#flambert writing

[anglerfishmenagerie]

Flambert February Day 22: Helpless

Robert doubled over in pain as the masked villains kicked him once more. This trip to the shopping mall had turned into quite the ordeal. Or well, it had turned into a full blown hostage crisis according to the 4 o'clock News. "That's what you get for trying to be a hero, little dispatcher" one of them snarled. They zip tied his hands together and dragged him over towards the food court. "Now stay put and shut the fuck up you little bitch" they hissed at him. He was just happy he bought a lot of the other shoppers time to escape or hide somewhere to wait it out. Self sacrificing? Maybe? Would Chad yell at him for it later? Oh absolutely, but he couldn't not help the civilians, abandoning them wasn't in his nature even outside the mech. Even if these villains had powers and weird red laser guns, it was a risk he was willing to take. The bruising on his cheek hurt though...and his knuckles. Those are definitely bruised. How was he supposed to know the tall guy's body could make itself into diamond at will? Sharp diamond too, that shit HURT

______

Outside the mall, the Z Team paces frantically. Awaiting orders to go in, an all clear, the ability to do *something*. Sonar had offered to negotiate however the cops were not willing to let him do so despite his team's ever improving public perception.

Visi returned from searching amongst the evacuated people for Robert and shook her head. "He's not with them"

"Shite, I hope he's okay." Punch Up looked towards the mall entrance with a concerned expression. Just hours before, Robert had simply stated that he was going to pick up some pretzels that he'd been craving since his shift had ended early. What a way to start his weekend.

"I'm tired of waiting, we need to just go in and get him already" Visi frowned. Over all the team morale was low, and why wouldn't it be? None of them take particularly kindly to Robert's life being at risk seeing as he's done so much for them. Flambae put on his shades. "Fuck this shit, I'm not waiting for a negotiation. I'll find Robbo myself"

"someone's got t'go wit ya lad, Ye can't go in by yerself"

"Yeah take like... Give us two seconds to find an opening"

Flambae looked across the parking lot. Prism & Phenomaman were working double time to keep the civies calm, Waterboy and Mal with their healing abilities had set up a triage center for the inevitable injured they'd rescue, Golem turned away incoming traffic with the help of Blazer (this was in addition to keeping the press back at a safe distance)

This left Coupé, Visi, Punch Up, and Flambae as the breach team.

"I'm with Flambae on this one, the longer we wait the more risk Robert is in, I say we act now." Coupé gestured towards a domed portion of the mall. "That there, I've flown over it countless times. There's a service hatch. I think that's our way in"

"I'll see if I can find where Robert is" Visi held her breath and vanished, sneaking away towards a mall entrance.

Punch up held in to Coupé as she and Flambae flew off towards the maintenance hatch.

Flambae didn't really care much about subtly at this moment. He just didn't want to feel helpless anymore, he was going to save his boyfriend if it was the last thing he ever did. "If so much as a hair is missing from Robert's head..." He muttered to himself

_____

Under a table in the food court, Robert hid from his captors. "You IDIOT!" The tall one yelled at the aquatic looking one. "I fucking told you to keep your eye on him! He's our ONE hostage, our ONLY bargaining chip!"

Robert rolled his eyes. This wasn't the most comfortable escape he's ever made but when are they ever? At least these dinguses are more likely to kill each other for losing track of him than they are to kill him. Robert had decided a while back that avoiding death was, in fact, imperative to the happy life he very much wanted. Unfortunately for him, crawling on a filthy food court floor while your hands are both injured and zip tied together was causing him quite a bit of pain.

"Found you, you little shit" someone grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. He winced in pain

"Y'know, you're actually kind of cute" the villain mused, grabbing Robert's chin and somewhat turning his face with their hand.

"Fuck you" Robert groaned.

"perhaps when this is over that could be arranged"

Ew, seriously. Robert thought to himself. If he wasn't so exhausted from getting beaten he'd kick this guy in the nads and bite off his ear or something.

"Get your filthy hands off of my Robbo" a familiar voice growled from behind him. The villain set him down on one of the tables, but before he could reply a flaming mass of muscle tackled him to the ground, knocking him out instantly. Flambae stood, dusting his hands off and kicking the now unconscious villain in the stomach.

"Fucking gross bitch" he muttered.

He turned to face Robert, his expression softening from disgust at the villain to worry to relief. He took him in his arms. "Can you stand?"

Robert nodded. "Stick close to me, I'm getting you out of here babe" he planted a kiss on his forehead. Robert smiled, relieved to see Chad.

They'd have to fight their way out, but with the guy directly holding Robert captive out of the way it'd be easier. The other Z teamers were able to make short work of the other villains, and soon enough the mall was given the all clear for emergency personnel to enter and start processing the scene.

By the time everything had calmed down and they were outside, the two had a tender moment. Flambae snapped the zip tie off Robert's wrists with ease, and pulled him into a hug. Malevola healed him and then took a step back to let them be.

