Work Text:
"Shen, why did I get an email from Gloria asking if I feel safe working with Dr. Walsh?" Abbot's voice is already sounding annoyed and they aren't even an hour into their shift.
"Oh it’s because I told her that Em is a Russian spy hell bent on getting info out of you from your days in the military." The younger man smiles, without a care in the world, before taking a sip of his iced coffee. Lies like this have become quite common amongst the night shift, starting of course, with John Shen.
Abbot rolls his eyes in response, as John tries to follow up with an explanation. "Jack, come on! That one was good! By far the most believable!" He's smiling from ear to ear, as he attempts to pursuade Jack that this was a good idea.
Like clockwork, Dr. Ellis makes her appearance, as she does whenever the lies are brought up. "Watcha guys talking about? Did I miss anything?"
"We're talking about Shen lying to Gloria again. Apparently, our good friend Emery Walsh is a Russian spy and I am her current target." Jack's tone has yet to change.
"Respect bro! That's a great one!" John raises his hand to meet Parker's for their signature hand shake as the woman laughs at Jack's annoyed look.
Before Jack could chastise John and Parker, Emery Walsh rounds the corner making a bee line for the hub. She heads to towards Shen, flicking his forehead as hard as she can.
"Ow! What the fuck was that for?" He exclaims.
Jack smiles from his chair and mutters to himself. "Well deserved."
"I just got an email from Gloria and I'm assuming it's because of you, you idiot." She flicks him again and Parker can't help but laugh at her friend's punishment. "She's asking for my birth certificate and telling me I have to take a workplace harassment course!" She turns her attention to Jack, "Can she even ask to see my birth certificate?" She somehow sounds more annoyed than Jack did.
"As long as its not a Russian one." Parker begins to laugh but stops abruptly when Walsh turns to stare daggers at her.
"You told her I'm Russian?" She turns her anger back towards John, who instinctively covers his head to avoid another flick.
"In my defense, I told her you're a Russian spy which is super cool!" He tries to reason with her but it does little to ease the woman's anger. "Look I'm sorry! It's just so easy to lie to Gloria. It only took me 3 conversations to get her to believe the spy thing! Two of them weren't even direct conversations, just her eavesdropping!"
Jack walks over, leaning on the counter near Emery. "He also told her that you are specifically trying to get information out of me, hence the workplace harassment course." The older man winks at Shen, knowing this information will add to his punishment.
Unfortunately, Shen didn't see the third flick coming. A devastating blow was delivered right to his temple.
"Jesus fucking Christ Em, can you quit it with the flicks?"
"And with that, I'm leaving you guys to go take care of patients. I suggest you do the same." Jack walks away but not before hearing John whisper to himself. "Im gonna to be a patient if she fucking flicks me again."
"I'll stop flicking if you email Gloria and tell her that you were lying. I'm not taking this fucking course."
The wheels on Shen's chair squeak as he scoots away from Emery, before answering her question. "Hear me out, we don't tell her that because then she'll think I'm a liar and I go with you to the seminar so you at least dont have to do it yourself."
"Why do you think I would ever agree to that?"
"Because I get so much joy out of gaslighting Gloria and you can start a lie too and have as much fun as I do! I have a whole list of possible rumors to choose from!" He pleades with the woman. "Please don't take this away from me!"
Her eyes fixate on the man, cowering in his chair. "Take the course with me and paint my bathroom and you have a deal."
"Sold!" He stands up and attempts to go in for a hug but quickly realizes that is a terrible idea. "Thank you for not ratting me out, Em. I really appreciate it." He says excitedly.
"You're just lucky I like fucking around with Gloria." She is still wearing her signature scowl that Shen finds incredibly unsettling. Before he can say anything else, Parker cuts in, with a devious smirk on her face.
"So, shall we start planning our next lie?"
3 days later
John Shen has been buzzing with excitement for tonight's shift. He's has been diligently dropping hints and minuscule details that will feed into his fabrication. Along with getting Gloria to believe it, he had to get other doctors in on it as well. There's been shift switches, begging, and offers of manual labor all leading to this. Today, or rather tonight, will be the start of his greatest lie yet.
Tonight he will enact the husband plan.
Shen has decided that instead of going out and finding an actual partner that he could create a life with, he would pretend he has one and create a fake life with his pretend spouse. His pretend spouse that happens to be, the one and only, Frank Langdon. He has yet to tell Frank about his plan but there's not a doubt in his mind, that he would go along with it. So tonight, when Gloria comes down to check on night shift before she leaves, he will start dropping the first hints. Lucky for him, Crus was easily bribed, so Langdon will be on nightshift all week.
When he sees Gloria heading to speak to Abbot at the hub, he knows it's his time to shine, strolling casually towards the meeting. Jack sees him and sighs before rubbing his face with his hand. He looks like he's about to say something to stop him but he wasn't fast enough.
