— rose | 24 | she / her | imagines and fics — 🔞 minors please don't interact with me! you're probably wondering how I got here – i saw Robert Robertson once and now he's my new source of serotonin
robert wasn't sure what was worse, the fact that he picked up an SDN call from you, his ex that he hasn't spoken to in years, or that you had a daughter who was missing.
TAGS
not-so-secret child trope, post long-term relationship and break-up, angst, hurt and eventual comfort
— additional tags to be added!
this fic is additionally written in third person and is mainly from robert's perspective, it is not entirely canon compliant but does take place after season one's events.
that said, none of invisigal's or blonde blazer's scenes with robert will be referenced.
IMPORTANT NOTE
this fic is semi-interactive, there are segments that end in a poll which allows you, the readers, to vote on the choices that robert makes.
some of these choices matter, others not so much, but the top voted choice is then used in the next part.
"It got lasered," Robert states, "It wasn't planned, but at least it didn't get the rest of my ear."
Your daughter frowned, her eyebrows furrowing at his choice of words before she looked to you.
"...What does laser mean?" She asks, her voice unsure, "Is that bad?"
He doesn't realise his mistake until you gave him a glare, but you answered her question regardless of the topic at hand.
"A laser is like a really strong light..." You pause, pursing your lips, "...and when you don't use it properly, that's when bad things happen."
Her frown deepens at your age-appropriate explanation – but before she could ask another question, Beef starts whining and pawing at your legs again, the tray seemingly forgotten – or rather, never on his canine mind at all.
"Aw, can I pet the doggy now?" She tries to stretch an arm and hand out towards Beef, "Please? Pretty please?"
The sight makes yours and Robert's eyes soften slightly, though you appeared to be visibly torn between leaning down or maintaining your distance.
"Beef hasn't changed much you know," Robert crouches down, moving to hold the tray in one hand before patting the chihuahua on the head, "He'd be happy to make a new friend."
You slowly lean down at his words, your daughter squealing when Beef started sniffing you both closely – and when he was finally done finished, Beef greeted you with a small "Ruff!" before nudging you for a pat.
"Beef, you've gotten so big..." You smile, patting him on the back as your daughter tried to do the same, albeit clumsily.
"Hi doggy," She pats his snout, giggling when he gives her hand a small lick, "I'm Stella, can I be your friend?"
Robert's eyes widened as your daughter introduced herself, the pain in his chest returning tenfold as he remembered a distant conversation you both had, one that happened in the middle of the night –
"What would've happened if a girl was born into your family? Wait, she wouldn't also be named Robert, right?"
The two of you had been laying in bed together when you asked the question – it wasn't one he'd been expecting, not when you asked him "What do you think is the most profound DreamWorks movie?" a few nights before.
"I don't know," He murmured before sitting up, "I guess she would've been named something similar, like Robin."
"Robin Robertson the first..." You hummed, "...I think it has a nice ring to it."
You both fall silent, and for a moment Robert thought that you fell asleep – but when he looks to you, you mumble one last thing.
"...If I was having a baby girl... I'd want to name her Eleanor, or maybe something else... you'd need to like the name too."
The words make him laugh softly before he lays back down and brings you into a warm embrace, the scent of your shampoo and body wash slowly lulling him to sleep.
"I think I'd like whatever name you choose," he whispers, placing a kiss on your temple before his eyes drifted to a close.
The memory fades when Robert feels Beef nudging his hand for another pat before he notices that you'd been staring – but then he hears the sound of heeled boots slowly getting closer, followed by his name being called.
"–Chase said that you've been away from your desk for twenty minutes, is everything alright–?"
It doesn't take long for Blonde Blazer to reach him when the two of you stand up, but to his surprise, she walks to you instead – her eyes slightly wide as she said your first name.
"–I didn't know you and Stella were coming in today, I thought your trial was scheduled for next Monday."
She looks back to Robert, but when she sees in the tray in his hand, she slowly realises that the three of you (four, if she included Beef) were all in the middle of something.
"Wait, I'm sorry..." she points to the two of you, raising an eyebrow, "...Do you two know each other?"
What is Robert's answer?
"We grew up on the same street."
"We used to work together."
"We met when I first started working."
Can't decide (these votes will be divided and added to the previous choices)
I just realised that the poll for the latest part was set to 1 day instead of 3 days - I'll be deleting and re-posting to allow additional time for readers to vote.
EEEEEEEE I LOVE YOUR CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE WITH ROBERT IM LOVE HIM OUR DAUGHTER IS CALLED ELEANOR
Thank you so much Anon! ❤︎
It means a lot that you think of my work as a Choose Your Own Adventure, but I think it'd be considered semi-interactive because I write based on what you, the readers, vote on.
That said, I did want my followers (and whoever has their notifications on) to vote whether you'd like your daughter to have a first name.
