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1. It started out innocently enough, around Dennis’ second week in The Pitt.
Dr. Mohan was building rapport with patients as she always does, when a repeat patient came by to get her stitches removed after a knife accident. The patient was a representative for Avon and brought multiple sets of old jewelry stock with her as a way to say thank you. Many of the items that the patient brought were men’s jewelry sets, various earrings, and necklaces with birthstones.
This caught the attention of many of the residents as just a fun way to break up the monotony of an average Tuesday, especially since the nature of their work usually prevented them from getting gifts.
Taking advantage of an afternoon lull, the interns and the residents gathered around the nurses station, sorting through the pile of jewelry that the patient left for them.
Dr. Mohan picked up a flower birthstone necklace that was silver and ridiculously gaudy. Smiling and turning to Trinity, she mimed putting it on.
“Trin! You’d look so good in this!” Mel said, holding up a thin gold chain to the young doctor's neck.
“I appreciate the compliment, but obviously not-it's better suited for Huckleberry, not me!”
Dennis was lost in his own world thinking about how Dr. Robby grabbed his shoulder earlier. He could still feel the outline of his hand on his deltoid. At Trinity's comment, he whipped his head around, flustered.
“Me? I have never worn a necklace in my life! Do you want me to try that on? Do you think that would look good?” he stammered.
“Of course I’m talking to you. Who else would I be talking to, Huckleberry? Yes, I want you to try it on. I’m serious.”
Dennis took the necklace in his hands and fumbled with the clasp to try to put on the necklace. Dana noticed him and quickly came to the rescue-Trinity seemed to enjoy watching him suffer.
“ Gosh kid, I would’ve thought that you were defusing a bomb with the urgency you are going into that with. Not that we have any bombs around here that need defusing. Here, let me help.”
Dennis, relieved at the concept of someone helping, relaxed a little when he felt Dana‘s cool, small hands at the back of his neck, fixing the necklace into place. Relaxed and breathing normally for the moment, Dennis did not hear Dr. Robby come up behind him.
Dennis felt warm hands quickly brush his shoulder blades. “What are we doing here, hard at work or hardly working?” Dr. Robby said as he picked up a rogue earring stud that was close to falling off the nurses' station desk.
Dennis quickly stuttered out. “I’m sorry, sir. We just were-"
“Forget it, you all need a break anyways; what do we have here? Some sort of fashion show?" The older man, rolled the earring in his hand, catching Mel's eye, then Dennis'.
Dr. Mohan spoke up first. “Mrs. Kennedy in room two gave us some of her extra Avon stock as a gift, and we were trying it on. Sorry for the disruption.”
“ Well just make sure that you clean up after yourselves; don’t want to create a fall hazard." Dr. Robby turned to Dennis, who was messing with his new necklace. “Whitaker, I think gold is your color.”
Dr. Robby gave Dennis a hard clap on the back and swiftly walked away, probably to get more coffee.
Trinity burst out laughing.
“Huckleberry, you look like you’ve seen a ghost or your crush or... something like that. What was that?”
Dennis smoothed his hand down his hair and looked to the side, “I just didn’t want us to get in trouble, that’s all," he said as he avoided Trinity‘s gaze.
The group all finished putting on their new jewelry and cleaned up the nurses station while Dennis continued to fiddle with his necklace.
Over the next couple days, it became apparent that Dennis liked to use the necklace as a fidget toy instead of a fashion statement. Quickly, it became obvious that it would not hold up to his ministrations.
One day during a code, Dennis was furiously preforming CPR to save his patient. During the compressions, he felt something cold and metal slither down the front of his shirt and fall on the floor.
Fuck, Dennis thought to himself as he quickly used his foot to slide the broken necklace out of the way of the other workers. Dr. Robby popped in to check on things and happened to see this event occur. Keeping it to himself for now, Dr. Robby instead asked about labs, and if they came back yet.
Only later in the day, when the two had the chance to sit down with some coffee and charting, did Dr. Robby bring up the situation. “Where did your necklace go? The one that you were so attached to the other day?”
Dennis, completely startled by this interaction and question choice, quickly glanced up from his computer. “Uhh, it actually fell off when I was doing CPR earlier on Mr. Dalton. The clasp must have broken and that's why it fell off. So there’s that anyways..."
Dr. Robby had an amused look in his eye, “Oh really? That’s a bummer. You seem to really like it."
That was the last of the necklace Dennis heard for awhile. It wasn’t until Dennis received a text from Dr. Robby the following week that things started to get interesting.
Hey Whitaker, could you join me after our shift today? I have something you might be interested in.
Completely taken aback at what this could mean, Dennis’ mind started to race about the week's events. Did he want to give him a lecture about how he handled a patient de-escalation? Did he have another opportunity with the street team?
Did he have a piece of research for him to read? The possibilities were endless and Dennis’ mind couldn’t seem to stop racing.
That night when shift ended, Dennis met Dr. Robby in the locker room while he was getting changed.
“Oh, Dr. Robby? I didn’t see you there. What did you have for me? The thing you texted about earlier?”
“That’s right," Dr. Robby said , "I have this.”
Dr. Robby pulled out a flat 4 x 4” box from his backpack. “I couldn’t help but think of the necklace that you broke the other day and how much you seem to like it. I felt bad that it broke.”
