Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/745215.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Choose_Not_To_Use_Archive_Warnings, Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      Young_Avengers
  Relationship:
      Teddy_Altman/Billy_Kaplan
  Character:
      Teddy_Altman, Billy_Kaplan, Kaplan_Family
  Additional Tags:
      Alpha/Beta/Omega_Dynamics, Alien_Biology, Mating_Cycles/In_Heat, First
      Time, Loss_of_Virginity, Civil_War_(Marvel), Anal_Sex, Anal_Fingering,
      Self-Lubrication
  Series:
      Part 3 of How-To_Guides
  Collections:
      Trope_Bingo:_Round_One
  Stats:
      Published: 2013-04-02 Words: 8130
****** How to Deal ******
by exfatalist
Summary
     The Young Avengers take sides during Registration and suffer the
     consequences. When it's all over, Billy has to suffer the
     consequences at home, too.
     -
     Young Avengers set in an Omegaverse, though Civil War and Civil War:
     Young Avengers/Runaways.
Notes
     Warnings: This story contains underage, consensual sex between two
     minors. Additionally, there is a situation within that can be viewed
     as non-con. Please see the footnotes for complete details.
See the end of the work for more notes
Things happened fast.
One minute, he was being arrested for violation of the Registration Act and the
next he was teleporting an entire armed transport to a secret location.
One minute, the team was on monitoring duty in a safehouse and the next they
were in LA, getting their asses handed to them.
One minute, Teddy was being sliced open by a scalpel and the next they were
safe back in New York.
Everything moved quickly, leaving Billy feeling sick and dizzy and waiting for
his brain to catch up.
"You could always get piercings," Teddy suggested.
The two of them were settled into one corner of the safehouse, having survived
the dressing down of all dressing downs from Captain America, and Teddy had a
first aid kit open by his knee, swabbing something sharp-smelling and painful
over the surgically pierced lobes of Billy's ears. Billy had yet to perfect the
healing touch he'd personally felt the Scarlet Witch use on him once, some time
ago now, and it was just down to his boyfriend and resident body modification
expert to help him now that the Warden's audio dampening devices had been
removed. Karolina was none too gentle when pulling them out, but nothing had
ripped or torn, so Billy couldn't complain.
“My mom would kill me,” Billy pointed out tiredly, thinking about what his
mother would say if he came home with three piercings in each ear - and how it
would probably be something arch and critical of how he was letting Teddy’s
personal style influence his own. She wouldn’t be upset about the modification,
no matter what his bubbe would say, just that he was compromising his
individual identity to mesh better with that of his boyfriend.
"Pretty sure she'd be more interested in killing you over running away and
joining an underground Anti-Registration resistance force," Teddy pointed out
logically. He swabbed up over the top of Billy's ear, near punctured cartilage,
and caused Billy to flinch in pain. “Sorry. These, uh, these two up here would
be good for an industrial. Maybe just on one side, though.”
Billy could tell that Teddy was worried, but the holes were pinpricks compared
to what he saw the Warden do to his boyfriend. He wasn’t sure if he could ever
fully express to Teddy how horrible it was to see him bleeding like that - to
watch his organs shift even while his skin healed up again and again - and he
wasn’t sure if he ever should. Teddy was sort of innocent, he hadn’t felt any
pain and his wounds healed almost immediately with no lasting damage, as if he
had just been tossed around by an everyday villain and was ready for round two.
It was Billy who had been made to watch, been taunted and egged on into a lapse
of judgment, and he can’t help but think that that had been the point.
“Maybe,” he finally answered, for the sake of actually answering, his hand on
the freshly restored fabric of Teddy’s costume. He had no problem with
restoring things, with fixing clothes and broken objects, and it was like
Teddy’s costume had never been cut to shreds at the gut to get at the flesh
beneath. Just like Teddy’s hopeful, concerned smile belied a similar
restoration of his person.
Teddy set the antiseptic-soaked cotton swab aside and cupped Billy’s face in
both hands. “Are you going to be okay?” he asked, as directly as he had ever
asked anything, brow knit together in concern.
Billy wanted to lie just as much as he wanted to give Teddy an honest answer.
He wanted to put Teddy’s concerns to rest, but didn’t want to set himself up
for a standard of fine to which he wouldn’t be able to live.
Luckily, he didn’t need to answer at all. Vision cut the conversation short,
summoning the group with information that there was an emergency in progress at
Geffen-Meyer Chemicals that outweighed the need for secrecy.
                                       ◊
Things happened too fast.
He didn’t see the tranq darts coming, could only stare numbly down at his chest
and assess the situation in the split second before his knees gave out.
Billy didn’t even feel himself hit the ground.
When he began to come to, he anticipated being back in Nick Fury’s underground
safehouse, hearing Captain America shout himself hoarse, completely
unironically, about how ‘these kids needed more damn training.’ What he found,
however, was his toes dragging the ground, rubber squeaking lightly on metal,
as he was escorted by two SHIELD agents through the narrow hallway of a cell
block. He tried to speak, tried to ask where he was and where they were taking
him, but realized a moment later he was being gagged to keep his powers in
check.
The steel collar, which clamped over his mouth and chin to keep him quiet,
wasn’t removed until he was shoved into one of the cells in the block. It was a
painfully small affair, with an uncomfortable looking cot along one wall and a
toilet shoved into the corner. The only bars were over the small window in the
top of the door and the lighting was dim, making the whole room that much more
bleak.
