Work Text:
Royd let out a sigh as he sat down under a tree near the back of the SDN lot. He never had much time to get out of the lab these days, now that Robert was in the field more with the suit, most of his time was dedicated to repairs and upkeep.
Did he feel bad that Robert got hurt and had to be on supervised bedrest because of how reckless he was this time? Very much so, and he hopes that SDN makes him get therapy.
But he couldn't lie and say he wasn't a little bit grateful for the fact that he could now take a lunch break outside the lab and could go home at a normal time, which leads him to this tree. A sunny, spring day graced Torrence after the mess of rain last week, and the ground finally was dry enough to sit on without ruining his slacks. Royd let his back rest against the rough trunk, peering towards the sky with the few clouds that lingered from the previous storms. Luckily, they had no signs of wanting to rain down today.
"Heh, Dat one looks like a pair of goggles." He muttered to himself, watching as the gentle breeze pushed and reshaped the goggles into something less obvious. With arms crossed, his eyes started to get heavy as his thoughts started to consume him more than the clouds.
Not to say that these thoughts weren't welcomed, at least.
After all that work with Shroud finally simmered down, he'd begun to notice the wet janitor they added as a last minute addition to the team more often, noticing how he tended to linger around the hallway of his lab longer than needed to clean the glass, how he rushed the other labs just to spend more time outside of his. Now, he knows about the janitor's affinity for all the heroes, and thought maybe he was trying to get more of a glimpse on how the Mecha Man suit operated, but Royd caught his gaze for a moment a few months ago and watched as the poor thing turned a bright shade of red and broke line of sight, scurrying away with the cart like a nervous pup. In that moment, he chuckled to himself.
"Cute lil' buggah."
He held that memory fondly, and as of late, noticed himself catching glances at the ginger haired man as well. Something about the nervious wreck that still went out to the field sometimes was really doing it for him. With a sigh, he felt himself drifting off as he thought of ways to approach Waterboy to offer to hang out sometime.
A short time later, he felt some dripping on his shoulder. No, that can't be right, it wasn't supposed to rain today according to the weather reports. Add to that, it was only his left arm that was wet. He'd slowly opened his eyes, wiping one eye with his index finger after feeling some resistance with opening.
"O-oh! Sorry, I didn't want-mean to- sorry for waking you!" Came a nervous voice, holding shaky hands up to the side of his face. "I've been wanting- need- meaning to talk to you. I made this…" He points to the top of Royd's head, which was carefully adorned with a handmade flower crown. "For you…"Royd lifted his hand to carefully feel the handmade crown on his head, giving the wet man a gentle smile. "Thanks, reminds me of home, y'know.""Oh! Do-Please share! About y-your home, I mean. I hope I'm not prying…." Trailed Waterboy, giving a sheepish look off to the side, feeling his cheeks growing hot just at the prospect of hearing the mechanic he fancied talk to him.
"Ay, I'll tell yah what, how about I tell you more over a meal sometime, yeah? I think lunch is just about done." Now it was Royd's turn to feel his face flush, hoping that he didn't fumble this by speaking too fast.
Both men stood up, but Waterboy's vision slowed as he watched the Hawai'ian's black locks sway with the flower crown that rested atop his head. He'd nearly tripped getting up with how much he got distracted, which led him to being held up in warm and strong arms.
"Woah, careful now. Don't need yah getting hurt before we go out."
Did this feel like the televonelas Waterboy and his grandma watched? Of course. Was this also his real, lived experience? Also yes.
"Sorry…" He trailed, jumping straight from Royd's embrace and holding himself stiff. "But to reply-answer your question…" He took a deep breath, hoping to not trip over his words.
"I… I would love-like that very much."
