Archive of Our Own ^beta

Mandy wouldn’t be surprised if the Z-Team were still throwing Robert in the air to see how long he would put up with it before he forced them to put him down. 

Frankly, she was surprised he’d lasted this long, judging by the way he’d been cradling his side earlier.

He wasn’t the most beat up on the team; that title belonged to Visi. Mandy tore her gaze away from her boyfriend to watch as an exasperated Courtney was gently manoeuvred back onto the stretcher she’d leapt from in order to join the photo.

No. Thanks to her, Robert was alive. Mandy still couldn’t shake the terrifying image from her brain. Shroud had been ready to kill him. Even worse, Robert had been ready to go. Not willing, maybe, but resigned. 

A wet snout bumped against a bruise on her calf, jolting Mandy out of her quickly spiralling thoughts. Beef looked up at her, his tongue lolling out of his mouth, and she couldn’t help but smile as she crouched down to scratch under his chin.

As she did, a shout - Prism’s voice - rang out. She’d stepped back from the group playing toss the dispatcher and was now staring at her phone. Apparently, a superhero bar hadn’t been destroyed by the Red Ring and, astonishingly, had opened its doors as a thank you to the heroes who had worked through the night to save the city.

Prism’s words caused an immediate shift. No sooner after she’d finished talking, the Z-Team had deposited a somewhat wobbly Robert back on the ground, who wasted no time in making his way over to Mandy and Beef.

The team were looking at her expectantly. Mandy tilted her head, a raised eyebrow the only thing betraying her confusion.

“C’mon, lass!” Punch Up crowed, waving his fists back and forth in what seemed to be an attempt to be enticing. “Have a drink with us!”

The rest of the group echoed his sentiment, nodding at her enthusiastically. They were battered, and clearly tired, but they didn’t want the day to end just yet. They’d done something good, something great, even, and they wanted to celebrate.

Mandy was so proud of them. She opened her mouth to respond, when a wave of exhaustion nearly knocked her off her feet. She hadn’t realised how tired she was until right that moment, and for the first time since giving it away, Mandy missed her amulet.

She shot a look at Chase, who looked back at her with understanding on his face as he tapped the necklace with a grim smile. The rest of the team were still trying to convince her to come with them.

Mandy didn’t want to say no. Although Robert was their dispatcher, she’d been the one to recruit each of them for the Phoenix Program. Mandy - Blonde Blazer - had been the first to believe in them, and she’d kept fighting for them every step of the way. In any other situation, she would've jumped at the chance to befriend them properly with a hastiness that would have been mortifying.

A familiar, calloused hand slipped into hers, squeezing it gently. 

“Not today, guys.” Robert said.

The Z-Team immediately started groaning.

Robert snorted in dry amusement. “I’ll make sure she comes to the next one, yeah?”

His assurance settled them, but they were still grumbling. Perhaps it was rude to say that Mandy was warmed by how disappointed they were, but she was. She’d fought for these people, and now they wanted to open their group to her. 

“Well, what about you, Roberto?” Sonar asked. He was currently locked in a headlock, courtesy of Malevola. The half-demon was either using him to stay upright or was unwilling to let him stray too far. Mandy suspected it was probably both. Sonar didn’t look too upset by the situation at all, a satisfied smirk curling at his snout as he leaned against his friend.

At Sonar’s words, Mandy couldn’t help squeezing Robert’s hand, though it was pointless. He was already shaking his head before Sonar had finished talking, tugging Mandy closer into his side.

At his refusal, the Z-Team went from grumbling to outright pouting. Mandy tried to hide her smile by pretending to focus on Beef, but they probably saw through her. Say what you want about the group of ex-villains, but they did a pretty bad job at pretending they didn’t give a shit about their dispatcher.

Robert nudged her shoulder with his. When she looked at him, she saw a smirk twitching his lips that told Mandy he was thinking the exact same thing. She laughed, trying to keep it quiet, but she couldn’t help snorting a little bit as she did.

The sound made Robert’s smirk stretch into a full blown grin. He dipped his head closer to hers, the lack of her amulet giving him an unfair height advantage. He was still holding her hand. 

Mandy looked back at the team, who were now getting everyone ready to leave. Punch Up and Coupé had an overwhelmed looking Waterboy caged between them. Mandy remembered Robert mentioning, offhand, that Punch Up seemed to have taken the younger hero under his wing while on shift. That dynamic seemed to have stretched to outside of work, too. Even Phenomaman seemed ready to go, looking, thank god, a little more put together.

Prism and Malevola, and by extension a still headlocked Sonar, were the only ones paying attention to them. Prism had her phone pointed directly at them.

“That was actually kinda cute, you two.” The singer admitted. “I’ll send it to you later, Boberto.”

