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The boxes that had remained unpacked resided in the corner of Robert’s bedroom, now out of place with the mismatched furniture taking up the space.
It was apparently Courtney’s turn to check in on him this time, eyes falling on the boxes as well.
“You’ve been here for how long and you still haven’t unpacked your shit?” She half teased, rolling her eyes as she moved closer, already reaching for one.
“Is this honestly everything you’ve ever owned? I assumed you’d have more mech parts or something,” she said before shaking the one box, a few things rattling inside.
“Everything for the mech was kept in storage. These were the only things I really considered my own and not just stuff the old man left behind,” he sighed, missing the odd look she gave him at the comment.
Courtney was already hovering over the box, sat on the floor. Out of the two, this box didn’t have any tape over the top, leading Robert to assume it was most likely things he had hauled from the storage unit or had used as a makeshift filing cabinet since he hadn’t owned any furniture at the time he needed one.
The result was the latter as she opened the box, looking slightly disappointed as she found stacks of papers and folders.
“Seriously? Why keep this stuff in here?” She grumbled, frowning at the stray take out receipts tucked between layers of medical papers and bills.
“Didn’t have anywhere else to put it?” Robert shrugged, hoping the boring contents of the box would dissuade her from checking the other one.
She removed the papers in stacks, seemingly unconvinced that there was nothing else in it. A few moments passed of Robert hoping he’ll be able to cram everything back into the box afterwards before he was broken out of his thoughts by a bag being wagged in his face.
“This from your Prince Albert?” She asked with a grin, holding a ziplock bag with a label from the hospital on it.
The contents were visible through the plastic, only holding a singular, silver barbell that shook with the movement.
He huffed a laugh, raising his eyebrows up in mock offence.
“No, it’s not,” Robert replied, reverting his attention to the object again as she squinted at it.
“I had a tongue piercing for a bit. Was off my ass when I got it and it ended up getting infected. Apparently, getting piercings done in the corner of a bar by a random guy isn’t exactly sanitary,” he chuckled.
“I think you just made my wet dream even better,” Courtney teased, making Robert try to snatch the bag away from her to dodge the attempt.
“I feel like I should follow through on that HR report, especially after what you pulled that week,” he half threatened, making her squint at him, gauging if he was bluffing. By ‘the other week’, he was referring to putting civilians in direct danger due to ignoring orders, having wanted to jump into the action rather than secure the area.
“Good thing I made up for it this week,” she rebutted, knowing her overtime was in fact, because of that.
Robert just sighed, trying to remember when or who had taken the piercing out. It was most likely when he had gotten himself blown up the first time, though he grimaced at the idea of someone shoving their hands in his mouth to remove it. Intubation was one thing, fighting with a body piercing was another.
“Think it healed up?” She asked, continuing to rummage through the box again.
“Probably. It’s been long enough,” he replied, silently hoping he wasn’t making a face as he tried to sense if it was still there.
“One way to find out,” she added, already reaching for the other box.
Before he could protest both at the comment and for touching the other box, a portal opened up before them. Robert could only sigh, unsurprised at the way his teammates seemed to waltz in and out of his place without much care of his say.
Malevola stepped out, swivelling her head to Courtney.
“Hey, we’re heading out. Thought I’d save you the trip,” she grinned further at Robert’s expression before looking down at the bag in his hand.
“Is that from your dick?” She pointed at the offending item, making him sigh.
“No, it’s not,” he replied instead, watching the two snicker, a part of him happy to see them getting along.
“If it was for his dick, the barbell would be curved,” a familiar voice suddenly behind him.
Again, just entering his apartment, apparently.
Victor stood, looking down at the bag for a moment.
“Why do you have two first names?” He asked before Robert moved it out of his view, covering the label.
Malevola spoke up once more, saving Robert from answering.
“We’re going out tonight, you should come with,” her smile softened to a more genuine one.
She gestured to the portal, Courtney standing now and looking over at him expectantly.
“I’ll catch up in a bit, just text me the address,” he replied, aware he had to take Beef out for his potty break and feed him.
The three seemed to understand as Beef, if summoned, trotted up to them, tail wagging as he tried to pick who to beg for pets first.
