2013.07.08 - Just In The Neighbourhood

It's a sunny afternoon, like many are in the middle of summer. The warm amber light streams through the glass door of Halley's Comics, haloing Teddy's golden hair. He found it a little hard to focus on the comic he was scanning- an unusual thing, but only because his nervous energy fixed his attention on the door out of the corner of his eyes. There was something he was looking forward to more than the purchase, and he discovered he was a little nervous in a way he hasn't been for too many weeks of absence. At one point he catches himself looking at the door more than the comic, and he forces himself to turn away from the door so as not to start pacing. A watched kettle and all.
He wondered briefly if maybe Billy had met someone else during his time away, and that made butterflies in his stomach. 
"I'll take this one," he says, putting the comic down at the counter and getting out some cash to pay for it, impulse buying to keep himself from thinking too much. The proprietress gives him a smile and starts counting out the change, and Tedfy focuses on the shiny coins, anything to keep his expectation from making him want to go and perch himself out of the door, like someone doing a musical number on a railcar.
Billy Kaplan has met many people since he last saw, or had even a text from Teddy Altman, but none in the way that Teddy fears. He probably couldn't meet someone in the way that Teddy is fearing because he hardly realized that the flirting done when they first met was more than just friendly banter. For the open and up front about who he is person that Billy is, he is a little dense when it comes to the idea that someone might really be attracted to him. 
The little bell above the shop window does its thing as the door is opened and for just a second the bright light halos around the outline of one Billy Kaplan. At the moment he is wearing jeans, and a red shirt with...yes what appears to be a cartoon brain with eyes and a mouth printed on the stomach portion of it. Of all the days to wear his newest super geek shirt, Billy picked the one where he would find the returning Teddy Altman.
Billy waves at the guy behind the counter and stops dead the instant he sees an unmistakable form. There is no way that there is more than one blond with the body of a God (and Billy knows actual Gods so he can say that about Teddy with accuracy) that shops in this comic store. He has to force himself not to make a noise, and even then the slight hint of a squee sneaks out, before the grinning and slightly blushing Billy steps closer. "Teddy?"
There was that voice. The one he had remembered while he was away. He grips his brown paper sleeve and blushes, turning around to face Billy as his face immediately breaks out into a grin. "Billy..." his voice is a little higher than he intended it. Caught up in the excitement, the blond teen leans over and gives Billy a hug. "It's so good to see you--" and then his natural shyness takes over and he steps back from the hug, leaving his hands on Billy's shoulders instead... noticing his shirt, he gives him another smile through the blushing "... my lord Krang."
Billy Kaplan all but melts into the hug, and who wouldn't really? Being a bit smaller his arms naturally go around Teddy's waist and his hands end up staying there as they pull back. "Teddy! It is you, I figured I mean who else has your body and likes comics, I mean your size, your frame! Thats it your body frame! I..." He is getting up steam for a nice long foot in mouth type babble when his shirt gets the reaction it does and the boy goes crimson. "Oh...Gods..." His hands end up coming away from Teddy to try and cover up the image of Krang on his stomach. "Of all the days to wear the geekiest thing possible..."
"I think it's cute," Teddy says, trying to steer the conversation away from his body, which was going to make him turn crimson. "It looks good on you, Billy."
He reaches for Billy's hand to move them away from the image, his fingers tingling a little at the touch. "Hey... just on the off chance, um, you're not doing anything, right?"
He had to admit that he was a little scared of asking him if maybe someone else was in the picture, "I was a little worried you weren't going to show up."Hisdmittedly it was a surprise, so Billy wouldn't have known he was there because the text had been from someone else. So, actually, if Billy had been trying to avoid him, he wouldn't know. And that was confusing. 
The owner gives them a polite cough, not because she objects to their display, but because they're obstructing the cash register for any customer who might want to buy something.
"Oh, sorry!" Teddy says, smiling apologetically and pulling Billy aside by the hand, "I forgot where I was."
Which he did, really. Seeing Billy mortified like that was cute, but from the moment he had heard his voice, he had focused solely on the magic boy.
Billy Kaplan would, personally, rather talk about Teddy's body. Or maybe not cause that goes to places and thoughts and will end up with the big blush again. Lets change the topic of conversation then, yes? Good. 
