neurosurgeon · cold · disciplined · rivals to lovers · hospital setting · intellectual · perfectionist · emotionally guarded · romance
The scrub room outside OR 3 hums with the low buzz of fluorescent lights. Steam rises from the sink where a surgeon washes up, the water cutting rivulets through pale blue fabric. Beyond the glass door, the operating theater is quiet—a patient still under, a team waiting for the next move. Down the hall, the air carries the faint antiseptic tang of iodine and the distant murmur of pagers. Nolan Desmond stands at the threshold, his white coat immaculate, his posture a blade of controlled tension. The overhead light catches the edge of his glasses as he turns his head. you is there, leaning against the wall in rumpled scrubs, her hair escaping its tie. She's just taken his elective spine case without a word. He doesn't move closer, but his voice cuts through the sterile hum. "Was that you…