selfhelp | [Action/Written]

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[Billy has never thought of himself as one of those obsessive stalker boyfriends who needs to be attached at the hip to his significant other at all times. Really, he'd always figured they were pretty good about mutual space. A two-month separation with the potential of spending years in this place without seeing Teddy again is, however, apparently the trigger he'd needed to become one, so after one too many looks from Teddy - some patient, others not so much - he'd officially gotten himself banished from the apartment for the afternoon after too much worried lurking. Which is... not the greatest thing ever on a hot day like today, but ten minutes down the road he realizes that, yeah, he'd been a little ridiculous, either blowing off his responsibilities or dragging Teddy along for the ride. He's happy and eager to have Teddy here, but they'd lived separate lives at least half the time back home; no reason for that to not continue here as well.

It's just hard to let go after you've missed someone for that long.

Still, that's how he finds himself out and about for around five hours today, doing the following (in no particular order):

- a late lunch at Seventh Heaven
- searching around the library for comic books
- combat practice in the Battle Dome (with or without his trusty new teacher)

While at the library, a few sketches find their way into his journal, more or less like the following: this, this, and this. Some time afterwards, a scribbled message appears below.]

What are some good ways to deal with bad dreams?

[Once he's finished all his daily stuff, he'll be bringing groceries home around dinner time, in the hopes that he's allowed. Feel free to run into him at any time.]

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[That makes him pause, stopping to think about what he's saying now. He's still not used to talking about- well, anything to do with super heroes and whatnot with people who aren't in the same situation as him. No wonder she's getting stressed.

He offers up a weak, apologetic smile, trying to shift topics a little instead.]

My mom said kind of the same thing a while back. ...Sorry.

It's okay. [On some level, at least. Pepper takes a breath, lets it out slowly. At least she's got a decent recovery?]

Really. And if you ever do need to talk about that, I'll listen. [Because Pepper knows it helps Tony when he needs to vent.] But it is a little hard to hear about.

[She does- it's admirable. But her point has been made, whether she meant to or not, and his agreement re: her offer is, well... not entirely sincere.]

Yeah... okay. I'll remember that.

Hopefully you'll do more than remember. [Because really, Pepper is honest in that she will listen. She'll also probably cringe, but she doesn't mind being a little scared if someone really needs to talk.]

Anyway. We were talking about Teddy's list of your bad habits. Which would have to be pretty long, if you're looking to beat out Tony.

Oh my god, I'm not that ambitious. He's had way more years to develop his flaws than me, I'm pretty sure he'd win.

[Not that Tony Stark doesn't have his fair share of merits, mind you, but that's not what this gossip is about. He's still smiling, though, so he's clearly not saying it to be mean-spirited.]

Right. So I guess we'll just have to see where your list is when you get to his age.

[One tease for another. But Billy's right, because Tony isn't all bad. Pepper may be grinning a little more as she thinks of that.]

At least he's got enough positive traits to balance it out. Mostly.

Sure, mostly. Though I hope that by then I'm not as eccentric as him. His exploits are kind of legendary.

Well, to be fair, you and he do lead very different lives.

[From parental figures to committed relationships.]

And considering that you're already a superhero, I'm sure you'll have your own exploits to brag about.

Haha, that's true! If I stick with the job that long, I'll have plenty of stories to share about it.

[He refuses to acknowledge the "if I live that long" that is ever-present in a super hero of his era's mind. They're teenagers, and teenagers are practically immortal. (Except when they're not.) It's just the way of the world.]

Are you sure you don't already?

[Pepper is more than happy to leave the "if I live that long" part unsaid, despite being older and very aware of how the world really works.]

Oh, I do. Just probably not as many. We did manage to stop an alien invasion one time, though.

[His stories are just kind of limited because so many of them involve some sort of personal tragedy. The Young Avengers have it rough.]

I don't know. Tony's only been Iron Man for a few years now.

...Although alien invasions are apparently a theme.

Yeah, I don't know what it is about the Avengers, but they just attract all the extraterrestrial trouble. Though most of the time it's the same aliens just coming back for more- if the Kree and the Skrulls ever show up on your Earth, have fun.

Right. I think I'll just hope that they all decide to leave us alone. The Chi'tauri were bad enough for the world. [And even they hadn't made it out of Manhattan. Again, it all falls squarely into the realm of things Pepper doesn't want to think about, because it all seems too plausible now.]

Chi'tauri? There's one I've never heard of. [Oh god, is that something to look forward to? Please say it isn't.]

Really? [Pepper knows someone from Billy's timeline has, since Sue recognized the name, but she tries to play it off.] Maybe that's one thing our universe has that yours doesn't.

Who knows? Fanboy or not, I'm pretty sure there's a lot of things about my world that I don't know. Super heroes have a lot of secrets, after all.

Some more than others. [Considering that Tony didn't make it 24 hours after his battle with Obidiah before announcing his superhero status, it's a fair statement.

Not that he doesn't still try to hide things. But that's more personal, in Tony's case.]

Honestly, I think that's one of the things people could probably drive yourself insane trying to figure out. Especially here, since we don't have any way of really knowing. It's all speculation, that we probably won't even remember.

Well... I don't know how it is on your version of Earth, but alternate realities aren't that unusual on mine. Talk to Sue Richards, she can probably tell you a dozen stories, bare minimum.

[That's a name that gets a tight smile.] I have. Sue seems very eager to share information.

[Which hits very close to another topic. Pepper knows she should've spoken to Billy about this earlier, but between Teddy's arrival and eventually relaying the information Sue had shared to Tony, it's been less pressing of an issue for her.

Until now.]

She told me a lot about your universe too. About your version of Tony Stark.

[A flash of emotions cross his expression just then: panic, first of all, followed swiftly by caution and uncertainty. And then, finally, he studies her with extreme reluctance, like he already knows what she's going to say and he's not happy about it.]

What... did she tell you?

More than I wanted to know. [And clearly the same can be said for Billy, from the expression on his face.] About the Superhero Registration Act, and the war--and the prison.

[Which is the hardest thing for Pepper to mention, because that's where the brainwashing is supposed to be happening.]

[He flinches a little at that, his gaze dropping to the table. The prison isn't exactly his favourite part, either, so he quietly dodges around the subject.]

Did you tell him?

[He assumes "him" is obvious enough.]

[It is.]

Yeah. I didn't want to, but he said he needed to know.

[Which meant if it hadn't been Pepper, Tony would've gone to someone else. Billy or Teddy or Sue.]

He knows you see the difference, Billy. And he promised he would he never become that person.

I figured he might.

[Billy's expression is neutral for a moment, mulling that over, until he finally lifts his head, focusing on her.]

I think... I think it's good that he knows. The whole thing- the war, the SRA, that... prison... it happened too fast. It was decided all at once and there were no plans to make it better. Even criminals have rights, don't they? They get a trial, a chance to be free again. But once you're in that prison you're there forever.

[His hand grips the table, and he's trying not to look angry, but it's really hard. It's not just the prison- it's like the whole world went crazy. What they did to him, what they did to Teddy...]

That's what made it so bad. Maybe if they'd thought about it more, the SRA could have worked for everyone somehow. But for heroes who've been fighting to save the world for so long, risked their lives and never asked for anything in return, it was a betrayal. We weren't even criminals to them. We were like... wild animals they needed to put down.

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