Dennis was gawking at Robby’s hand and the box inside of it. He couldn’t seem to wrap his mind around the uncharacteristic act.
"I just wanted to show my appreciation for all that you do and your help in this ER, I don’t want you to pay me back or anything. I know you aren't getting paid.”
Dennis was blinking at the strange scenario.
“Thank you Dr. Robby, I really don’t know what to say. You really didn’t have to do that.”
Dennis reached out and took the box, because why not? He couldn’t afford to buy breakfast anymore, so why not take something free when given to him? Dennis took the necklace out of the box and gasped at the thin gold chain and its obvious high quality. Dennis knew that there wouldn’t be any indication of how much it cost other than its appearance. He took the necklace in his hand, and once again struggled with the clasp.
“Here kid, turn around," Dr. Robby said. He took the delicate necklace from Dennis' fingers and carefully laid it over his collarbones. With his steady hands and keen eyes, Dr. Robby fastened the clasp in no time.
Dr. Robby turned Dennis around by his shoulders and smoothed the fabric of his T-shirt down with the palms of his large hands. “That looks great, Whitaker. It really suits your face.” Robby smiled at Dennis, who turned a bright shade of pink.
“Thank you, Dr. Robby, I think you picked well, thank you again."
He looked down at the floor and smoothed his hand down his hair. Taking a deep breath in and trying not to think too hard, Dennis quickly gathered up his clothes and backpack and headed out towards the exit without any other word.
2. 8 months later, Dennis was starting his first year of internship at the PTMC, this time getting paid for his work. He was at his apartment, filling out the compliance documents for starting his residency program when he looked down at his phone and saw a text from Dr. Robby, which shocked him, since he hadn't texted him much since the end of his rotation ages ago.
Dr. Whitaker, I heard about what happened at the training earlier.
The other day at a mandatory on-boarding training, Dennis' shoes got caught in the blast radius of some fake blood. Dennis’ shoes were ruined, and he had yet to buy a replacement due to not having a paycheck-yet. Dennis was just going to wash his shoes out in the sink until he was able to buy new ones; so much for starting out his internship on a good note.
Dr. Robby sent another text.
Tomorrow morning at 9:30 before you go to the second training, I’ll pick you up.
Dennis was a little bit frazzled by being called Dr. Whitaker, but also confused since the training started at 11 and not 10.
Dr. Robby, isn’t 9:30 a little early to leave for the training? Is there something on the schedule I don’t know about?
Dennis put down his phone and waited for a reply from the older man. He saw the three dots appearing and disappearing a couple times. Dennis’ phone vibrated again, playing the special tone that he programmed just for him. He figured it was safe to leave his volume on at home.
Yeah, I actually wanted to show you something before we head over there. Is that all right? Do you care if we take a detour?
Dennis would obviously take any detour with Dr. Robby, so he replied That’s fine. What did you have in mind, anything specific?
You’ll see. was the only reply that Dennis got back.
Dennis could hardly get to sleep that night, and Trinity wouldn’t stop giving him hell for it. “Oh, looks like Huckleberry has a little crush! Can’t even go to sleep! So excited like a kid before the first day of kindergarten! Damn, Huckleberry, you’ve got it bad!”
Dennis regretted telling Trinity about tomorrow, especially since he didn’t even know what was going on. Dennis started to become anxious thinking about where Dr. Robby would take him.
The following morning, Dennis heard a car pull up outside of their apartment at 9:27 AM as his stomach formed a knot. Of course, he was all ready to go with his backpack in tow. Dennis quickly locked their door and hurried down the steps to where he found a black Ford F-150 idling in the street.
Dennis opened the door and was greeted by Dr. Robby.
“Dr. Robby, thank you so much for giving me a ride, and also this detour- where are we headed?” Dennis vomited out as he buckled himself in.
“Oh, we’re just gonna do a little shopping," Dr. Robby said calmly though this didn't soothe Dennis. "...and you can call me Robby or Michael, you don’t have to call me Dr. when we’re not inside the hospital.”
Dennis‘s poor heart couldn’t handle this; the tips of his ears turned pink.
“ Sure Robby, just uhh...lead the way.”
At this point, Dennis was just happy to sit back and enjoy the ride. Robby could take him to the DMV and he would have a great time just because he was with him. A lot had changed since he first started his rotation: he was a year older and had done some reflection on from when he first was working with Robby. He had come to realize that the two were probably closer than what was professionally appropriate.
Dennis was lost in thought again as he looked out the window when the two pulled into a boot store parking lot. Dennis found this strange as he couldn’t even imagine why Robby would bring him to a boot store. He knows that he wears boots himself- a brown hiking boot- but Dennis doesn’t wear boots, and he doesn’t know why Robby would bring him if he needed to shop for himself.
“What kind of boots do you like, Whitaker?" Robby asked him.
Dennis was surprised, “Well, I always love cowboy boots, but they’re not necessarily practical in medicine, and I haven't brought any over here since I started school. “
Robby held the door open for Dennis, and the two entered the shop. Robby ushered Dennis over to a bench and sat him down. Robby knelt down and grabbed Dennis' ankle, lifting the sole of his soiled shoe so he could read it.
"You wear size 8 in boots, Whitaker?"
Dennis wasn’t dumb. He knew what was happening and assumed it was like the necklace situation and decided not to put up any sort of fight, because at that point, it would be rude of him. They both got up earlier than they needed to attend the training in order to go shopping beforehand.
