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After that night when Robert revealed himself as Mecha Man to the team and Golem had used his body to protect him from Flambae’s rage, a little habit had started to develop. When they faced danger, especially the exploding kind, Robert would make one swift move to step behind him, saying absolutely nothing about it and moving on as soon as the danger was over.
Golem didn't mind; it wasn't like he could be hurt. If he could, he was sure the dispatcher would try to cover him instead, even if the danger would kill him.
In fact, the construct had started to take a kind of pride in Robert’s actions. It was clear the man trusted him with his life, literally, and sure, he trusted the rest of the team too, but this was special. Robert, the man who would rather be crushed by weights than ask for a spotter and used his own face to block punches in fights, trusted him enough to put his guard down and allow him to shield him from danger.
It was also fun to rub it in the faces of everyone else, as much as they liked to deny it, he knew they were jealous of the way Robert seemed to go to him first for protection in a fight.
A bet was eventually made. Who would be the lucky second shield? Would there even be one?
Punch Up was out of the question as he would only cover a horizontal half, and Invisigal and Prism a vertical half. Coupé and Sonar could use their wing to cover more space, but they weren't as durable. Malevola was a strong contender and held a good part of the betting pool. Flambae, of course, betted on himself.
It was all resolved on one particular movie night, a routine they had developed after the whole ordeal with Shroud was over, and they were banned from more bars than not. Robert’s home, as depressing as it was, had become their default hang-out spot, not without complaints from the owner. Thanks to their frequent visits, Roberts' place had slowly started to look like there was someone living in it, his fridge was always stocked, he had more furniture than just a chair, albeit mismatched and from questionable origins, and lamps illuminated every corner.
They all huddled around the television with beer and food to watch this week's movie, some type of indie horror film Visi had picked. Most of them groaned at it, but per their agreement, no one could oppose another's turn. The only other one that seemed excited was Coupé, despite always choosing cheesy romances every time it was her turn.
Punch and Sonar preferred action-filled movies with explosions and big fights, Flambae and Prism dramatic comedies, Golem and Malevola musicals, and Robert had not watched a movie since he was ten, so he didn't get to choose much.
The man in question continued to voice his complaints as he settled on one of the ends of the couch, Malevola at his side and Golem sitting on the floor next to him.
“What's the matter, Robbo, scared of the ghosts?”- Flambae teased from the other end on a different, smaller bright pink couch, graciously donated by Prism, who half leaned on him.
“I just don't enjoy jumpscares”- The man answered. True to his words, he proceeded to react at every pop in the screen, not enough to make the others notice and earn laughs and mockery, but enough that the woman sitting next to him noticed.
Malevola didn't particularly enjoy this type of movie; being a demon herself, she always huffed at the many inaccuracies often portrayed in these types of films, so she wasn't really paying attention to it, instead focusing more on the dispatcher next to her. The man’s face was the usual devoid-of-emotion mask that he usually bore, yet she could feel the fear that emanated from him like most others in the room.
At a particularly bad one where the screen became filled with gore, and there was nothing heard but screams and loud dramatic music, everyone jumped or screamed. Robert, however, didn't just flinch; he also pulled Malevola’s arm forward so he could hide behind it and hide his face behind her shoulder, almost closing his eyes on the instinct to shut them.
The demoness had the instinct to coo, but restrained herself, instead she let her arm loose and allowed the man to pull her even closer. A warm feeling of pride settled in her chest, ready to protect and attack the danger behind the screen.
Robert froze and pulled back a second later, pushing himself further than he had been before, obviously embarrassed. She could laugh and point it out to the rest, but why would she? They hadn't even noticed with their own fear, and she had a feeling that if she ruined this now, Robert would pull back completely.
She could collect her money some other time.
So, she wrapped her tail around his waist and pulled him back close with a wink- “Don't worry babe”- She whispered. The man took a moment before he relaxed in her hold, and every jumpscare from then on didn't seem to affect him as much.
