fic where its timeskip outsider pov and it’s a bunch of new med students starting their rotation at the pitt trying to figure out the dynamics between all the attendings and senior residents
Dr. Robby does his big speech and introduces the med students to the senior residents they’ll be reporting to; he introduces them to Dana (who is still there despite saying she’s going to quit every month). Then he walks over to a computer stand with an unreadable expression on his face,
“And this is the other attending on shift, Dr. Whitaker”
Dennis smiles and probably unintentionally woos some of the younger students with his boyish charm and easygoing nature. He glances at Robby with that same unreadable expression and goes back to a chart.
Dr. Whitaker ends up being their saving grace in more ways than one.
He listens intently as they present their cases to him. He guides them through difficult procedures. But most importantly, he saves them from the wrath of various staff members—specifically Dr. Robby, Dr. Santos, and Dana.
They’ll bring Dr. Whitaker over to chaperone as they ask Dr. Robby about a patient. For whatever reason, Dr. Robby seems to be intimidated by him and listens to him more often than not.
Whenever Dr. Santos starts getting snappy, they notice that Dr. Whitaker will get within her sight and she calms down slightly.
Dr. Whitaker sees that Dana is getting stressed and starting to scare the med students, so he casually asks if she’d like to join him for a smoke in the ambulance bay
They see little interactions between the staff and Dr. Whitaker and wonder how this small, mousy attending can bring such a calm to the storm that is the ED?
they find out one day through the nurses or smth that Whitaker and Santos were roommates for years and are best friends/pseudo siblings
they see little interactions between Robby and Whitaker and wonder how they got so close
One day Dr. Robby is in a particularly bad mood and is snapping at everyone left and right. Dana calls out to him,
“Robinavitch! Go take a lap, we don’t need that in here. Don’t make me get your hubby on the phone”
Santos walks by and adds, “Yeah, Huckleberry doesn’t come in until one for his swing shift. Chill out and let him sleep”
That’s when it all dawns on them.
They’ve heard Santos refer to Whitaker as “Huckleberry” more than his own name
Dr. Dennis “Huckleberry” Whitaker and Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch are married
Trinity: Life update twink, I ended things with Garcia, starting therapy, and just orgasmed so hard my nose bled for 15 minutes. WOO, it’s my fucking month!
Reading the fic felt like a warm hug. It was incredibly cute and sweet. There is some angst though, but it’s mostly fluff! I loved their interaction, but also the reaction of the other PTMC characters teasing Dennis and the rumor mill going crazy 🤭 I loved it!
my favourite difference between how i imagine dennis and robby is definitely the way they call each other.
I think robby calls dennis so many pet names that it's hard for anyone else to keep track of them all, it's just a constant stream of puppy, mouse, baby boy, sweetheart, honey... you name it, he's bestowed it upon dennis. sometimes they joke about how it sounds like robby is keeping a petting zoo at home, with all the small animals that have become synonymous with dennis. mouse is his current favourite. robby's sweet little mousey.
it works for dennis because he'd grown up without any of it. on the farm, he'd only ever been dennis, or sometimes "boy", or "you there", if he'd underperformed somehow in his tasks. so suddenly having this outpouring of delight towards him that culminated in him being sweetheart, or puppy-baby, or honey... well. quite frankly, he laps it up. robby likes it too, not only because he really does worship the ground his boyfriend walks on, but because calling him dennis felt like an on shift thing- and he didn't really need to be reminded of their power imbalance at work more than he already was.
dennis, on the other hand, very very rarely calls robby pet names. he doesn't even really call him "robby", given that that was still a nickname and was popular at work (and dennis also wanted to draw a line between work and home). no, dennis calls him michael. in the mornings, snuggled together, it was michael he gave sleepy kisses to, and it was michael who cooked him breakfast, and when he was getting fucked at night, it was michael deep inside of him.
it works for robby for exactly the opposite reasons that dennis's plethora of pet names work for him. robby's spent almost his whole life hiding behind nicknames and shortenings, always keeping a gap between the real him and the rest of the world. it had been a safety net that had made him the loneliest man alive- no one could get through his walls when half of them didn't even know his real name wasn't robby.
had dennis insisted on pet names for him, he'd have smiled and accepted, but the alienation would've only grown despite their love. so hearing his lover, his baby, his mousey, only refer to him as michael- wanting to know *michael's* thoughts and feelings and life, rather than robby's- broke those walls down like they'd been nothing more than sand. in dennis's arms, he didn't need to be anyone but who he was.
