maudefigglebottom

[maudefigglebottom]

U should write more Ian x reader, like a besties to lovers one? No pressure if ur busy ofc <3

More Than Friends || Ian Hecox x reader

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ masterlist • smosh masterlist ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚

summary: you have been ignoring your growing feelings for your best friend ian, but when you are chosen to do a romantic scene together will those feelings stay hidden?

word count: 3.5k

warnings: mild cursing

a/n: ahh thank you so much for this request ml, i’ve been meaning to write for ian again!! hope you enjoy this and have a wonderful day!! 🎀☁️🍒

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     “Ok, hear me out. The story is ‘getting a root canal’ but we make it a full on musical with production numbers and everything.”

     Angela’s loud voice broke over the chatter you had been drowning out and you looked across the table. 

     You had been sitting in an early-morning writers meeting discussing ideas for a new sketch for what felt like hours. 

     Whoever thought it would be a good idea to make you and everyone else be creative at 8:00am….

     “Angela,” Chanse chided.

     “What? I had a dentist appointment this morning and I was inspired.”

     “Anyone else have any ideas that don’t have the words ‘root canal’ in them?” Chanse asked.

     “What screams Smosh more than a root canal musical!” Angela looked around the room for help.

     Alas, it didn’t look like you were getting anywhere anytime soon. 

    You watched as Ian, who sat to your left, let his head slip from his hand where it had been rested on the table.

     “Look alive, Mr. President-of-the-company,” you whispered to him, covering the fact that you had definitely been watching him longer than was friend-like.

     Looks like you weren’t the only one who suffered from drowsiness that morning.

     “I was totally paying attention,” Ian yawned. “Something about boats.”

     You rolled your eyes and smiled at your best friend. You’d known Ian since you two were little—in fact, he was the reason you'd got your job at Smosh all those years back.

     You’d been staying with him for the past week while your apartment was being renovated and you'd definitely stayed up too late last night watching reruns of friends. Which probably contributed to you both nodding off during this meeting.

   “Twenty bucks says someone suggests kiss currency part two,” you whispered to Ian.

     “Are you kidding? No way I’m gonna take you up on that, I don’t have spare cash on me.”

     “Did someone say kissing?” Courtney waggled her eyebrows. 

     “Yeah, (Y/n) was just begging me to suggest a kissing sketch,” Ian teased.

     You smacked Ian’s arm, feeling your cheeks warm. “I was not!”

     “Ian just wants to kiss you, that’s all,” Anthony leaned over his friend to tell you conspiratorially.

     Ian pretended to gag. “I’d rather kiss Shayne.”

     “Hey!” Shayne threw up his hands in outrage.

     You laughed along with everyone but you couldn’t stop yourself from clenching your fist around your coffee mug.

     You couldn’t exactly pinpoint when you had begun to have feelings for Ian that were more than friendly. One minute he was just your best friend Ian and the next he was this funny, attractive guy who made your pulse race when he touched your arm or gave you one of his smiles. 

     You knew Ian didn’t return your feelings—you were sure of that. This new development was entirely one sided. Which was why you were absolutely, definitely never going to tell him. Ever.

     You sighed as you watched Ian lean away from you and towards Anthony to whisper something to him.     

     Everyone was silent for a moment and you leaned back in your seat, running a hand through your hair. 

     “Hey, to piggyback off of the kissing thing,” Anthony started, his voice breaking through the silence, “what if we did an ‘every dramatic love confession scene ever’? It’s been a while since we’ve done that style of video.”

     “Ooh good idea,” Ian said, “Those ‘we want the old Smosh’ people will love that. I can already see the views.”

     “Always ‘the content’ with you,” you teased him.

     “He’s right though,” Spencer chimed in, “Especially if we had you and Ian do some scenes together. People would eat that up; it’ll give ‘em more material for their edits. I’m talking Shourtney part two.”

     You watched as Shayne and Courtney looked at each other and grinned. Damn it, why couldn’t you and Ian be like them!

     But, Spencer wasn’t wrong. Ever since you had begun working at Smosh, fans had been convinced you and Ian were dating. You guys had always laughed about all of the comments and posts together. 

     You and Ian? As if!

     But lately, as you watched the fan edits and read the YouTube comments, you couldn’t help but wish that you and Ian actually were what all of these people thought you were. 

     “I can see it now: April 1st, 2025, Ian and (Y/n). Shourtney part two” Ian echoed Spencer’s comment and nodded. “Zach Justice and Tara level shipping.”

     “You know who they are, grandpa?” You snorted.

     “For the last time, I’m four months older than you!”

     You laughed as Ian spoke again.

     “I mean, I’m in if you’re in,” he turned to you,  “For the sketch. If you don’t mind pretending to be into me. I know it’ll be hard not to fall hopelessly in love with me.” 

     “How will I ever manage,” you deadpanned sarcastically, even as your palms began to feel sweaty. Ignoring your feelings on a daily basis was hard enough, let alone doing a love scene together. But you couldn’t very well refuse and have everyone, including Ian, wonder why. 

     Besides, it could be fun. It’d been a while since you’d done a sketch, and regardless of how you felt about Ian, he was still your best friend and you would get to spend a lot of time on set with him. 

     You took a deep breath. You were probably going to regret the next words that came out of your mouth. 

     “Let’s do it”

₊˚ ✧ ‿︵‿୨୧‿︵‿ ✧ ₊˚

     “Shut up and kiss me,” you said, throwing your pretend purse to the ground as you stepped forwards.”

     “Not until you promise me that I’m the only one,” Ian sniffed dramatically. “I cant lose you again, baby.”

     “It’s only you,” you yelled, “It’s always only been you.”

     “Then kiss me,” Ian took a step towards you. “Kiss me like you’ve never kissed anyone before.”

     “You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting to hear you say that,” you leaned in. 

     “And then we kiss,” Ian said in a lighter voice, breaking character as you ended the scene. “I feel like it should be raining in the background of this, damn. Ooh, note to self: talk to them about fake rain.”

     “Right,” you smiled shakily, trying not to let the scene have affected you. You were at Ian’s place—your apartment still wasn’t livable—and Ian had suggested you rehearse your scene again for the shoot the next day. 

     You had just received the script and were already panicking a how real it all was. The two characters in the scene were friends who fell in love with each other. Just your luck.

     You silently cursed whoever had written the whole thing. 

     “So do you want to rehearse the kiss before tomorrow?” Ian’s voice brought you out of your thoughts.

     “Oh, um, I think it might be better if we just wing it. You know, realistic first kiss and all.”

     “As long as you don’t pull a Jennifer Lawrence on me,” Ian laughed, “No garlic fries.”

     You placed a hand to your chest in mock surprise, “Wow Ian, two pop culture references in one day? I’m so proud.”

     “I learned from the best,” Ian booped your nose and you felt your heart flutter. 

     You flopped down on your couch-bed in the middle of the living room and kicked your pajama-pant-clad legs out in front of you. 

     Ian sat down next to you and picked up the TV remote. “Do you mind?”

     You shook your head as he turned on the television. A show was playing that you’d definitely seen before, but you weren’t paying attention. 

     You couldn’t focus on anything but Ian’s presence next to you as he scooted closer to you and laid his arm over the back of the couch behind you. He smelled like pine and soap and a hint of the day’s cologne and the scent was so familiar and so damn attractive that you couldn’t ever imagine a time when you hadn’t wanted him all over you. How had you been so ignorant then?

     You rested your head on Ian’s chest and let out a sigh. All of this was so normal—you two laying there, watching TV, falling asleep next to each other—and yet it felt so different. 

     Ian kissed the top of your head gently and mumbled “Goodnight, (Y/n).”

     You muttered a soft, “‘Night.”

     Sometimes, when you were really desperate, you imagined that your best friend felt the same way about you that you did about him. In all the little ways that he made you feel special and loved, you found an almost something. It was times like these that you let yourself imagine, what if?

     But then you reminded yourself that you and Ian had always been this way. The only difference was your pulse racing and your heart jumping into your throat whenever he looked at you or touched you. 

     You let your eyes close as the sounds of whatever comedy was on played in the background.

     It was strange how you could feel so anxious and so comfortable at the same time. Despite all the new uneasiness that came with your romantic feelings towards Ian, you were still calmed by his presence. You still knew him better than anyone else. You still wanted this forever. Which is why you couldn’t let yourself change things. 

     You felt Ian wrap his arm around you and you shifted slightly on the bed. This felt right, you thought. How could you dare mess that up with unrequited love making everything difficult?

     Because that was scary. Changing everything was scary. Losing him was scary. But this? This was comfortable, you thought. And it was true. 

     You had never felt more comfortable before in your life.

₊˚ ✧ ‿︵‿୨୧‿︵‿ ✧ ₊˚

     You had never felt more uncomfortable in your life. 

     You’d thought last night was awkward, reading through the script with Ian. But today, as you reminded yourself you’d have to kiss him and not make it seem like it meant anything to you, you were sweating through your floral-pattern dress. 

     “Hey (Y/n)!”

     You spun around to find Ian wearing a full on tuxedo, complete with a boutonnière and everything. 

     “Wow, you look—”

     “Like prom threw up on me? Yeah, I know,” Ian joked, “But you look like the lead in a romcom so thumbs up costume coordinator.”

     You looked down at your dress. You had gone to costuming earlier on and had just come out of hair and makeup. You hoped you hadn't already sweated it all off. 

     You looked back up at Ian. He looked—well, aside from drop dead gorgeous—like he had eaten something that didn’t quite agree with him.

     You opened your mouth to ask if he was feeling ok when you were called to set by one of the directors.

     “Looks like that’s us,” Ian smiled but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

     You walked over to the set that you would be using, which looked like the outside of a building that could have been a school or a convention center. Apparently Angela had just had it lying around from a previous play. It looked really realistic, almost too realistic.

     You took a deep breath as you stepped onto set and Ian followed you. 

     You got this, you told yourself, you know all of your lines and you’re not going to mess this up.

     You looked out at the rest of the Smosh cast and crew, busy on set or waiting for their scenes. 

     “Ok and rolling…” you heard the director call.

     You prepared yourself. Ian stepped to the side of you. “You ready for this?”

     “Yeah,” you whispered, “definitely. Are you ok? You look pretty pale.”

     “I’m good,” Ian assured you with a nod, “just ate some weird pistachios at the snack table. I’d stay away if I were you.”

     “Noted,” you giggled.

     “…And Action!”

     You immediately were thrown into the scene. Ian had the first line and you tried to get into character.

     “What is your problem, Amy?” Ian said.

     “My problem?” you spat, trying to channel your inner romcom protagonist, “Are you really going to make me sit here and spell it out for you, Jake?”

     “That’d be nice,” Ian—Jake—scoffed.

     “Fine,” you made your voice shaky, “You wanna know what my problem is? My problem is that you came here with Veronica when you knew that all I wanted to do was be your date tonight.”

     “How would I know that? Was I supposed to just guess? You’re my best friend, Amy, why wouldn’t you just tell me!”

     “You want to know why I didn’t tell you?” You—Amy—asked him. “Because you’re my best friend. That’s why. I’ve had to sit here and watch you with girl after girl while all I wanted was as to be one of them.”

     You stepped closer to Ian as you kept saying your lines, trying to summon tears “I have been in love with you for years. Years, Jake. But I couldn’t tell you because I didn’t want to lose this.”

     You gestured between the two of you, trying to clear your mind and do what you had rehearsed. You refused to let any of your own thoughts slip in. 

     You continued, “I didn’t want to ruin our friendship. So go ahead. It’s ruined now. Go back to your date and have the best night with her. I’ll just be here on the sidelines like I always have been.”

     You turned and pretended to walk away and as planned Ian grabbed your wrist and you spun around.

     “You don’t get it,” he started, “I love you. I always have loved you. From the moment I met you, I have loved you. I love the way you tie your hair up when you’re working on something. I love the way your nose scrunches up when something amuses you. I love your perfume and the way it kinda makes me dizzy when I’m near you. I love you. I have never loved anyone more.”

      Ian’s eyes were intense as he looked down at you. 

     “And I never told you because, look at you. You’re way out of my league, I was lucky to have you as a friend. But, it’s always been you. I love you so much and I can’t believe you love me back. I’ll keep saying it as long as I am still breathing. I love you, I love you, I love you.”

     Even though it was acting, you’d never seen Ian like this. Not even when you were rehearsing. This was raw and emotional and it was hard not to let yourself believe it was real. The air was thick and you were both breathing heavy, the room silent except for the synchronized sound of your breathing. You stepped towards Ian, preparing to tell him to ‘shut up and kiss you’, as the script said, but he kept speaking.

     “I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to say all this. But, I want to be more than friends. And now that you know, will you be  more than friends with me, (Y/n)?”

     You jolted at his use of your name and not your character’s. None of this was in the script, as far as you knew.

     “Ian—” You whispered, looking around. 

     He took your hands, swallowing hard. “This is real, (Y/n). And I meant every word.”

     You couldn’t process what was happening. You searched Ian’s face and he looked honest and hopeful and a little scared. But he was sincere. You didn’t see any evidence that this was some kind of practical joke. Was Ian saying…

     You moved to stand even closer to him. 

     “Shut up and kiss me,” you said hesitantly, saying the line you were supposed to say earlier. 

     A slow smile came to Ian’s face, getting what you were doing. “Not until you promise me that I’m the only one, I cant lose you again, baby.”

     “It’s only you,” you whispered, “It’s always only been you.”

     “Then kiss me,” Ian said. “Kiss me like you’ve never kissed anyone before.”

     “You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting to hear you say that,” you leaned in. 

     And scene, You thought, So much for not letting this be real.

     And then your lips were on his, and you were kissing him. And Ian was kissing you back. He grabbed your waist and pulled you closer to him. You ran your hands through his hair and you felt him shiver beneath your touch.

     As you kissed Ian, your best friend, you silently thanked your luck—that this had happened, that Ian returned your feelings.

     Ian pulled away gently, brushing your hair back from your face.

     “Wow,” you breathed, “that was—”

     “That was everything I’d imagined it would be,” Ian said.

     And then, all of a sudden, the entire studio burst into applause. You looked out at all of your friends and cast mates clapping and cheering for you. Had they been in on this the whole time? Had they all known that Ian would break character and confess real feelings for you?

     “Just to be sure,” Ian said, “You do actually like me back right? You weren’t just finishing the scene?”

     You laughed, “Yes, Ian, I like you. A lot.”

     “Phew,” Ian laughed, calling out to the people gathered, “It’s a yes guys, she said yes! And sorry about ruining the shoot!”

     “You kidding? That was the most realistic love scene I’ve ever seen. How could we not use that?” Anthony called back.

     You giggled and placed your hands on Ian’s chest, “About that, I didn’t know you could be so cheesy and romantic.”

     “Only for you,” he said. “And I wouldn’t say cheesy. Poetic and beautiful, maybe.”

     You rolled your eyes at him, but you’d never been happier. You wouldn’t be able to stop smiling for days. And you didn’t want to. 

     All this time, as you’d been battling your own feelings, Ian had had feelings for you. You no longer had to pretend, because everything you wanted with Ian was already happening. 

     You smiled up at him, “I love you, Ian.”

     You had said it so many times platonically, but it felt different now. And yet the same.

     “I love you so much, (Y/n).”

₊˚ ✧ ‿︵‿୨୧‿︵‿ ✧ ₊˚

     You put your hair up into a ponytail as you walked towards Ian’s office. You had changed out of your romcom dress and back into the clothes you wore to the studio today. Now that you were done with the shoot, Ian had said he wanted to take you out. Your first real date. 

     You rounded the corner and went to enter Ian’s doorway, but you stopped when you heard voices. 

     “Hey, thanks man,” Ian’s voice carried into the hallway. “Thanks for suggesting that sketch.”

     “Anything for my friend,” Anthony said. “When your best friend whispers ‘hey can you suggest a sketch where me and (Y/n) have to be romantic together’ you step up.”

     You strained to hear. What? Was Ian saying he had planned that whole thing? He was the one who wanted to do that sketch?

     “Besides,” Anthony continued, “I didn’t even really do anything. You wrote the whole thing. Speaking of which, damn man, warn somebody! I’ll bring tissues to set next time.”

     You couldn’t believe it! That entire scene, about two random characters, Ian had written it all for you and him. 

     “You wrote all that?” You stepped into Ian’s office a look of shock on both men’s faces.

     “(Y/n), how much of that did you hear?” Ian asked nervously.

     “Enough to be even more in love with you than when I walked over here, if that’s possible.”

     Ian looked relieved as he came over to you and put his arms around you. “Well, then yeah, I wrote it. And I meant every word I said about loving you.”

     “Wow, I gotta work on my speech writing skills,” you teased, “I didn’t know I was best friends with The Bard himself this whole time.”

     “It’s a gift,” Ian smiled, kissing you softly. “And I had plenty of time to practice being poetic, being in love with you for years.

     “I’m going to go,” Anthony’s voice interrupted, “because I feel like a third wheel and not because my eyes are watering—damn allergies. I’m so happy for both of you.”

     Anthony left the room and you both burst into laughter. 

    Ian placed a soft kiss to your lips again, and you smiled. You couldn’t believe this was your reality. 

     Some of your best memories and moments were with Ian as a best friend. And now you got to experience a whole new world with Ian your boyfriend. You couldn’t wait.

     You were wrong the night before, you thought, as Ian wrapped his arms around you.     

     This, this was the most comfortable you’d ever been. 

     “Hey, I hate to interrupt,” Angela peeked into the room, “but now that we’re done with the operation-get-Ian-and-(Y/n)-together sketch—congrats by the way—where are we at on Root Canal the Musical?”

