WARNING! Spoilers for the show as these stories take place after the Season 4 Finale, so plot points to that will be mentioned from time to time.

This is a collection of one shots between a few members of the Hyperforce since I felt these stories were too short to be alone but also too cute to dismiss. Not to mention I didn't want to saturate my account too much with just SRMTHFG stories so have a collection of them instead.

They also all take place not too long after the war with Skeleton King at the end of Season 4, so I guess you can say this is my interpretation of events during the later half of Season 5. The only exception MIGHT be a bonus chapter that has Mandarin back when he was still leader interacting with his team, but I'm not sure if I'll do that one or not.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

(Romantic Love)

Sparx and Nova:

Icy Snuggles

Crack! Crack! Boom!

"...Nova."

"Lady Tomahawk!"

"Hey, Nova."

Crack!

"NOVA!"

At last the yellow warrior stopped hitting the ice, turning her head to peak over her shoulder.

"Look, I wanna get out of here as much as you do, but if you keep that up you'll turn your hands into ice-pops. Robotic Fists activated or not." Sparx smiled softly at her, his body curled inwards some with his tail wrapped around himself as best he could. The two had been trapped for hours after a cave in had separated them from the rest of the group.
While the red pilot wouldn't have minded spending some quality alone time with Nova, unfortunately given that they had no idea if the others were okay, they couldn't reach them via communicators, and he was severely injured, this maybe wasn't the most romantic opportunity.

To make matters worse, they just had to be stuck on an ice planet with temperatures dangerously below zero, making things all the more uncomfortable.

Nova hesitated for a moment before finally relenting and letting her Robotic Fists change back to normal. Looking dejected at her failure to break them out, she slumped back over to him and sat beside her red companion, wrapping her own limbs around herself in a futile attempt to stay warm.
While they always had their heat cells to help, it was only a matter of time before their energy supply ran out. Already the two monkeys could feel their remaining body heat draining as time ticked by. If this continued, they would both literately and figuratively freeze their tails off by the end of the day, if even that long.

It didn't matter much to Nova. Even if the cells were at full opacity, it wouldn't be warm enough for her. It was never enough...

"...There's no point in killing yourself trying to bust us out of here." Sparx mumbled, trying to reassure her, "Else we'd really be in trouble, wouldn't we? Plus, I'd kinda miss you." he weakly smirked

"I should be able to." she softly replied, ignoring his teasing to glare at the frozen barrier, "I should be strong enough. Maybe...maybe if I just..." she felt herself start to heat up, allowing her anger to rise and her fiery power to take over. Glancing at Sparx in the peripheral of her vision however made her stop and cool back down, much to her anguish.

While she could use her supernova powers to melt the whole cave if she wanted, it was too risky not just for her team but the environment of the planet. As much as she hated this icy rock, it wouldn't be right to turn the whole thing into an searing ocean just cause she disliked the cold. Besides, with Sparx this close to her, she'd run the very real risk of melting him into a puddle. No, it wasn't worth trying.

Her teeth shattered loudly as she looked over to him...and felt her heart clench.

He looked awful, and not just because he was freezing too. When that cave monster attacked the group, it caused part of the roof to collapse right on top of them. She tired to tackle him out of the way but wasn't fast enough, effectively getting part of his body crushed by the falling debris.
The entire right side of him had been squished, the metal bent at awkward angels and sparking circuitry sticking out through a few gaps. She knew just by looking at it that his right arm was broken pretty badly. He had to be in a lot of pain, yet like always he tried to look tough to impress her. Or at least ease her guilt.

If that ice landed just a little more to the left where his guts are, he would have been...

She bit her lip at the morbid thought, turning her head back to the wall that trapped them in this tiny crevice. It was a good thing they didn't have claustrophobia because they were only given a few feet of room each.

...Maybe I should keep trying anyway. I'm tough, I can take the pain even if my hands do end up breaking. Sparx is hurt really badly and I gotta-

Her thoughts ceased when a hand placed itself upon her arm. Turning her head, she winced at his gentle expression, something so rare to see on the normally arrogant primate. He didn't need to say it. Sparx had figured out what she was thinking.

He confirmed this by squeezing her with his good hand and shaking his head, "Don't worry about me, babe. You did all you could, so now we gotta trust the others to find us."

