Through A Child's Eyes (2/3)
TITLE: Through A Child's Eyes
AUTHOR: redblonde7
RECIPIENT: maiyeng
GENRE: Romance/Fluff/Humour
PAIRING(S): USUK
RATINGS/WARNINGS: 12, warnings for medical illnesses, procedures etc
SUMMARY: Prompt was Doctor!Alfred x Nurse!Arthur. In this part, Arthur finally gathers up the courage as Elizabeta giggles in the background.
NOTES: Again, thanks to my beta readers edelweiss123 and flowing_rein. Both have been brilliant at pointing out my mistakes and anything they don't understand. Medical notes and Hetalia notes are at the end like before. I won't repeat anything that I mentioned in previous notes but hopefully you can just follow the link and read the previous part! Very short chapter to be warned.
Part 1
Arthur fiddled with the collar of his shirt, leaning closer to the mirror as he did so, as if it could make the collar straighter. It was the end of his shift and the Christmas party was already being set up, at whatever hall it was being done in. Arthur would probably worry more if Tino wasn’t driving them both there. He would have to be the one to worry about directions.
"Arthur, I swear that collar could not look straighter if you tried," Elizabeta said in a very amused voice. She stood at the doorway of the men's changing rooms with her arms crossed and a smug look on her face.
"Hello Elizabeta, I gather you're going to the Christmas party too?" Arthur admired the simple green dress that Elizabeta was wearing, with a casual up-do that Elizabeta had probably spent hours working on.
"Yep. Feliciano and Mihai are on night shift. Feliciano came early so I could leave early to get ready, and in turn I am going to show up early in the morning to cover the extra two hours. But the real question is," Elizabeta stepped into the men's room without even blinking, before swinging an arm around his shoulders, "why are you out here and Alfred in there?" Arthur blushed, he could see it in the mirror.
"Because I am going to the Christmas party and he is working until nine so he won't be able to attend," Arthur answered as calmly as he could. Elizabeta raised an eyebrow at his reflection in the mirror.
"So, you're worried about your appearance that much because...?" Elizabeta trailed off and Arthur rolled his eyes, knowing that Elizabeta would see the gesture. He was not that hung up on Alfred, he was capable of getting ready for a night out with friends without thinking how he would look to Alfred. Yes he would be seeing Alfred before he left, but that had nothing to do with his clothing choices.
"Because it's nice to look nice," Arthur replied, straightening his tie quickly. "Alright, I think I'm ready," he said, trying to avoid whatever Elizabeta was going to say. She muttered something but Arthur tried not to hear her as he left the changing room. "You're not meant to even be in here Elizabeta, there is a reason why it is the men's changing room."
"The door was wide open, I assumed that anyone changing would think to close it. Then I wouldn't go in," Elizabeta said confidently, following Arthur as he activated the door so they could get back into the ward.
"Of course you wouldn't," Arthur said sarcastically and Elizabeta tried to look offended. It failed because she and Arthur were perfectly aware that she would, especially if Arthur and Alfred were in there together. At the nurses' station, Feliciano was already writing some nursing notes while Alfred was glued to the computer.
Trying to keep his eyes off Alfred, Arthur asked Feliciano, "Do you know where Tino is? Is he in his office?" Feliciano looked up in confusion. Arthur sighed and left Elizabeta to talk to Feliciano, since she always seemed to understand him a lot more, before bracing himself to try asking Alfred instead. "Alfred," Arthur said, moving around the desk so he was standing behind Alfred's chair.
"Yes?" Alfred said, pushing himself away from the desk, ready to spin around on his chair. Arthur did not know why he did that, but he seemed to enjoy it. "How can I help... you." Alfred's question trailed off into nothing as he caught sight of Arthur for the first time and Arthur shifted uncomfortably. He didn't think his outfit was that bad, but maybe it was too stuffy, or too smart for a meal with the rest of the staff?
"Er... Alfred?" Arthur asked, to see if it would snap Alfred out of the daze that he was in. It seemed to work and Alfred blinked out of his trance-like state.
"Wow, Arthur, you look great!" Alfred said enthusiastically and completely sincerely. And that was Arthur's cue to blush like a twelve-year-old girl being asked out for the first time.
"It's not too... stiff?" Arthur asked, slightly unsure now about the tie. He fidgeted with the knot nervously.
"No, Arthur, it's really great. I haven't seen you out of your uniform so this is a really nice surprise for me." Alfred looked down at Arthur's clothes again. "Really nice," he muttered in such a low voice that Arthur wondered whether he was supposed to hear the comment of not. Unusually spontaneously, Arthur decided to ask Alfred something which had been lingering in the back of his mind for months.
"Listen, Alfred, I was hoping that I could ask you something." It was quite eerie to have Alfred's full attention like he was at the moment. Sometimes, with Alfred, you felt like half his mind was on his next patient or on the 'Angry Birds' game that he had on his phone. But now, Arthur had his full and undivided attention.
"Yes, Arthur, anything," Alfred replied solemnly, not taking his eyes off Arthur's face. Arthur swallowed, trying to push down his nervousness and leaned against the desk.
"I'm working Christmas Day and I know that you're not working on Christmas Eve, so I was just wondering, just curious, that’s all, whether or not, you would like to go out to have a drink or something? With me?" That was not the smooth delivery that Arthur had hoped for but he had managed to get the question and his cheeks felt slightly cooler than they had been a couple of seconds ago. He looked at Alfred to see that he had a grin so wide that it seemed to split his face in two.
"I’d love to. You've got my number right?" Alfred asked and Arthur nodded. He felt lighter and unusually happy as he smiled at Alfred. He wanted to talk more about their date but saw that Tino was walking down the corridor from his office at the end. It would just have to be on the phone later.
"Ready to go, Arthur?" Tino asked and both Alfred and Arthur looked at him. Arthur smiled.
"Yeah, sure." He turned back to Alfred. "I'll ring you when I get a chance." He ignored Tino's raised eyebrows and Elizabeta's smug look as he and Tino left, deciding to focus on his upcoming date with Alfred. Panic could wait until later, for the moment he would enjoy the fact that Alfred said yes.
Notes:
Nurses’ uniforms are not flattering. And if you work in a hospital, it would be very unlikely to see a nurse in their home clothes. Doctors wear their own clothes but nurses have white/blue/multi-coloured uniforms.
Door activation - it would happen with a special sort of electronic key. The nurses and doctors working on the ward would have a card which they could swipe so they could get into the ward. With a children’s ward, the entrance to the ward will have a lock on it so entry can be controlled, due to kidnapping/child protection cases etc.
Nursing Notes - any treatment that nurses do like basic observations or bringing down the oxygen level would have to be recorded.
Hetalia notes:
Mihai - Romania.