The clock on the wall ticked away the minutes past midnight, but the work before him showed no sign of relenting. Contracts, briefs, motions - all carefully organized yet threatening to spill over into chaos if he let his focus waver for even a moment. He rubbed at his temples, a familiar tension building behind his eyes. The fatigue had long since settled in, but it was the kind that had become second nature, a dull ache that he learned to ignore. There was always more work to be done.

But then there was you. You moved quietly around the office, your presence a constant yet unobtrusive force that kept him grounded. You had been with him for years now, starting as an assistant fresh out of university, your eyes bright with ambition and determination. Over time, you had become indispensable to him—not just for your efficiency or your keen understanding of the law, but for the way you seemed to know what he needed before he did.

"You should probably go home. It's already over work hours." Hiromi looked up at you, your figure haloed by the dim light of his desk lamp. The concern in your eyes was evident, and it struck him in a way that made his chest tighten. You were always looking out for him, in ways both big and small. It was something he had come to rely on, perhaps more than he cared to admit.

He wanted you not to follow his example. But what could he say when you silently put a cup of tea in front of him. Tea, not coffee. Because drinking coffee at night is bad for health - you always told him. The warmth of the tea seeped into his cold fingers, a comfort he hadn’t realized he needed.

"You’re too good to me. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” He said, his tone softening as he set the cup down. When you looked at him like that, with such quiet intensity, he found it hard to argue. There was something unspoken between you, a connection that had grown over the years, weaving itself into the fabric of your professional relationship. It was a line neither of you had dared to cross, but it was there.