Slight TW in this chapter for anyone who may have trypophobia uwu/

Alfred nearly ran out of the car once he finally parked it outside of the doctor's office. It was the first time in the entirety of Alfred's young, innocent life that he had felt so excited to go somewhere so morbid. Just like yesterday, his heart seemed to hammer in his chest, his ears ringing as he went into the waiting room and checked in. He drummed his fingers against his leg, his anxiety augmenting quickly as he stole glances over the counter. Out of the corner of his eye, Alfred caught small glimpses of Toris smiling at patients, shaking their hands, and even blushing slightly as he spoke to a friendly young woman who was batting her eyelashes profusely. Alfred felt his cheeks burn up with jealousy, but composed himself enough to hear a loud, chipper "Mr. Jones?" come from the nurse.

"The doctor will see you now."

He could feel his hands beginning to sweat as he stood up, adjusting his pants briefly before striding towards the door and shakily making his way into the examination room. He sat on a chair, smiling politely at the nurse as she left him, and examined the room—a large, intimidating camera attached to a hinge stood at the right wall, adjacent to a long, skinny bed that was contorted at an angle that fit the shape of the camera.

Alfred leaned his head against the wall and shut his eyes as if he was sleeping. He had hardly rested the previous night, and what sleep he did manage to get was plagued by ominous nightmares and anxiety inducing dreams. He had been awake all night thinking of Toris. His dark green eyes were so gorgeous, Alfred thought, and just thinking about them made his pulse quicken slightly. He loved Toris's hair, which ended just below his chin and made his round face seem slightly skinnier, and he loved how deliberately he moved his hands, even when he was examining patients. Alfred had never believed in love at first sight- not until now. Toris was constantly in his thoughts, and refusing to entertain the idea of seeing Toris on a more personal level was absurd. Alfred knew that he had to become closer to Toris, no matter what it took. His heart craved the other man like a bee craves honey, and the longing only grew with every passing moment.

And that was why Alfred decided that today would be the day he would ask Toris out on a date. Waiting any longer would surely cause him grief.

Alfred's stupor ended when he heard the door open. Toris made his way into the room, all characteristically nervous smiles and forced politeness.

"It is so nice to see you again, Mr. Jones!" Toris chirped, grinning at him brightly as he tried his hardest not to make a fool out of himself. Toris had enjoyed having Alfred as a patient much more than all of his other ones, and the last thing he wanted to do was scare Alfred off. There was something about the other man's honesty and blatantly adorable nervousness that made Toris's heart feel warm and filled with a mysterious excitement.

Alfred looked up, his smile widening and his nervousness dissipating when he made eye contact with Toris. He let out a light sigh, feeling at ease for a few moments before remembering that yes, he was in a social situation, and that did require conversing. "Oh, hi!" He exclaimed as he waved excitedly. "Yeah, hey. Wow, you scared me."

"I could tell." Toris teased, biting the end of his pen shyly. "How are you feeling today? Is the dizziness any better?"

Alfred shook his head, only to regret it several moments later when his vision temporarily blackened. "Not at all! My head hurts like crazy, and I've been super dizzy all day." He admitted morosely.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Hopefully this will help us find a treatment for you! I'm just going to take a quick x-ray to make sure that you don't have any severe damage." Toris explained. "You… You aren't nervous this time around, are you? You do seem a bit pale…"

Alfred shook his head quickly, not wanting to acknowledge his infatuation with Toris. "I-I'm not nervous! Really, I'm not. I promise."

Toris raised his eyebrows skeptically, making his way to the camera and beginning to adjust it. "…Would you like to hear another joke? It may call you down."

Alfred nodded hesitantly, not wanting to seem too eager. The truth was that he found Toris's jokes extremely charming, in spite of how dumb and plain they initially seemed. "A joke would be awesome."

"What does a bee use to brush his hair?"

"What?"

"A honeycomb!" Toris laughed at his own joke before gesturing to a chuckling Alfred to come to the chair.

"That was clever! It really did help, uh… ease the nervousness." He said as he climbed into the chair, too distracted by Toris to properly appreciate the joke.

"I'm glad to hear that, Mr. Jones." Toris replied, checking a few things on the camera as he spoke.

Alfred gazed down, blushing slightly. How could one man be so cute?

"You don't have to call me Mr. Jones, y'know. Just call me Alfred! Anything else is way too formal."

Toris nodded and grinned as he set a heavy blanket around Alfred's shoulders. "…Alfred, then. But I expect you to call me Toris in return! That's the only way I'll be able to do it. Now, you'll just have to wear this thing while I take the x-rays. Okay?"

Alfred nodded, mentally congratulating himself as he sat back in the chair. Perhaps today would be productive after all.

"And that'll be it for the x-rays!" Toris exclaimed as he finally set the camera back into its original position. "They will be processed tonight, and I will call you in a few days with the results."

Alfred nodded his head, his throat feeling thick and heavy as he stood up from the chair. "I-If it's okay, uh…" He started, his voice heightening in pitch as he looked down at his hands. "If it's alright, maybe… maybe you could call me a bit earlier? You know, so we could like… hang out, or… something."

"…Oh." Toris murmured, hiding his face as he blushed profusely. If there was anything that Toris did not expect, this had to be it. "W-Well, I usually don't see patients outside of work…" He began to explain, his face turning a few shades redder with each word that came out of his mouth.

"Oh, uh… That's alright, really. I just thought I'd offer, so… no hard feelings." Alfred interjected, smiling sadly at Toris.

"…You didn't let me finish Alfred!" Toris said, stressing Alfred's name as he covered his mouth with his hand. He laughed to himself, meeting Alfred's eyes coyly. "…I really want to make an exception this time, though." Toris whispered, blushing again before averting his eyes.

Alfred nearly squealed in delight, clapping his hands together as he grinned. "That's awesome!" He exclaimed, running a hang through his hair as he put his other one on his hip. He couldn't believe that Toris had actually accepted his offer. He had prepared himself for the worst, and now that the situation had actually turned out decently, he was completely unsure of how to react. "Wow. Really awesome," He whispered before shoving his hands into his pockets. "So, uh… wow, sorry, I'm a bit nervous," He admitted.

Toris laughed, leaning back against the counter and bowing his head. "We should, er… Wow, I'm nervous, too! You'll have to forgive me, Alfred." His volume decreased with every word that he spoke. "Anyways, are you… are you free this Saturday? If you really wanted to, er… 'hang out', as you put it before, then maybe we could watch a movie and then get some dinner….?"

"Yes!" Alfred said all too enthusiastically. "I-I mean, yes. Yeah. I'd really like that." He added, trying to remain calm. He never had such good luck with men, so the ease he had felt when he was with Toris must have been a sign. "I'll, uh… I'll pick you up at six?"

Toris nodded, scribbling his number down on a piece of paper and handing it to Alfred, his hand trembling nervously. "Six sounds wonderful. I'll see you then?"

"I'll see you then."

Both of them were grinning from ear to ear as Toris led Alfred out of the room. They exchanged their final farewells before Toris moved on to his next patient and Alfred left the office with a skip to his step and a twinkle in his eyes. It was safe to say that today had been a very productive day.