Dispatch Stuff

[dirtycombatboots]

This as Robert's form in a shifter au.

I see him tear-eyed, jaws locked on Shroud's ankle, because fight the villain. Shroud doesn't know how to calculate this feral creature

Robert pretends to be dead whenever Flambae approaches him, because Robert is trying to avoid dealing with feelings

[tremendous-amount-of-ships]

Have we considered, Robert accidentally becoming HR?

I mean, no one has ever seen HR, but they've been told that it exists.

Robert in the break room just trying to get a snack, two random heroes are fighting in front of the vending machine. He gets them to sit down and talk about, they come to a resolution, he gets his snack and goes. 

The heroes assume that he's actually HR and just filling in as a dispatcher until they find a new one for the Z-team.

Now, Robert has a bunch of people going to him and complaining and either getting a really good answer or just a dead pan stare until they figure it out themselves.

Real HR finds out and sends a memo but people keep going to Robert anyway. Sometimes you can hear, "That's it! I'm telling Robert!!"

[pinkparagram]

Chad doesn’t know how long they’ve been in the shipping container, but Robert’s starting to look bad. 

The mask is gone, sitting in a heap next to Robert with the rest of his armor. He’s currently in just the flightsuit, which is unzipped and pooling around his waist. 

Chad hadn’t looked directly at him since he peeled off the top of the suit earlier, too conscious of the way his mouth went dry as the sweaty, scarred skin of his chest and abdomen was revealed. 

But he made himself look a few minutes ago, just to check up on him, and he’s been hard-pressed to tear his eyes away since—not because he’s horny, but because he’s fucking concerned. 

The first twenty or so minutes after they were sealed in, Robert combed the entire container, presumably searching for a way to get them out. Chad spent most of that time too busy raging to pay much attention. He only stopped blasting fire at the doors when Robert casually shoved in front of him to get a closer look. 

(Robert was already sweating, even then. Torrance is in the middle of a nasty heatwave—record highs, the weather guy said. The container had already been baking in the sweltering sun, and Chad had just spent at least ten minutes heating it even more.)

Needless to fucking say, Robert wasn’t able to find a way out. From the outside, the shipping container had looked just like all the others in the shipyard, but clearly it was built with this exact scenario in mind. There were no weaknesses Robert could find, and no tools to try and create one. 

The only thing in here was the old fashioned tape recorder near the back. ‘Was’ being the operative word, because Chad torched the stupid fucking thing to cinders the moment he realized what had happened: Chad had raced headfirst into a trap, too frantic at the sound of children crying to stop and think. And Robert had raced in right after him, scolding him about rushing into things. And then the doors had slammed shut behind them. 

And they haven’t opened since.

Robert’s crouched by the far wall, breathing shallowly. When he first took the rest of his suit off, he was flushed red, but that must have changed at some point when Chad wasn’t looking—now he’s too pale. Chad doesn’t know what that means exactly, but he knows it can’t be good. 

Chad’s huddled in the corner, staring at Robert and trying to keep a lid on his anxiety. The heat doesn’t bother him, but he fucking hates small, enclosed places. The space feels like it’s shrinking, bit by bit. The air feels thin.

It’ll be fine, he tells himself. Robert sent out an SOS. The team will be here soon. 

Robert hisses suddenly, and Chad watches him collapse onto his ass and stretch his legs out in front of him. He doesn’t realize he’s fretfully tapping his fingers on the floor until Robert glances up at him. 

“Cramp,” he mutters, massaging the muscles in his thigh. His skin is so pale he looks sickly, but he’s still dripping with sweat. 

Chad looks away, his eyes falling on the scorch mark on the opposite wall of their prison. 

He tried to melt through it earlier, after Robert failed to find a way out. But the material must have a high fucking melting point, because nothing happened besides the temperature ratcheting up even more. 

At some point, Robert shouted at him to stop. 

“There aren’t any holes in the container,” he said from his spot on the floor. He must have sat down at some point while Chad was focusing on the wall. He was flushed and sweating, and swaying just slightly. “The air that’s in here right now is all we have.” 

He didn’t say it, but Chad heard the implication—by setting a fire in the container, he may have just cost them hours. 

Horrified, he sank wordlessly to the floor on the opposite side of the container from Robert. The air suddenly felt a little thinner. 

It feels thinner than ever now. Chad can feel it struggling to fill up his lungs. He feels light-headed, like he might pass out. He fucking wishes he could pass out, just to skip to the rescue part of this mess. But he has this terrible feeling that if he falls asleep now, he’ll never wake up again. That he won’t see the team rescue them, that he won’t make it to his niece’s soccer game tomorrow, that he won’t ever hug his parents or make his sister laugh again. That he’ll never hear Robert’s voice saying, “Great work today” over the comms or see that stupid freckled face or feel that pleasant drop in his stomach when they’re paired together for a mission. 

He doesn’t want to fucking die.

“The air’s gone,” he gasps.

“No it’s not,” Robert says calmly, wiping sweat from his face. “You’re having a panic attack.” 

“No, I can’t breathe,” Chad cries, clawing at his chest and throat. He can feel his heat rising with panic, sending the already sweltering box into even hotter temperatures. “Robert—”

Robert crawls to him on his hands and knees, and the bizarre sight only makes Chad panic more. Robert would never choose to crawl unless he physically couldn’t get to his feet. 

Robert’s cold hand is on his chest, right over his heart. 

“Hey,” he says lowly, slurring just the tiniest bit. “Slow breaths. You’re okay.”

