Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/134264.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage
  Category:
      M/M, F/M, Gen, Multi
  Fandom:
      Young_Avengers, New_Avengers_-_Fandom, Runaways
  Relationship:
      Kate_Bishop/Eli_Bradley, Eli_Bradley/Billy_Kaplan, Teddy_Altman/Billy
      Kaplan
  Character:
      Billy_Kaplan, Teddy_Altman, Greg_Norris, Kate_Bishop, Eli_Bradley, Tommy
      Shepherd, Tony_Stark, Clint_Barton, Jessica_Drew, Karolina_Dean, John
      Kessler, Cassie_Lang
  Additional Tags:
      Drabble_Collection
  Stats:
      Published: 2010-11-19 Completed: 2011-05-25 Chapters: 7/7 Words: 3002
****** Young Avengers Drabbles & Commentfic ******
by lilpocketninja
Summary
     A collection of my shorter and/or older Young Avengers fic that don't
     really deserve their own entry. Rating and pairing varies. Warnings &
     rating for all parts, though most of the parts aren't dark and are in
     the Teen range. Individual ratings and warnings are within each
     chapter.
***** Out and About *****
Rating: PG
Pairing: Billy/Teddy
Summary: Teddy doesn't care what anyone thinks, except when he does.
--
So Teddy is nervous. That's usually Billy's job, but he's been worrying a
hangnail for the past ten minutes and it's actually bleeding instead of healing
at this point.
It's not like he cares what Greg thinks, he tells himself. Because he doesn't,
because Greg is a jerk and according to Mrs. Kaplan Teddy has worked through
his self-esteem issues and become self-actualized. Whatever that means.
So, he doesn't care and he's not worried, except his hangnail is bleeding and
he can't find anything to wipe it on so he's sucking on his thumb instead of
actually walking back out of the bathroom to the restaurant, where Billy is no
doubt waiting impatiently. They were playing footsie. Teddy would like to get
back to that.
It's just that there's an entire table of people who used to be his friends,
and they're all throwing food and being loud and rude at the waitress and
they'll see him, on a date, with Billy.
And Teddy isn't ashamed of Billy -- couldn't ever be ashamed of Billy -- but he
is the kind of guy that Greg likes to shove in lockers and down toilets, and he
is on a date with Teddy. So they're going to wind up harassed unless they leave
right now, unnoticed by the team and without finishing their meal.
Blend in. Be normal. Don't attract attention. Make everyone like you.
These are the coping skills passed from Skrull mother to half-Skrull son. Teddy
wants to run. Teddy needs to run. Teddy can't, because it will hurt Billy, and
Teddy can't hurt Billy on purpose.
He peaks his head outside the door, and sure enough Billy frowns at him and
raises one eyebrow. Teddy frowns and ducks back inside, nearly hyperventilating
because he's pretty sure Polkiss saw him and is now spreading the information
around to everyone else and they are going to be caught.
Breathe, Altman. Breathe, he tells himself, and stands up straight to look in
the mirror. He is a superhero. He has the best boyfriend in the universe. He is
on a date, and enjoying himself, and he has every right to be here.
He does not care what they think. Squaring his shoulders, Teddy turns and
marches back to their table, grabs Billy, and kisses him soundly. There's a
faint murmur of surprise behind them, but Billy is too busy looking really
confused to notice it much. Teddy can't help but.
"What was that about?" his boyfriend hisses.
"Just. Wanted to show you off." Teddy finds himself blushing, and sitting down
awkwardly.
"Huh?"
And, much to Teddy's surprise, everyone at the other table goes back to eating.
The world doesn't end, no one calls them out on it, nobody really seems to
care.
"Nevermind." Teddy's foot creeps over to Billy's, which wipes the confused
expression off his face and replaces it with a goopy happy one instead.
"Okay."
***** Anger Managment *****
Chapter Summary
     Title: Anger Management
     Rating: NC-17
     Summary: Billy's done something stupid again.
"That was stupid!" Teddy shouts, and Billy flinches back from him. Teddy
doesn't raise his voice often, and never at Billy. The spellcaster thinks he
deserves it if Teddy's really that upset.
He hadn't meant to take on the bad guy by himself, any more than he had meant
for his powers to malfunction at the last second and leave him defenseless
against a guy with a crowbar. If Teddy hadn't noticed that the two of them had
broken off from the main brawl, Billy might be dead by now.
While Teddy rants and lists off all the reasons that running after the guy had
been a very bad idea, Billy stares at his boots and the cracked bit of concrete
under him. When that gets old he stares at the blank brick wall across from the
one he's leaning on.
