Thay Smith

Nurse//She//Her RP Account {The Pitt}

[thailovemeds]

INTRO POST

Helloo My name is Thay Smith Larrison.

I am 28 years old.

I am a nurse at The Pitt. I usually work the night shift. But there are days when I end up working double shifts or switching shifts.

And thats it.

OOC:

Well, I do role-playing and also answer questions, so the question box is open to everyone.

I do OCxOC and OCxCanon.

I do NSFW RP, but only with 18+ persons!!

Bye!

Thats my outher acc @medicinestars

[milo-medicine]

Coffee for Night Owls

closed starter for @thailovemeds

------ 🚑 ------------ 🚑 ------------ 🚑 ------

Milo waited quietly in the ambulance bay, the agreed upon meeting place for what was going to be his first date in a while. Was he nervous? yes. was he excited? also yes.

He bounced on his toes as he waited patiently, watching over the horizon for Thay's gorgeous swaying braids and radiant smile.

and sure enough, not too long, and she was there.

"Hey cutie!" Milo called, jogging up to meet her. "ready for whatever the day brings?" he asked. Milo hoped she couldn't feel his heart beating out of his chest when they hugged.

[thailovemeds]

Thay felt equally anxious; moments before, she had been compulsively fixing her clothes, her hair, and everything about herself. It was her first date in months!

However, the moment she saw Milo, noticing that he also seemed anxious, she calmed down a little internally.

"Always ready!" She said after breaking away from the hug, a nervous smile on her face.

"Well, what has the 'clueless' prepared for today?" She joked while adjusting her bag.

[milo-medicine]

Milo's face fell flat for a second, though he was prepared for this. He pulled something out of his pocket. he slammed a sticky note that read "proudly romantically a moron" onto his chest and continued walking with her.

"we can do anything you'd like, though i know that the first plan was coffee," he mentioned, pointing to the little local coffee shop a block away from them.

"then, maybe a park walk or i heard the museum has one of those new pop up exhibits if you'd like," he offered.

Milo let his hand swing at his side, free for Thay to take if she wanted. and god, Milo hoped she'd take it.

[thailovemeds]

Thay gave an honest little laugh, finding him adorable. It was one of the things she liked about Milo so far, and she was also eager to discover others.

"Oh, I love museums, I used to enjoy going with my father when I was younger. Can we go after the coffee?" She kept smiling; after all, she was cheerful.

Well, unfortunately she hadn't noticed Milo's desire to hold hands. She was distracted looking at the scenery around them.

"By the way, I loved your sticky note. Are you really such a 'romantically moron'?" She adjusted her reddish jacket. Which matched perfectly her white dress with red details.

[milo-medicine]

Milo shrugged, "so i've been told. i tend to get called "clueless" by pretty much everyone, but mostly its just from me not wanting to jump to conclusions." he explained, "sometimes social cues get a little mixed up for me, so like, i always feel like its better not to assume things, ya know?" he said.

"and yeah!" he cheered. "coffee and a museum, sounds like a plan." he smiled widely, "i always love the exhibits of all the different animals and like the dinosaur skeletons. its cool." he explained.

"by the way?" he asked, looking towards Thay with another nervous grin, "what's your coffee order, i'm buying, my treat." he told her, patting the pocket of his gray jeans where his wallet sat.

[thailovemeds]

She looked away, lost in thought. She wasn't very good at making decisions, but she tried to be quick.

"Iced coffee, I like it." She looked at him again, becoming slightly embarrassed. "Also...You don't need to do that."

"Do you have difficulty with social cues, especially in the romantic or general sense?" she asked, trying to change the subject, as they approached the café. But also curious to know him better.

[milo-medicine]

"ahh, I'm a peppermint mocha kind of guy myself. Mocha and oat milk so I don't- like- die." he explained with a bark of a laugh. "of course i do, the boy always pays for the pretty lady's drink," he said with a strong nod.

He shrugged. "i dunno, i mean, sometimes its confusing? like, does going on one date mean you're dating or did you just go on a date, you know? and like, i dunno. i just work better when there's clear parameters. like is the patient in normal sinus rhythm or not? that's something you can figure out. the social expectations are just like- i dunno. i was never good at them. but like, i was the youngest where only my very probably autistic cousin hung out with me, so i kind of see where i got it from." he explained.

"but- that's- that's a whole complicated thing." he waived off. "how about you? tell me a little about yourself!"

[thailovemeds]

She smiled, understanding a little of what he meant. Even though she didn't share the same feelings, she wanted to know about it and understand him.

"Well, I usually understand some social stuff. Like, it's something that, being a woman, especially a black woman, I need to learn....Uuh like, after all, we live in this world..." She said in a somewhat melancholy voice.

"Have you ever considered the idea of being autistic as well?" she asked delicately, knowing it might be a somewhat difficult subject.

[milo-medicine]

Milo froze in his tracks. "i- uh-" he stuttered.

"a little brave for a first date, aren't we?" he laughed. "uh- no. no i haven't." he coughed out quickly.

This is what always happened. People start digging too far past the Milo façade and they didn't like him anymore. people always chased after the happy cheery Milo. the one who made dumb jokes and was ripped like a fireman. not the Milo who was slowly coming to the forefront with every moment.

Its not like there was anything wrong with the possibility. It was just-

Nobody ever stayed after he felt comfortable enough to unmask the true Milo around them.

He quickly shoved his hands in his pockets. "so- uh. got any good stories from being a nurse?" he asked, very pointedly trying to change the subject.

[thailovemeds]

She looked at him, saying nothing for a few seconds, not wanting to pressure him into talking about himself; after all, they hadn't known each other for very long. Then, upon hearing the question, she simply let the conversation flow.

"Well... Depends. Do you want a funny, sad, or weird story?" she said with a small smile, enjoying the moment; she likes talk about medicine.

[milo-medicine]

"whatever you want to tell, and i have stories in spades from shit i've seen, so go for it. whatever mood you're in." he told her with a large grin. he had bounced back rather quickly, putting a smile back on and carrying on with a spring in his step.

"though i will warn you, most of mine are mainly just 'yea dude you totally slipped and fell on that cucumber' kind of stories." he laughed. "though there are also the stories of creative ways combative patients have attacked me, but those are less fun."

Milo smiled, opening the door for Thay when they got into the coffee shop. "order whatever you like, seriously, it's all on me." he offered with a grin.

[thailovemeds]

She laughed genuinely as she walked through the door. She understood well what those "slipped on a cucumber" situations were like; after all, she'd dealt with a few before.

"How romantic!, opening the door for me!" Thay joked as she walked, turning to the server. Taking a moment before ordering an iced caramel coffee from the server, who looked tired.

Then she turned back to Milo.

"Your comment reminded me of a website that talks about 'bizarre things people have put on themselves.' They update the list every year." She put a hand to her cheek, thinking. "If I remember correctly, there was a girl who put a hamster...like, you know"

[milo-medicine]

"yeah, turns out that hamster thing happens more often than you'd think," he said quietly, now that they were in a public space. "its- its real sad to be honest with you. the poor little guys."

"do you want a muffin or something?" he asked her after he put in his order, "anything you want, cutie, i'll pay for it."

Milo smiled, handing over the cash once Thay had put in her order and pulling her to the side of the room to wait for their respective goods.

[thailovemeds]

The moment they sat down at the table, Thay began to speak, asking new questions.

"Well, why did you agree to go out with me?" she asked, resting her elbow on the table and putting her chin on right hand. Her dark eyes staring at him. "Like, I'm just a nurse who said you were cute."

[milo-medicine]

Milo was caught a bit off guard at the forwardness.

"well, i mean," he paused. "i like people. i crave people, actually. and well, you're kind, and funny, and like, drop-dead pretty." he gushed, bashfully fiddling with his sleeve cuffs. "plus, you're super sweet, and well, you showed interest in me, so i kind of jumped at it."

"its not usual that people make the first move at me. i'm used to chasing, its nice to be noticed sometimes." he explained.

his demeanor changed, resting both elbows on the table and resting his chin on his hands, batting his eyelashes like a cartoon character. "what about you? what made you wanna take little ol' me up on a date??"

[thailovemeds]

Milo's statement made Thay thoughtful, why would he feel that way?, she thought. After all, she herself liked Milo's personality and was curious to find out more about him. So, why would he have to try so hard just to receive a little affection?

Before she could ask more, his question caught her off guard. Making her sit straighter and look out the window, lost in thought.

"Well, while I was working, I ended up seeing you quite often. And I felt that you... were alone, you know? Which, by the way, made me curious." She placed her hand on the table, fidgeting with her fingers, still thinking about the lectures. Milo could see her nails painted with an apple-like texture.

"And like, I thought you were handsome and kind of cute, so I thought, why not? You seem nice, after all, when people weren't worried about you, they seemed... I don't know, happy?"

[milo-medicine]

"oh uh right-" Milo mumbled, "sorry about that... whole... thing."

He stood up when his name was called, carrying the paper treat bag in his teeth and the two coffees in his hands.

"for you, m'lady," he said through the bag in his mouth. he put down the things on the table, sliding the coffee towards Thay and opening the bag.

"yeah i, i mean, you were right about me kind of being alone. but yeah." he rambled. "i'm flattered you thought i was cute though." he told her with a wink.

"i will warn you though-" he said, fighting with the paper wrapper of his straw before giving up and stabbing it onto his thigh to break the seal. "Max -Doctor Nightingale, you've probably met him- has a bit of a habit of trying to either scare or like, warn people i'm a dumbass or something." he added.

[thailovemeds]

She squinted, trying to remember, before raising her eyebrows in a gesture of understanding.

"Oh yes, I know him. Are you two friends?" She looked at him as she calmly opened the straw and placed it in the plastic cup.

[milo-medicine]

"Max is my cousin. our parents are twins. his dad, my mom." he explained. "we're basically brothers though, he kind of raised me- like i mentioned earlier."

"hes really protective of me. i think he still sees me as that little baby that got ejected from my mother and not, ya know," he gestures to himself, "big boy Milo,"

he inwardly cringed for a moment at his choice of words. that was going to be a weird thing to explain to her.

[thailovemeds]

"Oh, I understand. I have many siblings, so it's quite common for the older ones to be very worried about you. It's not because they think you lack independence." She drank her coffee.

"But yea, these situations suck sometimes." She shrugged, watching him, trying to make him comfortable.

"Anyway, have you tried talking with him about it? About your feelings?" She was still looking at him; you could see in her eyes that she was analyzing his entire face. Maybe attracted, maybe worried... it's impossible to know.

[milo-medicine]

Milo squirmed under her gaze, the confidence of 5 minutes ago having once again washed away completely.

Milo looked down to his coffee, stirring it with his straw for a second before taking a sip. "oh believe me. we have done enough talking recently." he mumbled.

Milo cleared his throat, "anyways, shall we?" he asked, gesturing to outside the coffee shop. "or do you want to finish our drinks here, then go hit up the museum?"

it wasn't that he didn't like deep topics, it was just that he wasn't sure he wanted to start sobbing in public on a first date.

[thailovemeds]

"No, we can go if you want." She smiled, despite noticing the change of subject...again.

But she still chose to respect it, as she didn't want to rush things. She knows that everyone has their own time to say certain kinds of things.

"What kind of milk do you prefer? Since you, you know, are lactose intolerant." She asked randomly while grabbing her bag.

[milo-medicine]

"i like oat milk. it tastes the least non-milk to me." he explained. "though i won't lie i will in fact indulge in dairy like my belly isn't gonna immediately make me regret it." he explained with a laugh.

"lactaid is like, my best friend. I always have that shit on me," he said proudly, taking a sip of his drink and reaching into his shirt pocket, pulling out a little foil packet of the aforementioned medicine.

"what about you, what's your milk of choice?" he asked. "even though i take it you're not stricken with the icecream-punishment-disease."

[thailovemeds]

"Oh,I've never tried other types of milk." She chuckled slightly. "So normal milk is okay for me. Although I don't drink it all the time, I don't particularly like the taste."

"I'm kind of picky about food." She adjusted her hair as she began to walk beside him. Looking at the city again and thinking quietly.

[milo-medicine]

"oh, picky how?" he asked genuinely, "i'm used to like, people really not liking certain things. Max will revolt at most potato dishes. i bet i can adapt to whatever isn't to your taste either."

"like i cannot handle squishy foods. or like, strangely enough? creamed corn or anything really grainy but a liquid. like pea soup. it tastes good but the texture is the devil," he scrunched his nose as he walked. "yeah. no. bleh."

[thailovemeds]

""Oh, yes, I hate pea soup! It was practically torture when my mother made it." She frowned slightly as she remembered this.

"Well, I don't really like boiled eggs, fish or seafood, peanuts...Uh, bananas, lollipops. And a list I can't remember." She laughed, her eyes closing in the process, showing she was genuinely happy.

"Anyway, you don't need to adapt to me. I usually try to make myself experience new things." Their eyes met. "Anyway, Tell me a fun facts about yourself."

[milo-medicine]

"no lollipops??" he asked, fake exasperated. "damn. more for me i guess." he said with a shrug.

"i dunno if i have many very fun facts," he rambled, "well i mean i have a cat i found in a dumpster named Pickles, my family owns a multi million dollar mining enterprise, when i go to the theatre i pretend i have boobs so i can smuggle dollar store candy in-" he listed, trying to gloss over the middle one.

the second thing that always happened on dates, was that people would get nervous about the whole "gold mining nepo baby" thing.

[thailovemeds]

"Owo, calm down, that's a lot of facts!" She laughed as she processed the information. Well, she was really surprised that Milo came from a wealthy family. However, she noticed the way he acted about it, So he decided not to pay too much attention to it, after all, it wouldn't completely shape his personality.

"What do you mean by this story about the theater and boobs?" She looked at him, somewhat confused, firstly because she didn't understand much about theater, and secondly because imagining the scene sounded hilarious.

[milo-medicine]

"oh!" Milo smiled. "i go to the store, then i like, shove the candy bags in my shirt so like, you know. i have fake boobs. candy implants." he explained.

"it works like 50% of the time." he shrugged. "it turns out when you abandon your shame at the door, you can cheat the system a lot easier. also you pay a dollar for m&ms instead of like eight."

"what about you? what are some fun facts about you? this should be a two-way interrogation," he joked.

[thailovemeds]

"Hmmm...Well, for a long period of my life I was interested in fashion, like a really deep obsession. So I know a lot of concepts in the field, because I studied it like a university student." She laughed as she remembered that.

"I enjoy studying sociology and I also enjoy reading." She looked at Milo again, ready for more questions.

"Do you usually have curious people like me on a first date? Or did I surprise you?"

[milo-medicine]

"ooh a fashion girlie," he smiled, nodding along with her. "i like it, i like it."

He shrugged, taking the steps to the library quickly and waiting for her at the top before opening the door for her again.

"I dunno, i mean, i'm usually the one who's asking all the questions. It's kind of refreshing that the tables are turned, ya know?" he shrugged, "usually people are way too nervous around me. especially like, after they find out about... certain parts." he gestured around vaguely.

"yeah, its refreshing." he smiled, turning to the girl at the counter and buying two adult day passes.

[thailovemeds]

"You don't have to pay for everything for me," she commented, embarrassed again. She usually liked being more independent and paying for her own things; after all, that's how she was raised.

"Also...Which parts? Its about you...uh, being from a rich family?" She looked at him calmly, without judging anything about him. "Actually, that intrigues me. Why do you think people act differently? Like, in your opinion, what makes them act that way?" She asked quickly, before Milo could answer anything.

[milo-medicine]

"but i do, i always pay for first dates." he nodded.

Milo went quiet. "i dunno. me and Max kind of came to pittsburgh to escape our fame. back in Dawson everyone knew us and always wanted a chunk of the money from dating us. but like, we're just regular people. most of the money gets filtered back into the business. we're not stuck up. just- people." he tells her.

"a lot of people see our worth in cash, not personality. so like. i dunno-" he pulls her arm in, wrapping the wrist band onto her before securing his own. "i know i'm shit at hiding it, but i want people to like me for me, not the fact my family pulls precious metals out of the earth, you know?"

[thailovemeds]

"Yeah, get it. I think it's totally fair you feel that way." She smiled as she watched him wrapping the wrist band on her arm. She liked his kindness.

"Just so you know, I don't care about that. I like you for the way you treat me." She made eye contact, a genuine smile on her face. "And you're doing very well at it so far."

She approached him and kissed him on the cheek, making him stop what he was doing. So, somewhat embarrassed, she simply walked ahead through the museum, waiting to see if he would follow her or not.

[milo-medicine]

Milo's heart stopped for a moment, he dramatically punched his chest for a second before following Thay into the museum.

He tried not to let his blush creep up any higher than it was already, taking in a deep breath and catching up to the girl. He linked arms, taking her in stride to go look at the first exhibit.

"so, what does a cutie do for fun other than psychoanalyze any boy she meets?" he asked, "or is that just a party trick reserved for the one's you want to kiss?"

[thailovemeds]

"Hmm, generally I want to kiss the ones who are interesting, so I end up asking a lot of questions." She took his hand, without shame, smiling only slightly, though there was still a hesitation.

""Usually, to have fun, I like to go out to museums, clothing stores, art galleries, or bookstores. But I also love staying home; it's comfortable." She shrugged, "And you? What do you do for fun? You let the girls you like analyze you and tell them about yourself?" She teased him, particularly enjoying that 'flirty" game.

[milo-medicine]

"well maybe what i like to do for fun is bring cure girls who analyze me back to my apartment and eat dinner and watch movies and let them sit on my lap and make out and then sleep over." he told her casually.

"but i guess between shifts i like to bake, i hang out with my cat Pickles and..." he trailed off, trying to find a way to describe what was about to come next. "I just try to relax, sometimes i colour, i found these cool lego sets i'm building." he explained. "i'm used to a fast paced work, so like, its nice to take it slow sometimes."

"do you like animals?" he prayed she wasn't allergic.

[thailovemeds]

The first sentence made her blush, and at the same time, she wished for such a thing... It would be nice, she thought. However, she put that aside and tried not to seem so embarrassed.

"I like animals. I love most of them, especially cats... But my father didn't like them, so I never had one." She said neutrally, almost as if she didn't care so much now.

"Yeah, I liked your first hobby. I'd love to try it someday." She flirted, almost as if she wanted to dominate the situation; she liked seeing Milo embarrassed, it made him look even more handsome.

[milo-medicine]

Coffee for Night Owls

closed starter for @thailovemeds

------ 🚑 ------------ 🚑 ------------ 🚑 ------

Milo waited quietly in the ambulance bay, the agreed upon meeting place for what was going to be his first date in a while. Was he nervous? yes. was he excited? also yes.

He bounced on his toes as he waited patiently, watching over the horizon for Thay's gorgeous swaying braids and radiant smile.

and sure enough, not too long, and she was there.

"Hey cutie!" Milo called, jogging up to meet her. "ready for whatever the day brings?" he asked. Milo hoped she couldn't feel his heart beating out of his chest when they hugged.

[thailovemeds]

Thay felt equally anxious; moments before, she had been compulsively fixing her clothes, her hair, and everything about herself. It was her first date in months!

However, the moment she saw Milo, noticing that he also seemed anxious, she calmed down a little internally.

"Always ready!" She said after breaking away from the hug, a nervous smile on her face.

"Well, what has the 'clueless' prepared for today?" She joked while adjusting her bag.

[milo-medicine]

Milo's face fell flat for a second, though he was prepared for this. He pulled something out of his pocket. he slammed a sticky note that read "proudly romantically a moron" onto his chest and continued walking with her.

"we can do anything you'd like, though i know that the first plan was coffee," he mentioned, pointing to the little local coffee shop a block away from them.

"then, maybe a park walk or i heard the museum has one of those new pop up exhibits if you'd like," he offered.

Milo let his hand swing at his side, free for Thay to take if she wanted. and god, Milo hoped she'd take it.

[thailovemeds]

Thay gave an honest little laugh, finding him adorable. It was one of the things she liked about Milo so far, and she was also eager to discover others.

"Oh, I love museums, I used to enjoy going with my father when I was younger. Can we go after the coffee?" She kept smiling; after all, she was cheerful.

Well, unfortunately she hadn't noticed Milo's desire to hold hands. She was distracted looking at the scenery around them.

"By the way, I loved your sticky note. Are you really such a 'romantically moron'?" She adjusted her reddish jacket. Which matched perfectly her white dress with red details.

[milo-medicine]

Milo shrugged, "so i've been told. i tend to get called "clueless" by pretty much everyone, but mostly its just from me not wanting to jump to conclusions." he explained, "sometimes social cues get a little mixed up for me, so like, i always feel like its better not to assume things, ya know?" he said.

"and yeah!" he cheered. "coffee and a museum, sounds like a plan." he smiled widely, "i always love the exhibits of all the different animals and like the dinosaur skeletons. its cool." he explained.

"by the way?" he asked, looking towards Thay with another nervous grin, "what's your coffee order, i'm buying, my treat." he told her, patting the pocket of his gray jeans where his wallet sat.

[thailovemeds]

She looked away, lost in thought. She wasn't very good at making decisions, but she tried to be quick.

"Iced coffee, I like it." She looked at him again, becoming slightly embarrassed. "Also...You don't need to do that."

"Do you have difficulty with social cues, especially in the romantic or general sense?" she asked, trying to change the subject, as they approached the café. But also curious to know him better.

[milo-medicine]

"ahh, I'm a peppermint mocha kind of guy myself. Mocha and oat milk so I don't- like- die." he explained with a bark of a laugh. "of course i do, the boy always pays for the pretty lady's drink," he said with a strong nod.