"Yeah, but sometimes 8 1/2 depending on what it is."
Robby got up and left Dennis to stew in his own thoughts.
Robby soon returned with an armload full of different boxes of boots. He set them down on the bench beside Dennis and kneeled down again. Without saying anything, Robby swiftly untied the soiled shoe strings of Dennis’ New Balances. At this point, Dennis didn’t have it in him to say anything, so he just let Robby do whatever he wanted to do to him. Robby firmly grabbed Dennis’ ankle and slipped the shoe off of his foot- firm but caring. Robby pulled out the first boot, which happened to be a brown, leather, traditional cowboy boot. He brought it over to Dennis' foot and slid it on, tucking it under his scrubs.
“Stand up let me see.”
Dennis did as he was told.
Robby stood up from where he was knelt, blew out a deep breath, crossed his arms in front of him, and pointed a finger directly at Dennis.
"That doesn't go with the material of the scrubs; the wash of the leather is too light."
Dennis didn’t really have anything to say, so he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Robby hummed and bent down and caressed each side of his ankle, lifted up his pant leg and assessed the cut of the top of the boot, then asked him to turn around.
“Yeah, I don’t think those are the ones; sit back down."
Dennis complied and lifted up the leg of his pants so that Robby would have less work to do, feeling useless.
“Ah ah, let me help with that. This is my turn to take care of you. You’ve helped me plenty.” Dennis flushed at that as Robby settled his folded hands over Dennis‘s bent knee, then slowly moved them down his pant leg and used both hands to pull off the boot. Next he reached into another box- one that looked insanely more expensive- and pulled out a masculine, clean gray pair of suede cowboy boots with a black heel.
“ ...suede, isn’t that kind of… contradictory for what we do in the ER, isn’t that kind of hard to clean?”
“ Anything is hard to clean, I mean, take a look at your current situation.”
Dennis flushed and twisted his fingers together, nodding even as he looked at the floor.
“ Yeah… you have a point, I guess. Yours have some suede too. Do you have problems taking care of them?”
“It’s here and there. I use a suede fabric spray to make it waterproof so that it’s easier to clean things off of them.”
This time, Robby's hand rolled up his pant leg so that they wouldn’t have to keep the fabric out of the way. Robby’s hands, skilled as ever, took the dove gray boot and slid it over Dennis' foot, shoving the boot on it and sliding his hands over either side of his ankle, relishing in the silhouette that it brought to his leg.
“Stand up for me again, Whitaker; let me see what those look like.”
Just as obedient as before, Dennis did what he was told, and rose to both feet. This time, Robby's reaction was completely different. He let out a soft groan and exhaled, bringing both of his hands to the back of his head, smoothing down his hair just like Dennis does occasionally.
“Yeah, I think these may be the ones, I really like how they make you look, and the color matches our scrubs beautifully. What do you think?”
Dennis’ brain was feeling a bit fuzzy, and he honestly didn’t care either way what he was wearing knowing that Robby picked it out. Dennis started to furiously nod with a glazed off look in his eye.
“Yeah, yeah I think these are the ones; I think they look really good. Thank you Dr. Robby.”
“Hey, drop the ‘doctor’ in public. But yes, I agree. Why don’t you put the other one on to try on too before we go and check out?”
Robby stepped back to give Dennis some room while he fussed with the boots, pulling on the other one and standing up, feeling how the shoes sat on his feet, if there was enough room in the toe box, and if they would rub on his heels, etc.
Robby, telling he was satisfied, said “Alright kid, change back in those shoes to check out and I’ll head to the front”. Dennis was buzzing. He sat back down and pulled the boots off and handed them to Robby. Robby immediately stood and went to clean up the mess of the other boots that were lying there, now discarded-irrelevant. He then gathered the new boots and went to the checkout while Dennis fumbled with his laces. He was not going to have a say about how much the boots cost or even have a chance to offer to pay for them; that was not the point of this visit.
Dennis eventually got his old shoes back on and met Robby just as the cashier was handing him his receipt. The two headed out the door and back to Robby's truck. They had plenty of time before the training, so they were in no hurry to get where they needed to go. Before Robby went to the driver door, he opened Whitaker's passenger door and slid a hand on his hip in passing. Dennis climbed in, only slightly clumsy, settled into the seat and buckled his seatbelt.
“I’m not quite ready to go yet,” Robby said as he reached over from the driver's seat and undid Dennis’ seatbelt. “Turn towards me, Whitaker.”
Dennis had no problem following Robby's instructions; his head was feeling light and fuzzy, and he didn’t have any complaints at all. Dennis turned 90 degrees to face the man and looked over at him somewhat confused. Robby also turned to face him with his knees hitting the front of the center seat.
Robby reached for Dennis' closest leg and brought it up over the bench seat so that he could reach it on his lap, and slowly begin to untie the laces of Dennis' old New Balances. Robby slipped off the shoe, straightening out Dennis' sock and rolling back his scrub pants so they were out of the way, gently and tenderly. He did the same to the other leg, taking his time and put both of Dennis’s New Balances on the dash. Slack-jawed, Dennis could only watch as Dr. Robby brought over the new shoebox because Robby carried it, of course he did, and brought over one of the boots.
