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“See you in a minute,” Teddy says to the team that’s about to pull off what Cassie Lang called a “Time Heist”, flashing a quick smile at everyone, lingering his gaze on his husband standing next to him, their hands interlocked.
See, Billy, his husband Teddy, and the rest of their team are all trying to save the world. They've all done it before and they plan to do it again.
No biggie. It's just another bad guy.
This bad guy, however, is the worst one they've ever faced. They won't let that get to their heads, though. They're professionals, and this is just another job.
Thanos is just another name. Just another face in the long list of people that need to be defeated. It doesn't matter that he's at the top of the list. It doesn't matter that he's responsible for wiping out half of all life in the universe with a single snap.
A single snap. That's what Billy has been caught up on for the last five years. A single snap. One flick of the wrist and a shuffle of fingers and many of his friends and all of his mentors were gone. Just like that. He watched as they turned into brown ash before his eyes.
He watched the light in his boyfriend's eyes started to fade, something they never did, as he walked into his mother's apartment and found a pile of ash on the floor in front of a turned-on TV. Instead of a bright and brilliant blue, he found a dull gray that almost mirrored the color of the ashes. Billy hugged him so tightly that day, promising to never let him go. He was afraid if he did let Teddy go he would fade into ash like his friends.
They left his house to go back to his own house, finding his own parents very much not turned into dust and his brothers very much still alive. That's when his parents also held Teddy so tightly Teddy later recalls not being able to breathe, which distracted him from the fact that his mom, his best friend, aside from Billy, and the one person that was always there for him, was dead.
That day Teddy moved in with the Kaplan family, Billy's parents accepting Teddy as one of their own. Over the last five years, they've had their fair share of ups and downs, but they pulled through. At the time of the snap, the two were 18, both just graduating from high school. Now, however, they were 23. Since then, the two have gotten engaged, graduated college, had their wedding, and moved into their own apartment.
Their wedding day was the happiest day of his and his husband's lives, along, of course, with every other day they got to spend together. Teddy just wished his mom could have been there to see him that day, standing under the chuppah, promising to love the only man he had ever loved and the only man he ever planned on loving.
Ever since the snap the two of them have put their capes and disguises back into the closet, choosing instead to focus on the things that they both thought actually mattered. Unfortunately for Billy, one of the things that Teddy thought actually mattered was keeping up with his magic. He didn't need to dawn the red hood or the galaxy-patterned spandex, but he did need to, his husband thought, not lose his abilities. In fact, Teddy made sure Billy kept getting better.
In their days as Young Avengers, the two found out that Billy was destined to become, or maybe always has been, and always will be, the Demiurge. For this, Teddy assumed that his boyfriend, fiancé, and eventually husband needed to get pretty good at magic. Billy, of course, wanting to leave his past behind, detested this, wanting a simple, happy, non-magical life for the two of them.
Not wanting to make his partner unhappy, however, he obliged and kept at it. He studied, read books, and practiced his spells when he had free time, which wasn't as often as Teddy had wanted. Over time, Billy became better and better, not needing to chant what he wanted to happen out loud anymore. Everything he did was non-verbal, meaning Teddy couldn't tell if Billy was practicing his spells or sleeping. It was usually the latter.
For the last five years, Billy has woken up every morning at his partner's side, a sense of guilt riding through him as he lives through his happy ending. Everyone else in his life had experienced immense pain and loss. He did too, of course, but he only lost a few friends. His brother lost his boyfriend, David, and the only parent he had ever known, Wanda Maximoff. Kate lost her dad, which, she said, didn't bother her that much, but everyone could tell it weighed heavy on her. She also lost her best friend, America Chavez, and her boyfriend, Johnny Watts. Cassie lost both of her parents, Nate already had no one, and Eli lost his grandfather. Loki didn't have anyone on Earth to mourn, no family at least, but as much as he denied it, his friends had become family. Even his boyfriend had lost his mother.
He, on the other hand, had his twin brother Tommy, his two younger brothers, and his parents. Of course he didn't escape unscathed, just more unscathed when compared to everyone that was still left in his life.
He felt guilty waking up that morning, his husband by his side, not wanting to get out of bed.
"Five more minutes," Billy begged, his husband already out of bed, showered, dressed, and in the middle of making breakfast.
"Fine," his husband replied, "But only if you promise to get up early tomorrow morning with me so we can go on a run."
"Ugh, a run? Really? You know I hate running, Teddy."
"Gotta stay in shape somehow, hon."
"But does it have to be by running all the time?"
"I don't run all the time. Tomorrow is just my day to run."
"Fine. I'll go running with you, but only because I want to stay in bed for five more minutes and not because I love you."
"Love you too," he says after dropping to the floor on his knees and before giving his husband a kiss on his forehead.
Billy got out of bed 15 minutes later and got ready for the day, today being the day they bring back all of their friends.
Over the last five years, former teammate Nate Richards made a family with Cassie Lang, another member of their former team the Young Avengers. Nate moved in with Cassie to her house, not having a house of his own. Cassie's father, Scott Lang, the Ant-Man, was presumed dead after the snap. She didn't find any ash but she assumed it got carried away in the wind. All she knew was her father was gone, and that was a good enough reason to cry. The day her father came back, running to his old house, where Cassie and Nate still lived, was one of the happiest days of her life. Her father stood before here, defying the snap, she presumed. She was filled with hope that everyone else would slowly return.
They didn't.
Her father explained that he got trapped inside of the quantum realm and that only five hours has passed for him while five years had passed for everyone else. This piqued Nate's interest and led him to, well, invent time travel. With the help of Scott and his limited knowledge of the quantum realm, that is.
He called the old team, or what was left of it, to their old headquarters, Avengers Mansion, and explained his plan. They would go back in time and collect all the infinity stones one by one and bring them back to the present so they could make their own gauntlet and snap everyone back.
They all laughed in his face, but when they saw how serious he was they started to formulate a plan.
It felt good to be back with his friends. The ones that had his back all those years ago. He missed them and wished that he had kept in touch. Billy and Teddy were the only ones to abandon the superhero life. The rest of his former team, Cassie, Nate, Eli, Kate, Tommy, and Loki, all stayed active and helped where they could. Loki actually grew out of his shithead phase and become a productive almost-adult.
They held up New York when the Avengers didn't. Well, couldn't. Most of them were snapped out of existence, which rendered them useless, and the rest just... fell apart. Both Iron Man and Captain America were snapped, so any chance of leadership was gone. No one stepped up to the plate, no one that anyone would actually listen to, that is.
Directly after the snap, Captain Marvel came back down to Earth and took the remaining Young Avengers to where Thanos was hiding, recognizing the location based on an energy reading that matched the one the day everyone was snapped. Tommy, still angry at the death of his boyfriend David, saw Thanos, the stones destroyed, and killed him where he sat, not thinking twice about it.
After Ant-Man returned and the band was back together, five years later, the Young Avengers considered a name change as they rummaged through old files and documents, looking for any sign of where and when the stones were.
They figured, for one more mission, they could call themselves the Avengers.
Scott wasn't much help in the hunt. He didn't really know the goings-on of the Avengers back in the day, and was a pretty new member at the time of the snap, only just getting out of house arrest right before the snap got him stuck in the quantum realm. This left old reports and clippings as their only guide, the internet not being of much help. Google doesn't know what an infinity stone is and also doesn't know who Thanos is. They finally pieced everything together after a week of hard work, late nights, lots of coffee, and even more swearing.
Today, they know where the stones are and they know who's going to handle each one.
Stone one: the Power Stone. On Morag in 2014. Hawkeye is sent to handle it with Stature.
Stone two: the Space Stone. In New York in 2012. Patriot and Iron Lad are on the mission.
Stone three: the Time Stone. Also in New York in 2012 with the sorcerer supreme. Speed is on the job.
Stone four: the Mind Stone. In Loki’s scepter. Old Loki's scepter. Also in New York in 2012. Ant-Man says he can get it no problem.
Stone five: the Reality Stone. On Asgard in 2013. Loki says he can handle it. He might be a bit younger than the Loki of that time but who’ll question a kid running around?
That leaves stone six: the Soul Stone. Also back in 2014 on a planet named Vormir. Shouldn’t be hard to get. Wiccan and Hulkling are on the job, both of them inseparable, all but demanding to go with one another on this mission. No one on the team questions it.