“Robert,” Chad says again, unable to describe the liquid terror racing through his veins. They’re going to fucking die in here, he’s going to suffocate—

“Okay,” Robert murmurs. “You’re okay.” 

And then he does something that shocks Chad right out of his panic: he hugs him. 

Chad’s never seen Robert hug anyone. He lets people hug him—he regularly endures Phenomaman’s back-breaking embraces, and he lets other members of the team hang on him with only a longsuffering smile, but he never initiates. Every time he and Chad have touched, it’s always Chad reaching out first—fucking up his hair, shoving his shoulder, body-checking him in the hallway. 

But right now he’s willingly putting himself in Chad’s space—his arms fold around him, one hand pressed to his upper back and the other petting clumsily over his hair. 

With the sudden hysterical thought that he must be on a hidden camera prank show, Chad haltingly brings his own arms up and hugs him back, the fingers of his right hand settling in the divot of a huge scar on his back. 

It’s not a comfortable hug by any means. Robert’s body is slick with sweat, and his damp hand catches on Chad’s hair, and his skin feels cold and clammy against Chad’s elevated temperature. Chad feels hyperaware of Robert’s bare chest pressed against his own, of the shallow rise and fall pressing it closer every other second.

It’s not comfortable, but it is comforting. Robert’s here. And as much of a bitch as he is, he’d never let a member of the team die on his watch. 

They stay like that for a while, until long after Chad’s breathing has evened out again and Robert’s body has stopped feeling so cold against his. Every once in a while, Robert will murmur some nonsense encouragement, and chills race down Chad’s spine with each vibration against his ear. 

When Robert does finally pull away, Chad almost feels pretty good about their odds of survival—right up until the moment he gets a good look at him. He realizes with a sinking feeling that Robert’s body not being cold anymore isn’t because Chad’s body cooled down. 

Robert’s usually sharp eyes are hazy. He’s come back around to flushed again, his skin dangerously red, and when he reaches up to wipe the sweat from his forehead, his hand shakes just a little. 

Chad rockets to his feet and crosses the container in a matter of seconds, getting as far away from Robert as he can. “You stupid bitch, why would you do that?! I’m too hot!” 

When Robert leans back against the wall, it looks more like a controlled collapse. 

He smirks at Chad. “So full of yourself.” 

“It’s not fucking funny!” Chad snaps, folding in on himself and trying to keep his heat contained. 

The smirk softens into a small smile, and Chad’s stupid heart skips a beat. 

“I’m fine,” Robert murmurs. 

“Shut up,” Chad tells him. “Don’t fucking talk to me.” 

Robert nods agreeably and tilts his head back to rest on the wall, and the uncharacteristically easy compliance turns Chad’s stomach. 

They spend the next however long like that, sitting on opposite sides of the container. Chad tries hard to keep his ambient heat pressed as close to his body as possible, but he can’t stop looking at Robert. And the more he looks, the more upset he gets. And the more upset he gets, the higher his temperature rises. 

At some point Robert closes his eyes, and the sight of him propped up limply against the wall—breaths so shallow Chad can barely make out the rise and fall of his chest—makes Chad snap at him to keep his fucking eyes open. Robert obeys with hardly even a side-eye, and that only makes Chad spiral worse. 

Eventually, Robert hauls himself up to sit on his own, and the sudden movement startles Chad so much he jumps. 

“You have to melt the wall,” Robert tells him. 

“I already fucking tried, bitch,” Chad says incredulously, trying hard to stay calm. “It wouldn’t work.” 

“The melting point can’t be that high,” Robert says, and he’s slurring his words a little. “If you can just burn hot enough, you can melt through it and get us out.”

“But the heat has nowhere to go,” Chad argues. “It’s just gonna get hotter and hotter in here. And it’s gonna use up all the fucking air! If I don’t get through the wall quick enough, you’ll—”

“We’ll both die anyway if we just sit here,” Robert tells him bluntly. “Whether you use your fire or not, the oxygen’s gonna run out at some point, and we don’t know when the others will be here. Our comms aren’t working. We don’t even know if the distress signal got through.” 

“The mech,” Chad says desperately. “Someone will see it—”

“I left it in standby mode at the entrance to the shipyard,” Robert says flatly. “Even if someone comes to investigate, there are a hundred other containers between here and there.” 

Chad gets to his feet again, pacing in tight circles on his side of the container.

It’s a fucking gamble, either way. If Chad can’t get through the material, he’ll have burned up all their oxygen for nothing. Hell, even if he does get through, there’s no way of knowing if Robert will survive the heat. 

But if he doesn’t try and they run out of oxygen anyway, both of their deaths will be on him. And even if they did still have enough air to wait for rescue, Robert won’t be able to take this heat for much longer. 

As if hearing his thoughts, Robert suddenly leans over and heaves, coughing up bile onto the floor beside him and then almost pitching over into it. 

On instinct, Chad starts to approach, wanting to put a soothing hand on his back or sweep his soaked hair away from his face or just sit near him. 

Instead, he stops himself. The only thing he can do to help Robert is stay as far away as possible. 

Well, not the only thing. 

Robert catches him eyeing the scorched wall of the container, his foot tapping with restless indecision, and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. 

“Time’s ticking down, Flambae,” he says hoarsely. 

“Call me Chad, we’re definitely there,” Chad tells him, and then scrubs his hands over his face. “Fuck.” 

“You can do this, Chad,” Robert says. 

Chad looks down at Robert, half-dead with heat exhaustion and still trying to encourage him, and suddenly feels hopelessly sorry. 

“It’s my fault,” he says bitterly. 

Robert hums, squinting his eyes in confusion. 

