Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Come on, Little Prince, say hello.”

“Maygee, you said you’d be poli-“

“Its Mage Mommy, Daddy says it in the stories he tells me.”

“Billy, just say hello to Teddy.”

The dark haired boy huffed a sigh and crossed his arms. It was the first day of elementary school and he was standing outside his classroom before the morning bell rang with his mother, Rebecca’s, friend, Sarah and her son. Dark brown hair fell forward, a strong cowlick just to the right of his hair defying his mother’s careful combing and hanging in front of sharp amber eyes. He felt his mother’s knee nudging his back and hands push him forward and he stumbled over his sneakers, almost gasping as he tripped.

He looked up, cheeks dark red with embarrassment, and his meet brilliant blue ones. Teddy, a rather chubby looking boy with straw-coloured hair was hiding behind his mother’s legs, his hands pressed to his lips.

Bowing his head and averting his eyes, Billy held a small hand out, a pouty expression on his rounded face. He stood there for what seemed like forever till he felt another hand curl around his own. His eyes immediately snapped up, meeting Teddy’s eyes again. The blonde boy smiled nervously, his toes turned in and grubby sandshoe laces untied, and Billy couldn’t help but smile back and grip a little tighter.

He had a friend at school and he hadn’t even started class yet. He looked back over his shoulder at his mom and beamed up at her. She had been right! All he had to do was be nice and polite and he would make friends. Teddy seemed to have come to a similar conclusion since he was smiling dorkily at the other boy, half his fist hiding his mouth, which seemed to be missing more than one tooth. Damn, Billy had only lost one…

Before he could continue on the though an ear piercing ring sounded in the hall and suddenly there were children everywhere, rushing in from the yard to get into their class on time. In the rush, Rebecca scooped Billy back into her arms and cuddled him close, kissing his cheek. Billy threw his little arms around her neck and hugged her back, wriggling a little when her glasses pressed against his cheek.

“Now remember, you bag has your lunch already in it and your hat for when you play outdoors. Don’t lose it okay? Teddy’s mommy is going to pick you up and bring you to me at my work after school because Mommy has to work late, okay? I love you my little Mage, you be care not to work too much of your magic at school okay? That’s for at home, when you’re playing with Daddy.”

Billy was beginning to feel nervous as his mother spoke and moved to place him back on the ground. He tried to resist the urge to clutch tight to her, but couldn’t help but hug her one more time. Rebecca let him, knowing it would only be so long before Billy wouldn’t want to be seen being dropped off at school by her, let alone be hugged before class. Finally letting him go, She kissed the top of his head and smoothed his hair into the neat part it had been no more than ten minutes ago and smoothed down his buttoned shirt.

“Be good, honey. Pay attention and learn lots! I’ll see you at home.”

Billy nodded and picked up his Spiderman bag which had been left on the floor and held it close. His action figure of Captain America was inside, since he refused to go to school for the first day without Cap being there, and the though gave him some reassurance.

Turning and facing Teddy, who had obviously gotten a bit more upset over his mother leaving him at school than he had, Billy took his new friend’s hand again and pulled him toward to room. Some of the other children were in there, and some of the parents too. He felt Teddy pull back against his hand and saw him pick up a Hulk backpack and try to sling it over his shoulder without letting go of Billy’s hand.

“Do you like superheroes?” Billy asked, his voice a sounding like it belonged a much older child. Billy had been reading for weeks before he started school, and reading all the Old Norse books and comics with his dad had really tested his pronunciation and vocabulary much earlier than a normal.
Teddy seemed stunned by the question. Glancing over his shoulder at his bag, he looked back at Billy and nodded, that same shy, open-mouth-with-a-fist-pressed-half-inside expression worming its way back across his face.

“Yeah,” he spoke around his pudgy fist. “I like the Hulk. But Iron Man is good as well.” His speech was slurred, not only due to his hand being in his mouth, but his lack of teeth.

Billy grinned anyway. It didn’t matter that his friend was shy and missing half a mouthful of teeth, Teddy liked superheroes and Teddy’s mom was picking them up after school and he could show him Captain America at lunchtime. Keeping all that in mind, the two made their way into the classroom and sat down with the other kids and waited till the other children’s parents left and their teacher introduced herself and the day began.

