Meow @mysticshale - Tumblr Blog

under your skin

summary: 10 things you hate love about frank langdon

pairing: fem!reader x frank langdon

warnings/tags: abby and kids do not exist in this universe, enemies to lovers!!, frank is a bit of a dick in this (but in a hot way), mention and description of a patient death and the events of pittfest, mysoginistic interns!, reader gets black out drunk in this, swearing, fluff, angst, usual medical descriptions that you’d expect from the pitt!

notes: i love the concept of this fic sm, I haven't written enemies to lovers in a hot minute

likes, reblogs, comments are very much appreciated!

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one.

Frank Langdon was arrogant.

Every doctor and surgeon had a little bit of an ego, sure. It was practically a job requirement.

But Frank Langdon had somehow mastered the ability of getting under your skin in a way no one else did, possessing a particular kind of arrogance that crawled in and nested there.

The kind that smirked at you across lecture halls.

The kind that leaned too close over your shoulder during labs.

The kind that always, somehow, knew exactly which buttons to press.

It had started in med school.

You’d been paired together for a semester-long assignment during your second year, a fact that had nearly made you consider dropping out on principle alone.

"I graduated summa cum laude, you know."

Frank said it casually, leaning back in his chair like the statement was an objective fact rather than an insufferable introduction.

"That's nice."

You didn’t look up from your textbook spread across the library table between you. Highlighting and neatly scribbled notes littered the pages in organised colour-coded sections. Frank’s side of the table, meanwhile, looked like a tornado had swept through it.

His brow furrowed slightly.

"Oh yeah? What were you, valedictorian or something?" He drawled.

"Actually yes." You answered smoothly, flicking over the page. "I just don't feel the need to announce it to anyone that will listen."

He blinked, staring at you for a moment before he let out a low whistle.

"Geez, alright Ace."

You finally glanced up at him at that, irritation pulling at your brow.

"Don't call me that."

The words left your mouth before you could stop them.

And judging by the way his lips twitched, Frank knew instantly he’d struck gold.

The nickname stuck.

It followed you through the rest of med school like a disease. Across lecture halls and internships and far too many crowded house parties.

Sometimes it was murmured under his breath when you answered a question before everyone else. Sometimes it was tossed across a room with an infuriating grin. Sometimes, rarely, it softened into something almost fond when the two of you were the last ones left in the library the night before an exam.

And like the nickname, you couldn’t seem to shake Frank Langdon either.

You thought graduation would finally free you from him.

And for a short, glorious period of time, it did.

Until the two of you matched at PTMC. Both in the emergency department.

"Long time no see Ace."

You looked up from the chart in your hands and felt genuine despair shoot through you.

"You have to be fucking kidding me."

Frank’s grin widened immediately, blue eyes bright with something dangerously close to delight.

You felt like you were right back at med school, the two of you instantly competing over everything. In particular, the attention of Dr Robby, who seemed to have decided that one of you could be his favourite, he just annoyingly refused to pick who.

And as your residency dragged on, Frank Langdon's arrogance never waned. He never got a humbling that you so desperately hoped for.

If anything, it only got worse.

Because -

two.

Frank Langdon was good.

Like, really good.

The kind of good that made senior attendings pause to watch him work. The kind that made nurses trust him instinctively during traumas. The kind that made you grit your teeth every time he pulled off something impressive with that smug look still plastered across his face.

Which only made his arrogance more unbearable.

Because the asshole actually had the skill to back it up.

"Did you hear about Langdon's intubation today?"

You barely glanced up from your chart as Samira fell into step beside you.

"No, but I'm sure he'll find a way to tell everyone himself before the end of the shift."

Samira ignored the jab entirely, completely unphased due to the volume of them she'd heard over the years.

"There was so much swelling you literally couldn't see anything."

You paused, your pen stilling against the chart. "So what, you're saying he did it blind?"

"Completely." Samira nodded. "Robby said he did it perfectly too."

A reluctant pulse of admiration twisted in your chest before you shoved it back down where it belonged with a small huff.

"Nice."

The word came out clipped.

You dropped the chart onto the counter and headed toward the break room before Samira could catch the grimace on your face.

Hour ten of your shift was always when the headaches started.

Like clockwork, tension coiled up the back of your neck and settled at the base of your skull. The fluorescent lighting suddenly became too bright. The overlapping conversations too loud.

You shut the break room door behind you with a quiet exhale and reached for the medicine cabinet.

The door opened again just as your fingers closed around the Advil.

"You hear about my intubation today Ace?"

You rolled your eyes automatically before even turning around as you shut the medicine cabinet.

“I did.”

You grabbed a mug from the cupboard, acutely aware of his gaze following you across the small room.

“Nice work.”

The words were stiff, rolled unnaturally off your tongue, said with an attempt at forced casualness which instead resembled something pained.

Frank blinked.

Then slowly, his mouth curved into a grin.

“Wow.”

You finally looked over at him at that.

He was leaning against the doorway with his arms folded across his chest, scrubs stretched tight over his forearms, a smirk present on his face.

“Was that a compliment I just heard? Are you feeling ok?”

This time you rolled your eyes openly as you threw the Advil down your throat.

“I’m mature enough to acknowledge when a peer does something impressive, Langdon.”

His brows lifted slightly. “A peer? Is that all I am to you after all these years?"

He placed a hand over his heart. “You wound me.”

Your eyes narrowed. “Describing you as a peer is my way of being nice.”

You could see that a laugh was threatening to spill from his lips.

You turned toward the sink before your own expression betray you. You rinsed the mug beneath lukewarm water, missing the way his eyes tracked down your figure.

“Or maybe you just don’t want to admit that you’re jealous I practically performed a miracle.”

You let out a humourless laugh.

“Don’t worry, I perform miracles too.”

You set the mug down harder than necessary before glancing back at him.

“I just don't feel the need to announce it to anyone that will listen."

You saw his jaw tick slightly, indicating that you’d finally penetrated his thick ego shield.

“You’re a real ball of sunshine today Ace.”

You smiled sarcastically. “Only for you Langdon.”

three.

Frank Langdon loved to rest his arms on things.

Whether it was one arm leant lazily against the nursing station, both folded across his chest when he was thinking, or both braced on either side of your monitor as he loomed over you while you dictated.

His arms were always….there.

It was irritating and more importantly, it was distracting.

Like right now, as a team of you prepped a trauma patient for transport to the OR.

Frank stood on the other side of the gurney, his gloved hands curled around the metal rails as he leant forward. His forearms flexed as he adjusted his grip, the veins there straining, just visible in the harsh fluorescent lighting.

Your gaze lingered, traitorous and immediate, tracking the movement of his hands as he tightened his hold on the bed frame. Your eyes ghosted upwards at the shift of muscle beneath fabric, his biceps straining slightly with the motion.

