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Chapter Text

How long was this going to take?

  Dyo let out a long, drawn out sigh as he slumped in his hospital bed, the ambient hum of the ward machines doing little to alleviate his boredom. The nurse said the CT scans won't take long to develop. Well. That had been a lie. 

    Dyo knew to a degree that he couldn't be mad, that this was just the process and if it was taking this long, hopefully it wasn't serious. Still, he was already horribly embarrassed that this had happened to begin with, and being left to stew in that had left him in a sour mood. A frown so clearly on his face when there was a gentle knock on the side of his room.

    Ah, finally. 

  "About time" Dyo huffed, looking up to meet the eye of whom he expected to be a nurse again, only to immediately regret his choice of words.

    The gentleman standing in front of him was wearing a long, white doctor's coat, wavy, ebony hair tied back and out of the way; revealing a widow's peak framing the light brown skin of his face. Downturned eyes, so clearly tired, meeting his gaze from behind long, thick eyelashes; light brown irises, almost a deep, rich amber in color with the blaring hospital lights. Neatly trimmed facial hair lining his sharp jaw; prominent cheekbones, neat, thickish eyebrows, a sloped, slightly hooked nose, a softness to his face despite the sharp feachers. Really quite pretty. Oh. 

     The doctor sighed in response, "my apologies if you were waiting long, we're very busy today." The tired, almost flat tone showed just how truthful that was. Shit, this was not a good first impression.

  "Ah- sorry, sorry" Dyo began, trying his best to salvage the situation (luckily for him, he was a natural at it), "It's just been...a bad day, even before this." It wasn't a total lie, his wrist wounding up battered was just the cherry of the 'fuck you ' sunday.

  Curse the asshole that said the name of that damn Scottish play.

  "I don't mean to dampen yours any further, I'm clearly not the only one dealing with one." He offered the man a small smile, hoping that the rest of the conversation would be better.

    The doctor shook his head, "long hours and lots of people, I can assure you there's been worse" he said, smiling in return and flipping through the pages on his clipboard, "now let's get to the point so you're not wanting any longer, shall we?" 

    "Right, soooo?" Dyo leaned forward, doing their best in looking interested, "You have a scaphoid fracture," the doctor began, eyes scanning the page, "their one of the more common fractures, and luckily, the brake was closer to the thumb, which will make it much easier to treat." 

    " Okay....so what's that gonna look like?"

    "Well the good news is that you won't need surgery," the doctor continues, 

  "Annnnd the bad news?"

  "Your arms are gonna be in a cast for the next month to heal." 

 "Ah."

  That was, in fact, bad news. The prediction of m-...that Scottish play that his theater was putting on was in 2 weeks time, him having a cast just wouldn't do. Lucky day for his understudy, and all because he triped getting off stage and fell on his wrist. Wonderful. 

   "That's... indeed really bad news," Dyo said, barely hiding his disappointment and annoyance despite his best efforts. "I can't perform with a cast, let alone a broken wrist." 

    "Perform?"

  "Yes! I'm with the theater downtown, we're putting on a performance of uhh.. Shakespeare's Scottish one-"

     "Mec-"

     "YES!" 

    Dyo blurted the word out before the doctor could finish, like hell was he risking it again. "-Sorry, just call it old habits"

  "Ah, that's the one with the cursed name isn't it?" The doctor's response carried a light annoyance, like someone rolling their eyes at a person crossing the street to avoid walking under a ladder. 

  "Like I said, old habits, and not wanting to risk this again;" he gestured to his wrist with his good hand, the doctor snickered. "Annnyway, the premier is in 2 weeks time, and it's only for two weeks after that, if you can believe it, so that just about kills my chance, yours truly is one of the leads." 

    Dyo gave a much more confident smile this time, hoping to impress the doctor to some degree. Instead, he frowned, 

   "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that.." 

  "Bah, don't be," Dyo waved his good hand, "there's been plays before this and there will be plays after, besides, it will still be an enjoyable performance, I can assure you, everyone is just incredible, only the best!" 

