With a slow and deliberate blink, John gradually started to wake from his previous slumber. With a long breath, he carefully moved a hand to his head to test whether or not the pain was still apparent, but much to his surprise and gratefulness, it was far less worse than before. In fact, it was barely noticeable anymore. However, it didn't remove the fact that he was still feeling weak, after all the time he had been inactive.
And yet, with all that aside, he began to remember what happened prior. He remembered… the Arbiter had found him, she… she…
His memories were foggy, and suddenly, his head jerked upwards to look around himself at a rather frantic pace. Where was he, and-
"Relax…" his breathing stopped for a brief moment when suddenly, a hand gently placed upon his chest, softly prompting him to lay back upon the bed. Following the voice that was more than familiar to him, he realized that the Arbiter was right beside him, situated upon a chair next to his bed.
No other word was being spoken for the time being, for the next thing John did was to look down upon himself and his right hand, and the Arbiter could have almost chuckled.
Of course the first thing he did would be to check whether or not he was still wearing his armor, especially his helmet… and she had made sure of that.
"Don't worry, your condition is stable and you are gradually recovering from the after shock." Thel watched as John looked back at her, and his head tilted to the side a bit. She chose not to mention the fact that the doctors had wanted to remove his armor several times to check upon his body as well, on which she had insisted that they should scan him only.
"Where am I…?" for the briefest of moments, she hesitated before she directly looked back at his visor.
"You are on my home planet, Sanghelios."
Silence reigned. But even as John wordlessly stared back at her, she tried to maintain her composure. She could guess what he would ask next…
"If my condition is good enough already, then I can return to the UNSC, right?" John hesitated for his next words, having trouble trying to formulate them. However, he didn't witness the way that the Arbiter was facing the ground, her eyes seemingly staring into empty space as she was in silent contemplation.
"... thanks for searching for me, I'll… I'll think of a way to repay it." how could he properly formulate his thanks when the Arbiter had undoubtedly searched for who knows how many years before she found him? He never had to thank her before other than when they worked together on the battlefield and she would cover him whenever he happened to make a mistake. But this was something entirely different, and he didn't understand how to react…
However, his head jerked up slightly when Thel suddenly placed her hand upon his chest once more, preventing him from moving up from the bed.
"Wait. I know your condition may be more stable now, but I want to make sure that you recover properly until you are at full health again. Please consider staying for at least a week, if only that I can make sure that you are at full health again. I will do my best to provide you with everything you may need." John regarded her for a moment, and as always, through his visor every emotion was concealed.
"I'm sure I'm fine, I can't just dismiss my duties to-"
"Please… I insist. I ask for nothing more…" but his visor could not conceal the small gasp which escaped him. The way she was gazing at him, that… that kind of desperation he had only seen a few times before, when everything was at stake on the battlefield, and yet…
… in all of those instances, he had never witnessed her like this before…
And thus, in the end after a long moment of silence, he slowly nodded as he relented.
Thel's form relaxed, and her hand upon his chest lost any and all pressure, which had not been much in the first place. Internally, John felt strange. He had never been upon the Arbiter's home planet before… and the thought of him remaining for a week left an uneasy feeling within him. Somehow he doubted that his presence would be all too welcoming for most of the Sangheili who would see him, or at the very least, that was what his mind was trying to make him believe. On the other hand, he couldn't deny that the prospect of actually seeing her home planet for the first time made him feel… a little bit excited.
He guessed, in the end, it could go either way. But what mattered and dwelled within him the most was the fact that, right now, he was not acting under any order. There was no mission telling him to be, to fulfill an objective. He was here only because of the Arbiter, for without her, he would undoubtedly still be asleep, drifting in the deep and endless amount of space. And thus, if she had not informed them of it yet, then the UNSC still believed him to be dead.
The feeling of not having any kind of pressure upon him… it was alien. Was that what people deemed as freedom…? He couldn't make anything of it yet…
However, as he was deep in thought, so too was the Arbiter internally lost in her mind. But her eyes always remained on him, never glancing away for a second. As much as she successfully maintained her composure on the outside, internally, she could break apart at any moment.
She didn't think that he understood. That he understood how much it meant to her that he was actually here. In presence, real, alive… he couldn't see or even imagine how she had felt during her search. She guessed that for him, it felt as though he had simply awoken from a long slumber, as if merely a day had passed.
He didn't understand how much she treasured and cherished this moment of him simply being here, that she was blessed to hear his voice once more, and to see each and every little bit of his personality that caused him to be… him. For whenever she looked at him, she reminded herself how it could have been if she hadn't found him. In moments like these, her mental eye would make her believe that he was, in truth, not here at all. That she was simply making it up. That she only saw what she desperately wanted to see.
It was in moments like these when her hands instinctively touched upon his visor, reassuring herself that he was indeed here. Thankfully he had still been asleep in these moments… how could she have never realized before how important he was to her? Was she truly so foolish and ignorant before that it was necessary for him to almost die that she understood?
A bond forged in battle could be strong… but this was far more than that, and she had finally realized it. He may not yet know about Sangheili culture, but she hoped that he would in time.
One week… she had one week to convince him otherwise. And to show him what kind of bond she felt between them…
Guest: Thanks for the detailed comment! I actually went back to this chapter to edit it so I can include this, but as it is, I am merely porting this story over from AO3, which is why I can allow myself to actually start a 'new' story right now, amidst all the other ongoing stories I have, here, as well as on other sites. While there is, of course, a lot of context missing, since it is as you said, an abrupt start into an already half established thing, when I first started this story it was meant to be like this so I could shorten it down appropriately and finish it as well. Frankly, there are just too many random ideas that I have from time to time for different fandoms that I couldn't possibly all flesh them out, especially in comparison with my own little amount of time that I have, so it'll have to remain as it is at the moment. If I did have the time (and the ressources, since… I'm not really earning anything with it), I'd be spending a whole other dimension of effort on these stories, really.
But as I said, I'm very happy that you still liked it, and I hope that explains it a bit.