Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Robert knows it's going to be a bad day before he even opens his eyes. He shouldn't be awake yet, the alarm on his phone hasn't gone off. It's the pain that woke Robert.

His back hurts. Not the kind of everyday pain he's used to, the kind he has on good days. This isn't the kind of pain that lets its self be ignored. It's insistent and burning, demanding that Robert acknowledge its existence. Robert feels like someone's grabbed his spine right where it connects to his skull and tried to pull it out of his body through the back of his neck. The pain radiates down into his legs and out into his shoulders. Every nerve in Roberts body screams at him to not move, to not even breath too deeply or everything will get worse.

A low groan leaves Roberts lips entirely against his will. He should be happy that at least his wrists and knees don't hurt more than they usually do, but Robert knows that'll change once he starts moving.

He doesn't want to move, but he has to. On days like these, he used to only move for Beef or end of the world level catastrophes. Once he's got some adrenalin going, Robert can usually function under any amount of discomfort his own body throws at him. But now he has a job too, one he can't just not turn up to.

Robert sits up a little straighter, still unable to get himself to open his eyes. Every bone in his spine and those directly connected to it seems to twist and writhe with the movement, triggering Roberts gag reflex at the sudden wave of nausea.

Barely able to think straight, Robert considers calling in sick. He's never missed a shift yet, as long as this doesn't become a habit he should be fine.

But Z-Team's been showing so much progress lately, and Robert can't risk compromising that. It's not that Robert doesn't trust Blond Blazer or Chase with his team, nor is he big headed enough to believe their improvements are all thanks to his involvement, but Robert knows them after working with them for months, knows how they function and how to handle possible issues.

It's also only been a few days since Flambae showed up at work again since he was “sick” after Robert came clean about being Mecha Man. They haven't talked about it, Flambae never directly reacting to anything Robert says to him over comms, but the last thing Robert wants his team to think is that he'll stop showing up to work if any of them have an issue with him. That'll undermine the trust he's built with them and likely lower their still rather low opinion of him further.

None of those things make getting up any easier.

Robert isn't sure how much time has passed when his alarm goes off. Even that doesn't get him going immediately, at least not until the repetitive ringing noise grates on his nerves bad enough to make him want to scream.

Not letting himself think too much about it, Robert pushes himself upright using the unstable lawn chair. It's only his years of practice with this that keep Robert from collapsing or throwing up as his vision whites out for a moment.

“Fuck,” Robert groans, grabbing at the lawn chair's armrest hard enough to make his knuckles crack. The longer he lingers, the less he'll want to keep moving, Robert knows that. He still has to wait for the pain to quiet down at least a little, at least until he's certain he won't pass out. If Robert falls now, there's no way he's getting back up again.

His alarm keeps going, keeps driving Robert crazy, but he can't get himself to do anything about it just yet. Either the noise or Robert woke Beef up, who's at Roberts feet, wagging his tail furiously and likely wondering why he hasn't been pet yet. Robert gives the dog an apologetic look. He can't imagine living without Beef, but it never feels good when Beef has to suffer thanks to Robert's failings.

Whilst Robert puts off dealing with everything just yet, leaning on the chair in a way that keeps his back as steady as possible, Robert plans ahead. First, he needs pain meds, or nothing will get done. They won't help a lot in the long run, not when Robert's body is acting up as it is, but it's not like he has other options. Showering will have to be skipped for now. As nice as the thought of hot water is, standing still is so much worse than walking and Robert isn't confident he won't just give in to the warmth and collapse on the shower floor. Get dressed, get his phone off the floor, feed Beef, get to work; he can manage that.

Pushing any thought of hesitation out of his mind, Robert strides towards the bathroom quickly and confidently. That does end with him throwing up bile into the sink as he clutches at the porcelain like his life depends on it, but he stays upright.

Robert lets the tap run to clean the sink. He's learnt to keep any pain medication at a height that doesn't require him to lift his arms too far. After swallowing the pills dry, Robert even finds it within himself to brush his teeth. Not to lean down to rinse his mouth though, so he will have to live with the intense flavour of mint in his mouth for the foreseeable future.

Walking back into the main room of his apartment goes a little better. At least Robert doesn't throw up again. Getting dressed is a different matter. He has little trouble with his SDN shirt, even if he leaves it unbuttoned a little lower than he usually would. The pants are more of of a problem, but Robert's come up with a system for that too. It involves pressing his back up against the wall and a lot of fumbling until he has his legs in the pants.

There's no way in hell Robert can bend down to grab his phone of the floor, so he kick it towards the kitchen counter. Beef is delighted by the device skidding across the floor, chasing after it to sniff it only to lose interest quickly. By grabbing the edge of the kitchen counter, Robert can crouch without bending his back. He sighs once the irritating sound of his alarm is finally off, placing the device securely in his pocket.

Whilst Robert is already crouching, he takes a moment to pet Beef. For efficiencies sake, Robert clips the leash on his collar too. Thankfully Beef has no issues with having it on longer than normal.

Leash in hand, Robert slowly pulls himself back into a standing position. The action is accompanied with quite a bit of colourful swearing, flashes of white hot pain racing along Roberts back. It takes a moment for him to get moving again.

Robert had the foresight to keep Beef's food somewhere easy to reach too. What's less easy to reach is his bowl. Aiming at the metal dish as best he can, Robert tips Beef's breakfast into it from a good meeter away. Kibble is sent flying all over the floor.

“Shit,” Robert huffs, “sorry, bud.” Beef shows no distaste for having to eat off the floor, happily going after the pieces of food. A knot still forms in Roberts stomach at the sight. No good dog owner would screw up feeding their pet this badly.

Getting to the office is bad, of course it is, but the painkillers kick in at some point, dousing the burn somewhat. Roberts still beyond thankful for the elevator in the building. Usually he'd pick Beef up for the ride up, worried someone will step on him. Despite the small size of him, everyone's very cautious of Beef, which makes Roberts life a little easier.

Somehow, Robert isn't late when he sinks into his office chair. It's unfair how much more comfortable it is than the lawn chair he sleeps in, though the slight bit of more cushioning does little for the pain wracking his body.

"You look like shit, kid." Chase's voice startles Robert, making him turn in his direction a little too fast. He only just manages to bite back the noise threatening to leave his mouth, even if he still grimaces.

"Thank you for that observation," Robert sighs. Turning to his computer, Robert tries his best not to think too hard about the way Chase's eyebrows draw together as he leans over the partition wall between them.

"Rough night?" He asks.

Robert hums in response. "You can call it that." He catches Chase shake his head in the corner of his field of view.

Chase mutters something about Roberts apartment that Robert doesn't feel like commenting on. "Stay there, I'm getting you coffee and a snack." Robert would try and protest if he had the energy to do so.

Taking a moment to coo over Beef, Chase heads off to the break room with the determination of a man on a vital mission. It makes Roberts skin crawl, knowing he likely couldn't get himself coffee from the break room. He thanks Chase quietly when he places a pack of Twinkie's and a cup of coffee on Roberts desk. Robert hopes Chase doesn't know just how big of a favour he did Robert.

Eating and drinking something does make Robert feel a little more like a person rather than a walking bundle of raw nerves.

Considering how badly the day had started, the first shift could have gone a lot worse. Visi immediately jokes about Robert being hungover when he greets the team, others quickly hopping on the line to join. Robert makes no move to defend himself, them believing he'd drunk heavily the previous day being better than them knowing he's barely holding on to a thread thanks to his own weakness.

"Could have told us you were going out," Malevola says on the group line. "We'd have went with you."

"I'll keep that in mind," Robert answers a little too quickly. That'll likely be classified as part of his supposed hangover.

Robert does slip up a couple times on shift, trying to send someone that's already busy after job or giving out directions too slowly. He also doesn't listen to most of the chatter on the line, even if he finds the sound of Z-Team talking surprisingly comforting.

The pain can't be ignored like it can on good days, but it becomes a whole lot less present as Robert does his job. That keeps him from falling apart as he works, but turns out to be a double edged sword by the time their lunch break rolls around.

Robert had been so focused, he didn't notice just how bad his body's gotten. Every joint seems to have locked up, burning spreading from his spine having devolved further, becoming sharper, like heavily caustic chemicals are being injected directly into his bone marrow. The nausea is back too, worse than in the morning, watery saliva already collecting in his mouth.

It's a certainty that he's going to be sick and Robert refuses to do so in a crowded office.

He's up before he really registers what's happening, moving towards the bathroom quickly. Unable to focus on anything but not throwing up or passing out on his way there, Robert barely notices the people he bumps into on the way. The next thing he's aware of are his knees slamming into the tiled floor, just managing to lean across the toilet bowl before the contents of his stomach are violently expelled.

The impact with the floor has involuntary tears spilling across his face as he heaves. The burning in his throat barely registers in the face of the waves of agony washing over Robert continuously. He can't do anything, can't think or breath or keep his body from shaking like a fucking leaf.

Seconds or hours could have passed by the time Robert can see straight again, regretting every choice that lead him to this moment, from getting up in the morning to surviving the explosion that broke his body into the patchwork of pain it is today.

Robert gets the distant feeling that he should be disgusted, kneeling on the floor of a public bathroom, face rested on the rim of the toilet. He really can't find the strength to feel anything but exhaustion and pain, nor can he find it in himself to care.

Maybe he'll just stay here forever, Robert thinks. He can't imagine trying to get up or managing it though second shift, even if all he has to do is sit there. That disgusts Robert more than where he's currently sitting. He didn't used to be this weak.

Even before the explosion that put him in a four month coma Roberts body had issues. He can't remember when the pain started, nor what a time before it felt like. But when Robert was still actively Mecha Man, he could force himself to function. Even on the worst of days, Robert could get himself up and in the suit if he was needed.

But now, he's too weak to even sit at a desk and click buttons.

Voices startle Robert. Of course he wouldn't be alone in here forever, it's a public bathroom. He hadn't really thought of that when the nausea forced him to abruptly leave his desk. Then again, Robert hadn't really thought of anything at the time.

Pushing himself upright with grit teeth, Robert glances in the direction of the open cubicle door. If he gets that closed quickly, no one will see him. He can keep quiet until he's alone again, unbothered by co-workers. Then he can consider what he'll do next.

Robert turns abruptly, jarring every bone and muscle in his scarred body, almost blacking out in the process. He gets one leg up, sole of his shoe pressed against the tiled floor. All Robert has to do is use it to push himself up off the floor, then he can grab the cubicle door and swing it shut.

He never even gets to try. A furry, clawed hand slams onto the cubicle wall, accompanied by a familiar laugh.

"Hair of the dog, Bobert," Sonar announces loudly. At least it sounds like his voice should be loud. It seems almost distant as Robert tries to focus his blurry vision on the man standing in front of him. "If you get this fucked up, you gotta keep drinking the next day. Everybody knows that."

Robert doesn't say anything, not yet. He needs to think of something good to say, but his sluggish brain isn't suggesting anything useful. Sonar isn't alone, Punch Up is standing close behind him, looking like he's saying something. Robert can't make it out past the blood rushing in his ears.

Judging by the orange and black blur behind them, Flambae is here too. Robert is in no state to try and navigate the complicated dynamic between the two of them at the moment. If he's lucky though, seeing Robert's pathetic and seemingly extremely hungover might get Flambae to go back to loudly mocking him. At least that would be communication, as opposed to the cold shoulder Flambae's been giving Robert.

He's been quiet for far too long, Robert knows that. He has to say something, then get out of there as quickly as possible. Get up and just keep walking. Robert can fully compose himself once he's back at the desk.

"You going for a communal piss?" Robert asks, not sure if the words leave his mouth. Then he gets up, and immediately pitches forwards, vision going dark.

Chapter Text

All Roberts senses are immediately replaced by pain. Everything hurts, wave after wave of agony crashing into Robert, threatening to drag him under into the unbearable sensation and never let him go.

He hits something, which just makes everything hurt all that much more. Then hands are on him, holding and touching him wrong, his joints screaming in protest. Robert wants to scream too. Maybe he does.

Robert wants it to stop, wants the pain gone. He needs it to stop, doesn't matter how or why, he just needs everything to stop hurting so fucking much. His vision fades in and out, flashes of colour making themselves aware as more hands are on him.

The pain gnaws on every muscle, tendon, bone and joint in Roberts body, nerves rubbed raw by the constant, unending pulse of pain. Roberts insides seem to twist and recoil in response to every throb. It consumes all of Roberts attention, until there's nothing left but the pain.

Yet somehow, it begins to fade slowly, the overwhelming agony lessening little by little. That catches Robert off guard, as much as something can catch him off guard with how out of it he is. Robert collapsed on a bathroom floor. He should feel much, much worse. Instead, a suspiciously comfortable feeling pushes up against the pain.

Did his body finally give up the rest of the way? Robert thought he was intimately familiar with what the edge of death feels like, but this isn't like that. Death always seemed cold to Robert, even when he almost died in a ball of fire hurtling from the sky. He feels strangely warm now. Not hot in a sharp way, like the pain that's been bothering him all day. It's the gentle kind of warmth of a hot shower after a long day or getting in a comfortable bed. The feeling envelopes him, seeming to try and drive away the pain.

It's absolutely not something Robert should be feeling whilst laying on cold, dirty tiles.

Robert doesn't fully register that his eyes had been closed until hands and someone's warm breath on his face make them fling open. The startled yelp that escapes Robert's lips doesn't do anything to remedy the dignity he'd lost over the course of the day.

“Robert! Fucking finally,” Courtney shouts far too loud for how close she is to Robert. Groaning, Robert squints at her. She doesn't immediately let go of Robert's face, squishing his cheeks between her palms. “Don't ever do that again.”

A bunch of voices join Visi's, until someone shushes everyone sharply. Robert doesn't have the time to wonder who the voices belong to. When Visi moves to the side, Robert can quickly make out the break room and the entirety of the Z-Team crowded into the space. His vision may still be swimming, but his team aren't exactly hard to recognize.

Courtney and Malevola are crouched on his left, Chase standing behind them with Beef in his arms. Victor and Colm are crowded close together at Roberts right, Janelle leaning over Punch Up with a hand on his shoulder. Everyone further away is less clear to make out, but Alice's bright blue and pink colours make it clear she's sitting near Roberts feet. Katon and Herm are standing near each other, a little way behind Alice. Golems large form blocks the entire entry way to the break room.

Flambae isn't immediately visible, but even as Robert still struggles to catch up to reality he knows that that makes sense. He's been avoiding Robert for days, why would that suddenly change?

Robert passed out in the bathroom, right? How did he end up here with his team hovering about him with wide-eyed expressions. “What-” How raw and dry his throat feels catches Robert off guard, making him cough, setting off a chain reaction of painful bursts throughout his body.

Malevola holds a cup of water out to him. Robert tries to take it from her, but she doesn't let go. He's still not out of it enough to feel comfortable having someone pour water in his mouth like he's a helpless child, so Robert also holds onto the cup, weakly and over Malevola's hand. It's pathetic, Robert knows that, but it makes him feel a little more in control of the situation. As long as he doesn't think too hard about how Malevola's hand feels against his.

"Thank you," Robert says with as much confidence he can muster, whilst also avoiding looking at all the people staring at him. Why are they all here? Is their dispatcher passing out really that interesting?

Robert drops his arm back to his side only to startle when he notices something he hadn't before. There's something wrapped around his midriff, a pair of arms. Roberts not on the floor of the break room like he's assumed, he's sitting in someone's lap.

