|
   |
There was a call: anyone home? Something about Narnia, and Kaleb may have told them about the new wardrobe in the living room — one that only Kaleb can open. Well, anyone can open it, but if they do its just a wardrobe. If Kaleb opens it just right, though, it leads to Narnia — the Planner base. So! Billy calls, and when his magic-bro is home, he heads over. Of course, 'heading over' takes a whole ten seconds as he teleports from his apartment to the hall just outside of the K-Twins and Vic's apartment. But he knocks. He could teleport in, but he's a polite boy.
God knows what adventures the twins are off on. Vic is home doing homework. He's left the wardrobe alone, wary for the safety of his pants. Vic forgets about the teleportation, and he's still reading when Billy arrives. He closes the book with a start at the knock, and when he opens the door and sees Billy, he blinks a bit. Then it hits. Oh, right! "Hey! Come in," he says, and he ushers the way. "Gosh, it's been too long. You wouldn't believe the past couple weeks I had. How've you been?"
Billy grins, his dimples flashing, and he reveals from behind his back a blue bag of chips. Cool Ranch Doritos. These things that Vic has never heard of— as they're a good year or so away from existing. He offers the bag as if it a gift, "I've come to link you to Narnia, bro. And to give chips from the future." But he nods seriously, "I heard there's been some trouble, what's been going on? Me, though, I'm good. Just… trying to get organized. Practicing fighting. Not entirely unsuccessfully: I'm pretty sure I can successfully beat up a twelve year old schoolgirl now."
Vic eyes the chips oddly, and with curiosity because hey, food. Taking the bag, he says, "Oh wow, from the future?" He opens the bag and tries one. Then he tries another. And another. Then he offers some to Billy as he licks dust from his fingertips. "Oh my gosh, I can't wait for these to be invented." He looks to the wardrobe, then says, "Oh! Yeah, that's be good." Then, with a sigh, he rakes his hand through his hair and says, "I died. Got hit by a truck. Dad was there, and I feel bad because it freaked him out."
Billy reaches for a chip— and then freezes. "Wait, died?!" To say that Billy sounds alarmed is an understatement. In fact, there's a shiver that passes through the room as several random things suddenly rise up a few inches from where they are. Obviously Vic isn't *still* dead, but this still suddenly freaking him out. "Did he heal you? Or like, call up Lady Death? Or… how— what— how—" Words are not his strong suit when alarmed.
Vic nods, eyes downcast. He's just so abashed. Dying is embarrassing. He looks up then and around at everything. "I just kind of came back," he says. Slowly, meekly, he eats another chip. Then he says, "The thing that's me, the mote, it didn't leave the body, it just got to work repairing it. Mom and Dad were pretty upset." He holds out a hand, turning it this way and that to show he is in fact flesh and blood and alive and well. "I don't think I can die, at least not for good."
Breathing is good. Billy nods his head slowly, breathes more, and slowly gets his telekinesis under control. And then he's stepping forward and sort of glom-hugging Vic, his brother he's barely known for long but like, for Billy? Family is easy. "Well, that's good to know." he says softly, a little weekly, "You can be the one I don't have to worry about." Liar. "But lets not practice this not-dying thing very much, okay? I don't think its something we should really …risk."
Vic is hasty to save the Doritos, but then he returns the hug tightly. "Yeah," he says quietly, "you don't have to worry about me." Liar. "But I'll be careful. It hurts, coming back. It's like you're in this warm place where everything's right, and then you've got a broken hip and your Dad looks ten years older. I don't ever want to see him looking that way again." He hugs Billy tightly, not willing to let go too soon. "Living is good. Not dying, doubly good."
Billy is a hugger; he's got not an ounce of embarassment about keeping on hugging as long as someone feels they need a hug. So he rubs Vic's back lightly, reassuringly "Yeah, pain is bad. I can't even imagine the whole broken hip thing because its supposed to be the worst thing ever, so bro, you and trucks need entirely a new understanding." Squeeze. "I've never had more then a fractured arm so can't relate, but I now have serious sympathy owe going on." There's a wince though, "So yeah, I can imagine that look on Dad's face. And I don't ever want to see it either."
It must run in the family. Mom and Dad are merely in denial. Hugs are the best. Eventually Vic withdraws, but not for awhile, and he grins at his brother, gaze down but dimples on his cheeks. "It's not the greatest feeling," he says. "One helluva way to wake up." He rakes his hand through his hair again. "I don't know what Mom did, but Dad said she was on an errand when I came to. I don't want to be the guy who hit me and took off."
Billy winces visibly, shaking his head slowly, "Yeeeeaaah that guy is probably having a real bad day. I think like technically with the whole 'Supreme' thing Dad might be more powerful but Mom has this scary streak." He takes a deep breath, steals a handful of chips, and munches. "So. Are you right-handed or left-handed? I do have to bind you to the wardrobe. Your hand is the key."