R: "Y'know, I think the saddest thing about this is I still didn't get those pretzels I was craving"

F: "I have sour dough starter at my place, I can make you some...if you'd like. I know it's not the same but it's easier than driving down to Santa Monica for them"

R: "I'd like that. Pretzels and a sleepover with my favorite fireball"

F: "How'd you know I was gonna have you spend the night?"

R: "hmmmm...let's see, you saved my ass yet again, you offered to bake me treats, I'm kind of turned on by how much of a hero you've become, I just sort of figured you'd want to steal me away for the night."

F:" Well Bob-Bob, you'd be correct" he leaned in to kiss him. It was chaste but sweet. "Mustn't let the public see us kiss, they know that I'm Mecha Man's boyfriend now eh"

R: "Fucccck I forgot about that. And here I was hoping for tongue"

F: "I gotchu, just when we get back to HQ ey? Away from the prying eyes"

Robert smiled warmly at his boyfriend, things were looking up for the rest of the evening

[anglerfishmenagerie]

Flambert February Day 25: Cake

Birthdays were never something Chad got to celebrate growing up, hell even as an adult he wasn't particularly used to doing anything for them. At most, Alice would take him to the club but he preferred to forgo the celebrations all together.

He'd expect Robert to share the same "Not really a fan of birthday's" sentiment but was somewhat shocked to find out this wasn't the case. Robert actually quite liked his birthday, while his childhood wasn't the *best* and his dad was never home for them, Chase always made sure he had a little something to celebrate. Be it a trip to the arcade, ordering a pizza, or one of those little square grocery store cakes, he may not have had anything extravagant but he had love.

Naturally, when he heard his beloved fireball boyfriend wasn't too keen on birthdays, Robert got to scheming. First with little probing questions

"is there anything you'd like to do to celebrate?"

"what would your ideal day look like?"

Chand never really answered these, but there was one question that did make him perk up

"what flavor of cake do you like best?"

It gave him pause. Nobody really asked him that before, at least not in that context. Sure he'd had some form of a birthday dessert, at least every year that Alice dragged him out to a restaurant or something the day of. But those were usually sundaes or those soft baked cookies they serve out of a skillet. Ice cream of course wasn't something he could enjoy much, since he ran warm it always melted much faster than he'd be able to enjoy it.

______

Alice sat in the break room on her phone, scrolling through her socials as per usual. Robert strolled in with a couple grocery bags. She raised an eyebrow.

"soooo, I see operation BirthBae party has reached phase two?"

"Ali, there has to be a better name for it than that" he laughed and shook his head.

"so what's in the bags?"

Robert began unloading supplies onto the table.

"We've got about two hours before he gets back from that lecture on fire safety that he's speaking at, so I grabbed what I could."

"Balloons? Streamers? Idunno Mr Dispatcher, he's never been one for all the classic birthday staples"

"I know, I know. It's just" Robert let out a sigh "I want him to feel special, y'know? Everyone deserves to feel cared about on their birthday"

Alice shook her head. "I get it, I really do. I try every year but nothing really seems to make him happy. I know he puts on a smile for me when I've taken him out in the past. I don't think ambushing him with all of *this* will change that"

Robert frowned for a moment, and stared at her with those big puppy dog eyes of his.

"Ugh fine, I'll help. Just...stop staring at me like that Roberto, you look like a kicked dog"

"works every time"

"you're scarily good at guilt tripping people, remind me to never get on your bad side"

The two of them continued to pull supplies out of the bags, and soon began to decorate the break room.

Soon, they stood back and admired their work.

"I think we did pretty good, thanks Alice!"

"No problem. That was kind of fun. Although next time we're asking someone taller to hang the banner"

"what, you don't think I'm tall enough?"

"bitch did I say that?" She laughed and nudged his shoulder. "I mean it'll take us less tries to get it to hang straight"

The banner looked a little frumpy, they'd had to re-tape it a couple times.

Finally, the last thing to get out of the bag: the cake

It was decently sized, in a square bakery box. They opened it up to check and... Robert frowned and buried his head in his hands. "Please tell me I'm hallucinating"

He checked his receipt, and the order slip, and the order sticker on the box. It was all correct, but the cake inside was not what he'd ordered. It was someone else's entirely

"Congratulations on Your Retirement Stephen?" Alice tilted her head, somewhat amused. "What kind of cake was it supposed to be?"

"He wanted red velvet with cherries" Robert sighed, disappointed. This cake was definitely not that at all, in fact it reeked of vanilla extract and fondant, something Chad explicitly hated. And who the hell puts chopped nuts as the border instead of sprinkles???

"girl are those pistachios???" Alice tilted her sunglasses down, sure enough there were pistachios on the bottom trim that was piped onto the cake. "Damn Stephen's a fuckin masochist wherever he is"

She finally looked at Robert when she heard him sniffle.

