#christmas chapter

'Twas the season to be jolly. The entire city was decked with tinsel, Christmas trees and lights, including the City Hall. That morning, there was a charitable breakfast going on in one of the historic building's many function rooms and Captain Man and Kid Danger were heading the food distribution. 

Ray had been doing it for a few years now, as a way of repaying the citizens that idolised him. Strolling out from the backroom, Henry smirked at the cheering crowd and took his place behind a microphone stand.

"Good morning." He smiled at the applauding people, well, everyone but a grouchy lady in the middle of the floor.

"Well, it's December twenty-fourth and that means, welcome to Captain Man's third annual Christmas Breakfast!" Henry announced, making the cheers grow even louder. Everyone loved that Captain Man did this.

"Thank you, that's nice. You know, it's really great to be he--" Henry's little speech was cut off by the grouchy lady shouting over him.

"Hey! Shut up and feed us!" She yelled and her peculiar dress sense made Henry think she was a man. Oh, no...

"Just a moment, sir." He said to her, thinking he was being polite and respectful.

"I'm a woman!" She snapped, frowning as Henry gulped.

"Sorry, ma'am. And now, I present your handsome host, the guy who paid for all this, Swellview's most important citizen, Captain Man!" Henry introduced his big-headed boss, who walked out to balloons falling from the ceiling. 'I bet (y/n) didn't help him with those crappy lines.' Henry rolled his eyes internally, already bored with Ray's self-indulgent attitude. 

"All right, everybody get up here and taste the Christmas!" Henry told the crowd as he and Ray stood behind the food table with the other volunteers.

"Here, kid. Put this on." Ray gave Henry a hairnet as people started to queue for their food. 

"Ew, I don't wanna wear a hairnet." Henry grimaced, thinking he was gonna look like a right idiot with one on.

"You have to wear one, you're serving food. It's city law." Ray told him and Henry took it begrudgingly and pulled it over his head. 

"Hey, how come you're not wearing a hairnet?" Henry asked in confusion when he saw that the superhero was waiting to serve without something covering his hair.

"Lots of reasons. First, I'm Captain Man, second, I'm very handsome and I don't wear hairnets." Well, those were pathetic excuses. Henry had a sneaking suspicion that Ray would get his comeuppance at some point but chose to stay quiet as the first citizens came down the line.

"Hey, are these reindeer eggs locally sourced?" The angry woman from before asked.

"Uh, uh, I don't know." Captain Man stuttered. How was he supposed to know where the eggs came from?

"Well, I don't eat eggs unless they were locally sourced." She snapped in a Karen voice. 

"Okay...good for you," Ray replied slowly and went to get some pancakes for her. This woman was a weirdo.

"Hey, why aren't you wearing a hairnet?" The woman asked another question and was starting to get on Ray's nerves. He gave up decorating the Man Cave's Christmas tree with (y/n) for this so he was annoyed that this woman was being so picky. He could have stayed home and danced around under the twinkling lights with his girl in fluffy socks, but no. He was giving back to Swellview's citizens from the kindness of his heart. 

"Uh, lots of reasons. One--" He began to retell his list to her, but this grouchy lady had an agenda.

"Shut up!" She growled loudly, making Ray looked at her cynically. If she wanted an argument, he'd give her an argument.

"You know, I'm guessing you don't get invited to a lot of parties." He told her in a sugary sweet voice, so she sighed in anger and walked off with a plateful of breakfast.

"Hey, Captain Man, Captain Man." The Vice-Mayor came over and took Ray away from the food line.

"Ah, yes, Vice-Mayor Willer." Ray greeted warmly since he'd met the man many times before.

"Hi, there's a reporter here from KLVY News. She wants to do an interview with you." The Vice-Mayor told him and Ray swallowed nervously.

"It's not Evelyn Hall, is it?" The superhero asked, hoping to God it wasn't. She was another failed attempt at him trying to save (y/n) from his unrequited love and it had ended rather messily, like most of his romantic encounters.

"I believe it is." The man confirmed, not seeing why he seemed so jumpy.

"Oh, crud. Hey, listen--" Ray tried to nip the possibility of an interview in the bud, but the Vice-Mayor was all too keen for it to happen. He didn't know that Ray couldn't bring himself to text another girl when (y/n) snuggled into him on the couch, it would just feel hollow and loveless. It wouldn't bring the same flutter in his heart when she smiled at him. It just wouldn't feel the same.

"I'll bring her over." The man walked away to grab the reporter, making Ray cringe and grunt in frustration. This was gonna be awkward.

"What's the problem?" Henry asked his boss when he saw how uncomfortable he looked.

"I took this reporter out on a date last week and I told her I'd text her the next day and I didn't," Ray told him ashamedly, biting his lip.

"Oh right, 'cause you're in love with (y/n)." Henry teased him, knowing that Ray could lie to himself all he wanted, but he'd never get away from the truth that he'd die for the woman back in the Man Cave. It killed the boy that he couldn't tell him she felt the same way and she had been sniffly all morning when he was on the date with the pretty reporter. Being sworn to secrecy sucked.

