River had been working at this particular hospital for considerably longer than Ari had- sorry, Dr Cola, as it was probably more appropriate to address him, though nothing about their relationship was particularly professional or appropriate. The two of them weren’t in a relationship, technically, mostly because they hadn’t confirmed anything mutually or even properly talked about it, but they were unspokenly exclusive and intimate far beyond platonic friendship, and above all River adored him, even though he was obnoxious and endlessly irritating. Not that he’d ever admit it, but even when he first met the doctor, his general presence made his jaw ache- his smile, his voice, his eyes, his hair. Again, since the start, River had probably lost focus at important times while the doctor was around, and often got funny looks from him when he asked for patient information and all River could supply was blank-looking stares and prolonged uhhhhs. Dr Cola made him useless at his job. River was quiet anyway, but this man probably initially thought he was mute.

River wasn’t usually such a pushover, and he intended immediately to get over himself and snap out of his stupid infatuation, but even after taking ten minutes to even enter the doctor’s office, psyching himself up to act like a normal human being and behave how a nurse should behave to a doctor, he would still stare at his mouth, resist the ridiculous urge to climb over his desk and kiss him in a kind of adolescently foolish and urgent way he didn’t pride himself in imagining. River, usually relatively meek and generally soft-spoken, wasn’t used to such thoughts and motivations. Luckily, in the beginning, Ari seemed on the surface to share no similar feelings, until River changed his hair one day just to mix it up and not only did the doctor notice when he headed into his office, but there was a noticeable lip bite and River all but burned up. That was the closest he came in a while to stepping way over the professional boundary and respond to the unspoken flattery in a much more colourful way. Again, River found himself dizzy from his own active imagination that he kept contained inside his gentle self, and snapped himself out of it again before excusing himself to leave.

Though afterwards he again attempted to swear off even entertaining the idea of kissing him or something likewise, it wasn’t long after that that they had started... something, and in some miraculous stroke of luck, there questionable and careless behaviour hadn’t yet been caught on to, save a few close calls where river had to scramble off Ari’s lap and stumble aside, making up weak excuses that only passed because Ari was a good doctor and River was just someone that everybody tended to like. They were at the point now where they behaved as if dating- and they had seen eachother repeatedly outside of work- but again, nothing had really been spoken about. River wouldn’t complain if Ari had officially asked him out, but he supposed it was difficult and such a relationship would be severely frowned upon if it didn’t spell an end to both of their jobs. Apparently, this constant looming risk was less an immobiliser and more a motivator, the threat a sort of excitement (though River would admit that thought process over his cold, stiff corpse), and they had been in this kind of limbo-relationship for a couple of months now at least.

That particular day was a strangely slow one, and Dr Cola was, for once in his life, ‘off duty’. Not really, because chances were he’d be called out halfway through, but theoretically he had an hour or two to himself where he could dedicate it to getting other work done. This rarely happened, when River was around- the nurse always set out with a professional game plan; drop off the patient information the doctor requested, don’t end up with his tongue down your throat again- But somehow, to his surprise, every time it was the same. River was still shocked at his own behaviour and really did expect better from himself, but what could he say? Ari was handsome, he asked River to call him doctor, he found a way to get River to kiss him whenever there was time and opportunity. And uncharacteristically, River found himself usually just going along with it, mostly because in retaliation he could just make fun of him to all end.

The formula was always the same- another nurse approached him, and he already knew what she was going to say; Doctor Cola wants the records, Doctor Cola wants the information from the patients on Ward 7 and 8, Doctor Cola wants vitals from [insert patient]- the same formulaic bullshit each time that River inevitably agreed to do, mostly, he told himself, because that was his job. Either way, he found what Doctor Cola so desperately needed and headed towards his office, knocking once before pushing his way inside, running his free hand through his hair and hesitating for a second, letting the door shut behind him. His eyes immediately rested on the man behind the desk at a computer, a man clearly pretending to be engrossed in reading something on his monitor, a man who caught his eye immediately after the door had shut.

Ari was looking almost devil-may-care, the supposed professional lounging back in his chair as River approached, noting in annoyance how the doctor’s pale golden blonde hair fell so effortlessly in an almost 90’s style- River wondered absently how many patients just didn’t pay attention to what he was saying because they were distracted by how unfairly and androgynously pretty he was. Still sick of himself, he stopped short of the doctor’s desk. ”Here you go, Dr. Cola,” He said with a raised eyebrow. "You know, one of these days, Dr. Pepper are gonna sue your whole ass name.” He dropped the paperwork on Ari’s desk and cracked his neck to the side. "Anything else, Doctor? It’s been a slow shift so far.”

