#proximity sensor definition

[visheshgroupindia]

Proximity Sensors: Enhancing Efficiency and Safety Across Industries

What are Proximity Sensors

Proximity sensors identify an object's presence even in the absence of physical touch. Without coming into direct touch with the item, they are made to recognize when it enters the sensor field. In a variety of manufacturing applications, proximity sensors are used to identify the proximity of metallic and non-metallic items.

How Do Proximity Sensors Function? 

In the least complex terms, proximity sensors work by communicating information about the presence or movement of an item into an electrical sign. They yield an ON signal when the article enters their reach. There are a few critical contrasts in the manner that different closeness sensors work, as made sense below: 

Capacitive Nearness Sensor Working Guideline Capacitive 

Proximity sensors work by identifying changes in capacitance between the sensor and an item. Factors, for example, distance and the size of the article will influence how much capacitance. The sensor just recognizes any progressions in the limit produced between the two. 

Inductive Nearness Sensor Working Standard

Inductive sensors work by recognizing vortex flows causing attractive misfortune, created by outer attractive fields on a conductive surface. The discovery curl produces an air conditioner attractive field, and impedance changes are distinguished because of the created whirlpool flows. 

Attractive Vicinity Switches Working Rule Attractive 

Proximity switches are similarly basic and clear. The reed end of the switch is worked by a magnet. At the point when the reed switch is enacted and ON, the sensor additionally turns ON. 

It is additionally significant that proximity sensors are not impacted by the surface shade of the article identified. They depend simply on actual development and the movement of an item, so its tone doesn't assume a part in that frame of mind of the sensor.

The Role of Proximity Sensors in Modern Industries

Sensors have become indispensable in today's automated world, serving important functions such as tracking and positioning control. In this field, location and proximity sensors are reshaping several industries. By detecting nearby vehicles in the automotive industry and accurately tracking the location of delivered packages in production, these sensors show their versatility and potential in several fields.

Robotics

Both position and proximity sensors are used in many applications in the field of robotics. For example, linear position sensors are commonly used in robotics and industrial settings for object detection, part fixation, and machine control. These sensors play an essential role in detecting the location, distance, and proximity of moving objects and provide important information for robot navigation and manipulation.

Industrial Automation

Today many manufacturers use these sensors to improve work productivity and efficiency. Integrating position and proximity sensors into production systems enables accurate detection and tracking of objects on conveyor belts, robotic arms, and assembly lines. This combination enables precise object positioning and motion control in industrial processes.

Security systems

Combining proximity and location sensors, security systems can be used to track and control the movement of objects in a certain area. It is useful in surveillance, burglar alarms, and access control systems.

Automotive Applications

The combination of these position and proximity sensors can be used in parking systems to detect open spaces and nearby cars in a parking lot, and accurately track the location of a vehicle for parking assistance. These sensors are also used to improve the safety and performance of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) vehicles.

Smart Healthcare

Location and proximity sensors play a vital role in healthcare, facilitating the monitoring and management of various aspects of medical facilities. Wearable proximity sensors play an important role in both acute and chronic health conditions, as they allow non-contact detection and monitoring of physical movements and interactions.

Food and Beverage Industry

A proximity sensor for food is a type of sensor that is designed specifically for use in the food industry. It is used to detect the presence or absence of food items during various stages of food processing, packaging, and handling. 

As technology advances, the integration of location and proximity sensors is expected to increase security, automation, and sensor innovation. based systems in various industries.

[klintoris]

I hate how I dont hate you

~ Jschlatt x Reader smut

warnings: forced proximity, ROUGH, choking, slapping, breeding kink in you squint, fluffy sorta. i think thats it.

I fucking hate Schlatt

I hate his stupid face

I hate his stupid mutton chops

I hate his nose

I hate his beautiful eyes

I hate how tall he is

Most importantly,

I hate how I don't hate him.

~

Going all the way across the planet with friends for a vacation is good, until your friends bring someone you despise being around. Going to japan with jack and connor was going to be a good trip based around content until they invited schlatt along since he was already planning a trip there. Fuck.

“Schlatt if you don't get that camera out of my face im actually gonna slap you” i spit at the partially bearded man with a toy camera in his hand. My arms slightly cross as I shoot a glare at him, “What's wrong toots’? You're so beautiful you need your picture taken”. 

I roll my eyes at his comment, “i will slap that stupid camera out of your hand” , “awwhh look at these two flirting!!” jack squeals. Me and Schlatt both turn to him holding his camera at us, my arms drop to my sides as I groan and continue walking back from our day out towards the hotel. 

~~

As we walk into the hotel, once we check in Jack turns to me, “you and schlatt are sharing a room” he says with a shit eating grin. I look over to Connor who is also smiling like an idiot, “do you guys hate me or something”, as they start laughing, schlatt who was just walking around the hotel's lobby pipes up.

 “Whats going on” i groan and turn to him with my hands on the sides of my face stressing my distaste before saying, “they are making us stay in the same room” as i say that schlatt shifts his gaze from me to connor and jack, i look into his eyes trying to find a fault in his accusatory glare, trying to see if he actually cares as much as he's putting out. I quickly turned away when he shifted his gaze back at me, “whatever, i'm tired” he turns and walks toward the elevators.

 As we stand in the elevator, jack starts to film again, “alright guys we finally, after a long flight we will be seeing the hotel room-”, i tune him out and put my focus on the red numbers going up, making me anxious, i wonder if they really set it up to where there is one bed (oh no is this the one bed trope omggg). Getting kind of excited i try to reevaluate myself, furrowing my brows staring at the elevator numbers, schlatt looks at me, before saying something- ding

The elevator dings, as the doors open up, Jack and Connor gesture for me to go first, I chuckle at this and head down the hall, everyone following behind.

 Walking up to mine and Schlatts room, i find jack’s and connor’s is across the hall. Tapping the keycard on the sensor, i walk in with schlatt following behind me, “are you fucking kidding” i turn to walk out bumping into schlatt on my way to scream at connor and jack.                    

I stumble back, “You can't be serious” i hear schlatt say once he looks up from me towards the room, “one fucking bed thats just great” he walks past me setting his bags down.

 “Well you seem just happy to share a bed with me” i say setting my bags down as well, “yeah totally, sharing a bed with someone i'm not too fond of is definitely on my list for this trip” i stare at him for a second before clicking my tongue and start pulling stuff out of my bag.

~

As I finish doing my skincare, I put my skincare to the side, as I finish brushing my teeth I take off my bra with a content sigh. putting on my lacy panties, I pause and think for a second ‘is that really a good idea, it's gonna make you look desperate ’. Taking a deep breath I put on my sleep shorts and big shirt, I walk out, viewing a schlatt with his hat over his eyes on his back, he's clasping his hands together with his legs crossed. 

I groan when i notice hes in the middle of the bed, “schlatt can you fucking move over”, no response, i grab a pillow off of the decorative chairs and whip it at him. It doesnt hit im but lands near his side, he jumps “what the fuck??”. “Move oh my god”, “no i'm not even near the other side of the bed?!” he raises his voice, as he says that i get on the bed and start moving him myself.

 He grabs my hands and pushes me off him, “schlatt move!!” I fight with him, pushing him more back, he then uses force and pins me down.

 I gulp, “get off me”, “not unless you leave me alone” i furrow my brows at his attempt to settle this, “dude you were in the middle of the bed how was i suppo-” i feel him kiss me, realizing what he's done he quickly pulls away letting go of my arms, “fuck sorry”.

 “Nuh uh where are you going” I grab his face pulling him back down to me, the once sweet kiss turns heated as he pulls me up from under him onto his lap. 

Gripping me by the waist he breaks the kiss, sucking and biting at my neck, I pull on the hair at the nape of his neck. Groaning he puts me back down getting on top of me, he pulls my shirt over my head, “fuck” he breathes out once he sees my naked chest. Kissing at the skin above my breast, he trails down to my nipple and starts suckling while pinching and kneeding my other tit and nipple.

 “Fuck schlatt” when i say his name he got more aggressive, biting at my tits leaving hickies and bite marks. I moan through gritted teeth, he trails backup taking my lips in a heated kiss, this time like he wanted me so bad he hated it. Schlatt hastily takes my shorts off along with my underwear, “fuck shes so pretty toots’” i whine in response to his praise then gasp as he pushes my legs back giving him full access to my pussy. “Oh my god- oh my fucking god-” schlatt starts to lap my slick up, eating me like a starved man, he licks and sucks on my clit while still giving my hole attention. “She tastes just as pretty as she looks, wonder if she feels good too” he then pushes a finger in while still attacking my bud, i let out a choked “shit schlatt please”, he continues his attacks.

I whine as he pulls away, taking off his shirt and sweatpants, throwing them somewhere in the room, he grabs my legs pulling me towards him, leaning over my frame he grabs me by the neck pulling me up towards his face. 

“Think you can hate me forever sweetheart, look at you absolutely dripping for my cock” schlatt, during his sentence, he slips his hand down towards my mound slowly rubbing circles on my clit before slipping two fingers into my aching hole. 

He starts rapidly finger fucking my cunt, “shitttt please schlatt i just- ah”, “what is it princess use your words” schlatt teases.

 “Please please please fuck me, oh god-” i feel the knot tighten in my stomach, “not yet you have to cum on my fingers, come on i know you want to, be a good girl and cum for me” his cock twitches at the clenching of my pussy, sucking his fingers like a vice as i cum.

“There we go” he slaps my cunt when pulling his fingers out, bringing them up to his mouth and sucking his fingers. 

Grabbing at his length, I get to see his cock for the first time up close, as it stands proud, thick and long, I panic. “m’ gonna stretch this pussy, make you forget why you hate me”, i breathe heavily as he grinds against my folds lubing himself up to put his cock in. 

He lines himself up with my drooling hole, pushing his tip in “so fucking tight” i gasp at the stretch “schlatt” “sh sh princess its ok” he lulls as he pushes his length further in.

 “t’big” i whimper, “you can fucking take it” schlatt says through gritted teeth, pushing the rest of his length into me. 

Sitting there for a second I feel so full, without letting me adjust, he pulls out for a quick second and then slams back in. All air escapes my body as he starts to thrust hard, one after the other, he slowly pounds into me.

 I whimper each time he plows my cervix with his spongey tip, “f- fuck-”, he chuckles at my reaction, looking down at my bouncing tits he grabs my throat as leverage before he goes faster.

 “Im not gonna hold back, im g’na fuck that attitude out of you” he grabs my hip as even more leverage, “i- i cant sc- oh fuck” i try to plead before my eyes rolls into the back of my skull, “you can't what toots’?” I stay silent. He sends a swift slap to my left cheek with the hand that was on my throat, “i asked you a question toots’” i whimper trying to catch my thoughts and breathing. 

“Fuck i cant take it”, “yeah?” schlatt says before reaching a hand down to my clit, I gasp as all the air in my lungs yet again are left with no air from the pleasure. I start shaking as he hits my g spot, i grunt out “right there right there please”, he starts speeding up hitting that spot, still abusing my clit.

 “ oh my god- j- fuck” i stammer over my words, “are you gonna come sweetheart? C’mon, cum on my cock beautiful.” he praises slamming into me still.  I shake hard as i cum, creaming all around his cock all while gripping his cock, “holy shit” he whimpers, starting to groan. “Shes taking me so good, im so fucking close”, “cum in me please, fuck please” i beg not in the right mindset. “Fuck ill breed your fucking hole so good, ah” schlatt starts to profusely whimper, making noises id never thought id hear from this mans mouth.

He cums in me, filling me with his cum. 

He topples over me putting his head in the crook of my neck, still inside me, my legs still shaking, “schlatt? Did I kill you?” he groans at my teasing. 

I giggle a little while he lifts his head from his place near my neck, “so, thoughts, do you still hate me toots’?” “schlatt..” he stares at me for a second, “i don't think i can ever hate you” i smile at him, he beams kissing me. 

“I don't think I can ever hate you either” he says with a smile back to me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

idk if i like this, it took way too long to make.

[mamawasatesttube]

"you've got something on your face." with timkon for the ficlet prompts 🫡 i miss them so bad

"Thanks," Tim says suddenly, "for coming over on such short notice."

Kon looks over at him from the other end of the couch, his expression soft and unguarded. Half of his face is lit up in warm amber lamplight; the other half is outlined in the flickering blue of the TV. Neither of them is really watching at this point, but the steady background noise is comforting.

"Anytime, Wonder." Kon stretches his arms up over his head, visibly stifling a yawn, and slouches back against the cushions. "I told you before. You call, I'm there."

"Still," Tim persists. His chest aches with fondness as he looks at Kon, snuggled up under a plush throw blanket that's too small for his long legs. "I know you're exhausted today, long space flight 'n' all that. So I appreciate it."

"Eh, it was just out to Proxima Centauri, not that far or nothin'." Kon shrugs one shoulder, languid and at ease. His voice is a little rough with weariness. "You should see some of the distances Kal's pulled off in one day."

Tim leans over and swats him on the shoulder. "Okay, but, like. Shut up and let me be grateful, will you?"

That gets a sunny laugh out of Kon, like light spilling through cracks in the roof to chase away the last vestiges of the shadows in all the nooks and crannies of Tim's brain. He's fine, really; he just never likes being alone after brushes with fear toxin. The antidote works wonders, but he still always struggles with paranoia afterwards.

So. Hence. Kon. Because there's definitely no ninjas in the vents or Charaxes on the roof if Kon's here. Between his incredible TTK-enabled spatial awareness and the superhearing, Kon's, like, the best proximity sensor this side of the known universe. He'd never let anything get the drop on Tim. And hearing him laugh...

Hearing him laugh does wonders for Tim's heart. Not that he's ever said so out loud, but that doesn't make it any less true.

"Fine, fine." Kon rolls his eyes fondly, catching Tim's forearm. "You're welcome, Rob." His thumb rubs over the pulse point in Tim's wrist, and Tim knows he can hear his heart skip a beat in answer.

Kon must know what he does to Tim. They haven't spoken about it—Tim has no idea how to speak about it—but Kon must know. His eyes twinkle in the dimness, bright against the windows into the rainy night, and Tim's breath threatens to catch in his throat.

He leans a little closer, reaches for Kon, and Kon lets him, fingers lingering on his wrist. He cups Kon's jaw, grazes his thumb against his cheekbone. Kon's skin is warm.

"You have something on your face," he murmurs, voice softer than he means for it to be. "...An eyelash. Here."

He holds it up so Kon can see. One of his thick, long, dark eyelashes rests on the pad of Tim's thumb, stark against his skin; it's small enough to seem delicate, even if Tim knows it holds the strength of steel.

Kon looks at it. Blinks for a second. Then his lips curve into a smile, and he tilts his head like a dog, eyes fixed on Tim's face. "Make a wish."

"Aren't you supposed to be the one wishing for something?" Tim frowns. "It's your eyelash."

"Hm." Kon considers for a moment. Then he blows the lash off Tim's thumb. His breath isn't icy, but it's still colder than it should be; surely that, and only that, is the reason for the shiver that runs down Tim's spine.

"What did you wish for?"

"Pretty sure I'm not supposed to tell you, or it won't come true," Kon says, amused. He drops his arm, warm and heavy, over Tim's shoulders, and pulls him into his side. "Nosy."

Tim rolls his eyes. "Maybe so," he says, and rests his head against Kon's shoulder. He wonders if Kon's wish is the same thing he would've wished for, too. Sometimes, he thinks it might be.

[mychlapci]

Can we talk about vampires then auughhhhghhghhh look I grew up on vampire prowl I need him with fangs

By cybertronian standards maybe being a "vampire" is less of a curse and more just like. A fuel processing defect. Their systems cannot process any type of fuel other than medical grade. And unless you work in a clinic there isn't exactly medical grade energon readily available. The only place to get it is from other mechs' fuel lines

Prowl definitely sees it as a defect. A very shameful defect. He thinks it detestable to have to steal fuel straight from another mech. At least, thanks to Ratchet, he has a pretty reliable (and secret) supply of medical grade. He tends to try to stay along the back lines or even back at base to give his commands from there cos the energon that gets spilt everywhere during a battle drives him crazy. He makes sure to always stay away from the medbay for a while after a fight too.

But yknow things will eventually go wrong. It only takes one unfortunate chain of events to have him end up trapped in a cave with the twins during a mission. The twins are in pretty good shape, all things considered, but they have a few small dents and scrapes here and there. But they are leaking energon. And that's the one thing Prowl can't deal with.

As the twins look around the small space they are trapped in, looking for any possible ways out or maybe a weak crack in the rock, Prowl panics. He never panics. It's unbecoming of him to panic. Oh but he's shaking. He's backed himself into a corner, knees pulled up to his chest, as his doorwings rattle behind him.

Every step the twins take wafts the scent of fresh energon into his olfactory sensors. He's not seen or smelt fresh energon in... in years, millenia even if their time in stasis was considered. He can feel his jaw clench so tight that it hurts. His digits dig into his leg plating so hard it starts to dent.

His tanks suddenly feel so empty. He can see his HUD reflects that he should not be in dire need of fuel yet, but- all his other senses lie to him. There's a sharp pang in his tanks and an ache in his denta that tell him he needs it. Maybe he could just lick the stray drips of energon off- NO. No. He will not stoop to that level.

"-owl? Hey, Prowl! You gonna help us or what?"

Prowl's helm snaps up to see the twins leaning over him

"Yeah, you gonna just sit there and mope? Put your slagging battle computer to use and get us out of here."

Prowl's optics are wide as they dart between the twins. Sideswipe has a trail of energon from the side of his mouth, a crack on his arm, a small gash on his torso. Sunstreaker has a scratch on his cheek, a cut on his leg, a-

"Get away from me." He tries to sound stern. Like he's annoyed.

"Sheesh. We cause a cave in once and he doesn't even want to talk to us."

The twins banter back and forth for a bit as to whose fault it is that Prowl is being so cold with them today, but eventually they stop, realising Prowl isn't even giving them an annoyed look. He ducks his helm between his knees again and his doorwings continue to quiver.

"Hey... Sir, you okay?"

"Yeah did you get hurt or something?"

When Prowl doesn't respond, Sideswipe reaches a servo forward, and that's his mistake. The fresh cut on Sideswipe's forearm at such close proximity sets Prowl off. He grabs the offered arm and immediately larches on, sharp denta digging into the wound to tear it open.

"Ow! Hey- What-"

Sideswipe tries to push Prowl off whilst the tactician moans, fresh energon hitting his glossa.

"Prowl what the frag-" Sunstreaker is immediately in defence of his brother, yanking Prowl off Sides' arm and is shocked by the energon that suddenly spills from Prowl's intake and Sides' arm.

Prowl snarls in annoyance and turns his attention to Sunstreaker. The twin is expecting Prowl to struggle away and is really not ready for Prowl to twist his weight against him instead, knocking him to the ground, shock pinning him for just long enough.

Nasal ridge pressed against thick neck cabling, Prowl growls and feels for the minute charges along the cables, sorting between power and fuel lines, before he bares his fangs and sinks them into the largest fuel line he can identify.

Sunstreaker screams at the sharp pain in his neck. He kicks, but Prowl's mouth is firmly latched onto him, hungrily drinking down the energon that gushes from the wound. His engine purrs in contentment, until Sideswipe's tackles him from the side, launching him off Sunstreaker and onto his back

"FRAG. PROWL."

Prowl snarls and struggles under Sides, faceplates smeared with both twins' energon and sharp denta on full display. His optics are crazed and so bright they are nearly white.

ow this arrived back during the first prowl madness, and has gotten buried since... but I am glad that I can bring up vampire robots today. I need vampire robots. vampirism is like breastfeeding, in a way.

Prowl would be an edgy vamp for sure. But it's not much of a question of morality to him as it is a question of decency and shame. He knows he's not supposed to want to drink energon from living mechs' lines, so he pretends that desire doesn't exist. He has to.

ouh but Sunny and Sides smell so good, all riled up and hot and dripping with warm nutrients. It's a miracle he's lasted as long as he did... he doesn't have much control, living on a steady diet of medical grade and rarely seeing gorey battles made his resolve weak. Being exposed to warm energon drives him crazy. He's on top of Sunstreaker in a second, drinking his fill...

Man, It would be so fucked up if they had to stay trapped together while Prowl just kept trying to eat them. Sideswipe is not sure for how long he can keep Prowl restrained. He mellowed out a little after drinking from Sunstreaker, but he's still got that look on his face-plate, like he's ready to pounce any second now....

[babyboiboyega]

Is This The Love That I Need? (Shuri x Blk!F!Reader)

Shuri x Scientist!Reader

Word Count: 11.8k

Content: fluff, a bit of angst that's made up by some good ole filth so if you aren't 18+, take yo ass ON SOMEWHERE <;3 

Summary: the one where your tumultuous relationship with the Queen crosses a line while you’re on an undercover mission.

A/N: heads up: this oneshot goes from past tense narrative to present only because tumblr deleted the parts that I changed to present tense. Tumblr get on my nerves, chile

But I hope you all enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Babyboiboyega's Marvel Masterlist

You'd had no intentions of rising to become one of the best scientists in Wakanda, but once you had gained the status of lead scientist, you had no intentions of letting it go. Being one of the top scientists came with its perks, such as being one of the first to know of any new projects that could benefit Wakanda and of any that posed a potential threat. Another perk that came with the title was your constant work alongside the only scientist who ranked higher than you…who also happened to be the Queen of Wakanda.

There were many who would call it a perk- having the chance to work alongside a woman who was the greatest scientist Wakanda, and the world, had ever seen. She was a good ruler and an ever-better scientist; one who was known for her compassion towards her people whether they worked in the palace or not, and for her dedication to further improving Wakanda.

However, despite these true claims…there was another side to Shuri Udaku that you only saw, and that was mainly because you gave her a run for her money in the lab. Nothing disrespectful, as she was still your Queen and you still held a great deal of respect for her, as she did for you; but there was something in your DNA and hers that just automatically made you go at each other when the two of you were in close proximity.

Hell, even when the two of you were in the same room.

Whether it was debating over the best way to go about a project, or you asking her why she was constantly looking over your shoulder when you were in charge of one, there never ceased to be an end to your…less than harmonious partnership. It wasn't something that you could exactly hide, either. The rest of the scientists saw, and usually kept their distance when the two of you got started; and those closer to Shuri definitely saw it, usually rolling their eyes knowingly in the same instance. There was absolutely no chance that you two could hide the little competitive natures of yourselves and how they sometimes clashed.

But you could hide the abundance of feelings that had seemed to slowly accumulate the longer you worked with/for her. You hid the little spark in your chest at her relentless teasing as an agitated breath; you hid the brightening of your eyes as she challenged you with a project as a subtle eye roll; you hid the desire to reach out to her and pull her close even for just a second as fists that clenched in irritation.

You had thought that you were doing so well hiding all of those urges, but all it took was one raised eyebrow and a knowing smirk on Okoye's face for you to realize that maybe you weren't hiding them that well. After that, you had made it your mission to shove those feelings aside, as indulging in them would only result in something that hit a little too close to a fantasy that you knew would be false.

You were *just* a scientist. She was the Queen of Wakanda. The only thing connecting you two was your love for science. That and the urge to prove the other wrong whenever you could. That's all it would be between the two of you, and she seemed to never let you forget.

"Wait…is that the equation you're using? Are you still working on your project with the-?

"Underground sensors for unstable vibranium? Yes."

You didn't have to look away from your workstation to know that a raised eyebrow and a scrutinizing gaze would be awaiting you on Shuri's face. It could be heard in her voice as she continued to question you.

"And this is the project where you're using the methods of-"

"Uncertainty quantification, yes, Your Highness, that's exactly what I am working on, why?"

Sure enough, her expression matched the one you had predicted to be on her face as you finally looked up, removing your goggles and placing them on top of your pulled-back locs. Her lips were slightly upturned, a knowing smile that resembled more of a smirk than anything, and her eyes were slightly narrowed as she contemplated your question. They flickered between the projection of your equations and you before finally settling once more on the former.

"Well, don't you think it would be better to use an adjoint equation? You know, build another formula off of-"

"Off of the integrated parts of this original equation, yes, I'm aware. And I was just about to do that." The last few words were spoken through a tight smile as you set your hands on the table, turning your body more to look at her.

She had a knack for bringing out your most competitive side, and you shared that knack. But unlike you, she also had a specialty of seeking you out no matter which part of the lab you were in, so it only made sense for you to always argue with her, right? She had taken a few minutes out of her precious time to find you and grate your nerves in just the slightest; you couldn't let that time spent together go to waste.

"Oh, okay. Because…well, it kind of looked as if you were about to use that equation to solve the UQ."

You took a moment to let out a breath in her direction before turning back to your project, your hands swiping the appropriate variables of said equation until it formed a new, and more correct, one. Once it was formed, you turned back to her, a smile on your face that expressed exactly what you thought of her looking over your shoulder.

Instead of replying, she simply stepped closer to your work area, her eyebrows furrowing slightly as she looked over the equation…as if she were critiquing it. She pulled her arms behind her back, walking around it until she could stand right next to you. You had to try your hardest to not draw in a deep breath of the subtle but almost always dizzying smell of her scent as she drew closer; amber and something else that beckoned for you to step closer and take another deep breath.

Even when she was looking over your shoulder and firing off slick comments toward you, your attraction to her didn't wane one bit.

"Your Highness, I think the General wishes to speak to you."

If you had been looking, you would have seen the way she subtly rolled her eyes as the title fell from your mouth to address her. *'Your Highness'.* She expected to be called that by the other scientists, the elders, and anyone else who didn't really know her. And one could argue that you didn't really know her…and Shuri would probably agree…to a certain extent. Despite that, the fact remained that you were no regular scientist *to her*.

She just didn't know exactly how to explain that to you, which is why she always picked you as the scientist who she would constantly tease and rile up. There was a line that she'd never cross, and whenever she saw that she was crossing it and riling you up *too* much, she'd make sure to dial it back.

But until that line appeared, she'd continue to poke every single one of your buttons; and she continued to do so as she urged you to 'look over that equation' before leaving your workstation and walking to Okoye.

The General watched as Shuri approached, her calculating eyes flickering back and forth between you and her. An eyebrow raised once the young queen stopped in front of her, and the sight of it only made Shuri pause in question.

"You needed me?"

"When are you going to say something?"

Shuri's actions paused, her hands gripping the edge of her own workstation at Okoye's words. Her head swiveled, quickly finding you before she let out a breath at seeing you oblivious to the conversation that was veering towards the topic of you. When she turned back to Okoye, her eyes held a warning, albeit, one that wasn't malicious at all.

"Okoye, now is not the time. Maybe we can talk about this when we aren't in my lab? Or at another time…or never."

A dismissive sound left Okoye's mouth, her hand waving slightly. While her eyes continued to glance over at you, her words were directed toward the young woman in front of her.

"Leave it to you, and you'll never say anything. Now I don't want to intervene, but-"

"But nothing, you will do no such thing."

The finger Shuri pointed at Okoye was not intimidating in the slightest, even if it held a good bit of power more than Okoye possessed. The General showed exactly what she thought of it as she rolled her eyes slightly, stepping closer to the workstation that separated them.

"Anyway…I'm here to discuss the mission plans you drafted. Specifically, the part where you planned on doing this *alone*."

Shuri's expression turned more stoic at the change in topic, her head nodding as Okoye spoke. Yet, at hearing the skepticism and disapproval in her voice, her eyebrows furrowed.

"Of course, I planned on doing this alone. It's an easy mission- easy enough for me to complete myself. Get into the gala, find the room with the correct computer system, get the needed information, and leave."

The first warning Shuri received came in the form of Okoye leaning her spear against her workstation with a dull thud, her eyes narrowing slightly. Her muscled arms crossed in front of her, and then she was taking a step forward.

"You're the sovereign ruler of an entire nation, Shuri; you can't just disappear from the gala without raising suspicions. The mission will be compromised before it even begins."

The second warning Shuri got was the sight of Okoye's head tilting and her lips parting in disbelief. One would think that she'd use all of the knowledge she retained about Okoye from the years of knowing her and put it to good use, but sometimes, the young royal just had to push her luck.

"I'll say I was in the bathroom or something. Shouldn't be too hard."

The statement had been more joking than not, as Shuri knew the excuse wouldn't fly in the slightest, but the small, shit-eating grin on her face quickly disappeared as soon as the words left her mouth. 

The darkening of Okoye's disapproval on her face was the third, and last, warning Shuri received before the General launched into one of her lectures about tactics, skills, and working smarter, not harder.

You, on the other hand, couldn't help but eavesdrop slightly on the conversation between the two women. Your proximity to them coupled with their hushed voices meant you could only make out a few words, but it was enough for you to realize that they were speaking of the computer system from the states that had managed to sneak past Wakanda's protective technological wall. It had been for just a second before you were able to shut it out, but that second could turn into more if you all failed to understand how they were able to do so in the first place. The last you had heard, they were busy coming up with a mission that would help them obtain the information necessary for the problem.

It'd be a field mission, and the computer system would be in the same building as a gala that would be hosted by the person you all suspected developed the program. It'd be much easier to get the program itself and find out about it than talk to a human who could, and probably would, lie through their teeth.

As far as you knew, your part would come into play after the programming was obtained. You'd take it apart link by link, firewall by firewall until you could find out every single thing about it. You'd be able to do it from the comfort of your workstation in the lab, which was normal. You were a scientist…you didn't do fieldwork.

So when your name is suddenly mentioned alongside the words 'undercover' and 'operation', of course, your head snaps up and in the direction of the two women only to see them already looking at you. Your eyes narrow as they met Shuri's gaze, your lips pursing in suspicion.

"Miss Y/L/N?" Okoye's strong voice carries across the lab, and when accompanied by the wave of her hand, you know what she's asking you to do. You have to press a few buttons in order to safely store away the chemicals you're working with, and you do so with an inaudible sigh before turning and making your way to them.