     "I'll trust your judgment," the doctor responded, a slight smile tugging at his lips, "this is far from my forte." 

   "Not one for the theater, huh?"

   "I wouldn't say that, it's just been years since I've seen one." The doctor sighs again, "I guess you could say I'm 'out of practice.'" The doctor smiled wider at his own little joke, and Dyo's eyes widened, that was....ridiculously cute.

   "Ha and ha good sir" Dyo said, voice playful, "you meet me at my level." The doctor chuckled - a soft, raspy sound, "I try, now let's get the cast on you so you can get out of here yes?" 

     The doctor was quick with his work, efficient and skilled as Dyo's arm and wrist were bound up in the cast. The conversation remained in that same light and playful tone, enough that Dyo's day wasn't feeling so awful anymore. 

  "All right, we're all done here, I'll go get started on your discharge paperwork." The doctor gathered his clipboard and papers, 

  "Right, thank you Mister?" 

    The doctors head shot up, cheeks red with embarrassment, "Oh my, I haven't introduced myself, have I, I'm so sorry-" 

   Dyo giggled at the sudden flustered state of the endlessly cute doctor, "no need to feel bad, you've made a great impact regardless" Dyo stretched out his good hand for a handshake, "well?" 

    The doctor took his hand and shook it, firm, soft, cold. Oh. Dyo forgot to think for a moment, almost enough that he missed the doctor's name, or at least, his professional title; 

    "Dr. Corvis." 

                                    ♡♡♡

     The week seemed to drag on endlessly, the typical buzz of day to day excitements and stresses muted to a dull drage as Dyo watched his (admittedly skilled) understudy in his place on stage during rehearsals. It was impressive how useless he had become with one of his arms in a cast. And it was impressive how much people will give themselves a boost over pitying him. Lovely.

     Then again, maybe he was no better, as in a bid to be useful again, he found himself assisting with the theater's charity drive, and doing work far beneath him. Taking up a position at the makeshift "bar" they had set up for the night, (something plenty of old experiments he had gained trying to make it had allotted him) he was simply left looking out at the sea of people. 

     There was a much better turn out then he thought there would be, the crowd of people, all in nice-ish clothes weaving in-between the various tables of local artists work and food and beverage stops. Music, some modern radio hit that Dyo couldn't care for, was playing quietly in the background. He let out a deep sigh, despite the crowd, there wasn't much to talk to, at least when he worked at an actual bar, the patriots and regulars made for good conversation on a slow night, now there was just poring what ever juice, or handing over wich ever soda was requested. Boring didn't even begin to cover it- 

       "Are your eyes really purple mister?" 

    A sudden, young sounding voice broke the droning thoughts, and Dyo peeked over the booth that had been set up for the drinks. A short boy with jet-black hair and big brown eyes stared back at him, dressed in a neat, long black rain coat with his hands folded politely in front of him. Dyo blinked, "um I'm sorry?" 

  "Your eyes," the boy repeated, pointing to his own, "are they purple? I don't think eyes can be purple." Well, at least this was something happening, Dyo had gotten well used to the slew of questions that kids (and frankly, adults) asked about his appearance. "Well-"

     "Junior, don't be rude!" An annoyed voice quickly cut off any chance for Dyo to answer, as a tall, slender and rather pretty man put his hand on the boy's shoulder, "you know better than to pry about a stranger's appearance." He then turned to face Dyo, and the face instantly rang a bell: Dr. Corvis. 

     "I'm so sorry, he didn't mean any offense," the doctor said, voice nervous despite keeping a calm tone. Dyo waved his hand "none takein, I'll take a curious kid's question over a rude, dead eyed stare any day." Dyo widened his eyes as much as they could go, and the doctor let out a relieved chuckle in response, that soft raspy sound. 

    "Now, to answer your question," Dyo turned his attention back to the boy, "technically no, they just look that way cuz all of me lacks color, or pigment rather, they're a light brown! Believe it or not." The boy's eyes widened, and he smiled, "Ohhh, cool!" Just as quickly as he appeared, his eyes darted over to a big table with a display of poetry atop it, and he zipped over.

