Henry and Charlotte walk out of the elevator to the Man Cave laughing about God knows what.

"What are you two laughing about?" Ray asks with a raised eyebrow. After they continue to laugh for a few more seconds, they sigh and reply in unison, "nothing."

Ray shrugs and heads to the monitors where he's investigating a criminal with Schwoz. Henry and Charlotte plop onto the couch, their noses in their phones. There's little to no space in between them, and Henry's arm involuntarily goes around Charlotte's shoulders as he leans in to show her a video that causes them to giggle. Ray continues to look at them suspiciously.

"Do you see this?" Ray asks Schwoz who's busy at work at the monitors.

"See what?" Schwoz replies absentmindedly.

"Henry and Charlotte."
"What about Henry and Charlotte?"
"They've been really close lately."
"Well they are best friends."
"I know, but like, really close. I think they might be dating."

With that, Schwoz finally turns around in his spinning chair and takes a look at the two himself. His eyebrows raise at the sight of Henry and Charlotte so close.

"He has his arm around her!" Schwoz says.
"Exactly!" Ray exclaims. "They're not usually this close."

"And look at the way he looks at her," Schwoz points out. Henry is now looking up from his phone and down at his short friend while she laughs. His eyes are soft and his lips are closed in a small, admiring smile.

"See! Look at that! His forehead could practically read I'm in love with my best friend," Schwoz exaggerates throwing his hands in the air. Just then, Charlotte gets up from her spot on the couch.

"Well, it's getting kind of late, guys," she says while checking the time on her phone. "Unless there's an emergency going on, I should probably be heading home."

"Oh, okay, there's no emergency. You can go home," Ray tells her.

"I'll walk you home," Henry says while getting up.

"Actually, Henry, can we talk to you real quick? It'll only take a second," Ray says.

"Uh," Henry looks to Charlotte who gives him a shrug in confusion. "Sure," he finally replies. He turns to Charlotte. "I'll meet you upstairs?"

"Nah, that's okay. I can walk alone," she responds.

"But it's dark out, Charlotte," he says. She chuckles at his caring words.

"I know, Henry, and I can take care of myself," she reassures while walking towards him.

"But-"

"Thanks, but I'll be okay," she interrupts him. "See you at school?" She smiles up at him as he sighs.

"Fine," he lets out.
"Good." She wraps her arms around his waist in a tight hug and he immediately wraps his arms around her shoulders.

"Goodnight, Henry," she mumbles into his chest.

"Goodnight." Charlotte lets go to Henry's dismay and steps into the elevator, sending him a final wave goodbye.

Henry smiles to himself as he turns around to see both Ray and Schwoz staring at him, almost forgetting they were there in the first place.

"Oh yeah, what did you want to tell me, Ray?" Henry asks his superhero of a boss.

"That's a pretty love-struck smile you had on your face right there," Ray points out while crossing his arms. Henry's eyebrows furrow in confusion.

"What?" he asks.

"Yeah," Schwoz agrees, standing up from his chair and walking over to Ray. "And I think I see the faintest blush on your cheeks." He crosses his arms in almost a mock of Ray.

"What are you guys talking about?" Henry asks, clearly confused.

"You and Charlotte!" Ray and Schwoz exclaim at the same time.

"What about me and Charlotte?" the oblivious blonde questions. Ray and Schwoz look at each other and roll their eyes.

"Are you guys dating?" Ray asks.

"What? No! Charlotte's my best friend," Henry replies.

"So?" Schwoz says. "You can be in love with your best friend. I fell in love with my best friend Bernia before. But she was in love with my brother, so they ran away together and I cried." Schwoz sighs at his own story. Henry shakes his head.

"Charlotte and I are just friends. It'd be weird if we dated," Henry says, running a hand through his hair.

"Seems like you have feelings for her though," Ray points out.

"Why?"
"Do I need to take a picture every time you two are together? That hug from like 2 minutes ago! And when you were on the couch with your arm around her!" Ray exclaimed.

"That was just a friendly hug," Henry defended. "Friends hug friends."

