Work Text:
They’ve been seeing each other for almost six months now. It’s the best six months of Trinity’s life.
She has a job she loves. A girlfriend she- um, like likes. And her coworkers have started to actually become her friends. Not that she needs friends but she supposes it’s nice to have connections, if she ever needs a favor. Although, she finds herself in bars getting a drink with Whitaker and Mohan and getting breakfast with Javadi far too often to keep saying that.
These idiots. They’re turning her soft.
But none more than Mel, of course. Without her, she’s not sure that she would have flourished socially like she has. Six months ago, she tolerated most of these people. She saw Victoria as a nepo-baby and Dennis as a mistake and Samira as a softy. She still thinks those things sometimes but now all those thoughts are soaked in warm affection that she wishes she could shake.
Mel brought her further into the group in a way she wasn’t expecting. She assumes if Mel, someone so genuine it makes her want to throw up, can see the good in someone like Trinity, then the others figured they could give it a shot.
Except, six months later and she has an issue.
None of the others know they’re dating, which she’s fine with. She swears. It’s just that-
“Dr. Robby is totally your work husband!” Victoria laughs.
“What?” Dr. Collins shifts dramatically, “No, he’s not!”
Whitaker scrunches up his face, “Mhm, he sort of is. It’s not romantic, but you guys are always each other’s go to. It’s a partnership.”
“Okay, I have places to be. I don’t have time for this,” Collins gathers a folder and walks off, shaking her head.
“Jeez, who puked in her cereal?” Trinity asks. She hears Mohan chuckle at that under her breath.
Javadi leans in close, “Do you think I was too on the nose? That she and Dr. Robby are…” she trails off and wrinkles her face like a high schooler.
“No way,” Whitaker leans against the desk, “they’re always fighting.”
“Couples fight,” Trinity decides to play devil’s advocate for the sole purpose of disagreeing with Whitaker. He rolls his eyes, indicating that he knows what her game is.
“I just mean, I think we would know if they had anything going on, don’t you?”
“Maybe,” she concedes, her mind drifting to herself and Mel.
Javadi frowns, “But wouldn’t that cute? To work with your partner?”
Trinity shifts on her feet, “Probably not. I bet it’d be stressful as hell.” It is. Every day she worries about Mel more than she thought she could worry about a person. It feels a little like her heart is walking around outside of her body and works in a super chaotic, overstimulating environment where she comes face to face with death and loss every day. So, not cute so much as deeply concerning. She knows Mel’s capable though, has seen her work in action and had to keep herself from showing her adoration in the presence of their coworkers.
It would also probably be unprofessional if she started kissing Mel’s cheek in the middle of incubation. It’s an uphill battle every day.
“What are you talking about?” Mel and Langdon walk over to the group together, smiles on their faces.
She has to push down a bundle of annoyance at the sight.
“Oh! You know who would be work-married? Mel and Langdon!” Javadi jokes.
Oh, why did you have to say that?
“What?” Langdon furrows his eyebrows.
“They were talking about Dr. Robby being Dr. Collins’s work husband,” Mohan provides, “Langdon and Mel are definitely each other's work husband and wife.”
“I could totally see that,” Whitaker observes casually.
“Why-why would you say that? Dr. Langdon’s married,” Mel tilts her head and fiddles with her sleeves.
“Well, it’s not really romantic. It’s just like- a work partnership,” Mohan looks to the group for confirmation and they all nod their heads. “You and Langdon are typically each other’s go-to partnership.”
“Mel is a great doctor,” Langdon shrugs and twists his wedding ring around his finger.
“Then what are we?” Whitaker squints at Langdon who throws his hands up and backs away.
“Don’t we have patients to attend to?” Trinity finds herself saying and storming off in the opposite direction of Langdon.
As she walks away, she hears Mohan repeat with a smile apparent in her tone, “Who puked in her cereal?”
God, she hates these idiots.
It’s not that she’s jealous. Or possessive. Mel can have a work husband if she wants to. She’s obviously grown close with Langdon, which she noticed on their very first day. They work well together, riff off each other. It’s good. She should be happy for her girlfriend. She is happy for her girlfriend, that she’s making a good connection to a senior resident.
But Langdon?
Mel and Trinity work together all the time and Trinity thinks they do a pretty damn good job. But, no, no one thinks about that. It's Mel and Langdon.
“Why did it bother you so much?” Samira asks while Dennis and Mel are ordering their drinks, “That we called Langdon Mel’s work husband?”
Trinity shrugs, “It didn’t. Just thought there were better uses of our time.”
“It didn’t bother you when we were talking about Robby and Heather,” she quirks an eyebrow.
“Well, that’s different,” she’s getting defensive and when she gets defensive she starts getting loud. She sees Mel look over her shoulder with concern. She smiles at her.
“Do you like Langdon?” Samira seems genuinely curious, rather than judgemental.
Trinity chokes on her spit, “Oh my fucking god, are you kidding? I’m a lesbian!” She realizes at this moment that she’s never actually explained her sexuality, that dating history has never come up here. She feels like they’re entering dangerous territory.
