#ej's fics

He dreaded it every year, knowing how long and hard his shift would be and anticipating that he'd have to work overtime. Something about the romantic holiday really set people off. It tempted those who were alone and single to start drinking early - usually setting off a chain of alcohol poisoning cases. Those in happy relationships used it as an opportunity to explore new sides of their physical relationships - he had seen many embarrassing cases of people hurting themselves in the middle of sex. Groups of friends would take part in rituals to banish their bad luck when it came to their love lives - he couldn't even count how many singed-off eyebrows he'd seen after people had decided to burn old reminders of exes. 

So, yeah. Dr. Michael Robinavitch hated Valentine's Day. And that definitely had nothing to do with the fact that he always seemed to find himself single around the holiday.

Dana was already waiting for him behind her desk when he walked into the ED that morning. She looked at him over the top of her glasses, already sensing his foul mood.

"Lighten up. It's not even seven yet." She chuckled, shaking her head in amusement.

Robby exhaled roughly, dropping his bag. "You know what day it is, correct?"

"Oh, I'm aware." Dana kicked his bag softly under the desk, out of the way so people didn't trip on it. Forever the considerate mother hen of the Pitt. "We manage every year. We'll do it again today."

He didn't know what to say to that. She was right, as she often was. So how was he supposed to argue? He reached for the pump of hand sanitiser that sat in its usual spot on the desk. But froze when he saw a yellow post-it stuck to the front.

Our love is like hand hygiene - 100% essential.

Robby ripped it from the bottle and waved it at Dana. "What the hell is this?"

The charge nurse squinted at the piece of paper, a small smile tugging at her mouth. "Looks like a love note to me."

He huffed, about to scrunch it up before she stopped him.

"Hey, wait. Leave it. We could all do with some cheering up today, I'm sure." She pried it from his fingers and carefully stuck it back to the bottle of hand sanitiser. "Just because you're the Grinch of Valentine's, doesn't mean other people can't enjoy it."

Really, he knew his frustration at the note wasn't rational. But he also found himself already done with his day, and it hadn't even started yet. "Where's Abbot?"

"Roof, I think." 

Before Robby could say anymore, Dana was swept away into a conversation with one of the nurses from night shift asking about handover. He took that as his cue to leave, striding towards the doors to the stairwell that would take him up to the roof. But before he could get there, he found another one of those sticky notes plastered to the double doors to the stairs.

Are you tachycardia? Because you make my heart race.

He frowned at the sight of it but left it there, pushing through the doors and racing up the stairs. Well, as much as he could race at his age. His knees didn't quite have it in them to go too quickly anymore.

The door to the roof creaked on its hinges as he emerged into the crisp morning air, slamming shut behind him again. It didn't take more than a second before his gaze landed on Abbot standing by the railing opposite him. The noise of the door and a few heavy footsteps clued the night shift doctor in on his friend approaching him.

Abbot turned, leaning back against the railing. "Happy Valentine's Day, dear."

Robby snorted, already so tired of the holiday. "You know anything about those notes floating around my ED?"

"You mean those cute, little love notes designed to make people smile?" Abbot stifled his own smile, tucking his hands into the pockets of his scrubs. "No, not a thing."

"Liar."

Abbot shrugged. "Perhaps. Does it make a difference?"

"I'd like to know who's responsible for being so immature." He huffed and planted his forearms on the railing, looking out over the sunrise. 

"I forgot how grumpy you get on Valentine's Day."

"I'm not grumpy." But could he really deny that? Dana had already called him the Grinch of Valentine's Day. There was some truth to it, he supposed. "I just know what today is going to be like. And I don't need to be distracted by some stupid puns."

"If you get distracted by a medical pun scribbled on a post-it note then I think that's more on you than the pun." Abbot slapped him gently on the shoulder. "Let it go, brother. Those love notes might be the difference between someone having a terrible day and an okay day today."

Robby hated to admit that his friend was probably right. He knew nobody in the ED today would want to be there. It was either a reminder that you weren't with your significant other or a reminder that you didn't have a significant other. He could only imagine the amount of sappy couples he was going to have to talk to today. 

So he nodded and stood up straight again, gesturing for him and Abbot to head back downstairs. "Well, I'm going to need a cup of coffee before I can bear to read one of those notes again."

"That's the spirit." Abbot teased softly, following close behind.

Only Robby wasn't so lucky. He found himself staring at one of the notes in the break room before he could even reach for a cup. Right there on the coffee pot. Another one.

You must be serotonin because you make me so happy.

"For fuck's sake." He grumbled, snatching the pot out of its spot and pouring himself a generous cup. It was okay. It really was. Only another twelve hours before his shift was over. Only another twelve hours before he got to go home to his empty house. Only another twelve hours until he got to wallow in how lonely he was.

"Good morning, Dr. Robby!"

The upbeat chime of your voice knocked him out of his miserable daydream. He turned quickly to look at you, almost slopping his freshly poured coffee everywhere. "Shit."

"Oh, sorry." Your shoulders hunched to your ears. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's fine." He snapped, watching as you turned away from him and buried your head in the refrigerator to avoid eye contact with him. He'd made you feel bad. Nice work, Robinavitch. 

"So..." You trailed off, softly closing the refrigerator door and sending him a glance that showed you were cautious about being on the receiving end of his wrath. "Wanna place a bet on how many sildenafil related issues we're going to see today?"

Robby took a slow sip of his coffee, ignoring how it scorched his throat. "At least a dozen."

You nodded, agreeing. He couldn't tell whether you actually agreed or whether you were too nervous now to argue. That didn't sit right with him, a frown creasing his brows.

"I shouldn't have snapped at you. I'm sorry." He mumbled, hoping that would clear the air. He wasn't really in the mood to apologise much more. But that wasn't your fault. "You just... startled me."

It didn't help that he couldn't quite understand how you could possibly be so chipper on a morning like this. This wasn't your first Valentine's Day as a resident in the Pitt. You knew what it had in store.

"Sorry about that." You scratched nervously at your arm, a trait Robby had gotten to know too well over the course of your residency. Only he hadn't been the one to make you do it since your first ever shift. He'd made you nervous your first day, he knew that, but he also knew you'd grown to realise that he wasn't actually all that bad by the end of it. 

"It's okay. No harm done." That was true. How could he actually be mad when nothing had really happened? You'd made him jump with your greeting, he'd almost spilled his coffee, he'd almost burned himself. But that was more on him not being aware of his surroundings. It was the break room. Of course other people would be coming and going. Maybe Dana really was right about his status as the Grinch of Valentine's Day. 

"Uh, somebody left pastries for us." You pointed at a box on the table in the corner of the room, trying to change topics. "I think it's supposed to make us feel better about having to work Valentine's Day. I'd get in there before they're all gone if I were you. I've already eaten two croissants."

Robby's head tilted to the side. He'd assumed you'd only just arrived, heading straight to the break room after dumping your stuff in your locker. But you'd already been here long enough to know about the pity pastries and eat two croissants. "When did you get in?"

"Oh." Your eyes widened, like you'd been caught doing something you weren't supposed to. "A little while ago. I figured some of the night shift team would like to get home as soon as possible to see their loved ones today."

How fucking considerate of you, he thought bitterly. God, he really was a grouch. "That's a nice thing for you to do."

You shrugged, easing up at his careful tone. "It's not like I've got anyone at home who's going to miss me today."

Robby watched as you processed what had just come out of your mouth, appreciated the way your face screwed up.

"Too much information." You huffed, shoulders slumping. "I'll- I'll go see if anyone needs me."

And then you zoomed out of the break room, as fast as your legs would carry you without actually running. He quietly exhaled something of a laugh to himself. At least he had you to amuse him today, your positive attitude and general nervousness around him made you entertaining at times. Always so eager to please.

The box of pastries called to Robby. Well, the rumble of his stomach did. So he allowed himself to take a peek at them, see what was on offer. What he found was another one of those damn notes.

Call me glucose because I can't help being sweet on you.

At least this one made sense being stuck to the pastry box. He snatched a chocolate éclair and bolted from the room.

As predicted, it didn't take long for the craziness to set in. Before nine, Robby had seen three sets of singed eyebrows, two Viagra problems, and one guy who had cut off circulation to his penis by wrapping a ribbon around it too tightly. The latter's girlfriend had not been impressed by what was, apparently, her only Valentine's gift from him. 

The only thing stopping him from going insane was your bright presence. Every time he felt like he was about to lose it, and go and have a breakdown in the bathroom, you would appear at his side. Whether it was to present a case, offer your assistance with something, or just to quip something clever in his ear. You were always there. Like you could sense how far he was teetering on the edge. It was somewhat welcome. On the one hand, he appreciated your ability to talk him down. But he also wondered if you actually knew what you were doing, if it was obvious on his face how depressed the whole romantic holiday made him. He'd only found one more of the love notes in the first two hours of his shift. 

I have a concussion from falling head over heels for you.

He had found it on the bottom of his shoe. How it got there, he wasn't entirely sure. The assumption was that it had been stuck to something else but had gotten knocked to the floor and then he'd just walked over it. The inconvenience of it being stuck to his shoe had bothered him. But the actual note itself hadn't set off that flare of irritation that the previous ones had. Was he getting used to them? Was he softening a little as the day wore on? That was an analysis of himself that he didn't have time to make. 

An itch of curiosity scratched at the back of his brain, a part of him wanting to know who was the culprit writing them all. He debated asking someone else what they thought of it all. But he'd already caught a couple of nurses positively beaming when they'd read the note that was stuck to the hand sanitiser. So he decided to leave it. If it was making people in his ED happy, then why would he poke at the situation. Ugh, he was going soft.

Before he could dwell on that too much, you appeared at his side again.

"Hi, Dr. Robby." You rolled your shoulders back as you prepared to say something.

"Spit it out." He sighed, glancing down at you.

Your lips puffed out as you exhaled an annoyed breath. "I've got a patient that's being a little aggressive."

"Then take Whitaker for backup. I saw him wandering around a minute ago." 

You swallowed a giggle. "No disrespect to Whitaker but I don't think he's all that intimidating. I think my patient would be better behaved with you in the room. Because you're, y'know, tall and in charge."

"Tall and in charge." Robby repeated, eyebrows raising. 

"Authority figure vibe. Because you are. An authority figure, I mean. Put a white coat on and you'd be prime for the Milgram Experiment." You winced at yourself. "Anyway, I'd appreciate your help. Only if you're free though. Obviously. If not, I'll try with Ahmad first. But I don't think my patient is going to listen to what I have to say. If you don't support me at least."

"Alright, what's the diagnosis?"

"He crushed up a bunch of Viagra and snorted it." You chirped, like it was the most normal thing in the world.

"Jesus."

"Yeah. Only he didn't crush it all that well. Little shards of it have torn up his sinuses so he's essentially choking on a mixture of blood and Viagra." You watched as Robby's face crumpled. "Only he's denying that it's the Viagra and that there must be another problem."

"Did he admit to the Viagra snorting?"

"Not at first. But when I pointed out the blue dust all over him, he stopped arguing." 

"Okay, I'll be there in a minute."

"Thank you." Your voice was grateful, tone light with the promise of his backup in your mind, and you practically skipped your way back to the patient.

True to his word, Robby took only a minute to compose himself before he made his way over to the examination room you were in. There, it only took a few seconds for Robby to understand why this particular patient had made you feel uncomfortable.

"Brought Daddy with you this time? Aw, was the little girl too scared to deal with me by herself?"

Daddy?

Any other time Robby might have been insulted at the implication that he was old enough to be your father, the fact that he was in fact old enough to be your father was besides the point, but mostly he was just focused on the predatory look that the guy laid out on the bed was giving you. It was enough to make even his skin crawl.

"I'm Dr. Robinavitch." He rubbed hand sanitiser into his hands vigorously, not bothering to offer up his nickname. "I'm the attending physician here today. Can you tell me what the problem is?"

The guy's eyes didn't leave you as he talked Robby through his symptoms. They even stayed trained on you as Robby examined him and as Robby gave a diagnosis. The same diagnosis that you had given. When he told him that, he finally managed to gain the patient's attention. Only for a brief moment though before he was looking back at you again, sat in the corner.

"Hey, you're talking to me." Robby snapped, careful to try and keep himself together. This was not the day for him to be dealing with difficult patients. He knew how close he was to completely breaking and taking it out on someone. An aggressive patient with an unhealthy fixation on you would be an easy target for him. He turned to look at you, to find you already looking at him. "Could you go get Dr. Langdon for me please?"

There was a flicker of admiration in your eyes as you dipped your head once to agree. "Of course, Dr. Robinavitch."

And then you were gone. Robby looked back at the patient in the bed. He was flopped against the bed with a smug smile on his face. Like he'd won. Robby watched him for a moment, mentally debating the pros and cons of saying something. He knew if he got started then he probably wouldn't be able to stop. He also knew that he was too tired to be getting into something like this. Before he could make a decision of his own, Langdon did it for him by appearing in the doorway.

"You called for me?"

Robby gave the senior resident a brief rundown of the situation, explaining what he wanted him to do, and then left him to treat the patient before snapping the gloves off of his hands and disappearing into the bathroom to cool off.

The hours dragged by at a glacial pace and Robby stopped finding those post-it notes everywhere. He figured there must have only been a few dotted about the place and he'd managed to come across them all. He couldn't help but realise that he could probably do with finding another one. At least it would momentarily distract him from the snail speed that the day was going. He wasn't bored by any means, as usual Valentine's Day had him hopping from room to room with the most bizarre of cases, but he did find himself coming face to face with too many happy couples. It was an odd concept to him how so many people could find themselves so happy despite being in the emergency room. Love was a curious thing. Maybe seeing you would also cheer him up.

It didn't help that he was hungry. The only thing he had eaten that day had been the chocolate éclair that morning. The protein bars he usually kept in his pockets for spare moments had been forgotten that morning in his sad haze to get to work before the sorrowful emptiness of his apartment managed to lodge itself in his brain. His stomach growled at him for food. So loud that he'd risked looking for Dana's secret stash in the break room, to no avail.

But then a moment of hunger-induced clarity hit him.

There was a protein bar in his locker. He was sure of it. It was months old, and probably crushed right at the bottom, but at least it would be something. He made sure that nobody needed him in that immediate moment before rushing off to the lockers. But he was barely around the corner before he stopped dead in his tracks. Even from a short distance he could see it. On his locker. Another yellow sticky note.

Robby took slow steps towards it, unsure whether he was bothered or not by the sight of it. He squinted at it as he got closer, trying to read it from a safe distance without his glasses. 

You must be hypoglycemia because you make me weak in the knees.

A soft breath, not quite a laugh, escaped him. Whoever was behind all of this, had to be given credit for their dedication to romantic medical puns. He wondered if they had been coming up with them all themselves or had taken inspiration from elsewhere. He shook himself out of the thought and went back to his original mission of searching for the protein bar. It was old and crumbled just like he predicted. He didn't let himself think about it too hard when he peeled the sticky note from the front of his locker and tucked it inside with the rest of his belongings.

Making his way back to the central hub, munching on the ancient protein bar, he found you talking to an elderly woman with a paper pharmacy bag clutched in her hands. He rounded the desk and took a seat a few feet away from you, noting how Dana was listening intently to the conversation, and pretended to occupy himself with something on the computer in front of him.

"It's all written down in the bag, Mrs. Cody. Step by step instructions that you can refer to if you need." You nodded reassuringly at the woman, voice slow and collected like you had already explained this a couple of times before. "And if the problem persists then just come back and we'll have another look, okay?"

"Okay, dear. You've been so helpful." Mrs. Cody reached out and gently tapped you on the shoulder. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." You smiled at her, like it was your pleasure to be helping her with whatever the problem was.

"I'm sorry for ruining your Valentine's Day."

"You have nothing to apologise for, Mrs. Cody. This is exactly what we're here for."

She didn't look too convinced. "Do you have any plans for tonight at least? Like a date with a nice man, perhaps?"

Robby found himself straining to listen closer, not letting himself acknowledge why.

You laughed softly and shook your head. "No, I'm going home to spend the evening with a tub of ice cream and a horror movie."

The elderly patient appeared confused. "But you're such a pretty, young thing."

Robby couldn't help but agree.

"That's very kind of you, Mrs. Cody." You smiled at her, like you genuinely appreciated her words.

Mrs. Cody looked briefly sad for you, before a light bulb seemed to turn on in her head and a sly smirk overtook her weathered features. "Well, my gardener is a very sweet man. And single. Maybe I could set the two of you up."

Oh, god. This was why Robby shouldn't have been listening in. Because suddenly his stomach felt tight, like it was twisting up, and he found himself hoping that you would say no. Please, say no.

A slightly uneasy giggle escaped your lips. "Once again, very kind of you. But I'm not looking to meet anyone new at the moment."

A wave of relief rushed over Robby. He was such a selfish man. Just because he was sad and alone didn't mean that everybody around him had to be as well. He should be happy that the people he worked with had happy lives outside of the Pitt. And he was. To an extent. He liked knowing that McKay managed to find time to spend with her son doing fun activities. He liked that Santos and Whitaker lived together and had clearly become good friends while being roommates. He liked that Javadi had found a hobby in being a content creator, although he didn't actually fully understand what that meant. He had been so delighted for Donnie when he became a father. 

But he also found comfort in knowing that there were people like him, people like you, who didn't actually seem to have anybody outside of work. What an asshole he was.

Snapping back into listening in on the conversation between you and Mrs. Cody, he found that the older woman was finally leaving and you were turning to Dana with an amused look on your face. At least you seemed unaware that he had been listening in on your entire conversation. 

"Get used to it. You'll get a lot of ladies trying to set you up with their sons, grandsons, nephews, neighbours..." Dana waved her hand around as she trailed off. "Especially on days like today."

"She kept mentioning her gardener when I was examining her. 'Oh, he's such a handsome boy.' 'He's so attentive with my flowers.' I thought she liked him. I didn't realise she was trying to set me up on a blind date." You groaned and buried your face in your hands. "And I kept asking questions about him to keep her at ease with conversation."

"Hey, maybe you should've taken her up on the offer. Then he could have been attentive with your flower." Dana glanced at you over the top of her glasses, one eyebrow arching. 

You snorted into the palm of your hand and Robby felt the urge to crawl into a hole and die. 

"Let's keep the chatter work appropriate." He said gruffly, trying not to act like he was hooked.

"Sorry, Dr. Robby." You mumbled, eyes widening in embarrassment as you realised he'd been listening. "I'll, uh, I'll get back to my patients."

"Yeah, you do that." He huffed, massaging his temple with two fingers.

You shot Dana a look of pure mortification before scurrying off.

The charge nurse turned to him, eyes narrowed with suspicion. "Let the girl have some fun. It's Valentine's Day."

"That doesn't change the fact that she's on the clock and we have patients in need." Though he did feel bad about how much he revelled in the notion that he wasn't the only one suffering on the romantic holiday. He was at ease knowing that you were going home to an empty apartment just like he was. He was a horrible person.

"There's an hour left before the night shift gets here." Dana said, calmly. "She's been on top of it all day. Probably only got some charting to do before she can leave at seven. Pronto."

"Not the point." He replied, gruffly.

"Jeez, and I thought all those love notes would've warmed you up." She mumbled, walking off to where a group of nurses were hovering to break them up before he could even question what she'd meant by that.

The time seemed to tick by quickly after that and, before he knew it, Abbot was strolling through the doors for the night shift. He took one look at Robby before a knowing smile tugged at his mouth. "Tough day, huh?"

"You don't even know the half of it." He groaned, rubbing at his eyes with the heels of his hands. "I'm sure you're in for something special tonight."

"I'm sure." Abbot continued to smile at his friend before turning in the direction of the lockers and walking off.

