A/N slightly mature content coming your way, you've been warned
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The aunties walked to the hospital with Ella in tow intending to drop her off, only to find Lisa on the floor holding an equally asleep Jennie.
Jisoo immediately smirked at the sight. She had felt guilty for leaving Jennie alone during the storm but now she just felt disappointed in herself that she hadn't thought of this plan herself.
Chaeyoung softly squealed at them, making a little hop as she did and immediately snapped a picture. She would show them later. Probably much, much later when she would be able to tease them about it. Chaeyoung just knew they were meant to be together and she had faith in the universe that it would eventually fix their fates.
Ella's eyes were bright. She had never seen her mommies hug like that and she decided she liked it. She looked at her auntie Jisoo and a mischievous look passed between them, like they were already planning the best way to do so.
"What are you planning, you two," said an amused Chaeyoung.
"Nothing." Said Ella, unconvincingly.
"Maybe we should just," Jisoo said.
"Come back later?" Finished Chaeyoung.
They slowly crept back out of the room and left them to it.
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Lisa stirred first. She was startled, they must have fallen asleep at some point and Jennie was still placed on her lap. Her face was buried in Lisa's neck, it made Lisa feel very tingly. She could feel Jennie's small breaths tickle her skin.
Lisa was very unsure if she should wake Jennie or not. This was a very compromising position, for one, but she was also worried that Jennie didn't get enough rest in all her panic last night. The night must have been emotionally exhausting for her. Lisa shifted a little and realized there was no way she could move without waking Jennie up.
"Mmm, Lisa."
Lisa tried to pull away to look at Jennie, thinking Jennie was awake. She was relieved for a moment that the decision had been made for her but as soon as she did Jennie chased her and burrowed her face deeper. Hands clutching her shirt tighter. Jennie's lips brushed against Lisa's neck.
Lisa suddenly froze. She realized Jennie was still asleep. She had slept next to Jennie for years and knew of Jennie's tendency to cling to Lisa in her sleep when they cuddled.
Especially when Lisa pulled away, Jennie would always chase her and now Jennie was doing just that and talking in her sleep. She said Lisa's name. She was dreaming about her.
"Lisa please. Just touch me."
Suddenly the air left the room because surely Jennie wasn't having a sex dream right now. Not about Lisa. Not as she sat on Lisa's lap and nuzzled her face in Lisa's neck.
"Please Lisa, I need you." Jennie mumbled.
Lisa's neck was very sensitive and she felt like she might burst at any moment because she could feel the faintest brush of lips and she could smell Jennie's hair and Jennie always smelled so good. In her internal panic she had not realized that Jennie had frozen too. She had woken up.
Jennie noticed she was curled into Lisa and immediately panicked because she knew just exactly what she had been dreaming of. She dropped Lisa's shirt from her clutches and scrambled up.
"Shit. I— I'm sorry Lisa. I- I didn't mean to fall asleep on you." She stuttered through. She prayed to all the Gods she knew that Lisa thought she was nervous about falling asleep on her and not about her little dream. She would be mortified if Lisa found out about it.
Lisa was just as flustered. Jennie had such an effect on her and it took everything in her not to pull her back into her lap. They were both internally panicking so much so that they didn't even notice each other's blushing state.
Jennie came to her senses first. Realizing Lisa had slept on the floor and immediately began to worry about her health. She snapped out of her flustered state.
In her panic last night Jennie hadn't even registered that Lisa had managed to get to her on her own. She could have fallen and hit her head or broken something or collapsed. Jennie hated to think about it. She was working herself up again.
"Lisa what were you thinking! You could have hurt yourself. How did you even make it all the way over here!" She raised her voice at Lisa but Lisa knew she wasn't actually angry at her, she was just worried.
"You scared me Jennie, I had to do something."
Jennie softened at that, "let me get Yong-Sun so she can check on you." She moved to turn.
"That's okay, I think I got it. Just help me up please?"