“Oh!” Samira smiles, “I’m bisexual.” She says like she’s commenting on the weather, easing Trinity’s nerves. “I mean I figured you had a thing for Garcia but I didn’t want to assume one way or the other.”
She blushes, “I-” she’d be lying if she said she hadn’t thought about it. Garcia has definitely made a guest appearance in a sex dream or two, “Whatever, I don’t have a thing for Langdon.”
Samira seemed satisfied, and shrugs, “Okay, whatever. But something bothered you about it.”
“What bothered you?” Mel asks while handing her a beer and sitting down beside her.
“Nothing, don’t worry about it.”
Samira and Dennis exchange looks, a glint in both their eyes that Trinity despises.
The rest of the night goes on without much hiccup. Trinity offers to walk Mel home, getting eyed by Samira in the process. They say their goodbyes and make a quick exit.
She huffs when they get out of earshot, “God, that was suffocating.”
“Was it?” Mel tilts her head again.
“It’s just- Samira asked me if I liked Langdon.”
“Well, she knows that you two don’t get along but why would she think you dislike him-”
“No, like, if I like-like Langdon.”
“Oh,” Mel whispers quietly, “is it because they said me and Langdon are work married? He’s already- actually married, you know I don’t feel that way about him.”
Mel scratches the back of her neck, “I know that. It just made me think about how they don’t know that we’re together and I guess- I guess it sucked a little bit, that’s all.” She feels morbidly uncomfortable, “Gah, let’s stop talking about this.”
Mel shifts awkwardly but complies.
When they get to Mel’s apartment, she turns to Trinity. She has her hair in a braid, pulled to the side and slung over her shoulder. She’s wearing her favorite sundress, the green one with blue butterflies decorating it in loops. Mel never wears make-up, she doesn’t like the feel of it. Trinity makes a point to tell her that she doesn’t need it- that she’s gorgeous just the way she is. She always blushes at that and ducks her head as Trinity kisses her cheek. She feels a little breathless looking at her now. She’s framed by the moonlight, catching in her hair and reflecting off her glasses, making her eyes shine.
“Hey, do you want to tell people that we’re together?” Mel doesn’t make eye contact, instead opting to look at Trinity’s feet.
When they first started dating, they decided to keep it a secret for the sake of their relationship. It was new and fresh and maybe a little fragile. It felt like they’d jinx it if they talked about it, put it out in the open for people to see and comment on.
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea, to be honest,” Trinity shrugs, “I think it’s best if we keep it private for now.”
“Okay, but you were upset that people don’t know,” Mel’s voice tightens.
She takes a step back and crosses her arms, “I wasn’t upset, I was just- I don’t know, it was weird. But I thought we both agreed that we weren’t going to tell anyone for a while.”
“It’s been a while,” her voice is still tight but it’s lowered which only pushes Trinity further into defense mode.
“If we told them, everyone would know and-”
“And what?” Mel finally meets her eyes.
“It would feel…” she groans, “Fuck, Mel, I don’t know. It would feel too real!”
Mel starts nodding, quick and quietly. She steps back towards the door, “Is this not real?”
Her heart clenches, “I didn’t say- that’s not what I meant- it’s just-”
Mel turns and opens the door to her apartment, sniffling.
“Wait,” she catches her wrist, “I thought we were gonna spend the night together. Watch a movie and order take-out.”
“I’ll see you next shift, okay?” Then she’s gone.
Fuck, fuck, fuck .
“Mel!” She shouts to no one but the moths circling the lamp post.
“Fuck,” she brushes her back. With nothing to do except to walk home, she leaves Mel’s apartment building with her heart shattered in her hands.
She texts Mel when she gets home. It’s a simple goodnight text but there’s not much more she’s allowed to say. She doesn’t think she’s someone Mel wants to hear from right now but it’s tearing her apart not to be able to say something. Or even just be around her, to hold her hand or be in the same room as her. To relax on the same couch and cuddle in the same bed. To watch the same trashy reality show and eat the same food. To breathe the same air would be enough right now.
She stares at her ceiling in the oversized jersey Mel likes to wear. It’s soft and just the right texture that Mel practically never peels it off when she’s in the confines of Trinity’s apartment.
She buries her face in it and turns on her side, drifting to sleep with nothing but the memory of her girlfriend to comfort her.
Their next shift is awkward and quiet.
“What’s up with you guys?” Mohan asks, propping her head on her hand and squinting her eyes.
Trinity shakes her off, “Nothing, we’re fine.”
“Uh huh, sure. You’ve been avoiding each other.”
Trinity huffs and lets the words spill out of her mouth before she can do anything to stop them, “Fine, fuck it, we’re fighting over our relationship.”
Mohan looks surprised, “Wow, I didn’t think it was gonna be that easy.”
“Easy? Wait, you knew?”
“Obviously. I mean, I didn’t want to push too hard but it was starting to get unbearable.”
Trinity leans in, “Okay listen, we agreed not to tell anyone we’re seeing each other but now I think she wants to tell people and I don’t know what the fuck to do.”
“Why aren’t you telling people?”
