Work Text:
Pandora's Box.
That's all that runs through Dennis' mind as he smiles ruefully to himself, glancing between the items on the covers and Robby standing in the doorway.
Dennis had walked into the bedroom and bumped into the dresser on the way to the shower, sending one of Robby's colognes to the ground. It rolled under the bed and stopped with a strange sound; like a dull thunk caused something to clatter. He had been musing about the luck of the bottle not breaking only to disrupt more things, crouching down to take a look.
The younger man put the cologne on the bedside table before reaching for the shoebox it was against, opening it and pausing at the sight.
His underwear.
The same one he'd mentioned to Robby hours ago about being possibly stolen, was folded and tucked into the box.
Dennis took a breath and got back onto his feet to drop the box onto the bed. As he tossed the underwear, Dennis froze at the items inside and ignored the feeling growing in his chest. "What the fuck?" He murmured under his breath, dumping it all onto the bed and flung the box away.
He still can't tell if the feeling in his chest is fear or maybe a shocked sort of delight.
"Dennis—,"
The man blinks out of the memory and ignores Robby in favor of returning his focus back to the bed. Dennis' gaze can't help but travel to the underwear and falters at the sight of unfamiliar dried stains revealed after being unfolded. He scans over the other mementos and notes similar blemishes; they almost look white.
"What-What are all these stains?"
It kinda looks like—
Dennis felt a flush rise on his face at the realization, letting out a squeak before clapping hands over his mouth and meeting Robby's eyes.
The older man looked at him with a strained smile and remarked, "Would you believe me if I told you it's not what it looks like?" The light joke would've likely made Dennis crack a grin any other day—even the sight of Robby lifting his hands as if trying to calm Dennis like a wild animal would've had the younger man on the floor.
Now it's only slightly endearing, but not enough to get a reaction out of him.
The items now littered on the comforter make Dennis squint, thoughts disappearing as he tried to determine how old the stains were. "Is that even hygienic?" Dennis glances up to see Robby rub his neck and sigh.
"Kid, I—it was an accident."
"How was it an accident?"
"If we go sit down,” Robby spoke quietly as if trying to soothe a panicked patient and lowered his arms in an effort to step closer, "I'll answer anything you want." Dennis shakes his head and shoots a harsh look at the older man before letting his eyes skim over the photos, doing a double take at one of the images.
Oh, what the fuck?
Dennis was staring at the camera with his one of his eyes more squinted than the other, nose scrunched at the brightness of the screen as he attempted to fix his bedhead in a selfie to send to Robby. He'd accidentally taken and abandoned it like the rest of the failed or accidental pictures in his camera roll.
"I didn't even send that selfie to you. How did you get that photo?"
"Look, Dennis, just sit down and we can talk. Or if you're feeling too tired, we can sleep. I'll-I'll sleep in the guest room." The older man put his hands on Dennis shoulders, making the latter feel the irritation inside him snap like a rubber band in his gut. He feels himself rise on his tip toes to hiss out, "Why do you want me to sit down so much? Like I'm your dog? Oh, wait, I'm your puppy, right?" There was an amused twinkle in Robby's eye that made Dennis feel angry enough to try and shove the older man away like he did back then.
He's sure it would've been a lot more meaningful if it worked.
Robby barely moves an inch, but there's a new look of irritation. His voiced cracked with the answer, like it broke him to admit, and made Dennis' anger flee as quickly as it arrived.
"For fuck's sake, it's not about our kinks or treating you like a pet! You—You've been shaking since I walked into the room, baby!"
Dennis feels his eyes water at seeing the resigned hurt in Robby's face, an ache that is quickly dulled at the overwhelming realization that everything has been out of his control.
The younger man's eyes flicker to the notes he remembers writing with a lovesick smile each time, internally giggling over the fact that he kept them. Dennis had always wondered if the man simply threw them away and pouted over the idea for days until Trinity had laughed in his face.
"You're telling me you don't think the man who practically worships the ground you walk on doesn't keep your literal handwritten displays of love?"
Cigarette butts, a chapstick with a jewel he remembers pulling off of his own face to stick to the top after a night out with Trinity, and—
Fuck, that's his hair; a curl tucked neatly in a sealed bag.