"You alright?"

He wiped the tears that had begun falling down his face. "Yeah I..I just.."

"it's just one set back, Robert. We can fix it, we still got" she glanced at the clock. "Like...fourty minutes"

At that moment, Phenomaman floated through the doorway. "Ah, Robert is this a bad time? You seem.. upset? What troubles you?"

"He tried to put together a surprise party for Chad, but the bakery gave him the wrong cake and now he thinks he's ruined his birthday forever"

Robert looked at her "well when you put it like that suddenly I feel ridiculous"

"What is wrong with the cake, Third Robert Robertson?"

He laid his head on the table, and gestured to the box. "Take a look, Dumpy"

"Ah I see...who is Stephen?"

"Probably some 60+ year old dude who's getting to experience something no one in our age group will" Alice shrugged.

"I know that bakery, it's not very far." Phenomaman gingerly closed the cake box and grabbed the receipt. "I shall be right back, Robert Robertson"

He gave him a smile, and off he went. Roughly ten minutes went by, at which point the other Z teamers began trickling in. Some of them had been filled in on the plan, others were along for the ride. Coupé & Punch had been tasked with picking up the pizzas Robert had ordered earlier that morning, so naturally they were the first ones back. Visi was in charge of drinks, since the guy at the corner store owed her a favor.

Robert looked at the clock. Flambae would be back any minute. "what's taking Phenomaman so long" he groaned

"I have returned!" Phenomaman stood triumphantly in the doorway. Visi stifled a laugh

Sonar cackled. "Dude...I didn't think this was that kind of party, make sure the cake's at least big enough to fit you in it before you jump out"

Phenomaman was covered in frosting and vanilla cake.

He placed a new box on the counter, Robert opened it and the correct order was inside it this time.

He looked Dumpy up and down "Thanks...I'm not even gonna ask what happened, go get cleaned up"

"A young lady with a Chihuahua accused me of ruining her uncles retirement party, she proceeded to throw the Stephen cake at me"

"oh that's...I'm sorry to hear that"

"it had walnuts in the center"

He floated off to the showers.

Finally, Flambae arrived back at the Branch. He was starving and exhausted, who knew giving a lecture to an auditorium of middle schoolers would be so mentally taxing. And to immediately have to also speak to a highschool about the same thing, ugh it was enough to send shivers down his spine.

He walked into the break room and

"Surprise!!! Happy Birthday Chad!"

"I-what????" He was a little too stunned to speak for a moment. Robert walked over and took his hand, placing a kiss on the back of it. "I know you're not really into the whole celebration thing but I figured since it's our first year together I wanted to do something special for you"

Tears began to well up in his eyes. All those years of silently resenting his own birthday, that wall he'd built up for himself, in an instant came crumbling down. All he could do was pull Robert into a hug and place a tender kiss on his forehead. He didn't care who was watching, or that his team would tease him for being a softie later. The gesture just meant so much to him. And the cake? It was perfect, just what he'd wanted.

[anglerfishmenagerie]

Flambert February Day 12: Comfort (mini fic)

The aches and pains of joints became part of Robert's new normal, first in his teenage years but especially after the fall. Now, a year later, and he's found himself with occasional balance issues, hip pain, and an overall apathetic feeling towards his own health. After all, things were going great at work, the Z Team was doing great, the mech only needed minor repairs now, and he had a press event to go to later, so in his eyes things were perfect. He decided to get up for his mid morning snack, pushing his swivel chair back from his desk doing a little stretch. Beef waddled over to him, fresh from a nap.

R: "Ready to go get a snack, huh? C'mon buddy"

Beef wagged his tail excitedly. Robert stood up from his chair, took one step, and immediately felt the world go sideways as he found himself leaning on the cubicle wall.

R: "Shit"

Chase heard the thud through his headset and peeked over his side of the cubicle.

C: "Shit, you alright there kid?"

R: "Yeah I'm fine, I think today's just one of my off days"

C: "do you need help getting back in your chair?"

R: "No it's fine, I just need to lean here for a second"

Chase looked at Beef and shook his head

C: "look at your Papa lil guy, thinks he can get off easily with that lame ass excuse. Where's your cane at, Robert?"

R: "I left it at home, I didn't think I'd need it today"

Facepalm. Chase sighed and got out from his desk and eased Robert back into his chair. He knew he was still getting used to the idea of having mobility aids, but he also didn't feel like lecturing him about it today. At the end of the day, Robert knew they'd improve his quality of life, that's why he had them. He just got so used to pushing himself and his body 24/7 that he doesn't know how to react to his body settling in to his new rhythm. Life as a Dispatcher, even if still Mechaman part time, was less strain on him, it's why everything else started to catch up. It's why he wasn't shocked when he was officially diagnosed with chronic fatigue and hypermobility.

