𝘛𝘰𝘰 𝘔𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘎𝘢𝘮𝘦.

───

A frustrated groan leaves the darker skinned girl as she desperately pushed on all the buttons that controlled the monitors of the mancave.

"Ugh, What is wrong with this thing!? Y/n!!" She shouted for the H/c haired boy as the back of the machines open and the teen appeared at the sudden call of his name.

"Hm?"

"Where are Henry and Ray?" Charlotte asked him curiously as Y/n blinked and cracks a reassuring smile with a shake of his head.

"There was an emergency at the SwellView Mall." He told her as he went to go take a seat on the man couch and she followed.

"Ooh, What happened?" She questioned as she quickly went to go stand next to him while crossing her arms over her chest

"Well, apparently Santa Claus was running around.. without his red pants." He explained and then grimaced at the short clip he saw online.

"But it's not even Christmas..?" Charlotte trailed off as Y/n chuckled in amusement.

Suddenly, a short beeping noise catches their attention as they turned their heads toward the Auto Snack Machine and a robotic female voice spoke.

"𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗛𝗢𝗧 𝗗𝗢𝗚 𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆."

"Ugh! But I didn't order a hot dog!!" The girl cried in pure distress as the H/c haired teen raised his eyebrows at her.

"You..didn't?" He asked her as the girl lightly shook her head in disagreement and sighed.

"No, the snack machine is still broken and acting all crazy!" Charlotte mentioned as she watches the older boy stand up worriedly.

"..That's weird. Everything was working fine this week." Y/n said as he walked to the machine to examine it closely and the alarm to the tubes goes off.

A tube comes down as Ray appeared while wearing his usual Captain Man uniform and he nudged his head at the two staring.

"Hey kids." He greeted warmly as Charlotte strolled over and then paused after noticing the pair of red fabric in his hands.

"Hey...are those Santa's pants?" She questioned as the hero glances down and then looked up at her slowly with an awkward grimace.

"..Yeah." He answered hesitantly as the girl shivered in disgust and the teenager chuckled as he looked around for a certain someone.

"Hey, where's.." Y/n trailed off after taking notice of the blonde's absence and the man lets out a short laugh as he pointed over his shoulder.

"He's right over--"

"Huh..? That's weird." Ray mumbled when he realized the boy wasn't really beside him and then stepped back to look inside the tube.

"Henry! Come down here!" The hero shouted and the other two throw each other a knowing glance before the boy responded.

"I can't!! My tube isn't working." Henry exclaimed as the taller hero sighed before moving out of the way.

"Okay, Hang on." He announced as he takes a remote out of his pocket and pointed it at the tube.

He pushes on a button once as the tube comes down without any sign of Henry yet and the man squinted.

The hero clicks on the button a few times as the tube goes up and down to the blonde's annoyance.

".."

"Ray?" Henry called out to him as the younger boy closes his eyes shut after getting extremely dizzy.

"Yeah?"

"If you keep doing that.. I'm gonna vomit." Henry shortly explained making the man step away cautiously and Y/n chuckled.

"𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗛𝗢𝗧 𝗗𝗢𝗚 𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆."

The machine repeated one more time and the girl rolled her eyes as the three of them turn their heads to take a look.

They stop and stare at the machine in shock after spotting an actual dog stuck behind the glass.

"What the.." Charlotte muttered as she pointed a finger at the pet animal and then turned to the two in confusion.

"Y/n! I told you no more pets at work." Ray being quick to scold the teenager as Charlotte gaped and turned to look at Y/n.

"That's not my pet but thanks for thinking of me, boss." The older boy chimed as he walked up to the hero and gave them a slap on the shoulder before pulling out his phone.

"urgh.. That's actually my lunch, which I did not order!" Charlotte mentioned with a click of her tongue and the hero groaned.

"Dang it! I thought we fixed that thing--" Ray explained as he hissed and used the remote again to control the auto snack machine.

The dogs barking gets muffled by the small window rolling up as the couch unexpectedly starts spinning in circles.

"Dang it! Y/n, call Gooch and tell him to bring his toolbox. We got a lot of stuff to fix today." The man ordered as the H/c haired teen exhaled through his nose and shakes his head.

