Storge is the Greek word for natural affection—In social psychology, it is the form of love between friends. — Storge

"Luhan, please stop talking about this,” Yixing frantically scans the busy area, making sure the words Luhan said are left unheard by certain ears.

"Why? Afraid she’ll hear?" he scoffs with a wave of his hand. "Doubt it. Though, I really should check her hearing. Tell her to make an appointment with me down at the clinic."

Yixing groans into his hands and rubs his face from his friend’s incessant nagging. “She’s not the one with the hearing problem. You. You are the one with the hearing problem and it’s sad because you’re the head of the otolaryngology department.”

"I do not have a hearing problem."

"Yes, you do."

"Do not."

"Are we seriously going to do this—right now—at work?" Yixing tries to finish up the medical release form for a patient that had cataract surgery but with Luhan looming over his shoulder, it is difficult to concentrate. Luhan is like a voice inside Yixing’s head that won’t stop even if he begged on his knees. It probably doesn’t help that Yixing has known Luhan since undergraduate days when they would try to keep each other awake in Anatomy class by slapping each other across the face. Yixing massages his jaw unknowingly thinking back to those painful nights before finals.

"I can do this all day," Luhan says and leans over the counter. The other nurses at the service desk look at him and shake their head amusingly. He winks at them with a childish smile. He’s a tease and the nurses fall for it every time.

"Quiet. Don’t you dare say a word to her about this," Yixing peers up and catches your eyes. He raises his hand, greeting you as you follow Luhan’s actions and lean tiredly onto the counter. "Late night?" Yixing asks and gives the release form to the head nurse to enter into the hospital’s data records.

"You have no idea how comfortable this counter is right now," you muse and wish you can get some sleep before the next surgery. Although, seeing Yixing’s lively face and persona definitely gives you the strength to keep working even if it is putting you on the edge of collapsing. "Chen had me up all night with back to back liver transplants and then he wants me to biopsy the diseased liver and write a 15-page report on it by the end of tonight. I tell ya, he’s trying to weed out the weak."

Chen is one of the attending physicians that you had the horrible luck of being placed under supervision for residency. You knew that it would be difficult but didn’t think that you would forget the meaning of sleep. When was the last time you closed your eyes for more than an hour? Yesterday or was it the day before? Your life is dictated by the surgery schedule board. It is so chaotic that you don’t even know if it’s day or night outside.

Yixing is another attending physician but his specialty is ophthalmology. As much as you love your eye sight and love seeing the world in its vivid colors, your calling wasn’t under the same specialty. But with his gentle kindness, bright and innocent personality, you are considering the change. He will probably let you sleep for 1.5 hours rather than the measly 45 minute break that you get from Chen. 

Your eyesight is most likely deteriorating because of Chen. “Hey Yixing—I hate to cash in on being friends with an ophthalmologist perk,” you start and can feel your cheeks turning rosy in hue from asking a favor. “But can you check my eyes later today or night? They seem to be getting really dry during surgery. Honestly, what time is it?”

Yixing feels a nudge from Luhan jab into his stomach but you’re too exhausted to notice. You’re thinking about that 15-page paper on a diseased liver that needs to be completed and seriously need to find out the time so that it won’t be late. Yixing nods his head and looks at his watch. Luckily, he doesn’t have any patients for the rest of the day. “Page me when you’re done with Chen’s assignment. I don’t have any appointments left today.” 

"Thanks, Yixing." You reply and push yourself off the counter before falling asleep on it. "I need to go write that paper. The liver isn’t going to biopsy itself." You wave bye to Yixing and Luhan but return a few moments later when you are reminded that you forgot to tell Luhan something. "And Luhan—I do not have a hearing problem.” You disappear into the lab, leaving Luhan and particularly Yixing speechless.

"Crap. Do you think she heard what we were talking about earlier?" Yixing asks in a flustered fit. He looks from the door you disappeared behind to Luhan and then back to the door.

"Talk about what?" 

If they weren’t at work, Yixing would have definitely smacked Luhan across the face. “Do you think she heard you talking about how I like her?”

"Yixing, the entire hospital knows how smitten you are with her. It wouldn’t matter if she heard or not. The moment she was introduced as an intern—man. You should have seen your face. No one has ever seen a smile so wide on a person before. She would have to be blind not to have seen that."

"Didn’t I tell you to stop saying those kinds of things?" Yixing closes his eyes and tries to think of happier thoughts, which is you—so that doesn’t help much. This was not how he planned on confessing his feelings—not that he ever planned to. It wouldn’t be appropriate. You have enough on your plate with crazy Chen as attending physician and lack of sleep. Yixing does not want to burden you more with feelings that should be left unsaid for the time being.

"Stop implying that I have hearing problems. I don’t. Are you going to keep on being friends with her? And technically, you are the root of her troubles—with being under Chen and all."

Yixing his head, “What? How am I responsible?”

"Chief of Staff—Suho. He can read people like a book. He saw your face and knew that it would be unwise to staff her under you so she was placed under Chen. He feared that you would give her a passing grade because you like her."

"Crap."

"Yeah, crap. So—can you tell her already? It’s really tiring seeing two people that like each other hide behind this wall that is called 'friends'. You know your intern—Sehun? He’s been going after her.”

"Stop—wait. What?" If Yixing wasn’t serious about smacking Luhan before, he is definitely serious now. "Why are you only telling me this now? Where have you been hiding this information?"

Luhan jokingly hits Yixing’s arms, finding that toying with Yixing’s mind is easier than he had originally thought. “Hey—you’re the one that keeps on telling me to quit talking about her. Why do you think I flirt with the nurses? To get information for you, of course. And answering your other question. Sehun—the kid with the rainbow hair. How are you the leading expert in ophthalmology? You can’t even see another guy being interested in your girl?”

