AN: The was initially supposed to be an Ian x Reader fic but WHOOPS. This fic took me the longest to write out of any one-shots I’ve ever written. If you like this (or any of my other fics) you can leave a request. They’re always open!
Pairings: (fem)Reader x Courtney, OC x Ian
Word count: 4513
Warnings: Some fucks were given.
m.list
Y/n crouched behind the half wall with her partner in crime. Their targets were visible as they talked at the magazine counter. Y/n was trying to listen in on the distant conversation as the woman next to her kept burping.
“Sorry, Y/n.” The other woman said.
Y/n just waved off the apology. Her mission was still in motion and she wasn’t about to give it up anytime soon. She could see her goal coming to fruition shortly...she could almost touch it.
“It’s getting late, Y/n. I have to be up super early and so does Ian. Besides, didn’t you say that your sister had a flight in the morning?”
Y/n sighed. “Yeah, you’re right Courtney. Let me text Emma and pull her away without Ian seeing either of us.”
The woman took out her phone from her denim jacket pocket and began typing out a message to strategically extract her sister from the situation they were in. In the middle of her typing, she felt a hand on her arm.
“Is...is that my jacket?” Courtney forced Y/n to face her fully. “The one I misplaced a year ago and you claimed you had no idea where it went?”
Y/n didn’t look at her as she kept her phone out in an effort to seem too distracted to care. “No. Why would I still have any of your things? What’s the point of holding on to a broken-”
“Hey. Any reason why you asked me to stop talking to that super cute guy over there?” Y/n’s sister asked as she walked up to the other two girls. “We were having a wonderful conversation.”
Y/n began to pull her sister away by the arm. “You have a flight to catch in the morning. Let’s get back to my apartment to make sure you’re all packed and ready to go, yeah?”
Courtney watched them go with a disappointed expression.
Y/n listened to her sister talk on the phone to the people at the airline while she sat at the table with her cereal and orange juice. Apparently, Emma had been moved to a different flight without asking to be and the people on the other end of the phone were not helping matters.
“But that’s just it, I didn’t call to reschedule my original flight. I wanted to double-check my departure time and when I looked it up, it said that my flight had been rescheduled per my request. But I didn’t reschedule it!! Why would I reschedule my flight?! I have to go back to work.” She paused. “No, I need to get put back on the flight I was originally scheduled for. It’s the one I paid for. I didn’t ask to be moved. That’s not on me. I have a job to go to!”
The younger sister stayed silent as she watched her sister try to fix the problem she found herself in. It wouldn’t be an awful thing if Emma stayed an extra day or two, Y/n felt. It could be nice having someone else in the apartment. It got too quiet sometimes.
Y/n looked up when she noticed her sister took a seat across from her own. “So, what’s the verdict?”
The older sister put her head in her hands. “Can I stay an extra day or two? They’re refunding me but I can’t get on a flight for another few days. I truly hope my boss will give me the benefit of the doubt. I don’t know how I ended up in this situation, but here I am. Stuck in L.A.”
“Hey, don’t worry about it. We can do more things now that you’re gonna be here for a few more days. I feel like I don’t get to see you enough as it is. I miss my big sister.” The girl gave a pout.
“Aw, I miss you too. It’s weird not having you back home. Like, I fully realize that you’re a grown-ass adult but you’re still my baby sister. Just...not as annoying as you used to be. What, with all of your meddlings and getting into my things.” Emma smirked and Y/n laughed.
“Speaking of meddling, why don’t you come to work with me today? Check out what I do and stuff?” Y/n got up to put her dishes in the sink and started her tea kettle.
“How soon are you headed out?”
Y/n looked at her stovetop clock before responding. “Eh. In less than an hour.”
Emma stood up and walked towards the guest room she had been using during her stay. “Guess I better get ready so I can go see what my little sister does for a living. And then judge it harshly.”
The two had been in Y/n’s office for a couple of hours when Emma asked why it seemed so quiet.
“The cast is on location to film a sketch. They probably won't be back until later, if they come back at all. I work on unscripted content, so I’m not typically on the location shoots.” Y/n was typing something on her laptop as she replied.
“Didn’t you say you had a meeting in a few minutes?”
“Oh, frick! Oh my God.” The PA quicklu looked through her things and grabbed her needed materials. “It shouldn’t last for too long. I’ll order us lunch as soon as possible. There are some funny compilation videos that fans made that I’ve been watching already loaded up on my desktop if you want to see more of the people I work with.”
Y/n ran out of her office and across the building to the conference room. As she approached the room, she noted that the meeting hadn’t started yet and there were still a few people missing. She walked in and took a seat next to Matt Raub. Y/n discovered that the closer she sat to him, the less he called on her for things. He was on his laptop, probably going over the notes for the meeting. She took out her materials and got ready for what would hopefully be a short conference.
“Hey, Y/n.” Ian greeted as he walked into the room. “The front desk said you have a visitor today?”
The woman looked up from her notes from the previous meeting. “Yeah. My sister was supposed to fly back home today but something happened to her flight details and she's staying with me for a few more days. I hope it’s okay that she’s here. I’m not working on any shoots today so I thought she could visit and see what I do.”
“Yeah, that’s completely fine. We’re getting lunch after this. You should bring her with. Let us know more about you. And hey, if she’s cute…” The president of Smosh let his sentence drift off as he opened his laptop.
“Who’s cute?” Matt Raub looked up from his laptop as he finally joined in the conversation while the rest of the unscripted team filled in the room.
“Nothing, no one.” Y/n quickly replied as she waited for someone to officially start the meeting.