"What the fuck." Robert tries to get off the person he's been placed on. This has become such a nightmare.

It only gets worse when the arms just tighten around his chest and the person he's sitting on speaks. "Stop squirming." The words are hissed directly into Roberts ear.

Flambae, it's unmistakably his voice. That's why Robert feels so warm. Robert can feel his face flushing. This is so fucking unprofessional, he shouldn't be sitting in any of his co-workers laps, least of all the guy that hates him.

Robert tries once more to get away from Flambae with even the tiniest shred of his dignity still intact. Every muscle in his body fights against the movement, pain worsening until the nausea is back, vision going dark at the edges. When Flambae adjusts his one hand to lay spread on Roberts chest, almost gently pinning the dispatcher to his chest, Robert can't help but give in. The heat radiating off of Flambae seems to increase a little, warmth seeping deep into Roberts skin. It's unfair how good that feels.

Unable to escape, Robert has to accept being trapped against Flambae, though Robert would love to know how and why he ended up here.

“Chase told us Flambae could help,” Punch Up finally answers Robert.

Glancing over at Chase with a questioning look, Robert tries not to lean his head back too far. He's close enough to Flambae's face as is. Why the hell would Chase have suggested Robert be placed on top of Flambae? And what compelled Z-Team to actually listen to that advice?

"I told them 'bout your back, like you should have told me this morning! Why'd you even come to work, fucker?"

Robert tries to glare at Chase, face not entirely cooperating with him. He's exhausted, and the warmth of the body he's pressed up against only makes fighting against it harder, even with the pain.

Sharing information about the state of his body isn't something Robert likes to do or does often. It's no one's problem but his own, and Mecha Man can neither afford to show weakness nor should he burden anyone else with his problems. Robert only told Chase because of years of trust and not wanting his friend to worry when Robert doesn't look his best.

Chase giving that information out without asking Robert first hurts.

"You just dropped," Sonar says, his snout right up in Roberts face when he turns his head around. "Thought your heart gave out or something, Bob-Bob." The words are said with a laugh that seem to convey that Victor is joking about like always. But the words have an odd edge to them, and Victors expression is still strangely wide-eyed. Robert's not sure what to do with that.

“The heat helps, right?” Flambae asks, sounding almost soft. That really throws Robert. Is this some weird dream after he hit his head when he fell? At the least he has to be reading Flambae's voice wrong. “If not, you can get off me and sit on the floor.” That sounds a lot more like Flambae's usual tone.

Robert considers lying, just to get out of being in such close proximity with a co-worker and so he doesn't need to think about just how nice it feels to be held. But for the first time today, Robert's back feels a little more bearable. Far from good, but better. It's been a long time in general since Robert's felt this warm, and he's not prepared to lose that. “Yeah, thanks.”

Everyone goes weirdly quiet, eyes all trained on Robert. That's starting to make his skin crawl. When he was actively Mecha Man, Robert had to deal with everyone looking at him a lot. He'd always handled that well, even that awful last public appearance he'd made shortly after getting out of the four month coma. This is different though. Z-Team may know him as Mecha Man now, but he'd shown a weakness he'd never have shown when on the job. The only person alive that had seen him like that before is Chase.

“Are you you always hurting?” Malevola expression and tone of voice hold a sincerity that makes it hard for Robert to look at her. Sure, Z-Team don't hate him any more, and Malevola's always been a little more caring than the other reformed villains, but genuine worry? That doesn't feel right, Robert is still just their dispatcher, going for drinks with the team once and telling them the truth about who he is won't just magically make him anything more than that.

“Anything we can do to help?” Golem's deep voice rumbles, a little quieter than usual.

Everyone seems tense as the watch Robert, waiting for his answer. As if how Robert response really matters to them. Robert doesn't know how to deal with that either.

“I'm fi-”

“Bitch, if you say you're fine, I'm strangling you with my bare hands,” Prism cuts him off before the words can leave his mouth. The sharpness of her words is slightly undermined by how carefully her hand rests on Robert's ankle.

“If you pull some shit like that, I'm joining her, fucker,” Chase adds. Instead of thinking about the worry on Chase's face, Robert watches how Beef lays in Chase's arms, tongue hanging from his mouth and blissfully unaware of anything that's happening around him.

Denial apparently won't cut it. Sighing, Robert thinks of the easiest way he can answer Golem's question without making himself out to be even weaker than he already seems. He doesn't even entertain the idea of answering Malevola's question.

“Pills,” Robert eventually answers. He reasons that enough time must have passed for him to safely take more. “Got some in my bag.” The painkillers really aren't the best help on days like these, but in combination with the heat radiating off Flambae, they might actually take the edge off.

“On it,” Courtney exclaims, squeezing herself past Golem a fraction of a second later.

The room goes quiet again as they wait her to return. Flambae shifts under Robert, making Robert acutely aware of the fact that this can't possibly be comfortable for him. Robert may have lost a lot of weight and muscle mass during the coma – very little of which he's regained in the time since then – and he's a little smaller than Flambae, but having a grown man sit on you when you're sitting on the uncomfortable break room floor can't be doing Flambae any favours. Why the fuck he's putting up with this in the first place is beyond Robert.

Flambae's right hand comes to rest higher on Robert's chest, right against his left side. The warmth sinks into Roberts skin at the new connection point, doing wonders for the knotted scar tissue stretched over Robert's ribs. It feels amazing.

It also feels far too intimate, being held like this by a co-worker, especially one that hates Robert. Being a full time hero with a side gig trying to avenge his father's death whilst also constantly being on the verge of financial ruin, Robert hasn't really had a lot of room in his life for intimacy. It's been years since anyone held him like this.

Visi bursting into the room has Robert quickly forcing his unprofessional thoughts to disappear. He's supposed to be the sensible member of this team, not the one making things more inappropriate.

“What the fuck is this?” To punctuate her question, Visi throws the half empty package of pain killers she must have found in Robert's bag at his head. Not being very heavy, the blister pack hits Roberts forehead weakly, falling into his lap. Flambae makes a grab for it, but Robert snatches it away first, mostly out of reflex.

“What I asked for?” Robert responds.

"That's the same over the counter shit I take for small things like headaches and stuff," Visi hisses, narrowing her eyes at Robert. The package of medication crinkles in Roberts hand as he tightens his grip.

"Then you know it works." Robert doesn't look at anyone as he responds, eyes focused on the way his legs have been placed on top of Flambae's. The warmth against the back of his legs makes Robert want to sink into that feeling fully, curl up and be embraced by it and not move for the foreseeable future. Not only is that thought inappropriate, it's also pointless. Second shift starts in less than an hour.

"Human anatomy and medication may not be something I specialize in, but judging by how your small form was writhing under the pain, I'd guess that these pills may not suffice, Robert Robertson." Phenomaman's voice is loud even from across the room.

Coupé hums thoughtfully. "I have seen people tortured that seemed to suffer less than you just did." Robert turns to her slightly, not really wanting to hear more of this likely disgusting story and trying to convey the sentiment with his expression alone. Coupé doesn't catch on. "Not when I tortured someone of course, I always get results."

It's getting harder to keep focused by the minute, but Robert can tell Janelle gets a few odd looks. As little as Robert wants more details on the very long list of crimes Coupé has committed, he's almost hoping she keeps going. That might stop everyone from staring at him so much.

But, as Robert has come to learn early on in his existence, life rarely sees fit to show him mercy.

Prism's the one to bring the conversation right back around to Robert. "Don't you got any of the strong stuff? Or like, muscle-relaxers? Cause this really ain't cutting it."

"I've been telling your skinny ass to see a doctor for fucking weeks," Chase exclaims, gesticulating with one hand, whilst keeping the other arm firmly around the dog in his lap. Each one of those conversations had ended up the same, and Robert still stands with that answer.

"I haven't had time." It's what he said to Chase every time. He's said it so often, Robert's not entirely sure any more if it's the truth or not.

Flambae huffs in amusement. Robert feels the puff of warm air against the side of his neck. "Because you obviously have such a rich social life and so many friends. How could you ever find the time to do anything else?"

Robert wants to glare at Flambae for the snark, but moving still hurts far too much and Robert doesn't want to lose the warmth pressed to his body.

"Maybe yo- your si- like- like my grandma," Waterboy speaks up, voice starting to falter as people turn to him. Coming from anyone else, Robert would assume that's supposed to be a dig at the state of his body. Knowing Herman, it's just him wording what he means unfortunately. Robert can't help the small amused noise he makes.

“Kicking a man when he's down,” Colm says with a laugh, “Hadn't expected that from you, lad.”

“That's cold, Hermy,” Visi cuts in.

“No! I di- didn't mean- it wasn't meant like- like that!” Waterboy's stammered defence is said surprisingly loud compared to his usual tone. If it had been meant as an insult, Robert would have had to congratulate him. Herman doesn't usually take part in the teams ribbing, and comparing Roberts body to that of someone elderly would have been quite a big difference to his usual demeanour. “She- She just- My grandma hates- never wants to- to- I have to for- force her to the- to doctors visits. Maybe Robert is- is like that too.”

“You don't need to force me,” Robert sighs. They don't need to get involved at all. He has everything under control. Robert has been handling this for ages, he's fine. But he knows saying that out loud will just makes it come across as untrue.

“If the threat of death or grave bodily harm is the only thing that will get you to see a doctor, I would be glad to offer my services.” Coupé is already twirling a knife in her hand effortlessly, at a speed Roberts unfocused eyes can barely track.

“No thanks,” Robert declines, sighing again. “I'll figure something out, okay?” He hopes the team has enough common-sense to understand that this is the end of that conversation, hopefully forever.

“Dude, have you tried weed? Or like, different opioids?” Of course Sonar would offer drugs. Robert gives him a look, intending for it to be equal parts annoyed and disappointed. He likely just looks tired. Victor shrugs. “Well if you ever wanna give it a shot, I know a guy.”

“You're trying to quit, remember?” Malevola leans over Robert to point a finger at Sonar, eyes narrowed.

Sonar holds is hands up defensively. “Woah! I'm trying! And just cause my life's got to be lame, doesn't mean Robbie can't have fun.”

“I'm not buying drugs from you 'guy', Victor.”

Flambae interrupts by clicking his tongue in annoyance. “You going to use those pills, or just clutch them to your chest?”

“Shut up.” Robert would roll his eyes if he didn't think that might make the nausea worse. Instead he fumbles with the blister packet, his shaking hands fighting against him fiercely. As Robert had predicted, his wrists and finger had started hurting throughout the day and having to use them for a skill that required more precision than clicking things on a screen sends searing lines of pain along every bone. Thankfully, Robert frees a pill from the packaging before anyone can intervene. Before being offered water, Robert swallows the painkiller dry.

“Happy?”

“Over the fucking moon, Mecha Bitch.”

Robert becomes aware of the fact that he's slipped away from sitting fully upright, leaving him feeling uncomfortably vulnerable. This whole thing is awkward enough without Robert hanging in Flambae's grip like a wet rag. Trying not to lean on Flambae too much, Robert pushes himself back until he's sitting straighter.

He almost regrets doing so when moving leaves him feeling like white-hot needles are being forced into his spine, then promptly violently jostled. Robert only lets on to the pain though a sharp intake of breath and likely a shift in facial expression. It's still enough for Flambae to immediately hold Robert a little tighter, trailing his fingers across Robert's ribs like he's trying to sooth him. The whole thing is very confusing.

“Can I try something?” Malevola's voice is close, seemingly right next to Robert's face. He can't bring himself to move even just his head this shortly after another fresh wave of pain hit him. Glancing over at her with just his eyes, Robert makes a noise he hopes comes out as affirmative.

Malevola places her hand on the top of Roberts head, lightly playing with the strands of hair between her fingers. This day has already become weird enough, so Robert decides that this might as well happen too. If Malevola wants to mess around with his hair, she can do what she wants. He's so far beyond caring, he doubts there's a lot Z-Team could do that would get him to genuinely protest. Chase is here, if things get too weird or deadly, he'll step in.

A rush of something hot goes through Robert's body. It's not warm like Flambae, this is different. It tingles, almost a little like parts of his body have fallen asleep due to lack of blood flow. The sensation moves along his skin, almost like it's searching for something. It's not entirely unpleasant, even if it feels rather strange. When Robert looks over at Malevola again, her expression is pinched with concentration. Robert has no idea what she's doing to him, but he doesn't have the energy to protest anyway.

“Shit,” she huffs under her breath, barely audible. “My powers can be a bit unpredictable combined with people without powers anyway, but it's doing fuck all for you, no matter how I try. Sorry, babes.”

Oh. Malevola had been trying to take Roberts pain. He hadn't even considered that she might be doing that. An odd feeling spread in Roberts gut. Perhaps guilt for assuming the worst of his team. But Robert is very familiar with guilt too, and this didn't entirely feel the same way. This feels more positive.

“Thanks for trying,” Robert manages to respond, ignoring the unidentified, vaguely positive feeling.

“Maybe if you didn't live in that shitass apartment, your body wouldn't be such a fucking wreck,” Chase decides to add.

“Nothing wrong with my apartment,” Robert shoots back. It's sparse, sure, but it's not like Robert needs more than he has. He has a roof over his head, heating and water that's usually warm. Besides, he's had stuff going on. He hasn't got time to decorate or make the space more inviting.

“Wait, shit,” Courtney suddenly shouts, turning to face Robert, “Royd made a joke about you not having a bed. Is that true?” Her eyebrows are drawn together and her stance is tense as she stares down at Robert, pointing at him.

“Since when do you talk to Royd?”

“Don't dodge the question, dickhead,” Visi huffs, lips shifting into something close to a snarl. The intensity with which everyone is staring at Robert seems to increase, like they're monitoring every micro-expression that crosses his face.

“Look,” Robert starts, “It's not like I never had a bed.” That quickly proves to be the wrong response as the room erupts in groans of frustration and exclamations of disapproval.

“That's fucked, man,” Bruno announces with the kind of sincerity that almost makes Robert believe that statement. But Robert knows his living situation really isn't as dire as everyone is trying to make it out to be. He will admit that it is a little depressing, but it does the job.

“Can we dial back the drama? I had a mattress until recently! I had to put it outside for reasons you don't need to know, but someone must have taken it or thrown it away. It was just gone after the coma.”

Silence falls across the break room again, but Robert gets the feeling it isn't because he asked the team to be less dramatic. Somehow, Robert's said something wrong again. He's usually better than this. Even Flambae's arms around Robert's chest seem to become tense.

“You were in a coma?” Alice is the one to break the silence. Her voice is oddly subdued.

“I assume you fuckers saw those clips of Mecha Man getting blown out of the sky, right? Well, that landed Robert in a coma for four fucking months.” Robert's glad Chase is willing to take over explaining this. He seems to keep saying the wrong thing. He must have really hit his head. But just as Robert thinks Chase is done and they can hopefully move to a topic that has nothing to do with Robert or his health, the retired hero's voice goes quieter. “Went to visit the little shit a few times. It wasn't pretty.”

Chase never told Robert that he visited. Robert had assumed he wouldn't want to. After all, Robert cut off contact with him all those years ago. Even now he knew Chase held no hard feelings for that, it had never crossed his mind that anyone would have wanted to visit him in hospital.

“Even I know sleeping on the floor after a coma is a shite idea,” Punch Up says, crossing his arms in front of his chest, “and pain doesn't bothers me.”