/

Ari was fairly used to questionable professional relationships, although they tended to be one-sided as he was more dedicated to his craft than he was to cute nurses or interested patients. He apparently had some kind of allure as an incredibly young doctor - not that he would tell anyone that he wasn't, like, some kind of exceptionally smart kid that got ahead far more quickly than his peers. The truth of the matter was that he skipped ahead by chance, did average enough in dual enrollment to shave off university time, completed residency beyond quickly, and, as a plus, had a cutoff birthday. So Ari let everyone believe he was some sort of adolescent genius with celebrity good looks when in reality he was maybe a 6/10 on all levels. See, it was pretty nice to have people idolizing you all the time for nothing.

Anyway, the point was that he never really indulged them; instead he caught on to how people acted around him, how quickly some developed a puppy crush compared to others, etc. He used the aforementioned words 'dedicated to his craft' but it really wasn't just that he was too involved with his work to consider anything; moreover he didn't have the patience to maintain something with anyone both in the workplace and outside. Sounded like a whole lot of work to care about someone 24 hours a day, no? So he dodged any advances that might come, and if he did find himself equally interested in someone, he'd developed a talent for ignoring it. Thus far in his short career, he'd successfully never given in to anything like that, and also he was a total schmooze, so basically Ari could do no wrong. Maybe some day he'd be able to avoid all on-call shifts entirely for being so basically decent - or he could dream.

But his streak wasn't doing so well these days. Ari didn't even know River existed at first. He had so many medical students or PAs or nurses swarming through his office for oversight that he couldn't give attention to one individual; that is, unless they were undeniably cute and so clumsy that they commanded attention anyway. River was like that, with golden hair that distinguished him from his peers and the sweetest face ever and he moved like Bambi learning how to walk. Really, with the way nurses had to move constantly and stay upright he should be more coordinated by now, but Ari was endeared to how stumbly River became around him nonetheless. The change happened sometime around when River simply changed his hair, moved it from his face a little more so he was no longer hiding behind a curtain as much. Ari really wasn't prepared for it at the time, and he was still caught off-guard by River sometimes so long after the fact.

It made no sense that they worked. Ari was sort of cynical, rough-spoken, with no real consideration for others unless they were talking to him out of passing. His life had to move too quickly for any of that. River, on the other hand, was so gentle and soft-spoken that Ari was fairly certain he was invisible to anyone else on the job (though maybe that was a good thing, considering he really wasn't looking to be caught in the act). Despite their differences they couldn't just cut each other off, Ari always seeming to stop him on his way out from dropping off vitals and kissing him breathless or River innocuously shutting the office door behind him when he came in during lunch hours. Ari honestly had no idea how it'd gotten this big and out of their control - then again, he did know. River was just that gorgeous. Was the risk really all that worth it? Maybe not, but. That was a concern for future him.

Maybe it would be better if either of them was just transferred to another floor. As it went now, though, Ari's office location was already well-established and he was smack-dab in pediatrics anyway, and there was no other place for River to practice that exact specialty, so. Moving was unlikely. No matter what, though, Ari was always happy to see him, so when River came in while he was sitting out his on-call yet uncalled free time, he of course turned immediately to his computer to pretend he wasn't as happy as he really was. After all, admitting to the fact that River was the most utterly charming presence he'd ever been around was pretty damn embarrassing. He scrolled absently through immunization records that'd been up in the back of his screen for a week as if it was the most interesting thing he'd ever read until he heard the familiar second door click and met River's gaze finally.

Here you go, Dr. Cola. He eyed the sheets in River's hands disinterestedly, knowing they didn't have any active patients today or else the front desk would've alerted him to it, and therefore they totally had a moment to themselves. But he could already feel the 'Cola' related tangent coming on, so he suspended any excitement, leaning back in his rolling chair to watch River. You know, one of these days, Dr. Pepper are gonna sue your whole ass name. There it was. Ari sighed, pronounced, at the same time the paperwork fell, leaning forward and taking it tiredly. "You're funny. And a broken record." Anything else, Doctor? It’s been a slow shift so far. Ari sifted through the documents, disengaged, and then set them over his keyboard before leaning back again, elbows on his chair's rests. "I'd say c'mere and kiss me, the usual, but you pushed it coming in here and being rude right away." His grin detracted from any of that sentiment, though.

