AN: Me, focusing on exams rather than the important things in life, like fanfic and movie releases, prevented this from being better than it is. But, if just one person likes it, that makes it all worthwhile.
While I'm at it, thank you to the darling people who commented and faved- you're the reason I'm continuing these drabbles. I use you as motivation.
10 more drabbles based around the theme of 'Lounge Room', specifically, things you find in a lounge room.
Paring: Again, the sweetest one- JDox, with hints of Turla
Genres: Romance, angst, drama, family, humour (hopefully)
Again, a sequence can be found if you're seeking it, but they can be read one their lonesome.
Disclaimer: I own naught but a slow laptop. I ate the fudge.
Enjoy.
Couch
He shouldn't have said it- it was crude, thoughtless and downright cruel- hell, it was exactly what someone like him would say, come to think of it. But now, out in the lounge area rather than curled up next to JD, he was wondering if it was too late to take it back.
"Hey." His protégé was at the door to the bedroom, shaking slightly with cold but determined to stay. "You comin' in?"
Perry didn't even open his eyes. "I thought I was in exile out here for the night, Clair."
JD breathed out a small laugh. "You're forgiven. Now get into bed before you turn into a Perry-cicle."
Outside the window, the snow fell lighter than dust as Perry heaved himself of the couch.
Shelves
It was an eclectic collection- classic Clint Eastwood westerns next to Finding Nemo, Groundhog Day wedged between the original Halloween movie and Someone Like You, The Fugitive paired with- for some unfathomable reason- a Barbie Girl movie.
Nothing made sense. Everything was random, cluttered and mixed together with no pattern. Feminine next to masculine. Child next to adult.
It summed JD up wonderfully. Perfectly imperfect. He was going to miss it over the next week.
"Hey." A voice sounded behind him, and Perry turned from the shelf unit. "I'm off, then." JD awkwardly lifted his small carry-on.
The older man nodded once. 'Lets get you outta my hair, then."
Pillow/Cushion
Arnold Dennison had been around for a while. 76 years had passed and he was proud to say he could watch people and determine where they were in life, how they acted, why they were the way they were, even if they never spoke to him directly.
The Latina nurse that had cheerfully welcomed him was clearly bursting for respect. The sweating lawyer was being crushed by his boss at every opportunity. The speedily talking blonde woman was a brilliant firecracker trapped behind a neurotic cheerleader's façade.
That Dr. Cox fellow, though… no, he was a mystery, wrapped in an enigma, wrapped in a lab coat.
Growling and snarling at that feminine resident with the gelled up hair one day, then pining away for him when he goes away for a few days? It made very little sense.
Arnold settled back into his pillow, shaking his head as Dr Cox sent an intern away in tears before his eyes. No… that Perry was one man that even his extensive life experience couldn't help in figure out.
Arm-chair
Jack was barely noticeable under the pile of blue. Half a dozen soft blankets obscured his tiny form, a tuft of blond hair against baby soft skin standing out against the navy and teal. His soft breathing was punctuated by the occasional contented moan as he shifted deeper into his little cacoon built into the depth of the armchair.
Suddenly strong hands descended, and carefully bundled the boy into the safety of his father's arms.
"C'mon Jacky, bed's more comfortable than a chair…"
The three year old shook his head, shifting from sleep to consciousness upon the movement. "Nuh-uh…"
"Why not, kid?"
The boy yawned deeply. "Smells like Aunty here. Like candy."
His father laughed slightly and kissed his son's forehead lightly. "I'll tell Betsy you said that."
Lamp
It really didn't feel right without him.
The bed was too cold. Too big. Too still. Too empty.
JD had always had an unbearable habit of snuggling up to his body heat in the night. He'd sprawl across the entire bed to warm as much space as he could, then when that failed to satisfy his subconscious instincts, he'd cuddle up to Perry's side, shivering for a few minutes, just long enough to shake the older man awake, before curling his limbs around his torso and super-gluing himself there. He'd then toss and wiggle, slowly nudging Perry closer and closer to the edge, until the attending was half of the side.
Torture. Pure, satanic torture.
He'd learnt after just a few days that the only way to get his young lover to stop twitching was to physically hold him down- but when JD had actually had the audacity to call it 'cuddling', the choice had become between completely losing his balls, and sleeping in a comfortable bed for once. Tough choice, really.
Now though... with no twisting, turning, fitful little man-girl next to him, it didn't... feel right. He sighed, turning onto his stomach, and buried his head in his pillow. He couldn't drink, not with Jack in the apartment, and he couldn't have 'Can't Sleep' sex, because of there was no fucking Newbie here... which lead him back to his original problem. No fucking Newbie.
Perry grunted in annoyance, flicking on the light on his bedside table, and headed out into the lounge.
Damn kid had given him insomnia.
Phone
A hunk of metal and circuitry- that's all it was. Why was he afraid of it?
