Chapter Text
Henry leaned back in his chair, absentmindedly scrolling through his phone while taking a sip from the water the waiter just topped off for him.
He was supposed to meet Ray for lunch again and while Henry wasn’t planning on being back in Swellview for another few weeks, Ray pushed and pushed, sending AWOL to grab Henry for “just an hour or two, Henry, I promise!” and Henry finally caved.
He couldn’t remember the last time Ray sounded this excited, and as annoying as the man’s constant phone calls had gotten over the last week, Henry would be lying if he said he wasn’t a little relieved that Ray seemed to have gotten a bit of his old spark back.
AWOL brought Henry directly to the restaurant before flashing away, and Henry was now waiting at their table, glancing between his phone and over his shoulder to the restaurant’s entrance to catch Ray’s arrival.
The next time he turned his head towards the door, he saw Ray coming in to talk to the hostess, so he gave a little wave. Ray’s face broke into a smile, and Henry stood to greet him with a hug.
“Hey kid, good to see you again,” Ray said, wrapping his arms around Henry and patting his back, “sorry to keep you waiting.”
Henry patted back before pulling away from the hug. “No problem, I haven’t been here too long.” They sat down, and Henry continued, “So, what’s the occasion for this emergency meeting?”
“Emergency meeting?” Ray repeated, opening up his menu.
“Yeah, you’ve called and texted me like a thousand times to come get lunch with you today. I’m a little curious—what’s so urgent?”
Henry watched as Ray looked at the words on the menu without reading them before closing the menu again, unable to sit still for a moment. They never needed to look at the menu when they came here, anyway; the burgers were to die for.
“I can’t just want to hang out with my best friend?”
“You always want to do that, Ray. Something’s different about you today.”
“Oh, is there?” Ray asked, smiling even wider than before.
“There definitely is. What’s got you so hyped up, big dog? You got news to share?” Henry narrowed his eyes on the last question, suddenly remembering his visit from two years ago: he had asked Ray if he’d be the best man at his wedding.
Did Ray get engaged?
“Wellll…” Ray playfully stretched out the ‘L’s, “I’ve been seeing someone, and since things are getting pretty serious between us, I thought it was time to…you know, introduce the two of you.” Ray said ‘introduce’ like he just remembered the word existed.
“Oh, wow, Ray, that’s exciting!” Henry said, genuinely happy for him. He remembered when Ray called him a few months ago in the middle of the night, feeling lonely and useless—with all the usual symptoms of a midlife crisis—and Henry really worried that he wasn’t going to be okay on his own. Now, if Ray had met someone that made him this happy and could keep him company, Henry’s nerves would be at ease.
“Isn’t it? But,” Ray paused, suddenly becoming serious, “but before things go any further, I just want to make sure that you guys can get along well.”
“Are you asking for my approval of your relationship?”
“Well, of course.”
“I’m not your mom, Ray, why would you need my approval of anything?”
“Because your opinion means a lot to me, and I’d still like your blessing. If this is someone that I might spend the rest of my life with, then I want to make sure you like them so you’ll also stay in my life. Sue me!”
Henry laughed. It was sweet, in Ray’s own way. “So, when can I meet her?”
“He was actually supposed to meet us here by now, but he got stuck at work so it’ll be a little while longer.”
“Ah, sorry,” Henry said, remembering being annoyed with Ray for making the same assumption two years earlier. Looking to move on from his mistake, he asked, “What does he do for work?”
Ray smiled, with a strange fondness in his eyes; it was clear that he really liked this guy.
“He makes money by posting stuff online, which honestly still doesn’t make a ton of sense to me, but he’s really successful with his following and he’s having fun doing it, so as long as he’s happy, I’m happy. Part of his whole thing includes modeling, and his photoshoot today is running longer than usual but he should be here in like,” Ray checked his watch, “another twenty minutes, give or take.”
“Well, I look forward to meeting him.”
Their waiter came by with a water for Ray and asked if they’d had a chance to look at the menu, and Ray politely waved him off, saying they were waiting for someone.