“That we’re in here,” Chad clarifies. “It’s my fault. I ran in without thinking. I got myself trapped in here. I got you trapped in here.”

Robert just looks at him for a moment, and Chad has to turn away from the empathy on his face. If Robert dies in here, it will be Chad’s fault. 

“I forgot my utility belt,” Robert says suddenly. 

“What?” Chad asks, his eyes flying back to Robert. 

“I got distracted tinkering before the call came in,” Robert says. “I left it in the workshop, on the table. If I’d had it, I could have found us a way out. I could have—” 

“Don’t be fucking stupid,” Chad hisses at him. “It’s not your fucking fault.”

“Then it’s not yours either,” Robert says firmly, and his eyes are the clearest they’ve been for a while. 

“Bitch,” Chad mutters, turning away and blinking quickly against the sudden burn in his own eyes. “Always the fucking mind games with you.”

Then he takes a deep, shuddering breath, stands in front of the scorch mark, and hovers his hands just inches away. 

“As hot as you can, as quick as you can,” Robert murmurs. 

If this was any other time, Chad would’ve made a stupid joke. But he looks back at Robert’s flushed, sweaty face and drooping eyes and can’t find a single fucking thing funny about this situation. 

Instead, he nods. And then he starts. 

Chad can burn extremely hot, but it always takes some build up to get there. This time, he tries as hard as he can to hurry it up, to skip over the first ten levels and get straight to eleven. He keeps the flames concentrated on the wall in front of him, but he can feel the entire container filling with their heat, and it only makes him more desperate to burn hotter, to get this done as quickly as possible. 

He feels light-headed and sick with the sudden surge of power, but he can’t stop. This is their only chance. If he fails now, that’s it.

He can’t look at Robert. If he sees him suffering, he’ll stop, and if he stops, they die.

He doesn’t know how long it takes, but he sees the moment the wall begins to warp and glow, and he presses his hands against it and burns hotter, as hot as he can, until finally, finally, it begins to give way. 

Chad pulls at the material and it parts beneath his fingers until daylight floods in. The sudden burst of fresh air into the container feeds his flames, and with restored strength, he tears the wall apart until the hole is big enough to squeeze out of. 

He immediately douses his fire, and the sudden stop is enough to have him swaying on his feet. But he did it. There’s air flowing into the container, and they can get out. 

“Hah!” Chad says breathlessly, turning to grin exhaustedly at Robert. “I fucking did it! Ready to get the fuck out of here?”

Robert doesn’t respond. He doesn’t grin back and make some dry comment about ‘better late than never.’ He doesn't pull his mask back over his head and zip up his suit. He doesn’t haul himself up and stumble out into the fresh air, calling for his mech suit and for backup. He doesn’t hug Chad again. 

Robert doesn’t do anything.

[dispatch-stuff]

And then once Robert cools down he wakes up and everyone lives happily ever after

Right OP? RIGHT???

[erlinblake]

Early morning 💛

[dispatch-stuff]

I love how rotund Beef is

[flamberttext]

Hello! I absolutely adore everything you post, you always write the most amazing stuff ❤️😍

Would it be possible for mw to request Robert trying to find a ring to propose to Chad with and talking to Alice wanting her input, while she's either trying to keep Chad from freaking out about Robert being weird recently and thinking Robert's going to dump him or, alternatively, having Chad talking to her about different proposal ideas he has for asking Robert to marry him?

(I just think the idea of Alice bouncing between talking to them both at the same time is funny lol)

I loved this ask so much and i’m so sorry it took me forever to get to it, but i really wanted to make both convos work well together. Hope u like it anon, and tyysm <3

⤹ Prism & Robert

⤹ Prism & Flambae

⤹ Prism & Robert

⤹ Prism & Flambae

[enigmasalad]

I feel like regardless of whether or not Robert is the one getting married, Beef will always be the ring bearer at a Z-Team wedding. Like if ANY of them get married, Beef is gonna carry the rings to them on a little pillow strapped to his back. The novelty never gets old

YES.

Them bitches LOVE Beef.

Like Beef just waddling down the aisle with the pillow and rings is honestly one of the peak moments of the entire wedding for everyone.

And Robert always gets copies of the photos of Ring Bearer Beef.

Beef just likes it cause he gets attention and treats. And it’s extra special when he’s dressed in a cute doggy tux.

[dirtycombatboots]

Had an extremely shitty day at work, need some extremely fluffy branches to fix it

Flambae keeps a printed copy of their wedding photo with him all the time. Everyone seen it. Because of how Robert looks in it, everyone assume Flambae married a hooker in Vegas. Prism makes sure her bestie never hears those theories

[glowinggemma28-fangirl]

Ok but how does Robert react knowing everyone thought he was a hooker based on that photo…let alone that Bae still carried it around

[dirtycombatboots]

He blushes when he learns about the photo. His husband still has it!

He laughs when he hears the rumors. Right, he was in his early twenties alt girl rebellious slut phase. Nobody recognizes him, because now he is looking absolutely plain and average. It's funny

[glowinggemma28-fangirl]

Wonder what Chase’s reaction to learning the hooker in the photo was Robert?

[holycometinsignia]

What would Victor reaction be when he found out his cousin was the hooker? He realized it seeing the missing part of the ear.

[glowinggemma28-fangirl]

Victor finally notices the missing ear after someone pointed it out. Immediately storms over to bae: Where did you meet him?

Alice worried Victor is part of the thinks bae married a hooker crowd is about to spill the beans.

Bae: We met at a bar. He was the only normie to get involved with a bad fight and then got literally thrown out abd landed on my chest…why do you ask?

