The world outside Mika's apartment feels far away—a soft murmur of traffic through the windows, the distant honk of a car horn, the faint sound of footsteps from the hallway. But inside, it's just them. Mika's head rests against Jules' shoulder, the two of them tucked into the corner of the couch like it's the only place they belong.
Jules absentmindedly runs her fingers through Mika's hair, gentle and slow. It's a habit now—the way Mika melts into her touch, the way Jules finds herself reaching for Mika even when she doesn't mean to. It's been a while since they crossed the line from whatever-the-hell-they-were to this, but it still feels like a secret. Like a fragile thing, they keep it tucked between them, safe from the outside world.
No one knows—not really. Not Lucas, not Blue, not even the Chief. It’s just them. Well, and Amelia—because of that stupid elevator incident—and Simone, because Jules unravelled the day of the accident and couldn’t keep it in anymore. But that’s it. Everyone else just sees what they want to see—Mika and Jules, the interns who are best friends and jokingly argue over who the better doctor is.
"You're quiet," Mika murmurs, her voice soft, her fingers lazily tracing shapes against Jules' knee. She's looking up at her now, brown eyes heavy with something tender—something only Jules gets to see.
Jules shrugs, but her hand never stops moving through Mika’s hair. "Just thinking."
"About what?"
Jules hesitates. She could say something light, something easy. But Mika’s looking at her like she already knows the answer—like she always does. "About you," Jules admits softly. "About this. Us. How no one knows."
Mika's lips quirk up at the corners, a small smile breaking through the softness. "Kinda fun though, isn't it?" she teases. "Like we're spies or something."
Jules rolls her eyes but can't help the chuckle that escapes. "Yeah, because sneaking a kiss in the supply closet is so high stakes."
"You love it." Mika nudges Jules’ side with her elbow, and Jules pretends to flinch.
"I love you," Jules corrects, so casually, so easily—like it's the most natural thing in the world. Because it is.
Mika's smile falters for just a second—like it still catches her off guard, even now. Then she's tucking herself even closer to Jules, if that's even possible, her hand resting over Jules' heart.
"I love you too," Mika whispers.
Their first I love you’s came after the accident. Jules said it first—it kind of just slipped out. Jules knew it, and Mika knew it slipped out too. She saw this… shock on Jules’ face. Something that said, I have been feeling this for what feels like a lifetime, but I was never meant to say it. Not yet, not like this.
But Mika didn’t hesitate. She didn’t let Jules backtrack or cover it up with a joke like she sometimes did when she said something too honest. Mika just looked at her—still sore and tired—and said it back. Softly. Like she was handing Jules a piece of herself, one she didn’t mind giving away. I love you.
It wasn’t the first big moment between them, but it was the one that solidified everything.
Their relationship had started long before that night. Not officially—not with words or labels—but in the way Jules had held Mika’s hand in the hallway that day, when the panic attack hit like a freight train. Mika remembered the way her chest had felt too tight to breathe, her fingers tingling like they weren’t even hers. She remembered the gentle but firm press of Jules’ hand on hers, guiding her through the attack. The sound of Jules' breath, steady and low, cut through the static in Mika’s brain.
She hadn’t expected the almost-kiss. Hadn’t expected to pull her head back and find Jules so close, her eyes so soft. The air between them had cracked and buzzed like something was about to break open—and then Mika had pulled back. Not because she didn’t want it. She did, so much. But because Blue had walked in and interrupted the moment.
The kiss didn’t come until a few days later—until the locker room, when Mika had held out her hand and said, “Friends?” and Jules decided to kiss her, to put her hand on Mika’s cheek and pull her in for a kiss.
It wasn’t soft—not like their I love you’s had been. It was a kiss that felt like Jules had been holding it in for so long, like it was the only way to say what she couldn’t get past her lips. And Mika had kissed her back just as hard, her hands fisting the front of Jules’ dress because she needed something to anchor herself.
That was how it started.
Now, months later, she was here—curled up on Jules' couch, watching Jules flip through some medical journal like they weren’t tangled together, like Jules’ legs weren’t draped over Mika’s lap and Mika’s hand wasn’t resting on Jules’ knee, drawing slow circles with her thumb.
It was both thrilling and exhausting, living in this bubble where their relationship was just theirs—where Jules’ hand would brush Mika’s at work, but only for a second too long, and where stolen kisses happened behind closed doors or in the seconds before someone else walked in.
And now, in the quiet of Jules' place, it was easy to pretend they didn’t have to keep it secret. It was easy to pretend they weren’t holding something so fragile and precious between them.
Mika let her head fall back against the couch cushion, watching Jules scribble something in the margin of the article. She wasn’t even reading anymore—just watching Jules, breathing her in.
Mika let the silence stretch, her thumb still tracing slow circles on Jules’ knee. She wasn’t sure how long they’d been sitting like this—Jules lost in her journal, Mika lost in her thoughts—but eventually, the question bubbling up inside her got too loud to ignore.
“Are we ever going to tell people?” Mika asked softly.
She didn’t mean for it to sound so small. It wasn’t like she was asking Jules to shout it from the hospital rooftops or anything—it was just… a thought. A thought she’d been having more and more lately.
Jules didn’t look up right away, but Mika saw the way her hand slowed, pen hovering just above the page. It took a beat longer than Mika expected for Jules to finally glance at her, her expression careful but not cold.
“Do you want to?” Jules asked. Her voice was calm—too calm, like she was trying not to sway Mika either way.
Mika shrugged, even though she knew Jules could see right through it. “I don’t know. I think about it sometimes.”
The corner of Jules’ mouth twitched like she might smile, but it never fully formed. She set the journal down on the coffee table, her legs still draped over Mika’s lap, her fingers idly playing with the hem of Mika’s sweatshirt now. “It’s not that I don’t want to tell people,” Jules said, her voice quieter now, like they were sharing a secret even here. “I just… I kind of like that it’s just ours for a little while longer.”
Mika felt her heart tug in a way she hadn’t been expecting. She nodded slowly. “Yeah,” she murmured. “I get that.”
And she did.
Because as much as Mika sometimes thought about what it would be like to walk into the hospital hand-in-hand with Jules or to kiss her without checking over her shoulder first, there was something about this—about the bubble they’d built—that felt safe. Sacred.
