<<< Helplessness Blues, Hulkling

[Wiccan]

Dec 14 2011

-Night-

It had been over two weeks since he had accidentally stripped Tommy of his speedster abilities. During that time Billy had ran the gamut of emotion; panic, anger, frustration, humility, sadness, despair, all the traffickings that came with the responsibility of guilt. He had not intended to lash out with his brother, especially not with his abilities in such an extreme fashion, but he had done it and the damage inflicted was large and with consequences. He had had to explain the situation repeatedly to the elder X-men, repeating over and over in detail the facts of the night, how he had been feeling prior, why he believed he had lost control over the reality bending powers he usually worked so hard at keeping reigned in and back. They had looked at him with measured glances that look that he knew too well the one that had been constant after the flood he had caused in New York, the one that was a mix of sympathy and fear. It was always just there a quick glance between the senior members, but he knew what it conveyed. He was the unpredictable factor, the boy with the strange ability that had no bottle cap on it. He had vowed to himself after the flood to show more restraint and caution but when his emotions had gotten the better of him he had broken that vow. What did it matter if it had been intentional or not, the collateral damage was still the same.

Tommy had of course used the event to paint himself in the most sympathetic of lights. His twin could be a real Prima Donna when he wanted to that was for damn sure and so far all attempts by Billy to apologize to the slowed down speedster had fallen on deaf ears. Tommy, it was clear, did not want apologies he wanted results. He wanted back what Billy's lapse in temper had taken away, but undoing something, they were learning, was far more complicated then creating the problem in the first place had been. Billy had placed so much priority on limiting what he could do and monitoring it's effects that the thought of reversing something already in existence had never crossed his mind. Small spells, if you would, were easier but he had never stripped away someone's X-factor before and flipping back on whatever switch he had turned off was not something remedied simply by willing it to be. He wondered if his guilt was contributing to his ineffectual problem. Like most mutants his powers were deeply connected to his emotions and plagued by self-doubt and fear it had been suggested that subconsciously he was sabotaging his own self but even if that was the case how did he go about fixing it. Years of lying on a shrinks couch getting to the root of his problem was simply not in anyone's best interest especially not Tommy who day by day was getting more and more impatient and despondent without his abilities. Billy felt like he was trapped in a vise, the impatience to fix what he had done closing in on one side and the dread of making things worse closing in on the other, smashing him in the middle.

He felt alone in that moment, more so then he ever had felt before. Solitude was not a feeling strange to him, if anything he had always taken it as part the price of being different. No one ever had truly understood him, how could they, so few people dealt with the things he dealt with and even then they did not deal with them all simultaneously, but being alone with his differences had not meant lonely. His adoptive family had always been a warm blanket of love and support, and Tommy had helped shoulder some of the adjustment to being an adopted mutant with this strange new biological family you were just discovering you had. And of course there had been Wanda. Sweet, beautiful, Wanda, the woman responsible for his existence, who had not only given him life but also passed down her strange chaotically beautiful abilities. He could love her for that only, even if there were so many other things that he loved the woman who was his biological mother for. He loved her for his dark eyes, and dark brown hair, for the smile they unmistakably shared, he loved her for setting him free into the world and letting him find the Kaplans who were the best parents any adoptive child could hope to fall into family with, he loved her for being there when he was ready to find out the answers to where he came from and all the strange mysteries as to who he was and he loved her now as he stood by the pond of water on their new base in Utopia, because he knew when he needed her again she would be there for him. The thought of that warmed the growing cold in his soul, even separated mother and son were not without each other and Billy knew that for all his feelings of being without anyone to turn to so long as he had Wanda he would never be alone.

He dropped down in the long grass by the water's edge letting the blades of it's thick greenery comb through his moving fingers. He wondered where Wanda was right then. Did she think of her children as often as they thought of her and take comfort that they had each other and the X-men?


Sometimes I wish we all didn't have to be apart. He said to her in that way he often talked to her in his thoughts, same as he had even before he had been able to put a face and name with the idea of who she was. Only you know what it's like to have all this chaos inside, to know what it means to hold back the instinct to fix whatever is broken with just a wish of the mind. You've been closer to this terrible fire then anyone and know what it is to have it engulf you and burn.

He exhaled to himself and pulled a blade of grass from the ground and twirled it between his fingers and then with just the will of provocation he held it and closed his fist around it feeling it grow, change, and bloom into a long stemmed red rose of the deepest scarlet. He held the flower in his hand admiring it's beauty as it's petals unfolded in lush detail. A sharp stabbing pain pierced his revelry and he dropped the flower instinctively watching as it fulfilled it's promise of life and then like all cut things withered and died only the sharp thorns that had grown on it's stem still wet with his blood from where it had stabbed shining in the moonlight. His wounded hand pressed against his mouth he thought a little bitterly

Every beautiful thing has it's cost.

He felt like laughing in that moment, the exasperated laugh of someone who was being far too melodramatic in a situation that should require seriousness, but it was late and he was exhausted with his feelings. Even those that welcomed their burdens got tired of carrying them around all the time. The sound of footsteps crushing the thick grass with their heavy falls behind him alerted him to the fact that he had been found out in his hiding. He imagined it was his brother again ready to embark on another round of "look what you done did now, Billy Kaplan!" of which Billy was quite used to his expected role and response. He didn't even bother to turn around and address him.

"I swear to God Tommy if you're here to make one more Bewitched joke. I will jump on you and throttle you around the neck with those stupid goggles you insist on wearing all the time."

