An Orderly Must Always Look Presentable.
Word count: 1.6K—No trigger warnings—
You're one of new orderlies under Dr. Brenner's team and at first you were clueless about the rules, especially when it came to how you should look presentable at all times. Good thing a fellow orderly is there to help you.
First, your uniform. They took measurements and estimated what general clothing size was suitable and comfortable for you. It is composed of a white button-up shirt and a pencil skirt. You don't exactly hate pencil skirts, it's just you grew up with flowy dresses or longer skirts. Looking at the other orderlies with the same uniform as yours, you never expected for the skirt to only reach a few inches above the knees. One of them noticed you staring at her and so she approached you with a soft smile. "It's the skirt right? Don't worry. You'll eventually get used to it and it's not that tight around the thighs." You gave a light chuckle as she reassured you while showing that the fabric isn't too thick or thin either. The orderly that was measuring you gestured for you to leave so that he could measure the next one, and in that moment, Dr. Brenner entered the room with a tall blonde on his left and a brunette orderly to his right.
"I'd like to assume all of you are starting to get comfortable, yes?" Dr. Brenner asked as his eyes scanned the room to look for any facial cues or reactions. You all nodded to his question in response until he gave another calming smile. "Your duties will start later in the evening before the children go to sleep. I trust that all of you have told me the truth in your applications about being fast learners." And with that, he left the room but the two orderlies stayed behind. A new workmate of yours told you that those two orderlies have been there longer than some. You then made an assumption that they are there to guide and train all of you.
"The doctor read all of your applications and assigned you to different sectors of the lab. Some of you will be maintaining equipment and some of you will be tending to the children." The brunette orderly said as he waved for the others to move closer. He eyed some of the people approximately close to you, including you. "Aside from the general rules of the laboratory, tidiness is a must. You must look presentable at all times. I mean, we are all called 'orderly' for a reason." The man sighed as he rolled his eyes. He then told your group to fix yourselves while he tours the remaining group around the lab.
You definitely got this. You always did your hair when you were little, and you looked fancy in all of those hairstyles. Except your father did it for you. The laboratory had a bunch of bathrooms and you chose the one closest to what they called the "Rainbow Room". For about five minutes, you looked at the mirror and tried finger combing your hair. You even made your hands wet to dampen it. A sigh escaped your lips when you angrily placed down your hands on the sink's counter. 'How am I supposed to fix myself when I don't even have a brush to begin with?' You thought to yourself while your hands were struggling to make a loop with the only hair tie you have. Just as you were about to give up once more, the bathroom door creaked followed by the sound of shoes click-clacking on the tiled floors. As you were placing your hair tie, you turned to look at who just entered the room. It was the blonde orderly beside Dr. Brenner earlier. Your eyes darted to his hands that held a brush and some styling gel before you realized that he just entered the ladies room. "What are you doing here? You know this is the women's room, right?" You questioned him with an eyebrow raised. He gave you a small chuckle while setting the hair brush and gel down on the countertop. "I am very much well aware. I noticed that you were missing when I only counted up until six in your group. My purpose is to help you with your entire uniform, starting with your hair. Do all of those answer your question?" Well now you want to step on this guy's foot for sounding so charming.
"I was only in here for like 10 minutes. Did you help the others with their hair? Oh no, am I the only one who doesn't know how to do their own hair?" You replied with a panicked tone after you thought that you were too spoiled as a kid for not knowing how to properly style your hair. The orderly only gave a subtle amused expression towards your last question. "Most of the people in your group were men. It only took me seconds to style theirs because of their shorter haircut. Now, hold your head still." He ordered while he started to gather strands of your hair from the back. His fingers brushed lightly against your neck with every gather he did. He picked the brush up and started brushing your hair to remove any bumps or fly-aways. One hand held your hair while the other reached over to his pocket for two hair ties. The first loop startled you at first until the second and third loop gathered your hair in a neat ponytail. He repeated the same process with the second hair tie and finished it off by placing a bit of gel on your hair. When you felt that he was done, you turned your head to the side then looked up at him. He looked angelic. He looked neat, had sharp cheekbones, and blue eyes that basically fluoresce under the bathroom lights. He made eye contact with you and gave a confused look in return which snapped you back into reality. How was he so pretty?
"This is embarrassing. You already did my hair and all but I never introduced myself. I'm y/n I/n. Thank you for helping me, I swear I appreciate it." You said as you completely turned to face him with a hand out for a shake. He shook it and gave another soft smile. "I'm Peter Ballard. It's nice meeting you, y/n." His hands were a bit bigger than yours and lord you enjoyed the warmth that his hand emitted. His thumb brushed over your knuckles before he let go, and you weren't sure on how to react. When you were both about to step outside, an orderly's arm stuck in from the door opening with a white uniform in hand. "Y/n! Your uniform's here." Peter walked towards him and grabbed the uniform from the orderly's hands. He then gave it to you and opened a stall. "Go change. I'll be right here waiting for you." Hearing that from him made your heart flutter. Of course he meant that he will be right there to just help with any wardrobe malfunctions, but it's making your heart beat like crazy.
You finally stepped out of the stall, pulling your skirt down and pressing on the fabric lightly. You looked at the mirror and tried tidying the polo up. Peter noticed this and got closer to you once more. He started unbuttoning the first, second, and third buttons which shocked you. Your shaky hands swiftly grabbed his wrists before he could unbutton the third button. He stopped and noticed the alarmed look on your face.
“What are you? Some kind of pervert?!” You yelled but your hands were still taking a hold of his wrists.
"You buttoned the first button with the second slit, and the second button with the third slit. So, may I?”
You slowly let go of his wrists and sure enough, he did fix the buttons as you gave yourself a mental slap to the head for not noticing as Peter fixed your shirt. Your chest started beating rapidly when you realized how close you two were. You could hear his breathing and you could feel the warmth of his hands close to your chest. He gently patted your shoulders to straighten the top part of your uniform and brushed off the lint with his hand. Again with the touches and his warm hands, what is going on? Your thoughts were interrupted when you felt his thumb rubbing your cheek. "There was a bit of unblended powder on your face." He said before reaching into his pocket once more. He pulled out an ID card and handed it to you. "You will be needing that every time you need to enter the lab or any room in the lab. Use it to check in before you go on with your duties."
Peter opened the door and let you step out first. You were holding the clothes you were wearing earlier close to your chest. As the door clicked with Peter outside with you, you paused in your steps. "Ballard, um, thank you for helping me with my uniform and hair. I hope that I did not give you a hard time." The orderly noticed a strand of your hair sticking to your cheeks, so his hand reached over to tuck that strand behind your ear. "You're welcome, y/n. It was no trouble at all. He replied with a different tone this time. A much more sincere one. It's only your first day here and you're already wondering when you'll get to see him again.
Reposted omfg finally able to let this appear under the tag bc YAYYYY MY SHADOWBAN WAS LIFTED😭😭
The tumblr team claimed that it was a glitch on their end so ig that’s fine
This fic was inspired by @homeinaplaceofmadness’s I’ll Show You How except their’s was about Peter teaching y/n about the lab equipment and I loved it sm😔🫶🏼
Also you can send some prompts down to my ask box if y’all want!!
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