As Dennis stares back at his own face, the different images all covered in streaks of cum, he frowns. The man has so much evidence of Dennis, yet the younger man barely has a shirt or two from Robby.
Why doesn't he get to have a piece of Robby's hair?
The thought stops him, almost resetting his brain into a confused panic.
Is he into this?
Robby is so enveloped in his life: work, friends, family. Dennis welcomed the older man's care like slipping on a jacket on a windy day. He sat on Robby's lap and used his phone to scroll while the older man watched TV, of course he could've peeked any time to see Dennis type in his password. If he asked nicely, Dennis is sure he likely would've let Robby go through the entire device.
But, it's about what he's done without Dennis' permission—the things that Dennis doesn't know about.
Has Robby read Dennis' texts with his brothers? Trinity's messages? The group chats with his friends?
The younger man's mind flashes his texts where he openly thirsted after Robby in different chats, Trinity cackling through the thin walls before yelling that he was a freak. Dennis internally panics at the next reminder that this attractive, wonderful, kind man is also his attending.
His boss, his boyfriend has likely seen his Notes app where the younger man is trying to sign—
Oh, God.
Robby's likely seen Dennis trying out Dennis Robinavitch as a signature.
The older man is everywhere. He's wanted to be aware of Dennis' every move, every thought since they began dating and the younger man had never felt so wanted before. Robby kept photos and any evidence of Dennis' love and came over them.
It's perverted.
It's devotion.
Dennis saves the dizzying rush of heat at the thought for later, but the panic rises because there is no later for Dennis to process it.
It's the only thought blaring through his mind like an alarm before he blurts out, "I have to go."
Robby's face twists at the words, falling to his knees so quickly that Dennis crouches to make sure he's alright only to jump back up at the feeling of hands wrapping around his leg. The older man breaks into sobs, apologies spilling from his lips as he pushes his face against Dennis' jean-clad thigh.
The younger man freezes at the jolt of arousal when Robby's tearful brown eyes meet his own gaze. His entire face was red, but there was a manic wildness about him—a distress as he tried to reason with Dennis. "We-we can talk about this. I'm fucked up, it's all fucked up—but, I needed to. I can't be without you, baby. I'm so sorry, I just needed you near me." Robby uttered in a rush, a desperate hoarseness in his voice that makes it sound nearly unrecognizable.
He can't do anything but watch as Robby continues to cry, brushing a hand to scratch at the nape of his neck gently and fondly coos as the older man's head falls at the gesture. "I just-I need to go, I'm sorry." Dennis whispered lowly as Robby's head shook in denial, looking up with an expression of anguish so clearly on his face that bring Dennis to tears.
"No, please, let's talk about this." Robby begged and stood back up slowly, indirectly using Dennis' thigh as a crutch by squeezing it. The younger man tried to ignore the whine that’s desperate to escape, and sighed for a moment to relax.
"Michael, It's—This is—,"
"Don't you fucking,"
"—a lot of fucking work."
Silence.
Robby blinked. "…Say that again?"
"This-This whole fuckin' shrine? How long have you been going behind my back and collecting my things? Why haven't you invited me to print out pictures of each other? Fuck, when have you even had the time, we spend almost everyday together and most of that is at work!" Dennis threw his hands in the air, taking a step back. "And my-my fucking hair? I know for a fact you got that off my fringe. You say you love me, but you couldn't make the effort to get one where no one could see?"
He gestures with a pout and grabs the clearly uneven part of his hair, letting it go to finish calmly, "I need time to process this. I'll come back after your shift and we can talk about this, but I-I can't do this here." Robby's face falls in distress as he shuts his eyes, a shuddering breath making him choke, "Baby, please, I'll tell you everything, now or tomorrow. I'll even sleep outside if you feel uncomfortable with me being in the same house, but don't leave like this. Please, stay."
"You work tomorrow."
"You think I wouldn't call out for this?" Robby lets out a tired laugh, throwing his hands up in weariness. "This, you are more fucking important to me." Dennis feels himself shake his head and sits on the edge of the bed, looking at Robby's wrinkles and noticed they got more defined as the heartbreak grew in his eyes.