As Teddy flashes his smile, Billy's life flashes before his eyes.
He sees the two of them sparring one day before either of them had confessed their feelings for the other. Teddy has him pinned to the mat, a sight that wasn't uncommon, given both of their sizes.
They weren't allowed to use their powers for this particular exercise, so Billy had no hope to escape Teddy's grasp. As he lay there, his hands pinned to the ground near his face, he looked up at Teddy, his legs straddling his own, his hair messy, hanging down and nearly touching his forehead, his eyes crazy and blue like the ocean on a sunny day. He was breathing heavily, his breath hot against Billy's skin, sweat dripping from Teddy's body to his own.
He'd noticed him before, obviously. A blonde hunk doesn't go unnoticed by Billy Kaplan, not on his watch. He hadn't been this close to him before, though. Never looked at him in the eyes this intently. Never felt his weight on him. And before this, he didn't want to. He stayed away, only interacting with him when absolutely necessary, making polite conversation sometimes, and cracking a joke here and there. He knew the moment he felt how soft his skin was or noticed how beautiful his eyes were he would fall in love with someone who would never love him back.
People like Teddy Altman don't love people like Billy Kaplan, he figured. Hot, straight, muscular, and straight boys didn't fall for short, wry, black-haired boys like Billy. In truth, he thought, they didn't fall for boys period.
Being pinned down opened up his emotions like a dam being blasted into a million pieces. At that moment he knew just how much he had fallen for this man. It all came rushing out, coursing through his body like a wave of sunshine and happiness, but also of hurt and longing. He wanted to sit up and kiss him so badly. Even if Teddy never talked to him again. Even if he was forced to quit the team because of how awkward he made things. Even if he ruined everything.
He needed to kiss him, to reach up and press his lips to his, to feel just how soft his lips were, to taste him. He needed it.
But he couldn't do it. He couldn't find the strength to ruin his life. He couldn't find it within himself to kiss the man he had secretly been falling for.
Teddy later told him he couldn't find the nerve either. In that moment, staring down at Billy under his grasp, he wanted to kiss him more than anything in the world. He didn't care what his mom thought about him being gay. Or what his friends thought. Or what his teammates thought, the Young Avengers or his basketball team.
Teddy let Billy out of his grasp a few moments later, staying just long enough for the team to notice. From that day on, everyone suspected something was going on they didn't know about or that both of them wanted something to happen but neither had the guts to do anything about it.
A few weeks later the rest of the team left practice early, leaving the two boys in the locker room by themselves. After they started dating, Kate told them that everyone was rooting for them from the sidelines, desperately wanting either of the boys to muster up the courage to say something. She also said that the levels of pining going on between them was unbearable, and when she had finally had enough she devised the plan to get everyone ready to leave before the two boys. As they left the building she wanted to scream "Just kiss already!", something she also wanted to scream every time she saw them getting close, their bodies lingering near one another and their eyes set on the other for just too long to be normal.
Luckily for Kate, and for the rest of the team, that day in the locker room they did kiss. Billy found the nerve and didn't care what happened to him. Didn't care what everyone would say. Didn't care if he got kicked off the team and was ignored the rest of his life. He pushed Teddy up against a locker, the collar of his shirt in his hand, and finally found the nerve to kiss him. Teddy was shocked, of course, and when Billy opened his eyes to see Teddy’s wide and in-shock, he nearly tripped and fell as he tried to leave the locker room.
Teddy, of course, was there to grab him before he hit his head on the bench he so carelessly tripped over. Billy was wrangling in his arms, not knowing how Teddy would respond but knowing damn well he could beat the shit out of him if Teddy didn't feel the same way. He did, however, feel the same way, and pulled Billy close for another kiss. From that day on the two were practically inseparable. They went on missions together, practiced together, sparred together, went on dates together, and spent every moment they could with one another.
The next thing he sees is the first time either of them had confessed their love for one another. They had only been dating a few months at that point, their lives together just starting and the rose-colored glasses still on. In truth, Billy corrects himself, the rose-colored glasses never needed to come off. Sure, they had their ups and downs like every couple, but Billy never felt ill towards Teddy. Their lives could be in ruin but, at the end of the day, they always had one another. And that tinted any bad situation red.
The first time they confessed their love, his mind gets itself back on track, wasn’t what Billy had planned. Billy, being himself, wanted it to be special. He wanted it to feel natural and not rehearsed, but still wanted to make sure Teddy knew he meant it.
Instead, it happened when they were working on homework together. The two of them in Billy’s room, sprawled out on their stomachs, their legs in the air, minds hard at work, paper scattered all over the floor, trying to do their geometry homework.
Billy, growing bored of being stumped and not wanting to find the length of another apothem, decided to make things interesting, and stole Teddy’s math book. Teddy, wanting to finish his homework, reached out for it, Billy always being one step ahead and pulling it back. Teddy playfully begged for his book back, and Billy only promised to give it back after a kiss, an arrangement neither of them disagreed to.
After the exchange, the book was promptly delivered, and Teddy groaned out “I hate you,” not, of course, meaning a word of it.
Not fully thinking, his only coherent thought being how much he desperately loved his boyfriend, Billy cheerfully spat out “Love you too,” in response.
At this, Teddy dropped his pencil and looked up at Billy, his legs falling to the floor.
Billy, in an attempt to take back what he had just said, covered his mouth, hoping the words would magically reverse themselves back inside.
“No no no, you can’t take that back!” Teddy said, pointing at Billy, delighted at the fact that his boyfriend loved him, a fact he definitely already knew, “You loveee me!”.
Billy covered his face with his hands, not being able to look at Teddy, the part of his face not being covered showing bright red, his ears following suit. He dropped his legs to the ground, desperately hoping to just fall straight through the floor.
“For the record,” Teddy stated, holding back his laugh, “I love you more.”
As his eyes were still covered, Billy could only feel the weight shifting on his bedroom floor as Teddy stood up and sat next to him, rubbing his back, something he knew Billy loved. He shifted under his boyfriend’s hand after a few minutes, signaling for him to stop, so that he could sit up with him.
Billy’s eyes no longer covered, the two boys just looked at each other, and Billy gave the other a half-smile. The two laughed before Billy joined Teddy at his side, leaning his head onto his shoulder.
“The only problem with you loving me more is that I love you more,” Billy said, finally accepting the fact that he told the first person he felt he’d ever truly loved that he did, in fact, love him.
“You can try,” was Teddy’s response, playful in nature, knowing it was a challenge they both were interested in pursuing.
“Oh, it’s on now, Teddy.”
Billy remembers how from that moment it was a challenge, a lighthearted one, at that, to love the other more. They always went out of their way to make their partner content, happy, safe, comfortable, and above all, loved.
Another moment flashes before his eyes, this one of the day that he had to come out to his parents. Not as a superhero, they already guessed that, his costume not exactly hiding his features from the people that knew him the best, his face completely uncovered, but as gay. He figured that they wouldn't have a problem with this fact, but the thought of his parents not accepting him was enough to scare him into the closet and not come out.
He remembers the weather that day, believing it to be apt. The weather perfectly reflected how he felt at the time, that is. It was cold and dreary, a perfect New York autumn's day. Rain was pouring down from the black clouds that hung over his house, thunder echoing throughout the sky following bright bursts of lightning.
He and Teddy had been secretly dating for a month at that point, the two of them still in their honeymoon phase of everything being perfectly perfect. Until, of course, it wasn't. Teddy's mom was his best friend. He told her everything. This included the fact that he had finally gotten a boyfriend. He had found a boy and fallen in love with him. His mom was so happy.
Billy didn't have the same relationship with his parents. He felt like he couldn't talk to them about anything, especially not about him being gay, having a boyfriend, and falling in love. That conversation, he felt, would probably make the world end. Or at least it would feel like the world was ending.
This day, he felt, the world was ending. He had gotten into a fight with Teddy over coming out to his parents. Teddy just didn't understand why he couldn't talk to them. It was a stupid argument, in hindsight, but every stupid teenage decision looks stupid when you take a step back. They didn't break up that day, but they were close. They were so, so very close to ending it all. He was about to let the only boy he ever loved slip through his fingers.