"Shut up, shut up!" Ray hissed as the Vice-Mayor returned with a stony-faced Evelyn Hall following behind him. Wow, she looked pissed.

"And here's Captain Man." The politician introduced the sheepish superhero, who smiled anxiously.

"Yeah, I see him," Evelyn said flatly, any previous admiration she had for Ray gone. She didn't know what she expected; for the entirety of their date his focus seemed to be on someone else and she had gotten the feeling that Captain Man had another girl in his life.

"Uh, hey, look. I was gonna text you and--" Ray started awkwardly.

"But you didn't." She said in a depressed voice, making Ray feel a bit bad. He hated that he lead on so many girls, but he didn't know how to cope with his growing feelings for his best friend, so he just kept dating and hoped that he'd find some subpar placebo that would satisfy his aching heart.

"Uh, Evelyn..." He had to plaster a fake smile on his face as she turned to her camera crew and began her report.

"I'm here at City Hall with Kid Danger." She said bitterly, ignoring that Ray was also behind her. 

"And Captain Man." He said quietly when she failed to mention him.

"Kid Danger, Christmas question. If you went on a date with a girl..." She started, putting Henry in a very awkward position. He didn't want to be in the middle of Ray and a scorned woman, he just wanted to serve some food.

"Here it comes..." Ray breathed out. He should've realised that none of this would have ever happened if he had just told (y/n) that he loved her during one of his many opportunities.

"...And you promised to text the girl the next day, what would you do?" She scowled as Ray leaned around Henry so he could get near the microphone.

"Can you not do this?" He asked, knowing that his sweet girl was probably at home watching the news coverage on his annual breakfast event. He didn't want her to see that he was a loser when it came to love. He wanted to impress her so she'd maybe, possibly, perhaps briefly consider that he could fill the shoes of the man of her dreams and treat her like a queen for the rest of her life. He'd filled those shoes pretty well, after all, they'd long been in shape for him to step into.

"I--I'd text the girl," Henry answered honestly. He wanted Ray to know that he wouldn't support his cowardly actions. Either he actually considered the feelings of all the girls he dated or he asked (y/n) out. And Henry was in favour of the latter.

"All right, all right, Evelyn. I'm texting you, all right? I'm texting you now and... send." Ray took out his phone stroppily and began to scroll through the names of all the girls he had in his contacts. There was only one he really cared about and her name was highlighted with "Sweet girl" and a little heart next to it. He eventually came to a contact named 'Evelyn' and assumed that it was the right one, so he typed a quick message and sent it off to prove a point. 

"Oh, wait that's a different Evelyn." He cursed mentally as Henry and Evelyn Hall blinked in shock. He needed to get his game together.

"Are you serious?" Henry hissed as Evelyn stormed off in anger, much to Ray's guilt.

"Dude, you know you only care about (y/n) anyway. Let's just go serve the food." Henry said to cheer him up and Ray agreed.

"There he is! Right there!" The angry woman from before marched into the dining area, the chief of police following behind her.

"Wait, you mean Captain Man?" He asked in confusion, looking at how the superhero was busying himself by dishing out eggs, bacon and pancakes.

"Yeah, look at him!" She hissed.

"Oh, come on!" The chief groaned. They began to argue as she insisted that Captain Man be arrested and he insisted that he couldn't lock up the guy who kept the whole city safe. 

"Hello, ma'am, would you like some grits? They're freshly stirred." Ray smiled pleasantly as Evelyn Hall saw her chance to humiliate the man who ghosted her on national TV. 

"Everyone. Everyone, may I have your attention?" The chief reluctantly stood in the middle of the room. He couldn't believe he was about to arrest the city's best crime fighter.

"As Swellview's Chief of Police, I came here this morning to thank Captain Man and Kid Danger for this wonderful Christmas Breakfast." He started, making the crowd applaud and Ray and Henry look at each other bashfully. If only they knew what was coming next.

"Which makes what I must do now very difficult." The Chief sighed and motioned for his officers to put the cuffs on Ray.

"What's going on?" He asked in confusion as the policemen approached him.

"I'm very sorry, Captain Man, but you're under arrest." He was told, making everyone gasp in disbelief. Evelyn Hall just smirked; she was gonna spread this news all over town. 

"Under arrest?" Henry blanched at the revelation as the officers pushed past him and forced Ray's hands behind his back.

"Why am I under arrest?" Ray asked in alarm. He couldn't go to jail, he was a superhero for god's sake, he was a good guy! And he promised (y/n) he'd get home quickly and watch Elf with her. He couldn't let her spend Christmas alone.

"Because it's illegal for you to serve food to the public without wearing a hairnet." The police chief explained, making the grouchy lady smirk in success.

"I told you to put on a hairnet." Henry piped up, making Ray glower at him.

"Will you be quiet? You're seriously arresting me for not wearing a hairnet?!" The large man exclaimed incredulously.

"I have to. It's a class three misdemeanour." The woman pointed to the rule in her book on Swellview's law and Ray paled.

"Seriously? Seriously? Seriously? Seriously?" He repeated over and over again as he was led out and carted off to jail. 

