Characters/Ship: Sana/Nayeon Tags: Assassins!AU, Hurt/Comfort Permission to Remix: Yes AO3 Link -
In this disorder, a flower is blossoming It's a sweet chaos Ever since you entered My life, my dreams, my future Everything has changed ― Day 6, Sweet Chaos
Sana is about to turn in for the night when there’s a quiet knock on the door of her Osaka apartment. Sana frowns. It’s just edging past three in the morning – too late for the knock to mean anything other than trouble. So, she picks up her gun and a switchblade from the side table in her foyer and creeps stealthily towards the door. She takes cover behind the large antique vase her parents gave her as a housewarming gift years ago.
The knocking only grows louder, taking on a frantic cadence the longer it goes on. As if the person on the other side is seized with unrestrained impatience or urgency.
Sana draws her gun, aiming it right at the door, and holds her breath. And then, strangely, she hears the muffled sound of her name, in a voice she recognises immediately.
She moves right away, tucking the gun into the waistband of her sleep shorts, and unlocking the door. Leaning heavily against the frame is Im Nayeon, looking worse for wear. There’s a sheen of perspiration on Nayeon’s forehead and the way she’s holding herself, with a hand resting gingerly on her side, makes Sana suspect broken ribs.
Surprise bubbles in her chest when her eyes catch Nayeon’s weary gaze. But Sana is a trained assassin, one of the best in her field, so she only raises a cool eyebrow. “You could have rang the bell.”
“It’s three in the morning,” Nayeon mumbles, shuffling past Sana into the apartment like all of this is normal. Like her turning up at Sana’s door unannounced in the dead of night is something she does every day.
“You should have called,” Sana says pointedly as Nayeon settles on her sofa with a ragged sigh.
She watches as Nayeon starts removing all the weapons strapped to her body: two semi-automatic pistols land on Sana’s coffee table, followed by a dagger and then several vials of liquid that Sana knows is either lethal poison or potent sedatives. Nayeon likes having options whenever she goes out on a mission.
“I just needed a place to crash,” Nayeon says, wincing as she leans back against the cushions. “Your place is the closest to Tennōji Station and I have an early train to catch in the morning.”
They both know that’s a lie. Sana’s apartment is twenty blocks away from the station. And there are a handful of other agents that live closer; Mina even has a safe house just across the station.
Sana sighs. She doesn’t call Nayeon out on her lie. Instead, she heads for her bedroom and pulls out the softest blanket she owns from her closet. Then, she makes her way to the kitchen for a cup of water and some painkillers, before walking over to the sofa again.
Nayeon looks up at her with dark glass in her eyes, somehow inscrutable and oddly vulnerable at the same time. Sana can’t help but wonder what it would be like to let herself drown in Nayeon’s eyes. She wonders if the glass will shatter around her or if she’ll emerge unscathed on the other side, like light refracting through the surface.
“Is it just your ribs?” she asks instead, handing Nayeon the pills. She watches carefully as Nayeon swallows two pills and gulps down some water, gaze raking over Nayeon’s body, trying to catalogue any other injuries Nayeon might have.
“I’m fine. They’re not broken,” Nayeon says, wincing again as she shifts on the sofa. “Just bruised I think.”
“Okay.” Sana drapes the blanket over Nayeon, gently tucking the edges around Nayeon’s body. “If you’re still in pain tomorrow, I’m taking you to the hospital.”
Nayeon only hums, eyes fluttering closed. She’s asleep in a heartbeat.
Sana lingers for a few minutes longer, taking in the way Nayeon’s breathing ebbs and flows. The peace lining her face in slumber reminds Sana of the serenity of a silent lake, of quiet ribbons of pale grey light slowly warming the floor of her bedroom as the world wakes.
In the morning, Sana wakes up long before her alarm rings. But Nayeon is already gone. If not for the half-empty cup of water and perfectly folded blanket on her coffee table, it’s like no one was in Sana’s apartment at all.
It takes Sana two days of agonising and countless hours training in the gym to not wonder what it all means.
When she’s not on a mission, Sana prefers to spend her free time out with her friends. She enjoys hanging out in a cafe with good food and the joy of intimate conversations. It allows her to be just Sana, human and ordinary, instead of the heartless killer she’s trained to be. And after a day out, she enjoys taking a long bath to unwind before she sleeps.
