uhhh the pitt fauxcest. call that pittcest HEAVY FAUXCEST. you’ve been warned. @loves-alibi (you inspired me heavyyy)
having a girls day with aunt!dana and she’s got you on her lap saying she’s gonna teach you how to make yourself cum. after you complained to her about how all the boys your age can’t do it right. but apparently either can you! explaining that you’ve never been able to make yourself come without your vibrator.
her explaining that this is an easy fix, putting her fingers between your thighs while she hums about how pretty your cunt is. gently walking you through what she’s doing to you. then when you come, thighs shaking atop hers she pulls back and smiles.
“now let me see you do it baby, you were listenin’ right? or do I have to show you again.”
uncle!robby letting you ride his thigh while he kisses you, his large hands gripping your ass as he drags your cunt over the rough denim of his jeans. panties off, causing your slick to dampen his legs.
your moans muffled against his lips, the course hair on his cheeks scratching over your face with each kiss he gives you. tongue sliding over yours while he greedily drinks down your whimpers. before pulling back and looking down at the mess you’re leaving on him.
“you young things get wet so easy huh? or is it just you?”
dad!jack laying you down while he stuffs you full of his fingers. cooing at the way you push down on him. cunt eagerly taking his thick digits in. stretching open so perfectly to accommodate him. he almost laughs at the display. pulling out to admire the webs of slick clinging to his skin all made by you.
before shoving them right back in smiling at how you squeal body trying to run from the pleasure while simultaneously opening up more for it. for him.
“what a desperate little girl you are..god you’re so cute.”
sitting atop older brother!dennis’s face while he holds you down by your thighs. tongue licking up into you unashamedly, drinking down all the slick you produce. lips latching onto your clit and sucking as hard as he can. just so you can make that one noise he always loves.
his hips bucking up searching for friction as you grind down on him unintentionally. fingers gripping his curls just right. muttering apologies for being heavy.
“sh-shit..it’s okay. you’re not heavy at all sis..m’strong you know. and—and you taste really good..” he pants.
synopsis: For the past six years, your family never missed their mandatory two-week summer vacation to the lake house. But after Pittsfest, your brother and your dad leave on their own trip to work through the tensions it left behind—leaving you alone for two weeks with your dad's best friend.
word count: 6.2k
content tags: mdni, older man/younger reader, age gap, dbf!jack abbot, robinavitch!reader, gn!reader, dry humping, european author who doesn't know shit about us geography, unfunny author tries to be funny, maybe ooc jack?
a/n: so this is something new for me, I have never written smut or anything explicit before. I also never searched for synonyms as much as I did to write this haha. It might be clumsy and awkward, but I hope you enjoy this!
I used this great guide to write the most explicit scenes.
dividers credit: uzmacciato, saradika-graphics
masterlist
When you were eighteen years old, your dad had decided to create a new family tradition: a two-week-long vacation at the family lake house up in Kelley island, Ohio.
It sat near Lake Erie, tucked away from everything. It was nowhere near as loud and crowded as Pittsburgh—it was the opposite actually. The drive there took nearly four hours, but even that felt like a part of the vacation: windows rolled down, sunglasses on, radio on bursting out old songs from the 70s, your dad smiling widely and singing out loud. He always looked lighter than he did at home.
The new rule had been sudden, but it was also a well-needed change. As you grew up, your relationship with your father had started to strained. You got along well enough, yet it often felt like the both of you weren't truly close.
The thing was, Michael Robinavitch was a great doctor and an excellent mentor (though even that had become questionable lately), but when it came to his personal life, he struggled a little more than he'd like to admit. Being your dad was his greatest pride, his biggest achievement, but there were times when he struggled to stay out of the ED and actually be there for you. Fatherhood didn't come naturally to him. He had always been one to avoid commitment and being a father was a lifelong commitment that wasn't going to go away simply because he had too much on his plate.
Which was why he had put the mandatory two-week-long vacation in place.
Kelleys Island brought a peace you couldn't find in Pittsburgh. It was small, slow and almost too peaceful. The lake stretched endlessly, and the house was old, something that carried history and a beauty modern houses couldn't match. It was a place where you could allow yourself to sit in silence, work through your thoughts and relax.
For the first trip, it had been just you and your dad. It was a little chaotic, with your dad struggling to adjust to having nothing to do. He grew stir-crazy, but the two of you ended up doing a lot together: kayaking, hiking, and anything else you could find.
It had been refreshing.
Despite the fact that your father earned a pretty great salary, you had never really gone on trips. Or at least, nothing longer than a weekend getaway. As far as you remembered, your dad had always been a workaholic and had a hard time stepping out of the ER. The time away helped you grow closer, learn more about each other and begin to reconcile.
The first night at the lake house, the two of you sat on the dock in silence, watching the water ripple as it reflected the stars. There was no light pollution here: the sky stretched endlessly, no clouds in sight, and constellations were brighter than you had ever seen them before.
Your dad had started talking about his Bubbe: memories from when he was a kid, things she had taught him, and stories about times he'd been caught doing something he definitely shouldn't have. You could hear the smile in his voice, but there was something underneath, too. Nostalgia, but also the quiet kind of homesickness that never really went away after a loved one passed away.
Then, the conversation had shifted to you, your first year at nursing school and how it was going. If you liked it, if it was going well, if you were having a hard time and if you had made friends.
You left from the lake house lighter than you'd ever been.
For the second trip to the lake house, Jake joined you.He was ten years old when he joined in the second trip, and despite the nine years age gap, you had a fantastic time. You had always gotten along.
You had lost your mother very young, so she and your father couldn't have given you siblings. But then, Janey and Jake entered your life. After your dad and Janey broke up, they both stayed in your life and you couldn't be more grateful for that. The separation was mutual, and they remained great friends. The four of you had a monthly family dinner, either at yours or at Janey's. You still picked up Jake from school time to time to grab ice cream or to go do some fun activities—lately your thing was going to VR games rooms.
Needless to say, when the three of you travelled up to the lake house, you had a fantastic time. Despite the age gap between you and Jake, you still teamed up to drive your dad crazy. At one point, Michael had actually sent both of you to a corner when you pushed him too far, which only made Jake and you laugh harder.
The new and last addition to the third trip was Jake Abbot. Your father's best friend and the night-shift attending at PTMC. You didn't know him all that well, as you were grown and didn't spend as much time at home as you used to. You had only had short encounters that hadn't been enough to have an opinion about someone.
Even if Jake and you weren't familiar with him, the vacation turned out great. You hadn't doubted it a second, but Jack was an incredible addition to the annual holiday.
Even though you were staying at a lake house, he took the three of you camping. From that point on, every trip included a small camping excursion.
Now in your late twenties, you had moved out of your father's house a long time ago. You still spent plenty of time at your childhood home, but you also needed the privacy and the space that came with having a place of your own.
Your house sat a few streets away from your dad's, still in a nice neighbourhood of Pittsburgh. It wasn't big, but it was perfect for you. There was a guest bedroom that had gradually become more Jake's room than anything else. He had decorated it to his liking with posters on the walls, with some of his clothes in the closet and dresser and small trinkets around your house.
The house came with a yard, which you used constantly. Breakfast outside, brunch with friends, a drink after a long shift. It had quickly become your favourite place to decompress. You spent even more time there now that the days were growing longer. Summer approached quickly, the sun setting later than it did during winter. The sky melted into a mix of orange and pink, birds chirping as they flew around.
It was silent, peaceful even.
Until your phone rang, shattering your bubble.
"Who the fuck…dares to call me…when I'm so busy?" You murmured dramatically, reaching for your phone resting on the small garden table next to your wine glass.
The screen read: "dad".
You picked up, bringing the phone to your ear. "Yes, Father dearest? What service dost thou require of me?"
"What?" your father's confused voice sounded out. Despite having raised you for more than two decades, he still sounded perpetually out of depth with half the things you uttered. "You know what, I'll ignore that. I just needed to talk to you about something."
You examined the chips in your nail polish. "Well, I'm listening."
"Listen, I know I was the one to install the mandatory vacation at the lake house, but Jake and I won't be making it this year."
"What?" You frowned, immediately sitting straighter. "Why not?"
There was a long pause. You could hear the exhaustion in his voice when he finally answered. "Well, Jake has been blaming me for Leah's death."
"Oh, dad…"
Your chest tightened.
His voice was shaky, and you knew he still blamed himself, even though he had done everything he could. He had done more than he should have honestly, especially during the Pittfest MCI. You had seen him cry over it more than once, and those moments never got easier. He was still grieving Adamson, and now he struggled to recover from Pittfest.
"I thought that taking a trip just the two of us would help us make up, sort everything out," he added quietly.
"That's a good idea, Dad," you hummed softly. "I'm sure it'll do you two good."
"I knew you'd understand, sweetheart." His voice was soft. "I'm sorry that we can't come, but you'll still have Jack."
"Oh." You blinked a few times. "I assumed the trip would be cancelled."
"If you're not comfortable being alone with Jack , you don't have to go, honey." he said gently. "Jack will be making the trip either way, so you're free to join if you'd like to."
You stayed silent for a moment.
You hadn't been alone with Jack before.
For a few hours here and there, maybe. But days? Two full weeks?
Two weeks alone with Jack, who was unfairly attractive.
Jack, who rolled up his sleeves absentmindedly, exposing his strong and veiny forearms, or wore those skin-tight compression shirts that wrapped perfectly around his biceps.
Jack, who had a habit of walking around shirtless like clothing was optional. Your dad had scolded him multiple times about being too comfortable, to which he'd only wink at him and acted as if he hadn't heard his complaint.
Jack, who did yoga in little to no clothes outside in the backyard directly in front of the living room bay window. It wasn't the reason you liked to read your books in the living room—not at all.
Jack, who had the infuriating habit of saying things that sounded incredibly dirty with a casual and innocent air and had the audacity to give you an odd look when you'd short circuit.
He already drove you insane when the four of you were together.
Alone? You might actually lose your mind.
Or worse.
But still, you loved the lake house, and you couldn't imagine skipping a year just because Jake and Michael weren't there.
"I don't mind going with Jack," you finally said quietly.
"Good. I'll let the two of you settle the details. You have his number, right?" Your dad asked. You heard some shuffling through the line, probably him reaching for his little contact book. He still wrote down numbers and addresses like it was the 70s. You'd teased him relentlessly about it.
"I do. We don't talk much outside of the trip, but we do send texts on holidays and birthdays."
"Right," your dad said slowly, probably quirking an eyebrow. "Well, I'm sure you guys will have a good time but not too much, okay? No funny business."
Your eyes widened, your eyebrows shooting up to your hairline. "What? Dad, it's Jack."
"Exactly. It's Jack," he repeated. "I know how attractive he is, and I've seen the way you look at him, darling."
"Daaaaad!" You buried your face in your free hand, cheeks burning. You hadn't realised he'd noticed. Though, in hindsight, you probably hadn't been subtle while shamelessly admiring Jack's abs.
"Come on, darling, I wasn't born yesterday." Michael chuckled at your embarrassment. "It's alright. We've all had an embarrassing and inappropriate crush at some point. But no funny business, young lady."
"Sir, yes, sir." you answered, your hand still covering your face in embarrassment despite being completely alone.
'I'm so fucked.'
A few days later, a knock echoed through your house at 7:30AM sharp.
You didn't need to check to know who it was. You opened the door, and there he was. Jack Abbot, in all his unfairly attractive, early-morning glory.
"Hey."
You hadn't seen him for nearly a year, but somehow he looked exactly the same, if not better. This man looked better each year that passed, aging like fine wine. It was utterly unfair.
He wore a simple black t-shirt and dark blue jeans, nothing special, yet he still looked devastatingly handsome. His hair was slightly messy, like he'd run a hand through it one too many times or maybe he hadn't bothered brushing his hair this morning.
"Hey, let me just fetch my bags and I'll be back." You said, offering him a warm smile threaded with exhaustion. You had woken up way too early, you still didn't feel fully awake.
"I can help carry them to the car." He said, taking a step inside your house like he'd been invited a dozen times.
You blinked before nodding in agreement. You weren't going to refuse help, especially not when it meant watching him carry things. That would be…educational.
You led him through your house toward your bedroom, but suddenly felt hyper-aware of everything: the throw blanket you hadn't bothered folding back and left on the couch, the mug on the drying rack, the faint scent of coffee and pancakes lingering in the air. You realized he had never been in your house before from the way his eyes quietly took everything in quietly.
When you pushed the door to your bedroom open, Jack paused dead.
He looked at your luggage, then at you, then back at the luggage.
"You do know that we're travelling only for two weeks," he said slowly "and that the house has a washer, right?"
You followed his gaze to your luggage at the foot of your bed. One suitcase and two duffel bags.
Okay, maybe you had gone a little overboard—just a little.
"I know." you said defensively, crossing your arms. "But whenever I pack light, I end up hating everything I brought. Then, I go shopping. So, really, this is me being financially responsible."
Jack's mouth twitched, clearly fighting a smile. He shook his head and let out a quiet sigh, grabbing the suitcase and one of the duffel bags.
"Let's go."
You followed him out carrying the other duffel bag, trying not to stare at the way his shoulders shifted under his shirt as he carried your things with ease. You locked the door behind you and trailed him down to the car.
When he opened the trunk and placed your bags inside, you leaned forward to peek in and froze.
The trunk was already half full.
You straightened and turned to him, eyebrows shooting up. "Are you serious? You judged me for my three bags but you've packed way more than me."
"Yes." he replied, closing the trunk. "But there's more than just clothes. There's my crutches and my wheelchair in the backseat. Then there's medical equipment in case any of us get hurt, my yoga stuff, camping equipment and some books."
You pressed your lips together, shaking your head and made your way to the passenger seat. You buckled your seatbelt and took Jack's phone in your hands, looking through Spotify for a decent song.
"Vámanos." Jack said, pulling the car out of the driveway.
You paused mid-scroll.
"You listen to Celia Cruz?"
Despite your surprise, you still tapped on 'La Vida Es Un Carnaval'.
"Hell yeah, I do." he said as the first notes of the salsa song filled the car.
Jack glanced over at you, an amused smirk tugging at his mouth. "Don't sound so shocked."
"I'm just saying," you replied, scrolling through the rest of his playlist. "This isn't exactly what I expected to find."
"Oh yeah?" he asked.
"Kinda thought you listened mainly to divorced dad rock like my dad."
He barked out a laugh at that, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel in rhythm with the music. "I mean, kinda yeah. Robby and I listen to similar stuff."
There was a pause before he spoke again.
"My wife was Puerto Rican," he said simply. "She played this stuff constantly."
Something in his expression softened. "Said life was too short to listen to sad bastard music all the time."
You chuckled. "I mean…she wasn't wrong."
Jack snorted softly, glancing at you for a second before looking back at the road.
"No, " he murmured. "She usually wasn't."
"Good taste in music and men, huh." you said playfully, still scrolling through his playlists. "I like her."
"Well, I married her, so really this just proves that I've got good taste."
"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Jack." You chuckled.
"You wound me."
You rolled your eyes, but the smile tugging on your lips lingered anyway.
You felt something shaking you lightly, pulling you from sleep. You groaned and swat blindly, your hand landing on a warm and solid surface. A quiet chuckle followed. You opened your eyes slowly, and you froze when you realized your hand was resting on Jack's chest.
You blinked slowly.
"What?"
"We're at a gas station." he started. "I'm refilling the tank. Thought you might want to stretch, use the restroom, maybe grab some snacks."
You rubbed your face, dragging your hands down in a sleepy manner. Nodding, you unfastened your seatbelt and made your way out of the car.
"Need anything?" you asked over your shoulder.
"If you can grab me some coffee or an energy drink, that'd be nice."
You hummed, making your way into the shop. Your movement were slow and sluggish, still half asleep. Checking your phone, you read that it was a little over ten AM.
You grabbed energy drinks and some snacks. Even though you had breakfast before you left, you were already hungry. Something about travelling always made you feel hungry.
You heard a low whistle, making you peek behind you with narrowed eyes. A guy who didn't seem that much older than you was checking you out, looking at you up and down.
"look at that ass."
You exhaled deeply, patience already gone. "Seriously, man? That's the best you've got?"
The guy quirked an eyebrow at your reaction as if you were the problem. "It's a compliment. No need to be a bitch about it."
"This bitch is telling you to fuck off now, so bye." you waved him off, but it seemed the guy took it the wrong way and stepped forward.
Before you could snap at him again, you felt a presence behind you, which you recognized as Jack from the smell of his expensive cologne. His hand came on your hip, his thumb brushing once in a grounding manner, and his chest pressed into your back.
"Everything's alright, darling?" he murmured, breath hitting your ear.
Your breath hitched.
You glanced toward him, but his attention wasn't on you. His head was slightly tilted down while he glared at the man in front of you. The guy huffed and backed off, deciding it wasn't worth it.