Even as they were asked to put their bags away and chose where they wanted to sit at the joined tables, Billy held onto Teddy’s hand. Even when they had to say their names to the class, their grip didn’t waver, only did it break when the two had to retrieve their hats and lunches. As predicted, Teddy loved Cap and Billy couldn’t help but feel excited when Teddy asked to hold him, gently of course.

But sitting outside on the grass next to the playground, Billy watched his new friend with awe. He hadn’t really had friends because his “magic,” as Rebecca called it, always seemed to annoy them or ignore him. But, even though his mother had told him to keep it to a minimum, it didn’t seem to annoy Teddy at all; he even seemed to smile and talk more.

After Sarah dropped Billy at the practice his mother worked at, Rebecca was astounded at how excited Billy was to go back to school. She had been worried that her son’s “know-it-all” behaviour would make all the other children dislike him, like they had at day-care and kindergarten, but perhaps Sarah was right. Watching her son lie on the floor, Captain America doll propped up next to him as he drew a picture of his new friend with crayons from the waiting room toy box, Rebecca couldn’t help but agree with her friend.

Teddy was special; the right kind of special.

Chapter Text

“Goddammit, Aaron! Now I can’t find James! Ugh!”

“I can’t help it! He’s Spiderman! He’s a-posed to swing away quickly!”

“And if we were going by these rules, I’d probably be flat and mushed into the ground, Hulk!”

Billy smiled and scooped his brother over his shoulder, the green-painted boy laughing contagiously as the tips of his older brother’s slicked back hair brushed against his rounded cheek.

“Just be careful not to knock my helmet okay?”

“Yes Loki, Sir!”

Aaron saluted and pushed his hands against Billy’s back to hold himself up and scan the crowd for his brother. Chuckling to himself, Billy peered into the crowds of people for the little Spidey-kid.

A Superhero convention had been announced not even a few weeks ago and of course Billy had been desperate to go. At first he had been worried that his mother would not let him, due to his finals coming up, but when the twins caught wind of a chance to dress up and run around like their favourite heroes in public, their parents had ended up allowing them to go, so long as Billy took them, just to shut them up.

Billy didn’t mind, it wasn’t like he had anyone to go with or meet there. The only person he would have considered was Nate, but they hadn’t spoken since they broke up, months ago. Still, Billy wasted no time in throwing together a decent costume.

He had originally wanted to try a guy version of the Scarlet Witch, she was his favourite after all, but thought people might not get the joke. So he decided on Thor, till his mother happily pointed out he was too small, lean and “smart” as she put it, to be the God of Thunder. Also he had dark hair that could easily be made to look like the Trickster. So he reluctantly worked with his mother to create a semi-decent Loki replica costume. He was just glad the Demi-God/Frost Giant would never meet him in real life or see this mockery of an outfit.

But of course, that meant Aaron and James, Billy’s two seven year old twin brothers, needed costumes too. Billy made it obvious neither of the boys would be allowed in his car unless they were dressed as Avengers. So the Hulk and Spiderman were chosen. Luckily their mom wasn’t comfortable with James wearing the mask that came with the costume to such a crowded place, so the little runaway was easy to spot.

Over by the Nightwing comics. Of course. Sauntering over, still holding a miniature Hulk over his shoulder, Billy wrapped his arm around his other brother, the boy letting out a surprised cry.

“Spiderman, it was foolish of you to think you could escape me!”

Billy struggled to keep a straight face as his sibling squirmed in his arms, the one hoisted over his shoulder, having caught into the fact his twin had been found, doing the same.

“Loki! Man, I thought you were cool!” James giggled, reaching up and grabbing his Hulk-brother’s foot. “Dammit, Hulk, do that smashing thing, or what ever it is you do!”

Aaron sucked in a huge breath, pushing his hands off Billy’s back on to slam two little fists against his older brother’s spine.

“HULK SMAAASH!”

Normally Billy wouldn’t have minded, but the fact James kicked his shin with his heel as Aaron used his back as a punching bag, caused him to collapse onto his knees and let the boys go.

“And Loki has been defeated! We’ll be looking at the Green lantern stuff okay?” James took Aaron’s hand and lead him over to a near by store, victorious grins on their faces as they stumbled away.

Billy watched them and groaned, collecting himself and fixing his askew helmet. Didn’t he say not to touch it? Oh, whatever.

