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It'd been a calm morning so far. Dennis and Robby had the day off, but Jack hadn't been so lucky. Despite having the night shift to look forward to later on, for now he'd been set on spending time with his partners for a while before he had to nap.
The sky had been gray and overcast all morning, and Jack had winced enough while they made breakfast together that Dennis was pretty sure it was supposed to rain sometime today.
Right now, all three of them could be found in a pile on their couch. Robby was in the middle of his latest science fiction, his legs tangled with Jack's while he and Dennis laid together on the other end of the couch. The older man had his arms wrapped around his waist and his chin hooked over Dennis's shoulder to watch as he puzzled out a problem in the game he was currently working on completing. There was a backlog of games he'd never played growing up, both Donnie and Trin had made separate lists they'd insisted were 'really good', so he'd been working his way through them.
Jack was all too happy to just watch him for now, the ache centralized in his residual limb enough that he was just glad to be present and muttering his opinions in Dennis's ear. At least until all three of their phones let out shrill, asynchronous sounds, broadcasting weather alerts, which caused Dennis to jump and drop his switch onto his chest with a soft "Jesus fuck."
The day-shift attending was the only one of them to pick up his phone after a soft laugh at the indignant look on Dennis's face, letting out a low hum at it before he spoke up. "Looks like a severe thunderstorm is heading our way, in the next forty minutes."
"Yeah?" Dennis craned his head to peer out their sliding glass-doors at the clouds outside. "I hope they actually mean it"
"Really? A lot of people hate the noise," Jack pointed out, shifting slightly to move their mouse off him. Easily taking the hint, Dennis flopped himself onto Robby instead, ignoring the 'oof' from his other boyfriend in favor of answering Jack, "Yeah, I know, but I really love them a lot. I used to be scared of them; when I was a kid, I was terrified, actually. "
Pressing his chin into Robby's sternum, his voice came out muffled as he continued. "My mom taught me how to count the intervals between thunderclaps when I was really young, so I could tell when it was finally moving away. Though, of course, that meant that I could also tell when it was getting closer."
Robby hummed beneath him, the sound of it vibrating through his head just like his voice which followed suit, "So what changed then? You seem to like them now"
"I wish I had a better answer for you, but at some point, I guess, I stopped being afraid and found them really comforting. I really enjoy them now, and I get bummed out when the news promises them and they don't happen."
"Our little storm chaser, huh?" Jack teased, sitting up so he could massage his thigh while they spoke. He paused, reaching over to squeeze Dennis's calf, if only to hear his giggle.
"You say that, but I'd sit on my family's front porch and watch the storm roll in. Sometimes, my mom had to drag me inside so, in her words, I wasn't struck by the lord above for my stupidity"
"Oh, yeah?" Robby tucked his head to smile down at Dennis. "Did you ever go chasing tornadoes, too? ...do they have tornadoes in Nebraska?"
"Babe, it's in tornado alley" Jack pointed out with a snort, their younger partner throwing an incredibly fond but dry look on his face at Robby. In response, the older man let a pout cross his own face as he mumbled, "I'm from the East Coast; I don't know that off the top of my head man."
"To answer your question, god absolutely not. I'm scared to death of them, and my mom would sooner have buried me herself than let me out during tornado seasons to chase them," he replied, wrinkling his nose slightly. "As it was, she'd fuss me if she found me out there."
"Sounds sensible," Jack commented with amusement.
"I was safe!" Dennis protested.
"Typically, the safest place during a lightning storm is inside Den," Robby agreed with Jack.
"Oh please, I grew up on a farm, there were plenty more dangerous activities I was doing that were just chores. I'm more than capable of handling sitting outside during a storm," he grumbled.
"The last night-shift you and I were on, I watched Santos insist you couldn't handle being spun around in a rolling chair 30 times like she had once before you sat your happy ass in one, told her to spin and count." Jack deadpanned.
Dennis shifted around until he could level a half-hearted glare at the silver-haired man that got a full-hearted laugh out of Robby, the movement jostling Dennis hard on his chest.
All he got in response was a disbelieving look and an arched eyebrow that screamed, 'Are you sure about this?' which had him huffing and muttering an apology. Any other time Jack might have pushed for something clearer, but he didn't think any of them were up for that kind of scene today.
He turned back to Robby after catching the incredulous look on his face, before he shook his head and lifted his book back up to continue reading.
After that, the conversation seemed to settle, or finish, and Dennis took the chance to press his ear to Robby's heart. Listening to the dull, rhythmic thud of it inside his boyfriend's chest, until he both heard and felt the low timbre of the older man asking him, "…Do you want to watch the thunderstorm today, sweetheart?"
