Chapter Text
Despite the fact that none of the teams had designated meeting rooms at the SDN, it didn’t stop the Z-team from unofficially claiming one as their own; with walls that had more patches in them than the original walls and the doors replaced too often to count, nobody really booked the room anymore and when it was, it was always them, maybe a few others if any of their other companions wished to join in on the chaos.
The issue was that it was too quiet.
Each of them had tossed a small box into the middle of the table, each of them looking more and more flustered as they realised what had happened with each new box added to the small pile. It had only been fair that they had expected it would happen in the five years after they had first come together and defeated Shroud and the red ring, but none would have expected anything like this, Royd being the first to break the silence with a soft laugh of “Oh brudah.”
“So, did we all just so happen to buy a ring at the same time?” Colm asked from where he stood on the chair, his voice half muffled by one of his hands as he rubbed his lower face. It was clear he was in as much shock as the others, though he coped with laughter similar to Royd, the two flicking eyes to each other as they struggled to keep themselves from laughing out loud. Colm’s box matched Janelle’s, no doubt the two of them having gone to the same store.
“Seems we fuckin’ did.” Courtney hadn’t moved from her chair since she had kicked her legs up, her box something she seemingly had put together herself with the less refined finish compared to the others. If anyone asked why, she probably wouldn’t give a straight answer as to the origin of her box or ring so nobody did. Her boots thumped against the floor as she swung her legs off the table, picking up the box Chad had tossed to the table, not acknowledging Chad’s annoyance as she flicked open the top to see a gold band inside. For someone who loved dressing up, Chad at least knew Robert’s preference for simple things.
“Fuckin’ hell.” Colm took a turn to grab a box on the table this time, a damp one he was careful with as he opened the lid to see silver inside.
Herm finally spoke up, the plastic wrap of his chair crinkling as he shuffled about. “I-I don’t have much of-of a paycheck right now.” He had gotten much better with his stutter with the help of Sweetalker’s speech therapy, but his stutter remained in tense moments such as this, especially as he brushed away some of his damp hair from his eyes. “Also makes se-sen-sense why Alice posted that poll.”
"And I’m glad you guys kept your mouths shut. I had to block Robert everywhere before I could post it.” Robert didn’t have much of an interest in social media besides posting the occasional Beef picture for his friends, but nobody said anything as Alice took a photo of the small pile of boxes. They’d probably see that picture in the future, but for now, it was hidden away in her pocket before she tied her afro back and out of her face.
Mandy was the first to slowly take her box back, then Victor (whose oddly smelt slightly), before eventually everyone had their own boxes back.
Everyone wanted to ask Robert to marry them.
Though they had all agreed in their own way that they would marry each other, some more formal than the others, Robert was just different to them; they couldn’t just half ass a proposal, they wanted to go all out for all he had done for them — even if it meant blowing more than a paycheck on a ring.
And knowing the others, they all knew they wanted to be the first.
The quiet settled over the room again, this time broken by Katon-ur as he floated nearby. “What if we all agreed to engagement to Robert Robertson the Third at the same time?”
The roar that swept over the room with a flurry of “No”s and “Nuh uh” and Alice’s “I think not!”, though it wasn’t loud enough to mask the sound of the door nearby slamming against the wall as everyone snapped their heads to the door, and to the now empty seat where Courtney had sat. It didn’t take a genius to know she was trying to get a head start, a few of the others making chase as they attempted to catch up.
Malevola checked the time on the wall, the clock the only thing that hadn’t been broken in this room, before she reached for a wall, feeling the reality of space and time rip apart in front of her before stepping through.
Courtney knew Robert like the back of her hand, just as Robert knew each and every one of his like his mech suit. Her boots thumped against the floor as she rocketed through the building, slowing down once to take a inhale of her asthma pump as she went. The ring weighed heavily in her pocket as she slammed her forearms against walls to stop her from crashing, unable to slow herself in time for turns with the speed she was going.
