(Slight TW - death)
When you came into work just a couple of days later, Tom Whitley was dead.
. . .
The nurse doing wake-up calls that morning informed you that Tom had somehow gotten access to the hospital's pharmacy and accidentally overdosed again, except this time it was fatal. She seemed unfazed, considering she was the one who stumbled upon Tom's body. She talked about it like it was a usual occurrence for her, and you understood why, since death in hospitals wasn't as rare as you wanted to believe, but it was the first you had experienced at Forrest. Tom's folder had been missing from your office for a few days, but today it reappeared on your desk when you needed it to, along with another doctor who was working with Tom, fill out the form that confirmed Tom's death. You must be a bit out of it, you thought to yourself and made a mental note to get yourself together before meeting with the family later.
You stopped in front of Ocean's door, and instead of going in, you found yourself staring down at the room where Tom was staying. The sheets were being stripped from the bed to go down to the laundry room, and a suitcase of Tom's belongings sat outside. You felt a nagging sense of guilt, but you tore your gaze away and stepped into Ocean's room.
Immediately after you sat down, he asked, "Are you okay, Y/N? You look sad."
"Tom died today," you answered quietly. Ocean frowned, pulling you into his arms. You sunk into the hug, resting your head under his. Ocean smelled faintly of flowers still, even with brand new clothes, and it was comforting to you.
"Don't worry, it wasn't your fault."
"I don't know," you said. "He seemed to be doing okay in our last session, but... I don't know."
"You shouldn't think about it too much, it'll just upset you."
You hummed in agreement as Ocean ran a hand through your hair, which was usually what you did to calm him down. "I guess you're right."
"If you want to get your mind off of it, maybe we can go-"
"Y/N," June interrupted from the doorway, making Ocean fall silent. You almost jumped away from Ocean as the door fully opened.
"Oh, um, hi," you awkwardly greeted him.
"Hey, can I talk to you?"
You nodded, following June out to the hallway. You didn't look back at Ocean- which was part of the reason for his expression- but he was glaring daggers as you left.
June closed the door behind him, giving you a concerned look and a gentle touch on the shoulder.
"I heard about your rehab patient. How are you holding up?"
"Fine, just trying not to think about it too much," you replied, echoing what Ocean had said earlier.
"Okay, but if you need me, you can always talk to me." It was true that June was easy to talk to. Because of that, the two of you had grown closer and had even started texting over the time that you had on break.
"I know," you said sincerely, giving him a hug. "You're the best."
As you pulled away, June asked, "Listen, that new café we've been waiting for just opened downtown. Do you want to go later?"
"Oh, really? Sure, we should go during lunch."
You parted ways, with June heading back to work and you back to Ocean's room. A thought crossed your mind. Was June asking you on a date? When you sat back down next to Ocean, he was staring out the window beside his bed.
"Ocean, I can't come by lunch today, okay? I'm going downtown with June. But, I'll be here after that."
He was silent for a moment, then requested, "Tell me about June, Y/N."
"What do you want to know about him?"
"Just, you know, about him. I want to get to know him better, is all." He turned to you and gave you an innocuous smile.
Glad that Ocean was making an effort to get along with June, you began to rattle off everything you knew about June that wasn't too personal- things he liked, how he was going to be an anthropology major before deciding to be a nurse, how he lives above a bookstore that has a resident cat. Ocean listened intently, nodding every now and then.
Café Papillon was a quaint, slow-paced café where the chairs didn't sit exactly flat and the straw holders were all hand-painted ceramics. You and June had been sitting outside under one of the many umbrellas for half an hour, two drinks on lacy coasters on either side of the table. Now, you were walking back to the hospital together.
"I have something to tell you," June said, drinking the rest of his boba tea.
You raised an eyebrow. "Go on?"
"I, uh, may have eavesdropped that night when Ocean confessed his feelings for you," he admitted in a hushed tone. Your eyes widened, and you couldn't form any sort of a response. "But, hearing you reject him was a relief."
"Isn't reject a bit of a harsh word?" you got out sheepishly.
He shrugged. "Anyway, I kind of thought you were in love with him or something."
"Oh, of course not," you replied quickly, embarrassed. "I'm his doctor."
"Right, then I can ask you."
"Ask me...?" You stopped. You were already in front of the hospital.
"Will you go out with me?"
You waited for it to register. So much had been happening in one day. June was sweet, and he had helped you get over your breakup. Finally, you weren't thinking about Andie anymore thanks to June. Besides, it wasn't like you didn't want to be with June. Hadn't you been waiting for this?
"Yes," you laughed, holding his hand with both of yours. "I've been waiting for you to ask." It almost sounded like you were trying to convince yourself. He pulled you in front of him and looked down at you, laughing with you.
"Y/N, can I kiss you?"
You froze. You instantly thought of that dream you had had about Ocean, then how you felt when- you stopped yourself. You realized you weren't all against the idea of kissing Ocean. Wanting to get rid of that thought, you lifted yourself onto your tiptoes and kissed June. It caught him a little off-guard, but he kissed you back, one hand intertwined with your hair. This forced you to actively try not to think of Ocean again, but you were unsuccessful, so you pulled away.
Unbeknownst to the both of you, a certain someone was watching from a second-story window, plotting another 'accident'.
Meeting with Tom's parents erased any happiness that you had gotten from your date with June. They were uninterested in what you had to say about him, sighing continuously in annoyance. You asked them if they had funeral plans, but they told you outright that they didn't care, leaving Tom's reluctant sister to do everything. Your face hurt from fake-smiling, and you silently wished for the meeting to be over. When it was, after what seemed like an eternity, you immediately went to see Ocean. You closed the door, kicked off your shoes, and flopped down on his bed, not caring how unprofessional it was at this point. Your energy was drained.
"I need a nap," you groaned, covering your eyes with your arm. You felt Ocean sit on the bed next to your legs.
"Go ahead," he granted, serious. "I don't mind."
"Just five minutes."
It was already dark outside when you finally woke up. You shot up, fumbling for your phone to check the time. You had planned to walk home with June, as he didn't think it was safe for you to be walking home alone at night. You reassured him that you were fine, but he insisted.
Weird, you thought to yourself. June's contact was gone from your messages. You blinked, thinking that you were somehow seeing things wrong, but his name had disappeared from your phone entirely. You looked over to see Ocean at his desk, pencils and eraser shavings scattered all across it. You snuck a peek at the paper. On it was a graphite sketch of you, asleep. You pushed yourself up from the bed and went to stand behind Ocean.
"Wow, that's really good," you said out of the blue, startling him a little. You apologized and ran a hand through his hair to ease his nerves like you always did.
"Do you like it?" he asked, looking up at you expectantly.
"Of course I do."
"I've been drawing you a lot." Ocean proudly flipped through the pages of his sketchbook, each page a different portrait of you. You knew Ocean was attached to you, but it wasn't good for him to be so fixated on you.
"Oh, um, why don't you try something else? Like a change in subject."
"Why? I don't want to draw anything else."