"Thank you." you sighed, pinching the bridge of your nose. "I hate how men don't take the hint except if another man gets involved."
Jack didn't answer at first, still staring at the retreating figure of the other guy with a tight expression.
"I can't say I understand," he said after a second. "But I'm glad I was here."
You pressed your lips together. Clearing your throat, you switched topic. "Do we need anything else?" you asked, looking down at your arms full of supplies. Jack looked down, observing what you had brought.
"I think you've got us covered." He answered. "We're nearly there and will go grocery shopping anyways."
You payed—or rather Jack did—for your articles and returned to the car.
It only took an hour and a half more to reach Kelleys Island.
It looked the same as it always did: the sun hung high and bright in the sky, there was no cloud in sight and the weather warm. There were only a handful of people wandering in the street, but the lack of people didn't surprise you since it was lunchtime.
Instead of heading straight to the lake house, you and Jack stopped at The Village Pump, a small restaurant south of the island. After four hours on the road, you had no energy left to cook, and honestly, no desire to.
"god, that feels so good." you hummed after taking the first bite of your chicken breast sandwich. Even just as a passenger, the drive had drained you.
Across from you, Jack observed you with barely concealed amusement as he chewed on his own sandwich. "You'd think you haven't eaten in weeks with the way you're wolfing this down."
"You don't get it." you shook your head. "This—" you gestured dramatically to your food. "—is all I've been craving for weeks."
"Chicken breast sandwich and beer?" Jack chuckled. "They've got that in Pittsburgh too, y'know?"
"Yeah, but they don't have chicken breast sandwich and beer from Kelleys Island!"
Jack huffed a laugh, shaking his head as he took a sip of his drink."You're so dramatic."
His eyes flickered over you again, staring for a second too long before he spoke again. "Still don't understand how you came from Mike."
"Hey, that's a question for him and not for me." you shrugged, taking another oversized bite.
"Slow down, you're gonna choke."
"No, I'll be ok—"
Your words were cut off abruptly as you started coughing, the food going into the wrong pipe like he had warned you.
"Hey. Breathe."
You nodded, coughing a few more times before you finally managed to recover.
"See? what did I tell you?" he sighed in exasperation. He leaned toward you, rubbing your back gently.
"You're never letting this go, are you?" you rasped.
"Absolutely not."
His hand lingered on your back for a second longer than necessary before he finally pulled away.
"Your food isn't going anywhere," he started, settling back into his chair. "We've got all the time in the world, we're here for two weeks."
"And," he added with a faint smirk, "I'm pretty sure your dad would kill me if you died choking on a sandwich on my watch."
"Wow," you laughed weakly. "Good to know your main concern is getting away with murder charge."
"Honey, I'm a veteran and a doctor." he tilted his head to the side, locking his eyes with yours. "That doesn't scare me, I know how to get away with it."
Something warm twisted in your stomach at the look in his eyes. Jack had a way of holding eye contact that felt suffocating sometimes and it always made your pulse stutter.
"Definitely not a creepy thing to say when I'm gonna spend the next two weeks alone with you." you said flatly. "Was it your plan all along?"
"You caught me." He winked.
The gesture was simple but it made your heart start racing, heat rushing to your face—and probably elsewhere, too. God, it was only the first day and you were already struggling.
After nearly choking to death on your sandwich and stopping for groceries, you finally made it to the lake house at three p.m. The trip had felt endless, but the second you stepped inside, relief washed over you.
You dropped on the couch with a sigh as soon as Jack unlocked the door.
"Get up." He said, setting a few grocery bags down on the kitchen counter. "We still have to empty the trunk and put away the groceries."
"oh so you hate me?" you complained, throwing an arm over your eyes. "Do you enjoy torturing me?"
Jack only shook his head fondly at your antics.
"Once we're done, you can rest all you want." he said with a small smile. "Maybe even go for a swim?"
You shot up immediately, practically running out of the door.
"What are you waiting for? Hurry!"
He followed after you with a chuckle.
By the time you arrived at the lake, Jack had been in the water awhile.
You'd actually unpacked your bags for once, which was a miracle in itself. Normally, you'd live out your suitcase for the next two weeks and added to it whenever you went shopping. However, a burst of motivation hit you, and you decided to put everything away before you could lose it.
So now, finally free, you stepped onto the dock and found yourself stopping short at the sight of him.
Jack was swimming near the dock, salt and pepper hair slicked back and dripping onto sun-warmed skin. His prosthetic was abandoned near the dock steps, half-hidden beneath a towel, while Jack swam around. He hauled himself onto the dock with easy strength when he heard you approach, droplets running down his chest and muscles as he sat beside the ladder.
"You sure took your sweet time for someone so desperate to go for a swim." He called over his shoulder.
Then, he turned his head to look at you properly.
The words died on his tongue.
It was subtle, barely there, but you caught it in the way his eyes dragged downward before snapping back to your face. You saw his adam's apple move as he swallowed hard.
You'd been a little bolder when packing this year. The swimsuit definitely wasn't something you'd wear around your dad and brother, the fabric barely qualified as coverage. Jack's reaction and the way he was looking at you was definitely worth it.
You walked over slowly.
"Had the motivation to unpack." You answered calmly. "Figured I should take advantage of the opportunity before it disappeared."
"Jesus," Jack blinked at you in mock alarm. "Are you running a fever?"
You rolled your eyes, nudging his shoulder with your knee."oh, you think you're so funny."
"I know I am." He grinned up at you, mischief and amusement dancing in his eyes. His hand wrapped loosely around your calf, giving you a gentle squeeze before he let go.
You lowered yourself beside him, hoping he hadn't noticed in any way how your pulse picked up at his touch. You dipped your legs into the cool water and let out a sigh. "God, this is even better than I remembered."
"Yeah." He chuckled lightly, nodding in agreement. "It's definitely worth the four hour drive."
Jack pushed himself back into the lake in one smooth motion.
"You coming in?" he asked, staying close to the dock. "or are just gonna sit there looking pretty?"
You bit your lower lip, looking down at him.
"Maybe I'm just here to enjoy the view."
Jack's eyebrows lifted slightly.
"Mm, is that so?" a grin spread across his face slowly.
You observed him as he swam closer. You didn't know what you expected, but it was certainly not for him to reach forward for your wrist. You barely had time to react.
"Jack—"
He yanked.
You hit the water with a shriek.
"Jack!" You yelled his name as soon as you resurfaced, pushing your hair out of your face and glaring in his direction.
He was already laughing, head tipped back and shoulders shaking. "You should've seen your face!"
"oh, you're so dead."
You splashed him hard enough to get water in his mouth.
It was his turn to sputter, coughing a few times. He looked back at you, menace writing itself on his face. You tried to swim away before retaliation came, but you weren't quick enough. Jack caught you easily, wrapping an arm around your waist and dragging you back against him as another laugh escaped your throat.
"Got you."
"Meh, you cheated," you accused with a giggle, squirming in his grip.
"You're just too slow." he replied, laughing.
The sound of his laughter, his breath brushing over your skin and his arms holding you close made your skin heat up. You stopped struggling and stayed still in his arms. Jack's arms loosened around you, giving you enough space to pull away if you wanted to, but he didn't let go completely either. His hands rested low against your back beneath the water.
You suddenly felt too aware of yourself, of him, of every point where your bodies touched.
Neither of you moved.
Slowly, you raised your arms around his neck. Your fingers drifted into the damp curls at the nape of his neck, and you felt him shiver as you played with them absentmindedly.
Jack went still, the teasing grin slowly fading from his face.
Your eyes dropped to his mouth before you could stop yourself, before you could remember the line and who he was to you. When you looked back up, he was already watching you.
"Sweetheart…" his voice came out quiet and soft, but threaded with warning. It was a dangerous game you were trying to play.
You swallowed.
"What?"
His thumb brushed slowly against your back. "You know what."
"Maybe I don't." You said lightly, sounding almost innocent but you both knew better.
Jack exhaled sharply through his nose, something close to a breathy laugh. "You always gotta push, huh."
"Don't act like you don't want this as much as I do."
His jaw tightened, his thumb on your back stalling for a second.
"That's not fair."
"No?" You tilted your head slightly. "Look me in the eye and tell me you haven't thought about it too."
You were met with silence.
Jack looked away, muttering a quiet 'fuck' under his breath and dragged a hand over his face.
"That's the problem." he admitted finally, his voice sounding rough. "I can't say it because I have thought about it."
Your heartbeat thundered in your chest, loud enough that you were almost convinced he could hear it.
"So what's stopping you?"
He looked back at you then, his expression tight with conflict. You could see the emotions battling inside him.
"You're Robby's kid."
"I'm twenty-six."
"Still, I'm his best friend."
"I'm not asking you to marry me, Jack."
"That somehow makes it worse, kid," he let out a rough chuckle. "Michael would kill me."
"You're assuming he'd find out." you said. "He doesn't have to know."
"I couldn't keep something like this from him."
You moved closer until your forehead brushing his.
"Tell me you don't want me." you whispered, your breath mingling with his. "Tell me you don't want me and I'll drop it. I'll never bring it up ever again."
Jack stared at you for a long moment, before he lifted his hand to cup your jaw. His touch was gentle but firm enough to make your stomach coil.
"You're doing this on purpose."
"Maybe…"
"You could have any man you want," he said softly, eyes flickering over your face, "but you had to go after your old man's best friend."
His thumb brushed your jaw before he tilted your face up, making your breath hitch.
"Is it truly what you want?" He asked, leaning forward until his forehead was resting against yours.
"yeah..." you whispered. "More than anything, more than I've ever wanted anyone."
The confession settled heavily between the two of you, adding to the already thick tension. You could practically see Jack thinking too hard, weighting every reason he should stop this before it went any further. He was stuck between wanting you and his loyalty to your dad as his best friend.
But he didn't pull away.
You were close enough that you could feel his breath against your lips, uneven and warm. The line was blurring, and a single shift could change everything.
Then his eyes dropped to your mouth.
That tiny shift shattered whatever restraint was left between you.
You closed the distance first.
The kiss was soft at first. His lips moved against yours slowly, almost hesitant, like he was still giving himself a chance to stop.
Then something shifted.
A quiet sound rumbled in his throat as his hand slid from your jaw to the back of your neck, fingers tangling into your damp hair before he pulled you closer.
The second kiss stole the air from your lungs. Hesitation fled out of the window, only to be replaced by hunger. All the restraint that had been hanging for months, maybe even longer, snapped all at once. Heat flooded your body instantly, pooling low in your belly. A small sound slipped from you against his mouth before you could stop it.
"Fuck," Jack breathed against your mouth, the word rough and wrecked.
Your tugged at the damp salt and pepper curls at the nape of his neck, stealing a groan from him that rushed straight to your core. You pressed yourself closer instinctively, your chest against his and leaving no space between you anymore.
His hands wandered your body with urgency, one firm hand holding your waist and the other lower at your back. He needed to feel you, to have you closer.
"Get on the dock," he croaked.
You pulled back slowly, looking up at him with half-lidded eyes and your breath uneven. The look on his face sent heat spiralling through your body; desire heavy in his gaze, barely contained now that the line had finally been crossed.
You climbed out first, water dripping from your body and onto the wooden boards, then reached back for him. Jack took your hand, hauling himself up with practised ease.
The second he was beside you again, his hands found your waist and he guided you backward gently until you were laying against the warm wood of the dock. He followed immediately, bracing himself above you carefully, mindful of his weightnto not crush you.
His hand found your face again, fingers moving over your skin with tenderness. He brushed damp strands of hair away from your forehead before his touch drifted down your cheek and finally paused at your mouth. His thumb tugged lightly at your bottom lip. You caught it teasingly between your lips, tongue darting out to taste the pad of it.
Jack's breath hitched. "Fuck…" he rasped.
He slowly pulled his thumb from your mouth, his gaze fixed on yours as he dragged his fingers over your jaw. Then his touch drifted lower, tracing the line of your neck with deliberate slowness, drawing a shiver from you.
"Look at you…" he murmured under his breath, like the sight of you alone was enough to unravel him. His gaze wandered over you openly, no longer hiding how much he craved you.
"You're so beautiful." he whispered before capturing your lips again, with much more hunger than before.
His hands settled at your hips as his thigh slid carefully between yours, the pressure sending a sharp wave of heat through your body. Your hips jerked up, grinding against him in search of relief for the ache building low in your stomach. A rough groan vibrated against your lips at the movement, his grip tightening on your hips.
"There…" he said in-between kisses, voice rough with want. "You wanted me, yeah?"
"So much." you replied breathlessly.
Something in his eyes darkened.
"Well," he said softly, brushing his lips against yours again, "take what you need, sweetheart. I'm all yours."
You blinked, hesitating for only a second, before pressing a hand to his shoulder and gently pushing.
Jack let you guide him onto his back without protest, his eyes never leaving yours as your positions shifted. You settled over him slowly, thighs bracketing his hips while your hands spread across his chest, feeling the steady rise and fall beneath your palms.
You rolled your hips tentatively, watching the way Jack's lips parted as he let out a shaky exhale.
"yeah," he purred. "just like that.."
The sound of his voice strained and wanting sent another rush of heat through you. Encourage by the way he reacted, by the firm grip of his hands guiding your hips, you moved again with more confidence this time, letting go of the last of your hesitation.
"Jack.." his name left your mouth in a whine, fingers digging into the flesh of his shoulders. You felt his hands tighten on your hips, pressing you down onto his hard length.
"You're doing so good." he panted, his lips parted and swollen red. "That's it, take what you need."
You whimpered as your pace quickened, pleasure tightening low in your stomach. You kept your eyes locked on Jack's, listening to every strained breath that left him, every quiet grunt that slipped past his parted lips with each rolls of your hips.
"f—fuck." Jack grunted, guiding you faster. One of his hands slid lower to your ass cheek, squeezing hard enough to draw a gasp from you before he gave a sharp slap that sent another jolt of heat through your body. "Just like that."
It seemed that it was all it took to send you over the edge. Your hips stuttered as pleasure crashed over you, your body trembling as you came apart above him. Jack swore under his breath at the sight of you, his hands gripping you tighter as he followed moments later with a strained groan, calling your name.
You let yourself collapse on top of him, chest heaving as Jack's arms wrapped securely around your waist. For a long moment afterwards, neither of you spoke nor moved.
The only sounds left were your uneven breaths and the quiet water lapping against the dock beneath you.
Then, Jack pressed a soft kiss to your temple, his lips lingering there for a second longer than necessary.
"You did so good," he praised in a murmur, voice rough.
The praise made you smile, a feeling of satisfaction and affection settling in your chest.
You stayed curled against him, listening to the uneven rhythm of his breathing slowly steadying beneath your ear. The world narrowed to the warmth of his body, the lake breeze against your damp skin, and the lingering aftershock still humming through you.
Neither of you pretended this had been a mistake.
Neither of you pretended this was just a moment you could walk away from.
There was only you and him.
An empty house waiting a few meters away.
And two weeks where neither of you were going to act like the tension between you didn't exist anymore.
summary: From Iranian origins, particularly Kurdish culture, Vian (ڤیان) translates to 'love' or 'affection,' embodying emotional warmth and connection.
Based on this req: Aaaaahhh congratulations on the 2.5K Rueee!!! • I've been following you for so long and forgive me for the anon ask l'm a little shy But can I please request a fic if that's okay? With Robby x Reader, where they're exes (married or not) with a kid (who's like 2-3 years old, I guess?) and it's just super angsty with all the yearning and lost love and whatnot, until it isn't? 00 angst turned happy with some smut, if that's possible? Angst prompt I loved: "I wish you'd just let me love you the way you deserve to be loved." Smutty bits that l'd worship you for forever if you include them: Body worship and lactation kink? Thank youuuuu so much ily
warnings: 18+ mdni! Smut, angst, ex husband dad!robby, mom!reader, doctor!reader, angst with a happy ending, chubby!reader, exes to lovers, English isn’t my first language<3
wc: 16.8k+
an: posting this amidst the digital blackout in here. This is for the daughter I’ll never have, because I’d name her Vian too. It’s also pronounced as Vi-yun<3
“MAMA!”
“Daddy’s right there with you, baby!” You yell from downstairs, packing your daughter’s clothes and snacks with her favorite bottles as Robby bathes her in your bathroom.
“MAMA, MAMA, MAMAAAAAAA.”
“Fucking– deep breaths, deep breaths, Mama,” you squeeze your eyes shut, counting from one to four to inhale, hold for seven and exhale for eight, “He better be fixing the faucet…”
You march toward the staircase, praying to the skies for Robby to be busy doing something because you told him thag you needed the break after his three month sabbatical. You need to have the silence, the quiet of your home and spend it by getting wine drunk while knowing your daughter is with her dad in the saftey of his place. Vian has her father with him, she should not be needing you now.