It wasn’t about hiding. Not really. It was about protecting something that still felt new, even if it wasn’t.
Jules’ hand found Mika’s, their fingers lacing together. “We’ll tell people,” Jules promised, a softness in her voice that Mika felt down to her bones. “Just… not yet.”
The quiet settled between them again, warm and familiar, but Mika's mind kept circling back to Jules’ words. Not yet. She wondered what “soon” would look like—if there’d be a right moment, or if they’d just blurt it out one day, the same way their first “I love you” had slipped from Jules’ lips.
Mika liked the idea of not having to think before reaching for Jules’ hand at work. Liked the idea of Lucas raising an eyebrow or Blue making some snarky comment when they figured it out. I liked the idea of not having to step back from Jules the second someone else walked into the room.
But more than anything, she liked this. The quiet moments when Jules was just hers—when the world didn’t know and didn’t matter.
Jules shifted, her thumb brushing the inside of Mika’s wrist. “You’re thinking too loud,” she said softly, a small smile tugging at her mouth.
Mika huffed a laugh. “I’m not thinking loud.”
“You are,” Jules teased. “I can practically hear the wheels turning.”
There was something about the way Jules said it—light but careful, like she knew exactly where Mika’s thoughts were drifting.
Mika tilted her head, resting her chin on Jules’ shoulder so she could watch her. “What if someone finds out before we tell them?”
Jules blinked, her smile fading just a little. “Then they find out,” she said simply, but there was a flicker of something else in her voice—something Mika couldn’t quite place.
“You wouldn’t care?” Mika asked, though she wasn’t sure why she was pushing.
Jules shook her head. “It’s not about caring,” she said carefully. “It’s just… if someone figures it out, they figure it out. But I don’t want us to feel like we have to tell people just because we’re worried they might find out.”
Mika let that settle in her chest for a second. Jules wasn’t wrong—it wasn’t about hiding. It was about keeping something that still felt fragile, still felt like it belonged only to them.
She exhaled softly, her fingers brushing over the back of Jules’ hand. “So we’re waiting until… what? One of us accidentally kisses the other in the middle of the ER?”
Jules finally laughed, a real one this time, and Mika felt the sound like a spark in her ribs. “Please. It would be you,” Jules teased. “You’re the one who keeps almost kissing me in public.”
Mika’s mouth fell open in mock offence. “I do not.”
Jules grinned, tilting her head back against the couch cushion. “You almost kissed me in the supply closet last week.”
“No one was around!”
“And in the on-call room the other night.”
“Again,” Mika said, “no one was around!”
Mika lay with her head in Jules’ lap, eyes closed, her body sinking into the couch like she could melt right into it. Jules’ fingers combed through her hair absentmindedly—light, slow, the kind of touch that made Mika feel like she was being spoilt without Jules even realising it.
It was quiet, peaceful.
Too peaceful.
Which is why Mika cracked one eye open and muttered, “You know, statistically speaking, I’m not the one most likely to expose our relationship.”
Jules didn’t look up from her journal. “Oh? And who is?”
Mika grinned. “You.”
Jules’ hand stilled for a second, and then her thumb lightly flicked Mika’s forehead. “Me?”
“Yes, you.” Mika pointed a finger at Jules’ chest like she was presenting evidence in court. “You’re the one who said ‘I love you’ first.”
Jules' jaw dropped. “That has nothing to do with anything!”
“It has everything to do with everything.” Mika's grin widened. “You’re the one with all these feelings—you’re just one missed heartbeat away from blurting out ‘That’s my girlfriend’ in the middle of a trauma case.”
Jules squinted down at her. “First of all,” she said, “you act like you didn’t say ‘I love you’ back immediately.”
“Well, yeah,” Mika said, “because you looked like you were about to pass out after you said it.”
“I did not.”
“You did. You were like—” Mika mimicked Jules’ stunned expression from that night: wide-eyed, lips slightly parted, frozen in place. “I thought you were going into cardiac arrest.”
Jules let out an exaggerated groan, dropping her head back against the couch. “You’re the worst.”
“And you love me.”
“Unfortunately.”
Mika laughed, poking Jules' thigh. “See? There it is again. You’re an ‘I love you’ machine. One bad day at work and you’re going to tell the whole hospital we’re dating just because I bring you a coffee.”
Jules tilted her head, giving Mika a mock-serious look. “Oh, so you think bringing me coffee would make me confess my undying love in the middle of the ER?”
Mika smirked. “Hasn't it already?”
Jules' lips twitched. “I’m not that easy.”
“You’re so easy.”
Jules didn’t respond—she just leaned down and kissed Mika, soft and quick and just enough to make Mika’s heart trip over itself.
When Jules pulled back, her voice was smug. “If anyone’s going to expose us,” she said, “it’s going to be you.”
Mika blinked up at her. “I—what—how—?”
“Because,” Jules said, brushing a thumb over Mika’s bottom lip, “you look at me like that all the time.”
Mika's brain completely short-circuited. “Like what?”
Jules' smile was slow, teasing. “Like you’re in love with me.”
Mika’s mouth opened and closed a few times, and Jules just sat there looking way too pleased with herself—like she’d just won some kind of secret competition Mika didn’t even know they were having.
“That’s not fair,” Mika finally managed, her voice a little too soft, a little too caught.
Jules raised an eyebrow, the corner of her mouth twitching. “Why not?”
“Because you can’t just—” Mika waved a hand vaguely between them, her brain still not caught up with the fact that Jules had just called her out for being in love with her. “—Say stuff like that and then expect me to have a functioning response.”
Jules laughed, a soft little huff of air through her nose. “What, am I supposed to pretend I don’t notice how you look at me?”
Mika groaned, covering her face with both hands. “Jules.”
“What?” Jules teased, gently prying Mika’s hand away from her face. “You think I don’t see the way you stare at me when you think I’m not paying attention?”
“I don’t stare.”
“You do.” Jules’ grin grew wider. “Like… a lot.”
Mika narrowed her eyes. “I don’t stare. I glance.”
“Multiple times. Over and over again. That’s not glancing, that’s staring.”
Mika sat up, crossing her arms like that might somehow shield her from Jules' relentless teasing. “I do not stare.”
“Really?” Jules leaned back against the couch, arms stretched across the top of the cushion like she was getting way too comfortable with this whole thing. “Because Lucas asked me last week why you were ‘looking at him funny’ during rounds.”
