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Ever since the fall of Shroud, things were peacefully quiet around headquarters.
Well, as peaceful and quiet as a superhero agency could be. Things still lit on fire, the building occasionally got evacuated, and Robert still had to take migraine relief at least once a week with the antics his team put him through. But the days of constant fights causing property damage, screaming matches, and occasional hospitalizations were past them.
The Z-Team had picked up their own cute habits as they settled into a comfortable routine of hero work. After their first full day back as a team, Blazer had gone out and gotten the whole branch coffee, which the Z-Team refused to drink. But following that day, coffee mysteriously began appearing every morning in the Z-Team conference room, tailored to the orders everyone preferred. Nobody would claim responsibility for it, and Blazer had to settle with allocating extra funding to their team for a ‘coffee expense’. If Robert was taking bets, he’d guess it was Malevola.
Out of all of the team’s new quirks, Robert was the target of one member’s quiet affection every morning. When he arrived in the office, Robert walked to his desk and saw one plain glazed donut placed delicately on a napkin. It sat and waited, beautifully presented for him.
The first morning this occurred, Robert had to quickly inspect it for any foul play, but found no signs of any tampering. With no reason to distrust the donut, he bit in. The warm, sweet donut felt fresh out of the bakery oven and Robert could have sworn he saw stars. He could barely contain the involuntary noise of content that left him, loving every second he had with it. By the time he had finished the donut, he cursed at himself for not savoring the thing.
To his pleasant surprise, he found another just like the previous one on his desk the next morning. And the next, and the next, until he had settled into a routine of receiving a plain glazed donut by his keyboard each and every morning. They were always fresh and perfectly presented. Each time, they lit a fire in Robert’s heart, bringing a smile to his face as he enjoyed it and thought of the girl that brought them.
It took a week of regular activity for anyone to say anything. He frequently caught Courtney staring at him from across the office, but refused to acknowledge it. It was a fun game, watching her expectantly wait for him to say anything.
Things finally came to a head in the little kitchenette in the break room. Robert sat at one of the two small tables and sipped his coffee as he waited for his food to heat up. His lunch breaks were never eventful, often a meaningless scroll on his phone until the second half of his shift began.
That changed when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and saw nobody there, and his face fell into an unamused expression. “Visi, I know it’s you. You’ve done this three times this week.”
Out of thin air, the woman with raven black hair appeared, adjusting her leather jacket as she slumped into the chair across from Robert. “I know, but I just love fucking with you.”
“You don’t need to remind me,” Robert pinched the bridge of his nose as he slid his phone into his pocket.
Courtney shot him a scrutinizing glance. “How was the first half of your shift?”
Robert’s gaze flitted up to her and gave a non-committal shrug. “Fine. Flambae decided to give me extra shit for sending him to help out with a supervillain in the water, even though I explained to him twice that he was the only hero that could fly that was available. We had to get someone over there quick, and— nevermind. Everything else went pretty well.”
Courtney’s leg bounced under the table incessantly, her fingers tapping on the edge of the table as she leaned forward. “He can be such a dick, but when is he not?” A little smile crept onto her face before it vanished. “Was that everything important?”
Robert furrowed his brows. “I think so, why?”
“Nothing else fun or good that brightened up your morning? Nothing sweet or anything?”
The littlest grin began to form on Robert’s face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You do.”
“I don’t.”
“Damn it, yes you do!” Courtney stood and leaned forward on the table, palms pressed flat against it.
“You’re cute when you’re all riled up like this,” Robert couldn’t wipe the smug grin off of his face. He stood up and reached his hand out, brushing a hair away that had fallen down in front of Courtney’s eyes. “Now that I think about it, I’ve been enjoying these mysteriously appearing donuts that end up on my desk every morning. Why, do you know something about where those might be coming from?”
Courtney’s once frustrated expression softened, bordering between amusement and endearment. “You fucker.”
“Thank you for the donuts, Vis.” He leaned forward and pressed a sweet, fleeting kiss on Courtney’s lips before he pulled away. “They’re amazing.”
Though she said nothing in response, Courtney’s face remained flushed as she sat back into her seat. She quietly pulled her phone out, muttering words under her breath that Robert couldn’t quite make out. His gaze lingered on her for a few seconds before turning away when he felt his heart stir.
Robert often could not sleep well at night. This issue preceded his time at SDN and his hero work as a whole. Many nights were spent forcing his eyes closed endlessly to only end up with a few measly, restless hours of rest. Most days he woke up far too early and felt just as exhausted as before he climbed into bed.
He shook awake from a nightmare around half past five, breath shaky as sweat beaded on his brow. He sat up, taking breaths as slowly as he could manage as he pushed the hair away that stuck to his forehead. Breathe through it, he heard his old therapist say. They won’t hurt you here. Even though he knew that much was not true, he repeated the mantra in his mind nonetheless.
The urge to lay back down and stare at the ceiling called to him, but Robert steeled himself. If he did, he likely would stay in that spot until the sun rose over the horizon. He reasoned that he had already sat up, so half of the work was already done. With a deep breath, he slipped out from under his cheap blanket and planted his feet on the ground. With another, he stood up.
