Work Text:
The engineer had to take a moment to assess the situation in front of him.
It had been a pretty average day for the adult; wake up in his garage/office after pulling an all-nighter and find breakfast waiting for him by the door, then proceed to keep working until his project of the day was done. But just as he was putting on the finishing touches to his work, he heard a child scream behind him, followed by a loud crashing noise. That was enough to send him into a confused panic, but what took him back the most was seeing the costumed kid in question.
“…okay, how come 12 year old me is here in my garage?”
Fanboy shot up from the pile of gears and parts he landed in. One minute he was fighting alongside his friends in an epic wizard standoff, the next minute Dollarnator had started to malfunction, and the next, NEXT minute he found himself barrelling through time without a helmet. Still not aware of the other presence in the room, he started to panic.
“Chum Chum? Kyle? Oh no, Dollarnator, where’d you take me?” He tried to stand up, but the loose pieces of metal under him made him slip and fall back down. “Agh, I don’t have time for this! I gotta get back, they need me out there!”
Flynn, as the 27 year old Fanboy went by nowadays, tried to process things a bit more. Surely, he remembered this happening in his youth? Unless it was a paradox time travel situation where there was two timelines colliding. He tapped at his chin in thought, watching his younger self still struggle to stand up before snapping his fingers in realization.
“Ah! Today’s the day we fought against Milkweed Academy isn’t it?”
Fanboy froze mid-slip upon finally realizing he wasn’t alone, turning his head in the direction of the voice. Waving to him was a tall lanky man with scruffy brown hair, protruding buck teeth and dirt covering his clothes. The youth gave Flynn a hard stare. He definitely didn’t remember seeing him around Galaxy Hills and yet…
“…You look familiar. Have we met before?” he inquired.
“Oh, I sure hope we have.” Flynn held back a laugh, wanting to drag this out as long as he could.
“Mhm, mhm, cryptic. That’s fun.” Fanboy paced around trying to wrap his head around the stranger’s familiarity. “You worked at the Frosty Mart, didn’t you!” he accused, sticking his finger out to point.
“Mmm, for a bit, yeah. But not in your time, kiddo.” This was too rich. Fanboy’s accusing finger withered and sunk, before snapping back up with a new theory.
“You substituted for Mr Mufflin!”
“Not a teacher.”
“You’re Man-Arctica’s sidekick!”
“If only!”
“You worked part time for Oz at the comic shop!”
“…okay, out of all the theories, you and I both know that one’s the most farfetched.”
“Yeah, I guess. He’d never let anyone take stock of his stuff. Chum Chum and I-“ Fanboy froze upon realization of his situation. “Chum Chum! The others! Agh, I don’t have time for this mister!”
“Nooo, time is definitely not on your side is it?” Flynn laughed despite everything. He knew exactly the stakes for his younger counterpart’s situation, and how much of a wreck he’d be to teased in a time like this, but Flynn really couldn’t help himself.
“Dollarnator; take me back to-! Dollarnator?” Fanboy looked around the cluttered room, but couldn’t see the time machine anywhere. Thinking about it a little harder, he hadn’t seen him when he first fell into the parts either. “Hey uh, you wouldn’t have happened to have seen-“
“A modified Chimp Chomp machine with a deep voice and the ability to travel through time?” Flynn finished. He rolled his eyes while making a thinking noise. “Nope. Can’t say there’s one here…at least not yet.”
“Gah!” The young superfan yelled out, before leaping forward and grabbing Flynn’s shirt. “How many times do I have to say it! I don’t have time for all this! My friends are in danger, and I don’t need a cryptic creeping weirdo distracting me from tha- wait, what’s that.”
Fanboy stared hard at the material of the seemingly stranger’s shirt. It almost looked like…but it couldn’t be right? Spitting into his hand, Fanboy rubbed away at some of the dirt and gunk on the fabric to reveal a strikingly familiar logo. Glancing to his own chest and back again it was a perfect match to his own. Which could only mean…
“I have a fan!”
Flynn went into hysterics. Setting his younger, confused self down, he had to grab onto the side of a table to keep from falling over from his laughter. He knew he had quite a unique mind in general, but wow, he couldn’t handle it all anymore. He took a few breaths to calm down, wiping a tear away as he did before turning to face Fanboy with his hands on his hips.
