Over Here, Stranger

You tried to ignore the grumbles erupting behind you as you pulled the sterile covering over the ultrasound probe. Loading a thick stripe of gel onto the end, you pulled the machine next to the examination table.

There, Ted Kord laid, looking at you entirely unimpressed, with his arms crossed over his chest.

"At least we don't have to shave you like we do for the EKGs, Teddy." You offered him a silver lining.

He shot you a barely controlled side eye.

You sat down on the rolling stool next to the table, wrapping your hand around Ted's elbow and rubbing soothingly.

"I know you hate this." You told him. "But it's better than hauling into the Cardiology office every twelve months. That way we can at least fend them off for at least another year."

The tired cerulean eyes you had been staring in contest with finally drooped in half submission.

"I hate that place." He muttered.

"I know. So let's just get it done and over with, okay Teddy?" You sealed your negotiation with a kiss to his forehead, which unwound him further.

"Fine." He relented.

You angled the table so that you had Ted fully reclined, pulling the drape up to his waist so that he wouldn't get cold. You booted up the machine, and as you turned to face him, you couldn't help but shyly admire your man.

The strong, muscular chest with a thick thatch of brown hair and soft pudge of his belly. His tight biceps still lean from gymnast years. The subtle cleft in his chin, prominent Cupid's bow, and dense eyebrows. He observed you scanning him, fidgeting with slight discomfort underneath your gaze.

"Aren't I lucky?" You responded, with softness.

Ted scoffed. You pressed the probe over the left side of his chest, tilting the screen so you could see the resolution. With skillful hands, you adjusted both the depth and gain.

"Yeah lucky you. You get to date a fat guy with a bad heart."

You shot him a scathing gaze.

"What did I tell you about being disrespectful to my boyfriend?" You said, a threatening tone to your voice.

He settled back into the table without another word.

You angled the probe in your hand, fanning across his skin before you got the window you wanted. Turning the machine, you gestured to the screen with a small smile.

"Look at your heart, Teddy."

Instead of watching the screen, showing something he'd seen countless times before and loathed each one, he watched your expression melt at the sight of his ailing ticker. He wasn't on death's door, but the squeeze wasn't as strong as it used to be. He took a handful of pills in the evening and choked down every tablet. But you still looked at him like he'd hung the moon, running your hands over him and gushing over him though he certainly didn't look like he did when he was a much younger man.

So when the cardiologist allowed his doctor partner to conduct the annual echocardiogram and send in the images instead of wallow in that frigid sterile office, it was no contest.

"Looks good, Ted, the measurements are basically the same as last time." You remarked, fiddling with the machine.

Scooping the gel off of his chest with the probe, you moved to get a different view. Here you could see all four chambers of his heart beating in tandem, valves clicking together at the end of systole. You found it hard not to gaze at the image: a visual representation of the heart that you had grown to love so much, deep to the chest that you laid your head on every night.

"I'm the lucky one actually." Ted said, breaking the stillness.

You raised a brow, casting him an impish look.

"How so, Mr. Kord?" You baited.

Ted took in a dramatic, accentuated sigh. He tapped his chin in mock contemplation as you slid the probe to the third position.

"Hmm let's see… hot doctor lover… who gives me a detailed anatomy lesson every night… and makes us breakfast in the morning…" He listed. "I could go on for a couple years."

In return, you barked out a laugh, the most valuable sound of all time to Teddy's ears. Even when the others groaned, you would chuckle at his jokes or cast him an annoyed look masking poorly-hidden delight. You listened to him.

While you worked, his mind drifted back to when you had first started dating.

The television murmured in the background, whatever show you had been watching long forgotten as you wrapped your hand around the back of Ted’s neck to pull him in closer. Dinner plates, wiped clean of the meal that you had spent so much effort on, were stacked and abandoned on the coffee table. The candle that you had lit for romantic ambiance had burnt into puddled, liquid wax. 

