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1. Bree
Bree had been surprised by how fast Chase and Kaz clicked. Her brother wasn't exactly known for making friends. She'd been cautious at first. Yes she had worked with Kaz, Skylar, and Oliver before, but they'd been betrayed one too many times for her not to be immediately suspicious of new people. She'd had a front-row seat to the absolute betrayal and subsequent explosive reaction that Sebastian's backstabbing had on Chase. And no one got to treat her little brother like that and get away with it.
The five minutes she'd spent with Sebastian after they'd handcuffed him while they were waiting to transport them would go to the grave with her.
All that aside. Chase, after a few rocky moments, had gotten along with Kaz like a house on fire, pun intended. She liked Kaz, really, and she loved Skylar and got along with Oliver pretty well. But as she watched Kaz and Chase's friendship unfold, she couldn't help but worry.
_____
Bree hadn't seen her brother in a few hours. She'd seen him at breakfast, where he'd spent most of the morning arguing with Kaz over chocolate chip pancakes. But then he'd disappeared, along with Kaz.
She had a sneaking suspicion that if she found one, she'd find the other. They'd been joined at the hip recently, much to Oliver's chagrin. Bree had seen Oliver glaring at her oblivious brother more than once, and she was worried she'd have to step in soon, lest Oliver plan a mutiny.
Luckily, Skylar seemed to understand and had dragged Oliver out of the penthouse.
Which left Bree alone and wondering where Chase had run off to this time.
She sighed and decided that it wouldn't hurt to start on the new romance book she'd gotten. Chase was one of the few people who knew about her guilty pleasure, and she intended to keep it that way.
Four chapters in, she heard the elevator. She dog-eared the page she was on, something Chase had ragged on her about before, and stuffed it under the throw pillow next to her. No one needed to know.
Chase and Kaz were mid-conversation when they joined her in the living room. "Hey," she greeted them. "Where have you guys been?"
Chase raised an eyebrow at her sudden question. "The comic book store," he said.
Bree squinted at her brother. Despite them living and working with literal superheroes, Chase often proclaimed how pointless comics were. Why he was willing to go with Kaz to a store dedicated to comics was beyond her. Bree nodded with a slight frown, eyeing the pair.
"Right," she said.
Chase looked at her questioningly but let it go as he moved to join her on the couch. Kaz trailed after him. "And what were you doing?" Chase questioned.
Bree crossed her arms. "Nothing," she replied defensively.
Chase scoffed, and before Bree could stop her brother, he dove forward to stick a hand under the throw pillow next to her. Bree groaned as Chase triumphantly pulled her romance novel from under the pillow.
Chase gave her a smug grin. "Really?"
Bree reached out a socked foot to kick him in the knee. "Oh, shut up," she grumbled. He shook his head as he handed the novel back to her. Bree used it as an opportunity to toss her feet into his lap. "Since you've rudely interrupted my reading, wanna watch something?"
She watched as her brother glanced at Kaz first. The hero nodded, and Chase turned back to her. "Sure," he agreed.
_____
Bree's attention was mainly on Chase rather than the TV. Her little brother was nothing if not consistent. He hated meaningless commentary during documentaries, which she had somehow been bullied into watching with them. But when Kaz started making jokes, she expected him to shush the other teen.
Imagine her surprise when Chase laughed instead, leaning to the side so his shoulder pressed to Kaz's and making a joke back.
Bree was starting to think someone might have kidnapped her brother and replaced him because there was no way he was making jokes during a documentary. She stared in disbelief. What was so special about Kaz?
Bree watched the pair for another moment before crossing her arms and turning her gaze back to the TV. She was not pouting, thank you very much. Chase and Kaz continued their commentary and laughter.
She wasn't sure what Kaz said, but suddenly Chase scoffed. She looked at her brother and watched as Kaz poked him in the ribs, which started an ensuing scuffle. Bree lifted her legs from Chase's lap right as he and Kaz tumbled to the floor. She leaned forward to watch them wrestle for a moment before she sighed. Chase got the upper hand after Kaz hit his elbow on the coffee table.
Chase grinned down at Kaz from where he was perched on Kaz's lap, Kaz's hands on his hips.
