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Robby’s house has always been his. A living room covered with records and dvd cases, photos on the walls and tables throughout the house, it has always been a space for him to relax after a long day. Dennis loves being in Robby’s house for this exact reason, it makes him feel like he has a place in Robby’s life. Of course, over time Dennis leaves bits and pieces of his own things in the house without him or Robby even noticing. Through this, they both can admit it becomes less Robby’s house and more Robby and Dennis’ home.
--
The first time something of Dennis’ popped up in Robby’s house wasn’t exactly the first thing. There were already little things at this point like Dennis’ T injections, a few socks and a toothbrush but there was something different about this object. Trinity and Dennis sat on Dennis’ bed, wondering what they could get up to on their day off. An hour of wistful sighs and “what about…? No…”’s later, Trinity perked up with excitement.
“What time are you going to Doctor Robby’s tonight?” She blurts out.
“Don’t call him Doctor Robby when talking about me going to his…” Dennis rolls his eyes. “His shift is over at 7 which means he’ll get me around 7:30.”
“We can go shopping together like real gay people!” Her hands wave in a jazz hand motion before diving into the bag of chips on the bed.
Dennis cocks his head in thought. Since becoming an intern, he gets a small paycheck and he does have money to set aside for silly purchases nowadays. It’s been a while since he’s treated himself, not to mention he could use a few new shirts. “Where would we go?” A small smile forms on his face as he nods.
“There’s a thrift store like walking distance from here, twenty minutes.” A thump sounds through the room as her socked feet plop her onto the ground. “Or we could take my car for a speedier result?”
Thirty minutes later, they are nestled into Trinity’s car and driving off to the thrift store. It is only a five minute drive that is filled with them chatting about what they want to find. Shuffling into the thrift store, they beeline to the back to look at the appliances. Trinity wanders off to stare at something random but Dennis feels a pull towards the mugs. As his feet carry him over to the mugs, his eyes wander the display and when he sees them he can’t help but gasp.
Sitting next to each other are two mugs. One that says “Broken Bow, Nebraska” across it with a design much like a postcard behind the words of his home town. The other is one that reads “New Orleans” with postcard art on it as well. Robby did his residency in New Orleans and while it’s not his hometown he would have been in New Orleans at the same time Dennis was in Broken Bow. Something about that made Dennis’ heart swell, it is like a mirror of him and Robby now, their pasts placed next to each other like an echo of them next to each other in present day. He pulls out his phone and snaps a quick picture. He leans in to check the prices, both are only two dollars and Dennis set aside thirty for the day. With a smile he looks back at his phone and sends the photo to Robby with a message.
Dennis: +One attachment+ us!
He knows Robby won’t see it for a while but he hopes he understands it and feels the same swell that Dennis did. He quickly grabs the mug and walks over to where Trinity is standing.
Two hours later, they emerge with a bag of stuff each and head home to enjoy the rest of their day off. Once inside the two of them plop onto their couch as Trinity flicks on the TV to a random show. Dennis pulls out his phone to see a message from Robby.
Robby: reacted to a message +thumbs up emoji+
Robby: that’s cute. where did you find those? i will see you soon, i only have five hours left on shift. what do you want for dinner tonight? i love you.
Dennis giggles to himself at the message. He still lives with Trinity but he basically lives at Robby’s house at this point, ‘what do you want for dinner tonight?’ He says like they come home to each other every night. They almost always do but it’s not an official thing of living together yet, he can only dream of the day they do. He taps out a response to Robby, hoping he caught him in time for him to see before going back to work.
Dennis: i got them at a store near me and Trin’s place. i got other things i’ll show you but later! we should do pasta tonight, i love you more! <3
A few hours later, he stands in Robby’s living room showing off his finds. The shirts he bought lay in a small pile along with a nice picture frame he found.
“I have one last thing… technically two but they are together.” Dennis digs through the bags. “Close your eyes!” He glances up and lets out a laugh as Robby covers his eyes with his hands. Pulling the mugs out of the bag carefully, he makes sure the names are shown on each one clearly. “Open them!” Robby’s hands drop and a smile blooms and his face, his crows feet crinkling as he chuckles.
“You got the mugs you sent?” He asks, amused.
“One for you…” He holds out the ‘New Orleans’ mug and shakes it. “One for me.” He holds the ‘Nebraska’ mug to his chest and shakes it. Robby stands from his spot on the couch and grabs the ‘New Orleans’ mug to further observe it.
“This is sweet, Den, thank you.” His smile is softer as he leans to kiss Dennis’ forehead, Dennis leaning up to catch a peck on his lips after. The older man steps away to walk to the kitchen and the other man follows, both setting their mugs into the sink to be washed after dinner.