I do have a name in mind, and it would be shown in the next part, but the reason for that name wouldn't be revealed until sometime later – still, I imagine some readers would prefer her to go without one because they've named her beforehand.
I'm happy to refer to her as 'Sweetie' and 'Sweetheart' as a nickname if that's the leading vote, and write around her name instead (similar to how I don't use 'Y/N' or 'Name' when referring to you, the reader).
The way Robert moved to your left made it seem as if this had happened before – he walked around Beef without looking down, and let his left arm and hand brush against yours before he lifts the tray from your raised fingertips.
And when your wide eyes finally met his, he remembered that this used to happen a lot actually, back in the old apartment you used to share –
"Beef, down boy! These aren't for you–"
Beef was smaller and less rotund then, but that didn't stop the pup from whining and pawing at your feet – it was something he learned to do whenever he saw you in the kitchen, holding that exact same tray.
"–Robert, help!" You half-shouted with a laugh, "He can't have these–!"
You held up the tray with one arm, the other holding onto the kitchen countertop as Beef stood on his hind legs – but despite your current predicament, you were smiling as you looked to Robert, who held your side and–
"–Robert, why are you here? And is why is Beef here too?"
Your voice brings him back to the present as you backed away, both your daughter and Beef going still from your change in tone and demeanor – the sight caused a pain in his chest, though he tried to ease that feeling with a short sigh.
"Well, I work here, though I've been asking myself that same question for a long time now," He brings down the tray and holds it in both hands, "As for Beef, he's mostly here to boost company morale."
"What? Since when? I thought you were– No, never mind, I shouldn't have asked."
"What about you?" He looks to you, but the moment he looked at your daughter, you held her closer, "Are you still–?"
"Let me be clear Robert," You interrupt, your eyes turning sharp and narrow, "When I asked why you and Beef were here, that wasn't an invitation for you to start asking me about my life."
"Right, because that's how conversations work – I can stand here and do nothing if that's what you prefer."
You opened your mouth to make a retort, but before you spoke, your daughter pointed at Robert's right ear and spoke aloud.
"Why does your ear look funny?"
The question catches him off guard as he blinks once, then twice, and from the look on your face, you hadn't been expecting it either.
"Sweetie," You turned to look at her, your voice soft, "You can't ask people that, that's not–"
How does Robert reply?
Tell the truth
Tell a lie
Can't decide (these votes will be divided and added to the previous choices)
Ever since the night at The Sardine, most Friday nights consisted of the Z Team finding a new bar and getting shitfaced, starting and finishing some drunken brawls before finally crashing at the nearest fast food restaurant (usually that one Taco and Burrito place).
It was considered to be a 'team bonding event' of sorts, and in truth, it did seem to bring everyone together more.
And while some teammates couldn't always make it, Waterboy never failed to tag along, even when he did the same thing every time – he'd have one drink (or two if he really wanted to loosen up), back up against a wall during a brawl, and then take everyone's order to make up for being 'a little bitch boy at the bar earlier'.
But that changed during one Friday shift, when Waterboy asked the Z Team one small, simple question –
"Hey– Hey guys? What are you uh, supposed to bring to– to a first date?"
At first, no one in the Z Team responds, though Malevola becomes the one to ask what they were all thinking.
"Waterboy, are you going on a date tonight?"
"Yeah! I– I was thinking about getting some flowers! Or maybe– maybe I should get a box of chocolates instead?"
The line goes quiet at his words, but then everyone tries to speak at the same time.
"You cannot be serious," Prism laughs raucously, "You're telling me Waterboy got a date before anyone else here?"
Those words make Flambae scoff, "I don't think it's an actual date, he probably wants to go home and get reacquainted with his left hand."
"That's– That's not true," Waterboy protests, albeit weakly, "They helped me pick out a tie for my job interview for SDN and– and they're famous!"
"Famous in what way?" Coupé questions, "Are they known for any heroic acts, or do they have a history of villainy?"
"No, no, they– they do modelling! They're in a bunch of magazines and stuff, that's why we– we haven't been able to go out yet, they're always busy."
The more Waterboy spoke about his would-be date, the more it became too good to be true – apparently they were the one who asked him out first, and had described his power as 'incredible' and 'a perfect match'.
"You don't have to bring anything to a first date, but you can't go wrong with flowers," Robert finally speaks up, "Make sure you don't overdo it though, you don't need to buy a big, fancy bouquet."
"O–Okay! I'll get some now, before I come back to headquarters!"
Waterboy doesn't bring up the first date for the rest of the shift, but when everyone finishes up and leaves to go to the nearest bar, they all see him leave the main lobby wearing a waterlogged dress shirt and pants over his usual suit, holding a large rose bouquet that was also completely drenched.
"Do you really think he's goin' out on a date?" Punch Up looked to the rest of the Z Team, his eyebrows furrowed.
Most of them respond non-committally aside from Robert, who shrugged and said, "I don't think most people would go out of their way to dress up and buy flowers for a fake date."
