concordia

thirty four

word count: 1.6k

date written: 25.6.20

verse: medical secrets au

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elle exhaled in relief as the front door closed behind her, glad to finally be home after the shift she'd had. an office fire had seen her rushed off her feet for hours on end, and, in hindsight, it was a miracle that she'd ever managed to get away for her lunch break. she groaned, rubbing the back of her neck as she shrugged off her handbag and dumped it on the chest of drawers stood opposite the door. the idea of turning in early to catch up on some well-needed sleep was tempting, and she would've done exactly that had there not been something much more pressing (albeit unpleasant) to be dealt with instead. 

elle sighed, stepping out of her shoes before approaching the lounge and peering inside. she immediately smiled when she discovered claire sat beside the coffee table, crayon in hand as she scribbled away on a piece of paper. most days, she'd come running to greet her at the door, but she seemed too distracted to have even heard her come home. after what elle had learned that afternoon, she wasn't all too surprised. 

"hey, carrot cake," she said, wandering over to join claire at the table and kneeling down beside her. 

"hello," claire mumbled quietly, automatically leaning into elle's touch when she briefly pulled her close to press a kiss against her head. she swapped the crayon in her hand for another, this time dark purple, before continuing with her drawing, and elle watched her as she colored in part of the smallest figure on the page. 

"is this what you told me about at lunch?" she asked after a beat of silence, gesturing to the image. claire nodded, pointing at the stick-man on the right, surrounded by angry, jagged red lines. 

"mean man," she confirmed, retrieving the blue crayon and using it to outline the scene with a wonky border. 

"did you see him again today?" elle said, eyeing the drawing with a faint look of worry as she absently ran her fingers through claire's curls. much to her relief, claire shook her head.

"no," she revealed, setting her crayon down. "only mr. stretchan." 

elle rolled her eyes in annoyance, unsurprised. "and what did he want?" she sighed, resting her elbow on the edge of the table. he was always buzzing around connie like a persistent fly, and they both knew exactly why. claire shuffled around to face her, finally wearing a smile.

"a kissy," she giggled, puckering her little lips and advancing on elle as she made exaggerated kissing noises. "kissy, kissy, mama." elle snorted in amusement, pretending to fend claire off as she climbed onto her before ultimately laying on the floor in defeat. claire immediately leaned forward to press a kiss to the bridge of elle's nose with a loud 'mwah' and continued to do the same all over her face until she was suddenly lifted into the air when elle sat up again. 

"alright, my turn," she announced mischievously, lowering claire into her lap and giving her a taste of her own medicine. she started squealing right on cue, wriggling fiercely in elle's arms as she peppered her face with the same theatrical kisses. elle released her moments later with a bright grin, stifling a laugh when claire stuck her tongue out in retaliation before turning back to the table. 

"hey, i have an idea," elle said, reaching out to grab a blank piece of paper. "why don't you draw lunchtime for me?" claire's eyes instantly lit up at the suggestion, and she excitedly reached for her crayons, unfazed when elle took away the previous unsettling drawing. she smiled, reaching out to gently ruffle claire's curls as she started scribbling away once again. "good girl." elle reluctantly got to her feet, carelessly folding the drawing she was holding in half. "i'll come see how you're getting on in a little bit, alright?"