Scenario, where Robert accidently forgets his and Herm's anniversary.
Herm prepared a lovely evening with Robert's favourite meal, dessert, a small gift and some very relaxing bath.
Robert worked a bit longer that day, doing sth on the Mech and didn't read Herm's messages. Only when he finished his work, he looked at his phone and went home immediately. He forgot their anniversary. He tries to call Herm on the way, but he doesn't pick up the phone.
Its 11 p.m. when Robert is home. Herm is already asleep, so he doesn't wake him. Though he does see the things Herm prepared. He feels so bad and guilty.
And yes, Herm cried himself to sleep and started to feel really insecure. He's more sad than mad and it will show the next day.
And yes, the Z team is ready to fight Robert (even Chase wants to punch Robert)
Hi this took all day so far to write.
So for starters I personally don’t see Robert forgetting an anniversary because he sets so many reminders on his phone cause he doesn’t want to fuck this up..
BUT I ALSO DO SEE IT?? IS THAT WEIRD??
Herm worked so hard and he’s so proud of himself. Heck he encouraged Robert to work later so he had more time to set everything up. Robert had told him it would be a minor fix to the mech and he’d be home. He was so excited.
He made Robert baked Mac n’ Cheese (Chase’s recipe that he told Herm to only cook for bad days and special events), a small chocolate cake that Herm himself can’t even eat (dairy) and he bought Robert flowers and got hims some small gift (Herm got Robert into collecting some hero merch, but it’s pretty much been Z team and Trackstar merch. Herm got him something Trackstar). He even made a heartfelt (and soggy) note! He also made something he himself could eat but that wasn’t the centerpiece of the surprise. And now he just has to wait!
He starts to get a bit concerned. He texts a simple “Where are you?”. Then a “Let me know when you’re coming home! :D”. Herm tells himself that the food can be reheated. And it’ll still be warm when Robert comes back. But Robert doesn’t.
He calls. He calls again. It’s getting later and Robert still isn’t back. Herm is starting to feel less excited and more nervous. More..anxious. He at this point has moved to the couch, holding Beef, telling himself Robert is just busy. The mech is intricate. He’ll be back soon. He said he would.
He checks the time and it’s 10 pm. Herm sighs, sets Beef down and he goes to start putting food away in the fridge. He forgets about the plates and forks he’s placed on the kitchen island/bar set up. He leaves the flowers there too, and the gift with the note onto the coffee table. He turns the lights off, picks up Beef and goes to bed. He lies there, curled up and he finds himself tearing up. And it’s not small tears either. It’s those big tears that he gets when he feels intense emotions.
Why wasn’t Robert here? He said he would be home soon. Did Robert forget that bad? Did he not come on purpose? Maybe their anniversary isn’t as important as the mech. That thought stings a little. Up until now, Robert has put their relationship above the mech and it was a very hard thing for him to do. But he did it.
Herm sends one last text before he cries himself to sleep.
Robert on the other hand, has been working with Royd for such a long time. They were doing some casual repairs and calibrations when they found a glitch in the mech they had to fix. It required rewiring, reprogramming, all sorts of bs. It’s been rough. But he finally gets a chance to go tell Herm he’s gonna be home soon. So he goes to where his phone is resting on a workbench….
He sees three missed calls and five texts. The last one says “Happy Anniversary”. No emoticons, no emojis. No heart emojis like Herm usually would. Nothing.
Robert feels sick to his stomach. Oh fuck he forgot. He tells Royd he has to go ASAP. Royd asks what’s wrong and Robert says it’s his and Herm’s anniversary today. And he forgot it. Royd lets out a horrified “Bro” and Robert is just off.
He tries calling Herm, but Herm is t answering. Shit.
He makes it back home and when he steps in he’s expecting to see maybe a sad Herm, or an irritated Herm, or just Herm in general. Instead he’s met with the lights being off. When he turns them on, he sees plates and forks still on the island/bar thing. He sees a bouquet of flowers on the island/bar thing too and they’re starting to wilt a little because they aren’t in any water.
