30 Quills: Nothing To It (#13 ~ Lost in a dream . . .)
A/N: Because I’m going to write the sappiest shit on the planet until I no longer can. 8DD
Also-- I like to think that this was one of Billy’s favorite musicals growing up~
Last part of the fic might make more sense if you watch this first, especially if you’ve never heard this song. x333
Warnings: Bullying/Slurs
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Nothing To It
30 Quills challenge: #13~ Lost in a dream...
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There were way too many people here. Too much noise, too much commotion, too many eyes watching, just waiting for him to--
“Billy, c’mon. Get over here--”
“No,” he shook his head firmly, “I told you. I’m fine. Right. Here.”
His hands tightened around the railing, the old wood groaning in slight protest at the abuse. All around them people glided across the ice in rented skates, children screaming, teens laughing and a few adults showing off some minor moves. Everyone was doing their own thing but-- somehow it always felt like all eyes were on him.
Nearby, Cassie skated alongside Jonas in slow easy circles, the synthezoid smiling shyly in response to her bright laughter at something he said. Kate and Eli were engaged in some kind of competition, weaving through the crowd as they circled the rink. Eli grumbled curses under his breath every time a little one skid into his path and forced him to stop. He suspected Kate had some experience from the way she moved across the ice; her grace and skill on the skates a little too advanced for any beginner.
And Tommy--
A laughing blur shot past him, purposely clipping one of his skates. Billy bit the inside of his cheek as his footing slipped, his grip on the rail the only thing that saved him from nosediving onto the ice. His feet scrabbled for purchase as he tried to right himself, and Billy could just feel people turning and staring and--
Strong hands gripped his waist, steadying him back on his feet. He waited frozen for a long moment, fully expecting a wave of--
Nothing. Releasing a long sigh of relief, his death grip on the rail merely tightened.
“Shepherd!” Teddy growled after the speedster behind him, but he was long gone. His tone softened considerably when he turned back toward him, thumbs hooking in his belt loops, “Bee? You okay?”
“Hnn,” Billy leaned back against Teddy’s chest, blowing his bangs out of his face, “Can I go home yet?”
“Billy-- You’re such a scrooge sometimes,” Teddy’s whine was soft in his ear, larger hands dropping over Billy’s to pry them free of the rail and twine their fingers together, “You know, you’re never gonna learn if you stay stuck to the wall like a fly.”
He tightened his grip on Billy’s hands and eased back, forcing Billy to move with him or fall.
“T-Teddy!” Billy tried to dig his heels in, but on the ice that only made him slip with a startled yelp.
“Relax, Bee--” Teddy caught him, pulling him back up easily, “I got you.”
Some laughter drifted over to them, and Billy tensed. Searching-- he couldn’t help but look-- he noticed a group of guys hanging on the other side of the rail, old familiar haughty faces. Billy couldn’t name any of them, but recalled numerous and unfortunate meetings with many of them in the halls of his old school. Kessler’s cronies, half of them still in hockey gear from an unofficial game played earlier that day on the ice. They hung around to watch the public skate, and poke fun at people-- like him.
“Look, I’m not-- not any good at this,” Billy tried to pull free only to find himself tottering dangerously. Instead, he dragged himself around to face the boy holding him up, “I’m just gonna hold everybody back so maybe I should just--”
“Bee, c’mon-- you haven’t even tried. ‘Sides, it’s not any fun without you,” Teddy bent down to look at him with pleading baby blues and a sincere smile, “You can hold on to me until you get the hang of it. Hey, I won’t let you fall, okay?”
Billy looked unsure, glancing between his boyfriend and the slippery ice they stood on. He resisted the urge to look behind him at his old tormentors, his grip on Teddy’s coat vicelike. A few yards away, his friends called out to him, waving him over with smiles of encouragement.
The crowd buzzed merry and loud all about them . . . but maybe, he could try-- for Teddy . . .
He huffed in defeat, “Fine, but--”
“Get in gear already, Kaplan!!” Tommy flew by with a cackle, giving his brother a high speed shove that sent him careening into his boyfriend.
Teddy grunted a curse as he lost his balance, letting go of Billy so as not to drag him into the ice with him. But when his support suddenly disappeared, Billy flailed in a panic, grabbing fast to Teddy's jacket and yelping also fell into a sprawled heap.
“Shepherd, you jackass, get back here!” That was Eli’s voice.
“Hey! You guys alright?” Cassie sounded worried as she came closer.
The scratch of several pairs of skates approached them, skidding to a halt to help them up.
The combined impact of hitting the ice and Billy collapsing on top of him left Teddy winded, wheezing as he took the hand up Jonas’ offered him. Billy struggled to pull himself up, nearly slipping again until Kate took his arm and helped him get off the ice.
“Up we go Beels--” She gave him a lopsided smile, “Think we gotta teach your ‘big bro’ a lesson, am I right?”
