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There weren’t many coherent thoughts flowing through Kiyoomi’s brain. All he could really think was that Hippocrates and his stupid oath deserved a punch to the face.
Why else would he end up led on the floor of his local shopping centre with a nine year olds blood all over his hands? And down the front of one of his favourite jumpers. It was the kind that had holes in the sleeves for him to put his thumbs in and had smelt like his mum’s fabric softener. But now, it smelled of, well iron. The metallic twang hit his nostrils a little more harshly than he would’ve liked. At least it was brown and would probably wash out fine, hopefully.
He had been very calm when it had happened, sprung right into action the second the kid had hit the floor, ignoring the yells of the strangers around him as they yelled for paramedics to be called and fretted over the fact that she wasn’t breathing. He had assessed the situation and asked if she had any allergies.
Peanuts.
It was always peanuts.
He was presented with an epi-pen, but it had little effect. He really didn’t want to do what he did next, but the kid wasn’t breathing or responding at all, he didn’t have time for the paramedics to arrive and be clean in their process. So that was how he wound up performing an emergency tracheotomy with a sharp knife from the local food vendor, that didn’t sell peanuts, and a plastic straw. After assuring others that ‘yes they were as sanitary as possible, but the kid didn’t have time to wait for clean medical instruments’ and that ‘yes he was a trained medical professional’ and ‘no don’t try this yourself’, he was able to find the right spot underneath the kid’s vocal chords and make the incision before inserting the straw to create airflow.
It hadn’t been pretty, but he was a surgical intern with interest in trauma surgery meaning he was used to the horrors that came with it and was able to stay calm until the paramedics could come take over.
But he couldn’t, for the life of him, get used to the bone freezing shock that came afterwards and wasn’t sure he ever would.
At first he just led down, on the delightfully cold floor, as the kid was whisked away by people who were currently being paid to do this. Someone was asking him questions, but he couldn’t really answer, and it was rather evident what he had done if he did say so himself.
Someone had assured him that he had done the right thing and the kid probably wouldn’t have made it if he hadn't done what he did. Like he didn’t already know that. Yeah he just stabbed a kid’s neck with a straw for the fun of it.
And now someone was pulling him into a sitting position. There was a dull ringing in his ears, but he could make out that someone was talking to him. It was a paramedic. Great.
It’s not that he disliked paramedics or anything. Okay maybe he did.
They did honourable jobs, no doubt about it. But they just sort of dealt with the original mess and then went on. While Kiyoomi had to deal with the families and the paperwork.
At least he was young. The older paramedics were, the worse they got.
He was also ridiculously hot. Just to make Kiyoomi’s pretty crappy day even worse.
He had bleach blonde hair, and warm eyes. He was tall and well built, maybe he had been a firefighter before he became a paramedic? That would make sense, they do a lot of the same stuff. Maybe he got sick of dealing with the fire bit and decided to settle down.
“No, I was never a firefighter, I just go to the gym a lot. It’s how I deal with stress.”
Ah, he was thinking out loud. Fabulous. He hoped he hadn’t thought the hot bit out loud.
“I’m Miya, by the way. And thank you for thinking I’m hot.” Great. That’s just what Kiyoomi wanted.
Kiyoomi didn’t really feel like responding to that. He didn’t have the energy for this. What he really wanted to do was lie back down, why had he even moved to a sitting position?
But before his back could even hit the floor, strong hands were once again pulling him back up. Miya . He was behind this. He clearly had something against lying down. The gym rat.
“Hey, hey whoa.” The hands stabilised him but didn’t move away this time only became gentler. “Let’s keep ya somewhat upright, okay? The shock will wear off soon.”
Yes. Of course. The shock. He was in shock. That’s why he currently felt that he was in one of those spinning rides from summer fun fairs that were built far too quickly for his liking.
“Can you tell me your name?”