He got home, covered in rain, and marched up to his room, trying to spare his parents from his temperament, knowing if they asked him how his day was he would either bark back at them something mean or would burst into tears, two outcomes that would lead to a conversation that he didn't want to have. Of course, his parents noticed. They always noticed. Right after Billy carefully slammed his door, not allowing a sound to echo through his house but still wanting to get the feeling of slamming a door in anger and frustration, his parents knocked. Billy was already under his covers, tears in his eyes, his head in his knees, so he didn't get up to answer the door. They instead waited for him to open the door, that moment not coming for at least 20 minutes.
As he opened the door, his eyes red, his nose running, tears staining his face, his mom pulled him into a hug and asked him what was wrong, what they could do for him, and, above all else, if he was okay.
He wasn't okay.
In that moment Billy decided to talk to his parents for once in his life. He told them about how he met someone on his team and how he had fallen in love with them over the last year and how he finally got up the courage to kiss... his teammate. He couldn't do it. Couldn't come out to his parents. He continued the rest of his story, careful to leave out any mention of pronouns, and ended it with "I'm going to go try and salvage things with my boyfriend now. Thanks for talking".
He saw their faces change and realized his mistake. His parents didn't believe he was straight, they told him later, and the moment he said "boyfriend" they were relieved he finally was able to come out to them, on purpose or not.
He tried to shut the door. Slam the door, really. He didn't have any luck. His dad put out his foot and Billy burst into tears. His worst fear realized. He didn't care about them knowing he was a superhero. This small part of his life, however, he did care about. His parents were overwhelmingly supportive of him, something he suspected but didn't want to test out. That night, he and his parents went over to the Altman family residence. The rain didn't stop just because his spirits were lifted, Billy noticed as he got drenched, his umbrella in the back seat of his mom's car. His parents, of course, called ahead and told Ms. Altman they wanted to speak to her about their boys.
Billy wanted to die. This was, without a doubt, the worst thing he could be doing at that moment. Walking into his boyfriend's house to talk to his mother. With his own parents at his side. This secret he had been keeping for so long was finally revealed to the world and he felt sick to his stomach. He liked things the way that they were. He liked being with Teddy in secret, having him all to himself.
That night, as the families talked about what was going on between the two boys, they made up, their reason for fighting no longer existing.
The next thing Billy sees before his eyes, before he's sucked into the quantum realm, is the day everyone disappeared. The day of the snap.
Being cool with the Avengers that remained, Billy heard about everything after the fight had gone down. They were only 18 and weren't allowed to fight Thanos head-on.
Or at all.
He was sitting with Teddy in Avengers Mansion, playing Mario Kart, Teddy's favorite game, on the TV with the rest of the Young Avengers. It was a beautiful summer Saturday, the team all just having graduated a week before.
Teddy won the race and was in the middle of his celebratory kiss on Billy's cheek when he sees America start to fade into ash, her controller dropping to the floor as her hands disappear last. The whole team watched in horror as Ramone and Johnny were subjected to the same treatment.
Next, Noh-Varr was dusted away in the middle of him running to his now-dusted friends.
Teddy grabbed onto Billy, standing the two up and pulling him into a hug, not knowing if either of them will be subjected to the same treatment, but knowing that if he is turned into dust he wants to be holding Billy as he fades out of existence. They look around the room and land on Tommy, him and his boyfriend doing the same thing, David in Tommy's arms, the two of them looking frightened as they, too, watch all of their friends turn to ash.
David was next. As Tommy squeezed his boyfriend's chest, he slowly faded into dust, leaving Tommy all alone, crying on the floor as he scooped up the dust that was once his boyfriend. Billy remembers the look on his face and reckons that he won't ever forget it, sheer terror, fear, and pain painting his expression.
None of the other members were dusted.
The team quickly falls into chaos, not knowing if they would be next to turn into ash, not knowing why everyone else was turned into ash, and not knowing why they weren't.
They all had a bit of survivor's guilt.
Eli rushed over to Kate, holding her in his arms as she picked at the ashes that once were her boyfriend.
Cassie rushed over to Nate, wanting to spend their last moments together if either of them were to go out.
Tommy rushed over to Billy, Teddy only loosening his grasp to let Tommy into the hug.
Billy then sees the day he was engaged to Teddy. The day that Teddy proposed to him. He had seen it coming, if he's being honest with himself, but in the moment he was so surprised to see the love of his life get down on one knee and propose. He didn't know it would be that day, but he knew that it would be at some point soon. He, too, was planning on proposing, and he had a plan together, almost executing it once, so he figured that Teddy had a plan in mind, too.
Before the proposal his day was horrible. He was still in college, they both were, and he had just gotten news that he failed his last test. He never failed tests. Ever. But he failed this one. He got the news in class, his last class of the day, and sulked his way back to his apartment, the one he shared with Teddy.
Teddy saw it the moment Billy walked in the door. He knew something was wrong, and he assumed that it was the test. Billy talked about it all of the week prior. Teddy sat down with him and helped him study for it. He worked and worked and worked. Then failed. Miserably.
Teddy jumped up, determined to make his boyfriend feel better, wrapping him in a hug and planting a kiss on the top of his head, not letting go.
"Please don't let me go" Billy whimpered, unable to move under Teddy's grasp, but not minding.
"I won't," Teddy hummed into his hair, "I won't let you go. Not now and not ever". Billy was familiar with Teddy ending his sentences with how much he loved him and how he wanted to spend the rest of his life with him and how he would never leave him, so it wasn't out of the ordinary for him to say "Not now and not ever". Billy took comfort in knowing that he and Teddy would make it. That they would get their happy ever after. Their storybook ending. He looked forward to each new day with Teddy, learning things about him and about himself, and he didn't want to even think about doing it with someone different.
Teddy did eventually let him go.
Immediately after the hug ended, Billy felt cold. He felt alone. He felt helpless. Even after all that trying. All that working. All that effort, he wasn't good enough. He failed. He failed. Sensing the drop in mood, Teddy did the one thing that could make Billy feel better.
Dropping to one knee, Teddy said, "This isn't how I wanted this to go. This isn't what I had planned, but I know that we both want this. I wanted this to be at a beautiful restaurant or a beautiful park. I wanted this to be somewhere beautiful, but standing here... Billy... God. I can't think of anything more beautiful than you are. There isn't a better place to do this than right here and right now. With you. It doesn't matter where I go or the sights I see because the only thing I care to look at is you. And I want to officially wake up every day for the rest of my life and be able to look at you staring back at me, knowing that I'm yours and you're mine. Billy, will you-"
"Yes!" Billy cried out, tears in his eyes from the speech his boyfriend, and now fiancé, just gave. He gets down on his own knees and wraps Teddy in a hug, the ring still in the open box in Teddy's hand.
"Yes, I'll marry you, Teddy Altman," he says into his fiancé's shoulder, tears still rolling down his face.
Until the day of their wedding, that was the happiest day of his life. He forgot about the test and forgot about school and forgot about everything. All that mattered was that he and Teddy were engaged and he was happy. They called his parents and their friends to tell them the good news. Everyone got together one night to celebrate at Billy and Teddy's apartment. Despite the pain and suffering everyone had endured the last few years, they were happy.
He sees his wedding day next.
He woke up that morning, late, of course, and stumbled out of bed, running to get showered and running back to get dressed. When he finished getting ready, he saw the time.
He was late. Late for his own wedding.
He needed to be at the park twenty minutes ago. The ceremony wouldn't start for another half hour, but he needed to be there early. He could teleport himself there, of course, but he couldn't turn back time.
The next thing he saw was Teddy. On the couch. In his suit. Noticeably not freaking out.
"What the fuck?" Billy exclaimed, motioning to Teddy and his not being at the wedding.
"I set the clocks ahead an hour" he explains.
"You what?!"
"Set the clocks ahead an hour. We still have plenty of time to get to the park."
"I- I can't believe you. You. You- I-" Billy scrambles.
"You what? You love me? Want to thank me?"
"I want to punch you, actually. You had me freaked out and- and for, for nothing!"
"I wouldn't say nothing, hon. I know you like sleeping just a bit passed your alarm, so I made sure we wouldn't be late. Can't miss our big day, after all," Teddy says, getting up from the couch and coming over to wrap Billy in a hug if not only to make sure he doesn't explode from anger.