"Hah! I win," he cheered.
Kaz simply grinned up at Chase, the smile Bree had only ever seen directed at Chase. It crinkled the corner of his eyes and never failed to make Chase smile back, which he did, the same dopey smile she'd never seen on him until he started hanging out with Kaz.
Oh .
Bree rolled her eyes at the realization. The two were completely oblivious.
_____
2. Skylar
Skylar liked to think of Kaz as the closest thing she had to a brother. They got along unnervingly well, but they still bickered and argued. She loved him and his dumb jokes and puns. But one thing she noticed about him was that he wasn't big on touch.
Sure, he hugged Oliver fairly regularly and her when the occasion arose, but aside from that and his frequent fist bumps and high fives, he kept to himself mostly.
Even Chase and Bree seemed less touch-averse, and she knew they had grown up in a basement. Granted, they kept their hugs to each other for the most part, but Bree seemed to be warming up to her more and more.
But the longer she thought about it, the more she realized that it probably had to do with his parents and their less-than-enthusiastic parenting style. She figured Kaz just wasn't used to physical affection outside of Oliver.
Well, until Skylar realized that all that went out the window, the closer Kaz and Chase got.
_____
It started simple enough.
Game nights had become a regular occurrence for the team, with an ever-rotating selection of games, with a few getting banned. Trivial Pursuit and Uno being the main two. It was typical for Kaz to be sitting next to Chase on the rug, but there was usually a space left between them.
But when they all circled around the coffee table, Skylar watched as Chase settled in right next to Kaz—like right next to him. She eyed where they were pressed shoulder to shoulder and followed the line of contact from their sides and thighs all the way down to their ankles. She frowned slightly.
That was odd.
Kaz didn't seem phased. He even leaned into Chase's side to whisper something to him. She watched them with interest.
"I vote for Uno," Bree said as she sat down beside Skylar.
"I thought we banned that?" Oliver asked, taking the spot on her other side.
Skylar didn't answer as she kept an eye on Kaz and Chase. The pair were still whispering to one another about something. Skylar was incredibly tempted to listen using her super-hearing, especially when Kaz burst into laughter and Chase grinned at him.
"We did," Chase said a moment later, answering Oliver's question. "Because Kaz nearly burnt the table down."
Skylar had to agree as she eyed the charred corner of the table. At least Oliver had put the fire out before it spread. Kaz scoffed, elbowing Chase. "It was a small flame!"
Skylar rolled her eyes. "Kaz, there was ash on the rug for weeks," she huffed.
Kaz made an indignant noise and crossed his arms with a pout. "Whatever," he grumbled.
Skylar watched as Chase reached a hand out to pat Kaz's knee. She waited for Kaz to bat the other teen's hand away, but he didn't. Skylar narrowed her eyes at Chase.
"Fine," Bree complained. "Then what should we play?"
"What about spoons?" Kaz suggested, nudging Chase with a raised eyebrow.
Skylar's eyes went back and forth between the two as they had a silent conversation. "Sure," Chase agreed easily, turning to her, Bree and Oliver.
"Okay," Bree approved.
"But no powers!" Oliver interjected quickly, gesturing to the burn mark near Bree's elbow.
"You burn the table one time, and suddenly, no one trusts you," Kaz groaned, tossing his arms up with a huff. Skylar shook her head fondly at him.
"You caught a dish towel on fire three hours ago," Chase stated matter of factly, looking up at Kaz.
Kaz gaped at him. "Smarties, you weren't supposed to tell anyone!"
Chase grinned as Kaz wrapped an arm around his neck and pulled him into a headlock. Skylar felt like she was going insane as she watched the pair. Kaz had nearly pulled Chase into his lap as they laughed. There was no way this was normal.
Kaz had nearly kicked her one time when she'd tried to hug him.
And here he was with Chase, whom he'd known for way less than he'd known her. She fought the jealous urge to be mad at Chase and instead focused on Oliver beside her. He was also watching Chase and Kaz.
He looked away, and they made eye contact. She raised an eyebrow at him, and he gave her an odd look. Maybe they were both thinking the same thing about the pair.
_____
Skylar's curiosity got the better of her after their game night.
