tackycardia

big fan of mel king also big fan of frank langdon the loser you can call me Tee or TC she/her | in my 30s | find my kingdon fics on ao3 kingdon is canon, argue with the wall/noah wyle

[langdon-mel]

Afterglow | July 30 | word count: 282 | rating: m | @kingdonmicrofic

“Oh,” she whispers, completely breathless. 

“Yeah,” he says back, just as weak. 

“I didn’t know it could be like that.”

“Honestly? Me neither.” 

She turns her head to look at him quizzically. 

“Mel, I may have had my fair share of sex, but that was…” he exhales and looks over at her, eyes scanning her face, “something else.” Then he takes her hand in his and lifts it to his mouth, kissing her knuckles. “You are something else.” 

She cuts her eyes away and smiles, turning onto her side, hand pillowed beneath her head. He matches her position but doesn’t let go of her hand. 

“So are you,” she says quietly, heart caught as she watches him unfurl her fingers from her palm and kiss the pad of each fingertip. 

His eyes flick up, bright and mischievous, and she can just barely make out his playful smirk in the dim light, half-hidden by her hand. “Maybe. But you…you’re of your own. Something special." He tilts his head and presses a kiss to her palm. "Something I don’t have the words to name.” 

His lips continue in a slow path down her wrist, to her pulse point. Her breath stutters when she feels the warm wet of his tongue and the gentle nip of teeth. 

“Frank?”

“Hm?”

“Um,” she says, trying to keep track of her thoughts while under his lips, his pinpoint gaze. “How long is your, uh, refractory period, do you think?” 

The unrefined mirth of his quiet laughter makes her heart soar, but when he moves to hover his chest over her, pinning her wrist next to her head, she finds it starts pounding instead. 

“How about we find out?” 

[tackycardiaa]

Day 30: Afterglow

@kingdonmicrofic - july 30 - wc: 468 - cw: explicit! 🚨 frank being kind of a creep 😏

-

Frank sinks his fingers into the gaps between hers, and his eyelids flutter as her nails curl into his knuckles. The mattress is soft against his knees, but not nearly as soft as the flesh of her hips between them, floating and drifting against him like clouds passing over the peak of mountain. This is his favorite part of the dream, where he glances at the face below him and watches it take shape into half-lidded brown eyes behind glasses. He reaches for the braid he knows is forming behind her neck as he whispers, "Mel."

Even in his dreams he never gets to kiss her, and he wakes flushed in his one-bedroom apartment, boxers tight.

He grumbles as his hand starts the morning ritual, reminding himself of the same fact that's plagued him since the day he overheard it. He'd been just outside the room when a patient pointed him out to her and asked how she ever got anything done around someone who “looks like that,” and Mel had said, "Oh, that's easy, I don't find him attractive."

And that had been something to hear. It'd taken him months to rebuild his confidence, and she'd demolished it in two seconds flat.

It was so... so hot.

Something about that stupid cliché of wanting what you can't have, and—oh, fuck—does he like a challenge. He's gonna make her change her mind, maybe flaunt around her in some kind of deranged mating dance to show her what he can offer her—shit—if she only gives him a chance to fuck her one time—god, Mel, fuck, you feel so good—he'd rearrange her thoughts into nothing but him, and she'd bask in the afterglow of his filth, covered in it, and—

He groans as he finishes, satisfied to be emptied of his transgression, but shame fills its place almost immediately.

It's Mel's right if she doesn't find him attractive. It’s also her right that she’d be horrified if she knew what he'd just done.

He tries not to think about it when he sees her at work, but he gravitates towards her as he usually does, bumping his shoe into hers on purpose and smiling whenever he catches her eye like a damn teenager. When he places his hand on her back, his thumb risks a brush over the strip of skin above her waistband.

“Dr. Langdon,” she gasps, and that sound, coupled with her actually acknowledging and calling him out on it, has him half-hard in front of the nurse’s station.

“Oops,” he says, but he’s grinning. “Couldn’t help myself.”

She blushes, and his mind blanks out like it did earlier in the morning. He almost drags her into the on-call room to see if she’s pink anywhere else.

Maybe there’s hope after all.

-

(p.s. did you peep my guest star role in this fic as the patient asking mel how she can work when frank’s around because how does she do it really??)

