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Frank had had a day.
It had been pouring buckets when he first got in, making him shake himself off like a dog and earning himself a thunderous stare from Dana in Central. The humidity had seeped in through the walls, so everything he touched was a little bit damp, no matter what. Then, there was the hole in the pocket of his scrubs, which he’d only realized was there after Emma offered him the pack of gum he’d lost around nine AM, one of Penny’s hair ties and his favorite pen.
And there had also been the usual amount of fuckery that was expected in the ED, the rain officiating as the cherry on top of that mess. Frank was the only attending on the floor, with Shen out sick, and he was having a hard time coordinating the interns who were still getting their way around the hospital and insisted on presenting every single case to him, nevermind that they had their pick of three senior residents who were just as capable as him of guiding them. Plus, he’d had to break off two fights in Chairs, slipped on a puddle of blood and banged his elbow against a desk, got sneezed on by a kid with a nasty cold (boogers and all), and had to change his gloves three times because they kept ripping apart. Damn manufacturers cheaping out on their latex.
It was a relief walking through the front door of their house.
“Ooh,” Robby said quietly, looking up from his book. He was lounging on the couch, looking all kinds of comfortable and inviting. “Tough shift?”
Frank toed his shoes off, nodded, then paused to look at the small puddle of rainwater that gathered at his feet.
“Bullshit shift,” he replied with a sigh. He could throw a rag on the floor later. “I need a shower.”
“Thought you showered at work.”
“Yeah,” Frank said, crossing the space between them. “That’s why I need another shower.”
That said, he proceeded to unceremoniously drape himself on top of Robby, getting a sense of exactly what he’d been missing: warmth, the comforting rhythm of a heartbeat that wasn’t tachy or in V-fib, and, in the background, that all-encompassing feeling that was simply Robby.
He groaned with satisfaction.
“You’re getting me all wet,” Robby complained, but allowed Frank to relax in his lap all the same.
His reply came muffled by Robby’s sweatpants. “Then kick me out.”
“Can’t,” Robby hummed thoughtfully. “Your name is on the lease. Plus, it would probably count as neglect, leaving you to your own devices in your fragile, post-shift mental state.”
“Basically crime of omission.”
“Exactly. I’m too old to go to prison.”
“Hmm.” Frank rolled over slightly, so that he could still be draped over Robby’s body but could also look at him. “You would make a good gang leader, though. You’ve got enough charisma, could charm them all.”
“I do have some tattoos. Could fit right in with the axe murderers.”
“I mean, I don’t know that a few latin phrases would be that intimidating, but hey, whatever feeds your horse.”
“Is that an expression?”
Frank yawned, then waved a hand dismissively. “I don’t know, man. Probably– maybe in the countryside. Could ask Whitaker. He’d know.”
Robby agreed with a hum. He’d set his book aside as soon as Frank’s body hit his, and his hand was carding softly through the damp strands. Frank was sure he smelled like rain and that godawful 3-in-1 shampoo the hospital provided, but Robby didn’t seem to mind.
“What about you?” He said, leaning into the touch. “How was your day off?”
“Good,” Robby replied, a smile stretching on his pink lips. His forefinger began sketching the lines of Frank’s face. “Slept until around nine–”
“Way to go!” Frank cheered. Getting Robby to sleep past seven was already a feat, nine was a goddamn miracle.
“–grabbed lunch at the coffeehouse –Milena says hi, by the way– and then came back and did some tidying up, played housewife for a while.”
“And you’re so good at it,” Frank quipped.
Robby tugged on his earlobe for good measure. “Then I went for a walk, because my therapist insists on the wonders of something called fresh air and being present, whatever those are.”
Frank closed his eyes as Robby started massaging the tight spot of his jaw, ever so gently. “Mm, yes, I’ve heard something like that.”
“And then I came back, took a shower, trimmed my beard, laid down with my book, and waited for you to come home.”