Ari rolled further away from his desk, holding a hand out towards River to welcome him over. "Also, real bold of you to laugh at my name when you're River. Plenty of rivers could sue you if they wanted." Kind of weak. But this was all he could really do to semi-uphold River's interest whenever he came around. "Anyway, come here, I haven't seen you all day."

When River first encountered Dr. Cola in pediatrics, similarly to other staff members, he was caught off guard by how young and pretty this new doctor was and almost instantly that awe developed into a crush that refused to go away. River wasn’t exactly shy in the traditional sense, he just tended to stumble over his words just as much as his feet, so having a conversation with him was a lot of waiting for him to formulate coherent sentences and a lot of listening to whatever he had to say. That considered, he expected Dr. Cola to hate him- he was always so cynical and kind of brusque when talking to people, so he doubted this young doctor would have the patience to wait ten minutes per sentence River wanted to say. River was wrong- in fact, in the beginning, Ari didn’t have a clue who he was. Sure, he’d seen him around the wards and he had to come in and out of Ari’s office every once in a while to drop off documents and information, but he never mentioned River by name, they had never even had a full conversation and yet River remained with that stupid crush on a ridiculously pretty doctor.

He wasn’t the only, not by a long shot. River didn’t engage in small talk or spreading rumours, but he heard people when they gossiped and he committed what he thought was important to memory; for example, the fact that about a dozen other staff members so far had made comments about ‘how cute the new doctor is in pediatrics’ and how ‘they were going to ask him out when they got the chance’. Jealousy was beyond River- he didn’t experience it- but this didn’t mean that he didn’t want to beat them all to it. But that would never happen. Dr. Cola didn’t even know his name- until one fateful morning River didn’t oversleep and he had time to actual tame his warm golden hair from looking like the mane of an adolescent lion. You could see more of his face- he had gotten it chopped a little shorter recently, too- and River wasn’t entirely oblivious; he noticed the double take that Dr. A Cola sent his way when he quickly went in and out of his office. He’d be lying if he said it didn’t make his crush not only more prevalent, but more hopeful.

It didn’t take long after that for them to grow more comfortable around eachother, in the kind of way where they both felt the same way about eachother in that they had some kind of mutual attraction, and River found it easier to talk to him, more quickly. He was invited to his office more and more until one day he leaned over the desk to hand him some requested patient information files and Ari had pulled him in with a grip on his arm and kissed him. Funny- he’d always thought it would be him making a first move, but since apparently he wasn’t as aware as he thought he was, Ari had been dropping hints for weeks. It didn’t matter, though- River went home ecstatic, elated from having made out with the hot doctor he’d crushed on since he first started. He replayed it in his head- what he thought would start and end a chaste, brief peck became more slow and intense and River even moved round to get closer, tilting his head into it and relishing the moment just in case the doctor actually saw sense and realised what he was risking.

From that moment, Ari had just mysteriously needed to see much more of River, and frequently on the intercom was Nurse Kendrick in pediatrics to Dr. Cola’s office, followed by murmuring from the staff who suspected something, and then as River set off towards the office in question, people asking him why it was so secretive. River was good at keeping secrets, and he just shrugged and offered a reassuring, trustworthy smile that layed them off his back until maybe the next time it happened, which was usually the next day. Ari was getting more careless and also more affectionate. River wasn’t sure if he even really minded the risk anymore. He knew for a fact he couldn’t say the same for Ari, but he pretended anyway to indulge himself. This time, the excuse was so lame that River almost considered just ignoring the announcement- it was a request for files he’d asked for the day previous. He’d ignored the intercom, but five minutes later, it came again. He swore he’d ignore it yet again- but what could he say, it was nice to feel appreciated.

So he made his way as quickly as possible and shut the door gently when he finally made it to his office. He brought the sheets over with purpose, and immediately noted that Ari clearly didn’t care very much about them at all. Feeling playfully confrontational, he decided to take a few digs at him before he inevitably ended over there putting way too much weight than was reccomended on Ari’s office chair, even if Ari was pretty slight. You’re funny. And a broken record. ”Look who’s talking. You asked for me on the intercom twice in five minutes. Must really need this documents- you know, the ones I sent you yesterday?” He tilted his head and pushed a hand back through his hair, standing with his arms loosely crossed over his chest. I'd say c'mere and kiss me, the usual, but you pushed it coming in here and being rude right away. River smiled, and shrugged one shoulder. He had a pretty innocent face.

