Chapter Text
Clenching his hands on either side of his bathroom basin, Dennis watches as milky pink froth swirls down the drain.
“What the...?”
His eyes flick up to meet his reflection. Light auburn curls damp and dark from the shower, plastered to his forehead, and the bags under his eyes look even worse than they did yesterday. Like deep purple bruises.
He curls up his lip, his teeth covered in the remains of the toothpaste he just spat out. His gums are tender, and he guesses he must have brushed them too hard, bleeding into his mouth maybe. Leaning forward, he bares his teeth at the mirror. Yep, that’s blood. He stifles a chuckle, anyone else making this face in the mirror would look so tough, he thinks. He just looks like he’s got some weird tropical disease. Shit, maybe he does.
“The hottie mobile is leaving in five Huckleberry, hurry the fuck up!”. Trinity bashes on the bathroom door as she walks past. Their mornings are always a rush. He got so stressed in the beginning, before he settled into the routine. She just needs to feel late to get moving, doing everything at the very last minute. Snoozing her alarm over and over in the next room before bolting out of her room pulling her shirt down and hopping down the hallway shoving a sock on her foot. His mouth quirks up fondly, he’s so glad she found him on that abandoned floor three months ago. He’s never had such a good friend.
He spits again, leaning down under the faucet to wash his mouth out, before firmly placing his scent patches on the base of his neck. Not that he needs them, even for a Beta his scent is barely there, but he’s found it’s just safer to keep himself covered, some of the older fashioned patients get prickly or handsy at the sight of an uncovered gland. It’s a blessing really, that his scent is so mild, it means he’s been able to get away with the cheapest patches they sell, as really they’re just for appearances in his case. There’s no need to mellow his hormones or cover the associated smells they produce.
There’s a crash in the kitchen, that’ll be Trinity dropping her thermos. Dennis potters out of the bathroom to quickly pull on his undershirt and scrub top. Scooping up his backpack and flinging it over his shoulder. It twinges, his shoulders are tense and tender. He figures he must’ve pulled something transferring a patient.
He joins Trinity in the kitchen, she’s currently chopping a salad with one hand whilst pouring condensed milk into her coffee with her other one. Dennis rifles around in his box of protein bars, grabbing two and shoving them in his pockets before picking up his shoes at the door.
“Two minutes Huckleberry!”, Trinity calls to him, like she’s not the one who needs the reminder. Dennis is already half-way down the stairs from their third floor apartment.
When his shoes hit the wet pavement, he immediately shoves his hands in his pockets. It's a windy day, and he wishes he’d dried his hair a bit better. His skin prickles up, goosebumps making him suddenly sensitive all over. Maybe he should have worn a long sleeve under his scrubs, but he’s been running hot the last few days, and he figures he’ll work up a sweat as soon as he gets to the Pitt. It’s cold in the ER, but the adrenaline warms him up well enough. He rounds the corner to Trinity’s pick up, bending down to re-tie his poorly laced sneaker just as she races around the corner. A toasted sandwich shoved in her mouth, eyes wild. Dennis is so fond of her.
“You ‘ook ‘ike shi’”, Trinity muffles out from around her breakfast.
“Aw, thanks Trin, really appreciate the morning pick-me-up”, Dennis teases back as he pulls himself up into the passenger seat. The engine rumbles, Trinity’s sandwich now out of her mouth and half crushed in her hand on top of the gearstick as she wrenches her body around to reverse out onto the busy street.
“Just telling it like I see it Huck, you weren’t up all night on your phone again were you?”, she finishes reversing and turns back to him, a leering smile showing off her dainty Omega fangs. “Not texting a certain chief and attending again?”
Dennis coughs as an answer and Trinity throws her head back in a barking laugh. “Oh my God you are so easy. Just ask one of them out already!”
“It’s not LIKE that,” Dennis huffs. “I told you, Robby has just been giving me advice about specialties, and Abbot was giving me tips about charting with my dyslexia cos he has it too-“
“Oh, Robby and Abbot is it, not even Dr or Sir anymore, you’re down so bad.”
“I am not!”, he sputters.
“Yeah, sure, and they’re texting all their med students to ‘just give advice’.”
“Well, maybe they would if everyone was as obviously pathetic and in need of assistance as I am.”, Dennis jokes, pouting. He’s found that making fun of himself usually works at diffusing awkward conversations.
“-only the cute ones Huck, only the cute ones.” She mutters back at him, giving him the up down as she says it. Dennis rolls his eyes as his cheeks darken. He knows she’s teasing, being a card-carrying lesbian and all, but it’s nice to hear a compliment all the same. It’s been her favourite thing to tease him about for the last six weeks, and when she found out he’d started texting them last week? Well, he can’t get her to talk about anything else.