SHIELD may have gotten an update from the Cube, or maybe they figured it out on
their own, but Billy soon became aware that the cell was filled with a sort of
white noise that drown out his own voice when he attempted to speak. It didn’t
stop him from trying, but after what felt like hours of sitting in the corner,
repeating words for a spell he couldn’t hear, Billy finally gave up.
Going almost straight from the hellish nightmare that had been a single night
at the Cube to being thrown in prison was, in a word, heartbreaking. His ears
still throbbed from the pain of having them pierced through with the Warden’s
audio dampening devices, there were tiny little aches throughout his body
(probably where the tranq needles hit him before everything went black back at
the chemical plant), and he was bruised or sore in places he didn’t know he
had. For a while after giving up on trying to get out, all Billy could do was
curl in on himself and fight the urge to break. This wasn’t what he signed up
for - this wasn’t what he thought would happen when it came down to taking
sides over Registration - and, as much as he hated himself for thinking it,
there was probably something to the idea that he was too young and too naive to
be a superhero.
It gnawed at him, the idea that he fucked up somehow, and long after he’d shed
the last tears he could spare for the situation, Billy couldn’t help but think
about it. Registration wasn’t right, becoming the strongarm of whatever
administration was in power and being wielded as a bureaucratic weapon wasn’t
what being a hero was about. They couldn’t help people if they were busy being
pawns pushed around by the government. It was so easy to still believe that, to
still believe everything Captain America said, but the stirring speeches Cap
was great for jarred discordantly with his own thoughts on the subject: fuck
up, stupid kid, weak little omega. How he could have thought in a million years
that he could do something like this, that he could be a hero and save anyone,
was beyond him.
Hours drug on as he berated and belittled himself and Billy watched with
growing apathy as meals were brought and later taken away uneaten. He
eventually conceded to his exhaustion and slept, but it was fitful. It took
what felt like days for his apathy to bow to hunger and entice him to eat, then
more days still to actually think constructively about his situation.
It occurred to him that he had no idea how long he had actually been there. The
guards changed what felt like every few hours, but he had missed several of
those changes when he first arrived. Billy found himself counting how many
times the changes happened, then how many meals he was given, to try to piece
together the passage of time. It proved futile, in the end, when he lost count.
There were just too many numbers.
The only solid measure of time he had was waking up with feverish chills, chest
heaving and ass dripping with more than just the cold sweat running down his
back. He couldn’t hear himself, but every nerve ending in his body ached with
need and Billy knew he made noise enough to express it. He had never
experienced a full heat that wasn’t controlled, had never been off his
suppressants for long enough to let a heat run its course without something
clinical to take the edge off, and it was worse than he’d imagined it would be.
Somehow, in the back of his addled mind, he still managed to do the math. If
this was happening, if it was time for his heat, then it had been three months.
Three whole months and no one had come for him, no one had spoken to him, no
one had given him the opportunity to contact his parents or a lawyer or
anything. It couldn’t have been that long, not logically. How was that
possible?
He couldn’t hear his own distressed sobbing, but for a while it distracted him
from the shame and need seeping into every other part of his body. He was
achingly hard, wetter than he ever had been, and torn between feeling disgusted
with himself and being unapologetic about his body.
Billy buried his face against the scratchy fabric of his cot and thought about
Teddy. He tried to remember the way his boyfriend smelled, the aroma of his
shampoo and that special fragrance that wasn’t alpha scent or cologne, but just
uniquely Ted. Billy thought about the warm weight of Teddy’s hands on the small
of his back, about the glimpses of skin he’d seen, about the way Teddy’s lips
felt against his own.
It was shameful, he felt guilty about it, but when all that wasn’t enough he
thought about the night they accidentally fell asleep in his room watching Lord
of the Rings and he woke up the next morning with the surprising girth of
Teddy’s erection pressing obscenely against his ass as they spooned. It had
been mortifying at the time, they hadn’t managed to look each other in the eye
all morning afterward, but suddenly it was exactly what Billy needed and he was
just desperate enough to beg for it. The white noise of the cell swallowed up
his plea, so he didn’t have to hear it himself, but he still knew what he was
asking for - and that it was a desire that would not be granted.
Secretly, Billy always wondered if Teddy would be enough, if they could work
past his hormones and the difference in their biology to make it work. They had
never tried, either because it was too awkward to find privacy at home or
because neither of them wanted to be disappointed by the reality of it. When
Billy had his doubts, he thought about just staying on suppressants forever,
regardless of the risk. He would only ever have controlled heats and only ever
have Teddy without biological imperative getting in the way. When he was
feeling optimistic about things, Billy thought he could maybe just imprint on
Teddy’s unique scent and that would be enough for his full-fledged heats. He
wouldn’t need any alpha, he wouldn’t need anyone but Teddy.
Now, with Teddy being the only person he could think about even in a sea of
alpha superheroes, the sliver of hope it welled up in Billy’s chest hurt. It
warred with the negativity that had rooted itself in his heart since he found
himself in the cell, but the thought wouldn’t be dimmed by it. He could think
of a thousand reasons why they were doomed and a thousand more ways it would
never work out, but the knowledge that all he wanted was his boyfriend, even
with his body working against him, wouldn’t diminish.