Robby meant for it to come out as teasing, but Frank could hear the fondness hiding behind his tone. He couldn’t fight a smile, nor did he want to.
“Well,” he said, stretching like an unruly cat, “you must wait no longer, for I am here, my love.”
He opened his eyes to find Robby looking at him with humor. His eyes were soft and his skin was flushed the prettiest pink, the gentle glow of a lamp illuminating him in all his best angles. Frank tipped up slightly, so they could be face to face.
“Here you are,” Robby whispered. “Hi.”
“Hi,” Frank said, and kissed him.
Their lips met with practiced ease, and he marveled, just for a second, at how such a simple gesture could make everything else fade away; how he could feel his body winding down, his muscles bidding the tension farewell, his heart falling into a lazy beat.
Ah, the wonders of love.
“You know,” he said when they parted, “something about your activities today concerns me.”
“Oh?” Robby inquired.
“Not once did you mention cooking,” Frank said, putting on his best pout. “Nor do I see any indication that we’re even intending on having dinner. It worries me, you see.”
“Didn’t you eat at the cafeteria?”
“Robby,” Frank groaned. “Light of my life, love of my life. Do you really expect me to survive on shitty coffee and barely-edible microwavable lunches from the cafeteria? Me, whom you’ve sworn to love and protect, til death do us part, etcetera?”
“Did I, now?”
“Well, I sure hope so, because otherwise I have no idea who I married last fall.”
Robby clicked his tongue, reaching to tuck a strand of hair behind Frank’s ear. “I mean, knowing you, it must be some kind of bozo you picked off the street.”
“Mm,” Frank considered. “He was looking kinda rough the first day I met him. Kept drinking blue Gatorade, calling me Mark, and generally staring off into space.”
“Hey,” Robby protested. “Jack had promised it would be one birthday drink. I didn’t mean to stumble into the hospital at eight am to meet the interns with a raging hangover.”
“That’s what you get from partying like you think you’re twenty,” Frank said, smug. Then frowned, shoving a finger in Robby’s face. “Don’t distract me! You didn’t cook dinner, mister.”
Robby rolled his eyes. “I didn’t cook dinner, love of my life, because it’s Friday, and you and I do pizza every Friday.”
That’s– “Oh.”
“And I hadn’t ordered yet because you insist on trying new toppings every time, and I didn’t know what you’d be interested in trying today, dear,” he finished. “So if you want us to look at the menu before you go have your fifth shower, beloved, I can put the order in, and it can be delivered soon, so you don’t die of starvation.”
Frank blinked at him slowly. Processing the words. Then smiled.
“I’m so glad I picked you off the street, you horrible man,” he murmured, peppering kisses on Robby’s face. “Who else would treat me like this, with this fond sort of contempt?”
“Nobody else, I hope,” Robby replied, catching his mouth in a kiss. “I would be very sad to watch you go.”
“Too late for that, Robinavitch,” he said. “You’re stuck with me in this life.”
“And the next,” Robby added, punctuating every word with a kiss. “And the next, and the next.”
Frank kissed him back, reveling in the knowledge that there would be no corner of the Earth where he could find the solace he found right there, in Robby’s arms. In the home they shared that smelled like Robby’s cologne and the spices he uses to cook and the coffee from the machine that was probably older than Frank himself. That had a bookcase that blended into an amalgamation of their tastes, shared and separate, that had a closet that they shared and a bathroom where two toothbrushes sat together in a cup, their bristles kissing sometimes, making him smile despite himself.
Before he could wade any deeper in the waters of romance, his stomach gurgled loudly.
“Okay, okay,” Robby said, pulling back. “I’m sorry.”
“The beast hungers for pizza, Robby.”
“If the beast let me up,” he replied, a bottomless well of patience, “or at least passed me my phone, we could order some.”
Frank went for the second alternative. He’d have to go shower soon, and he wanted to soak up all of Robby’s warmth before departing.
“Here you go,” he said, handing him his brick of a phone.