Malevola was smirking at Mandy. “I see. Have fun, babes.” 

Robert scoffed, making a shooing motion at the team with his free hand, even as Sonar shot them a thumbs up. It was a little awkward, seeing a man with a bat head wiggle his brows, but he made it work. At Malevola’s words, the rest of the team began whistling and shouting their encouragement, the loudest and most explicit taunts belonging to Flambae.

It took a little longer for the team to leave after that, as if they’d forgotten that their dispatcher was Mecha Man, and that he was dating Blonde Blazer. Apparently, mocking Robert’s love life was worth delaying getting drunk for.

As soon as they were alone, though, Robert turned to her. The deadpan look that had overtaken his features at the Z-Team’s taunts lifted as he did. “So, did you wanna go make out?”

Mandy burst out laughing.

“What? What did I say?” He was fighting his own laughter, his gaze flicking between her mouth and her eyes as he did.

“Sonar has super hearing, you know? He totally heard you say that.”

Robert shrugged. “Eh, I kept up the image of a stern dispatcher while they were in my line of sight. What he does with the information that I want to kiss my girlfriend is up to him.” He was still smiling at her as he said it.

The easy admittance of the word girlfriend made Mandy flush, as if she was a teenager. Even though she herself had referred to Robert as her boyfriend, it was different hearing him say it out loud. The effect that he had on her was embarrassing, but at the same time she revelled in it. It had never felt this right, before. With anyone.

Mandy smiled at Robert, letting the utter relief she felt shine through. They’d survived the shit storm of the night, and now they got to take it one day at a time. She couldn’t wait. 

They’d won. Mandy wasn’t used to winning - to feeling adequate. She hadn’t realised how nice it was to have someone with whom she could share the burden that loaded her shoulders. Robert made her breathe easier. She hoped she provided the same comfort - the same joy - to him. Judging by the way he was looking at her, she wasn’t far off.

With her free hand, Mandy cupped the side of his face, letting her thumb gently graze the bruise that lined his jaw, being careful not to press on it. She tilted her head towards his, and, permission granted, Robert met her halfway.

Mandy didn’t really care that they were in public; it wasn’t as if anyone would recognise them as Blonde Blazer and Mecha Man. She let go of Robert’s hand so she could run her fingers through his hair. He groaned at the sensation, so she did it again, before dropping her arm around his neck so she could pull him closer.

He laughed, just a little, into the kiss. Mandy flushed and cursed the fact that he was taller than her while she wasn’t accessing her powers. Mandy didn’t mourn the loss of the necklace. But, when she got it back, she would turn the tables on Robert, show him what she could do when she towered over him.

The thought sent a shot of anticipation through her gut. Then, Robert dropped his hands to her waist and licked at her lower lip and she wasn’t thinking at all.

Soon, too soon, Mandy forced herself to step back. They wouldn’t get recognised, but there was still a line they shouldn’t cross.

“We should go, before this turns into public indecency,” she said.

Despite Robert laughing at her words, his face flushed darker, if possible. He was breathing heavily, and Mandy would have felt a rush of pride in the effect she had on him if he didn’t look like he was about to keel over.

“Let’s go, Robert.” She repeated, gently corralling him towards his car.

“Did you wanna come to my place? I -”

“Don’t have a bed.”

“I don’t have a bed, yeah.” 

They were holding hands, again. Mandy lifted them so she could drop a kiss to the back of his. He smiled at her, as if he couldn’t help it.

She grinned back. “I have a bed.” She let the implication, the unspoken offer, linger in the air for a second before she remembered how self-sacrificing her boyfriend was. “I really want you to come home with me, Robert. We can both get some rest in a proper bed.”

God knows they needed it.

Robert’s shoulders slumped, and he suddenly looked as tired as Mandy felt.

“Yeah, okay.” He replied, not bothering to hide the relief in his voice. He dropped a kiss on her forehead. “Thanks, Mandy.”

***

It took longer to get to her place without the ability to fly. 

Robert didn’t say anything, though, and a part of Mandy - a larger part than she’d realised - was relieved. She didn’t anticipate how much she longed for a normal life until she was forced to reckon with the indefinite reality of being powerless.

Once they got an alternative solution for Chase’s problem figured out, she knew she’d have to don the Blonde Blazer mantle once more. But being able to live as Mandy made her realise how much she craved the stability of a ‘civilian’ life. 

She kept her hand on Robert’s thigh as he drove. He didn’t seem to mind; his hand kept twitching on the wheel, as if he had to remind himself he needed to keep a hold of it, couldn’t let it go to rest his hand over hers.

Once the car had stopped and they were both out, he was quick to grab a hold of it once more, entwining their fingers as she led him up to her apartment.