Victor only slightly comforted by the fact that bae didn’t hire Robert.: Because I haven’t seen Robert since we were kids abd my aunt died. So realizing the guy in the picture is my cousin is a pretty big shock.

Alice: Wait Robert Robertson III is your COUSIN?

[dirtycombatboots]

Sonar: Aha, so I was right, that's him! Now tell me everything!

[glowinggemma28-fangirl]

Chase who overheard Prism use Robert’s full name and is having a heart attack from learning Batboner and his little brother share DNA and worse ROBERT GOT MARRIED TO THE MATCHSTICK AND DIDN’T EVEN INVITE HIM?!!!!?!??

[dirtycombatboots]

Add here that flambert have a child they kept secret (Beef. Or an actual child, whatever you prefer) and Chase is tempted to use his powers just to smack Flambae's head 10 times per second

[holycometinsignia]

I don't know why but my brain went you know what would be funny Phenomaman floating behind them looking at the photo and calmly saying ow that's the man I made love with before floating away not explaining a single thing to to anybody shouting what.

[dirtycombatboots]

Phenomammal just wanted to support Flambae by saying he has good taste in men

[flamberttext]

hello!!!!!! So I loved the one piece you made about Robert texting like beef and I thought that was so cute and was wondering if you could make more of those like maybe “beef” saying how much he likes Chad and that chad is a good dog dad cause come on Chad must have some insecurities underneath all that sass and ego no pressure ofc!!!!!!

[stebslilomegacurledupbyhisside]

All Chihuahuas are latinos to me thanks to Beverly Hills Chihuahua and that one Taco Bell commercial

So Beef from Dispatch is Mexican

Perhaps Guatemalan

Or maybe Puerto Rican

Or some other latino identify

We could ask him but he doesn't speak English (or any other human language for that matter)

[flamberttext]

first time requester :D

what about a text conversation between a drunk flambae and robert BUT flambae thinks he is texting prism. flambae is texting about how he wants to marry robert and being gushy about it because he thinks he's texting prism, but robert is there reading these a little stunned and says he'll give an answer later. flambae wakes up, hungover, and has to deal with the consequences of his drunken actions lol

[flamberttext]

"Boy, he looks exhausted," Alice remarked as she dropped onto the couch beside Flambae, handing him a bowl of popcorn fresh out of the microwave.

In front of them, the TV was tuned to a news channel broadcasting a press conference with Mecha Man following yet another successful mission.

"He is exhausted," Flambae replied automatically, eyes still fixed on the screen.

He sat cross-legged on the couch, wearing an oversized hoodie and sleep shorts. From the moment Robert had appeared on television — his face hidden behind his hero mask, his suit dirty and torn from the mission — Flambae had barely blinked.

Meanwhile, Alice lounged lazily against the armrest, sipping a can of soda while scrolling through live reactions and occasionally glancing up at the TV.

Onscreen, Mecha Man stood behind a podium emblazoned with the city's crest and at least six different sponsor logos. Bright camera flashes illuminated the stage around him while the constant clicking of shutters echoed every few seconds.

Robert, or Mecha Man, technically, had perfected the art of pretending he wasn't tired.

He stood straight. His voice remained steady. He answered questions with practiced ease. He joked with reporters. He thanked the emergency services. He reassured the public. He smiled at exactly the right moments.

He might never have been naturally good in front of cameras, but since joining SDN, he'd spent enough time training not to cause any more of a scene on live television.

"You think they're gonna keep him there much longer?" Alice asked casually without looking up from her phone.

“I don't think so. This should've ended by now…” Flambae muttered, still completely absorbed in the broadcast.

Onscreen, another reporter stood up.

"Mecha Man," she began, projecting her voice through the room. "Your family has protected this city for three generations now. Your father passed the mantle on to you, just as his father did before him. Have you ever thought about having children someday to carry on the legacy?"

Robert blinked.

Flambae immediately choked on his popcorn.

Alice finally looked up from her phone, glanced from the TV to Flambae, and burst out laughing.

"Oh my fucking God. I can't believe this."

Flambae coughed nervously, small curls of smoke and sparks escaping his mouth in uneven spirals.

In the broadcast, Robert recovered quickly, shifting his weight behind the podium.

"Well," he said with an awkward chuckle, "for someone to succeed me, I'd probably have to be dead first, and honestly, I'm not particularly excited about that possibility right now."

The room laughed politely.

Flambae took a deep breath, immediately recognizing the tone Robert always used whenever he desperately wanted a conversation to end.

The reporter smiled patiently.

"Then let me rephrase the question. Do you want children someday?"

Silence.

Not complete silence. Cameras were still clicking. People were still moving around. Reporters whispered among themselves.

But it was enough for the hesitation to become impossible to ignore.

On the couch, both Alice and Flambae sat perfectly still.

Waiting.

Robert opened his mouth.

Closed it.

Took a breath.

For the first time since the interview had begun, his confidence faltered in a way the cameras could actually catch.

"Well," he started carefully, "that's..."

He hesitated.

Flambae found himself holding his breath without realizing it.

They were together. They'd been seriously dating for months now. But things were still settling into place.

Robert had only recently moved into Flambae's apartment.

Parenthood wasn't exactly a conversation they'd had the chance to seriously discuss yet.

So yes.

Flambae was just as desperate to hear Robert's answer as everyone else watching.

"I think," Robert said slowly, "that in this type of work, the line between public and private life is pretty delicate, and that's probably the kind of thing I should discuss with my partner before talking about it in interviews."

A few reporters muttered their objections. Others nodded.