Robby sighed to himself, glancing around the room to see that it had calmed down a little. He knew that it wouldn't last long before the nightly rush started. He had to make sure he was out of there before it began. Reaching down to where his bag had been tucked under the desk by Dana at the beginning of his shift, he thought about how he would spend the evening. He could get drunk. But then that would mean being hungover for his shift the next day. He could follow your idea and eat ice cream and watch a movie. Not a terrible plan. 

Halfway through another thought, he was distracted by the sight of his bag as his picked it up. It was half unzipped. Robby never left his bag open. Never. Cautiously, he opened it all the way and peered inside. He didn't exactly know what he expected to find in there but a pink envelope wasn't even on the list of possibilities. He slowly eased it out of his bag, somewhat surprised to find his name written on the front.

Dr. Robby.

Huh.

With a gentle finger, he eased the envelope open and pulled out a card. A Valentine's card with a cartoon heart on the front. The cartoon heart was drawn with a big smiley face in the middle. It was kind of ugly.

Robby scanned his surrounding area to see if anyone was watching him, nobody was, before he opened the card.

Dr. Robby,

You've given me the love bug. The only antidote is your smile. Will you cure me today?

And a little heart was drawn at the bottom beneath the message.

It was the same handwriting as all of the other notes. Only this one was written in an actual card, addressed to him specifically. Was this all connected? A plan to wish him a Happy Valentine's Day? But who would do that? And why?

His musings were interrupted by Abbot's reappearance. "Figure out who wrote those love notes yet?"

Robby shoved the card back into his bag rapidly, hoping Abbot didn't notice. "No. Why? Do you know?"

"Nothing happens during the night shift that I don't know about."

Robby wished he could say the same thing about the day shift. "So it was someone on the night shift."

Abbot smirked. "No. I just said it happened during the night shift."

A frustrated chuckle tumbled from Robby. "You're not going to tell me?"

"Now, where's the fun in that?" And then Abbot was gone, pulled into the nightly routine of handover.

Robby finished up his work, filling in charts and typing up emails, and said goodbye to nurses and other staff members as they walked by him to leave for the evening. He could see the joy on so many of their faces as they left to go join loved ones for a romantic night. The ache of jealousy settled deep in his bones. He could feel Dana sending him pitying looks every now and again, but he just ignored her. He didn't need to have that conversation with her. 

The last dash of joy he was potentially able to drain from the day appeared when you collapsed onto the desk in front of him and Dana. Your elbows propped on the surface and your face buried against your arms.

"I've dealt with enough sildenafil to last me a lifetime." You groaned lowly, glancing up to find Robby side-eyeing you. You immediately straightened up. "Of course, nothing wrong with it. Perfectly normal thing for men to use."

He continued to stare at you for a moment before a smile cracked across his face, softening his features. It was so easy to make you nervous. "Relax."

You grinned back at him. "Wow, there's that smile. It's been absent all day and I was wondering when it would turn up for its shift."

Something snapped tight in Robby's chest. But before he could say anything you were spinning on your heel and heading toward the exit.

"Patients dealt with. Charts done. I am off home to nobody." Your voice was mock-excited as you punched a fist in the air. "See you tomorrow, love bugs."

Robby floundered around with a lack of words to say as he watched you leave. He looked around him to see if he was the only one suddenly having an epiphany, only to find Dana looking at him like he was an idiot. Which wasn't completely unusual for her.

"D'ya finally figure it out?" She huffed, shaking her head. "And I thought doctors were supposed to be intelligent."

"The notes? Her?" He pointed vaguely in the direction you'd left in. He didn't know why that prospect seemed so unbelievable to him. You were totally sweet enough to do something like leave love notes lying around for people to find to cheer them up. But you also didn't quite seem confident enough to do something so bold.

Dana looked over the top of her glasses at him. "Chase her, Robinavitch. While the night is still young. I've got everything handled here."

"Why would I-?" He cut himself off. Surely Dana didn't know about the card addressed to him.

"You think it's just a coincidence that all the notes were placed around to follow your routine. Hand sanitiser, door to the stairs, coffee pot?"

Holy shit. She was right. And the card was just the cherry on top of it all.

Robby shot out of the chair, knocking it back so it drifted away on its wheels. "You're sure you've got everything covered here?"

"Not my first rodeo." The nurse sighed, practically shooing him away. "See you in the morning."

He didn't dare question her further, just grabbed his bag and his jacket before practically running for the exit. Running after you.

By the time he managed to track you down, you were halfway across the park. His old knees just didn't let him keep up so well anymore. He called your name a few times, noting the headphones over your ears that were blocking him out. But one yell of your name seemed loud enough as suddenly you were tugging the headphones from your head and turning around to look at him.

"Dr. Robby?" You looked perplexed. "Is everything okay? Did something happen?"

"No." He wheezed, stopping a few feet in front of you to catch his breath. Sometimes he missed his youth.

"Oh. Did I forget something?" You glanced down at his hands as if he might suddenly hand something over to you but found them empty.

"No." He repeated, pulling in deep inhales. 

"Then what?" You looked nervously over his shoulder at the dark park behind him. 

"I know it was you."

Your jaw snapped shut. "Know what was me?"

Oh, you were going to play innocent? Funny.

"The love notes everywhere. The card."

You lit up in two ways. One in absolute panic that he had managed to figure it out and was calling you out on it. And the other that you were proud of your work and happy that he was acknowledging it.

"Oh. That." You traced a line on the path beneath you with the toe of your shoe, hands clasped behind you. "Yeah."

"I'm not mad." He clarified. "In fact, I'm sorry it's taken me all day to realise it was you. I might've been in a better mood if I'd known sooner."

You frowned up at him. "You didn't like them?"

Robby couldn't lie to you. "I've been told I'm a grumpy bastard on Valentine's Day."

You snorted a laugh but said nothing.

"Can I ask why?"

"Why I wrote them?" You asked and he nodded. "You've seemed so sad recently. And I thought maybe it would make you feel better."

Oh. That pang of disappoint in his chest was unmistakable.

But then you carried on. "I mean, doesn't everybody like to know that they're loved?"

Oh?

"Loved?" He repeated, staring down at you intensely.

"Did- did I say that?" You pointed at yourself, avoiding eye contact with him. You swallowed thickly and let your eyes land on him again, defeated. "Yeah, I guess."

"You guess?" He laughed, hard. "You guess you love me. So romantic."

You shrugged. "I wrote you love notes and came up with puns. I think that's the most romantic I've ever been in my life."

He shook his head in disbelief. Suddenly he was striding toward you, closing the few feet of distance with large steps. A hand landed on either side of your face, big palms spanning the expanse of your cheeks. He used the positioning of his hands as leverage to hoist you up to meet his lips halfway. A low, breathless mumble ghosted over your mouth. "Oh, sweet girl."

And then Robby was kissing you.

A surprised squeak escaped you, you hadn't been quite prepared for that. But once it seemed to register in your mind what exactly was happening, your eyes fluttered closed and you relaxed. Your hands curled in the fabric of his jacket, fingers appreciating the feel of the fleecy material.

His mouth devoured yours, hungry for everything you could give him. Robby pressed himself as close to you as possible, tongue pushing at the seam of your lips as soon as he felt you reciprocating the kiss. He sighed into your mouth as soon as it opened and his tongue met yours. This was what had been missing, this was the thing that had been making him so sad. Kissing you. Specifically you. How he hadn't seen it sooner, he didn't really know. He was an idiot, he knew that now. But he also knew he'd never let himself be an idiot again.

When you both broke away for air, he was surprised to hear you laugh. 

"What's funny?" He asked, nudging his nose against yours. He liked the little sound you made in the back of your throat as he did. He made a note of that.

"Thinking that maybe I should have written you some terrible puns sooner if this was going to be the outcome."

You gazed up at him with such warmth in your eyes that Robby considered the possibility of a heart attack at the mere sight.

"I think the puns were great. Very creative." He tilted your head to the side so he could plant an open mouthed kiss on your neck.

"Robby, we're in public." You whined, despite how you pulled him closer to you. "Also, don't lie to me. Dana told me you hated them this morning."

"I was stupid this morning." He liked the way you shivered as his teeth grazed your skin. "My sweet, sweet girl."

You hummed lowly. "Wanna come home with me and eat ice cream?"

He pulled back from you, already missing the feel of you on his lips, surprised by the offer. He wasn't sure why. You were already making out in the middle of the park. Going home with you wasn't exactly a much bigger step. In fact, it was a pretty natural progression. So, of course, his answer was simple. "I couldn't think of anything better."

With the way you grabbed his hand and started dragging him behind you, Robby couldn't remember how he had ever started the day so miserable. Look at the way it was ending. Maybe Valentine's Day wasn't so bad after all.

It was a particularly bad night, all of them having bad dreams which only filled your body with sadness and anxiety. You stuck headphones over your ears, music turned up loud to blast through your head in an attempt to block out some of the feelings. It only helped a little. You stared at the wall opposite your bed, trying to think of better things and trying to latch onto any sort of feeling. You were getting nothing. Either everybody was having a bad night or no positive emotions were strong enough to reach you in the moment. It sucked.

A few hours went by, your eyes blurring with exhaustion as you continued to stare. The emotions weren't dying down, only going through fluctuations where everybody's sleep cycles would circle around. There was a tugging at the side of your head, like something else was trying to get in but you couldn't quite manage to get a latch on it. You sighed and squeezed your eyes shut, only opening them when the tugging got stronger.

You squinted at your door, trying to figure out whether it was your tired brain making you see things or whether there actually was a shadow moving underneath your door. Taking a deep breath in a bid to relax, you used your gift to reach out. Then you felt it. A different type of anxiety, it was more like a quiet concern rather than fear and nerves. 

You ripped the headphones from your head and sat up straighter, surprised when there was a tentative knock on your door. "Hello?"

"Hi." The voice was timid. "It's- it's Bob."

You let out a soft sigh of relief. It was only Bob. You clambered out of bed and padded towards your door, opening it with a tired smile. "Hey, Bob. What can I help you with?"

He blinked back at you, his hair mussed up and clothes crinkled from sleep. "Your light was on."

You frowned. "Uh, yes."

"It's the middle of the night." He added on, hands twisting together into the hem of his shirt.

You realised he was worried about you and wondering why you were awake in the middle of the night. "Yeah, uh, the team dream rather restlessly. And- and I can feel it."

"Oh." He nodded, suddenly remembering what your gift entailed. "That's horrible."

You shrugged. "I'm used to it. But thank you for checking on me. That's sweet of you."

The apples of his cheeks bloomed pink, blood rushing to his face. "No- no problem. Just wanted to see if you were okay."

It was then that you realised you suddenly felt better. Bob's concern was a nicer feeling than the nightmares everyone else was going through. And when he'd blushed you felt another emotion, a warmer emotion. 

"I appreciate that, Bob. Thank you." You smiled at him, pleased when he offered a small smile back. That also improved your mood. "You're making me feel a lot better actually."

"I am?" He seemed surprised, hands dropping to his sides.

"Yes, you're a lot calmer than everyone else right now and it feels good." You paused, looking him up and down. "Can you- could you maybe stay with me for a little while?"

"Oh! Yes. Yes, of course." He shifted from foot to foot, glancing over your shoulder at your room. "Um, why?"

"Because I'm tired of feeling anxious from everyone else. We can just sit for a few minutes and then you can go back to your room. If that's okay?"

He nodded and took a step towards you. "Sure, for as long as you want."

Bob really was sweet, his awkward demeanour only the surface of how lovely he really was. It was difficult to believe that he was technically the same guy who had killed half of New York only a couple of months ago. He really wasn't that person, and never had been. Since then, he'd quickly become one of your favourite people and you didn't see that changing any time soon. He was just the kind of person you wanted to keep around, so worthy of love and protection. 

You tilted your head backwards and opened your door slightly wider. "Come on in then. We can sit on my bed."

His blue eyes widened for a moment before shuffling towards you, bare feet sliding against the floor. You shut the door behind him, gesturing towards your bed to offer him a seat when he hesitated in the middle of your room.

"It won't bite." You snorted, stopping next to him. "You can just sit on the edge if it makes you uncomfortable."

"No, it's not that. I just don't want to intrude into your space." He glanced at you from from the corner of his eye.

"I wouldn't have invited you in if you could do that." You replied, walking around the side of your bed to sit back down in the spot you had been before. You pointed at the space next to you. "I don't bite either."

A small smile graced his face as he went to the other side of the bed to sit next to you. Bob rested against the headboard, staring at the same wall you had been before he'd arrived.

"So... do we chat? Or something?" He asked, head flopping to look at you.

You resisted the urge to push his hair out of his face so you could see his sweet face in all of its glory. He really did make you feel better with his mere presence. You'd never experienced that with someone before.

"We can, if you want. Or we can just sit quietly."

He pushed his own hair out of his eyes, revealing the baby blues to you again. "What were you doing before I knocked?"

"I was listening to music. To try- to try and block it out."

"Was it working?"

"No." You shook your head. "But you're working."

He looked away from you and you panicked, scared that that had been too much. It often freaked people out when you reminded them you could feel all of their emotions. But then you felt it. Bob was happy.

You inched slightly closer to him. "Feels nice when you're happy. It's warm."

He looked back at you. "Warm?"

"And soft. Most people feel harsher when they're happy, in an excitable way. But not you. It's difficult to explain." You closed your eyes, a pleased smile on your lips. "I like the way it feels."

Bob's breathing grew heavier, his voice cracking as he spoke. "I'm glad."

You hummed lowly, your heart rate slowing the more you relaxed. You hadn't realised it had been thundering against your rib cage for the majority of the night. As you calmed down, you grew more and more fatigued. Bob's effect on you was quick and he could only watch as you started to fall asleep. He didn't want to disturb you, it was clear how exhausted you were. He'd seen the way you would move sluggishly on the days when you hadn't slept very well. It hadn't quite clicked in his head why you'd been like that but it was all adding up now. You had always been so kind to him that he hated to see you struggle. You didn't deserve that. So if all he could do to help was sit by your side so you could sleep peacefully, then he was all too happy to do that. 

When you awoke the next morning, you were startled by what greeted you when you opened your eyes. Bob was laying down beside you, mouth slightly agape and quiet snores leaving him. He really was rather lovely to look at. He had a delicate face, his features rather soft. And that was only increased by the peace that radiated off of him during his slumber.

The feeling that was trickling through you was new, and difficult to comprehend. You'd always been surrounded by people with big characters, their lives usually motivated by some sort of misery. You couldn't complain, you were the same. But it meant that the emotions that you received in response would be equally as agonising. They had their high moments, of course. Evenings the team spent together in the tower when you ate dinner, played games and watched movies were usually far more pleasant. But those were only fleeting moments. 

Bob was a breath of fresh air. He certainly wasn't the happiest person you'd ever known, especially when you first met. But because he was rather easy to please, the simplest of compliments making him practically glow, it meant that you often found yourself also feeling good around him. You tried not to take advantage of that but because he was also just kind of wonderful you found yourself enchanted by him. 

You watched him sleep, trying not to move so as not to disturb him. But he probably sensed your gaze in his slumber as it didn't take long before he stirred. He murmured something lowly as he opened his eyes, squinting against the sunlight streaming in through your windows, and stretched. When his eyes landed on you he offered a timid smile.

"Good morning." You whispered, propping your chin on your hand as you looked down at him.

"G'morning." His voice was gruff, even lower than it usually was.

"Did you stay all night?" You asked, suddenly realising that he was underneath the blankets. 

"Yeah, I hope that's okay." He turned on his side. "You fell asleep and I didn't want to disturb you if I left. Especially since everyone's emotions were getting to you."

You grinned at him. "You really are rather sweet, Bob."

He rolled away from you, groaning into the pillow beneath him. "Thank you."

You laughed and sat up as he did. "No, thank you. I appreciate this. It was nice of you."

"You don't need to thank me." He stood up and turned to look at you. "Do you want to go have breakfast? I hide the good cereal behind the pots and pans."

Affection spiralled through you, he was a great friend and you were so thankful to have him.

"Is that why I can never find it? You keep it hidden?" You started following him out of your room, grabbing your robe as you walked. 

"Yeah..." He let out a short giggle. "Alexei keeps finding it though so I have to keep changing the hiding spot."

You smiled at the back of his head as you followed him to the kitchen, ready to start your day feeling more well rested than you had in years. 

After a busy day spent with Bob doing chores around the tower and just hanging out, you were ready to go to bed. You were tired from the day's activities and needed some rest. But Bob could tell something was off. As each member of the team headed off to bed one by one, he watched as you slowly curled in on yourself where you were sat on the couch. It didn't take him long to realise what was wrong.

"Is it bad again?" He asked you, voice hushed to keep it between the two of you. He wasn't entirely sure how the super soldier serum worked on the three members of the team who had it, but if it was anything like what he'd experienced then he didn't want to risk their enhanced senses hearing him. 

"Mhmm." You nodded weakly, your head collapsing against the back of the couch.

Bob moved to sit next to you, debating whether his next offer would be too forward. But the pain on your face was unbearable for him to witness. You'd been so happy all day, the change around was horrible to see. "Would you like me to come to your room again?"

You looked up at him through your lashes, using the little energy you had to cling on to his emotions. "Yes, please."

"Okay." Bob nodded and stood up, angling his head in the direction of your room. "Let's go then."

It didn't take long for that to become the routine between you and Bob. Free days spent in the tower you'd stay by each other's sides and nights would consist of the two of you sharing your bed in order to sleep peacefully. Practically every second you spent in the tower would be with Bob. As well as being a soothing presence, he was also very funny and considerate. It took you about two days of hanging out one on one for you to decide that he was perfect in basically every way. You only hoped he enjoyed your company as much as you enjoyed his. If the emotions that radiated off of him were any indication, then he did like you. A lot. 

A new feeling had started pouring out of him, you'd noticed. One that made the back of your neck tingle and your brain feel fuzzy behind the eyes. You just couldn't quite figure out exactly what it was yet.

The rest of the team didn't fail to notice how you and Bob seemed closer. Stolen glances became a regular thing, the two of you acting as if you shared a secret. They could only watch on in somewhat confused amusement as Bob would look at you first whenever someone told a joke, to see if you were laughing, and how you had started singling out Bob by name whenever you offered to make anyone else a snack or a drink, like he was suddenly your priority. The two of you would also sit next to each other during every evening the team spent together.

They all assumed something had happened between the two of you. Just what, they didn't know. You weren't exactly acting like a couple, neither of you being flirty or touching the other anymore than usual. But the dynamic had certainly changed and was clearly developing more everyday. Whatever it was, it was clearly having a positive effect on you both. Bob seemed happier, smiling more often when you were around, and his emotions directly influenced yours, you were now a lot calmer and seemed less tense. So they just continued to observe in silence, curious to see where it would lead.

When Yelena had attempted to question Bob on it he had stuttered out that it was nothing, a clear give away that it was something. And when she'd asked you, all you had done was give her a coy smile accompanied by a shrug. She just decided to be happy for the two of you.

The thing between you and Bob was going steady for a few weeks, he'd started to open up to you more and more and you clung on to every word he decided to tell you. It was nice. But things quickly changed one night.

You'd been sleeping peacefully next to each other when you'd suddenly woken up. No clear negative emotion was travelling through you and Bob was still asleep so you assumed something else had woken you up. You listened out and heard nothing so sighed and closed your eyes in an attempt to go back to sleep. But you couldn't.

There was a tug at your lower stomach, a sudden ache further down. You shifted yourself, wondering if your position had you pressing on your organs strangely. But it didn't let up, and started getting more intense instead. And then you realised what it was. It was arousal. You were turned on. Puzzled, you flattened yourself on your back with a huff. What could possibly have you feeling like this? It was a normal night, sharing a bed with Bob with no disturbances other than the soft soundtrack of his breathing. Ever since you had started sharing a bed with him at night, you hadn't found yourself disrupted by the anxious feelings of the rest of your team. Bob's presence had been enough to soothe away the nerves and the fear and replaced it all with comfort and relaxation.

