The Big Damn List had not a damn thing to do with this.
Title: Many Splendored, Torn Asundered
Fandom: DC Comics
Characters: Booster/Beetle, J'onn, OCs
Prompt: 5sentence_fics Table Four
Word Count: 2574, (2644 including the Bonus Suck!)
Rating: G - NC-17
Author's Notes: So phoenixfire_lia was bugging me for fic (thank her, damn you!) and I was tired of getting tangled up in Big Long Plotty Things (as I do), so I decided to go check 150_comms for some of those one sentence prompts. Couldn't find those, but I did find 5sentence_fics, which is essentially that times five, so close enough!
Anyway, I set an entry to be only viewable by her and started writing. I started this on October twenty-seventh (yes of this year, screw you). I just finished the last one, looked 'em over, and now make them available to you. These ficlets range from G to NC-17 and everything in between. There's angst, there's fluff, there's happy and unhappy endings. A few dip into the Mullet-verse and the New World Order, and a few are straight out Elseworld/AU. So...yeah.
Many Splendored, Torn Asundered
01 - Goodbye
"So this is it, you're just giving up, after everything we've been through?"
Ted's smile was sad as he continued packing his things. "We'll always have Bialya."
Frowning, Booster pointed out, "That was a disaster."
"Exactly."
~o~
02 - Sundown
There was just something about watching a sunset through the smog of a bustling city that made it blaze with romantic brilliance.
"It's the light being scattered by extra molecules - smog - that causes it," Ted explained, beaming at him. It was the science, Booster thought, that made the sight so enjoyable to his friend.
For Booster, it was the way the slanting orange light lit the redder highlights of Ted's hair, made his eyes shine bright with contentment. As he leaned in to kiss Ted's sun-lit lips, to find them waiting for his touch, he thought maybe it wasn't just the science that Ted liked about it.
~o~
03 - Blue skies
Dropping Booster Gold's best buddy off a skyscraper was a definite no-no; leaving said best buddy to the unforgiving will of gravity was out of the question entirely. So Booster did the only thing he could do and dove after Beetle, wrapping his arms around the man's chest under his arms and turning their descent into a midair U-turn.
Ted's grateful squeeze of his wrist was only slightly shaky, and Booster tightened his grip in a hug as they rose above the clouds.
"You okay?"
"Yeah...I knew you'd catch me."
~o~
04 - Broken wing
Fixing his best friend wasn't something Ted had ever expected to be called upon to do, and he didn't feel entirely qualified for the job.
Especially not when he caught a glimpse of Booster, out of the corner of his eye, carefully massaging his shoulder where the metal of his prosthetic met what was left of flesh and bone. Not when he saw Booster hiding a grimace of pain as his suit, the suit of Ted's design, failed in some way and made his life that much more unbearable.
Watching the man's fitful sleep, encased in the metal that kept him alive (too much metal, not enough padding, another design flaw, dammit), Ted whispered a promise and turned from the doorway, intent on his lab.
It was another sleepless night spent working on an upgrade that he prayed would fix what he hadn't been able to prevent.
~o~
05 - High octane
Ted's voice didn't stop and Booster wondered what breathing technique allowed the man to speak so fast and ceaselessly.
Grin glowing brilliant by the light of an acetylene torch, Ted continued to explain what he was working on, unconcerned that his audience of one barely understood a quarter of what he was saying. A self-depreciating quip from Booster had him laughing long and heartfelt even as he scurried from one workstation to another, moving nonstop and seemingly at random.
Manic energy sparked golden and glistening in Ted's nerves, driving him on until Booster almost felt exhausted watching him and couldn't take it anymore.
Pressing the man's back to a concrete wall and kissing him passionately didn't make him stop moving, but at least it forced him to focus.
~o~
06 - Silver and gold
Staring mournfully at his reflection in the mirror, Ted ran a hand through his steadily greying hair. Strong hands slid over his shoulders to adjust his tie and Booster, grinning in amusement and as perfectly golden-haired as when they first met, appeared in the mirror as well.
"I think it makes you look--"
"If you say 'distinguished' I can and will make you sleep on the couch."
Turning him around to kiss him, Booster gently stroked the silvering strands and murmured, "And on our anniversary, too."
~o~
07 - Too good to be true
When they rescued him from the engineered dreamland, Beetle's initial confusion was immediately replaced by complete, abject misery as he greeted them with a hollow whisper of "Oh...it wasn't real."
