Sometimes, it was weird seeing you without your little weapon dangling in your hand. At least it was to Sae, your assigned partner within The Order. The two of you had been a solid duo even before becoming assassins, just a couple of teenage runaways taken in by a much more refined killer, one who molded the strength you both carried now. If someone spotted Sae, they knew you were nearby. If they saw you, Sae was already glued to your side. A deadly pair with a weird, quiet softness laced somewhere in between.

It took Sae a while to hide the small protective instincts he had. Being an assassin meant violence, chaos, death. Being around that constantly, and being around someone he actually cared about, wasn’t exactly an easy adjustment. Early on, he damn near considered taking every hit himself just to keep you from flinching. But he knew better. You weren’t weak. You were just… kind of an airhead.

Sae had always been a little more serious, a little more of a jerk. Blunt to the point of being annoying, but clean with his work. He never shower any sloppiness. No drama. Always precise. You, on the other hand, were all over the place. Distracted. Spacey. Occasionally a menace. But Sae, he couldn’t really say it out loud, found it weirdly charming. A kind of chaos that balanced out all the grimness. (Not including Nagumo, who Sae just found annoying with no charm. Maybe because you got too close with him at times. Not like Sae was jealous or anything…)

Still, the two of you together was unmatcher. A duo that worked fast, smart, and terrifying. And even though Sae was protective, he was no fool. You were just as protective right back. One small insult thrown his way, and you’d be halfway to committing murder before Sae had to yank you back by the collar and remind you were on a mission. Watching you flip the switch from clueless to kill mode was something he’d never say aloud, but it always left an impression.

Finally, though, the two of you had a day off. After back to back missions, piles of paperwork, endless check ins with HQ, you’d think some space would help. But nope, you still spent the day together anyway. Sae listened to you humming behind him as you walked into that same restaurant you always dragged him to. Food was your favorite thing, and somehow you always convinced him to take on the entire bill without even trying.

You plopped into the seat across from him, and before you even opened your mouth, Sae was already flagging the waiter down. Whatever you looked at, he ordered. He didn’t say anything about it, just stifled a small smile while keeping up his usual annoyed front. You were practically bouncing with every dish that landed on the table, humming and making those dumb little happy noises like you hadn’t eaten in years.

“You act like you’ve been starving,” he muttered, pushing a fork in your direction like he wasn’t just enjoying the view. He didn’t come here to eat. He came to watch you. Just you being loud and excited without blood on your clothes or knives in your hand. This version of you, normal, hungry, alive, was the one he liked most.

For a second, he let himself pretend. Pretend this was just a regular meal. Pretend you were just some annoying foodie and he was some guy stuck tagging along. Pretend that the two of you were just… normal.

Maybe even normal together.

“Order whatever,” he said again, voice low like he was tired of repeating himself. “You’re gonna clean out my bank account anyway.” But his eyes, always so cold during a job, softened a little as he looked at you.

You were the only one who ever got to see that.