River wandered around his desk as Ari rolled backwards and held out his hand. He took it, swiping a thumb over his wrist. Also, real bold of you to laugh at my name when you're River. Plenty of rivers could sue you if they wanted."River shrugged, used to this by now. ”Let them come at me.” As much as he enjoyed this banter of theirs, he was bored of talking. Anyway, come here. I haven’t seen you all day. River smiled again, just slightly, then shifted as usual onto Ari’s lap, steadying himself with a hand curled into his shoulder. He held their loosely intertwined hands to his chest and then leaned in, other hand at his shoulder moving up to sift through Ari’s hair. Not wasting another moment, he kissed him, letting his eyes fall shut as he relaxed due to the familiarity and simultaneously his heart began to skip slightly.

There were very few people Ari had the patience to interact with at all. His family got a free pass, generally. His dad, an artist, was comically slow in any engagement, where he first couldn't even come up with anything to talk about and then wasn't sure how to navigate any topics. His mom was short and to-the-point, a businesswoman, and that was how Ari liked it really, but he couldn't predict what she thought or autofill silences, so it was near-impossible to carry meaningful conversation with her, too. That said he wasn't sure why River's way of speaking didn't bother him too much. Sure, he could get a little irritated whenever River took ten sentences to make a five-word point, but it always ended up looking endearing anyway. And River's body language never really matched whatever he was talking about, but that was sort of cute, too, almost a puzzle he had to put together.

Despite how jumbled he was, Ari liked that he wasn't too complicated or difficult a person. As a matter of fact, River was beyond easy to be around. He forgave easily, felt deeply, and usually wore his heart on his sleeve, too - nothing for Ari to imagine or beat himself up over. He was hard to describe, mostly. The fact that he was beautiful and rare-looking was just an added bonus, something that caught Ari's eye and demanded his attention while Ari was made to warm up to his personality. Which, by the way, took absolutely no time at all. While at first it took him a while to even catch on to River's existence, when he did notice him, Ari was enamoured, practically breaking his neck to look at him when he passed in the halls or when they traded places in exam rooms or during lunch breaks where there schedules barely eluded the other.

Whatever the case may be, they always ended up in the same position; River in his arms, Ari characteristically taking the lead in guiding them into another stupid, compromising position. What they were doing was by no means smart or reason-driven, and yet he kept finding himself here, wanting to see more and more of River. Sometimes he even considered them just making it official, exclusive, then seeing each other regularly outside of work would be more easy on his mind - but neither of them would quit for this, realistically. So there was no point getting his hopes up. Probably. God, part of him still thought it'd be nice. Either way, he had no plans of asking or anything ridiculous like that any time soon, nor did he have any response in mind if ever River decided to take the leap himself (equally unlikely).

Look who’s talking. You asked for me on the intercom twice in five minutes. Must really need these documents- you know, the ones I sent you yesterday? Ari wasn't a fan of being made to look like the weak one here, but it was kind of very true. Nevertheless he still arched an affronted eyebrow at River, on the defensive in record time. "Maybe you gave me the wrong ones yesterday. See, how unprofessional of you," he replied smoothly, shaking his head and tutting like it was fact. He glanced over the papers again, slaying out the sheets with one hand. "Know what? They might actually be the wrong ones again. I may have to call you in again later." Ari was laughing softly behind his little speech, though, moreso at the way River was standing - arms crossed and head tilted, all that finesse - than he was at his own humor.

Regardless of whether all that was true or if he was annoyed by Ari's dumb attempts at a back-and-forth, River joined him, their hands linking and River's thumb smoothing over his hand. Ari softened immediately like that gesture alone was what charmed him, his gaze steady on River turning more gentle while he welcomed him into his chair. Let them come at me. Barely registering his words, Ari watched with bated breath as their hands went to River's chest, feeling the comforting drift of River's fingers through his hair and quickly relaxing into a kiss. He squeezed his hand briefly, affectionate, and when he ran out of air he dipped his head to tuck against River's neck, eyelashes fluttering against his jaw. After a pause he lifted his unoccupied hand to hold the side of River's face, thumb tracing the very edge of his features, and he met his gaze again following another chaste kiss. "Hi," he said belatedly, since they hadn't before. "I missed you. Been a long day."