Work Text:
When things get stressful or too much to handle, Robert works out to clear his mind. Luckily for him, SDN has a whole gym on a different floor, so he doesn’t have to do a thousand push-ups or sit-ups on his cold apartment floor anymore.
A lot has been on his mind since he got hired by SDN; Shroud, repairing the Mecha Man suit, guiding the Z Team to become real heroes, and sending them on suitable missions. While Robert actually starts to like his job here and is making slow progress on the suit, sometimes he just needs a moment for himself.
After a good fifteen minutes on the treadmill, jumping rope for the first time in a while, and taking his frustrations out on one of the punching bags, Robert finds himself on one of the benches trying to lift the dumbbell that he accidentally dropped on himself. He was doing so well, only for his arms to give out and be trapped under the heavy weight.
Fucking great…
“You need some help?” A familiar accented voice asks a good distance away, sounding more taunting than concerned.
It takes a good moment for Robert to process it’s Flambae who’s talking to him. As if he had heard his thoughts, the ex-villain’s face appears in his sight, looking down at him with that stupid, smug punchable face of his.
Wonderful…
“You’re not supposed to lift without a spot, idiot.” Flambae points out in the most asshole way possible, pointing at the poster right behind the bench saying just that.
Robert just ignores him, continuing to try to lift the heavy dumbbell off himself, unashamedly grunting.
“So weak…” He hears Flambae mutter as he takes the dumbbell from him and puts it back on its holster, allowing Robert to sit up again. “So, so weak…”
“Now I’m getting a safety lecture from a walking fireball.” Robert says to himself, not wanting to admit that the other man may have a point.
“It’s a reality check.” Flambae says in response as he walks over to the racks with the heavier dumbbells and casually lifts one on the back of his neck, holding it in place to balance it. He’s squatting with the heavy weight on his shoulders, keeping his eyes on Robert, wanting him to watch. “Normies need babysitters so you don’t hurt yourself thinking you’re a hero.”
“Thank you for being my babysitter.” Robert says sarcastically, though meaning it. The guy did give him good advice, after all. “I will be more careful next time.”
“Oh, fuck off-“ Flambae automatically says, only to pause his exercise. “Wait, that was genuine?”
Putting the dumbbell back on the rack, the former villain walks over to the bench his dispatcher is still sitting on, seeing him look down at the ground. God, he looks so cute, like he’s begging for affection.
“No more hero stuff without supervision.” Flambae teases, gently petting Robert’s head to get him to look at him. As expected, Robert looks up at him with a look of annoyance, and Flambae resists the urge to slide his hand down and cup his cheek. “You can’t get injured ‘cause we need you behind that desk to help the real heroes.”
“Oh, actually, speaking of injuries…” Robert brings up now that he thinks about it, his annoyed expression shifting into a sly smile, ignoring the other man’s frown. “Who took your tooth?”
“I got into a fight with an actual real actual hero.” Flambae says in response, attempting to make the other man jealous, leaning in to look his dispatcher right in his pretty brown eyes. “And I assure you he’s regretting his decision to tango with me.”
As much as Robert wants to chuckle at that and say that he regrets nothing, he has a hero identity to hide.
“But you look like you haven’t eaten in forever, given your weak noodle arms.” Flambae goes on, gazing at his dispatcher’s body. He looks quite skinny with barely any muscle. How that guy kept up hero work for years on end is beyond him. “If I drag you to some taco place, would you finally eat?”
Robert catches on very quickly to just what the other man is suggesting.
“Are you asking me out?” He asks the former villain, genuinely surprised at the suggestion. Blazer and Visi did so yesterday, at the same time no less, and he rejected them both. They’re nice people, but Robert prefers not to make things complicated, especially given that both women flirted with him a lot.
But something about Flambae’s offer feels different…
“Wha- No, bitch.” The ex-villain tries to deny it, but his stuttering and flustered expression says otherwise. “I”m just making sure you aren’t starving yourself.”
Robert just looks at him for a good moment, not knowing what to say.
“Seven o’clock at that place. Sounds good?” Flambae outright asks, deciding to just be straightforward about it.
“Sure.” Robert eventually answers, shrugging his shoulders, figuring he’s only accepting the offer for a free fast-food meal given his habit of skipping breakfast and dinner on some days…
“Good…” Flambae chirps with a smile, making a mental note to put the meeting in his schedule after finishing his workout. “Now, get your flat ass off my bench.”
Robert raises an eyebrow at that comment. His bench? Entitled much? Well, given Flambae’s enormous ego, the dispatcher isn’t all that surprised.
Shrugging his shoulders, Robert gets off the bench and heads to the men’s locker room. He was planning to quit early when he got stuck under that dumbbell anyway.
He can’t find himself to mind feeling Flambae’s eyes on him, making his chest warm up a little. The thought of their meet-up enters his mind, and Robert already has to swallow the mix of nervousness and excitement consuming him.
Fuck, what did he get himself into?