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It was the early evening hours of the day as Jaime was going through his usual training with Ted. In a near empty Kord Omniversal warehouse that was decently far away from any civilization, a question that had been burned into Ted’s mind was at the forefront of his thoughts again. He had meant to ask it many times before but the thought was always fleeting, going away when something more pressing would inevitably be brought up before he would get the chance to ask it. Usually due to another invasion or supervillain activity, it was fairly routine for him at this point. As Jaime blasted another training dummy to smithereens, Ted caught a glimpse of the scarab on Jaime’s back. Despite Ted’s intelligence, the actual inner workings of the scarab and how it functioned eluded him. He had owned the scarab for years, intermittently trying to get it to work for him like it had for Dan Garret, the first person to hold the Blue Beetle title. Despite all his tinkering, nothing had ever worked and Ted has led his life as a superhero without any powers, relying on his tech, wits, and agility to get by.
With hindsight on his side, Ted believed that despite his lack of powers, he was a damn good hero and still is even though he’s now semi-retired due to his heart issues. Besides, it was better for Jaime, a significantly younger and somewhat scrawnier kinda guy to have a super powered suit. It put Ted’s mind at ease that he had an advanced piece of technology to keep him safe. The super powered exoskeleton was definitely a step up from Ted’s light and air compression gun, not to bash his own inventions, but they weren’t the scarab.
After the last training dummy was reduced to a smoldering mess on the warehouse floor, Ted went up to Jaime and clapped a hand on his back, the head of Jaime’s suit dematerializing to show his smiling face as he looked up at his mentor. “Great job, kid!” Jaime beamed at him before having his suit dematerialize completely. He dug into his pocket and retrieved his phone. “Thanks again, Mr. Kord. I have to get going soon, it’s getting late.” The orange sky showed through the limited windows in the warehouse, the light filtering in and onto the floor. “Just call me Ted, Jaime. Don’t worry, I’ll get you home quick.” Ted tugged on his cowl as he and Jaime walked outside. The warm air of El Paso washed over them, a stark difference from the warehouse that Ted made sure had air conditioning so neither of them would get too sweaty or exhausted from the heat. Ted’s Bug was parked outside, its bright blue color made it stand out from the fairly barren area they were in. The low light of the sun cast a subtle glare across its orange eyes.
Jaime smirked, “You know I can just fly home, right?” Almost immediately, Ted put his hand to his chest in mock offense, eyes going wide behind his goggles “You would pass up riding in the marvelous Bug for just flying?” Jaime halfheartedly snickered and Ted dropped the goofy act, making way for something more genuine “Besides, it’s the least I can do. You and the scarab deserve a break.” Jaime huffed but nevertheless gave a small smile as he and Ted got into the Bug. Now in a relatively safe area with no distractions and a decent amount of free time before Jaime was returned back home, Ted put the Bug on autopilot and turned to Jaime from the pilot’s seat. Time to ask that question. “So I’ve actually been meaning to ask you something for a while, Jaime.” He noticed Jaime slightly wince, it wasn’t the first time Ted started a conversation like this that segued into asking about school and grades as if Ted were some kind of surrogate parent. That, or a drawn out monologue about responsibility (although, Ted did believe something like that would make Dan proud). To be fair, it was a bit of an awkward situation. The question wasn’t necessarily for Jaime but more for the sentient alien technology shaped like a bug that was attached to him that could telepathically communicate with him, so this was probably the best he was going to get in terms of leading into his question in a normal and casual manner. And besides, Ted’s an inventor, it’s his job to find the answers to questions.
“So the scarab… can you ask why it didn’t work for me?” God it was almost embarrassing asking that. The wording made it sound particularly pathetic. Again, he wasn’t upset the scarab didn’t work for him but more so confused. Was he just not worthy? Was there something more he had to do to gain the scarab’s trust? Was Jaime secretly somehow related to Dan in a way? That wouldn’t be the craziest thing to happen, but it would definitely be up there. Jaime took a moment to process the question before Ted assumed he was telepathically asking the scarab, if his almost vacant expression was anything to go by. After a few moments, it seemed Jaime snapped back to reality. He seemed… as equally perplexed as Ted was. Huh.
“… What did it say?” Ted asked. He was getting more worried the longer Jaime kept his mouth shut and was starting to think the scarab said some very unkind things about him. He hasn’t talked to the scarab himself, but he was pretty sure the superpowered robot alien bug that—according to Jaime—would almost always pick the most lethal solution to a problem wasn’t exactly nice. Jaime did his best to avoid eye contact and nervously rubbed the back of his head. “So uh… you know that guy you hang around?” A very vague question to ask. The scarab definitely said something off putting.
“I hang around a lot of guys, Jaime. You’re gonna have to be more specific.” Ted took the Bug off of autopilot and continued on his route to Jaime’s home. With his gaze now back on the sky, Ted heard Jaime take a deep breath. “You know the uh- the advertisement guy?” Ted furrowed his brow.
“You know Booster’s name, Jaime. What, is the scarab not a fan of Booster-O’s?”
“No- well maybe? Khaji Da said it didn’t work for you because of him.”
Ted almost immediately turned on the autopilot again to turn to Jaime. He couldn’t be serious. Upon seeing Jaime’s face, Ted came to the horrifying realization he was very serious. He’s pretty sure the look on his face gave away all his shock because Jaime immediately put his hands up, slightly grimacing as he managed to stutter out “Well- I mean! It was kinda like a multiversal energy kinda thing! An overload! An overload that uh- Booster caused.”