You glanced at Bob through the darkness, nothing seemed different with him. And then he made a noise. It was halfway between a content hum and a needy whimper. Your eyes widened in the dark as the pull in your tummy increased. It hit you all at once. Bob was having a sex dream and it was having an effect on you. 

You scrunched your eyes shut, willing it to go away. Not entirely sure why you were even bothering, it had never been possible to just push the feelings away, you took a shaky breath as Bob let out another sound. This one was louder, more of a whine than anything else. Your brain felt misty, you weren't convinced whether what you were feeling was all of Bob or if it was also a combination of your own arousal at the noises he was making. 

Bob was cute, you'd always thought it, but due to the circumstances through which you'd met you hadn't thought it appropriate to ever try to pursue anything. So the idea had died down and you hadn't even considered it in months. As the two of you had steadily gotten closer, you started to treasure him as a friend and nothing else. Bob was sweet, that was undeniable, and you had grown rather fond of him. And now here he was in your bed having a sex dream that was making you wet between your thighs. 

The final straw was the desperate moan that rumbled from Bob's chest and out of his mouth. You shot up in bed, switching the bedside lamp on and tapped him on the shoulder.

He didn't stir. You envied how deeply he slept.

You poked his arm, surprised when you hit solid bicep. "Bob."

He grumbled and turned his face into the pillow.

"Bob." You sighed, shaking him gently.

"Mm?" The sound was questioning but had an undertone to it that reminded you of the sounds he'd previously been making. 

"Bob, wake up." You said, louder than before. You were hoping that the feeling of being turned on would fade away as he came to but you were wrong.

As Bob's eyes slowly blinked open and landed on your face, the feeling in your core pulsed for a moment as his face turned a rosy shade of pink. 

He shuffled around until he managed to sit up next to you, looking around the room to see if there was some sort of problem. "Is something wrong?"

The sincerity in his eyes was infuriating. But only because it made your breathing go ragged as you took in his messy hair and sleepy eyes. His flushed complexion wasn't helping and you didn't fail to notice how he cautiously tugged the blanket over his lap.

You decided to be blunt with it, not being able to concentrate on anything else other than the ocean between your legs. You hadn't even known it was possible to experience the physical things the people around you were going through. You had only ever felt the emotions of others. The closest you had ever gotten to this was being able to tell when people were injured or sick - people had very distinct emotions when they were in pain. But this was a whole new thing.

"You were having a sex dream."

Bob looked away from you. "H-how... how do you know that? Did I- did I say something?"

He looked nervous, more nervous than you'd seen him in weeks, and you could feel it burning underneath the state of arousal he was still in. 

"No." You rasped, hands gripping the sheets beneath you. "I can feel it."

His head snapped in your direction, eyes going wide. "You what?"

Your chest was heaving. "I can feel it."

"What do you mean?"

You laughed lowly, unsure of how you could explain it. "I'm turned on right now because you are."

"Oh." The flush spread to his ears, his voice barely a squeak. "Sorry?"

There was a momentary ache in your chest at his apology, it was phrased like a question but his body language gave away how genuine it was. He was timid, that was for certain, and always feared he was going to do the wrong thing. Bob was scared of rejection and being abandoned. It was why he so often would tell people when he'd completed a chore or done something helpful like the laundry or the dishes. He felt the need to prove why you should all keep him around. He seemed unaware that you kept him around because you all loved him, and it wasn't conditional based on how useful he was.

You shifted towards him, hands reaching out for a second before awkwardly hovering in front of him. Maybe it wasn't the best time to be touching him. "No, no. You don't need to be sorry. At all. I just..."

Bob stared at you, waiting for you to finish your sentence.

"It's just an unusual situation. I've never felt this before."

He swallowed thickly. "You haven't? But I thought you felt everything other people felt."

You nodded. "I do. But emotions. Not physical things."

His eyes flickered up and down your body quickly. "So you're- you're more than feeling it?"

"I assume I'm experiencing the equivalent of whatever you are." You glanced at the tent in the blanket covering his lap. "Which is a physical reaction in the body."

"What you're saying is..." He didn't seem to know how to word it, fidgeting with the sleeves of his shirt.

"Yes, that's what I'm saying." You clenched your thighs together, being careful with your words since you didn't want to freak him out. "I woke you up so it wouldn't be awkward."

He seemed to deflate slightly, nodding in acceptance. "Awkward."

You smiled softly at him, dipping your head down to meet his eyes. "Not because of you. But because me being awake and horny next to you when you're asleep is... odd."

"No more odd than me having a sex dream in your bed." He mumbled, a small smile turning the corners of his mouth up.

A gentle giggle escaped you, glad he was easing up enough to joke. "It's not like you can choose when you have a sex dream. It's okay."

"I know. But I'm still sorry." He leaned towards you. "I'm sorry if I've made you uncomfortable."

"Bob, you could never." You mirrored him, leaning in. "I'm just wondering how we're going to solve this."

He blinked and sat up straighter. "What do you mean?"

You took a deep breath. "Well, considering I seem to be feeling whatever you are then there's a possibility that if you decide to go and... sort yourself out-" You sent a meaningful look towards his lap. "-then I will also feel it."

His eyes widened. "Oh."

"Yeah, oh." You repeated. "But I also don't want to leave either of us sexually frustrated. That's never fun. So..."

"So..." He seemed to think for a moment. "Are you suggesting that...?"

You shrugged. "Some variation."

"Variation?" Bob was full of questions, finding himself doing nothing but being confused. 

"If you don't want to actually do anything then mutual masturbation is always good."

Bob spluttered, taken aback by that answer.

"Or not." You added in, trying to determine what his real reaction was. His outward appearance seemed reluctant but your body throbbed at the prospect, which you knew reflected his feelings. That meant nothing though. If he said no then that was all that mattered. 

"No, it's-" He cut himself off, a quiet whine leaving his mouth.

You shifted, thighs clenching. "Bob, I beg of you not to make that noise."

"Sorry." He mumbled.

"If you're unsure then we can start with something slower." You suggested, easing into it.

"Like what?"

You shrugged. "Kissing."

He turned bright pink again. Affection blossomed through your chest, he was so sweet. As shy as he was, you could see the sudden sparkle in his eyes at the idea of kissing you. It made you curious about something, something you'd been suspecting since he had first woken up.

"Bob? Who were you dreaming about?" You asked and watched him grapple for an answer that seemed to evade him. "Was it about me?"

He paused his search for reasoning, turning to look at you slowly before nodding. "Yeah."

You smiled. "I'm flattered."

He rolled his eyes, almost self deprecatingly. "Yeah, okay."

You frowned. "If I wasn't flattered then I'd kick you out of this room for being a creep. But I'm not doing that, am I? No. I'm waiting for you to make a decision. Either you stay and we make out. Or you leave and I hump a pillow."

His jaw dropped open, drawing your eyes to his lips.

"Up to you, Bob." You scooted closer to him, dropping your voice down low. "I'm waiting."

Before he could respond, you flinched. Your body recoiled from the door and towards the headboard.

"What's wrong?" Bob sounded panicked.

"Someone's having a nightmare. A bad one." You groaned. "It's a weird sensation feeling their anxiety whilst also being turned on."

Bob only looked at you for a second. "Will I make it better?"

You smiled at him, thankful he'd finally seemed to have caught on to the fact that he was the only thing that managed to soothe you. "You always make me better."

He softened, whole body relaxing as his face turned red with a different emotion. That's when he seemed to make up his mind, shuffling down so he was laying down again next to you and patting the spot directly in front of him. "Turn the light off."

"You sure?" You asked, already reaching for the lamp.

He nodded, sucking in a sharp breath as you settled down in front of him. You were suddenly face to face, but only for a moment as the next second the light was off and you were plunged into darkness again.

"Bob?"

"Yeah?"

"You're cute when you blush." You eased out a hand, gently cupping his cheek.

His own hand inched towards you under the blankets, fingertips grazing the fabric of your shirt. "I think you're the only person who thinks that."

"I find that unlikely. But if so then I'm happy to keep telling you."

"You're only saying that because you're turned on." He chuckled breathlessly. "Trying to get into my pants."

"Do I have to try?"

"No." His nose nudged against yours, steadily get closer and closer but not quite closing the gap.

You realised you were going to have to take that step. "Can I kiss you?"

"Yes."

Bob was breathless before your lips met his, so when the collision finally happened it felt as if all oxygen had left him. But that didn't matter. He didn't need oxygen. All he needed was you.

You were gentle at first, testing the waters. But it only took about two seconds before Bob whined, the sound pulsing through you, so your mouth opened up like you'd lost control and your tongue swiped across his lips, teasing him. Bob's hands knotted into the front of your shirt, pulling you closer to him. His tongue curled against yours, a whimper leaving him.

You smiled into the kiss, thumb swiping over his cheek to keep it soft. You were overcome with lust but wanted the same mood that had floated between you and Bob up until this point. It didn't need to turn aggressive in any way now that you were taking it a step further. 

The hem of your shirt cut into your back as Bob's grip on it tightened, his feet pressing into yours so the two of you started playing footsie as you kissed. Bob tasted sweet, you noted, probably about as sweet as he was in general. You suckled his bottom lip into your mouth, revelling in the moan he let out. You pushed yourself closer to him, nose cramming against his cheek as his hair tickled your forehead. 

You pulled away from him to catch your breath, planting a quick kiss on his lips as he chased you. "Hm, slow down. We have time."

"Wanted this for so long." He admitted in the haze of passion that was swimming around the two of you.

The confession surprised you. "Oh, yeah?"

He backed up a little to look at you in the darkness as he gave an affirmative hum. That's when you felt it. The tingle on the back of your neck and the fuzziness behind your eyes. 

"What is that?" You asked, moving your face closer to him to get a better feel for it.

"What's what?" He sounded genuinely confused, voice kind as he asked.

"This new thing you keep feeling? Like a tingle on the back of the neck and a fuzz behind the eyes. What is it? I've never felt it before." 

The intensity you were looking at him with was amusing to Bob, how you seemed so unaware when usually it would be the other way around with the two of you. He knew exactly what you were referring to.

So he only smiled as he told you. "It's the feeling I get when I'm close to you."

Your breath got caught in your throat, eyes searching his in the dark to see how genuine he was being. When you detected nothing but honesty in his face, you dove forward and kissed him again. Despite your initial desire to keep it as relaxed as possible, you couldn't help the sudden craving you had for him. It was raw and primal, a yearning feeling.

Bob's pelvis rutted into yours, a reminder of the thing that got you into this position to begin with. He was still painfully hard and, based on the way you were feeling, that wasn't going to change any time soon. Your teeth and tongues clashed over and over, Bob making happy little noises at every press of your lips. He was insatiable, chasing you every time you decided the two of you needed to breathe. But he didn't seem to have the confidence to touch you anymore, not going any further than the vise like grip he still had on your shirt.

So you decided to make the move again. "Can I touch you?"

He nodded rapidly, his voice desperate. "Please."

The mewl of his voice was intoxicating, giving you permission to let your hand drift down the front of his torso. His abdomen was solid underneath his shirt but, as tempting as it was, you had another destination in mind. When you hit the waistband of his pants you paused, fingers toying with the strings that kept them fastened.

"Are you sure?" You asked, double checking that he was positive he wanted to take it this far.

He barely pulled away from your lips to answer. "Yes, I'm sure."

That was all you needed. You pulled on the string, undoing it, and let your hand slide into the front of his pants. You didn't have the patience to start with any over the clothes touching. Bob's size was somewhat surprising, he was big, which meant that your hand met the velvety skin of his cock pretty much as soon as you'd breached the waistline of his pants. He whimpered into your mouth at the feeling of the silky skin of your palm. 

He was keen, his body reacting immediately with a buck of his hips into your fist. You started with a slow pace, moving your hand up and down carefully to get a rhythm going. His precum worked well as a natural lubricant, making both your skin and his slick. It was only a reminder of the wetness between your own legs. But that thought escaped you pretty quickly when Bob continued to make pretty little sounds into your mouth. He throbbed in your hand, pace of his thrusts increasing when you tightened your grip. 

You kept kissing him, shivering as the feeling of his arousal travelled through you as well. An overwhelming curiosity was plaguing you as you wondered whether you'd feel it when he eventually came. That became less important when Bob's hands finally untangled from your shirt and one of them crept up the plains of your torso to start groping your chest through your shirt. You moaned into his mouth, hand momentarily stilling in place. That didn't last long when he whined into your mouth, a mumble begging for more leaving him.

Your fist pumped his cock harder and faster, drawing him closer and closer to orgasm.

"Come on, pretty boy. I know you're close."

He whimpered at the name you'd given him, the fact that he liked praise was something you quickly noted in your head. Bob kissed you harder, the desperation for closeness evident.

It didn't take much longer before he started twitching in your hand, hot ropes of cum spurting out of him and landing on the sheets between you. You pumped him a few more times, milking him for everything he was worth. A train of whimpers and moans tumbled out of mouth, filling the space between you, as his eyes scrunched shut with pleasure. You kissed him through it, wanting to keep him close as you were feeling his orgasm yourself. The feeling rocketed through you, a sense of ecstasy as it poured out of Bob and into you. Your prediction was right, you did indeed feel it when he did. This was a new development to your gift that had you curious. 

Once he'd calmed down from the high, Bob's eyes blinked open again as he looked at you. "I'm- I'm sorry."

You frowned. "Why are you sorry?"

"Because I- and you didn't-" He cut himself off, distressed. "I thought we were going to-"

You eyed the mess on the sheets between you. "Believe me, what just happened is not an issue."

"Are you still... feeling it?"

"Kind of. Less so now that you've come. But I'm still horny. Especially after that." You sighed. "Can we keep kissing?"

Bob wasn't sure why you'd even asked. It wasn't like there was any scenario where he'd say no to that. So he nodded at you, assuming that your eyes had adjusted enough to the dark to see him. He was right. You manoeuvred yourself over the mess on the sheets and hovered yourself over him.

He looked up at you, the sparkle from before twinkling in his eyes. He finally allowed himself to touch you, not realising that he'd groped you in the heat of the moment before, and placed his hands on your hips before letting them skate up your waist, then your rib cage, before going over your shoulders and letting them land on either side of your face. Then he pulled you down to kiss him. 

You weren't sure how long that went on for exactly, only really aware of anything other than Bob existing when he'd asked whether you wanted to change your bed sheets. You'd only told him it could wait until the morning and that the two of you would just have to stick to his side of the bed. At some point his hands had drifted below your waistline, drawing your own orgasm from you. It surprised you how adept he was at it, but you figured he had a past long before you'd even met him. 

What surprised you both was Bob had moaned as you did, blinking in shock as you came.

"I felt that." He stated, mouth hanging open.

"What do you mean?" You asked, still breathless from the orgasm. 

"I felt that." He repeated.

A frown wrinkled your brows. "You mean... like how I feel things?"

"I think so."

That was another thing that had never happened until Bob.

"I didn't know that was possible." You thought about it for a second before shrugging. "Another thing for tomorrow."

And then you kept kissing him. That went on for a while until the two of you grew sleepy, eventually drifting off in each other's arms.

When you woke up the next morning you found yourself intertwined with Bob, limbs tangled together. You hummed happily and snuggled closer to him. 

"G'morning." He grumbled into your ear.

You smiled at the sound of his voice and turned your head to look at him. "Good morning. You're awake before me."

"Shocking, I know." He huffed, hand stroking up and down the length of your arm.

"What's the time?"

"A little after nine."

Your eyes widened and you shot out of bed, scrambling to find your robe. "Shit, it's late."

Bob followed you out of bed, feeling bad that he'd let you sleep in. But you had just looked so peaceful. "Sorry, I should've woken you."

"No, don't apologise." You beamed at him. "Shouldn't apologise for the way I slept."

He watched you slide a pair of socks on. "How'd you sleep?"

"Good." You grinned. "The best. You?"

"Good too."

You huffed. "You always sleep good."

There was a moment of silence before Bob seemed to decide what he was going to say.

"Do you want to know why I sleep so easily?"

You nodded, always just figuring the amnesia that came with what happened to him meant that he just didn't have bad dreams. 

"Because I dream about you." He confessed quietly. "Even when I'm not having sex dreams."

Your shoulders hunched as your skin prickled with the burn of self-consciousness. There was no way he was telling the truth. "Really?"

"I spend my days thinking about you and my nights dreaming about you." He chuckled shakily. "Even though we spend every second of every day together, I can think of nothing but you. It consumes me. You consume me."

Tears welled in your eyes. "For how long?"

"For as long as I've known you pretty much." He shrugged. "It's been very difficult sleeping next to you for these past few weeks and not telling you."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because you needed me to sleep. And I was scared that you didn't feel the same way so you'd- you'd push me away and go back to restless nights." His hands started wringing together, a telltale sign of his nerves.

You choked out a teary laugh. "How could you ever think I didn't feel the same? Why do you think I spend so much time with you? Why I can't sleep unless I'm next to you?"

"My emotions calm you."

You shook your head. "You make me calm. There's something about you. There always has been. You make me feel things that nobody else ever has. I've experienced new emotions with you. As well as more feelings."

He smiled at the reference to what the two of you had done the night before. "So, what now?"

"What now?" You chortled as you repeated his words back to him. "Now you kiss me and we never stop."

Bob didn't need to be told twice.

The team noticed the moment the switch in yours and Bob's relationship flipped. All it took was one simple gesture. The group of you had been in the kitchen together, chatting about nothing in particular and Bob had been looking at you with a gooey look in his eyes as usual. But then you'd reached up, brushing a lock of hair away from his eyes. 

They all knew then that you'd finally taken the step towards being officially more than friends. None of them pointed it out, exchanging nothing but pleased looks with each other and enjoying the fact that neither you nor Bob seemed to be aware that the rest of them now all knew about the two of you. They weren't entirely sure that either of you cared if they knew.

You had been sitting in the waiting room for three hours and forty-six minutes before you were called back to see a doctor. The lovely woman who had made you fill out your sign-in form had assured you that since you had managed to stop the bleeding pretty well by yourself that you weren't extremely high up on the list of priorities. That had seemed fair so you just shrugged at her and took a seat. Luckily for you, one of the resident doctors was eager to show one of the student doctors how to check for nerve damage so you were called on way more quickly than initially predicted. 

Doctor McKay and student doctor Javadi had helped you settle yourself into a wheelchair and rolled you back into the department through the glass doors that separated the waiting room from the rest of the place. They were both very nice, Doctor McKay was soft spoken and student doctor Javadi was clearly quite nervous. You felt like you were in very capable hands.

Once they had you situated on one of the beds, you allowed yourself to take in the hustle and bustle of the place. It was noisy. People constantly talking, if not shouting, machines beeping, shoes slapping against the floor. It was overwhelming. You took deep, calming breaths and attempted to focus on the pain in your foot instead.

McKay gestured for Javadi to put on a pair of gloves as she unwrapped the towel that you had wound around your foot. "Can you tell us how this happened?" 

"My roommate dropped a knife on my foot." You winced, taking a good look at the gash on your foot. Pretty gnarly stuff. "She was chopping tomatoes and her hand slipped."

"Ouch." Javadi's eyes widened so much they pretty much took up her entire face. 

"Yeah." You sighed, before brightening slightly. "I don't mind. She's a good cook so I'm sure she'll beg for my forgiveness with something nice to eat."

McKay smiled at you gently, like she admired your optimism. "The wound isn't too deep, probably will just need a couple of stitches but I'm going to walk Javadi through some checks for nerve damage first. Is that okay?"

"Oh, of course. Knock yourselves out." You leaned back on the hospital bed like it was a sun lounger and you were relaxing on the beach. 

McKay nodded her thanks before turning to the student doctor. "How do we assess for nerve damage in feet?"

