Chapter Text
On an idyllic windy autumn day, you walked down the street a short distance from Zayne's residence. In your hand were several boxes you got from a nearby bakery that had just opened recently—a curated selection you were excited to share with the sweet-toothed doctor.
Mere minutes later, you were standing in front of Dr. Zayne's door. With one hand carrying the pastries, you used the biometric scanner with your other hand to enter. Dr. Zayne had insisted on adding you to the database a while back, with a long-prepared speech on how it is important to have at least one more person as backup in case of emergency. When lightly pushed, he admitted it would also be nice to have for convenience.
You confidently strutted into his residence with a wide smile, and called out to Zayne. "Zayne! Are you home?" You carefully set down your pastries. "I managed to snag some limited-edition macaron flavors from this new bake—"
When you looked at Zayne's desk, you were met with a pair of intense eyes under a pair of round frames. Except, they belonged to a young girl—no older than ten—tapping away at a laptop with all the zeal of a pre-med student. Her long, straight jet-black hair was neatly tied into a high ponytail. You were momentarily stunned.
Crap! Dr. Zayne has been turned into a little girl! You shook your head to dislodge the silly thought out of your brain. No, there must be a more… mundane explanation as to what this child was doing sitting at Dr. Zayne's desk.
"Hi there," you cooed.
"Hello. I'm Sophie, nice to meet you," the young girl replied with all the professionalism of a working adult.
"Um… Hi Sophie," you replied. "Do you know where Dr. Zayne is?"
As if on cue, Dr. Zayne walked out of his bedroom—to your relief, that is. You still weren't fully convinced some Metaflux anomaly hadn't turned him into a young girl until you saw him with your own eyes.
"Dr. Zayne!" you exclaimed. "Did you manage to adopt a child while I was away? She looks just like you."
"Don't be ridiculous," he huffed in an exasperated tone. "A certain scatterbrained doctor managed to book a date with a certain hunter, forgetting he already promised to watch his sister on that day."
"This is Dr. Greyson's sister?!"
"Yes," he replied, matter-of-factly. "He called and asked me to watch her for a few hours. Practically begging, might I add. Said I was 'his last resort.'"
"And you said yes?"
"I don't see why not. I only have two reports to finish today." He placed his papers on the coffee table. "Plus, I have experience. I'm used to dealing with the child patients from the pediatrics division."
"I see. Would you like me to help, Dr. Zayne?"
"Respectfully," the young girl's calm voice interrupted. "I don't need two adults supervising me. One is more than enough." She shook her head. "I even told Greyson I'd be perfectly fine alone for a few hours, I have homework to do—yet he insisted on making frantic calls to several people and embarrassing himself."
A nervous chuckle escaped from you. You were somehow left feeling lectured by a child. Dr. Zayne rubbed his temples.
"Of course, you're more than welcome to stay. But as you can see, this young lady is very self-sufficient."
Several minutes later, you were done rearranging the kitchen counters and finding a spot for all the things you brought. You turned around to a clear view of the rest of the house from the open plan kitchen, and couldn't help but be mesmerized by the scene before you.
Having had his desk stolen from him by a little girl, Dr. Zayne was writing his report nearby on the couch instead. Dr. Zayne always had this extra serious look on his face when working on reports. His eyes focused intently, and his brows furrowed—yet you couldn't help but giggle. A small distance away, his demeanor was juxtaposed by Sophie having the same serious look on her tiny face. You could've sworn you saw them adjust their glasses in perfect unison. It made Zayne's expression appear cuter in turn—you remembered him as a child with that same vigor for homework as her.
"Zayne, I'm going to make some tea. Would you like some?" you asked.
"Yes please, milk tea with full sugar."
This exchange seemed to have caught Sophie's attention. She got up from Zayne's desk to approach you in the kitchen.
"Miss, can I have milk tea with full sugar too?"
"No," you heard Zayne say from the living room. "You have to watch your sugar intake."
"But Dr. Zayne, you're also drinking full sugar," Sophie argued.
"Doesn't Dr. Greyson ever tell you that you should listen to your doctors?"
"He said I can have extra sugar on special occasions. I believe this counts."
