Sugar, Yes, Please - John Shen x Abbot Reader
Pairing: John Shen x Reader
WC- 1.6k
A/N: John Shen doesn't get much love, so I figured I would switch it up a bit. Enjoy, coffee lovers! All work has been edited by Grammarly.
Jack Abbot is the best older brother you could have asked for. Yeah, there’s a big age gap—but he makes sure it never matters. He always found time to visit, even between deployments. He’s the reason you decided to get into the medical field, after all. Seeing what losing his leg did to him, you vowed from that moment on that you’d find a way to help people.
You’ve been working at PTMC for a while now, but recently you were switched over to the night shift. It’s the complete opposite of your brother; you’ve always been a morning person, and the quiet of the night never quite suited you. Still, you’re learning how to make it work.
However, a big part of that was coffee, and right now you couldn't remember where you had placed yours. After assisting on a motor vehicle collision patient, you were now on the hunt for your beloved drink. It wasn’t in the staff lounge or on any nearby crash carts. You felt as if you had searched the whole ER at this point.
“Parker, have you seen my coffee anywhere?” You asked as you walked up to her at the nurse's station.
“Is it the one by Jack's computer?” Parker asked.
Your eyes lit up, landing on the coffee cup sitting there, condensation beading along the sides from the melting ice.
Thank God for Jack for finding your coffee.
Grinning, you reached for it and took an excited sip — and froze. Sweet. Way too sweet. Full of sugar. Definitely not yours.
You scrunched up your face and set the cup back down. “Okay…” you muttered, feeling the sugar coat your tongue. “That is definitely not mine.”
Parker raised an eyebrow, trying not to laugh. “You look like you just tasted liquid betrayal.”
“Who could ruin coffee like this?” you asked dramatically, glaring at the cup as if it had personally offended you.
From behind you, a familiar voice drawled with perfect timing: “Me, sweetie,” John said, reaching for his coffee and smirking. “But I might have overdone it with the sugar… I call it my ‘sugar-shock in a cup’ special.”
You spun around, eyes narrowing in mock exasperation, while Parker snorted behind you. “Of course it’s you,” you said, rolling your eyes. “You can’t even leave the coffee alone, can you?”
“Well, sweetie,” John said, grinning, “I need something to cover me while you’re not there.”
Your gaze drifted back to the cup in his hand, and you shook your head slowly. “That should be illegal, you know.”
John glanced at his coffee. “What, the sugar?”
“The amount of sugar,” you corrected. “There’s probably more sugar in that than coffee.”
He hummed thoughtfully and took another sip. “My argument is that it keeps me, and my patients, alive.”
“So far,” Parker butted in, trying to ignore the ongoing eye-gazing between her two fellow co-workers.
You leaned a little closer to the counter. “Coffee is supposed to wake you up, not send you into a diabetic's coma.”
John smirked. “Bold words coming from someone who is currently going through caffeine withdrawals.”
You huffed, exasperated, and crossed your arms. “I just want my coffee!” You turned and walked away, continuing on your search for your coffee, still muttering about the sugar overload you had suffered while you dream of dark and bitterness.
John tilted his cup slightly, eyes following you. Quietly, to himself, he murmured, “Well… my taste’s is fine, because it picked you.”
Parker raised an eyebrow, suppressing a grin as she watched him, noticing the rare softness in his expression.
You had just left the staff lounge when you heard Shen call for assistance in trauma. You grabbed gloves off the wall and ran, slipping into your spot right next to him, who was already in his usual calm, commanding mode.
John took the lead, instructing the team on what to do, while your hands moved on instinct to hook up an IV line, glancing up only to check vitals. You found yourself working in perfect rhythm with him, as if you’d done it a million times before, even though it had only been a couple of nights together.
“Alright, the patient’s vitals seem stable,” John announced to the team. “Double-check the airway and make sure the fluids are running.”
You looked up at his side profile, and for a moment, that familiar flutter stirred in your chest, the one that had been creeping in the past few days. The patient was stable, but your mind couldn’t stop lingering on John and the way he guided the team. He made everything seem effortless, his confidence anchoring the room.
