Chad “I will be kind for you. I will reject the impluses to indulge in my violent nature for you” Flambae vs. Robert “I will want for you. I would indulge in my selfish desire to live, not simply survive” Robertson III
He’s a phenomafan akshajjsa thats his childhood hero!! Herm can’t exactly meet him bc Phenomaman is busy saving the city but you take what you can get!
Eventually, Flambae gets tired of seeing Waterboy bringing his sad little soggy unseasoned lunches to work, so one day, he takes it upon himself to share some of his own lunch with him. Waterboy doesn't actually eat a whole lot, so it's fine. This is one of the days where Flambae actually had the motivation to cook for himself or had leftovers from a family party, instead of bringing takeout or stealing someone else's lunch out of the fridge, so it's a little clamshell container full of delicious, home-cooked Afghan cuisine.
Waterboy loves it. Flambae's a fantastic cook, and it's not often that Waterboy gets to enjoy a good home-cooked meal ever since he started having to take care of his grandma. He thanks Flambae over and over as he absolutely wolfs down his share with a huge smile. Flambae's still acting under the guise of "pity," but even if he'd never admit it out loud, his heart is undeniably melted by Waterboy's gratitude.
This turns into a cute unspoken thing where Flambae starts cooking specifically for Waterboy, bringing them both Tupperwares of Afghan home cooking every workday so that Waterboy always has something filling to eat between shifts. Sometimes, Flambae even brings stuff that Waterboy realizes took a LOT of prep time to actually make. Waterboy starts to feel a little guilty now—because by this point, it's become pretty obvious that Flambae's whole "Oh, I had leftovers" thing is a lie—but Flambae is stubborn, and never lets him say no.
Waterboy feels bad that Flambae is getting the short end of the stick in this deal, but that couldn't be further than the truth. Flambae loves cooking, and more than that, he loves receiving compliments on his cooking (to stroke his own ego), which the famously kind, genuine Waterboy provides in heartfelt earnest. Flambae enjoys telling Waterboy about his culture and the fond memories associated with each meal he makes for them both, and Waterboy is always a very good listener. He'll never admit this to anyone, but most of all, Flambae likes seeing Waterboy smile so genuinely knowing it's because of him, and he likes ensuring that Waterboy goes home with a full stomach because he's so self-sacrificial and also isn't the most financially well-off (since he has to handle all of his grandma's care needs on his own).
The rest of the Z-Team catches on quickly, and they tease Flambae SO HARD about it! Flambae doesn't even cook this much for Prism, and they all know Prism is his ride-or-die. Flambae has a hard time admitting his feelings even to himself, though, so it's almost like everyone else at SDN knows Flambae and Waterboy are a thing... except for Flambae and Waterboy themselves.
When they finally do admit their feelings to each other, though, the cooking thing intensifies 200%. Food becomes one of Flambae's biggest love languages towards Waterboy, especially because he still has a bit of trouble being vulnerable and expressing his feelings even post-confession. Flambae will bring Waterboy special homemade desserts and treats during the holidays, and they'll eat them together between shifts. When Flambae wants to apologize for his temper or for saying something uncalled for, he'll first bring Waterboy a little snack or some fresh fruit to soften the blow without him having to worry about messing up with his words. Waterboy tries to mirror this behavior by occasionally bringing Flambae desserts from a local bakery or panaderia, or by saving up his money to take Flambae out to a nice dinner, since he's terrible at cooking himself.
When Waterboy eventually moves into Flambae's apartment, Waterboy becomes Flambae's dedicated taste-tester when he isn't sure exactly what a dish needs. Breakfast is the most important meal of their day—Flambae wakes up early to make them both a nice, filling breakfast, and Waterboy cleans up afterward because it calms him down and he knows Flambae hates when his kitchen is messy.