Ted paused. He hadn’t considered any kind of outside source—much less Booster of all things— could interfere with the scarab’s… binding process? Yeah, he would call it that. Ted knew that Booster’s existence in this era itself was not normal for the timestream, he was a walking anomaly—and on the off chance you somehow didn’t know he was from the future, Booster would be sure to let you know along with his horde of branded products and advertisements. But compared to the literal martians and magic users of the league, Booster could be considered milquetoast in terms of otherworldlyness. He had confided in Ted that he was becoming a “Time Master” but also-
“Wait, wait, wait.” Ted tried to pinch the bridge of his nose before belatedly realizing his goggles were in the way, tugging off his cowl completely to complete the exasperated motion. His brows were knit together in confusion and his curly hair slightly fell over his eyes. He felt a migraine coming on and lifted his head to look at Jaime, combing his gloved fingers through his hair to push it back. “I tried to use the scarab before I even met Booster. Hell, before Booster even traveled back to this time. Well not this time- the 80s. What went wrong then?” Jaime defensively raised his hands “Hey, Khaji Da says you and Booster are connected by the multiverse. I don’t know what that means but Booster overloaded the scarab due to that. It’s like… magic stuff.” Ted felt like his head was going to explode. Magic? Booster wasn’t Zatanna, he didn’t magic the scarab into submission. He wanted one question answered and instead got more. (Heh, questions. Maybe in some nebulous, conspiratorial way, Vic had all the answers. Ted made a mental note to give the guy a call sometime.) Ted huffed as he let Jaime’s words settle in his mind.
“So… what is the scarab saying, me and Booster are soulmates or something? And it can’t get in the way of us?” The remark was supposed to be sarcastic. Ted and Booster weren’t… like that. Not that there’s anything wrong with that if that were the case but the statement was supposed to one hundred percent be in jest. Too bad Ted’s tone didn’t reflect that and it instead came out just as exasperated and bitter as Ted felt after this conversation. Jaime quirked an eyebrow at Ted and he was about to do a retake on what he said in a more sarcastic manner before Jaime’s eyes seemed to brighten and he grinned.
“Yeah actually, that’s a pretty good way to put it!”
“What.”
“You two are kinda like soulmates. And that interfered with Khaji Da being able to use you as a host. You two were connected before Booster came from the future so you are basically soulmates!” Jaime beamed at this conclusion. Ted didn’t know whether to believe if Jaime came up with it himself or if the scarab somehow confirmed Ted and Booster were actually soulmates. “Don't you two live together too?” Jaime added on and Ted sputtered. He felt his cheeks redden “Wh- not like that! We’re not- never mind.” Ted sighed as he looked out the eyes of the Bug, they were hovering over Jaime’s house and looking down, Ted could very clearly see the garish green outfit of Guy Gardner at the front door talking to Jaime’s mom and the last person he wanted to know about this conversation was him. Despite being semi-retired, Guy still liked to visit and when Ted usually came to be backup during fights the league seemed to particularly struggle with, Guy was usually already in the fray. And knowing Guy’s sense of humor, he knew he would never hear the end of it if Guy caught wind of this. Ted decided to leave the conversation at that and carefully maneuvered the Bug to the ground and watched Jaime until he safely entered his home. It was time for Ted to get home as well anyway.
~
“Boos, I’m home.” Ted called out. Booster had said he wanted to crash at Ted’s place for a while which essentially meant they were roommates until further notice. Booster had been living with him for over a month now, a fact that was so apparent that Jaime had apparently known. Then again, this wasn’t the first time Booster had been living with him. Booster practically came and went as he pleased but Ted’s guest room was always crowded with his stuff, ranging from the cologne to his own posters, anyone not in the know would think Ted was a deranged fan. Walking further inside, he saw Booster in the kitchen, chopping up some strawberries before adding them to a large bowl of salad. He was in civvies, just a t-shirt and jeans and wearing an apron. Ted was thankful it was just a normal and plain looking apron and not the frilly, pink monstrosity Bea once got as a gag gift. As Ted came into his line of sight, Booster set down the knife he was holding and faced him.
“Teddy, welcome home!” And there was that signature Booster Gold million watt smile. Ted leaned against the wall and smiled back at him, it sounded odd but Ted always felt somewhat relieved whenever Booster smiled. Like a weight was lifted from his shoulders. Maybe it’s because he associated Booster so much with being home, being safe. “How’s the arm?” Ted asked. Booster rolled his shoulder and Ted would’ve missed the small wince if he wasn’t focused on Booster’s face as he tried to hide it. “It’s fine, you did a hell of a good job patching me up.” Booster’s voice was a bit wobbly near the end there and Ted stepped up to examine the arm himself to make sure it was healing nicely.
A few days ago, Booster was involved in some kind of scuffle happening downtown. It wasn’t super world threatening but big enough to warrant a bunch of heroes being in the area besides Booster. Ted was at work and the situation wasn’t deemed serious enough for him to be called in but Ted had heard. He anxiously kept refreshing his phone for updates on the fight and once things seemed to calm down, he had called out for the rest of the day to rush home. He tended and cared for Booster that night. He wasn’t too badly hurt, just some cuts and bruises and he had a bit of a wonky arm. But Ted cared for him and it felt like any other night with them cuddled up on the couch watching whatever Booster wanted and Ted giving his complimentary commentary on all of it. They’ve done this multiple times during their hero career, the roles even being swapped at times with Ted being coddled and cared for by Booster. Neither of them really minded, they were both heroes and the hurt came with the job. The two of them would always have the other’s back.
