The chaos of new staff. 

A new attending – a new attending that had to fill the space Robby would leave behind. 

Jesse being forcefully taken away. 

The computers, the whole system going down. Trying to make order out of piles of papers that never failed to stack up. 

And on top of that. 

On top of all of that…

This was Robby’s last day before he left on sabbatical. 

Leaving for his vague journey of self discovery. Travelling the roads, to feel the wind rush past him while he rides, crossing state lines. Leaving his world to fade behind him.  

Leaving you. 

You’d like to believe that you were more than simply a passing fascination of Robby’s. 

That you were more than just the person that let him melt into your arms. 

More than the person who gently dragged your fingers through his hair while he laid with you. 

More than just the person who made him laugh, that made him smile despite the weight of the world he carried on his shoulders. 

Going into this. 

You knew what he was like. 

You knew what his priorities were. That the ED would always come first. Even before his own needs. Especially before his own needs. 

And you had accepted that. 

You had understood that. 

It would be hypocritical if you didn’t, often putting in the extra effort into your own work in the ED.

It was how you had both bonded in the first place. 

The first link of understanding. 

Days turned into weeks, weeks had turned into months. 

Months of you and him, simply being together. A relationship that had developed into something safe, precious. A feeling home seeped into your heart each time you were together. 

With each featherlight kiss, which each gentle brush of his hand against you. 

You had known about his habit – his seven week itch.

But you had pulled through that. 

Made it past. 

But this was different. 

This was new. How he had been pulling away. How he had become short. Closed off. Clipped. 

You had been planning this long before today even came. 

Simply waiting for the right moment. 

But it had never come. Had never once been able to work up the courage to muster the words, never once able to take that next step. 

The set of spare keys you had made for him laid buried at the bottom of your bag. 

Just waiting. 

Watching as your hopes for broaching the next step crumble whilst Robby’s resolve weakens. 

Your window was growing thinner and thinner as the hours ticked by, as Robby’s time in the Pitt came to a close. 

Watching as he lingered. 

Mind hazy, drenched in a thick fog. His last day had a grip on him, iron tight. Though whether it was holding onto him or if he was holding onto it. Wasn’t clear. 

Dana, Jack even Cassie had all pulled you aside, had all made their comments about his behaviour. 

The finality behind his words. 

The concern lacing their tone. 

The fear in their eyes. 

“Has Robby said anything to you? Before today? Anything that felt off?” Dana had asked.

Your brows furrowing. As you lift your eyes to glance across the room. 

Mouth curling into a small frown. 

“Nothing I can put my finger on,” you replied, as you carried on with your work. Hiding from what you feared to know. 

Dana had only hummed in a response. 

Cassie had placed a hand on your shoulder, eyes filled with a sense of knowing. Like she could see right through you. Right down to the very troubles festering in your mind. 

Whispering gently, never overstepping, careful with her words, “You know you’re not alone in this”

Biting your lip you reach a hand up to hold hers. Swallowing thickly as you nod. 

“Whatever’s going on, just know I’m here for you, we’re all here for you both”

“I just don’t know what to do–” you admitted. 

Eyes so full of sympathy, you felt you could break beneath the weight of her gaze. 

“There’s only so much you can do, just be there for him” 

Taking in a deep breath, you lift her hand from your shoulder before walking away. 

The final nail in the coffin. The final push you had received. Was Jack. 

You had watched him try to reach Robby, try to reason with him. To tell him how it didn’t have to be this way. That it seemed as though none of you were to see him again. 

You don’t know how he had shifted so quickly. 

How these thoughts could've been built. 

Simmering beneath the peace you had fostered together. 

God you had been so blind.

“How could I have not noticed?” you asked Jack, gaze distant. Mind tracing back to the past few weeks. 

His mouth twisted into a small frown, “People only ever show what they want you to see–it’s not your fault if they play the part all too well”

“I don’t even know where these will leave us–how selfish is that, to think of how his absence will leave me–”

His pats your back gently, “It’s not selfish at all”

“You know I was waiting for the right time to give him a set of my keys,” you said. Somberness seeping into your words. “Now I don’t know if I’ll get the chance”

He nods in understanding, “You know, there’s never really a right time. There’s only ever just time,” he meets your eye line, trying to let the words sink in, “and what you do with it”

Your breath catches in your throat. 

