Work Text:
Working Shift 50+ at the Hospital meant keeping your guards up all the time. Lethal anomalies lurked around every corner, and even the most normal looking patient could turn out to be a skinwalker ready to rip someone's throat just for a quick snack. The Head Nurse had just finished treating all the current patients, she clicked her pen against her wooden medical clipboard, her eyes scanning the lobby before landing on the front desk.
Logically, there was no reason for Secret Agent to be leaning against the wall of the reception counter for the second time this hour. His fingers were restlessly fidgeting with his gun. He still held his weapon with a practiced, serious grip, but his usual posture felt strangely off.
Besides him was the poor Intern, who was practically sweating through their uniform. Intern was nervously registering names of new batches of patients and visitors, throwing terrifed glances at the armed and fidgeting cat.
It was impossible to tell if Secret Agent was actually stressed or if he was about to unleash tactical chaos right in the lobby.
Head nurse adjusted her hold on the pen, a small frown appearing on her face.
Was it about the recent anomaly attack, or just… something else entirely?
Head nurse walked over to the reception counter, leaning against it to stare at Secret Agent dead in the eyes.
“Agent,” She sighed, crossing her arms. “You have been here for 20 minutes now. Intern is already working behind the counter, and you are doing nothing right now. Don't you have a perimeter to patrol?”
Secret Agent adjusted his grip on the gun, he let out a long, defeated sigh. He glanced away for a second, and Head Nurse swore she saw his cat ears twitching in embarrassment.
“I finished the patrol…” Secret Agent muttered quietly, his voice dropping so low Intern probably can't hear anything. “Can… Can i help you instead? The patients?”
The Head Nurse blinked, taken aback by surprise. “With the patients? Agent, you carry a loaded pistol everywhere you go. The last time a patient growled, you almost blew a hole through room 4.” She looked at him with clear uncertainty. “I doubt you have… the gentle touch required for medical care”
“I will be careful.” He insisted quietly.
To her absolute surprise, he actually meant it.
When the next patient, a mildly injured animal, was brought to the hospital bed, Secret Agent stood right near the Head Nurse’s side. He put his gun safely away and carefully lifted the animal's leg so she could apply the ointment.
He treated the Patients as if they were fragile glass. Everytime he applied bandages or a roll of medical tapes, he would look over to her with a tense, awkward glance; implicitly begging for her approval.
“You're doing amazing, Agent.” She murmured softly, offering him a warm smile.
By the time the praise left her lips, Secret Agent's cat ears flattened instantly, turning bright red against the tips.
He quickly looked down on the floor, clearing his throat loudly to hide the fact that her approval had completely short circuited his tough guy brain.
✿✿✿
The lobby erupted into pure chaos. A growling skinwalker burst through the main doors, its jaws unhinging. It was sprinting towards the Unsuspecting Head Nurse. Before the Intern Or Psychologist could even scream, Secret Agent blurred into motion.
BANG! BANG! Two perfectly aimed shots cut through the lobby, instantly making the anomaly fall over to the ground.
“Are you alright?” Secret Agent asked, gently moving Head Nurse away from the main doors.
“Im fine, Thanks for—”
Before she could even finish her sentence, another lurking anomaly launched itself towards Secret agent. He reacted instantly, firing a blind shot towards the anomaly that made it tumble down on the ground limply. But he had been a second too late. The anomaly's sharp teeth had scrapped across his arm, tearing through his sleeve—Leaving a painful bite mark.
“Agent!” Head nurse panicked. “I'll apply the bandages. Sit down, right now!”
Secret Agent sat down with a grunt, sitting heavily on the floor behind the desk as Head Nurse pulled out some clean bandages.
Their knees were touching. She was so focused on cleaning the wound that she didn't notice Secret Agent's face instantly turning red. His ears twitching rapidly, completely filled with sheer panic from the lack of distance.
“Your face is burning up,” Head nurse noted, pressing the back of her cool hand against his forehead. “Oh no… Is the anomaly bite causing you a sudden fever? Hold still!”