Trinity isn’t exactly wrong about his feelings for his two attendings. His crushes are making him a little extra pathetic these days. Dropping things, running into equipment, speaking without thinking. He squirms with embarrassment in his seat, remembering the looks his attendings are often throwing his way, looking at him with their eyebrows up like ‘it’s a miracle you’re still alive let alone about to graduate medical school’.
Trinity sees him wriggling and must mistake his embarrassment for arousal when she claps a hand on his shoulder, “Oh man, you are so gone, this is the best!”
“Can we PLEASE just get to work?!”
“Oh, they’ll put you to work alright!”
“TRIN!” he shrieks, face flushing, head in his hands.
+++
Miraculously, they’re a few minutes early to their shift. After depositing their things in their lockers, they head out to find a new night shift nurse Dennis hasn’t met yet filling Dana in on some charting at central. Dana gives them a smile, gesturing with her head for them to go down the corridor. There’s husky laughter coming from Trauma 1, and inside are Drs Robby and Abbot, Robby leaning on the wall chuckling, while Abbot reenacts some sort of fight, an IV pole above his head like a spear as he laughs loudly and mimes prodding it at the gurney in between them. When he lifts his arms up higher, Dennis catches the line of his Calvin’s sitting low on his hips, peaking out above his scrub pants. A line of muscled skin peaks out below his shirt. Dennis heats up and immediately looks anywhere else.
Robby drops his head at Abbot’s antics, fondly rubbing a hand along his forehead and through his hair as Abbot raises the IV pole again, pointing it at Dennis and Trinity, mock seriousness on his face.
“Intruders! Children in Trauma One” Abbot deadpans at them and Robby chuckles harder.
“Children? Trinity’s nearly 30!” Dennis replies, indignant. That just makes the two older men laugh harder.
“I believe that’s Jack’s point exactly”, Robby turns to them both, folding his arms in front of his broad torso and crossing his legs at the ankles, still leaning against the trauma room wall. His hoody is rolled up to his elbows and he looks soft and warm, like he’s only recently peeled himself out of a comfortable bed. His face is fond, smile lines on full display. God, Dennis wants him.
“Santos, I’d like you to start out in chairs this morning, divide and conquer with King when she arrives. Whittaker, Dr Abbot is going to finish his shift by doing some actual work and handing over the patient in 3 for you to chase some labs up on.” He claps his hands, rubbing them together as he pushes off the wall with his broad shoulder, nodding a goodbye to Abbot, and placing a solid hand on Dennis's shoulder as he moves past, fingers squeezing, making Dennis release a tight strained breath.
Robby halts, “You ok kid?”, taking a step back to look at Dennis’ face, his hand still squeezing his damn shoulder. “You been moonlighting as a removalist or something? You're all tensed up”, Robby asks, concern flooding his face. Jack immediately walks over too, leaning down to be face to face with Dennis, bringing his hand around to cup the back of Dennis's sweaty neck. “He’s flushed too Mike, you in pain Dennis?”
Dennis feels like a deer caught in headlights, Robby in front on him to the right, Abbot to the left, hands on him, both looking at him with such concern and they’re so close. His neck and shoulder where they’re touching send a hot thrum through him, sizzling and aching up to his jaw and down to his stomach. His hands itch, his gums ache, and he feels a bit lightheaded. Oh, right, that’s cos he stopped breathing. He supposes he should start doing that again.
He should probably say something too.
“Oh, yep, I mean, no, no moonlighting haha, guess I just slept funny. I’m totally fine!” Dennis hears himself answering, his voice unusually high and clipped, he can feel Trinity standing next to him practically vibrating in amusement.
“If you say so.” Abbot says, squeezing his neck before giving him a pat on the back as he heads down the corridor. Robby takes a bit longer, worry creasing his eyebrows. Dennis hates that he’s the cause of it.
“I’m fine, really” he breathes out, cocking his head forwards so he’s looking up at Robby through his eyelashes, submission written all over him as he tries to soothe Robby’s concern with a softened voice and pleading eye contact. It’s a cop out of a move, appealing to Robby’s Alpha like this, but it works all the same. The older man’s face softens, and he clears his throat. “Well, alright then Whitaker. Santos, with me”, and Robby is gone with one final squeeze to his shoulder. Trinity follows behind him, jogging backwards so she can face Dennis and mouth 'Oh My God You Slut' at him. Dennis groans, rolling his head back, staring blanky up at the water stain on the ceiling, flexing his hands at his sides as he takes a huge exhaling breath and closes his eyes for a moment. His body hums.
It is going to be a very long shift.