#Alex the Charming Veterinarian | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

shion-yu · 11 months ago

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Cabin Pressure

My entry for the spot "New Things" for @hurtcomfort-bingo. 5,366 words, one part, no TWs. Introducing OCs Ryo (toyhouse) and Alex, Shu's adult son. Ft. sick Ryo while away on a work conference with a rival and air travel.

Even though good grades had never been his forte, Ryo had gotten through veterinary school with flying colors. He had an innocent charm that made people gravitate towards him and he'd quickly become the favorite of all his professors. They loved his cheerful energy, his genuine enthusiasm and his kind heart, so he had a job the day he graduated. His classmate, Nathan - valedictorian and class grump - started at the same clinic with him. Ryo was happy to know a face at work already; Nathan was fed up with Ryo before they even began their new jobs.

Their relationship was a love-hate one, although who did the loving and who did the hating was unbalanced. They were the definite Ying and Yang of the clinic, but it surprisingly worked despite their bickering. The two worked skillfully together, each one's strengths making up for the other's weaknesses.

Because they had been in the same class it was assumed they were friendly and work decided it'd be a great idea to send their two new veterinarians to a conference together - with plane tickets next to each other both ways and a hotel room they'd have to share. Neither new DVM had ever been to a conference and they were both very excited - but not necessarily about going together. Nathan, at least, made no attempts to hide his distaste about having to share this experience with Ryo. He didn't want to cause drama at his new job though, so he didn't complain, at least not directly.

On the morning of their departure, Nathan's mother drove him to the airport and bid her goodbyes. As he stood in line for security, Nathan spotted Ryo from afar clearly having an impassioned parting with his boyfriend. Nathan couldn't remember the boyfriend’s name, but he'd seen the blonde guy a few times at various events before and knew he rarely smiled. He seemed very different from Ryo, but opposites attracted. Not him and Ryo though; they were too opposite. Nathan was sure they'd never really be friends.

Ryo took no notice of his audience and after kissing Alex yet again and making him promise he'd take care of himself - "I left healthy meals in the fridge for you, so they better be gone by the time I'm home!" - he waved a final goodbye and got in line for security. Nathan attempted to blend in with the crowd as inconspicuosly as possible, but his bothersome and startlingly white-haired colleague was impossible to avoid once they boarded the plane. Nathan grit his teeth and replied stiffly to Ryo's all-too-cheerful greeting. The conference was only three days long, but because it was out of state they'd be gone for four nights. Nathan wasn’t sure if he was going to survive being paired with Ryo that long without letting him have a piece of his mind, but he bit his tongue for now.

His resolve didn't last long. While the flight was uneventful and so was finding their hotel room, Nathan couldn't hold back any longer when Ryo video chatted his boyfriend and became completely insufferable, oozing affection and sappiness that made Nathan want to puke. It was all "baby" this and "love" that, punctuated by frequent giggles and kisses.

"Jesus, get a room! A different room!" Nathan burst out shamelessly, looking pissed as all get out. He'd lasted longer than he'd expected actually, about twenty minutes into the sickly sweet conversation.

Ryo looked up from his call, surprised at first and then giving Nathan an annoyingly smirk. "Don't tell me you're stuck in the 50s, Nathan," he said.

Nathan huffed. "Not at all. Seriously. You're just annoying as hell."

Ryo glanced back at the call where Alex, who knew only vaguely of Nathan's distaste for his boyfriend, had a confused and concerned look on his face. "Don't worry," Ryo smiled. "He's probably just tired." He ignored the tidbit next to him of 'Yeah, of your yapping.' "I'll call you tomorrow baby. I love you so much, like super much. I wish you were next to me. Okay, bye." He winked and with a quick little air kiss, ended the call.

"You sound like a hung up little girl," Nathan muttered. "Still in your honeymoon phase?"

Ryo chuckled. He didn't take it personally and he was in a good mood from checking on Alex. "No. We've been dating for like... Nine years?" Nathan looked surprised at this answer, which only amused Ryo further. The truth was, he knew why Nathan disliked him and in a slightly mischievous way thought it was funny to poke the beast.

"Well, you could at least go in the hallway if you're gonna talk that long every night," Nathan huffed and turned over. "I'm going to sleep."

"Goodnight, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite," Ryo chimed.

"That's not even funny," Nathan muttered. He heard Ryo laugh before the lights were turned off. It was going to be a long five days, he thought before he fell asleep.

The first day of the conference went by smoothly. Both Ryo and Nathan really enjoyed themselves, Nathan making an active effort to sit as far away as possible from his former classmate so he didn't have to hear that painfully cheerful laugh any more than he had to. Ryo texted his boyfriend a few times throughout the day just to let him know when he was on a break or lunch, but for the most part he was unavailable by phone until after they'd finished dinner and he was back in their hotel room.

They were both pretty tired at the end of the day, despite how well it went. So Ryo didn't go into the hall because he knew it was be short - he just called Alex on video call and smiled when his boyfriend picked up. At least he used earbuds this time, though. "Hi, my sweet boyfriend." He could feel the other side of the room grow colder and stifled a laugh. "How was your day? I'm sorry I couldn't call earlier. It's really busy all day, and the other days look the same," he explained.

"I'm good. Busy, too," Alex said. Ryo nodded along and whole he didn't actually notice himself doing it, he was absently rubbing his temple to ease a small headache that spread down the side of his slightly pale face. He assumed he was just tired and that it was nothing even worth mentioning. He was far more happy to see his boyfriend's face and get visual confirmation that Alex was doing fine, anyways. Ryo hadn't expected otherwise, but he had valid reasons to worry about Alex being on his own. Sure, Shu was on the other side of town if anything happened, but still.

"The cats asked where the hell ya are," Alex said. "And since you spoil them, I had to get up with 'em at 6am, so thanks for that. Do you like your conference so far?"

"I do! I learned some really interesting things and met some cool people,” Ryo said.

"And Nathan? Is he being any nicer?"

Ryo glanced over at Nathan who was using his phone with his jaw clenched hard. "Nicer, no, but not meaner either. He's not really mean, just a grump. Apparently I'm too loud and smiley is all," Ryo finished with a flourish of a smile. Nathan seemed to be ignoring him clearly talking about him in favor of playing some game. Ryo chuckled, but then that turned into a surprising little sneeze that he didn't have time to hide from the camera. He sniffled, wiping his nose sheepishly. "Excuse me," he said to Alex.

"Bless you," Alex said. "You okay?"

"Thanks, I’m fine," Ryo said. He rubbed his watering eyes. "A bit tired." He yawned which then turned into a second sneeze, rougher than the first one. "Ugh, sorry. The air was really dry on the plane," he explained. "Anyways, I'm heading to bed." Plus if he talked for too long Nathan might kill him. "I'll call you tomorrow night. I love you," he said sweetly and then hung up. Nathan didn't make any comments. Ryo prepared for bed and then fell asleep very quickly. It was good to get some rest after such a busy day.

The second day of the conference went much like the first. Ryo was charming and friendly with everyone and made several connections, which was ultimately what this conference was about. He gave his best smile and a few people even told him they liked his hair. Ryo was used to his hair being his most memorable and defining feature. He figured it helped him stand out - in a good way (hopefully).

The only problem was, Ryo's headache from yesterday seemed not to have gone away with sleep. In fact, it actually felt like it had worsened and his right ear was aching. He rubbed it absently throughout the day, trying to get the pain to go away but to no avail. By the time the day was over, his throat had started to feel scratchy too. Thinking he really didn't want to get sick right now, Ryo decided to chalk it up to dry air and cabin pressure on the flight here. That was common, right? When they were back in the hotel he did purchase some Tylenol and emergen-c from the lobby store, which he downed with the optimistic hope that he’d feel fine tomorrow.

By the time he called Alex, Ryo was ready for bed and so chanced video calling his boyfriend from the room yet again with the expectation that things would be short. Nathan glared at him and smacked his teeth in disapproval from where he was sitting on the other bed. Ryo chuckled and greeted Alex happily when he picked up after only two rings. "Hi baby," Ryo said in a voice that was only a little scratchy, but noticeable to his boyfriend who he talked to every day. "Are you doing okay? Did you eat?"

"I'm fine. I just ate. You sound hoarse," Alex said.

"I'm assuming you ate one of the meals I made for you, not junk food, right?" Ryo asked for his own reassurance. Gosh, he thought, when did he become such a mother hen? He cleared his throat with a grimace and touched his fingertips to the tender area lightly. "My throat's a little sore but I don't think I'll lose my voice," he said optimistically. "I have too much to say!"

"Way too much," Nathan piped in loudly.

Alex frowned. "Want me to beat him up?"

"Shh, don't bother poor Nathan, he's just mad he doesn't have a boyfriend as good as you," Ryo giggled.

"What?! Am not!" That only made Ryo laugh more. Unfortunately this irritated his already sore throat and he ended up falling into a small coughing fit. It didn't sound terrible, but it also didn't sound great. He tried to hide how uncomfortable it was for him and shifted his position on the bed. His body was aching like he'd taken a long walk today, even though he hadn't.

"Maybe you should skip tomorrow. Are you okay?" Alex asked in concern.

Ryo waved one hand in the air casually when he was done coughing. He ears and head were throbbing in time with his body. "Yeah, totally," he said, but he was only partially confident by now. "It's the last day and well... Don't worry about me." He grabbed a tissue off the nightstand and blew his nose loudly. A surprisingly considerable quantity of snot came out. Not the best sign, he thought to himself grimly. "I'll call you tomorrow night. Only tonight and tomorrow and then I'll be with you," he smiled fondly. He looked seriously exhausted though. "Come pick me up, okay?" It was only words, because of course he knew Alex would pick him up.

The morning of the last day of the conference, Ryo's minor aches and pains had turned into a full blown fever overnight. He'd tossed uncomfortably and moaned fitfully in his sleep. It hadn't kept Nathan up, but he'd fallen asleep after Ryo and definately noticed it. Nathan told himself he had no business worrying about anyone else, especially his annoying coworker. However in the morning when they got up and Ryo looked dramatically rougher than yesterday, Nathan couldn't help but feel his stomach pang with pity. He wasn't a total monster after all.

Nathan cleared his throat and asked as casually as possible, "Hey, are you okay?" He hoped his voice maintained a quality of carelessness.

Ryo was slow in responding to him, which was unusual since Ryo always seemed to be able to come up with the peppiest thing to get under his skin in seconds. He was downing a handful of Tylenol when Nathan asked and swallowed before answering. Nathan noticed Ryo winced as he did so, as if it pained him. "Just a little cold," Ryo croaked, putting one thumb up in Nathan's direction. "I'm flattered you care though." Nathan rolled his eyes and decided if Ryo was well enough to still be cheeky, then he was well enough that he didn't need to be worried about.

"You better not get me sick too," Nathan huffed.

"I'll wear a mask," Ryo reassured him. The painful sounding coughs that followed convinced Nathan that it was probably too late anyways. But he told himself that Ryo didn't need someone to fuss over him and if he did, it wouldn't be Nathan of all people.