There's a tiny bit of relationship weight. Most of it is muscle, because Waterboy is actively training his strength to get better at hero work, but he does eventually notice his previously extremely lean figure starting to fill out with a little bit of softness from all of the home cooking he's been eating. He's a bit embarrassed and definitely pretty insecure about it, especially when his wetsuit starts to get a bit tight, but Flambae is always there to reassure him and comfort him, even if he's a little aloof about it. Plus, he says, he finally has an excuse to get Waterboy in a better costume.
a small write up of a concept @mechabert and i have had for a while. plus a little something for me to reference for other au's and writings, as needed. - my other dispatch stuff
edit: this has inspired art from my amazing mutuals who jump scared me (affectionate) by posting within minutes of each other without warning me first lmao === art by @sunnyfrenchfries and art by @fernet-drinker
a boy, and his bike...
robert has had the motorcycle since he was eighteen.
it was a graduation present to himself. robbie would be furious with him, if he were still around. killed just months prior to the purchase by his not–quite uncle, not–quite second father.
it wasn't an impulse purchase, as some might believe: not one made solely because he was a teenage boy with enough money, or even out of some weird grieving, hell not even due to teenage rebellion when his old man was still around. no, he had been carefully planning for it since he first hit drivers education and learned that while he liked driving; he couldn't stand the traffic. plus a multitude of other more logical reasons, such as: maintenance costs, the need to get around fast even without the suit, et cetera.
(one could possibly lay some blame on robbie: always insisting his son stay active and always on the move. though it could also be said that heroism naturally drew adrenaline junkies.)
he started getting the lessons to ride as soon as he could, working on getting the motorcycle license in secret. it's not that he liked lying to his dad— he didn't! but it was something he'd been planning out carefully and thoughtfully; something he knew and understood the risks of. but he also knew his dad would see riding a motorcycle as a million times more dangerous than the mecha man suit. which in some ways, yes. but on the other hand, as he saw the injuries slowly racked up their score on his dad... robert wasn't so sure.
and honestly? it was just... so much easier to lie to him, sometimes. well not really, not if you were robert. but lies of omission were a trained skill in robert, by then. it kind of had to be, to have any amount of breathing room. and he was so rarely home that frankly it didn't come up often.
(how he managed to be both absent and overbearing, robert could barely figure out.)
so when he buys the bike, he already knows which one he is buying. the salesman seemed simultaneously relieved to have an easy client and bummed he couldn't up-sell the teenager. he already had the license, the lessons and then some more lessons since he hadn’t needed to hide them from his father after his death.
in his time as mecha man, the only thing maintained as well as the suit is the bike. it is, truthfully, his pride and joy.
it's the only thing he's ever had that has felt like was his, and his alone.
money starts to get tight, around ten years in. so he starts to downsize. money gets tighter, so he downsizes more.
but there are a few things that never get touched to downsize or get rid of: the suit (obviously), the nice private storage unit, his bike, and his tools.
the storage unit was a treasure trove: everything left of the robertson family home he sold a while back, from furniture to heirlooms; spare parts and old parts for the suit and the bike; his spare tools; and a work bench. robert no longer had a garage, so the storage unit acted as his when repairs for either machine were too much for a parking lot, living room, or balcony.
which is where he leaves the bike. because i part went bad, beyond anything just a quick tune up could fix. but the part he needed was on the more expensive side, and had a longer wait time since it was a much older bike.
he wasn't quite as broke as what one would imagine; but he certainly was compared to the millions he started out with. besides, he wasn't a corporate super or anything, it's not like he was paid; and he didn't have a group like the brave brigade to help him out. hell he didn't even have a civilian job to help supplement his meals let alone the suit or bike. so he did try to be relatively conservative with his money when he could. even if it just means hoofing it for a week or two while the part he needed came in.
then he falls. and his bike is left safely in the storage unit, patiently waiting for it's new part.
and then he ends up at SDN, and he finally finishes his business with shroud.
mandy is able to help convince the same folks at HQ who wanted to help fix up his suit; to help with the medical costs from the fall. or at least all the physical therapy he needs, and a few extra things that isn't normally covered by SDN insurance. which helps robert out a lot, since even after getting an itemized list and reducing the costs as much as he can... he can't change that he was in a coma, or that this is the united states, and he didn't exactly have insurance at the time.
which means, his months of hitching a ride on ol' reliable (public transit) or the other ol' reliable (walking) could finally be over once he got a few paychecks under his belt.