Henry thought back to an older (or rather, younger) version of Ray, who might’ve lashed out at their waiter for interrupting their conversation. Ray was a lot calmer and happier than Henry had seen him since—well, ever. Maybe Ray was in love, and his partner was to thank for the shift in Ray’s mood.
“What’s his name?” Henry asked.
“Frankie Valentine.” Ray smiled as he said it.
Henry processed the name, then tilted his head to the side. “And you said he posts stuff online as a career?”
“Yeah, and he’s really good at it.”
“Frankie Valentine…sounds like a pornstar's name.”
“What? No it doesn’t. And he’s not.”
“Is his name spelled with a ‘y’ or an ‘i-e’?”
“I-e.”
“Mmm, pretty sure he’s a pornstar, Ray.”
“He isn’t, and even if he was, I mean,” Ray considered it for a moment, “with a body like that—”
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry I mentioned it,” Henry cut him off. It was still fun to poke fun at the man, but he always found a way to take it to a slightly uncomfortable place. “When’d you guys meet, then?”
“Wellll…” Ray stretched out his ‘L’s again, “we actually met like, ten years ago? Or close to it, at least.”
Henry’s jaw dropped. “You’ve been dating this guy for ten years and haven’t introduced us?”
“Oh, no, don’t be ridiculous,” Ray scoffed, “That’s when we met, but we didn’t start dating until a few months ago.”
Henry rolled his eyes. “You know what I meant when I asked how you met.”
“Maybe you should just be a little more specific, next time. Geez.” Ray sipped his water.
“Okay, then my next question is: how’d you meet and how’d you start dating?”
Ray scrunched up his face for a moment. “That’s actually two questions, so not only is that grammatically incorrect—”
“Ray, for the love of God, I just want to hear you be happy and talk about Frankie and whatever you want me to know about him.”
Ray shrugged and sighed. “Fine, okay, okay. Uh, let’s see…” Ray tapped his fingers on the table, thinking about where to start.
“We met a while ago, but I never thought it’d go anywhere. I didn’t even think I was interested in him, at the time. He seemed too…controlling, at first.” Ray seemed to pick his words carefully. “But, you could say we, uh, explored each other’s bodies—”
“Gross.”
“—and as much as you might wish you were the one in charge in a situation—"
“Jesus, Ray.”
“—he’s really good at getting what he wants, from like, everyone at once.”
“Great, so how did you start dating?” it was a question, but Henry said it completely monotone, his eyes starting to glaze over, hoping to move on from all the sex talk.
“Well, I actually reconnected with him when I took that little vacation. Remember? When you told me I should do something as Ray Manchester instead of, you know?” He didn’t say ‘Captain Man’ out loud, just in case someone was eavesdropping.
Oh good, so all this is my doing.
“Yeah, I remember.” Ray’s phone call that night had put Henry on edge, but the next time they talked a few days later, Ray’s voice did sound a little lighter, like all of his burdens had suddenly become a bit more manageable. If Frankie was the reason for that, then Henry wanted to give the man a hug.
“So, I just, y’know—” Ray stuttered, and Henry wondered what was making him nervous. “Happened to run into him on vacation. And we got to talking, and also…talking,” he repeated, raising his eyebrows in Henry’s direction.
Henry closed his eyes. “Yep, Ray, got it. You have a lot of mindblowing sex with the man. I was hoping more for a cute story, like, ‘oh, I bought him a bouquet of flowers to ask him out,’ or something like that.”
“For your information, I get him flowers all the time,” Ray corrected, and because it was in his nature to be competitive, he asked, “Do you ever even buy Jasper any flowers?”
Henry gasped at the accusation. “Of course I buy Jasper flowers, what kind of husband would I be if I didn’t?”
“All right, all right,” Ray said, moving on. “If you want something cute, then, let’s see…oh, how about this? He actually used his influencer status to get us a table at Montego’s.”
Now, that was a restaurant Henry hadn’t thought about in years—no point, if there was no way to get in.
