All Over Again - 12: Alone Time
click for chapter & character trope index ^
pairing: dennis whitaker x fem!reader
synopsis: after a night of newfound closeness and vulnerability, you find yourself feeling ready for a new day, despite what the previous one brought you and no matter what this one brings you. (characters included/mentioned: t.santos, y.garcia, v.javadi, j.ogilvie, f.langdon, m.robinavitch, s.mohan, & j.abbot)
cw/s: mentions of misogynistic men, elusions to sex (verbally & dream-wise), relationship struggles (platonic, romantic, & familial—not reader & dennis), elusions to s/h (not described—trinity’s struggles), health struggles of a family member (not readers or dennis’), mohabbot crumbs.
a/n: so sorry for the wait!! set during the same month as s2 (july), just not the same day (july 4th). some plot points and history between characters will be elusive, but that's intentional as it will be clarified as the fic progresses. hence the name, All Over Again. slow burn if you squint. no use of y/n, y//n, y/n/n, or anything of the sorts and absolutely zero use of ai to write/edit. searching the pitt set floor plan is recommended if you'd like (extremely helpful with visualizing paths characters take and the layout of the rooms). reblogs are always welcome and appreciated! thank you. indulge.
Your morning went by so smoothly. Literally, right down to the timeline of it all. Dennis parking just as Trinity parked. It was funny, seeing Dennis toss Trinity her keys while Trinity tossed Yolanda her keys, a swift trade. But what wasn’t funny, was the way Yolanda was acting. From your time back, you simultaneously recalled previous times and newer times where she was stoic, rude, unforgiving—but her face was never that…unsettling. Maybe that’s just how she is?
Although you didn’t sleep for as long as you’d have liked, you’d be lying if you were to say having Dennis at least in the same place as you didn’t help ease your nerves. It eased those nerves, but to restore some sort of balance, it awakened those nerves. You were sure you’d hear about Trinity’s night with Yolanda having the same effect.
You had been moving from patient to patient, a new (or perhaps previous, now restored) confidence in your work. James was nowhere to be seen, thankfully. You wondered if the universe decided to do you a little favor by having Victoria return from her trip to the Netherlands with her parents after the clusterfuck of yesterday.
You were sitting, charting in the hub while she stood beside you, talking to you about the whole mini-vacation (though she was persistent about it not being a vacation, rather an educational trip).
“There were so many interesting exhibits, but I already knew about them, you know?”
You multitasked, typing patient information while verbally responding to her. “I know. I saw one of your TikToks about it, showed up on my For You Page. One-hundred and fifty-thousand likes, when were you going to tell me you were famous?”
She smiled. “Ugh, don’t boost my ego more.”
“You’re humble.” you said, sarcastically.
“I try to be, truly. But when it came to the museum? I wasn’t, so much. I respected the deceased who made up the whole museum, of course, but my realization that I knew about some of the facts already paired with that guy who randomly tried to mansplain anatomy to me? I was feeling boastful, like I had to prove myself.”
“If it means anything, I looked into…?” You trailed off, the name lost on your tongue.
“Body Worlds Amsterdam.” Victoria answered, zero hesitation.
“Yeah, that. I searched it up on TikTok and you were within the first, like…five videos? And I was on my computer, not even logged in. It’s great. You didn’t name drop the guy, but I’m sure he’s seen it already. And if he hasn’t? He will.”
“I hope so. I mean, the audacity to one; assume I didn’t know what I was looking at, and two; to try and mansplain it to me as if there wasn’t information plastered by everything. I can read.”
“Men like that suck, big time. Better be glad Ogilvie isn’t here—it’d be trading one pretentious ass for another.” You jested, mouse clicking away.
“No, Ogilvie better be glad he’s not here. I swear, I’m so sick of the pressure on me to be perfect, I’d have taken the opportunity of him tripping you to rip him a new one. I got a lot of stress to get out, too few deserving candidates.”
“Well, let us hope your video about audacious men in science serves as some sort of catharsis for you.”
“It did.” She smiled, resting her hip against the countertop to get a better look at you. “So…what about you? Did it give you catharsis?”
“Your video? It was great, yeah.”
“Not my video.” Her voice was a low rasp as she leaned forward, a knowing look on her face.