"Dennis, I love you. I love you." He knelt again, tucking himself between Dennis' legs to keep the younger man's attention. Dennis cupped Robby's jaw as the older man placed kisses on his palm.
"Please, Michael. Just for the night."
"You-You can't. You felt it too."
"Felt what?"
Dennis' eyes widen at the sudden helplessness appearing on Robby's face as he stresses out, "Don't what me, Dennis. Us! We're soulmates, you said it yourself: meant to be! The second you looked at me with those eyes that day after you saved me—I knew we belonged together. You understand me like no one else. I might've gotten a-a little outta control, but this was all for you. I needed you around me." Dennis was weak, easily slipping to the floor and into Robby's arms as he pulled Dennis closer by the medallion on his necklace.
"Every time you packed that fucking bag and never left a thing, it felt like torture. Like you thought we were temporary." Robby breathed against his lips, adjusting his hold as the younger man wraps his arms around his neck, "If I had it my way, we would've been married by your third week of rotation." Dennis notices the older man slightly flinch in hunching over and pushes himself against Robby, making him sit straight to let Dennis press closer. "We weren't even together then." He whispered against Robby's cheek and pressed a gentle kiss as the older man simply replies, "Like I give a shit, I'm still lucky you even looked my way."
"I looked your way? Mr. Rugged Chief Attending with a Motorcycle? You belong in the back summary of a romance novel."
"And you don't belong in a Hallmark movie, Mr. Farm-boy turned Doctor with a Heart of Gold?"
The younger man grumbles at the quick response and tucks his face in Robby's neck, shutting his eyes tightly. "I-I'm begging you, baby." Robby mumbled against his curls as Dennis took in the warmth of the older man's arms around his waist.
He doesn't have the mental strength to argue anymore and only nods. "Can…can we go to bed now? You're right. We can talk in the morning."
At his hurried agreement, the two of them get up from the floor without letting go of one another. Dennis glances at Robby looking at the items on the bed and moves to grab them, gesturing for Robby to get the box as well. They placed it all back under the bed and Dennis began undressing, holding back laughter as Robby followed along only to trip over his own jeans at his rushed attempts to finish near the same time as Dennis.
Once the younger man is in his boxers, he brushes off the remaining ashes on the covers from the cigarette butts and moves under the blankets. He blinks uncomfortably at Robby, the older man finishing undressing just to awkwardly loom over the bed in silence.
"Just get in, Michael."
Robby moves under the comforter and keeps a generous space between them until Dennis huffs closer in annoyance, twisting closer to shove himself against the hairy arm. The older man jumps at the chance and wraps his arms around him, pressing firm kisses against Dennis' curls. "I-I'll call Jack in the morning and make breakfast." Dennis felt tears dampen his hair as trembling hands brushed back and forth on his back while Robby reassured him quietly, "Don't worry, baby. It'll all be fine when I explain everything in the morning."
The younger man shut his eyes and nodded, attempting to sleep as he relaxing to the feeling of Robby soothing himself while drawing patterns on Dennis' back.
3:56am
Dennis had woken up to go to the restroom, swiping his phone along without a care before shutting the bathroom door with a quiet click. He blinked in shock at the various messages still being sent in the group chat, blood running cold at the words rushing past clicked into place.
Trinity's phone had alerted her of a tracker following her going home with Dennis, arriving at Dana's, and suddenly disappearing at the same time Dennis went with Robby.
finna be in da pit(t)
dennis the menace
can someone pick me up from robbys
please
@everyone
<dennis da menace has began sharing his location >
unholy trinity
are u okay ??? are u safe ??
omw
dennis da menace
i mean yes but
i found stuff
check these mo-hands
wait like more than the tracker ??
did he have a shrine or something lol
dennis da menace
,,, samira how the fuck is that your first guess
check these mo-hands
OH
OH NO
king (of new york)
but like what kind of shrine
scale of wall of photos in a dark room to rainbow dash jar
dennis da menace
what is a rainbow dash jar
victorious one
google it
dennis da menace
,,,
,, i miss the person who i was hours ago
victorious one
im so sorry girl
this entire situation is so wild
unholy trinity
5 mins out
Dennis watched Robby's sleeping form, snores slowly starting back up after he managed to squirm out of the man's arms. He'd taken a hoodie and double-layered his socks, walking downstairs to the shoe rack with a heavy heart.