He shrugged. "i dunno, i mean, sometimes its confusing? like, does going on one date mean you're dating or did you just go on a date, you know? and like, i dunno. i just work better when there's clear parameters. like is the patient in normal sinus rhythm or not? that's something you can figure out. the social expectations are just like- i dunno. i was never good at them. but like, i was the youngest where only my very probably autistic cousin hung out with me, so i kind of see where i got it from." he explained.

"but- that's- that's a whole complicated thing." he waived off. "how about you? tell me a little about yourself!"

[thailovemeds]

She smiled, understanding a little of what he meant. Even though she didn't share the same feelings, she wanted to know about it and understand him.

"Well, I usually understand some social stuff. Like, it's something that, being a woman, especially a black woman, I need to learn....Uuh like, after all, we live in this world..." She said in a somewhat melancholy voice.

"Have you ever considered the idea of being autistic as well?" she asked delicately, knowing it might be a somewhat difficult subject.

[milo-medicine]

Milo froze in his tracks. "i- uh-" he stuttered.

"a little brave for a first date, aren't we?" he laughed. "uh- no. no i haven't." he coughed out quickly.

This is what always happened. People start digging too far past the Milo façade and they didn't like him anymore. people always chased after the happy cheery Milo. the one who made dumb jokes and was ripped like a fireman. not the Milo who was slowly coming to the forefront with every moment.

Its not like there was anything wrong with the possibility. It was just-

Nobody ever stayed after he felt comfortable enough to unmask the true Milo around them.

He quickly shoved his hands in his pockets. "so- uh. got any good stories from being a nurse?" he asked, very pointedly trying to change the subject.

[thailovemeds]

She looked at him, saying nothing for a few seconds, not wanting to pressure him into talking about himself; after all, they hadn't known each other for very long. Then, upon hearing the question, she simply let the conversation flow.

"Well... Depends. Do you want a funny, sad, or weird story?" she said with a small smile, enjoying the moment; she likes talk about medicine.

[milo-medicine]

"whatever you want to tell, and i have stories in spades from shit i've seen, so go for it. whatever mood you're in." he told her with a large grin. he had bounced back rather quickly, putting a smile back on and carrying on with a spring in his step.

"though i will warn you, most of mine are mainly just 'yea dude you totally slipped and fell on that cucumber' kind of stories." he laughed. "though there are also the stories of creative ways combative patients have attacked me, but those are less fun."

Milo smiled, opening the door for Thay when they got into the coffee shop. "order whatever you like, seriously, it's all on me." he offered with a grin.

[thailovemeds]

She laughed genuinely as she walked through the door. She understood well what those "slipped on a cucumber" situations were like; after all, she'd dealt with a few before.

"How romantic!, opening the door for me!" Thay joked as she walked, turning to the server. Taking a moment before ordering an iced caramel coffee from the server, who looked tired.

Then she turned back to Milo.

"Your comment reminded me of a website that talks about 'bizarre things people have put on themselves.' They update the list every year." She put a hand to her cheek, thinking. "If I remember correctly, there was a girl who put a hamster...like, you know"

[milo-medicine]

"yeah, turns out that hamster thing happens more often than you'd think," he said quietly, now that they were in a public space. "its- its real sad to be honest with you. the poor little guys."

"do you want a muffin or something?" he asked her after he put in his order, "anything you want, cutie, i'll pay for it."

Milo smiled, handing over the cash once Thay had put in her order and pulling her to the side of the room to wait for their respective goods.

[thailovemeds]

The moment they sat down at the table, Thay began to speak, asking new questions.

"Well, why did you agree to go out with me?" she asked, resting her elbow on the table and putting her chin on right hand. Her dark eyes staring at him. "Like, I'm just a nurse who said you were cute."

[milo-medicine]

Milo was caught a bit off guard at the forwardness.

"well, i mean," he paused. "i like people. i crave people, actually. and well, you're kind, and funny, and like, drop-dead pretty." he gushed, bashfully fiddling with his sleeve cuffs. "plus, you're super sweet, and well, you showed interest in me, so i kind of jumped at it."

"its not usual that people make the first move at me. i'm used to chasing, its nice to be noticed sometimes." he explained.

his demeanor changed, resting both elbows on the table and resting his chin on his hands, batting his eyelashes like a cartoon character. "what about you? what made you wanna take little ol' me up on a date??"

[thailovemeds]

Milo's statement made Thay thoughtful, why would he feel that way?, she thought. After all, she herself liked Milo's personality and was curious to find out more about him. So, why would he have to try so hard just to receive a little affection?

Before she could ask more, his question caught her off guard. Making her sit straighter and look out the window, lost in thought.

"Well, while I was working, I ended up seeing you quite often. And I felt that you... were alone, you know? Which, by the way, made me curious." She placed her hand on the table, fidgeting with her fingers, still thinking about the lectures. Milo could see her nails painted with an apple-like texture.

"And like, I thought you were handsome and kind of cute, so I thought, why not? You seem nice, after all, when people weren't worried about you, they seemed... I don't know, happy?"

[milo-medicine]

"oh uh right-" Milo mumbled, "sorry about that... whole... thing."

He stood up when his name was called, carrying the paper treat bag in his teeth and the two coffees in his hands.

"for you, m'lady," he said through the bag in his mouth. he put down the things on the table, sliding the coffee towards Thay and opening the bag.

"yeah i, i mean, you were right about me kind of being alone. but yeah." he rambled. "i'm flattered you thought i was cute though." he told her with a wink.

"i will warn you though-" he said, fighting with the paper wrapper of his straw before giving up and stabbing it onto his thigh to break the seal. "Max -Doctor Nightingale, you've probably met him- has a bit of a habit of trying to either scare or like, warn people i'm a dumbass or something." he added.

[thailovemeds]

She squinted, trying to remember, before raising her eyebrows in a gesture of understanding.

"Oh yes, I know him. Are you two friends?" She looked at him as she calmly opened the straw and placed it in the plastic cup.

[milo-medicine]

"Max is my cousin. our parents are twins. his dad, my mom." he explained. "we're basically brothers though, he kind of raised me- like i mentioned earlier."

"hes really protective of me. i think he still sees me as that little baby that got ejected from my mother and not, ya know," he gestures to himself, "big boy Milo,"

he inwardly cringed for a moment at his choice of words. that was going to be a weird thing to explain to her.

[thailovemeds]

"Oh, I understand. I have many siblings, so it's quite common for the older ones to be very worried about you. It's not because they think you lack independence." She drank her coffee.

"But yea, these situations suck sometimes." She shrugged, watching him, trying to make him comfortable.

"Anyway, have you tried talking with him about it? About your feelings?" She was still looking at him; you could see in her eyes that she was analyzing his entire face. Maybe attracted, maybe worried... it's impossible to know.

[milo-medicine]

Milo squirmed under her gaze, the confidence of 5 minutes ago having once again washed away completely.

Milo looked down to his coffee, stirring it with his straw for a second before taking a sip. "oh believe me. we have done enough talking recently." he mumbled.

Milo cleared his throat, "anyways, shall we?" he asked, gesturing to outside the coffee shop. "or do you want to finish our drinks here, then go hit up the museum?"

it wasn't that he didn't like deep topics, it was just that he wasn't sure he wanted to start sobbing in public on a first date.

[thailovemeds]

"No, we can go if you want." She smiled, despite noticing the change of subject...again.

But she still chose to respect it, as she didn't want to rush things. She knows that everyone has their own time to say certain kinds of things.

"What kind of milk do you prefer? Since you, you know, are lactose intolerant." She asked randomly while grabbing her bag.

[milo-medicine]

"i like oat milk. it tastes the least non-milk to me." he explained. "though i won't lie i will in fact indulge in dairy like my belly isn't gonna immediately make me regret it." he explained with a laugh.

"lactaid is like, my best friend. I always have that shit on me," he said proudly, taking a sip of his drink and reaching into his shirt pocket, pulling out a little foil packet of the aforementioned medicine.

"what about you, what's your milk of choice?" he asked. "even though i take it you're not stricken with the icecream-punishment-disease."

[thailovemeds]

"Oh,I've never tried other types of milk." She chuckled slightly. "So normal milk is okay for me. Although I don't drink it all the time, I don't particularly like the taste."

"I'm kind of picky about food." She adjusted her hair as she began to walk beside him. Looking at the city again and thinking quietly.

[milo-medicine]

"oh, picky how?" he asked genuinely, "i'm used to like, people really not liking certain things. Max will revolt at most potato dishes. i bet i can adapt to whatever isn't to your taste either."

"like i cannot handle squishy foods. or like, strangely enough? creamed corn or anything really grainy but a liquid. like pea soup. it tastes good but the texture is the devil," he scrunched his nose as he walked. "yeah. no. bleh."

[thailovemeds]

""Oh, yes, I hate pea soup! It was practically torture when my mother made it." She frowned slightly as she remembered this.

"Well, I don't really like boiled eggs, fish or seafood, peanuts...Uh, bananas, lollipops. And a list I can't remember." She laughed, her eyes closing in the process, showing she was genuinely happy.

"Anyway, you don't need to adapt to me. I usually try to make myself experience new things." Their eyes met. "Anyway, Tell me a fun facts about yourself."

[milo-medicine]

"no lollipops??" he asked, fake exasperated. "damn. more for me i guess." he said with a shrug.

"i dunno if i have many very fun facts," he rambled, "well i mean i have a cat i found in a dumpster named Pickles, my family owns a multi million dollar mining enterprise, when i go to the theatre i pretend i have boobs so i can smuggle dollar store candy in-" he listed, trying to gloss over the middle one.

the second thing that always happened on dates, was that people would get nervous about the whole "gold mining nepo baby" thing.

[thailovemeds]

"Owo, calm down, that's a lot of facts!" She laughed as she processed the information. Well, she was really surprised that Milo came from a wealthy family. However, she noticed the way he acted about it, So he decided not to pay too much attention to it, after all, it wouldn't completely shape his personality.

"What do you mean by this story about the theater and boobs?" She looked at him, somewhat confused, firstly because she didn't understand much about theater, and secondly because imagining the scene sounded hilarious.

[milo-medicine]

"oh!" Milo smiled. "i go to the store, then i like, shove the candy bags in my shirt so like, you know. i have fake boobs. candy implants." he explained.

"it works like 50% of the time." he shrugged. "it turns out when you abandon your shame at the door, you can cheat the system a lot easier. also you pay a dollar for m&ms instead of like eight."

"what about you? what are some fun facts about you? this should be a two-way interrogation," he joked.

[thailovemeds]

"Hmmm...Well, for a long period of my life I was interested in fashion, like a really deep obsession. So I know a lot of concepts in the field, because I studied it like a university student." She laughed as she remembered that.

"I enjoy studying sociology and I also enjoy reading." She looked at Milo again, ready for more questions.

"Do you usually have curious people like me on a first date? Or did I surprise you?"

[milo-medicine]

"ooh a fashion girlie," he smiled, nodding along with her. "i like it, i like it."

He shrugged, taking the steps to the library quickly and waiting for her at the top before opening the door for her again.

"I dunno, i mean, i'm usually the one who's asking all the questions. It's kind of refreshing that the tables are turned, ya know?" he shrugged, "usually people are way too nervous around me. especially like, after they find out about... certain parts." he gestured around vaguely.

"yeah, its refreshing." he smiled, turning to the girl at the counter and buying two adult day passes.

[thailovemeds]

"You don't have to pay for everything for me," she commented, embarrassed again. She usually liked being more independent and paying for her own things; after all, that's how she was raised.

"Also...Which parts? Its about you...uh, being from a rich family?" She looked at him calmly, without judging anything about him. "Actually, that intrigues me. Why do you think people act differently? Like, in your opinion, what makes them act that way?" She asked quickly, before Milo could answer anything.

[milo-medicine]

"but i do, i always pay for first dates." he nodded.

Milo went quiet. "i dunno. me and Max kind of came to pittsburgh to escape our fame. back in Dawson everyone knew us and always wanted a chunk of the money from dating us. but like, we're just regular people. most of the money gets filtered back into the business. we're not stuck up. just- people." he tells her.

"a lot of people see our worth in cash, not personality. so like. i dunno-" he pulls her arm in, wrapping the wrist band onto her before securing his own. "i know i'm shit at hiding it, but i want people to like me for me, not the fact my family pulls precious metals out of the earth, you know?"

[thailovemeds]

"Yeah, get it. I think it's totally fair you feel that way." She smiled as she watched him wrapping the wrist band on her arm. She liked his kindness.

"Just so you know, I don't care about that. I like you for the way you treat me." She made eye contact, a genuine smile on her face. "And you're doing very well at it so far."

She approached him and kissed him on the cheek, making him stop what he was doing. So, somewhat embarrassed, she simply walked ahead through the museum, waiting to see if he would follow her or not.

[milo-medicine]

Milo's heart stopped for a moment, he dramatically punched his chest for a second before following Thay into the museum.

He tried not to let his blush creep up any higher than it was already, taking in a deep breath and catching up to the girl. He linked arms, taking her in stride to go look at the first exhibit.

"so, what does a cutie do for fun other than psychoanalyze any boy she meets?" he asked, "or is that just a party trick reserved for the one's you want to kiss?"

[thailovemeds]

"Hmm, generally I want to kiss the ones who are interesting, so I end up asking a lot of questions." She took his hand, without shame, smiling only slightly, though there was still a hesitation.

""Usually, to have fun, I like to go out to museums, clothing stores, art galleries, or bookstores. But I also love staying home; it's comfortable." She shrugged, "And you? What do you do for fun? You let the girls you like analyze you and tell them about yourself?" She teased him, particularly enjoying that 'flirty" game.

[milo-medicine]

Coffee for Night Owls

closed starter for @thailovemeds

------ 🚑 ------------ 🚑 ------------ 🚑 ------

Milo waited quietly in the ambulance bay, the agreed upon meeting place for what was going to be his first date in a while. Was he nervous? yes. was he excited? also yes.

He bounced on his toes as he waited patiently, watching over the horizon for Thay's gorgeous swaying braids and radiant smile.

and sure enough, not too long, and she was there.

"Hey cutie!" Milo called, jogging up to meet her. "ready for whatever the day brings?" he asked. Milo hoped she couldn't feel his heart beating out of his chest when they hugged.

[thailovemeds]

Thay felt equally anxious; moments before, she had been compulsively fixing her clothes, her hair, and everything about herself. It was her first date in months!

However, the moment she saw Milo, noticing that he also seemed anxious, she calmed down a little internally.

"Always ready!" She said after breaking away from the hug, a nervous smile on her face.

"Well, what has the 'clueless' prepared for today?" She joked while adjusting her bag.

[milo-medicine]

Milo's face fell flat for a second, though he was prepared for this. He pulled something out of his pocket. he slammed a sticky note that read "proudly romantically a moron" onto his chest and continued walking with her.

"we can do anything you'd like, though i know that the first plan was coffee," he mentioned, pointing to the little local coffee shop a block away from them.

"then, maybe a park walk or i heard the museum has one of those new pop up exhibits if you'd like," he offered.

Milo let his hand swing at his side, free for Thay to take if she wanted. and god, Milo hoped she'd take it.

[thailovemeds]

Thay gave an honest little laugh, finding him adorable. It was one of the things she liked about Milo so far, and she was also eager to discover others.

"Oh, I love museums, I used to enjoy going with my father when I was younger. Can we go after the coffee?" She kept smiling; after all, she was cheerful.

Well, unfortunately she hadn't noticed Milo's desire to hold hands. She was distracted looking at the scenery around them.

"By the way, I loved your sticky note. Are you really such a 'romantically moron'?" She adjusted her reddish jacket. Which matched perfectly her white dress with red details.

[milo-medicine]

Milo shrugged, "so i've been told. i tend to get called "clueless" by pretty much everyone, but mostly its just from me not wanting to jump to conclusions." he explained, "sometimes social cues get a little mixed up for me, so like, i always feel like its better not to assume things, ya know?" he said.

"and yeah!" he cheered. "coffee and a museum, sounds like a plan." he smiled widely, "i always love the exhibits of all the different animals and like the dinosaur skeletons. its cool." he explained.

"by the way?" he asked, looking towards Thay with another nervous grin, "what's your coffee order, i'm buying, my treat." he told her, patting the pocket of his gray jeans where his wallet sat.

[thailovemeds]

She looked away, lost in thought. She wasn't very good at making decisions, but she tried to be quick.

"Iced coffee, I like it." She looked at him again, becoming slightly embarrassed. "Also...You don't need to do that."

"Do you have difficulty with social cues, especially in the romantic or general sense?" she asked, trying to change the subject, as they approached the café. But also curious to know him better.

[milo-medicine]

"ahh, I'm a peppermint mocha kind of guy myself. Mocha and oat milk so I don't- like- die." he explained with a bark of a laugh. "of course i do, the boy always pays for the pretty lady's drink," he said with a strong nod.

He shrugged. "i dunno, i mean, sometimes its confusing? like, does going on one date mean you're dating or did you just go on a date, you know? and like, i dunno. i just work better when there's clear parameters. like is the patient in normal sinus rhythm or not? that's something you can figure out. the social expectations are just like- i dunno. i was never good at them. but like, i was the youngest where only my very probably autistic cousin hung out with me, so i kind of see where i got it from." he explained.

"but- that's- that's a whole complicated thing." he waived off. "how about you? tell me a little about yourself!"

[thailovemeds]

She smiled, understanding a little of what he meant. Even though she didn't share the same feelings, she wanted to know about it and understand him.

"Well, I usually understand some social stuff. Like, it's something that, being a woman, especially a black woman, I need to learn....Uuh like, after all, we live in this world..." She said in a somewhat melancholy voice.

"Have you ever considered the idea of being autistic as well?" she asked delicately, knowing it might be a somewhat difficult subject.

[milo-medicine]

Milo froze in his tracks. "i- uh-" he stuttered.

"a little brave for a first date, aren't we?" he laughed. "uh- no. no i haven't." he coughed out quickly.

This is what always happened. People start digging too far past the Milo façade and they didn't like him anymore. people always chased after the happy cheery Milo. the one who made dumb jokes and was ripped like a fireman. not the Milo who was slowly coming to the forefront with every moment.

Its not like there was anything wrong with the possibility. It was just-

Nobody ever stayed after he felt comfortable enough to unmask the true Milo around them.

He quickly shoved his hands in his pockets. "so- uh. got any good stories from being a nurse?" he asked, very pointedly trying to change the subject.

[thailovemeds]

She looked at him, saying nothing for a few seconds, not wanting to pressure him into talking about himself; after all, they hadn't known each other for very long. Then, upon hearing the question, she simply let the conversation flow.

"Well... Depends. Do you want a funny, sad, or weird story?" she said with a small smile, enjoying the moment; she likes talk about medicine.

[milo-medicine]

"whatever you want to tell, and i have stories in spades from shit i've seen, so go for it. whatever mood you're in." he told her with a large grin. he had bounced back rather quickly, putting a smile back on and carrying on with a spring in his step.

"though i will warn you, most of mine are mainly just 'yea dude you totally slipped and fell on that cucumber' kind of stories." he laughed. "though there are also the stories of creative ways combative patients have attacked me, but those are less fun."

Milo smiled, opening the door for Thay when they got into the coffee shop. "order whatever you like, seriously, it's all on me." he offered with a grin.

[thailovemeds]

She laughed genuinely as she walked through the door. She understood well what those "slipped on a cucumber" situations were like; after all, she'd dealt with a few before.

"How romantic!, opening the door for me!" Thay joked as she walked, turning to the server. Taking a moment before ordering an iced caramel coffee from the server, who looked tired.

Then she turned back to Milo.

"Your comment reminded me of a website that talks about 'bizarre things people have put on themselves.' They update the list every year." She put a hand to her cheek, thinking. "If I remember correctly, there was a girl who put a hamster...like, you know"

[milo-medicine]

"yeah, turns out that hamster thing happens more often than you'd think," he said quietly, now that they were in a public space. "its- its real sad to be honest with you. the poor little guys."

"do you want a muffin or something?" he asked her after he put in his order, "anything you want, cutie, i'll pay for it."

Milo smiled, handing over the cash once Thay had put in her order and pulling her to the side of the room to wait for their respective goods.

[thailovemeds]

The moment they sat down at the table, Thay began to speak, asking new questions.

"Well, why did you agree to go out with me?" she asked, resting her elbow on the table and putting her chin on right hand. Her dark eyes staring at him. "Like, I'm just a nurse who said you were cute."

[milo-medicine]

Milo was caught a bit off guard at the forwardness.

"well, i mean," he paused. "i like people. i crave people, actually. and well, you're kind, and funny, and like, drop-dead pretty." he gushed, bashfully fiddling with his sleeve cuffs. "plus, you're super sweet, and well, you showed interest in me, so i kind of jumped at it."

"its not usual that people make the first move at me. i'm used to chasing, its nice to be noticed sometimes." he explained.

his demeanor changed, resting both elbows on the table and resting his chin on his hands, batting his eyelashes like a cartoon character. "what about you? what made you wanna take little ol' me up on a date??"

[thailovemeds]

Milo's statement made Thay thoughtful, why would he feel that way?, she thought. After all, she herself liked Milo's personality and was curious to find out more about him. So, why would he have to try so hard just to receive a little affection?

Before she could ask more, his question caught her off guard. Making her sit straighter and look out the window, lost in thought.

"Well, while I was working, I ended up seeing you quite often. And I felt that you... were alone, you know? Which, by the way, made me curious." She placed her hand on the table, fidgeting with her fingers, still thinking about the lectures. Milo could see her nails painted with an apple-like texture.

"And like, I thought you were handsome and kind of cute, so I thought, why not? You seem nice, after all, when people weren't worried about you, they seemed... I don't know, happy?"