Robby took his time looking at the boot and lining it up with Dennis' foot, making eye contact with him before he shoved his foot in it. Instead of immediately going and putting on the other boot, Robby really looked at it on Dennis' leg and, how he was propped up in his passenger seat. Robby brought Dennis’ shoe up to his face and took a deep inhale relishing in the scent of the leather and the suede. Robby brought his hands up from his knee and brought them down to both of his ankles for no particular reason that he could disguise at this point, just to feel how the shoes fit on Whitaker's slim leg.
Whitaker took a shaky breath in and made direct eye contact with Robby. "That feels good, I mean they feel good. I think we made the right choice.” Dennis said as best as he could.
Robby nodded and didn’t say anything else but continued to finish dressing the other man slowly, sinking his other foot into the shoe. At this point, both of the boots were on and Robby was in a mood to play with Dennis, especially with the implied consent that he also wanted whatever this was to continue. Robby circled both of Dennis' heels with the surface of his palm, cinching in his feet in his tight grasp. Robby brought in his legs all the way straight, then pushed them back towards Dennis' stomach, folding him up like a ball and then bringing them back out, under the guise of checking the motion that is available with the boots.
“It might take some time to break these in, but I think they will be extremely comfortable for you in no time; just bear through the stiffness for a week or two and they’ll be golden.” Robby reached into his glove compartment and pulled out a small bottle of spray. The bottle read "suede protector." Robby uncapped the bottle and shook it. "Hold your breath, I don’t want you to get lightheaded,” Robby said, as he rolled the windows down.
With a precision that can only be found working in emergency medicine for 30 years, Robby sprayed Dennis' shoes and gently placed his feet down on the middle seat when he was done. Robby exhaled and sat back to admire his work, satisfied with how he’d prepped Dennis’ boots.
“Just let that dry and then you’ll be ready to wear them. I’ll be happy to touch up the spray later and help you clean up any messes that you may make with the shoes. I’ve had plenty of experience cleaning suede, so don’t worry about that.”
Dennis nodded, not trusting himself to say anything, but just reveling in the afterglow of whatever the hell just happened. He didn’t move but just continued to look up at Robby. The man chuckled and looked over at Whitaker, who slowly reached over and put his feet on the floor mat, careful to not scuff the edge of the wet suede on the door or the middle seat. Robby reached over and pulled the seatbelt down over Dennis' lap and clicked the seatbelt into place.
“Ready to go, Whitaker?” Robby asked the younger man, not expecting a response. Dennis only nodded and that was the only confirmation Robby needed. Since the hospital was about 20 minutes down the road, the pair had a little bit of time to decompress after what just happened. After about 10 minutes, Dennis could feel himself returning to his body and was becoming less spacey. He felt like his old self again by the time Robby pulled into the hospital parking garage.
The two were exiting the truck when Robby pulled Dennis' old shoes from where they were still resting on the dashboard. Without saying a word, the two walked into the hospital and passed a trashcan on the way in. Robby threw away the shoes, not even taking a second look in the trash can's direction as the pair headed in towards the emergency department.
“I just wanted to say thank you again, Dr. Robby, I really appreciate you buying this for me,” Dennis said as he looked up at Robby through long eyelashes. “It just sucks that they had an equipment malfunction in the training.”
“Don’t worry about it, Dr. Whitaker, I am glad to help,” Dr. Robby said as he clapped his hand on his shoulder.
3. The holidays were soon approaching. The ER staff had occasionally talked about doing a “holiday gift exchange”, where you draw names and buy a gift for that person. They were set to draw names in the first week of December and do the actual exchange on a certain shift change day when they were all available, at this point being the 23rd. The first week of December was soon approaching, and Dr. Robby was hoping that he would receive the sole person that he wanted for his recipient.
The crew gathered around the nurses' station during shift change, and a little bucket was provided with all of the names for everyone to buy a gift for those who wanted to participate. They made Robby go first, which made him even more anxious because that meant that there was a bigger chance of having literally anybody else besides Whitaker being his recipient. He reached his hand into the bucket and somehow the fates aligned- the name he pulled out was in fact Dennis’. It was a miracle. Dennis ironically received Trinity‘s name, and Abbott received Robby's name.
Dr. Robby had already been thinking of what he wanted to get Whitaker next. He didn’t have a watch and was always asking him what time it was because after the cell phone incident, he left his cell phone in his locker, which created a very stressful situation for Robby.
He had his eye on a vintage Nixon watch that he had spotted in a flea market store that was close to his house. Besides, the worn leather, and beautiful watch face really made Robby think of Whitaker and his farm upbringing.
The watch was brown leather with a gunmetal grey watch face, and was just an absolute stunner. He was familiar with the Nixon brand himself, and it was what he wore. Production of the watch stopped in 2019, or Robby would’ve bought it new for him. He realized that it went way over the price limit for the gift exchange, but Whitaker didn’t have to know that, nor did anyone else. This was the perfect opportunity for him to get something else for Dennis without crossing lines. He wasn’t even sure what lines he hadn't already crossed.
It took forever for the 23rd to arrive, and Robby’s heart was gnawing a hole in him. He couldn’t wait to give him the watch. The crew was gathering around the nurses' station yet again, with both shifts aggregating around the table. After some thank yous and rigmarole, it was finally Robby's turn to give Dennis his watch. Robby suddenly felt anxious as they were being watched and had to monitor himself in his behavior towards Dennis this time. He brought out the small gift bag and handed it over to Dennis, who looked pleasantly surprised to see that his secret gift exchange sponsor was Robby. A pink flush crept across his cheeks as he accepted the bag.
