Chapter Text
Robby arrived at the aquarium at 4:37 am yawning as he entered through the back door. Most people would be immediately put off by the stench of fish but Robby had come to adore it. First thing he did was do a quick once over of all the tanks, checking that the light and filtration systems were running and that none of the fish were acting off. Then it was a water and equipment check, checking all the tanks PH and making sure everything was where it needed to be. This was followed by another half an hour of tedious tasks like cleaning and record keeping before he set to work on making place actually look presentable. he checked all the registers and displays, picked up some trash that had strayed from the bins and turned on the aircon. A good majority of the aquarium was actually outside but it was important to keep cool and calm areas, like the café or the jellyfish exhibit, accessible for guests. Jack showed up at 6 on the dot, sometimes Jack comes in early with Robby but he decided to sleep in this morning.
"Morning Mike" Jack smiles softly his backpack slung over his shoulder, "morning sweetheart" Robby goes and kisses him briefly before checking the note book in his hand "one of your sharks is set up to be bred this week"
"Naila?"
"yup, you've paired her with Fin right?"
"yeah I'll transfer them today" Jack nods squeezing Robby's hand before walking off. Most of the other employees started showing up in the next 30 minutes except Trinity and Dennis who were somehow always late. When they showed up Trinity looked furious and Dennis just looked scared. "Don't ask" she grumbles when she walks past Robby. "Sorry.. we sorta had a disagreement this morning" Dennis sighs looking at his feet. "don't worry about it kid, Garcia is coming in later I'm sure that'll cheer her up." Robby pats his back sending him off to work. Robby didn't see much of Dennis throughout the day, he worked with the jellyfish and was always hidden away in their exhibit occasionally giving talks. Robby liked how unproblematic he was.
Trinity however was a totally different kind of person, she was loud always causing a fuss. She tended to yell at parents for letting their kids do stupid shit but always had a soft spot with the children, to be totally honest Robby really admired how little she gave a shit. And she was amazing with the stingrays. At 8 o'clock they opened the doors to the public and it was instantly packed. Robby headed to check on Dana first sliding between crowds of people before finally making it to the dolphin exhibit. "Hey Robby, comin' to check I'm doin' my job right?" she smirks as she feeds the dolphins. "nah, just making sure you get everything you need.. who's this?" Robby's eyes land on a young girl with curly black hair and big eyes looking very nervous and out of place. "This is Emma, y'know that new trainee?" Dana explains and the girl smiles and nods. "Right course, well Emma you're in good hands"
"thank you Mr Robinavitch-" she rushes out
"just call me Robby kid" he smiles then heads back to his office.
"Woah woah watch out!" a seal flops past him followed by a panicked Cassie "what is going on-" he follows after her with a completely baffled look. "Some kid startled him and now he's running-" Cassie explains slightly out of breath "I knew he wasn't ready for a show-" they manage to wrangle the seal holding him still and calming him giving him some fish as a bribe. They're quiet for a minute before Cassie starts laughing. "It’s always me huh?" she snorts making Robby laugh too. At lunch Robby decided to go help Victoria with the penguins. He found her sat in the middle of the enclosure surrounded by penguins. "you alright there Tori?" Robby questions, she turns around with a grin "oh yeah I'm great, they love this new fish"
"alright I'll make sure to order some more" Robby smiles, everything was going well today.
The afternoon stretch went pretty slow, Garcia showed up to help Jack with breeding his sharks but Trinity distracted her the whole time. One of Mel's octopuses started shedding and scared the life out of a kid and Emma got through her first dolphin show without drowning. "You gonna come down to the beach tonight Robby?" Frank queries, and it was actually the first Robby had seen him today, which was strange. "Uh yeah sure, hey where have you been all day?"
"just with my turtles? It’s a Tuesday so we have the swim show" Frank explains, Robby must have been subconsciously avoiding that. "oh right how did it go?"
"Good actually, the kids chose peace" Frank smiles, a lot of the time Frank would have to take children out of the pool after they got too rough with the turtles. "That's great, I'll do the closing rounds now see you in a bit"
Frank was very important to Robby, he was like the son Robby never had, so the rumour that Frank wanted to leave and join an at sea study program scared Robby more than anything. Maybe the swim show wasn't the only reason he was avoiding him. It took Robby 2 hours to close up making sure all the tanks were in order, organising the gift shop after the kids ransacked it. It was around 8 pm when Robby finally left and the city was lit up by lights, Robby thought Miami was most beautiful at night. It was warm with a slight breeze so Robby could comfortably make his way to the beach in shorts and shirt. The streets were bustling with noise, tourists and locals alike enjoying the nightlife and laughing with their loved ones.
The beach wasn't so busy seeing as you obviously couldn't swim at night, not that anyone wanted to after watching Jaws, but some people were there. Speaking of, Jack was sat next to a fire pit Cassie had most likely set up nursing a beer. He had taken his prosthetic leg off laying it next to him as he watched the ocean. "Hey" Robby hums easing to sit next to him, "hi" Jack smiles leaning against him instinctively. "How's your day been?" Robby asks resting a hand on his knee and rubbing gently. "good, the sharks seem happy this summer"
"of course they're happy, you treat them well"
"well yeah I'm not a monster, how's your day gone anyway"
"well I wrestled a seal and watched Tori sacrifice herself to a clan of penguins" Robby nods pressing his lips together and chuckling slightly. "Oh wow that sounds super exciting" Jack muses
"yup, absolutely thrilling"
Robby's eyes get drawn to Frank and Mel who were closer to the water playing beach ball pretty terribly, but Mel was grinning and laughing and even from far away Robby could see the blush on Franks cheeks. "they're cute ain't they" Dana comments scaring the life out of Robby "jeez- don't sneak up on me like that"
"Sorry sorry-" she laughs putting her full belly into it as Robby rolls his eyes. "But yeah they are cute, they've been doing this nonsense for months, when do you think they'll actually go out?"
"probably never" Jack looks at the two of them "Millennials, can’t do shit"
"for once I agree with you Jack" Dana nods
"I think you're both being harsh, it'll happen" Robby assures watching the pair like a proud father, which in a way he was.
"Oh Robby how come Mohan wasn't here today?" Dana asks a look of mild concern in her eyes. "She is picking up a baby Otter from North Carolina for me"
"why North Carolina?" Jack asks furrowing his brow
"I wish I knew, were getting it in from France and they said they could only send it to North Carolina, something to do with travel laws" Robby sighs, it was a mess, ever since Trump got into government all animal rescues took about two extra months due to all the travel laws and tariffs. "Well I hope it all goes well"
They stayed on the beach for about an hour longer before Jack and Robby walked back home. They got into their pyjamas and Robby sat in the bathroom for an hour with Jack whilst he did his extensive hair routine. The two men eventually fell asleep in bed with criminal minds on in the background.