2
After that, it had progressed steadily. Robert now alternated between the biggest, most durable people on the team to use as shields when needed.
He hid under Sonar's wing in his full bat form when it rained and behind Blonde Blazer when Visi was mad at him. He still refused to acknowledge it, tho, and the rest avoided mentioning it, treating him like a stray cat that had finally accepted food.
It almost seemed like second nature to the man now, when before he would hesitate or stop himself before reaching for someone’s back or arm, now he immediately jumped to it.
He still would never put them in danger; he only did it when he was smart enough to recognize that the threat would be nothing to the person he used. None of them really minded; it was kind of cute and great teasing material for the members that were not trusted as often (Golem and Malevola being his more frequent choices, Visi being the least), never teasing to the man himself; it would make him stop, and they didn't want him to. They were secretly overjoyed to be trusted.
Mostly.
Not right now. For Flambae at least. Everyone else was having a great time.
The day had been very nice until the incident. It was the weekend, when all of them were free, so they decided to do their favorite activity at their favorite place, annoy Robert at his house.
Most of them had arrived around midday, so they could start cooking lunch and then have a movie night. Flambae, as usual, handled most of the cooking as the rest helped in small ways or just loitered around, before they were all kicked out after one too many ingredients were snatched right from the cutting tray.
Once it was all in the pressure cooker, the man joined them around the couch for a game on the console Sonar had brought. “Shouldn't someone be watching over it?”- Robert asked as he observed how the two men battled each other on the screen.
“Nah, I already set the timer”- Flambae answered without looking as he smashed the buttons on the controller.
Eventually, one game turned into two, then three, then more because both heroes refused to give up and accept defeat, constantly challenging each other to a rematch. At least until the screen suddenly faded to black mid-fight and both of them shouted in shock.
“You both suck, give up, can we please eat now? I'm starving”- Courtney complained as she made herself visible, holding the disconnected cable.
“Goddam it bitch, I was about to win.”- Flambae ignored the shout of disagreement coming from Sonar- “And no, we can't, timer hasn't gone off yet.”
“How long is it supposed to cook? It's been a while.”- Malevola commented, looking at the clock on the wall.
“Let me check how much time there is left.”- Flambae said as he unblocked his phone- “...Shit”- He said right after, immediately setting panic in the room.
“What is it?”- The cooker may not be his, but Robert would really like to avoid burning food to a crisp today; that smell lingered for a while.
“My phone was on silent, the timer went off a while ago.”
The group took a look towards the kitchen, where they could see the cooker still on the fire. Now that there was no noise coming from the screen, they could hear a quiet shrieking noise coming from it as well as thumping from how harshly it rattled.
Robert was the first to react, practically running to turn off the heat, Flambae right behind him. Several seconds passed before it stopped making a sound; everyone let out a breath of relief as soon as it did.
“Jeez, I thought it was gonna explode”- Visi said from behind the counter.
“Do we open it?”- Sonar peeked next to her, not trying to get too close to a potential explosion.
“Let's just let it co-”- Robert didn't get to finish his sentence when the pot started making noises again, and before anyone could react, the lid had blown off, with such strength that it almost hit the ceiling. Reacting quickly, he pulled the closest thing to him to cover himself from the flying pieces of burning food that would surely leave more than a mark if they made contact.
A couple of shrieks and screams came from behind the two men, thankfully the rest of the team was far enough to not be reached by the explosion, unthankfully what he had used as a cover from the wave of burning food turned out to be Flambae himself.
He carefully waited for a reaction, ready to bolt in case of a second explosion.
“Dammit bitch this is the second time I end up covered in fucking food because of you!””- Flambae screamed, turning around, pieces of what was once a stew dripping from his face and hair.
The previous screams were replaced with giggles and laughter from the others, despite how angry the man in front of him looked. Robert couldn't help but smile a little- “I'm sorry.”- His shoulders shook in silent laughter, Flambae’s frown got even deeper- “For real, I am.”
