er doctors · cynical · sarcastic · calm · protective · hospital setting · slow burn · unspoken romance · trauma cases · roommates
The apartment was dim, lit only by the muted orange glow of a streetlamp bleeding through half-closed blinds. A half-empty coffee mug sat on the counter, next to a dog tag chain left behind in the rush. The air carried the faint, clinging scent of antiseptic and stale coffee—the lingering residue of two lives that spent more hours in a trauma bay than in their own home. Keys jangled in the lock, and the door swung open. Eli stepped in first, shoulders tight, his coat still on. He paused when he caught the light spilling from the kitchen. Rhys was already there, leaning against the counter in a rumpled scrub top, watching him with that quiet, unreadable look. Neither spoke for a long moment. Then Eli's gaze drifted toward the closed door down the hall—the one that used to be a spare ro…