established rabbot my beloveds -
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Robby was currently listening to “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” by Kris Kristofferson with his AirPods jammed right into his ears in an attempt to drown out the busy city around him. As soon as his playlist started to change to the next song he had made it home, he quickly plucked the earpieces out, placed them in the case, and opened the front door.
As soon as he walked in, the exhaustion he has been feeling linger for the last few hours of his shift fully settled. His legs became heavy, his hands felt so incredibly fatigued, and his throat clenched. It wasn’t necessarily a bad shift, more of just a shift that waged on, with severe cases back to back, and he was rarely given the chance to take a small break. It was 8:27 p.m. by the time he made it home, and the last thing he can recall eating was a granola bar around noon. The last time he truly sat down to give his bad back a rest was around 11 a.m.. He was just wiped, completely ready to collapse into bed without eating or even showering at this point.
He slowly toed off his works boots, took off his coat, dropped his bag on the bench by the door, and made his way to the kitchen. Once he got closer, he immediately got hit with a wave of garlic and tomato. He had done handoff with Shen assuming that Jack was running late or something came up. He meant to text his partner on his way home to make sure everything was alright, but he was right here, in their shared kitchen with gray sweatpants and a black t-shirt on, cooking a simple pasta dish.
Once Robby made his way fully, his steps picking up in pace once he realized Jack was home, Jacks head whipped around to fully see who’s footsteps were coming his way.
“Hi,” Jack says softly, meeting Robby’s eyes. God, he looks exhausted.
“I thought you were on the schedule for tonight?” Robby croaks out, forcing himself to talk no matter how rough it comes out as.
“Nah, Shen wanted to switch shifts, he had something next week he didn’t want to miss. I didn’t really ask, you never know with him,” Jack jokes, still staring at Robby, fully taking in just how tired his partner looks. His eye bags are heavier then usuals, his shoulders are hiked up, and he seems to be clenching his jaw far too tight.
“Everything alright, Ro-“ Jack starts but before he continue, he is getting a handful of Robby who just collapses into his arms. Instinctively, Jacks arms quickly snake around the other man’s waist, one hand finding his mid torso to hold on to and the other slowing petting the short strands of hair on the back of Robby’s head.
Honestly, Robby could just sleep here, standing and all. He feels his eyes grow heavier as he shoved his face deeper into Jacks neck, content to just bear all of his weight onto Jack.
“Are you okay?” Jack whispers, not wanting to fully disturb the peace of their little bubble.
Robby doesn’t answer, instead he just does the smallest head nod he can, hoping he is close enough to Jack that he can feel it.
Without missing a beat, Jack continues his questioning.
“Okay, well we can just stand here for bit, how does that sound?” Jack asks, already knowing the answer.
And with that, Jack planted a small kiss on Robby’s temple as he keeps tightening his hold onto the other man who is as close as he can get.
“Okay, Rob,” Jack adds, completely fine with Robby’s lack of verbal responses as he knows how speaking can feel like a chore for Robby after a shift like today’s. “Whatever you need, Mikey.”