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It came up randomly on Christmas Eve. The three men, Dennis, Robby, and Jack, were all off the shift and lounging around the couch with each of their own drinks.
Dennis with a light beer, Robby with an expensive wine that Dennis didn't remember the name of, and Jack with his own Bourbon Whiskey. They were all watching "Die Hard" despite Dennis's complaints that they should probably be watching something softer than the action movie.
Halfway through the movie, Jack perked up, knocking Dennis's knee softly. The younger man was slightly startled at the sudden action and raised an eyebrow at his partner to his left.
"Oh!" Jack said simply before looking at the two beside him. "What do you think we'll do for our 4th anniversary?"
Robby chuckled, amused, "Jack? That's literally 5 months away, brother," he said as he sipped his wine.
Jack whined, "Oh c'mon, don't you all want something special for it? It's our 4th anniversary with Dennis and our 20th year married. You know we might not make it to Silver Anniversary or some shit." He jokingly said.
Dennis elbowed Jack there; he didn't like the thought of his partners dying before him, even if it was inevitable. "Don't say that", he hissed.
Jack hummed before kissing Dennis's forehead.
Robby sighed at his partners before putting a hand behind the couch. "You know what? It's not a bad idea," he paused and drank his wine. "Probably high time we celebrate it publicly anyway. God knows our friends have been waiting for it."
Well, that was true. Dennis thought.
He remembers Jack and Robby telling him before that their wedding had actually been private.
Only Dana and one of Jack's brothers, Andrew, had come as witnesses. They got married as soon as they could, hearing the news on the legalization of gay marriage and marrying each other 5 days later. Taking time off in the disguise of a vacation. Hah. They even got HR fixed before anyone else knew.
As years went by, you couldn't really hide being married, no? So when Dennis first came into the department as a quiet MS4, it was already known that the two attendings were married. What Dennis didn't expect was that he—a freshly graduated medical student with even a newer resident in the PTMC— was going to pull two of them.
It's funny because he never even touched the idea, though he admitted later that he fell in love during his shifts with the two men.
Long story short, the three of them coincidentally got together on the same date of their anniversary. Jack and Robby only remembered their anniversary the night before the day ended, with Dana texting "Happy Anniversary, friends".
Since then, they've had their highs and lows. Sometimes their friends get the aftermath of it. Heck, even Trinity told him jokingly that they should treat their friends once to a dinner or something to thank them for putting up with all their, quote-on-quote, "lovers' quarrels".
So Jack's idea appealed to him. He nodded at Michael, humming in agreement. "Well, they do deserve it, I think we've put them through a lot during our time together." He shrugged, drinking the rest of his beer.
"Oh, don't even get me started on that one, kid." Robby snorted.
"Sooo, yes? We're going to celebrate like an actual wedding?" Jack grinned widely at the two of them.
A "Yeah" and "Yep" were heard simultaneously, before Jack pumped his hand into the air. "Yes!"
Dennis and Robby giggled at his antics; he, being a lighter drinker than the two of them, did make him look very stupid, charmingly so.
So it was settled. They were going to celebrate with their friends.
If you told Dennis Whitaker 3 months ago that he would be planning a celebration with more or less 50 people, he would've laughed at you and not believed you.
But here is Dennis Whitaker now, planning for invitations, food, and venue. It should be easy, right?
No.
He almost regrets that he agreed to celebrate like this despite his partners reassuring him that they can back out of it because they didn't plan or prepare for that much yet. He actually did want this.
He did want to see his partners be celebrated for.
Not in the dark way when one of them dies.
No, absolutely not, he wants them to be celebrated while they're here, alive and breathing.
So Dennis pushes through, while the two older men help with the planning sometimes, everything was still mostly up to Dennis. Due to him having more time on his hands, unlike his attending and chief of the emergency department turned boyfriends.
The thing is, they're not at home right now, pulling a double shift at their age. He snorts at the thought. Right now, he is with Trinity making invitations. Hard copies.
Look, it's not his fault that they were inviting a bunch of Gen X-ers, but Robby and Jack were actually old enough to have friends that probably wouldn't appreciate digital invitations. So he hoped that the trees would forgive him eventually for this.
Trinity was cutting out the front design, while Dennis worked on manually designing the front. He designed these invitations, not regretting the creativity he put into them. After all, he still had his artistic abilities from his teen years and had it as a hobby again after having enough income to support it.
