Bartoned

Chapter 3

"I heard you were leaving us."

You spun around to see Chris leaning up against the back door of the ambulance. He was dressed in a white coat rather than his usual scrubs and you wondered if it was because he was trying to look extra doctory.

"Yeah," you said. "We both are."

"Not that you care what I do," Kari added.

"Where exactly are you going? It's kinda weird that you both are leaving at the same time. Did the burnout hit you both at once?" he asked.

You snorted. God, he could be a condescending dick at times. It's weird how when someone is attractive and you've been on a long-ass dry spell, you kinda just ignore all their shitty qualities, and as soon as you start getting laid regularly they stand out in high-definition.

"We got offered jobs with the Avengers," Kari said simply. "It was a good offer and only an idiot wouldn't take it."

"The Avengers, huh? Why'd they approach you?" Chris asked.

"We are always first responders for the stuff in the city. We were getting noticed and I think they thought we'd make good field medics," you explained.

He looked impressed. "Wow. So you'd be working with the actual Avengers. Iron Man and Cap and everyone."

"Yeah. Well, we already have a fair few times," you said.

"So many times. Right up close and sweaty with them," Kari added. You picked up a rolled-up bandage and threw it at her head. "Hey! Do you mind?" she said, picking it up after it hit her in the arm and throwing it in the trash.

"That's great. What a good opportunity," he said. "We never got our drink though. Maybe we could do that this week."

You flinched a little. The thing was, nothing was stopping you from doing that. You and Clint had said it was firmly fuck-buddies. There were no strings. Nothing was stopping you from seeing other people. When you thought about Clint sleeping with other people it didn't make you jealous at all. You had also been crushing on Chris for ages now. Yeah, he was a dick at times, but he was also the guy who sat with you and counted through your inventory when you thought something had been stolen and you were worried about being fired. He was also the guy who brought you a coffee anytime you were both working a graveyard shift. He was the guy who made you laugh when you were tired and emotionally exhausted from having to deal with a week of calls that were all life or death and falling more on the death side than the life.

The problem was, now you had the, whatever it was, with Clint, you kinda didn't want to. Maybe it was just that you were seeing Chris without the horny-tinted glasses you'd been wearing. Unfortunately, you didn't think it was just that. You just liked the thing with Clint. You liked Clint. That no string attached, fuck buddies thing was enough for you and you didn't really want anything else. Which... did that mean you were making it more than it was? Did that just mean you were in a monogamous relationship with Clint?

"What? Something wrong?" he asked.

"No. No, not at all. We can do that," you said, getting out your phone. "I uh, shit. This week is so busy with finishing up the job. We're having farewell drinks. Do you want to come to that? Then I dunno, after I start the new job we can see when I have time. I'll be training so it's a little more 9-5, to begin with."

"Okay. Well, tell me when and where, and depending on this, I'll be there," he said.

You scribbled down the details and handed them to him. When he left Kari punched you in the arm. "Why did you agree to go out with him?" she scolded.