The Bird Began It
Pouring herbs and powders into a mortar and gently grinding the pestle was soothing, meditative even. Especially as strong summer sunlight filled the bright white-and-blue room and coated her bare hands and wrists with warmth. Anissa hummed softly to herself while she sank into the repetitive motions and the background scritching of pen on paper. She was used to silence, and the occasional mumbling of Irene in the other room, but she preferred the company of the doctor wielding the pen. In fact, his steady, quiet presence helped her stay on task and focused.
She stopped to brush a loose strand of long brown hair behind her ear and carefully peeked from the corner of her eye. Just barely in her peripheral, she could see Jin scowling down at his paperwork, wire-framed glasses already slid halfway down the bridge of his nose, and his sleek black hair fanned picturesquely over the shoulder of his glowingly-pristine white lab coat.
The labcoat was new, and the length of his hair, and that soft line remaining between his brows when the scowl faded, and the faint shadows under his eyes. But for all the changes they both showed, there were still so many similarities between now and nine years ago. Like that scowl that meant he was concentrating, and probably annoyed at some less than perfect penmanship— she bit her tongue when Jin sighed through his nose and picked up a new clean form to begin again. That quiet sigh was the same, too. The shine to his inky hair and the absent way he pushed his glasses up and left an unnoticed thumb smudge on his lens, all the same.
And the way her heart thumped when he lifted his head, caught her eye, and that small smile immediately curved his lips— as unchanged as the first time it happened when she was only seventeen. She couldn't help the embarrassed smile that tipped up the corners of her mouth even as a warmth having nothing to do with the sunshine crawled over her cheeks and nose.
Surely nine years, and most of that time being separated, should have weakened his effect on her. Instead, it had become something bigger, brighter, and warmer inside her. Like a sunflower drawn in the direction of the sun, she was always looking for him, reaching for him.
Anissa pulled her gaze away and, only through sheer force of will, kept from physically shaking her head free of her ridiculous, downright pining thoughts. Jin was a dear friend, and their friendship was important to her. It was a friendship that they had cultivated in the nine years since she'd known him through letters and occasional visits and even rarer long-distance phone calls. She'd been the one to which he'd sent letters and a few emails during his medical school years and residence. The one he'd confided in when his day had felt overwhelming or exhausting or wonderful or miraculous. The first one he had told when he'd gotten the residency he wanted in Sunshine Islands, the one he'd called before every visit to Castanet. The one he'd sent a heartbroken letter to when the ferry to Castanet had been canceled and it was nearly impossible for him to visit again for two years (Irene had gotten the long distance phone call; a struggling medical resident had to choose whom to spend his phone-card minutes on and Anissa honestly preferred the letter, since he was less reserved and more comfortable on paper than on the phone).
She'd tried her hand at dating, long distance and online. Those few dates and short-lived relationships had been nice. But they had all ended for one reason or another. While out loud she'd never admit it, deep down she knew why. None of them had been Jin. The doctor almost four years her senior and who could never shake the idea that she was that teenage girl he'd met all those years ago.
Anissa closed her eyes and, as the scratching of the pen returned, smiled wryly to herself on a soft exhale. No use feeling heartbroken over something that never had been anything at all. She would find someone one, someone who made her feel that same as she felt now about Jin. But... not yet. Maybe she'll try a little harder in autumn... or next year. Once it seemed like Marimba Farm was actually back on its legs and this streak of good fortune wasn't a fluke.
The tranquil moment and her inner romantic musings abruptly ended as the clinic's front door burst open followed by the thundering of heavy feet. A tread that could be perhaps one of two or three people. Quickly narrowed down to one as that city-girl voice boomed a shade too loudly from the lobby-area. She and Dr. Jin were already getting to their feet— almost in sync— before the words completely registered in Anissa's mind.
The urgency of it was obvious without the words themselves, anyway.
"Is Dr. Jin in? I guess you could help me, actually, do you know anything about helping birds? I'm pretty sure this bird is dying," Evie's frantic voice babbled at Irene. Anissa and Jin exchanged wordless looks of confusion and concern. "I don't do birds, I've probably already fu-fudged it up by picking it up, but that dog was trying to get at it and—"
"Calm down, child. Let's have a look," Irene said, just a shade snappish. It had Evie zipping her lips in a trice, though, as that tone always managed to do to anyone hearing it.
