selfhelp | [IC] Appointments Post

[He closes the book and tucks it away.] Just a bit of fiction. Not anything all that interesting, I'm afraid.

You have been well, I trust?

[But fiction is always interesting...! But fine, fine.]

Pretty well, yeah. Half the team's missing right now, so I'm trying not to get too worked up, but otherwise...

[He shrugs.]

What about you? Anything happen to merit this, or did you just miss me?

Missing? Oh, have they all been taken?

[He grins.] Oh darling, I always miss you. [Stop being such an asshole, Loki.]

Though I had an interesting little conversation I thought to share.

[He opens his journal to a marked page and nudges it across the table to Billy.]

Kate and my brother have, yeah. Teddy's still around, otherwise I'd really be a mess.

[Billy glances at the journal page, caution entering his expression when he sees where it's coming from. He's honestly been avoiding all things Malnosso after his last abduction, and the mess it created for everyone involved, so it's with great reluctance that he reads what Loki pointed out. Still, it's impossible to ignore those words.]

...That... sounds more serious than a computer glitch.

Ah. If Teddy is ever taken, you know, I expect you to come to me, Billy. You ought not be alone for that.

[Yes, he is serious.]

Yes. I don't quite know what it means yet, but it strikes me as significant indeed.

[Billy hums a quiet, non-committal response; Loki would certainly hear about it sooner rather than later, if Teddy was captured, but since he isn't, he'd rather focus on the issue at hand. He flips back a page to see if it comes up anywhere else, and while it isn't the focus of everyone's reactions, Loki's response isn't singular. It earns another "hmm" out of Billy, as well as a muttered comment,]

Big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey... stuff...

[Time paradox? Is that even possible here?]

Any theories?

...yes, basically.

[Loki shakes his head.]

Not yet. I need more than a single conversation with an idiot.

But what I think the most compelling question is...if this is truly time out of joint in their locale, is it but a single occurrence that will be corrected? Or will we soon be subject to this discontinuity ourselves?

Wrong answer!

[Teddy follows the movement, though doing so makes him pause for just a second in an attempt to get his hands back on Billy's sides. If Billy wanted a chance, this it!]

[He'll definitely take it. Another moment of wriggling, and then, when he sees an opening in Teddy's posture, he tucks up his knee again and shoves against the ground, letting it give him just enough momentum to twist he and Teddy around. He moves his hands to Teddy's forearms, pinning them down. Even if they both know Teddy could get him off with a shrug, with anyone else, that would count as a victory.]

Ha! Pinned you!

[Teddy's caught a bit off-guard by that, seeing how he hasn't grown up with little siblings and thus isn't used to the tactics used to squirm away from them. He could've easily stopped Billy, but he still ends up on his back and not fighting the pin whatsoever. Instead, he lets his laughter trail off breathlessly, smile still on his face as he struggles against the grip weakly.]

Hey, lemme up...

I don't know, maybe I should make you surrender.

[It's half-teasing, half-serious, though Billy's grin gives away what side he's leaning to. He looks far too pleased with himself, and he leans in close, almost touching noses with the blond.]

How badly do you want up, huh?

[That grin of Billy's is mirrored onto Teddy's face, the mirth and humor of it all infectious and even making those dimples in his cheeks appear. Still, he stays still, hands curled into loose fists.]

Bad enough to risk letting you do your worst?

Tough talk from someone who doesn't know what my worst is.

[Billy's fingers inch upwards, working towards the underside of Teddy's arms.]

Just give in, and maybe I'll be merciful. You are kind of cute, after all.

[Teddy bites his lip, his arms automatically moving away a little to try getting away from those suspicious-looking fingers. He can feel the sensitivity of Billy's touch start to fade, and he shifts the nerves in his body to make it stop happening - kind of hard for Billy to be teasingly threatening if Teddy can't be tickled for it. Probably less weird, too.]

Hmmm. You might have to flatter me a little more to get me to give up...

[Billy quirks a brow at that - hmmmm - and gets his legs hooked between Teddy's, so he can't move them much either. He bends down, getting his head beneath Teddy's chin to give his neck a little kiss and a nip.]

Awfully bold of you, the prisoner making demands of his captor.

[And here Billy's calling him bold. Teddy raises his brows at that, but still slowly tips his head back - now, this is the type of teasing that his body can get behind, and it's a relief to not have to fight his own instincts for a brief moment.]

I wouldn't really call them demands. More like... requests?