"Okay, but there is only one repairman who can fix these things and you know that." He mentioned and the hero scoffed after the other man's face popped into his head.

"Well I'm not calling him!" Ray replied as he scowled at the H/c haired teen and turned away angrily.

"Oh, get it over it. You're gonna need him sooner or later." Y/n commented as his eyebrow twitched at their arrogance and Ray sneered.

"No! I will not get over it, I don't need him and I will never let him back into the mancave. End of discussion." The taller hero raised his voice and the girl looked between them after being left out of the loop.

"Who are you two talking about?" Charlotte finally asked first to break the small silence while both heroes glared at each other before responding simultaneously.

"Schwoz."

"...What's a Schwoz?" She asked the duo as the man pinches the bridge of his nose and Y/n looks at the girl.

"Schwoz, is this guy that used to work for Ray. He built most of this place by himself. Basically, all the cool stuff here like the weapons and devices." The teen explained and she nodded at the newly found information.

"He sounds awesome." Charlotte blurted and her words had the taller man gritting his teeth.

"Well, awesome guys don't steal your girlfriend!" Ray spat as the short girl blinked back in surprise at his little outburst and Y/n rolled his eyes.

"Ooh.. wow."

"Tell me about it." Y/n mumbled next to her as the sound of beeping and loud screaming echoes through the walls of the mancave.

The blonde finally slides down the tube as he lands on his feet before shortly falling on his butt.

"Oh, Man!" Ray shouted at the sight of his sidekick who finally became unstuck after being trapped for minutes.

"Henry!" Charlotte and Y/n shouted worriedly as the boy quickly bounced back up.

"That.. That really hurt me!" Henry exclaimed as he made his way down the short steps.

A soft buzz comes from the teen's hand as Y/n glances at the three before looking down at his phone.

"Huh.. Santa Claus jumps out of the police car Captain Man and Kid Danger escorted him into and now he's running down SwellView Boulevard." The older boy read as Henry blinked and hesitantly pointed at pants Ray was still holding.

"But--he's got his pants.." The blonde said as Y/n puts his phone away and then offered him a close eyed smile.

"Yeah."

════════════════

The next day, Y/n waits by the benches with Oliver as they silently watched their friends play basketball.. very horribly.

Another guy passes the ball to Henry as he attempted to shoot it into the basket. "Come on, Henry!" Someone shouted and the boy completely misses but holds a smile on his face knowing he tried his best.

The coach writes something down on his clipboard while shaking his head as he blows the whistle. "Alright! Gather around, let's go!" The man called and they all gathered in front of him.

"Okay, when it comes to basketball. You guys are pretty much a team of losers." He told them truthfully and the boys nodded in agreement.

Oliver steadily walks towards the team while holding a box with refreshed drinks. "--who wants water?" He asked and Coach Bix frowned.

"Not now."

He told them and awkwardly looked away when Oliver sent him a weird gaze. The boy then turns on his heels to go sit back down as Y/n patted the seat next to him.

"Uh, where was I?"

"You were calling them losers." Y/n called and the Coach nodded while pointing in his direction. "Right-- wait, who let you inside?" He asked and did a double take to stare at the H/c teen in curiosity.

"I actually have a free period right now and I needed a place to do homework so.." Y/n shrugged as the Coach sighed but didn't question him any further.

"Hey, Y/n!" Jasper excitedly yelled and Y/n smiled when he spotted the curly haired boy waving his hand in the air.

"Hi, Jasper." He greeted with a chuckle and waved back happily.

"As I was saying.. before I get interrupted again. It all changes today. Boys, meet your new teammate, Shawn Corbit." The Coach announced and a tall dark skinned male jogged into the gym.

"Oh, Yeah! How about that. Huh? Shawn, tell your teammates a little bit about yourself." The man ushered proudly and Shawn opens his mouth to speak.

"Well, uh.."

"Use the card." The man whispered as Shawn sighed and reached into his pocket.

"My name is Shawn, I'm fourteen.. year's old. Nice to meet you guys." He read and looked at everyone who held unsure expressions as Henry turned to the guys standing behind him.

"Hart! Did I say you could murmur?" Coach Bix suddenly asked and the blonde blinked in surprise at the mention of his last name.

