Chapter Text
Levi chews on a homemade salad and can’t imagine his shift going any better.
On paper, nurses must get an unpaid 30-minute break every 12-hour shift. And if they miss it — Levi’s contract uses this exact wording, making it seem the nurse’s fault — they can be reimbursed for it.
In reality, Levi, a clean freak he is, couldn't care less about a drop of salad dressing slowly staining his scrubs. It almost brings him joy to know it is there, the proof he gets to eat normal food on his shift.
What a miracle it is to get an uninterrupted break for the first time in ages.
“—and that’s why she’ll never marry rich.”
If not for his colleagues’ chitchat.
Levi moves his gaze from his phone to the girls and lets out an irritated sigh. They don’t seem to notice it, though, too buried in the topic.
Nurses are notorious gossipers — this is no secret. What is a secret, however, is why they decided to talk right at Levi’s table. Perhaps it’s muscle memory from having rare breaks in the cramped changing room, while half of the cardiology floor was undergoing restoration.
Or maybe it’s because Levi sits at the table closest to the new fancy coffeemaker — correction, a lifeline for any medical worker.
God, not having their own break room is torture. Detours to the OB-GYN floor steal precious minutes they could be working. The only sofa there is holding on for dear life. And while the OB-GYN nurses have the camaraderie to share the hospital's limited resources, Levi would never think to get a nap there. Not because shifts where he could afford it are so rare that Levi has practically forgotten what they are.
It’s the doctors. Any time Levi or any of his colleagues walk in there to make a cup of coffee, they shoot nasty glances at them, as if they were just dirt under their polished nails. And by the end of the year it takes to renovate their department, Levi does start to feel like dirt.
Although Levi can’t say anything straight to the arrogant faces, he takes his revenge by occupying the OB-GYN men’s restroom. It’s a small price to pay for how shitty they make him feel, and a wonderful prize for Levi — always spotlessly clean and empty, any time of day.
He shrugs the shitty memories off and goes back to his phone. Come to think of it, the gossip isn’t that bad.
“Wait, have you met the new doc?”
Shit, it’s July already. Levi has been working so much lately he forgot about the best part of the year: the influx of new blood to hospitals across the country.
“Which one?”
“Girl,” she takes a meaningful pause. “You know which one.”
Levi would never consider himself a gossipmonger. He prides himself on never minding anyone’s business but his own, and while it cuts his options to bond with colleagues in half, he is more than happy to keep it this way.
But the tone she uses makes Levi pause on the text.
“Ah, the blondie,” the other replies enthusiastically. “Of course I did. God, he’s such a sweetheart.”
Levi suppresses the urge to chuckle. Oh, to be young and see the best in the world. Or to be gullible enough to believe whatever charms this new doc put on her.
“Well, introducing himself personally was a nice gesture for sure. I don’t know if I’d call him sweetheart for that, though.”
While Levi is glad to hear some good sense, he clenches his teeth involuntarily.
He has once met a doctor who made an effort to greet everyone personally too, even the CNAs. And while the gesture itself is noble, it doesn’t say shit about the kind of person he is.
Levi totally gets his younger colleague’s sentiment, however. He used to be just like her, heart eyes and all at the crump of praise and respect he got.
“Well, I would,” she doubles down. “Did he tell you to call him any hour of the night he’s on call? Like, finally, someone who’s not gonna yell at me for doing his job.”
This, too, doesn’t sound all that unfamiliar. Although, in ICU, the whole on-call situation is overall much better than what they’ve got here.
But he truly, never, raised his voice at Levi or anyone else. Always level-headed. Just the right amount of compassion required of a physician. And just the right amount of it to make Levi feel special.
Didn’t she say he is blond, too?
The screen in Levi’s hand goes black.
He unblocks his phone again. This is why he never eavesdrops. You never know what you’ll hear or how much it’ll fuck up your perfectly good lunch break.
“That one I’ll give you. But you should get used to it already. If you keep crying every time they yell at you, you’re not gonna stay here long.”
Awesome advice. Just as soul-crushing as the medical field itself. Just get used to abuse because it will never get better — well, it worked on Levi and everyone who has stayed here for long enough, so this must be good advice.
“Yeah, heard you the first time."
The break room goes quiet for a long blissful bit. At last, the lunch break Levi has been dreaming about.
And then:
“Do you think he’s single?”
“Don’t even think about it,” Levi says before he knows it.
This isn’t his time or place to speak. This is worse than eavesdropping or gossiping. But Levi can’t stop himself from protecting the girl from the danger she hasn’t yet seen.