“Sakusa Kiyoomi.” His voice sounded as if his vocal chords had been ripped out of his mouth, dragged through a forest and then forcefully shoved back in. But Miya didn’t seem to care.
“How old are you, Kiyoomi?”
“Twenty Five.”
“Okay and how many fingers am I holding up.”
“I’m in shock I’ve not got a concussion, Jesus, you paramedics are such Neanderthals.” Snapped Kiyoomi. He was definitely being an A-grade asshole. In his defence the kid's blood was making his jumper stick to him in ways that made him want to vomit.
“Just answer the question.”
“Three.”
“I’m only holding up two.”
“Ah.” He could’ve sworn it was three, but come to think of it, the third one did look a little blurry.
Now a third voice seemed to join the mix, it was far more gruff than Miya’s, and the face that came with it seemed scarier.
“Miya, we’re nearly all wrapped up here, how’s he looking?” Was Kiyoomi he ? The kid had been a girl, so he must’ve been he .
“Um, well he’s coherent enough to be snarky, but isn’t fully aware of his surroundings and failed the finger test so...”
“Right well, the area is going to be closed off for at least another half hour, so if you don’t mind dancing around the deep clean maybe you should stay here until he’s got better bearings and we’ll head off and meet you later? Some cops will be along in like twenty just to check the situation out. You can get a ride to the hospital.”
“Sounds good boss.” However, if the way Miya was grimacing was anything to go off, it did not, in fact, sound good.
Personally, Kiyoomi also thought that it did not sound good, but the scary guy was already a retreating figure in the background before he could even protest.
Kiyoomi took some time to try and remember what seven years of medical school had taught him about dealing with shock. He knew that he should focus on his breathing, ten deep breaths, ten ins, ten outs.
He knew he had to ground himself. Find five things he could see.
A sign for free coffee in exchange for singing up for an environmental initiative. Some abstract artwork in the pillars of the building. A pop up stall in the centre of the space that was now deserted but when staffed, sold smoothies. A shoe shop that had ridiculously colourful displays. Miya.
Four things he could hear.
The gentle sound of water coming from the fountains. The buzz of the freezers from the smoothie stall. The sound of an automated voice from one of the in shop displays that sounded dystopian and wrong when not accompanied by the hustle and bustle of everyday shoppers. Miya’s breathing.
Three things he could feel.
The ground beneath his legs. The small bit of fabric from his jumper that sat between his thumb and forefinger. Miya’s hands on his back.
Two things he could smell.
Iron. Peppermint gum, was Miya chewing gum?
“You’re staring at my gum, you want some?”
One thing he could taste.
The stick of peppermint gum that Miya had just handed to him.
They sat in silence for a while. Kiyoomi had never really been fond of peppermint, but the action of chewing was giving him something to focus on. Everything had become clearer, and whilst that was a blessing in that he could see and think more clearly, he could also feel more clearly, and that was not as much of a blessing.
His arms ached from all the sudden movement, his mouth was dry and his legs felt shaky. Sitting up was once again becoming a chore.
“Hey Miya?”
Miya, who had gone to quickly check through his equipment, merely hummed in response.
“I really want to lie down again, I’m so tired man.”
“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that just yet, you want something to drink? I think you’ve passed the worst of the panic stage.”
“Yeah, that sounds good.”
“What do you want?”
“Honestly, sake.”
Miya let out a laugh, it was the kind that reached his eyes and shook his whole body. Kiyoomi would never admit it, but he really liked those kinds of laughs, and they really suited Miya.
“I feel that, but I think I’d lose my job, so what’s your second option?”
“Maybe a green tea?”
“Comin’ right up.”
He got up from where he had been squatting, which must’ve been bad for his legs, and made his way over to the coffee shop with the environmental initiative. It had been shut down with the rest of the shops, but the staff must’ve still been in there as someone appeared at the counter when Miya had walked in.