The younger man crouches to pull out the boots and holds back a laugh of disbelief at the solid feeling of a tracker when reaching in, pulling out the insole.
Clear, neat stitching hidden in the natural creasing of the sponge that Dennis can't help but admire because goddamn can that man stitch everything so beautifully.
Feeling his phone vibrate in Robby's front pocket hoodie, Dennis tosses the boots away and jumps at the noise it makes before scurrying out the door. He flies down the steps to Trinity's car, opening the backseat to slip in after seeing a familiar blonde in the passenger seat. Dennis takes a breath and finally notes the sight in front of him.
Mel wore sweatpants and a tank top as Trinity sat in the driver's seat in a hoodie and boxers, both of them wearing under-eye patches on their faces. They both turned to look at him before facing the front again. Their hair was messy, which the younger man could've excused as them being asleep…
…had Trinity wiped off the red-staining lip oil on the corner of her mouth that looked to be the same color as the one currently on Mel's mouth.
"Is this like a poly thing with Parker?"
Trinity's head snapped towards Dennis as Mel blushes, sinking into her seat to hide her face in her shirt. "Not another word or else you go back upstairs with Joe Goldberg." She hisses and began driving off with a nod after Dennis mimicked zipping his mouth shut, pretending to cover his eyes to throw away the key. Mel sat back up to dig into her pocket, pulling out a sealed packet of the same under-eye patches to hand to Dennis. "I, uh, thought it might help? I don't know." She muttered with a growing smile as Dennis didn't hesitate to open the packet and carefully placed the mask under his eyes.
"Can I ask about the shrine?" Trinity pipes up nervously as she looks at Dennis through the mirror.
"No, you may not."
She nodded.
Silence.
"…You were into it, weren't you?"
Dennis' face flushed bright red and spluttered out high-pitched denials as the women in the front seats shared a glance before breaking out into laughter. He faltered at the sudden feeling of his phone buzzing almost in a frantic manner, pulling it out to see Robby's face fill his screen as texts began to blur by.
Almost as if the man was trying to both at the same time, anything to get Dennis' attention.
handsome
dennis where are you going
baby please
i can see your location
did you text trinity ?? who's driving u ??
dennis
baby is it trinity ?? an uber ????
who are you with rn
baby boy
YOU DO NOT GET TO ASK QUESTIONS
A TRACKER IN MY SHOE
MICHAEL ROBINAVITCH !!!!!
give me a second
"Oh, this fucker does not—," Dennis angrily mutters to himself, immediately opening the messages to quickly ask Jack what the older man's middle name is. Surprisingly, he responds within seconds as if already prepared for the younger man to eventually ask.
handsome
baby im sorry please just answer me
i can throw it all away and we can just forget about it
ill get therapy
ill do anything
baby boy
MICHAEL OREN ROBINAVITCH
DONT ACT CUTE !!!!
YOU CUT MY HAIR ! PUT A TRACKER IN MY SHOE ! HID A SHRINE OF ME UNDER YOUR BED LIKE I WAS A PORN MAG !
please understand
this is weird
hot but weird
handsome
would it make you feel better if i told you the shrine was originally in the dresser drawer
baby boy
weirdly enough, that does help
go get ready for ur shift
Dennis removes Robby's contact from being exempt from Do Not Disturb, shoving it back into his pocket and gets out the car. "He has my location, he's had it since we started dating." He grumbles as they enter the apartment, not bothering to turn on the light and instead flock to the middle of the hallway light like it was their meeting room.
Both women freeze when they process the sentence as Mel asks hesitantly after a few quiet seconds of silence, "Dennis, you sound—are you…jealous? Are you more angry that he has the tracker or that you don't have a tracker for him?" Dennis opens his mouth, glancing up at the women before shrugging.
"I-," His voice cracks before he sighs and covers his face with his hands, "I don't know. I'm tired."