The reporter thanked him, and not long afterward, the press conference finally wrapped up. Robert thanked everyone politely and exited off the side of the stage, disappearing into the darkness backstage.

Alice immediately sat upright and turned fully toward Flambae.

Flambae avoided eye contact and shoved another handful of popcorn into his mouth.

"Oh, no. No, no, no," Alice said, laughing. "We're talking about this."

"Nope." Flambae spoke around a mouthful of popcorn. "There's nothing to talk about."

"He looked like a deer caught in headlights," Alice teased, poking him in the shoulder.

"Not my fault this time," Flambae said with a shrug, still visibly shaken by the question.

"Oh, please." Alice snorted. "You existed in the general vicinity of the topic."

Flambae grumbled, setting the popcorn bowl on the armrest before groaning and dragging a hand down his face.

He couldn't stop thinking about it.

About that brief moment of hesitation.

About the fact that Robert had hesitated because of him.

About the fact that Robert had referred to him as his partner.

About the fact that Robert had considered it a possibility at all.

"He could've just said no." Alice's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "But he didn't."

Flambae let out a weak laugh, trying — and failing — to sound unaffected.

"Alice."

Just from that one word, she could tell he was rattled.

She chuckled softly and stretched her legs across his lap.

"I'm just saying," she shrugged, "I wouldn't be opposed to having a niece or a nephew." She paused. "But I want a niece."

Flambae shook his head, smiling despite the warmth creeping up the back of his neck at the thought.

Then his phone buzzed beneath one of the couch cushions.

bob bob: Please tell me you weren't watching that.

Alice caught a glimpse of the message preview and immediately burst out laughing again.

Meanwhile, Flambae buried his face in the couch cushion and let out the most dramatic groan imaginable.

[shigeoreum]

hashtag MORE corporate superhero homosexuals

[flamberttext]

Sorry, very ryan Gosling pilled and the Ryan Gosling fan anon got to me i fear 😔😔

Idk what the lead up would be but may I request Robert or Prism accidentally messaging flambae like: "Hey Project Hail Mary is gonna start, where u at???" And flambae just being like "Yall are out tgt???"

And now flambae is just having a crisis about bitch ass Ryan fucking Gosling taking both his man and his bestie

Well, I think that anon got all of us, lol. Wonder if they’re seeing how everyone seems to agree with their friend's headcanon about Robert being a Ryan Gosling enjoyer.

[flamberttext]

From that infamous Tumblr post That's hilarious

[original post]

[capplesky]

[vale-river]

I needed to write some super painful Robert hurt/comfort, sorry all, no silly ideas here, only crying

Dispatch au, where everything's the same except Robert is a grieving father (I actually think I saw a post similar to this a while ago, but I can't remember)

-~-~-~-~-

It happened as a result of a casual fling in his early twenties. Robert hadn't thought much of it at the time, other than that it was a good night and it'd felt nice to be close to another person. He remembered using protection, but most of the details were blurry so maybe he actually hadn't, because several months later the woman he'd slept with ended up on his doorstep, visibly pregnant and scared.

She was freshly evicted, and claimed her parents wouldn't take her in on account of her unplanned pregnancy, so Robert didn't hesitate to let her move in. One night stand aside, it was the heroic thing to do in this situation, and as the one to put her in this situation, he couldn't leave her or the baby homeless.

So, she moved into Robert's family home that he hadn't gotten around to selling yet, and Robert supported her through the rest of the pregnancy. They weren't in a relationship, but together enough to comfortably agree on co-parenting. The thought of being a father had terrified Robert at the time, especially since he only had a handful of months to wrap his head around the concept. He feared turning into his own father, especially once he learned he was having a son. Robert was already following in his father's footsteps in every other way, it was only a matter of time before his parenting abilities proved to be the same.

But then his son was born, and Robert absolutely fell in love with him. He kept him as far separated from the legacy as possible. The Mech was stored far from the house, anything hero related was stored out of sight, and he'd dropped the godawful Robert name lineage (don't know what he named him, I'm thinking maybe Liam??). Even just hours old, Robert couldn't imagine hurting his little boy, mentally or physically. Not like what his dad had done with him.

Robert cut down on how often he went out as Mecha Man, but paternity leave wasn't exactly an option for solo heroes. He switched his nighttime patrols to daytime ones, so he was available to take care of his son throughout the night while the boy's mom got the rest she needed.

He thought the system worked great for the first few days of his son's life, but then he got home late one night to the sound of his son's strained, exhausted crying, the sight of the baby in an hours old dirty diaper and spit up crusting his little onesie, cold formula knocked to the floor, and whatever belongings from the kid's mother gone.

Robert had jumped straight into getting his son clean and calm and fed, then searched the house for his mother. He was pissed, and rightfully so. All signs of her were wiped clean, like she hadn't been living there at all. She hadn't left a note, or even fucking called him to make him come home early. She'd just left their barely week old baby alone, possibly for hours, and ran away. And Robert didn't bother trying to contact her. If it was a postpartum thing, she'd come back and they could talk and figure things out, but he knew she wasn't coming back, and he was now effectively a single dad.

From there, Robert fully dedicated himself to his son. He took a break from hero work, spent hours with his needy baby, and did little coding jobs on the side when he needed something to do. Robert planned to give up hero work until his son was older, but then his son got sick.

It came out of nowhere. Only a few years old, and his son was hospitalized. It hit the kid hard, and it'd been horrifying, watching him go from energetic, happy and playful to exhausted, quiet and pained. Robert spent as much time with him as possible, but when he had to go home afterward, he couldn't handle the silence and ended up returning to hero work as a distraction.