"Gloria Underwood? To what do we owe the pleasure?" He winks at her, knowing the subtle flirting will win him brownie points.
The woman smiles and playful hits his arms. "Oh you already know Dr. Shen! Just checking in and reminding everyone about patient satisfaction scores."
"Yeah Shen, you already knew this so what are you doing here? There's patients to see." Abbot says, plastering a fake smile on his face.
"I had a plan that I wanted to introduce to our good friend here." He gestures towards Gloria. "Something I think would help patient satisfaction!"
"Really?" The woman says excitedly. "I would love to hear your idea! You know I'm always looking to raise those ps scores!"
Jack and Gloria are both looking at Shen, one eagerly hanging on to his every word, the other mouthing "I swear if you dont shut the fuck up, I will kill you."
Completely ignoring his senior attending, he continues his conversation with Gloria. "Well, I was thinking, we have a perfectly good bulletin board that's not in use and I would like to decorate it for the upcoming holiday. Give the patients something nice to look at while they wait!"
Abbot drops his head into hands, trying to wrap his mind around John's idea. He realizes thats not possible so he chooses to just ask. "How in God's name is that supposed to help anything?"
Gloria answers him before Shen has the chance. "We decorate it for Valentine's Day! We can put pictures of couples in the Emergency department on the board and people can get to know their doctors and nurses better!"
Shen can hear Abbot muttering about how stupid the plan is under his breath, but chooses to completely ignore him. "Exactly! We have so many couples down here and it'll be fun to show them off!"
"Well, you have my permission, John! Decorate that board however you see fit! I cannot wait to see it! I'm going to head out for the night but I'll stop by in the morning to see your progress."
"I can't wait for you to see it! Have a good night, Gloria!" The woman walks away leaving Shen and Abbot in front of the cork board thats currently covered in medical posters, business cards, and hospital event fliers.
"You know I hate you, right?" Abbot asks him.
"Absolutely."
"You have exactly 20 minutes to decorate this board and then you're back to treating patients."
Shen's devious smile grows, knowing the first part of his plan is going exactly how he wanted it to. "Will do!"
Abbot walks away and Shen races to his locker. He knew his plan would work. He knew that Gloria would love the idea, and he knew Abbot would give him limited time to work. Knowing this, he made giant valentine hearts out of the finest glitter paper he could find at Micheal's and printed pictures, stolen from the instagram's of his coworkers. He grabs a stapler and gets to work hanging everything up. He starts off strong with a picture of Samira and Jack at the beach (he can't be mad if he gets to see a cute picture of them, right?) and then makes his way through the Pitt's hottest couples. A picture of Dennis and Robby at a petting zoo, one of Mateo giving Victoria a piggyback ride, one Joy kissing Emma's cheek while the girl smiles, and a selfie of Parker and Trinity at a concert. The final picture he adds is a mirror selfie he took when he and Frank went to the gym together. He puts it in the center of the board and neatly writes their names underneath it.
"You've outdone yourself this time, Shen." He whispers to himself as he admires his work. "And you have 5 minutes to spare."
"Shen, I could use some help with a hip reduction if you have time!" He hears Parker yell from across the department, snapping him out of his admiration. He heads to the room Parker had stuck her head out of, knocking before walking in past the blue curtain. To his surprise, Langdon is standing at the head of the bed and Parker winks at her friend.
"How'd your bulletin board decorating go?" She smirks at him.
He knows that she's hoping he just comes outright and talks about the couples, but that would spoil the surprise for Frank, and John Shen does not like spoiling surprises.
"No fucking way you decorated the bulletin board." Langdon looks to him laughing, as they get into position to pop the patient's hip back into place. Langdon puts his right leg on the bed lifting the patients onto his. John, of course, chooses to help stabilize the pelvis on the same side of the bed, while Ellis stabilizes from the opposite side.
"I absolutely did and it looks stunning!" They hear the pop of the joint falling back into place, with a slight grunt from Frank. "Not as stunning as you reducing a hip but its still nice." He winks at Frank, whose now smirking at the man. Ellis however, tired of the flirting, cups her hands around her mouth shouting "Gaaaayyyyyyyy" to the men.
At the same time, Frank says "yes" and John says "bisexual actually", sending both men into a fit of laughter. Ellis rolls her eyes, but cant help smiling at how happy the two men are at the moment.
"Well, Frank would you like to come see the bulletin board with me?" She asks and John has the biggest smile on his face.
"I can't tell you how badly I want to see that board." He says excitedly before looking at Shen. "You coming with us, babe?" It's his turn to wink and John was not expecting to feel butterflies in his stomach over this.
"Please, I would love to see your reaction." His grin is growing as the 3 of them walk out of the room. As they start walking towards the board, Abbot yells towards them. "Shen with me! We got an auto vs ped!" He's holding onto the gurney, rushing into trauma 2, and Shen knows he's going to miss Langdon's reaction.