Javadi didn't hesitate for more than a fraction of a second. "Ipswich Touch Test."

"Good. What questions do we ask first?"

"Oh." Javadi looked at you. "Any numbness, tingling or burning?"

"Nope." You shook your head, giving her an encouraging smile.

"That's a good sign." McKay interjected. "But we'll do the test anyway. Javadi?"

The young doctor looked more calm as she stepped towards the end of the bed where your foot rested. "I'm going to press on your toes lightly for a couple of seconds and I need you to tell me if you can feel it."

"Sure thing." You nodded at her.

She was just about to begin when somebody appeared in the entrance to the bay. A man. Tall, dark hair, middle aged and rubbing sanitiser into his hands.

"Hello, I'm Doctor Robinavitch but everybody calls me Doctor Robby." He glanced briefly at your foot before turning to McKay. "Everything good?"

McKay nodded. "About to start an Ipswich Touch Test."

Doctor Robby's gaze landed on Javadi. "Mind if I observe?"

Javadi's whole body jolted. "Oh, of course not."

Doctor Robby nodded before lowering himself onto a stool next to the bed. His eyes slowly slid over to meet yours. "Can you tell me about what happened?"

"Roommate dropped a knife. My foot got in the way of the knife. Boom. Collision." You recounted the story again for him, eyes snapping to Javadi when you felt her press against one of your toes. "Felt that."

She nodded, focused on the task at hand. 

Doctor Robby also nodded next to you. "Good. That's good."

You smiled, feeling like you were being graded on an exam. "Can I ask why I have three doctors crowded around my bed?"

Robby's eyes searched your face momentarily, like he was looking for something which he ultimately found. "You have quite an extensive medical history. It flagged up on our system and, as the chief attending physician here, I have to come check."

"Oh, that." You rolled your eyes. "No need to worry about me, Doctor Robby. I just have bad luck."

"Bad luck?" He chuckled.

"Four concussions, eight broken bones, three dislocations and a couple sprains." You listed them all off, counting on your fingers. "Just bad luck I swear."

"That's a lot of bad luck." Javadi mumbled, pressing against another one of your toes.

"Felt that." You chimed before continuing. "Unfortunately, the universe hates some people. And I am one of those people."

Robby couldn't help the disbelieving laugh that rumbled at your positive attitude. He exchanged a quick glance with McKay, who was extremely good at reading people, but found absolutely zero doubt in her eyes. Huh, she believed your bad luck story.

"Felt that!" Your voice broke the quiet again as Javadi pressed another toe. "Seriously, I'm fine. After the third concussion, you kind of get used to the idea of the universe hating you."

McKay snorted lightly. "I like your ability to stay so optimistic."

"Probably all the concussions." You offered. "I just moved to Pittsburgh a couple months ago. So you'll probably be seeing a lot more of me in the future. Sorry in advance."

And you were right. After determining that you didn't have any nerve damage and stitching you up, McKay and Robby made the decision that you were okay to be discharged. They were somewhat surprised when they had found out that you would be driving yourself home and that you had driven yourself to PTMC in the first place. But after a long shift, you had escaped both of their minds completely. Until you appeared almost two months later.

Somehow it was worse being sat on a hospital bed to wait inside the emergency department than it was being sat out in the waiting room. It didn't help that they had placed you out in the hallway so you could watch everybody rushing by. While it was fun to people watch, it did have you almost itching with anxiety every time a doctor came near you but didn't stop to help out. But you were patient, letting your legs swing as you watched the world go by. 

Robby was crawling with his own anxiety, edging toward the end of a long shift, as he stalked through the hallways of the Pitt, rubbing at his face frustrated. He couldn't wait for his day to be over. As he passed patients, he only sent them brief glances to make sure they weren't dead before carrying on. That was until his eyes landed on someone he recognised. He did a double take as he saw you, slowing to an eventual stop at your bedside. 

"Hi, Doctor Robby." You grinned at him, legs swinging even more enthusiastically.

"Hi..." He trailed off, surprised to see you.

You offered him your name, not offended that he seemed to have forgotten it. Surely he saw dozens of people each day. Names were only a minor thing. "Knife in the foot two months ago. Long medical history. Four concussions."

Your voice hit a new level of happy with each thing you listed and Robby couldn't help the wry smile that adorned his face.

"No, no. I remember." He assured you, taking a few steps closer. "What brings you in this time?"

"Squirrel bit me." You shrugged, raising your hand to show him the tiny puncture wounds on your hand.

"A squirrel bit you...?" Robby repeated it slowly, like he'd misheard you.

"Yeah, that's a new one for me. I thought it was fine but then I Googled it, saw the word 'rabies' and came straight here." You giggled at yourself. "Told you that you'd be seeing lots more of me."

"Right." He huffed. "Just didn't realise so soon."

"Universe hates me, what can I say." Your legs stopped swinging suddenly. "What are the odds of this killing me? Because I'd hate to die by squirrel. That's a sucky way to go."

"Very low, don't worry." He chuckled. "Come on, I'll find you a room and we'll patch up this... squirrel bite."

"Y'know, it doesn't make me feel better when you say it like that." You hopped down from the bed and started following him to the central desk.

"Say it like what?" He looked over his shoulder at you, to see you close behind him.

"Say it like you know it's embarrassing but are trying to hide it so you don't make me feel bad. Just laugh. It's okay." You smiled brightly at him as the two of you stopped in front of the hub, surrounded by nurses.

Robby looked up at the big screen and you copied him, trying to see if you could decipher what any of it meant. You couldn't.

"Hey, Robby. Whatcha need?" A nurse suddenly appeared in front of you, the badge on the front of her scrubs informing you that her name was 'Dana' and that she was the charge nurse of the unit. 

"Free space for our friend here." Robby gestured at you next to him.

Dana's eyebrow arched at the word 'friend' as she looked at you. "North four is free."

"Thank you." Robby grumbled before he led you in the direction of the free room. His long legs carried him quickly and he was impressed when you managed to keep up with what people had referred to as his 'doctor's pace'. Every time he looked at you to see if you were keeping up, he found you smiling enthusiastically at him. Surprisingly upbeat for someone who was worried they had rabies.

When the two of you got to the free bay, Robby instructed you to sit on the edge of the bed as he logged into the computer next to it. He had a quick look over your file, slipping the glasses from his pocket and onto his nose.

"I see your last tetanus shot was in November."

You nodded. "Sounds about right."

He sent you a quick glance to find that you were still smiling.

Unprompted, you explained. "With my bad luck I try to stay on top of my vaccines as much as possible."

"Good idea." Robby sent you something of a smile before logging out of the computer again. "Okay, so I'm going to irrigate the wound - which means clean it - and then we'll figure out next steps from there."

"I know what irrigation is, Doctor Robby." You laughed quietly. "I've spent enough time in ERs that I could probably work a shift here."

A beat of silence.

"That's a joke. Obviously." An awkward smile crossed your face. "Although I am the appointed person for first aid at my office."

Robby looked at you over the top of his glasses as he put on a pair of gloves. "Really? You have to take a course for that?"

"Yep." You nodded once. "Was real fun actually."

He sat down on the little stool next to the bed and scooted himself towards you, then gently took your injured hand in his. "Okay, this doesn't look too bad. The puncture wounds are small so you won't need stitches or glue."

"That's good. The stitches I got in my foot last time were a pain in the ass."

"I don't remember you coming in to have those removed. Did you?" Robby sent you a disapproving look, turning your hand over a couple of times to inspect every inch of it.

"Yeah, but it was late one evening. I asked about Doctor McKay or Javadi but I was told you'd all gone home. Night shift was on duty." You shrugged.

Robby nodded, curious to know who had treated you. "Oh, yeah? Who did you see?"

"Doctor Shen. Nice guy. Very funny and chilled. Likes his iced coffee." Your eyes crinkled at the corners as you said it, like you were amused. "I felt so special getting treated by another attending physician."

Robby waved down a nurse and asked them to bring him some saline. "We all make bets on how many pumps of syrup Shen will have in his coffee each shift."

You laughed, loudly. "Well, it's good to know healthcare workers get to have some fun at least."

"Hey, what are you talking about? We get to have the most fun. It's not everyday you get to treat a squirrel bite." Robby sent you another one of those not-quite-a-smile smiles, but this one seemed more genuine. "I do need to ask some questions though. To determine if we need to treat you for potential rabies and other diseases."

"Great." You deadpanned, face falling flat. "I love potentially having rabies."

"Like I said, the chances are extremely low. But we do have to be sure." He paused as the nurse reappeared with the saline, taking it from them with a polite thanks. "Would you say that the squirrel was behaving unusually?"

You winced as he flushed the saline over the puncture wounds on your hand. "I don't know what is considered normal behaviour for squirrels."

He sighed but nodded. "Was it erratic before it bit you?"

"It just kind of appeared out of nowhere." Your hand jerked as pain shot through it. "One minute I was just walking through the park and the next bam! Squirrel on me and biting my hand."

Robby suppressed a smile at the memory of you using the word 'boom' to describe being stabbed in the foot with a knife during your last visit to the ED. "So it was unprovoked?"

"Doctor Robby, I didn't harass a squirrel until it bit me. I'm not evil."

"I'm not saying you're evil." He squirted another lot of saline over your hand to clean it some more. "I'm saying that if it bit you unprovoked then that raises some red flags."

"Rabies."

"Not necessarily."

"But you're implying rabies."

"No."

"Then what?"

He hesitated, looking away from your hand to make direct eye contact with you. "We will have to treat you to prevent rabies."

A shocked laugh escaped you. "You just said 'no' to rabies!"

He shrugged and lowered your hand onto your lap. "I said that you most likely don't have it. But we have to cover all bases."

"You're sneaky, Doctor Robby. I don't know if I like that." You squinted at him playfully. 

He huffed. "There's something we can give you to prevent rabies. Then we'll bandage you up and get you out of here."

"Okay!" You chirped and went back to watching him treat your hand.

There was something about your optimism that was quite intoxicating to Robby. It was almost contagious. If he was less tired, then he might've absorbed it a bit more. The next few steps of your treatment went quickly, with neither of you saying much other than Robby explaining to you what was happening, and before you knew it you were being discharged.

"Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to attend to my dumbass squirrel bite." You tapped nervously at the edges of the bandages wrapped around your hand.

"You don't have to thank me. It was no trouble." Robby waved you off.

"No, I mean it. How many patients in here can say they get personally seen to by the guy in charge?"

Not many.

"Until next time, Doctor Robby." You sent him a little salute and turned to leave.

He shook his head, finding it kind of funny. "I would prefer it if you didn't come back."

You clutched your chest like you were hurt. "Are you saying you don't enjoy my company, Doctor?"

He shook his head again. "I'm saying I would rather you didn't get injured again."

"It's not my choice. I told you: bad luck. See you soon!"

And then you were gone.

Four months, two weeks and six days passed before you were back in the ED.

Robby was only just starting his shift, walking through the waiting room as he arrived, when he found you sitting in a chair with a defrosted bag of peas pressed against your forehead.

He stopped in his tracks, removed the earbuds from his ears and planted his hands on his hips as he looked down at you. "You've got to be kidding me."

You grinned up at him, like the world was all sunshine and rainbows. "Hi, Doctor Robby."

He crouched down in front of you and gently pried the bag of peas from your hand to get a look at whatever was hiding behind it. He found an ugly lump protruding from your forehead. "What happened this time?"

"Hockey puck to the head." Your voice was shockingly defeated as you said it. "Go Penguins."

His eyes shot to yours, to find that you were still smiling at him. Crinkles around the eyes and everything. "How long have you been here?"

"Since about nine last night." You scratched at your neck. "I'm suspecting it's just another concussion. But better to be safe than sorry."

Robby stood up straight again with a groan and a crack of his knees. "Okay, come with me."

"Right now?" You glanced at the bag slung over his shoulder.

"Yes. You can sit with Dana, our charge nurse, while I get set up. Then I'll check you over."

You grabbed your own bag and stood from the chair, scrunching your eyes shut and stumbling when the room started spinning. Robby reached out a hand to steady you but you quickly regained your own balance.

"I'm good. I'm good." You gave him a half-hearted thumbs up and started following him through to the ED. You didn't have it in you to complain when he chucked your bag of no-longer-frozen peas into a trash can. The ED was the quietest you'd ever seen it as you walked through the double doors. But you figured it was probably just before the morning rush, which meant there would be a sudden influx of patients at any minute. You anticipated that once Robby had you sat with Nurse Dana, that you'd probably be there waiting for a while. But when you got to the central desk, there was no Dana to be seen. Only a couple of other nurses that you vaguely recognised from your last two visits.

Robby didn't look too happy with that discovery. "Where's Dana?"

"Good morning to you too, Robby." One of the nurses said to him, exchanging a look with the other nurse next to her.

"Right, sorry. Good morning." He rubbed at his temple with two of his fingers. "Dana?"

"Off with Abbot and Shen somewhere."

"Okay, uh-" He looked at you like he didn't know what to do.

"I'm perfectly capable of sitting here without supervision." You offered. You could feel the two nurses staring at the lump on your forehead, causing you to rub at the edges of it self-consciously with one of your fingers.

Robby grabbed your wrist and lowered your hand with a grimace. "Don't- don't touch it."

"My point still stands. I can sit here until someone is free to see me. Or I could be like any other normal patient and wait in the waiting room."

Robby's voice was serious as he replied. "This is your third visit here in the span of six months. You no longer qualify as a normal patient."

"Ouch." You replied flatly, very aware of the two nurses watching you and Robby interact. "Anyway, I told you that it's probably just another concussion."

"It worries me that you don't see the issue with the phrase 'another concussion'." Robby huffed and pointed at a chair behind the desk. "Sit there. I'll be back in two minutes. Perlah, Princess, one of you watch her."

You did as you were told, albeit a little grumpily, and sank into the chair as Robby walked off and disappeared. The lack of sleep was starting to get to you and it didn't help that your head was practically throbbing with pain. But you tried to power through it as you turned to the two nurses and sent them a friendly smile.

"Hi."

The two of them exchanged another look and smirked. "Hi."

The way they moved in tandem suggested that they came as a pair. How nice to work with your best friend, you thought.

"So, you come here often?" One of them asked, clearly holding back a laugh.

Only a second of silence passed before the three of you burst into fits of giggles. But you abruptly stopped when it sent a lightning strike of pain through your head.

"Ow, ow." Your face screwed up and you clutched at your forehead, flinching when you poked the lump. "Motherfu-"

You were cut off by the appearance of Nurse Dana. "What's going on?"

Your mouth shut with a click of your teeth. 

A nurse responded before you could. "Robby brought her in. Wants you to watch her."

Dana looked at you, scrutinised you, before a small smile overtook her face. "I know you. Your Robby's friend from a few months ago."

"Uh, just a regular patient that I think he feels sorry for." You ignored the way that the word 'friend' set off an ache in your chest that you had buried long ago.

Dana hummed lowly, though you suspected that she actually disagreed with your statement, before telling Perlah and Princess to get back to work and shooing them away. Then she settled into a chair beside you and got to work on something on her computer.

Fifty-six minutes went by before Robby re-appeared at the central desk. He found you sat next to Dana, staring at the ceiling.

"Hi, sorry."

You looked up at him, a lazy smile pulling the corners of your mouth up. "That was a long two minutes, Doctor Robinavitch."

"I know. I'm sorry. I had to deal with something from the night shift." He looked at Dana. "She been behaving?"

Dana looked at him curiously. "She's been sitting there silently the whole time, if that's what you're asking. Don't worry, I checked on her every couple of minutes to make sure she wasn't dead or passed out."

He just nodded, not entirely sure why he'd even asked the question in the first place. "Okay, good. That's good."

You cut in. "I'm sat right here, y'know?"

He looked at you again. "Sorry, didn't know if you could hear me over the fifth concussion."

Your jaw dropped in surprise. "Uncalled for."

He shrugged, hands tucked into the pockets of his hoodie and his lips pressed together in a half-smile. "But true."

Dana's eyes flickered between the two of you, like she was putting puzzle pieces together. "South three is free, if you need it."

"Thank you, Dana." Then he looked at you. "Come on."

You grabbed your bag and hauled yourself up from the chair, ignoring the pounding in your head as you sent the charge nurse a kind smile. "Thank you for babysitting me, Nurse Dana."

"Just 'Dana' is fine. And you're welcome."

You nodded at her, smiled again, and then started to follow Robby to the exam room. This one was more private than the last one he'd had you in. This one actually had a door, which you appreciated since the noise of the ED wasn't helping your headache.

"Sit on the bed." Robby instructed as he closed the door and the curtain, giving the room some privacy.

As usual, you did as you were told and watched as Robby logged into the computer.

"So... hockey puck to the head. Tell me about it."

You grumbled lowly under your breath for a moment before starting your recount of the story. "Well, I thought I'd engage in some Pittsburgh spirit and go to a Penguins game."

"You a hockey fan?" He didn't know why he was cutting in to ask an irrelevant question. But as he watched your posture ease, he realised it was probably a good thing that he did.

"Oh, sure. Love the sport." You grinned before carrying on. "Anyway, the second period starts and smack! There's a hockey puck making a dent in my forehead. Which has now turned into the most tragic lump ever. Seriously, why'd it have to hit me in the worst place?"

"Bad luck."

"Hardy har." You bit back, though you liked him contributing to the joke of your bad luck. Even if it wasn't quite a joke. "And now here I am with a probable fifth concussion."

Robby signed out of the computer with a click and turned to you. "You at least get to keep the offending hockey puck?"

"No." You pouted. "Some guy next to me stole it while I was busy trying to determine if I'd died. Turned out it was just the light reflecting off of someone's bedazzled jersey."

That made Robby laugh. Fully and heartily. He slapped a hand across his mouth to stop it but the sound rumbling in his chest was unmistakable.

"Oh, yeah. Laugh at my pain. Go on. What an excellent doctor you are. Really." You huffed and rolled your eyes despite the way you beamed at the sound of his laughter.

"I'm sorry. You're just funny."

You side-eyed him. "I'm funny or my injuries are funny? There's a difference."

"Both." He shrugged. "It's never something normal with you."

"I used up all of my normal injuries as a kid. Like the classic of breaking my leg by falling out of a tree had happened twice by the time I was nine."

"Jesus."

"Now the universe has to come up with creative ways to get me injured." You scratched your neck. "It's probably a good thing that I only work in an office and don't do something more dangerous."

"More dangerous?" Robby inquired. "Like what?"

"Like, I don't know, operate a forklift or something."

He laughed again. "Yes, please never operate a forklift. I'd hate to see you in here due to some forklift-related injury."

"Aw, man. Now I'm sad I can't operate a forklift."

"I mean, you can. If you really want."

"What? Just so I can come in here decapitated by a forklift and have you say 'I told you so'? No thanks, Doctor Robby." You crossed your arms in front of your chest.

"I think me saying 'I told you so' would be the least of your worries if you'd been decapitated."

"I'm sure I could sense your disappointment even in death." You sighed, like the idea bothered you. "Okay, so let's get this examination started."

"So eager to be diagnosed with a concussion for a fifth time." He took three steady steps towards you and angled your head just how he needed it.

"Who knows? Maybe it'll be more exciting this time. Like a fractured skull."

He looked at you disapprovingly. "Not something to be excited about."

"Concussions get boring after a while." 

"You're the only person who has ever thought that." He flashed a light in your eyes and apologised when you winced. "Sorry."

"It's okay." You sucked your bottom lip into your mouth. "I've had four concussions. Maybe five now. I can think whatever I want about them."

He got you to track his finger. "Maybe you should be thankful that it's never more serious."

"Yeah, I suppose. It does get a little tiring after a while. All the injuries, I mean."

Robby was struck by how genuinely sad you sounded in that moment. He'd never seen you anything less than sickeningly upbeat. He didn't like it.

