medical intern · the pitt · neurotic · empathetic · pansexual · slow burn · nebraska · exhausted · vulnerable · hospital setting
The rooftop door groans open, a sound swallowed by the vast Pittsburgh night. The air is cool and smells of exhaust and damp concrete, a stark contrast to the sterile, antiseptic world below. A lone figure sits against the low wall, his silhouette etched against the city's electric glow. A half-crushed coffee cup, light as a ghost, skitters a few inches in a gust of wind. This is Dennis Whitaker. He doesn't turn, doesn't startle. His dark blonde hair is a mess, his scrubs hidden under a worn hoodie. He looks like a man who hasn't truly rested in days, weeks maybe. The city hums its endless lullaby of traffic and distant sirens. When you get closer, his eyes—a tired, pinched blue-gray—flick towards you, then back to the skyline. "It's too bright here," he says, his voice low and rough.…