Today, the appearance of Im Nayeon derails all of Sana’s plans for the evening. Nayeon offers her a small smile which dissolves quickly into a pained grimace. Sana notes the way Nayeon’s left arm is hanging slack at her side, the bruises on Nayeon’s jaw and cheekbone. There’s also a nasty cut just shy of Nayeon’s temple and dried streaks of blood all over the side of her face and neck.
“Finish this,” she says in greeting, handing Nayeon the last of her Lavender Mocha, as she keys in the passcode.
“Thanks,” Nayeon murmurs. She follows Sana into the apartment and doesn’t say a word as Sana guides her into the bathroom. She stands quietly, sipping on Sana’s drink, as Sana busies herself with running a warm bath.
“I’m going to help you set your shoulder and then you’re taking a bath,” Sana says, taking the empty cup from Nayeon’s hands and peering at her seriously.
Nayeon only nods. She takes a deep, shuddering breath and Sana braces herself for the violent scream that tears out of Nayeon's throat when she jerks Nayeon’s shoulder back in place. Nayeon is panting harshly in the aftermath, face grey with pain. But she nods again and Sana helps her to undress, carefully manoeuvring Nayeon’s arm and helping her into the tub.
Sana watches as Nayeon sighs at the warmth, and waits until Nayeon turns to her, eyes liquid. She kneels beside the tub and tilts Nayeon’s chin towards her. Nayeon lets her, closing her eyes with another weary exhale as Sana uses a warm cloth to wipe away the streaks of crimson from Nayeon’s skin.
“I’m giving you the passcode,” Sana says, dipping the cloth into the water and staining it with incarnadine swirls. “So, next time, you can let yourself in.”
Nayeon’s eyes flutter open and Sana’s breath hitches at the way Nayeon’s gaze glimmers, brighter than the light from a million faraway stars.
She takes a chance, throws caution to the winds, and leans in, pressing her lips against Nayeon’s forehead. She feels it, the way Nayeon exhales slowly, like Sana is solace made out of skin and bones, like Sana is a balm that has the power to soothe all her pain away.
Weeks later, Sana comes home from a mission in Madrid and finds Nayeon on her sofa. Nayeon offers her a crooked, sun-soaked smile. Other than the butterfly bandage on her cheekbone, Nayeon looks healthy and whole, and every bit like she could be the love of Sana’s life.
“Hi,” Sana says, just before she leans down and steals the taste of sunlight right from Nayeon’s lips.
[FILL] sweet chaos
Tags: Assassins!AU, Hurt/Comfort
Permission to Remix: Yes
AO3 Link
-
In this disorder, a flower is blossoming
It's a sweet chaos
Ever since you entered
My life, my dreams, my future
Everything has changed
― Day 6, Sweet Chaos
Sana is about to turn in for the night when there’s a quiet knock on the door of her Osaka apartment. Sana frowns. It’s just edging past three in the morning – too late for the knock to mean anything other than trouble. So, she picks up her gun and a switchblade from the side table in her foyer and creeps stealthily towards the door. She takes cover behind the large antique vase her parents gave her as a housewarming gift years ago.
The knocking only grows louder, taking on a frantic cadence the longer it goes on. As if the person on the other side is seized with unrestrained impatience or urgency.
Sana draws her gun, aiming it right at the door, and holds her breath. And then, strangely, she hears the muffled sound of her name, in a voice she recognises immediately.
She moves right away, tucking the gun into the waistband of her sleep shorts, and unlocking the door. Leaning heavily against the frame is Im Nayeon, looking worse for wear. There’s a sheen of perspiration on Nayeon’s forehead and the way she’s holding herself, with a hand resting gingerly on her side, makes Sana suspect broken ribs.
Surprise bubbles in her chest when her eyes catch Nayeon’s weary gaze. But Sana is a trained assassin, one of the best in her field, so she only raises a cool eyebrow. “You could have rang the bell.”
“It’s three in the morning,” Nayeon mumbles, shuffling past Sana into the apartment like all of this is normal. Like her turning up at Sana’s door unannounced in the dead of night is something she does every day.
“You should have called,” Sana says pointedly as Nayeon settles on her sofa with a ragged sigh.
She watches as Nayeon starts removing all the weapons strapped to her body: two semi-automatic pistols land on Sana’s coffee table, followed by a dagger and then several vials of liquid that Sana knows is either lethal poison or potent sedatives. Nayeon likes having options whenever she goes out on a mission.
“I just needed a place to crash,” Nayeon says, wincing as she leans back against the cushions. “Your place is the closest to Tennōji Station and I have an early train to catch in the morning.”
They both know that’s a lie. Sana’s apartment is twenty blocks away from the station. And there are a handful of other agents that live closer; Mina even has a safe house just across the station.