there was the sincerity and truth in michael, and care and affection in puppy or mousey, that both men had been searching for for years. it's as though they'd always known what the other needed without discussion.
i actually think it was really hot for trinity santos to walk in on her first day with that amount of confidence, make nicknames for every loser in there, try and get to do as many cool procedures as she could, catching some asshole stealing drugs, flirt with a 30+ year old surgery resident and still bag her after stabbing her in the foot, and just in general walking around and taking up her rightful space. i think women should do that more
He does everything he can, including: making Trinity hold him accountable whenever he mentions the man outside of work, not hooking up or flirting with anyone who vaguely looks like him, imagining literally anything other than Robby at all times, and trying his best not to stare at the man when they're on the same shift, although Robby tends to always schedule them together.
He makes it a solid three days before he ends up backsliding when he finds the closest lookalike he can at the bar and hooks up with them.
He thinks it’s the alcohol that amplifies how much this stranger looks just like Michael Robinavitch. But the morning after, he wakes up sober beside the younger clone of the man, panics, and promptly runs out.
Trinity teases him about it for days, and Dennis insists that he’s not crazy. The man looked just like him.
Fast forward a few days and much more teasing later, Dennis overhears commotion in Central and follows the noise.
As he approaches the crowd, he hears Robby drone on, “Yes, Jake convinced me to do an Ancestry test kit, and, no, I didn’t expect anything to come from it.”
“Neither did I,” a familiar voice continues. “Next thing I know, a new 50% match pops up, and I’m flying out to meet my half-brother who is apparently my older doppelgänger.”
Dennis screeches to a halt as soon as he lays his eyes on none other than his recent bar hookup, introducing himself as John Carter to Trinity of all people. She looks around, eyes landing on Dennis, and calling out, “Huckleberry! Get a load of this.”
John’s eyes, quite unfortunately, land on Dennis. His smile grows as he says, “Dennis?” He moves past the group to clap a hand on his shoulder, much like Robby would. “Hey, I thought we had a good time the other night, but you disappeared in the morning. Did I do something wrong?”
Dennis feels all the blood leave his face as he sees a look of realization and horror cross over Trinity’s features that spreads throughout the group, including Dr. Robby.
He's so screwed.
John glances over his shoulder to where Dennis is staring, and flushes as the same realization hits him. “Oh.” He looks between the two of them, and awkwardly says, “So, it was a you thing, not a me thing. Or a… him thing.”
“John,” Robby grunts, desperate to get him to stop talking.
“Sorry.”
Dennis doesn’t know what to do other than pass out on the spot, try to flee to the Canadian border, or hope for divine intervention to strike him down.
Robby beats him to a solution and carefully guides his brother away from him. “Let’s… catch up in the staff lounge.”
“Yes, please.” As they walk away, John tries to quietly add on, “Sorry for sleeping with your coworker. I feel like I ruined this family reunion.” But with the eerie silence of the place, the words travel, confirming what everyone already assumes.
Robby pats his shoulder. “Not a coworker. A student.”
Dennis wants to throw up as John groans, “Shit.”
The rest of the conversation is lost as they make their way to the staff lounge.
Everyone stares at Dennis.
“So,” Princess says, breaking the silence. “What was it like sleeping with the new and improved Dr. Robby?”
Dennis runs his hands over his face and turns away from the group, looking at him way too expectantly. “We are not discussing this. Ever. Or I’ll pay someone to do another cyber attack.”
As he walks off to whatever patient isn’t near the group, he overhears Princess explain, “That means it was unbelievable.”
The rest of the day, Dennis is given teasing remarks and learns, against his will, that John is also a doctor. But he’s from Chicago, where Dennis will hopefully never see him again. As for Dr. Robby… maybe Dennis can be switched to night shift.
He hardly runs into the man as the day goes on, but John does approach him when he’s leaving. He gives him a cute smile and a kiss on the cheek before whispering, “Good luck. If it doesn’t work out, let me know when you’re in Chicago.”
Dennis laughs half heartedly, watching the all too familiar brown eyes scan his face one last time before he leaves.
Trinity immediately makes her presence known, nudging him as she joins in watching the man leave. “Remind me to never doubt you again.”
“Will do.”
He turns around to go to the board and locks eyes with Robby, who looks half amused and half like he wants to crawl out of his skin. Dennis ducks his head as he passes him, ready to never confront what the man knows.
