"You know, Yuri. If you're interested in a girl, the way to get her to reciprocate your feelings is most certainly not to drive her up the wall."
Yuri rolled his eyes. There went Flynn in 'mother hen' mode again. Or perhaps 'serious nag' suited it better. Whichever it was, he did not care. It was annoying, and that was what mattered.
"Lay off, Flynn. At least I didn't send someone to the emergency room today."
"...may I point out that neither did I, Yuri?"
"Nursing wing. Close enough," he retorted, rolling his onyx eyes.
"Hardly. Although I will have to apologise to Chester for that. It was hardly my intent to make him ill."
"Yeah, and you're going to have to beg for a new partner."
At that, the blond blushed. "Y-Yuri...I..."
"Should go back to working on your Master's in Business?"
Flynn sighed. "Perhaps. You might be right."
Yuri felt somewhat accomplished at that. Anything that saved both the stomachs of the innocent citizens and Flynn's dignity was a good thing.
"You know I am."
"Yes. Just like you know I'm right about your interest in Miss Tear."
Yuri sighed. The man had tenacity enough to put a cockroach to shame.
"Yeah, so? She obviously hated me. It's not like it's a big deal, anyway," he muttered, rolling his eyes. "I'm sure I'll survive."
"Oh Yuri, you just don't get it." Yeah, and Flynn of all people did? Right. "But we can talk about this later. I need to head back to my class, and you should head home."
Yuri waved one hand idly. "Sure, sure." Well, Repede could probably stand to be let out. The dog was smart, but that did not mean he could get out of a locked house. "I'll talk to you later, then."
"Sure. See you, Yuri!"
Flipping one hand up in a lazy wave, the dark-haired man turned and headed for the building's exit. Not normally being one to let anything get to him, Yuri tried to brush off the day's events, including his...eventful meeting with Tear. Doing so was harder than it should have been, though, as the gorgeous brunette kept creeping into his thoughts.
How stupid. It was not like he was ever going to see her again.
Several months later, he would be in for a surprise.
Months passed, finals came and went, followed by graduation, and then she was free. Well, as free as a nursing intern could ever be, anyway. Work was hard, the pay not so great, but she was finally doing what she wanted to do: help people.
"Mystearica, might I suggest actually doing some work?"
Snapping out of her daze, Tear felt her face heat up as she immediately bent over her work. "S-sorry, Doctor Balfour." Now, that was not like her at all. It was just that, at times, she found herself thinking about an idiotic young man who had burst into her classroom months before. It was completely inexplicable, ludicrous even, but there it was.
Maybe it was something of his aloof indifference that had caught her attention, or just the way he presented himself, or...
Actually, she had no damn clue. It could be that he was pretty, for all she knew. Whatever it was, it was stupid and she had to drop it. Doctor Balfour was, while not exactly mean, certainly demanding. She needed to do her best at this job. If should could impress Jade Balfour, she could impress anyone. Daydreaming would not help with that.
Still, it was hard, dumb as that was. He kept creeping into her mind at the most unorthodox moments. She hated it. If ever she saw him again, she was going to have to make a point of throwing something at him.
Well, maybe not really. The thought was satisfying, though, and it was not like she would really ever see him again.
At least that was what she thought.
Yuri's year passed quickly. His job as a security guard kept him busy during the nights, with sleeping and bugging Flynn occupying his days. While the pretty brunette nurse-to-be managed to creep into his thoughts from time-to-time, he managed to keep it low profile.
That was not to say that he was not happy to see the coming of summer, though. It meant a more readily available Flynn to be teased. That, and surfing.
"Whoo!" Yuri yelled as he banked hard on a particularly strong wave. "Race ya to shore, Flynn!"
"You're on!" his best friend called back from his own surfboard.
The race was going well, at least for Flynn, anyway, when the unthinkable happened.
"Oi, what was that?" Yuri muttered as he felt a solid thump against his board. Yuri was not stupid. Calling off the race in his own mind, the dark-haired man collapsed onto his board, carefully keeping all of his limbs out of the water. Maybe he was just being paranoid, but he would really rather not take that chance.
His measures did not stop a second, harder thump from hitting his board, but it did allow him to stay upright. At the third bump, he was not so lucky. His left leg slipped from the board and struck the shark firmly on the side. The creature's barbed scales scraped his foot. Not badly, but enough to draw blood. He tried pulling his foot back on hurriedly, yet he had been thrown off balance too badly to do so before the creature struck.
With an agonised cry, he felt the rows of teeth sink into his calf. Every instinct in his body told him to pull away, yet his brain told him to do anything but.
"Yuri? Yuri!"
The sound of Flynn's horrified shouts reached Yuri's ears, yet he did not feel up to responding. Right now, he was focused more on trying to stop the shark's assault on his leg before it severed a major artery.
Instead, he was wrenched into the water fully.