Years went by with his new routine. He'd get to the hospital once visitation hours started, spend all day with him, playing and drawing or doing whatever he wanted, then he'd read him a bedtime story before visitation ended. Then Robert would leave and go out as Mecha Man for the night, go home to choke down a quick dinner and sleep for a bit, then begin the process all over again the next day.

He quickly drained his savings on treatments for his son, and on Mech repairs from his own carelessness. The cost of the treatments had him cheaping out on materials for the Mech though, and it wouldn't be long before the Mech fully shut down. Robert only hoped that by then, his boy would be back home and healthy again.

-~-~-~-~-

He passed just before his tenth birthday.

Robert knew it was coming, but witnessing his son's final breaths had been so much more difficult than he thought it would be. No amount of preparing for that moment made it any easier, to see his precious boy's struggles to live, and then the stillness of a life given up afterward.

Robert felt numb throughout the process of it all, disconnected from the grief that lay heavy in his heart. The burial was a private affair, taking place the day before his son's birthday, with only himself and Beef present because Robert had nobody. He'd handled it all alone, not even letting his baby's deadbeat mother know what was happening.

The grief didn't fully hit until after it was all over, when Robert went back home and realized there were no daily hospital visits anymore, there was no gentle playing or expensive treatments or children's stories anymore, he was gone.

Robert broke down in the middle of his son's bedroom, surrounded by reminders that he'd failed his own son worse than his dad had with him.

He couldn't stay there after that. Robert sold the house, moved into a piece of shit apartment, donated what he could and stuffed the rest in storage or closets.

Robert knew that going after Shroud would result in an ambush, he knew that it was a suicide mission. He just. . . Didn't care anymore.

-~-~-~-~-

The grief didn't go away, it just changed shape. Some days it settled deep in his chest like a heavy sludge, and other days it pressed into his lungs until he choked.

After the explosion and waking from the coma, Robert learned to adjust to the grief, living day by day knowing that he'd outlived his son, and he couldn't do anything to change it. He'd never get over the loss, but throughout his recovery, Robert slowly adjusted and learned to live with it.

Starting work at SDN certainly helped. It kept him busy and gave him plenty to do, and the team he was in charge of even managed to keep his mind off of it all with their ridiculousness.

There were times though, where random little things reminded Robert of his son, and that choking in his lungs came back. Any mention of sick kids set it off, or seeing his son's favorite snacks, or even pictures of himself as a kid Chase kept bringing in, purely because his son had been a little clone of himself. Even times when Flambae mentioned his niece had him near tears, because she was close to his son's age.

He never told anyone about his son, not even Chase, because he just wasn't ready to talk about it, not when he was still mourning him.

-~-~-~-~-

Going out for drinks with the team became a weekly thing after Shroud's arrest. Robert tried not to join them often, because he tended to get carried away, but this week they dragged him along anyway. He didn't even fight against it, but certainly made his displeasure known.

He didn't drink anything at first, but then the team all talked him into just one, that quickly turned to two, then three, then so many more. The night progressed like that, with everyone getting shit faced and Robert ignoring his own insistence of no more.

At some point, the whole team had settled into a large booth, all talking shit and cracking jokes as per usual. Robert was content to just sit there and listen, but then the topic of kids somehow came up, and Sonar said something about how “Robert would totally name his kid Robert the Fourth”, and he immediately jumped in.

“Absolutely not, I named my-” And then he realized what he was saying and stopped, sliding his hand over his mouth. Oh god.

At first, everyone collectively smirked and prepared to tease him over looking like he was about to throw up, but then began panicking when tears started building in his eyes. He was crying.

And by panic, they completely flipped out.

“Oh my god, what happened?!” Sonar yelped, leaping from his seat- and promptly wobbling a little because he was quite tipsy, and thus began the chorus of freaking out that nobody could keep track of.

“What did you do?!”

“You broke him! You broke Bob-Bob, what the fuck?!”

“Robert, what's going on? You need to breathe.”

“Holy shit he's dying!”

Robert didn't know if it was the copious amount of alcohol, or if he was finally trusting them, or if his body was tired of holding back, but he didn't even fight the tears as they came. He sucked in shaky breaths, feeling like he was being crushed under the weight of his loss all over again.

It was, surprisingly, Flambae that went to comfort him first. Maybe it wasn't too surprising given he was the most sober, but with their history? Robert expected mockery, not gentle hands and soft looks that only made the tears fall harder.

“Hey, you're okay Bobbo, just let it out,” He said soothingly, hands warm on Robert's arms. The firestarter then looked over his shoulder, barking orders, “Mal, fucking calm down! Stop scolding your fucking rat and get over here, we're taking our crybaby home.” Despite his harsh words, there was a noticeable worried edge to them.

And that stopped the chaos, at least for a moment. Long enough for Malevola to rip open a portal, and for Flambae to haul Robert to his feet and drag him through to his depressing living room.

The rest of the team followed them in, hovering anxiously and whispering nervously, unsure what to do. Robert couldn't help but feel ashamed, for showing so much weakness in front of them all, for ruining their fun night out with his issues.

Robert was shoved unceremoniously onto his couch, and the whole team crowded around him without warning. Malevola and Sonar settled on either side of him on the couch, Golem sat next to the couch and reached out a large hand to gently touch his knee, Visi leaned on the construct watching Robert like he was about to explode again, Coupé and Punch Up forced him to sip a bottle of water from where they anxiously hovered, Prism stood off to the side holding a sick bucket out like a shield, and in the center of it all Flambae crouched on the floor by Robert's legs.

