PINKAURAS.

Violet can't help but think back to last Halloween and the way the pair's night ended with plenty of green paint exchanged between them. There's always an electric spark that still lingers between them-- sometimes Violet wonders if it's because they weren't quite done when she'd ended things. She'd only done so because she was scared of the possibilities between them-- a perfect parallel between Elphaba and Glinda, now that she thinks back to it. Now, Hollis was seemingly spending more time with Indira, something that seemed like a better fit anyway. Violet couldn't trust herself to take care of Hollis the way Indy surely would. That is, if they were going in that direction.

the corner of hollis's mouth curves up in a smile before she can really stop it. how many times had she been subjected to violet's one woman rendition of wicked? more than she could count. "right, of course," she hums as if it should have been obvious. "do they actually become a couple in the second half? because i still feel ripped off from last year." her eyes linger on the x-ray longer than they need to, maybe because it's easier than looking directly at violet in that dress, with the same teasing glint in her eyes that used to make her forget where she was.

"group effort chaos," he echoed, shaking his head as he leaned back in his chair. "my favorite kind. nothing like watching someone try to gaslight the charts into thinking they didn’t screw up." he then paused a moment to take a sip of his coffee which way too hot, resulting in a subtle wince of pain as he put the cup back down, "i guess i should let jerry know to start practicing his apology face. maybe he should even throw in a muffin." the last thing he needed was to really get off on the wrong foot here. even if it was just her aunt. and even then, it's not like he really had pull with jane anyways. he was just her niece's idiot ex at this point, which he always wore proudly.

hollis huffs a quiet laugh, head shaking and her arms folding against her chest as she leans against the counter across from him. "muffins typically help smooth over catastrophic incompetence," she hums dryly, though her eyes glint in amusement. "he could go for croissants if it was really incompetent." she reaches overto grab a paper packet of sugar, tearing it slowly and listening. there's something a little endearing about listening to henry try to adjust. she knows first hand that it isn't exactly easy parachuting into a new hospital full of unfamiliar faces, but he's done it before dozens of times. he's got that air to him that makes it impossible for people not to love him. "it's fine," she reassures him, stirring her coffee with a shrug. "everyone screws up their first few months here. it happens." how many times had hollis gone to ezra about this exact kind of thing? too many to count.

@pinkauras - Spencer & Tess

tess is less than impressed. spencer isn't exactly one of her favourite residents to have even on a normal day — it's obvious that he doesn't have any interest in pediatrics and his attitude usually isn't something to write home about — and halloween is proving to cause even more issues. she's shooting him a deadpan look at his statement, trying not to be amused by the sight of the scream mask perched on his head. "approachable," she repeats the word back slowly, a brow raised. "maybe save that for the ten and over crowd and swap it out for a pumpkin or something when you're with the toddlers." somewhere deep, deep, deep down tess can see that there's something good in spencer — or maybe she's imagining things, always too optimistic for her own good. "no can do, sorry. restructuring means you don't get to choose a specialty to focus on until your third year. until then, you've gotta make your rounds."

laughing her way into the break room, indira grabbed the half melted remnants of her iced coffee she walked into work with this morning. the iced coffee she had to promptly put away because she was being tossed into a trauma at the last minute. setting it on the table, she sighed dramatically as she slid into the spot next to sienna. “that sounds like hell,” it also sounds like one of the reasons she didn’t go into either one of her parents’ line of work — well that and her father’s job was way more math than she ever wanted to do again in her life, and her mom’s was stressful — she didn’t want to deal with being their legacy. the idea of having to hide from people who revered them…no thanks. “i wasn’t going to ask for payment, but if you want to buy me a coffee, i won’t say no.” she said with a smile. 

