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As all things tend to happen now, it’s Carol who dragged him here.
They’re in their second year of med school and by all means, they should be studying for their first Step exam. But no, not tonight. Because it’s his birthday and apparently you can’t study on your birthday.
In the tail end of May in New York, you’d be lucky to get into any bar or restaurant around here.
Fleet Week’s a bitch, even if he and Carol get to ogle at all the shipmen.
It’s rainy, foggy, and honestly Oliver thought they should’ve given up and gone home.
“Look! This place is open, we have to go!”
It’s a tiny bar, somewhere past 46th and Broadway, the George M. Cohan statue is small against the backdrop of the brightly colored billboards.
She grabs his hand again, dragging him into the bar and sitting him on a stool next to her.
There’s a few people in here, including a tall, somewhat military in his stance even though he’s sitting, man at the end of the counter.
He’s nursing a drink, a beer by the looks of it.
And he looks on edge. Depressed maybe?
Whatever he is, it’s probably best he doesn’t interact. These Navy men have a lot of steam to blow off, and he doesn’t want to be on the reviving end of it.
“We’ll take two Vodka Cranberries,” Carol tells the bartender.
A man who really looks like he doesn’t want to be here.
He sighs and then goes to prepare their drinks.
“So,” Carol leans in close, practically draping herself in him. “See anyone you like?”
Oliver chuckles. “We just got here. And there’s barely anyone here. Everyone’s probably inside because of the rain.”
“Look around, Ollie.” She waves her hands around. “The opportunities. The men.” She ends with a triumphant fist pump in the air.
There’s only one other guy here.
And it’s the hunched man at the end of the bar.
“You mean a man.” He cocks his head to the end of the bar counter. “The one who’s definitely here to party it up with a couple of med students.” Oliver snickers.
“Ollie, if you don’t go talk to him, I’ll—“ she fumbles for the words. “I’ll take my notes back! You won’t get Carol’s neat, highlighted and diagrammed notes ever again if you don’t at least introduce yourself to that man over there. You said you wanted a wingwoman, well here she is.”
He did say that. He did say it, while high off his ass as they moaned and groaned about their boy troubles.
“Fine,” he mutters a quiet “fuck you” that is so eagerly returned with Carol giving him the birdie back as he walks towards the man.
He sits next to the man. Now that he’s close, he can see the cropped, blonde-ish hair and toned body.
And his hands.
Dear God he wants him to—
No, he’s not going there.
“Navy, Marines, or Coast Guard?” Oliver asks, plain as ever.
The man stares at him, puzzled.
“Come on, you really think it’s not noticeable? You look like you can’t even breathe on solid ground. Literally a fish out of water.”
“Is that how you talk to people? What happened to hello? How are you? What’s your name?”
“Hello, my name is Oliver. What’s yours? Was that any better?”
“Josh,” he says, in a clipped tone.
“Okay, Josh. Are you in the Navy, Marines, or Coast Guard?”
“Still with the branches?” Josh lets out a disgruntled sound. “I’m in the Navy, a Corpsman. But I’m in my third year of med school.”
“So you’re a doctor?”
“Yeah, I serve with the Marine units.”
“Are you interested in any specialty? Wait, let me guess.” He pauses, putting a hand to his head for dramatic effect. “You seem like an Emergency Medicine kind of guy.”
“Neurosurgery,” Josh responds. “You aren’t very good at this, are you?” He lets out a small laugh.
“No. But I got you to laugh, so I think that counts for something.”
“I guess it does.”
He can barely tell, but it almost looks like—
Is Josh blushing?
No, he can’t be.
It must be from the alcohol. He’s barely done anything.
He’s really done nothing except be his usual self. Which doesn’t get a lot of reception.
“Anything you want to know about me? It’s only fair since I asked so much about you.”
“Yeah, what do you do?”
“I’m in med school. Second year.”
“Step 1,” he grimaces. “How has that been going?”
“As well as anything can. But apparently you’re not allowed to study on your birthday, so I’m here.”
“Oh, happy birthday.” It’s clear that Josh wants to ask more, namely his age, but he’s too polite to say it.
“I’m twenty four.”
“Oh,” he seems relieved. “I’m also twenty four, twenty five next month. You look—“
“Young? Yeah, I get that a lot. You wouldn’t believe the disbelief on the bartender's faces when I was freshly of age, they were convinced I had a fake ID. Which, they wouldn’t be wrong, I did. But not after turning twenty one.”
“Do you usually get up to things like that? Seems like your friend over there is quite the party animal.” He jerks his head in Carol's direction. She’s chatting it up with some women who look around their age who’ve come into the bar.
“Yeah, have to fend off the boredom and existential crisis somehow.”
“Boredom? You live in New York, and you’re a med student, how are you bored? You’ve got shows, and parks, and practically a whole city that’s full of lights. I can’t imagine ever being bored here.”
“Huh, I guess I didn’t really see it like that. I’ve lived here my whole life, I’m used to seeing things like this.”
