The night air chilled Robert's cheeks while he was walking Beef for a nighttime potty break before bed. And the little pupper must have really needed it because he left three little piles for his owner to pick up.

Robert cringes at the stench and softness of his dog's surprises as he uses the little bags he carries with him on walks to clean up after his pooch.

"God d*mn, Beef, what did you eat?" Robert asked the little guy who was currently licking his own crotch.

Then Robert remembered the little incident that happened at lunch that day, the incident where Beef had somehow climbed onto the breakroom counter and stolen half of Flambae's spicy chicken curry. That must have been what had resulted in these stinky doo-doos. Robert made a mental note to keep a better eye on what Beef ate. He also made the mental note to remember to buy Flambae lunch as an apology for his food being eaten by his dog.

Flambae shouted a long string of curse words, some not even in English, when the incident happened. But that cute doggy face was impossible to stay mad at, and he had given Beef a head scratch between his pointy ears. Then, not a second afterward, Beef releases a spicy chicken curry flavored burp right in Flambae's face, and Robert was given a deadly glare and a borderline threatening warning to keep a better eye on his 'd*mn dog'.

Standing up, Robert tied off the last poop bag and tugged lightly on Beef's leash to signal to him that it was time to go home.

While looking for a place to dispose of the bags, Robert is surprised to see his coworker, Flambae, walking angrily down the street, unaware of the dispatcher. He even walks right past him, muttering under his breath, smelling of smoke and embers.

"Hey, Chad! What's got you so up your own a** that can't even be polite and say 'hi'?" Robert called out to him, smirking.

"F*ck off, Rob-bob, I'm not in the f*cking mood!" Flambae replied, his voice grinding out like sandpaper.

Something about the way Flambae's voice sounded made Robert's smirk die. He sounded way more than just angry, and Robert worried that he was going to do something that SDN would not approve of. It only took a short jog to catch up with the ex-villain and stand in front of him, blocking his path.

"Get out of the way, Robert." Flambae growled.

"No. Not until you can assure me you're not gonna roast someone alive." Robert argued sternly.

"Don't get your little b**ch panties in a twist, I'm not barbecuing anyone. I'm just gonna go set Craig's house on fire, that's all." Flambae said, roughly shouldering past Robert.

"Craig!? W-wait!" Robert said, scrambling to grab Flambae's wrist to stop him from getting away.

But he immediately had to let go due to how hot Flambae's skin was; it was like touching a too hot bowl from the microwave.

"F*ck, ouch." Robert hissed, shaking the mild stinging pain from his hand.

"Chad, come on, just hold on for a second. I thought Craig was your boyfriend..." he said, regaining his focus on the situation.

"Ex boyfriend!" Flambae interrupted harshly.

"I'm sorry, Chad, I really am. I feel for you. Breakups suck a**, but getting dumped is not worth an arson charge." Robert sighed.

"I WASN'T DUMPED, HE F*CKING CHEATED!" Flambae yelled, causing Robert and even Beef to flinch.

Heavy breathing was interrupted by a choked up whimper as Flambae firmly pressed the heel of his palms to his eyes. Eyes that were sizzling and steaming, creating thick wisps of vapor. It was concerning watching him barely hold himself together, shaking and nearly hyperventilating. It made an uncomfortable knot form in his gut.

Robert couldn't wrap his head around what could have possibly led to this. Sure, he never officially met Craig, but he saw every day at work how happy Flambae had been since they began dating. He saw how smitten the flaming hero was, how stupidly in love he was. Flambae gushed about Craig constantly (though he'd die before he admitted it was 'gushing', but that's what it clearly was), he had this lovesick grin every time Craig texted him, and there were times Craig would even pick Flambae up from work. This whole cheating thing just didn't make any sense, not with everything he had seen.

It all left Robert feeling completely blindsided, so he couldn't begin to imagine what Flambae must be feeling.

And like the snap of a twig, Flambae's composure crumbles. Robert had never seen the man in front of him even weep, let alone break down sobbing inconsolably. The sight was gut-wrenching; the tears, the snot, the blotchy face. It was difficult to watch. The crying and wailing was also difficult to listen to.

It was clearly difficult for Beef to listen as well because the dog was getting increasingly nervous and upset the longer Flambae cried. He whimpered and whined, folding his ears flat against his head and tucking his tail between his legs. The dog tentatively steps forward and paws at Flambae's foot, doing his best to comfort him.

Flambae's crying reached to a point where he was choking and coughing and was actually hyperventilating this time. If Robert lets this go on any longer, Flambae could end up either passing out or throwing up. He's known Flambae long enough to know how much he hated showing vulnerability. The fact that he was visibly crying and breaking down in front of someone was already humiliating enough on its own; he didn't think Flambae would survive passing out or throwing up in front of someone on top of that.

Approaching Flambae was like approaching  a scared or injured animal. Caution was needed to avoid being burned. Robert holds a hand out in front of him as he slowly steps towards his friend. His hand hovers over Flambae's shoulder to test out its heat level. Even from a few inches away, the heat was too much to handle, and Robert had to pull his hand away.

"Chad?" Robert said, crouching slightly under where Flambae was bent over crying.

"Come on, buddy, I need you to look at me for a sec." he said calmly and softly.

"Jesus, f*ck, Robbo. Y-you're not...not m-my f*cking little league coach. C-can it with the 'buddy' bullsh*t." Flambae hiccuped through his sobs.

