Work Text:
The next morning, they agree to have lunch in the cafeteria, in public, "So we'll be forced to behave ourselves," Josh says.
"Good idea," Oliver agrees, hands carefully clenched around his clipboard.
They get their food in silence, stealing occasional glances but otherwise acting relatively normal, in Josh's opinion. Once they're seated, he begins. "So. I think it would be a smart idea if you and I tried to set some ground rules for our interactions in the workplace. "
"Agreed. No kissing, obviously."
Josh shakes his head. "Sorry, that's just not going to work for me."
Oliver's eyebrows shoot up. "No?"
"Obviously, we need to cut way back, but total abstinence? That'll probably go fine right up until it doesn't and--" A nurse walks past their table.
"And...*what*?" Oliver says, sounding halfway between scandalized and intrigued.
Josh whispers. "And one or both of us snaps and we end up getting caught in a supply closet with our pants around our ankles."
"Hmm. I was thinking private bathroom."
"Regardless."
Oliver sits back, tapping his lips with two fingers. "And what, *exactly*, are we doing in that supply closet? Paint a picture for me."
Josh narrows his eyes at Oliver. "No."
"Spoilsport."
"As I was saying, total abstinence at work is an option, but I don't think we should start there."
"What were you thinking?"
"During working hours, on hospital grounds, we get two kisses a day."
Eyebrows again. "Two? That's both generous and specific."
Josh holds up one finger. "One at the beginning of the day, pre-10 A.M. Maximum fifteen seconds."
"Even more specific. I'm intrigued. Explain your reasoning."
"Limiting the duration prevents us from getting carried away. And the deadline encourages us to keep the middle of the day clean. But it doesn't force us to go an entire day without contact."
"What if you have an early surgery?"
"Then we wait for the second window."
Oliver suppresses a smirk and gestures for Josh to continue.
Josh holds up a second finger. "Second window is after six. Behind a locked door. No more than forty-five seconds."
"We get one whole minute of kissing? Slow down there tiger. Maybe I'm not that kind of girl."
"Outside of work, we can have a different set of rules."
"You enjoy following rules, don't you?"
Josh shrugs. "In certain situations I find them useful."
"Everyone finds them useful. Not everyone enjoys compliance."
"I'm not always compliant."
"I imagine you're not. But I also imagine you like to be a good boy. In certain situations."
Josh shifts in his seat. "As I was saying."
"Ah yes. Your rules."
"Our rules. They only work if we both agree. I suggest we try it for seven days, then reconvene this discussion in one week to adjust our strategy as needed."
"You know what? I thought this part of you would be annoying if we ever got together. But for some reason, I find it strangely hot."
"So it's agreed?"
"Mouths only?"
"Excuse me?"
"What if I want to kiss you somewhere besides your mouth?" His gaze drifts down Josh's throat, to his chest, then Oliver leans out a little and looks under the table where one of Josh's legs extends to encroach on Oliver's space without touching him. Oliver shifts his leg and nudges Josh's. He licks his lips and takes his time traveling his gaze back up Josh's body to his mouth, and finally his eyes. "I recognize your mouth now, by the way."
Josh tugs at his suddenly tight collar. "Let's set the parameters at neck up, for now."
"That's not going to work for me. What if I want to kiss your hands?"
"Neck up and wrists down, then."
"Agreed. Shake on it?" Oliver extends his hand across the table.
Josh takes it and they shake. Oliver holds on a moment longer than necessary, pad of his thumb circling once over Josh's opponens pollicis. Josh withdraws his hand and folds it together with its counterpart, fingers interlaced.
Oliver stares at them.
Josh smirks. "You like my hands."
"I really do. I believe that's one of the first things you knew about me, beyond my professional reputation. I bet you have them insured."
"I do, as a matter of fact."
"I'll remember to be gentle with that part of your body, then."
The implication intrigues Josh, but he forges ahead. "Second rule."
"Oh goody."
"Other touching while on hospital grounds."
Oliver props an elbow on the table and rests his chin in his hand. "You've got my attention."
"With the exception of the kissing intervals, we should keep it to a minimum and restrict it to," he ticks off on his fingers, "Small of the back. Shoulders. Anything south of the elbows."
"Including elbows?"
"Yes."
"Antecubital fossa included?"
"No. Too sensitive."
"Noted. What if I want to touch your knee?"
"Let's circle back in a week and see how we handle the initial parameters."
"What if I want to touch your knee with my knee?" Oliver asks, nudging Josh's leg with his own beneath the table.
Josh sits up straight and draws his knees together, out of range. "Only if it's just the two of us in the room, and the case we're discussing is not urgent."
"Sold. And during the kissing intervals? Where am I allowed to put my hands, then?"
"Anywhere you like."
There's a glint in Oliver's eye. "Sold. What about verbal?"
"What about it?"