Dennis dug through the tissue paper to pull out a slim box not unlike the necklace's. “Dr. Robby, what is this?” he said as he pulled out the box. Dennis opened it to find a watch that wasn’t dissimilar to Robby‘s own. It was a gorgeous leather watch with a steel watch face: perfect, well-loved, and high-quality. Dennis gasped when he pulled it out “Dr. Robby this is gorgeous. You really didn’t have to buy something like this!”
Out of the corner of his eye, Dennis saw Princess nudge Perla as they quickly exchange some words in Tagalog. Robby replied quickly in an obvious lie “It was within the price limit; don’t worry about it,” he said with a smile, and patted him on the shoulder.
Dennis somehow managed to put the watchband on by himself, under the hawk-like gaze of Dr. Robby.
Breathing out, satisfied with his gift, Robby gave Dennis a small smile as if to say there’s more to come.
Later in the day, as the two were finishing up shift change, Dennis couldn’t help but go find Robby and thank him privately.
“Thank you, doctor, I really appreciate the gift you got me earlier. I think it will really be helpful in the ER here and in general of course. I love the color of the leather as well.”
Dr. Robby smiled at the recognition of his planning. “I know that it would go well with your skin just like that gold necklace. You really do look handsome in that you know.”
He slid his hand around Dennis‘s hip and gave it a squeeze and turned to leave for the evening, leaving Dennis a twitching mess.
4. Dennis had a peculiar problem. In an attempt to save funds, he frequented the Great Clips that was a walkable distance from his apartment exclusively. He got his hair cut maybe once every 8-10 weeks for only $20. Despite the haircuts being affordable, Dennis was stretching out visits in order to help save up for a car. He had been growing his hair out more than he usually did, when he decided to walk to get a haircut on one of his days off. With dismay, Dennis read that the building was bought out for construction of a parking lot, and the Great Clips was moving across town. Dismayed, Dennis filed this under "problems to deal with later".
A couple of weeks later, Dennis started to get annoyed. His bangs were falling into his eyes, and his hair was longer than it ever was in his life, with the back curling down close to his collar. Dr. Robby took notice of this, and stopped Dennis in the hallway when walking back from a patient case. He caught Dennis clumsily brushing the hair out of his eyes for what felt like the 15th time today.
"Whitaker, are you growing your hair out?" Dr. Robby asked as he brought his large hand to the back of Dennis' neck and sank his hand into the curls there, tugging slightly at the ends.
"Not particularly. To be honest, my barber shop closed, and I don't have a car, or want to spend the extra bus money to go to a new one. I actually asked Santos this weekend to trim my-"
Dr. Robby cut Dennis off almost rudely. "You and I know that is a terrible idea... Tell you what, are you free after today's shift?"
They were working the night shift, so it would be roughly 8 am after shift change.
Dennis spluttered out, "I can't say I do, Dr. Robby. Just sleep...you know." Dennis chuckled to himself, silently cursing himself and the seemingly endlessly awkward situations he finds himself in.
"Good. Meet me out front when you are done, I have a place I want to take you."
This sent chills down Dennis' spine. It was fairly obvious that Dr. Robby wanted to take him to get his hair cut somewhere . The anticipation of not knowing anything about where Dr. Robby wanted to take him formed a pleasant burning hole in his stomach. He just had to get through this shift.
It seemed as if shift change would never come. There were two codes, and several mystery patient cases that stretched out Dennis' early morning. By the time he finished and changed into his street clothes, it was 8:26, and he was more anxious to leave than ever before. He made his way to the exit and found Dr. Robby parked where he said he would. Dennis opened the door to his truck and pulled himself into the cab with a strange sense of déjà vu.
"That shift seemed like it would never end, didn't it Whitaker?"
Robby sighed and put the truck into drive. He headed out on the main road, with Dennis still not knowing where they were going, until Dr. Robby finally spoke up.
"I guess you inferred by our conversation earlier, but we are going to my favorite barber shop. It's on the other side of town, so it will be a little bit of a drive."
Dr. Robby settled into the lull of driving, then suddenly remembered what else he wanted to say. He abruptly held up his index finger, letting his arm take up space in the middle of the cab.
"I don't want to hear it either, at this point, your hair has become a safety hazard- I don't want Gloria on my ass!" Robby smiled to indicate it was lighthearted.
There it was again, that floaty feeling Dennis got when he was with Dr. Robby.
Dennis nodded, "Thank you sir, I really appreciate it. This is the longest my hair has ever been if you could believe it."
Dr. Robby snorted, whether it was directed at "sir", or the personal fact about Dennis.
"Really, kid? Do you like that it's longer? You used to have pretty short hair."
"Yeah, I mean, it's kinda fun to try something new. I don't really like how long it is at the moment, but I like it now better than the shorter length." Dennis gave a shy smile, his face a permanent blush. "Doctor, what do you think of my hair, how do you think I should get it cut?"
Robby exhaled, and gripped the steering wheel a little tighter, "You really want my opinion? I think you should get a shaggy mullet. Would really look good with those curls. Longer bangs, and back, with the sides close to the same length you had before."
