In that au where āRobertā is the mech who occasionally possesses the man
As the suit, he doesnāt really have a sense of touch. He thinks his sensors are fine, that heās getting a sufficient experience. If he really needs something, he lets the flesh body out, maybe pets Beef some
And then heās stuck in his flesh body. Touch is the hardest sense for him to grapple with. Heās very particularly about it for a while, even though he doesnāt want to be
He soon finds that heās fascinated by the Z-Team, though, how they feel
It starts with Waterboy. While Robert is helping with his tie, practically in his lap, Robert feels wet skin and hair. Water has a strange consistency already, but to combine that with skin and hair? Robert is almost as mesmerized by that as is about Flambaeās appearance
Speaking of Flambae, he produces a lot of heat. Robert conceptually knew what that was because he has temperature sensors, but he didnāt realize thereās so much variation. The air around Flambae is different than his palm, which is different still from his hair or his flames
One time, Sonar was near Robert with a sour expression. Remembering what Malevola does, Robert scratches under his chin, andāhis fur doesnāt feel like Beefās? Robert thought theyād be the same. He doesnāt like it any less, tho, and thankfully, Sonar likes plopping his chin on top of Robert, giving him full access to touch his fur
Malevola wraps her tail around him sometimes. Itās a habit for her, he thinks, but heās amazed by the sensation. He forms his own habit of messing with it. Never hurtful, ofc, just curious
It is around this point that Robert starts actively seeking out new sensations. He asks Prism if he can feel her throat while she sings. A tad weirded out, she agrees, and Robert is surprised by the subtle movements, how he can feel the sound
He taps his knuckles against Punch Up. With the way Phenomaman throws him around and he tanks hits, Robert was expecting something like his original body. But Punch Up is fleshy, warm and soft. Though unsure what the lad is trying to achieve, he lets Robert touch his mustache, seemingly perplexed that itās as soft as his hair
Another thing he didnāt expect to be soft were CoupĆ© shadow-wings. Her shadows in general have a physical quality to them that intrigues him. Ofc, he only touches them because CoupĆ© gives him permission. He didnāt even ask, just looked for long enough that she put two and two together. And when Robert asks if this is what feathers feel like, she finds him some actual feathers to compare to
He also likes comparing Invisigalās heartbeat and breathing to other peopleās. Maybe itās because of the Red Ring tech, but it just feels and sounds different. Sheās also the one that lets him freely touch whatever, only making a crass joke or two. She understands rather quickly that Robert is just tactile. Thereās nothing sexual about anything he does, so her jokes usually fade into silence after a while
After witnessing some kids drawing on Golem, Robert asks if he can do that. Golem shrugs because he doesnāt care. At least not until Robert seems fascinated by the random squiggles and patterns left behind in the dirt. Soon, it just becomes a thing where Robert will write stuff on Golem. Reminders for himself on Golemās back, and encouragement on his arms where Golem can see it
Something else that happens a lot is Robert getting picked up. Phenomaman and Royd both do it. The latter does it when kicking Robert out of the lab. Phenomaman just doesnāt understand healthy boundaries. Not like Robert tells him to stop. He likes being picked up. Very odd sensation
Whatās also odd is Mandy. There's a noticeable difference between this form of hers and Blonde Blazer. The latter is hard with tough skin that feels rather like his original body. But Mandy? Her skin is so soft. It's like she hasn't done anything with it for years. He likes the stark difference. It reminds him of himself, and his two forms (though, the body of "Robert" isn't soft at all)
And then there's Chase. Robert remembers when Chase was younger. In those days, Robbie made the suit's soul possess the little boy's body to keep it growing older. Chase had to babysit this mechanical, robotic soul in a fleshy, child's body because Robert didn't know much about the body. And in those days, Chase touched Robert. The memories are vague, yes, but as Robert feels the wrinkled skin and fraying hair Chase has now, he remembers more and more of this childhood he thought he deleted from his mind
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