Collection of One-Shots

》category iii

The kettle of hot water was just coming to a boil when you heard the door of the old cottage swing open. "Did you find anything today?" You called from the kitchen, but there wasn't an immediate response, so you looked down the hall to find your uncle and cousin supporting an injured man. "Oh."

His white armor was torn and bloodied, by the looks of it, he was a Jaeger pilot. Quickly, you got him up the stairs, out of the damaged armor and began tending to the worst of his injuries. That happened to be a large gash on his side. Just over an hour after the man had initially come through the front door, you were washing your hands of his blood.

You weren't sure when he would wake, it could have been hours, maybe even days, but that didn't stop you from lingering by his side. It was in the middle of the night when he bolted upright in the small bed, sweating and breathing heavily. You reached over, hesitant, but laid your hand on his shoulder. He jumped at the contact. "Hey, you're going to be okay," you reassured him, but that didn't quell the panic or pain in his eyes, "take it easy."

The man ripped off the sheet and blankets, swinging his legs over to the side of the bed. He ignored the ache in his side. "I've got to go," he muttered, shaking his head. His surroundings had not fully registered yet.

"You're not going anywhere yet," you stated, standing from the bedside chair. That earned you a defiant expression. "You've got thirty-five stitches in your side and a concussion."

That explained the dull throbbing in his skull. He lifted his hand up to his forehead and scratched at the bandage wrapped around it. "I've had worse," the man countered with a rough voice. You shook your head, arms crossed. "Somehow I doubt that."

Hesitant, you pushed back on his shoulder, urging him to lay back down. Reluctantly, he resigned back to lying down. "If you promise not to try and run away, I'll bring you some food, yeah?"

The man frowned and glanced down to his side, the stitches had been left uncovered, but a sticky salve glistened on his skin in the low light. "Like you said, I'm not going anywhere yet."

︽︽︽

"How'd you find me?" He asked the next morning, finishing off a plate of scrambled eggs and buttered toast. You shook your head, taking a small sip of still-too-hot coffee. "I didn't, but my uncle says you climbed out of a Jaeger and keeled over. He lugged you back here to me."

A look of panic crossed over his expression. You seemed to know exactly what he was thinking and let out a soft laugh. "Don't look so horrified. I'm a nurse." Setting down the cup of coffee you stood, stretching, intending to leave him in peace for a while. "You still need to rest, Raleigh," you noted. However, he didn't seem keen on the idea.

"Do you have any books?" You nodded and returned a couple minutes later with an armful of books. Some were fiction, but most were nonfiction. A mixture of old medical textbooks, nature books, and historical accounts of man-made disasters. You set them on the nightstand next to the bed and turn to leave. "Thanks," Raleigh said, meaning the books, but then he cleared his throat too, "and for stitching me up."

Knowing that your patient was recovering well, you slipped into your own room in the small cottage and traded the pair of scrubs for a pair of ragged pajamas.

Rustling and crying from the next room startled you in the early hours of the morning. You rushed into the guest room, immediately flipping on the bedside lamp and gripping onto the man's shoulder, half in an attempt to keep him from tearing his side back open.

"Hey! Raleigh." The sound of his name brought him from the trance. He opened his eyes, taking a moment to look around at his surroundings before finding your face. "You were having a nightmare," you explained.

The Jaeger pilot nodded and ran his hand over his sweaty face and through his damp hair, not saying anything. You left and returned a couple minutes later with a glass of cold water and aspirin. "Thanks," he mumbled.

︽︽︽

A few days later, with your permission, he was able to freely venture around the cabin. It was late in the morning. Your uncle had already gone to work and your cousin would be at school. Raleigh poured two glasses of juice and put down the bread for toast while you tended to the eggs and sausages.

Breakfast passed in silence. You leaned back in your chair, finishing off the juice. He looked worse for wear and it wasn't just because of the bruises, but the fact that he looked tired enough to keel over. "You're not sleeping," you noted. The rare times he did sleep it was only to be woken by you during a dream, a memory.

"You're not either," he countered, pushing an empty plate toward the center of the table. That was true. Since he had come, most of your focus had been on him, even after your shifts ended at the hospital.

"I hope you realize that you're a terrible patient." That made him smirk.

"Worse nurse I've ever had." That brought a smile to your face, one that Raleigh couldn't help but return. "I'll take that as a compliment," you mused, rising from your chair and taking up the dirty plates.

︽︽︽

There was a knock at the door, but it was too soon for your uncle and cousin to be back from hunting scrap metal. You turned out of the sitting room and into the front hall, opening the door. It was Raleigh Beckett holding a bouquet of flowers.

He pushed them out for you to take. Seeing such vibrant flowers against the snow-covered surroundings was a welcomed sight. "I never did have the best timing," he started, scratching the back of his neck as you took the bouquet. "Or thank you properly."

You smiled, inhaling the scent of the red and yellow roses, intermixed with sprigs of lavender. "Won't they be looking for you?" You asked with a raised brow. The news said the war had been won, but somehow you doubted they let him run off that easily.

His smile grew cocky. "I saved the world, I think I earned a leave of absence," he stated as you closed the door behind him.

"Oh," Raleigh started as if he had forgotten something very important. "There's something else I want to give you." He gripped onto your wrist and pulled you back to him. In a blink, his lips were against yours.

The bouquet slipped from your hand, falling to the creaky wooden floor. You melded against him when the shock faded, hands slipping over his shoulders and arms around his neck. When Raleigh broke the kiss, you leaned onto his shoulder and couldn't help the soft laugh that escaped your lips.

Stuff like this wasn't supposed to happen in real life, only in books and movies. Raleigh propped his chin on top of your head, arms lingering around your waist. You pinched the skin on the back of your hand, just checking that it wasn't all a strange dream. Then you tugged on a lock of blond hair at the back of his neck.

"What was that for?" He asked, looking down at you, curious. "Just making sure you're really here, that I'm not dreaming," you mused and at that he began laughing too.

Raleigh caught your lips with his own, it was a short kiss and you could feel his smile. "I'm here," he whispered.