The truck reached a stoplight. Robby reached over and combed his hand through Dennis' overgrown curls. Robby was deep in thought, looking at Dennis' head and moving his hair here and there, visualizing the proposed haircut.
Dennis leaned into the touch, and spoke up, "I trust your judgement-I want what you suggested." He gave a small smile to his boss, who returned it before the light turned green.
After about 20 minutes, the pair reached the more expensive end of town, and Robby pulled into the parking lot of a high-end barbershop. This perplexed Dennis, as he never took Robby as a man of luxury, despite the fact he had an attending's salary. Robby put the truck into park, leaned over Dennis lap, and opened his door for him while making eye contact with the younger man. Dennis, for a lack of a better word, spilled out of the car until his feet reached the ground. Robby joined Dennis in the parking lot, and threw his arm around his shoulders while the two walked in.
Thankfully, this was the type of establishment that took walk-ins much to Dennis relief. Though lack of an appointment didn't seem to matter anyways, as a bubbly blonde exclaimed "Michael! Haven't seen you in forever, who is this?"
Robby smiled at the woman, "I know, I've just been busy. This is Dennis, and he wanted to try a new barber shop."
The blonde smiled and said, "Of course, we would love to have you Dennis, just take a seat, and our stylist will be out shortly."
Dennis and Robby took a seat in the plush waiting area, while Dennis was filled with a new wave of anxiety. Thankfully, the blonde didn't ask how the two knew each other. Dennis couldn't decide on what lie to tell; was Robby Dennis' uncle, or his neighbor? Either option creeped Dennis out severely, so he stopped entertaining a lie in his head. Dennis' anxiety soon disappeared though, when the barber came out. He was a larger, bear-like man who had a kind smile and welcoming eyes, not entirely unlike Dr. Robby.
After standard pleasantries, Dennis took a seat in the barber chair and began to describe the haircut that Dr. Robby told him would look good. While the barber wet his hair and combed it back, Dennis felt eyes on him. He stole a glance over his right shoulder to find Dr. Robby's unwavering stare. His phone was abandoned at his side, as the show in front of him was irresistible.
To some people, your attending doctor watching you get a haircut might be uncomfortable, but to Dennis it was the opposite. A warmth grew in his stomach and his shoulders relaxed, toes still curled in anticipation in the boots that Dr. Robby bought him. Dennis felt the first few clumps of hair fall to his shoulders. Some of it got caught on the necklace that Dr. Robby gifted him, a distinct reminder of his presence.
Dennis closed his eyes and enjoyed the moment, knowing he was safe in Robby's proximity, getting the haircut that he knows would look good on him. To Dennis, Dr. Robby seemed to know everything. Dennis felt like clay, being shaped in safe, warm, hands that planned out every detail, no matter how small. Dennis slipped away, the stress of the night and exhaustion taking over him, head fuzzy, and heart content.
Robby knew what was coming the minute he saw Dennis’ head bobbing. The younger man was in the prime position to fall asleep with the lull of water running, hairdryer blowing, and the soft snip of scissors near his ear. After working the night shift, the boy didn’t stand a chance. Only feeling slightly guilty about deliberately putting Dennis in this situation, Robby walked over to where the barber was working at an angle, at risk of developing carpal tunnel due to the sleeping form below him.
“I can help with positioning him; it’s no problem at all” Dr. Robby said to the barber, who happened to be a long time friend of his.
“That would be a great help, Michael. Jesus, how hard did you work this kid?” He asked already knowing who Dennis was to Robby, having received a text in advance and many stories before, as well as being aware of his sugaring habits.
Robby pulled up a folding chair beside and in front of Dennis’ sleeping form and held his right arm out so that his hand was cupping the underside of his jaw. He wrapped his left arm around his shoulders. It was fortunate that this salon was pretty private and not busy this morning.
Robby’s heart raced at being able to see and touch Dennis’ face up close, firm fingers sinking into the soft flesh around his jaw and lips. Robby’s arm settled into Dennis’ shoulders, a strong and comforting presence if the boy were awake. The barber began to cut his hair again, and inevitably, little pieces of Dennis’ hair settled in his sweater, and in a strange way, Robby didn’t care. It was a physical reminder of their intermingling.
The barber was finishing up Dennis haircut and putting curl cream in his hair when Robby began to feel Dennis began to stir a bit. He mumbled something a bit incoherent, obviously talking in his sleep, until the older man was able to make out something about “doctor". Robby’s face turned beet red, embarrassed at the public admittance of how he lived rent free in Dennis' head.
“Dr. Robby , nghhh want....y-”. Robby could barely make out the words this time, still flushed from the first time this happened.
What Dennis said this time made the barber laugh out loud and he allowed himself to bathe in the embarrassment of his friend. Dr. Robby quickly removed his arms from Dennis and stood up. He positioned himself in front of Dennis to quickly wake him up, so no more of Dennis' secrets would be revealed.
...
Sometime later, Dennis felt his shoulders being shaken, with an unfamiliar snort coming from behind him. Dr. Robby was in front of him, waking him up.
"Hey Dennis! Are you with me?" and then to the snort behind him, "I'm sorry, he just came from working the night shift, I knew this would happen."
At this, Dennis was fully awake, startled, and realized he was seated in a barber's chair. Incredibly embarrassed, and recognizing what happened, Dennis apologized, hiding his face in shame.
