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Professor Venomous was a simple man when it came to business relationships. He had long since told Billiam Milliam to “fuck off” once he saw the other villain’s intentions with him. There was no relationship within those relationships. They were only assisting him in getting him richer. Simple as that, right?
Wrong.
And it was all thanks to a box-man.
Ah, Lord Boxman. An incompetent, lousy, reckless villain. Other villains were ashamed to be grouped with that man. They never invited him to parties or any gathering of the sort. Initially, the professor could see why. As an outsider, he only saw Boxman from the views of Cosma, Vormulax, and Billiam. Of course that all changed to one dinner party. Then a night out.
Yet, there was something about the guy that made Venomous stick around. His passion for destroying the Plaza, sure. It was honestly a mix of things. Over time of getting to know Boxman, he picked up on his mannerisms. Venomous found himself listening to Boxman speak during meanings, but never really paying attention to what he had been saying and only listening to his voice. He loved how high it would get if he was pissy, and how low it would get when he was being menacing. It was dreamy to him when Boxman would fight back if Cosma or anyone else questioned him. From the ways his eyebrows would rise to nearly the ceiling and he would look as if steam would come out of his mechanics on his head, to even the simpler time where he would tap his avian hand and human hand together.
‘Oh the things I would do to him.’ Were one of many thoughts that ran through his mind.
‘Don’t speak to him like that!’ Was a close second.
He valued Boxman. He really did. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, or want Fink to, he really had something for Boxman.
As for the other side, he didn’t really know.
So, him sitting in his office, working on paperwork while Fink drew pictures from the other side of the room. It was quite a surprise when he got a phone call from a number he didn’t know. Villains were not known to do that as they kept their numbers concealed and would warn each other if some other villain got their contact. Despite all of that, and he was bored, he decided to pick it up.
“Professor Venomous.” He answered. He watched Fink stop what she was doing and staring at him.
A girl’s voice made it from the other side, “Hey Professor Venomous! It’s just me, Shannon!” His surprise grew. Shannon, Boxman’s daughter. He had seen her around once or twice. She was sweet, but cunning like her father and certainly didn’t take anything from anyone other than her father. Quite an admirable trait. The thought couldn’t have escaped his mind, ‘How did she get my number?’ She continued before he got into too much thought, “I want to ask you a question!”.
‘Why can’t you ask your father?’ He rolled his eyes, but kept his patience. He sighed and put on his best attitude for whatever question a Boxman would give him. “Sure, Shannon. What’s your question? I’m always glad to help a fellow villain.” He immediately thought, ‘That couldn’t have sounded any more sarcastic’. Fink hadn’t left him out of her sight and that combined with Shannon calling was adding to his annoyance. He flicked his hand in a shooing motion to at least get her to do whatever she was doing. Fully knowing Boxmans, he wouldn’t have minded if she left the room.
Unfortunately, we all can’t get what we want.
And Cob damn he wasn’t expecting the question Shannon had so called him for.
“So…I know you’re really close to Daddy..”
Oh Cob damnit. If this was going where he thought it was going- no. He didn't allow himself to have any hope. Boxman and him were strictly business partners that was it. Nothing else. Nothing else he wanted to permit himself into having.
He sighed once more, checking his watch to see how long the conversation had been going. It hadn’t been a damn minute. A minute that already felt like a lifetime. Venomous ran his hand through his hair and turned his chair around so he didn’t have to deal with Fink possibly catching his emotions. He kept his hand in his hair and replied, “Yes, we are business partners. He is an impulsive, irresponsible idiot, but I’ve come to care for him very much,” He hadn’t lied to her. This was honestly the most honest he had been with himself and someone else about Boxman. It wasn’t really a negative thing to Venomous that Boxman was often impulsive and irresponsible.
Venomous had often thought that he was the polar opposite. He liked to plan accordingly, but he also admired Boxman for being straight-forward in getting what he wanted. It was something he wished he could do so carefree again, but life bit in him the ass the first time it happened. He was better off not doing that again. “Why do you ask?” Oh, bother.
Shannon didn’t hold anything back. She was immediately prepared to ask her question and certainly didn’t hint any messages as she spoke. “I was wondering when you were going to move into Boxmore!” What. “Raymond already misses you from the last time you were here and Mikayla keeps pawing at the guest room you slept in!”
Oh bother. He didn’t get just one Box-Bot to like him, he got three. Probably more and plus the whole factory at this rate.
Oh, he was definitely aware of their hive minds. He was sure the whole factory wanted him to move in, duplicate or not. Despite that, he couldn’t help but to expose some blush on his cheeks. Ah, the one time he did sleepover. Mikayla had slept with him and immediately grew attached. To be fair, he got attached to her too. She was sweet and catered to his every whim when Boxman was busy. As for Raymond, he liked the compliments he received from him. The most well mannered Box-Bot he had ever met.
So he really couldn’t lie to Shannon about how he really felt. “Aww, shucks. I do like Raymond and Mikayla very much. They were really pleasant and I hope to bond with the rest of you guys as well, but I’ve never really been the ‘moving in with my evil genius partner type’. I prefer to stay in my own home, where I can focus on my work and not be distracted by…my…hmm…” He knew he was stuck. She caught him red handed. She must have known something and now he was accidentally confirming it to her indirectly, if she can get the hint. He honestly had no idea why he didn’t move in. He already liked the man enough to stay a night there already.
‘It seems odd for her, a bot I hadn’t really interacted with to ask me this. How did she even get my number? There’s no way Boxman would just-’
“Wait, does Boxman want me to move in?”
“Well…” She drifted off ever so slightly before coming back not as strong. “Daddy seems lonely without you here and he only ever gets excited when he’s on the phone with you or knows you’re coming over.”