When the meeting finally ended, Ian reminded everyone that lunch was being brought into the break room and it was up for grabs. Y/n exited the room and made her way back to her office intending to convince Emma to eat anywhere that wasn’t there. What she didn’t expect to see was Courtney sitting in one of her chairs, chatting with Y/n’s older sister.
“It was really good to see you yesterday. I wish we would have had more time to hang out.” Emma finished once she noticed Y/n standing in the doorway.
The woman appeared to ignore the actress sitting in her personal space. “Hey, Emma, let’s go out and grab some lunch. I’m craving tacos.”
“I thought you guys were having lunch in the breakroom? I know Ian had ordered stuff.” Courtney mentioned but shrunk in her seat once she felt the heat coming from Y/n’s glare.
“Yes, thank you, Courtney. I had completely forgotten that. That is also an option. It’s up to you, Emma. Go out or stay in?”
Unsure about what was going on in the room, Emma replied with “I know you’re busy today. I don’t mind staying in so you can get more stuff done. Besides, it’s free, right? What’s better than that?”
“Literally anything, but you’re right. I should be responsible.” Y/n rubbed her forehead, she could feel a headache brewing. “Let’s head to the break room. You can meet my co-workers and work your magic. Maybe you can network and find yourself a new job here instead of back home? Be with your favorite little sister more often…”
Emma laughed as she stood up and the two left the room, having completely ignored Courtney. “You’re the one that was so desperate to leave home, Little Sister. I’m perfectly content with where I am. Maybe you should network yourself back home?”
Y/n stopped them before they entered the break room and gave her sister a deadpan expression. “You got jokes, I’ll give you that. My bosses are in here but they know you’re here. They sound like they genuinely want to meet you. Don’t embarrass me. I beg of you.”
The two walked in and were greeted by the sight of the unscripted production team socializing with each other. There was a mixture of people around laptops, which were probably being used by those that were trying to work through lunch. Except for Ian’s laptop though, of course. He, Matt Raub, and Monica seemed to be laughing at something on the screen. It worked out in Y/n’s favor, though, because she didn’t want to go through what Courtney went through. While yes, Ian would never take a joke too far with anyone on purpose, she wasn’t about to give him the chance to even try. She grabbed her sister’s hand and pulled her to the table that held the food. She signaled for Emma to fill her plate and they picked an unoccupied section of the room to sit and eat at.
Y/n was quietly digging into her food when one of the writers came up and asked for her opinion on something. After making Emma promise that she wouldn’t do something...older-sister-like (wander off and tell embarrassing stories about Y/n’s youth), she joined the writer at his laptop and helped him out. A few moments later and Y/n caught Ian and Emma in a conversation that had them giggling. She wasn’t quite sure how to feel about the sight. It made her feel...weird? She wasn’t sure if she liked it or not.
“I don’t know who that is that Ian’s talking to, but it’s nice to see? Isn’t it?” The writer asked while also watching the two from across the room.
Y/n looked at him with an eyebrow cocked. “That’s my older sister. He’s going to make it weird.”
He nodded in understanding. “Like with Courtney’s sister. I get it. But you have to admit, Y/n, they both look decently happy.”
“Yeah…” The woman muttered. “Frick.”
Y/n invited Emma back to the office the next day. The older sister almost declined, she needed a little bit more excitement in her day. Not that she minded a chill day every once in a while, but she didn’t want to do nothing again.
“No, today is going to be completely different. We have to film some things. Plus. you were requested to join a SMOSHcast recording if you want to. No pressure. It might be something fun to do? I don’t know why I said that as a question. It’ll for sure be fun. I've been on a few.” Y/n was pouring her tea into a SMOSH thermos to begin her day.
Emma sat at the kitchen table, half-eaten toast with peanut butter plated in front of her, thinking it over. “Hmm...on one condition.”
The producer cast a skeptical eye. “What?”
“You can’t get mad at me when I talk to Courtney.” Emma continued even though her sister had dramatically groaned. “She was a big part of your life. We’ve always been able to get along. I know that the two of you didn’t have the best ending in your relationship, and I’ll always support you. But Courtney and I have always been able to talk easily. It’s a little hard to turn a complete one-eighty. I haven’t seen either of you in person since before you guys broke up. It’s got to catch up with me. Please, just...give me a minute to get my feet on the ground. I’m not like you. You’re so much more fierce with how you handle the people around you. You love hard and if someone ruins that love, you nip them in the bud as soon as you can. I’m not like that.”
Y/n leaned against the kitchen counter as she crossed her arms and nodded, pondering what Emma was saying. “Yeah. I guess that’s why I like you so much. You’re more forgiving than I am to those that hurt those around me.”
Emma took a deep breath at her sister's words. “I’m sorry.”
“No!” Y/n quickly walked over to her sister and threw her arms around her shoulders. “Don’t be! I wasn’t saying that like ‘Oh, Emma never has my back.’ I meant it like, in a general sense. Like you know when to give someone more chances, but you don’t give too many. You know when to forgive and move on. You know how to separate past heartbreaks from the rest of your life, even if you work with them.”
“You can’t avoid her forever, Y/n. It’s like you said, you work with her. The two of you need to have a mature adult discussion and put it all behind you. I don’t think she realizes how much you’re still hurting over this.”
Y/n released Emma and moved back over to the counter to grab her morning beverage. “You’re right. I know you’re right. But first, I gotta leave before I’m late. I should have been in the car already. If you’re going to come with me, be in the car in ten.”
The two women walked onto the SMOSHcast set, not late enough to where they were already still recording, but late enough to warrant the jokes by the others. Ian was at the head of the table, being the host as usual. Courtney was next to him, much to Y/n’s demise. Emma took the seat next to Courtney to ease her baby sister’s mind, with Y/n taking the end. After they were fitted with headphones and set up with mic stands, they explained to Emma how things were going to go. Then everything went from there.