Anissa and Jin walked through the doorway while Irene placed her half-moon spectacles on her nose and peered closer at Evie's outstretched hands. There was a strange glare of light hovering over Evie's hands that had Anissa breaking stride and blinking rapidly, as if trying to blink away a camera flash. Even stranger, when she continued forward, Dr. Jin and Irene both were gazing right past it as if it weren't there, but Anissa had to squint and tilt her head awkwardly to avoid it. Evie glanced at her, biting down on her lip while her eyes narrowed. That was definitely the look of someone barely keeping their tongue in check, but about what?
"It's not dead," Jin said then, interrupting Anissa's bemusement.
She looked more closely and small the small bird Evie had brought in. It was a simple brown wren, its feather damp and twisted about in what surely must be uncomfortable for the poor thing. One wing in particular didn't look quite right, but she couldn't tell just how bad it was. Although, Anissa was pretty sure it wasn't a true break. What was truly troubling was how little it reacted to any stimuli, its breath barely increasing in pace as Jin shined a penlight and Irene hovered close.
"Where did you find it again? You said something about a dog," Anissa prompted Evie, whose arms were beginning to tremble from holding them up so long.
"Yeah, by the mine cart. I came down from Garmon and there's that little dog that hangs out around that second cart that's always sitting there. It kept barking and fi- uh, then, I thought there might be something under it," Evie said, stuttering for no reason.
Did she just glance at that strange bit of sunlight? It's hovering around her shoulder now, how can it be moving like that? Anissa wondered in bewilderment.
"Let's find a place for it so you can set it down," Jin offered then, placed a firm hand on Evie's shoulder and guiding her towards the back room.
"I'll be right behind you," Irene said while already turning her heel and going towards the cabinets.
In Jin's office, a file box was emptied out and filled with old, but clean, towels. Gently and slowly, Evie lowered the limp body of the little bird onto the soft towels. Anissa used another towel to carefully dab at the damp and muddy feathers. Water from the electric kettle, fortunately long-gone cool, was poured into a beaker and Jin pulled up his stool and took a small eye-dropper from his coat pocket. Irene came in with a few bottles that she arranged neatly on the desk.
"It'll be fine here with us," Anissa murmured softly to Evie, who was looking more anxious by the second and gnawing her bottom lip to shreds. "Why don't you get out of here and come back again tomorrow or the next day?"
"Just leave the poor thing here? Shouldn't I wait or...?" Evie trailed off, eyes on the wren as Jin carefully let a droplet of water fall off the glass-dropper. The bird barely responded, but a breathless second later its throat fluttered. A sigh of relief gusted out of Evie like a forge-bellows.
"Yes, you should leave it here. We'll take care of it. I promise to call you if anything happens," Anissa added with a sheepish smile at Jin when he met her eye and quirked an eyebrow.
"You will? That'd be... yeah, okay. I feel kinda bad, like I'm abandoning it," Evie admitted with a guilty lift of her shoulders.
"We're all very capable of taking care of a sick bird. You couldn't leave it in better hands," Jin promised in a gentle, persuasive voice Anissa recognized from a dozen patient conversations. The only time Jin wasn't awkward and tongue-tied was in moments like these. She had to duck her head and let her hair fall forward to hide the affectionate smile on her face.
Evie chuckled awkwardly and rubbed the back of her neck. "Yeah, you're right. Okay, I actually had a lot of mining to do today, so I should get going," she said. Just to dither and shuffle in place, still staring at the bird as another water drop fell and was more promptly swallowed.
Irene took both Evie's shoulders and turned her bodily around. "Hoverin' about and gettin' underfoot is not helping the doctor nor you. Let us do our job and you go off and do whatever it is you do, child."
"I'm not a— all right, all right. I hear ya," Evie said, bursting into rueful chuckles. "You promise to call?" she asked, worried eyes meeting Anissa's.
"Scout's honor," Anissa chirped with a wide smile. Evie narrowed her eyes.