As his fingers get moved there is a tingle and maybe a little shock because that control thing still not happening and it is worse when Teddy is looking at him like that. "I was going to stop by the book store near here see if they had a book I had asked about that the surly Goth chick was going to ask her boss about, but that is not important. Well I mean it can wait, I don't need to do it today or anytime soon really cause they probably have not found it or anything yet if they can for what I can afford that is." Breathe Billy, Breathe! 
At the polite cough the dark haired teen jumps a little and squeaks while moving out of the way. "Sorry, sorry." He offers because he knows well enough what it is like to stand behind slow boring people in line while waiting to buy comics or Yugio cards. "So...um..yeah nothing going on."
Teddy looks out the door, and then back at Billy, and into Billy's eyes. Breathe, Teddy. He was nervous in his own way, he had different ways of showing them. Billy was all verborrhea and jumpiness, his was a steady unease and a sense of something doing trampolines in his stomach. He'd gone out on two dates with this boy already, what was the matter with him? Well, probably the fact that they hadn't seen each other for a while, and it felt a little like starting over. Only not really, but in a way. 
He liked the idea of a bookstore, but he wanted to take Billy out into the sun, while it still lasted. "Would you like to go... to the park? There's an ice cream truck nearby and all. You can tell me everything that's been going on..." he notices how lovely Billy's eyes are, nicer than he remembered them. He keeps that all to himself.
Billy Kaplan grins and bounces a little. Yup, his nervousness is all out there and obvious, which can be said about just about everything about Billy. He is something of a little ball of energy and about useless at hiding things. "The park sounds great. There is one around here that is really nice, at least when not surrounded by cops because Thor's Daughter is sulking on top of the play parapets." He grins as he likes the idea of going outside with Teddy. The sun on the other ten's skin and hair is something that Billy has thought about a lot since he last saw him, not that he is going to say that out loud...at least not on purpose. Making the creepy stalker comments totally not a good idea. "Oh man, we have massive amounts of stuff to catch up on. Have you seen Eddie yet? He's been formally adopted and you missed the wedding."
Teddy leads Billy outside, stepping out into the light and blinking a little "I did? Aw, no, and I was looking forward to that. How was it?" He hasn't quite let go of Billy's hand yet, and he hopes Billy doesn't notice. A little pecadillo on his part. But it makes sense, right? To lead him? "I haven't seen anybody yet. I just got back this morning and, well... I wanted to see you first."
Butterflies galore, at that statement, but he wanted to say that much at least. Gauge how Billy took it. Though from the way he was bouncing, Teddy was beginning to feel a little more comforted, his fears slowly going by the wayside. "How's Eddie taking it?"
Timing, timing is everything they say. Teddy's timing was perfect. Billy has is mouth open and is about to say something when bam, blinded by light while stepping outside and blindsided by Teddy saying he wanted to see him first. The babble dies in his mouth, just becoming a slight stammer and a blush. 
Billy Kaplan is lead outside, and sees no problem at all with it. Getting to keep his hand in Teddy's so perfect a thing and the neighborhood is one that a young gay couple holding hands gets hardly any notice. Well, hardly any notice other than the people that want to coo at them for being so cute. 
It takes a second for Bill to recover, but when he does he has a huge grin on his face. "Eddie is..still a little mystified that he impressed Thor enough to get him and Sif to talk Odin into letting him be adopted. Other than that, taking to it like a duck to water. The wedding was just...there are no words. Asgard was indescribable and no one had any problems at all while I was just flying around some of the spires while there. I even taught the ravens how to play tag."
"Wow... now I'm sorry I missed it even more, though I guess we can sneak in a visit at some point now that Eddie's royalty? Still... I would have liked to go with you." He leaves that vaguely there, but the implications are there to be read. Teddy leads Billy towards the park, specifically towards the ice cream truck parked at the Park entrance- what he likes to call 'It's a Trap!'. "Can I buy you something?" he says, looking at Billy and tilting his head towards the truck while the crepuscular rays hit him straight in the face, highlighting his golden hair and making his blue eyes shine a little. He holds his other hand up slightly to block the sun from his eyes.
