This is going to have all of the links to my little drabble collections for those who find my account late! If there's anything you guys think I should add, let me know!
Ao3 page can be found HERE!
Bio dom/sub Hucklerabbot (Blueangelbby passed their brainworms to me)
Mutt!Jack with leather harnesses and masks and rubber tail plugs and thick collars with metal buckles, polished and well-cared for. Bites and grumbles and huffs like an old dog while he’s fucking Dennis into the bed, tags jingling on his neck with each thrust.
Puppy!Dennis with a soft blue collar lined with fur and soft ears he can clip into his hair with a matching tail. a soft little bell on his collar that matches the jingling of Jack’s tags with each thrust. All whimpery and whiney.
Sometimes they roughhouse, wrestling and yelping and growling and snapping teeth but Dennis is always wriggling happily when Jack pins him, giggling at the snuffly huffs Jack takes of his neck and throat.
Sometimes they’re curled up together in bed, just in their collars, napping together like a pair of pups. It takes a little longer for Jack to get around on all fours but Dennis always waits for him so patiently.
*twirls my hair* heyyyyyyy~
ok in the spirit of Dead Dove Summer, I need to know your thoughts about the different stalking styles of Jack, Robby and Dennis <333
Ilysm kissing you on the mouth
MWAH MWAH MWAH smooch smooch smooch.
Easiest ask ever ily2🐬💖
cw: stalking, noncon, drugs , somno
Dennis: Dennis is... inexperienced to say the least. He comes from a town where houses and people are few and far between. Homelessness taught him to sneak around but he lacks self-awareness. To the untrained eye, it's passable. To the trained one, it's... almost cute. He's too polite. He closes doors that weren't closed before. He straightens out objects without thinking. Keys into a bowl. Askew picture frames straightened out upon inspection. A rumpled tablecloth absentmindedly tugged smooth. He doesn't have restraint either. He can't help himself; he steals clothes that were worn too recently. One's that haven't even made it into the hamper yet.
There's nothing predatory about the way Dennis stalks. It makes him feel ashamed, sure, but also bashful and giddy. Like sending a love letter. He was never socialized well enough. With brothers that packed into a small farmhouse and no sleepovers or friends to speak of, Dennis never grew to understand how someone else might interpret his behavior, only that it was wrong. And wrong things are kept private.
Dennis stalks out of infatuation. He'd never steal anything important-- never money or valuables. He just likes... the proximity of it. The intimacy of seeing a side of someone no one else gets to see.
Robby: Robby isn't much of the breaking and entering type as much as he is an information collector. A chief attending gets access to a lot of information on his staff. It takes a few nights for him to crack, but he pours over Dennis' records. Address, contacts, medical history, and med school transcripts. When he isn't satiated by that, well, he'll just have to get the information himself. Questions that are gentle but insistent. Where did you grow up? What do you get up to in your off time? What neighborhood do you live in? Are you a heavy sleeper? Usually, there's a conversational veneer over the questions but Robby knows Dennis would answer anything.
He likes cameras. At first it's one outside of Dennis and Trinity's apartment building. Just to make sure he gets home safe. Then he puts one in the kitchen to make sure Dennis is eating enough. The kid really needs to put on some weight. At that point, it's only natural to have one pointed at Dennis' bed. Robby turns the volume all the way up at night sleeping to the sounds of the feed static. None of the feeds are particularly interesting or juicy, but it doesn't stop Robby from wringing himself dry every night to the image of his intern passed out in his bed.
It tears him up inside when Dennis starts skipping nights at home. Robby wasn't sure where at first but an air tag in the lining of his backpack fixed that. Robby remembers the night he drove up to the that girl-- Amy's--farm. He watched through binoculars into a warm living room. A living room where Dennis sat at a table with a girl and baby. Cooking, smiling, laughing. Robby's eyes burned and the back of his neck was raw from gripping it. He knew what this meant: he was being left again.
He felt like he his world was flaying into pieces, Dennis slipping through his fingers. Robby basked in every second of attention he got and rotted away in the moments between. His sabbatical wasn't just about Dennis, not really. That was just another thing in his life that wasn't what he'd hoped it would be. The realization, however, that Dennis might stay in his home, sleep in his bed, and be kept safe in a place felt perfect. If Robby never came back, Dennis would have a piece of him forever. If he did, maybe Dennis' would grow fonder of Robby in his absence. Dennis would miss him He'd realize how much danger Robby's in. Dennis could realize he can save him.
Robby had realized that once. That if someone you loved was going to hurt themself, it was your job to help them. To pull them out of the bathtub. To put pressure on the wounds. To call 911. That's what loving someone meant. That's what being a good son meant. He just hoped Dennis was better than him at it.
Robby just likes to keep an eye on the people he cares about. He wants to make sure they're ok. And if they're leaving, he wants to know ahead of time so he can try to stop it.
Abbot: Jack isn't a violent man. He is strong, military trained, imposing. He is not cruel. He is not possessive. He is empty.
This stuff went down to his roots. Summers in Appalachia sneaking into places he shouldn't have been. Keeping lookout for his friends. The behavior really only reared its ugly head in undergrad. He never got caught but it didn't matter. A few angry boyfriends called him controlling. A girl once caught him watching in his car when she was out with friends. He learned to let it show less after that.
When he met Mikey, it was bad. Jack wanted to know where he was, what he wore, what he thought. It didn't help that Mike seemed to preen at the attention. Mike was flattered at Jack's insistence on knowing where he was, who he was with, what he was doing. He leaked like a faucet when Jack choked him. Promised over and over again to let himself be owned. Michael endlessly wanted affection and Jack wouldn't rip his gaze away if it killed him. And then it did.
Robby's grandma died. Jack's service portion of his program was coming up. Robby got a residency at in New Orleans. Jack got deployed. Jack served. Lost his leg. Lost his friends. Met Liz. He was evened out a bit by then. The grief and relearning how to live sanded down his rough edges. He lived happy, spending his days with a wife he loved. No ugly hole in his chest to fill.
There's a horrible small voice in Jack's head that says that Liz had to die so he could watch out for Robby again. It was a miserable time. Jack spent his days alone. He fucking hated being alone. He drowned out the feeling with the police scanner and extra work. Then suddenly, like a beacon of light into his life, he realized how much Robby still needed him.
It didn't come easy. Where Jack lost his edges, Robby had gained some. Robby didn't like to listen. He insisted he didn't need help, didn't want company, didn't want to be asked anymore fucking questions about his mental health. It wouldn't be enough for Jack to follow him around anymore. Robby needed to be taken care of, kicking and screaming.