A flurry of images hit you.

His arms around your waist.

His arms flexed as he held his weight above you, steady and controlled, while he-

“Think she’ll make it?”

His voice cut through your thoughts cleanly.

You blinked, snapping your head up too fast.

He was already looking at you, with that infuriating, calm focus fixed directly on your face like you were the only thing in the room that required dissecting.

His tongue brushed briefly over his lower lip. A habit you first observed in med school and had never successfully un-noticed since.

You despised how your body reacted to it.

You turned away too quickly, hiding your burning face under the guise of discarding your gloves into the bin.

“50/50.” You answered, praying your voice was even as you spoke.

You shook your head slightly as you tried to shake yourself out of whatever this was.

You could not find Frank Langdon attractive.

That was not an option. Not a consideration. Not a thing your brain was allowed to do.

You wanted to slap yourself.

“I’m thinking more 70/30.” You heard him remark.

And just like that, mercifully, the fantasy collapsed.

four.

Sometimes, it felt like Frank Langdon could read your mind.

“Incoming trauma, two minutes out.” Dana announced in the middle of the pitt, red phone pressed to her ear. “MVA involving a single car and a motorcycle. The rider’s in a bad way.”

“What’s free?” Robby asked.

“Trauma one.”

You glanced up at Robby as he called out your last name.

“-and Langdon, with me.”

Frank didn’t answer - he was already following you.

You were already scrubbing in as the ambulance bay doors burst open. The gurney rattled violently over the polished floors.

“What have we got?” Robby asked.

“Rider unhelmeted. Found unconscious on scene. Hypotensive en route, tachycardic. GCS eight.” The paramedic answered as they wheeled the patient into the bay.

The room shifted and swelled around you - fluorescent lights too bright, the hum of equipment, the controlled chaos snapping into place like muscle memory.

“C-spine?” Robby asked.

“Immobilised.”

The patient was a young man. Early twenties. Dirt and road rash smeared across his face and chest, chest rising unevenly beneath cut fabric and exposed skin.

“Alright, transfer in three, two-“

Everyone moved together, sliding the patient onto the bed in one practiced motion.

“Airway appears patent but compromised.”

You leaned forward, placing your stethoscope on his chest.

“Reduced breathing sounds on the left.”

Frank was already there on the opposite side, his hands steady as he moved his fingers across the rib cage.

“Subcutaneous emphysema.” He said. “Likely pneumothorax.”

“Pulse-ox is dropping.” Perlah announced. “Eighty-eight and falling.”

“Alright get ready to intubate.” Robby ordered.

“Wait.”

The word left your mouth before you could second-guess it.

Every head turned slightly.

You leaned closer, eyes moving over the monitor, then the uneven rise of his chest, the subtle shift in breathing effort.

“He’s compensating.” You said. “This isn’t primary airway failure yet. If we intubate now without addressing the thoracic injury he'll drop further.”

“Ace is right.” Langdon agreed. “We should do needle decompression first.”

“Left second intercostal space, midclavicular line.” You added. “If it’s tension physiology, that’s what’s driving the instability.”

Everyone turned to Robby, waiting for his call.

The smallest of nods, the slightest flicker of approval.

“You heard them.”

You moved instantly, prepping the site, antiseptic swab snapping across skin, fingers precise as you located the rib landmarks through trauma and swelling.

Frank held the patient steady as the needle went in.

The hiss came instantly.

The patient’s chest expanded easier this time.

“Stats stabilising.” Perlah confirmed.

“Better.” Frank observed.

You exhaled through your nose, already shifting focus. “We still need definitive imaging. He’s not out of the woods, we’re likely dealing with associated haemothorax or pulmonary contusion.”

“Agreed.”

Frank didn’t look at you when he said it.

But somehow, the two of you were entirely in sync anyway.

“Chest tube tray.” Robby ordered. “Let’s move.”

The rest of the procedure blurred into controlled motion - scalpel, incision, blunt dissection, the familiar gravity that settled over a trauma room when everyone locked into the same rhythm.

And through all of it, Frank moved instep with you.

When you moved, he made space like it was instinct. When you reached for instruments, they were already halfway to your hand. When you spoke, he didn’t interrupt - he simply factored your words into the next step.

It was infuriating how seamless it felt, dangerous how easy it was.

“Tube’s in.” Frank said finally.

“Bilateral breath sounds confirmed.” You spoke.

A beat.

Then Robby stepped back, stripping his gloves off.

“Good call both of you.”

You looked up as he pushed open the swinging doors.

“You aren’t staying?”

He gestured between you and Frank.

“I know when I’m not needed.”

Your eyes met Frank’s briefly.

A smile flickered between you before either of you could stop it.

-

The ambulance bay was quieter than the pitt, but not by much. The afternoon sun glared off the cracked bitumen, the distant echo of monitors still lingered in your ears like a phantom rhythm.

You rolled your shoulders back, trying to shake off the adrenaline that always persistently lingered after a trauma.

“Good work in there.”

You glanced out of the corner of your eye to see Robby.

“Thanks.”

Silence stretched between the two of you.

His gaze shifted between you and the doors leading back inside.

“You know.” He said slowly after a moment. “You and Langdon work well together.”

You scoffed lightly. “When we’re not at each others throats, you mean.”

Robby’s eyes twinkled with amusement, dipping his chin down to conceal it. “Yes, that’s exactly what I mean.”

You exhaled, leaning back against the brick wall.

“Yeah." You admitted. "We do.”

It came out quieter than you intended.

You knew immediately that Robby noticed.

“But if you ever tell him I said that, I’ll deny it completely.”

Robby’s mouth twitched.

“Noted.”

“And, I’ll tell everyone about the time I caught you nearly in tears over a cockroach in the break room.”

Robby turned to you. “It had wings.” He said flatly.

"You still screamed like a little girl.”

five.

Frank Langdon could be thoughtful, when he wanted to be.

It was never loud. Never performative. It didn’t announce itself the way everything else about him did. No smug commentary, no pointed remarks, no expectation of recognition.

It was quieter than that, easy to miss if you weren’t paying attention.

You saw it in fragments over time, tucked into the spaces between the chaos.

The way his voice would soften when he spoke to patients. Or the way he’d comfort them when he thought no one else was listening.

You’d seen him pay for taxi fares out of his own pocket. You’d seen him quietly remove hospital cafeteria food from a patient's tray and replace it with sandwiches from the deli over the road.

None of it fit easily with the version of Frank Langdon that lived in your head.

And that was the problem.

Because the longer you worked with him, the more difficult it became to keep those versions separate.

You were on hour nine of a shift.

School holidays had transformed the ER into something louder, hotter, more chaotic than usual. The kind of chaos that didn’t spike cleanly, but accumulated in layers until the entire department felt stretched too thin.