C: "Your boyfriend in yet?"

R:"No, he's starting late today"

C:"cool, give me just a sec"

Chase ducked back into his cubicle and picked up his cellphone to call Chad.

He'd just gotten dressed after getting out of the shower when his phone began to buzz, it wasn't often he got calls from Chase but if he was calling him now it had to have been important.

C: "Chase? What's up"

C: "Have you left the apartment yet?"

C:" Not yet, I'm at my place though. Why?"

C: "Robert left his Cane at home, think you could bring it with you? He practically fell over trying to get up from his office chair just now"

R: "Are you ratting on me to my boyfriend??"

C: *directed at Beef* "Look at this guy, can you believe him. I'm just giving you a hard time, kid"

Beef tilted his head

"he hung up on me, flaming idiot??"

Not even two minutes later, Flambae arrived at the office, Cane in hand.

R: "That was fast"

F: "this is why I bought you a spare to keep at my place."

He planted a kiss on Robert's forehead. Cane now present, Robert was able to get his snack as planned. Flambae now accompanying him and Beef to the break room of course.

R:"Thanks for not making it a big deal"

Flambae gave him a puzzled expression

F: "You're... welcome? Why would I make it a big deal?"

R: "I dunno it's just, it's nice to not have someone falling over themselves trying to help me, y'know. No lectures, no thinly vailed ableism, you just..it's nice"

F: "Do people patronize you? That's my job, I need names and faces" he joked. "I'm doing the bare minimum Bob-Bob"

R: "I know...but it's kind of comforting"

F: "I need you to raise your standards that's kind of sad"

Robert smiled

R: *in a teasing voice*"You loooove me"

Flambae laughed. "Stooop we're at work Bobert. Wait a minute...I didn't clock in yet, be right back"

Robert let out a sigh and shook his head. Comforting, hm. Now that was a good way to describe his boyfriend. Chad was warm, not just in the literal sense either. His methods of caring for Robert were done with such genuine kindness he wouldn't have believed a year ago. No ulterior motives, no malice, just patience and steadiness that he so desperately needed for the majority of adult life.

(yes today was another writing only day, I'm busy prepping for irl's birthday party that I'm helping organize. I'm baking the cake!)

[anglerfishmenagerie]

Flambert February Day 15: Locket (+mini fic)

Robert isn't one to go down without a fight, that being said being caught off guard after stepping out of the shower in his own apartment by a clown villain of all things wasn't what he was expecting and he lost rather quickly once sprayed with a sedative. As he soon found out, this clown called himself Noir and had decided to be Flambae's self proclaimed rival. Through lots of social media stalking and watching various SDN interviews and hero magazines to learn about him, he found out that Robert was his normie boyfriend, and therefore in his eyes an easy target. This couldn't have been more incorrect, if not for the sedative spray and the element of surprise Robert would've taken a few fingers and even an ear off of that clown.

Robert awoke to find himself still in his pajama pants but now blindfolded and bound in a rather cramped space, not suuuper comfortable when you're prone to joint pain. Ohhhh great it's swinging back and forth, why the hell is it swinging back and forth. All in all, not pleasant.

Flambae thought it was a prank at first when the note was left at SDN headquarters. "Send the fire hero to the address below or his little twink gets it"

Odd, who would write such a thing? "Jealous ex?" Prism suggested

But no, Flambae's exes had all moved on and he usually wasn't the one to break things off. Before Robert it was kind of hard to get guys to stay because so many ended up being afraid of his fire powers.

Still, it was concerning that Robert hadn't shown up for work and wasn't answering texts. If only he'd have stayed over last night, then he'd know what was going on. Oh well, to the warehouse he went. He certainly wasn't expecting to find a large crystal locket hanging from the ceiling, and trapped inside was Robert who looked very unamused and concerned even.

And then there was the clown who raised the locket off the ground even higher than it already was by pulling a lever. He seemed rather amused with himself. He claimed they were meant to be rivals, how "every great hero has their iconic villain to battle"

Flambae looked at the clown, then at Robert, then at the clown again. "No thanks, I already have my own inner demons I'm still battling. Take a number"

He returned to SDN with a very relieved if not slightly dizzy Robert and a very scorched clown in tow

[anglerfishmenagerie]

Flambert February Day 17: Rain + mini fic

It's a new week which means we're back to orange headers! Also sorry I skipped yesterday, I slept most of the day cuz I went to the Ren Faire the day before!

Walking to lunch during the rain was one of Robert's favorite things. A change in the weather, though absolutely hell for his joints sometimes, provided a level of calm he quite enjoyed. The only problem is he will just sometimes stand out in the rain for a little too long, and the last time it rained he caught a cold. It was mild, but he was sick nonetheless and Chad lectured him about dressing properly for the weather (kind of ironic considering his uniform). Robert would get sick twice due to his child-like enjoyment of the weather.

