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xiubaek-13 · 4 years

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Stalling Time

Prompt: Yixing + “Shut up and kiss me already.”

Setting/AU: Vet

Warnings: Injured animal, memory of death of a pet.

Word Count: 2,340

A/N: I put trigger warnings for this drabble because an animal is in an accident, and there is a flashback to a pet passing away.

You weren’t sure how you even made it to the animal hospital without crashing since you could hardly see through your tears as you drove. You loved animals more than people so naturally you were beside yourself when you saw a dog run out into open traffic and saw the car that didn’t swerve out of the way in time. The screeching sound of tires followed by a small thump would be forever etched into your mind. Nothing you would ever see would be worse than that, you were sure of it.

But when the driver didn’t stop, your shock went to rage and despair. You stopped in the middle of the highway, got out of your car, ignoring the cacophony of horns behind you, and collected the poor animal. It was still alive, thankfully the car had mostly swerved out of the way but from the whimpers coming from the injured animal, you knew it was hurt. You carried it back to your car and gingerly placed it on the backseat before driving off to the nearest vet you could find.

The tears started as your worry increased. What if the dog was more injured than you thought? What if it didn’t make it? You knew exactly how it felt to be on the receiving end of that kind of devastating news. As you drove you remembered that day vividly, you’d been twelve years old. You remembered how you’d arrived home from school and had found it odd that the house was so quiet. Usually your father was home and Danny, your best friend and family pet, would come bounding up to you. You wandered through the hall and into the backyard as you searched for either of them but found nothing. You had figured that maybe your father had taken Danny for a walk so you went about your business, did your homework and watched some TV.

As soon as your father walked in the door you knew something was wrong. Your eyes darted around, searching for Danny, but all you saw was the heartbroken expression on your fathers face. Your father was the strong one in the family, so seeing him like this broke you. He didn’t even need to say the words, the pained expression when you asked “Where’s Danny?” was enough to tell you that something horrible had happened.

“I’m so sorry honey,” He’d started, but you dropped to the floor before he could say anything else. He rushed over to you and cradled you in his arms as you sobbed, ignoring his own tears.

The dog in the back of your car would be ok, it had to be. You were trying to convince yourself that it would all be ok as you drove because you could not handle the idea of another child’s world being shattered like yours was.

You finally arrived at the animal hospital, parking horribly outside & definitely in a no parking zone but you didn’t care. You slowly lifted the dog out of the backseat and it whined at the movement, its eyes wide with fear and its body trembling. It absolutely broke your heart to see it suffering like this. “Shhh, we’re almost there ok?” You said, hoping your voice would calm the poor thing down. “We’re gonna get you fixed up so you can go home and live your best life ok?” You kept chatting away to the dog as it seemed like your voice was having a somewhat calming effect on it as you walked towards the doors of the hospital.

As soon as you entered a vet nurse rushed over to you and helped you place the dog on a small portable bed. You were thankful that there weren’t many people there so you were rushed ahead of the few that were waiting. When she tried to separate you and the terrified animal it panicked so she asked you to stay with it, so that the poor thing didn’t injure itself further. You agreed instantly, thinking if you were in it shoes you wouldn’t want to be alone.

You stayed while the vet came and assessed the severity of the dog’s injuries and you waited patiently in the waiting room when they finished prepping for surgery and put the little guy under. The waiting was the worst part, you didn’t know how long they’d be, if the lil guy would make it, who he belonged to, nothing. As though she could read your mind the vet nurse appeared and beckoned you over to the front desk. “Before we took him in I scanned him and found a microchip. I’m just going to look up the owner now so you don’t have to wait around any longer if you don’t want to.”

You shook your head. “I’ll stay. I need to know if he’s ok.” You said. She nodded, the understanding evident in her eyes. You walked back to your seat and continued to wait, hoping that the surgery wouldn’t take much longer and that it would be a good outcome. The vet hadn’t thought it was anything life threatening but you worried regardless of that fact. He hadn’t witnessed the accident, or heard the cries of fear and pain coming from the poor animals mouth.

An hour had passed when a young man burst through the doors, his eyes frantic as he looked around the room and rushed up to the desk. “I got a call to tell me that my dog was in an accident?! Is he ok? Where is he?” The vet nurse lead him over to where you were sitting and waited for him to take a seat.

“Yixing is it?” He nodded. “Your dog was hit by a car earlier today.” You saw him freeze and all of the colour disappear from his face. “This young woman next to you witnessed the accident, and when the driver didn’t stop, she brought your dog here. His injuries aren’t life threatening but we still had to put him under for surgery. That is where he is now. I’ll let you know of any updates as soon as I have them.” She smiled softly at both of you in the way that all nurses do before turning and heading back to the front desk.

The young man next to you had slumped forward with his head in his hands. This whole situation must be overwhelming for him. You remembered all too well how it had hit you the last time you had to experience the fear of loss. “What’s his name?” You asked gently.

He rubbed his face with his hands as he sat back up and looked at you, pain and fear in his eyes. “Guiying.” He coughed. “His name is Guiying.”

You tried a small smile. “He’s very much like his namesake.” Yixing half chuckled. “He was frightened but he was very brave, letting a complete stranger pick him up and drive him off to who knows where.”