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hope y’all enjoyed this!! if you did, check out my other ian fic + my ian hcs 🤭🍓💌

[maudefigglebottom]

╰┈➤ hey so i made a lloyd hansen edit ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ 🎀

<— another lloyd edit • another another lloyd edit —>

i know this is a fanfic blog but i am deep into the lloyd hansen rabbit hole and i figured i’d share a little slice of my obsession with you guys 🤭😩 hopefully this reaches the right person lol

this is my first edit so please be nice (or don’t i’m all for spicing things up) i’m aware that i’m an amateur. also i own none of these clips or this audio obviously and warning this song swears and i didn’t want to pay for the software to isolate voice. enjoy!! 🩰🍒

୧ ‧₊˚ 🍓 ⋅ ☆

[maudefigglebottom]

╰┈➤ amateur lloyd hansen edit número dos ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ 🍒

<— previous lloyd edit • another lloyd edit —>

so i made another edit 🤭 so down bad for this man and i hope you enjoy this break from my usual fanfic content. i own none of these clips or this audio obviously. have fun!! 🎀

୧ ‧₊˚ 🍓 ⋅ ☆

[maudefigglebottom]

╰┈➤ I promise this is the last lloyd hansen edit ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚🩰

<— previous lloyd edit • another previous lloyd edit —>

aaand we are back from the break in your usual fanfic content 🤭 i promise this is the final one. i hope you enjoy this + llyod as much as i do, this has been such a fun lil ride!! i own none of these clips or this audio obviously. 💌

୧ ‧₊˚ 🍓 ⋅ ☆

[maudefigglebottom]

lets sip our tea together and enjoy the chaos 😏🫖

*leans back in chair* *clinks teacups with you* let mayhem ensue ☕️🎀😌

[maudefigglebottom]

same!! not going to lie…i’m kinda excited to see who’s getting proven wrong. is that bad to say? 😭 i feel like it’s so 50/50 rn

no this is so real !! i am just enjoying all of the discourse and have been endlessly checking smoshblr just to keep updated. it’s honestly so much fun whether it’s a prank or not and i love our little community collectively freaking out together 🤭🩰💌

[maudefigglebottom]

me, lurking and looking at all of your posts about shayne + courtney and vigorously googling + screaming internally but also not coming out and interacting because i don’t want to take a definitive stance on the validity: ah *sips tea* very interesting, many valid points 🧐🎀

[maudefigglebottom]

What you need

Paring: !teacher!Remus Lupin x fem!reader

Summary: the reader attends additional lessons with professor Lupin to prepare for the N.E.W.T. on Defense Against the Dark Arts and to make the final coursework. The reader constantly suffers from chronic tiredness and headaches and tries to hide it, not wanting to seem vulnerable or weak. But Remus notices it and tries to help and comfort her. They become close as they keep having long talks not only about DADA, but about anything in life.

Warnings: fluff, hurt-comfort, teacher x student relationship, age gap, mention of illness and pain

A/N: I decided to try one shot now just to have a rest of editing the third chapter of my series The Torn Heart (btw I'll be really pleased if you check it out too). And also I don't really got used to write Y/N-stories but I decided to try. Just for the sake of adding variety to my life and to this blog. I almost fell asleep while writing it because I tried my best (and because it's 4 AM in my country at the moment when I'm finishing), but in my honest opinion I find this piece simply fabulous🤭. Enjoy your reading!

You entered Professor Lupin's office after knocking on the door and hearing a soft and jentle "Come in". Actually, all the sounds reached you half-muted, covered by the persistent pounding in your head. You somewhat got used to it - you've been suffering from headaches and all stuff like that for several years. For the first time it happened when you were preparing for your O.W.L.s at your fifth year. Anxiety and stress was a reality for you because you were a kind of very sensitive person who is affected easily by any distressing situation, and, apart from that, you were tend to overdo: overthink, overstudy, but never oversleep. Your worries about the exams have stolen your peaceful nights long ago, turning them into an endless nightmare. Most of the time your body craved for nothing but to lie down without moving, but your brain was desperately trying to concentrate on the studying. DADA was the subject that you had chosen to specialize in at your final year, and you really enjoyed reading special books about dark creatures and artefacts, doing research and practising advanced defensive spells and countercurses. Honestly, you were looking forward to starting those additional sessions for preparing properly for the exam. You planned to get nothing but Outstanding for it.

Absorbed into your thoughts, at first you didn't notice the professor standing right in front of you. When your tired gaze finally met his, almost as tired yet very warm and welcoming, he smiled softly and greeted you in a gentle voice.

- "Hello, Y/N. Guess it's time to get started Make yourself comfortable here."

He gestured for you to take a sit on the squashy armchair while he went and sat at his desk, which was piled with textbooks, scrolls of parchment and even ancient, shabby and dusty volumes, which clearly were taken from the Restricted Section for studying how to counter all sort of the dark magic.

You sank into the cozy armchair, relaxing and feeling your body's desire to collapse fulfilled. The atmosphere of Lupin's office was the most suitable for studying - the dim light was not too bright yet enough for reading, everything around was quiet and filled with the adorable scent of old parchment, tea and chocolate.

- "Well, I must warn you that today we're going to brush up some theory. I know it would be much more interesting for you to learn and for me to teach you a few of advanced duelling spells at first, but unfortunately not today. I've been feeling a bit under the weather and after the tiring school day I have absolutely no energy for duelling. I'm sorry. But I promise that revising the theory won't be too boring. I'll try to make it as amusing as possible."

Remus looked down for a second, a hint of embarrassment in his eyes. He strongly disliked confessing to anyone that he was feeling unwell, but now he had to. The full moon was three days ago and today it was his first working day after recovery, and he barely had any strength remaining to hold this tutoring session for you. But he promised individual preparation for every student that will be taking the DADA exam, and he never broke his promises. And also he never remained anything half-done - he wanted to keep the students as much interested as he could and not to tire them too much.

Though you weren't aware of his ailment, you did know that he had been on a sick-leave for almost a week and you realized he still wasn't feeling quite well. You gave him a look of compassion and understanding and replied shyly yet reassuringly:

- "Oh, actually you don't have to be sorry, Professor. It's okay and it can happen to anyone. I wish you to get well as soon as possible. And I absolutely don't find theory boring, especially with you. You're the best teacher at Hogwarts... "

His unhealthily pale face blushed slightly at your compliment, and he chuckled somewhat nervously.

- "Thank you very much, Y/N, but no need. Well, let's begin revising. "

You spent plenty of time answering his questions, sometimes he corrected your slight mistakes or inaccuracies and told you some more interesting facts about every topic.

Your brain was deeply immersed in that talk whilst your body was totally drained of energy and power to live. Your headache intensified, your eyes narrowed sleepily and you found it difficult to keep concentrating on the complicated questions.

Remus, despite his own weakened and sick state, couldn't help but notice your exhausted expression. He stopped questioning you on the subject, stood up and slowly walked up to you, glancing at you with concern.

-"Dear, are you alright? You look pale and absolutely frazzled out. I think it's enough studying for today. Maybe you should've seen the healer?", - he asked gently.

-"Oh... That's nothing to worry about... It's... not really ilnesss, just a thing, you know, chronic... I'm kind of used to constant headaches. It's normal for me to be in slight pain all the time, but by the end of the day it usually intensifies, so now I feel a bit uncomfortable indeed... But no need to worry...", - you stuttered out, your voice weak and sleepy.

Professor Lupin's eyes widened and the subtle smile almost vanished from his scarred face. He frowned and said firmly but tenderly:

-"It's never normal to be in pain. You should take care of yourself, young lady. Judging by your words and chalk-while face, your current state is very far from normal. Why don't you go to the hospital wing and get some medication?"

- "It does nothing for my sufferings. Really. Madam Pomfry had already tried every painkilling potion she had, but nothing helped me. I didn't tell her about it because... I don't want her to worry so much, to feel guilty for not able to stop my pain..."

Remus bit his lip and sighed with sorrow as he listened to you speaking. He recognized that feeling. It all was painfully familiar to him. He had gone through a similar experience when he was younger. He placed a hand on your shoulder as a gesture of support.

-"Okay, now listen to me, dear. I know what you're talking about. I had and even now continue to have similar problems. The thing is, I have a condition, let me not name it. It's closely connected with persistent headaches and pains all over the body in general, going hand by hand with fatigue and weakness. I've had it since early childhood and I completely understand what you are going through. So, please, remember that you're not alone in this fight. It's the first thing. The second thing is that I know some... secret remedies which always help ease up my pains and might work on you as well.", - He now smiled with care and comfort. He walked into the door that led apparently to his private quarters and returned after some minutes with two steaming mugs of something that smelt like tea but at the same time was obvious to be something else. He sat on the next armchair and handed you the mug.

-"Here, drink it, please. It's a herbal decoction. Professor Sprout grows a special plant that makes headaches go away as if by hand. This is jokingly but deservedly called a drink of pure power among all the Hogwarts staff members. Almost capable of resurrection. A really fine remedy. I bet it will help alleviate your pain. ", he spoke softly and his caring smile grew wider.

Instantly after that he put a chocolate bar out of his pocket, opened it's wrapping and offered to you.

-"Chocolate is also a helpful thing. Not only for cheering up, but also for regaining energy. Anything with sugar can be useful when you are so tired. I hope you're not allergic. "

-"Oh, that's so generous of you... Thank you so much, sir! *

You ate the chocolate, drank the decoction and thanked your professor for the help. Slowly you felt the pounding in your sore head subsiding. You were already about to leave, but as you stood up he started stroking your back protectively and said:

-"This decoction usually needs some time to take effect and to make the pain go away completely. But it's better to take it regularly as a course for some weeks. I absolutely don't mind sharing my stock with you. I have plenty. During every our preparation session I'll supply you with this remedy, I promise. It will be enough. And now, let me walk you to your dormitory. You're still sleepy and exhausted and I don't want you to fall asleep right somewhere on the staircase, Y/N."

The two of you walked out of his office, his hand now removed from your back and only slightly wrapped around your slender shoulders. Your face blushed as your heart filled with gratitude and adoration. You tired glance was sticked to his heartwarming hazel eyes with amber hues. Remus already was someone more for you than the best professor ever, though you weren't ready to admit it yet.

-"And one more thing. Tomorrow DADA is the first lesson and I allow you to oversleep it. Don't worry, you have rather good knowledge and nothing bad can happen if you miss one morning class, for which we will definitely be able to make up in some evening. You badly need rest, dear."

-"Ah, thank you! Good night. ", you were astonished and very happy to hear how he cares about you.

-"Good night, Y/N.", - he replied in his comforting and soothing voice before leaving.

___________________

Some months passed. All that time you kept attending your tutoring session with Lupin and taking your herbal remedy together. Your mental well-being improved a lot. You stopped worrying about the exams so much because Remus always thought of good ways to cheer you up and build your confidence. You were a remarkable student and he assured you that you'll pass your N.E.W.T.s perfectly, especially with carefully preparing. You talked a lot now, even not always about studying, even laughed together at funny stories, but you still learnt a lot. It all was growing into a close bond - something like friendship, though you accidentally noticed yourself stealing longing glances at him and even he was doing the same sometimes. You confessee to yourself you were strongly in love with him, but didn't hope for reciprocation. Everything seemed so good, except for your physical state didn't seem to become much better. Your face was still almost corpse-like, your headaches relieved only for some hours after taking the decoction and then intensified again, making you feel as if your skull is going to explode. You tried your best to stay strong whilst Remus tried everything to end your sufferings. He even once gave you the strongest and the most expensive painkilling potion ever existing - the one that he had specifically for using before and immediately after his transformations. And even it didn't stop your pain completely.

One evening you came over to another tutoring session, but you were so exhausted that absolutely couldn't work. Remus was almost panicking inside but demonstrated only utter comfort and reassurance. He laid you down on the couch in his private quarters. With slight doubt in his expression he asked you:

-"I remembered of another way that might alleviate your pain, dear. But... It's somewhat rather intimate... I mean it involves touching your head. So I'll try it only if you agree."

-"Do whatever needed if it helps. And by the way, I think your touch is pleasant. I'd love you to cure me with your touch more.", - you chuckled faintly through the pain, glancing at him with love even without hiding it.

-"Okay. It'll be a massage. It really helps to relax your tense muscles. Often a headache appears because of straining your neck muscles too much. Or the scalp itself needs relaxation. I'll try my best, I'll do anything to help you, my dear. "

You nodded in agreement, though you were wincing in pain after every movement. You didn't already call him professor and you loved the way he called you dear. You loved simply everything about him, especially his care, affection and tenderness.

He started applying gentle pressure on your head, rubbing your temples and forehead in small circular motions, massaging and caressing your neck and shoulders, avoiding any tender spots, his touch warm and soothing. You felt blissful, your pain was vanishing, it was like a miracle. You let out an involuntary sigh of relief.

-"Better? ", he asked gently.

You only smiled peacefully at his twinkling eyes instead of responding. Your faces were co close to each other and one intrusive thought was spinning in your mind.

"Remus, you know what?... I... I love you", you mumbled desperately, as a tear of happiness ran down your cheek.

Remus's eyes filled with tears, too. He leaned down and his lips touched your cheek softly, leaving a tender kiss and pulling away carefully...

-"Now better", you giggled, unable to suppress your sobs anymore as they mixed up with laughter.

-"Oh, I knew this is what you need, dear. And... By the way. It's hard to confess, but I'm utterly smitten with you. I love you, Y/N, believe me or not. It's certainly bad to do like this, after that I can't be considered as a good teacher, I suppose..."

-"Don't say all this nonsense. You're the best. Everyone deserves love, Remus!"

He gently leaned in to kiss you once again...

[maudefigglebottom]

Hi, sorry to bother you I know requests are closed but can you do a romantic x reader oneshot on Ray Manchester/Captain Man ❤️ for valentine's day

(Where ray falls quickly in love with the newest helper at Junk N'Stuff (unaware that Jasper put out an ad in the swellview news paper saying that junk n stuff is looking for a helper) and wants to ask her out on a date after mindless flirting with her a bit and working his charm on her, on the day of Valentine's Day Ray wanted to set up a surprise romantic dinner for him and the reader down in the Man Cave even though Henry and Charlotte tried to talk him out of it since the reader doesn't know about the elevator, or the Man Cave, or that ray is Captain Man saying that bringing the reader down to the man cave was a bad idea, but ray had decided to tell the reader his secret during dinner so there won't be any secrets between them due to the fact that ray wants to start a relationship with her. During dinner ray finally told the reader his secret which thrilled her (after she found out about the elevator and met and befriending Schwoz), at the end Henry came back after he forgot his backpack and saw both Ray and the reader sharing a long passionate kiss together due to his dismay)

My Valentine || Ray Manchester/Captain Man x reader

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ masterlist • ray manchester masterlist ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚

summary: when you start working at junk n’ stuff, ray is immediately attracted to you and wants to do something special for your first date (which just so happens to be on valentine’s day and may or may not include him revealing his identity to you) 🤭

word count: 3.8k

warnings: none

a/n: hey!! happy valentine’s day!! i love this idea and i rushed to get it to you by v day so you could spend the holiday with ray 🤭 hope u enjoy this love!! 💌🫂

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

“Henry!” A voice called from somewhere behind you “Where’re my beans?”

     “What?” Came the reply.

     “My lucky beans!”

     “I think Jasper has them,” the boy who must’ve been Henry shouted. 

     You turned around to find the source of the yelling, but you couldn’t see anything behind a curtain that blocked of the front of the store from the back.

     You had only been working here at Junk N’ Stuff for a few hours and you were still a bit confused about some aspects of your job.

     Jasper, the curly-haired boy who’d hired you, had given you a quick tour of the store—except for the back, which he’d said was due to the construction happening—before ushering you behind the counter.

     It was odd, you thought, leaning on the desk—you hadn’t heard any sounds of construction over the past few hours. 

     You looked over at Jasper, sorting though a pile of pails and buckets with vigor and ignoring the conversation he had obviously heard about him and beans. He caught you watching him and smiled.

     “I’m looking for the bucket that belonged to Louis XIV,” he called, “You haven’t seen it, have you?”

     You shook your head, “Can’t say that I have, but I’ll keep an eye out.”

     You sighed. It wasn’t your ideal job, working at a junk store. But you had known what it was when you applied for the job after seeing the strange yet intriguing ad in the paper. And this job would do in the mean time while you figured out what to do next.

     “Why would Jasper have my beans?” You heard the first voice again, closer this time.

     “Something about hair growth? I don’t know,” the younger voice answered.

     You weren’t aware that anybody else worked here besides you. You didn’t think the junk store needed more than one or two employees. You hadn’t even seen one customer enter the building all day. 

     The ad had said they were ‘looking for someone to watch over the shop—the perfectly normal, nothing-at-all-weird-about-it shop and handle customers full time. Must have experience with plants’.

     You’d thought that part was weird—actually the whole advertisement was odd—but had ultimately looked past it. The pay was good and you needed a job right now after the unfortunate end of your last one.

     And the store did have some cool items, if you were into that sort of thing. You played with a toy monkey dressed like Elvis Presley laying behind the front desk.

     “Jasper!” A man pushed through the curtain and entered the room. He wore dark jeans and a tight-fitting yellow shirt. He was followed by a blond-haired boy and a girl with dark hair.

     Jasper looked up from where he was sitting.

     “Hand over the beans,” the man said, his back turned to you. 

     “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jasper held his ground. “Henry, Charlotte, tell him I don’t know what he’s talking about.”

     “Nice try, but your hair wasn’t that lustrous and voluminous yesterday!” The older man shouted.

     The girl—Charlotte—massaged her temples. 

     “Just give him the beans, dude,” Henry said. 

     Jasper ran a hand through his hair, “Oh all right.”

     He reached into his pocket and handed something to the other man. But not before kissing what must’ve been the beans and whispering ‘I’ll miss you, my little hair-miracle workers’.

     You watched this whole thing with a strange amusement. What had you gotten yourself into?

     “Oh, Ray,” Jasper said, perking up, “Speaking of beans, I hired a new helper.”