"Sorry, it's just.. I don't mean to be rude. But Shawn looks older than fourteen. Like by a lot." Henry said truthfully and the team agreed with his statement.

"Oh, really? You want to see Shawn's birth certificate? Because I have it!" Coach Bix exclaimed and dug inside his own pocket to take out a folded piece of paper.

"Look at that. Lookie there. Shawn Corbit born fourteen years ago in Hawaii! Take a closer look, Grab it! Just take it, if you want to see how--" Henry easily rips the paper out of his hands as the Coach panics and quickly snatched it back.

"So, you're just going to let this guy on the team." Jasper said and frowned at the unexpected news.

"Exactly, how do we know if he can even play?"

The Coach smirked and let out an amused chuckle. "Okay, first team on the court. Hurry it up, Let's go! First team!" He shouted as they got into position.

"Let's see if you idiots can stop Shawn from scoring. Shawn, take them to school." Coach encouraged and handed the other the ball.

Shawn bounces the ball on the floor and observed the team's attempts to block him from the other side of the court.

A look of guilt washes over his face for a split second before it changes back to a neutral one.

He decides to run for the basket instead and accidentally pushes Henry out of the way as he fell to the floor from the hard impact.

Shawn makes his way to the basket and shoots, making the Coach cheer in satisfaction.

"Kaboom! who saw that? I saw that. Oh, look. Henry Hart's on the ground! Maybe he wants some company down there." He cackled and laid down next to the boy.

"Look at me, I'm Henry Hart. I'm on the floor and I'm off the team!" Coach Bix mimicked and Henry's eyes widened at his words.

"What!? Off the-- What?!" The blonde shouted as he abruptly got up with the Coach following after him.

"Shawn plays point guard! You play point guard, Shawn is awe-some. You are aw-ful. That's why you're off the team." Coach Bix explained and the rude comments made Henry sigh in defeat.

"Hey, that's totally unfair!" Y/n accused as he holds onto his backpack and stomped over.

"Oh, you want fair? You want your boyfriend over here to stay on the team? Okay, pretty boy! All he has to do is beat Shawn in a game of one on one." Coach explained and smirked in triumph.

"Wait a minute--" Henry began but was ignored completely by the couch talking over him.

"I'll even give him three whole days to practice. How does that sound?" The man asked while holding his hand out for the teen and Y/n gladly shook on it.

"You're on."

───

𝙃𝙀𝙉𝙍𝙔 𝘿𝘼𝙉𝙂𝙀𝙍

───

"Why is he in such a bad mood?" Ray asked Y/n as they both watched Henry pace back and forth in the mancave.

"Cause I got kicked off my dumb basketball team and now I have to prove my worth and beat this 'Shawn' guy that took my place." Henry explained and Ray furrowed his eyebrows.

"Are you even good at basketball?" He questioned and the boy puffed his cheeks out.

"No." He answered as the couch started twirling again, startling Ray and the two boys. "Charlotte, you made the couch spin again!" Ray scolded the girl who was by the monitors and she turned around.

"Why don't you hop on it and take a ride!?" Charlotte shouted sarcastically and forced a smile across her face that made the hero flinch. She then stomped away to go cool off with a device in her hand.

"Oh, right. Ray, I called a repairman and he's coming down.. like right now." Y/n mentioned and then looks down at his watch to check the time.

"What? you can't just send some stranger down here until we have him checked out." Ray scolded and the teen hummed.

"Well, you would've showed them the way out if you knew who it was." Y/n said as the elevator doors slide open.

They all turn their heads to look as a short man in a gray jumpsuit walks out with a large tool box.

"Hey!" He greeted with a heavy accent after setting his box down to announce his arrival. Different reactions were spread around the mancave but only one stood out the most and they were pissed.

"Shwoz. Get out." The hero spat and stomped his way towards them

"Come on, Ray! Don't be like that." Schwoz pleaded nervously and he scoffed in disbelief. "I mean it, out of here!" Ray demanded as Henry gaped in awe and pointed at the man beside the elevator.

"That's Schwoz?"

"Yup, that's him." Y/n nodded and Schwoz gasped out loud when his gaze landed on the teenager.

"Y/n! Woww, you've grown so big!!" Schwoz cried almost in pure joy as he neared the h/c haired boy before bringing him into a big hug.