“Yeah, that.” She leaned in closer. “Did that give you catharsis?”
“You say that as if we did anything other than be cordial and sleep.”
Victoria eyed you for a moment. “Oh, you’re not lying.”
“I don’t know, privacy purposes?”
“I feel like everyone who works in the ED knows about my personal life, unfortunately. Big, dramatic events happening around med and nursing students who need something interesting to get them through their rotations? Yeah. No privacy there.”
“If it makes you feel any better, Dennis is kind of known for living in the abandoned wing of the hospital for some time.”
“You didn’t know that? Or like, don’t remember. Sorry.” She cringed at her bluntness.
“No, I mean—I knew about him staying here, but I didn’t know it was some urban legend thing.”
“Great, so that most likely means I’ll be known for all my stuff too. At least me and him will be infamous together.” You groaned, logging out of the station.
“Would I rather be known for living in the abandoned wing of a hospital or be known for falling and bursting a blood bag?” Victoria thought aloud. “I truly don’t know which would be more mortifying.”
“Thanks, Vic, that’s extremely comforting.”
“I can…fake slip on a wet spot, if you’d like.”
She grinned as you stood, following you to North 5. She opened the curtain, seeing Dennis talking to a patient.
“Jesus, how many fuckin’ doctors are gonna come in here? Am I dying and you aren’t telling me, pretty boy?” The woman asked, her Long Island accent thick.
He wet his lips, looking between the three of you. There was something about being around him that made you feel like you had an itch that needed to be scratched and he was a gentle graze. Something, but reserved.
“No, sorry. We were just doing the rounds, checking in.” You said, closing the curtain.
Victoria was on the verge of laughing, hiding it very poorly, as she usually had with every other expression.
You rolled your eyes, biting back a smile of your own. “It’s only been a few hours but I already need a break.”
“Same, and I literally just got back from one.”
Your head jerked to face her. “Is that you admitting defeat, that it really was a vacation instead of an ‘educational trip’?”
She vehemently shook her head. “No.”
“It’s okay to take a vacation, Victoria. You don't always need to be in professional mode.”
She sighed. “I need a snack.”
Victoria swatted at you. “Will you be quiet?”
“Why? Still got the matching underscrubs incident stuck in your head?”
She was silent. That made you grin. “At least you’re honest.”
“I’m not honest, I’m obvious. I couldn’t conceal myself if I practiced every night in the mirror.”
“That’s oddly specific.” you replied, a knowing look of your own on your face now.
“I’ve tried.” She pushed the door of the break room open, holding it ajar for you with the heel of her shoe as she was already lunging for the fridge. You sat down as she sifted through it, quickly finding her purple lunch pail and unzipping it, taking out the tupperware containing hummus and celery.
“I feel like your mom made you ants on a log to bring to school and nobody traded you.”
“Yeah, well, jokes on them—I got the nutritious snack while they ate Cheez-Its and Gushers.”
“But you did try to trade?”
She sunk into the chair across from you at the table, already biting into the celery. “Every. Single. Day.”
Dennis entered the room then, halting at the sight of you. “Oh, hey. Didn’t expect you guys to be in here.”
Victoria glanced behind her, finding him standing nearby. “Want some celery?”
“Sure. Celery never hurt anybody.” He smiled, snagging a stick from her.
“I had a patient that came in choking on celery before.” She casually added, crossing her legs. “So you’re technically wrong. Even water in excess can hurt you.”
Dennis thinned his lips, pursing them with a singular nod. “Right. You get what I meant, though.”
“Don’t mind her, she’s on a killing streak.” You chimed in.
He looked confused. “What?”
“She went to the Netherlands and there was some dick who tried to explain things to her unprompted at a museum as if she didn’t know already.”
“Oh, so that’s where you were.” Dennis looked at her.
She cocked her head. “That’s all you focus on? Out of everything she said?”
“Well, the guy was clearly a dick. Me agreeing doesn’t do much, does it?”
Victoria rolled her eyes, turning back to face you as Dennis sat down in the middle chair. “You’re lucky I love her, otherwise you’d be a deserving candidate.”
“Deserving candidate of what?”
You crossed your arms, leaning forward as you answered him for her. “Her wrath.”
Victoria squinted at him. “Yeah, wrath.”