[milo-medicine]

"oh uh right-" Milo mumbled, "sorry about that... whole... thing."

He stood up when his name was called, carrying the paper treat bag in his teeth and the two coffees in his hands.

"for you, m'lady," he said through the bag in his mouth. he put down the things on the table, sliding the coffee towards Thay and opening the bag.

"yeah i, i mean, you were right about me kind of being alone. but yeah." he rambled. "i'm flattered you thought i was cute though." he told her with a wink.

"i will warn you though-" he said, fighting with the paper wrapper of his straw before giving up and stabbing it onto his thigh to break the seal. "Max -Doctor Nightingale, you've probably met him- has a bit of a habit of trying to either scare or like, warn people i'm a dumbass or something." he added.

[thailovemeds]

She squinted, trying to remember, before raising her eyebrows in a gesture of understanding.

"Oh yes, I know him. Are you two friends?" She looked at him as she calmly opened the straw and placed it in the plastic cup.

[milo-medicine]

"Max is my cousin. our parents are twins. his dad, my mom." he explained. "we're basically brothers though, he kind of raised me- like i mentioned earlier."

"hes really protective of me. i think he still sees me as that little baby that got ejected from my mother and not, ya know," he gestures to himself, "big boy Milo,"

he inwardly cringed for a moment at his choice of words. that was going to be a weird thing to explain to her.

[thailovemeds]

"Oh, I understand. I have many siblings, so it's quite common for the older ones to be very worried about you. It's not because they think you lack independence." She drank her coffee.

"But yea, these situations suck sometimes." She shrugged, watching him, trying to make him comfortable.

"Anyway, have you tried talking with him about it? About your feelings?" She was still looking at him; you could see in her eyes that she was analyzing his entire face. Maybe attracted, maybe worried... it's impossible to know.

[milo-medicine]

Milo squirmed under her gaze, the confidence of 5 minutes ago having once again washed away completely.

Milo looked down to his coffee, stirring it with his straw for a second before taking a sip. "oh believe me. we have done enough talking recently." he mumbled.

Milo cleared his throat, "anyways, shall we?" he asked, gesturing to outside the coffee shop. "or do you want to finish our drinks here, then go hit up the museum?"

it wasn't that he didn't like deep topics, it was just that he wasn't sure he wanted to start sobbing in public on a first date.

[thailovemeds]

"No, we can go if you want." She smiled, despite noticing the change of subject...again.

But she still chose to respect it, as she didn't want to rush things. She knows that everyone has their own time to say certain kinds of things.

"What kind of milk do you prefer? Since you, you know, are lactose intolerant." She asked randomly while grabbing her bag.

[milo-medicine]

"i like oat milk. it tastes the least non-milk to me." he explained. "though i won't lie i will in fact indulge in dairy like my belly isn't gonna immediately make me regret it." he explained with a laugh.

"lactaid is like, my best friend. I always have that shit on me," he said proudly, taking a sip of his drink and reaching into his shirt pocket, pulling out a little foil packet of the aforementioned medicine.

"what about you, what's your milk of choice?" he asked. "even though i take it you're not stricken with the icecream-punishment-disease."

[thailovemeds]

"Oh,I've never tried other types of milk." She chuckled slightly. "So normal milk is okay for me. Although I don't drink it all the time, I don't particularly like the taste."

"I'm kind of picky about food." She adjusted her hair as she began to walk beside him. Looking at the city again and thinking quietly.

[milo-medicine]

"oh, picky how?" he asked genuinely, "i'm used to like, people really not liking certain things. Max will revolt at most potato dishes. i bet i can adapt to whatever isn't to your taste either."

"like i cannot handle squishy foods. or like, strangely enough? creamed corn or anything really grainy but a liquid. like pea soup. it tastes good but the texture is the devil," he scrunched his nose as he walked. "yeah. no. bleh."

[thailovemeds]

""Oh, yes, I hate pea soup! It was practically torture when my mother made it." She frowned slightly as she remembered this.

"Well, I don't really like boiled eggs, fish or seafood, peanuts...Uh, bananas, lollipops. And a list I can't remember." She laughed, her eyes closing in the process, showing she was genuinely happy.

"Anyway, you don't need to adapt to me. I usually try to make myself experience new things." Their eyes met. "Anyway, Tell me a fun facts about yourself."

[milo-medicine]

"no lollipops??" he asked, fake exasperated. "damn. more for me i guess." he said with a shrug.

"i dunno if i have many very fun facts," he rambled, "well i mean i have a cat i found in a dumpster named Pickles, my family owns a multi million dollar mining enterprise, when i go to the theatre i pretend i have boobs so i can smuggle dollar store candy in-" he listed, trying to gloss over the middle one.

the second thing that always happened on dates, was that people would get nervous about the whole "gold mining nepo baby" thing.

[thailovemeds]

"Owo, calm down, that's a lot of facts!" She laughed as she processed the information. Well, she was really surprised that Milo came from a wealthy family. However, she noticed the way he acted about it, So he decided not to pay too much attention to it, after all, it wouldn't completely shape his personality.

"What do you mean by this story about the theater and boobs?" She looked at him, somewhat confused, firstly because she didn't understand much about theater, and secondly because imagining the scene sounded hilarious.

[milo-medicine]

"oh!" Milo smiled. "i go to the store, then i like, shove the candy bags in my shirt so like, you know. i have fake boobs. candy implants." he explained.

"it works like 50% of the time." he shrugged. "it turns out when you abandon your shame at the door, you can cheat the system a lot easier. also you pay a dollar for m&ms instead of like eight."

"what about you? what are some fun facts about you? this should be a two-way interrogation," he joked.

[thailovemeds]

"Hmmm...Well, for a long period of my life I was interested in fashion, like a really deep obsession. So I know a lot of concepts in the field, because I studied it like a university student." She laughed as she remembered that.

"I enjoy studying sociology and I also enjoy reading." She looked at Milo again, ready for more questions.

"Do you usually have curious people like me on a first date? Or did I surprise you?"

[milo-medicine]

"ooh a fashion girlie," he smiled, nodding along with her. "i like it, i like it."

He shrugged, taking the steps to the library quickly and waiting for her at the top before opening the door for her again.

"I dunno, i mean, i'm usually the one who's asking all the questions. It's kind of refreshing that the tables are turned, ya know?" he shrugged, "usually people are way too nervous around me. especially like, after they find out about... certain parts." he gestured around vaguely.

"yeah, its refreshing." he smiled, turning to the girl at the counter and buying two adult day passes.

[thailovemeds]

"You don't have to pay for everything for me," she commented, embarrassed again. She usually liked being more independent and paying for her own things; after all, that's how she was raised.

"Also...Which parts? Its about you...uh, being from a rich family?" She looked at him calmly, without judging anything about him. "Actually, that intrigues me. Why do you think people act differently? Like, in your opinion, what makes them act that way?" She asked quickly, before Milo could answer anything.

[milo-medicine]

"but i do, i always pay for first dates." he nodded.

Milo went quiet. "i dunno. me and Max kind of came to pittsburgh to escape our fame. back in Dawson everyone knew us and always wanted a chunk of the money from dating us. but like, we're just regular people. most of the money gets filtered back into the business. we're not stuck up. just- people." he tells her.

"a lot of people see our worth in cash, not personality. so like. i dunno-" he pulls her arm in, wrapping the wrist band onto her before securing his own. "i know i'm shit at hiding it, but i want people to like me for me, not the fact my family pulls precious metals out of the earth, you know?"

[thailovemeds]

"Yeah, get it. I think it's totally fair you feel that way." She smiled as she watched him wrapping the wrist band on her arm. She liked his kindness.

"Just so you know, I don't care about that. I like you for the way you treat me." She made eye contact, a genuine smile on her face. "And you're doing very well at it so far."

She approached him and kissed him on the cheek, making him stop what he was doing. So, somewhat embarrassed, she simply walked ahead through the museum, waiting to see if he would follow her or not.

[milo-medicine]

Coffee for Night Owls

closed starter for @thailovemeds

------ 🚑 ------------ 🚑 ------------ 🚑 ------

Milo waited quietly in the ambulance bay, the agreed upon meeting place for what was going to be his first date in a while. Was he nervous? yes. was he excited? also yes.

He bounced on his toes as he waited patiently, watching over the horizon for Thay's gorgeous swaying braids and radiant smile.

and sure enough, not too long, and she was there.

"Hey cutie!" Milo called, jogging up to meet her. "ready for whatever the day brings?" he asked. Milo hoped she couldn't feel his heart beating out of his chest when they hugged.

[thailovemeds]

Thay felt equally anxious; moments before, she had been compulsively fixing her clothes, her hair, and everything about herself. It was her first date in months!

However, the moment she saw Milo, noticing that he also seemed anxious, she calmed down a little internally.

"Always ready!" She said after breaking away from the hug, a nervous smile on her face.

"Well, what has the 'clueless' prepared for today?" She joked while adjusting her bag.

[milo-medicine]

Milo's face fell flat for a second, though he was prepared for this. He pulled something out of his pocket. he slammed a sticky note that read "proudly romantically a moron" onto his chest and continued walking with her.

"we can do anything you'd like, though i know that the first plan was coffee," he mentioned, pointing to the little local coffee shop a block away from them.

"then, maybe a park walk or i heard the museum has one of those new pop up exhibits if you'd like," he offered.

Milo let his hand swing at his side, free for Thay to take if she wanted. and god, Milo hoped she'd take it.

[thailovemeds]

Thay gave an honest little laugh, finding him adorable. It was one of the things she liked about Milo so far, and she was also eager to discover others.

"Oh, I love museums, I used to enjoy going with my father when I was younger. Can we go after the coffee?" She kept smiling; after all, she was cheerful.

Well, unfortunately she hadn't noticed Milo's desire to hold hands. She was distracted looking at the scenery around them.

"By the way, I loved your sticky note. Are you really such a 'romantically moron'?" She adjusted her reddish jacket. Which matched perfectly her white dress with red details.

[milo-medicine]

Milo shrugged, "so i've been told. i tend to get called "clueless" by pretty much everyone, but mostly its just from me not wanting to jump to conclusions." he explained, "sometimes social cues get a little mixed up for me, so like, i always feel like its better not to assume things, ya know?" he said.

"and yeah!" he cheered. "coffee and a museum, sounds like a plan." he smiled widely, "i always love the exhibits of all the different animals and like the dinosaur skeletons. its cool." he explained.

"by the way?" he asked, looking towards Thay with another nervous grin, "what's your coffee order, i'm buying, my treat." he told her, patting the pocket of his gray jeans where his wallet sat.

[thailovemeds]

She looked away, lost in thought. She wasn't very good at making decisions, but she tried to be quick.

"Iced coffee, I like it." She looked at him again, becoming slightly embarrassed. "Also...You don't need to do that."

"Do you have difficulty with social cues, especially in the romantic or general sense?" she asked, trying to change the subject, as they approached the café. But also curious to know him better.

[milo-medicine]

"ahh, I'm a peppermint mocha kind of guy myself. Mocha and oat milk so I don't- like- die." he explained with a bark of a laugh. "of course i do, the boy always pays for the pretty lady's drink," he said with a strong nod.

He shrugged. "i dunno, i mean, sometimes its confusing? like, does going on one date mean you're dating or did you just go on a date, you know? and like, i dunno. i just work better when there's clear parameters. like is the patient in normal sinus rhythm or not? that's something you can figure out. the social expectations are just like- i dunno. i was never good at them. but like, i was the youngest where only my very probably autistic cousin hung out with me, so i kind of see where i got it from." he explained.

"but- that's- that's a whole complicated thing." he waived off. "how about you? tell me a little about yourself!"

[thailovemeds]

She smiled, understanding a little of what he meant. Even though she didn't share the same feelings, she wanted to know about it and understand him.

"Well, I usually understand some social stuff. Like, it's something that, being a woman, especially a black woman, I need to learn....Uuh like, after all, we live in this world..." She said in a somewhat melancholy voice.

"Have you ever considered the idea of being autistic as well?" she asked delicately, knowing it might be a somewhat difficult subject.

[milo-medicine]

Milo froze in his tracks. "i- uh-" he stuttered.

"a little brave for a first date, aren't we?" he laughed. "uh- no. no i haven't." he coughed out quickly.

This is what always happened. People start digging too far past the Milo façade and they didn't like him anymore. people always chased after the happy cheery Milo. the one who made dumb jokes and was ripped like a fireman. not the Milo who was slowly coming to the forefront with every moment.

Its not like there was anything wrong with the possibility. It was just-

Nobody ever stayed after he felt comfortable enough to unmask the true Milo around them.

He quickly shoved his hands in his pockets. "so- uh. got any good stories from being a nurse?" he asked, very pointedly trying to change the subject.

[thailovemeds]

She looked at him, saying nothing for a few seconds, not wanting to pressure him into talking about himself; after all, they hadn't known each other for very long. Then, upon hearing the question, she simply let the conversation flow.

"Well... Depends. Do you want a funny, sad, or weird story?" she said with a small smile, enjoying the moment; she likes talk about medicine.

[milo-medicine]

"whatever you want to tell, and i have stories in spades from shit i've seen, so go for it. whatever mood you're in." he told her with a large grin. he had bounced back rather quickly, putting a smile back on and carrying on with a spring in his step.

"though i will warn you, most of mine are mainly just 'yea dude you totally slipped and fell on that cucumber' kind of stories." he laughed. "though there are also the stories of creative ways combative patients have attacked me, but those are less fun."

Milo smiled, opening the door for Thay when they got into the coffee shop. "order whatever you like, seriously, it's all on me." he offered with a grin.

[thailovemeds]

She laughed genuinely as she walked through the door. She understood well what those "slipped on a cucumber" situations were like; after all, she'd dealt with a few before.

"How romantic!, opening the door for me!" Thay joked as she walked, turning to the server. Taking a moment before ordering an iced caramel coffee from the server, who looked tired.

Then she turned back to Milo.

"Your comment reminded me of a website that talks about 'bizarre things people have put on themselves.' They update the list every year." She put a hand to her cheek, thinking. "If I remember correctly, there was a girl who put a hamster...like, you know"

[milo-medicine]

"yeah, turns out that hamster thing happens more often than you'd think," he said quietly, now that they were in a public space. "its- its real sad to be honest with you. the poor little guys."

"do you want a muffin or something?" he asked her after he put in his order, "anything you want, cutie, i'll pay for it."

Milo smiled, handing over the cash once Thay had put in her order and pulling her to the side of the room to wait for their respective goods.

[thailovemeds]

The moment they sat down at the table, Thay began to speak, asking new questions.

"Well, why did you agree to go out with me?" she asked, resting her elbow on the table and putting her chin on right hand. Her dark eyes staring at him. "Like, I'm just a nurse who said you were cute."

[milo-medicine]

Milo was caught a bit off guard at the forwardness.

"well, i mean," he paused. "i like people. i crave people, actually. and well, you're kind, and funny, and like, drop-dead pretty." he gushed, bashfully fiddling with his sleeve cuffs. "plus, you're super sweet, and well, you showed interest in me, so i kind of jumped at it."

"its not usual that people make the first move at me. i'm used to chasing, its nice to be noticed sometimes." he explained.

his demeanor changed, resting both elbows on the table and resting his chin on his hands, batting his eyelashes like a cartoon character. "what about you? what made you wanna take little ol' me up on a date??"

[thailovemeds]

Milo's statement made Thay thoughtful, why would he feel that way?, she thought. After all, she herself liked Milo's personality and was curious to find out more about him. So, why would he have to try so hard just to receive a little affection?

Before she could ask more, his question caught her off guard. Making her sit straighter and look out the window, lost in thought.

"Well, while I was working, I ended up seeing you quite often. And I felt that you... were alone, you know? Which, by the way, made me curious." She placed her hand on the table, fidgeting with her fingers, still thinking about the lectures. Milo could see her nails painted with an apple-like texture.

"And like, I thought you were handsome and kind of cute, so I thought, why not? You seem nice, after all, when people weren't worried about you, they seemed... I don't know, happy?"

[milo-medicine]

"oh uh right-" Milo mumbled, "sorry about that... whole... thing."

He stood up when his name was called, carrying the paper treat bag in his teeth and the two coffees in his hands.

"for you, m'lady," he said through the bag in his mouth. he put down the things on the table, sliding the coffee towards Thay and opening the bag.

"yeah i, i mean, you were right about me kind of being alone. but yeah." he rambled. "i'm flattered you thought i was cute though." he told her with a wink.

"i will warn you though-" he said, fighting with the paper wrapper of his straw before giving up and stabbing it onto his thigh to break the seal. "Max -Doctor Nightingale, you've probably met him- has a bit of a habit of trying to either scare or like, warn people i'm a dumbass or something." he added.

[thailovemeds]

She squinted, trying to remember, before raising her eyebrows in a gesture of understanding.

"Oh yes, I know him. Are you two friends?" She looked at him as she calmly opened the straw and placed it in the plastic cup.

[milo-medicine]

"Max is my cousin. our parents are twins. his dad, my mom." he explained. "we're basically brothers though, he kind of raised me- like i mentioned earlier."

"hes really protective of me. i think he still sees me as that little baby that got ejected from my mother and not, ya know," he gestures to himself, "big boy Milo,"

he inwardly cringed for a moment at his choice of words. that was going to be a weird thing to explain to her.

[thailovemeds]

"Oh, I understand. I have many siblings, so it's quite common for the older ones to be very worried about you. It's not because they think you lack independence." She drank her coffee.

"But yea, these situations suck sometimes." She shrugged, watching him, trying to make him comfortable.

"Anyway, have you tried talking with him about it? About your feelings?" She was still looking at him; you could see in her eyes that she was analyzing his entire face. Maybe attracted, maybe worried... it's impossible to know.

[milo-medicine]

Milo squirmed under her gaze, the confidence of 5 minutes ago having once again washed away completely.

Milo looked down to his coffee, stirring it with his straw for a second before taking a sip. "oh believe me. we have done enough talking recently." he mumbled.

Milo cleared his throat, "anyways, shall we?" he asked, gesturing to outside the coffee shop. "or do you want to finish our drinks here, then go hit up the museum?"

it wasn't that he didn't like deep topics, it was just that he wasn't sure he wanted to start sobbing in public on a first date.

[thailovemeds]

"No, we can go if you want." She smiled, despite noticing the change of subject...again.

But she still chose to respect it, as she didn't want to rush things. She knows that everyone has their own time to say certain kinds of things.

"What kind of milk do you prefer? Since you, you know, are lactose intolerant." She asked randomly while grabbing her bag.

[milo-medicine]

"i like oat milk. it tastes the least non-milk to me." he explained. "though i won't lie i will in fact indulge in dairy like my belly isn't gonna immediately make me regret it." he explained with a laugh.

"lactaid is like, my best friend. I always have that shit on me," he said proudly, taking a sip of his drink and reaching into his shirt pocket, pulling out a little foil packet of the aforementioned medicine.

"what about you, what's your milk of choice?" he asked. "even though i take it you're not stricken with the icecream-punishment-disease."

[thailovemeds]

"Oh,I've never tried other types of milk." She chuckled slightly. "So normal milk is okay for me. Although I don't drink it all the time, I don't particularly like the taste."

"I'm kind of picky about food." She adjusted her hair as she began to walk beside him. Looking at the city again and thinking quietly.

[milo-medicine]

"oh, picky how?" he asked genuinely, "i'm used to like, people really not liking certain things. Max will revolt at most potato dishes. i bet i can adapt to whatever isn't to your taste either."

"like i cannot handle squishy foods. or like, strangely enough? creamed corn or anything really grainy but a liquid. like pea soup. it tastes good but the texture is the devil," he scrunched his nose as he walked. "yeah. no. bleh."

[thailovemeds]

""Oh, yes, I hate pea soup! It was practically torture when my mother made it." She frowned slightly as she remembered this.

"Well, I don't really like boiled eggs, fish or seafood, peanuts...Uh, bananas, lollipops. And a list I can't remember." She laughed, her eyes closing in the process, showing she was genuinely happy.

"Anyway, you don't need to adapt to me. I usually try to make myself experience new things." Their eyes met. "Anyway, Tell me a fun facts about yourself."

[milo-medicine]

"no lollipops??" he asked, fake exasperated. "damn. more for me i guess." he said with a shrug.

"i dunno if i have many very fun facts," he rambled, "well i mean i have a cat i found in a dumpster named Pickles, my family owns a multi million dollar mining enterprise, when i go to the theatre i pretend i have boobs so i can smuggle dollar store candy in-" he listed, trying to gloss over the middle one.

the second thing that always happened on dates, was that people would get nervous about the whole "gold mining nepo baby" thing.

[thailovemeds]

"Owo, calm down, that's a lot of facts!" She laughed as she processed the information. Well, she was really surprised that Milo came from a wealthy family. However, she noticed the way he acted about it, So he decided not to pay too much attention to it, after all, it wouldn't completely shape his personality.

"What do you mean by this story about the theater and boobs?" She looked at him, somewhat confused, firstly because she didn't understand much about theater, and secondly because imagining the scene sounded hilarious.

[milo-medicine]

"oh!" Milo smiled. "i go to the store, then i like, shove the candy bags in my shirt so like, you know. i have fake boobs. candy implants." he explained.

"it works like 50% of the time." he shrugged. "it turns out when you abandon your shame at the door, you can cheat the system a lot easier. also you pay a dollar for m&ms instead of like eight."

"what about you? what are some fun facts about you? this should be a two-way interrogation," he joked.

[thailovemeds]

"Hmmm...Well, for a long period of my life I was interested in fashion, like a really deep obsession. So I know a lot of concepts in the field, because I studied it like a university student." She laughed as she remembered that.

"I enjoy studying sociology and I also enjoy reading." She looked at Milo again, ready for more questions.