Jack doesn't sleep much so he spends his nights off at Robby's. There's no urgency to it, no flustered panic. He's there for him at the edge of his bed and he hopes it's enough for Robby to feel it. Measures get more drastic once Jack realizes that Mike is losing sleep over a med student. The poor thing can't sleep, won't eat. Jack resorts sleep aids and an occasional IV. The sleep aids mean that Robby sleeps like a stone. Jack has no problems curling round him, petting his hair, whispering into his ear how much he loves him. He wonders if Mikey feels it the next day. If he can feel all the love inside of him, the stretch of it. If Robby won't take it awake then at least he can take it sleeping.
Jack is furious about the kid. At first. Then he realizes that that's sort of like being mad a wet kitten in a cardboard box. Whitaker is almost endearing. The best of Robby when he was young: clumsy, foolish, and naive. He's not very aware, doesn't notice Jack in the shadows of the house when he sneaks in. Robby doesn't play the camera feed on his phone on nights Dennis is "out late," opting for the tv instead. The little thing doesn't even check Robby's laptop. Jack would kill to see the look on his face when he figured out where the camera in his shower was hidden.
He watches as Dennis rummages through laundry on the floor, smells bottles of conditioner and cologne, even looks through a photo album. He watches him gingerly sneak out of the house when he's done, leaving the place ever so slightly nicer than it was before he left. He decided he needed Dennis on a few night shifts after that. It was only days before Jack noticed his laundry missing.
Jack would never let Robby go on his suicide mission. He'll dismantle that ugly fucking bike if he has to. So he catches Robby on his way out the door. Convinces Robby to let Jack call in a favor and take him out for a drink before he goes. One last one, an occasion he wouldn't want to miss.
Jack hits Robby with a syringe of versed on the couch of his apartment. It takes a minute, but he settles Robby in the bedroom. Chain around his neck, anchored into the floor. A few days of special treatment should have this all worked out Jack thinks. Robby might even get a treat if he's good.
Robby sobs, cries, screams into a muzzle but eventually he learns to take it. He just needed a little forcing. Needed someone else to take control. After two days, he lets himself accept some love. He lets Jack handfeed him, bathe him, pet him. By the end of the week, they fall into something perfect. Jack unchains Robby for the first time. It's a rare Saturday off for Jack. He's on the couch, Robby on the floor between his legs. Jack pets Robby's hair as a movie plays in the background. Taking short glances at his phone every few minutes.
A tracking app shows a blue dot getting closer and closer to his apartment. Robby's treat was on it's way.
(Part of this post. CW; mild gore/injury)
Jack’s not concerned when, one morning, Dennis doesn’t show up.
He goes outside and starts pouring the salt, waiting for the stilted walk of something still not-quite used to walking on only 2 legs. But nothing. Nothing but the keening yelp of foxes in the distance getting their last frolics in before the rise of the sun.
“I’m going out there.” Jack mutters when he comes in, slinging his rifle around his back. “Dennis isn’t here.”
“…is that something to investigate?” Pope asked, voice still gravelly from sleep where he was drinking a tin mug of coffee. “He’s been here a long time. Maybe he just moved on.”
“I just want to check. If something got to Dennis it means something bigger than him is here. I just want to make sure.”
So it was Jack and Pope- who’d insisted on going with- walking through the woods and listening. The fox yelps Jack thought were part of the pre-dawn chorus were sustained, mournful and pained, and the way the hairs on Jack’s neck rose made him veer off the road.
“Jack?” Pope hissed, following him into the underbrush.
“He’s over here.”
“Then we should go-“
“-not before seeing what’s wrong.” Jack hissed back.
The whines grew louder as they drew closer, but hushed as Jack’s lantern threw light across a clearing in the trees.
A pale figure was curled up on its side, curly locks tumbling down it’s neck and back like the hair on a dog’s back. One long, haunch-like leg was extended, and then Jack could see the teeth of the bear trap embedded in its skin.
“Jack… Pope…”
Jack shuddered as its voice carried across the clearing, hopeful and whining like a trapped animal.
“Oh, I’m not- I’m not presentable, Jack, don’t look-“ Dennis wailed, trying to draw his legs into himself further but hissing at the painful pull of metal embedded in his skin.
“Don’t- don’t move, Dennis, it’s okay-“ Jack tried, steeling his voice against his nerves as he knelt down. The blood was black and brackish like still water, slicking the metal with a sickening sheen.
“I-I don’t just show myself to any alpha around, Jack, you have to believe me! I’m a good omega, a proper one-“ Dennis blubbered, hiding his face behind a curtain of curls that looked more and more like a wild mane with each passing minute.
“I won’t look, Dennis, I promise-“
“Pope can’t either!” He shrieked like a hawk, hoarse and ear-piercing as Pope’s heavy footsteps faltered behind Jack.
“He won’t, he won’t, Dennis, I promise.” Jack said hurriedly, looking at Pope. They stared at each other before Pope finally huffed and turned his back to the two of them. “I promise, we… we’re gentlemen, Dennis, we don’t look at vulnerable omegas like that.”
A wet, gurgling croon made Jack shudder, fixing his gaze on the bear trap and fighting a full-body flinch as a long finger played with a curl by the shell of his ear.
“Oh, I knew you would be. Such good alphas, takin’ good care of me..” Dennis giggled but it sounded faintly like a chittering call of the cicadas. Dennis’s blood was brackish and dark, oozing like mud during rain season. Jack gingerly slipped his fingers between the metal teeth of the trap.
“I’m going to pry this open and then I need you to get up and go, alright?” Jack grunted, bracing himself. Dennis tensed next to him, ready to flee. “One, two, three-“
Jack opened the bear trap with a groan of springs and metal- as soon as Dennis was able to, he was up and lurching away from the trap with a speed that would have startled Jack if it weren’t for the perilous task in front of him. By the time Jack managed to set the trap Dennis was long gone, save for a low elk call that stretched a little too long.
Jack sighed and let his head hang for a minute while Pope quietly grabbed a stick and pushed it into the trigger for the trap, making sure it snapped shut again.
“I’m going to look around. You should get back before Robby gets worried.” Pope spoke quietly. Jack shrugged and got up with a low groan.
The walk back was quiet, like all of the animals had fallen silent to the thing walking free between the trees.
Service dog hybrid Dennis who doesn't understand why he's not allowed to go in the exam room with Jack, because it only really smells like him in there and nobody else.
He's pacing around outside the door, and Robby's already gently told him to come away twice, each time steering him away towards a different job, but he keeps circling back because Jack is in there and he wants to see him.