He straightened up before taking a seat in front of you. "Unfortunately, some people are just more accident prone than others. If it helps, you're probably the happiest person I've met with such an extensive medical history."

You lit up slightly. "Really?"

"Really." He nodded firmly. "Okay, I'm saying this is a concussion. Another one, I'm sorry. But I'm going to send you up for a head CT anyway, just in case. I'll get you bumped to the top of the list. I'm sure it'll be clear but I'll advise you to stay for a while longer for observation anyway. To be safe."

"Okay, thank you."

"Is there anyone you'd like me to call in the meantime? To come and keep you company?"

"No, no one." You shook your head and regretted, eyes squeezing closed at the pain.

"You sure? You might be here a while. Friends? Family? Partner?"

You sent him a sympathetic smile, like he was missing something obvious. "Doctor Robby, I'm always here alone. I was at that hockey game alone. I got on the bus here. By myself. There is no one to call."

He said nothing. What was he supposed to say? But you could see the silent question in his eyes so you explained it to him without him even having to ask.

"When you have luck as bad as mine, you find that people prefer not to get caught up in it." You smiled sadly and shrugged your shoulders. You had made peace with it a long time ago.

"I can get one of the nurses to sit with you, if you want?"

You laughed sarcastically and pinched the bridge of your nose. "Ah, jeez. No thanks. I don't need pity company. I get enough pity from you."

"You think I pity you?"

"I know you pity me." Your voice was sincere, like you had it all figured out. "Come on, it's not exactly difficult to figure out. Always treating me yourself even though I come in with first, maybe second, year resident level cases. I know you have much more important things to be doing. Sitting me with Dana earlier after bringing me through here yourself and not making me wait outside like everybody else. Bumping me up on the CT list. Come on, Doctor Robby."

Maybe you did have it all figured out.

He stared at you for a moment. "You're right. I have done all of those things. But not out of pity."

You looked at him like he was lying. "What then?"

"I think... that there are some nice people in the world. And sometimes some not-nice things happen to them. And it's bad when these not-nice things happen to these nice people since they're the least deserving of all. I think you're one of those people. So, anything I can do to make your experience here in my ED even just a little less terrible... it's going to get done." He reached out and patted your hands where they were clenched together in your lap. "Okay?"

You nodded, ignoring the sting in your eyes. "Okay."

"Good. Now-" He stood up and walked over to the computer to put his orders in. "I won't send a nurse to give you 'pity company' as you called it. But I will come to check on you as much as I can once you get your CT done. And I'll also be the one who comes to tell you the results, yeah?"

"Yeah."

He nodded once before opening the door. "I'll get someone to come to take you upstairs."

And then Robby left in a flurry of deep breaths and swirling emotions that he hadn't allowed himself to feel in a long time.

True to his word, Robby bumped you to the top of the CT wait list and was also the one to tell you your results. Which were clear, just as he'd predicted. This just solidified the fact that you had another concussion to add to your list of never-ending injuries. Woo-fucking-hoo. But you were left no time to dwell on it too much as Robby made sure that you got placed in a bed next to a nice guy named Louie. He promised that the two of you would get along, and he was right. Louie was very easy to talk to and, from what you could understand, was also a regular at PTMC. Robby had been sneaky there, you noted, putting you with another regular. Robby also stuck to what he'd promised and came to check on you at every moment he could, even bringing you a sandwich and a juice box when he figured that you'd probably be hungry. He could never stay too long, one emergency or another always pulling him away after a few minutes. But you didn't mind. Mostly you were just thankful that he was dedicating any of his spare time to you.

You ignored the heat that crawled to the surface of your skin when Louie decided to make a comment on it. 

"It seems the good doctor has taken a liking to you."

After a few hours Robby cleared you to be discharged, warning you to come back immediately if the pain in your head suddenly got worse or if you started feeling dizzy or nauseous. He made sure to drill into you that calling for an ambulance would be a better idea than getting on the bus again. You assured him that you understood him loud and clear. No buses. Or driving. Certainly no driving.

And then your third visit to PTMC was over and Robby was left wondering when he'd seen you again next. There didn't seem to be a matter of 'if' anymore. He now believed your theory of bad luck and knew he'd be seeing you sometime in the future.

This time it only took one month, one week and one day.

The gurney crashed into the Pitt, wheels squeaking, as one of the paramedics pushing it called for some help. Robby asked to hear what the case was as he snapped on a pair of gloves and marched over, gesturing for McKay to follow him.

"Suspected food poisoning. Her roommate says she's been vomiting for four days and found her passed out in their kitchen about an hour ago."

Robby stopped still when he saw who was lying on the bed. You. Unconscious, trembling and covered in a thick layer of sweat. Not a good sign.

McKay also paused. "Hey, isn't that-"

"Yes." Robby cut her off. "Okay, I need fluids-"

The instructions continued to pour out of him, not even bothering to test his residents or students, as they got you wheeled into a trauma room. He ignored the twist of upset in his stomach at the sight of you, urging his doctor brain into gear to carry him through it. Which worked. Soon enough, you were hooked up to an IV and fluids were being pumped into you. Everybody worked around you quietly. Well, more quietly than usual. It wasn't exactly a secret that you'd been added to the list of the Pitt's regular patients. Or that Robby had taken a liking to you. If somebody didn't already know, it was obvious by the way Robby was looking at you now with clear worry in his eyes. 

The concern in everybody's minds was quickly wiped away when your eyes suddenly shot open, you lurched upwards in the bed and proceeded to projectile vomit.

All over the front of Robby's scrubs.

Then you passed out again, flopping back against the hospital bed.

"If she's been vomiting for four days, how does she still have anything in her?" Javadi asked timidly as she eyed the mess that Robby was coated in.

Nobody answered her as they all stared at Robby, waiting to see how he'd react.

He didn't take his eyes off of you as he spoke. "Keep working. I'll be back."

And then he left to go and change his scrubs. Luckily your spew of puke had managed to avoid his cargo pants and shoes, only hitting his scrub top. It hadn't even soaked through to the long sleeved shirt he was wearing underneath. That was something to be happy about. Decades in the ED meant that Robby had grown accustomed to the smell and sight of bodily fluids. He often found himself covered in blood, most days actually, and was occasionally sprayed with urine. Vomit was no different. The acidic smell of it barely penetrated his nose these days. That was one perk of his long career: no longer bothered by people throwing up. Hurrah. 

He was silent as he got changed, exchanging one scrub top for another and feeling somewhat sorry for the person who was going to have to deal with his soiled shirt. Truthfully, all he could focus on was getting back to see how you were doing. He'd told you before that he wanted you to get the best care possible. And how was he supposed to keep that promise if he wasn't there to oversee it getting done? He knew you were in very capable hands in his absence but the idea of not watching as every little step of treatment took place left an uneasy feeling in his stomach.

He also hadn't failed to notice that your roommate hadn't come with you to the hospital, despite being the one who had found you and called the ambulance. Robby couldn't stand the thought of you alone in there. Even if you were unconscious and surrounded by doctors and nurses. You wouldn't have a friend by your side. At least he could provide something of a friendly face for you.

Robby forced himself not to run back to the trauma room, maintaining a steady pace as he walked through the doors. "How's she looking?"

McKay was the one to answer him. "Heart rate and BP are stable. Think we're just looking at a case of severe dehydration here."

Robby nodded, letting out a long exhale. "Okay. Okay, good. We can deal with that."

So that was exactly what they did: deal with it. Everybody worked carefully, being extra cautious not to make any mistakes with Robby's watchful gaze on them. He clearly wasn't in the mood for any screw ups, and McKay and Javadi felt similarly. Though neither of them had treated you since that first incident, they both remembered how kind you had been. Kind and easygoing patients were hard to come by these days.

With no more signs of future vomiting, it didn't take too long before they all agreed that you were in a good enough place to be wheeled out of the trauma room and placed into a bay for rest and more fluids. 

The rest of Robby's shift ticked by at a mind-numbingly slow place and, before he knew it, it was time to clock out. He had periodically checked in on you for the few hours of his shift that you had been there, only to find you still unconscious every time. Which wasn't a bad sign. He just didn't feel good about it. He'd made the decision, about an hour before his shift ended, that he'd sit at your bedside for a while. Just to keep you company, even though you weren't awake. When Dana had figured out his plan, she had sent him a smile to suggest that she knew exactly what was going on in his head. Which was absurd since even Robby didn't entirely know what was going on in his head.

Dana hadn't even tried to discourage him from the idea. She only reminded him that he had a day off tomorrow and that, if you woke up anytime soon, you'd probably appreciate the sight of a familiar face. Something about her approval solidified the plan in Robby's head. If Dana thought it was a good idea then it was probably a good idea.

So once he'd handed over to the night shift and collected his bag from his locker, Robby situated himself on a chair next to your bedside. 

When you awoke a few hours later, you were surprised to find yourself not at home. You squinted, trying to adjust to the light. Where were you? One quick glance around told you exactly where. Somehow back in the emergency room. Damn, what had happened this time? You looked to the side, shocked to find a slumped figure in the chair next to your bedside. Who the hell was that? You didn't have anybody to sit at your bedside when you were in the hospital. A couple of blinks to send away the blur in your eyes revealed exactly who it was. Doctor Robby. Asleep.

"What the hell?" You blurted, ignoring the burn in your throat, taking in the sight of the bag tucked between his legs and the way his hoodie was zippered right to the top. His features were a lot softer when he was asleep, you noticed.

The sound of your voice stirred him. And you watched as his relaxed expression immediately hardened again as soon as he was conscious. Wow. Just being awake made him stressed. 

His eyes quickly landed on you and he sat forward in his chair, a sleepy smile curling the edges of his mouth. "Hey, you're awake."

You blinked at him. "What time is it?"

"Uh-" He checked his watch. "Just after one."

"In the morning?!" You screeched, heart fluttering in your chest in panic.

"Yes. Why? Is that a problem?" He looked at you concerned. Surely you didn't have anywhere to be in the middle of the night.

"Why are you here?" You snapped, frowning deeply. "Your shift must've ended hours ago."

"Hey, hey." He reached out a hand to settle you, letting it rest on your forearm. "It's okay."

"It is very much not okay, Doctor Robinavitch. I think this goes a tad beyond the special treatment you usually give me." You scoffed but placed your hand over his anyway. "I mean, what are you doing here?"

His thumb rubbed gentle circles into the skin of your arm. "I figured it'd be confusing if you woke up here with no recollection of what happened. Thought you could do with seeing someone you recognised."

Ugh, here he went again with saying something nice that had you tearing up.

"Oh. Well." You sniffed. "Thank you then."

He nodded once. "You're welcome."

"What did happen?"

"Your roommate said you were passed out in the kitchen after vomiting for four days. Said something about food poisoning."

Recognition dawned on your face. "A new diner opened up a couple blocks from my apartment. I wouldn't recommend it."

"Yeah, probably best not to." He laughed softly at your attempt to lighten the conversation. "You came in here dehydrated. Trembling, sweating-"

"Wow, how attractive." You groaned. "Tell me, did I look better or worse than when I had that big lump on my head?"

"About the same." Robby offered. "Until you vomited all over me."

Your eyes widened. "You're joking."

"Sadly not."

"Oh, for the love of-" You cut yourself off as you buried your face in your hands. 

Robby chuckled. "It's okay."

"No, it's not." You sounded genuinely distraught. "You should've just let me die."

"Not funny."

"I'm not kidding. Death would be more enjoyable than the embarrassment of knowing that I barfed all over you. God, I'm so sorry."

"Like I said, it's okay." He let his hand rest on the bed next to you, to show that he was there, really there, if you needed him.

You suddenly looked at him, an openness in your eyes that he'd never seen before. And then you said something that floored him.

"Thank you for always taking such good care of me."

It wasn't anything that Robby hadn't heard before. People thanked him all the time for his care. But there was something about the way you said it, that implied you were thanking him for more than his medical treatment. Which he guessed was true. He knew he treated you differently to his other patients, he'd pretty much confessed as much the last time he'd seen you. He just wondered whether you were able to see how deeply it ran for him.

"You're very welcome."

Robby didn't pull away when you reached out and grasped his hand tightly in yours. He didn't move when the curtain suddenly snapped open and Shen was standing there with an iPad in one hand and an iced coffee in the other. Robby didn't even flinch when Shen's eyes shot to your intertwined hands and he slurped on his coffee in amusement. In fact, he sent Shen a glare practically daring him to utter a word about it. Shen stayed silent though Robby knew it was only a matter of time before he went to blab about it with the next person he saw.

"Doctor Shen!" You chimed, voice croaky but cheerful. "Still loving those iced coffees I see."

Shen smiled and pointed at you. "I removed your stitches. In your foot."

"That's me." You grinned, looking at Robby. "Look at me, I'm memorable."

You certainly were, Robby thought.

Shen was hasty as he checked over you, very aware of how closely Robby was watching him. He didn't do much other than check your vitals. He knew you were fine. Because if you weren't then Robby wouldn't have been sitting silently at your side.

Once he was done, he stood at the end of your bed. "Looks good to me. I'll be back later to check on you again."

"Thanks." You sounded seriously appreciative.

Shen turned to Robby. "Think about heading home. Or I'll send Abbot after you."

"Yeah, yeah." Robby waved him off and was glad to see him go when the curtain snapped closed again.

"Who's Abbot?" You asked, wondering when you'd developed the audacity to ask questions. "Wait, that's none of my business."

He shook his head. "No, it's okay. Abbot's the other night shift attending."

"Right..." You trailed off, predicting that there was something more.

"He's also an old friend."

"Ah, there we go." You nodded in understanding. "And as your friend he's going to be concerned that you're sat here at one in the morning after a long shift rather than being at home asleep."

"Actually, I think he'd be happy that I'm doing something with my spare time."

You snorted. "Oh, so I'm like a hobby. Great."

"That's not what I meant." He squeezed your hand gently. "I wouldn't be at home asleep right now if I knew you'd be here, waking up alone."

Words like that made you long for a connection with another human being that you hadn't had in a very long time.

"Careful now, Doctor Robby. I might start thinking you like me or something." Your voice was shaky as you said it. "Thank you for being here."

"You don't need to thank me every time."

You shrugged. "How many pumps of syrup are we betting on Doctor Shen having in his coffee tonight?"

Robby laughed, forgetting he'd ever even told you that. "Three butter pecan and four white chocolate."

Your nose scrunched. "I'm saying six vanilla and two caramel."

"That sounds very sweet." Robby's stomach rolled at the mere thought of it, he was much more of a black coffee man.

"Don't knock it 'til you try it." You hummed, eyelids growing heavy again. 

He watched you struggle to keep your eyes open for a moment. "Go back to sleep. Your body's exhausted."

"I'll go to sleep if you promise to go home." You rubbed at your face. "I'm sure I'll still be here in the morning when you come back."

"I'm off tomorrow."

"Oh." You lowered your eyes in embarrassment. Why had you just assumed he'd be back?

"But I can come back to visit you."

"Nope, absolutely not." You shook your head rapidly. "It's your day off. How fucking sad would it be if you spent your day off here, in your workplace?"

"I wouldn't be working."

"Not the point. Go do something fun with your day. What do you do for fun? Rock climbing or something?"

"Rock climbing...?" Robby repeated slowly. "Do I look like I rock climb to you?"

"I don't know, it was the first thing that I came up with." You huffed, shoulders slumping.

"You're a curious thing." He murmured lowly before standing up. "Okay, fine. I will go home now and do something fun with my day tomorrow."

"Promise?"

He nodded once. Firmly. "Promise."

"Great!" Your voice was still chipper despite your tired state. "Thank you again for keeping me alive and for keeping me company now. I'll see you next time I get injured."

He chuckled. "Sure. Try not to get food poisoning again please."

"I'll try." You yawned. "Bye, Doctor Robby."

"Goodnight." He watched you for a moment as you settled back into the bed and closed your eyes, only a few seconds passing before you were breathing rhythmically. You were asleep. He left the bay quietly and walked out of the ED, avoiding eye contact with every person who sent him a quizzical look. Robby went to bed that night satisfied that you were going to be okay and with his soul resting a little lighter than usual.

True to your word, you were back in the ED only a short while later. Three weeks and five days to be exact. It was a sprained wrist this time.

You'd been waiting for around forty minutes when your name was called. You frowned to yourself before walking over to the sign-in desk. You leaned in closer to the glass and sent the lady behind the desk a confused look.

"Um, you just called my name. But it must be a mistake. I've been here less than an hour."

She looked at you and shrugged. "They've called you back there, hon. I just send you through."

She hit a button and the doors buzzed.

"Head on through the doors."

"Okay, thank you." You said quickly before rushing for the doors so she didn't have to keep her hand on the button.

It shouldn't have been surprising when you made your way through the doors and found your favourite doctor on the other side. Robby stood there with his arms folded across his chest and an unimpressed look on his face.

"Hi, Doctor Robby." You said, shyly.

His usual frown deepened. "Don't 'hi' me. It's been less than a month."

"Are you saying you're not happy to see me?"

His eyes flicked to the way you were cradling your hand against your chest. "What happened?"

You puffed out a breath. "Carpet's loose in my office. Tripped. Fell. Kablam."

"Kablam?" He somehow looked more displeased.

"Okay, I admit that's a weak onomatopoeia but my wrist hurts and I'm cranky."

"You're cranky? Miss Sunshine is cranky? The world must be ending." He threw his hands up in the air incredulously. 

You scoffed. "Who got your panties in a twist?"

Robby pressed his lips into a thin line before turning around and gesturing for you to follow him. You knew he was never pleased to see you, the circumstances were always unfortunate obviously, but he seemed more annoyed than usual. So you followed him quietly to an exam room, holding your hand tightly to your chest. It really fucking hurt and you were pissed about the circumstances in which it had happened. Among other things.

Robby continued to say nothing as you got to the room, just silently gestured for you to sit on the edge of the bed as he closed the door. But it was killing you. So you snapped.

"Okay, why are you mad at me? I only just got here."

His eyes met yours, a flash of anger crossing them. "Three weeks. It's been three fucking weeks since you were last here."

"Three weeks and five days actually. Which, when you think about it, is basically four weeks. Which is a month."

"That's not the point." He held out a hand to make you quiet.

But you carried on. "Next time I get injured I'll make sure to head to Presbyterian. I'm so sorry to be a burden on you. Not like you're a doctor or anything. Oh, wait-"

"Stop. Stop." He took four sharp steps towards you. "Enough."

Your mouth snapped shut, though the look you gave him said a lot - you weren't happy.

"I'm not mad at you."

"Could've fooled me." You mumbled, ignoring the frustrated glare that Robby sent you.

"I'm mad that you're somehow injured again."

"It's not like it's my fault. Bad luck, Doctor Robinavitch. How many times do I have to tell you?" You sighed. "And this definitely wasn't my fault. I have been complaining about that loose carpet in my office for months - months - saying it was a safety hazard. And today I went and proved it!"

The way Robby looked at you continued to be bored. "Sue your office."

"Believe me, I plan on it." You sent him a small smile. "I was planning on at least a three month gap before my next visit here too, y'know?"

That got a half-hearted laugh out of him. "Three months, huh?"

"The universe had other plans." You shrugged.

He nodded, poking his tongue against the inside of his cheek. "Show me your arm."

You held it out for him to look, holding it up with your other hand. Robby took a quick glance at it, pressed lightly against your skin and apologised lowly when you winced.

Feeling bad for being angry at you, Robby attempted to break the ice. "So why are you cranky?"

You blinked at him slowly a couple of times. "Other than the injured wrist? My roommate moved out."

He didn't expect that. "Oh."

"Yeah, apparently it was too much finding me halfway to death on our kitchen floor." You sounded defeated. "It's fine. Whole apartment to myself again. Yay."

"I'm sorry." He sighed and stopped looking at your wrist. "Looks like a sprain."