"Not like that," Schwoz says. Henry rolls his eyes.

"Yeah, seemed pretty intimate for two people who are 'just friends'," Ray says. Henry sighs and goes over to the couch to sit. He runs a hand through his hair as he thinks about what Ray and Schwoz are telling him. Could he like his best friend?

"So," Ray comes over to sit by him after a minute. "Do you have feelings for Charlotte?"

Henry sighs, tugging at his hair in thought and leaning back into the couch. Several moments pass before he finally responds.

"I don't know, maybe," he admits. "I've never really thought of it like that."

"Well, now that you have," Schwoz says. "What do you think?" Henry sighs.

"Charlotte and I have been friends for the longest time," Henry starts. "I honestly don't even remember a time we weren't friends. She's been there with me through everything; from changing schools, to becoming Kid Danger, everything. She knows everything about me and I'd say I know everything about her." Henry sighs before he continues.

"She's even been with me through Bianca and Chloe and Veronika. I've never thought about what it'd be like to actually be with Charlotte like that," he rants.

"But I guess, recently I've felt different. We've gotten closer somehow. Like, she comes over all the time, sometimes she spends the night-"

"Ooh," Schwoz says, interrupting Henry.

"Not like that!" Henry exclaims. "We just, like, talk. A lot. About everything. It's like I can say whatever I want around her because she understands. I couldn't say that about Bianca or any of them." Ray and Schwoz look to each other.

"And it's nice, you know? To have someone that close you can talk to. Not to mention she already knows I'm Kid Danger, so I wouldn't ever have to worry about bringing that up when I get into a relationship." Henry gets up and paces around the room.

"And Charlotte's great! She's smart, and pretty, and talented, and super funny. I just love being around her." Ray and Schwoz grin in excitement.

"I love the way she furrows her eyebrows when she's concentrated on something, and the way she gets excited about little things," Henry continues as he looks off in thought. "I love how she always finds a way to lighten up the mood with her sarcasm, and how she can just tell when I'm upset with one look, and how she smiles and laughs." Henry smiles to himself thinking about his best friend.

He finally turns to Ray and Schwoz.

"I think you're right, guys," he realizes. "I think I have feelings for my best friend."

"Yes!" Ray and Schwoz cheer as they high-five each other.

"I told you!" Ray tells Schwoz.

"So when are you going to ask her out?" Schwoz asks Henry.

"God, I don't know," he says while running a hand through his now very messy hair. "What if she doesn't like me back? Or what if something goes wrong and we break up? That could ruin our entire friendship." Henry plops back onto the couch, a sad look on his face.

"Oh, please, you really think she doesn't like you?" Ray asks while sitting next to Henry on the couch.

"You really think Charlotte likes me?" Henry asks doubtfully. Ray rolls his eyes and looks to Schwoz.

"Teenagers are so blind," he tells the crazy inventor. Schwoz shakes his head in reply.

"Alright, c'mon," Ray says to Henry, standing up.

"Where are we going?" Henry asks confused.

"You're going to Charlotte's house to tell her you love her," Ray says while pushing Henry towards the elevator.

"What? No! Ray, stop pushing me!" Henry exclaims, moving from Ray's grasp.

"I'm not going to see Charlotte right now. Besides, she's probably busy or asleep or something," Henry mentions.

"Love waits for nothing!" Schwoz cries.

"It's almost midnight, guys," Henry says.

"Fine," Ray replies. "But you two are going to get together!" Henry walks towards the elevator.

"Whatever you say," Henry says.

Charlotte paces around the Man Cave, combing through her hair with her fingers every few minutes in stress.

Where are they? She thinks to herself.

Earlier, she and Henry were called to the Man Cave after the blonde's watch beeped three times, alerting that there was an emergency. Shortly after getting to the underground of Junk N' Stuff, Henry was rushed away up the tubes with Ray, and Charlotte was left with Schwoz to explain the situation being that Drex had escaped from jail and they needed to get him back to where he belongs before he could cause any harm to the citizens of Swellview.

