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Victoria didn’t like the summer a whole lot. Growing up, she would see kids her age talk about it like it was the best time of the year, and to them, it probably was. But to her, not only did it mean studying double because of the free time that came from not having to go to school during summer break, but she’d also have to study in her stuffy room while sticky with sweat. She remembered making a point to shower at least 3 times a day just to feel somewhat fresh.
At least working at the Pitt during the summer wasn’t as bad. Of course, the busy days came with double the stress, the usual adrenaline and struggles only heightened by the suffocating heat. But there were also the calm, slow days from time to time, when the heat just made the afternoons sloggier, almost lazy, despite the amount of work they still had to do.
Usually, the AC system in the ER was enough to keep everyone as comfortable as they possibly could in an environment like the Pitt, even during the hottest days of the month. But, still, she didn’t always have the smoothest time in the world, the main culprit for that being Cassie Mckay’s incredibly frustrating habit of not wearing undershirts during July, for reasons mostly unbeknownst to Victoria.
She was a part of the street team, so she figured that was probably why. She couldn't even fathom asking Cassie about it because what kind of question would that even be? Hey, why are you not wearing your usual long sleeved shirts beneath your scrubs? it’s not like it’s the hottest month of the year or anything. Oh, also, can I lick the sweat off your forearms?
Trinity laughed at Victoria for it, throwing an arm around her shoulder and telling her, a little louder than should be in the middle of the ER, “welcome to the club”, because she’s had to deal with Garcia not wearing an undershirt to any shift since their first day. She didn’t know whether to feel lucky or jealous of Trinity.
Victoria was at least able to ignore it most of the time, because of the aforementioned AC system, which made it so Cassie had to wear a hoodie for the majority of the shifts. So, really, it was manageable.
It only became a real issue when her one hail marry stopped working during a particularly hot day, and now, not only did she have to keep her thoughts in check while Mckay was standing right next to her with her strong arms and tempting collarbones on full display, she also had to pretend not to notice or be affected by the sheen of sweat that was starting to form on said beautiful arms and collarbones, and beneath her perfectly messy bangs, which, along with her flushed face, painted a picture that made Victoria weak in the knees.
Not to mention that chain. That fucking chain, hanging from her neck enticingly whenever Cassie leaned over a patient– peaking out when she did just about anything, really. It was enough to make Victoria want to commit a crime or two.
Though she hadn’t passed out since her first day working at the Pitt, she was starting to think it could happen again, and it was only 10AM. Between the stress of having to deal with sweaty and impatient patients, while feeling like she herself was about to melt, and having to stay sane while watching Cassie work, sweaty and a little breathless from the heat, Victoria really did think, for a moment, she might faint.
Granted, if she did, it would be less embarrassing than it had been on her first day. This time, she could easily pass it off as just the heat getting to her, but she still wanted to avoid it, certain she would not hear the end of it from Trinity and Dennis.
The idea started to sound not so bad when she thought about how Cassie would react, worried about her, maybe even holding her to keep her from falling, calling her sweetheart and asking if she was okay, doing a check-up on her just to make sure it really was just the heat and not something more serious, because even if the other doctors didn’t think it was absolutely necessary, Cassie would. Or, at least, Victoria liked to think she would.
But she knew it wasn’t the heat— at least, not entirely. Mostly, it was Cassie being stupidly attractive without even trying.
And her insistence on always standing so close to Victoria, as if she would explode if they ever stood more than 5 feet apart from each other, meant it was all always right there, perfectly within Victoria’s reach; Cassie’s soft, incredibly pale skin, the delicious stretchmarks that peeked out from under her scrub pants when she stretched and her shirt lifted up, the back tattoos Cassie told her about, but never showed any pictures of… It was all right there, and she was constantly aware of it.
Luckily, it was a pretty slow day, because she couldn’t stop getting distracted, thinking about how it would be if she ever got the chance to touch, how it would feel if she ever let her hands wander beneath her scrub top, feel with her own hands what she had been dreaming of for weeks, and maybe even see it, if Cassie let her. The thought alone was almost enough to give her a nosebleed.
She even dared to think that Cassie knew, and was doing it on purpose. Because they still worked together pretty much all day, almost every day, and there was no way that she didn’t notice the way Victoria’s eyes lingered, or how she’d blush at every compliment and get irrationally shaky when Cassie stood behind her, her front pressed to Victoria’s back for a few heavenly seconds as she watched Vic work on a patient, before stepping back with a small smile and a whispered “good job”.
She had always done that, but now, it was becoming a lot more frequent and for no apparent reason. Not that Victoria was complaining about it, but some times it made it really hard not to abandon the patient so she could turn around and kiss Cassie stupid, or maybe get kissed stupid by her.
She only became more convinced of her theory being true when, even days after the AC system started working as normal, Cassie ditched the hoodie entirely.
Perhaps the days were getting hotter without Victoria noticing. She still wouldn’t ask Cassie about it. She just kept taking deep breaths every time she looked at her and had to pretend she was entirely okay and didn’t care about it at all, because soon enough, it would be August, and fall would be just around the block, so Cassie would go back to looking incredibly handsome in her long sleeved undershirts and hoodie, because that was something Victoria was used to, that was something she could handle.