"Fuck! Ok, just find me after and let me know how you like it!" He yells to the man as he races over to Jack, not waiting to hear a response from him.
Shen wears a smile on his face as he charts everything he and Abbot did to successfully save their patient. Once again the two, worked seamlessly and he will be riding that high for as along as he can.
He types away, not hearing Langdon come up beside him. "So, uh, that bulletin board."
Shen bites his bottom lip to keep from laughing at the other man's realization. "Yeah, its pretty great, huh?" He says not looking away from the computer.
"Yeah, definitely super cool. I was wondering if it was couples and friends or just couples?" Langdon asks leaning closer to Shen.
"Just couples. It's for Valentine's Day!" John refuses to look at the man because he knows he'll crack the second he sees those confused blue eyes.
"Ok yeah, that's what I thought. So uh, why are we on the board, John?"
This time Shen has to look at him, just so he could deliver the next line. "Because we're married Frank."
Shen can only hold in his laughter for a few seconds before absolutely losing it, Frank following closely behind him.
"Wait, so who are we pranking?" Frank finally asks when he can catch his breath.
"Eh it's just Gloria. Im trying to make her think we're married and we've been married for awhile." Shen shuffles slightly in his seat. Frank is laughing at the idea but that doesn't mean he wants to go along with it. Contrary to popular belief, Shen wouldn't force Langdon to be his faux husband if it made him uncomfortable in any way. "I can shut it down though if you dont want to do it. The board s just the first step and she's hasn't seen it yet so technic—"
Frank cuts Shen off from his rambling. "I dont think you understand how excited I am for this. No need to shut it down because of me." Frank smiles at him, putting a hand on the other mans knee.
In that moment, John knew that he chose the right person for this lie. He also really wants to kiss the man in front of him, but that's a problem for another day.
The next night
Frank is currently looking at the board, figuring out which patient to treat next. John, in plain sight, comes up behind Langdon, wrapping his arms around his shoulders. The man doesnt even flinch and Shen is grateful for their conversation the night before.
"Hey babe, looking for a new patient?" Shen rests his head against Langdon's, looking up at the board as well.
"Yeah, My back is killing me and don't want anything crazy but that doesn't seem like an option tonight." His brow furrows and he bites his lip, still not reacting to Shen's current embrace.
"Let's tag team patients tonight then. We'll get through more together anyway!" He can feel stares coming their way and he can only hope that Gloria's is one of them. Especially when Frank reacts to his offer.
The other man pulls from his grip and turns to face Shen, a look of pure relief written all over his face. "Wait are you serious? That would be fucking amazing. That would instantly make you one of my favorite people here."
Why am I feeling jealous over my fake husband saying I'm not yet his favorite person here? Who else could be his favorite? Oh my god I need to focus.
"I mean I have to, especially if I'm not your favorite person yet." He smirks before he keeps talking. "You know babe, you should let me take you on a vacation. You've been through a lot in the last couple months and you deserve a break." Shen now has a hand on on Frank's shoulder and the man looks like he might cry. He can tell that Frank is trying, but struggling, to come up with words so instead, he does what he does best, he talks. He turns his attention towards where Abbot and Gloria are standing, never taking his hand off of Frank though.
"Hey Jack, Do you think my man and I could use your cabin for a mini vacay?" Gloria's gaze is darting between Abbot and Shen, while Abbot just looks at Shen the same way he usually at him, disappointed and irritated. Shen saw Gloria staring at the board yesterday before he left after his shift and he can only assume, that is what abbot and Gloria's conversation is about.
"It depends. Are you going to get drunk and pour bubble bath into the hot tub again?"
Langdon's face lights up. "Hot tub?!" He exclaims.
Shen however, is quick to defend himself. "That was Ellis! I was the poor drunk that almost got drowned by said bubbles!"
Unexpectedly, Gloria is the next person to speak. "I'm going to head out now and let you boys finish your conversation. Jack, I'll send you a email with some questions later. Enjoy your shift everyone." The woman looks slightly concerned as she makes her way out of the Pitt and Abbot turns his attention to John and Frank.
"Why are you two trying to go to my cabin? Together at that?"
"I just think Frank could use a break after a very tumultuous past couple months. Also I would like to spend that time with him." John says straight faced.
"Yeah, life has been kinda rough and we would just like some alone time together. Plus, the hot tub would work wonders on my back."
"After, I work wonders throwing that back out, if you know what I mean." Shen adds with a smirk and Langdon barks out a laugh.
"And we're going back to work now. Go take care of patients and get away from me." Abbot says completely unamused. Nevertheless, Shen grabs an tablet and Langdon's hand as they head off to pick up some patients.