Billy Kaplan nods at Teddy and has to stop himself from actually floating for a second. "I am sure we can. Especially after what Eddie ended up finding to give as a wedding gift. Thor and Sif couldn't keep it, they had it immediately moved to the vaults in Asgard, but the fact that he used some of the research stuff I had given him to track it down still kind of blown away about that." Billy talks as they walk along managing to gesture a bit here and there without using the hand still holding Teddy's. "I would have loved that, we couldn't do anything like sneak away and make out or anything given general reaction to...certain things but would have been amazing to be able to see the wedding with you. When they get to the truck Billy is already reaching for his wallet when asked about buying him something. "I..sure. I'll have a drumstick." He orders loving the chocolate dipped vanilla ice cream with little nuts on top.
"Two, please." Teddy says with a grin. After he pays for both, he leads Billy by the hand into the park, savoring his drumstick but his blue eyes flitting to Billy frequently. At the mention of making out, he just grins. "What did Eddie give them? It sounds like he outdid himself. We'll have other chances, I'm sure, to see things like that." He hoped so, anyways. What did Billy like about him, he wondered-- it was all he could do not to fumble the drumstick, feeling the warmth of Billy's hand against his.
He leads him for a little, until he finds a bench at the perfect spot-- surrounded partially by trees and vegetations in a little retreat. With a shy smile, he says "I feel like sitting down... what do you think of that over there?"
Billy Kaplan takes his ice cream and nibbles at the nuts along the top of it at first while he is lead into the park. "Oh, man you don't know do you! He managed to track down the Gem of a Thousand Suns. Asgard artifact slash weapon, says everything in the name, lost eons ago. He spotted a reference in some of my notes on a archeology dig that found a gem like it that was stolen right afterwards, and then with luck only Eddie could have ran into the guy that stole it. We followed him back to a warehouse and after getting sucked into a pocket dimension, fighting demons and other stuff found it just after an Asgardian Villain showed up and fought him for it." Billy sees the spot offered for sitting and nods before throwing himself onto the bench in the way that only teenagers seem to manage and turning to sit sideways on the bench with his legs pulled up under him so he can look at Teddy while they talk and eat ice cream.
Teddy sits down, leaning over a bit to listen to Billy, his arm draped over the back of the bench. "Now that's an amazing coincidence. Oh man, I've missed a lot of things, haven't I?" he says, nibbling at his ice cream when it strikes him that the moment is perfect "... most of all, you, though." And blush. Then he realizes "N-not that you're a thing or anything, I meant." He gives him an apologetic smile "-- I didn't do anything exciting... I swam a lot."
Billy Kaplan grins and nods. "You did, and missed us doing upgrades on the base too." He blushes and ducks his head a little. "I missed you too, a lot." He says a little softly and embarrassed. His mind does go off on a slight tangent, thinking of Teddy swimming, while he finishes nibbling around the sides of the cone exposing the sweet vanilla ice-cream inside the chocolate shell. Not thinking much about it he starts to lick his way around the cone making only the faintest of slurping noises here and there while enjoying his treat.
Teddy looks at Billy for a while, seemingly mesmerized after Billy admits he has missed him. He smiles at him, forgetting to eat much of his cone. He only comes back to reality when he feels it dripping down his hand. "Oh!" he quickly nibbles on what he can, kicking himself for being such an airhead and getting it all over his hand and shirt, Billy probably thought he was a goof. Ice cream in the summer tended to melt quickly, even close to sunset. "Oh gee... I'm not brain-dead, I swear," he quips, trying to get over his embarrassment.
Billy Kaplan can't help but laugh a little as Teddy ends up with ice cream melting all over his hand and on his shirt. "I would never think such a thing. Anyone would end up with melted ice cream if they don't...pay attention." His voice tapers off a second as he watches Teddy try and clean himself up, mostly him licking up the melted ice cream on his hand. He coughs and blushes a little as soon as he realizes he is staring and ends up looking around to make sure no one is watching. "IwantTeddyclean, IwantTeddyclean, IwantTeddyclean!" Billy chants a bit and the slight flash of magic is lost in the bright sunlight of the day while he magics the mess back into being a nice mostly unmelted ice cream and leaves Teddy fresh and clean as if his clothes had just been laundered and he had come out of a shower only without the residual heat and moisture.
Teddy gives him a surprised grin at that, looking at his icecream and then at his hand. Then he looks over at Billy. He then takes a good bite out of his icecream and lets the hand that is draped over the back of the bench move over to touch Billy's shoulder. "You've been okay, though?" he asks, now obviously referring to something other than just the random happenings that come with being a superhero. He couldn't help it, but feel protective a little. "Nothing bad's happened?" He suspected that he'd hear it from Eddie first if anything had happened, but...