For a moment, Robert considers fighting his way out of Flambae's grip and removing himself from this conversation physically. Either he manages to escape or passes out in the process. Either way, Robert will get left alone. “I don't sleep on the floor, I have a chair.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Flambae yells, which Robert really wishes he wouldn't do when their heads are this close together. The volume makes Robert flinch, which just makes him wish he could pass out even more. “That's fucking your whole spine up, bitch!”

“Oh, so you're also just stupid,” Prism exclaims. She still has her hand on Robert's leg. Naturally, everyone starts agreeing with her.

“I have been informed that humans experiencing great sadness sometimes engage in an activity called 'self-harm',” Phenomaman feels the need to say. Robert doesn't even want to know where he got that from. “Is this you engaging in this activity, Robert Robertson?”

Before Robert can think of a way to respond to that absolutely insane statement, Chase is involving himself in the conversation again. “How many times have I told you to take better care of yourself?”

Everyone's voices starts to overlap and blend together, making it impossible to make out what's being said. It's all pointless anyway, and not something Robert wants to discuss.

“Can everyone shut the fuck up?” Robert shouts, loud enough to make his ribs ache and make him briefly wonder who else in the office heard that. Definitively Galen. Nothing happens in the office without him knowing. To Robert's surprise, Z-Team actually goes quiet. Even Chase breaks off his rant about Roberts apparent “self-neglect”. Robert sighs, exhaustion tugging at his mind. He's so done with this day. “Second shift starts soon, I'd like a moment of peace before I have to get back to work, please.”

“Are you crazy?” Victor asks. Robert feels like he might be after what's been going on in the break room.

“You're not working like this.” Malevola's voice is gentle, at least not in a way that is completely unfamiliar to Robert. She'd spoken to him in the same way after the bar fight, though he's not entirely sure why she bothers.

“And who's going to be your dispatcher?” Robert knows that most people won't be bending over backwards to get to dispatch his team, even if he's grown to like them. They're an acquired taste, and Robert hasn't generally been known for having good taste. Even if they were popular, Robert wouldn't want to saddle some other poor soul with more work thanks to his weakness.

“No one,” Courtney says like Robert's the idiot for suggesting they need to find someone to replace him. “We're not going to work the second shift either, obviously.”

Robert cant bite back the tired laugh that escapes him. Of course that's what this is about. They're trying to skip work. Robert doubts Phenomaman and Waterboy were in on this, neither does he know why Chase isn't yelling at his team to stop being lazy, but that makes a hell of a lot more sense.

As their dispatcher, and seemingly the only person in this room with common sense, Robert should tell them all off for trying to get out of work for stupid reasons. Do none of these people know how having a job works? But Robert is tired and still being assaulted by bone deep pain, and Flambae's warmth really isn't making getting up seem any more inviting. So Robert gives in.

“Fine. But it's up to you to explain to our boss why she's down ten heroes.”

Robert doesn't wait for anyone's response, trying to get comfortable if he's going to be stuck here for the foreseeable future. He ends up with his face tucked a little too close to Flambae's neck, but moving now would just draw attention to that even more. He just hopes no one can tell the slight shift in colour of his cheeks.

Not long later, something touches Roberts head again a few times, then a weight settles in his lap. Immediately recognizing Beef, Robert lets his hand rest on his dog's back. It's not his responsibility any more, what his team gets up to. At least that's what Robert tells himself. Knowing his luck, it'll likely come back and bite him in the ass later. But for now, Robert's going to keep his eyes shut, ignore the world and let his body sink into the comfortable warmth surrounding him.

Chapter Text

Flambae's not sure why he didn't kill Mecha Man when he spotted that bitch walking to work the first day he came back. He should have. At least in the past, Flambae would have killed him without hesitation.

He technically hasn't ever killed anyone directly, but this is different. Mecha Man didn't just cut his fingers off, put him in prison and then humiliate him at Crypto Night, forcing him to get a tooth replaced. He also lied to Chad, pretended to be some boring dispatcher that was almost tolerable to be around.

Everything points to Chad having to kill Mecha Man, or at the least, make him suffer. He would have killed him if Golem hadn't intervened.

But nothing in life can ever be easy, can it?

As irritating as working for SDN is, Flambae needs this job. Things are finally looking up in his life. He has a job that pays decently and consistently, and supports him being an actual super hero. Chad's also been seeing his sister and her little girl more now he's no longer on the wrong side of the law.

It drives Chad crazy that, technically, none of that would have happened if he hadn't gone to prison. What makes him even angrier is that Mecha Man is most likely both very aware of this and very smug about it.

Then there's also the small issue of Mecha Man also being Robert Robertson. Flambae doesn't like him, of course. At best, he tolerated him. Alice pestering Chad by saying otherwise is just her projecting her own terrible taste in men onto Flambae. But even Flambae can admit that Robert's voice is nice and that he certainly wouldn't be the ugliest man Chad's slept with.

All that is obviously entirely besides the point, because Chad would never entertain the idea of doing anything remotely sexual or romantic with their - admittedly kinda charming in a pathetic, normie way - dispatcher.

Flambae is still left conflicted. Even after a few days of going back to work he hasn't been able to decide what to do to Mecha Man. He's been waiting for inspiration to strike.

Finding him throwing up in a public bathroom wasn't something Flambae expected, but it is exactly the kind of thing that might help him come to a decision. Seeing Robert on his knees after puking his guts out thanks to a hangover does bring Chad some joy. Mecha Man deserves it.

It gets a little too pathetic for Flambae when Victor starts trying to talk with him, so Flambae turns to the mirror to do something infinitive more valuable and check on how his teeth look. Even after a few days, the new tooth looks just as good as the original one. Mecha Man does deserve to be miserable, even just for forcing Flambae to have multiple unnecessary dentist visits. Nobody likes those, and they're fucking expensive.

"You're looking a little pale, lad," Punch Up adds to Sonar's jab at Robert. Flambae scoffs. Since Robert's always pale, that statement is pretty pointless.

Robert mumbles something. The only word Flambae catches is 'piss', so he doubts it was anything worth hearing. Not that most things coming out of Roberts mouth have much worth anyway.

"Huh?" Sonar sounds confused. "Can you repeat that?"

If Flambae held any shred of concern for Robert in his incredibly well toned body, that would strike him as odd. Victor's hearing is impeccable - aside from his tendency to be bothered by high pitched noises of course - so he'd be able to make out what Robert said, even if he spoke quietly. Robert must be really out of it for his speech to be incomprehensible.

Robbie's own damn fault if he gets that drunk in the middle of the week, Chad thinks. He's still going to have to decide what he'll do to get back at Mecha Man, but at least the universe is starting things off for Flambae.

"Shit!" Sonar's exclamation isn't loud enough to surprise Chad, but the almost worried tone to it makes him freeze halfway through neatening his ponytail. He hasn't got the time to wonder why Victor could possibly sound like that before a ragged scream makes Flambae turn around.

That sounded like Robert. Flambae may greatly dislike Robert, but that doesn't mean he hasn't noticed things about him. And the entire time Robert was fighting in the Sardine, giving as good as he got, he never made a sound like that, even when he was taking a lot of blows.

Robert is still in the cubicle, now hanging limp from Sonar's grip. Sonar has one hand wrapped around their dispatcher's elbow, the other grasping the back of Roberts shirt.

"What the fuck?" Victor mutters to himself, his blank eyes blown wide as he looks from Colm to Flambae, then back to Robert. Colm just stares.

Laughing, surprising himself with how strained and weak it comes out, Chad crosses his arms over his chest. "What, did you knock him out or something?"

"No!" Victor shouts, throwing one hand in the air in frustration, letting go of the back of Roberts shirt in the process. A choked noise comes from Robert as he slides onto the ground, Sonar swearing as he tries to pick him back up again. "He just passed out."

"How drunk was he?" Colm asks moving forward like he wants to help, but not actually doing anything. Something twists in Flambae's gut at the sight.

"I think he's having a heart attack." Sonar's voice goes a little higher than it usually does, panic on his face as he starts dragging Robert out of the cubicle. Even barely conscious, Robert clearly isn't a fan. He's groaning in pain and weakly twitching in Sonar's grip. How ineffective Victor is handling this is starting to piss Chad off.

"That's not what a heart attack look like, idiot," Flambae hisses. It's not like Chad has seen a lot of people have heart attacks, but there's no way that's what's happening to Robert. There's no way Mecha Man is dying to a heart attack of all things. If he dies soon, it'll be because Flambae did so, not something stupid like alcohol poisoning or an organ failing.

"Are you a doctor?" Sonar snips back. "No? Then shut up!" Victor keeps dragging Robert, the dispatcher's head limply falling to the side. Sonar braces a hand against Robert's back, which gets a violent reaction from him. He screams again, struggling weakly against Victors touch.

"Don't think you're doing that right," Punch Up says, grabbing Roberts head to hold it upright. His eyes are half open, wet with tears.

Flambae's had enough. "Stop that, give him to me." Despite his mixed opinions of Mecha Man, Flambae will hardly just stand there and watch their dispatcher have some kind of fit or something.

Not waiting for an answer from the other two, Chad shoos Sonar away and flips Robert on his back. Flambae would throw Robert over his shoulder, but there's no saying what that idiot did to his internal organs, so Flambae is forced to be careful and hold him bridal style. Hooking one arm under Roberts legs, the other under his back, Flambae stands up.

Robert is definitively lighter than Chad expected, not that he's ever thought of carrying Robert like this of course. Especially not now that Flambae knows he's Mecha Man. Still writhing in Flambae's arms, Robert doesn't make it very easy to carry him. Lucky for him, Flambae is very strong.

With Victor and Colm trailing after him, Chad strides out of the bathroom. Maybe he should be running. If Robert might be dying, even if Chad doubts that is the case, moving fast could save his life. But every step jostles the man in his arms, Roberts face twisting in agony, often accompanied by pained noises.

It bothers Flambae. Not because it's Robert, that can't be the reason for the ache in Flambae's chest. He hates Mecha Man. This is just affecting Chad because he's not an emotionless asshole. Moving Robert is a ridiculous balancing act between walking fast and not shaking him too hard.

"Where are you going?" Colm shouts.

"Infirmary." Chad felt like that was obvious.

People are staring at them as they pass, the kind of looks that suggest they think the three former villains are at fault for this. Flambae glares back at them, making it clear he's not in the mood to be fucked about with. Sonar takes the lead at some point, making those that don't move fast enough get out of the way.

"We're trying to save a life here, got it?" he snaps at some asshole that just stands and stares. If Sonar hadn't done so, Flambae would have. Likely more violently. Regardless of some of the SDN employees still seeing them as nothing but villains, they still shouldn't be stupid enough to stand in the way where there's clearly an emergency going on.

But Robert being loud attracts a lot of attention, even that of other Z-Team members. Alice halfway jogs her way towards Flambae when she spots them. "Oh shit, you actually did something to him. You told me you hadn't decided!" Despite having told Flambae that she'll support most anything he'd do to Robert as revenge, Alice's eyes are wide behind her shades, focused mostly on Robert. Even her tone is accusatory, almost a little worried.

"Fuck off," Flambae snaps, "I did nothing to him." Alice should know Flambae well enough to know he'd run something like this past her first.

“We found him throwin' up and blamed it on him waking up still drunk,” Punch Up jumps in to clarify, eyes seeming to constantly drift back to Robert. “Then he just fell over.”

“He's probably dying,” Victor exclaims, grabbing Alice by the shoulders and shaking her. Flambae would roll his eyes at Sonar's dramatics, if that wouldn't be a waste of time. If everyone just lets Flambae do his job he could get Robert to the infirmary and prove that he isn't dying.

“Robert Robertson is dying?” Phenomaman's booming voice right behind him makes Flambae jump. Half the floor must have heard that. Before Flambae can tell the big idiot to shut up, a large hand starts petting Roberts hair. “Humans are so fragile, it's unfair. I like Robert, I do not wish to see him die.”

Phenomaman looks like he's about to burst into tears, which is the last thing Flambae needs now. It's awkward enough when when Katon is crying in the locker room, Chad can't deal with this when he's focused on getting Robert help.

“He isn't dying!” The urge to let his powers flare up burns insistently in Flambae's chest, but the man in his arms keeps him from doing so.

Robert picks that moment to cry out in pain and writhe in Chad's arms, because even whilst barely conscious he has to make Flambae's life harder. It also makes the ache in Flambae's chest worsen. What if Robert really is dying? And why does Flambae care about that?

More people are gathering, Flambae's pace being slowed to a crawl. The rest of the Z-Team are among the crowd, pushing past people, asking questions. Chad barely listens to them. How is he, the one that hates Mecha Man, the only person focused on getting Robert to the infirmary? It's pissing Chad off.

Before Flambae can snap at everyone, another voice is raised above the chaos. "What the fuck is going on here?" He may be small, old and frail, but Chase shoves his way past the crowd, coming to a standstill near Flambae with his hands on his hips. "What did you fuckers do?"

The words are threatening, laced with accusation as the old man stares at Robert, then the individual members of Z-Team. It's no secret that he hates them, likely because they used to be villains, but Flambae has no idea what Chase's deal is with Robert. He's weirdly protective of Robert, far too much for them to just be co-workers. Chad thinks he heard that they're old friends, but that doesn't tell him much.

"Was it you?" Chase points a finger at Invisigal, who's currently got her hand on Robert's knee as she looks him over. It's obvious to everyone that she's got a thing for the boring dispatcher, so Flambae doesn't know why she would try and kill Robert, but he's just happy not to be the one being accused.

"No!" Courtney shouts, holding her hands up and glaring at Chase.

"Robert is dying," Phenomaman adds. Flambae kicks him in the shin to try and get him to shut up, briefly forgetting that the man's skin is as tough as a brick wall. Phenomaman likely barely feels the kick.

"Nobody is dying! He passed out in the bathroom." Chad is getting really sick of this shit, growing closer to feeling on the verge of actually exploding.

"He drank too much last night," Punch Up continues.

"Bullshit," Chase spits, "he was with me most of the evening." He makes everyone but Flambae back away from Robert. Chad hadn't noticed Coupe approaching, put apparently she'd been looking over his shoulder for a while. Usually, most of Z-Team would argue if Chase gave them an order. For some reason, they just do as told. Flambae gets the annoying feeling that he would too.

The sad look that crosses the old man's face makes Flambae wonder about his ties to Robert again. They've got to be close friends. "Never should have believed the idiot," Chase mutters, then continues louder. "He's not dying. I can clear things up for you dipshits, but not here. Anywhere quieter we can go?"

"Break room," Courtney shouts, already pushing Flambae in the direction. Rather, she tries to do so. Her strength doesn't compare to Flambae's, even if she's stronger than the average, powerless normie.

Chad still feels they should rather go to the infirmary, even if Robert isn't dying, he's clearly in a lot of pain. His gut is telling him to ignore the old man's words, that this is sabotage. But Chase and Robert are close. Chase wouldn't do that to someone he cares about, would he?

Stepping into the break room, Chad is greeted by the sight of another dispatcher setting a lunch box down on the table. Flambae can't remember his name, but he knows the guy was a substitute dispatcher for them one time. He was also fucking annoying, somehow much worse than Robert. Glaring at the man, Flambae tightens his hold on Robert.

“Could you leave? We need privacy.” Chase is surprisingly polite. Flambae's never heard that before. The annoying dispatcher just stares.

“Uhh, I'm eating here,” he replies, challenging look on his face.

“Not any more,” Coupe hisses, wisps of shadow collecting around her hands.

“Pl- Please lea- go,” Waterboy stutters out almost at the same time. That surprises Flambae.