"You've drawn clear boundaries around what I'm allowed to put in my mouth during business hours. Assuming we're out of earshot, are there any boundaries you'd like to set with regards to what comes out of it?"
Josh frowns. "Do you mean dirty talk?"
"Let's keep that off the table at work for this week. I mean, more, suggestive language."
"You mean are we allowed to flirt?"
"We will flirt. That's a given. But are there any areas of implication that you might find particularly vexing? Ones you'd like me to avoid?"
"I can't think of anything off the top of my head. But we can circle back during our next negotiation."
Oliver nods.
"I assume your mother won't say anything about us."
Oliver bristles. "I don't need my mother's approval."
"I know. I meant, to other people."
"That's a definitive no."
"I assume Carol knows?"
"She probably suspects, but we haven't talked about it yet. She's got a lot going on. But I will tell her, sooner rather than later. Unless she figures it out first."
"My money's on the latter."
"I assume this portion of the conversation pertains to whether and when we make this public more broadly."
"Correct."
"I've got no interest in hiding anything but I'm also in no rush."
"Agreed."
"Plus, sneaking around is kind of hot."
"Agreed." Josh does not have an abundance of confidence that the two of them are going to make it an entire week without breaking one or more of their rules, but you've got to start somewhere.
Oliver reaches across the table and steals a cherry tomato from Josh's salad "Is that it?" he asks before popping it in his mouth.
"Unless you've got any suggestions."
Oliver leans back in his chair and strokes his beard, looking intently at Josh's throat. "Marks?"
"What?"
"Hickeys."
"No! No hickeys. What are you, fourteen?"
"You make me feel like I'm fourteen. Minus the terror of getting my ass kicked if I accidentally look too long."
"You can look at me as much as you like."
Oliver grins, then scrubs at his mouth with his hand, but the smile's still in his eyes. "I'm going to hold you to that, you know."
Why that's the thing that makes Josh's cheeks warm, he couldn't say, but he takes a couple sips of his coffee and looks away at the rest of the bustling cafeteria. When he looks back, Oliver's gaze is fixed on one of Josh's hands. Josh turns it palm up.
Oliver takes the opportunity to reach across the table and touch Josh's wrist with a couple fingertips and then skim them down the center of his palm and along his middle finger.
Josh inhales sharply but keeps his hand where it is.
Oliver's hand lingers, a single finger tip resting on Josh's for a long moment before he sits back and crosses his arms over his chest. "So. To recap. Fifteen seconds of kissing before ten in the morning, forty-five seconds of kissing after six, from the collar up or the wrists down. Unlimited hands."
"I didn't say unlimited."
"Unlimited hands during the kissing. The rest of the day, we have small of the back, shoulders, elbows down, crook of the elbow excluded because you're a delicate snowflake."
"I am not a snowflake. It's just...one of my spots."
"I look forward to meeting the others."
"Likewise."
Oliver's eyes widen and he licks his lips.
"Oh, and no hickeys."
"Right. Because we are big adult men who don't do that. And unlimited verbal, as long as we're in private. You sure about that one?"
"It's a calculated risk, but one I'm willing to take."
"And the kissing. That's an allowance, not a requirement, correct?"
Josh shakes his head. "Incorrect."
Again, with the eyebrows.
"If we have to skip the morning one, those fifteen seconds get added to the one in the evening. But I'd like to keep that second one non-negotiable for now, barring extreme circumstances."
"In the case of those circumstances, do the forty-five seconds roll over?"
"Yes. But only for the evening kiss."
"Sold. What about outside of work?"
"I think that's best discussed when we're outside of work. For this week, at least."
"We could play it by ear."
"I'm not opposed."
"So your need for rules--"
"I don't have a *need* for rules."
"Your desire for rules, then. That doesn't extend to the bedroom?"
"We can discuss that outside of work."
"Mm-hmm." Oliver bites at a thumbnail. "We can do this. Piece of cake."
"What are you doing tomorrow night?"
"Cooking you dinner at my place, hopefully?"
Josh folds his hands together on the table and leans forward. "Are you asking me out, Dr. Wolf?"
"I'm asking you in. Do you have any dietary requirements I should know about?"
"Not a fan of cilantro. Or raw tomatoes. Mild shellfish allergy but nothing a Benedryl can't fix. Otherwise, anything goes."
Oliver plucks the second of the cherry tomatoes from Josh's salad and pops it in his mouth. "Sounds like a plan."
"If I didn't have an early surgery tomorrow, I'd want to see you tonight."
"Well, we do have those forty-five seconds after six."
"Sixty. We didn't kiss this morning."
"It's a date," Oliver tells him before he rises with his tray. "Good talk, Dr. Nichols."
Josh watches Oliver all the way until he exits the cafeteria. As his gaze returns to the salad before him, it snags on all four of Wolf's interns holding up the line as they stare at him with various levels of open-mouthed surprise.
He gives them a polite nod and skewers a chunk of salmon before popping it in his mouth and trying to chew around his smile.