Ryo was not the focus of Nathan's thoughts for the rest of the day, given they sat separately. He did hear someone coughing and sneezing a lot across the room, but didn't quite connect it to the fact that it was Ryo until he saw his roommate at lunch looking, well, god awful. His face was flushed red and despite continuing to interact with other people, he looked completely exhausted. At least he’d bothered to put on a mask now.

Ryo didn't just look bad, he felt bad. He was still telling himself it was just a little cold, but the headache, earache and now fever seemed to be persistent despite the Tylenol he was consistently drugging himself with. It was the last day though, which was important for getting peoples' contact information and sealing connections, so he pushed himself despite getting progressively colder and achier throughout the day. He fielded off any texts from Alex asking how he was doing with some particularly cheerful emojis and forced himself not to drag his feet. By dinner - which was a big event because of it being the last night - Ryo had zero appetite and the thought of eating seemed repulsive. But he went anyways, trying to stifle his coughs and sneezes with some success and ignoring the mix of worried and annoyed glances he was getting. Afterward dinner, almost everybody was going to the hotel bar. Ryo didn't feel up to more, let alone drinking, but again it seemed important and so he forced himself to go and ordered a shot of fireball in the hopes that it'd warm him from the inside out.

He decided to call Alex before he forgot and it became too late. He sequestered himself into a quieter corner of the hall, pulling the mask down to his chin. No video though, it was too chaotic and anyways, Alex didn’t need to see how rough he looked now. Alex picked up quickly. "Hi baby,” Ryo said. “Everyone is going to the bar now, so by the time we're done I bet you'll be asleep. So I wanted to say goodnight and I can't wait to see you tomorrow!" His feeble voice left little to the imagination even without a video.

"You sound sick as hell," Alex said right away. "Go to bed."

Ryo chuckled hoarsely. It didn't sound very encouraging. "Maybe I have a little cold," he admitted before he could stop himself. It seemed fireball on a mostly empty stomach was hitting his already woozy head harder than he'd expected. He pulled the phone away from his warm cheek and muffled a sneeze that was much more painful than the ones yesterday. He resisted the urge to groan and pinched the bridge of his nose as if it would ease the pain in his head. "I'll sleep on the couch when I get home and wear a mask, so don't hug me too tight," he instructed Alex. His heart hurt a little saying those words because all he wanted was to be in his boyfriend's arms at the moment.

"Are you stupid? I'm going to take care of you,” Alex snorted, direct as always.

Ryo sighed, which made him cough for a moment. "Okay, well, still. Keep your distance," Ryo said. "I'm still happy to see you tomorrow though. Bye baby. Love you." He hung up before Alex could nag him any more.

Ryo managed to drink another beer and suffer through a few more fruitful interactions between he genuinely felt like he was going to pass out. Everything seemed to be floating by him as if he were on a cruise and he was quite surprised when Nathan slid next to him, eyed him critically, and then shook his head. "You definately should not be drinking," he heard his hotel roommate say critically. "Go to bed. You look terrible."

Ryo raised a tired eyebrow but shook his head, too worn to come up with a witty response other than, "Gee thanks. I'm fine." He said this with the conviction only someone with Ryo's specific brand of idiocy could muster. "It’s just a cold."

Nathan snorted. "You said that this morning, but you clearly have a fever." To Ryo's surprise Nathan placed the back of his hand against his cheek to feel how hot it was. He tried to hold back the small groan that escaped his lips, but the cool feeling of another person's skin just felt so good. God he missed Alex. "You're burning up." Ryo’s eyes fluttered open and was disappointed when Alex wasn't the person sitting across from him. Still, the look of genuine concern on Nathan's face gave him enough energy to push Nathan's hand away with a tight smile.

"I'm-"

"If you say you're fine again, I'm seriously going to punch you," Nathan snapped. Ryo shut up. He stayed silent, though now in shock as Nathan grabbed his wrist and pulled him off the bar stool. He was then forcibly led to the elevator, stumbling with dizziness. He opened his mouth to complain, but the glare from Nathan was enough to keep him quiet until they got to their room and Nathan sat him on the bed with his hands on Ryo's shoulders. "Sleep, you moron," Nathan insisted angrily.

Ryo was way too tired to argue and at this point, had no energy to call Alex again. Alex was on his mind though, and he couldn't help but smile to himself thinking about how he'd be reunited with his boyfriend tomorrow. Regardless, he wasn't aware that his phone had now died, leaving any call attempts Alex may or may not have made for the rest of the evening to go directly to voicemail and his texts to go unread.

Ryo fell asleep quickly. Vaguely, he remembered someone trying to wake him up around one in the morning, shaking his shoulder and saying something quite loudly. He whined and shut his eyes tightly to ward off the light that had been turned on. He heard whoever it was sigh and then a cold washcloth was placed on his forehead. He moaned and tried to pull the thing off, but the frustrated other party growled and forced if back into place.

"Jesus, how does he deal with you every day? Nine years... How the hell?" Some level of recognition regarding the scenario processed in Ryo's brain and even so sick, he couldn't help but laugh. "If you're conscious enough to laugh at me then you're fine," he heard Nathan huff, which only made him chuckle more until he was stopped by his own harsh coughing. The deep voice grew gentler and he felt a hand on his back rubbing circles until the coughing died down. "Just go back to sleep. We'll be home tomorrow."

The night felt like it lasted so much longer than it did. By morning Nathan was exhausted and agitated from having to play nurse all night. He scowled as he had to physically support Ryo into the rideshare they took to the airport. Ryo's fever, despite Nathan's reluctant tending overnight (prompted by a series of pained moans and violent shaking that even Nathan hadn't been able to ignore), had not gone down at all. In fact it seemed to be even higher. Nathan would rather drop Ryo off at a hospital to be their problem, but they were in an unfamiliar place with a flight to catch. He just needed to drag Ryo home and hand him over to his boyfriend, Nathan told himself a little desperately.

When they exited the cab, Nathan hoisted Ryo out of the car, throwing one of Ryo's arms around his shoulders for support. Ryo could walk at least, but he seemed totally out of it and unaware of what was happening. Nathan was kind of glad for that though, because he wouldn't have been able to bear the humiliation of Ryo being fully conscious during all of this. He half dragged Ryo through security and luckily Ryo wasn't stopped with the suspicion of being drunk, although Nathan wasn't sure how. Maybe Ryo's charm extended so far it could even trick TSA, Nathan thought dryly. The same routine applied as he got Ryo onto the plane and buckled him in, muttering an embarassed, "Excuse me" as he did the all too intimate task for his rival.

Most of the flight went fine. Nathan kept Ryo medicated even though it didn't seem to do anything and tolerated Ryo slumping over to sleep on his shoulder. At least he wasn't saying annoying stuff, Nathan thought to himself. And thank God it was a direct flight.

It was when they began their descent that Ryo seemed to regain awareness for all the wrong reasons. At first he was just covering his ears with his hands, but then Nathan realized he was crying in pain. He touched Ryo's shoulder nervously and the pathetic look of desperation that he got in response seriously scared him.

"My head's gonna explode. It hurts so bad," Ryo whimpered, tears streaming down his blotchy face. Nathan didn't know what to do. He didn't have any experience in helping someone with this, but he knew if Ryo's head had hurt before it was probably unbearable now. He settled for resting one hand on Ryo's knee and squeezed. Ryo placed his hand over Nathan's and held on so tight it hurt.

The remaining descent was a nightmare for both of them. Ryo was doubled over in pain worse than anything he'd ever experienced before and Nathan was terrified that Ryo's ears were actually going to explode. Eventually though, they reached the runway. Nathan waited for everyone else to get off the plane first before he tried to get Ryo off, not wanting to draw attention from the other passengers.

"Ryo, get up," he said gruffly, trying to pull his schoolmate up by the armpit. He froze when Ryo clapped his hand over his mouth and looked at Nathan in panic. "Shit, are you gonna barf?" Ryo nodded frantically and Nathan didn't spare another second before yanking him up and aggressively throwing Ryo into the plane bathroom just in time. One of the stewardesses came to move them along with an inpatient expression which softened when she heard the noises from inside the toilet and let them be.

Nathan waited about five minutes before he knocked. "Ryo, we gotta get off," he said. "Are you alive?" No answer. Nathan waited another thirty seconds before he yanked the door open and saw Ryo looking deathly pale, barely supporting himself against the sink from falling on the floor. He looked at Nathan with teary, guilty eyes. There was vomit on his chin.

"Shouldn'ta drank last night," he rasped, like this was the reason behind the puking and not the unbearable head pain that had made him puke. Nathan made a distasteful face in response at both the vomit and the feeling of exasperation washing over him. They were almost at the finish line, he told himself. "Let's go. Your boyfriend is waiting," Nathan said. He grabbed one of the towels and wiped Ryo's chin off, throwing the paper into the toilet in disgust and then pulling Ryo down the aisle.

The promise of reuniting with his beloved seemed to give Ryo just enough energy to get off the plane and allow Nathan to drag him through the airport to arrivals, where he quickly spotted Alex waiting for Ryo. A wave of intense relief washed over Nathan. Alex immediately looked worried as soon as he saw Nathan supporting Ryo until Nathan basically shoved Ryo into Alex's arms.

"Here, he's yours. He's sick as hell and owes me big time," Nathan snapped. He honestly never wanted to see Ryo again. Except maybe to make sure he was alive, that'd be good. Then he stalked off to find his mom, ignoring any words of protest and leaving Alex alone to support his boyfriend and his raging temperature.

Ryo was pretty out of it and just happy to be reunited with Alex who had to half drag, half support him back to the car. Ryo stared at the high step up into the truck for a long moment as if the task of getting in were too hard for him to comprehend, but eventually he crawled in with a boost from Alex. He leaned back in the passenger seat, breathing hard and fast.

Alex began to drive, glancing up frequently at his miserable boyfriend. "Ryo, wake up," he said. "What hurts?"

"Hurts? Um... My ears... And head... And everything else." He gave a delirious chuckle.

Alex stopped at urgent care on the way home to get Ryo checked out. He was really worried - he hadn’t expected Ryo to be this sick. Plus, Ryo was better at doing this kind of stuff - the planning and caring and tending to. Ryo leaned against him and his hot cheek felt like it seared Alex's shoulder. They gave Roy a test for flu and strep, which came back positive for strep.

“It looks like a nasty sinus infection with a double ear infection, too,” the doctor told them. Ryo was leaning against Alex, trusting Alex to deal with it all now. It was such a relief to not have to push himself anymore. He knew Alex would take care of him. “He’s lucky his eardrums didn’t actually pop," the doctor added. Alex wasn’t sure why he had to say that and glared at him.