“And what makes me a ‘deserving candidate’?”
Victoria dipped a stick of celery into the hummus like it personally offended her before biting it, which somehow looked sad. You weren’t sure if someone could eat food in a sad way, but there she was. “How good of a person you are.”
Dennis’ playful demeanor faded away. “What?”
“You’re like, loyal and kind. That’s rare to find these days, with men anyways.”
He shifted in his chair, thinking for a moment. “Well…have you tried other people?”
“Other people? All men are like that, except for you, apparently.”
“No, I mean…other, other people. People who aren’t men.”
Victoria pinkened at his words, masking it behind feigned annoyance as she popped the fifth and final celery stick into her mouth, quickly cleaning up. “That’s your second strike of the day.”
“Out of how many?” He grinned. God, they were acting like siblings. He was personable in that way, it seemed, with both Trinity and Victoria. There was something safe about a brother-like connection a man could have with others he wasn’t related to—with women. It reminded you of the lighthearted bickering you and Frank had quickly fallen into yesterday.
“Three. Out of three.” She tossed the number over her shoulder as she put her things back into the fridge before turning around to face you both. “But, because you’re with her, I’ll give you one more point. You are with her, right?”
He shrugged, casual as ever. “That’s not a question for me.”
You had noted it since the second he sat down, but it was even more apparent to you now that there was a different air to him today. Something more secure, more confident. What had him in such a mood?
“Well, I’m asking you anyway.” She continued, ponytail dangling behind her as she gestured her head for the sake of dramatics.
“Victoria.” You groaned, rubbing at your temples.
“I was on my way out.” She replied, exiting the room.
“She’s a master in deflection, isn’t she?” Dennis spoke to you now, his gaze still focused on the doorway as it shut.
“Oh yeah, got her PhD in it.” You replied. That’s when he turned to face you.
“You look like you could use a little pick me up.” He said, digging in his pocket and retrieving his wallet. What did he pull out? Cash and change, which he quickly sifted through.
“I’m okay, I swear. I’m not feeling down.”
“Didn’t we establish last night that I know you and your tells? Besides, I wasn’t saying you were down. You just seem a bit fatigued, is all.” He slid the money over to you.
“Yeah, why else do you think I brought it out?”
“I don’t know, maybe for you?” You asked rhetorically.
You uncrossed your arms, picking up the five dollar bill along with the two quarters. “What’s this for?”
“Your snacks. You used to get the same thing every day from the vending machine in here.” He shrugged again, the same casual demeanor. “Costs exactly five dollars and twenty-five cents, every single time. The vending machine we have doesn’t use pennies, so I’d give you an extra quarter to make it fifty cents so it would give a quarter in return. Anyways, sorry that was a dumb detail. Point is, I haven’t given you the money yet because I didn’t want to piss you off and because you haven’t really spent any time here since you got back. But now you are, and we’re actually on decent terms, so—”
There it was, the rambling. He wasn’t swapped for a clone in the middle of the night, thankfully, because you liked him just as he was. Though you’d be lying if you said this new side of him didn’t interest you. You liked it, so far.
“Dennis?” You prompted, standing up and heading to the vending machine.
He immediately stopped talking the second you started to move. “Yeah?”
“Of course, it’s no problem.” He began to rub at the back of his neck, clearly debating something. “If…if that were the last five dollars and twenty-five cents I had to my name, I’d spend it on this. On you.”
You felt your blood heat up at his words, the new temperature bleeding into every part of your body. “But it’s not, right?”
“No, no.” he laughed, looking sheepish.
“Good, because we still gotta get our car back and pay rent.” you said, inserting the bill into the machine.
“Oh, we don’t have to worry much about that.” He stood, sauntering over to you.
You inserted the two coins before turning to face him, back to the machine. “What?”
“Uh, everyone at the hospital is chipping in.”
Your jaw went agape. “What? No, I don’t need their help, Dennis—”
“Okay, couple of things. First, they’re not just helping you, they’re helping us. Second, I didn’t ask them to. They just started pooling in money like they do when making bets. And third, it’s just for the car. Not our rent.” He took a breath, eyes flickering over your expression. “Feel better?”
You sighed. “I don’t want to feel like some charity case.”
