current fandoms: the pitt, animal kingdom, hockey rpf, ready or not 2
unfortch I got stung by the shawn hatosy bug and I have not recovered, so you may see unc pee paw princess nonsense in this house
feel free to send me fic inspo/ideas bc I've caught the writing bug but the ideas bug keeps jumping away after the first few chapters
ao3 / / / ask
Jack goes back to find Dennis the next day, and he only feels minor guilt at doing it while Robby's sleeping in.
He left a note, and he doesn't think Robby is particularly in the headspace to go back down to the floors hosting the showrooms. It had taken Jack two hours of soothing as the man railed about how wrong and filthy the whole hybrid trade was, before Robby would even consider going to bed.
Jack also knew the guilt that plagued him, because he felt the same snagging, loose thread in his own chest when he thought about the cheerful wag of Dennis' tail slowing and the happy light in his eyes dimming as they walked away from him with no warning and what must have been a horrible demeanour. Poor kid probably thinks he did something wrong.
He could see the desire to fix, to placate and soothe in Robby's eyes. But he knew the man all too well, and he could read in the set of his jaw and the furrow to his brow that voluntarily submerging himself in the noise and smell and swirling chaos of the showroom wouldn't end the way that Robby would want it to.
So he took it upon himself to weave through the relative quiet of the early-morning start-up buzz, until he found his way back to the booths where his eyes had originally caught on Dennis.
For some reason, he was surprised to find the kid there. There was a lurching feeling behind his ribs, like hope suddenly slamming into the place where disappointment had been presumptuously residing. He was so sure that yesterday had been an opportunity passing them by in real time.
"Oh my - you're back! Hi!"
Christ, the absolute uncomplicated delight in the kid's voice momentarily robbed Jack of his own. All he could do was give Dennis his best smile as he approached, taking the time to try to gather himself and find his voice and the words he hadn't bothered to think about.
"Hey, buddy. Yeah, I'm back - was kinda hoping I'd find you again. Was worried you might be done with the circuit by now."
Dennis beamed at him, the force of his tail wags making his whole lower body wiggle. Jack felt his lips twitch in a kind of helpless, happy sympathy.
"Oh, no - this sort of thing usually lasts a few weeks."
Jack obviously did a poor job at hiding his surprise because Dennis giggled.
"I mean, there are competitions and all, and that's fun, but it's not really why most of them come here." At Jack's blank, wary look, Dennis cocked his head and smiled, leaning in a little, and this time there was something about the tilt of his lips that was different. Like looking at a flower whose edges were just starting to brown and wilt.
"It's a time where almost all of the high-profile owners and breeders are together in one place, with their - with us. They trade, they buy and sell. They, um - well, you know."
Jack did not know, and for a moment all he could do was try to look encouraging and open while Dennis' face flushed.
The words from Dennis' handler yesterday pierced through his skull, echoing as clearly as if the man was shouting it into his ear, some kind of vulgar, shrieking ghost at the feast.
"Denny's fit for breeding and his owner is considering offers."
The effort to control the twist of his face - to match the one in his stomach - was like stifling a sneeze on the highway. He wanted nothing more than to react with the full force of his body's horror, to purge the concept like bad food sitting, rotting in his stomach.
Instead, he forced himself to draw his training around himself like a shield, like a set of well-worn scrubs, as he gentled his voice and set his face into something as mild and soft as his racing pulse could manage.
"Of course. I'm sorry, Dennis, I should have remembered. We don't have to talk about that if you don't want to."
Dennis smiled, but it looked like he was dredging it up from somewhere sticky and cloying.
"Or - or if you have any questions." Jack was blurting out before he could even think about it, the impulse so fresh that the other half of his brain barely has time to hope he's not fucking this up or scaring Dennis. "I'm a doctor. Emergency medicine - I'm not a hybrid specialist, but I could still help...make things a little less confusing. If you haven't - I mean, if nobody has explained this to you before."
