Chapter Text
Looking up to see a gargantuan basement fit for The Avengers was not what William was expecting to find in his best friend's dad's house.
The group lay in a crumpled heap on the floor, limbs sore, bruised and tangled with one another. Hair was all over the place, sticking out from their heads in odd directions. William found himself with his face squished to the dirt-covered floor. One of his arms was stuck in an awkward position under his body, and the other lay across Charlie's face, poking at his cheek.
When they arrived, he had turned his head to the sound of the quiet 'Ding!' that the lift had sung, waiting curiously for the doors to open and reveal all Mr Kincaid's secrets. William's eyes had widened at the sight before him; a large hollow hallway was slowly being lit up revealing a personalised Bat-Cave.
In a rush to discover more, all but one scrambled themselves upright and made their way further into the basement.
"Yeah ... don't worry guys I'm okay" a sarcastic remark spoken by Berger at being abandoned in the lift. His arm was still bent awkwardly across his back and his legs were kicking wildly as he attempted to stand up properly. He was portraying a toddler learning how to crawl with his ungraceful rolls and turns on the floor.
William sucked in a breath, taking in the exquisite sight.
Each wall was lined with a pattern of hexagons carved delicately in solid rock, matching the hexagons on the entrance to the lift. Boulders caged the stadium-sized room giving an earthy feel to the place. The short, tunnelled hallway which separated the lift and the main area was lit by an overhead white lamp, which continued to the high ceiling after exiting the tunnel. The overhead lamps stretched out like a lightning strike and was the main source of light for the basement. There were several smaller light sources; beams of gold highlighting the detailed and futuristic hexagons which were imbedded into the walls and floors. They shimmered with expense.
There were several levels to the space. They were currently residing on the top floor. Their floor was decorated with stone archways and a glass floor which gave them a clear view to the level below. The floor was a walkway around the perimeter of the space leading to several further rooms, nooks, and crannies hiding away. From where they currently stood, they were presented with the scene of a technological crafting table, and they could just make out lounge areas and a glowing orb tucked under the walkways.
What was most interesting to William though was the robot arms stationed in various areas below them. They were swinging about swiftly and purposefully, carefully levitating large pieces of equipment to the walls. William couldn't quite recall ever seeing something so magnificent and powerful.
There was a strong smell of cinnamon and coffee dominating the room, wafting around in waves. There happened to be a kitchen downstairs with a regularly-used coffee machine sitting idly on the countertop waiting patiently for a mug to fill.
The room was surprisingly not cold, despite expressing that aura. All of them had felt a chill when first entering, but it was not due to the lukewarm environment.
"Whoa ... this place is ... big." Maya observed. Her mouth hung open in bewilderment and awe, eyes dusting over the patterned ceiling.
"That's one way of putting it." William replied, dazed features adorning his face in a similar manner to his conversation partner.
A feminine voice startled them from their trance with an automated message: "Headquarters activating." The overhead lights became brighter, and the intricate hexagons on the wall illuminated a soft golden glow.
"Come on" Charlie ushered them all towards a desk-like space.
"How far down are we?" Berger piped up now having caught up with the rest of the group.
Ignoring him, Maya stated "This is so tight".
"This is beyond tight" Lizzie continued.
"This is the tightest" Berger added, wanting to be involved.
"This is tighter than your mum's pus-" William spat out, stopping abruptly at the glare on Charlie's face and the look of disgust on Maya's. "Sorry. Hey, look at that." he continued attempting to distract them with Charlie's finding. He was walking towards a desk standing centred in front of the glass barrier, overlooking the downstairs space.
"Come on guys, over here" Charlie was now playing around with the desk's features, which involved a golden hologram of a globe and many random exciting buttons (William had to swat Maya's hand away when she reached out to try and press another large red button. He was still recovering from the last one she pressed).
"Whoa, what is this?" Berger exclaimed, a look of pure wonderment glazing his features.
"Okay, how could this have been built? We're like ... a hundred miles under ground!" Maya answered Berger's question from earlier.
The automated message spoke "Welcome" to Charlie's tapping and swiping at the holograms. As he selected an open tab the voice informed us "Mission in progress. Current location: New Zealand." The globe whizzed to show them New Zealand on the map.
"That's far away." Lizzie spoke up to the team's confused silence.
Charlie selected another button and the voice read "Mission archive". He had provided us all with a view of The Guard's history - something Charlie already knew every detail of.
"Plane crash in Brazil, nuclear meltdown in India."
"That was all in the news." Will interrupted. Charlie gave a brief nod of conformation to Will before continuing;
"Tsunami in Japan, the thing in the Empire State Building ... these are all The Guard's missions. We're in The Guard's Secret Headquarters."
