City of Smoke // Brian 'Otis' Zvonecek ✔️

12 || CHALLENGE

Avoiding Otis was a challenge.

An incredibly difficult challenge.

It was a challenge that was so hard to stick to, that it was taking every single ounce of strength, and all of the will power, that Rory had in her. But despite all that, despite how much it pained her to do so, she'd managed to avoid Otis for an entire shift and her off days in between.

Avoiding Otis off shift was relativity easy as all she had to do was stay away from Molly's on the days Otis was working, or worse, meeting up with Amy. And sure she'd been asked a few times where she'd been lately, mainly by Herrmann and Mouch, but thankfully for her, the excuse of her dad needing her help in his own bar was still believable, and the two men were happy enough to accept it as an answer.

However, avoiding Otis on shift was much, much harder than simply staying away from Molly's. As much as she wished she could stay away from the firehouse house, she couldn't and to make matters worse, everywhere Rory seemed to go within the firehouse, Otis just so happened to be there. Whether it was coincidence or whether he was seeking her out, Rory had no idea as the second she saw him anywhere near her, she spun on her heels and left.

The first shift in which Rory had to avoid Otis during, the one after she had made the decision to stay away from him altogether, had actually been relatively easy given that the ambulance was being called almost non-stop for the entire day. But that had given her a small ounce of false hope as the shift after it, the current shift she was now working, was one that was way too slow and way too quiet for her newfound liking.

"Hey, Rory." Cruz called towards her from his seat at the common room table, watching as she turned around to look at him from her spot on the couch. "Otis and I are setting up a game if you want to join us?"

Eyes flicking down to the tabletop where Settlers of Catan was neatly laid out in front of Cruz, Rory picked absently at her lip with her teeth as her attention shifted towards Otis, who was looking at her with a deep hope behind her eyes that she'd say yes and join them. She hadn't spoken to him in days now and if he was being honest, he missed her.

"Maybe another time." Rory breathed out with a small, rather apologetic, smile as she got to her feet. "I've got to uh... I've got to restock the jump bag."

"We did that this morning?" Sylvie questioned, her head tilted a little in confusion as she glanced up at her partner.

"I know, but I just want to double check... Can never be too careful." Rory chuckled nervously as she began to slowly back out of the room. Against her will, her eyes landed on Otis's and the second she saw the sadness creeping up inside them, she spun on her heels and quickly left the room.

The jump bag didn't need restocked nor did she need to double check it but she desperately needed an excuse to get herself out of that room and away from Otis before she did something she'd regret. Like confess her undying love for him in front of the others. Or worse, accidentally spill the news that she was purposely avoiding him because being near him with the knowledge that he was dating another woman in her mind was too hard for her and almost made her want to change firehouses. Again.

Rory would never change firehouses, she knew that. She loved it at fifty-one and she'd never wish to leave Sylvie or Jimmy, even the others, but she wouldn't deny that some days, like today, she found the urge so incredibly strong that she had to resist going to Chief Boden and asking him to transfer her as a way to avoid Otis completely.

"Okay, what's going on with you?" Sylvie's voice reached Rory's ears before she, and Jimmy, had even come into view at the back of the ambulance, where Rory sat as she lazily looked through the jump bag, pretending to check it.