Work Text:
Flambae stared at the ceiling. It was past 1 AM, and he was still awake. A flood of thoughts consumed him, from small worries of if he failed a mission he knew he should win, to outrageous thoughts about what if he died on a mission or from something stupid, and that would be it. Flambae thought he wanted to die all his life, but… he wants to live.
He groaned as he sat up his hands were shaking slightly and clenching, hoping it would go away wasn't helping his case. Flambae sighed as he went to change into outside clothing to take a walk, maybe burn something that wouldn't get him in trouble.
As Flambae walked through the street, he felt a sinking sense of dread as his thoughts worsened. Would he die on a mission, or worse, be kidnapped by the Red Ring to be tortured? He was about to give up and fly home to drink until he didn't feel anything, but his phone rang.
The bright light from the phone made Flambae wince since his eyes were already adjusted to the darkness of the sky. The caller ID read 'Bob Bob'. He was reluctant to pick up, but he wondered why Robert of all people would be calling him at this time. Flambae gripped the phone tightly to stop the shaking before he dropped it on the concrete.
He answered the phone and put it to his ear only to hear Robert say, "Look to your right," before hanging up.
Flambae turned to see Robert on the other side of the street with Beef beside him, the overweight Chihuahua making a small jump when they made eye contact. Flambae wanted to ignore them since he was having a small anxiety episode. He was so lost in convincing himself that he wouldn't cross the street that he didn't notice they crossed and stood right in front of him.
"Everything alright, Chad?" Robert asked calmly. Flambae paused, not knowing how to respond, and when he felt his throat was closing up.
He nodded without being able to talk. Robert seemed to understand what was going on and picked up Beef to give him to Flambae to hold.
Flambae hesitated but was focused on not dropping Beef because he wasn't trying to have Robert use his suit to cut off any other fingers or limbs of his for hurting the dog. He was confused about what the point of holding Beef was as Robert went on his phone. Flambae just held Beef close to his chest, the dog looking up at him with his puppy dog eyes and tilting his head.
Flambae didn't know how much time had passed; he was focused on not dropping Beef, and his hands stopped shaking. He cleared his throat; the choking sensation that was preventing him from speaking was gone. The small tingles were still there, but he was able to find his voice nonetheless.
"So… first time with a panic attack?"
"Panic attack?"
"Yeah, I could tell you were having some kind of panic attack. I get them sometimes when I stress too much about the suit or… my dad." Robert shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal. "I mean, panic attacks are different for everyone. The way I deal with it is by holding Beef up and focusing on Beef. It goes away slightly when you focus really hard on something that important, and in this case, not dropping Beef."
Flambae put the Beef down and watched as the dog sniffed around him and made small jumps to be picked up again. It made Flambae chuckle slightly.
"Why are you out here?" Flambae questioned while looking at Robert, who was avoiding his eyes for a few seconds before rolling them with a grunt.
"We haven't talked in a minute, usually we talk for a while, spend the night with each other, er and go back to work to repeat the same thing. Figured something was wrong when you were avoiding me after the last two shifts, not being the best." Flambae started to get flustered to the point that smoke started to come off his body. He choked on his spit from Robert's words before trying to think of a way to respond.
"So… you were watching me? creep."
"Not so much as a creep if I'm keeping an eye on someone I'm dating."
Flambae muttered under his breath about Robert being stupid, but appreciated Robert's way of looking out for him. They walked together down the streets for half an hour before Robert walked him back to his house. Beef whined about leaving Flambae so much that he even pulled at his pants. Beef calmed down with a few head pats and a scratch behind the ears from Flambae.
"Are you going to call me if you need anything?"
"Are you going to use your suit to break into my house if I don't?"
"Most likely." Robert shrugged with a small smirk on his lip, knowing he won before the argument even started. Flambae grabbed Robert by the neck to tilt his head up so he could lean in for a kiss.
"Get your ass home, Bobert."
"Sir, yes, sir."
Robert nipped at Flambae's lips to annoy him before leaving with Beef.
---
Robert was sleeping his the new bed that Blazer bought him. She wouldn't let him deny her help, and Prism picked out the sheets because she didn't trust his taste for the bed.
It takes him a long time to fall asleep, but once he's out, He'll sleep for the whole night. That was until Flambae showed up at his balcony, banging on the glass door.
Robert opened the door quickly because Flambae wasn't even changed from his pajamas and was frantic about being let in.
"Sorry, I just- I didn't want to call, everything was getting worse, and I couldn't-" Robert pushed Flambae to sit on the bed and grabbed his hand to press against his chest.
"Just focus on my breathing, Chad. You're going to be ok."
Robert watched as Flambae struggled for a while to calm down. He was trying, and Robert let him calm down at his own pace. It wasn't like they had work tomorrow.
The air was quiet between them, Beef lying in Flambae's lap peacefully as a way of the dog's own comfort tactic for Flambae. After a while, Flambae rested his head on Robert's neck.
"This is stupid," Flambae muttered after spending almost 10 minutes being quiet to focus on his breathing.
"What is?"
"Anxiety, panic attacks, thoughts about different ways I could die out of nowhere."
"Yeah… it sucks, but it's not stupid. It's just… shitty emotions throwing hissy fits when you don't acknowledge them."
Flambae chuckled but stayed silent when Robert offered to spend the night. Flambae accepted without using many words. Robert held Flambae close to his chest to make sure his steady heartbeat would help in case anything was to come up before Flambae could tell him.
Beef clearly had other ideas when he decided to take refuge in Flambae's hair, rolling in the hair before settling against Flambae's neck while half covered by hair. "If he eats my hair and gets sick, I'm not sleeping with him next to me again."
"Go to sleep, Chad."