[tackycardiaa]

saw someone suggest mel will be used as a way to motivate frank to eventually fix his marriage since “she sees things differently” and ive never been more horrified

mel king, get behind me!!!

[tackycardiaa]

HBO needs to release the cut scenes and bloopers!!

no but really where are they and what damning evidence of the slow burn are they hiding!!!!

[tackycardiaa]

yesss spread those rumours! though i do geninuely wonder why the high five was cut and how it even fit into the scene we saw on screen, who initiated, what they said during and after

oh anon, this is something that actually keeps me up at night! in the conversation we’re given, it only really makes sense in the closed cervical reduction reveal, but even then i think a high five would be awkward for mel to initiate. my leading theory is that they congratulate each other on surviving a terrible day and langdon was the one to initiate the high five and mel is obviously happy someone finally wants to 🥰

(but we all know the other reason it was cut: it looked too platonic 😏)

[tackycardiaa]

the kingdon high five was cut because they kept interlacing their fingers as soon as their hands touched

[tackycardiaa]

Day 29: Orchestra

@kingdonmicrofic - july 29 - wc: 375 - cw: mature! angst! frank crying = we all cry! (who knew i could write something not silly!)

-

Frank cannot figure out how to make Abby forgive him.

And, for awhile, he was on her side for not forgiving him, because nobody hates Frank as much as the withering reflection in his mirror, but he's been doing the work for almost a year now. If she hasn't given him the smallest indication that she'll forgive him yet, what the hell is she even still doing with him?

He's pissier than usual as the two of them squeeze their way through the theatre seats--five hundred a piece to sit closer to the damn orchestra, only for her to start worrying that the very seats she'd insisted on might trigger a migraine--and his leg is already bouncing by the time they sit down.

"Ugh, Frank, stop," she says his name like it barbs her throat. "You really need to get on medication for that."

Frank clutches the velvet of his chair to keep from snapping back. It’s not a new request of hers, but he figured she'd never say it again. She's clearly holding onto another version of him, the before and better one he’ll never be again.

The musical is fine enough. At least they don't have to speak to each other.

Later, after relieving the babysitter and confirming the kids are asleep, Abby surprises him with a kiss.

Frank’s so ready for it that tears blur the corners of his vision.

He wants to cry harder when he realizes that’s all he feels—relief. The sex is like something to cross off at the end of a date night checklist, like a chore to prove the house is clean and healthy and not rotting within its walls.

He doesn't get why she initiates it if she still goes to sleep in another room when they finish.

He wonders which will break first, his marriage or the crushing weight in his chest, and whether there will ever come a day he can walk into a room without feeling like a failure.

That day arrives on the Fourth of July, his first day back to work, when he hears his name called like a cure instead of a poison, and his arm clutched like he's someone worth holding onto instead of letting go.

[tackycardiaa]

y'all i'm so serious i love dr. melissa king so much, i would go to war for her, so the very least the pitt writers can do in season 3 is give her a hug

[tiffanyblewss]

ik this has probably been done to death but i wanna talk about it AND SO I SHALL.

i think that the comparisons between mel/frank and heather/robby are so fascinating and really lead me to believe we'll be going canon someday.

because like,,, frank is robby's success story, if that makes sense. where robby has gone wrong, frank has gone right, if that makes sense? like frank has an (assumed) good relationship with his parents which robby does not have. frank seeks out help and is not shy nor shameful of the fact that he got help, while robby's more unwilling to seek that help out. robby yearns/used to yearn for marriage and kids, and frank has that already. robby berates someone under him for having a panic attack, while frank drops everything to support her.

and then you get to collins. from what we know of their relationship, they didn't last for a variety of reasons, even though (at least in my eyes) it can be inferred that robby still cares incredibly deeply for her, if not straight up having feels for her still. and yet, he doesn't have that relationship anymore. that window is FIRMLY closed.

so then you have mel and frank. frank is actively working on his issues and becoming a better man, and part of it is BECAUSE of mel. he teaches her with a steady hand, he supports her, he's there for her. a similar power imbalance, but even then, he's an R4 and she's an R3, compared to (at least) R3 and an attending with heather and robby.

idk if this is all just rambling at this point, but regardless. i DO think that we're going to go canon, because again. frank can succeed with mel where robby didn't succeed with heather, like he's done multiple times before.