“Young Fanboy, I am your number one fan. I’ve supported you longer than anyone else in fact. I’ve been with you from the day you put on your cape and I’ll be there the day you take it off…for dry cleaning purposes. Fanboy…” He took a knee and placed his arms on the other’s shoulders to prepare him for the dramatic twist. “I am you, 15 years in the future. Crazy, right?”
“You’re my-? I’m your-?” Fanboy took a long over exaggerated gasp at the realization, a thousand questions instantly popping up in his head. Before he got a chance however, Flynn covered his mouth his own purple gloved hand.
“Listen, I know exactly the thousands of questions in your head right now, but I can’t answer most of them. We’ve read enough time travel comics to know just how messed up everything would get if I spoiled you on everything, so I’ll only let you have…five. And I can skip over any I deem too risky for the universe; deal?”
Flynn lifted his hand at the sight of a thumbs up. Fanboy exhaled and watched as the other…his other, stood up and started muttering to himself as he moved around the garage. The 12 year old tried very hard to acknowledge this person as his future self. Knowing that fact, he could see the similarities but he also felt a little scared. After all, he couldn’t even recognize himself anymore.
“So if you’re me…how come you’re not wearing our costume anymore?” Fanboy clutched the fabric of his beloved cape; the cape he apparently didn’t wear in the future. “Is this some sort of bad ending type of future where my identity is revealed and I have to reinvent myself as a crazy garage man?”
“Because I like you, I’ll count that as one question out of your five.” Flynn smiled, grabbing a box of parts down from a shelf. “Nah, it’s nothing like that. I actually still have it around in my closet; I just don’t wear it when I’m working. And I work a lot, so it’s been a while.” Actually, thinking about it, he probably hadn’t worn his mask and cape in months. He winced at that, it just showed how long it had been since he had a solid, real break. “I still wear the gloves though! They’re too reliable to put away, and I still don’t like touching most things without them. So, that stuck.”
Fanboy instinctively rubbed his gloved fingers together. He made it a point long ago to not take the garments off his hands as much as possible, even going so far as to bathe with them on. A small flicker of validation went through him at the thought that he wasn’t being weird and childish about that, and that an adult version of himself still felt that way about touch.
“Okay, so if we’re an adult, and this clearly isn’t the Fanlair, do I just end up living…in a garage?” He gestured around to the various contraptions and gadgets surrounding him, as well as a couch and TV set up that was covered in blueprints and empty Frosty Freezy Freezes. Fanboy decided to move some of the mess away and sit down on the couch as he watched his future self do…something.
“Oh no, this is just my place to work. I can’t do a lot of what I do out in the rest of the new-and-improved Fanlair, otherwise Chum Chum will trip over things and try and get me to organize my stuff.” Flynn scoffed at the memory of when he did used to do that. “As if he’s any better with the chaos in his own studio-“
“An older Chum Chum! Ohhh, I wanna see that so bad!” Fanboy bounced up and down in excitement. “Is he taller, does he have a beard? Oh, oh, please can I meet him? Pretty, pretty, pleaaase!”
Flynn smacked the table he was hunched over to derail the begging. “No! No leaving this room! I’m pulling the spoiler card here! Universe integrity!”
“Aw man, the universe is no fun.” Fanboy pouted. “I just wanna see my best friend is all.”
“…okay I’ll throw you a small bone here, but this counts as your third question.” Flynn spoke as he picked up a box from the floor. “Chum Chum is still my best friend, and nothing has changed since I was your age. We’re both still super friends, and you never have to worry about that changing.”
Fanboy perked up a bit at that. Not that he had any doubts in his mind; he and Chum Chum were as close as brothers! But there was comfort to be had at confirming that fact. He thought of his best friend, who a few moments ago was standing next to them as they fought back against Sigmund, which led Fanboy to another thought.
“So if you’re happy and good here…and Chum Chum is alright too…then, does that mean we won the fight? We beat back Milkweed Academy from taking over Galaxy Hills and- and-“ Fanboy spoke quietly for a moment. “Did Kyle end up staying with us?”
Whatever it was that Flynn was doing with his contraption, he stopped, and looked over to the boy on his couch who was slowly bringing his knees up to curl into a ball of nervous fear. Sympathy washed over him, remembering more and more of the day in question fifteen years ago, and Flynn knew this was his moment in history to make his younger self realize something, albeit subtly. Smiling, he walked over and took a seat next to the child.