“Welcome back to another SMOSHcast.” Ian started.
Courtney chimed in with “anotha one”, which caused some giggles.
“Yes,” Ian continued. “That was the magnificent Co Mill.”
“Tis’ I. The actress of the table,” She greeted.
“And we have a special guest today. Well, we have two special guests. But one’s more…”
“I swear to God, Ian. If you say something along the lines of “more important” then I will get my revenge during a Pit video.” Y/n jokingly glared at her boss.
“Well, let’s start with you then. Today, we have Y/f/n Y/l/n, a producer for unscripted content here at SMOSH. She’s great. Even when she’s threatening me. She’s still pretty chill.” Ian looked from Y/n to Emma. “And then our extra special guest is Y/n’s older sister, Emma. She’s not on youtube, or in the industry, but there’s a very specific reason why I asked her to be on here today.”
“Thank you for having me, Ian. I listen to the episodes that my sister appears on and they’ve all been great, so far. I’m very thankful for your invite. You guys seem to have a good time.” Emma took a swig from her very own SMOSH thermos that was waiting for her at her seat when she had sat down.
“Thank you, Emma, for joining us today. How we usually do things is we’ll have some things written down to talk about, a soft outline to keep the show going, but most times we don’t stay on topic. It’s not hard, don’t worry. Just have a good time, okay?” The host
“Ah, yes.” Said woman hummed into the microphone. “The high point of my day. I know it’s only just starting, but I know I’ll enjoy it.”
“Things are about to get interesting for so many people today.” Ian chuckled into his mic.
“Hey, uh, Y/n. Are you as suspicious as I am, right now?” Courtney was looking straight at her, trying to convey that she felt that something was definitely off.
The two oldest at the table giggled, followed by Ian clearing his throat. “So let’s just get down to it before Ryan and Kevin get on me about not having enough material for posting.”
The cast recording went on as usual. They stayed slightly on topic, jokes were dropped roasts were had, serious conversation made it’s round. Things seemed mostly normal for a SMOSHcast, according to Y/n’s standards. Often, Ian or Emma would make a statement to the other person that would cause her and Courtney to glance at each other. They wanted to make sure that the other one caught what had happened.
At one point, Emma attempted a joke that only Ian laughed at. But it wasn’t just a pity laugh. It was almost as if there was an inside thought that only they were in on. Y/n kept shifting her eyes between the two of them. Something was up, she could smell it. At first, she thought the idea was to just make her feel uncomfortable, the way Ian did to Courtney about her older sister. The way the two of them were looking at each other, however, told a completely different story. There was something afoot, she just couldn’t figure out what it was yet.
After one final eye-lock with Courtney, Y/n decided she’d had enough.
“Alright,” she sat up straight in her seat. “What the actual fuck is going on? There’s a mystery amongst us and I don’t like not knowing what it is. Especially if it involves either myself or my big sister.”
“Yeah, you guys are acting v weird. Like v v weird.” The blonde actress chimed in.
The two seemed to have a silent conversation before Emma nodded and sat back in her seat, keeping her eyes on the host the entire time.
“So, Y/n, I convinced you to come on with your sister under the pretense that I wanted to harass you like I did with Courtney. Which, by the way, is one of my favorite jokes, mind you. But this time it isn’t a joke. I sincerely want you to know how I feel about Emma.”
Courtney giggled uncomfortably. “Why do I feel like we’re about to have the opposite of the divorce talk?”
“Oh my God.” Y/n breathed. “Because we are. I don’t...what? You guys JUST met this week. How...What?!”
“Well, Baby Sister, that isn’t exactly true. Ian and I found each other on your social media. Tweet replies happened...and then DM’s...and then texts...and then facetime. This week is just the first time I got to finally see him in real life. And I gotta admit,” Emma winked at the host. “I like in-person a heck of a lot better.”
Ian blushed and looked at his laptop while Y/n remained lost beyond all words. She watched her sister and then watched Ian. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. When had this all started? How deep into their relationship were they?
Ian leaned into his mic, but Y/n had a feeling it was because it got him closer to Emma. “I decided to bring this onto the pod because I wanted to share with everyone where I’m at in life and how I’m feeling about it. And honestly? Emma? I love you. And I’m very thankful that I get to have you in my life. I hope I get to have you next to me for a very long time.”
Y/n swallowed and put her hands on her headset before pulling them off and standing up. “Excuse me.”
She quickly walked off of the set. She kept her head down as she made her way to her office, ignoring the people in the hallways. Once she got to the room, she closed the door and started taking breaths. She didn’t understand her reaction but she couldn’t take it back. She couldn’t believe she walked out of the podcast recording. What was she thinking?
Y/n expected a knock on the door at some point, but what she wasn’t expecting was the person behind it when she opened it. Courtney shyly let herself in and closed the door behind her.
“We wrapped it up. Finnerty thinks there should be enough material, even if they take out the last ten minutes of what was recorded.”
Y/n sat at her desk and laid her head in her hands. “They don’t have to cut it out. It’s my fault, not theirs. They wanted to talk about it, so it should be heard. It shouldn’t be up to me.”
Courtney sat across from the producer. “You know Ian would never put something out there that made any of us uncomfortable. Yeah, it’s his love life, but it’s your family. We’re all family. We look out for another.”
“That’s not why I’m upset, Courtney!” Y/n threw her hands into the air. “I’m happy for them! If they make each other happy, then more power to them! It’s not about Ian and Emma. I mean, yeah, it triggered something. Because now I have to worry even more about my personal life and my business life fucking together. Because it went so well last time!”