“New Jersey,” Josh says. “Rural, bare. I’m from a quiet town, we didn’t really get to see the other side of the river. We didn't have bars, all the shows, the lights. I’ve been all over the world now, on ships, on the ground. It’s easy to take for granted the calm that you used to have.”
“Is it hard, doing all that? I can’t really imagine it, but you’d have to like it to be doing it for so long, right?”
“Hell yeah it’s hard. But I needed it. I needed to get out, away from my house. I wanted to mean something, to have a purpose. And the fact that they’re paying for school is nice too. But I’m excited for what’s next. I still have a year of med school left, then I’ll be off to residency. By then I’ll have done my time.”
“Do you know where you’re going to go?”
“I was thinking somewhere west, maybe California. But New York isn’t too bad, I might try to get something here.” Josh smiles at the thought. “What about you? You never said any specialty you were interested in.”
“Oh, uh- I’m leaning towards Neurology right now.”
“Neurology, huh.” He eyes Oliver, dragging up and down, like he’s checking him out.
And now that he’s thinking about it, his eyes. They’re so—
Blue. They’re very, very blue. A blue-grey that sucks him in and changes depending on the light that’s directed at it.
It’s—
God, it’s beautiful.
“Say, if we ever end up working together, I think we’d make a great team. People are always telling me that Neurosurgeons and Neurologists are so different, and they don’t work well with each other, but I disagree. I think we just like to boost our egos and put down the little guys.”
“Are you calling me the little guy?”
“In this scenario, yes.” He takes a long sip of his drink.
Now that he’s thinking about it, he never got his drink.
He glances at Carol, who is drinking both of their drinks.
Damn her sneaky tactics. If he wasn’t so interested in Josh he would have marched back over there.
“You’re lamenting about your long lost drink?” He pushes his drink towards him. “Take it, it’s just beer. I shouldn’t be drinking that much anyway.”
Oliver takes it, slowly. Then takes a small sip.
It’s just beer, not even a good one, but something about the way Josh just offered it to him makes it taste a whole lot better.
And if he placed his mouth where Josh just left his, does that count as an indirect kiss?
“It fucking sucks, doesn’t it? A friend of mine recommended it. I’m sure his tastebuds got destroyed in Afghanistan and yet I still listen to him drone on and on about his beer and wine taste. I wouldn’t be surprised if he opened up a disaster of a wine orchard after we’re discharged.”
“And you have a better taste than him? What would you suggest?”
“Strawberry Daiquiri.”
“So you’re a cocktail man. How come you didn’t order it?”
“I’m allergic to strawberries. I always thought they were spicy; like how a pineapple eats you back because of the acids. I quickly discovered not everyone thinks that. And apparently you don’t build immunity if you eat a lot of them at one time.”
“Wait, did you actually try that?”
“Let’s just say I looked more like a strawberry than a person.”
“Can’t you just get a regular daiquiri then?”
“Where’s the fun in that?”
“Have you ever tried a Vodka Cranberry? Might solve your cocktail dilemma.”
“No, but given that your friend has probably had four at this point, I’d say they’re pretty good.”
Oliver flags the bartender down.
He asks for two Vodka Cranberries.
A few minutes later, the drinks are placed in front of them.
Josh takes a sip and doesn’t immediately wince.
“Good?” Oliver asks, after trying his.
“Pretty good.”
“I guess I’m better than your friend who has awful taste in beer.”
“Yeah—“ Josh coughs and clears his throat. He coughs again, this time it comes out as a wheeze.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah. I probably—“ another wheeze. “I probably just choked on it or something.”
“Josh.”
He continues to wave it off.
“Josh.” Oliver grabs Josh by the shoulders, forcing him to look at him. “I think you’re allergic to cranberries too.”
“You think?”
“Remember how you said you looked like a strawberry when you tried to make yourself immune to them? Well, you look like one now.” He sits Josh up, flagging the bartender for a water. “Give me your phone.”
Josh hands it over. It’s one of those Samsung flip phones.
Oliver isn’t particularly fond of phones, nor of any actual electronic device, but Carol made him at least learn how to use them if he didn’t want to buy one.
He dials 9-1-1, quickly ratting off the name of the bar and the details of the emergency. He hands the phone back to Josh.
“Drink this.” He forces the cup of water into Josh’s hands.
“I’m going to throw it up.”
“You’re not. Just drink it.”
Josh takes a sip before sputtering and coughing it up.
“Alright, we’re just gonna go to the front. So that the EMTs can get to you faster.” He heaves Josh off the stool, taking him towards the booths in the front of the bar.
“What’s going on?” Carol’s at his side in a minute. Drunk, but still has her wits about her.
“Turns out, if you’re allergic to strawberries, there’s probably a likely chance you're allergic to cranberries too. And I gave him a Vodka Cranberry.”
“Ollie!” She helps Oliver sit Josh against the booth. “They have similar proteins! It’s a whole thing!”
“How was I supposed to know? He just said strawberries! I’m not an allergist, I don’t know these things!”
Josh wheezes out a groan, going pale.
Oliver rubs at his sternum, hard. “Hey, Josh. You’re not passing out on me. Help is almost here.”
