selfhelp | [Voice/Action]

Entry tags:

[Voice/Action]

[Okay, so. Post-draft, he's given himself a few days of seclusion and bed-rest (apparently being infected with a zombie virus is exhausting), and even Billy can freely admit to himself that he's been pretty depressed lately, a fact for which he feels no shame considering that depression was well and truly earned. One can only spend so much time fretting, moping, and dwelling on one's own misery for so long, however, and today? He's decided that enough is enough. Billy will be going out today, limping around the village and visiting the people who were on the draft whose fate he's still uncertain of. The ones he can't find or has no reason to actually visit, he'll check with a light location spell, and he'll spend a few hours at Seventh Heaven people-watching out the window while he doodles in a book that Teddy had given him containing a series of patterns (much like this) that resemble inkblogs, and bit by bit Billy's turning them into something like this instead. It's been a tiring week, though, so you could always catch him napping on the table, instead.

At some point he'll attempt to find Peter, and when both a location spell and a teleport fails, he tries to teleport to the apartment he'd been staying at instead, finding it almost completely emptied. All he manages to dig up is a small cartridge that, after a moment of scrutiny, he identifies as a web fluid cartridge. His fanboyish glee at the discovery is tempered by the fact that the empty apartment means one more piece of bad news.

After his visits and window-watching is done, he'll return home to make the announcement, along with one more message-]

Hey out there... just wanted to let his friends know that Peter Parker went home. So... sorry. Yeah.

[Locked to Loki]

...We still on for tomorrow, or do you want to take a break? Because... you know. [Draft. Awfulness all around. He wouldn't blame Loki if he wanted to take a week off.

Later on in the evening he'll be over at Ben's barbeque, if anyone wants to bother him while he's there.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

If that's your worry, consider me surprised.

[Now that Teddy's awake and he doesn't have to be all ninja-careful about it, he gingerly wriggles a bit to get his legs the rest of the way onto the couch, stretching out and getting more comfortable in Teddy's lap. He doesn't care how plush the cushions are, boyfriends are always the best pillows. And they come with free pettings, too.

Once settled, he shifts his focus back to the book, lifting his hand to tap a finger lightly against the cover.]

Looks like you didn't get very far, though... having trouble with it?

[What Billy thinks is definitely true, especially the free pettings part, considering how Teddy moves his hand to start run his fingers through his boyfriend's hair. The question makes him sigh, and he opens up the book to the spot where he left off. It was that obvious, huh...]

Yeah. I got some of it, but a lot of it just assumes you know what you're actually dealing with. I think I need one of those "for dummies" books. This is... well... It's boring.

[With Billy holding up the book, Teddy underlines one sentence lightly.] See, listen to this. "Since normal physiology involves a vast number of applications of electrical forces, ranging from neuromuscular signaling to coordination of wound healing, biological systems are very vulnerable to application of supraphysiologic electric fields."

I don't even know what some of those words mean.

[Billy lowers the book to rest the bottom of it against his chest so that it's at a more easy reading level and scrutinizing the chapter in front of him. Good grief, Teddy, did you dig through the library's science department and find his dad's university textbooks or something...?]

Well. Have no fear, young Padawan, because your boyfriend happens to have been raised by doctors. [He pauses, then adds somewhat mildly,] And before anyone can point out that psychology has nothing to do with medical science, she also has the title of "mom" which makes her equally qualified. Now let's see if we can turn this into English.

[He brushes the tips of his fingers over the words, brows furrowing.]

Okay, you know how your body has its own electrical current, right? Atomically. Static electricity and all that. This is just saying that because your body's full of that current, it's really easy to get hurt when we get hit by more electricity than our body normally produces.

[He pauses for a moment to think again, then smiles faintly.]

So basically we're electric-types, but our weakness is electric attacks.

Edited (wooooord) 2012-11-05 11:02 (UTC)

[Hey now, most of it is understandable! ... Then sentences like that pop up and make Teddy zone out completely.

But the way Billy describes it actually makes sense. He knows how the body carries that sort of electricity; he'd paid good attention during biology and anatomy. So it's no wonder getting hit by more static ends up hurting...

... Then he just frowns and moves to tip the book back, just to get Billy's attention.]

Okay, first of all, that analogy makes no sense, because there's no way Pikachu could lose to a thundershock attack unless it was a low level against a high level, and even then, it's still not very effective. But it still makes a lot more sense than what I just read. And second of all, you, Billy Kaplan, are a godsend and please teach me more.

Edited 2012-11-05 11:09 (UTC)

I think first you, Teddy Altman, need to make up your mind.