She didn't use her invisibility much, especially on her friends. But she couldn't help herself when she was desperate to know why Kaz was so different around Chase.
She waited until no one was in the living room before heading down to Mission Command to wait. Chase always came down during the day to work on projects, and given how joined at the hip he and Kaz were, she had a feeling the hero would be close behind.
_____
Just when she was going to give up, Skylar heard the hyperlift.
She quickly tucked herself into the corner of the room and crossed her fingers that it was Kaz and Chase. Sure enough, the pair stepped out together and headed to the cyber desk. Skylar held her breath; she may be invisible, but Chase still had super hearing.
"So, what are we working on today?" Kaz asked as he sat on one of the stools.
Chase scoffed as he sat beside Kaz. " We are not working on something. I am working on something."
Kaz pouted at him. "Aw, come on, Smarties," he complained, leaning over to nudge Chase.
Skylar watched as Chase rolled his eyes but let Kaz stay close. "Fine," he relented. "But no setting anything on fire."
Skylar hadn't known Chase for as long as she had known Kaz, but she knew him well enough to understand his stubbornness. He didn't even give in to Bree most of the time. But a single pout from Kaz had him breaking.
Kaz saluted him with a wide grin. Kaz turned, but Skylar could still see Chase's face when he ducked his head with a smile, his cheeks and ears pink, eyes darting to Kaz. She looked at Kaz, his own face pink, also looking at Chase when the other wasn't looking.
Oh .
Well, now it made sense. Skylar shook her head but smiled softly.
_____
3. Oliver
Oliver missed his best friend. He lived with Kaz and even shared a room with him, yet he was never around anymore. Ever since they had moved into the penthouse with Chase and Bree, Oliver had noticed a change in his best friend.
And it all came down to Chase .
Oliver had been Kaz's best friend his whole life, and now, suddenly, Chase was replacing him.
He went to the only person who would understand.
_____
"Trust me," Skylar cut him off after his twenty-minute rant about Chase. "He's not trying to take your place as Kaz's best friend."
Oliver scoffed and crossed his arms as he scowled at Skylar. And here he thought she would back him up. "Yes, he is," he insisted, trying to get his point across.
Skylar sighed, shaking her head, and put a hand on his shoulder. "Come find me when you figure it out," she said cryptically.
Oliver frowned in confusion and watched her walk off. Well, she was no help. He huffed. He'd just have to make Chase understand that Kaz was his best friend.
_____
Oliver found Kaz and Chase in Mission Command. Typical, he thought with an eye roll. They were at the cyber desk, sitting side by side with their elbows and knees pressed together. Oliver huffed.
"Hey!" Kaz greeted when he saw him. "What's up?"
Oliver tried not to scowl when Chase looked up from where he was working at the cyber desk. He smiled at Oliver, but when he didn't return it, Chase's fell.
"Nothing," Oliver said. "I just wanted to see if you wanted to go to the movies."
Kaz lit up. "Sure," he agreed excitedly, Oliver grinned smugly. But then Kaz turned to Chase. "You want to come?"
Oliver frowned. He had meant the two of them. Chase glanced up at him and winced. "I think I'm good," he said, shifting his gaze back to Kaz.
Kaz pouted, and Oliver was very used to that look. He caved to that look all the time. Chase swallowed. "Come on, Smarties," he insisted.
Oliver crossed his arms, drawing Chase's attention back to him. "I'm good," he said again, pulling his arm away from Kaz's.
Kaz sighed but nodded. "Alright," he said with a mild grumble.
Oliver tried not to feel annoyed that Kaz seemed so upset that Chase didn't want to go with them. Kaz turned in his seat and stood to join Oliver. "Ready?" Oliver asked.
Kaz nodded, but his eyes were on Chase.
_____
Oliver really wanted to know what Skylar meant because Kaz had spent the entire walk to the movies, most of the actual movie, and the entire walk back from the movies, talking about Chase . How was the guy not replacing him as Kaz's best friend?
"Chase and I watched something similar last week," Kaz said as they stepped out of the elevator and into the penthouse.
Oliver rolled his eyes again. Yet another comment about Chase. "Right," Oliver muttered.
