Photograph | Mammon

Eighteen

As Stephen was making rounds a paediatric patient ran up to him. The young girl stood right in his way making it obvious she wanted to speak to him. He crouched down to her level to not intimidate the kid, "Miss Olivia, is something the matter?"

She waved her hand gesturing for him to lean in closer for a secret. The children usually did this to break bad news so negativity flooded his mind. Did someone throw up? Shit themselves? Did someone climb onto the rooftop?

Or did someone do all three!?

He moved closer towards her, anticipating the worst, "There's a man smoking outside..."

Instant relief washes over his and the nurse's face, "Ah, I see, I will check for myself"

"B-but Mr doctor, he's got a bruise like a gangster!"

"I think I'll be okay--"

"Really? You don't look very strong" Stephen had to hold himself back from gasping, kids are always brutal. "H-hey, my scrubs cover up a lot"

"He's also tall, and you're not" Double ouch!

After finishing his rounds, he tends to the issue that the young girl alerted him on. Just as she said a darkly dressed figure leaned against a tree near the hospital with a cigarette in his mouth. "Sir, it's prohibited to smoke on a hospital premises, either put out your cigarette or smoke further"

"...sir? I had no idea you respected me~" The smoker turned around and Stephen audibly gasped. He never thought he'd see Jonah after all these years... especially with a black eye.

He was too stunned to speak. He always thought he'd slap him in anger. He knows Jonah was in emotional distress in that situation but he was still pissed it all ended so bitterly. But he was just frozen... with relief?

"The... cigarette" Jonah crushed the remainder of the cigarette in between his fingers, causing the remnants to fall onto the grass. "So--"

"D-did you go see your sister?"

"No, I just came here to smoke and get told off by a doctor" His sarcasm didn't change one bit. He was still the snarky asshole he loves—loved.

Jonah shamelessly checks the doctor out, "You look good"

"Can't say the same to you—"

"Let me finish first, You look good... for your height"

Stephen scoffed, "I mean, what are you? 5'2?"

"I'm 5'6!"

"Can't believe you were one of the tall ones in high school!"

They both stared at each other in silence. "You're a doctor, right?"

"No, I just like to wear white coats in hospitals"

Jonah chuckled at the returned sarcasm, "Haha, you've become sassier than you used to be... You used to just get flustered and be mean to me"

"And you used to be a lot more charismatic"

Jonah clutched his chest, "Ouch, I take it back, you're still horrible"

Stephen just sighed, his eyes could not stop moving towards the injury on his face "...did you get medical attention for that?"

Jonah was genuinely confused until the throbbing from the punch returned to him, "It kind of happened recently—so no"

"Follow me..."

Stephen tried to avoid Jonah's gaze as he cleaned the wound. There was a cut near his eyebrow that was just slightly better than the bruising.