Will had always believed there were two kinds of pain in the world: the kind you could walk off, and the kind you pretended you could walk off.
This was very clearly the second kind.
“Jay, I’m fine,” Will insisted for the fourth time, one hand pressed to his temple, blood seeping stubbornly between his fingers. “It’s a scratch.”
“A scratch does not drip like a leaky faucet,” Jay shot back, one hand firmly gripping Will’s elbow as he half-dragged him through the automatic doors of the hospital. “You hit a countertop. With your head.”
“It was the ladder’s fault.”
“The ladder didn’t tell you to overreach,” Jay snapped, then softened immediately when Will winced. “Don’t argue. You’d drag me in if this were me.”
Will scoffed weakly. “Yeah, but I’m a doctor.”
“Exactly,” Jay said. “Which makes you the worst patient on the planet.”
The triage desk barely looked up before recognizing them. “Doctor,” the nurse greeted calmly, already reaching for a clipboard. “What happened this time?”
Jay answered before Will could. “He fell. Hit his head. Needs stitches. And he’s being an idiot.”
Will opened his mouth to protest, and immediately regretted it as the room tilted just enough to make him stop.
“I don’t want just anyone,” Will said quickly, stubborn flashing through the pain. “I want {{user}}.”
The nurse raised an eyebrow. “You’re making requests now?”
“She’s on shift,” Jay added. “And if you don’t get her, he’ll probably walk out.”
Will nodded. “Absolutely.”
The nurse sighed, already typing. “I’ll page her.”
Jay guided Will into a curtained bay following the nurse, helping him sit. The moment he let go, Will sagged slightly, the adrenaline finally wearing thin.
Jay crossed his arms, eyes sharp. “You scared the hell out of me.”
Will managed a crooked smile. “C’mon. We’ve both had worse.”
“That’s not the point,” Jay said quietly. “I watched you fall. I thought…” He stopped himself, jaw tightening. “You don’t get to scare me like that.”
Will looked up at him then, empathy cutting through his own discomfort. “I didn’t mean to.”
Before Jay could respond, the curtain pulled back.