Christ, he really should have brought Robby with him.
"I've never been covered, if that's what you mean." Dennis is cocking his head up at Jack, so openly enquiring - even with a little bit of a giggle playing at his words at Jack's bashfulness - that his heart aches a little. "I've been away from all that until now. My owner kind of - I don't know, I think they kinda liked having me around, just with them."
There's a quiet, gentle pride there, but as Dennis speaks Jack can see that it's bruised, the damage fresh. Dennis swallows around the words that might have wanted to come after that confession, and as he looks back up at Jack, suddenly appraising, his tail starts to wag.
"But you're a doctor? That's so cool!"
Jack tries to pull his own smile out of his own mire of sticky, dark thoughts, and is pleasantly surprised to find that even after all this time, that tiny flicker of pride at being able to call himself doctor still sparks.
It makes it slightly easier to meet the fascinated sparkle in Dennis' eyes with something real.
"Yeah. Me and Robby - my husband, the man I was with yesterday? We both work in Pittsburgh, in an emergency department. We're only here because there's a medical conference going on upstairs, and sometimes part of the job is being forced to fly to a different city and sit in a room filled with your least favourite people, listening to them talk about your least favourite topics."
Dennis giggled, and his ears twitched like Jack's words had physically tickled something.
"I'm willing to bet there's more hissing, spitting, and fur flying at medical conferences than there is at one of these things." Jack nods his head to encompass their surroundings. "You wouldn't believe how bitchy it can get in clinical academia. Personally, I always think it's a sign of too much time on too many hands."
He puts up both palms and wiggles them in a little jazz hands motion before he can think better of it. He takes a second to thank god that the interns and medical students weren't here to see it - they already give him enough shit for being a boomer, which he has tried to explain many times is patently untrue, but maybe he brings it on himself with shit like this.
Dennis seems to like it though, laughing a genuine and honestly kind of goofy little laugh which makes Jack's own smile start to ache.
"I always thought that doctos were mature, serious people." Dennis volunteers, giving Jack a look that practically twinkles and a little twist of his lips that speaks of trouble. Jack solemnly shakes his head.
"We're all overgrown children with bloated egos and fragile self-esteem. Present company excluded, of course."
"Oh, of course!" Dennis chitters, ears smoothing back earnestly. "You've only been standing here complaining about how all your colleagues are mean and boring. Very mature, super stoic."
The laughter that bubbles out of him is louder than he'd expected, and he ducks his head and tucks his hands in his pockets while he gets it under control. There are little plumes of soft, golden fur drifting in the air around them, because Dennis' tail is wagging so hard.
"You want to see what I get up to at my...'conferences'?" Dennis asks, clearly brimming with excitement and wiggling on his perch.
For the first time, Jack really takes note of what he's wearing. It's an odd, plain white garment, almost shift-like. It's neither baggy nor clingy, instead it seems to drape over the outline of Dennis' body gently, like water. There are strange ties all along the side, almost like you might find on a hospital gown. He blinks, clears the thought from his head at the sight of Dennis' tilted head and eagerly-waiting gaze.
"Hell yeah, buddy, show me what you got."
Dennis makes an odd sound, halfway between a yip and an exhalation of air, shoving himself off his seat and gesturing Jack closer into his little booth. He turns a little display board so it's in Jack's line of sight, and he can see that it's festooned with bright, silky ribbons in every colour and shade imaginable. They all have gold or silver writing stitched in, proclaiming Dennis either first or second place in the 'companion' category.
Jack digs his thumbnail into his palm so hard he feels a slight tackiness start to bead at the nail, but his smile remains firmly in place while Dennis intently studies his face, so the pain in his hand doesn't even matter.
"Holy shit, Dennis, this is all you?" It's a stupid, pointless question, but Dennis is beaming and his tail is wagging as he nods, so once again Jack decides that nothing else matters. "Damn, this is quite the impressive collection. So you're kind of a star, huh?"