He leaned to the side, pressing the numbers and letters that corresponded to your exact snack selection as if they were his picks. “You’re not. People who love you are going to help you, and that’s all there is to it.”
Something about him saying that while actively helping you felt like hearing him blatantly telling you that he loves you. Pushing that feeling down so you could focus, you went back to being concerned. “So, you pay for my food and they help pay for the car…what else is there left for me to do?”
His eyes glanced behind you as the machine began to drop the snacks. “Focus on you.”
“I can manage all of that on top of focusing on myself.”
“Yeah, and I don’t doubt that, but you don’t have to.” He pointed behind you as he backed away towards the door. “Get your snacks.”
You turned around, kneeling as you stuck a hand into the slot, grabbing what he picked. In your hands, you held exactly what you were planning on getting. You sighed—he really did know you. “Okay, well…” You stood back up, fully intending on continuing to defend your independence only to find him gone. “Of course.”
Trinity was better at concealing her feelings than Victoria was, in some ways. But in other ways, she was a lot worse. The way her voice sounded would alarm anyone. You wished you had paid more attention to her earlier when you first got to work, but she brushed it off as being tired from ‘staying up all night’. She was there for you, even when your emotions were a bit explosive—it was now your turn to return that favor.
“Hey.” You drawled out, coming up to stand behind her as she charted at a workstation computer cart.
“Jesus—” She jumped, looking at you with a scowl. “You and him are just alike sometimes, I swear.”
“You and Funkytown. He pulled that same move not too long ago.” She shuddered, looking off into the distance. You followed her gaze, spotting Yolanda.
Trinity turned to you again. “Nothing, unless you want to count my tachy heart rate, thanks to you sneaking up on me.”
Okay, she’s being a little more snippy than anticipated. “I’m sorry.”
“Should be. Got enough on my plate.”
You moved beside her as she returned to charting. “Like what?”
She side-eyed you. “Nunya.”
“Unironically would be a cute baby name.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re distracting me.”
“I am, or is she?” You didn’t have to gesture or say names, she know.
“She is.” She mumbled, defeated.
She sighed, cracking her neck before spilling. “What I expected to be a super hot night of sex and takeout food ended up being a super tense night of arguments and soggy buttered toast.”
You took a second to take in what she said. It was daunting, to comfort someone when you didn’t know all the details—not of the situation, but how she preferred to be comforted. There was still pieces missing from the puzzle. “Can I ask what about?”
Trinity’s face contorted, biting her lower lip. “She wants to call it off.”
“Oh. Trinity, I’m so sorry. Did she say why?”
“She said I’m too hung up on Langdon.”
“On Langdon? I thought you were a lesbian, and I thought he was married?”
She huffed out a laugh at that. “I am a lesbian and he is miraculously married.”
“So what are we talking about then? Hung up on what about him?”
She looked you dead in the eyes then, realization taking over her solem expression. “You don’t remember.”
“Clearly not. I’m a little scared now, what happened?”
“Nothing to me, or you, or anything like that. Just…patients, and himself.”
“It’s not my place to tell you, but you already knew before, so…He was struggling with addiction, Benzos. He ended up stealing some from the hospital and his patient, I told Doctor Robby what I suspected, they got into an argument, Langdon got let off and sent to rehab, and then he came back. On the Fourth.”
You swallowed, taking in that information at the pace of a snail. “Okay.”
“Yeah. So, there’s this tension between me and him because I snitched and he had to reap the consequences of his actions. I hate how he gets to just walk around here like he did nothing wrong, and everyone just forgets about it as if it never even happened. I rant to Garcia about it, obviously, because I’m really into her, but since those two are all buddy-buddy, she takes his side. It’s been a big strain on our…relationship, or whatever it is. I guess it’s karma.”
“I wouldn’t call it karma, Trin.”
She sighed, face switching back to neutral as she returned to charting.
“I really wouldn’t. The situation sucks, for everyone involved.”
She scoffed as you spoke. “He stole and berated me.”
“Look, no offense, but I really don’t feel like rehashing all of that shit just to help you remember right now.”
Ouch. “Okay, that’s fine. I, uh…I get it.”
“I think I’m gonna ask Dennis to stay the night at mine tonight, if you don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind. I don’t own him.” You replied, beginning to walk off.