"Seriously?" He asked again as the two officers locked the cell door.

"Please, stop saying seriously." One of them told him since he had said nothing else on the trip to the jailhouse. The word was even written on cell's walls. This was going to be a crappy Christmas, especially since his cell felt cold and lonely with no sweet girl to warm his heart.

~Later that day, Henry's House~

"Well, why didn't you make him wear a hairnet?" Charlotte hissed to Henry as they knelt and decorated the tree in Henry's living room. The girl knew that (y/n) had been Ray's emergency contact and was freaking out at the prospect of her best friend facing being locked up over the holidays.

"I tried. You know how Ray is about his Captain Man hair." Henry scoffed, thinking back to all the times Ray spent ages looking in the mirror to perfect his well-groomed quiff. 

"That's 'cause (y/n) once mentioned that it was her favourite part of his costume and now he's obsessed with impressing her. Anyway, we can't let Ray spend Christmas in jail all alone. (y/n) needs to someone to celebrate with and y'know, kiss under the mistletoe." Charlotte grimaced at the icky thought but knew that they still had to do something.

"Well, how do we get him out?" Henry asked, not knowing how to spring someone from jail. 

"I don't know..." Charlotte sighed, but their attention was grabbed by the doorbell ringing. 

"I'll get it," Henry said and got up to answer the door. He was surprised when a whirl of (y/c/h) hair and two bags of Christmas presents brushed past him quickly.

"Come in?" He said confusedly when he realised that the person was (y/n), who was nervously pacing around his living room. 

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god." She mumbled as he hyperventilated, her breathing ragged from her mad dash to Henry's house and her incessant panic. Ray was locked up and boy, was she scared.

"Hey, calm down!" Charlotte soothed her by putting her arms on her Christmas sweater-covered arms and motioning her to take some deep breaths.

"Ray's in jail and I can't post bail for some reason and I can't speak to him and oh god, I'm gonna spend Christmas alone!" She rambled, putting her face in her hands as the gift bags slid down her wrists to her elbows. 

"(y/n/n), relax. We're gonna get him outta there. And if not, you can spend Christmas with us." Henry smiled at her gently, like she had done so many times for him. 

"Yeah, you won't be alone." Charlotte grinned and the teary-eyed woman brought them both in for a group hug.

"You guys...oh! These are for you." She remembered what she had brought with her and gave each kid their respective bag filled to the brim with presents she had picked out just for them. She loved giving presents at Christmas and after years of honing her skills, she was great at it.

"Aw, thanks! You didn't have to." Henry and Charlotte smiled gratefully as she blushed, her nerves a lot more settled now that she was around two people she considered to be family.

"Hey, do you wanna help us decorate the tree?" Henry asked her and her eyes lit up when she took notice of the half-decorated thing. This was another tradition she loved and she had been hoping to complete it with Ray like they always did, but obviously, shit happened.

"Yes, please." (y/n) answered cheerfully and knelt on the floor with the kids so they could start from the bottom and work their way up. However, she and Charlotte frowned when Henry lifted a gold bauble to a branch, despite their already being one next to it.

"You can't put to gold balls together." Charlotte frowned and (y/n) agreed with her.

"Yeah, it doesn't work." She added, also thinking that the clashing decorations weren't spaced out enough too.

"Huh?" Henry looked at them puzzled. He didn't have their eye for detail and in his mind, the tree looked fine.

"It's gotta go, gold ball, red ball," Charlotte stated, thinking that the pattern would make the tree look tidy and beautiful.

"Gold ball, red ball." (y/n) carried on, knowing that randomly placed decorations looked stupid. 

"I can totally put two gold balls together," Henry argued.

"No, you can't." The teen girl insisted, looking at the ornaments again and she still thought that they looked like crap. 

"Why not? What is this, the 1950s?" Henry hissed as the girls groaned. He obviously didn't see their vision. Their focus was taken off the tree as Mr Hart came plodding down the stairs to the merry sound of bells as he carried down one of the Hart Family's many traditions.

"Well, guys, I had to look for two hours, but Daddy found it in the attic." Mr Hart told his family as (y/n) suddenly noticed that Mrs Hart and Piper had appeared at some point. Well, now she felt awkward and they clearly didn't like the bells for some reason.

"Stop that! My parents paid a lot of money for these handbells and the least we can do is play them as a family on Christmas...who are you again?" Mr Hart scolded them all and did a double-take when he saw a new, yet familiar person in his house.

"Oh right, I'm one of Henry's bosses from Junk-N-Stuff, I came by to give him some presents." (y/n) smiled sweetly and held her hand out for Mrs Hart to shake.

"Oh, yes, I remember. You're welcome to stay for a while and celebrate with us, honey." The blonde lady politely smiled and (y/n) returned it, beyond grateful at how welcoming Henry's mom was. She could see why Ray...fancied her. 

"Mom..." Henry groaned as he heard one of the bells ding against another one, the sharp noise hurting his ears.

"Honey, you like the handbells, but the rest of us don--" Mrs Hart was cut off by her husband violently shaking the bells to drown out her protests.

