Flu Shot
Fair warning: This is extremely stupid. I'm in that sort of mood tonight.
Title: Flu Shot
Fandom: RPS
Characters/Pairings: Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki
Prompt: 064. Fall.
fanfic100 table: here
Word Count: 1,326
Rating: PG-13?
Warnings: A lil bit of language. And needles? Also, awkwardness.
Summary: Jensen's a nurse giving flu shots at Jared's workplace. Jared's clumsy and afraid of needles.
If there’s anything Jensen hates about being a nurse, it’s flu shot season. He always ends up here, in some conference room walled off from a cubicle farm, jabbing office workers in the arm and listening to them bitch, even though they’re the ones who signed up for a time slot with HR. It’s somehow different from being in a doctor’s office, with all the pompous CEOs and salesmen, all the lifeless call center workers who’ve lost all hope that they’ll move on to something better, and all those people in between who have all sorts of random character flaws and aren’t quite sure where they want to go in life.
And then there’s always some asshole. Some asshole like this guy, with the long hair and dimples, walking up to Jensen and thinking that hitting on the nurse is the way to go. Jensen’s contemplated wearing a wedding band and carrying around a stock photo of some woman and a couple of kids, just to ward off the creeps, but he’s too lazy to put that much effort into diverting another man’s gaydar. He just sighs and assumes he’s much too obvious as this guy saunters over, grinning at Jensen like he’s won some kind of prize.
“I guess you’ll need me to take this off,” is the first thing Jensen hears the guy say, and he immediately responds, palms up, saying, “No, no, that’s not necessa-” But the guy’s already got his shirt halfway off…and then he gets tangled in it, stumbles because he can’t see, and ends up tipping himself and the chair set up for the patients over onto the floor.
“…Oh,” is all Jensen can really manage, staring curiously down at the guy. That’s never happened before. Laughter breaks Jensen out of his stupor, and he looks over his shoulder to see two corporate douchebags passing by the open conference room, peering in to mock the dude stuck in his own shirt on the floor. “Never a dull moment, eh, Jared?” one of them calls out, and Jensen can practically feel the embarrassment rising up to meet him. He frowns and crouches, helping to get the guy - Jared - untangled and pull his shirt back down over his body.
Jared’s face is scarlet, and he’s sweating profusely, unable to look Jensen in the eye. “Sorry. Thanks. I…Sorry. I thought it would be…in the way,” he says, gesturing to the shirt that’s now a little less professional and a bit more wrinkled.
“Don’t worry about it,” Jensen says, as nonchalantly as possible. He stands and offers Jared a hand, realizing he might’ve misread this guy entirely. “You always this graceful?”
Jared scoffs and glances down at the floor before looking up at Jensen, smiling nervously. The same nervous smile Jensen had written off as a cocky come-on just minutes ago. Jensen suddenly thinks he needs to reevaluate how he sees people. And that he might actually be a little full of himself. “Only all the time.” Jared turns and sets the chair upright again, which Jensen honestly forgot about in all the confusion. He stands awkwardly for a moment, not sure what to do with his hands, and then he sits, leg bouncing as he looks up at Jensen, smiling again. “I’m kinda nervous. Not a big fan of needles.”
Jensen raises an eyebrow. “People like you generally pass these things up.”
“Yeah.” Jared thinks for a moment, then shrugs. “I was way too sick last flu season, so I figured I’d take my chances.” He rubs his arm, as if it already hurts. “Just be gentle, okay?” An anxious giggle follows that has the corners of Jensen’s mouth turning up, and he slaps at Jared’s arm.
“Don’t really think I have to worry about being gentle with those guns.” There’s an awkward silence, and Jensen hands Jared the obligatory vaccine information and snaps on some gloves. “Do me a favor? Read what I just handed you, and just ignore how incredibly douchey that was, yeah?”
Jared laughs, a real laugh this time, and Jensen’s grateful for it. “Hey, if you can forget about my magnificent entrance, I can forget about that one, simple statement.” Jared quickly flips through the pages and nods. “I’ve already read up on all the side effects and stuff. I’m good.”
“Good.” Jensen rolls Jared’s sleeve up, a little less carefully than he normally would, because it’s already in a bit of a state. He swabs alcohol over Jared’s arm, Jared watching him the entire time, leg bouncing, and Jensen can feel him panicking over the shot. “Any chance you might be pregnant?” he tries, and Jared doesn’t give him much of a response. “Come on, that was funny. And it’s a few seconds, dude. You’ll be fine.”
“Yeah,” Jared says, nodding, but he still doesn’t smile. “Thanks.”
“What do you do here?” Jensen asks, trying to get Jared’s mind off of the task at hand. He’s done it before, with other patients, but this time he actually cares, though he can’t imagine why. He finds it odd that the roles are reversed this time; that he actually finds Jared incredibly attractive, now that he thinks about it, and he’s the one trying to be charming.