Mika blinked. “What?”
“Yeah.” Jules bit back a laugh. “Turns out, you weren’t looking at him—you were looking past him. At me.”
“Oh my god.” Mika groaned again, flopping back against the couch dramatically. “I hate this. I hate you.”
“No, you don’t,” Jules said, nudging Mika’s knee with her foot. “You love me. Remember?”
Mika peeked out from behind her hands. “I regret saying it.”
“No, you don’t.”
Mika didn’t. She never could.
Jules smirked. “So… back to my original point. You are totally the one who’s going to out us.”
Mika scoffed. “I am not.”
Jules just gave her a look.
“I won’t,” Mika insisted. “I have self-control.”
“Doesn’t matter.” Jules shrugged, eyes bright with amusement. “One of these days, you’re going to slip. You’re going to look at me like that—”
“Like what?” Mika cut in, her voice suddenly quieter.
Jules didn’t answer right away. She just held Mika’s gaze for a long, lingering second. When she finally spoke, her voice was softer, almost a whisper.
“Like I’m the only person you’ve ever wanted.”
Mika’s heart stuttered in her chest.
Mika sat up a little straighter, pointed an accusing finger at Jules, and said, “You were the one that told Simone.”
Jules blinked. “What?”
“Simone,” Mika repeated, crossing her arms. “You told her. I didn’t. You did.”
Jules’ mouth opened, but Mika steamrolled ahead.
“And—” Mika pointed again, this time dramatically waving her hand like she was building a case in court. “You were the one who kissed me in the elevator. The kiss that Dr. Shepherd saw. So, statistically speaking, you are the weak link here.”
Jules’ jaw dropped. “The weak link?”
“Yes.” Mika fought to keep a straight face. “If anyone’s going to expose us, it’s going to be you.”
Jules blinked at her. “First of all,” she said, mock-serious, “I told Simone because I thought you were dead, Mika.”
Mika winced. “Okay… yeah… fair point.”
“And—” Jules leaned in, their faces inches apart now. “I kissed you in the elevator because you were standing there looking all…” She made a vague hand motion. “…you.”
“That’s not a reason.”
“It is a reason.” Jules smirked. “You were all cute and flustered and wearing your scrubs—”
“Hey!”
“—and I had no choice but to kiss you. It was a biological imperative.”
Mika stared at her. “A biological imperative?”
“Yes.”
“That’s the excuse you’re going with?”
Jules grinned. “It’s a solid excuse.”
“It’s a terrible excuse.”
“Well, it’s the truth.”
Mika’s face was burning, but she refused to let Jules win. “So, just to be clear,” she said slowly, “you kissed me in public, told Simone about us, and somehow I’m the one who’s going to expose our relationship?”
Jules was quiet for a beat—then she shrugged. “Yeah.”
Mika let out the loudest, most dramatic groan. “You are impossible.”
“And you love me,” Jules shot back with a wink.
Mika grabbed a throw pillow and chucked it at Jules' head.
The pillow bounced off Jules’ shoulder, and she just laughed, effortlessly catching it before it tumbled to the floor. Mika shook her head, biting back a smile, but then the air between them shifted—still light, still warm, but softer somehow.
After a beat, Mika spoke, her voice quieter. “You know… Chloe would have loved to see us together. Happy. She once said you were quality.”
Jules’ teasing grin faltered, just slightly. “Yeah?”
Mika nodded. “Yeah.” She tucked her legs up beneath her, fingers idly playing with the hem of Jules’ sweatshirt—the one she’d stolen from Jules' apartment weeks ago and never gave back. “I think she liked you a lot. In general… and for me.”
Jules didn’t say anything right away, and Mika watched the way her expression softened—how the playful spark in her eyes dimmed just a little, replaced by something more careful, more thoughtful.
“She told me,” Mika continued, “that you were the kind of person who didn’t just show up when it was easy. She said you’d show up when it was hard too. When it hurt.”
Jules swallowed, her hand still resting on Mika’s knee, her thumb absently brushing back and forth like she wasn’t even aware she was doing it. “Chloe said that?”
Mika smiled faintly. “Yeah. She told me I was… an idiot for not realising how much you cared about me. She told me to stop worrying about her so much and to pursue the one ‘I’m clearly in love with.’”
Jules let out a soft laugh—barely there, more a huff of air than anything else—but her eyes stayed gentle, almost shy. “I did. Care about you. I do.”
Mika reached out, tucking a strand of Jules’ hair behind her ear. “I know.”
There was a long pause, the room filled only by the quiet sounds of the city outside Mika’s window.
Then, because Mika couldn’t help herself, she added, “Chloe also said you were hot.”
Jules blinked. “She what?”
Mika grinned. “She thought you were hot.”
Jules' cheeks went pink—actually pink—and Mika felt a surge of satisfaction.
“Are you messing with me?” Jules asked, voice half-laugh, half-disbelief.
“Nope.” Mika leaned back against the couch, crossing her arms with a dramatic flair. “I may have called you hot once... and then her 'Yeah, she is hot. Don’t mess it up.’”
Jules buried her face in her hands. “Oh my god.”
Mika beamed. “She was right, though.”
Jules peeked at her from between her fingers. “About me being quality or me being hot?”
Mika pretended to consider. “Both.”
Jules groaned again—but this time, Mika caught the small, pleased smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
Jules kept her face hidden behind her hands for another second before finally dropping them, her cheeks still flushed—though whether from Mika’s teasing or something else entirely, Mika wasn’t sure.
Jules shook her head, but her hand found Mika’s again—fingers threading together like it was the easiest thing in the world. It still made Mika’s heart do a weird little flip, like even after everything—after all of this—there was still some part of her that couldn’t quite believe this was real. That Jules was real.
A beat passed, then another, and then Jules’ voice came softly, almost like an afterthought: “I liked Chloe.”
Mika’s heart squeezed. “Yeah?”
Jules nodded. “She was… smart. And funny.” She paused, tilting her head. “Kind of bossy, though.”
Mika laughed. “Oh, so bossy. You have no idea.”
Jules smiled, but there was a flicker of something else in her expression—something heavier. “I wish I got to know her more,” she said quietly.
Mika’s chest ached—not in the sharp, unbearable way it had right after the accident, but in that slow, dull throb that never really went away. “She would’ve liked that.”