The next night
"Em, please we're begging! You have to tell us the lie!" Ellis whines as she follows Walsh around like a lost puppy. Night 2 was a success with Gloria officially seeing John and Frank acting like a couple, and she caught Ellis "recruiting" Joy and Trinity for her fight club. The only lie left, is Emery's but she has yet to tell anyone what it is.
"No way! You get a lie too Walsh? That's so great!" Frank says excitedly, as the two women stop in front of him.
"I do and I will not be revealing it until I find the perfect moment," she turns to look at Parker, "so stop asking."
"Boo! You suck!" John says to the woman, earning him another flick to the forehead. "Fuck, you gotta stop doing that!" He exclaims.
"Sorry haven't taken my workplace harassment training yet so I don't know what's acceptable and what's not." She smiles at the man.
Jack's stern voice cuts through the younger doctor's conversation. "We're not doing this right now. Langdon, go wait for the incoming trauma, Shen will meet you in 5. Ellis, you're in north 4 and no including Walsh in the fight club. She's already in hot water after the Russian spy bullshit. Also Em, I'm pretty sure we need a few consultations so please get on that. Shen with me, we need to talk."
"Yeah yeah that's what I came down for anyway." Walsh waves the man off, grabbing a tablet from the stack.
"Come on Pops you know I'm smarter than that. Em won't get in any trouble for this one." The woman smiles at Abbot before grabbing a chart and heading to her patients room.
"I wanna hear more about this lesbian fight club and Russian spy bullshit later." Frank squeezes Shen's shoulder, giving him a devious smirk before breaking into a light jog towards the ambulance bay. Shen watches Langdon go outside, biting his lip to control his smile.
"Alright John, do you really think this is a good idea?"
"What the lies? Parker and I do this all the time. It's harml-"
"You know that's not what I mean. Maybe everyone else is clueless to it but I can clearly see you have crush on Langdon. I can't imagine that pretending to be his husband is going to help that, unless you want something to come out of it."
For once in his life John Shen is speechless. Did he have a crush on Langdon? He thinks hard about it. Yeah, Frank is good looking, and he's funny, they both get along together so well. Shen worried about him when he was in rehab and was excited when Abbot told him that Frank would be picking up night shifts more often. He always chalked it up to the husband plan, and how it would be the perfect lie. Shen assumes that Abbot can see his brain short circuiting because the older man continues talking.
"You have a long weekend coming up next week. Head up to the cabin. I want you to really think about things before you go though. You can go by yourself or take Langdon, all I ask is that you make good choices."
"I don't have a crush on him. We're both just fun flirty people. I will be taking the cabin time though, so thanks for that." He winks at Jack and does his best to shove all the complicated feeling down.
You cant stress about it if you tell yourself it doesn't exist
"Whatever you say, kiddo." Jack smiles at him as they both turn and see Langdon heading to Trauma 1 with an older gentleman on the gurney.
"Shen, we got a STEMI!" Frank yells from across the room causing Shen to break into a smile and sprint to his "husband".
The next night
"Heard Robby say that Gloria is coming down in a couple minutes to watch hand offs. How far are we taking his?" Shen is surprised when Langdon appears next to him, throwing an arm around his shoulder.
"Frank, I overnighted matching rings for us. I think you know I'm willing to do anything to commit to a bit. I'm assuming you have an idea planned already?" Shen cant help but grin at the pure joy on Langdon's face as they walk down the hallway. His smile grows when he sees the black ring with it's gold stripe, hanging from the chain around Langdon's neck.
"Oh I do. Follow my lead, yeah?"
At this point, John would follow him just about anywhere, as long as he looked this happy.
"Anything for my husband. Also we did actually get cabin time from Jack so the mini honeymoon is a go."
Langdon stops walking and looks at John, now confused, and Shen already misses the bright smile the man wore seconds ago. "I thought that was just part of the joke. You really wanna go on a vacation with me?" The confusion changes on his face and he looks almost scared now of the answer. Shen tilts his head and puts a hand on the side of frank's face, hoping to bring the man at least a little comfort.
"You have been through a lot the last couple months. That part wasn't a lie and I think you do deserve a break. So if I can help give that break, I'll gladly do it." He gives Frank a soft smile that the other man returns. "Plus I know I'll have a good time if I'm with you, pretty boy." He winks and gets a chuckle from Langdon.
"Well, I'm pretty excited to spend that time with you too. I think it'll be fun." Langdon then leans in, putting his mouth right next to Shen's ear, whispering his next words. "Also as your fake husband, I can't lie to you, calling me pretty boy really does it for me. So you probably shouldn't do that at work." He plants a kiss on Shen's cheek and excitedly walks away from him, leaving the man laughing by himself.
"Oh Frank Langdon, how are you so perfect?" He mutters to himself before heading to find Ellis, knowing she'll want to see whatever Frank has planned.