Ryo slept much of the next twenty four hours after the ordeal of getting home. The following day he was lying on the couch dazed and feverish with a blank look in his eyes. Sinus infections could be a funny thing. While rarely extremely serious, they often just seemed to stick around imparting misery as the main symptom. For Ryo this was true, especially when combined with the strep throat have gave him a fever that just didn't want to break despite Alex staying on top of medications. The stress on Ryo's body from travel and especially from the pressure of the plane had made things worse than they probably would have been under normal circumstances. His head felt fuzzy and heavy, and he seemed unable to get through many coherent thoughts before losing focus.

"Nathan took care of me, baby," Ryo mumbled as Alex stroked his hair. "He did a good job. I'll have to make it up to him somehow."

"You don't owe him anything," Alex said. Ryo's head was in his lap on the couch and he could feel how warm Ryo still was despite Tylenol. "It's not like you got sick on purpose."

"I guess not. I'll still buy him a gift card or something though. I'm pretty annoying." Alex didn't disagree with that. Ryo was excitable at best and unbearably loud at worst. He was a hard core introvert's nightmare and Alex himself had been intimidated and annoyed by him when they first met. He didn't think Nathan had to be that rude to Ryo though. Only Alex was allowed to be that rude to him.

That evening, Alex was in the kitchen warming up some light soup out of a can on the stove. Ryo had little to no appetite, but Alex insisted he had to eat something. It was reverse from their usual position, which amused Ryo because Ryo was always the one insisting that Alex eat something that didn't come out of a plastic wrapper. He had on a big sweater, wool socks and their two warmest blankets on top, yet he still felt cold. His face was terribly pale other than his flushed cheeks and he was sniffling pathetically every few seconds. In a way he still felt like he was on the plane - like there was some pressure coming from inside his head that threatened to burst out painfully everywhere: his eyes, his ears, his nose. He wanted to help Alex tidy the house after his days away, because of course Alex had fallen behind on the chores. But all he could do was lie there miserably.

Alex came over with the bowl of soup and sat at Ryo's feet, handing it to him. Or attempted to, but Ryo shook his head and kept his arms planted under his blanket pile. "You need to eat," Alex sighed in annoyance.

"I'm weak," Ryo whined dramatically. "Help me."

Alex rolled his eyes, but spoon fed Ryo the soup anyways. "Dont make eye contact with me," Alex snapped at him when Ryo made yet another laughably doe eyed baby face. "I'll spill it all over you."

"Then you'd have to clean it up," Ryo said confidently.

"Then you'd be covered in soup and you'd have to clean it up," Alex muttered.

"Alex, move, ahh-" Alex yanked a spoonful of soup away just in time to avoid letting Ryo spray it all over him from the force of several harsh sneezes. Ryo groaned in pain. "I'mb sorry," he rasped out. Sneezing was seriously painful given his raw throat and aching head.

"It's okay, I got out of the way in time," Alex reassured him. He glanced down at the bowl to find it half empty. "Are you full?"

"Yes," Ryo sniffled. "Ugh. This is the worst sinus infection I've ever had." He rubbed his forehead which was throbbing with sinus pressure.

"I'm sorry, Ry," Alex said sympathetically. He tried to think of anything else be could do, but he was hardly a natural born caretaker. Still, he racked his brain until he came up with something Shu had done for him once when he had strep throat that had been surprisingly comforting. "I could read to you. Might distract you."

"Really?" Ryo asked in surprise. Alex was rarely so tender. "That does sound nice, but... What's the catch?"

"There is no catch, asshole," Alex huffed. "Do you want there to be one? I obviously don't have to read to you if you don't want me to. Forget I asked." He was blushing and Ryo knew he had to run damage control before this became an argument.

"No! I want you to," Ryo reassured his short-tempered partner. "I was just surprised. Read to me, please. It sounds nice.”

Alex nodded and grabbed the book he’d been reading recently off the bedside table. He didn’t bother giving any context - he knew Ryo wouldn’t care and would soon fall asleep. He just read from where he was while petting Ryo’s head on his lap until he heard Ryo’s congested breath turn into even snores. He put the book down and leaned over to kiss Ryo his head hot temple. Ryo would bounce back from this in no time, Alex thought to himself. He wasn’t worried. But he would take care of his lover for as long as he needed to, no strings attached.

#shionwrites #sick while traveling #kinda a slow ramp up bc I was introducing the characters but the juicy stuff happens in the second half #and by juicy I mean suffering #sick on a plane #reluctant caretaker #sickfic #whump #male whump #sick whump #fever whump #oc: Ryo #oc: Alex #hurt comfort #hurtcomfortbingo #new things #one very small mention of emeto #illness whump #flu whump

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evermorehqs · 2 years ago

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CATCHING MY BREATH, STARING OUT AN OPEN WINDOW

Alexandra Casoy is based on Alex from Totally Spies. She is a 26 year old human, vet technician, and uses she/her pronouns. She has no powers. Alex is portrayed by Eva Noblezada and she is open.

CATCHING MY DEATH, AND I COULDN’T BE SURE

There are people in the world who operate at a sprint when it came to life and Alexandra Casoy was easily one of those people. Athletics were interwoven in her DNA and the moment she could stand, she was running - whether it was around a track, after a soccer ball or through crowds at the mall to whatever plushy was on sale, the young girl was always on the move and she was talented. Thankfully, too. She might have been elite on any field but when it came to street smarts, critical thinking, and common sense? Alex wasn’t the one you’d lean on for any of those ( unless it was in video games ). The Olympics were constantly brought up in her house, which sport it was didn’t really matter. At the end of the day, all they had to accept was that she was destined to be an Olympian. The W.H.O.O.P agency had other ideas.

Alex was chosen to join two other young teens at the agency, rounding out the trio and doing so with an absent smile. Did she completely know what was going on? Not entirely but she got the basics and that was all she needed. As long as she had Clover, Sam, gadgets shaped like lipstick and her pet pig, Oinky, nothing bad could happen. And then something happened she didn’t see coming, though to be fair Alex had fallen for more obvious traps in the past, but Evermore was one they couldn’t get out of. None of their tricks worked against walls they couldn’t see and she felt like a kid who’d somehow lost their parents at a theme park. But she wasn’t alone. Though her mission days were on hold, Alex quickly found a spot to lean into her other passion - animals! Between being a spy and being a young adult, she spent her time taking veterinarian classes and it seemed like that work was finally going to come in handy.

I HAD A FEELING SO PECULIAR

❀ Ed Kazah: Finally someone else who thought about things the way she did....read: not a lot. There was something to be said about living in your naiveté and not taking things as seriously as everyone else

❀ Francesca Framagucci: Animals have always been a huge part of Alex’s life especially her pet pig and finding someone who loved the least loved animals just as much as she did was an immediate green flag

❀ Christopher 'Kit' Charming: Alex can’t deny that Kit Charming is exactly that - charming and boy, oh boy, does she fall for it every time. He’s cute, he’s strong, he’s a little intimidating but in a hot way. She can’t help but trip up a little around him

THAT THIS PAIN WOULD BE FOR EVERMORE

#totally spies #eva noblezada fc #disney bio rp #no powers #open bio #open female #female bio

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4lexnilsen · 4 months ago

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“oh? wait, did i just impress you? by almost getting beat up to a pulp? well, the bar isn’t set very high these days, is it?” feeling more like himself now that there’s no black dots clouding his vision and the world’s finally stopped spinning like a carousel, alex can easily rekindle his inner spark and bring back the fun side of his personality. teasing virtual strangers can either go really well or horribly wrong, but he takes his chance with this girl anyway. it’s these big, doe-like eyes, he thinks to himself, there’s something charming and inviting about them. all jokes aside, it does boost his confidence, knowing he’s managed to impress her with his chivalrous attitude even if he didn’t necessarily win the fight. cheeks flushed when she goes a step farther and lectures the poor, nerdy kid about manners, a sheepish smile dancing on his lips at the quiet thank you’s that he receives. he’s anything but used to people making a big deal out of whatever it is that he does, fussing over him, and so he lowers his head and waves his hand in a dismissive manner. “come on, it’s really no big deal.” it’s what any decent person should do in this situation.

“a surgeon? really? now that’s truly impressive. i’m sorry you never got to meet him, though.” eyes crinkling at the corners as a warm, sympathetic smile tugs at the corners of his lips, alex finds himself completely immersed in the story about her grandfather. it’s fascinating to see how the choices one’s ancestors had made affect the younger generations. curious hues studying her expression, taking her in, and coming to the conclusion that she does look like someone who’s got it all figured out and could be a wonderful veterinarian in the future. or a doctor. “is that what you’re here for? i mean, are you majoring in biology or zoology or something like that?” he asks, stifling a chuckle when she compares him to fur patients. “maybe it’s your sign to consider becoming a furless creatures’ doctor instead? at the end of the day, it all comes down to one question; would you rather deal with a screaming husky or a brave, well-behaved patient like myself?” this time, he does laugh, thinking about all these silly videos of screaming huskies that his friend sends him on a daily basis, and feeling bad for vets who have to treat these dramatic things.

“no, go on. you can’t just not tell me. is it that bad? phantom of the opera kind of bad?” he can tell it’s not good by the throbbing sensation alone, the side of his jaw pulsing, heat radiating off his cheek. the bloody tissues that they’ve already disposed of. well, at least his teeth are still in his mouth. “thanks for covering for me. we’ll stick to the classic oh, you should see the other guy then.” an airy laugh escapes him, he appreciates her efforts to save his pride. the smile that she graces him with is so sweet that he suddenly feels that almost childish need to do something silly once more just to see it again. “helena.” now that’s one beautiful name. “thanks for saving my life, helena.” he takes her small hand into his large one, his fingers gentle and careful not to squeeze too hard as he shakes it. “i’m alex. well, it says alexander on my birth certificate but no one ever calls me that.” he doesn’t remember if his mom ever referred to him by his full name, but if so, she was the last and only person. “barney? do i look like a barney to you? now that’s a real insult. better than larry, but still…” brows inching closer together in confusion as he picks up his pace, he doesn’t immediately get the reference, not realizing how the purple hoodie wrapped around his waist and height could easily make him barney the dinosaur’s twin brother.

❝ oh, alright, ❞ that certainly did change things around, it lifted the brunette up in a pleasant surprise. she was always impressed by a protector, it took a lot of courage to stand up to the antagonist. and it took a good heart to fight against the antagonist, rather than be the antagonist. so count her as wrong, for jumping to conclusions. ❝ well, whether your boxing skills were on par today or not... that was very brave. i'm proud of you. not many people would stand up for a stranger. ❞ she assumes he doesn't know that kid, anyway. ❝ and you sir, should be thanking him for looking out for you. ❞ helena is sure to kindly point out loudly enough for him to hear in the building that had silenced back down once the bully was pushed out of the library, lecturing like an outspoken mother. or a noble father who wouldn't let kind acts from others get by either. ( both. both selina kyle & bruce wayne's best traits pouring through her personality. ) a pleased smile graces helena's features when the timid kid lifts his head and agrees, the boy next to her does deserve a gracious thank you which he gives even if it's mumbled and sheepish.