There is something a little weird about the smell though. It's Jack, yeah, but it's...stronger? Than it usually is. And there's something layered on top of it, like it's doubled up but also had something slightly different about it. He can't work it out and it's maddening that he's not allowed in.
But then the door whooshes open and Dennis flinches back a little, and Jack is suddenly right there in the doorway, looking slightly surprised to see him there.
"Denny." His tail picks up wagging because he feels like he hasn't seen Jack in forever. "Just who I was looking for."
And Dennis' tail wags even harder because hell yes, Jack's been looking for him!
"Can you come in here and just...sit here with my - patient. For just a second?"
And Dennis doesn't really know why Jack's hesitating or why he looks a little tense, but if he can help then he's more than happy to. He likes to help people, and he particularly likes to help Jack.
He follows him back into the exam room and feels his whole body come lurching to a halt because the patient -
The patient is Jack?
Except he's obviously not because Jack is wandering back towards the tools he left on the tray, and the man sitting on the bed and looking like he's one second away from bolting, is clearly younger, and clearly...not Jack.
"You look just like Jack! That's so cool!" And there are clearly hearts in Dennis' eyes or something because Jack glances back up at him with this little fond twitch to his lips and eyes that tell Dennis he should be getting so many pets right now.
"I dunno that Pope would agree with you. Must be hard living under such an impressive shadow his whole life." The man doesn't respond, so Jack just gives Dennis a little nod of introduction. "Dennis, this is my little brother, Pope. He's a fucking terrible patient, so if you could just sit next to him and work your magic while I try to get his arm sewn back together, I'd appreciate it. Pope, this is Dennis, he's our -"
"You're a hybrid."
Pope has his head tilted down but his eyes firmly and unwaveringly fixed on Dennis, and - and there's something about it that makes the hairs on the back of Dennis' neck stand on end. He feels vulnerable, suddenly. He can't see any extra ears or a tail attached to Pope, but he feels like he's in the presence of a bigger, wilder dog than he will ever be.
He feels like he should be scared. He feels like he wants to roll over and show Pope his belly just a little. But whatever he's feeling right now isn't fear, because there's something else about Pope that is screaming and pulling at something inside Dennis. He's staring, yes, but his eyes don't look like they're harbouring rage or aggression right now. They look like they're searching, desperately, for something. Like they're scanning a crowd for someone he recognises. They're sad, somehow.
It's like looking at someone who is appealing for someone, something intangible. Like even he doesn't know what it is he's asking for, but he knows he's desperate for it.
Dennis feels such a strong need to give him what he's searching for, and he feels his ears flatten against his head and he has to swallow his own sad whine because for some reason it hurts him that he doesn't know what this man - Jack's brother - wants.
"Pope, c'mon man. That's not polite. His name is Dennis."
"But he is a hybrid."
"Yep! That's me!" Dennis interrupts because it looks like Jack's opening his mouth to scold some more. He wags his tail for Pope, whose eyes catch on the motion immediately and don't leave.
"Sorry, Denny. Don't worry, though, he's not an asshole. Well, he's not trying to be. He just - he likes hybrids."
Pope doesn't even acknowledge the words, he looks like he's so thoroughly fixated on Dennis' wagging tail. Dennis allows himself a little giggle.
"I mean I'd much rather be in a room with someone who likes hybrids than someone who thinks we shouldn't exist."
"I would never think that."
Pope's voice is quiet, and his eyes are fixed back on Dennis' with an intensity that he doesn't quite know what to do with, like he's trying to convince Dennis of how much he really means it.
"Can I sit next to you, Pope?"
The speed with which Pope hauls himself further along the bed makes Jack curse from where he was trying to suture, and Dennis laugh a little, because he likes seeing Jack get wound up.
Pope is looking at him like that one time a local high school graduation had ended up in the ED, and the prom king couldn't keep his eyes off the queen in dark blue chiffon with the emesis bag clutched in her hand.
Dennis hops up on the bed, making sure to press himself against Pope's side, even though he'd usually spend more time gauging the mood. He lets his tail thump against the bed and Pope's back, and he can feel Pope's eyes boring into him, and it kinda makes him want to smile and show him his favourite toy.
"Okay, if we're all settled and snug now?" Jack is raising his eyebrows and Dennis sticks his tongue out at him. "Jesus Christ. Okay. Pope. Stay fucking still. Please. I don't wanna explain in my chart why you came in with a 10cm open lac and left with a 25cm closed one."
"Can I touch your ears?"
Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Jack take a big deep breath for patience. He ignores it in favour of blinking up at Pope's returning, unblinking stare that has a hopeful greediness to it. Something lurking behind them flickers and threatens to slam down on the sparkling thing that Dennis is enjoying looking at.
"Sorry," Pope mumbles, making an effort to break eye contact. "I dunno if that's rude. Sorry if it is. You don't have to. I don't wanna make you uncomfortable."
And no, that's not how this is supposed to go at all. Dennis looks over at Jack, who's watching them both carefully. He gives Dennis a minute shrug as if to say it's your choice, kid.
Dennis smiles up at Pope, lets them both feel the lazy wag of his tail.
"It's not rude! It's what I'm here for! Besides, it's not really a hardship for me. I like having my ears touched. I guess it would be like someone having a job getting massages. It's pretty great!"
Pope grimaces just a little, as though he's not sure that's a thought he's entirely comfortable with, and Dennis doesn't want him getting side tracked, so he carefully picks up Pope's hand - large, scarred around the knuckles - and brings it slowly to his own head.
"Here." He guides Pope's hand to his right ear, and watches something in Pope's shoulders go lax, sees his face soften like he's just walked into a patch of sunshine on a cold day. "You can't really go wrong - just don't yank them real hard, please."
"I won't." Pope sounds like he's been put under sedation, the promise soft and scratchy and almost slurred, absent as his large hand starts stroking Dennis' ears like they're made of fine crystal and might shatter if he presses too hard. Dennis is struck by the difference between this and Jack's usual boisterous ruffling and tugging, and he feels himself smile as he looks at the older man's face, solemn and as totally focused on his stitching as his brother is on Dennis' ears.
Dennis walks Robby like a dog and Jack walks Dennis like a puppy and Robby holds Jack’s leash because that’s his mutt and they’re all losers for each other hello is this mic working?
Pedigree omega hybrid Dennis who is used to being primped and preened and trotted around at shows. He sits there patently and is mostly just happy to get by-product/pseudo affection from being combed and having his ears and tail fluffed up and smoothed back down again. His tail wags slowly while he smiles and his eyes scan the rest of the contestants and the visitors.