sienna laughs, the tension in her shoulders stating to ease as she leans back in her chair. "i think you earned like, at least two coffees for that. maybe four." she smiles faintly, a hand moving to rub at her temple absently. "i thought she was coming into that closet with me and you were the only person in sight to save me so. congrats, you're like my new emergency contact." she sips at her lukewarm tea, nose scrunching slightly as she sets the cheap paper cup back down. "i just want to be able to do my job without someone thinking i'm reporting back to my mom or like i can pull strings for them," she shrugs, rolling her eyes. she supposes if she didn't want to live under elaine iyer's shadow for the rest of her life, she probably shouldn't have become a surgeon. "anyways, if gossip is your preferred currency, you want scandalous or mildly unprofessional?"

sienna's heart is thudding when she follows zoya, but it's steadier somehow now that she's following dr. singh's lead. the woman seems to cut through the chaos with a purpose that puts sienna at ease, knowing she can follow that with purpose and not panic. radio in her hand, sienna calls down to triage to ask about the helmet and where it's been taken, already picturing the point of impact and what it might tell them. "triage says it's in the storage room in the north hall, i'll grab it." sienna is quick to make her way there, lifting the helmet carefully when she finds iy and inspecting the cracked visor and crushed padding, noting the areas of damage before tucking it under her arm and leaving to go find zoya again. "found it, dr singh. there's a large dent and significant paint scraping on the right side."

a sound that’s somewhere between a hum and a sigh escapes taren, the kind that slips out when she’s not sure whether to be impressed or pissed off. she’s quiet for a second, her eyes dragging over sienna’s face like she’s trying to figure out if the kid even realizes how wild that actually is. there’s something in the way she says in over my head that hits a nerve. taren’s been there — hell, she practically lives there — but it’s different when you’re two months in and someone’s already tossing you to the sharks. “yeah,” she says finally, voice low, almost thoughtful. “i can see that.” she doesn’t add no shit even though it’s on the tip of her tongue. instead, taren glances down, picks at the seam of her scrub pocket. she’s thinking about the things hollis said at the gala — the look in her eyes when she mentioned vaughn’s name like it haunted her.

oh. sienna blinks, clearly surprised by taren's words. she had come into this internship knowing that no one — not even her parents — was going to hold her hand through it. that it was going to be tough and gruelling and that she would just have to suck it up and get through it. so she hadn't been expecting this from anyone, especially not taren who, despite her relationship with her father, has always seemed so rough around the edges and like she'd sooner tell her to eat shit and die than offer any encouragement. so the weight in taren's voice now, the fact that she obviously means this, means a lot to sienna. "yeah," she nods after a beat, quieter than usual and almost reflective. "i guess i'm still trying to figure out the line between learning and sinking — it's hard when sometimes it feels like drowning is part of the curriculum." her hands twist in front of her anxiously, fidgety fingers tapping against each other like she's trying to sort out how to say all of this without looking like an idiot. "but uh.. thank you. for saying that. i'll try to remember it next time someone decides i'm ready for open heart surgery or something," she says, forces a self deprecating laugh.

theo watched the potential disaster in slow motion. sighing heavy, theo shook his head. “one sec, thalia, i’m sorry,” clearing his throat to get the attention of the cluster of people across the hall, theo held his arms out in a what the fuck gesture. “ben. c’mon man.” the sixteen year old at least looked properly admonished, apologizing to the volunteer before he disappeared back into the room to rejoin the debate that was starting to reach it’s fever pitch. the volunteer turned and flashed the resident an overly bright smile, but theo didn’t notice. he was turning his attention back to the attending. “i swiped it from the shelf when i was doing my rounds this morning. i’m saving everyone from having to hear the absolute god awful shrek impersonations that they love doing after watching this. it’s fine though,” he said with a grin. “someone brought the hocus pocus dvd in a box of halloween donations, they’ll find it in like five minutes.”

thalia stays out of it while theo handles the chaos of movie night with the ease of someone who has done it a million times. her mouth curves into a little smile as she follows him into the break room, humming. "districts huh?" she repeats, falling into a chair. "you're gonna have a full blown rebellion in there if you're not careful." it's impossible not to feel a flicker of warmth at all of this though — the movie nights, the book club, the way these kids have formed a community around each other.