You love your daughter with every cell — no, scratch that with every atom — in your body. She wasn’t planned, but not an accident either. She was the most pleasant surprise of your life, a gift when you and Robby needed a glue to your marriage, but even her sweet smiles and babbles couldn’t hold you together for long.
She is your light, your source of energy, your reason to keep going. She is your entire life, and now, you need Robby to step in and do his fatherly duties.
You knock on the bathroom door, slowly pushing it open, thinking you’ll find Robby crouched down next to the tub, not inside it, naked with his boxers on and chuckling when Vivin she splashes water on his face.
“What are you two doing?” You look at them with a shocked look, trying to mask the gentle warmth that spreads through you with an annoyed frown, but when Vivin turns around at the sound of your voice, you grin at her, “Heyyy, what’s up, baby?”
“Mama, play wit daddy!” She slams her palms on the edge of the water, laughing when water hits Robby’s face and he shakes his head vigorously to splash the water back on her, making her squeal and kick her feet in excitement.
“Yeah, you’re playing with daddy, baby,” you kneel next to the pile of clothes, pinching her chubby cheek when she turns around to look at you, “You like the water? Maybe we should sign you up for swimming classes.”
“She’s 2, sweetheart,” you pin him with a glare at the pet name before diverting your attention to your daughter, running your fingers over her small back, pouring water with your palm over her shoulders. Robby swallows hard, holding your daughter up by her armpits before turning her around so she is leaning back on his chest, “Maybe when she’s 3…?”
“Yeah, we’ll talk about it,” you say dismissively, cooing when Vian picks up her duck toy and starts dipping her into the water, letting it spring back up to the surface with a delightful giggle, craning her small neck to look at Robby, making sure he’s seen her magic too.
They look the carbon copy of each other. She is his daughter through and through; brunette hair, big bobba irises with the same gleam in their eyes. You fell in love with one pair once, and now you have another with sprinkles of your own beauty.
If only Robby didn’t pull away, if only he could see you as someone he trusted…
“How did she convince you to get in with her?” You rest the side of your face on your arm on the edge of the tub, not bothering to even look at Robby, “That’s her trick, you know? She tries her hardest to get me in with her every time.”
“I… caved really fast,” he smiles shyly, trying to catch your gaze and when he does, the breath is knocked out of your lungs and you are reminded of how much you loved this man. You still do, but the pain he caused you and the regular fights you had the last few months of your marriage weree too hurtful to brush under the rug.
“She has a way of persuading people,” you smile when she stands on her feet slowly, Robby holding her by the waist and help her stumble closer to you, “Prettiest girl in the world,” she leans down to rub her nose against yours, a habit you both have when you wanna show affection — somethimg you used to do with Robby too when he was having a tough day.
“Her mother’s daughter, I don’t even stand a chance,” he leans forward to kiss the back of her head, “Think we should get out, sweetpea. The water’s getting cold.”
“Yeah, let me get her towel.”
“Out?” She turns around to look at Robby, a pout forming on her flushed chubby cheeks, shaking her head side to side, “No, Vivi don’t want out!”
“You’ll catch a cold if you don’t get out, baby bear,” you wait with open arms on the floor, watching as Robby kiss Vian’s face softly before lowering her in front of you, and you have the chance to wrap the towel around her and blow raspberries on her stomach to prevent a crying session.
She doesn’t cry often, and even when she does, she is so quiet. She pouts a lot, cries softly, sobs on occasion but never a full breakdown. Except for one time you and Robby were having a screaming match and were reminded that you were responsible for a little human being and you had to watcg yourself.
“I love you so much,” you mumble into her hair, drying her arms and holding her close as you stand up and put her on the sink, “Look at my clean girl! Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous.”
“Lobe you!” She yells, kicking her legs happily as she allows you to wipe her face with the towel, “Lobe you, Mama!”
“What about me?” You both look at Robby stepping out of the tub, his chest dripping with water as he shyly rubs the back of his neck, his cheeks and neck flushing under your watchful eyes.
“Lobe you, daddy! Lobe you, lobe you, lobe you!” She makes grabby hands at him, and he leans forward to kiss both of her fists before straightening his back so he doesn’t get her wet again, “Huggies?”
“Huggies later, baby bear, let’s get you clothed first,” you pull the towel’s hat over her head and and pick her up, kissing her cheek while you turn your back to Robby, letting her wave and give him a quick kiss. You glance over your shoulder at him, “Y’know where the towels are, right?”
“Yes, I do,” he replies quickly, waiting for you to get out of the bathroom to get rid of his boxers and dry his body, “Same cabinet?”
“Yup,” you close the door behind you, making a beViane for Vian’s room, holding her closer when you feel her shiver in your arms, “Let’s put on something warm before you leave with daddy, little bear.”
“I go wit daddy?” She asks quietly, patiently waiting for you to come back when you lay her down on her changing sheets and hand out her favorite toy — ironically, Robby’s childhood teddy bear — as you pull out a diaper and long sleeve onesie with a pretty pair of pants that go with the color of her top.
“Yes, baby. Daddy’s taking you home with him tonight and you get to spend it together! I’m sure you miss Jerry and Sully!” You say enthusiastically, desperately trying not to show how you won’t come back for the night to pick her up. “I’m sure you’ll have so much fun.”
“You come too?” Oh no. “Daddy, Vivi, Mama, sleepoer!”
“I have work to do, baby,” you dress her quickly, let out a soft gasp when her face twists and she sneezes loudly, her small body shaking for a second. You chuckle a little and kiss her forehead, standing her up on her feet to pull her pants up, “Bless you!”
“Tank you!” She holds your shoulders, swaying back and forth with her teddy tucked under her arm, “Mama, daddy’s friend be there?”
“Daddy’s friend? You mean uncle Jack, baby?” You pick her up, putting her on your hip as you walk to her drawer to pull out a strawberry hairclip and her small hair dryer because she despises yours, sitting with her in your lap in front of the mirror, “Jack and Dana might be there, but you have to ask daddy.”
“No, Null!” She frowns, pushing her bottom lip out a little and that makes you stop. She kicks her leg patiently as you dry her hair, deep in thoughts as you untangle her soft strands slowly with her small brush, breathing her scent so deeply you’re sure you’ve carved the smell of heaven deep in your Limbic system.
“Null? Who’s Null, baby?” You turn off the dryer and pull it out of the plug, clipping her small bangs with lots of small kisses to the crown of her head, and suddenly, it dawns on you who she is talking about.Noelle. Noelle Hastings. The Noell Hastings you’ve had buttheads with over cases, the beautiful gorgeous tantalizing Noelle Hastings, the one who’d always flirted with your husband, the same fucking one he was seeing before he left for his sabbatical. And you had no idea your daughter had met her. “You mean Noelle, sweetling?”
“Yup, yup,” she slowly wiggles her way out of your arms and on the floor, urging you to get up and hold her hand as to keep her from bolting downstairs, her small hand fits perfectly in yours and she seems very pleased by the safety your fingers bring her, “Null. She at daddy house! I saw her, Mama!”
“I believe you, baby bear,” you nod and grin at her, smoothing your free hand over the small frown on her face before you lead her out of the room — or she does with how hard she is pulling on your hand — and downstairs to where Robby probably is waiting. “Do you want to watch Frozen again?”
“Really?” Her eyes light up, a huge smile covering her face, “Please, please! Ice cream too?”
“You just got out of the shower, baby bear! I tell daddy, see if he has some at his place,” you haul her up by one hand on the last stair, making her squeal and laugh in delight by the short adrenaline rush in her small body, “Do you need help with the tv or–”
“No help! Vivi know how to put favorite!”
“Of course you do,” you shake your head affectionately, walking through the living room as you watch her bolt for the remote. You make sure she is sitting with her teddy bear before turning around to make your way to the kitchen, finding Robby leaning on the counter with his eyes on his daughter, “We need to talk.”
“Sure, is it about–”
“Listen, Robby,” you stand closer, squeezing your eyes shut as you breathe in the cleanness and warmth of his body, looking down at your toes to regulate your thoughts. He shouldn’t have this effect on you anymore. But he does. Oh, he does. He is still so beautiful, and so overwhelmingly secure as he stands in front of you. “you are free to do as you please, okay? I don’t mean…”
“I’m not sure I follow, sweetheart–”
“Stop, stop,” you groan, stroking your neck in anxiety, “Look, I don’t care who you bring home, or spend your time with, or who you fuck,” oh, but you do, “What I care about is you keep my daughter away from them until you are in a serious relationship then we will talk. But ‘till then, Robby, keep your flings away from Vivi.”
“I have never brought anyone near our daughter,” he catches your gaze by lowering his head until you are eye to eye, and you can see the fire in his irises, “I haven’t even had sex since I left for Alberta, and that’s a good four months ago. I’m not seeing anyone, not that I need to explain anything to you–”
“Bravo! Thank you for keeping your dick in your pants, but I have a question though, pray tell, how the fuck does she know Noelle fucking Hastings?” You cock your head to the side, glaring at him with all the fire in your eyes, “Because she frowned when she found out she was gonna come to your place. She asked if she’d be there. I swear, Robby, if she has met my daughter and you haven’t told me, I’ll skin you alive myself.”
“I have nev– oh.”
“Yeah, oh is fucking right,” you roll your eyes so hard you are relieved you don’t get a headache immediately, “Talk and I mean actually say everything that happened.”
“It wasn’t that they met,” he sighs, resting his palm on the countertop while the other goes to his hip, his eyes dashing toward Vian who sings happily with Elsa and runs ariund the living room, smiling at the sight of her before he turns back to you, “It was a night when she was staying with me before July. I forgot to tell Noelle that our plans were cancelled, and she accidentally drove to my place. I couldn’t really send her away like that so she came inside, and they saw each other very briefly–”
“I don’t want any woman around my daughter unless you are serious about her,” you try to sound stern but Robby’s expression is so attentive you want to scream, “I don’t like Hastings but that’s because of our jobs,” No, you also don’t like her because you’re jealous. She is very beautiful and not a mother, but he doesn’t need to know that, “If you want her to be a permanent presence in your life–”
“We stopped talking after I left Pittsburgh,” he is so subtle with the way he shifts until he has your back pressed againstthe counter and his hands are on both sides, caging you against his body, “It was just a fling, nothing serious, nothing worth fighting over.”
“I don’t care,” you whisper, a little breathless, a little angry at him for knowing how to make you cave, “I only care when it affects my daughter.”
“Good to know,” he laughs a little, and for a second you think he might turn this into a crazy minute of self hatred towards himself like he used to back when you were married, ‘You’re telling me I don’t care about my daughter?’ Would probably be the first line and followed by a ‘You think I’m incable of caring about her’, and that’d end up in a screaming match.
But now, he is just smiling sadly, and you can feel how his hands are itching to hold onto your waist, his face mere inches away from yours as he leans down a little to press a kiss to your forehead.
Your breath hitches, chest aching with so much unresolved tension and feViangs for the man in front of you. You try not to close your eyes and give into the strong urges that are screaming inside your head to let go and enjoy.
“I won’t jeopardize our family over a hookup, sweetheart.”
“Stop,” you hiss, pushing him away by your hands on his chest, ignoring the pained look he gives you. “Stop doing whatever you’re doing right now. I can’t handle you being like- like this!”
“Like what?” He whispers, hands coming up to hold you by the wrists, making sure he is looking straight into your eyes, “I want to mend what I’ve broken–”
“We are divorced–”
“I want our family to get back together. I want to try and be better for Vivi, for you, for myself. I need this to happen or I’ll lose my mind–”
“You will lose your mind?” You let out a quick hysterical laugh, pushing him away completely, freeing your hands from his grasp, “I have been losing my mind for months! You think it’s easy to just go to work and be met with awful stares when I have to come down to your ED? Mending what’s broken doesn’t happen over a single night. I don’t fucking trust you, you broke my heart, Robby. I loved you but you broke my fucking heart.”
“I–”
“Mama! Daddy!” Vian runs to the two of you, and you have to look up at the ceiling to dry your tears. She doesn’t like it when either of you are crying. Robby is quicker to get himself together, smiling broadly and kneViang down to her height. She wraps her arms around her neck and crawls onto his lap, “Olaf here! Watch wit me!”
“Let’s go,” he picks her up, looking at you when Vian reaches for your hand to get your attention, “You coming?”
“Of course! I can never miss my favorite movie,” you follow them through the living room, waiting for Robby to sit down first and place Vivi next to him. You sit down and she immediately starts snuggling into your side, her small hand wrapped tightly around two of his fingers.
“Jack’s gonna drop Samira here, you wanna go with him to his place?” You ask Robby, your hand moving up and down Vivi’s back, your chin resting on the top of her head as uou look at your ex husband softly, “Or you both could stay for dinner–”
“No, no,” he shakes his head, his eyes not leaving the TV as he plays with his daughter’s fingers absentmindedly, “I talked to him a few hours ago, we’ll go to my place. You need a break and definitely a girl’s night with Samira.”
“You’re right for the first time in a very long time,” you huff out a smal laugh when Robby snorts and shakes his head, “I need to get wine drunk.”
“Absolutely, and me and this little girl,” he leans down to bury his face into Vian’s neck to tickle her, enjoying how she tries to push him away with a shriek, “Will have an amazing sleepover with Uncle Jack.”
“Unce Jack?” Her ears perk up at the sound, eyes wide and glimmering with hope and excitement, “He coming too?”
“Of course, baby bear,” he chuckles when he sees her grinning and clutching her teddy in her hands, snuggling closer to your side in contentment, “He’s gonna stay for dinner too.”
“Happy meal?” She crawls into his lap this time, whispering to him with a quiet giggle, “with strawberry milkshake?”
“Shhh, don’t let Mama hear you,” he whispers, loud enough for you to actually hear, and you shake your head and look at the tv with a grin on your face. Hell, you fucking love Vian. “But yeah, whatever you want, we’ll get it with uncle Jack.”
“Yeeeees,” she holds her fist up, and Robby throws his head back and laughs loudly, bringing his own fist up to slowly bump it into hers.
“How did you learn that, sweetpea?”
“You and unce Jack do,” she shrugs and turns around, her back to his chest as she resumes watching her cartoon.
You cackle at the thought of her observing her favorite people so closely to the point of learning their habits. She has a tendency of watching, listening, noticing small details that no one else does. It’s cute, and it’s very Robby — minus the listening because he did not listen when you wanted him to.
****
None of you notice how the time passes, but Robby does. He notices the warmth that radiates from your arm as you and Vian somehow end up cuddling him on the couch. He notices the scrunch of your nose in affection when Vivi laughs. He notices the small stain on the collar of your shirt from your daughter’s snack. He also notices the not so subtle sneezes that come from his little girl, but he keeps his mouth shut because he is not going to ruin your night.
He notices everything about his girls.
His eyes are wandering all over your face, taking in the slight twitch of your eyes when Anna stars freezing and so does your daughter, clutching her teddy furiously in her small fists.
And then your eyes… your lashes kiss your under eye everytime you blink, they keep your gorgeous irises safe from the world, and now, you are gazing up at him and he needs to pull his head out of his ass and fucking focus.
“You okay?” You ask, straightening your back, “You’re not watching.”
“Yeah, no–”
Ding. Ding.
“I’ll get it,” you kiss the top of Vivi’s head before walking towards the door, sighing in relief when Samira and Jack come into view, Samira holding a large tote bag with two wine bottles and lots of snacks inside. “It’s so fucking good to see you.”
“Hey, lovey,” she hugs you after she hands the bag to Jack, engulfing you in a tight hug, humming when she feels your arms tightening around her, “Missed you so much.”
“Hey, what ‘bout me?” Jack scoffs playfully, but his voice is enough to alert someone from the couch.
“UNCE JACK!”
She is fierce with how she jumps out of Robby’s arms and bolts to the door. You have approximately thirteen seconds to pull Samira out of the way and watch as she throws herself into Jack’s arms, who easily catches her with one arm.
“Heey,” Jack chuckles and picks her up effortlessly, “‘sup soldier?”
“‘Sup captain?” She gives a military salute, giggling when he kisses her cheek, “You come wit us?”
“Absolutely, I bought your dog and cat food, too. Heard we also gonna get some happy meal for ourselves, yeah?” She nods happily, kicking her feet and wrapping her free arm around his neck.
“Are you ignoring me?” Samira pokes her head between their bodies to get Vian’s attention, and when she does, now she is the one who is holding Vivi in her arms. She is way too quick to jump from one hug to another, and she loves it.
“Mira!”
“Auntie ‘Mira, baby.” You stand back and let her marvel in their attention before she has to go, enjoying the kisses and giggles she lets out while they hold her.
“Hey, brother,” Robby makes his way toward the group, Vivi’s coat and bag on his shoulder as they clap and give each other a side hug before he looks at Samira, “Hey, how are you?”
“Fine,” she nods, bouncing Vivi in her arms before she puts her down, kissing her head and getting her bag back, “Have a great night, guys. Now, shoo shoo, we have work to do.”