He sighs and he starts heading to their bedroom when he sees something on the coffee table. He sees a gift box and a note. It’s a bit damp and it’s smudged but Robert’s learned how to read Herm’s writing by now.
The note is Herm expressing his love for Robert. He’s been the happiest he’s ever been since the day they met. He’s never felt so loved in his entire life and he’s grateful for everything Robert’s done for him. He’s even more grateful to be by his side. So he hopes they have many more anniversaries together. He wants to keep loving and making Robert happy for the rest of their lives.
Robert is pissed at himself and puts the note down. He goes to the bedroom and he finds Herm is asleep with Beef curled up next to him. It breaks Robert’s heart even more. Herm was waiting. And waiting. And waiting. He was waiting for him to one home. He was waiting to show him how much he loved him. And Robert repays such love, care and devotion with this?
Robert sighs and goes to put the flowers in some water. Afterwards, he goes to get himself a drink when he sees the food. He decides his stomach can’t handle a drink of any kind. He just goes to to the bathroom to brush his teeth. There in the bathroom is some brand new bath stuff. There’s minty Epsom salts, some dried rose petals and an adorable rubber duck. Robert can feel that duck glaring at him.
Once he gets into bed, Robert looks at Herm. His back is facing Robert. Robert wants to pull Herm close to him and hold him, but that would wake him. And even if it didn’t, Beef is in the way. So here he is, apart from Herm. He curses himself quietly and turns to the other side and tries to get some sleep.
It’s the next morning and Herm wakes up like he usually does. He looks over and he doesn’t see Robert in bed. He’s now concerned. He wakes up first. He always sees Robert when he wakes up. Did Robert not make it home??
Herm gets up hurriedly but as he opens the bedroom door, he smells burning. He looks into their kitchen and Robert is cooking eggs. Well, attempting to cook eggs. He’s mostly swearing at the eggs and trying to get them not to stick. The fan is on overdrive. Robert sighs and turns off the stove. He turns and sees Herm just..standing there watching.
Robert has this guilty look on his face. He tells Herm good morning. Herm quietly says it back. It’s awkwardly quiet and he says he was trying to make breakfast. He’s..sorry for last night. Herm doesn’t say anything. Robert tries to apologize for getting so absorbed in the mech, but Herm stops him. He says they can talk about it later. They have work soon. And Robert knows he fucked up big time when Herm says that.
When they arrive to work, everyone is expecting to be lovey dovey and gushy. What they aren’t expecting is Herm be so…sad and Robert has that “I can’t have emotions show I have to be professional” face. That face disappears momentarily when he looks at Herm. Guilt, concern and sadness are on his face before it goes back to that “forced to be professional” expression.
Chase asks what the fuck is up and Robert says he forgot it was his and Herm’s anniversary last night and he stayed super late. Robert can hear Galen across the room say “Dude….”.
Chase is IMMEDIATELY pissed. He says he’s been protecting Robert’s ass when it came to Herm (shovel talking and making sure Herm knows what he’s in for) and when he finally deems Herm worthy and lets Herm take over, Robert pulls THIS SHIT?
Robert says he knows and he doesn’t know how he’s gonna make it up to Herm. Herm wouldn’t even talk to him this morning.
As Chase scolds Robert more, Sonar is across the way, ears twitching. Holy shit. Robert FORGOT their anniversary. THATS why Herm is so upset.
He immediately goes to tell Malevola.
First shift is rough. Herm does his best but it’s certainly not a good day. Robert is still paying attention and he isn’t distracted, but Sonar and Malevola are being weirdly snappy to him today. Robert wonders if Herm told them. But if he did..then why isn’t everyone upset?
Then at break time, Robert is going to get some coffee when he hears a “GET HIM BAE!”