He and Trinity were humming to a song that was playing on her phone.
Trinity's apartment looked like an Art major's room. Paint and paper were scattered all over the couch and floor. It was somewhere between the 30th and 35th that he and Trinity stopped working, since their wrists honestly hurt.
Trinity looked at him, "Fuck man, I hate your geriatric boyfriends. If only they were younger, we would've just sent them digital invitations", she whined.
He ignored the 'geriatric comment' but agreed. "Yeah. Fucking hell." He chuckled before getting up and stretching.
"Should we just order lunch? I think I don't want my hands to work now." Trinity asked before looking for her phone, lost somewhere in the scraps.
"Yeah. That'll be good, I don't think I can handle moving my hands."
Eventually, when Trinity did find her phone, she ordered from their favorite takeout place. It was going to take at least 20 minutes. She informed Dennis before flopping onto the couch. Dennis followed in suit, his own phone in his hands.
It wasn't long before he and Trinity were scrolling through Tiktok showing each other ones they found funny.
It wasn't until halfway through the twenty-minute mark that Trinity audibly gasped.
"Huckleberry! Look, we should do this!" She eagerly faced her phone to Dennis.
Dennis looked over to her phone; there was a video playing, with the caption: "Letting my bridesmaids give my husband spicy polaroids during the reception". It looked like a compilation of the trend; he watched each of the grooms' reactions, each one looking flustered before hiding the photo.
He looked at Trinity, amused and blushing red. "No, Trin, absolutely not. We're not even getting married, it's just a celebration."
"But it'll be fun! I know it's not a wedding, but it might as well be! I promise I'll be the one passing it with my fellow lesbian friends" Trinity grinned wider at him.
"But—" he sighed before looking at Trinity. She was looking at him with a face that said 'you and I both know you want to do it'.
He felt his face getting hotter before saying,
"Fine."
Trinity beamed at him. "Yes! Whoop whoop! Let's go, Huckleberry!" She did a double check on Dennis. It was her way of asking silently if it was really okay, that he could back out if it was just pressure. He looked at her with a small nod and smile. No harm here; he also did want to do it.
It was that moment when there was a knock on the door and someone calling out, "Food delivery!" and they both ran to the door.
It wasn't that much later when they finished eating their lunch. Unhealthy? Maybe. Fulfilling? Absolutely.
"Okay, before we get back to the invitations, we should probably talk about who'll give your polaroids to them," Trinity said as she put away the scraps from this morning.
"Yeah. Probably," he shrugs. He knows it'll be people he trusts and people he's sure about who will not be uncomfortable.
Two months passed, and it was the late afternoon before the designated day, May 19.
Somehow staying true to their plans and wedding-esque celebration, he managed to book a hotel for most of their main guests. Main guests, as in, most of PTMC. It was an out-of-state celebration, okay. Not that far, but just somewhere to meet in the middle for most of Jack and Robby's other friends.
Staying true to the theme, Jack and Robby had their own room, while Dennis had his room with Trinity. Something, something about "getting married" couples should not sleep next to each other before the morning. Right now, though, he was in the bathroom getting ready because he was rudely woken up by an energetic Santos, telling him that he should get ready for the 'photoshoot' that they'll do tonight.
He put some light makeup on. The kind of make-up that'll probably scare him 4 years ago. He had sharp eyeliner, soft blue eyeshadow, and a light gloss on his lips. Along with it was a soft lingerie that Trinity picked out for him. Saying that it will match his eyes.
Honestly? It was a good look. If this were him years ago, he wouldn't agree. He would've probably feel like shit, looking too feminine for his liking. Maybe would've even broken down because there was going to be evidence of this.
It had been 4 years then, he'd done this already for times when he felt like he wanted to get a kick out of his partners. Yes, it was successful.
Anyway, he looks at the mirror for the last time before going out of the bathroom. He sees Trinity by the vanity table provided by the hotel room, polaroid camera in hand.
Trinity whistles in a joking way, "Dang, Huck. You're going to kill them."
He rolled his eyes at the comment. "Whatever, let's get this over with. I want to eat, actually."
She nods before gesturing to his bed. "Let's get this started then."
It took them at least an hour to pick poses, pictures, and find poses on the internet. There were a lot of directions and frustrated noises from his best friend when he didn't get how to pose. By the time they were done, it was around 8, just in time for dinner. They gathered at least 5 photos to give to their partners.
