selfhelp | [IC] Appointments Post

[Teddy isn't sure if his words got through to Billy or not. Teddy doesn't know a lot of things about this situation right now; this is a foe that he's not sure how to beat. Something invisible, something stuck in a place he can't get to. And it's affecting the one thing that's most important in Teddy's life, badly.

Just because he doesn't know what it is doesn't mean he'll give up. He'll watch, he'll learn. He'll share this with him, no matter how much Billy doesn't want him to. He'll be here to take his hand and help him stand up again. No matter what it takes.

He slides his hands down to take Billy's in his own, trying to give him a presence. Something solid, something to keep him there, while his gaze drifts down to watch their hands. He may not be able to watch Billy cry without wanting to brush his tears away, but - but he's here. He'll always be here.

You're not alone, B.]

[He's not alone.

It's that recognition - finally, finally, because he's felt alone for so long now - that sinks in enough to let him relax, and he doesn't speak for a long while, just indulges in the comfort of Teddy's touch. He'd been so afraid of touching anything in that reality, like it would fizzle and disperse under his hands, and that version of Teddy had- no, the fake had-

....it just... hadn't felt right. A part of him worries that he's just indulging another fantasy, but Teddy doesn't feel like a magical construct. His head is a mess, but he... thinks he can recognize this much.

God, he hopes so.

Eventually he stirs, like wandering out of a dream, and half-looks up, fixing his gaze on Teddy's chest. He's afraid to look up, but he wants to see Teddy, watch his chest rise and fall, make sure he's there and okay and breathing. Strong. Capable.

He'd need that. Because-]

Teddy, if I... if something happens... you have to stop me. You have to promise. If I go bad...

["Go bad". Like he's food in the grocery store, past the expiration date. Used to be good but now there's so much rotten mess inside. It sounds ridiculous and yet undeniably accurate at the same time.

If I'm broken, just throw me away-]

No.

[The grip around Billy's hands tighten slightly, not enough to hurt, even though Teddy had to stop himself from squeezing that much. He can't believe what his boyfriend is suggesting - stop him, if he goes bad? Like he should be beaten down and thrown away just because of something he can't control?

Asking him to use his own hands to take away the one thing he has left in his life? The person he loves with every fiber of his being?

If he's broken, Teddy will just kneel down and put him back together.]

I can't promise you that, Billy. If something happens, I'll do whatever it takes to bring you back. You are not going bad, don't say that...

[Yes I am, he wants to argue. I'm already bad, look what I did to everyone, to you, look what I'm still doing now-

But it's Teddy. He shouldn't expect that of Teddy. Teddy always protected him. Teddy would fight to save his life if he had to. The wound on his leg had proved it last time.]

Maybe- then-

[If Teddy couldn't do it, there were always others. Loki had promised before. And- his gaze drifts to his shoulder, realization dawning. He'd been shot. Someone had actually shot him. It hadn't been fatal, but- he could've bled out, right? If he hadn't stopped? So it was possible.

Something clicks in his mind, and suddenly, unexpectedly, he laughs, though the sound is choked and without humour. It's so perfect. He'd never really understood it until now, how it could feel, how it could be such a perfect and easy solution.]

Just- put a bullet to me- bullet in the brainpan, squish-

[The laughter that he hears is so startling that Teddy lets go of Billy's hands, and he's just about to ask what's going on when Billy says that.

He knows the quote - He knows the quote, but the fact that he used that, the way he's saying it and how he looks and what he's looking at, and -

Teddy can feel a white hot fear spread through his body like a whip crack, starting from the hole in his heart his mother left behind and shooting to his fingers and toes and back again, and before he even knows it, he's got his hands tight on Billy's shoulders, and for a moment he doesn't even realize that he's holding Billy's injury. All he can think is no, no, please, god, no -]

Billy!

[Mom!

His eyes are burning and his vision is blurring, but that doesn't matter, that doesn't matter, this here is all that matters.]

[Billy cries out quietly when Teddy grabs him, sudden pain lancing up and down his arm- since he'd been unconscious already they hadn't drugged him, but he hadn't even noticed that it hurt until that moment. In a sense, though, it's good; the sensation snaps him out of his daze, and he finally looks up at Teddy again, taking in the expression on his face. Oh.

Oh.]

