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Christmas this year is different for Tommy. In a good way, a really good way actually, because the previous year had been an awkward dinner with the Kaplans plus one Altman—which had made it even more awkward because he thinks Mrs. Kaplan intentionally put up mistletoe. He had essentially been an outsider at that point, still, and he couldn’t decide if the tension had actually been any improvement from the solitude.
But this year is awesome. Because he’s able to wrangle the twins on his arms in the snow and sling an arm around Billy’s shoulders, telling him that he will personally burn all of the mistletoe in the city if the mage even thinks of conveniently hiding some. And Mrs. Kaplan is making him this most amazing potato casserole in the world just because she knows it’s his favorite.
He actually feels like he’s part of something this year. Maybe the team isn’t the same as it had been, which still frustrates him and makes the anger and mourning boil under his skin, but it’s getting a little better with the new additions that have finally started to meld into a whole.
The Kaplan family has been kind to him, though. More than he could ever repay, and it had been hard because he doesn’t need a goddamned handout and he’s alright with being alone. Until he realized that they just genuinely wanted to make him feel welcome, to be able to be with Billy and have somewhere to call his own.
It’s the damn psychiatrists, he tells himself. They know what to say and he can’t even hate that Mr. Kaplan stresses that Tommy is welcome and part of the family with a warm clap on his shoulder. It’s so perfect and stable that he wonders what the hell he’s doing there sometimes. Not that he would have it any other way; they’ve grown on him. Just a bit.
So this year is comfortable. He’s surrounded by people that he knows and actually gives a damn about, and for once, it’s pretty cool. There’s something about the light atmosphere, the warm smells from the kitchen and corny Christmas music that’s overplayed that actual manages to be enjoyable because it has the right mix of people thrown in.
Tommy isn’t exactly sentimental. Socializing with people out of genuine interest for this holiday is essentially something of a break through in itself. So stretching it to having feelings and expressing them? That’s a bit much. The break up of the team makes him want to drive his fist into a wall, maybe run off some steam in his natural element, but any feelings involved are shoved deep down.
But still, he’s maybe looking forward to having a small gathering with the remaining members of the original team. Teddy, Billy, Kate, and him. That’s all that’s left now, because so much has been sacrificed, so much has been lost—but Cassie went down fighting and he understands where Eli is coming from.
The newer additions are interesting, at least. Mostly Miss America, because she is a babe, although Tommy is slightly afraid to voice this particular relationship his eyes has with her shape being that he thinks she might send him through a wall or two. Kid Loki freaks him out, in the taking a few steps back and maybe running across the city way. He doesn’t know what’s up with that kid, but it really isn’t his problem.
And then there’s Noh-Varr.
Marvel Boy, the peacekeeper or whatever galactic bullshit title he spouts off. Tommy would very much so like to connect his fist to that asshole’s face at some point. He practically oozes arrogance, like he thinks he’s above Tommy and all of Earth as a whole. And mostly, the guy is fucking creepy. Tommy has caught him staring, just quiet and blank, more than once.
There’s absolutely zero understanding of Earth culture, apparently. That or Noh gives literally no fucks and disregards any semblance of customs anyways. Tommy could see that, really, the Kree is headstrong enough that he could imagine him doing whatever he pleases because he can.
Needless to say, there’s some friction between Tommy and the alien.
It’s as though he throws some kind of insult Tommy’s way every chance that he gets, so of course the speedster has to reply with a sarcastic quip. Which only perpetuates it, but it’s usually Noh’s fault for starting it, Tommy thinks.
Which is why he’s just a little pissed to see the Kree at Kate’s side when they get to the park.
"What’s he doing here?" Tommy hisses at the archer, who rolls her eyes and flips her hair.
Everything on Kate is so purple. From the dark purple coat and matching gloves, to the lilac hat on her head. If were anyone else, it would make them look something like a grape, but Kate Bishop pulls off her purple snow attire quite well.
"Way to be sensitive, Tommy. He’s part of the team now, too," Kate says, glancing over at Noh who has remained quiet.
He might be part of the team now, but he’s not an original member. This was supposed to have been the four of them, not the original team plus pet Kree. Tommy sees a lot of Teddy being that he lives with Billy, and he sees Kate more than one person should. But it’s different when they’re all meeting up to just be the four of them.
There had been talk of a snowball fight, talk of a powered snowball fight. And the park is pretty much fair game, so Tommy had trudged along with the married couple from Billy’s house to the park only to see the lady in purple with an awkwardly dressed Noh-Varr.
Tommy wonders if he’s even used to snow. Being that his civilian clothes don’t really suited for handling the wet snow, it seems as though Kate threw anything that she could find on him. He’s like a patchwork of different colors, a dark green coat with the collar of a red sweater poking out from under that, and a light blue hat with a white pom-pom on the top.
It reminds him a little of how a kid looks like when they’re too young to dress themselves but attempt to do so anyways.
And Noh looks the part, really. He seems like an uncomfortable kid stuck at a family gathering, and it’s like he’s an extension of Kate now rather than having a definite spot for himself.
