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Karin was twitchy. She’d been waiting in the Starbuck’s line for a solid fifteen minutes before her order was finally taken. Now here she was, stuck waiting another ten minutes for the actual drink to be made. There were four people in front of her too.
Today was her first day at her new hospital. She was finally escaping the shadow of her brilliant family at Karakura General Hospital, KGH. Both her father and brother were well known and highly sought-after doctors. Ichigo, a renown neurosurgeon and Ishhin, probably one of the best ER doctors around, training a number of great pupils in emergency medicine. Even her own twin sister was well known, Yuzu was one of few dietitians in Karakura and a good one at that.
Karin herself was a damn good nurse and she knew it, but she got rather fed up with being known exclusively as Kurosaki Junior. Yuzu didn’t seem to mind the nickname as much, but of course Karin wasn’t as nice as Yuzu.
So, here she was, a town away at a brand-new hospital starting her first shift on Christmas Eve, just her luck.
And now her need for Starbucks and caffeine was going to make her late.
“Venti gingerbread latte for Karin.” The barista finally called out and Karin practically sprinted to the counter.
Quickly grabbing a lid and pushing it onto the cup Karin briskly turned around ready to get to the hospital ASAP. Only to run smack dab into someone, immediately spilling her precious gingerbread latte all over this nice someone’s crisp white dress shirt.
“Oh my gosh I’m so sorry! Are you okay?” She asked before looking up at the very attractive man she had spilled her hot drink all over.
He was probably one of the most attractive men she had ever seen with white hair, piercing blue eyes and a very attractive face. An attractive face that was decidedly unimpressed with situation as his white shirt dripped latte. He brought a hand up to his face, pinched his nose and muttered, “It’s fine, don’t worry about it.”
“Wait, Toshiro?” Karin asked, his unimpressed scowl triggering a memory of that very same face but much younger lecturing her about proper hospital etiquette.
“Karin?”
“Yes! How are you? It’s been so long; dad really misses you.” It was really her who missed him, but he didn’t need to know that.
“I’m doing just fine Karin, but I think I’d be much better if we could have this discussion when I don’t have coffee all over me.”
“Ahh right! Let me get you a paper towel, I’ll be right back.”
And then she disappeared quickly, trying her best to calm her heart rate.
Toshiro Hitsugaya had been one of her father’s most promising medical interns and Isshin had loved him so much he became part of the family. Did a young nursing intern, happen to find him very attractive? Yes. Did that same intern also happen to develop a huge crush and sulk for weeks when he finally left to pursue his career at a different hospital? Also, yes. But she still had her dignity dammit!
The current twenty-five-year-old Karin was not the same as twenty-one-year-old lovesick Karin, she would not be caught pining over Toshiro Hitsugaya. She was better than that.
Grabbing a wad of napkins, Karin returned to Toshiro and resisted the urge to dab at his well-muscled chest with them. Instead, she handed them to him before seeing the time.
“Toshiro, this was great, but I really have to go, I’m late to my first shift!”
Toshiro had no chance to respond before the dark-haired beauty was gone and he was left still sopping wet with latte. Classic Kurosaki.
Karin barely managed to make pre-shift, sliding into the nurse’s station just as the charge nurse started giving everyone the basic rundown of how the shift would work.
Karin knew the brief layout of the hospital and how it worked from her few training shifts, but she wasn’t sure she was entirely ready to be thrown into a Christmas Eve shift just yet. Unfortunately, another nurse had come down with a nasty flu and Karin was forced to cover for her. Since Karin had never worked a Christmas or Christmas Eve shift before she had absolutely no idea what to expect.
She really hoped Christmas Eve wouldn’t be as insane as it was on Gray’s Anatomy.
After pre-shift ended Karin approached the charge nurse to let her know of her newbie status. She was a kind older woman named Yuki and Karin knew immediately she’d like her.