"Your Highness…General…you called?" There's a certain level of nonchalance in your tone as you address them, but they're used to it. Working alongside Shuri meant sometimes working alongside Okoye, and you had passed 'just a scientist' status in her eyes as well.

"What are you doing this coming Friday?"

You hear her question, but you're a little preoccupied trying to discern Shuri's thoughts just from her facial expression. Her eyebrows pinch together slightly, a prominent frown on her face, yet her eyes refuse to meet yours. It's a stark difference from the teasing look she had worn not even 10 minutes ago when had spoken to you…what could have happened between then and now?

"I don't think I'm doing anything, as of yet. Why?"

"Well, now you are."

Okoye doesn't give you a chance to respond in any way before she's explaining the plans that she's thrown you into. Her voice is the only one you hear the entire time, as Shuri busies herself with fiddling with the various tools on her desk. Your eyes continuously glance at her, trying to gauge any kind of reaction but to no avail. Even when Okoye stops, asking you if you have any questions, she still remains silent. But now, it isn't lost on you why she remained silent.

"So, let me clarify. You want me to attend a gala…in America…with The Queen. And then at this gala, I have to find the computer that broke through our defenses, hack into it while American miscreants are walking around with primitive guns, get the information we are looking for, and then go back to the gala as if nothing has happened?"

You thought it was outlandish coming from Okoye's mouth, but as you relay the plan back to her, you come to the conclusion that it's more than outlandish. It's preposterous; ludicrous; atypical; as a few Americans say, 'backasswards'. Your thoughts are clear on your face as you look quickly between the two of them, looking for any sign that they're both playing some kind of twisted joke. 

The apprehensive look in Shuri's eyes coupled with the firm set of Okoye's mouth tells you enough, and it only makes it more real for you. The prospect of what you're doing makes your heart skip a beat in nervousness as you shake your head quickly.

"Wait, I don't have a morsel of experience in the field. I can't do this, I'm just a scientist. I'm supposed to stay here, in this lab."

You try your hardest to keep the desperation out of your voice despite having the feeling tighten your chest. While you aren't too keen on the plan and having been introduced to it without prior knowledge, you also aren't too keen on seeming as afraid as you actually feel. 

There's a deep-seated knowledge that even if you do let your fear show, you know that neither of the women will make you feel bad about it. They'd both been in their fair share of situations that had resulted in the same heart-pounding, hand-sweat-inducing symptoms you were going through...but they hadn't complained. At least not in front of you...or anyone, for that matter. 

"I agree, this mission is too risky for it to be her first. There has to be something else we can do. Okoye...I can do this."

A desperation of her own laces Shuri's words as she attempts to sway Okoye once again, her eyebrows set in a determined frown. You don't know if it's a desperation for her to simply go alone...or a desperation to leave you there in the lab, and contemplating the latter option only opens up the door for more questions pertaining to Shuri's thoughts when it comes to your role in this plan.

"You agree that I'm just a scientist, that I can't do this, or both?" 

The words are falling from your lips faster than you can stop them, though as soon as they're out in the open, you find that you don't want to take them back. A sliver of annoyance quickly accompanies the fear you feel, spurred on by Shuri's determination to have you stay there. 

You had been included in the plan for a reason, and that was because your skills could be utilized. And while you're still incredibly hesitant to actually agree to it, the thought of Shuri already being under the impression that you wouldn't do it because you couldn't was enough for you to let the question fly.

It clearly catches her by surprise if her raised eyebrows and frozen movements are anything to go by. She looks at you for a second, presumably trying to pinpoint the change in your disposition regarding the plan, before slowly shaking her head. 

"That's not what I meant and you know it."

Frustration had already been radiating off of her when you had initially joined the conversation, but now, as you seem to challenge her in the slightest in regards to what she truly thought, that frustration seems to grow. 

The dynamic, unique to only you two, is being slightly stretched and warped. You were confused as to why. 

The easy answer would be something along the lines of this mission being an important one, as it would lead the search to find whoever had dared to try and gain access to Wakanda. It only makes sense that she wants to make sure nothing will go wrong, but does she think that it can go wrong if you were there? 

"I may be just a scientist, but I am more than capable of doing what is asked of me. Especially when it comes to Wakanda's security."

Shuri knows that better than anyone; that's something she has no problem admitting to herself. She's seen your skills put to the test multiple times, and each time, you'd come out on top. It doesn't matter if its a genuine problem that needs fixing or if it's just something she had given you to be a pest; this problem is the former. 

As soon as it had happened, you had alerted Shuri…after already fixing the problem, of course. It had been one of the few times where her words were only laced with gratitude and not an *almost* endearing amount of sass. Unbeknownst to you, it had been the moment her feelings had solidified for you; seeing you explain something so complex but in a clear and concise way in order to solve the problem quicker had been…well, to put it simply, attractive. She had admired you while you had explained the problem to her, and she had only torn her gaze away when you had questioned if she was alright, much to her embarrassment.

It had been one of the only moments where she had feared that her real feelings had leaked through her words and actions, and it had only led to the fear that it would threaten the peculiar relationship between you two. It wasn't exactly fragile, but she wasn't willing to risk it. 

Especially when she had no clue as to whether you viewed her as none other than a royal member who barked orders in the lab or as something else. 

"I agree, you are more than capable. It's just-"

"If you agree, then why don't you want me to join you on this mission?"

Shuri's eyes widen slightly in exasperation as you interrupt her. Instead of answering, she merely walks around her station until she's standing in front of you, her eyes meeting yours in an intense look that seems almost as if she's trying to convey something.

"I never said that I *didn't* want you to join me-"

"If that's the case, then you wouldn't mind me coming along." Purely to spite you, you added on silently. 

"I didn't say that either-"

A metallic thud echoing through the lab is enough to stop the conversation before it turns into one of your infamous debates that almost everyone has had a front-row seat to. The sound makes the both of you turn to Okoye, your mouth snapping shut in the face of the General's stern look of warning. She points between the two of you as if to admonish two children, which, in her eyes, you two are. 

"I will not allow you two to argue the entire time and potentially compromise the mission. Get this...bickering out of your system while you're here, because first thing tomorrow morning, you two will be on your way to the States."

She says the words quickly as if to chastise you, all in an attempt to make you two stop. She's seen exactly how long the two of you can go back and forth, and if she were honest with herself, she'd say that she was growing a little tired of the obvious avoidance and dancing around the two of you were engaging in. But it seems that even the mention of an important mission isn't enough to stop the inevitable debate and bout of bickering, as all it takes is another comment from Shuri for it to start back up again. 

The General can only shake her head and turn on her heel, leaving the lab with the sound of you two relentlessly throwing verbal jabs at each other floating after her. 

There's more than a good chance that the mission won't cut down the amount of arguing between you, but maybe it'll be good for something else.

*******************************************

The hotel's ballroom is filled with a crowd that shares the same demographic, status, and wealth, amongst other things. However, despite the homogeneity of the ball's crowd, you find that the universe may be on your side as you immediately notice a number of other attendees who have ranging shades of melanin dotting the crowd. It's a relief for two reasons: it fills that part of your chest that's used to hoping for more faces that look like your own whenever you leave Wakanda, and it also means that the majority of eyes in the room won't solely be on you.

That's not to say that there aren't any eyes on you, as you've already met more gazes than you can count that have already been focused on you, skepticizing and for the sole purpose of sizing you up. Though the weight of their gazes is bearable as you make your way through the ballroom, letting your lips curl into a smile that requires minimal effort. There’s not an ounce of sincerity behind the smile, but neither is there sincerity behind the smiles of every person in attendance. This is simply a get-together for those with deep pockets who like to pretend as if they’re satisfied in life; in truth, you can clock the competitive gazes most of them share with each other, always wondering how deep the other’s pockets are and wondering how’d they get that deep. They’re too busy comparing themselves to each other that they barely notice the unfamiliar and lone black woman with the black, floor-length ball gown and elaborately styled locs at the nape of her neck as you make your way to the open bar settled along one of the walls. 

Not to mention that the kinds of people who are in attendance are usually the ones who forget the faces of those who they don't deem 'worthy enough' of their time.

But there’s one pair of eyes that you can feel burning into your skin, even as she stands at the other end of the elegant bar, the people around her trying in vain to hear her opinion on whatever tone-deaf topic they’re talking about. You have the urge to turn and look at her, possibly find a way to communicate with her that maybe she should stop looking so damn hard lest the white people around see two black women looking at each other and automatically assume that they’re together…which would make sense because you are together, but it certainly wouldn’t make it easier to be inconspicuous.

But instead of doing so, you simply smile and order the first cocktail you can think of. 

“Hi, I’ll have a Rose Sangria, please.” Your words are lost amidst the other patrons giving their orders to the other bartenders, but one seems to hear you, as evident by the way she nods and sends you a stressed, and rather rehearsed, smile. She says nothing about your order, nor the way your American ‘accent’ also seems a little too rehearsed. 

You hadn’t been given an entire cover story, mainly because the point was to complete the mission before you would need to explain yourself to someone, but it had been recommended that you take on some kind of alternate identity. You weren’t going to alter your appearance in any way, so the next best thing was adopting an accent for the night. Okoye had critiqued the accent you had chosen- a woman from the southern states who shortened words to fewer syllables and who also held a rather charming drawl- and had told you that while it was always better to be prepared, you may not even have to use it. And while you were perfectly content using it just this once to order a drink, solely to keep up appearances, you admittedly found yourself wanting to look over at Shuri to see her reaction to the unfamiliar accent that left your mouth. 

Though it turns out that you wouldn’t have to look at her, as a confused sound echoed through your comms right after you spoke. 

“Since when were you a Southern bell?”

“Uh, about a minute ago, it seems,” You mumbled, knowing that she’d be able to hear you regardless. Between one glance around the room and the next, a glass was being pushed toward you on a small napkin. You only had time to send an appreciative smile before the bartender was off to the next drink. 

“And since when do we drink on missions?”

The urge to roll your eyes at Shuri’s teasing, yet curious, voice goes through you as you turn on your stool to face the room. With your back leaning against the edge of the bar, you give off the perfect appearance that you’re simply people-watching and not at all like you’re waiting on your cue to slip out of the large room and into a secured one. 

“Y’all may not drink on missions, but this is my first one, so I think I have an excuse.”

“...Did you just call us ‘y’all’? Okoye, did you hear her-”

“You two are doing a lot of talking for two people who are in public.”

You make it a point to stop talking immediately, your smile growing as you offer it as a greeting to whoever’s eyes you catch. You also know that Okoye has a point and that no matter how hard you tried to seem subtle, there was always someone watching, and the last thing you needed was to be seen seemingly talking to empty air. 

But in the absence of you and Shuri’s talking, you opt to let your eyes slowly roam over to where you had last seen her, which was a mistake. One that you couldn’t take back. One that you didn’t know if you wanted to take back. 

Almost as if to make the mission even more difficult, the universe decides to put you and Shuri in the perfect spots on opposite sides of the room that allow you a full and unobscured view of her. The last you had seen of her had been before the gala, where she had worn a white, almost skin-tight crop top, with a black, unbuttoned collared shirt over it, and black joggers. 

That outfit contrasted greatly with the suit she wore now in the best way imaginable. 

The suit itself was a deep black, the collar a smooth silk material that brought out every tone of melanin that had the pleasure of being on her body. A number of jewels, undoubtedly vibranium, wrapped over and under her shoulders before forming a harness-like piece on her back…which also allowed one’s eyes a glimpse at the smooth, toned skin of her back. 

Even from where you sat, you could see the sparkle of each jewel she wore- including the ones she wore as earrings. Despite the sparkles that screamed luxury and that caught the attention of nearby attendees, you were focused on her. It was hard not to; especially when she looked as good as she did. 

The gloss layered on her lips reflected the slightly dimmed lights of the ballroom, and each time she nodded or moved even slightly, that same light reflected off of her smooth skin, acting as an immediate beacon for your eyes.

How in Bast’s name were you expected to go about this mission regularly when you now couldn’t tear your eyes away from her? How would you be able to convince yourself that these feelings of yours were nothing but a phase that you *needed* to get out of?

“-/N? Y/N, are you in position?” 

Okoye’s voice and her words quickly broke you out of your…reverie? Daydream? Fantasy? Whatever it was, and only thrust you into another reverie. One that involved your own worries about being able to complete your part of the mission. 

“I am.” 

“Good, because you’ve got about a minute and 30 seconds to get to the target area. The camera feed is replaced.”

It's almost as if she literally lit a fire under your ass with the way you downed the small glass of liquor, trying your hardest to not make a face at the burn of it, before standing from your stool. Your eyes glanced once more in Shuri’s direction, only to realize with a small jolt that she was already looking at you with an undecipherable expression. 

Her eyes were unabashed as they regarded you across the room, and if you were close enough, you would’ve seen the reassurance in them. It was no secret that you were more than a little nervous about this…but there was no time to dwell on those nerves. Not anymore. 

“Alright. Heading up now.”

With every step you took toward the hallway, you sent a quick prayer to Bast, praying that you wouldn’t be stopped. You had seen multiple attendees pass through the doors leading to the hallways, and it was just your luck that there was also a stairwell that lead right to the floor you needed to go to. And it was an even bigger stroke of luck that the hallway was empty for the time being, allowing you to slip into the stairwell and ascend the stairs to the right floor.

You didn’t realize that you were holding your breath until you finally let go of it with a heavy sigh once the door shut behind you. The room was just the way you all expected it to be; filled with a variety of technology that looked too expensive and too advanced to be legal in the hands of its owner. The reason behind your presence just further proved that it was in the wrong hands, as a piece of technology in this room had been behind the momentary breach. 

“I’ve reached the target area. Scanning for the breach’s origin.” The scan consisted of a quick tap to one of your kimoyo beads and watching as it sent out a beam of light that roamed over the entire room. Once the origin was located, the beam stopped, pointing you right in the direction and allowing you to start the next part of the mission. “I’ll alert you when I’ve downloaded the program…hello?”

The confusion in your voice quickly gave way to caution as you waited, and failed, to hear a response from either Shuri or Okoye. Their silence didn’t stop your fingers from flying over the keys of the nearest computer, effortlessly breaking through each security wall that needed to be broken and patching each one that would keep your presence a secret. While the thought of you suddenly being alone without a clue as to what Shuri or Okoye were doing made you nervous, that didn’t take away from the fact that you had a job to do. It certainly made it easier to focus on the task at hand as you rifled through the various programs on the computer, each one more advanced and more invasive than the last. Wakanda hadn’t been the only nation the program had breached, but it had certainly been the hardest. 

Your eyes expertly scanned over every bit of information you could retain as your kimoyo bracelet downloaded the needed information, and it all made your eyebrows furrow in both confusion and concern. Whoever, or whatever, had created this program had done so with the sole intention of using it as a weapon, and you were willing to bet that their efforts to breach Wakanda’s security stemmed from a desire to get their hands on technology that would help. 

“Can anybody hear me?” You spoke softly, quickly collecting your kimoyo beads once more before locking the computer and turning toward the door. Your steps were quick but nearly quiet as you approached the door, your mind now turning to the task of joining the gala once more undetected. 

“If you can hear me, I’m on my way back to the gala. Those aren’t just regular programs, they’re some of the most secured ones I’ve seen for an American-”

Your words break off with a hitch as your steps quickly halt, and it's all because of the sudden appearance of a shadow that looms under the door to the room that you’re in. You hadn’t heard any footsteps and the appearance of it has you looking around in a panic, your eyes widening as if that could make a hiding space more apparent. Upon not seeing a space that could serve as one, you reach for the door handle with the intention of locking it…though the knob is turning and the door is opening before you can even grab it, and all you can think is ’I just completely ruined my first ever mission’.

“Oh, thank Bast you’re still here-”

“Shuri?!” 

Both of your voices are whispered yells as you come face to face with the monarch, her expression undoubtedly mirroring yours in its exasperation and shock…and relief. 

“I was just coming down- why haven’t you been responding?” 

Shuri glances back out of the door she just closed before her eyes are landing on you. There’s a certain look of confusion and frustration in her eyes, and you’re honestly too wired to contemplate whether its because of you or not.

“Okoye did a scan of the building and it showed a series of advanced EMP’s on each floor. The kimoyo beads made it past the EMPs, but we think a virus or program originating from this room scrambles any airwave that isn’t configured to the program’s specific signature. As soon as you came in here, your comms went dead. We thought your cover was blown.”

So that explains the wide-eyed, almost worried look in her eyes as she gazes at you. Even in the face of something as concerning as a series of technological programs that could be used as weapons, you still find your heart increasing and your chest tightening at the thought of Shuri being worried. 

Bast…you really need to get your priorities and emotions in check.

Your mouth opens, ready to relay to Shuri what you’ve found, only to watch as she tenses. Her shoulders raise slightly as she turns towards the door, her eyebrows raising as she seems to be listening to something you can’t quite hear yet. 

“Shuri…what is it?”

She responds by grabbing your wrist, her fingers lowering to deftly wrap around your hand as she pulls you towards the door. It doesn’t take long for you to hear the same thing she hears: two sets of footsteps walking towards the door you two are behind, the wide beams of the guards’ flashlights shining underneath the door. 

“Ah, sihogo,” Shuri hisses, her hand tightening slightly around yours as the footsteps grow closer. Her head turns back to the room, presumably looking for the same thing you had been looking for at her arrival: a hiding spot of some kind, or maybe an alternate route. Its apparent the second she realizes that there’s neither a hiding spot or an alternate route, as she lets out a deep sigh before clicking the lock of the door.

“Listen to me,” she starts, her hand tugging you to stand in front of her. Her eyes are slightly wide with the intention of using them to emphasize her next words; but unbeknownst to her, you have no problem concentrating on the words that leave her mouth. 

“When they unlock the door, I’ll distract them long enough for you to get past them. Don’t let them see your face or even touch you- just go back to the gala, and I’ll be right behind you-”

“Shuri, we can’t fight our way out of this- that’ll draw more attention than anything!”

“There is no we- you’re going back to the gala- I’ll make sure you get by them.”

The sound of the door handle rattling followed by the confused voices of the guards adds onto the air of chaos surrounding you two. The sound makes your eyes widen while also making an almost absurd idea pop into your mind. Though as Shuri moves to push you behind her, you find the idea a little hard to verbalize. 

“Let’s think about this- there has to be a better way than fighting guards in a sparkly suit, Shuri-”

“There’s nowhere to go!” She whispers back quickly, her hand raising and reaching for the necklace that encircles her neck; the same one that holds the nanotech technology of her suit. “We’re cornered in a restricted area. This is the only entrance and exit point-no windows. What do you want me to do, Y/N?” 

“Kiss me.”

Her look of confusion is immediate as her head whips to look at you, her body following as she turns completely. Her proximity allows you to see the way her eyes quickly flicker to your lips before meeting yours once again, widening slightly more as she comprehends your request. 

“You want me…to kiss you?”

“Public displays of affection make people uncomfortable-”

The sound of the door being unlocked goes through the room right as her lips part to offer another ruse, or maybe ask another question. You wouldn’t blame her; the ‘distraction’ seems like you’re trying to cop a feel on her under stressful circumstances, and the realization that it could be interpreted as that has you quickly shaking your head, your lips parting to take it back immediately. 

The last thing you’re expecting her to do is to pull you abruptly into her chest with the hand already wrapped around yours. You certainly didn’t expect her hand to tilt your chin up while her other hand let go of yours to wound around your waist, pulling your waist flush against hers. 

You sure as hell didn’t expect your next breath to be interrupted by the feeling of her lips moving against yours.

There are a number of sounds distantly registering in your brain: the door opening, the guards’ surprised exclamations, their stuttering as they grow uncomfortable with the embrace they’ve just walked in on; but none of them matter because Shuri is kissing you. Shuri is kissing you.

Shuri is kissing you, and you’re kissing her back with everything you’ve got, sacrificing each breath in exchange for another second of feeling her lips against yours. 

Her hand is sliding along the length of your jaw until her long, slender fingers can wrap around the back of your neck. Her thumb stays right on the edge of your jaw, and she uses it to tilt your head further back. It only prompts your lips to part, almost on instinct, and there’s a small part of your foggy brain that’s urging you to stop before it can go any further. To spare yourself the trouble of accepting the fact that a kiss that could potentially go so far ends up being just that: a kiss done in the heat of both of you’s adrenaline and desperation for some form of diversion. 

“Uh, e-excuse me. Hey!”

You pull back with a gasp, your eyes wide as you meet Shuri’s, who are just as wide as yours. Her lips have the slightest shine to them, a mixture of both of your lip balms covering them, and you can only watch breathlessly as she licks her lips with a hitched breath. 

“Did you hear me? I’m gonna have to ask you two to go back downstairs-”

“We heard you,” Shuri’s voice is too steady to match the undecipherable expression on her face or the slight shakiness in her hands as she takes yours in hers. You’re being tugged towards the door before you can gain your bearings, and only Shuri’s tight grip around your hand keeps you from stumbling slightly. 

“We’re leaving.”

Her steps lead the both of you to the elevator at the end of the hall, in the opposite direction of the stairwell you’d used to get there. The sound of the guards’ confused voices float down the hallway as they close and lock the door behind you two, their gazes staying on you until the elevator opens and you two step in. 

Your gaze stays on the elevator doors as they close, your breath still heavier than usual. The sensation of Shuri’s lips on yours linger even when you two aren’t embracing anymore, making your lips tingle. Its borderline disorienting, as it makes your mind replay every moment leading up to and during the kiss in great detail. It nearly causes you to miss the sound of your comm’s device coming back on, Okoye’s voice sounding in you and Shuri’s ears. 

”Hello? If one of you don’t respond in the next 5 seconds-”

“We’re okay, Okoye.” Shuri is quick to respond to the General, her voice still low and steady, though if the way she clears her throat means anything, you’re willing to bet that she’s just as shaken at the moment that just passed. Albeit, for different reasons; reasons that you feel like you have to apologize for. 

“We’re in the elevator now. We’re on our way back to the rooms.”

The thought of finally being able to leave the gala and this role of yours behind makes a small, relieved breath leave you. But your heart only speeds up as Okoye confirms that she’ll be there as soon as you two alert her that you’re ready to leave; it gives you time to go to your own hotel room, of course, booked under a different name, and think even more about what happened. You can’t say for sure whether it's a good thing or bad thing to do, but you know it’ll happen regardless. 

All of your thoughts quickly halt as you feel Shuri’s eyes land on you, and in the small space of the elevator, her heavy gaze feels as if it allows her entire presence to wrap around you. 

“We’re going to have to talk about it at some point.”

Her words are patient, though there’s something in her voice that not only makes you freeze but also alludes to the fact that there are more words coming; words that you know for a fact you aren’t ready to hear.

“...You’re right. I want to apologize,” You begin, turning to face her, after schooling your features into one of impassiveness. Nonchalance. “I shouldn’t have put you in that position, Your Highness. But to be fair, I didn’t exactly want to end the night with running in heels while you knocked out two security guards-”

“That’s not what I meant, and you know it, Y/N.”

She turned slightly in your direction, her eyebrows furrowed and her gaze unwavering as she did so. Her hands were clasped in front of her, and it only took a quick glance at them to see that they were clenched slightly, the veins in her arms and hands becoming slightly more prominent. Those hands that had just been pulling you closer, tilting your head back to deepen the kiss-

Your breath shakes slightly as you draw it in, and your eyes flicker away from hers. They’re too intense in the moment; you know that they can see each unspoken word and every hidden emotion you’ve tried stuffing down during the mission. You know that they’re analyzing every breath you take and every time you shift, putting all of her findings together to come to the conclusion that the kiss now took over every thought you had. 

Your words are a sorry attempt at convincing yourself and Shuri as you reply, the edges of your voice shaking slightly. 

"The kiss was just a diversion, I don't know what else to tell you, Your Highness-"

A flurry of movement happens in your peripheral, and as much as you want to turn to look at her, her heated gaze on the side of your face stops you. It takes everything in you to not turn and let go of the words that seem to be trapped in your throat. Instead, you focus on the climbing numbers of the elevator, willing the elevator to stop on the floor that holds both of your rooms. Willing for the doors to open so you can o to your room and maybe drown your troubles and spiraling thoughts in the cheap mini bottles that had been provided.

"You know very well that it wasn't just a distraction, and for Bast's sake, stop calling me that- I hate when you call me that-"

"What, you hate when I call you by your title? That's what you are, Shuri, you're the Queen!" Your heart beats so quickly that you can physically feel it threatening to break your rib cage. It makes your breathing slightly heavier.

"You're my Queen and I'm nothing but a scientist that you like to annoy for some Bast-forsaken reason! That's all I am- that's all we are!"

You planned for your words to be fueled by the irritation brought on by the night's events, but instead, they're only by raw emotion. The relief at finally knowing how her lips would feel on yours bleeds into your words, as well as the desperation of wanting to feel them again; the desperation for her to tell you that you’re wrong and that that isn’t all that you are.

You find your voice cracking in the slightest, and it only prompts a soft curse to fall from your mouth as you turn further away from her. The muscles of your jaw tense as you clench your teeth as if that will hold back the words that remain just at the tip of your tongue.

The silence following your words is deafening, interrupted only by the soft, incessant beeping of the elevator climbing the floors. You have to strain your ears to pick up on the sound of Shuri's breathing over your own, though you don't know why you listen for it. The one thing you need right now is space from the Queen- enough so that you can wrangle your thoughts that you had mistakenly allowed to cross the line drawn between the two of you.

But space isn't what you want, and that realization alone makes you clench your fists hard enough to leave indentations in your palms. It's all in an effort to push back the desire crawling up the length of your arms and the rest of your body, urging you to pull yourself closer to her and continue where you two had left off in that damned room.

But in order to do that, you'd have to know how Shuri felt…and she was still silent, her gaze concentrated on the profile of your being.

The subtle lurch of the elevator accompanied by its ding is your saving grace, and as soon as the doors open, you're hurriedly stepping out and in the direction of your room. Your steps are quick and nearly silent on the carpeted floors, effortlessly leaving Shuri behind to look after you with furrowed eyebrows and a downturned mouth.

"Is it? Is that all you think we are?"

You just barely have your room key out when Shuri's voice floats down the hallway to you, her voice both questioning and frustrated. It grows closer, louder, as she follows you.

"Because I don't. And I know you don't."

With a shaky hand and frustrated breath, you finally swipe it across the door's sensor before pushing it open quickly and s stepping past the threshold. The door doesn't have a chance to shut before Shuri is slinking in behind you, letting the door shut harshly behind her as you throw your bag down onto the couch. There's a line of heat on your back as you do so, courtesy of Shuri's close proximity and the effect only she has on you, and it only makes your actions choppy.

"I know you, Y/N- as much as you may think that I don't." The tense air follows the two of you further into your hotel room, moving and increasing with each breath and each word you two exchange.

It's a tension that had been building ever since you two laid eyes on each other at the beginning of the night, your gazes drawn to the other like a moth drawn to a flame in a darkened room. It's a tension that continues to grow as she continues speaking, stepping so close to you that you can feel her chest brush your back with every breath.

"Like right now. I know what you feel…because I feel the same."

Even with half your mind telling you to step away, to make space for yourself for your own sake, you find that you're unable to move; especially so when she raises her hands. The one that lands gently on your waist is used to keep you in place while the other raises and settles lightly over your heart from behind; it only makes the organ work double time, something Shuri is more than likely aware of.

"I can hear and feel how fast your heart is beating right now. The beating of my own matches yours, and it's all because of you."

Your hands clench into tight fists in an effort to keep them to yourself, disregarding the feeling of unabashed longing that travels through your body.

The way she speaks and touches you is a far cry from how the two of you interacted only earlier that morning. Then, in the comfort of the Royal Talon fighter, your regular teasing and banter filled the cabin with Okoye occasionally telling you two to take a break from said banter.

Now, the dynamic that usually existed between you two was gone. It had been smashed to pieces as soon as you two had embraced in that room and placed your lips against hers, and attempting to pick up the pieces would leave your fingers a bloody mess.

Though as she continues speaking, you find yourself wondering if picking up the pieces was something that you really wanted to do.

"I can feel each breath you take. I know how they quicken whenever I touch you… because your touch does the same to me." Her words are emphasized by her placing her flat palm against the middle of your chest, which proves her exact point as it rises and falls quickly with each, shuddering breath you take.

It feels like a beam of heat traveling through your body, all originating from where her palm presses against your skin. Her breath ghosts over the exposed skin of your shoulders as she continues, leaving a trail of goosebumps that only her touch can soothe.

"And I know…that that kiss wasn't 'just a kiss'. What I don't know is why you won't admit it to yourself or me."

The frustration in her voice quickly fades until it sounds like acute desperation mixed in with apparent longing. Her hands are gentle where they still rest against your body, and even more gentle as she uses them to turn you around to face her.

You're afraid that if you move too much, you'll wake up from whatever dream you've found yourself in, so you turn stiffly and hesitantly. Eyes raising to meet hers, you brace yourself to wake up to the sight of your room back home in Wakanda; but as they meet hers and you see the vulnerability and genuineness that seem so natural in her eyes, your heart skips.

And then when her hands raise to gently cup your face, her thumbs rubbing soothingly and almost reassuringly into the skin of your cheeks, your heart nearly stops. It's enough to make a quick breath leave your mouth, your eyes closing and your head leaning further into her palms.

"You are more to me than a mere scientist."

She tilts your head back, prompting your eyes to open and meet hers once again.

"Yes, I am a monarch. And you are a scientist…one of the best ones I've ever had the pleasure of working with. But that isn't all.

"These labels only dictate how others see us; they don't dictate how we see each other, and I want nothing more than to tell you, show you, how I see you, and how much you mean to me."