“Hey—Fuck, wait!” She dragged the charting station with her as she quickly followed you, nearly tripping. If it weren’t for the heat of the moment, you’d of laughed. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s not. Bringing up the memory thing was very bitchy of me.”
“Yes, but still bitchy. I shouldn’t have worded it like that, I’m just…”
“That’s one good word for it.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Look, I’ll tell you all about it when I’m not feeling like I want to rip everyone’s heads off. It’s not a good time, that’s all. And yes, I know, I should’ve prefaced with that.”
You let out a small breath. “Okay, sounds like a plan. Do you want me to talk to Dennis for you? I’m sure he’ll be asking you just as many question as I did, if not more. If you’re okay with it, I can give him the basic rundown beforehand so you’re not stuck answering instead of getting answers.”
“That’d be fantastic.” Trinity groaned. “You’re sure it’s okay I have him spend the night at mine? I know you just asked him to come back home yesterday and I—”
“It’s completely fine. I’m all good, I swear. I’ll feel way better knowing you’re with someone who can help you. That’s a pretty good trade off, if you ask me.”
Her face reddened as her eyes prickled with tears. All she did was lean forward, take you into her arms, and hug you. You remembered enough to know this wasn’t the way you and her did things, but you weren’t going to complain. If she was hugging you, it was because she truely needed it badly enough to be vulnerable.
“I’m sorry. I just don’t want to do anything stupid.”
You pulled back. “Like what?”
She gave you a look, and that’s when your gut churned with realization as memories of the times you’ve helped her to not do said stupid things came to the front of your mind.
“Don’t apologize. Especially not for that.”
She nodded, biting her lip as she quickly rubbed away the tears that threatened to stream down her face.
“I mean it, Trinity. Also, I may not have the whole picture but I promise you, you can come to me.”
“I know.” She replied before abruptly grabbing your shoulders and moving you.
“I don’t want her to see me.”
“Right. Okay. Well, you should be glad I’m more than happy to be a human shield for you.”
You tapped your foot, faking impatience. “Alright, ready whenever you are…any day now.”
It took a solid minute and a half before she finally let go.
“All clear.” She tried not to laugh.
“No, really, it’s okay. Laugh at me, better than seeing you sad.”
“Okay, gross, don’t get sappy. Just find Fuckleberry and tell him he’s being held prisoner at my place for the night.”
“Will do.” You began to walk off, halting for a second. “Do you want me to leave out the ‘something stupid’ part?”
Trinity nodded. “Please. He’ll be all helicopter mom if he knew.”
“Okay, I’ll just tell him you’re wanting to complain.”
She grinned. “That’ll work.”
You told him and everything went fine, getting him not too long ago. Now you stood inside the kitchen, grabbing a snack as Dennis changed clothes, just after you had.
“Hey, you wanna bag up some marshmallows to take with you?” You called out.
“No, obviously not, Lucky the Leprechaun.”
You swore you heard him laugh.
“What? No. I was just saying whatever.”
Dennis came out of the room now, walking over to you. “That’s his name.”
“No, it’s not.” Your face held shocked skepticism. “Seriously?”
“Yeah. Or Sir Charms. Or, as I called him when I was a kid, Mister Marshmallow.”
“So you’ve always been a fiend for the marshmallows, huh?”
He nodded, a small smile on his lips.
“Okay, well, do you want to take some with you?”
“I ate the last of them this morning.”
“You’re telling me all those boxes up there only have the cereal?”
Shaking your head, you ate some of your snack. “That’s ridiculous.”
“I’m not yucking your yum, I’m just surprised at how quickly you get through your yum. If I were you, I’d savor them.”
“No, they get stale. Gotta eat them before a certain point.”
“Two weeks and one day is where they start to get too stale for my preference.”
“You’re just like Parker with her KitKats.”
“She sounds like a wise snack connoisseur too, then.”
“I’m so sick of you, just leave already.” you giggled, eating more.
“Sure, whatever.” he said sarcastically as he threw his backpack over his shoulder, heading for the door.
He backed up, peering over the corner of the wall that concealed up. “Uh-huh?”
“I mean it, though. I don’t care if a song you hate comes on, don’t skip it unless you’re like…at a red light, or something.” To your knowledge, this was the first time he’s driven alone since everything happened. Was he the one who crashed? No. But did that make it any less scary? Also no.
