Archive of Our Own

The manor was quiet as Ted made his way through the halls, each footstep echoing in his ears, fists clenched either side of him. It was a Sunday, no servicemen in his way as he walked towards where he assumed his father to be, but a small part of him wished there was - it'd be easier to turn back now through the excuse of interruption.

No. He has to do this today. With a heart rate medically impossible outside of telling your conservative father you have a boyfriend, he walks to the door of his father's study, and knocks twice with a shaky hand. A moment passes where Ted is convinced he will surely have a heart attack, before a familiar "come in" snaps him out of his thoughts. One final breath is quickly sucked in, and Ted pushes open the door, peering at his father sitting at his desk, facing his computer.

"He… hello, father," he starts softly, not daring to step inside the room, half-heartedly standing in the doorway as he holds onto the handle. "I- I have something to tell you."

"Can't this wait, Teddy? I'm rather busy."

"Uh- no. I want… to tell you this now…" Ted stumbles through the speech he prepared in the mirror, the word "no" so foreign on his lips. 

"Alright then, get on with it."

Ted stares at the back of his father's head, fiddling with the doorknob in a pitiful attempt to get the words in his head to connect to his mouth. Eventually, "I have a boyfriend" manages to escape his trembling lips. Neither speak for several moments.

"...is he rich?" Mr. Huxley asks, and Ted could see the slight shake of his shoulders. He bites his lips.

"He's… uhm, less than well-off," he admits. He flinches as he hears his father sigh, completely freezing up when the desk chair swivels to face him.

"You are really pushing my limits, Theodore," the older man sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose between his forefinger and thumb. "I was able to look past the… male aspect, I have Felix for grandchildren, but courting an unmannered poor man? I don't want you bringing somebody of that class into my house."

"But father- I-" Ted starts, but is cut off by a glare. He swallows and sighs, looking down, "I understand."

In one of the few memories Ted has of his father speaking to him as a child, he remembers being given a simple order - "when you're older, you need to marry a rich woman".

He managed to break both these rules by dating Buggs.

Begrudging acceptance was something Ted had always been intimately familiar with when it came to his father, and while he knew he'd never get the outright approval he craved, he'd take "don't ask don't tell" over any blatant homophobia. 

—

It was Monday now. The two boys hid away in a bathroom stall as some class they didn't care about played out, a commonplace activity for Ted ever since he grew close with the less rule-abiding Buggs. They'd be locked in the stall for so long that they weren't even aware of which class they were currently skipping at this point. They didn't particularly care. 

Ted pulls away from one of the many kisses they were sharing, wiping a bit of spit from his chin with the cuff of his cardigan as his head hits the stall door the rest of his body was pinned against. Makeout sessions to distract himself from yesterday's conversation was a coping mechanism dwindling in effectiveness, and his body stiffens a little. 

"All good?" Buggs asks curiously, the grip on Ted's hips loosening a little. The blond sighs, the hands on his boyfriend's shoulders moving to cup his round face

"...I told my dad about us," he admits quietly, and the rest of Buggs softens. 

"Shit," was the instinctive response Buggs' has, leaning up slightly to press their foreheads together. Ted's eyes flutter closed. "And..?"

"It… did not go well."

"Figured."

Ted swallows, "he was weirdly accepting of the gay part, it was your, uhm, monetary situation he was disapproving of." His eyes slowly open, looking down through his eyelashes as he watches Buggs scowl. A small sigh escapes him, gently brushing against the edge of his frown with a thumb. "You know I don't think the same way as him."

"Yeah. Whatever," Buggs mumbles, which only saddens Ted further. 

He tilts Buggs' chin up slightly, pressing a gentle kiss against his lips, a near-silent "sorry" whispered into his mouth. A soft hum is given in response, and the two stay close to each other, arms wrapped around each other and lips mere centimetres apart. Eventually, Buggs breaks the silence.

"It's okay. I'll prove myself to him," he murmurs, determination slipping more and more into his tone as he speaks. 