"Great." Your voice was totally flat, almost completely devoid of emotion.

It made Robby uneasy seeing you like this. He'd never known you to be anything less than sunshine personified. Other than that time you'd been unconscious obviously.

"I'll get someone to put a splint on you and then you can be discharged."

A flicker of surprise crossed your features, confused that Robby wasn't doing it himself. But it passed quickly and you were nodding.

"Okay. Thanks."

He nodded, ignored the ache in his chest, and left the room. He didn't see you again before you left, choosing to avoid you in favour of other, more serious, cases.

Regret situated itself right behind Robby's sternum and lived there for five months before it finally went away. He finally managed to let go of the regret when he realised how long it had been since you last visited. He wondered whether you hadn't been injured that whole time or if you had done what you said you would and chosen to go to Presbyterian instead. Either way, it shouldn't have mattered to him. It definitely didn't matter to him. Not at all.

That all changed two weeks and six days after he finally let the regret go.

"MVA incoming. Seven minutes." Dana told Robby one afternoon after getting a phone call.

"Bad?" He asked, prepping himself by pulling on a pair of gloves.

She shrugged. "They didn't say."

The seven minutes moved quickly as he waited on the paramedics to come through the doors.

One gurney rolled through the entrance. "Broken nose and lacerations to the legs and arms."

Robby looked down at the guy on the gurney, seeing that he was still conscious. But before he could say anything more, the medic kept talking.

"We've got a second victim coming in. She's critical."

Robby raised an eyebrow and gestured for them to wheel the gurney through to a bay, this guy wasn't serious. "What happened?"

The medic looked down at the guy with the broken nose. "He ran a red light and T-boned another car. Driver's side."

Before he could say anymore, a second gurney flew into the ED. The person on the stretcher was unconscious and covered in blood, wounds covering them head to toe. But despite all of that, Robby recognised you instantly.

A ringing started in his ears. Vision blurred at the edges. 

It took four seconds too long for his doctor brain to kick in. But once it started, he was unstoppable.

Every medical professional in trauma room one worked together like a well-oiled machine that afternoon, all of them eager to keep you alive. None of them wanted to experience what Robby would have been like if they lost you. 

Major blood loss.

Crushed left leg.

Severe lacerations.

Internal bleeding.

Broken ribs.

Punctured lung.

Ruptured spleen.

Head trauma.

Despite all of that, they pulled off the seemingly impossible and kept you stable enough to be sent up to the OR. Everybody thought it best not to argue with Robby when he insisted on going up with you. The entirety of your time in surgery was a haze for Robby. He just stood and watched but he wouldn't have been able to recount anything that was done. His eyes just flickered between your face and your vitals.

After that, every spare moment of his time was spent at your bedside in the ICU. That guilt he'd finally managed to let go of returned. But this time, it was worse. If you died, he wouldn't ever be able to forgive himself for how he'd acted the last time you had seen each other.

It took three days for you to wake up. Three of the most painful days of Michael Robinavitch's life.

He was down in the ED when he got the call.

"She's awake."

That was all he needed before he got in the elevator to head up to the ICU. The elevator moved too slowly for his taste, and about halfway to the ICU floor he started wishing he had just taken the stairs instead.

The nurse sat at the desk at the entrance to the ICU didn't even have to ask him why he was there. Everybody in the unit knew exactly why. 

He sent Robby a smile. "She's a fighter."

"Yes, she is." Robby didn't stop his fast stride as he made his way to your bed. He didn't even bother announcing his presence as he wrenched the curtain open.

You looked at him immediately, eyes red. Maybe from crying, maybe from exhaustion, maybe both. Your left leg was wrapped up in a cast and the rest of your body was covered in scrapes and cuts. You were hooked up to several machines monitoring you as well as an IV. You looked like shit. Robby had never been happier to see you.

"Hi." He closed the curtain behind him and sat in the chair next to you, careful not to move too quickly. As if he might spook you.

You watched him move, not speaking until he was settled. "Hi."

"How are you feeling?"

Your nose scrunched. "How do you think I'm feeling?"

Robby shook his head. "Yeah, I'm sorry, that was a stupid question."

You said nothing for a moment. "They told me that I should thank you. That you and the rest of the emergency department brought me back from the brink of death."

Robby wanted to be humble and deny it. But it was true. He was sure the combined willpower of everybody in that trauma room was the only reason you had lived.

"You were..." He trailed off, paused, started again. "Your condition was bad. We stabilised you enough for surgery."

You nodded slowly. "Right. Thank you."

"How much do you remember? Of the accident, I mean?"

"Some of it. I think I got knocked out on impact. But I remember paramedics and firefighters talking to me. I remember the inside of the ambulance. But nothing after that." You inhaled sharply. "What happened to the guy who hit me?"

Robby didn't want to tell you. He didn't want you to know that the guy who had almost killed you was absolutely fine. But he knew he couldn't lie to you. "Broken nose. But other than that, not much else."

You laughed shakily, tears brimming your eyes. "Wow, the universe really does hate me."

"Don't say that."

"Why? It's true."

How was Robby supposed to argue with you? He'd seen it himself over the last few months. Maybe the universe really did hate you with the amount of injuries you got that were completely out of your control. He couldn't argue with you. So he just reached out and took your hand, and sat with you in companionable silence for a while.

Your time in the ICU was unpleasant. People were constantly running to your bedside and fawning over you at every irregular beep of one of the monitors attached to you. Robby visited you as much as he could, but neither of you ever said much. He wasn't much of a talker and you'd lost that spark you'd had every time you had seen him previously. He didn't like it. He wasn't sure whether it had been lost in the crash or if it was gone the last time he saw you. Robby got so worried about you that he even spoke to Caleb to see if he could get someone from psych to see you. 

But one day, when Robby went to visit you, he found you gone. This time he had been dead set on pulling a conversation out of you. But when he got to the ICU, he was informed by the nurse at the desk that you had been discharged an hour previously.

"Oh." Robby said, feeling his heart crumbling in his chest. "Okay, thanks for telling me."

And then he left, and ignored the hurt he felt at you leaving without saying goodbye.

Seven months went by without you visiting PTMC. Robby figured that you had found another hospital to frequent. He tried to move on. But he found it more difficult than he thought he would. He hated leaving things unfinished. And everything with you was unfinished.

The last place Robby expected to see you was his favourite second hand bookstore on his day off.

He rounded one of the stacks, a battered copy of Catch-22 grasped in his hands, and stopped. There you were. Browsing the sci-fi section. You looked better. Not a sign of your tragic car accident on you and some of that spark back in you. He debated his options. Did he say hello and freak you out? Or did he turn around and leave like he'd never seen you?

He didn't get the opportunity to decide. Suddenly you turned and looked at him, like you'd sensed his eyes on you. You lit up, a bright smile breaking over your face and bathing Robby in that sunshine feeling he got whenever you looked at him like that.

You abandoned your perusing of books and walked toward him. "Doctor Robby, hi!"

"Hi." He replied, wondering what the fuck he was supposed to say now.

"How are you? It's been so long."

Seven months, he thought. Seven long fucking months.

"I'm good. How are you? Any more injuries?" His gaze flickered over you like he was checking.

"Nothing serious recently. Only a few minor bumps and bruises." You grinned. "I'm sure it'll only be a matter of time before I'm back in your emergency room."

A weird sense of relief rushed through Robby. Both at the knowledge that you hadn't gotten hurt recently and also that you hadn't chosen to start going to another hospital over his.

"That's good. I'm happy to hear it." He paused. "You seem... more yourself."

"Yeah..." You lowered your eyes sheepishly. "I'm sorry about how miserable I was the last time you saw me. I think the accident got to me a little."

"You don't-" He huffed a laugh. "You don't have to apologise for not being happy after being in a car accident."

"Yeah, but you're so nice to me. Always taking care of me when you don't have to and sitting at my bedside. And then I left without even saying goodbye. I'm sorry about that. I felt like a burden."

A burden? That's what you thought of yourself?

It was then at that moment that Robby decided he needed to show you that everything he did for you was so much more than him just being a good doctor.

Come on, Robinavitch. Don't be a coward.

It wasn't like he was asking you out in the middle of the ED. No, this was fine.

He blurted out the question before he could convince himself not to. "Would you like to get a drink with me sometime? Or dinner maybe?"

You stared at him for a moment, like you were waiting for him to say more. A punchline maybe. Then you pointed at yourself. "Me?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, you."

"Oh!" You smiled, bright as always. "Yes. Yes, I would love to."

"Great." He smiled back at you, not as bright but as bright as he could manage.

"Are you sure though? I've been told that my bad luck rubs off on people." Your tone was joking, but Robby could sense an underlying genuineness there.

"That's a risk I'm willing to take."

"Even after I vomited on you?"

"Yes, even after you vomited on me."

"Wow... you must really like me, Doctor Robby." You swayed from side to side, a playful smile on your lips.

"You can drop the 'Doctor'. Just 'Robby' is fine." He insisted. "Also you don't know the half of it."

You brightened exponentially at that. Perhaps your luck was finally changing.

"Robby's supposed to be here any minute." You whined as he pounded you into his couch, a sick smile on his face.

"I know." He smirked down at you, not giving up his ruthless pace. "And he's got a key."

As much as you claimed that you weren't thrilled at the concept of your boyfriend's best friend walking in on you getting railed, you couldn't help the moan that slipped out at the the thought of Robby stood in the doorway watching as Jack made you orgasm over and over again. You liked Robby. Jack knew that and loved to tease you about it. It was impossible to keep count of how many times Jack had taunted you with the idea of letting Robby have you for a night.

"Come on, sweetheart. I know you've got another one for me before Robby shows up."

As weak as you felt, you had already been going at it for a while, you still nodded for him. Always so eager to please your boyfriend. Jack's thumb circled your clit mercilessly, helping to build up another orgasm. It grew quickly, threatening to break at any moment. You garbled out an incoherent sentence, something about being close. It was close. So close, close, clo-

The scraping sound of a key in a lock.

Jack's face lit up like the Fourth of July. You panicked. The both of you looked towards where his apartment's front door was opening.

Robby walked in, eyes cast down on a six-pack of beer he was holding, about to throw out a greeting to the two of you when he finally looked up. His eyes widened momentarily, the door swinging shut behind him.

Jack didn't stop.

You didn't want him to.

Nobody said anything for a moment as Robby's eyes flickered between the two of you. You were glad that neither you nor Jack had actually removed any clothes for this - he loved a quickie.

Robby cleared his throat and smiled. "Looks like I'm interrupting something."

There were lots of things that Jack had expected if the day ever finally came where Robby caught the two of you. Surprise. Maybe a bit of disgust. Embarrassment. Anything that had Robby feeling flustered. As much as Jack didn't want his friend to be uncomfortable, the fantasy left him too excited to really care.

What Jack didn't expect was a clear flare of interest from Robby. He saw it in his eyes, the way his pupils dilated. He saw it in the way he started breathing more heavily. He saw it in the way Robby's eyes were fixated on you. Hmm, maybe Jack's best friend liked his girlfriend as much as his girlfriend liked his best friend... There was only one solution.

"I've been trying to get her to come again." Jack rasped to Robby. "Want to help?"

There was only a moment of hesitation as Robby's eyes flicked towards Jack, trying to see if he was offering a genuine scenario, before the beers were forgotten on the floor and he was marching over to where you were writhing on the couch.

Almost everyone in the ED either screamed, ducked, ran, or did all of the above. But you, and a few others, watched as a patient ran through the hallways with a plastic butter knife in his hand. Still dangerous, but not as dangerous as previously suspected.

You turned to your attending physician as the guy flew past you. "What do we think the odds are of him trying to stab someone with that thing?"

Robby looked at you and sighed. "I'd rather not find out."

"Where's Ahmad?" You glanced around but caught no sign of the security guard. This wasn't really what any of you needed after a long shift. But before you could dwell on it anymore, there was another shout.

"He's circling back around!"

Your eyes landed on the patient as he came sailing around the corner and toward the central hub where you and Robby were stood. Nothing really crossed your mind as you eased yourself in the direction of the gap in the desk where people would come and go. Not much thought went into it as the patient intersected with you and you launched yourself at him, knocking him to the ground. Your brain just kind of stayed serenely blank throughout the ordeal. It wasn't until you were sat atop him, slapping the plastic butter knife from his hand and restraining his arms behind his back that you even considered what you had just done.

You glanced up at Robby standing behind where you were collapsed on the floor, finding him disappointed with his mouth agape, and smiled at him. "Find Ahmad perhaps. Or anybody."

He frowned, sent a fleeting look at the patient flailing around on the floor beneath you, and then snapped at one of the nurses to go and find security. "And someone get midazolam."

The patient wriggled underneath you and you hoped the midazolam would come quickly. You could feel Robby's disapproving glare on you, so you looked up at him and gave him a sheepish grin. "What's up, doc?"

His arms were folded tight across his chest. "That was reckless."

"But brave." You countered.

"It was stupid."

"But so courageous."

He huffed. "You could've been hurt."

"But I wasn't!" You raised a finger to point at him. "And that's what matters."

Robby looked down at you like he regretted the day you first walked into his ED. "Think of the incident report."

"Add it to the list of paperwork I already need to do." You shrugged, sending a quick look to the patient still on the floor beneath you. "Hold on, buddy. We're getting you some help."

When you looked back at Robby, you found that his shoulders had slumped and his face had softened.

"You okay, kid?"

You nodded. "Never better."

"The video's gone viral."

You looked sideways across the desk at the student doctor who had just sat down next to you and frowned. "Victoria, you're going to have to elaborate if you want me to know what you're talking about."

Her eyes widened momentarily, like she suddenly realised that what she had said made no sense. "Oh, right. Well, I kind of made a video of you tackling that patient from two weeks ago."

"You what?" You shrieked, spinning your chair to face her head on. 

"I just wanted to make something informative about the risks healthcare workers experience! Especially the dangers here in the ED." She looked down in embarrassment. "And the guy was being erratic. I wanted evidence in case anything went sideways. You remember when Emma got attacked and we had no evidence?"

Of course you remembered that. Her words cushioned something in you and you sent her a small smile. "You're doing a good thing, Victoria."

"You think so?" She glanced up at you again, eyes all big.

"Ah! Stop." You covered her face with your hand. "You know my weakness is the brown eyes. Stop with the brown eyes."

She giggled and gently smacked your hand away. 

You kicked her leg softly in jest. "Can we go back to this video apparently going viral though? That I'm concerned about."

"Right. Yeah." She sighed and side-eyed you. "People are kind of obsessed with you. The internet is calling you 'Doctor Badass' because they think you being brave enough to tackle a guy with a weapon is badass."

"It was a plastic knife he took from the cafeteria." You rolled your eyes. Realistically, you knew it could have done some real damage if he'd tried. But he hadn't tried. So it was okay. 

"They still think you're brave. And hot." She beamed. "Very hot."

"Oh, god." You turned away from her and buried your face in your hands before a thought occurred to you and you shot up again. "How many views are we talking when you say it's gone viral?"

She hesitated. "A few million."

"A few mi-" Your jaw dropped and you slapped the desk. "Victoria!"

"What?"

"Why didn't you tell me sooner? And how come this hasn't hit the group chat yet?" That was really puzzling you. Your work group chat was very active. With most of the day shift, including Robby and Dana, being part of it. 

Victoria bit her lip. "That's why I'm telling you. Princess just mentioned it to me and said she's going to share it. So expect a notification at any second."

Ping!

"Wow, right on cue." You huffed as you slipped your phone from the pocket of your scrubs.

Pitt(bull): Princess shared a link.

You clicked on the notification, which opened up the group chat and greeted you with the group's icon picture of the rapper Pitbull. You weren't entirely sure who had come up with the name of the chat, but whoever it was deserved praise. It always brought a smile to your face.

Princess: We have another celebrity in the ED. Welcome, Dr. Badass!

One tap of the link had the TikTok video playing. It started with the clip of you tackling the patient, lingering on you and Robby talking afterwards, and then cut to a short snippet of Victoria explaining how dangerous it could be working in emergency medicine and just medicine in general. She'd done a good job with it, had even blurred out the face of the guy you had knocked to the floor. You looked at the likes. Over two million, nearing three million. Then you opened the comments.

MaddieBaddie8463: zero hesitation from her what a badass !!

ToeSucker69: She's hot. WHO IS SHE????

AlexLikesPokemon: Dr. J and Dr. Badass in one hospital? Oh I know where I'm going next time I'm sick

JordanPeeleFan98: Dr. J get her to do a vid with you!!

user8359348673: who is the dilf she's talking to at the end

You closed the link and looked at the group chat again. People were already reacting to Princess's message. You sighed, debated whether you should say anything and settled on one thing.

You: I promise I'll remember you guys when I'm rich and famous and hanging out with Lady Gaga.

Then you tucked your phone back into your pocket and levelled Victoria with a flat look.

She hunched her shoulders. "Are you mad at me?"

"No." You shook your head and she relaxed.

"Okay, good. Because I was hoping-"

You cut her off. "I'm not doing a video with you."

She gasped. "How do you know that's what I was going to say?"

Another flat look. "Because I know you very well." 

"But have you considered what good it would do if we made a video together?" She waved her hands around as she explained. "The two of us bringing awareness to the aggression and violence that healthcare workers face on a daily basis. Or we could answer people's medical questions together. Two opinions are better than one. Also people want to know more about you. And what it was like dealing with that patient."

You said nothing.

Victoria brought out the big eyes again. "Please."

You scoffed but relented. "Fine."

She perked up. "Really?"

"Yes. But not today." You swallowed. "I need to prep myself more for this if I'm going to be on camera."

"Yay!" She cheered and threw her arms around you. A tired laugh escaped you as you hugged her back. Maybe it would be a good thing.

A voice interrupted your embrace. "This doesn't look like charting."

You and Victoria jerked away from each other to find Robby looming over you both, sending you a disapproving look. 

So you lied. "Javadi was helping me."

"Uh huh." His eyes flickered between you both before settling on Victoria. "McKay is looking for you. Said you were supposed to bring her a catheter ten minutes ago."

She suddenly shot up out of her chair. "Oops."

And then she ran off.

Robby's eyes landed on you again. Not happy. "You're supposed to help assist the students. Not distract them."

You sent him a grin. "I was just teaching Javadi the beautiful art of charting, Doctor Robinavitch."

"Don't test my patience, kid." He said sharply but then sat down in the chair previously occupied by Victoria. "How you doing?"

"Um, fine." You looked at him sideways. Odd question for him to ask. "Why?

He shrugged. "Just wanted to check in. We haven't spoken about what happened two weeks ago since it happened."

"Oh. Uh-" You thought about it. You were fine really. And you were surprised that Robby was even asking. "I'm good. Great, even."

He didn't look like he believed you.

"I tackled him. So there's nothing for you to worry about." You suddenly panicked. "Not that I think you're worrying about me. Just that you shouldn't."

He smiled wryly. "He called you a bitch."

Well, there was that. "He was heavily sedated and agitated. I'd probably call someone who tackled me a bitch too."

Robby sighed and rubbed his face. "You can be understanding without excusing his behaviour."

"Wise words, doc. I'll keep that in mind." You glanced down at your keyboard, hoping he was done. When he didn't move, you realised he wasn't. "Anything else?"

"We're not done with this conversation yet."

"What else is there to say?"

He looked at you bemused for a moment. "I'm waiting for you to admit that what happened was tough."

You laughed. "Robby, I experience abuse from patients every single day. This one guy, who happened to be a little more active than the others, was no more significant to me than every other guy who has ever called me a bitch."

He grimaced and slid his chair closer to yours. "Still."

"No, there's nothing else to say. I'm fine. The patient was fine. End of story."

"But-"

"I tackled him. Not the other way around." You sighed and turned back to the computer in front of you. "I appreciate your concern. But really, I'm fine."