“I don’t do that anyways. I’ll be good, I promise.”
“Okay.” You visibly relaxed.
“See you tomorrow morning?”
You nodded. Dennis stood there for a moment longer, clearly mentally battling between choices before he left.
The house was quiet, too quiet. And that’s when you got the idea to call Samira, who hasn’t been at work for a hot minute.
“Hello?” Her voice came through.
“Nothings up, I’m fine. Are you?”
She sighed on the other end. “As much as I can be.”
“You haven’t been at work.”
“Yeah, I’m in New Jersey.”
“No, not cute. Fucking exhausting, is what it is.”
“Do you want to tal—“ You went to offer, but she already took the call as a sign.
“She put her whole life on hold for this lowlife dude, even allowed him to take control of her finances. He just broke up with her about two weeks ago now, basically leaving her with nothing, and on top of that, she had a heart attack. Safe to say I didn’t expect to watch her fall to the ground when I got here. I was so prepared to yell at her for her stupid decisions, but then she just…”
“Oh, my God, Samira. Is she okay? Are you okay?”
“Yeah. She’s fine.” She grumbled, her tone making it clear she had complex feelings about it. “I’m fine.”
“Phew, okay. So, her finances, huh?”
“She’s fucking broke. Fully relying on me now, which sucks in general but it sucks even more since I’m out of work to be here with her in the hospital.”
“She’s still in the hospital?”
“She needs a bypass surgery.”
“Yeah. Fuck. And she doesn’t have good insurance now, that guy literally bled her dry. I’m trying to keep up with lawyers and all that bullshit to try and get at least a dime of her money back.”
“That really fucking sucks, Mira, I’m sorry.” The nickname flowed out with ease.
She didn’t bat an eye at it. “Can’t be worse than this cafeteria food. I’ll tell you what, PTMC has this shithole beat.”
“Can you DoorDash something better?”
She paused. “Not a bad idea. These sandwiches look like they’ve been sitting here since I got to here. Hold on, I’m going to put you on speaker while I find something.”
“Okay. No dirty talk, got it.”
Samira laughed. “You’re the best person to be on call with right now.”
“Yes. By a long shot.” She trailed off, clicking at something.
“Well, you’re one of the best people to work with by a long shot. I hope things turn over quickly, for your mom of course but also because I selfishly want you back here.”
She cleared her throat. “Uh-huh, yup. Sorry, just putting in my order. Mobile ordering always sucks.”
“Chipotle. Healthiest option and open late.”
“I’m so happy for you.” You went into thought for a moment as a lightbulb went off above your head. “You’re going on speaker now, too. But you can talk dirty all you want, I’m home.”
“Alone?” Her voice rang through the living room now as you pressed the button.
“Yeah, Dennis is with Trinity for the night.”
“For the night? As in, he was with you before tonight?”
You felt warmth bloom across your face. “Uh…yeah.”
“Wow. Who asked who? No, wait, let me guess…him?”
“No, actually. It was me.”
“It was a flip of a coin, honestly. How was that?”
“The time he was there for.”
“He was only back home yesterday, slept over and—“
“And to think I was about to live vicariously through you.”
“You want Dennis?” You joked.
“No, he’s not my type—no offense. I just meant the having someone to be around aspect of things.”
“You should jog my memory on what your type is.”
“Eh, I don’t know. Driven, generous, sexy…”
You laughed. “Right, the necessities.”
There it was again, the silence on her end.
“I guess that New Jersey hospital has shit Wi-Fi too, then?”
“No, actually. Way better than over there.”
“So why the random pauses?”
“How to tell you, and eventually how to tell everyone else.”
“How to tell us what?” You stopped using your phone, looking around in your living time as if giving her your undivided attention, as if she were there.
“I won’t be coming back. Not for a long time, at least. There’s no way I’d be able to afford my bills on top of my moms. I’m literally hog-tied to this shithole. And I don’t mean New Jersey, I mean this hospital. Me working here gets me paid and potentially gets her some relative benefits, which means less money being charged to her insurance that would inevitably be charged to me.”
