#ffg!rob

experimental injection VS. sleep deprivation VS. "take me instead"

“--he even breathing? What if he’s-”

“He’s breathing, Rem, just relax. Panicking won’t-”

“Wait, look! He’s waking up!”

Rob groaned slightly, wincing at how sore his throat felt. He opened his eyes into a squint, wincing at the bright light streaming in through the window. His cheek was pressed against something solid, and it took him a moment to realize it was his office desk.

Two gentle hands gripped his shoulders, pulling him to sit upright against the back of his chair. Even through his narrow eyes, Rob could make out Spencer’s bright red streaks of hair. “Spence?” he croaked, voice hoarse with disuse.

“Hi there, philatos,” Spencer said softly, raising a hand to block the sun from Rob’s eyes. As the brightness faded, he could make out the rest of his office. Rem was standing just behind him, eyes wide with worry.

“Hi,” he said back, blinking to clear his bleary eyes. “W-What happened?” Spencer grimaced, reaching up to push Rob’s damp hair away from his sweaty forehead. “I was hoping you could tell me. Rem came in this morning and found you slumped over your desk.”

Rob rubbed his eye, his pounding headache slowly making itself more and more known. “Guess I fell asleep here last night,” he murmured, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Sorry, Rem. Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s alright,” Rem said quickly, still looking concerned.

“Rem, would you excuse us for a moment?” Spencer said suddenly, his eyes not leaving Rob’s. 

Rem hesitated. “Oh, uh, yeah. Of course.” She turned and left the room, glancing back at the two heroes once more before shutting the door behind her.

There was a moment of silence. “So,” Spencer said slowly. Nobody else would be able to hear the anger underneath the calm, but Rob knew Spencer too well not to notice it. “Do you ever intend to sleep in your own bed with your husband, or is that beyond the Head Hero?”

Rob sighed, putting his elbows on his desk and rubbing his face. “Spence, come on, it was an accident-”

“Oh, spare me the bullshit, Rob,” Spencer said, his voice growing subconsciously louder. “You and I both know you could have come home hours before you fell asleep.”

“I was exhausted, philatos. I haven't slept well in days-”

Spencer’s hand landed on the desk with a loud bang that echoed around the room for a moment. Startled by the noise himself, Spencer took a deep breath, then turned away from Rob. “What is it?” he asked quietly. “Why won’t you come home? What’s--what did I do, Rob?”

“What?” Rob stood up, crossing to the other side of the desk to stand beside Spencer. “Honey, no, it’s not you. Not in the slightest.”

“Then what is it?” Spencer turned to face Rob, and the latter’s heart sank when he saw tears in his eyes. “You don’t come home, you barely talk to me when we’re at work, you’re leaving and I just--you promised,” he finished weakly.

“I promise,” Rob said, staring out at the street from the front steps of the group home. He reached to the side, taking Spencer’s hand. “Long as I’m alive, you’ve got me. I’m not gonna leave you.”

Rob sighed, slumping forward so his forehead was resting against Spencer’s shoulder. “I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I love you, you know that?”

“Don’t do that.” Spencer stepped back, a tear breaking and running down his cheek. “You always do that, Rob. You tell me you love me and ignore what I’m actually saying. Don’t brush this off again. Don’t brush me off again.”

“Philatos,” Rob said tiredly. “I’m fine. Just a bit overworked.”

Spencer went quiet, his face slack. A single tear track ran down one cheek, stark against his dull, tired skin. “Fine,” he mumbled. “I’m going on patrol, then.”

“What? Hold on, Spencer, wait-”

“No, just-” Spencer backed a step away, a hand held out warningly. “Not right now. I don’t want to do something I’ll regret.” He turned, opening the office door. He looked like he was going to say something else, but decided against it and stepped out, the door clicking shut behind him.

When Rob woke up next, his head ached with a fiery passion and the bridge of his nose felt bruised where his readers had been resting on it. He sat up straight with a groan, steadying himself on the arms of his chair as his vision swam.