"Look, dad, we played the bells last year and we have a guest. Can we please just have--" Piper's interjection was silenced too, despite the mention of the Hart's having a visitor with them. (y/n) was one of the few people Piper liked and she didn't want to upset her because of her father's odd tradition.

"You have to listen to what we're all saying. We--" Even Henry couldn't get through to his dad and the sound of those stupid bells were starting to hurt everyone's ears.

"Okay, okay! I'm really mad!" Jasper suddenly burst into the house, stomping his way over to his friends.

"Dude, I told you, the Santa Clause at the mall isn't going to let a kid of your size sit on his lap." Henry sighed and the thought of Jasper trying to sit on Santa made (y/n) giggle.

"I know, I've accepted that," Jasper told him sharply, still a little bitter about that.

"Then, what are you mad about now?" Charlotte asked wearily, having had enough of her friend's dramatics already.

"Uh, has no one here heard that Captain Man is in jail?" The curly-haired boy looked around the room.

"Yeah, we heard." (y/n) said nonchalantly, acting like she wasn't the first person the police had called.

"Do you guys know why Captain Man is in jail?" Jasper carried on in a miffed tone.

"Yeah, something about a stupid hairnet law," Henry answered vaguely, also pretending that he knew nothing about the matter.

"Yeah, well, you wanna hear some other stupid laws here in Swellview?" Jasper asked rhetorically.

"Not really, but I've got a feeling you're gonna show us anyway." (y/n) mumbled and accepted the book on Swellview's law and ordinances that Jasper handed out to everyone in the room. 

"I wanna play the handbells!" Mr Hart whined, not giving a fig about Captain Man.

"Later!" His wife snapped, not wanting to hear that racket again.

"Take a look at this. Page 34, it is illegal to take a photo of a rabbit without a permit. How stupid is that?" Jasper scoffed and everyone agreed with him as Mr Hart got in a cheeky chime of his bell.

"Okay, everyone. Now, read the laws I've highlighted in your books." The boy moved on. He had put a lot of effort into this.

"Uh, ice cream on a cone may be licked. It is illegal to bite ice cream on a cone." Henry read out in confusion as his dad played another note with his bell. Next, it was Charlotte's turn.

"Okay, it is against the law to wear more than one hat at the same time." She knitted her eyebrows together as she processed the rule. It was dumb, that's for sure.

"(y/n), you go next," Jasper told the woman and she flicked to another page and saw one that caught her gaze.

"Let it be known that giving yourself a wet willy is a punishable offence in the City of Swellview." She read out, feeling as puzzled as the kids next to her.

"Piper." Jasper looked at the little girl who was far from pleased with the way her dad kept messing about with the handbells.

"Dads who play handbells must be destroyed." She. said sarcastically, causing Jasper to flick through the book to see if he could find it.

"It doesn't say that." He argued, but everyone agreed that it should. The bells were getting on their nerves.

"Well, I say it's wrong that Captain Man is in jail and to make my point, I'm going down to City Hall and I'm gonna break some more of the dumb laws," Jasper announced confidently, ready to be a martyr if it meant Captain Man. would be freed.

"Question," Charlotte stated, knowing that, as always, her friend wouldn't have thought any of this out. 

"Why?" She asked.

"'Cause they won't dare put a kid in jail on Christmas and then they'll have to let Captain Man out too." He explained, making (y/n) feel a bit queasy.

"I don't know, kid. I think Captain Man wouldn't want you doing anything stupid." She said nervously. His reasoning wasn't brilliant and she knew that Ray disliked Jasper's interference even at the best of times. 

"Now, I'm going down there and nobody is gonna stop me." He ignored her advice and felt a little jarred when no one else stepped in to protest against his idea.

"There's the door," Charlotte said when he hesitated. Knowing that no one else was up for it, Jasper sighed and exited the house swiftly, hoping his rampant nerves wouldn't get him arrested for anything serious.

"Now can we play the handbells?" Mr Hart asked as the room fell silent after the door slammed shut. 

"As a responsible adult, I'm going to go supervise that kid." (y/n) smiled nervously and backed out of the house as politely as she could.

"Charlotte, we should also go make sure Jasper's okay," Henry said too, the idea of playing the bells forcing his hand. 

"Yeah, hurry!" Charlotte said shakily and the three of them dashed out of the house before they had to play Jingle Bells or something. 

~Swellview City Hall~

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!" Jasper yelled as he entered the room where the Vice-Mayor, two cops and some other people were working. He had everything he needed to break some of Swellview's craziest laws: two hats, a rabbit and an ice cream cone. 

"Who's that boy? What's going on?" The Vice-Mayor asked his assistants in confusion as Jasper put down his rabbit cage. 

"Go get him, Jasper!"

"You got this!" Henry and Charlotte cheered him on as they appeared behind him, ready to see his performance.

"Just don't do anything too illegal." (y/n) warned him. Sure, she didn't care about the hats and ice cream, but she didn't want the boy to go down for an actual crime.

"My name's Jasper Dunlop and I'm wearing two hats." Jasper started, making his friends smirk as he took off his sombrero and showed the politicians that he had a baseball cap on underneath.