Billy circled his hips, pressing his painfully hard cock into the thin bedding
of the cot, letting the friction drag a noise from his throat he couldn’t hear.
He thought about that morning in bed with Teddy hard against him, he thought
about the delicate way Teddy held him when he was Hulkling, he thought about
large, gentle hands and warm breath on his skin. It was almost enough, even
without outright touching himself, and Billy clawed at the rough blanket, his
breathing harsh and ragged as he fucked into the mattress and imagined Teddy
behind him, over him, inside him.
He called Teddy’s name, again and again, louder and until his throat hurt, just
trying to hear himself and bridge that distance between them. It was as if
hearing Teddy’s name would make it all better, would settle something inside of
him and make it right.
Close, right on the edge, and the white noise was cut through like thick paper,
the heavy metal door of his cell clunking open. Billy froze, shaking with the
effort to keep himself still, his cheeks bright red and forehead dripping with
sweat.
“Hello, Wiccan,” a voice greeted, deep and clear even above the dull tone that
drowned out his own words and the harsh rush of blood past his ears. It was
Hank Pym. He was desperately trying to get off, trying to come with Teddy’s
name on his lips, and goddamn Yellow Jacket was standing in the doorway,
looking more concerned than Billy thought was wholly realistic.
He said nothing, didn’t even bother to try, and could only watch in a mix of
horror and embarrassment as Pym stepped further into the cell. The heavy door
thudded closed behind him and Billy’s embarrassment dropped away, leaving just
horror and the sick twist of his stomach in its wake. Pym smelled like beta,
that disgustingly sweet and placating scent every beta who ever tried to
insinuate themselves into Billy's life wore. He hated that scent, hated the way
those skulking assholes put it on to try to calm him down, try to coerce him.
There was something else there in Pym’s scent, something that threw it off
slightly and made Billy’s nose wrinkle, but he couldn’t put his hand on it,
didn’t want to.
“You should have called a guard,” Pym was saying, his voice gentle and easy
enough make Billy want to vomit.
Billy sat up, pulled his legs to his chest, and hardly blinked for watching Pym
unwaveringly.
Pym was still talking. “The Negative Zone can take a toll on the human body.
Our perception of time and emotional balance are altered here. It's
fascinating, really. You feel the passage of time differently and your body
compensates by triggering a heat, but it hasn't been that long since you came
here. Two weeks, I believe."
He helped himself to the edge of Billy’s cot with a smile that was probably
supposed to be reassuring. It might have been, on any other face, but Billy
distrusted most of the Pro-Reg crowd on principal now.
"All of the wardens and guards have protective measures, so none of the
Negative Zone's ill effects phase us," Pym continued to explain, his voice too
kind for how close he was sitting. "But we do make allowances for human biology
for our inmates."
Pym shifted closer, reaching out a hand to Billy, as easy as one might be with
a rearing stallion. "Here," he said gently, coercively.
“Don’t touch me!” Billy shouted - maybe shouted, he still couldn’t hear himself
- and pressed back against the wall in an attempt to avoid the touch.
“Wiccan,” Pym countered patiently. “Billy - may I call you Billy? - I’m not
going to hurt you. I just want to help.”
He kept reaching and there was nowhere else for Billy to go, pressed back into
the corner of the cot that was shoved into the corner of the cell. Billy closed
his eyes tightly and turned his head, feeling hot tears spill down his cheeks.
“Please,” he begged, words and sobs spilling out of him with little concern or
shame. “Please don’t. I - I’ve never - I don’t want - please, just leave me
alone.”
It did little to deter Pym. Unable to move further away, Billy could only sit,
shaking, as Pym's cool fingers touched his throat. There was a terrifying
moment where he hated himself for exposing his neck, for submitting, and
thought about it being wrenched, choked, forced.
But Pym only touched lightly, stroking his skin in a way Billy barely felt. It
took him a long moment to realize that Pym was applying something to his neck,
something that felt like a band-aid. When it was over, when the touch was gone,
Billy blinked his eyes open and looked at Pym past the tears.
Pym just sat on the edge of the cot, his brow creased with more concern than
Billy expected.
“It’s a suppressant patch,” Pym explained. He patted the pockets of his lab
coat and, after a moment, offered Billy the open end of a packet of tissues.
“It has a quicker release than regular pills. And a mild sedative. You'll feel
much better when you wake in a few hours."
Billy didn’t take a tissue, but not for lack of trying. His hands were suddenly
far too heavy to lift and he was having trouble focusing on Pym. The man said
his name, twice, but the room was sliding sideways.
Pym caught him before he slumped off the cot and gently helped him to lie down
properly. Billy's skin crawled at the touch, still very much unwanted, even
knowing that Pym was genuinely attempting to help him by the very medical
definition of the word.
Once settled onto the cot, with the scratchy blanket pulled up around him, Pym
stood over him for a moment longer than Billy thought was entirely necessary.
He blinked, long and exhausted, and felt something soft blotting the tears from
his cheeks. His eyes barely opened and he couldn't tell if the soft material
was a tissue or the edge of Pym's lab coat sleeve.
As much as he wanted to question the gesture, the next blink was so long it
brought about a fitful, sedated slumber.