"Then look at me d*mn it, so I can talk to you, a**hole." Robert replied with a firmer tone.

He should have known that the only way to really get through to the other man was with a hefty degree of tough love. Bluntness, straight forwardness, and a touch of d*ckishness were some of the only things Flambae responds to.

"There you go, now do me a solid and breathe." Robert instructed once Flambae pulled his hands away from his face.

"Cause if you pass out or puke, I'm leaving your a** here on the sidewalk to fend for yourself." he added, not truly meaning the lazy threat.

A few deep breaths in and out, as guided by Robert, help Flambae get himself mostly under control. His sobs die down to quiet, shaky breathing, and sniffling.

"Good job, feel better?" Robert asked.

Flambae nods, rubbing his sleeve under his nose.

"Okay. Look, Chad, I sympathize with you, I truly do. But you can not set this douchebag's house on fire." Robert told him.

"But he betrayed me! I loved him, and he f*cking betrayed me!" Flambae snapped.

"I know, I know, I understand you're in pain right now. And you're angry, I'm angry too, you didn't deserve that. But you've worked too d*mn hard to get where you are now to throw it out the window for some b*stard who can't keep it in his f*cking pants." Robert said, grabbing Flambae's shoulder, which was now cool enough to touch.

"Grrrrrrr, I hate it when you're right." Flambae grumbled, clenching his fists.

"So, does that mean you're not committing arson tonight?" Robert asked, grinning teasingly.

"....yes..." Flambae bit out, pouting.

"That's great!" Robert said, suddenly pulling Flambae into a tight hug.

"Just know, I'm only allowing this because I feel like dog sh*t." Flambae mutters.

Then he sniffs twice.

"Speaking of dog sh*t....is that what I'm smelling right now?" Flambae said.

"Yeah." Robert answered, shaking the bags of Beef crap in his other hand.

"Dude, what the f*ck!?" Flambae shouted in disgust, shoving out of Robert's hug.

Robert laughs and laughs at Flambae's visceral reaction.

Then...an idea hits him.

"Hmmm, I think I have an idea how to stick it to your ex without getting into too much trouble." Robert said, smiling wickedly.

And that's how Robert and Flambae ended up outside Craig's house, throwing flamming bags of dog poop down his chimney.

"SUCK IT, A**HOLE! EAT SH*T!" Robert called out, cupping his hands around his mouth.

"YEAH! F*CK YOU, CRAIG!" Flambae yelled, holding up a middle finger.

"WOOF, WOOF, WOOF!" Beef barked then growled lowly.

If the men could understand what the dog was saying, they'd know that Beef was also saying, "f*ck you, Craig".

Then they had to bolt when the lights in the house turned on. Flambae flies Robert and Beef back to Robert's apartment, dropping them onto the balcony. They couldn't stop laughing, imagining what Craig's house must smell like right now.

"Hahaha, f*ck, man, thanks. I really needed this." Flambae said once he was able to get a word in.

When laughter tapered off, it got awkwardly quiet. Robert noticed in Flambae's eyes, an aching sadness washing over him.

"I...I, uh, I-I really thought he loved me." Flambae said, voice cracking.

Tears began to fill his eyes again, but before they could escape, he roughly wiped them away. Without saying it out loud, it can be inferred that Flambae was questioning how he could possibly allow himself to believe someone could love him. It made Robert angry all over again.

"Sh*t, now that all my anger is gone, I just feel...so f*cking bummed." Flambae sighed in defeat, slumping his shoulders.

"Well, I have the perfect remedy for feeling bummed." Robert said, opening the balcony's sliding door, letting Beef dart inside.

"Ben & Jerry's." he said, smiling.

"...Do you have any Chubby Hubby?" Flambae asked.

A nod from Robert was all it took to convince Flambae to follow him inside.

"Just don't touch any of the Chunky Monkey, or Courtney will kill you." Robert warned.

"Is she here?" Flambae asked, sitting on the couch, letting Beef jump straight into his lap.

"Nah, not tonight. She had an online video game tournament thing with Golem." Robert said, grabbing two small pints of ice cream from the freezer.

"It's just us guys for tonight." he softly chuckled, sitting next to Flambae on the couch, passing him his ice cream and a spoon.

"Thanks, thank you for everything you did for me tonight." Flambae mumbled, embarrassed.

"Don't sweat it. What are friends for, right?" Robert scoffed, nudging Flambae with his elbow.

"You know what, yeah, I guess I can consider you a friend if you want me to." Flambae joked.

"Wow, how generous of you." Robert smirked.

The two sat in a comfortable silence, eating their ice cream and not sharing any with Beef due to the chocolate that their ice creams contained. Flambae felt uneasy about being alone that night, so without having to ask, Robert lets him crash on his couch for the night, Beef happily tucked into his arms.

Thankfully, tomorrow was Saturday, meaning there was no work. So, it meant Flambae had time to pull himself together before Moday. He really didn't want anyone else to find out about what happened that night; he wasn't ready for that much vulnerability just yet. Out of respect for that, Robert wordlessly agreed to keep that night's events between them.

There was still some lingering anger Robert had on Flambae's behalf. He really hated when his friends were hurting, and he hated those who hurt his friends with a passion. He told himself that if he ever ran into Craig, he was going to break the f*cker's nose.

Nobody breaks his friend's heart and gets away with it, not on Mecha Man's watch.