Mark and Callie try to set Jackson and April up before the boards.
"I think Avery and Kepner should get together," Mark stated, a contemplative look on his face as he sipped on his black coffee, "My guy needs to get laid, and they're practically joined at the hip anyway. Seems like a win-win situation."
Callie raised an eyebrow, unsure at first as to whether or not he was actually serious. "Kepner? As in Kepner who works at this hospital? You realise she's a virgin, right?"
Mark smirked, "Word may have gotten around about that, yeah, but you know what they say about the innocent ones - they're usually the freakiest in bed. Besides, I know my guy would take good care of her."
"Uh huh. And how exactly do you plan on making this whole thing happen? 'Cos my guess is, it's not going to."
"Whats not going to what now?" Came the chipper voice of Arizona entering the surgeon's lounge, as she made her way over to the coffee station and poured herself a cup, before kissing her wife on the cheek.
"Mark here thinks that he can get Avery and Kepner to bang. Or get together - whatever. I can't see it."
"Oh, that could be fun actually. I mean, they're already always together! I...don't see how you're going to do that though. You can't exactly be blunt and just say, hey, you guys should totally sleep together. Especially with April being a virgin and all." Arizona said, blowing on her own coffee.
"Mhm, I already kind of tried that. Didn't go down too well. She accused me of sexual harassment..." Callie couldn't help but scoff at that, "but she also didn't seem like she was entirely not into the suggestion, either."
"What about that costume party at Joe's? Stick April in something slutty and BAM! suddenly he'll see her in a whole different light," The dark-haired woman suggested, feeling pretty proud of herself.
"Huh. Ya know what, Torres? That might not actually be a bad idea," Mark agreed, finishing off his drink and tossing the empty paper cup into the bin.
The blonde looked between the two of them before chiming in, "Maybe we could take April shopping for an outfit? 'Cos otherwise I don't think she's going to go for it. I've never even seen her wear anything even remotely low-cut, so we might have to be realistic here."
Callie rolled her eyes playfully at her wife, "Babe, I'm great at getting people to do what I want, but sure, taking her shopping sounds good. Sloan here can do the same for Jackson and make sure he looks bang-able. Maybe stick him in a superhero costume or something, I don't know. Anyway, what are we wagering here? I say - $50 bucks and they'll admit the other is hot, but thats as far as its gonna go for now."
"No way. My guy is going to get to at least second base," Mark assured, crossing his arms in disapproval before offering one hand out to solidify their wager on. Callie accepted, and Arizona just nodded slightly, before clearly her throat when she noticed the tiny redhead they were talking about entering the room.
"Hey guys!" April said, seemingly in a chipper mood - which wasn't unusual for her.
"Kepner! You're coming shopping for the costume party with us. No buts!" Callie stated, not giving the woman much time to debate her.
"Uh...uhm...okay, I guess-"
"Great! We'll see you later tonight!" Arizona added, figuring it was time for them to get going as she gently tapped her wife and encouraged her to move towards the lounge door.
Mark flashed her a wide grin before he, too, figured it was time to exit the room. Her eyes went wide slightly in response, as she was still weirded out by his suggestion that she should start hooking up with Jackson. It wasn't exactly unusual for Mark to be so open about sex and women, but it had still come out of left field considering it was to her of all people. It had frazzled her brain and sent her thoughts all over the place more than she'd be willing to admit, and she hated that. She didn't have the time to not be focused when every free second of her time was to be spent studying for her exams.
Just as she was about to pour herself a coffee, April's pager went off, causing her to sigh quietly. It was going to be a long day.
"Um, so what are you guys planning on going as to this thing?" April asked, trying her best to strike up some small talk as they wandered around the costume store flicking through the rails. She wasn't exactly all that close to Callie and Arizona, despite the fact she'd been at Grey Sloan for two years, and often felt like Callie in particular found her annoying. Still, she felt it was important for her to make new friends and solidify some of her connections at the hospital, and it made sense, given how close Jackson was with Mark.
"A devil and an angel," Arizona replied with a grin, "I'm the angel, obviously."
"Thats just what you want people to think," Callie responded with a smirk, and April couldn't help but feel like she was intruding on their alone time somehow.
"Cute. I was thinking Minnie Mouse, or maybe a deer."