                                       ◊
After the final battle, after Captain America surrendered, the team accepted
the general amnesty extended to all the anti-registration superheroes and
helped with the clean-up. Before too many questions could be asked, before they
had a run-in with Cassie or anyone asked them to join the Army, they split up
and went separate ways, promising to meet back at the clubhouse.
Bishop Publishing was empty when Billy and Teddy arrived - and it felt weird,
coming back to the place they all worked so hard to build, knowing nothing
would ever be the same.
Billy was dead on his feet and couldn't think about much else but sleep. He'd
been running on pure adrenaline since the final battle and had been emotionally
exhausted well before that, holed up in a tiny cell in the Negative Zone, so
the idea of just shutting his eyes and resting was so good.
Unfortunately, it was just an idea, because his body refused to relax, refused
to believe in the safety of amnesty and that it was finally okay to let his
guard down a little. Even with Teddy there, even with someone to have his back,
Billy couldn't stop long enough to let himself sleep.
They had fallen into one of the upstairs beds together, still mostly in
costume, and after a few listless minutes, Billy wiggled out from under Teddy's
arm and sat up on the edge of the bed. There was something there, lingering,
that made his stomach knot up and he couldn't pinpoint what it was. The last
wisps of a scent, the lingering discomfort of a heat quickly suppressed, or
just the uncomfortable feeling of their entire lives being uprooted and turned
on their heads - again.
"Hey," Teddy said gently, surprised, watching as Billy stood and almost tripped
over their combined boots.
Billy began properly stripping out of all the more difficult parts of his
costume he had forgone when sleep seemed like an inevitable conclusion, taking
off gloves and gauntlets and dropping them to join his boots and cloak on the
floor next to the bed. "Can't sleep," he explained. "Feel weird."
Teddy sat up, looking concerned even in the dimness of the bedroom, and reached
out to grasp the zipper of Billy's costume to pull it down his back far enough
for Billy to properly grab it, himself. "Want some warm milk?"
Billy laughed, genuinely and for the first time in weeks, shaking his head a
little. "Yeah, that's not totally disgusting."
He tugged the zipper the rest of the way down and struggled out of the skin
tight fabric, not really thinking about it until he heard Teddy's breathing
change with a soft gasp. Then standing there in his underpants was kind of
embarrassing and Billy was glad it was too dark for Teddy to see him blush.
"I feel pretty gross," he admitted, which probably - definitely - cut any sort
of sexual tension off at the pass. "I think I'm gonna get a shower."
Teddy hesitated, slid right to the edge of the bed, and agreed, "I need one of
those, too. I still smell like that pheromone spray."
Billy froze, then, and turned to give Teddy a confused look, all his
embarrassment forgotten in light of broader concerns. "What?"
"I'm sorry," Teddy blurted out just as quickly, reaching out to take Billy's
hand. "Cap had me infiltrate the Initiative's Arizona training camp as Dr. Pym.
So I could get into 42. Get to you. I had to wear this pheromone spray to pass
as beta.”
Suddenly, Billy felt sick with relief. His knees were rubbery and he sank down
onto Teddy’s lap with a long, gusty sigh. “It was you. You were Pym.”
Teddy enveloped him in strong, steady arms and pulled Billy close, burying his
face against Billy’s hair and nodding. “I’m sorry I scared you,” he murmured,
heartfelt and a little afraid. “God, Billy, I’m so sorry. They just - had
cameras everywhere and I had to be Dr. Pym and - all the guards were talking
about you going into heat and watching from the security station and I had to
do something, or I would’ve broken all their legs. Or - or they would have - ”
Teddy didn’t finish his sentence, but Billy knew exactly what he meant. As
distressed as Billy had been in the moment, he appreciated Teddy risking so
much to care for him.
“I know,” he assured, turning his head to rest it on Teddy’s shoulder and just
take advantage of their proximity and the embrace and how warm Teddy felt. It
didn’t take long for the reality to sink in and for the disconcerting feeling
Billy felt earlier to be tracked to the subtle stench of beta beneath the smell
of Teddy’s sweat and all the grime from the battle. He sat back up and gave his
boyfriend an imploring look. “You really do need a shower. Sorry.”
Apparently not insulted in the least, Teddy just smiled and tilted his head
toward the door to the adjoining bathroom. “We could both ... ” he said, his
tone leading, without the ability to finish the new sentence, much like his
last.
Billy hadn’t been able to reconcile himself with the idea of showers being
something sexual - not after too many agonizing gym classes, not after being
bullied about his body - and Teddy seemed to have some idea that it might be,
if the lift of his eyebrows was any indication. It just seemed too weird, too
stark, with bright fluorescent lighting and cold tile.
“I don’t know,” Billy finally admitted, carefully extricating himself from the
embrace and sliding off Teddy’s lap to stand. “I’m feeling pretty gross and - ”
Teddy shook his head, smiling. “Say no more. It was just a thought. Why don’t
you get a shower and I’ll head downstairs to raid the kitchen? I’m pretty sure
soup and grilled cheese will work just as well as warm milk.”
It wasn’t the first time that Billy was struck with how in love with Teddy he
was, but it helped, immensely, to be reminded in the aftermath of everything
that had happened. It was normal and it was good to feel normal again.
