Work Text:
Jack is walking out of trauma two when he hears his phone ding in his pocket. It’s been a slow night overall, with him and Shen having just sent a man with a broken leg up to surgery. He pulls his gloves off before walking over to the nurses station where Parker is charting. He leans against the desk while pulling his phone out and unlocking it.
Robby 10:03pm
(picture)
He’s awfully clingy tonight.
Jack smiles at the picture Robby has sent, one of him laying on Jack’s couch with Max, their grey haired American shorthair. Robby had found him yowling outside their favorite takeout restaurant ten months ago and took one look at him before grabbing him (and the food) on his way to Jack’s apartment for a Pens game. He immediately took to Robby, but loved to steal bits of food from Jack’s plate and it was obvious by the second quarter they weren’t letting him go back on the street. He had just been a kitten then, but had really filled in in the ten months with the two men.
Jack had never considered getting a pet before, always thinking himself too busy, but cats were low maintenance and with him and Robby working opposite shifts, it worked. For the first few months, they handed Max over at the hospital the same way they handed over patients. But the cat prefers Jack’s apartment (he’s sure it has nothing to do with the seriously ancient looking chihuahua named Daisy that Robby’s neighbor has), so these days he spends most of his time at Jack’s with Robby spending even more time there.
“What’s got you all smiley?” He looks up to see that Parker has fully abandoned her charting and has her chin resting on her hands on the desk in front of her.
“Robby sent a picture of Max.” Jack turns his phone around so that Parker can see. It really is a cute picture.
“Never thought I’d see the day you became a family man, boss. Showing pictures of the wife and kid off at work.” Parker smirks, taking in the picture.
He just rolls his eyes.
“I’ll beg you to not let Robby hear you say that.” Jack knows how much he hates Robby speculating on his personal life.
“Oh, I don’t think he’d mind too much. He does the same thing with the day shifters.” Jack taps the heart reaction on the picture before locking his phone and putting it back into his pocket.
“I seriously doubt that. Robby’s always been private.” Jack rolls his eyes.
“Private about what?” Shen steps up to the hub, joining the conversation.
“His personal relationships.” Jack answers, annoyed by this conversation already. They never give him any peace.
“Oh, are you two trying to keep things quiet at work?” Shen asks innocently while Parker snorts into the keyboard.
“You have to be fuc-” He really should check on some patients in the South bay. Shen and Parker both raise their eyebrows in shock at his sudden anger. His phone dings again and he reaches into his pocket to pull it back out.
“We aren’t dating. We’re friends. You might be unfamiliar with the term since you both spend all of your free time digging my early grave.” Jack mutters the last part.
“You literally share a pet.” Parker points out.
“Robby willingly goes to Pens games with you.” Shen adds.
“You spend holidays together.”
Jack lets the two of them continue to go back and forth while he reads another message from Robby.
Robby 10:06pm
You want to try that new indian place this weekend? We haven’t been out in a while and I’ve been craving curry.
Jack 10:07pm
Sounds great to me. 🙌
Robby 10:07pm
😀😀
“You aren’t even listening to us!” Shen says exasperated.
“He’s too busy texting his not-boyfriend.” Parker interjects.
“I was listening. I can listen and ignore you at the same time.”
“Don’t think we don’t see that you’re deflecting.”
“What about any of those things that you mentioned says we can’t be friends?” Jack interrupts.
“What says you can’t be more? Sounds like a pretty good foundation to me. Besides, when is the last time either one of you went out with someone else?”
“Your point is moot, because I don’t date anymore, bu-”
“What?”
“Huh?”
Parker and Shen exclaim simultaneously. Jack can feel a headache forming as he rubs his temples.
I have got to get out of this conversation.
“Your concerns about Robby are noted. Maybe you guys can set him up with somebody since you’re so concerned about it.” He sees Parker’s eyebrows hit her hairline, but chooses to ignore it.
“Now, I’m going to check on patients. You should do the same.” He turns and walks away as fast as he can. He makes it around the corner before he feels his phone buzz again.
Robby 10:28pm
I left you dinner in the fridge. EAT.
Unfortunately, he can’t get the conversation with Parker and Shen out of his head. He and Robby do spend a lot of time together, but they certainly aren't dating. What if Robby feels like Jack is holding him back from meeting someone? Robby deserves to be happy and before COVID, he was always in a long-term relationship. Maybe it’s time to help him get back out there. All of the sudden, Jack feels a lurch in his stomach. He looks at his watch again. This is usually around the time he would be taking his first food break of the shift, but his rolling stomach immediately shuts down that idea. He shakes his head and pulls up the next patient file. Work has always been good at distracting him.
