[FIC] TOO YOUNG TO BE OLD, TOO OLD TO BE YOUNG
xnyappyallyx; ryo/pi, ryo is a cynical, bastard (especially with his patients), eccentric doctor and pi is exasperated for the other man's behaviour the head of the hospital in which ryo works ♥
title: too young to be old, too old to be young [1/2]
fandom/pairing: je/ryopi
rating: pg-13
word count: 1966 omg
notes: i wasn't supposed to post this today, because this isn't finished yet but i took a trip to the community's profile and 20 members! i'm sorry, this is just a big number for me. i wouldn't have expected the comm to even have that many members. ♥ thank you so much for those who joined, and i hope ika_rasu and i don't disappoint ♥ as for the remaning requests, please be patient with me, i will get to writing them soon! :)
fic notes. to xnyappyallyx: like i said, i love this prompt. i had way too much room to play with it. i might make a few changes to it, but this is mainly it. i hope you like it as much as i adored writing it ♥
.also two chapters because uhm. i seriously am tempted to think that i have always wanted to write ryo/pi but never managed to come up with any good ideas for them. i think this fic confirms it.
.lastly, watch me fail with names orz
.i swear this is the last note: i was thinking of making them way older or something, but i decided that yamapi and ryo can be super smart med students that got accelerated somewhere in their youth, although i'm not sure if that is actually possible? idk, i have never written anything with a medical theme to it, so i am quite sure there are mistakes in this fic. feel free to point them out and i'll remedy them :)
.god i talk too much
no beta; i do not own anything.
--
"You called for me?"
For three years now, Yamashita has been managing the part of the hospital his father left him. He struggled through medical school and emerged on top of his class, ultimately earning the respect his father withheld from him before. Throughout those three years, he's had his share of good and bad experiences. But Tomohisa can say, with much conviction, that this was the worst.
"Nishikido-kun, yes." His office was large, as compared to the others; it housed a sturdy wooden desk from his father, a computer and several large bookshelves containing various medical books. The office was designed just the way his father liked it, elegant and simple. Yamashita has learned to appreciate that too, so he let the office be.
In the lone chair in the middle of the room, right in front of the desk, was Nishikido Ryo. Nishikido became part of the hospital just several months ago, and he brought with him intimidating titles and accomplishments. Even though he's apparently great at some things, he had that unruly air about him. Oh, he was dressed as neatly as any doctor should be, but there was a perpetual glint of mischief in his eyes. It was that glint that made Yamashita wary of him; it promised that Nishikido was capable of doing things one wouldn't expect. There was also the fact that Yamashita got slightly put off by Nishikido, but he was great with his work so he stayed.
"Nishikido-kun, is it true you kicked a patient yesterday?"
"Ah well. Kick is such a harsh term." Nishikido replied with a shrug and Yamashita controlled his urge to raise his eyebrow.
"Let's put it this way then. Did you throw your foot towards your patient's general direction yesterday?"
There was a slight smile on Nishikido's lips, and the head doctor was glad that somewhere beneath all that ego was a sense of humor.
"I think that might have been the case, yes."
"You think?" this time, it was evident that Yamashita was just a little bit angry. "We do not kick our patients, Nishikido-kun!"
"Hey look, he was being unreasonable and rude!"
"That's not an excuse to kick them."
"Also, he wasn't sick." Nishikido mumbled this part out, which slightly surprised Yamashita, considering he was so vehement moments ago.
"Pardon me?"
"He wasn't sick," he repeated, slightly louder this time.
"Well, that still doesn't give you the liberty to resort to violence." Yamashita watched him from his seat; he usually read people easily, but this guy baffled him and gave him a hard time. He couldn't tell whether Nishikido was feeling apologetic or angry, and he told himself that he didn't need to. Bothering with this guy was dangerous.
"Fine, I won't do it again," he finally said, though bitterly. "Can I leave now?"