Robert turns and is suddenly on the ground.
Flambae decked him. And he looks PISSED.
He sees an equally pissed off Prism come into view, looking down at him. He sighs and says he deserves that. And if she wants to blind him, he deserves that too. Prism huffs and says she wants him to see how sad Herm looks. Robert gets up and Flambae says he should burn him alive. Herm isn’t around to stop him. Robert says he knows Flambae wouldn’t cause he loves his niece too much, but he does deserve being punched.
Robert just knows now he’s in for a shitty second shift.
Now everyone is snappy with him. Punch up is insulting Robert, Coupé is halfassing calls and she NEVER half asses anything. Visi is also insulting him but in a more rude way. Golem won’t even listen to Robert. And Phen is listening but he then tells Robert he’s very disappointed he forgot their anniversary.
That’s when it clicks to Herm that they somehow found out and that’s why they’re being rude. Punch up, Visi and Flambae are gonna start up another round of insults but Herm speaks up, telling them they aren’t helping with anything. He and Robert agreed to talk about it after work and they are making things more difficult.
The team goes quiet after that, only talking when need be.
Soon it’s the end of the day. Chase says he’s taking Beef cause Robert “needs to fix this shit”. Robert agrees he does need to fix it. He doesn’t see Herm yet, so he goes up to Mandy. He did talk to her about something involving their anniversary, but him forgetting this has made things much more complicated.
He arrives in Mandy’s office and she notices how awful Robert looks. She asks what’s wrong. Robert says he fucked up. Bad. And now those couple days off he was asking? The days so he and Herm can spend time together? He needs a whole week off. Mandy is now even more concerned. Robert says their anniversary was last night and he forgot. Mandy is shocked and she’s like “Robert no..”
Robert says he needs to talk to Herm first but once he has the details from their side he’ll get back to her, but he really needs them cause he royally fucked up. Mandy agrees that he royally fucked up and says she’ll try to clear it as soon as possible. But hey, it means more vacation/PTO days are being used.
Robert thanks her and leaves. Herm is by his desk waiting. He still looks miserable. So Robert goes over and asks if he’s ready to go home and Herm just nods. It’s silent the whole way home. When they get inside Herm is still quiet but he goes to sit in the armchair they have (that has a singe mark from flambae getting mad) instead of the couch. Robert is alone on that couch.
Robert starts off by apologizing again. He tells Herm it was meant to be a quick in and out job. He left his phone on the workbench as they did some usual stuff. But turns out some of the damage that the mech got caused a glitch. It needed rewiring, reprogramming, recalibrating, etc. And he stupidly got absorbed into it. He should have told Royd they should have saved it for the next day, or at least text or call Herm to let him know what was going on.
But he didn’t, cause he thought it was supposed to be a quick fix. He was being stubborn.
And he ended up letting Herm wait alone.
He’s sorry. He can’t believe he left Herm alone on their anniversary. Herm didn’t deserve that, after the love and care he has done for Robert all these years.
Herm is quiet for a few moments before saying he was hurt. He was lonely. He even let a thought into his head that he’s never thought before. He thought maybe Robert didn’t see their anniversary was important. Not as important as the mech at least. He hated being alone and he hated crying himself to sleep. It hurt so much.
But Robert isn’t solely to blame. He knows he’s been secretive about their anniversary. And he also knows that even with as good of a memory Robert has, it gets sometimes fuzzy cause of the coma and two explosions. He should have been more active in talking about it too. He could have reminded Robert sooner. He could have asked what Robert wanted to do instead of having it be a complete surprise. Heck he could have said he had a surprise for Robert before encouraging him to work on the mech!
Robert says it’s not Herms fault. He himself also stupidly didn’t set up reminders on his phone. Herm did nothing wrong. Herm disagrees. He says it’s both of their faults. Robert sighs. They leave it at that.