“Mamaaaaaaa I miss you,” you kneel down to meet her bear hug, holding her close and tightly, pressing kiss after kiss to her soft hair, “I lobe you.”
“I love you, too, baby bear.” You pull back a little to look in her eyes, cupping her face in your hands, rubbing your nose along hers, “I’m gonna miss you so much, but you are with daddy and he takes such a good care of you! Listen to him just as you always do and send me pictures!”
“Okay,” she hugs you one last time before giving Samira a kiss and skip to where Jack is standing, holding his hand as he helps her put her shoes on.
“I’m only a call away, Robby–”
“I know–”
“If anything happens, just call me, I’ll be there under ten minutes–”
“It’s a twenty minutes drive, please, sweetheart,” he grabs your arms, forcing you to breathe for a second befote he kisses your forehead gently, “I’m her dad, I know what I’m doing. Please, enjoy your night. Samira,” she looks at the woman standing behind you, “Please, keep her occupied. Thank you.”
“Sure thing, boss.”
“Take care of yourself, get drunk, and don’t do anything stupid,” he squeezes your arms again then follows Jack and Vivi out of the house, “Have a great night, ladies!”
****
“She’s been sneezing.”
“I know.”
“Coughing too.”
“I know.”
“She’s also a bit warm—”
“Jesus fucking Christ, I know!”
“Bad word!” Vian stabs Robby with a fry before pushing the entire thing into her mouth and Jerry — Robby’s German Shepherd resting under her feet — makes a grumbling noise that makes her smile for a second, “Why fighting?”
“We’re not fighting, baby bear. We’re diagnosing,” He nods at her, eating his own meal as his watchful eyes stare at her with such an intensity, “How are you feeling?”
“Tired,” she replies quietly, her usual cheery expression by a shadow Robby knows so well. She is sick and he hates it. “Vivi don’t want milkshake.”
“Why not, sweet girl?” Jack runs his hand over her head, shaking his head as he feels the warmth of her skin, “Do you want some water?”
“Vivi don’t feel good, daddy,” she pouts, crawling into his lap and ignoring her meal and Uncle Jack. It must be that bad to not care about her favorite non parent person. She clucthes Robby’s shirt and her teddy tightly, sniffing a little, “Want Mama.”
“Mama’s busy, let’s eat something while uncle Jack brings us some medicine, okay?” Jack is already in the kitchen, rummaging through Robby’s cabinet until he finds the pills and whatever his friend owns. “Another nugget?”
“No,” she shakes her head, forehead slumping against Robby’s solid chest, trying to make herelf as small as possible and Robby wraps his arms around her, “Want huggies.”
“I’m giving you huggies, little bear. Let’s go wash your face and feet and get in bed together until uncle Jack brings your favorite medicine, okay?”
“Strawberry?” She rests her head on his biceps as he picks her up, kissing her forehead as he gazes gently down at her. She is warm, and he hates it. He knows what it is, he knows it from her sluggish grasp, the smell of her breath, her sulken eyes and pale features.
“Yes, sweetpea, with water too. But we gotta get your temperature down a little first.” She groans a little before he sits her on the sink and turns on the faucet, wetting his hands with cool water before he gently rubs her feet, tickling under her toes until she lets out a tired giggle — it’s a giggle nonetheless. A win’s a win.
Robby changes her clothes and when he enters his own room, Jack’s already waiting with the medicine. They gently coax her to swallow the bitter strawberry acetaminophen with her favorite water bottle and tuck her under the blanket. Sully — your cat who you’ve given her to Robby for a few days to take care of — sneaks under the blanket to snuggle Vian and her teddy.
She’s out like a light.
“You should call her.”
“I can take care of my sick daughter, Jack.” Robby’s pinned to his spot with a glare from his friend. He shakes his head, stroking Vivi’s hair so softly it’s barely noticeable, “I don’t want to ruin her night.”
“You won’t, but if you don’t tell her, she’ll be fucking furious,” Jack stands up, stretching his arms over his head, giving Robby a sympathetic yet pointed look, “Call her.”
“She thinks I’m incapable of…” he inhales sharply, feViang the back of his throat stinging as he looks down at his daughter — her cheeks tainted red with her fever — and he reaches down to kiss her brows, “I don’t want her to think I’m a bad father.”
“Vivi’s fighting a virus, she won’t think you’re anything other than a capable caring father. That’s it. She’d be angrier if she didn’t get a call from you now.”
“I’ll call her when I think Vivi’s stable.”
“Okay, well, I told you what you had to know,” Jack sighs, resting his hands on his hips as he shakes his head, “I’m gonna go pick Samira up. Call her, please.”
****
“He is fucking with my head, Mira!”
“When is he not?”
“Ugh, I hate him but I also fucking love him,” your feign a cry, throwing your head back on the couch’s arm, tangling your legs with Samira’s as you both drink the one third of the second bottle, “He’s been so nice since he got back. He’s only sat behind the motorcycle once! He’s been sending gigantic amounts of money to Vian’s saving account, he’s also bought me a new car. But money can’t solve everything!”
“Of course it can’t! But… I’m totally one hundred percent on your side, but we gotta give him credit, he’s not once skipped a therapy sessions in the past month.” Samira shrugs, squeezing your knee when you glare at her, “Look, he fucked up, like really fucking bad. He pulled away from you, he didn’t talk to you, he… said things that broke your heart real bad– I don’t know! It’s just… he’s be so oddly nice, even to me, and you know how he used to treat me.”
“He was a dick, he is still a dick. Sometimes he forgets we’re not married anymore! He touches and kisses and waltz inside my house and fixes things and tries to talk to me about getting back together but—“ you take a deep breath, “Mira, did you know he was sleeping with Hastings?”
“What?!”
“Yeah, before he left for his spiritual trip in the open road,” you roll your eyes, drowning the rest of your wine before you sit up, “She is so hot and gorgeous, and I’m… I’m me, Mira! She doesn’t have stretch marks, a c-section scar, she is fit and flirtious and so dreamy! How am I ever gonna fill her shoes?”
“Honey, you’re not gonna fill her shoes. It was her that tried to fill your shoes and failed. Look where Robby is now! You should try and put him in his place one way or another.”
“Look at you, expert in relationships,” you cackle and shriek when she slaps your side, “Abbot is treating you so well, huh?”
“You’re the expert in relationships! You’ve been married!” She tries to argue with you, but you can see the slights flustered look in her eyes. Oh, she is down baaad.
“And fucking divorced too! No expert is divorced with a kid, Mira,” you sit up, pouring more wine into your glass, “It’s so bizarre, y’know? He is everywhere in this house; in my bedroom, in the kitchen, in Vivi’s room. He haunts this place when he isn’t around and when he is… Vivi’s so happy. She is smiling and laughing all the time and I hate myself for taking that away from her at such an early age.”
“Babe, you did what was best at the time, okay? You were hurting and that was affecting your job as a doctor and as a mother. Robby wasn’t okay, he wasn’t capable of making a rational choice, you did what you had to.” She reaches to wipe your tears with a small ‘awe, lovey’, and kisses your shoulder before pulling you to her side, “You didn’t take anything from Vian. Maybe now… you can work on getting back together.”
“Okay, first of all, no.” You point at her, shaking your head, eyes dazed and looking down at your glass, “I ain’t gonna just take him back like that. He hurt me, okay? Really fucking hurt me and I was so broken for months. You saw me, Mira, every time I came down for a consult I looked like shit. I don’t want that again, I need- need stability from him.”
“Maybe he can offer stability this time,” her hands find your hair when you flop down on top of her, “Let me tell you something, I have an insane resource at home, and he may or may not have mentioned how much… Robby has missed you.”
“Fuck him.”
“That’s a terrible idea.”
“No like literally, fuck him.”
“I mean… maybe not so terrible if you can blow off some steam–”
“Get the fuck out of my face,” you sit up and chuckle lightheartedly, “If I fuck him, then we’ll be both screwed. It’ll make things waaaay worse.”
“Okay, yeah—”
Ding. Ding.
“Damn, you gotta go this soon?” You pout, engulfing her in a tight hug on the couch, not letting her get up, “Nooooo. I hate how your boyfriend’s getting more time with you than me. Is he your favorite attending now too?”
“Absolutely fucking not! My favorite attending is the hot cardiologist upstairs who has the sweetest baby girl in the world,” she kisses your forehead and gently untangles herself from you, both of you making haste when you hear Jack knock on the door.
“I’ll get it,” you squeeze her arm before going for the door, opening it and giving Jack a small smile, “Hey you.”
“Hello,” Jack gives you a tired easy smile before pointing at Samira, “Came to steal this one from you.”
“Very rude and unpleasant of you, we were having an amaaaazing time, weren’t we, Mira?”
“Of course, lovey,” she comes and embraces you tightly, holding you close and rocking you side to side gently, which makes Jack snort, showing how drunk the two of you really are. “See you soon?”
“Yup, absolutely!”
“Before we go…” Jack starts, looking straight into your eyes and holding Samira by the elbow as she tries to put her shoes on without wobbling, “There’s something I must tell you.”
“I don’t like your tone,” you say, heart rate picking up in an instant, mind already wheViang around with ten thousand different scenarios. You try not to show it, try to shove the stress down, but you are already fidgeting with your fingers and shifting your weight from one foot fo another in less than thirty seconds over and over.
“Yeah, you won’t like what I have to say,” Jack says, eyes darting from your face to your hands, but Samira beats it to him and reaches to hold you with steady fingers. He gazes at her with a grateful smile before he looks back at you, “Deep breaths, okay? Vivi’s sick–”
“What the fuck?!” You sqreech like a hen, already reaching for your coat and you would have been successful if Samira didn’t grab you by your shoulders to stop you, “What do you mean she is sick?Was she vomiting? Did she had too much milkshake? I told him not to give her too much, but she is so fucking convincing–”
“Hey, hey,” Jack grabs your shoulder over Samira’s hand, squeezing you gently to get your attention amidst your spiral, “She isn’t vomiting, she is stable, she didn’t have any milkshake, she could barely even eat her dinner–”
“She didn’t eat?! What the fuck were you two doing? Did you even give her medicine? Can’t even give my daughter to fucking doctors–”
“Okay, you’re reaching now.” Jack’s halfhearted glare is enough to pin you to your spot, but his expression softens immediately when he notices the tears coating your lashline, so does Samira, pulling you in a tight hug. Jack sighs, “Sober up, sleep a few hours, then go to Robby’s place. It’s just a cold, okay? She is fine.”
“She clearly isn’t, she is sick! Why didn’t he call me?” You break away from them, running your hands down your face, tears falling from your eyes as you start pacing around, “She was sneezing today… fuck, I’m such an idiot, I should have noticed the signs. Why didn’t Robby say anything?”
“Because he didn’t want you to think he isn’t capable of taking care of his daughter,” Jack sighs, and you stop dead in your tracks in front of him. “He said he’ll tell you when she slept it off for the night, he didn’t want to ruin your night. He said you deserved to have this, but I couldn’t keep this to myself.”
You take a shaky breath, hands mindlessly reaching for Samira, and she silently grabs you, linking her fingers through yours as she waits for you to process everything.
Your baby is sick. She is sick and she is away from you. You wish you could have done something more, but alcohol is running in your system and it’s dulling your senses. All senses except the intense anxiety inside your core.
Robby. Fuck, Robby… he thinks you find him incapable. And that couldn’t be any farther from the truth. You know he loves Vian to the point he’d do unspeakable things to keep her safe and sound. Hell, he’d even break his leg if it meant she’d laugh. Of course you think he can take care of her. He’s her father, and she is his everything. He’d bend mountains for her to heal her. She is in good hands, and it pains you to know he thinks that negatively.
But you’re a mother, and mothers get anxious and antsy when their child is sick, right?
“Listen, hun,” Samira’s gentle voice coaxes you out of your mind, grounding you until she is sure you are listening, “Drink a glass of water, pop an Advil and sleep. Vivi needs her mom focused and ready, you can’t do anything for her if you’re not well.”
“Mira’s right,” Jack says, “Please, listen to her. Take care of yourself first, then you can go and tend to Vivi.”
“My baby’s sick,” you pout, wiping your tears a bit too harshly, “Fuck, she’s sick! I didn’t even notice it!”
“And that’s okay,” Samira replies gently, her hands stroking your arms, her eyes holding a gentle sympathetic swirl in them, “You’re allowed to miss a few signs.”
“But I’m a doctor, if I miss something, I might kill my patient–”
“Alright, that’s enough of you being awake. Let’s get you in bed,” Jack takes off his shoes quickly you don’t even get to notice him struggling with his right one, “You sleep, then you get to his place. You must listen to me, for Vivi’s sake.”
With a sniffle, you nod.
****
Four hours. That’s how much sleep you managed to get before you were sprinting up with heart palpitations. You had to get to Robby’s place immediately.
You managed to grab everything you needed for a noodle soup from your fridge, Vivi’s medicine from your cabinet, filled another bag with her clothes and toys and her favorite blanket.
And as you said earlier evening; you managed to turn a twenty minute to a ten minute drive. Passing a few red lights carelessly and holding onto the wheel so tightly your knuckles begin to hurt. You are relentless with how you drive, going past the drive limit and bouncing your left knee when you had to stop.
Soon, you are knocking on Robby’s door softly, not really wishing to wake your daughter up. You are shaking in your spot, fingers tightening and loosing around the bags you carry rapidly. You shift your weight, rapping your knuckles against the door again until you hear a soft padding inside, and the mere movement inside makes you sigh in relief.
Robby opens the door, and your eyes are immediately drawn to the dark circles around his eyes and the sulken sick look on his face. You sigh sadly, biting your bottom lip as you gaze at him tenderly.
“You look like shit,” you say, walking inside the house after he pushes the door open fully. You drop the bags on the dining table gently, turning around to look at him with a small exhale.
“Gee, thanks,” his own eyes widen in surprise at the hoarseness of his voice, clearing his throat to make it better only for his voice to not come out completely, “Fuck…”
“How is she?” You cross the space between the two of you, reaching to grab his hand and not to your surprise, you find his skin warmer than usual — warmer than it is supposed to be — and you press your fingers over his Radial pulse, counting each beat under your skin.
“Knocked out on acetaminophen, didn’t even need convincing to go to bed.” He explains, closing his eyes when your cool palm comes in contact with his cheek gently, then the back of your fingers on his forehead, “We gave her food and tried to tell her to finish her meal but… all in vain.”
“It’s okay– oh, hey, baby,” Jerry pants at your feet, standing on his feet with his paws on your stomach as he stands up and waits for his ear scratches — no barking though, as if he knows someone is asleep upstairs. “I missed you so much.”
“What did you bring?” Robby coughs, covering them with his elbow, and you kiss Jerry’s head before diverting your attention back to Robby, shaking your head in disapproval, and he rolls his eyes, “Don’t look at me like that.”
“Like what?” You cross your arms over your chest, looking at him over the edge of your glasses.
“Like I’m sick.”
“Are you not?” You scoff and move to the kitchen, finding the medicine box already on the counter, grabbing the tablets and a glass of water before moving to where he is standing, “Have this and get in the bed.”
“I’m not sick,” he stands his ground and you have to bite your tongue when you notice his nose scrunching before he is sneezing loudly into his shirt. He groans, his nose turning a bright shade of red and he looks so tired. “Maybe I am.”
“That’s what I thought,” you hand him the water and pills, “Where is Vivi?”
“My room,” he whispers, following you upstairs slowly, and you sigh in relief when you find your daughter sleeping quietly with her teddy and Sully in the middle of Robby’s bed, her cheeks flushed and lips parted, signaling her stuffed nose.
“Oh, baby bear,” you pout, making a beeline to the side of the bed to sit next to her, slowly caressing the few strands that stick to her sweaty forehead, “She looks so small…”
He doesn’t respond, just sighs and nods, standing in the doorframe with a soft smile on his lips. He is exhausted, but he wants to admire this view as long as he can.
“Robby, get in the bed,” you say without taking your eyes off Vian, kissing her forehead and rubbing her back, smiling when Sully stirs awake and meows at you, stretching her paws over your hand when you reach to scratch her belly before she jumps out of the bed.
Your baby looks so small and safe under Robby’s large duvet, tucked under it and breathing with her mouth open. The last time she was sick was also the first time you had to handle it without Robby being around all the time. Her first sickness after your divorce.
You keep your nose buried in her head, wincing slightly and frowning when she coughs in her sleep, your hand moving to her chest to slowly rub over her shirt, warming up her skin as to soothe her. You can’t do anything besides physical touch for her and it burns you inside out.
“I’ll take the couch–”
“Get in the fucking bed,” you scold him gently, standing up to take off your coat and unbutton your jeans before making room in front your daughter on the bed and crawling under the duvet as well, “It’s big enough for all of us. You can’t rest on that damn leather couch.”
