There's a million things I haven't done. Just you wait.

Where? Retro Bites

Eating at the diner was now a staple of Robbie's life. He never has time to eat at home because that would mean he has to cook and, well... if there's one thing he's terrible at is exactly that. So this dinner tends to see him quite a lot. "Thanks Marisa, my darling." He thanked the waitress as she placed the place in front of him and got his phone out to check on her sister as he did every day. Surely she'd be out of the hospital by then. He was mid typing when he heard a deep voice next to him which made him frown and then open his eyes a little, clearing his throat at the sight of... that face. "What?" He asked, too distracted to actually hear what the stranger had said but then he saw the wallet in his hand, still a little confused until his brain put two and two together. It's truly a miracle how he put himself through Med school. "Oh! Um, yeah I guess I will need it. Gosh, um, thanks. Thank you so much." He was mumbling, he knew it so he averted his eyes before he started to blush (He probably was already) and grabbed his wallet, placing it safely on the bar next to his food, chuckling to himself and biting his bottom lip.

"yeah, but cyanide is really painful, and i feel like as jo's best friend, it's your job to make her cheating ex's life as horrid as possible." beau was surprisingly nonchalant in his tone and demeanour, but he didn't see the point in beating around the bush. besides, since jo's coming out, his guilt over his affair had lessened significantly. "okay, man from mars. thank you very much." beau took the coffee, of course, and with a sip he let out a satisfied sigh. it was good coffee.

Robbie rolled his eyes but there was a soft smile curling his lips at Beau's comment. He really could never hurt a fly, not even for Jo who he loved like a sister. (Maybe more, depending on the sister) "As much as I love Jo, and it's a whole fucking lot and nothing will ever make me love her less... I know what happened between the two of you wasn't entirely your fault." He wasn't sure how much Beau knew about his relationship with Jo and even though he always supported her and never judge her, he saw this whole mess coming miles away. It had always been a time bomb waiting to happen. "But don't let her hear me say that." Robbie joked, although, Jo knew what he thought of the whole situation.

“Yes! How did you know? Or do you just have an amazing gaydar?” Imogen giggled, but the man had seemingly anticipated her question because he’d answered before she could even really finish asking. A nod of her head because that wasn’t something she was aware of but since he saw no doubt many couples come through his door as a paediatrician, and single parents, he would know better than she did! “Well, that’s great to know because if there is one thing Theo and I are looking for these days it’s safe spaces. We want to carry that on for the baby as well, obviously. Anything to protect her.” It went without saying, either of them would give their own life for their thus unborn daughter. Picking up her coffee (decaf) she smiled a bit at his joke, sliding her sketch across the counter. “You…really? Oh god thank you, this is still my first line with the company so I’m second guessing myself every single second it feels like. Is it too top heavy, is it too bottom heavy, should it have sleeves, have I got too many with sleeves, is lace in at the moment, is beading in? It’s like a wedding dress train just…” she gestured to her head in a circling motion, making a chugging sound. “Rolling around my head twenty four seven.” Taking the sketch back as it was passed over, a small nod. “Noted, I’ll go for it. Just don’t be alarmed if a swat team of fashion police show up banging on your door one morning if you’re wrong.” Imogen teased. @robbiemason

Robbie understood her sentiment and he always stride to be a safe space for any parent really. He saw all sorts but of course he had a soft spot for queer parents. "Your partner is non-binary, yes?" Robbie had picked on the neutral pronouns during the conversation. "Have they chosen what they want to be called yet? That's a tricky one. I have suggestions of gender natural things to be called if you'd like." He offered with a kind smile, already excited to be a part of this growing family. Robbie almost got dizzy at following on Imogen's fast words about how much she seemed to worry. If she was like this about wedding dresses, she was going to stress the life out of her about being a mom. "Well, if I can give you a piece of advice, not just for your clothing line but..." He looked down at her bump and back up at her with a knowing look. "...just everything in life. Go with your gut. Deep down, you know what's best. I promise you." Of course Robbie didn't know Imogen but this advice worked on almost everyone and he didn't think this wonderful woman was an exception. "I'll sleep with an eye open but I stand by my choice!" He laughed and one of his hands signaled her to borrow her pencil. "May I?" He asked hovering it over her an empty patch on her sketch to write his phone number on it. "Let your fiancée know I'm not trying to pick you up, just anything either of you may need, you can contact me."