The edges of your lips are traced by her thumb as she speaks, sending a very apparent shudder down your spine; one steeped in pleasure and longing that was becoming harder to tamper down.

But then she steps more into your space, every aspect of her being invading your senses. Your breaths mingle in the small amount of space between your faces, echoing each other in terms of heaviness and pace as her hand splays against the small of your back, almost dangerously close to the zipper that holds your dress together. She lowers her head, her lips brushing just slightly over yours with a question; one that sends a shiver so intense down your spine that it pushes you closer to the Queen. 

"Let me show you, sithandwa sam."

The roughness of her voice contrasts greatly with how slow and careful her hands are as they explore as much of your body as they can with you still fully clothed. They ghost over the curve of your ass, pulling you closer until your waist is flush against hers. Her eyes are half-lidded as she waits for your answer, though they’re patient.  And understanding. The look in them acknowledges that this mission started off as just that, but had now quickly delved into something else. 

You’re just barely able to nod when she’s leaning forward once more, her hands slow but firm where they grip you, and her lips soft but unyielding as she places them against yours. The small groan of anticipation and desire that leaves your mouth is quickly and effortlessly swallowed by Shuri’s mouth on yours. 

It doesn’t take long for the kiss to become an echo of the one you two shared under the guise of it being a diversion, except this one is so much more. This one is brought on by nothing but desire and longing that’s been pushed down too much by the both of you. 

***

Her hands that land on the curve of your ass trail lower until both of them have a full grip, and she doesn’t hesitate in squeezing and kneading the skin that she appreciates. She takes your gasp and uses it to let her tongue explore your mouth as she walks you backwards, her hands firm while they make sure you don’t trip over anything. Your body already trembles with the anticipation of seeing how far this goes; how far Shuri is willing to go to show her sentiments physically. 

Your hands raise, twisting into the fabric of her suit’s coat, using it to pull her impossibly closer. Every sense of yours feels as if its dialled to 11: you can feel every caress and squeeze of her fingers on your skin; you can hear every gasp she takes in order to continue kissing you longer; the smell of her fragrance surrounds you until you’re almost dizzy with the arousal it evokes from you; and the taste of the drinks you both had mingle to make the kiss even more intoxicating. 

Her movements are quick with lust but not rushed; she makes sure to take her time unzipping your dress until the fabric is loosely sliding down your frame, leaving you in your black bra and underwear set, though it leaves little to Shuri’s imagination due to the practically see through lace. She certainly isn’t complaining as she disconnects her lips from yours, her eyes roaming hungrily over your body and the skin that's exposed. They linger on each curve, each mark, each dimple- every aspect that has a role in making you, and with every pass of her eyes, her hands follow. 

If your breath shuddered before, it all but stops as her hands ghost over the shape of your breasts, her thumbs seeming to pay special attention to your nipples that push against the fabric. Each pass of her fingers over them makes a jolt of what feels like electricity streak through your body, and you don’t realize that you’re pushing yourself more into her hands until her head is dipping. 

A throaty hum leaves her mouth as she presses hot, open mouthed kisses against the swell of your breasts peeking over your bra. Her hands cup both of them, almost pushing them together as she continues her ministrations on your skin. Your eyes flutter slightly, though they’re quickly drawn to the mirror across the room and how it gives you a perfect view of what she’s doing. 

The sight of you standing before Shuri in nothing but a pair of underwear and a bra while she still wears her entire suit makes another wave of arousal wash over you, and it makes itself known with the warmth and slickness between your legs. Your soft breath of anticipation is only joined by Shuri’s deep inhale that only turns into a groan of her own. Your eyes remain on the mirror even as she pulls back just enough to step around you, her chest pressing to your back. Her eyes meet yours in the mirror before dipping down to take in your body once more, and its nearly impossible to keep your thighs from clenching together, the slightest bit of your stimulation making your breath hitch. But it isn’t enough. It won’t be enough until you’re shaking under Shuri’s touch; until you forget which way is up or down.

She steps forward, using her body to guide you towards the bed behind you, and as you fall onto the mattress, she doesn’t waste a second in climbing over you. Her lips are hungry as they kiss, lick, nip every inch of skin she can reach. Her path takes her down the valley between your breasts, her lips pressing against one nipplie while her hand gently kneads the other. 

Her hands are gentle as she uses them to push your thighs apart, prompting a heavy breath to leave you. You can feel your own arousal dampening your underwear…and the feeling of Shuri’s tongue pressing flat against your clit through them makes them even damper. 

Your hands immediately twist into the covers beneath you, your hips involuntarily bucking off of the bed. The quick breathing leaving your lips grows closer to pants of desperation as you watch her press a kiss to the inside of your thigh, her eyes closing as if she’s drawing her own pleasure from the taste of you, which she is. As much is evident in the way her eyes open, even darker than ever, and hold yours while her fingers slip beneath the waistband of your underwear. The pace with which she pulls them down makes shiver after shiver wrack down your spine.

“Shuri, please…” 

There’s no hiding the pleading in your voice as your voice breaks the heavy silence, and there’s no stopping the way it quickly morphs into a small whine as you see her eyes focus on your pussy before flickering to yours and back.

“Give me a second…” Her voice is a mumble, though you can still hear the slight shakiness of it. Her eyes, half lidded with pleasure, remain on your pussy, as if she has no problem kneeling between your legs for the rest of the night and just taking in the sight of you. 

“Do you know…how hard it was, watching you from across the room? Knowing that I couldn’t take you somewhere just big enough for me to have you the way I’ve been longing to? Hm?”

There’s nothing in the world- in the universe that can prepare you for the feeling of Shuri’s tongue licking a stripe through your folds, and the sound that it brings from your mouth is loud and sinful. 

She doesn’t give you a chance to catch your breath after that. Her fingers tighten where they’re gripping your thighs, and with a small growl in the base of her throat, she’s lifting your knees towards your ears. A gasp leaves your mouth at the action, your eyes fluttering shut as her breath puffs lightly against the slickness gathering between your legs. 

“Bast, I’ve never wanted to a rip a dress so badly.”

One of her hands leaves your thigh only to replace it with yours, her fingers guiding yours to hold your thigh in the same place while hers lowers. The sensation of her fingers dipping beneath your folds, gathering every bit of your essence before spreading them. Pulling your bottom lip into your mouth doesn’t stop your wanton months from spilling out, just as taking a deep breath does nothing to prepare you as you see Shuri’s head descends more. 

The only warning you receive is the soft hum that leaves her mouth, and then her lips are closing over your pussy. Her tongue is dipping, caressing, and licking relentlessly, each lap bringing you to another height of pleasure that you’ve never experienced before…and that you know you’ll never experience from anyone ever again. 

Your hips buck as she presses deeper, her eyes closing as she gladly looses a few seconds of breath in turn for a few more seconds of her senses being filled with you. Your taste, the feeling of your hips moving in the perfect way that allows your pussy to ride the expanse of her tongue that she gladly offers. 

Time continues to distort the longer she’s buried between your legs. It speeds up and slows down as she uses her tongue and her fingers to the best of her ability to bring you to another level of pleasure, one that has your entire body trembling. It certainly helps that she continues her actions in complete silence, allowing you to hear every hum, grunt, and moan of hers as she eagerly laps up everything you have to offer. It allows you to hear every sinful sound resulting from her tongue or her fingers dipping into you before pulling out. 

Two of her slender fingers press past your folds, her wrist rolling and changing the angle of them until her thumb could swipe firmly across your clit, making a ragged gasp leave your mouth. Your walls tighten around her fingers, and it brings a drawn out moan from her mouth. 

Its unbelievable how well Shuri is able to read your body despite this being the first time, hopefully out of many, that she’s found pleasure and a strong desire within it. Her fingers separate with each thrust, reaching a depth within you that seems almost impossible and making a band of white appear behind your eyelids. 

Your lips part on a number of moans, pants, and soft cries as you try your hardest to hold onto your sanity, though with every stroke, a piece of it crumbles away. 

Her mouth is soon added into the experience, covering the entirety of your pussy as her hand speeds up. It isn’t long until your breathing speeds up, matching each thrust of her fingers as she lets her tongue run over your clit in a pattern that's…that's as disorienting as it is intoxicating. It changes from time to time, each lap gaining more meaning the closer you grow to cumming. It takes a while for your muddled and disoriented thoughts to t to put together each rotation, each sharp curl, each languid lick of her tongue; and when you finally do, your breath becomes trapped in your chest, and your orgasm is crashing over you and muddling your senses.

Your mind completely blanks as your lips part on a silent moan, your back arching away from the bed and more into Shuri’s mouth. Up becomes down and left becomes right because…as if to further prove that you’re hers, the letters her tongue spells against your clit join behind your eyelids until they form her name. Her name.

Shuri was spelling her name.

It crests over you in waves, each one more intense than the last as a ragged gasp tears from your mouth. Her fingers continue their motions, rubbing at that spongy spot inside of you that, for the time being, controls every part of your body. You can only hear static, and you don’t know if your eyes roll back completely or if you close them from the pure pleasure wracking through your body, alighting every nerve of yours on fire.

Shuri's hand that that’s holding your thigh moves until it snakes up your body, leaving a trail of goosebumps before settling on the curve of your breast, her thumb tweaking your now oversensitive nipple. It makes a jolt go through your body while also prolonging the waves of pleasure that threaten to drown you.

Your back arches off of the bed beneath you while your hand moves on its own accord, one fisting in Shuri's curls while the other clutches tightly at her hand. Her nose rubs against the sensitive bundle of nerves between your legs, prompting you to pull her closer by her curls.

Your legs threaten to close around her head, but by sheer willpower, you manage to keep them open. But that's before your hearing returns, enabling you to hear Shuri's voice from where she’s still buried between your thighs. Her hand clutches at yours, threading your fingers together, acting almost like a lifeline for when the waves of pleasure finally take you…ironically, the waves of pleasure she’s causing.

"Breathe, usana. Breathe through it, love. Bast…you're so pretty…and you're all mine, aren't you?"

You want to answer, to confirm that you’re in fact hers in every sense of the word, but her actions suck all of the air out of the room. You think that she’s pushed you over the edge before, but then those words of praise leave her mouth…and then she angles her hand in just the right way and curls her fingers…and that's what makes the world fall away from beneath you.

Her words coupled with the vibrations they send through your core makes a choked moan fall from your lips as you attempt to follow her words. Her thumb rubs soothingly against the back of your hand, reassuring and comforting as you sag against the bed, your body shaking slightly at what it’s just gone through.

Your eyes flutter open, looking around aimlessly until they settle on Shuri. Her eyes are already on your face, her lips curled into a small, self-satisfied smile as she kisses your hipbone, then your torso. Her lips skim over each breast before she’s closing her lips over yours with a small sigh. Her body presses firmly into yours, the warmth of her body mixing with yours and only heightening your senses. When she pulls away, her eyes are still dark with desire and longing…infatuation, even, but they’re also soft. Caring. Loving. It makes your heart skip a beat or two.

“You okay?”

“��M okay,” you reply breathlessly, your head nodding slightly. You want to say that the word ‘okay’ is such an understatement for the abundance of feelings flowing through your body at this moment in time, but you’re too busy finding and identifying the number of emotions in Shuri’s gaze. Each one you find makes your gaze soften more until your lips are curling into a small smile.

“Good…because you don’t think I’m done with you, do you?”

You find it unbelievable how her words are said with a heat that contrasts so much with the soft look she gazes at you with, and your acute surprise is apparent judging from the amused look on her face. It stays there as she raises onto her knees, her hands going to the buttons of her suit jacket. 

Despite the heat in her words and the way that heat slowly returns to her gaze, you find yourself letting out a soft laugh, lifting onto your elbows to grow closer to her. You only let out another one as she raises an eyebrow at you, her hands still slowly removing her own clothing. 

You can see the question in her eyes, though you only place your hands on her waist, running them up her sides before you can gently caress them over her breasts. The shiver that wracks down her spine makes your smile grow, and your voice is soft but with slightest hint of teasing as you speak. 

“I bet you’re glad you brought me on this mission, aren’t you?”

Shuri’s answer isn’t verbal. It’s very much physical. Though she makes sure to whisper a number of affections throughout your night together, the most important one being ‘I love you’.

************

I hope you all enjoyed this! It's been a while since I've written any smut and I know I could've done better, but I really wanted to get this out. I started this one shot monthssss ago y'all, but I just remembered it and wanted to finish it before classes started!

You know the drill! Like, reblog, and please comment! I love y'all's comments! I love the interactions!

TAG LIST FORM

@luvvspice , @motherlanddrip , @vivisspam , @oceean , @sleepystarzz1 , @amaberry20 , @randomhoex , @euph0ricx0 , @motheroffae , @shinsousliya , @mrswrightt , @niyahwrites , @thadelightfulone , @shuriislut , @playhousedistee , @sapppy-cocktail , @honey-teaaaaaaaa , @tchhairbandhere , @zane2408 , @barkbarkbo , @butterflyybabe , @angelsmist , @ventingfanfics , @pocketsizedpanther ,

[talshiargirlfriend]

Day Twenty-One of the 30 Day Writing Challenge

I decided that writing a post fic scene for spy-ay-ay-ay doesn’t count as a spoiler because well, we know they’re going to end up together - like that’s kind of the whole point right?? And also my self-imposed rule was that I would follow whatever inspiration presented itself and that nothing needed to fit into an existing fic or universe, not that it couldn’t fit into an existing AU. So here goes! @candiedsumire

The moment they fell in love

T’Pol was peering at the data on a screen in the lab, with her jumpsuit sleeves rolled up to her elbows and a subtle frown on her face. So much for a day off. Maybe he was supposed to find her more beautiful when she was relaxed, but the intensity of her focus and the clever workings of her mind always impressed him.

“Hey,” Trip greeted her with two fingers raised.

She turned her full attention to him and pressed her fingers against his, sending an electric buzz of affection jolting through him. Lizzie would tease him that he looked like a sunflower who’d been noticed by the sun and that was honestly a pretty accurate description of how he felt.

“I noticed the date when I submitted the updated sensor tweaks and guess what? It’s the anniversary of our first date next week,” Trip smiled.

T’Pol looked at him curiously. “You are referring to the gala as our first date, but we were not actually romantically involved then.”

“Oh, come on, it definitely started that night. We just didn’t know it at the time.”

She considered that with a tilt of her head.

“Okay, then what would you consider our first date?” he asked.

T’Pol didn’t deliberate long, “The night before I told my mother you would be accompanying me to Vulcan.”

“That’s when we--! That’s… that wasn’t a date,” he said, scandalised.

She gave him the singular raised brow and half shrug she used when she found him puzzlingly human. He couldn’t help but grin back.

“Okay, forget agreeing on a first date. What about when we fell in love?”

She frowned, “Is falling in love not considered a gradual process rather than something one can note as having happened in a single moment?”

He gave her a look. He could sense her underlying amusement at annoying him with her commitment to accuracy. “Well, yeah, but I mean when did you know?”

T’Pol looked down. “I didn’t actually consider the possibility until you directly asked me to. I simply thought we shared a friendship heightened by proximity and danger and shared goals.” Her lips ticked up slightly as she added, “and that you were very attractive.”

Trip grinned, “Very attractive, huh?”

“Sometimes distractingly so,” she admitted.

He laughed, feeling a little puffed up. “I remember when you walked in: you were so pretty and your sleeves were too long and you moved like a dancer, and in the back of my mind I thought ‘uh oh…’”

“Did you really not even have an inkling before we talked about it?” Trip asked curiously.

“In hindsight, it should have been clear to me on a number of occasions, particularly when your sister asked me why I was drawn to you and I answered honestly and without exaggeration.”

“What’d she actually say?”

“I believe she asked me what on earth I saw in that lunkhead brother of hers.”

Trip smirked. Her impression of Lizzie was pretty damn good. “And what did you say?”

“I told her…” T’Pol paused and took his hand, looking him in the eye, “you have a brilliant mind, you are brave and determined, you combine logic with compassion, and I am honoured to be your partner.”

“Wow…” Trip found himself a little choked up. “I can’t believe you said all that back then.” Since no one was around - hell, they weren’t even supposed to be here right now - he leaned in and kissed her.

When they pulled apart a spark of mischief lit within him. “No really, I can’t believe you said all that and left out how handsome and funny I am. Hmmph.”

She half rolled her eyes. “Your playfulness may yet ‘grow on me.’” She looked back at his face, “When did you know?”

He smiled softly and intertwined their fingers. “Come take a break. I’ll make you a cup of tea and tell you all about it.”

[typosandtea]

Also unrelated to the ask game but related to tango; I mostly know about them through your tags and I have gathered that they’re basically haunting a suit of power armour/IS the power armour, right? Please tell me at some point they can scare the shit out of someone by taking their helmet off and revealing an empty husk like in full metal alchemist it would be so fucking funny

@sirmanmister

BASICALLY YEAH!! they are quite secretive about their identity as no longer human, so don't do things like that on purpose very often, that said they are absolutely batshit enough to risk identity to scare some fools ahhaha They have also accidentally spooked Hancock while he was tripping, Tango had a variety of exterior panels removed for repairs including the helmet. they also had their robobrain arms out and were predominately using them, poweramour hands are not dexterous enough for many thing especially soldering / electronics! (Tango though they were alone at the time and Hancock was SO confused)

They are a wastelander turned robobrain, wired into the armour! quite a bit of the armour is modified so bit breaking is more annoying than usual. Tango thinks in biological and is software so can hack software to software when they plug themselves into terminals / robots! Because of the software melding with their brain they can also speak to robots like how codsworth can it’s very useful to overhear the latest gossip haha!

They are self centred and quite prideful, so appearances are important to them, they regularly repaint themselves and dislike being dirty and definitely dislikes being damaged!

Physically their brain is in the armours torso (where the thickest plating is). They also have 4 cores wired parallel for extra power! The cores are also safely mounted inside the armours guts away from stray bullets! They can disengage from the armour but only do so in emergencies as they are super vulnerable in that state! Robobrain head with 2 arms attached basically haha. The armour also has many sensors for proximity and touch wired along much of it, with sight and hearing being wired into the helmet, so losing the helmet is a bit dangerous because now they are blind! (unless they poke their robobrain head out of the torso and use the sensor on that), they have the fo3 style robobrain arms that they can use to repair parts they otherwise couldn’t reach, they actually see these arms as their main arms but people would understandably freak out if the dude in power armour suddenly spawned another set of arms haha so they use the armours arms if they are not alone, and while the robobrain arms are more dexterous, they are not human shaped at all so the armours hands are better at some things like using weapons.

They consider themselves evil (positive) even though nowadays they are at best neutral, hanging out with Preston and Curie and also becoming a minuteman will do that to ya. Has deffiently earnt that evil karma and reputation in the past though :| they were so surprised when Preston asked for help at the museum because at that point they had a carefully curated image going for ‘dangerous and hostile’. Continued exposure to Preston has turned them into a decent if murdery friend (they still claim to be evil bastard though )

here are some bits from their partially finished ref sheet, a recent drawing i've done, some silly head cannons!, and a silly zine?

[snek-in-a-hat]

Day 3 @augusnippets

3: Thunderstorm / Blizzard / Heat Wave

------------------------------------------------

'Should I get out and push?'

Leader glared at Right Hand's question as they pressed on the accelerator for the third time to no avail.

Cetus I - 77 was not a temperate planet, but was rich in rare minerals and deemed worth attempting to set up a base camp for future mining operations. It's surface was typically about 250 degrees Fahrenheit, reaching 300 in some places at the peak of the solar day. It's atmosphere was not quite breathable, nor were the gaseous particle storms non-hazardous, but all in all, it would not be the most difficult planet the human systems union had attempted to tame, even if only temporarily.

Unfortunately they would be no closer to setting up the base camp at the location Scientist had proposed if their climber kept getting stuck in the fine sands that covered a majority of the planet.

'They need to start sending us equipment that works,' growled Leader as they made to secure their suit and exit the vehicle.

'You'd hate it. It would make the job too easy.'

Leader couldn't stop the little chuckle from escaping.

'Stay here,' they warned as Right Hand began to unbuckle themselves from the co-pilot seat. At their confused look, they added, 'Someone needs to keep an eye on the weather patterns and the radio.'

Right Hand slouched back in their seat with a huff.

'Be right back,' Leader called, grabbing one of the folding field shovels.

The chamber depressurized and it was like the opening of an oven. Leader cursed at the brightness overwhelming them and the heat that immediately began to put their suit systems to work.

They ignored the blaring of the heat alarm and trekked to the back of the climber. Thankfully nothing looked broken, but it seemed that the wheels might need to be dug out of the sand.

Leader felt the sweat pouring down their back and temples before they'd even started.

Too easy, they scoffed to themselves and began digging at the back left wheel.

It felt like they were moving in slow motion. It seemed that every shovelful was almost replaced by the wind blowing more sand back into the hole. Leader cursed again at the heat and themselves for not thinking to drink some water before sealing the suit and going outside.

A pounding headache was making itself known right behind their eyes and the arm holding the shovel began to shake.

Slowly leader moved their way over to the other wheel and began digging it out. They tried to go quickly to avoid the wind undoing their work. They had only intended to be outside for about 5-10 minutes, but they had no idea how long it had been. Somewhere in the back of their mind, they recognized that probably was not a good thing. As leader bent down to get another shovelful, a sudden wave of dizziness overtook them and they crashed to their knees.

They reached a shaking hand to their communicator and called for Right Hand. Something was definitely wrong.

Hearing no answer, they tried again, but the last thing they heard was static before darkness took them.

----

Right Hand kept glancing at the clock while keeping an eye on the radar. A storm would likely head in their direction, but probably not for another 30 minutes. As it was Leader had already been gone for 10 minutes, but Right Hand didn't dare bother then when they were pissed at the climber. It was a recipe for disaster. Besides, the proximity sensors were showing that Leader was working on the back left wheel.

Another 5 minutes passed and Right Hand was beginning to get worried. That storm was definitely going to hit.

'Hey, Leader. Sorry to bother you, but I think that storm is coming our way. I think we've got another 15 minutes. Do you need some help?'

There was nothing but static. It wasn't necessarily surprising. Leader often didn't answer Right Hand, especially if they offered help. They checked the sensors again. Leader was now by the right back wheel.

Another 5 minutes passed and Right Hand made up their mind. Angry or not, Leader would need their help to finish up and get them out of the storm's path. Besides they had already exceeded the recommended time for being out on Cetus' surface.

Right Hand affixed their suit and depressurized the chamber. The sudden wave hit them and their stomach clenched. It was HOT.

They worked their way to the back of the climber, but noticed a distinct lack of noise. No shovel scraping sand, no clangs from Leader hitting the vehicle, or muffled curses.

As they rounded the corner, Right Hand gasped. Leader was face down in the sand and slowly being buried as the wind blew more and more on top of their body.

'Shit. Shit. Shit!'

They rushed to Leader's side and began tapping on their helmet. Right Hand cursed at the lack of response. They looked to the horizon and saw the storm was now visible and growing closer. They needed to get inside the climber now.

Right Hand stooped and pulled Leader into a fireman's carry. They would have to ride out the storm inside the vehicle and hope that the seals didn't come loose.

As carefully as they could, they placed Leader on the floor and repressurized the chamber. Right Hand ripped their helmet off and then Leader's.

Right Hand felt for a pulse and let out a small sigh. It was strong, but way too fast. Further inspection revealed skin that was far too hot and dry. Not to mention the fact that Leader was out like a light.

An examination of Leader's suit showed that the cooling systems were broken and probably had been for some time. The communicator was fried and the seals were worn. But at least the heat alarm works, Right Hand thought wryly.

The climber shuddered as the storm finally hit and the emergency lighting switched to red. Holding their breath until they were sure the seals would hold, Right Hand resolved to go get some cool towels and water. If they were lucky, the secondary transmitter was still functioning and they could get a distress call back to the ship.

'They definitely need to start sending us equipment that works.'

------------------------------------------------

Apologies, I know this one is probably double the max recommended length, but I didn't feel like I could cut it down! Please let me know if I missed any CW tags. Day 3 done!

[idontknowreallywhy]

Tried but failed to reach a conclusion on what I’m loosely calling the paint mystery but the majority of the chapters have deviated so wildly from any kind of plot that I may have to rethink whether it’s a story or just a collection of scenes.

Unrefined, unedited previous bits for reference:

Bit the first

Bit the second

Bit the third

The interlude after the third where I lost control of the characters and everyone went a bit nuts

Now, Bit the fourth which was supposed to be the end but that still eludes me… ALL the thanks to @astranite @womble1 and @sofasurf for the beta reading and suggestions and encouragement and to the Thunderfam generally for being a friendly safe community to practice a new thing within.

Light

A rush of harmonics drowned out Two’s steady hum as her sister raced up beneath her and barrel-rolled overhead before shooting off into the Californian twilight. Virgil watched as her vapour trail angled up, up, up and over backwards before taking a steep dive and spiralling back towards where he and Gordon watched in various shades of amusement and baffled awe.

“How is he still conscious?” Gordon murmured. “I’d be either sick… or dead. Ugh… nope, definitely dead.”

Virgil watched as his elder brother steered the rocket plane into the vertical zigzag he recognised as the signature move of the ‘Vomit Comet’ Scott had piloted for the trainee astronauts during his 6 month NASA secondment from the Air Force.

“He doesn’t have a… normal relationship with G force, Fish, you know that.”

As if to prove the point, One screamed past them, spinning, and doubled back to overtake at a distance which set Two’s proximity sensors blaring.

Again.

Virgil cringed and covered his ears.

John’s wry smile materialised in front of them. 

“Aunt Val is going to be inundated with emails from the alien spotters again isn’t she?”

Virgil snorted. Then sighed.

“Should we… you know, rein our dear flyboy in a little?”

There was a delighted snicker in the background as John coughed uncomfortably.

“He couldn’t doooo it” came the familiar singsong voice of Virgil’s digital niece. John, who now appeared to be heavily focused on brushing non-existent dust from his baldric, frowned slightly.

“I did open a comm with him, yes.”

“And?”

“He was… whooping, Virgil.”

It was Gordon’s turn to snort. He looked up from his tablet where he’d already accessed the usual conspiracy theory websites to check for new flying saucer sightings over Arizona.

“What, Scott? Pfft, seems unlikely”

John raised an eyebrow and patched in the audio from One’s cockpit.

Virgil’s breath caught in his throat as he was accosted by a sound he hadn’t heard since his brother was a teenager. Warm, hearty, unfettered laughter punctuated by… yes, that could only be described as a whoop… and then an elated giggle. 

Virgil was aware that to most people sound didn’t have colour but it was second nature to him. Scott’s usual speaking voice was a familiar steely blue, rich and dependable. It could deepen to almost navy if he was angered or concerned, or gain highlights of cerulean when he was amused or speaking affectionately. Now it was as if an arc of blazing summer sky was overlaid on the late evening clouds ahead of them, marred only by the static effect of the comm. Virgil was overwhelmed by a sudden longing to hear his brother laughing properly, truly, untainted by digital interference and simultaneously afraid the opportunity to do so would never arise.

Nobody moved, not waiting to break the spell. Then One did it for them, as her pilot pushed her into yet another feat of aerobatic madness and her own burning white squeals of delight muffled those of the man at the controls.

John muted the feed. Virgil releases the breath he was holding and swallowed, glancing at Gordon whose jaw had almost parted company with his face, his tablet hanging from a limp hand, his mission of winding up the ufologists forgotten. 

It was sobering to realise how infrequently a website tracking the rare and precious phenomena of happy-carefree-Scott would be updated. He met John’s eye and inclined his head. He couldn’t intervene either. Drop kicking a puppy would be less morally questionable.

“How’s his fuel?”

John’s gaze shifted upwards as a graceful sweep of his left hand obviously brought up some kind of display and a swift flick of the right closed something else down. Virgil was momentarily distracted by the image of his elegant brother conducting a symphony orchestra from space, his attention snapping back as he noticed the slight furrow in John’s brow.

“Low, I take it?”

“At this rate he’ll drop into F tank in about 10 minutes. Which will get him home if he flies in a straight line…”

“If.”

“Yeah.”

“What’s F tank when it’s at home?” Gordon had abandoned his tablet and was observing his elder brothers’ with overt curiosity.

John rolled his eyes. Virgil bit his lip and radiated guilt. Scott had never been told about that particular upgrade to his ship and it always made him uneasy to keep such a secret but the secrecy was necessary for it to work as intended.

“Gordon you have to swear to keep this to yourself… but you remember all those times when the paragon of caution that is our big brother has reassured us his fuel supply was “Fine” when One was actually running on fumes?” 

More like the distant memory of fumes in some cases. His little brother of course knew all too well because he’d flown enough missions himself to take fuel to whatever godforsaken location Scott had stranded himself in.

“Well… Brains and I installed a little extra tank about which the fuel gauge is ignorant and so is One’s primary pilot.”

Gordon appeared to ponder this for a minute.

“Won’t that just make him believe he really can fly on fumes?”

“Precisely what I said” John threw a hand in the air. “I had suggested a flow rate limiter instead, so she can’t do more than Mach 6 once the gauge gets below a certain level”

“But that’s slower than the Big Green Mom Bag!”

“Oi!” the Mom Bag’s pilot objected “But, yes. Can you imagine what his reaction would have been if…” Another screech of scram jets announced One’s return from who knew where and she decelerated with a shudder to match Thunderbird Two’s more sedate pace, flying above and just a nose ahead with her pilot looking down at them and flipping a cheeky salute. Virgil nudged the comms open again:

“Having fun, you big show-off?”

Scott’s hologram appeared, all shark-like grin and wildly dilated pupils. Virgil found himself leaning back into his chair, slightly intimidated by the intensity of his sibling’s manic expression.