Kiyoomi watched as Miya made the order and the staff got to work. He also watched as he pulled out his wallet and was immediately refused, Kiyoomi wasn’t sure why he had even tried, there was no way they were paying for anything after what had just happened.
A few minutes later Miya was walking back over with two cups in hand. He sat down next to Kiyoomi and handed him a cup before taking a sip of his own. Kiyoomi went to take a sip of his drink but realised the gum was still in his mouth whichwould definitely get in the way and he did not want to add choking on gum to the list of things that had happened to him today. Realistically he knew she needed to get up and spit it into the bin, but that was so much work, and she wasn’t sure his legs could handle the movement.
Then, out of nowhere a hand was in front of his mouth. Miya was offering his hand for the gum. Gross.
“I’m a paramedic, we both know I’ve had far worse spat into my hand, plus your dental hygiene looks amazin’ so...”
Well, Kiyoomi couldn’t argue with that. He opened her mouth and let the gum fall neatly into Miya’s hand. The crack in his bones as he got up from his squatting position sent shivers down Kiyoomi’s spine. He should probably get that checked out.
It was as he brought the cup of green tea up to his mouth and let the warm contents tip down his throat that he realised that his hands were shaking a lot.
When working, his hands were the most stable of all the medical staff at his station. It was a well-known fact. They had competitions about it. He also went into shock the least and was often left to deal with the others.
But that came with a price, and that price was the worst shock symptoms by a long shot. He had been known to throw up, shake violently and be so lost in the aftershock panic that he had wandered out of the building. He'd even passed out once, that was a bad week.
Everything suddenly felt too cold, he was shivering, and goosebumps were rising all along his arms and legs. He was going to freeze to death, and that would not be fun, the temperature can’t be that cold in a shopping centre? Can it?
“I got you a hot drink for this exact reason y’know.”
Miya was back from the bin and was standing over him with his hands on his hips looking awfully smug.
“I'm pretty sure snark is not a good trait in paramedics.”
“Depends on the patient, some don’t like to feel babied.” He gave Kiyoomi a look that clearly said you are definitely one of those people.
He sat down next to him and took a sip of what looked like black coffee. Kiyoomi wrinkled his nose in disgust and turned back to his green tea.
“Don’t tell me you don’t like black coffee, how can you be in the medical field and not like black coffee?”
“I find other, far more healthy ways to keep me awake.” Said Kiyoomi
“Oh yeah? Like what?” Asked Miya
“Yoga, tea, monster energy drinks.”
“Ah of course, monster, the epitome of good health.” Laughed Miya.
“It tastes better than black coffee.”
“Everyone knows that if it tastes bad it’s probably good for you.”
“Yeah but everyone knows that if a surgeon consumes it, it's bad for you.”
“So you’re a surgical resident?” Miya crossed his legs, and the sound of his uniform trousers’ fabric rubbing against itself actually made Kiyoomi want to puke.
“Yeah, first year.” Said Kiyoomi, rolling his neck and trying to ignore how it sounded like an empty single-use waterbottle.
“Know where you want to specialise?” Asked Miya. God the man loved questions.
“Trauma.”
“Makes sense.”
They sat in a silence that got more comfortable as it went on, someone had come to clean the blood from the floor, the smell of antiseptic that burnt normal people’s noses brought a surprising amount of comfort to Kiyoomi.
The OR smelt of it and so it reminded him of how it felt to be doing his job, the cafeteria smelt of it so it reminded him of all the time he spent with his fellow interns (telling them this story will probably be the highlight of his career), the on call rooms smelt of it so it reminded him of sleep.
Sleep.
God he was so tired.
He reckoned he had only been this tired once before, when a bus had crashed and they were the closest responding hospital, the hours he had spent dealing with victims were gruelling.
The ache of dealing with a crisis was unforgettable.
And Gods did he ache.
