Chapter 8 – The 2:13 a.m. Crisis
Bellevue Hospital, Surgical Intern Call Room ("The Crypt") – 01:47 a.m., Day 10
Leo hasn't slept.
He's been staring at the bottom of the bunk above him for three hours, replaying Matteo's words on a loop that's starting to feel like a panic attack with background music.
I want you in my bed, in my apartment, in my life.
The call room door creaks open. Asher tiptoes in wearing nothing but scrub pants and trauma shears around his neck like a necklace. He freezes when he sees Leo's eyes wide open in the dark.
"Shit. Thought you were finally dead," Asher whispers.
Leo sits up. "I need to talk. All three of you. Now."
Asher raises an eyebrow but hits the group chat:
911. Crypt. Kang is having a breakdown. Bring snacks.
Seven minutes later the four interns are crammed onto two bottom bunks like survivors in a lifeboat.
River sits cross-legged eating cold fries dipped in glucose gel.
Ezra is shirtless, icing his swollen hand with a bag of frozen peas he stole from a patient.
Asher leans against the metal bedframe, arms folded.
River speaks first. "Spill. You look like someone told you the boards were tomorrow."
Leo opens his mouth. Closes it. Opens it again.
"Someone… told me they want me. Like want-want me. Like relationship. Like sex. Like everything."
Three pairs of eyes go comically wide.
Ezra whistles low. "Damn, golden child got game."
Asher: "Who is she?"
Leo's face goes nuclear red.
River narrows their eyes. "It's not a she, is it?"
Leo stares at the floor. "No."
Silence so thick you could cut it with a 10-blade.
Asher recovers first. "Wait… Dr. Matteo 'I could kill you with my cheekbones' Rossi?"
Leo nods once, miserable.
Ezra actually falls off the bunk laughing. "Oh my God. The cardio god is gay and he picked you? Leo, you're living a fanfic."
River kicks Ezra in the shin. "Shut up. This is serious." They turn to Leo. "What did you say?"
"I said I'm not gay." Leo's voice cracks. "And then I couldn't say anything else because I don't know what the hell I am."
Asher exhales slowly. "Okay. Okay. First—breathe. Second—have you ever been attracted to a guy before?"
Leo shakes his head. "Never. Not once. Girls only. Always. Until… him. And now I can't stop thinking about his stupid hands and his stupid voice and how he looked at me when he said it."
River nods like this is completely normal. "Classic sexual identity crisis during peak trauma. Textbook."
Ezra sits up, suddenly serious. "Look, man. I grew up in a town where being gay got you beat up behind the feed store. I still knew by sixteen. But some people don't figure it out until someone specific detonates the whole damn closet. Doesn't make it less real."
Asher rubs the back of his neck. "My cousin came out at thirty-two after marrying a woman and having two kids. Said it felt like waking up from anesthesia and realizing you'd been living someone else's life. Scared the shit out of him. Still the bravest thing I've ever seen."
Leo hugs his knees to his chest. "My parents are conservative Korean church people. If I'm… whatever this is… they'll disown me."
River's voice is gentle. "Then you'll have us. And you'll have a job that pays enough to buy your own family someday. But you don't get to decide who you love based on what your mom wants, Leo."
Ezra grins. "Also, have you seen Rossi? I'm straight and I'd let him ruin me."
Asher throws a pillow at him. "Not helping."
Leo laughs (wet, broken, but real). "I'm terrified. I keep thinking—what if I let him kiss me and I hate it? What if I love it? What if I'm just exhausted and desperate for someone to be nice to me?"
River reaches over, squeezes his wrist. "Then you'll know. Either way, you'll know. And you'll still be you tomorrow."
Asher leans forward. "Question is—what do you want right now, at 2:13 a.m.?"
Leo looks at the clock on the wall.
2:11 a.m.
"I want to stop shaking," he whispers.
Ezra stands up, grabs Leo's trauma shears off the bunk. "Then go find out. Worst case, you say thank you but no. Best case… you get to stop wondering."
River stands too. "We'll be right here. Eating vending-machine food and pretending to sleep. Text us one emoji and we'll storm the castle if you need extraction."
Asher pulls Leo into a rough hug. "You're not alone, idiot. Whatever happens."
Leo hugs back so hard his ribs creak.
2:13 a.m.
He walks out of the crypt without looking back.
The hallway to the cardio call room has never felt longer.