halfscarlet | [For Teddy] Aftermath

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in-game,
teddy

[For Teddy] Aftermath

The ride home isn't uncomfortable so much as quiet, Billy too caught up in his anger at the whole debacle at the party and wondering why he'd even thought it a good idea to go in the first place. He doesn't have anything to say yet, and when Billy occasionally glances across the carriage (it's not exactly roomy, but there may as well be a football field between them right now), he knows Teddy is probably just as confused and caught up in himself as Billy is.

It had been stupid. Not even hanging out with his friends had been worth that, whatever had happened to set Teddy off. And now, with the way everyone looked, Billy isn't sure he'll have some of those friends left after everything blows over.

He's glad when they finally get home, when he can shrug off his coat, toe off his shoes and let them lie in the hall with no one to yell at him as the door closes behind Teddy.

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The tension hasn't eased from his frame any by the time he walks in the door. He watches Billy start to discard his outer layers and pulls his own coat off, dropping it onto the great, standing iron rack before walking down the short hallway past the stairs, into the kitchen. He pulls the blue jacket off and drops it on a chair, then moves to the sink.

The water may be freezing cold but he needs, badly, to wash his hands.

Billy follows Teddy and stays in the doorway as he washes his hands, dimly aware that he's doing it because there's blood on them, and he can't forget the look in Tony's eyes as his face bled. He isn't even sure what that had been about, still doesn't understand, but he knows Teddy, and he knows he doesn't just up and punch people for no reason.

He likes to threaten them a lot, but that's usually when they're trying to hurt Billy.

"What happened?"

Teddy doesn't reply right away, because if he opens his mouth he'll blurt out exactly what happened, and he doesn't want to say those words. Hearing them once was bad enough.

"I lost it," he says, lifting a dishtowel and rubbing his hands dry harder than necessary.

"I know that part," Billy says, and though sensing Teddy's moods has never been hard, it had always been easier when Billy could judge how angry he was by how green and scaly he'd gotten.

It doesn't occur to him until right now that he kinda misses green Teddy. But he misses everything about being back in New York, and that's nothing new.

Billy walks over and takes the towel in one hand, curls the other around one of Teddy's hands. "Can I see?"

He lets him, if only because the touch is desperately needed and he is completely incapable, at the moment of asking for it.

"I'm fine," he says quietly.

"It's fine," he adds, correcting himself.

"I know," Billy says lightly, gazing up at Teddy through the fringe of his hair before taking a closer look at his hands. They're red and a bit puffy, but they seem just fine, especially when Billy's seen Teddy in much worse shape.

Teddy swallows, trying not think about what Tony said, but with Billy so close, all warm brown eyes and full lips twisted just enough at the corner to show he's worried, it's all but impossible. He looks at the dark frosted window set above the sink.

"...I'm so sorry," he mumbles, quiet, ill-enunciated words more an indication of his internal state than his expression.

"I'm sorry," Billy says, carefully slipping his hands into Teddy's. "We shouldn't have gone, I thought would be...I don't know. Less awkward. And crazy."

"It was fine. It was fun," he says, "until..."

He shakes his head a little, every line of his face tight.

"He was baiting me. He knew exactly what- He was trying to get me to do what I did, and I did it. So who's the jerk, right? Who's the idiot."

"It's not your fault if he was baiting you," Billy responds, surprising himself with how vehemently he says it. He can't imagine Tony doing something like that, but he'd seen his face and Teddy doesn't go off without serious incentive to do so.

It all makes Billy's stomach turn, and he can't help feeling it's all his fault, somehow.

"You're not a jerk or an idiot, okay?"

Teddy's eyes snap back to Billy's face at the sudden shift in his tone. He swallows, hard, and can tell from the tug around his forehead and the stinging in his eyes that he's going to lose it if he doesn't focus. It was bad enough when it was- what it was, but watching it upset Billy makes it worse.

"I don't want this to be a- a thing, between you and your friends. I'm- That's the last thing, Billy, that I'd ever..."

"I have plenty of friends," Billy says, though he's not quite as confident as he sounds. He lets go of Teddy's hands to slide his hands up to his shoulders, giving them a squeeze. "Just...promise me you won't let him get to you again."

"I promise," Teddy says immediately, bowing his head, his own hands coming up to cradle the small of Billy's back.

"Billy, I swear."

"Good," Billy says, pressing his forehead against Teddy's for a moment before kissing the corner of his mouth. "Thank you."

Teddy catches Billy's face in his hands and pulls back a little, eyes on his mouth. He meets Billy's gaze for a moment before he tilts his head down and kisses him, just a shallow meeting of their lips, a sweet, brief press.

That brilliant mouth.

He kisses each lip individually, first the upper and then the lower, his tongue sliding against the gentle indentation there for barely a moment. He'd meant what he said: It's not enough. It's not going to ruin them because they've been through more than that. It hurts, and it's going to stick with him for a while, but Tony Stonem can go to hell. Long before that limey ass had 'taught' Billy a damn thing, Billy and Teddy had been teaching each other, and no one, regardless of the extent of the relationship, has more of a claim to any part of the boy in his arms than Teddy does.

Billy draws in a sharp breath after the kiss, always surprised and satisfied at the feeling Teddy's kisses give him. He pulls Teddy into a hug, slipping his arms around Teddy's warm waist and resting his forehead on his shoulder. "Let's avoid big parties for a while," he says, voice faintly muffled.

Billy's birthday is coming up, but Teddy can keep that affair small.

"Okay," he says quietly, sliding his arms around Billy's back and shoulders.

"...I feel like I keep messing up," he confesses.

"You didn't mess up tonight," Billy says, and sighs. "I don't know what he said to you or why you did it, but I know you wouldn't do something like that without a reason."

"Not a good enough one, but... yeah," Teddy says, "I had a reason. Billy, I'm saying this not as your boyfriend who hates that guy because you were with him, but as your friend- there's something seriously broken in him. And it's your call, but.... Just... maybe stay away from him, for a while."

You'd have to be insane, knowing what Teddy and Billy had been, to pick a fight. To basically goad one of them into beating you up.

It pains Billy to realize the Tony he'd seen earlier tonight is not the Tony he'd dated for months, and he wonders if he'd had a part in that. It's a train of thought he's run over a million times in the last month.

"I know, and I will. Promise. I think I might try to talk to Maxxie, though."

Teddy just nods. It makes sense, and he likes Maxxie. He just hopes Maxxie doesn't completely loathe him.

"I'm sorry the night got ruined." He's not sure he can apologize enough, but he'll try.

"It's okay," Billy murmurs. "There'll be more parties and events to come, this is just one of many."

Teddy doesn't actually care about the parties, it's more about the life Billy's set up for himself. It's the first time he's ever felt like a hindrance. He pulled Billy closer, wrapping him up in his arms and pressing his face into the curve of Billy's neck, to breathe him in.

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[For Teddy] Aftermath

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