"Eh, just a little.. Good to see you again." Y/n teased and patted their shoulders in welcome. Schwoz lets go of him and turned to the blonde in pure joy.

"and this must be the new sidekick, Kid Danger--" He began but Ray slaps his hand away.

"Don't you talk to Henry! You already talked to Y/n now stop spreading your Schwoz cooties everywhere." Ray scolded and pulled the blonde to the side.

"Come on, man. It's been like three years." Schwoz waved him off and walked past them.

"Yeah, since you stole my girlfriend!"

"If it makes you feel any better, I dumped her two week later." Schwoz explained and leaned his hand on the table.

Y/n stifles a laugh at the man's expression that was made towards Schwoz. "Why would that make me feel better?" He asked him as the shorter man shrugged and glanced at the snack machine.

"Can I get something to eat?"

"Sure, but it's been malfunctioning all weekend so you might want to fix it first." Y/n answered while clearing his throat as Schwoz approached the large object.

"Don't order a hot dog!" Charlotte warned him but he doesn't respond.

It didn't take very long for him to fix it as the group watched him reset the whole system in a matter of five second. "Now, would anyone like a.. Nacho Tower!" Schwoz raised his voice as the machine processed their request.

"Nacho Tower."

"Whoa! Nacho Towerr!" Henry grinned in amazement when he saw the fresh plate of nachos.

"He fixed the auto snacker." Charlotte gasped as the two quickly grabbed some off the top of the moutain and the hero crosses his arms.

"I don't care, you ruined our friendship! and you're not going to fix that with a platter of Hot.. Mexican treats." He trailed off and stopped himself from almost drooling at just the sight and smell of it.

"Well, we already forgave you." Y/n replied as Charlotte and Henry nodded excitedly. "Look, you want me to leave.. just tell me, 'leave." Schwoz told him with another shrug and Y/n glanced at his boss.

"Leave.. Leave, Leave, Leave!" The man spat repeatedly into his face and Schwoz tilted his head. "You want me to stay?" He questioned as Ray lets out a grunt and swings his hand in the air.

"Hey, hey! Like it or not. He's already here Cap, just let him repair the stuff around the mancave." Y/n informed as he slid between them to stop him from trying to hurt the other.

"Fine! Just give me a dang nacho."

════════════════

"--Security lasers on!" Schwoz commanded and pressed on a button as red lights appeared inside the cave.

Henry's eyes glimmered with excitement and spotted one right above his head. "Woahh, lasers!" He shouted and raised his hand up to touch it.

"Wait, that's not a good--" Y/n began but was cut off by a yelp coming from the blonde who started sucking his index finger to stop the pain.

"Idea.. come on, let me see." He sighed and shifted over to the boy in concern.

Y/n gently grabs their wrist to examine the burn as Henry blushes and opens his mouth to protest but closes it back up to let the teen nurse him instead.

"Security off! Now watch this." The shorter man announced as the pair looks up in curiosity and he steps on top of the couch. "Smoochie music on." He teased and a romantic song plays in the background.

What happened next made the boys burst out laughing as Schwoz began to dance with the couch spinning smoothly.

"Smoochie music off." Schwoz rolled his eyes at Ray's command before doing what he asked and paused everything.

"Whoa, He is impressive!" Henry clapped and took a bite out of a nacho chip as Ray reaches for the half-empty plate.

"Yeah, yeah.."

"Too bad, you can't use your technical skills to make me a better basketball player." He explained and chuckled at his own words.

"Hey, who says I can't make you a better bashketball player, huh?" Schwoz nudged his shoulder and Henry pointed at himself in confusion.

"I did..was I wrong?!"

───

𝙃𝙀𝙉𝙍𝙔 𝘿𝘼𝙉𝙂𝙀𝙍

───

"Cool sleeve.. feels good!" Henry smiled at the shorter male that pushed a button above his wrist. "I've seen better sleeves." Ray murmured and took a long sip of his soda.

The elevator opens as Y/n pops out after attending a customer upstairs. "What are the goggles for?" Henry asked after Schwoz placed a pair of them over his eyes.

"They are wirelessly connected to the sleeve with bloop-toop." He explained to the boy and walked away.