The air carried a constant noise of beeping monitors, overlapping voices, crying kids, the scrape of gurney wheels against linoleum.

Like usual, your shoulders had started to tighten without permission, creeping up to your ears no matter how many times you tried to square them.

A slow, familiar clamp at the base of your neck. The kind that crept upward until it turned into something debilitating behind your eyes.

You half-heartedly tried to do your physio exercises in the breakroom before eventually giving up and opening the fridge instead, reaching automatically in for the Red Bull you knew was stashed behind someone’s abandoned lunch bag.

You paused.

A ziplock bag sat neatly on top of your lunchbox.

A plain glazed donut stared back at you through the plastic, alongside two Advil.

You stared at it.

You’d heard that upstairs had sent their usual trolley of unethical donuts down earlier. You’d been drowning in back to back traumas, only resurfacing long after all of the plain glazed, your favourite, were gone.

Or so you'd thought.

You looked over your shoulder. Was this meant for you? Surely not. Someone must have just accidentally chucked it on top of your lunchbox.

Your stomach grumbled.

Although, it looked intentionally placed. Maybe you could eat it and if the owner came asking for it later you could just-

You turned slightly at the sound of your name to see Perlah standing in the doorway.

“Robby’s looking for you.”

You hesitated only briefly before placing the bag back into the fridge, all thoughts of the donut dissolving as you heard the trauma code ring out over the loud speaker.

An hour later, the headache had settled in fully.

You leaned against the desk, elbows planted either side of the computer as pain pulsed behind your eyes. The words on the screen blurred at the edges.

You blinked rapidly, rubbing at your temples as you tried to massage some of the thrumming away.

“You need to take your Advil earlier.”

The voice came from above you.

You looked up to see Langdon towering over you.

“What?”

He slid something towards you.

The donut and Advil now sat on a napkin, a cup of water beside it.

"Your shoulders always start tightening around hour nine." He said. "Which means the headache peaks around now because you never take the Advil early enough."

You stared at him for a moment, then your eyes flickered down to the napkin.

"What's the donut for?"

His mouth twitched, almost imperceptibly.

"Increased blood sugar helps stabilise headaches." He answered smoothly. "And you haven't eaten lunch today."

You surveyed the donut suspiciously.

“Jesus Christ I haven’t poisoned it.” He huffed as he nudged it closer to you.

“Eat.”

You hesitated for a moment.

"...Fine." You relented as you pulled it in front of your keyboard.

"...thank you."

His eyes lifted sharply at that.

"Don't thank me. This is entirely for my own benefit."

You frowned.

"When you've got a headache you're somehow even more annoying than usual."

Your eyes narrowed immediately.

"You're welcome."

He was already stepping away before you could respond.

You stared down at the donut for a second longer, your stomach tightening hopefully at the smell of sugar.

What you didn’t see was Frank lingering at the end of the corridor just long enough to make sure you actually took the Advil.

Just long enough to watch you finally take a bite, observing the small act of compliance like it mattered more than it should.

You didn’t know that he’d had to almost physically fight Donnie for the last plain glazed donut because he knew they were your favourite.

You didn't know that he'd been buying the double strength Advil and sneaking it into the medicine cabinet for the last six months because he'd noticed your headaches getting worse.

What you did know, was that it was irritating when he did shit like this without explanation.

Because it reminded you that there was more under all of the bolstering and ego. Something softer, something complex.

Something that made you want to peel him apart layer by layer just to understand what lived underneath.

Even when you absolutely shouldn’t.

six.

You couldn’t escape Frank Langdon’s eyes.

It wasn’t just that he looked at you often, it was the timing of it. You would glance up from a chart, be mid-sentence in a handover, reach for a new pair of gloves, and there he would be. Already looking. Already watching.

Those piercing blue irises never seemed to settle on you for long, but they always found you again. It was infuriatingly precise. Like some internal compass had been set to your presence without your permission.

“Are you going to knock off drinks tonight?”

The voice pulled you back into the present. You blinked, realising you’d been staring blankly at your tablet for long enough that the screen had dimmed.

Holland was leaning against the edge of your desk, casual in a way that was unique to interns, half confident, half desperate for approval.

“Oh uh, I don’t know. Maybe.” You said half heartedly.

“Oh c’mon doc, it’ll be fun.” Holland’s grin widened as he studied you, searching for a crack in your resistance. “Especially if you’re there.”

You huffed a small laugh.

“Nice try Holland, but this one here likes to be in bed by 9pm.” McKay smirked as she walked behind you.

Your brow furrowed. “What’s wrong with that?“

“Nothing, if you’re like 80.” Holland shot back, making you roll your eyes.

“I do go out.”

McKay let out a snort that was entirely unconvinced. “Sure you do.”

You straightened slightly, feigning offence. “I just like to keep my work and personal life seperate, so I can avoid doing things like oh I don't know..." You trailed off, pretending to ponder.

"Falling off a table in front of my coworkers in the middle of a drunken rendition of Mamma Mia?" You suggested, raising a brow pointedly at McKay.

McKay flipped you off cheerfully without even slowing down.

Holland, undeterred, was still hovering like a persistent shadow over your desk.

“So… is that a yes?”

“You interns are nothing if not persistent.” You grumbled.

“I prefer passionate.”

You studied him for a moment.

“If you leave me alone to let me finish my charting, I’ll consider it.”

“I’m taking that as a yes.” Holland grinned, tapping the table once triumphantly, like the matter was closed. “See you tonight doc.”

You exhaled through your nose in reluctant amusement as he finally backed away.

Only then did you look up properly.

And, like you always seemed to do, your eyes met Langdon's from across the room.

Something unreadable flickered across his face - too fast to catch, too controlled to decode. It vanished before you could even decide whether you had imagined it.

-

Later, you found yourself alone with him in the trauma bay.

You were halfway through de-scrubbing when his voice cut through the sterile hum.

“Didn’t realise you had a thing for interns.” Langdon remarked as he yanked off his gloves, the latex snapping softly against his wrist.

You glanced over at him as you united your gown.

“Huh?”

“Holland.” He clarified, like it should have been obvious.

You frowned. “What about him?”

“He was flirting with you.”

You scoffed immediately. “No he wasn’t.”

Langdon stopped mid-movement, staring at you like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“There’s no way you’re that oblivious.” He said flatly.

Your brow knitted. “I’m not oblivious.”

“You are if you don’t notice the way he looks at you.”

You tilted your head slightly. “How does he look at me?”

“Like-“ Langdon cut himself off. His jaw tightened once before he looked away.

“Never mind.” He muttered, scrunching his gloves into a ball and lobbing it into the trashcan with practiced aim.

“Well if he’s flirting with me, maybe I can wrangle a free drink out of him.” You said lightly.

