content: robert x black-coded fem! reader, reader has curly hair, light blood, violence, a little bit suggestive toward the end (nothing explicit happens), robert's in his late twenties
notes: this went through FIVE plot changes 😭.
Robert’s shift had just ended when his girlfriend barraged his phone with texts. He sighed — a mix of the stress leaving him and the disappointment of interrupted silence — and snagged his phone off the table, not before taking off his headset. Robert could still hear the arguing and many, many sex jokes.
you : [a hi would be nice]
❤️: [a twenty day streak would be nice too]
[but we cant have everything can we?]
Lord, help him. Maybe he shouldn’t have asked her out. Should’ve just kept his mouth shut. Then again, Robert wasn’t too fond of seeing her with anyone else but him.
[are we still on for tonight?]
When was this established? Your mind ran through every conversation, text and face-to-face, with Robert that led up to today. Nothing popped up. You squinted at the text.
mine 💓: [are we still on for tonight?]
Oh, shit. You completely forgot and were already clocked out for the day. Bonnet on, makeup off, nothing could get you out of bed. Your phone buzzed.
mine 💓: [you forgot didn’t you]
[its okay if you don’t feel like it baby]
Fuck Robert Robertson lll for being so considerate. You huffed and thought over how much time you had to get ready. Your thumbs flew across the keyboard.
Twenty minutes was stretching it, but it wasn’t an impossible feat. A quick wash-n-go and praying a prayer would get you to SDN in fifteen. Not wanting to waste any more time, you threw yourself out of bed.
Robert didn’t look surprised when you pulled up thirty minutes later. Traffic kicked your ass and served it to you on a platter, your hair was still damp with product— a mess was what you were.
Never had you felt so much guilt. Only two things stopped you from sinking into the driver’s seat: Your cutie patootie and his even cuter dog.
You rolled the window down and called out to the latter, “Hi, baby!”
Beef yipped from Robert’s arms and attempted to wiggle out of his grip to reach you. Robert held him tighter as he got closer to the car.
“Feed me, woman!” ‘Beef’ demanded, stretching his neck to lick your face.
“He does not sound like that!” You took Beef from the wretched claws of your evil boyfriend and placed him in the backseat.
“Pretty accurate to me,” Robert grinned and settled his arms on the hood of your car, peering down at you. “Hi, hon.”
Robert’s voice was one of the many things you adored about him. Deep and a tad husky, but gained a soft lilt when it was just the two of you. Certain characteristics were only visible to you, and yes, you would gloat about it until the day you die.
“Hi,” You almost giggled from the ticklish feeling you got, the one that only appears when you’re around Robert. “How was work?”
“No.” The hell were you supposed to do with that?
“No?” You echoed. Robert circled the car to get into the passenger seat.
“Unless you wanna learn a bunch of synonyms for dick, I’m not saying jackshit.”
Sunlight caught your head of spirals and corkscrews. Because you ran out of gel, you didn’t define them like you normally would. Robert looked tantalized by the curls, eyes flickering to each one. His hand reached out to pick one up, still a little damp and glowing with product residue, and let it drop. Mango wafted under his nose.
You look at him from the corner of your eye, “Yeah.”
Phew. You shouldn’t have been so affected by the compliment (he gave you about ten a day), but his attention to detail was what got you. He always spotted the differences. More definition one day, more volume and frizz another. No one worshipped your natural hair as much as the man next to you.
“Okay, so it looked ugly before. Noted.” Sarcasm laced your words.
“Oh, hush,” A kiss is pressed against your cheek, “That’s impossible.”
You gotta stomp on the pedal before this man melts you any further.
The streets decided to play in your face by being void of traffic. The playlist emitting from the speakers calmed you enough not to go batshit. Robert was decompressing beside you. Eyes pulled shut, deep breaths leaving him — the team had him drained like lemons on a hot day.
Even with his exhaustion, he still gave you attention. A hand rested on your thigh, thumb tracing random patterns. If you weren’t so focused on the road, you’d be all over him. At a red light, one hand slipped off the steering wheel to rest on top of his.
The two of you only needed a few things from the corner store: snacks and some treats for Beef. What you hated most about this specific store was how blinding the fluorescent lights were. You would get full-on headaches. But the owner was a sweetheart and gave you discounts. She wasn’t behind the counter, strangely enough.
Two heads turn to the sound. A duo of men were trying to lift an ATM from the tiled floor. Their ski masks told the whole story.
“The hell?” You breathed out. Only reason you weren’t freaking out, besides the pure absurdity, was because you had an ex-hero next to you. Said ex-hero was looking at the ceiling for guidance. He’s been tested all day. This was his final straw.
“Pretty stupid to steal in broad daylight, don’t you think?”
One of them, presumably the lackey, looked at the other for guidance.
“Fuck you lookin’ at me for? Take ‘em out!”
Before either of you could even react — let alone blink — the lackey hit Robert square in the face and sent him tumbling back.
With no hesitation, you swung your bag at the guy’s jaw. The guy ducked and grabbed you by the collar of your shirt. A rough push knocked you against the shelves. Your shoulder screamed and pulsed; the air got snatched right from your lungs.
From the floor, Robert gritted his teeth and sent a kick to your attacker’s shin. He dropped, a loud plop echoing through the small space. Once you recovered, you went back into the ring to help your boyfriend.
“Didn’t think you had it in you,” Robert spoke with a bleeding lip.
“Eh,” You shrugged, pulling the tab off a Sprite. You took a sip before pressing the cold can to Robert’s cheek. “I’m willing to kick some ass for people I care about.”
You and Robert left the store with a few bruises and a bag of goodies. Leaving two unconscious individuals on the ground and some cash on the counter wasn’t the smartest decision ever, but a win’s a win.
Parked outside your apartment complex, the two of you sat on the hood of your car (Beef dozed off in the backseat, the window left ajar to let air in). Both of you were too tuckered out to go inside the complex just yet. The sun was saying goodbye, setting behind the various buildings of L.A.
“Aww, how sweet,” Robert cooed next to you. You playfully nudged him back.
Your hand didn’t leave his shoulder. It trailed up and up, pausing at stubble. Robert’s pupils dilated, quick to miss. He let out a breath, eyes lidded.
“You’re lip’s all busted up,” You whispered to yourself, thumbing at the small cut. Teeth nip at your palm.
You gave him a look. The thought alone left you a little sick. Robert only smiled at the sight of your pout.
“You’re so fuckin’ cute.” His voice got quieter, more intimate, with every word. He moved closer — lips a hairsbreadth away.
Lips locked. His hands held your hips, yours tangled into his hair. Public indecency tried to yell over the racy thoughts running through your head, but the sounds leaving Robert? You needed more.
Surprisingly, he broke the kiss first. He stared at you like you were the only girl in the world. Specks of blood stained your lips. His morale was slipping, and you marveled at it.
“Sorry,” Robert had the nerve to croak.
You glared and leaned over his lap. Cradling the back of his neck, you kiss him once more. That apology? Fake. For someone who felt “sorry,” they were quick to match your energy and return your pecks.
A series of barks cut through the tension. Beef could only go so long without attention.
“Okay, okay! Damn,” You huffed with a roll of your eyes. You scooted off the car and opened the door to get Beef.
You caught Robert giving you an up-down when you turned to him, “Come on, lover boy.”
“We’re finishing this later, by the way,” He huffed and hopped off the hood, trailing behind you.