"Do you usually have curious people like me on a first date? Or did I surprise you?"

[milo-medicine]

"ooh a fashion girlie," he smiled, nodding along with her. "i like it, i like it."

He shrugged, taking the steps to the library quickly and waiting for her at the top before opening the door for her again.

"I dunno, i mean, i'm usually the one who's asking all the questions. It's kind of refreshing that the tables are turned, ya know?" he shrugged, "usually people are way too nervous around me. especially like, after they find out about... certain parts." he gestured around vaguely.

"yeah, its refreshing." he smiled, turning to the girl at the counter and buying two adult day passes.

[thailovemeds]

"You don't have to pay for everything for me," she commented, embarrassed again. She usually liked being more independent and paying for her own things; after all, that's how she was raised.

"Also...Which parts? Its about you...uh, being from a rich family?" She looked at him calmly, without judging anything about him. "Actually, that intrigues me. Why do you think people act differently? Like, in your opinion, what makes them act that way?" She asked quickly, before Milo could answer anything.

[milo-medicine]

Coffee for Night Owls

closed starter for @thailovemeds

------ 🚑 ------------ 🚑 ------------ 🚑 ------

Milo waited quietly in the ambulance bay, the agreed upon meeting place for what was going to be his first date in a while. Was he nervous? yes. was he excited? also yes.

He bounced on his toes as he waited patiently, watching over the horizon for Thay's gorgeous swaying braids and radiant smile.

and sure enough, not too long, and she was there.

"Hey cutie!" Milo called, jogging up to meet her. "ready for whatever the day brings?" he asked. Milo hoped she couldn't feel his heart beating out of his chest when they hugged.

[thailovemeds]

Thay felt equally anxious; moments before, she had been compulsively fixing her clothes, her hair, and everything about herself. It was her first date in months!

However, the moment she saw Milo, noticing that he also seemed anxious, she calmed down a little internally.

"Always ready!" She said after breaking away from the hug, a nervous smile on her face.

"Well, what has the 'clueless' prepared for today?" She joked while adjusting her bag.

[milo-medicine]

Milo's face fell flat for a second, though he was prepared for this. He pulled something out of his pocket. he slammed a sticky note that read "proudly romantically a moron" onto his chest and continued walking with her.

"we can do anything you'd like, though i know that the first plan was coffee," he mentioned, pointing to the little local coffee shop a block away from them.

"then, maybe a park walk or i heard the museum has one of those new pop up exhibits if you'd like," he offered.

Milo let his hand swing at his side, free for Thay to take if she wanted. and god, Milo hoped she'd take it.

[thailovemeds]

Thay gave an honest little laugh, finding him adorable. It was one of the things she liked about Milo so far, and she was also eager to discover others.

"Oh, I love museums, I used to enjoy going with my father when I was younger. Can we go after the coffee?" She kept smiling; after all, she was cheerful.

Well, unfortunately she hadn't noticed Milo's desire to hold hands. She was distracted looking at the scenery around them.

"By the way, I loved your sticky note. Are you really such a 'romantically moron'?" She adjusted her reddish jacket. Which matched perfectly her white dress with red details.

[milo-medicine]

Milo shrugged, "so i've been told. i tend to get called "clueless" by pretty much everyone, but mostly its just from me not wanting to jump to conclusions." he explained, "sometimes social cues get a little mixed up for me, so like, i always feel like its better not to assume things, ya know?" he said.

"and yeah!" he cheered. "coffee and a museum, sounds like a plan." he smiled widely, "i always love the exhibits of all the different animals and like the dinosaur skeletons. its cool." he explained.

"by the way?" he asked, looking towards Thay with another nervous grin, "what's your coffee order, i'm buying, my treat." he told her, patting the pocket of his gray jeans where his wallet sat.

[thailovemeds]

She looked away, lost in thought. She wasn't very good at making decisions, but she tried to be quick.

"Iced coffee, I like it." She looked at him again, becoming slightly embarrassed. "Also...You don't need to do that."

"Do you have difficulty with social cues, especially in the romantic or general sense?" she asked, trying to change the subject, as they approached the café. But also curious to know him better.

[milo-medicine]

"ahh, I'm a peppermint mocha kind of guy myself. Mocha and oat milk so I don't- like- die." he explained with a bark of a laugh. "of course i do, the boy always pays for the pretty lady's drink," he said with a strong nod.

He shrugged. "i dunno, i mean, sometimes its confusing? like, does going on one date mean you're dating or did you just go on a date, you know? and like, i dunno. i just work better when there's clear parameters. like is the patient in normal sinus rhythm or not? that's something you can figure out. the social expectations are just like- i dunno. i was never good at them. but like, i was the youngest where only my very probably autistic cousin hung out with me, so i kind of see where i got it from." he explained.

"but- that's- that's a whole complicated thing." he waived off. "how about you? tell me a little about yourself!"

[thailovemeds]

She smiled, understanding a little of what he meant. Even though she didn't share the same feelings, she wanted to know about it and understand him.

"Well, I usually understand some social stuff. Like, it's something that, being a woman, especially a black woman, I need to learn....Uuh like, after all, we live in this world..." She said in a somewhat melancholy voice.

"Have you ever considered the idea of being autistic as well?" she asked delicately, knowing it might be a somewhat difficult subject.

[milo-medicine]

Milo froze in his tracks. "i- uh-" he stuttered.

"a little brave for a first date, aren't we?" he laughed. "uh- no. no i haven't." he coughed out quickly.

This is what always happened. People start digging too far past the Milo façade and they didn't like him anymore. people always chased after the happy cheery Milo. the one who made dumb jokes and was ripped like a fireman. not the Milo who was slowly coming to the forefront with every moment.

Its not like there was anything wrong with the possibility. It was just-

Nobody ever stayed after he felt comfortable enough to unmask the true Milo around them.

He quickly shoved his hands in his pockets. "so- uh. got any good stories from being a nurse?" he asked, very pointedly trying to change the subject.

[thailovemeds]

She looked at him, saying nothing for a few seconds, not wanting to pressure him into talking about himself; after all, they hadn't known each other for very long. Then, upon hearing the question, she simply let the conversation flow.

"Well... Depends. Do you want a funny, sad, or weird story?" she said with a small smile, enjoying the moment; she likes talk about medicine.

[milo-medicine]

"whatever you want to tell, and i have stories in spades from shit i've seen, so go for it. whatever mood you're in." he told her with a large grin. he had bounced back rather quickly, putting a smile back on and carrying on with a spring in his step.

"though i will warn you, most of mine are mainly just 'yea dude you totally slipped and fell on that cucumber' kind of stories." he laughed. "though there are also the stories of creative ways combative patients have attacked me, but those are less fun."

Milo smiled, opening the door for Thay when they got into the coffee shop. "order whatever you like, seriously, it's all on me." he offered with a grin.

[thailovemeds]

She laughed genuinely as she walked through the door. She understood well what those "slipped on a cucumber" situations were like; after all, she'd dealt with a few before.

"How romantic!, opening the door for me!" Thay joked as she walked, turning to the server. Taking a moment before ordering an iced caramel coffee from the server, who looked tired.

Then she turned back to Milo.

"Your comment reminded me of a website that talks about 'bizarre things people have put on themselves.' They update the list every year." She put a hand to her cheek, thinking. "If I remember correctly, there was a girl who put a hamster...like, you know"

[milo-medicine]

"yeah, turns out that hamster thing happens more often than you'd think," he said quietly, now that they were in a public space. "its- its real sad to be honest with you. the poor little guys."

"do you want a muffin or something?" he asked her after he put in his order, "anything you want, cutie, i'll pay for it."

Milo smiled, handing over the cash once Thay had put in her order and pulling her to the side of the room to wait for their respective goods.

[thailovemeds]

The moment they sat down at the table, Thay began to speak, asking new questions.

"Well, why did you agree to go out with me?" she asked, resting her elbow on the table and putting her chin on right hand. Her dark eyes staring at him. "Like, I'm just a nurse who said you were cute."

[milo-medicine]

Milo was caught a bit off guard at the forwardness.

"well, i mean," he paused. "i like people. i crave people, actually. and well, you're kind, and funny, and like, drop-dead pretty." he gushed, bashfully fiddling with his sleeve cuffs. "plus, you're super sweet, and well, you showed interest in me, so i kind of jumped at it."

"its not usual that people make the first move at me. i'm used to chasing, its nice to be noticed sometimes." he explained.

his demeanor changed, resting both elbows on the table and resting his chin on his hands, batting his eyelashes like a cartoon character. "what about you? what made you wanna take little ol' me up on a date??"

[thailovemeds]

Milo's statement made Thay thoughtful, why would he feel that way?, she thought. After all, she herself liked Milo's personality and was curious to find out more about him. So, why would he have to try so hard just to receive a little affection?

Before she could ask more, his question caught her off guard. Making her sit straighter and look out the window, lost in thought.

"Well, while I was working, I ended up seeing you quite often. And I felt that you... were alone, you know? Which, by the way, made me curious." She placed her hand on the table, fidgeting with her fingers, still thinking about the lectures. Milo could see her nails painted with an apple-like texture.

"And like, I thought you were handsome and kind of cute, so I thought, why not? You seem nice, after all, when people weren't worried about you, they seemed... I don't know, happy?"

[milo-medicine]

"oh uh right-" Milo mumbled, "sorry about that... whole... thing."

He stood up when his name was called, carrying the paper treat bag in his teeth and the two coffees in his hands.

"for you, m'lady," he said through the bag in his mouth. he put down the things on the table, sliding the coffee towards Thay and opening the bag.

"yeah i, i mean, you were right about me kind of being alone. but yeah." he rambled. "i'm flattered you thought i was cute though." he told her with a wink.

"i will warn you though-" he said, fighting with the paper wrapper of his straw before giving up and stabbing it onto his thigh to break the seal. "Max -Doctor Nightingale, you've probably met him- has a bit of a habit of trying to either scare or like, warn people i'm a dumbass or something." he added.

[thailovemeds]

She squinted, trying to remember, before raising her eyebrows in a gesture of understanding.

"Oh yes, I know him. Are you two friends?" She looked at him as she calmly opened the straw and placed it in the plastic cup.

[milo-medicine]

"Max is my cousin. our parents are twins. his dad, my mom." he explained. "we're basically brothers though, he kind of raised me- like i mentioned earlier."

"hes really protective of me. i think he still sees me as that little baby that got ejected from my mother and not, ya know," he gestures to himself, "big boy Milo,"

he inwardly cringed for a moment at his choice of words. that was going to be a weird thing to explain to her.

[thailovemeds]

"Oh, I understand. I have many siblings, so it's quite common for the older ones to be very worried about you. It's not because they think you lack independence." She drank her coffee.

"But yea, these situations suck sometimes." She shrugged, watching him, trying to make him comfortable.

"Anyway, have you tried talking with him about it? About your feelings?" She was still looking at him; you could see in her eyes that she was analyzing his entire face. Maybe attracted, maybe worried... it's impossible to know.

[milo-medicine]

Milo squirmed under her gaze, the confidence of 5 minutes ago having once again washed away completely.

Milo looked down to his coffee, stirring it with his straw for a second before taking a sip. "oh believe me. we have done enough talking recently." he mumbled.

Milo cleared his throat, "anyways, shall we?" he asked, gesturing to outside the coffee shop. "or do you want to finish our drinks here, then go hit up the museum?"

it wasn't that he didn't like deep topics, it was just that he wasn't sure he wanted to start sobbing in public on a first date.

[thailovemeds]

"No, we can go if you want." She smiled, despite noticing the change of subject...again.

But she still chose to respect it, as she didn't want to rush things. She knows that everyone has their own time to say certain kinds of things.

"What kind of milk do you prefer? Since you, you know, are lactose intolerant." She asked randomly while grabbing her bag.

[milo-medicine]

"i like oat milk. it tastes the least non-milk to me." he explained. "though i won't lie i will in fact indulge in dairy like my belly isn't gonna immediately make me regret it." he explained with a laugh.

"lactaid is like, my best friend. I always have that shit on me," he said proudly, taking a sip of his drink and reaching into his shirt pocket, pulling out a little foil packet of the aforementioned medicine.

"what about you, what's your milk of choice?" he asked. "even though i take it you're not stricken with the icecream-punishment-disease."

[thailovemeds]

"Oh,I've never tried other types of milk." She chuckled slightly. "So normal milk is okay for me. Although I don't drink it all the time, I don't particularly like the taste."

"I'm kind of picky about food." She adjusted her hair as she began to walk beside him. Looking at the city again and thinking quietly.

[milo-medicine]

"oh, picky how?" he asked genuinely, "i'm used to like, people really not liking certain things. Max will revolt at most potato dishes. i bet i can adapt to whatever isn't to your taste either."

"like i cannot handle squishy foods. or like, strangely enough? creamed corn or anything really grainy but a liquid. like pea soup. it tastes good but the texture is the devil," he scrunched his nose as he walked. "yeah. no. bleh."

[thailovemeds]

""Oh, yes, I hate pea soup! It was practically torture when my mother made it." She frowned slightly as she remembered this.

"Well, I don't really like boiled eggs, fish or seafood, peanuts...Uh, bananas, lollipops. And a list I can't remember." She laughed, her eyes closing in the process, showing she was genuinely happy.

"Anyway, you don't need to adapt to me. I usually try to make myself experience new things." Their eyes met. "Anyway, Tell me a fun facts about yourself."

[milo-medicine]

"no lollipops??" he asked, fake exasperated. "damn. more for me i guess." he said with a shrug.

"i dunno if i have many very fun facts," he rambled, "well i mean i have a cat i found in a dumpster named Pickles, my family owns a multi million dollar mining enterprise, when i go to the theatre i pretend i have boobs so i can smuggle dollar store candy in-" he listed, trying to gloss over the middle one.

the second thing that always happened on dates, was that people would get nervous about the whole "gold mining nepo baby" thing.

[thailovemeds]

"Owo, calm down, that's a lot of facts!" She laughed as she processed the information. Well, she was really surprised that Milo came from a wealthy family. However, she noticed the way he acted about it, So he decided not to pay too much attention to it, after all, it wouldn't completely shape his personality.

"What do you mean by this story about the theater and boobs?" She looked at him, somewhat confused, firstly because she didn't understand much about theater, and secondly because imagining the scene sounded hilarious.

[milo-medicine]

"oh!" Milo smiled. "i go to the store, then i like, shove the candy bags in my shirt so like, you know. i have fake boobs. candy implants." he explained.

"it works like 50% of the time." he shrugged. "it turns out when you abandon your shame at the door, you can cheat the system a lot easier. also you pay a dollar for m&ms instead of like eight."

"what about you? what are some fun facts about you? this should be a two-way interrogation," he joked.

[thailovemeds]

"Hmmm...Well, for a long period of my life I was interested in fashion, like a really deep obsession. So I know a lot of concepts in the field, because I studied it like a university student." She laughed as she remembered that.

"I enjoy studying sociology and I also enjoy reading." She looked at Milo again, ready for more questions.

"Do you usually have curious people like me on a first date? Or did I surprise you?"

[thailovemeds]

its embarrassing but i caught myself daydreaming about kissing you

Oh?

That's cute, actually.

I suppose it was Milo who sent this, right?

[milo-medicine]

Coffee for Night Owls

closed starter for @thailovemeds

------ 🚑 ------------ 🚑 ------------ 🚑 ------

Milo waited quietly in the ambulance bay, the agreed upon meeting place for what was going to be his first date in a while. Was he nervous? yes. was he excited? also yes.

He bounced on his toes as he waited patiently, watching over the horizon for Thay's gorgeous swaying braids and radiant smile.

and sure enough, not too long, and she was there.

"Hey cutie!" Milo called, jogging up to meet her. "ready for whatever the day brings?" he asked. Milo hoped she couldn't feel his heart beating out of his chest when they hugged.

[thailovemeds]

Thay felt equally anxious; moments before, she had been compulsively fixing her clothes, her hair, and everything about herself. It was her first date in months!

However, the moment she saw Milo, noticing that he also seemed anxious, she calmed down a little internally.

"Always ready!" She said after breaking away from the hug, a nervous smile on her face.

"Well, what has the 'clueless' prepared for today?" She joked while adjusting her bag.

[milo-medicine]

Milo's face fell flat for a second, though he was prepared for this. He pulled something out of his pocket. he slammed a sticky note that read "proudly romantically a moron" onto his chest and continued walking with her.

"we can do anything you'd like, though i know that the first plan was coffee," he mentioned, pointing to the little local coffee shop a block away from them.

"then, maybe a park walk or i heard the museum has one of those new pop up exhibits if you'd like," he offered.

Milo let his hand swing at his side, free for Thay to take if she wanted. and god, Milo hoped she'd take it.

[thailovemeds]

Thay gave an honest little laugh, finding him adorable. It was one of the things she liked about Milo so far, and she was also eager to discover others.

"Oh, I love museums, I used to enjoy going with my father when I was younger. Can we go after the coffee?" She kept smiling; after all, she was cheerful.

Well, unfortunately she hadn't noticed Milo's desire to hold hands. She was distracted looking at the scenery around them.

"By the way, I loved your sticky note. Are you really such a 'romantically moron'?" She adjusted her reddish jacket. Which matched perfectly her white dress with red details.

[milo-medicine]

Milo shrugged, "so i've been told. i tend to get called "clueless" by pretty much everyone, but mostly its just from me not wanting to jump to conclusions." he explained, "sometimes social cues get a little mixed up for me, so like, i always feel like its better not to assume things, ya know?" he said.

"and yeah!" he cheered. "coffee and a museum, sounds like a plan." he smiled widely, "i always love the exhibits of all the different animals and like the dinosaur skeletons. its cool." he explained.

"by the way?" he asked, looking towards Thay with another nervous grin, "what's your coffee order, i'm buying, my treat." he told her, patting the pocket of his gray jeans where his wallet sat.

[thailovemeds]

She looked away, lost in thought. She wasn't very good at making decisions, but she tried to be quick.

"Iced coffee, I like it." She looked at him again, becoming slightly embarrassed. "Also...You don't need to do that."

"Do you have difficulty with social cues, especially in the romantic or general sense?" she asked, trying to change the subject, as they approached the café. But also curious to know him better.

[milo-medicine]

"ahh, I'm a peppermint mocha kind of guy myself. Mocha and oat milk so I don't- like- die." he explained with a bark of a laugh. "of course i do, the boy always pays for the pretty lady's drink," he said with a strong nod.

He shrugged. "i dunno, i mean, sometimes its confusing? like, does going on one date mean you're dating or did you just go on a date, you know? and like, i dunno. i just work better when there's clear parameters. like is the patient in normal sinus rhythm or not? that's something you can figure out. the social expectations are just like- i dunno. i was never good at them. but like, i was the youngest where only my very probably autistic cousin hung out with me, so i kind of see where i got it from." he explained.

"but- that's- that's a whole complicated thing." he waived off. "how about you? tell me a little about yourself!"

[thailovemeds]

She smiled, understanding a little of what he meant. Even though she didn't share the same feelings, she wanted to know about it and understand him.

"Well, I usually understand some social stuff. Like, it's something that, being a woman, especially a black woman, I need to learn....Uuh like, after all, we live in this world..." She said in a somewhat melancholy voice.

"Have you ever considered the idea of being autistic as well?" she asked delicately, knowing it might be a somewhat difficult subject.

[milo-medicine]

Milo froze in his tracks. "i- uh-" he stuttered.

"a little brave for a first date, aren't we?" he laughed. "uh- no. no i haven't." he coughed out quickly.

This is what always happened. People start digging too far past the Milo façade and they didn't like him anymore. people always chased after the happy cheery Milo. the one who made dumb jokes and was ripped like a fireman. not the Milo who was slowly coming to the forefront with every moment.

Its not like there was anything wrong with the possibility. It was just-

Nobody ever stayed after he felt comfortable enough to unmask the true Milo around them.

He quickly shoved his hands in his pockets. "so- uh. got any good stories from being a nurse?" he asked, very pointedly trying to change the subject.

[thailovemeds]

She looked at him, saying nothing for a few seconds, not wanting to pressure him into talking about himself; after all, they hadn't known each other for very long. Then, upon hearing the question, she simply let the conversation flow.

"Well... Depends. Do you want a funny, sad, or weird story?" she said with a small smile, enjoying the moment; she likes talk about medicine.

[milo-medicine]

"whatever you want to tell, and i have stories in spades from shit i've seen, so go for it. whatever mood you're in." he told her with a large grin. he had bounced back rather quickly, putting a smile back on and carrying on with a spring in his step.

"though i will warn you, most of mine are mainly just 'yea dude you totally slipped and fell on that cucumber' kind of stories." he laughed. "though there are also the stories of creative ways combative patients have attacked me, but those are less fun."

Milo smiled, opening the door for Thay when they got into the coffee shop. "order whatever you like, seriously, it's all on me." he offered with a grin.

[thailovemeds]

She laughed genuinely as she walked through the door. She understood well what those "slipped on a cucumber" situations were like; after all, she'd dealt with a few before.

"How romantic!, opening the door for me!" Thay joked as she walked, turning to the server. Taking a moment before ordering an iced caramel coffee from the server, who looked tired.

Then she turned back to Milo.

"Your comment reminded me of a website that talks about 'bizarre things people have put on themselves.' They update the list every year." She put a hand to her cheek, thinking. "If I remember correctly, there was a girl who put a hamster...like, you know"

[milo-medicine]

"yeah, turns out that hamster thing happens more often than you'd think," he said quietly, now that they were in a public space. "its- its real sad to be honest with you. the poor little guys."

"do you want a muffin or something?" he asked her after he put in his order, "anything you want, cutie, i'll pay for it."

