{in which Herm's feeling well enough to get out again!}
This chapter is so short because the other 3,000 words are just smut! You can find it on my AO3, or wait for the start of the next chapter, where I will summarise it if you don't wanna read!
The lights around the outdoor movie theatre came back on as the credits rolled. Peter stretched, back popping, and stood up to help Herm pack up their stuff. “I’m glad you’re feeling better enough to get out, babe,” Peter commented as they put their snacks away.
“‘Babe’, huh?” Herm observed.
“What?” he giggled. “It’s cute. Or is it too cringe?”
Herm gave him a fond look. “N-Never with you.”
“Cutie.” The back of his neck tingled. He stilled and glanced around. Moviegoers, cinema staff, a kid being berated by their mum… nothing out of the ordinary.
“What’s— everything? All good?” Herm asked, also pausing to scan their surroundings.
“…Yeah. Yeah, sorry. Something felt… off…” He trailed off and resumed putting their cups and plates away, trying to shake the feeling of ants crawling all over his skin. He had goosebumps.
You have seen Flambae lighting Robert's cigarette when they are smoking together
Now get ready for Robert thinking about Flambae while smoking alone (or not smoking cus he didn't even light his cigarette)
I would give my left kidney for Z-Team!Magical Girl Transformations.
I like to think Flambae's transformation sequence would just be three times longer than everyone else because he's just that extra.
Waterboy's final posture is him awkwardly standing in front of that Zara Larsson dolphin meme background.
Robert's transformation ends up with him looking the exact same, except he now has a cup of coffee in his hand and looks even more exhausted than before.
apologies for it being cropped so badly i unfortunately sketched out detailed merman genitalia for this au . not sure if i will show it unless if you freaks want me to
i want to make this into a fic so bad but i need a co writer (someone to write 80% of the fic while i just make the plotpoints and give a thumbs up every now and then)
Mermaid Flambae trying to court Robert. But the ONLY thing Robert is responding to is the meaty fish. Pearls and treasures? Those are nice. But FUCK yea a fish he can turn into a MEAL? For multiple days? Count him IN.
Flambae is a smug provider
Mermaid Flambae is giving Robert allll the fish. Too much, honestly. Robert doesn't even know what to do with all the fish, but he accepts them with a grateful smile. It makes Flambae so happy, the guy will be splashing water with his tail in excitement.
It's both funny and endearing at how hard Flambae tries to court Robert, but doesn't understand human customs at all. Flambae will do all sorts of things like brightening up the color of his scales, constantly nudging Robert with his nose, as well as follow him around in the water, as much as he can.
salmon shark mermaid! reader who great white shark mermaid! robert sees and immediately decides you must be a pup.
you’re so small—you look like a tiny version of him, and maybe that’s what triggers his instincts. but he’ll gather you into his arms, rolling over on his back and pulling you to float with him.
he even starts giving you some of his own food, and maybe that will make you a bit bigger. he doesn’t exactly realize that you’re a different species altogether, but it’s gotten him to come out of his shell a little bit, so that’s good.
robert who gets absolutely pulverized by some villain one day. he’s broken at least a few bones, it feels like he tore a ligament in his back, and he’s pretty sure he has a concussion. he’s about to pass out, and all he’s focused on is making it back to his apartment.
his vision is swimming, and he’s so tired, and he fumbles with his keys, dropping them on the ground twice before he tries the lock. it’s…open, which is weird, because he’s sure he locked it. has the furniture been rearranged?
something hard connects with the back of his skull, and everything goes dark.
^*^
meanwhile, you’re freaking out because your weird, reclusive neighbor tried to break into your apartment and now he’s lying limp on the ground. the baseball bat you keep for protection is still clutched in your hands, but you’re not worried about that.
he’s covered in blood. it’s in his hair, caked all over the…armor he’s wearing, dripping from the cuts on his face. and it seems like he can tank a hit to the head and be fine, because his eyes are fluttering open as you kneel down to roll him over onto his back.
he smiles. it’s dazed and bloody. “y’r…really cute,” he slurs, trying to reach out towards you. something crunches in his shoulder. “just stay still,” you mutter, trying to keep him from sitting up. he’s surprisingly strong, considering he likely has a concussion by now and more than a few broken bones.
you manage to get one thing out of him: he’s mechaman. you have no idea what that means. then he vomits in your lap and passes out again.