❝ thanks, i take honor of that title. my late grandfather– he was surgeon. i never met him, but my dad always told me while growing up he was a wonderful doctor. personally, i'm more skilled at doctoring things with fur... but it's barely any different with things without fur i've learned this evening. ❞ she gently laughs, meaning tending to him.

❝ ummm...❞ voice faltered, grimacing; how to put it politely? poor boy. ❝ no, no–– it... just looks like... nevermind. it doesn't matter, ❞ helena decides, shaking her head, ❝ because i'll tell everyone you won if they ask. ❞ she amusingly smiles to solve it EASIER, especially at his party city comment. it didn't even take him walking like an astronaut to cause her to. ❝ helena. ❞ small hand sticks out with nails painted deep purple, offers to shake his. ❝ congratulations, i did too. that makes us both olympic athletes. ❞ she jests, leading the way outside. luckily, the red letters saying 'walgreens' was conveniently right across the street. ❝ come on, barney. pick up the pace. ❞

#batheir #alt. main verse; tbt.#BARNEY MADE ME CACKLE #NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES I READ IT IT NEVER STOPS BEING HILARIOUS #and his confusion only adds to the comedic experience lol

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angry-slytherin · 5 years ago

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Heaven Help Me(Ch 1)

[prompt credits to @imfullofideas thank you!

Prompt: AU. Izzie never got cancer and she and Alex are happily married. Well sort of. Alex is just going through the motions while trying to keep his wife happy. His life is turned upside down when he meets Jo Wilson and realizes she's what he's been missing all along ]

Some background: For story purposes, Jo is/was only 2 years behind Alex and Izzie in residency. Alex and Izzie are second-year attendings and Jo is a fellow. Alex and Izzie got married in their third/fourth(?) year of residency, like in the show. Also, Alex will not cheat on Izzie with Jo, because cheating is gross and adultery is worse. Jo will become a general surgeon(forever bitter she isn’t ortho in canon, but whatevs), as well as Alex being a gen. pediatric surgeon. Izzie is in oncology, but she will also perform surgery. Because despite her big heart, I cannot find anything I genuinely could see her doing as a surgeon; she’s a great doctor though. I just went with the crack canon that 16x16 brought us.

Without further ado, Chapter 1:

•••

It doesn’t take Jo Wilson very long after she moves to Seattle to conclude that the reason the small population of the city is so contrary, is due to the constant rain. Good weather means good moods, and lots of barometric pressure equals a lot of headaches. Which is what Jo has right now. A raging headache.

“Cross, how many times do I have to have these results sent back to the lab? You are a fifth year. Next year you’ll be an attending general surgeon. You will call the shots. If you can’t get simple lab results right, how is anybody supposed to trust you with their life? Get me a white-cell count and glucose levels for my mice, please.”

Cross nods his curly blonde head vigorously.

“Right, sorry Dr. Wilson.” Cross stares at Jo for a moment, before she shoos him.

“I swear the fifth year’s get duddier every year. You could steal another resident for your trial that has half a brain, I’m sure. And mice?” Jo turns around, to see Izzie Stevens leaning over a chart, smiling at her.

“You’re right, Dr. Stevens. But he knows my research so well. I have a pretty competent intern on it too, though. An oncology intern that I’m borrowing.” Jo leans on her elbow on the nurse’s desk.

“Ah right, you’re our new research fellow. I’m inspired by your work, Doctor...”

“Wilson, Josephine Wilson.”

“Doctor Wilson; its innovative. I was surprised to see Chief Bailey even put out a personal check to fund your fellowship.” Izzie smiles, and it makes Jo feel warm inside.

“Uh yeah, it was certainly a great opportunity. It wasn’t my original plan to come to Seattle, but plans change.” Jo gives a small smile, as Izzie hands her tablet to a nurse.

“Welcome to Seattle, then. The warnings are true, it rains a lot here.” And Izzie walks off.

“Thanks.” Jo calls over her shoulder.

“Doctor Wilson, your pager is going off.”

Jo looks at the nurse over the desk, “Right.” She feels her face flush. 911, OR 2.

***

A nurse slips latex gloves on Jo’s hands.

“You paged me?”

“Are you a general resident or something? If so, then yes, and get your damn hands in the patient, please.”

Jo looks up to see a face matching the voice; a male surgeon. She assumes he either hates female surgeons or residents with that tone.

“Fellow, a research fellow. I am also a board certified general surgeon, but I’ll gladly play resident for a minute.” She steps over to the table, “What do we have here?”

“Two-year-old boy; biliary atresia, I need an assist.”

“That would be why I’m here.”

Jo grabs the suction tube.

“It feels incredible to be in an OR. I’ve been here for a week and so far it’s been all paper work and setting up my lab, no operations yet for me. It’s like I have that intern-level high of being in here for the first time.”

“That’s great; but this kid needs your focus. I’ve been his doctor for a long time, and I’ve known you less than five minutes.”

“Doctor... well I don’t know you either, but look at his bile duct. He needs a Kasai.”

The male surgeon inspects the patient’s abdomen, and sighs defeatedly.

“Crap. You’re right.”

“It’s okay, we’ll do it right. You’ve gotten this kid this far, and I’m pretty confident in my skills. Let’s get ready.”

***

As Jo scrubs her hands after surgery, it occurs to her.

“I still don’t know your name.”

“Doctor Alex Karev, pediatric general surgeon. But you knew that. And yours?”

“Doctor Jo Wilson. General surgeon and research fellow. But you knew that.”

Alex smiles, and it makes her smile back. He has a ruggish look, almost hardened that attracts her.

“Your whole motivational thing helped. Thanks. I didn’t mean to be an ass in the there; still working on that. I’ve been an ass my whole life, and I revert when I’m stressed.”

“It’s okay, I kick and scream when I’m stressed too. Maybe we should both work on our coping mechanisms. Make a switch to ortho?” Jo can’t help her cheeky grin.

“Oh yeah, definitely. Let’s get right on that.” Alex’s eyes widen as he says it, and his grin soon matches her. Jo studies his face for another moment, before her pager goes off again.

“I have to go. It was nice meeting you Doctor Karev.”

“You too, Doctor Wilson.”

Jo leaves the scrub room, feeling lighter in her step as she walks toward her lab. Her elation even leads her to believe that Cross will have gotten the correct tests. She turns the corner.

“Doctor Wilson, these results look weird to me.”

Cross hands her the paper, and Jo feels her heart rate speed up as she reads it.

“Why the hell is her white count so low? Mouse number three I mean,” She trails over to the mouse, not looking up.

“Doctor Cross, did you or Doctor Rayn notice this mouse looking sickly? Maybe she’s got an existing illness?”

“It’s a mouse.” Cross says.

“Yes, I know that. What I’m saying is that if she doesn’t, this means that this treatment won’t work. This research is basically useless.” Jo gapes sadly at the mouse. Her stomach sinks and her chest hurts.

“Please, go run white counts again on all the mice. And test them all for anything weird. Consult a veterinarian if you have to, just find out if there’s something wrong with my mouse. Find Rayn to help you.”

“Got it. I hope she’s alright; it had been going so well.” Cross looks down, the air in the room feeling heavy.

“I know. So go get those work ups done.”

Once her resident is gone, Jo takes a seat at a lab table for a moment, before deciding that what she really needs is a lunch break.

***

“That looks absolutely disgusting.” Jo feels like she might throw up looking at her friend, Doctor Atticus Lincoln’s lunch.

“She’s right Link, that looks like it was burnt, thrown in a dumpster and harassed by a koala.” This comes from Amelia Shepherd, Atticus’ longtime girlfriend and recently— fiancée.

“Well, I’m going to it eat it. And neither of you,” He looks between the two women, “Can stop me.” And with that, he shoves a bite of meatloaf into his mouth.

“Oh god,” Jo squeezes her eyes shut, and shoves a bite of salad into her own mouth to wash away the second-hand disgusting that she feels.

Amelia goes unbothered, instead becoming interested in Jo.

“So, have you found any new friends. Better than this loser; a boyfriend, or perhaps a very lucky man in a bar? There’s one right here, no discount, but the owner probably knows more about us doctors and nurses than we do.”

“Maybe, no, and definitely not.”

“Oh well that’s boring. Who’s your friend?”

“Doctor Karev. We didn’t speak all that much, and I wouldn’t call him a friend yet, but he seems nice, and we clicked.”

“Oh he’s like a rugged hot right? Not my type, but good looking,” She then turns to Link, “The one with the crazy wife, right?”

Link looks up innocently from his meatloaf, “You think everyone is crazy. She’s normal to me.”

“Okay...he’s normal though? Safe to be around?”

Amelia laughs, “She’s not dangerous. She is crazy though, crazier than me; and that’s saying something. She’s charming to some, but I wouldn’t marry her, if you know what I mean.”

Link adds, “She’s nice though.”

“Sunshine-y like my fiancé here.”

Jo nods.

“So no crazies, right Link? They’re both normal people?”

Link glances at Amelia, “Amelia only hates her because she believes she should’ve been kicked out of the program for something she did as an intern. It’s not my story to tell, but it was kind of crazy. The whole thing.”

Jo smiles, “Okay, then I might just have a new friend.”

***

“Doctor Wilson! So this is your lab. It’s very organized. It also reeks like med school.”

“Not much worse than ORs get, Doctor Karev.” Jo smiles to herself.

“A hundred percent. Can I ask what you’re working on, oh wise research fellow?” Alex walks over to Jo and the mice, studying them.

“A cure for cancer. In the long run, that’s the goal. This is just phase testing, still on mice. Right now, me and my team are studying a whole bunch of boring crap to get to the fun stuff. It’s just me, two residents, a couple of biomed engineers and some mice.”

“That’s a big goal. And kind of an incredible one. How did you get the grant money?”

“The chief of surgery wrote a personal check. She was inspired by my work at Hopkins, in residency, and I gave up my minimally invasive fellowship at Mass Gen to come here.”

“Wow, someone’s got expensive taste. Family money?”

“What, no? Brain power. I was a foster kid, but I’m just ridiculously smart. You probably couldn’t comprehend half of what I do here.” Jo teases, grinning.

“Oh yeah, I’m just really stupid. But hey, I was a foster kid too. On and off.”

“Oh yeah, any good homes?”

“One. The rest were all crap.”

“Mine were all crap. Every single one. But life goes on. You have to get past it, or it’ll sink you.”

“Wow that’s deep. Real insightful.” Alex deadpans. Jo rolls her eyes.

“Shut up! It’s what my therapist taught me when I was in my early years of med school. That’s what happens when you’re messed up in the head.”

“Hey, at least you have your self-proclaimed ridiculous smarts, I just have messed up.” Alex cracks, as Jo tinkers with a tool.

“Ever been to therapy?” She asks hesitantly.

“No.”

“It’s horrible. I threw up every time, and I think it made me worse. But then it made me better.” She puts the tool down and faces Alex.

“Good, I’m glad.” Alex smirks sideways for a moment, and Jo can’t help but smile back. Then, after a beat, Jo works up courage.