“Well?! What are you going to PLAY?!”

Three younger brothers performed a perfectly synchronised double-take.

“P-play?”

“The concert, short stuff! What are you going to play in the concert? You should play that one that that goes ba-da-da-da da da ba-da-da-da da da da dum…” and then One was spiralling off again in a roar of jet engines, her pilot’s hologram blurring into incomprehensibility from the vibrations and leaving his younger brother blinking in confusion.

He shut off the comm before it gave them all a headache. At some point prior to the spontaneous post-tornado-rescue singalong in the school hall, their old teacher Ms Knighton had accosted Virgil and persuaded him to be the guest soloist at a benefit concert she was already planning to fundraise for disaster relief in their hometown. ‘Persuaded’ wasn’t quite the right word. He wasn’t aware that he’d actually been given any kind of an option. The woman was a tidal wave of organisation and he’d been well and truly swept along.

He wasn’t sure how he felt about it anyway. He’d not played in front of anybody but family since their Mom had passed and he hadn’t planned to either, for all that the idea gave him a tiny flutter of anticipation. He’d been meaning to send an apology citing work commitments later that week.

THIS was what had got Scott so excited?

He squirmed guiltily as he’d begun to theorise that his renowned flirt of a brother had encountered an old flame during the course of the evening and that was what had caused the adrenaline spike. But, it seemed Scott wasn’t celebrating for himself at all. This vanishingly rare level of joy from his big brother, was on HIS behalf?

He suddenly pictured Scott sat in the front row of every little school performance, even the ones Mom couldn’t get to. He’d always put the constantly jiggling denim-clad legs down to frustration at having to sit still and listen rather than climb and run but then… maybe that wasn’t it at all?

There was the gift of the electronic piano… and that time his brother flew back from college to talk round his father who’d objected to Virgil’s nervous suggestion that maybe he could do joint honours music alongside his engineering degree. Granted, when he realised IR on the horizon, Virgil had changed his mind and decided to keep music just as a hobby but thanks to his brother, it had been HIS decision to make. 

Now he thought about it, he couldn’t think of a single occasion when he’d sat and played the lounge piano where Scott wasn’t either at dad’s desk, on the sofa, or leaning against the body of the instrument chatting or just watching with a fond smile.

Scott had been his cheerleader at every step.

“Earth to Viiiirg!” Gordon leaned over and poked him in the side of the head. “So what are you going to play then?” Virgil smiled awkwardly and rubbed away the sudden excess of water in his eyes.

“Guess I’d better figure out what “ba-da-da-da da da” is.”

[autobotmedic]

If Ratchet were to turn around it seems… there is a gift! A basket, filled with Gemstones, definitely not quickly dropped to the floor as it's deliverer scurries away with a yelp. Miraculously, the stones remain in the basket, untarnished beyond a few scuffs from being hand-carved and… a predacon's saliva-like coolant. Ew. Anyways, the rocks were handpicked, with a variety of colors including Rose Quartz, Amethyst, Epidote, and Rainbow Obsidian, and they were surprisingly NOT eaten, despite how delicious that they looked. How thoughtful!

Although he vaguely detected her within his heightened proximity sensors (a habit he had developed since interacting regularly with humans, for their safety), he did not actually turn around until he heard the yelp. Ratchet blinked, watching her hurry off, before looking down.

He knelt, large hands gently beginning to shift through the contents of her offering, examining every crystal and rock with care. He then lifted the basket, and quietly moved it to his room, just to ensure no one else would see and get any ideas about turning them into a snack.

[archoneddzs15]

PC Engine - Silent Debuggers

Title: Silent Debuggers / サイレント デバッガーズ

Developer/Publisher: Data East

Release date: 29 March 1991

Catalogue No.: DE90004

Genre: Sci-Fi Dungeon Crawler

Format: HuCard

Silent Debuggers starts out as a fairly decent game. You're locked inside an alien-infested space station and the mood and ambience of the game are fairly well done. As you investigate the first floors, only using your proximity sensor, things do feel great, and the game is incredibly immersive (even if you play the Japanese version as language is not really a problem). The graphics are really impressive, and the sound effects are great - these nasty aliens are fairly scary, and encountering one for the first time will definitely get your hair to stand up. But after a couple of levels, Silent Debuggers falls flat on its face - the game feels incredibly repetitive with the same alien-looking foes again and again. There's so much you can fit in a 4 Mbits Hucard after all, and endless mazes of similar corridors and aliens just won't get your brain juices going... although Silent Debuggers sets an incredible mood (the alien proximity beeper really gives the game its flair), it quickly ends up being very same-ish and its content gives a disturbing feel of lackadaisical sense of progression... it is a shame because the game had great potential but, as I said, quickly falls flat of its face... all in all, Silent Debuggers is definitely a game that is oozing with atmosphere but falls short of the experience it could have been.

[triscribeaucollection]

You'll Wake Up One Day

(Making progress on ch 3, should be posting it to AO3 this weekend, but in the meantime here's a preview):

Two hours here. Fourteen minutes there. Three minutes, six hours, two days.

The more Pepper stared at the timeline, the more she wished desperately Tony had managed to come up with some sort of shielding that protected FRIDAY’s databanks from outside magical interference - at least then she’d be able to watch the footage of Peter interacting with her family, even if Pepper couldn’t remember the moments herself.

And there were many, many moments.

After Peter cried himself out and took a post-adrenaline crash nap of his own, Nat disappeared and Happy excused himself, both of them almost certainly leaving to do their separate versions of investigating. When dinner arrived, Pepper gave the delivery driver an extra generous tip, and set everything out on the dining room table before waking up her- her kids. Just thinking that particular thought put her into a bit of a stunned state during the meal, but if Peter noticed, he didn’t say anything. Morgan definitely didn’t notice, entirely too busy scarfing down wontons and stir fry and chattering about every subject under the sun. She scooted her chair right up next to Peter’s at the table, and got FRIDAY to open a holographic screen to show off various pictures, and only twice acknowledged Pepper’s presence in the form of “Right, Mommy? And then-” before continuing onward at maximum vocal speed.

Peter didn’t look like he enjoyed the experience. No, he looked like a wanderer who’d been lost and starving in the desert, suddenly dropped into the middle of a welcoming oasis and drinking up every moment with a delighted smile on his face. Several times, that beaming expression turned in Pepper’s direction, gratitude plain to see in the boy’s eyes, which managed to both warm her heart and twist the knife just a little deeper.

Eventually, though, the food ran out, and Morgan began to slow down, drooping in her seat. Peter practically jumped to carry her upstairs again; Pepper didn’t follow or watch via FRIDAY, but she did half wonder if the pair would have their own version of ‘I love you three thousand’.

She made certain to give Peter another hug before he left, and insisted “You are part of this family. Whether I remember the past or not, going forward, you are welcome here any time, okay?”

“Okay,” he whispered into her shoulder. And then Peter all but fled into the night, swearing he was fine to web-swing back to Queens, leaving Pepper to sit down on her sofa again and get lost in her own thoughts.

It was nearly midnight when FRIDAY gave her a gentle ping. “Yes, Fri?”

“I’ve compiled a timeline, Pep, of all my instances of corrupted data which I believe indicate Peter’s proximity to my sensors.”

After taking a deep breath, Pepper stepped into the breach. “Alright, let’s see it.”

Two hours here. Fourteen minutes there. Three minutes, six hours, two days. Cycles of smaller and larger blocks of lost data, going back months and years. Even during the Blip, there were corrupted pieces - which almost always lined up with Morgan’s bedtime. Pepper thought of Tony lulling their baby girl to sleep with tales of her big brother, and the knife in her heart threatened to shove clear through to the other side with how much it hurt.

There were all sorts of things Pepper could do, moving forward, to try and draw Peter back into their fold, to make new memories he would share with her and Morgan and the others.

I just- don’t really fit in the family, anymore

It would be enough. And as long as she kept telling herself that, the knife could be ignored.

[the-consortium]

The Winged Creature

Continued from here, because post got too long: https://www.tumblr.com/gibmirrosen/723627410169430016/rosen-awakens-completely-to-their-surroundings

@gibmirrosen

Anyone who knows how much Fabius hates to be touched, how much he deliberately keeps away from human closeness and warmth, would be surprised that he does not react with resistance when this creature in its nascent stage tries to embrace him and Herik with its arms, which is not quite successful yet, because although Rosen has already gained some height, they are still one and a half heads short of Fabius and another half as much short of Herik.

The flying skins still dripping with nutrient solution leave sticky traces on the lab coat, but Fabius doesn't even flinch. Instead, he takes the opportunity to check the healing process on the skull, to which he has added several delicate new organs, to give Rosen a chance to develop echolocation or infrasound detection. So while Rosen's head rests against his shoulder, he holds them in place and the chirurgeon takes a few samples and surveys any growth.

For all his cold professionalism, Fabius' grip is not unkind or cruel.

But definitely not comparable to the animal intensity with which Herik expresses his joy at the successful first step. He does not flinch from the touch either. The bird-Astartes is clearly more expressive than Fabius. Although he too uses the proximity to quickly inspect Rosen's flight skins, he still finds the time to express his satisfaction with some shrill sounds and to fluff his wings with visible satisfaction.

Fabius briefly lifts Rosen's head with both hands under the long jaw and turns it back and forth, the chirurgeon shines a light into the creature's eyes and Fabius observes the pupil reflex. Meanwhile, with other arms of his chirurgeon, he has attached some sensors to Rosen's skull, small enough not to interfere even when hunting.

Only now does he answer Rosen: "Yes, I did that. And the interim results are promising. The calculated growth rate is 87% correct and I am satisfied with that for the moment. Now you will collect data for the next step. For that Herik will go hunting with you. But first the basic things."

He pushes Herik away from Rosen and points to the open area in front of the tank. "Show me some movements that seem natural to you."

[queen-of-writing-bad-things]

Henry Danger Reader Insert | Captain Man x Reader: SEASON 4

Episode 21: Flabber Gassed

~The Man Cave~

Sometimes, even in a place as kooky and crazy as the Man Cave, the boredom set in. Between crimes and calls, the family found themselves doing nothing, just sitting around and eating auto-snacker delights because they had nothing better to do.

That often led to creativity springing from the strangest places. Today, during the drypoint of the day, Ray, (y/n), Jasper, Henry and Charlotte had set up a videogame to have some fun. And this wasn't any regular videogame. It was one of those new inventions that everyone was obsessed with but few could afford, not that money stood in the way of Ray Manchester.

Of course, he had better things to save for, a much happier, more special event that was creeping closer day after day, even if there still wasn't a set date, just general anticipation for the moment when his life became that much sweeter. Anyway, in a moment of madness, that (y/n) would definitely scold him later for, Ray had whacked the game and the wicked exoskeleton, motion sensor suit things that were needed to immerse yourself fully into the virtual world. 

It was a fighting game, what else would it be when it came to internet popularity? Violence and adrenaline were what people loved, the Man Cave team included. With the suits on, they could each control a character onscreen and then kick and punch to their hearts' content until they became the victor. Simple really, and good fun, a good release of pent-up energy, and a good training opportunity - Ray's excuse, not theirs.

"Yes, come on, Henry! Finish her! He's finally gonna dethrone the queen!" Ray cheered as he, (y/n) and Jasper sat on the sidelines, waiting for a turn since the game was a two-player only. Still, it gave him a good chance to snuggle with his girl as they watched the epic match, the only barrier being the thick suits blocking a truly heartwarming experience. Saying that, despite their proximity and tendency to swap kisses every couple of minutes, they were batting for different sides; one on Team Henry, the other on Team Charlotte.

"Finish heeeeeer!" Jasper yelled too, screeching at the top of his voice because so far, the games hadn't exactly been fair in terms of spreading out the victories. Charlotte had found her niche and it turns out that she was quite vicious when it came to fighting and if it wasn't for her small size and lack of muscle, she'd be quite good at it too. So, when a videogame came out that allowed her to kick the shit out of people and not get hurt, naturally she excelled.

"Dude, that was right in my ear!" Ray snapped as he leaned into his sweet girl to try and protect his poor little eardrums. Just because they couldn't burst didn't mean it didn't hurt and besides, it did have quite an appealing bonus; (y/n) cooed and pecked his cheek at how he winced, hoping that she could him feel better. He'd take that treatment any day of the week if it was her being his nurse.

"I'm gonna do it! I'm finally gonna--what's happening? Wait..." Henry's cockiness soon stopped when Charlotte, who loved to toy with her prey before she went in for the kill, started fighting back, kicking and punching his character with everything she had. The bear avatar that she had chosen unleashed its fury onto Henry's Hair creature thing, causing the boys to panic at how the girls were now winning.

"Come on, Char, beat the crap out of him!" (y/n) clapped her hands as her side crept into the lead, pushing Henry's health bar lower and lower until the kid had no other option but to panic. It was ironic really; he was supposed to be the sidekick, he'd been fighting every week since he was thirteen but in this videogame, he and even Captain Man were useless against the girl. 

"Run, Henry, run!"

"I'm running! I'm running!" Following his boss's advice, the kid jogged on the spot so his character could move away from the bear's punches and maybe regain some health before going in for another attack, but it was no use. Where he went, Charlotte followed, right until they reached the boundary of the level, leaving the hair creature thing trapped against an invisible barrier. One strong kick from the girl and it was all over, his character fell to the floor in a knockout and he was left with a humiliating defeat. Game over.

"No!"

"Yes! All right, Charlotte!" (y/n) cheered with a beaming grin on her face as her friend swiped her hand to exit the game because it would just be cruel to crush the boy again. The expressions on Ray, Jasper and Henry's faces said it all, these girls would be the death of them. Ray especially, his sweet girl was just asking for a tickle attack when she hugged his arm and gazed at him with an "I-told-you-so" stare.

"I was just about to beat you," Henry whined as his friend stood there with her hands on her hips and a smug smirk on her lips. That was a load of crap and he knew it, but if it helped him sleep at night, whatever. Charlotte knew the truth, no matter the delusions that Henry painted for himself.

"Well, sometimes the cat likes to play with the mouse before she kills it." She replied, her tone turning frosty at the end. She wasn't about to let him think that he stood a chance, not when she'd found something that she was so good at. After all, she'd been given some great pointers by (y/n) for self-defence and those training sessions during that fight with Bysh Bilsky helped a lot too.

"Yeah, well, sometimes, the cat hurts the mouse's feelings." Oh, boo-hoo, cry her a river. Nothing was fair during war, he was just salty that he'd had his virtual ass handed to him by a girl half his size. And now, it was time to wrestle with the big dogs, or at least, that's how Ray saw himself.

"All right, Charlotte. You've proven you can defeat boy hair, let's see how you do against fully-grown man hair. Bye-bye!" Ray challenged her as he sent Henry to the sidelines, peeling himself from (y/n)'s side and standing up to see if he could take down the undefeated champion. 

"Nothing you've said has ever sounder stranger." (y/n) commented as she budged up to let Henry sit on the step next to her, but all the same, she was looking forward to the match too. It wouldn't hurt to let Ray's ego fall by a peg or two, he was getting quite big-headed recently and getting to see those muscles tense and harden knowing she was the only one who got to appreciate them fully was a real treat. It probably wouldn't help the ego thing, but she couldn't help it...

"Has anyone seen the big toenail clippers?" Suddenly, just as the match was about to underway, Schwoz appeared from the back room, where the community showers were, separate from those that were ensuite to the bedrooms. He was soaking, that's how they knew he'd been showering but that's not what outraged (y/n) and Ray. 

Unlike most people, who'd dry off with a towel, Schwoz, the little shit, had stolen Colin, that's right, Colin, the fur-baby that (y/n) and secretly Ray doted their affection onto after rescuing him from a sticky ending in space. And if stealing him wasn't enough, the poor bunny was being used as the absent towel, his fluffiness being used as a substitute to mop up the droplet of water running from his bald head.

"What?" To him, it wasn't weird, he'd just taken Colin for a walk that's all, why was (y/n) looking at him like she wanted to kill him? Why was Ray's jaw set like he was trying to hold it all in? He wasn't hurting the rabbit, just getting him a bit moist and it's not like he had any other choice. 

"Schwoz, please tell me that you aren't drying yourself with my rabbit." The woman seethed, slowly standing up from the steps so she could slowly approach the man who had her beloved pet in his arms. He should be hopping about his hutch right about now, not helping to towel a coconut-headed weirdo, and if he didn't put him back right this second then she'd...get Ray to beat him up. He loved Colin nearly as much as she did.

"Yes..." So, he chose death. How very stupid of him.

"I'll just ask the obvious question here before (y/n) kills you...why?" Charlotte stepped in, at least wanting to know his reasoning before her friend flew into a protective frenzy. If only she could put into words of fond the woman was of that bunny, how she talked to him, fed him carrots and cuddled him for at least an hour every day. Hell, she'd even taken him on a walk in the park once or twice, which had been a fun day for Ray as all the other couple walked their German Shepherds and Poodles.

"Yeah, why?"

"Yeah, where are the toenail clippers?"

"Why not use a towel?" An assortment of questions, some of which were less relevant than others but the ferocious look in Ray's eye told Schwoz which one he should answer first.

"Because I sent our towels to the cleaners and they all got stolen!" He explained and began to rub his damp cheek into the rabbit's fur again, hoping that by some miracle, his body would be dry afterwards. The fact that bunnies aren't meant to get wet too often and that he could've used an old t-shirt or something meant nothing to him, not when he had a solution in his hands.

But what he said had a familiar ring to it, at least for the teens. That situation sounded oddly like what had happened to them, maybe not exactly identical but recently, they'd noticed that when they were at home, finding a towel had been a pretty difficult task.

"Our towels got stolen too!" Charlotte had been affected.

"Same with us..." Henry too.

"We haven't had towels at my house in years." Jasper's family was affected but in a completely different way; his parents were...insane and a couple of outcasts from society. Much like Schwoz, he was a weirdo too and heading for a beating judging by the way he roughly stroked his hand down Colin's back to wring the water that had soaked into his fur. Rabbits don't like getting wet, why couldn't he understand that?

"Ah, you're getting rabbit water all over the man floor!" Ray complained as his handyman created a puddle around his feet. Yeah, 'cause that was the biggest concern here, a slipping hazard. The only thing (y/n) cared about was Colin's safety...and how her doofus still hadn't dropped that dumb yet adorable yet infuriating habit yet.

"Just call it a floor, doofus! And Schwoz, clean up your mess before someone slips and dies." (y/n) told the genius, walking over to her fiancé to squeeze his arm at how much she hated how everything had to be called man-something, a quirk that he'd never drop so she just had to live with it. Oh well, it could be worse, and he had many, many, many redeeming qualities, such as the charming smile he flashed as an apology or the way he searched for her hand so he could squeeze it.

"Sorry, sorry..." Schwoz stuttered and immediately crouched to mop up the water, only he didn't exactly use a cloth or an actual mop to do it. No, he used Colin, much to (y/n) and Ray's frustration since that was the opposite of what they had meant; he was wiping their pet across the tiles and the terror in Colin's eyes just made it worse. Who was this weird, troll-like human and why was he holding him captive?

"No, no, no, don't--" Ray gave up trying to stop him because, from the looks of it, Colin wasn't an effective mop anyway. Schwoz would give up soon, he hoped, otherwise, he'd have to pry his girl away from him kicking and screaming bloody murder. She sure did love that bunny.

"Okay, maybe we should track down whoever's stealing these towels," Henry suggested and it was quite a smart idea in his head. The way he saw it, the sooner they figured out who this freak was and took back whatever towels had been stolen, the sooner Schwoz would stop using innocent animals as substitutes. 

And that would only mean that (y/n) would be happier, therefore Ray would be happier, y'know because their moods were connected and dependent on each other, therefore it would be sunshine and rainbows from here on out. Or it would be if Ray took a moment to think.

"Pffft! I don't care about a towel thief! We fight real crime, okay? We do important things, heroic things. Now, can I please get back to beating a teenage girl in a video game and impressing my hot future wife? Thank you!" The hero brushed away his concern, more excited about fake fighting than something that might just be worth looking into. His muscles looked great, he'd picked this shirt specifically for making his sweet girl salivate as he played, there was no way he was gonna give up this opportunity.

"Okay! Bear versus hair, round two! And...fight!" Jasper shouted as he set up the fight for the competitors. In the bear corner, they had Charlotte, supported by (y/n), in the Hair corner, they had Ray, flanked by Jasper and Henry, and it was his pride that was on the line here. Captain Man couldn't lose this one, not when he thought about who was watching and who he was trying to beat.

"Oh, okay, uhhh, how do you, ermmm, hang on! Why am I on fire?!" Yeah, right from the get-go, it was a disaster for Ray. Charlotte was relentless and took advantage of the fact that whilst she had played several rounds, he was a mere noob, totally unaware of the controls, which meant she was free to just lay into him. A punch here, a few kicks there and before he knew it, Ray was on the verge of death, his character burning up from how savagely it had been beaten.

"Finish him!" (y/n) screamed, not caring if she was siding with someone other than her doofus, it was all just a bit of fun. She supported him in everything else they did, lord knows they were an unbeatable pair at Mario Kart but just for this game, they were enemies to spice things up. And girl power was about to win when they were rudely interrupted by an all too familiar siren.

"Emergency alert!" Schwoz exclaimed and with Colin still cradled in his arms, dashed across the room to read what was wrong on the supercomputer. Save by the alarm, literally, in Ray's case; he knew when he was about to be beaten and now that he had an excuse, he was gonna take it to spare his blushes and because he had a duty to perform. But mainly the first reason.

"Pause! Pause! Pause, pause, pause it! Emergency alert, uh, game over, doesn't count..." He stammered as Jasper ended the match, leaving Charlotte speechless at how he had forfeited when she was so close to beating him. Oh, how convenient, he knew that she was about to kick his ass, otherwise, he wouldn't be dragging (y/n) away from the steps and over to the computer like it physically pained him to be near the screen. 

"Dude, I was just about to beat you!" She exclaimed in an offended voice and followed the couple over to the monitors since she wasn't about to let Ray go so easily. Sure, they and Henry had a job to do but it was still annoying.

"Mmm, guess we'll never know!" 

"So you're saying that if the game hadn't been paused you wouldn't be crying into my shoulder right now?" (y/n) called him out, looking up at him with a teasing lilt to her voice that made his cheeks darken. He looked like perfection from this angle, jaw in a sharp angle, cheeks freshly shaven after she'd watched him swipe the razor over his foamed face that morning, eyes serious and darting to absorb the information and not her words, and his hair--his hair. It was in a fluffy quiff, freshly cut so not as long as it usually was but it suited him. It made him look hot, as always.

"Uh, so, Schwoz, who needs saving?" Ray cleared his throat as he felt his girl turn her head to peck at the patch of skin to the right of his Adam's apple. He didn't doubt that she knew she had him rattled and his way of deflecting her teasing by acting all concerned for some stranger just confirmed it. The jokes and comments about him losing to a child would be endless but deep down, he loved how she razzed him and fawned over his blushes. He loved her, so very much.

"Someone is carrying a large load of towels into an abandoned laundromat in the old washing district!" Schwoz replied. For once, there wasn't a victim, so it wasn't a go-go-go, get there fast to avert disaster situation, but suspicious activity was worth checking out. Particularly after the high level of towel theft in the area that had left bunnies vulnerable and many Swellviewians wet.

"We have got to deal with this towel situation right away." Ray declared, knowing that if they went out on a mission, there was no way he'd have to stick around and fight. Although, it was a far cry from his earlier opinion; only five minutes ago, less even, he was slagging off the idea of hunting down some kleptomaniac with a passion for nabbing towels from people's houses.

"Uh, I thought you said that you didn't care about the towel thief," Charlotte noted, calling his bluff perfectly, causing everyone to look at him with raised eyebrows as he froze and clawed for a smartass reply. But how could he argue with himself? He'd literally said that, there was no denying it, not when his sweet girl wiggled her eyebrows to fluster him even more.

"Uh, that was then, this is now. People change, read a book!" Ray snapped, getting all stroppy after being called out and stomped away from the computer so he wouldn't have to see their smirks. Of course, people change, he did, he was a better man now than he'd ever been because who would have ever thought the playboy Ray Manchester would want to settle down? So, Henry and (y/n) could snigger all they want, didn't they have a towel thief to catch?

"Come on, sweet girl, come on, kid. Let's pop some gum..." He started, taking out his gum tube and popping a gumball as they came over to transform too. He'd left the utterance open for them to finish the rhyme and make it sick but (y/n), still wanting to tease him, wouldn't leave it at that.

"So you don't have to lose to Charlotte..."

"...Chum," Henry smirked as he added the cutesy ending, making it rhyme just to irritate Ray even more. He'd never live this one down, not when they enjoyed it so much that not even the gum hitting their tongues could stop their smirks.

"Stop frowning, you know you love it, sweetheart." (y/n) giggled as she chewed, causing him to extend a hand to her ribs just before she blew. A warning for the tickle attack he'd give her if she carried on, and upon hearing her shriek and the way she jumped to move away, he left it at that, smirking at how the teasing worked both ways.

They snapped into their super-suits, stretching after the materialisation just to get used to the new material before turning to jog up to the tube pads. 

"Schwoz, make sure you put Colin back before we come home or I will end you." (y/n) warned over her shoulder, sparing him a glance as Ray's hand settled into the small of her back. Yeah, they needed to leave but she also needed to warn him of the consequences of hurting her precious rabbit, however, for some odd reason, her comment made something click in Schwoz's mind.

"I will but wait, wait, wait! You should take your new battle suits!" He exclaimed, passing Colin to Jasper who took the bunny like he was made of glass. He knew that a grizzly death was waiting for him if he squeezed too hard or dropped him, (y/n) was now watching carefully at the mention of these new inventions, Ray and Henry too. 

They had no idea what these battle whatsits were, probably because they had just been an idea between the heroine and genius for when missions were particularly dangerous. A little extra help never hurt anyone and these weren't some two-bit toys, these were a Schwoz-(y/n) combo, the crème de la crème of engineering split between his experience and efficiency and her youthful innovation. 

"Our whatsit?"

"What's a battle soup?"

"Oh, yeahhh! He means a battle suit, Hen, not soup, we just invented them last night. He did the software and I did the wiring." (y/n) explained with an excited smile on her face, ready to their hard work accumulated into a finished product. To be fair, Schwoz did his part whilst in the bath and there was no way she was present for that, the mere thought was vile but the suits were now finished and perfect for this type of situation - one where they didn't know what they were about to face. 

"What did they say?" Henry whispered to Ray, having no idea what the smart ones were talking about. Something about technology and something complicated, no doubt, all it sounded like to them was sciencesciencesciencesciencescience - and more science. Still, they watched in curiosity as Schwoz took out a special gum tube of his own, a special set of balls that glowed orange to signify that these were unique, not Captain Man's regular.

"Is this why you came to bed late last night, sweet girl?" Ray nudged her, causing her electrified eyes to meet his. Well, yeah, it had been late when she finally crawled into bed and that had resulted in him being clamped to her side the minute she slid under the comforter. It had been like twenty questions; where had she been?, what had she been doing?, did she miss him?, why were her feet so cold? - it went on and on with her body pulled under his and his face buried into her neck. But all her answers had been a bit vague, just enough to satisfy his need to know but not too much to ruin the surprise. 

"It might be..." She smirked, watching as Schwoz blew his gum and became illuminated just like they did when it was hero time. Sure, it had been a long slog, the type of project that wouldn't let her leave until it was finished, but seeing that suit appear on his body in all its glory and having her doofus' unwavering attention and affection all night made it worth it. 

"Whoa!" Jasper gasped, thinking that Schwoz had never looked cooler, like The Terminator or something and he just had to get closer. And that meant that it was Charlotte's turn to be a rabbitsitter. Begrudgingly.

"Ahh, it's still wet!" She cringed as Colin cuddled into her body and the water that still soaked his fur steeped into her shirt. 

"Colin is not an it! He's my baby!" (y/n) complained, feeling her tummy flutter at how much her bunny was being passed around and picked on just because he was a victim of circumstance. Still, Jasper's enthusiasm was nice, that was the kind of reaction that made inventing worthwhile, especially when he started asking questions with a genuine interest. 

"What does a battle suit do?!"

"Well, it makes you stronger, makes you punch harder--"

"And it kinda smells like French Vanilla!" (y/n) added to Schwoz's explanation, going over to them with spring in her step so she could hold Schwoz's wrist underneath Jasper's nose. It's true, they did all of that, but the pleasant smell was just one of those things that had cropped up as a surprise during the assembly, something to do with the fabric they used to insulate the wires. While they were basking in the teen's praise, Ray and Henry swapped sceptical looks; punch harder? Stronger? Since when did Captain Man, Miss Danger and Kid Danger need that?

"Uh, Schwoz, precious girl, this is cute but I don't know if you know this but I'm a superhero and I have a superpower." Ray smiled at them sweetly, causing (y/n) to sigh and put her hands on her hips at how his stupid ego was creeping in. How could he be so sweet with the pet name and be so condescending at the same time? Duh, she knew who he was, what he could do, it wasn't about belittling him or Henry, it was just a token to give them all a bit of oomph.

"I also have a superpower." And Henry was in on it, just as cocky and smug as the man next to him.

"See, uh, I'm indestructible..." Whoa, no way? Really? She'd loved him for eleven years and he'd never mentioned that before!

"I have super-fast reflexes..." Again, where were all these big secrets coming from?

"And we both smell pretty nice on our own."

"We smell gooooood!" Oh, the pigheadedness between them was huge and so aggravating. This wasn't a newsflash, they were just being dicks and lecturing the science buddies because they'd made an invention that they thought they didn't need, which wasn't very nice since the suits had been made as gifts. All that work and going to bed late and they were ridiculing them, treating them like children.