Jules’ thumb brushed a soft circle against the back of Mika’s hand. “I think she already did.”
The words settled between them—warm and certain—and Mika found herself swallowing past the sudden lump in her throat.
She blinked a few times, then tried for a smile. “She would’ve given you such a hard time, though.”
Jules chuckled. “Oh, I believe that.”
“No, like… mercilessly. She would’ve asked you a thousand questions about your intentions.”
“My intentions?” Jules repeated, mock-offended.
“Yes.” Mika grinned. “She would’ve been like, ‘So what are your plans with Mika? Are you going to marry her? Are you moving in? How serious is this?’”
Jules laughed, but her voice was soft. “She sounds like she really loved you.”
Mika’s smile faltered for half a second—but then she nodded. “She did.”
Jules leaned in, pressing a featherlight kiss to Mika’s temple. “She was right, you know.”
Mika blinked up at her. “About what?”
Jules’ eyes were steady. “About me caring about you. About me showing up when it’s hard.”
The next couple of days slipped into a familiar rhythm—the organised chaos of the hospital, the constant shuffle between patients, and the moments in between where Mika and Jules’ paths crossed like a secret only they knew.
Jules was on Ndugu’s service, which meant cardio rounds and procedures, while Mika trailed after Bailey, her clipboard practically glued to her hand. It wasn’t unusual for them to work separately—they were used to it by now—but this week, their schedules had a rare overlap.
They shared a patient.
Mr. Alvarez—mid-60s, post-op from a bowel resection, with a lingering heart murmur that Ndugu wasn’t thrilled about. It meant Mika handled the general surgery side of things while Jules popped in and out for cardio consults, their worlds colliding in brief, unspoken moments.
It was, objectively, normal. Two specialities working together.
But it was also them—which meant it was anything but normal.
Like this morning, when Mika had been updating Mr. Alvarez’s chart by his bedside, and Jules had swept in with Ndugu, her face all business… except for the tiniest flicker of a smile when their eyes met.
“Dr. Millin,” Mika had said, glancing between Jules and Ndugu. “Dr. Ndugu.”
Jules had only nodded, but Mika felt it—the weight of their secret hanging in the air like a whisper between them.
Now, Mika was restocking supplies at the nurses’ station, absently sorting gauze packets into neat piles, when Jules appeared beside her—close enough that their arms almost brushed.
“You’re really committing to the whole ‘secret relationship’ thing, huh?” Jules murmured, her voice low enough for only Mika to hear.
Mika didn’t look up, biting back a smile. “What do you mean?”
Jules leaned a little closer. “You called me Dr. Millin.”
“Well, that’s your name,” Mika replied, fighting a smirk.
“You said it like you don’t know what I look like in just a T-shirt.”
Mika’s hand slipped, sending a roll of medical tape skidding across the counter.
Jules didn’t even try to hide her grin.
“You’re the worst,” Mika muttered, grabbing the tape and shoving it back into place.
Jules just rocked back on her heels, that infuriatingly smug look still on her face. “No,” she said softly. “I’m quality. Remember?”
Mika stared at her, torn between laughing and shoving Jules straight into the supply closet.
Instead, she grabbed a pair of gloves, handed them to Jules, and said, “Dr. Millin, please focus on your cardio duties.”
Jules blinked—then broke into a full-on laugh, one she had to smother behind her hand.
“Unbelievable,” she muttered, shaking her head.
By the time lunch rolled around, Mika’s day was a blur of rounds, charting, and dodging the weird tension that came with sharing a patient with her girlfriend—a girlfriend no one knew about.
She was on her way to grab something—anything—that resembled food from the cafeteria when a familiar figure caught her eye near the stairwell. Jules.
Leaning against the wall, scrolling through her phone like she wasn’t the most distracting person Mika had ever seen in her life.
Their eyes met, and Jules quirked a brow.
Mika hesitated—only for a second—before veering away from the cafeteria and toward Jules without a word.
“You following me, Yasuda?” Jules teased, slipping her phone into her pocket.
Mika glanced around—empty hallway, no prying eyes. “What if I am?”
Jules’ smirk deepened, and without another word, she pushed open the door to an on-call room just a few feet away.
Mika followed.
The second the door clicked shut, Jules was on her—grabbing Mika’s scrub top and pulling her in for a kiss, fast and a little messy, like she’d been waiting all day for this.
Mika kissed her back—hard—grinning against Jules’ mouth. “We’re really bad at this secret thing,” she muttered between kisses.
Jules’ hand slipped around Mika’s waist, pushing her up against the wall. “You’re the one who followed me.”
“You invited me.”
“You wanted me to.”
Mika laughed into Jules’ neck. “Yeah,” she whispered. “I did.”
Jules smiled—soft and real—but before Mika could kiss her again—
“Wait, what the hell?”
They both froze.
A voice.
A very familiar voice.
Slowly—too slowly—they turned to see Lucas standing in the doorway, blinking at them like he’d just caught a crime in progress.
“Yasuda?” Lucas said, his eyes darting between the two of them. “What are you doing? With… Millin?”
Jules stepped back—way too fast—her face already schooled into something neutral, professional. “We were talking.”
Lucas squinted. “Talking?”
“About work,” Mika added quickly.
“Work,” Lucas repeated, his voice flat.
Jules nodded. “Patient care. Important stuff.”
Lucas kept staring, and then—
“No, no, you guys were like… making out.”
Jules’ jaw tensed. “We weren’t.”
Lucas pointed at them. “You were. I swear.”
Mika felt the heat creeping up her neck. “Lucas—”
“I just walked in on you guys making out.” His voice rose an octave, like the realisation was still hitting him in real-time. “Are you dating?”
Jules ran a hand through her hair. “No.”
Mika blinked at Jules. “No?” she echoed.
Jules gave her a not now look.
Lucas’ eyes narrowed. “You’re telling me you weren’t just kissing in here?”
Silence.
Then Mika, with a half-hearted shrug: “It’s… a cardio thing.”
Lucas blinked. “What?”
Jules pinched the bridge of her nose.
It was going great.
Lucas stared at them, his mouth still slightly open, like his brain was short-circuiting.
Mika, to her credit, kept a perfectly straight face. “Yeah,” she said again, a little more confidently this time. “A cardio thing.”