Sometimes he gets in trouble because he just really likes to run around properly, and that's not what these shows are about. So when he's taken for walks outside during breaks, sometimes he makes a little dash for it. He always comes back! He's a good boy! He just really wants to get rid of all his energy, and he's never entered into the agility classes even though he'd love to run through tunnels and jump over tiny hedges!
Jack and Robby who decide to take a break from their medical conference and take a look around the city. Robby's speaking role is finished and neither of them have much interest in networking, and there's a show event going on at the ground floor of the conference centre.
"Don't make that face. You were the one who said he was bored."
"I said I didn't want to network with anyone that Gloria recommended. I said it would be nice to see more of th city than the inside of our hotel room-"
"Not usually what you say-"
"I didn't say I wanted to see some poor creatures being paraded around in a thinly veiled flesh market."
Jack's smirk softened, tilting downwards to match his gaze.
"Yeah, I know, Mikey. But I - I have to admit I'm curious, you know?" The silence carried on for a beat longer than approval or understanding would suggest. "Oh, don't make that face at me. I'm not - I don't want to go just to gawk. I guess. I wanna - I dunno, educate myself. Be more informed. I'm not trying to endorse it, I'm trying to understand it."
Robby grimaced, sighed, but let his legs follow Jack as they made their way down past the floors hosting the medical conference, shoulders tensing as the most obviously off-duty doctors and nurses made way for people dressed far too immaculately for their dirty business.
He tuned out as Jack paid the almost-certainly exorbitant entry fee, pulled a grimace at the receptionist who handed them their passes, and let Jack lead them into the unknown.
****
So far, everything had passed him by in a kaleidoscope of swirling fur particles, the scent of anxiety and excitement and, very occasionally and very troublingly, arousal, and a cacophony of noise that the comparatively staid lectures on emergency response times hadn't prepared him for at all.
They had passed all the trade stands selling any number of pseudo-science bullshit alternative hybrid medicine, treats to keep them sweet (Jack's mouth had become thin and tense as they passed), and eye-wateringly expensive insurance plans for the apparently pampered darlings being shown off.
The darlings themselves were all confined to little booths where they were all either napping or sitting on little stools while being combed and spritzed and tweaked like they were nothing more than a doll's companion toy.
Most of them didn't seem interested in Jack or Robby, or any of the visitors strolling around. Even when they weren't sleeping, their eyes were half-lidded and slid over them like water over smooth rock.
The one exception was a lithe, curly-headed puppy with big blue eyes with oddly pronounced bags underneath them that strangely did nothing to detract from the cheerful disposition.
He had a small smile on his face and one of his ears flopped at the tip as he looked around at all the new faces coming and goin. His tail kept up a permanent, steady wag, and Robby could tell the moment the omega made eye contact with Jack, because suddenly they lazy wag was threatening to become a small cyclone.
"Hi!"
His voice was bright and eager, and Robby was resigned to his fate as soon as he saw Jack's answering grin start to spread across his face, changing it and making his eyes sparkle in that incorrigible way that Robby loved so much.
"Hey, buddy." Jack loped closer, hands in his pockets like he was capable of concealing his excitement from Robby at all. "You're looking very handsome today."
The kid beamed from between the pecking fingers of his handler, who paid no more attention to Robby and Jack than he did to his hybrid as he fussed and fluffed over his hair and the area where it weaved together with the soft curls of the fur on his ears.
"Thank you! I got grass seeds in my ears today." There was an ever so slight downcast to his voice and eyes, tail wagging slowly almost imperceptibly.
"Oh yeah? They stick like hell, you manage to get 'em all out? Don't want an infection setting in if you miss any."
The omega started to nod, but the movement was abruptly halted by his handler grabbing at his soft, perfectly-groomed ear and turning it inside out.
"I think we got them all, didn't we Dennis?" The man mused, pulling Dennis' turned-out ear this way and that, angling it towards the light.
His head lolled with the movement, eyes still on Jack and flicking once briefly over to Robby, who had been standing back, hands in pockets and eyes vaguely absent, letting Jack take the lead in the conversation. When he saw the kid looking at him, he summoned a weak smile and was rewarded with a tail twitch and a brightening of the kid's own expression.
"Denny, how have you managed to get knots behind your ears since I last did them?"
He spoke to Dennis, but rolled his eyes at Jack as he took a fine, metal-toothed comb to the incredibly soft, crinkly fur at the base of Dennis' ears and started to pull briskly through it. There was a slight tightening at the corners of Dennis' eyes, but no complaints.
"I've never handled one that hates being indoors as much as this one. Constantly pestering to go outside, and then he runs off half the time."
"No I don't!" This gets Dennis nothing more than another roll of his handler's eyes. "I always come back, it's not like I'm running away! I just - like to run around. It's not the same thing."
Jack doesn't know why the poor kid is looking at him like he's imploring him to believe him, but he feels the inexplicable need to reassure.
"Hey, I get it, kid. If I don't get out for a run or some time on the court at least once a week, I go stir crazy."
"He's not lying. It's insufferable."
A small, delighted sound leaves Dennis' mouth at Robby's dry interjection, and Jack is strangely satisfied to see both of them pink up a little bit. Robby's shoulders are starting to inch down from where they've been hunched up near his ears, and his eyes have those particular crinkles they get when he's looking at something or someone he's fond of.
Jack couldn't have anticipated that it would all be shattered so quickly.
"So, are you in the market for one?"
There was half a second where the question didn't quite register, and by the time reality caught up and comprehension sank like a stone in his belly, it was still too late for him to reach over and somehow forcibly close the man's mouth.
"Hybrids are a lot of work, but they're rewarding, especially if you're looking to get a litter out of them. You have an alpha you're looking to stud? Denny's fit for breeding and his owner is considering offers."
Robby's face falls like a cave-in at the narrowest point. His eyes dim and cast around for something else to look at while his lips tighten. Jack knows the signs all too well, knows when he's looking at Robby trying his very best not to take his rage out on or in front of someone who doesn't deserve it.
Jack doesn't think the handler will ever suspect just what Dennis' presence has saved him from, but he does have the time to feel a dull but keen ache in his chest at the sight of the hybrid's devastated face as he watches Robby walk away and Jack turn on his heel to follow.
He hesitates for a second, torn between watching the impossibly tense line of Robby's back and staying just a little longer to -
To do what? To rescue Dennis? One of countless unfortunate hybrids in the country, one of hundreds in this conference centre?
Jack swallows as he wonders whether the law would count it as theft or kidnapping. Chastises himself because he knows damn well what the answer is before the thought even ran its course.
He lifts his eyes to meet Dennis' blue, suddenly hollow ones. Feels like he owes him that at least.