Trinity nodded at his words and spoke firmly, "Look, anything at all, you call me. Okay, Huckleberry? Even if I know you're secretly giddy that this man is genuinely obsessed with your ass, it's still scary for all of it to be hidden from you. We're here to help you process if you need to." Mel nodded along in determination with the other woman's words and Dennis agreed with a quiet thanks before the three all turned to their respective sleeping areas, both doors shutting with squeaking clicks. The younger man crawls into his bed with a groan and pulls out his phone, biting back a noise.
The number of messages continued to climb, making him sigh and swipe to the voicemails already filling up the inbox.
Robby could so easily be manipulative about his obsession when all he needed to do was ask. He had been open to asking before but it pained Dennis, angered him, at being kept in the dark.
Not to mention the fact he never had anything of Robby's to keep.
Why should Robby be the only one to have Dennis' location? Why can't Dennis have his boyfriend's location, too? His phone?
He's never offered, never even asked if Dennis wanted to look.
Despite it all, he needs Robby.
He's felt the same desire to have him around, dig into his ribs to keep a piece of the man permanently in his chest. Having so much attention and love aimed at him without having to share?
The younger man wasn't sure he's ever had a love that was truly only for him, Robby's besotted eyes flashing in his mind that makes him swipe up his phone to send a single text.
baby boy
i love you
don't forget that, it's only time
Dennis drops it without another thought and digs under the covers with a sigh, imagining exactly what he'd want to keep of Robby's things—his shrine to the love of his life.
He'd keep it by the window, his very own sunflower.
11am
Dennis wipes his eyes tiredly and slips out of bed to begin his shower routine in the bathroom, changing into sweatpants and one of his brothers' shirts afterwards. He moved to grab his phone before making his way to make himself food in the kitchen.
He barely sat on the couch, a veggie egg sandwich barely touching his lips until a call interrupts his bite. Trinity's face brightly shudders atop the coffee table until he swipes it up and answers it, clicking the speaker button.
"You're such an old man and so lucky I know the time you usually make your late breakfast. Anyways, Abbot's on shift and is possibly getting a reprimand and Robby got placed on temporary leave." Trinity's voice came through in her 'gossip' tone, coming out in a hush despite (from the sound of the echo of her end of the call) the empty break room. As she talked, he dropped the plate onto the coffee table and got up to get juice. They made cooing noises of acknowledgement when they opened fridges at the same time until Dennis suddenly jolted in alarm at the realization of the news.
"Wait, are you serious?"
"As a fuckin' heart attack. Why would I lie about this? You didn't report him, right? I would've killed to write that witness statement, it would've had more pages than the Bible. Ugh, to see the look on Robby's face when they placed him on leave—tell him to recreate it and we could get matching mugs."
Dennis went back to the living room to grab the plate of food with his free hand before walking back to his bedroom. "I would've told you if I did."
"Well then, who snitched?"
He drops the food onto the bedside table and falls back into the warmth of his bed. Like a flash of lightning, the memory hits Dennis as he smacks his forehead and groans, "Trinity, the underwear was in the shrine." She gasped through the food in her mouth and chewed quickly, sounding as if she set the phone down on the table judging by the dull thump.
"You think they got his ass on camera? If they do, you owe me dinner! I told you it was him!"
It was a stupid, silly bet that wasn't supposed to have a result.
Dennis had been tired of the comments about Robby's 'weird' obsession, Trinity daring the student to leave his briefs in his locker and subtly bring it up to Robby. He'd done it without a care, and thought nothing of it until the end of the shift.
"C'mon, Fuckleberry." Trinity pouted mockingly as they made their way to the lockers after Robby's sendoff, "If you aren't scared of your boyfriend being a panty sniffer, you won't be scared to bet on if your boxers are still in your locker!"
"They’re gonna be there! Either way, does it really matter if Robby steals things from my locker or not?"
The pair froze at the sound of a choking noise behind them, simultaneously whirling their heads around to see Jack make his 'meep' expression before maneuvering around them to grab his things. Trinity and Dennis shared a glance, taking a few steps closer to the older man and clasped their hands together. Jack peeked over his shoulder and jumped at the sight of them, smacking a hand against his chest. "No wonder they call you fuckers the Grady sisters." He snarks and turns to face them completely with a resigned look, gesturing for Dennis to open his locker, revealing the underwear to be missing.
