Valkyrie (Complete)

21: Recovery

She regains feeling in her body slowly, over the course of several days.

By the third day, she can feel everything again. She can feel the warm, strong hand holding hers and hear their soft breaths. She knows just from the feeling that it's Phoenix.

The next day, she's able to squeeze his hand. His surprised gasp makes her heart flutter in her chest and he leans over towards her. "Val?" His voice is rough, like it hasn't been used in a little while, but it's him and that's all she cares about.

She doesn't reply, can't figure out how to make her vocal chords cooperate, so she just squeezes his hand again. He laughs softly to himself, mostly in relief that she's getting better, and kisses her forehead affectionately.

Two days later, she's able to open her eyes. Phoenix is right beside her when she does and his obsidian eyes are the first thing she sees. He brushes hair back from her face and smiles. She tries to smile back but the breathing mask over her face makes it difficult. She tries to squirm out of it, but Phoenix stops her. "Shhh," he murmurs. "You need that still. Only a few more days, okay, sweetheart?"

She leans back against the pillows in defeat, making Phoenix chuckle. "This might be the only time I get to talk without you saying anything," he teases. "I should take advantage of this."

She wheezes a laugh and that makes Phoenix laugh harder. "You poor thing," he sympathizes. "You can't even laugh."

She attempts to smack his arm but she hardly touches him. Her cheeks flush in embarrassment.

Three days later, she can breathe on her own and the mask is removed. She thinks that fresh air hasn't ever been so good.

The first thing that Phoenix does when it's off is kiss her. She's surprised and a soft sound escapes the back of her throat. His fingers knot into her loose hair and his other hand rests on her cheek. Her arms wrap around his neck and stay there even after he pulls away. "I've been waiting for so long to do that," he whispers breathlessly. "The only thing I missed more was talking to you."

She hugs him tightly. "I missed you too."

"Val, honey, you couldn't tell if I was there or not until you opened your eyes." He kisses her temple.

"I could," she replies. "I could feel you holding my hand. I squeezed it, remember?"

"The doctor said it was a muscle spasm," he tells her. "I didn't think you knew."

"I did." She lays her head on his chest and he holds her close to him, reveling in the feeling of being able to hold her again.

"Can I tell you something?" He asks.

"Anything," she replies.

"I thought you were going to die," he whispers. "I thought you did, at one point. It was the worst time of my life, but then somehow you pulled through. I don't know how you did, but I'm so happy you did. I would have fallen apart without you."

"You would've made it," she tells him. "You're strong enough."

"I didn't want to live without you," he admits. "I love you, Val."

"I love you too," she murmurs. He leans down once more and captures her lips with his, stealing her breath. "I couldn't leave you. That's how I made it."

He shifts his body so he's laying beside her and she's on her side facing him. She's comforted by the warmth coming from him and she's suddenly sleepy. Her eyes begin to close and as his arm drapes over her waist, it's impossible to fight it.

* * *

It's now been a month since the war ended and two weeks since Valkyrie woke up. She's finally able to go home. The village has been rebuilt and the homes are smaller than before, but they'll have to make do. It's almost winter and there isn't enough time to worry about elaborate houses.

The doctors make her promise not to live on her own. She's healing quickly and correctly, but she isn't strong enough yet. Before she's able to ask who she's supposed to live with, Phoenix tells the doctor that she will be staying with him.

Her heart pounds as they walk through the doorway to the house. His arm is wrapped around her waist for support. A large splint runs the length of her leg, making walking awkward. So far, the only things left to heal are her leg, which was broken in several places and requires surgery to fix, and her chest. Her ribs had been broken and the lung beneath it had collapsed, but it was on the mend. She could breathe on her own now and she was even getting used to walking with the splint. The first time she had tried, she had lost her balance after only a couple steps, and if Phoenix hadn't been there, she's sure it would have been much worse.

So she's really proud of herself when she's able to walk up the porch steps, even though Phoenix is still supporting part of her weight.

She's surprised to see how comfortably decorated the house is. There's a couch in the living room with pillows and blankets, making it look very inviting. She wants nothing more than to see if it's as comfy as it looks, but she also knows that Phoenix is excited about showing her the rest of the house.

He leads her into a small but fully-functional kitchen and then into another, smaller living area. This room has a large window and a desk, but she doesn't know what for. On the opposite wall, there's a rack for their swords and they're already hanging. The metal gleams in the sunlight and she closes her eyes. She thought that her swords would bring her the familiar solace that they usually did, but they don't. They only bring back memories that she'd rather forget.

Phoenix keeps moving through the rest of the house, carrying her up the stairs. There are two bedrooms and a bathroom, but that's it. The house is pretty small since most of the rooms are small, but it's all they really need. It's more than they had in the cave, and they stayed there comfortably for over a week.

By the end of the tour of the house, she's tired once more. It's only midday, but she's still ready for a nap.

Phoenix seems to notice right away. "Are you tired?" He asks softly, wrapping both his arms around her waist. She leans on him and nods, her blinks getting longer. He smiles gently and carries her back down the stairs.

"Why didn't I stay to sleep up there?" She asks sleepily.

"I saw you eyeing the couch earlier," he teases. "And besides, I was going to go in the other room where the desk is. My mother suggested writing about the war because she thinks it will help me deal with it."

Valkyrie manages to pry her eyes open. "Are you having nightmares again?"

He hesitates before nodding slowly. His eyes flicker shut briefly and he sits down beside her on the couch, adjusting the blankets around her as he tries to come up with the words. "I- well, honestly, you're the only one who can help with my nightmares. They're only ever gone if you're next to me, but it didn't work very well when you were with the doctors because I couldn't be near you until you woke up. They didn't want me to hurt you and I didn't either, but it killed me because you had them sometimes too and I wanted to help but couldn't. I didn't want to risk hurting you physically, but sometimes the mental aspect is just as bad."

She puts a hand on the side of his face, lifting his chin up so his gaze is level with hers. "I'm sorry I couldn't help you with that, but I'm here now."

"It's okay," he reassures her. "As long as I knew you were going to make it, things got easier."

She kisses his cheek and he hugs her. She relaxes against the pillows of the couch and her eyes begin falling closed once again. "This couch is very comfortable," she murmurs. "I like it."

He laughs, the heavy mood gone. He stands and walks into the next room over, pulls some paper out of the desk drawer, and starts writing.