***
Before he knows it, his shift is over and he’s in the breakroom grabbing his empty food container out of the refrigerator when he hears the door open. He knows it’s Robby before he even sees him.
“Morning, Jack.”
“Morning.” Jack responds without turning around to look at him.
“I heard you had a rough end to your shift. I thought I’d check on you be-” Of course. He feels an intense flash of anger.
“I don’t need your pity, Mike.”
“Woah! Not pity. But that’s a shitty way for anybody to end a shift.”
Jack had spent the last two hours trying to save the life of a 45-year-old man. They all knew it was a lost cause, the man was practically DOA, but when the patient’s husband had sounded like-. Jack closes his eyes and shakes the memory away.
“I’m fine.”
All of the sudden he feels Robby’s hand on the small of his back. When did he get so close?
“I’m here, Jack. Whatever you need.”
He turns his head to look at Robby and the last of his self control snaps. Before he knows what he’s doing, he throws his arms around Robby, pulling the taller man close. He tucks his head into Robby’s neck and squeezes him tight around the middle. Robby wastes no time returning the gesture. Robby runs his hand up and down Jack’s back before slipping it underneath Jack’s scrub top so he feels the warmth directly on his skin. Jack feels something loosen in his chest at the touch. It takes a few moments to realize Robby is talking to him.
“I’m sorry. I know you did everything you could. Nobody could have changed the outcome. I know that had to bring back a lot of hard memories for you.” Jack just squeezes Robby even tighter as he feels a light kiss in his hair.
He’s not sure how long they stand there before the door opens again. Jack doesn’t open his eyes, but he feels Robby turn to greet the intruder without letting him go.
“Robby, Dana sent me to get you. Incoming trauma. Three minutes.”
“Thanks, Parker. I’ll be right out.”
Robby slowly pulls himself away from Jack.
“Go home, Jack. I’d tell you to go to mine, but I think you could use some Max cuddles. Take a shower. Get some sleep. I’ll see you later, okay?” With one last look, Robby turns to walk out of the breakroom. Jack watches until the door shuts fully behind him.
He finds himself missing Robby immediately. He can’t get the patient he lost or his partner out of his head at all. Robby’s right, those cases do always hit harder for him. The worst part is that Jack hadn’t been thinking about his wife at all.
He wastes no time grabbing his stuff out of his locker and heading out the ambulance bay doors. Jack can’t help but think about Robby on his way home. The man had been his best friend for a decade now, long before he lost his wife. They had always had a close relationship and he could see why people thought their relationship was weird. How many middle-aged men had the relationship they had? But Jack didn’t want to date again after Liz died and Robby was a great friend. Of course he was objectively handsome and a great catch, anybody would be lucky to have him. That person just wasn’t him.
The next night, Jack walks in feeling better after a good night's sleep and cuddles with Max (Robby had been right). Walking over to central hub, he sees Robby looking down at an ipad. His posture seems relaxed. He glances to the board to see what the damage is. Not too bad. The citizens of Pittsburgh finally decided to give them a break. Pulling his eyes back from the board and back over to Robby, he sees that he’s been intercepted by a beautiful woman in a business suit. She must be one of the case managers. As he approaches, he can hear the last bit of their conversation.
“...move him over to Presby, they can do surgery there and it will be in network.” Robby nods at the woman in front of him.
“Great, thanks Noelle. I’ll make sure Dr. Mohan puts in the orders for the transfer. Sorry, you had to stay over for this.” Robby finally notices that he’s there and a smile breaks out across his face. Jack can’t help but return it.
“Good evening Jack!”
“You could make it up to me by buying me a drink.” Noelle interrupts before he can respond, leaning her hip into the desk and looking through her eyelashes up at Robby. Jack can already see the flush running up his neck.
“Er, um. I really don’t -” Robby glances over at him with his eyes big. Jack almost wants to laugh at him. He’s never known Robby to be so flustered around a woman. He thinks back to his conversation with Parker the day before. When was the last time Robby had been on a date? Maybe they do spend too much time together. He swallows down the swirl of discomfort in his stomach before speaking.