Kaz frowned at him. "What's wrong?" Kaz questioned, bumping their shoulders together.
Oliver sighed. "Nothing," he said, ignoring the look Kaz gave him. "Nothing at all."
_____
Oliver had been dodging Chase, which subsequently meant he was dodging Kaz since the two always seemed to be together. He'd gone to the comic book store a couple blocks away to try and clear his head. After a couple of hours of mindlessly reading Tecton comics, he'd come back to the penthouse.
Where he found Chase reading on the couch, Oliver froze.
Chase reading on the couch was pretty normal, but what he was wearing wasn't.
Chase looked up from his book and raised an eyebrow at him. "What?" he asked.
Oliver stared for another moment. That was Kaz's hoodie. His favorite hoodie. Kaz never even let him wear it. In fact, Oliver had once split soda on his jacket, and the only hoodie Kaz had clean at his house aside from his favorite was the one he'd been wearing. Oliver had watched him take off the one he'd had on to give Oliver instead of his favorite hoodie. Oliver had been baffled at the time but had accepted it as one of Kaz's weird quirks.
What the hell?
Oliver was so confused.
"That's Kaz's hoodie," he informed Chase.
The teen frowned and glanced down at it, the tips of his ears going a little pink. "Oh," he said. "Yeah, he lent it to me last night."
Oliver just stared. Then he turned on his heel. Leaving a perplexed Chase behind.
_____
Oliver found Kaz in their shared bedroom, folding laundry. He'd never actually seen Kaz fold a single article of clothing in their entire lives, so maybe someone had just replaced him at this point. That, or Oliver was losing it.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
Kaz glanced up at him. "Folding laundry?" he replied with a quirk of his lips.
Oliver blinked a few times, wondering if he was hallucinating. "Are you okay?"
Kaz paused and turned to him. "Yeah," he said with a raised eyebrow. "Are you?"
Oliver nodded. "Yeah."
He watched as Kaz went back to folding his clothes before he realized that most of the clothes didn't look like his. In fact, they looked like Chase's. Oliver squinted; well, Kaz definitely didn't wear polos.
"Are those Chase's?" he questioned.
Kaz looked up at him with a sheepish smile. "Yeah," he said.
Oliver stared at his best friend in surprise. "Why are you folding Chase's laundry?" he demanded.
Kaz froze, setting the plaid shirt in his hands down. He shrugged at Oliver. "He didn't feel like it," Kaz explained. "And Chase always folds his clothes, so I figured he must be upset or something. Just thought I'd do something nice."
Oliver wanted to shake Kaz by the shoulders and ask what he'd done with Oliver's best friend. He stared at Kaz as the other teen glanced back at the clothes on his bed. Oliver had begged Kaz to fold his laundry before, having nearly brained himself on Kaz's nightstand after tripping over a pair of pants. He never did. And yet here he was, folding clothes that weren't even his. Oliver glanced at the bed. He'd even paired Chase's socks.
Oliver glanced back at his best friend, ready to ask if he had gone insane. He stopped when he saw Kaz's face. Kaz always bushed hard when he was embarrassed; it was something Oliver always made fun of him for. It was still endearing. He looked at the blush on Kaz's face, following it down his neck. Oliver watched him fidget with Chase's shirt for a moment before it clicked.
Oh .
He owed Skylar an apology. Actually, he needed to find her now, because now that he knew why Kaz was so interested in Chase, he needed to dish about it with Skylar.
"Well," he said, causing Kaz to look up at him. "I'm gonna go."
He didn't give Kaz time to respond before he rushed out of the room to share his information.
_____
4. Tasha.
Tasha was already suspicious of how much Chase talked about Kaz. He called twice a week, three times if he had time, to update her on how things were with him and Bree. She hadn't thought much about it at first. Chase mentioned Kaz and his antics a couple of times and then talked to Tasha about other things, including his other teammates. But the longer her two kids were on the other side of the country, the more Kaz started coming up in conversation.
_____
Tasha was beyond excited to have the rest of her kids under one roof. It was summer now, and after a lot of nagging at Donald, he'd agreed to send out another team to Centium City to cover for Chase and Bree so they could come home for a couple of months. And after a bit of prodding at Chase and some more convincing of Donald, the rest of the Elite Force was coming to stay for the summer.