Everything in your apartment was dulled, forgotten, as you kissed Ted fervently, half-cradled in his lap on the couch. As his hands roamed, you had flashbacks to teenagehood, feeling every nerve in your body light up with a welcome heat. Your palms slipped from the nape of his neck to the collar of his horribly ugly button-down shirt, beginning to undo the top set of buttons. 

You pulled away breathlessly and he chased you at first, not wanting to disrupt the embrace. You looked at him shyly through your top lashes. 

“Um, I was wondering if you wanted to stay the night?” You asked, nearly in a whisper. “If you want to, of course.”

Ted’s eyes widened slightly, difficult to see even this close in proximity, for the blown out pupils threatening to eclipse his blue irises were much more distracting. The corner of his mouth raised ever so slightly.

“Yeah, that sounds… really great.” He replied, matching your tone. 

Eventually, you tore your hands off of each other long enough to get ready for bed. As you completed your task of removing his button-down, your eyes started to scan his chest. Deceptively strong. Peeking through the densely scattered dark hair was a bundle of white scar tissue, and your hand reflexively rose to feel the organic embossment. Stepping back a half step, Ted quickly caught your hand in his. He threaded his fingers through yours, sensing your surprise at his actions. You looked up at him with a puzzled and slightly alarmed expression. 

“Uh, prior surgery.” He said, clearing his throat.

Your eyes returned to the engraved section of skin, spanning linearly just across his sternum. The scar passing parallel to the heart that you had just been getting to know and care for. You forced your eyes upward again to avoid staring, meeting Ted’s gaze, which searched you for any hint of reluctance or disgust. He slowly lifted your clasped hands to his lips to press a soft kiss. 

“Do you, uh… take any medication for that?” You asked, slowly. You could see Ted’s teeth chewing on the interior of his bottom lip.

“Yeah.” He replied, as nonchalantly as he could muster. You gripped his hand tighter with yours.

“Are you supposed to take any tonight?” You inquired. His face fell slightly in realization. 

“...Yeah.” He admitted.  

The two of you stood, half-undressed and slightly frozen in the center of your bedroom, next to your bed which was so enticing and inviting. Your sight fell to your feet, disappointed at Ted’s probable soon departure. You felt the pads of slightly calloused fingers hook your chin, raising it to face him once more. 

“But, I really don’t want to go.” He confessed, with that adorable sheepish half-smile that you dreamed about. 

“I really don’t want you to go.” You replied, with a breathy chuckle.

He leaned in closely, pressing his lips firmly to yours. 

“I’ll take it when I get home in the morning. I promise.” He said, curling your figure closer to his. “Sometimes I forget, anyway.”

You gave his chest a light strike. He knew that you were a physician when he started seeing you and here he was tattling on himself.

“Well, you better not go dyin’ on me in your sleep, Teddy.” You replied. “I’ll be very upset.”

As if there was no pause at all, your adolescent streak continued, the two of you now stripped to under garments, settled under the sheets of your bed. Ted’s hand ran a course from your lower back over the curve of your hip, while you tugged him ever closer. His face was flushed red as he pulled back from you, heat settling in his ears.

“Can I ask you a question?” He started, with an almost nervous demeanor despite the intimacy you two had partook in throughout the whole evening. Your heart stirred at his skittishness.

You nodded.

“Can I be your boyfriend?” He asked, with a slightly hesitant tone. 

A sweet smile crept across your face. The sincerity of the question coming from the grown multi-millionaire CEO in your bed made you want to laugh, out of adoration and excitement. You refrained, sparing him the humiliation. When you looked into his eager eyes, you knew that he was being genuine.

“Yes.” You replied, running a hand down the side of his cheek. 

He leaned in to give you a sloppy peck. You moved to resume your make-out session, before Ted pulled away from you yet again.

“Can I ask you another question?” He proposed once more. 

“Yes.” You replied, drawing out the response with a smirk. You ran your palms up the edge of his chest. 

The resultant pause was much longer after this second question, giving you slight anxiety with all of the anticipation. But Ted’s eyes were soothing, reassuring, reverent. He looked at you with such preciousness that it was difficult to keep his gaze.