Psychiatric leave was considered and rejected when Beetle remained quiet and introverted, disturbing to see from the usually enthusiastic man. They never said it out loud, but they all knew they were thinking it: they preferred to have Ted where they could keep an eye on him, to make sure he didn't do anything...permanent.
"Was it really that good?" Booster asked desperately, catching Ted's hand.
Ted stared at their hands in silent contemplation before lacing their fingers together and offering the first smile Booster had seen from him in a week, murmuring, "No, this is better...you're real."
~o~
08 - Tangled and dark
The sheet remains twisted around a leg, though the bedclothes have otherwise fallen to the floor. Heavy sounds of breath and skin seem magnified as they spill into the darkness, filling the humid air.
Heat flows through muscles straining in counterpoint, five-pointed sharpness stands out as fingers dig in to grip and pull and hold, demanding and generous in turn.
Punishing and brutal nearing the end, there's desperation in attempts at restraint, attempts to make it last as long as possible.
With release comes shackles of knowledge: this is the last time.
~o~
09 - Best served cold
The tantalizing scent of hot, fresh cheesesteak wafted up to him, maddeningly out of reach, as he stared with mournful longing at the sandwich glistening with grease.
Dangling by one foot over it, he sputtered in disbelief before wailing, "But...that was ten years ago!"
The green smirk widened impossibly further as a thud and what sounded like muffled swearing in Interlac came from the other room.
J'onn's smile was serene. "You know what they say about revenge...."
~o~
10 - Running on empty
"Ted, when's the last time you slept?"
"Hm--Wh--Oh...judging by the drool on my chin, about two minutes ago."
Ungloved hand (the real one) falling on the scientist's back, Booster gently kneaded the tense muscles in Ted's drooping shoulders. "You should go to bed."
"I have work to do," Ted protested softly, but let himself be led from his lab and the unfinished armor inside.
~o~
11 - Slow hand
Suppressing a sigh as he watched his companion examine the cards with a concentration usually reserved for his fantastic machines, Booster Gold, card sharp and hired gun as the mood took him, wished he had invented some sort of time limit to include in the rules of the game when he explained it.
"Appears I must fold again, Mister Gold. Another hand?"
Suppressing a smile as he fought the urge to tell the man the card Booster had probably been looking for was two cards down in the deck, Beetle instead watched the grifter's nimble hands as they shuffled the cards.
It wouldn't do to let the game end so soon, after all.
~o~
12 - Double vision
The mirrors surrounded him on all sides, magnifying his flaws, replaying his failures, highlighting every moment of his life that had ever crept back to haunt him on insomnia-laden nights. Everyone he had ever let down pointed and jeered and blamed from behind the infinitude of reflective surfaces.
Staring at Booster's sneering face, he wasn't prepared for it to suddenly morph into an expression of sympathetic sorrow, or for the hand that reached through the mirror toward him.
"Come on, Ted, let's get you out of here."
Gladly, he took the hand and followed his friend through the looking glass.
~o~
13 - Paradise
Ted woke to the sensation of someone poking his face and was momentarily disoriented. When he opened his eyes, though, he smiled affectionately at finding Jo (or was it Sonny--no, definitely Jo) peering up at him over the side of the bed.
"Christmas, Beeba," she told him insistently.
"So it is; are you going to wake Daddy for it, too?"
A yelp at his side startled him and, giggling, Jo replied, "Sonny is!"
~o~
14 - In the dark
Ted was trying not to laugh, that much he could tell by the hitching of his breath and the occasional escaped snicker. Booster just glowered in the man's direction, though he thought he probably missed the mark by the way Ted sputtered a quickly-stifled laugh.
"Ted..." he growled warningly, crossing his arms harder over his chest.
"But the Rainbow Raider...again!"
Ted finally lost the battle against his own laughter and let loose while Booster hunched his shoulders and irritably resigned himself to the darkness and (reassuring) mocking until Ted finished calibrating the machine that would restore his sight.
~o~
15 - Personal space
When Booster and Beetle came stumbling into the kitchen, practically joined at the hip, Beetle glowering at Booster and snapping something at him about his long legs, J'onn knew better than to ask.
He did anyway.
They weren't practically joined at the hip, apparently, they really were joined at the hip.