Billy headed into the bathroom and shut the door behind him, locking the door
across the way that led into the next bedroom just to be assured of the fact
that the room was in some way secure. He took a while to find all the soaps and
shampoos, towels and washcloths, before stepping behind the glass partition and
steaming up the whole room with a long shower.
When he finally emerged from the bathroom, towel slung low around his hips,
Billy found Teddy already showered. His hair was still damp on his forehead and
he’d changed into boxers and an old t-shirt that was ripped in places, where
he’d nearly hulked out of it before. Teddy wore an almost sheepish expression,
with what looked suspiciously like a mixing bowl full of soup and a plate of no
less than four grilled cheese sandwiches sitting on the nightstand, one with a
few bites taken out of it already.
Teddy offered him a set of folded clothes, something spare Billy had brought
over to the clubhouse in case he needed them, and Billy shyly slipped back into
the bathroom to get dressed. Eventually, they both settled back down into bed,
Billy nestled in the circle of Teddy’s arms, alternately eating soup from the
same bowl or sharing bites of grilled cheese sandwiches, while watching late
night television on a channel as far away from a news station as they could
get.
Things were nice and Teddy smelled normal again, but Billy still felt restless.
It might have been the too familiar surroundings after so long spent in strange
places or the fact that they were both steadily ignoring what happened to the
fight against registration, while all their fears about it remained, but Billy
couldn’t settle. Even when the food was gone and the volume of the television
turned down to a soft whisper, with Teddy steadily starting to drift off behind
him, Billy couldn’t seem to let go and give in. It was frustrating and the
frustration started to build.
It wasn’t until a restless shift pressed him back against Teddy in a way that
inspired a soft moan, warm breath on the back of his neck sending a very
precise chill down his spine, that Billy realized why he might be having a
problem.
“Teddy?”
“Nnn?”
“That patch,” Billy began, awkwardly, “what was it supposed to do?”
“Suppressants,” Teddy slurred, tightening his arms around Billy and spooning up
behind him warmly. “Double the oral dose. And a mild sedative.”
It made sense, Billy thought. It wasn’t too long after Teddy, disguised as Pym,
drugged him that things went pear-shaped in prison and the cells opened up. He
had felt rested, refreshed, and not at all like he was about to crawl out of
his skin when he woke up. Now, on the other hand ...
“I take suppressant pills every eight hours,” he pointed out, trying to keep
casual. “For the duration of my heat.”
“Right,” Teddy answered drowsily. “Double one of those doses. With a sedative.”
Billy didn’t answer, at first, just waiting for Teddy to think it through.
Once Teddy did, he pushed up on his elbow in a flash and curled his arm
protectively around Billy. “Shit,” he sputtered, blinking rapidly to wake
himself up. It was actually the first time Billy had ever heard him curse. “Do
you - I just thought once we got back to Earth, it would be - shit. What should
I do? I can sneak back home and get your pills or - wait - is there a pharmacy
near here? I could call Kate and - ”
Billy didn’t expect the laughter that bubbled up in his chest and Teddy looked
a little offended to be laughed at, when he was taking things so seriously.
“Sorry,” Billy assured, turning in Teddy’s embrace to face him. “It’s just, I
don’t know, not that bad. It doesn’t hurt, I’m not going out of my mind, I’m
just - really, really... ”
He didn’t say it, but Teddy looked surprised, then pleased after a look of
realization passed over his features. “Oh,” Teddy answered. “Oh, well. Um.”
“I never wanted our first time to be during a heat,” Billy explained, quickly,
because it was embarrassing when he put it out there like that, “but this is
different. Maybe now that we’re back on Earth my body is adjusting, but I don’t
feel like - anything like I usually do. It’s just, I don’t know ... like I’ve
spent all day thinking about you, missing you, wanting you, and you’ve finally
come home.”
“So, just - really- horny,” Teddy decided as he leaned down, but didn’t quite
bring his lips close enough for a kiss.
Billy whined softly, arching up. The kiss he gave Teddy, demanding and
thorough, was more than enough answer for the both of them. Teddy returned the
kiss and took his time to make it good, parting his lips and slowly licking
past Billy’s own, tasting him. His hand moved to rest warmly on Billy’s stomach
above his t-shirt, the tease of almosthaving skin to skin contact ramping up
Billy’s anticipation a notch.
Unlike previous occasions, unlike in his cell back in prison before the patch
of suppressants knocked him out cold, Billy felt clear-headed and certain. He
wasn’t just acting on impulse, because his body demanded it, and that was
always how he wanted it to be. He hated the idea that there might come a time
when he wasn’t in control, when he only agreed because he needed it, rather
than wanted it, even if it was with Teddy.
Teddy’s hand dipped beneath the hem of his shirt and Billy forgot whatever he’d
been thinking about, tense and focused on the warmth of Teddy’s hand on his
bare skin.
“Can I ... ?” Teddy asked when he pulled back from the kiss, breathing hard
against Billy’s lips. When Billy nodded, Teddy pushed his shirt up and helped
Billy off with it. The way he raised his head and openly admired Billy’s chest
was kind of embarrassing.
“You next,” Billy countered, for something constructive to do that wasn’t
blushing like an idiot. He reached up and grasped the back of Teddy’s shirt,
dragging it up and over his head. Teddy laughed, but sat up enough to oblige.
Billy pulled him back down almost immediately, Teddy still laughing softly, and
fitted them together from torso to hip. He could get used to the way Teddy’s
skin felt on his, soft and so warm.