That giggle again, although this time it's interrupted by the bustling, harried approach of the man from yesterday, Dennis' so-called 'handler.'
"I'm so sorry - oh, it's you." The man stops short a little even as he fusses at Dennis, urging him to stand and turn even as the man addresses Jack with an expression that's hard to read. "I'm sorry, I wasn't sure you'd be back after yesterday."
Jack shrugs, stares back unblinkingly, not willing to offer the standard social niceties about a fake urgent appointment.
"Denny, for - please try to keep your ears still before we go out there. You manage to get all kinds of knots and crinkles in them."
The man picks up a comb and starts worrying at the long, curly strands of fur at the very base of Dennis' ears. Dennis winces at the tug, but smiles at Jack despite the man's sweaty fussing.
The strands look impossibly soft, and Jack wants to twist the curls around his finger and make them more pronounced, even as the comb straightens them out.
"Look, we're just about to go out on the floor, they're calling Dennis' number." The man throws over his shoulder at Jack. "You're welcome to stay and watch, but if you want to pick up where we left off yesterday you'll need to come back on Saturday. We've got appointments immediately after this - well, that's what we're hoping for, isn't it Denny?"
The man gives Dennis a jovial little shove and pat, and Dennis smiles up at him, nodding along, but the smile dips and wavers at the corners and his tail only twitches minutely. He darts a quick glance at Jack, who feels his thumb dig even deeper into the cresent-shaped wound he's making.
He opens his mouth to say something, but the handler is setting down the comb with a sharp, metallic clink and ushering Dennis away from his booth before Jack can even process what is happening.
He sees Dennis glance back over his shoulder as he's tugged away towards the show area, and he tries to school his face into an expression that is reassuring despite the fact that he has none to offer.
Dennis smiles back at him anyway, although his ears remain, as per instruction, perfectly still.
------
Jack follows Dennis and his handler as far as he can before he reaches an area his presence will clearly not be tolerated in, at which point he turns on his heel and finds himself a space at the small 'arena' area that has been cordoned off by a ring of boards with advertising and sponsorship logos splashed all over them. He takes up his post, bracing against the boards with his forearms and prepares to wait. It's at least a relief to be able to take a little weight off his leg, which is starting to protest the heat of the showroom.
He's surpised that he doesn't have to wait long at all, as Dennis' handler enters the show arena at an awkward pace halfway between a power walk and a jog, looking like it's uncomfortable to keep up.
Dennis trots along easily and gracefully at his side, looking like he would happily break into a full run but is locking the desire down tightly.
Someone, somewhere is droning on in an irritatingly loud voice, presumably saying things about Dennis that barely register with Jack, but which he recognises as show language that he wouldn't understand.
What he does understand, is when a two men in smart suits join Dennis and his handler on the floor of the arena, and start touching Dennis.
They greet the handler first, with polite smiles, which he returns stiltedly. The man in charge, clearly some kind of judge based on the uneasy deference the handler is showing him, says nothing to Dennis as he puts both hands on his face and pries open his mouth.
The lines of Dennis' body remain remarkably relaxed, in sharp contrast to Jack's, which has tightened every muscle capable of doing so.
The judge tilts Dennis' head this way and that, runs a finger inside his mouth along his teeth, making Jack clench his own. He runs his hand briskly over Dennis' beautiful soft ears, tugging and turning them to peer inside and then giving him a rough pat in reward. He is quick and far too careless with his hands, considering the effort that had been put into making Dennis look so perfect.
He runs his hand down Dennis' back and grabs his tail at the base, and for some reason Jack can feel something ugly and heavy settling in his stomach, can feel his palms dampening and his pulse starting to pick up a sickly rhythm.
The man pulls Dennis' tail this way and that, ruffling his fingers through the fur. Then he fetches something from his pocket, and Jack's heart and stomach both lurch sickeningly as he takes in the two things that happen next.