Teddy gives him a surprised grin at that, looking at his icecream and then at his hand. Then he looks over at Billy. He then takes a good bite out of his icecream and lets the hand that is draped over the back of the bench move over to touch Billy's shoulder. "You've been okay, though?" he asks, now obviously referring to something other than just the random happenings that come with being a superhero. He couldn't help it, but feel protective a little. "Nothing bad's happened?" He suspected that he'd hear it from Eddie first if anything had happened, but...
Teddy blinks for a second at this, trying to push away the little imp of jealousy that jumps up in his mind at that mention. He laughs, instead, and noms on his icecream "How did you straighten that out? How did they react, too?" He was a little curious about that, to be honest. Because it would help..
Billy Kaplan grins and laughs a little. "The gay thing, totally supportive, the hero thing...they are getting there. Clearing up the idea that Eddie and I were a thing was easy, I mean he is like a brother more than anything else. Besides, he has a cute green boyfriend of his own anyway. Which reminds me, they said as soon as you are back in town if you have any interest at all in more dates I have to at least introduce you to them..." The last is said before taking a long lick around the edges of his ice cream and looking up at Teddy to gauge his response to the most important part of that, the idea of more dates with Billy.
Teddy literally stops breathing for a second, and he hears the ba-dump of his heart echo in his ears for a moment before he processes what was said. A slow smile crept aonto his face as his hand moves from Billy's shoulder to touch his cheek with one finger, blushing furiously "... Er.... what should I wear? To meet them, I mean?" he says, letting that be his way of answering.
Billy Kaplan blinks at the hand moving and ends up with a grin to match Teddy's as he feels the finger on his cheek. "Whatever you want, I mean what you normally wear is great. If you want to pick a day for it we can find out when my parents will be home then, or if you want to risk the full experience you can always do dinner. But you dont have to do that, in fact might be a good idea not to do that cause it will be like the inquisition all over again and it won't be any better even if you expect it and..." Billy stops to take a breath.
"... I think ... it could be be nice..." Teddy says cautiously, putting himself in the stream of Billy's words "I mean, they've got to know me sooner or later." The teen smiles a little, finishing his ice cream and tossing the stick into the nearby can. The afternoon slowly fades away as the sun sets, tinting the park in red and purple as a gentle breeze begins to blow, tousling their hair and cooling them a little. Crickets begin to sing, somewhere.
"... they said if I was interested in more dates... but I think this is one?" he says after a little silence.
Billy Kaplan grins and blushes a little. "Um...actually I think it was more if I was interested in more I had better introduce you to them." He has a hard time meeting Teddy's eyes for a second. Yeah, the threat was definitely at Billy. Mind you, his parents had just found out he was a reality warping mage, gay, his best friend was being adopted by Gods, and he was going to end up going to another reality for a wedding in a few months at the time. Well, at least his father had just found that out. The first couple of things on the list Rebecca said she already knew. "Are you sure cause, you know Spanish Inquisition and the brats and all?" He asks about Teddy and the idea of dinner.
At this, the teen slides closer to Billy, putting his arm around the other's shoulder. "Well... I'm sure. It can't be any worse than my mom." Of course, his mom didn't go around prodding into people's minds for a living, but hey--- "Are you interested in more?" he asks, a little in earnest, a little in joke, and all anticipation.
Billy Kaplan grins and changes how he sits so that Teddy can get his arm around him and be comfortable. "I don't know, your Mom isn't a Jewish psychiatrist is she?" He asks a little in jest and a bit seriously because really, Billy can't think of a much scarrier combination without adding the word Supervillian in there. "I do, a lot. I...I really like you even if I don't see what you see in me."
"You're kidding, right?" Teddy replies quietly, putting both his arms around him and pulling him against the larger Teen. "You're funny, you're smart, you're sweet, you're brave. And magical besides," he adds, grinning a little to hide the blush that is very evident on his tanned skin. "...I really like you too, Billy. I... if I wasn't sure before, I certainly was sure when I went off to camp. Then I'd wonder how you were doing and if things were going alright or... if you'd met someone..."