“Hulk and Spiderman. That’s an interesting combination.”

Billy froze and felt his eyes widen. He looked over his shoulder, his eyes meeting a shock of blonde hair and brilliant blue eyes. A mildly smug smile revealed straight, white teeth and a powerful square jaw, no hint of any of the puppy fat that resided there years ago.

“Teddy…?”

“Hey, Billy.”

Billy scrambled to his feet, smoothing down his- … His Loki costume. Of course. He hadn’t seen Teddy in nearly seven years (had it really been that long?) and he was dressed up as a super villain. What a brilliant way to reunite with your childhood best friend. He stood, awkwardly gaping at the sight of the other teen, struggling to sling together enough words to make a sentence. Instead, he just stood, silent, hands slightly out in front of him as if he wasn’t quite sure what to do with them.

“Well this is sufficiently awkward!” Teddy exclaimed as his old friend’s reaction, lifting his hand to scratch his head.

Billy laughed, looking anywhere but at Teddy and rubbed his arm. Goddamn Teddy was one of those kids that took on puberty well. And were those piercings in his ears? Gods, that’s hot! He was taller than Billy now and all that chubbiness seemed to have melted away into toned muscles; or so Billy could tell from his thick arms and relatively form-fitting shirt. Also those jeans just looked fantastic- okay Billy, stop.

“So, you still live where you used to?” Billy’s eyes were drawn back to the gorgeous guy in front of him as Teddy tried to start conversation spoke.
Billy tried to smile causally but seemed to only succeed in grimacing. “Yeah, we haven’t moved since I could remember. I think the only thing that’s changed is the study is now my brother’s room. You and your mum still down near that train station?”

Teddy shook his head, strands on golden hair falling back where they had been before. How did he do that?

“Nah, we moved again. You remember that apartment block over by the vet? Yeah, we’re in there now. It’s only like, two blocks away, but it’s nearly a hundred bucks cheaper a week. Go figure.”

Nodding, Billy subconsciously moved to rest arm on one of his brother’s shoulder. They had come back with an arm full of Green Lantern and Nightwing comics, excited that the man selling them thought their costumes were great and gave them discount so they had more money for lollies. But that all seemed so far away to Billy, who was doing exactly what he was scared he was going to do.

He had made eye contact with Teddy, and the blonde haired boy was refusing to look away.

“Loki! It’s Captain Mar-Vell out of uniform!” James said, obviously appalled at Teddy’s lack of costume. Tugging on his older brother’s cape, and cupping his mouth to whisper, “Who is he anyway?”

“This is Teddy, I went to school with him when I was your age.” Billy said, hoisting an obviously shy Aaron into his arms. “I didn’t think the Hulk could be shy!” He said, trying to look the Aaron in the eye. Instead Aaron persisted to press his hand to his mouth and bury his face in Billy’s neck. The gesture was strangely familiar.

Noticing Teddy eying him and his brother, Billy let out a huff of laughter, readjusting Aaron so he sat on his hip and rolled his eyes. “This is Aaron,” He said jostling his the little green boy in his arms. “And this little guy here,” He jerked his head to gesture to little Spidey, “Is James. I don’t know what going on with Aaron at the moment. He’s nearly seven, you’d think he’d grown out of this by now!” Billy laughed a little, trying to cover up his worry for his little sibling. Normally Aaron was okay with the few friends of Billy’s that he met, but Teddy seemed to unnerve him a little.

“Don’t worry about it, I’m pretty sure I was pretty bad, if not worse, when I was younger. I’m sure you remember, always pushing me ahead of you to introduce myself first.” Teddy replied easily, giving Billy a soft smile. “”Building character and facing social fears”” He quoted. “Man, the things you used to repeat from your Mom, it was hard to believe you could say half the big words you could at that age!”

Billy shook his head, an open mouth smile on his face. As if Teddy remembered this? Well, I guess if someone threw a spider in the face of someone who's arachnophobic, they would remember pretty clearly, and Teddy’s fear of speaking to new people used to be Billy’s favourite play thing. Sounds terrible, but he hated that his friend was too scared to talk to other kids. Teddy was the awesomest friend Billy ever had, why wouldn’t he want to show the rest of the school yard how cool he was? Teddy just made that hard by hiding behind him all the time…

“Hey, uh, you seem busy and I have to go meet my mom soon. Wanna give me your number? We should catch up.”