A few seconds later, rescue comes through the door. They immediately get to work, getting an IV line in and stabbing Josh in the leg with an EpiPen. Then they place an oxygen mask over his face.
As they load him into the ambulance, the EMT asks if he wants to go.
I mean, he just met the guy an hour ago.
Then again, he kind of almost killed an active member of the United States military, it’s probably best to just go.
Carol tells him that she’ll stay with the girls she’s met and call Morris to pick her up. She assures him that she’ll be safe and to go be with Josh.
He sits in the seat next to the paramedic.
Josh’s breathing is still wheezy, but his color doesn’t look too bad. Still, he’s probably going to be kept in the hospital overnight.
“We’re giving him steroids and antihistamines, the hospital will probably continue that. He’ll be fine, just needs to take it easy for a few days,” the paramedic says, adjusting the mask on Josh’s face. She must have sensed his guilt over the situation. “Don’t feel bad about it, you’re not the first. In fact, you’re not the tenth. It happens a lot during fleet week. These men and women come back and they try all these new things in the span of a week only to realize that they’re severely allergic to it.”
After the ambulance drops them off at the hospital, it’s quiet as Josh dozes on and off.
He looks a lot better, after a couple hours on the meds. He’s less puffy, his breathing is mostly back to normal. He’s even less strawberry-looking.
Would it be weird to hold his hand?
It’s only comforting after he almost killed him, right?
He decides to just go for it, if anything it could be brushed off as a comforting touch.
Josh wakes up around three in the morning. He’s groggy, and he looks around the room in a dazed state.
“Oliver?” he says. Though it’s more like a tiny groan.
“Good morning, sleepyhead. Or should I say night, it’s three in the morning.”
“You almost killed me. With a cranberry.”
Oliver winces. “Yeah, sorry about that.”
“Worth it.” He nods to himself, smirking under the oxygen mask.
“Did you just say almost dying from a cocktail was worth it? I’ll have you know that you almost suffocated! I would have been charged with killing an active duty member of the country’s military! NCIS would have been on my ass!”
“It was good though. Really good. If I wasn’t going to die from eating it it’d probably be my favorite drink.”
“Oh my God, you are insufferable.”
Josh coughs. “Bet I look good doing it though.” He winks at Oliver.
Winks!
Who even does that after nearly dying?
“Sure, you look good doing it. Whatever that means.”
“Come on, you don’t think I’m hot? I saw the look you gave me earlier, when you came over. You totally have a thing for my hands.”
Oliver flushes, heat rising through his neck and up his face. “Josh! You can’t— you can’t just say that! You don’t even know if I’m-“ His voice drops to a whisper. “If I’m like that!”
“Oliver.” Josh looks at him, really looks at him.
And then he gets it.
“Oh,” Oliver’s eyes widen. “Oh. What about—“
“I know.” Josh almost looks sheepish in a way.
“How do you deal with it?”
“Same as anyone I guess.” Josh shrugs. “I don’t want to hide anymore, simple as that. That’s why I went out tonight. And when I met you, I- I don’t know. I felt like you knew me. I felt like I could talk to you for hours and never get bored. I was going to ask if you wanted to go somewhere else afterwards but as you can see, it was interrupted.”
“Do you want to go out— like on a date? Or something?” Oliver blurts out. “I uh- my friend, Carol, she told me to go talk to you. And I thought she was just bitching because she has someone and I’m notoriously bad at these things. But- but you’re not that bad. And I’d like to get to know you more.” He tightens his hold on Josh’s hand. “Preferably outside a hospital.”
“I’m only here until the end of the week. But I get discharged in December. Would you wait for me? Meet me at the same bar, minus the cranberries next time?”
Oliver finds himself nodding even before he verbally agrees. “Yeah. Yeah, I’d like that. I can give you my landline.”
“Okay,” Josh laughs. He passes his phone to Oliver.
He puts it in, even putting his address as well.
Josh raises a brow at him.
“For letters,” Oliver clarifies. “In case you wanted to send any. Carol’s my only roommate and she doesn’t tend to go through my mail unless I let her.”
“If I wasn’t feeling like absolute shit right now, I’d kiss you.”
Oliver blushes even more. He’s sure he probably looks like a tomato at this point.
“But I think it’ll probably mean more when I come back.”
“Yeah, I think it would.”
——————————————
7 months later
Oliver never thought he’d be one for a long distance relationship.
If what he and Josh are doing technically counts as that since they’ve never even been on a date.
Still, he never thought he’d be able to do it.
But with Josh, things just happen to become easier. Even if he’s halfway across the world at any given moment.
A month in, Oliver had given up his Luddite ways and bought himself a phone. He couldn’t deal with the missed calls or dozens upon dozens of voicemails left back and forth.
It was cute, for a while. But then it just became frustrating.
So, he got one.
Carol’s excitement couldn’t be contained when he came home with a previously owned Samsung. It wasn’t shiny and new like hers, but at least he tried.
Josh was happy too. He’d been spending a lot more time in naval hospitals rather than in a combat zone, thanks to having to do clinicals.
