Work Text:
You are really tired. And the day hasn’t even started yet.
You are really tired when the bus arrives late. Which shouldn’t be a suprise, but you’re still disappointed.
You are really tired, so you take the nearest seat (luckily it’s right next to you, even though the bus is crowded, like you’d expect it to be) not even automatically searching for elder people in sight, like you usually do.
You are really tired, and you haven’t even had time to make your coffee, because your alarm decided to randomly stop working. So you don’t notice, and don’t really care, that someone (a man) just sat next to you.
You barely register the question (and fortunately you understand it) the man asks. He recognized your heels from a display he’s seen passing by. Or at least he says so, although his suit suggests he’s been keeping up with fashion trends more than he wants to admit. You briefly wonder where he got that tie, and that Carlton would like it. He seems nice, and while a conversation with a random stranger is the last thing you need right now, you smile politely.
And as you engage further in the conversation that seems to fluently change from one topic to another, you realise that you’re now smiling subconciously, with actual joy.
Maybe there is hope for people, you think. You feel like you’ve known the man for far longer, and the once polite talk seems so natural now.
The bus is moving so slowly, allowing you to talk forever.
And you have no idea when or how you started talking about Shawn, and how he annoys you so much. With his constant nagging and complete disrespect, and arrogance, and egoism. And how you have no idea how his best friend, Gus, puts up with him. And you almost expect James (a quite nice name, a simple one) to side with you, and yet you are suprised when he relates completely. As you engage further, flame, share weirder and weirder stories (seriously, how crazy the life of a doctor could be? you thought it was a quite calm job) you come to terms with the fact that you still love them and won’t let those idiots get killed, ever, no matter how much they nag you.
And you snort when he denies being gay, and starts listing his wives, and realises that no, best friends usually don’t behave like that. (Though Gus and Shawn are dangerously close, you admit.)
The door opens, and for the first time you are annoyed that the ride ends. You hope to see him again.
And as you walk in those heels, smiling to yourself, you see James bickering with a little older (and quite terribly shaven) man. And as they walk - well, the man limps, James helps - arm by arm, you make a decision.
Little do you know, what a crazy (and unspeakably awful) day that will be.