Chapter Text
Dennis Whitaker
You should know better, because you know that Dennis tends to feel things a little bit more than other people. You are smart enough to not drop this prank bomb on him during the middle of his shift.
The bedroom is dimly lit up from the bedside table lamp. Sheets lay over your body, as you rest your head against Dennis' chest. His heartbeat is steady and grounding in your ear. Your husband is currently reading up on the most recent medical advancements that don’t include AI. “Dennis.” He hums, “I don’t think I’m going to be able to pay the mortgage this month.”
The paper drops, and Dennis freezes right away. The other hand that is wrapped around your waist tightens. His jaw clenches, and for a long second he just stares down at you. Bright blues becomes a messy raging storm. Dennis is trying to process, and his mind races all over the place. He truly looks as if he’s panicking. “Hold on…Wait… What?” He asks, his voice is high and tight like someone has their hands wrapped around his neck.
“Just hypothetically.” You try to help, and clarify. You figure your face gives you away, covered in mischief and a twinkle in your eyes. Dennis lets go of your waist, and is sitting up further on the bed. His eyes are wide and his hands start fidgeting with the top of the sheet. “Just a… hypothetical?” He repeats. His voice is still a little shake, and high “You… are you joking right now?” You shrug your shoulders, “Yeah.” You say softly “Mostly.”
He’s up and out of the bed before you have a minute to get comfortable. Standing in your bedroom in only his boxers, and his hands pulling open drawers that the bills sit in. Dennis shakes his head and mutters under his breath mostly to himself then to you. He starts pulling out whatever bills are stacked on top of the most recent pile. “No… No I… that can’t… this… that can’t be right.”
Dennis' brows are furrowed and then he glances from you to the drawer, back to you. He keeps his eyes wide, and searches as if other bills will appear in front of him if he thinks about them hard enough. “I… I pay the mortgage? Right?… I do that right?” His voice is making your heart break. The tiny crack in his voice has your heart stuttering to a complete stop as you stare at your husband panicking on the other side of the room.
Your husband who is normally OCD about the paperwork, and even meticulous is suddenly hit with the thought that he might have failed, not paid the most important bill in his book. In the moment he forgets that he has been handling the mortgage and all the other bills since the moment the two of you got together.
“Dennis yes, you do.” You say gently, letting the sheets fall into your lap as you reach out across the bed to drag and grab at his hand. “Dennis baby, you always pay it, paying it days before the bill is even due half the time. You don’t have to worry about it baby.” You hear his breathing pause mid-breath and then Dennis is exhaling shakily. “I just… I just really… I thought that for a second.” Dennis mutters, his voice cracking. “I thought that maybe I wasn’t…what if I wasn't doing enough for you?”
You pull him into the bed, and kneel beside him on the bed. Your hands resting on his shoulder and dragging him into your side. “Dennis…” He doesn’t look up right away, “Denny please look at me.” You whisper. When Dennis blue eyes finally meet yours, they shimmer against the soft light of the bedside table. In the corners of his eyes, you can see the raging storm of panic, and guilt still lingering there.
“Dennis you do not, and are not failing me.” You say firmly, trying to get your point across. “You have always taken care of everything, and you have always taken care of me.” You whisper. “Plus the fact that you are worried this much? Is even more proof of how much you take care of me. That’s more than enough, Denny.” Dennis reaches his hands up and clenches his hands in yours that are sitting on his shoulders. He holds onto for dear life, as if you’re the only thing supporting him right now.
“I just… I don’t think… I can’t bear the thought of you worrying.” He mutters softly, “Or the thought of me failing… you.” Dennis swallows hard, his adams bobbing in his throat. There is still a tremor in his voice that betrays him, “Even if you’re just joking with me.” He adds.
“I know.” You say softly into his shoulder. “It was just a prank. Dennis you’ve got this handled, you always have this handled.” There is a long, and silent pause that stretches over the both of you. Dennis finally seems to exhale a not shaky breath and you can feel the tension leave his body. He turned in your hold and pressed his face into your shoulder, and neck. Shifting his arms so he can wrap them around you. “You really fucking scared me, sweetie.” He admits into your warm skin. His voice is still filled with emotions, muffled, and raw.
“That’s why I’m here Denny.” You murmur jokingly. You keep him close to your chest. “Dennis you care, and you will always care, and because of that I know that you will always have everything under control.” Dennis lets out a trembling laugh that is one part filled with relief and another part lingering with left over panic. Dennis is gripping your frame. “I just forgot… Just forgot that I actually paid the mortgage.” He whispers like he’s telling you a secret. “And I still… I can’t believe that I still freaked out like that.” He looks over to the bills scattered all over the top of the dresser.
“You’ll always take care of it. That’s why I love you, Denny." You tell him, pressing a soft kiss to his temple. “You know you’re gonna have to clean all that up?” You ask him to stare at the scattered bills. He rolls his eyes, and exhales shakily. “You know that you are literally impossible sometimes.” He teases. “And yet…” You whisper back, “You still love me.” Dennis doesn’t argue with you, instead he opts to holing onto your tighter, and letting the fear, the panic, the fucking prank faded into the darkness of the night.