“I—I'm okay…” Secret Agent stammered.
Right behind the counter, leaning over the coffee machine’s desk with a mug of coffee, was the Psychologist. He stared down at the two of them. With his professional training, he knew exactly what that “fever” actually was. But instead of helping, he took small, agonizing slow sips of his coffee. Completely unwilling to give up on the free entertainment.
Seeing Secret Agent so stressed and “sick”, a tiny spark of mischief lit up in Head Nurse's mind. She wanted to comfort him, but she also couldn't resist teasing him a little.
“There,” She mused, smoothing down the edges of the wrapped bandages. “All patched up.”
Before Secret Agent could respond, she leaned over and pressed a soft kiss directly on the bandages.
Before his brain could even process that, she moved up and gently kissed his burning cheeks.
Secret Agent froze, his ears shot straight up, trembling. His entire face turned a shade of bright red.
“Thank you for saving me, Agent.” She said, smiling innocently.
With a choked, panicked noise, Secret Agent scrambled to his feet. He gripped his gun, turned around, and practically speed walked down the hallway, his boots slamming against the tile to flee from the scene to save whatever was left of his dignity.
Head nurse’s smile dropped. “Did I upset him? Did I go too far?”
The Psychologist finally cracked, he covered his face with one hand as he started giggling uncontrollably. Clearly enjoying the side character view. “Trust me,” He choked out between laughs. “He is definitely not upset.”
✿✿✿
The Head Nurse stood in the hallway, her pen nervously tapping her wooden clipboard. “Are you sure he isn't mad?” She asked, still doubting Psychologist's conclusion.
Psychologist just waved his hand, taking another sip of his coffee as he walked away. “Positive. Just go check on him.”
She sighed. Head nurse searched the area until she finally pushed open the door to Room 5.
The room was dimly lit, but she spotted him immediately. Secret Agent was sitting on the floor at the far corner, his knees pulled to his chest. His gun lay on the floor besides him, completely forgotten. He was staring blankly at the wall, but the moment the door clicked open, he instantly buried his face into his knees. His ears flattening so hard it almost looked like it had disappeared.
"Agent?" Head Nurse’s heart ached with worry. She approached him slowly, as if trying not to spook a feral animal. Placing away her clipboard, she slid down to the floor, sitting right at his eye level. Gently, she reached out and placed a hand over his trembling shoulder.
The touch instantly short circuited whatever was left of Secret Agent's cognitive functions. A muffled, high-pitched squeak escaped his throat.
“Please look at me.” She pleaded softly. Head nurse reached out and placed her hands on either side of his cheeks, gently forcing him to lift his head. She looked closely in his eyes to check if he was crying. “Were you crying? Did the anomaly—”
She stopped mid sentence. There was not a single tear in his eyes nor cheeks.
Instead, up close, she could feel the absolute heat coming off his skin. His face wasn't just normal red anymore, it was the shade of a violently ripe tomato. His pupils were completely dilated, his ears were twitching in embarrassment and his jaw was clenched tightly in place.
In that exact split second, pieces finally clicked together in her mind. It wasn't because of the anomaly bite or fever.
He was completely, utterly down bad for her.
A soft, breathless chuckle escaped Head Nurse's lips as her own cheeks flushed a pink. “Oh,” she whispered in complete realization. “Its just that you were really shy this whole time, weren't you?”
Secret Agent squeezed his eyes shut, unable to handle the intense eye contact.
Deciding to show mercy, but wanting to seal the deal, the Head Nurse leaned forward. She didn't want to cause a complete medical emergency by doing anything too spicy, so she just gave him a tiny, soft, lingering peck right on the center of his blushing nose.
“See you next shift, Agent.” She whispered playfully.
Head Nurse scrambled to her feet, scooped up her clipboard and practically darted outside the door.
Behind her in room 5, Secret Agent slowly peeled his eyes open. He raised a trembling, gloved hand to touch his nose, his ears slowly rising back up, twitching happily in the quiet room.
The end~