Teddy kissed him again and it was slow and familiar, even in the unknown
territory of partial undress. It kept him grounded, focused, even when Teddy
shifted and the press of his erection was right there, in the crease of Billy’s
thigh, hard and insisting on stealing away his attention. Teddy felt huge, even
without the benefit of being alpha, and Billy wasn’t sure if he was nervous or
relieved or both.
Then Teddy’s lips were moving and Billy felt compelled to tilt his head back,
giving Teddy room - and encouragement - to kiss down his chin and neck. It
wasn’t unfamiliar, Teddy had given him his fair share of hickies, but it still
made Billy’s shoulders hunch and another laugh bubble up in his chest, equal
parts ticklish and embarrassed by how much he loved the way Teddy made him
feel.
But Teddy went lower, still, and a surprised moan replaced Billy’s laughter.
The noise was even more embarrassing than being ticklish, but the way Teddy
reacted to it, the way he looked up from kissing Billy’s chest, cheeks flushed
and lips parted in a pleased smile, was worth the embarrassment.
“Billy,” Teddy murmured, about the time he made it down Billy’s stomach, nosing
at his belly button and fingering the elastic band of Billy’s boxers. The way
his voice sounded, deep and wanting, made Billy ache. “Can I?” Teddy asked
again, the pleased smile shifting into a soft, innocent look and Billy nodded
before he’d even parsed the question.
Fingers slid beneath the waistband of his boxers and Billy lifted his hips to
aid in Teddy removing them, simultaneously mortified and relieved at the
feeling of damp fabric peeling away from his skin. With the boxers gone, with
nothing between him and his boyfriend’s scrutiny, Billy felt exposed for the
few seconds between Teddy just looking at him and resting both hands on Billy’s
bare thighs.
“You’re beautiful,” Teddy murmured, in that open, honest way he said a lot of
things.
Billy laughed and draped one arm over his face, covering his eyes and
effectively blotting out his far too kind boyfriend. “You’re a dork,” he
countered.
Teddy laughed, but his hands were steady as they slid up Billy’s thighs and
settled on his hips, Teddy’s thumbs doing something amazing to the soft skin
just beneath Billy’s hipbones. “I’m serious, B. You’re - wow.”
He was hard and leaking against his stomach, as wet as he ever was during a
heat or after browsing /y/, and Teddy was calling him beautiful. Billy lifted
his arm and peeked at his boyfriend from under it, surprised to find Teddy
waiting patiently for him, smiling.
“You next?” Billy wondered, because he couldn’t quite find the words to say
what he wanted to, to say that he was glad Teddy saw him like that, saw him as
more than just his scent or his ass.
For the first time, Teddy looked nervous. He drew his hands back and hesitated
before sliding down his boxers, a blush working its way down from Teddy’s
cheeks to color his shoulders and chest in pink splotches. Billy followed the
blush, taking in Teddy’s broad chest and gorgeous abs, the blond trail of hair
leading all the way down to his -
“Fuck,” Billy sputtered.
He was gorgeous. Daunting, but gorgeous, with blond curls of pubic hair and
girth Billy thought he might have trouble getting his whole hand around, the
reddened head of Teddy’s cock partially obscured by foreskin.
Teddy blushed more, pink blossoming into red, and he spent an awkward moment
fumbling with his boxers before tossing them over the side of the bed. “I can,
uh, make it smaller,” he admitted. “Or - different. You know. Shapeshifter.
And, er, all that.”
“No!” Billy exclaimed. It was his turn to blush after that. “No, I - don’t want
you to change for me. Not ever, Teddy.”
Teddy’s hands went right back to Billy’s hips, his thumbs brushing lightly
again, and he looked - actually, relieved. His smile was soft, the blush fading
back into a light pink across his cheekbones. “Ever?”
Billy shook his head and reached down to cover one of Teddy’s hand with his
own. “Ever,” he assured. “I want you for who you are, not ... not whoever you
can become for me.”
Teddy leaned back down against him, covering Billy with his whole body, and
kissed him wildly, all the slow burn and patience giving way to something
intense and needful, as if all Teddy ever really wanted was that kind of
reassurance at this particular moment. It made Billy’s chest ache, knowing that
they both wanted exactly the same thing - to be loved for who, not what, they
were.
His hand founds its way to Teddy’s hair, fingers grasping for purchase to hold
them both there, in that kiss, until his lungs screamed for air and he had to
break for breath. Teddy was panting hard against his mouth, rocking his hips to
press the hot length of his cock against the crease of Billy’s thigh. It was
different without even the thin fabric of boxers between them and Billy wanted
more. He raised his hips and made a surprised, pleased sound when Teddy reached
between them and encircled his cock in one large hand.
“What do you need, B?” Teddy asked and his voice was practically a purr. Billy
could hardly think, listening to the way it rumbled in Teddy’s chest and
feeling the way Teddy touched him, stroked him, the angle and friction
completely different from the way he touched himself and so, so good.
When Billy didn’t answer, couldn’t answer, Teddy tilted his head and kissed
along Billy’s jaw. “We don’t have to go all the way,” he said, like it was a
promise, like Billy needed reassurance of that, too. “I’ve always wanted to go
down on you.”