“He might be brave but he’s also foolish.” He sighed. “He must have escaped the backyard and run off, and just… just got distracted by traffic.” He sniffed as he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.

You placed a hand on his shoulder as you tried to reassure him. “Hey, I’m pretty sure it was just his hind leg that was broken, but that they had to put pins in, hence the surgery. He’ll be ok.”

Yixing grabbed your hand and held it tightly in his. “Thank you for caring enough to help him.”

“I just did what anyone would.” you said.

“No,” he shook his head. “You didn’t. Most people would not stop in the middle of an intersection to help an animal. Most people would just keep driving, thinking someone else would help it or that it was too late to help. You,” He choked back a sob. “You saved his life.”

You couldn’t speak because you could feel your emotions in your throat, tears were so close to forming and you did not want to let them. Instead you smiled and squeezed his hand. The two of you sat in silence, his hand still not leaving yours, as though your hand was his anchor to reality and hope.

After another hour of sitting and occasionally chatting about life, avoiding the topic of the accident, instead trying to distract yourselves from the fact that you were both sitting in the animal hospital waiting room late at night, you’d come to the realisation that if the circumstances were different, Yixing was someone you would be interested in. He was kind, honest, thoughtful, funny and it was futile to deny that he was incredibly easy on the eyes. But in the back of your mind you had to remind yourself not to flirt with him, the poor man was waiting to see if his beloved dog was ok, this was not the time nor the place. Normally you despised small talk, but you’d made an exception for Yixing since you were trying to keep both him and yourself distracted from thinking about Guiying.

“I know I’ve said it repeatedly tonight, but thank you.” He said.

You smiled. “And like I’ve said every time, I was more than willing to do what I did.”

Yixing shook his head. “No, I mean yes, thank you for that but this thank you was specifically for staying here with me and waiting. You didn’t have to do that. And don’t think I haven’t realised that you’ve been trying to keep me distracted.” He half smiled at you.

“Ah, you caught me.” You chuckled.

“You’re good at it.” He paused as his eyes drifted from your eyes to your mouth, a fleeting glance, before moving back up to your eyes again. “I’ve worried less in the past hour than I thought I would and that’s thanks to you.”

Your reply is interrupted when the vet emerges from a door and walks over to the two of you. “Yixing?” He asks as he looks down at the young man next to you who is fidgeting as all of his worries flood back into his system.

Without thinking you grab his hand to ground him. He grips back tightly as he responds. “Y-yes. Is?…how?…please,” he stutters out.

The vet crouches down to bring himself to eye level with Yixing. “Hey, calm yourself. Thanks to the lovely young woman next to you your dog is going to be just fine. He has a broken leg that will take time to heal and he had an internal obstruction caused by the accident. I’ve fixed him up and he’ll be able to come home with you in a few days. We have to keep him here for a few nights for observation. He’s a little groggy post-op but you can come and see him if you’d like.”

Yixing exhales a breath you hadn’t realised he was holding. He thanks the vet profusely before standing and turning to see if you were coming as well. You let go of his hand and shook your head lightly. “I think, if it’s ok with you, that I’ll visit Guiying tomorrow. I’m just glad he’s ok.”

“Are you sure? I don’t mind if you come along now.” He started but you stopped him.

“Yixing, it’s sweet of you, really, but I think it’ll be better for you to go see him alone.” You looked over at the vet. “Is it ok if I drop by around 11am tomorrow to visit?” He nodded and told you that as long as Yixing was ok with it then they’d allow it. Yixing was more than happy to oblige you visiting his dog since you were the reason he was even still alive.

You watched as Yixing’s form disappeared behind the door and turned to the vet nurse who was holding a clipboard out to you. “What’s this?” You asked, confused.

“We have a policy that is to wait until after surgery to hand these kinds of forms out. You mentioned a car hit the animal right?” She asked.

“Yes.”

“This form is for you to write down all of the details of the accident that you can recall so that we can send it on to the police. Not common policy, I know, but there is an officer there who follows up the reports we send him.” She hands you the clipboard. “If you just fill them out before you leave, I’d be really grateful.”

You take the clipboard and take a seat, filling out all of the details you can remember. You aren’t sure how this helps, was hitting an animal even illegal? You hated the driver for not stopping but there was no denying that it was an accident. You hummed as you finished filling out the forms, then got up and handed it back to the vet nurse. She thanked you as you turned to take your leave.

“Wait!”

You had reached the door to your car when you heard his voice as he ran out the front door to catch you. He slowed to a jog as he got closer to you, then a purposeful walk. “Yixing? Is something wrong?” You noticed the glistening in is eyes, a clear indicator of tears. Shit. Had something happened? Was Guiying ok?

He didn’t respond, he simply walked straight up to you and enveloped you in an embrace. He held you tightly for what felt like minutes, and you weren’t sure if you should be happy or sad. You had no indication for what this hug was for. When he pulled back you couldn’t wait any longer to get answers. “What happened? Why have you got tears in your eyes? Is he ok? Fuck, he was ok 10 minutes ago, what could have happe-”

You were cut off by Yixing’s finger touching your lips, shushing you. You looked from his hand on your lips up to his face, his expression unreadable. He leant in, pausing at the exact moment before his lips touched yours. Somehow you still had the brains to speak. “What are you-”

“Shut up and kiss me already.”

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