lest x enforcer!reader
pairing! lest x enforcer!reader
about! after that attack on the council building, your arm was nearly shot. good thing that you're working for Councilor Salo, because you picked up some helpful information...
cw! mentions of nerve pain/ damage
word count! 1.1k
an! reblog because tumblr had the AUDACITY to give me a content warning!!! HAPPY 100 FOLLOWERS PEOPLE!!! this is a official/unofficial gift to you all for the support! ok I KNOW a thousand words is a bit more than usual, but i didn't want to write three whole parts and i just HAD to write in the details about the injury, attention to detail people.
why must you be so… determined? prideful? stubborn? stupid?
those were the words swirling in your head as you sat in carriage with Councilor Salo— your principal. ever since the attack on the council building by jinx, which resulted in Councilor Salo’s inability to walk, he was especially paranoid and requested a personal security detail from the Enforcers. seems easy, right? following around a councilor to a bunch of cushy parties and just standing around places. it would be if you weren’t also injured from the attack.
trauma to the brachial plexus, is what the doctor told you. apparently it wasn’t severe, but it definitely felt severe. some days were better than others, with just numbness, tingling and just regular weakness in your non-dominant arm and hand. other times, in the middle of the night you’d wake up to shooting pain, often followed by your arm being asleep for nearly an hour after you woke up. you struggled to hold your gun properly, reloading was a battle of its own, but of course, you wanted to prove yourself capable after your mandatory time off. so when this job came up, you eagerly agreed.
working for Salo, you heard some… interesting things. most intriguing for you, a mysterious… healer? you often heard him and his assistant talk in whispers about his “next session” or something about his legs, it was mostly snippets of finished conversations, so you didn’t pick up much. until you did piece it together. sometimes, Salo would request to go out to brunch or shopping with just his assistant—insisting that the constant presence of Enforcers made these activities “less entertaining.” but, you found out instead of going out to a cafe, Salo was going to the undercity, or rather, a place undercity adjacent. along with that, you heard the word “shimmer” more than a few times.
a healer from the undercity, who has something to do with shimmer? because that sounds trustworthy.
yet here you were, as skeptical as you were, quietly following Councilor Salo towards this healing place. you saw him go in, heard the faintest murmur of voices, but you couldn’t go in just yet—surely he would recognize you. so, you were just standing outside, trying to look busy to people who passed.
“tch, what the hell am i doing here? i just need to go home, it’s probably just a scam for rich people.” you grumbled to yourself as you waited idly outside.
finally, what felt like an hour passed, and you heard the familiar rolling of Salo’s wheelchair obliviously roll past you. with a deep breath, you made your way to the entrance, opening the creaky door. a woman was there, walking back and forth between rooms, not really noticing your presence (intentionally or unintentionally, who knows?).
your voice came out a bit higher than you wanted it to, “hello?” you cleared your throat, already feeling out of place. “i came for a… treatment?”
the woman with large… almost cat like ears finally looked up at you, and it felt like in a few seconds she knew exactly why you were here.
“left side of the hallway, third room.”
words caught in your throat as you tried to come up with some kind of response, even a small “thank you”, but for some odd reason you were really clamming up.
you pushed past a curtain, entering a calming room, much like the atmosphere of the building as a whole. candles emitted a soft glow and comforting aroma throughout, casting blurry shadows across the walls. a long, red sofa was in the center was embroidered with scattered flowers and leaves. various things were strewn about, curtains, a small end table, hanging lanterns and so on and so forth. you took a seat on the sofa, keeping your hands in your lap nervously as you waited, eyes flickering to different objects in a mostly futile attempt to occupy yourself.
a few minutes later, she entered with two pristine, folded white towels in her arms. the cat eared woman put the towels on the sofa next to you. “please take off your clothes. when you lay down, use these to cover yourself.”
before you could question her, she slid the curtain that acted like a door, not walking far. this was probably on the top five stupidest things you’ve ever done, yet, after making sure the woman really couldn’t see you, you turned around and slid off your shirt. your arm barely made it halfway up before a jolt of pain forced you to stop, breath stuttering. you cursed under your breath, wrestling the shirt off with your good hand, praying she couldn’t hear the struggle.
your trousers weren’t as much as a problem (at least the nerves there weren’t fried). settling on the sofa carefully as to not jostle your arm too much, using your other to drape the towels around your chest and juncture of your thighs. after a few minutes, what seemed like on cue, she entered once again, this time with a small brass jar and a paintbrush. sitting down the jar and brush, she kneeled on the floor by your chest.
“it”s Lest,” she paused, her voice sure yet soft. “my name is Lest, i meant. may i? i just need to feel where it hurts.”
hesitantly, you nodded, allowing Lest to touch your arm. her fingers grazed your inner bicep, and you let out a hiss from the pain of what felt like a live wire imbedded in your muscle. it was embarrassing—to be in some random building in the undercity, shirtless, and from the faintest touch your nerves burned. you’re sure Lest could sense the pain, embarrassment, but she just hummed in response. she gradually went down your arm to your wrist, earning some of the same reactions; jerking, flinching, sudden tension. it didn’t seem like a way to diagnose anything specific to you, but Lest looked like she knew more than you when it came to this.
Lest picked up her jar and paintbrush, and you breathed deeply before closing your eyes. as soon as the first bristle of the brush hit your skin, an immediate, blinding white sensation bloomed outward all throughout your arm. it wasn’t the usual pain—far from it more than anything. and it wasn’t inherently… euphoric either. for once since the incident, you didn’t feel anything, no pain or discomfort, and that alone was better than anything in the world. the tension in your body melted away like ice on a hot day, and a sigh left your now relaxed lips without you even realizing.
the next time you came back, it was for the pain again
the third time, totally for the pain… is what you told yourself.
and at this point you simply lost count, you couldn’t even think of an excuse to give yourself.
and every time you darkened her doorstep, Lest just gave you a small, indulgent smile.