Jules closed her eyes for a brief second. “It’s not a cardio thing.”
Lucas pointed at both of them—wildly, like he was trying to connect invisible dots. “Then what the hell was that?”
Jules opened her mouth, but Mika jumped in first. “We were discussing a patient—Mr. Alvarez.”
“In each other’s mouths?”
Jules made a sound that was somewhere between a groan and a laugh. “Lucas.”
Lucas crossed his arms. “Look, I don’t care if you guys are… a thing or whatever, but don’t lie about it. I saw you.”
Mika blinked. “You didn’t see anything.”
Lucas pointed again—this time directly at Jules’ collar, where Mika’s hand had clearly bunched the fabric. “I saw that.”
Jules smoothed out her scrubs like it would erase the evidence. “We were standing close.”
Lucas gave her a really? look.
Mika shrugged. “Hospitals are small.”
Jules shot Mika a look.
Lucas just kept staring. “So you guys aren’t dating?”
“No,” Jules said—again.
Mika, at the exact same time: “Yes.”
Lucas’ eyebrows shot up. “Yes?”
Jules rubbed her temples. “Oh my god.”
Mika backtracked, fast. “No. I meant no.”
Lucas squinted. “Are you sure?”
Mika nodded, maybe a little too enthusiastically. “Super sure.”
Lucas didn’t blink. “Because I literally—”
“Lucas,” Jules interrupted, voice calm, like she was trying really hard to hold it together. “If we were dating—which we’re not—why would it matter?”
Lucas opened his mouth. Shut it. Opened it again. “I don’t know! It doesn’t! But you are, aren’t you?”
Mika kept her expression neutral. “We’re just colleagues.”
Lucas’ gaze darted between them. “Colleagues who—”
“Lucas,” Jules said, voice tight. “Go away.”
He stared for another long moment, then finally—finally—he stepped back into the hall. “I’m telling Blue,” he muttered as the door swung shut behind him.
Mika’s jaw dropped. “No, you’re not!”
The door clicked shut.
Silence.
Then Jules slumped against the wall, groaning into her hands. “We’re so bad at this.”
Mika pressed her lips together to keep from laughing. “To be fair,” she said softly, “he caught us mid-kiss.”
Jules peeked at her through her fingers. “Yeah. And now he’s going to tell Blue.”
Mika thought about it for a second—then shrugged. “At least it wasn’t Bailey.”
Jules let out a weak laugh. “Small mercies.”
Mika nudged her foot with her own. “So… still think we’re nailing the whole ‘secret relationship’ thing?”
Jules just groaned again, and Mika smiled—because honestly?
This was kind of fun.
It took about three whole seconds for Mika and Jules to realise the situation was actually—definitely—about to get worse.
Jules straightened up. “He’s actually going to tell Blue.”
Mika blinked. “Yeah.”
Silence.
Then—
“Crap.”
They bolted out of the on-call room in perfect sync, practically sprinting down the hall.
Lucas was already halfway to the nurses’ station, walking way too fast for someone who had just witnessed his friends definitely not making out.
“Lucas!” Jules called, her voice sharp but quiet enough to not draw too much attention.
He didn’t stop—he didn’t even turn around. If anything, he picked up the pace.
“Lucas,” Mika hissed. “Wait—please.”
He kept walking.
Jules exchanged a panicked look with Mika before darting ahead, grabbing Lucas by the arm, and yanking him into the nearest supply closet.
Mika followed, slamming the door shut behind them.
“Hey!” Lucas squawked, stumbling into a shelf of cleaning products. “What the—”
“Shh!” Mika hissed, pressing her back against the door.
Lucas blinked at them in the dim light of the closet. “Did you just kidnap me?”
Jules pointed at him. “You can’t tell Blue.”
Lucas scoffed. “I have to tell him. He’s going to lose his mind.”
Mika groaned. “Lucas, please.”
Jules rubbed her temples. “We’re not even—this is not—” She looked at Mika, exasperated. “Can you explain?”
Mika just stared back. “You want me to explain?”
Lucas crossed his arms. “So you are dating.”
“No.” Jules’ voice cracked slightly.
“Yes,” Mika said at the same time.
Lucas blinked. “Oh my god.”
Jules threw her hands in the air. “We just… didn’t want anyone to know yet.”
“Why?” Lucas asked, his voice genuinely curious now. “You guys are both interns—it’s not against the rules or anything.”
Mika shifted awkwardly. “We just wanted it to be ours for a while.”
Lucas squinted at them in the dim light. “So you’re definitely dating.”
Jules muttered something under her breath that sounded a lot like kill me.
Mika sighed. “Yes.”
Lucas nodded slowly, his brain clearly still catching up. “And you didn’t want anyone to know.”
“Right.”
“So you pulled me into a closet.”
Mika gave a weak smile. “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”
Lucas stared at them for another long moment—then grinned.
“Oh, I’m definitely telling Blue.”
Jules’ jaw dropped. “Lucas.”
“Not in, like, a mean way,” Lucas added quickly. “In a this is hilarious way.”
Mika stepped forward, grabbing his arm. “We’re serious. Please don’t.”
Lucas’ grin softened—just a little. “Okay, okay,” he finally said. “I won’t tell him.”
Jules blinked. “Really?”
Lucas smirked. “For now.”
Mika groaned. “You’re the worst.”
Lucas leaned back against a shelf of gauze, arms still crossed, the smuggest smile plastered across his face.
“So… how long has this been going on?” He asked, his tone way too casual.
Mika, without hesitation: “A while.”
Jules, at the exact same time: “Not long.”
Silence.
Lucas blinked. “Wow.”
Jules closed her eyes briefly, exhaling through her nose.
Lucas chuckled. “You guys need to work on syncing this relationship up.”
Mika muttered, “We’re busy.”
Jules shot her a look. “What does that mean?”
Lucas wiggled his eyebrows. “Oh, I think we all know what that means.”
“Lucas.”
He just grinned, clearly having the time of his life. “I’m just saying… for a secret couple, you guys are kind of terrible at this.”
Mika huffed. “We’ve been fine until you barged into that on-call room.”
Lucas raised an eyebrow. “You mean the unlocked on-call room? Where you definitely weren't discussing patient care?”
Jules muttered, “Oh my god.”
Mika rubbed the back of her neck, glancing at Jules. “To be fair… we could work on the syncing thing.”