Billy Kaplan eeps a little as he gets pulled back into Teddy but leans into him comfortably with a slightly dopey grin on his face. "Gangly, sarcastic, no control over my mouth..." He counters several of his supposed good traits with the ones he sees in the mirror. "I...I really like you. Have since we met, and more so now that youre back. You're the one that I was worried about meeting someone. Amazing smile, genuinely nice, and body like a God. And before you even try to argue remember who adopted my best friend. Except for Volstag you have a body any God I have met would be proud of."
Blush like a red light, and a grin like a half moon. "Billy... no arguing back," he says with an admonishing finger, which then rests against the other's chin. "You need to see what a great guy you are, you know. We all got faults. Everybody. I wonder too what you see in me," Teddy gives him a little hug. "...I wasn't interested in meeting anybody. I wanted to come back. Even if someone had hinted at it..." he pauses for a second. "... I've never met anyone like you."
Billy Kaplan grins and, if he were a cat would be purring as he rests back against Teddy. "Are you sure you're not an alien? I mean it, there is no way you are from this planet. Too perfect by far." He has already said most of what he sees in Teddy especially that bit about him being genuinely nice. Billy has never met a jock type that was nice before, no matter how much he has wished for one to sweep him off his feet in the past.
"You've found me out," The unsuspecting alien says, "I guess I must now erase your memory from all this. Let me show you how we do that in my planet?" he says with a smile, leaning forward. Though it is in jest, his heart is pounding in his chest from having Billy close, as it usually does. He plants a kiss on Billy's forehead, and grins "Yumm... braaaains."
Billy Kaplan gasps and holds a hand to his heart. "Oh noes! I have discovered the vast alien conspiracy to infiltrate our world and take it over only too late, and now having trusted the wrong person I shall fall victim to the dark insidious plans!" He can't keep a string face for long, not after getting the kiss on the fore head. Laughing he turns so that he is facing Teddy and shaking his head. "No no no, that is how you comfort the sick. Havent you ever read the Golden Age Awesome Man comics. This is how you erase memories." He says the last while reaching up to try and grab Teddy by the sides of the head. Heart racing and the part of his mind that is always second guessing him going a mile a minute Billy tries to pull Teddy in for a real kiss.
That's odd... there must be a drum circle playing in the park.Teddy Altmano, wait... that's his heart going crazy in his ears. The teen finds himself pulled in and resisting just as much as a cocktail umbrella can fend off a waterfall. His lips meet Billy's, and pretty soon his arms are around him, holding him gently. It's perfect timing on Billy's side, even if it does get a soft whimper from the muscular teen, which embarrasses him but not enough to break the kiss. He rather enjoys it fully.
Billy Kaplan keeps the kiss going as long as he thinks he can, which given a general lack of experience outside the one section of gym where he learned CPR is not that long. When he does end it he smiles up at Teddy hoping he gets a smile and not say thrown off the bench and punched. "See, just like Awesome Man used to erase the memories of his girl side kick slash girlfriend every time she figured out his secret identity."
"Who are you, again?" Teddy grins, pretending to have been completely mindwiped before leaning again and giving Billy a quick kiss before adding "--but you're forgetting that was retconned into having never really worked, she was faking it all the time." The young man smiles and holds Billy against him, sighing softly. "... I missed this too."
Billy Kaplan laughs and kisses the blond back before turning so that he can lean back on him. "Hmm, well given how he looked I can't exactly blame her for faking that the amnesia kisses worked."
"I'll have to erase your memory a lot more now," he says, chuckling and running his hand through Billy's hair. "You're pretty Awesome yourself..." the teen looks up at the night closing in. "Aren't your folks going to worry about you being out this late without, you know, telling them where you are? I could walk you back home and set a date for that dinner..." He rests one hand on Billy's chest.
Billy Kaplan grins at Teddy. "I have a pretty late curfew and as long as I text them before and after when I go on patrol they don't mind me being out after dark." He reaches up to hold that hand on his chest a moment before moving it so he can stand. "Although, now that I think about it, that might be a good idea. Walking me home and all, give the rents a chance to meet you without them giving me the look for coming home looking too happy and not having introduced you yet..."
Teddy stands up afterwards and holds his hand out to Billy "Good looking and smart, see what I mean? Come on, then, let's head home. I can't promise I won't try to erase your mind a few times before we get there, though."
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