"I thought I left a solvent in here, but I can't find it and--"
J'onn held up a hand to stall the stream of complaints he could feel building in the front of Beetle's mind and, without a word, turned and left, hoping that next time he would listen to his own better judgment.
~o~
16 - Stormy weather
The wind whipped his hair around and only his goggles prevented it from blinding him as he pushed his limits coming up on the Bug.
Beetle peered out of the hatch at him, hunched down and clinging with all his might to his airship to avoid being swept away or hit by debris. "I can't just leave her," he shouted over the howling elements.
"You can't be replaced!"
Reluctantly, Ted grasped Booster's reaching hands and they clung to each other inside his forcefield while the world raged around them.
~o~
17 - Wax paper
Watching Junior, tongue sticking out in concentration, carefully measure and cut the wax paper before placing it on the table, Booster stifled a chuckle into a grin. With the paper in place, he sprinkled flour on top, directed the boy to cover his own hands in flour, and dropped the large chunk of dough in the middle of it before handing the (floured) rolling pin over to his delighted son.
"Can we put raisins on 'em?" Junior asked, looking up at him in excitement.
Glancing over at the pile of brand new cookie cutters that were soon going to contribute to the creation of Junior's first Christmas cookies, Booster reached out and ruffled his son's hair with a flour-coated hand. The white-dusted auburn locks made him grin as he replied, "You can put as many raisins on them as you want."
~o~
18 - Sentimental journey
Booster stared at the headstone and silently thanked Barbara for arranging it, as well as letting him know about it. Looking at it, thinking about what might have been, he felt his eyes sting a little.
"Feels like someone's walking over my grave."
Head whipping up, Booster stared at him, glanced back down, then looked up again to smile sheepishly as he took a step back and mumbled, "Sorry."
Chuckling, Ted came up to throw an arm over his shoulders and said, "Don't worry about it, let's go see yours next."
~o~
19 - Perfect balance
They agreed it was the fault of Count Vertigo, and with good reason (especially as it started during a fight with him), but Dr. Midnite assured them that it would likely wear off in a few days, a week at most. That was reassuring, to an extent; Booster didn't enjoy spending so much time dizzy and falling on the ground, so he liked that it wouldn't last for long, but didn't like that there wasn't a faster cure.
For everyone else, it was somewhat amusing, but after Booster gave himself a black eye trying to get up from the couch it stopped being very funny.
Curled up in bed with the lights down low, though, the persistent dizziness was almost worth it to have Ted sitting next to him holding the glass steady while he sipped cool water from a straw. He tried to mumble his thanks to the man, but Ted just told him to shut up and get better faster, as he gently petted Booster's hair.
~o~
20 - No worries
Standing heroically over his vanquished foes, Ted looked over at his grandson and asked, "And what have we learned from this?"
Giggling, Jonny clapped his hands and shouted, "Beat up bad guys!"
"Actually, I meant more along the lines of 'don't underestimate anyone', but sure, 'beat up bad guys', why not?" Hoisting the gleeful boy into his arms, and then onto his shoulders, Ted added, "C'mon, Jon-boy, if we're lucky we can get home before anyone (especially your grandpa) notices we got ourselves kidnapped."
"Yay, Pop-pop!"
~o~
21 - Chasing the wind
It was Junior's idea, and Booster supposed that was the result of learning about familial interactions from television.
He refused store-bought; apparently the building process was half the fun. Once Ted did some research on the subject, he heartily agreed and the two holed themselves up to work on it and cackle worryingly. Booster left them to it and turned his attention to acquiring and packing a picnic basket.
Sitting on a blanket in the park, Booster smiled as he watched Ted and Junior running along with their gigantic mutant kite trailing behind them.
~o~
22 - Blown away
The tongue is a surprise; new, and as such so is the wet swirl that swipes over every single nerve, making him gasp and clutch at sturdy shoulders. The shoulders shake with laughter he can only feel in delicious vibrations.
The swirl again, then suction, suction, suction, a flick of that nimble tongue, then swirling suction and...
"Oh god, Ted!"
Smirking down at the flushed man, Ted kisses him wetly and murmurs, "I told you I'd get the hang of it, Booster."
~o~
23 - Crusade
A minor incubus and principality walk into a bar. As they look no more remarkable than a tall, athletic blond man and a shorter brunette man, this goes largely unnoticed.