“Yeah I didn’t miss that look, bud. Should be healed up completely in a few days though.” Ted said as he examined the already fading wounds. “Thanks again, Teddy. You’re my hero.” Booster grinned at Ted, looking down a bit due to their slight height difference. Ted chuckled, “I’m no Dr. Mid-Nite but I try.” Booster breathed out a mix between a sigh and airy laugh and Ted moved back a bit to sit down at the kitchen table. Booster gave a placid smile.
“How was Jaime?” Ted smiled as he took off his cowl, ruffling his own hair with a gloved hand as he sat. “Stellar as always. His aim is getting better and the scarab is a powerhouse.” Booster hummed and he turned back around to resume cutting up strawberries. “That’s good. He seems like a great kid. Maybe I can train him too, give him some flying lessons.” Ted smiled at Booster’s back. Jaime was more than skilled enough at flying to not need any help with it but he had to admit, having Booster around for his training would be a blast. The two knew each other, but they didn’t really get to talk much as they were mainly only together when there was a fight going on. Some people would say that Booster wouldn’t be the best influence on a teenager like Jaime, but Ted knew better than anyone that despite the glitz and glamor of Booster’s marketing, he was a kind, compassionate superhero with tactical prowess to boot. Speaking of influences…
Ted rested his elbow on the table and grinned as he looked at Booster’s back. “Boos, guess who was at Jaime’s house when I dropped him off.”
“You dropped him off? He didn’t fly home?” Booster idly questioned. Ted pouted.
“Nobody can pass up a ride in the Bug. But seriously, guess.”
“Hmm… I’ve got nothing.”
“Guy Gardener.”
The sound of the knife hitting the cutting board stopped as Booster slightly cringed. From behind, Ted could only barely see his face but the expression elicited a “Bwah-ha!” from Ted all the same. “Guy is the last person you’d want around a kid like Jaime. He’s gonna spread his bitterness to him or something.” Booster said, using the knife to scrape another set of cut up strawberries into the salad bowl. Beetle chuckled “Apparently he’s really close with the family. Jaime said he gets along great with Milagro.”
“I would’ve never pegged Guy as the good with kids type. You think he’s mellowed out a bit over the years?” Booster moved onto stirring the salad and it seemed he was making some kind of dressing from scratch in a separate bowl off to the side.
Ted pressed a finger to his chin, a mock thinking face. “Nah, he’s probably belligerent as ever. But who knows, we’ve certainly changed since the early days of JLI.” Ted dismissively waved a hand in the air.
“I don’t think we changed.” Booster said, turning to Ted. He had set down the knife and strawberries at the kitchen counter. He sat down at one of the other chairs at the table, the one right next to Ted and Ted felt their knees bump together. There was something so genuinely honest about Booster’s expression. His eyebrows drawn up and even though his smile was smaller than usual, it was undoubtedly sincere. His blue eyes seemed thoughtful, a whirlwind of emotions that Ted can just barely see below the surface. “What do you mean, Boos?” Ted couldn’t prevent the small waver in his voice. They were poking fun at Guy Gardener and the entire mood just seemed to shift. “We’re just as close as we were back then. Maybe even moreso.” Booster’s hand reached out to hold Ted’s, his thumb running along his skin. It honestly caught Ted off guard. It was a touching sentiment and true, the two have had their ups and downs but they’ve stayed close. They were best buds but also partners. Ted couldn’t think of a person he’d rather spend more time with. Ted felt his face heating up and he withdrew his hand from Booster’s hold. This combined with Jaime’s talk about him and Booster being soulmates was making him feel… weird. It looked like Booster was going to say something else but Ted quickly excused himself to go shower, much to Booster’s confusion as he went back to work on the salad.
Ted turned on the shower and stepped under the stream of water, the chillingness of it briefly making him flinch before it gradually became a more tolerable temperature. He scrubbed his face. That didn’t happen before, he didn’t usually get all flustered like that, maybe what the scarab said was getting to his head? Well, people could be platonic soulmates right? It’s not like him and Booster were gonna get married and adopt three kids and live in the suburbs for the rest of their life with a white picket fence, they were just best friends! Best friends who live together and cook for each other and take care of each other. Okay, so maybe they were a bit closer than other friends but maybe that’s what being soulmates is all about, it doesn’t have to exclusively be a romantic thing. Him and Booster aren’t a romantic thing.
Well… Ted had to admit, it wouldn’t be horrible to be in a romantic relationship with Booster. He didn’t even know why he was so wound up about the whole thing. It wouldn’t even change too much of their lives, Booster practically moved in already. Ted noted how he’d been finding more of Booster’s clothes in his closet, how his bathroom was crowded with Booster’s cosmetics, Skeets would even routinely be around for conversation when he wasn’t charging or doing god knows what with Rip Hunter. And Ted and Booster were able to talk about anything. They’ve known each other for most of their lives, they know about the risks and downsides of being in the superhero biz, they know each other practically inside and out.
Ted remembered when Booster pranked him back in the Superbuddies days by saying he was married off to a wealthy elderly woman named Gladys. It had ticked Ted off and it was easy to assume that Ted was upset Booster had essentially sold out to an heiress like he was a product and that was true but to be honest… there was some jealousy. Ted is the CEO of a corporation, he could care for Booster like that. Nowadays, he does care for him like that. He loves him. And the pieces finally clicked into place for him.