“Alright, don’t flake on us Bobert,” Victor said, walking through the portal alongside the two.
Robert watched the portal close, leaving him alone with Beef who was already begging for his scheduled meal.
By the time he got back, having had the run around with Beef unable to decide where to relieve himself, Alice had sent him the address. The place wasn’t anywhere he could remember visiting, the few photos of the inside mostly dark with colored stage lights.
Robert had become well aware how limited his wardrobe was. Alice at some point had asked him with what sounded like partially genuine concern if he owned anything besides his work clothes. After a longer than necessary trip to the mall, he had a few more clothes to toss into the rotation. He threw on a black button up, rolling up the sleeves and leaving an extra button open beneath the collar. He then pulled on a pair of jeans that passed the sniff test, tucking it in halfway when an idea came to mind. Suddenly remembering the bag in the other room.
Robert knew it was a stupid thing to get, but he had at one point had a sense to keep it. Couldn’t hurt to try, he guessed.
He was surprised to see the group not inside, but sat in front of what looked like a taco place a block down from the club, loud enough for Robert to adjust his course.
Alice was laughing at something Malevola said, making Chad roll his eyes and mutter something as he approached. They were all in their civilian attire, Chad and Prism more dressed up than usual as expected. Robert couldn’t help his gaze drifting briefly on Chad’s shirt, now wearing a thin gold chain around his neck. He wondered how many of those he had melted by accident before his attention turned to Malevola lifting an arm. His eyes widened as she threw a bag at him, catching it as it hit his chest.
“Eat that,” she ordered, taking a swig from her cup as the others noticed him.
“Took you long enough, here I thought we’d have to send Flambae out to get you,” Alice leaned back in her seat, only further irritating the man sat next to her.
“Why make me do all the work. Mal is right there,” he gestured to the woman across from her, earning a shrug.
“I already do enough work around here,” she smiled, assured of herself.
“You know, I can fly too,” Victor spoke up.
“You’d probably give him rabies if he rode on your back,” Chad replied, pointedly ignoring the amused look Alice was aiming his way.
“Not cool, dude. It was one time,” he threw back, seemingly uninterested in the conversation now.
“That one time I did, I had to get like ten shots just to make sure they covered everything,” Courtney spoke up, arms crossed.
Robert happily ate away at whatever had been in the bag. Three hard shell tacos, reminiscent of the ones he had gotten after that fight at The Sardine. He listened as the group continued to half-bicker, half-converse, now used to it after being on the team for almost a year now.
“Are you done, because I’m sensing a line forming out front that I do not want to get stuck in,” Alice spoke up, all of their attention now on him.
“All good to go,” he crumpled the bag, tossing it into the bin and making the shot this time.
The night allowed the chill of Fall to approach, usually almost absent during the day. So if Robert found himself leaning slightly closer to Chad while waiting in line, he hoped it wouldn’t get commented on. He could have sworn he felt the heat in fact flare, almost startling at the sudden flood of warmth against his side.
Robert risked a glance, watching Chad quickly avert his eyes ahead of them as if caught. The group ahead of them was still debating if Victor had rabies or not when they finally made it inside, beelining for the bar closer to the back. The area was big, made smaller by the amount of people inside as loud music made the whole room shake.
The weather as well as standing outside for so long made him lean a bit more heavily against the bar, attempting casual as his knees seemed to protest. Robert awaited the bartender to circle back around, busy with the multiple people going back and forth from the dance floor. He nearly startled when a forearm brushed against him, a glass of amber liquid appearing before him.
“Take it before I change my mind, bitch,” Chad’s voice against his ear as to be heard over the sound.
Robert mentally shook himself from his daze, taking the offered drink.
“Thanks,” he offered a light smile, catching his gaze before taking a sip.
“Damn, I’m fancy whisky worthy?” He teased, smile brightening as he caught the look on Chad’s face.
“Shut up,” he grumbled, barely audible over the noise.
Robert let out a laugh, chest feeling lighter.