"Were you a scout?"
Anissa just laughed. With another look at the bird in the box, and a curious (for Anissa) glance at a random gleam of sunlight near her, Evie nodded once and raised a hand.
"Thanks a lot, really! I'll come back again tomorrow. I don't think I'll be outta that mine before the Clinic closes up, so first thing tomorrow, okay?"
"Sounds fine."
Jin, Irene, and Anissa all shared a look the moment the front door closed— too hard— behind Evie's back. And then Anissa burst into giggles and Jin and Irene barely managed to suppress small, amused smiles.
"She's a force o' nature all on her own," Irene said with a little tut and none-too-little admiration. Irene always had a soft spot for the spunky ones, no matter what she said to the contrary. Everyone knew Irene's favorite village kid was none other than Chloe, who could give Evie a run for her money when it came to energy and her ability to talk. "Do you need anything else from me, Jin?"
"No, this is enough for now," Jin said with a grateful smile and a touch of his finger to the bottle she'd brought. "It looks to me like it's a case of dehydration and malnourishment more than anything. It couldn't have been going very far once it hurt itself in the storm the other day. It's very lucky to still be alive."
Irene nodded and shuffled back out again. Anissa frowned slightly and went to put away her powers and bottles. She didn't to leave a mess even if she was only planning on running to the Fishery and back.
"What is it?" Jin asked before she could even head for the door. She pulled up short in surprise.
"Oh, I'm just going to buy some worm bait from Ozzie. Once it's awake, it'll be hungry if it's been stuck under a mine cart for a whole day," Anissa said quickly.
"That's a good idea, but... that's not what I meant. Why are you upset?" Jin pressed a little further, his eyes finally lifting from watching the wren to meet hers across the room.
She couldn't help her knee-jerk astonishment, a slow blink of surprise as her eyebrows lifted. She'd had no idea he'd noticed that split second.
"Nothing. Not really. I just..." Anissa looked down to her hands and blushed slightly. "I thought maybe you were speaking too cavalier about the bird. It wasn't a very loyal thought to have."
"And yet you thought it, and that reflects on me," Jin said with a soft sigh. Anissa winced imperceptibly. "I don't think this bird is less worthy of my attention than any human that may walk in. I promised to help and I will do my best. However, there's a very good chance it will not make it due to the circumstances. I don't believe in false hope, you know that, Nissa."
"It's not false hope if it's just hope," Anissa blurted, trying not to blush harder at his slip. He never called her Nissa outside their letters, especially not here in the Clinic, his place of profession.
Jin huffed under his breath, that smile coming back. "And that's why I'm glad you're always here for me. Your faith had always been stronger than mine."
Anissa fled then, she had to admit it to herself as she rushed into the sunlight. It wasn't the sun that burned her cheeks or had her blood pumping too fast. She thought maybe she might've said something, mumbled something incoherent or an automatic 'thanks', but she couldn't actually remember anything leaving her mouth. All she could remember was the thundering of her heart and the need to flee before she did or said something truly embarrassing.
...
Much later that day, Jin had returned to his paperwork at last. It was mostly financial forms, but there were a few letters and his own bookkeeping— such as keeping track of his patients since moving here. Who knew Maya came in almost every day with food poisoning— that she caused herself. Or that Paolo had a mild case of asthma that hadn't been diagnosed until just last week? Or that Luke usually crashed into the Clinic for band-aids seconds after opening, because he'd somehow managed to hurt himself before 8 in the morning? Jin shook his head as he filled in the last bit of information.
When he looked up, Anissa was the first thing he saw. His hands stilled on his desk, paper held loose and forgotten between his fingers. She was whispering under her breath, smiling in delight as the bird raised its head to drink by itself. Her fingers were still smudged with dirt (and most likely worse things), but the eye-dropper was clean. Somehow, Anissa managed to be both meticulous and messy, and it was absolutely confounding to him.
"It's gone five in the evening by now. Shouldn't you be going home?" Jin heard himself saying. He hadn't meant to say that, that's the last thing he meant to say.
Anissa glanced up, gaze distant and unfocused. "Hmm? Did you say something?" Her attention was surely still on the bird.