Tasha couldn't let the three stay by themselves after finding out they didn't have much in terms of family to spend the summer with.
So now she was waiting for the last of her babies to be home.
_____
Tasha slapped her son's hand away from the cake, causing him to make an offended noise and give her a scandalized look. She put a hand on her hip and pointed to the living room.
"Go," she said.
Leo huffed but didn't argue and shuffled to the couch, where he flopped down beside Adam. She shook her head and turned back to make sure all the food was ready. Tasha had even attempted to do it all herself, not when Douglas could be talked into cooking and baking almost anything when she busted out the 'you tried to kill us several times' line.
Speaking of.
"Douglas!" she called down the hallway. "The kids will be here soon. Go get Donald from the lab."
She heard a slight thud and a muttered curse. Tasha shook her head and waited until Douglas came from the hallway. "Did you have to yell?" he asked, rubbing his elbow with one hand.
Tasha rolled her eyes and shooed him to the elevator. "Just go get Donald, please."
Douglas huffed but waved a hand at her. "I'm going, I'm going."
She put both hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow at him. "Be careful, Douglas," Leo said from the couch. "She might make you clean the bathroom."
"Hey," Adam cut in. "Don't give him my chores. I love cleaning the bathroom. I get to add hair to my wig collection."
Tasha turned to look at Adam. "Sweetie, I thought we talked about that."
Leo made a disgusted face. "I'm going to stop you right there," he told Adam.
"I'm going to go get Donnie and hopefully forget I ever heard that," Douglas muttered.
Tasha sighed.
_____
Tasha checked the clock to ensure it was still within Naomi's nap time when she heard the door open.
"We're home!"
Tasha spun and spotted Bree in the doorway with a big grin. Adam and Leo lept up from the couch. Tasha smiled as Bree laughed in delight as Adam and Leo crowded her into a hug.
"I missed you guys," she said.
Tasha hurried out of the kitchen to hug Bree as well. "Oh, sweetie, it is so good to see you," she said as she held Bree tightly.
Bree hugged her back just as tight. "You too," Bree said, pulling back a second later.
Tasha looked up at the doorway. Chase had a bag over one shoulder, but he quickly dropped it when he saw her and stepped into the house to hug her. Tasha laughed happily.
"Hi, Tasha," Chase said softly to her.
She smiled as she pulled back but kept both hands on his shoulders. He'd grown a bit while gone, not so much in height, but his figure had filled out. She wondered when her kids had all grown up into such adults.
"Hi, Chase," she said back. She glanced over his shoulder and spotted the three teammates she'd been dying to meet. "Come on in, you three," she waved them in.
Skylar led them in and smiled at her as she held her hand out. "It's nice to meet you," she said.
Tasha blinked at her hand for a moment before shaking her head and pulling Skylar into a quick hug. She didn't hold her for as long or early as tight as she had done with Chase and Bree.
"You weren't kidding. She is a hugger."
Tasha stepped back from Skylar and smiled warmly at her. "It's nice to meet you, too," Tasha smiled, then glanced at the two boys standing beside Chase. "You two must be Kaz and Oliver."
The thinner of the pair waved with a mildly awkward smile. "Hi, Mrs. Davenport."
Tasha tutted and waved a hand at him. "Call me Tasha, sweetie." She heard the elevator and turned to see Douglas and Donald. "Well, it's about time," she huffed. Donald gave her a sheepish smile.
"It's Donnie's fault," Douglas replied.
Donald scoffed and whirled on his brother. "Donald," she scolded.
"Mr. Davenport!" Bree exclaimed, moving to hug him tightly.
Tasha rolled her eyes as Donald softened. "Hi, Bree," he said.
Chase followed after Bree, hugging Donald as well before turning back to everyone in the living room. "Where's Naomi?" he asked.
"Napping," she explained. "So we should probably eat before she wakes up."
_____
Lunch is loud. Just the way Tasha likes it.
She loved Noami, Douglas, and Donald, but there was nothing like having all her babies under one roof again.
And the addition of three superheroes was fun as well.