“Uh, tech support,” Jared says, faltering when his eyes zero in on the needle Jensen’s getting ready to shove in his arm.
“Yeah?” Jensen asks, pausing for a moment and forcing Jared to make eye contact with him. “You like it?”
Jared snorts. “You kidding?”
Jensen smiles and holds Jared’s arm steady, skin stretched tight between his thumb and index finger. Jared tenses, and Jensen glances quickly at him. “Just relax,” he whispers, much softer than he intended, and Jared looks up at him, focus drawn away for a moment. The needle pushes into the muscle and Jared flinches, hissing and turning his head away. “It’s okay,” Jensen says, eyes on his work, injecting slow and steady. “Almost done.” When he’s done, Jensen slips the needle out and covers the site up with some gauze, lightly pressing it on with the tips of his fingers. “There you go.”
“Thanks.” There’s a pause, Jared looking up at Jensen while Jensen discards the syringe and his gloves, and then he stands, very carefully. “Wasn’t as bad as I thought it’d be.”
“Good,” Jensen says, staring at Jared for a moment. “Well, I guess I can let you get back to work.”
“Yeah, I guess.” Jared waves awkwardly and turns to go. “Have a good one, man.”
It takes maybe half a second for Jensen to call out, “Wait!” Jared stops and turns back to him, and Jensen scrambles for a pen and paper. He grabs it up, quickly scribbles his number down, and hands it over to Jared. “Just…” He pauses, clearing his throat and trying to sound professional. “Call me if you have any side effects, okay?” It occurs to Jensen then that he’s not even sure if Jared’s gay. “You know…if side effects are your kind of thing.” Jesus Christ, he’s really bad at this. He shouldn’t be so hard on the people who’ve attempted hitting on him.
Jared looks at the paper, then at Jensen, then at the paper, and then back up at Jensen. His eyes light up, and he snatches the paper from Jensen’s hand and nods. “Yeah…Yeah, sure. I, uh…I’ve been known to have…side effects…” Jared trails off, unsure, and Jensen’s glad that at least Jared is worse at this than he is. “We’re talking about being gay, right?”
Jensen stands there for a moment, then barks out a laugh, quickly covering his mouth with his hand. “Yes,” he says, nodding. “Yes, Jared, we are.”
Jared grins, ear-to-ear, and he practically bounces out of the room. “I’ll call you!”
Jensen shakes his head, still laughing. He hopes that Jared will call him, but, if anything, at least he’s made someone’s day in cubicle hell a little bit better.
Title: Flu Shot
Fandom: RPS
Characters/Pairings: Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki
Prompt: 064. Fall.
fanfic100 table: here
Word Count: 1,326
Rating: PG-13?
Warnings: A lil bit of language. And needles? Also, awkwardness.
Summary: Jensen's a nurse giving flu shots at Jared's workplace. Jared's clumsy and afraid of needles.
If there’s anything Jensen hates about being a nurse, it’s flu shot season. He always ends up here, in some conference room walled off from a cubicle farm, jabbing office workers in the arm and listening to them bitch, even though they’re the ones who signed up for a time slot with HR. It’s somehow different from being in a doctor’s office, with all the pompous CEOs and salesmen, all the lifeless call center workers who’ve lost all hope that they’ll move on to something better, and all those people in between who have all sorts of random character flaws and aren’t quite sure where they want to go in life.
And then there’s always some asshole. Some asshole like this guy, with the long hair and dimples, walking up to Jensen and thinking that hitting on the nurse is the way to go. Jensen’s contemplated wearing a wedding band and carrying around a stock photo of some woman and a couple of kids, just to ward off the creeps, but he’s too lazy to put that much effort into diverting another man’s gaydar. He just sighs and assumes he’s much too obvious as this guy saunters over, grinning at Jensen like he’s won some kind of prize.
“I guess you’ll need me to take this off,” is the first thing Jensen hears the guy say, and he immediately responds, palms up, saying, “No, no, that’s not necessa-” But the guy’s already got his shirt halfway off…and then he gets tangled in it, stumbles because he can’t see, and ends up tipping himself and the chair set up for the patients over onto the floor.
“…Oh,” is all Jensen can really manage, staring curiously down at the guy. That’s never happened before. Laughter breaks Jensen out of his stupor, and he looks over his shoulder to see two corporate douchebags passing by the open conference room, peering in to mock the dude stuck in his own shirt on the floor. “Never a dull moment, eh, Jared?” one of them calls out, and Jensen can practically feel the embarrassment rising up to meet him. He frowns and crouches, helping to get the guy - Jared - untangled and pull his shirt back down over his body.
Jared’s face is scarlet, and he’s sweating profusely, unable to look Jensen in the eye. “Sorry. Thanks. I…Sorry. I thought it would be…in the way,” he says, gesturing to the shirt that’s now a little less professional and a bit more wrinkled.