"I'll always be here. Whatever you need." Even though Robbie himself had his own high risk and very demanding job, he always made sure he made time for the people he cared about which is probably the reason why he was single. He barely had time for himself, always in service of others. "I agree. About adopting, I mean. I don't even care if it's a baby. I just... want a kid, you know? However old, wherever they come from, however tough it can get." Robbie knew it wasn't always an easy task to adopt, especially if it was an older kid with their own baggage but he didn't mind. He wanted it in whatever way it came. "Hey I'm not saying no to a wing man or anyone you want to introduce me to. I'm open for love."

"Definitely not." Rhys's response was decisive, more laughter slipping from his lips. A moment later he turned his attention to his cocktail, although he was hiding a playful smirk behind the rim of his glass, his brows lifting in sheer amusement. Robbie's reaction wasn't entirely lost on him, but he chose not to comment on it, saving his dignity... at least, for now, anyway. "No one wants that," he added with a shake of his head. "How was your day anyway? You have any stories to tell?"

Relieved that the moment passed, Robbie took a sip of the free cocktail and thought for a moment about the question. "Well, you already know we saw a lot of babies out of the NICU today which makes any day the best day ever." There was nothing that made Robbie happier than seeing families take their healthy babies home finally after being away from them for days, weeks, sometimes months. He's had to take a break to cy for a bit more than once. "And I got to hang out with miss Clarissa, the girl in four-o-five? She did this masterpiece on me." Lifting up his hands, Robbie showed off the sloppy nail paint on his fingers but to him, it was the best manicure in the world. "She got to do it without her oxygen so we're thinking she'll be discharged soon." All in all, a great day in his books.

“I know, shock of the century right? Not like you know my voice better than anyone else in the world does.” She felt more relaxed than she had in a while in this predominantly green space with her older brother, always finding nature calming. A stark contrast to the clinical setting both of them spent so much of their time day to day - maybe that was why this so firmly became their place when they needed to separate themselves from usual life. “Sit for now. I need to demolish this milkshake to give me energy for a walk.” Taking the vanilla milkshake filled cup from him, taking a quick sip, knowing full well it was nicer than the strawberry one he was drinking but each to their own. Maybe it was good they had different preferences, they would never argue over what they chose. She’d never stopped to ask Bea, their sister, what her favourite was but unless it was chocolate…they had really missed a trick. “Aw, me too.” Resting her head on his shoulder for a second with a small smile, lips still round the straw so she could take three sips in quick succession. “Me? Oh you know, the same as usual. I don’t like to complain.” Nor did she like to confess the shitshow her life had been, especially in relation to work. It was humiliating. She felt so much shame. @robbiemason

She had a point there but he kept playing along. "Your voice? Never heard it before until this exact second." Robbie scooched over so she could sit next to him and turned to her, his entire attention on his sister now. He was beaming at her, it was so good to see her and no matter how close they were or how many times a week they saw each other, he just cherished every single one of them, missing living together like they used when they were younger. The wording of her answer made Robbie tilt his head as he looked at her, watching her face closely with a bit of a frown. "You don't like to complain but is there something to complain about?" He asked this time, wondering if she was really okay. "You know you can tell me anything, right?" Robbie's eyebrows rose and he nodded, trying to transmit calmness to his sister. He moved his shake to grab her hand next to him, giving it a soft squeeze. "How can I help?"

"It's okay, they're going to forgive you for it so don't worry about that." Jameson replied to Robbie when he mentioned their pronunciation of guacamole. "Thank you. I'm really happy to come to Brooklyn and try to establish a new life for myself and just get to know." Jameson responded to Robbie while looking at him. "Like you participate in drag? Or do you mean something else?" Jameson asked as they laughed a bit and then picked up their drink and sipped from it and nodded. "Well what do you do for work?" They asked.