Y/n realized she was shouting and apologized quietly to the other girl that had closed her eyes and stayed silent through the tantrum. Neither of them said anything for what felt like hours, but it was only minutes. The producer drummed her fingers on her desk as the actress nibbled at her lip.
“For what it’s worth,” Courtney started. “I’m sorry. About everything. Between us, I mean. I had no idea any of that was going to happen during the recording. But with you and I...we could have had a healthy breakup. Neither of us took it well and it didn’t help that I hooked up with some random friend the next day. It was only a distraction.”
Y/n looked up and met her eyes. “No, Courtney. You don’t owe me an apology. Not for that. We weren’t together anymore. You were allowed to do anything, anyone, that you wanted. That’s the freedom of not being in a relationship, right?”
“I did it because I knew you could see me. I played it off like ‘fuck it, I don’t care’, but really I knew at any given second you could catch us getting close. And for that, I definitely should apologize.”
Y/n gave a pathetic attempt at a smile to keep herself from crying. “I honestly loved you, Courtney. We were together before you were even out. I felt honored. And then right before you planned on coming out, we broke up. I thought that you were going to come out and that I would be right there with you.”
The tears seemed to be contagious, and Courtney started sniffling. “I wanted you to be there with me. I think I got scared. At first, I was so hyped, but when the day came...I thought it would be better for my image, or what the fuck ever lame excuse I had, if I came out and was single. But I think I was just scared of our relationship. I was absolutely falling in love with you, too, and it scared me. I hadn’t felt that way before and I just kept picturing it crashing. I had no clue how to save it if it did. I decided to hit the self-destruct button. It had to be easier if I was the one that ran it into the ground, right?”
“I was really mad at Emma yesterday when I came in here and watched how easily you two talked to each other. It’s been almost a year and I still don’t know how to ask you how your day has been. And when I saw you two laughing as if our breakup didn’t break me...I think I was jealous. Not because I want our relationship back, but because I wanted what we were before our relationship happened.” Y/n began wiping her nose with one of the tissues she kept by her monitor.
“I miss it, too.” Courtney gave a half-smile. “Maybe one day we could make it back there?”
“I’d like that, Court.”
“It wasn’t you guys.” Y/n found herself in Ian’s office with Emma sitting on his couch, coffee in the older sister’s hand. “I, in no way, am upset at you guys finding someone that you love. If I can speak frankly, I panicked because I saw my personal life and my professional life crumbling down around me and it terrified me. I can’t help the fact that you two found each other. And you two are not responsible for how I reacted. I’m still dealing with the last time those two parts of me crashed and burned. I want you guys to know how much you mean to me as individuals and I can’t wait to see how you two are together.”
Ian was sitting at his desk. He thought through Y/n’s words before carefully choosing his own. “I would never want to do something, as your boss, to make you feel uncomfortable outside of this building. If this isn’t for you, Emma and I being together, then let me know. Yeah, it might suck, but you were my producer before I met Emma. My first priority was and is my work. And you’re a part of that. So if it does start to be too much for you, then please let me know. Don’t ever feel like you’d have to choose between Emma or here.”
Y/n made her way to his side of the desk and hugged him around his shoulders. “I know this isn’t your thing but deal with it for a few seconds. Today has been a lot. We both need this.”
When Y/n released her hold she kept her hands on his shoulders. “But, real talk? If you hurt my big sister I’ll hide your body so fast, no one will know.”
Akan ada beberapa hal tentang rasa sakit yang akan selalu sama, kurasa. Di antaranya adalah bahwa ia tak pernah segera terasa ketika kau jatuh. Ia akan menunggu beberapa hari, dan biasanya hadir dengan perlahan di suatu pagi setelah tidurmu yang lelap. Setelah itu barulah ia menyiksamu.
Will terlelap sepanjang malam di hari ia tiba. Aku akan selalu mengingat Boston Memorial sebagai lorong-lorong putih dalam kesunyiannya yang pekat dan khas. Langkah kaki para perawat seolah berada dalam gerak lamban. Ritme lelah usai menit-menit gawat darurat yang menegangkan, layaknya baris koda dari sebuah lagu. Bulan Februari di luar jendela masih berwarna putih. Lampu-lampu kota menyilangkan sinar-sinarnya menembus pepohonan gundul yang ikut tertidur, menunggu matahari bersinar kembali. Malam akan berjalan lebih cepat mulai sekarang, dan siang akan mulai merangkak lebih lamban.
Hanya bagiku tak ada bedanya.
Aku masih berdentam-dentam, mengikuti detak jarum jam di dinding serta irama tetesan infus yang jatuh ke dalam selang dan mengalir ke bawah kulitnya. Rambutnya mulai tumbuh panjang hari itu, ia hanya mengguntingnya satu kali sejak hari terakhir di SMA. Ikal-ikal meliuk kecil menutupi lubang telinga dan membelit selang ventilator yang bertengger di hidungnya. Dalam skrub hijau rumah sakit aku berharap ia tetap hangat. Adikku pasti akan sembuh, pasti, pasti, pasti—detak jarum jam dan cairan infus itu ikut merapalkannya—dan aku tak ingat kapan mantra ini menidurkanku.
Hingga pada suatu detik segalanya seolah berhenti.
“William?”
Aku tak tahu aku atau dirinyakah yang lebih dulu terjaga. Dalam keremangan bangsal rawat matanya membuka dan bersinar terang, seperti setiap pagi buta di hari-hari sekolah di masa kecil kami. Aku mengerti diazepam hanya melumpuhkan reseptor periferal hingga beberapa jam, tapi ini belum saatnya ia terjaga. Ia tak seharusnya terjaga dengan cara seperti ini.
Sebelum aku sempat beranjak untuk memanggil perawat, kusadari ia hanya menatapku.
