concordia

seventeen

word count: 497

date written: 13.6.19

verse: alt-canon; scene rewrite

-

"are you alright?" elle asked when connie didn't immediately get to her feet, still kneeling on the concrete. she'd expected her to be one of the first out, hot on her patient's heels, but she'd barely moved. connie looked up, shooting her a glare before she fumbled with her jacket, struggling to gather it into her arms along with everything else. "here, let me help you." elle stepped forward as she finally got to her feet, reaching out to take something from her. 

"it's fine, i can manage," connie muttered, blowing hair out of her eyes as she brushed past her. elle frowned, watching as she crossed the room. not that it was much of one anymore. 

"why are you being like this?" she asked, and connie instantly turned around to face her again. her expression was unreadable but not, for once, because it was blank. instead, her face was a myriad of emotions, displaying an unusual mix of concern, outrage and hurt. 

"what are you even doing here, elle?" she snapped, gesturing to the dilapidated building they were currently in. "running away from the ED like this?" she wasn't any better. she'd assigned elle to cubicles specifically to avoid seeing her all day and yet, as soon as she'd heard elle had left with the paramedics, she'd gone running after her like a lost puppy -- even against protocol. 

"i wasn't running away!" elle protested, stepping closer. despite her best efforts, she couldn't help feeling frustrated. they'd gone from a one night stand to a casual fling in only a few short weeks but the second it had started to turn into something more, connie had shut her out and pushed her away without warning. "i was taking a step back just like you asked me to." 

connie faltered, falling silent. she knew elle was right. she was the one who'd insisted they stop seeing each other. who'd claimed that she needed space and was no longer interested. in reality, she'd just been so scared of commitment and the possibility of forever that she'd defaulted to cutting elle off altogether. 

for a moment, they simply stared at each other, and when connie didn't respond, elle shook her head in disbelief. "what? do you really think i wouldn't rather be with you than out here?" she asked quietly. this wasn't running away, it was a distraction. the thrill and the danger and the unadulterated risk of it all was what kept her from thinking about where everything had gone wrong between them. 

she wasn't sure which of them leaned in first, when the silence became so thick that nothing could've touched them. elle edged forward, and connie tilted her head to meet her as the gap between them slowly closed. for a blissful fraction of time, they were all that existed, oblivious to anything beyond each other, and the last thing elle felt before the floor abruptly gave out beneath their feet was connie's breath against her lips.