“This is a communal area, it can't be claimed by any group of people.” The dispatcher probably thinks that makes him sound smart, but it doesn't. Flambae may hate Mecha Man, but at least he's an actual hero and an okay dispatcher, not like this guy.

“Fuck off,” Flambae shouts. He doesn't let his powers run free, but he does make the air around him get hotter. The implied threat that if Flambae wasn't holding Robert, things would get very uncomfortable for the man bothering him.

He isn't the only one reacting like that. Between drawn knives, raised fists and shards of light gathered in palms, the useless dispatcher soon gets the message, picking up his sad lunch and taking it elsewhere. He mutters something about letting HR know about this. Golem blocks the door as soon as the man is through it.

Everyone goes uncomfortably quiet. It makes Flambae feel oof. They don't do quiet. But no one says anything as they either stare at Chase or Robert.

“Fuck,” Chase sighs. The silence returns again, even Robert remaining still with his head limply on Flambae's shoulder. “This isn't something I should tell you fuckers, nor do I want to have to tell you this, but having you screaming in the halls isn't doing anyone any good.”

Chase freezes in front of Flambae, reaching out to place a hand on Robert's shoulder gently. “Robert's got issues, lots of them. His bones, muscles, joints, they're all fucked up. That's what years of hero work does to you when you don't have that extra durability powers give you.”

Flambae feels like he should want to make a joke about that. This just proves that Robert being powerless really does leave him at a disadvantage. That's exactly the kind of ammunition Chad needs against him.

But even thinking of saying something like that leaves a vile taste in Flambae's mouth.

How did Robert manage to hid this? Flambae had begun to suspect he knew their dispatcher's voice from somewhere and would have connected that to Mecha Man sooner or later, but Robert never once seemed like he was in pain. Mecha man is just a guy in a suit anyway, he shouldn't be getting injured in the first place.

Flambae has to clench his jaw to keep himself from grinding his teeth. He may have briefly wondered why Robert was so fine after being thrown about in that bar fight, but Chad never would have pinned that on Robert having a high pain tolerance. Memories of the gym come back to Flambae too, Robert trying to lift far too much. Doing that with joint issues proves that Robert is even dumber than Flambae thought he was. He's going to have to be even more certain about matching Robert's gym times. Less to show off how much better he is than Robert now though, more to make sure Robert doesn't kill himself by accident.

Something annoyingly adjacent to worry blooms in Flambae's chest.

“Can we do anything for him?” Visi is the first to dare to say anything.

“Not much you can do when he's not awake. Stupid fuck hasn't told me much more 'bout his problems than I've told you.” There's a hint of bitter amusement in Chase's voice. “The hothead's not a bad pick to carry him though. Heat helps a little, apparently.”

Flambae huffs. Of course he's the one with powers that can help the guy he hates. Fucking typical. “Fine!” Flambae exclaims. “He likes it hot? Then I'll give him hot!” Keeping a firm grip on Robert, Chad Walks to the nearest wall and sits on the floor, doing so slightly too fast and making his tail-bone ache. Not letting on to that, Chad moves Robert to sit on top of him, legs stretched out over Flambaes. He keeps Robert from slipping by wrapping his arms around his chest. Letting his body heat up a little more, Flambae leans on the wall. “There.”

“Don't you wanna sit somewhere more comfortable?” Prism asks, a laugh barely contained.

Fuck. Flambae hadn't thought of that option. The break room floor is going to get uncomfortable fast. But if he gets up now, he's gotta admit his mistake. He'd also have to let go of Robert to get up, and he doesn't want to do that right now. Flambae tells himself that's just because he wants Robert to get better fast, so Flambae can go back to thinking of exacting revenge on him without feeling bad about doing so.

“No, I like it here.” He's just going to sit on the floor with Robert in his lap, like an idiot.

Everyone's staring at Robert again, which is making Flambae uncomfortable because they're also staring at him. He's used to people staring at him of course, he has a flawless body and people notice. This is different though, and it's not fun.

“He shouldn't be that quiet, it's weird,” Invisigal huffs as she points at Robert. “We've got to get him conscious.”

Chapter Text

The conversation they had with Robert before he decided to fall asleep just served to piss Flambae off further. Robert has the audacity to have a speech about trust with the team, then doesn't even trust them with vital information about himself like that he was in a coma a few weeks ago and that he sleeps on a fucking chair.

Flambae frowns, trying to keep from clenching his jaw so hard it gives him a headache. Him and Robert are rivals or something like that, and Flambae hasn't been at work for a few days, so he'd excuse if Robert hadn't opened up about shit like this to him. The disrespect of him not telling the rest of the team though, that drives Chad up the wall.

He's their dispatcher, not some shitty unlicensed hero any more. The Z-Team's success relies on him. How dare Robert risk compromising their success by neglecting himself and making the team worry? He's the best dispatcher they've had, even if he is a bitch and Flambae still needs to get revenge on him for what Mecha Man did.

And of course, on top of all that, Robert had to curl up on Flambae like some weird, scrawny cat and shove his face in Flambae's neck. Robert keeps telling the team off for things that might "get them in trouble" with SDN. Apparently, Flambae and Prism catching up about hook ups on call or Flambae talking about Roberts dick – to make fun of how small it is, obviously – could cause problems if the recordings were listened to for evaluations, but Robert nuzzling Flambae's neck in the break room is totally fine.

Flambae feels his face heat up in what must be rage. The other option would be that Flambae is flustered, and that's impossible. If you're as hot as Chad is, you don't get flustered. Especially not thanks to flat-assed, powerless assholes that cut your fingers off, even if you can feel that guy breathing against your neck in slow, relaxed breaths. That's just a fact.

Robert's being especially unprofessional now most of the Z-Team and Chase have cleared off, leaving the break room open to any SDN employee that decides to wander in.

Chase left to inform Blond Blazer of the situation and that Z-Team won't be able to work the second shift. The old man claimed that Blazer will be sympathetic of Roberts case and that he'll explain that the entire team refuses to work, Flambae obviously only doing so because he's the only one that can help Robert at the moment. Any other situation, he'd do anything to get away from Mecha Man.

Chad doesn't care how Chase plans to convince their boss of this arrangement. None of Z-Team are working, whether they get the okay from Blond Blazer or not. Usually, Chad holds a decent amount of respect for their boss. She's not their boss for nothing, she's one of the best heroes out there. That respect will however be immediately thrown out a window if the Z-Team, and by extension, Flambae, don't agree with her decisions.

Most of the team has left, leaving Alice, Punch Up and Coupe with Flambae and Robert. Alice is sitting at the table with her phone in her hands, glancing over at Chad ever so often. Punch Up hasn't left his place next to them on the floor and Coupe has started lurking about between their group and the door, glaring at anyone not belonging to their team that dares to try and enter the break room. So far, she's deterred any idiots from wandering in. She reminds Chad even more of some freaky bird of prey than she usually does.

The rest of the Z-Team is up to something, Flambae's sure of that, even if he doesn't know where they went. Text messages were exchanged, as well as conspiratory looks. Chad can't keep his phone in his suit – the last time he tried was back when he was a villain and that ended up with the device melting – so he's not got the details, but he can make an educated guess. Their absence likely relates to Robert's shitty apartment. They better make pictures so Flambae can make fun of Robert for his terrible tastes and choices later.

Robert shifts slightly in Flambae's arms, curling up more. Beef lifts his head in response, but Chad patting his head lightly makes the fat dog lay back down. The movement presses Robert's hair into Flambae's face, drawing his attention to it. Knowing Robert, he mistreats his hair just as much as the rest of him, probably using some shitty seven-in-one abomination. His eating habits surely aren't helping his struggling hair either. Chad doesn't need to feel the short strands of hair to know how brittle they are and how split the ends must be.

He still reaches up to run his fingers through Robert's hair, just to check. It doesn't feel as bad as Chad expected, but its colour is dull and it would be so much softer if Robert used actual conditioner.

A delighted laugh from Prism startles Flambae from his thoughts, making him look up. She's got her phone pointed at them. "Oh you two are just precious." She's typing something on her phone.

Flambae glares at her. "You better not do anything with that picture." Then, somewhat desperately, Flabae adds: "This is not what you think it is." It really isn't. Why would Chad ever want to run his hands through their dispatcher's hair? Robert isn't even his type.

Technically, Flambae doesn't have a "type". Why should he limit himself to one group of men? Chad's spectrum of attraction has always been broad. But if he had a type, Robert most definitively wouldn't fall into that category. Flambae has standards.

"Bitch please, we all know you're sweet on him," Alice huffs. A snorted laugh comes from Punch Up in response.

"You're not exactly subtle 'bout it," Colm ribs, making Flambae's blood feel like it's boiling. Are they both stupid?

"You're gaze lingers on Robert longer than is normal, you insist on bringing up your dating prowess to him, you smile when he compliments you after a mission," Coupe starts listing down, her tone neutral, yet indicating that she's going to keep going.

"Okay, okay, shut up!" Chad hisses as loud as he dares, not wanting to wake Robert. All of that is coincidence, but saying so will make it sound like a lie or denial, and Flambae is neither a liar nor in denial.

"I have more," Janelle says, the tiniest whisper of a smile on her lips.

Chad keeps glaring at her. "No, you don't." Implying that Flambae's interested in Robert is rich coming from Coupe anyway. He knows her and Punch Up have been strategizing on how to drag Robert along on one of their dates. If Flambae were pettier than he is, he'd bring that up. Not that either Janelle or Colm would care, knowing them. They're shameless.

"You were pretty eager to have Rob in your lap," Colm comments, patting Flambae's shoulder. Chad's tempted to burn the building down, just for old times sake.

"Do you think I'm enjoying this?" Chad snaps, not waiting for any of the others to make some stupid comment before continuing. "Do you think I like sitting on the floor getting squished by the man I hate? My ass is going numb!"

That isn't really Roberts fault, as he's not nearly as heavy as he should be, and has more to do with the fact that Flambae is sitting on the floor. Still, if Robert weren't such an idiot and could look after himself right, Chad wouldn't be here in the first place.

Robert moves again, likely in response to the raised voices. Chad braces a hand against his chest, willing Robert to keep sleeping. The last thing this conversation needs is Robert being added to it.

"Well, if you hate this so much, I'd happily have Roberto in my lap," Prism laughs. "My thighs are nicer than yours anyway."

"You wish," Flambae scoffs. "I have the best ass and thighs in this entire building. Besides, you're not warm enough to hold Bob Bob. It's just logical that I have to hold him, even if I hate it."

To prove his point, Flambae adjusts his hold on Robert and his dog, letting the air around them warm up. Punch Up at the least can feel it. That's when Flambae notices his hand is still in Robert's hair, making his face heat up again. For a moment, the flames in his chest flicker, begging to burst free, but Chad quickly slams the lid shut on that before he can burn Robert. He slowly retracts his hand, wrapping it back around Robert's chest. Mecha Man always seemed powerful, almost larger than life, but Robert feels oddly small in Flambae's grip.

A soft sigh comes from Robert in response, barely audible if Flambae wasn't holding him so close. It makes a warm, squeezing sensation wrap around Flambae's heart, a sensation he'd rather not think too hard about.

“Poor lad,” Colm says, taking one of Roberts limp hands into his own. The size difference between the two limbs as Punch Up strokes his thumb across Robert's knuckles is absolutely ridiculous. If Chad weren't focused on keeping what ever is going on with his emotions inside, he might have laughed at that. “You think getting punched in the dick made his back worse? I didn't mean to hit him, swear.” Coupe nods along with that, like she's had a similar conversation to this before.

Usually Flambae might have laughed at that too, most likely made fun of Robert for getting caught by Punch Up's signature move. But doing so felt weird with Robert passed out in his lap and Colm sounding genuinely concerned. Chad had thought of the bar fight, but not about how much worse it might have made Roberts issues.

“Can't have made it better,” Flambae huffs. Someone else might have assured Punch Up, told him he absolutely shouldn't fault himself. But Flambae isn't someone that'll lie to make people feel better. The truth is always better, even if it's uncomfortable. Getting punched in the dick makes most things worse anyway, even just dignity wise.

“Shit,” Alice gasps, letting her phone drop to the table, “should we have took him to a hospital?”

Fuck. Flambae hadn't thought of that either. He was mildly distracted by the rage that consumed him by the end of the night, but he should have thought of it earlier. Robert's a normie, even if he's Mecha Man. His body is weaker, slower to heal, more fragile. He could have died in his sleep that night for all they know, from internal bleeding or some shit. Flambae shoves the nauseous feeling that threatens to overcome him into the same box he pushed the warm feeling from earlier.

“I have no clue,” Punch Up says, squeezing Roberts hand a little tighter.

“You don't feel pain anyway, what would you know about when you take someone to the hospital?” Chad scowls, annoyance bubbling up inside of him. How had none of them thought about the possibility that Robert might be seriously hurt?

Janell hums, eyes glued on the break room door. “He feels pain.”

Punch Up nods. “Just doesn't bother me”

Flambae is not getting in an argument about the semantics of if it counts as feeling pain if you can't feel it as a negative thing, so he keeps his mouth shut.

Alice is leaning forwards to look at Robert intently, resting her chin on the back of her hand. “His skinny little ass was being thrown about like crazy.”

“He broke a mirror with his back,” Coupe says.

“Damn,” Alice mutters, frowning.

Flambae just feels angry, nothing else. How come a guy this careless and clearly stupid is Mecha Man? Isn't Mecha Man supposed to be good at this shit? If Robert weren't such a mess, then Flambae could have just went about his day, hating him like the last few days, but no! Of course the idiot's got to have issues and make the whole team worry.

If Robert ever tries to claim he's the most responsible and well adjusted member of Z-Team, then Flambae's throwing him out of a window.

Coupe tensing suddenly, reaching for one of her knives, announces the arrival of someone. When she relaxes a split second later, it tells Flambae that a member of Z-Team has returned.

Phenomaman floats into the break room, hanging his head. He better not be having a Blond Blazer related breakdown right now. None of them have time for that, nor is it a priority.

“Everything ready?” Alice says, getting off her chair so fast she almost knocks it over. Janell stabilizes it by sticking her foot out just in time to knock it back into place.

“No,” Phenomaman sighs heavily.

“What, did something go wrong?” she continues, leaning forward. Flambae's surprised she didn't go with them, Alice isn't one to let others take charge when it comes to anything design related.

“Yes, my gift to Robert has been cruelly rejected as I was rejected by my own people for how hideous I am,” Katon answers, making Chad roll his eyes. He's had enough of the big alien's weird attempt to fish for compliments. It's blatantly obvious how good looking Phenomaman is, no one can disagree with that. There's no way Phenomaman's own species found him ugly if they look remotely similar to humans. “I have been banned from helping any further.”

“Shite, what you get him?” Colm sounds serious, but there's a small amused quirk to his lips. He's expecting Katon-ur's answer to be something strange. He's likely right, Phenomaman probably got Robert something dumb like a pigeon or a big rock.

“A house plant.” Nobody says anything about Phenomaman's answer. His idea of a house plant is likely extremely toxic or dangerous to Beef. Best to not let him put it in Roberts Flat in the first place.

Without a word, Katon sits down next to Flambae, close enough that their shoulders are pressed together. He pets Roberts hair like he did earlier and Flambae flinches, hit with the urge to elbow Phenomaman away. Almost like, for a second, his mind assumed the large man was a threat.

“Since I am no longer required to assist in the field, I will simply have to remain here and keep you company as Flambae makes love to Robert.”