     "JUNIOR-! Don't run-" the doctor didn't even have time for a proper goodbye before he dashed off after his...son? Maybe. Dyo could help but look over, trying his best to keep track of the man in the sea of people, the night suddenly looking up. He should be on brake soon....

   ....Well that 'soon' wound up almost a half hour later, not bad in hindsight, but more than enough time for him to lose the doctor in the crowd. 

     The second he got off, he riggled himself through the mess of people, scanning the crowd and quietly hoping that the doctor hadn't already left. Squeezing his way to the far wall, he looked back over his shoulder, double checking for any face that looked familiar, only to slam right into someone's shoulder. "God damn it- uh-"

     Dyo looked up, whatever annoyed words he wanted to say leaving his head instantly as he looked up to tired, amber eyes. God he didn't even register what the doctor was wearing earlier; a simple black tuxedo vest over a nice ruffled dress shirt, black pants with a slight flyer to the bottom and...gloves? Oh. The look was one that...certainly emphasized his slim figure...Dyo snapped back to reality, once again registering where he was, and what just happened.

   Was it not possible to greet this man without one of them embarrassing themselves?

    "Ah, sorry, I wasn't paying attention." Dyo quickly gathered himself, stepping back and straightening out his shirt, "I am glad I found you though." 

     "You've been looking for me?" Dr Corvis asked, face suddenly going pale, "oh my, is this about junior beforehand? I-im so sorry.."

   "No no, not at all!" Dyo waved his hand, "I meant what I said, no harm, no foul." 

     "Ah ok, good.." his brow raised, "then why do you want to talk?" 

   Straight to the point, even casually, Dyo could work with that, "I just wanted to know what brings you here, doctor!" Dyo paused, taking a moment to register the doctor's face, "you do remember me right?"

  The doctor smiled slightly, "yes, I put your arm in that cast." 

   "Ok good, annnnnyway, it's not often that anyone other than the parents and grandparents come out to these things, you're here with your kid right?" 

    "Nephew, actually... I uhh look after him.." 

  "Nephew, got it, so?"

  The doctor sighed, "Well, you're not wrong, I was notified this evening through junior's school, they were hosting some kind of food drive through it? Regardless it seemed interesting and I had the night off so..." the doctor looked out to the crowd, immediately spotting his nephew looking at a selection of odd, hand made keychains, "I thought it would be nice to spend some time with him..." 

    The doctor's eyes widened a fraction, and he shook his head, "sorry, I'm rambling now." 

    "Rambling? You're just answering my question!" Dyo chuckled in response, 

  "Oh- ok- sorry it's just.. hard to tell sometimes." The doctor said sheepishly, 

  "Not one for small talk?"

   "Guess not, I've never been good at it"

   "Fine by me, it's more of a time waster than anything as far as I'm concerned."

  "Is that so?"

  "Well it seems so to me, it just feels empty" 

    "Empty..." the doctor thought for a moment, "that is a good descriptor." 

    "Knew you would get it!" 

   Dyo smiled, now was a good chance.

  "How about I get us some drinks, good way to avoid it for the night?" The doctor blinked, "that sounds...alright..I suppose." He responded after a moment, shoulders relaxing. 

   Dyo was quick to grab the pair a glass of the raspberry lemonade, managing to bargain with his co-worker for just a bit more time, before meeting back up with the doctor again. The pair found themselves talking in one of the corners of the theater's entryway, the doctor peeking over his shoulder every now and again to keep an eye on his nephew. 

    "I'll give it this, the atmosphere is lovely," Dr Corvis said, looking about and admiring the theater's architecture, "you should see it on any opening night!" Dyo chirped, "the anticipation, the buzz, the excitement, it's just wonderful!" He didn't bother to hide his enthusiasm, the doctor was smiling all the same. 

