"Wellness Break" - A Short Snippet (Patreon)

You've figured out that there are two types of people: those who put on gloves before scooping out their pumpkins and those who just go in raw. 

As your co-interns start carving out their pumpkins, you sneak a peek at everyone's progress. Xiao, predictably, has gone all in - pulling out goopy fistfuls of pumpkin seeds with a "I fucking hate this" look on his face. Riley, on the other hand, is just pulling on his gloves, looking at Xiao with visible disdain. 

And you? You have pumpkin juice under your fingernails. 

You glance at Davy beside you, notice that they've laid out the pumpkin carving tools like surgical instruments on a paper towel. You watch as they slip on gloves and then delicately carve out the pumpkin stem before removing the innards with a spatula. 

"How's the patient?" you ask, lightly bumping your hip against them. 

You see the corner of their mouth curve up. "Could be better."

"Do you need an assistant?"

Davy looks over at your "patient" who now has had all its viscera excavated. "What about yours?"

"I'll put in a consult." You pass your pumpkin over to Reese. "Think you can handle one more?"

Reese nods solemnly. "I'm ready."

"You two are ridiculous," Davy says. "You should never scrub in together."

"Excuse you, I'm a consummate professional." You wipe your hands on a paper towel, pull on gloves. "All right, doctor. It's a beautiful day to save lives."

"If you're Derek Shepherd, does that make me Meredith Grey?" Davy sets their spatula down. "Scalpel."

You pass the scalpel to Davy's outstretched hand, feel a thrill of pleasure run through you when their fingers curl around yours for just the briefest squeeze. "Nah. The real McDreamy is Dr. Grey."

"Should I be jealous?"

"Absolutely not." You press lightly against Davy's side before lowering your voice into a purr. "I'm yours."

Davy looks over to you, and even though you're surrounded bv all your other co-interns, it's easy to pretend that it's just the two of you in the room. They have that effect on you, especially when they're so close, their gaze molten. If someone asked you what you found most attractive about Davy, the answer's easy: not their body, not their talent, but the way they look at you with their undivided attention, the way you feel seen.

"Hey," you say softly. 

"Hey," they say back. 

"Can we keep it PG-13?" Xiao interrupts. "Your obvious love and intimacy is making me gag."

Davy snorts, and you laugh - the moment broken. 

"I'm not the one making goo-goo eyes at Diana and Ari every five minutes," you say. 

"I do not!" Xiao huffs. 

"You do," Riley says. "It's sickening."

"I hate you." 

"I think it's cute," Reese chimes in. 

You see Xiao's cheeks flush an even deeper pink. "I hate all of you."