Robby takes the cue for the rest of the day, not bothering the man besides giving him a helping hand or well-deserved praise here and there. It dwindles after Dr. Robby comments, “Great work, Dr. Whitaker.” And Langdon makes the ill-advised joke, “Is that how Dr. Carter sounded the other night?”
He’s sent to triage for the rest of the shift.
Lucky for Dennis, that’s when all the other jokes start dying down, and he feels like he might actually be able to move past this.
That is, until the shift ends, and he finds Dr. Robby leaning against his locker, long after everyone from day shift has left. Dennis had stayed with a patient and thought that if he waited long enough, no one could corner him outside of work for details.
Apparently, he was wrong.
He shoots off a text to Trinity, letting her know that she shouldn’t wait for him. He figures that as much as he’d like this conversation to end after two sentences, it’s going to take much longer.
Dennis slowly approaches his locker, rocking on his heels when Robby doesn’t move. “You’re blocking my locker.”
“Sorry,” Robby says, shifting to the side but lingering.
He enters his combination with shaky hands, pulling on his jacket quickly, then throwing his backpack over his shoulder. He closes the door and mutters, “Bye,” before turning around and practically sprinting away.
He’s stopped by a hand on his shoulder and a singsonged, “Uh uh uh.”
Dennis huffs and turns to the older man. “Yes, I had sex with your brother without knowing you were half related. Yes, I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable. Yes, it won’t happen again. And yes, I can be professional and put this past us.”
Robby shakes his head and chuckles. He claps a hand on his shoulder and guides Dennis out of the ER. “I think you’re getting a bit ahead of yourself, Whitaker.”
“I would like nothing more than for this to be a bad dream, but it isn’t. So, I’m trying to skip the worst part.”
“The worst part wasn’t sleeping with the younger version of me?” Robby asks as they make their way to the ambulance bay.
“God, no,” Dennis says a little too quickly. He flushes red and reaches up to tug at his stethoscope, which he realizes is no longer around his neck. “Uh, that’s not…” he clears his throat and tugs at his backpack strap instead. “What I mean is, I’d really like if we could put this past us as soon as possible.”
“I’m not sure we can.”
Dennis glances up at Robby, his stomach flipping as he practically begs, “Please, I really need this residency. I love PTMC, and I’d do anything-”
Robby holds up his hands, cutting him off. “No, that’s not what I meant. I just need you to be honest with me, and then we’ll be able to move past this.”
Dennis holds his breath as he waits for whatever Robby is hyping himself up to say.
The older man shakes his head as he stares at the ground, his hands coming up to settle on the back of his neck as he looks up at Dennis. “Is there a reason you slept with my brother?”
“Huh?” Dennis asks, the question not fully sinking in.
Robby stares at him, his hands clasping together as he repeats, “Is there a reason you slept with someone who looks nearly identical to me? I need you to answer this with full honesty, so I know how to proceed.”
Every part of Dennis screams at him to lie. To tell Robby that it was dark at the bar and entirely a coincidence. That he had too much to drink. That John mistook him for someone else, and he just didn’t say that he had the wrong guy. Instead, he answers, “Because I knew I’d never get a chance with you, and I took the opportunity when I found the next best thing.”
Robby’s eyes widen at Dennis’ honesty, and Dennis tries not to take it all back. After all, this is what Robby asked of him.
The longer Robby wordlessly stares at him, the more he overthinks his response.
He nearly admits defeat and leaves until Robby finally unfreezes and says, “John was right. You’re much bolder than I anticipated.”
Dennis blushes and glances down at his shoes.
“I can assure you the next best thing is better than the real thing,” Robby says quietly.
Dennis shakes his head and mutters, “I wouldn’t know.”
“Dennis…”
He glances up at Robby, seeing the conflicted look in his eyes. “How do we proceed from here?”
The older man lets out a deep breath and shrugs. “We put this past us, and we eventually forget that this day ever happened.”
Dennis nods, letting it sink in. He starts to take a step away when Robby adds, “Or…”
He can’t help but let his hopes rise as Robby takes a step closer to him. “We figure out if you prefer this version of me. The old and cynical one that has almost nothing to offer.”
“Robby, the only thing John offered to me was your face. You’re already everything I want you to be. Old and cynical, yes, but also too empathic for your own good, smarter than anyone I’ve ever met, and so frustratingly touchy I measure how well my shift went by the number of times you made contact with me. So, no, I’m not going to figure out if I prefer you over your damn half-brother when I already know he’ll never compare.”