“You still hate that couch, huh?” He smirks but it soon turns into a pained groan as he sits on the bed and crawls under the duvet lying on his side to look at ihis daughter, his dark eyes moving from her rising shoulders to your face, “I’m sorry.”
“For what?” You whisper, finger caressing the slope of Vian’s nose slowly, smiling when you glance at Robby’s face, finding the same curve on his face as well.
Robby’s hand finds Vivi’s small legs, slowly tracing gently up and down before his eyes begin to get drowsy, but before the medicine takes over his mind, putting him in a deep hazy state.
“S’rry for ruinin’ your night…”
Your heart breaks into a millions pieces the way he says it; so defeated, so fragile. You didn’t know he was beating himself up this bad. After your divorce, coparenting and cardio consultation were the only visible strings between you, but the invisible ones… the heartache, the longing, the missing hours on your cold beds. You knew Robby like the back of your hand, but after divorce, you had to be the one who pulled away and stopped giving him multiple chances just to keep him around.
But this… this fear of upsetting you, this fear of how you perceive him after your divorce is new.
“Sleep well, bear,” you kiss your daughter’s head, eyes trained on Robby’s flushed cheeks and eyelashes kissing his cheeks. You have to fist the sheets in your hand in order to not reach and touch him, to soothe him when he is sick.
You glance between the two of them, wishing you had the power to protect them from everything and anything.
****
“Thanks for coming down,” Robby nods, giving you his signature smile before looking you up and down, making heat rise to your cheeks, “Thought it’d be a good case for teaching.”
“And you couldn’t do it by yourself, Doctor Robby?” You push your fists into the pockets of your white coat, nudging his elbow with yours, eliciting a shy shrug, “You want me to call her, don’t you?”
“I mean if you want to–”
“I always wanna talk to my daughter,” you roll your eyes at him, leaning on the work stations in the southern wing, “But y’know, you could call her yourself. The babysitter doesn’t bite.”
“She’s young, she might get the wrong idea,” he shrugs like he didn’t just say the funniest thing possible.
You try to hold back your laugh, you really try, but it only comes out as a snort and then you are covering your face and laughing as quietly as possible. You missed hiw cockiness, truly, because it wasn’t like he would be outwardly confident about his looks and demeanor, only with you. It’s refreshing getting glimpses of your husband.
“Not everyone wants to get into your pants, Dr. Robby,” you bite the inside of your cheek, shaking your head as his cheek turn into the nicest shade of red, “She has a boyfriend and she is way younger than you, even youngee than me. Cross my heart she won’t be interested in you other than your money.”
“How’d you know she has a boyfriend?” He rests his palm on the table, leaning a little closer to you so he can whisper, “Has he hit on you? Do I need to make a move or something–”
“Oh, please,” you scoff, glaring at him over the rim of your glasses even though you can’t see him clearly like this, “Firt of all, he hasn’t. Second, you’re my ex so technically you have no say in anything regarding my love life and third, we went out for ice cream with the babysitter and Vivi and he came to pick up his girlfriend.”
“So he met Vivi too? How have I never been told about this–”
“Jesus, Robby, get your shit together,” you shoulder past him, moving towards the central station with a smile when you notice Samira standing there with a tablet, Robby following you with a slight pout on his lips, “Hey!”
“Hey, doc,” Samira hugs you, squeezing your arm before she hands you the tablet, “Need your eyes on this one. Robby’s been up my ass about this, ‘call her down call her down’ and when I didn’t he got mad and did it himself.”
“You seriously bullied Mira to call me down? What are you so afraid of?” You huff out a laugh and look down at the screen, “What do you need me to do about it?”
“Can you give him a bed upstairs?” He asks, looking at you over your shoulder, standing right behind you as he tries to be subtle about staring at you, “And I’m… afraid of you.”
“Good, you should be terrified of me, I’m your ex wife, remember?” You give him a sarcastic smile before looking back at Samira, “I think I can find him a bed upstairs. You gotta let me check with my charge nurse first.”
“Thank you, hun,” you hug her again before she moves to the other side of the room, leaving you and Robby alone again, and Robby takes his time grabbing the tablet from your hands and putting it on the rack next to the others.
“So…”
“So?”
“There’s this thing happening in a few nights, charity for the hospital. Fundraisers, auctions, you name it and it’ll be there. I was told that every head of the department has to attend and I was wondering if you’d come.”
“Y’know I’m not the head of the department, Dr. Robby. I wasn’t invited, really.” You shrug, turning around to look at him fully now, reaching in your pocket for the phone, “I’d love to spend time with my daughter though.”
“So… would you like to, I don’t know, pay the babysitter a bit more so she comes on her night off? So you’re free to join me there?”
“You’re asking me out?” You chuckle, shaking your head, thinking nothing of it because Robby’s your ex husband, you are divorced for a reason, he can’t actually mean it, “You’re funny, Robinavitch.”
“I try,” he says, grabbing your elbow gently as he guides you to a less crowded hallway, still holding you close. His face is twisted in worry, the voice in his head is screaming at him for being a fucking idiot, but he has talked far too much so he can’t back out anymore, “And… not like that. Not as… lovers or whatever,” he tries to mask it with a quick chuckle, running his fingers through his hair and rubbing his neck, “Just as friends. Because I need a plus one.”
“So you’re not asking me out?” You can feel your heart bursting through your ribcage, and you hate it. He isn’t really asking you out, he is just doing it out of convenience, because why would he? You’re divorced, he has moved on, he wants to become a family because of your daughter but he doesn’t want you. Friends. Fuck friends. “I mean… okay, yeah, sure. I could do friends.”
“Great! Uhhh… well, I–” he gives a sheepish smile, looking down at his shoes before he meets your eyes again.
“You still wanna call her?” You roll your eyes at him affectionately, unlocking your phone to press face time over the babysitter’s number, angling the phone until your faces are in the screen, and you’re reminded by the first few days of you coming back to the hospital. You would call Vian to look at her small body move with each breath. Back then, you were fresh out of postpartum and during the last painful months of your marriage.
“MAMA!” She is running in the living room, the phone rattling in her small hands before she crawls on top of the couch, lying on her stomach with the phone in her face, “Mama Vivi miss you.”
“I miss you too, ba–”
“DADDDYYYYYYYY!” You have to turn the volume down immediately, wincing but masking it with a smile, turning around to look at Robby who is grinning as wide as Vivi, waving at her enthusiastically before she starts sitting up, falling with her face on the phone first before she manges to rest her back on the cushions, “Miss you Daddy!”
“I miss you too, baby bear. So so much,” he says, placing his chin on your shoulder to get a closer look at the screen, definitely not thinking twice before he does it. It catches you off guard, breath hitching and eyes widening at the warmth of him. You can smell his cologne; cool and sandalwood, somehow even sweet which you are sure comes from the conditioner he uses for his beard.
“Daddy, come tonight?” She asks, puffing out her cheeks before she brings her teddy bear into the screen, “Hi ted?”
“Hey, ted!” You and Robby have to stop the small laugh that threatens to fall from your lips when she forces you to acknowledge the existence of her small teddy bear.
“No, sweetpea, I can’t come tonight,” you keep quiet when he talks, because you know he is the only one who can stop her from getting upset about this. Your heart still breaks after so many nights of doing this to her, telling her her dad can’t be around. Although she puts up a brave face, you notice her pout small tears in her eyes every single time.
“But… maybe tomorrow? I can come pick you up in the morning!”
“Really? Mama! You come too?”
“I, well…” you turn around, looking at Robby who is gazing at you with the softest most pleading look in his brown eyes, practically begging you to say yes without uttering a word. You are immediately met with Vian’s identical eyes to her father’s, both pouting and waiting for an answer they hope for. With a sigh, you rub your temple and nod, “Fine, okay, yeah.”
“Bweakfast! Pancakes– LILY! I go out!” Then she is bolting towards her baby sitter, leaving the phone on the couch as she starts jumping up and down, letting you hang up with a quick ‘goodbye, baby bear’.
“She’s excited,” he mumbles, pulling himself away from you, clearing his thorat as he purses his lips, looking around the hallway before his eyes fall on you again, “You don’t have to come, y’know? I can always–”
“If I say I’ll do something, that means I will.” You give him a quick smile, pushing your phone back into your pocket before you walk away, glancing back at him quickly, noticing the way your heart beats faster amd faster when you catch him staring at you with a fond look. Friends. Divorced lovers but friends.
****
“Mama, when daddy come?” She is swinging her feet on the counter as you feed her some apples so she doesn’t get hangry during the drive to her favorite coffee shop. You have her secured with your hands flat next to her small legs.
“Soon, little bear,” you kiss her forehead, giving her another slice of apple and cinnamon which she takes eagerly, munchin and nodding happily, “What else do you wanna do today?”
“Sleep wit Mama and daddy, in mama’s bed!”
“You dream big, huh?” You chuckle, rubbing your palm over her back, wiping the cinnamon off her cheeks. Both of you turn to the sound of the doorbell and glance back at each other, and you have maximum ten seconds to grab Vivi when she launches herself at you, “Okay, okay, let me put you down first!”
“Down down down,” and she is running for the door happily, waiting for you to unlock the door, rocking on her feet as you approach her and open ir for her. You pull the door and Robby peeks into the house, grinning when Vivi gasps at the bouquets in his hands, “Fowers! Mama, look!”
“…I can see that,” you glance between the bouquets in his hands curiously, trying to act tough but when you see how happy Vivi is when Robby bends down to kiss her cheek and hands her bouquet to Vian.
“So pretty! Mama, look!” She holds up her flowers for you to see, it’s almost as big as her body, and starts sniffing the scent of the lilies, “Nice!”
“Yeah? You like ‘em, baby bear?” Robby stands up after he kisses the crown of her head, looking shyly between you and the bouquet he has brought for you. You stand with your arms crossed over your chest, biting your lip as you wait for him to do something, and when he extends the flowers to you with a soft smile, you sigh in relief, “I hope you like them too.”
“Y’know I love Tulips,” you bury your nose in the petals, eyes never leaving Robby’s soft gaze, not even for a second, before you bring them down and smile at him brightly, “Thank you, I love them.”
“Anything for you,” he smiles back, his eyes trailing over your face, falling on your lips before Vian tugs on his sleeves and he is leaning down to pick her up with a groan, holding her up on his forearms against his body, “Ready to go, sweetpea?”
“Yuppie!” And suddenly she remembers what she is holding, gasping and turning back to you with her wide eyes full of worey, “Mama, fowers in water!”
“Of course, give it to me so I can put them in a vase, yeah? Go get your coat, it’s gonna be cold outside,” you take the flowers from her hands when she nods and asks Robby to put her down, and soon you are also wrapping your scarf around your neck while Robby makes sure Vivi is bundled up completely, not a silver of her skin exposed to the cold air. He is not going to risk another sickness.
“Ready to head out, ladies?”
“Yes!” She grabs his hand and they walk outside a few steps before they wait for you to join them, wiggling her small fingers at you when you close and lock the door before lacing your fingers through hers, “Les go!”
“Let’s go, little bear,” Robby guides you to the sidewalk, walking side by side toward the café, Vian swinging your arms as she jogs between the two of you, trying to reach your long strides, giggling when you and Robby picks her up when she wants to jump from a stair.
You look at them; Vivi talks about Sully, telling Robby about the new words she has learned, about the night she helped you stir the soup, about the day they were both sick and they sneezed together one time that resulted in more spit and mucus falling from their noses when they laughed.
Life is unfair, you have learned it the hard way. If it was just and comfortable, you would have Robby the way you used to, Vivi would have her father with her every moment she could. But you tried to give her that, you tried to work it out with Robby, yet none of the talks and counselings were enough to put him in a therapy room until he wanted to.
You beat yourself up every day for taking this away from Vian, but maybe it was all for the best.
The café isn’t as crowded as usual, it’s Tuesday and you assume it could be because of this. Luckily for you, your daughter’s favorite table near the window is empty and she makes a run for it, letting go of your hands to crawl on top of the seat.
“Vivi hungry!”
“I know, sweetheart,” Robby follows suit, sitting in front of her and hands her the menu. His eyes follow you fondly as you take the spot next to Vian and help her take her scarf and jacket off, “What do you wanna get?”
“Pancakes! Wit whip cream!”
“And some fruit, right?” You wiggle your eyebrows at her, squeezing her cheek lovingly when she nods and gives you a toothy smile, “Good girl.”
“What do you want, honey?”
Robby asks, reading the menu without even looking at you, like this is normal, like you are still his wife, like this is the domesticity you have experienced many many times. You have, and that is why it hurts much more.
“Sorry,” he shakes his head, his words finally dawning on him, “It just slipped out. Force of habit, I apologize.”
“It’s alright, don’t worry about it,” you smile quickly, ducking your head down to appear busy with Vivi, as if he didn’t just make you weak in your knees without even meaning to, “I want… a large tea with vegetable omelet.”
“Nice choice, I’ll get the same with coffee–”
“Daddy, waffles?” Vivi drops the menu, resting her chin on her hands as she blinks at him with her doe eyes that Robby can never say no to, and you have to bite back a huge snort when Robby looks at you for help and when he receives none he sighs and nods.
“Fine, but–”
“Yay!” She lets out a quick cheer before Robby cuts her off with a stern look.
“But… you have to have a little from it, okay? We can take the rest home.”
“Jeeeesus, you’re weak.”
“Why don’t you come and try?” He whines, reaching to ruffle her hair when she looks at the two of you with curiosity, “You’d fold ten times worse than me if she looks at you like that.”
“You think I’m not getting tortured every hour I’m home?” You roll your eyes, leaning down to kiss the top of Vivi’s head before you notice the waitress coming your way and you look at Vivi, “Do you want to order for yourself?”
“I can?” She asks, her eyes lighting up before her gaze fall on the waitress who smiles and greets the three of you, “Hi!”
“Hi, honey! What can I get you?”
“Whip cream wit pancakes!” She says, swinging her legs under the table, smiling broadly at the waitress before she gasps, “Orange juice!”
“Got it, and what ‘bout you two?”
Robby orders for both of you, nodding as th waitress reads the list to make sure she’s got everything before she walks away quickly.
“About the party thing happening this week…” you start, handing Vivi her book you brought from the house for her to try and read while you wait for your breakfast before you look back at Robby, “Any hints on what color you gonna wear?”
“I have only one good tux and it’s navy blue, you know that,” he spreads his arm over the back of the chairs, his eyes are heated as he gazes at you, “It’s nothing fancy, just a get together to show face.”
“I know, someone else told me this too,” you say without a hint of humor, trying to act nonchalant and confident, but you want to see his reaction. No, you need it.
“Oh? Who?” He leans forward now, bracing his weight on his forearms on the table, looking at you with raises eyebrows, his eyes holding a deep emotion that he has yet to let it resurface.
“Park,” you name him, shrugging and keeping your gaze locked with his, “He told me about the event… he asked me to be his date.”
“Ha!” He huffa out a sarcastic laugh, biting his bottom lip as he nods at your words, tongue picking out to lick the small shapes of his teeth over his lips, his eyes never leaving yours. He is pissed, you can tell that much, and boy, does it bring you joy to watch him lose his composure little by little, “He asked you out. Fucking Park…” he shakes his head and raises his hands when Vian whispers ‘bad word, daddy!’ and glare at him, “sorry, pumpkin.”
“Yeah, he did,” you nod, like you didn’t just drop a fucking bomb on him, sighing in relief when the waitress comes with your breakfast and drinks, and you take the time to busy yourself with your tea, waiting for the girl to leave the two of you before you continue, “Can you imagine how awkward it was? And Ortho attending asking another attending’s ex wife out.”
“And what did you say?” He sips on his black coffee, his knuckles white as he grips the handle of the mug tightly, “In case I need to break his nose.”
“Oh my gosh, you’re so dramatic. Of course I said no,” you chuckle, placing Vivi on your lap as you pull her plate closer, tucking a few napkins in her collar so she doesn’t dirty her clothes, “Okay, baby bear, do you want any help?”
“Nope!” She grins at the two of you before she frowns and grabs the fork, craning her neck to look at you, “Eat wit my hand?”
“No, I taught you how to use your fork, remember? I can slice the pancakes for you and you can eat with your fork.” You explain, kissing her forehead when she scrunches her nose at you in concentration before nodding and turning her attention back to her pancakes, “Okay…”
“Daddy?”
“Yes, pumpkin?” Robby reaches to push her hair out of her face, smiling softly when she grabs his hand to look at his watch.
“Why you have a house?” She asks, playing with Robby’s watch slowly while. You stiffen beneath her, hands stopping the movements as you listen to her sigh softly. You knew this conversation would come sooner than later, your girl is smart, she is very very intelligent, so it shouldn’t shock you as much as it does.
“Because I need a place to live in,” Robby says with a short chuckle, tickling under her chin before he pulls his hand back and watches her grab her fork tightly, thanking you quickly and stuffing her mouth the pancake.