“Penghuni bangsal ini sebelumnya meninggal, Nicolas. Jatuh waktu berjalan keluar dari kamar mandi itu.”
“Apa?”
Namun hanya itu yang ia ucapkan. Aku menunggu kelanjutan yang seperti sinyal lemah di ujung telepon, dan ia hanya diam. Kutinggalkan kursi dan beranjak mendekatinya, dan saat itu mulai tak kuyakini apa kedua matanya benar-benar menatapku. Ia masih menatap, tetapi dengan sorot yang seolah menembus ke belakang kepalaku. Aku ikut menoleh ke belakang dan hanya mendapati dinding putih yang mengarah ke kamar mandi yang ia maksud. Apa yang Will lihat?
“Will—“
“Nicolas.”
Sinyal lemah itu masih berkedip pelan. Ia ingin mengucapkannya, dan aku mungkin tak akan mendapatkan saat ini lagi. Maka kukira aku hanya perlu mendengar, tak peduli itu hal paling absurd dari hal-hal absurd yang pernah ia lontarkan. Lengannya terangkat untuk menggapaiku; segera kuraih dan kuletakkan kembali. Nadinya harus tetap lebih rendah dari selang infus—aku bahkan tak ingat apa aku mengutarakan itu pada diriku sendiri atau hanya mengucapkan dalam hati dan ia ikut mendengar.
Di sisi ranjang rawatnya aku membungkuk. “Ada apa, Will?”
“Ingat suatu kali Ayah cerita sepulang berlayar?” bisiknya. “Dia diikuti tiga lumba-lumba di Selat Melaka, sepanjang laut, sampai kapal tiba di pelabuhan berikutnya. Kita belum lama pindah. Kamu dua belas tahun, gue sembilan. Di seberang rumah kita ada pohon kelapa yang tiap pagi dan sore dihinggapi burung yang sayapnya putih. Kadang-kadang di sana sepanjang hari.“
Suaranya serak dan rendah, tetapi ia tenang dan yakin dengan urgensi seolah harus menyampaikan segalanya saat itu juga. Hanya pemakaian kata ganti yang tidak konsisten itu, dan jeda-jeda yang tidak seharusnya yang membuatku yakin ia masih berada di bawah pengaruh obat bius. Dan aku sama sekali tak mengerti yang ia maksud. Masa kecil kami, dalam kenanganku, adalah rumah-rumah yang kami tinggalkan sebelum terlalu lama kami tempati dan kenangan akan kepergian dan kedatangan itu berlapis-lapis banyaknya. Aku ingat pohon kelapa itu, tapi hanya itu. Aku membutuhkan lebih lama untuk menggali rincian sisanya.
Sebelum segalanya hadir, Will telah kembali padaku lebih cepat. Kedekatannya terasa nyata dengan sorot mata yang kini benar-benar jatuh padaku, tidak lagi kepada bayanganku atau bayangan apapun di belakang sana yang sempat menciutkanku beberapa saat tadi. Will kembali, kini dengan kesadaran sepenuhnya.
“Aku tau kenapa burung itu ada di sana, Nick,” ucapnya.
Kurasa aku melihat kenangan itu lewat penglihatannya; pohon kelapa yang tinggi menjulang, pelepah-pelepah daunnya yang mengering dan menjuntai—satu embusan angin saja pelepah-pelepah itu pasti jatuh—dan buah-buahnya yang bundar dan hijau. Lalu seekor burung putih berparuh panjang di pucuknya. Hari itu Rabu, Will kecil dalam seragam sekolah berhenti di seberang rumah kami. Burung itu dari kemarin di sana, ujarnya kepada ibu kami.
“Burung itu dari kemarin di sana,” ulang Will. “Dia menunggu kawanannya.”
Seakan sebuah kelanjutan dari kisah yang membutuhkan sebelas tahun untuk ia tuntaskan. Kelegaan usai kisah itu menenggelamkannya kembali ke dalam ranjang rawat, selang-selang infus dan ventilator serta detak jarum jam. Aku melihat dadanya kembali naik dan turun dalam irama yang sama dengan tetes infus dan ia pun tertidur.
Aku tertinggal di sisi ranjang rawatnya, sendiri dihantui kenangan masa kecil kami.
*
Ayah pertama kali melihat mereka di perairan Sumatera; melompat-lompat di antara buih ombak, melayang dan tenggelam dalam lingkaran-lingkaran di ujung teropong di buritan kapal. Laut tenang dan kapal melaju pelan dengan sinyal kapal lain yang akan melintas dari arah pelabuhan. Ia akan mencapai daratan segera. Ada selang beberapa menit ketika ketiga mamalia itu menghilang. Kapal mengurangi kecepatan, tetapi sebelum Ayah meninggalkan buritan, larik-larik buih putih muncul di atas permukaan air dan tiba-tiba ketiganya telah begitu dekat. Melompat dari dalam air, dan melengkung tajam di udara sebelum kembali tenggelam. Pagi baru menjelang. Bila matahari sedikit lebih tinggi saja, sekumpulan ikan kecil yang mengikuti mereka akan terlihat tak jauh dari permukaan air.
“Small fish swim in schools, large fish swim alone,” ujar Ayah kepada kami.
“Lalu kenapa lumba-lumba berenangnya bertiga?” tanya Will. “Mereka kan besar.”
“Lumba-lumba bukan ikan, mereka mamalia,” jawabku sok tahu.