“oh please,” cole scoffed. “what do you take me for? i know protocol! i cleaned everything up after.” chuckling to himself when he saw the look on thalia’s face, he felt his shoulders finally relax. they’re getting somewhere, both with whatever’s going on in their personal circle, and with ian’s transplant case. “i’ll shake ‘em up as best i can.” passing the file back to thalia he sighed. “no coercion, just a lot of guilt. might wear shorts, that usually makes people wanna shut me up quick.” raising a conspiratorial eyebrow, cole nodded at the file. passing between them. “d’you think you have time today to stop by his room? think he might feel better hearing from someone specializing in transplants instead of my ass again,” quickly falling into step beside thalia, cole slid his hands in his pockets. “drinks, darts, details bout coop after two beers and a shot?”

she lets out a short laugh before she can stop it, eyes rolling. "if you think shorts are going to guilt people into doing what you want then i seriously question the ethics they drilled into your. head back in med school." but then again, he'd done med school through the military so maybe that speaks for itself ethics wise. but there is no heat to her words because after knowing each other for so long, thalia knows that beneath all of the rough edges and easy charm, cole harrison has a good heart. "i'll go see him. if he's been on dialysis this long he deserves some good news for once," she purses her lips, sighing. "i'll talk to him and see where he's at. maybe come up with something to buy him more time while the list moves."

"yeah, he's not mine, either." cyrus points out with an eyeroll, though the use of the man's actual first name doesn't go unnoticed. "silas, huh?" he arches a brow, giving her an entertained look. "sullivan may not be heartless, but they're both fuckin' jackasses. you'd be jumpin' if they were threatening to fire you, too." her defensiveness is unexpected; though neither miss a beat as they move. "or something like that, sure." he nods, arching his brow. her tone, the evasiveness -- it reminds cyrus of him and dinah. their love lives aren't really a topic he and thalia talk about much, but he doesn't let up just yet. had this been anyone else, cyrus would have stopped responding by now. he knows thalia well enough to have his curiosity piqued. maybe he's been working too many shifts with indira -- either way, he makes a mental note to ask di later if she's heard anything. "clamp. i'm calling bullshit." he states blatantly, giving her a look as the nurse places the instrument in his hand.

thalia rolls her eyes a little, but there's not any heat behind it. "i'm on the chopping block too," she reminds him with a quirk of an eyebrow. technically, none of them are safe — save for maybe dr reed-harrison, dr cooperman, and the supposed plastics goddess that sullivan has been trying to sign onto a contract. she snorts a little, arching a brow at him. "you call bullshit?" she echos, head tilting. "if you wanna say something, cruz, just say it." there isn't a lot of heat behind the words, but a little bit of sharp professionalism. she may not be cyrus' boss and they may get along well, but she's still technically his superior. she backs up enough to give him room to work, watches him place the clamp. "but let's make sure we're keeping the patient alive while we're discussing my personal life — and then yours, since fair is fair."

thalia’s voice cuts through the room with a familiar sharpness and taren’s quick to adjust the suction, letting her hands fall into a familiar rhythm almost before she’s fully aware of it. there’s a little spark that always hits her when she’s in thalia’s OR — a rare focus she only gets with her. she’s known the woman for years, but there’s something about the way she trusts taren’s hands implicitly that never fails to make everything else fade. she’d been broke and tired and scrambling for whatever extra cash she could pick up as a resident when thalia had thrown her a lifeline and made her feel… less like she was constantly failing at life. now over a decade later, it’s kind of wild how at ease she feels here, how much she actually wants to impress the woman even now when she knows she doesn’t really have to.

thalia doesn't look up right away. she rarely ever does when she's working, keeping her focus on the patient and the surgical field unless she needs to check a residents work or make a point with eye contact. it's even rarer she needs to look up when she's working with taren, who she trusts implicitly. if she ever found herself in need of open heart surgery, taren would certainly be on the top of her list of people to call. she figures if she can trust her with maya, she can trust her with her literal heart and she does — implicitly so.