“So I heard you have a wife. What’s she like? You can’t be that messed up if you have a wife.”

“Uh yeah. She’s a doctor, an oncologist. She pops in here often, she did a surgical residency. Doctor Izzie Stevens.”

“Oh. I’ve seen her around; talked to her this morning. She’s very nice, pretty too.” Jo compliments.

“Yeah, she’s great. What about you, anyone special? Husband, girlfriend, dog?”

Jo laughs, “Just me right now. New city, cross country move, you know?”

Alex nods, “Gotcha. Anyone you had to leave back home? Personally I ran from where I grew up, but some people have a hard time letting go.”

Jo bites her lip, “No, not from Maryland. I’ve ran before, but not from there.” Her voice is quieter and she seems to shrink into herself.

“Oh. Well that’s nice, I guess.”

“Yeah. No running anymore. Seattle is growing on me. I like that rain.”

Alex smiles.

#grey’s anatomy #grey’s fanfiction #grey’s anatomy fanfic #jolex fanfic #jo wilson #jo karev #alex karev #izzie stevens #amelia shepherd #atticus lincoln #a multi chapter?#in this economy?#AU #au fanfiction

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vomiwrites · 6 years ago

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Hi everyone! I’m Vomi (or V) and I’m applying as both the Charlie Hunnam fc and the Henry Cavill fc :D I’ve only just come back to RPing after a 2 year hiatus so it’s been a bit of an adjustment, but I’m really excited for this!

JACQUES “JAC” LEBEAU

Full name: Jacques Baptiste LeBeau // Jac for short.

36 year old dummy. Fights for a living. Recently made Lieutenant for the Dixie Mafia.

#BigAriesEnergy. Likes rock and roll, motorcycles, liquor, and pretty women.

Grew up in the heartland of Cajun country and has the accent to prove it.

Is a fraternal twin. Literally they couldn’t be more dissimilar - his grandma used to call them night and day because of the difference in their hair colors and personalities.

His mother was a meth addict who died from an accidental overdose five months after Jac and his brother were born, so they were sent to live with their grandparents in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Was an edgelord growing up (still is lbr). Got into fights, acted up in class, basically he was that asshole - you know the one.

His grandparents got him into boxing with the hope that it would get him to stop fighting in the streets, but old boy still wanted to act out of pocket, so that was a bust.

He eventually got kicked out of school and sent to juvie. He met a kid that worked with the Dixies and got said kid to hook him up with them after they got out.

He basically ran errands for the DM, but eventually hustled his way up until he was given an official rank.

Made friends with the cohorts that he liked, but he doesn’t like that many people so it’s not saying much. The feeling is mutual for a lot of people in the mafia - he’s not exactly Mr. Congeniality.

He has a problem with authority and enjoys pressing people’s buttons so it took him years to actually climb the ladder from Associate to Lieutenant.

Now that he has an ounce of power, he’s definitely taking advantage of it by being a dick to anyone who ranks under him; especially the newbies - think Ben Affleck’s character in Dazed and Confused only dialed down a lil.

Jac’s not actually as bad as he wants people to think he is. He cares about his mafia family - even the people that he doesn’t get along with (which is most). He’s very much a tough on the outside, mushy on the inside sort of dude.

Just for some added drama, he recently learned that his brother - now a cop - is also living in Atlanta.

Positives: Charming, Loyal, Athletic, Genuine, Passionate.

Negatives: Volatile, Aggressive, Stubborn, Violent, Difficult.

ALEXANDER SUMMERS

Answers to Alex. Or Summers. Or Farm boy. Take your pick.

Was raised on an actual farm in a small town outside of Atlanta. His life was basically Stardew Valley irl.

Sweet little Pisces bby. Animal lover. Reads a lot of poetry. A lil shy, but very friendly. Probably likes long walks on the beach.

Both of his parents worked in law enforcement. His father was the town’s deputy chief.

Basically grew up in a perfect, All-American Brady Bunch-esque household. Has one younger sister and a whole gaggle of younger cousins who essentially lived at his house growing up.

Is a bit of a nerd - he loves reading and always enjoyed studying when he was in school. Was a straight A student and captain of the math team.

He also enjoys sports and joined the high school football team his freshman year.

Got a scholarship to play football at a university in Atlanta. He intended to become a Veterinarian, but then a whole lotta shit went down and that was that on that.

During his Sophomore year in college, his parents were severely injured in a shootout outside of their town. His father had been beyond saving and eventually succumbed to his wounds. His mother was left paralyzed with a severe brain injury.

Turns out the Dixie Mafia had been involved. Oops.

This basically led Alex to seek a career in the FBI. It took him years to actually become a full-fledged agent.

Found a small apartment in the city and adopted a dog. He named her Peeves because of an old joke his father used to tell him when he was kid. “This is my pet, Peeves!”

Dude is out for some serious vengeance against any and all criminal organizations in Georgia. He leads the FBI’s gang task force now and won’t rest until he gets every last person affiliated with the Dixie Mafia and the Italian Mob locked up. #Notallmobsters.

Currently working on an undercover sting to infiltrate the Dixie Mafia.

Positives: Kind, Intelligent, Charismatic, Honorable, Gallant.

Negatives: Vindictive, Enigmatic, Obsessive, Withdrawn, Dogmatic.

#atlantachat #rp stuff

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rorykillmore · 6 years ago

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how about a ramble on one of your fave aus for one of your characters?

okay i want to preface this by saying that it took me awhile to decide what i wanted to do for this ask, and at one point i had like a list of options that i could potentially try to expand on

and also that a few years ago on denny, we had a huge… like, site-wide au that spawned from like a throwaway joke about my character (alana) being a veterinarian? and soon lots of people were like, connecting their characters to this setting until we had an entire like… denny normal world au on our hands that was surprisingly a ton of fun to play with. everyone got involved and got to take their characters out of their varied heightened settings to kind of explore what they’d be like if they lived a more normal life and how certain things would translate and it was just!! a lot of fun!!

so one of my options for this ask was a grey’s anatomy au which is something i’ve talked a bit about with @numinousbones anyway in the past and something i have a huge soft spot for and then i realized. not only does something like this lend itself really well to a panfandom setting, but it’s also kinda reminiscent of that dumb old veterinarian au. so i tried to think up some stuff that incorporated various people’s high muse characters in a number of ways! obviously if anyone else takes a liking to this they can feel free to alter what i’ve thought up for their characters OR just come up with stuff for characters i haven’t mentioned

so first i wanted to start with a core group of interns, like MAGIC (meredith/alex/george/izzie/cristina) in the first 5 seasons of grey’s. basically this is just a group of characters who start out training at the hospital as a group, under the same resident doctor. they grow and learn and compete together and ultimately become a kind of found family unit. i went through a few character combinations for this and then decided i really liked dolores, laurel, lee, dev, and cloud for an au of this. partially because they’re characters we’re all really into right now (even if dev’s not on denny yet), and partially because, well, it’s a combination that lends itself well to a lot of shipping drama, true to grey’s anatomy form,

so lee and dev are kind of the on again, off again couple. they hit it off right from the start and are pretty obviously into each other, but it mostly manifests through brief hookups and stuff at first. both of them are a liiittle afraid of commitment and also. they’re here to become kickass doctors and their ambition should take priority over a longterm relationship. right? anyways everyone at the hospital knows they’re a thing, they’re just never sure when lee and dev are “on” and when they’re “off”. some of the attendings are infamously exhausted by this drama,

laurel and dolores are more like. the “will they or won’t they” couple that kills everyone because they take SEASONS to get together. it takes them ages to even realize they have feelings and then ages longer to do anything about it. they probably run into traditional obstacles to cause drama like finding other brief love interests, getting into fights over stuff, etc. it’s painfully obvious to lee and dev but nobody wants to risk the dynamic of their friend group by throwing it out into the open

cloud escapes the shipping drama (for now) but he still goes through a lot with the rest of them and also, after his first year as an intern, maybe he latches onto studying under an attending in the specialty he wants to go into, aka sophie. they develop a nice rapport and a pretty great mentor/apprentice relationship, maybe something a la alex and addison in the early years of grey’s, but then if you wanted to be mean you could translate cloud’s geostigma arc into… cloud getting sick with something else (because there’s Always a storyline on grey’s where one of the doctors gets sick, someone should run a health check on this hospital) and he and sophie try to like, keep it on the downlow for awhile while they try to help him. at some point the rest of the friend group finds out and are predictably upset,

i was thinking of which character could work as the resident who trains the original group of interns (like bailey does in the show) and for some reason lin hu just struck me as perfect for it? maybe because he’s so grumpy. imagine him trying to wrangle lee/dev/dolores/laurel/cloud and all their drama. also he probably has a friendly(ish) rivalry with another attending (ammy) and some kind of romance arc with shu-chi and kulau, who. hmm. maybe they’re his rivals who hold high positions at other hospitals? but then they all slowly fall for each other,

then as the au goes on and the interns work their way up to being full time residents, you could bring in a NEW group of interns which could be like… mike and some of the other kid characters on the site maybe? i feel like we need to work max into this au too. but anyway, mike gets assigned to cloud probably, and gets a lot of those “reckless baby interns causing shenanigans” storylines. i also had the sad/sweet thought that maybe you could bring eleven in as a patient at some point (not with anything too serious because we don’t want to make this like, an izzie/denny scenario, we’re not that mean), but with something that would require her staying at the hospital for a little while and she and mike could fall for each other? and mike could get a lecture from some older doctor about falling for patients and get all defiant about it,

i like the idea of shiro as this like. brilliant, established, charismatic attending. kind of like mcdreamy, but nicer. everyone kinda looks up to him. but i also threw shades of owen into this idea – no ngl, i just took some of owen’s character concept and applied it to a better character. that is to say, i feel like shiro would work as like… a former army medic or something who now works as a surgeon, and he’s really good at what he does and has great bedside manner and is really charming and reassuring with everyone, but beneath that he has layers of trauma he doesn’t really deal with. maybe sara could be like? the teddy to his owen? like they were old Army Buddies and maybe she comes to the hospital at some point because her sister works there and snagged her a job and then she and shiro have to work through some old shit. he’s finally cornered by someone who knows he suppresses things!,

on that note i was trying to figure out how to fit the legends in… idk what they would work better as. a ragtag group of army medics? or like a paramedic/emergency response team who get to go onto the scene of an accident or disaster and try to help people regularly? or maybe they could be something like firefighters? idk they feel like they’d work better as something more hands-on like that

lastly it occurred to me that death should be given the obvious position of “old guy who works in the hospital morgue”. he’s notoriously grumpy and sometimes vaguely creepy but on occasion he gets really poignant moments with other characters who are struggling to deal with like, a patient they’ve lost, or another character who gets killed off (as if that would ever happen in a GREY’S ANATOMY au!)

anyway. those are some basic concepts. despite this being a “normal au” you could expect to throw your characters at a lot of like… natural disasters and sudden high stakes stuff and virtually anything that would cause drama because that’s what grey’s is all about!

i didn’t get much into like… what each character would specialize in. or what their backstories in this world would be, although i was really tempted to. but i think this post is long enough and hopefully you had fun listening to me paint just like, a broad picture of some people’s characters!

also a song for au insp (x)

#digitaldragoon #thanks giz!!#maybe ill have more developed thoughts on this later #cuts dennys lvad wire

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sophie1973 · 4 months ago

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WIP Wednesday

I was tagged by the lovelies @suseagull04 and @tailsbeth-writes (thank you ❤️)

Since I made some good progress, I'm sharing a snippet of the current wip I'm writing and that I will start posting end of September.