"I'm going to eat this ice cream cone thusly..." He carried on, taking a bite of the ice cream aggressively to prove his point. Time for the big finale.

"And now, without a permit, I'mma take photos of this rabbit." He said and began snapping a few pics of the cute creature whilst the Vice-Mayor walked up to (y/n) and the kids.

"Do you know what's wrong with him?" He asked the young woman, assuming she was responsible for Jasper.

"Yeah, we're all mad that Captain Man got arrested for breaking some stupid law about hairnets." She replied, making sure she had an adequate amount of attitude in her voice.

"So, he's protesting by breaking more stupid laws," Charlotte explained, resulting in the Vice-Mayor gesturing for the onlooking cops to arrest Jasper. Oh, shit. 

"What are you doing?" He stammered. He didn't think they'd arrest him on Christmas Eve.

"You're under arrest." The cop said matter-of-factly as he tightened the cuffs on the boy's wrists.

"What? But I'm a child!" He exclaimed whilst the other policeman took off his hats. 

"Doesn't matter." The cop replied.

"But I was only doing this to show how wrong it was to arrest Captain Man," Jasper whined, his stomach dropping at the idea of being locked up.

"Well, now you're gonna be in jail with Captain Man," The officer told him, grabbing (y/n)'s attention. Huh, if she got arrested, they'd let her into the jailhouse. Interesting.

"But I---I am? I'm going to hang out with Captain Man!" Jasper gasped excitedly, thinking that jail with Captain Man didn't seem so bad. Charlotte and Henry rolled their eyes since they now had two problems incarcerated. 

"Oh god, poor Ray." (y/n) facepalmed, knowing her best friend would hate sharing a cell with the overzealous boy.

"What do you mean?" Charlotte asked her in puzzlement.

"It's bad enough he's spending Christmas Eve in jail. Now, Jasper's gonna be in there bugging him all day and night." Henry piped up, feeling her concern too.

"Oh, yeah. Poor Ray." Charlotte agreed as (y/n) felt glum again. Christmas without him felt so depressing. She was desperate to see him. 

"Henry, would you like to assist me in keeping him company?" The young woman smirked as an idea popped into her head. If you can't beat them, join them. 

"Yes, ma'am!" Henry grinned and shrugged off his jacket as they wandered over to where Jasper's props had been left.

"What are you both doing?" Charlotte eyed their movements suspiciously as Henry chucked his jacket to a sound assistant. 

"Oh, look at me! I'm a criminal!" Henry shouted as he and (y/n) plunged themselves into the deep end, much to Charlotte's horror.

"He's wearing two hats simultaneously!" The young woman pointed to the sombrero and baseball cap on Henry's head as he picked up the strawberry ice cream cone.

"Oh, look what I'm doing to this ice cream cone!" The boy took a bite as the Vice-Mayor came back in the room and groaned at the sight of more lunatics. 

"Yo, bunny! Smile!" (y/n) whipped out her PearPhone and took several photos of the rabbit with Henry.

"Oh, and Mr Vice-Mayor..." The young woman smirked and licked her finger before sticking it into her ear whilst maintaining eye contact with the politician. She ignored how gross it felt to give herself a wet willy. 'Anything for Ray.' She told herself internally.

"All right, you three are under arrest." The officers came back in the room and one grabbed Henry and (y/n) as the other took Charlotte, who. saw herself as innocent.

"Wait! Why am I under arrest?" She asked angrily as her friends submitted without a fight.

"Because you watched him wear double hats and bite that ice cream cone and you did nothing." The officer said in a commanding tone.

"Don't forget the rabbit and the wet willy," Henry mentioned, making (y/n) give him a fist bump. This plan had worked rather well.

"Aw..." Charlotte groaned as she, Henry and (y/n) were hauled out of the City Hall building and taken to the police station in several cop cars.

~Ray's cell~

It had been a tough afternoon for Swellview's greatest crime fighter. Not only was he spending Christmas away from (y/n), he had to share a cell with some dude who had some issues about being bald. He could do with a break.

"And my barber, he used to be my best friend. But since my hair fell out, he's all, like, get out of my barbershop! You ain't got nothing for me to do!" The hairless man cried, using Ray like a counsellor since he had let him cry on his shoulder earlier.

"Yeah...uh, barbers..." He tried to be sympathetic, but his worries were about to be over, as Henry and Jasper were brought to his cell.

"Ohhh, Captain Man!" Jasper cried out in glee as he saw his favourite superhero, making Ray curse God for the torture he was about to endure. Torture that came with curly hair and endless enthusiasm.

"What have I done? What made you hate me?" He looked up and asked whoever was listening, not seeing that (y/n) and Charlotte were being forced into the cell too.

"Whoa, whoa, wait a second." The girl protested as Ray's and (y/n) eyes lit upon seeing each other, despite the fact they had to pretend like they didn't know each other.

"You're gonna put us in the same jail cell as a bunch of guys?" Charlotte asked the prison officer, feeling uncomfortable that they could have put her and (y/n) with any bunch of weirdos. 

"Look, it's Christmas. The women's prison is full." The man explained, stating that there was no other place for them to be put. 

