#numuh 362

[sol-luminosus]

Do you have any Rachad head canons? Care to share? :D

 Yep, lots of ‘em! Let me section it out (to also help me recall ‘em. Also, this might be pretty long please bear with me)

Cadet Years

1. Chad and Rachel have been acquainted with each other since childhood. However, they weren’t actually close then. At some point, they’ve worked together under the same squad as shown in Operation: M.A.U.R.I.C.E. (I’m supposing this is an entire class of cadets belonging in the same batch)

2. It was apparent from the start that Chad was a promising prodigy and stood out amongst the others. From then on he’d been officially assigned on Moonbase. Meanwhile, Rachel discovered her knack in espionage and trained as a spy under KND’s intel gathering unit. In my head cannon, this is KND’s Intelligence Department and HQ is stationed on Moonbase.

So, their only connection then would have to be: Classmates –> Same Sector

Global Command Years

1. Whoop whoop, fast forward to being full-fledged operatives. After Numbuh 100′s reign, Chad eventually found his way up in the ranks and secured the spot of Supreme Leader. He doesn’t really interact much with Rachel until later on at this time, where she herself had been successful in her career path and is considered as the top spy of her time. So much so, that there were moments where she’d directly report to the Supreme Leader himself.

2. Their personalities and regard towards each other was much different at first. I’ve always seen Rachel as not being a people person in her run as a full-time spy. She was quiet, and preferred to work alone. She’d accomplish her tasks dutifully and especially hated it when things didn’t go as planned. (Something I derived from F.U.G.I.T.I.V.E. when she had a rage episode at Fanny) However, her general disposition is reserved. The only one who seemed to get under her skin though, is Chad. 

Let’s just say she piqued his curiosity. (Tbh, I’ve always seen Chad as a curious person) It’s a Supreme Leader’s job to look out for his organization and the members within it but Rachel was specifically interesting for him. He’d make efforts to try and get close to her, but Rachel would often be rigid and preferred to keep things professional. But this doesn’t mean that his attempts at friendship annoyed her. In fact, she admired him and looked up to him like everyone else. It’s just how she really is with personal relationships. 

Before they both knew it, they hit it off really well and being close was a given to them and an unspoken acknowledgment with their peers. 

3. The first person to ever admit that they felt something more than friendship for the other was Rachel. Here we have 11 or 12 years old Rachy understanding for herself that she had a crush on the Supreme Leader and silently recognizing it. She doesn’t go over the episode of denial and just takes it in. (I doubt she’s one to do that tbh) But, it’s not something that she tells anyone and just kept it to herself.

4. In addition to item 3, the first person who does understand she has a thing for Chad is Abby. 

5. Rachel’s personality drastically develops during this period. Being with, and working alongside Chad has taught her a lot of things. Rachel may sometimes come off as scarily stern but she’d always been someone who cared a hefty lot for her comrades, one of her golden traits. I like to think that it was Chad that encouraged her to believe in her potential as a leader, and later on this inspired her to strive for the position of Supreme Leader after his defection. 

6. I don’t know if I’m the only one that’s noticed that Rachel often preferred to wear very muted colors with her either always seen wearing dark plums or blacks prior to being a Supreme Leader. (this could’ve been because she was under espionage however) Though, I’m fond of the thought of having Chad as the reason why she’d discarded the whole monochrome apparel and decided to go for bright and calming colors as a means to remember him by. (I’m thinking of writing out a fic for this head cannon btw ㅇ◡ㅇ)

7. Chad was the one that started calling her ‘Rach’. And since then, to Rachel, it’s become a very endearing way to call her.

