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Emma was shopping at Marshall's when she saw the 30-pack of Snoopy themed valentines day cards and knew she had to get them.
Was it a little childish and silly to buy and then write Valentine's cards for her adult coworkers… maybe, but she also loved the idea of bringing some light and whimsy to the otherwise kind of depressing world of the emergency department.
And…maybe, she also had a special card in mind for a girl who had been running around rent-free in her brain since the day they met.
Joy Kwon, the sardonic, resourceful med student, had Emma head over heels.
With her big black eyes and sharp wit, Emma was a mess around her. Well, Emma tended to be a mess of nerves and anxiety around everyone, but with Joy, it was on a whole other level.
But she had a plan!
And it was totally foolproof… a classic, actually, a method employed by children in elementary schools across the country! Write out silly little valentines for everyone else, and for your crush, add in a special something.
Easy peasy, no confrontation, Joy can simply ignore the card if she doesn't feel the same way, and if she does, well, Emma's phone number will be on there for her to reach out to.
Or it would have been simple if she hadn't dropped the pile of cards on her way in, if Ogilvie hadn't been the one to help her sort them, not realising until it was far too late that he had somehow pocketed the one meant for Joy she had labeled ‘to: My Favourite Med Student’.
She trudged her way through her shift, nervously handing out the remaining cards, biting her lip till it was nearly bleeding as she dreaded Ogilvie actually opening the card.
She should have just told him it wasn't meant for him, found him once she realised, and told him. But she didn't know how to tell him, and then she took too long, and now there was no taking it back.
She mourned her special card, she'd spent two hours getting it just right, adding stickers and little doodles and making sure her feelings were written out in swirling, perfect script, clear and unmistakably romantic.
And then her phone chirps to life with a text, and her heart drops into her stomach.
Ogilvie: Emma, it is my deepest honour to be courted by a fine young woman such as yourself.
Oh, she's gonna be sick.
It's like she's back in high school all over again, being asked out by some guy who has already asked out every single girl in their class and been turned down. Who she had no feelings for whatsoever, but was too shy to say no to.
Only she's an adult now, she can say no, she can put on her big girl pants and deal with a little confrontation.
She hesitates over her phone's keyboard, thinking of what on earth to say that won't upset him, won't end up with an uncomfortable few weeks waiting till their rotations are over.
Just tell him the truth, that she’s a lesbian.
But then she thinks of him getting mad at her for leading him on, even though the card was meant for Joy, of him spreading word through the ED that she’s some nasty tease playing with people’s feelings.
Maybe she can figure it out later, just pretend she's busy for now.
Yeah, that sounds like a much better plan.
She’s doing a very good job of avoiding Ogilvie, thankfully his lanky frame is easy to spot over the heads of everyone else in the department.
So, of course, who does she actually run into?
Joy, who lets out a tired oof when Emma collides with her after rounding a corner too fast, trying to hide from James.
Emma can’t help the nervous giggle that slips out of her when Joy’s hands come up to steady her. “Oh, hi!”
“You should probably be more careful going around corners.”
“Oh! Yes, no, you’re right, I was just- I didn’t mean to not pay attention to where I was going.”
“It’s ok, no harm done. You ok? You look a little…” Joy trails off, her hands slowly letting Emma go, much to her disappointment.
“No! I’m fine, totally fine.” She says with a wide smile and a wave of her hands.
“Right. Ya know, I heard you were giving out valentines, should I be offended I haven’t gotten one?”
Her frustration finally bubbles over, that damn Ogilvie, if that as- if that guy ruins her chances with Joy, she’s going to scream.
“No! I do have a card for you… a special card, actually. It just, there was a mix-up, and Ogilvie took it, and now I don’t know how to get it back.
It’s subtle, the twitch of Joy’s lips that she knows means the other girl is enjoying how earnest Emma is being.
“Oh?”
“I- yeah, I um, took a little more time with your card. But then, when I came in this morning, they all fell out of my bag, and that arrogant-” She cuts herself off, not trying to badmouth her coworker, at least out loud. “Ogilvie, was trying to help me, and he saw what I wrote on there and must have assumed it was for him!”