“Are you dating this man just to eat good steak?” And can he take me, too?
“No,” Ray emphasized, but not before hesitating, as if he had to really think about the answer. “I’m just saying, it was just really thoughtful of him because I had mentioned Montego’s exactly once: I was telling him about the time you took me, when they wouldn’t even let Captain Man and Kid Danger eat without an invitation, and he surprised me with the date two months later.”
Henry’s heart suddenly dropped, and he couldn’t prevent his face from showing it.
“So he knows about—” Henry stuttered, “and that I’m…?”
That’s unfair, Ray. He wanted Kid Danger to stay dead.
“No, no—” Ray reassured him, leaning in to keep his voice down. “I’ve told him about me, but as far as he knows, Kid Danger died saving Swellview and I try to avoid conversations about him entirely because it ‘hurts to think about.’”
“So you’re lying to him.”
“A little, I guess. It’s just not my secret to tell, and if I have to take it to my grave, then so be it.”
“Did you expect that I’d tell him today?”
“What? No,” Ray looked genuinely offended. “If you want me to be honest, then I’d say I think it would be cool if you really clicked with him and felt like it would be okay for him to know, but really, kid, that’s completely up to you, and I’m not going to pressure you into any decision.”
Henry knit his brows, puzzled. He fully expected an entire guilt trip from Ray; it was weird to see him act so…mature.
“If you didn’t tell Frankie that I was Kid Danger, then what have you told him about me?”
“Just that you used to work part-time at Junk N' Stuff and you found out I was Captain Man. I might’ve shared stories of us, but nothing that would relate you directly to being Kid Danger. Then one day, you came to help me with something, got your forcefield powers, and now you fight crime in Dystopia. I don’t think any of it’s technically lying,”
Ray looked a little embarrassed for a moment and admitted, “But, I might brag about you to him, like, a lot, because your name comes up in the Dystopian news so often, and I’m just really proud of the life you’ve made for yourself. And,” he quickly added, “I ran out of cash to put in the ‘Henry’ jar.”
“The what?”
“Don’t worry about it. By the way, um…” Ray swallowed hard. “Just to get this out there: you might recognize Frankie from…somewhere.”
From where, porn? Henry quipped in his head, knowing that voicing the thought would get Ray going again.
“From where?” he asked instead, innocently.
“Mmmm, hard to say, hard to say.” Ray was fully lying through his teeth.
Ray already said Frankie was an influencer, so why didn’t he just say that? The easy lie was right there!
Henry was about to call him out on it, when another voice sounded from behind him.
“Ray, darling,” the voice said, in its piercing, sing-songy tone, “I’m so sorry I’m late—the photographer got the locations of today’s and tomorrow’s shoot mixed up, so we had to wait for her and everything ended up getting pushed back.”
Henry knew that voice.
Henry had nightmares, time and time again, featuring that voice.
We’re in public, don’t make a scene, don’t make a scene, Henry pleaded with himself, as the owner of said voice came into view, leaning down to give Ray a kiss on the cheek before sitting down and addressing Henry.
“And you must be the wonderful Henry Hart, who I’ve heard so much about,” ‘Frankie’ practically sang. His hair was a shade darker than what Henry remembered, but it was still his signature blonde.
“It’s so nice to finally meet you. Frankie Valentine,” he introduced himself, holding out a hand dripping with flashy jewelry that matched his jacket.
Frankini. Fucking Frankini.
Really, Ray? No one else on the planet caught your eye?
Henry politely shook the man’s hand and finally managed a, “nice to meet you too,” then, “hey, Ray, do you mind showing me where the bathroom is?”
“Oh, sure, it’s right over—” and as he turned to point, Henry rushed to stand up, practically dragging Ray out of his chair.
“Actually, I’d probably get lost if you don’t come with me—you know how terrible I am with directions—just show me where it is, it’d be easier!” And Ray let himself be pulled up, following Henry around the corner to the restrooms.