Robby’s eyes crinkle as he stares down at him, looking so fond it almost hurts. “You done?”
“For now.”
“Good,” Robby says, ducking down and pulling him into a kiss that’s already one hundred times better than any kiss he's ever had.
He groans as Robby pulls him closer, gasping against his mouth when the man works a hand into his hair, tugging lightly. He uses the chance to deepen the kiss, and Dennis’ knees nearly buckle. When they eventually pull away for air, Robby pants against his cheek, “Better than John?”
“Better than anyone, but if you compare yourself to your brother one more time, I’m moving to night shift.”
Robby chuckles as he pulls Dennis against him, circling his arms around him as he presses a kiss against the top of his head. “Should we send him a thank-you card?”
“Probably.” Dennis sighs as he rests his head against his chest. “Any future family get-togethers are going to be so weird.”
“You should’ve thought about that before sleeping with him.” Dennis shoves at him, and Robby laughs while intertwining their hands. “Come on, let me take you out to dinner.”
“You're already one step ahead of him.”
“I thought we weren’t doing comparisons.”
Dennis squeezes his hand. “I couldn’t resist, but that's the last one.”
They make their way to Robby’s car, discussing restaurants in the area when Robby suddenly asks, “Do you have any brothers who look like you?”
Dennis lightly nudges him. “Please, don’t tell me you’re implying what I think you are.”
“Just wouldn’t want to make the same mistake,” he teases.
Dennis rolls his eyes and turns to him. “You think there’s a better version of me out there?”
“Absolutely not.” He gives him a quick kiss before they continue on their way. “Although I am curious about what an older, graying version of you would look like.”
“Robby," Dennis groans.
The older man chuckles. “Hopefully I’ll be able to find out.”
“You will,” Dennis promises, pressing a kiss against his hand.
"Luckily, between the Pitt and me, I'm sure you'll start graying early."
Dennis laughs and leans against his side. "I'd be okay with that."
Robby's phone dings, and he digs it out of his pocket. He pulls on his glasses, laughing when he reads the notification. "How does dinner at the Italian place down the road sound?"
"Sounds amazing."
"Great, we're meeting John there."
Dennis freezes in place. "You're not serious."
"I am," Robby says with a chuckle. "Let's show him how much you like this version of me, hm?"
"You're going to seriously give me a reason to start graying early."
"What'd I tell you?" Robby plants another kiss on his head as they approach his car.
Dinner is less awkward than Dennis expected, but he still imagines he grows a few grays when John also asks if he has any single brothers.
Afterward, before Robby can say anything, Dennis pulls him into a kiss and confirms, "I definitely prefer this version of you."
"Want to see if you prefer all of it?"
"God, yes."
Dennis is very happy to report that, as great as John Carter was, nothing will ever compare to Michael Robinavitch.
Dennis auctioning off his virginity online to the highest bidder so he can pay off at least some of his med school debt, and Robby feverishly refreshing the page to make sure he stays as the highest bidder because he can't let anyone else have Dennis' virginity.
Listening to an old Noah Wyle interview where he says “Robby is a lone wolf. He doesn’t have any family, he doesn’t have a pet, he doesn’t have a houseplant.”
ijbol thinking about Dennis arriving to water Robby’s plants and spending 45 minutes looking for a plant that never even existed
But imagine it’s with Hucklerobby. But queen Chrysalis is Evil Whitaker (Ogilvie) like you can’t tell me this wouldn’t be kinda peak right??
Like say Robby is brainwashed or if you wanna go for full Mlp and make Ogilvie a changing pretending to be Whitaker to some nefarious reason wether this is a leg up in whatever is the Pitt equivalent in mlp or whatever just run with it mkay
Side note Dennis is absolutely a clumsy Pegasus and I die on that hill, Michael could be Earth pony or Unicorn honestly either one works BUT REGARDLESS Ogilvie is absolutely a changeling through and through
Also twilight in this scenario would be Santos cause she’d immediately catch on that her huckleberry is acting like an ass.
