Chapter Text
When Robert woke up he sat straight up, a silent scream on his lips. His chest was heaving. He was in the hospital. Everything hurt. And he just felt- bad. Bad everywhere.
He blinked and brought a hand to his head. There was absolutely no way SDN would have been able to resurrect him after a bullet to the head. And yet here he was. He closed his eyes and pressed his palms to his eyes. Jesus. Everything hurt. He hadn’t felt this way since he woke up from his coma.
He let out a long sigh and fumbled for the nurse call button. His throat felt dry- how long was he out? He assumed for awhile- surviving a bullet to the head.
The nurse who came in froze by the door, staring at him with wide eyes. He looked up and stared back. No doubt because his survival rate was so low.
“Can I have some water?” He asked, his voice horse, like he hadn’t used it in a very long time.
That seemed to shock the nurse out of her stupor, she moved with grace, and he could have sworn he’d seen her before. But he’s never spent any time in the SDN medbay. So maybe in the hallway.
She helped him hold the cup, his hands shaky. He took a sip. And god. Has water ever tasted so good?
...
He should drink more water.
After finishing the cup he cleared his throat, cleaning back against the bed as the nurse went over everything.
“What’s today’s date?”
He was barely paying attention, but the words she said seemed to slam into him like a train.
Wait. Wait wait wait. He squeezed his eyes shut. That was the date he woke up from his coma. That was a past date. He felt his breath catch in his throat. He could vaguely hear the nurse trying to comfort him.
Oh. Oh no. Oh God.
The nurse was by his side, gently talking to him. But he couldn’t hear her. His thoughts moving to fast. Trying to go through everything that’s happened so far. Trying to think about what he’s going to need to deal with, how he should handle things- oh god Beef. He had to pick up Beef.
His head was swimming.
NOPE. He slammed that train of thought shut. He would handle this one thing at a time. He forced himself to follow the nurse’s breathing. The first thing he had to was pick up Beef. Then the second thing he had to do was get some basics for his apartment with the little money he had left.
And they wouldn’t. Release him. They needed to ‘keep him for observation’ or whatever. He didn’t have time for this. He needed to go get his boy! And he couldn’t exactly write down any notes about- anything. He would look insane and they’d keep him for longer.
He wanted nothing more than to just pick up Beef from the shelter. At least Beef had been taken care of while he was out.
Being released from the hospital was a whirlwind of paperwork he wasn’t remembering. Trapped in his own head, still shoving down all the stress. Shoving down all the thoughts and memories that were threatening to drown him.
How is anyone supposed to handle something like this? How was he supposed to? Just- one step at a time. One damn thing at a time.
And he guessed he didn’t need to look for the Astral Pulse? Would him not looking for it cause issues later? He never found it, but did his presence cause some changes? Since he knew the things he knew he would never be able to look the same way he did the first time so. It doesn’t even matter he supposed.
He got dressed. He wanted to run, but really, he didn’t have the energy or the muscles. Apparently the situation after his coma was so much worse than he had remembered. This sucks.
So he strolls. Thinking. He should buy a notebook to write things down. And some sticky notes to be able to connect things. And he was going to be getting a bed. Shit. He had so much to do and so much to buy. And there was no way he was going to be able to afford much of it. He had to think of something.
So. Put a pin in the bed thing. Maybe he could buy like. A sleeping bag. Or something. He’ll figure it out after he picks up Beef. He slept on a chair before Mandy and Chase brought in that couch. So. He’ll probably be fine.
Walking into the shelter was a surreal experience. Not good or bad. It just made his head spin with the whole ‘going back in time and remembering everything that was going to happen’.
He still couldn’t tell if he woke up from a very long coma dream or if this was all really happening. So. Maybe he should look for the Astral Pulse? There wasn’t really anything that would point to if he had gone back in time.
Of course. He was just confused from waking up from coma. Just a little insanity. Not good for the mind, but maybe good for the soul. Considering his Mecha Man suit was destroyed. He’d have to go put that all back into his apartment. God that was going to be a hassle.
Acquiring The Beef was simple. He had his paperwork, and the shelter had been holding onto his boy for him. And Robert, being the polite man he was, asked if he could lay down on the floor for a minute, promising not to get in the way.