“I think we both know I can’t go into details about something like that, but we also both know that you’re probably right and that everything about the fight will turn out alright by the end of it. But Fanboy, I’m going to answer your last question with a question of my own;” He put a hand on Fanboy’s shoulder, causing the other to look up at him. “Why do you want Kyle staying with you in Galaxy Hills?”
Suddenly Fanboy was filled with shock and anger. “Whaddya mean why? Shouldn’t you know? Have you forgotten that Kyle is my other best friend! Of course I want my best friend to be with me!”
“I haven’t forgotten that.” He never would, but Flynn bit back his tongue from making that comment. “But Kyle could still be your best friend in Milkweed, why does he have to be in Galaxy Hills?”
“Be-because!” Fanboy started to fumble with his words. “Because Milkweed is bad! He wasn’t happy there, not as much as he was with us! We’ve had so many adventures together, and I know how much he wanted to go back but- but-!” The boy sniffled. “But he left for three days and it felt like forever. How could I go a lifetime with him in Milkweed and not home? He-he even told me when we rescued him from there that he missed us…he actually missed me…”
“Hey, don’t start crying, come on.” Flynn pulled him in for a hug, patting his back as the sniffles grew louder. “Heroes don’t cry when things get tough; they fight back, right?”
“I-I’m not crying, you are.” He sobbed.
“Pft, yeah, I am.” Glancing to the side, Flynn spotted something and got an idea. “Hey, you know what? I think I have something that can help you.”
“Really?” Flynn pulled away and Fanboy wiped his eyes of the tears. “It’s not going to destroy the fabric of the universe or anything is it?”
“N’ah, this should be fine. I think. I’m no time expert.” He pulled out a fabric bracelet from behind his back. It had stripes of practically every color woven into the threads that made Fanboy stare in awe. Flynn placed the bracelet in his hands. “Give this bracelet to Kyle, when everything’s done and the dust has settled. Fill it with all your memories and feelings, and no matter where he goes, he’ll remember you.”
Fanboy stared at the bracelet and clung to it as if it was his own life. “…I think I can do that much. But I can’t really do anything stuck here.”
“Way ahead of you.” Pulling off a sheet from a tall box, Flynn revealed an inactive Dollarnator bot with a flashy tada sound. “All I gotta do is add the gizmo I was tinkering with and you’ll be back to your own time in- well, no time.”
Fanboy’s jaw was on the ground. He always knew he was Dollarnator’s inventor but actually seeing it happen was unbelievable. An idea occurred to ensure this was his invention. Grabbing a metal rod, Fanboy gave the side of the robot a whack, and with a pleasant jingle, a rush of candy came out from a hatch on the back. Yup. Robot piñata. This was a Fanboy original alright.
“I really am a genius robot inventor in the future! Oh man, won’t Mr Mufflin be surprised that purple kid actually has a brain up here after all!” Fanboy tapped his own head and could hear the rattling of said brain. Clearly time did him well in the long run. “How did you get your hands on a Chimp Chomp machine anyway?”
“Most of Dollarnator’s parts came from old Frosty Mart equipment. I fix a lot of their stuff, but they let me keep the things they don’t want anymore.” Flynn walked over with the gizmo we was working on earlier and placed it in Dollarnator’s mouth. Pulling out a screwdriver from his pocket, he took to screwing it in, pausing once to grab a piece of candy off of the ground to chew on. “The machines may change, but the candy’s still the same.”
“I know I’ve been pretty astounded and amazed with everything that’s happened the past five minutes, but there is nooo way you’re telling me that Boog would ever, and I mean EVER consider the Chimp Chomp machine to be scrap metal.” Fanboy hugged the arcade game in question. “He loves this thing!”
“To put a very, very, very, very VERY long story short; Boog found something else to love more.” Flynn gave the machine a hard tap, opening the back hatch. “But I’m not telling you anything else; it’s time to take you back. Come on, you know the drill.”
“Aw man, why’d you gotta tease me like that?” Fanboy whined before climbing into Dollarnator. He gave a glare through the glass. “You know I’m going to be up all night thinking about that comment.”