William, sembilan tahun, ingin ikut ayah berlayar untuk bertemu lumba-lumba ini. “Nanti pas libur sekolah,” pintanya. Tentu saja itu tak mungkin, kalau pun terjadi mereka tak mungkin masih di sana. Aku sudah cukup besar untuk mengerti. Aku pun sudah menghabiskan cukup waktu dengan ayah sejak sebelum ia hadir—satu hal yang Will tak miliki. Will lahir setelah ayah menjadi kapten dan waktunya di laut lebih banyak daripada waktunya di darat. Tahun-tahun ketika hubungan Will dan ayah menjadi sulit kuingat dengan lebih jelas, sebab terasa lama. Sebagai gantinya, ia dan ibu kami memiliki kedekatan yang tak bisa kumiliki.
Aku mengetahui cerita tentang burung putih itu dari Bunda.
“Kamu dengar itu, Nick?” ujar Bunda. Aku baru saja membuka buku PR dan ia berdiri di tengah jendela dapur, dengan leher terjulur ke luar. Sosoknya menghalangi cahaya. “Benar kata Will, burung itu di sana seharian, sepertinya di pohon kelapa yang itu. Lihat? Dengar suaranya? Uwu, uwu, uwu.”
Suaranya benar-benar seperti itu dan Bunda benar-benar menirukannya. Aku menatapnya dengan kening berkerut tak percaya. Aku tak mendengar apa-apa dan aku hanya ingin mengerjakan PR. Aku selalu mengira Will dan Bunda memiliki teritori sendiri, di mana mereka berdua dapat saling mengerti. Teritori itu tak bisa kumasuki sebagaimana yang menurut Will kumiliki dengan ayah. Maka, kubiarkan segalanya berlalu. Namun, beberapa malam setelah hari itu Will merayap naik ke tempat tidurku sesaat sebelum aku terlelap. “Dengar ‘kan, Nick? Burung itu lagi.”
Aku tahu kita membutuhkan kesunyian untuk benar-benar mendengar. Namun di tengah malam itu, saat polusi suara lesap dan frekuensi terkecil pun terasa dekat, kau mungkin tak yakin apakah suara itu benar-benar ada atau hanya gaung dari dalam kepalamu sendiri. Aku melawan kantuk selama Will menatapku lekat-lekat dalam penantiannya akan sebuah pengiyaan, sambil berupaya merasakan irama yang ia dengar. Mungkin benar-benar ada. Mungkin yang kurasakan hanyalah irama Will menirukan suara itu dalam hati, seperti ketika Bunda melakukannya. Maka aku pun mengangguk. “Uwu, uwu, uwu,” kataku. Ia tersenyum dengan kepuasan di matanya, senang sebab ia terbukti dan tak sendiri dengan pikirannya.
Will, adikku.
Tatapannya yang lekat itu—yang masih terasa seperti saat ia sembilan tahun—adalah yang terakhir kulihat ketika mereka menutup pintu bangsal rawatnya dan mendorongku keluar. Subuh bahkan belum menjelang, dan aku sudah membangunkan seisi rumah sakit. “Another relapse,” ia mengerang saat terbangun. Yang kutahu adalah Will ingin aku ada di sana. Namun, dalam kegesitan yang tak mampu kulawan, paramedis dan dokter dalam skrub hijau melesak masuk dengan arus yang menyeretku ke arah sebaliknya.
Ia membisikkannya lagi sambil menatapku pergi. Wajahnya terangkat kepadaku di antara bahu sepasang perawat, “Did you hear the bird, Nick?” lalu mereka merebahkan tubuhnya.
Di depan wajahku, pintu bangsal rawat berayun dan menutup rapat.
Rasanya seperti pengkhianatan. Rasanya seolah semua yang pernah kau cintai di dunia ini tiba-tiba berbalik membencimu.
*
William tak pernah sembuh, tapi tentu saja itu baru kuketahui lama kemudian.
Sweeney, perawat yang menutup pintu Will di depan wajahku itu kini hadir di lorong. Ia menarik pintu itu lagi hingga menangkup di belakangnya, kemudian duduk di bangku di sisiku dan berkata, “Istirahatlah, Mr. Hakim. Anda butuh itu dan nanti William juga. Biar para dokter dan perawat menangani adik anda untuk sekarang.”
Aku sudah mendengar itu berkali-kali meski tanggalan baru saja berganti.
Kuangkat wajahku, menatapnya. “Apa benar penghuni bangsal Will yang sebelumnya meninggal? Jatuh waktu keluar dari kamar mandi?”
Seketika kedua mata perawat itu menyala seperti jendela-jendela rumah di tengah malam yang mengerjap karena alarm berbunyi. Segera kusadari Will lagi-lagi benar, seperti tentang burung putihnya. Never mind, tukasku padanya segera.
Namun ia enggan melepaskannya. “Anda kenal Mrs. Montgomery?”
Don’t think about it, ma’am, ulangku. “Will pasti dengar itu dari perawat lain, dia memperhatikan dan mengingat semua hal. Saya terkejut tadi dia tiba-tiba menyinggung itu, itu saja. Saya kira dia melihat hantu di belakang saya atau apa.”
“Mr. Hakim, kami tidak membicarakan riwayat pasien di depan pasien lain,” ucapnya. “Dan William kehilangan penglihatannya beberapa saat sebelum serangan ini.”
Harusnya aku menyadarinya saat itu.
Harusnya segera kuterima kenyataannya; segalanya tak akan sama lagi. Will tak akan sembuh dan waktu yang disisakan bagiku untuk bersamanya mulai sekarang akan berjalan mundur, kembali lagi kepada saat kami belum sedekat ini, lalu kepada saat ia tak ada di dunia. Harusnya kusadari agar dapat kuhabiskan setiap detik sebesar-besarnya, merentangkan relativitas waktu sejauh-jauhnya. Kami bisa melintasi malam kota Brussel di dalam trem hingga pukul tiga pagi, seperti yang kulakukan untuknya setelah serangan pertamanya di SMA. Kami bisa pergi menonton Red Sox lagi, dengan tiket di baris depan seperti musim lalu. Ia selalu ingin menempuh perjalanan Road 66—harusnya kuluangkan waktuku di musim panas itu. Akan kuterangi setiap malamnya bila aku bisa, dan aku seharusnya memberi lebih banyak lagi. Namun, setelah malam itu, tahun-tahun yang terasa semakin pendek tetap tak membuatku sadar. Kukira ia akan terus ada.