“Why not live wit us?” She says with her full mouth, and you swallow the lump in your throat, eyes widening as you search Robby’s face for an answer. You are forzen, you shouldn’t be, but you are and you cannot do anything about it. You just hope Robby can pull the weight on behalf of both of you now.
“Because…” he takes his time, taking a deep breath in before he takes a large sip from his coffee, his eyes falling to his fingers around the mug before he looks at Vian, “Mama and I decided to live in different houses.”
“But I miss you when you not here,” she whispers softly, pouting a little before she takes another large piece in her mouth, chewing and leaning back against your chest.
“You stay with me three nights every week, sweetheart,” he sighs sadly, biting his cheek before leaning forward and extending his hands for her to take, bringing her small knuckles to his lips when she places the fork on her plate, smiling when he kisses her small fingers, “I miss you too… every second you’re not with me.
“Mama,” she turns around immediately, her pout visibly getting larger by the ticking time, “Daddy come live wit us.”
“Baby bear–”
“Pumpkin, look at me,” Robby is quick to jump in and save you from your daughter noticing you falling apart, giving her one of his largest grins, “My work demands more time to stay at another place, okay? We decided to do this so when I’m off I can completely stay with you and Jerry, yeah?”
“Let’s just focus on our breakfast, huh?” You kiss her head again, smiling and squeezing her a little in your arms before mouthing a quick thank you to Robby, “Besides, I have a surprise for you!”
“What?”
“What?!”
They both ask at the same time, and you have to hold back a soft laugh at how similar their expressions are.
“Well, daddy and I are going out for a work event this week, and I talked to Auntie Samira about it,” you start, looking down at her, caressing her full cheek and leaning down to rub your nose along hers, earning a gleeful giggle, “You gonna have a sleepover with Jack and Mira at their hosue!”
“Really?!”
“Yes, baby bear.”
Your eyes lock with Robby’s, and you notice the soft smile on his face as he looks at his girls. You want cry.
****
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” you curse as you try to find the main hall, walking with the skirt of your dress in your hand, purse tightly clutched into another, begging for Robby to be here.
It was a shitshow to get ready while getting Vian ready and drop her off at Jack’s house. She was crying and so were you while you poured coffee on the dress you had originally decided to wear, until you sat her down on the couch and started Frozen again while handing her a big bowl of ice cream.
Anything to keep her busy and you free to put your makeup on before she decides to sulk again and give you a hard time.
You are lucky you find the main hall quickly before the speeches begin, finding the open bar in a sweeping glance across the room. With a sigh, you put your purse on the bar’s counter, searching for Robby among the sea of bodies before the bartender approaches you with a smile.
“What can I get you?”
“Dirty Martini, extra drirty, please,” Robby gives your order, his warm hand moving to your waist as he appears out of nowhere, “And Double Black neat for me.”
“Comin’ right up,” the bartender winks at you before she moves to the other side to get what she needs for your drinks.
“Hey,” you turn around with a grateful smile, breath hitching in your throat when you look him up and down, noticing the black shirt under his gorgeous navy blue tuxedo is unbuttoned on top. You meet his eyes bashfully, blood rushing to your cheeks and you have to make sure your gaze is steady enough so he doesn’t notice you checking him out.
“Hello, sweetheart,” he squeezes your waist, leaning back against the bar counter and pulling you in gently when someone walks past you hurriedly, “How’s Vivi?”
“You know, a ray of fucking sunshine when I’m in a hurry,” you roll your eyes playfully, looking anywhere but him, “I had to bribe her with ice cream and Frozen until she was calm enough for me to get ready.”
“Sounds like a tough time, I wish I could help,” he sighs, running his hand through his hair, and you notice how his gaze fall upon your dress — an ankle height length maroon dress that is topped off with the Louboutin heels Robby bought you as your birth gift. “You look gorgeous.”
“Thanks,” you say breathlessly, blinking at him through your lashes, looking at the band in the corner as they play a song you don’t know before you notice the bartender bringing your drinks for you, “Oh, lovely!”
“Was she excited to go to Jack’s place? Samira said they wanted to bake together,” Robby says, trying to act nonchalant but his knuckles are moving up and down your back, sipping on his whiskey while his dark eyes sweep over you.
“Sounds like hell of a plan,” you gulp your drink down, pulling the olive between your teeth while your eyes lock with his, dragging the toothpick down before biting the olive. You watch as he looks at the way your lips stretch around the small round thing — painted red and glittering with lipgloss — before you drop the toothpick and the rest of the olives in your glass, “You’re staring.”
“Can you blame me?” He tilts his head to the side, his fingers skimming down your side to your hip, letting his pointer and middle fingertips press down on the flesh gently, watching closely as your chest begins to heave with each breath, “I’m contemplating my life choices right now. My ex-wife… even more beautiful than before.”
“Wow, you’re such a sweet talker,” you huff out a small laugh, patting his chest before you turn around to look at Gloria making her way to the podium, and you are forces to press into Robby’s side as the hall begins to fill in, the space around the bar getting more crowded than before.
“I’m a man on a mission,” he leans down to whisper in your ear, his free hand resting on your hip as he finishes his drink with the other, closing the distance between your bodies until your back is flushed to his front, “You like the sweet talk, don’t you?”
“Don’t let it get to your head, I’d lose my mind over a compliment if it comes from Jack too.”
“You don’t mean that,” he squeezes your flesh, his hot breath fanning over your neck as his hand comes up to play with the strap on your shoulder, leaning down to brush his lipa over you shoulder clavicle, “You’re not an easy woman, beautiful. No man can make you shy like I can.”
“And how do you know that, hmm?” You let out a ragged sigh, leaning back into his warmth, clutching your glass in your hand while he toys with your sanity.
“Because I was married to you.”
“Ah, yes, our very beautiful loving marriage that ended,” you scoff, shaking your head as a round of applause fills the hall, “I wonder why– oh, wait, you weren’t sweet talking back then!”
“That’s not true,” he lets out a laugh in disbelief, his chest rumbling against your back as his fingers tighten over your hip, “I used to do it all the time!”
“Well, apparently it wasn’t enough,” you roll your eyes and push away from him, grabbing your purse from the countertop before sighing deeply, “Look, I’m just gonna go. I showed my face, you had your plus one and I need to get back into bed before I pick Vian up from Jack’s place in the morning. So–”
“What? C’mon, the night’s just started–”
“No, Robby, this was a bad idea. We can’t just have a night out like nothing’s wrong, we’re divorced for fuck sake!” You hiss the words out before walking away from him, knuckles hurting with how hard you’re clutching your purse.
“Wait!”
You pick up your pace, gathering your dress into your hand before you hear him rush behind you, following you with his long strides.
“Stop runnin’ away from me!”
“I’m not running away!” You yell so he can hear your voice through the loud music that starts playing. You don’t even turn around to look at him, marching through the hallways and trying to find your way out before he catches up with you. You need an escape, this was a huge fucking mistake.
“Jesus fucking Christ, will you please stop?!”
He grabs you by the elbow, his long fucking legs helping him to reach you quite fast. He pulls on your arm to stop you, groaning when your purse hits him in the stomach but he recovers quickly and pins you to the spot easily.
“What do you want? I came here for you, I wasn’t even invited! What could you possibly want more from me–”
“I need you to tell me why you’re leaving!”
“Because!” You start, looking him dead in the eye, but the desperation in his gaze makes your words stick in your throat, “Because…”
“Because what? You’re running away again when things are getting good–”
“Oh, hell naw! That’s your specialty, Robby,” you try to wiggle your arm out of his grip but he is steadfast on holding you close, “You run away, I do control damage. I can’t let you get close to me again because you’ve already fucked up my life enough. You run away when things get hard, you run away when I got too close! Your own wife!”
“You were pushing me! You were pushing me so fucking hard and I couldn’t handle it,” he replies, his voice raising a little to match your tone, “You wanted to know everything! I needed space, I needed to think, not to pour my fucking heart out!”
“You needed space, that’s why you went to bed with Hastings a good few months after our divorce? You needed so much space that I had to find out you were leaving for your fucking sabbatical from Shen?! I was your wife, Robby. Your in sickness and health, until death do us part, remember? I vowed to stay by you, I promised to help and I wanted to help!”
“You wanted to fix what wasn’t yours to fix!”
“I wanted to get close to you, I wanted to love you, Mike…” you finally manage to pull your arm out of his hold, desperately holding your tears back from spilling when you notice the way his eyelids have turned red from crying, “I wish… I wish you'd just let me love you the way you deserve to be loved."
The silence between you is defeating as you just… stare at each other. You are panting, your lungs begging for more air, and Robby looks at you with so much unspoken sorrow, his face red and and eyes bloodshot.
“I’m gonna go,” you whisper, letting the tears fall freely on your cheeks before you turn around with a heavy heart and begin to walk away.
“Let me drive you home,” he catches up with you after a beat or two, sighing when he walks next to you side by side, “Please…”
“I can get an Uber–”
“This is the least I can do for you,” He says, opening the door for you, looking down into your eyes softly, and the plea in his brown irises is enough to make you nod hesitantly, “A token of my appreciation for coming with me tonight.”
****
The ride home is silent. Oddly silent. The bone crushing silence after arguing with a lover. But you weren’t lovers. You were divorced, exes in disguise, best sex partners, co-parents, and somewhere between the lines, you fell as companions.
Maybe that is why this hurts more than any fight you’ve ever had. Because you were hurt by him more than you can imagine, and you have also hurt him more than anyone can count. You were stags fighting with horns in the evening and lovers by the dawn.
Giving him another chance sounds so good, but you can’t.
He drives into the parking space in front of your garage, running a hand down his face as he slows down the car, glancing at you occasionally. You can’t bring yourself to look at him, you can’t bring yourself to see the red vessels in his eyes.
“Thank you for driving me home,” you say quietly, opening the door as soon as he cuts the engine, undoing your seatbelt and hopping down from his car, not waiting for him to get out as well — he does it anyway.
“Of course,” he tries to catch up with you but you are faster, hopping the few steps and getting to your door, keys shaking in your hand as you try to unlock it. “Can we talk–”
“No, goodnight.” You slip inside before he gets the chance to stop you, slamming the door shut and leaning your back against it, chest rising and falling rapidly as you try to regukate your heartbeat.
Purse is dropped on the counter, necklace unattached and shoes falling next to the door as you move through the house until you reach the kitchen. You press the glaas to the fridge, watching as the water pours with a loud rhythmic sound.
The first sip takes the edge off, the second cools the burning of your throat and stops the stinging from pushing your sobs down for the entirety of the ride. You drown the rest, and you feel the uneasy sensation of your esophagus stretching.
What happens next a mix of hesitation, longing, carelessness if anyone can believe. You don’t give it a second thought, you don’t have the time to as you run to the door and downstairs, finding Robby pacing with his hands locked around the back of his neck.
Before you know it, your lips are crashing into his.
He doesn’t pull away, he doesn’t hesitate. He kisses back with a fever that has you clutching his shoulders. He bends you backward a little by the force of his kisses. His mouth doesn’t leave yours, he wants to eat you alive, he wants to devour you and he is doing it very good so far.
His hand pulls you closer by your waist, the breeze outside making you shiver in his arms while your tongue dances with his in a rythmic tango.
“Let’s go inside.”
You grab his hand and lead him to your open door, and he kicks his shoes off quickly before you are pressing him to the nearest wall, fisting his shirt and pulling him in for another deep kiss.
He pushes you inside the house with urgency, leading you towards the couch with his hand on your hip and the other grabbing the back of your neck to keep you tucked against his body.
You end up with him on the couch and you mounting his lap, heels digging into his knees a little as you straddle him. Your arms are wrapped around his neck while your lips move together in sync, his beard is soft against your skin — he has conditioned it for the night.
His fingers dig into your asscheeks as you grind down on the bulge in his pants, the straps of your dress falling off your shoulders. He groans into your mouth when you roll your hips in a way that puts direct pressure on the head of his cock.
Your hands find his zipper when you rise on your knees on each side of his thighs, pushing his pants down enough alongside his boxers to bring out his hard cock quickly. Your patience is running very thin.
“Let me prep you first–”
“Michael, if you’re not inside me in the next three seconds, God fucking forbid I will enter a manic episode.”
“Okay, okay,” he chuckles but soon he huffs out a grunt when you wrap your fingers around his length, stroking him with slow gentle movements, “Fuckin’ hell, baby.”
“I can’t wait to feel you,” you whisper against his lips before he helps you push your dress up and holds it there for you as you use your free hand to push your panties to the side and line the angry red tip of his cock with your fluttering hole.
You sink down slowly, hand flying to his shoulder as you take him inside you inch bt inch, eyes rolling to the back of your head at the delicious stretch. You missed having him like this; undone, captivated and already gone by the feel of you around him. You missed his voice when he would groan your name, when he would shush you gently and fuck you harder.
He throws his head back, hips rolling up impatiently, and that is enough to make you drop the rest of the way down and that knock the breath out of you. You rest your forehead on his throat before you regain some ounce of your composure and lean back, reaching to unbutton the rest of his shirt, sucking in a sharp breath when the soft flushed skin of his chest and stomach comes into view.
He melts under your dark gaze when you lick your lips and drag your fingertips across his chest, down his sternum and on his belly. He is hot under your touch, his muscles contract with each caress and stroke, and when you begin to move, he loses his mind.
He doesn’t know where to hold onto; your hips, your thighs, your waist, but it is to no use because he is getting dizzy with lust. He reaches to pull the top of your dress down enough for your breasts to pop out. And in a blink of an eye, he latching his mouth onto your nipples, sucking and groaning.
“I missed these fucking tits,” he growls against your flesh before he looks up into your dazes eyes, “The best fucking tits… I remember when they were fucking hung with milk, God, You tasted so sweet then.”
“You loved drinking our baby’s milk–”
“These tits were mine before she got here,” he rolls his tongue over the tightened bud, enjoying the way you moan and begin to rock your hips faster, his cock nudging deeper inside you, “They’re still mine– fuck, baby, you get off on that, don’t ya? You want me to make them full again, hmm?”
“Oh, fuck fuck fuck!”
He starts snapping his hips up into yours, pulling you forward until you slump against his chest and cling to him while he fucks you hard, the filthy noises of your joined bodies filling the silence in the room along with your muffled cries and his huffs and groans.
“Yeah, yeah, I know, baby,” his hand goes to your hair, grabbing the strands a little rough before he tugs on them until he exposes your throat to his hungry mouth, sucking on the skin while he thrusts his cock into you in a pace that has your eyes roll to the back of your head.
When you come, it almost makes your heart stop with how fast it beats against your ribs. Your thighs shake around Robby’s hips and your toes curl in your heels as you bounce up and down his cock even through your orgasm until you are quivering and hiccuping his name, burying your face in his neck and grinding so hard against him it makes his vision go white for a second from pleasure.
“I got you, shh, you’re okay,” he wraps his arms around you, one of his hands going to your hair to keep you safely tucked in his embrace as he helps you through the aftershocks of your high. “So pretty, baby. You look like a fucking goddess.”
“Mike…” you whisper, turning your head and resting it against his shoulders, fingers moving up to caress his cheekbones as he gazes down at you, a stupid smile on his face as he holds you close. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Because I love you.”
There. Simple. Out in the open. He watches you closely, the way your lips part in surprise — a good kind of surprise because he has known you long enough to know your expressions — and your pupils take over your beautiful irises slowly.
He brings your hand to his lips, kissing each of your fingers, moving to your knuckles and then your palm before he presses it to his cheek once more.
You grin at him, straightening your back and cupping his other cheek as well, leaning down to peck him on the lips, gasping when his cock jumps inside you, reminding you of how he hasn’t come yet.
“You didn’t finish…”
“The night’s young,” he helps you off him and on your legs slowly, standing up to tower over you, “And I’m a very patient man.”
“That,” you whisper, turning around when he guides you, kissing your bare shoulder as he reaches for the zipper of your dress, “Is very true.”
“Did I tell you how beautiful you are tonight?” He keeps his lips locked on your neck and shoulder, his knuckles caressing your back as he lowers the zipper.
“I don’t mind hearing you say it again,” you let the dress pool around your ankles, gasping when he leans over to kiss your neck, then each of your shoulders before he moves down a little, kissing the line of your spine until he reached your ass, letting his teeth graze the flesh before he helps you out of your heels one by one.
“You look so fucking beautiful,” he whispers against your ear, and you turn around to look at him, naked as the day you were born before you reach to unbutton his shirt slowly, running your hand over his pecs and down to his soft pudgy stomach.
You kiss his chest slowly, fingers caressing his shoulders as you finally drop the shirt on the ground, and it gives him enough time to push his pants and boxers down and get rid of his shoes as well.
You take his hand when he is just as bare as you are, leading him upstairs to your room before your bodies begin to move together.