  "You're really passionate about all this, ain't you?" He asked, taking a sip of his drink, Dyo remaining fixated on those amber eyes, focused darting to his glass for a moment as he sipped, "what gave it away?" Dyo jested lightly, "I have been, for most of my life."

  "Were did you start?" 

  "Hmmm.." the actor thought for a moment, "well, I've loved this sort of thing ever since I was a kid, theater was always where everything just felt right for me," he sighed, reminiscing, "the second high school was over, I moved out, worked odd jobs till I could make ends meet with it..." Dyo trailed off, it had been so long since he'd thought of his life at home...before all the stage lights and makeup... when things had felt so lonely....

      "Dyo?" 

    "Ah, just lost in thought, either way," his demeanor sprung back up just as fast as it had dropped, "I was determined to see if I could make it! Audition after audition. It was exciting as it was exhausting, but eventually, I had my big break! A production of "in the hights" on broadway-"

   "You were on Broadway!?" The doctor asked, delightfully surprised, Dyo nodded, "Yep! Acting, singing, dancing, just get me up on that stage and I can do it all!" Dyo gestured with his hand, an attempt at flair that wound up with him trying not to spill his drink, the doctor chuckled all the same. 

    (Dyo hoped that his attempts to impress were working, enough that whatever annoyance he had at being interrupted was swiftly forgotten.)

    "Anyway," he continued, "that was back in, oof, late 2000's?, I wasn't front and center, but I had found my place. The next ten years were wonderful!" Dyo sighed pleasantly, it was a good time indeed.

    "So, what brought you here?"

    "Mmmhhhmm a few different things, family stuff mainly, didn't want to, but it was better to move closer to home for a time, I've only been back here for a little bit anyway." 

     "Ah I see..." the doctor's brow furrowed, thinking for a moment, "not too close with your family, I presume?" 

   "Getting right to the point, are we?" 

  "Uh-!" His face flushed, "s-sorry, I uh don't mean to pry." 

        "Relax, I don't mind telling, it is an favorite assumption," Dyo sighed again, "not like it's uncommon."

      "Far from.." the doctor's eyes dropped, and Dyo could more than easily assume that the feeling was mutual.

      Not one to keep the mood heavy, Dyo let himself perk up again, "regardless, that's more then enough about me- tell me doc, what led you here?" 

     The doctor blinked, and focused on his drink, eyes downcast. "It's a far less interesting story, I moved here for school, I don't.... really know what pushed me into medicine, but I just knew I could work at least a little well under pressure, the ER just fit, it's were I typically work," he took another sip, "they needed some extra people working the other wards the day you were there."

      "Well thank god for that!" Dyo mused lightly, his smile genuine. The doctor took a moment to look at his watch, and frowns. "My apologies, I'm going to have to cut this shot, I need to get Junior to bed."

   Dyo waved his hand, "no worries, it was nice to run into you again..uhh, mister?"

    "Hmm?"

   "Well I can't just keep calling you 'doc', right?" 

     "Oh-" the doctor's face flushed a deep red, "I haven't told you my name, have I?"

     "Again" Dyo replied, trying not to snicker at the doctor's impossibly cute expression. He pinched the bridge of his nose, "Right- again- sorry" he sighed, and meet Dyo's eye, "It's Florence"

     Florence...

    "It's a pretty name" Dyo said, "don't see a good reason to hide it from me."

     "I didn't- mean to-" Florence covered his face, "god, I'm sorry" 

     "Don't be, I'm just messing with you," then, a good idea came to Dyo, a really good idea.

     "Tell you what, I'll forgot how long it took you to tell me your name, if you give me your number too." The doctor choked mid sip, taking a moment to fix himself before responding, "I...you want my number?" 

    "I enjoyed our conversation!" Dyo chirped, "is it bad that I wanna keep talking to you?" The doctors cheeks burned brighter,

      "I mean I guess not..." he said, voice in a tone of mild disbelief. 

      A few moments of exchanging numbers later, Dyo was waving goodbye to the not-so-stranger. Victory! Every bad thing had its silver lining, it seemed. 

