Natural Disaster

Chapter 30

The time it took Launa's knee to heal was either incredibly fast, or she was incredibly stubborn, and Avi couldn't decide which one it was. She pushed herself too hard to start walking again, and everytime she winced, he'd usher her back into bed. Or bodily haul her back into it. Whichever she seemed to be aiming for.

"Stop that," he said firmly, annoyed as he set the flailing woman down on the edge of the mattress, "You're being ridiculous."

"So is your face," she retorted, childishly.

Two days into the healing process and Avi wanted little more than to have her sleep the whole way through it, because she was driving him absolutely batty.

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Three days in, and Launa wanted to die. She was mortified by how long this was taking, and she wanted nothing more than to just move. Restlessness was settling deep into her bones, and she couldn't stay still. And every time, no matter where he was in the house, when she went to walk and test her knee, Avi would haul her back into bed, readjusting the pillow under her leg, giving her a scolding look for getting up.

"Just let it heal, would you?" he gingerly touched her kneecap, "You're not making it any better by getting up every half hour."

"I'm bored," she whined, hiding her embarassment over holding them back behind childishness, "I hate this."

He heaved a sigh. "I know," he murmured, sitting beside her and pressing a kiss to her forehead, "I'm so sorry." He kept apologizing, and, yes, she was irritated that her injury wouldn't have happened had he not gone out on the ice, but she wasn't going to blame him for something the ice did.

Launa smiled sadly and ran her fingers over his bristly cheek, a little frightened of how good it felt to touch him, and flickered her gaze over his face as he pulled away. "It's alright," she assured him, again, curbing the urge to slide her hands down his torso or into his hair, "I'll be fine. I'm just being dumb."

He shook his head. "No, you're not being dumb," he said, leaning into her touch and placing his hand on the back of hers, "Childish, maybe. But not dumb."

He earned a wide smile and he pressed his lips to hers, kissing her achingly slowly, sending lava sliding down her spine as she felt his jaw move under her hand, gently toying with her bottom lip before pulling away and taking in a deep breath. Avi kept his eyes closed and leaned his forehead against hers, steadying himself. "I don't think that was very childish," she breathed, earning a laugh in response, "That was actually pretty adult, if you ask me."

He chuckled deep in his chest, giving her a peck on the nose and sighing as he removed himself from her and the bed, wandering off. Launa heaved an echoing sigh as he exited the room, cursing her hormones and his parents for making him so attractive.

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Four days in and her knee could actually hold her weight for a reasonable amount of time before needing to rest. Launa couldn't help rejoicing at the progress, even as she was shooed back upstairs into bed.

"You're like a mother hen," she teased, propping her leg up on her pillow, "You worry too much."

Avi grumped at her. "No such thing," he smoothed her hair back from her face, "Not when it comes to you."

She watched as he paused and blushed, biting his lip as he readjusted her pillow and gave her a new bag of frozen vegetables. They'd not been frozen when they found them, but the cold, outside, was enough to use as a natural freezer. She brushed her fingertips against the back of his hand, catching his attention and drawing his gaze up to hers. "Thanks," she said, softly, moving her hand to squeeze his.