After a few rounds of beer, the principality confesses to feeling a highly unangelic temptation, while the incubus suggestively admits to some inspiration. Declaring a job well done all 'round, they decide to retire for the night and pursue these inroads on the crusade for their respective sides against the other.
Behind them, a frustrated artist suddenly decides he needs to paint a breathtakingly beautiful nude of the waitress he secretly adores; a married couple on the verge of divorce, searching for a reason not to, remember the night their oldest was conceived and smile; a fight that would have resulted in a hospital visit is narrowly avoided when the instigator is suddenly struck by how stunningly green the eyes of the asshole who insulted the Bears are; and any number of minor miracles occur on a typical Friday night at that bar.
~o~
24 - In chaos
Sticky greenish grey surrounded them on all sides, only Booster's forcefield keeping it at bay.
"We're in a giant chaos amoeba..." Beetle murmured in horrified fascination; then, at an ominous rumble from around them, added, "...and I think we're giving it indigestion."
"In this case, which is worse: digestion or indigestion?"
Leaning back against Booster, the man's arms tight around his waist to keep the forcefield small and conserve power, Ted grimaced and replied, "That depends on whether you prefer to be puke or poop."
"On the whole, I'd rather be in Bialya."
~o~
25 - Rising tide
Stepping from the time sphere, Booster was struck by an unsettling sense of déjà vu from the island paradise Rip said it was vitally important he visit.
"About time you got here," came a familiar teasing voice. "You know, for someone with a time machine, Rip took his good sweet time getting you here."
Staring at the tanned, auburn-haired man in disbelief, Booster whispered, "Ted?"
Coming forward to wrap an arm around Booster's shoulders and lead him away from the time sphere, Ted smiled at him as he said reassuringly, "It's a long story, Booster-buddy...but for now, it's good to see you again."
-----
Bonus Suck: (This was the original "Rising Tide," but I hated it even as I was writing it, so I eventually wrote a different one. See above.)
"See, now wasn't this a good idea, Ted? The sun, the surf, the sand...."
"The sunburn, the hurricane warning, the sand in uncomfortable places..."
"So maybe the off season wasn't the best time for a vacation, but you have to admit it was cheaper!"
"I admit it, now let's go back to the room where you can rub aloe on my burns and we can try out another 'S' word..."
Fandom: DC Comics
Characters: Booster/Beetle, J'onn, OCs
Prompt: 5sentence_fics Table Four
Word Count: 2574, (2644 including the Bonus Suck!)
Rating: G - NC-17
Author's Notes: So phoenixfire_lia was bugging me for fic (thank her, damn you!) and I was tired of getting tangled up in Big Long Plotty Things (as I do), so I decided to go check 150_comms for some of those one sentence prompts. Couldn't find those, but I did find 5sentence_fics, which is essentially that times five, so close enough!
Anyway, I set an entry to be only viewable by her and started writing. I started this on October twenty-seventh (yes of this year, screw you). I just finished the last one, looked 'em over, and now make them available to you. These ficlets range from G to NC-17 and everything in between. There's angst, there's fluff, there's happy and unhappy endings. A few dip into the Mullet-verse and the New World Order, and a few are straight out Elseworld/AU. So...yeah.
Many Splendored, Torn Asundered
01 - Goodbye
"So this is it, you're just giving up, after everything we've been through?"
Ted's smile was sad as he continued packing his things. "We'll always have Bialya."
Frowning, Booster pointed out, "That was a disaster."
"Exactly."
~o~
02 - Sundown
There was just something about watching a sunset through the smog of a bustling city that made it blaze with romantic brilliance.
"It's the light being scattered by extra molecules - smog - that causes it," Ted explained, beaming at him. It was the science, Booster thought, that made the sight so enjoyable to his friend.
For Booster, it was the way the slanting orange light lit the redder highlights of Ted's hair, made his eyes shine bright with contentment. As he leaned in to kiss Ted's sun-lit lips, to find them waiting for his touch, he thought maybe it wasn't just the science that Ted liked about it.
~o~
03 - Blue skies
Dropping Booster Gold's best buddy off a skyscraper was a definite no-no; leaving said best buddy to the unforgiving will of gravity was out of the question entirely. So Booster did the only thing he could do and dove after Beetle, wrapping his arms around the man's chest under his arms and turning their descent into a midair U-turn.
Ted's grateful squeeze of his wrist was only slightly shaky, and Booster tightened his grip in a hug as they rose above the clouds.
