As the door to the clinic clunked shut, Tae Takemi let out an exasperated sigh, letting the formal, friendly attitude expected of her as a doctor to melt away. She wished her tense shoulders would melt in the same way, but to no avail; she still wasn't used to being so busy and it was taking its toll. Despite all this though, a small, cool smile sat perched on her lips, a gentle look of satisfaction fluttering in her otherwise unflinchingly tranquil expression.
She loathed to admit it, but even if all this additional work was a bit of a bother, she was the happiest she'd ever been since… well, since she first became a doctor. It was all because of her little guinea pig of course, him and his nosy, interfering ways. Without that snooping, her research would have likely continued to flounder and she probably wouldn't have opened up to her neighbours in Yongen-Jaya as much as she had. Certainly, she had a decent number of patients before that boy with the dark, tousled hair showed up, but now, she no longer felt as if she were a stranger in her own neighbourhood.
As the smashed clock, hanging above her reception window, endlessly ticked away on the same number, she leaned forward, perching her chin onto her palm and cupped her porcelain features. The silence of the dimly lit, narrow reception room sent her wandering alone into her thoughts, her curiosity musing about her little test subject.
I wonder what he's been up to. Getting into trouble, no doubt.
The boy was a phantom thief after all, or at the very least had connections, so she had little doubt that he was getting up to something risky. He'd be well prepared with the generous helping of medicine he had unloaded his wallet on the last time he was here. He hadn't stopped by in a while though; she hoped he hadn't gotten too deep into something he couldn't pull out of.
The least he could do is stop by for a check-up… or something.
Reaching off to the side, her delicate fingers hovered indefinitely towards her phone. She didn't want to bother him, but she really couldn't help but be a little concerned. Having pushed him towards the pearly gates several times herself, she even felt a tad responsible for his wellbeing. Just a tad though. Still undecided, her fingers instead went for the small tube next to it. Sliding off the cap, she revealed the lustrous lipstick inside.
He's fine… if he can survive my tests, I'm sure he'll have no trouble taking care of himself.
With that thought repeatedly circulating inside of her brain in quiet reassurance, she looked to the small mirror in the reception booth and reapplied her lipstick, casually but with meticulous handiwork. She didn't really need a mirror but it certainly helped in her efforts. She didn't necessarily need to reapply it, but she wanted to keep her fingers preoccupied for the time being.
Part way through her application, the clinic door clunked and creaked; if she weren't the calm woman she was, she'd have smeared her cheek in surprise. Instead, she simply kept on going, her eyes directed away from the entrance and her potential client. If it were an emergency, she imagined they would have been making a lot more noise as they came in. In fact, the room became silent for a good few minutes again until a voice finally made itself known.
"E-excuse me."
A delicate, polite voice, with the lightest tremble of anxiety to it, sounded behind her. It wasn't a voice familiar to Tae, to say the least. Still for a moment, she didn't concern herself too much with the stranger, instead focusing on the finishing touches of her makeup.
"I'll be with you in just a second."
"Well, it's uh… actually sort of urgent. I really shouldn't keep my bo- I mean… keep my friend waiting."
Letting out a little sigh, Takemi quickly finished up. She didn't like to be rushed with anything, let alone her make up. Still, she couldn't let a patient as anxious sounding as that waiting; she'd only just started getting a good rep again, so it'd be a shame to mess that up after everything that had happened.
Swivelling around on her chair, she came face to face with a rather pretty teenage girl, her nervous, crimson gaze immediately catching the punkish woman's attention. She was cute, but also curiously ruffled and dishevelled. Her lips were pursed anxiously, the rose tint on them being smeared just a little, while her chestnut brown hair seemed as if it had been clumsily fixed back into place. Worse yet, the white blouse she wore seemed to have been thrown on in a hurry, along with her bra with some buttons undone and shoulder straps loose respectively.
After giving her frantic appearance a good careful look, Tae's brow cocked and a small, subtle smile curved onto her lips.
"How can I help you? Do you need something?"