She weakly chuckled and smacked his paw away, "Didn't I tell you to never call be 'babe', Sparx?" Nova balled her fist and was about to playfully punch him when she remembered his injuries and stopped herself. Instead, she reached out and cupped his cheek, caressing it affectionately, "...What if the others are hurt too? Who will help them?"

He frowned at her concern, but forced a smile to encourage her, "You kidding? Chiro's got our back. Ain't no way a little ice is gonna stop the kid."

"Like how it stopped us?" she teased him, earning a grumble from the pilot.

It wasn't long though before he forwent his pouting and nuzzled into the hand that still held his cheek. She allowed it, loving the momentary affection between them. Ever since Skeleton King's resurrection, the two have confirmed their romantic feelings for one another.
Or at least they wanted to see where things would go by trying to spend more time around one another. After all, Nova's original confession of love as under less than...ideal...circumstances at the time. Sparx wanted to make sure everything they felt was real without the pressure of being ripped apart my magnets, so of course Nova thought it was a good idea.
It was why neither of them bothered to confirm or deny their status with anyone on the team just yet, much to a very giddy Otto's disappointment. From the start he's been encouraging the both of them to say something to one another, with mixed reactions from either party.

While neither of them minded, it was hard to test and build a romantic relationship during and now shortly after a huge war took place. Little moments like these at least helped to ease any doubts. It was becoming more clear how genuine their feelings were the longer things went on.

"...Oh!" Sparx jolted upright as much as he could, "I can't believe I almost forgot. Nova, can you reach into my energy pack? I got something that might help us with the cold after all."

She huffed, reluctantly pulling herself out of her ball and reaching into the pack on his back, "What in the world could help us in this kind of-" The female warrior paused when she felt something warm and soft under her hand, the sensation sending waves of comfort up her arm. Confused and delighted at the same time, she grabbed it and pulled out a brown felt blanket that was nicely heated thanks to his battery.

Gawking, she sputtered, "Wh-Wha?! You had this the whole time and only now remembered when we're on the brink of freezing to death in a cave?!" she practically shouted.

Sparx flinched at her yelling, looking sheepish, "...I knew you'd be miserable cause we were going somewhere chilly, so I wanted to surprise you. Funny how uh getting attacked and trapped in a wall of ice can make you forget certain things."

Her annoyance faded to tenderness and she sighed, taking the blanket and wrapping it around his shoulders gingerly.

"H-Hey wait." he protested, trying to shimmy it off, "I didn't bring this for me. I brought it for you."

She only shook her head, refusing no matter how good it felt on her hands, "I know you did, but no, Sparx. Your injuries are making your heat cells drain faster than mine. Right now, you need to conserve your body heat more than me while you still can. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." She gave him a thumbs up before pulling the cloth so that it crisscrossed in front of his torso, "Besides, it was my fault you got hurt in the first place. I need to make it up to you." she added, looking to the ground at the last part.

"It's...kinda my job to worry about you, and not just because you're my teammate. You know that." He shifted under the blanket some, "Hey, you're not really blaming yourself, are you?"

"My reflexes were slow. It's not gonna happen again, I promise." she growled, wrapping him up so he was more snug, "Try to rest for a little bit. The lingering heat from that blanket should help."
They were quiet for a minute before Sparx got an idea and started to scoot closer to the female. Shaking from the low temperature, Nova noticed this and raised a brow at him, "...What are you doing?"

"Hear me out." he looked at her with his big black eyes, "...You know Nova, I bet this warmth would last a little longer if you joined me..." He gave her a wink as extra incentive, his smile broadening despite the agony it took to move at all.

She was a little stunned for a moment, taking longer than usual to reply, "O-Oh please, Sparx. This isn't the time." It had been a while since he had said anything suggestive towards her. Ever since the Fire of Hate took him, he seemed hesitant to do so; like he felt guilty for even trying.
The warrior didn't blame him. He did some pretty bad things for the short while he was corrupted. Even so, she had missed his passes deep down, especially now that they had been more romantic with one another. It was nice to see him turning back into that cocky but well meaning pilot she fell for.

"Actually, I think now is the perfect time." he softly insisted, becoming serious for a moment, "I mean it Nova, please. I feel so useless sitting here like this. I know you're proud, and trust me I love that, but I also know how you are with the cold after Mandarin. Lets also not forget you saved my life...again." Though it hurt to do so, he leaned forward and nuzzled her cheek before pulling back, "So let me help you..."

