Valkyrie (Complete)

23: Saving Each Other

True to his word, Phoenix never got tired or irritated when it came to Valkyrie. Every night he pulled her from her nightmares, held her tightly against him as he calmed her down, and stayed beside her until she could sleep again. They began sleeping in the same room despite having multiple bedrooms, and eventually slept in the same bed. It seemed to help both their nightmares to have each other nearby.

While Valkyrie's nightmares are usually about the boulder that almost killed her, Phoenix's are about different things. Most of them tend to be about the war and typically include Valkyrie, but not always. It varies between Eira's death, Valkyrie almost dying, and battle in general. Being trapped in the caves is a reoccurring nightmare that freaks him out every single time- being trapped beneath huge rocks like that terrifies him. That's how he understands Valkyrie's nightmare. The only difference is that he's only dreamed about it, while she actually went through it.

Tonight, unfortunately, is no different. They both have nightmares.

Phoenix's happens first. He thrashes around in his sleep, waking Valkyrie. She sits up sleepily and rubs her eyes, willing them to focus. She shakes her head briefly before leaning over to rest her palms flat against his chest. He thrashes again and a whimper escapes him. His arms flail as he writhes in mental pain, his face scrunched up as he screams. "Nix," she whispers. "Shh, it's alright."

His eyes open, unfocused and bleary. The figure above him is blurry, but he doesn't need to see who it is. He already knows. The loose hair around her face tickles his cheeks as she leans over him and he puts a hand on her cheek. The familiar ridge of the scar trailing down her cheek manages to bring him comfort as he brushes it with the pad of his thumb. It's reassuring to know it's her for sure- the scar can't be replicated.

She smiles softly at him and he gives her one in return as his nightmare fades from his mind. The only thing left that he can think of is how much he loves her. He pulls her down so she's resting on his chest, his lips crashing to hers. A small sound of surprise comes from her, but she doesn't protest. He's just as much a comfort to her as she is to him.

"I love you," he whispers in her ear, her head resting in the crook of his neck. "Thank you."

"I love you too," she replies, pressing a tender kiss to his jaw. She closes her eyes and she gets sleepy again and he wraps his arms around her. He shifts so he can move her leg, lifting the bulky brace so it isn't stretched awkwardly. Her chest has healed and while she still gets out of breath easily, it's an improvement over what it was. Her leg, however, is slower to heal. She still needs the brace while it finishes healing. It's almost done and hopefully she will be able to get back to training again. She misses the routine of it.

She smiles as he makes them both comfortable. He's always so thoughtful and thinks of her even when she doesn't need him to. She appreciates the effort though and does her best to think of him too- which isn't hard considering that he's almost always on her mind. She catches herself thinking of him all the time.

She falls asleep quickly, his strong arms wrapped around her. He lays awake for a while, knowing that her nightmares will start soon. Hers are different from his. He thrashes and screams, but she doesn't. If he didn't know her as well as he did, he probably wouldn't even know if she was having them or not. She lays there quietly while tears run down her face, a tiny cry escaping her lips every once in a while. He doesn't want to fall asleep before hers happens because he knows that he wouldn't wake up for it. He's slept through them before, and waking up to her tear-stained face is something he will never forget.

Sure enough, barely an hour later, she tenses. He knows that she's replaying being crushed over and over again and her body with jerk ever so slightly as it happens. Her arms twitch as she dreams and the tears begin to spill down her cheeks. Her eyelashes are wet and her cheeks turn pink as her breathing picks up. A small cry escapes her and he moves one hand to rest against her cheek. He leans forward and kisses her forehead, murmuring gently to her. She doesn't wake up right away. He tightens his arm around her waist and sits up, cradling her against him. "Val," he says, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Come back to me, sweetheart. It's okay. You're safe, I promise, baby."

Her eyes open slowly as tears continue to run down her cheeks. He knows that he's the only person she trusts enough to show this side of her to, and he loves her for the courage that it takes to show him. He smooths away her tears and presses his lips to her temple. "It's alright, sweetheart, I'm right here."

She curls up against him, her smaller body shaking against his. Her leg brace gets in the way as she tries to make herself as small as possible, terrified that the roof will come crashing through any second. A quiet whine comes from deep in her chest as her breathing picks up, her heart pounding in her chest. It feels as if the room is closing in on her and she's suffocating. The roof seems to be getting closer and closer until she can't breathe anymo-

But then she can. A soothing hand rubbing circles on her back pulls her out of it. Gentle nothings are murmured into her ear and every once in a while, lips press against her temple, or her forehead, or her cheek. All of it is like a breath of fresh air and suddenly the walls are moving away and the ceiling doesn't seem as if it's going to cave in any second. She's able to look around her and see everything for what it is. The simple room and the covers thrown about haphazardly only to be pulled up again so they're wrapped around her and him.

And, of course, there he is. She's leaning on him, resting just beside him as her legs are thrown across his lap. His arm is wrapped securely around her lower back and is cradling her against him. The other hand is resting on the side of her face, his thumb tracing patterns on her cheek, effectively calming her down. She leans her cheek on his shoulder and sighs heavily. "Thanks," she whispers.

He turns his head and kisses the top of her head. "Anything for you."