Lovesick: A DungeonMeshi ModernAU Fic

Chapter One: Onset

Marcille Donato strides through the side doors of Melini Memorial Hospital, her long blonde hair pulled back into a bun and secured with a bright red ribbon, her sole personal item and pop of color above the stark white of her coat and black of her turtleneck. She waves in greeting to two passing doctors as she walks up to her office. They both respectfully nod as they pass.

I'm such a professional, so cool. She thinks to herself, a small, confident smile spreads across her face and she feels a swell of pride in her chest as she opens the door...

Finding a familiar short, but awkwardly lanky man going through her files. A 5 o'clock shadow dusts his chin under a slightly agape mouth and tired, deep-set dark eyes. "Oh, hey Marcille. Close the door."

Marcille's face screws up into a scowl. "Tims, for the last time, it's Doctor Donato. You're not supposed to be here, this is my office." She crosses her arms and surveys the damage. He has one of her filing bins out, and two growing piles of file folders sit on her modest gray desk.

Chilchuck Tims, hospital orderly, looks at her with an eye roll. "C'mon. I know you got the new residents' files. You know me, I need to prescreen them." He lifts a folder and glances at the inside, "Narc," he says before tossing the file onto Marcille's desk. Tims glances up at Dr. Donato, who is absolutely fuming.

He waves a hand, "This is better for everyone, I get to do a vibe check on the newbies, that way I don't reveal any of my... problematic extracurriculars. Besides, it's not like you've had time to look through 'em anyway."

He smirks as he thumbs through another file, muttering to himself as he flips to the personal essay. "Chill." He nods and puts it on the other pile, before going back for the next.

"Tims, this is highly inappropriate." She sighs as she walks into her office and sits in her chair next to the rummaging man, setting her bag on the ground as she rubs the bridge of her nose. "Why do you always pick ME as an accomplice?"

The orderly grins, "Uh... You're the coolest director...?"

"More like the only one who doesn't report your unprofessionalism," she mutters as another file slides across her desk.

"Hence why I called you the coolest!" He flips through another folder.

"Chilch-" She freezes just as she hears the man mutter, "Another narc..."

Marcille is looking at the now-fallen open file on her desk. A woman in shaggy, dirty-blonde hair smiles up at her from a university ID picture paper-clipped to a transcript and notes from an interview. Marcille's heart pounds as she pulls the file towards her. She flips through the pages to the assignment and her blood runs cold. Chilchuck leans over her, "Did you see? She's from the same country as that foreign medical school you went to. What are the odds? You know her?" In the corner of Marcille's eye, she sees Chilchuck smirk.

Marcille's upper lip trembles unconsciously as she turns away from his peering eyes, "Ah... yes, I mean- I didn't know-"

Tims grins wickedly, "Now she's a resident directly under you... now, that's unprofessional." He taunts, "Looks like I might have to report this to Patta-" His sarcastic remark is cut short as Marcille stands up suddenly and rushes out of the room. "Hey! C'mon! I was just kidding." He rolls his eyes again and glances down at the picture of the woman.

"Definitely a narc..." He mutters, closing the lid to the bin before walking out into the busy hospital hallway as the door closes behind him.

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A mirror fogs in a cluttered bathroom. Three toothbrushes crowd in a cup on the sink, surrounded by various basic personal care items. A dry towel draped by the steaming shower hangs over two soaked and crumpled towels on the damp floor. The shower stops as the curtain is gently pulled back and an arm snakes out, grabbing hold of the hanging towel, and pulling it in, before that same woman in the picture with light blonde hair steps out, wrapping the towel around her. She's in a hurry, and nearly slips as she scoots unsteadily across the soaked floor to the door.