Pedigree omega hybrid Dennis who is used to being primped and preened and trotted around at shows. He sits there patently and is mostly just happy to get by-product/pseudo affection from being combed and having his ears and tail fluffed up and smoothed back down again. His tail wags slowly while he smiles and his eyes scan the rest of the contestants and the visitors.
Sometimes he gets in trouble because he just really likes to run around properly, and that's not what these shows are about. So when he's taken for walks outside during breaks, sometimes he makes a little dash for it. He always comes back! He's a good boy! He just really wants to get rid of all his energy, and he's never entered into the agility classes even though he'd love to run through tunnels and jump over tiny hedges!
Jack and Robby who decide to take a break from their medical conference and take a look around the city. Robby's speaking role is finished and neither of them have much interest in networking, and there's a show event going on at the ground floor of the conference centre.
"Don't make that face. You were the one who said he was bored."
"I said I didn't want to network with anyone that Gloria recommended. I said it would be nice to see more of th city than the inside of our hotel room-"
"Not usually what you say-"
"I didn't say I wanted to see some poor creatures being paraded around in a thinly veiled flesh market."
Jack's smirk softened, tilting downwards to match his gaze.
"Yeah, I know, Mikey. But I - I have to admit I'm curious, you know?" The silence carried on for a beat longer than approval or understanding would suggest. "Oh, don't make that face at me. I'm not - I don't want to go just to gawk. I guess. I wanna - I dunno, educate myself. Be more informed. I'm not trying to endorse it, I'm trying to understand it."
Robby grimaced, sighed, but let his legs follow Jack as they made their way down past the floors hosting the medical conference, shoulders tensing as the most obviously off-duty doctors and nurses made way for people dressed far too immaculately for their dirty business.
He tuned out as Jack paid the almost-certainly exorbitant entry fee, pulled a grimace at the receptionist who handed them their passes, and let Jack lead them into the unknown.
****
So far, everything had passed him by in a kaleidoscope of swirling fur particles, the scent of anxiety and excitement and, very occasionally and very troublingly, arousal, and a cacophony of noise that the comparatively staid lectures on emergency response times hadn't prepared him for at all.
They had passed all the trade stands selling any number of pseudo-science bullshit alternative hybrid medicine, treats to keep them sweet (Jack's mouth had become thin and tense as they passed), and eye-wateringly expensive insurance plans for the apparently pampered darlings being shown off.
The darlings themselves were all confined to little booths where they were all either napping or sitting on little stools while being combed and spritzed and tweaked like they were nothing more than a doll's companion toy.
Most of them didn't seem interested in Jack or Robby, or any of the visitors strolling around. Even when they weren't sleeping, their eyes were half-lidded and slid over them like water over smooth rock.
The one exception was a lithe, curly-headed puppy with big blue eyes with oddly pronounced bags underneath them that strangely did nothing to detract from the cheerful disposition.
He had a small smile on his face and one of his ears flopped at the tip as he looked around at all the new faces coming and goin. His tail kept up a permanent, steady wag, and Robby could tell the moment the omega made eye contact with Jack, because suddenly they lazy wag was threatening to become a small cyclone.
"Hi!"
His voice was bright and eager, and Robby was resigned to his fate as soon as he saw Jack's answering grin start to spread across his face, changing it and making his eyes sparkle in that incorrigible way that Robby loved so much.
"Hey, buddy." Jack loped closer, hands in his pockets like he was capable of concealing his excitement from Robby at all. "You're looking very handsome today."
The kid beamed from between the pecking fingers of his handler, who paid no more attention to Robby and Jack than he did to his hybrid as he fussed and fluffed over his hair and the area where it weaved together with the soft curls of the fur on his ears.
"Thank you! I got grass seeds in my ears today." There was an ever so slight downcast to his voice and eyes, tail wagging slowly almost imperceptibly.
"Oh yeah? They stick like hell, you manage to get 'em all out? Don't want an infection setting in if you miss any."
The omega started to nod, but the movement was abruptly halted by his handler grabbing at his soft, perfectly-groomed ear and turning it inside out.
"I think we got them all, didn't we Dennis?" The man mused, pulling Dennis' turned-out ear this way and that, angling it towards the light.
His head lolled with the movement, eyes still on Jack and flicking once briefly over to Robby, who had been standing back, hands in pockets and eyes vaguely absent, letting Jack take the lead in the conversation. When he saw the kid looking at him, he summoned a weak smile and was rewarded with a tail twitch and a brightening of the kid's own expression.
"Denny, how have you managed to get knots behind your ears since I last did them?"
He spoke to Dennis, but rolled his eyes at Jack as he took a fine, metal-toothed comb to the incredibly soft, crinkly fur at the base of Dennis' ears and started to pull briskly through it. There was a slight tightening at the corners of Dennis' eyes, but no complaints.
"I've never handled one that hates being indoors as much as this one. Constantly pestering to go outside, and then he runs off half the time."
"No I don't!" This gets Dennis nothing more than another roll of his handler's eyes. "I always come back, it's not like I'm running away! I just - like to run around. It's not the same thing."
Jack doesn't know why the poor kid is looking at him like he's imploring him to believe him, but he feels the inexplicable need to reassure.
"Hey, I get it, kid. If I don't get out for a run or some time on the court at least once a week, I go stir crazy."
"He's not lying. It's insufferable."
A small, delighted sound leaves Dennis' mouth at Robby's dry interjection, and Jack is strangely satisfied to see both of them pink up a little bit. Robby's shoulders are starting to inch down from where they've been hunched up near his ears, and his eyes have those particular crinkles they get when he's looking at something or someone he's fond of.
Jack couldn't have anticipated that it would all be shattered so quickly.
"So, are you in the market for one?"
There was half a second where the question didn't quite register, and by the time reality caught up and comprehension sank like a stone in his belly, it was still too late for him to reach over and somehow forcibly close the man's mouth.
"Hybrids are a lot of work, but they're rewarding, especially if you're looking to get a litter out of them. You have an alpha you're looking to stud? Denny's fit for breeding and his owner is considering offers."
Robby's face falls like a cave-in at the narrowest point. His eyes dim and cast around for something else to look at while his lips tighten. Jack knows the signs all too well, knows when he's looking at Robby trying his very best not to take his rage out on or in front of someone who doesn't deserve it.
Jack doesn't think the handler will ever suspect just what Dennis' presence has saved him from, but he does have the time to feel a dull but keen ache in his chest at the sight of the hybrid's devastated face as he watches Robby walk away and Jack turn on his heel to follow.
