Work Text:
Robby wasn’t a fan of social media.
Let’s face it, he is an old man and besides he doesn’t have the time for them. But after a particularly slow day and a long chat with Trinity, she convinced him to download an app called “Tiktok.” Trinity had told him it was just an app where people upload videos, he didn’t really get the appeal of it, but he gave it a try, nonetheless.
Trinity had given him her username for him to follow her and he did, after that he just forgot about it and continued with his shift.
A couple of days passed with ease; everything seemed to have fallen into a normal routine. That particular day the ER was buzzing with that electrical energy that Robby had learn to love, he spent most of his shift supervising the med students since they hadn’t had any major traumas.
So, at the end of the day, when he was laying on his bed, he still had a bit of energy left to scroll on his phone. He usually read a book or watch tv, but he had remembered about the app that Trinity installed on his phone and wanted to see what was it all about.
Robby opened the app and a text bubble immediately appeared on his screen asking if he wanted to sync the app to his contacts, he clicked yes because whatever. Then he started to scroll through the videos. Some of Trinity’s ones appeared, her dancing with some people he didn’t recognized and the occasional video with Dennis on their apartment.
After a couple of minutes of him scrolling a particular video appeared on his screen that made his hand freeze midair as he was about to pass it.
It was a video of Dennis, he was still on his black scrubs, and his stethoscope hanging on his neck. It seemed he was in his room, Robby wasn’t sure, but that wasn’t what he was paying attention to.
The kid was dancing to a song; it wasn’t anything complicated. Robby was sure he had passed other videos with that particular sound. A couple of steps to the side, a quick turn of the shoulders, hands moving in time with the beat. Dennis followed the rhythm with an easy confidence, like he’d practiced it a dozen times when no one was watching.
His scrubs shifted with every movement, the loose fabric swaying around his legs as he stepped forward and back. The video looped. Robby didn’t realize it had until Dennis started the same sequence again.
Side-step. Shoulders. Hands tracing the same motion in the air.
It was such a stupid, normal thing. Just a dance. Just another kid messing around on the app. And yet Robby kept watching. The way Dennis’s hair bounced slightly when he turned. The way his smile flashed when he nailed the timing. The careless way he moved, like he didn’t think anyone important would ever see it.
Robby’s chest tightened. He should scroll now; his thumb even twitched like it was going to. But the video looped again.
And again.
Each time Robby told himself it was the last one. Just one more.
He watched the steps so many times he could probably do them himself now, which was ridiculous, because he’d never danced like that in his life. Still, his eyes kept catching on the same moments, the turn of Dennis’s shoulders, the way the stethoscope bounced lightly against his chest with every step.
Robby finally looked away from the screen, jaw tight. This was stupid, it was just a silly video of Whitaker having fun in his free time.
So why the hell had he watched it eight times already?
He closed the app and turned off his phone leaving it at the nightstand. He had enough for tonight, he will forget this ever happened and go to work as normally as possible tomorrow.
Robby in fact did not forget about what had happened.
But he tried, he really tried. He had walked into the ER room as casually as possible; he made small talk with some of the night shift doctors that were on their way out, he even had brought donuts and left them on the lounge for the rest of the staff to grab some.
Everything was fine, normal, Robby made his way to his desk and sat down, a mug with coffee in his hand. Dana made her way towards him and started chatting to him about some of the lab tests that were still pending. And Robby was alright, nothing in his mind until he saw Dennis.
The young student made his way into the ER alongside Trinity, they were chatting about something Robby didn’t quite catch, but as soon as he saw him wearing the same scrubs of the video and the way his stethoscope was bouncing as he walked, Robby’s brain short-circuited.
“Hey,” Dana snapped her fingers in front of Robby’s face startling him. “What were you looking at?” she raised an eyebrow at him as he scanned the room.
Robby cleared his throat and took a big sip of his coffee, “Uh, nothing. Sorry, what were you saying?”
Dana gave him a weird look but continued with her explanation. And Robby had to make an extra effort not to glance back at where Whitaker was now standing.
The day passed in a blur; they had many patients came in and everyone was running around with barely a moment to catch their breath. Which, honestly, Robby was grateful for. Because every time the ER slowed down, even for a second, his brain tried to replay that stupid video.
Robby avoided looking directly at him for the rest of the shift. Not obviously, he hoped. He still gave instructions, corrected charts, and answered questions. But he did it while looking at the monitor, at the patient, at literally anything else in the room. Whitaker probably didn’t noticed.
Except Robby suspected that the kid noticed everything.
