Rules For Dating Your Best Friend's Sister (a Ted/Michelle story)
Title: Rules For Dating Your Best Friend's Sister
Fandom: Justice League
Characters: Ted/Michelle, Booster
Prompt: "Family."
Word Count: 1327
Rating: PG-13?
Author's Notes: I would like it on the record here, and lakidaa can probably vouch for me, that I've had this theory since way before I noticed that Booster's DCU Guide entry had his sister listed as "presumed dead" (emphasis mine). And then boredom_doodles and wonderfish had to go hotdogging around with their Ted/Michelle OTP and icons and things. So then I wrote most of this in one sitting, had to go sleep before I passed out, and then finished it the next morning. And now I'm going to work (late), so I hope my lack of beta doesn't show too much.
(Oh yes, in case you didn't realize, this is het.)
Rules For Dating Your Best Friend's Sister
It all started while Ted was away on business in Minneapolis. A meeting ran longer than expected and had nothing to offer in the way of edibles except stale donuts and staler coffee. So with his stomach protesting being denied even that (because he was trying, really and truly trying, to watch his diet) he stopped off at a diner.
The waitress was cute, blonde, and recommended a lunch special that turned out to be very good.
She was also very, very familiar.
Little things about her nagged at Ted for the rest of the day, images of her teasing his mind's eye. When he got back to the hotel he was staying at, he called up Booster intending to tell him about it.
They insulted each other, teammates, and sports teams, having a good laugh at themselves and everyone else. Then Ted remembered why he had called Booster in the first place and was about to tell him about the waitress when it suddenly hit him.
The waitress's accent was the same kind of almost-Gotham as Booster's.
In fact, the waitress reminded him a lot of Booster. Right down to the way her blonde hair was parted.
"Ted? Ted, are you okay?"
Within the space of seconds, Ted realized that Booster had been trying to get his attention for a while and also devised a plan to confirm his suspicion.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Hey, I had an idea. I'm stuck in town till this deal closes, which should take at least a few more days, and I'm going out of my mind with boredom. Why don't you come out here? There's a diner that makes a mean Reuben."
So maybe it wasn't a great plan. But it was a plan.
"Uh...yeah, okay. Sure."
"Great! See you soon, buddy."
And with that, Ted hung up.
---------------
Booster showed up the next day, loitering in the hotel lobby while someone called up to let Ted know that "a Mr. Gold" was waiting for him. A slightly worried expression on his face, Booster gave him a quick once-over before deciding that Ted wasn't in any immediate danger and flashed him a carefree grin.
"You came!"
"I was promised a mean Reuben," Booster greeted him as they closed the distance between each other.
"It'll beat you up and steal your wallet," Ted tossed back, throwing his arms around the man with a laugh. "Good to see you, buddy."
Booster shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm always there for a friend in need."
"What about the time--"
"So! Where's this diner?" Booster asked, putting an arm over Ted's shoulders to steer him toward the door.
---------------
Whatever saint was in charge of dumb plans was smiling on Ted that day.
He and Booster went to the diner, where they sat down at the same booth Ted had occupied the previous day. Booster pretended not to notice that Ted was fidgeting like he was up to something and Ted pretended not to be grateful for that.
After that, everything fell into place as if it had been expertly choreographed by an expert in long lost family reunions.
The waitress came to their booth with some menus, greeted them, and asked if they wanted anything to drink. Ted ordered a glass of water while Booster gaped at the woman in shock.
"'Shel?" he finally whispered.
The waitress blinked, then turned to look at him, really look at him, and dropped her notepad. "Mickey?"
Then Booster was on his feet and out of the booth, sweeping the woman up into a tight hug and spinning her around. When he finally set her back down, they were still holding on to each others arms, laughing and crying and talking at the same time, only pausing to hug again.
The waitress was Michelle Carter, Booster's twin sister who he had thought dead for several years. Apparently she hadn't been dead, she had just been trapped in another dimension. Then events she couldn't recall occurred and she ended up being violently spat out into their dimension with no memory of who she was or how she got there. A kindly old couple, who were probably a bit senile around the edges but harmlessly so, had taken her in and cared for her because she reminded them of their daughter, who may or may not have been dead.
She had been there ever since. Waitressing and helping out the old couple however she could, sometimes taking short trips out of city limits when she had the time.
It was all pretty amazing.
Ted never got his glass of water that day.
---------------
There weren't any rules about how long to wait before asking out your best friend's long lost amnesiac twin sister. Given the circles they moved in, there probably should've been, but somehow that exact scenario hadn't come up yet.
Ted figured a week was long enough.
"You know if you break her heart I'll break your legs, right?" Booster asked off-handedly.
"I would expect no less," Ted replied solemnly.
