Work Text:
The summer sun was scorching hot, even as it was slowly starting to set. You and Tara had spent the afternoon and early evening hanging out in the park chatting and swimming in the lake. It was great, but you were both ready to get out of the sun and take a nap. You said your goodbyes and Tara had walked off in the opposite direction.
Loud laughters and the splash of water catches your attention. Kids having a water balloon fight on a patch of grass next to the sidewalk. You smile at the pure joy radiating from their faces, thinking back to having water balloon fights with Zayne and Caleb when you were kids. They always let you win and seemed to have an agreement to only fight for second place. And fight they did.
Your mind wandered back to the young boys that made your childhood and you seemed to have longed for it so strongly that you somehow summoned one of them to appear before you. Dressed in his usual all black attire, even on a day like this one. Matching black sunglasses resting on his nose.
“Zayne, hi!” You smile as you move closer to his dark figure.
“Hello, what are you doing here?” He replies in his usual monotone voice with any emotion hidden from anyone who doesn’t know him. But you know him well enough to tell that you appearing before him is a pleasant surprise.
“I was at the park with a friend, I’m on my way home now.”
“Have you been in the sun all day? I hope you both remembered to keep hydrated?” You can’t help but roll your eyes at his question. Sometimes when he makes comments like that you can’t tell if he says it as a friend who cares for you, or as a Doctor ordering you to obey. One is slightly more palatable than the other.
There is no time for you to come up with some sassy response as you suddenly feel the sting of plastic breaking against the skin of your chest and cold water gushing out over your sundress. Some of it splashes onto Zayne, but you definitely took the brunt of it. Your chest rises and falls quickly to the sudden shock of the cold water.
“We’re so sorry Miss, it was an accident!” A young boy runs over to you with a shameful look on his face.
“It’s OK, accidents happen.” You give him the most convincing smile you can muster as you watch the child scramble back to his friends seemingly forgetting about you.
“I should talk to them, such carelessness.” Zayne declares, frustration clear in his tone. He turns his body toward the children but you put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.
“Don’t, he didn’t mean to. I’m fine. We were all kids once, or, at least most of us were but if my memory serves me right you were practically an adult before you turned twelve.” You smirk up at him as his gaze returns to you.
“Don’t mock, it’s rude.” He gives you a stern look, but the little smile hiding on his lips does not go unnoticed.
“Besides, I had to be an adult in order to keep the unruly children in the neighbourhood in line.”
“Are you referring to me and Caleb?” You laugh. His expression seemed to have a less than positive reaction to the sound of his former best friend's name. It saddened you greatly that the two boys grew apart, and neither of them had ever wanted to admit the reason why. You just remember Zayne slowly pulling away from you and then disappearing to go to medical school in his early teens.
“You shouldn’t be out here in a wet dress with the sun setting, you’ll get cold. Why don’t you come inside and I’ll dry your dress.” He casually questioned, as if he didn’t just ask you to go home with him and strip. You bit your bottom lip, hiding a giggle as you waited for his mind to catch up to the words his mouth just uttered.
“There is no need to be so crude, I will of course lend you something else to wear.” You huff out a sigh of disappointment as he kept his stoic front without any hint of flusteredness. You turn on your heel and follow him down the path leading to his apartment.
The elevator takes you to his floor and he unlocks the door allowing you access first. You walk in and take in your surroundings. It looks exactly like you pictured Zayne’s apartment. Clean, tidy, practical. The large windows facing the sunset turn the room into a marbled lightshow of orange and pink.
Zayne has already disappeared into his bedroom and is rummaging through his closet for something you can borrow. You carefully follow him and lean on the doorframe looking into his bedroom. You make a shocking discovery, his bed has not been made! Half of it is immaculate, ofcourse, but the other half has definitely seen better days.
Zayne emerges from the closet seemingly caught off guard by your presence. He clears his throat before moving toward you and nudging your body out of his room. A part of you felt bad for invading his personal space, but another part of you loved ruffling his feathers. If only you knew that he liked that too.
“It is certainly not the most fashionable ensemble, but I don’t think I will be able to find any alternatives that will fit you better.” He says as he hands you a stack of folded black clothing. You have no idea what he has given you and the lack of color makes the garments hard to make out in the dim light. He ushers you toward the bathroom and you hastily obey.