So now, Charlotte very impatiently waits on the safe return of her superhero friends.

"You're going to wear out your shoes if you keep pacing around the room."

Charlotte whips her head around at Schwoz's voice in surprise, almost forgetting he was there.

"Oh, it's just you," she says, sighing. "How long have they been gone? Hasn't it been a while? Shouldn't they be back by now?"

"Calm down, Charlotte!" Schwoz scolds. "Why are you so worried anyway? This isn't the first risky mission they have been on."

"But this is Drex! He's like, super strong, and powerful! Even Ray said before that he's barely beaten him. And Henry isn't indestructible like Ray! Who knows what could happen to him?!" Charlotte rants, throwing her hands in the air.

"Aw, is someone worried about their little crush?" Schwoz teases. Charlotte furrows her eyebrows.

"What? No, Henry's my best friend," she says. "And I don't want anything bad happening to him."

"And how would you feel, you know, hypothetically, if something bad were to happen to Henry?" Schwoz not-so-subtly asks.

"Gosh, I have no idea," Charlotte says. "I'd be a mess-"

"Even more of a mess than you are right now?" Schwoz interrupts. She glares at him.

"I just," Charlotte shakes her head. "No. Nothing can happen to him. I can't lose him."

"Can't lose who?"

Charlotte's face immediately lights up when she recognizes the voice of her best friend. She turns around to see him standing outside the tubes with Ray right next to him.

"Henry!" She exclaims as she runs up to him and engulfs him in a hug. He winces in pain, but hugs back anyway. Charlotte noticing, steps back, her arms still wrapped around him.

"Are you okay?" she asks. "What happened to you out there?"

"Oh, I'm fine too, thanks Charlotte," Ray says sarcastically. She scoffs.

"Oh please, Mr. Indestructible," she retaliates.

She brings Henry over to the couch with his arm around her shoulder for support.

"We got Drex," Ray said. "He just took a lot out of Henry."

"Yeah," Henry winces as he settles onto the couch. "A lot."

"I'll go get the first aid kit," the dark haired girl states before running to go get it.

"Well, I'm going to head home," Ray says.

"Yeah, me too," Schwoz agrees.

"Good job today, kid," Ray adds while lightly punching Henry in the shoulder, causing him to groan in pain.

"Oops, my bad." Henry rolls his eyes as he rubs his shoulder, Ray and Schwoz exiting the Man Cave through the elevator.

"Got it!" Charlotte calls as she comes back into the room. "Where'd they go?"

"Home," Henry replies simply. She shrugs and gets to work. She gently lays an ice pack on Henry's with her hand on top of it to keep it steady.

"You really don't have to do this, Char. It's getting kind of late and-" Henry starts.

"Just shut up and let me fix you." Henry defeatedly raises his hands up at his best friend's sassy remark, causing her to laugh.

"Alright, Ms. Bolton," he replies. She smiles as she takes out some medicine.

"So, how'd this happen?" she asks, addressing the large-forming bruise on the sidekick's shoulder.

"Well, we were fighting, and he kicked me, like, really hard, here-" he places a hand on his ribcage and winces at his own touch. "So there's another bruise there. But the one on my shoulder happened when I hit the wall after he kicked me."

"Yikes," Charlotte replies, laying another ice pack against Henry's ribs. He groans at the cold.

"Yeah, but I have to go through this. Gotta help Swellview, ya know?" Henry jokingly says, trying to lighten up the mood. Charlotte doesn't reply, a distressed look on her face. She continues to dress Henry's wounds and bruises, now moving to bandage his bleeding hand. It's silent for a few moments, before Henry speaks up again.

"It's not that bad," he reassures. She still doesn't reply. Henry moves so he's sitting up.

"Lay back down, it's easier for me-"

"Charlotte." He interrupts her.

"What," she replies with a hint of harshness in her tone, more as a statement rather than a question. She doesn't look at him and instead rummages through the first aid kit.

"Charlotte," he says again sternly, touching her arm. She reluctantly raises her head to make eye contact with him, meeting the serious but sincere look on his face. She sighs, then raises her eyebrows in annoyance.