"Lame!" Ah, that was why April was sure that Callie didn't like her. As confident, loyal and talented as she was - she also had to ability to be very blunt. "You've gotta go for something at least vaguely slutty, Kepner. Thats what costume parties are for."
"I think what Callie is trying to say, is that, you've got a great bod, April. There's totally nothing wrong with showing it off once it a while! This is great excuse to step out of your comfort zone, you know?"
April blushed slightly, unsure exactly where this was going. She wasn't used to compliments, and her usual clothing choices were almost like a coat of armour to her - a way for her to play it safe and feel like she blended in with her surroundings. She'd never been one to step out of her comfort zone in that sense, for fear of what other people would think. That, and fashion just wasn't as important to her as it was to some people. She liked to be comfortable and practical.
"This would look great on you!" Arizona continued, holding up a green dress with fake leaves on that came with matching tights and gloves. April recognised it as Poison Ivy - a character she was aware of (if not in part due to the fact that she was also a redhead), but not from a franchise that she was particularly passionate about. She'd only ever considered herself a casual viewer of comic book related media, and was worried that dressing up as such might make her look a bit try-hard. That, and the dress's hemline was awfully short. Before she could protest, the blonde was pushing the costume into her hands, ushering her in the direction of the changing rooms. "Just try it!"
She spent a long minute examining her appearance in the full-length mirror after managing to get into the thing. A part of her felt like she was almost sexy...but the louder voice in her head was telling her that it was too much, and that she looked ridiculous. No one was actually going to take her seriously if she showed up dressed like that.
Biting her lip, she bit the bullet and pulled the curtain across, stepping outside of the changing room and feeling awkward.
"Alright, April! See, you look hot!" Arizona stated encouragingly, and Callie agreed, "You have to buy it now."
As much as April wasn't sure about it, she figured she could take a leap of faith and just go for it. It was only a costume party, after all. The world wasn't going to end because she showed a little more thigh than she usually did, right?
After changing back into her casual clothes, the trio purchased their costumes, and April felt a little more confident than she had before.
"Alright man, you went with the Greek god! Nice. Gotta start flexing those guns for the ladies," Mark stated enthusiastically, offering his prodigy a high five, which he didn't seem to want to accept.
"You know how I said that sometimes when you talk to me, it makes me feel like a male prostitute? Yeah, that still stands," Jackson mumbled, heading to the bar to grab himself a beer. When he turned back around, he saw that Callie and Arizona had arrived and were talking to his mentor. A redhead was with them, and it took him way too long to realise that it was April, given her choice in attire. Since when did April look like...that?! She looked...hot, really hot, and that realisation was messing with his head. He spun around, ordering another beer for April, and willed himself to remember that she was just his best friend. His very off-limits best friend, and no costume (no matter how enticing it was), was going to change that. Taking a breath, he made his way back over to where Mark was with two beers in hand, offering one to the tiny redhead in question.
"Thanks," She squeaked, feeling overwhelmed by the sight of him. He wasn't wearing a shirt, and she wondering how exactly it was possible to be built like that, and why she had never noticed just how muscular he was before. It was hard not to stare, and she had to force herself to look elsewhere, feeling like some sort of pervert. The last thing he probably needed was her gawking at him in the same way she saw other women gawking at him sometimes. It was totally inappropriate.
"Thats fine, Avery. We'll get our own drinks," Callie mumbled, grabbing her wife's hand and motioning for Mark to leave with them.
Once the trio had disappeared, Jackson scratched his temple, his attention fully focused on April. "So...Poison Ivy, huh? You look...really great."
"Oh yeah, uh, it was actually their idea. I wanted to go as Minnie Mouse, but I guess they thought it was too dorky."
Minnie Mouse. Of course. That seemed more like her, he thought, "Well, it suits you."
"You think? I keep feeling the need to pull it down. It's so short," She stated awkwardly, and he finds his eyes trailing down to her legs. Yeah, I can tell, He thought, wanting to slap himself for noticing.
"April, you look great. Trust me."
She finds smiling softly, meeting his eyes, and there's a weird tension between them. She's not entirely sure what it is or what is means - all she knows is that she's not sure she's felt something like that for the opposite sex before, "Uhm, you look really great too. Although it wouldn't hurt you to put a shirt on, geez," She manages, scratching the back of her head slightly. Maybe if she focuses on not looking at him, the weird tension might dissipate.