Was it the potential for rejection, the expectation of a girls name and a warning about femineity killing their relationship? Was it just that he was expecting off-handedness, hostility for calling him, especially so late? What, was it a crime to miss your partner now?
What the hell was making him so paranoid?
The doctor rubbed his hand over his gritty face. Hell with it.
The line opened after just two rings, and JD quietly wondered if the other man was waiting for him to call.
"You okay there, Wendy?"
He grinned slightly. "How'd you know it was me?"
"Caller ID." Perry huffed over the line. "And if I was expecting a call it's because it takes little of my genius to know that you're an overly clingy little girl who could simply nawt resist interrupting my quiet time away from you. That said…" His voice softened slightly, "How was the trip?"
"Long." He collapsed back onto his mothball-scented comforter, smiling just slightly. "Plane got in 20 minutes ago. I just checked in."
Ornament
"I see him first!"
"Jacky, wait- dammit, kid..." The boy had bolted into the crowd before his father had been able to grb onto him properly, and was now darting in between stuffed businessmen and mothers pulling children along. But apparently, the 3 year old was a boy on a mission, and was determined to fight the tide viciously.
And then arms lifted him up, and surge of protective rage hit him like the roughest punch, and Perry was ready to tear apart anyone who dared touch his son-
-before blue, blue eyes turned to him, and he saw JD hugging his son tightly, and he let out a fiercely powerful rush of air, relief flooding with the carbon-dioxide.
By the time he made it over to his boys, Jack had pulled out his little gift. "Made this for you..." he said shyly, handing over the fist-sized object from inside his jacket.
Neither adult knew what it was- JD thought dinosaur, Perry thought shapeless lump, but either way JD hugged the boy close, said, "I love it, little man!" and tuck it carefully between two articles of clothing in his travel bag.
Rug
"Bambi, what the hell?"
JD jumped half a foot in the air, Ms. Esher's chart falling onto the bed in front of him, narrowly avoiding her legs. He glanced down, and to his mortification, his scrubs had ridden up his belly slightly, exposing the dark red skin of his lower back.
Dammit, think of a good lie, think of a good lie, think of a good- "Sunburn?" Nice going, Dorian.
Carla hmm-ed, her mother-hen mode switching on as she crossed the ICU to where he was shrinking away from her gaze. "Really… and here I was, listening as you complaining that it rained the entire time you were at that conference." She smirked as JD went from pale to rosy in a heartbeat.
"Perry couldn't even make it to the bedroom, could he?" The young man shook his head, mortified beyond belief and thanking god that the patient before him was still full of Benzene as Carla giggled gratingly.
" I am never looking at that rug of his the same way ever again." Her grin gor impossibly wider. "Better get some Aloe Vera on that sunburn before you peel."
Coffee Table
"Dr Cox, I need you to look-"
"Eyes closed mean sleeping, Newbie."
"Yes, but-"
"Annoy someone else for 10 minutes. Go."
He heard JD huff and click his teeth together, and the slapping of a manila folder hitting the table in front of him
"It's about Ms. Esher's baby. It's urgent."
He sighed into the couch, and gave one last attempt to wiggle just another minute of sleep out of his protégé. "Find someone from Paediatrics."
"She's still our patient, I can't."
He wrenched himself up, tautness evident in his muscles and a scowl covering his face. To his credit, JD stood his ground.
He didn't need this. Not after a double shift with another on the way, all because that idiot Mickhead had to get busted huffing paint again. He didn't need to have another patient to worry about- especially one that was barely a day old and perfectly healthy before he laid down 5 stinking minutes ago. And he sure as hell didn't need anything- attention, assistance, time, knowledge- demanded from him right now. Especially not from JD.
Sometimes dating a co-worker really grinded.
Remote
He hid himself in a patient's room for a while, listening to the beeping of machines keeping people alive and doctors barking orders. Maybe it wasn't exactly the most convenient time to catch a break, but he was just about ready to collapse, and Perry was no better, snapping and gnashing his teeth at anyone who dared approach him.
Things would be fine if they just went home, took Jack off the all-too-understanding nanny's hands and caught a few decent hours of solid sleep-
The door swung open and a beam of light hit his face rudely. He was about to bark at them that this room was taken when the figure solidified in his vision before trooping over to throw themselves onto the bed next to him.
Perry huffed out a sigh and a yawn before turning on his side, back to JD, and murmuring a quick, almost silent, "Hey there, Newbie."
"Hey. The baby stabilized?"
"Hm."
Another minute passed before JD worked up the courage to speak again. "Look, Per-"
"Whaaaaat did I say about the pillow talk, Nancy?"
He smiled in the dark at the name. "Not allowed unless I'm asking for sex."
"Atta girl. Now sleep."
AN II: Adore or despise, feedback is always appreciated. Flames will be wept over, laughed at and then completely forgotten as useless.