Vic nods solemnly. He may be a mama's boy, cut he's not blind to Mom's capacity for terror. He munches on some chips, too, and he says, "I'm right-handed. I didn't know Kaleb was left-handed til he mentioned it, heh." He leans against the wall and eyes the wardrobe. "So what's our secret base like? I can't wait to see."
Gesturing over, Billy heads for the wardrobe, "Right now its just a mostly empty warehouse— there's some exercise equipment, but that's it. I have plans — by the way if you have any ideas feel free to share — for adding more stuff, putting up some walls. I'm going to soundproof the whole thing, get Dad to lay down some wards. I don't really understand how wards work so can't do them." But he gestures, "Put your *left* hand on the doorknob. If you open it with your dominant hand, its just a wardrobe— and you can store stuff in it— but if you open it with your non-dominant hand, the standing spell activates and it opens a wormhole."
Vic follows after, wiping Dorito dust on his jeans. "It's all a mystery to me," says the kid made of magic. "Wards, I mean." He tentatively lifts his left hand and touches it to the handle, gingerly as though it might zap him if he makes contact. "Like right now or do you have to do your thing first?" For a being made of magic, he sure seems awfully gawkish about using it.
"Gotta bind you to the existing spell; its like a lock. I'm not bound to it myself, neither is Teddy, that means we can't use this wardrobe to get into your apartment. And you guys can't use ours to get into ours. Not that I think anyone is going to invade anyones privacy, but having a backdoor into home without a lock is a bad idea." With that, Billy reaches out and lays his hand over Vic's, closing his eyes. "The hand that binds. Thehandthatbindsthehandthatbinds." There's absolutely nothing obvious that happens. He stuffs another chip into his mouth and nods, "Give it an open." He grins, proud of his accomplishment
Vic watches with interest, but to his eyes, nothing happens. He does grin at Billy's casting, though. "If I had your willpower, there would be a lot more cakes in this world," he says. Then he tries the door and peeks inside, half expecting to find the coat he put in there the other day. But only half. "I totally get it. You want to shore up all your defenses. If one of our places falls, it's best not to offer another way in for whoever felled it."
The door, thus opened, leads impossibly through to a warehouse. Billy steps through, gesturing Vic along, "See, I can just buy cakes. Doritos though…" He sighs, wistful, but adds, "And exactly, bro. Security. Plus, this way if someone comes over they can't get to the base. You can even open it and let someone search, and hey, there's nothing but pants! Well why you'd store pants in a wardrobe in the living room is beyond me, but you get the idea." He gestures around. The only stuff in the place right now is a corner with exercise equipment— a treadmill, stationary bike, various weights. "Welcome to Narnia."
"We'd do it because we know what our lives are like," Vic says. He looks around the place and whistles. "Look at this. I don't even know what a wormhole is, but it gets the job done." He begins to walk around the space. "We could put in a kitchen and pantry for if we ever have to hole up here. A place for practicing, maybe a place for a little R&R. Ooh!" He looks at Billy, all hopeful and puppy-eyed. "Could we have a really cool meeting table like a real organization?"
"Kaleb has requested pinball machines. So R&R is right in; some comfy couches, maybe a pool table. It doesn't have to be all work, yeah." Billy grins, and then he laughs and nods, following along with Vic. "We shall totally have a Meeting Space. A wormhole is a theoretical method of faster-then-light travel: its when the fabric of space is bent so two distant places touch— and thus, you can step from one place to another in an instant. That's basically how the wardrobes work. "Kitchen will be a bit hard, as its a storage space— no water hookups. I might hire someone to fix that, though. A pantry, absolutely."
Vic has to think about this as he walks the floor. Rubbing his chin, he gives this wormhole talk serious thought. "So if space is like fabric, and it folds…" The gears are turning. The physics of the situation is coming into clarity for him. After a moment, he says, "Is gravity like if you put a ball in the middle of a towel you were holding up, and the ball makes the towel dip all around it?" The only logical conclusion, right? "Water would be good if we're ever in a siege situation."
Billy blinks a moment, and smiles, proud. "That's exactly the theory, yes. And that's exactly what gravity is. Now, truth be told what I'm doing when I make wormholes might not *actually* be folding space, but that's how I think about it, and how I visualize and conceptualize a spell is vital." But then he nods thoughtfully, "Also, bathrooms. We have permission from the landlord to do some remodelling— officially we're the Planned Pinball Company and will be making pinball machines up here, not using it to store stuff."