Hearing Teddy say that - because Teddy Altman was the polite, well-mannered boy
who hardly ever cursed and had impeccable table manners and used please and
thank you like he was programmed to - was almost enough to make Billy come
right then and there. He arched his back and thrust into Teddy’s hand,
something broken and half-sobbing escaping his lips.
Teddy soothed him, gentled his touch and kissed Billy’s throat, until he could
speak. “Want you inside me,” Billy finally admitted. He needed it, but not with
the same biological imperative he needed it back in the Negative Zone. He
wanted it so badly it became a need, became a driving force and the focus of
all his attention, until his desire and Teddy’s desire were all that mattered.
The blond made a noise that stole Billy’s breath, rocking his hips harder, the
head of his cock slick against Billy’s skin. Reluctantly, Teddy slowed his hand
and uncurled his fingers from Billy’s length, slipping down further between
them. He cupped Billy’s balls in his palm and let his fingers slide further
back, behind, hesitating before he touched further.
Raising his head, Teddy looked down at Billy, his eyes dark with arousal. “Have
you ever ... touched yourself like this?”
Billy nodded and watched Teddy hesitate further, then reached down between them
to lay his hand over Teddy’s own. He fitted his fingers against the backs of
Teddy’s fingers, guiding him until the middle fingertip pressed against his
slick hole. “Your hands are big,” Billy said softly, feeling stupider by the
minute as he helped Teddy circle his finger.
“I’ll be - ” Teddy said, interrupting himself with a soft gasp as the tip of
his finger slid inside. “ - gentle.”
Teddy was so gentle. He eased one finger in, nice and slow, swallowing up all
the little noises Billy made with a kiss. He worked his finger at an agonizing
pace and Billy felt like a mess, on the verge of begging for more, his cheeks
hot with a mix of pleasure and shame at the slick sounds of Teddy adding a
second finger alongside his first. Billy had only ever tried two fingers,
himself, and already felt stretched beyond capacity by the added thickness of
Teddy’s.
The first nudge of a third digit had Billy arching off the bed, flinging an arm
around Teddy’s neck to pull him close. He tried to relax, really tried, and
ended up burying his face against Teddy’s shoulder, moaning and panting as he
worked himself down on the thick stretch of three of his boyfriend’s fingers.
“Billy,” Teddy moaned against his ear, sounding almost as far gone as Billy
felt. “You’re so wet.”
It should have been embarrassing, but it wasn’t. He squeezed around Teddy’s
fingers, pulling a low moan from Teddy’s throat, and answered, “Want you inside
me, Ted. Now.”
Teddy took a moment to parse that information, to slowly slide his fingers free
and scramble a little getting to his knees. In the bedside table drawer was a
box of condoms, because someone was looking out for them when it came to
stocking the clubhouse, and Teddy struggled with the first two wrappers before
Billy sat up and helped him, with steadier hands.
Billy found, to his surprise, that he didn’t have a problem getting a hand
around Teddy’s cock and he spent a long moment just stroking him once the
condom was on, watching Teddy’s eyes close and his expression contort in
pleasure. When he settled back amongst the pillows and grabbed one to shove
under his hips, Teddy looked surprised.
“I’m not presenting for you, T,” Billy deadpanned.
It snapped Teddy out of his surprise and renewed the blush on his cheeks.
“Sorry,” he said, fumbling the word as he moved to settle between Billy’s
thighs again. “I thought - it was easier that way? I don’t know.”
Billy knew exactly what Teddy meant, because he’d always seen it like that on
the Internet, with sopping wet omegas begging on hands and knees for huge alpha
knots, but that wasn’t who Billy wanted to be and this - this was different.
This was them, just them and no categories.
“I want to kiss you,” Billy said, instead of the long explanation, and it was
more than enough to wipe the embarrassment off Teddy’s face and bring back his
smile.
Teddy leaned in and they shared a kiss, equal parts soft and sweet and obscene,
with the way Teddy’s cock kept bumping and sliding against Billy’s ass from
their positioning. He finally shifted impatiently, inspiring Teddy to reach
down and grasp himself, pressing the blunt head of his cock against Billy’s
hole and nudging forward gently.
Billy found himself grasping Teddy’s shoulder again, willing himself to relax
again, for long, difficult moments. “Keep going,” he urged, when Teddy would
hesitate or stop altogether, an unspoken question on his boyfriend’s lips or in
the concerned tilt of his head. “Please, Ted.”
It was more intense than Billy could have imagined, more completely filling
than three of Teddy's fingers, and it took time to adjust to having Teddy
inside him, buried to the hilt, once his boyfriend's hips were pressed warm
against his ass. Teddy seemed like he needed a moment, too, and spent it
holding perfectly still, just kissing Billy softly, desperately, while Billy
clung to him and waited.
The first tentative rock of Teddy's hips had Billy seeing stars. He closed his
eyes and lost himself and his answering moan in the kiss they shared, begging
for more with the half-heard inflection of his voice. Teddy eased himself into
giving Billy more, carefully building on his rhythm until he drew back, almost
completely out, and thrust forward in a way that threatened to punch the air
from Billy's lungs.