Immediately, the girl looked as if she were at a loss for words, the tip of her tongue looking as if it was about to make a move. But alas, the words she wanted to say never formed and instead only a few mere squeaks. Tae continued to smirk as politely and subtly as she could, so as to not offend a potential patient, but inside, she was loving this.
The girl's cheeks flaring up, she shook her head and coughed to regain some semblance of composure. With renewed determination in her gaze and a calmer expression, she finally pried some words from her mouth. Tae expected that the girl wasn't usually this tongue tied and she could only begin to guess why she was so bashful.
"I don't mean to be a bother, but you wouldn't happen to have some… protection, would you?"
And the much-assumed penny finally dropped. As much as she wanted to tease, she knew this sort of thing was sensitive territory, so she simply continued to grin professionally and nodded to the rose lipped girl. This really wasn't something she was asked all too often, but something about awkward teenage romances never failed to make the doctor smile.
"I assume you mean some condoms, right? Don't worry, I have plenty."
The girl seemed to be very relieved, that relief reinforcing her now composed demeanour and her firm, tense shoulders sagging a little. Swivelling round, Tae rummaged through the bottom cabinets of her medical supplies, easily finding boxes upon boxes of condoms, all with their own gimmicks available. She assumed the girl wouldn't need anything too fancy, given how awkward she seemed about the whole thing.
Still, wouldn't hurt to give her a few options, right?
Taking a few in her grip, she put them on the reception desk in front of the girl, whose eye's widened and lips parted just a little at the choice presented before her. Tae simply continued to smile and placed her chin into her palm once more, awaiting a decision.
"Do you know which type you want?"
The scarlet eyed girl simply shook her head, her gaze fixated firmly on the boxes, rather than the impish doctor before her.
"I… I didn't realise there were so many! What are even half of these…? Which one is… best for the first time?"
Tae simply pointed to a box of standard condoms without saying a word, before pushing it towards the girl, who carefully picked it up. Silence prevailed over the two as awkwardness settled in, mostly for the teenager. Tae soon extended a hand forward though, which seemed to puzzle the younger woman.
"1000 yen please."
Suddenly the girl seemed to get it and after pulling her slender looking wallet from her pocket, she quickly found the change she needed. Although as she was about to hand them over, her eyes widened, almost as if she had just remembered something.
"Oh, that's right. Uhm… he- my friend, I mean, said to say that 'the guinea pig says hi'? He said you'd know what that means…"
Tae's eyes widened suddenly, her own lips parting in surprise. Her own cheeks even warmed a little at the revelation. It wasn't often that she was taken off guard… but that boy seemed to have a knack of it for sure. The girl pinched at a few yen coins and held them above the doctor's open palm. Tae withdrew her hand though, before the coins could be released.
"H-huh…?"
"Just go ahead. They're on me."
The smirk now on Tae's lips couldn't be contained. She just couldn't resist now, knowing just who this girl was, who had sent her and just what they'd be getting up to in a matter of minutes after this conversation ended. She certainly now knew why her little guinea pig hadn't shown up to the clinic in a while. Sure, he hadn't been getting into trouble like she thought, but he had certainly gotten himself into something.
While these thoughts and musings filled her brain at lightning's pace, the rather bemused girl was still standing there, looking very much like she'd been caught in the nude or something. Tae leaned back into her chair and gestured for the girl to get on her way, confidently smirking in amusement with her arms folded over her chest.
"Go on. He's waiting, right? Have fun."
"O-oh, right. Thank you."
A soft, low giggle escaped her lips, the girl backing away speechlessly, nodding before a confused, but very genuine smile flickered onto her lips. Dashing out, the door would soon thump back into place once more, letting silence reign in the cosy little waiting room. Languidly, Tae revelled in her amusement for a moment, letting her grin stretch right across her face. Then, she briskly reached to her phone beside her and opened her messenger app.
What's her name then? She's pretty cute…
Well… I'm sure you're busy right now, so don't bother replying until you've 'finished'.
Oh, and don't worry about the condoms. They won't be free next time though.
Have fun and stay safe, guinea pig~