Not hearing Tommy's quick fired quip response back, the only thing Billy's accidental spell had not slowed down, he turned his head over his shoulder brown hair falling across his eyes and realized the surprising guest was in fact not his white haired twin but someone else entirely. Billy just looked at the boy in puzzlement for a moment, unsure of what to say.

"Oh." was all he finally settled on in smooth Jew fashion. "It's you."

[Hulkling]

Having volunteered long ago, it was Teddy's day to help tend the vegetable garden. Doing so wasn't much, at least it didn't seem like it to him, but he wanted to feel as though he was productive...providing a service that would help sustain everyone. In this new era for the X-Men and their charges, all hands were needed on deck, and the blonde had no desire to end up as dead weight. As far as work went, the adults carried the brunt of it...naturally. There was so much needed doing, and Teddy didn't understand how (or when) they did it all. As such, he made himself available and carried out various odd jobs. Lifting heavy objects, couriering important messages, whatever he could do to lighten the collective burden, Teddy did. So when it was mentioned that the garden could use a bit of weeding (everything seemed to grow so fast out here), Teddy agreed to help out.

That was the original plan, at least, before he saw a familiar dark head sitting alone by the river bank. All thought of weeding and productivity fled his brain. Without permission, his footsteps changed direction, and he found himself walking toward the lone figure. Like a mouth-breathing, potentially dangerous creeper, Teddy hovered from a far; both concerned and watchful. Even from a distance, it was clear that something was bothering his peer, and Teddy's instincts told him he should make sure everything was alright. And since nothing was ever that simple, his pesky brain reminded him that it wasn't his place to ask Billy if he needed comfort...no matter how much he yearned to provide it. This contradictory predicament caused a visible conflict within the teen, as he tried to puzzle out his plan of action.

Step. Step. Stop. Shaking his head, Teddy decided it was best to mind his own business. He didn't want to appear nosy or insincere after all, so he turned around and headed toward the temple proper.

Step. Step. Stop. But what if it was something serious, and Billy needed help? His help, more specifically. But that was just silly, why would he need Teddy? He rubbed the back of his neck anxiously and cursed under his breath, still uncertain of himself. It felt as if it was his responsibility to talk out whatever was bothering the teen warlock. And he should never ignore his gut... Once again, the blonde turned on the spot in pursuit.

Step. Step. Stop. Yea, but what if he thinks I'm annoying? That happened often, especially when he tried to hug people. Apparently, he could be too familiar at times, and he didn't want to push too hard. He battled his doubt in this fashion for quite awhile, pantomiming expressively all the while. His dilemma would be clear to outsider watching, and it was a wonder Billy couldn't sense the chaotic intensity of his presence. In fact, his obliviousness was proof enough to Teddy that the boy needed help, so engrossed was he in his own problems. Whatever they may be. More confidently, he continued his stride toward Billy...that is, until his new found self-assurance evaporated once again (which took about two seconds).

If it hadn't been for Billy finally wheeling on Teddy, he probably wouldn't have ever approached him. Instead he was caught, looking very much like thief trapped within searchlight. At once, his face flushed and he stammered out a few inaudible syllables. He thought the threat had been launch at him, until he dimly realized he didn't wear goggles...or that his name wasn't Tommy. Although, admittedly, 'Oh...it's you.', wasn't really much of step up. Deflating visibly, he said:

"Yea...it's me." Teddy's dark blue eyes seem to look everywhere except Billy, and his disappointment registered within them. Trusting his gut, it would seem, wasn't one of his best ideas. "I uh, just saw you all alone. I mean, I wasn't following you or anything...well, not for long." Feeling very much like an idiot, he exhaled and tried again. This time his words spilled over one another in a tangled mess as he tried to say everything at first. "You just seemed distraught and it looked like you needed someone to talk to, I didn't meant to startle you...I should probably just go."

For the millionth time, Teddy made to turn and leave, but then he saw Billy's hand. "Hey...your hand, it's bleeding!" Genuine concern knitted his eyebrows together, and he gingerly took Billy's injured hand. "What happened? Did you need to go see the nurse?"

[Wiccan]

The last two years of Billy's life had passed by in something of a rushed frantic state. For the longest there had never seem to be any time to really process anything that was happening before the next event was firmly being forced on him. There had been Apocalypse and then the flood, getting stabbed by Callisto for the calamity he had unwittingly unleashed on the morlocks, and then there had been the strange reality switching, then Onslaught and the assault by the Purifiers and that was saying nothing of the personal revelations and life changers that had been finding his biological mother and twin sibling. So many surprises had kept the reality warper's hands full and his head so entwined with his own circumstances that he missed things, or mainly people right in front of him. He had been living in the world, but he hadn't really been a part of it, it had taken losing so many friends that could have been better friends had he taken the time and energy to know them and Xaviers to open his eyes to that short coming.

He didn't want to be a lonely person but how did you not end up with that as your reality when you kept people at an arms length. Understanding your problem was simple, he knew, doing something about it, well, that was a bit more complicated. If there was any great plan to Teddy being the one to stumble upon him in that moment it was lost on the young warlock. Things such as destiny, or fate, or even serendipity were lost on him as he was nearly equal parts cynic and romantic; two sides that battled each other out with neither ever really winning.

He knew Teddy in that way that everyone at Xaviers knew each other, in civil terms and brief definitions. There had been times he had seen the boy from a far and been struck by him but he had never imagined anything beyond that. His world was such a crazy place, pulling anyone else into that had seemed at the time almost cruel.