Billy twitched nervously, ears hot and face red as a beet while strangers skirted around them with quiet murmurs and curious stares, but behind them-- Behind them his old schoolmates pounded on the railing as they whooped with laughter, pointing and jeering, reenacting his embarrassing display.
And suddenly Billy felt all of fourteen again, with all his weakness and his complete lack of courage he used to feel, despite all his heroic acts, despite all the power he had gained, the friends he had made, the confidence he thought he had built-- They laughed and they sneered and they stripped him bare in a single moment and Billy had hoped he would never have to feel like this again--
“Hey Bee, you okay?” Teddy touched his shoulder, “Are you hurt?”
Billy shook his head, fists curled so tight his knuckles streaked white, teeth grinding as he bit out, “Can we go back to the rail now?”
“Bee--”
“Please.”
Teddy helped him over without further argument until Billy could steady himself with a firm grip of the boards once more.
“Yo Kaplan! I thought fags were supposed to be great on the ice! Guess ya can’t even get that right--”
He felt Teddy bristle beside him, “HEY--”
But when Teddy moved towards the offending speaker, he gripped his arm tight enough to be painful, keeping him from advancing. He couldn’t see Teddy’s face from this angle, but the glare he was pinning the group with must have been something terrifying if the cowed looks on their faces were anything to go by.
Billy said nothing, just tugged hard at his boyfriend to follow him as he pulled himself along the rail towards the exit of the rink. For a moment, Teddy resisted, conflicted between confronting the group of assholes or acquiescing to his silent request. Eventually, he followed Billy, only to stop him short when he stepped out of the rink.
“Billy, where you going?”
“Home.”
“Billy--”
He tugged his hand free of the other's grip, shoving them both in his pockets, out of Teddy’s reach.
“I’ve got some homework to finish,” he mumbled out, head down and shoulders hunched, not waiting for a response before tottering towards the shoe lockers.
“Billy, wait--” Teddy froze abruptly when Tommy suddenly crossed his path to lean against the wall.
“Geez,” Tommy shook his head, watching Billy go with a disapproving look, “What a party pooper.”
He was saved from the trouble of clobbering Tommy when Eli took a good swing at him instead. Predictably the speedster dodged, but Kate was prepared for it, sticking her skate in his path as he sped passed. He tripped out of his inhuman speed, sprawling on the ice with a loud thwack. Still he managed to pull himself up before most people’s eyes could register, skittering to a stop just out of everyone's reach with a dark glower.
“What the hell was that for?!”
“For being a grade A asshole, that’s what.”
“Say what?!”
Teddy sighed, leaving them to argue while he slipped out of the rink after his boyfriend.
~+~
“Billy?”
The pencil tapping out the beat of his iPod on his math book paused just as hands slid over his shoulders. He nearly jumped out of his skin, pulling off his headphones and turning in surprise to see Teddy watching him worriedly. The faint smell of chocolate drifted to his nose from a tray Teddy set on his dresser with two steaming mugs.
“Teddy, God, you scared the shit out of me. Knock would you?”
“I did. You didn’t hear,” his fingers tapped Billy’s headphones.
He frowned down at them, taking the opportunity to look away from Teddy’s scrutiny, “I thought you stayed with the others.”
“Train you hopped on took off right when I got down the steps, had to wait for the next one.”
“Oh . . . ”
Billy played with the cord of his headphones, curling it around his index finger until the tip was purple from loss of circulation, unwinding it, then starting again. Teddy said nothing, kneeling down in front of him, large hands cupping his knees, squeezing and massaging until he squirmed.
“Stop, that tickles . . .”
He sighed when they slid up his thighs instead, settling on bony hips to drum lightly. Billy continued fiddling with his headphones, trying to appear nonchalant, unaffected, perfectly normal-- and failing as soon as his left leg started a nervous jiggle.
“I-- didn’t mean to ruin the fun, you know . . .”
“Billy.”
“Hmm?”
Teddy kissed the knee bouncing up and down, making the unconscious habit stop. He caught Teddy’s eyes, sad and earnest.
“Bee, I’m the one that’s sorry.”
The cord was twined tighter around his finger, “For what? I’m not mad at you.”
Silence reigned for a moment before Teddy’s chin dug into his thigh, “Then who are you mad at?”
“I’m not mad at anybody,” Billy insisted.
“Not even at Tommy?”
“Maybe a little at Tommy . . .”
“And those guys?”
Billy’s leg resumed its jiggling.
“They seemed to know you.”
It wasn’t a question; so there was little need for Billy to confirm or deny it.
“Was one of ‘em, Kessler?” The growl in Teddy’s tone was fierce and protective.