Title : Wait for me (To come home) (Thank you Ed Sheeran for the inspo)

Here is a little summary first :

When he inherits a lakehouse from his late aunt, Henry doesn’t hesitate and book the first plane to Texas, leaving everything behind, including years of abuse by his grandmother, ceo of a vast hotel empire.

Henry begins a journey of healing and self-discovery, seeking to reclaim control over his life and unearth a renewed sense of purpose.

And if he finds love in the sparkling brown eyes and charming smile of a handsome veterinarian, well, it’s an unexpected, but welcome, bonus.

Snippet and Tags under the cut

Just as Henry contemplates ringing the tiny bell on the counter, a door to his left swings open. And Henry's attention is immediately captured, causing his breath to catch in his throat. The newcomer is dressed in light blue scrubs that perfectly complement his warm, brown skin tone. His hair is a riot of glossy, black curls, framing a face that Michelangelo himself could have chiseled. Deep, soulful eyes, the color of rich chocolate, gaze at Henry with curiosity and warmth. And on those eyes, the most incredibly long eyelashes Henry has ever seen. But it is his smile that makes Henry’s heart do a triple salchow. It is a grin that starts in those expressive eyes and spreads across his face like sunshine breaking through clouds. It is open, genuine, and utterly disarming. "Hi there," the man says, his voice a pleasant baritone with a hint of a Southern drawl. "I'm Dr. Alex Claremont-Diaz. Sorry about the wait. Can I help you with something?" Henry finds himself momentarily speechless, his usually eloquent mind struggling to form coherent thoughts. He is vaguely aware that he should respond and explain about David and the check-up, but he can only focus on how Doctor Claremont-Diaz 's curls catch the light and how his eyes crinkle slightly at the corners when he smiles. Realizing he's been staring, Henry clears his throat, willing his brain to reconnect with his mouth. "Hello... I'm Henry. Henry Fox," he manages, inwardly cringing at the unnecessary repetition. "I'm here for my dog." For a moment, those curls and ridiculously long eyelashes had nearly wiped his own name from memory.

Tagging with no pressure : @stellarmeadow @onthewaytosomewhere @firenati0n @iboatedhere

@thesleepyskipper @kj-bee @thighzp @caterpills @miss-minnelli

@theprinceandagcd @bitbybitwrites @taste-thewaste @blueeyedgrlwrites

@taste-thewaste @orchidscript @anincompletelist @14carrotghoul

#red white and royal blue #alex claremont diaz #henry fox mountchristen windsor #Henry the Burned-out Hotel manager #rwrb fic #Wait For me (to come home)#firstprince #Sophie1973

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sapphic-bombshell-vixen · 7 years ago

Text

Title: when the seasons change (or the pure and simple truth is that i love you)

Fandom: Emmerdale

Pairing: Charity/Vanessa

Summary: Color Meanings: Gold for courage, Green for jealously, Blue for truth, Red for passion, Purple for feelings of romance, White for new possibilities and beginnings.

of undeniable attractions and interesting confessions ensue between a certain landlady and a veterinarian.

Rating: PG-13 to be safe.

Word Count: ~5,097

when the seasons change (or the pure and simple truth is that i love you)

1.Gold

Vanessa chewed her bottom lip as she looked at herself in the mirror. Usually she liked this color, a color that reminded Vanessa of a late autumn evening, with the orange and red sky blanketing the earth. Where the sun is replaced by the moon, and only the light is illuminated around the fading gold ring around a black pupil.

Those colors remind her of something. Or someone. A certain landlady.

Those burning golden eyes.

She pales and recoils at the thought.

“Ness, are you listening to me?”

She shakes her head like she’s coming out of a trance. “Huh, Yeah?”

“I was askin’ if you were gonna’ quit staring off into space and get ready…”, Rhona said, as she looked at Vanessa from where she sat on the bed.

“...Course.” Vanessa smiled. “What time is it, anyway?”

Rhona checked her watch. “It's eight fifty-five,” she said.

10 minutes. She has ten minutes to finish getting ready for yet another blind date that her sister had set-up through one of those ‘perfect match sites’.

“You sure you are up for another one of these?” Rhona stirred her tea.

Vanessa shrugged her shoulders and applied her lipstick. “Think it's’ time to put myself back out there.” She told her was getting tired of her moping and not trying on any of the previous dates that she had.

“Oh…” Rhona watches Vanessa through the mirror. “So that affair you had with Charity is finished?...”

Vanessa flinches and squirms noticeably in her seat. “I don’t even really like her anymore...”

Rhona regards her in amusement. “Interesting.”

“It was just….” Vanessa begins then sighs in relief when a soft knocking sound interrupts.

“Oi! Ness. You ready?...” Tracey calls before she enters the door.

“I’m just heading out...” Vanessa answers as she smoothes down the invisible wrinkles in her black dress and heads out the door in a rush. “See you…”

Truth is. She has no fucking clue what she feels for Charity Dingle.

2. Green

It was Friday night and the Woolpack was mostly empty, the evening still too early for the rush of customers it would be receiving later.

Booths were dotted around the edge of the room, mostly empty although some held young couples, single people heading in for a drink after work and in one corner, a group of women stood at the edge in her direction, waiting.

“What can I get you?” Charity says, plastering a fake smile on her face.

A shrill high-pitched voice sounds near her ear, a pitch too loud that seems to play across the room.

“Oi... five margaritas, with the organic cherry juice from down at the Cafe.”

Charity sighed in frustration, “We don’t carry that...”

“Serving people is your job, innit?,” the redheaded one replied, unfastening her purse from around her waist and holding a load of cash in her hand. “We want the organic cherry juice.”

“Don’t get yer knickers in a twist…” Charity muttered.

“Leave it, will ya” Chas interrupted her as she takes the bills and thrusts them into Charity’s hands. “Just go get the juice, ya..Cool down a bit..”

Charity huffs out a breath.

Rhona and Tracey arrived; just as Charity was leaving, allowing her to catch the ending of their conversation.

“She’s stubborn alright...” Rhona laughs, “But I wonder how Ness’ date is’ going.”

“Well her dating profile said she was into romance and adventure with a love of animals.” Tracey smirks, dropping into one of the vacant seats.

“Tracey... They’ll be perfect....” Rhona exclaims, as she shifted her focus to Charity. “Hey Charity, two pints, please.”

Charity lifted her pint of Guinness as a mock salute, and leaned back against the wall.

“Sod Off.” She replies back before slamming the door and stepping out in the cool crisp air.

“Someone’s in a right mood.” Rhona commented.

Tracey hums in agreement and laughs. “Charity’s definitely jealous.” Rhona adds, “And the green-eyed monster appears.”

It was raining, it was cold, and it was pitch dark. Which was no surprise, considering it was late November.

But Charity did not care; she could have cared less for the fact that she was thoroughly drenched, or that she was shivering from the cold.

‘Vanessa was on a date with a woman!’ Charity frowns to herself.

Charity doesn’t do pining. She doesn’t. So when it becomes clear that she feels something more for Vanessa.

‘Well’ Charity thinks…‘She has always liked a challenge.’

3. Blue

“Vanessa?...”

The vet snapped back with a start when she heard someone calling her name. “...Err….Alex...”

“Well, hello to you too.” the dark-haired woman grinned. She pulled up a chair and sat next to the vet.

“Evening. What can I get you ladies to start with or if you’re ready to order?” The waitress asked, her smile half-hearted.

“I’ll take the Pinot and the fish, please.” Alex responds.

“Just a Chardonnay and the mushroom risotto, thanks.” Vanessa states.

The waitress jots down their order and runs off to the kitchens.

“So Alex...” Vanessa started, sipping her drink, “what is it you do for a living?”

Alex states, “I’m a nurse. Well, a travel nurse really, but the travel is not all it’s cracked up to be.”

“Why’s that?” Vanessa chuckled as the waitress arrives, placing their meals in front of them.

“You’re away from your friends and family in long terms, relationships don’t last due to contracts ending, and constant loneliness from ever-changing, ever-moving…”

Alex explained, her expression solemn. “Your profile said you were a veterinarian…”

“Yes, the patients are the best really.” Vanessa confirms.

“I bet.” Alex laughs and glances sheepishly at the vet before continuing. “So when did you know you were gay?”

“I didn’t.” Vanessa blurts. “ I mean I’m not gay. I’m bi. And it was just recently that I started questioning myself.”

“How’s that?...” Alex questions.

Vanessa smiled weakly, "Well, It's actually more of a whom...Charity was just…”

“So what happened to your Charity?...” Alex asked curiously. Her choice of possessive pronouns did not escape Vanessa.

“She’s in the past...” Vanessa replies too quickly. “..I’ve moved on..”

“You have?...” The dark-haired woman questioned.

“Yes.” Vanessa replies, she was out ‘enjoying herself’ on a blind date in a sexy dress that feels suffocating all at once and her brain conjures up a mental image of Charity across from her, sipping wine instead of the brunette.

Tentatively, Alex places her hands on the vet’s own. “Can I tell you a secret?...”

Vanessa contemplated the blue fabric of the tablecloth before answering, “Sure.” .

“She’s not good for you, you know.” Alex tells her between a bite of her salmon.

Charity’s got a bit of a reputation. Well, okay, she’s got one hell of a reputation. Apparently she’s slept with half of town and that’s only because the other half isn’t gay or related.

Vanessa stood and turned to leave, placing 50 quid down in a hurry. “Where are you going?...” Her date’s voice asked, standing as well.

“I just remembered someone…” Vanessa stammers. “Something important. I… have to do.” Vanessa pauses then side-hugs the other woman. "I hope we can be friends.”

“I’d like that.” Alex smiles, who returned the hug, albeit a little awkwardly, “Go on, then,” she encourages with a nudge to Vanessa toward the exit.

‘It was all Charity’s fault’…..Vanessa came to that conclusion.

4. Red

Vanessa stops in her footsteps, looking up and around at where she is,

‘Bloody Hell.’ She swears under her breath.

She’s in front of the Woolpack. With one last glance back at the street, she steels herself and pushes the door to the bar open.

Charity was in a sour mood already, to say the least. A mess. A raw nerve. She was going to go off.

‘The universe has a terrible sense of humor.’ Charity thought as she catches the vet’s eye as she enters from outside the pub.

