|
  |
It's the day after Germany, and Billy's been out and about. This time he teleported to the roof, and climbed down the stairs into the apartment proper. He's in a pale blue fitted t-shirt and jeans — they'd end up being called skinny jeans in the future, but really at the moment they're more attributed to a Beatnik thing. He carries with him a watch: he's carrying it, not wearing it, notably. He makes right for the kitchen.
*
"Hey." Teddy walks out of the bedroom, a tape measure in hand. "King would be too large so yeah, a queen is the right size. A king'll fit but it'll look crowded with furniture."
*
"Eh, we don't need a king anyways. Queen's plenty big and its not like its super important we don't possibly touch when being in bed." Billy says with a dimpled grin and a slight flush, even as he tugs the fridge open and grabs a coke. He blinks and stares at the lid for a long moment before he realizes what's wrong, and then grabs a bottle cap remover to pop it off. "Man this is so weird. I can't use my TK. Its like I don't have any hands suddenly."
*
"No, not touching kinda defeats the entire point of sharing a bedroom." Teddy agrees. "There's going to be lots of touching. Among other things." As Billy reaches for the bottle cap remover, Teddy just takes the bottle and pulls the cap off. Maybe he cheated a little but it works. "Can't use your… Oh. You got the thing from the wizard?"
*
Hey, they both cheat in their own ways. But Billy grins and flushes slightly more at mention of lots of… things. He coughs into a hand, and nods the thanks at the Teddy for the cap. But its the watch he lifts up, "I gotta get it to Ava. It's got a short range, and will burn out in a few weeks and never work again… but that should be enough time for me to get the instincts trained out of me. It's also got a safeword so I can kill the gaes if say, it falls into some evil person's hands. It fels so weird-wrong-bad." He shivers visibly.
*
"You should tell me the word." Teddy suggests. "What if someone finds out, gags you, and locks it on your wrist? You can't undo what you can't say." Taking the watch, he opens a cabinet and puts it on a top shelf. "There, lets get away from it so you don't feel wrong bad."
*
Billy pauses, squinting at Teddy as he considers the logic, and he nods. But he waits for awhile until Teddy has the watch away, then walks to the farthest point from that before he speaks again, "The word is 'Vader' — its from a movie that will be released in the future, so no one could possibly guess it." Except its vaguely the Dutch word for father and close to the german word for father— at least in pronounciation— but Billy doesn't know that. "I can't say it while its effect is on ro the gaes will collapse and Dad will have to make me a new one. And believe me it took some convincing to get him to do it the fisrst time."
*
"Vader. Got it." Teddy flops down on the couch and looks at Billy. "Let's go mattress shopping. And what are we going to do with the old ones? Seems a waste to just throw them away. We might want to keep one too in case we ever have someone stay over. It can probably fit in the storage area. Barely. But not two."
*
Billy heads over and plops himself down on Teddy, turning a grin to look at his chair. "Sure, we can do that. I don't know about keeping it: if someone is over they can have the couch. Maybe we buy a cot to store in the closet, but keeping a whole mattress seems to be a lot of storage to take up on the off chance we have more then one visitor."
*
Teddy shrugs lightly. "Okay, so what do we do with two not too old beds? Are there places we can give them away to? I know churches take clothes for poor people but do they take mattresses?" He thinks a moment then adds "We should stop at a church on the way to get the mattress."
*
"Teddy." Billy laughs and shakes his head, "I don't know anything about how to adult. Until three months ago I lived with my parents. My mom did my laundry. And cooked. And when my clothes were old she did something with them: she might have thrown them away or donated them, I have no idea. There's the Salvation Army but I don't know if they take mattresses either." He blinks a moment, "Why would we stop at a church?"
*
"To ask if they want a couple mattresses." Teddy explains patiently. "And I"m not better at this than you are. I lived at home too and my mom did the same things as yours. Except she's always surprised at how rarely my clothes wear out."
*
Bewildered and amused, Billy shakes his head, "I'm Jewish. I don't even know how to talk to church people or how to go about giving a church something for charity. Don't they collect money every sunday? I don't know that churches take donations of items, or how to tell which one. Let's just rent a truck and drive them to the nearest Salvation Army. At least I know they take things."
*
"I assume you walk in, find a priest, and ask if he wants a couple used beds." Teddy answers but shrugs. "Or we can take them to the Salvation Army if you know they take stuff. I've never done that either. All I know about them is they ring a bell over the holidays and want money."
*
"The last thing I want to do is to give some freaky priest guy my homosexual bed." Billy snorts, and pushes up off of Teddy to look around, "So yeah, we rent a truck, go buy a mattress, bring it home, take old oens to truck, drive to Salvation Army, give them mattresses. This is a plan. I have to find a truck rental place in the phonebook."