The attending rubbed his face and looked behind them to ensure no one was coming before quickly hinting, "Look at his back pocket." As Jack scurried off, they watched in amazement before meeting each other's gaze and breaking out into laughter, nearly collapsing on one another.
At the sight of uneven pockets (and receiving confirmation in the form of Trinity's widening eyes looking at him behind Robby's back), the resident had asked Dennis if he was truly sure it was alright.
Then, at his admitted interest, shrieked in his face of the young man managing to find someone as weird as he is.
"I don't know. Probably."
After hanging up, the younger man felt himself think it all over.
The manic, wild desperation in Robby's face with his hands tightly wrapped around Dennis' thighs. The older man’s careful dedication to collecting so many things of his.
How was he supposed to feel?
It's the single question that runs through his mind until Trinity came home with a loosened ponytail and a grateful look hidden behind her eyes when Dennis simply hands her a hot plate of food.
"If I wasn't a huge lesbian and had the hottest girlfriend alive and you weren't a freaky twink with an equally freaky old man boyfriend, we could've lived together forever."
Dennis held up a fist and replied with a joking tone, "Best roommate, considering my last one was dust bunnies on the eighth floor and whoever slept beside me in shelters."
Trinity quickly bumped it back and pretended something got stuck in her eye.
"You weren't so bad either, Huckleberry."
After slowly moving to cuddle together for an hour or two, Trinity got a text from Parker and left the apartment with a laugh as Dennis wiggled his eyebrows at her changing into 'nicer' lounge-wear.
He sighs and turns off the TV, appreciating the quiet silence barring the muffled sounds of the street outside. After a minute, Dennis walks back to his room and takes off his pants to relax in his briefs.
Dennis scrolled through his phone and went into his camera roll, tapping onto the small album he has of Robby.
It barely had 20 photos, but it was all of his visible marks left on Robby's chest, neck, stomach.
His cock twitches at the sight of his boyfriend's neck covered in blooming hickeys, almost bordered on the bottom by the man's chest hair. His Star of David necklace strikingly shining in the photo, falling neatly across the bruises.
Dennis lets his hand move to grab the small bottle of lube from his bedside table, opening the cap with one hand and dripping it across his cock.
He snaps the top shut and drops it beside him before shutting his eyes. "Oh fuck," Dennis panted and jabbed his fist into his mouth to hide his whimpers as he pumped his cock.
Robby teased his cockhead against Dennis' hole, grinning at the desperate whimpers the younger man released as tears dripped down his face.
"Is puppy that desperate for my cock?" Robby lightly slapped his cheek before returning his tight grip on Dennis' thigh to keep his leg against the man's chest. He breathed deeply and kissed Dennis, sloppily letting his tongue explore the younger man's mouth without care of the drool escaping from the corner of their lips.
Dennis felt his breath catch at his own thoughts as his hips jerked up.
"There we go—take my cock, boy." Their breaths mixed together as Robby fully entered him, groaning at the feeling of Robby's cock filling him up completely. "How could I not want to keep my baby boy around? C'mon, puppy. Let Daddy take care of you." He whispered and began moving his hips harshly as the sounds of skin clapping echoed in his ears.
Dennis cries and turns to lie on his stomach, biting at the pillow in anger.
He wants Robby so much it feels like fire runs through his veins everytime he spots those hands, the teasing look in his eye.
The younger man was flipped over with his ass up, wailing at Robby pounding inside him and practically used Dennis' hole like his very own fleshlight. "You're gonna stay away from me for what? Because you're scared at how much you like my focus on you, baby? That’s silly. This is why you need your Daddy around to make decisions for you." Robby's voice spoke against his ears, grabbing Dennis by his neck to plaster him against the older man's chest.
"We belong together. Meant to be. That's all you ever wanted and now that you have it, you run away? Come back to me, puppy."
"D-Daddy…" He gasped, rutting against the mattress and letting out a loud whine as cum splattered across the sheets and his chest. Dennis groaned in misery against his pillow before getting up to switch the sheets, falling under the covers to sleep it all off again.
He can describe the emotion that had been in his chest now:
Fascination.