He hesitates for a second, torn between watching the impossibly tense line of Robby's back and staying just a little longer to -
To do what? To rescue Dennis? One of countless unfortunate hybrids in the country, one of hundreds in this conference centre?
Jack swallows as he wonders whether the law would count it as theft or kidnapping. Chastises himself because he knows damn well what the answer is before the thought even ran its course.
He lifts his eyes to meet Dennis' blue, suddenly hollow ones. Feels like he owes him that at least.
more brainworms from @puppydogwhitaker so um. who's up for some collared!puppy!robby and jack getting robby's stethoscope engraved with his initials so robby can still feel owned at work?
--
"no, jack, don't wanna," robby whined, turning his head away from jack's hands as they moved to unfasten the leather collar around his neck.
"i know pup, i know," jack cooed, "but you can't wear your collar to work, baby."
"i want to keep it," robby said through a pout.
"you'll get it back tonight, i promise. i'm not working, you'll have it the second you get through the front door, mikey. but right now i need you to be good and let me take it off, i already let you sleep in it," jack explained, his voice firm but not quite scolding.
robby only whined but he turned back to jack and bared his throat.
jack quickly unfastened the collar, running his thumbs along the engraved property of J.A. on the inside before placing it in its case. "good job, mikey," jack praised, reaching to scratch fondly at robby's bearded jaw. "i'll keep it safe for you right here until you come home, okay?"
robby nuzzled into the hand at his chin, still whining at the loss of his collar but comforted by jack's touch nonetheless.
--
jack hated mornings like this, it broke his heart to see robby so upset every time he had to take his collar off. they'd tried day collars before but robby didn't like wearing something metal around his neck on top of his Magen David necklace, so they'd had to settle on no collars at all at work.
but jack still wanted to find a solution, something that would keep his pup settled when he was at work and away from jack.
--
when jack arrived at ptmc to pick robby up, he saw him standing at the nurses' station with his hands on his stethoscope, tugging on it slightly to dig softly into the back of his neck. jack's eyes lit up with an idea.
--
it was a couple weeks later and jack and robby were coming to the end of a few shared days off. robby was curled up on the couch, his collar worn proudly on his neck as he laid his head in jack's lap.
"mikey?" jack asked softly, fingers scratching soothingly at robby's scalp.
"mmm?" robby hummed in response, enjoying the floaty headspace he'd gotten to indulge in over the past few days.
"i got a present for you, pup," jack said, "do you want to see it?"
robby perked up at that, sitting up so he could kneel next to jack on the couch. his eyes were big as he looked at jack and spoke, "present? f'me?"
jack smiled, reaching to scratch at robby's beard, "yeah, baby. all for you. think you can be a good boy and wait here while i go get it?"
robby nodded excitedly as jack stood up and went to retrieve it.
when jack walked back into the living room he found robby kneeling on a cushion at the foot of the couch, his hands folded neatly in his lap.
"sweet boy, waiting so prettily for me, huh?" jack said as he sat down and ruffled robby's hair. "do you want to see what's in the bag, pup?"
robby moved to kneel in between jack's legs, "please?"
jack smiled and reached into the bag, he pulled out robby's stethoscope.
robby's brow furrowed in confusion when he saw it, how was this his present?
jack pet robby's hair softly as he spoke, "let me explain, okay, pup? i know how much you love wearing your collar," he said as he ran his fingers reverently across the leather adorning robby's throat, "but we can't have you wearing it at work. so, i had something special done to your stethoscope instead." jack held out the chest piece in front of robby.
robby leaned forward to take a closer look and, oh, the bell now read J.A. in the same script that was inscribed on the inside of his collar. robby didn't notice the tears welling in his eyes until he felt jack's thumb brushing them away.
"oh, puppy, do you like it?" jack cooed, hand still cupping robby's face.
robby nuzzled into jack's palm before whispering out, "thank you. love it."
"come here, mikey," jack said as he placed the stethoscope off to the side and pulled robby onto the couch with him. jack brushed robby's hair out of his face and kissed him softly, "now i'll always be with you, baby."
robby nuzzled into jack's neck, kissing at whatever skin he could reach, "love you, jack."
“You shaved your bush” trend but it’s Dennis, Victoria, and Trinity impersonating their bosses and Robby walks in on Victoria going “No, Dr. Robby would be much more devastated than that” and Trinity drops her voice and goes “Whitaker you shaved your bush?”
And Robby bursts into tears because Dennis did you really-
Robby was watering his hydrangeas when trouble moved in next door.
He had seen the “for rent” sign on the property for a while now- long enough that it had faded in the background of his daily monotony. Long enough that when the truck rumbled up to the property and let out a sharp hiss of the brakes deploying, it made Robby jolt with surprise.
The young men piled out of the truck like clowns in a clown car; ribbing each other as they adjusted their baseball caps and hauled the back of the truck open. One young alpha clearly led the pack- still pup-faced and eager, the loping gait of a man whose body hadn’t started the downward spiral- carrying boxes in all his shirtless, sweaty glory alongside his friends into the townhouse next to his.
Robby loathed him the second he saw him.
He was the kind of alpha that just promised trouble; athletic, aesthetically pleasing to look at (he’d admit begrudgingly if asked), rambunctious and obviously a jock. Copper curls sticking to his nape from sweat and trying to break free from the backwards cap that contained them. He was the kind of guy in the movies Robby watched growing up who’d date the head cheerleader and give the main character swirlies in the toilet.
He could always tell when he finally registered on an alpha’s radar; most of the time he’s invisible since he’s over the age of 30, but on the off chance an alpha’s actually into that it’s always an ordeal he’d rather skip. The double take, the slow up and down, the preening, and then the confident walk up expecting Robby to be grateful he’s gained their attention. He hadn’t expected anything different from him.
Robby groaned mentally as the kid walked up to him and stuck his hand out to shake.
“Hi, Ma’am! I’m Jack Abbot, I’m moving in next door.” All-American charm and a scent that oozed from his pores from the workout; something bright and tart, sort of familiar…
“...I can see that.” Robby stated, not moving his unoccupied hand from his hip. Jack faltered slightly, his hand dipping down with his smile. This was the moment he’d huff and stomp off to his little troupe, grumbling about “stuck-up bitches.” Instead, he looked back towards the truck and chuckled sheepishly.
“S-sorry, I know we’re kind of being loud- I can ask them to quiet down a little.” That had Robby’s eyebrow raised slightly in surprise. He didn’t know they had self-aware models.
“Do what you want.” Robby replied, shutting off the spray nozzle of his hose. “Don’t knock over the pots.”
“Of course, Ma’am-”
“-it’s ‘Doctor’, actually.”
