Partners

●Hiromi's POV●

I thought that wanting to feel love was long gone. After my ex husband, there was a big part of me that didn’t want to love again and just wanted to focus all my love to my daughter Mai and to my profession.

I'll admit that I do feel lonely sometimes, seeing people around me with their loved ones, with their partners that they could rely on. I didn’t have a boyfriend nor was I searching for one although there's some chances that I can if I want it but my heart just can't till everything changed when I met you.

Is it fate? I’d like to think so.

Are we really just friends, surgery partners, work companions? ~ I hope not.

'I'm getting more confused'

I never realized, even though we’d been together for almost 10 years now, that my life has changed since the day we met ~including my heart…

You said that you don't need a partner, that you only love doing surgery, maybe equal affection to your food. I said the same thing that I'm not interested in romance either but… that wasn’t necessarily true, was it?

I’d have fallen in love with you regardless, because no one else has ever made me feel so… complete. Even when I was with someone, trying to have a date, I found myself thinking of you, thinking that this food I ate, Daimon-san would love to try it also and ending up mentioning your name sometimes and before I noticed, you are already become a part of my daily life, I always wanting to see you happy, spending time with you outside from work even just eating a simple takoyaki or grilled meat.

Remember when I got upset but you just quickly offered me those coupons you've been hiding from Akira-san? You're smiling widely, I was upset that time but as I stared at you longer, I realized that you're not that cold and arrogant Daimon-san that I met when we first met. When did that change?

I left you that time as you called out my name offering to eat with me, I was upset but mostly I'm confused about this feeling of wanting to see you smile, only with me.. ~ for me.

I felt so lonely after our disagreement about the surgery. I know when it comes to your profession you know perfectly what you're doing no matter how many people around us are stopping you. You can always stop them by your famous line that 'I never fail.'
You always prove that It's just not a word and deep inside me, I always wanna do the same, that as your partner, 'I won't fail either.' That I, Hiromi Jonouichi will never fail because I have you ~ we got each other to save the patient in front of us even if everyone around left us.

I didn’t think about the 'partner' word before and never thought about it that much or what it could mean for us… but…

—

“What is up with you lately?”

“Huh? What do you mean?” I asked you back.

“You seem like getting upset at me even on little and simple things most of the time, what's going on?"