Archive of Our Own ^beta

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“Are you okay babe?”

Frenchie looked up at his roommate John, who was staring at him with a worried look on his face.

“Hm?”

“I asked you if you were okay. You seem a bit nervous.”

“Oh. I guess I am. Maybe.”

“Is it because of this afternoon?”

Frenchie sighed. He had to get an annual dental checkup, and was lucky enough to have a dentist as a best friend.

“Everything’s gonna be okay, mate. Just like we talked about, yeah? We’ll go at your pace, nothing scary is gonna happen.”

“I know.”

John gently hugged Frenchie’s back.

“What do you want to do this morning? You’re in charge, whatever you choose will be okay with me.”

“Can we- just stay and watch a show?”

“Of course babe.”

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They arrived at the dental office a little early. The antiseptic scent nearly triggered Frenchie’s fight or flight response, but Wee John’s comforting but firm hand was resting on his shoulder, and he knew he wasn’t gonna get away with it.

“It’s gonna be okay, babe. Come with me.”

He was guided in John’s office. Since he usually worked with children, it was covered in colorful drawings. It was nice. Not nice enough to ease Frenchie's anxiety though...

“Get yourself comfortable. We have all the time we need.”

Frenchie procrastinated having to sit in the chair by glazing at the decoration. There was a shelf in particular that was full of stuffed animals.

“You like them?”

“...What are they for?”

“I let my little patients pick one to hug if they’re nervous.”

“Oh…”

John smiled, and looked at Frenchie.

“They’re great to help bigger patients too, sometimes.”

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Frenchie was sitting on the chair, his heart beating as fast as possible while he hugged a chiffon doll in his arms. Emily, that was her name according to John.

“Okay mate, you ready?”

“I don’t know…”

“Look, I just have a mirror and an explorer. Nothing that makes noise, nothing that hurts.”

“Nothing that hurts…”

“Can you open really big for me?”

He obeyed, still anxious.

“Good job. I’m gonna look around now, I might scrape a little big but it shouldn’t hurt. Raise your hand if you feel uncomfortable or need a break.”

As Wee John scraped around his mouth, Frenchie couldn’t stop praying that he brushed well enough. What if John found Frenchie disgusting? He was a dentist after all, why would he want to be friend with a loser with gross teeth-

“Babe? I can hear you thinking. You’re okay, I’m just looking remember?”

You can’t hear people thinking, thought Frenchie. That’s like, the whole point.

But with fingers in his mouth, all he could answer was a nod.

“Very good. Just a little bit longer. Do you want me to talk during it?”

Frenchie nodded a little bit.

“Alright. Right now, I’m looking at each teeth to check if everything looks healthy. I’m using the little hook to scrape away plaque between your teeth. It’s not really comfortable, but it shouldn’t hurt so raise your hand if it does.”

It shouldn’t hurt. Shouldn’t. It’s fine. It’s gonna be fine. Wee John was his friend, he won’t hurt him, it’s gonna be fine-

“I can see a little black spot on this tooth over here. Does it feel sensitive?”

“…wha’…?”

“When you drink something hot or cold, does it feel-“

Frenchie pushed John’s hand out of his mouth, panicked.

“Babe, it’s okay-“

“What is okay??”

“You do have a small cavity, babe.”

Frenchie’s eyes were getting watery. This couldn’t be happening-

“No- no, no, I don’t. No, no, no-“

“Frenchie-“

He squeezed Emily in his arms, as he hid his face in his knees. Crying in a fœtal position in a dental chair. That was quite embarrassing.

“Can you look at me, babe?”

A hand gently caressed his back. He obeyed, hesitantly. John was looking at him apologetically.

“I’m sorry. I know that’s not what you wanted to hear.”

“I promise I do take care of my teeth…”

“I know, it’s okay. If it makes you feel better, it’s a really small cavity. I could probably take care of it in less than twenty minutes.”

“It’s gonna hurt…”

“No, it’s gonna be fine. I’m pretty sure the decay is only in the enamel. You’ll be okay. I don’t even think you’ll need numbing, but I can still give you some if it makes you less anxious.”

Frenchie took a few minutes to breathe, and leaned into John’s embrace.

“What do you think, babe? I won’t make you do anything. I’m just saying that if we do this today, we’ll be done super quickly and then you won’t have to worry until your next checkup. But if you need more time to prepare mentally, we can schedule another appointment. It’s up to you. Take your time.”

Frenchie hesitated.

“… it’ll be quick…?”

“Yes, fifteen to twenty minutes and it’ll be over.”

“And it won’t hurt?”

“It won’t. But if it does, I’ll stop.”

“… o-okay. I- I think… we can do it today.”