Frank stilled. Not dramatically, but enough for you to notice the tension settling across his shoulders. The brief curl of his fingers before he forced them open again.

You weren’t sure what reaction you were expecting, but it certainly wasn’t the one you got.

When he looked back at you, his expression had hardened slightly around the edges.

“So you’re going tonight?”

You lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug. “I might.”

He shook his head slightly.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

He pushed open the glass doors, holding it open for you to pass through first. “Just thought I’d be free of you in a few hours.”

Your eyes narrowed as you stepped past him.

“Don’t worry." You shot back, "I’ll make sure to sit at the opposite end of the table.”

-

The bar the pitt crew frequented was already too crowded for your liking by the time you arrived.

It was loud in a way that pressed against your skin. The kind of place where conversation blurred into overlapping noise and every surface felt slightly sticky.

You’d been nursing a wine for the better part of an hour, perched on the edge of the booth, perfectly content listening to everyone else talk.

"I'll be back." You murmured to Samira beside you, sliding your unfinished glass toward her.

"Don't get lost." She teased.

You threaded your way through the crowd toward the bathroom, shoulders brushing strangers, the air growing hotter the further you moved from your group.

“I can’t believe she’s here.”

“Who?”

You froze when you heard the sound of your last name.

It wasn’t spoken loudly, but it cut through the noise anyway.

“I know, Holland actually managed to convince her.”

You slowed instinctively.

A cluster of interns stood near the bar, half-leaning into each other, already loosened by alcohol and confidence. All oblivious to the fact you were only a few feet away.

“It wasn’t hard, just had to smile at her and call her doc.”

A few of them laughed.

“She definitely has cat lady energy."

"In all fairness." Someone else said. "She is hot. Just way too fucking uptight."

"Seriously." Another voice added. “You can tell she’s never relaxed a day in her life."

The laughter swelled again.

The words landed like barbs in your chest.

The air felt suddenly too thin, too sharp. Your fingers curled instinctively around nothing.

“Holland, honestly, do everyone a favour and take care of her tonight so maybe she chills the fuck out next shift-"

You turned before you could hear the rest, not sure if you'd be able to bear hearing more.

Heat burned behind your eyes as you pushed through the crowd, swallowing the emotion down so aggressively it turned sharp inside your chest. You rerouted, diverting your course to the bathroom back to your table.

There were plenty of other doctors at PTMC who had sacrificed their social lives for this job. Robby and Langdon were self professed life long bachelors because of their obsession with work. But the difference was, they were men.

By the time you reached the booth again, anger had replaced humiliation almost entirely.

As you approached your table, Samira glanced up at you.

"Hey, you ok?" She asked.

"Never better." You answered smoothly, sliding back into the booth as you let the anger spark into something different.

You gestured to the bar.

"Want to get wasted?"

-

What neither you or the interns had realised was that Frank had been standing further down the bar waiting to order. And he had heard every word.

"Hey."

The interns turned.

Frank stood there holding two untouched beers, expression unreadable.

“Maybe be careful of how you talk about your seniors.” Frank said, too calmly for it to be genuine.

Holland, who’d already had one too many, snorted.

“Come on man, you of all people know what she’s like.”

Frank’s jaw ticked.

“I know that she’s a brilliant doctor who deserves your respect."

"Respect?" Holland laughed. "We all see the way you talk to her." Holland continued, the alcohol flowing through his veins hindering his ability to realise that he was walking into a death trap.

Frank stepped forward just enough that the space between them shifted.

"Don't ever try and conflate your working relationship with what her and I have." He spoke evenly, his voice lowering just enough.

A hush descended over the interns.

"And from now on I suggest you watch your fucking mouth." He continued, his eyes moving from Holland to flit over the group. "Because if I hear any of you breath another bad word about her, I'll personally ensure that none of you make it through this internship."

No one dared to speak or move.

"Are we clear?”

Holland swallowed. “Crystal.”

-

You had never been one to hold your alcohol well, and tonight was no exception.

Three shots and four drinks in and your vision was blurring at the edges. You and Samira had managed to convince Dana and a few of the other nurses to join in, the group of you giggling and slurring like a bunch of underage teenagers.

And still, every so often, despite the bodies and the noise and the light, Frank's eyes would find yours.

You had no idea what time it was when you stumbled out of the bar.

The night air hit your face like relief and exhaustion all at once. You dropped onto a bench without fully deciding to, legs slightly unsteady, head tipping back toward the night sky. The music from the bar seeped out into the quiet street, carried by the faint breeze.

You could hear foot steps approaching.

You didn't need to look to know who it was.

"How's your night going?"

You blinked slowly up at him.

"Was going great until about two seconds ago."

Frank studied you carefully. "How much have you had to drink?"

"You tell me." You squinted.

His eyes narrowed slightly, but he sat beside you anyway, close enough that you could feel the warmth that radiated off his body.

"I'll answer for you." You continued, hiccupping as you folded your arms over your chest. "Not enough."

"You should have some water."

You let out a fake a gasp. "Is Frank Langdon worried about me?"

Despite himself, a small smile tugged at his mouth. "Worried about dealing with you hungover tomorrow? Definitely."

That pulled a laugh out of you. "Don't worry." You said as you leant back. "I've got the next two days off so you'll get a break from me."

He didn't answer you as you looked back up at the sky, your eyes settling on the full moon hanging above the two of you.

Instead, he watched you for a moment longer than necessary, like he was trying to place something unspoken.

"Do you think I'm uptight?" You blurted out.

Frank's brows jerked upward.

"Is that a trick question?"

The teasing disappeared immediately when he saw your expression shift.

"Maybe I should just go adopt some cats and embrace it." You mumbled, barely audible as you hugged your arms around yourself.

"Hey." He said, making you look up at him.

"So what if you're uptight?" Frank asked. "It means you care. Means you don't half-ass things."

A pause.

"Because uptight implies...I don't know.." You let out a small sigh as you glanced down at your hands. "That I'm boring or annoying, or both."

"You're definitely not boring." He said immediately.

"But yes." He added after a beat. "You are definitely annoying."

That loosened a real laugh from you this time.

Frank watched it happen carefully, something softer flickering across his face.

"But I like that about you." He added quietly, almost like he hadn't meant to say it out loud.

You shot him an incredulous look. "Sure you do."

"I do." He insisted.

"Uh huh." Your lips pursed in amusement. "Don't pretend like you wouldn't give me a personality transplant if you could."

"I wouldn't." This time he sounded firmer, too focused on proving you wrong to realise that he was giving away too much.

"I wouldn't change anything about you." He repeated, his eyes locking onto yours.

"I like you. Just as you are."

The words hung between you for a moment.

You stared at him as your body suddenly completely still.

