"Hoping You'll Never Fade Away"
(tags: cardiophile, sfw, hurt/comfort)
V burst through the door, chest heaving as she clutched her bruised side, the brief contact making her hiss with pain. The door slid shut behind her, giving her some support as she slumped down against it.
Her heart hammered in her ears, glitches sprawled across her kiroshi lenses as the relic’s malfunctions shook her consciousness. Her chest felt so tight, the gunshots from just minutes earlier still ringing in her mind, like an echo that was getting louder with each repetition.
She leaned her head back against the cool metal of the door, her breathing ragged and unproductive, until the sound of someone's voice cut through it all…
“V? Oh my god, V…”
Judy emerged from her office, her eyes wide with surprise seeing her lover in such a state. It wasn't an uncommon sight to her, but the way it makes her stomach churn each time it happened never diminished its effect on her. The way her mind buzzed, the panic in her veins, it was always the same every time, no matter the fact she's lost count of how many times exactly.
V’s head followed the sound of Judy’s voice and a small, brief smile flashing across her lips. A small respite from the panic that flowed over her.
“Judes…hey…” her vocal cords strained, even more raspy than usual.
“Don't you “hey” me, calabacita!” Judy kneeled down next to the reckless merc’s side, noticing the way her breaths didn’t seem to be slowing down.
Judy shook her head, reaching out and placing her hand on V’s shoulder to steady her. The concerned techie leaned in closer, wrapping her arm around V’s back.
“Just breathe with me. We gotta get you calmed down…”
Judy’s hand shifted from V’s shoulder to her chest, pressing itself against the curve of her ribcage.
“Your heart’s racin’ like a hummingbird’s…”
She wasn't lying, it almost felt like it was fibrillating in her chest.
The relic had been wreaking all kinds of havoc on V’s body and every day Judy worried the heart she felt beating against her palm would stop.
V managed a small effort to speak, her voice still breathless as she held onto consciousness “doesn't…help that I have a pretty lady touchin’ me like this…ha” a small wheeze that almost sounded like a laugh escaped her lips.
Judy, if not for the situation, would've found the comment endearing. Well, she still did, she just wasn't gonna show it.
“Damnit, shut your mouth and focus on your breathing…we gotta get your heart under control”
She reached over and took V’s hand into hers, guiding it to its rightful spot between her own breasts, just over her heart.
“Close your eyes, calabacita, just feel…I got you.”
V’s eyes widened from their half-lidded state, feeling her hand press against Judy’s chest, her fingers curling against her bare skin as her palm pressed against her, feeling the steady beating just behind her ribs. Judy shivered as V reveled in the heat of her lover against her cold fingertips; a stark contrast.
Her heart was fast, and she could tell Judy was so worried about her, but it was still so much slower than the fluttering in her own chest.
She did as she was asked and closed her eyes, focusing on her lover’s heart.
Almost unconsciously, she leaned against Judy, her head nestling itself in the crook between her collarbone and neck, slumping down as she felt her breathing start to even out. She felt the same warmth of her beloved against her forehead as she nuzzled her partner’s clavicle idly, not realizing just how much this all was working to calm V down.
Judy had, though. She noticed the way that V’s heart had begun to slow as well, the individual beats were finally recognizable as it expanded and contracted more efficiently.
“There you go, just…like that” V’s savior said, her voice much softer, just like it usually is. The panic finally fading away into idle, slow breathing.
Judy closed her eyes as well, taking in a deep breath through her nose as the adrenaline coursing through her own veins slowly made its way out of her system. She tightened her grip around the back of V, holding her tightly against her, her voice shaking slightly.
“I wish you'd take it easy. One day your gonk ass ain't gonna be able to crawl up those stairs to me”
V let a small chuckle rise in her throat as she nuzzled her face into Judy.
“Missed you too, Judes…”
Judy rolled her eyes, her hand still firmly planted on V’s chest, still feeling every beat of her heart. Her own hand clenched against the rough fabric of V’s favorite t-shirt.
“Come on, V. Let's get you into bed” she said, almost physically moving away from the turmoil that these situations brew within her.