*
"Sounds like a plan." Teddy agrees. "Though if everything is close enough, I can just carry them. Mattresses aren't that really that heavy to begin with. But a truck would be quicker."
*
Billy snickers, "Yes because seeing you singlehandedly carry mattresses around— which real people can't do, not so much because of heavy but awkward— is going to keep our cover with the landlord." He tilts his coke back and takes a loooong chug.
*
"Not that awkward." Teddy protests. "Not unless it's windy. I don't think people would really wonder about it." Then he grins. "I just won't wear a shirt and bulk up a little so they'll just assume I'm really, really strong."
*
"Great." Billy snorts, "Just what we need, me being so distracted I trip and fall on my face." He finishes off his coke, floats it over to the trash, and cocks his head towards the door, "The important thing is: do we get a *soft* mattress or a *hard* mattress."
*
"Well, you know I like a hard mattress." Teddy answers. That's what he has in his bedroom. "But if you want something softer, I can adapt. It's not like I need it to be very firm. So pick whatever you want." Pause. "Unless it's too soft."
*
Billy considers a little bit, and he shrugs, "I'm okay with firm. I don't have any problem with your bed now, so firm like that is fine with me. Besides, I might just decide to sleep on *you*. So the bed isn't as important for me." He grins, dimples flashing, "You know its going to be vaguely awkward to be shopping with a mattress with both of us testing out how the bed feels. You know. Two dudes."
*
Teddy shrugs at that. "We'll just pretend we're each looking for one. You buy the one we like and I'll just decide to keep looking elsewhere. The salesman doesn't need to know anything else."
*
"Okay, that works." Billy gives a quick nod, and takes a bit to flip through the phonebook with a notepad, writing down some addresses. This is folded and slipped into a pocket, "We also need… sheets, a comforter, and uhh. I don't know what else."
*
Teddy thinks a moment then shrugs. "Nothing else I can think of. We've got enough pillows between the two of us. Pillow cases too if we get the same colors. Or if we just don't care if they're the same colors. I don't."
*
"I absolutely do not care." If there's one gay feature that Billy absolutely, absolutely does not have, its an inclination or interest or talent for interior design. "As far as I care they can be all random colors. My interest in the bed is for sleeping." Pause, "… and recreation …" An almost shy grin, "…and nothing at all to do with like… style."
*
Teddy gins back. "Cool. We'll just get comfortable sheets and not care about the colors. I do like nice, soft ones though. I've never actually bought sheets before but it can't be that hard. We'll do that after we get the bed."
*
"I'm all for nice, soft sheets. I don't know anything about it but I heard 'thread count' matters— and egyptian cotton is good. I don't especially know what either *mean*, mind you. Well I assume egyptian cotton is grown in Egypt. I just don't know why its better." Billy laughs lightly, "This is… weird. Domestic."
*
"Isn't it?" Teddy shakes his head. "Going to college, sure. No problem. Fighting super powered bad guys? Kind of fun, in a way. Being a SHIELD agent? It pays the bills. And is pretty exciting too. But having to buy furniture and sheets? It's really strange."
*
Billy nods his head emphatically, "I wasn't expected to level up to adult class for like, at least four more years. The plan was always to stay at home in college: I didn't really *need* a job, after all. But now… I have to figure out how to do laundry. Please tell me you know how to do laundry, Teddy." There's a look of mild worry on his features.
*
Teddy is the guy who creates his own clothing at will. "Yeah, just toss everything into the washing machine and add some detergent. When it's done, put it in the dryer. Simple." Mostly.
*
"I'm pretty sure there's more to that. Mom said something about sorting at one point." Billy, dubious, does not quite know how exactly that worked, though. "And there's something about clothes shrinking." He tugs at his very tight shirt, "If this shirt shrank at all I think my nipples would tear a hole in it."
*
Teddy is silent a moment. "Experimenting isn't bad." he finally says. "Or you could just ask her how to do it. Probably safer. I didn't know things could shrink. And what are you sorting?" He shrugs. "You should ask."
*
Billy sighs, "I miss the internet." He really, really does. "All the computers in the world, connected, you can find anything at the tip of your fingers. There's this service that searches for information— I don't remember what it's called— but it contains like the sum total of the knowledge of the world, practically. I can't ask my mom about this, she'll … I don't know. Maybe there's a book in the library."
*
Teddy just looks dubious about the internet claims. Someone's been watching too many science fictions movies. "Why not just use your powers then?" he suggests and recites 'cleanmyclothes, cleanmyclothes, cleanmyclothes'."