He’s never said it, but he doesn’t know what he’d do if Josh didn’t make it. Or was lying in the middle of a desert, hurt, with no way of getting help.
They’d been talking, a lot. Over the phone and sending letters back and forth wherever Josh was stationed next.
And surprisingly enough, Josh inspired him to start talking to his mom again.
He started having dinner with her once a week, usually on a weekend.
His mom knew he was gay, but it was more something they didn’t talk about rather than having any hard feelings about it.
It was just something they didn’t talk about. That is, until he just blurted out over a nicely done pasta salad that he was kind of in a long distance relationship with a Navy guy.
He’s never been very good at keeping something to himself for too long.
She was shocked at first, understandably. How would anyone react when their kid told them they were dating someone for months and only mentioned it now?
She’s asked questions, wanting to know every detail from the day they met until now.
She even laughed when he told her he almost killed him the first day they met because of a cocktail.
By the end, she hugged him tight and made him promise to bring Josh over for dinner.
And then every week it’s been the same thing: “How is Josh doing? Has he been studying for his Step exams? Has he applied to any residencies yet? Does he need a letter of recommendation?”
His mom even asked, more like schmoozed with Josh when he was on the phone, if he wanted to have dinner the day he got back.
To say she was happy about her son having a boyfriend was an understatement.
And somehow she and Josh get along better than he ever could, and she’s his mother.
At least it’s better than her hating him.
If this were any other day, he’d be at home, or in the library, going over flashcards with Carol, reviewing whatever lecture they had that morning.
But it’s not any other day.
After almost seven months not seeing each other, Josh is finally coming home.
Well, technically his family lives in New Jersey, but Carol agreed to let him stay with them for a couple of days to settle.
It’s weird, it’s not like they’ve kissed, or done anything that normal couples do. Oliver wonders to himself a lot if they even are a couple. They’d just talked for hours, almost every day. He would stay up until midnight into the early hours of the morning to catch Josh waking up for his day.
He’d gotten to the face blindness talk with Josh a week after he left.
It was an awkward conversation, but it needed to be done if they were going to be in some sort of a relationship with each other.
It actually went over well, as expected. He knew Josh wouldn’t be totally blindsided by it, he is studying to become a neurosurgeon after all.
And he wanted to make it easier on Oliver when he came back. So he said he’d be wearing a pink hoodie, so it’d be easy to identify him.
He’s been standing at a baggage claim of the ever so populated LaGuardia airport for the last hour. Josh’s flight didn’t land until ten minutes ago, but he wanted to be early.
He looks through the crowd of unrecognizable faces, seeing if anyone is at least wearing a somewhat pink color.
No one is.
His phone beeps. It’s Josh.
All it says is: “Choking baby, all good now.”
Whatever that’s supposed to mean, he can just ask about it later.
Another twenty minutes go by before he sees a man in a pink hoodie, long faded jeans, and the same blonde-ish hair he came to like seven months ago, albeit, it’s a bit longer now.
Josh looks around, a duffel bag and luggage in his hand. When he makes eye contact with Oliver, his eyes light up and he erupts into a big smile.
He walks fast, putting those long legs to use as he practically barrels into him. Wrapping his arms around him and holding tight.
Oliver reciprocates, even starts to tear up.
When they back up from each other he sees that Josh feels the same way, tears running down his cheeks and snot bubbling out his nose.
For a gross thing, it’s almost heartwarming in a way.
“I don’t even know why I’m crying,” he says. “We only saw each other in person for a week.”
Oliver brings a hand up to wipe the tears from Josh’s eyes. “I missed you too.” He pulls Josh into another hug, squeezing tight. Relishing in the fact that they can touch each other now, physically see the other in front of them.
“Is your mom here too?”
Oliver snorts. “What am I chopped liver? You’ll get her food once we make it back into the city. You’re probably starving after being in a place for nine hours.”
“I missed you so much.” He digs his face into Oliver's shoulder again. “Let’s never do the long distance thing again, it was torture.”
“I could live with that.” He takes Josh’s hand. “Come on, my mom’s been dying to meet you.”
——————————
Five years later
“What do you think about me growing a beard?” Oliver’s standing in the bathroom of their house. The unshaven stubble on his face almost mocking him in a way.
It would be nice to have a defining feature for himself. Something so that he’s not left guessing for a half-second every time he sees himself in the mirror.
Josh barely looks up from the book he’s reading, giving a small agreeing hum.
Oliver could have asked if he’d like to move to Antarctica and he’s sure Josh would have agreed.
“What’s got Mr. Senior Resident so distracted?” He plops down on their bed, squishing up next to Josh.
Josh puts the book down, sighing. “That’s Dr. Senior Resident to you.” He snickers, then sighs as he pulls Oliver into his side. “Stents. So. Many. Stents.”
“At least it’s not a stroke code.” They both grimace.
Last year was a hell hole of shit. That’s the only way it could be described.