However, she noticed that Kaz seemed awfully close to Chase.
Case in point: She had watched Kaz steal a piece of turkey from Chase's plate. Tasha frowned and eyed Kaz as he quickly ate the pilfered food. Chase rolled his eyes at Kaz but didn't comment, which was odd, considering she had once watched Chase and Bree get into a brawl over chips. Chase was extremely particular about sharing his food.
Leo, having also apparently noticed, reached out to Chase's plate and attempted to do the same, but Chase's hand shot out to grab Leo by the wrist without blinking.
"Don't touch my food," he huffed, shoving Leo's hand away.
Leo made an offended noise and gestured wildly to Kaz, causing Bree to lean to the side so Leo's elbow wouldn't blind her. "But Kaz-"
Chase set his fork down. "Leo," he huffed.
Leo scowled at Chase but didn't try to take anything else off his plate. Tasha stared at the smug look on Kaz's face with a slight frown.
_____
After lunch, and now with Naomi awake, they all crowded into the living room to eat the cake Douglas had made. Chase turned down the cake when Douglas tried to hand him a piece and offered to hold Naomi for Tasha instead.
Tasha settled her into Chase's arms, smiling softly when he cooed at her. "Hi," Chase greeted her.
She smiled at him, and Tasha stepped away to let them be. Douglas handed her a plate, and she accepted it while thanking him. She stood on the fringe of the conversations, choosing to watch Chase instead. She hadn't been the least bit surprised when Kaz had sat beside Chase on the couch. For all she had heard Chase talk about him, Tasha wasn't convinced. She may not have been on the island when Sebastian had betrayed her kids, but she had seen Chase after.
And Tasha would be damned if she ever let someone treat one of her kids like that again.
Chase bounced Naomi on his legs and glanced at Kaz. She watched him whisper something before Kaz grinned and shook his head. Kaz turned his attention back to his cake, cut a piece, and scooped it up with his fork. But instead of eating it, he turned his hand and held the fork out to Chase.
Tasha blinked in surprise as Chase leaned forward to eat the bite of cake off Kaz's fork. She quickly looked around the room to see if anyone else had noticed and found herself the only one. Tasha swallowed as she glanced back at the pair. And if Chase eating cake wasn't enough, eating it off Kaz's fork was insane.
Chase often told them all the statistics of sharing germs when he caught his siblings sharing water bottles or silverware. Yet, Tasha watched him do it again a few minutes later, he and Kaz whispering to one another and Naomi. She was baffled. Sure, she assumed Kaz might have a crush on her son, but she had no idea how trusting Chase would be of him.
Kaz leaned into Chase's side as he bent to say something to Naomi. Chase smiled at him softly.
Oh .
She had seen that look before. Tasha swallowed. She wondered if they knew or if they were unaware of how they looked at each other when they thought the other wasn't looking. Chase quickly looked away when Kaz sat back up. Tasha shook her head. They'd figure it out.
_____
4. Adam
Adam knew he wasn't the smartest, so he made up for it by being the strongest and protecting his family. He loved his family more than anything and would do anything for them, too. Adam knew he sometimes picked on Chase a little too much. But Chase was his little brother. Of course, he was supposed to make fun of him.
But the second someone else made fun of Chase, it was over.
_____
Adam had gotten along great with Kaz when they had all teamed up before. But the longer he watched Kaz with his little brother, the less he liked him.
He was happy to have Bree and Chase back home. He'd missed them a lot. But he wasn't sure he liked having their teammates there.
Skylar and Oliver seemed fun enough, and Adam had already won an arm wrestle with Oliver and lost one to Skylar, but his focus kept going back to Chase. His brother had been mostly occupied with Kaz, even when Tasha had handed him Naomi.
Adam kept a firm eye on the pair as the rest of his family talked about life and updated one another on things. He'd caught Tasha looking at Kaz and Chase, too, but he didn't want to say anything to her. Eventually, Tasha took Naomi back, and Chase stood up from the couch to stretch. Kaz nudged the back of his knee, and Adam scowled at the hero. He didn't care if Kaz had superpowers. He needed to stay away from Chase.