One, is that Jack finds out why there were side-ties to the garment that Dennis was wearing, as the man assisting the judge runs his finger down them and unties them with a deftness that makes Jack swallow down something thick and dreadful. The garment hangs loosely on Dennis for a moment before the man tugs it swiftly off without a second thought, leaving Dennis completely naked under the harsh arena lighting. There is no rustle of surprise or discomfort in the audience around him, and Jack wants to shake people, grip all the unfazed faces around him and yell and shout until something moves them.
The second thing that happens, is that Jack sees what the judge was removing from his pocket.
Gloves. Blue, sterile gloves, the same as the hundreds of thousands of pairs that Jack has worn himself over the years.
Jack feels like something large and cold has him in his jaws as his entire body freezes up as he watches the judge immediately reach between Dennis' legs. He pats his thigh once, at which Dennis spreads them just a little, and even reaches out to steady himself on the arm his handler has presented him for support. He bends at the waist slightly.
The judge grips Dennis' genitals like they're nothing more than clay replicas, carelessly and quickly squeezing penis and testicles, before dipping further back to touch his omega anatomy.
He spends far more time there. Jack isn't sure whether to feel grateful or cowardly for the fact that he can't see anything more than the man's hand working mechanically between Dennis' thighs. Dennis' face is blank and unmoving as the man's knuckles disappear and his wrist moves quickly and carelessly.
Jack's not sure how long it lasts, but he's had traumas go south that felt like they went quicker than this.
When the judge removes his hand, wetness glints off the blue glove before it is quickly removed and disposed of. He smiles and shakes hands with Dennis' handler, whose shoulders relax and who returns the smile more genuinely than he had previously.
He gives Dennis a pat on the stomach before resuming that awkward walk-jog out of the arena, Dennis following sedately behind.
Jack stalks along the edge of the advertising border, keeps his eyes locked on Dennis as he exits the show area and into a 'backstage' area only vaguely separated from the rest of the room by larger advertising banners.
He doesn't take his eyes off Dennis until he's gently rebuffed by someone wearing the dark colours of event security.
"I'm sorry, sir - do you have an appointment?"
"What?" He barely spares the security a glance as he scans over their shoulder, desperately trying to keep track of Dennis. He thinks he sees a flash of those reddish-blond curls, but they're getting lost in a sea of other faces and bodies.
"You need to be a pre-approved breeder to access this part of the event, sir." The worst part is that this man looks like he genuinely doesn't want to be breaking this news to Jack.
He fishes around for something to use, some trump card to play.
"I was speaking to Dennis' handler yesterday - I have an alpha I want to stud. He told me Dennis' owner was considering offers."
He sends up some silent plea for forgiveness for even thinking the words, let alone saying them out loud like they were reasonable and didn't leave the back of his teeth feeling sticky.
The man glances down, makes a poor attempt at schooling his own expression before he sighs.
"Look, unless your name is on this list, I can't let you back there. They have appointments booked out for the next three days. Come back on Saturday."
Jack's palm is sticky with a mixture of tacky blood and fresh sweat. It's been a long time since he's felt so fucking helpless.
Realized I hardly ever post fluff so have some Rabbot fluff hcs
• They always spend NYE together. If Jack has to work, Robby hangs out until he gets his midnight kiss then he sleeps in the break room until his shift starts
• Jack’s mom bothered them for years about not getting a holiday card because all his siblings send one, so now he and Robby make one every year. Matching sweaters and everything.