     “You what?” The man—Ray—asked.

     “Yeah, you what?” Henry echoed.

     “Well, you know how you’re always saying we need someone else around to man the shop because I’m just too handsome to be believably working at a junk store?”

     “Literally never said that,” Ray said.

     “You’re delusional,” Henry said at the same time.

      “You’re foot’s stuck in a bucket,” Charlotte added 

     “Well,” Jasper continued, shaking the container off of his foot, “I hired some help!”

     He gestured to the front desk.

     “Jasper, we’ve talked about making decisions without asking me first. I told—” Ray started as he turned around to look in the direction of where you were standing. 

     You attempted a small wave. 

     “—Hello there,” the man finished, his voice taking on a slower cadence. He walked over to you and leaned an elbow on the desk. “I’m Ray. Ray Manchester.”

     He held out his other arm and you shook his hand. “I’m (Y/n).”

     The first thing you noticed about him were his eyes, such a bright shade of blue. You couldn’t deny he was an attractive man, you thought, as you took in his features. You caught yourself staring and quickly looked down.

     Ray rested his chin in his hand and looked you up and down, “So, you work here at Junk N’ Stuff?”

     “As of four hours ago, yes,” you smiled. “Do you work here also?”

     “I’m actually the owner,” Ray smiled at you. “I’m kind of an entrepreneur.”

     “Are you now?” You fought back a laugh at his confident tone. 

     “You bet, darling. And as the owner and this fine establishment, I hope you’ll come to me if you have any questions or concerns about anything,” Ray said smoothly, leaning towards you.

     “Do you treat all your employees this nicely?” You replied, smiling.

     “Just the beautiful ones,” Ray said and even though you knew he was shamelessly flirting, you couldn’t help the blush creeping up your neck. “Especially the ones I hire myself.”

     “Hey—” Jasper started, probably to argue that he was the one who had given you the job, but Ray interrupted him.

     “So,” he continued, “Since you now officially work here, I am required to conduct a, uh…”

     He fumbled for words.

     “Stay Conversation?” Charlotte supplied.

     “That!” Ray said, “Which means I have to ask you some questions about how you’re liking your job, the hours…your boss.” 

     Charlotte smacked her face with the palm of her hand.

     “Ask away,” you said. You were positive this was something that shouldn’t be done mere hours after you began working at a place, but you decided to humor him. 

     “Question one,” he started, “how are you liking your time at Junk N’ Stuff so far?” 

     “I’m liking it very much,” you said.

     “Excellent,” Ray continued, “which brings us to number two. Are you seeing anyone right now?” 

     “So not how a Stay Conversation works,” Charlotte walked away. 

     “Shut up!” Ray whisper-yelled. He turned back to you, “So, your answer to question number two…”

     “No,” you laughed, “I can’t say that I am.” 

     “Very interesting. And, how would you describe your ideal romantic partner?”

     “Oh, I don’t know,” you said playfully, “I like blonds.”

     You said it just to mess with him and you enjoyed watching him process your statement. 

     “Question three. Would you ever date someone who’s not a blond?”

     You giggled. “Depends on the someone. What’s your type Mr. Manchester?”

     “I like beautiful women who prefer blonds,” he winked at you. 

     “What a shame,” you tapped his chest, “I like men who like women who prefer brunette’s”

     Ray got a faraway look in his eyes as he tried to work that one out. 

     “I think you’re just trying to confuse me,” he accused.

     “Guilty as charged.”

     You were close now and you really studied him. You’d been enjoying the back-and-forth banter and you hadn’t realized how you’d both leaned towards each other. 

     You took your gaze from Ray to the floor and back to Ray again, and found him staring at you intently. 

     “So is the questionnaire over?” You said to break the silence.

     Ray nodded, “I found out all I needed to know. You are so transparent, Miss (Y/n).”

     “Oh yeah? And what’d you find out?”

     “Well, I now know you have a thing for blonds,” he said and at your smile he continued. “I know you’re smart and funny and pretty—although I didn’t need a questionnaire for that—and, what was it? Oh, you think I’m devilishly handsome and are wondering how I get my hair to look this good, because it certainly isn’t because of those beans.”

     “You’ve got me all figured out,” you laughed, rolling your eyes. 

     “You’re an open book, gorgeous.”

     “Well,” Henry’s voice interrupted your conversation and you instinctively stepped backwards. “I’m uncomfortable, so I’m going to bounce.”

     You knew you should be getting back to your job and Ray probably had something to be doing as the owner of this place, but you were enjoying talking to him and you wanted to know more about who he was.

     “So, we’ve established that you know everything about me,” you said. “But what about you? Who are you besides handsome business owner with beans.”

     “First of all, told you so,” Ray said winking, “and second of all, I am so much more than—in your words—handsome.”

      A look of determination crossed his features and you furrowed your brow. 

         “You wanna know what else I do, babe?” Ray leaned forwards, “I’m actually—”

     “—a knitter!” Henry finished, rushing over, eyes wide. “Ray loves knitting.”

     The boy glared at Ray and he rolled his eyes.

     “Yep, I just love yarn,” Ray said mechanically.

     You looked between the two, at the unspoken words that had passed between them. What just happened? Was Ray keeping some secret?

     “I didn’t peg you as the knitting type,” you said.

     “Yeah, me neither,” Ray said to Henry through clenched teeth. 

     “Well, it seems I have a lot to learn about you,” you teased.

     “Oh (Y/n),” Ray said, “You don’t know the half of it.”

₊˚ ✧ ‿︵‿୨୧‿︵‿ ✧ ₊˚

     And that was how the rest of the week went. And the one after that. And the one after that. 

     You working at Junk N’ Stuff, and getting to know Ray. Trading quips as both of you tiptoed around the attraction that you obviously felt. 

     Well, you specifically felt. You couldn’t speak for him. He didn’t shy away from calling you gorgeous and beautiful every few seconds, but it had been 26 days and he still  hadn’t asked you out yet.

     You thought for sure, or at least hoped, that he would make a move, but he hadn’t yet. 

     And as the days went on, you found yourself wishing more and more that he would just do it. He was obviously attractive—you could tell that the minute you saw him—but as you spent more time with him you realized how funny and charming and interesting he really was. 

     You layed your head down on the counter and let out a breath. The shop was completely empty and only you and your feelings occupied the space right now—you know, other than the piles and piles of junk.

     In fact, you hadn’t seen a single person since this morning. Which was normal in the way of customers—you were beginning to wonder if this was really a store!—but you were surprised you hadn’t seen Jasper or Charlotte or Henry. 

     Or Ray. 

     You wondered where he was right now…

…

     “No. Absolutely not.” Henry crossed his arms and sat down on the couch in the center of the Man Cave.

     “But why not!” Ray pouted.

     “Because it doesn’t matter how hot you think (Y/n) is! You can’t just go around telling everyone you’re Captain Man.” Charlotte finished, annoyed.

     “Yeah,” Henry echoed, “this is one of your worse ideas. And you’ve had a lot of bad ideas.”

     “But Henry, I love her,” Ray emphasized, ignoring Henry’s jab.

     “Ray, you’ve known her for like—”

     Ray picked up a weapon laying on the desk next to him and aimed it at Henry.

     “Alright man, you love her!” Henry said quickly, putting his hands up.

     “And that’s backwards,” Charlotte gestured at the weapon.

     “I knew that,” Ray said sheepishly, turning the thing around and setting it down.

     “But c’mon,” Ray continued, “we can trust her!”

     “Who knows where Jasper found her!” Charlotte exclaimed.

     “Then trust me,” Ray said desperately, “I’ve never felt this way about any girl before. She’s intelligent and sweet and I really feel like she gets me. I want to ask her out, and I don’t want there to be any secrets between us!”

     Henry and Charlotte shared a look. 

     “I don’t know, man.” Henry rubbed the back of his neck.

     “I just don’t think it’s smart,” Charlotte said gently.

     Ray sighed. “No I get it. Superhero code and all. It’s in the handbook. You guys are right.”

     The kids looked relieved.

     “There’s a handbook?” Henry asked.

     “Was. Accidentally set it on fire years ago,” Ray said, dusting an imaginary price of lint off of his sleeve. He looked up. “And hey, why don’t you guys take the day off! You work so hard, and it’s Valentine’s Day. Go, eat chocolate!” 

     Ray shooed Henry and Charlotte away and they both stepped towards the tubes.

     “I guess we could go to Jasper’s Valentine’s Day party,” Henry suggested. “Y’know, so there’ll be actual people there.”

     “Alright,” Charlotte sighed, “but if he brings out that giant roll of cheese I’m leaving.”

     “Bye guys! Have fun!” Ray called as the kids disappeared up the tubes. “I definitely won’t be having dinner with (Y/n) in the Man Cave. And you’re good if I tell her I’m Captain Man, right? Speak now or forever hold your peace.”

     Ray smiled, satisfied. “Schwoz!”

     The short man ran into the room. 

     “How do you feel about making this room look like Saint Valentine threw up?”

…

     “(Y/n)?”

     You turned to look behind you and found Ray standing in the doorway.

     He was wearing a tuxedo with a pink bow tie and holding a rose and that wasn’t even the most surprising part.

     “How did you get there?” You said, “I’ve been here since this morning, so unless you slept here…”

     Ray smiled and held out a hand to you, “Allow me.”

     You hesitated but finally placed your hand in his, smiling up at him.

     “What are you up to Ray Manchester?” You said.

     “Who says I’m up to something?” He said innocently, handing you the rose. You took it gently.

     As Ray pushed back the curtain, you caught a glimpse of the room beyond. Even though you’d been working here nearly a month, you still hadn’t been behind this curtain.

     Someone always found an excuse for you not to go back there and you were beginning to wonder if there really were man-eating lounge chairs behind the curtain. That had been Jasper’s latest explanation for why you could absolutely not look for cleaning supplies in the back. 

     Seeing it now, it looked…normal. Just a storage room with an elevator on the back wall.

     Ray walked you over to the elevator and stepped inside, bringing you with him.

     He took a deep breath, “You ready?” 

     You looked at him strangely. “Why wouldn’t—”

     But you never got to finish that sentence because Ray pushed a button and suddenly the world was rushing past you and jostling you around and turning your stomach inside out. You screamed and reached out for Ray. 

     You landed with a loud bang and you attempted to stand up, but your legs protested. 

     Ray grabbed onto you and helped to pull you up. You clung to him, shaky and sincerely hoping the contents of your breakfast stayed inside your stomach.

     “Don’t worry,” Ray said, rubbing your back, “Everyone has that reaction the first time they take the elevator.”

     “You mean this thing isn’t broken?” You managed, “That’s normal?”

     “More or less,” Ray said, looking unconcerned. “Now can you stand? Because you’re kind of wrinkling my suit.”

     You rolled your eyes but let go of his arms. You were feeling much more steady as the effects of the elevator wore off and you smoothed your hair down as Ray smoothed down his suit.

      You still didn’t know what you were doing down here and you told Ray as much.

     He smiled and took a step closer to you. “Let me show you.”

     He pushed a button and the elevator doors opened to a wide room and you gasped.

     The room was dimly lit, with candles lining the floor and rose petals sprinkled amongst them. Strings of hearts hung across the walls and ceiling and in the center sat a table, perfectly set, with two chairs next to it. A small man dressed in a maid’s uniform stood next to it. The maid winked and gave you a wave.

     It was beautiful.

     “Ray, this is—” You didn’t know what to say. 

     You looked back at him as he watched your face nervously. 

     “Do you like it?” He took a step backwards, “Because if you don’t then it was all Schwoz’s idea!”

     He gestured at the maid who yelled ‘hey!’ in outrage. 

     “No, I love it!” You said quickly. “I just—you did all this for me?”

     “Well, I helped,” Schwoz said, crossing his arms. 

     “Zip it, Schwoz!” Ray yelled before turning back to you. “Shall we.”

     He gestured to the table and you followed him there, taking a seat as he pulled out a chair for you before sitting in his own. 

     As Schwoz poured your drinks, you looked at Ray in amusement.

     “What?” He asked.

     “I just can’t believe…all this!” You gestured around you. “That you went to all this trouble for—”

     “(Y/n), it’s no secret how I feel about you,” he said quietly. 

     You stopped breathing. “And that is?” 

     “Well for starters, you’re gorgeous and—”

     “Medium or well done?” Schwoz interrupted and you turned to see he had a grill in the corner.

     You barely registered the question though. You were much more interested in what Ray had to say than the quality of your steak.

     “Medium! Annyway, like I was saying,” Ray continued, “Ever since—”

     “Do you want any seasonings?” Schwoz peered back around to your table.

     “Dang it Schwoz!” Ray pounded the table. 

     You giggled and put a hand on Ray’s. He looked down at your hand atop his and swallowed. 

     “What I’m trying to say is, I like you a lot, (Y/n),” Ray said. “I have liked you a lot from the moment I met you.”

     You smiled, “I like you too, Ray. A lot.”

     Ray grinned giddily before standing up, and beginning to pace. 

     “(Y/n), I like you so much that I don’t want there to be any secrets between us.”

     You furrowed your brow and sat up straighter. Ray walked over to the side of the room and pulled out a small tube of red and blue spheres.

     You raised your eyebrows as he took one of the balls and popped it in his mouth and began chewing what must have been gum.

     “And your secret is you’re a gum addict?” 

     You watched as he blew a bubble and suddenly a flash of light filled the room. You blinked and standing before you was no longer Ray in his tuxedo, but a superhero.

     A superhero who you recognized—who anybody in Swellview would have recognized.     

     “You’re Captain Man,” you breathed.

     “That’s right, I’m awesome,” Ray said, smirking and walking over to you.

     “So you—and this is—we are—” You processed all of the information at once. “This isn’t really a junk shop, is it?”

     “It’s as real as the meat Schwoz is cooking,” Ray said. Note to self, you thought, don’t eat the ‘steak’.

      Everything that you’d known about the store and everything that didn’t make sense all came together in your head. The pieces  clicking together perfectly.

     “This,” Ray continued, “Is the Man Cave. My superhero headquarters. Where I live. And the junk shop upstairs is really more of a front—and a place to keep Jasper busy while we fight crime.”

     “So Henry—” 

     “—Is my sidekick, Kid Danger.”

     “And Charlotte—”

     “She helps too.”

     “Jasper—”

     “Well, he doesn’t help that much,” Ray said, waving it off. “And Schwoz works for me.”

     “Wow,” was all you could say, “I had no idea.”

     “Yeah,” Ray said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Guess you probably don’t want to keep your job at the store now that you know it’s not really a real store. The only customer we ever get is Jasper.”

     “Are you kidding? This job is the best think that’s ever happened to me,” you said. “Because if I’d never been here, I wouldn’t be here with the Captain Man.”

     Ray stepped closer to you, a grin on his face. “Oh yeah? And what about Ray Manchester?”

     You shrugged, playing along “Don’t tell him I said this, but I’m kind of eternally grateful I met him too.”

     Ray wrapped his arms around you. 

     “Well, now that there’s nothing hidden between us, there’s one thing I’ve really been meaning to ask. So, (Y/n), will you go out with me? Will you be my valentine?”

     A wave of remembrance hit you. You’d forgotten it was Valentine’s Day. The decorations and the flowers, it all made sense.

     You looked at Ray, looking at you like he needed you to say yes. You took in the decorations behind you and all the effort Ray had put into making this a special evening for you. It was finally happening. The moment you had been dreaming of since you had met him.

     “Because if you say no, I promised Schwoz he could eat all this food,” Ray teased

     “Yes, Ray,” you smiled, feeling like your heart couldn’t swell with more joy and elation than it already had. “I’ll be your valentine.”

     Ray leaned in to kiss you and you leaned towards him, your lips meeting.

     “Aww, young love, so touching.”

     You looked over to find Schwoz watching you, and Ray shot him a glare. He scurried away and Ray brought his lips back to yours. 

     You kissed him and he kissed you and it was magical. His hands went to your hair and you wrapped your arms around him tighter. 

     You never wanted this moment to end. 

     “Hey, Ray, have you seen—”

     You and Ray broke apart and you looked at Henry’s shocked expression as his gaze went from you to Ray in his Captain Man uniform to Schwoz and the decorations.

     “I just thought I left my backpack here,” Henry said weakly, “but, uh, I’ll get a new one. See you later, Ray—or should I say Captain Man.”

     Ray turned to you guiltily, “I wasn’t exactly supposed to tell you about the whole ‘being a superhero’ thing.”

     He looked to Henry now, “She begged me to tell her, kid, I couldn’t help it.”

     You smacked him in the arm and Henry let out a laugh despite himself.

     “Besides, we can make an exception for my girlfriend, can’t we?” Ray said, grabbing your hand. 

     Ray’s girlfriend. You liked the sound of that. You leaned in and kissed him softly.

     “Right, well,” Henry looked at the ground, “I should go. Jasper’s cheese isn’t going to eat itself. Happy Valentine’s Day, you two.”

     You watched him turn to leave, smiling. You still couldn’t believe how perfect this all was.

     “And Schwoz?” Henry called, his back to you. 

     “Yes?”

     “Nice skirt.”

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

a/n: hope u enjoyed this babes 🫶 i think im going to start a ray masterlist so look out for that!! have a lovely valentines day!!

#ur ray fics give me life #forever reblogging ray x reader stuff #ray manchester x reader

[maudefigglebottom]

Hi! Hope you’re having a good day/night 😊I saw your post about requests open again . I know the requests are closed right now, that you said that you’re busy at the moment and focusing on other things in your life which is very understandable. But I have a request I’m dying to send, like try your best to get to it when you can, but i know you can’t promise it will be anytime soon.

