It was a long night of fighting high level wanderers for your squad of hunters, including Xavier.
You had an impression from the report that you were in for an intense battle but you hadn't understood the gravity of the fight. This was until the wanderer had reached a dangerously close distance towards you, closing you into a corner.
You gasped and looked around for Xavier, not able to see him within your field of vision. The wanderer, larger than half the field you were fighting in, had nothing in its sights but you.
"Shit." You exclaimed, dodging and shooting as many bullets as you could at it. It was no use, however, as the large beast whipped its tail in your direction. It sent you flying into the air before you could avoid it. The blast and impact forced your body to crash against a hard rock at the edge of the field.
"No....I have to fight.....team..." You breathed deeply as you whispered, trying to keep your consciousness at bay. The pain was intolerable. You tried to lift yourself up but your body wouldn't let you.
Your eyes could only focus on the dark sky above you as you tried blinking to stay awake. Your mind was filled with thoughts, wondering if you were dying. You couldn't help but have one thing in specific in your head.
One person.
"Z...zayne. Please.." You reached to touch your hunter's watch and before you could signal to anyone that you were in trouble, the world in front of you went dark.
A few hours later, you slowly felt your consciousness come back to you. The sound of a keyboard in the distance clacking away was the only sense of stimulation you could recognize. You winced in pain, finally opening your eyes reluctantly as you held your head in your hand.
Your eyes laid upon a familiar office you had been in a million times before. The same desk that was neatly aligned, with not a speck of dust on it. Stacks of medical textbooks lined the bookshelves on the back wall of the room.
The most noticeable part of the room was Dr. Zayne, sitting at his desk with a frown on his face, typing away like he was about to kill someone.
"Z-Zayne?" You spoke softly as you called out to him. He glanced up at you and closed his laptop swiftly. Zayne stood up, grabbing his stethoscope before walking over to you without a word. You realized at that point that you were hooked up to an IV and bandages were covering parts of your arms and legs.
He continued to say nothing as he sat down in front of you and listened to your heart and lungs. You watched as his slender fingers wrapped themselves around the diaphragm of the stethoscope, moving to different parts of your anterior chest. You continued to watch him, catching on that he was not happy.
"Zayne, what happened? I don't remember much other than getting hit by a wanderer. I thought I died, I-"
"Shush." He stated before reaching around to your back, listening to your lungs once again. He leaned down into you to get to it, his alluring yet comforting scent reaching your nostrils as you looked at his chest. Your heart rate couldn't help but increase with him being so close to you.
An awkward silence filled his office as he finished his assessment. Zayne wrapped his stethoscope around his neck before leaning back in the chair in front of you, crossing his legs and arms in the process.
He maintained eye contact with you for a minute before breathing in deeply.
"Do you understand the magnitude of how worried I was?" He stated, his quiet voice almost shaking. You couldn't help but feel butterflies in your stomach as his words registered.
"Zayne! I-I tried to contact my team but we couldn't control what happened. I tried calling out for Xavier but he didn't respond." You stated as you tried to reason with him. His eye twitched as Xavier's name left your lips.
"Xavier? Xavier couldn't protect you out in the battlefield and had to bring you to me to tend to your wounds." He stated, leaning forward before taking his glasses off.
"And you want to know the worst part of seeing you there, besides the fact that I was about to lose you?" He asked, looking deep into your eyes, hoping you would see a glimpse into his feelings.
"What?" You asked, genuinely confused. He reached over closer to you, his lips now right above your ear.
"The fact that you were in another man's arms. I can still smell his cologne on you." He stated before pulling back slightly, looking into your eyes once more.
You went to speak but his finger on your lips stopped you. He took your bandaged hand in his before placing it on his cheek.
"When I saw you being carried into my office, I couldn't even think straight." He said as he closed his eyes. "You know I have always supported your decision to become a hunter but I also won't stand here and watch you kill yourself to protect others."
You felt his soft skin under your fingers as you stroked his cheek. Of course you didn't want to risk losing him either but you had a job to do.
"I'm sorry Zayne and thank you. I promise i'll be more careful next time. I'll make sure I stay with Xavier and the rest of my team." You said in an attempt to make him feel better. He sighed at the mention of Xavier.
"Yes, I will have to thank him for getting you to the hospital in such a timely matter." He remarked before continuing, "However, I can't help but be bothered that his scent is lingering on you." Zayne finished talking before standing up.
"Your IV fluids are almost done. I'm going to take it out and take you home with me." He said as he walked over to grab his jacket. You sat up in confusion before protesting.
"What? Why? If my fluids are done and I feel fine, I should be good to go hom-"
"I'm going to get you cleaned up and make sure there are no injuries elsewhere I did not get to assess earlier." He said with a blank face, whether or not he knew how it sounded. He continued before you could.
"I won't stand for another man's cologne to be on you. You either smell like yourself or you smell like me. Those are the only two options." Zayne stated before coming over and removing your IV, placing a gauze pad and tape over the site.
You face was as red as a tomato as you processed the information he had just relayed to you. With his arm underneath yours to help you up, you stood up and caught your bearings.
"See? I feel great!" You said as you smiled at him but quickly got dizzy and had to sit back down. Zayne guided you back down into the chair before looking at you with determination. You could only imagine what he was going to say next.
"This won't do." He remarked under his breath before putting his jacket on and picking you up in his arms like a princess.
"Zayne! You-" You panicked as your heart rate increased and your face flushed. He was so close to you it was nauseating.
"You aren't getting away from me this time. You're going to stay at my place until I decide you are ready to go home. No protesting, no arguing. Doctor's orders." He said as his lips tilted up in a smile. You blushed harder as his eyes met yours before burying your face into his neck to hide yourself.
"If you think that isn't going to get you into even more trouble, you are sadly mistaken. I won't let you sleep until I've made sure every inch of you is okay." He stated with a subtle smirk on his face. You were pretty sure at this point your dizziness wasn't due to your injuries. Pleasure and panic hit you at the same time, your mind swirling in thought to the millions of possibilities behind his words. His subtle teasing and mischief made you forget about the pain you were experiencing and instead filled your body with several other feelings.
"Zayne?" You asked, still in his arms. Your hand gripped the collar of his shirt softly, your nails resting on his exposed chest.
"Yes, (Y/N)?" He replied, looking down at you with your faces only inches apart. His breath like a feather against your cheek, making you close your eyes for a brief moment.
"When I...lost consciousness..I wasn't scared of dying. I was scared of not waking up and hearing you scold me about being careful like you did. I was scared of not looking into your eyes one last time, telling you that I couldn't live without you." You finished with almost a whisper as a tear found it's way into the corner of your eye. Zayne's eyes widened ever so slightly before using his hand behind your head to pull it back into his neck.
"Shh. I know (Y/N). It's okay now. I promise you that I will continue to scold you and watch over you. I will care for you until I cannot breathe another breath. You are my top priority. You are my goal." He states before placing a gentle kiss on your forehead.
"Thank you Zayne." You whispered into his neck. He sighed happily under his breath and moved to exit the office. He closed the door steadily with you still in his arms, shutting the lights off behind him. A sleepless night of mystery and love was in your midst, and you couldn't wait to uncover it.
END
Thanks for reading! Thanks to all the buddies from my LnD discord that helped me cook this up. Going to be writing more if I can with the help of my friends. Please leave suggestions down below for new one shots, ill do all the boys (even that bbq'd one) so just lmk!