And then the espresso martinis and tequila shots reminded you that they were still swirling around in your stomach, causing a wave of nausea to rip through you.

The colour drained from your face as the alcohol, the heat, the exhaustion - everything surged through you at once.

Frank noticed it instantly.

"Come on, let's get you home."

-

The walk up to your apartment was a blur of stairs, half-coherent instructions, and Frank’s hand steadying you at your elbow whenever you swayed too far.

By the time he guided you inside, you were well beyond the point of being able to remember anything.

Too drunk to notice the way Frank's eyes trained on the interior of your apartment, gaze lingering on family photos, books, decorations, anything that provided him a glimpse of who you were outside of work.

He got you into bed, moving around your space with a familiarity that made it feel like he'd been here a hundred times before.

You watched as he placed a glass of water and a packet of painkillers on your bedside table.

Then he paused.

Your pink bedspread was patterned with tiny cherries.

A smile tugged unexpectedly at his mouth.

"Try not to vomit all over your fancy bedspread." He remarked.

You looked up at him blearily.

There was something dangerously fond in his voice now.

You watched him hover for a moment, like he was trying to convince himself to leave.

"Thank you."

A smile, small and private, broke through.

"Don't mention it Ace."

He turned to leave when your hand caught his forearm lightly.

He stopped immediately.

"Hey." You whispered.

"What's wrong?" He asked, already shifting back toward you instinctively.

You studied him for a long moment, as if something about his face had changed shape in the quiet. Frank suddenly became aware that your hand was still on his arm.

"Your eyes have a little green in them."

Frank froze.

The words had been spoken so softly he almost thought he imagined them.

He swallowed, glancing down at the floor as he tried to reconcile the emotions flooding his nervous system, tried to formulate a response.

But when he looked at you again, you were already gone - head tilted slightly, lashes fluttered close, breath even, asleep mid-thought.

He stayed there for a moment longer than he should have.

Then he left quietly, closing the door behind him like he was afraid to disturb whatever had just changed between the two of you.

seven.

Frank Langdon could make you laugh like no one else could.

It wasn’t just the words he said. Like everything else, it was the timing of them.

The way he seemed to sense the exact moment your thoughts started tipping somewhere too heavy and quietly redirected them before you could sink too far into yourself, like he refused to let it stay there too long.

Ever since that night out at the bar, things had shifted between the two of you.

Not dramatically. Not in any way anyone else would have been able to point at and name.

But there had been a change in the space between interactions. Less friction. Less sharpness for the sake of it. The edges of your usual back-and-forth softened into something that almost resembled ease - like both of you had, without discussion, agreed to stop pressing on eachother’s bruises.

You couldn’t remember much from that night. Couldn't even remember how you'd gotten home. You only had fragments to analyse - warmth, noise, Frank’s voice close enough to feel like it belonged somewhere under your skin.

"I like you. Just as you are."

That part, unfortunately, you remembered perfectly.

The words had settled somewhere deep and stubborn inside you, resurfacing at the worst possible moments. Mid-shift. Mid-sentence. In the brief seconds before sleep when your brain stopped pretending it wasn’t still at work.

And now, weeks later, you were still carrying them around like something you hadn’t figured out how to put down.

The unspoken truce between you and Frank held anyway.

Sharper jabs were replaced with quieter ones, almost always softened with half-hearted eye rolls and almost-smiles neither of you acknowledged.

If anyone else noticed it, they didn't say it out loud, careful not to disrupt whatever delicate peace treaty had been formed.

You’d been having a good shift, until hour eleven.

Your patient, a young woman with a soft, girlish face that made her look even younger. She’d come in complaining of vague chest discomfort with a documented history of anxiety. No other significant past medical history. Stable vitals on arrival.

She'd been sweet, telling you all about how she had finally worked up the courage to book flights to Italy for the summer.

Then she crashed.

Chest compressions were already underway when you arrived, the rhythm of them loud and brutal in the confined space. Someone was bagging her. Someone else was calling out time intervals.

"Epi’s in." Jesse confirmed.

You were already moving, hands automatically checking rhythm on the monitor, eyes scanning for anything reversible.

Nothing.

Still PEA.

"Again." You said, voice steady in a way you didn’t feel as you swapped in for compressions.

The bedframe rattled faintly beneath the force of it.

Time stretched in that strange, distorted way it always did during arrest, both too fast and painfully slow at once.

You all paused again, stepping away to look at the monitor for another rhythm check.

"Call it."

Robby's voice cut through the room.

"We can still try-" You began.

"You've been going for twenty minutes." Robby voice stayed calm, firm. "Call it."

The room shifted like it always did when a resuscitation failed. That invisible collective acknowledgment that the line had been reached.

You reluctantly moved your hands away from the patients chest, your gaze lingering on her glassy eyes that would never blink again.

You felt your chest tighten.

You glanced down at your watch. "Time of death, 5:17pm."

Your voice remained clinical despite the way your throat had started closing around the words.

Silence settled over the room.

The monitors still beeped softly in the background, almost offensively alive compared to everything else.

"Does she have next of kin listed?"

Robby glanced down at your hands that had started to tremor slightly. Something soft flickered across his face.

"I'll do it."

You shook your head before he even finished the sentence.

"No." Your voice tightened slightly. "She was my patient. I can do it."

A pause.

Robby studied you for a second longer than necessary, then nodded once.

"Ok."

The room began to reset around you, people stepping back, lowering their voices, the clinical transition from emergency to aftermath already beginning.

But your hands wouldn’t stop trembling.

-

The wind up on the roof of PTMC was colder than expected. Sharp against your skin, grounding in a way that almost hurt.

You sat curled against the wall with your knees tucked to your chest, staring at your shaking hands.

“Heard you had a rough one.”

You turned your head.

Frank was standing a few steps away, hands tucked into his pockets.

“She was only 19.” You murmured, shaking your head. “I just had to tell her parents that their daughter isn’t coming home.”

You turned your head away as he sat down beside you, wiping at your face quickly before he could fully register it.

“I’m sorry.”

"I should have checked for a PE risk or a structural issue or-"

"She presented exactly like most young patients with anxiety do. None of us would have done anything differently." Frank interrupted gently.

You inhaled sharply. "But if I'd just-"

"Ace."

Your nickname, said like that, cut through the spiral before it could finish building.

You looked at him.

His gaze dropped briefly to your hands.

Then, slower, like he was deciding rather than acting, he reached forward and wrapped his hands around yours.

"This wasn't your fault."

The contact grounded you in a way that felt unfair.

The warmth of him grounded you instantly in a way that felt deeply unfair.

You swallowed hard and nodded once.

"I don't know how Robby and Dana are still here." You admitted quietly. "How they just keep... showing up."

Frank raised a brow. "Have you met them? They're both completely unhinged."

Despite yourself, a small sound escaped you - half laugh, half broken exhale.