This pushed a button in Robby, and did his best to alleviate the situation, "Dennis, people fall asleep all the time when they get their hair cut. Here, look at your hair".
Robby spun Dennis around in the chair, and showed him the mirror. Dennis gasped, he looked like one of the models in the online magazines he and Trinity read sometimes. His curls barely brushed his eyebrows, and the back was longer but only went a little past his hairline, the perfect version of a modern mullet. The barber turned his back to the pair, and was plugging in the hairdryer, so Robby undid the cape along Dennis' neck and brushed off the stray hairs that gathered along his collar.
While the barber was drying his hair, Dennis continued to wake up and gather himself. Dennis couldn't help but steal a glance in Robby's direction. Dr. Robby was leaning forward, with his elbows on his knees, while one hand covered the lower part of his face. Speaking of his face, it was glowing red, like he just came from working out, or his pants fell down in public. Dennis couldn't help but wonder if he watched him the whole time he slept.
The pair headed to the counter after Dennis' hair was dry. Robby paid and left a hefty tip. Dennis didn't say anything until they got to the car, unable to trust himself. Robby buckled Dennis into the seat and started the car.
"Thank you so much for the haircut, Doctor. It's strange falling asleep in public, hope I didn't snore," Dennis said sheepishly, kicking himself for his moment of weakness.
"Don't sweat it- I thought you looked sweet, asleep, and totally relaxed. Your hair looks better than I imagined. I'm so glad you let me get your hair cut."
Robby brought his hand over to Dennis' neck, fingers settling in on the shaved skin there, careful not to disturb his freshly styled hair.
"What I mean to say is that was nice and all, but I am so embarrassed I fell asleep, I am not sure I can come back." Dennis said to Robby.
Dr. Robby had a surprised look in his eye, and his mouth dropped open, ready to defend Dennis, but Dennis spoke up first, "I want you to cut my hair next time; I hope you were paying attention to what he was doing."
Dr. Robby smiled at the man beside him, "Sure kid, I'll see what I can do, no promises though!"
Dr. Robby winked at Dennis before he squeezed his neck and let his hand slither down the front of Dennis' arm, until he was at his thigh, which he promptly smacked before he reached back to the wheel.
Dennis thought he might die when Trinity witnessed him getting out of Dr. Robby's car on shaky legs with a fresh haircut in front of their shared apartment.
5.Dennis was chronically cold, and nothing seemed to ever help. His thin frame and loose scrubs made any warmth disappear from his body quicker than the money in his bank account. Still living light, Dennis didn't want to buy a jacket just for work, and made do with layering under his scrubs. One summer afternoon, Dennis' teeth were chattering while charting he was so cold; the tips of his fingers beginning to display signs of cyanosis.
"What do we have here, a case of hypoxia? Dr. Whitaker, you need to dress for the occasion if you get cold in here. You are allowed to wear a jacket without a logo on it, you know." Dr. Robby said, as he rested both hands on the top of both of Dennis' traps, the warmth settling into his cold, cold bones.
For a minute, the shivering stopped due to the physical contact. Dr. Robby kept his hands on Dennis as he was asking about the patient who he was charting about. Eventually, Dr. Robby had to leave to check on another resident, and Dennis mourned the loss of contact.
Dennis still didn't buy a jacket, if not for the potential circumstance of Robby warming his body with his again. Suffering through the freezing air conditioning in the heavy Pittsburgh summer was not an easy feat. Dennis often dropped his pen due to lack of blood flow and therefore dexterity when taking notes. When consulting with a patient's family one day, the pen slipped out of Dennis' hand on accident, and Dr. Robby managed to catch it before it hit the floor, reflexes faster than Dennis'.
Dr. Robby held onto the pen until the pair were behind one of the nurses stations, "I believe this is yours, Doctor," he snarked as he handed the offending pen back to Dennis.
Dennis reached out to take his pen back but Robby grasped his hand instead of giving him back the pen.
" You really do look like you have Raynaud's or something," Robby said as casually as ever as he took Dennis' pulse with his other hand that had the pen in it.
"Mr. Whitaker, your pulse is a bit weak, maybe a 1+. We might have to do additional testing ".
The flush from Dennis' face was enough to keep him warm for now. He knew the heat would pass and the cold would sink in again eventually. Robby grasped one of Dennis' fingers and tested capillary refill for no reason other than finding a way to mess with him.
"Refill is sluggish, patient educated to follow up with physician." Robby let go of his wrist, and looked lost in thought for a moment.
"Mr. Whitaker, I think I know what would help your condition."
Dr. Robby turned around and reached for his worn navy zip-up on the back of their unofficial shared work station. Wordlessly, Dr. Robby placed the sweatshirt over Dennis' shoulders, fed his arms individually through the sleeves, and zipped up the large jacket on the smaller man. Humming to himself in satisfaction, Dr. Robby stepped back to admire his work. Dennis looked like a deer in the headlights, staring off into the distance, his elbow bent and the sleeve of the sweater falling over his hand.
"Thank you Dr. Robby, I think this will help. Do you have my pen ?" Dennis asked, but Dr. Robby was already headed to the next patient.
Dennis sighed and reached into his,Dr. Robby's jacket pocket, and found his pen there. Dennis sighed and retrieved it. Dr. Robby was going to be the death of him.