I want to ask if it’s their a chance that I want to request a Ray Manchester/Captain Man (Henry Danger) shy!reader please? His team except schwoz thinks Ray is making things up that he has a girlfriend or that shy!reader chose her hero best friend to be they godfather of their newborn son who’s a mama boy. Then Ray thought it’s a good idea bringing his team to the hospital to see his family and the team are surprised that shy!reader happens to be a powerful and legendary Sorceress (like Scarlet Witch) & popular superhero in the planet, also a stage magician. Even the villains adored her.

Secret Identity || Ray Manchester/Captain Man x reader

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ masterlist • ray manchester masterlist ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚

summary: you and ray have been dating in secret, due to your shyness and secret identity, but when there’s a change in your relationship it may be time to let everyone know

word count: 3.8k

warnings: i think i cursed once

a/n: thank you for this request lovely!! it’s been a while since i have written for Ray and i love him so much. i hope you enjoy this!

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

“What is so hard to believe about me having a girlfriend?” 

     Captain Man put his hands on his hips in exasperation. He looked around the Man Cave, waiting for an answer. 

     The others glanced at each other, seeming to be having a conversation with their eyes. 

     “Nothing, man,” his sidekick finally said, having been silently delegated to answer, “It’s just, well, you’ve never really had a girlfriend before.”

     Oh what they didn’t know, you thought. You watched Ray, your boyfriend, talk to his friends through a crack in the door leading to the Man Cave. 

     These people, with the exception of Ray, had no idea who you were—or, at least they thought they didn’t—yet you knew so much about them. Ray had told you so much since you’d begun dating that you felt like you already knew his friends, even if you’d never met them. 

     Your boyfriend’s voice brought you back to reality. 

     “I have too had a girlfriend—Tana Sommers, fourth grade.” Ray shot back. 

     “Since we’ve known you,” the boy you knew to be Henry rubbed his temples. 

     “Ok, well, Evelyn Hall!”

     “You never called her back, remember?” The girl—Charlotte—responded. 

     “Lacey Lumbar!”

     “She tried to steal your inventions!” That was Jasper.

     “Gwen!”

     “She tried to kill you!” Charlotte added. 

     “Oh, I know,” Ray clapped his hands together, “Henry’s mom.”

     “Dude, my mom is not your girlfriend,” Henry sounded disgusted.

     “Well, not anymore,” Ray whispered.

     You found yourself absentmindedly making a fist, and looked down, unclenching your fingers carefully.

     You’d heard about Ray’s relationship with his sidekick’s mother. According to him, they’d been very serious ever since he rescued her from the jaws of a shark, until he broke it off with her shortly before meeting you. Although, knowing Ray, some of this might have been an exaggeration.

     “If you had a girlfriend—”

     Ray looked like he was about to argue again and Henry held up a hand, continuing quickly.

     “—which I’m not saying you don’t, why wouldn’t you just introduce her to us?”

     You played with the hem of your blouse. 

     “She just—well, I’m not ready to introduce her to you yet.”

     You silently thanked him for not revealing your secret. You weren’t sure anyone would actually believe Ray’s reason, seeing as you’d been together for nearly a year now, but you appreciated anyways.

     The truth was, you weren’t great with meeting people. You always got all flustered and your cheeks felt hot and you never knew what to say. 

     Ray was the only exception to that rule, always making you feel comfortable and safe. 

     You had always been shy and you just weren’t sure if you were ready to meet all of Ray’s friends, especially all at once. 

     It was ironic that you could crush a man’s windpipe just by looking at him but you feared making a simple introduction. 

     Which was the other truth Ray wasn’t telling his friends, which you knew was probably killing him. 

     You were kind of a superhero. The Sorceress, to be precise. You’d become quite infamous in Swellview since you’d arrived there shortly before you met Ray. You’d known practically no one when you’d arrived. 

     Well, that wasn’t quite true. You and your best friend Hal had moved across the country together. He was also blessed with superpowers, but preferred to work behind the scenes unless absolutely necessary. He was incredibly gifted with technology and you were thankful for all of the gadgets and weapons he designed for you. However, he didn’t want any credit even when you assured him he deserved it. 

     However, when he wasn’t donning a cape and gloves, he was the most outgoing person you knew. Always taking you out for drinks and insisting you had a good time. 

     It was funny, you thought, that the two of you were so opposite. Most everyone you knew had been introduced to you by Hal. 

     Except for Ray. 

     Ray told everyone he’d met you at the local coffee house. Which was partially true. If you changed coffee to clock and—well, house was more of a suggestion.

     You’d met in The Time Jerker’s lair. 

     Captain Man had been there for an entirely different business—apparently he owed the villain money for some reason or another—but you also happened to be chained up to a chair in his basement.

     It wasn’t an ideal situation, but it wasn’t particularly terrifying either. This had happened many times before that. The villains of Swellview had an odd fascination with you and appreciation for you and seemed to always be persuading you to change sides. You supposed it was because your set of superpowers could do an equal amount of bad as they could good. 

     That didn’t stop you from refusing every time. You’d rather lose your powers than become one of the criminals who tortured the city and its occupants.

     Captain Man had rescued you that day—if rescued is what you could call it—and you had instantly enjoyed his company. You didn’t meet many acquaintances as The Sorceress and you found it wildly easier to make conversation when you had a mask on and could hide under the guise of a confident, powerful superhero. 

     So you and Captain Man began dating in secret and nobody was the wiser.

     You smiled to yourself at the absurdity of two of the most known figures in Swellview keeping a secret like this.

     You knew Ray was probably dying to reveal to his friends who his girlfriend really was, but you knew he wouldn’t. Not unless you gave him the green light. 

     You supposed you two would have to tell people soon, you thought, placing a hand gently on your stomach. Everything would have to change when the baby was born. 

     The elevator doors opened and it caught your attention, the present crashing back down around you like a wave.

     A short man—Schwoz—stepped into the Man Cave carrying a bag of bird feed.

     “Lunch?” He held it out to the present company.

     A symphony of disgusted declines filled your ears and you chuckled quietly.

     “I’ll eat that,” Jasper said, “When Ray has a girlfriend.”

     “Ray has a girlfriend,” Schwoz said earnestly. 

     “Schwoz, what have we said about lying?” Charlotte chided.

     “No really,” Schwoz insisted, “She’s beautiful and smart and she likes a animals and she has these crazy superpowers—”

     “Too far, man,” Henry said, patting Schwoz on the shoulder and walking towards the elevator.

     You breathed a sigh of relief when Henry and his friends disappeared into the elevator, leaving the Man Cave for the day. You felt bad for giving Ray’s assistant the reputation of a liar, but you couldn’t deny you were glad no one believed him. It was easier that way.

     Schwoz had seen you and Ray…together once in the Man Cave and you were forced to tell him the truth. But he was the only one that knew besides you and Ray and Hal. So far, it seemed, except for almost moments ago, he’d kept his promise and hadn’t told anyone about his boss’s girlfriend’s identity. 

     “Coast is clear, babe,” Ray called to you. You left your hiding spot and entered the room.

     You walked over to Ray, smiling as he pulled you into his arms. You kissed him on the cheek and he looked down at you.

     “Now, where were we,” he whispered and leaned down to kiss you. 

     He stopped just before his lips touched yours as you both heard a loud crunching sound.

     You both looked up and saw Schwoz shamelessly watching your embrace as he dug into his bird food. 

     “Beat it Schwoz!” Ray shouted and the small man grabbed the bag and left, mumbling.

     Ray gave you a look as if to say, Assistant’s, am I right?, before leaning down and kissing you. You placed your hands on his chest and kissed him back. 

     Your boyfriend continued kissing you, moving from your lips down to your neck and finally landing in front of your stomach.

     He placed his hands around your sides, kneeling down in front of you and planting a kiss right where you imagined your baby was. You were pretty big now, your due date fastly approaching 

     “And how’s my little baby girl?” Ray cooed.

     You placed a hand on his head and ran your fingers through his hair. “And how do you know it’s a girl?”

     “Call it superhero’s intuition.” Ray said, looking up at you before pointing at your stomach, “You know, one day this is going to be my new sidekick.”

     “How will you break the news to Henry?” You asked, getting lost in the daydream of you and Ray here ten, twenty years from now. You were in the process of moving in with Ray ever since you found out you were pregnant, but this place had already felt like home for so long. Even Hal spent almost an equal amount of time here as at your apartment-turned-lair. Much to Ray’s dismay.

     “Henry’ll get over it,” Ray waved the idea away, “Besides, hypermobility? That’s nothing compared to the genes this kid is going to have with two superhero parents.”

     “What about me?” You teased, “What if i wanted to be your sidekick?”

     “(Y/n), that would never work. I couldn’t constantly have my sidekick upstaging me. It’s bad for my image.”

     “That wouldn’t happen,” you smacked him lightly on the arm as he stood up.

      “Yeah you’re right, I am pretty awesome,” Ray said with smirk and you laughed. 

     “How did I get so lucky?” You said sarcastically as you rolled your eyes playfully.

     Ray chuckled before falling silent and staring into your eyes.

     “(Y/n),” he said softly, running a hand along your arm, “We are going to have to tell everyone soon, you know that right?”

     You sighed, “I know.”

     “I mean, what’s the point of having a super-hot, badass girlfriend if I don’t even get to brag about it,” Ray pouted. “‘I’m dating The Sorceress and no one even knows how cool that makes me!”

     “But seriously,” he continued, “They’re going to find out eventually if you start living here full time. And Schwoz can’t keep a secret forever.”

     “Hey!” A muffled voice reached your ears, “I heard that!”

     “I said beat it Schwoz!” Ray yelled, spinning around to find the source of the voice. You laughed, grabbing his hand to bring him back to where he’d been standing before, inches from you.

     “Alright, alright I’m ’beating it’,” Schwoz said from somewhere and then it was quiet again.

     “I think we’re getting closer,” you said, bringing the hand that was intertwined with Ray’s to your stomach. Your due date wasn’t for a few weeks but you felt like it could be any time now. “Now we just wait.”

     “I can’t wait to be a father, (Y/n),” Ray said bringing his arms around you and kissing you again. 

     You smiled, letting him embrace you. How did you get so lucky? You thought, echoing your earlier sarcastic statement. That meeting what could’ve just been a friend one day in a villain’s lair would’ve turned into all this. 

     Friend. That reminded you. You pulled away. “Hal’s coming by later today,” you said, forgetting about it until just now.

     “Ugh, why?” Ray mumbled.

     “Because he’s my friend and I invited him,” you said. 

     Ray had this crazy idea that you were going to run away with Hal any second. No matter how many times you assured him it was just that. Crazy.

     “Well then, fine—how about I invite Henry’s mom,” Ray pouted. 

     “Did you and Henry’s mom even date?” You asked him, willing to settle it once and for all.

     “We totally did!” He pointed a finger at you. “It was the epic romance of the century.”

     “Oh yeah?” You crossed your arms, smirking, “What’s her name?”

     Ray sputtered, and you laughed. He crossed his arms back at you and turned away. 

     “You’re mean, you know that.” He was laying it on thick but you decided to oblige him.

     “Forgive me?” You said sweetly.

     “Only if you kiss me,” he said and you rolled your eyes but put your arms around him and placed a kiss on his lips.

     “Hey, c’mon, I don’t wanna see that!” You heard a familiar voice and turned towards the elevator, seeing Hal standing in the entryway, a look of mock outrage on his face. Where had the time gone? You’d thought it would be hours before he joined you.

     You walked over to him and gave him a hug. Ray sulked in the background and you pulled Hal towards him. Ray was impossible sometimes.

     “Say hi,” you whispered to Ray.

     “Hey Hal!” Ray said, overly enthusiastic.

     “Hey man,” Hal said, clapping Ray on the back. 

     “Ow!” Ray exaggerated.

     “Right sorry,” Hal laughed, “electric currents running though my hands and all.”

     “You’re indestructible, Ray.” You rolled your eyes at him.

     “Doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt,” Ray mumbled but you already turned your back to him, helping Hal get something out of the Auto Snacker.

      You were interrupted by an alarm sounding, loud and persistent.

      Ray jumped over to the computer and pressed a button, taking an incoming call from a very distraught looking woman in a jewelry store.

     Ray listened to the message and then shut the system off, moving to the center of the room and taking out his container of gum.

     “Guess this is a solo mission. See you  (Y/n), I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Ray said to you. He popped the gum in his mouth and transformed into Captain Man right before your eyes. 

     “I’ll come with you,” you said, “Henry’s already gone home so I’ll go. It’s not like I don’t do this alone every day.”

     You pressed a button on the bracelet encircling your wrist and your Sorceress attire soon took over your everyday clothes.

     “I can’t let you do that, (Y/n),” Ray insisted, “Not in your condition.”

     You’d taken some time off for your pregnancy lately and Hal had been covering for you the past couple of weeks. But still, you could manage one mission.

     “I’ll be fine,” you said, “Trust—”

     You paused, feeling an odd sensation inside of you. You looked down.

     “Ray, my water broke.”

     “What?” Ray said, rushing over to you. You nodded. 

      “What do—we need to—I can—we need to go to the hospital,” Ray finally said.

      “Like this?” You pointed to your superhero uniform.

     “There’s no time,” Ray said, wrapping an arm around you as if to pick you up.

     “I can take her,” Hal hurried over, throwing down his burrito. “If you need to go.”

     Ray looked over at him. “You think I can’t carry my girlfriend?”

     “Not the time, Ray,” you shot at him.

     “Right,” Ray said, picking you up and heading towards the door, “We’ll take the Mancopter, it’ll be the fastest.”

     “But what about the jewelry store!” You shouted.

     “I’ll go,” Hal said. “I want to be helpful. I’ll take care of it. Good luck, (Y/n).”

     Ray looked torn for a moment, before setting you down and quickly pulling Hal aside and saying something to him. You only caught the words ‘pick up’ and ‘under my name’.

     “Thanks so much, Hal,” you called to him, ignoring whatever Ray was saying to him as Ray rushed back towards you and direction of the helicopter.

     “Oh my god, I’m going to be a dad!” Ray shouted, as if it had just hit him, running towards you. As he ran you smiled at him, letting him lift you again as he finally placed you into the passenger seat. 

     “You ok?” He asked, a worried expression on his face.

     “I’m fine,” you smiled up at him, “just fine.”

₊˚ ✧ ‿︵‿୨୧‿︵‿ ✧ ₊˚

     “So, superhero’s intuition, huh?” You said as you cradled your new baby boy in your arms.

     Ray sat next to you, stroking your arm and looking lovingly down at his son.

    “Hey, I had a 50/50 chance,” Ray shrugged, smiling. “And didn’t I say it was going to be a boy?”

     You let out a quiet laugh, looking up at Ray. 

     “I love you so much,” he said, “You know that?”

     “Yeah,” you nudged him, “I do.”

     You were both silent for a moment as a nurse came in to check your vitals. Her glance landed for a moment on Ray’s clothing, no doubt surprised to see Captain Man siting on the side of your bed, before stepping out again. Your uniform lay discarded on a chair and you were grateful for the hospital gown you now wore which gave you some anonymity.

     You and Ray had gotten your fair share of odd looks and shocked glances and awed expressions as you entered the hospital. But you couldn’t seem to care now. Let them find out. You and Ray could deal with it later. Right now, this, your son, your loving boyfriend, was all that mattered.      

      When the nurse left, you turned to Ray

     “You want to hold him?” You said to him.

     He nodded and you gently passed your son to his father’s arms.

      “Hey there little superhero,” he said quietly. You watched the two of them with a happiness you couldn’t begin to explain.

     After a few moments, Ray handed your son back to you.

     “Hey, you mind if I step out for a minute?” He said, “I just have something I need to do.”

     You nodded and he kissed you on the forehead before standing up and leaving your room. 

     After what felt like 10 minutes, your boyfriend reentered the room. 

     “(Y/n),” Ray started, walking over to you and taking your hand, “I was thinking. Since have a family now—a family (Y/n)!—which brings us so much happiness and joy, what if now we shared that joy with others. I think it’s time.”

      You nodded. “Yes, Ray. I think you’re right.”

     “Good, ‘cause they’re already all in the lobby.” Ray looked relieved.

     “Ray!”

     “I haven’t told them anything, just that I had something to share with all of them. But it is a hospital so they’re getting kind of worried.”

     You nodded again and Ray opened the door, “Hey guys, come in.”

     You braced yourself, gripping your child tighter as Ray’s friends walked in the door.

Their expressions ranged from confusion to shock to apprehension.

     Ray cleared his throat, “Ladies and gentleman, my girlfriend.”

     Every jaw in the room—with the exception of you and Ray—dropped open.

     “You’re real?” Henry said, slowly approaching your bed.

     “What he means,” said Charlotte, “is hello.”

     “Dang, she is pretty,” Jasper said.

     “Jasper!” Ray warned at the same time as Schwoz entered the room holding an ice cream cone saying, “Told you!”

     Ray gave him a look. 

     “What?” Schwoz glanced at his ice cream, “I got hungry.”

     “Ray really does have a girlfriend,” Henry ran a hand through his hair, passing what looked suspiciously like a 10 dollar bill to Schwoz, before holding out his hand for you to shake. “I’m Henry.”

     “I—” You blushed and tried to find words as Ray came to stand by you, placing a comforting hand on your shoulder. You took a deep breath. “I’m (Y/n). It’s nice to meet you.” You shook his hand. 

     “So,” Henry said, turning his attention to your son, “Ray’s baby.”

     “God I hope so,” Ray said and you hit him playfully on the arm.

     “Well, congrats guys,” Henry said and a chorus of congratulations filled the space. 

     You looked around the room. Past Jasper and Henry and Schwoz as your gaze landed on Charlotte, who was inspecting your discarded clothing.

     “Holy churros!” She said, coming to a conclusion, “You’re The Sorceress!”

     “Yeah,” you said sheepishly, “I guess I kinda am.”

     “You’re dating The Sorceress?” 

     All eyes turned to Ray. “Told you she was special,” he said.

