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Robert wasn’t too fond of Valentines Day, he wasn’t totally against the holiday or anything like that, he tolerated it at best, but it wasn’t something he personally partook in.
Since his mother died when he was very young and his father was never around, he didn’t really have a good role model when it came to Valentines Day. He had Chase but since he was older than Robert, he never babysat when he had a date – not that Robert could blame him.
To make matters worse, Robert was crowned Mecha Man at eleven years old when his father died which was considered more important than love and dating. He didn’t have time to explore or experience high school romance like everyone else, he had to be Mecha Man, people needed him for what he could provide, and that wasn’t romance.
It was only when he became a dispatcher at SDN that he found romance to be more prevalent. Whilst he couldn’t deny the women around him were attractive, he didn’t find himself wanting to be with them. He didn’t feel connected to them in such a way as office romance, Blonde Blazer felt more like a best friend than a potential love interest and Invisigal’s harassment was a huge turn off – not someone he wanted to involve himself with romantically.
There was one, however, that caught his attention immediately – Flambae. Robert found himself drawn to the former villain in a way he never felt before, attracted to the sassy remarks, the petty arguments and supposedly offensive nicknames. He couldn’t help it; the thrill was too enticing.
Needless to say, it didn’t take long before he was securing Flambae for himself, it surprisingly took less begging and more making out than he had expected. He could still feel the burn imprint on his lower back.
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Unlike Robert, Flambae loved Valentines Day, he’s had more experience with dates and romance over the course of his life and even if he wasn’t dating anyone (which happened more than you think), he spent Valentines with his sister and niece, making sure their day was special.
Flambae hadn’t had a lover in a while so when Valentines Day rolled around and Robert was just as infatuated with him as the day they met, he knew he had to do something. Robert wasn’t one for big displays or over the top romantic gestures, he liked small, intimate moments and Flambae was more than happy to oblige.
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Flambae saunters over to Robert’s cubicle and perches on the edge of his desk, arms crossed over his very much exposed chest. “Bob-Bob, you on patrol tonight?”
“Hello to you to, Chad.” Robert teases, leaning back in his seat, on hand rests on the arm of his chair, the other gently lands on Flambae’s knee. His thumb rubs light circles around the joint.
Flambae rolls his eyes fondly. “Yeah, yeah, hello Bob-Bob, are you on patrol or not?”
“I am, won’t be home until late, around eleven I think.” Robert replies, his hand moving up Flambae’s leg to his inner thigh. It wasn’t inherently sexual, just a motion Robert did frequently to ground himself or keep Flambae close.
Flambae hums thoughtfully, tapping his bicep. “Hm, I’m not waiting up for your dumbass then. Enjoy your patrol, Mecha Bitch.” He gets up, preparing to leave when Robert’s arm slinks around his waist.
“Not so fast, Matchstick.” He smirks, pulling Flambae between his legs. “Where’s my kiss, hm? You forgot the one this morning and nearly forgot my goodbye kiss, something wrong?” his tone shifts from flirty to concerned. “Did- are we good?”
Flambae stares at him for a moment, then gives the softest sigh only reserved for moments alone with Robert. “Bob-Bob, you’re an idiot, but you’re my idiot. Can’t get rid of me, you don’t have a receipt.” He smirks, leaning down to press his lips firmly against Robert’s. He didn’t typically kiss Robert whilst at work, only ever hugged him from behind or kissed his temple, he liked saving the good stuff for their apartment.
Robert melts into the kiss, hands gravitating to Flambae’s hips instinctively. His thumbs continue that circle movement which drives Flambae crazy, squeezing at times and tugging him closer. God, Robert was a fiend for affection.
Flambae pulls away after a final, drawn-out kiss. “Come home in one piece this time, Bob-Bob.” And then he was gone.
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With Robert out on patrol all evening, Flambae had plenty of time to set up his little surprise for his boyfriend. Because after everything Robert’s done for Flambae over the course of the Phoenix Programme, he deserved a special something in return.
He started with dinner, a proper dinner not a fucking pot noodle like Robert’s been eating for the past week and a half. Flambae’s complained about this many times, but Robert’s defence is always “I don’t want to wake you up after patrols, babe” – curse him for knowing how badly Flambae values his sleep. So yes, Flambae is cooking him a homemade lasagne, and yes, he will be making it early so it can set and the sauce can thicken up to accentuate the flavour. He’s a connoisseur, darling, he knows his shit.
Whilst the lasagne is in the oven, Flambae rests another pan of garlic bread baguettes on the hob so that when the lasagne is done, he can throw the garlic bread in – that way it won’t burn.