"Yeah, hi, I'm Miss Danger, nice to meet you. I've got super-regeneration, great perfume and yet my head isn't nearly as big as yours, Captain Ego and Kid Smugface!" (y/n) growled, giving her lover and friend a cold glare because they'd hurt her and Schwoz. A simple no, thank you would've been all right, sufficient, all they needed to hear to put the suits away for a rainy day, but nope, they just had to get mean. So much for supporting her interests...

"(y/n), sweet girl, you're an amazing superhero, plus, you've got me and Henry to protect you. We don't need these battle suit...things." Ray stepped forward to cup her cheeks and smooth the lines from her forehead, but to his shock and hurt, she batted his hands away. Soft touches and kisses weren't gonna cut it this time, an apology for insulting them would be better, and an admittance that he was wrong and vain would be great.

"Man, you guys have really gotten cocky lately," Charlotte commented as Ray tried not to look too forlorn at how his girl had pushed him away. What? He just spoke his mind; for over twenty-five years now, he'd been going out, catching bad guys and fighting crime, then Henry joined him, then her and now, they were a real unit, packed with different abilities and skills that meant they could face anything. Cockiness had nothing to do with it, that was just a fact

"What?!"

"Cocky. You know, over-confident, big ego, full of yourself, compensating--" Jasper listed every synonym under the sun so Ray and Henry would get the picture. And it was all true, the boys had become full of themselves recently, carrying a "greater than thou" mentality and an air of invincibility that wasn't very endearing. (y/n) could tolerate it with Ray because she often got distracted by his cute face and when it was just the two of them, he became humble, worshipping, a real sweetheart. But now, his attractiveness was plummeting.

"I know what cocky means! And by the way, it isn't cocky...if it's true!" The same smug smirks crept back onto his and Henry's faces as they chuckled and bumped fists, making everyone else roll their eyes. They fed off each other's energy and it gave Ray the confidence to flex his biceps for (y/n) to admire, not that she took the bait. That made him sigh; where had his smiley girl gone? The one who loved to grab onto his muscles and writhe in his lap?

"Come on, Kid Danger. Let's go fight some crime--" Ray's smirk didn't falter though, no matter how much his heart roared to go to her and see if he could make things right before they went. He hated upsetting her but pride stood in the way of apologising and now that he'd made a point, he couldn't go back on it, not when he and Henry were in it together. So, leaving his suit girl to stand there with her arms crossed, he moved to climb the steps...and tripped. How embarrassing.

"You okay, Raymond?" (y/n) asked, trying to sound dry, but a note of concern crept in because her doofus had fallen and no matter how indestructible he was, she'd always find herself wanting to make sure he hadn't bashed something. Whilst she didn't move, she did ask, curse her heart for loving him even when he pissed her off.

"Just, uh, doing some pre-fight pushups, y'know, like I always do!" Bullshit alert. It was a smooth save, how he immediately started pumping his guns to push his body up and down, but everyone knew he was lying and trying to save face with a workout - a spectacle that (y/n) enjoyed more than she'd admit.

"Yeah, sure you are."

"Never seen you do them before..."

"We know you're lying." (y/n), Schwoz and Charlotte each gave a dry, unimpressed response as he refused to admit that he was being a showoff. Jasper, however, took a slightly different approach, one that was a lot weirder too.

"Pushup contest! Let's go!" He declared and instantly dropped to the to mimic Ray's movements, which wasn't a very smart idea, honestly. Ray spent a gazillion hours a week lifting weights and getting all sweaty on a treadmill and not to inflate his ego anymore or anything, but that had left him with super stamina. Jasper, with his softy tummy and wrists that still went all the way up his arms, didn't stand a chance in a competition. 

"You sure you still want to come, Miss Danger?" Ray asked over Jasper's counting and grunts, holding his hand out to his sweet girl and praying that she'd accept the offer. Hmm, not going would certainly teach him a lesson and he needed one of those more than anything, but then there was her gut feeling. 

Maybe the densitiser gave her two superpowers instead of just one because she swore that whenever something was coming, for good or bad, she got this tingling sensation in her stomach that told her to follow or run like hell. And usually, it wasn't wrong; something about the abandoned district over town gave her the creeps as it were but the thought of Ray and Henry walking in alone made it even worse. She cared, dammit, she fucking cared. Screw them and screw her stupid protective feelings. 

"You sure your head will be able to fit into the tube, Captain?" (y/n) retorted, skipping up the steps and totally ignoring the hand that offered to tug her close to his chest. She could stand close to him on her own, she didn't need help, although, the way his arm dropped to curl around her waist to hold her tight was heavenly. Being condensed into a tube together always was and even though she was clearly annoyed with him, Ray couldn't help but take her cold affection and let it warm his heart.

She cared, even when she was mad at him, and that went to his head. Goddammit. 

~The Abandoned Laundromat~

Jeez, no wonder this place gave (y/n) the creeps. Spooky was one word, disgusting was another, but both did the job of describing the hellhole the three heroes found themselves in. It smelled horrible, like sewage and something burning, rubber perhaps, and everything was dark and dirty, with more trashbags than people littering the streets because would anyone come to such a place?

That was the question (y/n) was beginning to ask herself as she followed behind Ray with Henry tailing her and she was sorry to say that she'd taken to holding her fiancé's hand in a death grip. Every little noise spooked her in this place, a mangey dog barking in the distance, a rusty gate squeaking in the breeze, car tires screeching down the road, none of what she was experiencing told her that this was a nice area of town - something her eyes confirmed. 

Now, she was beginning to wish she'd brought the battle suit. In her haste to leave the Man Cave and not get left behind, as well as ensuring that she sassed Ray every time he pissed her off, she'd left the special gum with Schwoz. Maybe the boys would've laughed at her, teased her for being a pansy when she had a superpower to protect her, but better safe than sorry, right? And in a place like this laundromat, they would be well and truly sorry judging by how her gut still hadn't stopped hurting. 

Not tingling, no, this was not a good feeling, this was an instinct to bolt like something bad was gonna happen, not that Henry and Ray were bothered. As she stuck close to the man's side, finding comfort in the scent of his cologne and how he squeezed her hand back, they were chatting happily as if they were strolling through the park on a summer's day. Not a care in the world or a doubt that they were gonna struggle.

"Which is why if you part your hair in the same place each time, eventually it will fall out," Ray told his sidekick as he guided the party to the front of the building, which had long since been abandoned. The only people who lived around these parts now were dirtbags and villains, the scum of society who needed somewhere as dark and as dirty as themselves to lie low as they waited between crimes and other heinous deeds.

"Wait, dude, are you serious?" Henry asked, ignoring his surroundings completely and focusing on his precious hair instead. His hair made up twenty per cent of his good looks and was one of the best things about him. Screw their terrifying surroundings, he was more worried about being a bald freak in front of girls.

"That's what happened to Schwoz!" Ray revealed with a cheeky smile, which grew even more when he felt his sweet girl nuzzle her face in-between his shoulder blades. Why she felt so scared he didn't know, it wasn't like they hadn't been to places taken straight from a horror movie before and they'd faced monsters too. 

Still, he didn't mock or laugh, he couldn't; he was big-headed, sure, but cruel, no. His arm lifted and gently pulled her into his side where she could huddle into him and feel sheltered from whatever was out there, and she gratefully pressed against him even more, safe with his heartbeat in her ear. When could they go home?

"Wow..." Evidently, not soon. As Henry reeled from the new information on how Schwoz had turned into a coconut head, they all looked at the laundromat, in all its horror and dingy lighting. That was odd, there were lights on, even though they'd read on the supercomputer that no one had done any laundry here for years, y'know, because it was dirty and gave people the heebie-jeebies. 

"Okay, yeah, so, this is the place."

"Yeah, guys, I was thinking for the plan, we should--" (y/n) started. This was fine, to an extent, they were right, she was a superhero. Her lover and fellow sidekick were by her side and she had cells that could rush to any injury and heal it up lickety-split. 

No need to panic, this was gonna be like any other mission, a success but that didn't mean she wasn't listening to her gut. Well, she wasn't gonna do a runner just yet but she did want a plan. A well-thought-out, understandable, foolproof plan before they went in there. It was the smart thing to do, walking in blindly was just dumb.

"Oooh, hey, sweet girl, no, no, no. Let's just go in there and do a little freeform jazz fighting." Ray stopped her there because true to his nature, he was being dumb, he was gonna walk in there blindly, she should've known. Of course, he thought he was unstoppable and that was no way to think.

"I'm sorry, what? Have you hit your head again? Do I need to take you to a doctor or...?" (y/n) gave him a confused stare as she stepped back to analyse his face, their hands still joined. Her irritation was beginning to creep back in, it having died down on the drive over when his hand stroked at her knee and he made a few crappy dad jokes to make her laugh. That had calmed her down as for a moment, it felt like it was just them, his normal side came out and he didn't need to impress anyone. He didn't need an ego with her. 

"Y'know, jazz fighting! You in there and be like, ba-da-dat-scooby-da-da-pow!" Ray scatted and finished with a strong high kick as he demonstrated what he was on about. It was ridiculous and dumb, just his style in fact because it was so ineffective but he was such a good fighter that it would make him look cool anyway. Henry, who Ray's ego had rubbed off on, quite liked the sound of it.

"Ah, okay, I'm picking up what you're putting down. And, I'll be all like, a-doo-doo-doo-doo-a-pow! A-pow-da-pow-da-pow-da-pow!" Before (y/n) knew what was happening, she was stood in the middle of what could only be described as an adolescent boy and a fully-grown man circling her and pretending to be scatting, kung-fu fighting peacocks. They kicked, they punched, they ignored her pleas to act normal, it was actually kinda concerning.

"Guys...guys...Kid...doofus...guys...guys!" Her final shout finally caught their attention, just after Ray completed a little spin of jazz kicks or whatever called them, and her harsh tone got him to listen. Did she not like jazz? They could try something else maybe, or maybe not...she looked quite mad.

"Look at you! Don't you think Charlotte's right?" She asked, trying her hardest not to scream her grievances in their faces. Was it right to be worried? 

Perhaps. Things had been going good for a while now, they always escaped danger and celebrated afterwards but recently, they'd only been making it out by the skin of their teeth. When would the near-misses become bullseyes? Surely, using the balance of probabilities, ratios and things because that was math and she liked math, it was more likely than ever that something was gonna go wrong. A winning streak always dried up at some point. 

"No!...'bout what?" Ray's instinct was to deny everything because Charlotte was always grumbling about something and judging by the anguish on his sweet girl's face, whatever she was referring to wasn't good. What had he done now? Couldn't they back to that feeling they shared in the car? The fluffy one he felt in his heart when the golden light of the sunset streaked through her hair and illuminated her eyes to their truest colour, that one? He'd apologise if it would take them back to that.

"Us. You know, maybe (y/n) is right, maybe we're getting a little too cocky." Henry interjected, having thought about what his friends had said long and hard. He sensed that Ray had too, he just didn't like to admit that he was wrong nor did he like to admit to being a dumbass. Perhaps the success, the fame, the pride had all fed into his arrogance, perhaps he wasn't as good as he thought he was.

"Oh, please. Come on, I'm the least cocky person on the planet. I'm like the LeBron James of being humble." Ray replied, not realising that in itself was bragging. (y/n) sighed as he pretended to hit a ball, clicking his tongue at how he would obviously score a touchdown if it was real. This wasn't helping his case at all, just cementing Charlotte's argument. Did she dare tell him that he was being an asshole right now?

"No, no, you're right. Let's go pound this clown." With Ray's reassurance in his head, Henry pushed his worries far away to a dark corner of his mind where he didn't have to worry about them anymore. Okay, that didn't sound good, they hadn't even discussed what their battle strategy was gonna be, should they stay defensive or be more offensive? Should she as the weakest and slowest stay back and give them cover fire or should she get in there and throw some punches too? What were they doing?

"Yeah, all right, let's go..." "What about the plan? Hey, don't you walk away from me!" (y/n) hissed as Ray and Henry headed towards the stiff, rusting door, obviously expecting her to just follow their lead. Knowing what they were doing would be quite nice, y'know, but luckily or unluckily for them, just before they could head in there and face whatever monstrosity lurked in a place such as this, Henry's phone started to ring. Thank god for that, maybe she could whack some sense into Ray whilst the kid talked.

"Oh, sorry, it's—it's sister. I'll just call her back." Henry looked at the caller ID and decided that whatever Piper wanted, it could wait. It was nearly always some petty whining anyway, nothing so important that he had to postpone crimefighting, so she could wait for an hour or two.

"Nah, take it. We got time. We'll go warm up..." Ray smiled, thinking that because he and his sidekicks were so amazing and so efficient, even if they spent a few minutes dawdling outside, the problem would be dealt with so quickly, that no one would even notice the difference. He could use a minute to loosen his huge muscles because that's what all athletes do before a big fight; they play it up for the crowd, his being particularly sweet.

"Talk to me..." And with Henry jumping feet first into an argument with Piper, that left (y/n) to tiredly watch her doofus jab and stomp at the air. Such a doofus, the biggest doofus, she just wanted to shake him but when he turned around to smile at her with that dopey grin of his, she just wanted to embrace him too. Stupid heart, stupid love, stupid handsome man.

"Y'know, I'm over here and I can see a pretty girl standing on her own..." He mumbled as he strolled over to her, not deterred by how her arms were folded across her chest and her eyes were anything but playful. The flirting was nice, it always was but now wasn't the time or place, not when they should've been thinking of how they were gonna take this first and thinking about romance second. Fight first, then flirt, that's how it usually was, that way, they could focus on what they were doing and not get captured or injured or killed.

"I hope you know that this pretty girl wants to hear a plan before she gives away any kisses." (y/n) told him, holding her hand up to act as a barrier before his head could drop to caress her lips with his own and for a moment, he looked disappointed, tired even, but then, it was like something switched in him. If he had to work for a kiss then he would, but not how she thought he would. A plan would take time whilst persuading her otherwise would take a lot less effort.

"Sweet girl, nothing is gonna go wrong, so relax. I'm right here and I'm always gonna keep you safe...Captain Man has everything covered." Ray bragged, cupping her cheek and pulling her closer by the hip so he could nuzzle into her hair and unwind before the fighting. Why waste all of his energy now? He had a worried fiancée to take care of, he could handle whatever was in there.

"Just because you're Captain Man and you're indestructible doesn't mean you're invincible. You make me so worried sometimes..." She breathed into his uniform and shuddered when he let out a similar sigh into her neck. Was that a good sigh or a bad sigh? Was he seeing sense or losing it? 

"There's nothing to be worried about, sweet girl. Everything is gonna be fine." No, he never would. No matter how much she fretted and tried to warn him about the danger of getting too full of yourself, Ray would never take it seriously because he couldn't focus on anything when he had her in his arms, lavishing his attention on her always became more important and more interesting. And being able to put her mind at ease was a bonus. 

"Uhhh, yeahhhh. I can get you some towels. I can get you a lot of towels...Yeah, listen, I'll tell you what, I'll be home in, like, half an hour." Upon catching a snippet of Henry's conversation with Piper, Ray decided that he was gonna listen. That's when something caught his ear. Thirty minutes? Psshhh, this was gonna be a walk in the park, so as he cradled his sweet girl to his chest, Ray signalled for the kid to lower the estimate.

"Twenty minutes?" Nope, still not good enough for Raymond. It would take something drastic to open his eyes and humble himself, something that was so shocking that not even the distraction of (y/n) nuzzling into the warmth of his body could distract him. 

"Fifteen minutes." Now Ray liked that time, that sounded much more like it; ambitious and daring, perfect for them. Well, he and Henry that is, the concerned girl in his arms didn't think as such.

"You can't be serious. It takes you fifteen minutes to make a sick entrance, let alone finish a fight." (y/n) hissed at him, suddenly pulling back after snapping out of the doze that being near to him always caused. He seemed to tame her, make her sleepy when he pulled her close and hummed in her ear, the monsters and ghouls in the night disappeared along with her annoyance. But it always came back all too quickly when he made yet another stupid decision.

"I have excellent motivation, sweet girl," Ray muttered into her hair, his voice dropping into a low growl as Henry finished up the call. Oh, god, she knew that voice, she knew those wandering hands. Admittedly, it did send a thrill down her spine but also a chill of fear upwards too; here he was, acting all tough and alpha male, strutting around like a goddamn peacock because he was running off the high of being the top dog. 

"Oh, yeah?" She didn't need to hear the answer, not when she already knew it, but she asked anyway.

"Yeah. In fifteen minutes, the kid will be at home and we can go home to the Man Cave and...have some alone time." Wow, so subtle. His bid for attention didn't go unnoticed, it was impossible not to notice with the way his hands were verging on cupping her ass and how his lips trailed across her jaw, and to her slight embarrassment and shame, her natural reaction did nothing to deflate his ego.

Her breath hitched, her skin superheated, and her hands clutched the material of his uniform just a bit tighter. And that was all Ray needed to experience a surge of confidence and eagerness to get home and get naked with his darling girl, so with a final peck to her cheek, he stepped back, ready to bust down the door and kick some ass in record time. That long-forgetting plan wouldn't go amiss right now.

"Doo-doo-doo-scooby-doo-bow!" The sole of his boot hit the rickety, old door with enough force to cause it to fly open. Captain Man never needed a key, not when he had his tree trunk-like legs to bash them down, which allowed them access to the laundromat. Yeah, this place was suspicious and not just because it had too many lights on for an abandoned building. 

It was impossible to miss; piles and piles of towels of all colours and sizes were scattered all over the place, utterly hiding the floor in some places. Well, it wouldn't take a genius to work out where all those stolen towels from the city had ended up. Now, the only question remained, who brought them to such a creepy place?

"Uh-oh, large man. Larger..." Enter the bad guy. And this was where the slight nudging in the back of (y/n)'s mind, the one that told her to run, starting punching and kicking and screaming to hide, play dead, door something because dear lord, this wasn't a man, it was a mountain. He was huge, a good foot or two taller than Ray at least, with arms as equally powerful and enough muscle to stop an army - whilst they were just three puny superheroes.

Okay, puny was selling them a bit short. Taking down this guy would be a challenge just because of how big he was, they'd need all their cunning and experience if they were gonna take him, which meant it was really, really good that Ray felt unstoppable right now. Was it too late to drop back and rethink the whole no planning thing?

"Get...away from my towels!" He growled at them when their toes nudged at the fabric strewn across the grubby tiles. Oh good, not only was this guy a seven-foot wall of mass, but he was also insane if the psycho look in his eye was anything to go by. That meant he wouldn't hesitate to pummel them into the ground, perhaps he wouldn't even spare (y/n) or the kid from the pain.

"Um, Captain Man...this guy is huge. Really, really big." (y/n) gulped when the man stretched to his full height, proving that he was twice her size and most likely twice as strong. Yeah, she could be the best fighter in the world and have fists of steel but with her height and weight, there was no way she'd last five minutes against this guy - super-regeneration or no super-regeneration. It just wasn't gonna happen and she didn't fancy getting beaten up to test that theory.

"So what, babe? The bigger they are, the louder they cry..." Ray replied, causing smirks to worm their way onto his and Henry's face. It was all right for him, he was bigger than her and had a brutal swing hidden within those biceps, she was left with a few mean tricks, agility and intelligence, which were tactics they weren't going for. Even Henry could dodge the attacks, perhaps get a few jabs in, but this wasn't a task for her.

"Yeah, you're right. Full send..." "I said get away from my towels!" The giant growled again as Henry stepped up to the plate, brimming with confidence even though he was dwarfed by the guy. And he wasn't a small kid, maybe a bit lanky but still quite tall and lithe. Years of training under Captain Man had left Kid Danger as a competent fighter who knew how and where to hit a person to make full use of his strength, which only added to his cockiness.

"Yeah, I heard you, but listen to this..." Henry replied and as the last word left his mouth, he quickly beat the man twice around the face and a couple of times in the stomach, landing four hard blows on a man who felt like a rock. No matter how speedy the kid was with his hyper-motility, the punches were like mere tickles to the psycho, who swiftly fought back by grabbing the boy by the throat. Oh, shit...

Ray and (y/n) watched in horror as their kid was lifted off of his feet and held in the air like a rag doll, chocking and spluttering from how tightly the man's fist was enclosed around his windpipe and refusing to let go. Ray couldn't believe it, Henry was just dangling there doing nothing and the man's arm barely wobbled from the effort of holding him as if he was holding a leaf, not a teen verging on becoming a fully-grown man.

"Uhhhh, Captain Man, Miss Danger..." Henry gasped, calling out for help with whatever breath he could spare as his neck strained and lungs burned. 

It was like his friends were glued to the floor, too stunned to move; that was certainly the case for (y/n), who despite all her skills, superpower and hot fighting machine of a fiancé next to her, couldn't help but feel intimidated by their enemy. He made her feel small, akin to a mouse trying to defeat a lion, one swat and she'd be squished, so no matter if Henry had already been caught, what could she possibly do to help him?

"Huh, I did not think this was gonna happen..." Ray noted as he watched his youngest sidekick kick his legs to try and wriggle free, but the giant wasn't having it. His towels were too precious to risk these trespassers coming to take them, so he did what any psychopath would do - he used his immense strength to throw Henry threw the glass window next to the door. That was gonna hurt in the morning.

"Oh my god, kid!" (y/n) gasped as she and Ray stared at his broken body with wide, concerned eyes, and in no time, she was by the boy's side, running her hands over his arms and legs to look for bruises as well as plucking shards of glass from his uniform. All that she could do was listen to his groans and ask where it hurt, which left Ray to beat the man in the laundromat to a pulp for picking on the wrong boy.

"All right, so you can manhandle a kid, but just try to throw me through a window." He smirked at him, getting ready to start punching because it was impossible for a guy of his height, build and weight to be picked up and tossed about the place. Ray knew that his super-density made him extremely heavy, much heavier compared to Henry, so this psycho was in for a surprise, right?

Yeah, no. To his shock, bafflement and bewilderment, the towel guy seized Ray by the throat just as he had done with Henry and again, he didn't even break a sweat as with one arm, he lifted the hero until his toes had left the ground and threw him through the hole where the glass used to stand. 

Admittedly, he screamed like a girl as he collided with his sweet girl as she tried to do her best to make Henry comfortable and his heart found itself hurting along with his pride and body when he accidentally squished her with his hulking body. Normally, he did everything in his power to avoid that, she was by no means delicate but he was aware of how large he was, so to hit her at full speed and power was harrowing, especially when her groans hit his ears.

"Did not think that was gonna happen either..." Ray panted against her chest as one arm wrapped around her rib cage and his ear fell to hear her heartbeat. If they weren't laid on the dirty fucking ground, in one of the shittiest neighbours in Swellview and reeling from multiple cuts and bruises and sores, then it would've been quite nice to dwarf her and use her finer features as squashy pillows for his cheek to smush against, but he was heavy and she was also half on Henry after colliding with her flying doofus, so they needed to move.

"Can we think of a plan now?" (y/n) whimpered, feeling the wound from her head thunking against the concrete and various nicks from the scattered glass heal up. It felt a bit selfish but she was glad that she had been a coward at the moment before disaster, her instinct to freeze had kept her safe, although the same couldn't be said for Henry.

In the same way doctors don't do open heart surgery on people willy-nilly, she preferred to save her abilities for when they were needed, therefore she didn't actively seek out opportunities to get hurt, that was just sadistic and weird, and much like before, she found herself wanting for a strategy. A way to bring this guy down without necessary injury for the heroes would be better than a repeat of the last ten minutes.

"Yeah, sweet girl, a plan might be good." Ray groaned in agreement, wiping away blood from his lip that had never been there, but the pain was still very real. He felt awful that he'd landed on his girl, causing more injury to that which she already had from him and Henry being pigheaded morons who hadn't listened to her in the first place. Now that he thought it through, he saw that they would need to be cleverer than just jabbing blindly to defeat this meathead.

"Okay, here's the plan," Ray swallowed, still recovering from the fading pain but he battled through it as he continued and looked at Henry, "you go back in there and me and Miss Danger are gonna sneak around the back and try to find another door."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You're the indestructible one, she's the super-healing one and I'm pretty good at finding other doors—" Henry did not like the sound of that plan at all. Why did he have to be the bait? Ray and (y/n) would last much longer than he would and undoubtedly, the man would fight until his last breath to keep his precious girl safe so they should be the ones going in to distract him whilst he did the sneak attack. Right?

"Oh, that's debatable, I wouldn't—" Ray began to argue otherwise, thinking that since he had all the experience, he should be the one to go and sniff out a place to surprise the guy, that way, he would be keeping his girl safe when she was feeling particularly jumpy today. But then, in the corner of her eye, like a looming cloud of doom drifting over her head, (y/n) saw something move in the shadows, and squeaked and grabbed Ray's arm when she saw the guy standing outside the laundromat staring at them.

"Oh my god, he's right here!" She couldn't help the terrified edge in her voice - the man was like a goddamn zombie from a horror movie, the entity that always seemed to catch up no matter how fast they ran or how far away they moved. And for such a large, heavy man, he was surprisingly silent, his sturdy working boots made no noise against the glass on the ground, meaning they were taken aback by his sudden presence, Ray ensuring (y/n) was well behind his back as he stood before the mountain.

"Look, buddy. You may be huge but I'm indestructible, all right? So this is not gonna end—" Ray wasn't one for being intimidated, not by any man and his quivering lover behind him only aggravated his need to stand his ground. Whether it was reckless or not, he was gonna stand his ground with Henry and (y/n) by his side because everyone knows that bullies never win. But it was all over when the psycho pitched his nose and lifted an aerosol can to their faces to squirt some unknown substance at them.

"Is that hairspray? 'Cause, there's a very specific brand I use—-whoaaa..." Suddenly, for the boys, the world went...floopy. The dirt and grime-riddled streets were spinning and their legs felt like jelly or maybe just someone else's legs entirely because all at once, they couldn't stand, things started to feel numb and they didn't know why.

"Guys, what's wrong? What's happening?" (y/n) asked as Ray's hands desperately clutched at her body, not wanting to be a burden but he had to use something to stand up and Henry soon had the same idea. 

They grappled onto her for support because she was still standing steady, perhaps with a small headache that passed in a minute or so after breathing in that weird spray, but overall, she felt great. The same couldn't be said for her companions, who after dragging her down with their combined weight, found that their original plan no longer worked either because as quickly as their legs did, their arms began to shut down too. In a matter of mere seconds, they became noodles, leaving (y/n) helpless to do anything but watch.

"I can't feel my arms and legs!" Henry's voice was laced with pure terror as his knees buckled and his body followed Ray's to the ground still strewn with glass shards. His brain was trying to tell his muscles to move, to lash out, to run for help or to just jerk to prove that they were still there but he got no response. He and Ray were trapped in their bodies with (y/n) left to kneel beside them and panic about how they'd been fine one minute and useless the next.

"Why can't I move? Sweet girl, what's happening?" Ray too was panicking because, in all his years of fighting crime, he'd never experienced something quite like this. All he could manage was to lift his head to take in her wide-eyed gaze and how her hands shook as she tried to take his hand and get it to move. It was no use; no matter how much he wanted to her couldn't squeeze it or lace his fingers with hers, he couldn't bring her ring finger to his lips or even wrap her up in a hug. All he could do was lie there, spread out like a starfish and watch powerlessly as his fiancé stood alone.

"I don't know! What did you spray them with?" (y/n) asked angrily, snapping her head to look up at the psychotic giant, whose eyes seemed to hold a delighted mania from how his enemies were now useless, well, most of them. He couldn't explain why the girl was fine or why she'd been able to shake off any effects without even the bat of an eyelid, but it didn't matter. Such a pretty little thing like her could be snapped like a twig by a man such as him, she only needed to stray too close to his beloved towels.

"Flabber gas! Makes your muscles all...flabby. Except for the girl, she needs another squirt." The psycho muttered huskily and (y/n) glared but stood her ground as he thrust the can into her face and pressed the nozzle. A fine mist enveloped her face as Ray and Henry watched on in horror; it had to be fear that froze her in place, why else would she not try and dodge this flabby-flab-flab gas stuff?

"If you hurt her, I swear, I will end you!" Ray growled. His threat was full of menace but when he could tense his muscles and puff out his chest to show that he meant it, the animosity soon died down and he was left with the feeling of helplessness again. What good was he if he couldn't protect the one he loved from the same fate as him? Yet (y/n) wasn't as feeble as she looked; sure, she was smaller but small things can be surprising.

"Sweet cheese, that stuff stinks! God, it's making my head hurt, jeez..." She spluttered from the musky scent that stung her nose and left a slight spiciness behind that made her brain feel like it was expanding inside her skull. However, just at the point where it felt like her head was gonna explode, the pounding stopped like a wave washed it all away. A wave or some might say super-regeneration replenished her cells and shook off the effects of the gas like she would a poison. (y/n), one, psycho nutjob, nil.

"The Flabber gas doesn't affect you but it affects your friends, girl! And you're no match for me..." The man snapped, his fist squeezing the can of gas in anger at how she was still able to move, she was still able to hold Captain Man's hand to her chest like it was a comfort and she was still a threat to him. Whatever, he could take her, he'd do anything for his towels and let's face it; Miss Danger didn't stand a chance on her own, not when he towered over her.

"Well, do you have any back-to-normal gas?" Henry asked in a strained voice, wanting to get up and do something before (y/n) got pulverised. As sucky as it was to admit it, the meathead was right, she was no match for him, not in a fistfight, the way she tracked his every move and tensed when he came close proved that, but he and Ray weren't up for helping. God, he felt so defenceless, just lying on the floor, open for any attack since he couldn't move to stop anything.