Someday, he had been telling himself, when I know who I am better, When I'm ready. I'd like to meet someone like that.

Teddy seemed to be conflicted about something, debating inside some sort of inner conflict. Billy quickly guessed what it was, he wasn't someone who hid his feelings well on his face especially when he didn't realize someone was watching. Teddy most likely felt torn between good civility and actually having to listen to the complaining of someone he only knew casually. Still, the boy's explanations as to how he had discovered Billy were kinda cute and in that moment something inside of Billy seemed to win out over the something else that usually called the shots. Would it really be so wrong to drop the walls just a little? Everyone needed friends, and in this place all they truly had was each other.

"You didn't startle me." Billy said his voice soft with only the slightest trace of passive indifference. "I thought you might have been my ridiculous brother. We're having sort of a thing, it's this whole big deal."

He made a shrug with his cut hand undermining how severe the strain between him and Tommy was at that moment. Teddy seemed to take his remarks as a cue to leave when he noticed the wound and it's fresh blood.

"Oh, that, yeah it's nothing. Guess I should have paid a little more attention to those Jersey girls when they played Poison" he said with the slightest laugh which stopped in his chest when Teddy did the strangest thing and took his hand. It was a small gesture, something tiny in the universe, but for one second, and he couldn't believe he was thinking this, it felt as though the world stopped. All the bad things, the trouble with Tommy, the longing for home, the burdens of his life, seemed to fade away and there was only this boy, who he knew at best casually, touching his hand with affection? It seemed crazy almost and something so removed from anything he would have expected. Had he forgotten in the mess of all they had went through that people still had the ability to be kind and if this was just a small act of kindness why did he feel so strange all of a sudden as though an undercurrent of energy moved between them so that Hulkling's hand holding his felt like the most natural thing in the world.

He's just being friendly Billy thought, it doesn't mean anything

"Nah." Billy said lifting his hand out of Teddy's and feeling something inside him sting a little sharper then the cut ever had. "I heal pretty quickly. Upside to being able to bend reality you can trick that nasty old healing process to getting it's rush on."

He smiled wanly at the boy who he guessed might be anxious to get back to what ever he had planned before Billy had been thrown into his path. He should let him return to his regularly scheduled life but then

"I wouldn't be against some company, that is if you don't have anywhere more important to be, which all things considered is probably anywhere else. Still."

He couldn't believe the words coming out of his mouth, gone was his usual jokey sarcasm and perfected non-committal answers. Who was this person talking so forward to this handsome boy he only kinda knew, it couldn't be him, he didn't have that kind of confidence, did he? His eyes cut from Teddy's face framed too perfectly by moonlight and waters reflection back to the open space on his other side and then back again.

"I'd really like it if you stayed."

[Hulkling]

Protective instinct was an intrinsic trait in Teddy. As a child, he was the sort to bring home a menagerie of starving or injured animals from off the street, hoping to coax the life back into them. Often times, he succeeded, and when he didn't, a proper burial was conducted in their bare backyard. The term his mother always used to describe him was, 'bleeding heart', which never failed to make him sounds like some massive chump. Apparently, his old classmates agreed with that sentiment, because his compassion drew in their ire for some reason. To please his peers, he tried to change, but it didn't work...and all he succeeded in was hating himself for the poor choices made. In the end, his nurturing spirit too deeply rooted to ignore. But the point is that he always noticed people, or rather, those in need. Billy Kaplan was among those ranks, as far as Teddy was concerned, and always had been. Or perhaps, it was the opposite and Teddy was the one in need.

Either way, this, along with a natural empathy toward other creatures and a personal insecurity, conflated together to allow Teddy as certain awareness. Gauging moods (especially negative ones) was a bit of a talent of his, though one that often got him into trouble. So perhaps it isn't a stretch to imagine Teddy being drawn to big soulful (and perhaps a bit sad as well) brown eyes. However, that description would do Teddy a disservice, because it was more than an urge to simply help out a friend in need. He genuinely saw something in Billy that he liked, and wished he could learn more about. After two years though, he figured that the interest wasn't reciprocated. Half the time, he even doubted the warper's ability to recite his last name. Apparently, Teddy just wasn't memorable, which is understandable, when the person in question could directly influence reality itself. Maybe everything and everyone else just seemed, dull.

The feeling of being invisible or dismissible was sometimes worse than outright rejection. Typically, he kept his distance from Billy since he didn't want to be a bother. As far as Teddy was concerned, indifference was a short distance from absolute annoyance, so he tried not the pursue as a result. Though there were times, such as this one, when Teddy just couldn't help himself. In return, he received noncommittal and closed answers for his efforts. It was as if Billy was in the center of an impenetrable bubble, and no matter how hard he resisted, Teddy would never breach it. Even now, the other boy spoke to Ted with apathy, not bothering to really take a look at the blonde.

Maybe I really should give up... Teddy pondered, disheartened. That was the only option he could foresee, as all other roads led to dead ends. But then he saw the blood, and Teddy's personal desolation became inconsequential. Without thinking, he knelt and grasped the wounded hand to try to get a better look at the injuries. Dimly, he registered the fact that Billy was making some sort of joke, but doesn't get it, and he doesn't try to puzzle it out either. Before he can properly inspect them, however, the hand is snatched away. Damn it, Teddy, he chides himself ...you've done it again. Evading people's space, and generally making them feel uncomfortable was a bit of a bad habit, one he'd promised himself he'd control around Billy. Immediately, Teddy went on the defensive.