Schwoz then points the remote upward towards the ceiling as the blonde raised his eyebrows in confusion.

"Bloop-toop? but I don't understand how-- Whoa!" Henry trailed off when he saw a whole basket come down as it stayed floating in the air.

"You had a hoop down here this whole time?" Y/n questioned and looked at his boss who was also a bit clueless.

"I wish I knew." Ray answered in astonishment as a basketball fell to the ground with a bounce. "Take this and shoot the bashket." Schwoz told him after handing Henry the ball as the blonde threw him a short glance and got into position.

When he was about to take his shot, Schwoz nearly gives him a heart attack by shouting out of nowhere. "Wait!" He yelled as the boy wraps his arms around the ball.

"What?"

"Close your eyes." Schwoz suggested and grinned enthusiastically. "But I need to see.." Henry explained and the man shook his head in disagreement.

"No.."

A look of doubt crosses Henry's face as he puts some trust into the male's words and got into position again while closing his eyes.

Using his own instinct, he throws the ball and to their surprise it actually made it inside the basket like Schwoz hoped it would.

"Wha!"

"Hey, let me try one." Ray said excitedly and went across the room to pick up the ball. The other three talk among themselves as the man throws the item at Schwoz who ducked right on time.

"Hey! That's not what balls are for." Schwoz accused and the hero irked in displeasure.

"Well, you shouldn't have kissed my girlfriend!" He barked as Y/n stepped forward and patted their arm.

"..Let's be honest, that wasn't very loyal of her." He commented and Ray crosses his arms.

════════════════

"Listen up! This is going to be a game of one on one, playing to ten. The winner stays on the basketball team and the loser goes home to his mommy." Coach Bix explained and turned to the blonde with a smirk.

"Okay, let's get this over with.. Henry, your ball." He said and dropped it near the boy's feet without a care before stepping into the sidelines.

Shawn gets into position as Henry pushes his goggles up and turned the sleeve on. He sends Schwoz a thumbs up as the shorter man winks from the bench and threw one back.

Y/n enters the gym and his eyes land on Charlotte sitting next to Henry's sister, Piper. He greeted the two with a wave before taking a seat next to them.

The crowd cheers as Henry bounces the ball for a bit and throws it in the air hoping it would go over their head. Shawn blocks their move and runs to the other side of the court with the ball hitting the floor as he successfully scored.

The board changing from 0-3 for Guests.

"Hey, give me your phone!" Piper shouted and Charlotte raised her eyebrows.

"Why?"

"So I can shoot Henry's disaster from two angles!" She cackled menacingly and forcefully grabbed the other girl's phone out of their hands despite having a hard grip on it.

"I'm going to get some lemonade, you want some?" Ray asked the Spanish Teacher beside him after they were done having their little make out session.

"Sure." She agreed with a polite smile as he nodded and got up. "Be right back." Ray told her and left the area to get some drinks.

Schwoz watches him walk away and took this as an opportunity to scoot over to the young looking lady when he had the chance. She notices some movement at the corner of her eye and smiled shyly before looking down at her lap.

"Henry! Try and score this time!" Oliver yelled out in encouragement beside Jasper and Henry squinted at him.

"Thanks, Oliver." He replied sarcastically as the game continued for awhile with Shawn blocking his every attempt to get the ball into the basket.

"Shawn is tall for fourteen.." Charlotte commented and Y/n anxiously runs a hand through his hair.

"Come on, grandma! Anyone can make instant oatmeal." Shawn replied to the old woman talking with him on the phone and still kept the boy from even scoring once.

Henry gets handed the ball from the sidelines as Shawn covered his path. This caught the blonde off guard as he tried to dodge him. Shawn takes the ball out of his hands and shoots it into the basket above.

"You can do it, Henry!" Jasper and Y/n cheered as Shawn earned another few points. "Boom!" Coach Bix exclaimed and enjoyed every shot Shawn made from a nice distance.

Henry looks at the board and then at the Coach in disbelief. "I thought we were only playing to ten!" He scrunched his nose as the man snapped out of it.

"Oh, yeah." Coach bix blinked as he grabbed the whistle around his neck and blowed.

