#love and hugs to all you ayna stans

[cardinalnuggets]

You make me feel safe.

Pairing: Ayna x f!mc Word Count: 1350 ish Rating: T Summary: The attack on Kennedy was a bit more attack and less red paint being thrown on her. She's ended up in hospital and wakes up to Ayna sitting with her. It's pure self-indulgent cheese but hopefully it'll cheer some of you up given what's coming later tonight.

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Beep, beep, beep, beep.

The noise was incessant, and it was only making the squeezing in her brain worse. If only it would shut up, she might be able to drift off again until the worst of it had passed. But just as she thought this, she slowly became aware of dull pain aching all over her body, right from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. Her head was definitely the worst, however.

There was a nice sensation as well, now that she thought about it. Something warm and silky under her palm. It was enough to calm her, give her something to focus on before she lost her patience with the pain. With every bit of energy she had, she concentrated on moving her fingers, trying to figure out what was beneath them. Smooth as a baby’s bum, she thought, skin? As though to confirm her theory, the thing tightened around her hand and she realised it must be someone’s hand.

Could it be my mom? She thought, and then almost immediately dismissed that. Even an attack on her wouldn’t be enough to make her mother abandon her political engagements. If she were able, she would have rolled her eyes at her own foolishness.

Tatum then? That seemed the most logical. No doubt he would be feeling guilty even though there would have been nothing he could have done. She would have to put up with him hovering around her even more than normal.

Just then, a soft groan reached her ears, decidedly too feminine to belong to Tatum. A quiet rustling next to her was followed by a weight lifting from the bed next to her hand.

“Kennedy? Are you awake?” The voice was hoarse with sleep, but it was instantly recognisable. Ayna. Ayna must have followed her to the hospital, and God she didn’t think she’d ever been so thankful for anything before. The attack had left her shaken, but Ayna’s presence was sure to help keep her from the worst of her panic.

Almost as though her body was waiting for confirmation she was with her, Kennedy’s eyelids fluttered open. At first, she looked like nothing more than a vaguely person shaped blob but with a few blinks to rid herself of the last of the sleep, she could see her in all her beauty.

She looked so soft, bathed in an almost ethereal glow from the hints of light filtering through the room’s crooked blinds. Angelic, Kennedy thought as her heart stuttered in her chest before picking up double time. Unfortunately for her, the heart monitor attached to her beeped along with it. With a look bordering on panic, the last of the sleepiness disappearing, Ayna turned towards the monitor.

“Is something wrong? Are you in pain?” Her voice wavered with the worry written on her face. She was half out of her seat, focused on the bell to call the nurse above Kennedy’s bed.

A short snort of laughter escaped Kennedy, though it quickly snuffed out as her broken ribs screamed at her. Ayna’s soulful gaze flickered over Kennedy’s face, her brows crinkling in confusion but seeing the pain on her face, she reached again towards the call button.

“No, no you don’t need to press that! I’m fine!” Kennedy’s voice was raspy and she instinctively reached up to try and grab Ayna’s hand, sending another wave of pain through her ribs. She all but doubled over in the bed, ruining her assertation that she was okay. “I promise I’m fine it just hurts to move.”

Ayna’s hand dropped to her side and instead of sitting back in her seat, she perched on the edge of Kennedy’s bed. “Are you sure?” She asked gently, reaching out to lace her fingers with Kennedy’s. “Your heart -”

“I’m fine.” Kennedy repeated, giving her fingers a squeeze. Heat crept up her neck and blossomed on her cheeks as she turned to stare at the wall opposite Ayna. “I just – I was – ugh,” she stuttered, rolling her eyes at herself, “I can’t believe I have to admit to this out loud, but you looked so beautiful sitting there half asleep. It just – caught me off guard. I’ve never gotten to see you like that before.”

Although the words came out half-garbled as Kennedy tried to rid herself of them in a rush, Ayna caught every one. Kennedy could see her go completely still out of the corner of her eye, so she turned back to face her, worried that she had said too much. Ayna’s mouth had formed a little “o” shape and her eyes were wide behind her glasses. She opened her mouth to try and shove what she had just said back in, or maybe her own foot. Before she could, though, Ayna’s face melted into the warmest smile Kennedy had ever seen, but her dark eyes glittered with mischief.

“I might have said the same about you if I could actually see your face behind all the wires and bandages.”

A sharp, startled laugh escaped Kennedy, though it was once again short lived thanks to the excruciating pain in her ribs. “Oh, please don’t make me laugh,” she whined, though her face was lit up in a way Ayna hadn’t seen it for a while.

“I’m sorry,” she answered, leaning down to plant a kiss on the small bit of Kennedy’s forehead that wasn’t bruised or bandaged. She probably would have felt a little guiltier if Kennedy’s smile didn’t look so joyful. There hadn’t been much of this kind of happiness on her face since they had gotten caught by the paparazzi in the lake.

They lapsed into a comfortable silence, so with a last squeeze of Kennedy’s hand, Ayna shifted her weight to get off her perch on the bed to sit back in her seat. Before she could move, however, Kennedy stopped her with a tug on her arm.

“Are you going to stay with me?”

Ayna answered with a short nod but before she could say anything, Kennedy patted the small space next to her in the bed.

“Then you should lie beside me. It’d be much more comfortable than sleeping in that chair.”

Honestly, the whole attack ordeal had been quite traumatic, and although Ayna’s presence calmed her, she didn’t think it would work enough to let her get back to sleep. Having her arms around her though, well that might just work. But Kennedy was not ready to talk about the attack and how much it had scared her, so she would have to hope that Ayna would take her up on her offer.

Ayna could feel Kennedy’s palms get clammy, see her eyes darting about in barely concealed panic and she knew there was more going on than Kennedy wanted to say. Gently lowering herself into the bed, she replied “okay, but you have to promise me you won’t kick me in your sleep.” Her eyes swam with worry, but her lips curled up in a cheeky grin.

“I’m a wriggler, so no promises. I can apologise in advance with a kiss?”

“Hm, making me an offer I can’t refuse. How diplomatic of you.” With that, Ayna leaned down to tenderly brush her lips with Kennedy’s.

Her lips were pillowy and soft, and Kennedy swore that she could gladly spend her life kissing her. Despite the sharp pain lancing through her, she reached a hand up to rest on the back of Ayna’s neck, hoping to keep her there for as long as possible. But all too soon, Ayna pulled back, dropped a kiss onto Kennedy’s forehead and said “you should try and get some more rest. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

With a nod, Kennedy snuggled into the warmth of Ayna’s chest, feeling her arms wrap around her. The scent of her sweet perfume calmed her instantly.

“Promise?” Came the quiet reply, Kennedy’s eyelids already drooping.

“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.” And with that, Kennedy fell asleep, safe in the arms of the woman who was quickly starting to feel like home.