“What, he still thinks his name is Joy?”
“No! I- um- I put a- kind of nickname on there.”
“Huh?”
“I- oh gosh, fine, I wrote it to ‘my favourite med student’” She finishes lamely, staring determinedly at the ground, feeling more embarrassed than this stupid stunt was ever supposed to make her feel.
“Favourite, huh? Wow, that’s an ego boost coming from the cutest person in this hellhole.”
She looks up, surprised, face flaming hot at the flirty gleam in Joy’s eyes.
“Well, it’s less nice now that Ogilvie thinks I meant it for him.”
“Hmm, he being weird…” Joy starts, before tacking on “er, weird-er than normal?”
Emma smothers her laugh behind her hand while quickly nodding.
“Fucking guy. Well, if he makes you uncomfortable, you should let Dana know. I get the feeling that lady doesn’t put up with any bullshit.”
“Oh, she doesn’t, and thanks, but, I mean, I don’t want to make a big deal out of anything, and technically I did kind of give him the wrong impression. I just need some time. Maybe at the end of today’s shift, I can try to explain the mix-up.”
“Whatever you want to do, I’m here. If you need me to run interference or like, kill him or something, just let me know.” Joy’s flat tone has her wide-eyed at the offer.
“Oh my gosh! I don’t think killing him would be-” The teasing smile on the med student's face has Emma stopping before she can sound like even more of a gullible idiot. “Obviously, you didn’t actually mean that.”
“No, not really. Although, for you… I could mean it.” Joy shrugs, the light shining in her beautiful black eyes making Emma’s heart pound.
“I’d rather you not go to jail for me.”
“Who says I’d get caught?”
Emma certainly wouldn’t turn her in.
“Maybe, if you see him around, you could just… give me a heads-up so I can avoid him until I get a better idea of how I’m gonna break it to him that I’m not interested.”
Joy gives her a calculating look, eyes scanning her frame up and down in a way that gives Emma goosebumps.
“Sure.”
It’s even easier to avoid James after that, though he sends her several more texts, each one making her more nervous to have to explain the truth of this disastrous day to him than the last.
Ogilvie: Emma, I am thrilled to hold the romantic attention of someone as dainty and feminine as you. I catch a glimpse of your inky tendrils as you turn a corner, and am struck with longing.
Ogilvie (10 min later): Emma, I take your silence as confirmation of your obvious awe of my returned interest. Fear not, I understand you must be intimidated having a man of my calibre reciprocate your feelings of affection.
Ogilvie (5 min after that): Dearest, I cannot wait to see you and plan our future. Text me back at your earliest convenience so we may arrange a meeting. Or simply find me wandering lovestruck through the ER, awaiting your reply.
She can’t help the jitters that take over and get worse the more elaborate and unhinged his texts become.
Even seeing Whitaker has her nearly jump out of her skin at one point, seeing him at a glance, and for just a moment, mistaking him for Ogilvie.
She goes to slink past the supply closet, moving like a nervous deer, when a hand reaches out and yanks her into the dimly lit room.
She nearly screams, but a small hand is shoved over her mouth.
The feel of the small, cool fingers over her face has her calm immediately. Ogilvie hadn’t caught her like she thought, his hand would be far bigger.
“It’s just me.” Comes Joy’s quiet voice, along with the removal of her hand from Emma’s face.
“You almost gave me a heart attack!” She stage whispers back, smiling despite herself, not sure why they’re trying to be quiet.
Joy has them pressed close together, having pulled her into the far corner of the room, and away from the frosted glass of the supply closet door.
Her hand is still on Emma’s forearm, from where she grabbed her to drag her in there, and the one that was covering her mouth comes to rest on Emma’s hip.
“Ogilvie was right behind you. He looked like he was ready to eat you alive, thought you’d appreciate being saved from that.”
“Oh, thank you. That’s very kind, you’re like my knight in shining… scrubs.”