“Oh, don’t worry too much dear. Christmas Eve usually isn’t that busy, this is probably a good first shift for you to learn how we work here. But just to be safe I’m going to assign you to beds 6-12, they’re usually not as hectic as the trauma room. The doctor on tonight is also one of our best. I’m sure you’ll have no problems but if you need anything don’t hesitate to ask him. He’s very thorough in his work so I’m sure he’d be more than happy to help you learn the layout here.”
As Yuki finished speaking Karin spotted a messy head of silvery-white hair walking towards them and she quickly realized exactly who her ER doctor would be tonight. Just her luck.
“And speaking of, there he is. Karin, this is Dr. Hitsugaya and he’ll be the doctor in charge of the emergency room tonight.”
She could have kicked herself; she really should have put the pieces together. What was the likelihood she’d run into Toshiro at the coffee shop next to the hospital before her night shift randomly? Very slim.
“Hello again Karin.” He said with a small smirk, and she couldn’t help but notice the new green dress shirt he was wearing underneath his white coat brought out those piercing eyes of his. He was really so unfair.
“Toshiro.”
His eyebrow twitched; an annoyed reaction Karin was thrilled to evoke.
“Karin how many times do I have to tell you it’s Dr. Hitsugaya.”
“Oh, you two have already met then?” Yuki interrupted innocently.
Yes, yes, they had. She had an embarrassing schoolgirl crush on him, thought their weird sexual tension might lead somewhere only for him to leave after his residency never to be seen again. She was only a little bitter. But it was FINE.
“Yes, we used to work together at another hospital.” He smoothly replied and Karin was thankful he didn’t bring up her family and exactly which hospital they’d worked at. She didn’t want to be known as Kurosaki Junior again and he seemed to understand.
“Well, I hope we have a good shift Toshiro.”
His eyebrow twitched again, and she couldn’t help but feel pride at how she could drive him so crazy in such a short amount of time.
As it turned out Karin did have a pretty good shift with only a few hiccups. Thankfully, nothing too insane happened and as Yuki promised beds 6 to 12 were pretty relaxed. The most notable patient was a man who had smashed his hand through a fish tank.
Karin was forced to carefully tweeze out the glass while one half of his family yelled at him across the bed about his recklessness. From what she could gather the two sides of the family were arguing about some family recipe and it had led to an all-out brawl.
She was a little chagrined when the other half of the family arrived twenty minutes later with his cousin who had third degree burns from cooking said family recipe.
Overall Christmas Eve wasn’t that bad. Karin had learned about the hospital staff more than anything. Mostly that they were a bit crazy.
At first Karin hadn’t immediately noticed the mistletoe pretty much EVERYWHERE in the hospital but the more she paid attention the worse it got. Every doorway, archway, hallway, and windowsill were covered in the plant. There was even some hanging off the light fixtures. She privately thought it was a terrible fire hazard but whatever.
After hours of encountering, it at every corner of the hospital during her shift she caved and asked what it was about on her lunch break. Matsumoto, an impressive veteran ER nurse whose only goal in life seemed to be to drive Toshiro insane, was more than happy to let her in on the hospital gossip.
Only for Karin to find out it was all over some ridiculous wager. Apparently, there was a longstanding bet in the hospital about who could catch a certain white-haired doctor under the mistletoe first.
In four years running, not one had ever been able to kiss him. Doctors, nurses, and X-ray techs alike had all tried their hand but to no avail. Not a single soul had ever gotten near him.
Karin couldn’t help feeling a little pleased about this. So, what if she still harboured a little crush on the man and was smug no one had snagged him yet? Who could blame her, he was hot.
It was widely believed Toshiro was some sort of ninja in his spare time because he’d never been spotted near the mistletoe which was an impressive feat seeing as how it covered every possible surface.
“So why does everyone want to kiss him so bad? Other than the bet of course?”
“Karin have you seen that man, who wouldn’t want to kiss a face like that?”
“Fair point.” She was willing to admit he was indeed a very fine specimen.
