Chapter Text
He wasn't that kind of guy.
And never in his life, he regretted it like now, standing in front of some shitty building leaning into a wooden door with glittery poster about the dancing recital he was supposed to be attending now... or he wanted to.
Flambae was not a soft love guy, he wasn't an everyday kindness kind of guy, he wasn't the forgive and forget kind of guy. Chad was a loud, rude, full of himself and absolutely right in all those, he knew himself and he fucking loved himself even though he wasn't a dammn saint.
He wasn't a good kind of guy, not like all those heroes who would help old ladies cross the street or shit but he thought... he thought he was good enough for this one at least. He had been fucking wrong it seemed.
So he stood there, looking good and threatening all at the same time as the muffled sound of some childish melody came from the inside he wasn't allowed in.
~
Flambae had been down all day.
Robeet wouldn't worry himself with the asshole most of the time but this cause guy was a danger to society and hadn't need any help from Robert to get his shit together since day one. Flambae was one of those people who would either burn the object of their disdain or, as Prism liked to say, 'out-cunt' them, nothing stopping the man from getting a little petty revenge and by that comfort.
Flambae, for all you expect of an egotistical guy with bad temper, actually made a very good hero. He knew how to do with most situations and had a decent grip on his powers and was not afraid to play dirty (Robert of all people knew how much tht mattered in hero work). He wasn't one to let a tantrum ruin his work flow.
So it was strange to see the man sound defeated and almost, almost, sad throughout the whole day, have the least points (still topping Visi) and not even throw one vague flirt at Rob. It was disturbing even.
"Hey, Flam." Robert said, voice nonchalant as he filled his cup with shitty coffee that tasted no better than the curse he just gave it, trying to not look too invested as the arsonist sat there looking at his take-out like it just rook some one out, "How's it hanging?"
The fire man looked up from his food to give the dispatcher the angriest glare of his life. His life not Robert's, he had seen worse, but still very raged and mad at the world. He tch-ed and rolled his eyes.
"Nothing you need to know, bitch." His voice was the usual pissed but Robert knew better, he was good enough at reading people too sense the covered up sadness there. Flambae was sad more than angry, now he was sure of that, "Get lost."
Flambae saw junk fiod in front of him at that moment but Robert Robertson the third saw a mission.
'Resident crackhead is down and dragging the mood with him! Need someone to either fix the problem or cheer him up.' A mission with no need for superpowers, for someone who had an air of serious care anc authority but crckhead enough to get the man, with problem-solving abilities and good at reading people.
In another words, this was a mission fit for the friendly neighbor dispatcher, Robertson.
He walked to sit in front of Flambae on the other side of the table and put his coffee down to look at the man's face in greater detials. He looked tired, like he had asomething weighting him down, anger resting on his face making it obvious that it wasn't the only emotion.
Something had happened to the arguably hot guy in front of him to turn the fairly excited man from yesterday and make him into this.
"Whatever you say." Robort took a sip, not showing slightest part of his curiosity instead focusing on giving 'calm trusted person' vibes that he had been trying to give since day one. Flambae glared at him but didn't say anything.
The silence took over for a minute or two of Flambae attacking the food but not really eating and Robert taking slow sips of hot coffee that tasted like an affair between soap and the coffee maker.
Robert felt it coming before it was voiced, as if messaged about it by god or something, he put the cup down as Flambae shifted in his seat.
"Fuck you, why are you staring at me like that??" The man smashed his fist against the table gritting his teeth, voice irritated and angry in a very... insecure way, "Go drink your brown piss somewhere else!"
Robert knew it, his gane was on now, he just needed to find the right moment. One slip from Flambae for Robert to know what to do.
"This is a public space, I can do whatever I want." He took one long sip and just gave a smug yet stoic look to the flamboyant member. Robertson could literally feel the rage grow in the man... cause he was straming and the temperature was going high.
The steam was subtle but totally enough to tighten the air in the small rest room just a little furtherq, Robort was not even slightly scared of the man, this was going exactly how Robert intended.
"Can't your normie ass listen to a real hero for once, huh, bitch?" Flambae was now standing up, hands on the table and growling at Robert to his face as the table was small and flambae aas big enough to lean over and face ro face him, the victim could smell burnt wood already.
Now was Robert's chance to play the part he had in this. Face still as unbothered as ever, he pretended to took a very large sip of the cup that had been emptied already and blinked at the man in front of him.
"I will when an actual hero tells me to."
He felt the fire before he saw it, swallowing Flambae and flaring up like crazy. He hit the nerve and got the guy all hot and bothered, that was pretty easy.
Robeet blinked facing the fire, the heat was familiar all the same... he still remembered the last time he felt it like this, the heat, the fire, a swap of his hand and screams.
It actually jumped him mind what he was supposed to do for a second, hit with a flshback from that fight as the guy burnt with emotions in front of him. Robert didn't regret what he did that night, he had to do it but right now? He couldn't help but feel bad for doing that to Flambae. Flambae who was an emotional troll and a caring bastard and...
Looked absolutely stunning.
"Wow..." Robert let the word escape him in a hushed tone.
Then the fire alarm went off and showered them both with a water Robert could see was not clean, ruining the very good moment of flames and feeling with a 'phsssssss'. Flambae went into shock as his flames were put out.