With Josh, it was a rotation in trauma that took up the greater part of the year. It’d been intense, and it was the part of his residency where they started to let him do things by himself. He knew he was ready for it, but it was terrifying nonetheless. He’s glad he got the experience, but he’d prefer to work in a general hospital from now on. If he spent the rest of his days excising tumors, he’d be happy.
And for Oliver, let’s just say that he got more sleep with his eyes open than anything.
He’d get called to the hospital at all hours of the day, night, all the time. When he was told as a second year resident he’d get to do stroke codes, he was excited. It was exciting to get a bit of responsibility as he furthered along in his residency.
Except no one told him that if you’re the one with the pager, you are at the mercy of the pager.
He was barely home, he practically lived at the hospital by how much he was going back and forth.
Thankfully it ended after a month, and the next sorry resident had to deal with it.
Oliver pokes Josh in the side. “So, you never answered my question. What do you think about a beard?”
“I wouldn’t grow one, I think they’re itchy.”
“I meant for me.”
He thinks it over, looking Oliver up and down. “I think you’d look hot.” He feels across Oliver’s face before pressing a kiss to his mouth. “So long as you keep it soft, I’m fine with it. I’m not going into work with beard burn, even if I wear a mask most of the time.”
“Duly noted.”
—————————
Eight years later.
Carol was going to kill him.
There is no doubt in his mind, the second he steps off the plane in New York, Carol’s dragging his sorry ass all the way to the nearest graveyard and throwing him in.
He couldn’t say that it was unplanned, Josh always plans ahead, and so what if they took a vacation to Scotland and just so happened to get married there.
It’d been a long time coming. Sure, they’ve been together for the majority of thirteen years, but that didn’t mean they were ready to get married. At least until now.
If anyone asked, he’d say it was something they’ve both thought about for a long time.
Which isn’t untrue, it was something they’ve long discussed and debated on.
But Josh had pointed out a happy-looking couple walking out of a courthouse late one night as they were on the way back from dinner.
And he’ll admit, they were more drunk than they should have been.
One thing led to another, and now they’re eating cake in their hotel room, matching gold rings and a marriage certificate sitting on the bedside table.
“I can’t believe we did that.”
Josh is happily munching on his piece of cake. If he was a dog, Oliver is sure he’d see a tail wagging.
“You’re not having second thoughts, right? Because the time for that was—“
“No,” Oliver quickly interjects. “God, no. I’m glad we finally got around to it.”
Josh eyes him, raising a brow, egging him on to explain more.
“Do you think we should have done it with our families? I know we’ve talked about it, and the issue was mostly we didn’t want something grand and complicated, but what about your parents? My mom,” his eyes widened. “Carol.”
Josh puts down his plate and takes Oliver’s hands in his, clinking their rings together. “There’s a reason it’s our wedding. We can do whatever we want. If they don’t like it, that’s their problem. And besides, if we really wanted to, we could just do a vow renewal in a year. We could pretend that we’re inviting everyone to our wedding but then surprise them that we did it a year before.”
“I’m assuming that has absolutely nothing to do with the YouTube video you showed me last week?” Oliver hooks his arms around Josh’s neck and pulls him down onto the bed with him.
“Maybe a little.” He throws a leg over Oliver, keeping him in place. His voice drops low as he barely keeps an inch between them. He drags a hand up Oliver’s arm, slowly, before cupping the back of his neck. “Or maybe I wanted to do something spontaneous for once.” He presses a firm kiss to Oliver’s mouth, which is eagerly reciprocated.
“We should—“ Josh interrupts him by pulling him in for another kiss. “Josh,” he says, laughing as Josh keeps kissing up his neck. “You’re forgetting the plate you tossed over here.” Oliver cocks his head to the crumb-filled plates at the edge of the bed.
He huffs in response, quickly getting up to toss their used plates away.
He knows Josh well enough by now that if he didn’t do it now, they’d have to stop in about ten minutes for him to throw it away anyway.
Might as well get any interruptions out of the way.
“There, all done.” He resumes his spot on top of Oliver, leaning in close. “Now, where were we?”
“The fun part of getting married.”
“Right, the part where we make out in our hotel room and eat cake in bed.” He kisses the spot next to Oliver’s jugular, slightly dragging his teeth along it.
“I’m surprised you even agreed to that, does that mean—“
“It’s a one time thing. I’m not living with cockroaches. The occasional butterfly is enough.”
“If you say so, husband.”
Josh goes quiet as he leans back against Oliver’s lap, taking his left hand and feeling among the new ring on his finger. “I’m so glad to be sharing my life with you,” he says, his voice wavering.
Oliver starts to tear up too. “We’re both going to cry now, aren’t we? I know I say it a lot, but I love you. I really do. More than anything in this world. You’re it for me, there’s no one else I’d want to be with.”
Josh blinks once, twice, as he spreads his hand along the hem of Oliver’s sweater, rubbing his fingers along the worn wool.
“Come here.” He’s fisting his hand in Josh’s shirt and tugging him back down. He presses a slow, heated kiss against his mouth, raising a hand up, and up, until it cups the back of Josh’s head, softly scratching at the short hairs there.