"Maybe there's some down in the sewer..." The giant suggested and instantly, (y/n) didn't like what he was hinting at. Why would he bring that stinking place up if there wasn't a reason? It wasn't gonna be a good reason because the sewer was never a good place to be and as the man got closer, she found herself dropping Ray's hand and shifting back onto her heels.

"Pffttt, unlikely." Ray scoffed, totally misunderstanding the meaning behind his words until the giant's hand shot out to grab (y/n). How dare he; with the action happening above his face, Ray's mind clouded with anger at how he had to sit and watch his girl fight off an uncalled for attack and boy did she fight. Acting on instinct, she jumped back and grabbed the wrist of the hand that tried to reach for her head and used all of the force her body could muster to push it away, hoping that she'd get a chance to retreat before he could try again.

It wasn't gonna happen, though. Even with all of her strength, grit and determination, her boots digging into the concrete to help her hold her ground, nothing was enough. As she did her best to keep one hand away, which was a losing battle, the other came around to take her by surprise and snatch a fistful of her hair whilst she was preoccupied and no sooner than he had her in his grasp, it was all over. 

Her hands redirected and flew to her head to try and scratch or smack his fist away but his skin was like steel, immune to pain and wounds from manicured fingernails; his killer strength returned and a piercing shriek left her lips as he lifted her flailing body by the roots of her hair. 

"Get off me, you psycho!" (y/n) punched, kicked, bit, spat, clawed, anything she could try to get him to drop her before he ripped a clump of strands from her scalp was futile, rather, the guy seemed to find her attempts to hurt him amusing as he sauntered over to the entrance of the sewer. And he made sure to make a meal of it, after all, he had a rather prestigious audience and he couldn't ruin the show when Captain Man was watching his sweet sidekick struggle like a child. 

"If you put m-me, in t-there, I'm gonna k—kick you so hard, r-right in the—"  It was like torture for the boys; they could hear (y/n)'s growls to release her, then her mewls from the pain, and then maybe a plea to let her down when it felt like her skin was being peeled off, and he didn't she gladly called him a name that they were too polite to repeat. As a team, they were all useless, two couldn't move, one couldn't fight without the others and to round off a perfect evening, the woman was then slung headfirst into the sewer, followed by...the stuff that's in a sewer.

One down, two to go.

"Oh, I see. Now you've thrown my wife in, you're gonna throw me in the sewer too. Man, this is not my day!" If he could, Ray would've stomped his foot and thumped his hand against the ground as he waited to be deposited into deep shit too. 

He sounded chirpy, almost like the whole thing was one big joke to him, but it was just a coping mechanism - positive outlook, positive outcome, or not. Lord knows he was livid inside, silencing stewing in his rage so much that he didn't realise that he'd let slip a small mistake, one that was fine when it was just in his head, but out loud was a different story. Still, at least he got to join his "wife" down in the sewer and scream down.

"You're not gonna get away with this...I'm sorry what's your name?" Henry told the giant as he laid out and twitch to make his toes twitch. Still, nothing and it was obvious that he was on a one-way ticket to the same stinkhole as his friends but if he could get in one last line before he went, then maybe he could salvage some satisfaction, if only he didn't have to keep calling this guy a giant or skyscraper in his head.

"Barge. The name's Barge." Odd name, but at least he could pin it to his face now.

"Why are you stealing all these towels?" Henry asked because that was the biggie. Clearly, Barge wasn't playing with a full deck, y'know, he was just a bit insane, anyone could see that. Just by the place he decided to call home, Henry knew that this guy was crazy but he didn't realise just how crazy.

"Don't tell him! He doesn't deserve to know!" The giant replied in a strange, almost British accent that sounded like he was talking to someone else. Okay, that was weird and Henry wasn't quite sure how to respond because from where he was, there was no one else around for the guy to be talking to. In a way, it was kinda like he was mimicking the voice of someone else...

"Uh, I am so sorry, who are you talking to?" "My boss, King of all Towels!" Barge raised a small white towel from his shoulder and to Henry's bafflement and discomfort, it had a face drawn on it. Not a proper drawing, more like a childish scrawl with angry eyebrows, a wiggly line for a frowning mouth and a crown to symbolise that the towel was royalty. Oh god, he was a madman, a genuine nutter who needed some serious help - that's why he stole the towels.

"Whatttt?"  "Now, throw 'im down the sewer there, Bargy, and bring more towels to your king!" The towel commanded in his Cockney tones, although Henry could still see the man's lips moving. He did not like the sound of that, why did he always get stuck with the crazy ones? Still, he was about to join Ray and (y/n) in the sewer, there was about to be a happy reunion, thanks to this loony.

"Yes, your dryness." It was concerning how quick he was to answer the request of his mad mind and swiftly, Barge tucked his "boss" back into his pocket with the utmost respect. Couldn't they work something out? Reasoning with him didn't seem very effective, after all, he obviously had some serious issues that made him a danger to every towel in the goddamn city, but still, a kid could try, right?

"Uh, uh, uh, my talking towel says you should let him go—" Henry's voice wobbled as he tried to prevent his inevitable fate. The guy liked towels, he was enslaved by the one with that creepy face on it, so he tried in vain to persuade Barge that his nonexistent towel was supreme...but to no effect. 

With yet another impressive feat of strength, Barge flung his body down the shaft that led to the sewer, leading to a puddle of unspeakable sludge that (y/n) had already propped Ray up in. They wouldn't drown, but they certainly weren't happy about it, particularly since they'd need a hand with the rescuing thing. Now, could anyone tell the smart one where they had all gone wrong?

~Back in the Man Cave~

Well, that was tedious. Using her head (something the boys rarely did), (y/n) knew that it would be almost impossible for her to drag two people back home, and not just any two people. The effects of the Flabber gas didn't wear off but neither did they get any worse, so they were left in dead lumber. Carrying anyone would be a challenge, Henry was heavy enough, but adding Ray to the equation just made it impossible, so even if she wanted to get them out, she couldn't. Jeez, she was really feeling useless today.

Still, unlike Ray and Henry, at least (y/n) knew when she was beaten and how to ask for help when she needed it, so she did the only thing she knew would work - she called Schwoz. He was by no means happy about it, he'd had to leave the sanctuary of the Man Cave and crawl through miles of shit just to reach them and then the smell wouldn't leave even as they chucked the floppy bodies into the back of the Man Van. (y/n) had no idea what he was saying but judging by the glares, the slamming of the door and the mumbled curses in his mother tongue, Schwoz wasn't a happy bunny and for good reason.

As he'd predicted, it had only been a matter of time before Captain Man and Kid Danger got themselves in some serious trouble because of their egos and whilst he was glad that (y/n) had managed to stay humble, he wasn't so happy that he had to come to bail them out and get so dirty in the process. Perhaps if they'd taken the battle suits as he'd proposed, maybe they wouldn't be in this situation, maybe they would've won.

Few people knew but Schwoz, like many people from his homeland, was blessed with a freakish strength that could rival Barge's himself, so with a little help from his genius battle suit invention, it took him no time at all to lift the heroes' bodies into the elevator with (y/n) ensuring that their skulls didn't bash anything - and so much manhandling didn't go down very well with Ray or Henry.

"Get your hand off me!" Ray growled as he squirmed about inside the large black bags that Schwoz and (y/n) had shoved them into. It made them much easier to carry or pull around the place since there were no flailing arms or legs to worry about but it did leave them agitated and disoriented, no matter how much the young woman tried to tell them it was all right.

"I'm in a separate bag!" Henry bit back, not understanding how his boss could be so moronic. Now, it was the time for finger-pointing because everyone had different opinions on who was to blame. Henry wanted to yell at Ray because he'd refused to think of a plan, Ray wanted to snap at Henry because he didn't hit Barge hard enough and (y/n), well, she didn't want to blame anyone but she was human so she blamed both of them and herself. They should've worked better as a team, they were all to blame in some way or another.

"I know that!" "Then how could that be my hand?" The bickering was relentless as they came out of the elevator, still held aloft by Schwoz and the power the suit gifted him. One more stupid comment and he'd drop them because it was starting to get ridiculous now as if he was listening to an old married couple fighting over something as dumb as a TV remote, but (y/n) was there, and (y/n), more often than not, was the referee, no matter how tired she was.

"Oh, do shut up, you two," She snapped, thumping her fists against the bags so they'd zip it, "right here, Schwoz, just drop them here." Upon receiving instructions, Jasper and Charlotte, who'd spent a pleasant evening in blissful ignorance playing video games, had placed two large, grey bean bags in front of the tube pads, ready for when the genius came back with the crestfallen heroes. They didn't know what had happened but they prepared a soft spot for their floopy bodies to lay anyway because that's what they were paid for.

Schwoz dumped Henry onto the first bean bag, glad to get the blood flowing to his arm again after holding it above his head for so long and next, it was Ray's turn. He was tossed down similarly, like a sack of potatoes since he was indestructible, invincible and so damn good that he could take it. Wasn't that what he always bragged about? The heavy thumps of their bodies hitting the bags were enough to get the teens to stop playing the game and upon seeing (y/n), they were concerned. Really concerned. 

"Wow, (y/n/n), you look terrible. What happened?" Jasper commented, noting upon the suspicious stains that covered the woman's uniform, the stench, oh god, the stench, and how she seemed...wet? They didn't want to ask but curiosity got the better of them because what on earth could've happened to leave looking so disgusting? And where was Ray? Normally, they couldn't be separated yet right now, she was alone and not in a good mood.

"Trust me, Jasper, you don't want to know." (y/n) muttered, not wanting anyone to comment on her appearance because she got it; she looked awful, she knew that - and she felt it too. The entire fight kept repeating in her mind, each time she thought of a new scenario and each time, she thought of a new way she could've done something differently. That gas didn't affect her, why didn't she fight back? She was over her nerves and fears, she was a superhero, for god's sake...

"Did you find Ray and Henry?" Charlotte moved on, not wanting to assume anything since it was rare for the sweetest girl in the Man Cave to be so grouchy and the absence of the only person who could make it better, plus one of her best friends, was also quite a pressing matter.

"Yeah, they're fine," Schwoz stated, not particularly worried about his friends since when he'd found them, they were fine. Perhaps very grumpy, but fine. No injuries, no one had died, nothing had been lost - well, nothing except their pride.

"No, we're not fine!" Ray replied snappily, his voice coming out as muffled through the thick, stiff fabric of the bag but his agitation was clear for everyone to hear. Defeat didn't come easily to Captain Man, neither did being humiliated and not being able to protect his precious girl was just the devastating cherry on top of the whole defeat cake metaphor thing. He was far from fine, he just wanted to curl up in bed with (y/n), stroke the patch of hair that had been pulled so harshly and be left to lick his wounds in peace.

"We were thrown through a window!" Henry was also quite moody. To be fair, he'd had it the worst; his poor body had been put through so much and he didn't have any protective powers, so he aching badly and really pissed off at how they, the greatest crimefighters Swellview had ever known, had been defeated by some lunatic who'd escaped the loony bin. It didn't seem right and for good or for bad, Kid Danger had been taken down a peg or two.

"I also hit (y/n) and lost my car keys!" Yeah, they'd had to use Schwoz's spare set to get into the Man Van because Ray's keys were long gone, floating down the river in the sewer. And he still hadn't gotten over colliding with his sweet girl, he'd have to apologise for that one later when he dragged her to bed so he could mope.

"We are the opposite of fine!" "They're fine. Let's just get them out." (y/n) mumbled above all of their complaints. Yeah, it had been a trying day, one that could've been avoided, so they didn't have the right to be so snappy, not when their discomfort was of their own making. So, it was time to let them out and then she could berate them, shout at them, comfort them, cuddle Ray, support Henry, she wasn't quite sure what she was gonna do but they couldn't stay in the sacks for much longer.

With a bit of help from Charlotte, she slowly unzipped the bag holding her doofus, Schwoz doing the same with Henry and the moment they were big enough, their heads poked through the holes. The boys were glad to finally be able to breathe fresh air again since it had been so stuffy in their sacks but dear god, the others instantly wanted to push them back in. 

Charlotte had thought (y/n) had smelled bad as she stood next to her, but when two more heroes covered in unknown grime and slime were added to the mix, the smell became a stench. A really fucking bad stench. Seriously, Jasper could smell it and he was a few metres away, almost like a wall had assaulted his nose as the smell drifted through the Man Cave and he didn't want to imagine how bad it was up close.

"Ewwww!" "Oh, you smell like my sister's barn!" Schwoz groaned as everyone's hands flew to their noses to try and block out the invasive, pungent stench, but it was no good. The only ones who were safe were Ray, (y/n) and Henry because they were used to it by now, having sat down in the sewer for a while as they waited to be rescued. They couldn't smell themselves but that didn't mean that they weren't aware of what was on them. No matter how much they wanted to, the couple wouldn't lock lips until they had been in the shower for at least half an hour.

"Well, we were dumped in a sewer!" (y/n) said defensively from her place kneeling behind Ray's body. That way, he could rest his weary head in her lap and appreciate how her hand brushed across his forehead so tenderly. He didn't deserve it, by no means did he deserve her kindness after leading them all into danger so foolishly, but he was a selfish man and could never reject her love, no matter how much he loathed himself for it.

"By a giant named Barge, who takes orders from a towel." The bitterness in the boy's tone was absolute. When he said it out loud, it didn't seem real, almost laughable because they were meant to be good at what they did, there was no one else to call for the emergencies they responded to yet here they were, lying on the ground, filthy, floppy and in bags. How humiliating.

"And we can't move our bodies, except for (y/n)," Ray added, again wondering what was up with that. Oh well, he didn't have the brain to explain it and no doubt Schwoz would know how the science stuff worked. "Because Barge sprayed us with Flabber gas!"

"Flabber gas? But that's almost impossible to find..." Schwoz repeated, confusion written all over his face. Huh, being the science nerd he was, he'd obviously heard about it, but also being a science genius meant that he also knew how exceedingly rare it was - and dangerous. Boy, what he wouldn't give to get a sample into his lab, but more importantly, what was he gonna do about how his friends had turned floopy?

"Yeah, and when he sprayed them with it, they dropped to the ground but even when he sprayed me twice, the gas just gave me a headache. What's up with that?" (y/n) asked, wanting to get some facts rather than just to her speculations. Whilst she could make an educated guess about how her body recovered, something more realistic and accurate was always better, and Schwoz had the experience she didn't. He could tell her why.

"Well, Flabber gas attacks a person's body by making their moosle cells relax while keeping their organs working so you don't die. I would say that your super-regeneration has found a way to repel the gas' effect, so you get the headache when your moosles don't go floppy and then you go back to normal." Schwoz theorised and it made sense. Of course, without some proper tests they could be sure, but (y/n) trusted him. However, that wasn't the only question that had been bothering the genius.

"How would a low-level towel thief get some Flabber gas?" He questioned, trying to work it out but nothing made sense. Barge was insane, ruthless and subservient to a cloth, for god's sake, he didn't have the intelligence or free will to find some rare gas on his own, so the fact that he had was troubling. But Ray didn't want to know the why, he wanted to know how they were gonna get back to normal.

"Who cares? Just fix us!" "Yeah, can you fix us, Schwoz?" Henry was quick to jump on the bandwagon because being able to move his body again sounded quite nice. Ray was getting kiss withdrawal symptoms and annoyed at how he wanted to pull his girl close and shower her with affection for being the root cause of such a lousy day, but his arms wouldn't move to embrace her. This was torture.

"Of, course." "Yeah!" "You're the best, Schwoz!" Great, some good news at last. Now, Ray remembered why he kept the handyman around...because he was handy with that clever little brain of his. Everything was gonna be fine, Schwoz would whip up a cure, they'd take it, they'd be able to move again, he could take a shower with his sweet girl, he could kiss her, hug her, show her how sorry he was and then, they could go back to the laundromat for round two. Things were coming up perfect.

"If I had a can of Flabber gas." Or not. The news was devastating because judging by how the so-called genius had banged on and on about how rare that stuff was, the chances of them finding another can were pretty slim. The only Flabber gas they were gonna find was in the hands of Barge, who along with all his towels, was lurking and waiting for the next halfwit who dared to challenge the Towel King. Looks like Ray wasn't gonna shower with his girl after all.

"Sweet girl, please pick up my arm and use it to smack Schwoz." He grumbled, wanting to get close to her in one way since Schwoz had stolen his golden opportunity with his stupid incompetency. ray lashed out when he was upset and because the small man couldn't help, he wanted him to feel bad too, not that (y/n) would ever "follow orders" like that. Time to be brave for the first time today

"No, Raymond, I'm not gonna smack Schwoz for you. I'm mad at you or at least I'm trying to be!" (y/n) replied, summoning every ounce of resilience she had to lift herself away from his body since she wanted to do the berating now.  It was hard to be mad when he and Henry were so vulnerable, all she felt was the need to protect them, not make them feel worse but then she remembered earlier in the evening when he calmed her fears with affection that was laced with affection. Against her better instincts, she'd encouraged his ego and it could've gotten them into serious trouble; this was just a lucky escape in her opinion, things could've been a lot worse. 

"Yeah, and I'm confused." Charlotte butted in, wanting to add to the argument because she had some excellent points. Maybe it wasn't smart to come between the couple when they were about to work through their problems, but (y/n) had been on the side of reason that afternoon. Very vividly, she remembered her advocating for the battle suits until Ray and Henry mocked them. Two against one was hardly fair and she'd never get left behind, so they were the big-heads here.

"Oh, god, it's their lecturing voices." Ray sighed and threw his head back. He tensed in preparation for the scolding that was coming his way and ignored how his heart wept at his girl saying she was mad with him. Sure, the mission hadn't gone as planned and he'd said some things that had turned out to be the opposite of true, but mad was a bit harsh. He didn't want to fight, couldn't they go back to the way it was before the towels went missing?

"Well, if you don't want to listen to our lecture, you are free to get up and walk away," Charlotte smirked, prompting laughter from Schwoz and a small chuckle from (y/n), both of whom thought her sass was on point. Normally, it wasn't a good idea to mock the boss, but what was Ray gonna do? (y/n) didn't feel like soothing the burn's sting with kisses and coos, not when he'd groaned in reply. Was it really so bad that she thought that he'd behaved like an asshole today, focusing on jazz fighting rather than doing the job properly?

"Yass, queen! High-five 'cause we can use our arms!" Schwoz cackled and gave Charlotte a quick high-five before flapping his arms like a chicken. Wow, the boys were so impressed with their mocking, Henry feeling gutted with how he'd fallen so far whilst Ray wrinkled his face grumpily. He knew it was just banter, everyone had to be the butt of the joke at one point, but when his sweet girl laughed along, it just wasn't funny anymore. Their powers had failed to protect them, big deal, hilarious.

"Here's what I don't understand. I thought you guys were superheroes with superpowers..." Charlotte started, echoing the same condescending tone that they'd used earlier. They'd painted themselves to be untouchable, god-like almost, no scum could touch them so, why would they need some dumb invention from Schwoz? That's what they had said, wasn't it?

"Henry, don't listen! She's using our words against us!" Ray screeched when he heard the lecture begin and he recognised what she was saying. Ugh, he found it so hard to take the truth when he didn't want to hear it and that was so annoying, especially for (y/n) since she knew he was being stupid to wriggle out of it. She loved him with all of her heart but by god, he could be such a dick sometimes.

"Ray, shut up, she has a point!"  "God, it's already working. My sweet girl has turned against me..." Ray muttered to himself huskily, noting that Henry had fallen into a contemplative silence. Was he actually listening to this? It was worse than he thought. Usually, it was an outside cause that made his fiancée angry with him, a person or an event that could be blamed and leave him the innocent martyr, but this time, it was all him with a splash of the kid too. That sucked because now, he felt bad that he'd screwed up and had to own up to that fact.

"I haven't turned against you, doofus. I—we just think that maybe if you guys weren't so cocky and we had actually thought of a plan, we would've beaten Barge and not ended up all smelly and in your case, flabby on bean bags." (y/n) replied. She didn't want to be the enemy here, she wasn't the bad guy in this scenario either, just the voice that he didn't want to hear just because she was right. 

Confidence—she liked that, it made him hot but cockiness—that was unappealing and reminded her of those asshole jocks in college who thought her mousy personality and the math notes scribbled on her arms were hilarious. For eleven years she'd been by his side, she'd never turn against him, he never gave her a reason to, she just didn't want to see him lose touch with what was important.

"You don't know that." The hero sulked and lowered his eyes so he didn't have to see the love hidden in her concerned gaze, it just made him feel guilty. Sure, she was mad that the sewer smell was embedded in her hair and uniform and that a nutter could've broken her in two if had wished but like always, she could forgive that. But only if he was deserving forgiveness; first, he had to admit he was wrong and that was a big thing for Ray, even when it came to saying it to his future wife.

"Dude, you know what? She's right." Oh, Henry Hart, what a little beauty. It was like music to their ears being able to hear those two words together in perfect harmony and with Henry and onboard, Ray couldn't deny that they'd been in the wrong, even if he did hate it. "But what are we gonna do now? Okay, Barge is out there, stealing towels and we can't do anything about it 'cause we can't even move and (y/n) can't take him on her own."

Good question, what were they gonna do? Schwoz and Charlotte were satisfied with his answer, and they'd leave the couple to straighten things out between them and kiss and makeup later, they always did but that was their business. A general concern was how they were gonna move on and deal with the towel thief. And then, Jasper of all people sparked their inspiration.

"Charlotte, can you come help me beat this guy? I can't do it!" The boy asked in a loud voice, much louder than what was appropriate since his headphones were blasting music on full blast. He'd been trying to take down The Hair for ages now, but no matter how hard he kicked, he couldn't make the bear kill the way the girl did.

Schwoz and (y/n) watched with curious eyes as the girl sighed and walked over to help her useless friend. Huh, it was interesting how Jasper's performance suddenly improved when Charlotte held his arms and began to punch for him, showing him how it should be done. The science buddies couldn't help but wonder at the sight as Ray turned to whisper to Henry.

"Dude, before you come into work tomorrow, I'mma need you to go down the sewer and look my car keys—" Okay, had Henry been listening, he would've flat out refused, he'd had enough of the sewer for one lifetime, but he wasn't paying attention to his boss, rather something much more intriguing. The nerds, the smart ones, (y/n) and Schwoz, had those looks on their faces, the ones when they were sciencing and doing smart things. Those were their concentrating, thinking faces and they only cropped up when they had a brilliant idea.

"Oh, dude, dude, dude, dude, dude!" "Uh, it's got a keychain with a photo of me and (y/n). I don't know if you've noticed but she's mad at me and I don't wanna lose—" Ray continued to ramble on and on about his dumb keys as Henry tried to get his attention. Man, it was really hard not having any limbs to help him out.

"No, dude! (y/n) and Schwoz are making their idea faces!" Now, Ray was listening intently. Oh, good, rational thought and ingenious plans, that's what they needed and no one did it better than those two. His sweet girl was so smart and Schwoz wasn't too bad himself so together they might just be able to figure out a way to help. A way to fix them without the gas maybe?

"They are?" "Yeah." "That's great! (y/n) always looks so hot when she's thinking. Does she look hot right now?" Ray asked since he wasn't able to look for himself. His chin had to be pulled tight against his chest to see in front of him and that just made his neck ache so it was up to the kid to check, him being propped more upright so he could check. The problem though, was that Henry was the wrong person to ask for a task like that because...ew.

"Uh, I have no opinion on that." Ugh, what use was he? All Ray wanted to know was whether his girl had that serious, sexy expression on her face that told people she was debating something important in her mind, which usually left him drooling. However, Henry found it revolting to look at his friend that way, all he saw was her looking a bit stern, nothing "sexy" about it. What a disappointment, he could've at least humoured him and said yes so Ray could picture it in his head.

"Well, is Schwoz making the idea noise?" Ray asked. It wasn't the same as being able to see his sweet girl but still. Schwoz always started squeaking when he made a breakthrough, it was usually a good omen that he was about to become brilliant and earn his keep in the Man Cave, especially when his little tongue poked out to wet his lips.

"Uhhhhh..." "He's making the noise, dude!" Here it came, they were synchronising, (y/n)'s hand on his shoulder like it conducted their brainwaves and put them on the same level, their minds working as one. Four, three, two...

"Hey, Schwoz, are you thinking what I'm—-" "I HAVE AN IDEA!" "Oh my god, me too!" It was like a mini realisation between the two of them and they seemed to buzz with the excitement of discovering something incredible in the depths of their minds. Truly, it was a sight to see, everything seemed to come together for them, just two little buddies being all geeky and cute together, so heartwarming.

"All right, my sweet girl!" "All right, Schwoz!" And no one was happier than the boys on the beanbags. Seriously, two nerds shouldn't have been so adorable but they were and Ray felt his heart swell when (y/n)'s face lit up with wonder and happiness at finally having an idea of what to do. She looked happy and so pretty, there was nothing the man liked more and at that moment, he wanted to take her into his arms so badly and smother her with kisses until she giggled and melted against him. It sounded like bliss, just being allowed to love his girl after disappointing her so much - curse that stupid gas.

"Charlotte, go get your mootion capture suit!" Schwoz ordered the girl, interrupting the game she and Jasper were playing but he had to act fast before his synapses stopped being so damn useful. A dip in his or (y/n)'s concentration and the idea would be lost so he had to act quickly to get everything ready, then it was just a matter of piecing everything together. Okay, good, she was doing as she was told, that left them to scuttle about the place to grab the tools, tech and equipment they need to pull this off. No time for explanations, brilliance demands speed.

"What's the idea, Schwoz?" Henry yelled after the small man as he disappeared behind the secret door. His plan was complex and would take some serious rewiring with some serious machines he'd already invented but with a few small tweaks and (y/n)'s keen eye for detail, he thought they could pull it off. Still, he didn't want to answer any questions, that would come later when they had everything prepared for presenting.

"Babe, where are you going?" Ray called after his fiancée as she dashed past their heads and dodged the beanbags, heading for the area behind the tubes. She could swear that that's where she left her toolbox, either there or in the kitchen after Jasper blew up the microwave and much like her brainy companion, she didn't have time to chat, merely a passing acknowledgement.

"Just stay there and look handsome, doofus." She mumbled as she jogged past and Ray could happily settle for that, letting go of his questions in favour of comfortably squirming into the cushions. He could do that, he was very good at that, especially for her, and it's not like he could go anywhere, so he was left to lie back and smiled like a dope. Jeez, Henry picked perfectly when he took this job...

"Isn't she perfect?"

"Dude, you're so whipped..." The boy muttered when he craned his neck to see Ray smiling to himself like he'd won the lottery. He'd said that a million times before but there was no other explanation; one word from the woman and a fully-grown man was left with his day made and his heart pounding. It was hilarious and cute, just another crazy night in the Man Cave.

~

Not too long later, Charlotte found herself dressed in the same motion-capture suit that Jasper was wearing, the one she'd taken off after a two-hour gaming sesh earlier. Meanwhile, whilst she had been getting her side ready, (y/n) and Schwoz had been busy little bees themselves. And praise the lord, the woman had finally managed to crawl into the shower and spend a good thirty minutes shampooing the filth from her body, leaving his satisfactorily clean.

With an enormous amount of effort and patience, they'd carefully gotten the boys cleaned up and dressed in the battle suits, which were sturdy enough to be used as a sort of extra skeleton for them, meaning they could now stand without crumbling. It was a good start, being upright again was a nice feeling, even if having to get up close and personal with them was a bit awkward. 

It was understandable between Henry and Schwoz, they never invaded each other's space, but with (y/n) and Ray, things were a tad tense. Some things were still unspoken between them, like the whole saying sorry thing and as the woman adjusted the controls on her lover's suit, her hands suddenly felt a bit shaky. That was weird, being this close hadn't made her nervous in a long time but the more she failed to get the damn tube in the hole, the more agitated she became.

"You okay there?" Ray asked softly, seeing how she was struggling to do the simplest thing and he could sense that something was going on between them. The air felt stiff and thick as if the tension was palpable; Schwoz and Henry didn't notice, things were going fine for them, the genius was working away happily with some idle chitchat here and there and he trusted that (y/n) was working just as happily. If only...

All of the updates and adjustments were more complicated than they had first thought, so they'd been doing this for some time now, and in that gap, the couple hadn't said a word. It was the dreaded return of the don't know what to say, so don't say anything at all syndrome that seized them at the worst possible moment; they had some stuff to smooth out but when it came to the pinch, the words just wouldn't come.

"Fine, just need to get the thing in...the thing." She murmured a reply, her movements getting more and more aggressive each time she failed to get the tube in its proper place. Come on, she needed it to work if they were gonna go with her to the laundromat again, why did she have to get so worried when they hit a hump in their relationship? It wasn't like a huge, cataclysmic argument, just a small yet irritating tiff that was in danger of being swept under the carpet to fester if they weren't careful.

"You're trembling." Ray noticed and his voice was softer still. He didn't want anyone to look, that would cause her to become flustered and possibly shy away and that's not what he wanted. However, due to their proximity, it was impossible not to notice how it had taken her several attempts to make the fitting and he longed to be able to use his hands again. 

Had he not been gassed, he would've held onto them, brought her knuckles to his lips and done everything in his power to make her feel better because he was a physical lover, more at home with touch to affirm his devotion. But now that had been taken away so he had to settle for words instead of actions and try to put his feelings into speech, which wasn't his strong point. Words were difficult for him, either too much or not enough, silly almost.

"I'm not trembling." It was a poor attempt to make things seem okay, (y/n) wasn't fooling anyone, not him nor herself. If she wasn't trembling, why had she been stuck on the same thing for the past few minutes? The Man Cave wasn't cold and she wasn't excited--the tech wasn't that interesting--so, Ray was directed to another idea, one that didn't sit well with him. She was nervous, he knew the telltale signs.

"Sweet girl, tell me what's wrong."