Vic beams. "So the spell is like gravity so heavy it pulls both sides of the towel together." He nods agreeably to the notion of bathrooms. "So if we move the wardrobe it still works, right? Because we're getting a bigger place, soon. More roommates than rooms." He stops wandering and turns his attention fully to Billy. "Is there anything you need me to do to get things set up? I can be a handyman. That's pretty much what I do at Saganaki all day, fix what's broken and spruce up what isn't."
"Yep! It's a lot like that, exactly." Billy nods his head encouragingly. From what he's heard of BodyVic's past, he didn't expect BrotherVic would have the knowledge to work out such things— but clearly BrotherVic has good intuition. "Yeah." he reaches for the chips and steals a couple. The whole endless-eating thing? Vic might have it bad but it too runs in the family with the hugs. "If you move the wardrobe it'll still work I believe. I might have to tweak something but I don't think so. The spell is tied into the wardrobe itself, the two wardrobes are like anchors— they mark the space where the fabric is bent to. Its why I did wardrobes." He considers, "I'll buy stuff, and you can help me assemble it? We have a very solid budget— Teddy and I make good money— but I am sorta the anti handyman."
Hugs and eating, there's worse ways to live. "I guess we can take a look once it's in its new home," Vic says. He munches on some more chips, then says, "Man, when do these come out? I'm going to circle the date." He bobs his head in a nod, curls bouncing, as he says, "I'll assemble it, sure. I love getting my hands on things. The other day I put together a water heater. If you can do those, you can do anything. I was thinking of turning the old one into a smoke house if I get to keep it."
"Two years, bro. Two years." Billy's sigh is long-suffering on this front. "Its barbaric, the 60's. I'm surprised people don't hit people with clubs and drag them off to caves for mating." But then he pauses, and tilts his head, "Wait, a smoke house? I don't understand. What's that? And how is a water heater turnable into a smoke house?"
Vic folds his arms over his chest comfortably. "Two years," he murmurs with an air of reverence. "Aw, I don't think it's so bad. It'll get better when they have these on the shelves." He gestures with the bag dangling from one hand. He perks up when asked what a smoke house is, and he says, "Oh, it's great. You smoke meats in it, for making things like jerky. The casing from a water heater makes a great smoke house. You just have to fit it with racks and seal it up real good. I read about the old Viking smoking houses and thought, well it's the same thing, right? On a smaller scale."
Billy and Vic are hanging out in Narnia, which has inherited some exercise equipment: various weights, a treadmill, a stationary bike. Billy gives Vic a curious look, "Oooh, hey now. I am alllll about jerky. If you wanna build a thing and need anything, let me know, because if you're going to start making Planner Jerky, I'm going to name you my favorite sibling. I can absolutely be bribed with food." There's not a lot of places to sit, but there are benches over for the weight lifting— and so Billy heads over that way to sit.
Wait, what? All about jerking? Teddy pauses as he steps out of the wardrobe, brow furrowed as he looks at Billy and Vic. Oh. Planner /Jerky/. Okay then. "Someone's making beef jerky?" he asks.
"For favorite sibling status? We'll work something out," Vic says. "Mostly I need a place outdoors I can let meat smoke for half a day. We have a patio, but I don't know if Kaleb wants to smell cooking meat all day. I don't know that he doesn't, but…" But despite the fact Vic's dating Kellan, it's Kaleb he looks to for authority. He grins at Teddy and says, "Hey, Teddy. Here, you want some of these?" He offers over a bag of Doritos. "I'm going to make a smoke house out of an old water heater."
"We can work something out here— put it in the corner, and we can hook up some vent thing to vent it outside. No one will care in this area." offers Billy to Vic with a somewhat eager expression, but then he sees Teddy and he smiles, hopping up and heading over to give a hand-squeeze. "Hey." He dimple smiles, "We're planning the place— Kaleb wants pinball machines, and Vic wants an Official Team Meeting Space. I'm sort of making a list of what all we need to put in."
"Yeah, thanks." Taking the bag, Teddy pulls out a handful of chips. "Need any heavy lifting done, just ask." Smiling when Billy comes over, he wraps an arm around the other's waist. "Hmm, I want…" After a moment, he shrugs. "I can't think of anything. Except maybe a fridge for beer. And an endless supply of hot pizza."
"Oh yeah," Vic says, "I guess if we ever are in a siege situation, all we need is Billy's abilities to wish food into existence or wish us somewhere else. But maybe we should have stuff set up anyway in case we have to wait for Billy." Vic's expression is open admiration; Billy is the best brother and capable of anything. "I was thinking we put in a kitchen," he tells Teddy. "Doesn't have to be big or fancy."
