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All these months they had been officially dating, Trinity had noticed certain… patterns in Yolanda’s life:
Her apartment (besides being huge) was decorated entirely in neutral colors and in the most minimalistic way possible. Even the bed and Cucho’s toys (the stray cat Yolanda had rescued during residency and who still lived with her now) were only in light brown, gray, and black tones.
Her closet was also full of basic clothes in neutral colors, because in Yolanda’s words, “it just works better that way.”
The only trace of color that ever existed in Yolanda’s apartment was Trinity…
Because Trinity, on the other hand, was a fan of loud printed clothes, weird socks, and her work thermos was covered in stickers; some given to her by pediatric patients, others from Harrison when he once visited his mom in the ER, and some she stole from Victoria without her noticing (she always noticed).
One of their first “fights” was when Trinity deliberately bought Cucho a toy mouse to chase. It was in rainbow colors and somehow, in a way neither of them ever understood, it lit up.
Yolanda argued it didn’t match her apartment’s aesthetic, but the disagreement only lasted a couple of hours because that same night, Trinity found Yolanda sitting on the living room floor, bouncing the “annoying mouse” in front of Cucho while the cat desperately tried to catch it.
And Yolanda had a huge smile on her face. Deliberately huge.
___
Trinity thought about that weeks later while escorting a patient transfer up to the surgical floor.
Because there it was again, that pattern.
Yolanda was standing in front of the OR doors, checking something on a tablet while a clearly terrified intern nodded at everything she said. Her arms were crossed over her chest, with that calm and severe expression she always wore when she was in charge.
And then Trinity noticed it: Dr. Yolanda García, one of the best trauma surgeons in the hospital, wearing the saddest disposable blue scrub cap ever created.
Trinity stared at her for a few seconds before shaking her head softly.
“Of course she does,” she murmured, unable to stop a small smile.
Because of course Yolanda García (brilliant, intimidating, absurdly beautiful Yolanda García) would wear the most depressing scrub cap in existence.
After that, Trinity started noticing it all the time. Every time she went up to the surgical floor to drop off a patient, every time she had to personally go pick someone up from OR because nobody answered the damn pager, every time they crossed paths during transfers, consults, or post-ops.
And once Trinity started noticing Yolanda’s cap, she started noticing everyone else’s too.
Vascular wore a Star Wars one, one of the pediatricians had cartoon dinosaurs, anesthesia used a floral one and even one of the interns had little yellow ducks.
And Yolanda kept wearing the same cap: sad, disposable, blue, and depressing.
Honestly, Trinity probably would’ve stopped thinking about it eventually, if it hadn’t been for the fact that a few weeks later she accidentally found an entire website of custom scrub caps while trying to buy new stickers for her thermos (as if she didn’t already have enough).
The idea appeared in her head immediately. And unfortunately, once it appeared, there was no getting rid of it.
Because Yolanda García with a printed scrub cap was already a ridiculous image on its own.
But Yolanda García wearing a Spider-Man one…
Trinity had to put her phone down on the table just to finish laughing by herself.
She only stopped laughing when she thought about the implications of actually giving that to Yolanda.
All because of Dennis, who months earlier had shown up with a blanket as a Christmas gift after accidentally hearing her admit (half embarrassed and definitely too honest) that she had always wanted things like that as a kid; and somehow that blanket ended up becoming Trinity’s most embarrassingly important comfort object.
Yolanda knew exactly what that blanket meant to her, and Trinity knew the gift was probably a terrible idea.
But she added it to the cart anyway.
The cap arrived four days later and Trinity hid it at the bottom of her locker for almost a week before gathering enough courage to give it to her.
The opportunity came after a particularly horrible shift.
Trinity had been awake for almost twenty hours, traffic accidents were nonstop, it felt like she hadn’t stopped for even a second all shift, and she was pretty sure one of the first-years had spent the entire shift testing the limits of her sanity.
By the time she finally left the hospital, all she wanted was to sleep for a full century. Instead, she ended up at Yolanda’s apartment.
Honestly, that was also starting to become a pattern.
That night they found forgotten Mexican food in the fridge, warmed everything up in silence, and ended up eating barefoot in the living room while Cucho walked between their legs demanding attention like he hadn’t been fed in decades.
Yolanda looked exhausted and softer, without residents, without hospital stress on her shoulders, without consecutive traumas demanding her attention.