… Shit, he loves him. He’s in love with his best friend. That weird feeling he’s been having, a feeling he’s had several times for years now. It was love.
In the midst of this realization, Ted almost slipped while coming out of the shower. It was great and all that he came to this conclusion but the question is: what now? Does he just get dressed and confess his love for him? Does Booster even feel the same way? He remembered Booster came out as bisexual a while ago, to him and a small group of their friends. But looking in the mirror at himself, was Ted even Booster’s type? Booster was gorgeous. Like movie star or model gorgeous which was understandable since Booster still got modeling gigs sometimes. But Ted… He didn’t think he was unattractive per se, he did lose some weight after retiring by keeping up healthier eating but he was still round around the edges. Would Booster care a lot about looks? Ugh, he wasn’t getting anywhere by worrying about things like an anxious teenager.
Ted looked into the eyes of his reflection. He was an adult, he was going to handle this in a mature manner. Just talk to Booster, maybe Booster is even into him and has been dropping small hints that Ted overlooked. Just breathe. After sufficiently drying himself off and putting on some comfy civvies—in this case, a t-shirt and sweatpants— Ted stepped out of his room and back into the kitchen. Booster was sitting at the table with a plate of the salad he made, disinterestedly poking at it with his fork. His apron was slung over the back of the chair. Ted grabbed a plate and sat across from him, serving himself some of the mostly strawberry salad. Booster didn’t look up, seemingly lost in thought until Ted made a surprised and pleased humming sound. The salad was pretty great! Booster wasn’t much of a cook, but Ted does remember seeing him lazily watch some food network shows during his downtime. He briefly remembered in the early days of their superhero careers, Booster confessed that fresh fruits and vegetables were hard to come by in the future and he said that strawberries were one of his favorite foods after trying them for the first time.
“Boos, this is pretty good. What kind of salad is this?” Ted asked around a mouthful of food.
Booster looked up “Oh yeah, I saw the recipe on the food network. But uh, why did you run off like that? Are you feeling okay?”
Shoot, his reaction did kinda come out of nowhere. In hindsight, it was even a bit rude. Your best friend says something pretty heartfelt and you immediately have to excuse yourself? Good going, Ted. But hey! This was a great opportunity to talk about how he’s been feeling today and the realizations he came to.
“Oh I just uh. The training. I smelled pretty bad afterwards so y’know I just had to shower and take the suit off.” No. No, why was he avoiding it? Ted felt his grip on the fork he was holding grow marginally tighter, the smile he was forcing to try and look casual looked strained. Just talk about it. It’s just Booster, you can tell him anything.
“Teddy, are you sure you’re okay? Your face is all red. Don’t push yourself too much during these training sessions. Maybe you should lay down?” Ted raised a hand up to one of his cheeks. It was warm. God he probably looked like a mess. Okay so maybe he just had to find the right words to say. It was normal to be nervous. He just needs to think things through. Ted took a deep breath to try and calm his racing heart. He was putting this on the back burner for now, he didn’t need his heart conking out on him.
“Yeah I think I’ll go lay down for a bit. Thanks, Boos.” God, Ted wanted to scream at himself. This is ridiculous, he’s not going to get anywhere by avoiding this and letting it grow into a thorn in his side. Brooding never helped him, that was more of a Batman thing. Gingerly closing his bedroom door behind him, Ted flopped onto his bed and reached for his phone on the nightstand, sinking into his baby blue duvet. Maybe he just needed somebody else’s perspective. He sent a message to Babs.
BumbleBeeb: Rolly, I have a problem :>(
RollingThunder: What’s up Beebs?
BumbleBeeb: I think I’m in love with someone and I don’t know how to tell them
RollingThunder: Who’s the person?
BumbleBeeb: Promise not to laugh
RollingThunder: I promise
BumbleBeeb: It’s Booster
RollingThunder: Okay I’m not laughing, but Dinah owes me $20
BumbleBeeb: ROLLY >:>(
RollingThunder: Sorry! But congrats on the new romantic feelings. You know Booster better than anyone, tell him how you think would work out the best
BumbleBeeb: I’ve been trying to figure that out for the past few minutes :>(
RollingThunder: Aw sorry Beebs :( You’ll get it eventually. Just be you.
RollingThunder: You’re the Booster expert. Maybe check with some of Booster’s friends?
That was a pretty good idea. He texted a quick thank you and agreed to follow up with Babs later when he actually made a move (if he could even bring himself to do so). Okay, Booster’s friends. Ted’s mind immediately went to Skeets or Rip before quickly remembering they were both somewhere else in the timestream. Rip wasn’t even much of a friend per se, Ted remembered Rip and Booster’s relationship to always be a bit… tense. Michelle was also out of the question because she was also somewhere in the timestream. C’mon Kord, you’re supposed to be a genius. This was a sensitive topic, he had to talk to someone he could trust, maybe someone who was once in the same boat as him but also someone who knows Booster well. Ted took a deep breath and made a phone call.
~
It was the next day and Ted burst through the door of a quite cozy, local diner. He was in civvies, one of his suits he haphazardly threw together in a rush to leave the house before Booster woke up. Quickly scanning the area, Ted made his way to a booth once he spotted Bea’s bright green hair. She grimaced as she laid her eyes on his no doubt disheveled appearance.
“Geez, Ted I know you wanted to meet early but you didn’t have to rush here.” Her eyes looked over his outfit with mild contempt, it wasn’t too bad. Black button up, maroon blazer, moss green dress pants. A usual fashion statement from him.
