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Robby always knew he was going to come back.
He had told Dennis “if” but somewhere inside of him, he knew he was coming back. Maybe not for the job or the city, but for Dennis himself. Sometime in the last 10 months, the Nebraskan boy had wormed his way into Robby’s heart without him knowing. Or maybe he did know. It wasn’t important now.
It’s why, after deciding on a sabbatical of three months, he was back after only two. Dennis had texted him quite a few times but it wasn’t the same. Robby loved the new haircut Santos had made him get, he loved seeing his blue eyes light up at the sight of Robby, and he loved hearing him talk when he knew exactly what he was doing; he couldn’t take it anymore.
Because of that, he’s just now unlocking the front door to his place. It was a spur of the moment decision to come back so he’s exhausted and wants nothing more than to climb into bed. Sleeping now just means getting to see Dennis sooner.
The backpack he’s carrying is weighing him down as he walks slowly through the house to his bedroom. He doesn’t even look to see if there are any messes or irregularities. Robby can deal with absolutely everything else that wants his attention tomorrow. Or at least, that’s what we thinks until he actually walks into the room.
Right after he opens the door, he spots Dennis Whitaker himself sleeping on his bed of many years. The bed is still made as the man is just under a simple throw blanket Robby had stashed in some closet. The sight makes his heart flutter, something he hasn’t had happen to him in countless years.
He hadn’t expected anyone to be in there so the door wasn’t opened quietly, making Dennis blink himself awake. Once he catches sight of his attending, he rubs his eyes like he has to make sure he’s not dreaming.
“R-robby?”
Dennis pulls the blanket off of him and sits up to reveal he’s wearing one of Robby’s old college sweaters. Robby isn’t sure he, or his heart, can take much more of this.
“I… are you really here right now? Like I’m actually not dreaming?” He says before he looks down and realizes what he’s wearing. “Oh, fuck, I-I’m sorry. I, uh, I found it by accident when I was looking for a blanket. I can take it off right now, ack, sorry.”
Dennis finally stands up and it pulls Robby out of his trance. He unceremoniously drops his backpack and rushes over to the other. Dennis startles but Robby can’t see more than that as he gathers him into his arms. (It’s something he’s unconsciously been wanting to do for ages now.)
“Fuck, baby.” Robby awkwardly ducks down to shove his head in between Dennis’s neck and shoulder, trying to find the man’s scent under his own clothes. “I missed you so much.”
Dennis is frozen for a moment as he’s taken aback by the unexpected situation. Robby wasn’t supposed to come back for another month and here he was, holding him close and calling him a sweet pet name.
Despite it all, he can’t help but raise his arms and hug him back. It was Robby, after all.