"I didn't realise unhinged was an official medical diagnosis."

"It is according to me.” He nodded solemnly. “Right alongside basketcase and whacko."

That got another laugh out of you, sharper this time. More real.

He tilted his head slightly, watching you like he was checking whether it had actually worked.

"There we go." He said quietly.

You looked down then.

His hands were still around yours.

"I’m scared to know what you'd diagnose me with." You said after a moment, voice steadier now.

A corner of his mouth lifted slightly.

"You're your own medical condition entirely." He answered. Pausing as he tried to think of the best way to describe it.

"Ace-itis."

That made you laugh again, properly this time, breath catching slightly at the end, the heaviness in your chest loosening just enough for you to breathe deeper.

Frank watched it happen like it mattered more than it should.

When the laughter faded, the silence between you felt strangely easy.

After a moment, he shifted slightly but didn’t let go of your hands.

“You want to go get a drink or something?”

The question was casual, but it didn't feel like it.

You blinked at him once, processing it slowly through the fog of adrenaline and exhaustion.

A joke rose automatically to your tongue, something defensive, something sharp, but you swallowed it as you studied him.

“Only if the first rounds on you.”

He smiled faintly.

“After the day you’ve had, I’ll even get the second.”

eight.

Frank Langdon could also make you cry in a way no one else could.

Because when he turned on you, it felt like being shut out of something you hadn’t realised you were standing inside of, something that you suddenly didn't want to leave.

It was the day of Pittfest.

It was also the day for new interns and residents, which meant a whole slate of fresh faces trying too hard while the rest of the ER oscillated between mentorship and survival mode.

The halls were louder than usual. Too many voices overlapping, too many unfamiliar footsteps echoing off the linoleum floors.

And through all of it, there was Frank.

You noticed it within the first hour.

Something was off.

He moved like his body was running half a step ahead of everything - conversations, people, decisions. His voice came too quickly, clipped at the edges. His attention snapped between patients and staff with an intensity that didn’t feel controlled so much as driven. Like his nervous system had been turned up too high and forgotten how to come back down.

His pupils were slightly too wide under the fluorescent light, sweat gathered faintly at the back of his neck despite the air conditioning.

And worst of all - his arrogance, usually carefully calibrated, was unfiltered.

Loud.

You caught yourself watching him repeatedly throughout the shift.

Each time, you told yourself you were imagining it.

Then another hour passed.

Then another.

Eventually, you found yourself avoiding him entirely, because something about the way he looked today made you think of a system running too hot right before it failed.

You just hoped that whatever was going on with him would settle and he wouldn’t sweep up too many people in his chaos.

That hope lasted until you heard raised voices coming from trauma two.

You were already moving before you consciously decided to.

Even from the doorway, you could tell the atmosphere was off. A room holding its breath in the wrong place.

Frank was at the centre of it.

One of the new interns, Trinity, stood across from him, her body rigid, eyes wide. You had a brief thought that she resembled a frightened lamb.

Frank’s voice cut through everything.

“-stupid or arrogant, you need to realise that you are a beginner.” His voice was loud and unforgiving.

“Which means your job is to shut up, listen, and learn, because so far today the only thing you have been successful at is proving repeatedly that you know nothing.”

Trinity’s eyes widened slightly when she spotted you over his shoulder. You couldn’t decide if it was a silent plea or a warning.

Frank turned slightly at that movement.

For one brief second, his expression faltered when he saw you, like seeing you had been pulled back into himself.

Then immediately it hardened again, too fast to hold onto.

You swallowed, attempting to regain your composure as you glanced between them.

“Santos.” Your voice was level as you tilted your head towards the exit. “Dr McKay needs help in Room 4.”

Relief crossed Trinity’s face so quickly it was almost painful.

She nodded once, eyes darting between the two of you before escaping the room like she’d been given permission to breathe again.

The moment she left, the air changed again.

You turned back to Frank slowly, taking a few steps toward him so you were fully enveloped by the room.

He was still standing there, hands half-curled at his sides, like he’d been interrupted mid-impact and didn’t know what to do with the energy still in him.

“What the fuck was that?”

His eyes snapped to yours.

“What the fuck was what?”

His tone made you bristle.

“Don’t do that.” You said sharply. “Don’t stand there pretending you don’t know what you just did was completely out of line.”

“Have you worked with her yet?” He shot back, words tumbling out too fast. “She’s arrogant and-and completely incapable of-“

“It doesn’t matter.” You interrupted. “That is not how we talk to rookies. Actually, it’s not how we talk to anyone.”

Frank scoffed, sharp and humourless.

“Didn’t realise you were the tone police.”

The agitation radiating off him made you instinctively want to step back.

Your gaze sharpened.

“What is going on with you today?” You demanded. “You’re all twitchy and acting completely fucking manic-“

You stopped when you caught it.

Because you saw it properly now you were up close. His pupils were too dilated, not situational, not lighting, not stress.

Something else.

Something your brain immediately started assembling pieces around before you could stop it.

Sweats at his hairline, restless movement in his jaw, the uneven pacing of his breath.

And then the memory surfaced - uninvited, unwelcome.

Back pain from when he’d helped his parents move. Been too cheap to hire movers, he’d joked.

A prescription.

You remembered him mentioning it offhand weeks ago - something about weaning off them, something about not needing them anymore.

The realization hit so hard it almost made you feel sick.

You went still.

Frank noticed immediately.

Something defensive shifted across his posture like he’d followed your thoughts to their conclusion before you even spoke.

“Frank.” You said slowly.

Your voice softened involuntarily. Careful in a way that didn’t match the argument anymore. Weeks of quiet moments and softened edges bleeding into the argument without permission.

“Are you having withdrawals?”

There was a beat of silence.

Something flickered across his face.

Not denial first, not anger.

Something closer to pain, mixed with a semblance of something like surprise, maybe at the sound of his first name leaving your lips, or being caught, you weren’t certain.

And then it vanished.

“What?” He said, voice sharp enough to cut, “are you seriously trying to ask me if I’m a drug addict?”

“No, I-“ You started immediately, stepping forward again.

But he was already unraveling faster than you could catch.

“You’d love that, wouldn’t you?” Bitterness curled through every word now. “Get your competition shipped off to rehab so you can be the only golden child of the ER.”

Your breath caught painfully.

“That’s not fair.”

"Isn't it?" He studied you for a moment, his eyes intense and unblinking. "This place isyour whole life, it makes sense that you'd be dying to have Robby's attention all to yourself."

The words, slung like arrows, found their mark with deadly accuracy. They penetrated your thick skin, embedding themselves somewhere deep behind your rib cage.

Not because they were true, but because they were thrown like they were, like they were designed to hurt you.

Your throat tightened.