It takes Chad a second to process what just came out of Phenomaman's mouth.

“What?” Why is everyone insisting that Flambae wants to fuck Robert? Just because he's gay doesn't mean Chad wants to sleep with every man he interacts with. Even if he did, Robert would be so low down on that list. Or, at least he would not be in the top three.

Alice and Colm are laughing, Janell simply having an amused smirk on her face. Even Beef lifts his head, tilting it in a questioning way. If Robert wakes up now, Chad will never live this down. It's humiliating.

“Who taught you to make jokes like that?” Colm asks.

Phenomaman just looks lost. “My apologies, I did not mean to offend.”

“Well you did,” Flambae snips. Katon may be clueless, but even he can't be that confused about human customs.

Staying silent for a moment, Phenomaman looks around the room, than back to Flambae's angered expression. Chad knows from experience that the orange of his eyes must be brighter at the moment, flaring up with his rage.

“If you are opposed to the notion, I'd gladly make love to Robert in your stead.”

Alice snorts. “In the break room? You make love to Roberto in the office a lot?”

Flambae scoffs when Phenomaman seems to be thinking. There's no way someone as clumsy as him pulled Robert when various other members of Z-Team couldn't even get Robert to notice that they're into him. But then Katon keeps talking.

“A few times.”

Chad feels like he's been slapped. No fucking way.

“Really?” Alice sounds just as surprised as Flambae is.

Phenomaman nods. “Yes, once in the locker room and in a storage closet. A few times after I had a bad shift, too. There was one time in the parking lot, though I am unsure if that counts.”

“Damn, y'all nasty,” Alice laughs, sounding very amused. She would be, Flambae knows she likes people that are a little adventurous, and by the sound of it, the relationship isn't closed.

Flambae still can't get his head around the fact that Robert Robertson has slept with Phenomaman, who's all too happy to tell everyone about his weird alien genitals. And apparently, Robert's all for sex to cheer people up. Visi and Sonar will lose their fucking minds if they find out that could have been an option all along. Chad mentally tucks that info away for later, not sure why he's intrigued by that revelation.

“Didn't think Robe was freaky like that,” Colm laughs, exchanging glances with Coupe. Those two are absolutely planing something. Flambae's not attracted to Robert, so obviously he doesn't care, but he gets the feeling what ever those plans are, they're exciting.

“It's not polite to share information like that,” Flambae comments. He shouldn't care, normally doesn't, but if Robert's kept this quiet so far, he likely doesn't want it spread around the office. Chad could use this against Robert, could use this to get revenge. But he won't.

“Since when do you care bout that?” Alice asks, raising an eyebrow. Flambae wishes he had an answer.

“Oh, I was unaware of this. I will have to apologize to Robert when he wakes.” To Phenomaman's credit, he does look very ashamed with himself, hanging his head like a kicked dog.

The break room goes quiet again, Phemonaman pouting, or what ever you'd call what he does, the other three still seeming quietly amused. Beef looks up at Flambae with his big, wet eyes. It feels like the dog is checking that Chad is taking good care of Robert. Flambae doesn't know how to respond to that.

The familiar crackle of one of Malevola's portals breaks the silence a couple minutes later, the portals creator stepping out of the tear in reality with a smile. “All ready to go on my end.”

“Fucking finally,” Flambea exclaims, “I've been stuck holding Mecha Bitch for far too long!”

Robert should have died in the suit, should have upheld the family tradition. Hell, he'd even take still being in the coma. Anything is better than this horrifically awkward situation he's stumbled into.

When he stupidly curled up closer to Flambae, he failed to consider that his team would assume he fell asleep barely a few minutes later. Nobody falls asleep that fast. But of course Robert could count on his team to make that extremely stupid lapse in judgement and put him in this situation.

It was fine until Flambae started stroking Robert's hair. That's when things got awkward and Robert got stuck listening to conversations he should absolutely not be hearing. Pointing out that he was, in fact, still perfectly conscious would only make things worse.

Jokes are made about Flambae's apparent attraction to Robert, which is ridiculous and only used to rile Flambae up. But at the same time, he seems to be being weirdly affectionate as he holds Robert, which is doing all kinds of strange things to Roberts emotions.

Robert tries to distract himself from the conversation by focusing on the warmth at first, but that's not good enough of a distraction. Instead, he drags the pain to the front of his mind and keeps it there, hoping to make it the only thing he can think of. It makes him squirm a bit, but it's not enough. He really is far too comfortable like this, enveloped by Flambae's warm and, admittedly, rather thick arms.

When they start talking about the bar fight the knot in Robert's stomach just gets worse. The team sounds genuinely worried about the fight and the state it left Robert in, which makes no sense. For one, Robert was fine, is fine. And then there's also the question of why they would care. He's better than their other dispatchers, or at least handles the teams unique chaos better, but he's still just the guy that tells them what to do.

But they are trying to be better, learning to be hero's, so it's probably just common decency to worry about someone being injured. If Robert hadn't committed to the hell of pretending to be asleep, he'd make it clear that they don't need to do that, worry about him. He's Mecha Man, and he's been fine on his own for fifteen years. He's never needed anyone to look after him, Robert knows how to handle being injured. Not having powers doesn't make him weak.

Robert shouldn't have given into the comfort of the warm body up against his, that gave his team the wrong idea. But it's too late now, Robert can't get himself to start moving.

Then Phenomaman arrives, naturally picking that moment to start talking about 'making love' to Robert. He should have cleared up that misunderstanding for Katon ages ago, of course it would come bite him in the ass in the long run. Robert can't even clear up the misunderstanding without admitting he's awake.

Give it a few hours and the whole office will likely think Robert's sleeping with Phenomaman. That won't just be awkward, it'll be humiliating too when Katon notices the misunderstanding and makes it very clear that he'd never go for someone like Robert. He's pointed out how small Robert is countless times already, which hasn't been doing anything for Robert's confidence.

When Malevola returns, Robert wants to laugh in relief. This'll be his chance to stop everyone from acting all weird about the weakness he showed. Once Robert gets away from Flambea, it'll be easier to force himself back into his usual mindset and ignore the pain, hopefully in a way that leaves the Z-Team and Chase convinced that it stopped.

Chapter Text

"Come on, Vic," Malevola says, grabbing Victors hand. The way he's staring at Robert curled up in Flambae's lap, eyes wide, is starting to worry Malevola. He looks stressed, and that's exactly the kind of thing that could lead to him relapsing.

Sonar's been trying so hard, so Malevola can't risk it. He resists at first when she starts to drag him away from Robert, but Malevola is stronger.

"Someone's gotta watch Robert," Victor protests. It's odd to hear him not giving Robert a nickname.

"They got him, don't worry." If Malevola's honest with herself, she'd rather stay with Robert too. The way he was fighting in the bar, refusing to go down, made an impression on her. Seeing something actually take him out, leave him dazed and in obvious pain; it's worrying to say the least. But After the shit they heard about his living situation and the fact he's barely been out of a coma for a few weeks needs to be dealt with.

Placing a hand on the back of Sonar's neck, threading her fingers through the thick fur, Malevola leads him through the portal and out into the parking lot. "You good?"

Victor glares at her, but looks a little less out of it. "Fine," he huffs.

"Not gonna do anything stupid?" Malevola doesn't need to clarify for Victor to know what she means.

"I'm not going to do anything stupid because of Bobert." He gives Malevola a pointed look before quickly looking away. He's trying to play his freak-out in the office down, but it isn't very convincing. Mal gives Victors shoulder a reassuring pat.

They didn't discuss out loud who was going to stay in the break room, and who was going out when Visi sent them a text message. Splitting the team just happened naturally. The group that followed through the portal, next to Malevola and Victor, consists of Bruno, Courtney and Herm. Katon-Ur is floating down towards them too, though Mal isn't sure why he didn't use the portal. Phenomaman's certainly a lot weirder when you get to know him than just seeing him in all those SDN ads and the news. Also a lot easier to make fun of than she had thought.

“What's the plan?” Bruno asks, turned towards Courtney. “Have something in mind when you said we're gonna fix this?”

Visi shrugs. “Make his home less depressing and get him a bed or something. Maybe a lamp.” She crosses her arms in front of her chest, eyes flicking around the group. The suggestion is uncharacteristically thoughtful, so Mal assumes that's what's making her a little jumpy.

“I like that plan,” Malevola admits. The circumstances aren't great, but Malevola and Victor had a fantastic time furnishing their shared home. They found all kinds of great places to get things at a reasonable price whiles still matching their styles. And sure, some of their stuff may have technically been stolen, but does it really count if no one catches you? “Where does Robbie live? Best we check it out so we get things that fit what he's got going on.”

Sure Robert doesn't have a bed, but he's bound to have something in his apartment. Malevola does also just want to snoop, but that's beside the point. The good deeds they are doing outweigh the bad, so this counts as being a hero.

Visi pulls a face. “I don't know. Royd was there, but he didn't say.”

“Think this dude'll tell you?” Bruno asks. Malevola isn't sure who they're talking about, but if he's part of SDN, he'd likely disapprove of sharing personal info that could be a violation of privacy. Phenomaman seems to be thinking really hard, though Mal doesn't trust what ever idea he'll come up with.

“Uh, ex- excuse me,” Waterboy stammers, putting his hand up like they're in school or something. Malevola would love to know what his issue is. There's got to be something wrong with him, going by the way he talks and what ever it is should probably be medicated or at least looked at by a therapist. He's shaking like a tiny purse dog in the cold almost constantly, that can't be good for him.

“Don't tell me you know where he lives.” Sonar narrows his eyes at Herm, likely jealous of the idea that Waterboy's advances may have worked better on Robert than his own. Malevola doubts it, even if Robert's always very patient with Herm. Nobody's gotten any closer to getting things on with their Dispatcher.

That also means that their bet has yet to be resolved. Malevola's money is on Flambae, even if he's so deep in denial he might as well be drowning in it. That's also the reason no one told him about the bet. He almost burnt the building down when the team started talking about finding Robert attractive.

The way Flambae's been clinging to Robert after he collapsed is making Malevola hopeful that those 936 dollars and 40 cents will be hers. She'll have to share it with Alice, but it is a big amount of money. Why Katon put 400 dollars in the pot and bet on Herm, saying he's “the most physically attractive option”, isn't really clear to Mal. She can kinda see why he'd go for Herm, but that's still a lot of money. His loss though.

Waterboy hastily shakes his head, holding his hands up defensively. He's shaking a bit, like he often does. “Col- Punch Up sai- told me C- Coupe stal- follows Robert ho- to his f- flat.” He wrings his hands in front of his chest, water dripping from the gloves. “To che- see he get- gets home s- safe.”

“And they call me the pervert,” Courtney scoffs.

That sounds very in character for Coupe, the thought of her trailing in Robert's shadow making Mal huff in amusement. If Robert's into that kind of thing, both Janell and Colm get the money. Nobody was allowed to vote for them selves, but they should have set up a rule to keep Punch up and Coupe from voting for each other. That's basically the same as voting for themselves, since they work so closely together. But somehow, they got away with it.

“I fin- think it's s- sweet,” Herm says, face going deep red. “I- in a sta- stalker-y way.”

Malevola laughs, slapping Waterboy on the back. Her hand comes back wet. “Good to hear you're a freak too.” Herm stammers something about not being a freak under his breath, but Mal ignores it. Being into the idea of being followed home is pretty text book freak behaviour.

With her dry hand, Malevola fishes her phone out of her pocket, texting Janelle. A few seconds later, she gets a text back. Not only does Coupe send her the exact address, including post code and coordinates in latitude and longitude, she also lists what floor Robert lives on, which balcony is his and what roof offers the best vantage point to look into his flat. She also adds that Robert doesn't have curtains. Mal isn't sure those last points were necessary, but they're good to know, she guesses.

Portals make life a hell of a lot easier, but they aren't as easy to use as some people think they are. Malevola's never been in Roberts apartment, so opening a portal there from the SDN parking lot won't work. It'll take a few portals in-between to get there accurately. The last thing Malevola needs is giving one of Roberts neighbours a heart attack. People don't usually respond well to a 6ft 6 woman with horns appearing in their home through a rift from hell.

"Who's this Royd anyway?" Sonar asks. Anyone not as familiar with him as Malevola is might not have caught the way envy ever so slightly tinged his voice.

"He's the guy fixing Robert's mech. Don't ask me what he does, but he's good with machines and science stuff," Visi explains, waving her hands about.

Malevola hasn't interacted with that department of SDN much, if at all, but now she's curious. "Think we'd recognize him?"

"He's hard to miss. Look for the largest guy wearing an SDN shirt." Courtney waves her hand upwards, trying to indicate how tall he'd be. Malevola guesses she likely misses the mark.

"No," Victor exclaims. "Has he got tattoos and long hair?"

Courtney nods.

"We can give up trying to win Robert's heart," Victor sighs with surprising sincerity. For the fact that Sonar jokes about how he's obviously going to blow Roberts mind with the best sex of his life, he's very emotionally invested in winning their dispatcher's affection. But Malevola already knew that. "I've seen Royd before, he's huge, gorgeous and nice. Now you're telling me he's smart too? If he's spending a lot of time with Robert, we can forget it."

"You're huge too, that's literaly half of your power," Mal assures Victor, slinging a hand around his shoulder. "You're good looking too, people dig the fur and you went to Harvard. You're working on being nice too, can't be a hero without being nice!"

Malevola knows the last one is a bit of a stretch, since she's met plenty professional heroes that were huge assholes, but Sonar's better then them. Sometimes Sonar's idea of “nice” could be a little inappropriate and they've been working on it. Mal thinks she's got it in his head by now that telling someone their boobs or ass looks nice and like it'll fit well into his hands doesn't count as being nice. Victor really is trying.

Mal doesn't think Robert's dating anyone, he spends too much time alone to have a partner. But Malevola can't deny that someone fitting Royd's description would be one hell of a catch. They're all hoping Robert's down for polyamory anyway, but if he really is together with Royd, they'll have to rethink things. If the relationship isn't open, they should probably dial back the flirting.

“Do not worry, friend,” Phenomaman butts into the conversation, “If this Royd is huge, he isn't likely to gain Robert Robertson's attention.”

For a moment, Malevola thinks that Phenomaman's implying he knows Robert isn't attracted to big men, but then she remembers the alien's confusion about what counts as attractive to humans. Nobody's been able to get a clear answer out if him about what's considered hot to his species. Half the time the conversation comes up, Phenomaman ends up upset at the fact he himself is apparently hideous.

"Think you got it backwards," Golem rumbles, "tall is a plus."

Phenomaman and Bruno get in a stupid discussion about attraction and gender, which Mal tunes out. She's heard this before and Katon just keeps getting confused.

All conversations die out when the next portal lands them in Roberts home.

It's so much worse than Malevola expected. There's nothing here. Some boxes in a corner, a single lawn chair and dog supplies, as well as a cork board hung on the cracked wall. The whole flat is just a room with two doors, one of which must lead to the bathroom. It's more than depressing. Prison was less depressing than this. The air is stale and a little on the cold side, despite it only being autumn and Torrence not getting crazy cold.

"Damn," Bruno mutters. Herm has a harrowed look on his face as he just kinda stands there whilst Phenomaman mills about, his expression a mix of confusion and curiosity.

"This is dire," Malevola sighs. Surely Robert is getting paid, why is he living like this?

Sonar wanders into the kitchen and starts rummaging through the cupboards and fridge. "Not even any real food." Malevola can spot a couple boxes of frozen food in the freezer and what looks like it could be toast in the fridge. No wonder Robert's so thin.