Next up was the decorations. Flambae was dramatic which meant he needed to go all out for this Valentines Day – Robert deserved it and Flambae was extra, win-win. He sat at their dining table, a packet of heart shaped balloons resting in front of him. He had bought an electronic balloon pump to fill them up more efficiently, this one in particular could fill two balloons at once if Flambae was smart about it. Thankfully he only had once ballon casualty which ended up in the bin, but the rest were perfectly shaped and resting against the ceiling, their strings dangling to the ground. He may have went overboard with twenty-four, but he liked how they looked so he didn’t care.
After balloons was the dining table, Flambae started by setting up the two plates and cutlery – the fine China shit that Robert only uses for special occasions. Beef was running around after him, tongue sticking out in that playful manner of his that Robert cooed over. “Beefaroni! You’re gonna trip me up!” Flambae grumbles, though there was no malice in his tone. “Don’t worry, I made you a special doggy meal so you’re not missing out. Robert will be thrilled.” He pets Beef’s head before moving to grab a vase from the cupboard. They rarely kept flowers in the apartment, but Flambae supposed this was an occasion that called for them, he had gone out and bought an arrangement of red and orange roses, with a few hibiscus and anthurium scattered throughout. Did he have to pay extra for these particular flowers? Yes. Was it entirely worth it? Also, yes. He set the arrangement in the middle of the dining table along with a scented candle and a bottle of Prosecco because Robert hated red wine. Flambae had frozen a few strawberries in an ice cube mould in the hopes of recreating that Pinterest photo he saw a few days ago.
Beef yips at his feet, pawing at his leg in the hopes of being picked up. Flambae, ever the push over, picks Beef up with a resound huff. “You are spoiled, Beefaroni, but sure, you can crash my date with Bob-Bob.” He opts for carrying the rotund dog around with him as he finishes up the surprise for Robert. He left a trail of fake rose petals (because he will be keeping these for next year) from the door to the dining room and then a few stray ones leading to their bathroom. He knew Robert would be sore and aching after dispatching all day and then going out on patrol, he would need a deep massage and a lot of cuddles to satiate that discomfort.
He had just enough time to change into an outfit fit for a date – sand-coloured button up, light grey slacks and his hair braided down his back – before the front door unlocked and Robert stumbled inside looking exhausted and on the verge of passing out. He drops his keys in the dish on their side table before kicking his boots off, groaning at the pain in his back. It was only after he hung his jacket up that he noticed the petals, “Chad? Beef?” he calls out, gaining no answer.
He stumbles through the hallway and into the dining room where Flambae had dimmed the lights and lit the candle. Flambae stood against the table with Beef in his arms, smiling fondly at his boyfriend who looked thoroughly surprised. Beef yipped happily and wiggled his paws at Robert.
“Welcome home, Bob-Bob. Happy Valentines Day or whatever.” Flambae greets, urging Robert closer with one arm. Once he was close enough, Flambae draped his arm behind Robert’s back, holding him fluish against his chest.
“Or whatever.” Robert teases, leaning up to press a chaste kiss to Flambae’s lips. “You did all this, huh? I should have known something was up.” He pulls away enough to pet Beef’s little head, giving him the attention he desperately wanted.
“Yeah, yeah, fuck off,” Flambae replies, gently nudging Robert to his seat at the table. “I made dinner, bitch, you better like it.”
“I’m almost certain I won’t,” Robert jokes, chuckling as he takes his seat at the table. He watches Flambae saunter into the kitchen to grab the lasagne and garlic bread. “Fuck off, you did not make my favourite meal. You absolute sap.”
“Shut up, asshole, you need a proper meal. Now eat it or starve.” He says, putting a portion onto Robert’s plate, then his own. He leaves the remaining dish in the kitchen before taking his place at the table opposite Robert.
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Dinner was a success in Flambae’s eyes, Robert clearly loved the food if his pornographic moans were anything to go by. They both were a little tipsy on the wine but that just meant Robert was a clingy bastard who thought he was the best at flirting ever.
“Bob-Bob, I need you to stand up,” Flambae says, taking Robert’s arm and gently hoisting him up out of his seat. “C’mon, I got one more surprise for you.”
“Oh? Does it involve you in our bed?” Robert smirks, dragging a finger down his lover’s bare chest. He could stand for the most part, but he was leaning heavily on Flambae – not that he minded.
“It will eventually,” Flambae replies, choosing to carry Robert over his shoulder firefighter style. “You’ll like it, you clingy asshole.”
“I already like the view.” Robert giggles, patting Flambae’s ass with one hand.