“We come here, like, all the time, you don’t need me to show you where the bathroom is,” Ray insisted, finally pulling away from Henry’s grasp once it was just the two of them in the men’s restroom.
Henry put his fingers to the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut and taking a breath.
“Frankini.”
“Frankie,” Ray corrected.
“You’re dating Frankini?” he exclaimed in a hushed voice, careful to not cause a scene for anyone who might pass by the door.
“No,” Ray replied, matching Henry’s harsh tone and hushed volume, “I am dating a very kind, very attractive man named Frankie Valentine, who genuinely cares for me. I would appreciate it if you’d try to at least give him a chance.”
“A chance? Ray, do you not remember what he did to you? To us?”
“Yes? Do you not remember me summarizing those events a few minutes ago?”
“What? What the hell are y—oh.”
He was ‘controlling, at first.’ The livestream.
They ‘explored each other’s bodies.’ They swapped bodies to stop Yo Bro.
He’s ‘good at getting what he wants, from everyone all the time.’ The musical curse.
Hardy, har, har, Ray. Yes, just what I wanted when I agreed to get lunch with you: A fucking riddle to solve.
“Y’know, I don’t remember me reacting this strongly when you told me about your engagement to Jasper.”
Henry blinked, mouth agape at the audacity to compare their two situations. “Because Jasper never put us in mind control pants and made us eat blended worms in front of ten million people!”
“Well, that actually happened before he hit ten million—”
“Or force the entire population of Swellview to participate in some freaky fantasy against their will!”
“And now he’s happy to invite consenting parties into his freaky fantasies—”
“Ray!” Henry barked, making his voice as intense as it could be while keeping his volume down.
Henry rubbed his eyes, feeling a stress headache coming on. What couldn’t Ray get about this?
Unless… this wasn’t Ray, somehow. What if this was all just some weird scheme? Like that woman with the muffins—Gwen, that’s right, that’s what her name was.
What if Ray was being brainwashed by Frankini like he had been brainwashed by Gwen?
But then, what was Frankini's end goal? What did he want from Ray?
A thought popped into Henry’s head. There's only one way to find out.
“Henry, listen. I know Frankie has done evil things in the past, but he’s served his time and put that life behind him.”
Henry clenched and unclenched his jaw. “Okay, fine,” he said, “If you say he’s changed, then I can give him a chance,” he settled on, ending the sentence through gritted teeth. He didn't like this one bit, but he agreed to play along for now.
“Thank you. Now, let's get back out there before he wonders what happened.”
“Actually, I really do need the bathroom. I'll only be a minute.”
Ray nodded and left the men's room, while Henry immediately dialed Jasper's number.
This was crazy. What was he going to do, stay in Swellview to catch Frankini doing…something?
“Pick up, please pick up,” Henry said to no one, wishing Jasper’s voice were there to replace the spiraling thoughts that were beginning to form.
Finally, on the last ring: “Hey, Hen, what's up? Did you forget your key again? Should I come let you in now?” Jasper sounded groggy.
Oh, right, it's almost 3am at home.
“Sorry to wake you, but I’m kind of freaking out right now and…I need you to tell me that I’m being crazy and I should just come home.”
“You’re being crazy and…” Jasper started, sleepily repeating Henry’s words before reacting to them, “Wait, what’s up? Why are you freaking out?”
Henry rubbed his face. “Ray wanted me to come get lunch with him so he could introduce me to his boyfriend that he’s ‘getting serious with,’” he used one hand to make air quotes that Jasper couldn’t see, “and I don’t—”
“Ray’s getting serious with someone? Who? Is it Schwoz? I always had a feeling they’d—”
“What? Jasp, no, listen—”
“Well, then, who?”
Henry sighed, holding back a smile. As much as he wished the man would let him talk, he found it endearing when Jasper got so excited he couldn’t hold his thoughts back.
“Frankini,” Henry said. “Or actually, apparently he just goes by Frankie, now—”
“What?”
Henry could hear their box spring creak as Jasper sat up in bed, and a ‘click’ as he turned on the lamp on his nightstand.