The office was just a little bit darker than when he last remembered, so not much time had passed. Rob rubbed his eyes, wincing as he felt pain blooming in his stiff fingers. All he could make sense of was that one moment he was awake, and the next he was head down on his desk, his pen on the floor.

He stretched a little, feeling his shoulders and back settle into place. His body ached, his head hurt. Rob wanted nothing more in that moment than to lay down and sleep. As he bent down to pick up the pen he had dropped, his eyes drifted to the pile of paperwork beside him on his desk. Maybe next time.

Rob pulled a folder off the top and got to work.

holy shit are you guys EXCITED

Spencer watched as Rob scratched at his wrist a little too harshly, his eyes vacant and unseeing. Rob’s breaths were coming too quickly, but still ever silent. “Honey?” he tried gently, scooting over to sit shoulder-to-shoulder with his partner. “Are you alright?”

Rob nodded vaguely, but Spencer was sure he hadn’t really heard the question. He reached out and separated Rob’s hands as carefully as he could, grimacing as blood welled where the man had left scratches. “Take your time,” Spencer murmured, bumping his knee against Rob’s. “There’s no rush.”

It was another eight minutes before Rob’s breathing began to slow again, and his eyes finally focused on where Spencer’s hand was still resting on his arm. Spencer was rubbing the spot gently with his thumb, humming some incoherent tune under his breath and watching the people pass on the street below.

“Spencer?”

The man blinked, looking over at Rob. “Hey,” he said warmly, smiling. “You back with me?”

“I think so,” Rob whispered, voice hoarse. His hands were still shaking badly, and Spencer quickly wrapped one up with his own. “Sorry. Not sure what happened.”

“Don’t be,” Spencer assured him, squeezing his hand. “It’s okay.”

switched roles today. as a treat.

“Come on, Sage,” Rob said pleadingly, half-carrying Sage across the street. “Nearly there now, yeah?”

“Kid, I’m fine, alright?” Sage insisted, trying to straighten up. “I can walk on my own.”

“I k-know,” he said shakily. “Just- shit,”

Sage glanced over at Rob, startled. His too-pale skin was covered by a sheen of sweat, eyelids fluttering open and closed every few steps. He swayed on the spot a little, like it was taking all his willpower to stay upright. “Jesus, what’s going on? Are you alright?”

 “I-I think,” Rob said slowly, “I think something’s wrong.”

And then he went down.

“Rob?” Sage caught him right as he began to fall, but he was a lot bigger than them and it was all they could do to lower him to the sidewalk more carefully. “Where’s it hurt, kiddo? What happened?”

Rob groaned, gesturing vaguely at his torso. “Burns,” he gasped, squeezing his eyes shut to stave off his dizziness. “Fuck, I don’t know- It was fine-”

Sage rushed to lift the hem of Rob’s shirt, frowning when they saw a mass of bandages. “What is this?”

“S-Sorry. You-” The healer cried out, grasping at Sage’s wrist. “You w-weren’t supposed to know.”

“Know what? Kiddo, what-”

Rob reached down with a trembling hand, slowly peeling back the edge of the gauze. He choked back a whine as the bandage stuck and tore at his skin, but Sage could already see the angry red skin underneath, tinted with yellowed infection.

Sage was completely speechless, only coming back to themselves when Rob let out another sob of pain. “Shit,” they breathed, pressing the gauze back over the wound. “Kiddo, we’re going to get home in no time, alright?”

Barely able to keep his eyes open, much less speak, Rob nodded.

uhh i dont know if this is good or not i cant decide

“Sage,” Rob murmured, kneeling down beside the end of the bed. “You have to get some sleep, pops. Please.”

Sage mumbled something incoherent, wide eyes still trained to the floor. Their whole body was shaking, and their face was pale with sleep deprivation and illness. “Can’t,” they managed to whisper. “Please.”

The healer sighed, scooping up both of Sage’s trembling hands in his own. “Can you drink some water for me?” he tried gently, just barely meeting their sunken eyes. After a moment, the villain managed to give a slight nod. 