"You okay?"
"Yeah...I knew you'd catch me."
~o~
04 - Broken wing
Fixing his best friend wasn't something Ted had ever expected to be called upon to do, and he didn't feel entirely qualified for the job.
Especially not when he caught a glimpse of Booster, out of the corner of his eye, carefully massaging his shoulder where the metal of his prosthetic met what was left of flesh and bone. Not when he saw Booster hiding a grimace of pain as his suit, the suit of Ted's design, failed in some way and made his life that much more unbearable.
Watching the man's fitful sleep, encased in the metal that kept him alive (too much metal, not enough padding, another design flaw, dammit), Ted whispered a promise and turned from the doorway, intent on his lab.
It was another sleepless night spent working on an upgrade that he prayed would fix what he hadn't been able to prevent.
~o~
05 - High octane
Ted's voice didn't stop and Booster wondered what breathing technique allowed the man to speak so fast and ceaselessly.
Grin glowing brilliant by the light of an acetylene torch, Ted continued to explain what he was working on, unconcerned that his audience of one barely understood a quarter of what he was saying. A self-depreciating quip from Booster had him laughing long and heartfelt even as he scurried from one workstation to another, moving nonstop and seemingly at random.
Manic energy sparked golden and glistening in Ted's nerves, driving him on until Booster almost felt exhausted watching him and couldn't take it anymore.
Pressing the man's back to a concrete wall and kissing him passionately didn't make him stop moving, but at least it forced him to focus.
~o~
06 - Silver and gold
Staring mournfully at his reflection in the mirror, Ted ran a hand through his steadily greying hair. Strong hands slid over his shoulders to adjust his tie and Booster, grinning in amusement and as perfectly golden-haired as when they first met, appeared in the mirror as well.
"I think it makes you look--"
"If you say 'distinguished' I can and will make you sleep on the couch."
Turning him around to kiss him, Booster gently stroked the silvering strands and murmured, "And on our anniversary, too."
~o~
07 - Too good to be true
When they rescued him from the engineered dreamland, Beetle's initial confusion was immediately replaced by complete, abject misery as he greeted them with a hollow whisper of "Oh...it wasn't real."
Psychiatric leave was considered and rejected when Beetle remained quiet and introverted, disturbing to see from the usually enthusiastic man. They never said it out loud, but they all knew they were thinking it: they preferred to have Ted where they could keep an eye on him, to make sure he didn't do anything...permanent.
"Was it really that good?" Booster asked desperately, catching Ted's hand.
Ted stared at their hands in silent contemplation before lacing their fingers together and offering the first smile Booster had seen from him in a week, murmuring, "No, this is better...you're real."
~o~
08 - Tangled and dark
The sheet remains twisted around a leg, though the bedclothes have otherwise fallen to the floor. Heavy sounds of breath and skin seem magnified as they spill into the darkness, filling the humid air.
Heat flows through muscles straining in counterpoint, five-pointed sharpness stands out as fingers dig in to grip and pull and hold, demanding and generous in turn.
Punishing and brutal nearing the end, there's desperation in attempts at restraint, attempts to make it last as long as possible.
With release comes shackles of knowledge: this is the last time.
~o~
09 - Best served cold
The tantalizing scent of hot, fresh cheesesteak wafted up to him, maddeningly out of reach, as he stared with mournful longing at the sandwich glistening with grease.
Dangling by one foot over it, he sputtered in disbelief before wailing, "But...that was ten years ago!"
The green smirk widened impossibly further as a thud and what sounded like muffled swearing in Interlac came from the other room.
J'onn's smile was serene. "You know what they say about revenge...."
~o~
10 - Running on empty
"Ted, when's the last time you slept?"
"Hm--Wh--Oh...judging by the drool on my chin, about two minutes ago."
Ungloved hand (the real one) falling on the scientist's back, Booster gently kneaded the tense muscles in Ted's drooping shoulders. "You should go to bed."
"I have work to do," Ted protested softly, but let himself be led from his lab and the unfinished armor inside.
~o~
11 - Slow hand
Suppressing a sigh as he watched his companion examine the cards with a concentration usually reserved for his fantastic machines, Booster Gold, card sharp and hired gun as the mood took him, wished he had invented some sort of time limit to include in the rules of the game when he explained it.