"Thank you," Billy finally manages to mumble out, followed, of course, by an "I love you".
Their wedding was planned by Billy's parents to be the perfect Jewish wedding down to the last detail. Well, almost perfect. Teddy had a few things he wanted to add in, but nothing too out of the ordinary.
All of their friends and family were invited. Teddy looks out into the crowd and sees all of his friends from the Young Avengers.
The ones that were left, anyway.
Who he doesn't see is his mom. Now, he thinks, he has a whole new family. Billy's family. After the snap he moved in with Billy and became part of his family, being acquainted with his mother and father and two brothers. But now he has all sorts of new family that can't wait to meet him.
In this moment, however, seeing only friends, he misses his mom. He wishes that she could be here to see her only son, even if only adopted, get married to the love of his life.
They stand under the chuppah as the ceremony begins.
The vision of his wedding is cut short as he's sucking into the quantum realm, his hand in Teddy's.
They're brought back to Morag in 2014, their ship already ready for them. The desolate planet greets them unkindly. Large rock structures paint the landscape, dark gray clouds cover the sky, a bright red light shines through at the horizon.
They say their goodbyes to Cassie and Kate, wishing each other safe passage and good luck as Billy and Teddy get into their own ship with coordinates to Vormir.
Billy's never been to space before. Neither has Teddy. They both definitely haven't been in a spaceship, to Morag, Vormir, or anywhere outside of the east coast, really.
The craft hovers off the ground as the back door locks shut, the two of them sitting in their seats, waiting for the craft to carry them to the soul stone. The distance between the two seats is just too far for them to be holding hands, but that doesn't stop them from trying. Each of their arms is stretched out as far as it can go as the craft takes off into space, brilliant colors streaking passed their ship.
"It's... beautiful" Billy spits out, amazed at how fast they're traveling and at how beautiful something that isn't New York can be.
The shuttle reaches its destination and the pair is met with a breathtaking sight as they step off of the ship. Black sand covers the landscape, dunes rising and falling as far as the eye can see, only broken apart by the occasional lake, black as night to match. The sun is setting in the distance, eclipsed by some other object, leaving a bright red ring of light to shine through the clouds that cover most of the sky.
The one thing that breaks apart the landscape is the giant mountain set right in the middle of their vision. That must be where the soul stone is, Billy thinks to himself. He grabs hold of Teddy's hand and starts to walk, only to be yanked back by Teddy's lack of movement.
"Yes?" he asks, not knowing the reason for his sudden lack of courage.
"Get over here," he says sheepishly, letting go of Billy's hand and gesturing for a hug. Billy, never one to deny a hug, embraces his husband. Teddy pulls back and leans down to kiss Billy, placing his hands around his waist, Billy's hands around his husband's neck.
"What was that for?" Billy asks.
"Can't a guy kiss his husband?" Teddy says defensively.
"Yes," Billy replies, stepping up to kiss Teddy once again, "He can. And he will."
They walk, hand-in-hand, up to the mountain.
"God," Billy exclaims, "I wish I'd gone on more hikes with you. This is awful."
"Yep, You should have. I missed you on those hikes, y'know. It gets lonely on the top of mounta-"
He's interrupted by a sudden voice, booming from the shadows, saying "Welcome". Billy readies his magic and Teddy changes shape into something with slightly more muscle mass. This change doesn't make him stronger but it helps with his image.
"William," the voice says, "Son of Jeffrey. Theodore, son of Anelle."
The two approach the hooded figure that looms on the stairs, their hands once again intertwined.
"Who are you?" Billy asks.
"Consider me a guide," the voice replies, "To you, and to all who seek the Soul Stone".
"Sweet," Teddy says, "So, you can give it to us?".
The figure steps forward and a red skull is revealed where a face should be. The figure murmurs something in German before speaking again, saying "If only it were that easy".
The figure leads them to the top of the mountain, the sun still setting on the horizon between two looming pillars.
"What you seek lies in front of you," the man says, "As does what you fear".
The two of them step up to the edge and look over, peering down over the cliff to look for the stone.
"So, the stone's down there?" Teddy asks, “That doesn't seem so bad."
"For one of you," the voice says, "For the other... In order to take the stone, you must lose that which you love. An everlasting exchange."
"Well, I love a lot of things," Billy says, "What are we talking about here? Like, go on a diet for the rest of my life?"
"A soul... for a soul."
A chill runs down both of their spines. They know what he means. He doesn't mean give up some object for the rest of your life. He means give up someone for the rest of your life. They both realize what needs to be done. And they both don't want to do it.
Teddy pulls his husband in close for a hug, tears freely flowing down his face and into Billy’s messy, black hair. He plants a kiss on Billy’s head before saying “I love you, Billy. I love you so much. I wish this could end differently for us. But it’s okay. You’ll be okay. I'll be okay. Promise me you won’t miss me too much, okay? Make a li-“
“Excuse me?” Billy interrupts, “No. You don’t get to be the hero here. There has to be another way. I’m not losing you, Ted. Not for a stupid stone. No. Fuck that.”
“Billy, you know there isn’t another way. We’re out of particles. We have to do this. I have to do this.”
“I love you too,” Billy finally stammers out, tears running down his own face. As Teddy continues to wrap his arms around him, he uses his new ability to cast spells without words to teleport himself out of his arms and to the edge of the cliff, stepping off backward, falling ever so slowly to the rocky surface below.
As he falls he thinks back to the days before he met Teddy. The days he was bullied at school for being gay. The days he wanted to end his life. He thought back to his former self, and he thought about how much he'd grown. He wasn't killing himself because he couldn't handle the world. He wasn't trying to escape. In truth, he didn't want to die. He really, really didn't. He wanted to spend every day of his long, long life with his husband. But life isn't fair. He got to spend so many wonderful days with Teddy, and he regrets none of it. He doesn't regret kissing him that day in the locker room, he doesn't regret coming out to his parents, even if on accident, and he definitely doesn't regret marrying Teddy.
He feels content, now, falling to his death. Realizing that he had gotten everything he had ever wanted out of life, even if it was being cut a bit short. But hey, life happens. He would do one last thing to show his husband how much he loved him and one last good thing for the world. He would bring back all of his friends and they could all be happy. Even if it wasn't with him. He could live with that, he thought. Knowing that his friends would be happy. Before he can hit the ground, he feels a strong pair of arms wrap around his torso, carrying him up and back to the cliff, away from the edge.
“Not so fast,” Teddy says, tears in his eyes.
He knew he should have used his magic to restrain Teddy.
As he's carried back up to the top of the cliff, he fights in his husband's arms. He uses his arms and his legs to try and claw his way out, not being able to make Teddy's arms budge. With tears in his eyes and way too many thoughts in his mind, he can't find the energy to cast any spells to teleport him away and off the edge, so he stands there, in Teddy's arms, the tears freely flowing from both of their eyes, sobs being choked back, noses running.
Billy concentrates on the thought of sacrificing himself for Teddy, for his friends, and conjures up restraints for Teddy, locking his arms behind his back and forcing his legs to the ground. He tells his husband he loves him one last time, waiting for a response from him that Teddy just can't seem to muster up. Teddy drops his head and tells his husband he loved him, accepting the fact that he can't win this fight.
Billy takes off his ring and gives places it next to his husband, telling him that he wants him to keep the ring but that he wants him to move on and to find someone new to love. He can't bear the thought that his husband would spend the rest of his life alone. He tells him to be happy all the while Teddy is stunned in his place, his arms and legs not moving, tears falling from his eyes onto the cold stone below him.
Billy gives one last "I love you" before jumping off the cliff. As he falls once again, he hears a loud scream from above, his husband, breaking free from the restraints and jumping off the cliff to save Billy again. Teddy has always been there for his husband and today was no different.
The two of them continue to fight over who gets to sacrifice themselves for the other for what feels like hours. Teddy will go off the cliff and Billy will teleport him back up and into more heavy restraints before jumping off himself. Every time one of the pair jumps over the edge they say what they hope to be their last "I love you", each time it stings more and more, bringing more tears to their eyes until they both go numb, standing at the top of the cliff. Teddy bends down, his arm fully grasping Billy, and grabs his wedding ring off of the ground, slipping it back onto BIlly's finger.