“You are so lucky I don't want to kill you anymore, Bob Bob”- He said before turning around towards the bathroom to wash off. He could hear the man instructing everyone to help clean up the gigantic disaster that was his kitchen now, which quickly shut down the laughter and made them complain instead.
The dispatcher caught up to him before he could close the door- “Thank you”- He said.
“Don't thank me bitch, it's not like you asked permission.”- The other rolled his eyes.
“We both know you could have gotten out of the way. You have better instincts than that, and I don't have the strength to keep you in place”- He pointed, knowing smile on his face, the bastard - “So thank you for saving me, my hero.”- He teased, leaning slightly into the other man's space.
“Psh, damn right I am”- Flambae muttered, turning around and hoping the man couldn't see the way his face had gotten as red as the sauce dripping from his hair.
Maybe a tiny, little part of him was happy that now Robert didn't need someone else's help to protect him from getting burned, now he was on the other side of the fire.
3
After everything with Shroud had finally come to an end and the team and he were able to return to some sense of normality (as normal as they could get), there had finally been time to tackle other issues that had not been addressed before. For starters, Roberts' diet, or lack of it, to be more precise.
Now they were able to see more clearly how Robert survived on Twinkies, instant food, and other kinds of sweet pastries. Kinda cute that he had such a sweet tooth as they had all recognized, however, very bad that he didn't have any sort of proper nutrition on a daily basis.
When this was brought up, Robert had denied the need for a better diet, so they had to get creative.
Visi and Golem had taken to sprinkling crushed vitamin pills on top of his instant food, essentially roofieing his food with supplements.
Malevola and Sonar would bake him brownies every week, stuffed with different vegetables every time. Robert seemed hesitant to accept at first, probably suspecting a prank, but he was weak to the sweets, and they knew that. He always ate his portion in the end.
Punch Up and Coupé would consistently ‘accidentally’ make too much food and ask Robert for help finishing, so it wouldn't go to waste, of course.
Flambae and Prism had a more direct approach, setting a plate of food in front of him and sitting at either side of him until he finished it once or twice a week.
Robert, however, didn't appreciate being force-fed, no matter how much love it was with, so once he caught up to what they were doing, he started to take off running every time he saw the pair lingering around the break room.
Today was one of those days, as Robert dashed through the office, hurriedly making his way outside, where he would have a chance to wait until their shift started.
It’s not like the food was not good, in fact, it was amazing, probably some of the best food he had ever eaten, yet this fact was not enough to make him just nod his head and eat. He was an adult, and no one would make him eat his vegetables.
He had successfully made Chase give up before, and he would be damned if he was defeated by his new -babysitters- teammates.
He could hear the sound of Prism’s heels and the thumping of Flambae’s heavy steps from somewhere behind him. He was not faster than them, and he knew this, so he needed to find somewhere to hide quickly.
Bursting through the doors into the parking lot, the duo looked around, but there was no running brunette anywhere they looked, just a couple of people walking to or from their cars, among them Phenomaman, who thankfully no longer crushed cars by laying on them; instead, he just floated around until his shift started.
“Hey, Posterboy, have you seen Roberto around?”- Prism asked, as they approached. The alien was smiling before they even spoke; it was a little creepy.
“Good evening to the both of you, I have not yet seen Robert Robertson today, though I wish you good luck on your search”- He answered, a little too cheerfully, which made both of them suspicious.
“You sure?”- Flambae pushed, when the hero confirmed they shrugged, almost resigning to just turn around and go back to eat their own lunches when the whispers of the people around them recalled their attention, when one man pointed at Phenomaman’s back, Flambae looked at the floor, the shadow there showed a mass hanging from the man’s back like backpack. “This little bitch”- He tched before quickly walking around to face Robert, who was holding onto dear life to the other man's red cape, doing his best to hold his legs close to him.