Relationship Summary thus far:  Classmates –> Same Sector –> Acquaintances –> Friends –> Close Friends

Defection

1. For one thing, this isn’t something Chad wanted as an outcome for himself. Assuming the role of an undercover operative and being treated as the enemy of the entire organization he’s worked blood and sweat to hold up was distasteful to him. But the possibility of being accepted into g:KND was also an enticing thought. So he’d grabbed the opportunity anyway. But that didn’t mean it was something he wanted to disclose to Rachel. For one thing, it would hurt her. But if doing so meant continuing being part of the KND then the consequences of his actions was something that he’d been willing to face. At the very least, he could still watch over her and protect her albeit from a distance.

2. Chad’s lack of explanations for his actions had always been something that hurt Rachel, yet she maintained professionalism anyway each time he’d report to her on Moonbase as a double agent. She understood things just couldn’t and wouldn’t be the same between them, especially with the fact that from then on, he’d always give her the cold shoulder. It’s a thought that Chad’s teenage angst isn’t just a mere act to keep up the ‘typical teenager attitude’. For one thing, he’s got a lot of resentment in his system towards the reality of growing up, the g:KND itself, and Numbuh 1. That then contributes a lot to his personal relationships.

Even so, it confuses her more that he never fails to look after her, even saving her countless times from her own missions had he been coincidentally on duty either as a Teen Ninja or a TND operative. Sometimes, she was beginning to think that he’d deliberately be there just to make sure that she was safe. 

3. Basically, if it concerns Rachel’s safety, all forms of reason just instantly flies off and over his head and he rushes in right away just to make sure she wouldn’t get hurt. 

I’ve always thought that Chad was rather impulsive and having to do that was characteristic of him.

4. I also like to think that Chad and Maurice become pretty close as teens despite their seemingly conflicting personalities. And it wasn’t too hard for Maurice to figure out that Chad definitely had feelings for Rachel. Other than that, it wasn’t a surprise for him to understand that Chad hasn’t fully realized his own feelings for himself. (He can get really dense on the love aspect.)

5. Rachel may be accepting of her relationship rift with Chad, but his undercover missions that involve flirting with different girls and even going out with them at times for intel gathering incessantly gets on her nerves. It’s during these times that her temper is shorter and tends to spend excessive hours honing her battle skills. (and imagining she was hitting his face with her staff instead of the training dummy)

6. Chad’s own understanding and coming into terms with his feelings for Rachel is gradual. Whereas it was a simple understanding on Rachel’s case, that wasn’t so for him. 

Ok, actually this is going to overlap with my thoughts with him and Stacey although it’s part of the whole head cannon

So, where does Stacey come in? We do know that he’s depicted as being in a relationship with her. It’s a thought of mine that this is part of the image that he’s trying to keep up with. But while that’s the case, it doesn’t mean that that’s all she is to him. Underneath that jerk of a teen is still that boy that highly valued the people surrounding him, and she’s someone he deems as a friend and part of his new circle. However, he’s wondered for himself at times, why he just couldn’t see her in a different light despite Stacey being a nice girl and all with even a lot of admirers.

And more than once, he’s always found himself, looking forward on each of his trips to Moonbase so he could deliver his report to the Supreme Leader. It’s always something calming to him, and having just a glimpse of Rachel’s face immediately dispels the questions in his head. From here, he begins to understand.

This is also something that he looks back to later on in his older years, and without a doubt, would shake his head at with how silly he was that he just couldn’t get a clue. 

Relationship Summary thus far:  Classmates –> Same Sector –> Acquaintances –> Friends –> Close Friends –> It’s Complicated

g:KND Route

1. Chad doesn’t want her to know about it’s existence for the reason of wanting to keep her safe but well, that doesn’t exactly go as planned. We find Rachel’s status as a fugitive in this timeline. It’s a thought that her reason for vacating the position of Supreme Leader had nothing to do with age. Rather, it was during this time that she’d finally discovered the existence of the g:KND and the threat the organization posed. So when she went rouge, everything was pre-planned, and our runaway teen is furious and on the way to take matters into her own hands and to help stop the g:KND. Along with that, to rescue Chad and to actually give him a piece of her mind about the whole fiasco and secret keeping he’d been doing to her for years.