“Yeah, Robby. Noelle deserves something for staying over. Not everyone is a workaholic like you.” Robby’s head turns over to see Jack so fast he can’t believe he didn’t give himself whiplash.
“Wha-, no. Jack-” Jack just waves his hands at Robby.
“No, go! The board looks good. No current traumas. Go! I’ve got this.” Jack can’t read the look on Robby’s face right now, but he’s not looking as excited as he would have expected at the prospect of potentially finally getting laid. Robby holds Jack’s eyes for a beat before turning back to Noelle.
“Sure, Noelle. Name your place and I’ll be happy to buy you a drink for your troubles.” Robby sounds tired all of the sudden.
“Great! I’ll text you.” Noelle turns to head back upstairs and Jack watches her leave. When he turns back to Robby, he’s furious.
“What the fuck was that, man?” Robby growls at him.
“That was me being your wing-man. You’re welcome.” Jack isn’t sure what the big deal is. He and Robby used to be wing-mans for each other all the time back when they were residents. He realizes too late that they have quite the audience around them. Dana is staring at him over her glasses, Parker has just walked up and her mouth is open in disbelief, while Princess and Perlah are sharing glances in the back. Okay, time to move this conversation. He starts walking to the locker room, he needs to put his backpack up before shift starts anyway.
“My wing-man?” Robby asks incredulously, following behind him.
“Yeah, we used to do it all the time. I was talking to Parker last night and realized we had both been in a bit of a dry-spell. I don’t date of course, but-”
“Don’t date? Jack-” Robby looks genuinely confused by the remark, but he powers through. He has to say this and get it over with.
“-Noelle just presented herself as the perfect opportunity for you to get back out there.” Why can’t Robby see that this is a good thing?
“We’ve been in a bit of a dry-spell? That’s what you’re calling it?”
“Well, yeah. What would you call it?” They’ve made it into the thankfully empty locker room, so Jack turns to face Robby fully.
“I sort of felt like we weren’t talking about it at all, so I wasn’t calling it anything.”
“You felt like we weren’t talking about what?” Jack is confused now.
“All the time we are spending together, I mean I’ve practically moved in-” He can’t take it anymore, so he cuts Robby off. Alarms immediately start going off in Jack’s head.
“And that’s the problem! Don’t you see?” Jack practically shouts, bringing his hands up to pull his hair. It’s all just too much.
He sees Robby’s face crumple.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know I was bothering you. I’ll just-” Robby’s eyes are searching the floor.
“NO! I mean, yes, but that’s not-” Jack scrambles trying to figure out what to say, but everything is just so mixed up. What is he trying to say?
“I’m just afraid people are getting the wrong idea!”
“Right, because you don’t date.” Robby nods.
“I have to go.” Robby doesn’t wait for him to answer, he just spins on his heels and turns back out of the locker room. Jack feels like he can’t breathe. What the fuck just happened? Why does he feel so bad? That wasn’t how that was supposed to go. Tears are stinging at his eyes as he turns toward the lockers to put his backpack up.
Jack can feel Parker behind him before she even says anything. He’s always liked Parker (he can admit to himself that she’s his favorite, but he will deny it if anybody asks), but he’s really not in the mood right now.
“What?” He snaps, not turning around.
“Woah, boss. What was that?” She seems genuinely concerned.
“What was what?” He turns around in time to see her raise her eyebrows while folding her arms across her chest.
“Really? So you didn’t just tell your boyfriend to go on a date with somebody else?” Jack feels his shoulders tense at the accusation.
“He’s not my fucking boyfriend. Stop saying that shit. A single, attractive woman asked my friend out and I helped him out. That’s it. He should be thanking me.” Jack suddenly feels the urge to throw up and he has no idea where that came from.
“I’m going to ignore all the ways what you just said is completely fucked up, but he seemed legitimately uncomfortable and like he didn’t want to go. Seems pretty cruel, especially for someone who considers themselves his best friend. Maybe you should have had a conversation with him before making the decision for him.” He doesn’t like the way she says best friend, but he’s choosing to ignore that in order to get out of this conversation.
***
Despite how the board looked on his way in this morning, the night shift was brutal. Trauma after overdose after MVA after gun shot victim. He tried texting Robby a couple of times between cases, but he hasn’t heard back. He probably just needs some time to cool off.
Jack doesn’t even realize it’s nearing the end of his shift until he sees some of the morning shift start trickling him. Without realizing it, he finds himself looking for Robby. He needs to apologize before he goes home.