Noticing the time, the dinner buffet was about to start downstairs, so they quickly got ready. Dennis changed into his more casual clothes and removed his makeup. Unfortunately, it was the time when his makeup couldn't be removed with wipes. Eventually, he just said "fuck it" and went to catch up with Trinity, who was already about to go out.
"No makeup remover?" Trinity questioned him as they both walked as fast as they could downstairs, catching an elevator going down.
He was out of breath by the time they reached the elevator. "No, just didn't have the time. Do I look bad?"
"Nah, it's fine, it'll probably be dark in the buffet anyway."
Trinity wasn't wrong. The lighting was warm but not to the point where you couldn't see anything. Just warm. When they got there, Jack and Robby were by the entrance waiting for him.
Trinity patted his shoulder before bolting to Ellis. Now, he was left alone with his partners.
Jack and Robby looked at Dennis. He could feel their eyes spark at the makeup.
"Makeup?" Robby asked as they went onto the buffet.
"Yeah", Dennis whispered as he got his own plate.
"Hmm.." Jack contemplated.
It was silent; the trio was busy getting food and looking for a table.
By the time they got to a table, Dennis and Jack sat together, and Robby sat across from them. It was when they finished their meals that he felt a hand on his thigh.
"Looks good on you, mouse", Jack said quietly to his ear, massaging the area around his thighs. He also felt a shoe teasing up his pant leg. He felt his face flushing. He's also going to pretend to ignore the slight stretch in his pants.
"Not here, please", he pleaded.
Jack and Robby stared at each other, having a whole conversation with their eyes before they stopped their teasing.
"Yeah, okay. One more day, right?" Jack said as he kept his hand steady on Dennis's thigh.
Dennis smiled sheepishly, "Yeah. One more day."
They all agreed that it would probably be best to only have sex once their celebration was done, since they didn't want to traumatize the people staying on the same floor of their hotel room. Besides, the three of them managed to get one more day off, unlike their co-workers, who would have to go back to PTMC and work the night shift.
After all, PTMC could only survive for so long with the substitute staff.
Eventually, the trio got back to their hotel rooms, separating in the hallway where Dennis and Trinity's room is. With a chaste kiss, they all bid goodbye, promising to see each other tomorrow.
Dennis was having a great time. He was by the lake outside the function house. He was buzzing with excitement as he saw his partners. Staying on theme, again, they stayed true to "wedding vows" and ring exchange.
Funny because he never thought he would have a day like this. Who knew that there were going to be two people who would love him enough to dedicate their lives to him? Dennis certainly didn't know.
Next thing he knew, Robby and Jack were beside him. Duke as their unofficial officiant, just somewhat to keep things in order. Duke held out the pillow with rings.
"Say your vows as you put on the ring, take as long as you can." He addressed the trio. Nodding at each other, they all agreed they would follow as planned. Robby first, Jack next, and Dennis last.
"Jack Abbot-Robinavitch and Dennis Whitaker, you two have been the pillars of my life, holding me in more ways than another", Robby began. Dennis rolled his eyes at the last part. Jack chuckled.
"You're the reason why I keep on wanting to wake up in bed with you. You're the reason why I can keep on going even when it's hard. You're the reason why I still choose to stay, and I don't think I'll have it any other way. Thank you for staying with me, especially during the times I would push you away. Thank you for choosing me again and again. I have never been chosen so much in my life." Robby held back his tears, "I vow to you and myself that I will always do the same for you. Choose both of you, even in the hardest of times. I promise to share my fears with you fearlessly. I promise to be your anchor when life's waters get rough. I promise to fight with you even when it's the hardest thing to do. I vow to love you both unconditionally, to choose you every day and pledge to cherish and protect our love for all of me." he sucks in a breath before he slides the two rings to his partners' hands.
Jack nodded, as he also sucked in a breath before he began, "Michael Robinavitch-Abbot and Dennis Whitaker, you're both the reason why I kept on living." he paused. "You're both the reason why I can stand up and look at myself in the mirror. You're always there right beside me, and it makes me feel like I'm a better man than before. You're the reason why I felt whole again. You're the reason why I choose to stand up even with a lesser leg." He chuckled as he paused. A few of the guests also quietly chuckled, "I've never felt so much happiness and love until you came into my life. I promise to do the same for you. To both provide happiness and security in our lives, even if it feels scarce. I promise to fight fair and to never let the sun set without remembering how incredibly lucky I am to be your partner. I promise to always try to be the reason why we'll always stay upright and see ourselves in the mirror, happy and fulfilled. I vow to love you even when the mirror tells us we're older," he finished as he slid the rings into each of his partners' fingers.