Taking the words to heart. 

Leading to now. 

Standing in the summer evening air. The faint whooshing of cars in the distance. Cicadas croaking out from afar. 

You. 

And Robby. 

Mere feet apart. 

Taking in a deep breath, your hand curls around the keys digging into the palm of your hand. 

“So you’re still planning on going huh?” you tilted your head towards his motorcycle. 

He nods, shifting side to side, hands unsure of what to do as they fidget mindlessly. 

“You know I don’t like goodbyes so I’ll make this quick–” Step by step you move closer, slow movements, as though approaching a wild animal, afraid of scaring him off. 

“I don’t know where all of this will leave us–”

“I–” 

I love you. The words get stuck in his throat. 

You hold a hand up to him, stopping him short, you knew that if he spoke, it would only make your strength break, make the well in your eyes spill over. “And truthfully, I don’t want to know” 

A thick lump formed in his throat as he listened to you. 

Of all the things he’d leave behind. 

Of all the people. 

It would be you, he would miss the most. 

Believing it would be easier if he kept that inside. Easier on you. Easier for him. 

You clasp his hand, so gentle and sweet. “But, I just wanted you to know that–that you’ll always have a home with me” 

Pressing the keys into the palm of his hand, as you fold his fingers back over them. Leaning up as you press a slow and delicate kiss on his cheek. 

His eyes flutter close, imprinting the feeling of your lips into his memory. 

The sweetness of it all. 

Your mind flashed with a single word. 

Love.

It was the closest word that could describe how he made you feel. And yet it still fell short. 

You had no way of knowing how this would end. 

How Michael would handle this. 

What would happen to him on the road. 

And supposedly that was what this act was, this gesture an act of love. 

It was giving Michael the power to destroy you, to shatter your heart into a thousand pieces…and hoping–trusting that he wouldn’t use it.

Pulling back from him, squeezing his hand one final time before walking away. Before he can say anything else. Before he can place the key back into the palm of your hand. Before he can reject your offer. 

So bitter and sweet. 

Holding back the tears. 

You were never good at goodbyes.

You just hoped this was simply a, see you later. And not the final goodbye. 

That all of this wasn’t for nothing. 

His gaze lingers on you as you walk away. Your footsteps brisk, head ducked down as you turn the corner. The faintest choked out sob reaches his ears. 

Heart clenching from the sound. 

Aching for you. 

But his feet are stuck. As though sinking into quicksand. Unable to move. Unable to follow you. 

Perhaps it was easier this way. 

…But the coldness of the key seeps into his hand, hand opening as he gazes upon the metallic little key. 

But it's the glinting keychain that catches his eye. 

That makes his eyes misty. 

– Wherever you go, Come back to me ♥️

You had those words engraved weeks ago. When you had first had the idea of letting him further into your life. 

Before these doubts had begun to settle at the forefront of your mind. 

But just as Jack said…now was as good a time as any. And you needed Michael to know just how much you cared for him. 

How much he meant to you. 

More than just a passing fascination. 

It seems the keychain you had looped with your key strikes a cord within him.

Perhaps. 

He did matter outside of the hospital…Perhaps his purpose was more than just saving those that came through the doors. 

Perhaps he mattered. 

Perhaps he mattered to you. 

And just perhaps. 

Instead of chasing the road. Instead of chasing the thrill of leaving it all behind. 

He instead. 

Lets himself believe. Things could be better. That things could get better. 

Key slotting into the front of your door, twisting it to open. 

You blink in surprise as he stands in your doorway. 

“Hey”

“Hi”

The smallest of smiles slips onto your face. He notices the slight redness rimming your eyes, proof of the tears that had fallen. 

“Is this okay?” he asks. Tentative and unsure. Ready to leave if you ever asked. 

Tilting as your resolve softens for him. 