"There's nothing wrong, doofus." Another lie and he didn't fall for it either. Sure, he was pigheaded at times and wasn't very knowledgeable about many things, but when it came to her, he liked to think he was an expert. Ray knew (y/n), that was a fact, sometimes he could read things that no one else saw and now that he'd slowed down and was looking at her, really looking, studying her features, he knew that something was gnawing away at that mind of hers.

"(y/n)." 

Nothing was a bigger shock to the system than when he said her name like there was gravel in his throat. These days, it was rare that he called her by her given name, Ray much preferred to call her his girl in a variety of ways ranging from precious, darling, clever, and his favourite, sweet. She was so sweet so that's what usually fell from his lips, perhaps the occasional babe, baby or sweetheart, but mostly sweet girl, so the woman knew that he wanted her to spill when he appealed to her so openly and with so much love and concern in his eyes.

And with a sigh, she began, slowly and jaggedly, but she found the words.

"...It's just...you don't know how much I care for you and how much I worry about you when we're out on missions," she swallowed before continuing, "you're Captain Man and you're indestructible and a great fighter but I still get so worried. It's just in my nature, I guess."

Ray's eyes were gathering tears as she stared at the power source in the centre of his chest, the special reactor that the suit drew power from. He did understand in a way, he worried about her safety during missions, but then again, it wasn't the same. His girl was never cocky, she didn't have the right personality to go steaming in and demanding a victory, she was confident but subtly. He, on the other hand, was more likely to get into trouble and stress her sick in the process.

"I'm never gonna be big enough to save you from guys like Barge, and even if I keep fighting crime for the rest of my life, I'm never gonna be not nervous, y'know? I worry about things, and I like being quiet and thinking things through." She rambled on and Ray couldn't pinpoint what she was getting at. Was it just him or did this sound like a resignation? She couldn't, wouldn't, would she? He wouldn't force her to continue but...

"If you don't want to be Miss Danger anymore, that's fine, sweet girl. I understand, I should have never brought you with me in the first place--" He sighed, swallowing his disappointment because he didn't want her to be any worse because of him. 

The job was stressful he knew that, she was a reserved person by nature, he knew that too, it's why they fit so well together--and he wanted things to stay that way. Fighting crime with her wasn't essential, more like a bonus, a couple who got to work together but it was perfectly all right that she stayed at home whilst he went out. It didn't mean that he'd ever love her any less, in fact, her safety and comfort came above everything.

"What? No, no, no, I don't want to quit! I love being your sidekick," She stopped his internal turmoil by resting her hand on his shoulder and meeting his eyes again. Jeez, that was an unforeseen interpretation and she softened at how in some ways, he was a worrier too. His mind always assumed the worst when it came to them, a byproduct of years of self-doubting that he was worthy of being the man she could choose and he still found it hard to believe that she was happy with the likes of him. They were a right pair, a pair of worry-warts, but it was just because they cared.

"You do?"

"Of course, doofus!... I just want you to take care of yourself when we're doing dangerous stuff. No more jazz fighting and getting complacent and from now on, we're always gonna make a plan before we start... And we're gonna listen to my tummy--you know it talks to me when something's wrong." (y/n) listed everything she could think of, ending with a slight grin on her at how she'd managed to turn things silly and make her doofus crack a smile too.

"Okay, we're gonna listen to your tummy, darling girl," Ray smiled, wishing he could wrap his arms around her to make the moment perfect, but to her, he was doing just fine, "I'm sorry for making you worry, I know I must drive you crazy sometimes."

"Oh, only sometimes? I'm gonna be grey at forty with you around, Raymond...but I love you too much to let you go." She smiled, watching as his face relaxed--the only muscles he had power over--and the boyish grin that she loved was back. He was so pretty when he smiled, not a fake, camera-ready smile, when he actually smiled, it made him look so young and real, like the man she knew, not the hero the magazines assumed to know.

"I love you so much, sweet girl." He whispered too, and that's when her hands moved forward, slotting the tube into place with perfect precision so she could throw her arms around him and bring him in close, even if he was still grumpy about not being able to hug back. Everything was mended, everything was in its correct place, ready for whatever life threw at it. 

"I really wanna kiss you right now." Yeah, normality was back, things were good between them again, and the disagreement just needed to be sealed with something sweet.

"Dork..." (y/n) muttered through a giggle and with the aid of her heeled boots, reached onto her tippy toes and pressed their lips together, her arms around his neck to keep them as close as possible. Ray's chest grumbled at finally having her honeyed taste in his mouth after so long and although his fingers itched to hold onto her supple flesh, he savoured what he could get. This was more than exquisite...and enough to finally draw some attention.

"Oh, god, they're kissing...again." Henry groaned, having just glanced across to see how the couple was doing after not hearing from them in a while, only to see them amid some rather heated session. Well, he was glad they'd settled whatever weird energy was going on between them but jeez, he was pure and innocent, he didn't need to them eat each other's faces, even if he had walked in on much worse.

"How we doin', Schwoz?...(y/n), are you busy or...?" Charlotte hesitated when she turned around to see the woman preoccupied with her lover and it was always best to just wait it out but they'd been messing around with the suits for ages now and the boys no doubt wanted to get some action, well, Ray was already getting some action, y'know, action of a different kind. They'd gone without kisses for too long so they could go on for ages and they didn't have ages, did she dare make them stop?

"Are we repaired yet? Why can't we move? Dude, she's not gonna disappear." Henry's gaze flickered from Schwoz to Ray, who sighed when (y/n) finally pulled back. Fine, she could work now, kiss later, but if her doofus was grumpy, they were to blame. 

"Yeah, what is taking so long? I wanna hug my girl before she disappears." Ray grumbled, proving that he was now pouting, moody enough to want to mock Henry, although a flash of a smile from his sweet girl and he perked up again. What was that from earlier? Whipped...

"It was more difficult than we thought to modify our battle suits to receive a signal from the suits Jasper and Charlotte are wearing. And (y/n) stopped to make kissy-kissy with Ray so it took longer than we planned." Schwoz replied, gesturing to the simplistic motion-capture suits and then to his and (y/n)'s complex inventions. The woman was definitely blushing but couldn't say she was embarrassed, not clearing the air between her and her doofus.

"How do even do that?" Henry asked, thinking that it sounded like quite a feat, even for Schwoz and (y/n) and they were seriously smart. (y/n) could build anything and Schwoz could design anything, but still, that was a tricky job.

"Uh, well, we could explain it to you but Charlotte's the only one smart enough to understand. Sorry not sorry." (y/n) shrugged, causing Henry, Jasper and Ray to frown. Okay, just because the girl had science awards and stuff didn't mean they were dumb. Hit them with an equation, maybe they'd get it by some miracle, and Ray pouted at not being chosen by his sweet girl.

"Hey! You think Charlotte's so smart?" He protested, sticking out his bottom lip a bit as (y/n) checked over the wiring one last time and Schwoz went to set up the controls at the supercomputer. Aw, he was cute; he never understood her science, merely listened every time she explained something and marvelled at how beautiful she got when talking about something she loved, couldn't she do that now?

"Yeah," Schwoz answered for her, not caring if he was blunt and dismissive. What was the point of explaining to three dummies who wouldn't understand anything? That was just wasting his breath and time.

"Trust me, doof, you won't enjoy listening to Schwoz." (y/n) smiled and Ray thought about it for a minute. Well, if Schwoz was the one doing the explaining then he was sure to stop listening after the first second because that little coconut wasn't beautiful or sweet or set to walk down the aisle for him wearing a white dress. The mere thought of that was disturbing.

"Yeah, you're right." And for once, Ray listened and that was that settled.

"If this works, then you two can control Captain Man and Kid Danger just like you control The Bear and Hair in the video game," Schwoz explained and it was quite simple to grasp. When Charlotte would move, Henry would move in the same way, and vice versa with Ray and Jasper. They were now connected, so this was gonna be fun.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah and they can send us with (y/n) to find Barge and make him throw in the towel." Henry quipped huskily, impressing Ray at how witty his line was - he'd been saving that one. It wasn't the movement they had been hoping for but at this point, they'd take anything after being floopy for so long.

"Ooh, that's good. Remember that when we get there." Ray smiled as Schwoz turned up the power and the suits seemed to vibrate as they connected to the motion-capture one, everything starting to glow. "Ooh, something's happening."

"Whoaaa..." They all exclaimed as they tested the waters, Jasper stretching his arms out and miraculously, Ray mirrored him at the same time. It was the same for Henry and Charlotte; as she flexed and waved her hand, he did the same, they all did. (y/n) marvelled at how her doofus was now waving at Jasper, who admittedly, wasn't his first choice for a partner, but (y/n) couldn't do it, she had to take the lead on this one and Schwoz had to stay behind and monitor the power and stuff. That left one unfortunate choice. This was gonna be a long one.

"This is so cool!" Well, at least Charlotte was impressed and across the room, the science buddies locked eyes and shared a proud smile. By no means had it been an easy job but with a little perseverance and a few kisses along the way, they'd done something extraordinary and it was nice to see the fruits of their labour.

"We're one and the same!"

"Let's not get carried away..." Ray muttered, not in love with Jasper's enthusiasm but he understood the feeling. His girl was so smart, he had no idea how this worked but it was awesome. It was a shame that he had to be Jasper, the kid who was famous for being clumsy and heavy-footed, but underneath it all, he was highly impressed.

"Is this a bad time to say I have to pee?" Henry asked as he and Charlotte took a few tentative steps.

"This is a very bad time." Yeah, no. There was no way that Charlotte was gonna go pee like a boy for Henry, he could hold it in until the swiped that can of Flabber gas from Barge, or just y'know, pee himself. Mutal peeing was not on her agenda.

"Then I will not say it."

"Okay, watch this. Grab that..." The girl muttered as she and Henry walked to the back of the Man Cave where (y/n)'s red toolbox was sat. She wanted to test just how strong these suits were supposed to be and if she could punch just as harshly as Schwoz had bragged about, so, time to get practising.

"Wait, these battle suits make you super-strong, right?"

"Yah, but (y/n) won't like it if you ruin her tools.." Schwoz warned, wary of the woman's wrath since those hammers, wrenches and screwdrivers were her bread and butter when it came to fixing stuff around the place, they were necessities. What was she planning on doing with them? Upon hearing her name, the woman across the room stopped giving her lover an ecstatic smile and curiously wondered why Henry was holding the metal box that often accompanied her.

"Hey, Char, Hen, what you doing with my—" Everyone gasped in shock, well, for (y/n), it was more like horror, as Henry tossed the box up in the air and punched it like it was a balloon, all light and airy. The suits worked; with minimal effort, the toolbox flew across the Man Cave and embedded itself in the elevator door, leaving a dent so deep that the box was able to stay wedged there. Jesus, if that was a box and a scrawny kid could punch it like that then what would happen when they faced Barge?

"Whoa!" "That was awesome!" Jasper and Henry exclaimed as they gasped at the result, causing Charlotte to squeal, clap and jump up and down with excitement—and Henry had no choice but to copy. That looked quite hilarious, seeing a teenage boy buzz like a girl at a boyband's concert but (y/n) was more concerned about her precious tools. Sure, the box was sturdy and the door was the worse off of the two but still.

"Look at me! I'm a superhero! Taste my fists and smell my kicks!" Jasper was loving this. He was Captain Man, or was Captain Man him? Either way, whatever he wanted him to do, Ray had to do it, exactly like a video game, Jasper got to be the hero for once, and whilst that was endearing to (y/n), who got to watch one of her cute little teens and adorable doofus work together, for the man, it was agonising.

"You are not a superhero!" Ray snapped, not wanting the kid to get any ideas. He was still the one doing the work, y'know, the dangerous superhero, Jasper needed to remember that...but he didn't want to. Come on, he was living his best dream here.

"Raise your hand if you think Jasper's a superhero." He said and lifted his arm high above his head, meaning Ray, as much as he didn't want to, did the same. And if that wasn't enough, Ray's eyes widened when to humour the boy, raised her hand too, giggling when her doofus' mouth dropped open like a goldfish. What kind of betrayal was this?

"Sweet girl, really?" "Why not, doofus? Captain Jasper has a ring to it, don't ya think?" She teased and watched as his face darkened. Captain Jasper? Ew, no way, this clown couldn't be a hero, he could barely tie his shoelaces, let alone go and defeat bad guys. This set-up was a temporary thing and the minute they delivered that gas to Schwoz, he was so gonna tickle her until she begged for mercy.

"Jasper, please put my hand down." "Okay." It was a simple enough request and Jasper could see that Ray was done with "agreeing" with him, so he did the smartass thing and dropped that arm...and then raised the other one. (y/n) couldn't help but laugh at that, the way her fiancé set his lips into a firm line when he realised what the boy was doing, however, Jasper couldn't find it in himself to stop. This was the most fun he'd had in years.

"Dang it!" Oh, poor Ray. This really wasn't his day.

"Hey, Curly, can you do me a favour?" Seeing that he was approaching his bad mood mode, (y/n) decided that to sweeten the deal for her doofus, she'd show him that having Jasper as his controller wasn't all bad. for all the joking around, the boy did bring some perks, such as...

"Sure, what is it?" His willingness to do anyone a favour should they ask for one. Not many people were like that, they would sigh and groan from the effort but not their goofball. He was always happy to help, particularly for Captain Man and Miss Danger.

"Can you step forward and pretend to give someone a hug?" Okay, weird request but he could do that. Ray's eyebrows furrowed as he tried to work out what his girl was planning but when she stepped in front of him, it all became clear.

"Uh, yeah." Jasper did as he was told and it painted quite a sweet picture for Henry, Charlotte and Schwoz as they watched with bemused expressions. The boy curled his arms around thin air, meaning Ray did exactly the same, but unlike Jasper, he actually had someone to embrace. Finally, finally, he got to have his arms around his sweet girl as the kid did his best to mimic how his boss normally hugged the girl, tight yet cosy, needy but still affectionate, and whilst the suit was a bit hard and prodded against her ribs, just being able to drop their heads onto each other's shoulders and sigh was enough. It was always enough.

Maybe Ray's day wasn't so bad after all.

~The Abandoned Laundromat~

Okay, round two, here they go. After getting the lovey-dovey couple to split apart (a hard task for their friends but they managed it in the end), (y/n) guided the group to the laundromat, boldly going where she had been terrified to go before. 

This time, she had to find her courage because this time, she couldn't cling to Ray, she had to be the leader. They were robotically following her every footstep, the suits working perfectly as Charlotte and Jasper stepped around the Man Cave to make them move. Even over the long distance, the signal never broke and before they knew it, they were at the place, which was still as dirty, smelly and spooky as ever. 

"Ray, (y/n) and Henry should be approaching the laundromat now," Schwoz reported to the teens in the Man Cave as they concentrated on not knocking into anything on the way. The last thing they wanted was to make Henry or Ray trip on a trash bag or tire or something - that was a one-way ticket for the sidekick to have to get a tetanus shot. To be fair, Charlotte was quite good at it, she guided Henry quite well, he was in safe hands, Ray, however, well, he was in Jasper's hands, which were notoriously butter-fingered. Thank god for his indestructibility.

"Yeah, we can see everything through the cameras in their masks," Charlotte replied, seeing everything that Henry was, including how (y/n) was scanning the area like a goddamn hawk. The slightest movement and she was onto it because, from experience, she'd learned not to trust the place, super-strong battle suits or not, she was taking no chance.

"I'm a superhero, ka-blam!" Jasper exclaimed, which was a problem because he had this tendency to kick out and punch at random moments, it was so cool, he couldn't help it. However, that meant that miles away in the dark alley, Ray did the same thing and began stopping and kicking when they were supposed to be on a stealth mission. Kicking the air like a madman was not stealth, more like a good way to break one of his sidekick's arms before they'd even seen Barge.

"Schwoz, I would like to trade. I do not want Jasper controlling me anymore." Ray radioed the genius in the Man Cave, having grown tired of air-fighting every five minutes. Charlotte didn't do this with Henry, he was behaving normally and it was getting difficult avoiding all of the trash cans and things around the place, not to mention was he was behaving like a loon in front of his fiancée—who thought it was hilarious and may or may not have snapped a few videos.

"Charlotte, walk me over to see if Barge is inside," Henry said quietly as (y/n) tried to keep Ray from making too much noise. Great, he could do the quiet stuff, she could prevent the whole mission from going tits up, this was good. And it's not like they could blame Jasper, everyone gets excited on their first mission, although, not many people could say that their first mission was about controlling Captain Man.

'Kay." The girl copied and slowly but surely, Henry began to creep towards the gap in the wall where the window used to stand—the one he'd been thrown through. Together, they peered around the corner and saw the man of the hour, Barge himself, still sitting in the stinking laundromat and still talking to himself/the towel like a loon.

"But I smashed everything! I still can't find any more towels!" "I can see him! He's—he's, wow, he's really talking to a towel, isn't he?" Charlotte didn't believe it until she saw it. When the heroes had said that this guy was crazy and that he talked with inanimate objects, she thought they were exaggerating, but now that she could see everything that Henry could see, she realised the truth. Dear lord, he was huge and crazy, jeez...

"Oh, yeah, he's a few towels short of a laundromat if you know what I mean." (y/n)lied dryly into her earpiece, because sometimes, it was too hard to block out all the chitchat without dropping in the odd smart comment. There he was, still as big as he was before and surrounded by his/other people's towels. Ray needed to see this.

"Hey, doof, check this out. Barge is inside and he's talking to—oh my god, that is amazing." (y/n)'s words dried up when she turned around to smile at her lover so they could laugh at how crazy Barge was, but was she saw made her howl and wheeze. Never, in all of her born days, did she expect to see her doofus, Ray Manchester, decked in his Captain Man uniform, in the middle of a shithole alleyway, flossing. There was something about seeing a grown man do a children's dance that was hilarious and she made a mental note to thank Jasper when they returned home.

"I hate my life," Ray growled as his hips kept swaying and his arms kept...flossing. She really wasn't an expert in whatever that was, it was a fort-thing dance, right? Made by little kids who spent too much time on the internet, right? As an adult, she was too busy for things like that but that didn't mean that she couldn't laugh about it. Oh god, Ray was so grumpy, but he could never hate his life, not even a little bit. Sure, he put up with some real crap at times but he also had a great job, great friends and a great wife, well, that's where his life was heading. What's to complain about?

"Jasper, quit it.." Henry snapped, wanting his boss to actually be useful in this scenario because as funny as it was, they had a job to do here and Ray was the indestructible one—the main human meat shield. He couldn't protect his sidekicks if Jasper was making him dance.

"Ooh, is it time for fighting?" Go, go, go, his time had come! Bad guys were on their way, J-dawg to the rescue! He hadn't been paying attention at all.

"Yes, so let's focus. Now, last time, we didn't have a plan." (y/n) said calmly, wanting them to refocus on the task at hand because Barge could easily kill them, well, he could kill Henry, hurt her and ruin Ray's life but that still wasn't good. As per his promise and their mutual agreement, this time around, they weren't gonna charge blindly, they were gonna think tactics and do something smart.

"That right, sweet girl, we didn't, but this time, we do have a plan—" "JASPER DUNLOP!...." Oh god, that was not the plan. Ray had been doing so well; he was proud of his girl, she was leading the mission like the girl boss she was, he was about to explain the plan he'd thought of because he'd realised that she was right, thinking ahead was better and he hadn't become an expert tactician in his youth for nothing. However, someone should've told Jasper that, seriously, they should've briefed him on how superhero missions worked before they set off.

To everyone's horror, the boy took the plunge and decided that the way to go about things was to just stick his firsts out and charge. Ray had no choice but to go running into the laundromat with nothing but his indestructibility and the suit to help him because famously, Jasper, despite his rampant enthusiasm, couldn't fight for shit.

"This is not the plan!" Ray screeched as he ploughed through the door, interrupting Barge and his little chat with his royal towel. Oh god, this was gonna go well, he did not look happy. Still, Henry and (y/n) were flexible and if Jasper was gonna take their element of surprise then they'd just have to work around that.

"Sorry to barge in..." Henry quipped as he stood next to Ray, (y/n) on the man's other side and she gave his hand a quick squeeze to let him know that everything was gonna be fine this time. Jasper had just been a hiccup, nothing to worry about and with a sick entrance line like that, they were already one-nil up.

"I thought I flabber-gassed you. I know it doesn't work on the girl but how are you two moving?" Barge asked as he left the Towel King or whatever the hell it was and moved to study them. He didn't understand that they had the battle suits now, he was too crazy to see them, instead, he assumed that they'd found a way to combat the gas or something.

"You don't need to worry about that, debargery." (y/n) muttered lowly, not wanting to reveal their secrets because that was just dumb. What Barge didn't know wouldn't hurt him, all he needed to know was that they'd returned to beat him and save the city from eternal wetness.

"Yeah, but what you do need to worry about is...our fists!" Ray exclaimed, ready to do the fighting bit and upon hearing his sick line, (y/n) raised her fists to her chin so they could square off with Barge, who was also ready to defend his towels and king to his last breath. However, when it came to it, Ray and Henry didn't move; no matter how much they strained and groaned, the suits wouldn't budge. This is why you don't use children as your controllers.

"Uh, uh, you're gonna need all those towels to wipe this punch off your face!" Henry quickly filled the awkward silence, hoping that the few extra seconds would be long enough for Charlotte to refocus but again, there was nothing--they strained, they stretched, they looked to (y/n) for help but they couldn't do anything.

"Oh god, this is embarrassing. We're not usually like this..." (y/n) said nervously as she watched her doofus frown and Henry jerk his head to try and make the rest of his body move. It was no use; the suits were good as skeletons but without the input of the teens back in the Man Cave, their usefulness was limited.

"To anyone who's listening, this would be the part where we normally start fighting!" Ray hissed, hoping that the kids were still using their earpieces. His sharp tone soon snapped their minds back into the game and after a brief spell of chatting to each other, Charlotte and Jasper straightened themselves out. Right, it was hero time.

"Sorry!" The girl exclaimed and immediately, following (y/n)'s lead, stormed forward to begin the fight. With the woman flanking him, Henry landed the first punch on Barge, a strong blow to the face that was followed by a swift jab to the gut from (y/n). She wasn't as strong as the boy was with the fancy suit but she could still pack quite a wallop in between Henry's attacks. And where was Ray in all of this?

Well, whilst Charlotte had proven that she was just as skilful in a real situation as in a video game, Jasper had yet to find his niche. Simply, he panicked and rather than kicking ass, he began walking in the wrong direction, meaning as his sidekicks fought, Ray was headbutting the glass door and missing all of the action. This kid was such a moron...

"No, no! You're in the door, turn around!"

"I'm trying!" Jasper exclaimed as Charlotte/Henry and (y/n) laid into Barge, landing kicks and punches in a violent rhythm and it was difficult for the man to take two people at once, a tactic that was working extremely well, perhaps if they had Captain Man helping, things might be better?

"Kick! He's in front of you, kick him---argh!" Ray yelped when Jasper finally found the right direction and went into fight mode but to the man's disappointment and annoyance, his reaction times were just as lousy as his coordination ability. His leg was just too slow and as (y/n) and Henry recovered from taking some hits themselves, Barge grabbed Ray and tipped him off-balance, making him twist in the air before falling onto some towels.

"You are on the floor, get up!" Ray growled to Jasper as his sidekicks got their revenge. No one hurt their lovable idiot and got away with it. Taking a deep breath, Charlotte charged and leapt, meaning Henry landed on Barge's back as he leaned over from messing with Ray and with the kid holding his head up, (y/n) was able to sucker punch the giant in the teeth. God that felt good, even if he did shuck the boy from his back seconds later.

"Stop yelling at me!

"He's to your right!" Jasper couldn't tell what was happening anymore, all he could see was a blur and with Ray barking orders in his ear, he was getting disorientated and he hadn't even landed a hit yet. Was it time for a break yet? Because this superhero lark was a lot harder than it looked.

"Oh, where'd he go? Charlotte, can you take control for me?" Jasper asked but the girl had problems of her own. Mainly that she was in the heat of battle, punching and biting and slapping and jabbing to her heart's content and sweet lord, she'd found her calling. Fighting bad guys was easy, why did he need to swap so soon?

Henry punched Barge after slamming the door of a washing machine in his face, causing him to stumble back to where (y/n) was waiting. Oh, she was more than happy to walk into a scissor kick and smash his nose with the steel toe of her boot, hearing him groan was worth it after nearly losing a clump of her hair because of him and his stupid large hands and freakish strength.

"Your other right!" Ray exclaimed as he pottered around the laundromat like an idiot, only seeing glimpses of the fight since Jasper couldn't seem to use the camera let alone the motion controls. All he knew was that he was no good to (y/n) and Henry if he was tripping over or walking into stuff, not that his situation was improving.

"Captain Man, we need your help!"

"Seriously, doofus, help would be nice!" Henry and (y/n) exclaimed as Barge started fighting back, dealing each of them a few debilitating blows before he began tossing them around like ragdolls--his favourite thing to do with the small folk. It would be quite nice to have Ray on their side round about now but thanks to Jasper, he was a little preoccupied.

"Why are we punching a washing machine?!" Ray growled as his knuckles met steel instead of Barge's face, who was too concerned with throwing Kid Danger through a service window than going for the weirdo punching old equipment. He'd dealt with the girl too, the one who resisted his Flabber gas, she had slid to the floor for a breather after he'd pummelled her face enough to cause her lips and eyes to swell as blood trickled from her nose. Nothing super-regeneration couldn't fix but she still needed a minute.

"Because sometimes in video games, there's coins inside!" Jasper panted, not caring if Ray's hands were starting to hurt, he was indestructible, he could take it. What was more interesting was the sweet money he'd get if he could crack the machine because y'know, maybe someone forgot to empty everything when the laundromat shut down.

"Ahh, this is not a video game-" Ray protested, hearing the sound of Henry fighting back behind him and he knew that the kid needed help. Thank god he couldn't see his sweet girl as her face healed over and she scrambled to lend a hand, otherwise, Jasper would have a lot to answer for. 

Mainly how he was right for once; low and behold, the kid's prediction had been correct, there was a load of money in the rusty vault of the washing machine, quarters, dimes, the lot. Roughly five dollars or more if Ray could count and he was quite impressed for once because whilst this was more serious than Mario or Sonic, seeing so many shiny coins spill all over the floor was a nice surprise. 

"Oh, wow, look at that...what? What are we--what are you?" Saying that though, Ray didn't want to take it, he had bigger things to worry about, such as (y/n) and Henry. They stood against Barge, panting and sweaty but they'd clearly ruffled a few feathers because now he was getting desperate and when a nutcase gets cornered, they switch to what they know best.

"You think you got me? Well, gas again!" To be fair, that was a great pun. Barge smirked as he yanked the can of Flabber gas from his back pocket and aimed the nozzle at the sidekicks. Ray felt his heart clench as the boy and woman bravely tensed for the spray's effect as the mist landed on their faces, just like before.

"Ahhhhhh, nope!"

"Still just a headache, this girl ain't flabby." They returned the smirk as the gas failed to do anything; Henry's body was already flabby and not even the miraculous gas could make the suit stop. (y/n) barely felt the effect at all, a pain passed behind her eyes for a few seconds before she was back on form and ready to storm forward with her fellow sidekick.

Charlotte gave a strong kick to Barge's stomach, meaning he fell back onto one of his many mountains of towels, momentarily disorientated from the pain. Wow, that had been epic and Jasper had witnessed it all and like Ray, he felt such a rush of pride at how cool his friends were, he couldn't help but stand up to be a part of it himself. Only, in his excitement, he accidentally shoved Charlotte out of the way, causing her and Henry to stumble onto their sides, which wasn't good at all.

"Jasper, what did you do?" Schwoz asked worriedly as his monitors showed that the suit's connection to the motion capture had failed, something to do with the fall damaging a wire or a component in one of the suits. 

"Sorry!" That meant Henry was powerless as Barge recovered from his daze and grabbed him from behind, holding him in a chokehold that he couldn't get out of because the suit wasn't moving anymore, no matter what Charlotte tried. Seeing and hearing that they had a problem, (y/n) leapt forward to give the lunatic a taste of his own medicine, her fist pulled back to hover next to her, only to fall back when he backhanded her across the face whilst still retaining his grasp on Henry. 

"Uh, little help here!" The boy cried as Barge dragged him down to the towel mountain that he'd collapsed onto seconds before and Miss Danger crawled to try and get to him, swiping to prise the man's finger's away from his body but it was no good. She couldn't scratch his skin, he was able to grin and bear the blow to the face she gave him, without a hand from Captain Man, things weren't gonna end well.

"I'm doing stuff, it's just not working!" Charlotte cried as she waved her arms around like a madwoman. She could still see everything that was happening and she wanted to fight back, it was like an instinct, but unlike before, Henry didn't copy her actions, he couldn't do anything.

"Just hang on, kid. Captain Man, we need your he--" (y/n) shouted, turning her back on Barge to flash her desperate eyes at her doofus, who watched on in horror as she realised her mistake. Don't turn your back on the enemy. 

Since she couldn't see it coming, Barge zipped forward, unlooping his right arm from Henry's neck and hooked it around hers instead. (y/n) gagged as his bicep crushed her larynx and she gasped for air as she was pulled up against Henry, their heads thinking together, both sidekicks caught in the same steel-like grip. Right, not her smartest move and Ray saw it all; now, they both needed his help urgently before Barge did something stupid.

"W-what should I do?" Jasper stuttered, panicking since it was all down to him now. Charlotte couldn't do anything, she was too busy trying to get her suit back online. Regrettably, the saving of the day came down to the most unlikely kid on the team, and he didn't feel up to the job of having the lives of two of his closest friends in his hands.

