I don't own Scrubs.
His Bed (3)
Dr. Cox was long gone by the time JD finally entered the bathroom. He stripped off the very masculine pink bathrobe he'd donned in the other man's absence and turned on the water. It was lucky that he'd fallen asleep early the night before; it may have been even more awkward if he was awake when Dr. Cox took over his bed. Or, even worse, he would have woken up with his alarm and not been able to be part of their conversation that morning due to time constraints.
How did he get in, anyway? That jerk. It wasn't fair that his mentor could just barge in and mess with him like that. If the situation was ever reversed, JD was fairly certain that he would be thrown out on his ass along with a hall of fame rant. Maybe. The rant was a definite, anyway.
There had been something between them this morning, mixed in with the bed touchies, complete shock and Dr. Cox walking into his kitchen practically naked. Cox hadn't been as abrasive as usual, even when he was making excuses for choosing his bed; they were more desperate than angry.
JD considered the option that he was in some kind of coma dream caused by the Janitor whacking him on the head with his drippy mop, but the thought left as quickly as it had come when he stepped on something cool and metal on the tile floor that made him slip and fall directly on his tailbone. He yelped and groaned before reaching to find exactly what had made him fall.
And, suddenly, he found himself unable to stop smiling. Dr. Cox had forgotten his belt.
By the time he managed to pick himself off the floor - still smiling - the water had gotten cold.
---
Way to go, jackass.
Perry's frown deepened as he stalked though the hallways of Sacred Heart, sending interns scattering in different directions. Ahead of him, Doug, who was heading the same way, was on the verge of a nervous breakdown as he tried to stay ahead of him without running or breaking into tears.
He was not doing a good job of handing the Newbie situation. The kid had come out of that night somewhat worse for wear, emotionally, and that was not productive in terms of his end goal: some kind of weird, romantic-ish relationship that could end up making or breaking his grip on sanity.
Yesterday morning had not been a good step towards that; in fact, it was a pretty damn good demonstration of "How to Piss People Off". In his defense, he'd been under the influence of a massive hangover that had left him immobilized in the bed until Newbie started groping him. Which, by the way, wasn't such a terrible way to start the day. But anyway, driving the kid away was not beneficial to starting a relationship. Perry made a face inwardly; using words like feelings and relationships in relation to himself made him nauseous. Damn shrinks.
Not to mention he'd actually been worrying about how the kid would react when he did make a move. JD was the girliest male he'd ever seen, but he hadn't ever shown any interest in men. Well, neither have I. But Newbie had been following him around and begging to be a part of his life for years; he probably just wasn't expecting to be a part if it the way Perry wanted him to.
Maybe it would work. Newbie wasn't currently seeing anyone, and while he had a constant crush on Barbie, she had done a booty call and seemed satisfied for the time being. Now was a good time to come on to him, and Damn it, what the hell happened to waiting? The more he thought about it, the harder it was to not go the on-call room, page Newbie and do something dirty to him.
There was also Jordan to deal with, but he was surprisingly calm about that. Jordan would understand; she had enough affairs of her own that she wouldn't begrudge him one of his own. The long-term part of it might piss her off for a while, but she was just as likely to invite Newbie to have a threesome. If nothing else, he could tell her that he deserved a turn with JD too. And anyway, she knew that Jack always came first for him.
Feeling decidedly better, Perry went to bother Carla at the nurse's station.
---
JD filed through the line in the cafeteria, half-listening to Turk enthusiastically re-enact a surgery from earlier in the day. Dr. Cox had to be lying – all he had to do was find the flaw in the rant. Convenient. He hated that word. Maybe he could become the Dictionary Thief; he'd go around at night taking the dictionaries from unsuspecting citizen's rooms and erasing words he didn't like until people forgot they existed. English teachers would curse him as he hopped over the roofs of schools and houses, cackling evilly. He thought about erasing the word "the", too, to see how people would get along without it. What would Turk's sidekick outfit be...?
"JD, are you in there?"
"Would you want purple or blue tights? I thought about black for a while, but that might make us seem like the common cat burglar."
"What?"
"Nothing. What's up?"
"You're really out of it, Vanilla Bear. What's bothering you?"
JD hesitated; he hadn't mentioned the bed incident to Turk yet. But he was his best friend - it wasn't fair to keep it from him. Opening his mouth to explain, he was interrupted by Troy, who was cashiering today. "Are you gonna pay or what?"
