The Date: Michael “Robby” Robinavitch x Jesse Van Horn
Tagging: @kmc1989 @gremlinkat1992 @misskrose @inkdippedquills @fallenlilangel99
AN: More history on our boys...
Summary: Jesse's date doesn't go quite the way he planned.
Prequel to:
The Seven Week Itch - Robby's known for that seven week itch...
The Situationship (NSFWish) - On the morning of his sabbatical Robby can't stop thinking about his situationship.
The Things You Love (NSFW) - Robby decides to make a stop on his way out of town.
The Postcard - Robby reaches out to Jesse in an unexpected way.
A Fucking Break - Jesse just wants a fucking break...
Arrivals - Robby and Jesse reacquaint for the first time in over a month.
Aficionado (NSFW) - There’s an art to blowing a guy with a pierced dick.
Jesse is on a date.
Robby knows this because he accidently clued into a conversation him and Princess were having after hearing that tell tale ping of the Grindr app chirp through the Nurses Station.
Apparently, it’s with some form of social media marketing guy - click click, like, share – Robby doesn’t fucking know what any of it means. What he does know from the first moment of he lays eyes on the guy when he enters Rennie’s Bar, is that he’s all kinds of wrong for Jesse.
Blue sports coat, gold chain, designer sneakers.
It’s the complete opposite of Jesse’s aesthetic, which is currently a white London Calling cut off, showing off his toned, muscular arms, jeans that cling to his ass so right that Robby wants to take a bite out of it, and battered Vans decorated with fabric markers.
Still MarketingBro seems to be into it, and to Robby’s dismay so does Jesse.
“I thought you said it was casual.” Jack remarks half amused as he sips from his beer watching the exchange from across the room. The two of them are playing pool, something they usually do when they get time off together as an ‘enrichment activity’ as Jack’s therapist calls it.
“It is.” Robby says harshly, lining up his shot. He stares down the barrel of the cue, his jaw clenching as Jesse throws back his head and laughs at something MarketingBro says. “I just didn’t realise he was looking for something more, in general.”
“Well, he knew he wasn’t going to get it from you.” Jack points out, leaning on his own pool cue as Robby shifts his hips a little, lining up with the white ball. “Probably didn’t see the point of having the conversation.”
Because Robby, he sets clear boundaries.
He isn’t looking for anything other than blowing off some steam for a couple of hours after his shift, so he plays by a set of rules.
The biggest one being no sleep overs.
Sleepovers fall into routines, routines become habits and before you know it, you’re discussing labels. Robby doesn’t want that, he doesn’t want the complications that come with that. He wants no strings attached fun that leaves you ruined in the sheets while your partner slips out the front door.
And sometimes a sandwich, because Jesse, he makes a killer sandwich during that time they take to refuel between rounds.
“Hm.” Robby responds drawing back his arm to take his shot. “I just think he could do better.”
The white ball connects, sending the red bouncing off the cushioning that lines the pool table.
“Yeah, he could.” Jack states picking up his pool chalk and buffering the end the cue. “He could be fucking you but instead you decided to come out with me tonight because you’ve been in his bed four evenings in a row.”
“That’s not it…” Robby argues but Jack gives him a knowing look as he leans over the table to take his shot and Robby shuts up.
He hadn’t even realised he was spending every night in Jesse’s bed until Dana made a joke about how relaxed he’d been over the past week. He’d told Jesse he needed to shake things up a little and apparently the other man had decided to do the same damn thing.
He glances up, his gaze straying back to the bar, but Jesse’s seat is empty and so is MarketingBro’s. There’s an acute pain in his chest, like a scalpel scraping over his ribs as he’s being cut into.
This is what you wanted, he reminds himself as Jack sinks his shot, winning the match.
Robby rolls his eyes like the long-suffering opponent he is as he hands over ten dollars. Usually, the competition is a little stiffer but Robby, he’s off his game tonight.
“I’m gonna head out for a smoke.” He tells Jack, tipping his head towards the door before snatching up his jacket and tugging it on over his shoulders. “I’ll be back in a few.”
The cold air hits him in a rush when he steps outside, his hand delving into his pocket for the battered packet of Newports. He removes them from his pocket, flicking open the carton with his thumb revealing an empty box.
“Fuck.” He mutters staring down at the dregs at the bottom.
The scent of tobacco floods his nostrils, a wry chuckle ringing in his ears as he twists to find Jesse leaning against the wall of the bar, alone, his own cigarette in his hand. He holds it out towards Robby, who takes it gratefully, jamming it between his lips.
“Thought you were heading out for the night.” He says around his cigarette, observing the goosebumps on Jesse’s bare arms.
Jesse lets out a bitter laugh as Robby shrugs out of his jacket.
“My status is a problem.” Jesse informs him as Robby drapes the jacket around his shoulders, his body heat still clinging to him. “People hear HIV and think we’re still back in the eighties.”
“He’s missing out.” Robby says frankly as he blows a smoke ring out of his mouth “You’re the best fuck of my life, and I…I have fucked a lot of people.”
“You’re just saying that to cheer me up.” Jesse says, his palm raking through his curls as he watches the smoke ring disappear into the ether.
“Untrue.” Robby responds taking another drag of the cigarette. Silence falls between them as Robby purses his lips together and blows out another smoke ring. “I didn’t know you were looking for something more.”
Jesse shrugs. “I’m not, not after tonight.”
Jesse’s shutting down, Robby can tell. It’s in the way his voice has dulled, the emotion vacating his tone completely. He knows from the scuttlebutt around the Nurse’s Station that this isn’t the first time Jesse’s been told he isn’t worth pursuing a relationship with because of his HIV status, the thought of what that must do to a person absolutely kills Robby.
“I’m gonna take off.” Jesse says, pushing off the wall as an Uber pulls up. He starts to slide the jacket off his shoulders, but Robby stops him with the shake of his head.
“Do you want company?” Robby asks, dropping the cigarette butt onto the pavement and crushing it beneath his boot.
“No.” Jesse’s voice cracks as he looks back towards his ride, tucking his hands into the pockets of Robby’s jacket. “I think I just wanna be alone tonight.”
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