[It's only when Billy looks at him that Teddy realizes the way he's holding him. As if Billy's shoulder caught fire, Teddy jerks his hand away, all sorts of things going through his head. You did it again, you used too much strength again, look at you, you're not good enough and you can't even hold yourself back properly, you're so stupid, how could you do that, he's your boyfriend, you're terrible -

But that soon fades into another mantra in his head, Billy saying that line over and over, the laughter before it, the expression on his face and his eyes - And Teddy closes his hand into a fist and ducks his head, taking in a quick and shuddering breath.]

Don't. Don't say that, please, don't... don't do this.

[Don't let someone take you away from me. Don't let yourself fade.

Don't go where I can't go.]

I can't... please, Billy...

[For a long moment, Billy does nothing, merely watches Teddy as he speaks, allowing the reaction to sink into the fog of his mind. He should have seen that coming, should have known Teddy wouldn't take it well. He should have waited. It's not like he needs anyone's help to do this- when his magic's cooperating again, it would be so easy to just...

iwanttodieiwanttodieiwanttodie

The thought frightens him, though; a fear of being gone, a fear of what he'd come back without (because that happens here, he has to remind himself, death is pointless and what if he lost something important as a result?), a fear of doing it and having Teddy walk in after and-

He doesn't want to imagine Teddy with that expression on his face again. Startled, frightened, heartbroken. It would be so much worse and he wouldn't even be there to make it go away.

You're so stupid. Why would you ever think that would be okay? Haven't you done enough to him?

Isn't he worth living for?

It's hard to reconcile the desire to free Teddy from the terrible burden of his presence with the knowledge that he's all Teddy has left, so finally he just... doesn't. He tentatively reaches out his good arm to weave his fingers through Teddy's hair, stroking gently, hoping to soothe him from his fears. He won't say that again. He won't go.

Maybe if Teddy wants him to be okay, to live, badly enough, he can start wanting it, too.]

Sorry... that wasn't funny.

[It doesn't feel okay. It doesn't feel okay because he knows how Billy would react to this. He'd be stricken, cursing his foot-in-mouth syndrome and holding Teddy close and apologizing over and over and saying he'd never do it again.

This isn't even close, and, and, God, Teddy feels like he's losing him, like he's reaching out and can't get a grip, and Billy isn't reaching back, and why would he he doesn't love you anymore not like how he used to you're not worth staying for -

His own identity is unraveling, he's losing the person he loves the most - what else will he lose? How much more will he lose before it's enough? He doesn't have anything left to lose.

His breathing becomes more choked instead of settling down, and his body trembles, and he feels the heat behind his eyes give way to wet tracks down his face. He doesn't care if Billy sees, if the whole world saw him. The man Teddy knew and fell for is so far right now that reaching for him feels like holding his arm out across a river and calling for Billy to face him, and he isn't. It hurts so much to know that Billy's in a spot where he can't go, that he might walk away and be impossible to reach.

It hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts oh god]

Teddy?

[Billy's voice is soft, hesitant, and he ducks his head to get a look at his face. That reaction is... not what he expected, though he doesn't know what he did expect if not this. Teddy's crying. He made Teddy cry. How often does that happen?

Teddy never cries.]

Teddy- Teddy, no-

[He shifts his hand to wind around to the back of Teddy's neck, pulling him into a one-armed hug, the best he can offer with the other arm still injured. He hadn't wanted this. He hadn't wanted it at all.]

Teddy, I'm sorry... don't cry, I'm really sorry... please...

[God, he's such a fool. All the power in the world and he can't keep his stupid mouth shut. He's still hurting Teddy even when he's trying his hardest not to.]

I won't... I won't do anything, I won't say anything, just please don't cry...

[How can he stop? Billy is right there holding him the best that he can and Teddy still feels more alone than he did when he was stuck in the dark, barely able to move. It's worse, he thinks. Touching and yet not touching. He wants to just scream and hit something, break something apart, let out everything he's been feeling, distress and terror and rage.

He's in that dark room again, and it's even worse, and he can't do anything except cry against Billy's shoulder, he can't, he can't, he's losing him, he -

Stop.

You're embarrassing him. He's pitying you.

Stop.

No, Billy's better than that... Stop saying that about him.

Still, it's enough to make Teddy try to stop himself. It's easy. A little shift in the eyes, and the tears are forcibly stopped. The nose, and it stops running, even if it's still clogged. The lips, and they rise until they're back to normal, and his throat, willing it to loosen, expand, allow breathing without creating a hiccuping noise, without making it so hard to do so.