Obviously the person behind the counter was very confused, but said yes. So when Beef came running out Robert was sitting on one of the chairs that was out of the way. He slunk to the ground, wrapped his arms around his chunky boy and held him close. He managed to catch a glimpse of the workers face, who seemed to accept Robert’s weird question a lot more. Beef had been here for months, and he was a sweet boy. Anyone would be happy to see how much Beef was loved.
And god, Robert loved Beef. Saying Robert loved Beef more than he loved himself didn’t mean much. But he could say he loved Beef more than he liked being Mecha Man. Beef probably didn’t understand how much he meant to Robert. Robert had literally taken a bullet for Beef. Whether that was real or just his dreaming in coma, it didn’t matter. He would take a bullet for his chunky boy all over again if he had to.
He didn’t realize he was crying until he sat up and the woman behind the counter offered him some tissues. She wished him and Beef the best of luck, and let Robert take some treats for Beef on the way out.
He took a deep breath as soon as he stepped outside, tilting his head to the sky. Alright. Now he had to plan on what to do next. He closed his eyes, trying to get his mind under control. He looked down at Beef, then crouched down and picked him up and shoved his face into Beef’s fur.
Beef save him.
He inhaled deep. Beef smelled like dog soap, so he probably had a bath recently. Robert really should bathe Beef more this time around.
So the first thing he was going to do was going to buy a notebook and some pens. He could pop in and pop out while he had Beef and then he could write down what he needed right away. Then write down the future. Just in case he wasn’t going insane from his coma.
He was going to say. Stranger things have happened to him but really. Has it really? Or was he just pretending the stress didn’t exist?
He shoved his face back into Beef’s fur. Beef save him.
Notebook. Immediate needs. Then memories. Clear game plan. Let's do it. He put Beef down, his little butt wiggling, and pulled out his phone. Closest dollar store please. A notebook and pack of pens would only cost him a few dollars.
And just for good measure he bought some treats for Beef.
It was a nice sunny day, so he sat down at a park bench with Beef on the leash.
He took a deep breath, resisting the urge to shove his face back into the safety of Beef’s fur. Beef was the only thing that made sense right now.
He started writing down what exactly he needed right away. Something to sleep on, food... that was really it. Either way he would do that interview and Blonde Blazer would find him because Chase suggested him-
Well that was two trains of thought. The first- the interview. Now that would be a good benchmark on whether this is him reliving his life for a second time. If it was, someone would reach out to him and he would be on that podium in his sling. Standing there answering exhausting questions. And then there was that asshole who he had, in his opinion, rightfully beat the shit out of. Everyone seemed to agree since no one stopped him. But if it happened this time around... well he could plan for it.
He wrote down INTERVIEW in big letters and moved on.
The second thing he should do is reach out to Chase. He should reach out to Chase first. It’s not weird to reach out to people after something like an coma. He tapped the pen on the paper. Chase’s number was still the same. Guilt shot through Robert. Had Chase been waiting for him to reach out to him this whole time? Robert you fucking idiot. So concerned with being Mecha Man.
But... if he reached out to Chase would Blonde Blazer come and find him? Would she bring him to the bar and would the encounter with Flambae happened?
Well... if not he could always just go to the bar anyway. It would be after the interview- ah fuck. The robbers. They were stopped by Blonde Blazer because he was in the area. How was he supposed to deal with them? He could fight, he knew that. But it was a whole group of them verses just him.
He looked down at Beef.
“How would you deal with a group of people, Beef?”
Beef looked up at him and barked. And then farted. Robert’s face fell into his hands as he burst into laughter so hard it hurt his ribs. Ouch. Okay. Still healing.
He let out a sigh, the last of the laughter trailing out of his body with it.
But when he thought about it... maybe Beef was onto something. He should invest into a taser. That was going to cut into the last of his savings. But he could deal with that. He had time. Now... if he wasn’t going to be looking for the Astral Pulse he had to do something else.
He could.... Deal with that later. The most important thing he was going to do was reach out to Chase. He wrote down ‘bed’ and ‘food’ and closed the notebook. Maybe he could just... stay at Chase’s until he got a bed.