Billy rarely elaborated on his past troubles. Only once had he haltingly explained to Teddy about Kessler’s role in his old life, and only because the conversation had turned to how they’d discovered their powers when walking home one night after practice. But however reluctant he was to reveal the full details, Teddy had pieced the picture together bit by itty bit; a sarcastic comment here, a nervous gesture there, the irritatingly ambiguous answers to his occasional prying inquiries, until he had figured out the gist. Billy had little doubt that Kessler would need another trip to the hospital if Teddy ever ran into the guy.
“No, just some guys, from my old school that used to take a cue from him. Still do apparently . . . I was kinda well-known among the jocks, for all the wrong reasons,” he shrugged a shoulder, “I used to love gym . . . ‘Till they started uh, ‘critiquing’ my performances. You know, pointing out whenever I messed up, which was apparently every other second.”
Billy tapped at the cold purpled tip of his cord-wrapped finger, “I just . . . Got used to giving up at things, since I could never please anybody anyway. Made it easier to deal with . . .” The hurt.
He shrugged with a chuckle, dry and self-deprecating, avoiding Teddy’s eyes because the blond looked almost like he wanted to cry or alternatively smash something-- probably both.
“Hey, stop with that face,” Billy mumbled, petting Teddy’s hair, “S’nothing.”
“It’s not nothing,” He frowned up at Billy. Teddy sometimes looked like a dog trying desperately to cheer up it’s master, “We could go back to the rink next weekend, give it another shot?”
“Nn, dunno . . . Learning new things in public-- just kinda twists my guts now. S’why I was so, uh, snappy today. And why I was so bad when we first started practicing our powers,” Billy smiled down at him a little sadly, fingers carting through his hair, “Dunno how long Nathaniel would have kept me around without your private tutoring.”
“C’mon, Nate wouldn’t have dreamt of kicking you out,” Teddy shook his head in denial.
“Maybe not . . . but Eli certainly would have,” Billy smirked when Teddy blanched, waving his hands in a defensive gesture.
“I plead the 5th.”
Snorting a laugh, Billy pulled him into a hug, kissing his hair. They stayed wrapped around each other, quiet and pensive, enjoying each other’s closeness until Mrs. Kaplan called them down for dinner late in the evening.
~+~
It was the sinking of the mattress that first penetrated his unconsciousness, soon after the gentle brush of a warm hand through his hair.
“Mmm?”
“Shh~” Teddy combed messy bangs out of his face with a whisper, looking over at Tommy’s bed on the other side of the room, “You’ll wake the troll.”
“Tee?” Billy rubbed at his eyes, the clock on his nightstand blaring a blurry one ‘o clock in the morning, “W’as wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong,” a gentle kiss landed on his nose, “I just want to take you somewhere.”
“Now?” Billy mushed his face into the pillow with a muffled, “Can’t this wait till morning.”
“Shhh~ Just c'mon you--” Teddy’s arms plucked him out of bed with hardly an effort.
“Teddy--”
“Shhh!! Don’t wake everybody up!!” Teddy set him on his feet in the hall.
“Why-- are you in your costume? What are we eloping?” Billy asked testily, scrubbing a hand through his bedhead, “At least lemme brush my teeth first, sheesh.”
Teddy smothered his laugh into his neck, before pushing him towards the bathroom, “So I can shift, you dork. Just hurry up and get changed too.”
A quick brush and a flash of blue light later, he stepped out in uniform, hands on his hips as he settled a mistrustful glare on a smiling Teddy, “Alright, where are you dragging me off to in the middle of the night like some bad romantic comedy?”
Teddy’s smile widened, showing off the blindfold in his hand, “It’s a surprise.”
“. . . You’re joking,” Billy gaped.
“Do you trust me, Bee?”
He looked up into Teddy’s eyes, close and earnest and so blue-- he frowned, “That’s not fair.”
“I promise we’re not going to end up in Vegas with a bad impersonation of Elvis asking us to repeat vows.”
“Just so you know, I’d leave you standing at the altar.”
Teddy snickered as he tied the blindfold tight.
~+~
“Teddy, how much longer-- it’s freezing.”
“We’re here, already.”
Teddy’s wings beat at the cold night air making it swirl around them as they descended slowly to the ground. The blindfold had destroyed any sense of direction he might have had after taking off from their building, but there was a strange quietness surrounding them that was jarring in its rarity.
“Are we still in the city?” Billy felt broad plated shoulders slowly shift back into human form as Teddy landed and set him down on-- His feet would have slid out from under him, if not for Teddy’s sudden grip on his waist, “Wha-- Teddy where the hell are we?!?!”
Ripping off the blindfold in frustration, Billy froze. Wide eyes scanned their surroundings, mouth dropping opening in silent awe.
The moon reflected off the shiny surface of the freshly refinished ice, all the gouges and cuts from the daylight hours washed away by the Zamboni after the rinked closed. It shone smooth as glass in the quiet dark of the night, not a soul in sight. Just the cold winter air, the moonlight, and the empty ice rink-- all for themselves.