When he finds her they both head to the hub, where Langdon is leaning on the counter talking to Joy. They all try their best to act like they haven't seen Gloria walk up and begin speaking to Abbot and Robby. The three of them are eyeing their group, making it the perfect time to start their shenanigans. John walks up behind Frank and start massaging his shoulders. Maybe a bit too loudly, he says, "Watcha got going on pretty boy?" instantly feeling the other man's shoulder's tense up.
As he was hoping, Frank turned around, and John got to see the pink blush spreading across his cheeks. He reaches over the counter, grabbing a Dunkin iced coffee that he hands to Shen, who smiles and immediately takes a sip.
Nope totally not in love with a guy because he memorized my Dunkin' order and surprised me with coffee. That would be absurd right?
Before he has time to question his current feelings, he's pulled out of his thoughts by Langdon.
"I was trying to figure out why your best friend recruited our daughter for a lesbian fight club, honey."
Ellis' eyes go wide and Shen chokes on the large sip of coffee he just took, fighting to catch his breath. They both look up at Joy, who wears her usual resting bitch face.
"Our daughter?" He manages to choke out between coughs.
"Yes. Dr. Ellis here apparently asked her to join the fight club she runs for lesbians here at PTMC." Langdon replies, a fake disdain for Parker's alleged actions in his voice.
"I tried to tell him that it was a self defense class for lesbians but he still thinks we fight for money." She turns her attention from Parker to John. "Can you please tell him to relax dad? It really isn't that serious. Self defense is important."
Shen finally stops coughing and is able to respond, immediately pulling Parker into the conversation. "Um E-Ellis, is it for self defense or fight club? I don't want my kid getting pummeled."
Good job Shen! That definitely sounded like you're a dad!
Joy interrupts before Parker can speak. "Please" she scoffs,"I kick ass, there's no way I would get pummeled."
"It's true, she's a great fighter!" Parker tries to explain. "And its not a fight club, per say. We just teach women how to fight! Do you not think it's important for women to learn how to defend themselves, Dr. Langdon? Especially queer women?"
"I don't trust that this is a self defense class and not a weird way for you to get back at Garcia. I'm sorry I don't want my daughter involved in that beef." Langdon responds in an incredibly realistic accusatory tone, quickly getting a response back from Parker.
"Woah woah woah, I do not have beef with Garcia!"
Without looking at each other, John and Joy, at the exact same time responded. "Yeah you do babe."
Their perfectly timed response receives a "like father, like daughter." From Langdon, who's arms are now crossed as he looks at Parker, disapprovingly.
Shen smacks Ellis arm when she breaks character and begins to howl with laughter at Langdon's comment. It doesn't do much good because his eyes are beginning to tear up from trying to hold back his own laughter. The struggle is only made worse, when Shen glances towards Gloria, and can see the woman is horrified with the conversation going on.
"I'm glad you think this is a joke." Langdon says in a stern tone. His back is facing the side of the hub where Gloria, Abbot, and Robby are so they can't see his wide smile and rosy cheeks. "Our daughter can get seriously hurt because Parker doesn't like that Garcia flirts with her girlfriend."
"Once again, I'm not getting hurt. I'll rock Garcia's shit if I need to." Joy responds as she continues to chart at her computer.
"And if I happen to make some money off of my god daughter winning that fight, I'll make sure she gets a cut." Ellis adds when she can finally catch her breath. Joy smirks in a way that is all too similar to the way that Shen does and he has to question if he is actually this woman's father.
"I mean, can we be mad at our daughter for making money and learning to defend herself, babe?"
To add to everything going on at the moment, Emery walks up, ready to give her opinion on the conversation at hand. "Um, you absolutely should be mad. Need I remind you two that I was married to the princess of Genovia while I was your surrogate for our darling Joy? That means, as the heir to the Genovian throne, she should not be involved in fight Clubs." Once again, Shen and Ellis are struggling to hold in their laughter as Emery speaks to them in a completely serious tone. This time though, Joy is just as surprised by the lie and is taking deep breaths to keep from laughing. In theory, it makes no sense at all. John and Frank are not old enough to be Joy's parents, adoption or not. Emery is absolutely not old enough to have given birth to the girl, but none of that matters because they all just keep feeding into the lies.
"Thank you for being on my side, Emery!" Frank says with emphasis. The lack of giggles, let's Shen know that Emery told him her plan for the Princess Diaries lie. "Joy kwon Shen Langdon Walsh Thermopolis Renaldi, does not need her good name dragged through the mud with this lesbian fight club nonsense!" Somehow, Langdon is still in character as he speaks to Shen and Parker. Joy however can't hold it in anymore, so she stands abruptly and walks away from the hub, yelling behind her.
"Sorry gotta check on a patient! Love you dads!"
Before Langdon can respond Robby yells from across the hub.