“I love you,” Josh says, as Oliver noses his collarbone, trailing soft, barely there kisses up his neck. He tears up again when Oliver, with the lightest of touch, slips a hand under his shirt and softly runs a finger over a long faded scar.
“Are you okay?” Oliver looks up at him, his eyes are blown wide, deep dark saucers of brown.
“Yeah.” He nods. “I just love you. So much. You’re just- God, you’re everything. And now you’re my husband. And it’s very—“ he cuts himself off, letting out a wet laugh. “It’s a lot. But it's good, I’m good. We don’t have to stop.”
The way Josh’s eyes are shining, so blue, so ethereal, Oliver feels like he just fell a bit more in love with him.
“Josh, honey, darling, literal husband of mine.” He squishes Josh’s face in his hands. “We’ve known each other since we were twenty four. I hope you know by now I’m not going to judge you for feeling overwhelmed by this. It's normal, you’re okay. I’ll even cry with you, we can be blubbering messes together.”
“How did I get so lucky?”
“I almost killed you with a cocktail and somehow you thought ‘boyfriend material’ where anyone else would be running for the hills.”
“Husband material,” Josh corrects. “And it was more like I met someone who’s the right amount of eccentricity to my straight-laced personality. Though I think we’ve calmed down in our older age.”
“Our older age? First of all, you’re a year older than me. Second, you’re thirty seven. Talk to me in fifty years when we’re really getting there, sitting in our backyard surrounded by our army of grandkids.”
“Grandkids, huh. Sounds like you missed a step somewhere in there. We’d need to have kids to get to the grandparent part.”
Oliver sputters, cheeks going pink. “We don’t need to talk about it now, but I’m just putting it out there that I wouldn’t mind being a dad. It’s not something we’ve discussed but I’d get it if you didn’t want to.”
“Oliver.” Josh can barely keep himself from the grim quickly spreading across his face. “Are you saying you want to have kids with me?”
“I mean, yeah. I think you’d make a great dad. You’re always so good with Maya, and sometimes it gets me thinking about how great you’d be to our own kids.”
“To be honest, I haven’t really thought about it that much. I also never put a lot of thought into marriage, yet here we are. If you want it, I’m not opposed to it. It’s something we’ll have to talk about more, but I’d love to be a parent with you, whether it’s a year or ten years from now.”
“Really?” Now it’s Oliver’s turn to cry.
He’s always been scared of being a father, on account of his own dad, but with Josh, he realizes that it’s not. The fear may still linger in the back of his mind, but it’s not as loud anymore.
Ever since Josh, it’s quieter. The grief, the pain, it’s dulled down. He’ll have some bad days, but now he has someone to share them with.
Josh sweeps his thumbs under Oliver’s eyes. “Baby, if I’d known you thought about this so much, I would have agreed to it a long time ago.” He places a kiss to the tip of his nose. “You’d make such a good dad. You’re caring, intelligent, and you always do your best to help someone in need. Any kid would be lucky to have you as their dad. I know I’m lucky to wake up beside you every single day.”
Normally, Oliver would be embarrassed by the sound he made when Josh said that. It’s not a squeal, but it’s pretty much the middle aged man equivalent of it.
But he’s not, his husband (husband!) just told him he wants to be parents with him, and then said that he’d be a good dad. Something that Josh knows he’s afraid of, how couldn’t someone be excited about that.
“Best day ever.” Oliver laughs as Josh smiles into his mouth, teeth clacking together when they meet in the middle.
“You know,” Josh leans in close, voice dropped low against Oliver’s ear. “We could drop to the kid talk until later and get back to kissing, if that’s what my husband wants, of course.” Josh smirks at him, even darting his tongue over his mouth in the way he knows will get Oliver all over him.
“Please, I think we’ve both cried enough over our undying love and devotion to each other.”
Josh doesn’t waste any time before pressing Oliver against the bed, again, licking into his mouth.
He tugs his shirt off, tossing it to the ground in the pile of winter clothes they left earlier. Josh does the same, then has the audacity to press a cold hand against his bare chest, making him shiver and giggle in response.
“Josh,” Oliver says, laughing as he gets pelted with kisses against the junction between his shoulder and neck, regrettably the spot where he’s the most ticklish.
“Thought we were doing less talking, more kissing.” He presses his mouth against Oliver’s again. “I’m just showing my husband the love and affection he deserves.”
Oliver gets him back, tipping Josh back against the head of the bed with a calculated leg thrown over him.
“That’s cheating,” Josh pouts, barely.
He pokes him in the stomach, he gets a huffed giggle in response. “Not cheating, revenge.”
Josh idly traces his hands along Oliver’s hips. “We’re going to be so insufferable when we go back to work. By lunch everyone’s going to be sick of me gushing about you.”
Oliver places a finger to Josh’s lips. “Shush, no work talk. We’ve still got a week of vacation left.”
“Not even if it’s,” he drops his voice down to a whisper. “-gossip about my interns?”
Well, he can’t deny himself that.
“Fine, but only if it’s good.”