Milo smiled, handing over the cash once Thay had put in her order and pulling her to the side of the room to wait for their respective goods.

[thailovemeds]

The moment they sat down at the table, Thay began to speak, asking new questions.

"Well, why did you agree to go out with me?" she asked, resting her elbow on the table and putting her chin on right hand. Her dark eyes staring at him. "Like, I'm just a nurse who said you were cute."

[milo-medicine]

Milo was caught a bit off guard at the forwardness.

"well, i mean," he paused. "i like people. i crave people, actually. and well, you're kind, and funny, and like, drop-dead pretty." he gushed, bashfully fiddling with his sleeve cuffs. "plus, you're super sweet, and well, you showed interest in me, so i kind of jumped at it."

"its not usual that people make the first move at me. i'm used to chasing, its nice to be noticed sometimes." he explained.

his demeanor changed, resting both elbows on the table and resting his chin on his hands, batting his eyelashes like a cartoon character. "what about you? what made you wanna take little ol' me up on a date??"

[thailovemeds]

Milo's statement made Thay thoughtful, why would he feel that way?, she thought. After all, she herself liked Milo's personality and was curious to find out more about him. So, why would he have to try so hard just to receive a little affection?

Before she could ask more, his question caught her off guard. Making her sit straighter and look out the window, lost in thought.

"Well, while I was working, I ended up seeing you quite often. And I felt that you... were alone, you know? Which, by the way, made me curious." She placed her hand on the table, fidgeting with her fingers, still thinking about the lectures. Milo could see her nails painted with an apple-like texture.

"And like, I thought you were handsome and kind of cute, so I thought, why not? You seem nice, after all, when people weren't worried about you, they seemed... I don't know, happy?"

[milo-medicine]

"oh uh right-" Milo mumbled, "sorry about that... whole... thing."

He stood up when his name was called, carrying the paper treat bag in his teeth and the two coffees in his hands.

"for you, m'lady," he said through the bag in his mouth. he put down the things on the table, sliding the coffee towards Thay and opening the bag.

"yeah i, i mean, you were right about me kind of being alone. but yeah." he rambled. "i'm flattered you thought i was cute though." he told her with a wink.

"i will warn you though-" he said, fighting with the paper wrapper of his straw before giving up and stabbing it onto his thigh to break the seal. "Max -Doctor Nightingale, you've probably met him- has a bit of a habit of trying to either scare or like, warn people i'm a dumbass or something." he added.

[thailovemeds]

She squinted, trying to remember, before raising her eyebrows in a gesture of understanding.

"Oh yes, I know him. Are you two friends?" She looked at him as she calmly opened the straw and placed it in the plastic cup.

[milo-medicine]

"Max is my cousin. our parents are twins. his dad, my mom." he explained. "we're basically brothers though, he kind of raised me- like i mentioned earlier."

"hes really protective of me. i think he still sees me as that little baby that got ejected from my mother and not, ya know," he gestures to himself, "big boy Milo,"

he inwardly cringed for a moment at his choice of words. that was going to be a weird thing to explain to her.

[thailovemeds]

"Oh, I understand. I have many siblings, so it's quite common for the older ones to be very worried about you. It's not because they think you lack independence." She drank her coffee.

"But yea, these situations suck sometimes." She shrugged, watching him, trying to make him comfortable.

"Anyway, have you tried talking with him about it? About your feelings?" She was still looking at him; you could see in her eyes that she was analyzing his entire face. Maybe attracted, maybe worried... it's impossible to know.

[milo-medicine]

Milo squirmed under her gaze, the confidence of 5 minutes ago having once again washed away completely.

Milo looked down to his coffee, stirring it with his straw for a second before taking a sip. "oh believe me. we have done enough talking recently." he mumbled.

Milo cleared his throat, "anyways, shall we?" he asked, gesturing to outside the coffee shop. "or do you want to finish our drinks here, then go hit up the museum?"

it wasn't that he didn't like deep topics, it was just that he wasn't sure he wanted to start sobbing in public on a first date.

[thailovemeds]

"No, we can go if you want." She smiled, despite noticing the change of subject...again.

But she still chose to respect it, as she didn't want to rush things. She knows that everyone has their own time to say certain kinds of things.

"What kind of milk do you prefer? Since you, you know, are lactose intolerant." She asked randomly while grabbing her bag.

[milo-medicine]

"i like oat milk. it tastes the least non-milk to me." he explained. "though i won't lie i will in fact indulge in dairy like my belly isn't gonna immediately make me regret it." he explained with a laugh.

"lactaid is like, my best friend. I always have that shit on me," he said proudly, taking a sip of his drink and reaching into his shirt pocket, pulling out a little foil packet of the aforementioned medicine.

"what about you, what's your milk of choice?" he asked. "even though i take it you're not stricken with the icecream-punishment-disease."

[thailovemeds]

"Oh,I've never tried other types of milk." She chuckled slightly. "So normal milk is okay for me. Although I don't drink it all the time, I don't particularly like the taste."

"I'm kind of picky about food." She adjusted her hair as she began to walk beside him. Looking at the city again and thinking quietly.

[milo-medicine]

"oh, picky how?" he asked genuinely, "i'm used to like, people really not liking certain things. Max will revolt at most potato dishes. i bet i can adapt to whatever isn't to your taste either."

"like i cannot handle squishy foods. or like, strangely enough? creamed corn or anything really grainy but a liquid. like pea soup. it tastes good but the texture is the devil," he scrunched his nose as he walked. "yeah. no. bleh."

[thailovemeds]

""Oh, yes, I hate pea soup! It was practically torture when my mother made it." She frowned slightly as she remembered this.

"Well, I don't really like boiled eggs, fish or seafood, peanuts...Uh, bananas, lollipops. And a list I can't remember." She laughed, her eyes closing in the process, showing she was genuinely happy.

"Anyway, you don't need to adapt to me. I usually try to make myself experience new things." Their eyes met. "Anyway, Tell me a fun facts about yourself."

[milo-medicine]

"no lollipops??" he asked, fake exasperated. "damn. more for me i guess." he said with a shrug.

"i dunno if i have many very fun facts," he rambled, "well i mean i have a cat i found in a dumpster named Pickles, my family owns a multi million dollar mining enterprise, when i go to the theatre i pretend i have boobs so i can smuggle dollar store candy in-" he listed, trying to gloss over the middle one.

the second thing that always happened on dates, was that people would get nervous about the whole "gold mining nepo baby" thing.

[thailovemeds]

"Owo, calm down, that's a lot of facts!" She laughed as she processed the information. Well, she was really surprised that Milo came from a wealthy family. However, she noticed the way he acted about it, So he decided not to pay too much attention to it, after all, it wouldn't completely shape his personality.

"What do you mean by this story about the theater and boobs?" She looked at him, somewhat confused, firstly because she didn't understand much about theater, and secondly because imagining the scene sounded hilarious.

[milo-medicine]

Coffee for Night Owls

closed starter for @thailovemeds

------ 🚑 ------------ 🚑 ------------ 🚑 ------

Milo waited quietly in the ambulance bay, the agreed upon meeting place for what was going to be his first date in a while. Was he nervous? yes. was he excited? also yes.

He bounced on his toes as he waited patiently, watching over the horizon for Thay's gorgeous swaying braids and radiant smile.

and sure enough, not too long, and she was there.

"Hey cutie!" Milo called, jogging up to meet her. "ready for whatever the day brings?" he asked. Milo hoped she couldn't feel his heart beating out of his chest when they hugged.

[thailovemeds]

Thay felt equally anxious; moments before, she had been compulsively fixing her clothes, her hair, and everything about herself. It was her first date in months!

However, the moment she saw Milo, noticing that he also seemed anxious, she calmed down a little internally.

"Always ready!" She said after breaking away from the hug, a nervous smile on her face.

"Well, what has the 'clueless' prepared for today?" She joked while adjusting her bag.

[milo-medicine]

Milo's face fell flat for a second, though he was prepared for this. He pulled something out of his pocket. he slammed a sticky note that read "proudly romantically a moron" onto his chest and continued walking with her.

"we can do anything you'd like, though i know that the first plan was coffee," he mentioned, pointing to the little local coffee shop a block away from them.

"then, maybe a park walk or i heard the museum has one of those new pop up exhibits if you'd like," he offered.

Milo let his hand swing at his side, free for Thay to take if she wanted. and god, Milo hoped she'd take it.

[thailovemeds]

Thay gave an honest little laugh, finding him adorable. It was one of the things she liked about Milo so far, and she was also eager to discover others.

"Oh, I love museums, I used to enjoy going with my father when I was younger. Can we go after the coffee?" She kept smiling; after all, she was cheerful.

Well, unfortunately she hadn't noticed Milo's desire to hold hands. She was distracted looking at the scenery around them.

"By the way, I loved your sticky note. Are you really such a 'romantically moron'?" She adjusted her reddish jacket. Which matched perfectly her white dress with red details.

[milo-medicine]

Milo shrugged, "so i've been told. i tend to get called "clueless" by pretty much everyone, but mostly its just from me not wanting to jump to conclusions." he explained, "sometimes social cues get a little mixed up for me, so like, i always feel like its better not to assume things, ya know?" he said.

"and yeah!" he cheered. "coffee and a museum, sounds like a plan." he smiled widely, "i always love the exhibits of all the different animals and like the dinosaur skeletons. its cool." he explained.

"by the way?" he asked, looking towards Thay with another nervous grin, "what's your coffee order, i'm buying, my treat." he told her, patting the pocket of his gray jeans where his wallet sat.

[thailovemeds]

She looked away, lost in thought. She wasn't very good at making decisions, but she tried to be quick.

"Iced coffee, I like it." She looked at him again, becoming slightly embarrassed. "Also...You don't need to do that."

"Do you have difficulty with social cues, especially in the romantic or general sense?" she asked, trying to change the subject, as they approached the café. But also curious to know him better.

[milo-medicine]

"ahh, I'm a peppermint mocha kind of guy myself. Mocha and oat milk so I don't- like- die." he explained with a bark of a laugh. "of course i do, the boy always pays for the pretty lady's drink," he said with a strong nod.

He shrugged. "i dunno, i mean, sometimes its confusing? like, does going on one date mean you're dating or did you just go on a date, you know? and like, i dunno. i just work better when there's clear parameters. like is the patient in normal sinus rhythm or not? that's something you can figure out. the social expectations are just like- i dunno. i was never good at them. but like, i was the youngest where only my very probably autistic cousin hung out with me, so i kind of see where i got it from." he explained.

"but- that's- that's a whole complicated thing." he waived off. "how about you? tell me a little about yourself!"

[thailovemeds]

She smiled, understanding a little of what he meant. Even though she didn't share the same feelings, she wanted to know about it and understand him.

"Well, I usually understand some social stuff. Like, it's something that, being a woman, especially a black woman, I need to learn....Uuh like, after all, we live in this world..." She said in a somewhat melancholy voice.

"Have you ever considered the idea of being autistic as well?" she asked delicately, knowing it might be a somewhat difficult subject.

[milo-medicine]

Milo froze in his tracks. "i- uh-" he stuttered.

"a little brave for a first date, aren't we?" he laughed. "uh- no. no i haven't." he coughed out quickly.

This is what always happened. People start digging too far past the Milo façade and they didn't like him anymore. people always chased after the happy cheery Milo. the one who made dumb jokes and was ripped like a fireman. not the Milo who was slowly coming to the forefront with every moment.

Its not like there was anything wrong with the possibility. It was just-

Nobody ever stayed after he felt comfortable enough to unmask the true Milo around them.

He quickly shoved his hands in his pockets. "so- uh. got any good stories from being a nurse?" he asked, very pointedly trying to change the subject.

[thailovemeds]

She looked at him, saying nothing for a few seconds, not wanting to pressure him into talking about himself; after all, they hadn't known each other for very long. Then, upon hearing the question, she simply let the conversation flow.

"Well... Depends. Do you want a funny, sad, or weird story?" she said with a small smile, enjoying the moment; she likes talk about medicine.

[milo-medicine]

"whatever you want to tell, and i have stories in spades from shit i've seen, so go for it. whatever mood you're in." he told her with a large grin. he had bounced back rather quickly, putting a smile back on and carrying on with a spring in his step.

"though i will warn you, most of mine are mainly just 'yea dude you totally slipped and fell on that cucumber' kind of stories." he laughed. "though there are also the stories of creative ways combative patients have attacked me, but those are less fun."

Milo smiled, opening the door for Thay when they got into the coffee shop. "order whatever you like, seriously, it's all on me." he offered with a grin.

[thailovemeds]

She laughed genuinely as she walked through the door. She understood well what those "slipped on a cucumber" situations were like; after all, she'd dealt with a few before.

"How romantic!, opening the door for me!" Thay joked as she walked, turning to the server. Taking a moment before ordering an iced caramel coffee from the server, who looked tired.

Then she turned back to Milo.

"Your comment reminded me of a website that talks about 'bizarre things people have put on themselves.' They update the list every year." She put a hand to her cheek, thinking. "If I remember correctly, there was a girl who put a hamster...like, you know"

[milo-medicine]

"yeah, turns out that hamster thing happens more often than you'd think," he said quietly, now that they were in a public space. "its- its real sad to be honest with you. the poor little guys."

"do you want a muffin or something?" he asked her after he put in his order, "anything you want, cutie, i'll pay for it."

Milo smiled, handing over the cash once Thay had put in her order and pulling her to the side of the room to wait for their respective goods.

[thailovemeds]

The moment they sat down at the table, Thay began to speak, asking new questions.

"Well, why did you agree to go out with me?" she asked, resting her elbow on the table and putting her chin on right hand. Her dark eyes staring at him. "Like, I'm just a nurse who said you were cute."

[milo-medicine]

Milo was caught a bit off guard at the forwardness.

"well, i mean," he paused. "i like people. i crave people, actually. and well, you're kind, and funny, and like, drop-dead pretty." he gushed, bashfully fiddling with his sleeve cuffs. "plus, you're super sweet, and well, you showed interest in me, so i kind of jumped at it."

"its not usual that people make the first move at me. i'm used to chasing, its nice to be noticed sometimes." he explained.

his demeanor changed, resting both elbows on the table and resting his chin on his hands, batting his eyelashes like a cartoon character. "what about you? what made you wanna take little ol' me up on a date??"

[thailovemeds]

Milo's statement made Thay thoughtful, why would he feel that way?, she thought. After all, she herself liked Milo's personality and was curious to find out more about him. So, why would he have to try so hard just to receive a little affection?

Before she could ask more, his question caught her off guard. Making her sit straighter and look out the window, lost in thought.

"Well, while I was working, I ended up seeing you quite often. And I felt that you... were alone, you know? Which, by the way, made me curious." She placed her hand on the table, fidgeting with her fingers, still thinking about the lectures. Milo could see her nails painted with an apple-like texture.

"And like, I thought you were handsome and kind of cute, so I thought, why not? You seem nice, after all, when people weren't worried about you, they seemed... I don't know, happy?"

[milo-medicine]

"oh uh right-" Milo mumbled, "sorry about that... whole... thing."

He stood up when his name was called, carrying the paper treat bag in his teeth and the two coffees in his hands.

"for you, m'lady," he said through the bag in his mouth. he put down the things on the table, sliding the coffee towards Thay and opening the bag.

"yeah i, i mean, you were right about me kind of being alone. but yeah." he rambled. "i'm flattered you thought i was cute though." he told her with a wink.

"i will warn you though-" he said, fighting with the paper wrapper of his straw before giving up and stabbing it onto his thigh to break the seal. "Max -Doctor Nightingale, you've probably met him- has a bit of a habit of trying to either scare or like, warn people i'm a dumbass or something." he added.

[thailovemeds]

She squinted, trying to remember, before raising her eyebrows in a gesture of understanding.

"Oh yes, I know him. Are you two friends?" She looked at him as she calmly opened the straw and placed it in the plastic cup.

[milo-medicine]

"Max is my cousin. our parents are twins. his dad, my mom." he explained. "we're basically brothers though, he kind of raised me- like i mentioned earlier."

"hes really protective of me. i think he still sees me as that little baby that got ejected from my mother and not, ya know," he gestures to himself, "big boy Milo,"

he inwardly cringed for a moment at his choice of words. that was going to be a weird thing to explain to her.

[thailovemeds]

"Oh, I understand. I have many siblings, so it's quite common for the older ones to be very worried about you. It's not because they think you lack independence." She drank her coffee.

"But yea, these situations suck sometimes." She shrugged, watching him, trying to make him comfortable.

"Anyway, have you tried talking with him about it? About your feelings?" She was still looking at him; you could see in her eyes that she was analyzing his entire face. Maybe attracted, maybe worried... it's impossible to know.

[milo-medicine]

Milo squirmed under her gaze, the confidence of 5 minutes ago having once again washed away completely.

Milo looked down to his coffee, stirring it with his straw for a second before taking a sip. "oh believe me. we have done enough talking recently." he mumbled.

Milo cleared his throat, "anyways, shall we?" he asked, gesturing to outside the coffee shop. "or do you want to finish our drinks here, then go hit up the museum?"

it wasn't that he didn't like deep topics, it was just that he wasn't sure he wanted to start sobbing in public on a first date.

[thailovemeds]

"No, we can go if you want." She smiled, despite noticing the change of subject...again.

But she still chose to respect it, as she didn't want to rush things. She knows that everyone has their own time to say certain kinds of things.

"What kind of milk do you prefer? Since you, you know, are lactose intolerant." She asked randomly while grabbing her bag.

[milo-medicine]

"i like oat milk. it tastes the least non-milk to me." he explained. "though i won't lie i will in fact indulge in dairy like my belly isn't gonna immediately make me regret it." he explained with a laugh.

"lactaid is like, my best friend. I always have that shit on me," he said proudly, taking a sip of his drink and reaching into his shirt pocket, pulling out a little foil packet of the aforementioned medicine.

"what about you, what's your milk of choice?" he asked. "even though i take it you're not stricken with the icecream-punishment-disease."

[thailovemeds]

"Oh,I've never tried other types of milk." She chuckled slightly. "So normal milk is okay for me. Although I don't drink it all the time, I don't particularly like the taste."

"I'm kind of picky about food." She adjusted her hair as she began to walk beside him. Looking at the city again and thinking quietly.

[milo-medicine]

"oh, picky how?" he asked genuinely, "i'm used to like, people really not liking certain things. Max will revolt at most potato dishes. i bet i can adapt to whatever isn't to your taste either."

"like i cannot handle squishy foods. or like, strangely enough? creamed corn or anything really grainy but a liquid. like pea soup. it tastes good but the texture is the devil," he scrunched his nose as he walked. "yeah. no. bleh."

[thailovemeds]

""Oh, yes, I hate pea soup! It was practically torture when my mother made it." She frowned slightly as she remembered this.

"Well, I don't really like boiled eggs, fish or seafood, peanuts...Uh, bananas, lollipops. And a list I can't remember." She laughed, her eyes closing in the process, showing she was genuinely happy.

"Anyway, you don't need to adapt to me. I usually try to make myself experience new things." Their eyes met. "Anyway, Tell me a fun facts about yourself."

[milo-medicine]

Coffee for Night Owls

closed starter for @thailovemeds

------ 🚑 ------------ 🚑 ------------ 🚑 ------

Milo waited quietly in the ambulance bay, the agreed upon meeting place for what was going to be his first date in a while. Was he nervous? yes. was he excited? also yes.

He bounced on his toes as he waited patiently, watching over the horizon for Thay's gorgeous swaying braids and radiant smile.

and sure enough, not too long, and she was there.

"Hey cutie!" Milo called, jogging up to meet her. "ready for whatever the day brings?" he asked. Milo hoped she couldn't feel his heart beating out of his chest when they hugged.

[thailovemeds]

Thay felt equally anxious; moments before, she had been compulsively fixing her clothes, her hair, and everything about herself. It was her first date in months!

However, the moment she saw Milo, noticing that he also seemed anxious, she calmed down a little internally.

"Always ready!" She said after breaking away from the hug, a nervous smile on her face.

"Well, what has the 'clueless' prepared for today?" She joked while adjusting her bag.

[milo-medicine]

Milo's face fell flat for a second, though he was prepared for this. He pulled something out of his pocket. he slammed a sticky note that read "proudly romantically a moron" onto his chest and continued walking with her.

"we can do anything you'd like, though i know that the first plan was coffee," he mentioned, pointing to the little local coffee shop a block away from them.

"then, maybe a park walk or i heard the museum has one of those new pop up exhibits if you'd like," he offered.

Milo let his hand swing at his side, free for Thay to take if she wanted. and god, Milo hoped she'd take it.

[thailovemeds]

Thay gave an honest little laugh, finding him adorable. It was one of the things she liked about Milo so far, and she was also eager to discover others.

"Oh, I love museums, I used to enjoy going with my father when I was younger. Can we go after the coffee?" She kept smiling; after all, she was cheerful.

Well, unfortunately she hadn't noticed Milo's desire to hold hands. She was distracted looking at the scenery around them.

"By the way, I loved your sticky note. Are you really such a 'romantically moron'?" She adjusted her reddish jacket. Which matched perfectly her white dress with red details.

[milo-medicine]

Milo shrugged, "so i've been told. i tend to get called "clueless" by pretty much everyone, but mostly its just from me not wanting to jump to conclusions." he explained, "sometimes social cues get a little mixed up for me, so like, i always feel like its better not to assume things, ya know?" he said.

"and yeah!" he cheered. "coffee and a museum, sounds like a plan." he smiled widely, "i always love the exhibits of all the different animals and like the dinosaur skeletons. its cool." he explained.