There was a lull in the conversation. Everyone was processing the shock; "Which is under your dad's house." Berger then resumed.
"Charlie, do you realise what this means?" William rested a hand on Charlie's shoulder, turning his body to face his own.
Charlie's face was pale and his body was stiff straight. His eyes were wide and questioning when he replied "It means my dad works for the Guard." William's face dropped with his hand.
"No mate. It means your dad IS the Guard." Will spoke slowly as if he was going to startle Charlie.
"What? No!" Charlie gaped incredulously. "My dad is not the Guard. The Guard is like the greatest hero ever!" William sighed in disbelief at first, but then smiled patiently at Charlie waiting for it to click in his brain. "My dad can't even handle hot wings. Will, you've seen him without his shirt on ... he can barely swim!" Charlie was starting to become agitated with William's raised eyebrow. "My dad is not the Guard!"
Maya cut in with "Somebody's in denial" singing her words and walking away to explore.
"Hey guys" Lizzie stole all of their attention, "Does the Guard wear a fanny pack?" She was stood in front of two mannequins, both of whom were dressed in lime green body suits. One of which adorned a burgundy bumbag with a golden hexagon as the clip.
William patted Charlie on the shoulder, squeezing it before laughing and walking towards Lizzie. "What do you think he keeps in there?" Will question her. He stalked up to the mannequin, trying to climb up the platform it stood on.
"Probably beef jerky. He seems like the type of guy to enjoy overpriced, underwhelming foods."
William hummed in response. Having failed to climb up the platform, he tried to reach forwards instead. "You know, if he did keep snacks in it then he could call it a snackpack rather than a fannypack." Lizzie smiled at that
"Yeah? And what, if he kept pictures your face in there then he could call it a funnypack."
"More like an uglypack." Berger yelled from where he stood on the other side of the room.
"Har har har. You guys are sooo funny. Please, at least try to be original." William's voice was muffled from being stuffed of mannequin leg. He was struggling to quite reach the pack and was planted firmly in the thigh of the doll.
"If he kept a hammer he could call it a whammypack." Maya joined in having caught up to them.
"Or a slammypack." Lizzie followed. William couldn't see anything other than blinding lime green spandex but he could guess that they high-fived at that.
"William. What are you doing?" Charlie sounded like a disappointed parent. By this point the mannequin layed half on top of Will. He was being suffocated by spandex. William was still fumbling around with the legs trying to get to the bumbag.
With a sigh Charlie approached the dancing pair. "Stop. Let me help." Charlie tried to untangle the mannequin and William.
"No-"
"I can't see what you're doing."
"Please tell me that's your hand-"
"Why is it wet here?"
"Stop wriggling or I'm gonna fall-"
"Move your fat head-"
"Charlie let go-" their arguing was cut short when they toppled on to the floor, mannequin at the peak of the pile holding them down.
The boys's ears were ringing with the loud sound of boisterous laughter. Will could recognise Lizzie's snorts from a mile away. "Get off me-" Will cut himself off when he turned his head slighting and came face-to-face with Charlie's. Time suddenly slowed. They were only centimetres apart. William's heart stopped. His stomach dropped. His breath stuttered. It was from this distance that he had the opportunity to really appreciate Charlie from up-close.
Golden blond locks framed his face. They hung down around the two of them in ringlets and curls. His eyes were a bright mystifying blue. Will could swear he saw sparkles dusting Charlie's iris's. He had soft freckly skin. Small fuzz was beginning to grow on the end of his chin and under his perfect nose. His mouth hung open displaying his pearly and straight teeth, all neatly lined next to one another. His lips were pink and full. They looked so soft. Too soft.
His lips-
William blinked rapidly, coming back to his senses. He could now appreciate how he could feel Charlie's quick breathing fanning over his face and his thigh uncomfortably trapped between both of Williams. He could feel the warmth radiating from his own cheeks and notice the sifted pink adorned on Charlie's. With one hand on Charlie's waist and the other on his shoulder, William pushed Charlie backwards so they were both sat upright on the floor. His hands tingled when he let go.
"Oh. Um. Ar-are you okay?" Charlie bashfully whispered. Will only nodded. Charlie retreated his legs from their uncomfortable twist. William was still at a loss for words.
Lizzie and Maya seemed to have ceased their laughter. The two boys remembered their prescence when Lizzie awkwardly coughed and Maya tackled the mannequin off Will's calves.
Unclipping the front of the bumbag, Monroe revealed its secrets. "Oh. Crayons?" Sounding perplexed, she grabbed a handful of the contents to show them. "Well. At least he has good taste in colour."