     “And I told you she had superpowers!” Schwoz said.

     Ray opened his mouth.

     Schwoz beat him to it, “Yeah, I know, I’ll beat it.” 

     He left the room and you held back a laugh.

     “Well, I’m very glad to finally meet all of you,” you said. “Ray talks about you all the time.”

     “Did he say I’m the handsome one?” Jasper asked, “Because I am the handsome one.”

     “Oh definitely,” you said, amusement in your eyes as you obliged him. 

     At that moment, Hal rushed in, looking frantic.

     Upon seeing you, his eyes softened and he rushed over to greet you and your son. 

     “This is Hal,” you introduced him to the group, “Fellow superhero who happens to be a friend of mine.” 

     “Hello little guy,” Hal said, coming around to see your child. “You’re so handsome.”

     “Again, the handsome one,” Jasper gestured to his face and you laughed. Charlotte swatted his arm, dragging him and Henry out of the room and giving you a little wave. 

     You waved back, letting your friend hold the baby as Ray took your hand. 

     “What is he doing here?” He whispered.

     “He is the godfather of our child, Ray.”

     Hal’s eyes snapped up. “Really? You mean it.”

     “Of course,” you said, “We’d love you to.” 

     Ray smiled, sighing, “Welcome to the family!”

     You grinned so big you thought your cheeks were going to fall off.

     “And speaking of which,” Hal said, lowering his voice, “I got what you asked for. At the jewelers store.”

     What? Had Hal brought a criminal here to the hospital?

     He handed the baby back to you and then walked towards the door, passing  something to Ray from his coat pocket before leaving the room.

     “I’ll see you later, (Y/n),” he said.

     “Ray?” You asked, confused, “What’s going on?”

     Ray blew out a breath. “Ok, (Y/n), I love you very much—so much that it hurts sometimes and—what I’m trying to say is—”

     “Honey, you’re scaring me,” you told him.

     “No, uh—that was stupid, let me start over. (Y/n), I couldn’t have found anybody as perfect as you. I can’t imagine my life without you and I want to spend every second of my life with you. Except for maybe when we’re saving the city separately. Like, if you’re on one side of town and I’m on the other—and I’m not saying you can’t have friends or anything because that would be—”

     “Ray,” you said gently.

     “Right,” he knelt down, pulling out a small box “What I’m trying to say is I love you (Y/n). So what do you say? Will you marry me?”

     Tears filled your eyes as you nodded over and over again and he put the ring on your finger.

     He leaned down to kiss you and you wished you could live in this moment forever. Just you, Ray, your son, and the promise of a beautiful future together.

     “Yes, Ray,” you managed though your joyful tears, “A million times yes.”

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

a/n: hope you enjoyed this love!! have an amazing day 🫶 i may need to start a ray masterlist 🤭

#reblogging this again as im rereading it #it’s so freakin good omg #i want ray so bad 😩

[maudefigglebottom]

Hi, sorry to bother you I know requests are closed but can you do a romantic x reader oneshot on Ray Manchester/Captain Man ❤️ for valentine's day

(Where ray falls quickly in love with the newest helper at Junk N'Stuff (unaware that Jasper put out an ad in the swellview news paper saying that junk n stuff is looking for a helper) and wants to ask her out on a date after mindless flirting with her a bit and working his charm on her, on the day of Valentine's Day Ray wanted to set up a surprise romantic dinner for him and the reader down in the Man Cave even though Henry and Charlotte tried to talk him out of it since the reader doesn't know about the elevator, or the Man Cave, or that ray is Captain Man saying that bringing the reader down to the man cave was a bad idea, but ray had decided to tell the reader his secret during dinner so there won't be any secrets between them due to the fact that ray wants to start a relationship with her. During dinner ray finally told the reader his secret which thrilled her (after she found out about the elevator and met and befriending Schwoz), at the end Henry came back after he forgot his backpack and saw both Ray and the reader sharing a long passionate kiss together due to his dismay)

My Valentine || Ray Manchester/Captain Man x reader

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ masterlist • ray manchester masterlist ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚

summary: when you start working at junk n’ stuff, ray is immediately attracted to you and wants to do something special for your first date (which just so happens to be on valentine’s day and may or may not include him revealing his identity to you) 🤭

word count: 3.8k

warnings: none

a/n: hey!! happy valentine’s day!! i love this idea and i rushed to get it to you by v day so you could spend the holiday with ray 🤭 hope u enjoy this love!! 💌🫂

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

“Henry!” A voice called from somewhere behind you “Where’re my beans?”

     “What?” Came the reply.

     “My lucky beans!”

     “I think Jasper has them,” the boy who must’ve been Henry shouted. 

     You turned around to find the source of the yelling, but you couldn’t see anything behind a curtain that blocked of the front of the store from the back.

     You had only been working here at Junk N’ Stuff for a few hours and you were still a bit confused about some aspects of your job.

     Jasper, the curly-haired boy who’d hired you, had given you a quick tour of the store—except for the back, which he’d said was due to the construction happening—before ushering you behind the counter.

     It was odd, you thought, leaning on the desk—you hadn’t heard any sounds of construction over the past few hours. 

     You looked over at Jasper, sorting though a pile of pails and buckets with vigor and ignoring the conversation he had obviously heard about him and beans. He caught you watching him and smiled.

     “I’m looking for the bucket that belonged to Louis XIV,” he called, “You haven’t seen it, have you?”

     You shook your head, “Can’t say that I have, but I’ll keep an eye out.”

     You sighed. It wasn’t your ideal job, working at a junk store. But you had known what it was when you applied for the job after seeing the strange yet intriguing ad in the paper. And this job would do in the mean time while you figured out what to do next.

     “Why would Jasper have my beans?” You heard the first voice again, closer this time.

     “Something about hair growth? I don’t know,” the younger voice answered.

     You weren’t aware that anybody else worked here besides you. You didn’t think the junk store needed more than one or two employees. You hadn’t even seen one customer enter the building all day. 

     The ad had said they were ‘looking for someone to watch over the shop—the perfectly normal, nothing-at-all-weird-about-it shop and handle customers full time. Must have experience with plants’.

     You’d thought that part was weird—actually the whole advertisement was odd—but had ultimately looked past it. The pay was good and you needed a job right now after the unfortunate end of your last one.

     And the store did have some cool items, if you were into that sort of thing. You played with a toy monkey dressed like Elvis Presley laying behind the front desk.

     “Jasper!” A man pushed through the curtain and entered the room. He wore dark jeans and a tight-fitting yellow shirt. He was followed by a blond-haired boy and a girl with dark hair.

     Jasper looked up from where he was sitting.

     “Hand over the beans,” the man said, his back turned to you. 

     “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jasper held his ground. “Henry, Charlotte, tell him I don’t know what he’s talking about.”

     “Nice try, but your hair wasn’t that lustrous and voluminous yesterday!” The older man shouted.

     The girl—Charlotte—massaged her temples. 

     “Just give him the beans, dude,” Henry said. 

     Jasper ran a hand through his hair, “Oh all right.”

     He reached into his pocket and handed something to the other man. But not before kissing what must’ve been the beans and whispering ‘I’ll miss you, my little hair-miracle workers’.

     You watched this whole thing with a strange amusement. What had you gotten yourself into?

     “Oh, Ray,” Jasper said, perking up, “Speaking of beans, I hired a new helper.”

     “You what?” The man—Ray—asked.

     “Yeah, you what?” Henry echoed.

     “Well, you know how you’re always saying we need someone else around to man the shop because I’m just too handsome to be believably working at a junk store?”

     “Literally never said that,” Ray said.

     “You’re delusional,” Henry said at the same time.

      “You’re foot’s stuck in a bucket,” Charlotte added 

     “Well,” Jasper continued, shaking the container off of his foot, “I hired some help!”

     He gestured to the front desk.

     “Jasper, we’ve talked about making decisions without asking me first. I told—” Ray started as he turned around to look in the direction of where you were standing. 

     You attempted a small wave. 

     “—Hello there,” the man finished, his voice taking on a slower cadence. He walked over to you and leaned an elbow on the desk. “I’m Ray. Ray Manchester.”

     He held out his other arm and you shook his hand. “I’m (Y/n).”

     The first thing you noticed about him were his eyes, such a bright shade of blue. You couldn’t deny he was an attractive man, you thought, as you took in his features. You caught yourself staring and quickly looked down.

     Ray rested his chin in his hand and looked you up and down, “So, you work here at Junk N’ Stuff?”

     “As of four hours ago, yes,” you smiled. “Do you work here also?”

     “I’m actually the owner,” Ray smiled at you. “I’m kind of an entrepreneur.”

     “Are you now?” You fought back a laugh at his confident tone. 

     “You bet, darling. And as the owner and this fine establishment, I hope you’ll come to me if you have any questions or concerns about anything,” Ray said smoothly, leaning towards you.

     “Do you treat all your employees this nicely?” You replied, smiling.

     “Just the beautiful ones,” Ray said and even though you knew he was shamelessly flirting, you couldn’t help the blush creeping up your neck. “Especially the ones I hire myself.”

     “Hey—” Jasper started, probably to argue that he was the one who had given you the job, but Ray interrupted him.

     “So,” he continued, “Since you now officially work here, I am required to conduct a, uh…”

     He fumbled for words.

     “Stay Conversation?” Charlotte supplied.

     “That!” Ray said, “Which means I have to ask you some questions about how you’re liking your job, the hours…your boss.” 

     Charlotte smacked her face with the palm of her hand.

     “Ask away,” you said. You were positive this was something that shouldn’t be done mere hours after you began working at a place, but you decided to humor him. 

     “Question one,” he started, “how are you liking your time at Junk N’ Stuff so far?” 

     “I’m liking it very much,” you said.

     “Excellent,” Ray continued, “which brings us to number two. Are you seeing anyone right now?” 

     “So not how a Stay Conversation works,” Charlotte walked away. 

     “Shut up!” Ray whisper-yelled. He turned back to you, “So, your answer to question number two…”

     “No,” you laughed, “I can’t say that I am.” 

     “Very interesting. And, how would you describe your ideal romantic partner?”

     “Oh, I don’t know,” you said playfully, “I like blonds.”

     You said it just to mess with him and you enjoyed watching him process your statement. 

     “Question three. Would you ever date someone who’s not a blond?”

     You giggled. “Depends on the someone. What’s your type Mr. Manchester?”

     “I like beautiful women who prefer blonds,” he winked at you. 

     “What a shame,” you tapped his chest, “I like men who like women who prefer brunette’s”

     Ray got a faraway look in his eyes as he tried to work that one out. 

     “I think you’re just trying to confuse me,” he accused.

     “Guilty as charged.”

     You were close now and you really studied him. You’d been enjoying the back-and-forth banter and you hadn’t realized how you’d both leaned towards each other. 

     You took your gaze from Ray to the floor and back to Ray again, and found him staring at you intently. 

     “So is the questionnaire over?” You said to break the silence.

     Ray nodded, “I found out all I needed to know. You are so transparent, Miss (Y/n).”

     “Oh yeah? And what’d you find out?”

     “Well, I now know you have a thing for blonds,” he said and at your smile he continued. “I know you’re smart and funny and pretty—although I didn’t need a questionnaire for that—and, what was it? Oh, you think I’m devilishly handsome and are wondering how I get my hair to look this good, because it certainly isn’t because of those beans.”

     “You’ve got me all figured out,” you laughed, rolling your eyes. 

     “You’re an open book, gorgeous.”

     “Well,” Henry’s voice interrupted your conversation and you instinctively stepped backwards. “I’m uncomfortable, so I’m going to bounce.”

     You knew you should be getting back to your job and Ray probably had something to be doing as the owner of this place, but you were enjoying talking to him and you wanted to know more about who he was.

     “So, we’ve established that you know everything about me,” you said. “But what about you? Who are you besides handsome business owner with beans.”

     “First of all, told you so,” Ray said winking, “and second of all, I am so much more than—in your words—handsome.”

      A look of determination crossed his features and you furrowed your brow. 

         “You wanna know what else I do, babe?” Ray leaned forwards, “I’m actually—”

     “—a knitter!” Henry finished, rushing over, eyes wide. “Ray loves knitting.”

     The boy glared at Ray and he rolled his eyes.

     “Yep, I just love yarn,” Ray said mechanically.

     You looked between the two, at the unspoken words that had passed between them. What just happened? Was Ray keeping some secret?

     “I didn’t peg you as the knitting type,” you said.

     “Yeah, me neither,” Ray said to Henry through clenched teeth. 

     “Well, it seems I have a lot to learn about you,” you teased.

     “Oh (Y/n),” Ray said, “You don’t know the half of it.”

₊˚ ✧ ‿︵‿୨୧‿︵‿ ✧ ₊˚

     And that was how the rest of the week went. And the one after that. And the one after that. 

     You working at Junk N’ Stuff, and getting to know Ray. Trading quips as both of you tiptoed around the attraction that you obviously felt. 

     Well, you specifically felt. You couldn’t speak for him. He didn’t shy away from calling you gorgeous and beautiful every few seconds, but it had been 26 days and he still  hadn’t asked you out yet.

     You thought for sure, or at least hoped, that he would make a move, but he hadn’t yet. 

     And as the days went on, you found yourself wishing more and more that he would just do it. He was obviously attractive—you could tell that the minute you saw him—but as you spent more time with him you realized how funny and charming and interesting he really was. 

     You layed your head down on the counter and let out a breath. The shop was completely empty and only you and your feelings occupied the space right now—you know, other than the piles and piles of junk.

     In fact, you hadn’t seen a single person since this morning. Which was normal in the way of customers—you were beginning to wonder if this was really a store!—but you were surprised you hadn’t seen Jasper or Charlotte or Henry. 

     Or Ray. 

     You wondered where he was right now…

…

     “No. Absolutely not.” Henry crossed his arms and sat down on the couch in the center of the Man Cave.

     “But why not!” Ray pouted.

     “Because it doesn’t matter how hot you think (Y/n) is! You can’t just go around telling everyone you’re Captain Man.” Charlotte finished, annoyed.

     “Yeah,” Henry echoed, “this is one of your worse ideas. And you’ve had a lot of bad ideas.”

     “But Henry, I love her,” Ray emphasized, ignoring Henry’s jab.

     “Ray, you’ve known her for like—”

     Ray picked up a weapon laying on the desk next to him and aimed it at Henry.

     “Alright man, you love her!” Henry said quickly, putting his hands up.

     “And that’s backwards,” Charlotte gestured at the weapon.

     “I knew that,” Ray said sheepishly, turning the thing around and setting it down.

     “But c’mon,” Ray continued, “we can trust her!”

     “Who knows where Jasper found her!” Charlotte exclaimed.

     “Then trust me,” Ray said desperately, “I’ve never felt this way about any girl before. She’s intelligent and sweet and I really feel like she gets me. I want to ask her out, and I don’t want there to be any secrets between us!”

     Henry and Charlotte shared a look. 

     “I don’t know, man.” Henry rubbed the back of his neck.

     “I just don’t think it’s smart,” Charlotte said gently.

     Ray sighed. “No I get it. Superhero code and all. It’s in the handbook. You guys are right.”

     The kids looked relieved.

     “There’s a handbook?” Henry asked.

     “Was. Accidentally set it on fire years ago,” Ray said, dusting an imaginary price of lint off of his sleeve. He looked up. “And hey, why don’t you guys take the day off! You work so hard, and it’s Valentine’s Day. Go, eat chocolate!” 

     Ray shooed Henry and Charlotte away and they both stepped towards the tubes.

     “I guess we could go to Jasper’s Valentine’s Day party,” Henry suggested. “Y’know, so there’ll be actual people there.”

     “Alright,” Charlotte sighed, “but if he brings out that giant roll of cheese I’m leaving.”

     “Bye guys! Have fun!” Ray called as the kids disappeared up the tubes. “I definitely won’t be having dinner with (Y/n) in the Man Cave. And you’re good if I tell her I’m Captain Man, right? Speak now or forever hold your peace.”

     Ray smiled, satisfied. “Schwoz!”

     The short man ran into the room. 

     “How do you feel about making this room look like Saint Valentine threw up?”

…

     “(Y/n)?”

     You turned to look behind you and found Ray standing in the doorway.

     He was wearing a tuxedo with a pink bow tie and holding a rose and that wasn’t even the most surprising part.

     “How did you get there?” You said, “I’ve been here since this morning, so unless you slept here…”

     Ray smiled and held out a hand to you, “Allow me.”

     You hesitated but finally placed your hand in his, smiling up at him.

     “What are you up to Ray Manchester?” You said.

     “Who says I’m up to something?” He said innocently, handing you the rose. You took it gently.

     As Ray pushed back the curtain, you caught a glimpse of the room beyond. Even though you’d been working here nearly a month, you still hadn’t been behind this curtain.

     Someone always found an excuse for you not to go back there and you were beginning to wonder if there really were man-eating lounge chairs behind the curtain. That had been Jasper’s latest explanation for why you could absolutely not look for cleaning supplies in the back. 

     Seeing it now, it looked…normal. Just a storage room with an elevator on the back wall.

     Ray walked you over to the elevator and stepped inside, bringing you with him.

     He took a deep breath, “You ready?” 

     You looked at him strangely. “Why wouldn’t—”

     But you never got to finish that sentence because Ray pushed a button and suddenly the world was rushing past you and jostling you around and turning your stomach inside out. You screamed and reached out for Ray. 

     You landed with a loud bang and you attempted to stand up, but your legs protested. 

     Ray grabbed onto you and helped to pull you up. You clung to him, shaky and sincerely hoping the contents of your breakfast stayed inside your stomach.

     “Don’t worry,” Ray said, rubbing your back, “Everyone has that reaction the first time they take the elevator.”

     “You mean this thing isn’t broken?” You managed, “That’s normal?”

     “More or less,” Ray said, looking unconcerned. “Now can you stand? Because you’re kind of wrinkling my suit.”