"Are you even listening?" Teddy pants. "You -- you -- arg!" He balls his hands
into fists and slams them on either side of Billy's head. Billy's eyes get wide
and scared in a way that Teddy's never seen before, and they're learning all
kinds of things about each other today.
"I-I'm listening!" He protests, but his voice breaks. He tries to duck out of
Teddy's arms. Instead of letting him, the larger boy presses closer and
captures Billy's mouth in a rough kiss. The texture of the skin Teddy shifts
for his Hulkling form feels a little like stubble as it scrapes his cheeks and
chin; he half expects Teddy's tongue to be the same but when it parts his lips
and shoves against the roof of his mouth it's normal. Billy pulls away on
instinct and Teddy's hips slam against his. When the collision presses him all
the way back to the wall he can't help but feel Teddy's arousal.
"You--" he gasps, and gropes Teddy through the leather.
"Don't ever do something that stupid again," Teddy hisses against Billy's ear,
and then bites the lobe for good measure. Billy cries out and fumbles with the
zipperpull of Teddy's costume. He wants to feel the rest of Teddy's rough skin,
but it's shifting under his fingers and even that's sexy.
He tries to say something but it comes out as a pleased whimper instead. Billy
curses their costume designer. If he wants to touch Teddy at all, the coveralls
are going to have to come completely off.
Teddy's big hand squeezes under the tight fabric of Billy's costume and they
both share a wince when one of his 'claws' scrapes the soft skin of his belly.
For once Teddy doesn't apologize, just shifts the claws away and finishes
pushing Billy's pants far enough down his hips that he can pull his boyfriend's
erection free.
Billy gives up trying to get inside Teddy's costume, and settles for pressing
his palm up against the bulge in the leather until Teddy moans around his ear
and Billy feels the other boy's orgasm. He's only a few thrusts behind.
When they're spent and lounging against the wall, Teddy kisses him again. It's
more familiar now, the soft slow kisses of someone who genuinely adores Billy
Kaplan. "Please don't do that again."
"I've learned my lesson," Billy promises from where he has his mouth pressed to
Teddy's neck. "Even though I really, really like you when you're angry."
***** Slide (2009) *****
Chapter Summary
     Rating: Adult
     Chapter Warnings: Implied underage sex.
     Summary: Teddy has a go at being Billy.
He's sitting on Billy's bed, one of the ones they dragged into the clubhouse
for when Saturday morning practice started to morph into Saturday team-bonding
nights. For once, the other two boys who shared the room had gone home without
Teddy's unsubtle prompting and he intends to make the best of a night alone.
Billy had just run downstairs to grab some sodas from the minifridge, promising
to be right back and to rain fiery death on Teddy if he moved a muscle. Teddy
has moved rather a lot of muscles by the time he returns.
In the middle of Billy's bed sits a perfect replica of Billy: the same floppy
hair, warm brown eyes, everything down to the weird birthmark on his hip and
the few scars he's picked up in his short career as a superhero. The other-
Billy blinks back at him, a slow wicked smile spreading over his face.
"Hi."
Other-Billy watches, amused, as Billy's mouth opens and closes like a fish's
and he struggles to find something more intelligent to say than 'guh.' His
efforts are unsuccessful, though, because a few minutes later and all he can
manage is in fact: "Guh."
"Billy?" A hint of doubt creeps into other-Billy's voice, which is the same as
Billy's but for the strange echo in both their ears. The line between other-
Billy's dark eyebrows, the one that always appears when Billy's feeling unsure,
forms and he purses his lips. "You don't like it?"
"You can be me," Billy points out, as though he can't trust his eyes and he has
to reason everything out instead. His mouth stays hanging open when he's done
speaking.
"I can be anyone. I could even be you." Other-Billy's confidence has returned,
and he lies back on the bed with a challenging expression on his face. Billy's
eyes follow up from the point of one foot (with a callus on it, from where he
played soccer in middle school) past familiar hips and abs and finally to look
in his own eyes. Other-Billy laughs. "It's easy to be you. I know your body so
well."
As if to prove his point, other-Billy's hands start to caress his own chest,
toying with sensitive nipples and pressing a finger into the path of his abs.
"I know what you like. And what you don't. And where to put all the really
sensitive nerve endings."
Billy falls gracelessly on the bed beside him in his usual spastic tangle of
limbs, falling over himself to get to the other-Billy's side and touch his back
just there, and his ear. "So when I do this --"
Other-Billy's hips jerk entirely without his permission, and his moan is cut
off with a surprised grunt.
