Work Text:
Dennis huffs as he slides into the elevator right before the doors close. Dana had sent him on a run to the labs. There weren’t enough runners and he had a small lull between patients so he was volunteered to go (thanks to Trinity).
He’s not paying attention to who’s in the elevator with him, only leaning back to rest his head on the wall and closing his eyes.
“You didn’t press a button.”
The voice startles him and he whips his head to his left, seeing none other than Park the Shark staring at him with a blank, unimpressed look.
“What?” Dennis blinks at him.
Park juts his chin to the panel of buttons. “I’m guessing you’re not going to ortho… ED’s on a different floor.”
Dennis whips his head around to face the panel and indeed, he did not press the button for the first floor.
“Oh, right.” He presses the button and looks back at Park, hoping that he doesn’t look intimidated as he offers a hesitant smile. “Thanks, man.”
Park just eyes him, almost like he can see right through him. But he stares for a beat too long, then turns back to his phone.
But Dennis has never been comfortable with awkward silences so he rolls on the balls of his feet before speaking.
“How did the replantation surgery go with the girl who lost her leg?”
Park slides his gaze over to him, like he hadn’t expected the man to make conversation and doesn’t know whether to be annoyed or surprised.
“You know? From the ED?” Dennis rushes to clarify.
He blinks slowly at him. “Yes, I’m not incompetent of remembering my patients.”
Dennis grimaces and nods once, averting his gaze. Damn, that’s three times now he’s accidentally insulted Park the Shark, if he keeps this up, Trinity will have to identify his remains because he’s fairly sure Park’s gonna kill him if he does it one more time.
The elevator dings as it passes a floor, that awkward silence sitting heavy on Dennis’s shoulders. He wills the machine to move between the floors faster.
But then, Park grumbles out: “It went fine, she’ll need physical therapy for a while and will be lucky to get ninety percent function, but more likely it’ll be eighty.”
Dennis stares at him with wide eyes, slightly shocked that he said that many words to him. He’s never said that many words to him before… or to anyone now that he thinks about it. The most he’s ever gotten from him was a glance and maybe a jut of the chin on a good day.
“Oh uh,” Dennis scrambles to keep the conversation going. “That’s great! I’m sure she’ll be very happy when she wakes up. She was lucky to have you working on her.”
Park shifts slightly, tilting his head slightly. “Lucky?”
Dennis nods. “Yeah you’re like, the best ortho surgeon here, maybe in the whole state,” He’s laying it on thick but he’s not fucking up his chance to talk to the cute, mean ortho surgeon. “If anything were to happen to my bones, I’d want you working on me.”
Park stares at him almost unnervingly. “I think you’re the only one who’d say that.”
Dennis frowns. “Why?”
Park scoffs. “I don’t know if you’ve heard, but I’m an asshole attending who no one likes working with.”
Dennis shrugs. “But you’re damn good at what you do, and that trumps everything else. I’d rather get the genius asshole doctor on my case than the popular one who constantly makes mistakes.” He hesitates before admitting. “I always like it whenever you’re on call, then I know the patient’s getting the best care possible.”
Park’s face slowly melts from intimidating and mean to a softer look, but still sharp around the edges. Then his brows twitch like he doesn’t know what to do with the compliment.
There’s a pause, where they both settle in this new dynamic and Dennis tries hard to let the silence be.
Park squares his shoulders and nods once. “You did good, with the leg.” It looks like it physically pains him to say anything positive but Dennis is greedy when it comes to praise, so he’ll take it. “Reattachment wouldn’t have been possible without proper care of the leg, so…” He trails off, grimacing like it was his first time praising someone… and it probably was.
“Thanks,” Dennis grins at him. “You did all the hard work though.”
The elevator dings and opens on Park’s floor. He stares at Dennis for a beat before walking out, but just as he crosses the threshold, he shoots his hand out to keep the doors from closing.
“Do you,” He clears his throat and stares hard at Dennis, like he’s almost challenging him. “Want to grab a drink after your shift?”
Dennis widens his eyes, his stomach jumping with nerves and maybe even excitement. Park had always seemed like an unattainable prospect, just a man he resigned to have a work crush on. And now there’s a possibility?
It practically breaks his brain.
Park turns his head slightly before adjusting his gaze back on him. “Unless you’re not-? Did I read you wrong?”
“No! No, uh sorry,” Dennis finally gets himself in gear. “Yes, yes I’d love to get a drink.” He swallows hard and offers a smile and a nod.
Park doesn’t smile back, but he does nod and his shoulders lower an inch. Dennis hasn’t noticed how tense the other man had seemed.
“I’ll meet you down in the ED at the end of shift.” Park says gruffly.
Then he’s gone, the doors closing.
Dennis slumps back onto the wall, his heart pounding.
At least now he has something to look forward to after his shift.