Like yeah this is silly but also it’s so drama and whimsy and I low key wanna draw this out ✨
(Might draw this in my doggo version of them but I feel like it’d be so fun)
(Okay excuse any writing mistakes—it’s 3AM but your post just hella inspired me to share some thoughts as well omg)
Okay low-key I feel like Robby also gives Pegasus vibes—but like,, he’s strong and can definitely do some endurance flying (not sure about speed tho,, I don’t think he’s quite nimble enough)
At first I was seeing Whitaker as a earth pony, for obvious reasons—but I can see the clumsy Pegasus too 🤔 Robby inviting him to his house in the “upper end” of Cloudsdale haha
Duuuude what if it’s a world where Pegasi are low-key rare in most medical departments—maybe it’s seen as their wings “get in the way” too often? Among other things.
Like ofc EMS ponies could be pegasi bc they can transport easy and get to places earth ponies couldn’t—but even then, unicorns can teleport
It would be a “what can a pegasus do that a unicorn can’t?” Type of deal
But the thing is, nobody can command an ER like Robby can, nobody knows more than he does
That’s why when Whitaker, a meek clumsy Pegasus shows up—Robby felt his own wings beg to flutter a bit. He was excited—he wasn’t the only one.
DUDE MAYBE—okay, maybe he grew up on an earth pony farm!! Like it was a genetic one-in-a-million fluke when Dennis was born with wings (from his mother’s side I’d guess) so he was always sort of looked down upon (maybe that’s why he doesn’t know how to use his wings very well?)
Omfg bruh. Like,,, Robby instinctually desiring to extend his wing to cover Witaker’s back, or refer to something between them even though it’s frowned upon to extend them in the work place???
Like duh Whitaker is still going to have a flush across his cheeks when Robby’s feathers brush against his back or leg, regardless of whether they’re extended or still by his sides.
Ughhh
Like dude. Robby giving Whitaker lessons about Pegasi history, and that’s why maybe he’d bring him to Cloudsdale one day—taking him to a museum or two, a factory even (imagine the snowflake factory potential cuteness), then grabbing a local cuisine lunch/sweet treat :,)
Maybe it’s a little colder in Cloudsdale and Whitaker isn’t used to it (ofc) so Robby lends him a scarf 😭
As much as I love the idea of Robby sharing Cloudsdale with Dennis tho, I can totally see Robby as having a second (more primary) home on the ground, with a little farm in the back for herbs and such.
It’s be on the outskirts of town, but he’d still be semi-active in the community/buying from the local stores (I imagine him as a huge fan of bakery items ^^ like he’s not the leanest Pegasus in the world that’s for sure <3 tubby pony Robby anyone?? Just an idea)
After a while he might even invite Dennis over for dinner and tell him about his grandmother and his woes with the family home up in the clouds T-T
Okay okay,, I’ll cool the jets (for now). But also now I want to draw it, write it, AND make Ponytown renditions of them <3 (if anyone knows what that is, bless up haha)
Sorry if my handwriting is awful btw I’m aware it kinda sucks,,
But man do I have a love hate relationship with making cutie marks, Dennis was fun cause it’s basically the paramedic symbol which works out cause it looks like a snowflake and it somewhat symbolizes emergency medicine,
Robby I went with a more bird like theme and yes I think I’m funny basing his design off of a Robin, but anyways he has the Rod of Asclepius which is a Greek mythology symbol for medicine and it works out cause sometimes it has wings similar to the staff of Hermes so yknow feathers cause Pegasus..
"Sick"
A Really Shitty Halloween
I Smell A Bet,
Bless This Mess
Could You Do Me A Favor?
I've Got You
Mistakes Were Made
There Are No Secrets Here
I Didn't Mean It!
Who Else Knows??
Daddy Abbot
Where Is Huckleberry?
Operation Save Huckleberry
Get Your Shit Together
Homosexual Hockey Players
I Need Sunshine
Welcome To Nights!
The Girls and The Gay
Our Favorite Twink
Game Night
Night One
I'm Worried About You
We Need To Do Something
Sargent Doctor Abbot To The Rescue
Coffee Monstrosities
It Wasn't Supposed To Go Like This
Hula-Hoop
Forgiveness, Can You Imagine?
Freedom
Always...
The Lesbians Are Winning
Wubby
How Did I Ever Get So Lucky?
Come Over?
Trinity Being A Good Big Sister
Oops?
Date Night
Fix Your Gaydar
Staff Meetings and Timeouts
Let Me Take Care Of You
Fresh Air Could Do You Some Good
Is There Anyone In This Hospital That Isn’t Dating A Coworker?
ellievsbear
yousharknotpass
annaxmalina