“Fuck”- Was all he said before being pulled away by Flambae and then pulled back to the SDN building by the scruff of his shirt by Prism like a rowdy kitten. Phenomaman hanged back, asking if they had lost the game. Despite his frustration, Robert assured him and thanked him for his help.
“Fuck is right, bitch, just for that I’m putting extra bell peppers into your next meal.”- The loud groan did nothing to stop the duo from making sure the vegetable stew was eaten by their dispatcher. They would make that man happy and healthy if it were the last thing they did.
4
Malevola’s heels tapped against the floors of the building as she and Sonar made their way through every room, checking every little corner and turning around every man with brown hair.
“Hear anything?”- She asked her companion as they made their way to the center of the bullpen.
The bat’s ears angled, and he let out a couple of screams in each direction before answering- “Nothing useful with this many people around.”- He sighed. Next to him, a figure appeared.
“We found nothing as well”- Invisigal commented, texting on her phone to the rest of their team and receiving equally negative answers.
“Goddam, where the hell could he be? This is a finite space, he has to be somewhere”- Prism said as she tried to catch her breath, obviously having been running around too from the other side of the offices.
“He is not outside either”- Coupé commented, walking in next to Flambae, they had both been in air surveillance duty, making sure noone came in or out of the building while they searched inside. Each of them slowly walked in, in various states of tiredness from looking around everywhere, each having no results.
“Shite, two minutes left people”- Punch Up said as he checked the time, erupting sounds of distress from the rest of the team.
“That bitch has to have cheated, he is nowhere”- Flambae groaned, refusing to accept defeat.
Panic started to settle in, some giving up while others continued frantically to check around. This was supposed to be a simple game of easy, calm fun, but as with every other thing except their jobs, they might have taken it a little too seriously. The game of catch had evolved into a manhunt for none other than their resident dispatcher.
“He is not that small babe”- Malevola said as Golem lifted a desk to look under it. The construct only shrugged before turning around to lift a different one.
Coming into the bullpen and standing at the edge to look at them all, Royd greeted them happily- “Sup guys, how da team bonding going?”
“Hey Royd, not great”- Visi answered, trying to reach the vents standing on someone's desk.
“Fifteen seconds”- Was called out.
“Fuck this shit”- Flambae complained, kicking a chair away in frustration.
“And… that's time, ugh, Robert wins”- Prism announced to everyone to everyone's chagrin.
“Yes, I do.”- The sound of their dispatcher's voice somewhere around startled them, eyes going everywhere to locate the source.
“Robert, are you on the vents? Man, you know that's outside the rules”- Golem looked up, trying to find some spot where the dispatcher would fall down.
“I’m right here”- They heard again, this time looking in Royd's direction, the man sporting a large grin, shoulders shaking in barely restrained laughter. He slowly turned around to reveal Robert, standing shoulder to shoulder, or as close to Royd's shoulder as he could be, curled into himself to make himself even smaller, completely covered by the other man's frame.
Prism was the first to react, quickly snapping a picture.
“Well, I stand corrected, he is that small”- Malevola added.
“No rules broken, time to pay me my money”- It involved a bet, because of course it involved a bet, at least that night they made Robert pay for their drinks with the money he got.
5
Eventually, everyone in the office seemed to have joined in the team’s mission of feeding Robert, despite said man's annoyance. Blonde Blazer would casually walk past, looking at his trash can to make sure remnants of consumed food were there. Phenomaman would hand him fruits or vegetables occasionally, Royd would leave granola bars near him when they worked in the suit, and even Waterboy tried to help.
He didn't make him eat anything; he would just set the food beside him and glance at him anxiously. If Robert didn't take it immediately, his look would evolve into that of a kicked puppy. Robert had to take the food.
But by far the worst offender, even worse than some Z-teamers, had unsurprisingly become Chase. The man had the added advantage of being right next to Robert all day, so he would keep a close eye on him and make sure he drank water, took breaks, and actually ate the food he was given, or he would berate him or tattle to the others.