Dennis continued throughout the day, warm for once in the deadly air conditioning of the ER, trying to avoid the gossiping eyes of Princess and Perlah. Dennis knew Princess would silently give him shit for wearing his boss's jacket when everything else had been happening between the two of them.
Dennis' shift eventually ended, and he was preemptively mourning the loss of the jacket and the comforting Dr. Robby smell that came as a package deal with it. Dennis was waiting in the locker room, perched on the bench, scrolling through his phone when he heard someone enter.
Dr. Robby looked over and found Dennis waiting for him, the jacket still zipped up as far as it would go, somehow with no bodily fluids tainting the fabric after a day's work. Dennis suddenly came back to life, disrupted from whatever he was scrolling through on his phone.
"Oh, Doctor! I just was waiting to give this back to you!" Dennis exclaimed and he scrambled to stand up, reaching up to unzip the front.
Dr. Robby's hand shot out and stopped Dennis' hand from completely unzipping the article of clothing, which landed just about at the top of Dennis' belly button.
"I want you to keep it Mr. Whitaker; I think you functioned a lot better when you weren't at risk of hypothermia," Robby joked as he brought his and Dennis' hand back up to his neck, zipping up the jacket completely.
Robby's hand lingered longer than it should have, and Dennis' pulse thumped in his chest.
"Besides, you like the way it's worn in, right? You like the way I smell? What good would it do to buy you a new jacket, when this one seems better for you, hmm? Is that what you need, to smell like me?" Dr. Robby teased Dennis lightly while bringing up the hand from the zipper to the front of his chin, resting his thumb in the middle, gently pulling down his bottom lip as collateral.
"The color has returned to your face. I think this jacket did cure your ailment, Mr. Whitaker. I want to see you wear this everyday you feel cold, do you understand?"
Dennis was in a different universe, and was only able to nod his head, lost in space.
"Good boy, that's what I like to see."
Dr. Robby slid his hand down the front of Dennis' chest dismissively, and turned to change out of his own clothes. Dennis had the initiative to gather up his things and leave before he actually exploded from accidently witnessing Dr. Robby change clothes.
Dennis thought he was going to need to wear earplugs when he heard Trinity's reaction to the way Dennis was dressed once he got back to their apartment.
+1. Ironically, it was the next morning after the jacket incident when Dr. Robby noticed he was in a spot of trouble. Since he loaned Dennis his jacket yesterday, he completely forget to grab another one from his house. Dr. Robby was half dressed, currently in his cargo pants, with his shirt off, as he was rifling through his locker to try to find a long sleeved shirt to layer underneath his scrub top. Robby wasn't having any luck finding anything and sighed in frustration; he was coming up short with nothing. Robby didn't hear Dennis enter through the locker room.
"What's going on Dr. Robby?" Dennis asked with a soft casual tone, reserved for someone who was genuinely concerned about someone else.
"I uh, can't find a long sleeved shirt, and I thought I left one here," Dr. Robby admitted to the younger man.
Dennis smiled, and put down his bag. "You mean like this one?" Dennis opened his arms to gesture to himself.
He was wearing a slightly oversized long sleeved olive green t-shirt and jeans, as he was yet to change into his scrubs.
Without a single word, Dennis searched through his bag and retrieved his jacket and the spare set of scrubs he forgot to return yesterday.
"I'll be right back, Robby".
Dennis left, presumably to get a fresh change of scrubs.
The man came back, and Robby was still standing there, remnants of frustration still creasing his brow. Dennis put down the clothes and reached down to lift his shirt off, revealing a pale expanse of skin and perky nipples. Robby could only try to keep his breathing under control as Dennis handed him the still-warm shirt.
"Go ahead, Doctor. You can wear this today, or just hang onto it; have your jacket after all...eye for an eye?" Dennis smiled.
Robby laughed at the awkward use of the idiom, but proceeded to pull the shirt over his head and settled it over his stomach. Since the size was larger than what Dennis needed, it fit Robby fairly well, but the sleeves were a bit short. Dennis, upon noticing this, walked over to Robby, and lifted up one of his arms, rolling up the sleeves.
"Thank you Dennis, you saved me today. I didn't have a spare shirt that I needed here," he scoffed in reflection and hung his head down, looking at Dennis.
Dennis didn't reply, but continued with his ministrations of helping situate the older man. Dennis also reached for his discarded scrub top and slid it over Robby's head, needing to stand up on his tiptoes to get his head through the fabric. He smoothed out the top, and settled it into place over his own shirt.
"There, you can't even tell that it's not yours!" Dennis exclaimed.
Robby rolled his eyes and thought to himself : Yeah, if Princess didn't see what Dennis walked in with.
By the end of the day, Dr. Robby meant to catch Whitaker before he left so he didn't have to wear his dirty scrubs home, but was too late.
As he looked up from his paperwork, he saw Dennis walking out of the locker room wearing the jeans he brought this morning with nothing on his torso except for Robby's oversized jacket zipped up all the way to the top. It slipped off his shoulder since it was oversized, revealing the slightest bit of skin that indicated the nudity under the garment.
Dr. Robby swore that Dennis winked at him when he wished him a good evening and headed out the door.
Robby's heart pounded in his chest, and heavily considered asking Abbot for a beta-blocker prescription.