You felt your heart drop. “That’s…” You went to tell her how saddened you were, but you figured she didn’t need that right now. So, humor it is. “That might be worse news than finding out I got into a car accident.”
“Oh, shut up.” She snickered, the sound a little melancholy. “You’ll still be able to call me.”
“Nuh-uh, this ain’t enough. I’ll have to come visit you sometime when I’m not afraid of driving.”
“I’ll take that, too. Hey, what’d you put me on speaker for, by the way?”
“We’re both on DoorDash, it’s kind of a real bonding moment.”
“Don’t tell me you’re getting Chipotle too?”
“Well? What are you getting?”
“According to the product description? ‘Just Magical Marshmallows’.”
“I never understood the hype around marshmallows. They just taste so…powdery. And sugary. And fake.”
“All very accurate descriptions, especially for Lucky Charms. All that added dye? Mm-hm.”
“Oh, Lucky Charms? You’re getting Dennis a little gift, then?”
“He’s that bad to the point everyone knows?”
“All you have to do is stumble into the break room at the same time he’s there and you’ll know. He quite literally treats them like they’re his pot of gold.”
“I thoroughly believe that.” You replied, placing the order. “So, living ‘vicariously’ through me, you said?”
“All my prospects are back in Pittsburgh.”
“Plural? Look at you go.”
“My prospect. Singular. Let me not lie.”
“It doesn’t matter. It wasn’t ever going to happen anyways, and it especially won’t now since he’s five hours away.”
“Who wouldn’t drive five hours for you?”
“He definitely would, I would just tell him no.”
“He’s got important duties to attend to.”
“Like what? He on the SWAT team or something?”
Another moment of silence.
“Dude, I’m on a fucking roll today. I gotta start just saying random guesses more often, if this is my success rate.” You moved to lay down on the couch. “Okay, SWAT guy. So he’s fit?”
“Someone’s getting bashful.”
“I don’t like thinking about things I can’t have.”
“SWAT guys have to have a lot of patience and endurance. I’m sure he’d happily take on the toll you think it would be to be with you.”
“What the hell, why didn’t you say that then? I just celebrated for nothing.”
“SWAT adjacent? Like what?”
“I can’t tell you. It’ll give it away”
“So it’s someone we know?”
“No.” She lied, quickly working up an excuse as to why she passionately muttered a profanity. “Just got told it’s an estimated thirty eight minute wait time until my food gets here.”
“I unfortunately cannot comfort you by relating. At first it was ten minutes, now six—”
You were interrupted by knocking at your door.
“Did I just hear knocking?”
“Yeah.” You confirmed, getting up and off the couch. “Hold on a second.”
You opened the door to a man who, upon sight of you, grinned. “Well, hello. Special delivery for a special lady.”
“Oh, God.” Samira’s voice rang out. You bit back a smile, but not at the man's words—rather, Samira’s.
You took a breath, relieving the laughter that compressed in your chest. “You could’ve just left it at the door.”
“Yeah, but it wasn’t in the special instructions. And let me tell you, I’m glad that it wasn’t. You single?”
“Nope.” You answered, natural as ever. It was true, wasn’t it?
“Bummer. Well, here’s your marshmallows.” The guy replied, holding the bag out to you.
“Thanks, can’t wait to give them to my boyfriend.”
Samira’s laughter filled the hallway of the apartment complex even though she wasn’t physically there.
His face fell as he gave you a curt nod. “Yeah, enjoy. Guess I’ll see you in my dreams.”
With his words, you shut and locked the door. Then, your phone pinged.
Hey, just letting you know I’m at Trinity’s now :)
As you began to type a reply, Samira spoke up. “Now you’re the one with the little pauses. That guy leave?”
“Yeah, yeah, he’s gone. Dennis just texted me is all.”
“Just telling me he got to Trinity’s in one piece.”
You were relieved, sure, but excited? “What’re you so ecstatic for?”
“Sorry, my Chipotle just got here.”
“What happened to that nearly forty minute wait?”
“I’d love to keep talking, but I’m starving and I have to eat quickly so I can get back up to my mom. Text me later?”
You squinted. “Are you still there?”
“Yeah, sorry, I thought I heard you say something different.”
You wracked your brain for a moment. “What, like ‘Abbotsolutely’? It wouldn’t shock me if he walked around saying that. He seemed real proud of it, when he said it to me.”