"I talked to the landlord." Billy explains to Teddy, giving a nod, even as he sorta melts into Teddy's arm. "He's okay with any construction we do if we sign a lease and pay for it all, as long as it counts as an improvement. So I can hire someone to put in a water and sewer connection. We just have to get it hooked up." He laughs softly, "I'm not sure I could work up something that conjured pizza on demand. And I don't know how to *cook*. We might have to order in." He nods over to Vic, "Yeah what if I get knocked out or something? Having backup plans is important."
"And a gas line if you want to cook." Teddy adds. "You realize he's going to end up with a place ten times better than what he had to begin with and it won't cost him a cent. So of course he's going to say yes. Anyway, if we get stuck in here, we did something very wrong. No one should ever realize it's us in here."
"You two are so cute," Vic says, unabashed. He then offers, "I could hook it up. I mean if it's mostly just plugging in lines to where they're supposed to go, that's not too hard." As long as nothing went wrong, and what are the odds that would happen? To Teddy, he says, "We'd want to lay low, sure. I suspect the rule is don't mention this to anyone who isn't part of the group, yeah?"
"Oh, by seige, I mean if for some reason we have to hunker down *here* because our own apartment is compromised or something." Billy says, leaning into Teddy a bit more, "As far as I'm concerned, this place has two primary purposes. One, a place to meet and do our thing in the normal course of events. But two, a place to escape to in an emergency. That's why I bound our non-dominant hands to the spell, as a lock. Just in case, if our apartment is compromised and someone searched, they'd open the wardrobe and they wouldn't have access." But he adds with a grin, "Yeah, he'll end up with a much nicer place, but I don't care." He nods to Vic, "Yeah. Well, Mom and Dad should know. Dad almost has to since I want wards around the place to prevent other mages besides me from messing with anything. But no one else can know this exists. I mean its safe to say, 'meet at Narnia' because no one will know what that means, and if they were super clever and tried the wardrobes— they couldn't open the portal."
"Just use it to store actual clothes." Teddy says. "So it looks normal. Who has an empty wardrobe just standing there? It would look suspicious. And just os you know, we're trying to convince the landlord we're with the mob so he just leaves us alone. Except without actually saying so cause no one actually says 'leave me alone, we're with the mob'."
"I'm going to put coats in it," Vic says. "Or something, I guess it's up to everyone else." He walks around a particular space, sketching out certain dimensions with his footsteps. "If we put the counter coming out like this, on the other side we could have the meeting table. It could double as a dining table." Of course he's imagining the kitchen. That's where food lives. He nods to them both and says, "Sure, I can be cagey. OldVic was super cagey, I just have to copy him." It's a good thing he's got that notebook, because look at that gormless golden retriever of a man.
"Yeah, use it. I put the wormhole directly in front so when its opened-magically, your stuff will still be there, just *behind* the wormhole. I designed it that way so we could maximize the covertness." Billy looks to where Vic imagines the kitchen, and nods his head with a grin, "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. We can make it big enough so there's several people, and use it for food and meeting."
"Comfy couches." Teddy says after looking around. "Those extra large overstuffed ones you can sink into. And you know those lava lamp things that came out last year? One of those. For our apartment too. They're pretty cool to watch."
"Meetings should be catered, is what I'm thinking," Vic says. "We need a lot of fuel to be our best. No shame in it. No reason not to load up while we're discussing what's what." Then he grins at Teddy. "A lava lamp would be so groovy. I want one for the bedroom. I think it would be cool to fall asleep to."
Billy can't help but laugh, dimples bright as he shakes his head, "You're both nerds." is his decision on the matter of lava lamps, "Do you think we shuold put up walls, make separators, or just leave it all open? Well, except for the bathroom obviously." But he nods otherwise, "Comfy couches, and catered meetings, I'm completely for. I'll hop off to greece and buy enough food to feed an army and hop back before any meeting."
Teddy just shrugs at the accusation. Lava lamps are cool. "Not Greece every time, right? I can only eat falafels and stuffed grape leaves so many times before I get tired of them. Let's alternate countries. Or even continents."
"But lava lamps are cool," Vic protests. He's not a nerd! He's not. "Oh, man. Lambert makes such good Greek food. Don't let him know I'll be stepping out on him." He nods to himself. Kitchen designed in his head. "What's Spanish food like? I've had just about every kind of food you can find in New York but never ate any of that."
"Oh, of course. We'll alternate. I was just meaning it as an example." Billy grins and shakes his head, but then blinks at Vic, "Okay, brother-mine. You, me. Teddy. Tommy. We're going to Spain tomorrow and I'm going to introduce you to paella. We'll order several— seafood, traditional, some mixed variants. We will keep ordering until even you can't handle eating anymore, because paella is my absolutely favorite food ever."