It wasn’t a huge place. On the spectrum of apartments, though, where Robert’s would fall into the category of depressing, Mandy’s was definitely a lot more homey. She’d been determined to create a space that was cozy, that could facilitate her desire for a regular, mundane life, no matter how unattainable that felt at the time.

Robert looked around the inviting space, understanding dawning on his face as he placed Beef down on the floor, the dog heading straight for his bed that Mandy had placed. 

Mandy’s stomach clenched. She wasn’t exactly laying herself bare to him, but Katon-Ur had never understood. She didn’t blame the alien for his lack of connection with her, but it got hard, in the end, feeling like she was constantly having to explain herself to someone who had no desire to understand.

And how could he? He had no identity outside of Phenomaman. How could he exist as that, and grasp that Mandy didn’t connect as strongly with her own alter ego? To him, Mandy was the lesser form, while Blonde Blazer was perfection. 

He didn’t understand human nature, so of course he couldn’t understand her.

The feeling of a soft kiss on the top of her head shook Mandy out of her thoughts. She looked up at Robert, who was smiling softly at her. 

“I like this place,” he simply said. “It’s very you.”

“Very me?”

“Y’know.” Robert shrugged, gesturing around the modest space. “Very Mandy. I like it.”

Mandy’s shoulders slumped. Of course he’d understand. If anyone would, it was Robert. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he folded her into an embrace, humming softly as he did. “Thank you,” Mandy whispered into his neck.

He didn’t respond beyond pressing another kiss to the top of her head.

The two of them stayed locked like that for a while, Robert rubbing a hand slowly up and down her back, before he forced himself away from her with a resigned sigh.

“You should shower - we both should. But you can get the first one,” he offered.

Mandy bit her lip. She didn’t realise it until he’d spoken, but she didn’t want to be alone. She thought she’d be fine if he was at least with her at the apartment, but the thought of him being out of her sight for any length of time sent a shot of fear down her spine.

Her hands twitched, even as she shook her head. Robert frowned, concerned.

“I’m fine,” Mandy assured him, and then bit her lip once more. “It’s just - sorry if this is forward, we haven’t even had sex yet -”

“Mandy,” Robert interrupted her. “What’s wrong?”

“We can shower together, if you want.” She rocked backwards on her feet, awkwardly. “I don’t want to be without you, at least tonight.”

Robert nodded. “I know what you mean.” He gripped her hand so gently, held her so tenderly. “Of course we can. Saving water and showering with you? Win win.” He grinned as she swatted his arm. 

She didn’t have to worry about hurting him with her super strength. It was a nice feeling.

He followed closely behind her as she walked to the bathroom. Mandy kept her back to him, even after she’d gotten the shower running, feeling awkward all of a sudden. They really hadn’t had sex yet, and here she was skipping that part and asking him to shower with her. 

“Mandy?” 

Robert’s voice was cautious. Mandy turned around, and relaxed at the sight of his reassuring smile. “May I?” He gestured to the zipper of her hoodie, which she had fastened back up on the car ride home.

At her nod, Robert stepped closer. He unzipped it gently, like he was worried the fabric would fall apart if he applied too much pressure. He slowly pushed it off and over her shoulders, and looked back at her with a raised eyebrow. Mandy nodded once more, allowing him to undress her, starting with her sports bra.

He lifted her arms so he could take it off, and then took a hold of her wrist to press a quick kiss to the palm of her hand. He took the same care with her shorts, dropping kisses to bruises on her legs as he rolled them down and then rid her of her underwear and socks.

There wasn’t anything lustful about it. It was just intimate. Robert looked at her with adoration in his eyes, as if she was personally responsible for placing the sun and moon in the sky.

She was naked, but she didn’t feel uncomfortable. Robert tried to rid himself of his own clothing at a much quicker pace, clearly uncaring about himself, but Mandy stopped him, determined to show him the same attention. 

When she pressed a kiss to his throat as she was unbuttoning his shirt, she felt him attempt to regulate his breathing and couldn’t help but smile against his skin.

Mandy copied his technique of dancing over the bruises that littered his legs as she rid him of his trousers - of which there were many. She’d been lucky that her amulet had taken the majority of the damage she’d sustained. The few bruises she had were from when she’d gotten back in the fight as Mandy.

Robert had been thrown about in his Mech suit the entire time. He had been for fifteen years. He didn’t have a magical amulet to shield him from the damage he took while in there. Mandy’s gaze tracked each and every scar, every cut and bruise, until she met his eyes.

“You ready to get in?” Robert asked. His voice was low, almost a whisper. Like he was scared that speaking any louder would shatter the atmosphere they’d created.

Mandy nodded, not trusting her voice. Her throat felt very thick all of a sudden.

Robert helped her to her feet. The two of them kept their hands joined - which was becoming a recurring theme of the day - as they got into the shower. The sensation of the warm water was an immediate balm on her aching muscles. Behind her, Robert groaned in relief, echoing her thoughts.

