Hearts On Fire

Sweetest Devotion

Imagine Person A hugging Person B and feeling their heartbeat on their chest.

The apartment door slammed shut, the sound of footsteps on tiled flooring and the rustling of paper bags swept through the space.

"Hey, they didn't have that chicken thing you like, so instead I..." Danny trailed off upon entering the living room.

Jessica was tightly curled into the corner of her leather couch, her eyes were swollen bloody red and she was quivering uncontrollably. Tears poured harshly down her flushed cheeks as she tried to stifle her sobs; she wasn't expecting him for another half an hour.

"Jessie?" he breathed, feeling his face straighten and his heart drop. "Jess?"

Danny let the bags fall to the floor and hurried over to her. He knelt down in front of her and opened his arms, she collapsed forwards onto him, her legs remaining crossed in between them, and began to cry uncontrollably. Danny held her tightly, keeping his hands firmly in place, flat on her back. They stayed this way for what felt like hours. Jessica pressed her eyes into his shoulder and her tears quickly drenched his shirt, her nose ran unceremoniously and her breathing became increasingly erratic.

Danny said nothing but held her firmly, his head over her shoulder, staring at the back of the couch and trying to fathom what could have caused her to get into this state. Her heart was springing out of her chest and into his and she took great gulps of air, trying to regain control but failing to do so every time.

A considerable amount of time passed and the scene had not changed. Danny eventually prised her off him, held her shoulders in his hands and stared into her face.

"Jess, honey," he said gently. "You need to take some deep breaths before you hyperventilate."

Locking eyes with her love, Jessica took a deep, shaky breath in and released it slowly, repeating the action a few times until her breathing had slowed and Danny could begin to unravel the situation.

He stroked her sweaty hair back and wiped her eyes and underneath her nose with his hands. Jessica started to hiccup as Danny rubbed his hands soothingly up and down her arms, waiting patiently until she was ready to speak. Stray tears still trickled down her sticky cheeks, but she was considerably calmer than she had been when he found her.

"Jessie?"

Danny bent and kissed her trembling knee.

"It's Shura," Jessica said determinedly.

Her bottom lip began to quiver and threatened another outburst but, noticing this, Danny took her hands in his and gave them a reassuring squeeze.

"Her...divorce came through t-today," Jessica's voice broke and her face flushed red once again and she completely broke down.

Danny wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up and onto her feet. They stood bound together and he held her tighter than he'd ever held anyone in his life. She wailed in grievance and clung to the back of his shirt so tightly Danny was convinced the material would tear.

"She's my baby," Jessica choked into his chest. "She's my little girl."

"I know sweetheart, I know," Danny soothed. "You need to take a few more of those breaths for me, Jess."

Jessica pulled away and breathed deeply. She sat on the floor, leaning back against the couch and pulled Danny down with her. He immediately wrapped his arm around her shoulders and took her hands in each of his. He kissed her temple as she closed her eyes to breathe. After a few moments of silence, Jessica spoke:

"I just feel so guilty, you know?" her voice was still shaky but her need to cry had been lifted.

"What have you got to feel guilty about?" Danny asked. "You've been right with her through it all."