Billy can't cast another spell and Teddy doesn't have the strength to break out of any more chains or fly anymore. Teddy wraps Billy in his arms for what he knows is one last hug.
A goodbye.
“Hon…” Teddy starts, barely being able to choke out his words through heavy tears, “You’re going to be the Sorcerer Supreme and the fucking Demiurge. You have a future. You’re going somewhere. Somewhere important. They need you back on Earth.”
“And I need you back on Earth, Teddy! They can find a new Sorcerer Supreme! There are plenty of fucking magic users out there. I can't live without you, Ted. I can't. I don’t have a reason without you.”
“You think I can live without you? Billy, you have a family. You have amazing parents and three brothers. I don’t have anyone but you. You die and I’m alone. I die and you can bounce back. I know you can. You’re stronger than any one of us. I believe in you, Billy. I know you’ll make it without me.”
"Please don't leave me," Billy stammers out.
“I love you, Billy, and I'll always be with you," Teddy says, taking off his wedding ring and giving it to Billy, closing it in his hand. He leans in for one final kiss, not wanting to let go, not wanting to leave his husband, not wanting his taste to leave his lips. Not wanting to leave him. But he knows what he has to do.
For Billy. For everyone.
He always wanted to be a hero, he chased that dream by becoming one. This, he thought, is how I become a hero. By bringing back everyone that was lost all those years ago.
Before Billy can get the chance to say he loves his husband too, Teddy jumps off the cliff backward. Billy reaches out, grasping the air for his husband who is just outside of his reach. He tries to cast spells. He does. But he's too exhausted to do anything other than watch in horror as his husband, his best friend, and the only person he had ever loved fell to his death.
As he falls down towards the rocks below, his stubborn husband pulls one last trick. He shifts back into his human form, the one he met Billy in. The one Billy fell in love with. The one Billy can’t bare to say goodbye to. He gives him a smile and mouths “I love you” before hitting the stone below, his limbs in directions they shouldn’t be in, a pool of blood emanating from his lifeless corpse.
He sees his husband's body lying at the bottom of the pit, his human form, his true form.
Him.
He knows his husband is gone. Billy almost wishes he wouldn’t have shapeshifted back so he could have looked away at the last moment and not seen his husband at the bottom. Then maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t him. It wasn’t his husband. Just another skrull who looked like him. It wasn’t him and he didn’t have to be sad. He didn’t have to feel a deep and sharp pain flow through his entire body. He could leave this wretched planet and go home and find his husband lying in bed, waiting for him to get home, inviting him in with a few pats on the spot next to him, his pajamas already on, a warm smile on his face. But he knows, staring down at his husband's body, that Teddy Altman is dead.
Skrulls turn back into their base form at death, and this was his. This was his husband. He looks up to the sky as a bright, white light shines through the clouds, making way for two balls of light, each making their way up one of the pillars that frame the landscape, ending with an explosion of light. He falls to his knees, blacking out momentarily, not knowing how long he was out when he awakens.
He opens his eyes and finds himself laying down, on his back, in a black pool of water, the shiny surface reflecting the cosmos and the ever-setting sun above. He would normally find the shades of blue and red and pink breathtakingly beautiful, he would find the entire planet beautiful, as he’s never been to space, and he does, for a moment, before he remembers what just happened.
In his right hand he holds the soul stone. It glows a bright and brilliant orange in contrast to the dark setting of Vormir. He sits up and cries. He sobs, really. The tears become mixed with the liquid he's in as he once again realizes what had happened. His husband was dead. How does he know? He has the Soul Stone. A soul for a soul. Someone he loved. The only person he was with that he loved was Teddy. The fact that he had the Soul Stone now meant that he was gone. Billy knew his husband was gone. He knew he wouldn’t feel another kiss pressed to his forehead. He knew he wouldn’t feel his large arms wrap around him when he felt sad.
He knew he wouldn’t hear another “I love you”.
He knew he would wake up alone for the rest of his life as he knew he could never find another Teddy. He could never find someone who would make him as happy as Teddy made him. Someone who could lighten up his day with a simple smile. Someone who could pull him out of the depths of his own mind. He splashes the water in frustration, believing that it should have been him. The rest of his day is a blur. The only thing he knows is that he ended back up in Avengers Mansion without Teddy. The only reason he made it back is because if he didn’t, Teddy’s death would have been a waste. And Billy wasn’t going to let the worst pain he had ever experienced be a fucking waste.
"Billy, where's Teddy?" is the only thing that breaks the loud, shrilling noise he hears.
He stands there, motionless. Numb. He breaks the silence by passing out.
He did just cast more spells in one period of time than he ever has before.
As he wakes up, his friends surrounding him, the only thing that keeps him from using a spell to drive a spike through his skull is the thought that Teddy believed in him. He believed that Billy could pull through. He believed that Billy was strong enough, so he had to be strong for his husband. For Teddy. He had to be.
As he and his friends step into the pair's apartment, his apartment, now, he calmly walks down the long hallway that leads into the kitchen, his friends trailing, Tommy's arm on his brother's shoulder. That’s when he sees them. Sprawled across the kitchen island are magazines Teddy and he had been collecting. They range from recipes to housing options in the suburbs to ways to decorate and furnish a house to vacation destinations to… baby magazines. They slap him across the face and take away his breath. He’s been so preoccupied in the last 24 hours he didn’t have time to think about them.
He motionlessly stands in the kitchen, staring at them and remembering how they wanted to start a life together outside of the city. How they wanted to do their best to step away from the superhero life until Billy eventually needed to become the Demiurge. Teddy always thought he would be the next Sorcerer Supreme first, but he wanted him to put that off until something happened to Steven Strange or, hopefully, his successor.
“You’re gonna be the most powerful magic-user in the universe, babe. How could you not be in line for Sorcerer Supreme?” he would say, rubbing his shoulders before wrapping him in a hug, a bit of sadness in his voice. He just wanted to be normal. He doesn’t know if he can be, at any level, a good Sorcerer Supreme now. How he could possibly muster up the guts to keep practicing his magic to the point where he could be Sorcerer Supreme. Billy still doesn’t move, paralyzed in place by the magazines that meant the world to Teddy.
The rest of the Young Avengers pick up on this. Kate steps in front of Billy and wraps him in a hug, Tommy joining her, while the rest clean up the magazines from the counter.
“Please don’t toss them,” Billy says, his voice breaking.
“Of course,” Cassie says, stacking them and putting them in a drawer.
The team isn’t new to grieving, so they know they need to be here for Billy. They’ve all lost people, too. Because of the snap and because, well, life happens. The rest of the team was snapped along with various family members. Johnny, Ramone, America, Noh-Varr, David. All taken from them. The team has mourned their deaths for the last five years, but now that they have all six infinity stones their deaths don’t seem as permanent as they once did. They’re all secretly hopeful; waiting and wanting to see their loved ones again.
Teddy’s death does seem permanent, though, Billy figures. He died for a stupid stone so Billy doubts any stone can bring him back.
They move Billy to his room and help him get ready for bed. It's not time for bed, of course, seeing as they were only gone for what amounted to a minute in their time, but Billy desperately needs to sleep. In truth, they all have a big day tomorrow.
Iron Lad heads out after giving Billy a much-needed hug so that he can work on making a second gauntlet to wield the stones. Nate doesn’t really know who will wield them, but he figures it’ll be him in the end. At this point, Billy doesn’t see the note that’s left for him on his bedside table. He’s far too tired and far too many tears are clouding his vision.
His friends make their way out into the living room and find room to relax on the couch. Billy tells them to go home and get a good night's sleep before tomorrow but they all insist on staying with him. He won’t admit it but he’s glad his friends are staying. He desperately needs them. As he gets in bed he turns on his side and reaches his hand out onto the other side, a move he often did when Teddy would be lying next to him. He liked to feel his warm chest and the heartbeat inside of it as he pressed his body against his husband.
Instead of finding his husband, his hand falls flat onto the cold and silky sheets that are messily sprawled onto the bed.