“So, who are you betting on this year Matsumoto?”
“You.” And with that ominous answer, Matsumoto winked, grabbed her empty tray and left the cafeteria.
Karin could only gape at her back.
The rest of her shift was just as relaxed as the beginning and for that Karin was thankful. Her mind was now completely filled with Matsumoto’s last words. What was she supposed to do with that?
Why would she have a chance of winning that bet with Toshiro. Did Matsumoto know something she didn’t? Sure, they’d shared some heated looks at her old hospital and yeah, people usually told them to get a room whenever they argued but that didn’t mean he was interested in her right? She definitely would have known if Toshiro Hitsugaya, star ER doctor had a crush on her. Or would she?
It was these thoughts that occupied her mind as she put on her street clothes and exited the hospital for the night on complete autopilot. There was no way she could have missed her first love liking her back. No way. Or at least she really hoped not.
And it was these very same thoughts that caused her to make her way down the main stairs in a daze. As she turned onto the empty sidewalk right outside the hospital, she was so engrossed in her thoughts that she failed to notice the black ice covering the previously snowy sidewalk. She promptly slipped and fell onto the concrete and after that she really didn’t think of much at all.
Woozily looking up, Karin heard him muttering to himself, before her blurry vision became clear.
“Injured slipping on the sidewalk, trauma to the head, likely has a concussion.”
And then he looked up from her chart and finally noticed just who his patient was.
“Karin, for fuck’s sake.”
“Hey Toshiro.” She awkwardly waved and after a moment added, “You know you have a terrible bedside manner.”
His eyebrow twitched, “It’s Dr. Hitsugaya.”
“Ya, Dr. Hitsugaya whatever, what’s my prognosis, can I go home? I want to go to bed.”
“Too bad. You’re not sleeping until I know your brain is fine or someone’s there to wake you up every two hours.”
Unfortunately, Karin’s list of people to monitor her for concussion symptoms was very short and consisted solely of Yuzu. Yuzu, who was also conveniently at her boyfriend’s for Christmas eve. Her brother and father were both working. Toshiro seemed to sense this because he started to open his mouth, probably to suggest she stay at the hospital and she immediately cut him off.
“I am not staying at the hospital tonight so you can forget that.”
He gave her a withering look before responding.
“Karin, I can’t just release you and you know it. Stop being stubborn and just stay here.”
“No.”
There was a long-suffering sigh in response and then, “I guess it’s up to me to keep you entertained then.”
“Aren’t you the only ER doctor on right now? Don’t you have like other patients to deal with?” She asked defiantly, she would be going home to sleep even if it was the last thing she did. Which, it very well could be if her brain was seriously injured but she didn’t really want to worry about that.
His eyebrow began to twitch again at this.
“Yes, Karin but they’re all in stable condition for now and contrary to popular belief we’re not usually that busy on Christmas. Besides my shift is almost over anyways. I was just going to go chart for the last half hour.”
“So, I can go to sleep then?”
“No, you can nap on the couch in my office and I’ll wake you up and take you to Ichigo’s.”
She almost argued back but then she saw the infamous unimpressed look on his handsome face and knew not to bother. This was not an argument she would win.
“Whatever.”
Karin was momentarily confused when instead of responding Toshiro left the room, practically sprinting through the archway to avoid the mistletoe. She eased herself off the bed to follow and quickly became aware which parts of her body had taken the brunt of her fall: mainly her butt and her head. What a great Christmas eve this was shaping up to be.
She managed to settle herself just as Toshiro appeared around the corner rolling a wheelchair.
“Toshiro, no.”
“Karin, yes.”
This conversation repeated several times before Toshiro simply took it upon himself to forcefully shove her into the wheelchair and Karin found herself being awkwardly wheeled down the hallway. Today was definitely not her day. She supposed having one of the most attractive doctors in the hospital dote on you wasn’t the worst thing to happen.