"She’s not my girl, Luhan.”

"Not yet she isn’t. Figure it out, Yixing. Head nurse over here says that Sehun’s planning on letting her know about how he feels when his shift ends tonight. I suggest you do something about it before you can’t do anything about it,” Luhan advises and pats his friend on the back. Of course, Yixing doesn’t have to know that the whole Sehun back story is a lie and that Sehun already has a girlfriend. It’s irrelevant information that doesn’t need to be mentioned for the greater good.

"Crap."

"Crap, indeed."

Yixing paces around his office in a bundle of nerves. He hasn’t ever been in a room alone with you before because he avoided such situations, fearing that it would make you uncomfortable. Usually, the two of you meet in the lunch room or in passing when he gives you words of encouragement. Heavens knows you need it being under the supervision of crazy Chen.

You, on the other hand, are learning to suppress your affections for Yixing, concentrating on your studies and work. It was hard in the beginning trying not to fall even more for Yixing but his endearing smile, the gentleness with his work, the vastness of his intellect and the way that he makes you feel that you can talk to him for hours made it all too difficult to ignore. You know that no one is perfect but Yixing pushes that limit and you are maybe regretting asking for his counseling about your eyes. Maybe you could’ve asked Sehun instead. He needs to brush up on his patient doctor interactions anyway. As you’re about to knock on Yixing’s door, it flies open and you are greeted with Yixing’s luminescent smile that makes you think you’re going to need to get your heart checked after this. 

"Thanks again, Yixing. I know you must be busy and all," you walk through the door as he guides you to the patient seat. You’re not used to sitting so close to him and find that you can hear every subtle breath that he takes.

"You really don’t have to thank me. It’s what being a doctor is about, right? Helping others?" He sends you to the moon with his widespread grin and you have to stop yourself from staring. "So—the dryness. Does it happen often?"

"It only started this week. I’m thinking it’s because of the late nights, early mornings and staring at the computer writing up those reports that are causing it. Though, I don’t want to self-diagnose and think that I’m losing my eyesight to glaucoma."

He laughs and opens your patient folder. “You’re a bit too young to be diagnosed with glaucoma but I’ll check just in case.” He gives you a little wink and you are fully aware that you should be regretting asking for his help. This is not good for your heart or your mind. He must have so many women in the hospital fawning over him and you do not want to be added into that club. You want to be seen as a capable woman, head strong, career driven before letting your feelings known. You do not want to be seen as a lovelorn intern wanting to bathe in the depths of Yixing’s affections. Not yet at least.

After a couple minutes of intense lack of space and trying not to look directly into Yixing’s eyes because you know that will be deep trouble, you finally have a chance to breathe. “It’s nothing too serious. Take breaks while you’re on the computer. Stare at something far away and pin your eyesight to it for around 20 seconds. It should ease up your tired eyes and allow them to take a break. I’ll prescribe some eye drops that you can use in the morning. Other than that—no glaucoma. You are safe for now,” he teases before handing you a card to read. “Last test—read the paragraph for me.”

You clear your throat and look at the card that Yixing gave you. When you don’t say anything, he asks if you’re alright. ”Is your vision blurry?” he levels his eyesight with yours and you’re wondering what you should do next. The card is a bit unusual and you’re unsure if Yixing meant to give you this particular card to read.

"It’s not exactly—blurry,” you reply hesitantly. 

He goes back to writing in your file, “It’s just to check if your reading vision is okay.”

You hold up the card at reading distance and go for it, knowing that this might change the course of your relationship with Yixing from this moment forward. “Yixing is being an idiot but he really likes you so can you tell him that you like him too so I don’t have to keep pestering him about it? I feel like he will slap me if I keep mentioning your name.”

Yixing’s pen drops from his hands onto the table and you sit in the patient chair quietly, unsure what words to speak. It doesn’t take a medical degree to figure out that the card is from Luhan but you lower the card down to your lap. “You like me?” your voice breaks Yixing’s daze-like state.

He’s avoiding eye contact with you and lets out a round of fake coughs. “That must be the wrong card. Luhan likes to play pranks.”

You stop Yixing from looking for the correct reading card and rest your hand on his arm, “Yixing—do you like me?”

He can’t help but stare at your gentle touch and knows that there is nothing he can do to get out of this. What he had wanted to keep secret is exposed so he might as well tell you the truth. “Yes, from the moment I saw you—I was completely enthralled by you and know that I shouldn’t since I’m an attending physician. And I honestly feel bad because it’s why you’re under crazy Chen and I didn’t want to concern you with meaningless feelings—

"Your feelings are not meaningless, Yixing. I value your opinion above anyone else’s in this hospital. I like our talks in the hallways—they’re what I look forward to the most during our hectic days. I like seeing your face before surgery because it’s like you’re my little good luck charm and I feel like I can do anything and everything when I see you. The more I’m with you, the better I want to get so that I can be just as good as you are. So your feelings are not meaningless—they are everything to me.”

You find that your hands have intertwined with Yixing’s. His warmth is spreading and you couldn’t feel happier that he understands that you feel exactly the way that he does. The moment that you met Yixing, you knew that there wouldn’t ever be another man that could reach what he has set. He is your ideal, your only one.

"Are you off work?" he asks as he slowly leans in towards you.

You nod, a smile threatening to surface between your lips. “Are you?”

He nods and your heart flies as his lips touch yours—the very lips that you dream about within those tiny 45 minute breaks from crazy Chen.

Yixing breaks off the kiss early and jumps up from his seat. “Wait—where are you going?” you ask lightheartedly.

He turns back and gives you that same lovable wink, “Going to go give Luhan the slap of the century.”