Teddy nods his agreement though he's a bit less extreme about it. "It's good. They're big on rice and beans and use a lot of good seasoning. Tasty. I like German too." Not that there's any food he doesn't really like. "But yeah, we haven't been to Spain in a week or two. It's time."
Vic says, hand over his chest, "I would like that, Billy." Solemn as only a man with a bottomless stomach can be at the prospect of trying a new food. "I've heard that paella is good stuff, and I'll have to report back what I think." He looks hungry just thinking about it, despite shoving so many chips in his gob earlier. "I think there was a German delicatessen in one of the neighborhoods OldVic lived in. Never been, myself, but he liked it despite it being kraut food."
"There is also tapas. See, in Spain, everyone stops working at about 2, goes to a place, and has tapas and alcohol. Tapas are… thousands of little endless appetizers that are all incredibly delicious and varied and… The spanish are amazing people." Billy nods to Teddy with agreement, grinning, "And we should hit up Tokyo soon. Have you ever had sushi?" He looks back at Vic and smiles, "German's real good. Hearty. Rich. It never quite stops being awesome. I should remember to invite you over when we go out for food more often."
Teddy gives a little shrug and so-so motion at the mention of sushi. "French is good too. Very rich. The desserts are wonderful. Really, everywhere has stuff that's good."
Vic shakes his head. "Never had any of that stuff." He almost says something else, but he's becoming less and less comfortable with calling things the same thing OldVic called them, especially now that he's got Japanese friends of his own. "I've had French, and Chinese, lots of Italian and Irish, lots of stuff from the Jewish delis. Middle Eastern food's good too. I don't think I could live anywhere but New York. The food's just too good." Then, he says with a grin, "You guys don't have to ask me twice to come over for food.
Billy eyes Teddy a moment at the shrug, "Hmph. Fine, I'll go sushi-ing all by myself, spoilsport." But he nods to Vic with a grin, "It's true, New York has great food. Of course, if you think the stuff here is good— wait 'til you taste it at the source. There's some authentic restaurants here, but nothing quite compares to having it local."
"It's raw fish, Billy. If I want raw fish, I can jump into the ocean and eat some." Teddy explains but does nod agreement about the restaurants. "Local is better. They're used to cooking that stuff. Harder to find experts here."
Vic wrinkles his nose. "Raw fish?" He pauses, then shrugs and says, "I'd try it." Who's he kidding? It's food. "I can ask Hajime about sushi. He'd know." At least he can pronounce a foreign name without butchering it. "My boss is an expert on Greek," he says. "He sounds American, but don't let it fool you; his family's been over to visit, and they don't even speak English. They're also satyrs."
"It's not *just* raw fish anymore then steak is a cow that you lit on fire." Billy chuckles and shakes his head, "Its prepared. There's sauces, rice, other ingredients." His voice trails off as he blinks at Vic, "..satyrs exist?"
Teddy glances over at Billy. "There are mutants, aliens, Viking gods, crystal spiders from another dimension and you have to ask about satyrs?"
Vic shrugs and says, "I guess they do. He's not one, but he's related to them. He's got the weirdest eyes, kind of cool, but they got a square pupil like a goat's. He's got some little nubs that've come through on his head, just little things. His family look pretty goaty to me. Nice folks, though. Plus he brews a really strong wine he says are from satyrs. He makes the best baklava. I bring it to Mom all the time."
"_Something_ mythological has to be just…mythological." says Billy a bit defensively, but he does smile with some embarassment, "I figured mermaids, centaurs and satyrs were all firmly in the people made crap up list." He nods over to Vic, and grins, "Well anytime you want to bring me baklava, I won't turn you away." The wine makes him wince though.
"I'm just going to assume now that everything exists till proven otherwise." Teddy says with a small shrug. "Doesn't hurt and this way I won't be surprised when it's trying to eat me."
Vic grins and says, "You got it, brother. I'll bring some for the club house too when we're meeting. You guys should go to Saganaki sometime. Lambert's a good guy. He's got a spot in the back where he says folks like us can hang out as long as we're nice. No hating mutants or homos or anything like that. I guess his people have pretty liberal ideas on that stuff. So I like to hang out back there. Tell him you're my brother and I bet he'll say it's okay." He nods to Teddy. "Yeah, I figure if I can exist, anything can."
"Hey, I like surprise. I don't worry so much when things try to eat me what they are. I discourage things trying to eat me." Billy blinks at Vic, and considers, "Well, if satyrs are anything like myth, they're horny party-goers who maybe go a little mad but are more or less kinda prolly cool people."
Teddy hands the bag of chips back to Vic then licks off his finger tips. "Okay, I'm headed back. Just saw the wardrobe door open and thought I'd see who was around. Catch you later."
