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If Robert Robertson the third were to tell his past self from... approximately five years ago that he would be sharing a bed with the firey villain whose fingers he cut off way back then, he would never have believed it.
And yet here he was, stretched across Flambae's bed, back leaning against the headboard whilst the faint white glow of the TV shone against his skin. Right beside, or technically against him, was the firestarter whose cheek pressed against Robert's bicep.
Even with the TV right in front of him, Flambae managed to be the most eye-catching thing in the room.
Dark, thick locks of curling hair winding like roads traversed across the man's broad shoulders, sitting against his bare chest and brushing against Robert's upper arm. Tendrils and tufts fell in front of his face, shielding him from Robert's view so all the dispatcher could see were the man's eyelids and slight bump in his nose, acting as a screen of protection against the TV attempting to illuminate his skin.
It felt almost surreal, seeing Flambae so docile for once in his life, just accepting the idea of sleep and allowing it to take control of his weary state as quiet breaths rolled out the space between his lips, hitting Robert's skin through the locks of hair laying in the way.
It was such a stark contrast to his usual attitude and Robert was almost certain that if the other saw himself right now, he'd throw an absolute fit, spouting out words of denial and embarrassment whilst pretending to be more unphased than he actually would be. Perhaps thats why Robert appreciated seeing this quiet side to him even more – just accepting.
They'd been involved with each other like this for a couple months now and something Robert had picked up on, interestingly enough, was the fact that the ex-villain used his powers in his sleep. It wasn't too obvious what the other would dream of, but occasionally, he'd feel a spike of heat rise in the air around them, or directly from his palms. How he hadn't accidentally set his sheets on fire yet, he wasn't sure, though he seemed to have a subconscious understanding of when the temperature was rising too much as things would suddenly start to cool. Truly, he was enigmatic. To Robert, at least.
For the first time in years, Winter had been bearable. No, more than bearable, it'd been actually comfortable for the most part. No more shivering when Robert got out of the bed in the morning, no more itchy layers of outdated sweaters scratching his skin, no more wasting money on heating – which ended up saving him a lot more than he expected.
But obviously, for something to be great, something else had to be.. less great, to put things more kindly. Sure, Torrance wasn't exactly known for its snow, but that didn't mean the cold wasn't giving the city's residents any less of a reason to complain to SDN.
Black ice ruining roads, people's heating systems failing, power outages darkening the city, and a ridiculous amount of injury prone people who dont know how to dress for the season, but also don't know how to manage the season in general – more specifically, the masses of ice that come with it. All, of course, led to Flambae being Robert's most sent hero for the past week.
He shouldn't be shocked that it's been draining his energy heavily, being sent off on missions one after the other, even volunteering himself to do multiple without Robert's asking. And for what reason? He probably knew he'd be scheduled for it anyway or that the others would be more likely to fail if they were put up to the task. Sure, Robert appreciated it to a certain extent, but all he could keep thinking of and seeing were the way his movements became more sluggish throughout the shift and how his snarky combacks would quieten. Its like, for once in his life, Robert was disappointed to not face much attitude from Flambae.
Even now, in Flambae's place with the TV right in front of him, he was thinking of how the firestarter had been acting once the shift finally ended. Refusing to go get drinks with the others? Robert knew he was feeling absolutely fucked from the day, and not in a pleasurable way, which is what led him to also refuse a night at the Sardine, or whatever shitty bar they'd end up in.
If anything, Robert was probably the best person when it came to understanding exhaustion as the man was in a constant state of it himself. The difference was, he became used to it to the point of near immunity, but also he wasn't flying and running across the entirety of Torrance back and forth all day, using an excess amount of powers whilst occasionally throwing punches at villains.
Slowly, his fingers had been stroking through Flambae's hair as he curled into his side, occasionally massaging the pads of his fingers against the other's scalp in an attempt to sooth his foggy, or smokey, mind. In all honesty, he felt a sense of guilt knowing he'd sent the guy out so much, hence why he was probably trying to silently apologise for it now through his gentle touches and caresses against Flambae's head.
After a good few minutes of admiring the other, Robert tore his eyes away finally to take a look at the TV instead, instantly groaning under his breath as the image of The Bone Zone popped up.
To be honest, everything the guy said tended to go ignored by Robert, even more so since he learnt of the petty or just downright stupid shit he spouted off about his teammates within the Z-Team.
Of course, now that he was looking away from Flambae, the man began to stir awake. Though that word should be used lightly as 'awake' isn't exactly the perfect description for the drowsy man against him. Eyes half lidded, body stirring, Flambae shifted and sat himself up a little bit more until his head tipped back against Robert's arm, making the dispatcher wrap it around him instead, encouraging Flambae to rest his head against his chest rather than his limb.
"Already up?" Robert muttered under his breath, gently running his hand over Flambae's bare shoulder in soothing circles.
Luckily, the working week had ended and whilst Friday nights were usually meant for fun, they both knew damn well this was the best place for them to be tonight. Sometimes doing absolutely nothing together meant absolutely everything, and this was one of those instances.
With a quiet sigh of air huffing through Flambae's lips, he blinked one eyelid at a time, squinting at the glow of the TV screen shining his way.
"No.." he uttered, hoarse voice barely audible as he allowed his body to fully melt into Robert's once again. One eye remained somewhat open, giving him access to see the sight on the screen before him, only making him wish he'd kept them both closed, "The Bone Zone..? ..Really?" Flambae grunted, turning his nose further into Robert's torso in an attempt to bury his face fully away from the light, or more realistically, away from Danny Diaz.
A light smirk of amusement crept up the corners of Robert's lips as he heard the other's quiet hint of a complaint. It didn't take much to make Flambae salty, and boy, did he hold grudges. Hell, Robert was pretty sure everyone at SDN, no matter their differences, could bond of a shared hatred for the phony 'news' reporter.
"I'm not paying attention to it, alright? Relax, I'm sure he's not saying anything about your 'chapped' lips." Robert murmured teasingly in response, curling strands of Flambae's hair around his index finger whilst he glanced at the tired man beside him.
"Shut the... mm." Flambae's brain whirred, unable to finish his sentence as the ghost of sleep continued to haunt him, encouraging his mind to shut down and recharge for a few more hours.
Still, Robert's eyes studied Flambae's depleted form, the way he acted as though words were too heavy for his tongue to spit out, as though his limbs were being magnetically drawn to the mattress below them, planting him within the sheets and forcing him to succumb to his need to rest.
Robert smirked at the attempted response he'd given, trying to play back at him, though failing as his mind short circuited.
"..Uh huh.. I think that's enough TV for the night." The dispatcher hummed gravelly, using his free arm to reach for the remote across the bed, pressing the power button and watching as the bedroom was immersed into a complete blanket of darkness, finally taking that strain from Robert's eyes. He knew staring at a screen all day for work and then doing the same after hours wasn't great, but hey, if the future is going to revolve around technology, he might as well get a head start adapting to the side effects of staring at it for so long.
Despite the total gloom encompassing them, he could just about make out the movement of the other's eyelids hanging from half shut to fully closed in the span of a second, pulling Flambae back into his deep dreams for the night.
With an exhale, Robert relaxed his muscles and gently pushed the tufts of hair away from Flambae's face, trying to get a better look at the tranquil man beside him so he could press a subtle kiss against the top of his head, demonstrating his best attempt to keep him asleep whilst doing so, "..Sleep good tonight yeah? ..God knows you need it."
Winter was obviously going to be a long fucking month..