Oh, for the love of -

Still, she’s a Dingle. She tilts her chin proudly and forces herself to walk, casually, back to the bar to find something to stabilize her nerves.

“How do I look?” Vanessa asks her as she approaches the bar, giving a little half twirl in greeting.

The teasing was just how they were with each other, nothing more.

“You look stunning, babes.” Charity replies honestly.

Then it’s deadly quiet and Vanessa blinks up at her. “Did you just actually compliment me?”

“For a doctor, you can be a bit daft, eh?......” Charity trails off as she sees Vanessa’s glare.

To most people that would have sounded like an insult, but Vanessa knew better after learning more about the landlady at every turn. Charity was trying to hiding whatever it was that made her feel...

“I was out on a date tonight.” Vanessa begins, pushing ahead.

Immediately, Charity goes tense. “I know.” Vanessa gives her a withering look.

“Your sister and Rhona were all but screeching it like birds earlier.” Charity remarks. “So you’re dating women now, eh?”

Vanessa can't even believe what she’s hearing. And she’s pretty sure her eyes are about to explode. “They what..!..”

Charity ignores her comment and rolls her eyes. “So, how was she..this date?..”

“Alex seemed like a nice woman.” Vanessa confessed. “However, we decided it’s best if we just stay friends.”

“Of course you have.” Charity replied, dryly.

Vanessa said, a hint of distraction in her voice, glancing around the bar. “Been busy tonight, I guess?”

“It’s not really been that bad.” Charity sighed in exasperation, waving her hands about vaguely toward the opposite end where the group of giggling women remained, “Except for those five cows.”

“Charming,” Vanessa said, but smiled.

"I'm many things..." Charity winked.

“Oi, Charity. Stop yer flirtin’ with the Doc...and bring us another pint...” old man Fletcher barks drunkenly.

Charity visibly winces, then straightens up and glares at the man.

“If you’ll excuse me….” Charity murmurs with a nod to Vanessa. “Duty calls...”

“Or,” Vanessa begins as Charity pauses her movements to listen, “You could just find someone to fill in.”

Charity’s frown turns into a smile. Her lips shift ever so slightly, her teeth start to show at hearing Vanessa repeat the words, she once used on her.

“One hour at tops..." Charity promised.

Vanessa’s words came out of her mouth before she even processed them through her brain, "Come back to mine. Tracey is keeping Johnny."

“You’ve changed your tune....” Charity gave her a wicked smile in return; and begins to say something further.

Before Charity can respond with a cheeky response, she feels a hand grasp the back of her neck and pull her in. Her lips collide with the vet’s.

Eventually, Charity pulled away from Vanessa slightly, a flare of arousal shoots through her, as she stares at Vanessa’s smeared red lips. “A taste of things to come,” the landlady gasps.

“I’ll see you later...” Vanessa says, grinning widely and slipping out the door.

‘...I’m screwed.’ Charity thinks once Vanessa leaves and she pours another beer and shoves it down the counter toward a stunned (and silent) Fletcher.

5. Purple

Vanessa lay stretched out in the tub, her head resting against the tiles of the wall, enjoying the

feel of the warm, scented water and of course allowing her muscles to relax.

The vet can still feel her the tingling from that kiss as she presses her fingers to her lips.

The doorbell rang, jolting Vanessa out of her thoughts.

As she grabbed a fresh pair of scrubs from the dresser, she glimpsed at the clock hanging on the wall.

11:48 PM.

Then a loud banging repeatedly knocking commences.

Vanessa’s damp hair was slightly mussed, and her lips already twitched upwards into a smile as she opens the latch.

Having rushed straight from the pub to Vanessa’s house, Charity hadn't given much thought to her appearance.

“Like what you see, Ness?” the older woman asks, one perfect eyebrow arches. Charity watched Vanessa’s eyes roaming her body,

“You look tired,” the vet answers, as she steps aside allowing Charity to enter.

“Are you this sweet with all the girls?,” Charity says, affection in her voice, pushed herself forward,

“You’d be surprised,” holding the vet’s sharp gaze for a moment as she arches into the other woman which elicits a sharp hiss from Vanessa. “At how much I can handle.”

“Come here... I’ll help you relax...” Vanessa replies.

“Cheers,” Charity quips, as her hands tangled around the vet’s damp hair, yanking her up to a kiss.

Barely pausing for breath, so Vanessa could close the door behind them, and Charity could hear the sound of the dead-bolt being turned as she leaned back into another kiss.

“You’d better stop…” Vanessa warns, tightening her grip on Charity’s waist, overwhelmed with need.

“And if I don’t want to.” Charity purred and teasingly pulls on the drawstring of Vanessa’s purple scrub pants before reaching inside and squeezing Vanessa’s bum in good measure.

“Fuck…” Vanessa sighed in pleasure.

“How positively vulgar… I swear, you’re a bad influence, Ness,” Charity moaned at the expletive and thrusted into the vet, building up a slow, agonizing rhythm.

“By any means...You’ll be fun to corrupt.”

Charity growls, something inaudible harsh and stuttering as a response.

Soft lips trailed down Charity’s neck, whimpering when she felt the vet run her tongue along the shell of her ear and back to her pulse point, sucking lightly.

Vanessa’s response to Charity’s challenge is immediate and sharp; Rendering her speechless, is merely bonus.

Charity leaned forward and kissed her hard, keeping their lips pressed together as she thrust into her hard, using her hips as leverage, her palm stimulating the sensitive area inside her.

Vanessa tears her lips away to get away to let out a strained whimper, as she collapses on Charity, completely spent and breathing heavily.

“Bedroom..” Charity hissed the words, as Vanessa guided them to the foot of her bed. Vanessa pushed Charity onto the bed, and Charity found herself inhaling as the blonde vet licked a long line up the blonde’s chest.

“Undress…”

It was a command, and Charity followed it immediately and unbuttoned her pants, as her entire body shudders at the sensation of Vanessa’s tongue.

There are no more words,

Just an aching need.

A need to fulfill Vanessa’s desires,

A need to fulfill her own.

‘She’s in love with Vanessa Woodfield.’ It’s that realization that sends Charity over the edge.

----- Later -----

Charity stared at the bedroom ceiling, her body aching pleasurably after that indulgence. She didn’t know how it was possible.

When the only sound left is the synchronized sound of their breathing, Vanessa nuzzles her face into Charity’s neck. “What are you thinking of?..”

“What does it matter….It’s only temporary, right?” Charity scowls.

“Please don't joke about that...” Vanessa murmurs.

“I’m a mess,” Charity replies sadly. You could do better. Someone easy like…..”

“Someone like Alex, you mean?...”

“..Or Marlon…” Charity jokes. Vanessa effectively gagged.

“I get bored with easy in five seconds...” Vanessa exclaims quickly. "I like things to be as complicated as possible.”

Charity growls, tries once again. “I’m not a good person…”

Vanessa shifts forward in the bed. “And yeah, I know that too... you’ve got a past. So do I. So does everyone else in this sodding town. But I’ve seen the real you....”

“You don't fucking know me.” Charity interrupts.

“Charity...”

And Charity is so charmed by the way Vanessa’s mouth forms her name that she agrees automatically.

She exhales on a curse.

Charity knew it wasn’t forever. The only thing that’s surprising is that Vanessa is lying about it.

What a wonderful dream this was.

6. White

Vanessa shielded her eyes from the sun and grinned. Charity was still sleeping beside her. She rose silently from the bed, and headed towards the kitchen, not wanting to wake the other woman.

While the kettle boiled, Vanessa searches her cabinets to see what she could conjure up for breakfast.

--..Meanwhile, in the bedroom..--

“Ness.”, the older woman muttered sleepily, reaching over, and fully sitting up once she feels the empty, cold bed.

Charity should have expected this.

She knew it, knew Vanessa was always in this temporarily.

She just thought Vanessa was different….

As if on cue------the blonde vet walked back through the bedroom door.

“Thought I left, did ya?” Vanessa says once she sees Charity’s face and gestured to the plate filled with fruit, jam, toast, and two steaming cups of tea. “And I think we both worked up an appetite…”

“I’m in love with you…” Charity admits quietly. Vanessa’s eyes lit up. “Think I’ve been owing you that one for a while.”

“I don’t want you to say it just because…”

“I do feel it...:” Charity concedes. Of the two of them, she’s never been the quickest to express what she’s thinking.

“Here,” Vanessa whispers, handing Charity’s tea over then licking her lips and pushing the other woman’s blonde hair away from her face. “And I love you too…”

“Huh…” Charity’s breath catches inaudibly, and searches the vet’s darkening eyes. The look in them is sincere.

“We should probably talk.”

It was also a bad idea, Charity knew, to suggest that they forego talking about things and instead maybe try that having sex thing again.

Instead, she said, “I would very much like that... But first breakfast...”

The shrill sound of a pager going off interrupts the moment. Vanessa lets out a frustrated sigh. She checks it, 9-1-1.

“I’m going back to sleep.” Charity laughs, dramatically flopping back on the bed.

“Goodbye, Charity.” Vanessa winked.

Nodding, Charity had to let her go.. “I'll see you, later?..” She hated that it came out like a question.

“Of course,” confirmed Vanessa, as she pressed her lips to Charity’s cheek. With that she was walking away into the darkness and Charity was left to face her future.

---...Later That Day…---

“Long night?..” Rhona asked, her voice low and concentrating, as she packed up the the surgical tools. Vanessa certainly didn't look like she'd gotten much sleep last night.

“You have no idea,” sighed Vanessa, who was dutifully focused on the intricate line of stitching across the horse’s shoulder.

The horse released a deep noise at the contact, but leaned toward the vet. “Shh.. girl, it’s okay…” Vanessa assured the animal. “Almost done.”

The horse nimbly leaps off -- clearing out to the feeding hall in one easy bound

“Want to tell me what’s got you smiling?” Rhona asks, once Vanessa finishes cleaning up from the surgery, face partially hidden by her coffee mug.

“You won’t like it,” Vanessa began tentatively.

“Why?..” Rhona asked, narrowing her eyes.

“I went home with someone,” Vanessa began tentatively.

“The date went well then..?..’ Rhona asks, clearly intrigued.

Vanessa tells her “Not exactly. I slept with Charity Dingle, that's who.”

Rhona’s eyes softened, “Oh Ness…”

“It could be a trick…” she adds. “Are you naïve?”

“I don't think so…”

“How…”

“I trust her…” Vanessa confesses. “She told me she loves me and I love her.”

“Vanessa please, I just want what’s best for you.”

“And I don’t need your pity,” Vanessa snaps.

“S’pose so.” Rhona smiled.

Their thoughts are interrupted by a distinctive rumbling from the blonde’s stomach.

“Take you to the pub, grab something to eat?” Rhona cracked a smile.

The vet blushed. “Yeah, why not.”

It was past three o'clock at midday when the two women walked up in front of the Woolpack.

“Steady on, mate,” Rhona smirked, as Vanessa blushes.

Chas is behind the bar, balancing three plates of burgers and chips, when she turns around and notices Rhona and Vanessa entering the bar.