Jin pushed his glasses up his nose and got to his feet. Her eyes tracked him, blinking away the fog, as he put the forms in the correct trays.
"I said, it's almost six. You should be going home, Miss Anissa," Jin said softly. "I'll make sure to keep an eye on your new friend."
"Oh, I already called Mother and told her I'm staying. Maya will be bringing me dinner soon. You don't mind, do you?" Anissa said, her face flushing slightly. "I really should have said something..."
"You're welcome to stay as long as you need," Jin reassured her quickly. The idea that she wouldn't be welcome here, for any reason or at any time, was inconceivable to him. No one bar his aunt felt more a part of this place than she did. Hesitantly, he lay his hand on her shoulder and bent down to look at the bird.
The wrappings he'd made to keep the wing pinned safely in place were still quite secure and it wasn't fighting against the cloth, thankfully. At least not at that moment. The towels were speckled with water drops and dirt, but another clean towel was on the desk already. As he expected, Anissa was quite competent without his interference. Of the two of them, she had more experience taking care of wild fauna, anyhow.
"I'm so glad its awake. I think, perhaps, it'll be fine after all," Anissa said with a relieved smile.
Jin tried not to bite the inside of his cheek. It was a careless habit, but the urge was overwhelming. He hated the idea of her being disappointed, or being the one to make her feel that way.
"It may seem so now, but it is a wild animal. You can't be sure it's as healthy as it seems," Jin told her reluctantly.
"Yes, you're right... I'll stay with it a little longer to make sure," Anissa agreed sadly. "I looked it up and I think it's a male wren. I suppose we should say he, now."
Jin was not going to scoff. Only he did, anyway, and immediately felt like an ass. Luckily, it made her laugh, that twinkling sound that he'd never heard from anyone else. No one laughed like her, smiled like her, had eyes the right shade or shape— he broke off his own thoughts as he tore his gaze away from her profile.
"Irene and I had plans to eat dinner together, but I'll be back to walk you home if you're still here."
"Dr. Jin, please don't worry, really! I want to stay longer to take care of him, and you shouldn't let it interfere with your schedule," Anissa protested with a gesture at the bird. Its bright black eyes darted towards the motion, either scared or looking for more scraps of worms to eat.
Jin hummed thoughtfully, but he knew that fierce look in her eyes. As soft and quiet as she could be, there would be no pushing her a different way than the way she wanted when she looked like that. He'd found that out nine years ago to his own surprise. He hadn't underestimated her since, and he probably shouldn't now.
"All right, but be sure to get proper rest tonight. You'll need to be here bright and early."
There was a flicker of something in her eyes, but she merely smiled sweetly. "Of course, doctor."
He left to change before meeting his aunt. As he passed the open doorway, his feet slowed against his will. He was drawn back to her, turning to look over his shoulder just enough to catch sight of her. It was still light outside, thanks to the later summer hours, and the deep golden light made her look more like an idealized portrait than a real girl. Woman, he corrected himself with an amazed shake of his head. She was almost twenty-six, now. He remembered seeing her at the docks that first morning the Castanet ferry had begun to work again. He'd jumped onto the first ship after a single hurried phone-call to his aunt. As much as he'd loved living in the Sunshine Islands, as soon as he'd heard he could finally come back, it had been like a siren call, like a magnetic pull to True North.
And then he'd stepped off the gangplank and met her eyes in the small crowd. She was exactly and nothing like she'd been before, and she'd greeted him like an old friend. Which was what they were. There was no need to feel disappointment that there would be, could be, nothing else but that.
His aunt was waiting now, and Irene Herble was not one to wait on anyone. He forced himself away, but the image of Anissa sitting in a pool of golden late afternoon sunlight haunted him throughout the evening.
After dinner and a long pleasant talk with Dr. Jones and his aunt, Jin passed by his office on the way to bed. There was dim light from the tall floor-lamp spilling into the lobby, meaning Anissa was still within. A soft murmur of voices met his ears a heartbeat later, but not Maya's. That sounded more like Renee. Knowing the situation to be under control, and relieved to think Anissa wouldn't be walking home alone if her neighbor were here now, he went up to his living area without stopping. He wanted to keep the picture of her as he'd left her earlier still in his mind just a little bit longer, and there was a niggle of fear that the spell would break when faced with the woman herself.