Chapter Text

What on earth had just happened??

   Florence sat in the driver's seat of his car, looking in the rear view mirror. Tired eyes stared back, just as confused. Almost everything about this night seemed to defy everything he learned about making connections with others. And yet here he was, having somehow not offended his former pacing, somehow not having embarrassed himself in front of him during their conversation, and somehow, now with his number in his phone.

  His fingers drummed anxiously against the steering wheel. As if he would actually text or call. It was the polite thing to do. Surely. That was all. Nothing to worry about. Just an odd night and a nice conversation.....a really nice conversation.

  Something that wasn't a diagnosis, or life and death hanging in the balance, or whatever mess was happening within his family, just...talking. getting to know someone. How long has it been since the last time? It's not as if he had ever been good at it. But after so long, even just a simple hello felt far out of his depth... and yet it had been wonderful. Just simple discussion and stories with someone, that someone being full of endless charm.

   A quiet part of the doctor hoped that they would talk again. Maybe....

 "Uncle Florence?"

  The doctor snapped out of his thoughts, and turned to face the back seat where his nephew was sitting. "Ah- Yes?"

  "Can we go to the library again this weekend?"

   He spoke as if this was the third or fourth time he had asked....it probably was. Dammit.

   "Junior, of course we can, now let's get you home and to bed ok?"

  A huff and a sigh, "no snack?"

   "Are you hungry?" The doctor cocked a brow, "or are you trying to get something sweet out of me?" Another huff, "you promised me a treat!"

  "This was the treat, we're up far past your bed time"

  Silence, then,

" .....mom would let me...."

   Fuck.

 Florence bit the inside of his cheek. breathe. "I....know she would...but...."

 Christ.

  He never knew how to talk about this. "I just wanna make sure you don't get a tummy ache, ok?" Another sigh, "ok. Fine."

  He watched as junior crossed his arms, making a very pointing annoyed expression on his face as he looked out the window. The doctor took in a deep breath. Home wasn't far from here, it would be fine.

                            ♤♤♤♤

         Dominic: 5:07 : hay do you have a sec to talk?

 Dominic: It's about thea.

   [ missed call ] 5:10

Dominic : Florence picked up. 5:11

[Missed call] 5:12

Dominic: pick up.5:12

[Missed call] 5:13

Dominic:. Christ. Call me when you see this 5:15

Because today couldn't happen without something going wrong.

Florence let out a deep, frustrated sigh, this was not going to be fun.

   Dealing with his family was always at least a little stressful, dealing with the oldest of his siblings was always hell.

 He quietly shut the door to the junior's room, and made his way down to the kitchen. Gritting his teeth, he made the call to his older brother. The phone rang twice, then, "finally. Good god, I tried to call you 2 hours ago, what happened!? I know for a fact you don't have a shift tonight!"

  Florence pinched the bridge of his nose, "hello to you too, Dominic."

 "It's past 7!"

 "Yes I noticed."

 "So answer my question!"

 Florence took in a breath, "I was out with junior tonight, there was a clarity fundraiser at the theater, and he was curious."

  "....oh."

  "'Oh', you blow up my phone and all I get is 'oh', christ."

 "Can we talk now"

  "Yes, you said this was about Thea?"

    "Right"

  Thea.....another of Florence's older siblings, and junior's mother. Presently in a psychiatric hospital. Ironic really...she was a therapist.

 "Get to the point, good or bad." Florence said flatly. He could already guess the answer by his brother's urgency.

 "Bad...ish, she won't be able to visit junior next weekend-"

  "Won't be able to or doesn't want to."

  A pause, then "look, she only wants to be at her best for him...the past month has been rough with the new meds..."

 "Is that all?"

   "All that's necessary to tell you-"

   "Dominic."

   "What?"

   "Im her sibling just the same, and I'm the one looking after her kid, what else is it?"

   "Unnecessary"

   "Your being unrecognizable-"

   "Her story, ask her yourself"

   "You won't allow me!"