Whilst your eyes get used to the bright indoor lighting, you quickly slip out of your dress and unclasp your bra which had absorbed a great deal of water too. A gentle knock on the door catches your attention.
“Yes?” You question.
“If you pass me your dress I’ll get it drying right away.” His voice is slightly muffled behind the closed door, but you can hear him and you know he’s leaning right up against it. You gather your clothes in your hand, making sure your bra is in plain sight, and open the door just enough for your arm to reach through.
“Thank you!” You call out from behind the door before closing it again, returning your attention to the outfit Zayne put together for you. I wish I could see his face right now…
The first item is a pair of gym shorts with a drawstring at the waist. You pull them on and laugh at the sight. Even with the drawstring neatly tied in a bow, they hang quite low on your hips. You catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror and notice how red you are. Sunburned. Everywhere. A stark contrast to where the straps of your dress had protected you. Even worse was the bright red circle on your chest where the balloon had hit your already sensitive skin. It stung, quite badly.
You reach for the next item of clothing and recognize it right away, it’s one of his iconic black shirts, like the one he’s wearing today. How many of these does he have? You carefully pull the shirt up your arms, one at a time, before gently rolling the sleeves up. You begin to button the shirt but leave a few open at the top, not to reveal anything, but to ask Dr. Zayne for something to ease the burning sensation consuming your body.
“Um, Zayne?” Your voice is soft and uncertain as you emerge from the bathroom. In a flash he’s standing in front of you ready to give you whatever you need.
“What is -” He starts, but after a quick glance of your bright pink skin, questions are no longer necessary.
“You didn’t wear sunscreen?” He utters quickly before disappearing into his bedroom again.
“I did, I swear! But I guess I didn’t wear enough…” You’ve lost this time, the Doctor will defeat you in this battle as you have no valid arguments to defend yourself with.
“Here. Change. I won’t look.” He says as he pushes another item of clothing into your grasp. This one is softer and a nice pale blue color. “I’m going to find some aloe vera gel.” Zayne goes into the bathroom and nudges the door behind him so his line of sight is blocked. You turn you back to the bathroom door and switch to the soft blue v-neck. The material is much gentler on your sore body.
“You can get comfortable on the couch, I will be with you in a moment” He announces as he moves past you toward the kitchen. It’s like being at Akso Hospital awaiting your next appointment with Dr. Zayne. He’s moving with such speed and determination, you’re just sunburned, it’s not like you’re dying and he needs to prepare for emergency surgery. You do as you’re told, and sit on the couch tucking one leg up under your body whilst keeping the other firmly planted on the floor.
Zayne returned carrying aloe vera gel, a moist towel and a large glass of water. After carefully placing it all on the coffee table he feels the skin of your neck with the back of his hand. You catch yourself leaning into his touch before his fingers disappear from your sensitive skin. Too quickly… He reaches for the towel and takes his time before positioning it around your neck, draping it gently over your shoulders. It is surprisingly cold and soothes instantly. You feel your eyes getting heavy and a headache brewing as the overexposure to the sun is finally catching up with you.
Zayne reaches for your bag and grabs the claw clip attached to its strap. He gathers your hair to the best of his ability before flinging it into something vaguely reminiscent of a bun and secures it with the clip. He wished he could enjoy this moment more, the sight of you in his clothes was truly a mesmerizing sight. However your blatant discomfort was gnawing at him, bringing out his professional side rather than his personal one. He loved being able to care for you in this way though, rather than the regular tests and examinations at the hospital. This certainly felt more intimate.
“Would you like me to apply the gel for you?” He offers sincerely. The suggestion catches you off guard and you can’t help but blush. Whose feathers are ruffled now?
“Uh- N-no thanks, I got it.” You stutter whilst sitting up slightly and begin working the gel into your pulsating skin. You’re starting to feel quite embarrassed about the whole situation. You’re sitting on Zayne’s couch, burned to a crisp, wearing his clothes, rubbing aloe vera gel on yourself whilst he watches.
“I’m sorry about this, Zayne, I didn’t mean to disrupt your evening.”
“Don’t apologize. I’m glad we bumped into each other, otherwise you’d be on your own to deal with this. I became a Doctor for a reason, you know.”
“To help people?” You question.
“Yes, to help people…” he sighs as he adjusts the towel around your neck.