"Is that really what it feels like for you every time?" he breathes, but Billy
ignores him in favor of sucking on a nipple. It lasts all of a few minutes
before Teddy's concentration starts to slip, but they are glorious minutes and
Teddy's sure he's never been so hard in his life.
"F-f-uck," he mumbles, as his body tries to slip back to its default form.
"Your body is amazing."
Billy just smiles and swirls his tongue in a slow, lazy circle before it drags
downward. "You don't know the half of it yet."
***** A Meeting of the Minds (2008) *****
Chapter Summary
     Rating: G
     Chapter Warnings: None.
     Summery: Kate Bishop and Tony Stark come to an arrangement.
Kate felt judged. Their ‘clubhouse’ was in disarray – thanks to Tommy – and it
hadn’t been Avengers’ Mansion to start with. Now Tony Stark stood in the middle
of the mess and looked as though he was trying not to touch anything, including
the floor.
“It’s –“ He began, but Kate interrupted him smoothly.
“A work in progress.”
“You can only embezzle your father’s money so fast, right?” Kate grinned, a
little smugly. Stark managed not to, but his eyes twinkled and the corner of
his lips twitched up.
“Exactly. Anyway, with Tommy living here, there’s no hope for it,” She added,
gesturing around at the aftermath of one of Tommy’s whirlwinds. Stark looked
over his dark sunglasses at her and crossed his arms.
“He’s living here?”
“He’s escaped from mutant juvee. Where else do you want him to go?” Kate
snapped, stepping into Stark’s personal space and jutting her chin forward with
an expression that dared him to do better. She had had just about enough of his
condescension, especially when he had no business here. Stark had shown up
uninvited and unannounced, just to look around like he disapproved of the
clubhouse. Which he did, Kate knew, but that wasn’t the point. Kate wasn’t sure
what the point was.
Stark frowned and Kate could see spider-webs of worry across his brow. He
actually looked concerned, and his tone was kind when he said, “Stark Tower’s
open to the Young Avengers. There are plenty of extra bedrooms, a training
space… Spider-man’s X-box…”
He sounded like he was trying to bribe her. Kate suspected he was.
“Are you asking Tommy to move in, or the Young Avengers?” asked Kate, stepping
back as her expression went from confident to unsure.
“Both. I thought about what you said. What happened with the Kree and Skrulls
was my fault, and I – we – want to fix that.”
Kate Bishop learned poker face at the knee of her father, millionaire business
tycoon. Hers stayed straight, despite the gasps and loud crash she heard from
the back room where the others were hanging out.
“The team – The Avengers – has agreed to help train you. If you’ll --” he
coughed – “have us.”
She couldn’t help it, now; Kate’s mouth split into a wide grin and one of the
boys let out a whoop of joy as they poured into the room behind her.
“I think,” she said, when she recovered her voice, “That something could be
arranged.”
***** Best Served by Kate *****
Chapter Summary
     John Kessler meets an unstoppable force i.e. Kate's fist.
Chapter Notes
     Characters/Pairings: No pairings featured; Billy Kaplan, Teddy
     Altman, Kate Bishop, Eli Bradley
     Rating: PG
     Warnings: See end of the document.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
"Is that-?" Teddy asked, as he settled next to Billy on the stairs leading into
the side-entrance of his school, and watched the scene unfolding in the narrow
alley in front of them.
"Uh-huh." Billy didn't turn to smile at his boyfriend like usual. Instead he
stared, intent, on the scene before him. Teddy decided, as he watched, that he
couldn't really blame him even as he winced. Crunch!
The two of them sat in companionable silence for a few minutes, interrupted by
Billy's sniffling to try to staunch his bleeding nose, until Eli arrived,
dropping his backpack onto the ground with a suspicious clang. They really had
to work on the secret identity thing, Teddy thought. Only Billy really tried,
and look where that got him.
"Is there a reason Kate's beating the crap out of this dude?" Eli asked. He
didn't try to interrupt her, Teddy noted.
"That's Kessler."
"That's Kessler? The douche who ..."
Billy sniffed again and dabbed at his nose. "Yup. That's him."
"Oh." Eli watched Kate kick the guy, who seemed unwilling to just stay down,
which Eli knew was the only way to get her to stop. "Well that's okay then, I
guess."
Chapter End Notes
     Cartoonish violence.
***** Kittens Are Not Feelings *****
Chapter Summary
     Tommy never would have gotten caught if it weren't for that meddling
     kid and her cat allergy.
