Harmony

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Sure, Jack and Parker have joked from time to time about having the same type, but it was never supposed to be a thing.

You had to ruin it, didn’t you? You just had to transfer to PTMC and send their heads spinning. Jack and Parker respect each other, as peers and friends, but when they discover that you’re the apple of both their eye, things get ugly.

It begins as bickering. Usually small things— Jack not covering his mouth when he sneezes or Parker not putting her phone on silent during her shifts. Sometimes it’s bigger problems— what medication to administer to a patient or who gets to take on a case with you.

It’s you that puts a stop to it. During one of their little arguments, you sit a few feet away, typing up a chart. They’re digging their heels in over something stupid. Jack claims Parker stepped on his toes and hurt him. Parker claims she stepped on his prosthesis (and that he’s being a little bitch).

You don’t tear your eyes from the screen to scold them, “You two argue a lot. You should probably sort out your issues. It’s unprofessional.”

With that, you send them a cold smile and leave. Jack and Parker are reduced to a shocked silence that drags as they watch your departure. When left to their own devices, Jack and Parker do sort out their issue, but perhaps not the way you intended.

Throughout the shift, during their few moments of respite, Jack and Parker find each other. They tuck themselves away in a quiet corner and discuss. Now, the two of them are some of the brightest minds PTMC has to offer. They're both mature individuals who even go to therapy. Yet, somehow, the solution they come up with is anything but mature.

A competition.

They shake on the terms after work, in the ambulance bay after you've long left- whoever bags you first wins. The one who doesn't has to watch and weep as they forever know that you will not be theirs.

"You know, Parker," Jack says as he shakes her hand. Her grip is brutal, but he dares not flinch. "I'd wish you luck, but it'd be disingenuous."

Parker smiles. Jack's stomach turns when he pictures Parker smiling at you like that. He's seen one too many times how quickly Parker can thaw an ice cold heart.

"Oh, Jack," Parker coos. "Keep the luck. Lord knows you need it."

“unc peepaw people’s princess oomf average everyday icon returns. stay mad. stay mystified”