“I had to wake up and get ready early so Booster wouldn’t see me. Also I’m so sorry for the short notice, thank you so much for meeting me here.” Ted wiped some sweat from his forehead. He decided to leave out the fact that he walked- well, he ran all the way to the diner as well—if he took the Bug, Booster would surely notice—but judging by the look Bea was giving him as he carded a hand through his messy curls, he was pretty sure she could tell. Bea took a sip of her coffee as Ted managed to settle himself across from her.
“So this is about Booster? Are you two having another lover's quarrel?” Bea leered at Ted and though it was unintentional, the wording made his chest feel tight. “Well uh. Not really but… do you know about like soulmates?” Great lead in Ted, you couldn’t be more vague if you tried. Bea raised an eyebrow at him. “Yeah? Where is this going?” She leaned in closer to him, eyes narrowed.
“So I was with Jaime yesterday and we talked about his scarab and the scarab said me and Booster were soulmates.” He could’ve added in more details to make that reveal smoother but he more or less blurted everything out, quick to get it off his chest. “And like I was thinking about it and I think I’m in love with Booster? I just- I don’t know what’s wrong with me but I don’t know how to tell him!” Ted could’ve gone on but Bea gave him a wide eyed stare that had his rambling stop dead in its tracks. Maybe this was a bad idea, maybe this was the worst idea he’s ever had. Bea leaned even closer to Ted over the small table, so much so that Ted started leaning back, her intense stare kinda making him uncomfortable. “You have feelings for Booster?” Bea spoke low and quiet, Ted wouldn’t have heard her if he wasn’t as laser focused as he was on her. He slightly hesitated before giving a stiff nod.
Bea slowly leaned back and smiled, the smile soon splitting into a wicked grin as low chuckles started to flow out. Ted furrowed his brows and he knew he was turning pink. “Bea! C’mon it’s not funny!” And he outright pouted at her. Bea raised a hand to her mouth to partially stifle the laughter. Looking closely, Ted swore he could’ve seen tears starting to form in the corner of her eyes. “God, Ted I’m not laughing at you! I’m laughing at the fact that you of all people are having trouble talking to Booster!” Her giggles died down and she good humorously shook her head at Ted who was starting to look puzzled. “You know Booster better than anyone. That scarab thing was right, you’re soulmates. You two have been attached to each other since you guys first met. And since you’re Booster’s soulmate I think you just have to earnestly tell him how you feel.” Ted buried his face in his hands.
“I know but just like…” he let out a pathetic whine and raised only his eyes from his palms, looking up at Bea. “How? How’d you do it?”
Bea blinked at Ted, her small smile hasn’t left her face since his confession. “Me and Tora? Well, I remember we’ve known each other for a while at that point and I just came clean and told her that I love her. You know, we were together a lot and we’ve saved each other more times than I can count. We always have each other's backs. Sound familiar?” Bea cocked an eyebrow at him and Ted looked away. “Seriously Ted, you’re blowing this out of proportion. It’s not gonna be the end of the world if he rejects you or doesn’t feel the same way. You couldn’t get rid of Booster if you tried. He’s your person. Just be honest.” Bea reached over the table to clap a reassuring hand over Ted’s shoulder. “How long has this been going on anyways? Like… the dynamic?”
And Ted had to pause to think about that. Like yeah, he realized he was in love with his best friend yesterday but before then they’ve always been close and people would always talk and then Ted would have fleeting thoughts. Fleeting thoughts of living with Booster, domestic bliss with Booster, holding hands, extremely mushy stuff that he made sure to push to the back of his mind when he and Booster would inevitably perform the whole song and dance of “We’re not gay”. But Ted never disliked the thoughts. He dismissed them as another hypothetical that would pop into his mind at random but he never hated it. Hell, he was living most of those hypotheticals now. Booster lives with him, he enjoys to cook and clean and watch movies on the couch with Ted. Looking back, Ted recalls so many times where Booster looked at him fondly, cherished him, and would nearly regard him as the best thing since sliced bread. So maybe those thoughts weren’t completely unprompted.
Their “dynamic” has barely changed since the first time they met, they’ve been joined at the hip since to the point where they’re seen as a singular entity, the Blue & Gold of the Justice League. The only thing that changed exactly was how close they were. Their relationship grew in intensity as time went on. Ted had been so focused on himself that he didn’t even think about how Booster had been acting around him. The two of them act like they’re already dating honestly, their relationship seemed to almost blur the line between platonic and romantic at times, the two closer than any other friendship Ted’s ever seen. Ted realized he hadn’t actually answered Bea’s question and had to quickly clear his throat before verbalizing his thoughts.
“We uh… you know we kinda live together at the moment and Booster has lived with me before. We’ve kinda been the way we’ve always been. With the romance I just. I don’t know. He’s really sincere at times and sometimes he gives me this look and it’s like I’m the most important person in the world. I can always count on him and he can always count on me.” Ted couldn’t stop himself from smiling and blushing as he talked. It was easy for him to picture the face he was talking about, a side to Booster that seemed exclusive to him. Away from cameras and other heroes, a side to him that Booster seemed to keep hidden most of the time, masked up by an arrogant bravado and a sense of superficiality, even though Ted knew that was all a front. “And you know our dynamic. We’ve always been… partners. We’ve always been this way but we’ve just gotten even closer.” Suddenly the table seemed very interesting and Ted didn’t want to meet Bea’s gaze. He felt the hand on his shoulder give a firm squeeze and it caused him to look up. He expected a sly smirk and maybe a joke, something to take the edge off but she just smiled at him. A warm, friendly smile. “Go talk to him, Teddy. Tell him how you feel.” And somehow those few words were the encouragement Ted needed. He placed his hand over the one on his shoulder. “Thanks, Bea.” Ted had paid for Bea’s coffee and the two said their goodbyes. He slightly shivered as he left the diner and for once he couldn’t tell if it was from anxiety or the cold.