"Grab the can of Flabber gas and spray Barge in the face!" Charlotte exclaimed as she tried to elbow the man holding her friends prisoner, the suit flickering to life again so Henry could smack the giant in the nose. So, because it was up to him, Jasper slowly got up from his puddle of money and carefully stepped towards the can of Flabber gas that Barge had dropped during the struggle. No tripping, no getting lost, no mistakes, not this time.

It was quite tricky to manoeuvre around the place when your feet were someone else's and as (y/n) and Henry scrambled for freedom, which wasn't very successful, Ray kicked the can of gas across the grubby tiles. What was so hard about just bending down to pick it up? The sidekicks were struggling to evade Barge's grasp, they need to squirt him, like, now!

"Good, good, yes, pick it up," Ray muttered as Jasper sank to his knees to carefully scoop the Flabber gas into his hands whilst in the background, Barge curled his arms around Henry and (y/n)'s throats again, making them choke. 

"Just pick up the can!"

"I'm trying!"

"Jasper, what is wrong with you?!" It was so frustrating for Ray to feel the smooth metal of the can brush up against his gloved hands, if he just closed his fingers, he could pick it up and end the suffering of his sweet girl and best friend before that madman hurt them, but Jasper, dear god, Jasper. For some reason, the boy couldn't pretend to pick up the can, he didn't have the imagination that Charlotte did, so he just rolled it along the floor like an idiot.

"I'm starting to blackout here!" Henry commented throatily, feeling his head beginning to swim as his lungs were starved of oxygen from how tightly Barge had him in the headlock and (y/n) understood the feeling. However, she could go on forever like this, her body would just stay in a permanent state of torture and compensate for the lack of air, but the kid...well, he couldn't stick it out.

"It's right there, pick it up!" And Ray was well aware of that fact.

"Stop yelling at me!" Jasper knew that too. He was also aware that Henry couldn't last much longer and that his boss was starting to panic about how long he and (y/n) were being choked, but mounting the pressure on him wasn't helping. The stress was making him shaky and he couldn't do stuff when he was shaky, so just give him a break, goddamnit.

"Boy, if you can just pick up this can and spray Barge to save my future wife...you will be a superhero." Ray sighed, knowing that it was time to stop being a dick and start being a mentor. He never shouted at Henry during his training and since the harsh treatment was failing with Jasper, he went with encouragement instead. Being a hero was everything to that kid and his girl was everything to him, if he could save her, plus his best friend, then, he would be a true hero to him.

Jasper gasped at the notion, and hearing those words from Captain Man himself sparked something amazing inside of him. With his mind sharpened and focused, he leaned forward to have another go at grabbing the can and it was like the stars aligned and luck shined on them. Jasper Dunlop, the clumsiest kid Ray had ever met, picked the can up with perfect accuracy. Thank the gods.

"Yes, got it!" He yelled victoriously, holding the can above his head like it was his prize, but it was too early to celebrate yet.

"Great! Now, get over here and spray Barge in the face!" Charlotte ordered him because she was getting so damn tired from fighting to keep Henry alive. She hadn't stopped punching or squirming, her muscles were on the verge of giving up and the kid in the suit wasn't much better either, so the gas couldn't have come at a better time. Now, the execution was the last thing they needed to worry about.

"Eat this!" Ray snarled as Jasper stretched out his arm to finally take down their enemy and finger squeezed the nozzle with the perfect amount of pressure, just enough to make it work, but not too much to make him drop it. Slight problem, though. Like most things involving Jasper, there was a hiccup and quite a big one at that. The can was facing the wrong damn way and as such, Barge wasn't the one being sprayed--Ray was.

"Ahhh, dang it!" What a let-down. The boy had one job. One stinking job and he didn't even point it in the right direction.

"Sorry!" Jasper squeaked, genuinely not meaning that small mistake, but no matter. He quickly corrected the can so the little hole was facing away from Ray this time and the hero groaned as he went in for the final act one last time. No messing up, Barge was gonna go down this time, it was impossible to get it wrong twice.

Slowly, Ray's finer pressed the nozzle and this time, to everyone's relief, the spray landed on Barge's face, making him groan as it immediately began to take effect. With a final grunt, his muscles went flabby and he crumpled into a pile of towels, releasing (y/n) and Henry in the process. Finally, a breath of relief and it was all thanks to Jasper...and Ray, of course, but mostly Jasper.

"Good job, buddy!" Henry called out, not saying who he was talking to as he looked at his boss, but it was meant for both of them so it didn't matter. What did matter was that Jasper wasn't humble in defeat. Rather, he wanted to dance on Barge's bitterness with a sweet move that he called to call "taking the L".

And obviously, if Jasper was dancing, so was Ray, which was again hilarious to see because no one over the age of twenty-five would ever move like that. The man groaned as he was forced to dance like a goddamn monkey in a cage and it was clear that he was loving this a bit too much.

"I'm a superhero!" Oh, boy. Ray was gonna regret saying that but for the moment, Jasper could have his victory, they all could. It was good to finally be a functioning team again and with the Flabber gas safely in their possession, it would be easy for Schwoz to get the boys back to normal.

"Hey, Jasper, I don't want to stop the fun, but can we do the hug thing again?" (y/n) suddenly asked into her earpiece as the boy slowed his movements once the excitement drained away. "Miss Danger always gives Captain Man a hug at the end of a mission."

"Oh, yeah, no problem." Jasper quickly agreed because it wasn't a problem, a hug was like their L Dance, a way of celebrating a job well done. And sure, a hero could do anything for a heroine, especially something as simple as that.

Taking up the same position as before, Jasper stood straight and held his arms out before slowly curling them towards him like someone was in front of him, which gave the woman enough time to slip into Ray's arms--just in time for him to pull her tight against his chest. Oh yeah, it was just as nice as before, a tad uncomfortable with the suit, but still nice. With a sigh, (y/n) rested her head against Ray's shoulder and he smiled at how her hands stroked his back softly. 

It was good, really good, a damn good hug. They all were. But saying that, it didn't mean it couldn't be better. And he knew the best way to turn it from good to perfect with one smooth move.

"Uh, yeah, Jasper, can you close your eyes and lean down a bit? Like just tilt your head?" Ray requested as politely as he could since he figured that if he stayed nice, Jasper would understand better--that had happened when he needed to pick up the can of gas. Sure, he tested his patience like no one else but this was quite easy and not a life or death situation, just him wanting to make the most of the post-victory bliss.

"Uh, why?" Yet the kid still had questions. Jasper thought that was a strange plea because surely if he had to do something, it was best if he could see what was going on, right? And why put his head down? All he would see was (y/n)'s head, so...

"Just do it!..."

"Please." The woman added on the end, smiling up at her doofus when she realized what he was trying to achieve and if that's what he wanted then all he had to do was ask. Yet something told her that he wanted to do this himself because after being useless all day, this was as much self-control as he was gonna get until they made it back to the Man Cave--and lord knows Ray Manchester doesn't have that kind of patience.

"Um, all right. I'm closing my eyes..." Jasper muttered and the laundromat slowly slid out of view. It should've been obvious what was happening, Schwoz and Charlotte knew straight away, Henry figured it out soon after, but Jasper, he'd always been a bit slow at the old problem-solving. Still, he could do as he was told and that was good enough.

Gently, Ray's neck craned enough so his head was lowered for his sweet girl to meet him in the middle. Stretching as much as she could, balancing on her tippiest toes, (y/n) closed the gap and pressed her lips to his, grinning at how it felt like coming home. It had been a very long night and they'd been beaten and tricked more times than they cared to count but this made all of that worth it.

The others could wait, they were used to it by now, and so, the happy couple had all the time in the world to slowly move together like a dance only they knew, so wrapped up in each other that time slowed down and the grunge of the laundromat became like static fuzz. There was no need to focus on anything else, not when her thumbs were grazing his cheekbones and his head tilted to go even deeper.

"Uh, guys, what's happening? I can't see." Jasper asked as he stood there, eyes closed, arms still stretched out. Jeez, this was a very long hug but he wouldn't stop until Ray or (y/n) gave him the word because he knew that their embraces were sacred, not to be interfered with by the likes of him. Oh, if only he could see the way his friends were smiling at how he just didn't get it.

"You wouldn't understand, Jasper. It's something called love..." Henry replied with the softest edge to his voice as he watched the best couple he knew just take a moment. Jasper had a lot to learn when it came to that stuff, they all did, but they had the best people to turn to when they needed advice.

Ray and (y/n) had found love and it could only get better from here on out. The best was still yet to come...

[certifieddilfenjoyer]

An eye for beskar Part II Moff Gideon x!GN Reader

There's gonna be one more part, I really enjoy this story lmao

The space shuttle takes you both on board a light Imperial cruiser, where, just as Moff Gideon promised, you are being escorted to a facility somewhere on the lower deck, where you are supposed to cooperate with the engineers. It's not an easy job, not just because of the task itself, but also the people you are ordered to work with. You are given a clean, simple room with an access to a bathroom and a toilet, the Imperial remnants also give you a desaturated blue uniform and make sure you are nicely fed. It is most definitely not the way all of the prisoners are treated, but despite all the good things, you are still kept under surveillance.

At first, the few people that are focused on improving the design of the Dark Troopers, don't really pay attention to your advice or guidance. You decide to ignore it, but as more time passes by you start to notice how even though they are educated, they lack some of the experience you've gotten just by sheer curiosity – assembling, disassembling, repairing and inspecting the vehicles and devices that were in your closest proximity. You were always interested by the way things work and you had an internal need of finding out how an engineer constructing even the simplest devices came up with the specific designs and ideas.

Even though you are doing all you can to get the attention of the engineer team leader to talk him through some of the inconveniences you have noticed in the current droid design, you are purposely being ignored. It is not a secret that you don't really have any kind of respect within the team.

After around a week of being forced into Imperial labor, you are instructed to board a space shuttle with some people from your team. The shuttle takes you down onto some planet you have never seen before, where a field test of the Dark Troopers is supposed to take place.

When you land in a hangar of an Imperial base, you are immediately instructed to follow one of the Stormtroopers. The soldier takes you to a room where all you can see is a Dark Trooper unit, surrounded by a long wall mirror on the left side from the entrance. You turn on your heel to ask a question to the Stormtrooper, only to realize that he already stepped outside of the area.

A cold shiver runs up your spine as you immediately connect the dots. As if confirming your thoughts, the wall mirror on the left fades away and reveals an audience consisting of a few engineers, including the team leader as well as some officers you have never seen before and Moff Gideon.

Your shoulders fall to your sides and you frown at the team leader, as he leans in closer to a microphone.

'We have decided to run a Dark Trooper unit field test,' he announces and you raise an eyebrow at him. 'Because you insisted on introducing some changes to the core design of the battle droid, we agreed that a presentation would be required to back up your ridiculous ideas.'

A wave of anger washes through you, but the second the Dark Trooper's red sensor flashes, your fury changes into fear.

The room is completely empty. There is nothing in here, but grey walls, a plain floor and a high ceiling. Nothing to defend yourself with, nothing that could've served as a potential cover.

Suddenly, the droid takes a step towards you and another one right after that. He is walking straight at you and the interval between his steps has most definitely decreased since the last time you faced the droid. You push yourself away from the entrance door and immediately start walking to the side, trying to keep a safe distance between you and the droid.

'Prisoner, running away is not going to exploit the robot's weak points,' you can hear the engineer's voice from the speaker.

'Yea, fuck off!' You snap under your nose, with your eyes focused on the primary source of the danger.

The droid dashes away, propelling itself forward with the jetpack on his back. You dodge in the last second, but the moved takes you by a total surprise and you lose your balance, landing on your bottom. You try to roll away but the robot catches your ankle and picks you up just to throw you a few meters away from it. You manage to land safely and get up to your feet, your heart pumping blood at an insane rate.

'YOU DID CHANGE IT!' You shout at the engineer and knock at the glass wall. 'It’s not the same robot as before!'

You hear a step directly behind you and you dodge down, then hear a loud thump as the droid strikes the glass above you. You grab it's hips and pull yourself towards the droid, sliding behind its back. The droid swing its left arm behind, trying to strike you, but you adjust yourself to the side, making sure to stay in its dead zone. It tries the same trick just like before, but you easily avoid the strike.

You managed to find a flaw and exploited it, but it doesn't give you much except a little time for a breather. You try to grab the jetpack, but the droid continues to turn around, trying to strike you, so you have to move around it accordingly. Eventually, you manage to hook your fingers under the jetpack and realize that it will not come off. Instead, you use it as a handle and mount the droid's back and watch it struggle reaching to you. It swings its arms a few times, but then switches the right forearm into the firing mode. Your eyes widen as the barrel is pointed right in your face. Your instincts make you dive down and when the first shot escapes the barrel, you are hidden behind the droid's back.

Surprisingly, the weight of your body as well as the overall confusion you caused in the robots visual and sensor system, makes it land a few shots inside its head. The blaster fire deflects and hits the nearby mirror wall, leaving a smoking mark on it. You glance at the audience constantly observing your best efforts to survive and make eye contact with Moff Gideon, piercing you through with his gaze.

You grit your teeth with anger at his sight, then notice that the droid's neck has been damaged. You push your fingers inside of it and grab a few power cables you are able to recognize, then pull them with all of your might. The droid stops shooting and swings his left arm at you and actually manages to grab your collar. A flash of terror runs through your body, making your hair stand up, but before you are thrown to the floor, you lean forward and tear the cables away with your teeth.

It was a major risk, but the droid stops. You quickly free yourself from its grasp and fiddle with the cables for a little bit as the engineer screams something at you from the other side of the window. You put your legs around the droid and grab its jetpack, making yourself comfortable. Then, knowing exactly what kind of weapon you now possess, you look at the people on the other side of the glass.

All of them, besides Moff Gideon stand up and take a few steps away from the glass. The man stares at you and comfortably adjust himself in the chair.

You push the droid's arm to point the barrel at the glass, then connect two wires together, making the droid shoot mindlessly. The window is clearly blaster fire-proof, but the shots leave a mark which covers the vision of the audience. You keep redirecting the arm around, until all you can see and smell is the smoke from the blaster fire. Then, you hop down from the droid's back and look around the room, as it continues shooting at the window.

You quickly notice an air vent, at the top of the ceiling and roughly estimate if you will be able to reach it. Without a moment of hesitation, you deactivate the droid's blaster fire and find a cable connection which triggers it to move forward. You adjust the robot as best as you can, then carefully put your right knee on its shoulder. The balancing is extremely difficult, but before you make any further moves, you can hear a loud sizzling sound and then the glass shattering on the grey metallic floor. You slide away from the droid and kick its arm to point the gun at the direction of a hole which has been cut inside the glass wall.

Through the smoke, you catch a glimpse of the glowing sword that Moff Gideon used to threaten you. It makes your survival instinct kick in once again and you activate the blaster fire, but all of the shots seem to disappear as a silhouette of a man emerges from behind the smoky glass. For a split second you think that the Imperials sent another Dark Trooper your way, but you notice that the movements are way too smooth. You are now fighting with a human and something tells you exactly who it is.

You can feel your stomach drop to the floor and before you manage to react properly, the glowing sword slices the droid's arm off. You dash away before the piece of metal hits the floor and watch the man walk around the deactivated droid, closing the gap between you and him.

You back away immediately, until your back hits the furthest wall. Before you realize, your forearms try to cover your head, but a gloved hand reaches straight for your throat. The man easily lifts you up above his head and you quickly realize that the weapon he is holding might not be your biggest concern.

'I must say, I am impressed,' he says through the helmet, his voice modulated by the synthesizer.

He deactivates the weapon and lowers you, so you can support your weight on your tippy-toes. You greedily gasp for the air and grasp his armored forearm, trying to free yourself from his iron hold.

'Let me go,' you say quietly, as he reaches to his helmet and takes it off.

'You really think I would after something like that?'

'You never planned to anyway,' you spit out through gritted teeth and kick your feet, attempting to stand on your entire sole. 'I am a man of my word,' he responds and lowers you further, but never let's go of the hold.

'Then let me go! I tested your droids, I kept my word!'

'Testing is not just a one singular test,' he replies with a smirk, which makes you absolutely infuriated.

You swing your hand towards his face, trying to poke your fingers into his stupidly pretty eyes, but he catches you by the wrist. His smug look only gets worse, so you swing your leg, trying to kick his side, knocking the sword to the floor. He smashes you into a wall, knocking the air out of your lungs.

'You are so entertaining,' he comments in a low voice, pressing his armored body into yours.

'Let me go!' You wiggle around, attempting to free yourself without any effect.

He grabs your jaw and pushes his thumb on your mouth.

'There is a fine line between me being entertained and losing patience,' he warns and you stare at him furiously. You open your mouth and bite onto his leather glove, making him hiss. He let's go of you and you try to move away from him, but he grabs the fabric of your uniform and easily pulls you closer. You can hear him drop his helmet to the floor and in the next second you feel his elbow around your head. 'You want to behave like a wild animal? Fine. I will start treating you like one.'

He begins to drag you towards the door from which you entered the room. As you constantly struggle with his grasp, you realize that he wasn't joking. His hold on you suddenly got stronger and no matter how much effort you put into freeing yourself, he keeps walking completely uninterrupted. You decide to save up your energy and you try to reach the ground with your feet to keep up with his steps instead of being dragged, but he no longer seems to be paying attention.

He stops in front of the door and soon after it opens, revealing three Stormtroopers. Gideon pushes you towards one of them and the strength difference between the boss and his soldiers actually allows you to put up a small fight. The man in the armor looks at you with cold gaze and grabs you by the hair.

'What's it going to be, feline?' he asks you, tightening his fist, squeezing your hair painfully. 'I'm giving you one last chance. Will you complete your initial task-'

'Go to hell, Gideon,' you interrupt him and watch him tighten his jaw.

His cold eyes pierce right through your soul and even though you can witness a clear display of his quiet fury, his gaze suddenly takes a different turn. Your heart sinks inside your chest as you realize how lustful he is in that moment. He slowly breathes out and his eyes drop to your lips. Before you realize where he was looking at, he hands you over to the Stormtroopers and you have no more fighting spirit in you. You are paralyzed from head to tippy toe, feeling your heart pound heavily inside your chest.

'Put a collar on this one,' he says quietly and turns to the opposite direction to which Stormtroopers drag you to.

Your head is spinning and you are barely able to register anything besides the iron hold of the soldiers on the both sides of you. As if emerging from a fog, an Imperial officer materializes in front of you and injects something in your neck. Your vision spins around and makes you nauseous.

'Stop resisting it,' one of the soldiers tells you and the last thing you remember is seeing the entrance to the hangar.

When you wake up, your throat feels dry and your back hurts. You are leaning on a wall in a corner of a small and dimmed room. You have no way of telling how long have you been sleeping, because there are no windows in the cell to even tell the time. You push yourself away from the wall and crawl towards the door, then stand up and look outside. There is no one in front of the cell.

Instinctively, you reach to your neck and notice a tight fabric. You can't possible see what it is, but it feels like a leather collar. You kneel where you were standing and feel your face heat up with embarrassment. You lean on the doorframe and hug your knees, when suddenly you hear the footsteps approaching.

You move away from the door and sit on your bottom, feeling a bit weak from the washed off drugs to stand up.

The footsteps stop in front of the door and from the small gap below the entrance, you can see a shadow of a person dancing on the floor. A small window in the middle of the door slides open and you are given a decent-looking meal and a cup of water.

'What about the bathroom?' you ask the guard.

'Approach the wall on your left, the door will open.'

With that, he is gone. You grab the plate and eat a few plain broccolis served with dry rice. You chug it all down, thinking about Gideon, unconsciously scratching your skin around the collar as you do so. You remind yourself of the Stormtroopers dragging you away and putting you to sleep to transport you somewhere.

Are you on the cruiser?

You place the plate on the floor and approach the nearest wall, while sipping your water from a soft cup. You calm down your breath and notice a specific vibrations and buzzing coming from somewhere below or behind you.

'It is the ship, then,' you think to yourself and look at the bathroom wall, just to approach it a few seconds later.

The guard didn't lie, you watch as the wall splits open and reveals a completely open shower cabin and a toilet with a small sink on top of the water container used for flushing. After inspecting the bathroom, you strip down and step into the shower and before you even manage to think about how to turn it on, a cold, slightly scented with some cleaning chemicals water starts spilling on top of your head.

You bite your lip, trying not to shout and quickly wash your entire body, but the more time you spent, the more enjoyable the shower seems, so you allow your mind to wander and come up with three different strategies. One - scout the entire cell for a possible escape route, two - wait a few days to see if the situation will change in any way..

Or three…

You step outside of the shower and brush the water drops out of your body.

As you think about the third route, you find yourself subconsciously reaching towards your collar. Next chapter

[german-kitchen-design]

Luxury Kitchen Showrooms: How Westchester and Greenwich Set the Standard

Introduction

In today’s age of refined living and personalized interiors, the kitchen has become the symbolic and functional heart of the home. No longer just a utilitarian space for meal preparation, the kitchen now reflects lifestyle, taste, and architectural sophistication. Nowhere is this more evident than in the affluent enclaves of Westchester County, New York, and Greenwich, Connecticut. These areas are not only home to some of the nation’s most distinguished residences but also host kitchen showrooms that exemplify the cutting edge in luxury and innovation.

Luxury kitchen showrooms in these regions serve a dual purpose: they showcase high-end brands and custom solutions while also acting as immersive design environments. These showrooms reflect the latest global design trends, offer tailored consulting, and provide a glimpse into how elite homeowners transform kitchens into culinary sanctuaries. As we delve deeper, we will explore how Westchester and Greenwich have become standard-bearers in the luxury kitchen domain, what makes their showrooms unique, and why they continue to inspire homeowners, designers, and architects alike.

The Rise of the Luxury Kitchen

Over the past few decades, kitchens have undergone a transformation from functional rooms to high-design spaces. This shift correlates with broader cultural changes that prioritize wellness, hospitality, and open-plan living. The luxury kitchen is no longer a secluded space tucked away from guests; it is now a central showpiece designed to facilitate social interaction, culinary creativity, and daily rituals.

With this evolution, the demand for superior materials, innovative appliances, and architectural coherence has increased dramatically. Homeowners now expect kitchens that match the craftsmanship and aesthetic standards of the rest of the house. This expectation drives the need for sophisticated kitchen showrooms that do more than just display products; they offer comprehensive, visionary solutions. In Westchester and Greenwich, the showroom experience extends beyond mere aesthetics to include ergonomic functionality, smart technology integration, and bespoke detailing. These factors contribute to a new definition of luxury that balances form and function with effortless elegance.

Westchester County: A Nexus of Innovation

Westchester County has long been a destination for discerning homeowners seeking tranquility without sacrificing proximity to New York City. The region's demographic includes successful professionals, creative leaders, and design-savvy families who prioritize quality and innovation in home development. In this context, the luxury kitchen showroom plays a pivotal role.

Showrooms in Westchester are meticulously curated to reflect the latest in European and American kitchen design. From minimalist modern layouts to transitional styles that blend classic and contemporary elements, these spaces serve as both inspiration hubs and planning centers. Design consultants work closely with clients, often using 3D modeling software and virtual walkthroughs to bring concepts to life before construction even begins.

Technological integration is also a standout feature. Westchester showrooms often feature the newest in smart kitchen systems, from voice-activated lighting and appliances to integrated cooking sensors and energy-efficient solutions. These showrooms do more than show; they educate, inspire, and empower homeowners to think of the kitchen as a customizable luxury ecosystem.

Greenwich: Where Heritage Meets Cutting-Edge Design

Greenwich, Connecticut, is synonymous with elegance and tradition. Its historic estates and oceanfront properties offer a backdrop where timeless design meets contemporary living. Within this setting, luxury kitchen showrooms cater to an elite clientele who value both heritage and innovation.

The showroom experience in Greenwich is marked by attention to detail, from the moment a client walks through the door to the final installation of their bespoke kitchen. Showrooms often feature kitchen environments built to mimic real living spaces, complete with dining areas, integrated lighting, and functional appliances. This immersive setting allows clients to envision how each element will translate into their own homes.

Moreover, Greenwich showrooms are known for their deep collaboration with local artisans and global brands. Custom cabinetry, imported marble countertops, and state-of-the-art refrigeration systems are seamlessly combined to create kitchens that are both beautiful and highly functional. Sustainability is also a key focus, with many showrooms emphasizing eco-friendly materials and practices.

Design Principles That Define Excellence

Luxury kitchen showrooms in Westchester and Greenwich are united by several core design principles that set them apart. First and foremost is the commitment to customization. No two kitchens are the same, and these showrooms pride themselves on creating tailored solutions that reflect the unique tastes and lifestyles of their clients.

Another defining trait is the emphasis on ergonomics. From the height of countertops to the placement of appliances, every detail is considered to ensure maximum comfort and efficiency. This thoughtful approach is particularly important for clients who spend significant time cooking or entertaining.

Material selection is another cornerstone of luxury kitchen design. Showrooms in these regions offer a curated selection of high-end finishes, including natural stone, sustainable woods, and advanced composite materials. These elements not only elevate the aesthetic appeal but also ensure durability and ease of maintenance.

Finally, technology integration plays a crucial role. Touchless faucets, app-controlled ovens, and ambient lighting systems are just a few of the features that clients can experience firsthand. These innovations are not just about convenience; they represent a forward-thinking approach to home living.

Client-Centric Experiences

A key element that distinguishes luxury kitchen showrooms in Westchester and Greenwich is their client-centric approach. From initial consultation to final installation, the process is designed to be as seamless and collaborative as possible. Clients are encouraged to bring in their architects, interior designers, and even chefs to ensure every aspect of the kitchen meets their specific needs.

Initial consultations typically involve a deep dive into the client’s vision, lifestyle, and spatial requirements. Design consultants use this information to draft multiple layout options, incorporating feedback at every stage. Samples of materials, color palettes, and hardware are made available for tactile examination, helping clients make informed decisions.

Project management is also a key service provided by these showrooms. They coordinate with contractors, oversee timelines, and ensure quality control, alleviating much of the stress typically associated with home renovations. This level of service transforms what could be a daunting process into a rewarding journey marked by creativity and precision.

The Influence of European Design

European influence is strongly felt in both Westchester and Greenwich kitchen showrooms. Brands from Germany, Italy, and Scandinavia are prominently featured, known for their minimalist aesthetics, superior engineering, and innovative storage solutions. These brands resonate with American homeowners who value both form and function.

In particular, German kitchen systems have gained popularity for their modularity and precision. Italian brands are favored for their flair and luxurious materials, while Scandinavian design contributes elements of warmth and simplicity. By integrating these influences, showrooms in Westchester and Greenwich offer a global design experience tailored to local sensibilities.

This cross-cultural fusion not only enriches the aesthetic vocabulary but also provides clients with a broader range of options. Whether seeking a sleek, handle-less design or a cozy, rustic ambiance, clients can find inspiration and guidance within these versatile showrooms. The result is a kitchen that feels both cosmopolitan and deeply personal.

Showroom Technologies and Tools

Advanced technologies have revolutionized how kitchen showrooms operate and serve their clients. Virtual reality (VR) walkthroughs, augmented reality (AR) planning tools, and interactive touchscreens are increasingly becoming standard features. These tools allow clients to experience their kitchen designs in immersive and intuitive ways.

VR simulations enable clients to "walk" through their future kitchens, adjusting elements in real time and gaining a better sense of space and scale. AR tools allow for live overlays in existing kitchen spaces, making it easier to visualize changes without demolishing anything first. Touchscreen catalogs and digital mood boards streamline the selection process and foster collaborative decision-making.

Additionally, many showrooms employ kitchen planning software that integrates with architectural programs, ensuring seamless communication between designers, builders, and clients. These technologies reduce the margin of error and enhance the precision of each project. They exemplify the cutting-edge capabilities that define the best kitchen showrooms in Westchester and Greenwich.

Showcasing Real-World Applications

One of the most impactful aspects of these luxury showrooms is their use of real-world kitchen vignettes. Instead of displaying isolated pieces or static cabinetry, the best showrooms create full-scale kitchen models that mimic real homes. These vignettes include working appliances, stocked drawers, and even staged dining settings.

This approach helps clients see how each component functions in a realistic setting. They can test cabinet mechanisms, observe how light interacts with different finishes, and evaluate the flow of movement within the space. These experiences are crucial for clients who need more than digital renderings to make confident decisions.

Moreover, some showrooms collaborate with local chefs to host cooking demonstrations, giving clients a firsthand look at how the kitchen performs under real use. These events also provide educational value, helping clients understand the nuances of appliance features, material durability, and design ergonomics. The result is a showroom experience that is as informative as it is inspirational.

Conclusion: A New Gold Standard in Kitchen Design

Westchester and Greenwich have emerged as benchmarks in the world of luxury kitchen design, thanks to their exceptional showrooms that blend innovation, craftsmanship, and client service. These spaces offer more than products; they provide a transformative journey that helps homeowners conceptualize and realize the kitchen of their dreams.

In the final third of this article, we turn our attention to some of the specific showroom locations that embody this standard. For those exploring options in New York, the selection of kitchen showrooms Westchester NY offers a glimpse into modern luxury, with spaces designed to stimulate both creativity and precision. These showrooms stand out not only for their product offerings but also for their immersive, technology-driven design consultations.

Meanwhile, anyone considering a redesign in Connecticut would benefit from visiting a leading kitchen showroom Greenwich CT, where classic elegance meets contemporary flair. These locations prioritize personalization and attention to detail, ensuring each kitchen is as functional as it is beautiful.

Ultimately, the kitchen showrooms of Westchester and Greenwich do more than follow trends—they set them. Their commitment to excellence has raised the bar for what homeowners can expect in design, service, and execution. As the industry continues to evolve, these showrooms will remain at the forefront, leading by example and continually redefining the luxury kitchen experience.