If anything, she probably felt like Track Star as she finally slowed down in a certain hallway, taking deep, easy breaths as she pushed open the door to the weights room, hearing a familiar sneeze as she came through the door. It smelled like testosterone and sweat, even the slightest bit of chlorine as Beef ran up to her, the small dog jumping up on her legs before she picked him up to cradle in the crook of her arm, feeling as the paw patted at her shoulder before she began to rub his tummy in small circles. While still being spoiled, Beef was no longer as large as he had been when they met, down to a normal-ish size one could handle while still getting enough treats, making him easier to carry as she walked towards the furthest wall.
“Hey,” Robert’s voice came out somewhat strained as he spared a glance over his shoulder to Courtney, sweat dripping down his face as he kept an easy jog on the rotating machine under his feet, “thought you’d head home by now?” Courtney’s eyes flickered to the display of the treadmill, clicking her tongue on the roof of her mouth as she spotted the time he had been running for.
She needed to play it cool, placing Beef down on the ground next to her feet. “Needed to get some energy out,” she lied, shrugging off the backpack she had grabbed on her way here to place by the other treadmill, climbing onto the machine as she fiddled with the controls. She started off slow, a small walk that would allow her to keep her eyes on Robert as she watched him bump up the speed on his, beginning to run. “You working off Granny’s Saturday lunch?”
“Don’t know how Herm is so skinny.” Courtney had been a victim to Herm’s dear grandmother’s feasts before, the woman always piling up more and more food on their plates and yet no one had the ability to say no, laughing a bit through her nose as she traced the sweat that trailed down his neck, disappearing under the wife-beater Robert wore today. She had to thank Chad later for being the one to suggest getting him some new workout clothing for Christmas after he finally got too bulky for his old clothes.
She certainly wasn’t complaining, though, pumping up her speed slightly so that she was jogging too. Robert had become more and more of an eye candy in that sleek runner way, his muscles not as big compared to someone like Chad but certainly there, smiling softly to herself as she reached into her pocket, feeling the outline of the box and reminding herself it was there.
The silence was interrupted with the pounding of their feet against the treadmill for a few minutes, Courtney careful with her pacing as she didn’t want to have to chicken out due to needing to use her inhaler, but when Robert finally jumped off the tread to stand on the edges, putting a stop to the machine with a jam of his thumb, she followed his lead. He was breathing hard, his head lower than his shoulders as he gulped in thick inhales of air, muscles tense in his arms as he forced his body to keep himself up.
Courtney snorted, reaching over to tap his sweaty shoulder. “Old age catching up to you?” She asked, “Tell me your old man body still got some sex drive, yeah?” Though Robert flashed her an annoyed look, she still kept grinning as she grabbed his water bottle, uncapping it before helping Robert drink. Despite the fact he was a hero like her, she sometimes forgot he didn’t exactly fight often. Someone still needed to be the Z-team’s moral compass.
“We know you have enough for both of us.” Dry were his words, though there was still some light to his eyes as he gained the strength to take the water bottle, drinking most before pouring the rest over his head as he stepped off the machine. “Now, why are you here?”
Courtney moved off her machine, watching as her boyfriend and hopefully soon-to-be-fiancé grabbed his towel to dry off his skin, pulling the ring from her pocket as she felt a rush of hot air that blew across her skin, her head snapping towards the source as she saw a familiar portal materialise before her. Malevola’s upper body appeared through the rift, with golden-orange eyes locking onto Courtney’s before flicking down to the ring.
“Don’t you dare,” Courtney whispered, though she wasn’t quick enough to react as Malevola plucked the box from Courtney’s fingers, grinning as she mouthed something before she disappeared, ring in tow. Slowly, Courtney opened and closed her mouth as her brain caught up to what had just happened.
“Not letting you be the first.”
“Courtney?”
Snapping back to reality, Courtney’s hands were still in the shape of holding the box, a shape that Robert’s eyes were locked onto before she quickly pressed them against the leg of her pants, forcing a grin, the heat of rage simmering below the surface. “I was wondering if you could help me do some lifts?”
Robert slowly blinked, likely already knowing that something else had happened behind his back as he stared at her. Though he eventually sighed, gesturing over to the barbell, “Sure.”
Courtney didn’t like weight training, but it was better than ruining her surprise.
Thankfully, she found her ring on her bedside table, including a cute Post-it on top with a small demon scribbled on it.