Dennis lifted his head to blink at him, taking a second to process what he'd asked and the flood of warmth swirling through him over the question.
"Yes, I really do, but…" he sort of furrowed his eyebrows at Robby as he pointed out, "You guys don't have a front porch."
"No, we don't. All three of us wouldn't fit like that anyways," he chuckled, patting Dennis's hip until the younger man stood, stepping to the side of the couch. He followed suit, sitting up with a small noise and a few audible cracks from his back.
"Hold on, sit with Jack again, Babe," Robby urged him before he moved around the living room. Like this, he could note that the clouds outside were darkening and rolling faster. Something he figured meant that the storm was coming sooner than later and solidified what he wanted to do for Dennis.
Taking their armchair, he pushed it over to sit in front of their sliding back door. Next, he slipped the glass and screen door open, letting the scent of water and the breeze as well as the sound of the cars and the city all spill into the room. Robby turned to his lovers on the couch and beckoned both of them over to join him.
Dennis stood and handed Jack his crutches, helping their boyfriend up before leaving his side to see if Robby needed any help.
"Is there anything I can do?" He asked, watching the other man think for a moment before he nodded towards the stairs, "Go get a couple of towels for us?"
After a quick salute, their younger third practically ran up the stairs, the movement betraying just how excited he was; much to the amusement of both older men. Jack laughed at the thumping, moving over to the armchair and plopped down into it, setting his crutches against the side of the chair.
"You ever notice he runs up the stairs like a puppy too? on all fours?" Jack hummed, sparing a glance over before returning his gaze to Robby's.
"Yes, he does, especially when he's real excited about something," Robby chuckled, adding "it's pretty fucking cute."
"This whole thing you're setting up is pretty cute of you, Mike," he pointed out, a little teasing but achingly sincere in a way that made the other man flush red and duck his head to avoid Jack's intense eye contact.
"Yeah well, maybe I just want to understand what he sees in storms, it's science Jack," he sniffed instead and pointedly ignored the full bark of laughter from his husband, in favor of watching Dennis thud back down the stairs with a few towels in his hands.
"Good boy," Robby cooed at him, taking the heap of fabric from him and laying it out in front of the door. Frankly, he didn't want to clean up any rainwater that came inside, and this was a good way to prevent that mess.
Dennis offered him a smile and slipped out the back door while he worked on the towels to peer up at the sky before either of them could say anything else. By now, the clouds had grown darker, and the trees around had begun to shake with stronger winds that ruffled through his curls. He closed his eyes, and for a single moment, Dennis was standing back on his family's front porch.
"If you get soaked out there, you'll have to get a bath, puppy," Jack called from inside, cutting through the old memory in favor of this new one they were making. The threat of what he said being more than enough to make Dennis come back in despite his pout. The silver-haired man snickered about it and tugged him close so he could tell him, "Down, boy."
Dennis sank down to the floor, and just before he could lean back, a fuzzy blanket was draped over his shoulders. Leaning back against the chair, he glanced up at Robby while he pulled the blanket further over his shoulders.
"Thanks, babe," he breathed, not just talking about the blanket. Robby smiled down at him, brushing his hair back from his forehead before carefully sinking to the floor next to Dennis. Planting a kiss against his head, he mumbled into dirty blonde hair, "Of course, honey."
There was a brief flash of light outside, then quiet, and then the first crackle of thunder several miles off. Beside him, Dennis's breath hitched with excitement, while outside everything seemed to pick up more.
Plip…Plip..PlipPlipPlipPlip-
Rain began to patter against their deck, slowly and then all at once it began to hammer down. The tree in their backyard swinging side to side alongside others in different yards.
Everything lit up in white once more.
Boom.
Another crack of thunder. Closer now. Robby could hear Dennis counting the intervals under his breath.
"One-Mississippi…Two-Mississippi…Three-Mississippi-" Another flash, another booming crackle of noise.
Behind them Jack chuckled fondly, leaning forward a little to get a hand threading through Dennis's curls and scratching blunt nails against their boyfriend's hair while he restarted his count.
The next time, they saw the lightning first. Watched it spread and fan out over the entirety of the sky, followed by bright light and thunder so loud it shook the townhouse. The wind outside was blowing against their faces in strong pulses.
All of it combined- the heavy weight of clouds and sounds blanketing the world, narrowed everything down to just the three of them, the heat of Jack beside them, and the sudden heaviness of Den's head on Robby's shoulder.
"I love you both," Dennis whispered.
"We love you too, mouse," Jack murmured.
Everything lit up once more. The house shook with booming thunder. Robby leaned his head back against Dennis's and Jack's leg behind him.
Robby found he understood why Dennis liked thunderstorms so much.