"Oh, I see, good then. Look, I'm sorry...I didn't mean to make this awkward. I just saw the blood and thought..." He seemed to be apologizing an awful lot, and singlehandedly making a mess of everything. While the teen began internally berating himself, Billy looked at him strangely, making the taller boy pause. He has no idea what to make of the expression, and jumps to the wrong conclusion. Fleeing suddenly seemed like a good plan of action though, and all he had to do was sprout wings and fly far away. Standing, his face red and abashed, Teddy was just about to mutter a quick goodbye:

"I wouldn't be against some company, that is if you don't have anywhere more important to be, which all things considered is probably anywhere else. Still."

It wasn't much in way of certainty, but it was more than Teddy had ever gotten. Eyes widening in disbelief, his face blanched. "Well, I was supposed to help out in the gardens..." Thinking that it might be considered strange to garden in the dark he amended. "It's cooler at night, ya know. Better for the plants to be watered when the sun is down too, and all that." Teddy scuffed the grass with the sole of his shoe, realizing he was getting off topic. In all honesty, he wasn't entirely sure whether or not he should trust this seemingly random bit of progression. Nevertheless, a shiny thread of hope coaxed a slow smile from the large blonde. "Anyway, I suppose I have a few minutes to spare. If you're certain..."

Before Billy could change his mind, Teddy kicked off his sneakers, rolled up his pant legs, and waded out into the water. Sitting on the riverbank, he let the gentle current rush over his feet as fish scurried in all directions. There was a bare patch of ground beside him, which Teddy patted encouragingly, silently asking Billy to sit nearer. "So, you mentioned something about your brother? Is that why you're out her all alone?"

[Wiccan]

If he was supposed to be indifferent to Teddy's decision to stay instead of leaving it didn't show on his face. Rather something (was it happiness?) seemed to be the only feeling he could really ascertain at the moment. He could only nod his head when Teddy asked was he certain he wanted him to stay. All of this seemed so strange, it wasn't as though the young warlock hadn't navigated successful relationships with other students before, there was Elixir, and of course Tommy, and a slew of others that he had both roomed with and bonded, but none of them had made him as curious as Teddy did before. As the larger boy with no sign of fear or trepidation rolled up his pants and charged into the lake front water Billy couldn't help but feel something in his chest tighten, like an invisible hand had reached into his chest and given his heart a squeeze. The shape shifter seemed almost to be beloved by the moon, it's rays beaming down to highlight all the boy's natural beauty like some image of perfect Roman beauty that had inspired the painters of the Renaissance, even though Billy was pretty certain Teddy was from somewhere in the Midwest. He was tall and broad, fair haired and skinned, astoundingly

Perfect.

Billy thought and flushed with embarrassment. Somewhere some lover of stereotypes was writing a description about Billy right then, remarking on the fact that the taller boy had been kind enough to offer his company and Billy had only responded by taking the chance to ogle him. It seemed a little disrespectful to the boy's kindness but Billy couldn't stop his eyes from lifting back up from the ground and returning to Teddy. He liked looking at Teddy, it seemed normal. How self involved did he have to be that this beautiful, fearless boy had been right down the hall from him for so long and had only ever been on the fringe of his thoughts and memories. Billy guessed it had something to do with his over compensated need to protect himslef from hurt. He could be friends with guys like Josh and Doug, because guys like that didn't interest him. He had no desire to love a straight boy just because he was unattainable, if anything that unattainability had made them safe; because nothing could happen there was no way anything beyond great friendship could blossom. With someone like Teddy, well that safety net wasn't there.

He could destroy me and he doesn't even know it

Billy thought and again felt a little bit of shame for thinking of Teddy in such embellished terms when they were barely even friends. His bubbeh would be so proud he thought, he was doing a great job of representing that Jewish guilt. Teddy continued his easy pace, his feet submerged in the dark water, as he gestured for Billy to come closer and asked about the reality warper's allusion to his troubled relationship with his twin. Without thinking he followed Teddy's suggestion moving closer to the water. Normally he would feel defensive about talking of himself but so much of the night had already disarmed him and he found it almost impossible to look at the expression on Teddy's face and not spill his soul. This boy that he was just starting to know was making him feel at a greater ease about talking about himself then his dearest friends did.

"Twin brother." Billy clarified though he was sure Teddy was already up on that fact. The explosive story of Tommy and Billy's matching faces had become something of Xavier lore and had been the talk of many a gossip after the white haired speedsters arrival. It had been like that scene from the Parent Trap everyone else had been able to piece together what was clearly evident long before those most involved had.

'I.. I did something." Billy continued his voice quavering just a little. "I really hurt him. I tend to do that a lot. Honestly I probably should come with one of those government warning labels on my forehead or something 'may cause bad stuff to happen.' That seems to be something of my family's biological nature, even when we mean well we only cause the opposite to happen."

Shocked that he was spilling so much of the things he never spoke out loud to anyone and thinking all he was going to do was scare Teddy into fleeing he decided to change the course of the conversation.

"You know you might want to be careful with that lake, I'm not for certain but I'm pretty sure whatever tried to grab a hold of Frodo might be out in there. We got dinosaurs in our back yard no telling what is living in the deep dark blue."

Smooth, Billy, real smooth

He felt like slapping himself in the face. In under five minutes he had managed to talk too much and at the same time come across as the complete geek he actually was. Well, if the cat was already out of the bag.

