[ groundedvalkyrie ]
a breath was released against jill’s lips. the warmth seemed to be radiating in her chest, just jill was knocking a reminder into claire’s being that she had a heart like no other. that is exactly why she was the heart of the convoy, the leader. it’s why she led these people. it was here, in jill’s arms, that the reminder made itself present. even in times like these, jill and claire were perfectly capable of love. long fingers found their way upward, easily tangling in jill’s blonde hair. fingernails lightly massaging the woman’s scalp.
' i'm right… here. ' the words were whispered out; a pause in between them, because claire knew jill was right. the death, the decay, the apocalypse was breaking her and not even she could deny it when faced with jill. the one person she couldn’t lie to. head tilted to the side — for jill. a more breathy sigh was released, just like the stress was falling away.
jill shook her head. because what claire had said wasn't true. she wasn't actually present most of the time. and it frightened her. because claire dying was terrifying, but the idea of her losing her light completely scared jill just as much. she was in way too deep, but she knew she couldn't survive without claire to hold her up. and she was fairly certain the feeling was mutual.
hands slid behind the backs of claire's thighs, and with surprising strength, jill lifted her. she turned them and settled claire on the bed, dropping down with her just a second later. she tugged the collar of claire's shirt down, lips pressing against the top of her chest.
' your body is here. i don't know about the rest of you anymore. '
but she knew her claire was still in there. beneath the coldness and the distance, there was her hope. her espoir. all she had to do was find a way to bring it back out. or a way to climb inside of claire's ribcage and settle against where that part of her still remained. because oh, she missed it.
jill slid upwards again. her hands cupped claire's face tenderly. and in the dim light leaking through dusty curtains, she met her eyes. jill released a quivering breath.
' come back to me, claire. you know i'll protect you. '