"You will?" Ted questions softly. Buggs nods.

"Yeah. I will."

—

This was humiliating. 

Buggs could see Felix having lunch with Cindy in the distance, secluded together at one singular table in the lunch hall. Hands stuffed into his hoodie pockets, he approached the pair, hovering behind Felix as he ate - Cindy was the first to notice.

"Can I help you?" she spits before Buggs could speak, clearly not pleased to see her ex whilst eating with her current boyfriend. Her bitter words drew in Felix's attention, who craned his head behind him. The slight surprise on his face quickly switched into a smirk.

"Yes, what is it?" 

"I need… a favor," Buggs finally manages, trying to block out the snicker he could hear from Cindy. His eyes stay firmly fixed on Felix, resisting the urge to punch the smug grin off his stupid face - but for Ted, his fists stay firmly clenched by his side.

"Oh, I'm sorry, but I don't give out handouts," Felix leers, superiority dripping with each word. "Now shoo."

"I don't want your trust fund money," Buggs spits out the clarification. Felix's eyebrow quirks up.

"Surprising… Go on then."  

"...your dad doesn't like me. How do I change that?"

At this new information, Felix fully turns his attention towards Buggs, shifting from having his hands in his lap to having his arms crossed over his sweater vest. His shit-eating grin widens, "what's your goal here, poorboy?" 

Buggs groans, "listen, asshole, you want your brother happy, right? Then make his life easier and help me impress your shithead father."

Felix hums, considering the offer for a few seconds.

"Meet me after school. By the bleachers."

Cindy's eyes widened in shock, "you're- you're kidding right? You're not actually going to help him? "

"I want to see how this plays out," Felix says calmly, before turning back to Buggs, "I'll be seeing you soon."
"Right. See ya," was all he mutters, deciding to leave before either of them caused him to lash out. He needed to save his energy for pretentious assholes for the planned meet up, and he could only hope Felix came alone. Cindy being there would cut the interaction much, much shorter, his tolerance for her somehow lower than his tolerance for Felix.

—

When the final bell rings throughout the halls, breaking Buggs out of his self-destructive spiral of thoughts, he's filled with a mix of relief and dread. Relief to get out of this classroom, but dread at the thought of spending any time with the dictionary definition of a snob.

It was an understatement to say Buggs did not get along with his boyfriend's brother. Ted Huxley was the definition of sweetness, a loving partner who he cared about deeply, somebody sympathetic and caring - Felix Huxley was spat out of a hole with the sole purpose of tormenting anyone who didn't make at least 100k a year. Unfortunately, this made him the perfect person to teach Buggs some class.

Just as Felix instructed, he made his way to the bleachers, walking up the stairs to the top row and settling in the middle seat. He waits with music blasting in his earbuds, scanning the potential entrances intermittently to see if he could spot the blond irrit. When Buggs notices him strolling across the field, internally breathing a sigh of relief that Cindy was not on his arm, he sits up slightly, pausing his music as he comes up the steps. 

Felix sits besides him, though he leaves a seat between them as a divider. His crossbody bag is placed to his left, making himself as comfortable as a rich kid could be sitting in dingy high school bleachers.

"Greetings, poor-"

"Yeah, yeah, cut the niceties. I'm not here to converse," Buggs grumbles.
Felix scoffs, but was able to collect himself quickly enough, "alright then. Let us begin."
"Yeah, lets," Buggs doesn't quite look Felix in the eye, avoiding the smug look he knows is plastered onto his porcelain skin.

"Okay, first lesson, manners. Pray tell, have you ever once said please or thank you in your life?"

"Oh, fuck off. Of course I have," Buggs couldn't help but shoot an angry look in his direction.
"Hm. Prove it. Say thank you."

Buggs stares at him for a second, somehow still shocked by his levels of audacity, "are you serious? For what?"

"What? You said you needed my help, and I'm helping you," he calmly looks at his own nails, his superiority complex thoroughly being fed. "Thank me for it."