Robby stayed quiet for a moment, regarding the side of your face closely. When you showed no indication of discussing the matter any further, he stood up. "Okay, kid. You know where I am if you want to talk."

"Got it, boss." You sent him a little mock salute.

He chuckled lowly and walked off. You were thankful to be out of that conversation because, really, you were fine. You hadn't been lying when you said that you experienced aggression from patients all the time. Hell, you'd had a guy earlier that day call you a slut because you refused to give him your number. It was a regular thing. Maybe making that video with Victoria was a good idea...

Video transcript for 'Q&A with Dr. J and Dr. Badass!'

Video description: Two women sit next to each other on a hospital bed. Behind them a curtain is drawn closed. Faint noises can be heard in the background. Low chatter, beeping monitors, footsteps. The first woman has a ponytail and is wearing scrubs and a lavender hoodie. The other woman is also wearing scrubs with a dark long-sleeved top underneath. They smile at the camera.

Woman 1: Hello and welcome back to another video with Doctor J. Today I am here with my good friend and colleague who you may all know best as the viral Dr. Badass.

The second woman waves at the camera.

Woman 2: Hi.

Woman 1: Can you tell the audience what we'll be doing today, Dr. Badass?

Woman 2: Oh, um, we're answering some of your burning questions today.

Woman 1: That's right. Over the last few days I've had you guys submit some of the questions you really want answers to. I've got a list of them right here. Are we ready to begin?

Woman 2: Uh, yes, sure.

The video cuts.

Woman 1: Okay, question one is 'Can you tell us about that guy you tackled?'

Woman 2: Yeah, sometimes we get patients in here that can be a little aggressive or agitated. So it takes a little more work to get them settled into a bed or room. Usually we sedate them to calm them down so we can get to treating them for whatever their ailment might be.

Woman 1: Like I've said before, working in the emergency department can be dangerous. But we're well-equipped to deal with these situations and normally get a good handle on them before they escalate too far.

The video cuts.

Woman 1: Question two is 'Can you tell us about yourself, Dr. Badass?'

Woman 2: Sure. I'm a second year resident here. I started my first year of residency here at the same time Dr. J started her first rotation. I'm hoping to one day lead my own emergency department as an attending physician and then eventually a chief attending.

Woman 1: Why did you choose emergency medicine?

Woman 2: I like being able to help people in their worst moments. We get a lot of patients who come in very panicked because they don't know what's wrong with them. I like being the person who gets them the help that they need. I also considered being a paramedic for that same reason too.

Woman 1: You're very admirable, Dr. Badass. A real inspiration.

Woman 2: Yeah, yeah. Next question.

Woman 1: Oh, this is a good one. It says 'Dr. Badass, are you single?'

Woman 2: This doesn't seem like a medical question.

Woman 1: But the people want to know.

Silence for a few beats.

Woman 2: I am single.

Woman 1: But she's totally saving herself for this other doctor. Doctor R-

Woman 2: Victoria!

The video cuts.

Woman 1: 'How do you spend your free time outside of the ER?' I like to take classes and learn new skills. Last week I went to a pottery class. But aside from that, I study.

Woman 2: Studying is good. You're on the right track to being an excellent doctor.

Woman 1: Thank you. What about you? What do you do in your free time?

Woman 2: Oh, um. I like live music.

Woman 1: What kind of live music?

Woman 2: Oh, anything. Rock, metal, pop, classical. If it's live, I'll listen to it.

The video cuts.

Woman 1: 'What should I do if it burns when I pee?'

Woman 2: See a doctor. A burning sensation when you urinate can be a sign of an infection. Whether that be a urinary tract infection or a sexually transmitted one. Go and see a doctor.

Woman 1: Sage advice.

The video cuts.

Woman 1: 'What are the best and worst parts of working in the ER?'

Woman 2: The best parts are how rewarding it can be. Saving lives is a very satisfying feeling. The worst part is the opposite of that. It's very difficult when you lose a patient. Always.

Woman 1: I would have to agree.

The video cuts.

Woman 1: 'How much workplace drama is there?' So much!

Woman 2: I concur. So much drama.

Woman 1: 'Any hotties?' Other than this hottie right here? I can neither confirm nor deny.

Woman 2: Ugh, stop.

The video cuts.

Woman 1: 'If you had to go into any other area of medicine, what wou-'

She is interrupted by the curtain behind them sliding open. A man appears. He is tall, middle-aged and wearing a blue hoodie over scrubs. It is silent for a moment as the three of them gape at each other.

Man: What's going on here?

The video cuts.

The man is gone, the curtain is closed and just the two women remain.

Woman 1: Join us for part two!

The video ends.

That video also decided to go viral, much to Victoria's delight.

"My views are through the roof!" She squealed to you, rushing alongside you as you walked through the ED. "I mean, people are just loving it. People love you."

"Uh huh." You replied absently. You didn't care too much for the attention on you. At least it was mostly keeping itself online. It had only been your coworkers who had brought it up to you so far, no patients. 

"And do you know what else they really love?" She was squirming in excitement.

"I don't know, Victoria. But I'm sure you're going to tell me."

"They love you and Robby."

You stopped suddenly, shoes squeaking on the floor. You turned to her. "What?"

She grinned at you, eyes sparkling. "Oh, yeah. People are totally shipping you and him."

"Shipping?" You croaked. "Can you even ship real people?"

She rolled her eyes at you. "Duh. Have you ever spent two seconds on the internet?"

You grabbed her arm and dragged her into the nearest supply closet, slamming the door closed behind the two of you. "This is bad."

"Why is it bad?" She huffed, adjusting the hoodie she was wearing where you wrinkled it as you took her arm. "I thought you'd be happy about this. I mean, you do have a huge crush on the guy."

"A secret crush. Remember? Secret." You thunked your head against the wall in frustration, eyes shut tight. "What if somebody tells him that people are shipping us on the internet?"

Victoria gently eased you away from the wall. "I think he's too much of a dinosaur to know what it means. And it's just people talking. It's not like it means anything. I'm the only one who knows you like him, right?"

You sighed and nodded. "Right."

"So there's no problem!" She grinned and opened the door. "Now let's stop freaking out in the supply closet. You're Dr. Badass. Dr. Badass does not freak out in supply closets."

You followed her back out into the rush of the emergency department. You looked around. Nobody was suddenly looking at you like they knew what the internet was suddenly saying about you and Robby. Your panic subsided. The day kept going.

That panic returned a week later in the break room.

You were brewing a new pot of coffee when Robby walked in.

You glanced over your shoulder at the sound of footsteps, smiling at the sight of him. "Hey, doc. How's it going?"

"Slow day." He replied, joining you by the coffee pot.

"That doesn't really answer my question but alright." You shrugged and pulled two paper cups from the stack. 

He leaned against the counter. "Would you rather me tell you about the rectal exam I just did?"

You snorted and poured out two cups of coffee. "Actually, Robby, I'd love for you to one day say to me 'Kid, I'm doing fantastic. Life feels like rainbows and fireworks and a cool breeze on a hot day. I'm giving you a raise' or, y'know, something along those lines."

He smiled at the sound of you attempting to mimic his voice. "If you want a raise, then I am the wrong person to come to."

"I know." You shrugged and handed him one of the cups. "But a girl can dream."

"Thank you." He tapped his cup against the side of yours and took a sip, not even wincing at the scalding heat. "Well life is not rainbows and fireworks and a cool breeze on a hot day. I wouldn't say I'm doing fantastic but I'm not doing bad. What about you, kid? How are you doing?"

"I'm doing great." You paused. "Avoiding Victoria."

"Ah." He nodded like he understood. "Anything to do your newfound fame?"

Your eyes widened in panic. "Excuse me?"

Robby's head cocked to the side. "I heard you're some kind of celebrity now."

"What?" You knew exactly what he was talking about, you were just surprised he was bringing it up.

"The stuff Princess keeps sharing with us."

Oh. Honestly, you had just kind of thought that Robby ignored all of the notifications on the group chat. He was on it but he never replied. How embarrassing to know he'd seen it all.

Robby kept talking. "At first I didn't really get it. Everyone kept talking about you being 'viral' and, at first, I thought they meant you had some kind of disease."

You snorted and clapped a hand over your mouth. "Your age is showing."

"Haha." He laughed sarcastically at you. "But since you kept coming in for your shifts, and after observing you from a distance, I realised that 'viral' did not mean what I thought it meant. So I asked Abbot and he explained it."

You nodded along with his words, suppressing a smile. "Right."

"But I had to make a TikTok account to really understand it."

Shit.

"You've watched the videos?"

"Yes."

"Oh. And?"

"And I think you and Javadi did a good job at bringing awareness to the issue of safety in working in healthcare." The smile he gave you was small, teasing. "Among other things that you touched on."

Double shit.

You shifted awkwardly from foot to foot. "And, uh, did you read any of the comments?"

"I did, Dr. Badass." He paused, took a sip from his coffee. "I understand that people are 'shipping' us."

Heat crawled across the surface of your skin. "Do you even know what that means?"

"Again, no. Not really. Asked Abbot and he didn't know either. Had to Google it."

The image of Doctor Michael Robinavitch Googling 'what does shipping mean' sat heavy in your brain. 

You lowered your coffee onto the counter next to you, avoiding eye contact with him. "What did the search results tell you?"

"I understand that it refers to people's desire to have two individuals in a romantic relationship. So by people 'shipping' us it means they think we would make a good couple. Correct?" He raised his eyes at you, waiting for you to confirm.

"Correct." You felt a tad breathless. This was a weird conversation to be having with him.

He hummed and took another sip of his coffee. "It's not the worst idea people on the internet have ever had."

What did he just say?

"Got to go. Told Whitaker I'd assist with a consult." He moved past you to the door. "See you later, kid."

"Bye." You replied, all oxygen rushing out of your body.

What had just happened?

You grabbed your coffee and rushed to go and find Victoria.

"So wait, he knows about the shipping?"

"Yes."

"And he's okay with it?"

"Yes."

Victoria stared at you, blinked twice, her mouth opened and closed and opened again, and then she burst into uncontrollable laughter.

"Victoria." You snapped. "Victoria, stop laughing."

"I'm sorry but-" She doubled over. "It's funny."

"How is this funny?" You grabbed her shoulders and made her look at you. "Robby knows that the internet is shipping us and his response was that it wasn't a terrible idea."

"Robby's got a sense of humour. Who knew?"

"I'm supposed to be getting over my crush on him. How am I supposed to do that when he's saying stuff like that?"

Her face fell, the laughter stopping. "You've had a crush on him for almost two years. I don't think you're getting over it anytime soon."

"Not helping." 

She shrugged. "Maybe this is your sign to ask him out. He obviously doesn't hate the idea of dating you."

"Oh, wow." You deadpanned. "What an incentive. He maybe doesn't hate the idea of dating me."

"Ask him for a coffee. He likes coffee. See what he says." She eyed something over your shoulder.

You tried to meet her eyes again. "It is not that easy."

"Why not?"

"Um, rejection, humiliation?"

"You're overthinking it." She looked at you and smiled. "The internet is shipping you. The internet is usually pretty good at reading the chemistry between people."

"I think people would maybe change their minds if they found out he calls me 'kid' and rarely uses my name."

A voice behind you shook you to your core. "Calling you 'kid' is a sign of affection, kid."

Your eyes widened and Victoria grinned at you. Slowly turning on your heel, you were mortified to find Robby standing behind you with his hands casually tucked into the pockets of his jacket. "Robby! What's up, doc?"

He smirked. "Currently experiencing my own bout of internet fame. Apparently being half of a 'ship' is something to be proud of, according to Princess."

Victoria suddenly inhaled sharply next to you. "Oh, I think McKay is calling me. Gotta go, bye!"

"Victoria!" You hissed but she was already gone. You looked back at Robby and attempted a smile. "So, how's that celebrity life treating you?"

He waved you off. "No, I'm here to ask you if you're free after our shift tonight."

Your mouth gaped for a moment. "Uh, yep, I'm free. Why?"

"Was thinking that maybe we should test out this chemistry and get a drink. There's this bar I like that has local bands perform every Tuesday and Thursday." His gaze was steady as he waited for your answer, unflinching.

"Together?"

He huffed. "Yes. Obviously."

"Obviously." You nodded slowly, like what he was saying made sense. It didn't. Not to you anyway. 

He tilted his head forward. "Is that a yes?"

"Oh!" Right, yeah, you were supposed to answer. "Yes. That's a yes."

"Good." He smiled at you briefly. "Now get back to work, kid."

"Will do, doc." You beamed at him. "See you after our shift."

He nodded at you and walked away, sending you a brief glance over his shoulder. As soon as he was out of sight, you chased down Victoria to tell her what had happened.

Your friend smiled at you smugly. "I told you. The internet is good at reading chemistry."

You couldn't deny that. Huh. If only you'd been in one of Victoria's TikTok videos before this. Maybe you would've been going out for a drink with Robby sooner. You're knocked out of your thoughts by your friend speaking.

"My followers are going to go crazy when I tell them that their ship has sailed."

"Victoria!"

The two of you exploded into excited laughter, ignoring the looks of the people surrounding you. Going viral on the internet wasn't so bad it seemed.

Your shift had ended three hours previously but you were still running around the ED looking for more patients to care for. You were the only one left from the day shift team, other than Robby. It had been a slow day and you were looking to tire yourself out as much as possible before you went home. This wasn't exactly unusual for you but you seemed to be wearing yourself a little more thin than usual. Your eyes were red and your face almost sagged with exhaustion as you bounced from bed to bed.

You were rounding the corner towards a supply closet for some gauze when you were stopped by firm hands on your shoulders and a gruff voice.

"Slow down."

You looked up and found Robby frowning at you. "Sorry."

He sighed but kept his hands on your shoulders. "You planning on going home anytime soon?"

Robby knew what you were like, how you'd often keep working until you were practically dead on your feet. But there was only so much he could stand to witness.

"Um, soon. Maybe." You glanced past him to the quiet hallway behind him, to where the supply closet you were headed to waited for you.

"This is me telling you that you need to go home. You're getting sloppy."

Your eyes snapped back to him. "I am not."

"Don't argue with me." His hands dropped from your shoulders. "Go home and sleep."

"Wish it was that easy." You grumbled, more to yourself than anything, as you rubbed at a knot in the back of your neck.

But Robby heard you. "Trouble sleeping?"

"Always." You huffed and paused. "But it's been worse recently."

"You get used to it."

You sucked your bottom lip into your mouth. "You don't sleep either?"

"Not in thirty years."

You snorted. "Good to know it doesn't get any better."

Robby shrugged, lowered his voice. "You find ways to deal with it. Things to make it easier."

"Oh, yeah? Like what?" The supply closet was long forgotten at this point, you were more curious about your attending's shared inability to sleep.

Robby chuckled and shook his head. "That's for you to figure out."

"Come on. Give a girl some inspiration." You whined and kind of collapsed sideways to lean against the wall. "I'm thinking on no sleep here."

Robby levelled you with a look that showed how seriously he was debating whether or not to tell you. Something about your tired and pleading expression won him over. "Just the regular vices. Drinking, smoking... sex."

You laughed halfheartedly. "I wish I had the energy to go home everyday and have sex draining enough to knock me out."

His expression hardened. "It doesn't have to be wild. Just a nice orgasm to send you to sleep."

You snorted. "If you can find someone to give me a nice orgasm then just give me a call."

That night you found yourself pressed deep into your mattress by your attending.

Since then, you'd barely gone a night without Robby in your bed.

The two of you never went home together after a shift. You would go your separate ways, return to your own respective homes to have dinner, you would even get ready for bed and Robby wouldn't show up until you'd been tucked underneath your blankets for almost an hour at least, an overnight bag hanging from his hand. It was a way of keeping a degree of distance between the two of you, like having sex hadn't become a routine thing. Robby could pretend he wasn't crossing any lines by acting like coming over to your place was a spontaneous thing, like the way he'd slide into your bed and fuck you from behind was something casual. The fact that he owned a key to your place and was allowed to come over whenever he wanted wasn't something either of you had addressed since initially establishing the arrangement.

Tonight was no different. A mass casualty event had meant you'd all had to stay behind in the ED for longer than your shift dictated. But that was fine. You liked the overtime, the way it made you tired. How busy it had been meant that you hadn't seen Robby all that much before you had left to go home. But it was fine, it wasn't like the two of you were anymore friendly at work just because you knew how it felt when he came inside you now.

The regular motions happened when you got home. Dinner, episode of trashy TV, shower, bed. Just like every other night. And like every other night, you couldn't sleep despite how tired you were. You allowed yourself to relax against your pillow as much as you could, only tossing and turning a few times. Then, just before midnight, the scratching sound of a key entering the lock of your apartment door echoed down the hallway to your bedroom. The creak of the front door and heavy footsteps alerted you to Robby's presence. Not like it was ever going to be anyone else.

Your bedroom door scraped against the carpet as it opened, the kicking off of shoes and the shrugging off of a jacket the only sounds in the otherwise quiet room. More clothes hit the floor over the course of a minute as you stayed motionless in bed. You didn't turn to look at him, didn't even open your eyes.

"I know you're still awake. Quit pretending." He grumbled as he pulled the blankets back and settled next to you, bed dipping with his weight.

You sighed as he pressed his bare chest into your back, his warmth and his smell calming you. "I'm not pretending. Just sleepy."

"Too sleepy for me?" He pressed a kiss against your shoulder, arms circling around you to pull you as tight against him as possible. That was the thing between you and Robby. As much as the two of you liked to pretend it was casual, what the two of you had was very often sweet and soft.

"Mm, never." You sighed contently as he continued to plant kisses across your shoulder and up your neck. As soon as he loosened his grip on you even the slightest, you took the opportunity to turn in his arms and capture his lips with yours. The two of you didn't make out very often, usually using your time for better things, but when you were in the mood Robby couldn't help but indulge you. He liked how you'd squirm and get yourself worked up against him as you kissed, the sounds you'd make at the feeling of his tongue in your mouth sending ripples of pleasure through him. 

Robby normally took charge since he had been the one who had suggested an orgasm to send you to sleep in the first place. And he liked making you feel good, he got a lot out of being the one to make you come and to send you to sleep. There was something very satisfying about being able to help you with something that you struggled with. It definitely was made easier by the fact that he also found it very easy to sleep with you when he came as well.

But if you ever decided that you wanted to be more in control, he let you. It was almost impossible for him to deny you anything you wanted. Especially on nights, like tonight, where you wanted to roll the two of you over so you were on top. You continued to kiss him as you straddled him, fingers raking down his bare chest. Robby groaned lowly and pressed his hands into the small of your back, encouraging you to arch your back and rock your hips against his. He was very aware of how you were still wearing a tank top and shorts. He often wondered to himself why you still bothered wearing pyjamas to bed when you knew how likely the chances of him coming to yours to fuck you every night were. And you always fell asleep naked and tangled up together afterwards. Maybe you liked him undressing you. Then again, he was still wearing his boxers. He liked the fake mystery the two of you created by leaving one layer of clothing on, like neither of you knew what was hidden beneath or what was going to happen next. It was like a game. And he couldn't get enough.

Neither could you apparently. You kept kissing him, rocking your hips slowly, and biting his lips every now and again only to soothe away the sting with a lick of your tongue. Robby let his hands drift under the hem of your tank top, palms skimming the skin of your waist. But he didn't push it any further, he knew you wanted more of just this, just kissing. And he'd let you have it.

"Insatiable little thing tonight." He commented on a break for air. "Thought you were sleepy, hm?"

Your hands landed on the softness of his tummy, thumbs stroking the dark hair that resided there and disappeared below his waistband. "Was. Then I remembered how good kissing you is. Woke up."

He chuckled into your mouth. "If you think that this is good, then you should wait to see what else I can do."