If he wasn’t in shock she would have been thinking rationally and remembered how to properly interact with humans he’d only just met. He would remember the amount of germs on an average stranger. But considering he had just cut open a kid’s throat, he flopped to his side and nuzzled his head into the crook of Miya’s neck.
“Okay, was not expecting that from you but you know what, you've earned it.” Said Miya, shifting slightly so that Kiyoomi could be more comfortable.
“Do you not like cops?” Kiyoomi asked out of nowhere. He was in shock! Give him a break!
“Not per say. I just find them annoying. I hate bein’ in a car with em.” Said Miya.
“Like me with paramedics.”
“Exactly.”
Kiyoomi is ninety percent certain he dozed off not long after that. When he woke back up the sound of voices were echoing around the empty shopping centre.
“We really need a statement.”
“And I need my patient to stay calm after experiencing severe shock.”
Kiyoomi could feel the words rumble in Miya’s body. It felt nice. Some primal part of his brain that still lived in the stone age liked feeling protected. He would probably have to spend an entire therapy session just on this past hour.
He did not however like conflict and tension. So he opted not to feign sleep for a little while longer and lifted his head from Miya’s shoulder.
“I’m awake.” He said, sitting up and stretching his shoulders.
The officer spoke. He was a man in his forties with a gruff beard and a receding hairline. It was nice to know that not all emergency responders were crafted by Aphrodite. Just the paramedics. “I need your statement from the incident. Just to have on file. Not that I think we’ll need it. You did a brave thing there.”
The man motioned to one of the tables at the coffee shop. Near the back where the shopping centre could not be seen.
Kiyoomi gave Miya one last look. As nice as it had been to be treated for his shock by one of the most attractive people to ever exist. He had a feeling that by the time he was finished with his statement, Miya would be gone. And Kiyoomi would probably never see him again. He had never seen him before, which meant he wasn’t a regular paramedic at his hospital.
His statement was simple. A kid was dying. Kiyoomi stopped her from dying. End of.
The officer seemed to accept it and let Kiyoomi go with little fuss. The cafe had started to fill, meaning that the centre had been reopened to the public. When Kiyoomi emerged from the cafe, Miya was gone. Only a few officers remained.
The older officer clapped Kiyoomi’s shoulder before heading back to the others. Soon enough they left too. Kiyoomi was acutely aware that he was standing in the middle of a crowded shopping centre. Covered in blood.
He took off his jumper and went to the toilets to wash his hands. Once happy that he didn’t look like a psychopath he made his way home. He was about to have the best nap of his life.
Several months later Kiyoomi had put the whole ordeal behind him. The kid hadn’t even gone to his hospital. He was right in assuming that Miya wasn’t a regular paramedic for Osaka City General Hospital as he hadn’t seen him again.
Just as he was beginning to wonder if he’d made the man up in a shock filled haze, a gorgeous paramedic who had let Kiyoomi rest on his shoulder, Kiyoomi found himself answering an ER phone.
“OCG.” He said into the line, expecting to hear one of the regular paramedics on the other end. He tried to hide his surprise when a new voice echoed through the phone, slightly muffled by the sound of sirens.
“We’ve got an MVC Unrestrained Driver, five minutes out. Clear head trauma and signs of internal bleedin’.”
Kiyoomi shouted out to the ER before getting himself gowned and gloved. It took him longer than normal to tie his gown due to the fact he was trying to place the voice of the paramedic. It sounded so familiar. Osaka was full of people who spoke Kansai dialect. But there was something about this particular voice that Kiyoomi just knew.
The ambulance came into the bay and Kiyoomi got to work. He was so wrapped up in what he was doing that he completely missed the head of blonde hair that was exiting the ambulance.
After fifteen hectic minutes of treatment and one use of a crash cart, the patient was headed to CT to assess brain injury.
Kiyoomi made his way back out to the ER and was met by the smiling face of…
“Miya?”
“Ah so ya do remember me. I was worried the shock woulda wiped me from yer brain.” He said. Kiyoomi could only stare.