"I'm sure you're going to do great things here! Where are you coming from?" He asked as he ate his own chips, even tried on one of the wings Jameson had on his own tray. They were good, he made a mental note for some other time. "No, like I drag my sister here. Force her to come with me." Robbie rolled his eyes and chuckled at his own bad joke. "You know the pun is bad when you have to explain it." A bit embarrassed, he bit down on his bottom lip before taking a sip of his drink. A lemonade in his case because he was too old to drink on a weekday when he had work early in the morning. "I'm a pediatrician." Robbie beamed, proud of the job he loved. "You?"

"Oh, yeah. Fuck Starbucks." Robbie couldn't agree more. He'd choose a local coffee shop over a big chain any day. Besides, the coffee was just bad and overprized. He opened his eyes wide at his own outburst and covered his mouth, not one to curse because he's usually surrounded by kids. "Sorry. I mean, I agree. There's just something about the place." His smile matched the other's before blinking up at him. "No, there's nothing wrong with you. Quite the contrary!" He closed his eyes as he couldn't stop himself from saying that and giving the other an awkward smile. "I just mean, like I said, I'm not stalking you." Robbie was sweating, turning away for a moment as he anxiously took a sip from the drink he ordered along with his nachos and hoping he wasn't being too awkward. He let out a quiet breath and turned back to the other again. "Let me start over. Hi, I'm Robbie. I think we frequent the same coffee shop. Would you like to share some nachos and forget I'm an awkward mess?" He finished by pushing the tray closer to the other, giving him a more normal smile, hoping to start over.

beau had always liked robbie, but he had been shocked when the other man reached out to spend time together. although the three of them had gotten along, and he and robbie had never had any issues, he had always thought of robbie as jo's friend, and fully expected him to take jo's side in the split. the revelation of jo's sexuality had lessened beau's guilt his affair had brought on, but he didn't expect other people to see it that way.

"Why would I put cyanide in your coffee?" Robbie frowned. "No. Insulin is way more effective and untraceable." He joked, giving Beau a wink before letting out a soft laugh but then rolled his eyes. "Promise you it's just a nice coffee from Beanz. I come in peace." Robbie took a sip from his own drink, licking his lips once he put the paper cup down on his leg. "I just wanted to check on you. See if you're adapting well to the city and if you need any help." He offered genuinely. It could be isolating to uproot your whole life and move to a different city where you don't know anyone, Robbie did it for his residency and the only thing keeping him sane was, well ironically, Jo. "So, how have you been?" He asked, free hand petting Millie's back between them as the beagle took a nap on the bench. His little angel.

"You do what you can and that's more than enough." Robbie patted his knee and gave him a small comprehensive smile, thankful that there's still people like Winter out in the world both fighting the good fight and taking the time to come in here and help where helps needed. "Yes! We're getting more volunteers which is always amazing and a nice way to make new friends." With his work, Robbie found it hard to find the time to make friends but in the shelter, he always found the best people and it was a great opportunity to make new friends, like Winter. "I know how hard it an be to work at a job that is a lot of pressure so if you ever need anything, I'm a text away." Robbie was aware that Winter had his boyfriend but there was no harm in offering an ear or distraction if he ever needed it. At his excitement about him adopting, Robbie laughed a little. "Don't get too excited, it's just a thought. I really wanted to do it with a loving partner but that... seems to be taking a while." he shrugged, trying to wave the feeling of disappointment off. He knew it was ultimately his own fault.

"What kind of nachos did you get? Did you get the ones with no meat on them? Because honestly those are the best kinds of nachos. I know protein is really important at times, but some places put other vegetables on vegetarian things they wouldn't on the chicken ones that make it so much better, ya know?" Jameson asked while tilting their head to the side a bit. They couldn't help but laugh at the other calling themselves out on it sounding like a pick up line before nodding, "Yes. It does sound like a pick up like but I do come here quite often. I moved here only seven months ago and probably found this place after a month of living here so I would say I'm a steady customer for six months now. I love the chicken wings and the drag queen nights." They replied, smiling at the other.

