Chapter Text
Robert felt his eyes squint as sunlight washed over them. The sun came through the windows differently now. It was September. Fall was getting close.
Over the past few months he had all but moved into Herman’s house. Honestly, how could he refuse? Between having an actual bed and getting to share it with his favorite person, it was an easy decision. Besides, Herm needed an extra hand around the house.
Robert slowly sat up from the bed.
“Hmmm… Robbie?” Herman mumbled groggily. “Where are you going?” he asked, still mostly asleep.
“Just going to the bathroom, I’ll be right back.” Robert laughed softly.
Herman never liked when he tried to get out of bed.
Robert stepped into the bathroom and turned on the hot water. The pipes always took forever to catch up. He leaned against the sink for a moment and met his own eyes in the mirror.
The past few months replayed quietly in his head.
The cabin with Herman.
His position changing at SDM after the return of Mecha.
The group somehow becoming closer than ever.
For once in a long time, things actually felt… good.
Steam slowly rose in front of him, pulling him back to reality.
Right.
Dr. Chase’s announcement.
The man had been planning something massive for weeks now. Press, executives, cameras, the whole nine yards. It was happening later that afternoon. Everyone had been told to dress formally for the occasion. The workday had even been pushed back because of it.
A small pit formed in Robert’s stomach. Part of him was still terrified of his world turning upside down again.
There was a soft knock at the door.
“Robbie? Can I come in?” Herman asked quietly from the other side.
“You don’t have to ask…” Robert smiled to himself.
The door slowly opened and Herman slipped into the bathroom. Sleep still clung to his eyes. A loose pair of boxers barely hung onto his waist as he stretched his arms above his head.
Robert reached over and playfully poked just below Herman’s belly button.
Herman let out a quick squeaking noise.
“ROB…bie, that’s… not nice.” he laughed.
Herman slipped out of his boxers and reached over to start the shower. Robert found himself staring for a moment as he brushed his teeth.
Herman quickly stepped under the hot water.
“So… what do you think this announcement is all about?” Herman asked as steam slowly began filling the bathroom.
Robert grunted as he continued brushing his teeth.
“I think it’s gonna be something crazy.” Herman continued. “Chase has never asked us to dress formal before…”
Robert spit into the sink before wiping his mouth.
“I don’t have the inside scoop anymore.” he said. “I know what you know.”
Herman laughed softly as Robert stepped into the shower with him.
“I thought you might join me…” Herman said quietly as he wrapped his arms around Robert, resting his chin on top of his head and pulling him gently against his chest.
“How could I not? Look at you.” Robert laughed softly as he rubbed Herman’s chest.
“Look… at you.” Herman shot back, grabbing at Robert’s waist.
A warmth slowly began building between them.
“Robbie…” Herman took a small breath. “I don’t think we have time… for that.”
Robert pushed himself up and kissed him anyway. The kind of kiss that completely emptied Herman’s head for a moment.
When Robert finally pulled back, Herman looked dazed.
“I know.” Robert said smugly as he started lathering up. “I just like teasing you.”
Herman felt a rush of adrenaline wash over him.
“Robbie, you know…” he started before stopping himself.
“What do I know, Herm?” Robert asked with attitude.
Herman leaned forward and straightened up, placing his hands at the base of Robert’s neck before sliding them beneath his arms. He lifted him effortlessly like he weighed almost nothing.
“I…” Herman stuttered as he turned and gently pressed Robert against the shower wall, staring directly into his eyes. “I could just… throw you around.” he muttered through his teeth.
Robert smirked immediately.
“I hope you plan to.”
Herman laughed under his breath before setting him back down.
“Oh, I do.” he said, turning to wash his face. “But you’ll have to wait.”
“…fine.” Robert huffed dramatically.
He quickly hopped out of the shower, immediately turning the handle all the way to cold as he stepped out.
Herman gasped sharply.
“ROBERT!”
“Time to cool you off then.” Robert laughed from outside the shower.
“Fuck… that’s not… funny.” Herman sputtered as he blindly fumbled for the handle through the freezing water trying to get the heat back on.
———
Herman stepped back into the bedroom to see Robert standing in front of the closet. Two large suit bags hung from the top of the door.
Herman reached over and grabbed his first.
The suit inside was clean and minimal, but it felt expensive. The kind of thing people wore on red carpets.
“What is he about to drop on us?” Herman asked as he pulled on the slacks.
“I don’t wanna think about that right now.” Robert laughed softly.
Robert turned around.
Then he saw Herman.
Something shifted inside of him immediately.
The suit framed Herman in a way that demanded attention even half finished. Sharp shoulders. Narrow waist. Long legs. He looked less like the nervous boy who walked into SDM months ago and more like someone the entire world would stare at the second he entered a room.