He's okay.

He's not okay.

He has to be okay.]

[Billy feels a wave of guilty desperation, aching with how severe Teddy's reaction is to such an idle comment. He's stupid- he's so stupid- how could he ever-]

I'm sorry... Teddy... Teddy, please... I'm so sorry, please...

[He's trembling against the blond now, struggling to hold him, not sure what else to do but apologize endlessly. He wants to take it all back, pluck the words out of the air and out of Teddy's memory and put them all back in his head, unspoken, where they belong. But he can't. Even with a spell, he can't. He'd promised.

No more magic.

He sniffs, burying his face against Teddy's hair, murmuring his apologies over and over again. Please, please, please, Teddy...]

[Hold the shift, hold the shift and you'll be fine, just hold it -

He tilts his head, just enough to get his mouth free, as there's something just slightly comforting about Billy holding him like that even if there's just a piece of him that's there. Teddy feels guilt of his own, for reacting like that, for making Billy near tears himself when he's cried so much already...

Just hold the shift and you'll be fine.]

Billy? [His voice is still choked and watery, shaky.

A shift and it's fine.]

Just... please, don't do that to yourself. You have people who want to help you... You have me.

[He lifts a hand, slowly, to rest it against Billy's heart, feeling the rhythm there and his own heart automatically pacing itself to match it.]

I'll bully this thing out of you if I have to. Don't think you're alone... please, don't... [Don't do it, please stay, please believe me, I love you, I don't know what I'd do without you - ]

[Teddy's so much stronger than him. It's something he'd known for a long time now, but to see it firsthand again- to watch him change and bring out that strength, it's-

He exhales shakily, shifting his free hand away from Teddy's back and resting it over Teddy's heart, feeling it beat in time with his own, taking comfort in the gentle thump-thump thump-thump of his blood being pumped through his body instead of outside of it, the sound of his life's drum. He feels that they're alive - that they both are - and... that Teddy wants this.

You have me.

Tears spill down his cheeks again, and he doesn't resist them or brush them away, just lets them fall as he trembles helplessly against Teddy. He leans in, seeking him out but afraid of what he'll find, afraid that Teddy will reject his touch after what he'd said. And what right does he have to follow or to draw comfort like that? He's the one who's hurting people, not...

God. God. How did they get so screwed up...?]

I'm here... I-I'm right here... I'll stay. Wh-what do you want me to say? To do? Anything... I'll... anything, Teddy, just believe me...

[When Billy leans in, Teddy doesn't hesitate this time. He wraps both arms around Billy and pulls him against his chest, chin on top of his head, careful with his shoulder. He strokes his hair and shuts his eyes, feeling the remnants of tears behind them and not bothering to shift them away. They're not big enough to fall through his mask.

Watch him push you away. You're not good enough. You weren't ever good enough.

Shut up, shut up.

He doesn't care if he's not the one, if only for an instant. Billy needs this, Billy leaned toward him, sought him out... That's enough.]

I want you to fight. Fight as hard as you can, because this will be tough. No taking the easy way out. Just think about...

[Who you want to be, who you were before this thing took you over, think about what it'd feel like if -

No magic. No easy way out.]

Think about what I said. You have me... I've got you. So let's do this together... okay? We'll solve this.

[Billy practically melts into his arms, slumping gratefully against his boyfriend and closing his eyes. One hand lifts to grip Teddy's shirt, fingers clenching tightly into a fist around the material, needing the physical connection and feeling all the more pathetic for it. He's a horrible person to demand more from Teddy like this, after all this, and when Teddy needs him he just can't-

"Together."

Let's do this together.

The words resonate in him, leaving him stunned and speechless for a long moment. Was that okay? To ask that of Teddy? To rely on him while he sorts out his own mixed-up head? This is what Teddy wants?

It doesn't seem right. But Teddy had offered. Teddy had asked for it. And he trusts Teddy more than anyone else in the world.

Without lifting his head, Billy stirs listlessly against him, his face half-buried in the warmth of Teddy's chest.]

...Things are going to get much, much worse...

[It's a safer quote, a relevant one, and geek references are their safe haven, their familiar territory, and even with his head still such a jumbled mess, it's an easy crutch to fall back on. Teddy deserves his honesty. It could get better. But it could get a lot worse. Even he has no idea.

But he'll fight, if that's what Teddy wants him to do. What he needs him to do. Teddy's worth fighting for.]