“Can I make love to you?” He asked, his voice barely louder than a whisper.

His pulse quickened with your nod, eagerly receiving you as you crawled on top of him. You melted into his form, more than ready for the passionate throes which would consume the evening.

He had to stop thinking about what happened after that or it would be noticeable underneath the drape. He tried not to cringe at what a loser he sounded like back then, instead clearing his mind by gazing up to watch you work.

You collected the remainder of the gel, ushering it to the last probe location you needed before the echo was done. Ted watched you concentrate with a softly bitten lip, wondering what was going through that mind he loved so much inside that pretty head of yours.

You were reminiscing about a different night, a year and a handful of months after Ted stayed over for the first time.

You were laid up in a different bed, between the navy blue Egyptian cotton sheets of Ted's California King that dwarfed your humble Queen back at home. Ted had returned from a two week business trip, overseeing a Kord Industries merger. He had called to ask if you wanted to come over the second his jet hit the tarmac the evening before and sent a car to pick you up at your agreement.

You had spent the night getting reacquainted with each other, and as the weak sunrays of the early morning speckled the wall through the crack in the drapes, you snuggled closer to your lover. Teddy had stopped snoring, so surely he was drowsily coming to.

"Good morning, handsome." You cooed at him.

"Who're you talkin' to?" He croaked out, his voice still raspy with sleep.

You gave him a gentle, disapproving pinch.

"You better be nice to my boyfriend." You warned.

With a smile easing across his face, Ted stretched out - casting his arms above his head and extending his toes to the foot of the bed. Once he relaxed, he snaked his arms around you, pulling you tightly into his chest.

"Mm, I love it when you're here." He said, burrowing into your neck.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

A beat of comfortable silence passed by while the two of you stayed entangled in each other's lazy warmth.

"You should move in."

It was almost so quiet that you hadn't caught it, but he was curled up so close to the shell of your ear that it was impossible not to hear. Your eyes widened at the thought. Ted had never mentioned making such a big step in your relationship before.

"You want me to move in?" You questioned, almost believing that you misheard him.

"Yeah. I love having you here."

Another breath of silence.

"What if people think I'm a gold digger?" You asked, meekly.

At this, Ted untangled, lifting his head to face you with a skeptical look.

"Yeah, my doctor partner. Who's on call at the trauma center every other week. Real gold digger material."

You folded into him shyly.

"Ted, there's a big difference between my salary and the kind of money Kord Industries is bringing in. I just don't want anyone to think I'm… using you."

He brushed a thumb over your cheekbone.

"Then we'll give it all away to charity." He said, kissing around your ear. "Live together in a shanty."

"I can see the headlines now." You grumbled in return. "Kord Industries CEO Goes Broke at the Hands of Vindictive Concubine."

A bark of laughter erupted from Ted, a boisterous bwah! that always made you start giggling too.

"We don't even have to live here." Ted offered. "We can pick out a different place. Wherever you want. But we'll wake up together."

You nuzzled further into his chest, running the pad of your finger tips across his skin. You tried to resist how adorable he was with his curls mussed up from sleep, expectantly looking at you for confirmation. Willing to move into a double wide trailer if it meant he got to drift to sleep with you in his arms.

"Okay Teddy." You had agreed.

As you captured the final images on the ultrasound screen, you removed the sterile drape from the probe. Setting a couple of clean towels on Ted's stomach, you helped him swipe off the gel that loved to cling to his chest hair. Once he was mostly clean, you leaned in to peck him on the lips.

But when you leaned forward, Ted's arms found the small of your back, wrapping you and keeping you securely against him. That small peck turned into a melting, ardent kiss that left you breathless once you finally pulled away.

"Heart is looking good to me. Perfect, even." You whispered.

"Must be 'cause my doc takes such good care of me." He replied, eyes flicking back to your lips.

When he tugs you closer to continue your embrace, you can't resist. The two of you tangled together in the comfort of the home that you had made together.

Divider by: toxisyddy