     You rolled your eyes but let go of his arms. You were feeling much more steady as the effects of the elevator wore off and you smoothed your hair down as Ray smoothed down his suit.

      You still didn’t know what you were doing down here and you told Ray as much.

     He smiled and took a step closer to you. “Let me show you.”

     He pushed a button and the elevator doors opened to a wide room and you gasped.

     The room was dimly lit, with candles lining the floor and rose petals sprinkled amongst them. Strings of hearts hung across the walls and ceiling and in the center sat a table, perfectly set, with two chairs next to it. A small man dressed in a maid’s uniform stood next to it. The maid winked and gave you a wave.

     It was beautiful.

     “Ray, this is—” You didn’t know what to say. 

     You looked back at him as he watched your face nervously. 

     “Do you like it?” He took a step backwards, “Because if you don’t then it was all Schwoz’s idea!”

     He gestured at the maid who yelled ‘hey!’ in outrage. 

     “No, I love it!” You said quickly. “I just—you did all this for me?”

     “Well, I helped,” Schwoz said, crossing his arms. 

     “Zip it, Schwoz!” Ray yelled before turning back to you. “Shall we.”

     He gestured to the table and you followed him there, taking a seat as he pulled out a chair for you before sitting in his own. 

     As Schwoz poured your drinks, you looked at Ray in amusement.

     “What?” He asked.

     “I just can’t believe…all this!” You gestured around you. “That you went to all this trouble for—”

     “(Y/n), it’s no secret how I feel about you,” he said quietly. 

     You stopped breathing. “And that is?” 

     “Well for starters, you’re gorgeous and—”

     “Medium or well done?” Schwoz interrupted and you turned to see he had a grill in the corner.

     You barely registered the question though. You were much more interested in what Ray had to say than the quality of your steak.

     “Medium! Annyway, like I was saying,” Ray continued, “Ever since—”

     “Do you want any seasonings?” Schwoz peered back around to your table.

     “Dang it Schwoz!” Ray pounded the table. 

     You giggled and put a hand on Ray’s. He looked down at your hand atop his and swallowed. 

     “What I’m trying to say is, I like you a lot, (Y/n),” Ray said. “I have liked you a lot from the moment I met you.”

     You smiled, “I like you too, Ray. A lot.”

     Ray grinned giddily before standing up, and beginning to pace. 

     “(Y/n), I like you so much that I don’t want there to be any secrets between us.”

     You furrowed your brow and sat up straighter. Ray walked over to the side of the room and pulled out a small tube of red and blue spheres.

     You raised your eyebrows as he took one of the balls and popped it in his mouth and began chewing what must have been gum.

     “And your secret is you’re a gum addict?” 

     You watched as he blew a bubble and suddenly a flash of light filled the room. You blinked and standing before you was no longer Ray in his tuxedo, but a superhero.

     A superhero who you recognized—who anybody in Swellview would have recognized.     

     “You’re Captain Man,” you breathed.

     “That’s right, I’m awesome,” Ray said, smirking and walking over to you.

     “So you—and this is—we are—” You processed all of the information at once. “This isn’t really a junk shop, is it?”

     “It’s as real as the meat Schwoz is cooking,” Ray said. Note to self, you thought, don’t eat the ‘steak’.

      Everything that you’d known about the store and everything that didn’t make sense all came together in your head. The pieces  clicking together perfectly.

     “This,” Ray continued, “Is the Man Cave. My superhero headquarters. Where I live. And the junk shop upstairs is really more of a front—and a place to keep Jasper busy while we fight crime.”

     “So Henry—” 

     “—Is my sidekick, Kid Danger.”

     “And Charlotte—”

     “She helps too.”

     “Jasper—”

     “Well, he doesn’t help that much,” Ray said, waving it off. “And Schwoz works for me.”

     “Wow,” was all you could say, “I had no idea.”

     “Yeah,” Ray said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Guess you probably don’t want to keep your job at the store now that you know it’s not really a real store. The only customer we ever get is Jasper.”

     “Are you kidding? This job is the best think that’s ever happened to me,” you said. “Because if I’d never been here, I wouldn’t be here with the Captain Man.”

     Ray stepped closer to you, a grin on his face. “Oh yeah? And what about Ray Manchester?”

     You shrugged, playing along “Don’t tell him I said this, but I’m kind of eternally grateful I met him too.”

     Ray wrapped his arms around you. 

     “Well, now that there’s nothing hidden between us, there’s one thing I’ve really been meaning to ask. So, (Y/n), will you go out with me? Will you be my valentine?”

     A wave of remembrance hit you. You’d forgotten it was Valentine’s Day. The decorations and the flowers, it all made sense.

     You looked at Ray, looking at you like he needed you to say yes. You took in the decorations behind you and all the effort Ray had put into making this a special evening for you. It was finally happening. The moment you had been dreaming of since you had met him.

     “Because if you say no, I promised Schwoz he could eat all this food,” Ray teased

     “Yes, Ray,” you smiled, feeling like your heart couldn’t swell with more joy and elation than it already had. “I’ll be your valentine.”

     Ray leaned in to kiss you and you leaned towards him, your lips meeting.

     “Aww, young love, so touching.”

     You looked over to find Schwoz watching you, and Ray shot him a glare. He scurried away and Ray brought his lips back to yours. 

     You kissed him and he kissed you and it was magical. His hands went to your hair and you wrapped your arms around him tighter. 

     You never wanted this moment to end. 

     “Hey, Ray, have you seen—”

     You and Ray broke apart and you looked at Henry’s shocked expression as his gaze went from you to Ray in his Captain Man uniform to Schwoz and the decorations.

     “I just thought I left my backpack here,” Henry said weakly, “but, uh, I’ll get a new one. See you later, Ray—or should I say Captain Man.”

     Ray turned to you guiltily, “I wasn’t exactly supposed to tell you about the whole ‘being a superhero’ thing.”

     He looked to Henry now, “She begged me to tell her, kid, I couldn’t help it.”

     You smacked him in the arm and Henry let out a laugh despite himself.

     “Besides, we can make an exception for my girlfriend, can’t we?” Ray said, grabbing your hand. 

     Ray’s girlfriend. You liked the sound of that. You leaned in and kissed him softly.

     “Right, well,” Henry looked at the ground, “I should go. Jasper’s cheese isn’t going to eat itself. Happy Valentine’s Day, you two.”

     You watched him turn to leave, smiling. You still couldn’t believe how perfect this all was.

     “And Schwoz?” Henry called, his back to you. 

     “Yes?”

     “Nice skirt.”

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

a/n: hope u enjoyed this babes 🫶 i think im going to start a ray masterlist so look out for that!! have a lovely valentines day!!

[maudefigglebottom]

Hi, sorry to bother you I know requests are closed but can you do a romantic x reader oneshot on Ray Manchester/Captain Man ❤️ for valentine's day

(Where ray falls quickly in love with the newest helper at Junk N'Stuff (unaware that Jasper put out an ad in the swellview news paper saying that junk n stuff is looking for a helper) and wants to ask her out on a date after mindless flirting with her a bit and working his charm on her, on the day of Valentine's Day Ray wanted to set up a surprise romantic dinner for him and the reader down in the Man Cave even though Henry and Charlotte tried to talk him out of it since the reader doesn't know about the elevator, or the Man Cave, or that ray is Captain Man saying that bringing the reader down to the man cave was a bad idea, but ray had decided to tell the reader his secret during dinner so there won't be any secrets between them due to the fact that ray wants to start a relationship with her. During dinner ray finally told the reader his secret which thrilled her (after she found out about the elevator and met and befriending Schwoz), at the end Henry came back after he forgot his backpack and saw both Ray and the reader sharing a long passionate kiss together due to his dismay)

My Valentine || Ray Manchester/Captain Man x reader

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ masterlist • ray manchester masterlist ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚

summary: when you start working at junk n’ stuff, ray is immediately attracted to you and wants to do something special for your first date (which just so happens to be on valentine’s day and may or may not include him revealing his identity to you) 🤭

word count: 3.8k

warnings: none

a/n: hey!! happy valentine’s day!! i love this idea and i rushed to get it to you by v day so you could spend the holiday with ray 🤭 hope u enjoy this love!! 💌🫂

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

“Henry!” A voice called from somewhere behind you “Where’re my beans?”

     “What?” Came the reply.

     “My lucky beans!”

     “I think Jasper has them,” the boy who must’ve been Henry shouted. 

     You turned around to find the source of the yelling, but you couldn’t see anything behind a curtain that blocked of the front of the store from the back.

     You had only been working here at Junk N’ Stuff for a few hours and you were still a bit confused about some aspects of your job.

     Jasper, the curly-haired boy who’d hired you, had given you a quick tour of the store—except for the back, which he’d said was due to the construction happening—before ushering you behind the counter.

     It was odd, you thought, leaning on the desk—you hadn’t heard any sounds of construction over the past few hours. 

     You looked over at Jasper, sorting though a pile of pails and buckets with vigor and ignoring the conversation he had obviously heard about him and beans. He caught you watching him and smiled.

     “I’m looking for the bucket that belonged to Louis XIV,” he called, “You haven’t seen it, have you?”

     You shook your head, “Can’t say that I have, but I’ll keep an eye out.”

     You sighed. It wasn’t your ideal job, working at a junk store. But you had known what it was when you applied for the job after seeing the strange yet intriguing ad in the paper. And this job would do in the mean time while you figured out what to do next.

     “Why would Jasper have my beans?” You heard the first voice again, closer this time.

     “Something about hair growth? I don’t know,” the younger voice answered.

     You weren’t aware that anybody else worked here besides you. You didn’t think the junk store needed more than one or two employees. You hadn’t even seen one customer enter the building all day. 

     The ad had said they were ‘looking for someone to watch over the shop—the perfectly normal, nothing-at-all-weird-about-it shop and handle customers full time. Must have experience with plants’.

     You’d thought that part was weird—actually the whole advertisement was odd—but had ultimately looked past it. The pay was good and you needed a job right now after the unfortunate end of your last one.

     And the store did have some cool items, if you were into that sort of thing. You played with a toy monkey dressed like Elvis Presley laying behind the front desk.

     “Jasper!” A man pushed through the curtain and entered the room. He wore dark jeans and a tight-fitting yellow shirt. He was followed by a blond-haired boy and a girl with dark hair.

     Jasper looked up from where he was sitting.

     “Hand over the beans,” the man said, his back turned to you. 

     “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jasper held his ground. “Henry, Charlotte, tell him I don’t know what he’s talking about.”

     “Nice try, but your hair wasn’t that lustrous and voluminous yesterday!” The older man shouted.

     The girl—Charlotte—massaged her temples. 

     “Just give him the beans, dude,” Henry said. 

     Jasper ran a hand through his hair, “Oh all right.”

     He reached into his pocket and handed something to the other man. But not before kissing what must’ve been the beans and whispering ‘I’ll miss you, my little hair-miracle workers’.

     You watched this whole thing with a strange amusement. What had you gotten yourself into?

     “Oh, Ray,” Jasper said, perking up, “Speaking of beans, I hired a new helper.”

     “You what?” The man—Ray—asked.

     “Yeah, you what?” Henry echoed.

     “Well, you know how you’re always saying we need someone else around to man the shop because I’m just too handsome to be believably working at a junk store?”

     “Literally never said that,” Ray said.

     “You’re delusional,” Henry said at the same time.

      “You’re foot’s stuck in a bucket,” Charlotte added 

     “Well,” Jasper continued, shaking the container off of his foot, “I hired some help!”

     He gestured to the front desk.

     “Jasper, we’ve talked about making decisions without asking me first. I told—” Ray started as he turned around to look in the direction of where you were standing. 

     You attempted a small wave. 

     “—Hello there,” the man finished, his voice taking on a slower cadence. He walked over to you and leaned an elbow on the desk. “I’m Ray. Ray Manchester.”

     He held out his other arm and you shook his hand. “I’m (Y/n).”

     The first thing you noticed about him were his eyes, such a bright shade of blue. You couldn’t deny he was an attractive man, you thought, as you took in his features. You caught yourself staring and quickly looked down.

     Ray rested his chin in his hand and looked you up and down, “So, you work here at Junk N’ Stuff?”

     “As of four hours ago, yes,” you smiled. “Do you work here also?”

     “I’m actually the owner,” Ray smiled at you. “I’m kind of an entrepreneur.”

     “Are you now?” You fought back a laugh at his confident tone. 

     “You bet, darling. And as the owner and this fine establishment, I hope you’ll come to me if you have any questions or concerns about anything,” Ray said smoothly, leaning towards you.

     “Do you treat all your employees this nicely?” You replied, smiling.

     “Just the beautiful ones,” Ray said and even though you knew he was shamelessly flirting, you couldn’t help the blush creeping up your neck. “Especially the ones I hire myself.”

     “Hey—” Jasper started, probably to argue that he was the one who had given you the job, but Ray interrupted him.

     “So,” he continued, “Since you now officially work here, I am required to conduct a, uh…”

     He fumbled for words.

     “Stay Conversation?” Charlotte supplied.

     “That!” Ray said, “Which means I have to ask you some questions about how you’re liking your job, the hours…your boss.” 

     Charlotte smacked her face with the palm of her hand.

     “Ask away,” you said. You were positive this was something that shouldn’t be done mere hours after you began working at a place, but you decided to humor him. 

     “Question one,” he started, “how are you liking your time at Junk N’ Stuff so far?” 

     “I’m liking it very much,” you said.

     “Excellent,” Ray continued, “which brings us to number two. Are you seeing anyone right now?” 

     “So not how a Stay Conversation works,” Charlotte walked away. 

     “Shut up!” Ray whisper-yelled. He turned back to you, “So, your answer to question number two…”

     “No,” you laughed, “I can’t say that I am.” 

     “Very interesting. And, how would you describe your ideal romantic partner?”

     “Oh, I don’t know,” you said playfully, “I like blonds.”

     You said it just to mess with him and you enjoyed watching him process your statement. 

     “Question three. Would you ever date someone who’s not a blond?”

     You giggled. “Depends on the someone. What’s your type Mr. Manchester?”

     “I like beautiful women who prefer blonds,” he winked at you. 

     “What a shame,” you tapped his chest, “I like men who like women who prefer brunette’s”

     Ray got a faraway look in his eyes as he tried to work that one out. 

     “I think you’re just trying to confuse me,” he accused.

     “Guilty as charged.”

     You were close now and you really studied him. You’d been enjoying the back-and-forth banter and you hadn’t realized how you’d both leaned towards each other. 

     You took your gaze from Ray to the floor and back to Ray again, and found him staring at you intently. 

     “So is the questionnaire over?” You said to break the silence.

     Ray nodded, “I found out all I needed to know. You are so transparent, Miss (Y/n).”

     “Oh yeah? And what’d you find out?”

     “Well, I now know you have a thing for blonds,” he said and at your smile he continued. “I know you’re smart and funny and pretty—although I didn’t need a questionnaire for that—and, what was it? Oh, you think I’m devilishly handsome and are wondering how I get my hair to look this good, because it certainly isn’t because of those beans.”

     “You’ve got me all figured out,” you laughed, rolling your eyes. 

     “You’re an open book, gorgeous.”

     “Well,” Henry’s voice interrupted your conversation and you instinctively stepped backwards. “I’m uncomfortable, so I’m going to bounce.”

     You knew you should be getting back to your job and Ray probably had something to be doing as the owner of this place, but you were enjoying talking to him and you wanted to know more about who he was.

     “So, we’ve established that you know everything about me,” you said. “But what about you? Who are you besides handsome business owner with beans.”

     “First of all, told you so,” Ray said winking, “and second of all, I am so much more than—in your words—handsome.”

      A look of determination crossed his features and you furrowed your brow. 

         “You wanna know what else I do, babe?” Ray leaned forwards, “I’m actually—”

     “—a knitter!” Henry finished, rushing over, eyes wide. “Ray loves knitting.”

     The boy glared at Ray and he rolled his eyes.

     “Yep, I just love yarn,” Ray said mechanically.

     You looked between the two, at the unspoken words that had passed between them. What just happened? Was Ray keeping some secret?

     “I didn’t peg you as the knitting type,” you said.

     “Yeah, me neither,” Ray said to Henry through clenched teeth. 

     “Well, it seems I have a lot to learn about you,” you teased.

     “Oh (Y/n),” Ray said, “You don’t know the half of it.”

₊˚ ✧ ‿︵‿୨୧‿︵‿ ✧ ₊˚

     And that was how the rest of the week went. And the one after that. And the one after that. 

     You working at Junk N’ Stuff, and getting to know Ray. Trading quips as both of you tiptoed around the attraction that you obviously felt. 

     Well, you specifically felt. You couldn’t speak for him. He didn’t shy away from calling you gorgeous and beautiful every few seconds, but it had been 26 days and he still  hadn’t asked you out yet.

     You thought for sure, or at least hoped, that he would make a move, but he hadn’t yet. 

     And as the days went on, you found yourself wishing more and more that he would just do it. He was obviously attractive—you could tell that the minute you saw him—but as you spent more time with him you realized how funny and charming and interesting he really was. 

     You layed your head down on the counter and let out a breath. The shop was completely empty and only you and your feelings occupied the space right now—you know, other than the piles and piles of junk.

     In fact, you hadn’t seen a single person since this morning. Which was normal in the way of customers—you were beginning to wonder if this was really a store!—but you were surprised you hadn’t seen Jasper or Charlotte or Henry. 

     Or Ray. 

     You wondered where he was right now…

…

     “No. Absolutely not.” Henry crossed his arms and sat down on the couch in the center of the Man Cave.

     “But why not!” Ray pouted.

     “Because it doesn’t matter how hot you think (Y/n) is! You can’t just go around telling everyone you’re Captain Man.” Charlotte finished, annoyed.

