☹ H E L L O ☹

Old, almost falling apart sweatpants that never once hugged his ass but are now certainly doing nothing to flatter his rear.

Robby's back all shrimped up there is a reason he has such back pain all the time as he stands at the kitchen counter, hunched over the cup of coffee in his hand.

His hair is a mess, the tufts of brown he had left standing up left and right, mirroring the sleepy look on his face.

He yawns, rubbing his eyes as he turns to find Jack Abbot leaning against the doorframe of their bedroom, staring at him with so much love and affection, that he can't help but avert his eyes, knowing what would follow.

"Don't you dare say it, Abbot."

"Marry me?"

also imagine his horrifying realization that the same doctor who would go almost every night without fail to that rooftop is dr robby.

the same robby who he helped after a panic attack, the same robby who’s going on a sabbatical, the same robby who was on the verge of breaking down his whole last shift before leaving, the same robby who offered up his place like it was nothing, the same robby who said to him “if i don’t come back”.

A rather quick, coloured sketch of married Hucklerobby!

I think robby calls dennis so many pet names that it's hard for anyone else to keep track of them all, it's just a constant stream of puppy, mouse, baby boy, sweetheart, honey... you name it, he's bestowed it upon dennis. sometimes they joke about how it sounds like robby is keeping a petting zoo at home, with all the small animals that have become synonymous with dennis. mouse is his current favourite. robby's sweet little mousey.

it works for dennis because he'd grown up without any of it. on the farm, he'd only ever been dennis, or sometimes "boy", or "you there", if he'd underperformed somehow in his tasks. so suddenly having this outpouring of delight towards him that culminated in him being sweetheart, or puppy-baby, or honey... well. quite frankly, he laps it up. robby likes it too, not only because he really does worship the ground his boyfriend walks on, but because calling him dennis felt like an on shift thing- and he didn't really need to be reminded of their power imbalance at work more than he already was.

dennis, on the other hand, very very rarely calls robby pet names. he doesn't even really call him "robby", given that that was still a nickname and was popular at work (and dennis also wanted to draw a line between work and home). no, dennis calls him michael. in the mornings, snuggled together, it was michael he gave sleepy kisses to, and it was michael who cooked him breakfast, and when he was getting fucked at night, it was michael deep inside of him.

it works for robby for exactly the opposite reasons that dennis's plethora of pet names work for him. robby's spent almost his whole life hiding behind nicknames and shortenings, always keeping a gap between the real him and the rest of the world. it had been a safety net that had made him the loneliest man alive- no one could get through his walls when half of them didn't even know his real name wasn't robby.

had dennis insisted on pet names for him, he'd have smiled and accepted, but the alienation would've only grown despite their love. so hearing his lover, his baby, his mousey, only refer to him as michael- wanting to know *michael's* thoughts and feelings and life, rather than robby's- broke those walls down like they'd been nothing more than sand. in dennis's arms, he didn't need to be anyone but who he was.

Not my circus but I've grown quite fond of its monkeys

+ bonus:

as a tamil doctor and as a woman, i can't help but see so much of myself in samira and it just physically hurts to see her character be mistreated all season only to have her entire storyline end with some underwhelming conversation that was supposed to patch things up between her and robby. women are so often the punching bags of deeply troubled men in the workplace, especially in healthcare and it sucks so much and while they got that part right in the show... they're telling me i'm actually supposed to be focusing on the pain of the man inflicting that kinda behaviour on a woman of colour. i'm sorry but i can't. this show demands my empathy and understanding for robby as an audience member and i just can't do that while i've been in samira's position and i know how unfair that is and how much it hurts. i've had brilliant male attendings who were good teachers and good doctors talk down to, discourage, mock and belittle me just because they were having a bad day and while i can acknowledge they weren't doing well, no one acknowledged how much of an adverse effect that had on my mental health. exactly like how no one's actually addressed how any of that stuff that robby said must've affected samira.

Don't waste your time

Because the doggone girl is mine

The girl is mine

Baran, we're not going to fight about this, okay?

Ha, ha, Yolanda, I think I told you I'm a lover, not a fighter

Eh, I've heard it all before, Baran

She told me that I'm her forever lover, you know, don't you remember?

Well, after loving me, she said she couldn't love another

Is that what she said?

Yeah, she said it; you keep dreaming

usually it's not a problem, since they take all the same shifts, but sometimes dennis will go on a night out with trinity and victoria and the others, and robby knows those nights will be long. dennis tells him not to wait up and to go to sleep as normal, not wanting to disturb his boyfriend, but robby just shakes his head and says he won't be able to sleep until he knows dennis is home safe.

it's true, of course, even if he could sleep alone he would stay awake for his boy, wanting to make sure no alcohol-induced injuries had occurred. it just also happend to be a useful cover up for the fact he *cant* sleep without his denny cuddled close. so, long nights it is.

he puts the TV on, tries to read a book, or do admin, or plan a lunch date for him and his boy, but the clock marches forward anyway. 2am, 3am, no point in him trying to sleep. he'd just lie there awake in the darkness, and the cruel thoughts of guilt and blame and insufficiency would all come back, so why hurt himself? he'd wait for dennis.

the younger usually stumbles in around 4, poorly whispering goodbye to trinity at the door before wobbling to the stairs. robby could never help himself, he'd grin like a child on their birthday and hurry down to help him and check no damage was done. tipsy dennis was always delighted to see robby, and would grab at him and press sloppy kisses to his cheeks.

as soon as he was helping dennis into their room and into their bed, robby's heart was already calming down. dennis was safe and happy, and his presence alone was driving his dark thoughts away again, like they were spores of fungus shrivelling under the warm light of the sun. how could he possibly spiral when there was such a beautiful creature trying to nuzzle and burrow his way into his chest and neck while giggling?

when dennis finally settles on his chest, using his collarbone for a pillow, robby presses kisses to his curls and has his heart melt at the drunk "l've 'ou robby..." spoken into his neck. he closes his eyes and smiles. dennis in bed with him, wanting to be so close to him, dennis's steady heartbeat against his and his even breaths tickling his neck... dennis who loved him and wanted him. everything was okay.

When Robby and Dennis began to date, Dennis naturally implemented what he knew on relationships. When Robby opened the door of his place, Dennis always gave a quick kiss as he entered. When Dennis was leaving he always pulled Robby in for a quick kiss to say goodbye. When getting out of the truck, after being given a ride home, Robby received a quick kiss as a thank you.

Even when they fought, Dennis would grumble at the argument and say he needed space before storming to the bedroom, not before giving Robby a quick angry kiss. Sometimes Robby would get up to use the bathroom whilst they watched a movie, Dennis always called him in for a kiss before and after Robby left for mere minutes.