It was one such rainy day that Chad had decided he was going to intervene in his own way. While he feels a sense of purpose taking care of Robert when he's sick, he much prefers him when he's not dripping with mucus..or "Pestilence" as Alice will sometimes call it when she's teasing them. Step 1 of his three pronged plan to keep Robert from getting a cold on this rainy day: The Flame hoodie.

As Flambae, once Z Team really started to make an impression with the public merch deals were made, and one of the first pieces of his own merch he got to see made was the hoodie. The very first sample of it was conveniently only slightly larger than Robert's size, and conveniently a similar shade of blue to Mecha Man Blue's uniform while the final hoodies were a deep rich brown to match his actual suit. Played off as an accident in the design process, this one of a kind hoodie was gifted to Robert when they first started seeing each other more seriously.

Robert loved that hoodie to bits, he usually kept it at Chad's place, and if it was ever brought to him during work hours it usually meant he was being asked to spend the night. So when he found himself in the locker room being made to put it on he had that sweet little smile that Chad so cherished.

R: "Is it a hoodie day already? You don't understand how much this has improved my morning"

Chad patted him on the head

C: "Stuck in meetings again?"

R: "yep, from the start of my shift til 20 minutes ago"

He put on the hoodie and breathed a sigh of relief

"but this... this makes it all worth it."

Step 2 of Chad's evil plan to keep his normie boyfriend from catching a cold: Escorting him to lunch.

Seeing as it was a Thursday, Robert had gotten himself used to walking to the sandwich place down the street. It was a nice 5 minute walk, and he enjoyed the rain so it was perfect...for all of three seconds. The minute he stepped out of the SDN lobby to walk, it turned from a steady drizzle to a downpour. He then felt the rain suddenly stop, he looked up to see his boyfriend holding an umbrella over him.

C: "So, sandwich place?"

Robert nodded and the two set off. As the rain drops fell they evaporated instantly as they landed on Chad, he really only grabbed it for Robert. Come to think of it he's not sure WHO'S umbrella it is to begin with, it's been sitting in the lost and found for a month. Ah well, it works.

R: "You really don't have to do that, Chad"

C: "Yes I do, I'm not letting your bitch ass catch a cold"

R: "wow, that's really sweet of you"

C: "Shut it, Bob-Bob"

And finally, step 3: Steal Robert away for the night and keep him warm & cozy.

As work wound down for the evening and folks began to go home, Robert stretched and scooped Beef up. Since he had been brought the Boyfriend Hoodie™, he assumed that Chad would be taking him home to spend the night at his place. He walked down the stairs and into the locker room to grab a few things, his spare overnight bag for one thing.

Chad began to sneak up on Robert

R: "Hey babe, ready to go?"

C: "Dang you noticed me too quickly, I had a whole bit planned"

R: "You could still do it, if you want."

C: "Y'know what, fuck it why not." He cleared his throat "Robert Robertson the Third, I've come to kidnap you for a night at my house"

R: "oh noooo what ever shall I do?" He teased back

They laughed and pulled each other into a hug. Chad spun Robert around as he scooped him up.

C: "Alright, Bob-Bob. Let's go home and get cozy"

R: "ugh you read my mind"

When they arrived at Chad's place, Beef curled up on his dog bed that they'd bought to keep there for him, and Robert slipped into his usual pajama shorts & flame hoodie combo. The two men snuggled up together and eventually, Robert dozed off. Chad ran his fingers through his hair as he held him close. Mission accomplished. The sound of the rain outside was soothing, and eventually he too fell asleep.

[anglerfishmenagerie]

Flambert February Day 18: Jealous (mini fic)

Robert had been back as Mecha Man officially for a couple months, and the media was obsessed. It wasn't long before a celebrity dating show asked SDN if they could cast him specifically for a new season they would be filming in a couple weeks. He found out, alongside Blazer and Phenomaman during an interview with a news station when they asked him if he was excited to it. The other two heroes looked confused and wanted to interject but decided Robert should be allowed to answer for himself.

Interviewer: "Mecha Man, the people want to know: what do you look for in a woman? What can we expect to see on this upcoming season of Celebrity Match Maker?"

R: "I'm confused, is this a genuine question? I haven't been invited on a dating show?"

The interviewer showed him promo material and a press release from SDN.

R:"Oh, well if this was their way of formally inviting me, I have to decline."

Interviewer: "Oh? Is Mecha Man still a lone wolf? Are you afraid of finding romance?"

R: "what? No, I just already have someone. I don't really need to go on a dating show."

Interviewer: "Oh! My mistake, the show did say they'd have some of SDNs eligible batchelors on this season and their team had suggested that they requested you specifically"

R: "While I am flattered, I don't think you'll be seeing me on that show"

Interviewer: "you heard it here first folks, Mecha Man will not be present on this season of Celebrity Match Maker! The hero is reportedly already in a committed relationship, the question is with whom?"