He reached into his pocket to take out his wallet, only to find that he was several dollars short. Turning to Turk, he said, "Can I borrow a few, Brown Bear? I forgot to stop by the bank and pick up some cash..." he trailed off mid-sentence as something clicked. Oh my god.
"Just remember how much you owe me, man." Turk moved to take out his own wallet, but stopped when JD plunked his tray down on the counter and jumped out of the line, mind racing.
"Never mind, Turk. I'm not hungry. I'll tell you everything later, I swear!" He weaved in between the small crowd of people standing around the cafeteria, trying to figure out where Dr. Cox would be right now and thinking I am a genius. He took no notice of the bizarre look he got from his best friend, or the glower from Troy, who was upset about the fell tray left to sit. The Janitor's lackeys could wait.
---
"Dr. Cox!"
Perry turned to glare at Newbie, who was running towards him grinning like an imbecile. "What do you want, Patricia?"
Newbie skidded to a halt in front of him, and said a little too loudly, "I know that I wasn't convenient the other night!"
Perry widened his eyes fake surprise and replied, "Oh, really? No way!" before grabbing the younger doctor by the collar of his scrubs and dragging him into a corner out of the way of traffic. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing, Newbie?" He whispered furiously.
JD's eyes were as wide as his had been a moment ago, if not more so, but he continued on. "I know that you didn't pick my bed to sleep in because it was the most convenient. If you really had wanted to go home, you could have gone to an ATM and taken some money out for a cab."
He glanced around; people were beginning to give them odd looks. Perry, getting sick of it, marched over to a supply closet and slammed the door. That should keep any rubbernecks away for a while.
"Now, Newbie," he turned to his protégé, who still had a fist holding on to his collar. "Would ya care to elaborate on why, why, why you insist on breaking the one rule I set down?" Why, of all people, did it turn out to be him?
"I don't care if you never want it mentioned again. People don't work like that - I don't work like that - and I know that you have to care for me more than you let on even if you try and make me think nothing has changed since we met, because when we met you would have rather slept on the floor than my bed. And I know that you didn't choose my bed out of a lack of options; you could have just as easily gone to an ATM and gotten money for a cab, so there - and oh god pleasedon'thurtme your face is terrifying."
Perry took a step forward, and he could see the despair in Newbie's eyes as he was moved farther away from the door and safety. "Your big point is that I could have gone to an ATM?"
"Yes."
"That is some piss-poor evidence."
"It seemed brilliant at the time."
"Well, Bridget," he said, stepping closer, "can I ask one more thing? Why do you care? Why would you want there to be some underlying reason to why I jumped into your bed hammered at two in the morning? What is there to gain from having some permanent residence in my life? Why do you continue to pester me and want to be my very bestest friend even though you're a doctor now and you don't need me hanging over your shoulder every moment? Huh? Because this little girl crush you have on me has re-he-eealy got to go if you can't answer these questions."
"I-"
"Don't say anything. Just shut up for a moment." There was an uncomfortable calm as Perry paused to gather himself, taking a deep breath and staring at JD all the while. Hell yes, he was pissed, but this was turning into an excellent chance to see where Newbie stood.
The kid was looking at him strangely, and Perry wasn't quite sure what to make of it but continued on his rant anyway. "Y'see Mary Beth, you just made me so angry out there that I'm not sure what I'm going to do to you now." He took another step forward, effectively trapping Newbie in a corner of the supply closet. "Or maybe I do. I'm getting an idea."
"Then do it." That look became more intense. What the hell is going on with him? Newbie didn't look all that afraid anymore, either. "Well, what are you going to do, Perry?"
His arms planted themselves on the wall next to JD's shoulders almost of their own volition. The use of his first name had triggered something in him, and his heart rate accelerated as he recognized the expression: challenge. Newbie had only shown brief sparks of it before, too short to be remembered or important in any way - and he certainly hadn't had that tint of invitation along with it. Now it was there, unwavering and directly in his face.
There was an extremely loud silence as they stood far closer than either of them could remember being in five years. Perry relaxed somewhat, his hands sliding on to Newbie's shoulders. He realized, not for the first time, that JD had very nice lips. They should be used for something other than prattling on about fantasies and pudding. JD's eyes were dark, the pupils slightly dilated; he was sure his own were the same. A pleasurable warmth spread from where his hands were touching the kid, down through his spine and settling in his stomach. This was dangerous territory.
JD loosened up, seeing that death was no longer imminent. He leaned forward a little and let out a slow breath that tickled Perry's nose. His hand tugged gently at his mentor's lab coat. "Are we going to stand here all day, or will you get on with it?"
Snarling, Perry closed the final distance and kissed him.