[tackycardiaa]

this has been sitting in my drafts for awhile and i’m letting her out because i’m sick of anti-kingdon discourse 🥰

because i'm never gonna shut up about the s2 finale ambulance bay scene - here's some more discourse/thoughts about it that makes me unwell

the first point, which has already been discussed a billion times (but i don't care, discuss it more for the haters!), is how the scene is deliberately shot over langdon and mel's shoulders. not only is it meant to really make the audience feel like they're intruding on a very intimate moment, but i also think it indicates we are supposed to be seeing each character in the eyes of the other.

even when langdon finally stands next to her, they aim the shots to look down at mel from his POV, and up at him from her POV. and in these shots, both mel and langdon look insanely tender, soft, and glowy, despite both having pretty terrible days and losing their cool a bit. (who else is getting these kinds of scenes????)

the second point is that langdon chooses to stand next to mel to look up at the fireworks, not across from her. this is probably more so to due with what taylor said about rewriting the scene to make them look more evenly matched as doctors and kinda escape from the mentor/mentee thing, but i also see this as langdon wanting to see things from her perspective. (and patrick has kinda told us this is true!!)

the third point is that, during the conversation, the only two shots of them side-to-side instead of over each other's shoulders are:

in the middle of the conversation when langdon shows mel that his "hand is still shaking" (hmm not sure we’re being truthful about that mr. doctorman but ok)

when the conversation ends, and mel looks away first

i think these shots are also deliberate! the first could be to remind the audience that even though their conversation is framed as them standing super close, there is still actually some distance between them. langdon’s hand can stretch out enough and still not physically touch her unless he steps closer (very respectful of boundaries). their relationship still has room to grow!

when this same camera angle is used in the second one (when their conversation ends), we witness mel look away first and because she is done looking at him, the audience gets the reveal that he takes a moment before he does!! mel has no idea! the audience gets the hint!

(also don’t get me started on the quietness of the scene, or how langdon takes the time to walk all the way over to her just to chitchat and apologize despite the fact that their conversation in the break room ended on a good note, or how we never see fireworks but just hear them……)

idk if any of this makes sense but if it does to anyone, it’s the kingdon community on tumblr 💜 enjoy the insanity!

[tackycardiaa]

Day 28: Pulse

@kingdonmicrofic - july 28 - wc: 450

-

Today's the day!

Mel beams at her reflection as she brushes her teeth. She reads over the Post-It notes stuck to the mirror, all various encouraging statements she'd borrowed from the internet. She'd even drawn an outline of her hand on a bigger one so she could give herself a high five before she left.

She removes her backpack, rolls her shoulders, gives a thumbs up to the mirror in her locker, and then turns around to go find him.

He's sitting by the nurse's station with a clipboard in his lap. The physical sight of him puts a pause in her step, he's always so breath-stealy attractive, but it is perfectly okay to find your friends attractive. (She'd looked it up.) It was just going to have to be something she learned to ignore.

He glances up, smiling. "Good morn—”

"Dr. Langdon," she says, "We need to talk."

"Uh oh, are we breaking up?"

"Breaking up?" Mel repeats, horrified. "But we're not—"

"Joke, Mel," he says.

He's almost thwarted her plans with the confusing joke, another thing she might need to get used to him doing.

She puffs out her chest. "I would like to go to the museum this Sunday. Would you like to go with me?"

Mel's pulse climbs into her ears as his eyes widen. Oh no, were they not good enough friends yet to hang out outside of work?

"Uh." His jaw hangs. "Sure."

Sure! She wants to run home and give herself another high five!

"Great!"

And because that was the bulk of her plan, she has nothing more to say and goes back to work.

Over the next few days, her anxiety about the museum calms, as Langdon is more talkative and standing closer like he's also been waiting for this new development in their friendship. He asks which exhibits she's most excited to check out, but then he throws her off by asking what time he should pick her up. This seems unnecessary on her end, and she tells him as much, but he refuses, saying something about being a gentleman.

He actually meets her at her door when he arrives, and Mel is humiliated, because does he really think she needs assistance walking out to the car?

And then she notices he's carrying... a bouquet?

"Sorry if they're ugly," he says, "I told the florist purple, and she ran with it."

