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Mel was an adult. She knew that some people didn’t think of her as one, but she was. She paid her taxes, she drank alcohol, she had sex with other adults. Well, two other adults. It just so happened that the two other adults didn’t particularly embrace being adults. Mel did have a tendency to overcorrect, she knew people saw her as infantile, so she made sure she seemed even more mature than she already had to be given her life circumstances. Her partners were helping her with that, though. They were giving her a safe place to explore herself in every sense of the word, including how to have fun, let go, and let her inner child out to play. Usually, they just coaxed her into playing a game or goofing off, maybe even playing hooky a day or two. Today, though, they decided to wear mistletoe headbands and laugh like giddy schoolboys whenever someone pointed them out.
It wasn’t well known throughout the hospital that her, Frank, and Jesse were in a relationship. Robby and Abbot knew because they had to approve the paperwork, Kim, Yolanda, and Samira knew because they were their best friends, but no one else did. They had even managed to keep that information away from Princess and Perlah. So, Jesse and Frank couldn’t ambush her with kisses during the party at the house they pretended only belonged to Frank, but they could pretend to jokingly kiss each other, as long as they could manage just a quick peck and not a full on make out. Frank even managed a few kisses on Mel’s cheek without arousing suspicion, though she did think him cornering her in the kitchen and telling her all the things him and Jesse are going to do to her after the party was pushing it a little.
They had been helping her become more relaxed and less serious, but they never intended to make her more devious, that had been a complete accident that Mel used to her advantage and the men tried to be mad about.
When they saw her smirk after they snuggled up together, purely platonically, of course, they were just touchy feely people and the eggnog was hitting, they knew she was up to something, it was just a matter of time.
That time happened to be less than 30 minutes. She had asked Frank to go get her scrunchy that she left in the bathroom. When she was previously up there just a few minutes ago, of course, not because she kept all of her scrunchies there. Frank, the ever trusting partner, almost jumped at the chance to do something for her, although the booze and his joints stiffening from staying in the same position on the couch too long did slow him down. She’d have to make sure he put tiger balm on or let her give him a massage.
Mel had timed it almost perfectly, Frank getting there almost exactly when Trinity steps out of the bathroom. Stopping short so they don’t run into each other, Trinity looks up, sees his headband, and immediately yells “hell no” before almost running down the stairs.
“Come on, Trinity!” Mel says. “You have to get into the holiday spirit!”
“Can’t I just, like, steal toys from children or something?” She asks as Frank sits down in between Jesse and Mel, purely coincidental. Normally, he’d have the same reaction as Trinity, but Mel looked at him with pleading eyes and he knew it would only get worse, so he gave in and kissed Trinity noisily on the cheek. She wipes her hand over it as if trying to get rid of the cooties he left on her before repeating fuck no over and over again as she moves away from him.
“I’m getting tested for fucking Rabies tomorrow. And Bird Flu and Histoplasmosis and Newcastle disease.”
“Newcastle disease can only infect poultry, haven’t you ever seen Friends?” Frank fires back, trying to discreetly play with Mel’s hair and as he relaxes his head that just so happens to fall onto Jesse’s shoulder.
“No, because I’m not a hundred years old.” Which earns Trinity a chorus of heys and whats and excuse mes from all of her older colleagues.
Mel fakes a yawn as an excuse to cuddle up closer to Frank, pulling up the blanket covering everyone on the couch so she can reach across and rest her hand on Jesse’s chest with no one noticing as someone presses play on the next movie. Mel isn’t sure what it is, but she’s preemptively banned Elf, so she’s fine with anything. She’ll just have to find a way to get Jesse back some other time.