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Flambae couldn’t sleep.
The bed that normally held two was down to one occupant — who was none other than the hot-head himself. He lay spread-eagle across the mattress, then curled up in a ball, then on his side, tossing and turning around the large and practically empty bed. He’d never outright admit it, Flambae was lonely without his partner.
The sound of metal on metal drifted into the bedroom, Robert noisily tinkering away at the Mecha Man suit. It was all he’d been doing for the past two days, ever since a villain had managed to give him the slip, unintentionally pointing out a few flaws in the mech’s design. And now Robert was suffering because of it. Self-inflicted, of course.
Flambae scowled into his pillow when a particularly loud clang followed by a muffled ‘shit’ echoed down the hallway, laying still for a moment before finally rising. He’d let this go on long enough. One night was fine, he could let that go. Two nights was starting to push it. But three? Robert needed to get his shit together and go to bed, and Flambae was more than happy to assist.
Woah. This was new. Flambae wasn’t used to being the responsible one in a relationship. He didn’t even mean to be, he was just getting tired of laying in an empty bed and waiting for someone he knew wasn’t coming (not without physical force, at least). And yet there he was, ready to drag Robert by the legs while kicking and screaming if it came down to it.
Flambae stomped down the hall, not stopping until he’d made it to the room his boyfriend had begun living in as of two days ago. He was greeted by the sight of Robert’s lower half sticking out of the mech’s chest while the upper half worked on whatever he’d deemed needed fixing on the inside. The mech itself was sitting limply, completely powered off as it was being worked on. The gaping hole where the chest was was roughly waist height for Flambae. The only light source was coming from inside the suit, and judging by the way it flickered he took a guess that it was a flashlight.
Flambae stopped just a few feet away from Robert, arms crossed and leaning on one foot. “Fuck are you still doing out here for? It’s three in the fucking morning, you need to go to bed.”
“Not yet. I’m almost done.” Robert’s voice came out slurred, like he was forcing every word out. Which meant he was either drunk or very sleepy. Neither option seemed like a good one, especially since half of him was shoved inside a literal death machine. One wrong move… no, better not to think about it.
Flambae rolls his eyes in disbelief. “Almost done what? Making your suit even worse?” He bent down, peering into the suit with some difficulty thanks to where he stood. “Bitch, you can’t even hold the fucking light straight! When was the last time you actually slept?”
Robert expertly dodged the question with another question. “Do you need something from me? Because I’d really like to focus, Chad.”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“You didn’t answer mine.”
“I asked first.”
“I asked second.”
“Fucking—!” Flambae had to turn away, burying his head in his hands and growling in frustration. He could feel his eye twitching, annoyed beyond reason. This wasn’t how this was supposed to go. He was the one that annoyed the fuck out of Robert, not the other way around. Dragging his hands down his face, he took a deep breath, and looked at Robert once again.
There was a long, pregnant pause. Then—
“Robert? Get the fuck up.”
Robert didn’t even properly react. He kept his upper half buried in the suit, not once breaking concentration. “In a minute, I need to calibrate—”
Flambae didn’t let him finish his excuse. “Okay then. You brought this on yourself, just so you know.” He cracked his knuckles, stepping closer until he was right next to the mech suit.
“Wait, what do you—” Robert was cut off when a pair of hands grabbed him by the waist. He dropped the tool and flashlight he’d been holding in surprise, yelping as he was swiftly dragged towards Flambae. “Shit!”
“Aaand up you go!” Flambae swiftly picked up Robert and threw him over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. Just from doing that simple action he could feel his mood already lightening considerably. A cheeky grin made its way onto his face, a true 180 from just a few moments ago.
“Hey!” Robert protested, wiggling furiously in an attempt to escape. But it was no use, his pushes and shoves were weak and uncoordinated, thanks to his self-inflicted lack of sleep. Flambae doubted Robert would’ve been able to take on a pillow in this state. “Chad, put me down.”
“I don’t think so.” Flambae hefted Robert on his shoulder, shifting him into a more comfortable position.
“Chad…” Robert drew out in a warning tone.
“You, mister, need to sleep. You’ve been outside the bedroom too long, got me actually missing your flat ass.” In emphasis, Flambae smacked said ass, and immediately regretted doing so. He pulled his hand back, over-dramatically flinching in pain. “Ah fuck, Bob Bob! You secretly eating cement or some shit? That was like slapping a fucking brick wall.”
“Yeah, well, that’s what you get. Prick.”
“Fucker.”
Flambae, now equipped with one Robert Robertson the third, made his way back to the bedroom, his cargo grumbling nonsense all the way. It didn’t take long to get there, and soon enough he was opening the door and walking inside.
Robert, who had stopped squirming, numbly stated, “If my suit explodes in the middle of the night and we die in a fiery explosion because you got lonely, I’m killing you.”
“Oh, I’m so scared. Positively shaking.” Flambae tossed his boyfriend onto the bed, springs and Robert groaning in protest when he landed rather roughly on the mattress. “If you really think about it, it’ll be your first time not finishing before midnight.”
Robert, despite looking very much like he’d rather be anywhere but there, situated himself into a more comfortable position, and Flambae watched as he practically melted on the plush surface. “Does everything have to be about sex with you?”
Flambae sat on the edge of the bed, and leisurely swung his legs up and over the edge. “Hey, you said it, not me. Now get over here.”
Moments later, and the two had found themselves curled around each other, Robert with his face buried in Flambae’s chest, and the latter tucking the former’s head under his chin. Both parties were moments from falling asleep, breaths slowing and heart beats matching each other in rhythm. And for the first night in three days, Robert finally passed out, relaxing completely. Flambae — also on the brink of sleep — managed to get out one triumphant smile before following his boyfriend’s lead.