Jennie looked at her dubiously but did as she said. She helped pull her up and Lisa supported some of her weight on Jennie with her arm draped across her shoulders. Jennie's hand hugging Lisa's back. Lisa took her time walking to the bed even though she could go faster, not wanting to let go of Jennie just yet.
When they did Lisa immediately missed the contact but her heart was warmed as Jennie immediately began fussing over the blankets, fluffing Lisa's pillow and promptly tucking her in despite Lisa's weak protests that she was a grown woman and could do it herself. Jennie rolled her eyes and ignored her and continued fussing over her.
Jennie stood next to the bed once she was done, inspecting Lisa from head to toe in worry, she laid her hand on Lisa's forehead to check her temperature. Lisa involuntarily closed her eyes, enjoying the small contact.
"You look better," Jennie sighed in relief.
She suddenly realized what she just did. She abruptly snatched her hand back.
"I— sorry." Jennie managed to say. She was embarrassed because of the dream. She was ashamed that Lisa had seen her lose it last night and was afraid Lisa would be angry for touching her. Jennie had no right to.
Lisa could see the turmoil in Jennie's eyes and it reminded her they still needed to talk about last night.
"Sit down, Jennie."
Jennie internally prepared herself, this was it. This was when Lisa was going to tell her she never wanted to see her again. That she crossed a line. Jennie wanted to cry.
"Jennie, what happened yesterday? I've never seen you panic like that in my life. You worried me."
Jennie sighed. She wasn't expecting Lisa to ask her that.
"I just don't really like thunderstorms." She answered vaguely.
"I know, I gathered that but why? Why thunderstorms. Is it always like that?"
"Last night was especially, difficult but yes it usually is like that. Usually I can just curl up with Ella or the girls and calm down, it's never been that bad since the first time it happened."
"Jennie I know there's something you're not telling me."
Jennie sighed, sometimes she hated that Lisa still knew her so well. She didn't want Lisa to feel guilty. She knew Lisa so she hadn't wanted to admit that she had so much trauma from that night of the accident that she couldn't handle a simple thunderstorm without freaking out.
She had almost flipped her car once when she had been surprised by a storm while driving and flinched so hard she lost control of the car. Ella had been in the car with her. She wouldn't forgive herself for months for being so weak that she had put her own daughter in danger. It just added to her list of fears associated with them.
"I don't want to hurt you even more Lisa. I know you. Just drop it please."
"No, Jennie. I won't, you were a mess last night. What if I hadn't called you back to talk! What if you had been driving! What then? You need to talk about this."
"I have, to Jisoo and Rosie."
"Jennie." Lisa warned, her voice low.
Jennie would never admit that Lisa actually had the capability of being intimidating, but right now she was very much so.
"Jennie Ruby Jane!"
"It's because of your accident okay!! I'm scared of them because that's when I lost you! When I almost lost Ella. It was thundering the whole night and I almost died myself and I almost lost the two most important people in my life! Well, I did lose one didn't I?" She said derisively, because she no longer had Lisa. "I fucking hate them. I'm terrified of them. If it wasn't for the storm would we even be here right now? So far apart. You looking at me like I'm a stranger. I can't stand it." Jennie was sobbing.
Lisa immediately tried to pull her in and it made Jennie flinch even more because she always did this. She always put everyone else first and Jennie didn't feel like she deserved it anymore.
"No Lisa, don't."
Lisa was a little shell shocked because never in her life had Jennie refused her touch. Lisa's face hardened. Of course, her husband. Lisa had managed to get into this bubble of thinking he didn't exist for a moment.
"I don't deserve you Lisa. I don't deserve your comfort. I'm. I—I think I should go." Jennie rushed out of the room trying to hold back tears.
She left a shocked Lisa behind, whose heart was clenching painfully.
Jennie hated herself for it. She was hurting her again and it was all her fault.
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Jennie ran smack into Rosie in the hallway on accident because she was sobbing too hard she didn't notice her.
Jisoo and Chaeyoung looked at each other confused. Communicating silently as if to say what the fuck just happened. Everything had been fine a few hours ago.