*
"One of these days you're going to believe me." says an exasperated Billy, "And I will die in shock." He hmphs, then wrinkles his nose, "I… could. But I don't know. It feels wrong to use my powers for something so trivial." But its not wrong to use them to pluck bottle caps off or teleport out to get pizza. "Reality isn't something to warp trivially."
*
"Well, they're your powers. You know best how to use them." Though Teddy would certainly use them for anything he could think of. He uses his own for anything they can be turned to. "Whatever you think best."
*
Billy hesitates, thoughtfully, "Well, my abilities are one thing. They're not really magic. My current theory is I edited reality to give myself these powers, so I now *have* them. But the spells? That's serious. Its maybe the most dangerous power imaginable." He pauses, "… though… uh. I suppose I probably shouldn't like… Well. Willy nilly wormholes for eating out." He toescuffs a bit idly, "I dunno. I'll think about it."
*
"Think of it as training." Teddy suggests. "Just like fighting, you need to practice your spells. The more you do it, the better you get, the more confident you are and the less likely to make a mistake and turn someone into a frog by accident."
*
Billy stops cold: blinking, and then he offers the brightest, warmest version of a smile he has. And that's saying something. "That's brilliant." He nods, "I'll never master it if I don't practice. And I can't only practice in a crisis where its dangerous and while fighting. I need to understand more."
*
Teddy gives a firm, sage nod. "Exactly. If you want to get better at something, you have to do it. That's why we train fighting. That's why agents shoot guns at a range. Our powers are no different and neither is your magic. You /have/ to use it to get to the point where you and everyone else is safe when you do use it." And he'll swear to that in court.
*
Billy squints at Teddy again, "I didn't really think you even believed I had magic. I sorta assumed you thought my weird powers were just weird powers. I mean you totally don't believe I'm from the future, you have this Skeptic Face whenever I mention it. Like. Martin Luther King is going to be assassinated. Que Skeptic Face." he waves a hand, looking for The Face.
*
"Does it really matter what they are?" Teddy asks, skipping over the whole being from the future thing. "The same reasoning applies to them no matter what. But sure, it could be magic. You seem to be able to do almost anything and you need to recite an incantation." Assuming saying somehting three times count. "It's as good a word for it as anything.
*
"I, keen observer that I am, noticed the deft way you avoided the subject I was making there, Teddy, boyfriend-mine. I will, in punishment, only give you a handjob and not do anything more interesting tonight." smirks Billy, even if it immediately causes a blush. He has to get over this shy about saying sex stuff sometime. Then again he still won't cuss. "Stephen is the Sorcerer Supreme and he says its not magic." he does note as an afterthought.
*
"Then it's not magic." It's all Greek to Teddy. "Whatever. Same reasoning applies, no matter what it is. As for the whole being from the future thing, maybe you are. Or maybe you are just seeing things that are going to happen. Or might happen. You once said you thought I could be from the future which means my mom is also from the future along with yours. You could reason almost anyone is from the future if you wanted to. We can't prove it one way or another but it doesn't really matter. YOu think you are, that's fine."
*
"I am." asserts Billy, as if its important. "And the spell— we've figured out it was Wanda's magic and mine interacting over the years, when she acted to close a dimensional portal to a hell dimension— that wrote me into now brought everyone I …" Pause. "Cared about." Safe word, that. "And I remember I was dating someone then who at least shared some superficial details with you, and had some kind of power. I don't know what: but he was… perfect, like you are." Billy rubs at his face a bit, embarassed, "Tall, blond hair, blue eyes, unbelievable body that makes me feel warm and small all at once. I don't know. I'm not saying I tugged you back, just that… something huge happened that day. Its a level of reality warping that is inconceivable to me. I couldn't try to do that in a million years. But I remember, Teddy. I remember, at least, me and Tommy. The memories are vivid and real. Just. Fractured." There's some frustration in his voice.
*
"It's not much stranger than shapeshifting aliens from another planet." Teddy assures Billy. Except it kind of is. "Anyway, I'm not perfect and you obviously just have a thing for blonde jocks. Which is understandable."
*
"You are perfect to me." says Billy softly, dropping his eyes a bit. He slips his fingers into his pockets. The jeans don't support holding whole hands. He takes a quiet breath, "Okay we should go rent the trunka nd buy the mattress and all of that plan thing."
*
"It can wait." Teddy says as he stands up. He takes a few steps toward the bedroom then looks at Billy with a smile. "Unless you absolutely have to go shopping right this minute."
*
Shopping… or Teddy without clothes. Shopping… really. As if Billy thinks about it for more then a nanosecond. Outside of the bedroom he is shy and mentioning these things makes him blush and sometimes stammer. Inside he's not at all shy. Just a little demanding. So he's moving before he has gotten through a whole thought, "It can wait." he says a bit breathlessly.