Chase held a hand out for Kaz's plate, but the teen shook his head and stood instead. Adam watched as they had a silent conversation before Kaz shook his head again and followed Chase to the kitchen. Leo nudged him, and Adam winced when he realized he'd missed what he had said. He turned back to his brother but kept an eye on the kitchen.
Chase didn't bat an eye when Kaz reached out to hook two fingers into his belt loop and yanked him closer, but Adam did.
Chase laughed but let Kaz manhandle him as they whispered in the kitchen. Adam scowled.
_____
Adam woke up to find Chase's capsule empty. He panicked.
They had spent the rest of the evening talking and playing games. Adam had gotten distracted by Uno and Leo and hadn't kept an eye on Chase and Kaz. But when they'd all headed to bed Adam had watched Chase carefully stepping into his capsule for bed.
He looked around the lab quickly and found no signs of his brother. Bree was still asleep. Adam hurried to the elevator, if Chase was missing, maybe he was hurt. Adam spent the short ride up thinking of what could have happened to Chase.
The house was dark, and Adam crept carefully through the kitchen. He knew Tasha had made up the guest rooms for Kaz, Oliver, and Skylar. Adam squinted into the living room but didn't see Chase. He turned down the hall and decided he'd start with Kaz to make sure he hadn't done something.
Adam scowled as he stopped in front of the guest room, reaching out to quietly open the door. He stopped short when he poked his head in.
Kaz was asleep. But so was Chase.
Adam stared in shock.
Kaz was tucked against Chase's back, arm wrapped around his waist, with his nose pressed into Chase's neck. Chase looked far more peaceful than Adam had ever seen.
Adam glanced at his brother's chest, where Kaz's fingers were laced with Chase's. He paused in the doorway for a second longer, taking in the utterly relaxed expression on Chase's face.
Ohhh .
Adam swallowed. Maybe someone looking out for his little brother wasn't so bad.
_____
+1. Kaz
Kaz woke up to Chase sticking his fingers directly into Kaz's ribs.
Kaz squawked as Chase dug his fingers in harder, causing Kaz to erupt into laughter. Chase grinned down at him as he released Kaz's side from torture.
"Morning," he said cheerily.
Kaz wheezed for a moment before he smiled. "Morning."
_____
Kaz followed Chase out to the living room, where most of his family was already awake. Bree glanced up at him with a raised eyebrow as she looked between him and Chase for a moment before smirking. Kaz frowned but didn't question it. Sometimes, he'd catch Bree or Sklar making faces or grinning at him and Chase. Even Oliver did it, though his look was more one of mild annoyance most of the time.
Tasha greeted them both from the stove.
"Morning boys," she said. "Breakfast?"
Kaz gave her a thankful smile as she handed them each a plate and stepped back to let them serve themselves. He couldn't resist knocking his elbow into Chase's when he reached for the eggs.
Chase scowled at him, and Kaz smiled innocently. "Mature," Chase said.
Kaz gave him a salute, and Chase rolled his eyes, but Kaz saw the smile on his lips before he turned back to get eggs.
_____
Kaz weaseled in beside Chase on the couch, given they had all crammed together on it, leaving little space left. But Kaz was content as he ate his food pressed next to Chase.
He was glad Chase had become his friend. They got along incredibly well, and sometimes, Kaz felt like Chase somehow knew him better than Oliver. There was just something about Chase.
Chase leaned into his side, and Kaz tilted his head to the side in question. "Five bucks that Leo spills his waffles," Chase said with a grin.
Kaz rolled his eyes. "I am not betting against you, Smarties," he huffed. Chase pouted at him and Kaz glanced down at his lips for a moment before back up to Chase's eyes. "You've probably already run the numbers."
Chase scoffed but didn't deny it. A moment later, Leo let out an undignified noise as he flew up from his spot on the couch, his waffles unceremoniously slipping from his lap to the ground. Kaz blinked before he looked back at Chase.
Chase grinned at him, the smug one that made his eyes crease at the corners. It was cocky but also endearing in an odd way. Mostly, Kaz just wanted to kiss him.
Kaz froze, eyes darting to Chase's lips again. Why-
Oh .