If he had been a few more beers in before he saw her, he would've told her 'no', he really could not help himself. Coop was drawn to Thalia by something close enough to magnets that it pulled him closer to her. When he'd attended one of the several meetings they had together, he always found himself close to her. He'd be against the wall behind where she sat, he'd be in the chair next to the only one left for her to sit in when she entered, or he'd purposefully find the barstool next to her, in this case. What he does notice is that at least she doesn't get up and leave him in the dust. Maybe she feels bad for the fact that she did twenty years ago-- or perhaps she feels the same tug that he feels every time he sees her.

thalia laughs a little, head shaking. "they'd probably have to clean the place to get the smell out," she points out with a tilt of her head. "i can't imagine anyone who took over had any more interest in cleanliness than terry did." the diviest of dive bars, thalia remembers not only the smell of pickles but the way everything was always questionably sticky and the bathrooms were out of order more often than not. but they had had fun there — many nights of taking shots after a rough shift, of studying in a back booth, games of pool with wandering hands to throw the other off. there will be none of that here, she reminds herself.

— who: thalia & theo (@pinkauras) — prompt: well, that's something you don't see every day.

thalia follows theo's gaze, lips twitching as the bean bag in question nearly decapitates a passing volunteer. "heated debate," she murmurs, arms crossing. "did shrek lose the popular vote or have they watched it so many times you vetoed it? maya went through a phase where she watched it every day, multiple times a day for six months." actually, it's probably due for another round in the cycle soon. the pedes floor always gets to thalia, something in her chest tugging at the thought of a group of sick teenagers all huddling together for a movie night. she could spend her whole day cutting people open, taking out their organs and not flinch — but the second she sees this chaos and the laughter they find even in the worst moments, she feels her armour start to crack.

cyrus never fails to seize up in moments like this, constantly caught between being calmed by dinah and squirming when she points things out. your girl, huh? he hates the way his chest tightens a bit as she says the words back, though the look in her eye eases it just as quickly. his hand moves against her lower back, sipping a bit more champagne (admittedly, to calm his nerves) before answers. "my girl, yeah." he answers, trying to resist the urge to crack a joke or break a nice moment. while he struggles to say so and commit, he does want this with her -- dinah's the only person he wants to come home to, even if he's too chickenshit to actually admit it.

dinah is quiet for a moment, watching as he fumbles his way through something that feels real in a way most things don't when they're coming from him. her first instinct is to deflect and make a joke, cut the tension before it starts pressing too hard against her chest but she doesn't. instead she leans in, lets her hand rest against the side of his neck and her thumb trace along the curve of his jaw. "i don't want you to fuck it up either. i don't want to fuck it up." she doesn't bother telling him that he won't. they both know that isn't something that she can promise. they've been down this road too many times, both fucked it up just as many. there's no teasing in her tone, no edge of scepticism. "i won't expect you to be perfect if you don't expect me to be either. we'll just figure it out."

@pinkauras // henry & hollis

ghosts from hollis's past are popping up all over the hospital these days but she isn't entirely upset to see henry. their divorce hadn't exactly been easy — is it ever? — but it had been amicable and after getting over the initial shock of it all, they'd managed to stay friends, something that hollis held close to her chest. "right, jerry." a brow quirks up at him, head tilting as she settles into the seat across from him. "technically, if two residents signed off but no meds were ordered, it's on whoever was assigned to the patient last — unless the charge nurse catches it before pharmacy does then it's going to be group effort chaos." her lips quirk upwards, a teasing grin. "so jerry might want to go sweet talk jane before admin finds out. coffee is usually a good peace offering."