Yamashita closed his eyes and sighed. He'll have to trust the errant doctor's words for now.
"Yes, you may. Thank you for your time, Nishikido-kun,"
--
"Please come with us, Yamashita-sempai!"
The young man, also known as Shun to Yamashita, bowed deeply. Inwardly, Yamashita groaned. He had no interest in group dates, he had a hospital to run and honestly he was content with that. But it seems his juniors really want him there.
"You don't even have to stay for long!" another young man, an intern named Ryu, piped in. "You can leave after a few minutes,"
Yamashita wanted to ask what was the sense in going in the first place, if that were the case. But he didn't say a word. Meanwhile, his juniors continued to make promises and bribes for him to go. In the end, although he honestly didn't want to, Yamashita said yes to the young men.
"Ah thank you so much, Yamashita-sempai!" the tallest of the group, Akira said. "You're really kind!"
"Oh yes, Nishikido's going too, right?" Shun asked Ryu offhandedly. Yamashita winced at that name. He couldn't help it.
He just knew saying yes would be bad idea.
--
Five girls sat across them. They were all fairly attractive, but no one caught Yamashita's attention. Beside him was Nishikido, who arrived just some minutes ago. He was already discussing something with Akira, who was on his right; Yamashita didn't care for their conversation in the slightest bit. Most especially since he heard some words that gave him the idea they were calling dibs.
"Ah well, I think it's about time we introduced ourselves!" Shun began cheerily. "I think I'll start. My name is Kawashima Shun, twenty-four years old. It's nice to meet you all."
"I'm Kaneda Ryu, twenty-three years old and currently an intern. Please take care of me!"
"Nakajima Akira. Twenty-six years old, and an intern as well."
"Ah right then. My name is Nishikido Ryo. I'm twenty-five years old and I'm a doctor."
The girls giggled and Ryo shot them all a smile. Yamashita felt somewhat disgusted. When he felt Nishikido nudge him, he remembered that it was his turn to speak now.
"Yamashita Tomohisa, twenty-five. Nice to meet you." he added in a smile to make everything seem better, but it left a bad taste in his mouth.
--
After the females finished introducing themselves, Yamashita decided that they all bored him. They were college students--on their last year--all of the were Literature majors, and were all slightly younger than him. What took place next was dinner, and at least it was good. A girl--she introduced herself as Nagasawa Aki --kept asking him questions. Yamashita answered them anyway.
"I heard from Akira that you're the head of the hospital. It's amazing since you're so young!" she gushed, her brown curls falling around her face. She looked nice; doe-eyed, cute nose with tiny, plump lips. By the looks of it she was a classy dresser too. Though it was probably that air of arrogance about her, accompanied by her manipulation tactics--Yamashita most definitely saw her wheedle Shun to get her some cigarettes nearby--that put him off.
"Actually, I just manage part of the hospital."
"Which part?" she cooed. "Are you a surgeon? I love surgeons! And you totally look like a surgeon to me."
"I specialize in heart-related problems." he corrected her kindly.
"A cardiologist, how amazing." she batted her eyelashes at him and Yamashita wanted the night to be over soon.
--
Sometime as the night went on, Yamashita came to know that the only reason he was invited over was because Aki, apparently the one who decided whether the rest of the girls were going or not, wanted him to be there. He should feel somewhat used, but he told Akira to take Aki home and there would be no hard feelings.
They said their goodbyes, and Yamashita offered to stay behind. He watched as Shun and Ryu had girls on their respective arms, and Akira had a brunette beside him, and Aki on the other. Aki offered to get his number, but Yamashita turned her down gently, saying that his mobile was for emergency purposes only. They finally left, and it was only then that he slumped back against his seat.
"Is it true?"
Yamashita looked up, and he realized Nishikido stayed behind too. He didn't mind him much now. Nishikido was way better than that crazy bunch of estrogen.
"What is?"