Zayne exhaled as if annoyed, but he couldn't hide the smile tugging at his lips. He motioned with his head to you, and you understood. You added one extra spoonful of sugar to Sophie's tea.
"Do your teachers ever call you argumentative, Sophie?" asked Dr. Zayne. You could hear the smile in his voice.
"Yes, why?" Sophie said as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
You handed Sophie her tea, to which she gave a polite thank you.
"…You just remind me of someone."
An hour later, and everyone had settled into their routine. You were sat next to Zayne reading a book while he finished writing his reports. Sophie was as focused on her schoolwork as ever.
How does a child even have this much homework? The thought crossed your mind.
"Sooo… what are you working on, Sophie?" you broke the silence.
"Algebra."
"Algebra?! I thought you must have been in 5th grade at most!"
"I am." Her tone carried the faintest hint of obviously. "I take 5 extracurricular courses."
You could only blink at her. When suddenly, Zayne closed his laptop and got up from his seat.
"I think we both could use a break," Dr. Zayne addressed Sophie. "How about we head to the park nearby for a breather? They have a lovely pair of swings appropriate for your age."
"But I'm not done with my work yet."
"It's only the beginning of the weekend," he replied. "You'll have time to finish it tomorrow."
Sophie looked like she was seriously mulling it over. The mental calculus was written all over her face. Seeing this, Zayne decided to nudge her a little further.
"Your dedication is admirable, Sophie, but you must remember to focus your efforts on things other than academic work as well for a healthy balance." He leaned down and spoke in a gentler voice. "Besides, it's a special occasion. You said it yourself."
Finally, Sophie made up her mind. She nodded at Zayne. He straightened up with a job-well-done smile on his face.
"Then let's go."
Surrounded by crisp autumn leaves, you sat next to Zayne on a park bench and watched Sophie slowly get out from her quiet shell—going from lazy swinging to being coaxed by other kids to hang out with them on the playground. She even cracked a big childlike smile at some boy's antics.
You placed your hand over Zayne's and squeezed it. He looked ahead with a gentle tenderness in his eyes—the kind he got when he had been reminiscing.
Moments later, he glanced at his phone. "Dr. Greyson just texted me. I told him to meet us here—he shouldn't take long." You hummed in agreement.
"You know, it's a nice thing you did," you said. "I'm sure you would have liked to have someone make you take breaks when you were a child."
"If I recall correctly, I once spent a whole year being constantly hounded into tagging along for some misadventure or another with two troublemakers."
You flashed a grin at him, the kind you used to make when you dragged him into mischief. "It wasn't so bad, was it?"
He chuckled. "No, it wasn't."
You leaned your head against his shoulder, and took in the calm atmosphere. It was nice, this quiet bubble punctuated only by the sound of laughing children a short distance away.
"Do you ever want children, Dr. Zayne?"
The question clearly took him by surprise. His shoulder stiffened against you. You moved your head to look at his face, only to meet with his anxious eyes.
"I've thought about it," he said, his voice slightly shaky, yet full of tenderness. "I'll be honest, the idea of caring for a child still terrifies me."
He placed his hand in yours this time, and intertwined his fingers with yours.
"At the hospital, I watched many children's parents stricken with grief. I watched children cry out for their parents knowing they'll never return." He closed his eyes and sighed; the memories were surely too painful for him. "There are so many things I have no control over, and if anything were to happen…"
You squeezed his hand once more. He used his other palm to pat your clasped hands. You couldn't help but trace his scars with your eyes.
"However, it doesn't feel quite as scary when you're around."
"Dr. Zayne!" Your tender moment was interrupted by the sound of Dr. Greyson calling out. You got up from your seat along with Zayne in order to see Dr. Greyson and his sister off.
"Ah, miss hunter! Y-you're here too!" Dr. Greyson stuttered. He held Sophie's hand, who was back to her usual stoic self. "Once again I'm very sorry for springing this on you on such short notice, I hope I didn't ruin any of your plans. Heh."
"Don't be, it was a very enjoyable experience. Sophie is very bright and well behaved." Zayne gave Sophie a subtle smile, to which she nodded as if agreeing with what he said.
"That's a relief, haha." Dr. Greyson ruffled his sister's hair, she didn't react. "Sooo, if I ever need someone to watch her again…"
"Don't push your luck."