“We gotta get movin’!” Teddy said that morning, excited and hopeful for a chance to bring back their friends. As his hand meets the sheets he loses it. All of whatever he had remaining and all he had pent up inside. It all comes out, his hand resting where his husband once slept. At the sound of muffled sobs, the rest of his friends join him in his room. Kate and Cassie kneel on the floor beside him, rubbing his back and his legs, while Tommy takes the place where Teddy used to lie, looking Billy in the eyes and doing his best to calm him down. Eli is in the room, too, doing what he can to comfort Billy. Billy realizes that he’s keeping his friends from getting sleep, and pushes out an apology through his sobs. Well, part of an apology. He’s interrupted by shushing on Kate’s part.
“There’s nothing to be sorry about, Billy. You haven’t done anything wrong."
Teddy used to tell him to stop apologizing so much when they first started dating. Billy was such an anxious mess and everything was always his fault, he supposed, so he apologized a lot. Teddy was always there to reassure him that no, it wasn’t his fault and no, he didn’t have anything to apologize for and that no, he didn’t do anything wrong. He remembers the hugs his husband would pull him into when he started to cry, how warm he felt; a counterpart to his own coldness. Teddy was like the missing puzzle piece, his compliment in every way. And now that cardboard was lying at the bottom of a cliff who knows how many millions of miles away from him.
Tears start to form in his eyes, quickly snowballing and becoming quiet sobs in his bed. His breath slowly becomes faster and faster as he thinks about the way Teddy used to make him feel so damn safe all the time.
“Hey. Hey. Billy, come back to us. Slow down that breathing. We’re all here for you. We’ll help you get through this. We aren’t going anywhere” Kate says.
None of them have the experience Teddy had with helping Billy through a rough patch. None of them knew the ways he would hold him in his arms so tight the only thing he could focus on was him. None of them knew the words he would use to bring Billy back down. The affirmations of his love he would whisper in his ear. The kisses he would give him on the top of his head.
Billy does, eventually, calm back down, only one thought on his mind. Revenge. He will show up tomorrow for when the gauntlet is snapped. He will be there to watch as Thanos' plan is unraveled, even if it's five years later. He will watch as everyone they love is brought back to them, Teddy aside.
He doesn't sleep so great that night, but he gets up in the morning. Early. Teddy would have killed to see Billy get out of bed this early. Never before has he been an early riser, but today he was. Today he needed to be. He meets his friends at Avengers Mansion and watches as the gauntlet is snapped by Professor Hulk. They found him wasting away in a bar a few years ago and decided to bring him back from his shame spiral.
This is what he wanted. He wanted to help. He wanted to do something right with his life after wasting it for so long.
Nothing happens as the gauntlet is snapped. No friends are brought back. Biting back tears, Billy runs out of the room at the sound of Professor Hulk's booming voice saying "I tried, Billy, to bring him back. I really tried. I'm sorry". He runs and runs and runs until he can't run anymore. It's then that he sees a giant ship looming in the distance, a missile heading straight for Avengers Mansion. Shit. Who is it now? After some quick spells and some maneuvering around debris, he gets everyone back up to the surface. It's then that they see who they're up against. Thanos. Again. They fight. They fight like hell.
They do everything in their power to stop Thanos from getting the gauntlet, but he does. Just as he grabs it he sees portals opening up from all around him, the work of Dr. Strange, back from the dead. Distracted, the gauntlet is grabbed from Thanos and passed around the now-revived avengers.
The fight is a blur, but Billy remembers chanting something as he walks up to Thanos, slowly and methodically. He blames Thanos for what happened to his husband, and rightfully so. If not for the initial collection of the stones Teddy wouldn't be dead now. "You took... everything from me," he utters as he throws blocks of stone at Thanos. If he could kill Thanos with a single thought, he would. But he's tried. He's tried a dozen times now and Thanos won't drop dead.
"I don't even know who you are," Thanos responds, bewildered at the tiny man who's almost about to crush him.
"You will," is Billy's response as he chants in his head to crush Thanos. A blinding blue light emanates from Thanos as he's lifted into the air. his limbs slowly being crushes, Billy's spell working.
Before too much damage can be done, Thanos takes the power stone and pushes Billy back, breaking his concentration and breaking the spell. He blacks out from exhaustion and from pain.
The next thing he sees is Captain Marvel coming down through the sky and crashing through Thanos' ship. This is a win, he thinks, even if not a final win. It can't hurt, at least. Before long he's sitting in rubble, covered in blood and sweat and tears, looking up at Thanos, wielding the gauntlet with all six infinity stones. "I am... inevitable," he says, snapping his fingers.
Billy looks around, looks down at his hands, fully expecting to turn into dust at any moment, or to see any number of his friends turn into dust. Nothing.
"And I," a voice booms, shaking under the pressure of wielding all six infinity stones, "Am Iron Man."
Iron man, back from the dead, took it upon himself to snap the gauntlet. The one that Nate had made earlier. Nate had wanted to snap his fingers himself, but Tony Stark must have gotten to the gauntlet before Nate could.
A snap is heard across the field, but none of his friends are disappearing. Thanos' army is, however. Billy cries. Cries in relief, knowing that the monster that took his husband away from him is dead. It doesn't bring his husband back, though. That thought sits with Billy for far too long before Kate stops by and picks him up, walking him away from the field.
As Billy gets back to his apartment, he still doesn't notice the note that was left on his bedside table. He's distracted by a knock at the door before he can find it. It's Ms. Altman.
"Billy! Thank God you're here. You weren't answering your phone and neither was Teddy and I called your parents and they said that the two of you lived here and they said that you got married and they said to come over and say hello!"
Billy can't find the words to say, his friends behind him, so he doesn't. He just bursts into tears.
"B-Billy...? Where's Teddy? Is everything okay? What's wrong?"
He falls to the floor and his friends rush over to pull him up, allowing Ms. Altman inside. His apartment is filled with photos of him and Teddy from the last five years. Photos on the wall, on the fireplace, on the kitchen counter, and on any flat surface or wall that had room. Billy loved photos. He loved taking them with Teddy. That's what he loved about the photos. That they had Teddy in them. Didn't much care for himself but Teddy... he loved Teddy and he loved him being in photos. There're photos from their wedding day, photos from their days as Young Avengers, photos from different dates they went on, a photo at a baseball game, a football game, a park, a few sunset photos, a few skyline photos, and photos of them and their friends. Looking at them stings as he has to confront Ms. Altman on what happened to her son while she was away.
She bursts into tears when she hears what Teddy did for him. The rest of the team does, too. They never got the official story. They just knew he was gone.
As they all sit down in the living room, a few of the returned Young Avengers take interest in hearing about the life Billy and Teddy had together while they were away. For Ms. Altman and for the rest of his team he walks through every photo he has in his apartment. He gives a story behind each one and gives extra stories along the way, holding back tears as best he can.
He doesn’t get through most of the photos without crying.
He tells them how they got engaged, how they planned their wedding, how his parents planned their wedding, how they both graduated college and got jobs, how they talked about moving out to the suburbs, how they wanted to leave their superhero lives behind and raise a family, and how Teddy loved him with his entire heart every single moment that they were together and every moment they were apart, too.
He tells her about college.
They both went to Princeton, but she knew that. The snap happened the summer before their freshman year of college so she got to experience their high school graduation and the college application process. Billy got in because of his grades and Teddy got in on a basketball scholarship. Billy tells her how they shared a room their first two years and got an apartment their last two years, moving into something further from campus and slightly larger, this apartment, in New York, after their graduation.
He tells her about how they moved the two desks in the room to face each other in the middle of the room so they could study closer to one another. He tells her how he would be doing homework and he would look up to see Teddy, his pencil in his hand, his eyes on Billy. At first, Teddy would blush when Billy caught him looking at him, but as the years went on Teddy stopped getting flustered when looking at the man he loved. He tells her how after she died and Teddy moved into his house his parents wouldn’t let them share a room, let alone a bed, so they pushed their beds together in the dorm room so they could sleep together, Teddy with his arms wrapped around Billy, Billy’s back firmly pressed into Teddy’s front.
He tells her how Teddy’s mental health suffered the first year and how he never really fully healed. He felt the pressure of her death, his friends' deaths, and the need to do well in school weigh down on him. Hard. He tells her how Teddy initially found it hard to ask for help from his professors and from Billy, but he eventually learned and never stopped.