This was certainly a surprise.
“I can’t possibly be THAT important to him, can I? Maybe he’s just lonely because he’s busy all day working on his projects.” Ah yes, that would make sense. Only to him though. He knew he was lying.
And he hated that he could also admit it.
Another thing. “Wait,” He paused. “He’s always excited whenever I come over?” ‘That’s so cute!’ He would never admit that to anyone else. Although it really did strike him off that he never noticed. Obviously, it was a big change for the children as he saw them interact with Boxman. He just didn’t seem like a happy man…..
And why was that?
Oh…..
Cob he was so dense with feelings.
“Wait, I’m his only friend, aren’t I?”
He could hear Shannon’s eyes roll. “Well duh! Have you seen or even heard of other villains visit Boxmore? No! They’re so disgusted with us that they send their henchmen or minions over! It’s a surprise that you just don’t send Fink over.” Well he wasn’t appalled by Boxman at all, he could never. Although fully knowing the guy from two big separate occasions and on the phone…
“And what he does is all he thinks about…..”
“Oh Cob.”
“What’s wrong?” ‘Fuck.’
‘Boxman only thinks about me. Boxman only thinks about the times we had together and plus some. Could that mean…? Maybe it’s because I’m his only friend. Yeah.’ That stung. The thought that Boxman’s only contact was the professor. It never really occurred to Venomous how much Boxman was disliked. As his past speaks for him, he saw the other villains poke and prod at the man, but having Boxman come with him to that party….Yeah, he should have known. But…
That confidence. The way he told him that he didn’t care for anyone’s opinions but his own. The way he gladly blew up that yacht and flew him to Boxmore. It…It…It was infatuating. Perhaps P.V. fell for him first, perhaps it was Boxman. Either way, there were feelings, and they were most likely reciprocated.
He explained to Shannon, “It just never really hit me how isolated Boxman really is,” He spoke in a soft, quiet tone, “I just figured that someone as evil as him would have more contacts in the supervillain world. I suppose I was simply his first friend.” Then, an idea struck him. “Maybe I should just move in- temporarily of course. If he’s lonely, I wouldn’t be a good business partner if I didn’t try to help. Thank you, Shannon.” ‘No, really thank you.’ “If there’s something you ever need, let me know how I can return the favor.”
He honestly couldn’t have been any more thankful for Boxman’s daughter. It gave him a chance to finally do something. And a reason to come over to Boxmore.
It seemed like Shannon sighed, “Well….we aren’t exactly very well liked in the supervillain community. Everyone sees the Boxmans as…incompatible. We try our best to make Daddy happy by attacking the plaza or hanging out with him, but he really likes you!”
‘Likes…me?’
He sighed. “Well, now I feel really bad. I think I’ll move in for a couple of days…see how we go” ‘Hopefully further than we were’ “Tell him to put some of my lab equipment in the spare room for me. I’ll bring some books and a spare change of clothes. I’ve got to make a couple of calls and tell a couple of people I won’t be available for a little while…thank you, Shannon. You’ve done me a huge favor.” He could feel the big smile form on his face and possibly Shannon’s too. “Is there any other way I can thank you?”
She shouted, “Bring Fink along! I missed playing with her hair! Don’t feel bad, Professor! You honestly had no idea how he was feeling. We didn’t either for a bit, but siblings talk and we decided to give you a call to cheer him up.”
‘Oh my. The kids are setting us up.’
His eyes flashed with excitement and Fink grew concerned with what she could have possibly heard on the other side. She already didn’t like the fact that Shannon called, and she definitely didn’t like that Boxman was mentioned. She was then increasingly worried when she heard that Venomous was moving in for a few days. She was inches away from spinning his chair and smashing the phone….of course that would end badly, but she hated how the conversation was going.
“She’s coming, she’s coming.” ‘OH HELL NO’ Fink’s poor mind thought. ‘He’s going to have to kill me if he wants me to go over there.’ “This will be so much fun!” ‘What. Boss has a happy tone. There’s no way he likes that Boxbutt.’ “You’re right. How could I have missed how lonely he is, but I’m going to make it better. This is going to be great. Oh, I can imagine it now. He’s going to be so happy!” His tone grew more excited the more he thought about it. Fink was about to barf.
Shannon laughed on the other side. She was thrilled to get Professor Venomous all worked up over spending a few nights with her daddy. “You two could even plan an attack on the Plaza! We’ll be sure to make you two proud!”
“Oh, I never thought of that! He sure does love attacking that Plaza! Thanks Shannon, I was going to spend the day reading and writing up some paperwork, but now I have something better to do! I’ll be there with all my belongings within the hour, and Fink too!” Before Shannon could even hang up, he hung up and jumped from his seat. “C’mon Fink! Pack a few things, we’re going to spend a few nights at Boxmore!”
“Ew! Why are we spending the night there?! Boss!” She threw her tiny arms up, and was scooped up by Venomous like she was a mega football. He dashed around his home, packing things for the trip while Fink complained the whole time.
Shannon on the other side, snickered.
“Ray Ray! I got the Professor to come over! Help move some of his equipment with me to the spare room he was in before!”
“Oh! Is he coming over?”
“And moving in temporarily! Let’s start calling him ‘Step-Dad’ by the third day!”
“Couch Box-Dad will be super flustered! Let’s hurry up!”
After all of their collective work, they were pleased when Boxman let out a gasp of surprise and gave Professor Venomous a hug. They were so sweet.
Then they took Fink and ‘tortured’ her, but she complained when she knew she had to go back home eventually.
The Box-Bots all looked at each other and whispered, “Step one, complete.”
“Operation Voxmore is still a-go.”