AN: It's really cold and this little one shot popped into my head. What if Jack is meek and really shy?
Jack breathed in deeply letting the cold crisp air sting his lungs. The crunch of the snow his only company. His work is done for the day and he should've walked home hours ago. The sun is setting and the warm lights of the establishments bathed the side walk. He scuffed his shoes on the side walk dislodging some of the accumulated snow on the ground.
Winter. The very word made him think of hot chocolate, oatmeal cookies, and snowballs and funtimes. It warmed his insides and made the bleak weather slightly better. He didn't know what he was thinking. Moving away from home and living in Arendelle.
He wanted his own space and his independence. He should've thought of the benefits he would forgo when he was packing his suitcase. God, he missed his mother's cooking. He missed his sister's nagging, he miss the little ones' squeels and laughter whenever he played with them.
A shiver ran lightly on his neck. He tugged on the collar of his coat watching other people walk and go about their way.
He thought about their troubles. Was it heartache that caused the red swollen tear-filled eyes of the lady? Or was it because the slippery pavement thought it would fun to trip her? He walked towards the unfortunate lady firmly placing his steps so he doesn't suffer the same fate.
Grabbing ahold of both her arms, he lifted her up the sidewalk. She gave a trace of an acknowledgement, bowed her head then walked pass him.
Heartache it is then. Jack shrugged his shoulders. It doesn't matter. He has his own shit to deal with. He's gonna quit his job at the hospital first thing in spring. Two years from Burgess has been enough. He's gonna man up and begged his mother to let him live in the house again. It's not like he's a college dropout. He can work at the hospital there.
Jack scratched his nape reminded of that faithful encounter in the hospital. Maybe he should get out earlier before its memory resurfaced.
He continued the thread to his apartment. Hopefully, tomorrow he can convince Aster to turn off the AC unit in the lab. What's the point of going inside when you'll still freeze to death?
"No."
"Please, Aster! I'm freezing here. The specimens won't be affected."
Aster grunted. "Yeah, well mate. You got assigned in Blood Banking, we store blood in Blood Banking so suck it up and get back to work. These blood are not gonna screen themselves."
He gave him another set of blood-filled-polyvinil bags with the bloodtypes on huge letters.
"I'm not asking for too much. I'm just asking to raise the temperature like one degree Celsius. Is that too much?
Aster snorted. "That's thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit. You are asking too much."
He just mumbled defiantly and frowned at the reagent strips and the slides.
"Jeez, how did these blood get pass the inspection. Did they just took the donor's word and proceeded with it? These are all Hepa-B positive. And I repeated all the tests."
Aster sighed. "Hopefully, not all of them are going to be rejected. The bloood drive would be for nothing."
He just shrugged and continued on with the screening tests. Almost half of the bags tested positive for STDs. Even the rare one.
"It's a shame. Someone really needs that." Jack held the bag that reads 'AB-'
"How's the kid?" Aster asked putting the last of the rejected bags of blood on the yellow segregation bag.
"How should I know? Pitch dragged my ass back here and chewed it. I'm lucky I only got a warning."
Aster chuckled. "Yeah, I remember that day. I'm surprised you weren't fired on the spot. Bet you didn't even regret going out of the lab, huh?"
Even with his back turned, Jack can feel the grin on Aster's face.
"What possessed you to wander out of the lab in the first place?"
Jack removed the latex gloves on his hands and looked at the time. Their shift is almost over.
"I don't really wanna take about it." To be honest, he doesn't know either. He remembered being really fixated on a certain doctor.
"Whatever you saw must have been God's glory because you were smiling during Black's beration. I've never seen him grind his teeth so much. Hell, you were dumbstruck." Aster stretched and the resounding pops of joints reminded Jack of his aching ones.
"Well that's lunch. I'll see you tomorrow, mate." He wave his hand and walked down the hallway.
Jack went outside. The longing for fast foods is strong. Plus, he wants to avoid the hospital wards and the cafeteria. Just in case. Why is he so weird.
AN: Hello. So judging by the title I guess you've been warned? Just need this plot bunny out of my head.