After dinner and a movie and some other distractions, Dennis awoke in Robby’s arms, limbs tangled together. He observes the other man, reaching up to rub a hand through the man’s hair and placing a small kiss onto the tip of his nose. With some maneuvering, he glances at the clock and sees the time shining back at him brightly. ‘2:00 am’. He wants to doze back to sleep but his bladder aches. As carefully as he can without waking his boyfriend, Dennis gets up and pulls on a shirt from Robby and his underwear.
Trotting out to the kitchen after peeing, he sees the mugs sitting in the drying rack. Initially Dennis planned to take his mug home but something felt odd about taking it from Robby’s place. It felt like this was something they shared in the space that belonged to Robby. He knows they are only mugs but something in his heart told him that this was a big step. This is their relationship becoming a little deeper on a small scale. He’s sure Robby won’t mind an extra dish in his cabinet.
“Den?” A groggy voice calls out from far away, the house quiet enough for Dennis to hear.
“Coming.” Dennis softly calls back, taking one last glance at the mugs with a smile before walking back to the room.
If Robby noticed the dish staying at his, he never mentioned anything to him.
--
The next thing they noticed was far more apparent to the both of them. Dennis always loved to look at the photos Robby had up. Photos of him throughout the years with friends and family, it always warmed Dennis’ heart to even glance at them. His favorite is one of Robby during his residency, he seems to be only a few years older than Dennis in the photo and he is smiling big and wide with Jack standing next to him. As he walks by the wall, he thinks of the photos he has with Robby. They are all on each other’s phones, photos of one another in candid or posed together. He lets out a sigh, one loud enough to get the attention of the man reading on the couch.
“What’s up, honey?” Robby asks, glancing above his glasses frames.
“Nothing…” Dennis glances back and walks over to Robby, cuddling up to him once he sits.
“It doesn’t sound like nothing.” Robby huffs, pulling Dennis in close and tossing the blanket he had draped over his lap over the both of them. Dennis bites his lip and lays his chin against the man’s chest to look in his eyes. He likes how his glasses made Robby’s eyes bigger, his already kind eyes glimmering larger under the frames. It was a stupid thing for him to be somber about, they have pictures together and Robby loves him even without photos of him hung up on the wall. The thing is maybe it’s a little selfish but it would be nice to see.
“Well… I like the pictures on your wall but it sort of sucks there’s none of us to hang up.” He looks away to avoid eye contact with Robby, feeling slightly guilty for what he was saying. “It’s okay though! I know we have photos together and we have memories, that’s what matters.” A hand runs through his muddy blonde hair, urging him to look up. Robby is casting him a small kind smile.
“Den, I want pictures of us together up. Maybe we can put some up soon?” The hand continues to soothe through his curls. Dennis nods and lays his head fully against Robby’s chest. The conversation is forgotten to the lulls of their cuddling out loud but the words stay heavy in both their minds.
A few days later when Dennis comes over, he can’t help but notice a few new frames filled with photos of him and Robby.
--
At this point, it was reaching new heights of moving in without actually doing it. After a particularly exciting night together, Robby needed to purchase a new lamp after the one he had before fell to the ground and broke. Him and Dennis go out shopping often but that’s usually for things like groceries, something like this feels new and exciting.
As they shuffle out the front door, a small noise is produced from a nearby bush. It makes Dennis stop in his tracks, whipping his head around to figure out which bush it came from. Looking back at Robby, he casts a questioning look but Robby shrugs, seeming to have missed the noise completely. They continue down the steps until another noise comes, louder this time. A meow. One bush shakes as a small paw pops out near the bottom.
“Well hello!” Dennis’ face glows with excitement as he starts to lightly step towards the bush, not wanting to scare the kitten inside. Slowly crouching down next to the bush he reaches out a hand to beckon the animal out.
Robby can’t help but smile at the sight. Dennis is always such a caring soul, it feels as though he would do anything for anyone if it meant they felt comfortable. The light of the sun hits perfectly on his head to give him a glow, something of a burst of sunshine coming from him. It warms him from the inside out once Dennis looks back at him and casts a crooked smile, the gap in his teeth peaking through as a small laugh slips out. A motion with his head to come closer and Robby’s feet move on his own to stand near Dennis. As much as he wants to crouch with him, he doesn’t think his back can take it.
They both gasp when the head of a kitten pops out, white with brown splotches on the face and black eyes. The kitten blinks at them before making their way out of the bush cautiously, sniffing Dennis’ hand. When Robby looks over he realizes Dennis is holding his breath but sees his body physically relax when the kitten pushes into his hand to be pet.
“Who are you?” His baby voice is high and crackly, he looks around on the kitten for a collar or anything to find an owner but there’s nothing. Glancing up at Robby, he has a frown on his face as he says, “Do you think he’s a stray?” Loud purrs almost vibrate the kitten as they try to get as close to Dennis as possible. He moves to sit with his legs crossed on the floor, the kitten immediately crawling into his lap. Dennis glances down then looks back up at Robby with pleading eyes.