"I like your codename. I've probably never told you that seeing as we've never really talked but I do. A play on the Incredible Hulk, right? I'm something of a superhero fanboy at least I used to be, well I guess I still am. I mean you never really outgrow those kind of ambitions. My room was covered with hero stuff, posters and drawings, stuffed Spidermen and Captain America. I couldn't get enough it was all I had up in my room. Well that, and that one Britney Spears Rolling Stone poster, but what thirteen year old didn't try and use that poster as a beard. Am I right?"

His hands were gripped tightly in the ground digging around a huge pile of earth.

Kill me now. he thought Oy vey!

How had he went from the guy who said never enough to thin bumbling babbling mess and why why was he talking about his stuffed characters and room posters? It seemed as if he was deliberately throwing every extreme he could at Teddy in attempt to run him off.

"Soo ummm you're from the Midwest right? I heard they have great weather out there, lots of umm trees. Which is nice. Can't have too many trees. good for the environment and not too shabby too look at. Yeaaaah, trees are.. awesome."

Right then Billy wondered if it would be too much to have the ground open up and swallow him on the spot, it might be a tender mercy considering the path he was traveling down. If Teddy didn't think him an odd case before he surely had shown his true colors by now and it made the warlock a little sad he would have liked to impress this boy instead of spooking him off.

[Hulkling]

The silvery hairs on the back of Teddy's neck prickled as he sloshed playfully in the water, and squeezed mud between his toes. He turned abruptly, only to find Billy staring at him peculiarly once again. In one fell swoop, he went from feeling invisible, to feeling like a freak show. If his presence wasn't wanted, then why ask him to stay? "Are you sure you want me to be here? Because in all honestly, it's not a big deal if you want me to go." That was a big fat lie, because he wanted to be there, but he didn't want Billy feeling obligated to deal with the 'giant nerd'. "You just don't seem...present, and I don't want to get in your hair."

Contrary to his hopes, it didn't seem as though the mystery of Billy Kaplan would unfold tonight. For Teddy, the type of person who was always open and ready to give, he couldn't understand why the warper was so resistant. The only answer he could see was that he was the problem, for whatever reason. There was something about the boy Teddy couldn't shake, but he wasn't sure how he was supposed to go about getting to know him better. He wanted to be able to look at Billy and know exactly why he liked him so much, to get a glimpse of him that not everyone got to see. A task which seemed nearly impossible at times, and the present was turning out to be one such moment. As a result, he abruptly felt like an idiot with muddy toes while Billy gawked at him, reminding him of his old classmates after they found out a mutant lived among them.

But he needn't have worried, however, because the warlock began talking soon after. And though Teddy couldn't be certain in the darkness, it looked as though Billy's face was a red as his currently felt. Maybe he was just being overly sensitive, after the fiasco with Greg; he couldn't help but harp on every small detail. Shaking away the nerves and the doubts, Teddy focused on the boy before him, straining against the urge to get closer to him. He knew Tommy was his twin, of course. In fact, he was on much friendlier terms with the ashen haired speedster than Billy, which was a terrible shame. But pparently something happened to the twin in question, and Teddy's face fell...suddenly worried.

"He's alright, isn't he? What happened to him, is he in the infirmary?" After living in close proximity to mutants for even the briefest of times, one understood that there were dangers involved. However, the blonde had difficulty imagining Billy hurting anyone...at least not intentionally. Sure, he didn't know the lad that well, but knew enough to have a sense of the warlock's intrinsic benevolence. If that wasn't the case, why else would he feel so torn up about whatever happened? After digesting the original shock and Billy's blatant guilt, however, Teddy remembered the prior threats. His relief bubbled out of his gut in the form of laughter. "Wait, how badly can he be hurt if you are threatening to 'throttle him with his stupid goggles'? Shouldn't you be holding vigil at his beside or something?"

However, it didn't seem as though he was going to get any details, because Billy (most conspicuously) switched topics at the speed of sound. Teddy would play along, for now. "Or maybe there are some Inferi lurking down there, just waiting to pull us to our watery doom. Lucky for me, I have Harry Potter on hand to save me. Or no, you can be Dumbledore...he liked boys at least." He chuckled, standing yet again in the water and wading out a bit further. Okay, maybe he was showing of just a little, but it would take more than a few prehistoric fish to do any lasting harm to him. "But don't fret; should anything become hungry...well, at least I wouldn't stay toeless for very long." Smiling, he slapped down against the surface tension, sending water splashing in Billy's general direction. The smaller boy looked so much like a wounded puppy; Teddy decided he had to cheer him up! And what was better than...wet clothes? Okay Teddy, probably not the best method...

"I like your codename...I'm something of a superhero fanboy."

"No way, me too! Well, I'm sure you can guess my favorite, for obvious reason." Racking his brain, Teddy tried to remember whether Billy had seen him whilst green and[] demonic[/i]. With any luck, he never had and never would. "And I almost met Captain America once! Well, okay...he just happened to be in the city the same time I was there, but we were like, miles apart so I still count it. Nori and Dontae were lucky, they got to help Spider-Man take out a sentinel." He prattled on and on about how he'd give his left foot to meet She-Hulk (who was his favorite), Johnny Storm (who he still 'held a torch for'), Jessica Drew (she had epic hair), and even Beyonce was mentioned at some point. All the while he was completely oblivious to the other boy's embarrassment. It was a moment or two before he realized that Billy might not be interested in his life story and bad puns, so he finished off with a lame. "So yea...there's that."