"About your mobile,"
"Oh." for a moment, Yamashita had no idea what to say.
"I knew it." his companion said, as if Yamashita's silence answered everything. "Smooth lie though."
It became quite awkward after that, and Yamashita was happy to note that when his mouth was closed, Nishikido was actually an all right as a person. They just went on drinking for a moment, enjoying the place's calm ambiance.
"Why did you come tonight?" Nishikido said suddenly.
"They asked me to."
"You could've refused them."
"It's done now, what does it matter?"
"You seemed to have something up your ass the entire night,"
Yamashita had no idea how to reply to that either, so he gulped down his drink instead. They sat beside each other, almost looking like friends.
"Do people seriously call you Yamashita?"
"No, they call me Yamashita-kun" the head doctor replied, stressing the title Nishikido forgot to mention. Nobody called him by his surname, sans the -kun or -san; nobody called him Tomohisa unless they were his parents.
"Even your friends?"
"Y-yes," he was a bit taken aback at that. His friends usually called him Yamashita-kun as well. "Is that wrong?"
"It's too long. Don't you have a nickname or something?" the lack of a nickname seemed to frustrate Nishikido for reasons that escaped Yamashita. Their glasses were nearly empty and the place played soft jazz music that made Yamashita's eyelids slightly heavy. Maybe it was the alcohol or the dim lights that did it, but he found this situation quite surreal.
"I don't have one."
"I'll give you one then," he announced. Yamashita was a bit surprised. He's never had anyone bother to give him a nickname, and he'd never expected Nishikido would be the one to do it. "I'll call you Yamapi from now on."
"Yamapi?" he echoed confusedly. This prompted Nishikido to grab a clean tissue from nearby and with a pen, he wrote down the kanji "yama" and the letter "P" beside it. Nishikido pushed the tissue towards him and smiled that smug smile of his. "What does the P stand for?"
"I'm torn between 'prick' and 'pretty', but I guess I'll decide on one in the next few days."
Yamashita--no, Yamapi--felt his heart beat faster and he wondered of this was a normal reaction to having someone give him a nickname (or someone complimenting and insulting him at the same time). He glanced at Nishikido, who now got his glass refilled and asked, "And you? What do I call you?"
"Ryo," he answered promptly. "By the way, that patient I kicked?"
"What about him?"
"He was hitting on me."
--
The "Yamapi" thing caught on fast. The first few days it caused confusion and stirred much interest--Ryo used it a lot, on purpose--but everyone got used to it and started calling Yamashita exactly that. This sort of annoyed Ryo, as that was his nickname for Yamapi, but Yamapi pointed out that lots of people called him Ryo so they were even.
--
Tachibana Ayako was an old family friend. She was sixty-seven years old and her heart was weak. Yamapi's father called him a few days ago, telling him that she was going to be staying under his care for the next few weeks. That way, she'll be nearer to his family (although Yamapi felt this was another test his father had for him). Since Yamapi cannot deny his father anything--and he hated that he can't--he said yes.
The old lady had a beautiful smile. Yamapi enjoyed visiting her everyday for her daily check-up because she was always so cheerful. She was scheduled to have a minor surgery this afternoon, and due to bad timing, Yamapi can't come. He had several patients he need to check up on, and a lot of paperwork to be done as well.
Distressed, he called Ryo.
"This is Nishikido Ryo-kun, Tachibana-san," Yamapi said, tugging at Ryo's sleeve so he can come forward. Tachibana-san peered at the stranger and then back at Yamapi. "I won't be able to accompany you in your surgery but he'll take my place instead."
"But Tomohisa-kun," she began, and Yamapi took her hand warmly, effectively cutting her.
"Don't worry, you'll be in good hands," he soothed. "I trust this guy with my life."
That shocked Ryo, and Yamapi as well. Neither of them knew that Yamapi felt that way until the words came out of his mouth. That seemed to convince Tachibana-san though.
--to be continued