God, he was insufferable. There was a part of him that just wanted to leave, a punch to Felix's smug face tempting but not entirely necessary, but the knowledge of how much Ted longed for his fathers approval stopped him. So, begrudgingly, Buggs does as he was ordered.

"Thank you, fancy pants, for teaching me the ways of the snob so I can try to impress your bitch of a dad."

"Ah ah ah, that won't do. Father can sense sarcasm like a shark smelling blood. Being a little prick won't get you anywhere. Do it properly."
Buggs scowls, but mutters a quick, yet somewhat genuine, "thank you for this."

"Good boy," his grin widens at the contempt-fueled glare Buggs shoots at him, "how about a please, hm? 'Oh please, keep teaching me your ways!', something like that?"

"I'm not a dog you can give commands to! God, are you gonna help me or not?"

"Are you gonna stop being so difficult?"

"I'm not being- y'know what," Buggs stands from the bleachers uncomfortable plastic, "this was a waste of time. Hope you're happy when Ted's miserable."

He stuffs his hands in the pockets of his jeans, descending to the stairs that led to the pitch. Before he can get halfway down, he hears his name being called. 

"What?" he snaps, turning around and immediately pausing when he spots Felix… frowning? Oh God, what crisis did he accidentally spiral him into? Not softening his own expression, he waits for the taller boy to speak.

"...I- listen, I…- I'm so-" Felix stops himself, swallowing, before finally managing to say "I'll stop being such an asshole if you just cooperate with me."

Buggs pauses, before taking several steps back up, and eventually sitting beside him once more.

"What changed your mind, richboy?" he inquires, but his voice is a little gentler than before. Not by much, but enough for Felix to pick up on it - his own voice gets quieter.

"I… I don't like you. But I like Teddy. And I want him to be happy," he murmurs, like it was physically painful to admit, "so, if helping you do this stupid plan makes him happy, then I'm willing to tolerate your presence for a little while longer."

Buggs stares at Felix as Felix stares at the hands firmly in his lap, left speechless for several moments.

"God…" he finally mutters, before chuckling, "didn't know you were capable of caring about someone."

Felix looks up, eyes narrowed, "oh, shush. I clearly care about Teddy. Not to mention my mother and Cindy."

"Not your dad, huh?" he jokes, before pausing at the way Felix flinches. Buggs reclines in his seat, back pressing against the uncomfortable plastic. "...yeah, I'm not close with my dad either,"

Felix suddenly sits up, "I am close with my dad!" he snaps, a little too defensively for Buggs to believe him. He scoffs, "don't look at me like that!"

"I'm just saying, man…" he murmurs, before sighing, "I don't like you either, I think you're an uptight, annoying, posh-"

"Right, right."

"But Ted isn't. And- and I don't know, maybe we should try… getting along a little better? For his sake?"

Felix pauses in consideration.

"You are the last person on Earth I would suspect to propose that," he mutters.

"Guess Ted's changing me in his own way. And hey, didn't hear a no!" Buggs grins. Felix scoffs a laugh.

"What do you even see in Teddy? I would never think a low-brow oaf such as yourself would go for a Huxley."

"I dunno, he's… he's really sweet, and real hot - and please take it as an insult that this explicitly does not also apply to you."

"We're identical, you bozo."

"His features are softer, you're all jagged and shit."

"Oh, you're saying I'm ripped?" Felix smirks a little, but not in the same way he does when he's being insufferable. There was something off-puttingly friendly about it that takes a while to process, but once the sincerity sinks in properly, Buggs smiles back. He finally barks out a slightly late laugh at the retort.

"You wish, blondie."

The moments savoured for a little longer, just basking in cool Autumn air. Finally, Felix sits up a little more, slapping his hands against his thighs.

"Right, well… guess we should move onto looks, huh?" he gives a judgemental up-and-down of Buggs' outfit, "because this won't do. You need to be able to dress well before even considering entering our residence. Do you know how to tie a tie?"