“Good morning, Dr. Abbot!” A cheery voice from behind him startles him so much that he almost drops the ipad he had been holding.
“Shit!” He turns around to see Noelle. Great. Just who he wanted to see.
“Ah, Noelle. Good morning!” Jack says, flashing a fake smile at the woman.
“I wanted to thank you for convincing Robby to go out with us last night. It was very appreciated.”
He thinks he might actually hate this woman.
“I’ll be sure to pass on your thanks.” He says, offering a closed lip smile.
“Oh, I told him. What I really need from you is to return this to him. He forgot it at the bar and I’ve got to head upstairs first thing this morning.” Jack looks down to see Noelle holding down Robby’s credit card. For a second, he just stares at it. She raised her hand out to him a little bit more, finally breaking him out of his trance.
“Oh, yeah. Sure.” Jack is still staring at the credit card when Dana drops her purse off on the desk with a big thump, startling him again. Jesus Christ, what is going on with him today.
“At ease, soldier.”
“Good morning Dana.” Jack rubs his hands over his face. What a long fucking night.
“The board looks a mess. Rough night?”
“Like you wouldn’t believe.” He pushes himself out of the chair.
“You seen Robby yet? I want to get out of here ASAP.”
“Oh, you’ll be seeing Dr. Al-Hashimi for handover. Robby called in.”
“Called in?”
“Yeah.” Dana’s hardly paying him any attention now.
“Robby never calls in.”
“He did today.” Jack swallows.
“Did he say why?” Dana finally looks back over at him.
“Why don’t you ask him yourself? Although you didn’t seem too worried about where or with who he was spending his time yesterday.” Oh, so she’s mad at him too. Great.
“Dana, it wasn’t like that. Parker and Shen were just saying stuff and I realized Robby hadn’t been out with anybody in a while. That’s all. I didn’t realize everybody would be so upset about it. Besides, if this is any indication-” He holds the credit card out so that she can see it.
“It seems like he had a good time. So, really, everybody should be thanking me.”
“You know, you doctors are really fucking stupid sometimes.” Dana doesn’t wait for him to respond, before grabbing her coffee cup and heading to the breakroom.
Fuck this. Jack follows her before his good sense can talk him out of it.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jack says as the door shuts behind him.
“You really want to do this?”
“Yeah? I asked didn’t I? It seems like everybody has a lot of opinions.” Jack crosses his arms, waiting on Dana’s response.
“Fine.” She turns to face him completely.
“If you didn’t want to date Robby, you should have just said that.” “Oh, here we go. Not this again!” Jack laughs incredulously.
“Yes, this again. Seriously, Jack. I thought you were a better man than this.”
“We aren’t dating! We’ve never been dating! I DON’T date.”
“Yes, so you keep saying. But ‘don’t’ date and have never dated aren’t the same thing. And from that perspective, I do think you should understand what’s wrong. Your behavior hasn’t exactly matched your words. You spend all of your time together. You are each other’s plus one to events. You are each other's emergency contact. Parker walked in on you guys holding each other yesterday! Tell me, seriously. What is that if not dating?”
“It’s just…friends! Being friends! Like we’ve always been.”
“So, tell me why Robby called in this morning sounding the worst I’ve heard him since Adamson died?” Jack feels like he’s been slapped in the face.
“Dana…”
“Jack. I am begging you. Please, go home and really think about this. If you really don’t want to date him, tell him that, but what you are doing right now isn’t fair.”
Jack is exhausted by the time he gets home. He’s always tired after his shift, but his fight with Robby made everything worse, especially since he called in and they hadn’t gotten to resolve it. They hardly ever fight. They might disagree over takeout spots, but nothing like this. It has unsettled him in a way he didn’t expect. Then his conversation with Dana. His entire body just feels off.
He lets his body sag against the door as he pulls his keys from his pocket to unlock the door. For a moment, he lets himself hope that Robby is here and he had taken off work so that they could talk. He shuffles in, dropping his backpack by the door, and kicks off his shoes. No Robby. He searches the floor for Max instead. It’s not like him to not be circling his feet by the time he gets home, begging for breakfast.