“My door is always open for you”

Your arms wrap around him as he curls into your embrace. 

This wouldn’t fix anything. 

Both of you knew there was a lot to work through before things could feel normal. Or as close to normal as possible. 

But for now you would cherish the feeling of his arms holding you close. 

Feeling a sense of home whenever he was within reach. 

A calm overcoming him.

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this little story. Just a little hope for them. As you extend some support while Robby spirals. As soon as I saw the key chain on Pinterest I just had to write this for him - Robby literally popped into my mind when I saw it. Let me know what you thought of this little piece of fluff! ✨ Comments, Reblogs and Likes are welcomed and appreciated 💕 Feel free to find my Dr Robby x Wayne!Reader Rinse & Repeat Series Masterlist here 🩺 Or check out my main Masterlist here

You are being suspiciously still. 

It’s not something you usually notice about yourself, but the moment Levi steps through the door, you become painfully aware of how your posture is too straight, your expression is too neutral, and you’re holding your hands in your lap, acting like you’ve never done anything wrong in your entire life. You just have to act normal.

You smile at him, maybe a little too sweet. Levi pauses mid-step, eyes narrowing slightly as he takes you in, the silence stretching long enough to make you squirm.

“...What?” he says slowly.

“Nothing,” you reply, too fast.

His gaze lingers on you for another second before he turns away without another word, setting his things down and moving toward the kitchen like he always does after work. You think maybe he won’t go for that specific blend, hope flickering for a brief, foolish moment.

You hear the cabinet open, the faint clink of a tin being moved, then another. And then there’s a pause. A very long pause. The hush that follows is so charged you feel it pricking against your skin, and you can practically feel the moment it clicks for him, the exact second he realizes what’s missing. You hear his footsteps until they stop right next to you.

“Don’t you have something to tell me?” he asks.

You glance up, feigning confusion with an innocent that would be convincing if it weren’t so obviously rehearsed. “Me?” Levi glares at you, one eyebrow raised. You hold his gaze for a second longer before shrugging with a sheepish smile. “I thought you already had another box.”

“Why the hell would I have another box ready?” he asks, almost completely calm, which scares you more than it would if he were yelling. “This brand of tea is expensive.”

And they are. They’re ridiculously expensive. You can afford it, but it’s a luxury that Levi is willing to divulge in. You almost feel guilty for drinking the last of it this morning with absolutely no regard for future consequences.

“Sorry,” you mumble. You brace for irritation, maybe at least a little anger, but it doesn’t come. Levi just sighs, the tension releasing from his posture as quickly as it arrived. He’s already decided it’s not worth it.

“You’re buying the next box,” he says.

Relief floods through you. “Aye aye, Captain,” you reply, a grin slipping through as you grab your phone and give him a playful salute.

He rolls his eyes, but there’s the faintest hint of a smile tugging at his mouth as he watches you tap through the order, far too happy for someone who just robbed him blind of his last tea bag. 

He knows you’re going to drink this one too. But he decides it’s fine as he watches you settle back into the couch. As long as you’re happy.

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With a start, he realized it was one of the few times she had used his name to his face.

He picked up his box and looked at her. “When will you retire, Beifong? Surely you have at least a few vices you’d like to indulge before you get to old for that sort of thing.”

Her snort betrayed more amusement than he had expected.

“You’ll get no such confession from me, Phil.”

Their eyes met, and he returned her snort.

He had never been as grateful for the secured entrance at the rear of City Hall as he was on this day of days.

Beyond the overhang, the rain beat down as if Tui’s own monsoon was trying to wipe them into the ocean.

Lin opened the back seat of his car while his driver put the box in the boot. Across the back seat, Buttercup turned, and reached out for his hand. Her smile was restrained, yet brave. She lifted an eyebrow and nodded in Lin’s general direction.

Raiko reached in, took her hand and placed his left foot inside the car.

He turned back to Lin.

“I will give you this confession, Lin. This is bittersweet for me. I don’t like that Moon woman, and I hate losing. But I’ll be glad I don’t have to see you every day of my life.”