Sana sighs. She doesn’t call Nayeon out on her lie. Instead, she heads for her bedroom and pulls out the softest blanket she owns from her closet. Then, she makes her way to the kitchen for a cup of water and some painkillers, before walking over to the sofa again.
Nayeon looks up at her with dark glass in her eyes, somehow inscrutable and oddly vulnerable at the same time. Sana can’t help but wonder what it would be like to let herself drown in Nayeon’s eyes. She wonders if the glass will shatter around her or if she’ll emerge unscathed on the other side, like light refracting through the surface.
“Is it just your ribs?” she asks instead, handing Nayeon the pills. She watches carefully as Nayeon swallows two pills and gulps down some water, gaze raking over Nayeon’s body, trying to catalogue any other injuries Nayeon might have.
“I’m fine. They’re not broken,” Nayeon says, wincing again as she shifts on the sofa. “Just bruised I think.”
“Okay.” Sana drapes the blanket over Nayeon, gently tucking the edges around Nayeon’s body. “If you’re still in pain tomorrow, I’m taking you to the hospital.”
Nayeon only hums, eyes fluttering closed. She’s asleep in a heartbeat.
Sana lingers for a few minutes longer, taking in the way Nayeon’s breathing ebbs and flows. The peace lining her face in slumber reminds Sana of the serenity of a silent lake, of quiet ribbons of pale grey light slowly warming the floor of her bedroom as the world wakes.
In the morning, Sana wakes up long before her alarm rings. But Nayeon is already gone. If not for the half-empty cup of water and perfectly folded blanket on her coffee table, it’s like no one was in Sana’s apartment at all.
It takes Sana two days of agonising and countless hours training in the gym to not wonder what it all means.
When she’s not on a mission, Sana prefers to spend her free time out with her friends. She enjoys hanging out in a cafe with good food and the joy of intimate conversations. It allows her to be just Sana, human and ordinary, instead of the heartless killer she’s trained to be. And after a day out, she enjoys taking a long bath to unwind before she sleeps.
Today, the appearance of Im Nayeon derails all of Sana’s plans for the evening. Nayeon offers her a small smile which dissolves quickly into a pained grimace. Sana notes the way Nayeon’s left arm is hanging slack at her side, the bruises on Nayeon’s jaw and cheekbone. There’s also a nasty cut just shy of Nayeon’s temple and dried streaks of blood all over the side of her face and neck.
“Finish this,” she says in greeting, handing Nayeon the last of her Lavender Mocha, as she keys in the passcode.
“Thanks,” Nayeon murmurs. She follows Sana into the apartment and doesn’t say a word as Sana guides her into the bathroom. She stands quietly, sipping on Sana’s drink, as Sana busies herself with running a warm bath.
“I’m going to help you set your shoulder and then you’re taking a bath,” Sana says, taking the empty cup from Nayeon’s hands and peering at her seriously.
Nayeon only nods. She takes a deep, shuddering breath and Sana braces herself for the violent scream that tears out of Nayeon's throat when she jerks Nayeon’s shoulder back in place. Nayeon is panting harshly in the aftermath, face grey with pain. But she nods again and Sana helps her to undress, carefully manoeuvring Nayeon’s arm and helping her into the tub.
Sana watches as Nayeon sighs at the warmth, and waits until Nayeon turns to her, eyes liquid. She kneels beside the tub and tilts Nayeon’s chin towards her. Nayeon lets her, closing her eyes with another weary exhale as Sana uses a warm cloth to wipe away the streaks of crimson from Nayeon’s skin.
“I’m giving you the passcode,” Sana says, dipping the cloth into the water and staining it with incarnadine swirls. “So, next time, you can let yourself in.”
Nayeon’s eyes flutter open and Sana’s breath hitches at the way Nayeon’s gaze glimmers, brighter than the light from a million faraway stars.
She takes a chance, throws caution to the winds, and leans in, pressing her lips against Nayeon’s forehead. She feels it, the way Nayeon exhales slowly, like Sana is solace made out of skin and bones, like Sana is a balm that has the power to soothe all her pain away.
Weeks later, Sana comes home from a mission in Madrid and finds Nayeon on her sofa. Nayeon offers her a crooked, sun-soaked smile. Other than the butterfly bandage on her cheekbone, Nayeon looks healthy and whole, and every bit like she could be the love of Sana’s life.
“Hi,” Sana says, just before she leans down and steals the taste of sunlight right from Nayeon’s lips.