~
When Ted got home he carefully closed the door as lightly as possible in case Booster decided to sleep in. He didn’t want to wake him and he should probably change the clothes he was profusely sweating in before talking to him. That train of thought stopped as he heard Booster’s voice from the living room. “Teddy? Is that you?” Ted peeked his head around the corner and sure enough, Booster was sitting on the couch in a t-shirt and sweatpants. He seemed a bit… concerned. “Yeah Boos, it’s me.” He gave a bit of a sheepish smile. Walking into the living room he realized the TV wasn’t even on. It’s not like Booster had the remote and just turned it off, the remote was on the correctable and Booster hadn’t moved at all. Had he just been sitting there waiting for him? “Booster buddy, you okay?” Booster gave a weak smile. “Yeah I’m alright. I just got worried. You don’t usually leave the house so early, I got scared for a moment and checked my communicator just to make sure I didn’t miss anything.” He swept a hand through his hair, a movement Ted knew Booster did when he was nervous—one of his Booster-isms as he called it. He felt a small pang of guilt as he walked over to sit next to Booster.
“Aw Boos, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you, I just had some early plans to get to.” He slung his arm around Booster’s shoulder, Booster already leaning in towards him—it was a usual thing Ted did with Booster, maybe a Beetle-ism. Ted gave Booster’s shoulder a small pat, careful to be as gentle as he can since he was aware that was Booster’s injured shoulder. “Your shoulder okay, Boos?” Booster made an affirmative humming sound as he rested his head on Ted’s shoulder. “Are you okay, Teddy? You’ve been acting a bit off since yesterday.” Ted took a deep breath. He had to come clean. He briefly wondered if Booster could hear his hammering heartbeat from where his head rested before finally speaking.
“Actually Boos… I need to talk to you about something.” Booster lifted his head to look at him, scooting back a bit given the tone of voice Ted used. “Of course man, you can tell me anything.” There was an intensity to his gaze, his eyes betraying his fairly nonchalant tone. Ted had to look away, instead trying to focus on the turned off TV but all he saw was his own nervous reflection staring back at him on the screen.
“So… today when I left, I actually went to go talk to Bea.” Ted felt his breath catch in his throat. He felt Booster’s eyes practically searing holes into him. “And we talked about… something I’ve been feeling for a while now. I’m sorry, I’m really trying to find the right words here.” He brought up a hand over his eyes. Shame, guilt, fear. It all swirled in Ted’s head and a sharp laugh bubbled up from him from the sheer absurdity of all this. It was just Booster. He’s always felt safe around Booster so why was he like this? “Boos, I… I think I love you.” The last part came out hoarse and crumpled. Ted wondered if Booster had even heard him, maybe it wasn’t too late to call the whole thing off and save it for later or maybe do it better. He could’ve arranged a nice dinner and confess over a glass of wine but instead he’s close to a breakdown in his living room, confessing with all the finesse of a high school version of himself. Booster was completely silent and Ted couldn’t bring himself to look at him. Was he shocked? Upset? Disgusted? Ted didn’t want to know, he didn’t want to look at his face but… he had to. He has to face this head on.
The first emotion Ted recognized was surprise. He expected that. Luckily none of the disgust he was catastrophizing about was there. It was a complex maelstrom of emotions that all seemed to be clashing, some of them Ted couldn’t even place a name for. He held his breath and waited for Booster to formulate a response. “I… okay.” Booster breathed out.
“This is okay. Well- maybe not okay. I just- I need to- Fuck, Ted. I need some time to process this.” Ted wanted to apologize but he kept his mouth shut. He already felt tears welling up in his eyes but they didn’t spill. Oddly enough, he felt a strange wave of relief wash over him. He did it. There was no going back now and it was out in the open. Even if this turned out badly somehow, if Booster pulled a 180 and said he never wanted to see Ted again, he could at least find peace in the fact that he said it.
The rest of the day passed in a blur. Ted didn’t process when Booster eventually left the couch, he didn’t remember if he ate anything else that day. He remembered sleeping, waking up the next day and realizing how quiet it was. And when he checked the guest bedroom, he realized Booster was gone. All of his memorabilia and cosmetics were still there, he could see his clothes still in the closet, his bed was freshly made so he at least spent the night sleeping there. It wasn’t like he evaporated. It was more of a promise that he would be back. Ted momentarily thought about texting or calling him but decided not to. He needed his space. Instead, he tapped on his messenger app and decided to update Babs.
BumbleBeeb: So. I think the confession went well.
RollingThunder: Sounds promising :-)
BumbleBeeb: So I spoke with Bea yesterday and we had a real good talk. Coming to terms with stuff. I’m bisexual. Pretty sure. And I confessed to Boost and he needed time to like process. And today he’s gone.
RollingThunder: GONE?????
BumbleBeeb: Well he’s gone but not his stuff. All his stuff is still here in the guest room.
RollingThunder: The Booster room you mean.