The problem was that the next day didn’t make it easier.
Or the day after that.
Because once Robby had seen the video, he couldn’t unsee it. Every time Dennis walked across the ER in those scrubs, Robby’s brain betrayed him. The bounce of the stethoscope. The shift of the fabric when he moved. The same shoulders that had turned so easily in the video.
It was ridiculous.
Robby was a grown man. A doctor for god sake, he held people’s lives in his hands. The kid was his student. And yet somehow a thirty-second TikTok had completely wrecked his ability to act normal.
For a week he managed a careful system.
If Dennis entered a room, Robby suddenly had somewhere else to be.
If Dennis spoke to him, Robby answered while looking at the chart.
If Dennis laughed at something Trinity said, Robby focused very hard on his coffee.
The kid didn’t seemed to notice or have a problem with it, everything felt normal, but Dana, oh that woman did noticed something was going on.
“Why are you acting weird around Whitaker?” she asked one afternoon, arms crossed.
“I’m not,” Robby said immediately.
Dana stared at him.
“You literally turned around and walked into a supply closet when he said good morning.”
“I needed gauze.”
“You walked into the closet and immediately walked out.”
“They were out,” Robby deadpanned.
Dana just shook her head and walked away.
By the seventh day, Dennis had clearly noticed his weird attitude.
Robby was standing near the nurses’ station finishing some notes when Whitaker approached him. Robby noticed him immediately, of course he did, but he stubbornly kept his eyes on the chart.
“Dr. Robby, can I ask you something?”
Robby hummed, suddenly his heart decided to act as if he had run a marathon.
“Did I do something wrong?”
That made Robby finally look up.
Dennis was standing there with his hands tucked into the pockets of his scrubs, brow slightly furrowed. He didn’t look upset exactly, just confused.
Robby blinked.
“What?”
Dennis shifted his weight. “You’ve been… kind of avoiding me.”
Robby opened his mouth.
Closed it again.
Dennis waited patiently, staring at him with those big, tired eyes. And that was the problem with Whitaker. The kid had patience. He’d stand there all day until he got an answer.
Robby sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.
“You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Dennis tilted his head. “Then why won’t you look at me?”
Robby immediately looked away again.
Dennis noticed.
“Okay, now you’re definitely avoiding me again.”
Robby groaned quietly.
This was stupid.
He glanced around the station to make sure nobody was close enough to hear, then leaned a little closer.
“I saw your little video.”
Dennis blinked.
“My… what?”
“The one where you were dancing.”
There was a beat of silence.
Then another.
Robby watched the exact moment the realization hit him.
Dennis’s entire face went red.
“Oh my god,” he muttered, covering his face with one hand. “That’s why Trinity kept insisting I do that stupid dance.”
Robby frowned. “She insisted?”
Dennis groaned louder.
“She said it would be funny! She kept filming until I got the steps right.”
Robby crossed his arms, trying very hard not to smile.
“You practiced?”
Dennis dropped his hand and looked horrified. “Please don’t repeat that.”
Robby snorted.
Dennis rubbed the back of his neck, still red. “I didn’t think anyone from work would actually see it.”
“Well,” Robby said dryly, “Trinity did insist to me as well to install the damn app.”
Dennis stared at the floor like he might actually sink into it.
“So, you’ve been avoiding me,” he said slowly, “for a week… because you saw me dancing.”
Robby shifted awkwardly.
“When you say it like that it sounds stupid.”
Dennis huffed a quiet laugh despite himself.
There was a moment of silence between them.
Then Robby cleared his throat.
“For what it’s worth…”
Dennis looked up.
“…you looked good.”
The words spilled from him before he put any thought to them. And Dennis immediately froze. Completely. His ears turned even redder somehow. Robby realized what he’d just said about half a second too late.
“I mean,” he added quickly, gesturing vaguely, “you did the steps right. Good timing.”
Dennis was still staring at him.
And now Robby suddenly found the chart on the desk extremely interesting again.
“Anyway,” Robby muttered, taking his glasses of and pretending to clean them. “Get back to work, Whitaker.”
Dennis didn’t move for a second.
Then a small, helpless smile tugged at his mouth as he turned and walked away.
Robby let out a long sigh, this was definitely going to continue to be a problem, but he wasn’t sure if it bothered him as much anymore.
In the background, Robby caught Dennis and Trinity talking, and he was very sure they were talking about him. As Trinity caught him staring, she gave him the thumbs up, and at that moment, he realized this had been her plan all along.
Robby shook his head and tried to finish his shift in peace.