Work Text:
This fic is loosely based on this tweet:
“Den baby, wake up, we’ve got to leave soon if you want to have enough time to stop for an energy drink.” Robby gently shakes Dennis’s shoulder, careful not to startle the younger man. Dennis rolls away from him, grumbling something about “leave him alone,” and “five more minutes.”
“If you get up now, we can stop for doughnuts.” The older man drives a hard bargain; he knows Dennis can't refuse doughnuts.
“Can I get strawberry?” Dennis mutters, peaking out from under the covers. A wave of affection overtakes Robby.
“With sprinkles if it gets your ass out of bed.” With that, Robby snatches the covers from Dennis, laughing at the other man’s shrieks, as he makes his way back to their living room. He hears the water in the bathroom turn on.
“I’m ready,” Dennis grumbles when he walks into the living room not long after. Robby chuckles, pulling him into a hug and pressing a kiss to his temple.
“You’re very cute when you’re grumpy in the mornings,” Dennis grumbles incoherently but doesn’t pull away. When Robby finally releases him, Dennis shoves gently at his chest.
“Doughnuts and RedBull now, please.”
---
“Good morning, everyone. There are doughnuts in the breakroom. Grab one before they’re gone. Night shift left us in decent shape; most of our patients are just waiting on test results or consults. Keep checking your charts and touch base with your nurses. EMS is bringing in a couple of cases shortly. So stay on your toes.” Robby nods at them before turning to Dana.
“Can you keep an eye on this? Jack reached out to the family of our diabetic girl in Central 4. I’m waiting for a call back.” Robby hands his phone to Dana.
“Yeah, sure. What do you want me to tell them?” She sets the phone on her desk, grabbing a sticky note and pen.
“She’s good to go as soon as someone can come get her. I just don’t think she’s in a position to get herself home.” He turns his gaze to the college-age girl; she barely made it into the waiting room before passing out from low blood sugar. Thankfully, nightshift got to her quickly, and now she was just shaken up and weak.
“You got it. I’ll find you once I know something.”
Robby thanks her before being pulled away by EMS, bringing in an elderly man who fell in the shower.
“Slipped and fell in the shower, no LOC. Pain in the left hip, leg appears shortened and externally rotated. Gave 4 mg morphine en route.” The EMT rattles off as Robby approaches. After assessing that the hip was the man’s only injury, they got him sent off to ortho for surgery. Robby makes his way back to Dana at the central desk.
“Good news, the family of the girl in Central 4 will be here shortly to pick her up.” She says brightly, but her face is mischievous; she rocks back and forth on her feet like she is itching to say something. Robby sighs.
“What?” He raises an eyebrow at her.
“Oh, nothing, just wondering why you didn’t mention that you were married?” She says casually. As if they were discussing the weather.
“What do you mean?” Robby asks, feigning innocence.
“Well, see, it’s a funny story. You got a text from someone listed as ‘Husband’ with a little brown heart and a contact photo that looks suspiciously familiar.” Dana smirks, knowing she got him. “Even funnier is when I cleared the notification, I was met with a very sweet lockscreen.” She hands him his phone back.
Robby doesn’t have to look; he knows he must have forgotten to swap to his basic work-friendly lock screen. If he were to look at his phone right now, he would see a photo of him and Dennis curled up in bed, Robby’s lips and nose smooshed into the younger man's cheek. Most of Dennis’s face is covered by Robby’s forearm, but anyone who knew him could very clearly tell it was him.
“Okay, fine, yes, I’m married, but that’s all I’m telling you,” he narrows his eyes at her. Dana goes to respond, but gets interrupted.
“Dr. Robby, could you look at this chest X-ray for me? I can’t tell if this is early pneumonia or…” Dennis trails off when both Dana and Robby turn to look at him. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.” He mumbles. Robby takes the tablet from him.
“You weren’t.” Robby looks over the X-ray. He understands why Dennis brought it to him; it really could be either early pneumonia or atelectasis.
“I’d ask for another X-ray focusing on this area.” He says, at the same time, Dana cuts in.
“For how long?” She looks between Dennis and Robby with genuine confusion, no doubt trying to piece together a timeline of their relationship.
“What?” The younger man asks, his brows furrowing at the nurse’s question. He turns his questioning gaze to Robby, who just holds his lockscreen up, showing him the photo. Realization floods his features.
“Umm… a while?” Dennis’s answer is more a question than an answer. Robby sighs.
“Dating? Just over 4 years. Married? Almost a year. Now, if you don’t mind keeping this between us and let’s all get back to work.” Robby hands the tablet back to Dennis.
“Get your patient in for another X-ray, ask them to get a couple of angles focusing on that suspicious area. Come find me when you get them back.” Dennis nods, walking back to his patient’s room in South 9.
Robby turns his attention back to Dana. “I know about the betting pool, but please respect our privacy for a little bit longer. We plan on telling everyone eventually, but not while he’s still in med school and technically under me.” Robby hopes the desperation he feels isn’t obvious. He doesn’t want to ruin Dennis’s career before it even begins.
“I can understand that. My lips are sealed.”
As if on que, an EMT’s voice crackles through the radio on the desk. “ED alert, 45-year-old male, crush injury to the left lower leg, distal pulses intact, tourniquet applied, ETA two minutes.”
“Duty calls.” Robby sings songs moving towards the ambulance entrance.
---
“I can’t believe you forgot to change your wallpaper. After all that trouble I went through setting up multiple wallpapers and teaching you how to swap between them.” Dennis chides, though his tone is more amused than angry.
“I’m sorry.” Robby rolls to a stop at a red light and turns to look at his husband. “I love you.” He laces his fingers with Dennis’s, pulling the other man's hand to his lips.
Dennis visibly melts. “I love you more. Besides only one more month until we tell everyone.”
Robby smiles at him before kissing his hand one last time. A month, Robby waited nearly five years; he can wait another month.