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Matt's breath came in even, measured puffs of air against her cheek. Lying as close to him as she was, pressed together in a too small space, she could feel his heartbeat too. Steady. Faster than a normal heart rate, but not by much. Her own was racing. Fear was crawling in her throat, making her breath come in short, shaky gasps, as she tried to hear what was happening outside of their hiding place. Tried to hear if they were already in the room; The FBI, the police, Pointdexter. Trained agents and officers, who knew how to search a location for people and clues.
Though Karen couldn't hear anything, her breath came faster. How could they not find them? The stone sarcophagus must appear as such an obvious hiding place to them. She tried to swallow, but the fear made her throat close up. Karen could feel her chest heaving as she tried to take in air in great gulps, much too quickly. She tried to force herself to calm down, to keep her breathing under control, but the constricting feeling in her throat didn't let up and her breath came in short, quick gasps. Although pressed to the side, her hands shook. Her rational mind, the part that was somehow not completely engulfed in fear, informed her that she was close to hyperventilating.
She didn't even notice that Matt had moved until one of his hands wrapped around one of hers. For a moment her breath stopped completely as her eyes flew up to his face. In the near pitch black his face was difficult to make out, or maybe it was just that she knew his face so well that made her mind think she could even see him in this light. Her breath came out in a forceful exhalation, but was inhaled just as quickly. Her head was spinning.
Matt gently rubbed small circles over her knuckles. Karen realized her hands were clenched in tight fists, and even though she tried she couldn't relax them. The firm pressure of Matt's fingers on hers eventually allowed him to unfurl her hand from its frozen position, gently massaging each finger until he could straighten her hand out. He moved again, bringing her hand up to his chest, with his hand on top of hers. He gently pressed her hand over his heart, and although she'd already been able to feel his heartbeat through their proximity, this was.. different. Feeling his heartbeat this close it was as if it was telling her with each beat that it was alright, that she was safe and that she could calm down. The steady and strong rhythm was soothing even when she was so wired she felt as if every nerve ending was alight. She imagined every beat of Matt's heart saying calm-down, calm-down, calm-down. And then; Ka-ren, Ka-ren, Ka-ren.
The suffocating feeling in her throat let up a little bit, but instead a sob threatened to rise.
They'd almost just died.
She'd almost just watched him die, for her, again. She'd only just gotten him back, and already he'd almost been taken away from her again too many times. And she was angry with him, furious for keeping her and Foggy in the dark when he knew they would have been mourning his apparent death. Furious at him for trying to do everything alone, trying to push them away. Angry and hurt and scared, but oh, she'd missed him. She'd missed him so much her body had ached. Missed him as if there was an open wound inside her chest screaming for him. Even when she'd known he was still alive, even when she'd seen him again, she'd still missed him. Missed the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled. The way he'd touch her arm or her back, as if to let her lead him, even when they'd both known he didn't need her to. She'd missed all of him, and they were so close to losing each other again.
Her breath still came in gasps, and as if Matt knew what she was thinking, the hand that he'd been keeping on the stone wall behind her fell a few inches to land on her waist. He was still for a moment, as if to see if this new-old intimacy was alright, and then, if he pulled her impossibly closer to him, or if they had both moved on their own, with his hand just guiding her, until she was cradled against his chest, their enclasped hands still between them.
Karen rested her forehead against his collar bone, and let herself breathe him in. Underneath the blood and grime and sweat there was still him. His smell, his heart beat, his arms holding her.
A knot in her chest loosened, the wound closing a little. She'd missed him so much.