"I'll be right with you…” Chas shouts over the length of the bar. “Grab a seat.”

Chas emerged, minutes later, from the back room. She walked over to the two women, “Hiya, love.” Chas says, in greeting to the vet and nodding to Rhona.

“Hiya.” Vanessa replies. “Can I get the tomato wrap and chips?

“Burger and chips for me, please.” Rhona add.

Their food arrives fifteen minutes later.

“Anything else for ya?..” Chas implores.

“Chas?” Vanessa questioned.

“Yes, love.”

“Is Charity about?..”

“Not sure love, she came in bout’ a hour ago and disappeared.”

------...But things do not go to plan...-------

vague, seemingly familiar voices amongst the group of drunken men became louder.

“Oi...Vanessa, I heard ya shagged Charity again.”

“What was it like for the third time?”

“Come on!”

Tell us…”

Taunts, jeers, stares, all directed at the target...Vanessa.

A look of disgust sweeps over Vanessa’s face, as she grows tense.

“Ignore em’.” Rhona offers. “They’re drunk off their arse.”

The vet scoffs. “Bunch of Tossers.”

“Shut it, you lot,” Chas warns thus making their insults worse.

“Charity Dingle the daft cow.” one man in particular catches Vanessa’s attention.

“She’s a randy little slag that one, inn’t she?” he slurs, which causes the group to burst into raucous laughter.

Their laughter and giggling filling the air. The vet straightened, switching into defensive mode. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Chas pick up a phone on the bar.

“What did you call her?” Vanessa hissed with barely controlled rage.

The men in the group kept shushing him quickly, “Keep your voice down, Harvey…”

“Is there a price to be paid...” Harvey taunts her, voice extremely high. “Or does she give it up for free after the trial run….”

Vanessa rises from the stool, fuming in anger.

The pub descended into silence, the entire room holding its breath as they waited for Vanessa’s reaction.

She quietens.

Her brain shuts down as she turns, striding across the bar and before she even knows what she’s doing, rearing her shoulder backwards.

Then Vanessa punches Harvey hard in the nose. The man lets out a cry of pain as he crashes painfully to the floor, like a sack of potatoes.

“I’m calling the police on your friend there…” Chaz sneered.

A mild protest erupted between the group of now-sober men, ‘You have no right....’

“It is if you start causing trouble in my pub.” Chas announces to the men. “So if you want to escape the same fate...I suggest you apologize and leave a sizeable tip.”

Their mouths fall open.

“Stop yer gawping before I change me mind…”

Then, for good measure, Chas shakes the ‘tip jar’.

Chas carefully watched the four men as they quickly stood, each of them stepping to the blonde vet and apologizing, before dropping all of their spare change into the glass jar and running out the door.

“Hero of the hour, defender of womankind from intoxicated gits,” Rhona announces, coming to stand beside Vanessa, giving her a light squeeze.

“Three cheers for Vanessa, everyone!..” Chas cheered behind them, holding the nearly overflowing jar, full of cash in her hand.

And then a chorus of applause echo from each of the bar patrons..

Vanessa blushes in reply.

“I think I’ll take a walk…” Vanessa says to no-one, holding her aching hand.

A soft voice replies from the doorway. “I’ll join you…” Charity’s words barely crackle past her lips and carry a heavy rasp, but it's the most beautiful sound Vanessa has heard all afternoon.

“Charity…” Vanessa breathes out. Vanessa said her name with such reverence and love, it was like there was no other word in existence that meant more to him.

“Hello, my love..." Charity smiles, slips her hands over Vanessa’s waist, ‘round her back, and pulls her closer.

“Chas, man the bar for me tonight?” Charity asked.

“...‘Course, love.”, Chas said, with a warning look that read ‘don’t mess this one up.’

“I don’t plan to….,” Charity replied aloud as she reached for the door.

“You defending’ my honour, was kinda hot.” Charity jokes, once they are outside the bar.

“As is...that weird wounded toughness thing you’ve got going on.” Vanessa begins and Charity raises her eyebrow. “You’re my friend…”

“We’re not friends.” Charity whispers, any protest is cut short by the the vet’s lips on the her own. “But...I don't want to rush into anything…”

“What can I do to convince you?” Vanessa asks. She’s so calm. Charity can’t quite fathom it.

“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” Charity clicks her tongue.

“Will you be my girlfriend…” Vanessa bit back, hoping she would get the very clear message

“Yes....” Charity’s response was immediate.

“Come on…” Vanessa said, with a growl of frustration. “I have an idea…”

Charity watched her go, and felt a surge of something in her chest.

“You are something else, Ness....”

“Regardless,” Vanessa begins, stopping in front of the flower shop. “We’re together...Partners now…”

Charity remarks dryly. “Partners in crime…”

Vanessa grins. “Which involves talking…

“It leads to nothing but fightin’ in my experience…” Charity snorts.

“It��s just how healthy relationships go.” Vanessa inserts.

“You’re not going to give up on me, so easy…are ya Doc?”

Vanessa assures her. “Never…”

“Everyone. Fucking. Leaves. ” Charity snaps.

“Yes, well…” Vanessa clasps their hands together, one hand nervously grabbing at her fingers. “I won’t bloody do it.” Vanessa swears.

“It’s a fine line between…” Charity says, as she brings Vanessa’s bruised hand to her lips and presses a kiss onto her knuckles. “...love…”

“And… hate…” Vanessa silenced that thought, capturing Charity’s lips in a searing kiss.

“Wait here…” Vanessa insists, removing herself reluctantly from Charity’s side.

The other woman seems reluctant to leave her side.

Charity whines in protest, leaning against the back of the building, tapping her foot impatiently.

A second later, a voice calls.

“Enjoying yourself?” Charity turned her eyes towards the soft voice.

Vanessa was standing there, her hands behind her back.

"I wanted to surprise you," Vanesa offers a coy grin, as she slowly approached her.

“These are for you…” Charity’s eyes dropping to the flowers in her hand.

In her hand, there was a beautiful bouquet of daisies, lilies and roses. Each held the same color, of white. If but a few shades lighter.

“Flowers?...” Charity questioned, as she accepted the flowers with a soft kiss..

“You’re very observant...” Vanessa replies, while she wrapped an arm around Charity.

“What’re you after?” Charity asked, though it was a redundant question by this point.

“Not obvious yet?” Vanessa hums her reply.

Charity shakes her head. “Show me…” she finally whispered.

“I love you…” Vanessa declared in a soft voice.

Charity’s answering smirk told Vanessa it had gone over her head.

The next moment, Charity had one hand on Vanessa’s hip, the other behind her neck, and their lips were clashing together. Vanessa moaned into the sudden, hard kiss, nipping gently at Charity’s kiss-swollen lips.

Charity licked her lips. “I think I may be rubbing off on you....”

Vanessa said, looking brave. “Someone has to…”

“You’re stuck with me then…” Charity breathes between kisses.

They rest their foreheads together, catching their breath.

Vanessa nudged Charity’s shoulder.

“It feels like yesterday I was trying to sneak out of a cellar after having a drunken night with you.”

“Couldn’t believe you didn’t regret... that night...regret me,” Charity admitted, a voice full of years of doubts and worries and fears. “I still can’t....”

“I could never regret you…” Vanessa says. “All those weeks of longing….”

Vanessa noticed the sad expression on Charity’s face and tried to lighten the mood.

“The Emmerdale Post is going to have a field day with this, you know.”

The thing was, Vanessa liked it. She liked those inquisitive, wary looks people had been giving her and Charity ever since the landlady herself had ‘outed them’ back at The Woolpack.

Charity laughs. “I don’t give a damn….”

There’s a touch of amusement in Vanessa’s voice. “Liar….”

Charity stares at her for a moment, before her lips curve into a piercing smile. “Just you, love…”

“Yours...” Vanessa professes.

She’s pleased to see Charity briefly flustered.

Charity’s smile turned predatory. She thinks as kissing Vanessa’s neck., ‘Yes, mine….’

“I want you...” Vanessa says, voice hoarse.

“You’re evil….” Charity said in a low tone.

“I think we should go away on holiday…” Vanessa jokes with a grin.

“Someplace with sun...” Charity replies in a quiet voice.

Arousal thrummed through Charity as she pictured Vanessa.

‘Vanessa clad in a bikini, kneading sunscreen into her sun-kissed skin, licking her way down, tasting a slight hint of papaya from the sunscreen she had eagerly helped her apply…’

Her eyes close as she gives herself over to the indecent thoughts that swirl to life.

“Where did you go just now....” Vanessa murmured like she was reading her thoughts.

“I can’t help myself….” Charity chuckled, opening her eyes and momentarily looks away to gather her thoughts. “I guess I’ve been caught…”

Vanessa’s eyes darken. “It relieves sexual tension to fantasize....” Charity didn’t deny it.

“How about we go back to mine.... and you have your way with me?...” Charity whispers.

Vanessa, however, had other plans. “I’m knackered, it should be easy…”

Charity falters in her steps, as her jaw drops to the floor. “That’s so unfair...”

Vanessa smiled shyly at her... “Charity... I want to know every part of you…”

“Every part…” Charity’s eyes spark.

“Even the bad bits…” Vanessa confesses, openly.

“It really means a lot to me that you are interested in my past…” Charity comments.

To emphasize her point, Charity draws Vanessa’s hips forward, discreetly urging her to move them apart.

“We’re in public…” Vanessa cries.

“I feel the same about you..." Charity laughed, with a cheeky wink.

“So much to know…Every inch waiting to be discovered...again and again...”

“You’ll have to wait and find out...” Vanessa yelped as the blonde pinched her through clothed skin.

“Fancy coming back to mine? Charity asks, with a suggestive smile.

“Lead the way....” Vanessa sighed.

“Maybe sneak into the cellar and grab a bottle of wine…” Charity spoke with a seductive tone.

“Where it all began…” Vanessa agrees. “Start off the celebrations…”

“What’re we commemorating...” Charity asked, with a curious smile.

"To our future..." Vanessa replied as she gazed shyly at the woman.

‘Matching gold wedding bands, You may now kiss your bride……….’

Charity muses, silently to to herself. ‘Has a nice ring to it…'

Charity took a deep breath before proclaiming. “To new beginnings….”

“Darling…” Vanessa stresses. “..If you don’t get a move on, then I’m afraid I’ll be starting the festivities off by myself….”

Charity’s eyes widen at the hidden innuendo; and lets out a deep laugh. “Come, lover...we’ve got some celebrating to do...”

Vanessa smiles and silently swears she can feel Charity’s laughter carve itself into her bones.

END.

Notes: I hope you enjoy this as much as I did writing it. Sorry for any spelling mistakes, I did not proofread it. ;-)

Original characters: -'Old Man' Fletcher is a character I made up since my knowledge of any older characters’ names are slim to non. -Harvey is inspired by the sleazeball Hollywood Weinsdick. -I know they are the same age in regards to the show but Emma A. is older so 'BYE!'

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