Love and Deepspace | Zayne & MC & Caleb & Valko (& Xavier & Rafayel & Sylus) | G | 476 words | part of LADS Pinoy AU
A/N: This AU was conceived by me and @cup-ah-jho! Based on this scenario. Content tag/warning for Catholic humor? Or is it blasphemy?
It all started when Zayne accepted, every year, the Christmas gift Mrs. Mercado gave him as thanks for being her family’s doctor. At first he tried to refuse the present, but Mrs. Mercado was a woman who was very much adept in emotional manipulation and applied it to him – which was bizarre because instead of her gaining something, it was her giving something away.
“Definitely a bribe,” Xavier had commented, when Zayne mentioned it once during a rare group (complete attendance!) meetup.
“A gesture of gratitude! Don’t listen to him,” Rafayel had countered. Caleb had nodded at that, agreeing, for once, with the socialite.
(“Careful there,” Sylus said, swatting away Xavier’s needling, “the gift might be fake.”
“Is it?” Valko’s head tilted up, attention finally off his phone. He sniffed the air curiously, and shook his head. “Nah, it’s legit.”
The rest just stared at him, speechless.)
It was a Diptyque perfume – Olene. Too floral and feminine – too jasmine-smelling – but his mother complimented the fragrance, so he let it be. When Mrs. Mercado came to his clinic for another checkup she smelled it right away and made a surprised noise.
“I thought you would have gifted it to your girlfriend.”
All the nurses in the vicinity suddenly paused, and attempted their best to pretend that they weren’t listening. They’re nurses, Zayne thought a little ruefully, not actors, so they’re very much obvious about it.
“I have no girlfriend, ma’am.” He let that percolate in the air for a bit, before dragging things back. “You skipped your labs again, I’m not writing you a maintenance prescription until you do them.”
After that, there was no reason to change fragrance. He got the perfume for free yearly, and he was not the kind of man to actively seek for a signature scent. It was bad form to let the gifts languish unused. So Olene it was, then.
And then one day, at the Muji cafe in SM North Edsa, Mary Clare sat across from him and wrinkled her nose.
Caleb and Valko, who were also there, postponed their STEM-related bickering to gawk at Mary Clare and then at Zayne.
“I don’t need to attend the mass to feel the presence of the Lord, because I’m feeling it now.” It was like fatality, like pure emotional damage.
Zayne opened his mouth. Then closed it.
“Holy shit,” Valko marveled. “It’s super effective, bro. Goddamn.”
Caleb gestured a sign of the cross at him. “I’m ready to listen to your homily, doc.”
Mary Clare looked remorseless with her remarks. Sure, Zayne was initially shocked, but humor soon replaced it, and then he took it in stride. But of course, this didn’t mean that he’d let them get away with it.
“No more free consultations for all of you,” he declared firmly, to Caleb’s and Valko’s protests.