Just Yolanda, hair down, tired, sitting across from Trinity in an oversized gray sweatshirt while checking messages on her phone.
And that was when Trinity remembered the cap.
“Oh, before I forget,” she said, trying to sound casual as she got up toward her bag. “I got you something.”
Yolanda looked up from her phone right as Trinity came back holding something behind her back.
“That expression usually means trouble,” she murmured suspiciously.
Trinity was already starting to laugh a little.
“Okay, before you judge me,” she began, laughing even before handing it over. “You need to understand this was objectively hilarious in my head.”
Yolanda raised an eyebrow while Trinity placed the small package on her lap.
“That doesn’t make me feel better.”
Trinity was already half covering her face, trying not to laugh, when Yolanda opened the bag.
The atmosphere shifted slightly, the silence that followed made Trinity want to throw herself out the nearest window.
First came confusion, then disbelief, and finally something softer, something Trinity immediately recognized.
Yolanda was holding the Spider-Man scrub cap like she wasn’t entirely sure what to do with it.
“I mean…” Trinity laughed nervously, unable to handle the silence. “You looked emotionally oppressed by the ugly blue disposable ones.”
That made Yolanda laugh softly, but she kept staring at the cap in her hands.
Trinity briefly wondered if she had just crossed some invisible emotional line when, finally, Yolanda looked up at her.
And then she laughed.
A real laugh this time, tired and soft, but a real one, still holding the cap.
“What exactly is wrong with the blue surgical caps from the hospital?” she finally asked.
Trinity looked at her in horror. “Yolanda, be serious, they look deeply unhappy.”
That earned another laugh from Yolanda, smaller but still real.
“Trinity,” she said, still amused. “I’m a trauma surgeon, not a pediatric surgeon.”
“And yet,” Trinity immediately replied, pointing at the cap with full seriousness, “you would look fantastic in Spider-Man.”
Yolanda let out a tired laugh before finally placing the cap on the coffee table. “That’s not gonna happen.”
Trinity pretended to be deeply offended. “Coward.”
“I’m serious,” Trinity insisted, sitting back down. “You would absolutely become the most beloved surgeon in this hospital.”
“I’m already beloved, actually”
Trinity stared at her, “You literally made an intern cry last Monday.”
Yolanda didn’t even look guilty. “Character building, I guess.”
Trinity slowly shook her head. “You know people are terrified of you, right?”
Yolanda looked at her.
“Well, you aren’t.”
And unfortunately, Trinity had no smart answer for that.
Yolanda must’ve noticed, because she immediately stood up, leaning down just enough to leave a quick kiss on her lips before picking up the empty plates.
“That’s different,” Trinity murmured once she recovered from the kiss that had definitely caught her off guard.
And before she could say anything else, Yolanda was already walking to the kitchen.
Trinity stayed sitting on the living room floor, watching her disappear toward the sink.
The topic eventually died there. Trinity stopped insisting, and Yolanda left the cap forgotten on one of the dining chairs like it didn’t matter much.
Over the next few days, the cap stayed on the dining chair.
Sometimes Trinity found it slightly moved, or folded differently, once it even showed up on the back of the sofa.
But Yolanda never mentioned it again, and definitely never wore it.
Then it disappeared completely and Trinity noticed immediately.
She tried not to overthink it. Probably Yolanda had just put it away in a drawer or the back of her closet with the rest of the things she pretended not to want but refused to throw away.
Trinity decided to act like a emotionally stable person and not ask directly what she had done with the Spider-Man cap.
She managed that for about eight days. By then, she was convinced Yolanda would never actually wear it.
And honestly, she was okay with that; at least that’s what she kept telling herself whenever she thought about it too much.
The next horrible shift came on a Tuesday. Trinity was desperately trying to catch up on charting, which would’ve been easier if the ER had stopped producing new disasters every twenty minutes.
So she barely looked up from the computer when she heard Princess and Perlah laughing softly near the station.
“Cute scrub cap, Dr. García.”
Trinity looked up way too fast and then she saw it; The Spider-Man cap hanging partially out of Yolanda’s scrub pocket.
Yolanda didn’t even look embarrassed, just raised an eyebrow while still checking something on her tablet.
“Apparently I’m being forced to develop whimsy.”
Walsh, walking next to her reviewing labs, let out a tired laugh.