...
It was still there as he made his first cup of coffee early the next morning. The sky outside was still grey, but he could tell it'd burn away fast. Absently, without his own intent, the image melded into his surroundings, until he could almost imagine her standing next to him, sleepy-eyed and smiling over a cup of tea. Tea is so much better for you than coffee, Dr. Jin. Shouldn't you know that?
Birds twittered outside and guilt struck his heart, breaking through his mild fantasy. He set his half-finished cup down and hurried down the stairs, not quite running. He should've thought of that poor bird as soon as he woke up, instead of thinking about a young woman without her knowledge or consent. There had been nothing untoward, not really, but it still made him feel uncomfortable that he'd let himself lapse for so long.
He pulled up short and blinked. Then, blinked again and squinted at the small work desk. He hadn't realized until then that he'd left his glasses upstairs. But surely his eyesight wasn't so bad that it created an entire blurry human body slumped over the desk next to the file box. A file box that was filled with loud peeps and chirps that sounded very much like a hungry, alive bird.
He tiptoed closer, and the blurry figure took on a real shape and separate colors. Purple, green, blue, red. A long curtain of mahogany brown hair streaming over the desktop and purple-clad shoulders. He leaned closer to the box and peered inside to see the bird very clearly demanding its breakfast with all its lung-capacity. The sound finally made it to the sleeping woman and she shifted, groaned under her breath, and pushed herself up onto her elbows. She blinked groggily up at Jin, then flung herself against the back of the chair with a loud gasp.
"Oh good Goddess! Dr. Jin!?" Anissa exclaimed hoarsely.
"This is my clinic and home. Why are you surprised to see me?" Jin said dryly.
"I- um, I meant to wake up before you... and..."
Despite his lack of glasses, the ruddy flush that covered her face was obvious. Irritation tugged down the corners of his mouth, as well as something akin to betrayal.
"Were you planning on lying to me, Miss Marimba?"
Her head dropped and she tugged at the edges of her apron. "I... I suppose I was, yes..."
He sighed roughly and pushed his thumb up his nose, forgetting that his glasses weren't there to adjust. "I'll bring down breakfast for the humans. You take care of your charge," he said rather shortly.
After a short time, he returned downstairs with a fresh coffee and cup of tea balanced on a tray with simple scrambled eggs and wheat toast. As well as his glasses firmly in place. He could've made something more elaborate, but the idea of wasting that much time, when he was feeling so out-of-sorts, was unendurable.
The bird had thankfully quieted down and was drinking from a dish (an old jar-lid it looked like). Anissa was washing her hands at the sink, carefully not looking his way. He set the tray down and turned to her, mouth open and scowl dark. Before he could get his carefully planned words out, Anissa whipped around and scowled at him just as fiercely.
"You had no right to do that!" she burst out, cheeks still pink and eyes flashing.
He rocked back on his heels and stared, mouth agape. "Pardon me?"
"To treat me like a naughty child!" Anissa exclaimed. "I know you think I'm still seventeen, but I'm not. I can choose to stay and take care of a wounded bird if I want to and you have no right to make me feel chastised for it. It didn't hurt anyone for me to stay the night with him!"
Jin's mouth worked soundlessly at first. "You gave up a proper night's sleep for a bird — "
"Don't be so heartless—!"
"I didn't mean it like that! I meant your health is just as important," Jin sputtered. Anissa stamped her foot and then blushed at her action.
"I can afford to stay up a little late once or twice to make sure a poor, injured bird lives through the night. Again, it didn't hurt anyone!" She thew up her hands in exasperation. "My only job is working here, and it's mostly volunteer work. It's not as if I'm late to work if I'm already at work," she said a little more calmly as she smoothed her hands down the front of her skirt.
Jin looked away. Everything she said made sense, but he still felt —
"It hurt me," he admitted as embarrassment had him shuffling awkwardly.
"Wh-what?"