Booster smiled cheerfully and gave a brief wave. "Great! Have fun, you crazy kids."
And they did.
Michelle was fun to be with and fun to talk to. And aside from her initial gratitude at Ted reuniting her with Booster, she seemed to genuinely like him. Ted liked her too.
"So then Mike gives him that dopey innocent smile--"
"The one where he knows he's screwed but hopes being cute will get him out of it?"
"That's the one! So out comes the smile, and it looks like he's going to cave and let Mike off with a warning, when all of a sudden...splat!"
"It didn't."
"Right on his head. And of course it stained his--Did I mention he was bald? He was bald. So of course it stained his scalp."
"HA! What'd B--Mike do?"
"What do you think? Heh. He ran!"
"Ha-ha!"
So of course Ted had to go and fall in love with her.
---------------
"Name one of your kids after me."
Ted stared at Booster in disbelief and made vague, silent gestures to indicate that what he wanted to say was "KIDS?! How can you react that way? Who said anything about kids? I have no idea why you're my best friend. Oh god, what if we have kids? You're probably insane. Hell no I'm not naming my children after you!"
Booster seemed to understand, because he sighed and stood up. Placing a hand on Ted's shoulder, he said seriously, "Ted, you're a decent guy, you treat 'Shel right, and you're attractive enough that if you do have kids, your DNA won't be dragging down their looks."
"...Wow," Ted said slowly, still staring. "You missed your calling when you didn't go into motivational speaking."
"What I'm trying to say is, you're one of the few people I'd trust my sister to and you have my blessing."
"Oh."
Booster smirked and returned to the magazine he'd been browsing through. "And when I said name your kid after me, I meant Michael, not Booster."
"...I knew that."
---------------
Ted proposed to Michelle on their anniversary.
It wasn't actually on purpose, he'd just been carrying the ring on him while waiting for the right time. Valentine's Day was too cliche, and everything was always crowded and booked then. Proposing on someone's birthday, or one's own, just seemed silly. And by the time their anniversary rolled around, it just seemed like the right time.
So, as they were walking home from dinner by way of a detour through a park, Ted took Michelle's hand in his, got down on one knee, and dug the ring box out of his pocket. Michelle gasped when the diamond caught the light, then lunged at Ted, kissing him enthusiastically.
Later, laying in bed and staring up at the ceiling as their bodies cooled and their sweat dried, Ted suddenly realized something.
"Was that a 'yes'?"
Michelle rolled over to bury her face in his shoulder, laughing.
-----
Fandom: Justice League
Characters: Ted/Michelle, Booster
Prompt: "Family."
Word Count: 1327
Rating: PG-13?
Author's Notes: I would like it on the record here, and lakidaa can probably vouch for me, that I've had this theory since way before I noticed that Booster's DCU Guide entry had his sister listed as "presumed dead" (emphasis mine). And then boredom_doodles and wonderfish had to go hotdogging around with their Ted/Michelle OTP and icons and things. So then I wrote most of this in one sitting, had to go sleep before I passed out, and then finished it the next morning. And now I'm going to work (late), so I hope my lack of beta doesn't show too much.
(Oh yes, in case you didn't realize, this is het.)
Rules For Dating Your Best Friend's Sister
It all started while Ted was away on business in Minneapolis. A meeting ran longer than expected and had nothing to offer in the way of edibles except stale donuts and staler coffee. So with his stomach protesting being denied even that (because he was trying, really and truly trying, to watch his diet) he stopped off at a diner.
The waitress was cute, blonde, and recommended a lunch special that turned out to be very good.
She was also very, very familiar.
Little things about her nagged at Ted for the rest of the day, images of her teasing his mind's eye. When he got back to the hotel he was staying at, he called up Booster intending to tell him about it.
They insulted each other, teammates, and sports teams, having a good laugh at themselves and everyone else. Then Ted remembered why he had called Booster in the first place and was about to tell him about the waitress when it suddenly hit him.
The waitress's accent was the same kind of almost-Gotham as Booster's.
In fact, the waitress reminded him a lot of Booster. Right down to the way her blonde hair was parted.
"Ted? Ted, are you okay?"
Within the space of seconds, Ted realized that Booster had been trying to get his attention for a while and also devised a plan to confirm his suspicion.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Hey, I had an idea. I'm stuck in town till this deal closes, which should take at least a few more days, and I'm going out of my mind with boredom. Why don't you come out here? There's a diner that makes a mean Reuben."
So maybe it wasn't a great plan. But it was a plan.
"Uh...yeah, okay. Sure."
"Great! See you soon, buddy."
And with that, Ted hung up.
---------------
Booster showed up the next day, loitering in the hotel lobby while someone called up to let Ted know that "a Mr. Gold" was waiting for him. A slightly worried expression on his face, Booster gave him a quick once-over before deciding that Ted wasn't in any immediate danger and flashed him a carefree grin.