Surprised at the question because Robbie did, in fact order nachos without any meat on then, he chuckled. "I actually did yeah! Just a dip of guacamole which I'm sure I'm pronouncing horribly. Sorry latinx fam." He said, looking up at... the sky? Why did he do that? No apparent reason. "Oh, welcome to Brooklyn! There's really no place like it." Robbie stated proudly about his city. He really loved it here. California was fine when he lived there but there really was no place like home. "Drag Tuesday is the highlight of my week. Sometimes I drag, pardon the pun," he rolled his eyes with a small smirk. "my sister to come with. But I came straight from work today." Robbie nodded with a soft smile and dug into his nachos, picking a generous amount of guacamole on them.

“Anything but the milkshake you say?” She growled in what she hoped was her scariest voice, but since Matilda was about as scary as a moth, it was hardly very effective. Instead she started laughing at the voice he’d put on which entirely undermined her scary persona in an instant. “You did?” A pause as if she was considering it. She wasn’t. Matilda would sell her own family for a vanilla milkshake she loved them so much, and anyone who dared claim they were boring or basic would be met with a rage the world had never seen. Except when a chihuahua got pissed off because honestly that was exactly what she looked like and induced the fear level of in others. “Yes, I will let you live just this once, but you’re lucky. Next time I might not show you the same mercy - but hand over the goods and you’ll be allowed freedom.” Removing her hands and instead wrapping her arms around his shoulders in a tight hug, pressing a kiss to her brother’s cheek. “Just kidding it’s only me. How are you today brother dearest?” @robbiemason

A big grin as she pulled her hands down from his eyes, closing them as she hugged him from behind, Robbie kept his hold on her hands and gave them a little squeeze. "Matilda!?" He asked as if he was surprised it was her when she finally revealed it was her, always playing along with her and never making her feel silly because he didn't think she was, at all. "Oh thank goodness, I feared for my life." Robbie turned his head to kiss her cheek as well, a few times actually before he let go of her hands to grab the extra milkshake and pass it to her. "Do you want to come sit for a bit or should we go for a walk?" He asked, bringing the straw to his lips to take a sip of his own milkshake and then answered her, watching to see if she wanted him to stand or not. "I'm all the better now that I'm seeing my favorite person in the world." And he wasn't just saying that. He truly adored his baby sister ever since she was brought home when he was seven and it always brightened his day to see her. "How are you doing Tilly Dilly?"

When he approached the table, he hadn't notice who was sitting there and it was none other than his coffee shop crush. Robbie sucked in a breath as he heard that British accent he's heard before and bit his bottom lip as he sat down. "Beanz, yeah. It's my favorite actually." He nodded. "I reckon it's your as well because I've seen you there before." Was that too big of an admittance? "NOT that I'm stalking you or anything." Waving his hands at the other, he clarified. "I didn't realize it was, well you, when I came over. I just saw someone that was alone and thought, why not share, right?" Robbie realized he was rambling non stop and pressed his lips together. "Sorry. I'm shutting up now." He sat straight, looking in front of him towards the makeshift stage trying to will his heart rate to slow the fuck down.

Ever since arriving in Brooklyn, Jameson had made sure to become a regular at Rainbow Rhythm. The atmosphere was so welcoming, not thst everywhere else in Brooklyn wasn't, but they enjoyed the pride representation so much. Once Jameson had learned about drag queen Tuesday, they had to make sure they were there to support the queens who came out to put on a show.

Pulling the chair next to Jameson, Robbie sat down with the tray of nachos and his own drink, bright smile on his face, thankful for the other, and wings they said? He wouldn't say no to some. "You know? I could use the protein after the day I had. Should have ordered some chicken myself." He chuckled softly, looking at the show that was about to start and then back at Jameson, right before picking up some guac with a nacho. "I know it sounds like such a pick up line but do you come here often? Genuine question because I do." Popping the food in his mouth, his focused remained on Jameson as he ate.