• Jack calls Robby “sweetheart”
• Twice Robby has had to go to conferences without Jack and both times he sent his dozens of selfies exploring whatever city
• Jack sends pictures of him in the ED back
• Jack doesn’t read much, but he loves for Robby to read aloud to him (he always falls asleep within five minutes)
• Robby sheepishly admitted to not sleeping as well when Jack has to work because they can’t cuddle. Jack busy him a pregnancy pillow to help
• He loves to come home to see Robby wrapped around it, but he’s learned the hard way it isn’t possible to take it from him without disturbing his sleep. Jack ends up spooning Robby on the “wrong side” of the bed instead
• Every time Jack says he’s going to shower, Robby ruffles his hair just to see the curls fluff up
• In the winter, Robby bundles up tight because he still prefers to walk to work and Jack loves how cute he looks with his rosy cheeks peeking out from under his scarf
• Anytime Jack gets to show off his strength (lift something moderate heavy, open a stick jar) he makes a big show of flexing after because it’s a guaranteed way to make Robby laugh
• They love singing loud as fuck to the radio. The cars next to them can hear them jamming out
• Jack is ticklish. If he has phantom pains in his leg, Robby mirror touches tickling the bottom of his feet to take his mind off it.
• Robby is the main chef of the household; Jack clings to his back, watching over his shoulder and muttering “smells good” every thirty seconds
• That said, Jack makes an excellent cheesecake. He learned the recipe for his wife, he used to make it for her birthday, and now he gets to share it with the other love of his life
• After they get married, Robby wears a three ring stack. Engagement, wedding, and eternity ring.
• Jack let Robby cut his hair once during quarantine, and just… thank god he wasn’t going out into the world like that (he had to get the ole Pope Cody s1 look after to fix it)
• They have one shared wardrobe for anything other than formal attire. The fit changes a little from their body types, but they both wear a large so why not
• Jack likes to sit in Robby’s lap, chest to chest. They feel more rested after that type of cuddle session than sleep sometimes
• Their favorite date night is at home playing board games and chatting
• Jack likes to kiss Robby five times for luck. Left cheek, forehead, right cheek, nose, and lips.
college au where best friends jack and robby are med school juniors and dennis is a baby faced freshman.
jack and robby share a crappy apartment and after the two take dennis home from the bar one night, they keep him and start to share him like they would with any other object in the house.
dennis will get fucked to sleep in jacks bedroom, then wake up in robby’s bed being fucked into consciousness.
jack busting into robby’s room while robby is giving it to dennis good,
“hey no fair, I was only grabbing a snack and then he was gone.” he’s sliding into the bed though, kissing up dennis’s exposed chest.
robby leans up to create space for him, “snooze you lose brother. can’t leave your door open with such an appetizing sight all spread out on your bed.”
dennis is moaning and whining, his orgasm approaching while the two argue over his head.
the year goes by with dennis in a perpetual state of fucked out, being over-the-shoulder carried up and down the hallway, traded for snacks and homework answers, and having at least two prostate orgasms a day.
“i’ll take your grocery shopping day and i’ll buy your brand of beer for two weeks, please just give him back.”
jack is fucking dennis over the back of the couch while robby stands in the doorframe looking on petulantly
“no way brother, i’ve barely had him at all this week because of your stupid pharmaceutical exams.”
the argument gets drowned out by dennis’ content moans when jack switches to eating him out in between responses, but trust and believe robby is stealing their boy back later tonight.
and hey, dennis gets free housing, meals, and sex by accidently becoming two med students’ free use toy so he truly feels like the winner here.
Dennis bullying jack by saying he was in wars he definitely wasn’t alive for. Vietnam war, second world war, first world war (“yeah, he lost his leg to trench foot”), battle of waterloo, spanish armada, battle of Hastings. Dennis becomes a military history nerd - but only in the names dates and places, do not ask him any more info, he doesnt know - purely to bully his boyfriend. And to get a good fucking later as punishment
Yeah yeah med school rabbot what about undergrad huckleabbot?? Senior frat brother Jack and pledge Dennis. Jack fixates on the scrawny kid from bumfuck Nebraska whose eyes dart around a bit too much when all the pledges have to strip during a hazing ritual. He corners the kid in the showers one day, (idk why a frat house has group showers don’t think abt it too much) holds intense eye contact while he soaps up his own cock, looks down at where Dennis is cupping himself protectively and grins, almost a sneer. He jerks off onto Dennis, cumming on his little erection and calling him a fag for liking it, threatening to out him if he tries to tell anyone about it. Jack keeps pestering him, groping him when no one is looking, sneaking into his room to fuck him while his roommate sleeps in the next bed…
Pornstar/sex worker AU where Dennis kinda realised early on in medical school that oh - oh, people will pay him to have sex with him. And he's inexperienced and kinda naive given his upbringing, but he's surprisingly...okay with it all? But slightly disappointed? Because he thought sex was supposed to be this meaningful, amazing, pleasurable Thing and it's just...it's okay. He guesses? It feels good sometimes but it doesn't reach him. And so when he gets scouted for porn because let's face it he makes bank as a sad twink type...the money is great. The attention is online and easily ignored, and he gets to actually live somewhere not on the street anymore, and he gets to buy and eat real food, and he gets to do those things while also still attending medical school.