Vic nods slowly and says, "Yeah, that sounds like my boss." He reclaims the bag of chips and helps himself to a few more. Doritos are definitely a win with the younger brother. "It's good to see you again, Teddy," he says. "You and Billy should come over for dinner some night soon."
"Whose cooking? Can any of you cook? I can not except grilled cheese." Billy grabs for Teddy, goes for a quick kiss, and then a slap on the butt with a grin, "See you home soon." Then he looks back to Vic, "Right, so yeah, satyr. I'll come visit. I wouldn't mind a baklava source that did not require teleporting across the world."
Teddy shakes his head but he's grinning. "We definitely will, Vic. Don't be too long, Billy or I'll go to sleep." On that implicit promise, he heads back to the wardrobe and disappears into it.
Vic glances aside for the slap on the butt, giving the two a little visual privacy. And trying not to think about Teddy with his shirt off. He's not allowed to think about that. "I can cook," he says. "I mean I'm not like Lambert or anything like that, but I can put food together. Kaleb says when I make pancakes they don't taste like despair."
Outside, Billy never shows PDA, he barely touches. Shoulder-bumps. Inside safe places, Billy doesn't mind it; Vic might give privacy but he's oddly not shy. He does blush at Teddy's… offer. And he gets a kinda stupid grin on his face, "As if I wouldn't wake you up." He grins over at Vic then, "That… is very descriptive? And I hope? I never get to taste pancakes that do taste like despair."
Teddy goes home.
Vic grins when Billy does. He knows those feels, bro. He does. "He said I was the guy who made pancakes because when he or Kellan try to make pancakes, they taste like despair. I figured I'm highly motivated to learn how to cook, so I got some cookbooks, and I can toss together something tasty. The stuff chef does at work, though, that's art. That's the mastery of years. So I usually bring stuff home from there."
"You should take advantage of working there and ask to be a line cook. At first he'll probably just make oyu cut the same thing over and over for hours on end, but eventually he might teach you recipes." Billy suggests, voice encouraging, "I don't think its every day you manage to make friends with a nice expert who might teach you. You like food so much… maybe you can be a chef when you grow up." As if Vic needs growing up. Its said in jest.
"That's not a bad idea," Vic says. "I mean I'm working fewer hours now that I'm going to school, but I could ask him maybe some weekend. Usually I'm the handyman because I'm the guy who can lift a stove with one arm, but I bet if I asked, he'd at least let me chop stuff." He shoulder-nudges Billy when growing up is mentioned, and he says, "Hey, pal, I'm almost three months old."
Billy grins at the shoulder-nudge, "And you already have a boyfriend. It took me years plus time-travel which makes it sort of negative-years before I got one." Hmph! Some guys have all the luck. But he nods encouragingly, "Worst case scenario he says no. Hey, wait, what school? What are you studying? I'm going to NYU. Chemical engineering. Well. As a freshman I'm mostly taking english lit and math, but, the goal is a degree in chemical engineering."
Vic toes the ground and says, "Oh, you know, um. I'm going to school with Kaleb and Kellan. The commute is murder so I'm thinking of getting a car. We won't have to wait on trains and stuff. For now, we're planning on staying in the city. It's where everything is happening, and where Mom and Dad are."
That response has Billy tilting his head, peering, "You know…um? What school? What are you studying?" He pokes Vic in the shoulder, because he's finding this odd. Vic might be worse then Billy at the whole lying thing, but Billy has lately been studying spycraft by the best spies ever.
When Vic wants to like, it's a different story. But then he comes to a decision. He doesn't keep things from family. Like he could, given who his family is. "There's a school upstate, Professor Xavier's. I'm studying Mutant History right now, because I like history. I figure since I decided to be a person, I should figure out what they've all been up to. I've been studying World War II and Mutant History, trying to figure out all the stuff grandpa went through."
Billy relaxes, visibly. He was thinking something was … darker, going on. But this just sounds like a safe place. "And I'm assuming by the reluctance, its supposed to be a secret? A refuge of some sort? Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." Billy nods, reaching out to squeeze Vic's arm in a reassuring way. "I'm not a mutant, I don't think— I'm pretty sure my magic isn't a mutation— but if they're okay with you then I'm okay with them. I wouldn't mind meeting this Professor Xavier sometime, if he wanted to meet." There's something in his voice that says Deeply Protective.
Vic nods and says, "Yeah, for the safety of the people going there. It's mostly mutants, but Kellan asked the professor to come see if I'd qualify since a lot of my powers are the same as a mutant's might be, and I didn't want to be separated from Kellan." Because major educational decisions based on the heart never end badly. He smiles at the squeeze on his arm. "I love it, Billy. I love the reading, the homework. I love sitting in class. Dad says Professor Xavier's a good guy. He felt okay with me going to the school, so I feel good about it." He rubs the back of his neck as he thinks. "If he's coming to New York sometime soon, maybe we could all meet. I'll see if he is."
