Chapter Text
Your whole body ached, your head throbbed as you came to, light leaking in through your cracked eyelids. Hissing, you shut them, not adjusted to the brightness yet. A whimper left your mouth, a protest against the soreness you felt throbbing in every limb.
Classical music was playing, softly, somewhere, you focused on the pleasant sound. Chopin’s Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9, No. 2. It had always been a favorite, but you couldn’t remember the last time you’d heard it.
On your back, you stared at the ceiling. That was strange. You rarely slept on your back, but even when you did, you weren’t usually met with this view upon waking. The room was bright & airy, ornate, and vaguely familiar -- not cramped, dark, and cold.
Something warm pressed into your palm and slowly, stiffly, you turned your head to see what it was, not far, as a crick in your neck halted the movement.
When you saw the man in front of you, your heart caught in your throat, just like it had on the day you had met, and each morning when he’d greeted you, bleary eyed and sleepy -- a different lifetime ago.
His face, pictured every night before you’d gone to bed. It had been the only thing driving you through the hell you’d endured, but this….seemed real?
Helmut. Your husband leaned over you, a weak smile playing on his lips, though you could see it was a farce. His thumb pressed into the palm of your hand again. Oh, how long it had been since you’d last seen him.
“Schatzi,” he murmured. “My love.”
“Helmut,” your voice cracked, coming out hoarsely. It hurt to speak. But there was no way it was him, it had to be some new, cruel type of torture. You wouldn’t put it past them. Or maybe, just maybe, their actions had taken their toll, and you’d finally met your presumed fate.
“I’m dead, right?” was all you could manage.
His kind expression vanished briefly, a flash of anger pinching his brows together and pulling down the corners of his mouth, sucking in a sharp breath through his teeth. But he composed himself quickly, wiping his face clear of the emotion to answer. “No, you aren’t.”
“H-how?” bits and pieces began to flood back, about the time you’d been apart, but it was a lot to think about. Too much, for now. Not when he was here.
“Don’t worry about that right now,” he said, seeming to notice your increased anxiety.
“They’re going to-” You tried to sit up, but a pain in your side, one that felt like the pierce of a sword, had you crying out and sinking back into the pillows.
Helmut looked like he’d been injured himself as he watched, jolting forward to soothe you. “Shhh,” One of his hands was on your shoulder, the other on your forehead. “Careful, you have a few broken ribs.”
“Am I going to be okay?”
“Of course, you’re home, Schatzi.” He stroked your hair and whispered in your ear. Home. You realized where you were, though it had been so long since you’d last been in this room.
“You’re safe. No harm will come to you. Trust me.” he finished. His hands were so warm, so gentle, so unlike the hands of anything that had touched you while you were away.
Studying him, you found he was handsome as ever, save for the dark circles hung under his eyes. Concern was etched into each line on his face, you knew him well enough to know that he was putting on a show for you, behind the thin veil of tenderness in his eyes was an inferno, he was enraged. The storm that brewed there was dangerous, vindictive, the side of him you rarely saw, but certainly feared. Though even now, you knew it wasn’t directed your way.
And you supposed you were quite a picture, bruised and bloodied. You were a different person than the last time you’d seen him. Curling your fingers around his hand, you felt tears stinging. After years of being strong, the mere sight of him made you feel vulnerable. He was the only one who was afforded that side of you.
“I missed you so much, Helmut,” you whimpered, tears leaking out of the corners of your eyes. You took in a shaky breath as he carefully swiped them away. His benevolence was going to make you hysterical, the full weight of everything seemed crushing.
“Oh, I missed you, too,” he answered, but seemed more concerned at your labored breathing as more tears fell rapidly, streaking down your cheeks and winding down your chin. Once you started, it was going to be hard to stop, and he knew. “I know it’s a lot, schatzi, but you need to breathe for me, stay calm.”
You nodded, weakly, trying to focus on the present and not the past, examining the room around you to ground yourself. A dog-eared, worn copy of a book sat on the bedside table, as Helmut leaned forward in a chair beside you. He’d made sure you were on the same side of the bed where you’d always slept before.
One of his hands traced along your jaw, he studied you carefully as he always had, but this was different. A heaviness passed over you, exhaustion tugging at your eyelids, but you feared what was going to happen if you closed your eyes.
Your husband wasn’t one to be fooled, however. “You need to sleep.”
“But I can’t yet, I haven’t seen you in so long.”
“I will be here when you wake.” But there was no way of knowing that could be true.
“Kiss me,” it was what you needed now, to feel his lips against yours. If he was gone when you woke, at least you would have this. Without protest, Helmut obeyed you, though the command seemed to take him off guard. Leaning over you, his thumb traced over your lower lip, searching, yearning as he looked upon you, and he slowly brought his mouth against yours.
It stunned you, leaving you dizzy, lightheaded, even though it was possibly the most innocent kiss you’d ever shared. The taste of solace was on his lips, his touch featherlight as he dared not to injure you further.
He pulled away, eyes bleary with his own tears. You’d never seen him cry, and you could tell he was trying to be strong, but he was in pain, too, a different kind, but all the same. He’d already lost everything once, and here he had thought that he’d lost it all again.
“What can I do to help you?” he asked, voice cracking.
“Hold me,” you murmured.
“The doctor said I could hurt you.”
There was comfort, safety in his embrace, as he’d always known just how to soothe you. “I need you to, Helmut. I can’t, I can’t-” growing distraught again, like if he wasn’t pressed against you, he could disappear. That still wasn’t out of the question.
“Okay,” he answered with a pained expression on his face, seemingly torn about how to best care for his spouse.
At this point, you were fighting against the heavy pull of sleep. Helmut crossed to the other side of the bed with his book in hand, and very gingerly slid under the covers. Sitting up slightly, wincing and whimpering but trying not to worry him, he angled himself behind you, pulling you back against his solid frame. Surrendering, you melted against him, head lolling sideways to tuck under his chin. You really didn’t want to cry again, but the pure relief you felt from his closeness made everything feel lighter somehow.
“I love you, Helmut,” you said, eyes fluttering closed.
“I love you,” he answered, kissing your forehead.
And in your husband's arms you drifted off, finally at peace.