Jules narrowed her eyes. “You didn’t have to say ‘a while.’”
Mika’s mouth fell open. “You didn’t have to say ‘not long.’”
Lucas held up his hands. “Don’t mind me—just watching the cracks form in this totally fine, secret relationship.”
Jules pinched the bridge of her nose. “We’re never going to hear the end of this.”
Mika sighed. “No. No, we’re not.”
Lucas gave them a wide grin. “Nope.”
Jules glared at him. “You swore you wouldn’t tell Blue.”
Lucas smirked. “I won’t.” He paused. “But you guys should probably figure out your story before anyone else catches you.”
Mika tilted her head. “You make it sound like we’re criminals.”
Lucas shrugged. “I mean… you did just kidnap me.”
Jules threw her head back, groaning dramatically. “We’re so bad at this.”
Mika just grinned at her, because—honestly?
She kind of loved this.
Lucas tapped a finger against a shelf, like he was thinking really hard about something. “So… if you guys have been doing the whole ‘secret relationship’ thing for a while—not long, whatever—how come I’m the first one to catch you?”
“You’re not the first,” Jules crossed her arms. “And very few people know because we’re good at hiding it.”
Mika bit back a smile. “Yeah, I’m not sure ‘good at it’ is the right phrase.”
Jules shot her a look, but there was no real heat behind it—just a flicker of exasperated affection. “Whose side are you on?”
Mika grinned. “Yours. Obviously.”
Lucas pointed between them again. “See, that—that was kind of cute.”
Jules’ cheeks pinked. “Lucas.”
He grinned. “I’m just saying—it’s obvious you guys are a thing.”
Mika smirked. “Now it’s obvious.”
Lucas narrowed his eyes playfully. “Oh, don’t act like you were being subtle before. I’m honestly surprised Blue didn’t pick up on it first.”
Jules tilted her head. “Blue thinks Mika and I are just friends, and to be fair, he couldn’t really care less.”
Mika snorted. “To be fair, we kind of sold that whole “’just friends thing.’”
Lucas raised a brow. “Yeah, other than the blatant eye sex you’d be having right in front of me?”
Jules blinked. “Eye what?”
“Eye sex,” Lucas grinned. “It was pretty obvious. But sure, you guys were just friends.”
Mika grinned. “Super convincing, right?”
“Sure,” Lucas laughed. “But I knew something was off about it. You guys went from competing over surgeries to what—making out between rounds?”
Jules groaned into her hands. “Please stop saying ‘making out.’”
Lucas just smirked. “What would you prefer? Snogging?”
Mika blinked. “Snogging?”
Lucas grinned. “It’s a thing.”
Jules muttered, “We’re not snogging.”
Mika, eyes twinkling: “I mean… sometimes—”
“Mika.”
Lucas nearly doubled over laughing.
Jules just leaned against the shelf, closing her eyes like she was begging the universe for patience. “This is a nightmare.”
Mika nudged her gently, a quiet smile tugging at her lips. “It’s not that bad.”
Jules peeked at her from the corner of her eye. “We’re in a closet with Lucas.”
Mika shrugged. “Could be worse.”
Lucas gasped, mock-offended. “Could be worse? I’m a delight.”
Jules didn’t even blink. “You’re a menace.”
Lucas grinned. “And yet—you love me.”
Mika smirked. “That’s debatable.”
Lucas clutched his chest dramatically. “Wow.”
Jules finally let a laugh slip—soft, but genuine—and Mika’s heart gave a little flip.
Because despite everything—the secret-keeping, the panic over Lucas, the whole closet situation—this moment felt easy. Natural.
Like them.
Lucas, still leaning against the shelf like he belonged there, tilted his head. “So… did it happen all at once, or was it one of those slow-burn, lots-of-pining situations?”
Mika blinked. “What?”
Jules sighed. “Lucas.”
He grinned. “What? I’m curious!”
Mika exchanged a glance with Jules, a flicker of something soft passing between them—like they were both remembering the exact same moment.
The almost-kiss in the hallway. The panic attack Mika didn’t want anyone to see—but Jules did. The locker room, Jules’ lips on hers for the first time, warm and certain and right.
Mika shrugged. “A bit of both.”
Lucas raised an eyebrow. “So… pining.”
Jules muttered, “It wasn’t pining.”
Lucas smirked. “Are you sure about that?”
Mika smiled, biting back a laugh. “She’s not.”
Jules shot her a look.
Before Lucas could open his mouth again—probably to make another snogging comment—their pagers went off simultaneously.
Jules glanced down. “Ndugu.”
Mika checked hers. “Bailey.”
Lucas, still grinning like a kid who’d just uncovered the juiciest secret of the century, stepped aside. “Guess the lovebirds have to get back to work.”
Jules’ jaw tightened. “Lucas.”
He held up his hands. “Hey—I said I wasn’t going to tell Blue.” His smirk deepened. “Yet.”
Mika pulled open the closet door, already stepping out. “You’re really loving this, aren’t you?”
Lucas shrugged. “A little.”
Jules followed Mika, still muttering under her breath. “I hate him.”
Mika smiled softly, brushing her hand against Jules’ arm for just a second—hidden, quiet. “No, you don’t.”
Jules huffed. “I do.”
Lucas poked his head out of the closet. “Love you too!”
Jules didn’t even turn around—just lifted a hand and flipped him off over her shoulder.
Mika bit her lip to keep from laughing as they hurried down the hall—back to cardio, back to general, back to pretending their relationship wasn’t the worst-kept secret in the hospital.
And if their fingers brushed just a little too long before they split off in opposite directions…
Well.
Lucas didn’t see that part.
The rest of the day moved like clockwork—rounds, charts, consults—busy enough that Mika didn’t have time to dwell on Lucas and his snogging comments or the way Jules’ face had turned a little pink every time he opened his mouth.
She saw Jules a handful of times—mostly in passing, mostly professional. Their patient, a middle-aged man with a complex cardiac history, was stable for now but had a complicated post-op recovery ahead. Ndugu and Bailey coordinated care, which meant Mika and Jules found themselves standing side by side more often than not—arms brushing, eyes flickering to each other when no one was looking.
It wasn’t obvious. Not to most people.
