Chapter Text
“You know, darling, we haven’t gone out walking alone, just the two of us, in a while.”
I receive a grunt in response. Undeterred, I continue on.
“I know that you’re still… recovering, but I think it might be nice, you know?”
Another grunt.
“Ah, maybe you’re right. We spent a year walking alone together. Maybe that’s enough for one lifetime.”
Grunt.
“You’re not listening to me at all, are you.”
Grunt.
“For fucks sake, Percy.”
Grunt.
Annoyed, I smack him in the chest, distracting him from the paper crane he’s been trying to fold for the past half hour. He jumps, turning to me with a question in his eyes. “What… was that for?” he asks, slow and ponderous.
“For not paying attention to me,” I say.
Percy blinks. Then a smile starts to curve across his face. “Sorry,” he says, but he’s started laughing so he can’t really mean it.
I throw my hands up in the air. Zombies, I swear.
Things have been going well. I’ve learned a lot these past few weeks as Percy has worked on his rehabilitation. Felicity tells me that Percy isn’t the only Dead Head showing signs of coming back—almost every zombie that the lab has examined has had minimal brain activity. With enough stimulation, that ‘minimal’ grows and grows until, like with Percy, the activity hits the frontal lobes, the part that makes humans… human.
Of course, it takes a lot of work. A lot of constant interaction is required. And a Dead Head can never fully be rid of the zombie fungus—it’s a lifelong condition. But some more good news: the zombie fever that kills the human host in the first place also kills anything else inhabiting the body at the time. So the HIV virus… the thrush… all of it has been burned out of Percy by the zombie fever. He is HIV free for the first time in his life. He’s been given a chance to start over.
As for me… that’s simple enough. I lost an ear and the hearing on that side, but was given back the love of my life. It was a fair trade, if I do say so myself. Having Percy back is worth everything.
“I’d like… like to go out walking,” he says now, setting the half-folded crane aside. He’s been trying to work on his dexterity so that he can play his violin again. It’s slow going, but he’s making progress. I’m sure he’ll pick it up again in no time.
I stand up from the table. He raises a hand to me and I clap my palm to his, hauling him to his feet as well. I look up into his face and… god. I can hardly believe that there was a time when my entire world, my entire universe, was crumbling down around me. I can hardly believe that I’ve lived through the worst thing I can imagine. That Percy died and yet he’s still here with me, after everything… it’s nothing short of a miracle.
I tell him so, gently tucking a strand of his wild hair behind his ear, expecting him to agree with me.
He doesn’t. Instead he shakes his head, bending down to butt me with his forehead. “Not… a miracle. Not god or… some greater force. You brought me back.”
Oh. I lean back, laughing and pressing my hands to my eyes. I will not cry, I will not cry, I will not—
Ah, nuts, there I go.
With slow hands, Percy reaches up to take my wrists, carefully pulling my hands away from my face. His thumbs come to my cheeks, brushing away the tears. “I love you,” he says, voice low and sweet.
“I love you, too,” I say, and go up on my toes to kiss him on the cheek. He, in turn, bends down and presses his lips to mine, his hands cupping my cheeks like he’s holding the most precious thing in the world.
Aaand… that’s enough of that. You don’t need to see this part. The story is over now.
What I’ve told you wasn’t all sunshine and daisies—it was actually a pretty sad story. But it’s our story, and I think… yeah. I think that I’m allowed to say that there is beauty in persistence, that there is love in small actions. There is hope even for those who you think are hopeless. And I think… after everything… I’m glad it happened this way.
And now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a hot zombie boyfriend to make out with.