Billy tells her how one night he woke up and heard Teddy crying into his hair. He knew Teddy had a hard time talking about how he felt so he let him know he was there by squeezing Teddy’s arms tighter than he usually did and didn’t let go until he heard Teddy’s tears subside and his breath become slower and more rhythmic.
Teddy never brought up why he was crying that night and Billy never pushed, but Billy could guess why pretty easily.
He tells her how they made a few new friends in college, another couple, and would go out with them on double dates to movies or to restaurants. Billy figured he could magic up some fake IDs for the four of them but he wanted to step away from magic like that; useless things, small things, trivial things.
Billy tells her how they would make pillow forts in their dorm room and “camp” for the night, making popcorn and watching a movie on one of their laptops, Billy falling asleep with his head on Teddy’s shoulder, Teddy’s arm around Billy’s back.
He tells her about the stress of finals week, all eight of them, throughout the years. He mentions how even though they were weighed down by studying they still found time to be with one another when it wasn’t night. They would go out to a local coffee shop and study or go to the library and study.
It hurts him to say but Billy also mentions the time they needed to spend alone. He loved Teddy with all of his heart back then, and still does, but sometimes they needed to take a break. This ranged from sleeping on their own beds, moving their beds apart, doing homework in different rooms, moving the desks apart, eating lunch and/or dinner separately, and many things in-between.
Billy makes sure to mention that they always came back to one another, usually hugging, always kissing, things better.
He tells her how his parents helped the two of them find an apartment in New Jersey and helped them pay for rent the months they weren’t making quite enough to cover the cost. He tells her how they both got jobs their sophomore years, each working somewhere on campus and they both struggled with finding time for work, school, and being together, but they always found time at night to sleep together. If they didn’t have any other time in the day they had the nights, which they both enjoyed immensely.
He tells her how even though they could both afford cars, they saved their money to buy one that would last longer down the road. She tells her how they always walked to class and to campus when they eventually moved into an apartment and how they just bought two used cars last year so they could drive to work. Teddy would often leave notes in his car, too. Billy preferred using cars to get where he needed to go and not use his powers. When the former Young Avengers needed him for something, like the Time Heist, he would use his powers to get Teddy and him where they needed to be, but he really preferred to stay away from magic when he could.
He just wanted to be normal.
Billy mentions how they would eat lunch together at school but when they started their jobs they were suddenly away from each other for an entire day, including lunch, of course. They found this adjustment hard, he tells her. They had spent the last few years spending every hour with one another, so to suddenly go to spending most hours away meant some adjustment. Like every problem they faced, they got through it.
Billy remembers when Teddy would come home from work after a long day and would open the door to the apartment and exclaim “Honey, I’m home!”, always to be met by laughter from Billy, followed by a kiss and a hug. Billy remembers bringing home flowers for Teddy and Teddy bringing home flowers for him. Billy loved all the flowers his husband brought home for him, and Teddy loved them equally.
He walks them through a few dates, one where they sat inside and made a pillow fort to watch The Sound of Music late at night, one where Teddy dragged him on a hike and he swore he hated every minute of it, one where they went out underneath the stars and watched the sky the entire night.
Billy would point out constellations he knew and Teddy would hum in response, attempting to tell Billy that he saw the constellation he was pointing at, but whenever Billy looked over at Teddy his eyes were on him and not the stars.
“The stars are up there,” Billy would point out.
“Oh, but the stars aren’t you, hon.”
Billy remembers reaching over and shoving his husband for how cheesy that line was, wishing he could look at him one more time and wishing he could look back at him.
Billy remembers another date they went on, some horror movie. If Teddy got to take Billy on hiking dates Billy got to take Teddy to see horror movies. Teddy hated horror movies, always had, “Too scary,” he would say, so it wasn’t often. The entire time Teddy was covering his eyes with one hand, holding Billy’s hand with the other. Billy remembered this specific date because at one of the jump scares Teddy yelped so loud they got kicked out of the theatre. Billy mocked him as they walked home, holding his hand the entire way.
Another date he remembers was before Teddy proposed to him, but not before Billy thought about proposing. That had been on Billy’s mind for a while. He had a ring picked out and a speech prepared and was waiting for the perfect time to pop the question. That night he had planned to do it, he really did. They went to a fancy restaurant and everything. Billy could see on Teddy’s face that he was nervous. Did he know that Billy was going to propose? He only told his brother and his parents. Of the two, Tommy would be the one to rat him out.
Tommy resents that but all their friends agree.
Maybe Teddy was going to propose, and that’s why he was nervous. He figured he would let Teddy propose. He’s better at speeches, he thought. Both of them didn’t end up proposing that night. The desserts came and the drinks were finished and no ring was popped, no speeches were given, and no tears were shed. Billy tells them that after Teddy did eventually propose he told him he wanted to propose that night at the restaurant but noticed Billy looked nervous too and didn’t want to steal his thunder. Teddy told him that the day he did propose really wasn’t what he had in mind, what he said in his speech was true, and that he just couldn’t wait any longer to be engaged to Billy. He couldn’t stand not calling him his fiancé and desperately wanted to call him his husband.
And call him his husband he did.
Billy tells about how after they got married and they went to Teddy’s work functions he would hold Billy’s left hand and introduce him to all of the coworkers he hadn’t already met.
“This is my husband, Billy” he would say, love filling his voice and giving it life.
Billy would be met with plenty of ‘It’s nice to meet you’s, always followed by some variation of “Teddy talks so much about you”.
Billy recalls another time when they went to a local baseball game. A foul ball came their way and Teddy might have used a little bit of his shapeshifting powers to reach and grab the ball as it sailed into the crowd. As he brought the ball back in he turned in his seat, looking all around him, and finding the nearest kid to give the ball to. Billy fell in love with his husband all over again when he saw that. Both of them didn’t want or need a foul ball. It didn’t mean anything to either of them. They could go out to the store and get ten just like it. To a kid, though. To a kid, a foul ball might as well mean everything. The ball the players used. The ball that scored a home run just an inning ago. To a kid, that ball was to be cherished.
That’s what ignited the conversation about having their own kids, Billy says through tears. Both of them wanted kids but knew that they weren’t quite ready for them. An apartment in the city isn’t the best place to raise a family, they figured, pointing no blame to Ms. Altman, thanking her, actually, for raising Teddy in the city so he could meet Billy. The two of them wanted a house in the suburbs. Not too far outside of the city, but a place they could have a house and a backyard. They could drive into the city to work every day and have their kid, or kids, preferably, they thought, take the bus to school. A school that wasn’t in the city. A school that didn’t pose a threat to their child’s safety. Again, no offense to Ms. Altman, she raised Teddy wonderfully and he never even got mugged.
The only thing they were hung up on was who to adopt. Do they adopt a human child, like Billy? One that would have two superhero dads? One that would eventually have to get used to having his dad be the Demiurge one day? Or do they adopt a Kree child and a Skrull child, one of each? The Kree child would be left out of being powered, they thought, but the Skrull would take after their dad. Could they adopt two Skrull children? Their next question was is there even such a place that allowed them to adopt Kree and/or Skrull children? They figured there had to be one somewhere off in space, but both of them hadn’t ever been to space. They didn’t know how to find a Kree or Skrull adoption agency.
There were so many unknowns, but it didn’t stop them from dreaming about having a family one day. Billy didn’t always want kids, he explained, but Teddy… he always wanted a family. He especially wanted to give a child, one or more, that didn’t have a family of their own, a family. He knew Mary-Jo was his adoptive mother, but she was still his real mom. She was real in every single way that counted. That’s what he wanted to give. He wanted to be a father and give a child whose parents abandoned them or had died a second chance at a real family. Hearing this, Ms. Altman begins to cry again. The stories were making everyone happier, especially Mary Jo, but the last time she saw her son he was 18, barely out of high school. Hearing how much he had grown up, how much he had changed, which wasn’t really all that much for a shapeshifter, and how much he appreciated his mom, got to her. She missed a son that she never got to know. Not really, at least.