His blunt nails dug into Teddy's shoulders on both sides, clinging desperately,
and he tipped his head back, away from the kiss, to suck in greedy breaths and
beg for more. "Please, please, please, I want - "
Teddy slid one arm under him, pulling them that much closer together, and gave
Billy exactly what he asked for: quick, hard thrusts that left them both
breathless. Billy couldn't last long, not stretched and filled and with Teddy's
cock brushing precariously close to something deeper inside him, but it took
Teddy reaching between them and wrapping his hand around Billy's length again
to bring him right to the edge. His back arched off the bed and he thrust up
once into the circle of Teddy's fingers, coming embarrassingly quickly.
"Billy, Billy," Teddy moaned, burying his face right against the crook of
Billy's neck as he kept going, working into him with short, quick thrusts,
Teddy’s whole body tense and his breathing labored.
It was almost too much, too overwhelming, when Teddy’s angle changed and he was
brushing that perfect spot inside him with each thrust. Billy gripped him
tight, tensing and clenching around his length, and Teddy gave one last thrust,
burying himself deep. It was only when Teddy released the breath he held that
he made a sound, something deep and resoundingly satisfied, the tension ebbing
from his muscles as he relaxed against Billy.
Billy trembled as he came down from it, feeling like he had to learn to breathe
all over again, and after what felt like ages they disentangled to find a more
comfortable position. His legs felt stiff and Teddy was sluggish, fumbling with
the condom, again, until Billy helped him with it. Rather than spooning up,
Billy turned tiredly in the circle of Teddy’s embrace and nuzzled in against
his neck, breathing his fill of Teddy’s scent once the blankets were over them.
He smelled wonderful, like soap and shampoo and sweat and musk. Beneath it all,
Billy could detect a little of his own scent, probably just from how close
they’d been, but it was comforting. Teddy tightened his arms around Billy and
buried his nose in Billy’s hair, prompting Billy to wonder what it was like for
him, to wonder if he smelled just as good to Teddy.
Billy was still wondering when he drifted off to a deep, boneless sleep in
Teddy’s arms.
                                       ◊
It took two days after the final battle for either of them to work up the
courage to go home. They waited until it was later, until after Billy’s
brothers would have gone to bed, to let themselves into the condo. Mr. and Mrs.
Kaplan were still awake, having their nightly coffee while watching the news,
and the first sound of a key in the lock must have alerted them, as they were
halfway to the door when Billy opened it.
Before he knew what was happening, Billy was swept up in a hug by his mother,
who seemed intent on almost squeezing the life right out of him.
Over her head, Billy saw his dad gripping Teddy’s shoulder and Teddy’s
corresponding guilty expression.
“You have a lot of explaining to do,” his mom said, when she finally let him
out of the hug and held him at arm’s length to give him a stern look.
Billy nodded and reached back for Teddy’s hand, wanting reassurance and wanting
to provide some to his boyfriend. “I’m sorry, mom,” he said. “We’ll do our
best.”
It took a whole pot of coffee, with Billy adding more sugar than was strictly
necessary to his while Teddy took his with just a little cream, and they sat
around the kitchen table almost all night, but Billy told them everything he
could: about getting arrested, being rescued by Captain America and Falcon,
then going to LA to help the Pride’s kids and winding up in the Cube. By the
time he described what he saw at the Cube, telling Teddy for the first time
while telling his parents, Billy was too stressed to talk about what happened
after that.
Teddy picked up from there, describing the set-up at Geffen-Meyer and how Billy
was arrested, then how Cap had him infiltrate the Negative Zone prison and how
awful the other dimension was for the prisoners. He was tactful, more tactful
than Billy would have been, and didn’t describe how Billy reacted to the
Negative Zone.
His parents had seen the news coverage of everything else, of Captain America
surrendering and the other superheroes receiving a general amnesty to assist
with the recovery.
Teddy assured the Kaplans that neither of them wanted to join the army and,
when pressed, Billy agreed that they wouldn’t be breaking any of the
Registration laws while under their roof. Once they discussed the terms of
Billy’s grounding - and Teddy voluntarily grounded himself, perhaps thinking
the Kaplans had good standing to kick him out for his part in everything - they
were both instructed to go to bed.
“Being grounded until my eighteenth birthday isn’t so bad,” Billy decided,
pausing in the hallway outside his door. “All things considered.”
Teddy laughed softly and leaned in to kiss Billy’s cheek. “You are sixteen,
going on seventeen.”
Billy gave him a playful shove. “Are you making a Sound of Music reference and
expecting me not to coerce you into watching it tomorrow?”
“If you can fit it in between all our chores,” Teddy agreed, “be my guest.”
“Bed, Billy!” his mother called from the living room, having no doubt overheard
their banter.
Billy hesitated, opening his bedroom room and lingering halfway through it.
“Then Beauty and the Beast.”
Teddy grinned. “Pushing it.”
“Trying,” Billy agreed. There were sounds of footsteps on the stairs after that
and Billy conceded to needing to go to bed. He lingered only as long as Teddy
stayed in the hallway, but as soon as Teddy disappeared into his bedroom, Billy
stepped back into his and shut the door.
End Notes
     Warnings (cont): This fic contains a scene of perceived non-con,
     wherein the main character feels threatened by the advances of
     another party in a position of power and fears for his safety, though
     his fears are ultimately unfounded. There is no actual non-con in the
     story, just the perception of it by the main character, which may be
     a trigger due to the perspective/context of the narrative.
Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed
their work!