Dennis took a deep breath before starting, "Michael and Jack Robinavitch-Abbot, you're the reason why I believe in unconditional love," he sucked in a breath. "You're both evidence that I could be loved and love unconditionally and eternally. You're both evidence of why I believe that love would always be enough for me. Thank you because even when I didn't give you as much as you did for me, you still gave it to me without limit anyway. You've taught me that it would always be enough for us that we have each other, regardless of whatever material thing there is. You've made me feel like I'm irreplaceable, even when I joined this relationship late, already into your marriage. You've made me feel included even in your darkest days, and I don't think I could ever thank you enough for that because I've never felt so loved. I promise to do the same for you. I vow to love you unconditionally, take care of both of you and give you my world and all it entails. I vow to give to you without expecting any return, just as you did for me." Dennis took a deep breath and slid both of the rings into each of his partners' fingers.
As those rings were secured, they all faced their guests and bowed. All Dennis could hear was clapping, and he even heard someone shout, "Kiss!" It was then that he felt two kisses on his cheeks, which he smiled widely at.
Good. Ha! Dennis felt euphoric. He almost forgot about the whole polaroid thing. He didn't, though, he let himself tell Robby and Jack that he'll just talk to his friends a bit before following everyone to the function house. If they found it suspicious? They didn't voice it out.
This was already planned, the said friends were also saying the same to their other friends, that they'll follow behind.
It wasn't long until he, Trinity, Ellis, Samira and Victoria were outside of the function hall but outside of anyone's vision. He pulled out the collection of polaroids from his coat's inside pocket.
"Okay, I'll give this to you, I trust you that you won't drop it or let anyone else but you and them see, alright?" He said firmly, but his voice had a twinge of nervousness.
"Hey, Den, it's okay, alright? We'll take care of these carefully." Samira said as she took one of them.
"Trust us. If we do somehow fuck it up, just kill us, alright?" Ellis assured.
Victoria nodded along with the others' words. "I agree, just kill us if we mess up."
Trinity takes the last one as she slung her arm around him, guiding him and allowing everyone to follow. "Trust, alright, Huck? We'll take care of it. We love you that much."
Dennis chuckled, wiping his small tears. He was grateful for such friends.
He was surprised when Trinity said loudly enough for the group to hear, but not the rest of the guests. "Let's get this party started, girls!" She grinned at him and the group.
Everyone inside the function hall was seated. All of them are enjoying the short afternoon snack break. The tables were arranged in a way that there was a wide space in the middle for the dance floor later. For now, they all got their per-table picture, something, something souvenir. Dennis didn't get it; Jack and Michael were the ones responsible for most of this part, so he shrugged and followed along with it.
As he and the two men made their way to the table with their PTMC family, they finished the table-by-table photos. He, Michael, and Jack sat beside each other, with Jack on the edge and Trinity to his left. That's when Victoria smiled at him discreetly, signaling that she'll give one of the polaroids sometime right now or later. He shrugged and sipped his juice.
And so the game begins.
Victoria Javadi was glad to be one of the friends that Dennis Whitaker trusted. When they all gathered to plan this, she felt giddy. She never felt like she belonged more than now. She had friends whom she could trust and rely on.
She was shocked to be one of those people who would actually hand something to her former bosses, something so intimate, but Dennis assured her that they won't be weirded out. The attendings seemed to "think of them much more as family and friends more than colleagues anyway", quote-on-quote by Dennis. He was good at reassuring, so by the time it came, all of them felt excited to execute the plan.
So she knew that she would attack when they all sat down. She made a signal to Dennis to let him know she'll be handing it over sometime right now. Now, as Jack stood up, announcing he'll just go to the bathroom, she saw her opportunity. She stood up discreetly enough for anyone not to notice.
She waited outside the hall that led to the bathrooms. As she saw Robby, she held her hand out, before she patted the man's chest with the polaroid.
"Dennis wanted to give this to you, Abbot." She said firmly.
He looked surprised at the action and the words before holding the polaroid to his chest as Victoria left.
Jack was dumbfounded, but he felt it. He backed up to a wall, and he cupped the now polaroid in his hands before flicking it to see the image.
