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There is nothing that guarantees a foul morning better than waking to pain. Y/N’s head roused her, screaming at her for the light streaming through her curtains. She groaned, as if the sound would scare away her suffering. It didn’t, and she resolved that she would have to get up and shut the curtains tighter.
Sitting was immediately regrettable. Her entire body screamed at her, and her stomach danced sickeningly to the pounding in her head. Her nightshirt was twisted around her middle and she straightened it while working up the wherewithal to get to her feet.
“Good morning.”
The voice made her jump, and she fell off the side of the bed and onto the ground with a heavy thud. She untangled her limbs from beneath her and sat up so she could see over the edge, finding none other than the Grandmaster peering down at her.
“Oh, fuck.” The words came out before she could stop them, and she closed her eyes now against not only the light but the horror of finding Haytham Kenway in her bed after a night she pointedly didn’t remember. She rested her head against the mattress, now far too mortified to get back onto it and hide under her covers. Maybe she’d just pull them to the ground and suffocate beneath them.
Through the hammering of her pulse, she could hear him stand, come around the end of the bed and tighten the shades. The room was darker, which helped minutely, but she had bigger problems, now.
He sighed as he came to stand before her, the darkness not bothering his sight in the slightest. “I recall telling you to stop at six,” he scolded. She dared opening her eyes to see him extending a hand down towards her. He was, thankfully, clothed; or, at least, half-clothed in loose, pale trousers. The lack of anything on his shoulders made her head spin a little more than it was already.
“I don’t remember anything after… I don’t know,” she admitted, taking his hand begrudgingly. The Grandmaster helped Y/N to her feet and set her back in bed.
“If I were to blame anyone for last night,” he commented, reaching for a readied glass of water to hand to her, “It would be Hickey. But you need to learn when to quit when you’re ahead.”
Good god, now he was tending to her hangover. This morning was just getting worse and worse. “I… I’m sorry, Grandmaster, about last night, I didn’t mean to– it really didn’t mean anything, I swear–”
He but her off swiftly with a wave of his hand. “Don’t. You haven’t done anything regrettable. In fact, you made it all the way up here on your own last night.”
She opened her mouth for more apologies, but paused. “I did?”
With an amused hum, he turned from her and fiddled with something on her chest of drawers. “Indeed. I noticed you missing sometime in the early hours and discovered that, while you managed to find your room, you didn’t make it very far inside, nor did you shut the door.”
She wanted to ask why he helped her, but swiftly thought better of it. Her mouth, apparently, didn’t get the memo, and stumbled ahead of her. “Why did you help me?”
Master Kenway turned back with something in his hand. “If you recall, I asked you to seek an alternate route through the forest bordering the Assassin Manor. I hope you don’t think this makes you exempt from that duty.” He handed what he held to her- a small vial. “Drink this. It will help.”
She obliged, coughing on the stuff halfway down her throat. “Oh, god, that’s disgusting!” The Grandmaster lifted a brow and stood, apparently waiting for her to finish. Between coughs she managed to do so, groveling in her heightened suffering after it was gone, leaving a bitter taste on her tongue. She gulped down what was left in her water glass, holding her head tenderly after setting it down.
“You handled a good amount of water last night before you were unable to remain awake,” he told her. “You should be well in a few hours, at which point I expect to see you in Gist’s office to begin your task.”
He rounded the bed again to retrieve his shirt and coat, both of which hung neatly over the back of her desk chair. Y/N buried her head in her hands and tried not to think about how much today was going to suck. Both garments went on quickly in the silence that settled between them, and he slung his half-cape over his arm rather than fastening it. She heard him slip his boots on and click to the nightstand. A nagging feeling ground Y/N’s thoughts to a halt, and then it struck her. He hadn’t mentioned what state she was in once she got up here. When did she get into this? More importantly, when did she get out of her clothes?
She didn’t get much chance to think on it further as Master Kenway rounded the end of her bed. “I have one more thing to speed your recovery,” he said, curiously drawing nearer than necessary before his fingers grasped her chin and his mouth covered hers.
She couldn’t even comprehend what was happening until he pulled back, fixing her in a wickedly beautiful smirk.
“You taste much better coherent.”
And then, just like that, he was gone, shutting the door behind him. Y/N’s head was going a million miles an hour, and she slowly lowered herself to her back. Though confused, a smile that she didn’t notice until it pulled on her cheeks stole her lips.
He was right. She was feeling better already.