Should’ve just told me to come home, man!
Henry repeated himself, now that Jasper was awake and giving Henry his full attention. “Ray is in a relationship with Frankini, and I don’t trust it. It’s gotta be part of some revenge plan, or something, and I need to stay in Swellview until I can figure out exactly what’s going on.”
“Hen, that’s insane.”
“I know! And they’re waiting for me at our table right now, and I’m going to tell them that I can move my planned visit to be now instead of later this month because I’m just… so excited to get to know him, or whatever, and—”
Henry had to stop talking, because he was suddenly so overwhelmed. What the hell was he supposed to do? Get Frankini to reveal his master plan? How? And then what?
This was the man that was able to control an entire town of people just for fun! What was he going to do if his motive was fueled by anger, instead?
“Hey, hey, Hen! Breathe.”
Right. It was fine. He’d figure it out!
“I am breathing. Thanks.”
“Go back and enjoy your lunch,” Jasper started. Right. One thing at a time. Making it through this lunch was step number one.
“I’m going to pack us a bag, have AWOL come grab me, and we can spend the next few days in Swellview to figure out what’s going on with Ray.”
“What? No, you can’t—”
“—Leave Dystopia alone? It survived just fine before we got here. Listen, I’ll let the police know we’ll be taking a little vacation, and if there are any major emergencies while we’re gone, we can trust AWOL to bring us right back.”
“But—”
“Right now, you need to go get to know Frankie, and I’ll meet up with you after lunch. Let Ray know I’m coming.”
Henry closed his eyes and sighed. He wanted to argue, but he also appreciated Jasper for taking control of the situation.
“Okay. I love you. Click.”
“I love you too, and I’ll see you soon. Click.”
Fine. Fine, Henry could handle this, at least until Jasper got here.
He washed his hands and left the bathroom.
Frankie and Ray were idly chatting when Henry sat back down; their menus had been taken away.
Ray spoke up when he noticed Henry, “Hey, sorry, I should’ve asked first, but I assumed you would want the usual bacon burger with waffle fries, right? Our waiter came by while you were in the bathroom.”
Henry wanted to argue for the sake of arguing and feign some issue with having Ray order for him, but he honestly just felt relieved that Ray wasn’t too brainwashed to forget their regular order.
“Uh, yeah, that works. Thanks,” Henry could feel how stiff he was acting and took a small breath to try and loosen up, “And, sorry I took so long, Jasper gave me a call and I didn’t want to leave him hanging, so…” He let himself trail off.
“Oh, Jasper! That’s your husband, right?” Frankie turned towards Ray for confirmation, and Ray nodded, “Ray told me all about how beautiful the wedding was!”
Henry forced a smile. He did not like the way Frankie emphasized Jasper’s name.
Thanks, Ray! What else did you tell him, our social security numbers?
“Ah, yeah, it was a really nice ceremony, we just had some family and friends get together here in Swellview. Kept everything small.”
“Of course! Nothing wrong with something intimate.”
Henry did not like the way Frankie emphasized ‘intimate,’ either.
“Right.” Henry deadpanned. “Ah, but, speaking of Jasper,” he turned back to Ray, “When I spoke to him just now, he thought it might be nice to move up next month’s visit to now, if that’s okay,”
Ray’s face lit up, and Henry added, “and Jasper would like to be here too, to get to know Frankie, since he’s important to you.”
Surprisingly, Ray’s face didn’t drop at the mention of Jasper tagging along. His fondness for the love of Henry’s life had definitely grown since the wedding.
“Of course, that would be great! The more, the merrier.” Ray smiled, looking between Henry and Frankie. Frankie smiled back, seemingly excited to meet another of Ray’s friends.
Okay, Ray was definitely too cheery. How did Frankini do it?
Henry’s thoughts were interrupted by their waiter, coming by with their three plates of food: Henry and Ray’s usual bacon burgers with waffle fries, and some kind of salad for Frankie.
“When is Jasper going to be here?” Frankie asked, pouring his dressing on his salad. “I’d love to have you all over for dinner.”