“I don’t know what has gotten into you.” You said quietly, voice shaking now despite your efforts. “But I seriously suggest you stop talking before you say something you can’t take back.”

For a moment something in him wavered. A crack.

Like he could suddenly see you again instead of whatever he was fighting.

Your bottom lip was quivering now.

For a second, he looked horrified by it.

And then his expression closed again, like a door slamming shut.

“Don’t worry.” He said flatly, void of any emotion as he stalked past you. “I was just leaving.”

You stood there frozen for a few seconds before the tears finally came, sliding down your face in hot, fat tracks.

Anger crashed through you almost instantly afterward.

Not just at Frank, but at yourself.

Because you hadn’t cried when you heard interns say horrible things about you, hadn’t cried when you’d lost a patient. You’d been on the brink, but never quite fallen off the ledge.

But somehow, Frank Langdon was the one to push you off it.

And that terrified you more than anything.

Because it meant you’d let him get under your skin in a way that you never thought he would. And now, you didn’t know if you could ever scrub yourself clean of him.

nine.

Frank Langdon left without saying goodbye.

You stood in the descrubbing bay long after your gloves had been peeled off and discarded, staring at nothing in particular. The curtain that separated you from the trauma bay still fluttered slightly, like the room itself hadn’t settled yet.

You didn’t want to move. Didn't want to pull back the curtain and see the blood soaked floor beyond it.

Because if you did, it would become real in a different way. Not just something you survived, but something that stayed.

A dull headache pulsed steadily behind your eyes. Your shoulders ached with tension. Your body felt disconnected somehow, like part of you was still moving even though you’d stopped minutes ago.

Your mind was struggling to process what you'd just witnessed. How many people you saved. How many you didn't.

You swallowed hard against the tightness in your throat.

For one strange second, you genuinely thought you might pass out.

The curtain shifted. You flinched before you could stop yourself.

“Sorry.”

The voice was quiet and all too familiar.

Your stomach dropped before you even turned.

Blue eyes met yours.

Frank stood in the doorway, still in scrubs. Hair slightly dishevelled. Exhaustion carved into his face in ways that you were sure mirrored yours.

The mass casualty had left no room to think about him as anything other than another set of hands beside you. But now, standing here with him again, every emotion you’d shoved aside came flooding violently back.

“What do you want, Langdon?”

Your voice came out flatter than intended as you turned away again, like movement alone might protect you from whatever this conversation was about to become.

"I came to apologise... about earlier." He said quietly. "That was fucked up."

"Yeah. It was." You said.

A humourless breath escaped you.

"Although now it feels kind of trivial after-" You stopped yourself before your brain could drift back toward everything you’d all just witnessed.

You turned back properly then - freezing when you saw the raw emotion on his face.

"I'm really sorry."

This time, you weren’t entirely sure he was only talking about the argument anymore.

You took a step towards him.

"What happened Frank?" You asked quietly.

His jaw tightened.

For a moment, he didn’t answer.

"I fucked up Ace." He admitted, his voice cracking slightly, like it cost him something to say it out loud.

"Really badly."

Your expression softened before you could stop it, and that seemed to break something in him further.

"I think I need help." The confession came out barely above a whisper as tears pooled in the corner of his eyes.

You took a step toward him instinctively.

"Ok." You said immediately, nodding slowly. "Ok. We can get you help."

"Jesus-" He cut himself off, squeezing his eyes shut for a second like he was trying to physically reset himself. "Don't look at me like that."

"Like what?"

"Like you... like you pity me."

"Jesus Christ Langdon, I don't pity you I-" You stopped yourself, breath catching slightly as you realised what you were about to say.

"I care about you."

The honesty of it startled even you.

Frank went still.

"You do?" He asked.

There was no teasing in his voice now. No arrogance. Only something small and uncertain underneath it that made your chest ache unexpectedly.

"Yeah." You said, softer now. "Even though it pains me to admit it."

That got the smallest flicker of something, his eyes never leaving your face.

"Which is why we're going to figure this out." You continued, stepping closer again without thinking about it. "Whatever this is, we can sort it out, we can-"

You never got to finish your sentence.

Because Frank Langdon kissed you.

It was sudden - like something inside him had snapped beneath the weight of everything he’d been holding back.

You froze completely at first. Hands half-raised, breath caught, brain refusing to process the shift from conversation to collision.

Frank pulled back abruptly, eyes wide, mouth parted.

“I- oh my god." He breathed heavily. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know why I-”

You grabbed the front of his scrubs and pulled him back down before he could finish.

The second kiss wasn’t hesitant.

It was years of tension collapsing all at once into something sharp and immediate and impossible to take back.

Frank made a quiet sound against your mouth like he still couldn’t quite believe this was happening. Like he couldn’t quite believe you were kissing him back.

Then, just as suddenly, he pulled back. His breathing uneven, chest rising too fast.

"I'm sorry." He shook his head as he took a step away from you, like he needed the physical distance to stop himself. "I can't- I can't do this."

"Frank-"

But he was already gone.

You didn't see him again after that.

Not in passing, not in corridors, not in all the strange little spaces where the two of you had somehow built an entire relationship out of arguments and eye contact and timing.

You found out a week later from Dana that Frank had admitted himself into a treatment program that same night.

And then he disappeared from your life for ten months.

ten.

The thing you hated the most about Frank Langdon was that you didn't hate him.

Not even a little bit, not even at all.

You’d known it long before you admitted it to yourself. But that moment - that kiss- had made it undeniable in a way you couldn’t pretend to ignore anymore.

And that was the problem.

Because hatred would’ve been easier than this constant, aching awareness of him existing somewhere just beyond your reach.

Fourth of July shifts were universally hated at PTMC.

Too hot, too loud, too many fire-work related disasters waiting to happen.

You could already feel a faint film of sweat start to coat the back of your neck as you opened your locker that morning.

Footsteps approached behind you.

You peered around the locker door out of habit, ready to say good morning to whichever poor colleague was stuck with you on this shift.

Your brain short circuited.

Frank Langdon stood there.

Cap on. Backpack slung over one shoulder. Like he belonged somewhere casual, somewhere outside of this building entirely.

Like he hadn’t disappeared from your life for ten months without a word.

You stared at him for a moment.

Then he opened his mouth, your name formed silently on his lips.

You slammed your door shut with finality, then walked straight past him without saying a word.

Your pulse roared in your ears, your heart bashed against your ribcage.

You knew he’d be coming back, you knew you would have to see him again eventually - you just didn’t think it would be today.

You didn’t think it would hurt this much either.

-

The shift was unbearable in the quietest possible way.

Every time you turned a corner, you expected him to be there. Every time you reached for a chart, you expected his voice behind you.

Every time someone called your name, your body reacted before your brain caught up - a stupid, pathetic flicker of hope you immediately hated yourself for.