"Incoming MVA! Shen, you're with me, Langdon with Abbot, Ellis find Joy, she's with you!"
"Oh we're definitely getting yelled at by them aren't we?" Langdon says to the small group before heading to the ambulance bay.
Ellis nods her head and Shen says "Absolutely pretty boy", as they race towards the ambulance bay.
Langdon (fake husband): hey Abbot knows the marriage is fake right?
Shen: um yeah? Why?
Langdon (fake husband): I was working on a patient with him and he gave me a dad talk and it seemed quite genuine
Langdon (fake husband): like "Shen is like a son to me and I don't want to see him hurt." Vibe
Shen: WTF?????
Shen: I mean that's kinda cute but wtf????
langdon (fake husband): are we that good at faking it??? Also it was really cute🥹 I told him I would never break your heart 😌😘
Shen: we're def doing an AMAZING job at it. If Abbot somehow believes it, Gloria DEF believes it
Shen: I would never break your heart either pretty boy😏😘
Langdon (fake husband): WE'RE AT WORK AND I TOLD YOU THAT DOES THINGS TO ME
Shen: oh I know😈
Shen: if it makes you feel better, I wanted to melt when you called me honey because it was so fucking cute
Langdon (fake husband): mmm good to know 😏
Shen and Robby watch as Walsh wheels their patient out of the trauma bay, and off to the operating room. It was touch and go but the two men worked perfectly around each other, stabilizing the patient for the next part of his treatment. John begins to peel off his layers of PPE, when he hears Robby begin to speak behind him.
"So you know Langdon is like a son to me right, Dr. Shen?"
Did him and Abbot write a fucking script together?
"Uh, I mean I guess. He is a grown ass man though, Dr. Robby." He knows this probably isn't the best time to be sassy but he can't help himself.
"He is. He's also someone that doesn't always think things through. I don't want him to get hurt because of that." Robby walks closer towards him, crossing his arms when he stops.
"I have no plans to hurt him. I'm sure you heard this is just a little joke. Langdon knows that too." He tries to smile and chuckles a little, but Robby does not look impressed.
"That's what I've heard, but it's not what I've seen. I know Frank, Dr. Shen. This isn't a joke to him."
John is not one for getting flustered, but these last couple days it has become a common occurrence. Really anytime someone mentions his relationship, fake relationship with Frank. This is one of those times. He can feel his face heating up as he tries to respond to Robby.
"I can, uh, I can talk to him about it. Make sure we're on the same page. Really though, I wouldn't do anything to hurt him. I do care about him."
"Whatever you say. I'm heading out for the night, but have that talk with him soon, ok?" Robby pats him on the shoulder before walking out of the room, leaving Shen alone with his thoughts.
It's not what I've seen. This isn't a joke to him.
The words play on a loop in his head. This is supposed to be a joke. They're supposed to act like a couple, just to mess with Gloria's head a little. They're just two friends that casually flirt with each other. Now he's terrified that he's somehow hurting Frank. That was never his intention.
Oh my god. Why am I feeling like this? Why the fuck am I so stressed out, over a fucking prank?
It only gets worse, when he remembers his conversation with Jack at the beginning of the week.
I can clearly see you have a crush on him. Pretending he's your husband isn't going to help that.
The man immediately pulls his phone out and goes to his latest text thread.
Shen: so Robby just cornered me
Shen: we need to talk. Coffee after work?
Langdon (fake husband): Damn did yours go that bad? Abbot was so chill in mine
Shen: yeah it was NOT chill.
I can't do this right now. I need to work. Ignore the feelings until after work.
John walks out of the trauma bay with the intent of picking up another patient as soon as possible, so he can avoid thinking about how this talk might go. He can't stress about his crush on Langdon if he's focused on being a doctor. His phone buzzes in his pocket but he refuses to check it. He gets to the hub, grabs an Ipad, and looks at the first name on the board.
P. Ball. Headache and vomiting. North 7. Sold.
Mr. Ball is about to get a full work up to get to the bottom of this headache.
He turns, starting towards the room with his head down, ready for the distraction. He doesn't get far before he feels a hand grab his arm, pulling him back.
"Hey, what's going on? Are you ok?" He hears the concern in Frank's voice. Shen keeps walking, hoping that he doesn't follow when he gives his response.
"All good. Just checking on a patient." He avoids looking at Frank, but that doesn't stop the other man. Before he knows it, John is being pulled into an empty room and the curtain is pulled, hiding them from the rest of the department.
"Try that again, honey." Frank smirks at him, and John feels like he might just explode on the spot. "What's going on and what can I do to help?"
Langdon's blue eyes are staring him down, waiting for an answer from him, but he can't figure out what to say.
"I-I just need to see my patie-" Frank cuts him off, this time putting both hands on his shoulders, and Shen doesn't want to admit how grounding it feels.