Like a superstar.
Herman looked up and met Robert’s eyes.
And suddenly Herman forgot how to breathe for a second.
He had never seen Robert like this before either.
The dark suit wrapped around him perfectly, clean and elegant in a way that made Herman’s stomach flip violently. Somehow it felt even more intimate than seeing him naked.
Herman quickly turned away for a moment, trying to collect himself.
“Robbie… you look… incredible.” Herman finally managed to say once he could look at him again.
“Look who’s talking.” Robert smiled softly.
“Boys?” Kathleen’s voice called weakly from down the hallway as she slowly shuffled closer. “Are you… oh…”
She stopped in the doorway completely.
“Oh… wow.”
Her voice began to shake.
“Hermy…” she whispered as tears suddenly filled her eyes.
Herman immediately hurried over to her.
“What’s wrong?” he asked softly.
Kathleen reached up and held onto him tightly.
“You look… just like your Pawpaw.” she cried.
She gently grabbed Herman’s arm and slowly led him toward her bedroom.
“H… grandma?” Herman asked softly as she brought him inside.
Kathleen moved around the side of the bed and pulled a small photo book from underneath it. The edges were worn from age. She carefully flipped through the pages before stopping on an old photograph.
Herman’s grandfather stood in military dress formals, posture straight as a board.
The resemblance was striking.
Same eyes.
Same build.
Same softness hidden underneath the seriousness.
Robert slowly appeared in the doorway of the room.
“Robert, look.” Kathleen said quietly, motioning him closer.
Robert froze for a second before stepping inside. Even he could feel the emotion hanging in the air.
Herman looked up from the photo, his eyes glassy.
“Hermy…” Kathleen’s voice shook again. “He would be so, so proud of you.”
Her voice gave out for a moment near the end of the sentence.
Robert stepped closer beside Herman and looked down at the photograph again.
For a moment he genuinely thought he was looking at an older version of Herman.
Not identical.
But close enough that it made something tighten in his chest.
The same eyes stared back at him from the faded photo. Steady. Gentle. Quiet in a way that felt larger than words. Even the posture reminded him of Herman somehow. Like he had inherited pieces of a man he barely even got to know.
“…wow.” Robert muttered quietly.
Herman wiped quickly at his eyes with the back of his hand.
“He passed when I was little.” he said softly. “I don’t really remember a lot…”
Kathleen smiled weakly through her tears.
“Oh, but he adored you.” she said immediately. “You followed that man around everywhere. Lord, you wanted to be just like him.”
Herman laughed shakily under his breath.
Robert kept staring at the picture.
Something about it hit him harder than he expected.
Maybe because Herman finally made sense in a different way now.
The gentleness.
The loyalty.
The quietness.
The way he loved people so fully it hurt him.
Robert slowly looked over at Herman standing there in the black suit with tears in his eyes.
Then back down at the photograph.
“…yeah.” Robert said quietly. “I can see it.”
The bottom of the photograph read:
Lenny Herman Phillips. Alabama. U.S. Army.
Kathleen slowly composed herself, wiping carefully beneath her eyes.
“And your daddy, Hermy…” she said softly. “You look just like him too.”
A different kind of emotion crossed her face then.
Not warmth.
Not nostalgia.
Something heavier. Sharper. The kind of sadness wrapped tightly around old anger.
“I haven’t heard from him in years…” she trailed off quietly.
The room shifted.
Herman’s shoulders tightened almost immediately.
Robert noticed it right away. The way Herman’s body seemed to pull inward slightly, like a reflex he learned a long time ago.
Kathleen sighed softly and closed the photo album.
“Well.” she forced a small smile. “No reason to ruin handsome boys in fancy suits talking about that man.”
———-
It was approaching lunch time. Robert and Herman were on their way to SDM.
“I can’t lie, Herm. I’m actually a little nervous.” Robert admitted as he kept his eyes on the road.
Herman quietly placed his hand on Robert’s knee.
“Why?” he asked softly. “What do you think is going to happen?”
Robert let out a small breath through his nose.
“I don’t know.” he answered honestly. “That’s usually the problem with Chase. By the time you figure out what he’s planning, it’s already happening.”
Outside the windows the city drifted by beneath a gray September sky. The air looked colder now. Fall was finally starting to settle in.
Herman rubbed his thumb gently against Robert’s knee.
“You think it has something to do with Mecha?” he asked carefully.
Robert was quiet for a moment.
“…probably.”
The word sat heavy in the car.
Robert adjusted his grip on the steering wheel slightly.
