Le's Soldier

Part 44

The flat smells like garlic and butter.

That's the first thing Leah notices when she opens the door.

And then—

Music.

Low. Old rock. Something Lilly would only ever play when she felt steady enough to let the world breathe.

Leah drops her boots by the door, heart already lifting.

"Lil?"

"In here."

Her voice is stronger.

Still rough around the edges. Still tired.

But stronger.

Leah steps into the kitchen and nearly stops breathing.

Lilly's at the bench.

Not standing — she's perched on one of the tall stools, crutches leaning nearby — but she's chopping vegetables with slow, careful movements. There's a brace around her knee. Her chest is still taped beneath a loose black tee.

But she's cooking.

"Oi," Leah says softly. "You're not allowed to be sexy and domestic at the same time. That's unfair."

Lilly doesn't look up at first.

Then she does.

That smirk.

Small.

Crooked.

Dangerous.

"Thought you said I wasn't allowed near knives unsupervised."

"I did," Leah replies immediately. "And I meant it."

"I've upgraded from unstable to mildly functional."

Leah walks closer, sliding her hands around Lilly's waist carefully, mindful of scars, bruises, healing muscle.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Lilly leans back slightly into her.

Leah presses her mouth to Lilly's shoulder.

Soft.

Slow.

"You okay?" Leah murmurs.

Lilly's hand stills on the knife for half a second.

"...Yeah."

Not fully.

But closer.

And that's something.

⸻

A Few Weeks Later

Physio still hurts.

Lilly still can't walk without support.

Her chest aches when she twists too quickly.

Her knee locks sometimes.

And some nights she still wakes up sweating.

But—

She laughs now.

Proper laughs.

The kind that make her shoulders shake.

The kind that make Leah stare like she's witnessing a miracle.

⸻

Leah's stretched out on the couch after training, ice wrapped around her ankle. Lilly's lying beside her, head resting on Leah's thigh, absentmindedly tracing patterns against Leah's hip.