, sweetheart,” he soothed, fingers gliding over her head in quiet, repetitive motions. “Not when it’s botherin’ you this much.”
A beat of silence passed, although it felt far longer than the few seconds it actually was. Peni shivered, tucking herself even further into her fathers’ arms.
“It was a nightmare, Daddy. I just- it felt so real-“
“What happened in the nightmare, doll?” Noir scratched his fingertips over her scalp.
“The- the Nazis- they came and attacked you- they.. caught you off guard..”
Oh.. Oh..
Noir squeezed the girl in his arms. “I’m right here, sweetheart. I won’t be going anywhere; those damned Nazis won’t be takin’ me out anytime soon.”
“I know, it just-“
“Felt too real?”
Peni nodded, breath hitching once more.
“I know, darlin’. I know.” His long fingers patted over her messy bed head. “It’s alright now. Nothing has happened. It’s all okay.” Noir kept his voice low, rumbling with the familiarity and comfort he knew his daughter needed right then.
Peni clung to him, even as he heaved the both of them up to carry her to bed. His own bed, this time. She held close as they crept down the hall once more, as they slid right under the covers.
Noir kept his arms wrapped securely around her, keeping his daughter close. He whispered a good night to her.
Peni fell asleep soon after that. Noir didn’t rest until long after her breathing evened out, until he was sure she was peaceful.
Then he slept.