Chapter Text
He woke with the usual pain shooting up his spine. The couch certainly helped... somewhat. Unfortunately it didn't help enough for the pinched nerves of his tail. Before the housewarming party, getting a bed hadn't even been a thought. The apartment had been a home base, emphasis on the base part and not home. It was easier to crash on the floor. On especially bad days, completely giving up his dignity and fully transforming. Doing so always came with a feeling of humiliation. A hero shouldn’t let emotions overwhelm them to the point they need to morph into a small animal and curl up next to their dog. Although it was very comfortable. And it did result in less pain. But he has a piece of furniture to sleep on now, and normal people don't sleep on the floor. So he will act like an adult and use the fucking thing.
Robert sat up reluctantly. Checking the time on his phone,
“My fucking body could have slept for ten more minutes” he grumbled.
Robert stood up, arching his back and receiving a symphony of pops and cracks. He massaged his lower back where his spine transitioned to a brown and black tabby striped tail. The tail jutted out crookedly. stuck in a painful position from two decades of wrapping it around his waist out of view. It extended down to his calves when he coaxed it to lay normally. It never did become completely straight. It has a bend near the end from a past injury, the last few inches of it had no movement or sensation.
A cheerful bark cut off his train of thought. Ears flicking back at the sound. Beef waddled over, happy to see his owner as always. Robert crouched down and scratched behind the chubby dog's ears. As if they were jealous, his own feline ears began to itch. It was an annoying phenomenon. A more pathetic and embarrassing version of a sympathetic yawn. Reaching up to satisfy the feeling with a scratch.
The brunette’s ears were much more plain than his tail. simply brown with velvety fur and cream colored fur lining the insides. Thanks to their simple coloring they were easy to hide. He was exceedingly grateful to whatever higher power that he had two sets of ears. Without human ears he wasn't sure how he would've been able to pass as normal. When he was young, Robert and his father had worked together to figure out the best way to conceal them. It was a fond memory. One of the special times his father expressed pride in his son's intelligence. The clips they designed were a long oval shape, with artificial hair covering the tops in order to better hide Robert's ears. They had held up for decades now, a sign of his father's skill and craftsmanship.
Walking to the cabinet to grab Beef’s food, Robert let out a yawn. Cutting it off forcefully before his chest could begin to rumble. It had taken practice but he was very good at suppressing the feline noises he made as a child. Self control is extremely important. He is not a cat, he is a person and needs to act like one. Robertsons are not soft fluffy creatures. They are strong as steel. Even though he’s already a fuck up it’s something that needs to stay in the front of his mind. He can’t bring more shame on the family legacy.
“Beef, come here!” He shook the bag of food into the bowl.
“Only the best for you bud”
He grabbed his work clothes and took a quick shower. Drying off and grabbing his roll of medical tape, Robert bent his tail to the right. He felt a shot of pain, the nerves pinching. The sharp pains had gotten worse after the battle with shroud and the brawls his team always seemed to rope him into. It would heal with time, probably a lot of time. But definitely at some point. Wrapping the tail around his waist and securing it with the tape and finally putting on his shirt. Pressing his ears down, clipping them flat, he scrutinized the placement. Luckily practice had made perfect. While the clips were uncomfortable, he felt more uncomfortable going without them.
There was a period of time after his father died when he tried going out without hiding his ears and tail. The feeling of everyone's eyes on him was too overwhelming. He could feel the creeping sensation of being watched, turning his head and knowing that people looked away before he could catch them. He knew the features stood out. And people treated him differently, talking to him in calmer tones. Treating him gently as if he were a fucking pet. Every word and glance made his heart rate spike and his hand shake with frustration. The need to hide, to go home was overwhelming.
He quickly gave up on that endeavor. It had only increased the gratitude for his fathers efforts.
Sometimes he just wanted to cut the things off. The one attempt had gone so badly that he ended up in the hospital. His father had to call in favors to keep the whole thing under wraps. As a result the ‘powers’ are nowhere in his medical files. It had cost Robert a pretty penny to tell the doctors to leave it out of the medical records again after his coma. Maybe he really is lucky because the fact that no one on the team has found out sometimes baffles him. The back brace he wore after his coma had hidden his tail when invisigirl was spying in the conference room, he meticulously avoided people in the locker rooms (at the cost of being made fun of for changing in the bathroom stalls), and his ears somehow stayed hidden throughout the bar fight. Hopefully he hadn't burned through all his luck.
Beef bumped against Robert's leg, breaking his train of thought for the second time this morning.
“Sometimes it feels like you can read my mind.” Robert said with a smile, reaching down to pet the little (well… slightly oversized) dog.
“How long was I standing there?” checking his watch and realizing he was cutting time close
“Shit not again! Thanks Beef, I don’t know what I’d do without you bud.”
Grabbing his bag and tucking Beef under his arm, he walked out the door.
—-------
The office was bustling as usual. Making his way to his computer and setting Beef down, Chase popped his head above the partition.
“You look like shit. Give me the dog.”
“Well good morning to you too” He gave Chase an exasperated glance. “I feel like we're divorced parents to my dog.” The brunette chuckled.
“In that case it's time to exchange custody.” Chase bantered back, gladly accepting the rotund dog.
“If you give him treats I will put you in a home. Don’t test me.”
“If that's how it's gonna be I’m suing for full custody.”
“Then I’m countering for child support.”
“I’ll gladly provide support in the form of treats.” Chase grinned and walked back behind his desk.
“This is child abuse! I'll bring this up in court!” Robert said with a smile.
His computer booted up and immediately filled his vision with notifications. He flopped down in his chair with a sigh, suppressing a flinch as the base of his tail hit the back of it.
“Another day in paradise.” He muttered, steeling himself for the usual chaos.