Dennis gets whatever the fuck he wants. Especially when his name is Dennis Whitaker-Danforth and Titus Danforth is his husband. He gets whatever he wants. And Dennis does think he deserves it, he's a good husband. Despite the fact that they were married out of necessity and Dennis wanted to save his sisters, he'd argue that they are actually happy. They go on dates together, they sleep in the same bed now, they laugh. When they argue it's violent and shakes the home, but their still happy. Dennis is happy. Titus is happy. There's not much else Dennis asks for. Or needs to ask for. Because he has anything he could ever want. Until his birthday comes around.
Dennis wakes in Titus's bedroom. They sleep in the same bed always, but change between their two rooms frequently, never in the same bed for an entire week. Last night had been Titus's room because Titus had wanted to finish some paperwork at his desk. The sun filters through the curtains and Dennis can feel it on his back, painting his shoulder blades in the warm morning light.
He feels Titus's hand on his lower back, sliding up in between his shoulders blades and then to his shoulder.
Dennis huffs, burying his nose further into the pillow and grumbling "what time is it..."
Titus pulls away only for a second, and then he returns and gets close to Dennis, putting his head on his shoulder and whispering "ten..."
Titus nods "your birthday is tomorrow."
"So your giving me special treatment early," Dennis asks as he rested his head on the side so he can properly look at Titus who is smiling softly at him.
"I am... what do you want for your birthday?"
Dennis thinks, he could ask for anything, absolutely anything and he knows Titus would give it to him. But what he really wants is something or someone more then his husband to be around. "A dog."
Titus's eyebrows raise slightly and he asks "what?"
"I want a dog," Dennis repeated "a big one, like a Doberman, oh maybe a Pitbull..."
Dennis stops, he hasn't heard the word no in at least a year. He turns his head to look at Titus again "pardon?"
Dennis sits up slowly, rubbing sleep from his eyes "I want a dog. You asks what I want for my birthday. I want a dog."
"I said no," Titus shrugs and gets out of bed, grabbing his boxers to tug on.
"Why," Dennis asks, pouting his lip.
"I don't like them, their dirty and they get all up in peoples personal space."
"I've seen pictures from when you were young, you had a dog!"
"Yeah and I didn't like the thing! What else do you want," Titus crosses the bed and reaches down to ruffle Dennis's hair. Dennis pulls away from him, smacking his hand and getting up.
"Well you aren't getting one! Jesus... go get in the shower. I'll be there in a second."
"Fuck off," Dennis mutters with a pout and goes to the bathroom, locking the door behind him.
Dennis pouts his entire way into the shower, he wants a dog. Maybe he's a bit spoiled. Maybe he's gotten a bit to used to getting whatever he wants. But it's just a dog. Why can't he have a dog? He turns on the shower and grabs his toothbrush to start brushing his teeth. He ignores the knock he hears on the bathroom door.
He continues to ignore Titus as he rinses out his mouth and takes off his underwear to climb into the shower.
"I'm ignoring you," Dennis yelled back.
He waited a few seconds when all of the sudden he heard loud thwacks against the door. He reached up to cover his ears and looked at the door, the thwacks landed a few more times before the door burst open. Titus stood on the other end with an axe.
Titus pressed the left overs of the door open. He let himself in, dropping the axe by the sink and going to the shower. He grabbed Dennis's wrist to tug him close.
"I want that door replaced," Dennis growled whilst he fought against Titus.
Dennis goes about his day ignoring Titus, breakfast is quiet and tense. Lunch is almost the exact same. And afterwards, Titus gets up and walks over to kiss Dennis on the head "I'm sorry about breaking the door down earlier."
Dennis pulls his head away "it was loud."
"I know. I'm sorry," Titus says.
Dennis mutters "can I have a dog now?"
Dennis swats Titus away and the older man groans, hitting the back of Dennis's chair hard enough to rock it. Dennis listened to him walk out and sat at his chair with his chin on his hand. He decides to walk around the house for now, settling in one of the living rooms to play video games and watch TV.
He spends hours up there, watching movies and shows with a pair of headphones connected to the TV (rich people shit). He doesn't hear anyone call him for dinner, and he doesn't bother to go down when he realizes the time. He is a brat, he's acting like a brat, and he'll stay acting like one.
It isn't until he feels a sharp tug at his hair that he comes back to reality. He groans and tugs his headphones off, reaching up to grab his husbands wrist.
"Where were you," Titus says, trying to be aware of Dennis's dislike for loud noises.
"Let go of me," Dennis whines.
"Where were you. You missed dinner."
Dennis pulls at Titus's hand and said again "let go of me!"
Titus does but circles around the couch to kneel down in front of Dennis and grab his ankles to the point he might bruise them. Dennis watches him with spiteful eyes. Titus speaks again "you. Missed. Dinner."
Dennis tugs his legs experimentally and knows that Titus won't let him go "I didn't want to come."
"Why because you can't get what you want?"
Dennis shrugs "I didn't want to."
"I don't care. That's my one ask Dennis, is that you eat dinner with me. I give you everything you could ask for, I bend over backwards for you, all I want is one meal a fucking day. That's all I ask."
Dennis kicks his legs, knocking Titus back enough that he lets go with a growl. Dennis stares at him and said "all I'm asking for it a dog."
