A.N. Hey all! So this is my first time writing fanfiction in over a decade (I know, right?) so please bear with me. I love Meredith/Alex both as a friendship or romance, so had an idea to write a whole bunch of Merlex one-shots. They should be done in a format that means they can be read as continuous or alone, I'll specify in summaries if romance is involved or if it can be read as purely friendship for those who aren't fans of them as a relationship. They'll take place based from episodes, although likely won't be every episode, just ones I felt I could pull inspiration from. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

He hadn't told her yet. That, as far as he was concerned, she was perfect. That what you got with her was exactly what he wanted to see.

Now, don't be mistaken. He didn't mean it in this mushy way, like it was love at first sight. This was all just surface level stuff. As a doctor, at an intern level, she was as good as one could be. If he was awarding based on skill, that would have to go to Yang, and Stevens had a compassion he would never understand. Grey might not be top billing for each of those things, but she was a perfectly balanced combination. He aspired to be like that. He felt he could have Yang's skill if he worked hard enough, and he might not shown much compassion but he cared for the people that mattered. Yeah, okay, he supposed Grey possessed a certain level of hotness too, even if she had shown him up on his first case.

He allowed a fleeting moment of biting his lip while picturing her without the scrubs, then shook his head. He wondered if at some point, they might become friends rather than competitors, although he thought the twisted sisters may have already conspired to hate him. He had been working with Yang today, who had told him as much when she instantly called him out on his instance of insulting Grey. Of course, as a reflex, he insulted her, too.

Still, he might be working on Yang. She would come round to him sooner or later, especially when you offer her something to compete with. Test her abilities, she will be determined to prove herself, and she had. The race against the clock with their patients reflected in his need to find acceptance, although he would never admit that out loud. He figured the best way to connect with Yang, therefore breaking down one barrier to Grey, was in fact their shared lack of connection. So when a patient launched at Yang for a hug, it seemed only right to make a snarky comment and remark how he doesn't hug either. Of course, throwing an insult in there couldn't hurt - although he hadn't thought that through, falling back on misogyny was lazy, it could have used some work. He liked his wisecracks to have some thought behind them, not relying on the easy option - after all, he had managed to sidestep jokes about Grey spending the night with a penis.

It was just a fortunate twist of fate that patients actions aligned with his motives that day. He had managed to duck and dive his way out of hugs while Yang was enveloped by them, no doubt infuriating her and providing him with much amusement. He really thought she might be warming up to him. When they joked about his headache, about the possibility of a brain tumour, she had told him she would rip his face off for the chance at surgery. While he was certain it wasn't her intention, her turn of phrase made it sound almost as though that would be something she would not relish.

In retrospect, his day had gone fairly well. It had got him closer to achieving his aims. That's why, when O'Malley asked who had no idea what they were doing, he didn't raise his hand. He knew exactly what he was doing. He was doing three main things at Seattle Grace:

1. Learning to be better. Surrounding himself with these very different people taught him valuable skills, and he would be damned if he drained down the same gutter everyone else he knew had.

2. Getting people on side. Forming alliances. Yang may be against it, but she was acknowledging his existence. That was a step.

3. Only becoming more apparent as the day wound in, when he finally failed at dodging the hugs of others and found himself wishing to god that her arms were wrapped around him instead, and when admiring her beauty despite her bedraggled state while in the tunnels, he was absolutely confident that he was falling for Meredith Grey.

Damn it.