"You came!"
"I was promised a mean Reuben," Booster greeted him as they closed the distance between each other.
"It'll beat you up and steal your wallet," Ted tossed back, throwing his arms around the man with a laugh. "Good to see you, buddy."
Booster shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm always there for a friend in need."
"What about the time--"
"So! Where's this diner?" Booster asked, putting an arm over Ted's shoulders to steer him toward the door.
---------------
Whatever saint was in charge of dumb plans was smiling on Ted that day.
He and Booster went to the diner, where they sat down at the same booth Ted had occupied the previous day. Booster pretended not to notice that Ted was fidgeting like he was up to something and Ted pretended not to be grateful for that.
After that, everything fell into place as if it had been expertly choreographed by an expert in long lost family reunions.
The waitress came to their booth with some menus, greeted them, and asked if they wanted anything to drink. Ted ordered a glass of water while Booster gaped at the woman in shock.
"'Shel?" he finally whispered.
The waitress blinked, then turned to look at him, really look at him, and dropped her notepad. "Mickey?"
Then Booster was on his feet and out of the booth, sweeping the woman up into a tight hug and spinning her around. When he finally set her back down, they were still holding on to each others arms, laughing and crying and talking at the same time, only pausing to hug again.
The waitress was Michelle Carter, Booster's twin sister who he had thought dead for several years. Apparently she hadn't been dead, she had just been trapped in another dimension. Then events she couldn't recall occurred and she ended up being violently spat out into their dimension with no memory of who she was or how she got there. A kindly old couple, who were probably a bit senile around the edges but harmlessly so, had taken her in and cared for her because she reminded them of their daughter, who may or may not have been dead.
She had been there ever since. Waitressing and helping out the old couple however she could, sometimes taking short trips out of city limits when she had the time.
It was all pretty amazing.
Ted never got his glass of water that day.
---------------
There weren't any rules about how long to wait before asking out your best friend's long lost amnesiac twin sister. Given the circles they moved in, there probably should've been, but somehow that exact scenario hadn't come up yet.
Ted figured a week was long enough.
"You know if you break her heart I'll break your legs, right?" Booster asked off-handedly.
"I would expect no less," Ted replied solemnly.
Booster smiled cheerfully and gave a brief wave. "Great! Have fun, you crazy kids."
And they did.
Michelle was fun to be with and fun to talk to. And aside from her initial gratitude at Ted reuniting her with Booster, she seemed to genuinely like him. Ted liked her too.
"So then Mike gives him that dopey innocent smile--"
"The one where he knows he's screwed but hopes being cute will get him out of it?"
"That's the one! So out comes the smile, and it looks like he's going to cave and let Mike off with a warning, when all of a sudden...splat!"
"It didn't."
"Right on his head. And of course it stained his--Did I mention he was bald? He was bald. So of course it stained his scalp."
"HA! What'd B--Mike do?"
"What do you think? Heh. He ran!"
"Ha-ha!"
So of course Ted had to go and fall in love with her.
---------------
"Name one of your kids after me."
Ted stared at Booster in disbelief and made vague, silent gestures to indicate that what he wanted to say was "KIDS?! How can you react that way? Who said anything about kids? I have no idea why you're my best friend. Oh god, what if we have kids? You're probably insane. Hell no I'm not naming my children after you!"
Booster seemed to understand, because he sighed and stood up. Placing a hand on Ted's shoulder, he said seriously, "Ted, you're a decent guy, you treat 'Shel right, and you're attractive enough that if you do have kids, your DNA won't be dragging down their looks."
"...Wow," Ted said slowly, still staring. "You missed your calling when you didn't go into motivational speaking."
"What I'm trying to say is, you're one of the few people I'd trust my sister to and you have my blessing."
"Oh."
Booster smirked and returned to the magazine he'd been browsing through. "And when I said name your kid after me, I meant Michael, not Booster."
"...I knew that."
---------------
Ted proposed to Michelle on their anniversary.
It wasn't actually on purpose, he'd just been carrying the ring on him while waiting for the right time. Valentine's Day was too cliche, and everything was always crowded and booked then. Proposing on someone's birthday, or one's own, just seemed silly. And by the time their anniversary rolled around, it just seemed like the right time.
So, as they were walking home from dinner by way of a detour through a park, Ted took Michelle's hand in his, got down on one knee, and dug the ring box out of his pocket. Michelle gasped when the diamond caught the light, then lunged at Ted, kissing him enthusiastically.
Later, laying in bed and staring up at the ceiling as their bodies cooled and their sweat dried, Ted suddenly realized something.
"Was that a 'yes'?"
Michelle rolled over to bury her face in his shoulder, laughing.
-----