[True, they aren't exactly isolated out here, but Billy isn't feeling particularly shameful about it, and they are somewhat hidden behind the tree. Regardless, he tilts his head to repeat the gesture a little higher, tongue teasing over the spot where his teeth had grazed the skin.]

Mm... guess that's okay. Then I'd say... my prisoner isn't just cute, he's handsome, and awfully irresistible, to boot. I could kiss every inch and not get bored. And even if he wasn't hot as hell - which he is - I wouldn't be able to say no to his personality, which is, impossibly, even more attractive.

[He kisses again, suckling and scraping, trying to get that ever-elusive hickey that never sticks around on Teddy's healing body. Between attempts he keeps talking, half-muffled, but clear enough to get the words across.]

See, my prisoner... he's so thoughtful, to come up with an idea like this, to bring me out here... show me something he knows I'd love, give me this awesome meal... and make me laugh...

[Finally he draws back, licking his lower lip idly before it settles into a softer, more genuine smile instead of his earlier grin, meeting Teddy's eyes.]

...Well?

[When Billy pulls away, it's clear that Teddy had had his eyes shut, even knowing how risky that is in the hands of a tickler, to enjoy the sensation against his neck, and a light blush on his cheeks as well due to both that and the compliments he'd received. He's not sure if he really believes all of that, but it's still so nice to hear - and feel, on top of that.

But once the sensation fades, Teddy opens his eyes to look at Billy, and - god. God, he could stare at that look on Billy's face forever and get utterly lost in it. The sincerity, the love and adoration; it all makes Teddy dumbstruck for a moment, and in that same moment, not afraid at all of the question he wants to ask.]

... Yeah. Yeah, all right... I give up. I surrender.

[Billy smiles down at him for a moment longer, then moves his hands to Teddy's face instead of his arms, holding him like that as he leans in to give him a proper kiss, right on the lips, loving and appreciative and very grateful for this date idea of his.]

[With their hands and arms positioned the way they were, Teddy ends up with his palms against Billy's ribcage as he shuts his eyes and opens up to the kiss, making it a bit more intimate. Do it, his mind keeps shouting, do it do it do it, but it's quickly driven out by the fact that 1, this kiss is pretty awesome, and 2, he's not exactly in a position to do what it's telling him to do. And he rather likes the position he's in, anyway.]

[Billy is none the wiser to Teddy's turmoil, but he's fine with the position they're in right now, too. The kiss lasts much longer than the ones he'd left at Teddy's neck, and when he finally pulls back, flushed and breathless, he can't quite resist giving Teddy one more peck on the lips before he shifts away, straddling the blond's legs instead of holding him down.]

Mm... that was a pretty nice surrender, Altman.

[For a moment, Teddy remains on his back, just as flushed and breathless, in order to get some of his clarity back.]

Ha... You're the one who made it happen, Kaplan.

[Once that moment passes, Teddy pushes himself up on his elbows and looks up at Billy, still straddling him and all...]

Sooo... gonna let me up?

Working on it. It's a multi-step process.

[He's close again, now that he's sitting up. Billy leans in for one more kiss before he finally rolls off of Teddy's legs, standing up and dusting his pants off.]

There, you're free. Never say I'm not merciful.

[The kiss has Teddy smiling, and he too starts to move, though he rolls to his knees and stays there as he dusts at his back and butt.]

Yeah, yeah. Freedooooom and all that.

[Then, as he gets into a kneel, he looks up at Billy, and...

This is it, he tells himself, and he realizes that he's frozen in place. He's suddenly very aware of the fact that there'll either be more kisses after this, or an awkward tension to the air as they walk home in silence. Visions of the latter make that fear jump right back to his stomach, but he can't just let this moment pass him by again, not when this is the reason he asked Billy out on a date in the first place.

In a way, Teddy does it to force himself into asking the question. What he does is just ask one thing first:]

Could you stay standing for a minute? I need to tell you something...

[Billy's smiling at the half-quote, amused and exasperated because it was so obvious, and even Teddy knew it. The smile fades into curiosity at Teddy's unusual request- why would he need to stay standing just so Teddy could talk? He offers a hand out as if to help him up as well, brow quirking.]

Sure, fire away.

[He can't imagine Teddy would do this. He can't imagine they'd be ready, that Teddy would want it now, that after everything that's happened, Teddy would be able to make a decision this huge yet.

So he has no idea. No idea.]

[IC] Appointments Post

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