And then during one unremarkable shift, Robby finds some of his staff...lingering outside one particular room. Some of them cast sideways glances at each other, and then quickly disperse when Robby lopes into view. He stares at them as they scatter, and he decides that he's not going to let this one rest.
The patient they were loitering around is a sweet young man, mumbling and flushed red when Robby gently enquires as to the mechanism of injury. Dennis haltingly reveals that a partner was stupid with the handcuffs they were using and ended up dislocating his shoulder and accidentally scraping off a good layer of skin while trying to course correct.
Robby feels bad for the kid - Dennis' - clear embarrassment.
"Oh, I don't even think this is the strangest thing we're going to see in the next hour, let alone this week. Don't worry, nobody here is judging you."
He fucking hopes to god he hasn't misjudged his own staff, because those few lingering stares and whispers bother Robby more than he'd like to admit. It isn't like his team.
But then Dennis beams such a grateful, sweet smile up at Robby, like his one stupid, throwaway line (one that he's used hundreds of times before on other embarrassed patients, and he suddenly feels guilty about that for some reason) was a lifeline thrown to him while the waves threatened to drown him. Robby returns the smile awkwardly, suddenly uncomfortable with the overwhelming gratitude.
It isn't until Jack comes and Robby hands over the day's work, that light is shed on his team's behaviour.
"Listen, you may wanna keep an eye on south sixteen."
"Why? Combative?"
"Him? No, he won't give you any trouble, he's a sweetheart. It's just that some of the crew here have been - I dunno, man. Off. About him."
He briefly introduces Jack to Dennis as he hands over the case - tries to ignore Dennis' disappointment when Robby says he's leaving, and then equally tries to ignore the little blush that appears on his cheeks when Robby promises he's in good, steady hands with Jack.
Jack is polite and professional as ever, reassuring the kid he'll be back to check on him as soon as the results of his x-ray are back in.
"He's a sex-worker." The door to the empty breakroom is barely shut behind them before the words are leaving Jack's mouth, low and to the point.
"Okay?" He sounds stupid, he knows, but his brain hasn't quite caught up with what Jack is trying to say to him.
"He does porn, brother. That's probably why some of the staff are acting out. Anything that needs a write-up on your end?"
"Wh - no. No, it's not been anything more than some gossipy stares, but it needs nipping in the bud. I'll have a word with them - if they can't fix their faces after that, we'll go from there."
Jack nods, hands resting easily in his pockets.
"I'll do the same with my guys if it comes up - I'll let you know if we have any issues but I hope they can all be fucking grown-ups about it."
"If they're old enough to watch it, they're old enough to not be weird about it."
Jack huffs a laugh, pauses when he sees Robby eyeing him with something approaching a smirk.
"Having said that - you recognised him pretty quickly there, Jack."
Jack quirks and eyebrow, nothing more than a quick, sardonic little flick that never fails to get a smile out of Robby.
"I've seen your bookmarks, old man. You wanna be careful trying to brandish that halo around."
tangentwithtanner
ellievsbear
romaincrisis
kaledo-art
jacobvanloon
jbbartram-illu
dailybridgerton
origamiaround