---
JD shut his eyes, hoping that if he didn't move or make a sound Dr. Cox wouldn't come to his senses and kill him. Oh my god, what am I doing? What was I thinking? He's going to stop being crazy in a moment and never talk to me again... Christ he's good at this. Against his better judgment, he moaned.
At that, Dr. Cox pulled back slightly, just enough so they weren't cross-eyed while staring at each other. To JD's surprise, though, he stayed well into his personal space; he was so euphoric from the thought of Dr. Cox is letting me touch him! that he nearly missed the next question. "What now, Newbie?"
"This seems good for now. Unless, of course, you want to stop since it's really all up to you. Totally your decision. But if you're asking me I'm cool with going on this way." Stop babbling, you idiot!
"That so?" Dr. Cox shoved him back into the corner and kissed him again, gently, in a more exploratory manner than the first one. Like he's testing me. Cautiously, JD reached out to grasp the older man's shoulders, massaging them softly before moving up to his neck and hair. It wasn't all that different from kissing Elliot or any other girl, except for the lack of lip gloss and the fact that he was more on the receiving than giving end.
Finally, his brain thawed from the state of pure shock it had been in since he'd been cornered and discovered that being trapped was a huge turn-on. His hands drifted down to Cox's elbows, where they tightened their hold to get his attention. "Shouldn't... shouldn't we talk about this-ahh!" The only reason he could speak was because that mouth had moved down to his throat, and hot damn.
Fortunately(ish), the comment was enough to bring Dr. Cox back to the present situation. How weird is it that I still refer to him as that? As far as he knew, all of the other people who had gotten this far with Cox had been on a first-name basis...
"Newbie, concentrate; you can make it back to Earth if you really try."
He snapped out of the short-lived daydream to find Dr. Cox waving his hands to get his attention. "Are you ready to listen now?"
"I think so."
"You know so. Now, here's the deal: for some absolutely insane reason, I find you attractive - don't you even try some homophobic crap on me, you were here a minute ago - and I have this opportunity, so I'm taking it. If you're willing - and I know you are - you are now permitted to come to my flat when I'm there. In private you can call me Perry, touch me, write sonnets or whatever it is you did with your other boyfriends. Any of that happens in public and I end you right then and there. Now do you understand me, or do I have to beat it into you?"
JD stared. And stared. And stared to the point where his eyes began to hurt from the very intense gaze he was giving his mentor, who almost looked nervous. "Are you asking me to be your boyfriend?"
"Way to sound like a high-schooler, Kaley."
"Can I tell Turk?"
"You can tell Gandhi, Barbie and Carla whatever you like, as long as they don't blab to the entire hospital."
"What about Jordan?"
"The dragon lady will be more fine with it than you think."
"Can I really touch you in private?"
"Whatever you want."
"Can I touch your priva-"
"Stop right there, you moron."
"You think I'm attractive?"
"For the love of god, don't ask me to follow up on that right now."
He contemplated these facts for a moment; there was a surprisingly pleasant aching feeling in his chest, as if his heart didn't know whether to start dancing or fly right over into Dr. Cox's palm. All of his major doubts had been shot down with ease, and now he tried to ignore Dr. Cox's eyes burning a hole through his head. Beaming, he finally met Cox's gaze and pulled down his scrub bottoms a few inches.
Dr. - no, Perry's eyebrows shot for his hairline. "Newbie, I thought I made it clear those kinds of activities stay at home."
"No, it's not that - yet-" JD undid the belt that had been buckled around his stomach all day and handed it over. "I slipped on it in the bathroom yesterday, and I wanted to trade it for the jersey I gave you. My butt still hurts, by the way. "
Cox shrugged. "Sure. Fine. Whatever. Now pull your pants up and get out of here."
He might have been offended at the abrupt dismissal if he hadn't seen how the other man was trying not to let the corners of his mouth turn up, or heard how soft his voice was. Grinning, he lunged forward, capturing Perry's mouth in a kiss and spinning him around so he was closer to the door. "Okay." He attempted not to laugh as Cox's expression varied from outraged to amused.
It settled on fake disdain. "Move it. And I better see you at my place around eight, or I'm coming after you and I can promise your ass will be twice as sore in the morning."
Feeling as if he was floating, JD danced out of the supply closet and to his nearest patient's room.
Oh my bajeezus, I finished a story! By the way, Fiest is a nice artist to listen to while writing Scrubs. Thank you, Zach Braff's MySpace.
Thank you for reading, folks. Reviews/feedback are massively appreciated.