"by the way?" he asked, looking towards Thay with another nervous grin, "what's your coffee order, i'm buying, my treat." he told her, patting the pocket of his gray jeans where his wallet sat.

[thailovemeds]

She looked away, lost in thought. She wasn't very good at making decisions, but she tried to be quick.

"Iced coffee, I like it." She looked at him again, becoming slightly embarrassed. "Also...You don't need to do that."

"Do you have difficulty with social cues, especially in the romantic or general sense?" she asked, trying to change the subject, as they approached the café. But also curious to know him better.

[milo-medicine]

"ahh, I'm a peppermint mocha kind of guy myself. Mocha and oat milk so I don't- like- die." he explained with a bark of a laugh. "of course i do, the boy always pays for the pretty lady's drink," he said with a strong nod.

He shrugged. "i dunno, i mean, sometimes its confusing? like, does going on one date mean you're dating or did you just go on a date, you know? and like, i dunno. i just work better when there's clear parameters. like is the patient in normal sinus rhythm or not? that's something you can figure out. the social expectations are just like- i dunno. i was never good at them. but like, i was the youngest where only my very probably autistic cousin hung out with me, so i kind of see where i got it from." he explained.

"but- that's- that's a whole complicated thing." he waived off. "how about you? tell me a little about yourself!"

[thailovemeds]

She smiled, understanding a little of what he meant. Even though she didn't share the same feelings, she wanted to know about it and understand him.

"Well, I usually understand some social stuff. Like, it's something that, being a woman, especially a black woman, I need to learn....Uuh like, after all, we live in this world..." She said in a somewhat melancholy voice.

"Have you ever considered the idea of being autistic as well?" she asked delicately, knowing it might be a somewhat difficult subject.

[milo-medicine]

Milo froze in his tracks. "i- uh-" he stuttered.

"a little brave for a first date, aren't we?" he laughed. "uh- no. no i haven't." he coughed out quickly.

This is what always happened. People start digging too far past the Milo façade and they didn't like him anymore. people always chased after the happy cheery Milo. the one who made dumb jokes and was ripped like a fireman. not the Milo who was slowly coming to the forefront with every moment.

Its not like there was anything wrong with the possibility. It was just-

Nobody ever stayed after he felt comfortable enough to unmask the true Milo around them.

He quickly shoved his hands in his pockets. "so- uh. got any good stories from being a nurse?" he asked, very pointedly trying to change the subject.

[thailovemeds]

She looked at him, saying nothing for a few seconds, not wanting to pressure him into talking about himself; after all, they hadn't known each other for very long. Then, upon hearing the question, she simply let the conversation flow.

"Well... Depends. Do you want a funny, sad, or weird story?" she said with a small smile, enjoying the moment; she likes talk about medicine.

[milo-medicine]

"whatever you want to tell, and i have stories in spades from shit i've seen, so go for it. whatever mood you're in." he told her with a large grin. he had bounced back rather quickly, putting a smile back on and carrying on with a spring in his step.

"though i will warn you, most of mine are mainly just 'yea dude you totally slipped and fell on that cucumber' kind of stories." he laughed. "though there are also the stories of creative ways combative patients have attacked me, but those are less fun."

Milo smiled, opening the door for Thay when they got into the coffee shop. "order whatever you like, seriously, it's all on me." he offered with a grin.

[thailovemeds]

She laughed genuinely as she walked through the door. She understood well what those "slipped on a cucumber" situations were like; after all, she'd dealt with a few before.

"How romantic!, opening the door for me!" Thay joked as she walked, turning to the server. Taking a moment before ordering an iced caramel coffee from the server, who looked tired.

Then she turned back to Milo.

"Your comment reminded me of a website that talks about 'bizarre things people have put on themselves.' They update the list every year." She put a hand to her cheek, thinking. "If I remember correctly, there was a girl who put a hamster...like, you know"

[milo-medicine]

"yeah, turns out that hamster thing happens more often than you'd think," he said quietly, now that they were in a public space. "its- its real sad to be honest with you. the poor little guys."

"do you want a muffin or something?" he asked her after he put in his order, "anything you want, cutie, i'll pay for it."

Milo smiled, handing over the cash once Thay had put in her order and pulling her to the side of the room to wait for their respective goods.

[thailovemeds]

The moment they sat down at the table, Thay began to speak, asking new questions.

"Well, why did you agree to go out with me?" she asked, resting her elbow on the table and putting her chin on right hand. Her dark eyes staring at him. "Like, I'm just a nurse who said you were cute."

[milo-medicine]

Milo was caught a bit off guard at the forwardness.

"well, i mean," he paused. "i like people. i crave people, actually. and well, you're kind, and funny, and like, drop-dead pretty." he gushed, bashfully fiddling with his sleeve cuffs. "plus, you're super sweet, and well, you showed interest in me, so i kind of jumped at it."

"its not usual that people make the first move at me. i'm used to chasing, its nice to be noticed sometimes." he explained.

his demeanor changed, resting both elbows on the table and resting his chin on his hands, batting his eyelashes like a cartoon character. "what about you? what made you wanna take little ol' me up on a date??"

[thailovemeds]

Milo's statement made Thay thoughtful, why would he feel that way?, she thought. After all, she herself liked Milo's personality and was curious to find out more about him. So, why would he have to try so hard just to receive a little affection?

Before she could ask more, his question caught her off guard. Making her sit straighter and look out the window, lost in thought.

"Well, while I was working, I ended up seeing you quite often. And I felt that you... were alone, you know? Which, by the way, made me curious." She placed her hand on the table, fidgeting with her fingers, still thinking about the lectures. Milo could see her nails painted with an apple-like texture.

"And like, I thought you were handsome and kind of cute, so I thought, why not? You seem nice, after all, when people weren't worried about you, they seemed... I don't know, happy?"

[milo-medicine]

"oh uh right-" Milo mumbled, "sorry about that... whole... thing."

He stood up when his name was called, carrying the paper treat bag in his teeth and the two coffees in his hands.

"for you, m'lady," he said through the bag in his mouth. he put down the things on the table, sliding the coffee towards Thay and opening the bag.

"yeah i, i mean, you were right about me kind of being alone. but yeah." he rambled. "i'm flattered you thought i was cute though." he told her with a wink.

"i will warn you though-" he said, fighting with the paper wrapper of his straw before giving up and stabbing it onto his thigh to break the seal. "Max -Doctor Nightingale, you've probably met him- has a bit of a habit of trying to either scare or like, warn people i'm a dumbass or something." he added.

[thailovemeds]

She squinted, trying to remember, before raising her eyebrows in a gesture of understanding.

"Oh yes, I know him. Are you two friends?" She looked at him as she calmly opened the straw and placed it in the plastic cup.

[milo-medicine]

"Max is my cousin. our parents are twins. his dad, my mom." he explained. "we're basically brothers though, he kind of raised me- like i mentioned earlier."

"hes really protective of me. i think he still sees me as that little baby that got ejected from my mother and not, ya know," he gestures to himself, "big boy Milo,"

he inwardly cringed for a moment at his choice of words. that was going to be a weird thing to explain to her.

[thailovemeds]

"Oh, I understand. I have many siblings, so it's quite common for the older ones to be very worried about you. It's not because they think you lack independence." She drank her coffee.

"But yea, these situations suck sometimes." She shrugged, watching him, trying to make him comfortable.

"Anyway, have you tried talking with him about it? About your feelings?" She was still looking at him; you could see in her eyes that she was analyzing his entire face. Maybe attracted, maybe worried... it's impossible to know.

[milo-medicine]

Milo squirmed under her gaze, the confidence of 5 minutes ago having once again washed away completely.

Milo looked down to his coffee, stirring it with his straw for a second before taking a sip. "oh believe me. we have done enough talking recently." he mumbled.

Milo cleared his throat, "anyways, shall we?" he asked, gesturing to outside the coffee shop. "or do you want to finish our drinks here, then go hit up the museum?"

it wasn't that he didn't like deep topics, it was just that he wasn't sure he wanted to start sobbing in public on a first date.

[thailovemeds]

"No, we can go if you want." She smiled, despite noticing the change of subject...again.

But she still chose to respect it, as she didn't want to rush things. She knows that everyone has their own time to say certain kinds of things.

"What kind of milk do you prefer? Since you, you know, are lactose intolerant." She asked randomly while grabbing her bag.

[milo-medicine]

"i like oat milk. it tastes the least non-milk to me." he explained. "though i won't lie i will in fact indulge in dairy like my belly isn't gonna immediately make me regret it." he explained with a laugh.

"lactaid is like, my best friend. I always have that shit on me," he said proudly, taking a sip of his drink and reaching into his shirt pocket, pulling out a little foil packet of the aforementioned medicine.

"what about you, what's your milk of choice?" he asked. "even though i take it you're not stricken with the icecream-punishment-disease."

[thailovemeds]

"Oh,I've never tried other types of milk." She chuckled slightly. "So normal milk is okay for me. Although I don't drink it all the time, I don't particularly like the taste."

"I'm kind of picky about food." She adjusted her hair as she began to walk beside him. Looking at the city again and thinking quietly.

[milo-medicine]

Coffee for Night Owls

closed starter for @thailovemeds

------ 🚑 ------------ 🚑 ------------ 🚑 ------

Milo waited quietly in the ambulance bay, the agreed upon meeting place for what was going to be his first date in a while. Was he nervous? yes. was he excited? also yes.

He bounced on his toes as he waited patiently, watching over the horizon for Thay's gorgeous swaying braids and radiant smile.

and sure enough, not too long, and she was there.

"Hey cutie!" Milo called, jogging up to meet her. "ready for whatever the day brings?" he asked. Milo hoped she couldn't feel his heart beating out of his chest when they hugged.

[thailovemeds]

Thay felt equally anxious; moments before, she had been compulsively fixing her clothes, her hair, and everything about herself. It was her first date in months!

However, the moment she saw Milo, noticing that he also seemed anxious, she calmed down a little internally.

"Always ready!" She said after breaking away from the hug, a nervous smile on her face.

"Well, what has the 'clueless' prepared for today?" She joked while adjusting her bag.

[milo-medicine]

Milo's face fell flat for a second, though he was prepared for this. He pulled something out of his pocket. he slammed a sticky note that read "proudly romantically a moron" onto his chest and continued walking with her.

"we can do anything you'd like, though i know that the first plan was coffee," he mentioned, pointing to the little local coffee shop a block away from them.

"then, maybe a park walk or i heard the museum has one of those new pop up exhibits if you'd like," he offered.

Milo let his hand swing at his side, free for Thay to take if she wanted. and god, Milo hoped she'd take it.

[thailovemeds]

Thay gave an honest little laugh, finding him adorable. It was one of the things she liked about Milo so far, and she was also eager to discover others.

"Oh, I love museums, I used to enjoy going with my father when I was younger. Can we go after the coffee?" She kept smiling; after all, she was cheerful.

Well, unfortunately she hadn't noticed Milo's desire to hold hands. She was distracted looking at the scenery around them.

"By the way, I loved your sticky note. Are you really such a 'romantically moron'?" She adjusted her reddish jacket. Which matched perfectly her white dress with red details.

[milo-medicine]

Milo shrugged, "so i've been told. i tend to get called "clueless" by pretty much everyone, but mostly its just from me not wanting to jump to conclusions." he explained, "sometimes social cues get a little mixed up for me, so like, i always feel like its better not to assume things, ya know?" he said.

"and yeah!" he cheered. "coffee and a museum, sounds like a plan." he smiled widely, "i always love the exhibits of all the different animals and like the dinosaur skeletons. its cool." he explained.

"by the way?" he asked, looking towards Thay with another nervous grin, "what's your coffee order, i'm buying, my treat." he told her, patting the pocket of his gray jeans where his wallet sat.

[thailovemeds]

She looked away, lost in thought. She wasn't very good at making decisions, but she tried to be quick.

"Iced coffee, I like it." She looked at him again, becoming slightly embarrassed. "Also...You don't need to do that."

"Do you have difficulty with social cues, especially in the romantic or general sense?" she asked, trying to change the subject, as they approached the café. But also curious to know him better.

[milo-medicine]

"ahh, I'm a peppermint mocha kind of guy myself. Mocha and oat milk so I don't- like- die." he explained with a bark of a laugh. "of course i do, the boy always pays for the pretty lady's drink," he said with a strong nod.

He shrugged. "i dunno, i mean, sometimes its confusing? like, does going on one date mean you're dating or did you just go on a date, you know? and like, i dunno. i just work better when there's clear parameters. like is the patient in normal sinus rhythm or not? that's something you can figure out. the social expectations are just like- i dunno. i was never good at them. but like, i was the youngest where only my very probably autistic cousin hung out with me, so i kind of see where i got it from." he explained.

"but- that's- that's a whole complicated thing." he waived off. "how about you? tell me a little about yourself!"

[thailovemeds]

She smiled, understanding a little of what he meant. Even though she didn't share the same feelings, she wanted to know about it and understand him.

"Well, I usually understand some social stuff. Like, it's something that, being a woman, especially a black woman, I need to learn....Uuh like, after all, we live in this world..." She said in a somewhat melancholy voice.

"Have you ever considered the idea of being autistic as well?" she asked delicately, knowing it might be a somewhat difficult subject.

[milo-medicine]

Milo froze in his tracks. "i- uh-" he stuttered.

"a little brave for a first date, aren't we?" he laughed. "uh- no. no i haven't." he coughed out quickly.

This is what always happened. People start digging too far past the Milo façade and they didn't like him anymore. people always chased after the happy cheery Milo. the one who made dumb jokes and was ripped like a fireman. not the Milo who was slowly coming to the forefront with every moment.

Its not like there was anything wrong with the possibility. It was just-

Nobody ever stayed after he felt comfortable enough to unmask the true Milo around them.

He quickly shoved his hands in his pockets. "so- uh. got any good stories from being a nurse?" he asked, very pointedly trying to change the subject.

[thailovemeds]

She looked at him, saying nothing for a few seconds, not wanting to pressure him into talking about himself; after all, they hadn't known each other for very long. Then, upon hearing the question, she simply let the conversation flow.

"Well... Depends. Do you want a funny, sad, or weird story?" she said with a small smile, enjoying the moment; she likes talk about medicine.

[milo-medicine]

"whatever you want to tell, and i have stories in spades from shit i've seen, so go for it. whatever mood you're in." he told her with a large grin. he had bounced back rather quickly, putting a smile back on and carrying on with a spring in his step.

"though i will warn you, most of mine are mainly just 'yea dude you totally slipped and fell on that cucumber' kind of stories." he laughed. "though there are also the stories of creative ways combative patients have attacked me, but those are less fun."

Milo smiled, opening the door for Thay when they got into the coffee shop. "order whatever you like, seriously, it's all on me." he offered with a grin.

[thailovemeds]

She laughed genuinely as she walked through the door. She understood well what those "slipped on a cucumber" situations were like; after all, she'd dealt with a few before.

"How romantic!, opening the door for me!" Thay joked as she walked, turning to the server. Taking a moment before ordering an iced caramel coffee from the server, who looked tired.

Then she turned back to Milo.

"Your comment reminded me of a website that talks about 'bizarre things people have put on themselves.' They update the list every year." She put a hand to her cheek, thinking. "If I remember correctly, there was a girl who put a hamster...like, you know"

[milo-medicine]

"yeah, turns out that hamster thing happens more often than you'd think," he said quietly, now that they were in a public space. "its- its real sad to be honest with you. the poor little guys."

"do you want a muffin or something?" he asked her after he put in his order, "anything you want, cutie, i'll pay for it."

Milo smiled, handing over the cash once Thay had put in her order and pulling her to the side of the room to wait for their respective goods.

[thailovemeds]

The moment they sat down at the table, Thay began to speak, asking new questions.

"Well, why did you agree to go out with me?" she asked, resting her elbow on the table and putting her chin on right hand. Her dark eyes staring at him. "Like, I'm just a nurse who said you were cute."

[milo-medicine]

Milo was caught a bit off guard at the forwardness.

"well, i mean," he paused. "i like people. i crave people, actually. and well, you're kind, and funny, and like, drop-dead pretty." he gushed, bashfully fiddling with his sleeve cuffs. "plus, you're super sweet, and well, you showed interest in me, so i kind of jumped at it."

"its not usual that people make the first move at me. i'm used to chasing, its nice to be noticed sometimes." he explained.

his demeanor changed, resting both elbows on the table and resting his chin on his hands, batting his eyelashes like a cartoon character. "what about you? what made you wanna take little ol' me up on a date??"

[thailovemeds]

Milo's statement made Thay thoughtful, why would he feel that way?, she thought. After all, she herself liked Milo's personality and was curious to find out more about him. So, why would he have to try so hard just to receive a little affection?

Before she could ask more, his question caught her off guard. Making her sit straighter and look out the window, lost in thought.

"Well, while I was working, I ended up seeing you quite often. And I felt that you... were alone, you know? Which, by the way, made me curious." She placed her hand on the table, fidgeting with her fingers, still thinking about the lectures. Milo could see her nails painted with an apple-like texture.

"And like, I thought you were handsome and kind of cute, so I thought, why not? You seem nice, after all, when people weren't worried about you, they seemed... I don't know, happy?"

[milo-medicine]

"oh uh right-" Milo mumbled, "sorry about that... whole... thing."

He stood up when his name was called, carrying the paper treat bag in his teeth and the two coffees in his hands.

"for you, m'lady," he said through the bag in his mouth. he put down the things on the table, sliding the coffee towards Thay and opening the bag.

"yeah i, i mean, you were right about me kind of being alone. but yeah." he rambled. "i'm flattered you thought i was cute though." he told her with a wink.

"i will warn you though-" he said, fighting with the paper wrapper of his straw before giving up and stabbing it onto his thigh to break the seal. "Max -Doctor Nightingale, you've probably met him- has a bit of a habit of trying to either scare or like, warn people i'm a dumbass or something." he added.

[thailovemeds]

She squinted, trying to remember, before raising her eyebrows in a gesture of understanding.

"Oh yes, I know him. Are you two friends?" She looked at him as she calmly opened the straw and placed it in the plastic cup.

[milo-medicine]

"Max is my cousin. our parents are twins. his dad, my mom." he explained. "we're basically brothers though, he kind of raised me- like i mentioned earlier."

"hes really protective of me. i think he still sees me as that little baby that got ejected from my mother and not, ya know," he gestures to himself, "big boy Milo,"

he inwardly cringed for a moment at his choice of words. that was going to be a weird thing to explain to her.

[thailovemeds]

"Oh, I understand. I have many siblings, so it's quite common for the older ones to be very worried about you. It's not because they think you lack independence." She drank her coffee.

"But yea, these situations suck sometimes." She shrugged, watching him, trying to make him comfortable.

"Anyway, have you tried talking with him about it? About your feelings?" She was still looking at him; you could see in her eyes that she was analyzing his entire face. Maybe attracted, maybe worried... it's impossible to know.

[milo-medicine]

Milo squirmed under her gaze, the confidence of 5 minutes ago having once again washed away completely.

Milo looked down to his coffee, stirring it with his straw for a second before taking a sip. "oh believe me. we have done enough talking recently." he mumbled.

Milo cleared his throat, "anyways, shall we?" he asked, gesturing to outside the coffee shop. "or do you want to finish our drinks here, then go hit up the museum?"

it wasn't that he didn't like deep topics, it was just that he wasn't sure he wanted to start sobbing in public on a first date.

[thailovemeds]

"No, we can go if you want." She smiled, despite noticing the change of subject...again.

But she still chose to respect it, as she didn't want to rush things. She knows that everyone has their own time to say certain kinds of things.

"What kind of milk do you prefer? Since you, you know, are lactose intolerant." She asked randomly while grabbing her bag.

[milo-medicine]

Coffee for Night Owls

closed starter for @thailovemeds

------ 🚑 ------------ 🚑 ------------ 🚑 ------

Milo waited quietly in the ambulance bay, the agreed upon meeting place for what was going to be his first date in a while. Was he nervous? yes. was he excited? also yes.

He bounced on his toes as he waited patiently, watching over the horizon for Thay's gorgeous swaying braids and radiant smile.

and sure enough, not too long, and she was there.

"Hey cutie!" Milo called, jogging up to meet her. "ready for whatever the day brings?" he asked. Milo hoped she couldn't feel his heart beating out of his chest when they hugged.

[thailovemeds]

Thay felt equally anxious; moments before, she had been compulsively fixing her clothes, her hair, and everything about herself. It was her first date in months!

However, the moment she saw Milo, noticing that he also seemed anxious, she calmed down a little internally.

"Always ready!" She said after breaking away from the hug, a nervous smile on her face.

"Well, what has the 'clueless' prepared for today?" She joked while adjusting her bag.

[milo-medicine]

Milo's face fell flat for a second, though he was prepared for this. He pulled something out of his pocket. he slammed a sticky note that read "proudly romantically a moron" onto his chest and continued walking with her.

"we can do anything you'd like, though i know that the first plan was coffee," he mentioned, pointing to the little local coffee shop a block away from them.

"then, maybe a park walk or i heard the museum has one of those new pop up exhibits if you'd like," he offered.

Milo let his hand swing at his side, free for Thay to take if she wanted. and god, Milo hoped she'd take it.

[thailovemeds]

Thay gave an honest little laugh, finding him adorable. It was one of the things she liked about Milo so far, and she was also eager to discover others.

"Oh, I love museums, I used to enjoy going with my father when I was younger. Can we go after the coffee?" She kept smiling; after all, she was cheerful.

Well, unfortunately she hadn't noticed Milo's desire to hold hands. She was distracted looking at the scenery around them.

"By the way, I loved your sticky note. Are you really such a 'romantically moron'?" She adjusted her reddish jacket. Which matched perfectly her white dress with red details.