Rob stood, making sure Sage was stable before crossing to the attached bathroom, shutting the door softly behind him. He turned to the sink, eyeing the pills on the edge of the basin. Guilt rolled in his stomach at the thought of what he had to do, and he reached for a glass with a grimace.

A few minutes later Rob was sitting back down on the bed next to Sage, cup in hand. “Here,” he said, clearing his throat to fight the rising nausea. “This will help, pops. I promise.”

Sage nodded, barely managing to hold the smooth glass steady for long enough to take a sip. Rob watched them, murmuring his approval and taking the water back when they had drank all they could manage. “Good,” he assured them. “That’s good, Sage. Just give it a few minutes to settle.”

The two sat there in silence for a bit, Sage slowly beginning to lean on Rob’s shoulder more and more. He wrapped an arm around them carefully, making sure to avoid the bandages winding around their back and chest.

“You- what did you do?”

Rob startled at the sound of Sage’s hoarse voice; it was the most they’d spoken in nearly a week. “What?”

“Rob, I’m-” Sage turned to meet his eyes, and the heartbroken look on their face made him physically wince. “You did something.”

“Pops-”

“Don’t do that, you-”

“Sage, you have to sleep,” Rob insisted. “I can’t watch you kill yourself like this, okay? You’ll feel so much better after you rest, I promise you.”

“I can’t,” Sage whispered, eyes blurred and drooping even in their terror. “I’m scared, Rob, please.”

Another hot bolt of shame and guilt ran through Rob, his stomach rolling. “It’s okay, pops, I promise. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

The pills were fully taking effect now, the villain fully leaning on Rob for support. Sage whispered brokenly again, curling in on themselves as their consciousness began to slip. 

“I’m so sorry,” Rob said quietly, tucking their head against his chest. “I’m sorry, Sage. I had to.”

yeahh so the care facility spencer and rob were at when they were kids definitely fed them food scraps from the sink and trash as punishment. its in canon now.

Spencer’s empty stomach rolled as the chipped plate was tossed carelessly onto the table, the mass of compost nearly sliding right onto the table. “Eat up,” the matron sneered, swatting the back of his head as she passed. He flinched as the door slammed shut behind him, leaving the boy alone in the dining room.

He picked at the so-called meal with his fork, gagging as dirty water ran off the vegetable peels and onto the plate. Nausea rose like a lump in his throat again, but the hunger gnawing at his stomach was stronger. He speared the least offensive-looking piece of carrot, wiping off a bit of unidentifiable brown sludge that he would rather not think about. Steeling himself, Spencer bit into the vegetable and chewed.

The taste of old dishwater and days of meal scraps mixing together made Spencer gag on his bite, spitting it back out onto the table. He panted harshly, chest heaving as he fought to keep down the bile rising in his throat. The sight of browned peels and streaks of leftover runoff in muddy water made Spencer’s already sick stomach turn over again.

God, he was so hungry.

A hand landed on Spencer’s shoulder and he jumped, nearly tumbling out of the dining chair. “Sorry-” he gasped on instinct, straightening up. 

“It’s alright, Spence. It’s just me.”

Spencer turned quickly, eyes wide. “Rob? How did you-”

“I don’t have long,” Rob whispered, glancing at the door anxiously. “Here.”

Before Spencer could react Rob was pulling a garbage bag from his pocket and scooping the bowl of sink scraps into it. “I overheard them say they’d be back in ten minutes to check on you. Have some of this,” he added, pulling a chunk of bread out of his pocket and shoving it into Spencer’s hands. “I’ll get rid of this, and It’ll look like you ate it. I have more food in the room for when you get back, but it’s not safe to bring right-”

Spencer flung his arms around Rob’s neck, burrowing his face into the other boy’s shoulder. “Thank you,” he murmured, tears welling in his eyes. 

Rob hugged him back tightly, staring at the now-empty bowl over Spencer’s shoulder. Rage boiled in the pit of his stomach, but he ignored it for now and gave Spencer a quick smile.

“See you soon,” he promised, bumping their foreheads together before slipping back out into the hallway. Spencer watched him go, something warm settling in his chest.