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The Pitt was known for its Christmas celebrations. The whole hospital knew about them, whether it be due to seeing it firsthand or the stories that spread like wildfire every year after the celebrations were over. The first rumour had been that Perlah and Princess had kissed (they had, but only because of some mistletoe), the year after that it had been that Abbot had done a strip tease (he denied it vehemently despite the fuel from Robby). The list went on. It was always sort of lost in translation as to whether these stories were actually true, but the hospital as a whole loved the gossip in the week or so that followed the celebrations.
Robby was excited for this year. Since Pittfest, there hadn't been much that he looked forward to. Jack had had to talk him back from the edge of the roof on several occasions, and he feared that he was making his friend entirely miserable with his moping. He'd all but given up trying to make up with Jake - the kid was still angry at him and he didn't want to force a relationship that wasn't meant to happen. And, of course, there was the issue that he still blamed himself completely for Leah's death. No matter how much Dana and Jack, and Whitaker, for some reason, constantly reminded him that it wasn't his fault… he just couldn't believe it.
Jack was driving, which meant that he wasn't drinking. That, in turn, was good for Robby. It meant that he could let loose and not worry about getting too stupid. He'd booked for three days off after the event to recover, and he was planning on getting drunk after gifts were exchanged. It would be nice to see the students out of work, too. They'd rented a bar - the same as every year - so that they didn't need to worry about getting ID checked at the door, only at the bar itself. And to tell the truth, underaged drinking was the least of Robby's worries.
Robby put on his best clothes, that being some clean jeans, a crisp white t-shirt and a large, button-up sweater, and waited for the text from Jack with a beer. Instead of a text, Jack just let himself into the house and poked his head round the door. He raised an unamused brow as he spotted the beer and Robby just shrugged.
"Drinking already?" He asked flatly, and Robby huffed out a unamused laugh.
"It's five o'clock somewhere," he replied with a grin, and Jack checked his watch.
"It's five o'clock here, dumbass. Finish that while I take a piss, I'm not letting you stink up my car with beer smell," Jack retorted, but there was no heat behind it. "And get your shoes on."
Robby grumbled something about Jack being 'too bossy' for Christmas, but Jack just fondly rolled his eyes and wandered off. Robby finished off his drink and stood with a groan, his lower back popping uncomfortably as he stretched. He huffed out slowly, mumbling to himself about being old, that he really needs to get that looked at, before walking into the hallway to pull on his boots. jack came back out of the bathroom and shoved a wet hand up the back of Robby's shirt, smirking proudly as Robby rounded on him with a wholly unimpressed look on his face.
"Ran out of toilet paper," Jack said nonchalantly, shrugging. Robby rolled his eyes.
"It's a lot less funny after the tenth time, you know that?" Jack just laughed and walked towards the door. Robby grabbed his keys and followed him out, smiling secretly to himself. He liked this dynamic. He'd become closer with Jack since the death of Jack's wife almost seven years ago, and he genuinely couldn't think of a better partner in crime. He was the first person Robby had come out to, and instead of some bullshit about Robby being a creep, or a 'how dare you keep this from me', Jack had stood up, turned around and asked; "So as a professional, does my ass look good in these jeans?"
The truth was, Robby had never seen Jack as anything more than a friend. Jack was straight - at least to his knowledge - and the spark had never been there anyway. He considered himself lucky to have someone so close, someone who had seen so much shit similar to himself. As he made his way over to Jack's Jeep, he was still smiling to himself.
"What's got you so happy? The prospect of booze?" Jack quipped, climbing into the driver's seat. Robby shook his head and got himself settled in the passenger seat, before batting his eyes at Jack in an exaggerated manner.
"Just thinking about my best friend in the whole entire world and how I can embarrass him tonight," he replied, and Jack shoved his face with a scoff as he started the engine.
"Fuck you, man. I'm staying sober for a reason. Behave or I'll send you home with Dana."
Robby hummed and immediately sat up straight, which made Jack laugh. Dana was a sweetheart, but a nightmare when drunk. She became even more anxious about helping people, but to a fault. When she fixated on someone, it was impossible to get her away.
"Also," Jack added, almost as an afterthought, "you need to behave yourself around Whitaker tonight. Having a crush is one thing, but throw some alcohol in the mix…" He trailed off and gestured absently with one hand before changing gears. "I trust yuo, Mike, but you gotta make sure you're sensible. 'Kay?"