She sighs, “I didn’t wanna- jinx us.”
“Jinx?” Mohan laughs, “What are you? Twelve?”
“If we tell people,” she bites her cheek, “it means it’s real. Like, serious enough to be out in the open.”
“Well, is it?” She straightens her back, “Serious, I mean.”
“I-” she cuts herself off.
“It is, isn’t it?” She’s got that sickly sweet smile on her face. The same one she uses on mushy couples she’s treating, “And you’re scared of it.”
“I’m not fucking scared,” her shoulders tighten and her voice raises.
“Yeah, you seem totally chill right now.”
“Fuck off-”
“Come on, you like her!” Mohan encourages, “Stop getting in your own way.”
“But what if she realizes she doesn’t love me the same way I love her?” She snaps, feeling bile rise in her throat after the word love left her mouth.
Mohan is far too satisfied with herself, “Have you told her that?”
“Oh my god, I’m gonna bang my head into the wall.”
“Postpone the self harm. Start with the love thing first. Then go from there.”
Trinity rolls her eyes and storms away again, muttering something about the nosebleed in the waiting room.
She gives Mel space, making herself scarce every chance she gets.
It isn’t until that night that she pushes herself to make a gesture. She finds herself in front of Mel’s building. She looks up at what she knows is Mel’s window. There’s a very stupid part of her that wants to try throwing pebbles at her window but she knows that will just scare the shit out of both the King sisters.
Instead she texts her that she’s downstairs, which feels too anticlimactic but it's the safer route. She asks if she wants to talk. She doesn’t get a response but she does see someone walking down the steps through the window in the door.
She watches as Mel opens the door in her long cardigan and bunny slippers. Trinity has never wanted to kiss anyone more.
“Hey,” she says, giving a little wave.
“Hey,” Trinity momentarily forgets the speech she was going to give. She racks her brain for everything she wants to say. The words of wisdom and beautiful metaphors or whatever those romcoms they watched together included in the final act.
Instead, the only thing she can think of is, “I love you.”
Mel’s eyes widen, visibly thrown off by the declaration, “You-”
“I know it’s early. But I’ve never felt this way about anyone before and I just- I want you to know that it’s not that I don’t want people to know. It’s just that- I’m so scared.”
“Of what?” Mel clings to her cardigan, closing it around her waist.
Trinity bounces on her feet, “That you’re gonna realize I’m not good enough for you! That if I say it, if we put it out into the world, that makes everything so much heavier. Like there’s more of a chance I’m gonna fuck it all up.”
Mel swallows, “I thought- I thought you were ashamed… to be with me or-or”
Trinity steps forward, thrown into movement by the force of the accusation, “How could I ever be ashamed of you? You’re fuckin’- great! Smart and gorgeous and funny and-”
“Well, why do you think you’re messing this up? That I would think you’re not good enough.”
“I didn’t have a lot of good things in my life. Before I met you. And you just brought me in and that doesn’t normally happen for-for me.”
“Trinity,” Mel steps forward, taking her hands, “I love you.”
“Oh, thank God!” She takes her face with both palms and kisses her deeply. She feels Mel giggling under her lips, “I would have to quit if you didn’t, I couldn’t bear the embarrassment of everything I just said.”
Mel wraps her arms around Trinity's neck, “I’m glad I can spare you the embarrassment,” she’s smiling so much, the dimple in her face shows and Trinity dives in to plant a loud smooch.
“Um,” Trinity keeps her hold on Mel’s back but pulls back, “So, we’re all going to Dennis’s place for movie night tomorrow.”
“We don’t have to tell them if- I don’t want to freak you out-”
“I’m ready to tell our friends,” Meg kisses her again, “I can’t promise I’m never going to freak out again, but uh…” her mind wanders back to their first kiss.
You can have my back any day.
“As long as you have my back, peaches,” Trinity lets Mel’s arm fall off her shoulder.
“Anytime,” she deepens her voice and makes a ‘just doing my job, ma’am’ facial expression. Trinity laughs and scoops her up in her arms.
The next day, they walk up to Dennis’s door, hand in hand. Mel squeezes Trinity’s hand and smiles at her. She kisses her quickly before Dennis opens the door. He’s in the middle of greeting them before his gaze falls to their connected hands.
“Oh!” He exclaims before scuttering to correct himself, “Or I mean!”
“Finally!” Samira claps her hands together, spread out on the couch.
“Am I the only one who didn’t know!?” Dennis walks over to the kitchen island and grabs a bucket of popcorn.
“Oh, I had no idea,” Victoria comments, “But I have thought you’d make a good couple.”
“I like to think we do,” Mel swoons into Trinity’s grip.
They get fake “oohs” and “awws” in response. Dennis throws some popcorn at them both.
Trinity rolls her eyes, “Alright, alright, you guys can get your gossip fix from the movie, not my personal life.”
They sit down on the couch. Samira moves her feet and winks at Trinity when she catches her eye.
Trinity has Mel to thank for the stupid, wonderful friends she gets to have. And she has her friends to thank for the wonderful girlfriend she gets to love.