Why, so you can poison us?
Henry made sure to keep the thought to himself.
“Uh, later tonight, I think.” Henry took a big bite out of his burger to prevent himself from saying anything else.
“Oh, that’s great! I have another shoot tomorrow evening, so that would be out, but what about Sunday? I’m not a professional chef by any means, but I do know how to host.”
“Sure, sounds great,” Henry mumbled through the food in his mouth.
Frankie just smiled and started on his salad.
Henry was silently stewing, not listening to the banter between Ray and Frankie, when suddenly they both looked at him, and Henry realized they were waiting for an answer.
“Sorry, huh? I…zoned out. For a minute.”
Frankie giggled. “No worries. I just wanted to ask: how did you and Ray meet, again? He told me you used to work at his store.”
Right. Ray looked to Henry for an answer so he could control how much Frankie knew about Kid Danger.
“Uh…yeah. I was thirteen and looking for a job, and Ray needed some part time help at Junk N’ Stuff. Not much else to it.” Henry took another bite and looked at Ray, whose face stayed neutral. It seemed like he would respect whatever Henry’s decision was, as he said he would.
“How’d you end up getting so close, then?” Frankini asked, taking a sip from his soda.
Henry paused. Did Frankie know? Was he just trying to get him to admit to being Kid Danger? Or was it a genuine curiosity?
Henry considered his next words, shaping the lie very carefully while sprinkling in a bit of the truth.
“Well, since Ray was so busy with…his other job, I spent a lot of time watching over the store. I think I spent more free time there than my own home, and…” Henry suddenly felt embarrassed, letting both of them into a thought that he’d only ever shared with Jasper before, “I started to look up to Ray as more of a dad than my actual parents,” he looked away before hastily adding, “I don’t know,” and taking a sip from his water like he didn’t just bare a part of his soul to this near-stranger.
“Aw, kid,” Ray said, reaching over to mess up his hair.
“Don’t ‘aw, kid,’ me, Ray, knock it off, I’ll scream—” Henry batted away Ray’s hands across the table. He was starting to let his buzz cut grow in again, and it took him forever to get his hair to sit properly when he styled it; he didn’t want to have to redo it.
Frankie laughed, amused by the display. It looked, for a moment, like there was something else he was going to say, but it got caught in his mouth, his face crinkling up just a little, and Henry couldn’t name the emotion he saw.
They ate the rest of their meal making small talk, before Frankie’s phone went off. When he checked the text, he dramatically rolled his eyes with his entire body. “Ugh, this photographer is driving me insane,” he said, tapping away at a response.
“Vanessa?” Ray offered.
“No, I wish. Vanessa actually knows what she’s doing. This must be this girl’s—Jen, I think—first gig, or something, because the unprofessionalism—”
Henry tuned out again. He looked between Frankie and Ray, trying to read Ray’s expressions closely.
There was care in his eyes. He was attentive, hanging on to every one of Frankie’s words, and not in some weird, glazed-over, lovesick way, like with Gwen.
It was the same way that Captain Man looked at Kid Danger when things used to get serious. He was paying careful attention to Frankie’s words, nodding along, and speaking up to support the man’s worries.
All for a conversation about some petty stressor that didn’t really matter in the long run.
But, it apparently mattered a lot to Frankie, which made Ray take it personally.
Hmm.
Suddenly, Frankie gave Ray a quick kiss on the lips, before standing to give his farewell to Henry.
“I look forward to seeing you and Jasper on Sunday!” He wiggled his fingers in a flirty wave goodbye, and Henry blinked back to Ray to ask for an explanation.
“Did you zone out again?” Ray asked him.
“Absolutely, I did. What’s up?”
Ray sighed. “The new photographer forgot an entire set of shots she was supposed to get, so Frankie’s going to be stuck at work for the rest of the afternoon.”
“Mm.” Henry hummed, not really caring, but letting Ray know he heard him this time.
“Are you okay?”