"You were going to lie to me. You did lie to me. Last night. You never intended to go home at all," Jin pointed out. He sighed at her telltale silence and picked up the cup of tea. He crossed the room and pressed it into her hands. It was difficult, but he made himself look into her eyes.
She wasn't scornful or pitying. Instead, she looked actually ashamed.
"I... I'm sorry, Jin. I shouldn't have done that. I just... I didn't want to have a quarrel with you and I knew you would disapprove," Anissa whispered. She wrapped her fingers around the mug and tugged it close to her chest. "Thank you."
"No, I wouldn't have approved," Jin agreed. Anissa frowned, but Jin raised his hand to forestall her. "However, you are right. You can choose to give up sleep for something you believe to be important. I would hate for it to be a regular occurrence, but I can't tell you what to do and what not to do. I would've understood it then as I understand it now, if you had given me a chance."
Anissa gazed at him, eyes flickering over his face and lips parted. Slowly, her expression crumpled into a look of dismay. "I'm so sorry, really. I... I just didn't think..."
"You didn't trust me," Jin said sadly.
"No, Jin, that's not true. I just... I thought you only saw me as a child still," she confessed quietly.
"Ah, yes... You said that, didn't you?" Jin remembered, eyebrow rising. "Anissa Marimba, I am not stupid. I know you're not seventeen anymore."
Anissa blinked in shock and then burst into giggles, barely managing not to spill her tea as the liquid splashed about in the cup. He smiled at last, the sound of her laughter as healing as always. He walked back to the tray to pick up his coffee, hoping it hadn't cooled too much. He hated lukewarm coffee almost more than cold coffee.
"You do know coffee is bad for you, don't you, Dr. Jin?" Anissa teased, following him to his desk where the wild bird wasn't resting."Tea is much better for you."
The cup froze against his lips and his eyes glanced over her crown of sleep-mussed brown hair. Her expression was lighter as she looked over the breakfast offering. She had no idea, obviously, that she had almost word-for-word repeated what he'd imagined less than an hour ago. With her sleepy eyes and barely hidden yawn, she was every inch the young woman he'd imagined into existence in his kitchen.
He reached out and, gently, fingers trembling, tucked a wild strand of silken hair behind her ear. She stilled beneath his touch, but didn't pull away. As he smoothed the hair down with his fingertips, brushing along the curve of her ear, a fine tremble worked its way down her shoulders and arms. He could see the ripples in the dark surface of her tea.
"I know you can take care of yourself," he murmured quietly. She glanced up through her lashes, head turned just enough to see him but not enough to dislodge his hand. "But perhaps I could help you, one day," he finished, mouth dry and heart beating too fast.
She didn't quite flinch, but she inhaled sharply with a quiet sound that was almost a sob.
"J-Jin..." she breathed through trembling lips. He could feel the blush on his cheeks, and see a matching one rising on her perfect face. One hand still held his coffee, but the other gently cupped her jaw, thumb brushing that eye-catching beauty mark.
"Would you trust me with that?" he asked.
"Yes, yes , but... only if you could trust me with it, too. With taking care of you," she said, words tumbling over themselves as she leaned towards him.
"I'm sure the bird would give a glowing reference," he blurted.
She burst into laughter even as tears gathered at the corner of her eyes. He 'oofed', then smiled, as Anissa threw her arms around his torso, pressing her face to his shirt and continuing to laugh. He wrapped both his arms around her shoulders and let his lips brush over the crown of her head.
"You're why I came back. I knew it as soon as I got off that boat," he finally, finally said aloud.
"Jin, you're not supposed to be the romantic one!" she teased and sniffled.
"We'll take turns."
He had a feeling he'd like being romantic for this woman.
A/N: welp, that escalated quickly. I'm going to have a timestamp for their first real date, and there'll be little snippets of them as a couple during Evie's POV chapters. But... technically they had years of build up and you know what?
MY SHIP ON GAME OF THRONES GOT TOGETHER AFTER SIX GORRAMN YEARS APART AND I DON'T FUCKING CARE, EVERYONE SHOULD JUST GET TOGETHER AND BE HAPPY. FUCK YES. *ahem* excuse me. I have too many feelings right now.