He is all consuming with the way he moves inside you; it’s not rushed, but it is deep and meaningful. You both cling to each other, lips slotted together. Your bodies have missed each other, the familiarity, the way you fit like a piece of puzzle.
Suddenly, he stops, tears streaming down his face as he deops his forehead on yours, his cock nestled deep inside you as he cries softly, his tears making your eyes sting too.
“I’m sorry for ruining our marriage,” he confesses softly, his hand cupping your cheek, “I’m sorry for not fighing harder, I’m sorry for not getting better, for letting you both go. I’m so fucking sorry–”
“I’m sorry too,” you kiss his cheek, wiping each tear with a small peck, your arms tightening around his shoulders as you keep him pressed to your body, “For not giving you space when you needed it, for not trying harder–”
“Shhh,” he nudges his nose to yours gently, “I’m just glad I can touch… I can have you again.”
****
You do not know why your heart starts beating faster at the sight of the empty spot on the bed. He is supposed to be next to you, cuddling you, holding you close and snore loudly in your ear but he is not. And that makes you nervous to the point your heart is giving out by how rapid it is pumping blood.
He must have left, you think to yourself as you slowly peel the duvet off your body, bare legs swinging over the edge of the bed, sitting with a heavy sigh. Of course you didn’t have any expectations, it could have been just sex in his eyes. Maybe he said those words because he was feeling gooey and relaxed, but why would he say those things if he didn’t mean it?
You fail to look at the clock or your phone or his phone in your charger before you grab a t-shirt from your drawer — his t-shirt that you’ve stolen from him years ago — and walk downstairs to see if any of his clothes are left, only to be met with them neatly folded on one of the loveseats.
Your body relaxes a little until you hear a loud giggle from the kitchen. With a growing smile on your face, you turn around and find Robby and Vian bent over the counter as he helps her stir some type of batter.
“Shh, don’t wake Mama up.”
“I’m already up–”
“AAAAAAAAA!”
“What is wrong with you–”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” you laugh loudly, throwing your head back as the two of them glare at you with their identical eyes, “I didn’t think anyone was here, I’m sorry, I had no idea.”
“S’okay!” Vivi is quick to replace the glare with a grin of her own before she — with Robby’s help — slides down the counter and runs to you, crashing into your legs with a force that nearly knocks you on your back, but you’re pretty immune to her fierce love and grab her by her waist to pick her up. “I miss you Mama!”
“Miss you too, baby bear!” You hold her close tightly, kissing her cheek, her nose, the little mole on her earlobe, her brown hair before tucking her head under your chin and you finally notice Robby standing there with his arms crossed and a dopey smile on his face.
“You ruined our surprise,” he says quietly before he makes his way to the two of you, leaning down to peck your lips softly before he murmurs, “You didn’t brush your teeth.”
“I know, sorry… I thought you left,” you confess, pouting a little at the thought before Vivi starts tugging at your shirt, “Yes, baby bear?”
“Daddy got me from Unce Jack!”
“Yeah? I’m so glad he did, now I can start my day with my favorite people.” She giggles when you tickle under her chin and settles back againstnyour shoulder, letting you go back to your conversation with her father.
“I’m not gonna leave like that again, sweetheart,” he leans back down to rest his forehead on yours, wrapping his arms around the two of you, engulfing you both in a giant warm hug, “I’m sorry I scared you, I swear I just went to pick her up so she can spend the day with us.”
“I know, bear,” your arms tighten around Vivi who just blinks at the two of you, before her eyes start gleaming with mischief.
“Now kiss!” She giggles, turning around in your arms until she can wrap both of her arms around your necks and pull you closer.
Robby doesn’t let you duel on it much longer, he closes the distance plants a chaste kiss on your lips, then another when Vian doesn’t let the two of you get further apart.
You kiss him back shyly, chuckling into his mouth when you feel your daughter starts playing with your hair, watching you with awe in her gaze.
“I have morning breath…”
“I’ll kiss you with any breath.”
****
To say you are divorced is a bit of a lie. Legally, yes, you’re no longer Mrs. Robinavitch, but with the way you’re living, you are practically Robby’s wife through and through.
There isn’t a thing called custody of Vian between you. Your days blended with his slowly; he’d spend your days at your place while you went to his place when he would have Vian. It was the better choice to ease him back into living at your place without confusing your daughter much more than she already is.
You cook together, dance together when Robby’s knees feel good enough, take your daughter to different children classes, have sex after a certain mom flirts too much with Robby or when a dad thinks he has a shot. You kiss and hold each other like you used to, but this time, Robby is there, with you, in the present and without letting the ghosts of his past haunt him.
But sometimes… sometimes it gets too much.
“Hey, I just got home, me and Vivi are making Ghorme Sabzi,” you answer his call in a heartbeat, helping Vian to wash the rice with her little hands. “It’ll be ready when you get home–”
“DADDY! Vivi cooking!”
“Hey girls!” He says with a smal chuckle, and you notice the restrain in his voice immediately, “Wow, good job, pumpkin! You help mama while I’m busy, yeah?”
“Yup yup!” She watches with wide eyes as you help her rinse the dirty water, “Mama cook green food!”
“I know, and we love it, don’t we?” He sighs when he hears her mindlessly talking to herself, “Honey, you there?”
“Yes, Mikey, I’m here,” you take the call off the speaker and put your phone between your ear and shoulder, “What’s going on?”
“I- look, I’m so sorry but, I… I’m gonna be late, I need an emergency therapy session–”
“Oh, baby…” you lower Vivi on the ground when she tells you she wants to read her book, your chest hurting by the way he sounds on the other end of the line, “Is there anything I can do for you?”
“No, love, I just… I can’t come home like this, I’m a… I’m a fucking mess and I need to just…”
“Michael, it’s okay,” you reassure him, smiling sadly, “We’ll be here for you when you come home. I’m glad you called me, I’m gonna wait for you till you come home, okay? I love you, please take care of yourself, bear.”
“I love you too, honey–”
“Daddy!” Vivi runs to you with Teddy in her hand, making grabby gestures with her fingers until you pass the phone to her, “I lobe you, Daddy!”
“I love you too,” you don’t hear it, but there is a small sniffle at his end, “I love you so much. Help mama, okay? Save me some Tahdig, don’t eat it all!”
“Okay,” she giggles, “Bye!”
****
Robby sighs softly as he unlocks the door and kicks off his shoes, dropping his keys in the bowl next to yours as he slowly peels the day off him. Backpack next to the couch, jacket hanging off one shoulder while he walks upstairs with heavy quiet steps, as if he is chained anf they ate pulling his weight down.
He opens Vivi’s door first, looking at her from the doorframe, tears filling his eyes as he watches her chest move up and down rhythmically. She is alive. She is fine. She is safe. He repeats these sentences to himself over and over, until he can breathe a little easier.
She is okay, and that’s enough for him to relax even if it is for a second.
He leaves the door slightly ajar before he walks to your room, walking inside without making a sound, finding you sleeping under the duvet and burying your face in his pillow. With a small smile, he starts to strip. The jacket comes first, then the scrub top and undershirt, followed by his belt and cargo pants.
“Hey…” he hears you and turns around to look at your sleepy smily face, “How are you?”
“Hey…” he doesn’t answer your question, sitting on the edge of the bed with his back halfway toward you before he turns around and reaches to push your hair out of your face, “Sorry I woke you up.”
“Don’t w’rry about it,” you whisper, grabbing his hand softly before kissing his palm, “Do you wanna talk about today?”
“No, not right now,” he shakes his head, crawling under the duvet, “can you please…”
“C’mere,” you open your arms and grin when he lies on top of you, head buried in your neck as you hold him close, kissing the top of his head and enjoying how his weight is pinning you down, “I love you, Mike.”
“Love you more, honey.” He whispers against your skin, taking in a deep breath before he starts talking, “Today… I had a kid, around Vian’s age, she… she had drowned in the pool trying to grab her toy. She… she didn’t make it and I couldn’t do anything to prevent that. And I thought what if one day, I’m too careless with Vivi and she ends up like her. What if I can’t save my own child–”
“Bear, listen to me,” you kiss his head, tightening your arms around his shoulders, resting your cheek on his forehead, “You are probably the best doctor I’ve ever seen, okay? If anything happens to her, you’ll be the best person to save her. But, baby, she is safe, and she is sleeping soundly in her room. I’m not gonna say nothing can happen, because she is a child, but if something happens to her, you will take care of her, we will take care of her.”
“I fear I’ll fail her,” he lets the tears fall finally, “One way or another. I fear I can’t be there for her when she needs me the most, I… I fear she’ll realize I’m too damaged and can’t take care of her.”
“Baby, Vivi loves you so much she will believe if you tell her you’ve hung the moon,” you let him cry softly against your neck, wrapping your leg around his hips to keep him tucked against your body, “She’s been so much happier since we started living together. She looks for you in every room she walks inside. You’re her Daddy, and she trusts you.”
“I don’t wanna fail her like I’ve failed you.”
“We failed each other, and we’re working together to fix it. Be here for her, love her like you always do. You’re doing everything right, bear. We’re okay, she loves you, I love you.”
“I love you too, both of you, so fucking much.” He clings to you harder, and you let him, holding him equally tight until he is snoring softly against your neck, his soft exhales easing you back to sleep quickly.
****
“Mama…” Vivi tugs on your fingers, her whisper waking you up gently, “Mama, Vivi huggies?”
“Hey, baby, why are you up?” You hold your hand for her to take and pull her up with a little struggle, given the big guys sleeping on your chest.
You notice the soft rays of sunshine hitting your curtains, sighing softly you kiss Robby’s head and help Vian crawl next to you under the covers, and the small movement stirs Robby awake.
“Morning,” he kisses your shoulder before he finds Vivi mimicking his pose, resting her head on your chest, her small hanf moving to pat his cheek lovingly, making you both chuckle, “Hey, pumpkin. What are you doin’ here?”
“Morning huggies,” she frowns a little, acting like his question is so silly she just has to make a face, “Mama?”
“Yes, little bear,” you kiss her head too, one of your hands moving up and down her small back, “Do you wanna sleep again?”
“Mhm,” she nods, her eyelids already falling shut, her hand still resting on Robby’s cheek, and you notice how he is softly crying, his hand coming up to cover yours against Vivi’s back.
“She is everything.” He whispers, his thumb caressing your wrist gently, “You are everything.”
how many babies can i give robby before he hits 55 challenge 🥴
Anon stopppp ittttt (actually you should keep going, this is genius)
Word count: 0.7k
mdni
Can you imagine already having like three kids with Robby. The first one is a little three year old girl and she’s turning into such a big girl so fast. The second pregnancy you end up having twins just by pure luck.
As soon as that three month window ends after giving birth you’re climbing into bed right next to Robby. He’s reading a book with this glasses on and you’re settling on his lap.
He looks up, old enough to be your dad yet you’re giving him baby after baby. “Robby…”
You whisper softy and lower his book for him. He already has his eyebrows raised looking at you questioningly. He knows you just went to put down your two twins, he can tell by the drop of spit up on your shirt and the milk stain near your breast.
Hell your body’s not even fully recovered yet from the last two kids. Still having that pregnancy fat around your stomach and getting into a routine of taking care of three kids while Robby’s gone.
“Our babies…”
You almost whimper. But Robby knows enough to understand you’re playing up the puppy dog eyes. He sets his book on the nightstand and grabs at your hips to pull you closer. He loves you like this. Still emotional and dependent on him.
“Yeah…? What about our babies.”
“They’re legs.”
Robby runs his hand up and down your arm because it looks like you might cry.
“Yeah I know. They’re getting bigger, they have chubby little legs. Is that what got you like this?”
“No their—“ you sigh loudly for dramatics. “They’re losing their scrunch.”
“Ahh…” Robby hums and pulls you in tighter, he thinks he knows what you mean but he’s not going to double check incase your emotions switch up on him and you get upset.
“They’re loosing their scrunch?”
“Yes. They used to be so tiny and swaddling them used to be so easy. But now they both kick their legs around so much, especially Ellie, it’s like she wants to crawl so early.”
Robby doesn’t mind. He likes putting toys in front of your two twins and watching them grab at it. Flexing their tiny fingers and eventually watching them give up. Robby gives in and hands them the toys anyway. They’re just so stinkin’ cute.
“I want another one.”
“What?”
You paw at Robby’s chest. It would be easy to convince him if you slip a hand under his shirt, but you need him to want it too.
“I want another baby. Your window is closing.”
“My window is not closing.”
“Honey please.”
Robby sighs— annoyance mixed with disbelief. Three months. That’s how long it took for you to forget about all the pain you went through in the birthing room to wanting to do it all over again. Robby puts his reader glasses on top of his head so he can rub his eyes.
“Can we talk about this next year?”
“Next year? Do you hate me? I want one now.”
“We cannot have another baby right now. You’re still postpartum. Still breastfeeding, we don’t have another bedroom and—“
Robby knows you’re devious, but he didn’t think you’d be so wicked and cruel as to start kissing his neck while trying to talk to you about how bad an idea this is.
A shiver runs all the way down his back, shooting straight to his dick. When you place sloppy wet kisses into his neck it’s like he melts. You’re his one weakness.
“Baby please.” You spoke desperately. Jutting your hips forwards for some friction. Exactly on the day your doctor cleared you for having sex again too. “You said you wanted our kids to be close together in age”
“Yeah but—“ he groans. Annoyed because he’s losing, so easily swayed by you. “Not so close they’re doomed to share birthday parties for the rest of their lives.”
“Can we just start trying now?” You bargain. This time your hands really do go under his shirt. “Will just practice. It will probably take a few times anyway.”
“I feel like that’s an insult.”
“No—“ you breathe and now Robby’s hands are going under your shirt, bringing it all the way up and over your head to look at your breasts that have been practically taunting him with how your shirt stains with milk.
“It just means I really wanna have sex with you right now.”
You’re halfway through wiping down the kitchen counter when you hear it—the tiny, unmistakable gasp from the living room. Then comes the inhale. The pause.
And then—
“AHHHHH!”
You laugh before you can stop yourself. “Daddy’s home,” you call, already knowing.
Your nine-month-old daughter shrieks again, high and delighted, the sound echoing down the hall as if she might explode with joy if she keeps it contained. She abandons the toy in front of her without a second thought, plants her hands on the floor, and starts crawling as fast as her little body will carry her.
“Go, go, go,” you murmur fondly as you follow her, watching her determination with a soft ache in your chest.
The keys jingle. The lock turns again.
Another shriek—somehow louder than the first.
“Okay, okay,” Robby laughs from the other side of the door, his voice already bright, already warm. “I’m coming, peanut.”
The door opens just enough for his boot to peek through, and your daughter loses her mind.
She slaps her hands against the floor, rocking forward and back, shrieking and babbling in a language that only excitement could invent. By the time Robby pushes the door fully open, she’s at it, palms smacking the wood like she’s knocking from the inside.
“Hey!” he says, breathless and grinning, crouching immediately. “Hey, hey—hi, hi, hi!”
He barely gets the door closed before she lunges forward, crawling straight into his legs, grabbing at his pant leg with both hands like she might drag him down if she tries hard enough.
“Someone missed me,” he murmurs, already peeling off his jacket.
You lean against the doorway, arms crossed, heart swelling so full it almost hurts.
Robby doesn’t even look up at you yet. He toes off his shoes in record time, drops his keys on the side table without caring where they land, and the second his hands are free, he scoops her up.
She squeals—an entirely new pitch unlocked—and throws herself against his chest like she’s been waiting all day just for this moment.
“There you are,” he whispers, pressing his face into her hair. “There’s my girl.”
Her hands immediately fist into his shirt, fingers clutching fabric like it’s proof he’s real. She babbles wildly, forehead knocking into his collarbone as she wriggles with happiness, legs kicking against his hips.
Robby laughs softly, the sound vibrating through her. “Whoa, careful, careful—yeah, yeah, I know. I missed you too.”
He sways instinctively, rocking her side to side, one big hand rubbing slow circles on her back. She presses her cheek against his chest and sighs, the shrieking melting into content little hums.
Only then does he finally look up at you.
His smile softens instantly.
“Hey,” he says quietly, like the word is just for you.
“Hey yourself,” you reply, unable to stop smiling. “She’s been waiting for you.”
“Clearly.” He kisses the top of your daughter’s head, then looks back at you, eyes warm and tired and so full of love it makes your throat tighten. “How was your day?”
You shrug lightly. “Better now.”
Your daughter chooses that moment to pull back, pat Robby’s face with one chubby hand, and babble directly at him, like she has a very important story to tell.
“Oh?” he asks seriously. “Is that so?”
She squeals again, delighted that she has his full attention.
“No way,” he continues, nodding solemnly. “You’re telling me she didn’t nap as long as she was supposed to?”
You snort. “She’s exaggerating.”