A few drinks later, he had continued to mingle amongst the group and some. He was with Courtney now as she tipsily regaled one of her last missions where she had to do damage control for Phenomaman. She had suddenly trailed off, remembering something as her attention turned to Robert across the table.
“Did you ever find out if you still had that piercing?” She asked, head tilting to the side and almost losing her balance at the action.
Robert rolled his eyes with a chuckle, feeling much more lax than usual. He stuck out his tongue for a second to show it off just to see her expression.
“That- is so hot,” she began to laugh at the absurdity, in turn, making Robert laugh.
“Hey people, you mind?” Alice approached, holding up her phone, and ready to take a photo whether they said yes or not.
Courtney elbowed his side, wordlessly communicating her idea.
Robert rolled his eyes with a laugh as Courtney slung an arm over his shoulder, posing for the camera as he stuck out his tongue with a smile. The camera flashed twice, Alice doing a double take at the picture and then his face.
“Damn, Roberto. Didn’t realize you were freaked up like that,” she cackled, leaning closer.
“You know who’s going to love this?” She seemed to laugh harder at her own joke, typing away at her phone before walking away, seemingly heading towards the bar.
“Whatever that meant,” Robert commented as he watched her leave, making the two snicker.
He ended up full circle back at the bar towards the end of the night, nursing a water now as he deemed he should probably sober up enough to at least walk home in the right direction.
“Mecha-bitch,” a familiar voice to his left, the words more so fond than scathing as they used to be.
“Chad,” Robert greeted in kind, watching the man grumble to himself, oddly enough.
“Chirag,” he spoke up, filling the silence, pointedly looking away.
“Sorry?” Robert, still hazy around the edges, studied him.
“My name. My real name, that is,” he explained, brow furrowing.
“This feels important. Why are you telling this to me now?” Robert decided to prod, willing the room to stop tilting enough for him to focus.
“To see if you’ll remember it in the morning,” Chad, or, Chirag, snorted, finally turning to take in the other man’s appearance.
“So, is Chad your…American name then?” He asked instead of taking the bait, sobering up just enough to make his brain and mouth cooperate, attempting to take in the assumed tone of the situation.
“Yeah, you’d be surprised how shit you all are at pronouncing anything that isn’t Robert Robertson,” Chirag jabbed, only making him laugh.
“I’m familiar enough with that,” he smiled, taking a few more sips of water as he felt a gaze study him for a moment in confusion.
“Are you serious? I know it’s a dumbass name, but people honestly had trouble with your name?” He questioned with disbelief, leaning closer for a moment.
“Or are you more fucked up than I thought,” he studied Robert’s face, making him suddenly nervous at the proximity.
“No, not that. Could you imagine though?” He chuckled, trying to dispel the nervous energy that had suddenly gathered beneath his skin, avoiding his gaze.
Chirag remained quiet, expectant and seemingly watching the man gathering his thoughts.
“As a big ‘fuck you’ to the old man, my mother gave me two first names. He’d pretend it was a middle name, but on most legal documents, it’s the other way around. Didn’t bother fixing it either,” he partially laughed to himself under that watchful gaze.
“My first name is Kyung-min,” Robert turned to study Chirag’s expression now, watching him process the information for a moment.
“You’re Asian?” He asked, slightly bewildered.
Robert shrugged, something warm curling in his chest at the idea of sharing this part of himself. Even if he was slightly plastered.
“Okay, now I do know you’ve had too much if you’re sharing this with me.”
Robert airily laughed again, studying the countertop of the bar now.
Chirag suddenly pulled out his phone, squinting down at the screen, interrupting the moment.
“Alright, Alice is asking us to bounce,” he pulled away, trying and failing to hide how closely he was watching the other man.
“Courtney’s puking outside, and you know who we’ll have to call for that,” he rolled his eyes, Robert well aware of the impending earful from Mandy waiting for them.
“She just cares- in her own way,” he adds as he pushes himself to stand fully, carefully rolling his shoulders.
“Sounds familiar,” Chirag scoffed, reaching a steadying hand out as Robert teetered to the side before correcting himself.
His hand pulled back as if it burned, still closely watching him.