“Don’t worry about it,” Jensen says, as nonchalantly as possible. He stands and offers Jared a hand, realizing he might’ve misread this guy entirely. “You always this graceful?”
Jared scoffs and glances down at the floor before looking up at Jensen, smiling nervously. The same nervous smile Jensen had written off as a cocky come-on just minutes ago. Jensen suddenly thinks he needs to reevaluate how he sees people. And that he might actually be a little full of himself. “Only all the time.” Jared turns and sets the chair upright again, which Jensen honestly forgot about in all the confusion. He stands awkwardly for a moment, not sure what to do with his hands, and then he sits, leg bouncing as he looks up at Jensen, smiling again. “I’m kinda nervous. Not a big fan of needles.”
Jensen raises an eyebrow. “People like you generally pass these things up.”
“Yeah.” Jared thinks for a moment, then shrugs. “I was way too sick last flu season, so I figured I’d take my chances.” He rubs his arm, as if it already hurts. “Just be gentle, okay?” An anxious giggle follows that has the corners of Jensen’s mouth turning up, and he slaps at Jared’s arm.
“Don’t really think I have to worry about being gentle with those guns.” There’s an awkward silence, and Jensen hands Jared the obligatory vaccine information and snaps on some gloves. “Do me a favor? Read what I just handed you, and just ignore how incredibly douchey that was, yeah?”
Jared laughs, a real laugh this time, and Jensen’s grateful for it. “Hey, if you can forget about my magnificent entrance, I can forget about that one, simple statement.” Jared quickly flips through the pages and nods. “I’ve already read up on all the side effects and stuff. I’m good.”
“Good.” Jensen rolls Jared’s sleeve up, a little less carefully than he normally would, because it’s already in a bit of a state. He swabs alcohol over Jared’s arm, Jared watching him the entire time, leg bouncing, and Jensen can feel him panicking over the shot. “Any chance you might be pregnant?” he tries, and Jared doesn’t give him much of a response. “Come on, that was funny. And it’s a few seconds, dude. You’ll be fine.”
“Yeah,” Jared says, nodding, but he still doesn’t smile. “Thanks.”
“What do you do here?” Jensen asks, trying to get Jared’s mind off of the task at hand. He’s done it before, with other patients, but this time he actually cares, though he can’t imagine why. He finds it odd that the roles are reversed this time; that he actually finds Jared incredibly attractive, now that he thinks about it, and he’s the one trying to be charming.
“Uh, tech support,” Jared says, faltering when his eyes zero in on the needle Jensen’s getting ready to shove in his arm.
“Yeah?” Jensen asks, pausing for a moment and forcing Jared to make eye contact with him. “You like it?”
Jared snorts. “You kidding?”
Jensen smiles and holds Jared’s arm steady, skin stretched tight between his thumb and index finger. Jared tenses, and Jensen glances quickly at him. “Just relax,” he whispers, much softer than he intended, and Jared looks up at him, focus drawn away for a moment. The needle pushes into the muscle and Jared flinches, hissing and turning his head away. “It’s okay,” Jensen says, eyes on his work, injecting slow and steady. “Almost done.” When he’s done, Jensen slips the needle out and covers the site up with some gauze, lightly pressing it on with the tips of his fingers. “There you go.”
“Thanks.” There’s a pause, Jared looking up at Jensen while Jensen discards the syringe and his gloves, and then he stands, very carefully. “Wasn’t as bad as I thought it’d be.”
“Good,” Jensen says, staring at Jared for a moment. “Well, I guess I can let you get back to work.”
“Yeah, I guess.” Jared waves awkwardly and turns to go. “Have a good one, man.”
It takes maybe half a second for Jensen to call out, “Wait!” Jared stops and turns back to him, and Jensen scrambles for a pen and paper. He grabs it up, quickly scribbles his number down, and hands it over to Jared. “Just…” He pauses, clearing his throat and trying to sound professional. “Call me if you have any side effects, okay?” It occurs to Jensen then that he’s not even sure if Jared’s gay. “You know…if side effects are your kind of thing.” Jesus Christ, he’s really bad at this. He shouldn’t be so hard on the people who’ve attempted hitting on him.
Jared looks at the paper, then at Jensen, then at the paper, and then back up at Jensen. His eyes light up, and he snatches the paper from Jensen’s hand and nods. “Yeah…Yeah, sure. I, uh…I’ve been known to have…side effects…” Jared trails off, unsure, and Jensen’s glad that at least Jared is worse at this than he is. “We’re talking about being gay, right?”
Jensen stands there for a moment, then barks out a laugh, quickly covering his mouth with his hand. “Yes,” he says, nodding. “Yes, Jared, we are.”
Jared grins, ear-to-ear, and he practically bounces out of the room. “I’ll call you!”
Jensen shakes his head, still laughing. He hopes that Jared will call him, but, if anything, at least he’s made someone’s day in cubicle hell a little bit better.