She takes them out of his hands, but she doesn't stop blinking. "Um, thank you. But... why?"

He cringes. "Shit, is it too much? It's been a while since I've been on a first date. I'm rusty."

Mel almost drops the flowers as she staggers backward. "What?"

[audreyvoilax]

Hungry Eyes — Dirty Dancing AU

Dirty dancing

[tiffanyblewss]

underrated mel king scene that makes me want to hurt myself and others is when a patient asks her how she deals with "all this death and carnage" and her voice breaks when she eventually admits "i dont know."

mel who has been surrounded by loss for so long. her parents are both dead, and she didn't have a single family member to turn to when it came to taking care of becca. she watches people die every day. she masks her sadness as best she can when she's around becca, but even becca is starting to spread her wings and leave, too.

i think that's why what frank says to her in season 1 resonates with me (and lots of other people) (and mel as well) SO deeply. the ED can be a tough place for people like mel but it needs sensitive people like mel. it needs her to be sensitive. everyone else in that ED is jaded in some way and needs mel to toughen up but not langdon. he needs her the way she is. needs her.

[keystothekingdon]

like what do you mean langdon apologized to mel but not his other coworkers he’d been working with for YEARS. he knew mel for HOURS. insanity truly. they are insane about one another. i will never be over this.

I think if he apologized to Garcia she’d kill him for bringing down the vibe but yeah Mel being on his apology tour list was insane. He didn’t implicate her or even bother her about it like with Dana in the kitchen chcbdbx and then he’s gonna apologize again after he finds out how lonely she’s been without him. The apology may involve his penis but IDK the scripts are still being written

[tackycardiaa]

langdon and mel when they finally start flirting with each other

[bodeckerhedron]

PATRICK BALL as FRANK LANGDON

➤• THE PITT (2025)

[holywaterhangover]

@kingdonmicrofic day 27 -> opalite (499/266) warnings: infidelity, non-explicit sexual content, mentions of rehab and self-image

..

Frank understands what it’s like to have a warped sense of self-image.

Rehab had chewed him up and bitterly spat him out twenty pounds lighter, hair longer and eyes duller. It’d been a feat, putting weight back on but he’d put in the work, and although he still saw flashes of withdrawals in that tiny little room and the havoc that’d taken a toll on his body, he saw the good, too. The improvement. The effort.

But Mel has a habit of thinking herself dull. Plain. Not quite second-look worthy, which Frank thinks is an utter load of bullshit.

She hides behind simple clothes and muted colors because, as she says, it’s uncomplicated. It’s easier to go along with what people expect instead of what she loves and wants, even if it chips little pieces of her away over time.

Again, Frank calls bullshit. Bull–fucking–shit, because he’s certain that anyone in the god forsaken world who takes one look at Mel King and decides to put her into a little box she’ll never crawl out of deserves a fist to the face, at the very least.

So, because his mother raised him to be a gentleman, Frank encourages her at every opportunity to just go for it. He catches her looking at swimsuits in the spring and points out which colors and patterns would look best with her complexion. (She orders four of them.) In fall he gifts her a Burberry scarf, which he’d seen all over her autumn themed Pinterest board. (She cries.)

In the height of winter, PTMC announces an involuntary charity gala, and she lingers by the flyers when she thinks nobody’s paying her any attention, but Frank certainly is. The light in her eyes so bright, twinkling at the idea of dressing up, of showing a glimmer of the person she really is — the one everyone tries to stifle and ignore.

He surprises her with a handcrafted pair of teardrop opalite earrings that match her gown perfectly, which eventually end up in the pocket of his suit jacket along with his wedding ring for safe keeping, as they slip out of the banquet hall merely forty-five minutes after their arrival. Sick of shaking hands and pretending they’re part of some high-class world, even if it looks good for the hospital.

And Mel.. she’s just so grateful, you see, that Frank sees her wholly, that he’d helped her choose a dress that bunches up around her hips without being a nuisance while he lays her out so gently across the backseat of his car. That he tells her how beautiful she looks and sounds when she shatters beneath him, that he’s so glad she isn’t hiding her true self anymore. She’s so, so grateful that she comes twice on his fingers and once more on his cock.

After that, he adds his credit card to her Apple wallet. Anything you want is on me, he says. Don’t worry about the cost. You’re more than worth it.