“London’s sleeping with Mark, but only because she wants to make Ellie jealous. But she’s only making Ellie jealous because Ellie slept with her brother, who isn’t actually her brother but more of a close friend. I don’t know, it’s all very confusing.”
“Holy shit! That's not what I was expecting.”
“What makes it worse, is that they all come to me with their relationship problems as if I know how to help them.”
“I mean, you are in a relationship.”
“I’ve been in two. And I married the second guy I ever dated, what do I know about cheating and jealousy and all that stuff?”
Oliver narrows his eyes. “Okay, fair enough. But who’s side are you on?”
“I am not on anyone’s side.” Oliver raises a brow. “Fine, if I had to pick one, it’d be Maria. She’s the favorite, and she knows it. Probably the most stress free intern I’ve ever had.”
“Is that the little one that brings you the pastries sometimes? From her husband’s bakery?”
“Yes, that’s also why she’s my favorite.”
“Dr. Nichols, getting bribed by an intern? I didn’t think you had it in you.”
“For your information, Dr. Wolf, she’s very good at her job. She doesn’t need pastries to be the favorite.”
“So long as she doesn’t start sleeping with her coworkers, right?”
“Don’t even speak that into existence. It’s a miracle they somehow work together well, even if they’re all sleeping with each other."
“I mean, we sleep with each other, I don’t see how it’s completely impossible.”
“But we don’t work together.”
“Do you think we could? If we were at the same hospital.”
“I guess it wouldn’t be so different from arguing over cases at home. It’d just be in a different setting. We could be like Derek and Meredith.”
“From Grey’s? Didn’t one of them die?”
“Obviously without the death part, I meant in terms of hospital power couple. Probably minus ill-advised hookups in supply closets.”
“Damn,” Oliver sighs. “I was really looking forward to hooking up in a supply closet Grey’s style.” He clutches his chest dramatically. “My one dream in life!”
Josh scoffs, jokingly. “My goodness, the dramatics over here. If only there was a way to fix it.”
“I think we should try it once, see how it goes.”
“You seriously want to shove into a closet for no reason but seeing if it’s like Hollywood.”
“What about your office?”
Josh’s mouth presses into a thin line. “I wouldn’t say no.” Oliver grins. “But wait, before you get all cheeky on me, need I remind you, I work with your mom. It can be fun, but I think I might die if your mom catches us.”
“She’s seen us kiss before, it’s not like it’s a surprise.”
“It’ll be a surprise if she sees the shiny new rings on our fingers and I’m practically on top of you in my office. I won’t be fired, I’ll be decimated on the spot.”
“Now who’s being dramatic,” Oliver snorts. “My mom will be fine, she’ll get over it. Who won’t be fine is Carol.”
“I’m sure it can’t be that bad.”
“She’s had a plan for years to help me propose to you. Well, more like get me to propose to you.”
“You’re right. She took me to help her with jewelry shopping and then just so happened to point out the fancy engagement rings. She even made me get sized. Just in case, she said.”
“How long do you think until she notices something’s up? I’d say immediately.”
“Five minutes,” Oliver counters. “She’ll notice something, but she won’t say it out loud. Five minutes later she’ll come barreling into your office demanding to know what happened.”
“Loser has to buy the other lunch.”
“You’re on.”
———————————-
Six years later, Present Day
It’s been two years since they adopted Teddy, yet it still surprises him the amount of time it takes for him to get ready for anything.
He knows he gets up on time, that’s not the issue. It’s his neatly combed hair that somehow takes him ages to do in the morning.
He’s not biologically related to either of them, but Oliver swears he gets it from Josh.
They aren’t going to be late, but traffic is going to be hell if they’re even a tiny bit behind. And he’d rather get in front of all that.
“Dad!” Teddy races down the stairs. “How does it look?”
He’s dressed very nicely for what is just a regular take your kid to work day.
“Good. But you know that we’re just going to the hospital, right?”
“I know, but I have to make a good impression.”
“Right, and I’m assuming it’s not because of Emily from your math class. And it’s definitely not because her mom’s office is directly above mine?”
He talks to Janine often, their kids have giant crushes on each other and yet they refuse to do anything about it.
“Dad!” Teddy flushes, cheeks and ears turning a bright shade of red. He crosses his arms over his chest, avoiding eye contact.
Dramatic fourteen year olds, what can you do?
“So I take it we’re not stopping by her office later on? I think I could make time for it.”
“Really?”
Oliver resists the urge to ruffle the boy’s hair.
“Maybe we could have lunch with them. Obviously for doctor purposes.” he nods at Teddy, who gets the memo.
“Right, doctor purposes.” He grabs onto his dad’s sleeve. “Okay, let’s go! We don't want to be late.”
The ride to the hospital is uneventful, thankfully no more traffic than regular.
He let Teddy sit in the front seat. He was gleeful and excitedly chatting away about baseball the whole way there.
He’s never been into sports, but somehow his son got addicted to baseball and it’s been his thing in life ever since then.
Which doesn’t bother him, strangely enough. It’s interesting to see how someone you raise could be so different from you.
