Chapter Text
After defeating Shroud, Robert had thought the exhaustion from the fight was going to dampen the, newly officially claimed, heroes' high spirits, however he was pleasantly surprised when they all showed up the next day ready to keep the ball going.
Mind you, they still showed up late, including Waterboy, who ran in apologizing and literally sweating buckets, claiming he had slept through his alarms. But Rob couldn't find it in himself to get mad about it, his team deserved a bit of grace after the work they had put in the day before.
And their hype was contagious.
The usual shit talk was also pumped up as a result of the mood boost, so the dispatcher didn't take Sonar's triumphant "Roberto my man! I could kiss you right now!" seriously. He had just helped the bat on the last call of the day, a surveillance mission that had gone sideways, being an extra pair of eyes for the bat and successfully getting both him and the intel out in one piece.
He didn't even register the chorus of "Hell yeah", "Not before i get to him first" and "I call first dibs", just quietly laughing along.
"Alright everyone, each of you will get a kiss if you get a great report back from your calls tomorrow, let's show everyone that the Z-Team is not playing around. Rest well and see you all tomorrow, on time, if possible"
Royd, who had taken Chase's place as a temporary dispatcher while the hero enjoyed being out in the field again, glanced at him from over the cubicle wall, a teasing smile on his face.
"Is this HR violation common with all of you brudda?"
"Hm? What do you mean?" Robert asked, pulling his headphones off, faint's boo's and claims of being extra late just to spite him could be heard from the speakers.
"First that dinner date with Blazer, then that weird sexual tension with Visi in the labs, and now you promising kisses to your team for doing good?" The big man got up from his chair, hands on his hips, towering over Rob "Did Chase also get those when he worked here?"
Robert laughed at the mental image "Nah, he's "not one for that gay shit", i think i can only understand Golem's brotherhood memes because of Chase. It's weird to think of him as a brother when he looks like he could be my father, but it's still nice." he shrugged, getting up from his own chair and stretching, joints popping with loud cracks "i did get him hot packs for his joints though, if that's something you might be interested in, i know i might need one of those soon, damn."
They both started gathering their things to get out of the building.
"A kiss would be nice" Royd quietly muttered, picking up his keys.
Robert stopped on his tracks. "Huh?"
"Do you need a lift to your place? inomind" the engineer claimed, his voice rising a bit, jingling his keys.
"Sure, thanks" He smiled and started walking alongside the bigger man, adjusting Beef so the dog rested better on his arms. "The last thing you really think about in these kind of scenarios is how many cars get wrecked and how pissy insurances get. Chase was right, you should always read the small print."
The car ride was peaceful, Robert fell asleep to the sound of Royd's calm voice, who had started telling anecdotes of his younger days, the absolute menace he had been on his homeland and the saints his mothers had been to put up with him and his antics.
The car stopping had pulled Rob out of his "eye resting" state, a short snore escaping him. He yawned, rubbed his eyes and smiled apologetically to Royd. "Sorry, i was more tired than i thought, thank you again for the ride."
"No biggie, i can come by to pick you up until you get your car situation dealt with if you want." The man offered, unlocking the doors.
"I couldn't ask that of you man, you already did a lot for me with the Mecha suit, the pulse, and then against Shroud" Robert said, opening the car door, Beef jumping off and sniffing the ground around the car. "I owe you a whole lot now that i think about it"
"I insist, and maybe you can repay me with one of those reward kisses huh?" Royd joked.
"You drive a hard bargain" Rob lowered his head and laughed, blushing a little. "But yeah, sure, a kiss. Don't know if one of those is equivalent to-"
The dispatcher was interrupted by a hand on his thigh.
He made eye contact with Royd, the man's eyes lowering to Robert's lips for a split second. "...Oh"
"If, uhh, you're comfortable with it. That is." The bigger man almost seemed to be trying to make himself look smaller than him, his hand already retreating from the others leg. "We could just forget about this and act like nothing happened. Sorry, i understand if- !!"
Robert grabbed his arm and used it to pull Royd in, their lips meeting over the car's center console, the taller man tensing for a second and then relaxing into it. Placing his free hand timidly on the side of Rob's face, deepening the kiss.
Robert broke the kiss when he started needing air, he saw how flushed the other man was and, judging by the heat he could feel on his own cheeks, he imagined he looked just as red.
"I, huh, think that was a more than adequate form of payment" Royd coughed, a shy smile on his lips, his hand slowly leaving the dispatcher's face, as if it took him a great effort to let go of the other man. "So, is 7 a.m good for you tomorrow? I know a place with good coffee."
"You're already trying to earn another kiss?" Robert smirked, stepping out of the car, crouching to gather Beef on his arms and speak through the opened window "7 is great, take care Royd, good night."
"See you tomorrow Mecha man, sleep well." Said Royd, and then he drove away.
And if either of them couldn't stop smiling or thinking about the next day, well, that's not anyone's business but theirs.