Work Text:
The sleeping quarters sat quietly with only the dim hue of the lamp, flickering and buzzing, to keep the air subdued with noise. Dust fell gently through the beams of light split between the thin dividers making up the “rooms” for the workers, a measly compromise for the one dressed in indigo. Finally, a nice time to rest.
That is… for one of them, at least. Psycho sat at the edge of his bed, tapping the heel of his boot against the concrete floor. His other boot lay as still as he could keep it, though this was a very difficult challenge.
“Would you STOP fidgeting?” Came an exasperated whisper-shout from Medic. “This dressing isn’t going to set right if you keep bouncing like a damn bunny rabbit.” Medic was knelt down in front of Psycho, brushing his hair out of his eyes as a bead of sweat dampened his brow.
“Wh-Whatever you say, ‘Ch,,Chief…’” Replied Psycho with a smirk, clutching at the bedsheets as the gash on his leg came into contact with a disinfectant-soaked medicinal dressing. One small trickle of blood fell down his leg… which Medic swiftly wiped away. “May I have a lollipop?”
Applying some additional bandaging around his calf, Medic would hold the end of the fabric in his teeth and cut it short, tightening it around Psycho’s leg and then wiping any remaining saliva from his own lips. “No.”
“Stin-Stingy…” Replied Psycho, looking down in-between Medic’s bangs.
“You need to clean your face and wash your hands.” Medic returned the look, before pushing himself up, standing above Psycho. “I know you and I know you’re going to be stupid and dig your fingers in there or something.” He’d turn to pick up a towel, neatly folding it in his hands.
“You’re so annoying.” Psycho would say with a smirk, before getting walloped by the force of a towel hitting him directly in the face. “GWAH, bastard!”
Medic left the room in an orderly fashion, Psycho bounce-walking close behind with a towel dragging along the dusty concrete floor. Across the hallway, Medic lay his back against the wall with crossed arms next to the communal bathroom’s doorway. “Ladies first.”
Psycho grumbled past him, only half-registering that statement. He’d approach the sink, a mirror hanging just above it…
His skin was stained a faint brown with the train’s kicked-up residue. There was a bullet graze or two in his hair, and one in the uniform’s shoulder. Cheating death was becoming a hobby; something to really get the blood pumping. Stretching and rolling his recoil-bruised shoulder, he’d pull his sleeves up and turn the taps on… cold as ice.
…
“F-Fuck, that’s cold…” This sucks, he’s not your mom, you don’t have to listen to him! Just because he wants you to quit fiddling around like a real spoil-sport. Didn’t even get a lollipop, if he carries any…
SPLASH
All this does is make your face feel dry and your fingers numb! He better not be enjoying this… You wouldn’t be surprised, in all honesty. He gets scary in the field; manic almost, though you’re in no place to say anything about that… Whatever. The spoils of war have been removed from your face. With how much you get shot at, you’d think that maybe you have some kind of guardian angel.
“You done?” Medic speaks from the doorway, leaning against the sides of it in the same pose as before.
“My hands are rinsed, ‘Ch-Chief!’” Who does this guy think you are? Staring you down with those pearly eyes.
“Soap?”
“What?”
“...Seriously?” With an exasperated sigh, Medic would stroll over and take a firm grip of your wrist, pulling you from the safety of your reflection and putting your hands beneath a little soap dispenser almost entirely deprived of soap. “Open.” He spoke, almost like a command.
“Open wh-what?” It was a tad difficult to focus, for whatever reason. Something about the way he clutched your wrist and dragged you around…
“Palms. How have you even made it this far? You’re so lucky I’m here.” He’d rest his cheek about half an inch from your shoulder, causing you to tense considerably. “Do you need me to hand-hold you through everything?” Despite the harshness in his words, there was an unusual lack of actual unhappiness in his tone.
“You’re the d-doctor,” With open palms, Medic would push on the soap dispenser… Only a tiny bit would come out. He’d hit it again, and another few times with the same result. “do you n-need my help now, doctor?” Now, there was actual visible annoyance in Medic’s expression, like he’d just spent an entire shift without sleeping the night before.
“How about you-”
THUNK
With a flying swing from your otherwise free hand, you DESTROYED the soap dispenser, knocking it clean off the wall and onto the floor below, only slightly cutting your hand on it’s firm plastic case. Medic stepped back in disbelief, watching as you picked up the translucent carcass of the soap dispenser and shoved your hand in its damaged top, getting a small dollop of soap between your fingers. “Prob- Problem solved!”