Flambae turned the TV off. Seeing as nobody was blowing up his phone, he'd known Robert had yet to spill the beans on their relationship to the public. He opened his social media to check. Trending topic: "Mecha Man's mystery lover"

The headlines "Is Mecha Man gay? Hero denies invitation to Celebrity Match Maker"

"Who is Mecha Man dating? Interview leaves fans speculating"

Alice poked her head into the room. "Yo, Bae you seeing this shit?"

F: "Yeah, that's my Bobert. Always leaving the press wondering" he smiled. He and Robert had talked about this before, they'd go public with their relationship by June if not to at least keep SDN's PR team off their backs for a bit.

A: "So you've seen this then?" She shoved her phone in his face

An entertainment magazine article was open, and the title: "Who is Mecha Man's partner? Top 5 most likely heroes"

F:"This ought to be good" he smirked.

Number 5: Sweet Talker

F: "HA as if that lizard could pull him, they don't even know each other"

A: "Yeah I don't know where the fuck they got that one"

Number 4: Prism

F: "Wait what the fuck?? They're way off base"

A: "I don't even know how they got that picture, that event had Nooo press coverage and we're literally just talking about how shitty the lobster they were serving was"

Number 3: Brainbook

F: "What is this list, where are they even getting these ideas???" He was actually starting to feel irritated

Number 2: Blonde Blazer

F: *reading aloud from the article.* "The two heroes often interview together and seem rather close. A palpable chemistry is often felt when they're in the room together" he rolled his eyes "what's sad is this is the closest they've gotten with their guesses so far"

Number 1: Phenomaman

Flambae dropped the phone to the side. None of those fuckers even CONSIDERED him. In that moment he was jealous of everyone on that list for having somewhat pristine records in the public eye. Of course, why would they consider the former serial arsonist turned hero? Half of the public is just barely warming up to him and that's only AFTER the siege on LA.

A: "maybe you should go public just to fuck with them"

F: "No, no I can't do that. Robert would hate it. We had a plan...I just" he kicked a foot stool, tears welling up in his eyes. "Alice, why do I feel upset about this? Fuck I feel stupid!"

A: "Aww c'mere." She held him for a bit. "You're not stupid, here why don't you sit down. They should be on their way back from the interview, want me to text Robert for you?"

F: "Tell him to bring me food"

A: "On it!"

[anglerfishmenagerie]

Flambert February Day 20: Dress/Formal (mini fic)

"Presenting the glittery ass outfit I made my debut in!" Flambae strutted into the Z Team's common area excitedly. "I was fucking awesome, I mean just look at how shiny my ass is" he draped himself over the couch in a seductive manner and gave himself a spank. "And the best part is Robbo was allllll over me all night, I had him wrapped around my fingers"

"I'm glad you two had fun but girl I did not need to know about you tonguing him in the bathroom, that shits *nasty*" Prism teased. She sat on the leather couch curled up with her phone scrolling on articles from the previous Friday night. Indeed, in the week since the gala, the media had whipped itself up in a frenzy once they found out who Mecha Man was dating. The soft launch had gone so well that combined with the Bone Zone bringing it up on his podcast, hardly anyone believed it at first (see previous day's oneshot fic for context).

Tonight was to be even more special, as the team was gathering to celebrate Robert & Chad's 9 month anniversary. Any excuse to get together and party was one they were all willing to take, after all not a single one of them disliked booze & dancing.

"Are you sure Robert's gonna like the outfit you picked out for him man?" Visi startled them from the corner of the room. They'd almost forgotten she showed up early. She was eating one of the donuts they'd picked up for the party.

"I'm sure Bobby-Boy will look fine as hell in it, a tight velvet dress...fuck I'm getting hard just thinking about it" Sonar chimed in from the kitchen.

"You keep that shit to yourself, bat boy" Prism groaned

"Don't be jealous, he's all mine" Flambae winked at his man-bat friend.

"So when does he get here?I mean like... This is still LA, aren't you worried about him getting jumped or something?" Visi stared him down when she asked this. Part of the question was just to fuck with Chad, she knew how protective he'd become of Robert and how he used to constantly fight with his anxiety to make sure he didn't overstep.

"Well, first and foremost, a fuck you"

"what? It was an honest question"

"Secondly: we both know Robbo would beat the shit out of any would be mugger, and letter number C he's.."

"Right here" the four of them turned to face the doorway that lead to the bathroom, as Robert poked himself out. "Heeeyyy could someone come zip me up, I'm new to this"

"I'll do it, I gotta go touch up my makeup anyway" Prism stood up from the couch and sauntered over to him.