Billy heard James groan in impatience and felt Aaron tug on his cape. The twins were getting bored anyway so Teddy’s idea seemed to be best.

“Yeah, here. I’ll put it in your phone…”

A few moments later after phones were given back to respective owners, Teddy was walking backwards and waving, being careful to avoid the other costumed convention goers as he left. Billy just stood and waved back; Aaron still hugged against his side.

As soon as the blonde had disappeared from view, Billy let his arm drop and bit his lip, lost in thought. It had seriously been years since he had seen his childhood friend and Billy had honestly early forgotten all about him but he was glad he hadn’t. He still couldn’t get over how much Teddy had grown up and filled out; you would never have guess when they were younger since Billy had always been taller and looked older for his age. Time really did have a way of changing things.

“Billy, you said you’d take us to see the Young Justice panel.”

Of course, trust James to keep him on track. And Aaron had started squirming in his arms to be put down. Placing his brother on the ground and taking the bags out of his other brother’s hands, he ushered them away. “Alright, Alright, then we’re heading off, we gotta find the car and get home before mum flips out!”

And Billy had some serious thinking to do. He pulled out his phone and opened up his contacts. He stared for a bit, relying on his brothers to keep him from bumping into anyone too dramatically as he stared the contact. His smoothed his fingers over the keypad, contemplatively. Normally he would be the first person Billy would tell, but something held him back. He didn’t want to share Teddy, Teddy was his friend and he hadn’t seen him for years.

Closing his phone, Billy sighed and guided his brothers into the seats on the viewing room. James was already wriggling with excitement as Aaron bounced on his chair, grinning hugely. But Billy’s mind was elsewhere. He may be his ex, but he was also his best friend. He seemed happy with his girlfriend, after all, and had no hesitation in telling Billy so; not in a malicious way, he had just always been one to talk a bit when he was happy. Which seemed to be a whole lot more now he wasn’t with Billy.

The Young Justice theme began to play, and both his brothers stilled and clenched their fists, hands on each other’s shoulders. Settling back, Billy finally allowed himself to focus on the screen. This new series was meant to be good, despite the amount of spoilers he had seen online.
He could tell Nate about Teddy another time.

Chapter Text

“Teddy, Honey, did you get the milk and sugar?”

“Yeah, I did Ma.”

Teddy walked in the door after his shift at work, letting his bag fall to the floor just inside the doorway as he slipped his shoes off. The recyclable shopping bag in his hand jostled a little as he pushed the door shut, walking around the dinner table and into the kitchen where he knew his mother would be. That shift had ended up being longer than expected, but it was a Friday, and people were buying their groceries before the weekend.

Kissing his mother on the cheek, he settled the groceries on the cupboard beside her, heading straight for the fridge and the meal his mom was sure to have set aside for him.

“Pasta, second shelf.” His mother, Sarah, said as she filled the kettle with water. “Finally I can have a decent cup of tea. You and your long shifts, making me wait for my warm drinks.”

Teddy smiled to himself as he pulled the foil covering off the massive serving of pasta and placed it in the microwave.

“You might have to take that up with Mr. Nguyen. He says he doesn’t need extra staff so long as I’m on shift.” Teddy spoke with pride, leaning against the counter and watching his mom as she sat down at the table. Her blonde hair had been pulled back into a messy ponytail and her usually neat work clothes had been replaced with a sweater and pajama pants. She still drank from the mug Teddy had decorated for her in Elementary school, an ugly green Hulk drawn on one side and messy blue and red Spider-man on the other. He had been sitting next to Billy when he had drawn it, trying to copy his friend’s better-looking design to no avail.

That impish young face in his mind morphed into a more timid, older version, amber eyes wide with surprise and mouth agape as he struggled for words. Time did have a way of changing things after all.

“What’s on your mind, Little Prince?”

Sarah’s words caught his attention and he sighed, an unsure smile tugging his lips. “You’ll never guess who I saw last weekend.”

The timer for the microwave went off and Teddy removed the plate, sticking a fork in the middle of the food and mixing it around before placing it back in for another minute.