Midway through, the door slid open, and Jack slipped in, leaning against the frame just enough to watch. Shen hadn’t been attending very long, so Jack liked to pop in during traumas when he was free, to see if a hand was needed. No one noticed him; everyone was focused on the patient.
But Jack’s eyes found you. He watched you and John move together, seamless, efficient, almost like this was routine rather than new. His eyebrows lifted, caught somewhere between surprise and amusement at the way his sister and her colleague worked as if they were two halves of the same rhythm.
The room finally settled as the trauma was stabilized, monitors beeping steadily. Jack had slipped back out with the rest of the team, leaving just you and John standing over the patient.
You exhaled, letting your shoulders drop for the first time in the last tense minutes. “You make it look so easy, you know.”
John smirked, eyes glinting as he leaned slightly closer. “Easy? Only because you’re here to help, sugar.”
You froze for a second, then laughed softly, cheeks warming. “Sugar, huh? I can still taste it on my tongue.”
John leaned back slightly, still smirking, when the door slid open and Jack’s familiar voice cut through the moment. “Heads up, we’ve got another trauma coming in five.”
Your shoulders tensed again, and John’s eyes flicked toward the door, the easy playfulness giving way to focus. “Alright, sugar, lets go”
You rolled your eyes at the nickname but couldn’t help the small smile tugging at your lips. “Lead the way, Doctor Shen.”
Jack lingered in the doorway, arms crossed, eyebrows raised just slightly. You caught his glance, and he gave the faintest shake of his head, clearly amused. A moment of relief crossed his face, knowing that you were fitting in with the night shift, even if it was a little too close for comfort.
The chaos of the night was finally settling, the only sound the soft hum of the monitors that filled the ED. Soon the day shift would arrive for handoff, and you could finally grab some caffeine that had somehow eluded you all night.
John leaned against the counter beside you, a small, approving smile on his face.
“You were incredible tonight,” he said, eyes locked on yours. “Every time I needed something, you were already there.”
You shrugged, brushing a loose strand of hair behind your ear. “I guess… I just follow your lead.”
He chuckled softly, shaking his head. “No, really. You’ve got the skill and intuition like you were made to do this.”
You felt your cheeks warm, a small grin tugging at your lips. “Flattery now? Trying to get me to forgive you for that sugar disaster earlier?”
John smirked, eyes glinting. “Well.. about that,” he said, leaning a little closer. “How about I make it up to you? Take you out before the next shift, and you can show me what real coffee tastes like.”
Before you could reply, a familiar voice cut through the quiet of the ED.
“Did you ever get your coffee after?” Jack asked as he joined you two at the counter.
“I couldn't find it” you admitted, holding up your empty hand with an exhausted look on your face.
Jack’s grin widened, and he leaned in slightly, lowering his voice like he was sharing a secret. “Well… I put it in the freezer.”
Your eyes went wide. “The freezer?!”
“Duh,” he said, feigning exasperation. “Didn’t want your ice coffee to melt before you got it. I thought I was helping.”
You groaned, covering your face with your hand, half in disbelief and half in amusement. “You’re impossible.”
Jack’s mock-offended expression made you snort. “Impossible? Really?” he said, hands on his hips, pretending to be scandalized. “I just… got you a date and more coffee.”
You felt your cheeks heat up, realizing you’d probably just blushed out loud. Jack caught it instantly and fixed John with a mock-serious stare.
“Shen,” he said, voice low and firm, “since you’re a doctor, I expect you to be responsible… safe caffeine intake, understood?”
John blinked, caught somewhere between amusement and disbelief. “Uh… yeah, sure.”
Jack gave you a quick, approving nod, then winked before walking off toward his locker. “Enjoy your date, sugar.”
You let out a soft, flustered laugh, half embarrassed, half secretly thrilled, while John’s amused gaze lingered on you. Nothing was better for him than finding a fellow coffee lover and getting the brother’s approval.