ANIMAL | a yandere!mental patient x doctor!reader

Chapter Seven - Outside

"It's easy," he said matter-of-factly. "You can love me instead."

You laughed softly. "Okay, sure, Ocean."

"I'm being serious. I'll take your love."

He looked up at you with puppy-dog eyes. Your blush only intensified. There must be something wrong with you, you scolded yourself. There was no way you were even considering the fact that you had romantic feelings for your patient, much less that your patient had romantic feelings for you. It was impossible, and not to mention entirely unprofessional. It was probably your mind trying to cope with your break up, you thought. Ocean was only trying to make you feel better, and that was the only reason why you said,

"Then, you can have all of it from now on."

Ocean broke into a warm smile that made your heart skip a beat. You smiled back, but looked away, changing the subject.

"Um, so, are you ready to take off your straitjacket for good?"

"Yes!" he cheered. "And then we can go outside together!"

You began to loosen the many buckles, humming as you pulled at the straps. You helped Ocean lift the straitjacket over his head. He stretched his arms and winced. They must have been sore from being tied up all the time, and his fingers seemed to be slowly regaining circulation as he wiggled them. Without warning, Ocean flung his arms around you, pressing you into his chest. The cotton of his t-shirt smelled faintly of flowers already, and his body was warm against yours. You relaxed into the hug, closing your eyes for a moment. You waited for him to pull away, but he didn't.

"Ocean, you can let go now."

"I don't want to," he said in a sulky tone.

"I'll let you hug me anytime you'd like, okay? You're going to have to let me go for now if you want to go outside."

"Fine."

You took Ocean's breakfast tray from behind you and set it in front of him. You had added syrup to the pancakes this time. Ocean gave you a let-down look.

"I thought you were still going to feed me," he complained.

You opened the water for him, but replied, "I can if you want, but you can do it yourself now."

"Mhm, but I like it better when you do it."

You shook your head lightheartedly and began to cut up the pancakes.

As Ocean stepped out into the hallway with you, he instantly reached for your hand, holding it tightly. You had brought an extra set of rain boots and a raincoat that matched your own so that Ocean could have something to wear outside of his hospital-issued clothes. As you made your way through the lobby and out the front doors, you saw Dani's eyes widen. The storm outside was letting up and rays of sunlight were beginning to break through the clouds, but rain still sprinkled your face on the short walk to the greenhouse. It was a dome-shaped building made entirely of glass panes, foggy from disuse. The inside was filled with long, dusty shelves and overgrown vines. In one corner, clay pots of various sizes were stacked neatly. You took three of the smallest ones out, setting them down on a windowsill.

"Okay, that's all I'm one-hundred percent sure about," you admitted.

Ocean gave you an unrestrained, but gentle, laugh. "Don't worry, that's what I'm here for."

He filled the pots almost all the way with potting soil and wetted it with a tin watering can that he found on a high shelf. You tore open the packets, tulips first, but Ocean stopped you from scattering them. He made holes in the soil about one inch apart, and you placed one seed in each hole. He then handed you the trowel, and instructed you to add more soil on top of the seeds.

"Um, how should I...?" you asked, a little self conscious. You were an amateur, but you didn't want to seem like one.

"Here-" Ocean moved slightly behind you, putting his hand over yours to guide it. His other hand rested on the windowsill to the other side of you, closing you in. He moved your hand from side-to-side slightly. "Like this."

You felt your face heat up, and you were sure Ocean could feel your heartbeat from how close he was standing. You tried to calm yourself down. What was going on with you today?

To your relief, Ocean didn't seem to notice anything off with you, randomly and carefreely hugging you throughout the rest of the day. It wasn't that you minded being close to him. You just needed to wait until you finally got over Andie, and then the strange feelings you had been having towards Ocean would disappear.

"Can we watch the stars together again?" Ocean asked when you returned from putting away his empty dinner tray.

"Mhm," you hummed, taking out the projector. "And I can stay extra long this time, since I'm sleeping at the hospital overnight."

"Really? Thank you, Y/N!" He wrapped you up in another bear hug

"Just wait until you leave this place for good. Then, we can go out to see real stars every night." You reached up and ran a hand through his hair.

He leaned into your touch, then asked timidly, "Maybe you could sleep in here?"

"I don't know, Ocean."

"Okay," he said, disappointed. "Can you come lay with me, at least?"

You knew that it might get you in trouble, but the way his face fell pained you. Like before, you covered up the lights with paper and turned on the 'stars'. Ocean lied down in his bed, and you positioned yourself next to him so that you wouldn't make physical contact. Your efforts were derailed, though, when Ocean took your hand and clutched it to his chest, intertwining his fingers with yours. You felt an odd sense of comfort. Before you knew it, your eyes began to close, and as you drifted to sleep, a faint voice whispered,

"I think I'm in love with you, Y/N."