Work Text:
Wolf knocks on Chief Nichols’ door, a stack of files in his hand, and enters when he hears “Come in.”
The hospital’s Interim Chief Medical Officer isn’t at his desk. He’s sitting on his ridiculously impractical white sofa, eating Chinese food straight from the container, a plastic fork dangling from his long fingers. The image is so reminiscent of earlier times that Wolf’s heart constricts with a mix of nostalgia, desire, and grief. All he can hope is that nothing shows on his face.
“Wolf.” The voice jolts him out of his reverie and he realizes he’s been staring at the other man’s hands. Reminding himself that *Chief Nichols* is his boss (because it’s easier to think of him as the Chief and not as *Josh*) he clears his throat and gets his brain moving again.
“Sorry. I brought the files you asked for.” He unsticks his feet from the floor and takes the three steps necessary to put the folders neatly on the desk. Then he turns to leave, eager to escape before he says or does something stupid.
“You don’t have to leave. Would you like to join me?”
“For what?”
“Chinese food, Wolf. I happen to know that you like Chinese food and the restaurant sent chopsticks, which are just going to waste.” He holds out the container of lo mein, the oily noodles spilling over the top of the thin white cardboard.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“That depends? Are you planning to stab me with a fork?”
“Of course not.”
“Then it’s fine. Sit. Eat. You’re looking a bit thin these days.”
Wolf sits as bidden and Josh fishes through the takeout bag before pulling out chopsticks and a container of kung pao chicken which he hands to the other man. Wolf mumbles thanks and pulls the paper off the chopsticks. He feels a bit like he’s entered the twilight zone, or maybe a time warp where eating with Josh… ahem, Chief Nichols… is a normal occurrence. Wolf knows that he needs to say something but his brain feels like it’s moving at the speed of molasses. Finally he grasps onto the last thing Josh said “I’m not too thin.”
“You’ve lost weight and I don’t think you were trying to. You definitely don’t need to.” Nichols gives the other man an appreciative glance out of the corner of his eye before taking another bite of lo mein.
“Is this office making you channel my mother?” That makes Josh choke on his noodles. When he finally stops coughing, he starts to laugh.
“I’ve missed this.”
Whatever tension was starting to leave Wolf’s body returns in a rush when he remembers why it’s been a while since they did this. He screwed up. Josh broke things off. Josh has a boyfriend who is not named Oliver Wolf.
“I should go.”
“Wolf. Oliver. Please, stay.”
And there it is. The voice that always makes him want to throw caution to the wind, to give Josh whatever he wants and not count the cost.
“I think it’s best if we stick to being CMO and Attending. I don’t want there to be any misunderstandings. You are my boss and you have a boyfriend, both of which mean that we should maintain professional boundaries.”
He turns to leave again and his hand is on the doorknob when Josh says “I broke up with Mitch” and Wolf swears he hears angels singing. He doesn’t turn, doesn’t take his hand off the knob, just stands there trying to decide if this is a fever dream. “What did you say?”
“I broke up with Mitch. The guy I was seeing.”
Hearing it again gives him the courage to turn around and face Josh. His mind feels like it’s on fire and he can’t think of a single original thought, so he falls back on platitudes. “I’m sorry.”
Josh chuckles. “You absolutely are not sorry.”
“Okay, maybe I’m not sorry that you broke up.” Wolf acknowledges the point with a slight lift of his lips. “But I can still be sorry if you’re struggling with it.”
“I’m honestly not that upset, and it happened over a month ago, so I’ve had time to process.”
“A month ago?” You broke up a month ago?”
“Yes. Listen, this probably isn’t a conversation we want to have here. Will you have dinner with me?”
“Isn’t that what we’re doing right now?”
“Outside the hospital.”
Wolf feels like his blood is fizzing. “Yes. Wherever you want. Whatever you want.”
Josh looks at his watch and makes a snap decision. “I’ll be at your place in an hour. With the Chinese food.”
“If this is a hallucination, I’d really like to see where it leads.”
“It’s not a hallucination” Josh says, as he closes the distance between them and reaches for Wolf’s hand. The touch sparks as it always does and Wolf finally starts to believe. He squeezes Josh’s hand, says “I’ll see you in an hour” and then disengages, opening the door and striding through it in a single movement.
Wolf heads immediately to Neuro, tells his staff that he’s leaving for the night and is gone before they can ask too many questions. Thankfully, his shift ended two hours ago so he’s able to make a relatively quick escape. He’s not quite running but he’s not wasting time either. Reaching his bike, he hops on and heads for home.
Having parked the motorcycle, he lets himself into the house and takes a long look around. It’s not a mess exactly; his home always looks more like a curiosity shop than a house, but it’s worse right now. He hasn’t been here much and it shows in the thin layer of dust that’s collected on his shelves, the dishes that have been washed but not put away, and the neglected ferns. He can either frantically try to tidy up or he can shower and, on balance, he decides that the shower is the better use of his limited time. He takes the stairs two at a time.
Wolf is back downstairs in 20 minutes and uses the last few moments to clear off the dining table. He’s just moved the last stack of books to an end table when he hears Josh’s knock. His heart rate jumps at least 20 points as he makes his way to the door. Josh is really there, holding the bag of Chinese food and looking impossibly handsome in the dim light.
Wolf opens the door, takes the bag and carries it to the kitchen without a word. He can feel Josh behind him, following closer than he needs to but still not close enough. As Wolf turns back from the counter, he finds himself in Josh’s arms and the angels are back, a joyous cacophony inside his head. When Josh’s lips meet his, Wolf is absolutely certain that paradise exists and he’s found the key.
The kiss is gentle and there are tears in both men’s eyes. They break apart only long enough to sit down on the sofa, hands entwined and dinner forgotten. Josh leans in for another kiss but Wolf stops him with a finger to his lips. “As much as I’d like to keep kissing you, I have questions.”
“That’s fair. Ask away.”
“The last time we talked about our relationship, you told me that you were seeing someone. That it was easy to be with him.”
“It was.”
“So what happened? Why did you break up with him?”
“It turns out that I don’t actually want easy. Easy bores me now. I want someone who challenges me and makes me a better version of myself. Being with you is unlike any relationship I’ve ever been in and I don’t think anything else is ever going to measure up.”
And just like that, they’re kissing again, and this time they might never stop. Wolf is happy to lose himself in Josh, to let himself be devoured. There are more questions that he needs to ask and Josh no doubt has some of his own, but right now he doesn’t care. Whatever sacrifices he has to make or assurances he needs to provide, it will be worth it to keep Josh in his arms. Josh may want a challenge but Wolf wants the peace that he finds in this man. He finally understands what Josh meant about a relationship being easy. Kissing Josh is easy and loving him is even easier. It’s time to stop overthinking and just let himself love the one man who calms the storms inside his mind. In the end, it really is that easy.