And then there were the moments he was there.

Hands steady, voice controlled, face carefully neutral in the way only Frank Langdon could manage when he was actively trying not to look at you.

Even then, you could feel his eyes on you wherever you moved.

It made your skin feel too tight.

By hour four, you had already done two traumas with him. Your body slipped back into your old rhythm together so naturally it made you feel sick.

By hour eight, your scrubs were starting to cling to you in a way that felt suffocating.

By hour ten, your tension headache had made itself home again.

By hour fourteen, you thought you might scream if you stayed in the same room as him any longer.

The stairwell was empty when you found it.

Quiet in the way hospital spaces rarely were - concrete walls absorbing sound instead of reflecting it. The air was cooler here, industrial and slightly damp, smelling faintly of disinfectant and metal.

You pressed your back against the wall and closed your eyes for half a second.

Just one breath.

Just one moment where you didn’t have to think about him.

Your eyes snapped open when you heard the door open.

Frank stood in front of you, his chest rose and fell slightly faster than usual, like he’d decided to follow you on impulse and was only now catching up with the consequences.

You straightened immediately.

"I just want to talk." He spoke, taking a step toward you slowly like you were a wild animal he didn't want to spook.

"There's nothing to talk about Langdon."

He paused. "You know that's not true Ace."

"Don't call me that."

Your voice came out sharper than you intended.

His expression flickered.

“Please Ace just-"

"I said stop." You cut him off again, stepping back slightly without meaning to. "You don’t get to call me that anymore. Not after-"

You stopped.

The words jammed in your throat.

Because saying it out loud meant making it real in a way you weren’t sure you were ready for.

His gaze didn’t move from yours.

"Not after what?" He asked quietly.

Something in your restraint finally cracked, frustration pouring out of you.

"I wrote to you in rehab." You said, voice tightening. "Even after everything, I wrote to you. And you didn't write back."

Pain flashed openly across Frank's face.

"I'm sorry."

You shook your head.

"You kissed me Langdon. And then you disappeared without a word and then you just - just appear without any warning, like nothing happened." Your voice grew louder as you spoke, trembling despite your best efforts.

"I didn't want you to get caught up in any of this."

"That wasn't your call to make." You snapped back. "I can make my own decisions."

"You don't think that I know that?" He answered, his own tone sharpening. "There's more to this then my addiction."

"I know."

Frank's eyes flared in surprise.

You exhaled shakily.

"Robby and Santos have been glaring at you all day. And I saw the way he looked at you last year before you left.” Your jaw clenched. “It doesn't take a genius to figure it out."

Frank watched you for a moment, his surprise morphing into one of disbelief.

"And you're saying what? You wouldn't have exiled me too?”

"No. I would have been there for you, if you'd given me the chance to."

His expression faltered as he shook his head slightly.

"What?" You challenged, taking a step towards him. "You don't believe me?"

"You hate me." He countered.

You stared at him, then let out a breath somewhere between exhaustion and disbelief.

"Jesus Langdon, I don't hate you.” You snapped. “And that's precisely the problem."

A pause.

He took a step closer.

"I didn't plan on kissing you like that."

You swallowed as you looked at him, all your frustration seeping out of you.

"Then why did you?" You murmured.

For a moment he didn't answer.

"Because I don't hate you either."

This time when he looked at you, there was something different. Like he wasn’t looking at you as competition, or a colleague, but something more exposed than either of you had ever allowed before.

"You're all I thought about in rehab."

Your heart stuttered violently.

Frank laughed softly under his breath, humourless.

"You're all I've thought about since med school, really."

"That can't be-"

"It is." He cut in gently. His eyes dropped briefly toward the floor.

“Ever since you sat across from me with your colour coded textbooks and looked at me like you wanted to kill me.” A small smile tugged briefly at his mouth.

Your breath caught.

“That's probably why I was always such a dick to you.” He glanced back up. “Because it was the only time you ever really looked at me."

The stairwell felt too small suddenly. Too warm, too honest, too vulnerable.

"It's always been you Ace.” His voice softened. “I just didn’t know what to do about it.”

You swallowed hard.

"You left." You said quietly.

"I know." He said immediately. No defence. No excuse. Just truth.

“I panicked. I wasn't thinking straight."

A beat.

"And I’ve regretted it every day since."

He took another step towards you.

"The kiss, or you leaving?” You whispered.

His eyes heals yours steadily.

"You know which one."

Now he was close enough that you had to tilt your head slightly to keep eye contact. Close enough that you could see the small flecks of green scattered through his eyes.

"I don't think I can keep pretending that I don't want you anymore." He admitted.

Silence hung between the two of you.

"Say something." He said quietly. "Please."

The space between you was nothing and everything at once.

"Frank.." You breathed out.

"Yeah?"

"I don't want to pretend anymore either."

Frank swallowed, his eyes flickering down to your mouth.

"I'd really like to kiss you again.”

Whatever restraint you still had left finally broke.

You fisted his scrubs in between your fingers, guiding him down to your mouth.

The kiss wasn’t careful this time.

It wasn’t confused.

It was real in a way that almost hurt.

Like years of wanting each other had finally run out of places to hide.

Frank’s hand came up immediately to cradle your jaw, anchoring you there like he was afraid you might disappear if he let go.

You pulled him closer against you, one hand threading through his hair. You felt your back hit the wall, a small breath escaping your mouth at the impact.

The stairwell door creaked somewhere nearby.

You both broke apart instantly.

You turned, but there was no one there.

Frank looked back at you, breathing unevenly now, a grin slowly pulling at his mouth.

"You know what I just realised?”

"Oh god.” Your fingers scraped lightly against the back of his neck. “What?”

“I never got to tell you I performed a closed cervical reduction like thirty minutes ago.”

Your eyes widened. "Are you serious?"

"Completely." His smile grew as he ghosted his thumb over your jaw. "Guess that's two miracles I've performed today."

You snorted despite yourself. "That was terrible, even for you."

"I know." He smirked as he leant forward, his mouth hovering over yours. "You love it though Ace."

Your smile widened helplessly as you rolled your eyes.

"Just shut up and kiss me Langdon."

-

Robby glanced over his glasses to see Abbot making his way towards him, his face slack like he was trying to process something.

“Why do you look like you’ve just seen a ghost?” Robby asked.

“Because I’m traumatised.”

“I think we all are.”

“No.” Abbot shook his head gravely. “Somehow this was worse than anything I’ve seen in here.”

Robby raised a brow as Abbot shuddered.

“I just caught your two protégées making out in the stairwell.”

“Huh.”

Robby glancing down casually at his watch.

“Well I'll give them credit."

Abbot's eyes narrowed. "For what?”

Robby shrugged as he turned back to his screen.

"They lasted longer than I thought they would.”

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