He looked like a very grumpy wet cat standing there with offense all over his face and rigged shoulders cursing someone's bloodline in some swears Robert surely did not want to decipher.
Well, the wake up call was here, both for him and his mind and Flambae and his flames, he looked bummed out there. Robert did the first part of his mission successfully then. Getting a rise out of the fire ass and letting him burn a bit, with most the anger out he would probably open up a lot easier. Yeah, genius.
~
"So... what's the problem? Really." Robert said, pulling the dry pants up as he did a tilt to Flambae's direction, who was looking for his extra custom in the locker as if it was bigger from the inside, "You were in a pretty good mood yesterdy, you niece's dabce recital and all. What took out your flame?"
He heard a sigh, a grumble and a very small well-hidden chuckle. He did not turn to look though, smirking slightly to himself getting a little laugh out of the mad bad. Puns always worked.
"That was a very shit one, bitch." He mumbled out.
"But you laughed anyway." Robert teased, feeling a little smug.
There was a bit of silence, small and hesitant, it felt like testing the waters. Flambae was weighting his options, to telll Robert or let the moment pass as a joke. One push was all Robert had to do.
"I know we aren't buddy buddies but... Flambae, I'm your dispatcher, I want to help you reach your full potential just like the others. I can't help you if I don't know what you need help with." Honesty is the key, a wise man once said. Robeet wished he could be a bit more honest without risking all this he had worked so hard to het.
Whatever this this was.
"Fine, but just cause you asked nicely and..." Flambae seemed to finally make his decision, he sound of clothes ruffling stopped and a breathe was let out, "and don't tell anyone, okay? Or I'll burn your desk."
There was something funny in the fact that Flambae has found nothing valuable to Robert but his desk to threaten.
"Not a single soul." Robert turned his head to look at Flambae this time and the arsonist looked back, Robert give him the smallest smile of reassurance and friendship.
Flambae was a very macho kind of man and not in the good way. Aside from the whole 'serving' (Prism's words again) part of his personality, the man would never show vulnerability or weakness, he wouldn't let people care for him and had a 'thug it out' attitude. That's why Robert was not ready for the fragility in his voice.
"Me and my family... agh!" He let a little steam out, not really ready to open up, "My asshole brother stopped talking to me after I got into the villain life, didn't let me see his baby and all shit. We... haven't talked in a long while."
Oh.
Oh.
Robert could see where this was going. He already felt bad but his head started to turn and twist looking for solutions already. Flambae took another angry breathe, steaming harder now.
"Thought it would be allright now that I'm not out there burning shit for the hell of it but guess reforming and all wasn't goof enough for that fucker." Flambae looked like a guy who wanted to sound angry but he just sounded sad.
Robert could see it clearly now, could see Him clearly now, could understand where Flambae was coming from and what his motivation was. Flambae wanted his family to want him back, fxing mistakes he made when he was young in hope to do so and failing.
Flambae was not sad just cause he couldn't see his niece, he was defeated cause all his work to redemption had led to nothing, as if all that trying was for nothing.
Robert knew how that felt, maybe better than anyone else. He understood Flambae.
"And he loooked at me dead in the eyes like I'm still some low-level criminal and had the audacity to say," Flambae mimiced the unknown man in a very mocking voice "'I don't want my daughter where danger is and right now, you are that danger.' I'm an actual fucking hero now not a fucking danger!"
"Yes, you are."
A pause.
Flambae looked at him again, as if shocked or confused by Robert's words. Robert did not blame him, he wasn't out there giving words like this to Z-team's face 24/7 (behind their back tho...).
"You are a hero. You, Flambae, go out there and prove it everyday by saving people, helping them do small shit that they probably could by their own and actually try to put being bad behind you." Robert's voice was firm, inspiring and fond... not really shocking himself, he was fond.
Flambae blinked as Robert put his hand on the man's shoulder, cold rough skin touching the unnaturally warm flesh of the other man and eyes locked into each other. The taller man looked shocked by the sensation of the scarred hands of someone who was supposed to be just a dispatcher.
"You proved yourself to me, to SDN and belive it or not even to Chase!" Now the fire man looked like someone just gave jim a medal out of no where and was helding a ceremony in his bedroom for it, "I know you're trying cause I see it everyday, Flambae, you just need to let him see it too."
Flambae blinked at him for a moment, eyes looking suspiciously shiny and lips maybe just the slightest trembling in a totally manly way. Robert took a breath and stared at the man.
The next thing that came was nither fire nor words, but arms. Big, strong and very very warm arms enveloped Robert right there... it felt as amazing as he had imagined it would. He stopped breathing as he melted into the embrace, too invested to remember hugging back.
Chase had been spoiling him with hugs lately, he did not fear admitting it but this hug... there was something diffrent in it. Robert couldn't help but want this to last forever.
"Chad."
What.
"What?"
Flambae let go of him and just held onto his shoulders, giving him a face that was supposed to be confident but failled to as the sheer awkwardness was too much.
"It's Chad, my name... call me Chad."
Robert felt warm not only from Flambae's hug and still-there-oh-my hands but from the inside of his heart. Chad. Ridiculously him.
"Okay. Nice to meet you, Chad..."