Chapter Text
It was cold inside the Pitt. They were trying to fix the HVAC system with limited success at the moment, leaving Frank freezing as he looked around for his sweatshirt he knew he wore to work, looking around the hub with a little frown.
"Hey, has anyone seen my sweatshirt?"
He asked at large, looking around, giving a tiny shiver. "I had it on my chair like two seconds ago."
"Try twenty minutes ago." Dana snorted, "What's not on your chair, where you left it?"
"No, mom." Frank snarked at the older woman, earning a huff from her. "It's not. Shit, I don't have a backup one either."
"Hey, Whitaker?"
Dennis skidded to a stop at Frank calling his name. "Hmm?"
Frank ran a hand through his hair and bounced nervously on the balls of his feet. "Normally, I would never ask this, but do you have an extra sweatshirt in your locker? I can't find mine, and I am absolutely freezing."
Dennis blinked at him for a moment. "Shit, I'm sorry, I can ask someone else-" he was cut off by Dennis handing Frank the sweatshirt he was just wearing. For a moment, Frank could have sworn the smaller, younger man looked absolutely smug, smirk and all. "Dude, I can't take your sweatshirt."
"Yes, you can, " Dennis corrected with absolute confidence, his voice dropping an octave. "I'll be fine, Frank, can't have you freezing to death, now."
Frank swallowed and took the sweatshirt from the man, slipping it on. It was soft and still warm from Dennis' body heat, smelling very much of Dennis. He zipped it up just enough so it was closed around his waist. "Um...thanks. I'll give it back before I leave." Dennis shook his head.
"Keep it." Frank's eyes went wide as Dennis stepped into his space and pulled the zipper up so it now reset in the middle of Frank's chest with that look again. "It looks good, Langdon." Frank could just stand there as he stood back and turned his attention to Dana.
"Did you need something, Dana?"
She let out a sigh. "I hope you know what you just started."
Dennis smirked at Dana outright and, turning back to Frank. "I can handle it." Frank blushed as Dennis walked away, and Dana was muttering something about 'kids, grey hairs, and she was so ordering takeout when she got home'.
The next two hours passed in relative peace, Frank ignoring Santos' low knowing whistle or the look Mohan shot him, which very much told Frank that he was a dumb ass, before very carefully asking Frank what happened to the sweatshirt he had this morning. He had yet to find it when she asked, Frank admitted to checking the lost and found not once but twice.
All she did was sigh and throw her hands up in the air before walking away. Frank continued about his day as Robby finally spotted him with narrow eyes, before they flared with recognition. "Frank."
He didn't hesitate to make his way to Robby, half jogging, to the bearded attending who used his first name in his Doctor Robby voice. He could feel a slight swell of panic, trying to figure out what Robby could possibly be mad at him for. He skidded to a stop in front of Robby. "You summoned?"
"Are you wearing Whitaker's sweatshirt?"
Frank short-circuited for a moment. "Um..yes?"
"What happened to your sweatshirt?" Robby asked again, as if it were an obvious question, and one he expected Frank to answer. Frank watched Robby cross his arms over his broad chest.
"Honestly?" Frank rocked back on his heels. "No idea. I left it in the central hub, and then it wasn't there, and I've looked everywhere, and yes, I checked the lost and found twice."
"So you stole, Whitakers?"
"What? No." Frank pulled back with a face. "I asked him if he had an extra, and he gave me his."
"Of course he did," Robby muttered. "Whitaker." Robby snagged Dennis' attention as he was walking by, his blue eyes immediately landing on Frank. Robby didn't miss the sharp glint in his assessment of his resident. "Thank you for giving Frank your sweatshirt. I'm sure we can find an alternate for him.
Frank shrugged. "Sure, man, I don't know-" He stopped looking down at where he was unzipping the hoodie to find Dennis' hand over his, stopping him. He followed the warm hand up Dennis' arm, covered by a green long-sleeved top, finally to Dennis' face, who was firmly transfixed on Robby.
"That won't be necessary, Doctor Robby."
Frank blinked in surprise at the title and the tone of voice that came from the Pitts's sweet huckleberry. "Would hate to have you freeze." Robby shot back at Dennis with a smile that came nowhere close to meeting his brown eyes.
"I'm surprisingly strong, I'll be fine."
"Must be if you plan to leave us and go into rural medicine when you're done with your residency."
Frank let out a low whistle, looking at Dennis with admiration he actually felt. "Rural medicine's a tough beat. Good for you, Whitaker."
Now it was Dennis' turn to blush for a second, before he shifted back to the confident and assured Dennis that Frank was becoming more and more familiar with. "Thank you, Frank." Robby's eyebrows shot up to his hairline before falling in a deep frown at the casual use of Frank's name. Frank put a hand on Robby's shoulder.
"You good man?"
"Fine." Robby declared. "Lets see if we can find you another sweatshirt."
"No need." Dennis countered, as Mel walked up to the three men, with ipad in hand and a look on her face.
"Uh, Doctor Langdon?"
"What's up?" Frank realised he had yet to ask Mel if she had seen his sweatshirt. "
"We have a patient in central 14, a little boy about five, who needs stitches while we wait for test results and....?"
"Need me to help get him to sit still?" Frank supplied. She nodded, and Frank followed. They were halfway there when he remembered to ask if she had seen his sweatshirt, but she told him she hadn't, but liked the one he was wearing now. He didn't bother to tell her it was Dennis'.
The rest of the shift was filled with a weird tension between Dennis and Robby that everyone seemed to understand the cause of, but Frank, who, at this point in the shift, was tired and still cold.
"That's a new sweatshirt, Frankie boy."
Jack's cheerful turn made Frank jump, where he was supposed to be charting but was lost in thought, gaslighting himself into almost believing he didn't bring a hoodie today. "Oh, it's not mine."
The curly-haired man raised an eyebrow, "Doesn't look like Mohan's or Donnies, and Mel would never give hers up..."
"It's Whitakers. I tried to give it back a couple of times, but he insisted he wasn't cold enough to need it. I had on, but I have no fucking clue where it went, and I asked if he had a spare and he let me borrow his." Frank looked up to find Jack's expression hard, his eyes cold. "....is that a problem? It's fucking freezing in here."
"Nope." Jack dismissed, softening at Frank's confusion. Frank had no idea how much Jack wanted to strangle Robby for making them wait until Frank was both a year sober and no longer their resident. The year sober, he could live with, but the other one, Jack firmly thought, was bullshit.
"Why don't you take this off, sweetie, and I'll return it. I have to talk to the kid anyway."
Frank shrugged but complied, handing the sweatshirt to Jack. "Sure, if you don't mind, it will give me an extra moment to chart. Hey, you okay?"
"Perfect," Jack assured. He raised the sweatshirt, "Next time, just text me, I always have an extra in my locker."
"Oh..." Frank wanted to blush again, "um, thanks."
Jack grunted and walked away.
Robby fell into step with Jack the moment he saw him, the shorter man giving him a sharp glare. "This would not happen on the night shift."
"Bullshit, this would very much happen on night shift."
"No it wouldn't because I wouldn't let him lose his goddamn sweatshirt, and we don't have fucking Whitaker." Jack bit back, glare deepening when he found his target, only to be greeted by an open smirk from the new resident. "This is yours."
"It is." Whitaker took it back and slipped it on. "Still warm."
"You're on my fucking list, kid." Jack warned, "This is not a war you want to start."
Dennis thought about his words for a moment, his own gaze turning sharp. "No, this is a war you're going to lose."
Robby let out a low cackle.
"You're right." He admitted, sizing Dennis up, "Dennis would love the night shift."