Chapter Notes
     Rating: PG (language)
     Characters/Pairings: No pairings featured; Tommy Shepherd, Cassie
     Lang, Jonas (The Vision)
Tommy never would have gotten caught if it weren't for that meddling kid and
her cat allergy. Cassie started sniffling early on Friday evening, and by
Saturday morning there was full-blown facial swelling. Drama queen, Tommy
thought, with her allergic reactions and her red nose.
"It's the weirdest thing." Cassie stopped to sneeze again; Tommy thought Vision
might burn out his concerned-boyfriend circuit if she kept that up. "I'm only
allergic to cats, and I haven't been around any."
"Uh-huh. Maybe it's just dust or some shit," Tommy suggested, feigning
disinterest as he flipped through a car magazine and didn't look toward his
door. "No cats here."
"No, I don't think so." Cassie looked around again.
"Perhaps a cat managed to enter the clubhouse without our notice?"
Tommy flipped a page a little too hard, tearing it up the middle.
"Maybe..."
In the pause between conversations, a loud noise erupted. That wasn't
especially unusual in the clubhouse, but that the noise was a meow was.
"Um-"
"Did that come from your room?" Before Tommy had a chance to answer Cassie, she
was already standing up and walking over to his door. When she pulled it open,
three mewling kittens stumbled out and stared up at her. "It did! You've been
hiding kittens!"
"Those aren't mine! I don't know where they came from!" The cats put a lie to
his words, though, when they immediately came over to rub against his leg.
Tommy glared at them, but picked one up and put it on his chest anyway.
Fluffers had a tendency to get cold if she wandered around too much.
"You realize you're not going to live this one down, right, Mr. I-don't-have-
feelings?" Cassie asked with a smirk. The effect was ruined by her puffy nose,
and Tommy told her so.
***** Flirty Kaplan is my Favorite Kaplan *****
Chapter Summary
     In which Eli is less than optimistic about the early team's chances
     of survival, and Billy is distracting.
Chapter Notes
     Characters/Pairings: Eli/Billy (AU)
     Rating: PG
Billy followed the dizzy circle of Eli's path with his eyes, then sighed. Once
Eli got worked up, he found it impossible to talk his new friend down again,
and while Billy kinda admired that about him – the way that Eli stuck to his
convictions, no matter what they were – right now it was just annoying.
"We're all going to die," Eli said, cutting into Billy's thoughts. Billy pulled
his legs up and rested his chin on his knees, fully aware that he probably
looked stupid curling up like a child in full superhero regalia. "We? Are
absolutely not ready. Nathaniel doesn't have a clue, I'm not convinced that
Teddy could actually hurt a fly, and you-"
Eli pointed at Billy, who raised an eyebrow and stared right back. Eli wasn't
the only one who knew how to stand his ground. "Me what?"
"You. You can't stop being neurotic and flirty long enough to actually figure
out what your powers do."
Billy, eyes narrowed, stood and stepped into Eli's space, close enough that his
good sense was telling him to back off before he got pounded into the ground.
Billy wasn't very good at listening to his good sense. "You like it when I'm
flirty, though, don't you? Despite your complete lack of a sense of humor?"
Eli shifted, and Billy's shoulders tensed as he waited for the inevitable brush
or shove-off that he knew was coming. He shouldn't have said anything – he was
already telling himself that, and running damage-control scenarios before Eli
even had a chance to react. When he did react, Billy's mind ground to a halt.
If someone had asked him, yesterday, what Eli Bradley might do if he stepped up
his idle teasing into something a little more serious, Billy would have been
hard-pressed to make a guess. Whatever he might have said, though, he could
never have predicted this: Eli, stepping forward even closer into Billy's
space, putting a leg between Billy's and pushing him a few steps back before
their lips met.
Billy stood, rooted to the spot, while Eli kissed him. When he didn't respond,
Eli pulled away and looked down at him with a mix of confusion and anxiety. The
expression looked out of place on him, Billy thought.
"What?" Eli asked, and winced when Billy flinched away from the harsh tone.
"Nothing. I just – is this some kind of joke?" Billy wanted to swallow up the
words as soon as they came out of his mouth, but he found that he couldn't take
them back out of the air where they hung. Maybe, maybe if he could work a spell
fast enough – but no, Eli is already moving. To Billy's surprise, he's moving
toward him and not away.
His hand brushes Billy's hair out of his face, and smooths the lines of his
forehead. Before he leans in for another kiss, he murmurs, "I thought you said
I don't have a sense of humor."
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