Standing outside now, they caught sight of Malevola patting Courtney’s back while Alice and Victor stood watch. The group all had matching expressions on, an unpleasant grimace as they all were under the mutual understanding of the consequences that was Mandy.
“I don’t trust myself to portal anyone anywhere unless you want to accidentally end up in Hell,” Malevola replied, appearing almost sober besides the odd tilt of her words.
“Fly home?” Victor asked, looking over towards her.
“You sure? I really don’t want you to fly us into a billboard again,” her brow furrowed, looking concerned.
“Okay, I’ve learned from that mistake. I’m right as rain, only had a few because I’m responsible like that,” he chagrined, looking proud of himself.
Meanwhile Alice stood stock still, closely studying the two who had just approached.
“Seriously, you disappeared on me, bitch! I forgive you, but my point still stands,” she crossed her arms, attention shifting to Robert.
“Damn, he looks out of it. How many drinks did you give the poor man?” Alice accused Chirag, raising a brow in scrutiny.
“Barely any, he’s like skin and bones. I can’t help it if a few drinks do him in,” he deflected, studying the dispatcher again.
“I’m thinking of ubering back to mine. Roberto looks like he needs your help more than me,” she gestured towards him again, watching him tilt slightly to the side before correcting himself.
“You’re going by yourself?” Chirag couldn’t help but ask, worry coloring his tone.
“Nah, I can take this one. Drop her off at Mandy’s,” Alice provided, pointing back to Courtney who had finally stopped heaving onto the concrete.
“As long as she doesn’t get us kicked out,” she grumbled, typing on her phone again, presumably for the uber.
“Alright, see you two tomorrow. And, Chad, behave,” Alice threw back, keeping an eye out for which car would be theirs.
“Whatever, bitch. You know I’m a gentleman,” he flipped her off as they turned to walk again.
“I was thinking some other word, and ‘gentleman’ wasn’t one of them,” she quipped back with a barely restrained smile, making Chirag bark out a laugh.
“Fuck you! Have fun dealing with Blazer,” he cackled, Alice’s scoff heard as she flipped him off before stepping into her ride.
They watched her drag Courtney inside, stern words muffled as the door shut, presumably threatening her if she dared to throw up in the car.
Chirag ended up leading the way to Robert’s place, ensuring he wouldn’t get lost or end up in an alley. Arguably, he was feeling only slightly tipsy right now, finding the other man’s presence unnecessary but appreciated.
After fumbling for much too long with his keys, Chirag had snagged them from him, opening the door and gently ushering him inside.
Guiding him to the mattress on the floor, he removed Robert’s shoes and told him to lay down, leaving a glass of water and some ibuprofen on the desk nearby. Exhaustion pulled at Robert, as he struggled to keep his eyes open.
“Thanks, Chirag,” he murmured, watching the man tense for a moment in recognition before he left, pausing at the sliding glass door.
“Goodnight, Mecha-dick,” he softly closed the door, leaving off the balcony.
Robert would never figure out why they would agree to go out on a Thursday night. Not because of himself, but because of dealing with now hungover supers under his command. The group complained over the line, mostly Courtney. Surprisingly, they did not earn a lecture from Mandy. Robert now realized the versatility of Alice’s extensive media training.
“Alright people, busy day. I need you all at your A-Game if we want to get out on time,” Robert reminded the group as they begrudgingly cleared the line.
“How are you so chipper this morning? I thought we were going to find you blacked out in an alley,” Malevola questioned, sounding only slightly exhausted.
“Recorded line, professionalism,” he interjected tiredly just for Flambae to figuratively add fuel to the fire.
“You think I’d let that happen? Galen is such a bore.”
“You walked him home? And didn’t try to get all up in that?” Visi questioned, earning a few laughs from the group.
“Why do I bother,” Robert more so grumbled to himself as chaos erupted across the lines again.
“Excuse you, I’d never do that. I’m a fucking gentleman,” he scoffed, already finishing up with a call in record time.
“He’s right, any man’s lucky to have him,” Prism added, a few wolf calls ringing out.
“You heard her, I’m a fucking catch,” Flambae practically purred into the headset, Robert suppressing a shiver at the sound.