The rest of the night goes as planned, they go to a bar unironically named 'No Name' and make Robert buy the first round, but before Flambae provokes someone at the bar counter, Prism hollers.
"Y'all need to see this, that motherfucker Waterboy is all over my feed!"
She holds up her phone and plays a video for the rest of the Z Team – it shows Waterboy without his cerulean blue goggles, his hair partially slicked back as he smiles and pulls out a chair for his date at a five star restaurant – the date who was in fact, real.
The model that he described previously was you, a plant elemental, who had flowers and tendrils growing from your head as well as your arms and legs. Plant elementals were rare, but a plant elemental in Torrance? There truly weren't any others aside from you.
"That's the highest paid model in the area," Prism states, "They make a shit ton of money from doing runways, more than any fucking superhero I know of– sorry Robert."
"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Flambae mutters, "How'd he land a date with someone like that?"
"It kinda makes sense now, why they said he was a perfect match," Invisigal leans in as another video played – this time, it showed Waterboy holding the bouquet of over watered roses out towards you, and how you took them with a smile before kissing him on the cheek.
"If you think about it, he's basically a walking, talking, watering can."
The moment Robert sees the status update, he tries to shift his focus by answering other calls, but it's not long before he finds himself sitting in the break room with Beef, who dozed in his lap while he stared at the list of contacts in his phone.
Truthfully, there wasn't much to look at – all he had was Chase's and Blond Blazer's numbers saved in addition to a few other acquaintances – but your number was still marked with a star and at the top compared to everyone else's.
And before his thumb could hover over the call or text button, Beef sneezed and Invisigal revealed herself.
"So, is the kid yours or what?"
She leans on the table, raising an eyebrow as he tapped back to the home screen before responding.
"...You do know brown eyes and freckles are common physical traits, right?"
"Uh-huh, sure, but that kid looked pretty similar to you," she takes a seat on the opposite end, paying no mind to the way Robert's shoulders tensed.
"And I don't think I've seen you react that fast to a call before, not even when there was that big ass bomb threat a few days back... You sure you two didn't fuck before?"
She leaned back with a smirk, though Robert simply scratched the top of Beef's head before he replied with a half-sigh.
"Honestly, I'm surprised the mission was considered a success – that client definitely outran you by a whole mile, maybe even more."
"Hey, you know that I'm asthmatic, asshole! And they ended up calling again while you were on break – the old man said they were stopping by to give me some kind of reward."
"What? A reward?"
His whole body tensed when Beef raised his head and sniffed before he started barking loudly and wagged his tail – he didn't think you'd be here now, at least, not when he hadn't mentally prepared himself.
"Beef, no–!"
But before he could hold onto the large chihuahua, Beef was out of Robert's lap and out the break room in mere seconds, and it wasn't long before he heard a young girl squeal and shout "Hi doggy!"
And by the time Robert catches up to Beef, he sees you standing near the elevator, carrying your daughter with your right arm – but your left arm was also holding up a tray of baked goods.
"Beef? Is that you–?"
You hadn't noticed him yet, not when the rotund dog was whining and pawing at your legs – but your daughter was squirming to try and get down, and that caused the tray to slowly teeter to one side...
What does Robert do?
Pick Beef up
Support your left arm
Support your right arm
Can't decide (these votes will be divided and added to the previous choices)
Audio Log –
"My daughter– I can't find my daughter! She was here, she was right here– Please, please help me–!"
Robert wasn't sure what was worse, the fact that he picked up an SDN call from you, his ex that he hasn't spoken to in years, or that you had a daughter who was missing – needless to say, his on-the-go training didn't prepare him for this exact situation.
But that didn't mean he'd forgotten to do his job entirely, he dispatches Invisigal to your location while he taps into the nearest CCTV, and it's not long before he sees you incoherently sobbing as you try to describe your daughter.
"She– she turned five years old a few days ago– And she's wearing a white tee and– and denim overalls–!"
"It's okay, uh, I'm sure that there's no kidnappers nearby or anything–"
He winces at Invisigal's failed words of reassurance before tapping into other CCTV cameras at record speed, trying to find a little girl that matched your description – thankfully, he finds her in a matter of minutes.
"She's two streets away – up north, looking at a toy shop," he relays the directions to Invisigal, and when she repeats those words back to you, he sees you practically become Track Star himself to get to your daughter.
It's a rather touching moment when the two of you are reunited, even when Invisigal ends up being the last one to arrive as you embrace your daughter – but then Invisigal takes one look at your daughter and steps away to whisper through the comms.
"Robert," She pauses to take a short breath with her inhaler, "Do you do sperm donations by any chance?"
"What? No, why would I–?"
He goes still when he sees you walking to Invisigal with your daughter hand in hand – the CCTV camera spared no detail when it came to your daughter's hair and complexion, which were the same as yours, but they also showed other parts of her face – specifically her russet brown eyes and freckles.