Jackson finds that he doesn't want it to, though. He's pretty sure he wants her, in some capacity, even if it's wrong. It's not just because she's wearing a slutty costume that makes her look insanely enticing, either, but because it almost feels like a lightbulb has gone off in his brain. Like something that was dormant has suddenly awoken, and he doesn't want it to switch off.
Feeling confident, he leaned down, mouth close to her ear when he whispered, "Do you want to get out of here?"
April felt her eyes widen. Did he seriously just ask her that? What is he getting at? She thought, but then, she took a moment to study his face, seeing the lust-filled eyes and the way he was looking at her like they were the only people in the room, and it ignites something in her that she doesn't want to end. Biting her lip, she nodded, before downing her beer and giggling. "Okay."
Downing the rest of his own drink, he quickly left for a second to dispose of their bottles at the bar, seeing the trio of co-workers were still there. "Uh, I'm heading out. April is too. See you tomorrow," He stated abruptly, not seeing the way the three of them smirked as he headed off in the direction of the exit, holding April's hand.
"You have a hickey!" Arizona commented loudly, pointing at April's neck at work the following day.
The redhead's eyes widened as she quickly slapped her hand there defensively, wondering how on earth she hadn't noticed it herself. "What?! N-no, I don't!"
"You totally do! Callie! She has a hickey!"
"Damn it! So you and Avery really went there, huh?"
"N-no, I-I've gotta go!" April stuttered, hurrying off in the direction of the nearest bathroom so she could examine the evidence of last nights' fumbling herself.
"Now I owe Sloan fifty bucks. Ugh! I was sure we had it in the bag."
"Its okay, honey. We'll win next time."
"Avery! My man!" Mark grinned, holding up a hand to offer Jackson a high five. "Hear Kepner's been trying to cover up a hickey, courtesy of you I'm assuming?"
"Uh, what?" Jackson paused, swallowing a gulp in his throat. The last thing he wanted was to be talking about this - especially when he didn't even know what it meant yet himself, or where April stood on the matter. He didn't want her to be running around all day embarrassed and feeling like she was being gossiped about. She deserved better than that. "Can we - can we not talk about this?"
"Sure, but just know, I'm proud of you, and I'm rooting for you guys. I think it's sweet." Jackson raised an eyebrow at that comment, wondering why Mark had to be so invested in his love life in the first place. It felt like it crossed some boundaries - especially after he'd been telling him to get laid to take out some of his stress over the boards. "Anyway, gotta go chase up Torres over some money she owes me. I'll be back!"
Hopefully not anytime soon, Jackson thought to himself. The only person's opinion he cared about was April's, and he set off in the direction of the trauma surgeon, grateful when it didn't take long for him to find her. He abruptly pulled her into an on-call room, locking the door behind her, and could see that she was both happy to see him and somewhat freaked out about something. Its only once he noticed the mark on her neck that he realises what she's probably freaked out about.
"You gave me a hickey," She whispered, almost like it was a curse word. It was adorable.
"I can see that. I'm sorry. I...got carried away." Could she blame him, though?
"I...didn't say that I didn't like it." She bit her lip, moving closer so that there was barely any distance between them, "I just didn't like Callie and Arizona questioning me about it, thats all."
"Yeah? I'll keep that in mind," He grinned, leaning down to press his lips to hers. He wanted to continue from where they left things last night, but the sound of her pager going off puts a damper on his plans. Sighing, he reluctantly lets her answer it.
"Hey, continue things at the apartment later? Alex will be out tonight."
Her tone is so sexy that he thinks he might spend the rest of the work day playing it over and counting down the hours until she's in close proximity again. "Wouldn't dream of missing it."
She offered him one last kiss, before unlocking the door and entering the hallway, only to be greeted by the sight of Mark Sloan grinning at her and giving her the thumbs up. Eyes widened, she quickly scurried off in the direction or the emergency room to which she was paged. That man is weirdand she does not need him prying into whatever it is she started with Jackson last night. No thank you.
When Jackson exited the on-call room shortly after, he too found himself greeted by the same shit-eating grin of his mentor, and immediately stopped him from saying anything by snapping, "Knock it off, will you?!"
"What? I'm just so proud of you! It brings a tear to my eye!"
It was going to be a long day.