RollingThunder: Beebs, that doesn’t sound good at all :-(
BumbleBeeb: I know Booster. If he hated my guts about all this he would’ve said so. That's what he did when he joined the Conglomerate. We hashed it out and it was nasty but he eventually came back. I’ll let him process.
BumbleBeeb: Besides, it felt good to tell him how I was feeling. Got it all off my chest.
RollingThunder: Well. As long as you think this is a good thing, I trust you
RollingThunder: You are the Booster expert, after all.
~
Booster didn’t exactly know where he was. Somewhere not too far from Metropolis, Booster was above the clouds. He always flew up high when he needed to get away from things. It was a sort of comfort zone for him. His suit protected him from the cold one would usually feel from up this high, it was just him, the clouds, the sun, and an odd feeling of tranquility. He took a deep breath. Maybe it was wrong to have left so suddenly like that. Maybe he was being too harsh. Had he broken Ted’s heart?
…
No. No, Ted is smart. Booster didn’t flat out say no. He couldn’t. He loves Ted. He’s loved him for years. Booster used to dream of days like that. Where one of them would confess and everything would be beautiful and bright and okay forever. But things aren’t that easy in real life. Feelings are messy and complicated and Booster was closeted for most of the time he’d known Ted. He accepted that he would have to silently pine forever and he was okay with that fate as long as he could still see Ted smiling and happy. But fate has changed now. Booster brought his knees up to his chest, curling in on himself. Why did he feel like this? He should be ecstatic. But he couldn’t stop doubts from creeping in.
What if this was some spur of the moment thing and Ted finds out he really doesn’t want this and things are awkward and awful between them for the rest of their lives? How did this happen? Did Ted just have some queer realization that day? He was acting odd the day before he confessed… He said he talked to Bea. He was so serious about this that he talked to one of their friends about it. God, he talked to one of their friends about it and Booster left early in the morning, he felt like such an ass. Okay no- no, he wasn’t going to do this to himself. Booster ran his hands down his face. He wasn’t going to just… slander himself up here. It was just a lot to process.
Booster closed his eyes. How many times had he thought about being with Ted? Too many times. Too many times over the course of their friendship that made him feel shameful and gross. Ted was straight. For as long as Booster has known him, he was as straight as a board. Booster remembered how he was out in his own time. The future was so different regarding sexuality, it was hard for Booster to be so closeted when he first came to this time, how he had to learn what was and wasn’t socially acceptable for two men to do. Every little touch, every look had to be short and discreet. But it was never that easy. Even if Booster wasn’t even touching Ted, the gay jokes were near constant and Booster had to grimace and pretend that his affection wasn’t real, go along with the joke.
But now… this wasn’t a joke. Ted wanted to be with him for real. Booster sighed and closed his eyes as a small breeze wafted by. It was almost embarrassing how giddy the thought made him. Giddy and nervous and afraid. It was a strange cocktail of feelings but Booster couldn’t stop the smile that came to him then.
~
Ted hadn’t seen Booster in three days. As much as he wanted to give Booster space, he had to admit that he was a bit concerned if Booster got himself kidnapped or cornered in a way. Came with the territory of being a hero and all, especially a hero with a public image. Barbara had even offered to track him down but Ted advised against it. Booster always came back. The two of them always reconnected and got back together through everything. Besides, it wasn’t like Ted was sulking around all day. He’s been keeping himself busy with his job but he did feel a bit lost when he came home to an empty, untouched house. A very Booster-less house.
It was the late evening now and Ted had already come home from another day in the office. He was out of his suit and in more comfortable clothes, a Gotham U t-shirt he borrowed (stole) from Booster forever ago and beetle patterned pajama pants. He was lounging on the couch, disinterestedly flicking through the channels. A normal Thursday night, just without the occasional commentary Booster would give over whatever was on at the moment. The dull documentary Ted decided to watch was interrupted by a dull noise that roused him out of his boredom. Tapping. From that sound, he instinctively turned to his window. Booster was there in all his gleaming, golden glory. It was almost as if he never left, as if he was coming back from one of his evening patrols. Ted hopped off the couch and ran over to slide the window up. It was dark outside and Ted shivered a bit as he felt a cold chill from outside. Booster flew in through the open window and landed on the floor in front of Ted, turning around to close the window. He slowly turned back around to face Ted, awkwardly shuffling his feet against the hardwood, unsure of what to say. Both of them stood in the low light of the living room, the only sound being the distant, monotone chatter of the television. The tension between them was nearly palpable.