Toshiro’s office was exactly what she expected it to be like, overly organized and painted in different shades of grey and blue. He brought the wheelchair to a stop next to his predictably grey but very comfortable looking couch. He moved to help her to the couch, but she waved him off.
“I’ll be back I just have to go collect some paperwork. Take a nap and I’ll wake you when it’s time to leave.”
She didn’t need to be told twice, she had already maneuvered herself onto the plush couch and was ready to conk off. The last thing she saw before her eyes closed was his scowling face as he ripped a sprig of mistletoe out of the doorjamb.
She woke next to blaring hospital lights as she was once again wheeled down the hallway, this time towards the parking garage.
“Do I want to know how you got me back into this wheelchair without waking me up?”
“With great difficulty Kurosaki and that’s all you need to know.”
“Yeah, I definitely don’t want to know. So, there’s no way I can convince you to just drop me off at my apartment, right?”
“Not unless I stay the night Karin and to be honest me sleeping on the couch in that situation is not how I had imagined that would play out.”
Was that flirting? That was definitely flirting but she wasn’t going to call him out on it. She didn’t have the presence of mind to verbally spar with him right now. But clearly her sleep deprived brain had other ideas.
“So, tell me Toshiro who do you think is going to win the hospital mistletoe bet this year?”
Why did she bring that up????
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He replied easily as they arrived at his black BMW.
“Yes, you do, and quite frankly I’m impressed I’ve never seen someone literally somersault away from a group of nurses.”
He groaned as he courteously opened her door before helping her inside his of course perfectly clean car.
“Karin it’s not funny, it’s gotten to the point where I dread the Christmas season. I considered an extended leave of absence for the whole month of December.” His face as he started the car told he was 100% serious.
“Why don’t you just kiss someone then?” She asked as he started the car, making his way towards her brother’s apartment. His unenthusiastic grunt was her only response.
“You could even rig the betting pool; I’d bet Matsumoto would help you and you would make bank.”
“Of course, you’d suggest something like that Kurosaki.”
“Yeah, just so long as I’m in on it, I want a piece of the cut.”
This time she got an amused look in response instead of annoyance.
“No but for real just pick a cute nurse, give her a smooch and it’s all over. Four Decembers is a long time to deal with this.”
Somehow, she managed to refrain from suggesting she herself be this cute nurse, but she was sure if he really wanted, he could figure it out.
“They usually start in November.”
“Even worse.”
The rest of the ride was spent in their usual amicable silence. A few times Karin almost nodded off but was pleasantly awoken by a swift smack in the arm each time. Stupid doctor Toshiro.
They arrived at her brother’s apartment soon enough and she nearly had to fight Toshiro so he wouldn’t go inside and apprise Ichigo of the whole situation.
“I may be tired but I’m not tired enough not to let my brother know I probably have a concussion.”
“Could have fooled me.”
“Yeah, yeah. Anyways thanks for taking care of me, I owe you a favour.” She said as she dragged herself out of the warm car and around towards Ichigo’s building entrance. She was about to give one more wave when the driver’s side window rolled down and Toshiro beckoned her over.
“Can I collect on my favour now?”
She gave him what she was sure was a very confused look, what could he possibly want from concussion Karin at 4 am on Christmas morning?
She bent down closer to the window to ask him what the hell he could possibly want from her when suddenly her sleepy brain was made aware of the fact that Toshiro Hitsugaya was suddenly holding something above her head, and it was mistletoe. Her eyes went back and forth between him and the plant for several seconds before she finally spoke.
“Really this is your big move. I’ve been waiting for this since I was 21 stupid.”
“Whatever Kurosaki are you going to put me out of my misery or do I have to spend the next 4 Decembers avoiding this stupid plant again.”
He looked entirely too pleased with himself but really Karin could deal with it if she got to kiss one of the hottest ER doctors. Who could complain?
The next morning Matsumoto won the betting pool and was seen discreetly sharing her earnings with a certain white-haired doctor and his new girlfriend in the break room a few days later.