He grins at you. “I don’t know. She seems pretty convincing.”
He shifts her higher on his hip and carries her into the living room, dropping onto the couch with a quiet groan. She immediately settles, curling into him, one tiny hand still clutching his shirt like she might lose him if she lets go.
Robby rests his cheek against her head and closes his eyes for just a second.
“This,” he murmurs, barely audible, “is the best part of my day.”
You cross the room and sit beside him, leaning into his shoulder. He wraps his free arm around you without thinking, pulling you close.
Your daughter yawns, then nuzzles deeper into his chest, utterly content.
Robby smiles, eyes shining as he looks down at the two of you.
"Have you seen my badge sweetheart?" Robbys voice travels through the house to where you move around the kitchen packing his lunch (that he probably wont end up eating).
"Hm?" Your concentration is devoted entirely to the carrot you are cutting into neat sticks so as to not lose a finger.
Robby strides into the kitchen, brows furrowed as he scans all the worktops. "My badge, I cant find it."
You put the knife down and turn to him. "What? Isnt it on your bag where you always leave it?"
"No. I dont know where it could be." He runs a hand over his greying big the other resting on his hip as he wracks his brain for where it could be. The universe soons offers him an answer in the form of some timy wheels rolling into the kitchen. There sits your 9 month old daughter in her multicoloured baby walker chewing on Robbys badge which is gripped in her chubby fist.
"Ive got an idea." You say with a smile.
You point in her direction and Robbys eyes follow, he huffs and lowers his head. "What are we gonna do with you, huh?"
She just giggles at his words and continues to mouth over the smooth card. As Robby approaches she pushes the walker back slightly making him pause in amusement. As he starts moving again- so does she. Robbys speed picks up as he trails behind her following her in zooming laps around the dining table and couch, her ecstatic giggles filling the house the whole time.
"Hey! Come here!" Robby calls out. But she doesnt stop. If anything she speeds up. You watch the scene unfold and laugh hysterically at how your baby torments her father. Who knew those baby walkers could pick up so much speed? After a good few mintues of him chasing her in dizzying circles, you step in, stopping her walker gently and bringing her into your arms. Robby stands not too far behind bent over with his hands on his knees breathing heavily as you pluck the spit coated hospital ID from her mouth.
"Here, you might want to wipe it down though honey." He takes it from your hands without looking at you, still trying to catch his breath.
"Thanks." As he straightens up his back cracks. He approaches the two of you and lowers to be eye level with your baby. "Im gonna have to put a wheel clamp on that thing." And she just laughs in his face in response.
"You okay?" You asks, running your fingers through his brown hair.
He huffs. "Yeah. Just didnt expect a work out this early."
hello hello!! I hope your having a good day. Can I request either dad Robby (or rabbott, if you prefer) with his kid who has to go to the hospital from school? I saw a story the other day of a person who had a disability, wasn’t believed by their teacher, and had to go to the hospital. It gave me this idea as I wondered how they’d react. If your uncomfortable or don’t wanna do this request, that’s fine ^^
Warnings: reader has chronic pain but I tried to be vague with it since I don’t know much about it, probably inaccuracies surrounding chronic pain, idiot of a teacher, use of y/n, maybe a swear word (don’t remember), sorry if I missed something
A/N i don’t actually know if chronic pain is a disability, when I searched it up it said that it could be, but it was the first thing that came to my mind when reading the request, bc as far as I know you can’t really see if someone has chronic pain or not
Also sorry for not posting a fic in a while, got stuck replaying Dragon Age Inquisition and kinda forgot to finish my fics
Around 2200 words (half proofread)
The Pitt Masterlist
Just because something was invisible to the eye didn’t mean it wasn’t there. Your dad had said it to you as long as you could remember. While it could be applied to many things he always used it when you felt like your feelings weren’t valid. That the pain you experience every day wasn’t as valid because it couldn’t be seen. Because it wasn’t your arm in a cast or a healing wound. It was just there every day, an invisible pain.
Robby never told you to take it to heart when people didn’t believe you were in pain. It’s why he always used that line.
Ever since you were a kid, the pain would come and go. From the days he let you take off from school because it felt too hard to get out of bed to the days you actually felt like you could climb a mountain (not really). He’d always be there for you. Albeit sometimes it was annoying how he’d go into doctor mode instead of just being your dad.
Today had been a bad day. The flares of pain were more frequent and more painful. Your teachers knew about the chronic pain, and usually they were a bit more lenient. Knowing themselves if they were in pain almost all the time they’d want someone in their corner too. That and they had gotten instructions by a worried Robby when you started school to inform him if anything happened. Except your main teacher was sick today, and the principal was away on a meeting at another school.
So when it got to PE and you refused to participate the teacher was not happy. None of your classmates liked the substitute teacher either. He was for the lack of better words an asshole. He didn’t care when one of your classmates got tackled by one of the “mean” boys and started bleeding on their knee from scraping it against the gravel covered football field. He didn’t care when another classmate got hit in the face by the ball, and he certainly didn’t care about your words. To him you were a whiny kid who refused to do the assignment.
Even your best friend had tried to help convince him that you did in fact have chronic pain. But no, according to him you couldn’t have it since you weren’t thrashing around in pain on the ground.
“Stop seeking attention and get to running” he’d said. “Get over it” he’d said. “Everyone has pain sometimes”. Not “do you need the school nurse?” Not “are you okay” just a story about him once running with a broken bone and being fine.
“Look if you want a hospital find someone else or walk, I dont care” you stared at him incredulously. He must be joking right?
“You want me to walk…to the hospital?” Said hospital that was far more than a walking distance would allow. That and with the pain it’d either be really slow or you’d faint.
“I don’t have time for this, go to the school nurse or something” with that he walked off, leaving you staring at him with wide eyes.
Blinking back the tears, because this had never happened before. You swallow the lump in your throat and make your way inside. Slumping against the chair by the reception. There was no point in going to the school nurse. She was a new hire and frankly she was not good at her job, she would put a band aid on a broken bone and call it a day. Robby had planned on switching schools for you, but with only one month left before summer break you’d decide to do it at the start of next term later in the year. It’d be easier that way.
Instead you fish out your phone and press onto your dad’s contact. The silly picture you’d taken of him appearing on your screen. It was unexpectedly comforting to just see a picture of him.
It rings three times, four, voicemail.
Shit.
You try to call him three more times. Still no luck. Taking a deep breath you close your eyes, grimacing at the flare of pain. He was probably stuck in a trauma. You could call the emergency line but was it really an emergency? The pain was… manageable… yeah, manageable. At least you told yourself that.
You could call Dana. But you didn’t wanna bother her, nor did you wanna bother Jack. Despite him probably being home. But what if he was doing something important? Maybe it’d be fine to walk, at least for a little bit. Or you could stay here. Wait for Jack to pick you up like your dad had promised. He hadn't been able to get someone to cover for him today so he’d asked Jack to pick you up after school after he noticed that your pain was worse than usual today.
Keeping your eyes closed you don’t notice the entrance door open. You don’t notice the click of the door closing nor the steps walking towards you. It isn’t before you feel someone watching you that you open one eye to squint at the person before you.
Please don’t be the substitute teacher please do- oh. Uncle Jack.
Wait Jack? What was he doing here? School didn’t end in at least three hours. To be honest you didn’t know what time it was, or how long you’d been sitting there.
“What are you doing here?” You watch him sit down in the chair beside yours.
“Dana called” he tilts his head to look down at you slumped in the chair. He’d known you since you were a baby, he could easily see that your pain was worse than usual. “Said you’d called Robby like three times, must of been important”
You feel the corners of your lips move down. “I want dad” you have to stop yourself from letting out a sniffle. It felt almost childish saying it. But you did want your dad, even if he couldn’t make the pain actually go away he was always comforting. He always made things feel better.
“Yeah?” He held his hand out for you, standing up. “Better get you to him then”
──────────_*- 🩻 -*_──────────
The ride to the hospital went relatively quick. Jack let you pick the music as a distraction. He wanted to ask what had happened but knew Robby would interrogate you. And if he assessed the situation right it was better for you to talk to your dad. That and he wasn’t sure if you wanted to explain more than once.
It wasn’t long until you both found yourself by the nurses station. Jack steering you towards the chair where Robby’s dark green hoodie rested.
You didn’t need to be told twice to sit down. Jack leaned against the nurses station beside you and gave a small smile towards Dana who made her way over.
“You okay kid?” You look up at Dana and her worried expression and give half a nod back. Trying to put on a reassuring face, though it ends with the corners of your lips moving down in a grimace.
She gave you a sympathetic smile. “Let me get Robby for you” she placed a comforting hand on your shoulder before she walked off.
Jack turned to you now when it was only the two of you. “So what happened kiddo?”
You take a deep breath even thinking back to the situation made anger burn in you. Like your dad says. Just because something isn’t visible to the eye doesn’t mean it isn’t true. And your teacher, someone who's supposed to care for the people in their class hadn’t believed you. Hadn’t given you a second thought. Then again some teachers didn’t care, you already knew that from when you were a kid. And the l substitute teacher certainly hadn’t.
“The… uh, the pain was getting really bad” you held back. Not sure if you were just overreacting the previous encounter with your teacher. What if he’d just tell you to get over it. Deep inside you knew Jack wouldn’t. Nor would your dad. But then there was that voice in your head that told you it was just you being dramatic, that you were just seeking attention.
“And?” He prompts.
“The-“
“Y/N?” Robby stopped. Brows furrowing. Eyes glancing between you and Jack. Sure Dana had told him you were here with Jack but he still hadn’t actually expected you. And it wasn’t hard to see that you and Jack were in a conversation he hadn’t known if he should have interrupted or not. “What’s wrong?”
You didn’t mean to. But as soon as you turned your head towards him you stood up and hugged him, hiding your face in him to not let your wet eyes show. As his own arms wrapped around you, your grip on him tightened.
“Whoa” he actually stumbled slightly, not expecting the force you’d used to hug him. “hey kid, you okay?” His eyes trailed over you as he pushed you slightly off him. Assessing you. You weren’t visibly hurt at least. No scraps or bruises. So the pain must have gotten worse since this morning. “Dana said you called” he tilts his head to look down at you, gentle eyes trying to coax the words out of you.
You hesitate. But you’d never been able to keep secrets from him when he looked at you like that. “The pain is really bad”
“Did you go to the school nurse?” He tilts his head slightly at the shake of your head. “Why?”
Robby almost smiles at your expression. Of course his child acts the same like always, even when in pain. Why would he expect anything else.
“You know why”
He did know why. She’d likely give you a mild painkiller since the school nurse couldn’t give out strong ones. And she’d probably sent you back to class after five minutes. “Fair enough”
Glancing up at Jack and back down at you he decided not to push right now. He knew there was more to the story. Your tears were a testament to that. “Want something for the pain?”
“Can I have the good stuff?” This time he can’t help the smile. “Sure, but not as much as last time, don’t need you crying again cause you thought Jack threw away your sandwich”
Robby’s arms tighten around you as he feels you press into him.
“Dad?” He lets out a quiet hum in acknowledgement, while also leaving your words to fill the space. Urging you in a quiet way to talk to him. Letting you know he’s listening.
“Can you talk to my school?”
Robby’s mind went into every single possible situation as to why you’d need him to talk to the school. “Why?” It wasn’t a no. He’d never say no to that. If you needed him he was always there. He hadn’t really had anyone growing up except his grandma. So he made sure to take every battle for you. Especially when it came to school.
“The substitute teacher didn’t believe me, he said I had to walk here if I wanted to go to the hospital”
It’s as if his brain is fighting to catch up with your words as his expression remains neutral. Your teacher did what?. “He did what?”
“He said I was just seeking attention and that I’d have to walk here if I was in so much pain that I needed the hospital” you sniffle. You’d never once sought out attention for being in pain. Who even wanted to be in pain and brag about it?
His face sets. Anger brewing in his eyes. The corner of his lips moving down. His eyes lock momentarily with Jack who’s just as angry at your words.
“I guess Dana sent Uncle Jack to get me when I spammed your phone, I’m sorry if you get a mail from school saying I ditched"
The words about to leave Robby died on his lips. You were sorry? For what? For being in pain? For leaving with Jack? His brows knit together. “Y/N” he pulls you back by your shoulders, hands going up to your cheeks to make sure you look at him and take in his words. “You have nothing to be sorry for. If anything it’s your teacher that should be sorry” he watches new tears form in your eyes. “I’ll talk to the school, sort it out, you’re not getting into trouble for this just cause your substitute teacher is an idiot”
You sniffle at his words. Nodding as a broken sound leaves you. As much as he always kept his own feelings, or tried to keep his own feelings locked down he’d always been good with your emotions. Despite how he may treat his co-workers at times. He never really used the “tough love” he used for his residents, he couldn’t bring himself too. Especially not when it came to things like this. When you came to him crying, wanting his comfort. When you were in pain and no one would believe you.
As angry as he was at the situation he tried to push it away for your sake. You didn’t need him angry right now. You needed him in the same way you needed a blanket to hide under as a kid during a thunderstorm. Even if now, it wasn’t because you were scared but because you were upset.
He’d bring down his full dad wrath on the school tomorrow. Today he was just the warm hug you needed.
//dr robby blurb in honor of the pitt season 2 !!! happy da pitt day i love day pitt
uhh robby and fem!reader have a 13 year old daughter (ellie) and it’s very domestic and cute //
by the time his daughter is thirteen, half the reason he worked the day shift was to be with her. he bid her goodnight every night, even when she was little, and he had to stay late in the pitt—
he always quietly crept into her room to kiss her head, and whisper a soft, “goodnight, sweetheart”, occasionally spending anywhere between five minutes to an hour watching her rest, before crawling into bed next to you.
when he worked days, he’d spend time reading or telling her a story, telling her about his day, a case at work, something funny uncle jack had said, something silly his intern had done—
she was a daddy’s girl. she would tell him she wanted to be a doctor just like he was, and he’d smile and say—
“you can be whatever you want to be, honey. but if you want to, you’ll be a doctor just like me— only better.”
then he’d bid her goodnight with a kiss to the head and a ‘see you in the morning. i love you.’
even when he worked nights, which he only did when he absolutely had to, he would tell you to text him when she was going to bed— and he’d find a minute to slip away and give you a call.
he rarely picked up night shifts..
but he decided to take a shift for jack. he had begged robby to pick up his shift, because jack was meeting up with an old army buddy that robby had a feeling wasn’t just a buddy, and because he could never say no to jack, he had wound up picking up a night shift.
and it wasn’t a pretty one.
an overdose. a heart attack. one that was all his fault. one that he couldn’t have stopped no matter how hard he tried. you had texted him hours ago. he doubted either of you were still up. it was the wee hours of the morning when he stepped out into the ambulance bay and called you, in lieu of having a cigarette.
his breath caught when he heard the voice of your daughter, ellie.
“daddy?” she whispers softly, and he can hear the sleepiness in her voice.
“hi, ellie-belly.” he says softly, a small smile on his face. if there’s one thing that hits better than a cigarette, it’s the voice of his little girl. “did i wake you?”
“nah,” she yawns, “mom and i stayed up, watchin’ movies, waitin for you.”
“oh yeah?” his shoulders de-tense at the mention of you, “what did you guys watch?”
“speed.” she says, “mom says you looked kinda like the main guy when you were young. i don’t believe her.”
robby scoffs, forgetting for a second that he’s so upset.
“mom wishes.” he hums, “i just wanted to say goodnight, sweetheart. see you in the morning. i love you.” he sighs.
“i love you too. i hope your shift gets better. wanna talk to mom?” she wonders, and he smiles.
“yeah, sure. goodnight, babe.” he says gently as your daughter passes you the phone, promptly falling asleep with a soft ‘goodnight, daddy,’ and then you say—
“hey, daddy.” you yawn, wrapping your arm around your daughter. “how’s the pitt?”
“well, abbot owes me one,”robby hums, but he feels better talking to you. “i wish i was home.” he confesses softly, but he always wishes he was closer to you.
“we wish you were too,” you confess, “but i know you’re doing your best. you’re good at what you do. it’s why i fell in love with you.” you remind. this is not a secret— it’s something robby likes to hear. it reminds him why he’s doing this. sure, saving lives, but medicine is his calling— it brought him you.
“right.” he exhales softly, feeling like he can finish his shift now. “okay. okay, yeah, i love you, kid.” he huffs softly.
“goodnight, mikey.”
“goodnight, buttercup.”
you smile at the nickname. when the two of you were in med school, after a long shift, you’d come up to him and offer him a reese’s peanut butter cup. he always took it.
“they’re in the fridge whenever you get home.” you say sleepily, and that’s enough for robby to hang up and dive headfirst back into the pitt. all he needed was some air, a reminder of what this had all been about.
when there is no other reason to keep going, you’re there, to remind him why it is that he keeps on doing this. that’s why he fell in love with you.