Relationship Summary thus far:  Classmates –> Same Sector –> Acquaintances –> Friends –> Close Friends –> It’s Complicated –> It’s Still Complicated

Alternate Timeline: TND

1. Let’s say the whole g:KND deal didn’t happen. After her time as a Kids Next Door operative, Rachel gets picked out as one of the teens to remain affiliated with the KND under the TND sub-organization. She still has a strained past with Chad after his ascension as an undercover agent (only difference then is him having no goals of joining the g:KND) and tries to avoid him at all costs. But encountering each other is an unavoidable aspect since the TND is much smaller as compared to the KND. 

2. He still has a habit of throwing all reason into the bin and looking after her to the extent of his capabilities. They often end up bickering due to this.

3. Much to Rachel’s discomfort, her family’s taken a liking to Chad. He didn’t have the best relationship with Harvey but eventually, learned to get along with each other. So, she’d often find him hanging around in her house and it irritates her to no end.

4. The reason for her irritation in item 3 is still linked with her confusion of him with his conflicting actions towards her. She’s not quite sure if he wants to rekindle their relationship or just plans to incessantly annoy her for some unknown reason.

5. For items 2 and 3, he has feelings for her, thus his actions. His 16 years old self still doesn’t understand this. Maurice often finds himself massaging his temples out of exasperation from him still not realizing after all the years that passed.

6. Chad’s parents have known Rachel as a child. At times even in their teen years, she’d wonder why they’d call her to check up on their son despite having a fallout with him in their adolescence. Nonetheless, she can’t seem to understand for herself why she’s happy they’d think of her when it comes to Chad.

7. Chad and Rachel have always belonged in different cliques, with Chad being with Maurice, Cree, and the other McClintock teens and Rachel with Patton and Fanny. Even then, their paths always seem to cross with Chad and Rachel often bickering that it becomes a habit for the 2 groups to encounter each other. At first, Fanny would glower at seeing Cree’s face, but Chad and Rachel’s banters become so routinal that the 2 girls would actually have the heart to exchange civil ‘heys’ and ‘hellos’ with each other, to Patton’s disbelieving horror.

8. It sets Chad off when a guy attempts to get cozy with Rachel especially when they have the nerve to refer to her as ‘Rach’. Nuh-uh, he’ll wreck havoc if he hears that.

Relationship Summary thus far:  Classmates –> Same Sector –> Acquaintances –> Friends –> Close Friends –> It’s Complicated –> They’re together, like why can’t they realize it?

Latter Years 

Overall, disregarding if we’re going with the g:KND or no g:KND timeline, I doubt that they’d really have it easy. Chad and Rachel’s relationship always seem to be stuck on that ‘it’s complicated’ category during their youth. They’re both very duty bound characters, whether the reason for it is riding on what people expect of them on the roles and responsibilities that they to fulfill or for the good of the majority of people. They’re each other’s soulmates, something which they may or may not understand later on. 

At some point, it’s a thought that their paths might even completely drift away from one another with each of them growing up and maturing with the other completely absent from their lives.

In this head cannon however, when they do find each other again, they make no more hesitations. And although they’ve been through a lot, people aren’t surprised that they still ended up winding up together. 

And their little blonde spitfire that’s the spitting image of Chad with Rachel’s indomitable spirit in him is a proof of this. ´･ᴗ･`

Phew, that was lengthy. I know I was only asked to share my head cannons but I swear, these were specifically categorized in my head from which timeline they came from. 

These head cannons may also vary because at times for my fics, I’d also include head cannons exclusively reserved for whichever universe the story is set in.

Thank you for asking this! I really enjoyed answering this ask! (◑‿◐)

Also, here’s a little sketchy Rachad / 274/362 art I did some time ago when I was practicing my former art style (very manga / manhwa style inspired I know) prior to how I usually draw in now.