"Believe me, I am very aware of what you're capable of." You sucked his bottom lip into your mouth for a second before letting it go again. "Have to refrain from commenting when I overhear nurses talking about Michael 'big dick' Robinavitch."

"Is that what they call me?" His hands drifted up to your face, cupping a cheek in each hand.

"You fill out those cargo pants very nicely." The tip of one of your fingers teased at the waistband of his boxers. "Want to let me see what you're hiding beneath there?"

"Baby, you know you don't have to ask permission. I'm all yours for the taking."

That was another game the two of you played. As much as you acted like this was nothing when outside of your apartment, when you were confined to the four walls of your bedroom you were allowed to say all manner of things that danced the line of casual and exclusive. He could say things that made you think that he was yours and only yours. You let him do things to you that no man had ever even gotten close to before. And, as much as neither of you would address it, you both knew that the other had no intention of sleeping with anyone else as long as you had this thing going. The only thing that was really stopping you from putting a label on the ordeal was the knowledge that what you were doing was technically wrong. He was your attending, your superior, he should not have been fucking you on a near daily basis. But neither of you could find it in yourselves to stop.

"Lucky me." You hummed against his mouth, hand dipping below the waistband of his boxers and wrapping around his hard cock. It never took very much for you to have him hard and ready to go. Usually just the feeling of his hands on your bare skin was enough to have him sporting a semi, which occasionally made working together very difficult. So tonight he was screwed as soon as you decided to situate yourself on top of him and rut your hips against his as you made out.

"Fuck." He cursed and pulled your face down to kiss you again. His hips jolted as you lazily stroked him, he wondered how you managed to keep your hands so soft with how often you had to wash and sanitise them throughout the day. It probably wasn't a normal thought to be having but it often played on his mind when you touched him like this. 

You broke away from him momentarily. "Did you hear about the emergency Caesarean that Langdon performed today?"

He grunted. "Please no shop talk when your hand is on my dick."

"Sorry." You smiled. "But it was so cool. Langdon was very impressive."

He rolled his eyes. "And please shut the fuck up about Langdon."

"Aw, does mention of your best resident not do it for you?"

Robby's head fell flat against the pillow beneath him. "Best? Who said he was best?"

You shrugged with one shoulder. "I don't know. He's a pretty good doctor."

"Oh, yeah? Pretty good, huh?" He asked and you nodded. "If he's so good then maybe you'd prefer him in your bed right now instead of me."

Your face split into a wide grin. "You can't seriously be jealous right now."

He scoffed. "Jealous of Langdon. Come on."

"Oh, Robby." You kissed him. "You know I only have eyes for you."

It was things like that that had the two of you momentarily forgetting that this was a casual set up.

You trailed kisses along his jaw and down his neck. "If you think that I'd consider any other doctor in that hospital fucking me like this then you'd better think again."

Robby's eyes closed at the feeling of your lips on his pulse point. "If you think that any other doctor in that hospital could ever fuck you like I do then you'd better think again."

You giggled into the crook of his neck. "That's the spirit, Michael 'big dick' Robinavitch."

Robby was tired of circling around the inevitable. "Okay, enough of this."

You squealed in excitement as he rolled you off of him and onto the bed next to him, making you sit up for a few seconds so he could pull your tank top over your head to discard it and then grabbing you by the waist and flipping you over so you were lying flat on your stomach.

"Someone's impatient."

He pulled your shorts midway down your thighs and slapped your ass twice, immediately rubbing a hand over the antagonised skin. "Getting bored."

You folded your arms on the pillow in front of you and rested your head on them. "Good to know that dry humping and a handjob is boring to you."

"Having you tease me about Langdon is boring. We both know you don't mean it."

"Then why so touchy?" You looked back over your shoulder at him to find him pushing his boxers down, hard cock springing free. He really was Michael 'big dick' Robinavitch. You watched him hungrily in anticipation.

"I'd rather not have you talking about another man just before I'm about to fuck you." His hands kneaded the soft flesh of your ass before he started pulling your shorts down to your ankles and then off of you entirely, throwing them over his shoulder to somewhere in the room. One of his hands immediately went to stroke your pussy at the apex of your thighs just below your ass. "Look how wet you are for me."

You ignored the shudder that went through you at his touch. "For you? Hm, maybe this is for Langdon and the thought of what a good doctor he is."

He momentarily met your eyes, an unimpressed look on his face. "We both know it's not."

You sighed and turned your head to rest against your arms again. "I suppose. Come on then. Fuck me."

"Now who's the impatient one?" He chuckled and straddled the backs of your thighs, one hand going to your hips to prop up your ass just slightly to give him a better angle.

"Hey, I was perfectly happy just making out for a while." You closed your eyes as his fingers continued to glide across your pussy. "Let the momentum build."

"As if you need momentum. Bet you were dripping as soon as you heard my key in the lock."

"Mm, you have so much faith in your ability to turn me on with your mere presence." You argued despite the way you pressed yourself into his touch.

"Baby, you seem to forget that I can hear every noise you make when I touch you. One graze of my hand on your waist and you're putty in my hands." He suddenly withdrew his fingers from you and chuckled at the sound of your whine. "See? So needy and desperate for me."

"No, so needy and desperate to be fucked." You groaned into the pillow beneath you. "Really want to come."

Robby soothed a hand over the small of your back, making you relax against the mattress. "If you ask nicely then maybe I'll make that happen."

"You're going to make me beg tonight?" You wriggled your hips, hoping to entice him with the sight of your jiggling ass and glistening cunt. The low rumbling groan he let out suggested that you had succeeded.

"That was the plan. But fuck it." He pressed the tip of his cock against your entrance, forgoing protection. As much as he preached the use of birth control as a doctor, there was nothing Robby loved more than fucking you raw. That was the possessive streak in him, he guessed. He liked being able to feel as much of you as possible, liked that you could feel every inch of him too. He liked finishing deep inside you, filling you up until you were spilling with his cum. And he knew you liked it too, liked dripping with him. You assured him that there was no chance of you getting pregnant anytime soon, he believed you, and you were truthful with each other that you were both clean. It seemed like an easy choice to the both of you to forget condoms when you'd made this a regular thing, as reckless as it might have been to any outsiders.

You keened at the pressure of him pressing into you. No matter how many times he fucked you, you could never quite get used to the size of him. It burned, but it was a good kind of burn.

"Mmf, slow down." You reached a hand back to push at Robby's hips. "Too much."

"Ssh, it's okay. You can take it." He traced a soft line down the centre of your back with his hand to loosen you up. But he paused anyway, took a moment to let you adjust.

You knew he was right, you could take it. Because you had many times before. But you liked boosting his ego. "You're just so big, Robby."

"Michael 'big dick' Robinavitch, remember?" He chuckled, squeezing your hips.

"How could I ever forget?" You exhaled shakily and then pressed your hips back a little. "Okay, I'm good. Keep going."

He took your cue and continued to push forward until he was balls deep inside you, taking a deep breath when he was all the way inside you. "Fuck. Fuck. I'll never get used to this."

"Yeah? That good, am I?" You laughed lowly, smiling to yourself when he inhaled sharply at the feeling of you clenching around him.

"So fucking good." He agreed hastily, pulling his hips back before rocking into you again. He chuckled at the punchy sound of your throaty moan. "That feel good?"

"So fucking good, Robby." You mewled, repeating his own words back to him. 

"Told you nobody else could ever fuck you like I do." He pulled back again and then rocked forward, setting up a steady rhythm. 

"Too hooked on you to ever let anybody else try."

"Aw, trying to butter me up with sweet words like that." He planted his hands on either side of your waist and leaned forward to place a row of kisses along your back up to your neck. He hovered his head by yours for only a moment, not even needing to say anything for you to get the idea of what he wanted. When you turned to look at him he surged forward to kiss you on the lips, making his hips tilt forward and press his cock tightly inside you.

Robby pulled back again, ignoring the way you protested quietly, and sat back on his knees again. He returned to the steady rhythm he had previously set, the sound of skin slapping and your pleasured moans filling the room. One of his hands wound around underneath your hips to make slow circles on your clit with the pad of his middle finger. He spoke soft words of encouragement to you, often saying what a good job you were doing, as he felt you near close to the edge. But that was too easy for Robby. So, with a slow stroke of his hand down the column of your spine, he pulled away.

"What the fuck, Robby?" You groaned, burying your face against your pillow in frustration. "I was so close."

"Believe me, baby, I know." He hummed smugly. "Turn over onto your back."

Despite your irritation, you did as you were told and flipped yourself over until you were looking up at him. He was still straddling your legs but quickly moved himself to the side as he tapped at your thighs, telling you to open them. Once again, you followed his instructions and spread yourself wide open for him.

He liked his view. "Look at you."

You huffed and reached out your hands to him, making a grabbing gesture. "Yeah, yeah. Come here."

This time he did as he was told and lowered himself down to your level, hovering over you in the bed, and kissed you. He could give you more of what you wanted. It was sloppy. A lot of teeth and tongue at work. But neither of you minded. Your arms wound around his neck, your fingers carding through the short hair on the back of his head. One of his hands sat on the bed next to your head to hold himself up, the other groped languidly at your chest. 

You suckled on his bottom lip. "Robby."

"Mm?" He didn't break away to respond, too focused on licking into your mouth.

You didn't actually know what you wanted to say. Just something, anything, to convey how good you felt. He wasn't even fucking you, you were just kissing, but you could still feel that tingling in your toes that you got whenever he was touching you.

At your silence, he did pull away from you. But one look at your face, your blown pupils, had him smirking. "Oh, I know."

It was kind of a scary thought that the best sex you had ever had was with Robby. It was terrifying to think that no man had ever made you feel like he did. He was your attending and you weren't even dating. But here you were, receiving at least one orgasm from him every night just to go to sleep. The most horrifying thing was that you weren't even convinced you needed the orgasm anymore. You were almost certain that a simple kiss and the feeling of his warm body in bed next to yours would be enough to send you into a peaceful sleep these days.

He smiled at your continued quietness, cupping your face in one of his hands and running a thumb along your bottom lip. Your mouth was slick with the combination of your saliva and his, making it easy for Robby to push his thumb into your mouth. You didn't hesitate to suck it and swirl your tongue around the pad of his thumb.

Robby pressed his thumb down on your tongue. "So good for me."

You nodded rapidly, agreeing with him, his thumb still in your mouth.

"Should I let you come now?" He asked and you kept nodding your head. "Yeah? Want to come on my cock?"

As his thumb retracted from your mouth, you gasped. "Yes. Yes, please."

"See? It's so easy to make you beg." He chuckled lowly and reached down in between you to notch his tip at your entrance again. You shivered in anticipation at the feeling. There was less of a burn as he pushed in this time, the previous time having prepped you nicely.

Robby was slow as he fucked you this time around. This was how he really liked it. Slow, intimate, almost loving. He made sure to kiss you as he rocked into you, swallowing every sound you made into his own mouth. He didn't edge you too much this time, letting his hand fall between you to rub at your clit. He loved the way you gasped into his mouth as he did it. He whispered soft praises against your lips, variations of "good girl" tumbling from him. You clenched around him at every word. 

You grasped him tightly, nails scratching at his shoulders and back. Robby liked the marks you always left on him. It always spurred him on. But he managed to restrain himself and kept up the slow, gentle fucking that drove the both of you crazy. You arched into his every touch, hips bucking upwards to meet his.

Despite the slow pace, Robby was still panting. He would have blamed his age but he was sure he was probably just exhausting himself by fucking you every night after working twelve, or more, hour shifts. Sweat coated both your skin and his, making his chest slide against yours. You wondered why you even bothered showering before he came over, knowing he'd have you hot and sticky by the end of the night anyway. 

You whined his name again. "Robby."

"You close?" He didn't even really need to ask, he could feel you clenching around him and the pitch of your voice gave it away. He found it very easy to read you when it came to this. "Yeah? Gonna come for me?"

You didn't respond, you didn't need to. He knew. He didn't change the pace of his thrusts but he did rub harder at your clit. It only took one more clash of your mouths, and his tongue licking hotly against yours, for you to crash over the edge. Your toes curled and your back arched, the fluttering of your pussy causing Robby to come in sync with you and fill you up with his cum. He groaned lowly into your mouth, rocked his hips forward, once, twice more and then collapsed on top of you. He buried his face against your shoulder as he regained his breath.

You basked in the afterglow of your orgasm, smiling to yourself, as you stroked up and down the length of Robby's back. He stayed there for a couple of minutes as he calmed down, easing out of you with a hiss after a little while but then relaxing on top of you again.

"Don't go falling asleep on me. Need to pee." You mumbled to him, pressing a kiss to the closest stretch of skin you could reach.

"But this is just so comfortable." He huffed but pushed himself up anyway so he could look down at you. He leaned down to kiss you again, soft and gentle. "Satisfied enough to sleep?"

"Never satisfied enough with you." You sighed but smiled. "But to sleep? Yes."

"Stop flirting with me." He teased, that playful smirk on his face.

"Or what?"

He gently pinched your side. "I'm gonna have to do something about it."

 "You're so easy." You rolled your eyes but smiled anyway.

"Careful. Or I won't fuck you again." He rolled off of you and flopped onto the bed beside you.

"Tonight?" You sat up. "Or ever?"

Robby looked at you incredulously. "You want to go again tonight?"

You shrugged and leaned over to plant a kiss on his hairy chest. "I always want to go again."

"Insatiable." He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth and shook his head.

"So I've been told." You slid off of the bed and disappeared to the bathroom, enjoying the ache in between your thighs. When you returned a couple of minutes later, you found Robby sprawled across your bed with his eyes closed. "No way are you already asleep."

He peeked an eye open and glanced at you. "No. Just gearing myself up for another round."

You snorted as you crawled back into the bed beside him, tucking yourself into his side and resting your head on his bicep. "I'll let you rest tonight. But I expect at least three orgasms on Tuesday since it's your day off."

"Got it." Robby nodded, pressed a kiss to your forehead and wrapped his arm around you. "Three orgasm minimum on Tuesday. Light work."

You giggled as your eyes fluttered closed and you relaxed next to him. "So much confidence in yourself."

"Previous experience allows that confidence." He scoffed. "Remember that night I made you come six times?"

"I think about it everyday, Robby." You sighed. "We should do a repeat of that."

"Tuesday." He mumbled, promising. "Tuesday."

With the promise of Tuesday on the horizon, and the knowledge that you were crossing new lines every time you hooked up, the two of you fell into deep, satiated slumbers.

The stretch of bed where Steve usually resided beside you was cold as you reached across it, the feeling of sheets meeting your fingertips instead of Steve himself. You whined lowly and turned over, peeking your eyes open to discover that he definitely wasn't there. You woke yourself up properly only to hear the sound of pots and pans clanking in the kitchen. A melody of clattering and "oh shits" made you giggle as you sat up. Taking a deep breath, you inhaled the scent of freshly brewed coffee and burnt toast.

The lack of Steve next to you was disappointing, as there was nothing you loved more than waking up to see him in the morning, but at least you knew that he wasn't far away. Sliding out of the bed, you grabbed a sweater to slip on over your pyjamas. It was a slightly brisk morning, something that was usually resolved by curling up with Steve but he had chosen to abandon you for the kitchen.

You padded quietly in his direction, seeing if you'd be able to catch him in the act of overcooking some eggs. Something about breakfast was difficult for Steve. You considered it might have been because he was still always half asleep when he attempted to make it so his brain wasn't fully functioning. Hence the plates of pancakes and bowls of oatmeal that ended up in the trash.

As you crossed over the threshold into the kitchen, you caught Steve pulling his hand away from one of the pans on the cooker.

"Ah, fuck." He winced, shaking his hand around like he'd burned himself.

You sighed. "This is why you need adult supervision in the morning."

He turned to you quickly, almost knocking over a box of Lucky Charms, and he lit up at the sight of you. "Good morning, baby."

But then his face fell.

"Wait, no. You're supposed to be asleep. I was going to surprise you with breakfast in bed."

The mess he'd created in the kitchen was really something. You wondered how long he'd been awake before you to create this disorder.

"Pretty hard to sleep when you leave the bed cold and decide to burn our apartment down." You took a few steps forward into the kitchen and rested your elbows on the island between you. "Also was hoping you'd surprise me with something else in bed."

He smirked at the implication but pushed a mug towards you. "Yes, but consider this instead. Coffee. Drink."

"I don't think any coffee will ever be as good as morning sex with you but okay." You grabbed the mug and took a sip. It was perfect. He'd made it just the way you liked it.

"What do you think?" He prompted, looking at you hopefully.

"It's good."

"Good?" He huffed, throwing his hands in the air. "All this effort for good."

You rolled your eyes at him. "Steve, it's a cup of coffee. What exactly do you want me to say?"

"I don't know but be a little more appreciative."

"I would've been very appreciative if I'd woken up with you beside me." You paused and looked at his sad face. "What is this really about?"

He looked away from you. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what is with this- your bacon's burning." You nodded your head in the direction of the pan behind him that was sizzling just a little too much.

"What? Oh, shit!" With a rag wrapped around his hand, he pulled the pan off of the heat. At least he'd learned from when he'd burned himself the first time. But he then just stood and stared at it.

"Steve."

Nothing.

"Steve."

Still nothing.

"Steve."

"Huh? What? Yeah?"

Finally.

"You know I'm happy with a bowl of cereal so why are you doing all this?"

"Well, as your future husband-" He paused to grin at you. "-it is my duty to be as doting and caring as possible."

You and Steve had been together a while and he'd been dead set on the idea that you were the one for him since almost the beginning of the relationship. His other half. His soulmate. He'd been referring to himself as your future husband for as long as you could remember. You didn't mind. The two of you had known each other for a long time, had saved the world on countless occasions and been friends before any romantic element had been added. In fact, it had only been because Erica, of all people, was getting bored of the two of you dancing around your obvious feelings for each other that you had even considered the next step. It turned out that both you and Steve had been oblivious to the other's love before she decided to point it out. Because of her involvement in the start of your relationship, you'd promised Erica that she could make a speech at your wedding taking all of the credit when you and Steve eventually got married. You were just waiting for him to ask.

You immediately softened at his explanation, rounding the counter to stand in front of him. You took his hands in yours. "Steve, you don't need to make gestures like this to prove your love to me."

He shyly looked away from you, a pink blush making his cheeks rosy. "I know."

"Especially when those gestures risk the safety of our home and run through all the eggs." Your hands traced the lengths of his arms, gliding over his shoulders before landing on his face where you cupped his cheeks in your palms. "Please just wake me up with a kiss, or many kisses if you'd prefer, and have us cook breakfast together."

He nodded smally. "Okay."

"That's an invitation for you to kiss me." You clarified.

"Oh, right."

Then he pushed himself forward to kiss you. It was light, soft, a representation of what it was like to be with Steve. Early on with him, you'd been worried that your shared experiences of monsters and government experiments would leave your relationship feeling heavy. You feared the trauma you both carried would be the driving force of your bond. You couldn't have been more wrong. Being with Steve made you feel airy and optimistic about the world. Which was something you'd never thought you'd have after everything that had happened in Hawkins.

When he pulled away, eyes still closed, he smiled against your lips. "I love you."

"I love you too." You giggled. "Future husband."

He groaned. "Don't make fun of me."

"I'm not... I'm not, I swear." You caressed the skin of his face with your thumbs, one of them drifting along the line of his bottom lip. "Come on, let's clean up."

He nodded, kissed you again, and then turned to start wiping up the scattering of flour that had coated half of the kitchen island. You worked around him, the two of you staying quiet as you got the kitchen back into working order. Every now and again you'd exchange a glance with him, looks that would remind you of what it was like to have a crush on him before you got together and the two of you would make eye contact. It was what you liked about being with Steve. The two of you, despite being in a very committed relationship, still had a crush on each other. You hoped your crushes on each other would last forever. You had a feeling they would.