"We’ll just have a bigger snowball fight now," Teddy reasons, and Tommy thinks traitor because the entire team has started to get over the outlawed and wanted by powerful people part of Noh’s character, except for Tommy. Mostly because the Kree irritates him, though the background doesn’t help much.
Maybe he feels a bit bad for him though, just a little.
"Whatever," Tommy mutters, crossing his arms as a hushed atmosphere falls over the group. It isn’t supposed to be tense, it should be fun and light, and Tommy can’t swallow his pride.
Kate finally directs them, because she’s the kind of lady who gets things done, and tells them that it will be a free for all due to the uneven numbers. Superpowers are encouraged unless there is the chance of serious harm—her eyes shift to Tommy and he huffs. He hadn’t been planning to kill anyone. A few bruises build character.
Tommy ends up being that asshole that runs past the others, mostly Billy, and dumps an armful of snow on them before racing across the park cackling. It’s a competition now, especially because Teddy and Billy broke the no team up rules and are definitely working together. Teddy has opted for aerial attacks while Billy magics up more snowball ammunition.
Being the lightning fast speedster he is, Tommy finds himself able to avoid most of the attacks. But there are some that just take him off guard. Said snowballs are most often from Hawkeye herself with that deadly precision and smug grin.
Tommy may or may not kick the tree she’s hiding in a few hundred times in a minute until a pile of snow lands on her hand. The shriek is undoubtedly the most gratifying noise in the world.
Even Noh seems to be participating, although there’s less laughter and more keeping to a task on his end. The entire concept had to be explained at first, but Noh-Varr is a damn good soldier if anything, a neat pile of snowballs next to what looks like a small barricade of snow.
And much to Tommy’s surprise, and slight chagrin, Noh-Varr is fast.
Tommy pelts a few snowballs at silver hair, only to have a quick retaliation thrown back at him. He’s just barely able to dodge it, and nearly falls into the snow when he sees that Noh-Varr is actually running after him much faster than he had expected.
But nobody is as fast as Speed.
(Pietro doesn’t count. He’s old and Tommy thinks that’s an entirely different matter.)
So Tommy runs. He sprints with his legs bounding out in front of him in unbridled speed. And god does it feel good, to have the icy air whipping at his face and hair, the snow flying under his feet. Somehow knowing that Noh is behind him, much faster than anyone else is able to compete with, it spurs Tommy on, makes the sprinting that much freer.
Taking a slight curve, Tommy runs around, circling Noh from behind. He laughs, forgetting entirely about snowballs because right now he’s having fun being chased around by that damn Kree. Except now he’s the one playing with Noh. He grins, letting his feet skid along the ground with a shower of snow spraying up to meet him.
There’s something about the way that Noh looks at him, like there’s a challenge in front of him. And it’s as though it’s the competitive nature in them both that’s actually formed a common ground, that or the adrenaline and speed has gone to Tommy’s head.
"You getting a bit dizzy there, cockroach?" Tommy taunts, pushing the wet hair out of his face with a smirk.
Noh snorts, packing snow into a ball. “Hardly, Thomas. It takes more than that to have an effect on me.” His voice dips lower and Tommy blanches a little, because he might be going a little crazy but he swears that’s some kind of alien flirtation.
In the case that he doesn’t understand how to interpret, Tommy avoids.
"Kate! Slacking off over there?" Tommy yells, pointedly ignoring the look that Noh sends him.
The archer raises a brow, tapping at her phone from a tree branch. “Sorry, I’ve got to call Clint. He’s actually incapable of taking care of himself, I’m worried he got his head stuck in the microwave or something.”
Teddy and Billy are…suspiciously no where to be found. Of course.
"Well," Tommy says awkwardly, "That’s cool too. Is this over because I’m getting the ‘it’s over’ vibe."
Noh-Varr shrugs. “Only if you are accepting defeat.”
Is that a challenge that Tommy hears? Playfulness from the Kree? That’s new, but Tommy isn’t going to pass up a chance to kick his ass. He grins slowly, “Oh. Oh, bring it on, alien boy.”
He hadn’t been expecting for Noh to throw more snow at him as a distraction so that he could take off running. And it hits Tommy that this isn’t a contest of snowball fighting anymore, this is a challenge of speed. The bastard totally thought this through.
But that’s okay, because Tommy is pumped and the fastest thing alive. The white covered ground and trees all blur together as he runs past, watching Noh’s back as he catches up to him. It doesn’t take very long, even though he tries winding around through the park, and Tommy sort of gets ahead of himself when he tackles him from behind.
It had seemed like a good idea before he jumped.
That much force sends them both flying to the ground, into the before untouched snow. There’s about two seconds for Tommy to realize that he’s on top of the Kree before he’s being rolled over with a heavy weight on his midsection. He should really think these things through, he decides, looking up at a heavy Noh-Varr sitting on him.
"I still won," Tommy insists, squirming. Which he did, because he caught him and just because he’s an alien cheater doesn’t change that he won the race. He blows up, trying to blow the snow off of his face. "Comfortable?"