     “Yeah,” Henry echoed, “this is one of your worse ideas. And you’ve had a lot of bad ideas.”

     “But Henry, I love her,” Ray emphasized, ignoring Henry’s jab.

     “Ray, you’ve known her for like—”

     Ray picked up a weapon laying on the desk next to him and aimed it at Henry.

     “Alright man, you love her!” Henry said quickly, putting his hands up.

     “And that’s backwards,” Charlotte gestured at the weapon.

     “I knew that,” Ray said sheepishly, turning the thing around and setting it down.

     “But c’mon,” Ray continued, “we can trust her!”

     “Who knows where Jasper found her!” Charlotte exclaimed.

     “Then trust me,” Ray said desperately, “I’ve never felt this way about any girl before. She’s intelligent and sweet and I really feel like she gets me. I want to ask her out, and I don’t want there to be any secrets between us!”

     Henry and Charlotte shared a look. 

     “I don’t know, man.” Henry rubbed the back of his neck.

     “I just don’t think it’s smart,” Charlotte said gently.

     Ray sighed. “No I get it. Superhero code and all. It’s in the handbook. You guys are right.”

     The kids looked relieved.

     “There’s a handbook?” Henry asked.

     “Was. Accidentally set it on fire years ago,” Ray said, dusting an imaginary price of lint off of his sleeve. He looked up. “And hey, why don’t you guys take the day off! You work so hard, and it’s Valentine’s Day. Go, eat chocolate!” 

     Ray shooed Henry and Charlotte away and they both stepped towards the tubes.

     “I guess we could go to Jasper’s Valentine’s Day party,” Henry suggested. “Y’know, so there’ll be actual people there.”

     “Alright,” Charlotte sighed, “but if he brings out that giant roll of cheese I’m leaving.”

     “Bye guys! Have fun!” Ray called as the kids disappeared up the tubes. “I definitely won’t be having dinner with (Y/n) in the Man Cave. And you’re good if I tell her I’m Captain Man, right? Speak now or forever hold your peace.”

     Ray smiled, satisfied. “Schwoz!”

     The short man ran into the room. 

     “How do you feel about making this room look like Saint Valentine threw up?”

…

     “(Y/n)?”

     You turned to look behind you and found Ray standing in the doorway.

     He was wearing a tuxedo with a pink bow tie and holding a rose and that wasn’t even the most surprising part.

     “How did you get there?” You said, “I’ve been here since this morning, so unless you slept here…”

     Ray smiled and held out a hand to you, “Allow me.”

     You hesitated but finally placed your hand in his, smiling up at him.

     “What are you up to Ray Manchester?” You said.

     “Who says I’m up to something?” He said innocently, handing you the rose. You took it gently.

     As Ray pushed back the curtain, you caught a glimpse of the room beyond. Even though you’d been working here nearly a month, you still hadn’t been behind this curtain.

     Someone always found an excuse for you not to go back there and you were beginning to wonder if there really were man-eating lounge chairs behind the curtain. That had been Jasper’s latest explanation for why you could absolutely not look for cleaning supplies in the back. 

     Seeing it now, it looked…normal. Just a storage room with an elevator on the back wall.

     Ray walked you over to the elevator and stepped inside, bringing you with him.

     He took a deep breath, “You ready?” 

     You looked at him strangely. “Why wouldn’t—”

     But you never got to finish that sentence because Ray pushed a button and suddenly the world was rushing past you and jostling you around and turning your stomach inside out. You screamed and reached out for Ray. 

     You landed with a loud bang and you attempted to stand up, but your legs protested. 

     Ray grabbed onto you and helped to pull you up. You clung to him, shaky and sincerely hoping the contents of your breakfast stayed inside your stomach.

     “Don’t worry,” Ray said, rubbing your back, “Everyone has that reaction the first time they take the elevator.”

     “You mean this thing isn’t broken?” You managed, “That’s normal?”

     “More or less,” Ray said, looking unconcerned. “Now can you stand? Because you’re kind of wrinkling my suit.”

     You rolled your eyes but let go of his arms. You were feeling much more steady as the effects of the elevator wore off and you smoothed your hair down as Ray smoothed down his suit.

      You still didn’t know what you were doing down here and you told Ray as much.

     He smiled and took a step closer to you. “Let me show you.”

     He pushed a button and the elevator doors opened to a wide room and you gasped.

     The room was dimly lit, with candles lining the floor and rose petals sprinkled amongst them. Strings of hearts hung across the walls and ceiling and in the center sat a table, perfectly set, with two chairs next to it. A small man dressed in a maid’s uniform stood next to it. The maid winked and gave you a wave.

     It was beautiful.

     “Ray, this is—” You didn’t know what to say. 

     You looked back at him as he watched your face nervously. 

     “Do you like it?” He took a step backwards, “Because if you don’t then it was all Schwoz’s idea!”

     He gestured at the maid who yelled ‘hey!’ in outrage. 

     “No, I love it!” You said quickly. “I just—you did all this for me?”

     “Well, I helped,” Schwoz said, crossing his arms. 

     “Zip it, Schwoz!” Ray yelled before turning back to you. “Shall we.”

     He gestured to the table and you followed him there, taking a seat as he pulled out a chair for you before sitting in his own. 

     As Schwoz poured your drinks, you looked at Ray in amusement.

     “What?” He asked.

     “I just can’t believe…all this!” You gestured around you. “That you went to all this trouble for—”

     “(Y/n), it’s no secret how I feel about you,” he said quietly. 

     You stopped breathing. “And that is?” 

     “Well for starters, you’re gorgeous and—”

     “Medium or well done?” Schwoz interrupted and you turned to see he had a grill in the corner.

     You barely registered the question though. You were much more interested in what Ray had to say than the quality of your steak.

     “Medium! Annyway, like I was saying,” Ray continued, “Ever since—”

     “Do you want any seasonings?” Schwoz peered back around to your table.

     “Dang it Schwoz!” Ray pounded the table. 

     You giggled and put a hand on Ray’s. He looked down at your hand atop his and swallowed. 

     “What I’m trying to say is, I like you a lot, (Y/n),” Ray said. “I have liked you a lot from the moment I met you.”

     You smiled, “I like you too, Ray. A lot.”

     Ray grinned giddily before standing up, and beginning to pace. 

     “(Y/n), I like you so much that I don’t want there to be any secrets between us.”

     You furrowed your brow and sat up straighter. Ray walked over to the side of the room and pulled out a small tube of red and blue spheres.

     You raised your eyebrows as he took one of the balls and popped it in his mouth and began chewing what must have been gum.

     “And your secret is you’re a gum addict?” 

     You watched as he blew a bubble and suddenly a flash of light filled the room. You blinked and standing before you was no longer Ray in his tuxedo, but a superhero.

     A superhero who you recognized—who anybody in Swellview would have recognized.     

     “You’re Captain Man,” you breathed.

     “That’s right, I’m awesome,” Ray said, smirking and walking over to you.

     “So you—and this is—we are—” You processed all of the information at once. “This isn’t really a junk shop, is it?”

     “It’s as real as the meat Schwoz is cooking,” Ray said. Note to self, you thought, don’t eat the ‘steak’.

      Everything that you’d known about the store and everything that didn’t make sense all came together in your head. The pieces  clicking together perfectly.

     “This,” Ray continued, “Is the Man Cave. My superhero headquarters. Where I live. And the junk shop upstairs is really more of a front—and a place to keep Jasper busy while we fight crime.”

     “So Henry—” 

     “—Is my sidekick, Kid Danger.”

     “And Charlotte—”

     “She helps too.”

     “Jasper—”

     “Well, he doesn’t help that much,” Ray said, waving it off. “And Schwoz works for me.”

     “Wow,” was all you could say, “I had no idea.”

     “Yeah,” Ray said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Guess you probably don’t want to keep your job at the store now that you know it’s not really a real store. The only customer we ever get is Jasper.”

     “Are you kidding? This job is the best think that’s ever happened to me,” you said. “Because if I’d never been here, I wouldn’t be here with the Captain Man.”

     Ray stepped closer to you, a grin on his face. “Oh yeah? And what about Ray Manchester?”

     You shrugged, playing along “Don’t tell him I said this, but I’m kind of eternally grateful I met him too.”

     Ray wrapped his arms around you. 

     “Well, now that there’s nothing hidden between us, there’s one thing I’ve really been meaning to ask. So, (Y/n), will you go out with me? Will you be my valentine?”

     A wave of remembrance hit you. You’d forgotten it was Valentine’s Day. The decorations and the flowers, it all made sense.

     You looked at Ray, looking at you like he needed you to say yes. You took in the decorations behind you and all the effort Ray had put into making this a special evening for you. It was finally happening. The moment you had been dreaming of since you had met him.

     “Because if you say no, I promised Schwoz he could eat all this food,” Ray teased

     “Yes, Ray,” you smiled, feeling like your heart couldn’t swell with more joy and elation than it already had. “I’ll be your valentine.”

     Ray leaned in to kiss you and you leaned towards him, your lips meeting.

     “Aww, young love, so touching.”

     You looked over to find Schwoz watching you, and Ray shot him a glare. He scurried away and Ray brought his lips back to yours. 

     You kissed him and he kissed you and it was magical. His hands went to your hair and you wrapped your arms around him tighter. 

     You never wanted this moment to end. 

     “Hey, Ray, have you seen—”

     You and Ray broke apart and you looked at Henry’s shocked expression as his gaze went from you to Ray in his Captain Man uniform to Schwoz and the decorations.

     “I just thought I left my backpack here,” Henry said weakly, “but, uh, I’ll get a new one. See you later, Ray—or should I say Captain Man.”

     Ray turned to you guiltily, “I wasn’t exactly supposed to tell you about the whole ‘being a superhero’ thing.”

     He looked to Henry now, “She begged me to tell her, kid, I couldn’t help it.”

     You smacked him in the arm and Henry let out a laugh despite himself.

     “Besides, we can make an exception for my girlfriend, can’t we?” Ray said, grabbing your hand. 

     Ray’s girlfriend. You liked the sound of that. You leaned in and kissed him softly.

     “Right, well,” Henry looked at the ground, “I should go. Jasper’s cheese isn’t going to eat itself. Happy Valentine’s Day, you two.”

     You watched him turn to leave, smiling. You still couldn’t believe how perfect this all was.

     “And Schwoz?” Henry called, his back to you. 

     “Yes?”

     “Nice skirt.”

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

a/n: hope u enjoyed this babes 🫶 i think im going to start a ray masterlist so look out for that!! have a lovely valentines day!!

#ray manchester x reader #ray manchester #valentines day #cute

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ray manchester/captain man masterlist ~

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ masterlist ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚

requests are closed

did anyone ask for this? no but i have enough ray fics now that i am tired of linking them all separately so now here they are in one place. enjoy!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~°~❦~°~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

fluff: ♡ angst: ✧ requested: ☽

Oneshots-

ˋ°•*⁀➷ Stuck || Ray Manchester/Captain Man x reader • ☽

word count: 3.5k warnings: none summary: you, an aspiring-fashion-designer, get trapped in an elevator with captain man on your way to a job interview

ˋ°•*⁀➷ Secret Identity || Ray Manchester/Captain Man x reader • ☽ ♡

word count: 3.8k warnings: i think i cursed once summary: you and ray have been dating in secret, due to your shyness and secret identity, but when there’s a change in your relationship, it may be time to let everyone know

ˋ°•*⁀➷ My Valentine || Ray Manchester/Captain Man x reader • ☽ ♡

word count: 3.8k warnings: none summary: when you start working at junk n’ stuff, ray is immediately attracted to you and wants to do something special for your first date (which just so happens to be on valentine’s day and may or may not include him revealing his identity to you)

Headcanons-

Dating…

ray manchester x reader ♡

ray manchester x smart!reader ♡☽

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~°~❦~°~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

last edited: 2/14/24

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jack edwards x reader headcanons • part 4

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ masterlist • part 1 • part 2 • part 3 ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚

requested by @stellapookie

a/n: i hope you enjoy this love 🫶 thanks for the reminder to actually continue this lil series!! and ty for mentioning jack and the reader having a baby because domestic jack is just so 🤭 this is basically just you and him starting a family

the next chapter with jack would include…

(wait see what i did there … ‘chapter’ … get it … i’ll shut up)

ok so you and jack have been enjoying married life for a while 

when you decide it’s time to expand your family 

which is what you tell everyone when you announce that you’re pregnant 

when jack found out he was so excited 

he’s known he wanted a family with you since the moment he met you, he says

you have an elaborate march madness style bracket to decide which after which fictional character you’ll name your child 

because obviously 

and neither of you can decide so jack let’s you pick 

he reads loads of parenting books to be prepared when the baby is born 

‘did you know babies can recognize the songs they hear on repeat while in the womb?’

and that’s how he began singing to the baby

which you thought was hilarious so he switched to reading

he reads aloud to your stomach before the baby is even born 

children’s books, poetry, classics

‘think of how good we’re going to look as parents when our child is quoting Dickens in year 1’

i can just imagine you and jack getting a room ready for the baby and decorating and paining 

and getting into a paint fight 

and you and jack teasing each other about who’s books have to go 

which ultimately ends in him having to condense his library 

when the baby finally arrived—

your daughter because jack as a girl dad is just so 🤭😩

— she took over your lives 

and you and jack couldn’t be more happy 

‘this is our child (y/n)! ours!’

you guys taking shifts with the baby so the other could get some much deserved rest

going for walks w/ the baby in a stroller

until he thought she looked uncomfortable or unhappy so he picked her up and carried her the rest of the way 

jack getting you all matching onesies for holidays 

‘here comes the Pequod, sailing into-‘

‘jack she doesn’t know what that means!’

when your daughter is a little bit older he has tea parties with her 

and he is the king of bedtime stories

when the she’s finally asleep you and jack read together or just talk

jack is actually the best father and husband 🤧 

you just can’t believe how perfect your family is <3

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

a/n: hope you enjoyed this!! i love writing for jack and he deserves so much more love here on tumblr. thx so much for this request!!

#jack edwards #jack edwards x reader #jack edwards x reader headcanons #booktube #i love

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Hi! Hope you’re having a good day/night 😊I saw your post about requests open again . I know the requests are closed right now, that you said that you’re busy at the moment and focusing on other things in your life which is very understandable. But I have a request I’m dying to send, like try your best to get to it when you can, but i know you can’t promise it will be anytime soon.

I want to ask if it’s their a chance that I want to request a Ray Manchester/Captain Man (Henry Danger) shy!reader please? His team except schwoz thinks Ray is making things up that he has a girlfriend or that shy!reader chose her hero best friend to be they godfather of their newborn son who’s a mama boy. Then Ray thought it’s a good idea bringing his team to the hospital to see his family and the team are surprised that shy!reader happens to be a powerful and legendary Sorceress (like Scarlet Witch) & popular superhero in the planet, also a stage magician. Even the villains adored her.

Secret Identity || Ray Manchester/Captain Man x reader

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ masterlist • other ray oneshot • ray x smart!reader hcs • ray hcs ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚

summary: you and ray have been dating in secret, due to your shyness and secret identity, but when there’s a change in your relationship it may be time to let everyone know

word count: 3.8k

warnings: i think i cursed once

a/n: thank you for this request lovely!! it’s been a while since i have written for Ray and i love him so much. i hope you enjoy this!

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

    “What is so hard to believe about me having a girlfriend?” 

     Captain Man put his hands on his hips in exasperation. He looked around the Man Cave, waiting for an answer. 

     The others glanced at each other, seeming to be having a conversation with their eyes. 

     “Nothing, man,” his sidekick finally said, having been silently delegated to answer, “It’s just, well, you’ve never really had a girlfriend before.”

     Oh what they didn’t know, you thought. You watched Ray, your boyfriend, talk to his friends through a crack in the door leading to the Man Cave. 

     These people, with the exception of Ray, had no idea who you were—or, at least they thought they didn’t—yet you knew so much about them. Ray had told you so much since you’d begun dating that you felt like you already knew his friends, even if you’d never met them. 

     Your boyfriend’s voice brought you back to reality. 

     “I have too had a girlfriend—Tana Sommers, fourth grade.” Ray shot back. 

     “Since we’ve known you,” the boy you knew to be Henry rubbed his temples. 

     “Ok, well, Evelyn Hall!”

     “You never called her back, remember?” The girl—Charlotte—responded. 

     “Lacey Lumbar!”

     “She tried to steal your inventions!” That was Jasper.

     “Gwen!”

     “She tried to kill you!” Charlotte added. 

     “Oh, I know,” Ray clapped his hands together, “Henry’s mom.”

     “Dude, my mom is not your girlfriend,” Henry sounded disgusted.

     “Well, not anymore,” Ray whispered.

     You found yourself absentmindedly making a fist, and looked down, unclenching your fingers carefully.

     You’d heard about Ray’s relationship with his sidekick’s mother. According to him, they’d been very serious ever since he rescued her from the jaws of a shark, until he broke it off with her shortly before meeting you. Although, knowing Ray, some of this might have been an exaggeration.

     “If you had a girlfriend—”

     Ray looked like he was about to argue again and Henry held up a hand, continuing quickly.

     “—which I’m not saying you don’t, why wouldn’t you just introduce her to us?”

     You played with the hem of your blouse. 

     “She just—well, I’m not ready to introduce her to you yet.”

     You silently thanked him for not revealing your secret. You weren’t sure anyone would actually believe Ray’s reason, seeing as you’d been together for nearly a year now, but you appreciated anyways.

     The truth was, you weren’t great with meeting people. You always got all flustered and your cheeks felt hot and you never knew what to say. 

     Ray was the only exception to that rule, always making you feel comfortable and safe. 

     You had always been shy and you just weren’t sure if you were ready to meet all of Ray’s friends, especially all at once. 

     It was ironic that you could crush a man’s windpipe just by looking at him but you feared making a simple introduction. 