He wrapped his arms around her, crossing them over her stomach. Mandy settled back against him, careful not to lean against him too much. She didn’t want to jostle his ribs. Robert tucked his head down, over her shoulder, breathing slowly enough that she wouldn’t be surprised to find out he’d managed to fall asleep.

They stood in silence for a long moment, neither of them wanting to move just yet. Mandy just wanted to stand there until she’d felt the water had sufficiently washed the stress of the day away.

So, when she felt Robert begin to shift away, Mandy almost whined. She held onto it though, thank god, managing to bite her tongue to stop any noise of protest escaping.

Instead, she looked over her shoulder to see Robert fiddling with her shampoo. He squirted some onto his hand and then manoeuvred her gently out of the direct line of the water’s stream. 

“You first,” he said, before beginning to gently wash the grime out of her hair. 

One day, Mandy would tackle Robert’s need to put everyone above him. Today, judging by the look of determination on his face, was not that day. She mentally put a pin in it as she let him wash her hair. 

He was thorough with her hair before picking up a wash cloth and moving onto her body, moving gently over the bruises as he worked the bodywash into her skin. When he washed her legs, there was a moment when he looked up at her, settled between her thighs, a revering look in his eyes. It gave Mandy a hot rush of anticipation that settled heavily in her stomach.

It was easy to push away, though, even with Robert pressing kisses to her stomach, and thighs. Tonight wasn’t about sex, though she had no problem urging him to stand up so she could kiss him again. 

“You good?” Robert whispered.

“Yeah. Are you?”

“I will be.” 

He kissed her again before turning around. Mandy realised what he was doing as he began to wash his own hair, a lot less gently than he had been with her. She shook her head with a tut as she batted his hands away from his hair and took over. 

Mentally, she moved that pin closer.

Mandy didn’t let the opportunity to care for Robert go to waste. She was just as tender with her washing as he was with hers, making sure to press kisses to each of his scars as she went. Robert watched her with an almost disbelieving look in his eyes.

“You deserve softness, Robert. You deserve it all.” Mandy told him, just barely loud enough to be heard over the rush of the shower.

Robert nodded, but she knew he didn’t believe her. It wasn’t really the day to push it, but that was okay. Mandy wasn’t planning to let him go. She had plenty of time to convince her boyfriend that he deserved nice things. That he was worthy of love.

When they were done in the shower, they both silently agreed to dry themselves. As lovely as it had been, and as much as she knew she wanted to do it again, Mandy was tired. The warmth of the water paired with the feeling of being tended to so carefully had only reminded Mandy how worn out she was.

She led him to her bedroom, only remembering that he wouldn’t have any clothes to sleep in as she opened her closet. Mandy frowned at her own pyjamas, suddenly at a loss.

“I don’t suppose you have some old Phenomaman sweats stored away in a secret shame box?”

Mandy let out a loud burst of laughter, and saw Robert grinning smugly at the sound out of the corner of her eye. 

“No, of course not. I do have some sweats that I wear as Blazer, though. I’m taller than you in that form, you should have no problem fitting into them.”

“Perfect.”

Mandy found the sweats easily enough and threw them at her boyfriend. She changed into her own pyjamas, uncaring about dropping the towel in front of him. He’d just washed practically every inch of her body; it was hardly going to shock him now.

She did feel a flutter in her stomach at the way he let his eyes rove over her, though. As if he couldn’t believe she was real. Robert met her gaze and flushed, a little, at her smile. 

He was quick to climb into bed with her. While Mandy normally made sure to dry her hair before she slept, she couldn’t bring herself to care. They’d had the day from hell. She’d squeezed as much of the water out using her towel, but it was still damp, and that was going to have to do. 

She was deliberating if it was the polite thing to do to avoid resting her head on Robert's chest, unsure if he’d find the damp hair annoying, when he gently turned her over so he could fold her in his arms.

“Problem solved,” he muttered into the pillow, and again, Mandy felt a rush of appreciation at how easily he seemed to understand her.

Mandy didn’t realise how lonely she was until she met him. How starved she was of basic understanding and appreciation. Robert looked at her and saw Mandy, not just Blonde Blazer. It meant more to her than he could possibly know.

She told him as much, the words whispered into the darkness of her bedroom.

Robert didn’t respond for a moment. Then, Mandy felt him shuffle forward, slotting his leg in between both of hers, eliminating what little space existed between them.

“I love you, Mandy.” He whispered. “Every bit of you.”

Mandy felt tears burning in her eyes. She was suddenly grateful for the darkness of the room, but her sniffle gave her away. Robert’s grip on her hand tightened.

“I love you too, Robert.” She whispered back. “Every bit of you.”