   "She won't get your name right and-"

   "You barely do, it's not a deal breaker."

    Good god. 

    If Dominic was good at anything, it was being a high and mighty prick.

 There was silence on the other end, then finally, "Look, I don't know all the details, just that there was some kind of incident and she's on stronger mood stabilisers, she's not adjusting well."

  "That's all you had to tell me."

  "I didn't have the full picture, I didn't want to leave you uninformed."

   "I'm sure you didn't."

 "Look, I want to do right by her, just like I wanna do right by you-"

   "I'll tell junior."

 "Sm- Florence-"

   "Goodnight, Dominic."

   Click

 The doctor let out a deep sigh, tossing his phone on the kitchen counter. Reality always had a way of seeping in, even on nicer days. He groaned, rubbing his face. Shower. Face. Teeth. Bed. He would be fine, his next shift had the mercy of being not as long, just 8 hours, and he would have the weekend to spend with Junior. Then back to 12 hour shifts for the next month. Lovely.

   The doctor dragged himself up to his bedroom, doing his best to not look at the portraits and photos along the stairwell walls. A night routine later, and he was laying in his bed, one that always seemed to feel so empty.

   He started out the bedroom window, curtains drawn aside so the night sky was visible above the neighborhood's street. He stared, and starred, and starred. Mind in a wurr. Sleep was never something that came easy to him, and the stresses of life never seemed to make that easier.

   His siblings and him had been so close growing up. With the funeral industry being the family business, death always seemed to follow them, enough that when they were younger, they made the agreement to go into medicine. Even with their branches being different, it was something they had stuck to. Dominic leading the way when their father wouldn't.

   What sealed it for Florence was seeing his mother die. He wasn't old, just about 7.

"From a bad sickness in her head" is what they had told him, It wouldn't be until his late teens that he would learn the whole truth. Suicide. The reason is still unclear. And thus, they were left to the care of his father.

   Their mother, a soft woman of faith, had always been kind and loving despite her struggles. When Florence would have nightmares, she would let him snuggle up beside her, a cup of tea in hand, and a lit lavender candle to help him calm down. The soft sent one now of safety and stories she told to lull him back to sleep even all these years later. So much so that he did the same with his own.....

 But their father, estranged and stiff, wasn't someone who any of the siblings had connected with. So the oldest of them took the lead, gave Florence lavender oil to have on hand during his bad nights, to have to keep him calm on bad days. Looked after each of the other four of them. From school, to chores. They all learned to cook together when he was about 11. What they didn't know was how bad that sickness in her head was, and how most of them had inherited it.

  Dominic had been spared, Thea, Pierre, Florence and Nicolette hadn't. It creeped its way into all their lives. For Florence it wormed its way through his teen years, a slow plague that poisoned him from his head to his heart. Bleeding through everything until all felt too much.

   Absent-mindedly, his fingers trace against the lines of fading scars on his thigh.

 Most of his last year of highschool, he was in and out of one hospital or another. And through that time, he saw the ins-and outs of the misery within them. A dull ache that came with the question of seeing a loved one again, let alone as themselves. He decided then, to be a surgeon, wanting to save from death itself who he could.

 "That's rather soft of you.." Dominic had said when Florence first told him,

   "Whats that supposed to mean?"

   "It's more sympathetic than I expected."

  It was much the same for many of them, Thea wanting to help those with a pained mind, Pierre wanting to help ease children's suffering, Nicolette wanting to be a nurse. One by one, it just seemed to consume them.

  The doctor let out a deep sigh, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. He wasn't sleeping much tonight. So, he did what he always seemed to on his bad nights, tossing off the sheets, he made his way to his work desk. Flipping open his latest journal, the cool leather cover feeling so comfortable in his hands, turning to a crisp, blank page. Dipping a feathered quill into a small pot of ink, he began to write.

 And write.

                     And write.

                                          And write.

 Write until his eyes were heavy. From old memories to simple poetry. Until it was the earliest hours of the morning, and he was fast asleep at his desk.

