The spy and the healer (Enemies to lovers First meeting fic): ‘Your bloody knuckles betray you’

A strides quickly up the dark corridor, constantly checking behind her for the security chasing her. Her lungs burn but she manages to keep her breathing silent. It’s her first mission and she’s so lost despite having spent hours poring over the blueprint of the enemy’s headquarters.

The grey walls feel as if they’re closing in on her until she sees a door of frosted glass near. It’s dark on the other side so she opens it quietly and slips inside. A fumbles for her flashlight, allowing herself to pant freely in her temporary refuge. She can’t discern any wind that may come from a window. The room feels small, an office perhaps. She finally grabs a hold of her flashlight but before she can shine it, the room’s lights up in brilliant white.

A’s heart near leaps out of her chest, she almost curses aloud. Looking around, she sees a desk before her. It’s covered in paperwork and books. Behind it, a chair with a white coat laid carelessly atop. Against the far wall is a patient bed and various medical equipment lays beside it. There’s another door on the other side of the room, across from the bed. That’s where the figure steps out from.

'I don’t usually get visitors at this hour,’ B says, closing the door.

He walks up to A, running his hair through his messy black curls. He looks at her, and stops.

A averts her eyes and her hands move behind her meekly.

'Recruit!’ B says jovially, regarding her ill-fitting disguise.

'I’ve never seen you before. Guess you’ve never had the pleasure of being injured enough to see me’

A looks up and their eyes meet.

He looks young for a healer, he’s probably naive too. Under the white lights, his soft brown eyes sparkle.

'Recruit, take a seat’ B pats the patient bed.

Hesitant to leave the door, A steps slowly past the desk and toward B. She feels his eyes on her, assessing, undressing.

Sit sit, he gestures. And she does.

He pulls his chair close to her. Tutting softly, he brings a soft cotton pad to the angry red cut along her right jaw. It stings but as he does so, she looks around the room further. As she suspected, there are no windows in this room but she’s not sure about the room that the healer exited from earlier. Her best bet is probably to leave the way she entered. Right now, she’s sitting duck in this healer’s office.

'Luckily, your cut isn’t that deep that I need to stitch it’, B says softly, sticking the adhesive bandage to her face.

'Now, let me see these,’ B reaches for her hands. A’s knuckles are split and bleeding. She bites the tip of her tongue to stop her hiss as he takes one hand in his and spreads an antiseptic gel over them. Although he’s wearing gloves, his hand is warm and soft. A watches him as he focusses on cleaning her knuckles. The healer’s dressed in a sweater, he doesn’t wear his coat. He looks around her age. She feels a small guilt for deceiving him.

B finishes applying the solution to her hands and reaches over to his desk to retrieve a book. She holds her hands out as he fans the book over them. The cool air instantly relieving the heat and pain.

B smirks. 'Recruit, you’re a model patient. Even the toughest pros tear up when I give them the antiseptic for their cuts. But not you, recruit.’

He takes a small roll of white bandage out of a drawer and begins to wrap her knuckles.

'Tell me recruit, what’s your name?’

'A’

'Nice to make your acquaintance A. I’m B’

'Doctor B?’

'No no, just B’

'A, how did you injure yourself?’

The question is posed casually but A grows wary.

'Training. I, er, went too far’

B hums acknowledgment. He finishes up wrapping her second hand and leans back over to his desk. His fingers find a button beneath and press it.

Looking at A, he says

'You sure you didn’t get them from our guards, Agent A?’

He smiles crookedly.

'Your bloody knuckles betray you. All our recruits are forced to wear hand wraps during training’

The distant sound of boots approaching grows louder and louder. A stands up abruptly in an attempt to make a mad rush for the door but there’s a sharp, cold prick under her chin as B holds up a pair of scissors.

'Uhuh, not so fast little recruit. I’ll cut you a deal, since you were such a good patient. If you go now, you’ll have like five seconds on 'em.’

'In exchange for what?’ A asks through gritted teeth.

'This.’ B undoes the zipper of her jumpsuit and tugs off the locket at her neck.

A’s eyes go wide and she lunges for it but B jumps out of reach. She’s torn between retrieving her locket or running for her life. A bolts for the door but as she leaves she hears B call:

'See you around recruit’

When she’s gone, he looks at the locket in his palm.

'I’ll see you soon enough anyway’