“Hey.” Booster said. Casual as ever, but the pensive look on his face was telling. Ted couldn’t stop the incredibly bright smile that broke out onto his face regardless. “Hey, Boos.” There was a fleeting thought in Ted’s head about how he missed Booster’s voice. It really was just great to see him again. Booster smiled back. “So I had some time to think…” Booster trailed off. He reached up a hand to comb it through his hair, pushing it back and mussing his hairstyle a bit in the process. “Teddy, for a long time I- for as long as I’ve known you, you mean so much to me.” Booster stepped forward and softly took one of Ted’s hands in his own gloved ones. Booster took a deep breath and continued. “And when you told me you loved me, I guess I freaked out. I’ve loved you for a long time, Ted and I kept that hidden because I thought it would never happen.” Another hand combing through his hair, his own eyes not meeting Ted’s. “When you told me, it was a lot of feelings at once but I want to do this. Be with you.” Ted felt Booster’s grip tighten and Ted realized he had been staring. He blinked at Booster, his expression crumpled with anxiety but a corner of his lips was curled upwards. “I love you.” Ted stared for a while longer, letting Booster’s words permeate the ear and settle in his mind. Ted took a hesitant step back, Booster’s hold on his hand releasing before Ted immediately rushed Booster and scooped him up into a bear hug. Booster yelped as his feet were swept off of the ground, he haphazardly wrapped his arms around Ted’s neck for stability. Ted was laughing. His loud, uproarious laughter filled the small room as he swung Booster around in his hold and eventually, Booster’s own laugh joined the cacophony. In those moments, the room was warm despite the cold, blue glow of the television, despite the darkness outside. Right now, the warmest place in the universe were in each other’s embrace, their love and laughter enveloping the other. Eventually, their laughter died down as Ted landed the both of them onto the couch, Booster sitting atop his lap. His laughs turned into wheezes as he continued to hold onto Booster, his head leaning into Booster’s chest. Ted moved one of his hands to wipe tears from his eyes and he leaned back to look at Booster. Both of them were smiling like idiots and Ted tenderly rested his hand on the side of Booster’s face, feeling the warmth of Booster’s blush against his palm.
“Boos, is it okay if I-“ a shuddering intake of breath “Is it okay if I kiss you?” There was a small chuckle from Booster as he unwrapped his arms from around Ted’s shoulders to mirror the movement, one of his hands gently cupping Ted’s face. “Of course it is, teddybear.” Carefully, Booster moved in closer to Ted, their lips brushing against each other until they finally met for a tender kiss. Their first kiss of possibly many. It was cathartic for both of them, the tension from the last three days melting away into their shared bliss. The kiss itself was admittedly a bit on the chaste side, but when the two of them parted, the way they beamed at each other could’ve lit up the entire room. Booster grinned down at Ted before giving a flurry of light kisses to his face, causing Ted to laugh. The two of them snuggled up together on the couch, both of them barely paying attention to the forgotten documentary that had since switched over to bland infomercials. They were more focused on the warmth of the other, Booster had even taken the throw blanket that was usually folded over on the back of the couch to drape over both of them. As the monotonous voices on the TV grew hazy a thought surfaced in Ted’s mind.
“Hey Boos. You were gone for three days. Where did you go?” Ted squinted at Booster in the darkness and he heard Booster give a bit of a tense laugh. “Oh man. Rip Hunter’s bunker.” Booster willingly going to Rip? Nearly unheard of. “It’s funny though, when I explained the situation he didn’t want to bug me. He’d usually send me on a mission that would probably take days or weeks depending on what it is even with all the time travel stuff but he seemed to leave me be. I guess it’s a good thing he did because it really gave me time to think and ruminate. I really love you, Teddy.” Booster nuzzled up closer to Ted and Ted rested his head on Booster’s shoulder as they fell asleep.
~
“Alright, look alive, Jaime.” Ted said as he led Jaime to their usual training warehouse. It had been maybe a week since Booster and Ted got together. They were given congratulations by many of their colleagues including Bea, Tora, J’onn, Babs, and even Guy showed their support and they even got a frankly horrifying impromptu meeting from Batman which consisted of him ominously looming over them before giving a "Congratulations." Then fading back into the darkness. They were extremely happy together but both of them still had jobs to do and one of Ted’s jobs was helping and training the third Blue Beetle. Ted and Jaime had both flown in on the Bug and were standing outside the warehouse, the day being a bit cooler then the last time they had trained and the sky was clear. As Ted swung open the doors and walked inside, Booster was high in the air, nearly touching the ceiling. “Because today, Booster is gonna give you some flying lessons!” Booster flipped his hair before slowly descending to the ground. It was nice of Ted to take his suggestion. There weren’t a lot of fliers with as much time on their hands to teach the newer heroes. Booster was no stranger to showboating and as a result, he was able to do a lot in the air mainly to dazzle an audience but it also made him incredibly flexible as a flier. And besides, he hadn’t spent time with Jaime in ages. “Hey kiddo! Nice to see you again!” Booster reached out to ruffle Jaime’s hair and realized it must’ve been way too long the last time they were able to meet up casually as Jaime practically stood eye level with him. The kid grew up fast.
“Oh! It’s cool to finally meet your soulmate!” Jaime smiled at Booster, laughing as his hair got mussed up. Booster pulled back and cocked his brow. That was new. Did Ted give him a new pet name behind his back? “Soulmates?” Booster asked. He glanced at Ted who noticeably turned a bit pink at that word. He muttered something to Jaime about training with his target practice first before the flying lessons and took Booster to the side. “What’s the soulmates thing about?” Booster asked. He idly leaned against the wall as he watched Jaime’s suit materialize and subsequently decimate a training dummy with a blaster. “You’re gonna think I’m crazy.” Ted mumbled. Booster hummed in response. “You’re already kinda crazy, bug.” Ted smirked. “So the whole confession and realization of feelings thing was kinda because of the scarab calling us soulmates.” Which was the truth. An incredibly shorter and abridged version of the truth, but still the truth nonetheless. Booster had to pause to really process that information.
“So you had some self realization of romantic feelings and confessed to me. Because a piece of alien technology that looks like a bug called us soulmates.” He had turned to Ted and made some exaggerated hand gestures and movements to really accentuate what he was trying to get at. “Well- not exactly. But it was the catalyst for all that, that’s the short version. Everything that happened after was a sort of domino effect” Ted grinned. Booster snorted. “Well it looks like I owe the scarab. I think right now, I’m the happiest I’ve been in a while.”