When they enter the busy floors of Bronx General, Oliver half expects some emergency to whisk him away.
But none comes, thankfully.
It’s not Teddy’s first time here, but he still sticks by Oliver's side, careful not to bump into anyone.
Once they’re in his office, Teddy immediately plops down into his chair and starts spinning it around. Once he finishes, he asks: “So when can I see one of Dad’s surgeries?”
“They aren’t really for kids.”
“Dad,” he draws it out, dramatically, spinning in the chair again. “You said that last time I asked. I’m fourteen now, I think I can handle it. Maybe not a big one, but Dad said there’s smaller ones I might be able to observe.”
“And you’re sure you want to see one? It can get pretty gross.”
“I’m practically a grown man. Gross is my middle name.”
Oliver laughs. “It’s not, but I get what you're trying to say. If Dad says it’s fine, you can go.”
“Yes!” He pumps his fist in the air. “Best dad ever!”
Speaking of his other dad, Josh comes into the room. He immediately goes to Teddy.
“Did he say yes?”
“He did.”
They share a high five.
Oliver sighs. “How long have you two been planning this?”
“Three weeks,” Teddy says, triumphantly. “That’s why I’ve been extra good these past couple of weeks. I even power washed our driveway.”
“You gave him the power wash?” Josh looks at Oliver, a haunted look in his eyes. “I thought that was you who did it.”
He shrugs in response. “He said he wanted to try it. I figured it couldn’t hurt to teach him. Don’t worry, I put it at the lowest setting.”
“Okay.” Teddy gets up from the chair. “Now that we got that out of the way.” He holds out his hands. “Special surgeon card, Dad?”
Josh fishes in his pocket, producing an obviously DIY version of the Bronx General employee ID. He hands it to Teddy, who proudly attaches it to his polo shirt.
“I’m off to the OR,” he announces, striding out of the room.
Oliver jerks his head to the door. “Make sure he gets there in one piece?”
“Yeah.” Josh nods, dropping a quick kiss to Oliver’s cheek then leaving out the door.
It's not even one hour later that Josh brings Teddy back into his office, looking sheepish.
“How did it go?” He glances up to see Josh sit Teddy on the couch and hand him a juice box.
Teddy, by all means, looks shell shocked and pale.
“We didn’t make it to the OR. I thought he should see some post-op patients, to work our way up. I was explaining to him how sometimes people get infections after surgery. I took the bandage off Mr. Calvin’s head and his wound oozed. He took one look and passed out.”
Oliver immediately gets up to sit next to Teddy, putting his hands to his face and checking for injuries.
“Teddy, are you okay? Do you feel sick?”
He grabs onto Oliver’s shirt, looking up at him with wide, green eyes. “It’s so gross, Dad. His head was leaking.”
“Okay.” He rubs his back. “You’re okay.”
“I’m never going to be a surgeon.”
“That’s okay. We’re proud of you no matter what.”
“I didn’t think it was going to be that bad. Dad always says cool things about it. I thought it was going to be cool.”
“I do think it’s cool,” Josh responds, bending down to Teddy’s level. “But it’s also not for everyone. You don’t have to think it’s cool because I like it.”
“But I think you’re cool.”
Josh smiles. “I’m glad you think so. But why don’t you stay here with your other Dad today?” His pager beeps. “I have to go now, but I’ll see you guys later.” He places a kiss on both of their heads before he leaves, rushing down the hallway.
Teddy turns to him again. “Do you have to look at people’s heads leaking?”
He has to look at a lot of things, there isn’t a guarantee it won’t be something worse than what Josh does.
He compromises, “Tell you what, I’ll take you on rounds and if I see something gross I can just tell you to wait outside, how does that sound?”
Teddy nods. “And then we’re going to see Emily.”
“We will. But there are ways to act around a girl when you like her. You can’t run off like last time.”
“How did you and dad do it? You guys have a great relationship, and you’ve been together for ages. How come it’s so easy for you?”
“It’s not easy, first of all. But I’m glad we can be a good example to you. A relationship, especially a romantic one, is a lot of work. Your dad and I have been together for almost twenty years, but it didn’t come easy. But when you find that person, whether it’s Emily or someone else down the road, you’ll do whatever it takes. Even if it gets hard sometimes.”
“Is that why Dad still dated you even after you gave him a really bad allergic reaction?”
They’ve never explicitly told Teddy about the day they met. It’s not like they were never going to say, but they’d rather keep it vague until he was old enough to make sense of it.
Sixteen, is what they were hoping for.
Not now.
“Who told you that?”
“Carol,” he blurts out. “I was just asking about girls, because she is one, no offense to you guys. I wanted advice from someone who could understand Emily on a deeper level. And then she told me that when you and Dad met, you gave him a drink that he was allergic to and he almost died. But then he still dated and married you because he thought it was hot.”
“That’s,” he clears his throat. “That’s one way of putting it. I didn’t give it to him on purpose, you know. It was an accident. Also he didn’t date me because I was hot, it’s a lot more than that.”
“Like what?”
“That’s a story for another time.”