"Oh, Dad knows?" That makes Billy relax even more. If Stephen is okay with this then Billy clearly — mostly — trusts he doesn't need to engage protective mode. "Good, though. I love school too. Though… Be careful, Vic. Don't define your whole life on Kellan. I know, being in love is great, having someone is great. But you have to be able to say: this part is mine. You have to allow yourself that stuff that is yours. For me? Its chemical engineering. Teddy is politely interested but its a part of my life that's mine."
Vic nods, his smile fading into something more solemn as he says, "Kaleb and I are working on getting some touches in the apartment that are mine, and not just, you know, me being the guy who lives in Kellan's room. I'm going to get myself a lava lamp. And my studies I pick on my own. Like I don't know if Kellan is as interested in history as I am. And math, and literature." Okay, someone's information starved brain has finally met the buffet. "I think for me it's food. Like, I cook at home for everyone, but I don't think Kellan is as into it as I am."
"Just as long as you are careful, Vic. You're…new. You have this life of history to you that you remember but its not *you*, and if you define yourself too much as Kellan? You'll never figure out who *you* are. Its not that I don't like Kellan or think you two are great, just… explore. Try things. Find yourself. The rest of us do this when we're kids: you remember a childhood but its not *you*. So now you gotta figure out. I'm entirely, completely supportive of your relationship." Billy nods his head fervently, "I just want to make sure you become who you want to be."
Vic half-smiles as he says, "I like everything being all Kellan this and that, but yeah, I see what you're saying. I've known him all my life, and I'm still growing, and he's… he has a lot of gravity, you know what I mean? And it's hard to think about who I am without him." He takes a deep breath, then says, "But if he ages, and I don't, a day's going to come when I'm going to have to find that out. It feels like betraying him to even think about it, but I also know he wants me to be happy and whole. So I've been giving it some thought."
Billy nods his head seriously, "I can't give you the answers, only share with you what I know of…well, being human. Of living my own life, which is different then BodyVic's. When Tommy gets back, you'll meet her and… she's had her own very, very different experiences. But truth be told, I know what gravity is like." Billy is … wistful. Longing. "Teddy is … compelling. I want to be his."
Vic nods and says, wistful as well, "Yeah. I want to be Kellan's. When he walks in the room, everything else just seems to fall away. This whole ordeal has made me just decide every day is worth living harder than ever, and that means loving him, too." He sighs. Oh, he's got it bad. "But I think my interest in history is probably one of those things that's all me, so I'm on the right track." He clasps his hands together, then. "I can't wait to meet her. I hope she likes me."
"Of course she will." Billy says it without any hesitation at all, "You're family. Tommy doesn't see family like I do— because Tommy's father was… abusive." Billy's expression darkens at that. Oh, the danger in that dark look. The things Billy could do: the things that look says he wants to do. "But loyalty matters to us." He gestures to Vic, "Our real parents, the ones that love us, made you. You're our brother. For that I bet either of us would put our life between yours and harm without any hesitation." Even if Vic is maybe not killable, which maybe isn't wise, but. Billy can't be anyone but Billy. "But yeah. I understand that feeling. I think clearly until Teddy is in the room: then its a struggle to think of anything else."
"I'd do the same for you guys, even though I've never even met her, I would." Not that putting Vic's life on the line is as big a deal in the grander sense, but waking with a broken hip, lacerated organs, and a spinal column still cranky from having repaired itself… these are not things one repeats lightly. He scowls when he thinks about Tommy's father. Hey, if Billy ever needs some help messing him up… "She needs us to be loyal and kind. I can do those things." Just like a golden retriever can.
Billy laughs, shaking his head, "Kind, I don't know. Not mean certainly, but we're siblings. Siblings aren't always kind. We trust eachother enough to not need to always be kind. Because we'd never hurt eachother on purpose, and because who else are you going to trust most?" Billy shakes his head, "In the future, I didn't know Tommy was my sister. Everyone said we looked alike, but fluke, we thought. But she was my best friend. You don't have that foundation to remember, because you're new. Tommy…sometimes takes some getting used to. She's impulsive and impatient. Its how she sees the world: imagine if every second you experienced was a minute. Imagine everyone around you speaking in slow motion and by the time you heard a fraction of what they said, you knew what they were saying. Imagine if everyone and everything was *slow*, and how frustrating that could be. She needs us to be loyal and *patient*, because her patience may seem short from time to time but its unbelievably expansive from her perspective."