"John, what did Robby say to you?" There's desperation in his voice now and Shen knows he needs to tell him.
"I don't want to hurt you and I need you to tell me if I'm doing anything that does that." He says, his voice a bit shaky as he struggles to get the words out.
"Hurt me? What are you talking about? Did Robby say that?" His face now looks incredibly confused as he tries to figure out what's going on.
"He said that you don't think things through and that he thinks we're on different pages and maybe I'm hurting you by treating you like my husband and I don't want to hurt you, I never wanted to hurt you. So I need you to tell me if I'm doing that." He blurts out the quick ramble and he feels like his heart is going to beat out of his chest.
"That was just him being a dad! You're not hurting me at all, and I would tell you if you were." He tries to sounds reassuring. Shen sighs and runs his hands through his hair as he turns away from Frank. "Please John, this is not you at all. What is going on in that gorgeous brain?" He offers a soft smile but Shen can see in his eyes that the man is scared.
"I-I don't know. I feel like I don't know what's real and not real anymore!" He sounds exasperated as he tries to explain his feelings. Frank is still holding his gaze on John, but now is looking a bit more surprised, which does nothing to calm the other man. "And I'm so scared of fucking things up."
"Ok, so let's talk through it. What's the biggest thing that you're questioning right now?" Frank guides him to the bed and forces him to sit down before grabbing the rolling stool and sitting in front of him. Then, unexpectedly, he reaches out and grabs Shen's hands.
Shen closes his eyes thinking about what he should say next. How can he casually say that he thinks he's falling for his fake husband? Is there even a way he can say that without sounding insane? Is it insane? What if Langdon doesn't like him back like that? What if he's not queer? He pushes that last question out of his head because he knows Frank, and he knows there's no way he's straight.
He's right. This isn't you. Do what you do best, and be fearless.
"Robby said that our relationship isn't a joke to you." He decides to blurt out, thinking that was a good place to start. Frank's eyes go wide and he looks like he's trying to figure how to respond. Shen, however doesn't give him the chance. He squeezes the man's hands and continues talking. "And when he said that, it reminded me about a conversation I had with Abbot. He had told me that this was a bad idea because he knew that I had a crush on you, before I knew I had a crush on you."
Shen and Langdon stare at each other for what feels like hours. Langdon, seemingly dumbfounded by the news that Shen has a crush on him, and Shen terrified by the thought of Langdon not liking him back. John decides he can't take it anymore and let's go of Langdon's hand and moves to leave the room, not wanting to make eye contact with the man, while he rambles apologies.
"I'm so sorry I made this weird, I-I'm gonna go talk to Abbot and have him send you back to dayshift. I just, fuck Frank I'm so so—" His words are cutoff when Frank grabs his arms, spinning him around to face him. Before Shen can say anything, Frank grabs his face and pulls him in for a rough kiss. It takes a second for John to process what's going on but when he does, he grabs Frank's hips and pulls him closer, illiciting a moan from him.
Frank is the first to pull away, panting while Shen chooses to kiss down his neck.
"Woah there. Slow down honey! You know we're still at work right?"
Shen throws his head back looking at the ceiling as he groans. "Fuuuuuck!" He drops his head back down, his forehead landing on Frank's shoulder, as his arms wrap around his waist. "Do you think we can just sneak out? They won't notice if we left."
"Honey, you're an attending and I'm a senior resident. They would absolutely notice if we leave. Plus I think Abbot would send bloodhounds after us." His arms are around Shen's shoulders, holding the man close to him.
"Goddamn it, you're so right. I don't wanna go though!" Shen whines, causing Frank to laugh at the man's dramatics. He pulls away, planting a kiss on John's forehead, before grabbing one of his hands.
"Come on, we'll tag team patients, that way we can spend more time together." He smiles as he leads Shen out of the room.
"Fine, but I'm going to complain about not being able to kiss you the entire time." Shen says and Langdon can't help but cackle, gaining them stares from around the department. Most noteably from Abbot.
"Where the hell have you two been? Chairs is getting backed up and I need you to start treating and streeting!" He yells towards them. Before Frank can apologize for wasting time, Shen yells back to the older man.
"Sorry! Needed some quick spicy time with my husband. I'd say it won't happen again but it definitely will." Shen's signature smirk is back and Abbot looks like he might murder him.
"Please just go see patients. I can't deal with your dumbass right now." Abbot yells back to him, as he wheels a gurney into a room.
The two men make their way to chairs, giggling the entire time.
The following night
"Alright Nightcrawlers, we have some business to discuss." The group of nightshifters, including Crus and Langdon, are gathered around the hub listening to Abbot speak. "Due to some of your coworkers asinine behavior, it has been requested that everyone on night shift attends a workplace harassment course, an inclusivity course, as well as a refresher course on relationships in the workplace." A series of groans and mumbled curses are heard around the group, while Parker, John, and Frank try to look casual and keep the attention off of them. It doesn't last for long though, because Emery decides to throw them under the bus.