[milo-medicine]

Milo shrugged, "so i've been told. i tend to get called "clueless" by pretty much everyone, but mostly its just from me not wanting to jump to conclusions." he explained, "sometimes social cues get a little mixed up for me, so like, i always feel like its better not to assume things, ya know?" he said.

"and yeah!" he cheered. "coffee and a museum, sounds like a plan." he smiled widely, "i always love the exhibits of all the different animals and like the dinosaur skeletons. its cool." he explained.

"by the way?" he asked, looking towards Thay with another nervous grin, "what's your coffee order, i'm buying, my treat." he told her, patting the pocket of his gray jeans where his wallet sat.

[thailovemeds]

She looked away, lost in thought. She wasn't very good at making decisions, but she tried to be quick.

"Iced coffee, I like it." She looked at him again, becoming slightly embarrassed. "Also...You don't need to do that."

"Do you have difficulty with social cues, especially in the romantic or general sense?" she asked, trying to change the subject, as they approached the café. But also curious to know him better.

[milo-medicine]

"ahh, I'm a peppermint mocha kind of guy myself. Mocha and oat milk so I don't- like- die." he explained with a bark of a laugh. "of course i do, the boy always pays for the pretty lady's drink," he said with a strong nod.

He shrugged. "i dunno, i mean, sometimes its confusing? like, does going on one date mean you're dating or did you just go on a date, you know? and like, i dunno. i just work better when there's clear parameters. like is the patient in normal sinus rhythm or not? that's something you can figure out. the social expectations are just like- i dunno. i was never good at them. but like, i was the youngest where only my very probably autistic cousin hung out with me, so i kind of see where i got it from." he explained.

"but- that's- that's a whole complicated thing." he waived off. "how about you? tell me a little about yourself!"

[thailovemeds]

She smiled, understanding a little of what he meant. Even though she didn't share the same feelings, she wanted to know about it and understand him.

"Well, I usually understand some social stuff. Like, it's something that, being a woman, especially a black woman, I need to learn....Uuh like, after all, we live in this world..." She said in a somewhat melancholy voice.

"Have you ever considered the idea of being autistic as well?" she asked delicately, knowing it might be a somewhat difficult subject.

[milo-medicine]

Milo froze in his tracks. "i- uh-" he stuttered.

"a little brave for a first date, aren't we?" he laughed. "uh- no. no i haven't." he coughed out quickly.

This is what always happened. People start digging too far past the Milo façade and they didn't like him anymore. people always chased after the happy cheery Milo. the one who made dumb jokes and was ripped like a fireman. not the Milo who was slowly coming to the forefront with every moment.

Its not like there was anything wrong with the possibility. It was just-

Nobody ever stayed after he felt comfortable enough to unmask the true Milo around them.

He quickly shoved his hands in his pockets. "so- uh. got any good stories from being a nurse?" he asked, very pointedly trying to change the subject.

[thailovemeds]

She looked at him, saying nothing for a few seconds, not wanting to pressure him into talking about himself; after all, they hadn't known each other for very long. Then, upon hearing the question, she simply let the conversation flow.

"Well... Depends. Do you want a funny, sad, or weird story?" she said with a small smile, enjoying the moment; she likes talk about medicine.

[milo-medicine]

"whatever you want to tell, and i have stories in spades from shit i've seen, so go for it. whatever mood you're in." he told her with a large grin. he had bounced back rather quickly, putting a smile back on and carrying on with a spring in his step.

"though i will warn you, most of mine are mainly just 'yea dude you totally slipped and fell on that cucumber' kind of stories." he laughed. "though there are also the stories of creative ways combative patients have attacked me, but those are less fun."

Milo smiled, opening the door for Thay when they got into the coffee shop. "order whatever you like, seriously, it's all on me." he offered with a grin.

[thailovemeds]

She laughed genuinely as she walked through the door. She understood well what those "slipped on a cucumber" situations were like; after all, she'd dealt with a few before.

"How romantic!, opening the door for me!" Thay joked as she walked, turning to the server. Taking a moment before ordering an iced caramel coffee from the server, who looked tired.

Then she turned back to Milo.

"Your comment reminded me of a website that talks about 'bizarre things people have put on themselves.' They update the list every year." She put a hand to her cheek, thinking. "If I remember correctly, there was a girl who put a hamster...like, you know"

[milo-medicine]

"yeah, turns out that hamster thing happens more often than you'd think," he said quietly, now that they were in a public space. "its- its real sad to be honest with you. the poor little guys."

"do you want a muffin or something?" he asked her after he put in his order, "anything you want, cutie, i'll pay for it."

Milo smiled, handing over the cash once Thay had put in her order and pulling her to the side of the room to wait for their respective goods.

[thailovemeds]

The moment they sat down at the table, Thay began to speak, asking new questions.

"Well, why did you agree to go out with me?" she asked, resting her elbow on the table and putting her chin on right hand. Her dark eyes staring at him. "Like, I'm just a nurse who said you were cute."

[milo-medicine]

Milo was caught a bit off guard at the forwardness.

"well, i mean," he paused. "i like people. i crave people, actually. and well, you're kind, and funny, and like, drop-dead pretty." he gushed, bashfully fiddling with his sleeve cuffs. "plus, you're super sweet, and well, you showed interest in me, so i kind of jumped at it."

"its not usual that people make the first move at me. i'm used to chasing, its nice to be noticed sometimes." he explained.

his demeanor changed, resting both elbows on the table and resting his chin on his hands, batting his eyelashes like a cartoon character. "what about you? what made you wanna take little ol' me up on a date??"

[thailovemeds]

Milo's statement made Thay thoughtful, why would he feel that way?, she thought. After all, she herself liked Milo's personality and was curious to find out more about him. So, why would he have to try so hard just to receive a little affection?

Before she could ask more, his question caught her off guard. Making her sit straighter and look out the window, lost in thought.

"Well, while I was working, I ended up seeing you quite often. And I felt that you... were alone, you know? Which, by the way, made me curious." She placed her hand on the table, fidgeting with her fingers, still thinking about the lectures. Milo could see her nails painted with an apple-like texture.

"And like, I thought you were handsome and kind of cute, so I thought, why not? You seem nice, after all, when people weren't worried about you, they seemed... I don't know, happy?"

[milo-medicine]

"oh uh right-" Milo mumbled, "sorry about that... whole... thing."

He stood up when his name was called, carrying the paper treat bag in his teeth and the two coffees in his hands.

"for you, m'lady," he said through the bag in his mouth. he put down the things on the table, sliding the coffee towards Thay and opening the bag.

"yeah i, i mean, you were right about me kind of being alone. but yeah." he rambled. "i'm flattered you thought i was cute though." he told her with a wink.

"i will warn you though-" he said, fighting with the paper wrapper of his straw before giving up and stabbing it onto his thigh to break the seal. "Max -Doctor Nightingale, you've probably met him- has a bit of a habit of trying to either scare or like, warn people i'm a dumbass or something." he added.

[thailovemeds]

She squinted, trying to remember, before raising her eyebrows in a gesture of understanding.

"Oh yes, I know him. Are you two friends?" She looked at him as she calmly opened the straw and placed it in the plastic cup.

[milo-medicine]

"Max is my cousin. our parents are twins. his dad, my mom." he explained. "we're basically brothers though, he kind of raised me- like i mentioned earlier."

"hes really protective of me. i think he still sees me as that little baby that got ejected from my mother and not, ya know," he gestures to himself, "big boy Milo,"

he inwardly cringed for a moment at his choice of words. that was going to be a weird thing to explain to her.

[thailovemeds]

"Oh, I understand. I have many siblings, so it's quite common for the older ones to be very worried about you. It's not because they think you lack independence." She drank her coffee.

"But yea, these situations suck sometimes." She shrugged, watching him, trying to make him comfortable.

"Anyway, have you tried talking with him about it? About your feelings?" She was still looking at him; you could see in her eyes that she was analyzing his entire face. Maybe attracted, maybe worried... it's impossible to know.

[milo-medicine]

Coffee for Night Owls

closed starter for @thailovemeds

------ 🚑 ------------ 🚑 ------------ 🚑 ------

Milo waited quietly in the ambulance bay, the agreed upon meeting place for what was going to be his first date in a while. Was he nervous? yes. was he excited? also yes.

He bounced on his toes as he waited patiently, watching over the horizon for Thay's gorgeous swaying braids and radiant smile.

and sure enough, not too long, and she was there.

"Hey cutie!" Milo called, jogging up to meet her. "ready for whatever the day brings?" he asked. Milo hoped she couldn't feel his heart beating out of his chest when they hugged.

[thailovemeds]

Thay felt equally anxious; moments before, she had been compulsively fixing her clothes, her hair, and everything about herself. It was her first date in months!

However, the moment she saw Milo, noticing that he also seemed anxious, she calmed down a little internally.

"Always ready!" She said after breaking away from the hug, a nervous smile on her face.

"Well, what has the 'clueless' prepared for today?" She joked while adjusting her bag.

[milo-medicine]

Milo's face fell flat for a second, though he was prepared for this. He pulled something out of his pocket. he slammed a sticky note that read "proudly romantically a moron" onto his chest and continued walking with her.

"we can do anything you'd like, though i know that the first plan was coffee," he mentioned, pointing to the little local coffee shop a block away from them.

"then, maybe a park walk or i heard the museum has one of those new pop up exhibits if you'd like," he offered.

Milo let his hand swing at his side, free for Thay to take if she wanted. and god, Milo hoped she'd take it.

[thailovemeds]

Thay gave an honest little laugh, finding him adorable. It was one of the things she liked about Milo so far, and she was also eager to discover others.

"Oh, I love museums, I used to enjoy going with my father when I was younger. Can we go after the coffee?" She kept smiling; after all, she was cheerful.

Well, unfortunately she hadn't noticed Milo's desire to hold hands. She was distracted looking at the scenery around them.

"By the way, I loved your sticky note. Are you really such a 'romantically moron'?" She adjusted her reddish jacket. Which matched perfectly her white dress with red details.

[milo-medicine]

Milo shrugged, "so i've been told. i tend to get called "clueless" by pretty much everyone, but mostly its just from me not wanting to jump to conclusions." he explained, "sometimes social cues get a little mixed up for me, so like, i always feel like its better not to assume things, ya know?" he said.

"and yeah!" he cheered. "coffee and a museum, sounds like a plan." he smiled widely, "i always love the exhibits of all the different animals and like the dinosaur skeletons. its cool." he explained.

"by the way?" he asked, looking towards Thay with another nervous grin, "what's your coffee order, i'm buying, my treat." he told her, patting the pocket of his gray jeans where his wallet sat.

[thailovemeds]

She looked away, lost in thought. She wasn't very good at making decisions, but she tried to be quick.

"Iced coffee, I like it." She looked at him again, becoming slightly embarrassed. "Also...You don't need to do that."

"Do you have difficulty with social cues, especially in the romantic or general sense?" she asked, trying to change the subject, as they approached the café. But also curious to know him better.

[milo-medicine]

"ahh, I'm a peppermint mocha kind of guy myself. Mocha and oat milk so I don't- like- die." he explained with a bark of a laugh. "of course i do, the boy always pays for the pretty lady's drink," he said with a strong nod.

He shrugged. "i dunno, i mean, sometimes its confusing? like, does going on one date mean you're dating or did you just go on a date, you know? and like, i dunno. i just work better when there's clear parameters. like is the patient in normal sinus rhythm or not? that's something you can figure out. the social expectations are just like- i dunno. i was never good at them. but like, i was the youngest where only my very probably autistic cousin hung out with me, so i kind of see where i got it from." he explained.

"but- that's- that's a whole complicated thing." he waived off. "how about you? tell me a little about yourself!"

[thailovemeds]

She smiled, understanding a little of what he meant. Even though she didn't share the same feelings, she wanted to know about it and understand him.

"Well, I usually understand some social stuff. Like, it's something that, being a woman, especially a black woman, I need to learn....Uuh like, after all, we live in this world..." She said in a somewhat melancholy voice.

"Have you ever considered the idea of being autistic as well?" she asked delicately, knowing it might be a somewhat difficult subject.

[milo-medicine]

Milo froze in his tracks. "i- uh-" he stuttered.

"a little brave for a first date, aren't we?" he laughed. "uh- no. no i haven't." he coughed out quickly.

This is what always happened. People start digging too far past the Milo façade and they didn't like him anymore. people always chased after the happy cheery Milo. the one who made dumb jokes and was ripped like a fireman. not the Milo who was slowly coming to the forefront with every moment.

Its not like there was anything wrong with the possibility. It was just-

Nobody ever stayed after he felt comfortable enough to unmask the true Milo around them.

He quickly shoved his hands in his pockets. "so- uh. got any good stories from being a nurse?" he asked, very pointedly trying to change the subject.

[thailovemeds]

She looked at him, saying nothing for a few seconds, not wanting to pressure him into talking about himself; after all, they hadn't known each other for very long. Then, upon hearing the question, she simply let the conversation flow.

"Well... Depends. Do you want a funny, sad, or weird story?" she said with a small smile, enjoying the moment; she likes talk about medicine.

[milo-medicine]

"whatever you want to tell, and i have stories in spades from shit i've seen, so go for it. whatever mood you're in." he told her with a large grin. he had bounced back rather quickly, putting a smile back on and carrying on with a spring in his step.

"though i will warn you, most of mine are mainly just 'yea dude you totally slipped and fell on that cucumber' kind of stories." he laughed. "though there are also the stories of creative ways combative patients have attacked me, but those are less fun."

Milo smiled, opening the door for Thay when they got into the coffee shop. "order whatever you like, seriously, it's all on me." he offered with a grin.

[thailovemeds]

She laughed genuinely as she walked through the door. She understood well what those "slipped on a cucumber" situations were like; after all, she'd dealt with a few before.

"How romantic!, opening the door for me!" Thay joked as she walked, turning to the server. Taking a moment before ordering an iced caramel coffee from the server, who looked tired.

Then she turned back to Milo.

"Your comment reminded me of a website that talks about 'bizarre things people have put on themselves.' They update the list every year." She put a hand to her cheek, thinking. "If I remember correctly, there was a girl who put a hamster...like, you know"

[milo-medicine]

"yeah, turns out that hamster thing happens more often than you'd think," he said quietly, now that they were in a public space. "its- its real sad to be honest with you. the poor little guys."

"do you want a muffin or something?" he asked her after he put in his order, "anything you want, cutie, i'll pay for it."

Milo smiled, handing over the cash once Thay had put in her order and pulling her to the side of the room to wait for their respective goods.

[thailovemeds]

The moment they sat down at the table, Thay began to speak, asking new questions.

"Well, why did you agree to go out with me?" she asked, resting her elbow on the table and putting her chin on right hand. Her dark eyes staring at him. "Like, I'm just a nurse who said you were cute."

[milo-medicine]

Milo was caught a bit off guard at the forwardness.

"well, i mean," he paused. "i like people. i crave people, actually. and well, you're kind, and funny, and like, drop-dead pretty." he gushed, bashfully fiddling with his sleeve cuffs. "plus, you're super sweet, and well, you showed interest in me, so i kind of jumped at it."

"its not usual that people make the first move at me. i'm used to chasing, its nice to be noticed sometimes." he explained.

his demeanor changed, resting both elbows on the table and resting his chin on his hands, batting his eyelashes like a cartoon character. "what about you? what made you wanna take little ol' me up on a date??"

[thailovemeds]

Milo's statement made Thay thoughtful, why would he feel that way?, she thought. After all, she herself liked Milo's personality and was curious to find out more about him. So, why would he have to try so hard just to receive a little affection?

Before she could ask more, his question caught her off guard. Making her sit straighter and look out the window, lost in thought.

"Well, while I was working, I ended up seeing you quite often. And I felt that you... were alone, you know? Which, by the way, made me curious." She placed her hand on the table, fidgeting with her fingers, still thinking about the lectures. Milo could see her nails painted with an apple-like texture.

"And like, I thought you were handsome and kind of cute, so I thought, why not? You seem nice, after all, when people weren't worried about you, they seemed... I don't know, happy?"

[milo-medicine]

"oh uh right-" Milo mumbled, "sorry about that... whole... thing."

He stood up when his name was called, carrying the paper treat bag in his teeth and the two coffees in his hands.

"for you, m'lady," he said through the bag in his mouth. he put down the things on the table, sliding the coffee towards Thay and opening the bag.

"yeah i, i mean, you were right about me kind of being alone. but yeah." he rambled. "i'm flattered you thought i was cute though." he told her with a wink.

"i will warn you though-" he said, fighting with the paper wrapper of his straw before giving up and stabbing it onto his thigh to break the seal. "Max -Doctor Nightingale, you've probably met him- has a bit of a habit of trying to either scare or like, warn people i'm a dumbass or something." he added.

[thailovemeds]

She squinted, trying to remember, before raising her eyebrows in a gesture of understanding.

"Oh yes, I know him. Are you two friends?" She looked at him as she calmly opened the straw and placed it in the plastic cup.

[milo-medicine]

Coffee for Night Owls

closed starter for @thailovemeds

------ 🚑 ------------ 🚑 ------------ 🚑 ------

Milo waited quietly in the ambulance bay, the agreed upon meeting place for what was going to be his first date in a while. Was he nervous? yes. was he excited? also yes.

He bounced on his toes as he waited patiently, watching over the horizon for Thay's gorgeous swaying braids and radiant smile.

and sure enough, not too long, and she was there.

"Hey cutie!" Milo called, jogging up to meet her. "ready for whatever the day brings?" he asked. Milo hoped she couldn't feel his heart beating out of his chest when they hugged.

[thailovemeds]

Thay felt equally anxious; moments before, she had been compulsively fixing her clothes, her hair, and everything about herself. It was her first date in months!

However, the moment she saw Milo, noticing that he also seemed anxious, she calmed down a little internally.

"Always ready!" She said after breaking away from the hug, a nervous smile on her face.

"Well, what has the 'clueless' prepared for today?" She joked while adjusting her bag.

[milo-medicine]

Milo's face fell flat for a second, though he was prepared for this. He pulled something out of his pocket. he slammed a sticky note that read "proudly romantically a moron" onto his chest and continued walking with her.

"we can do anything you'd like, though i know that the first plan was coffee," he mentioned, pointing to the little local coffee shop a block away from them.

"then, maybe a park walk or i heard the museum has one of those new pop up exhibits if you'd like," he offered.

Milo let his hand swing at his side, free for Thay to take if she wanted. and god, Milo hoped she'd take it.

[thailovemeds]

Thay gave an honest little laugh, finding him adorable. It was one of the things she liked about Milo so far, and she was also eager to discover others.

"Oh, I love museums, I used to enjoy going with my father when I was younger. Can we go after the coffee?" She kept smiling; after all, she was cheerful.

Well, unfortunately she hadn't noticed Milo's desire to hold hands. She was distracted looking at the scenery around them.

"By the way, I loved your sticky note. Are you really such a 'romantically moron'?" She adjusted her reddish jacket. Which matched perfectly her white dress with red details.

[milo-medicine]

Milo shrugged, "so i've been told. i tend to get called "clueless" by pretty much everyone, but mostly its just from me not wanting to jump to conclusions." he explained, "sometimes social cues get a little mixed up for me, so like, i always feel like its better not to assume things, ya know?" he said.

"and yeah!" he cheered. "coffee and a museum, sounds like a plan." he smiled widely, "i always love the exhibits of all the different animals and like the dinosaur skeletons. its cool." he explained.

"by the way?" he asked, looking towards Thay with another nervous grin, "what's your coffee order, i'm buying, my treat." he told her, patting the pocket of his gray jeans where his wallet sat.

[thailovemeds]

She looked away, lost in thought. She wasn't very good at making decisions, but she tried to be quick.

"Iced coffee, I like it." She looked at him again, becoming slightly embarrassed. "Also...You don't need to do that."

"Do you have difficulty with social cues, especially in the romantic or general sense?" she asked, trying to change the subject, as they approached the café. But also curious to know him better.

[milo-medicine]

"ahh, I'm a peppermint mocha kind of guy myself. Mocha and oat milk so I don't- like- die." he explained with a bark of a laugh. "of course i do, the boy always pays for the pretty lady's drink," he said with a strong nod.

He shrugged. "i dunno, i mean, sometimes its confusing? like, does going on one date mean you're dating or did you just go on a date, you know? and like, i dunno. i just work better when there's clear parameters. like is the patient in normal sinus rhythm or not? that's something you can figure out. the social expectations are just like- i dunno. i was never good at them. but like, i was the youngest where only my very probably autistic cousin hung out with me, so i kind of see where i got it from." he explained.

"but- that's- that's a whole complicated thing." he waived off. "how about you? tell me a little about yourself!"

[thailovemeds]

She smiled, understanding a little of what he meant. Even though she didn't share the same feelings, she wanted to know about it and understand him.

"Well, I usually understand some social stuff. Like, it's something that, being a woman, especially a black woman, I need to learn....Uuh like, after all, we live in this world..." She said in a somewhat melancholy voice.

"Have you ever considered the idea of being autistic as well?" she asked delicately, knowing it might be a somewhat difficult subject.

[milo-medicine]

Milo froze in his tracks. "i- uh-" he stuttered.

"a little brave for a first date, aren't we?" he laughed. "uh- no. no i haven't." he coughed out quickly.

This is what always happened. People start digging too far past the Milo façade and they didn't like him anymore. people always chased after the happy cheery Milo. the one who made dumb jokes and was ripped like a fireman. not the Milo who was slowly coming to the forefront with every moment.

Its not like there was anything wrong with the possibility. It was just-

Nobody ever stayed after he felt comfortable enough to unmask the true Milo around them.

