summary: Dennis comes home to find you and Trinity talking about him in their living room. He panics, thinking you're going to break up with him. Maybe a little reassurance is all he needs.
warnings/table of contents: strictly angst/fluff, explicit language, Dennis is insecure, Trinity's sarcasm is going to be the death of him, wc 1.3k
Work at the PTMC was no small feat, and tonight, Dennis considers himself lucky to have made it out of there alive.
This shift in particular had seemed even crueler than usual, with multitudes of patients piling in by the second and Dr. Robby barking out more orders than a commanding officer.
Dennis breathes a sigh of relief when he reaches the door to the apartment he shares with Trinity. He fumbles with his keys, trying to lessen the distance between him and his bed.
Much to his surprise, the apartment isn't empty when he stumbles inside. Trinity is there, sitting on the living room floor with a glass of wine in hand. What's more, you're sitting there beside her.
It's not like you and Trinity weren't close. In the amount of time that you've been going out with Dennis, youโve spent nearly as much time with her as you have with him.
Butโat least, to Dennisโs knowledgeโyou had never hung out with Trinity without him.
The room seems to go still when the door clicks behind him. Yours and Trinity's laughter halts, and you both look at him as though he's interrupting.
Something that feels a lot like jealousy settles low in his stomach, but he forces a smile. โHey.โ
โHey, Den,โ you say with a smile, though he catches a flicker of guilt hidden in your expression.
โUh, what's up?โ he asks, hanging his bag on a hook and kicking off his shoes. โAm I interrupting something?โ
โYeah. We were talking shit about you,โ Trinity deadpans, brushing him away with her hands. โNow fuck off so we can finish.โ
Dennis, being the huckleberry that he is, completely misreads the situation.
It's safe for Trinity to assume theyโve been friends long enough for Dennis to recognize her unrelenting sarcasm, but after tonight, heโs too exhausted to pick up on social cues.
He just nods, his lips curving inward, not quite sure what to do with himself.
Deciding itโs best to flee the scene, he does just that, retreating to his bedroom after uttering a quiet, โSorry.โ
Dennis spends his entire thirty-minute shower in a panic.
He racks his brain, trying to think of where he could've gone wrong in your relationship.
The two of you have been dating for six months. There have been a few quarrels here and there, but Dennis can honestly say heโs never been happier.
Until tonight, he thought you were happy too.
Now, he's not so sure.
You had never spent time alone with Trinity alone before tonight, and one look on your face when he walked in told him everything he needed to know.
Youโd been talking about him.
By the time he steps out of the shower, Dennis is convinced you're going to break up with him. It only makes sense, considering. Whatever he didโor didn't doโwas going to come back and bite him tonight.
When he opens the bathroom door and finds you sitting on the edge of his bed, waiting, he's certain of it.
EARLIER THAT NIGHT
Trinity kneels beside the coffee table, pouring two generous glasses of red wine.
โBring that shit over here!โ she yells, and you head over, bags of snacks crinkling in your arms.
โJust so you know,โ you say, sitting cross-legged on the floor beside her, โI plan on getting drunk tonight.โ
โWhy do you think I invited you over here?โ She hands you a glass, and almost snorts when she sees you consume half the glass in one big gulp.
โI wasn't kidding.โ
โDuly noted.โ She checks the stove clock. โWhenโs Huckleberry supposed to get off tonight?โ
โIf he's on time, he should be here in an hour.โ
โHe's gonna be so weirded out when he gets here and sees us together.โ Trinity snickers, washing her laughter down with a swallow of wine.
โOh my god.โ You cover your face with your palms. โI can see it right now.โ
โHe's gonna be likeโโ She takes a deep breath, straightening her face and widening her eyes. โUh, uhโฆ whatโs going on here?โ
โStop!โ You playfully hit her knee and fall over laughing. โHis eyes are not like that.โ
โUh, yes they are. They get scary big when he's nervous. You always make him nervous.โ
โMe?โ
โDon't act like you don't know.โ She rolls her eyes. โHe's like, stupid in love with you.โ
You smile to yourself, color blooming in your cheeks. โHe's a really good boyfriend.โ
โYeah, โcause he knows you're out of his league.โ
โWhat are you talking about? Dennis is so cute.โ
โUh, ew. Stop drooling on my rug, please.โ
โI'm serious, Trinity! He's so cute, so sweet, and he treats me so wellโฆโ you trail off, looking down at your twiddling thumbs. โI really think he would do anything for me.โ
โThat's the Nebraska farm boy in him.โ
โHe literally bought me flowers the other day, for absolutely no reason.โ
โLast week, I mentioned something about this necklace I wanted, and I'm pretty sure he bought it for me,โ you continue.