"Yuri!"
As the creature shook him about, Yuri slowly felt himself blacking out, so he was only dimly aware of Flynn appearing at his side and hitting the shark firmly on its snout to drive it off. Luckily for both of them, the chondrichthyan decided there was easier prey to be had than something it had been uncertain of to begin with. It turned fin and fled into the watery depths.
Then Yuri blacked out.
Jade slammed the phone down onto its holster.
"Mystearica, I need a bed prepared. Prepare bandages and antiseptic as well. We have a shark attack victim coming in, probable serious blood loss."
Nodding, Tear hurriedly set about her work, making up the bed and setting out everything Jade might need to patch the person up. Antibiotics, needles, threads, gauze, and wraps. Hopefully she had not missed anything. She would have gotten blood, but due to the high degree of spoilage blood suffered at room temperature, that was going to have to wait. She did not even know the blood type, anyway.
When the patient was finally brought in, she paled slightly. It was Yuri. How had he...? No, now was not the time for that. While he did not appear to be seriously wounded anywhere else, there was a chuck of his leg hanging off. And the blood. Oh gosh, it was...
"Mystearica!" Jade snapped, bringing her back to her senses. "There is punctuation of the posterior tibial artery. Go and get me a bag of type O negative. Now!"
Nodding, Tear bolted from the room. She could not let personal feelings get in the way of her job.
"Tear, are you alright?"
Halting, the brunette turned to spot her questioner.
"Oh! Doctor Adenade! I'm running an errand for Doctor Balfour."
"Well, you'd best be on, then. It sounds important."
Bowing, Tear turned and hurried on.
When she returned to the room, Jade already had the man's leg cleaned and bandaged. Hurriedly, she hooked up the heavy bag.
"Is he going to be okay, Doctor?"
"Oh, I should think so. It's only a little nibble."
A little nibble? Certainly Jade was brilliant, but occasionally she doubted his sanity.
"Now, if you would keep an eye on our man, I think I'll go file some paperwork.
Paperwork? After that? How did he do it?
Seating herself on a chair, Tear prepared herself for a long, quiet wait, so she was somewhat startled when the door opened behind Jade. Glancing up, she saw Yuri's friend enter with a bit of a sheepish smile.
"Sorry to bother you, but the doctor said it was okay for me to see him, now."
"Oh. Yes. Certainly. You're...Flynn, right? If you don't mind my asking, what on earth happened?"
The blond shrugged. "I'm not really sure myself. We were out surfing when I heard him scream. That's when I saw the shark, so I did the only thing any reasonable person would do. I booted it over to him, hit the thing a few times on the snout, grabbed him, and hurried to shore." Sighing, Flynn passed a hand through his vibrant locks. "Then I called the hospital and rushed him over here. I'm...just glad I made it in time. They tell me he could've lost his leg..."
"Well, yes, that is true," Tear told him, cupping one of her elbows and resting her chin on her palm. "But Doctor Balfour is one of the best. Your friend is in good hands."
"Yuri."
"Hm?"
"His name...it's Yuri."
"Well, um...yes, I suppose it is at that," Tear replied, frowning.
"I think he'd like it if you'd use it."
Now Tear was really confused. Just what on earth...?
"I can't say for certain, but I think he's been thinking about you, since that day at NU. I think he...might possibly be attracted to you. He never said anything to me, but I like to think I've known him long enough to know that much about him."
"E-excuse me?" Tear asked, her face heating up at his words. "You must be joking. We only met for a few minutes, and I'd hardly say he liked me in the slightest..." He had done nothing but pick on her! Certainly not grounds for any sort of friendship, never mind relationship!
"What, because of the nickname? That's just Yuri's thing. He nicknames people based on first impressions."
The unspoken statement was there. To get a nickname like 'Miss Melons', she had to have made quite the first impression...
"Yes, well. It is not the most appealing of habits."
"True, but that's just Yuri."
"Still, we barely spoke for ten minutes. I hardly call that any basis for-" dare she say it "-attraction."
"While I do not disagree with you, Miss Tear, I also will not deny that there has to be some...initial basis for such feelings, also."
Okay, this conversation had just taken a turn for the really weird, really fast. Here she was, talking about things like relationships with someone she barely knew...about someone she barely knew.
"I would rather drop this, now."
"My apologies, Miss Tear. Please, forget I said anything."
Yeah, and a lot of good that was going to do.
When Yuri awoke sometime during the night, he was aware of two things: one, his leg really freaking hurt and two, he had no idea where he was.
Sitting up slowly, he hissed softly in pain as the motion jarred his leg.
"Oh, you're awake!"
Yuri's head snapped up, tilting to look in the direction the vaguely familiar voice had come from. His eyes could only catch a blurry silhouette in the darkness, however, as the figure moved to stand over him. A moment later, he felt one hand against his chest, pushing him back down.