This whole “no undershirt” thing, though? Absolutely capable of killing her within that same week.
One time, when Cassie did that cruel thing she always did, standing right behind Victoria to watch her work, way too close for comfort, Victoria honest to god felt the chain poking her back through the fabric of her scrubs, and it made her physically shiver, from head to toe. When she was done with the stitch she had been trying to focus on, Cassie smiled at her.
“Great job, Vic.” She said, putting a hand on her shoulder and squeezing. Victoria glanced wide eyed at the hand on her shoulder, the fact that it almost covered it entirely made her throat dry. That really did it for her.
If she could, Victoria would choose to feel the weight of that warm hand on her shoulder for the rest of her life, keep it as her personal anchor, the one thing keeping her feet on the ground, stronger than actual gravity... but she feared that if she stayed there for even a second longer, she would combust into flames, or maybe moan out loud or something of the sort, embarass herself so severely she'd have to move to a different state and get a different career altogether, so she shrugged off from Cassie's grasp and excused herself quickly, muttering something about having to use the bathroom.
As she left the room, she ran face first into Santos, who at first told her to watch where she was going in that endearing, sarcastic way of hers, but when she actually took a closer look at Victoria, she put a hand on her shoulder, on the same spot Cassie had, but Trinity’s hand was smaller. The contrast almost made her dizzy.
“Crash, is everything okay? You look like you’re about to have a stroke.” She said, sounding genuinely concerned for Victoria as she put her hand on her forehead to feel her temperature.
Victoria, almost feverishly and a little breathless, blurted out: “Mckay is trying to kill me.”
Santos pulled her hand away, making a face. “I’m pretty sure she’s trying to fuck you, actually.”
Victoria whipped her head around, checking if anyone heard them. Luckily, no one was around, except for Dana, who was on the phone and definitely not interested in their conversation. Victoria grabbed Trinity’s wrist, dragging her into the closest free room.
“Okay, I don’t- I don’t know if it’s the heat, or whatever, but I’m going insane, Trin.”
Her friend watched her with wide eyes, before slowly nodding. “Yeah, I think I’ve noticed,”
Victoria sighed, wiping some sweat off her neck. “It’s… she’s like, she never wears her hoodie anymore, which is fine, I’m over the exposed skin thing anyway-”
“You absolutely sound like it,” Santos joked, earning a small slap on her arm. It was absolutely harmless but she still hissed dramatically and rubbed the spot anyway.
“But now she keeps, like, getting right up to my ear and pressing herself on my back while I do sutures and stuff. I swear, today she got so close I could feel her chain through my clothes.”
Trinity made a face. “Wait, what?”
Victoria nodded, eyes wide. “Yes, and it’s driving me fucking nuts, Trinity. She- wait, stop, stop!” She shushed Trinity, who was now laughing so hard she had to hold her stomach. After she managed to catch her breath, she wheezed again.
“And that’s the person you insist doesn’t want you at all?” she said, still grinning wide.
“What?”
Santos took a few steps closer to Victoria, putting her hands on her shoulders. “Victoria, that woman is one step away from pinning you to a wall and showing everybody what a real HR violation looks like. Why in the fuck do you think she's doing all of this"
Victoria hid her blushing face in her hands. "she's being a mentor and im the pervert-”
Trinity cut her off, shaking her by her shoulders. “Crash, I’m serious! What do you think Garcia did before we started going out? The excessive praise, the extra attention she gives you, the constant need for physical proximity? Vic, she’s fucking whipped for you!”
The shorter girl groaned, letting her hands fall down to her own necklace, holding it in an attempt to ground herself. She looked out the window on the door. Mckay was out there, leaning on the hub’s counter as she talked to Dana with a grin on her face. Her chain hung from her neck as if it was mocking Victoria, as if it had a mind of its own and it knew the way it affected her just by existing, just by her knowing of it.
“Come on, Crash, we both have a job to do. Now get out there and go get that cougar. And also save some lives, and stuff.” She said, giving Victoria a pat on the back.
Victoria blushed. “I- She’s not- Don’t call her that!”
Santos’ smirk was audible in her voice as she opened the door and guided them both out. “Whatever helps you sleep at night.”
—
“That poor girl,” Dana laughed, looking back at the screen in front of her.
Cassie’s grin didn’t drop. “I just- I didn’t mean to scare her! I was just trying to be a good mentor, give her some reassurance. She’s so good, but she’s always so shaky, Dana.”
Dana rested her chin on her knuckles and looked up at Cassie. “Gee, I wonder why,”
Cassie gave her a look that seemed to say drop it, but both of them knew it was more playful than an actual warning.
“I’m getting an HR complaint filed against me” she groaned, dropping her head to her hands.
Dana typed something into her computer with one hand, while the other reached out to caress Cassie’s hands. “She likes you too much for that. I’m starting to think she’s even into it.”
“You’re making it worse.” Cassie said, voice muffled by her own hands.
Dana only grinned and shook her head, seeing, from the corner of her eye, Victoria and Santos leaving an on call-room together. “Speak of the devi."