Chapter Text
Dennis
Dennis could feel an ache unfolding in his stomach as he left his locker in the ER and walked towards the doors. Come find me before I leave. And there he was, the shift was over, and Dennis was feeling like the weight of a new responsibility lay on his shoulders. Something he hadn’t asked for, and something he definitely didn’t expect to be in the position for to take.
He had gotten used to his attending’s praise, his smiles, and his chuckles when he was around him. How his eyes always lit up a bit while the corners of his mouth tugged up into an amused grin when Dennis cracked a joke that no one laughed at. And even though he noticed that Dr. Robby’s hand didn’t land on his shoulder or back as often as it had before, he knew they got along well, his boss and him. But Dr. Robby asking him to house-sit – that was not only unexpected, but also a pretty big deal – to Dennis at least.
If I don’t come back you got a swinging bachelor pad. Now this statement reverberated in Dennis’s mind, and it freaked him out. Of course, maybe it was one of Dr. Robby’s jokes. But nevertheless, there’s a difference between silly and straight-forward, and Dennis didn’t even want to try pinpointing down which one applied to that sentence. The ache in his guts tensed, and he closed his eyes and sighed. As he opened them again, still walking through the halls of the ER and close to the exit, his glance slipped onto the portraits on the wall. Dennis took a halt and his view got caught on the one showing Dr. Adamson. Even though he has never known him, the sight tugged at the young man’s stomach once more. As Dennis’s pupils fixated on the face sitting in frame, Dr. Robby’s mentor, a man he had never met, it somehow made his head spin. As Dennis heard his boss coming down the hall, calling out his name, he could swear that the photo flickered into showing Robby’s face for a second, and before Dennis could sort his thoughts, he turned around and saw his attending standing in front of him.
“Dr. Whitaker?”
Dennis’s eyes came back into focus, and he finally registered that Dr. Robby must’ve grown tired of waiting for him. Now he was here in the hall with him, looking down at the young resident.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
He sounded teasing, but the Dennis could make out a subtle frown hiding behind Dr. Robby’s smile. Or maybe he was just imagining it, he was still feeling a bit dizzy, anyways.
“I’m – okay. Sorry it took me so long Dr. Robby –“
“Aye, kid, cut the title. Just Robby’s fine now. We might still be at the hospital, but my last shift is over now.”
For now, Dennis thought to himself. The last one for the next three months.
“Okay – then you can call me Dennis.”
“Aw man, don’t you think Dr. Whitaker rolls off the tongue so nicely? I just got used to it.”
Dennis rolled his eyes and put on a sheepish grin.
“Alright, alright, Dennis –“ Robby motioned him to move – into the opposite direction? – and continued.
“Let’s go to the ambulance bay, I figured meeting there would make more sense since my bike is there, but you know how it is. Sometimes the brain’s all muddy after 12 hours of PTMC bullshit.”
Not talking, they walked through the busy halls – the halls of a place that never slows down, no matter what time of day – and arrived outside. When Dennis saw the motorcycle, he thought about how he had complimented it a few hours before, and how just a bit later, he had wished that this death trap would not stand right here, waiting for Robby to take off with.
“I’ll take you to my house with the bike, okay? I don’t have my car with me, and why call a cab when you can just join me, hm?”
Robby was already sliding his backpack from his shoulder and opened the clutch of the helmet hanging there. Then he handed it to the younger man.
“Here. You ever ridden on one?”
Dennis was perplex, and stared at the helmet.
“What about you?”
“Huh?”
“Don’t you need a helmet, too?”
Another smile sneaked onto Robby’s face as he stared at the white chucks on Dennis’s feet like they were the most interesting thing in the world. Dennis knew he was avoiding his concerned eyes. The older man shook his hand and waved it off with a motion of his hand.
“Nah, I took an extra test, so I’m allowed to drive without one. I promise, I’ll be careful with you as my passenger.”
“Okay… But – why would you want to take such a test anyway?” Dennis knew that Robby knew what could happen in motorcycle accidents without a helmet.
“Oh, it doesn’t really matter, does it, Whitaker? I guess I just wanted to tick off all achievements regarding my bike, you know? Here, take it.”