Flambae nodded in approval, if anyone was gonna help his boyfriend slip into that new dress it was gonna be his trusted bestie. Robert exhaled shakily, this just felt..right. Perhaps it was the successful week, the (mostly) positive reception of launching his relationship publicly, and the softness of the velvet, but he really felt this moment was perfect. "There, Now get on outta here Roberto, Mama's gotta touch up her lipstick and I need this tiny ass bathroom for that"

"thanks Alice" He nodded and took his leave. Stepping out into the common area, Visi and Sonar stared at him, jaws agape. Sonar even wolf whistled, in his own words "Giving a little commotion for the dress"

Flambae took him in his arms and twirled him around. Tonight was going to be their night, just them and their Z Team family in their own little world.

Soon the others arrived in their best formal attire, pizza and other snacks in tow. They celebrated and danced until the late hours of the night, and by the end of it all Chad couldn't wait to get Robert home and have him all to himself.

sorry I didn't really have a composition in mind for the drawing portion this time, this is generally just how I do outfit concepts. The song above is what I feel would be playing that they start dancing to, it's very fun and felt very in-line with the rest of Dispatch's needle drops.

[anglerfishmenagerie]

Pinned (Flambert February Day 26: free day)

In a world where superpowers are a regular occurrence, sometimes people forget the more mundane accidents that could occur. It was early afternoon, and Robert sat at his desk with Beef in his lap. The pup had been extra clingy today, more so than his usual level of neediness. About half the team was out finishing their last calls before lunch, only Phenomaman & Punch Up had returned so far. Everything seemed normal until the power flickered. Robert looked to the half finished cup of coffee on his desk as it began to ripple. His eyes widened.

Galen had called out something but he wasn't quite paying attention, something about an earthquake though. He hid under his desk, holding his dog close. Beef whined as the room shook, nestling himself into Robert's arms as best as he could. He knew his best chances for riding this out were to stay put. The earth stopped for a moment, Beef taking the opportunity to run off to find Chase who'd held up in the break room.

Just as Robert began to crawl out from his desk, the rumbling resumed, harder this time. The building groaned, his coffee mug tumbled off the desk landing on the back of his hand with a painful thud. He drew back. He'd forgotten hed had his headset on still, and a garbled voice was coming through.

R:"Hello?"

"r-Rob-g..out"

R: "Shit, Flambae is that you?"

The voice came through more clearly

F: "ROBBO!! Get out of the building there's a sinkhole!!" He yelled into the microphone.

No sooner than it was mentioned did the flooring in front of him split and cave inward on itself. Robert began to slide forward. He yelled, he must've, he was sure of it because he heard his team's panicked voices in his ears. The next thing he knew he was laying on the cold concrete flooring of the basement. He looked around, the dim red floodlights flickering. There was debris everywhere

____

Outside the branch, the few heroes that were in the building at the time had gathered all the people they were able to evacuate. Chase held Beef in his arms and looked around for Robert.

Galen did a headcount of his department floor.

Blazer flew over to him.

G: "We have a problem"

B: "Is this everyone?"

G: "No, Robert is unaccounted for"

B: "Shit, he must still be inside"

The rest of Z Team had arrived, rushing past Blazer to get to the crumbled remains of the Branch which now sat half sunken into the ground. Flambae, panicked, began to dig through the rubble. His chest heaved as he dropped to his knees. Prism attempted to comfort him.

"We'll find him, Bae. I promise"

________

The headset had broken in the fall, attempting to speak into it yielded only static. He felt a lot of pressure on his right leg as well. He lay on his stomach. He tried to pull his legs closer to him and was frightened to find his right leg was pinned under a filing cabinet and some other debris.

"Sh-Shit" he winced in pain. He shifted onto his back "good" he thought, he was at least able to turn himself around. Staring at the ceiling he could see the two stories he fell through, he wasn't exactly sure how the hell he survived that. In any case, he needed help. He tried the headset again

"Hello? Anyone there?" He wheezed. Static. Wait, another idea. He patted his pockets for his phone, and lucky for him it did survive the fall as well. He unlocked it, and scrolled through his contacts. Three bars of service down here, not great but operable. He dialed Chad's number. He wasn't sure how long he'd been trapped down there, but there was no physical way he was getting out on his own

_______

The heroes lifted what rubble they could, even Royd pitched in. It wasn't exactly stable ground, and they had to be careful.

"Yo, Flambae your phone's buzzing"

Sonar held aloft his phone, which he'd found in what was left of Flambae's locker. The screen protector was cracked but Chad's duffel bag had largely kept it safe.

F: "Who's calling, it better be important. I don't have time for games right now. "

Sonar turned the screen to look at it, he didn't even think to check the caller ID. "HOLYSHITIT'SROBERT" he blurted as he fumbled to slide the icon to answer

Flambae stopped what he was doing and practically sprinted over to Sonar, snatching his phone from the man bat. "Robbo??" He sounded like he was on the verge of tears again.

"Chad? Oh thank God" Robert sighed into the phone.

"Robbo, we're trying to dig you out. Where are you? Are you okay?"