"Game over, Shawn wins! Have a nice life, boys!" He pointed at Henry and Y/n on the bench as they ran out of the gym with Shawn. Henry slumps his shoulders in defeat and goes to his friends.

Ray holds a smile on his face as he quickly walked back to his seat where the lovely Teacher was waiting while holding two drinks in his hands.

"One lemonade for me and one lemonade for-- Schwoz!" He shouted after he found the two sucking each others faces off. Schwoz jumps at the sound of his voice booming behind him and ran away at the speed of light.

"Are you.. Are you kidding!?" Ray yelled and squishes one of the cups in outrage as the lemonade runs down his fist towards the floor.

The woman reaches for her drink but Ray holds it out of her grasp and sent her a disappointed look.

───

𝙃𝙀𝙉𝙍𝙔 𝘿𝘼𝙉𝙂𝙀𝙍

───

"I'm sorry, man." Shawn told the boy who was putting his sneakers away and casually sat down next to him. "Hey, you won fair and square." Henry said with a small smile and the taller male shakes his head.

"No, I didn't."

"What do you mean?" Henry asked confusingly as Shawn looked around to make sure the gym cleared before leaning in closer. "I'm not fourteen." He whispered and Henry raised his eyebrows.

"I didn't think so.. so how old are you?" Henry questioned and turned in his seat.

"I'm twenty six, basically a grown man. I work at master prize rent-a-car." Shawn answered truthfully and the boy tilted his head.

"Well, how do you know Coach Bix?"

"He came in to rent a car, pulled me aside and said.. 'I want you to come play basketball for me." Shawn explained as he mimicked the Coach's words.

"and you said okay?"

"No, I said no." The man said while waving his arms defensively and the blonde frowns at his response.

"Then why are you playing ball for him?" Henry mentioned and Shawn looks him straight in the eyes. "Because, he kidnapped my baby lulu." He replied with a tone of sadness hidden in his voice.

════════════════

"What? So Shawn went up to you and said that the Coach kidnapped his puppy.." Y/n trailed off to let the other boy fill in the blank at the end.

"Lulu, the cockapoo."

"and now he's forcing the guy to pretend he's fourteen years old so that he can play in your junior high school basketball team." Ray summarized and Henry nodded.

"Crazy, right?"

"Of course! The thing is that.. Coach won't give Shawn his puppy back unless Henry's ex-team wins the state championship." Y/n commented and organized a deck of cards that he laid out on the table earlier while thinking of a plan.

Ray reaches into his front pocket and takes out his tube of gum. He pops one into his mouth and held a serious expression on his face.

"Ooh, he's chewing! You're chewing! What are you gonna do?" Henry asked as the man goes to stand in the middle of the mancave.

"There are two things I hate in this world! One of them is guys who steal other guys' dogs go make them do stuff." Ray replied while holding two fingers up to show them and continued chewing.

"..and the other thing?"

"Celery." He answered Y/n's question as the three grimaced and groaned loudly in disgust at the mention of the low calorie vegetable.

"It ruins tuna salad!" Ray exclaimed as the other two agreed with him. "Honestly, I thought you were gonna say Schwoz." Y/n responded as Ray snapped his fingers and pointed.

"Oh, right! Make that three. Wow, you know me so well kid." The man chuckled as he blew a bubble and the teen jokingly rolled his eyes.

───

𝙃𝙀𝙉𝙍𝙔 𝘿𝘼𝙉𝙂𝙀𝙍

───

Y/n hops onto a branch outside of Henry's bedroom and lightly taps on the window. The blonde stops playing with the rubix cube in his hands to look up and spotted the other boy waving at him through the glass.

Henry turns on the lights and went to go open the latch to let him in as Y/n carefully hopped inside.

"Hey."

"What's up?" Y/n spoke and went to go plop himself onto the empty couch in the corner. "Nothing, just thinking about.. stuff." Henry sighed and eventually sat beside him.

"Stuff? you gotta be more specific than that blondie." Y/n teased as he turned to fully face the other to pay close attention.

The blonde fidgets with his fingers for a while and leans back onto the soft cushions.

"I--I know I'm super bad at sports but.. basketball had all my friends on the team. Instead of winning trophies and being competitive like everyone else.. we actually had fun, y'know?" Henry explained and averted his eyes towards the ceiling.