“Max?” He flips on the light to the kitchen. Nothing. He heads over to the stove to turn on the kettle. Being on night shift for so long, he obviously can’t drink coffee in the morning, but he still likes a cup of hot tea before bed. It takes him a beat to realize that Robby’s samovar, the one his bubbe left him, is no longer in its spot on the back of his stove where it has sat for the last year. Robby brought it over after complaining about Jack’s own kettle and just never took it back. Maybe he finally took it out to get polished like he’s been threatening to do for the last six months, but kept forgetting to. Jack sighs. So no tea then.
If he can’t have a cup of tea before bed, he’s damn well going to cuddle with his cat. Where the hell is Max. He makes his way into the living room and scans the room quickly before descending down the hallway. Max has always been weird about the couch, only sitting on it when he can snuggle up in his or Robby’s lap. He’ll occasionally curl up in Robby’s old quilt he keeps on the couch, but he doesn’t see that either. Robby must have put it in the wash. He steps into the bedroom and flips on the light.
He finally hears a soft meow coming from the closet. Jack quickly crosses the room to find Max curled up in what appears to be one of Robby’s old med school shirts. He crouches down to pet the grey cat’s head.
“What’s going on, buddy?” Max just tucks his head deeper into Robby’s shirt and lets out a soft whine. He tries to pick him up, but Max sticks his claws into the shirt and swats at Jack’s hand before letting out a low hiss.
“Woah, okay, okay!” Jack flinches back. He’s never seen Max like this, but he doesn’t show any obvious signs of sickness or distress, so he decides to take a shower before doing anything else. He’s too tired for this. He strips out of his clothes and removes his prosthetic before using his crutches to walk into the bathroom. He lets the water warm up before stepping under the spray. He washes away the hospital as quickly as possible and towels off before returning to the bedroom.
He grabs a pair of boxers and runs his fingers over a t-shirt before he changes his mind and snaps the drawer shirt. He heads over to the closet to grab one of Robby’s hoodies. They are perfectly oversized on his shorter frame and he often wears them around the house or to bed if he’s had an especially shitty day. And today has been an especially shitty day. He fumbles with the light switch so he can grab the one he wants. Max is still where he left him on the floor. He is particularly fond of -
It takes Jack a second to realize what he’s seeing, or more accurately, what he’s not seeing. Just this morning, Jack’s closet had been practically overflowing with two sets of scrubs, cargo pants, t-shirts, hoodies, and other staples in a middle-aged workaholic emergency room doctor's closet. Now, he finds only his clothes staring back at him. Jack thinks back to the moment he got home.
The samovar. Robby’s quilt. His clothes. Max.
He glances back over to where Max has been laying on Robby’s discarded shirt. He practically falls to the ground trying to get closer to him. What did he do? He scoops Max in his arms and cradles him to his chest. Instead of the hiss he was met with earlier, Max is yowling.
Jack’s head is spinning. Robby obviously came over while he was at work and took all of his stuff. Why would he do that?
He thinks back to the conversation they had at work.
“All the time we are spending together, I mean I’ve practically moved in-”
“And that’s the problem! Don’t you see?”
“I’m afraid people are getting the wrong idea.”
No, no, no, no. That’s not what he meant. Everybody had just gotten in his head. They weren’t really dating. He would know that. He didn’t just…break up with Robby.
It’s getting harder and harder for Jack to breathe. He needs to talk to Robby. He pulls himself up, keeping Max in his arms, and manages to maneuver himself over to the bed where he left his phone. His hands are shaking as he unlocks his phone. Jack pauses at the picture on his lockscreen. It’s a picture of him and Robby from his cousin’s wedding back over the summer. He had invited Robby because he hates all the questions you get when you show up to a wedding by yourself. They were both dressed in tuxes and Robby was standing halfway behind him with his chin propped up on his shoulder. They both have huge grins on their faces and Robby’s eyes are crinkled in that way he loves. Oh my god, he’s so fucking stupid.
Jack immediately dials Robby’s number and puts the phone up to his ear.
“C’mon Robby, pick up.” He runs his fingers through his wet hair.
“Sorry, I couldn’t come to the phone-”
“FUCK!” Jack ends the call before throwing his phone down beside him. He leans forward to put his head in his hands. Had he really been so blind? What was he going to do? What if he just ruined the single most relationship in his life. He has to do something. He picks up his phone to text Robby.
Please call me when you can. 8:46am
I’m really sorry, Robby. 8:46am
Before he can talk himself out of it, he opens a different text thread.
I fucked up. 8:47am
The message is immediately marked as read before his phone starts ringing in his hand.
PARKER ELLIS INCOMING CALL
She starts speaking before he can even say hello.