Kaz felt incredibly dumb as he watched Chase beam at him. All this time, he had been thinking Chase was just his friend. And instead, Kaz had been crushing on him the whole time. Chase turned to make fun of Leo, and Kaz caught Bree's eye over the back of the couch. She grinned at him, not quite as cocky as Chase's, but damn close.
He flushed. Well, at least he knew why Bree and Skylar kept giving him those looks.
_____
+2. Chase
Chase was happy to be home. He was also happy that Kaz was there. When Tasha had called initially about coming home for the summer, he'd been hesitant. Only because he knew Kaz, Skylar, and Oliver would remain at the penthouse by themselves. The thought hadn't sat right with him, and he'd made a comment to Tasha about it, which caused a whole line of questioning from her that he had been unprepared for. But, ultimately, the three heroes had come to Mission Creek, and Chase was having the time of his life.
Well, except that Kaz had been skittish and avoiding him since breakfast. He wasn't sure what he'd done or said to upset Kaz, but the other teen couldn't even look him in the eye without getting flustered.
He really hoped he hadn't hurt Kaz's feelings. Kaz was his best friend, and he couldn't stand the thought that he could have upset him so badly. He'd spent most of the day with Leo since Kaz went red and basically ran every time Chase spotted him.
He wasn't freaking out about it at all. Okay, maybe he was starting to freak out a little.
_____
Chase caught Kaz in the hallway.
"Did I do something?" he asked, having caught Kaz by the elbow.
Kaz looked everywhere but his face. "No," he replied.
Chase huffed. "I know you're lying," he stated, tugging on Kaz's arm. "You've been avoiding me all day."
Kaz laughed nervously. Which was when Chase knew something was really wrong because Kaz only laughed like that when he was nervous and stressed. That and he hummed. Chase frowned at his friend.
"Everything is fine," Kaz said, briefly glancing up at him before his gaze went back to the carpet.
Chase made a frustrated noise. "Clearly, it's not," he pressed. "What's wrong?"
Kaz shook his head. "Nothing," he insisted.
"Kaz," Chase pressed further, his fingers tightening around Kaz's arm. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Kaz repeated, face growing red as he looked down the hall and continued to avoid Chase's eyes.
"Kaz," he tried. "Please just tell me what-"
"I can't stop thinking about kissing you," he blurted out a second later.
Chase let go of him like he'd been burned. Kaz stared at him. Chase blinked.
Chase had no idea what to make of that. Sure, he and Kaz were close and did mostly everything together. But Chase didn't know why that meant Kaz wanted to kiss him. Yeah, maybe Chase had thought about kissing Kaz once or twice, but-
Oh .
"Um," Chase stepped away from Kaz.
"You know we can hear you guys, right?" Bree called out from the living room.
Chase was mortified as he looked back at Kaz. The other teen looked equally embarrassed, and Chase reached out to grab his wrist. Kaz let Chase tug him into the living room.
His family, along with Oliver and Skylar, were all waiting in the living room.
Chase let go of Kaz. "So," he started.
"I can't believe it's taken you guys this long to figure it out," Oliver complained. "I owe Skylar ten bucks."
"I'm sorry, what?" Kaz questioned.
Chase was just as confused as he glanced at Kaz.
"I'm pretty sure we all knew you guys liked each other before you did," Bree chimed in, waving a hand at them.
Chase was never going to live this down. "No," he said. "There's no way."
"Dude, even I knew," Adam scoffed.
Chase made an indignant noise, glancing at Kaz, who raised an eyebrow. "How did you know?" Chase demanded.
Adam rolled his eyes. "I found you in bed with him, duh."
Chase went red, and Tasha and Mr. Davenport both whipped around to look at him. He'd have to thank Adam later for making them think Kaz was defiling him in his free time. "Asleep!" he corrected. "We were sleeping, nothing else!"
Kaz made a horrified sound as he ran a hand over his face. "Thanks, Adam," he huffed.
"You're welcome," he said brightly.
Chase was still red as Mr. Davenport gave him a scathing look. "Anyway," he said in a rush. "I'm going to go die of embarrassment."
He grabbed Kaz's wrist again. Kaz had said he wanted to kiss him, and Chase wasn't going to give up that opportunity.