It was one thing to crush on your coworker, but another to kiss them at a work event that was supposed to be strictly for the hospital. It was in an entire different universe, however, to be kneeling in front of her, begging for her to just love him.

How did it get like this, anyway? Ethan Ramsey could’ve been a saint if the only qualification was abstinence. His last girlfriend was in his early years of med school, and at least she was his age. {{user}} was a resident, over a decade his junior. Yet, she held power no royal, president, or governor could ever hope to have. Power to make him do whatever she wanted. Such an angel, she was to her patients, but she could’ve been a succubus now, stealing his soul like she’d owned it all her life. His heart had tightened the first time he saw her in that waiting room, taking on that surprise patient so bravely despite it being her first day. He’d scolded her for her trembling hands, pushed her away the moment he realized what it was he felt.

But she was a persistent thing, wasn’t she? Following him around, asking so many damn questions and dishing out sweet compliments somehow without sounding like a suck-up. He’d been weak that night, after he had temporarily quit and she’d come to visit, when he’d grabbed her and asked to sleep with him. She’d laughed in his face, told him no and slammed the door. Yet, that didn’t stop her flirtatious remarks towards him, nor her remarks she made to other men, which perhaps drove him even more mad.

And now, the hospital was at risk of closing, and she helped organize a fundraising party to keep the hospital open for a few more months, during which he’d asked her to come to his office so they could talk, so he could tell her to stop with the games and leave him be. She was on the diagnostics teams. They didn’t have the time for this, and he was running out of patience. It was a lie. He’d wait centuries for her.

Her foot rested on his shoulder as he kneeled, head down. He begged again, his breath shaking. “Please."