“Of course, Doctor.” The kid replied automatically, brow furrowing slightly as he processed the words. By then however, Robby was moving back inside. Shutting the door and shielding himself to the alpha’s gaze made him release a sigh of relief. It was for the best. The only type of milf pups like that have seen are the ones in porn categories; most of them changed their minds as soon as they saw stretch marks and c-section scars and sagging tits.
“Mamele? S’that?” Robby fixed his face quickly, smiling warmly at the little pup toddling up to him.
He couldn’t help but coo seeing his baby boy’s pretty blue eyes and little blonde curls.
“Just some silly neighbors being loud, Denny.” Robby leaned down to pick him up at the request of his outstretched hands, bringing him up with a soft groan to kiss his pudgy little cheek. He relished in the soft milky pup scent and the squeal he let out at his beard tickling his face.
“Tickles!” He giggled, patting Robby’s face with his hands as he moved through the house. He still had things to do besides dread the new neighbor- pack Dennis’s lunch, for one, before dropping him off to daycare on his way to the PTMC.
So in went the orange slices and sandwich and milk and crackers, all in the little barn shaped lunchbox Dennis picked that day with his adorable little plastic forks and spoons.
It was hard. Dennis had not quite been a part of Robby’s plan but now that he was in it he was determined to make it work. His sweet boy who made Robby get up and take care of himself, even just to make sure Dennis can get what he needs. While his body wasn’t what it used to be, he was grateful Dennis came along at a time where he could afford things like daycare and cartons upon cartons of raspberries that seemed to vanish into him like a black hole.
Thankfully the frat boys seemed to be inside while Robby hustled them out the door and into his dark green truck.
He tried to let the interaction roll off him, listening to Dennis’s mindless babble about the things he saw out the window.
Daycare drop off was always the same song and dance of distracting Dennis and then ducking away as soon as he was out of Dennis’s line of vision. God, he couldn’t wait to at least bitch to Dana about the new neighbor. He itched for a cigarette he knew he wouldn’t have.
Robby let the sounds and scents of the ER wash over him- that relentless clamoring choir of noise underlined by the hum of electricity that made the place feel living. He got his things put away quickly, eager to stave off the ordeal that would be Jack Abbot for another 12 hours.
“Rough night, Robby?” Dana asked, not taking her eyes off her computer as Robby leaned over the counter to talk.
“Rough neighbor, more like- just got this smart-ass alpha jock moving next door and I can already feel the migraine.” Robby grumbled,
“On a scale of ‘Mean Girl’ to ‘American Pie’, how bad we talkin’ here?” Dana’s amused tone did nothing to clear Robby’s darkening mood as he huffed.
“Try ‘Top Gun’ volleyball, I’m shocked he didn’t offer to mow my lawn sometime-” Robby grumbled before Dana peered over his shoulder, eyes fixing on something behind him.
“Med Students on your six, Robby.” Dana intoned lowly, prompting Robby’s sigh and spin around.
“-and this is our fearless leader Doctor Robinavitch! He is the day shift senior attending so his word is the law around here.” McKay looked at him with a cheeky little grin as Robby shook his head.
“No, our fearless leader is Dana, who is our charge nurse. Everything that happens here is orchestrated by her, so if she says jump, you all ask ‘how high’-” Robby almost choked on his practiced monologue as his eyes caught over a familiar, starry-eyed alpha’s face.
Oh.
Oh, no.
There was the kid- scrubbed up, shirt tucked neatly into his pants, looking at Robby with wide-eyed surprise that Robby was sure he was mirroring.
“.. so! Introductions! You all know me as Doctor Robinavitch but call me Doctor Robby, it rolls off the tongue a little easier.” The students went around, chiming in their year and names while some of the more old fashioned students gave their secondary sex. When it finally got back to Jack, he puffed up a little before saying, “Jack Abbot, MS4.”
‘How the fuck was this kid an MS4?’ Robby gave him a strained smile. “Alright! Follow me, looks like we’ve got a… ooh, foreign object case! Why don’t we jump into the deep end, shall we?”
It was a nightmare. It had the potential to become a worse nightmare, the kind that required paperwork, the kind that would bring attention to the power imbalance between them with an unforgiving eye. If this kid knew what was fucking good for him he’d back off as soon as he realized that the older omega next door was his boss.
Robby almost wanted him to be bad at his job. Some selfish little bitch in him wanted Jack to be so bad that he could dump him on Presby’s doorstep and be done with him. But the kid was good, annoyingly so. Quick on his feet, confident, listened without second-guessing Robby unless he felt it was necessary.
“I didn’t realize you were Chief Attending.” Jack started during one of the precious moments of quiet. Robby looked at him where he was leaning over the partition, glasses perched on the bridge of his nose.
“I didn’t tell you.”
“That’s really impressive, being an omega in a position like this- I mean, not that they shouldn’t, I just mean that you would have started in the 90’s and there weren’t a whole lot of omega rights laws in place yet and-”
“Yes, it was hard.” Robby cut him off.
“I mean, especially with a pup-”
“- is there something you needed help with, Abbot?” Robby cut him off, turning his full attention to the kid as he faltered, once again wrong-footed in their conversation.
“I mean.. No, Dr. Robby.”
“Good, because I believe Dr. Mohan could provide a wonderful learning opportunity with the abscess patient in room 12.” Robby replied. Jack huffed out a sigh, shoulders slumping slightly as he walked off to find her.
He couldn’t shake Jack for the rest of the day- he always ran up to Robby with questions, falling into step alongside him and taking Robby’s clipped responses in stride.
By some miracle- or maybe God taking pity on his miserable soul- he actually got out on time while Jack was still wrapping up his charting. Enough time to- hopefully- run to Dennis’s daycare and get home by the time Jack was already in his house. He couldn’t wait to see his boy, his soft little voice and sweet scent. The thought softened his own mildly sour scent that leaked through the worn patches of the day.
He didn’t take them off until he pulled up to daycare- he didn’t want to stink up the car with his stress scent, it left Dennis fussy in the back seat.
His little one was already pressed against the bars of the gate, looking like a prison inmate and not a child at daycare. When he saw Robby he squealed and reached out through the bars.
“Hello Miss Robinavitch! Dennis was pretty good today- made a new friend, right bud?” Sharon, the 30-something Beta who managed most days, carefully swung open the gate to allow Dennis to run towards his mama. Robby met him halfway, swinging his little body up and into his arms and enjoying the shrieking giggle as he nuzzled into his pup’s neck to give him kisses.
“A new friend? Denny, that’s so exciting!” Robby cooed, shifting Dennis onto his hip so that he could fill out the pick-up form.