“Oh my goodness,” Medic reacted with a slightly disturbed awe. “You’re bleeding! I just fixed your leg, dumbass!”
“It’s an... occupational hazard! I’m fine.” You’d put the bleeding part of your hand to your mouth, wiping off the blood with your tongue.
Medic, looking on in great displeasure, just shook himself sane and grabbed your arm once again, taking you back to the sleeping quarters. It wasn’t long until you found yourself back in that previous position, sat on the edge of your mattress, Medic rummaging through a little first aid bag…
“Hold out your hand, I have plasters.” Your little cut was probably going to heal anyway, but you didn’t want to ruin his fun, and so you presented your hand…
Pulling a little plaster from a tiny plastic bag, Medic would once again take hold of your wrist. It was… gentle, and with the cold of the water having been replaced by the warmth of pumping blood, you felt quite soothed.
With a thumb atop your hand, Medic would expertly and precisely glide your hand into position, before laying the plaster upon your knuckle… He’d take extra care to push his finger along it, even after it was applied, to make sure it properly stuck, and then… he looked up at you once more, a small sparkle in his beady eyes, still with his thumb atop your hand…
Your heart skipped a beat, and you instinctively twitched and turned your head, grinning to try and offset the strange feeling in your chest. This was not an overly unfamiliar feeling, but one completely… unprofessional.
“...I can feel your heart beating faster, Psycho. I can see the blood rushing through your neck,” Medic spoke, a soft cadence hidden within his voice. “Are you really that easy to excite?” When he puts it that way, it sounds so… pathetic.
“D-Don’t be a fool…” You replied through your smirk, dodging his gaze. “All I did was flinch, don’t fla-flatter yourself.”
And with that, he released his grip from your hand, standing up and brushing himself off. He’d glance over to you with an ambiguous expression on his face. “Goodnight, Psycho. Don’t be a stranger.”
…
…
…
Ba-dump… Ba-dump… Ba-dump…
The only rhythm you had going through your head as you stared at the dark ceiling, blood rushing throughout your body, heart beating strong… Even usually, your heart rate naturally sat at something of a quickened pace, but now? It felt… oddly at rest. It felt strong, going throughout every corner of your body, but it felt relaxed… What did he mean by that? You two are coworkers. Friends, maybe, but only in passing! You don’t even know his favourite colour! That’s like, stage one of friendships, or so you’ve been told.
The warm comfort of your thin blanket held you in place, but you kept a hand out of the sheets, exposed to the stale air. You didn’t want any other sensation to distract you from the plaster upon your ring finger, and the slight sting of your leg was already taking up some space in your head… What time was it now, midnight? How long had you been like this? It had to have been an hour at the very least. Knowing that just a few metres away was Medic, probably not even thinking about the little actions he had performed on you today. No, not even that, he probably fell asleep the moment you left his attention. Not only that, but you can’t get this… damn… leg to stop bouncing. Any attempt to stop it just makes it worse, and you’re just gonna end up…
Ow,owow owoweoguifgfhkjdhfg, FUCK.
Pulling the sheets off of yourself, you’ve very clearly split the bandage. It’s definitely not bleeding anymore, but the stiff bandage feels soooo tight on your skin and you just… aaaghhg..
The alcohol-soothed area of skin feels like the damn icy tap water has been drooled onto your leg. You’re going to have to get another bandage… God, you hope Medic won’t get mad at you… No, no, you’re fine. You can handle a little man in a dork-ass shirt collar.
…
…
...It’s getting so boring, here… Laying in bed, in this thin, miserable blanket. You’ll probably contract some disease in this thing. You’d love to sleep, but you just… can’t get your eyes closed. Your face feels red hot, yet your arms feel so cold outside of the blanket. That blasted fool, it must have something to do with him. He’s so… you wouldn’t say pathetic, just.. imbecilic. You bet he just fell right to sleep with that leg in some sort of position that’ll have you needing to fix it all over again. Doesn’t he know, like anything? How to wash his hands, how to brush his teeth, that he shouldn’t get so close to you? It makes you feel… absurd. Is he doing it on purpose? He must be. There’s no way someone can be that… naive. He’s trying to tease you; get under your skin. God, you really need to stop doing this and just go to sleep.
“...Medic?” Peeking around the corner came Psycho, like a meek little dog. “I, ehhh… Br-Broke the bandage.”
“Whuh,? Huh?” Medic replied, sitting up in bed, squinting through the darkness. “What do you want, Psycho?”
Psycho walked to the side of the bed’s front, lifting his leg and laying it on the mattress. “Th-The bandage ripped.” His leg kicked a little, and Medic looked at it half-dumbfounded, half-convinced this was a dream.