Edited 2013-10-20 03:54 (UTC)

[Teddy knows. Even gets the reference, since they seem to be stuck on that scene.

He understands Simon a lot better now.

Following the way it plays in his head, Teddy nods, though it only feels like a bit of pressure against the top of Billy's head, then moves one hand back to brush at Billy's cheek. He can't see the tears from this angle, but it's easy to remember where they fell.]

We'll get through this. [They will. For all of Teddy's doubts - They've gotten through terrible things before. They'll get through this. Even if it gets worse.]

[His response is slight, but pressed up against Teddy like that, the blond can probably feel it- the way Billy relaxes, trembling briefly before settling down again, feeling overwhelmingly touched by the level of support he's receiving. He still wonders if it isn't right, but... he's done fighting it. He's done arguing. He's trying to battle with the wrong foe, here.

His doubts, his mind, his power... they're the real enemies. So after a long, hesitant moment, he finally just nods, tilting his head enough to press his cheek into Teddy's gentle touch. He doesn't know how, and he doesn't know how long, but... they have to make it. Somehow. Someday.

Together, right...?]

[Like this, it almost feels like Billy really is shining through. It's enough to make Teddy believe his words more, find a tiny flicker of hope when the fake had suffocated the life of the roaring blaze out.

He tilts his head downward to press a long kiss against Billy's hair, enough to be felt, and brushes his thumb against his boyfriend's cheek. Billy believes him, even if just for this moment, so Teddy will believe in him, too, just like he always has.

Together.]

[In the end, they'd remained at the clinic for a while; Billy preferred his self-inflicted exile, though he hadn't said as much. He'd felt... safer, in a less-populated area, away from people he could hurt or those he'd hurt in the past. The days had blurred together somewhat, and he'd spent a great deal of them gazing out the window watching the birds, or listening to Teddy talk, or just... sitting, staring at nothing, lost in thought. Feeling the weight in his own head and pushing at it until it hurt. It was still there, persistent, frustratingly real. If not for Teddy, he'd probably have given up on trying by now.

If not for Teddy. Because Teddy is there, right there beside him every step of the way, just like he'd promised. It makes Billy feel one part grateful and one part ashamed at the same time, for giving up, for not waiting the way Teddy waits for him now. His possession, whatever this thing in his mind is, is just a feeble excuse for his own weakness. He'd failed, and... Teddy's still here.

That's why, finally, he's decided that it's time to go home. Teddy doesn't deserve this kind of exile; he's always thrived around other people, drew energy and affection and love from those he cares about. Trapping him in the clinic, away from everyone, stuck only with a few people to talk to, one of them being utterly mental, just isn't right. And even Billy, absent and self-pitying and- let's face it, crazy- has noticed the slight changes occurring every once in a while in his boyfriend. He has yet to make note of it out loud - Teddy can do as he pleases, Billy refuses to dictate what he tries or changes or shifts - and they're subtle enough that sometimes he misses them, but...

...it just doesn't feel right, that's all. So finally, one day - today - he turns away from the window for the first time in hours to seek Teddy out. His eyes are brown today, and exceptionally clear, with only a glimmer of pale blue remaining around his irises to betray the fact that he's still not quite right.]

...Teddy...?

[If not for taking up offers to eat, talk, or just plain get away for a little while, Teddy might have gone insane. Not from lack of affection or contact, though that would certainly play a role, but from his own uncertainty. There's still a haze of it around his mind, one that makes him ask questions that no one wants to hear, wanting to change to suit whatever they wanted of him. But at least it let him believe that some people still valued who he was.

The haze is not important to the one surrounding Billy's head, sometimes completely hiding him from the rest of the world and sometimes letting him peek in from a window. It's why he'd never said a word, just tried to figure out what Billy wanted out of him by changing himself slowly. Hazel eyes one day. A smaller nose another. Dirty-blond hair the next. Small little things that he'd shift slowly, enough to make it look natural, not wanting to be caught. Sometimes he'd get a response, somethings he wouldn't. It was pretty impossible to tell, thus utterly frustrating, as much as it had been when they first met and Teddy had no idea what he wanted.

The change today is in the muscle build of his body - it's a little more pronounced, like it had been when they met. He didn't interact with the fake Teddy very much, but he knew that he'd been quiet, strong, supportive, and capable, such a contrast from the broken person who tried talking Billy out of it. Maybe if he looked stronger? Maybe...

