It was always those moments, the brief transition between sleep and wake, when the brain takes on a certain —– Fogginess, that causes the bridge between the subconscious and one’s train of conscious thought to be intertwined, connected, suspended in this limbo with almost no control from the mind’s user. To Sportsmaster, this would be Krystal’s downfall. But to Krystal —– It would be her saving grace. She didn’t remember why she awoke in bed next to the other woman; perhaps she had spent the night, perhaps she had been having her notorious nightmares once again, or perhaps Jessica had attempted once more to drag her to SHIELD to be ‘fixed,’ the Crock wasn’t entirely positive, but —— All her half-conscious mind knew was that it was comfortable, she was comfortable ——Enough to roll over, rest her head on the woman’s chest, and murmur a sleepy “Ilove you, Auntie —- Momma Jess.” She was content there, for a moment. For the briefest of instants, all was at peace, but then Krystal’s internal alarm sounded, the beating of Jessica’s heart no longing soothing her but stripping her from her semi-conscious state, as though it were a siren blaring her awake. “What the fuck?” She hissed, jolting up from the bed and standing defensively in the corner of the room, hands splayed outward. “How the fuck —– Why the fuck —– I didn’t —–” Her words were incoherent, flustered with confusion and aggravation. She settled on: “What the fuck just happened?!” Before stepping away still, small of her back now pressed against the bedroom wall.
jessica knew enough about krystal, especially after the file leak, to know she had to have nightmares. the girl rarely slept as it was, made every excuse to not sleep, went and went until she wad on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion nearly weekly. the blonde might have liked to think it just looked like she was dedicated, a hard worker, but jessica use to--- did the same thing. she knew the signs. so she knew the girl had to have them but, she had just never experienced them for herself. never witnessed the after effects. at least she hadn’t until tonight. she had found the girl looking dead on her feet on campus grounds, bruised, and had insisted she come back to her apartment with her. forced her to eat, made her lay down. jessica’s heart had almost broken with relief when the girl had begun to drift into sleep. and it had seemed like it was going well--- until the nightmares came. that’s how the ex hydra agent had found herself in bed with her student, holding her tight with one hand stroking her hair, talking in quiet tones to calm her down. eventually it had worked, eventually, but jessica was too exhausted and--- too comfortable, honestly, to move.
maybe she had fallen asleep herself at some point--- either way the brunette had woken up to the sound of rustling beside her in bed. she could see a tussled blonde head of hair moving some and, had expected a snarky comment or sound of alarm--- but that wasn’t what she got. instead the girl had rolled over, cuddled up closer, and said something that actually broke jessica’s heart this time. i love you. mom. i love you i love you i love you. “krys---” anyone could tell jessica played favorites with students a lot. but krys was different. she had always been different. she wasn’t just a student, she was--- she was hers. it was obvious now. she loved the kid like she loved her own. krys WAS one of her own and--- “i---” and there was the reaction she had been expecting. fuck. throwing her hands up in a pose of surrender, jessica quickly sat up, heart clenching at the sight before her. “krys.” her voice wavered a moment, caught in her throat with feelings. she tried again. “krys. it’s okay. you stayed with me last night----” she raised her hands again, moving to sit off the bed, slowly. cautiously. let her know she had the power here still. “it’s okay. you’re okay.”