Robert was learning to be better, though; he didn't skip meals as often and always included at least one vegetable in them. His health was a lot better than it had been in a long, long time.
Today he had brought in his own lunch out of his own volition, some leftovers from yesterday night's outing with the team. He fully intended to eat it too, no extra motivation needed; he was feeling quite proud of himself for being so responsible. He opened the container in his cubicle, intending on doing some paperwork while he ate.
Then, Beef had let out a low whine, staring at him with his big, round puppy eyes and laying his little head on his leg, begging for some food. How was he supposed to say no to that? He is just a man after all.
Of course, the fat creature was not satisfied with a taste; he wanted one more bite, then one more, then one more, and by the time Robert had realized the entire container was on the floor. The dog happily munching away, while he had barely gotten a bite.
Whatever, he could eat something else later, anything for his best friend.
Suddenly, he heard a cough from above him and mentally cursed. Slowly, he looked up, finding Chase staring at him and the dog- “He ate the whole thing didnt he?”- He asked, even though he already knew the answer.
“No”- Robert tried still because he would not go down without a fight.
Chase huffed and walked out of his cubicle towards the breakroom- “I will find you something else.”
Robert was quick to stop him- “It's fine, I will eat something later, second shift is about to star”
“Then eat while you dispatch”- Chase simply said and continued to walk.
“I’m not chewing into a mic three centimeters away from my face”- Robert rebutted, he almost relented with the look Chase threw him, but he was nothing if not equally or even more stubborn than the man- “I’m not, in case you haven't noticed, you are not my babysitter anymore. You don't tell me what to do.”
He regretted it almost as soon as the words left his mouth, but it was already too late as he saw Chase slowly turn around.
“Fuck did you just say, you motherfucker?”- He challenged him to repeat it.
“I, uh”
The older man sighed, moving his hands towards his belt- “That's it.”
“What are you doing?”- Robert asked, a little more scared and nervous now.
“I'm whooping your disrespectful, stupid ass”- He deadpanned, approaching him with slow steps.
Robert immediately got up from his chair, backing up with hurried steps- “What?! Chase!”
“Come here, boy! Your dumbass is fucking lucky Blazer has the amulet today”- He continued to berate as he pursued.
Robert speed walked away, occasionally turning back to see if he was still being hunted. “Chase, come on”- He almost tripped on someone else's thankfully empty chair as most of the office was having lunch somewhere else and avoided a flying file- “Chase!”- He reprimanded.
As they made their way back to where they had started, he swiftly located Beef. The dog slept peacefully and happily with a full belly, unaware of the war happening around him.
He hurriedly ran to grab him, holding him up between him and his old babysitter. “Come on, just look at how happy he is.”- The sight of the dog's chubby stomach and content face was enough to make the man stop to aww. Robert was fast to take the advantage, holding Beef close to his face- “I promise I will eat an actual dinner later.”
Chase huffed, thought about it for a second before deciding to let it go, whether it was due to the cuteness, his tired legs, or the fact he was never actually going to hit him, he will never know- “Fine, you fucking better.”
Just when the dispatcher thought he was finally safe, he heard laughter coming from behind him, turning around to face his team that should be outside waiting to be dispatched and not here- “What are you all doing here?”
“Shift started, but you weren't there, so we came to check if you dropped dead or something.”- Golem explained.
He was a little touched that his team had worried about him, but he could do without the mocking laughter- “Well, I'm fine, so go back outside.”
Prism laughed, putting down her phone that had been obviously filming just a second ago- “I can't believe you almost caught an ass beating at your grown ass age, that's fucking hilarious”- She said, tipping on her phone and probably already sending the video to everyone in the room. Curse that Z-team groupchat.
Robert rolled his eyes and ignored the comment- “Don't you guys have a job to do?”- He gestured outside vaguely, walking to his computer so he could start dispatching them and send them away.