The pyro stared into his eyes with a gaze so intense it helped to ground Robert, speaking to him gently yet firmly. Robert didn't know what he was saying, just that his words, Mal’s firm warmth on his left side, Sonar's fluffy softness on his right side, and everyone else's quiet worry slowly calmed him down.

There was an unspoken question hanging heavy in the air, one that Robert didn't want to address, but his drunken brain still scrambled to answer even after the crying sobered him up.

“I didn't name him Robert,” He gasped out, “I swear, I would never.”

Everyone hesitated, and only Malevola was brave enough to ask.

“Who?”

Robert opened and closed his mouth, choking on his response, then finally uttered, “My son.”

Something seemed to shift then, and everyone pressed a little closer. They weren't suffocating, or smothering, but soothing. The waterworks started again, silent tears tracking down Robert's face once more.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Mal prompted, so soft her voice was more warbly than usual.

And again, he really didn't want to, but he blurted out his answer anyway.

“Leukemia, he. . .” Robert breathed out shakily, “He had leukemia. He didn't make it. . .”

“Fuck,” Visi hissed, stricken, and was echoed by a handful of others.

“How long?” Flambae asked gently.

Robert blinked, trying to remember exactly how long it'd been since he lost his son, and crying a little harder when he realized he didn't know.

“Before my coma. He passed about a week before, was tryin- trying to join him,” He answered instead, flinching after his admission. Why did he say that?

“Fuck,” Visi repeated, sounding choked up, likely from realizing just how close she'd been to giving him what he wanted at the time.

Sonar hissed an angry sound, pressing his weight a little more against Robert. That, combined with Mal coiling her muscular arms around him, squeezed a startled huff from Robert, but the pressure settled his brain a little more.

“Honey,” Prism spoke, hesitant, “That was only five months ago, how're you even still standing?”

“I don't wanna be,” Robert responded weakly.

“And that's okay,” Coupé spoke up, calm and gentle.

“We got you, you're not alone anymore,” Sonar added, tucking himself firmly against Robert's side.

And once again, Robert broke down, letting the grief wash over him.

-~-~-~-~-

Everyone ended up having an impromptu sleepover after that, and the next morning, Robert surprised even himself when he dug around in his closet and pulled out a box of his son's things.

In it, he had his old phone full of pictures he hadn't transferred over, and some physical photos, alongside his son's favorite toys, some of his books he couldn't donate, and his hospital band.

Robert spent the day talking about his little boy, and the team all listened. He talked about how his son wanted to go to space and hug pluto because he felt bad that it wasn't a real planet, and how Beef was actually his dog and he'd come up with the name, and how he'd been a little copy and paste of Robert, right down to the chipped ear- which his son had damaged after falling and hurting himself before he got sick.

And even when Robert got choked up, that thick well of grief in his chest began softening with each new memory he shared.

[vale-river]

I thought of a much happier ending for my "grieving dad Robert" post!

For this one, I decided to fully commit to the Z-Team polycule I hinted at in the tags of that post, and I'm committing to naming the kid Liam

-~-~-~-~-

Things started to get worse before they got better. Liam got weaker, more exhausted, lost more weight. Robert was told to prepare for the worst, and he knew his son was losing the fight. But then, it did get better.

It was an experimental new treatment that did it, combined with the efforts of a lone doctor's healing powers. Robert almost thought he was dreaming, when Liam stayed awake during his visit long enough to weakly hug him and demand a story.

And from there, he kept getting better, gradually building his strength back and fighting back against the leukemia.

Robert was there every step of the way. From the treatments, to recovery in the hospital, to Liam ringing the bell after his final round of treatments, then recovery at home. Anytime his boy needed him, he was there, Mecha Man be damned.

Recovery at home was a difficult process though. Liam was still exhausted all the time, and protested the small recommended exercises he was supposed to do. He slept a lot, was pickier about his food after so many years spent eating whatever was in the hospital, clung to Robert even more than he used to, and although he was happy to be out of the hospital, Robert could tell that he was stressed. It was a big change, going from living in the hospital for most of his life, to a completely unrecognizable, empty home.

Robert had sold the house to pay for Liam's final treatment, and had to get rid of a lot of the furniture when he ended up renting a much smaller apartment. Liam didn't like the apartment, Robert could tell, but he couldn't afford anything else, not with how low his inheritance and savings had gotten.

They spent Liam's tenth birthday doing whatever Liam wanted, where Robert nearly cried a little because it was the first birthday in years spent outside of the hospital.

Liam still had constant doctor's appointments for monitoring, but the relief of finally having his son home made it worth it, especially now that he was on the road to recovery.

-~-~-~-~-

Robert's coma happens a little differently. Instead of getting baited by Shroud, because he's so focused on his son, Shroud ends up discovering Liam's existence and threatens his life.

That certainly gets Robert back into action. As stupid as it is, he falls right for the obvious trap, and gets hurt badly enough to be stuck in a medically induced coma for a while.

When he wakes up and the fight or flight wears off, he, of course, panics because he basically abandoned his son. Liam is perfectly fine though, if a little spoiled when he's brought into Robert's hospital room.

Turns out, Chase was still listed as his emergency contact, and since Robert had no other guardian listed to take care of Liam if anything happened, he was asked to take emergency custody. So, Chase took care of Liam and Beef while Robert was unable to, slowly getting to know his nephew that he hadn't even known existed because Robert was a moron.

Chase has quite a few things to say when he visits with Liam, scolding him for being a sacrificial dumbass, for not contacting him once after his Dad's death, for not telling him about having a kid, for not asking for help with his kid's treatments.