"I can't believe I was kicked off for a grown man who was in his twenties." He muttered but luckily Y/n was able to catch his words.

"..I'm sorry the coach is a complete jerk, he was probably trying to find an excuse to get rid of you somehow." Y/n told him and rubbed his shoulder in comfort.

"Yeah.. I think so too."

"Don't worry, Ray probably has that jerk trapped in a corner somewhere to teach him a lesson." Y/n reassured him as the blonde tilted his head.

"You think so?" He asked and the teen chuckled with a little nod. "Didn't you hear him before? He despises puppy stealers with selfish needs." Y/n explained as they laughed at the man who was not currently present.

"Henry, Dinner is.. Oh, Hello!" Henry's Mother greeted after walking into her son's room and spotted the other boy with a welcoming smile.

"Nice to see you again, Mrs. Hart."

"Henry, if I knew you were inviting him over I could've served one more plate." She pouted offendedly and the blonde shrugged.

"Sorry, Mom."

"Actually, I was about to get going." The teen said but the woman shakes her head.

"Nonsense, I'm sure your parents wouldn't mind. Come downstairs and eat with us! We're serving Casserole tonight." She pestered and Y/n tensed as he threw Henry a short glance before smiling awkwardly at the mom waiting for an answer.

════════════════

"Hey, Ray?"

The man hummed as the blonde scratched his cheek nervously while playing with the ball in his hand. "What do you know about Y/n?" Henry asked him out of the blue and Ray blinked in surprise before chuckling.

"For starters, I know that they work here." He joked and the boy shook his head at their terrible humor.

"No, I mean.. what else besides working at 'Junk n stuff." Henry clarified a little easier and the hero crosses his arms over his chest.

"So, his personal life."

"Yeah." Henry confirmed, throwing the ball at the hoop and scoring. "Why don't you just ask him that yourself?" Ray questioned and the blonde sighed remembering the teen's expression last night.

"Cause.. I've only noticed until now and-- what if he doesn't want to tell me? like at all." He explained worriedly as the elevator opened.

"Okay. I fixed the elevator." Schwoz mentioned and Ray acknowledges them with a genuine nod. "Good. Thank you. Now leave my life." He ordered as the shorter man hesitantly nodded.

"Okay, boss.." He replied and stopped fiddling with the remote he was holding. Henry watches them get back into the elevator shaft as he turned to the hero.

"Ray.." Henry called and paused when Ray holds his hand out to stop him.

"Stay out of this, Henry."

Schwoz exhaled and looked at the cave one last time. "Goodbye, peoples.. Schwoz out." He said with a small wave and pressed a button on the side. The doors close shut as Henry scoffed in disbelief.

"Great. What happens next time something breaks around here? No one else can fix all this stuff." The boy frowned at the hero in disappointment.

"Too bad. He's gone." Ray huffed and turned away before he showed any sign of remorse. Henry hears the sound of the elevator one more time and looked back in shock.

"I still here!" Schwoz called and Henry pleads Ray silently with his eyes until the man finally gave in with a defeated groan. "Alright! Shwoz. You can have your old room back." He scoffed and the shorter male broke into huge smile.

"Yeah, baby!" Schwoz cried as he ran and jumped into the hero's arms. He smooches their cheek to show their gratefulness.

"Aah! Get off!" Ray yelled and spun on his heel to set the other man down.

"Never leap on me again!" Ray pointed at him angrily as Schwoz kept laughing and made his way to gear-shaped door where his room was located.

The tall man wipes the side of his face in disgust where he received the kiss, ignoring Schwoz who was cackling happily and dancing his way up the steps where his figure disappeared behind the walls.

Henry chuckled as an idea popped into his head and then grinned at the hero.

"How about this, Ray? If I make the basket you gotta tell me one thing about Y/n." He offered as he took off the equipment Schwoz let him use earlier.

"No sleeve. Just the kid." He said very confidently as he bounces the ball on the ground and then throws it in the air.

Ray watches the ball miss the net as the ball bounces off the edge and smash into something nearby causing electricity to crackle out of the broken gaps.

The two winced and look at each other as they slowly turn in the direction the shorter man headed off to.

"Schwozz?!"

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