[Clearly he should stay the hell away from Pokemon references, because he doesn't see the issue with that comparison- he thought it was rather clever, as a matter of fact, especially since he knows jack about Pokemon to begin with. His tone is playful, though, readjusting his grip to get a look at what's next.]

Um... the rest is basically just expanding on that- since we're so vulnerable to electricity, a lot of electrical burns are internal, because it doesn't take much current to hurt someone. Kinda how all those lightning bolts I shoot off in a fight can knock people out without making them spontaneously combust or something.

Ah. [... And his own tone becomes playful as he rests his palm on Billy's forehead.] So you're the high level Pikachu.

[See, Teddy doesn't mind the Pokemon references, as this just makes the lesson ten times better than anything any other teacher could do. But since it's true that Billy knows jack about Pokemon, he'll go back to stroking his hair and looking at the book. He kind of just wants to skip and see how to help dress a wound like that already, but might as well learn up on it as well.]

If it's all internal, then it'd be hard to tell how bad it is, right? Since it follows the current of the body, so it's in a different place than the entry or exit wound. Like a maze where just the start and end points are visible.

'Chuuuu.'

[Billy wiggles his nose, trying to look serious for a moment, but he gives up after a few seconds, brushing his finger over the current page of the book to tap at one of the diagrams.]

Yes and no- because the currents of the body follow pathways, like the veins in your body. We're mostly water, right? And water conducts electricity really easily. Wherever you get hit is what's going to take the most damage, and it'll travel through the body using the easiest path, so if you get hit here- [He pokes Teddy's arm-] It's a longer pathway to the important stuff- [Now he trails his finger up Teddy's arm, over his collarbone, then down to his chest-] Like here. But if you get hit here- [He pokes Teddy right in the heart this time-] -Bam. It's super effective.

[Teddy can't help letting a smile come over his face at Billy poking and touching him, and at the last one, he takes his hand and presses it against his heart.]

Ooh, critical hit. [And yeah. He knows exactly how it feels. But let's not talk about that.] So it's mostly all internal. What do you do about it? [He'll turn a page, moving on to treatments of such wounds.] "An electrically burned patient should not be touched or treated until the source of electricity has been removed", yeah... "Electrical injuries often extend beyond burns and include cardiac arrhythmia, such as ventricular fibrillation."

[He reads on a bit more, then raises an eyebrow and gives his attention to Billy again.] "Cardiopulmonary resuscitation"? Jeff does stuff like that, doesn't he?

"Does stuff", he says. [Billy grins, shaking his head quietly.] He's a cardiologist, he specializes in it. I only know as much as I do about this because of his breakfast time rambling. [He feels a slight pang in his chest at the mention, missing his family (not for the first time) like burning, but refrains from saying so. Teddy's the wrong person to talk about that sort of thing with, no matter how much he wants to see them again.] As for that, though, you don't need to be a specialist to know that stuff. It's just the long form of CPR.

[Remember that thing he did when making out with Jimmy Stidham? And getting coughed on by Nate? Uh-huh.]

[Uh-huh, Billy only gloated about it enough to ingrain it into Teddy's brain. 8|]

CPR, right. I know about that. [And there's an odd little eyebrow quirk as he remembers all those things connected to it. Thankfully Billy's stopped playing on Teddy's jealousy as that is, in fact, not a fun game to play, but that doesn't mean he doesn't look back on it with some slight bitterness.] I don't think I should try learning it, though. I might accidentally break someone's ribs.

[It's okay, Teddy, you're a much better kisser anyway. ♥

Billy is quiet for a moment at that response, mulling it over, then quietly sets down the book, closing his eyes.]

Mm... hey, do me a favour and Hulk-out your arm for a minute?

Huh? Yeah, sure.

[Though he's unsure what Billy's motivations are here, since Teddy hulking out his arm would kind of just prove his point, wouldn't it? But whatever; he'll straighten out the arm that was holding up the book to the side, then change it into Hulkling's arm as he slowly turns his palm up.

He'll glance down at Billy afterwards; What, does he want to see it now that the war is over?]

[Billy lifts his hands, eyes still closed, and feels his way up to brush his fingers over Teddy's arm, following the skin until it shifts into a texture not unlike hard leather, plated scales as tough as rock. He keeps his hand moving until he reaches Teddy's hand, he twines his fingers through Teddy's, squeezing firmly, showing no fear or concern when his skin brushes against talons, or the way his own small hand is dwarfed by the size of Hulkling's. His expression doesn't even change, looking as calm and content as he had the moment he made his request.

He holds Teddy's hand like that in silence for a bit, drawing comfort in the strength he can feel beneath that sturdy armored skin. Finally, he speaks up again.]