It wasn't until the fascinating topic of trees came up when Teddy realized that maybe...just maybe Billy was as nervous as he was. "Yea well, you and trees seem to have something in common, then." He said cryptically, before plowing through. "But I'm actually from the exciting and mythical land known as Vermont. Ya know, lots of dreams come true in Vermont." Snorting a laugh, he added. "But don't worry, we have trees there too...there's coniferous plants all over the place! It's crazy the amount of trees we have."

[Wiccan]

It would have surprised him had he thought too much on it how easy the conversation with Teddy was going. For all Billy's verbal pratfalls, the over sharing or embarrassing childhood crushes the equally giving Teddy Altman seemed to have his own match and own bit of misadventure to share. For the first time in a long time Billy didn't feel self conscious around someone else. The walls usually kept so high and strong crumbled around until there was nothing between them but space and good humor. More then once Billy found himself laughing and when he wasn't laughing he was smiling. Billy appreciated Teddy's candor, the awkwardness that so mirrored Billy's own. Was it crazy to feel kinship with someone that no time before you thought of as a stranger? Was it crazy to even be thinking in terms of feelings? Most likely it probably was, but then again, he had never been someone who could be accused of being too deeply grounded in the reality that was called sane.

"The only thing Tommy would want keeping vigil is that nurse from the Animaniacs and since I don't own any scrubs or sexy white hats he'll have to make do on his own, but no it's a little more complicated then that."

The dark haired boy's fingers dug in and out of the ground below his hands and all the while in front of him was Teddy. Talking, sharing, understanding, radiating with an energy that seemed not to consume but to validate. Once long ago in Hebrew school one of the tutors had sent a note home with the young Billy accusing the boy of demanding all the air in a room. His younger self had been unable to grasp such terminology. What did that mean 'needing all the air in the room'? Was he too forthcoming, too selfish, too needy? the ramifications had sent him into a tailspin, closing him up, making him quiet. His parents noticing the changes in their adoptive son had immediately went on the defensive releasing a wrath on his Hebrew teacher equal to something out of the Old Testament. He could still remember with perfect clarity his mother's arms around him assuring him of that there was nothing wrong with who he was. he didn't know why he remembered that moment during this one, so many miles and experiences later. He imagined it had something to do with Teddy's fire, something about the boy's energy reminded him of that same ferocity, that and the shape shifter also seemed to posses that same uncanny ability to pull Billy out of his guilt and back into that better place.

"Hey one could do worse then be a swinger of Birches and hey Lady GaGa put it in a song didn't she. Something about my cool Vermont guy"

"No wait.." he said catching his sing along mistake. "That was Nebraska. Sorry man not everyone gets to be as lucky as me New York City all the way. Songs, Broadway, the best of everything."

Pulling his shoes off his feet Billy suddenly took the urge to join Teddy along the water line. He wanted to feel what Teddy was feeling, wanted to see if that kind of excitement was catching, wanted to be closer. The feeling of cold water washing over his feet was startling and then welcoming. It wasn't his first time on a shore but it was his first time on one like this.

"God I miss New York. I miss the snow that'd be on the streets, or the smell of the vendors, ice skating in Central Park, the tree in Rockefeller. Yes there aren't any great Hannukah displays but I'm not selective enough to complain against.."

His words broke off as he felt something slimy slither across his exposed foot. Blind panic setting in his body jumped and lurched forward falling into Teddy and knocking then both back into the sand landing right against the line in some messsed up take of his favorite scene from From Here To Eternity. He wondered if this made him Deborah Kerr or Burt Lancaster. Water seeped up from behind Teddy's back and sprawled out there in that moment across the other boy's chest Billy Kaplan wasn't sure exactly what he felt. He wanted to selfishly and without good reason turn his head and press his ear against the other boy's chest and see if he could hear his heartbeat and then maybe he could be sure if the pounding he was hearing was coming from Teddy's chest or his own.

[Hulkling]

Grinning broadly, Teddy visualized Billy in a 'sexy doctor's' getup, and snorted a laugh. The image, complete with skimpy mint green hotpants (sans shirt of course), surgical mask/gloves, matching green skull cap, and stethoscope, made his flaxen eyebrows recede into his hairline. Speaking before he could really consider his words, Teddy said: "Haha, well I can't begrudge Tommy that. Because, if all of that's part of the 'get well soon' package, I might try getting sick." If it were possible, Teddy might have swallowed his tongue whole. Once again, he mouth threatened to get him into trouble, and he prayed that Billy wasn't able to follow his train of thought. His only hope was to divert attention as smoothly as possible. "But what do you mean, 'it's more complicated'? Anything I can help with, I wouldn't mind talking to him if he's giving you a hard time. Not that he would listen to me, but still..."

Diversion achieved...

Wading in the cooling stream all by his lonesome was beginning to make Teddy feel foolish, so he sat on the edge of the bank and turned to face Billy. He found that it was difficult retraining himself from looking too long directly into his wounded eyes, and keeping his own pair from staring at Billy's lips as he spoke. Hanging around the boy was an odd dichotomy of being completely relaxed, and on constant edge. Acting overly familiar was a problem for Teddy on the best of days, but the threat of saying or doing something he shouldn't restricted the teen now more than ever. As a result, he decided it was safer to look at the ground, and began nervously plucking reeds from the riverbank.