"babes, did you see that pretty motorcycle in the lot? its in the dispatcher section— think we got a new hottie in the office?" mal asks, voice practically a purr at the thought.
"okay so i'm not crazy, that is new!" prism chirps up.
"well, you still might be crazy," punch up barks out with a laugh.
"man, shut the fuck up."
their voices filter through the headset, most all of them scattering to the winds to the various pockets of torrance to save the lives of celebrities, children, and cats alike. but largely just to serve the more mundane aspects of life a little too-big for the average person.
"say roberto," sonar asks from the break room where he was stirring his coffee. "do you know who the bike belongs to? you're a dispatcher after all. you gotta know if anyone new is there!"
"or its just some loser having a midlife crisis," visi counters.
"hmm, I dunno... it looks like an older bike. well taken care of though," flambae muses.
"guys... the bike is mine," robert chuckles; only mildly surprised by what sounds like a multitude of spit takes or similarly shocked noises.
"nice," golem says.
"no fucking waaayyyy!" mal rejects.
"oh my god you're the loser going through the midlife crisis!?" visi cackles.
others chipped in with their various brands of disbelief. robert just rolled his eyes, but even chase was now squinting at him from above their shared cubicle wall. "i dunno what to tell you all. it is."
"when did you get it?" flambae asks, and sonar immediately follows up:
"oh god bob do not tell me you spent your first paychecks on this—"
"no, sonar, I didn't. and to answer your question, flambae: when I was eighteen. it was a graduation gift to myself."
"oh so you just made the wildly bad impulse purchase as a teen, that's even better."
"somehow i always forget you're like, actually obsessed with all of our financials..."
"actually, yeah hey should we be worried about that?"
"i mean... probably?"
"i paid for it in full, in cash. and no, not impulse. i was planning it for years by then. also, hey my dad had just died and i was starting full time hero work. so, even if it had been, i think there are worse excuses."
"why haven't you been using it this entire time?" coop asks.
"i had it in storage because I needed a part for it. then shroud happened before I could get it. so... i just haven't been able to get the part I needed til now. fixed it up over the weekend, here at the branch. actually got a lot fixed on it, royd let me machine a few parts for it that he wasn't able to just, replace with what he had on hand."
"are you like even strong enough to lift it, if it falls over, bob-bob? what with your— noodley arms and shit."
robert pauses, then lets out a snort of a laugh. "yeah i am. but thanks for showing you're worried in — as always — the weirdest ways possible."
"pfft. as if. just making sure you won't like, be stranded because you were an idiot on a motorcycle with no one to help you because you're like. a wimp."
"dude..."
"flambae, if you wanna go for a spin on it with me, all you have to do is ask."
"ah aha- hahaha. what? no. why would i? that is a death machine. only useful for looking pretty. from afar. not actually riding. i want to live, thankyouverymuch!!! pffssttt.. a 'spin' how ridiculous—"
"this is starting to get embarrassing just to witness."
"agreed."
"oh like you two can talk."
Idea: Waterboy has OCD and a lot of his obsessions center around avoiding mold or rot, because his powers make things wet and since he was young this has occasionally caused things to mold, including his food.
On worse mental health days the obsessions take over and he skips a meal or two for fear that he caused mold to grow in the sandwich he made himself for breakfast or something.
But Flambae comes in clutch with fresh, delicious homemade meals he shares with Waterboy because he’s nice now or whatever. He definitely doesn’t start making Waterboy his own food because something about seeing his happy little smile when he eats Flambae’s cooking gives Flambae butterflies.
(edited to make text more legible & give Flambae back his missing antenna in the panels where I forgot to draw it)
Pairs getting real rare today with some watercoupé… waterblade? Cutting tide? Harpoon?? Ok these two have a lot of ship names huh. But anyway just Jenelle and herm cuddling on the couch because I have a hobby of shipping him with like… everyone.