“Oh, goodness. Okay, let me take a look at it…”
…
“How did you tear it?” Medic asked, the two sat beside each other on the bed, eyes only barely acclimated to the darkness.
“I didn’t tear it! The, like, mattress rubbed against it and it cr-cracked!” Psycho replied, exasperated, leg bouncing again. You knew it! He really just can’t keep himself still. You brushed your hair out of your eyes, and as you glanced over to him, his eyes hit yours. Psycho, being struck by your gaze, put out a broken smirk and moved his focus somewhere else. He HAS to be doing this on purpose, does he have no idea? No idea what this is doing to you?!
“Sure, whatever you say…” Medic spoke back, looking down away from him…
…
Silence filled the room, and you almost completely forgot what was even going on here… You’d let out a frustrated sigh, putting your head in your hands. “Aren’t you gonna… have a look-”
You stood up, your sore knees letting out a crack as you rose above him. “You are such a fool, Psycho.” You spun around to face him, face… red? Blushing? “Do you have any idea of, just…” Psycho’s face fell into something of another grin, looking right up at you. “Are you enjoying this?” Medic grabbed the straps on Psycho’s overalls, lifting him to his feet. “You’re mocking me, I can tell!”
Psycho stepped back, but Medic held him firm. “You look…” What? You can’t take your eyes off of him. “Y-You look so silly right now.”
“YOU…” Your grip on him faltered, but before you knew it, you had thrown yourself inches from his face. “YOU’RE the one still in your WORK clothes!”
God, what had come over you? This little goose-man should not have this much sway over your emotions… “Are y-you going to fix my leg now, Ch-Chief?” You can feel the warmth of his body, distinguished from the dull air of the room around you. You’re not going to let him have this kind of control over you.
…
…
So rough, all of a sudden? What brought this on, so suddenly. You don’t think you’ve ever seen Medic like this… It’s kind of.. fun. And his breath on your face… It really gets your blood pumping. What next, doctor?
All of a sudden, Medic clutches you even harder, pushing you down onto the bed. “You ENJOY getting me all frustrated, do you?” Gritting his teeth, face visibly red in the darkness. “Well, I’m not having it!”
You clutch at Medic’s collar, half in a moment of shock as he falls onto the mattress, on top of you… Where has this been hiding all this time? You’ve seen little moments, sure, but you’d have never guessed he had this in him… “Wh-Whatever you…”
The words got caught in your throat as your arms were pinned to the mattress as best as Medic could manage. You could easily get this limp-wrist dork off of you, but you just HAD to see how far he would take this… and aside from that, this was quite exciting…
“I’m way out of your league, so just…” Medic spoke from above you, looking straight into your eyes. His hair, so perfectly brushed before, now lay scruffy and partially fell over the sides of his face…
“You.. You’d look good in a p-p-ponytail…”
“AHEM,” Medic hit back, wanting to move his hair behind his shoulders but too focused on pushing your arms into the sheets.
And with that, the two of you stayed in that position for quite a few minute-long seconds… No noise, no distractions, just the heat of your breathing and the angry, barely-restrained glare of Medic. So… refined, so sassy, but now he’s positioned above you, knees to the sides of your waist, holding your wrists above your head, far past the point of ‘holding it together.’
“You… You’re so lucky right now. I’m only doing this.. so you know who’s in charge..” Medic spoke, before just… falling onto you, your lips making contact as he loosened his grip on you, moving to wrap his arms around your neck and behind your head, making sure that every corner of his body could feel yours, as your lips were held in a soft, drawn-out, inexperienced kiss. No tongue and only a tiny amount of drool, just the two of you sharing warmth in this concrete misery…
…
…
...Psycho slept more soundly than he ever had in his life, clutching his blanket like a stuffed toy, meanwhile Medic several metres away lay curled up with an angry yet flustered look on his sleeping face, shuffling restlessly until the early morning…
The two of them stood in the communal toilets as Medic waited for his turn to brush his teeth, standing some few feet away and looking to the side with a blush on his face… Psycho, however, just spat into the sink and turned around, leaning his butt on the sink.
“… S-So, Ch-Chief…” Medic jolted, startled, turning to face Psycho. “Good that I kn-know who is in charge, huh?”
Medic just looked the other way, crossing his arms. “Y-Yeah, right… Just, hurry up and let me actually fix that bandage…” In the back of his mind, all he could really think was… would he really look good in a ponytail? Hmph… Maybe he’d ask Psycho when he’s done with it...