But Mika noticed how Jules’ voice softened just a little when she answered one of Mika’s questions. She noticed how Jules always found a way to stand a little closer than necessary, just shy of suspicious.
And Jules—Jules definitely noticed the way Mika’s gaze lingered for a second too long when she thought no one was paying attention.
By the time the middle of their shifts rolled around, Mika was exhausted. She slumped into a chair in the cafeteria, swirling her coffee while scrolling through her patient notes.
A few minutes later, someone dropped into the seat across from her.
Mika didn’t have to look up to know it was Jules.
“Hey,” Jules said softly, unwrapping a granola bar.
Mika smiled. “Hey.”
They sat there for a moment—close enough to talk but far enough to look like they were just… two coworkers. Eating lunch. Casual. Professional.
“Lucas is going to tell Blue,” Jules muttered eventually, breaking the silence.
Mika snorted. “You think?”
Jules gave her a look. “I think Lucas wants to be a joker. Do you think Blue is going to freak out?”
Mika considered that for a second, then shrugged. “He’ll pretend not to care, but—yeah.”
“It’s not like we’re dating him.” Jules laughed softly.
Mika arched an eyebrow. “Pretty sure he’s still holding onto that thing you guys had.”
“That thing was just… a thing.”
Mika hums. “He doesn’t see it like that.”
Jules’ grin widened. “Are you… jealous?”
“Of Blue?” Mika blinked.
Jules just sipped her drink, eyes twinkling.
Mika leaned forward, her voice low but teasing. “I’m not jealous.”
“Sure.”
“I’m not.”
Jules tilted her head. “You did seem really annoyed when he was flirting with me that one time in the pit.”
Mika’s jaw dropped. “That was before we were dating.”
“You were still annoyed.”
Mika’s eyes narrowed, but the way Jules was looking at her. The tilt in her head, it just made Mika smile.
Joe’s Bar buzzed with the usual post-shift chaos—doctors crowded around tables, laughing a little too loudly, sipping beers like they hadn’t just spent twelve hours in an OR or sprinting between patients.
Mika and Jules sat on one side of a small table, close enough that their knees bumped beneath the surface. Across from them were Lucas, Simone, and Blue—an unholy trio who had already started in on their second round of drinks.
"So then Ndugu made me recheck the post-op vitals three times," Jules was saying, shaking her head with a dramatic eye roll. "Three. Like the monitor was suddenly going to lie to me."
Lucas smirked, swirling the last of his beer. "Yeah, well, at least Ndugu doesn’t make you restock the supply closet alphabetically. Hunt looked me dead in the eyes and told me the gauze pads were in the wrong order."
Mika snorted. "You do have a weird system, though."
Lucas pointed at her. "Et tu, Yasuda?"
Simone grinned. "She’s got a point."
Blue leaned back in his chair. "Honestly? I’ve had a pretty damn awesome day. No restocking, no unnecessary vitals—just me, killing it in the pit."
Lucas raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? You didn’t almost faint when Chief Altman asked you a question this morning?"
Blue scowled. "That was low blood sugar."
Jules bit her lip to keep from laughing, and Mika nudged her with her knee—a silent be nice.
Then Lucas, too casually, said, "I mean… at least none of us have a lot of pressure on us by keeping any secrets. About work or… I don’t know, secretly dating anyone."
Jules’ foot shot out under the table—aimed squarely at Lucas’ shin—but she misjudged the angle entirely and—
"Ow!" Blue jerked upright, his hand flying to his leg. "What the hell, Jules?"
Jules blinked. "What?"
Blue narrowed his eyes. "You kicked me."
Mika bit her lip—hard—to stop herself from laughing.
Lucas, for his part, was absolutely beaming.
"That was an accident," Jules muttered, though her voice lacked conviction.
Blue stared at her. "Yeah, okay—that wasn’t an accident. And as far as I know, I’ve been pretty damn awesome today."
Jules kicked him again.
"Ow—what was that one for?"
Lucas was now half-slumped in his seat, covering his mouth with his hand to muffle his laughter. Simone just shook her head, hiding a smirk.
Blue’s eyes darted between Jules and Mika—then to Lucas—then back again. "Seriously—why kick me the first time?"
Jules opened her mouth—but no words came out.
Instead, she looked at Mika.
And Jules, with a small sigh and a tiny, almost imperceptible smile, said, "Mika and I are dating."
Silence.
Blue blinked. "What?"
Simone just smiled softly, like she’d been waiting for this moment for a while now. "Took you long enough to tell everyone," she teased.
Blue still looked like someone had just hit him with a defibrillator. "You two?" He pointed between them. "You’re—dating?"
Mika nodded. "Yeah."
Jules, voice muffled through her hands, muttered, "For a while."
Lucas beamed. "For a while."
Blue shook his head, clearly still processing. "And I’m just finding out now?"
Jules finally lowered her hands, glaring at Lucas. "Because someone can’t keep his mouth shut."
Lucas didn’t even pretend to look guilty. "Hey, I didn’t tell him—you kicked him."
Blue’s jaw dropped. "Because you thought I knew?"
Jules groaned. "No—I thought I was kicking Lucas!"
Simone was full-on laughing now, and Mika couldn’t help but smile—because this was chaotic and messy and definitely not the plan, but somehow… it was okay.
Blue finally sat back, still a little stunned. "Wow." He blinked at Jules. "So… what—was that the other day, when you guys argued over patients in the pit just, like… foreplay?"
Mika choked on her drink.
Jules’ eyes went wide. "Blue."
And somehow, despite the absolute disaster this confession had turned into… Mika found herself smiling anyway.
Because, for better or worse, the secret was out.
Jules sighed, picking at the label on her beer bottle. “Lucas found out after walking in on us kissing.”
Lucas, still riding the high of tonight's big reveal, leaned back in his chair with a smug smile. “Snogging.”
Jules shot him a glare. “Stop calling it that.”
Simone bit back a laugh.
Blue blinked. “Wait—so he found out because you guys were making out somewhere?”
“It wasn’t like that—” Jules said, groaning.
Lucas cut in again, sing-songy and far too pleased with himself. “It was exactly like that.”
Jules pressed her lips together in a thin line, clearly rethinking every life choice that had led her to this moment.
Mika, trying to keep the peace, added, “Jules told Simone after the accident.”
Simone nodded. “Which, for the record, wasn’t the most chill way to find out.”