Trinity stares absentmindedly into her glass of wine while you continue listing Dennisโs virtues.
You lean closer, lowering your voice to a conspiratorial whisper. โAnd when we were having sex the other day, heโโ
โOkay,โ Trinity slaps her hands onto her knees. โI've heard enough.โ
The two of you fall into a small fit of laughter, just before Dennis lets himself into the apartment.
โLong shift, huh?โ you ask, patting the spot next to you.
He makes his way over and sits down, the mattress dipping under his weight.
โUh, yeah.โ He rubs the back of his neck.
Silence grows heavily between the two of you, unnatural and tense. Dennisโs eyes drift somewhere in the distance. You lean in and plant a kiss to his bare shoulder.
โWhat's wrong?โ you ask, rubbing slow circles on his back.
โI think I should be asking you that question,โ he states, the warmth leaving his voice.
โWhat do you mean?โ
โI came home to find you and Trinity getting chummy on my living room floor.โ His eyes stay glued to the floor when he adds quietly, โI know you guys were talking about me.โ
โChummy?โ You laugh despite yourself, your drunkenness slipping into view.
โWhatever.โ
โBaby, look at me.โ
He complies, looking at you with wide eyes. Trinity was right. His eyes do get big when he's nervous.
โTrinity invited me overโฆโ you trail off, searching for the words. โAnd yeahโwe were talking about youโโ
โI knew it.โ
โLet me finish, please.โ You laugh. โI was telling her about all the sweet things you've done for me.โ
He lifts his head to get a better look at you.
โI told her about you buying me flowersโฆ and how good I have it with you.โ
A smirk tugs at his lips, embarrassment coloring his face and forcing him to look away. You tilt his chin back toward you.
โAnd honestly, Dennyโwhen I was talking to Trinity, I realized just how lucky I am to be with you.โ
โYeah?โ
โYes,โ you assure him. โDid you really think Trinity was being serious?โ
โUh, yeah. I thought you were gonna break up with me.โ
โI can't believe you would think that.โ
He shrugs.
โYou know, sarcasm is like, Trinityโs thing, right?โ
โYeah, I do.โ He smiles. โI guess I'm just tired.โ
โI'm sorry for making you think we were talking shit about you.โ You cup his face, caressing your thumbs over his cheeks. โI love you. So, so much.โ
โI love you, too.โ
You lean in to give him a small but affectionate kiss before resting your forehead against his.
pittlings movie night at the whitsantos apartment this time ^^
i got inspired from the clip of santos making fun of whitaker for not getting the "Clue" reference! I like to think that every time trinity notices one of the pittlings hasn't seen a specific movie, she immediately calls for a big movie night to educate them <3 we love our pop culture diva!!
it occurred to me that santos may not have actually had a best friend since her friend committed suicide when they were teenagers and that might be part of why she pushes dennis away. she's afraid of losing him so she keeps him at arms length, but they live together and santos pays his bills for 10 months and keeps buying avocados even though she knows he eats them and they watch tv together on their days off. he is indisputably her best friend, but she can't make herself say it.
i have so many thoughts about santos' storyline from this season and all of it makes me love her even more. i hope we get to see them go more in depth about her backstory and her relationships with both dennis + now mel because that could add an even bigger layer of humanity to the staff at PTMC and i would eat it all up
back again with a new post-finale headcanon and fanart!!! MENTOS EDITION!!
we know that trinity gave dennis a total glow up between seasons one and two, so in my mind now that her and mel are getting close (so yuriful) she's gonna also give her the Santos Specialโข and give her a lil makeover day!! i like to think mel was feeling down about her deposition and becca, so santos decided to have a girls day to cheer her up :)
whitsantos headcanon: after dennis started spending more time at amy's farm, he and trinity would see less and less of each other at the apartment. because dennis is awful at texting back, they came up with what they call the "sticky note system" in order to communicate at the apartment now that it's rare that both of them are there at the same time. when one of them has a request, question, update, or just wants to say something, they write it on a sticky note and pin it to the wall. when the other person reads it, they'll reply with their own sticky note. sometimes garcia joins in as well when she has something she wants to say! (based off of a piece of fanart i did!)
stormborns
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