Robby can already sense what Dennis is thinking and he knows it’ll be hard to say no to that face. The cat is cute but nothing holds a candle next to Dennis. It is sweet seeing Dennis like this, caring for animals. Robby knows about his life on the farm growing up, he recalls whispers in bed of him explaining how much he loved to be with the animals. Dennis explained how he felt such a deep connection to them, how they got him through life on the farm. It seems the soft spot has stayed as he pets the cat in his lap, they are both looking at each other and it's almost like they are communicating with one another.
“I think he could be.” Robby whispers.
“He’s cute, we should take him home.”
“Yeah we should.” He replies in a daze staring at the soft look on Dennis’ face. He sighs as he rubs his beard, “That being said how could we? We work long hours and…” He trails off as he thinks about his next words. “We don’t live together, would he stay at mine or yours?” That could be easily changed. Ask him right here to stay with him. ‘...we should take him home.’ Dennis said. Home. Robby wants to ask him but he also wants to do it in a nicer place, maybe a restaurant with a candlelit dinner.
“Come on, Robby, imagine it. You wake up sad because I slept at mine but then you see this little face and that’ll remind you of me.” Dennis flashes a toothy grin. When he notices Robby seems to still be on the fence, he decides this calls for drastic measures. He pushes his eyebrows together and looks up at Robby through his lashes, eyes large and shining as he slightly widens them. A small head tilt is added to seal the deal.
‘Puppy dog eyes.’ Robby thinks to himself, rolling his eyes as he chuckles. He looks down at the cat and slowly puts his hand out, the cat sniffs his hand and pushes their head into it. “Fine, okay. We can keep them but we need to get stuff for cats first.” The lamp can wait as he lifts up with a groan, the bending to let the cat smell him hurting his back. It’s worth it as Dennis scoops up the cat with a big smile, standing and already starting to walk over to the car.
“They have to come with us to pick their things out.” Dennis calls back. Robby loves this man and he will love this cat, a new permanent fixture to their intertwining lives.
--
A tipping point came for both of them in the form of a day in. It was the morning after a long shift and there was nothing both of them wanted to do more than relax in each other’s arms. Huddling under a thick blanket to shield from the freezing cold outside, Dennis cuddles up to Robby’s side and laughs at the antics on the TV screen. Robby looks up from his book to see what Dennis was laughing at, his body being jostled by his shaking giggles.
“What’s so funny, sweetheart?” Robby asks, suppressing a smile to cast as serious of a glare as he can.
“Nothing… nothing… just I don’t get why he reacted like that?” Dennis says through a few deep breaths. “He’s mad at her for not wanting to commit after he insisted on not committing himself, I need to text Trin about this…”
Robby lets out a hoot, mumbling something about ‘you and your phone’ as he goes back to reading but that doesn’t deter Dennis from finding his phone. He quickly realizes his phone isn’t anywhere near them and quickly yelps out a ‘be right back’ as he stands and runs off to Robby’s bedroom. Once he locates his phone he heads back out to the living room but stops as he takes in what’s in front of him.
The book is still in his boyfriend’s hand but his other hand is busy petting a new addition to the couch. Their cat, Espresso, sits in his lap getting scratches under her chin as she purrs loud enough for Dennis to hear from across the room.
He pauses at the visual, something about it is small and sweet. It fills his heart with warmth and makes him feel like he could float away. Espresso stands up to knock her head up into his hand as it moves away, Robby leaning down to kiss her in return, loud smooches on the cat’s head echoing through the room.
It all feels so sweet, so domestic. He doesn’t think twice before his next comment.
“I wanna move in with you.” Dennis calls out from his spot near the staircase, a small smile gracing his face.
The noises of ‘mwah, mwah, mwah’ stop, Robby frozen while Espresso wiggles around confused about the lack of love. “What?”
Dennis doubles down, “I said I wanna move in with you…” He doesn’t regret saying it but now he feels shy.
Robby looks up at him, staring deeply at his sheepish expression as Dennis looks down to kick his feet against the hardwood floor. “Baby, I can’t stand up because of Espresso. Come over here.”
The short walk to the couch felt like a trek through a muddy ditch, his feet dragging as he worries over the worst. Was it too soon to ask to move in together? Does Robby even want that? Once he ends up in front of the older man, standing and avoiding his eyes, he feels hands move to hold his. Fingers intertwining as there is a small hush over the room aside from the soft purrs Espresso is emitting.