"And as we all know, an obscure mention from Lady Gaga makes anything instantly relevant. But she's too busy campaigning for all her gay monsters to care about us poor...downtrodden Vermonters, I'm afraid." He chortled, and began braiding his reeds into a pitiful rope while Billy reminisced about the city. "I've never stayed long enough to notice anything but the awful traffic and interesting smells. Although, at the risk of sounding completely stereotypical, I wish I could hit up a few shops there. Everything in that city is just too expensive for me." Money was always an issue, when you were the child of a single parent, and shopping sprees in SoHo somehow never seemed to fit the budget. "I did like North Salem though; its pace and atmosphere wasn't that unlike home." His words hung in the air for a few minutes, and he silently remembered Xavier's."

At last, Billy kicked off his shoes and decided to join Teddy in the water, and he stood to wade out with him in response, sighing in relief. It seemed as if his peer was finally relaxing into the conversation, which was an encouraging thought, and coaxed another smile from his lips. As the lad described just how much he missed home, Teddy indulged in a few lingering glances, using the distraction as cover. He delighted in the distinct way Billy's dark eyes lit up as he spoke of home, and how different the tone of his voice sounded when he wasn't wallowing in guilt. Strangest of all however, was Teddy's personal reaction to Billy's change in mood; as though his frame of mind was dependent upon Billy's? Seeing the boy in distress definitely weighed on him, and the pressure lifted just as quickly. And when Billy spoke of his love for New York City, Teddy was convinced he could learn to love it just as much. "Snow...oh god, it doesn't even fell like the holidays without it. It's actually been bumming me out, a little bit. Like, a reminder how different things are now."

There was the sound of panicked splashing, and before Teddy could say anything other than "What!?" He was laying flat on his back in shallow water, and his long arms held onto Billy protectively. Since he took the brunt of the fall, the breath was momentarily knocked out of his lungs, though it didn't stop him from laughing. "Haha, what happened?" He asked, still clinging onto Billy without realizing, until it dawned on him just how close they were. Almost instantly, Teddy's pulse quickened and his face turned a deep red, nearly purple. Reluctantly, he sat up and released Billy. To cover his awkwardness, he began frantically fussing over him, avoiding all eye contact in the process.

The water's frigidness was a blessing from god himself.

"I uh...are you okay? Did something bite you or something? How's your hand?"

[Wiccan]

Space was something that could only be measured in relation. For that small moment with not even a breath's room between his own body and Teddy's, Billy could not remember a time before when he had been this dramatically close to another person in ways both physical and personal. It was accidental yet providence and as Teddy pulled away from him Billy again was reminded of how space could be something that could be felt. The shapeshifter launched into a slew of concerns, wondering what had happened, how his hand was. How, what, why, when? The questions danced around Billy but they never broke through. All he could think about was how it had felt to be that close to someone else. There had been no space between them and it scared Billy to think about how much he wanted that.

"I'm okay." Was all the reality warper was finally able to get out, noticing that the other boy's eyes never met his own. I've made him feel awkward. Billy thought. I'm such a clutz.

"I.. something startled me that's all. Guess I didn't realize how jumpy I actually am. Sorry about landing on you though. Instinct probably, jumping to the first safe place."

He couldn't believe the words coming out of his mouth. If his actions weren't enough to drive Teddy to cringe his words certainly were. He felt dizzy and off his mark and unable to allow that wall of space that he kept up so often between himself and others be the thing that grounded him. Close to the other boy felt kinetic, like the force of a magnet pulling at metal. Was this what attraction felt like? He had appreciated other's looks before, been drawn to celebrities or singers but those types of silly crushes were allotted a level of frivolousness. On a movie screen or a television there was a barrier of distance, but here this close to Teddy was like standing next to fire for the first time. It was the strangest notion to realize, but before now Billy had never understood that he was cold. His body seemed to react of it's own will, trying to pull back closer to the source of heat, trying to find that feeling again. Nervous panic erupted in the reality warper. Suppose Teddy did not see him in the same fashion. Suppose he was being greedy and reckless with this new, was it friendship? If Teddy was as he saw him just then a living fire, wasn't it just as dangerous to get too close? Dramatically he wondered which was the worst way to go out' burned by flame or dejected in the cold.

The words of Robert Frost bubbled over in his mind, a favorite poem of his that he had taped in his journal

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

My God. Billy thought dreadfully grateful Teddy wasn't a mind reader. I'm starting to sound like Bella from Twilight.

"Sorry for knocking you down and getting you wet by the way." he said trying to offer up an apology and purge himself of his poisonous thoughts. In the span of a short period of time he had done nothing, he knew, but burden Teddy with his sorrows and trip over top of him and yet Teddy had been nothing but kind and attentive. His sweet disposition made Billy both curious and a bit incredulous. Were there signs here he was missing or was Teddy kindness simply just that, kindness. It had to be the latter, didn't it? Billy saw nothing in himself, especially in all his behavior and actions tonight that anyone, least of all someone like Teddy, could find appealing. The other boy was simply being a good student of Xaviers, being a friend to someone he thought needed a friend. It was Billy's overactive mind and lush imagination that was hearing sonnets in the wind and magnetic attraction at the hint of a touch. Billy knew better then anyone the danger of impulse. Desperately he wanted to throw caution to the wind and kiss Teddy, to drown any lingering pain and hurt in a moment of reckless thrill seeking, but that would be both selfish and self serving. You didn't treat goodness by using it to satisfy your own desire. Rather you repaid kindness with an equal act. Teddy was being so generous with him now he should do something for the shapeshifter as a gesture of.. good will?

Then, like a flash of lightning it came to him. Something the boy had said earlier. Something that was in Billy's power to give, if only just a little.