He was promptly stopped on his tracks by a firm but gentle hand on his arm- “As a matter of fact, you have a lunch to eat”- Coupé stated and gestured back to the kitchen.
“I already said-”
Malevola cut him off before he repeated himself- “We are already ten minutes late, we can take ten extra minutes, plenty of time for you to make yourself a sandwich and eat it.”
“But”
“Boy, you better go before we go with you”- Prism warned, finally putting down her phone.
“Fine”- He accepted his destiny and moved. Blazer probably wouldnt mind if they were a little late.
The team watched him disappear into the break room, and when they were sure he wouldn't leave as soon as they looked away, they moved closer to Chase. The older man was now cradling the fat dog in his arms. He nodded approvingly at them- “Fucking finally.”
“Has he always been like this?”- Invisigal asked as she petted the dog’s head.
“A little shit? Since he took his first breath”- Chase answered quickly.
“I meant the hiding habit. Its kinda cute, must have been adorable when he was a baby.”
Chase hummed at that, face easing with nostalgia- “Actually, he didn't do that when he was a child.”
“Really?”- Sonar questioned.
“Yep, the opposite, believe it or not.”
+1
As the youngest member of the Brave Brigades, Chase was under the microscope more often than the others; every action he did on the fieldthe field was observed under a watchful lens to make sure he didn't stumble. He needed to keep up with the adults around him; one slip-up and he would be disregarded as a child.
The older Robertson already grouped him with his own son way too much for his liking. He loved the kid, but he would also like to be recognized as an adult and, more importantly, a self-sufficient hero. Perhaps it was due to the subconscious association that Robbie was always harsher than the other members; he expected more from him, just as he expected more from his own son.
That’s why, on the rare occasions where he did fumble, the older man was the first to scrutinize his work and point out every single mistake, even when the rest of the team would have preferred to move on and forget about the whole thing, to just continue on to the next mission.
He had been too hasty, had thought he could be faster than the bullets, and he could, but not the hostages around him. Thankfully, no one had died, just a couple of scratches and a punctured arm. Still, they all knew this was the best outcome; how horrible it all could have been if Mecha Man hadn't used his own suit as a shield for them.
Chase stood in the middle of the headquarters while Robbie continued with his scolding in front of him, occasionally waving a finger and pointing at him or others. He had stopped listening a while ago. He was aware of his own mistakes, thank you; his mind would do all the punishment he needed, he didn't need the man to tell him what he had done wrong.
Robbie had noticed he wasnt being listened to and seemingly did not like it; he could see his face get redder, the vein in his forehead popping up even more, and his jaw tensing. Here it came, the screaming, despite being the only member with no powers, Robbie’s screaming could instill fear into anyone.
The younger hero sighed and prepared his ears for the attack. What he didn't prepare for was the small child that stood in front of him, almost trying to pull him behind him, despite Chase being almost double his size. His eyes widened as the kid stretched his arms out to cover as much of him as he could, trying to shield him despite his shaking form.
“Don't- Don't scream at Chase!”- He yelled, head held high, voice wavering with the urge to cry. It was enough to make Robbie falter, surprised by his own child's actions as well. He sputtered for a second, unsure of how to continue now, he briefly reached for the child’s wrist, clearly to pull him away, before hesitating at the way the rest of the members looked at him.
He just scoffed- “I expect better from you next time Track Star”- He said with finality and turned to go lock himself in his workshop for the next foreseeable hours, as he always did post-missions.
Immediately, Robert deflated, finally letting out a tiny cry now that he no longer felt the danger to the both of them. Chase’s heart staggered at the sound, and he dropped to his knees, turning the child around and squishing him with a hug, letting Robert bury his face in his chest to continue letting out tears.
He shushed and petted his hair comfortingly- “Hey, I’m okay, we’re okay.”- He repeated- “You were so brave”- He assured.
The child in his arms continued to sniffle for the next couple of minutes. Chase didn't stop holding him.