“Finally, we’re getting somewhere.” He can hear the smugness in her voice.
“His stuff is gone.” Jack can hear the wobble in his voice and he hates it.
“Robby’s stuff?” Parker asks, her voice softer now. Jack sniffs, holding back tears.
“I didn’t know - or I didn’t realize. I mean, I didn’t-” He’s not even sure what he’s trying to say. He stops before swallowing. He wets his lips before speaking again.
“Were Robby and I really dating?”
“It sure seemed like it, boss.” He closes his eyes and leans over putting his elbows on his knees.
“Oh my god.” Jack rubs his hands over his face before another thought comes to his mind.
“But Noelle. She brought his credit card back. They went out last night. He can’t be too-”
“I’m going to ignore the way all of that is really fucked up considering your role in that.” Jack can hear the exasperated look on her face.
“And I’m going to tell you this, because you are my favorite attending, but I’ll deny it if you ever tell anybody I said that.” Jack smiles, but stays silent.
“Robby didn’t go out with Noelle. Not in the way you are thinking. A bunch of them met up after shift, Robby dropped in, put his card on the tab, and left. He told Noelle he’d get his card back from her on the next shift and thanked her again for staying late.”
“So, he didn’t-?”
“No, but you get how you sound, right?”
“I’m in love with him.”
“Welcome to the party, boss.”
“But what do I do? He’s not answering my calls. Maybe I should go over there.” Jack starts to stand up.
“No. Get some rest. You won’t do either one of you any good if you show up in this state. Robby called in. You’re off tonight. Get a few hours of sleep and then go get your man back.”
“I’m not sure that I can.”
“You can and you will. I’m not dealing with two sad white dudes at work.” Jack manages to choke out a small laugh.
“Robby loves you, boss.”
“So you keep saying.”
“He does. Now, I gotta go. Listen to what I said. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
“Yeah, okay.” Jack hands up the phone before throwing it on the bed beside him. Max is still laying in his lap, looking up at him with big, sad eyes. He decides to attempt to follow Parker’s advice, laying down on the bed, curling Max into his chest.
***
After tossing and turning for a few hours, Jack decides he’s waited long enough. Checking his phone, he sees that Robby still hasn’t returned his phone call or text messages. He quickly gets dressed and scoops Max into his arms before heading out to his jeep. He knows that even if Robby doesn’t want to see him, he’ll be missing Max. Daisy be damned.
He checks Robby’s location to make sure he’s home before pulling out of his driveway. He heads to their favorite takeout spot before heading to Robby’s place. Juggling the food with Max, Jack lets himself into Robby’s building. The elevator takes forever and he can tell Max knows where he is, he’s squirming in his arms like crazy. Normally he would just let himself into Robby’s place (they exchanged keys years ago), but he doesn’t feel comfortable doing it at the moment. He knocks on the door and takes a step back, holding his breath. No answer.
He moves Max into the crook of his elbow and shifts the bag of food to his left hand, reaching to grab his phone out of his pocket. He checks Robby’s location again. Still there.
Well, he has no other choice. He grabs his keys and lets himself into Robby’s apartment. The first thing he notices is that there are no lights on. The second thing he notices is Max wriggling his way out of his arms and landing on the floor in front of him. Before he can even react, Max is running down the hall towards Robby’s bedroom.
“Shit.” Jack mutters, dropping the takeout he brought over out of his arms and onto the kitchen counter. A kitchen counter that is more cluttered than he’s ever seen it. The samovar sits in the middle of the mess. He feels a lump form in his throat at the sight of it.
“Max?” He hears Robby’s low, sleepy voice from the bedroom. Time to face the music.
He walks slowly down the hallway, his heart already beating fast. He’s not really sure how Robby is going to react to seeing him. Finally, he makes it to the threshold of Robby’s bedroom. The overhead light is off, but the curtains are open and his small bedside lamp is on, allowing plenty of light into the space. He finally raises his eyes to Robby’s frame on the bed. He’s laying on his side with Max curled into his chest. His face turned into his fur while he rubs his back. Max’s tail is lazily flicking side to side. He sees dark circles under Robby’s eyes and they are extremely red and swollen. He doesn’t look like he’s slept at all.
Robby lifts his head to coo at the animal.
“I missed you, baby.” That earns him a lick on the nose before Robby nuzzles that cat’s head again. Jack’s heart clinches at the visual. He clears his throat to speak before he loses his nerve completely.