Visi's stuck staring at the cork board covered in newspaper articles and blurry images. It looks like some kind of murder board, seemingly centred around Shroud, the leader of Red Ring. It's a little sad, that board being one of the only points of colour in Roberts home.

"Enough sight seeing," Malevola announces, "we have work to do."

They made a list of what to prioritize, a bed and blankets obviously being top of the list. Food's up there too, real food, nothing frozen. Maybe some spare clothes and other furniture to brighten the place up.

That had went relatively smoothly, everyone in agreement. The shopping itself however is a completely different story. They found a mall with everything they could need, trying to split up when they can to stop from overcrowding stores.

An argument breaks out about bedding. They hadn't even managed it to the mattress section and Sonar and Visi are going back and forth about what colour they should get for the bedding.

"Why the fuck do you think he's called Mecha Man Blue if that isn't his favourite colour?" Victor shouts, far too loud for something silly as the topic of favourite colours.

"He didn't name himself that," Courtney hisses back. "And anyway, he's not five. He's able to name himself after colours that aren't his favourite."

"How do you explain the fact he always wears blue, then?"

"The SDN shirts are just like that, he didn't pick that. Beef's collar is green, and so is his shitty depressing chair." Malevola agrees with Visi's idea of Roberts preferred colour being green, but her reasoning is a little strange.

"I believe Robert's favourite colour is red," Phenomaman interrupts.

"You're just saying that cause you're wearing mostly red," Malevola laughs, Phenomaman doesn't have a response to that. It's kinda sweet that Katon hopes Robert likes the colour he wears so much of.

They eventually settle on blue, simply because Sonar offered to pay for it.

Things go alright for a while, the team deciding to get two different blankets and a variety of pillows, most functional, some decorative, none matching in colour. Malevola likes the chaos of it, and if Robert doesn't, he can just not use them. Phenomaman contributes the most money to the purchase, seeming a little confused about the numbers. Mal and Sonar seriously need to explain finances to the guy. He's so lost.

Malevola finds a fun lamp that's more of a chandelier than anything else. It absolutely won't fit the vibe of Robert's home, but it will make the place a little more interesting.

“We should get him a big mattress,” Sonar says, “Firm too, that's good for bad backs, right?”

Golem hums in thought. “I feel like soft would be better.” Herm stammers out an agreement to that.

“Pretty sure I've heard the same as Vic,” Mal says. Too soft could be hard to get up off of if you have joint issues. The mental image of Robert getting stuck on his back like an upturned turtle is a little funny, but not anything Mal would ever want to see happening.

Phenomaman's flopped onto one of the displayed mattresses, staring off into space as they discussion gets progressively more heated. The personnel of the store have been side-eying the group more and more often. Malevola has the feeling they're close to getting kicked out.

“This is stupid,” Courtney sighs, getting her phone out and typing. “It says medium-softness is best for back pain.” Visi's been worryingly withdrawn for most of the time since Robert collapsed. She's not someone that deals with vulnerability well, so Mal guesses that's affecting her. It's still strange. Malevola would have expected at least a few jokes about Robert 'getting his back blown out' or comparing him to an old man.

As they bother the staff to help them find something that fits that parameter, Phenomaman goes off about how fascinating human sleeping rituals are. “On Urgot-52dc, we simply float to rest. I require a lot less rest than humans do, too.” Sighing deeply, Katon hangs his head. “It is rather lonely when everyone I know is resting.”

Mal squeezes his stupidly large and firm shoulder in sympathy. They have got to get this guy hobbies that don't rely on other people.

Halfway through buying and receiving the mattress, Sonar shoves the bag he'd been carrying into Malevola's hands. “I just had such a good idea,” he says, a disconcertingly devious look on his face. “Meet you back at Robbie's shithole.” He's off before Malevola can ask him to please not do anything he might regret later.

“Oh he's totally doing something to one up us and get in Roberts good books,” Visi says, shaking her head.

That seems to set something off in Phenomaman, who gasps in realization. “I also have something else I must find for Robert. Like our furry friend, I will be meeting you at Robert Robertson's home.” Nobody's got any hope of catching up with him when he flies off.

“I- I need- I'll be go- going too,” Herm says, going a concerning shade of red before scampering off.

“Oh for fuck's sake! Not you too, Waterboy,” Malevola groans. Now her, Visi and Golem are stuck with most of the shopping on top of the mattress they need to move.

“If you two piss off too, I'm going to lose it,” Courtney huffs. Mal snorts at the thought of Visi trying to move a mattress as well as several large bags on her own.

“You're stuck with me, baby,” Bruno laughs, bumping Visi's shoulder with his arm.

Malevola nods in agreement. “You're too tiny to carry a mattress.” Courtney glares at Malevola, but says nothing, face going a little red.

They absolutely can't get a bed frame if it's just the three of them. Might be best to let Robert pick that anyway. Just the mattress will have to do for now.

Getting everything home is a pain in the ass. The mattress is easily moved though the combined strength of Malevola and Bruno, but the other bags are hard to balance out between the three of them. Hopefully the other three idiots have good reasons for running off like that.

It's still a shock, entering Robert's apartment a second time. A sombre vibe seems permanently settled on the dark room, one they'll hopefully banish through a little bit of redecoration.

Visi takes the cork board off the wall, flipping it so its contents are hidden first. It really does nothing to make the place look less like a serial killer lives there. They drop the mattress in that corner, placing all the bedding on top. Visi starts arranging stuff on the bed as Malevola and Golem mess with the lamp she got. With a little work, they find out how to hook it up, light finally spilling into the room.

Sonar lands on the balcony just as the three of them discuss who should go buy food and what they should get.

Malevola already knows who's going to cook. Flambae always brags about his cooking skills, so he can show them off. She also wants to get him away from Robert for a little while, both for the selfish reason that she wants a turn holding him and because she wants a better look at how he's healing from the fight at the Sardine.

She'd felt the presence of those injuries when she tried to lessen his joint pain, but didn't take the time to focus on them. It's risky, trying to heal someone without powers. It puts a lot of strain on the body, and that's not something Malevola usually wants to risk. She doesn't want to do that to Robert either, but she knows a fair bit about injuries, and checking won't hurt. Did Robert even get himself checked out after the fight? They should have forced him to.

Sonar's sliding the balcony door open, carrying a couple things in his arms with a smug look on his face when the sunlight is suddenly blotted out, making him turn round. Floating in front of the balcony is Phenomaman, carrying an entire tree, roots and all, in his arms with a big grin on his face.

“What the fuck is that?” Victor shouts, voice higher pitched than it normally is.

“A house plant,” Katon announces. “Plants should help improve humans moods and air quality.” Malevola joins the two of them on the balcony.

“That's not a house plant.” Victor's ears twitch as he speaks.

A deeply confused look falls across Phenomaman's face. “Are trees not plants? Has the internet lied to me?”

“Trees are plants, but you can't bring that thing in here.” Malevola sighs, pointing in a random direction in hopes Phenomaman will take that as a sign to leave with the tree. “And we're also going to have a chat about what you can and can't trust online soon. The internet absolutely will lie to you, big guy.”

“Where'd you even get that?” Bruno asks from inside.

“There.” Phenomaman points to the right, perfectly balancing the huge tree in one hand. That direction tells them all absolutely nothing as to where he got it from.

“Just put it back.” Maybe they should do a crash course on human things with Katon, this is getting silly.

Phenomaman looks at her like a kicked puppy. “Is the gift inadequate?”

“It doesn't fucking fit in the apartment,” Sonar sighs.

“Go check on Robert or something, Katon,” Malevola says, “we got this.”

He floats away slowly, thankfully taking the tree with him

Visi and Golem volunteer to go food shopping. In the meantime, Sonar shows Mal what he got. He got Robert an electric heating pad as well as some better knives for his kitchen. Mal doesn't ask why Robert would need those when he clearly barely cooks, but they do look nice. He got a rather odd abstract painting for Robert too, neither of them able to agree what it's supposed to be. Victor thinks it looks like trees and a river, Malevola thinks it's more of a 'monster bird eating a snake' situation.

On top of that, Victor brought a pair of comfortable shorts, sweatpants and a Harvard hoodie. Malevola instantly recognizes the hoodie as having been part of Victors own wardrobe. She gives him a knowing look.

“What? It's soft and warm! He's got like two outfits, Robert needs something comfortable.”

“You just want to see him wearing your clothes,” Mal laughs.

“No, I don't,” Sonar argues, but the blush on his snout tells Malevola otherwise.

A weak knock on the door announces the return of Waterboy. Malevola had started to worry about his absence. He seems the type to get kidnapped, and as much as they like to poke fun at him, nobody's going to let that happen.

Herm looks particularly awkward standing in the door frame, tupperware in one hand, plastic bag in the other. He thrusts the bag in Malevola's direction before hurrying to the kitchen and setting the container of food down. At a glance, Malevola can tell there's some kind of bread in the container as well as what is most likely cake.

“You like to bake?” Victor asks.

Herm nods. “So long- I- if I don't make- I make things wet, so- sometimes messes wi- ruins stuff.” He's looking anywhere but at the two of them. “Made- Baked th- this yesterday, tur- turned out okay- fine. Turned out fine.”

Malevola looks in to the bag Herm handed her, finding a blanket inside. It's made of individual squares in tones of blue, yellow and orange. “Aw, that's so sweet.” Malevola fishes it out of the bag. The blanket's very soft to the touch. “Your gran make this?”

“I d- did.”

“That's cute,” Malevola says, fully sincere. Waterboy isn't exactly suave, but she can see why Phenomaman put his money on him. He's got an odd kinda charm to him. Malevola wonders if he'd made the blanket especially for Robert, the colours are suspiciously Mecha Man themed after all.

If asked, Malevola likely wouldn't have assumed that Herm knits or crochets. Maybe at first she would have, but getting to know him, he seems hugely interested in metal bands and nerdy stuff. But guess that's the skill set you get when you get raised by your grandma.

Malevola places the blanket on the bed. It fits well with the cover on the blankets already on the bed.

They find a place to put up Sonar's painting, after which Visi and Golem soon return. Malevola leaves them to sort things into the kitchen cabinets, portaling back to the SDN break room to get Robert.

It takes only two to get there, now that Malevola knows the way.

The situation is basically the same as they left it, Robert still in Flambae's lap, the rest watching him like he might evaporate if they don't. Alice is at least trying to be slick about it, occasionally pretending to focus on her phone. Everyone turns to Malevola as she returns.

“All ready to go on my end,” she says with a smile.

Fucking finally,” Flambea groans, pulling an annoyed face, “I've been stuck holding Mecha Bitch for far too long!”

Malevola laughs. As if he hasn't at least enjoyed that a little bit. “Don't worry, you can give him to me.” Crouching down in front of the pair, Malevola shakes Roberts shoulder gently. He looks motionless enough to be asleep, though she isn't sure how Robert, who always has the worst eyebags, could be someone that falls asleep fast. The motion wakes Beef, prompting the little dog to hop from Robert's lap and wag his tail as he greets Malevola.

“Wait, you're not hot enough. I should keep carrying him, even if I hate it.” Flambae's words alone make it clear how untrue that statement is, but the rushed way he says they certainly don't help his case. The way his hold on Robert tightens does his whole 'I hate Robert' thing no favours either.

“Don't worry, I'm pretty warm too and I don't mind holding him.” Malevola brushes her fingers through Robert's hair. “Hey, we've got to move.”

Robert looks up at her with the speed of someone who absolutely was not asleep. “I can walk, nobody needs to hold me.” His face is flushed and the words are still somewhat unsteady. There's no way Robert could even stand in his condition.

“Nah, I got you.” Carefully, Malevola scoops Robert out of Flambae's arms. Robert hisses between clenched teeth, immediately grabbing at Malevola's shirt to ground himself. Mal apologizes, keeping Robert as steady as she can as she stands up. It feels wrong, getting any joy out of this visitation, but Malevola can't deny how much she enjoys holding Robert.

Flambae gets up on shaky legs, the limbs likely having fallen asleep thanks to his extended time on the floor. He probably thinks he's subtle about it, but Malevola catches the dirty look he gives her.

Smirking at Flambae, Malevola steps through the portal.

Chapter Text

If Robert's dad could see him now, he'd be immeasurable disappointed with his son. The mech is still broken, the Astral Pulse is gone and now Robert's hanging limply in a co-worker's hands like a sack of sand. He should ask, demand, to be put down, to walk for himself.

Mecha Man doesn't quit. But Robert Robertson apparently does.

At the least, he could try to not cling to Malevola like his live depends on it. Robert feels like the protagonist from one of Coupe's romance novels, swept off his feet by the big, strong love interest after a moment of weakness, carried off somewhere.

Probably to be ravished.

Robert's heart drops, face heating up as soon as that thought worms its way into his mind. What the fuck has gotten into him? It is extremely inappropriate to think about your team like that. Malevola's just trying to help. If this goes any further, Robert's reporting himself to HR.

Z-Team does like to flirt with him from time to time, but that has always been one of the many on going jokes the team has with Robert. It's funny and ironic because he's their boring, powerless dispatcher. He's not sure if they'll continue now they know he's Mecha Man. Robert plays along sometimes, but tries not to do so too much. It's a little pathetic coming from him, sounds a little too much like he's falling for their jokes.

Trying to loosen his grip on Malevola's shirt, Robert hopes she just drops him. Somehow, she does something that's both better and worse; stepping through one of her portals.

Robert's attempts to stop himself from being glued to Malevola end up being entirely useless, but the pain the interdimensional travel causes keeps his mind safely in the areas it's supposed to be. It's always strange to step through one of Malevola's portals, but the usual jarring effect is nothing compared to going through one on a bad pain day.

Every bone seems to be grinding against those next to it, white hot pain stabbing into his joints. It doesn't let Robert think of anything but the agony he's in as he weakly holds onto Malevola. She's warm. Not like Flambae, not enough to really drive the pain away, but keeps him from shivering now he's no longer in close contact with the man.

Probably for the best anyway, giving Flambae a break from having to deal with Mecha Man's pathetic problems. Robert wouldn't be surprised if he wouldn't see Flambae again until next shift. As much as Robert enjoyed the heat, he can't expect a man that rightfully hates him to stick around.

Malevola's hand squeezer Robert's arm, the contact solid but gentle. “Sorry 'bout that babes,” she says, voice hushed and genuine, sounding as warm as her body up against his. “Just two more, and we're done.”

Maybe Robert should feel insulted by how she's treating him, like he's fragile and weak, like he couldn't take care of himself. But Robert's too tired for that, and he knows Malevola's not doing anything malicious. Robert is so pathetic at the moment, he'd be surprised if his team retain any of the respect he's earned from them.

Twice more Robert's gut-punched by the nauseating pain that knocks the air out of his lungs. As much as he needs to know what the Z-Team have been up to, he also wouldn't be opposed to passing out again. Robert doubts he'll get any sleep, so his best bet for a longer break from the pain is loosing consciousness.

Robert doesn't know what he expected when Malevola carries him out of the third portal. Probably not Golem, Visi, Waterboy and Sonar staring at him with wide, almost nervous eyes. They're in Robert's flat, an almost conditioned dread washing over him at the thought of sleeping on that uncomfortable chair hitting him. The four waiting in Robert's meagre home look at him expectantly. It takes him a moment to realize that they're anticipating a reaction.

It's unusually light in the room, that's what Robert realizes first. The exhaustion paired with the consistent pain leave his vision shaky, but Robert can make out that the source of light is a dark green shape in the corner of his flat. That definitively wasn't there last he was here.

