Arkangel || A Winter / Karina / WinRina Adventure

Beneath the Skin

Karina, used by now to seeing Winter's injuries, still cried when she walked into her wife's hospital room. Winter's face was purple with bruises and she had tape on her nose because it had been broken in one of the fights. Her hand had a metal frame around it and ten pins were inserted through her skin and into the bone. Yet when Karina entered she smiled and even tried to get out of bed. "Don't even think about it," Karina said, before kissing her wife.

"I'm sorry for doing this to you," Winter said. "It's selfish, I think."

Karina shook her head and stroked Winter's hair. "You're not selfish. I am, because I don't stop and remember that you are amazing, and that you're helping keep us all safe. I just wish you'd learn to duck when someone tries to punch you!"

Winter laughed. "Ok boss, lesson learned. But our top priority is going home and figuring out a way for me to get my hands on you without this wrist cage causing problems."

"You leave that to me, babe."

Winter blushed.

. . . . .

Afterwards, they cuddled on the couch and watched Netflix. Winter took a pain pill and felt like the happiest woman in the world. In fact, she wouldn't shut up. She kept repeating "Do you know I love you Karina" over and over and over. Eventually she fell asleep on Karina's lap. Soon Winter was tucked in on the couch and Karina went to the bedroom to sleep.

At 2am Karina heard a loud crash from the other room. Winter was standing in the middle of the room holding a broken fluorescent light bulb from one of the lamps, and she was babbling incoherently. Karina realized that she might be having a reaction to the pain medicine.

"Baby, it's me! It's Karina! You're ok, you're safe! Please put the light bulb down. You're safe! I'm going to come near you. Is that ok?"

"Yes," Winter mumbled. "But they know where we are and they're going to kill you and I can't stop them. Pack... pack your things, we have to leave!"

Karina wrapped her wife in her arms. Winter dropped the bulb on the floor. "Who is going to try to kill us?"

"The beasts. They live on the streets, in the sewers. Karina, I am so scared! What is happening to me!?!"

Gently Karina put her arm around Winter. "Come to bed, baby. I'll hold you forever if you need me to." Slowly she guided Winter to bed and cleaned up the broken light bulb. Then she spooned Winter as tightly as she could.

The next morning, Winter brought coffee into the bedroom. "Morning, gorgeous. Guess what? I can almost feel my face again."

"What about last night? What do you remember?"

"We watched Netflix and went to bed. You gave me the best spooning of my life."

"Is that all you remember?" Karina asked.

"Um... yes. Why? What happened? Oh god. Did... did I attack you again?"

"No, no baby. It's nothing, really. I had a great time yesterday."

Loving Winter often felt like forever living with a broken heart. It was hard for Winter's past to be part of their marriage, but Karina had vowed that she would help Winter heal, since she had been healed by Winter. The night episodes happened less and less.

Karina was now getting invitations to play in front of more people, in restaurants and coffee shops. Seeing people smile as she sang was more important than being on stage and in the spotlight. People just took to Karina. Her large, dark eyes were welcoming and she always showed gratitude to her audience. By the end of her performance, everyone felt like everyone else was their best friend.

And her wife would be crying tears of love and happiness.

She wanted her family in Korea to meet Winter, but her parents were struggling with her sexuality. Rather than tell her directly that they didn't approve, they simply stopped calling or returning her calls. It was as if they believed that the world didn't need more love.

The only one who could make the pain of abandonment go away was Winter, someone who knew abandonment well.