The call disconnected right then and there. You were about to text her, just for her to text you first.
Sorry! I walked outside, must’ve gotten disconnected. I’ll text you soon!
You weren’t Sherlock Holmes, and you didn’t need to be to put two and two together. Holy shit.
Your attention towards the whole Samira and Jack thing was quickly switched up as you found amongst the notes on the fridge that rent was due a week ago. It was late at night, but you didn’t care. Not when it comes to having a roof over your head. So, you found the landlord's contact (that you labeled, thankfully) and began to call him. You’d leave a voicemail before you gave up, but you didn’t have to do that because he answered on ring four.
“Hey, Ronnie. I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize the rent was due, I was so caught up with my stuff.”
“I’m glad to hear from you, meaning you’re doing better in some way. Is my assumption correct?”
“Oh, yeah. I misunderstood.”
“I’m calling to see if I can reschedule rent, if possible. I got my paycheck not too long ago, plenty to go towards the rent. I can do it sometime tomorrow, I swear. I know it’s late at night–”
“I can handle paying rent, I promise.”
You heard him clear his throat. “No, I mean literally. You don’t have to. I know you can, it’s just that Dennis already paid it in advance about a week ago, so.”
“Yeah, oh. Trust me, if he hadn’t paid it and it was a week late, I’d be calling or texting. Hell, even emailing. It’s hard out here, but I also gotta take care of myself.”
“Yes, o-of course. Sorry to bother you.”
“Ain’t much of a bother, it’s refreshing to talk to someone who actually cares about paying me on time. You have you a good rest of your night now.”
You sighed in relief, setting your phone down on the bed as you sifted through the closet for something cozier to wear. You picked a shirt purely because of the graphics, not because it was Dennis’ and it smelled the most like him. You took off your lounge sweater, slipping his shirt on. Immediately, his scent encompassed you and you felt…at ease. You debated texting him, telling him he didn’t need to pay the entire rent sum himself, let alone before he was even residing here again, but you decided against it. The marshmallows you got him were a mini repayment for the vending machine snacks he got you and now the rent payment as well. It may not seem fair to others, but you knew Dennis would be floored about it. Because, finally, a part of you knew him—again, at least. A part of you remembered him.
It was that night as you lay in bed, wearing Dennis’ shirt you specifically picked because it was the one that smelled most distinctly like him (you accepted that reasoning quickly, didn’t put up much of a fight), that you were taken into a nice, deep sleep. You should’ve known something else was to come of it, with your luck. The dream hit you quickly, his hands on your body in the very bed you had fallen asleep in.
“Did you miss me? Miss this?”
“Yeah,” you panted, eyes fluttering shut at his touch.
“Then say it.” He nuzzled his nose into the crook of your neck, taking in your perfume and pheromones as they mixed into an intoxicating cocktail. “Please. I need to hear it.”
“Yes.” you whispered so quietly it barely left your lips. “I missed this, I missed you and what you to do me.”
Unbeknownst to Dennis, you were having a vivid sex dream about him as he dried his freshly washed hair in Trinity’s bathroom, dancing to I’ll Be Around by The Spinners in his boxers.
Trinity walked by, reversing her steps as she watched him, completely in his own world. “You’re so hopeless.”
He didn’t startle this time like he used to, fully expecting her to tease him at some point. “Says you. I don’t think you even give the day a chance when you wake up, immediately playing depressing music. But this?” He shook his hips to the rhythm. “This sounds happy. Best of both worlds.”
“Totally.” She deadpanned.
“You should try it sometime. Don’t let Garcia ruin your vibe, y’know?”
She stilled at that, but he didn’t notice as he continued to sway to the lyrics. “I’ll bear that in mind.”
“Good. This kind of music is good for you. Good for the soul.”
“Yeah, whatever. Goodnight Funkytown.”
“Goodnight to you, Oscar the Grouch.”
“I’m cleaner than that, unless you’re here. Then my place really does become a trash can. Pick up your Pop-Tart wrappers.”
“I will, and last I checked, you asked me to come here.”
“Sure. I enjoy being around you too, asshole.”
“I’m going to bed now.” She ran fingers through her hair.
“I’ll be in here grooving if you need me.”
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