"So we all have to take these courses because of them?" She points towards the group of them in the back. Jack has no problem adding on to the attention.
"Yes. Ellis, Langdon and Shen have successfully lied to Gloria, who is now requested that we do this. The harassment course is due to Shen telling Gloria that Walsh is a Russian spy and Ellis starting a fake lesbian fight club. The workplace relationship course is because Gloria now thinks Shen and Langdon are married and have adopted Joy. And lastly the inclusivity course is because Ellis' fight club was only for Lesbians." His last sentence causes laughter throughout the group, easing some of the tension.
"Ok hold on, I wasn't even on nightshift this past week, I never witnessed the fake marriage, and I am not a lesbian or in a fight club. Do I really need to go to any of these?" Crus asks, and Parker and John have to hold back laughter.
"Unfortunately yes, I think Gloria is going to make dayshift take all the refresher courses as well. That being said, if anyone asks you, make sure to blame Ellis and Shen." Abbot answers.
"Woah, woah, woah, What about Langdon and Walsh? They were in on the lies and Emery had a lie too! Also, dont get me started on the flicking of my head by Dr. Walsh." Shen asks trying to ease the blame put on him and his best friend.
"Yeah! Walsh is a lesbian too so she could've been in on the fight club!" Ellis adds.
Walsh laughs before answering both of them. "My lie was completely harmless and Ellis specified that I wasn't part of the fight club becuase I was already in trouble due to Shen's Spy lie. Also the flicks are all well deserved."
"Also why are you trying to get your boyfriend in trouble? I'm just an innocent bystander in this." Langdon asks looking at Shen.
"Wait, I thought Jack said y'all were fake married?" Crus asks trying to figure out what the hell is going on. Before Shen can answer, Abbot addresses the group again.
"Ok nightcrawlers, time to find a dayshifter and start handoffs please. I will keep you all updated on the courses!" Jack says to break up the group. "Shen, Langdon, Ellis, and Walsh, hang back."
Everyone breaks off groaning and giving dirty looks to the four doctors staying in their spots. Those left hang out awkwardly, waiting for Jack to talk to them. Before he does, Shen leans in towards Frank, whispering in his ear.
"Ok so maybe that wasn't the best way to let them know we're dating now."
"We were going to have to tell them eventually. It's not like we could stay fake married John." He whispers back.
"Why not? We already have the matching rings!" The answer earns him a smack on the arm from Frank and John dramatically mouths "OW!" At the man.
"Alright you two, enough with the bullshit. Are you still playing into this fake marriage?"
Frank looks at John wide-eyed, waiting for him to answer Abbot's question. John knows he's closer to Jack so he has to be the one to talk.
"Weeellll." John draws out the word. "This whole fake marriage has brought up some previously unknown feelings that Frank and I share, and we sat down together to discuss said feelings, in great deta-" Shen is cut off by Ellis' annoyed voice.
"For the love of God John, are you together or not?"
Frank bites his lip as he smiles at Shen who answers the question. "Well, we're not husbands, but we thought we would give the boyfriend thing a try."
A smile grows on Jack's face, while Emery and Parker look even more pissed than before.
"And you ladies each owe me $50." The older man says in a sly voice.
Emery delivers a flick to Shen's head, quickly followed by one to Langdon's. "You fuckers couldn't wait a for 3 more days, before getting together."
"I really thought you would hold out for a full 2 weeks bro." Parker says to Shen as she pulls her phone out to send Jack the money.
Shen, who was shocked for all of 10 seconds, is quick to reply. "That's on you guys," he gestures to Langdon, "I mean look at him, you thought I would last more than week? He's fucking hot." Langdon's cheeks turn bright red and he turns his head away from the group.
"Im sorry I thought you would be more concerned with the lie, than trying to fuck Langdon, asshole." Walsh snaps back at him.
"And on that note, I'm going to treat some patients!" Langdon says trying to walk away, but is stopped by Abbot.
"No you're not. Walsh and Ellis are going to treat patients. You and Shen have paperwork to fill out."
The women leave and Jack sits down with the two men, to begin the relationship disclosure forms. As they're filling it out, both with smiles on their faces, Abbot begins to speak.
"You know, I am very happy for you boys. I think you compliment each other well and I'm excited to see you grow together." He says, sounding completely genuine, and Shen feels like he might cry.
"Thanks Pops. I really appreciate that." Shen smiles at the older man before turning his attention to Frank, who's signing his name on the bottom of the sheet. He looks up and smiles at his boyfriend.
"Well, I guess it's really official now." Frank says, absolutely beaming, as he hands the paper to Abbot."
"It really is, pretty boy."