“You say that like you haven’t been wearing it all week.”
Trinity felt something in her brain just… stop working.
All week???
Walsh passed by Trinity with a small smile, “You mind sending me the link later?”
Trinity blinked. “What? Really?”
“No,” Walsh said immediately. “I just wanted to see if you’d believe me.”
“Walsh,” Yolanda warned, rolling her eyes.
“What? I just needed to confirm this was her fault.”
“Anyway,” Walsh muttered as he walked away, “congratulations on successfully introducing whimsy into trauma surgery.”
“Oh stop it” Yolanda said. “Now that’s starting to sound like workplace harassment.”
Trinity was still frozen.
Because Yolanda had said she would never wear it.
And Trinity had believed her.
It never occurred to her that Yolanda would just… start wearing it silently on her own.
That night at home, Trinity was exhausted, Yolanda arrived a bit later and Cucho was asleep on the couch. Everything felt quiet, almost peaceful.
Trinity watched her come in and place her bag on the coffee table, the Spider-Man cap still peeking out.
“You didn’t have to use it,” Trinity said, staring at the cap and not at Yolanda.
“I know.”
“Then why?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” Yolanda said, looking directly at her. “You looked happy when you gave it to me.”
And when Trinity finally looked up, Yolanda was already walking toward the couch. She gestured lightly with her hand, inviting her over, and Trinity followed without thinking, sitting beside her while the Spider-Man cap stayed between them on the table.
“Also… you’re right,” Yolanda added. “I haven’t worn printed caps in years.”
Trinity turned slightly toward her but didn’t interrupt.
“Not since my abuelita died,” Yolanda said, like it was just another fact.
“She gave me one when I started residency; sky blue, with soft embroidered flowers, a bit ridiculous, but cute at the same time” A small nostalgic smile appeared briefly on her face. “I only wore it once or twice… I think.”
Her eyes stayed fixed on the wall.
“Then she died two years later, and I never wore it again, I think it’s still in the back of my closet.”
The silence after wasn’t uncomfortable, just heavier.
Trinity waited a second before speaking.
“Oh,” she said, then added with a soft half-smile, “I hope I find it someday, Doña María de Lourdes Catalina Barona Bocanegra definitely had impeccable taste.”
Yolanda glanced at her, something warm flickering across her face.
“I knew I should’ve never told you her full name, you’ll never get over it.”
“It’s just very long, it’s impressive” Trinity said, more relaxed now.
Yolanda let out a tired laugh and shook her head.
The silence returned, but lighter this time.
Trinity leaned slightly into the couch, her shoulder brushing Yolanda’s. Yolanda didn’t move. The Spider-Man cap stayed on the table between them. Trinity looked at it once, then down again, calmer.
“I’m glad you told me,” she said finally.
Yolanda took a moment. “I forgot how much I missed her, actually,” Yolanda admitted quietly.
Trinity nodded softly, because she understood, and that was enough.
They didn’t say anything else for a while. Just stayed there, breathing the same space.
Yolanda’s closet had always been too organized to feel like a place where anything could get lost. But still, in the back, there was a box. Not hidden, just… carefully kept.
She opened it without thinking too much and the cap was still there; sky blue, the flowers still visible, though softened by time. She held it in her hands; It wasn’t large, never had been, but somehow it felt heavier now
Yolanda stayed still for a moment, like her body remembered something before her mind did.
Trinity was in front of the bathroom mirror finishing her skincare routine, tired and on autopilot, when Yolanda walked in quietly, holding her grandmother’s cap.
She didn’t say anything, just stepped closer to the mirror, and Trinity followed her reflection as Yolanda put it on.
She looked at herself in silence, like comparing a version of herself with another she hadn’t worn in a long time.
Trinity slowly lowered her hands from her face.
“It suits you,” she said softly.
Yolanda looked at her in the mirror. “Yeah?”
Trinity nodded. “Yeah.”
Then, with a tired half-smile: “But I still prefer the Spider-Man one.”
Yolanda let out a laugh, shaking her head. “Obviously.”
In the months that followed, Yolanda alternated between the two caps without explanation; some days the faded floral cap, other days Spider-Man, and eventually, her coworkers stopped asking questions.
Trinity never stopped smiling when she saw it.
And finally, they both understood exactly what it meant to be seen.