"Well your not getting one! This is the one thing I'm saying no to."
The doctor frowns and crosses his arms. Letting a slight bitterness and sadness settle. He because he knows the reason he wants this dog so bad is so that he doesn't have to be so lonely. Having a husband who loves you doesn't mean you never feel alone. He nods slowly. "You eat already?"
Dennis nodded "okay. Lets go."
When Dennis wakes up on his birthday morning to Titus kissing his shoulder. He turns his head, humming softly.
"Happy Birthday..." Titus whispers "stay. Breakfast is on its way. And then I have gifts for you."
Dennis nods and sits up slowly, rubbing his eyes and accepting the kisses from Titus. Breakfast is as fancy as ever, and Dennis laughs at Titus and they smile. After awhile of eating Titus presents him with his gifts. New clothes, a game he wanted, a pair of new noise cancelling headphones (after Titus broke his last pair in a fit of anger) and then the last box is a phone.
"Your own phone. Unmonitored. You can call whoever you want. Whenever you want. Less lonely... that kind of thing."
Dennis nods slowly, looking at it, its brand new, already set up with a new phone ID and everything. "Thank you," he nods.
"Of course," Titus kisses his cheek with a warm smile. But Dennis feels so sad. He misses Trinity, his ER family, everything.
Dennis appreciates the phone, he calls Trinity and the others from the ED when he can. They ask plenty of questions about Titus and he likes talking to her. But she has a job, and in ways so does he. And when he's free, no one else is, and when they are. He isn't. Titus gets far busier when one of the Danforth charities go bellyside and he has to leave last minute without Dennis. And it... well it sucks. The first day is okay. He finds stuff to do, calls Titus before bed and talks to Mohan. And yet he's still entirely alone. The housekeepers tries to keep him company. But he knew they did it more out of obligation then anything.
On the fifth day he felt the worst, laying in Titus's bed and watching the construction workers replace the door Titus broke. On the ninth day is when Titus comes back. Dennis was sitting in the reading nook in the office, watching the deer walk through the forest under their house. He doesn't hear Titus talking to the housekeeper.
"Is he okay," Titus asked.
"He seems a little depressed. A little lonely."
Titus approaches Dennis once he finishes up talking to the housekeeper. He reaches down and strokes his hand through his hair and Dennis looks up, immediately jumping into Titus's arms. Willing himself not to cry.
"I missed you..." Dennis whispered.
Titus nodded and hugged him, rubbing his back "I'm sorry."
"It's okay," Dennis shrugs.
Titus nods and kisses him, picking him up to carry him to Dennis's bedroom. Throwing him onto the bed and kissing him silly.
But when they were settled, less buzzy, did Titus finally asks. "Are you lonely...?"
Dennis looks over at Titus and frowns before he looks up again and mutters "I miss my friends... your busy. I barely get to see you. And I spend half of my time playing video games... I like being married to you. I think we're good. A good couple but. I'm just... lonely."
Titus nods and mutters "is that why you wanted the dog?"
Titus nods slowly "I don't like dogs."
Dennis nods "you've mentioned. It's fine-"
"My family dog bit me when I was really young, a few times... they kind of freak me out."
Dennis looks over at Titus. "Your afraid of dogs...?"
Titus shrugs "I try not to be."
Dennis hums "I guess it didn't occur to me that you can be afraid of things..."
Titus shrugs "I try not to be."
Dennis hums and mutters "I guess I can settle for a cat or something..." Dennis whispers.
Titus nods and they go silent.
About a week later Dennis comes downstairs and heads to the living room, plopping himself down in front of the fireplace that he starts. It's cold and he had woken up alone. That familiar feeling of loneliness settled in his chest as he watched the flames go.
He heard the front door open and waited for awhile. He looked over when he heard Titus come in.
Titus nodded with a small smile and went over, sitting next to him "I thought I would be back before you woke up, I'm sorry."
"It's okay." Dennis shrugged and rubbed his eyes. "Where were you?"
"Getting you a late birthday gift."
Dennis hummed softly "what?"
Dennis nodded and did as he was told.
Titus places something thick in his hands, slightly heavy and rough. Dennis felt over it with confusion and asked "what is it?"
Dennis nodded and opened his eyes, smiling widely when he saw it "a dog collar?"
"Mhm..." Titus got up and ducked behind the couch and then stood up again. He held out a puppy, maybe three months old.
Dennis gasped and stood up with a wide smile, unable to stop from laughing because of how Titus was holding the dog out like it might bite him. "A puppy..."
Titus nodded "A Doberman puppy. I figured if it was a puppy... we could train it. To be less... bitey."
Dennis laughed and walked over, petting the thing slowly and then scooping it away from Titus. He smiled and began to pet the dog before saying "she's beautiful... what should we name her?"
Titus hummed and shrugged "not up to me."
"Fine, if we have kids you better have some say-"
"Just help me name the dog!"
Titus grumbled and nodded. They argued back and forth about names before finally settling on Daisy.
Dennis Whitaker-Danforth got whatever the fuck he wants. Including the dog his husband was afraid of. Dennis could ask for the moon and stars and somehow Titus would be able to get them for him. And Dennis would always have the right to be a brat. Because he was rarely denied of what he wanted. And deserved.
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