"Yes?"
"What's wrong?" She sighs again, breaking from their eye contact but not from his grip. Instead her eyes goes to where his hand is on her arm. She tries to ignore the warmth she feels from Henry's touch, sending goosebumps up her arm. She closes her eyes and takes a breath before speaking.

"You go out, risking your life everyday fighting villains, some twice your size, while I stay behind. What do you think I do when you're gone? Hmm? I'm not just passing time, Henry, like watching TV or on my phone. I'm pacing around this very room, worrying about you, how much longer it's going to be until I get to see you, if I'll even get to see you, for God's sake! Henry-" Charlotte stops mid sentence, shutting her eyes and shaking her head, holding back tears. Henry pulls her into his arms, despite the extreme soreness he felt in his entire body. She melts into him, letting herself cry against his chest as he whispers soothing words in her ear.

"I don't want to lose you, Henry." She says this in a whisper, after her tears stopped falling. Henry almost whimpered, feeling a pang of a guilt at his best friend's words. This was quickly replaced with a look of determination. He slowly pulled the vulnerable girl in his arms from his embrace to talk to her.

"You're right, Charlotte," the blonde began, getting to his feet and ignoring the throbbing pain he felt in his ribs. "You're right, I risk my life everyday. Who knows when I could be taken from this planet? No one," Henry rambles, starting to pace around the room. Charlotte looks at him with her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"So when is the right time?" He continues. At this point, Charlotte doesn't know if he's still talking to her.

"The truth is, there isn't a right time," he says. "Life passes by everyday, moments slipping away that could've been mine."

"Henry, what are you-?"
"I'm done waiting."

Henry finally looks up from his mini-speech and at his confused friend, a new light in his eyes, as he starts walking towards her.

"Henry, are you okay? What are you-?"

Before she has a chance to finish, his hands are cupping her face and his lips crash onto hers.

Charlotte stiffens in surprise, not sure of how to react. It doesn't take long, though, for her to kiss back. It's Henry, for God's sake.

She melts into the kiss, all emotions she was feeling of any sort set on pause the moment his lips collided with hers. She wraps her arms around his neck and his go around the small of her waist, pulling her closer. He kisses her with desperation and her with the same, both of them realizing the same thing.

This was long awaited for.

They don't know how much time has passed before they part for air. Henry rests his forehead against hers, their eyes still closed as they breathe heavily.

Soon enough, they make eye contact. Henry looks back down and smiles, Charlotte doing the same.

"What was that for?" she asks after a moment.

"I like you, Charlotte," Henry finally admits. Charlotte audibly sucks in a breath in shock at her best friend of 15 years' words.

"I didn't want to tell you at first," he continues. "I was scared I'd be risking our friendship. But after hearing what you said, about how I'm always risking my life, it made me realize. There's never going to be a perfect time to do something, and I don't want to ever regret missing the chance to try." Charlotte is silent, still taking it all in.

"So," Henry says. "If you feel the same, I'd be really psyched to have you as my girlfriend." Charlotte smiles, a faint blush forming on her cheeks.

"I like you, too." A wide grin spreads across his face and Charlotte laughs at him.

"You're such a dork," she calls him.

"Yeah? Well you're stuck with me." Henry wraps his arms around her waist and kisses her again. This time, she immediately kisses back. Henry smiles against Charlotte's lips, and she does the same. This one is sweeter than the first, and ends abruptly when the monitors go off.

"Aww!" Henry and Charlotte jump apart, turning towards the monitors to see Ray and Schwoz had been spying on them.

"Schwoz! Shut up!" Ray scolds him.

"Sorry! Sorry," Schwoz apologizes as he tries to turn off the monitors. Before it's switched off, Henry and Charlotte hear Ray cheer. Finally, the screens go black, shutting off.

They burst out laughing.

Hey guys! Decided to write a little (or actually pretty long, haha) one-shot! I was just bored and started writing, and pretty soon an idea formed in my head. Hope you liked it! Thanks for reading. :)