"I feel like i should make it up to you somehow. Maybe this will help at least a little.

Closing his eyes Billy focused on his intent and chanted quietly to himself, focusing on his goal and how exactly he wanted it executed. His dark eyes opened again as tiny crystals of ice fell on his face. For just a small span of beach, not very far indeed, and only for Teddy to see, Billy Kaplan had made it snow.

[Hulkling]

"Instinct probably, jumping to the first safe place."

A small smile broke through Teddy's embarrassment in response to Billy's seemingly innocent statement. It probably didn't mean anything, he told himself; it was such a little sentence, said so flippantly. Be that it may, the blond liked the thought of being a safe place for Billy, a sanctuary. But he was most likely reading too much into it, and needed to take a step back and relax. "Heh, what makes you think I won't be the one to drag you under?" He replied, self-consciously rubbing the back of his neck simultaneously. "And don't worry about it; a little water never hurt anyone…that's what I'm here for anyway. Resident flotation device, there's no need to thank me, I'm just doing my job."

"Maybe this will help at least a little."

Out of thin air, snow materialized and began falling lazily to the ground. Most of the flecks dissolved in the damp heat instantaneously, but soon the stream began to make contact with water, where the snow would assimilate into the surface and disappear. Smiling faintly, Teddy closed his eyes and tilted his head toward the sky, letting snowflakes rest against his face. For a few precious moments, he allowed himself a respite from the harsh reality of his situation, and imagined himself back home with his mother…momentarily lost in a memory. Though he was generally upbeat and positive about the hand life dealt him, Teddy wasn't genuinely happy with living in the Savage Land. Who was, for that matter.

When Teddy came to he was noticeably less self-conscious, elated by the experience gifted to him by Billy, and his eyes sparked with contentment. "You're amazing…I hope you realize that." He commented, still basking in the snow and remembrances. "I mean, I get that it isn't always snowflakes and kitten whiskers, but you really do have an awesome gift. It's not like anything I've ever seen." It was…well, it was like magic, but he didn't say that much aloud. Admittedly, it was easy to be afraid of the potential Billy had; Teddy could see and understand why others might fear him, or why Billy might fear himself. Nonetheless, there was nothing but admiration for the teen wizard in Teddy. Admiration, along with the hesitant hope for something more.

"Thanks Billy, this is really awesome...perfect, even." As his eyes lingered on Billy's, Teddy only wished he had something to give in return. Biting his lip, Teddy blurted out: "Why haven't we talked like this sooner?" Abruptly, his timidity returned with interest, and he sat hunchbacked, still dripping from the fall into the brook. After a few moments passed, he tore his gaze from Billy, suddenly abashed all over again and looking a lot like a scolded (and damp) puppy. "I'm sorry...I made this weird haven't I? I don't know, it just feels..." But he bit his tongue, thinking that an explanation would only make the situation worse.

"You know, you still haven't told me why you were sitting out here by yourself." He said, hoping to change the subject. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but I'd like to help if I can."

[Wiccan]

In a whirl of snowflakes, moonlight, and attention it was easy for Billy Kaplan to get caught up in the cinematography of it all. It was almost intoxicating, the night air with it's jungle scents offset by the falling bits of ice his reality warping had created, a bit of the winter that was denied them here. But more then any other the thing most noticeable about the night and most unexpected was the boy sitting beside him. Billy had a flair to be dramatic (Hello, falling snowflakes!) and there seemed an ordinance in that strange place he found himself. He could handle devastation and danger when it was blown up to extreme heights of imagination. It was the small things that stumped him. Little moments like this that left him feeling nervous and out of his depth. With words and thought he could bend the cosmos, change the fabric of reality, put him next to a cute boy that he was finding more and more fascinating with every minute he was utterly baffled. He had never been a normal teenager, he realized, and didn't really know how to navigate normal teenage stuff. Was thee something happening here, something undefined but potent, or was
it simply the loneliness of a sad heart wanting to believe itself desirable to someone else?

"I was raised up believing I was somehow unique. Like a snowflake distinct among snowflakes, unique in each way you can see And now after some thinking, I'd say I'd rather be a functioning cog in some great machinery serving something beyond me"

He said not looking up at Teddy, his eyes watching the falling ice crystals melt and evaporate the second they hit the much warmer sand.

"Fleet Foxes." He said turning his head to look Teddy square in the face again. He supposed he owed him some explanation as to his current situation, but the truth was always a harbinger of other things. I'm gay. I'm a mutant. I'm dangerous. I'm sorry Affirmative statements that always changed the way the people he told looked at him. He wondered why he couldn't live out here forever, close to somebody, in a moment that could someone else might call magically but he just called his. But the truth, Billy knew didn't like to wait too long, and every moment even the simple ones eventually had to fade same as snowflakes hitting the ground.

"You want to know what happened? I took Tommy's powers away from him. I-I didn't mean too, it just sort of happened. He was rushing about the room, running, running always running, and I just. I just got so fed up and I lost my temper next thing I knew he was on the ground, a lame duck. I've tried everything I know honestly to fix it, but nothings worked. I hurt him Teddy, just like I hurt everybody. No matter what I try to do I only make things worse and it's the people around me that feel the fallout. So there that's my story feel free to run to the nearest door. You'll probably be safer that way."

Billy lifted the back of his hand to his face and wiped water away. He wasn't sure if it was from the falling snow or from his own tears. He assumed it didn't matter, it all seemed to come from the same place anymore anyway.