“Every time life starts feeling stable again, something huge happens.” he admitted quietly. “Mecha came back. My position changed at SDM. People recognize me again. Now Chase has press and executives showing up for some secret announcement?”
He shook his head slightly.
“That man terrifies me.”
Herman laughed softly under his breath.
“He terrifies everybody.”
“Yeah, but he specifically enjoys terrifying me.”
That pulled a bigger laugh out of Herman.
Robert glanced over for a moment, smiling despite himself.
Then his expression softened when he saw Herman sitting there beside him in the black suit.
“…you really do look incredible by the way.” Robert said quietly.
Herman immediately looked away.
“Robbie…”
“No, I’m serious.” Robert smiled. “You look like you belong in one of those fancy magazines people leave on coffee tables for no reason.”
Herman snorted.
“That doesn’t even make sense.”
“It does in my head.”
Herman shook his head smiling to himself before looking back out the window.
For a few moments neither of them spoke.
Then the SDM building slowly came into view down the street.
And the quiet feeling inside the car immediately changed.
A massive white tent had been set up across part of the parking lot. Half the street nearby was blocked off with black barricades while people in suits hurried back and forth carrying equipment, paperwork, and boxes.
It almost looked like a wedding reception.
If wedding receptions had security teams and camera crews.
“Holy shit…” Herman whispered.
“This is gonna be big.”
As they got closer, more details came into focus.
Large production cameras.
Luxury SUVs.
People with headsets rushing between entrances.
Security guards lining the sidewalks.
Robert felt his stomach tighten.
The old gold Buick slowly rolled into the SDM parking lot before a security guard immediately stepped in front of the car guiding them to a stop.
The man leaned down toward the driver side window.
“Robert. Herman.” he said calmly, looking for confirmation.
Both of them nodded.
“I’ll take the car from here.”
The guard motioned toward another employee dressed in black nearby. A second security guard quickly approached the passenger side of the car.
“Follow him please.” he instructed politely.
They were guided through the crowded lot toward the massive tent. The closer they got, the more surreal everything started to feel.
People turned when they walked by.
Some whispered.
Others stared openly.
Herman instinctively moved a little closer to Robert.
Inside, the tent was even more elaborate than either of them expected. Black flooring had been laid over the pavement beneath massive hanging lights and tall silver decorations. Round tables filled the space near a large stage at the far end of the tent. Huge screens hung on both sides of it displaying nothing but the silver SDM logo against a black background.
Everything smelled expensive.
A member of security led them deeper inside before stopping near the center.
A long reserved table sat near the stage.
Small black name cards rested neatly in front of each seat.
ROBERT ROBERTSON.
HERMAN PHILLIPS.
As well as the rest of the SDM team already gathered there.
And every single one of them looked completely confused.
“Well this is horrifyingly fancy.” Visi muttered while adjusting the sleeve of her dark purple suit jacket.
“THIS is what I’m talking about.” Chad grinned, throwing his arms out dramatically. “This is evil rich people behavior.”
Prism nodded enthusiastically beside him.
“I feel important.”
“You ARE important.” Chad said immediately. “Never let anyone take that from you.”
Mandy stood near the table holding a folder against her chest. Even she looked slightly thrown off by the scale of everything.
“I’m assuming none of you know what this is either?” Robert asked carefully.
Mandy shook her head once.
“Dr. Chase has kept this unbelievably tight.” she admitted. “All I know is every major music publication in the country is here.”
Herman looked around the room again.
The cameras.
The executives.
The stage.
The security.
His stomach flipped.
“…why?” he asked quietly.
Nobody had an answer for him.
Then suddenly the massive screens flickered.
“If I may have your attention…”
A familiar voice rolled through the speakers overhead.
Dr. Chase.
The entire tent slowly began quieting down around them.
“Please make your way to your seats.” he continued calmly. “The event will begin shortly.”
Almost immediately people started moving. Executives adjusted jackets and gathered drinks while photographers repositioned themselves near the stage.
The SDM group slowly sat down together.
Herman found himself staring toward the massive black stage at the front of the tent. Something about all of this felt far larger than he expected. His leg bounced nervously beneath the table.
Robert noticed immediately.
Without saying anything, he reached over beneath the tablecloth and rested a hand gently against Herman’s knee.
The movement grounded him almost instantly.
Visi looked between the two of them before leaning toward Chad slightly.
“…they are disgustingly in love.” she muttered.
“I KNOW.” Chad whispered back aggressively. “I’ve been saying this.”
“Shut up.” Mandy hissed quietly without taking her eyes off the stage.
The lights overhead suddenly dimmed.
The giant SDM logos faded from the screens.
And Dr. Chase slowly walked onto the stage…