Henry turned his bullshitting up to eleven; he couldn’t break in front of Ray.
“Yeah, man, my body is just telling me that it’s the middle of the night, and I would really like to go back to sleep.”
“Ah, shit, sorry, I keep forgetting about the time difference. We can head back as soon as the waiter comes back with my card.”
Henry nodded. It was actually only a half-lie; he was exhausted, and he hoped Jasper would be at the Man Nest by the time they got there so he could curl up in his arms and sleep until dinner.
The ride back to the Man Nest was quiet, Ray only making a short comment here or there about how great it was that Henry would be staying for a few days. He even seemed excited that Jasper would be visiting, too, at the very least because it meant that Henry would stay longer with his husband there.
Henry mumbled his agreements with whatever Ray was saying, not really listening. Henry was trying to avoid the subject of Frankie altogether, and it seemed like Ray wasn’t too keen to bring him up again, anyway. With Ray's newfound social intelligence, Henry had a feeling Ray could tell something was amiss but was too nervous to broach the subject.
When they arrived at the Man Nest, they found Jasper and Schwoz chatting together on the couch.
“Heyyy, long time, no see, handsome,” Jasper greeted when they came up the tube.
“I left, like, two hours ago,” Henry started, a little confused; he knew Jasper didn’t like being apart for too long, but even this was—
“I was talking to Ray,” Jasper teased, giving Ray a handshake and pulling him into a hug.
Henry shook his head, smiling at the goof.
“Good to see you, Jasper. Henry treating you well?” Ray asked.
“The best, as always.” Jasper replied, looking to Henry to give him a dopey grin.
Henry was grateful Jasper was here.
“I made sure the guest room was set up for you both,” Schwoz said, giving Henry a quick hug, too, “just let me know if there’s anything else I can get you.”
“Thanks, Schwoz,” Henry said, before he and Jasper said temporary goodbyes so they could get a little more sleep.
Once they were in the privacy of their own room, Henry collapsed on the bed and let out a groan.
“Lunch went that well, huh?” Jasper asked, starting to unpack the clothes from their suitcase into the closet.
“I don’t get it,” Henry said, his voice muffled from being face down on the comforter. He turned his head to the side so he could breathe. “I mean, why? I couldn’t sense any ulterior motive from him, but Frankini’s gotta be hiding something.”
“Maybe…he and Ray just really do like each other?”
Henry picked his head up to glare at Jasper.
“That makes even less sense.”
“Does it? I mean…if Ray says Frankini—or, Frankie, has ‘retired’ from his life of crime, and Ray’s about ready to retire from being Captain Man…”
Henry rolled his eyes.
Jasper continued, ignoring the silent sass, “then maybe they’re just two guys who realized they can understand each other in a unique way because of their shared history.”
“Or,” Henry replied, pushing himself off the mattress and crossing the room to stand next to Jasper, “Frankie is up to something because he’s been holding a grudge for years, and when we go over to his place for dinner on Sunday, we can find out what it is.”
“Dinner on Sunday?” Jasper asked, pulling another hanger from the closet.
“Yeah. He wants to host us for dinner, and he was super excited to meet you, too, since you’re also friends with Ray,” Henry narrowed his eyes, now remembering that conversation in more detail, “A little too excited, actually.”
“Are you jealous?”
“Jasper!”
“Kidding, kidding.”
“I’m just worried that he’s going to—I don’t even know. I’m just worried.”
Jasper got the last of their clothing hung up, and he turned to wrap his hands around Henry’s waist, pressing a gentle kiss to his lips.
“It’s all going to be okay. We can figure it out together, and everything will turn out fine. Now, come lay down with me, I’m exhausted.”
Henry let Jasper drag him to bed, setting an alarm for six p.m. so their sleep schedules wouldn’t be totally thrown off. Later, they could go get dinner with Ray and Schwoz, and maybe the Danger Force, and they would at least be sure to have a good time in Swellview while they could.
Henry wrapped Jasper’s arm tightly around him, grateful for the security and warmth as he drifted off to sleep.