"Appears I must fold again, Mister Gold. Another hand?"
Suppressing a smile as he fought the urge to tell the man the card Booster had probably been looking for was two cards down in the deck, Beetle instead watched the grifter's nimble hands as they shuffled the cards.
It wouldn't do to let the game end so soon, after all.
~o~
12 - Double vision
The mirrors surrounded him on all sides, magnifying his flaws, replaying his failures, highlighting every moment of his life that had ever crept back to haunt him on insomnia-laden nights. Everyone he had ever let down pointed and jeered and blamed from behind the infinitude of reflective surfaces.
Staring at Booster's sneering face, he wasn't prepared for it to suddenly morph into an expression of sympathetic sorrow, or for the hand that reached through the mirror toward him.
"Come on, Ted, let's get you out of here."
Gladly, he took the hand and followed his friend through the looking glass.
~o~
13 - Paradise
Ted woke to the sensation of someone poking his face and was momentarily disoriented. When he opened his eyes, though, he smiled affectionately at finding Jo (or was it Sonny--no, definitely Jo) peering up at him over the side of the bed.
"Christmas, Beeba," she told him insistently.
"So it is; are you going to wake Daddy for it, too?"
A yelp at his side startled him and, giggling, Jo replied, "Sonny is!"
~o~
14 - In the dark
Ted was trying not to laugh, that much he could tell by the hitching of his breath and the occasional escaped snicker. Booster just glowered in the man's direction, though he thought he probably missed the mark by the way Ted sputtered a quickly-stifled laugh.
"Ted..." he growled warningly, crossing his arms harder over his chest.
"But the Rainbow Raider...again!"
Ted finally lost the battle against his own laughter and let loose while Booster hunched his shoulders and irritably resigned himself to the darkness and (reassuring) mocking until Ted finished calibrating the machine that would restore his sight.
~o~
15 - Personal space
When Booster and Beetle came stumbling into the kitchen, practically joined at the hip, Beetle glowering at Booster and snapping something at him about his long legs, J'onn knew better than to ask.
He did anyway.
They weren't practically joined at the hip, apparently, they really were joined at the hip.
"I thought I left a solvent in here, but I can't find it and--"
J'onn held up a hand to stall the stream of complaints he could feel building in the front of Beetle's mind and, without a word, turned and left, hoping that next time he would listen to his own better judgment.
~o~
16 - Stormy weather
The wind whipped his hair around and only his goggles prevented it from blinding him as he pushed his limits coming up on the Bug.
Beetle peered out of the hatch at him, hunched down and clinging with all his might to his airship to avoid being swept away or hit by debris. "I can't just leave her," he shouted over the howling elements.
"You can't be replaced!"
Reluctantly, Ted grasped Booster's reaching hands and they clung to each other inside his forcefield while the world raged around them.
~o~
17 - Wax paper
Watching Junior, tongue sticking out in concentration, carefully measure and cut the wax paper before placing it on the table, Booster stifled a chuckle into a grin. With the paper in place, he sprinkled flour on top, directed the boy to cover his own hands in flour, and dropped the large chunk of dough in the middle of it before handing the (floured) rolling pin over to his delighted son.
"Can we put raisins on 'em?" Junior asked, looking up at him in excitement.
Glancing over at the pile of brand new cookie cutters that were soon going to contribute to the creation of Junior's first Christmas cookies, Booster reached out and ruffled his son's hair with a flour-coated hand. The white-dusted auburn locks made him grin as he replied, "You can put as many raisins on them as you want."
~o~
18 - Sentimental journey
Booster stared at the headstone and silently thanked Barbara for arranging it, as well as letting him know about it. Looking at it, thinking about what might have been, he felt his eyes sting a little.
"Feels like someone's walking over my grave."
Head whipping up, Booster stared at him, glanced back down, then looked up again to smile sheepishly as he took a step back and mumbled, "Sorry."
Chuckling, Ted came up to throw an arm over his shoulders and said, "Don't worry about it, let's go see yours next."
~o~
19 - Perfect balance
They agreed it was the fault of Count Vertigo, and with good reason (especially as it started during a fight with him), but Dr. Midnite assured them that it would likely wear off in a few days, a week at most. That was reassuring, to an extent; Booster didn't enjoy spending so much time dizzy and falling on the ground, so he liked that it wouldn't last for long, but didn't like that there wasn't a faster cure.