When she refused to answer or look at him, her face turning a little pink from his gesture, he laid his head to the ice wall he was up against. After a moment, he closed his his eyes to rest like she suggested, grumbling in defeat. This didn't last because they shot right back open when he felt something pushing into his side. Shocked, he looked to see Nova nudging against him, still not looking at him as she did so.
Without hesitation, he moved his hand to open the blanket to her, allowing the yellow monkey to crawl forwards and squish against his uninjured side. He pulled his arm back around her small frame, holding her jittery form tight against his body while the blanket was secured around them both.

Adjusting their bodies so he was upright and not leaning on his right side too much, Sparx rested his chin on Nova's temple and stroked a few fingers against her back, ignoring how he was turning a few shades darker, "...You okay?"

She pushed against him more as if she was greedily trying to soak up as much heat as she could, "I'll be okay when we're off this stupid planet." she hissed before pausing and adding, "...Thank you, though."

He smirked, "Anything for you...babe." His cheesy grin was cut short when she reached from under the cloth and flicked one of his audio receptors, causing a painful ringing noise for just a moment.

As Nova let him hold her, the realization of how she was so close to losing him not once but twice now was starting to sink in. It made her curl instinctively around him, her cheek to his chest and her arms around his torso, holding him possessively like at any moment he'd fade away.
Sparx wasn't much better, thinking about how he had not only hurt her when he was possessed by the Fire of Hate, but went so far as to make her cry in the process. He still had nightmares about it and, while they were fading the longer he realized he loved her, they still hurt to have. The red pilot had more than one secret night sessions with Antauri and his advice to help cope with his guilt, and at least the silver monkey was always understanding of his plights.

While there though, his mind also drifted back to his mention of Mandarin. Something dawned on him in that moment, one ne never dared ask Nova before, but now that things were different between them he had to know once and for all else it would continue to bother him since the day it started.

Squeezing her gently to get her attention, he said in a voice so soft it surprised even him, "...Nova, did you ever like Mandarin?"

Baffled, her tail lashed some as she lay there against him, shifting uncomfortably, "...Pardon? What do you mean by that?"

"Oh come on, you know. Don't make me spell it out." Sparx rolled his eyes, "What I mean is...did you ever have feelings for Mandarin? Like...you do for me?" he pat her back a few times, "It's okay if you did, I wont be mad. It was a long time ago. Not like anyone feels anything but contempt for that guy now anyway."

She had try SO hard to keep herself from guffawing cause he was obviously being serious, so she hid it by pressing her face into his chest, "Not like you, no." her voice was muffled for a moment before she pulled her face out of his fur, "I did at one point feel something though, a love in a different way. I felt encouraged by him. He trained me hard and showed me a lot of awesome moves I use even now, really good fighting ones. He pushed me to my brink and then some, so it made me want to prove to him I was as strong and capable as anyone else here, maybe even matching him. I admired and respected him...he was our leader, our friend, practically our brother. At least at first I felt that way."
She grimaced, "When he started to change though and show his true colors...That admiration quickly turned to disgust, I promise you that. The training room incident was just icing on the cake of other times he was a jerk to everyone except maybe Otto. Even then I saw him being condescending to him from time to time, too."

Sparx nodded after he listened to her words, thinking back on it. While Mandarin was weird and possessive of Nova for some reason, she never showed anything back beyond that admiration she mentioned. Well, during those very early days. Deep down, he hated to admit that he felt some kind of admiration for him too. Ironic how life could turn out sometimes with him now being one of their greatest enemies. How could things have gone so bad?

He tore his thoughts away from his traitorous leader and instead focused on rubbing Nova's back more, trying to keep her warm.

She was content to stay like that, listening to his steady breathing and the beating of his heart, when he spoke up again, "You ever think about how things will be in the future? For...us?"

The warrior shifted, moving so her chin was against his chest and lazily blinking at him as she looked into his dark eyes with her bright pink ones, "...Sometimes. Do you?"

"Every day..." he reminisced with a smile, breaking his gaze from hers to the sparkling ceiling, "I think about us always fighting side by side, watching the sunsets when I take you flying in the fist rocket, seeing Chiro grow up into a young man, imagining the look on everyone's faces when we get married-"

"Whoa whoa whoa, did you just say we're getting married?"

His eyes bugged out and he stared at her, not meaning to say that last part out loud. Sparx tried to retract his words, but the damage was done, "I-I wasn't...uh...I don't mean...we were gonna, er, well you know." he stumbled, giving her a nervous grin, "Ah don't listen to me. I-I'm the dumb monkey, remember?"