Thankfully, Ella had been with Yong-Sun, sometimes Yongsun took her when she did her rounds and they played like Ella was her assistant so she hadn't witnessed Jennie fall apart.
—————
Jennie stopped coming to drop Ella off.
It was usually Jisoo or Rosie that did it and they would usually stay with Lisa for a few hours just to hang out.
Lisa got very close to the girls. Besides Jennie, Lisa had no one. Lisa wasn't even sure if she had Jennie anymore.
She found out they had been there for Jennie all those years and that they had been her rock. Jisoo had even lent Jennie her credit so she could buy a car to get to work, and Chaeyoung would cook and drop off food for them every chance she got to make sure they ate well. They had even offered for Jennie to move in with them to lessen the strain.
They slowly had filled Lisa in on Jennie's financial situation at the time. She was shocked to find Jennie had never graduated. That she had needed to drop out of school just so she could support Ella. It crushed Lisa because Jennie had been semesters away from achieving her dream.
She was incredibly glad she had gained new friends, and they filled her in on what she had missed. Still, she missed Jennie. She hadn't seen her in two weeks. She was about even about to be discharged because she had recovered so well.
It had been so long since she had seen her that she stopped hoping Jennie would come. She figured Jennie started avoiding her because of their closeness that night. She figured Lisa had crossed the line with Jennie. She was married after all. Lisa shouldn't have held her like that.
A few days before she was supposed to be let out, though, Jennie had come to visit.
"Hey Lisa, can I come in?"
To say Lisa was shocked to see her would be an understatement.
"Yes of course." Lisa tried to keep her voice from shaking.
"The girls told me you were getting discharged, I'm glad." Jennie gave her a genuine albeit sad smile. She knew she would never again have an excuse to touch Lisa ever again. She may see her as they raise Ella, but she would no longer be able to take care of her Lisa. What she was about to do would be her last act.
"Yes," Lisa said with a soft smile, "I can finally walk properly. Though I still have to keep coming back for P.T."
"Moonbyul said she's never seen anybody recover so fast, must be that dancers body." Jennie let slip, clearing her throat a bit.
They both knew how Jennie felt about Lisa's dancing and it usually led to some not-so-wholesome times on every inch of their apartment.
"Anyway, I just came by to give you this."
Lisa looked down curiously, it was a set of keys and a stack of papers.
"What's this?" Lisa raised an eyebrow.
"It's the keys to our old loft apartment and your studio. The paperwork is just the deed to both and the info to your savings account."
"You kept them?" Lisa said bewildered, "the studio too?"
"Of course Lisa. It's your studio. I wasn't gonna let it go. I tried to keep it open for a while, Bambam helped but you know he eventually had to move back to Thailand so I had to shut it down. I don't have your photography skills and I didn't know if I could bear to hire anyone to manage something of yours, but all your stuff is still there of course and you own the building now."
At that Lisa's head snapped up, "what do you mean I own it?"
"I bought it, the apartment too, it's under your name."
"Jennie no I can't accept this, it's too much."
"Lisa stop, I used some of your settlement money from the wreck to buy them and the rest is in your savings account. I didn't touch any of it except to do that. I figured you'd be okay with helping Ella have a place to live. It's your money, I only held it for you."
"Jennie, I can't live in that apartment knowing you and him—"
"He's never lived with us. It's mostly the same as when you and I lived there. Except there's a little added Ella touch now." Jennie smiled.
Lisa didn't know what to say so Jennie continued.
"Please Lisa. Just let me do this one last thing for you. You took care of me back then. Let me return the favor so you can get back on your feet. You can open up your studio again, get your life back. I know everything is fucked up right now but to me your still my only family. I won't take no for an answer."
"Jennie, I—." She couldn't believe it. After everything Jisoo and Rosie had said about Jennie stuggling, the knowledge that she used the money to help Lisa when she wasn't even sure she would wake up had her reeling.
"I said no Manoban. I'll pick you up with Ella and drive you there myself the day you get discharged."
And with that Lisa watched her walk out like she owned the damn place.