A rare smile breaks onto Joy’s face that has Emma nearly swooning.
She relaxes just a little more into Joy’s hold, pressing even closer together, enjoying the heat of their bodies and the soft, spiced smell of the girl.
Then whispering, like they're sharing secrets at a sleepover, “I think he thinks I’m his soulmate.”
“Mmm, well, I can't blame him, pretty sure everyone who meets you is at least a little in love with you.” Joy murmurs, eyes glued to Emma's mouth.
“Does… um, does ‘everyone’ include you?” She asks quietly, eyes drifting down to gaze at the other girl’s plush lips.
She can see Joy's mouth move to answer her, but she's already leaning in, slotting their mouths together and bringing her hands up to card into the silky black hair she has tied up.
Joy lets out a low, pleased sound, hands gripping her body tighter where they're anchored, and Emma grins into the kiss.
She wants it to turn into a heated, dirty, messy thing, but that’s hard to accomplish when she can't hold back her giggling.
So she pulls back, for a second, looking into the blown pupils in front of her and asks, “Do you think if we made out in front of him, he'd get the hint?”
“With his social skills, I think we'd have to scissor over the hub for him to put it together.”
Emma's face flames at the image that conjures up in her head. Oh, she needs to file that away for later.
Mouth hanging open and rendered speechless, Joy kisses her bottom lip, gently biting it before sucking it into her mouth, bringing Emma back to reality.
She surges forward, bringing their open mouths flush together, tongues sliding hot and syrupy between them.
Joy's leg ends up between her thighs, and she mindlessly grinds forward, humming something needy and desperate into the kiss.
“Emma?” A horrified-sounding Ogilvie cuts through the room.
She gasps into Joy's mouth and tries to scramble backward, not getting far with her fingers tangled deep in the other girl’s hair, making Joy yelp as her head is yanked to the side.
She mumbles a sorry to her as she slowly removes her fingers with Joy's help, chest heaving as she catches her breath.
“James! I- uh, I've been meaning to-”
“Joy, I can't believe you would stoop so low, as to assault my girlfriend, just to get back at me for outperforming you with my medical skills.”
They both blink at him for a long moment, dumbfounded by his leaps in logic.
Girlfriend? Assault?
“Huh?” Joy echoes.
“James, really, there's been a very big mis-” she starts, finally trying to tell him the truth.
“Emma, I can promise you, she will never harm you again. HR will get this all sorted out.”
Joy scoffs, and Ogilvie glares at her with such animosity that for a moment Emma’s actually worried he might try to hurt her. She subtly shifts so she's standing in front of Joy, blocking her from Ogilvie.
“She wasn't assaulting me! I'm really sorry, James, I didn't know how to tell you earlier, but the card you took was meant for Joy.”
It’s like all the air leaves his body at once.
“...what.” He hesitates, standing there deflated and sad.
And she honestly feels a little awful having to explain it all to him, even if he is a bit of a creep… and he’s been making Joy's life hell since they started this rotation together.
It's never nice having your feelings toyed with, even accidentally.
“You just- I didn't realise you took her card until it was too late, and by then you were so… excited, I didn't know how to break it to you…”
“So, you don't have a ‘I'm so into you it makes me look stupid’ crush on me?” He asks, reciting part of what he’d read in her card.
She shakes her head softly, “No, sorry.”
He’s tight-lipped when he huffs, “I- you- can we just, pretend none of this ever happened?”
“I'll delete your texts.” She murmurs with a nod.
Joy's hand reaches out to nudge hers, and yeah, ok, maybe she won't delete them right away…
“I want my card by the end of shift today, Ogilvie!” Joy calls out to him as he slinks his way out of the supply closet.
Emma can't help the way she sags back into Joy once the door is closed behind him.
“So into me it makes you look stupid, huh?” The girl whispers into her ear.
She flushes hot at the reminder of her words, turning to look Joy in the eyes once more before grabbing her hand to drag her back out to the world of the ER to finish their shifts. “Just wait until you see what else I wrote.”