Itulah hari-hari ketika doa-doaku tak terkirim.
William dilepaskan oleh Memorial setelah delapan hari perawatan, dengan jadwal terapi yang membuatnya tetap harus kembali secara berkala. Bulan Maret tiba, tetap putih, tapi matahari bertahan lebih lama. Kami mengemasi barang-barangnya dalam dua tas duffel yang akan kami bawa masing-masing. Ia kehilangan empat pon berat badan, berjanji untuk segera makan banyak, dan berupaya menutupinya dengan berlapis-lapis kaus dan jaket.
Di sisi jendela bangsal rawat itu ia mendorong binder birunya kepadaku.
Ini kali pertama ia mengizinkanku membacanya. Isinya Kalkulus; phi, alpha, beta, sigma yang penuh angka serta simbol-simbol algoritma. Apa-apa yang ia tulis di tempat tidur itu di malam dan siang ketika ia seharusnya tidur.
“Setiap simbol ini mewakili gerak semesta, iya kan, Nick?” ujarnya. “Massa, volume, kecepatan, luas. Phi bagi apapun yang melingkar, square bagi yang melipatgandakan diri. Kita percaya semesta luasnya tak terbatas, terus bergerak dan melebar sejak ledakan bintang tapi bila dikombinasikan dengan persisi tertentu, simbol-simbol ini membantu kita membaca arah dan pola pergerakannya. These are law.”
“That’s some finding,” kataku segera membaca apa yang ingin ia sampaikan. “Jadi apa hubungannya ini dengan burung putih di pohon kelapa di seberang rumah?”
“Lumba-lumba yang ikut ayah pulang waktu itu, Nicolas.”
Kedua matanya bersinar-sinar cerah, dan itu membuatku percaya ia telah sembuh. Binder biru tebal itu tergeletak di atas kasur di antara kami, dan aku akhirnya ikut duduk. Aku masih punya empat puluh menit sebelum kuliah berikutnya, maka kutunggu ia menyelesaikan teori ini.
“Waktu itu musim migrasi dan hewan berpindah ke tempat yang lebih menjamin kelangsungan mereka. Survival instinct—small fish swim in schools, large fish swim alone, remember? Pasti ada lebih banyak lumba-lumba, mamalia atau ikan besar lain yang tiba di pelabuhan di musim itu. Bukan hanya tiga yang mengikuti kapal ayah. Ikan-ikan besar ini membaca arus musim dan memilih perairan yang cerah dan tenang. Ikan-ikan kecil mengikuti mereka. Burung laut, yang ada di rantai makanan berikutnya, bermigrasi mengikuti perubahan suhu dan pergerakan ikan-ikan ini. Tapi di satu atau saat lain dalam migrasi itu, akan ada satu-dua yang tercecer dari kawanan. Glitch—malfungsi kecil sekalipun alam sudah berpola dengan sendirinya. Harusnya sudah ada algoritma yang mengukur pola malfungsi ini.”
Burung itu menanti teman-temannya, rombongan migrasi berikutnya. Siang dan malam bertengger di atas pohon kelapa itu karena itu puncak tertinggi di mana ia dapat didengar. Will mendengarnya. Bunda ikut mendengar. Aku tidak. Selamanya tak pernah tahu bagaimana ia menemukan jalan pulang atau pernahkah ia benar-benar pulang. Tidak ambil pusing. Bahkan ketika jawaban itu tiba di hadapanku di hari itu, yang kupikirkan adalah bagaimana Will sampai memikirkannya. Di sini, sekarang, dan di malam-malam ketika ia setengah tidur dan berada di bawah pengaruh obat bius.
“Dia menunggu kawanannya,” ia menegaskannya lagi, mengulang yang ia ucapkan di malam ia tiba seolah memastikan pintu belakang kisah itu telah benar-benar tertutup. Setelah belasan tahun, sebuah closure.
Ah, William.
“Tapi selama hari-hari itu, tidak ada yang datang.”
Lalu aku pun mengerti.
Aku melihatnya sejelas-jelasnya; sakit yang mendera Will dalam terpejam, denyut di belakang kepala, kegelapan di segala arah, dengan kebingungan haruskah ia menegar rasa nyeri itu dan bertahan. Atau inikah akhir? Hampir bisa kurasakan kalkulasinya akan peluang hidup yang sedang ia perjuangkan, melawan malfungsi yang harus ia jalani. These are law—akan tetapi malfungsi tertentu kadang tetap terjadi. Ia benar-benar berjuang. Will menghitung peluangnya sendiri hingga ia merasa tersesat seperti burung yang ia temukan waktu kecil. Terpisah dari kawanan migrasi, tak tahu haruskah ia melanjutkan perjalanan atau sudahkah saatnya pulang atau ke mana ia harus pulang. Dan kisah Ayah, beserta tiga lumba-lumba yang membuntutinya pulang hadir di waktu yang setepatnya; seperti setiap kenangan yang tak pernah keluar dari istana memori Will.
Tanyaku kemudian, “Terus lo dapat cerita soal Mrs. Montgomery dari siapa?”
Ia langsung menatapku dengan kening berkerut tajam. “Siapa itu Montgomery?” tukasnya, sepenuhnya bingung.
Jawaban itu tak pernah kutemukan.