Vic hangs on Billy's every word, the upside of having a little brother, and he says, "No, you're absolutely right. I always try to be kind, but patient's more important. Gosh, I can't imagine." He munches another chip, and he offers the bag to Billy. "I mean I'm around Kaleb a lot and he's not very patient, so I hope that's decent practice. I can't imagine how frustrating that would be. Sometimes I just want to pick people up and put them where they're going because they're in my way, and they're not even being that slow."
"Yeah, for Tommy, its every moment just…drags." Billy nods his head, but he grins and snags a chip, then looks around, "Screw this." And he closes his eyes and murmurs, "Wheninromewheninromewheninrome." The world spins around them, blurring and solidfying, and they find themselves in an ally just around a gelatto shop, "I want ice cream." Which is not the same thing, "I mean yeah, you just gotta let her ber her— but…" Billy laughs, "You gotta be a little careful, too. She's impulsive and can get you into trouble easily. She gets these ideas… and of course I back her on every one, but man, sometimes I wish I was fast enough to talk her out of it. I don't know Kaleb well, but if he can help you learn patience, all power to him."
Vic's eyes widen. "Real Italian gelatto?" Hey, with a name like Delano, he'd better know the difference. "Billy, you are the best. Best sibling. Don't tell Tommy." He then says, proving he can lie like a dog, "I won't be drawn into bad ideas all that easily." Hope for Vic, there is none. "Kaleb's great. He's got ideas about what he wants and doesn't make you guess what he's thinking. You have to just let him be him, because he's a force to be reckoned with. It's great."
There's advantages to having mage-brothers. Billy just grins, "This is my life, I teleport all over on a whim." He heads to the shop, eyes, and makes a choice of a few scoops, and he pulls out of his pocket actually italian money. His wallet if one looks closely, had several sorts of money filling it up. He does this a lot. "Oh, I don't mind forces to be reckoned with. I like strong people. I like people who know who they are and who *strive* to be who they are— but I know finding that is hard. It took me awhile."
Vic follows after mage-brother. Who has real Italian money! "Wow," he whispers. "Do you speak Italian?" he asks. He offers the person behind the counter a smile and speaks all the Italian he knows: speaking English loudly as he says, "Two scoops, please." And holding up two fingers. He then tells Billy, "Kaleb's great. He and Kellan balance each other out just about right, I think."
"I speak enough italian to order food, there's usually a lot of pointing involved." Billy says with a grin, gesturing to the two-finger salute, because a lot of it is like that, "If I have complex needs I can magic myself up some lingos, but ice cream? Pointing and gesturing is enough and most shops vaguely understand english." He nods his head then, "Tommy and I are a lot like that. I think things through: She acts. We're different but…match."
"It's a good house to live in," he says. "I'm still finding my place, but it's important they all want me there, you know? I'm not just the guy sleeping with his…" He glances around. There could be English speakers here so he keeps it gender ambiguous. "Twin. He's the one who was like Vic, you gotta find something of yourself in this place. Then we went art shopping, but I'm not allowed to get still lifes of fruit bowls or anything with a lighthouse."
Billy glom-hugs again, tightly, because as established, Billy is a hugger. "Good on him and good on you but …seriously, if you're looking at still lifes and lighthouses, listen to him." Its rare that people draw out the fact that Billy is an artist. "I gotta get going, bro. Teddy's waiting and…" They seriously will sex it up. "But no still lifes. That entire genre, I don't even have words to define how absurd it is as not a communicative medium — which is what art should be."
Vic returns the hug with gusto. Brothers! "I'm learning," he says, patiently. "Art is supposed to make you feel something, but not just anything. It's supposed to make you have an experience." So far, the experience Vic has had while looking at art has been 'look at those dogs playing poker like they're people!' "We're working on it. I like Picasso's stuff that I've seen so far." He collects his gellato and says, "It sure was good seeing you, Billy. I better get started on my paper, myself. It's due on Monday."
"Monet. Have Kaleb show you a print of Monet's 'Impression: Sunrise'. It is in itself an expression of the joy of a life where there's love." Billy says with clear certainty. But that's his taste. "You know where I'm at, and though we have this… base, to sorta let everyone have privacy? That doesn't apply to you coming over whenever, bro. You're my brother." He didn't ever hesitate in that assertation and he doesn't hesitate now.
Vic murmurs, "Monet. Impression: Sunrise." He nods and says, "Got it." He'll write it down right after gelatto, and might even remember! He grins then at his brother and says, "Same goes, man. You're my family. You're always welcome in my home." He goes in for another hug. "You take care of yourself."
"I'll get us back and then you can go find Kellan." For as much as Billy said Vic needs to find himself, he's so in love he understands that … there's a limit to that. And he's happy for it. So magic is cast and them with ice cream find themselves back in new York. "Be well, and if you need anything, find me." is his parting words.