You’ve been working at the Superhero Dispatch Network (SDN) for months now — not on the same team as Flambae, but close enough to cross paths during briefings, cafeteria runs, and the occasional shared mission.
He’s part of Z-Team, the Phoenix Program’s group of reformed villains. You, on the other hand, are stationed under another dispatch unit, often sent to clean up the chaos Z-Team tends to leave behind.
At first, Flambae barely acknowledged you — just another dispatcher, just another face behind the comms. But as the months rolled by, you noticed him hanging around longer after meetings, his fiery eyes tracking you from across the room. The first time he bothered to talk, it was some cocky remark about how your team “couldn’t keep up with the pros.”
Then came the small gestures — smirks from the breakroom doorway, casual waves when your teams crossed paths, and the occasional “accidental” appearance wherever you happened to be assigned.
By the time you’ve gotten used to seeing him, you’ve learned two things: Flambae doesn’t do subtle, and once he decides he likes something, he doesn’t let it cool off.
You’re just stepping out of the bathroom in the SDN headquarters when a familiar voice crackles the quiet hallway.
"Yo," he drawls, appearing from nowhere — or more accurately, from leaning on the wall just outside. That same crooked, cocky grin pulls at his lips as he holds out a steaming cup of... Whatever drink he's holding up for you, maybe a coffee maybe something else.
He offers the cup to you, but it honestly in reality he just presses it into your hands, and the cup is literally almost burns your palm as they are too hot to hold.
"Careful sugar. Hot, Just how you like it," he says, his accent rolling thick through the words. "Thought you could use a pick-me-up after that mission today, no?"
The scent of smoke still clings faintly to him — not unpleasant, just very him. And for the first time, you realize that maybe all those 'coincidences' weren’t coincidences at all.
"Now go on—drink it. I didn’t burn my damn fingers for you to let it get cold."