Good god. He's lucky. That's all he thought.
He looked around before coughing and hiding the photo in his inside pocket. He headed back to the table, and if anyone noticed that he was a bit red? Nobody said anything.
Now, the night activities began, dancing, drinks, and socialization time.
Everyone was standing up, caught up in all of their circles. Some were composed of Robby's friends interacting with Jack's. Some of them were talking to Dennis, Robby and Jack's mutual friends. Everyone was invited to talk and chat.
Robby is in the middle of socializing with Dana and other senior staff when Trinity passes something to him in an awkward handshake.
Robby feels something familiar...too familiar since his high school and college days were kept in things like these.
A polaroid.
Robby looks at Trinity questioningly, raising one of his eyebrows. Trinity just looks at him expectantly, smirking a bit.
Before he discreetly looks down and sees it. Trinity watched it in real time.
The older man's eyes widened, red immediately rushing to his ears, before he hid the photo in his inside pocket. He looked around as if anyone was looking at him funny.
Trinity chuckles before bowing her head to the other senior staff, raising her glass before skittering away.
Next time it happens, Jack is at a corner of the room. Taking a break from socializing.
Ellis Parker knew when to strike. When Trinity told her that Dennis wanted her to be part of this thing, she was surprised. Sure, she was close with Whitaker, but she wasn't that close. At least that's what she thought until their meeting for this. She liked Whitaker, a witty and competent doctor. She liked how he was the one she talked to during night shifts when Jack wasn't around and did handoffs with. She found him genuine as a friend, so she was grateful for that.
Anyway, now, she walked towards the older man and leaned against the wall beside him. She handed him a polaroid, facing it towards the man. She held it there for a few seconds before she pushed it to the man's chest.
Jack immediately reacted, pupils bigger and looking more evidently flushed than before, with the help of alcohol. He took the photo, taking another look, keeping it close to his chest as he opened it shyly.
He quickly hid it in his suit's inner pocket.
Ellis chuckled before she patted the man's back and leaned away from the wall. "You got a good man, Abbot", she said, leaving the man alone in his corner.
Samira Mohan had the last polaroid. She knows because she'd seen all of her friends already deliver the polaroids to the attendings. Now, said attendings are a bit red.
She huffed, amused at the husbands' reaction, before focusing on Robby, who was now refilling his drink and sat back down on a chair with a very small round table.
She made her way to him as she nursed her drink. She sat on the opposite side of the round table before sliding the polaroid to him.
Robby spotted the polaroid, and he quickly knew what it was immediately. "Jesus Christ", he muttered.
"From Dennis", she said casually, watching him pick it up and immediately standing up when she saw his reaction. She laughed to herself. What a day to see your bosses be flustered and in love.
She made her way to the little circle with Dennis, Victoria, Trinity, Mel and Ellis.
"Mission accomplished." She announced to the group.
Dennis nodded at her words. "Thank you, guys." He smiled at them. He felt grateful for his friends. He loved that he had a group now where he belongs and feels safe enough to do things like this.
Alas, the night went on.
It wasn't until Dennis came out of the bathroom, after drinking too many liquids, that he was cornered by his partners. Immediately, Dennis felt their intense gazes on him.
"Uh, heya?" He squeaks. He didn't even realize Robby was behind him, leaning against the wall, not until he felt hands on his hips.
Jack leaned towards him, too. "Enjoy being naughty, baby?" Now, it clicked. The polaroids. He chuckled.
"Something funny, baby?" Robby questioned.
"No, sir," Dennis said with a coy smile on his lips. He looked at his partners before pushing them off.
Robby and Jack whined simultaneously before they looked at Dennis.
"One more night, right?" Dennis teased them before walking out of the bathroom hall.
Jack and Robby groaned, looking at their third. They both felt it. Fond, annoyed, and aroused at the same time.
It was the next morning when Dennis woke up in his bed, and Trinity was beside him. It was a good night. Good celebration. He had never felt so loved, honestly. He also felt giddy at the thought of teasing his partners.
That's how the morning started.
Now everyone is already going back to Pittsburgh, including them, choosing to stay and spend the night back home.
He was surprised that he wasn't devoured by the car right there and then. Maybe he underestimated Jack and Robby's self-control. Safe to say that wasn't the case when they got home, though.
And if Dennis surprised both of them in their bedroom, holding the final polaroid with his teeth, dressed exactly like the photo? That was their business.