To his eternal relief, instead of looking upset she chuckled and reached up to cup his face with both of her hands this time, rubbing her thumbs against his cheeks adoringly, "Yeah you are, but you're my dumb monkey."

He grinned as he continued to run his good hand over her back, feeling the brightly colored fur with his fingers, before he watched Nova slowly start to slide her palms from his face to the back of his helmet. At first he was nervous about her intentions. The last time she did this was to lull him into a false sense of security before headbutting him after a flirting attempt.

Thankfully, something far more pleasant happened this time around.

Shimmying up some so her chest was against his and minding his injuries, she pulled him down gently to meet his lips with her own.

He jolted slightly in surprise, eyes wide at her. This was the first time the two had officially kissed, the closest being when Nova had pecked him on the cheek after he was freed from his corruption, so the feeling was completely new but wonderful. He really liked that it was Nova to initiate it just like last time, cementing her boldness as another thing he adored about the yellow monkey.
After a few more seconds, he smiled and allowed his eyelids to close. Wanting to participate in the kiss more, he used his working arm to pull her even closer to deepen it. Though she loved that he was taking initiative, Nova was never one to back down in a fight for dominance. She responded in kind by wrapping her own limbs around his neck, locking them in their passionate embrace so he didn't have a choice but to make it last.

Just when Sparx began to wish that this moment would never end, a whirring noise caught their attention and forced them to break the kiss.

Cracks in the ice wall appeared for a moment before a large chunk of it fell away, revealing the rest of the team at the end of a pretty long tunnel. They must have really been deep inside the ice, so no wonder it took the others forever to find them. Gibson had both his drills spinning loudly, glowing red hot thanks to a new mod that Otto developed for him as his unofficial guinea pig.

He looked exasperated before huffing, "I admit it Otto, you were right. These thermal modulations actually did come in handy for more than just 'making toast' this morning."

"And ya said it was a stupid idea." Otto whined, crawling into the entrance of the tunnel the scientist had made, "Wait here guys, I'll go get 'em!" he called as he jogged down it. It wasn't long until he reached the hole that lead into the chamber Sparx and Nova were in and climbed through.

Just as he opened his mouth to ask if they were okay, the mechanic stopped when he saw the compromising position his teammates were in, what with her arms still wrapped around Sparx's neck and the two of them breathing heavily.

Even he could put two and two together so of course he would to take full advantage of it, "Oooh! Maybe we should've come back later, eh? Heh heh! ~Sparx and Nova, sittin' in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!~" he sang with the goofiest smile he could muster.

"Give us a break." Sparx growled as Nova pulled out of his embrace, "We're a couple and that's completely normal."

"Uh huh, yeah yeah sure buddy." Otto waved and helped the female warrior to her feet, "So, when ya have kids can I be the Godfather?"

"OTTO!" Sparx shouted in unison with Nova, both turning very red.

Glancing over to Nova, the pilot monkey decided to ease the tension in the room by adding, "...Besides, you'd know we'd pick Antauri."

Nova glared at him as Otto made disappointed noises, her face matching his fur now, before she wrapped an arm around his left side to help him to his feet, "If you weren't falling apart I'd punch you to the moon." she grumbled.

"Since when has that stopped you?" he chuckled, wincing in pain as the blanket hung loosely off his damaged side, shocking their mechanic.

"Ah geeze, that's bad." Otto mumbled, his cadence gone and instead pulling himself back to the entrance of the hole, "Why didn't ya say anythin'? We gotta get back to the robot right away."

"Tell me about it." Sparx groaned as he leaned against Nova for support, helping her as best he could when it came to walking and getting him into the ice tunnel. As the three of them headed back to the others, the red monkey was aware of something soft and warm wrapping against his tail.

Glancing to Nova, he caught her gaze as she gently smiled at him, wrapping her own tail more around his own in an affectionate manner even after his little Godfather comment back there.

'I'll think about it.' she mouthed to him before giving him a quick peck on the cheek out of the sight of Otto, lest he start singing again.

Sparx blushed, unsure if she was referencing his marriage 'proposal' from earlier or the kids thing, but mouthed back anyway, 'Love you too...' Before he then nuzzled against her face adoringly.

There they went, following their green companion closely behind to safety while their tails remained entwined in a embrace that was just as loving as before. Perhaps things were going to work out between them after all.