“Are you going to tell me? Or do I actually have to guess?” His mother asked, tucking a leg up underneath her on the chair, holding her mug with both hands.

“Billy. Billy Kaplan, Rebecca’s son.”

“Oh my god, really?” Sarah’s eyes widened as she placed her mug on the table, visibly excited about the news. “How is he? He’s well, of course, isn’t he? Did you see his mother? Oh we haven’t spoken in years!”

Teddy took his dinner over and sat at the tiny kitchen table that was often used instead if the larger dinner table in the next room. He dug through the mince sauce, stabbing as much as he could onto his fork before shoveling it into his mouth. His mother’s homemade pasta sauce was honestly the best thing he had ever eaten. Looking up at her, his mouth full, he tried not to laugh at her expression.

“Calm down, lemme finish what’s in my mouth!” he said, his smile contorted by his food-stuffed cheeks. Swallowing his food down, he grinned a little, knowing how exciting this news was for his mother. His mom was real nostalgic about this kind of thing. She knew how much is cut Teddy up to leave his friend, and Sarah hadn’t been any better. Rebecca was one of her closest remaining friends and always went out of her way to help, even though she’d had little twin boys at the time, as well as Billy.

“Billy’s going fine, actually. His little brother’s are, uh, a lot bigger than I remember.”

“Oh well, of course! They’d be, what, eight by now?”

“Turning seven soon, Mom. And have Billy’s love for superheroes.”

“Don’t say it like that, Ted, you loved them just as much as he did! That’s one of those things I’m never letting you forget.”

Teddy rolled his eyes and shoveled more food into his mouth.

“You’re going to catch up with him, aren’t you? You were so close when you were little.”

“Okay, Mom! I have his number; I’ll catch up when I can. Work and school make that hard already without the distance.”

“You’re old enough to catch the train by yourself now, you don’t really get to use that excuse.”

Rolling his eyes again, he picked up his bowl and nudged his mother’s chair affectionately as he walked out of the kitchen.

“I’ll talk to you later, Ma.” He called behind him as he made his way to his room.

Sarah ‘mhmm’d, smiling as she took a long sip of her tea.

Kicking his door shut carefully, Teddy walked over to his bed, settling atop the pillows as he slouched against the bed head. He ate his dinner in relative silence, but he couldn’t get those deep amber eyes out of his head. It had been almost over a week, and he still saw them when he closed his eyes. That shock of brown hair, that still lanky frame and slender face. It seemed Billy still hadn’t grown into his features.

He looked at the scrunched up paper Billy had given him with his cell phone number scrawled on it. It had half a Batman head printed on the rough brown paper, obviously from a comic book bag. Some things never changed. Teddy on the other hand… He looked around his room. The walls were lined with basketball posters and clippings about his favorite players. School team photos and a few bands flyers stuck here and there, Teddy’s room looked like a typical teenager’s.

Placing his now empty bowl on his desk as he stood up, he wandered over to his dresser to where a band flyer had been stuck over a seemingly empty space on the wall. He peeled the paper back, a muscular green arm now visible on the plaster. Teddy frowned. Pulling the whole flyer and the neighboring basketball poster off, Teddy stood back; taking in a sight he hadn’t seen in years.

The Hulk, Spiderman, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor and Wolverine. The wall stickers had been covered and forgotten. He saw a red foot at the edge of another poster, and began to peel that one back as well. Antman, Wasp, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, Captain Marvel, Hawkeye, The Vision, Black Panther and the Fantastic Four. He had more of these stickers, he knew it.

He all but rushed around the room, pulling down posters he had used to mask his childhood finding all the heroes he had once trusted to guard him whilst he slept. Batman and Robin, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash and Aquaman; even a tiny, shiny 90’s Superboy, Kid Flash and Teen Titans Robin from lollies he won in an Arcade he visited with Billy one weekend with Billy’s mom. His friend had been so jealous, but refused to admit it. Warmth washed over him and disappeared almost as quickly, his chest tightening. Billy had been his best friend. Best friend in the whole world, and some how that friendship had faded away.

Teddy rolled the posters up and pushed them in the corner next to his wardrobe and sat on the edge of his bed, elbows resting on his knees as his he held his chin in his palms. Superheroes surrounded him on his bedroom walls. Looking at all of them in turn, he remembered telling his mother where they should all be placed and how proud he was to show off the new additions to his room to his friend. They had spent the rest of the day running around playing pretend.