                                    ♤♤♤

     [One unread message] - , I know this is kinda an odd way to say hi again, but I saw this little trinket and it reminded me of you

  [Image]

 It was his break time when Florence realized his new friend had texted him again, to his surprise. He took a sip of the coffee the on-call rooms provided, forcing down the bitter brute in some hopes of keeping his energy up as he opened the message.

Attached to his greeting was a photo of a small glass raven, no bigger than 7 centimeters, colored so that sparse feathers along its head were gray, its eyes a vibrant gold. He smiled slightly, it was a sweet thought. At least he thinks it was.

 [Florence]: cute, thought I don't know if I should see this as a complement or not

   It was only moments before Dyo texted him back. Shit.

  [Dyo]: chalk it up to the hair and nose...and maybe the last name. I mean it as such, truly

 [Dyo] I mean intelligence is certainly a part to play a well

 [Dyo]: all lovely treats

 Oh. Ok.

 The doctor could feel his cheeks warming. So many sweet words wrapped up in such a small gesture.

 [Florence] : That's quite the statement, isn't this the third time you've talked with me?

 Wait no- that sounded harsher then he ment, it was a lovely little surprise. Shit shit shit-

 [Florence]: sorry that came out wrong, that was really sweet of you to say-

    Before he could send the message, Dyo texted him back. Fuck-

   [Dyo]: what can I say, I like making an grand entrance

   [Dyo] and you've made a fittingly grand impression <3

 Oh thank god- wait

 [Florence] I do appreciate it, it's a nice little surprise.

 [Florence] so thank you.

  Was that a flirt?

 [Dyo] not having a good day?

   [Florence] long day, rather

   [Florence] but they all are, I have no reason to complain

  [Florence]... aside from the food.

   [Dyo] truer words have never been spoken

   Was Dyo trying to flirt with him??

 [Dyo] you know, if you want a change of pace, there's a new little Cafe that opened up on 4th street, and I've been dying to try something that isn't fast food

  [Florence] that's certainly something I can agree with

[Florence] what's it called?

[Dyo] "petit avant-goût du paradis"

  [Florence] ah "little taste of heaven"

  [Florence] quite the mouthful of a name, fitting.

[Dyo] ah ha.

[Dyo] so is that a yes?

[Florence] ..what?

[ Dyo] going with me!

  [Florence] is that what you're getting at?

[Dyo] gilty

  [Florence] my, you want whatever time you can have with me, huh?

   Was he flirting back?????

[Dyo] gilty again

[Dyo] when do you get off work?

[Florence] 3:45, I have only about an hour after before I need to pick up junior from his tutoring, however

[Dyo] ill make it worthwhile, promise!

[Florence] ok, see you then

   It happened again.

   Florence stared at the screen, reading and re-reading the texts between him and Dyo. Completely and utterly bewildered.

  And just like that, he had a....date???? Was this a date???? He couldn't tell. Surely not. Just a chance to hangout with a new friend, he shouldn't be overzealous.

 "You ok there?"

   "AH-"

  a sudden soft voice came from behind him, and he turned to see Patty, a co-worker and fellow emergency surgeon.

   "Sorry, didn't mean to spook you there."

  "It's alright - a-and yes! I'm fine."

   Patty gave him an inquisitive look up and down, then shrugged, "if you say so." Sweet as they are, they weren't one to push, and swiftly made their locker. "You know, a gift is always a nice gesture.." they added, tugging a simple patch-work style sweater over their shirt.

   "What do you mean?"

 "I mean it's a nice way to show you care, and a good conversation starter, depending on what you get." That made sense coming from them, they always had a homemade trinket to give, even for the most simple get-togethers, always something woven or stitched. Florence wasn't nearly as confident in his gift-giving abilities.

   "I'll consider it..." he finally responded, thinking over what could possibly be a good option. If he was quick, I could get something small from the antique store, it was on the same street after all.

   It would be fine. This was fine.