“In front of Beefaroni? You’re disgusting.” Flambae retorts, carrying Robert into their bathroom. He carefully dropped Robert onto the closed toilet seat and leaned over the side of the tub to fill it with warm water and that weird bath solution Robert loved so much. He could feel his boyfriend’s piercing stare on his backside but chose to ignore it – for once.
“You’re so beautiful, Matchstick,” Robert mumbles, the exhaustion was kicking in again it seemed. “I still wonder why you chose me, but I’ll fight any bitch who tries to take you.”
Flambae snorts, one hand testing the water temperature, the other covering half of his face. He loved when Robert got like this, a mixture of sassy and protective (Robert called it protective, Flambae would call it possession but to each their own), it was hilarious to watch. “I can assure you, Bob-Bob, I tripped and fell down the rabbit hole that is your personality. Besides, you’re good with Aria, that’s crucial for our relationship.”
“She’s a sweet kid,” Robert smiles. “And I stole your spot as favourite uncle, suck it, Matchstick.”
“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, babe. I’ll win it back.” He says, turning the tap off and adding the bath solution. After mixing it in with his hand, he helps Robert undress before they climb into the tub together. Robert lay back against Flambae’s chest, sighing with content at the warmth surrounding him.
It was something Robert had expressed early into their relationship, his chronic pain he’s had for years, the days where it was too much to even get out of bed, the flare up during work but how he couldn’t just leave because the team needed him – the world needed Mecha Man, not Robert. And with how baren Robert’s old apartment was, Flambae knew he wasn’t taking care of himself properly, so he chose to do it for him. He ran baths, he booked doctor’s appointments, he picked up Robert’s prescriptions, made him real dinners and gave him deep tissue massages. Anything he could think of that would ease at least a fraction of Robert’s pain. His ability to heat his body helped a lot during this progress, Robert would mention how it felt like having a giant hot-water bottle and the aches disappeared within moments. It was always his excuse for cuddles, even if he wasn’t necessarily having a flare up, he would beg Flambae for a few minutes of cuddles just for the warmth he provided.
Aria caught on to this very fast and soon enough, Flambae was being ambushed by both of them at once whenever she visited. Aria loved that Robert had a cane too, not in an old man way but in a concealed deadly weapon way, she called him a spy and demanded they play pretend spies where Flambae is the bad guy they’re capturing. Robert loved every goddamn minute of it, flare ups and all.
Without question though, baths like this were Robert’s favourite activity. Good for his health, got him clean and he could cuddle his boyfriend. Flambae was more than used to Robert falling asleep on him during these intimate moments, he would hold Robert close between his thighs and massage the knots out of his back and shoulders, watching the way Robert’s body melted under his warm touch, all the stress of the day just pouring out of him.
“Chad.” Robert groans, the first knot in his shoulders coming undone under Flambae’s hand. “Shit, if this hero thing doesn’t work out, become a masseur.”
“I don’t think you’d enjoy me giving deep massages to random dudes, Bob-Bob.” Flambae snickers, pressing out another knot.
“Oh, fuck,” Robert moans, body arching with relief, his fingers were gripping the edge of the tub so tightly Flambae thought it might crack. “Yeah, you’re right. Go private.”
“So demanding, babe.” Flambae teases, kissing the back of Robert’s neck where his spine meets his shoulders.
Neither are sure how long they stay in the bath for, could have been hours with how tight Robert’s muscles were, but the bath water was still comfortingly warm when they decide to finally get out. Flambae wraps a towel around Robert’s waist, letting him lean against his chest and snuggle into his warmth. With that, he picks Robert up princess style and carries him to their bedroom for more cuddles. After the night Robert’s had, he deserves fluffy cuddles and lazy kisses rather than their usual bed-breaking activities.
“You’re so good to me,” Robert murmurs tiredly as Flambae climbs into bed behind him, arms wrapping tightly around Robert’s slutty waist to pull him closer. “Thank you for tonight, even if Beef did steal the spotlight.”
Flambae scoffs playfully, burying his face in Robert’s neck. “Beefaroni is the spotlight, Bob-Bob, you know this. But don’t thank me, I did this for us to enjoy, plus I knew you were going to be a little bitch after patrol.”
“Rude, my boyfriend is a bully, that gives me the ick.”
“Who the fuck taught you that?”
“Aria, she says you’re an unc.”
“That little shit.”
“She’s not entirely wrong.”
“Shut up.”
Silence stretched for a moment, not awkward but soothing. Only the sound of Robert’s breathing and Flambae’s little kisses against his neck filled the room.
“I love you, Matchstick.”
“I love you too, Bob-Bob. Happy Valentines or whatever.”
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