"Don't try and move. You need to rest."
"I'm fine," he choked out, fighting the pressure. Much to his chagrin, however, he found himself unable to. Sinking back onto the pillows, he sighed. "I'm fine. Really."
"You lost a lot of blood. Just rest."
Damn, but she was stubborn.
"Yeah, well, you put it back in me, right? I think I can handle sitting up."
"And I think I'll take it out again if you don't take it easy. After all the work we went though saving your life, I'd rather you not undo it."
Yuri could not help himself, he laughed.
"You really have an attitude, don't you?"
"I suppose you could put it that way. I prefer to say I do my job."
That was when Yuri recalled where he had heard that voice before. He had known he knew it, but only at that moment did he remember where from.
"I suppose you're entitled to do that, Miss Melons."
"Oh? Well thank you. Good to know I have your permission," she responded flatly.
"Hey now, no need to bite. We can save that for later." He winked to accompany his words, yet he doubted she saw it in the dim lighting. The pause that followed his words said that either she was displeased with his joke, or she just did not get it. He was betting on the latter.
A moment later, he felt her fluffing up his pillows.
"Right now, you need to get your rest. We can catch up in the morning."
"Aw, but I've missed you so much. I'd rather catch up now."
"You're insufferable," she said with a tired sigh.
"Y'know, Flynn always says the same thing."
At that, she paused for a moment before speaking again. "Does he? Well, would you listen to him if he told you to go back to sleep?"
Yuri had to admit that sleep was pretty tempting, yet staying up and teasing his nurse was equally so. Sure, his leg was throbbing, yet it was for that very reason that he even doubted he could sleep. That, and the chance to talk to Tear again was somewhat...tempting.
"No."
"Hm. I must ask; do you listen to anyone?" She was clearly frustrated by this point, yet Yuri did not really care. He was amused.
Fiddling about, his nimble fingers finally found the switch to the light over his bed. Hitting it, he blinked several times as his dark eyes adjusted to the brightness.
"Nope, can't say I do." Well, maybe his boss. Sometimes.
"You need to rest," the brunette told him again, reaching over to hit the light switch.
Smoothly, Yuri reached up and caught her hand as he replied, "That can wait." Holding her firmly for a moment, he finally released her when she gave her trapped appendage a firm yank.
"Fine," she finally conceded with a long sigh. "Clearly you're too boneheaded to see sense."
He laughed. "Nah, I prefer to think that sense is relative." That bought him a raised eyebrow from the brunette. "Maybe I do need to rest, but I figure sleeping half the afternoon right through until..." Pausing, he glanced at the clock, "Four twenty-seven in the morning is a decent amount of sleep. Don't you?"
She sniffed. "You've been awake for awhile, now."
"I'd hardly call five minutes awhile. Besides, if one of us needs to sleep, shouldn't it be you? Have you been up all night with me?" Actually, he realised. Maybe he was being a bit selfish. If he went back to sleep, she could probably get some rest.
"I was asleep in the chair. Your movement woke me up."
Oh. Well that answered that.
"Hm, well then, I suppose I could sleep...but I'd really rather talk to you." With that, he sent her a wink she could see.
"Are you thirsty?"
"Huh?" he asked, somewhat surprised by the unexpected question.
"Do you want a drink?" she persisted stubbornly.
"Uh...sure?"
"Then I'll go get you one." And with that, she was gone.
Yuri sighed as he settled back. At least this gave him a moment to think. He knew what had happened, of course, he had been conscious when the shark had latched onto his leg, yet after that everything was a blank. He must have passed out. Flynn, all high and noble embodiment of perfection that he was, had probably saved his sorry ass. After that, he supposed he had been dragged here and patched up.
It was interesting, meeting Tear again like this. While he could not say he had forgotten her in the past few months, he most certainly had tried to. It was weird for him be interested in anyone, let alone a woman he had met only once. Then again, maybe that was what she had had working in her favour. Maybe the fact that she had been unable to really get under his skin was what made her so interesting. And the fact that she was somewhat interesting, while remaining an enigma to him, or some crap like that.
Whatever, it could not be that important. He would go with the flow for now. See where it took him. He was in way too much pain to think this over now, anyway. Besides, thinking had never really been his strongest asset. He preferred to act on his gut, and his gut was telling him to...act as he saw fit and see where it got him. Much more his style.
Just as he was starting to think that Tear had been gone for quite awhile, the brunette reappeared in the doorway, glass of water firmly in hand. Accepting the cool glass from her, he could not deny that he was actually quite thirsty. Downing most of its contents in one go, the dark-haired man looked up and met her blue eyes with a calm smirk.
"You drugged it? Really?" He should have seen it coming, honestly. "Nice tactic."
"Glad you think so. Now, go to sleep."
And so he did. He did not really having any other choice, after all.