Robby’s smile was gone, and Dennis had the helmet shoved into his hands before the older man turned around and walked towards his Bonneville to stow away his backpack on the back of the vehicle. There he put on his sunglasses, and Dennis could see Robby’s eyes flicker in the evening sun one last time before he looked away again, actively avoiding Dennis’s confused look. Okay, one questioning remark from Dennis and Robby shut him out, noted. That didn’t really help with the belly ache.
Robby
He sat down on his bike and patted the spot behind him, showing the younger man where to sit. Dennis had put his helmet on and looked at him like Robby had just kicked him like a puppy. Robby did feel sorry for snapping, and he forced a smile.
It’s just – Robby had leant on Dennis the whole goddamn day already. The shift went on, and he could feel how he had gotten grumpier and huffier with every hour. The foresight of what would come after getting out of town had his self-control slip away. Robby knew that he might not make it to the next morning, not when driving throughout the night nonstop after a twelve-hour shift. That was the only plan he had made for the sabbatical, and god, was he excited to finally get this whole shit over with. But it also stressed him, seeing his coworkers fail, slip away, and act like fools. He saw how this whole Emergency Department was held together like a human pyramid built by toddlers. Of course, all of them were competent and he adored his coworkers, but at the same time every single one of them had the worst traits Robby could find in himself. He hated it. He hated that a bunch of people way too similar to him would take over the place when he was gone. So he had let all of his frustration out on everyone, and after bursting and snapping and being a bitch to almost every person in the whole hospital he ran back and hid behind his favorite resident.
Dr. Whitaker, Dennis, who was now sitting down on the bike behind him and timidly lay his hands on Robby’s hips for some security.
Funny, it has been the other way around all day. Robby had clung to Dennis like a drowning man to a piece of driftwood. And now, when he had finally been ready to let go and sink into the cold, black depth, Dennis had confronted him with a simple, concerned question. It made Robby’s blood boil when he thought about the impact that Dennis’s worried eyes digging into him had on him, and how it had almost begun to rattle on Robby’s plan. But he took a deep breath and shook it off, moved one of his hands to a hand of the man behind him, grabbed it and pulled it tighter around him, placing it on his stomach.
“Hold on tight.”
He started the motor and the bike began moving. Robby could feel Dennis’s arms and fingers tense, and guessed that it was indeed the first ride for his passenger. Before he increased the tempo and rolled from the hospital parking lot, he turned around and finally gave Dennis an honest smile, showing him that he wasn’t truly mad at him, and that he could feel safe for this ride.
“I’ll drive carefully.”
This time Robby took all curves cautiously, decreased the speed where he needed to, decided not to overtake slower cars and perfectly stayed in line like it was the day of his driving test. He could feel that over the course of the first few minutes, Dennis relaxed against his back and did not clutch to him as hard anymore. Not that Robby had a problem with it in the first place.
The hands around him were weirdly grounding. The weight against his back comforting, keeping him in the here and now. Robby didn’t feel like he was floating around on his motorcycle, walking the tightrope between risky and experienced driving, but he consciously took in every event of the traffic on Pittsburgh’s streets. And even though he did not speed for some adrenaline kick, this ride was genuinely exciting and fun. Having a passenger truly changed the experience of motorcycling fundamentally. The feeling of his resident’s hands on his stomach was nice and comfortable, and for the first time in months, the bike was no tool for passive self-destruction, but for actual enjoyment and comfort. Robby wished he could look back at Dennis and see in his face if he liked driving with him as much as he did, but he was too determined to keep his eyes on the street. But Robby, how could he not, glanced into the mirror on the left side of his bike and caught a glance of his intern’s hair peeking out the helmet, the light brown curls flapping in the wind. Maybe he should just take Dennis with him on his sabbatical, having him hold on to Robby for the next three months. Another smile crossed his lips. Maybe this would fix him.
But of course that was not an actual, considerable possibility, so Robby put all his thoughts back to the traffic on the streets and drove both of them to his house carefully. Soon they pulled up in Robby’s driveway. He didn’t know if he hallucinated it but, below the hum of the vehicle, Robby made out a relaxed sigh coming from his passenger. Dennis had leant onto the older man throughout the whole ride, and it felt weirdly empty when he removed his weight from Robby’s back.