"I don't believe this!" Charlotte groaned as they locked the cell gate. 

"Well, we've explained this as best we can!"

"So you better just suspend your disbelief!" The cops said, before walking off and leaving the "criminals" to themselves.

"Captain Man, all I want for Christmas is a hug from you. Can I please have one?" (y/n) asked innocently, knowing better than to jump into her best friends arms willy-nilly when there were strangers around.

"Of course, citizen." He readily agreed, welcoming his girl into a tight embrace after spending the entire day yearning for her. They could have stayed like that for hours, just happy to know that the other was safe and sound, but they had to keep up appearances.

"Thank you, Captain Man. My life's dream has now been fulfilled." (y/n) said distantly, pulling back too soon for her or his liking, but she had no choice. She didn't want Jasper or the bald guy to get suspicious if she got too familiar with him. 

"You're welcome, girl I don't know." He pretended like she was a stranger, but his eyes told her that she was anything but that. For him, she was home.

"Captain Man, do you remember me? I'm Jasper! We've met several times." The curly-haired boy butted in as (y/n) played with her sleeves once she had separated from Ray. At least she was with him, that was all that mattered. The large man grimaced as Henry and Charlotte chattered quietly behind the boy. How could he forget this kid?

"Yes, I remember you, hi...hey, why don't you talk to my new friend, Harold?" Ray suggested. He didn't want to put up with the kid's questions and endless nattering, he just wanted to spend Christmas Eve listening to whatever (y/n) wanted to say. He could listen to her stories all day.

"No! Bald! Don't look at me!" Harold screamed in terror, his arms wrapping around his smooth head as Jasper sat next to him and tried to soothe his sobbing. Ray took his chance as the two were distracted and led (y/n) by the hand to the opposite side of the cell where Henry and Charlotte were.

"Okay, what's the plan?" He asked excitedly as they huddled together so Jasper and Harold wouldn't hear anything. 

"What do you mean?" Henry asked in return as the three of them gave Ray blank looks. They had worked hard to get into jail, they had no clue how to get out.

"The plan, what's the plan?" He reiterated, assuming that they had some idea of how to bust out of jail so he could go home and celebrate Christmas with (y/n) like he always did.

"What plan?" Charlotte folded her arms in confusion.

"The plan to get me outta here." He explained.

"Ohhhhhhh." The three of them suddenly felt very stupid.

"We don't have one," Henry revealed, making the man's smile drop instantly.

"You don't have a plan?!" Ray looked from the kids to (y/n) in disbelief. What the hell were they doing here if not for getting him out?

"No! I mean, I didn't want you to be alone and locked up here on Christmas Eve, with Jasper might I add, so Henry and I got arrested to keep you company." (y/n) told him sheepishly, feeling a bit dumb when she said it out loud. By the way Ray thudded his head against the wall, she guessed he was annoyed. Oops.

"I'm just a victim of circumstance," Charlotte added as he walked around them and into the middle of the cell. (y/n) gulped as he brushed past her, she had hoped for a better reaction than that.

"Great. So I get to spend Christmas in a jail cell." Ray complained bitterly. He had wanted to spend merely one evening with his girl on the couch, both of them wearing pyjamas and giggling in the light of the Christmas tree. They'd wake up in each other's arms, having fallen asleep watching Home Alone for the hundredth time and then they'd open their gifts. Maybe by some Christmas miracle he would've given her a mistletoe kiss and made all his dreams come true. He'd have done all that if he wasn't in some lousy jail cell.

"Well, at least we're here with you," Henry said positively, trying to look on the bright side.

"Yeah, and I'm sure our parents are gonna--" Charlotte tried to be rational, but she was interrupted when Jasper soothed Harold, who was still sobbing about his hair loss.

"There, there. It's okay that you're bald. You didn't choose to be this way." He said softly to the man as he stroked his head. The four people across the cell looked at the scene in bewilderment.

"I'm sorry we're spending Christmas like this." Ray turned to his best friend and mumbled to her quietly. He knew how much she loved the holiday season and how she tried to make the most of it since she rarely got to see any of her family when it finally rolled around. He was the one who always kept her company, but now, thanks to his ego and a hairnet, they were gonna have the worst Christmas ever.

"Hey, it's all right. As long as I'm with you, I don't care how we spend Christmas." She smiled at him sweetly, but the tender moment was disrupted when a cop came to the cell with Mrs Hart following behind him.

"Mom!" Henry grinned at his mother, assuming she was there to get him out, but it soon fell when the blonde lady miserably shuffled into the cell, and the officer locked the door again.

"Oh, crap." (y/n) breathed out as the cop walked away, leaving everyone in the jail cell to twiddle their thumbs again. Mrs Hart took a seat on one of the blue benches in the cell, and Ray followed suit, smirking at her as he ignored the way his heart pulled towards his best friend. 

"Hey, figured I'd sit here." He crooned to Henry's mom, making (y/n) feel sick to her stomach as she quietly took a seat next to Charlotte. The girl sympathetically put her hand over hers when she stared at her lap as her dream guy flirted with another woman. Looks like he didn't feel the same way and that he'd rather spend the evening with Mrs Hart than her. As usual, she'd been overlooked, and her hopes of him feeling the same was crushed back into the corner where she ignored them. 