It’s quiet and Robert says he didn’t completely forget about their anniversary. Herm is..confused cause he..kinda did.
Robert says he was talking to Mandy a couple of weeks ago about possibly getting a few days off to spend time together. Robert would have his phone on “do not disturb” and if any emergencies did happen he’d tell people to call Herm’s phone. This was going to be his present to Herm, just undivided attention.
Herm’s lower lip wobbles a little.
Robert continues and says he was in Mandy’s office that day before they left to request the days to be a full week. Herm is actually shocked at this. Robert says it’ll be anything Herm wants. If they want to go on a mini vacation outside of Torrence and LA, they can. If they want to stay at home and go do stuff around LA and go home and spend more time together, they can too. He wants Herm to think about what he wants and once they decide, he’ll let Mandy know.
And Herm hiccups before crying. He’s crying cause he’s sad. He’s hurt. He’s…happy. Robert was..wanting to take time off for them? And when he messed up he requested more time off? He was going to have his phone on “do not disturb”?
Robert wanted to give Herm a week of all of his attention, something they can’t normally or ever have had. They’re always answering calls, stopping villains, saving the day…
But Robert was wanting a week for the both of them not to worry about that.
No hero or dispatching work, no Z team, no Mech suit..
And maybe Beef if they stay home. That’s tempting.
Herm gets up, goes over to the couch and he hugs Robert tightly. Robert hugs back, and he apologizes. Herm says he hurts cause he loves Robert so much. Robert says he loves Herm so much too. He doesn’t think he’ll ever forgive himself for making Herm hurt or cry like this. Herm then pulls Robert in for a kiss. A deep one.
They hold each other, kissing as tears fall from both of them. They don’t know how long it lasts but when they pulls away, their eyes are a bit red from crying. Herm then picks up the gift box and the note. Robert says he didn’t see the gift but he read the note when he came home that night. Herm says it’s fine but he wants to give Robert his gift. So Robert accepts it and opens the box.
Inside is an action figure and a watch meant for a child, both are Trackstar themed. Herm says the watch was part of a promotional event and the action figures were only made in the late 90’s and were gone by the 2000’s. Robert says he’s always amazed by his attention to detail with hero merch. He then huffs a laugh and he says he can’t wait to torment Chase with this later. Herm smiles a bit at that.
They have dinner (Robert reheated the Mac n cheese and Herm’s dinner and they ate together but not the dessert. Robert promised to buy Herm as much honeydew as he wanted) and they decide to take the bath together. It’s always tricky since they’re both two grown men and Herm is at least 6’6, but they’ve made it work before.
They undress and Herm goes to get the bath ready, adjusting the temperature and adding the salts and rose petals in. He even gets that cute duck floating. Robert goes to put their clothes in their hamper when he sees something in the hamper. It’s a new lacey pair of navy blue panties.
Robert asks Herm if he was waiting for him while wearing panties and Herm is flustered. He stammers and says that it was meant for if Robert felt up to anything else. Herm watches as Robert’s face goes dead inside. Robert then says he needs to invent time travel so he can go back and bitch smack himself. Herm laughs. Actually laughs. It’s been over 24 hours since Herm laughed.
They both settle in the tub and get as comfortable as possible. Herm is happy to have Robert against his chest and he idly has one arm wrapped around Robert’s middle and the other is playing with the ducky in the bath while Robert watches in amusement. Herm is having the duck swim into rose petals.
Robert asks what Herm would want to do in their week. Herm says he doesn’t quite know, but he wants them to spend a lot of time together. He wants to hold and be held by Robert a lot too. He wants to just love on Robert. Robert is amused and he says Herm needs to focus on himself cause this trip is a present for him. Herm says affection like that is a present for him, cause he always likes doing it.
Robert smiles fondly and he says he likes holding Herm too for the record. He loves it even, cause he loves Herm.
Herm blushes and just buries his face into Robert’s shoulder. He then says he loves Robert too.