His voice was hushed, as if speaking too loudly would somehow make the image before him shatter, “Teddy-- Why’d you . . . is this what you . . .”
“I thought you might want to give it another shot, since our fun was cut short today” Teddy shrugged around a shy grin, “And with a bit more crowd control.”
“You--” Billy shook his head as he turned back to his boyfriend, looking just this side of flabbergasted with a hint of embarrassment if the color rising in his cheeks was anything to go by, “Are the most ridiculously romantic human being I’ve ever met.”
“Well, technically I’m--”
“Oh don’t start with that!” he took a swat at him, hastily grabbing hold of Teddy when the movement killed his balance, “This is-- We should leave-- We shouldn’t be here--”
“Say what?” Teddy looked at him in shock.
“It’s Central park! And it’s night!”
“Billy, seriously-- that’s the best you can come up with?”
“We’re trespassing!” Billy was getting redder by the second, eyes on the ice to avoid Teddy’s gaze, “We’re supposed to be upholding the law-- not breaking it!”
“Billy~”
“It’s not that I don’t appreciate big romantic gestures I just--”
“Are the stubbornest jackass I’ve ever met?”
“Yes, I -- hey!”
“Billy--”
“We should go home, Mom will freak if she--”
“Bee . . .” Teddy's cool cheek rested against his burning one, the contrast shocking him into a moment of quiet. His fingers curled in Teddy’s uniform before he confessed what truly had him flustered, voice a hushed whisper.
“Teddy, you-- you didn’t have to this. This is . . . I just--”
“Hold your breathe,” the whisper was so close to his ear, it made Billy shiver, “Make a wish, count to three~”
“Tee, wha--”
Without further warning, they were moving, his grip tightening reflexively on Teddy as slid across the ice, the wind to billowing his cape.
“Come with me~” Teddy sang softly in his ear, “And you’ll be~”
Billy wobbled precariously as Teddy let go of one hand to turn him around with the other, “Teddy!?!”
“In a world of pure imagination~” Teddy smiled, grasping him tight under the elbow to keep him from toppling over as he pulled him in closer, gliding in circles around the rink, “Take a look and you’ll see~ Into your imagination~”
“Teddy, we don’t even have skates. what are you--” Billy bit back nervous sound as Teddy spun them around again, but the arm tight around his waist didn’t let him fall.
“We’ll begin, with a spin~ Traveling in a world of our creation~”
Teddy's voice was soft and warm in his ear, and it made Billy shiver. His breath quickened from the exhilaration of the wind in his face as the ice sped by beneath them.
“It’s s-supposed to be ‘in the world of my creation’-- yiiaah--” he wasn’t able to hold back the nervous chirp that time as Teddy pulled them into a backwards glide across the ice.
“If you wanna view paradise~ Simply look around and view it~”
“Y-You skipped a line!” Billy bit his lip to hide a smile, clutching strong arms as Teddy spun them with a chuckle until they were face to face.
“Anything you want we’ll do it~”
“Stop changing the lyrics,” he grumped with a frown as they finally slid to a stop, their breath pluming between them on the ice.
“You’re really frickin’ stubborn, you know that?” Teddy shook his head, but he was grinning, and Billy could feel the unnatural heat coming off his face and ears.
“And you’re . . .” his face softened, cold knuckles brushing along Teddy’s jaw as a smile broke onto his face, “Really convincing.”
“There’s nothing to it~Ow!” Teddy rubbed his nose when Billy had dared to flick it.
“Enough with the singing already. Fancy Mr. I-can-shift-into-my-own-skates--” Billy rolled his eyes, mumbling a quick spell until skates appeared on his own feet. His feet slipped almost immediately on the ice, but Teddy kept him standing with a chuckle.
When he looked up again his smile was a slightly crooked, but completely warm, “Maybe now you can properly show me how to do this?”
Teddy smiled wide, clasping Billy’s hands and skating backwards as he pulled him slow and easy across the ice, “Anything you want, we’ll do it~ Wanna learn to skate? There’s nothing to it!~”
“Quit changing the lyrics!” Billy laughed, holding on tightly as his ankles wobbled in an effort to keep him balanced across the ice.
It wasn’t very long at all, until he felt bold enough to ask Teddy to let him go on his own; and though he tripped once or twice, Teddy was there to catch him. By the end of the hour, they were chasing each other across the ice in a game of super-powered tag.
No crowds, no jeers, just him and Teddy, in the crisp cold silence of the night, save for their laughter echoing around the rink and Teddy’s slightly off key singing. And as Billy joined him, goofing around with quiet tunes and teasing rhymes, slowly gaining confidence on the ice, he realized there really was nothing to it.
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Fin
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