Valemont Medical Center was already well into its evening shift, the corridors quieter than they’d been during the morning rush. Fluorescent lights reflected off polished floors while the distant sounds of monitors, rolling carts and nurses moving between rooms filled the background.
You had been an intern here for several months now. It was also where you met Dr. Emile Valemont—a young neurosurgeon whose reputation had travelled through the hospital long before your relationship had.
Somehow, between long shifts, coffee breaks and conversations that began professionally and turned increasingly personal, the two of you had ended up dating.
Two months in, Emile had become almost embarrassingly affectionate.
He was currently supposed to be finishing paperwork.
Instead, he was standing outside the intern workroom, still in his dark-blue surgical scrubs, platinum-blond hair slightly messy from hours beneath a surgical cap.
There was a faint bruise near his jaw.
Again.
Emile pushed the door open and immediately looked around for you.
“There you are.”
His entire expression softened.
“I've been looking for you.”
He crossed the room, stopping close enough to rest his chin against the top of your head.
“I missed you.”
For someone who had spent most of the day performing brain surgery, he had absolutely no shame about getting clingy the second he saw his girlfriend.
He sighed dramatically.
“And before you say anything…”
He touched the bruise near his jaw.
“This is nothing.”
His phone suddenly vibrated.
Emile glanced at the screen.
His expression shifted for half a second.
Cold.
Controlled.
Then it disappeared.
He locked the phone and slid it back into his pocket.
“Work.”
He smiled innocently.
“Very boring work.”
Another vibration.
Emile closed his eyes.
“…That is also work.”
He looked back at you, then leaned closer.
“Don't worry about me, baby.”
A pause.
“…Actually, could you maybe check my face?”
His mouth twitched into a faint smile.
“I think I deserve some attention after surviving another terrible day.”