"C'mon man, I wanted you to stop being an asshole, not turn completely stupid," Buggs gives a lop-sided grin, and Felix smiles back.

"Oh, it's a fine line to balance on," he chuckles, reaching up to the knot of his tie and pulling it down. "Here, borrow mine for demonstration - don't worry, I'll be burning it later." 

By the time the sun begins to set, Buggs feels like he knows it all when it comes to the overly fancy - when to use the oddly-specific cutlery, who to thank and when, and generally how to speak with Mr. Huxley. Noticing the time, the pair make their way to the bottom of the bleachers. There’s a silence where they're just standing, not quite looking in each other’s eyes, both a little bit too emotionally repressed to process the last two hours. Buggs speaks first. 

"Thanks," is all he says. Felix gives a small smile.

"Yes, of course…" There's something unsure in Felix's tone that Buggs can't quite pinpoint, and before he could pry, the blond speaks again.

"Thank you."

—

Sunday was an important day for the Huxley household, being the only day Mr. Huxley was not working, and therefore celebrated with a large meal. Naturally, Ted thought it to be fitting to invite Buggs to have dinner then.. Nearly a week of build-up made him increasingly nervous, but he just really really hoped that whatever Felix managed to do to his boyfriend would pay off. Ted stands in the walkway of the foyer, readjusting the tie Buggs messily knotted himself with an endearing sigh.

"You…" he can't help but have a love-struck look on his face, letting go of the now-neat tie and flattening the creases of his hand-me-down suit jacket with a thumb, "you look good."

Buggs blushes, a raspy chuckle escaping him, "speak for yourself."
They both pause, Ted continuing to silently move his fingers over the collar of the jacket. It was calming, the continuous movement. Buggs eventually takes the hand smoothing his collar on his own, pressing a kiss to the palm.

"It'll be okay, dude," he whispers, trying to convince them both rather than believing it himself. Ted just nods in response, interlocking their fingers. Without a word, he silently leads Buggs through the halls and into the dining room, where his family sat, his father sat at the end of the table. Food was about to be served.

Buggs locks eyes with Mr. Huxley, opening his mouth to repeat his mirror-rehearsed "good evening, sir". Before he could stammer out the first syllable, he's cut off with a simple order.

Get out.

Ted freezes at the bite of the words, shaking hand gripping Buggs' tighter. He gives a distressed look to Felix, who only frowns in reply and helplessly looks away. His father was still staring at him, every unsaid word obvious by the crease of his brow and the way he scowled. There was no point in waiting around for the yelling, so he pulls Buggs out of the room and back to the foyer.

"...dammit," is what Ted mutters when they're alone again, pressing his back against the front door. He sniffles, "sorry your, er, training was… wasted."
Buggs chuckles, "are you kidding me? Now I know how to impress every fancy asshole! I am going to abuse that power!" Ted giggles wetly, wiping the tears with the palms of his hands.

"I guess so," he murmurs, swallowing back the tears. "I'm sorry, I… I'm just sorry. I really wanted my dad to like you. I- I don't know why I was stupid enough-"

"Hey," Buggs' voice softens, "I don't need your dad's approval. I just need you." 

Ted nods, "I know… I still wanted a nice dinner…"

"...you still have one of those Applesoft credit cards, right?"

"Yeah, but… they're for emergencies," Ted's voice is small, picking up on what Buggs was putting down. He laughs a little at the hesitance.

"You're already not in ya dad's good book, what’s a little more damage? And now I know what to do in a bougie restaurant, we'll fit right in!"

"He-" Ted bites his lip, really considering it. "He'll notice me stealing his money."

"I doubt he'll notice a couple hundred dollars missing."

Ted considered for a little longer, before nodding. Maybe Buggs wasn't the best influence, but the rush of sneaking off with the boyfriend his father disapproved of to spend his money was a little addicting.

As well as the obvious - he really was in love.