"I can't move my leg but other than that I think I'm okay?" A couple scrapes and bruises but I'll live."

"can't move your leg? What the fuck do you mean by that?"

"Oh, yeah my right leg is like...crushed under a bunch of shit. It hurts like a bitch but I'm sure it's fine"

As Robert shifted himself to sit upright, the rubble sank further onto his leg. Something dug into it, and he felt himself beginning to bleed

"OW OW ow ow okay nevermind I'm 85% sure that just broke skin. Not to rush you or anything but please hurry. I think I can feel my bones breaking"

"You're surprisingly calm about this Bob-Bob, quit that"

"I'm trying not to scare you, sorry"

"Yeah well I'm already worried as shit, bitch. Now where are you?"

"Basement, I think. The red emergency lights are kind of giving me that impression." Robert winced again.

"got it, on our way." Flambae turned to face the group. "He's in the basement, have we got a way down?"

Phenomaman emerged from the other side of the building that didn't collapse. "The bay doors still seem to be operational, shall we?"

F: "Yes let's get a fucking move on." He put the phone back up to his ear. "Robbo, were coming to get you"

R: "...yaaayyy..sorry I'm in...a lot of pain" he said dryly

_____

The hallways were dim and somewhat messy, but compared to the state of the rest of the branch they were much easier to navigate. Flambae called out for Robert, and faintly from the other end of one of the corridors he could hear him. The heroes zeroed in on him.

"Holy Shit Robert!!!" Chad rushed over to him. Robert lay surrounded by crumbled parts of the ceiling, barely awake and exhausted.

"Heeeyy hotstuff, fancy seeing you here" Robert reached up to wipe the tears off his boyfriend's face.

"alright, hold on tight to me Robbo, Punch and Phen are gonna lift the rubble off your leg on the count of three."

Chad braced himself to pull Robert towards him.

3

2

1

The weight lifted off of Robert's leg, he gasped as the pressure was gone. Chad Pulled him into his arms. The building began to rumble again

"Alright, we're out of here, everyone MOVE"

The trio rushed back outside, Robert in hand. He was dusty, and a little bloody, but it wasn't anything Waterboy couldn't fix. Well, except for one thing. None of them noticed the pop his leg had made when they'd moved him. Chad sat Robert down on the hood of a nearby car (which happened to be his own car) and tore Robert's pant leg off to get a look at the damage. Waterboy cleaned him off but they were all alarmed to find their dispatcher's lower right leg had been hanging on by a thread. And when Waterboy used his healing powers it just sort of formed a stump from the knee upward, his lower leg fully falling off. Robert stared silently, adrenaline is a hell of a thing because he didn't notice he'd even lost it in the first place.

R: "Did. ..did my leg just fall off?" He reached down and felt the fresh stump that Waterboy's healing water had created.

W: "Sorry Robert, I didn't mean to ampu- I did not know that I could do that Sir"

Robert shrugged. He was sure it was the shock that was keeping him from having much of a reaction. All he could simply muster was "It's fine, kid. The doctors would've done it anyway. Building crushed the ever loving fuck out of it"

"Jesus Christ, Robert" Punch Up stared in bewilderment

"in all seriousness though I should have someone check this out for me, no offense Herm"

"n-none taken, again I did not know that I could do that"

Golem stared at the limb with a puzzled expression, and then deadpan asked "Do you think if it had more than one ligament remaining it would've reattached itself?"

"Golem stop you're going to break him"

"I...um..what?" Waterboy stared at his hands, there are now some very interesting implications his healing powers have.

"What do we do with...this?" Phenomaman held up Roberts severed lower leg

"Throw it at girls" Golem pointed to Visi & Malevola who were chatting with Blazer & Galen

"Golem, NO!" Flambae sounded like a distressed parent. He turned to Robert "are?? Is, is this what we always sound like to you Bob-Bob?!?" Realization dawned on him "Oh fuck how do you put up with this shit"

Robert gave a half hearted smile "Eh you've all said worse over coms before"

He stretched and popped his spine. "Seriously though take me to a hospital, I'm pretty sure I lost a decent amount of blood."

Flambae scooped him up into his arms. "I've got you, Bobert" he nuzzled him as he did so.

Robert clung to him as they flew off. Once they were away from everyone else his body finally let himself feel. All the fear, confusion, relief, sadness. It sort of hit him like a truck. At the hospital, they checked him out and Waterboy did a very good job making it a clean amputation. He'd need a prosthetic, but SDN was more than willing to cover the cost of it. The only part he wasn't looking forward to was the press's reaction the next time Mecha Man had to attend any sort of event since they'll turn anything into front page news.

With no reason to keep him overnight, they discharged him. He lay in bed next to Chad, and after all that happened during the day he held that man tight. For Chad, holding Robert was the only thing he wanted. Nothing else mattered, he'd almost lost him today

And he never wanted to feel that scared of losing him again