Malevola turns, directing Robert's point of view into the opposite corner, where his cork board used to hang. There's something on the floor, a pile of brightly coloured lumps. Robert just has time to think about how it vaguely looks like a rainbow exploded in that corner before Malevola walks closer.

It's a mattress, covered in multiple blankets and various pillows. Oh. Robert doesn't know why that makes his chest hurt so much. He hadn't really thought of what his team might be up to. Robert isn't sure why this surprised him. He heard them get annoyed at his sleeping arrangement. This just feels like too much somehow.

Why did they bother?

Chase is the only person that ever really got Robert anything. People gave things to Mecha Man – fan mail, random gifts of thanks, the occasional drawing from a child. But Robert Robertson the third doesn't get things, after all, he barely even existed for the last 15 years, likely longer if Robert was honest with himself.

Why the Z-Team would go out of their way to organize something like this for him, the man that just orders them about, doesn't make any sense to Robert.

“Do you like it?” Courtney asks, lightly bouncing in place.

“Why?” Robert gets out. “Why do all this?” Visi shrugs.

“We just need you to do your job, man. Can't do it if you barely sleep,” Sonar huffs. That makes sense, Robert guesses, though something about Victors tone bothers him. He's to tired to put his finger on what seems off.

“This place is sad. We don't like seeing you living like that.” Bruno's answer feels so genuine. That's what Robert wanted, right? For the team to trust him. A part of his still wants to back away as quickly as possible at what sounds like it could be something adjacent to concern. Robert lacks the words to answer at all.

“You can give him back now.” The fact that Flambae hasn't left is so surprising, Robert is startled from his thoughts. Why is he still here? Maybe if Robert's thought's didn't feel so sluggish he could make better sense of that fact, but the pain and the bone deep exhaustion leave him at a heavy disadvantage.

Malevola's arms tighten around Robert, holding him close to her chest. “No, it's my turn holding him and I'm not done yet.” Robert laughs weakly at that, because that's got to be a joke. “Besides, you always tell us you're the best at cooking. Now's your chance to prove it.”

Flambae grumbles something about being disrespected under his breath, but he does trudge into the kitchen.

“In the meantime, I'm checking your injuries.” Malevola carries Robert to the mattress, sitting down on the edge. Robert immediately gets out of her lap.

“I'm not hurt, there's nothing to check,” Robert argues. Even sitting on the mattress makes him want to drop backwards and just curl up. The last time he's slept on one must have been the coma. Does being in a coma count as sleep? Robert assumes it does.

“No offence, but we saw your twink ass get beat at the bar. We should have took you to the ER that night,” Prism says. She's close enough so Robert can make out how she's crossed her arms in front of her chest. He doesn't correct Alice for calling him a twink. Robert lost some muscle mass in the coma, but he knows he's not lost that much.

They can't still be on about that, can they? Robert knows his limits, and that fight wasn't anywhere near it. He's not been at his best since the explosion, and it showed in that fight and with how badly Robert was hurting after, but he's clearly fine. How incompetent do they think he is?

“I can take care of myself,” Robert states, managing to push up off the floor and take a step away from Malevola. His legs give out immediately.

A large stone hand catches Robert before he can hit the floor. He's scooped into Bruno's arms so fast, he can't even think to protest. “Careful,” Golem says. He hands Robert back to Malevola with such ease, it leaves Robert a little lost, almost flustered. There's a gentle smile on Bruno's big face.

Robert doesn't try to stand up again, not yet at least. “Fine. This is pointless, but it's your time getting wasted.”

Putting a hand on Robert's, Malevola's powers seem to search his body again. Ignoring the strange feeling, Robert watches Flambae in the kitchen, annoyed expression on his face. He keeps opening and closing cabinets. Robert guesses he isn't pleased with the limited choice of utensils and lack of more than five intact dishes, none matching.

“Lot of bruising, some broken ribs and cuts,” Malevola tells the room. Robert could have told her that from the start but he keeps his mouth shut. “Nothing seems infected, but I want to see.”

Robert knows any protest he raises will be shot down, so he just nods.

Malevola's hands on his chest are warm, even through his shirt. She starts to undo the buttons, something Robert should do for himself. He blames the pain on how slow he is to take over, trying not to think about how careful Malevola is being. Like Robert's someone who's worth being treated carefully.

An involuntary shiver wracks Robert's body as his shirt is slipped off his shoulders, making him tense. The air feels frigid in comparison to the heat Robert had been wrapped in a couple minutes back.

Robert's apartment had been filled with the quiet chatter of the Z-Team just standing about, some having sat down in the meantime. When Robert's shirt comes off, that dies down as all eyes look to him. Even Flambae's leaned over to see past the kitchen counter. Feeling self-conscious about his looks isn't something Robert really does. There's no point. He's Mecha Man, it doesn't matter what he looks like or how scarred his body is. All that matters is that Robert can save lives.

But the way the entire team looks at him almost makes Robert want to shrink in on himself. Everybody's staring and Robert's too tired to fully get a read on their expressions.

“I'm usually into that kinda shit, but that's excessive,” Visi says, far quieter than Robert would expect form her. Robert glances down at himself. His chest and arms are covered in discoloured splotches, centred around his chest where one of Shroud's people repeatedly hit him with her spider-like limbs. Nothing strikes Robert as odd. He'd often be bruised to a similar degree when operating as Mecha Man. This is nothing out of the ordinary.

But the rest of Z-Team has powers, and with those come the ability to heal faster than a powerless human like weak, normie Robert. They must not be used to the sight of lingering bruises.

Robert laughs at the realization, a little too hard, making his ribs sting. In the grand scheme of things, that small ache is nothing compared to the rest of the pain he's in. Robert doesn't even need to brace his ribs against it, it matters so little.

“This is nothing.” Trying to gesture at himself one-handedly, Robert is forced to give up when a sensation akin to having cold rebar stabbed through his shoulder shoots down his arm.

“Doesn't feel or look like nothing to me.” Malevola's voice is soft, like after the bar fight when she kept hovering around Robert. Her tail caresses the side of Robert's leg, coming to rest lightly coiled around his wrist. Robert goes quiet again.

Malevola's hands run along his back, careful around bruises and the healing cuts. Her touch barely hurts, begging Robert to lean into it. He doesn't let himself do that, knowing it would both be unprofessional and disturb Malevola's inspection. “How'd you do that, babes?” she asks with her hand resting on Robert's lower back, sounding both confused and worried. Robert may be reading the tone wrong.

It takes a second for him to remember what might have drawn her attention. There was a particularly deep and stubborn cut on hos lower back. A piece of the mirror got stuck in his skin, and not dealing with it immediately had lead to the shard of glass being hard to remove. Then, the cut refused to stop bleeding. Robert had to stitch it.

“Shit, someone did those stitches for you, right?” Sonar's moved closer, leaning over the two of them. He places his hand on the back of Robert's neck, his fur feeling soft against Robert's skin. His treacherous body wants to lean into that touch too, a request Robert denies once more.

He shakes his head. Nobody seems pleased by that answer.

“It is always important to ask for help if you need it, Robert, especially when it comes to your frail human body.” That's rich coming from Phenomaman, but Robert keeps that thought to himself. Bringing up that Katon's only attempt to ask for help when it comes to his own depressive states is coming to Robert for hugs likely won't help the situation.

“I manage on my own.”

“That's a very hard spot to reach on your own.” Coupe's voice sounds a lot closer than Robert expected, making him flinch. Despite her neutral tone, there's a frown on your face.

“I used a mirror.” It took ages and Robert almost passed out whilst having to stitch himself standing upright in his dimly lit bathroom, but he managed.

His dad may have had access to someone with healing abilities for most of his career, but he knew how important medical knowledge is. Especially for someone powerless. Robert knew how to stitch himself back together almost as good as he knew how to fix the mech when his dad was killed. Fifteen years of duty as Mecha Man only helped further that knowledge through hands on experience.

Malevola pulls a face, but her hands resume moving across Robert's skin. Robert tries to distract himself from that feeling by looking about the room, trying to pick out what his team had done. The bed is the main addition, but there's a strange painting hung up and the lamp. Robert isn't entirely sure what the painting is supposed to be, but the colours do look nice. All the blankets and pillows on the mattress are a little excessive, but Robert can't deny that the thought of sinking into the pile and letting it swallow him is tempting.

They always had money growing up, so it's not like Robert's lacked a bed all his life. This is still unusual for him. Once Robert started training seriously, his dad never got him childish things or unnecessary comforts. His bed was always neatly made, one blanket and one pillow, both in plain white. It's hard to make out individual components of the bed at the moment, but Robert finds himself feeling excited at the idea of trying to figure out who had picked what once he can focus again. If beef weren't busy trying to get every member of the team to pet him, he'd likely have a great time with the large mass of pillows too.

Robert's going to have to think of a way to pay the team back, he doesn't like being in people's debt for too long. He's confident by now that none of them will exploit the situation in an extremely harmful or dangerous ways, but he'd still rather clear that debt fast. Maybe offering to buy drinks, or at least give the team the money to do so, for the next few nights out will do it. Robert isn't sure he'd even still be invited after the disaster of that night at the Sardine.

The team's gone back to talking among themselves, all too far away for Robert to clearly hear them. They're being unusually quiet with their tone, whispering to each other between throwing glances at Robert. Well, everyone but Flambae, who seems to be arguing with Courtney about something in the kitchen. Something about vegetables.

“Did you seriously fuck Phenomaman?” Sonar suddenly blurts out, making Punch up smack his arm.

“You can't just ask that,” Colm says, crossing his arms in front of his chest. He's pointedly not looking at Robert.

Sighing deeply, Robert hunches, accidentally leaning closer to Malevola's side. He knew this shit would come up sooner or later, forcing him to deal with it. It's always something with this team.

“No, I didn't sleep with Phenomaman.” Robert sounds as tired as he feels. He should have just cleared that stupid misunderstanding up for Katon-Ur. The poor guy looks very lost with this conversation, going a little red.

“Robert Robertson would never have intercourse with someone as hideous as me. And I have told you of my alien genitals, haven't I?” He sounds awkward and strangely withdrawn.

Robert really wants to know what kind of strange beauty standards Phenomaman's people have. And, admittedly, he is a little curious about the “alien genital” situation. He's pretty confident that he could handle anything besides teeth. On second thoughts though, Robert could deal with some teeth too, to be honest. How strange can it really be?

Robert cringes. He should not be having thoughts like that, Katon is clearly uncomfortable around the prospect of sex with Robert and they're co-workers.

“You said you made love to Robert!” Flambae yells from the kitchen. “Fucking liar.”

“I did,” Phenomaman responds. He sounds so confused.

“It's a misunderstanding, he means hugging.” It's very strange to have this conversation with the team whilst Robert is sitting on the floor and Malevola still has her tail around his wrist.

“Sure, hugging,” Visi smirks. “Who had his dick in who for these hugs?”

“It's alright lad, you can make love to who ever you like. We won't judge.” Punch Up places his hand on Robert's shoulder, grinning at him. Janelle is standing right behind him, staring at Robert intently.

“Yeah! You ca– i- l-love is love,” Waterboy chimes in. Robert wishes he could turn invisible.

“Katon, come here. Show them what you meant.” That's possibly the dumbest way Robert could have tried solving this, but it just slips out. The room explodes in chaos, making Robert cringe at the noise. Robert ignores them in favour of gesturing at Phenomaman to come towards him.

“You're crazy,” Alice laughs as Phenomaman walks towards Robert. Why she pulls out her phone when she thinks the two of them are about to fuck is a mystery.

Victor leans in Close to Robert, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Do I get to join?”

Robert's silently urging Katon tu hurry the fuck up before this gets any worse than it already is. Flambae's stopped cooking to come watch for some reason. “Be careful, his weak body is all fragile and shit right now.”

Faster than he can brace for it, Robert is picked up and squeezed into a tight hug. Katon's been getting better at not crushing Robert as much, but the hug is still painful. An embarrassing wheeze escapes Robert, nerves set alight by the pressure. His vision goes dark around the edges by the time Malevola gets Phenomaman to let go. Still held by Katon, Robert is lowered back down onto the mattress with an apology. Robert lets himself drop backwards, too tired to hold himself upright on his own.

When hands sit him up again, Robert just lets them. Sonar starts pulling something over Robert's head. Initially, Robert wants to struggle. But when it turns out to be a hoodie, he lets it happen. Some of the cold is held off by the soft fabric, which certainly helps. Sonar sits on the mattress too, leaving Robert propped up between him and Malevola.

“Are you and Royd a thing?” Sonar asks.

Robert's moments away from screaming in frustration. Why is everyone suddenly so focused on his love life? How is any of this interesting to them? Maybe they need blackmail material, though Robert would argue that they've got plenty after how he acted today. Collapsing in a public bathroom isn't all that dignified.

“First off, who I'm dating is none of your business. Secondly, no.” His voice is shaky from exhaustion, lacking its usual edge.

Robert would have to be stupid to not notice how handsome Royd is, not to mention the fact that he's a generally pleasant person to be around that shares Robert's interests. Of course Robert finds him attractive, but that doesn't mean anything. It especially doesn't mean that Robert has the game to pull a man like that. Why the Z-Team would think he has those skills is baffling.

Flings and short relationships weren't that uncommon in Robert's past, though they became fewer and further apart over the years. Robert's not ugly and he can flirt, to some degree. But he doesn't mesh well with long term relationships. When he was Mecha Man, that always got in the way. Either his partner grew sick of him not having enough time for them or they were only with him because of the name.

The odds of anything working out for more than a few weeks aren't in Roberts favour now either. Robert has more time now, but he knows he's damaged goods. He's not naïve enough to not notice how fucked in the head he is. And then there's all the physical issues Robert has. It would feel cruel to subject someone to all that, all of him.

Robert's not sure he could take more people leaving him anyway, especially if it's because they figure out was a disaster he is.

Robert doesn't look at anyone, staring at his feet instead. When did his shoes come off? He didn't notice who took them or when. Beef comes to give him some company after a while, sitting near his feet. Robert pets his head slowly, not daring to move his shoulders or elbows too much.

A plate is thrust into his hands some time later, followed by a fork. Robert looks up to Flambae crouching in front of him, pissed look on his face. “Eat, skinny bitch.”

It looks like some form of pasta with a tomato based sauce. It smells a hell of a lot better than any of the frozen crap Robert usually eats if he gets the motivation to make something warm.

“You have like, zero seasoning in this shit hole and Golem and Visi don't fucking know how to buy good groceries so it sucks.” Flambae pushes Sonar out of the way, the bat hybrid squawking in offence. Robert doesn't have time to worry about a fight breaking out before Flambae's body is pressed to his right side, warmth seeping into him instantly. He wraps an arm around Robert's lower back, staring between him and the plate of food expectantly.

Malevola moves her hand to rest on the nape of Robert's neck, playing with the edge of his hair. They're both so close, Robert can feel his heart racing. He can't not lean into the touch, there's no way to deny himself that. It's dangerous, but once again, he gives in.

Trying not to think to hard about the whole situation, Robert shakily lifts the fork to his mouth. He sniffs it cautiously, the smell making him realize just how hungry he really is. It doesn't smell like anything odd is up with the food, so Robert puts it in his mouth.

It might be the best thing he's had in years.

“The fuck is wrong with you?” Flambae mutters, bringing to Roberts attention that he must have said that out loud. Flambae has more to say about Robert's eating habits and tastes, but Robert ignores him in favour of eating a little too fast.

