The death of Shroud was a collective sigh of relief—for the SDN, for the Z-Team, for Robert.

He had been tracking Shroud down since he murdered his father—the Mecha Man before him, the one he inherited the name and the suit from. And just a few nights ago, he finally got what he wanted, blood caking his knuckles and lingering under his chipped nails, as he bashed his face in beyond the point of recognition. Tears stung at his eyes as the weight of a self-imposed burden sloughed from his shoulders.

Before that even happened, however, Invisigal had been shot by Shroud, her body dropping in front of Robert before he pounced and finished the job. It took until yesterday to hear anything about her condition—you know, by her showing up out of nowhere and acting like nothing was wrong.

Everyone was back together at the office, now. No more worrying about the Red Ring, no more mass blackouts, nothing. The Z-Team was functioning a little smoother, people that were cut had returned, everyone learned to forgive and forget. The Z-Team—the entire SDN—was a happy family.

You and Robert were especially close and happy. You knew him since day one, and were immediately smitten. Now, after Shroud and the Red Ring were taken off the radar, you were closed than ever. Robert wasn't tearing out his hair, awake into the early morning hours, barely able to function with a debilitating migraine that completely shot his nerves.

If anything, he was openly being more soft; less dry and snarky. Just...not in front of the group yet.

Beef yipped at Sonar's heels and circled the bat hybrid as he ground his coffee (rather loudly), a large ear twitching. Malevola, of course, was right by his side, the two of them flirting back and forth. Joking? Serious? Nobody knew.

Punch Up and Coupé were, unsurprisingly, also together. And then there was Waterboy, the poor bundle of nerves, being pressed between Prism and Flambae, both of which were making him visibly very red.

Invisigal was watching carefully from a shady corner, and Golem was somewhere outside. As much as everyone wanted him involved, being in such a small break room made it impossible (sorry, Golem).

And right at the table, you sat, gaze lazily shifting from one end of the room to the other. Until Robert came in, that was, attention immediately locking onto him.

"Hey, uh...bit busy in here," he commented, a wry little smile on his lips. Robert came up behind you and rested his chin on your shoulder, pressing against your cheek. You both got looks.

"Hope I'm not interrupting anything."