You’ve already written 2, so if you don’t want to do another I totally get it... but for the writing prompt - Juliantina #4
#4 a kiss where it hurts.
Whoever said that doctors make the worse patients had clearly never met Juliana Valdes.
It’s not that Juliana didn’t want to get better, because she absolutely did, she just wanted to get better now. She didn’t have time to wait around while she healed, she was at the top of her career as a designer and meant to be celebrat\ing her three year anniversary with her wife. She didn’t have time to waste.
Of course, she also didn’t have time to be in a car crash but that hadn’t stopped the event from happening.
Her memories of the actual event were hazy at best. She remembered getting in her car, and the quick phone call she’d made to Valentina to let her know she was on the way home, and then nothing. The next thing she knew, she was waking up in a hospital bed with a worried Valentina holding her hand and trailing her fingertips up her arms. She remembered being in pain, but that wasn’t why she had woken up. Valentina had been crying and there was nothing Juliana hated more than to see Valentina cry. The desire to keep that from happening had been what pulled her out of what turned out to be a medically induced coma.
Now, just over a week later, Juliana was being rolled out of the hospital with a bandage wrapped tightly around her torso and her arm in a sling, holding her broken collarbone steady. Valentina was pushing her wheelchair for her, Guille walking beside them to carry their bags, and Eva pulling the car around with Lucia and Renata. Juliana was busy running the tips of her finger over her wedding band, her left-hand uninjured which meant she was thankfully able to put her ring back on. She’d felt naked without it.
“Good?” Valentina asked when Juliana settled in the back seat of her car, watching carefully for any sign of pain.
“Good,” Juliana reached for Valentina’s hand with her one good one. “I’m okay, Val.”
“I know,” Valentina nodded quickly, swooping down to press a kiss against Juliana’s temple before she retreated to the front seat.
The drive home was quick and silent, Juliana sitting tensely in the back seat while Valentina tried her best to avoid every pothole and bump on the way home. She knew Juliana was in pain, despite the brave face she was putting on, and didn’t want to prolong her suffering any more than absolutely necessary. Guille met them at the elevator that would take them up to their condo, ready to carry Juliana if necessary. Juliana refused his assistance, as Valentina knew she would, but she did let Guille carry her bag and leaned heavily against Valentina as they made the journey home.
After what felt like hours but was in reality no more than 15 minutes, Juliana was in clean clothes and settled in the bed she shared with Valentina, waiting for her wife to return with something to eat and some pain medication. She let her eyes slip closed, breathing deeply through the pain in her ribs as she waited.
“Where does it hurt?” Valentina asked when she returned, taking in the grimace on Juliana’s face. She carried a tray that held a plate with a sandwich and a glass of water, a little disposable cup holding Juliana’s medication.
“Everywhere,” Juliana grumbled, eyes still closed. She felt the bed dip slightly and a rustle like Valentina was setting something down before she felt her wife’s hand on her arm, rubbing gently. Juliana opened one eye and felt herself nearly break at the emotion on her wife’s face. She could only imagine how scared Valentina must have been and yet she’d been so strong through all of it. She never wavered, never left Juliana alone for long, never let Juliana feel guilty for putting her thought this. Juliana loved her all the more for it.
“Eat this and then you can have some medicine,” Valentina moved the tray so it was in Juliana’s lap, holding it steady for her. Juliana ate on auto-pilot, only finishing half of her sandwich. Once Valentina was satisfied that she’d eaten enough to not upset her stomach, Juliana swallowed the medication and washed it down. The relief wasn’t as instantaneous as Juliana was hoping, but the pressure eased slightly.
“Still hurt?” Valentina asked after she returned from taking the tray back to the kitchen.
“Just my ribs,” Juliana explained, “I’ll be fine once the meds kick in.”
Valentina hummed a soft response and slipped into bed with her wife. It felt almost awkward, Juliana was so used to having Val on her right when they were in bed that having her on the left side almost threw her for a loop. Valentina rested her hand gently on Juliana’s abdomen, the pressure and presence of her wife soothing her aches better than any medication. Juliana let her eyes fall closed again.
A few minutes passed and Valentina thought that Juliana had fallen asleep, but she could tell from her expression that she was still in pain. It would take a little bit for the medicine to work its way through her system. Moving slowly, careful not to jostle Juliana too much, Valentina repositioned herself so her face was level with Juliana’s rib cage. She lifted Juliana’s shirt with care and pressed three short kisses against the bandage beneath, one on each of Juliana’s bruised ribs.
“Do that again,” Juliana requested softly a moment later when Valentina had simply been resting her forehead against her uninjured arm. Valentina looked up at her curiously, surprised that her wife was still awake. “It helped.”
“Of course,” Juliana smiled down at her wife, lifting her good hand to run her fingers through Valentina’s hair. “Your kisses always make me feel better.”
Chuckling softly, Valentina repeated the process of kissing Juliana’s bruised ribs and then shifted to press a kiss against Juliana’s shoulder, and the tips of her fingers peeking out from the sling she wore. Juliana hummed a bit at the contact, her expression becoming more relaxed with each gentle kiss.
“Does it hurt anywhere else?” Valentina asked after she finished her trail of soft kisses. After Juliana nodded, Valentina asked “Where?”
“Here,” Juliana pointed at her lips, smiling softly. Valentina smiled back and lifted herself into the correct position to press a kiss against her wife’s lips without putting any of her weight on Juliana.
“Yeah,” Juliana kissed her again. “I love you.”
Valentina smiled, tears in her eyes as she replied.