Robby nodded, pursing his lips for a moment. "Yeah. Yeah, okay." Jack had been the first to pick up on his crush on Dennis. It was nothing serious. Not at first, at least. But it had only been getting steadily worse. Jack was convinced that Dennis wanted him too, but Robby wasn't convinced. Apparently Dana thought the same, but that conversation had happened with Robby absent so he wasn't entirely sure whether or not it was just Jack trying to make him feel less guilty about him crushing on a guy young enough to be his kid.
He went quiet and Jack took that as his queue to turn the radio up.
The rest of the drive was relatively painless. Despite not celebrating Christmas personally, Robby liked to come to these events. That went for badly singing Christmas songs on the radio, too. The entire ride was full of obnoxious vocals and terrible runs. By the time they arrived at the bar, Robby already felt a good bit better than he had been recently. They walked in laughing, and Robby's eyes were immediately drawn to Dennis.
He was smiling, really smiling, not the polite looks that he gave to his patients. He was stood with Santos and Javadi, wearing jeans and a shirt. Robby chuckled to himself as he saw the text on it, Balls Deep in Christmas Spirit, and shook his head before going to the bar to order a beer each for himself and Dana.
After about twenty minutes and a pint, Robby decided to mill about and talk to people. He wasn't a part of the gift exchange, he never fancied getting too involved in the actual Christmas aspect of the festivities, but it was nice to watch everyone else receive their gifts. After having a very one-sided conversation with a rather tipsy McKay, he wandered over to the bar where he found Dennis nursing a cocktail.
"Hey, kid," he greeted, slipping onto the seat next to Dennis. Dennis, bless him, jumped a mile and nearly tipped his drink. Robby raised an eyebrow and smiled, flagging the bartender down to get him a whisky. He sipped it before finally turning to face Dennis again, heart warm as he saw a faint blush on the kid's cheeks. Maybe Jack wasn't lying? "What you got?"
Dennis hesitated, like it took him a moment to register what Robby was asking, before nodding and blinking rapidly. "Oh! Oh, okay. Yeah. Uh… it's a… it's a pornstar martini," he replied timidly, and Robby felt his pulse speed up as Dennis' blush deepened. Fuck, the kid was adorable.
"Not bad. Not a bad choice. Uh- I mean, I don't really drink cocktails anymore, but when I was your age…" Robby trailed off, nodding slowly. The conversation was awkward, for once. Usually it flowed well, but then it was usually in a professional setting. Robby couldn't really think of anything to say. "So… I like your shirt."
"Hm? Oh!" Dennis nodded, brightening up. He sat up a little straighter and pulled his hoodie to either side so that Robby could get a better look at the shirt.
"That from Santos?" Robby questioned, and Dennis nodded proudly.
"Yeah. We got each other something small, she's wearing her Grinch hat right now. She made me watch it on her birthday last month, said it's her favourite movie. I managed to scrape togather enough to aff… well, she likes it, anyway," Dennis finished, smiling softly and looking over at Santos. Robby opened his mouth to reply, but then he was being grabbed by the arm, a rather drunk Collins trying to pull him away to dance with her and McKay. He nodded his goodbye to Dennis and finished his whisky before being whisked away to dance.
He didn't get as much to drink as he would have liked after a couple of hours. He leaned in to tell Jack that he was going back to the bar when a loud cheering broke out around them. Robby looked up to see most of their coworkers staring at them, and then looked up to see that him and Jack had managed to move underneath the mistletoe that had been strung up by Princess and Perlah at the start of the night. Robby rolled his eyes as Jack cackled. Everyone had been avoiding the mistletoe up until now, bar a few unlucky people. King and Javadi had shared an awkward exchange of cheek kisses, and then the same with Mohan and Donnie, and then Javadi again with Mateo.
Of course, Jack and Robby had to upstage them all.
Before the chanting for them to kiss had even started, Jack had Robby by the front of his sweater and was pulling him in for a proper kiss. There was an eruption of excited cheers and wolf whistles as they crushed their lips together. It was messy and sloppy and not remotely hot, but Robby pulled away after far too long with a wide grin. He bowed theatrically, and as he stood up he saw the entrance swing shut. He scanned the room quickly and realised that Dennis was no longer with the group, and he watched as Santos hurried over to the door, too. His heart did a complicated little flip and his brow furrowed fractionally. Jack leaned in behind him, a hand on his shoulder.
"What's wrong, brother? I'm not that awful at kissing, surely," Jack quipped, squeezing his hand gently. When Robby didn't reply, he furrowed his brow. "Hey, you okay?"
"Y-yeah. Yeah, I'm just gonna get some air, okay?" Jack nodded and let Robby go.