“Hey.” Robby’s head jerks at the sudden sound. Jack can see his hands flex around Max as he meets his eyes.
“Hi.”
“He was missing you and I figured you were missing him, so I decided to put you both out of your misery.”
“Thank you.” Robby breaks eye contact to look back down at the ball of fur in his arms.
“Also, Noelle gave me this. Thought I should return it.” Jack awkwardly places the credit card down on the dresser beside the door. Robby watches the movement, but doesn’t speak.
“And…I also wanted to apologize.” Robby doesn’t acknowledge his statement at all. He walks a few steps toward the bed, approaching him like a skittish animal. Robby looks back at him to watch his movements, but he doesn’t stop him. He sits very carefully on the edge of the bed and reaches out to pet Max, brushing Robby’s fingers in the process.
“I’m so sorry, Robby. I never should have pressured you to go out with Noelle.” Jack can’t bring himself to meet Robby’s eyes as he speaks.
“That’s what you think I’m upset about?”
“Isn’t it?”
“Come on, man. You can just go if you don’t want to have this conversation. Trust me, I received the message loud and clear.”
“NO! No. I do want to have the conversation. I think it’s long overdue.” Robby’s eyes finally rise to meet his.
“I wasn’t trying to hurt you by pushing you to go out with Noelle or by telling you I don’t date anymore. Those things felt…safe to me, I guess. Safer than labeling our relationship in a way that made me feel like I was replacing Liz.” Jack says quietly, looking at their hands tangled up in Max’s fur.
“I’m not trying to repla-” Robby attempts to interrupt, but Jack stops him.
“I know you aren’t. But you already have, haven’t you? We do everything together, we practically live together, you’re the person I want to see on a bad day. I took you to my cousin’s wedding, for fuck’s sake.” He pauses to laugh.
“You’re my partner, Mike. And I think admitting that out loud scared me, because it meant I was moving on. Had moved on. I loved Liz and a part of me still loves her, but she’s not here anymore. And you are.” Jack looks up to see a small besotted smile on Robby’s face.
“Yeah, I’m here Jack.” They sit in silence for a few minutes before Jack can’t help but ask the question that’s been on his mind all day.
“Did you really think we were dating?” He hears Robby let out a deep breath.
“Yes? No? I don’t know. Obviously we hadn’t had a conversation about it, but I knew I loved spending time with you and I wasn’t really interested in spending time with anybody else either. Man, you know how I am with relationships. If we didn’t define anything, there wasn’t anything for me to mess up, but then when you pushed the thing with Noelle and told me point blank that you didn’t date, that hurt. And I realized I had been lying to myself about my feelings for you.”
“Sounds like we both are idiots.” That gets a wet laugh out of the older man.
“So Dana keeps telling me.”
“But seriously, Robby. I’d really like to do this for real, if that’s something you still want?” Jack asks.
“Of course it is, Jack.” Before he can stop himself, he leans across to place a soft kiss on Robby’s lips. He pulls back slightly to see the stunned look on Robby’s face.
“Sorry, I shou-” Robby’s hand cups the back of Jack’s neck before pulling him back in, smashing their lips together. Jack gasps at the contact and Robby uses the leverage to lick into his mouth. It doesn’t take them long to find a rhythm and it’s not long before Jack’s body is stretched over Robby’s. They keep kissing until Max lets out a loud meow before jumping off the bed and into the floor. Finally, they separate both gasping for breath.
“Oh, we are definitely doing this.” Jack says between breaths as Robby leans forward to suck on his neck.
“And bring your shit back to my place. Bring all your shit. Plenty of people move in together at the one year mark, right?” That gets Robby’s attention.
“One year mark?! Yesterday, you were telling me to go out with somebody else!”
“About that, I’ve decided I don’t want us seeing other people. You okay with that?” Jack says, leaning his chin on Robby’s chest and looking up into his eyes. Robby rolls his eyes affectionately.
“Yeah, Jack. I’m okay with that.”
***
It’s a pretty quiet night in the ED, so Jack is taking advantage of the downtime by catching up on charting. He’s just finishing up his last one when his phone dings.
Robby 11:05pm
(picture)
Your son won’t get off my head and I’m trying to sleep. 🙄
He looks up from his phone to see Parker sneaking off to the breakroom.
“Yo Parker, want to see a picture of the wife and kid?”