Jules shot her a look. “You basically made me. You kept saying Mika was our friend, okay?”
Mika shifted in her seat. “And Dr. Shepherd knows… because she caught us kissing in the elevator.”
“The elevator?” Blue’s eyebrows shot up. “Isn’t there a ding or something so you can, I don’t know… Stop making out?”
Jules looked down at her drink like she was wishing it would swallow her whole.
Blue blinked, clearly still stuck on the elevator part. “Wait—why didn’t Dr. Shepherd freak out?”
Jules opened her mouth, but Mika beat her to it, her voice calm but amused. “All she said was, ‘Guess I’ll take the stairs,’ and walked away.”
Jules, still half-hiding behind her drink, muttered, “I think she was more annoyed about the inconvenience than the, you know… kissing.”
“Snogging,” Lucas chimed in again, because he was determined to be the most annoying person at this table.
Mika shot him a warning look. “Say that one more time and I swear—”
Lucas raised his hands in mock surrender. “Hey, hey—I’m just keeping the British romance alive.”
“So, wait… Was that the first time? The elevator?” Blue asked.
Mika’s face went warm. “No,” she said, maybe a little too quickly.
Jules cleared her throat, fiddling with the rim of her glass. “The first time was in the locker room. After a… moment.”
Lucas smirked. “A moment.”
“Yes, Lucas. A moment.” Jules gave him a look.
Simone, still grinning, leaned back in her chair. “You guys are really bad at being subtle.”
Jules groaned. “We were fine until Lucas walked in on us.”
“Snogging,” Lucas whispered.
Mika kicked him.
Jules was still staring down at her drink like it might hold the answer to every question she didn’t want to answer. “I really hate this,” she muttered under her breath.
“You’re the one who kicked Blue,” Mika whispered back. “This is kind of on you.”
Jules shot her a look. “I was aiming for Lucas.”
“Well,” Mika said, lips twitching into a grin, “you missed.”
Jules groaned softly, sinking even further into her chair.
Lucas, meanwhile, was still riding the high of their not-so-voluntary relationship reveal. “Honestly, I don’t know how I didn’t figure it out sooner. The ‘moment’ in the locker room? The elevator? You guys practically radiate unresolved tension.”
Simone snorted into her drink. “Right? It was so obvious.”
Jules narrowed her eyes at Simone. “You only knew because I told you.”
“Dramatically,” Simone added.
“It wasn’t dramatic!”
“It kind of was,” Mika murmured, just loud enough for Jules to hear.
Jules’ mouth fell open. “You’re supposed to be on my side.”
Mika shrugged, grinning. “I’m on the side of the truth.”
Lucas gasped. “Betrayal! The foundation of your relationship is crumbling.”
Mika deadpanned, “We’re very strong, actually.”
“Rock solid,” Jules muttered.
Simone grinned at them over the rim of her glass. “You guys are cute. Weird, but cute.”
“Thank you,” Mika said, flashing a triumphant smile at Jules.
Jules just shook her head, but there was a soft pink creeping up her neck—the same colour Mika had memorised a long time ago, back when this whole thing had been nothing more than a maybe.
Blue, still recovering, pointed a finger between them. “So… you guys kiss in elevators, have moments in locker rooms—what, is the OR next?”
Jules choked on her drink. “What? No!”
“We are professional.” Mika stated.
Lucas wiggled his eyebrows. “Are you?”
Jules glared at him. “Yes.”
Mika knew this wasn’t how it was supposed to go.
Not that they ever really had a plan—there was no timeline, no dramatic speech prepared for when they finally decided to tell everyone—but she always thought it would be… smoother. Something simple. A quiet admission over drinks with their friends, a casual “Yeah, we’re together,” followed by some playful teasing and a shift into something normal.
Not this.
Not Lucas catching them in an on-call room. Not Jules accidentally kicking Blue under the table. Not this chaotic explosion of jokes and awkward confessions, with Simone laughing like she’d just won the lottery and Lucas playing the role of the most annoying person on the planet.
But as Mika sat there, her knee still brushing Jules’ under the table, she realised… it didn’t feel like a mistake.
Because Jules was here—flustered and pink and glaring at Lucas—but here. And now their friends knew, at least some of them, and the world hadn’t ended.
It didn’t feel like they’d lost something by letting a few more people into their secret. If anything, Mika felt a strange sense of relief—like they could finally breathe a little easier.
And maybe this was okay. Messy, chaotic, unexpected—but okay.
Mika couldn’t ask for anything more. This was the happiness she needed after the accident. After Chloe. And she knew she’d always find that happiness with Jules.
The night stretched on with more jokes and a few rounds of drinks. Blue eventually let it go—though not without a few more. So you guys really kissed in an elevator? comments—and Simone, ever the supportive friend, winked at Mika more than once when Jules wasn’t looking.
By the time they left Joe’s, the air was warm, and Mika felt the weight of the day settling in her bones.
Jules slipped her hand into Mika’s as they walked back to her place—their place now, though Jules still slipped up sometimes and called it Max’s. Mika didn’t mind.
For a moment, they just stood there.
Jules leaned against the door, exhaling like she’d been holding her breath all night. “Well… that was a disaster.”
Mika smiled softly. “It wasn’t that bad.”
Jules raised an eyebrow. “Lucas asked if we were going to hook up in an OR.”
“After Blue asked if there was a ding in the elevator so we could stop making out.”
Jules groaned, dropping her head against the door. “I can’t believe this is how they found out.”
Mika shrugged, stepping closer, slipping her arms around Jules’ waist. “It’s kind of our brand.”
Jules tilted her head back, looking at her. “What, chaos?”
Mika grinned. “A little.”
Jules huffed a laugh, but her hands found Mika’s hips, pulling her in a fraction closer. “Are you okay with this?”
Mika knew what she was really asking. Not just this—not just tonight—but everything. Their relationship is out in the open, piece by piece, no longer just theirs.
Mika nodded. “I’m okay.” She paused, then added, “It wasn’t what I expected, but… it’s okay.”
Jules studied her, searching for cracks, but there weren’t any.
Mika meant it.
Finally, Jules’ lips tugged into a small smile. “I still can’t believe Lucas said snogging like five times.”
Mika laughed softly. “I should’ve kicked him the same way you kicked blue.”
Jules grinned. “You really should have.”