John smiled warmly at him.

“Thank you for trusting me babe. Everything will be fine, I promise.”

“Can- can we put on some music during…?”

“Of course. Connect your phone to the Bluetooth speakers and put whatever you want, love.”

Frenchie scrolled through his playlist, his heart beating super fast. He felt ridiculous. Wee John takes care of children everyday, and he’s pretty sure most of them don’t break down over one small cavity.

And there he was, a grown man, acting like the world was ending.

He decided to put the In the Heights soundtrack, hoping a musical would help to distract him.

John prepared his tools, while humming softly along the songs. Frenchie loved John's voice.

Actually, he loved a lot of things about John.

He loved how creative he was. He loved his fashion. He loved how careful he was when he puts eyeliner on Frenchie. He loved how he always said what he thought.

John was the safest presence to ever enter Frenchie's life. Maybe it was a sign or something, that he chosed to become a dentist when Frenchie was terrified of them.

“What do you think, roomie? You wanna try with or without the numbing shot?”

Oh, right. The cavity thing. Great.

“... without.”

“Okay, no problem. Just raise your hand if you change your mind.”

“Are we... starting now...?”

“Only if you're ready. I'm in no rush.”

“I... I think it's okay.”

“Do you need anything before we start? Your headphones, sunglasses?”

“I'll grab my headphones, yeah.”

With Emily still securely tucked in his arms and his noise reducing headphones on his head, Frenchie was ready to confront the dreaded drill.

“Open wide, love.”

Frenchie obeyed. Wee John said this will be quick and painless. He needed to believe him. John never lied to him. But it was still hard to stop the anxious thoughts...

“I'm gonna start now, it's gonna be loud. Raise your hand if it's sensitive, okay?”

Jesus, the drilling sound was awful. Probably the worst sound in the world. Deep breath in, Frenchie.

“You're doing okay so far? I know it's not comfortable, I'm sorry.”

Frenchie gave John a thumb up.

Yes, the noise sucked, but his headphones made it bearable. And it didn't even hu-

“Ah!”

As quickly as Frenchie raised his hand, John immediately stopped.

“Did that hurt?”

“Just- just a little bit, yeah... it scared me, sorry-”

“It's fine, you can ask to pause anytime. Do you want to try with the numbing shot now?”

“... Yeah, I think I'd like that...”

“Okay, no problem at all. Let me grab some.”

Frenchie tried not to look as John filled the syringe. He was usually fine with shots, but in his mouth was another story.

“Okay. Close your eyes, and open your mouth.”

He obeyed. His hands were sweaty and his heart was pounding...

“Focus on your breathing. There you go...”

Frenchie barely felt the needle. Only pressure, and a weird sensation in his gum.

“Aaand there we go, we're gone.”

“Wow, that's it...?? How did you do that...?”

“I told you man, I'm not gonna hurt you.”

Frenchie blushed. What the hell...

“Let me know when you start getting numb, alright?”

After a minute, Frenchie was ready to keep going.

The drilling started again. The awful sound became background noise, as he focused on John's eyes instead. Even with half of his face covered by his face mask, he was still the prettiest man Frenchie has ever seen. Wait, was it weird to keep eye contact? Should he keep his eyes closed instead? Both felt too dramatic for some reason.

“Still doing alright?”

Frenchie hummed.

“I'm almost done. You're doing so, so well. Just another minute...”

It was kinda intimate, wasn't it? John's hands in his mouth, the way he praised him... in another context, that would definetely make Frenchie blush.

“Aaand... here we go! The worst part is done.”

“...Huh?”

“I'm done with the drill, buddy. Do you want a break before the filling?”

Words started to come out of Frenchie's mouth without his autorisation.

“... I think I'm in love with you, man.”

John looked at him in silence for a few seconds. Fuck, thought Frenchie, fuck fuck...

Then John laughed.

“I've never had anyone telling me that after I've worked on their teeth. What the fuck?”

Frenchie blushed, and couldn't look Wee John in the eyes.

“I- sorry, it was dumb. Forget I've said that. It was the aneasthesia talking. I'm...”

“Calm down, love. It's alright.”

“...Is it?”

“I think I love you too, babe.”

“... What?? Wait... really?”

“Of course. You're my favorite person, man. I've never felt more safe than I do with you. You're nice, and funny, and so stupidly handsome.”

Frenchie was at a loss for words. What was happening? Did he fainted, was it all a fever dream induced by his anxiety?

“Let's finish this filling, get this over with. Then I'll take you on a proper date, because you've been super brave. What do you think?”

He nodded, before opening his mouth.

Maybe going to the dentist wasn't such a bad thing after all...

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