Robby tried to beeline for the exit, but was cut off by Dana. He tried to smile, give her a hug, and carry on walking, but she was hard to push aside when she was like this. "Are you okay?" She asked, one hand on his chest as she stared up at him in concern.
"Dana, I promise you I'm fine. I swear to you," Robby replied, trying his best to look convincing. "I just need some air."
"Oh! Well I can come with you. Wouldn't want you falling over or… or anything."
"Dana, that just makes it sound like you're gonna take me outside to murder me," Robby replied flatly, one eyebrow cocked. Dana giggled.
"I would never. I'm offended you'd even suggest such a thing, Rob- Robin-" She paused for a second and Robby had to stop himself from laughing at her concentrated expression. "Robin, uh…"
"Robinavich?" He supplied, and she brightened up immediately.
"Yes! Yes. Robin… that. The one you said."
"Dana, I love you, and I think you need to sit down."
"How dare you, I do not!" Dana replied indignantly. "I'm doing perfect, thanks very much."
Robby chuckled and pushed her gently towards the booth in which Perlah and Princess were sat. Dana's eyes lit up and she hurried over. As Robby turned to continue his exit, he heard all three of them break down in hysterical laughter. He fondly shook his head and walked out of the door, spotting Santos with her arm around Dennis on a bench across the street. He looked miserable, and Robby could swear his heart cracked a little in his chest. Were they together? God, he hoped not. He walked over, breath fogging against the cold, and as he got closer he saw Dennis shaking. Did the kid not bring a coat?
Santos looked up as he approached, glaring furiously at him.
"Everything okay?" Robby asked nervously. "You two sort of took off, what's up?"
Santos stood with a huff, leaned in to whisper something to Dennis, and hurried off back inside after shooting Robby another filthy glare. Robby looked back down at Dennis and sat down slowly next to him.
"Aren't you cold?" He asked uselessly. Dennis shrugged.
"Maybe." Dennis stared at his feet, kicking at the gravel under the bench.
"Maybe? Kid, you're shivering," Robby replied softly, placing his hand heavily on Dennis' shoulder. Dennis tensed, but didn't make any move to push Robby away.
"M'fine," he muttered, then looked up at Robby with tears shimmering in his eyes. Robby realised that he had silver glitter on his eyelids. And god, his lashes were beautiful. And- "Can i ask you something?" He asked, breaking Robby's train of thought.
"Yeah, Whitaker. Anything at all."
"What's up with you and Doctor Abbot?" Dennis asked bluntly, and Robby's heart stopped for a moment before speeding up.
"What?" He asked, incredulous as he removed his hand from Dennis' shoulder. "What do you mean? Jack and I aren't-"
"Oh really?" Dennis snapped. "Because that kiss looked pretty convincing. nobody else kissed like that tonight, just you two. He drove you here! Victoria said she thought you two lived together! I know she's not- she's not really a reliable source, not in terms of whether or not our attendings are fuc- are together." He shrugged, looking back down at the ground. "You're always together. I don't understand."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Robby asked sharply, a spark of irritation flaring in his chest.
Dennis threw his hands up in annoyance. He stood up and glared down at Robby, despite not being that much taller than Robby standing. There was a streetlight behind Dennis' head that illuminated his hair like a halo. Like an angel, Robby thought privately. He noticed how much longer Dennis' hair was now, how much healthier he looked since he'd started his rotation. It warmed Robby's insides as much as his annoyance.
"Don't fucking look at me like that," Dennis practically snarled. "Don't look at me like- like you want me! Like you think I'm something special! I can't fucking stand it!" Robby recoiled like he'd been slapped across the face, brow furrowed and mouth hanging open.
"Whitaker, don't-"
"Don't what? Don't pretend that this is nothing? Don't- don't pretend that I haven't been fucking pining after you? Don't pretend that I thought, that I stupidly, stupidly believed that you could maybe, maybe want me too?" Dennis shouted. There were tears in his eyes and Robby shattered at the sight. He never wanted that. he never ever wanted to make Dennis feel like he was second best. He never, ever, ever wanted to see that expression on Dennis' face again. The hurt, the betrayal, the sheer devastation.
Without even thinking, Robby was on his feet. Dennis was crushed against his body, face smushed into his plush chest as he had strong arms wrapped around him. Dennis tensed for a moment, shoving at Robby's hips before going limp. Robby sighed and squeezed tighter, stroking Dennis' hair as the first sob bubbled up out of his throat.