     Which was the other truth Ray wasn’t telling his friends, which you knew was probably killing him. 

     You were kind of a superhero. The Sorceress, to be precise. You’d become quite infamous in Swellview since you’d arrived there shortly before you met Ray. You’d known practically no one when you’d arrived. 

     Well, that wasn’t quite true. You and your best friend Hal had moved across the country together. He was also blessed with superpowers, but preferred to work behind the scenes unless absolutely necessary. He was incredibly gifted with technology and you were thankful for all of the gadgets and weapons he designed for you. However, he didn’t want any credit even when you assured him he deserved it. 

     However, when he wasn’t donning a cape and gloves, he was the most outgoing person you knew. Always taking you out for drinks and insisting you had a good time. 

     It was funny, you thought, that the two of you were so opposite. Most everyone you knew had been introduced to you by Hal. 

     Except for Ray. 

     Ray told everyone he’d met you at the local coffee house. Which was partially true. If you changed coffee to clock and—well, house was more of a suggestion.

     You’d met in The Time Jerker’s lair. 

     Captain Man had been there for an entirely different business—apparently he owed the villain money for some reason or another—but you also happened to be chained up to a chair in his basement.

     It wasn’t an ideal situation, but it wasn’t particularly terrifying either. This had happened many times before that. The villains of Swellview had an odd fascination with you and appreciation for you and seemed to always be persuading you to change sides. You supposed it was because your set of superpowers could do an equal amount of bad as they could good. 

     That didn’t stop you from refusing every time. You’d rather lose your powers than become one of the criminals who tortured the city and its occupants.

     Captain Man had rescued you that day—if rescued is what you could call it—and you had instantly enjoyed his company. You didn’t meet many acquaintances as The Sorceress and you found it wildly easier to make conversation when you had a mask on and could hide under the guise of a confident, powerful superhero. 

     So you and Captain Man began dating in secret and nobody was the wiser.

     You smiled to yourself at the absurdity of two of the most known figures in Swellview keeping a secret like this.

     You knew Ray was probably dying to reveal to his friends who his girlfriend really was, but you knew he wouldn’t. Not unless you gave him the green light. 

     You supposed you two would have to tell people soon, you thought, placing a hand gently on your stomach. Everything would have to change when the baby was born. 

     The elevator doors opened and it caught your attention, the present crashing back down around you like a wave.

     A short man—Schwoz—stepped into the Man Cave carrying a bag of bird feed.

     “Lunch?” He held it out to the present company.

     A symphony of disgusted declines filled your ears and you chuckled quietly.

     “I’ll eat that,” Jasper said, “When Ray has a girlfriend.”

     “Ray has a girlfriend,” Schwoz said earnestly. 

     “Schwoz, what have we said about lying?” Charlotte chided.

     “No really,” Schwoz insisted, “She’s beautiful and smart and she likes a animals and she has these crazy superpowers—”

     “Too far, man,” Henry said, patting Schwoz on the shoulder and walking towards the elevator.

     You breathed a sigh of relief when Henry and his friends disappeared into the elevator, leaving the Man Cave for the day. You felt bad for giving Ray’s assistant the reputation of a liar, but you couldn’t deny you were glad no one believed him. It was easier that way.

     Schwoz had seen you and Ray…together once in the Man Cave and you were forced to tell him the truth. But he was the only one that knew besides you and Ray and Hal. So far, it seemed, except for almost moments ago, he’d kept his promise and hadn’t told anyone about his boss’s girlfriend’s identity. 

     “Coast is clear, babe,” Ray called to you. You left your hiding spot and entered the room.

     You walked over to Ray, smiling as he pulled you into his arms. You kissed him on the cheek and he looked down at you.

     “Now, where were we,” he whispered and leaned down to kiss you. 

     He stopped just before his lips touched yours as you both heard a loud crunching sound.

     You both looked up and saw Schwoz shamelessly watching your embrace as he dug into his bird food. 

     “Beat it Schwoz!” Ray shouted and the small man grabbed the bag and left, mumbling.

     Ray gave you a look as if to say, Assistant’s, am I right?, before leaning down and kissing you. You placed your hands on his chest and kissed him back. 

     Your boyfriend continued kissing you, moving from your lips down to your neck and finally landing in front of your stomach.

     He placed his hands around your sides, kneeling down in front of you and planting a kiss right where you imagined your baby was. You were pretty big now, your due date fastly approaching 

     “And how’s my little baby girl?” Ray cooed.

     You placed a hand on his head and ran your fingers through his hair. “And how do you know it’s a girl?”

     “Call it superhero’s intuition.” Ray said, looking up at you before pointing at your stomach, “You know, one day this is going to be my new sidekick.”

     “How will you break the news to Henry?” You asked, getting lost in the daydream of you and Ray here ten, twenty years from now. You were in the process of moving in with Ray ever since you found out you were pregnant, but this place had already felt like home for so long. Even Hal spent almost an equal amount of time here as at your apartment-turned-lair. Much to Ray’s dismay.

     “Henry’ll get over it,” Ray waved the idea away, “Besides, hypermobility? That’s nothing compared to the genes this kid is going to have with two superhero parents.”

     “What about me?” You teased, “What if i wanted to be your sidekick?”

     “(Y/n), that would never work. I couldn’t constantly have my sidekick upstaging me. It’s bad for my image.”

     “That wouldn’t happen,” you smacked him lightly on the arm as he stood up.

      “Yeah you’re right, I am pretty awesome,” Ray said with smirk and you laughed. 

     “How did I get so lucky?” You said sarcastically as you rolled your eyes playfully.

     Ray chuckled before falling silent and staring into your eyes.

     “(Y/n),” he said softly, running a hand along your arm, “We are going to have to tell everyone soon, you know that right?”

     You sighed, “I know.”

     “I mean, what’s the point of having a super-hot, badass girlfriend if I don’t even get to brag about it,” Ray pouted. “‘I’m dating The Sorceress and no one even knows how cool that makes me!”

     “But seriously,” he continued, “They’re going to find out eventually if you start living here full time. And Schwoz can’t keep a secret forever.”

     “Hey!” A muffled voice reached your ears, “I heard that!”

     “I said beat it Schwoz!” Ray yelled, spinning around to find the source of the voice. You laughed, grabbing his hand to bring him back to where he’d been standing before, inches from you.

     “Alright, alright I’m ’beating it’,” Schwoz said from somewhere and then it was quiet again.

     “I think we’re getting closer,” you said, bringing the hand that was intertwined with Ray’s to your stomach. Your due date wasn’t for a few weeks but you felt like it could be any time now. “Now we just wait.”

     “I can’t wait to be a father, (Y/n),” Ray said bringing his arms around you and kissing you again. 

     You smiled, letting him embrace you. How did you get so lucky? You thought, echoing your earlier sarcastic statement. That meeting what could’ve just been a friend one day in a villain’s lair would’ve turned into all this. 

     Friend. That reminded you. You pulled away. “Hal’s coming by later today,” you said, forgetting about it until just now.

     “Ugh, why?” Ray mumbled.

     “Because he’s my friend and I invited him,” you said. 

     Ray had this crazy idea that you were going to run away with Hal any second. No matter how many times you assured him it was just that. Crazy.

     “Well then, fine—how about I invite Henry’s mom,” Ray pouted. 

     “Did you and Henry’s mom even date?” You asked him, willing to settle it once and for all.

     “We totally did!” He pointed a finger at you. “It was the epic romance of the century.”

     “Oh yeah?” You crossed your arms, smirking, “What’s her name?”

     Ray sputtered, and you laughed. He crossed his arms back at you and turned away. 

     “You’re mean, you know that.” He was laying it on thick but you decided to oblige him.

     “Forgive me?” You said sweetly.

     “Only if you kiss me,” he said and you rolled your eyes but put your arms around him and placed a kiss on his lips.

     “Hey, c’mon, I don’t wanna see that!” You heard a familiar voice and turned towards the elevator, seeing Hal standing in the entryway, a look of mock outrage on his face. Where had the time gone? You’d thought it would be hours before he joined you.

     You walked over to him and gave him a hug. Ray sulked in the background and you pulled Hal towards him. Ray was impossible sometimes.

     “Say hi,” you whispered to Ray.

     “Hey Hal!” Ray said, overly enthusiastic.

     “Hey man,” Hal said, clapping Ray on the back. 

     “Ow!” Ray exaggerated.

     “Right sorry,” Hal laughed, “electric currents running though my hands and all.”

     “You’re indestructible, Ray.” You rolled your eyes at him.

     “Doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt,” Ray mumbled but you already turned your back to him, helping Hal get something out of the Auto Snacker.

      You were interrupted by an alarm sounding, loud and persistent.

      Ray jumped over to the computer and pressed a button, taking an incoming call from a very distraught looking woman in a jewelry store.

     Ray listened to the message and then shut the system off, moving to the center of the room and taking out his container of gum.

     “Guess this is a solo mission. See you  (Y/n), I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Ray said to you. He popped the gum in his mouth and transformed into Captain Man right before your eyes. 

     “I’ll come with you,” you said, “Henry’s already gone home so I’ll go. It’s not like I don’t do this alone every day.”

     You pressed a button on the bracelet encircling your wrist and your Sorceress attire soon took over your everyday clothes.

     “I can’t let you do that, (Y/n),” Ray insisted, “Not in your condition.”

     You’d taken some time off for your pregnancy lately and Hal had been covering for you the past couple of weeks. But still, you could manage one mission.

     “I’ll be fine,” you said, “Trust—”

     You paused, feeling an odd sensation inside of you. You looked down.

     “Ray, my water broke.”

     “What?” Ray said, rushing over to you. You nodded. 

      “What do—we need to—I can—we need to go to the hospital,” Ray finally said.

      “Like this?” You pointed to your superhero uniform.

     “There’s no time,” Ray said, wrapping an arm around you as if to pick you up.

     “I can take her,” Hal hurried over, throwing down his burrito. “If you need to go.”

     Ray looked over at him. “You think I can’t carry my girlfriend?”

     “Not the time, Ray,” you shot at him.

     “Right,” Ray said, picking you up and heading towards the door, “We’ll take the Mancopter, it’ll be the fastest.”

     “But what about the jewelry store!” You shouted.

     “I’ll go,” Hal said. “I want to be helpful. I’ll take care of it. Good luck, (Y/n).”

     Ray looked torn for a moment, before setting you down and quickly pulling Hal aside and saying something to him. You only caught the words ‘pick up’ and ‘under my name’.

     “Thanks so much, Hal,” you called to him, ignoring whatever Ray was saying to him as Ray rushed back towards you and direction of the helicopter.

     “Oh my god, I’m going to be a dad!” Ray shouted, as if it had just hit him, running towards you. As he ran you smiled at him, letting him lift you again as he finally placed you into the passenger seat. 

     “You ok?” He asked, a worried expression on his face.

     “I’m fine,” you smiled up at him, “just fine.”

₊˚ ✧ ‿︵‿୨୧‿︵‿ ✧ ₊˚

     “So, superhero’s intuition, huh?” You said as you cradled your new baby boy in your arms.

     Ray sat next to you, stroking your arm and looking lovingly down at his son.

    “Hey, I had a 50/50 chance,” Ray shrugged, smiling. “And didn’t I say it was going to be a boy?”

     You let out a quiet laugh, looking up at Ray. 

     “I love you so much,” he said, “You know that?”

     “Yeah,” you nudged him, “I do.”

     You were both silent for a moment as a nurse came in to check your vitals. Her glance landed for a moment on Ray’s clothing, no doubt surprised to see Captain Man siting on the side of your bed, before stepping out again. Your uniform lay discarded on a chair and you were grateful for the hospital gown you now wore which gave you some anonymity.

     You and Ray had gotten your fair share of odd looks and shocked glances and awed expressions as you entered the hospital. But you couldn’t seem to care now. Let them find out. You and Ray could deal with it later. Right now, this, your son, your loving boyfriend, was all that mattered.      

      When the nurse left, you turned to Ray

     “You want to hold him?” You said to him.

     He nodded and you gently passed your son to his father’s arms.

      “Hey there little superhero,” he said quietly. You watched the two of them with a happiness you couldn’t begin to explain.

     After a few moments, Ray handed your son back to you.

     “Hey, you mind if I step out for a minute?” He said, “I just have something I need to do.”

     You nodded and he kissed you on the forehead before standing up and leaving your room. 

     After what felt like 10 minutes, your boyfriend reentered the room. 

     “(Y/n),” Ray started, walking over to you and taking your hand, “I was thinking. Since have a family now—a family (Y/n)!—which brings us so much happiness and joy, what if now we shared that joy with others. I think it’s time.”

      You nodded. “Yes, Ray. I think you’re right.”

     “Good, ‘cause they’re already all in the lobby.” Ray looked relieved.

     “Ray!”

     “I haven’t told them anything, just that I had something to share with all of them. But it is a hospital so they’re getting kind of worried.”

     You nodded again and Ray opened the door, “Hey guys, come in.”

     You braced yourself, gripping your child tighter as Ray’s friends walked in the door.

Their expressions ranged from confusion to shock to apprehension.

     Ray cleared his throat, “Ladies and gentleman, my girlfriend.”

     Every jaw in the room—with the exception of you and Ray—dropped open.

     “You’re real?” Henry said, slowly approaching your bed.

     “What he means,” said Charlotte, “is hello.”

     “Dang, she is pretty,” Jasper said.

     “Jasper!” Ray warned at the same time as Schwoz entered the room holding an ice cream cone saying, “Told you!”

     Ray gave him a look. 

     “What?” Schwoz glanced at his ice cream, “I got hungry.”

     “Ray really does have a girlfriend,” Henry ran a hand through his hair, passing what looked suspiciously like a 10 dollar bill to Schwoz, before holding out his hand for you to shake. “I’m Henry.”

     “I—” You blushed and tried to find words as Ray came to stand by you, placing a comforting hand on your shoulder. You took a deep breath. “I’m (Y/n). It’s nice to meet you.” You shook his hand. 

     “So,” Henry said, turning his attention to your son, “Ray’s baby.”

     “God I hope so,” Ray said and you hit him playfully on the arm.

     “Well, congrats guys,” Henry said and a chorus of congratulations filled the space. 

     You looked around the room. Past Jasper and Henry and Schwoz as your gaze landed on Charlotte, who was inspecting your discarded clothing.

     “Holy churros!” She said, coming to a conclusion, “You’re The Sorceress!”

     “Yeah,” you said sheepishly, “I guess I kinda am.”

     “You’re dating The Sorceress?” 

     All eyes turned to Ray. “Told you she was special,” he said.

     “And I told you she had superpowers!” Schwoz said.

     Ray opened his mouth.

     Schwoz beat him to it, “Yeah, I know, I’ll beat it.” 

     He left the room and you held back a laugh.

     “Well, I’m very glad to finally meet all of you,” you said. “Ray talks about you all the time.”

     “Did he say I’m the handsome one?” Jasper asked, “Because I am the handsome one.”

     “Oh definitely,” you said, amusement in your eyes as you obliged him. 

     At that moment, Hal rushed in, looking frantic.

     Upon seeing you, his eyes softened and he rushed over to greet you and your son. 

     “This is Hal,” you introduced him to the group, “Fellow superhero who happens to be a friend of mine.” 

     “Hello little guy,” Hal said, coming around to see your child. “You’re so handsome.”

     “Again, the handsome one,” Jasper gestured to his face and you laughed. Charlotte swatted his arm, dragging him and Henry out of the room and giving you a little wave. 

     You waved back, letting your friend hold the baby as Ray took your hand. 

     “What is he doing here?” He whispered.

     “He is the godfather of our child, Ray.”

     Hal’s eyes snapped up. “Really? You mean it.”

     “Of course,” you said, “We’d love you to.” 

     Ray smiled, sighing, “Welcome to the family!”

     You grinned so big you thought your cheeks were going to fall off.

     “And speaking of which,” Hal said, lowering his voice, “I got what you asked for. At the jewelers store.”

     What? Had Hal brought a criminal here to the hospital?

     He handed the baby back to you and then walked towards the door, passing  something to Ray from his coat pocket before leaving the room.

     “I’ll see you later, (Y/n),” he said.

     “Ray?” You asked, confused, “What’s going on?”

     Ray blew out a breath. “Ok, (Y/n), I love you very much—so much that it hurts sometimes and—what I’m trying to say is—”

     “Honey, you’re scaring me,” you told him.

     “No, uh—that was stupid, let me start over. (Y/n), I couldn’t have found anybody as perfect as you. I can’t imagine my life without you and I want to spend every second of my life with you. Except for maybe when we’re saving the city separately. Like, if you’re on one side of town and I’m on the other—and I’m not saying you can’t have friends or anything because that would be—”

     “Ray,” you said gently.

     “Right,” he knelt down, pulling out a small box “What I’m trying to say is I love you (Y/n). So what do you say? Will you marry me?”

     Tears filled your eyes as you nodded over and over again and he put the ring on your finger.

     He leaned down to kiss you and you wished you could live in this moment forever. Just you, Ray, your son, and the promise of a beautiful future together.

     “Yes, Ray,” you managed though your joyful tears, “A million times yes.”

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

a/n: hope you enjoyed this love!! have an amazing day 🫶 i may need to start a ray masterlist 🤭

#ray manchester x reader #captain man x reader #henry danger #ray manchester #I love

[maudefigglebottom]

if you enjoyed these books growing up then 1) your sense of humor is immaculate and 2) you’re either in pre-med or you’re a detective there’s no in between

#i can confirm #these were and are my childhood #premeditated myrtle #a series of unfortunate events #they lost their heads! #don’t read this book before bed #the mysterious benedict society #murder most unladylike

[maudefigglebottom]

i said I’m a social chameleon. i didn’t say i had friends. sure i can match everyone’s vibe all the time. doesn’t mean it works

#shitpost #social anxiety #life