“You’ll be thinking of plenty of other things, don’t worry.” Flynn teased. Pushing the controls of the game pad, he watched as the robot that’s been gathering dust for the past few months came to life for the first time. Flynn had to give his past self credit; showing up got him motivated to finish the ole project.
“I am the Dollarnator!” The robot spoke. “What is it you want of me...and why is there a child with sticky fingers getting all up in my business?”
“Dollarnator, I am your creator. I have one-no wait, two tasks for you. First, I need you to take my past self back 15 years to these coordinates.” Flynn inputted more commands in the front. “You are ordered to drop him off there and immediately leave. If you happen to see yourself unconscious and fried, don’t worry about it, and don’t interfere. That’s future you’s problem.”
Dollarnator stared at Flynn, before glitching. “Error, error, does not compute-“
“Oh don’t give me that, I know I gave you enough processing power to handle time paradoxes.”
“Yeah, but you have to admit, this is a confusing turn of events.” The robot replied flat toned, faking his previous glitch. “I mean, a lot of what you’re saying is context based. You’re expecting me to just roll with all this extra information. That’s like reading a story midway through a plotline for a different story and the author just expects the reader to enjoy what they’re given.”
“I’ve read fanfics like that.” Fanboy commented. “Hey wait, what’s Dollarnator’s second task supposed to be then?”
“Simple.” Flynn pulled out a dollar bill from his pocket. “When he’s done dropping you off, Dollarnator’s gotta go give past-you a dollar. You know? When you couldn’t pay for the Frosty Freezy Freezes?”
“…argh! Get me out of here already! I’m getting a time splitting headache!”
“So long Fanboy,” Flynn pushed a button and saluted as light began emitting from Dollarnator. “Good luck out there, I’m counting on ya.”
And with a bright flash of light, Dollarnator and his passenger were gone, leaving Flynn staring out into his cluttered garage once more. He exhaled, a sense of accomplishment washing over him at the knowledge that he tied up a loose string in his history. Not to mention, the experience gave Flynn the resolve he needed to take his next steps forward on certain tasks he’s been putting off. His train of thought was interrupted by a noise coming from behind the door of the garage leading to the house, and the doorknob turning.
“Kyle!” Flynn shouted happily. “You’re back early today!”
“Yes, I had to cut my lesson short for the day after a student decided messing with curses would be a good way to pick up girls. Darn that Kenny.” The red headed grumbled. Upon entering the garage, Kyle found himself wrapped in a tight hug by his partner, his freckled cheek quickly peppered with quick kisses. “Oh come off it; you act like I’ve been gone for months instead of a few hours, you fool.”
Flynn knew Kyle didn’t really mind the affection, especially when the necromancer returned the hug. They’d been dating for a good four years now, and that’s not even including all the not so subtle flirting they did in their teen years after all. And to think, all the love and joy Flynn had received from his partner for all those years stemmed from the very battle Fanboy came from just moments ago.
“I’m just happy to see you, that’s all.” With one last peck on the cheek, Flynn released Kyle from his hold. He’d never get tired of the way his partner would tuck back a lock of hair behind his ear when he’s embarrassed, and smiled at the sight. “You got a lot of work left for the day? Cause I was kinda hoping we could have a date night.”
“You’re actually tearing yourself away from your beloved projects? What, ran out of loose screws to tighten?” Kyle chided, only partly meaning what he was saying. He had spent the past few nights sleeping alone after all; he had the right to be a little snarky. “I have a few papers to look over, but I can manage. I’d love to actually get you out of the house.”
“Perfect. Let me just change; it’s been way too long since I’ve worn my cape…and clean clothes in general.”
“Won’t that bring back memories?” Kyle sighed fondly. “You running around screaming with Chum Chum and getting on my nerves…but you always did have a way of making me laugh.” The wizard walked forward and gave Flynn a brief kiss. “Let me just get my bracelet, I think I left it here last night.”
“Right, right, you go get your…” Flynn froze. “Oh right. Um. About your bracelet actually…”
With Kyle giving him a hard stare, Flynn knew he had a lot to explain about the past ten minutes. Sitting down with his partner on the couch, Flynn proceeded to explain why he had to give away Kyle’s treasured bracelet so he could receive it in the first place. The whole thing just proceeded to give him a headache, and Flynn wasn’t fairing so much better.