He quickly shoved his hands in his pockets. "so- uh. got any good stories from being a nurse?" he asked, very pointedly trying to change the subject.

[thailovemeds]

She looked at him, saying nothing for a few seconds, not wanting to pressure him into talking about himself; after all, they hadn't known each other for very long. Then, upon hearing the question, she simply let the conversation flow.

"Well... Depends. Do you want a funny, sad, or weird story?" she said with a small smile, enjoying the moment; she likes talk about medicine.

[milo-medicine]

"whatever you want to tell, and i have stories in spades from shit i've seen, so go for it. whatever mood you're in." he told her with a large grin. he had bounced back rather quickly, putting a smile back on and carrying on with a spring in his step.

"though i will warn you, most of mine are mainly just 'yea dude you totally slipped and fell on that cucumber' kind of stories." he laughed. "though there are also the stories of creative ways combative patients have attacked me, but those are less fun."

Milo smiled, opening the door for Thay when they got into the coffee shop. "order whatever you like, seriously, it's all on me." he offered with a grin.

[thailovemeds]

She laughed genuinely as she walked through the door. She understood well what those "slipped on a cucumber" situations were like; after all, she'd dealt with a few before.

"How romantic!, opening the door for me!" Thay joked as she walked, turning to the server. Taking a moment before ordering an iced caramel coffee from the server, who looked tired.

Then she turned back to Milo.

"Your comment reminded me of a website that talks about 'bizarre things people have put on themselves.' They update the list every year." She put a hand to her cheek, thinking. "If I remember correctly, there was a girl who put a hamster...like, you know"

[milo-medicine]

"yeah, turns out that hamster thing happens more often than you'd think," he said quietly, now that they were in a public space. "its- its real sad to be honest with you. the poor little guys."

"do you want a muffin or something?" he asked her after he put in his order, "anything you want, cutie, i'll pay for it."

Milo smiled, handing over the cash once Thay had put in her order and pulling her to the side of the room to wait for their respective goods.

[thailovemeds]

The moment they sat down at the table, Thay began to speak, asking new questions.

"Well, why did you agree to go out with me?" she asked, resting her elbow on the table and putting her chin on right hand. Her dark eyes staring at him. "Like, I'm just a nurse who said you were cute."

[milo-medicine]

Milo was caught a bit off guard at the forwardness.

"well, i mean," he paused. "i like people. i crave people, actually. and well, you're kind, and funny, and like, drop-dead pretty." he gushed, bashfully fiddling with his sleeve cuffs. "plus, you're super sweet, and well, you showed interest in me, so i kind of jumped at it."

"its not usual that people make the first move at me. i'm used to chasing, its nice to be noticed sometimes." he explained.

his demeanor changed, resting both elbows on the table and resting his chin on his hands, batting his eyelashes like a cartoon character. "what about you? what made you wanna take little ol' me up on a date??"

[thailovemeds]

Milo's statement made Thay thoughtful, why would he feel that way?, she thought. After all, she herself liked Milo's personality and was curious to find out more about him. So, why would he have to try so hard just to receive a little affection?

Before she could ask more, his question caught her off guard. Making her sit straighter and look out the window, lost in thought.

"Well, while I was working, I ended up seeing you quite often. And I felt that you... were alone, you know? Which, by the way, made me curious." She placed her hand on the table, fidgeting with her fingers, still thinking about the lectures. Milo could see her nails painted with an apple-like texture.

"And like, I thought you were handsome and kind of cute, so I thought, why not? You seem nice, after all, when people weren't worried about you, they seemed... I don't know, happy?"

[milo-medicine]

Coffee for Night Owls

closed starter for @thailovemeds

------ 🚑 ------------ 🚑 ------------ 🚑 ------

Milo waited quietly in the ambulance bay, the agreed upon meeting place for what was going to be his first date in a while. Was he nervous? yes. was he excited? also yes.

He bounced on his toes as he waited patiently, watching over the horizon for Thay's gorgeous swaying braids and radiant smile.

and sure enough, not too long, and she was there.

"Hey cutie!" Milo called, jogging up to meet her. "ready for whatever the day brings?" he asked. Milo hoped she couldn't feel his heart beating out of his chest when they hugged.

[thailovemeds]

Thay felt equally anxious; moments before, she had been compulsively fixing her clothes, her hair, and everything about herself. It was her first date in months!

However, the moment she saw Milo, noticing that he also seemed anxious, she calmed down a little internally.

"Always ready!" She said after breaking away from the hug, a nervous smile on her face.

"Well, what has the 'clueless' prepared for today?" She joked while adjusting her bag.

[milo-medicine]

Milo's face fell flat for a second, though he was prepared for this. He pulled something out of his pocket. he slammed a sticky note that read "proudly romantically a moron" onto his chest and continued walking with her.

"we can do anything you'd like, though i know that the first plan was coffee," he mentioned, pointing to the little local coffee shop a block away from them.

"then, maybe a park walk or i heard the museum has one of those new pop up exhibits if you'd like," he offered.

Milo let his hand swing at his side, free for Thay to take if she wanted. and god, Milo hoped she'd take it.

[thailovemeds]

Thay gave an honest little laugh, finding him adorable. It was one of the things she liked about Milo so far, and she was also eager to discover others.

"Oh, I love museums, I used to enjoy going with my father when I was younger. Can we go after the coffee?" She kept smiling; after all, she was cheerful.

Well, unfortunately she hadn't noticed Milo's desire to hold hands. She was distracted looking at the scenery around them.

"By the way, I loved your sticky note. Are you really such a 'romantically moron'?" She adjusted her reddish jacket. Which matched perfectly her white dress with red details.

[milo-medicine]

Milo shrugged, "so i've been told. i tend to get called "clueless" by pretty much everyone, but mostly its just from me not wanting to jump to conclusions." he explained, "sometimes social cues get a little mixed up for me, so like, i always feel like its better not to assume things, ya know?" he said.

"and yeah!" he cheered. "coffee and a museum, sounds like a plan." he smiled widely, "i always love the exhibits of all the different animals and like the dinosaur skeletons. its cool." he explained.

"by the way?" he asked, looking towards Thay with another nervous grin, "what's your coffee order, i'm buying, my treat." he told her, patting the pocket of his gray jeans where his wallet sat.

[thailovemeds]

She looked away, lost in thought. She wasn't very good at making decisions, but she tried to be quick.

"Iced coffee, I like it." She looked at him again, becoming slightly embarrassed. "Also...You don't need to do that."

"Do you have difficulty with social cues, especially in the romantic or general sense?" she asked, trying to change the subject, as they approached the café. But also curious to know him better.

[milo-medicine]

"ahh, I'm a peppermint mocha kind of guy myself. Mocha and oat milk so I don't- like- die." he explained with a bark of a laugh. "of course i do, the boy always pays for the pretty lady's drink," he said with a strong nod.

He shrugged. "i dunno, i mean, sometimes its confusing? like, does going on one date mean you're dating or did you just go on a date, you know? and like, i dunno. i just work better when there's clear parameters. like is the patient in normal sinus rhythm or not? that's something you can figure out. the social expectations are just like- i dunno. i was never good at them. but like, i was the youngest where only my very probably autistic cousin hung out with me, so i kind of see where i got it from." he explained.

"but- that's- that's a whole complicated thing." he waived off. "how about you? tell me a little about yourself!"

[thailovemeds]

She smiled, understanding a little of what he meant. Even though she didn't share the same feelings, she wanted to know about it and understand him.

"Well, I usually understand some social stuff. Like, it's something that, being a woman, especially a black woman, I need to learn....Uuh like, after all, we live in this world..." She said in a somewhat melancholy voice.

"Have you ever considered the idea of being autistic as well?" she asked delicately, knowing it might be a somewhat difficult subject.

[milo-medicine]

Milo froze in his tracks. "i- uh-" he stuttered.

"a little brave for a first date, aren't we?" he laughed. "uh- no. no i haven't." he coughed out quickly.

This is what always happened. People start digging too far past the Milo façade and they didn't like him anymore. people always chased after the happy cheery Milo. the one who made dumb jokes and was ripped like a fireman. not the Milo who was slowly coming to the forefront with every moment.

Its not like there was anything wrong with the possibility. It was just-

Nobody ever stayed after he felt comfortable enough to unmask the true Milo around them.

He quickly shoved his hands in his pockets. "so- uh. got any good stories from being a nurse?" he asked, very pointedly trying to change the subject.

[thailovemeds]

She looked at him, saying nothing for a few seconds, not wanting to pressure him into talking about himself; after all, they hadn't known each other for very long. Then, upon hearing the question, she simply let the conversation flow.

"Well... Depends. Do you want a funny, sad, or weird story?" she said with a small smile, enjoying the moment; she likes talk about medicine.

[milo-medicine]

"whatever you want to tell, and i have stories in spades from shit i've seen, so go for it. whatever mood you're in." he told her with a large grin. he had bounced back rather quickly, putting a smile back on and carrying on with a spring in his step.

"though i will warn you, most of mine are mainly just 'yea dude you totally slipped and fell on that cucumber' kind of stories." he laughed. "though there are also the stories of creative ways combative patients have attacked me, but those are less fun."

Milo smiled, opening the door for Thay when they got into the coffee shop. "order whatever you like, seriously, it's all on me." he offered with a grin.

[thailovemeds]

She laughed genuinely as she walked through the door. She understood well what those "slipped on a cucumber" situations were like; after all, she'd dealt with a few before.

"How romantic!, opening the door for me!" Thay joked as she walked, turning to the server. Taking a moment before ordering an iced caramel coffee from the server, who looked tired.

Then she turned back to Milo.

"Your comment reminded me of a website that talks about 'bizarre things people have put on themselves.' They update the list every year." She put a hand to her cheek, thinking. "If I remember correctly, there was a girl who put a hamster...like, you know"

[milo-medicine]

"yeah, turns out that hamster thing happens more often than you'd think," he said quietly, now that they were in a public space. "its- its real sad to be honest with you. the poor little guys."

"do you want a muffin or something?" he asked her after he put in his order, "anything you want, cutie, i'll pay for it."

Milo smiled, handing over the cash once Thay had put in her order and pulling her to the side of the room to wait for their respective goods.

[thailovemeds]

The moment they sat down at the table, Thay began to speak, asking new questions.

"Well, why did you agree to go out with me?" she asked, resting her elbow on the table and putting her chin on right hand. Her dark eyes staring at him. "Like, I'm just a nurse who said you were cute."

[milo-medicine]

Coffee for Night Owls

closed starter for @thailovemeds

------ 🚑 ------------ 🚑 ------------ 🚑 ------

Milo waited quietly in the ambulance bay, the agreed upon meeting place for what was going to be his first date in a while. Was he nervous? yes. was he excited? also yes.

He bounced on his toes as he waited patiently, watching over the horizon for Thay's gorgeous swaying braids and radiant smile.

and sure enough, not too long, and she was there.

"Hey cutie!" Milo called, jogging up to meet her. "ready for whatever the day brings?" he asked. Milo hoped she couldn't feel his heart beating out of his chest when they hugged.

[thailovemeds]

Thay felt equally anxious; moments before, she had been compulsively fixing her clothes, her hair, and everything about herself. It was her first date in months!

However, the moment she saw Milo, noticing that he also seemed anxious, she calmed down a little internally.

"Always ready!" She said after breaking away from the hug, a nervous smile on her face.

"Well, what has the 'clueless' prepared for today?" She joked while adjusting her bag.

[milo-medicine]

Milo's face fell flat for a second, though he was prepared for this. He pulled something out of his pocket. he slammed a sticky note that read "proudly romantically a moron" onto his chest and continued walking with her.

"we can do anything you'd like, though i know that the first plan was coffee," he mentioned, pointing to the little local coffee shop a block away from them.

"then, maybe a park walk or i heard the museum has one of those new pop up exhibits if you'd like," he offered.

Milo let his hand swing at his side, free for Thay to take if she wanted. and god, Milo hoped she'd take it.

[thailovemeds]

Thay gave an honest little laugh, finding him adorable. It was one of the things she liked about Milo so far, and she was also eager to discover others.

"Oh, I love museums, I used to enjoy going with my father when I was younger. Can we go after the coffee?" She kept smiling; after all, she was cheerful.

Well, unfortunately she hadn't noticed Milo's desire to hold hands. She was distracted looking at the scenery around them.

"By the way, I loved your sticky note. Are you really such a 'romantically moron'?" She adjusted her reddish jacket. Which matched perfectly her white dress with red details.

[milo-medicine]

Milo shrugged, "so i've been told. i tend to get called "clueless" by pretty much everyone, but mostly its just from me not wanting to jump to conclusions." he explained, "sometimes social cues get a little mixed up for me, so like, i always feel like its better not to assume things, ya know?" he said.

"and yeah!" he cheered. "coffee and a museum, sounds like a plan." he smiled widely, "i always love the exhibits of all the different animals and like the dinosaur skeletons. its cool." he explained.

"by the way?" he asked, looking towards Thay with another nervous grin, "what's your coffee order, i'm buying, my treat." he told her, patting the pocket of his gray jeans where his wallet sat.

[thailovemeds]

She looked away, lost in thought. She wasn't very good at making decisions, but she tried to be quick.

"Iced coffee, I like it." She looked at him again, becoming slightly embarrassed. "Also...You don't need to do that."

"Do you have difficulty with social cues, especially in the romantic or general sense?" she asked, trying to change the subject, as they approached the café. But also curious to know him better.

[milo-medicine]

"ahh, I'm a peppermint mocha kind of guy myself. Mocha and oat milk so I don't- like- die." he explained with a bark of a laugh. "of course i do, the boy always pays for the pretty lady's drink," he said with a strong nod.

He shrugged. "i dunno, i mean, sometimes its confusing? like, does going on one date mean you're dating or did you just go on a date, you know? and like, i dunno. i just work better when there's clear parameters. like is the patient in normal sinus rhythm or not? that's something you can figure out. the social expectations are just like- i dunno. i was never good at them. but like, i was the youngest where only my very probably autistic cousin hung out with me, so i kind of see where i got it from." he explained.

"but- that's- that's a whole complicated thing." he waived off. "how about you? tell me a little about yourself!"

[thailovemeds]

She smiled, understanding a little of what he meant. Even though she didn't share the same feelings, she wanted to know about it and understand him.

"Well, I usually understand some social stuff. Like, it's something that, being a woman, especially a black woman, I need to learn....Uuh like, after all, we live in this world..." She said in a somewhat melancholy voice.

"Have you ever considered the idea of being autistic as well?" she asked delicately, knowing it might be a somewhat difficult subject.

[milo-medicine]

Milo froze in his tracks. "i- uh-" he stuttered.

"a little brave for a first date, aren't we?" he laughed. "uh- no. no i haven't." he coughed out quickly.

This is what always happened. People start digging too far past the Milo façade and they didn't like him anymore. people always chased after the happy cheery Milo. the one who made dumb jokes and was ripped like a fireman. not the Milo who was slowly coming to the forefront with every moment.

Its not like there was anything wrong with the possibility. It was just-

Nobody ever stayed after he felt comfortable enough to unmask the true Milo around them.

He quickly shoved his hands in his pockets. "so- uh. got any good stories from being a nurse?" he asked, very pointedly trying to change the subject.

[thailovemeds]

She looked at him, saying nothing for a few seconds, not wanting to pressure him into talking about himself; after all, they hadn't known each other for very long. Then, upon hearing the question, she simply let the conversation flow.

"Well... Depends. Do you want a funny, sad, or weird story?" she said with a small smile, enjoying the moment; she likes talk about medicine.

[milo-medicine]

"whatever you want to tell, and i have stories in spades from shit i've seen, so go for it. whatever mood you're in." he told her with a large grin. he had bounced back rather quickly, putting a smile back on and carrying on with a spring in his step.

"though i will warn you, most of mine are mainly just 'yea dude you totally slipped and fell on that cucumber' kind of stories." he laughed. "though there are also the stories of creative ways combative patients have attacked me, but those are less fun."

Milo smiled, opening the door for Thay when they got into the coffee shop. "order whatever you like, seriously, it's all on me." he offered with a grin.

[thailovemeds]

She laughed genuinely as she walked through the door. She understood well what those "slipped on a cucumber" situations were like; after all, she'd dealt with a few before.

"How romantic!, opening the door for me!" Thay joked as she walked, turning to the server. Taking a moment before ordering an iced caramel coffee from the server, who looked tired.

Then she turned back to Milo.

"Your comment reminded me of a website that talks about 'bizarre things people have put on themselves.' They update the list every year." She put a hand to her cheek, thinking. "If I remember correctly, there was a girl who put a hamster...like, you know"

[milo-medicine]

Coffee for Night Owls

closed starter for @thailovemeds

------ 🚑 ------------ 🚑 ------------ 🚑 ------

Milo waited quietly in the ambulance bay, the agreed upon meeting place for what was going to be his first date in a while. Was he nervous? yes. was he excited? also yes.

He bounced on his toes as he waited patiently, watching over the horizon for Thay's gorgeous swaying braids and radiant smile.

and sure enough, not too long, and she was there.

"Hey cutie!" Milo called, jogging up to meet her. "ready for whatever the day brings?" he asked. Milo hoped she couldn't feel his heart beating out of his chest when they hugged.

[thailovemeds]

Thay felt equally anxious; moments before, she had been compulsively fixing her clothes, her hair, and everything about herself. It was her first date in months!

However, the moment she saw Milo, noticing that he also seemed anxious, she calmed down a little internally.

"Always ready!" She said after breaking away from the hug, a nervous smile on her face.

"Well, what has the 'clueless' prepared for today?" She joked while adjusting her bag.

[milo-medicine]

Milo's face fell flat for a second, though he was prepared for this. He pulled something out of his pocket. he slammed a sticky note that read "proudly romantically a moron" onto his chest and continued walking with her.

"we can do anything you'd like, though i know that the first plan was coffee," he mentioned, pointing to the little local coffee shop a block away from them.

"then, maybe a park walk or i heard the museum has one of those new pop up exhibits if you'd like," he offered.

Milo let his hand swing at his side, free for Thay to take if she wanted. and god, Milo hoped she'd take it.

[thailovemeds]

Thay gave an honest little laugh, finding him adorable. It was one of the things she liked about Milo so far, and she was also eager to discover others.

"Oh, I love museums, I used to enjoy going with my father when I was younger. Can we go after the coffee?" She kept smiling; after all, she was cheerful.

Well, unfortunately she hadn't noticed Milo's desire to hold hands. She was distracted looking at the scenery around them.

"By the way, I loved your sticky note. Are you really such a 'romantically moron'?" She adjusted her reddish jacket. Which matched perfectly her white dress with red details.

[milo-medicine]

Milo shrugged, "so i've been told. i tend to get called "clueless" by pretty much everyone, but mostly its just from me not wanting to jump to conclusions." he explained, "sometimes social cues get a little mixed up for me, so like, i always feel like its better not to assume things, ya know?" he said.

"and yeah!" he cheered. "coffee and a museum, sounds like a plan." he smiled widely, "i always love the exhibits of all the different animals and like the dinosaur skeletons. its cool." he explained.

"by the way?" he asked, looking towards Thay with another nervous grin, "what's your coffee order, i'm buying, my treat." he told her, patting the pocket of his gray jeans where his wallet sat.

[thailovemeds]

She looked away, lost in thought. She wasn't very good at making decisions, but she tried to be quick.

"Iced coffee, I like it." She looked at him again, becoming slightly embarrassed. "Also...You don't need to do that."

"Do you have difficulty with social cues, especially in the romantic or general sense?" she asked, trying to change the subject, as they approached the café. But also curious to know him better.

[milo-medicine]

"ahh, I'm a peppermint mocha kind of guy myself. Mocha and oat milk so I don't- like- die." he explained with a bark of a laugh. "of course i do, the boy always pays for the pretty lady's drink," he said with a strong nod.

He shrugged. "i dunno, i mean, sometimes its confusing? like, does going on one date mean you're dating or did you just go on a date, you know? and like, i dunno. i just work better when there's clear parameters. like is the patient in normal sinus rhythm or not? that's something you can figure out. the social expectations are just like- i dunno. i was never good at them. but like, i was the youngest where only my very probably autistic cousin hung out with me, so i kind of see where i got it from." he explained.

"but- that's- that's a whole complicated thing." he waived off. "how about you? tell me a little about yourself!"

[thailovemeds]

She smiled, understanding a little of what he meant. Even though she didn't share the same feelings, she wanted to know about it and understand him.

"Well, I usually understand some social stuff. Like, it's something that, being a woman, especially a black woman, I need to learn....Uuh like, after all, we live in this world..." She said in a somewhat melancholy voice.

"Have you ever considered the idea of being autistic as well?" she asked delicately, knowing it might be a somewhat difficult subject.

[milo-medicine]

Milo froze in his tracks. "i- uh-" he stuttered.

"a little brave for a first date, aren't we?" he laughed. "uh- no. no i haven't." he coughed out quickly.

This is what always happened. People start digging too far past the Milo façade and they didn't like him anymore. people always chased after the happy cheery Milo. the one who made dumb jokes and was ripped like a fireman. not the Milo who was slowly coming to the forefront with every moment.

Its not like there was anything wrong with the possibility. It was just-

Nobody ever stayed after he felt comfortable enough to unmask the true Milo around them.

He quickly shoved his hands in his pockets. "so- uh. got any good stories from being a nurse?" he asked, very pointedly trying to change the subject.

[thailovemeds]

She looked at him, saying nothing for a few seconds, not wanting to pressure him into talking about himself; after all, they hadn't known each other for very long. Then, upon hearing the question, she simply let the conversation flow.

"Well... Depends. Do you want a funny, sad, or weird story?" she said with a small smile, enjoying the moment; she likes talk about medicine.