For everyone else, it was somewhat amusing, but after Booster gave himself a black eye trying to get up from the couch it stopped being very funny.
Curled up in bed with the lights down low, though, the persistent dizziness was almost worth it to have Ted sitting next to him holding the glass steady while he sipped cool water from a straw. He tried to mumble his thanks to the man, but Ted just told him to shut up and get better faster, as he gently petted Booster's hair.
~o~
20 - No worries
Standing heroically over his vanquished foes, Ted looked over at his grandson and asked, "And what have we learned from this?"
Giggling, Jonny clapped his hands and shouted, "Beat up bad guys!"
"Actually, I meant more along the lines of 'don't underestimate anyone', but sure, 'beat up bad guys', why not?" Hoisting the gleeful boy into his arms, and then onto his shoulders, Ted added, "C'mon, Jon-boy, if we're lucky we can get home before anyone (especially your grandpa) notices we got ourselves kidnapped."
"Yay, Pop-pop!"
~o~
21 - Chasing the wind
It was Junior's idea, and Booster supposed that was the result of learning about familial interactions from television.
He refused store-bought; apparently the building process was half the fun. Once Ted did some research on the subject, he heartily agreed and the two holed themselves up to work on it and cackle worryingly. Booster left them to it and turned his attention to acquiring and packing a picnic basket.
Sitting on a blanket in the park, Booster smiled as he watched Ted and Junior running along with their gigantic mutant kite trailing behind them.
~o~
22 - Blown away
The tongue is a surprise; new, and as such so is the wet swirl that swipes over every single nerve, making him gasp and clutch at sturdy shoulders. The shoulders shake with laughter he can only feel in delicious vibrations.
The swirl again, then suction, suction, suction, a flick of that nimble tongue, then swirling suction and...
"Oh god, Ted!"
Smirking down at the flushed man, Ted kisses him wetly and murmurs, "I told you I'd get the hang of it, Booster."
~o~
23 - Crusade
A minor incubus and principality walk into a bar. As they look no more remarkable than a tall, athletic blond man and a shorter brunette man, this goes largely unnoticed.
After a few rounds of beer, the principality confesses to feeling a highly unangelic temptation, while the incubus suggestively admits to some inspiration. Declaring a job well done all 'round, they decide to retire for the night and pursue these inroads on the crusade for their respective sides against the other.
Behind them, a frustrated artist suddenly decides he needs to paint a breathtakingly beautiful nude of the waitress he secretly adores; a married couple on the verge of divorce, searching for a reason not to, remember the night their oldest was conceived and smile; a fight that would have resulted in a hospital visit is narrowly avoided when the instigator is suddenly struck by how stunningly green the eyes of the asshole who insulted the Bears are; and any number of minor miracles occur on a typical Friday night at that bar.
~o~
24 - In chaos
Sticky greenish grey surrounded them on all sides, only Booster's forcefield keeping it at bay.
"We're in a giant chaos amoeba..." Beetle murmured in horrified fascination; then, at an ominous rumble from around them, added, "...and I think we're giving it indigestion."
"In this case, which is worse: digestion or indigestion?"
Leaning back against Booster, the man's arms tight around his waist to keep the forcefield small and conserve power, Ted grimaced and replied, "That depends on whether you prefer to be puke or poop."
"On the whole, I'd rather be in Bialya."
~o~
25 - Rising tide
Stepping from the time sphere, Booster was struck by an unsettling sense of déjà vu from the island paradise Rip said it was vitally important he visit.
"About time you got here," came a familiar teasing voice. "You know, for someone with a time machine, Rip took his good sweet time getting you here."
Staring at the tanned, auburn-haired man in disbelief, Booster whispered, "Ted?"
Coming forward to wrap an arm around Booster's shoulders and lead him away from the time sphere, Ted smiled at him as he said reassuringly, "It's a long story, Booster-buddy...but for now, it's good to see you again."
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Bonus Suck: (This was the original "Rising Tide," but I hated it even as I was writing it, so I eventually wrote a different one. See above.)
"See, now wasn't this a good idea, Ted? The sun, the surf, the sand...."
"The sunburn, the hurricane warning, the sand in uncomfortable places..."
"So maybe the off season wasn't the best time for a vacation, but you have to admit it was cheaper!"
"I admit it, now let's go back to the room where you can rub aloe on my burns and we can try out another 'S' word..."