Robby, very endearingly, put on his old man glasses to peruse the virtual menu. Frank settled back against his chest.
“Okay, so,” he started. “Your options tonight are–”
“Pick one for me.”
“Huh?”
“Pick one for me,” Frank said quietly. “One that I haven’t tried. But don’t tell me.”
“You sure?”
Frank looked up at him. “Yeah. My brain is too tired to decide.”
Robby nodded. He knew what that felt like. “Okay. I’ll get us the same one, so we can try it out together.”
“What if it’s bad, though, and then we just have two of the same and can’t have some nice, safe margherita to wash it down?”
Robby hummed thoughtfully. “You’re right. I’ll get a half-and-half.”
“Don’t forget the garlic sauce.”
“Weren’t you too tired to think half a second ago?”
Frank couldn’t contain his laughter. He was tired, maybe a bit delirious with it. “I’m sorry, please carry on. I’m not even here.”
“Tell that to my soggy clothes,” Robby mumbled under his breath.
Finally leaving Robby to it, Frank settled on tracing the outline of his husband’s ribs under his threadbare shirt. He counted six, seven, eight, then jumped right over to the floating ribs, eleven, twelve–
“Baby, that tickles.”
“Sorry.”
He resolved to just stay still. Robby tapped at his phone for a few more seconds –adorably whispering the security code of his card to himself as he punched it in– and set it aside.
“All set. It’ll be here in a bit,” he murmured, voice low and raspy. He set his hands on Frank’s sides. “You wanna go shower in the meantime?”
“Yeah,” he replied. He scooched a little bit and pressed a final kiss to Robby’s lips. “Thank you. I swear you’re like, like, a powerbank.”
“A powerbank?” Robby asked, amused.
“Yeah. I came home exhausted, cuddled with you for a bit, and now I feel like a person again. You charge my person-battery. I love you.”
“Love you back,” Robby said with a huff of laughter, easy as breathing. “And you too, you know. You’re a… good pillow.”
“Oh?” Frank said, not following the metaphor.
“You’re always there for me to lay my head when I’m tired,” he explained, “and you always say the right thing when I need any advice.”
Frank’s face broke into a huge grin before he attacked Robby with an onslaught of kisses, making him laugh out loud and threatening to make both of them fall off the couch.
“Okay, okay, beast,” Robby said, surrendering to Frank’s sudden cute aggression. “Go. Shower. Food’ll be here when you get back.”
“Okay,” Frank relented, and finally peeled himself off Robby. Standing, he stretched his legs. “Oh, since you picked the pizzas… I should pick the movie.”
“Ah, so this was all just a grand scheme?” Robby said, eyebrow raised. “What will it be this time, huh?”
“I’ll tell you what it won’t be,” Frank said, bending down to pick up his backpack. “Fast and Furious.”
“It’s a good franchise!”
“Just for that, we’re watching Sound of Music again.”
“You just wanna thirst after Christopher Plummer.”
“Obviously,” Frank deadpanned. “But most importantly, I really wanna watch that scene under the gazebo, when he and Maria finally realize they’re in love with each other.”
“Sap,” Robby teased.
“Nothing comes from nothing,” Frank sang softly, moving closer to him once more, “nothing ever could…”
He gestured to Robby, who groaned before following, his gravelly voice playing the perfect part.
“So somewhere in my youth, or childhood…”
“I must have done something good,” Frank finished, doing a curtsy. His smile was dizzying. “Captain Von Trapp got nothing on you, baby.”
“And you’re stalling,” Robby said, endlessly endeared, doing a shooing motion. “Go.”
“Alright, alright,” Frank replied, before smiling a wicked smile. “So long, farewell…”
Robby’s groan echoed through the entire house. “Go!”
He did, hopping in the shower as the bathroom filled with steam, his heart beating a happy thrum with the promise of dinner and cuddles and Robby. Frank couldn’t stop smiling even if he tried.