Strangely, despite how awkward this all is and the pain, Robert actually feels pretty good.

Chapter Text

As soon as Robert's done eating, Flambae takes the plate from him. He doesn't get up though.

“I cooked, someone else can clean.” He waves the plate in the general direction of the team. Of course Herm is the one that immediately goes for it, practically leaping at the opportunity to help out. “There's more of the shitty pasta in the pan. Anyone hungry can eat it, but it is not good.”

Robert would seriously disagree with that statement. He liked it a lot, would even take more. He's not going to ask for another plate or compliment the food again though. Flambae's ego does not need inflating.

“Thank you,” Robert calls after Waterboy, since no one else seemed to be doing so. He's only gone a couple seconds before he's back from the kitchen, not long enough to have washed the plate. Robert doesn't mind either way. Knowing the Z-Team, he'll be left with a mess to clean up anyway. Either a physical one, or one of them upsetting his neighbours.

Herm returns with a napkin with something on it, quickly handing it to Robert. It's a little damp, but the cake on top stayed dry. Robert just stares at it for a while. It looks to be vanilla or lemon by the colour, with some kind of frosting on it.

“You made this?” Flambae asks, to which Water boy nods. “Why's it not all wet and gross like everything you touch?”

Maybe Robert shouldn't antagonize the man that tried to kill him twice and is currently one of the only things making the constant pain in his body settle, but Flambae's being an asshole. Robert elbows him in the ribs. Flambae exhales sharply, halfway between surprise and annoyance. He doesn't say anything though.

“I onl- only touch- I used gl-gloves.” Herm wrings his hands. “The fla-flavour- It's le-lemon. It's a lemon cake. Noth- Not special.” After getting that out, Waterboy quickly goes off to the kitchen again. Robert doesn't even have time to say that he's never really baked anything before and that this is impressive to him already.

Robert takes a bite of the cake, holding it close to his face to prevent a mess. It had already looked good, but it tastes even better than that. It's the perfect balance between tart and sweet. When's the last time Robert's had cake that didn't come from a factory? He can't remember. Some of the events he went to as Mecha Man must have had cake, though Robert was always vary of food at those. If a villain's going to poison food, a meeting of superhero's is exactly the place you'd want to do so.

“I brought things too,” Victor shouts a little too loud, moving into Robert's field of view. Robert nods as much as he dares, more focused on keeping his hands steady as he eats the cake rather than what Sonar will show him. He'll find a way to repay them, Robert knows that. He hopes they know him well enough that they won't feel the need to list everything they did for him. Robert is good at keeping track of debts he hasn't repaid.

Sonar points out the painting, telling Robert who made it, but Robert's never heard of them, so that tells him very little. He still appreciates the gesture. Next, Victor brings out a set of expensive looking knives.

“You had like, no cutlery, so I got you the good stuff,” Victor boasts. Robert hums to show he's listening, not entirely sure what he'll need such fancy knives for. They feel a little wasted on him. Coupe seems quite interested in that part of the conversation, though Sonar moves on before the two of them could start discussing the topic further. Robert's sure Janelle has some very strong opinions on what makes a knife good.

“The best is yet to come though, Robbie,” Sonar says, carrying a cardboard box towards Robert. If Robert had the energy, he'd tell Victor to not call him that again. He'll have to do so later, when his limbs aren't as heavy and it doesn't feel like he's been dragged halfway around Torrance by a truck. “Ta-da! It's rechargeable, so you can use it anywhere.”

Robert needs to squint a bit to make out the writing on the box. It's a heating pad. That's a very thoughtful gift, all things considered. The whole team's been very considerate. Robert's not sure what to make of it. Either way, a heating pad would definitively make life easier when Robert's got to sit at as desk when his back is playing up.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Flambae huffs. “Get that shit out of here, I'm much better than any heating pad.”

“Are you seriously getting jealous about a heating pad?” Courtney laughs,

“Bae, are you planning to move in with Roberto? 'cause that's the only way you're going to manage being his permanent personal heater.” There's amusement in Alice's tone.

Broken ribs and sore joints be damned, Robert laughs. “Sure, Flambae's going to move in with me because my back sometimes hurts.” Now that would be something, wouldn't it? Flambae deciding that he'll forgive and forget that Robert is Mecha Man, just to help with a bit of pain.

It is funny though, how easily Flambae is personally offended by things. It's just a heating pad. Does his ego take a hit from every thing that produces heat? Robert's seen it before, how insecure Flambae gets about being perceived as weak or failing. Robert gets it, though he isn't sure how Flambae manages to be both supremely arrogant and worry about not being enough. He also isn't sure how he could support Flambae in working past that, especially now it is unlikely that he'll want any help coming from Mecha Man.

“Shut up.” Flambae's a lot quieter than usual. Robert can feel the way he's getting warmer. It's still at a comfortable level, so Robert doesn't complain. As long as Flambae doesn't set anything on fire. Beef is sitting quite close by and Robert couldn't afford fixing fire damage to the apartment. His landlord certainly wouldn't be pleased.

Nobody talks as Robert finishes eating. Mal takes the napkin from him and throws it at Bruno, who presumably eats it. Robert's not sure he wants to know what all is part of Golem's body at this point.

“You should sleep,” Bruno says. Robert can feel him moving closer better than he can make out his expression.

“Yes,” Katon-Ur announces loudly, “humans must sleep for seven hours a day. If they don't, they die.”

Robert sighs. “No, that- That's not true.” He knows for a fact that he can live off of three hours of sleep perfectly fine, even if that time comes in the form of naps across a larger span of time.

“Shut up, Bobert, you're going to sleep.” Sonar pushes him further into Flambae's arms, Flambae huffing in annoyance.

It's noon, so it's weird to sleep now. It's also weird having the entire team staring at him as he does so. But Robert feels wrung out and tired, and Flambae is very warm. When Flambae pulls him down to lay on the mattress fully, Robert gives in. It's shocking, how careful Flambae seems to be with him.

“I'm going to have to shift position after a while, or my joints lock up.” That didn't used to be as bad, not before the coma. It's just another fact of Robert's life now. Warning Flambae of it also serves as giving him one last way out of this situation. Robert knows Flambae doesn't want to be a part of this, even if he feels personally offended by the though of a heating pad being better than him. Knowing Robert's going to be annoying whilst laying down lets him change his mind without feeling like he failed.

Instead, Flambae just hums in acknowledgement, wrapping Robert up in the warmth of his body. One hand is wrapped around Robert's chest, the other resting on his hip, fingers digging into the skin slightly. The targeted warmth seeping into Robert's joints feels amazing. Robert only just manages to bite back a pleased sigh.

One of Flambae's knees is between his legs, doing wonders for his stiff knees, but also making it very hard to keep the inappropriate thoughts at bay. When Flambae settles, something soft brushes his neck. It takes Robert a second to realize that it must be Flamabe's hair.

Robert's never seen him with it open, curiosity burning hot in his chest, almost rivalling the heat creeping into his face. Before he can decide against doing so, Robert sits up just enough to look back at the man holding him.

The long hair cascades over Flambae's shoulders like water, some strands in his face. It looks silky, obviously the product of a lot of time and care put into keeping it that way. Robert is hit with the urge to brush it out of Flambae's face, test if the hair really is as soft as it felt on his neck.

Flambae's brows are pinched as their eyes meet, pupils bright with a fire that's unique to him. His lip quirks, almost into a smile, but quickly proving its self to be a sneer. “What?” Flambae snaps, knocking Robert out of his stupor.

Flambae hates him. He's only doing this because, despite what he wants some people to think, he isn't actually a complete asshole. Robert's eyes flick back up to Flambae's, getting stuck there. He should stop staring, Robert knows that, but he can't get himself to. How long does he just stay there, holding awkward eye contact with Flambae?

“Thank you,” Robert ends up saying. He quickly lays back down again, ignoring the way his spine protest the sudden movement.

He expects Flambae to comment, at the very lest to call him a bitch or weak. Instead, he says nothing, just tightens his hold on Robert. Flambae's breath is hot against Robert's neck, his face pressed against the back of Robert's head.

Maybe Robert should worry more about how comfortable he feels in the arms of someone that nearly burned him alive a few days ago. After all, Flambae could easily try again now. Robert can't help it though, not when he actually feels good, even strangely safe. That's exactly why Robert can't ever let his guard down.

He's too far gone now. It's fine, he accepts his fate. If Flambae tries to kill him, Robert's glad to let him do so. He's too tired to care.

Robert's also too tired to care about the argument that brakes out moments later. Pretty much everyone has some opinion on why they should be the person laying on Robert's second side. Only Courtney and Herm seem to withhold themselves from the conversation. Robert didn't hear what sparked the disagreement, but if they're that desperate to nap, they could just go home. Blazer isn't going to call them back to work more or less depending on if they're at Roberts place or their own.

Paying attention to what is said is hard, but Sonar definitively brings up his fur. Robert's pretty sure Phenomaman mentions being good at hugs, someone pointing out that he's too rough. Telling him that so directly might mess with the poor guy's self esteem, but Robert guesses someone's got to tell him sooner or later. Robert had been hinting at him to be gentler, and Katon had been improving.

Punch Up argues that he has strong arms, and someone, Bruno by the sound of it, mentions that they're large.

Malevola's argument of being slightly warmer than the others wins out in the end, getting a triumphant exclamation from her. Robert is quickly manoeuvred to be sandwiched between Flambae and Malevola, his face ending up pressed to Mal's neck. He's tankful for the fact that hides how red he's gone.

A blanket is thrown over them, one made from colourful squares, possibly hand made. Any battle Robert's been fighting against the weakness is entirely lost at this point. He's warm, being held by two people and actually laying down somewhere comfortable. It becomes harder to stay awake by the second.

A shift of weight on the mattress lets Robert know someone sat down near their heads. A hand starts carding through his hair, nails scratching at his scalp. Robert feels vaguely like he's the team's weird dog with how they've been looking out for him.

The exhaustion wins out, and the Z-Team are finally free to discuss all their weird rumours about Robert without him listening in.

Flambae can't sleep. He should be able to. He's in his own, comfortable bed, one of his two cats curled up next to him. It's dark enough and there's nothing obviously disturbing him. But still, Chad can't get to sleep.

Something feels off.

Chad's never had difficulties with going to sleep except for the time he spent in prison. He's had issues, but insomnia has never been one of them. He knows when it started, at least that it was some time after that stupid bitch, Mecha Man, passed out at work.

If it had been anyone else, anyone with powers, Flambae would have assumed this is some super power bullshit, cursing him to have trouble falling asleep. But Robert's powerless, so that's out of the question.

It's been days of this shit now, ruining Chad's vibe and making him look tired and weak. He's even started developing eyebags. It's seriously going to start fucking with his dating life if he turns up looking all depressing.

To Chad's annoyance, his mind starts drifting to Robert every time he tries to figure out what's wrong. It's bad enough he has to be there at work the entire time, voice constantly in Flambae's ear, now he's got to invade Chad's thoughts too. Flambae clenches his jaw.

There's not a single part of Mecha Man that doesn't seem tailored to piss Chad off. He's smug and arrogant, always hiding in that mech when he's doing hero work. Flambae doesn't want to think about the scars on Roberts body, they're probably just there because he's a bad fighter and an idiot. Chad also technically knows that's not true, but considering that will just frustrate him.

He's no better when he's their dispatcher, of course. That stupid voice in their ears, the way his face scrunches when he's focused on something, the annoying grin on his face. Flambae just wants to wipe it off. Maybe he should punch him, that might get rid of that stupid look and serve as some degree of revenge for what Mecha Man did to him.

But now that annoying bitch had to go ahead and have chronic pain, so Flambae's got to be worried about breaking something if he hits Robert.

Thinking back to the day Robert collapsed, Flambae frowns. Even then, he was being irritating. Pressing his face in Flambae's neck and smiling at him when all Chad did was cook shitty pasta. It was awful, most disappointing shit Chad's cooked in ages. Robert liking it is just pathetic and so, so sad.

Makes Flambae want to grab him and force him to try actual good food. That idiot should be banned from eating any of those disgusting vending machine snacks unless he's eaten something real first.

He's starting to get a headache from clenching his jaw. Flambae flops on his side, running his hand over Fire's back. The small ginger cat stretches, leaning into Chad's touch. Her and her sister are both orange, though Fire's a little darker and smaller. Flame is also more of a trouble maker and wouldn't lay next to Chad for too long without getting restless.

Flambae sighs. This is just stupid. He doesn't stay awake thinking about men he doesn't even like. Chad's better than that.

Then there's that weird staring Robert did when Flambae was trying to get him to lay down. He suddenly feels very hot. That was odd and infuriating, should have been uncomfortable. But it wasn't.

And when he'd been in Flambae's arms, that should have felt wrong too. Holding Mecha Man should have felt wrong. But that's the problem, he's also Robert, and holding Robert had felt good.

Flambae groans, turning onto his back and staring at the ceiling. This can not be happening. He doesn't like Robert and holding him definitively doesn't feel right. Flambae is letting himself get influenced by Alice's teasing and the stuff Coupe said, nothing more. The frustration is making him heat up.

Fire hops onto Chads chest, curling up. At least someone's getting something good out of Flambae having a bad time. Resting a hand on her back, he reaches for his phone. It's two in the morning. He is not getting nearly enough sleep today, again.

Alice is definitively asleep at the moment, but Flambae instinctively opens their chat. He frowns when he sees the images she last sent him. He knew these would be here, why did he open the app?

They're photos of him and Robert when Chad was being the bigger person and helping him with his joints. The moment in the break room, where Flambae had his hand in Robert's hair, and many from later. Chad sitting with Robert on the mattress and the two of them asleep later on, a tangled mess of limbs between the two of them and Malevola. He should have immediately deleted those images, demanded Alice erase all evidence too. Why hadn't he done that?

Alice had sent them to Chad with the comment that he and Robert look cute together. Flambae looks cute with any guy, so that really doesn't mean much. But Robert absolutely isn't anything of the sort. With a huff Chad clicks on the images, scrolling through them again and zooming in on Robert.

Chad has been trying to never look at the pictures too long. Doing so makes him angry, or at least makes his heart rate spike. It's doing so in that moment too.

It hadn't occurred to him before just how relaxed Robert looks when he's asleep. None of that tension he usually carries is to be seen. He seems content.

It's so different to usual. Flambae's used to Robert's snark and annoyance, he's even gotten accustomed to the determined look on his face when he's working out. And that quiet, halfway to a smile look he has when Chad keeps Robert from hurting himself in the gym.

Chad can feel the way his face goes red.

Oh fuck, Robert is his type. Flambae quickly slams his phone screen down on the bed, slinging his forearm over his eyes.

This can not be happening to him. He can not genuinely be crushing on Robert Robertson of all people.

That's why he can't sleep. Because he fucking misses holding Robert. That's more pathetic than any other explanation Flambae could have found. Fire lets out a tiny chirp as she lifts her head, almost in sympathy. If only she understood half of the bullshit Flambae's got himself into.

Grasping blindly for his phone, Flambae picks Alice's contact. Yes it's late, but this is also something of an earth shattering emergency. Chad's heart beats against his ribcage as he waits for Prism to pick up.

“If you don't explain yourself right now bitch, I'm replacing your conditioner with the 5in1 we found at Roberts,” Alice snaps as soon as the call connects, somehow both half asleep and livid.

“It's serious,” Flambae says. “I've got a problem.”