"Okay." She smiled politely, not wanting to get too cosy with him since she was a) in jail, b) in love with her husband and c) knew that Captain Man loved a girl he was too afraid to talk to. And by his flirtatious behaviour, she guessed that he was still building up his courage to do so. 

"I can't believe you're in jail." She ignored the superhero and frowned at her son, who was sitting on the floor.

"You're in jail." Henry pointed out to her, thinking that any punishment he got from her would be entirely hypocritical. 

"Well, what kind of mother would I be if I let my child sit in jail without his mother." Mrs Hart defended herself, even though her argument was built on shaky ground.

"You know, I think you look too young to be anyone's mother." Ray complimented her, unaware of how he was breaking (y/n)'s heart. It was bad enough knowing he chatted her up when she was stuck in the Man Cave, but seeing it in person? She swore she wouldn't last the night.

"Oh, stop!" Mrs Hart told him, trying to be stern, but she came across as flirty to both Ray and (y/n). The woman wanted a reason to hate her, wanted to curse her name and call her a bitch for flirting back, but she had no ground to stand on. Mrs Hart was a lovely woman, sweet, kind, and generous. How was she supposed to compete with that? How was she supposed to hate her when she'd done nothing wrong?

"Kill me." (y/n) whimpered to herself, Henry and Charlotte being the only people who heard her.

"Yeah, stop," Henry instructed Ray in an icy voice. He hated when Ray tried it on with his mom, but with (y/n) in the room, it boiled his blood even more. The superhero knocked it off when the boy nodded his head to the young woman, and he saw how she was sat by herself, looking miserable to say it was her favourite night of the year. 

"I can't believe I'm a girl spending Christmas in a man's jail! And I don't see any tissues available." Charlotte complained, standing up and frowning at her cellmates. The sign on the wall was complete bullshit, and it made the night seem even suckier.

"Look, the important thing is that it's Christmas, and we're all together," Ray said, putting his hand on Mrs Hart's shoulder, ruining his message for Henry and (y/n) as he tried it on again.

"But we're not all together, are we?" The young woman said in a bored, cool tone, knowing that Mr Hart had been put in another cell. She could swear that the universe was against her; she knew Ray wouldn't dare touch another man's wife if said man was in the room. Unfortunately for her, though, he was free to cuddle her as much as he liked since Mr Hart was absent. 

"Yeah, I'm worried about your father." Mrs Hart said to her son, making Ray back off at the mention of the man she married. 

"Well, if they arrested him with you, how come they didn't put him in here?" Henry asked as Ray wandered over to (y/n), who just ignored him. She loved him to pieces, but she would never lower herself into being a rebound.

"Apparently, pulling down a police officer's pants down is a class one misdemeanour." His mom explained, making the young woman behind her raise an eyebrow.

"Oh, shit." She said as she mulled over the situation, trying not to show any sign that she was annoyed with Ray. She didn't want him to see how his flirting upset her, so she just kept her distance from him.

"What?" Mrs Hart turned around and looked at her in worry.

"Oh, that means that they've put him in a cell with all the bad criminals. You know, the murderers, robbers, gang members...I'll stop talking now." (y/n) trailed off when everyone grimaced at the thought of Henry's dad being with all those dangerous men. Well, everyone apart from Ray, who smiled at the thought of having an opportunity to drown out his yearning by focusing on some meaningless feelings. Every time he turned to someone else, he didn't see how (y/n) took one step back from telling him how she felt.

Charlotte took a seat next to Mrs Hart, who was thrumming her fingers against her face as the hours started to stretch. 

"This does not feel like Christmas." (y/n) grumbled as she sat next to Henry on the floor. She could've spent Christmas on a landfill site, and it would've been better than sitting through Ray's lovefest with another woman. Especially since he'd shoved Charlotte down the bench so he could get close to Kris Hart again. Gross.

"Not at all." Jasper agreed, Ray looking at his best friend in heartbreak. He wanted to take away all her pain, thinking that the jail cell was cramping her mood, but in reality, he just needed to talk to her, not Henry's mom, and she'd bounce back instantly.

"Not even close." Charlotte finished, feeling depressed at how her Christmas was turning out.

"This is the opposite of Christmas." Mrs Hart sighed, but their ears twitched when they heard a scratchy tune coming down the hall. They all frowned in confusion as the different notes began to blend into harmony.

"Am I imagining something or...is that..." Henry said as the melody seemed familiar.

"...Jingle Bells." Charlotte realised, following the tune in her head.

"In jail?" Jasper asked in bewilderment as Henry and (y/n) stood up so they could hear the music.

"But...where is it coming from?" Mrs Hart wondered, trying to think of who would be tapping along to a Christmas carol in a prison.

"Maybe someone who really wanted to play with his handbells." (y/n) smiled as she remembered that Mr Hart was down the hall. She figured that the festive season brought out his musical side and that he was creating the tune with his cellmates.