“…so where’d you get the bracelet?”
“I gave it to myself.”
“But where did you get it?”
“From…me?”
“Flynn Boyle; are you trying to tell me the reason you lost my favorite gift from you is because you had to give it away in order for me to even have it in the first place?” Kyle groaned loudly and put his face in his hands. “Darling, you’re killing me here.”
“I’m reaching a conclusion that it’s better not to think too much about it.” The engineer leaned back on the couch, and wrapped an arm around Kyle’s shoulders, holding him. “Sorry that your gift turned out to be a paradox.”
“It’s…fine really.” He sighed. “I suppose it’s better this way. Younger me needs it more than I do at this point.”
Flynn cocked his head to the side. “How come?”
“Well, when we fought Milkweed off, and the truce was made, I was stuck in the middle of it all. Yes, I fought against them, but Milkweed was still a home to me and I still could go back to them knowing it would’ve been better than it was before. But…” He snuggled close to his partner as he recounted the memories. “I didn’t want to leave Galaxy Hills, and I didn’t want to leave you. But I wasn’t positive that you felt the same way.”
“I practically started the battle in the first place trying to get you back, and you still weren’t sure?” Flynn got smacked lightly for his snickering. “Sorry, continue with your story.”
“Anyway, I was stuck and was just looking for a sign. Anything to help me make a decision on whether to stay or go and then, of course, you just happen to snap me out of my thoughts and make me re-evaluate my options.” Kyle laughed, remembering how even after all the fighting that just occurred, Fanboy was still able to jump around and smile and just in general cheer him up. “You just pulled out that small bracelet, squeezed it tight and gave it to me like it was the most precious thing in the world. You said something about how if I had it, I had your friendship.”
“And that you’d never be alone.” Flynn added, holding the love of his life as close as possible. “That no matter what you’d choose, you’d always have a home because you always would have someone loving you.”
Kyle raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think you had the guts to say “love” back then.”
“It’s how I felt regardless.” Flynn mumbled, kissing Kyle’s head. “I fell for you way before I ever realized it, but if I had to pinpoint the exact moment it clicked, it was probably on that day. So, I gave you that bracelet as a symbol of that realization. And of that promise.”
“When you phrase it like that, it almost sounds like a proposal ring rather than a bracelet.” Kyle looked up at the man he fell for slowly, taking a breath as he came to a conclusion. He pushed himself up from the couch and his lover. “You know what, darnit all.”
“Kyle?” Flynn asked , confused as to what the other was doing fumbling in his coat pocket. “What are you-“
“I was going to do this properly. With a romantic outing that’d end with you and I walking under moonlight. And I’d ask you the question and you’d be all teary and it’d be a story to tell, but nooo.” Kyle rolled his eyes and pulled out a small box. “You still manage to throw me off guard and have me changing my well thought out plans.”
“K-Kyle are you saying…?” Flynn could feel emotion building up in his voice and tears forming at the corners of his eyes. His excitement rose to the point his hands began flapping. “Oh geez, this is really happening isn’t it? I’m not just jumping to conclusions or-or-”
“Flynn Boyle…Fanboy,” Kyle added, smiling as he knelt on one knee and opened the box holding a ring. “Will you please just marry me already? I was tired of waiting for you to ask me.”
Flynn could barely say a word, but he nodded rapidly as his tears ran down his cheeks. He leapt forward off the couch into Kyle’s arms, resulting in the two collapsing on the ground in a tangled heap. At some point, Kyle was able to slip the ring onto Flynn’s gloved finger, and was only able to stop his new fiancé’s joyous rambling with a firm but loving kiss. Pulling back, they breathed and looked at each other before going into a fit of laughter.
Soon, they’d get up from the garage floor and go inform Chum Chum upstairs of their news, and the comic artist would be as excited as they were at the news and proceed to joke to Flynn about how he was right all along about Kyle being “the one”. Their dear, cherished friend would go on to spread the news to all their long-time comrades from the many years they’ve lived in Galaxy Hills and the wedding preparations will already start the moment Yo hears about it. Flynn would go on to bug Boog about how he owed him one for helping with the former bully’s own wedding, and Kyle would go on to mock Sigmund about finding a husband first.
All this would happen, but for that moment, they had all the time in the world.