“What are you doing here?”
“I just brought in that guy. From the MVC.”
“You don’t normally come here.” Said Kiyoomi. He couldn't tell if this intervention was divine or demonic.
“I don’t, what are the chances eh?”
Kiyoomi had never really been one for maths but he estimated that the chances were pretty low. The sound of the ER continued around them. Kiyoomi could hear someone vomiting, someone else crying out in pain, and at least three people snoring. Heart monitors continued to beep, phones continued to ring and yet Kiyoomi’s whole world had come to a stop. The paramedic was in front of him. He was there and he was talking to Kiyoomi and he wasn’t just a figment of his imagination.
“It’s nice to see you again.” Said Kiyoomi. “I was beginning to think I’d made you up.”
“Well I am the man of many people's dreams” Said Miya.
“I’m leaving now.”
“No wait.” Miya grabbed his wrist. His hands were warm. Kiyoomi always ran cold. Kiyoomi turned to face him. Acutely aware that he was in a packed ER. “Can I get you a coffee?”
“I have to sort out this patient.” Miya’s face fell. “But I could probably spare twenty minutes after that.” Said Kiyoomi and Miya’s face lit up once more.
“That sounds perfect. Twenty minutes is all I need to make ya fall in love with me.”
This took Kiyoomi back. Maybe he was still in shock. Maybe he was about to come to, in the shopping centre, still covered in a nine year old’s blood talking to an old and utterly unattractive paramedic. Because there was absolutely no way the hot paramedic of his dreams was asking him out on a date.
“You’re asking me out on a date? I don’t even know your first name.”
Before Miya could answer his fellow paramedics came through the ER, calling out to him.
“Time to go Miya. Enough flirting.”
Miya turned back to Kiyoomi. “I gotta go, but I will be back here at five pm on the dot and I better see ya in the hospital cafeteria.” Kiyoomi scoffed, but deep down he knew that he would be spending the rest of his day looking forward to five pm. With one last look and a kiss to Kiyoomi’s hand Miya set off. Just as he reached the doors of the ER, he turned back.
“And my first name is Atsumu.”
Several dates later Kiyoomi was curled up on Astumu’s chest while in bed. Atsumu had been home for a little under an hour after a night shift. Atsumu knew that Kiyoomi would need to get up soon for rounds. As he led in this warm bubble of comfort that he had created he began to think about the future, and the future involved telling the truth.
“Omi?”
“Yeah?” Said Kiyoomi, his voice muffled by blankets. Atsumu loved that sound.
“I need to tell ya something.”
“Okay.”
“It’s about how we met.” Said Atsumu. He shifted so he and Kiyoomi were face to face. “I know ya think it was some fated thing.”
“Oh Gods did you feed that girl peanuts on purpose?”
“No! What?” Atsumu sat up. Kiyoomi followed. “I just- I-”
“Jumped from rig to rig for several weeks until you found the hospital where I worked?” Said Kiyoomi, giving Atsumu a knowing smile.
“You knew?” He knew. Atsumu had been building this up for weeks. Figuring out the best way to tell Kiyoomi without sounding like a stalker. And Kiyoomi, his loving, beautiful, smart ‘Omi, already knew.
“I had my suspicions. It seemed unlikely that you would just wind up at the hospital after years of going to different ones. But then when we went for drinks with your friends your brother confirmed those suspicions.”
He was going to kill Osamu.
“Please tell me he made it seem as romantic as I intended it to be?”
“He did. He made sure I knew it was from the heart.”
Atsumu practically scooped Kiyoomi back onto his chest. Kiyoomi nuzzled into him.
“Well that’s good. At least the scrub did me that solid.” He said, kissing Kiyoomi’s head.
“Would you though?”
“Would I what?”
“Purposefully feed a kid with peanut allergies peanuts just to meet me?”
“Go shower for yer rounds.”