“Uh-huh! P’ayed farm-”
“-Played farm, Den.”
“-played farm, we ran around outside ‘n rode bikes!” Dennis babbled as they walked back outside. Robby buckled him in and turned off his radio, listening to talk of crayons and books during story time and which slide was the best (the blue one). He was so tuned in that he didn’t see the familiar, shirtless alpha jogging down the block until he had gotten out of the car.
Robby debated getting back in and circling the block until he went back inside, but it was too late. Dennis was already squirming and whining about being hungry, and at this point Jack must have seen him getting out of the truck. He huffed and rounded the car, quickly grabbing Dennis’s things and hauling his boy out of the car.
Of course, Dennis fussed about not wanting to be carried- “Big boy, Mamele, wanna walk-” the ill-timed independence meant they were walking up to the door at the same time.
“Aww, is he yours?” Jack cooed, kneeling down to give Dennis a tiny wave. Robby felt his hackles raise.
“No, I just make a habit of taking random pups in my house.” Robby grumbled, earning a huff of laughter from the man as he stood up.
“If you ever need a sitter, Doctor Robby, I have some siblings myself- I babysat for my mom all of the time.” Jack beamed as he said it, like he wasn’t a strange alpha offering to take Dennis into his home while Robby was gone.
“You’re already my coworker, I’m sure you don’t need to be seeing more of my face outside of work.” Robby replied, fumbling for his keys.
“I-I wouldn’t mind. Seeing you more outside of work.”
It was bashful. Hopeful. Puppy love if Robby ever saw it. They stared at each other for a moment. Robby’s face was cold and impassive as the words sank into the thick tension between them.
“...goodnight, Abbot.”
“Goodnight, Dr. Robby.”
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The first real time Robby was forced to face his assumptions of the alpha next door was during a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.
Late to leave the ER from a 5 car pile up with a sweet little pup inside that made Robby’s stomach hurt. Late to pick up groceries, and late to pick up Dennis. The sky had been giving ominous rumbles since early afternoon, and as soon as Robby had hustled Dennis into his car seat, it was like the heavens opened up. He just wanted to get home and cuddle his sweet pup, feel his head tucked under his chin and the rise and fall of his chest.
The first crack of thunder made Dennis freeze in his seat, his babbling trailing off as his eyes darted to the window. The second made him whimper.
“It’s alright, Dennis, just the rain.” Robby tried to soothe, but the thundering rain shook the car as he cranked the wipers up.
Dennis wailed, red in the face as he kicked his feet against the passenger side seat in front of him. The rain was really coming down now, pouring and soaking through Robby’s fleece as he hurriedly fumbled with the buckle of his car seat.
“I know, I know, I’m getting there, Denny, shhh-” Robby hushed, his efforts thwarted by a crack of lightning that made Dennis’s hysterics pick up again. It was too much- Dennis’s bag on his back, the crying 4 year old on one arm and two bags filled with groceries.
Something had to give; and it was the bottom of his bags.
Cans and packets and boxes tumbled onto the wet pavement and Robby had to bite his tongue not to swear- he was pretty proud of the low groan of exasperation he let out instead. He quickly jogged to the porch, setting down Dennis’s bag and putting Dennis in one of the soft outside chairs.
“Just stay here for a sec, Dennis-”
“Mamaaa-”
“I know, you’re being so brave, lemele, just give mama one sec to get the groceries.” He panted out, moving back to the groceries still spilled on the sidewalk and getting soaked in the rain. Fuck, the pasta might be salvageable but the berries were spilled everywhere and goddammit he paid 8$ for those-
A hand started collecting the cans next to him, causing him to reel in surprise.
“Doctor Robinavitch?”
Robby blinked in shock. Jack was kneeling next to him, an umbrella crammed between his neck and shoulder as he scooped what he could into a plastic tote bag.
“Sorry to jump in, ma’- Doctor, but I saw you in the rain-” Jack started.
“Fine, it’s fine, just help me get these to the porch.” Robby ordered.
Between the two of them they got the groceries out of the rain before any of the cardboard got too soaked. Dennis was still curled up in the chair, hands covering his ears that reached out for Robby as soon as he was in arm’s reach.
“Just give me a second and I can get these put away, give you your bag back-”
“-there’s no rush, I promise. Just leave it by my door whenever you can.” Jack rushed to reassure him, swiping his wet curls back from his forehead.
“I… thank you.” The words were pulled from Robby’s mouth like it pained him, but he knew the kid had earned it.
“Yeah, anytime. I want us to like living next to each other, Doctor Robinavitch.” Jack’s smile was soft, like he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to. Robby’s chest squeezed as he nodded and picked up Dennis and the bag, making his way inside.
After a change of clothes, a brief toweling off, and a piece of candy for Dennis for withstanding the thunder, Robby finally started on Dinner.
He needed something warm and comforting and it was his Bubbe’s Yemenite soup.
He put a record on the record player and let himself fall into the rhythms of cooking- chopping vegetables, thawing chicken bone broth saved from cooking down chicken scraps, washing and peeling and watching the soup come together.
Robby was broken from his haze by a hand tugging on his sweatpants leg.
“Mamele, nosh?” Dennis asked, looking at the bowl of chopped carrot Robby was about to add to the soup.
“No noshing, Denny, dinner’s going to be ready soon.” Robby murmured, pulling the little step stool he had at the kitchen sink over so Dennis could carefully stand on it to watch. Jack, the ER, the thunder, the groceries- all the noise fell away at the smell of rich soup and the record spinning lazily on its table. The rain still pattered on the window, drawing his memory back to the interaction on the porch; Jack kneeling down on the wet concrete to gather the cans that spilled from the flimsy plastic bag, the curls plastered to his face, “I want us to like living next to each other, Doctor Robinavitch.”
Robby had played these games before. He knew how nice it was to have a young, strapping alpha that saw you, that wanted you- made you feel like you were on the top of the world. The echoes of that mistake lived in the blonde curls of Dennis’s precious head, the blue eyes that looked at him with so much love.
He loved Dennis. But he had been around the block enough not to make that mistake again.
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And so it begins!! I just want to leave a quick note that, yes, since I'm writing Young!Jack he doesn't have his amputation or prosthetic yet. I do have other works that include is disability, but if you are looking for more fics that explore that I would highly recommend looking at @queer-reader-07 's blog.
I don't think this series will be as expansive as my Bio Bdsm works but I do plan on converting it to Ao3 once I'm finished with it. Chapters will be posted on my drabble masterpost.
Chapters it is!! I’ll focus on polishing up what I already have written- I’ll have the chapters linked in my Masterpost at the top of my page to make it easier for folks