Still, Billy hadn't noticed. Billy hadn't noticed a lot of things. Sometimes it felt like Teddy would talk to a brick wall, and - and it was fine, he knew that Billy was struggling. But what he'd give to have the real, expressive Billy back, who'd sigh in exasperation or gesture with his hands while he spoke or talk animatedly and -

Teddy had promised that he'd be there for him, work together with him and see this thing through with him. And he has no intention on breaking it. It's just... it's hard. It's so, so very hard, harder than the internal debate and doubts he has with himself. It hurts to see the man he loves struggling so much, with the possession and with himself. If there was some other way he could help...

That makes Teddy blink and lift his head from the sixth book he'd been reading since their stay at the clinic, marking his place with him thumb. It's the first time Billy had looked at him in hours, even when Teddy would call him or try to talk to him...]

I'm here. What is it?

[Billy lets his gaze drift over Teddy's body, really seeing him for the first time- seeing the new muscle, absently wondering if he'd been working out while Billy wasn't looking or if this had been shifted. He hadn't been that big before. He wondered, too, if this was for Teddy's own sake, or...

He shakes it off, letting his eyes drop to his lap, pushing aside those concerns. It's not his place to question Teddy anymore. Even if he-

No. No. He can do whatever he wants. It's fine.

It's fine.]

I think... we should go home.

[Teddy sees the way he's looking him over, taking note of it. Did... that mean he liked it? It wasn't quite an appreciative gaze, but it was something. Something to make note of.

But what really sticks out at him is what he says when Billy looks away again. There's a small pause from Teddy as he lets that sink in. They should go home... It's been three weeks since Teddy has seen their place, their kids - pets (he'd wanted to see them, badly, but with all this going on, he had to ask Kate to watch over them), their - his room... And strangely enough, he'd missed it terribly. He might not ever think of it as his real home, but it was his and Billy's, something they made all on their own, placed little pieces of themselves in and shared new and old memories alike. It was where they started to shed their youthful innocence and step into the world of adulthood and independence together, it was where they laughed and cried together, shared all kinds of secrets, some whispered to the air as they shared stories of each other's lives, some pressed to damp skin as they made love.

It was shelter, and with Billy, it was home. And he missed it.

So Teddy closes his book, knowing he'd find his place later, and sets it aside, rising from his chair to get closer to Billy and touch his shoulder.]

I'm fine with that. [He wants to crack a joke, something like "I think our butts were going to fuse with the chair and windowsill if we sat there any longer", but would Billy appreciate that? Did he ever? There was always that touch of exasperation that Teddy always read as fond, but -

No, shut up, it's fine, it's not important right now.]

... I, um. I actually brought you something yesterday... for something like this.

[There's that guilt again, the wave of concern and stress and you're a horrible boyfriend and you don't deserve him and you've trapped him here and stop being selfish. Even now, Teddy's only going because Billy's finally suggested it, rather than choosing to go on his own. He's bound himself to Billy's choices, and Billy... does not make great choices.

He is this time, though. Today he is. He's determined. For Teddy's sake.

I want today... to be good for him.

When Teddy speaks up the second time, Billy looks up again, trying to conceal his guilt, trying to look, to be as normal as possible. He knows he's still too much of a mess inside and out to really pull it off, but the closer he gets, the better off Teddy will be, he figures. Maybe he'll smile again. Maybe they'll go home and curl up in front of the fire and cuddle and kiss and it'll be normal and perfect and

Normal doesn't exist.

Perfection is an illusion.

Stop it.

Stop it.

Teddy's waiting for you.]

What is it?

[Teddy doesn't move until Billy answers him, making sure that he was heard and his words were clear. The fact that they were makes a little smile come up, and he brushes the back of his fingers against Billy's temple before he moves again, this time back to the bed. Underneath it is something that he picked up while he was out for a little while, something that caught his eye as something Billy might like. He hopes so, anyway... He at least knows his size and preference: a size too large so that he can burrow and feel warmest in, pockets since his hands tend to get cold easily, a hood, and red, his favorite color, though a little darker than his cape.

Yes, it's a hoodie that he pulls from the bag, one that he holds by the shoulders as he walks back to Billy, showing it off for him.]

It's been getting colder outside. I figured you'd need this.

[Action, October 15th] IT WAS SO GOOD IT PUT YOU TO SLEEP

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[Action, October 21st] timeskip~

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