"I'm so sorry. I'm so fucking sorry, kid. God, of course I want you too. Of course I do. I thought I'd been obvious?" Robby murmured, pulling back so that he could cup Dennis' face. There were a few tears rolling over his cheeks and his lip trembled and oh god he looked so damn young that Robby wanted to cry too. "I'm so fucking sorry, Dennis."
Dennis let out a watery chuckle and pulled away to wipe his eyes. "You're such an ass."
"Yeah, I deserve that." Robby nodded and placed a heavy hand on Dennis' hip, squeezing softly. "I deserve that, I really do. and so much more."
"You kissed Doctor Abbot," Dennis stated simply, and Robby swiped some of his tears away with his thumb. "It looked real. Are you sure you're not…"
"Kid, Jack's my best friend, that's all. And he's straight."
"Oh. And you're not? Straight, I mean."
"Bisexual, kid. Took me a while to figure it out, and I definitely have a preference for women, but… you, you're… you know. You're you. And… I don't know," Robby trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck nervously and looking over towards the bar as a blush crept up his cheeks. "Tell you the truth, I thought you and Santos…"
"What? No, god no. No." Robby snapped his gaze back to Dennis with a surprised little huff.
"She that bad?"
"No, no she's great. But I- she- well she's very openly lesbian. She's got some weird thing going on with Garcia-" Dennis clapped a hand over his mouth, eyes going comically wide. "You heard nothing. Especially not from me."
Robby threw his head back and laughed. When he looked back at Dennis, the younger man was smiling tearfully. "I won't tell anyone, I swear."
"Thank you. Anyway, I'm like… super gay. So that relationship would never work. People have thought I'm her girlfriend before though!"
Robby pushed aside the joyful burst in his chest as Dennis said he way gay in favour of the latter comment. "You- what? Her girlfriend?" It was Robby's turn to smile.
"Yeah! I think she said the term is butch? I don't know, it's all super new for me. But she uses me as a shield when girls get a little pushy with her at the gay bars, she just tells people I'm her butch and they seem to back off. She said the 'awkward disposition' helps," Dennis explained, putting air quotes around his words.
"Sure, why not," Robby responded, shrugging and shoving his hands in his pockets. He was suddenly painfully aware of how cold it was outside, and realised how cold Dennis must have been. He pulled him close again and tilted his chin up with one hand. "Hey, how about we go back to my place? No funny business. I'll call an uber. We can talk all this out and order some shitty food and watch a movie."
"No sex?" Dennis asked.
"Not tonight, sweetheart."
Dennis nodded and sighed quietly. "Good. Not in the mood for that right now. too emotionally drained."
"You and me both kid. Do me a favour and grab both of our shit from inside, yeah? Just ask Jack, he'll hand everything over. And if he offers a ride, I beg you say no," Robby added as Dennis disappeared back into the building. He flashed Robby a thumbs up and Robby chuckled to himself.
Dennis re-emerged minutes later, right as the car pulled up. Robby ushered him inside and sat in the back with him, behind the driver. The ride itself was silent, but Robby held onto Dennis' hand the whole way. Every sidelong glance at the younger warmed him from the inside out. He felt like a teenager with a crush, and it almost got him choked up.
Ten minutes later, they pulled up to Robby's townhouse. They climbed out, and Dennis profusely thanked the driver before Robby all but carried him up the steps to the front door. It had started snowing, and Dennis was shivering again. Robby took his cardigan off and draped it around his shoulders, before tilting his face up and smiling.
"Sure this is what you want?" Robby asked, and Dennis' face broke out in a grin.
"More than anything," Dennis whispered, nodding quickly.
"How do you feel about cliches?" Robby asked, and Dennis furrowed his brow, still smiling.
Dennis gasped into the first press of their lips. His were cold and chapped, but Robby didn't seem to care whatsoever. He slipped his hands onto Dennis' waist as Dennis tangled one hand in his hair, the other resting on his chest. he could feel the racing pulse under his hand and smiled into it. Robby hummed happily, and pulled away to pepper kisses all over Dennis' cold face. Dennis burst out in a fit of laughter that set Robby off. He was buzzing, a warm glow that burgeoned outwards from his gut to his fingertip’s, warming his cheeks and making his brain feel fuzzy.
"That cliche?" Dennis asked through his giggles, and Robby shrugged.
"I appreciate a classic."
"God, you're so old. And corny as hell. now let's go inside, I want fatty food and cuddles and possibly a warm shower."
Robby nodded, pressed one last kiss to Dennis' lips and opened the door. He hurried in with a squeak, and Robby followed him with a smile.
Jack would never let him hear the end of this.