Billy, at Ms. Altman’s request, continues to tell stories and fond memories of her son. He tells her about the flowers they would buy one another for their anniversaries and how one time Billy ran into Teddy buying flowers and a card at the store when he was, too. They laughed and skipped the surprise portion of the gift that evening, moving their celebration up a day. He tells her about the notes that Teddy would leave Billy to find, notes that read how much he loved Billy. He gets up and shuffles over to a drawer, Kate on his shoulder, and pulls out a few of them to pass around. He tells her about how Teddy would comfort him when he felt sad, and how he would do the same for Teddy. In this moment Billy shivers, missing his husband’s warm arms that invited him in after a long day at work or a hard day at school. He explains how Teddy always knew what to say. Always knew exactly how to calm Billy down. Always knew where Billy needed a kiss and always gave him those kisses.
Billy tells her about their first dance as a married couple and how Teddy kept whispering “I love you” to him as everyone at the wedding watched. He tells her how Teddy was so supportive of them having a Jewish wedding but wanted this first dance if his parents allowed it, of course, before the hora. He also tells her about the nights Billy would turn out all the lights and, with some help from his magic, light dozens and dozens of candles in their living room so they could dance again.
Teddy loved dancing.
Billy tells her about the five birthdays they got to spend together. They had agreed on no big gifts, settling for things like flowers, baked goods, and cards, usually homemade, but never any money. They shared a bank account and didn't need to go through the gesture of taking out money, giving it to the other, then putting it right back in, they figured. Instead, they would set aside money to do something fun if the fun required money. They went on a picnic one year for Billy's birthday, went to an amusement park one year for Teddy's, and for both of their 21st birthdays they went out drinking with friends, the other being the designated driver for the night.
Billy fondly tells Ms. Altman how Teddy got impossibly quiet when he was drunk, a reason why they never really did. On his 21st birthday, it coming after Billy's, they went out with Tommy and Kate to a local bar. Teddy had, of course, a few too many, and didn't say a word the rest of the night. On their drive home, however, he couldn't stop saying how much he loved Billy. It was the only thing Billy could coax out of him until he tucked him into bed.
He brings out a photo from a dresser in the living room, it showing Teddy that night, tucked into bed, reaching for the camera, his mouth open. He explains that Teddy was reaching for him, not the camera, and was in the middle of saying "Come cuddle with me" when the photo was snapped. Teddy hated that photo and refused to display it in the apartment, but let Billy keep it for the memory.
Billy spares her the details of his 21st birthday, but as he brings up the fact that he won't bring it up, Tommy, Kate, and Eli all dart their eyes away. He remembers he kept his consumption to a manageable number, nothing that should have gotten anyone very drunk, and yet still had gotten up on the stage at the bar and sang karaoke to a Ke$ha song and that he has the photos to prove it. Teddy later told him that he was a pain to get home, but once he did, he passed out on their bed, almost before his head hit his pillow.
A photo that struck Ms. Altman as odd was one of the two of them at a government building. Billy explained that was them getting their last names changed from Kaplan and Altman to Kaplan-Altman. In that photo, the two of them were dropping off the petition, order, and decree at the court clerk’s office. They had the discussion of changing their last names a few times, the first time they both ended up saying, at the same time, “I want to take your last name”.
After the conversation had devolved into laugher, the two composed themselves enough to compromise to hyphenate the names, Kaplan coming first only because it flowed better.
Maybe because he made the first move.
But mostly because it flowed better.
He tells her about one day they both called into work sick, again with some help from Billy’s reality-warping to give them each a convincing sick-sounding voice, so they could spend an extra day with one another. That day they just laid on the couch and watched T.V., Billy firmly pressed against his husband, but it’s one of his fondest memories. He loved the little things the two of them did together.
He also recalls when each of them actually got sick and how the other would care for them all day, not caring if they got sick too, which they did.
He remembers how much Teddy loved to bake as he points out a photograph of flour covering both of their faces, Billy kissing Teddy on the cheek. Teddy was paying attention to Billy and not how much flour he put in the mixer, so when it was turned on flour flew all over the kitchen. Teddy grabbed his phone with the hand that had the least amount of flour on it and captured the moment. He tells her how they still found flour months later and that he wouldn’t be surprised if they found flour still there.
Billy remembers how the apartment would often smell of something new and sweet, always returning to his favorite at some point: his mom’s chocolate chip cookies.
Billy tells her how every night the two of them would make dinner together. It wasn’t always some big meal that they needed to buy extra ingredients for, and he found that he loved the simple meals the most. They left more time for them to be with one another. Billy also fondly remembers the big meals that he cooked for Teddy as he sat on the stools at the kitchen island and watched, distracting him as he went, but not being able to keep his eyes off of him.
Teddy even got him an apron that read “Kiss the Chef” that he made Billy wear.
“Gotta do what the apron says, hon. Aprons are legally binding,” Teddy would say, pulling Billy in for a kiss.
Billy also tells her how they would go to her grave every year on the anniversary of the snap in addition to going to their friends’ graves with the rest of the Young Avengers. They always made sure to use one of their vacation days to do this so they could set aside an entire day to their memories. Billy then tells her that the relationship wasn’t all one-sided. Teddy didn’t do everything for Billy as it might seem from everything he said, he just can’t seem to think of what he did for his husband.
He knows that if Teddy was here instead of him he would be able to tell every last sweet and meaningful thing Billy did for him that he remembered. At that, Billy tells her one final thing. He tells her that what he remembers the most is living every day to the fullest. The rainy days, the sunny days, the sad days, the boring days. They made every last moment special, whatever they were doing, no matter how mundane it was. Every moment was special to them. He tells her that they lived every day like it could be their last.
What he didn’t expect was that their last day would come sooner rather than later.
For most of the talk Tommy and Kate were joined at his hip, their arms around his shoulder or their hands rubbing his back, occasionally wrapping him in a hug that just couldn't compete with Teddy’s. Tommy can be a good brother when he needs to be, and today, he figures, is a pretty damn good time to be an older brother.
“Only by a few minutes” Billy would always remind him. Tommy doesn’t bring that up today.
Ms. Altman collects a few photos that Billy begs her to take, at least one of them from their wedding, and she makes her way over to the Kaplan house to explain what happened, leaving Billy and his friends in his apartment. She volunteers to do this, seeing the state that Billy is in. She knows he can’t. Not today, at least.
Eventually, Billy gets up and goes to his bed, his friends following him, finally noticing the note that he didn't see before.
“I can’t wait to spend the rest of our lives together, Billy. I love you so fucking much.”
A heart is drawn next to the confession of his love, small and sloppily made. He must have run out of time or was about to be walked in on that morning writing the note. Billy drops to his knees again, clutching the note his husband left for him to his chest. He feels the room spinning around him, his vision going blurry. Tears roll down his face and his breathing begins to pick up. He can feel his body begin to go numb as his breathing picks up, soon feeling hands on his back. His friends', he assumes.
They aren’t Teddy’s hands, he knows that for sure.
He can hear voices, too, words of encouragement. He only hears bits and pieces, the rest fading into the sound of his sobs, sniffling, and the shrilling noise that just won’t leave him alone. Teddy left a lot of notes, notes similar to this one, all around the apartment, waiting to be found by Billy when he got home from work or from school. Billy loved finding these notes and made it a daily routine to check for them.
It must have slipped his mind to check.
As he clutches the last note his husband ever left him, he thinks about how it’ll never come true. What he wrote, that is.
He won't get to spend the rest of his life with him.
He won't get to wake up every morning next to him.
He won't get to feel another warm hug.
He won't get another kiss.
He won't get him.
He loses control and his world starts to change around him, everyone in the building and within a few-mile radius now under Billy's control as he loses control on reality. The buildings change from large skyscrapers to houses and the busy streets become quiet. All of the lawns in this new neighborhood are perfectly manicured, light posts litter the street in equal distance from one another, cars sit in driveways, trees in backyards. Children are playing in their yards with their families, and the sun the looming above the horizon, just about to go down.
He stands at the front door of what he knows is his own house. He walks through the first floor and it’s exactly the house he and Teddy dreamed of. He takes the flight of stairs planted nearly directly in front of the front door as he makes his way back to it, finding himself in a long hallway, five doors scattered between the walls.
He opens all the doors of the rooms, not knowing what he’ll find.
He opens the third door and sees Teddy laying in bed, his pajamas already on, patting the spot next to him, inviting him into bed.
“Hey hon!” he says, a warm smile on his face, “Welcome home”.