“Dennis,” Robby starts, using Dennis’ real name instead of a nickname means this is serious business. “I want you to know that I love you so much.” Dennis braces for rejection but rejection never comes as Robby continues. “I have been trying to figure out how to ask you to move in with me for months now. I had this whole plan, I’d make you dinner and offer you a set of keys but you beat me to it. Yes of course I want you to move in with me!”
This urges Dennis to finally look up, seeing a huge grin on Robby’s face, “Are you serious?”
“Yes, yes, a thousand times yes.” Robby kisses Dennis’ hand and pulls him to sit back on the couch. “I’ll give you your key in the morning.”
“You already have the key made?”
“I’ve had it made for the past two months, it took me five months to build up the confidence.”
“You’re funny.” Dennis mutters, placing a kiss onto Robby’s cheek before leaning back to play his show once more. He has to tell Trinity.
--
Dennis slumped into the locker section of PTMC. Today had been a long day. He lost three patients, completely out of his control but it still hurt, he’d had to change his scrubs a whopping five times and a patient had yelled at him for whatever reason. Leaning forward, he bumps his head into his locker, hoping no one would come in to see his moment of reflection. He could feel tears building in the corners of his eyes as he stares down at his shoes.
He knows he shouldn’t cry but he can’t help it. He’s always been a “crybaby”, his whole life he’s been sensitive and emotional. He quickly covers his mouth as tears start to boil over and spill from his eyes. All he wants to do is get home and curl up in bed, maybe drink a nice hot drink and forget about the day.
“Hey Huckleberry!” Trinity cheers out but he can hear a stutter in her voice as she realizes something is wrong. “Are you okay?” He can feel her hovering behind him. He doesn’t feel ready to turn around yet.
He makes a non-committal noise at her question. It feels like words can’t come out of his mouth, the stress of the day weighing on his shoulders.
It feels like the lights are shining brighter than usual and the world is louder than usual, leaving a pressure in his ears and a sting in his face that feels unbearable. He feels like throwing up or breaking down into tears and yells. Maybe both? He flinches hard when Trinity’s hand lands on his back which makes her move away quickly.
“Do you want to talk about it?” He shakes his head in response. “Okay well… you can text me any time, Den.” She momentarily hovers before going to her locker to put away her stuff, leaving soon after to head home. He supposes he should move now but he still can’t bring himself to… that is until he hears the familiar grunt of Robby opening his locker.
Turning his head to the side he sees him, grabbing his back and facing away. He probably hadn’t noticed Dennis standing there. When he turns around and sees a teary-eyed, red cheeked Dennis staring at him he slightly startles but quickly straightens himself.
“Dennis?” Dennis moves his mouth into what he thinks is a smile but must be more of a grimace as Robby’s eyebrows push into a furrow. When Robby steps closer to him, he uses all his strength to move and begin to open his locker.
Robby now stands next to him, watching Whitaker’s sluggish movements as he grabs his things. Dennis keeps his eyes downcast, avoiding eye contact with the man near him as he turns to face him.
“Do you want me to drive home today?” That makes him look up. Robby has a small smile on his face, a thinly veiled look of worry in his eyes. Dennis nods, he wouldn’t pass up a chance to curl up nearby Robby instead. Robby motions for Dennis to follow him as they make their way out of PTMC and to Robby’s car.
They make it home quickly and Robby carries his and Dennis’ things into their house. They move in tandem and flow together. Robby pulls out two blankets (a recently purchased weighted blanket and a soft one) and noise cancelling headphones for the couch in the living room then a mug in the kitchen to fill with hot chocolate. Dennis moves to Robby’s room to grab a shirt and boxer shorts from his side of the closet, using the bathroom on his way.
Dennis slinks downstairs, the tears and pressure have gone down but he still feels ill. Yet he can’t help but smile and let out a small laugh at Robby setting up a space for him to decompress in. It’s nice to know that Robby cares this much, he doesn’t mind helping him through the hard or the intense.
He’d been scared for Robby to see him in such an overstimulated state after years of hearing his family’s and an ex-boyfriend’s complaints about how it was “too much” to handle and that he should “get over it”. Robby doesn’t mind helping and he can’t be more thankful for that. He slides under the covers and places the headphones on his head right as Robby comes out of the kitchen with a steaming cup, placing it in front of Dennis before moving away to give Dennis space and settle in himself.
They move around each other, which is more Robby moving around and Dennis sitting on the couch chewing on his necklace, for the next hour in a peaceful lull of silence. Robby sits down and places a plate of food on the table in front of Dennis and goes to eat his own, nodding at the tv in question. When Dennis responds with a whispered “yes”, Robby smiles and turns on a random tv show to scroll through his phone with.
A few minutes later, Dennis moves to lay his foot onto Robby’s thigh, a small contact initiated on his own terms. Robby gingerly lays a hand onto Dennis’ ankle.
He feels comfortable, he feels at home.