He had gotten over the Hulk as he grew older, not that he loved the hero any less, but Captain America began to catch his attention. He was handsome and strong and polite to everyone, a perfect example of what a chivalrous man should be like. He would spend most his time running around, a painted cardboard cut-out his mother had made for him with and old belt fasten to the back of it as a shield in the streets outside their tiny house with Billy, who had begun to take a liking to Scarlet Witch, claiming that ‘just because she was a girl hero, didn’t mean she was any less cool’. At that age, Teddy thought nothing of it and the two battled the imaginary enemies, Billy casting hexes and spells whilst Teddy dove in, tackling and rolling across the ground with his shield until they were called inside.

Picking up the scrunched paper, Teddy bit his lip. What if Billy had just been polite by talking to him at the convention? He had given the other boy his number as well and he hadn’t heard anything. Staring at the paper, he smoothed his thumb over the creases in it. He had just torn all the posters over his walls and had begun reminisce about when they were kids. But there was something else. He felt a little sick in the stomach and his heart was racing. He frowned. He was actually nervous about this, about what Billy would think about him wanting to catch up, but why?

Okay, so Teddy had never really dated anyone. He never saw the need. He wasn’t the most popular guy in school, more so just known by association with the basketball team. He was far too level headed and introverted to let something like popularity get to his head. That being said, as much as he thought girls were pretty, he couldn’t see why his friends made such a big deal about them.

But those brown eyes. When they had locked his own, Teddy had felt his stomach drop. So Billy had been dressed up as Loki and had a tiny Spider-man wrapped around his neck, all those feelings associated with their friendship had stirred after being dormant for such a long time. He had to see Billy, without the siblings and costumes.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, holding his breath as he punched in the numbers and held the receiver to his ear. It rang, and rang… and rang. Teddy felt like his lungs might explode if he didn’t exhale, but he couldn’t help it.

“Hello?”

And there was that mighty exhale. That must have sounds fantastic on the other end of the line.

“…Who is this?”

“Billy! Its… Its T-Teddy,” Yeah, breathing might have been a good idea instead of trying to catch your breath as you spoke on the phone. “How, how’s it going?”

“Teddy? Really? Oh! Heh, I’m good, yourself?”

He sounded genuinely happy to hear from him. Teddy felt a grin tug at his lips and his heart rate returned to normal, almost. But his cheeks proceeded to burn up.

“Kinda good actually; just finished work. I hadn’t heard from you, so I thought I might give your number a shot.”

“Oh, well, I uh, actually tried messaging you a few days ago, but got no response. I didn’t want to push anything…”

Teddy frowned to himself. Oh no way…

“I totally wrote the wrong number, didn’t I?”

“Uh, I suppose so? The number that showed up when you called me now is different to the one on the paper. Oh five instead of five oh, I believe.”
Pressing his palm to his forehead, Teddy internally cursed at himself.

“Oh yeah, that’s the one. So, uh there’s some new movies out, wanna go see one?”

Silence on the other end. Teddy bit his lip, his heels beginning to hurt from where they were resting on the bed frame.

“Yeah, yeah I’d like that. Got a movie in mind? Or wanna pick when we’re there?”

“When we’re there, I reckon. I’m not fussed.”

“Awesome! Well, text me where and I’ll meet you. I don’t have anything on this weekend and I’m sure my parents wouldn’t mind me getting out for the first time since the Ice Age.”

Teddy couldn’t help but snort at the corny joke and his reaction earned him a warm huff of laughter on the other end of the line.

“Hey, look, I’m about to have dinner, feel free to message me any time, okay? I’ll see you this weekend.”

“Yeah, yeah sounds good. I’ll see you then! And same goes for you!”

“Sweet, See ya, Ted!”

“See ya then, Billy.”

Teddy still had the phone against his face after the dial tone sounded, but he didn’t care. This weekend, this weekend he’d be seeing Billy. Why was he so excited over that? Then again, who said he wasn’t allowed to be excited. Looking back over at his Avengers wall, he stared at the Hulk and Spiderman for a while before turning his gaze to Captain America and The Scarlet Witch.

This had to be the start of something good, he just knew it.