"Jingle Bells, Jingles Bells..." Henry started to mumble along to the melody absent-mindedly, and Ray and (y/n) decided that they felt like singing too.

"Jingle all the way." They smiled at each other as they joined in, prompting everyone to sing the well-known lyrics too. 

"Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh, hey!" Mrs Hart and Jasper held hands as they moved into the second verse.

"Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way. Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh." Ray put his arm around (y/n) as everyone sang together. This was what made her Christmas special, just her, him and their friends sharing the festive spirit. Mrs Hart pulled her son into a hug as the couple danced with Charlotte, and Jasper and Harold put their arms around each other. 

"Dashing through the snow in a one-horse open sleigh, O'er the fields we go, laughing all the way, haha!" They giggled as they finished the bits they remembered, glad that they had found some cheer even in their bleak situation. 

"Oh my god, look!" Charlotte gasped as she saw something above everyone's heads and pointed to it. 

"Holy cow, mistletoe!" Jasper exclaimed as he recognised the plant that had been mysteriously taped there. Well, this was a turnout for the books. Mrs Hart gave her son an affectionate peck on the cheek, and (y/n) did the same to Charlotte, whilst Jasper and the bald guy just settled for a handshake. That only left Ray, who gulped at all his options.

"Hey, who am I supposed to kiss?" He whined, not wanting to be left out, but also blushing as the situation dawned on him.

"Not my mom!" Henry quickly interjected, not wanting to see that and he knew that they'd have to carry (y/n) out on a stretcher. 

"You know, 'cause she's...married." He excused, his heart thumping at the moment they were shaping.

"May I suggest my friend, (y/n)? She's not married." Charlotte shoved the woman forward, her cheeks flushing as she looked at Ray in terror. These little shits, of course, they'd try something like this so she'd break. 

"Oh, I don't think Captain Man wants to kiss me." She chuckled nervously, trying to get herself and Ray out of the situation. There was no way in the world he'd want to kiss her; she was his friend, nothing more.

"I would never force this young lady into anything like that." Ray held up his hands, feeling just as anxious as his friend did. God, he wanted to kiss her, he was desperate to discover what those lips tasted like finally, but he took her nervousness as repulsion, so he reigned in his desire. 

"I'll kiss you, Captain Man." Jasper offered, not caring about the connotations; he just wanted to be helpful to his favourite superhero.

"I'll kiss (y/n)." Ray quickly deadpanned, the idea of being anywhere near the boy making him nauseous. The young woman blinked and gulped as her masked hero turned to her and stepped forward. Was this really happening?

"Y-you don't have to d-do this." She stuttered, wanting to give him one last chance to push her away before she succumbed to everything she had ever dreamed of doing.

"You don't have to either." He swallowed the lump in his throat as she put her hands on his chest. He also wanted to give her the space to step back, even though he was already leaning in. 

"It's all right." She promised him and closed the gap between them. 

It was chaste, innocent and agonisingly brief for everyone watching. But for Ray and (y/n), it felt like a lifetime as their lips met for the first time. He was right, she did taste like honey, but also like the gingerbread chapstick she had been using throughout the holidays. He just wanted more, especially when she instinctively slid her hands up to the hair on the nape of his neck.

(y/n) took in everything about him, how soft his chocolate locks were, how his cologne enveloped her and how his lips were softer than she had ever imagined. Every other guy she had kissed before had rough, chapped lips, but his were plump, gentle and made just for her. He tasted like mint and bubblegum, an unexpected flavour, but not one that she hated. In fact, she wanted to experience it for the rest of her life. This was what she had been missing, what she had been chasing and it felt like she was drinking in his soul. 

It was perfect and Henry and Charlotte subtly shook hands as the couple lingered for a few seconds, feeling like all their work had paid off. Two friends who had been dancing around each other for years had shared their first kiss thanks to them and it was their greatest achievement, but...it didn't last.

(y/n) realised that she was being overly indulgent and pulled back before she could truly explore the depths of Ray like she wanted to. She took in a deep breath as he removed his hands from her waist and she let go of his face. Ray remembered who he was kissing and who was watching and receded in slight horror. He'd let go of his inhibitions and he felt like he had taken advantage of her.

"Well, that's that." He breathed out and took a step back from her, kicking down his instinct to dive back in and see what else he could learn about her. She too stepped away awkwardly and licked her lips, chasing that faint lingering essence of mint before she lost it. Waiting to see if he would say or do anything else felt like an eternity, so she beat him to it and acted like it had been a mere friendly peck. 

"Merry Christmas, Captain Man." (y/n) twitched her mouth into a nervous smile as Henry and Charlotte mentally facepalmed at how they reverted to their shy and oblivious selves, seeing how they refused to believe that the other enjoyed the kiss. 

"Merry Christmas, swee--Miss (y/n)," Ray replied with an equally tight smile and refrained from giving her his preferred name. He longed to take her in his arms again and tell her everything he felt for her and kiss her until he had mapped out her mouth in his mind, but he couldn't. There were too many people watching and she had turned away to give Charlotte a stressed, but blissed-out face. 

She never saw how he pined for her and he never saw how she longed for him to make a move.