She turns to him with the face of someone who just saw a ghost. Levi should have chuckled while he had the chance.
“Why? You know him or what?”
He almost does.
“No idea who this guy is.”
She crosses her arms over her chest, and the other raises her brows at Levi’s inconsiderate remark. Wouldn’t be the first time.
“Then why did you say that?”
Because Levi knows this type of man. A doctor, probably from a rich family. Thinks the world owes him for his mere existence. Dropping noble gestures left and right, like kindness and respect are charity for the poor.
And then one day it all doesn’t mean shit.
“Experience,” Levi says, and closes the lid of his lunchbox.
---
“I don’t think we’ve met yet.”
Levi has just finished his morning assessment. It took him much longer than usual — not a surprise, considering he’s got seven patients to care for instead of his typical five.
So when the call comes from somewhere above the nursing station, Levi doesn’t recognise it as directed at him, too consumed by the final chart.
The intruder clears his throat, and Levi realises the sudden shadow on the desk belongs to him as well and doesn’t plan on disappearing.
Levi finishes typing the sentence and finally raises his head— and freezes for a second, unable to move a muscle.
The new doc. The blondie. The man who does resemble his ex an awful lot.
“Sorry to keep you from your work,” he says in a cloying voice, and extends his hand over the station for a handshake. “I'm Zeke Yeager, first-year fellow.”
Zeke towers above him, casting a shadow that feels progressively darker the longer he stays there.
Levi instinctively shakes his hand in return and keeps meticulously studying his face. The longer he does that, the less familiar Zeke seems. Sure, he is tall, and blonde, and wears the coat — but this is it. Zeke’s hair is much longer, and he has a beard. His ex has never had a beard. So where does the resemblance come from?
And then they lock eyes, and Levi feels a lightning blast through him.
Zeke’s eyes are the identical shade of blue. Cold and distant, and not at all matching the sweet smile on his face.
“And you would be?…” Zeke breaks eye contact and lowers his gaze to their interlocked hands expectantly.
“Levi.” He snaps out of his thoughts and pulls his hand back.
And as he does, it feels like Zeke’s hold gets stronger for just a moment.
“Oh, so you’re Levi,” Zeke says cheerfully, placing his elbows on the counter and leaning a tad closer. “I’ve heard about you.”
Levi leans back in his chair, mirroring Zeke’s movement and bringing the distance between them back to what it was.
“Have you?” he says suspiciously.
“Only the good things,” Zeke continues, and his smile grows wider, making his eyes narrow.
Levi knows exactly what this smile means. His reputation as the nurse who distrusts physicians more than anyone on the floor precedes him, and Levi makes no moves to change it. It does no harm to his job, and Levi is old enough to know to act professionally at work, no matter whom he works with.
“When did you have the chance?” Levi crosses his arms.
And by that, he means two things. The first one is that the department drowns in work, and fresh blood like Zeke can’t have more than a spare second to breathe, juggling orientation and caring for the patients off the bat.
And the second one is: what bitch talks shit behind his back?
“I’m wonderful at multitasking,” Zeke evades smartly. “You just wait and see.”
This sounds vaguely menacing.
“Can’t wait.”
“I believe we already have some patients under mutual care,” Zeke switches the topic and leans over the counter a bit more, looking at Levi’s computer screen.
Now this is where Levi draws a big red line. The nurses’ station is his sacred haven. He might not have a designated desk he occupies every shift or keeps his personal things on, as office workers do, but it still feels like his own working space. Levi likes it little enough when another nurse takes his place mid-shift, but for a doctor to do that?
“I believe not,” Levi replies sharply and gets on his feet.
He hopes to scare Zeke back to his place, but the man doesn’t move a muscle on his face, let alone his whole body. They stand face to face; only Zeke’s is still a tiny bit higher. Levi has to lift his head to look clearly into the blue eyes.
How fucking tall is he?
Blood jumps to his neck, and Levi takes a sharp breath.
“Then I bet we will soon,” Zeke replies, standing his ground.
“Is that all, Doctor Yeager?”
Levi can swear he sees Zeke’s eye twitch at the name.
Somehow, it gets the job done. Zeke straightens his back and takes his hands off the counter.
And holy shit. He is almost just as tall as—
“I think so,” Zeke nods and turns away. He takes a couple of steps, and then turns his head back. “You know, I’m really looking forward to working with you, Levi.”
And there is something in his words, or his tone, or his narrow eyes, that gives Levi goosebumps.
He is anything but looking forward to working with Zeke.