Judy slowly slid her hand from V’s chest up to her neck, caressing her cheek for a moment. She savored the rough, textured skin of V’s flushed face, her thumb idly tracing the sensitive mark of a past wound. She stood up, making sure to keep her arm around V’s back to offer support as she moved to usher V to the safety of their room.
The half dead merc almost fell forward while trying to stand under her own weight but Judy reacted quickly and steadied her.
V let out a huff of frustration, shifting her weight towards Judy reluctantly.
Judy, in a bout of her own frustration blurted “Quit bein’ so damn stubborn and let me help you” while she let out a huff of her own frustration, guiding V to their bed, letting her go on ahead to sit her down on the edge.
“Thanks, Judes…I'm sorry, I-”
“Quit apologizin’, I knew what I signed up for when I fell for your sorry ass”
Her voice, while stern, held no venom to it. Judy had a funny way of showing she cared, but V knew it all too well.
V smiled as she gazed at the floor before she felt Judy's hand on her chin. Her hand guided her face up to look at her face.
“V, I'm serious. I'm so…so worried about you”
V’s smile faded as another wave of pain washed over her, and not just physically.
“Judes, I…”
Before she could finish, Judy practically leapt at V, her arms wrapping around her tightly as she buried her face into the curve of her neck.
V’s heart immediately started racing again, at least this time it wasn't because of a relic malfunction giving her a heart attack. Her arms hovered behind Judy's back, taken aback by the sudden contact with her.
Judy’s breath felt hot and heavy against V’s skin, the way her face felt against her, feeling her nose smush against her neck. It made V feel…something she still wasn't used to. It always did. She’ll never get used to it, as if she'd ever want to.
She felt home in Judy’s arms. A place she didn't realize still existed anymore.
Her arms finally settled around Judy’s back, her hands finding their way down her sides until they rested at her hips. She held her firmly in place; a possessive grip, almost, like she was scared Judy would disappear if she let go. Like everyone else.
But no, she knows that's not what she needs to fear. The opposite, really. She's a dead man walking, but she'll be damned if she doesn't die happy.
“I'm…I'm worried too” V managed to utter before her voice cracked, her grip on Judy loosening with her realization as she slowly leaned back in bed.
With Judy still on top of her, she laid down, accompanied by a quiet creaking from the metal bed frame. She shifted slightly, guiding her dearest’s head to rest on her shoulder, Judy’s full bodyweight now atop V.
The weary merc felt the relief on her aching joints from laying down, a small sigh of release leaving her lips, Judy's head falling with the breath.
Judy’s head moved intently across V’s body, her ear finding its place on her chest, right over the heart she cared so much about.
Judy closed her eyes, focusing on the rhythm beneath her lover’s ribs, the way her heart would trip over itself, and then carry on beating again. It was like it was barely holding on, but it was still proof V was alive…alive and with her. It isn't giving up no matter how hard it stumbled, just like V herself.
She could hear the mechanical clicking of her Second Heart, something she got chipped at a ripperdoc. She always hated the sound of it. Like a reminder of the things V had put herself through to give her that edge in the merc world.
She ignored the inorganic nonsense and honed in on her real heart.
V lifted her hand and gently placed it on the back of Judy's head, holding it closer to her chest, moving her thumb to stroke the side of her head.
“Judy, can we-”
“Sh…I'm tryna listen”
V felt a particularly hard skip get thrown by her heart from Judy's words, the blood rushing to her cheeks purely from Judy’s love for her and her gonked excuse of a heartbeat.
Judy closed her eyes, her mind trying to make sense of the erratic rhythm in her love’s chest. Her hand reached up and rested on V’s collarbone, her thumb laying just where the dip was in the middle, a place where V’s neck pulse liked to poke out.
V knew this and her heart sped up a little more, throwing a few skips for good measure, stumbling over itself. Judy chuckled, nuzzling her face between V’s breasts and shifting her ear closer to V’s aorta. Her cheek now pressed against V’s skin as the dip in her tank top came down low. A small sigh escaped her lips as she sunk deeper into V's arms, almost melting against her.
“You know” she paused, taking in the moment with a deep breath in, breathing in the smell of V. The amber cologne, the gun smoke and sweat, the leather…everything that made her, her.
“I could stay here forever” she finally finished.
“I wouldn't mind if you did, to be honest with ya”