"Very," Noh says smugly, fingers wrapping around Tommy’s cold wrists. His hands are surprisingly warm for handling snow. "I enjoy the look on your face when you are taken off guard."
"You know that sounds creepy as hell, right," Tommy blurts out, more of a statement than an actual question.
If he does know, he doesn’t seem to care. “I think I like you better when you’re not talking,” Noh comments, leaning in too close. He’s practically pressing Tommy into the snow, now, and it’s getting too personal for comfort.
"Are you going to let me up?" Tommy asks, wriggling again. He’s actually opposed to a hundred something pounds of Kree on him, thanks. Especially when that Kree not only acts bizarre but has taken to staring at him again with that stupidly intense glare.
"You would leave," Noh says simply.
Tommy blinks, confused. “Yeah, that’s the general idea, buddy.”
"You seemed more pleasant towards me today," Noh continues, his voice just a little softer, like there’s affection hiding under his tone. "I prefer this attention. You do not always react pleasurably to normal interaction."
"Uh," Tommy responds intelligently because he has no idea how to actually reply to that. Is he implying that he’s been trying to talk to Tommy? That he thinks it’s Tommy’s fault they’ve been assholes to each other? Noh thinks the miscommunication had been on Tommy’s part, not his.
He has to admit that today allowed him to see a lighter side of him, and he doesn’t totally hate the guy. But then again, he never really had hated him. He just strongly disliked him, that’s all. But if he can learn to be a little more clear with his intentions so that he doesn’t come off as a jerk the majority of the time, maybe they could be friends?
Or something. Tommy is still a bit confused and he still doesn’t do feelings.
"I do like you, Thomas," Noh tells him, the most serious and painfully earnest expression on his face.
"I…like you too?" Tommy says slowly, because he’s still not sure what to say to the guy sitting on top of you in the snow in an attempt to make friends.
"Good," Noh murmurs and leans down, pressing his lips against Tommy’s.
Which—what? What. Tommy’s mind goes blank for a long moment before he connect the warm pressure against his mouth to the knowledge that Noh is in fact kissing him. And it’s a little mindblowing in itself how Noh kisses him all firm and sure, but not forceful by any means. It’s just warm and confident, even as he feels a the slight scrape of teeth against his bottom lip.
Tommy makes a small noise in his throat, partially dazed by the kiss and the other part screaming at him to do something. If he kisses back a little, it’s only because the kiss makes him feel weird, in more than a shock factor weird, but almost like intoxicating weird.
When Noh-Varr pulls away, Tommy watches him lick his lips and smirk. It’s both the most frustrating and attractive thing he’s ever seen and Tommy changes his mind. He hates this guy, he really does. And he hates the way that their noses press together, red and cold, with their breath coming out in visible white fog. His face is burning despite the cold and the snow.
“I didn’t mean it like that!” Tommy sputters.
“I know,” Noh shrugs, seeming all too pleased anyways. He’s not even hiding behind the lack of knowledge of Earth customs excuse, no, he’s completely shameless that he just pinned Tommy down in the snow and kissed him.
“You can’t…You can’t just do that!” Tommy flails, and pushes at him when Noh laughs but complies with getting off of him.
“You didn’t like it?” Noh asks, amused. He brushes some of the snow off of his clothes casually, like nothing had just happened.
“That’s not the point,” Tommy says quickly, shaking his head. “So not the point.”
Just because the kiss had felt nice doesn’t mean that it’s okay. Actually, it’s really not okay because he can’t just go around kissing people who have no idea what’s going on. A little warning would be nice, really.
Not that he wants Noh to kiss him. Oh god, what the hell is his life. Two hours ago he hadn’t even wanted to talk to him, but now he’s contemplating whether kissing him is a thing or not. Hormones. Hormones are terrible things and Noh is actually a total asshole who takes advantage of friendship offering things.
Unless Noh hadn’t been talking about friendship at all. And Tommy had ran around with him for the last couple hours without threatening to kill him. Jesus Christ, the guy probably thought that he had been flirting with him.
Tommy’s brain is just a little fried when Noh announces that he must take his leave. And just fucking turns around like that, walking off before calling out over his shoulder that Tommy should accompany him out sometime.
Making sense of this is just a lot of effort. So Tommy lays back down in the snow and stares up at the cloudy gray sky, arms stretched out. He’s done, he decides to lay there and give up on even trying to figure out what the hell just happened.
He feels someone nudge at his head a little while later. Billy leans over him, blocking his vision with that mop of black hair. He definitely looks like there had been some debauchery going down during the snowball fight.
“Dude? Where have you been?” Billy asks.
Tommy shakes his head a little. “I think I just went on a date.”
Billy and Teddy seem to be just confused as he is, but he doesn’t bother trying to explain. He doesn’t really know either, but he can’t say that he’s too upset about it, oddly enough. It’s either just to roll with it than to get caught up in the feelings and messy thing, so that’s what Tommy does.