Thankfully, the rest of the first half of shift went almost smoothly. Despite the complaining, most of the group proceeded with their tasks with little issue, banter aside.
Robert’s watch beeped, informing him of his break. He stood with a bit more ease, heading towards the break room.
Alice sat at the table, head in her hand as she scrolled on her phone, most likely nursing a hang over. Halfway through pouring himself a fresh cup of coffee, Flambae walked in, rummaging through the fridge before sitting down next to her.
“Seriously, for a man who acts like he’s dying all the time, how are you not hungover?” She complained, gesturing to Robert who leaned against the counter.
“I watched him almost run into a wall like twice,” Chirag added, agreeing.
“I don’t know, I guess I’m immune,” he shrugged, attempting an air of nonchalance.
“That’s gotta be a lie,” Alice stared at him accusingly.
He rolled his eyes, instead sipping on his coffee.
“Wanna see the pics from last night? Was thinking of posting some of them,” she changed the subject, showing her phone to Chirag as she swiped through.
He nearly choked on his food as she swiped, eyes widening in disbelief. Alice began to cackle at the reaction while Chirag attempted to compose himself, looking down at the phone again.
“Is that real? Don’t fuck with me, Alice,” his face was slightly red, whether from choking or from the photo, he was unsure.
Unable to resist, Robert approached, taking the seat across from them and regretting it the moment their attention snapped over to him.
“Considering I was there, now I’m curious,” he spoke, watching a grin spread across Alice’s face again.
She flipped her phone around before Chirag could stop her, looking embarrassed now.
It was the photo from last night of him and Courtney, grinning against the flash as he showed off his tongue piercing, Courtney sporting a similar expression to mirror his.
“Well to answer your question,” Robert stuck out his tongue, showing off the piece of metal he had decided to keep in.
Chirag’s expression seemed frozen, disbelief and embarrassment coloring his features.
“See, told you Roberto’s a freak,” she elbowed him with a smile.
“Is that-is that new?” Chirag managed out, still looking uncomfortable.
“No, I’ve had it for years. Courtney found it in one of my boxes and joked that I should see if it still fit,” he explained, watching the gears turn in the other man’s head.
“Shit, you’ve broken him,” she cackled again, barely able to contain her laughter.
“I hope this doesn’t count as an HR violation. We’ve already had enough of those, and I don’t need to have one handed to me,” he sighed, sipping at his coffee purely to distract himself now as Chirag visibly rebooted.
Finally seeming to ease, he shook his head.
“Here I thought you were above that sort of shit,” he chuckled stiltedly, still avoiding looking directly at Robert.
“I slept in a plastic lawn chair for three months and have been involved in enough bar fights to know how to navigate one, Chirag. I’m unfortunately not above much,” he sighed with a small smile, wanting to ease away whatever discomfort he had somehow caused.
This made the man freeze up further, making his smile drop into a frown.
“Shit, first name basis now? What the fuck happened when I wasn’t looking?” She teased him again, seeming to finally break him out of his stupor.
“I honestly didn’t think you would remember,” Chirag half heartedly chuckled, his avoidant gaze the only giveaway of what he was truly feeling.
It made Robert pause, a warmth settling in his chest as they locked eyes.
“I told you it felt important. Sobered up real fast,” he reassured him, hoping this time he was saying the right thing.
“Not enough if I still had to help you home,” he lightly scoffed, looking less uncomfortable now as he broke their gaze.
“Could you two be gay elsewhere? I want to enjoy the rest of my break, you know,” Robert could practically hear the eye roll behind her shades as she moved to stand, giving Chirag a playful swat.
The man looked ready to protest before she gave him a pointed glare, leaving the break room now and rapidly texting on her phone.
“Whatever that was about, I probably should thank you for that,” Robert offered, watching the expressions morph across Chirag’s face.
“Whatever, should’ve let you sleep in that alley,” he muttered in response, avoiding his gaze again.
Robert huffed a laugh, pausing when his watch beeped.
“See you,” he replied instead, taking his coffee with him.
If he felt the warmth of eyes on his back on the way out, he paid it no mind.