But, after it all, Chase hugged Robert tight, telling him how proud he was, and Robert couldn't help but tear up a little.

During Robert's recovery, Liam sticks by his side like a stubborn little sentinel. He uses the excuse of "dad took care of me when I was sick, so I have to take care of him now too!" When he tries to help Robert with anything, and Robert's too much of a softie for his son to tell him to stop and focus on his own recovery.

-~-~-~-~-

Chase, obviously, gets Robert his job at SDN once he's out of the hospital, but Robert starts work a lot different than in canon.

Robert isn't comfortable leaving his son with a babysitter, or taking him to a stressful new environment, so he starts dispatching from home. It works out better for everyone that way. Robert can still work and make a living, while also being able to watch his son and help him out on bad days, and the work doesn't disrupt their lives too much.

The team doesn't know the reason Robert doesn't work in the office though, and they all jump to conclusions and tease Robert relentlessly for it. Robert just teases and snarks right back, not explaining a single thing.

It isn't until Sonar starts snooping through Robert's files that they learn how unlucky their poor dispatcher is.

"Hmm, says here he's fresh out of a coma, doesn't say why though. . ." Sonar reported to the group while getting drinks after work, humming curiously.

"Damn, did the bitch fall off a building or something? That why he sounds so damn tired all the time?" Flambae snarked.

"Probably. . . Oh, he also owes a fuckton of money to. . . Oh." Sonar paused then, almost sounding horrified by whatever discovery he'd just made.

"Oh? Oh what? C'mon Vic, spill," Malevola prompted, trying to lean over Sonar's shoulder to see his phone.

"He's making payments to a children's cancer clinic."

"Like, donations?" Prism asked, confused.

"No, uh. For a Liam Robertson. . ." Sonar scrolled a little more, muttering, "Liam. . . Hm, ten years old, resident for seven years, multiple treatments for leukemia, family is. . . Shit guys, that's his son."

And the team all went quiet at that, stunned. His son.

It wasn't something they could joke about. They may be pieces of shit, but even they wouldn't stoop so low as to make fun of a struggling dad and his sick kid.

From then on, they completely stop making fun of Robert for working from home, and Robert is left super confused because he thought their assumptions were actually hilarious.

-~-~-~-~-

When Robert gets more. . . Involved, with the Z-Team, he finally tells them about Liam. Only, they aren't surprised, and they take advantage of them all being together now to spoil the kid like they've been wanting to since they learned about him.

Flambae, as the one who's best with kids, brings little homemade treats for Liam, and introduces him to his niece. Her and Liam take a while to really bond, but they really hit it off when Liam starts talking about space, and Flambae's niece is so curious that they spend hours talking about things they like. Flambae sets up frequent playdates for them, and his niece eventually helps Liam with all the online schooling he has to do.

Robert never asked Malevola to, but the demoness had started regularly checking on Liam with her healing abilities, to see how he was feeling. It had Robert more at ease than ever, especially since he freaked out over even a minor cough from his son. She also seemed to be a lot better with kids than she claimed, letting Liam hang off of her arms and swinging him over her shoulders when he had the strength to try roughhousing. Her and Flambae basically argued over who gets to carry Liam around all the time, despite the fact that Liam is old enough that he doesn't need carried.

Prism wasn't much of a kid person, with her only exception being Flambae's niece, but a second exception was quickly made for Liam. He was obsessed with her powers, and she gave in to his puppy eyes easily when he wanted to see the pretty lights. She, somehow, is the one who spoils him the most, always buying new toys and clothes for him. She buys him ridiculously expensive star projectors, and they're Liam's favorite things ever.

Sonar, in a move that surprised Robert, started making donations to cancer research sites, and even more surprisingly, started pitching in to pay off Liam's medical debt. Robert tried getting him to stop, actually a little angry at him for it, but Sonar was insistent and just wanted to help. Liam actually really liked Sonar, claiming that hugging him was kike hugging Beef, just way bigger. Liam also took advantage of Sonar's constant bragging over being a Harvard grad by forcing the man bat to help with his schooling. Sonar gave in every single time.

Coupé actually offered to hunt down Liam's absent mom and force her to pay child support- all of the team thought Robert was stupid for not making her pay it, but Robert just didn't want to deal with her. She was also surprisingly good with Liam, once she was more comfortable around the kid. She smiled more, softened up more. She even read to him a little, turning him into even more of a bookworm than he already was. Robert just hoped she was reading child appropriate books.

Golem, already a dad to his baby kaiju, was an excellent babysitter when Robert needed one. He was gentle despite his size, patient with the kids, and was more than happy to let Liam rest on him when he got tired. He was probably one of the biggest reasons Liam spent time outside, which Robert was immensely grateful for.

Punch Up entertained Liam constantly with stories of his past. He kept them PG, and toned down on his cussing a lot. Liam really enjoyed his circus tales, and Punch was more than happy to demonstrate some tricks he still has up his sleeves. He also took it upon himself to attempt teaching Liam self defense, which Robert was iffy about, but it helped his son actually exercise so he let it slide.

Visi was a little iffy around him. She didn't really make much of an effort, and actually kept her distance more often than not. She always acted strangely around him and Robert. After the Shroud fiasco and learning that she'd been the one to blow the Mech up. . . Robert finally realized why.

After that, he was a lot more hesitant to let Visi around Liam, but after a few monitored hangouts, she started to lighten up. She gave up smoking, started acting more mature around him, and her and Liam started pulling pranks on Robert and everyone else when he trusted her alone with him.

They all helped Robert learn to accept help, and gave Liam a large family that were all willing to dote on him.