A quick trip to the bathroom found Robert in the shower, water nearly scalding as it hit his skin. Hot showers were a luxury he was rarely able to afford before he got to SDN. With his new salary as both a dispatcher and superhero, he enjoyed one every morning.
After he washed the evidence of his bad dream off of his body, Robert put on his casual wear: a hoodie and sweatpants. He might consider it conceited that most of his clothes he wore was Mecha Man merchandise, but he got the products for free. He was happy to let the people on the street think he was just a fanboy.
Robert slipped on his sneakers and stuffed his essentials into his pockets. A walk while the moon still waited in the sky always helped him clear his head. He double-checked he had everything he needed and grabbed his earbuds before he made it to the door.
The streets were as empty as Los Angeles could be. Stragglers and those that wandered as aimlessly as Robert did kept him from feeling completely isolated, but he tuned them out into mindless noise. The street lamps were barely bright enough to see any of their features, anyways.
A planned short walk turned into one much longer than intended. Robert realized that he didn’t want to go home at all, back into his sparsely decorated apartment that had nothing for him to do. Most of his newfound income had gone into getting toys and a nice bed for Beef, who had become much easier to leave home alone. As attached as they were, Robert assumed that Beef might be able to last an extra hour without him taking up space.
Even as he walked, Robert’s mind stayed blank. He walked until he knew he was going too far, turned, then continued on. Even with all of the businesses and their bright signs, nothing seemed to stand out.
Until one did, just as the sun began to paint beautiful colors across the skyline.
Granny’s Donuts.
Robert suppressed a snicker when he saw the name, his amusement fueled by disbelief. An idea flickered into his mind as he walked up to the shop’s door.
The space had clearly been renovated after the attack, largely repaired but with a few bits of construction still unfinished. There was one table occupied by a younger man with a laptop, an energy drink accompanying his pastries. College.
“Welcome in! Please pardon that section of the floor, we had a— incident, not that you need to worry about that,” A familiar voice called out from behind the counter.
Robert turned his head to see the greyish-white hair poofing wildly out of an old man as he adjusted his glasses. “Morning, Granny,” Robert’s voice came out impossibly lower, gravelly from lack of use since he woke up.
“What can Granny get you today?” The old man asked as Robert approached his counter, much more chipper than the last time Robert saw him. Then again, that time Granny wasn’t aware that Robert could see him at all.
Robert took a few moments to inspect the glass case of donuts, his mind made up almost immediately. “Just one of those chocolate ones with the cream in them, please.”
The interaction was quick and painless, as Granny didn’t offer much in terms of small talk. He rang up the order and Robert paid in cash, a small bag that held a very precious item in hand as he exited the store.
The distance from Granny’s Donuts to his apartment was considerably shorter than Robert initially anticipated. He changed into his work clothes and greeted Beef, his plans of being quick in and out swiftly derailed.
He found an opening to stand up and collect his things as Beef settled into his big, plush dog bed. Spoiled. Robert made a considerable effort to make sure the donut bag wasn’t disturbed too much as he walked to the car. He set it nicely in the back, as Beef had claimed the passenger seat months ago.
He made it through the hell of Los Angeles traffic and to the SDN headquarters with little issue. With Beef in one arm and his bag from Granny’s in the other, Robert walked through the sliding glass doors.
Robert had gotten halfway through opening Courtney’s locker before he heard her.
“What are you doing now, perv?”
Robert’s shoulders slumped. He turned around, arm behind his back while he watched the black-haired girl materialize out of thin air in front of him.
“Would you believe me if I said there’s no creepy intent here?”
“No.”
“Well,” Robert felt the bag slide down his arm and through the opening in the locker, dropped delicately onto her things, “I don’t know how I’m going to explain this one, really.”
Courtney’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Babe, if you think you’re going to be doing any sneaky things in this relationship, I have bad news for you.”
“I know, you can literally turn invisible,” Robert attempted an impression of Courtney’s voice and had little success. When Courtney reflexively cringed and closed her eyes, Robert took the brief opportunity to press the locker door closed with his back. “Sneaking around was never my thing, having a giant mech suit and all.”
“Seems unlikely that we’d end up together.”
“It does.”
Courtney’s eyes studied him for a moment longer. “Alright,” She stepped forward and shooed him out of the way, “What were you looking for in here, anyway?”
“Nothing.” Robert’s nonchalance only served to worsen the suspicious look on her face.
Once she opened the locker, Courtney stopped, her eyes trained down on the bag.
“Robert, what the fuck is this?”
Robert shrugged.
Her hands quickly reached out and rummaged through the bag until she pulled out the chocolate-covered dessert, a little smeared but largely still presentable. “Robert,” Her voice suddenly softened.
“I just felt like returning the favor,” Robert smiled, “It’s not quite as beautifully displayed as the ones you leave on my desk, but I figured it wasn’t too bad.”
“Robert,” She repeated.
“Courtney.”
Courtney raised the donut to her mouth and bit into it. Her muscles tensed before they relaxed again with a small noise of content.
“Did I get it right?” Robert asked.
Courtney didn’t respond. She just swallowed her bite and pulled him in for a kiss. The taste was delightful.