The Side Effect

Father

WARNING: this chapter units at past child abuse. Please do not read if that may trigger you.  Thank you and enjoy.

Ray was not happy in the slightest. What person would be any form of happy after fighting with a man toddler, whose childish behavior took joy in Ray repeatedly slipping and falling on the flooded floor of the candy store? Why would the toddler even drown the candy shop when the whole point of him being there was to steal the candy he was now ruining!? But no, it wasn't the water dripping off of him that had him upset; it was that constant whiny voice mocking him that gave him a killer migraine. "Shut up, Toddler!" Ray muttered as he got his footing back. Ray wanted to punch that idiot so hard, but the criminal was just out of his reach. He knew he couldn't just try and chase The Toddler with the water, and he'd only fall again.

"Where's your little sidekick, Captain ma'am? Did he get bored of you too?" The Toddler says as he walks around just out of Ray's reach. "Did he leave you just like your dad?" Ray lets put a deep breath and glares at The Toddler, "No." Ray rolled his eyes when The Toddler stomped his feet childishly, "don't lie to me, Captain Man!" Ray bites his cheek and sighs loudly as he slowly makes his way towards the criminal who was too busy throwing a fit to notice. The Toddler continued to scream and shout with his back to Ray until he felt a tap on his shoulder. The toddler turned and glared at the superhero in front of him and was greeted with a fist to the face. Ray smirked as the other slumped to the flooded floor and stayed there for a moment. The police rushed in just moments later, thanking Ray for his help and then buffing The Toddler.

Ray left the candy store and rushed his way back to Junk 'N Stuff. He gets worked up quickly, and he was just glad other criminals didn't jerk at him as much because he knew if they did, probably let it slip that Henry, "kid danger, " was on the sideline because he was pregnant, not because his sidekick "left" him. "Stupid Toddler," Ray grumbles as the tube lifts from around him. Ray fumes his way past the others and into his bathroom while uttering how messed up Toddler was. Henry pardons himself from the group and observes closely behind Ray. Henry has to quickly put his hands out to keep the don't from slamming into him and raises his eyebrows as a form of questioning. "So, you wanna tell me why my boyfriend is drenched and striking through the Man Cave?" Henry asks, concerned. Ray stops his facing and sighs heavily. "Why does the Toddler think talking about Captain Man's dad is so funny?!" Ray growls. Henry takes a few paces in and closes the door behind him before stripping the mask off Ray's face softly, "Cause he's an asshole, babe. At least they didn't know who your dad is and just that you guys had a misunderstanding when you were 17." Ray scoffs and pushes Henry's hands away from him roughly. "Misunderstanding, Henry? More like a stop to that toxic bullshit for forever," Ray mutters.

Henry frowns and reaches out to unzip Ray's suite, "let's just get this off and you into the shower right now, okay?" Ray shoves Henry's hands away again and glares at him. "I don't need your help, Henry!" Ray shouts. Henry glares right back and reaches out again, "I didn't ask!" Henry says back as he grabs onto the zipper of the Captain Man suite. Ray raises his hand and sweeps Henry across the face harshly, "I said I didn't need your fucking help, Henry!" Ray growls. Henry drops his hand from Ray's zipper and back away with watery eyes, "Fine. Fuck you, Ray!" Henry says before slamming the bathroom door and rushing into the Man Cave to grab his phone. "I'm going home!" Henry snaps as Schwoz asks what's wrong. Charlotte stares as Henry holds his side of his face with one hand and his phone with the other before storming into the elevator. Once the doors have closed and a few moments of silence remain, Charlotte and. Schwoz rushed into Ray's bathroom.

"Did you hit Henry, Ray!?" Charlotte asks in outrage. Rays hunched over the sink and shook his head softly, "I didn't mean too." Charlotte rolls her eyes, "how do you HIT your PREGNANT BOYFRIEND and not mean it!?" Ray shook his head again and sighed, "I was just upset at The Toddler, and he was talking about my dad, and it just got out of hand, okay!" Ray tells them to leave, and they do. Ra showers and dresses in silence and just can't help but see Henry's teary eyes in the back of his mind the whole time. The look of distress and mistrust on Henry's face broke him. The way Henry's voice kept cracking with emotion when he stormed away.  It just kept replaying in the back of his mind, and Ray knew who he was deep down, but that fear of becoming who he hated the most just came over him. That fear had made him become precisely what his worries were. He was becoming his father... The last person Ray ever wanted to be.

Ray runs past the other in the Man Cave and exists quickly. He had to make this up to his boyfriend, and he wasn't going to ever be like his father. Ray was quick to reach his boyfriend's house and climb to his window, but the hard part would be getting Henry to open it for him, and Ray would blame Henry for not opening it. Ray reaches out to lift the window, and to his surprise, it lifts effortlessly enough. He slips into the room soundlessly and with ease before softly making his way to sit next to his boyfriend on the bed. "Hen-" Ray is punched across the face swiftly, and he takes a moment to regain himself. Henry lets out a sob and turns away from Ray again. "That was fair," Ray says softly, "I should never have put my hands on you like that, Henry." there's another sniffle, and Henry shrugs his shoulder. Ray sighs and closes his eyes tightly. "I know I need to let go of the past and everything, Henry, " Ray says softly before pulls Henry into an embrace, "and even though that means forgiving him, I'm going to do it because if I don't, I'm going to be just like him... And you don't deserve that, love," Ray says softly. Henry leans into Ray's embrace and rubs his face on Ray's shirt before letting out one last sob.

Henry pushes away, and Ray wipes his thumbs under Henry's eyes to sweep away the tears trailing down his face. "I got snot on your shirt" Henry mumbles. Ray looks at Henry and shrugsed before they both burst out laughing. "That's just fine, sweety!" Ray laughs as Henry wraps his arms around Ray again. It's quiet, and Henry takes a deep breath to relax. "Thank you," Henry whispers to Ray before pressing a kiss to Ray's cheek. Ray looks at Henry confused and frowns, "for what? I should be thanking you for forgiving me!" Henry giggles and kisses Ray's forehead. "Thank you for putting us first and doing the one thing you were scared of most. Thank you for choosing us, "Henry presses Ray's hand to his rounding stomach, "over your father." Ray nods and presses his lips to Henry's, and they both lay their hands onto Henry's middle gently. They stay silent in their moment with Henry straddling Ray, their foreheads pressed together and lips barely inches apart, their hands caressing Henry's belly, and oblivious to Piper standing in the doorway with wide eyes.

"WHY ARE YOU GUYS TOUCHING YOUR STOMACH LIKE THAT, HENRY!?"

A/N: let me know what you guys think, and thank you so much for reading❤️ this chapter in 1322 words.  What do you guys think will happen next, let me know? Love you guys❤️🥰