Aku pun melepaskannya. Pasti perawat selain Sweeney, pikirku, atau pasien lain yang ia temui selagi aku tak ada. Sebab tak mungkin membuktikan kebenarannya juga. Seperti kisah tentang burung putih itu, aku tak menganggapnya penting. Dan seperti kisah tentang burung putih itu juga kurasa jawabnya baru akan kutemukan belasan tahun lagi.
Namun, aku benar akan satu hal. Rasa sakit akan selalu sama; ia tak segera datang ketika kau jatuh dan baru akan menyiksamu beberapa lama setelahnya. Hanya saja, bila kau beruntung dan benar-benar berjuang—seperti William ketika sosoknya melintasi lorong menuju elevator rumah sakit—lama-kelamaan kau akan ikut mencintai rasa sakit juga. Sebagaimana ia mencintaimu.
Kini aku yakin burung putih itu benar-benar ada. Aku tahu ia tak pernah menemukan kawanannya kembali. Tak pernah pulang. Pada akhirnya, dengan sekuat tenaga menciptakan habitat baru dalam keterasingan, berkawan dengan segala yang memungkinkan kelangsungan hidupnya.
Sebab keteguhan itulah yang membuat Will bertahan hingga begitu lama.
Pairing: Jared Padalecki x Reader, Past Jared Padalecki x Genevieve
A/N: Welcome to Part 8 of Break Even.
What am I gonna do when the best part of me was always you and
What am I suppose to say when I'm all choked up and you're OK
(Oh glad your okay now)
I'm falling to pieces yeah
I'm falling to pieces yeah
I'm falling to pieces
(One still in love while the other ones leaving)
I'm falling to pieces yeah
('Cause when a heart breaks no it don't breakeven)
You had been released from the hospital and you had put a restraining order on your now ex-boyfriend. You didn’t need him around you and cause you more harm than what he had already done.
Of course you had been jumpy for the months following after what had happened. But the time went by on set like it normally did, but you had noticed a few small changes that had happened around the set. Jensen and Misha were making sure that you were alright, acting like your big brothers to make sure that you wouldn’t have a nervous break down and be completely out of it during the rest of filming.
Another thing you had noticed that had changed during the filming of the rest of the season, Jared had come around more often and it was like before. He didn’t say anything about Genevieve and that was something that bothered you. You had known that Jared had fallen deeply in love with Genevieve and he suddenly wasn’t around her as often off of set? It couldn’t be because of what you had told him in the hospital. You weren’t about to break up a relationship because of the feelings that you had for Jared. It was something that you were just going to have to learn to let it all go.
But it wasn’t something that was going to be easy on you since you had been in love with him for so long. It was still hard to be around him even though he had come by so often after the takes were over. He always had said that he wanted to check on you and you believed him. After all you had given him quite the scare and he wanted to make sure that you were alright even though you had told him countless times that you were okay.on you since you had been in love with him for so long. It was still hard to be around him even though he had come by so often after the takes were over. He always had said that he wanted to check on you and you believed him. After all you had given him quite the scare and he wanted to make sure that you were alright even though you had told him countless times that you were okay.
You had just finished filming episode 1 in season 5 and you were just thankful that you were able to get off of your feet and relax some. Genevieve was back home looking for work again since they had killed Ruby off of the show. You groaned as you heard a knock on your door. You slowly got up to your feet as another knock on the door. “Hold on. Hold on. I’m coming.” You said with a groan as you went towards the door. You slowly open the door and your eyes went wide when you saw Jared standing there outside of your trailer. “Jared…” You said softly letting out a soft gasp.
Jared ran a hand through his thick chocolate locks. “Hey Y/N…” He said softly his lower lip going in between his teeth nibbling on it in nervousness.
You leaned against the door jam and looked at the taller shaggy haired man. “Why are you here?” You asked wondering why Jared was here.
Jared smiled sheepishly at you. “I was wondering if I could talk to you…”
You let out a soft breath and moved out of the way allowing the taller man into your trailer. You knew that you were probably going to regret this later.
Jared slowly came into your trailer.
“I thought that you would be flying down to California to see Genevieve.” You said as you closed the door. You hadn’t noticed his face wincing at the name of his girlfriend. You turned and looked at him.
Jared rubbed the back of his neck. “Ah, no actually not this weekend.”
You pursed your lips together nodding your head. “What did you want to talk about?” You asked as you crossed your arms looking at Jared.
“I wanted to see how you were doing.”
You blinked a few times at what he had said. He wanted to check on you? “You wanted to check on me? Why?”
Jared ran a hand through his hair which you knew was a nervous habit that he had since you had known him since the two of you were younger. “You hardly say anything to me any more.” He admitted softly.
“Jared there’s nothing to talk about okay?” You said softly moving around him to avoid his touch if he tried to grasp onto you. “You’re happy with Genevieve.” You rubbed your arm softly. “And I’m not going to get in the way of that.”
“Y/N…”
“You should go and see her this weekend Jared.” You said softly as you felt your heart crumbling inside of your chest. Jared had a woman that loved him and there is no way that she would want him hanging out with you.
“Y/N…”
“Jared… please.” You said softly as you slowly moved away from him. You didn’t want to be around him. “Just go and spend time with your girlfriend.”
“Y/N… why are you…”
“Jared just please… I can’t do this right now.” You said softly.
Jared let out a soft sigh. “Okay…” He knew that once your mind was made up there was no way that you would change it. “I’ll see you later.” He said softly as he went towards the door. He had wanted to tell you something and you just weren’t allowing him to tell you and that was hurting him. He couldn’t believe that you weren’t allowing him to tell you what was on his mind. But perhaps you just needed more time and he was willing enough to give it to you.