You remember that time during practice, back when we hardly knew what we were doing- when I lost control of my powers and fell out of the sky?

[He's almost tempted to shift his arm back, just because it seems like it might be easier on Billy if he had a human hand to hold instead of... this one. But he seemed to want this, so... Teddy keeps it this way, his own fingers closing around Billy's, and he can't help noting how his own hand is so much larger than the other's right now...

The way Billy would act around him while he was like this always awed Teddy, because he acted the same, like he wasn't huge and green and rough and intimidating. Even now, his expression didn't change at all, not even a twitch, and Teddy had been watching close. It never ceases to amaze him, just how much Billy loves him so much that he doesn't even care what form he takes. Within reason, of course.

The question brings back the memory; Nate and Billy in the air practicing air combat, and Teddy and Eli below doing their own ground combat routine. Nate had been further away, so he wasn't close enough to catch him when Billy's magic slipped out of his grasp, sending him towards the ground with a yell.]

Yeah. You scared the hell out of me back then. I shoved Eli away and ran as fast as I could to catch you.

[He can remember the way his heart pounded and how his chest seized with fear, even though they hadn't been together at the time. But Teddy was so head over heels that he knew even then that he never wanted to lose Billy, ever.]

Edited 2012-11-06 09:42 (UTC)

[The way Teddy continues the story without pause makes Billy smile- like that moment had made an impression on him just as much as it had on Billy himself. He'd been terrified, flailing and frantically chanting in mid-air to try and regain his focus, but inwardly all he could think was how he was going to die, not as a super hero but yet another stupid teenager being reckless, nothing more. But then...

...then, he'd been stopped before he hit the ground, caught and cradled in a pair of massive green arms, a shifted yet familiar face staring worriedly down at him. He'd been dazed from more than just the fall, he can remember. And that had been the first time he'd been held by someone so much larger than him and not felt afraid.]

You did catch me. When you were hulked out, too. Even though I'd been so scared of you at the start- like you were going to eat me for dinner.

[He rubs his thumb idly over the hard material of Teddy's hand, marveling at how different it felt from the skin of a normal human. That Teddy can do this so effortlessly is just- amazing. His eyes open, then, focusing on their joined hands, the contrast of white and green, human and alien, Billy and Teddy.]

[For Teddy, it wasn't just the fact that he got to hold Billy in his arms, or that they spent a second or two too long just staring at each other. No, for Teddy, that was the first life he'd ever saved a life. Sure, he'd done some good things before that, stopping a purse snatcher here, buying food for a homeless person there. But actually diving in and saving someone from imminent death... That was his first time actually doing that, even if the thrill and relief in his chest wasn't just from that.

The comment makes him let out a quiet snort, though his eyes remain on their hands. Yeah... Yeah, he remembers that, too.]

You kept staring at me like I was going to punch you in the face for moving wrong. Even though, out of us four, Eli was probably the one most likely to do that.

[God, and he remembers that they didn't even like each other at the start. Billy probably thought Teddy was too quiet and stone faced when Teddy was just having issues with trust just hours after breaking ties with his "best friend", and Teddy thought Billy was too jumpy and antisocial when he, too, was having troubles with trust as well as lack of confidence. And he'd been so scared of his Hulkling form; Teddy wasn't sure whether to be amused or insulted or even hurt. Back then, he thought they'd never be a team.

And look at them now.]

Edited 2012-11-06 10:38 (UTC)

Yeah, no kidding. And you never did- not once, not a single time, did you ever hurt me. Whether you were like this- [His thumb taps against the armored skin again,] Or not. You've never hurt anyone who needed your help. You're like the very definition of the gentle giant trope.

[He turns their hands together so that the back of Teddy's hand is faced towards him, then shifts them closer so he can press that same hand against his lips in a brief, tender kiss.]

Why would you ever think that you'd hurt someone else while trying to save their life?

Well... you know...

[There are arguments that run quietly through Teddy's head. He doesn't know how to properly do CPR, and even if he did, there'd be so many other things that could go wrong, like oh, did he mention he had super strength and it looks like CPR uses a lot of force? And just the wrong amount could lead to him making the situation worse rather than better? And what if his emotions get in the way? If it's Billy, what if he panics? There's so many things that could go wrong with his hands against someone's ribs like that.

But the thoughts soon putter out and drop completely as he stares down at Billy, feels that kiss against his hand. And... no matter how much he feels he can argue against it, he really can't think of a time, save for when he was a child and didn't know about his powers, that he actually hurt someone he wasn't fighting off. He'd always held it back; at first just to fit in and seem normal and not hurt again, and then to protect people and make them feel comfortable. It's become a natural thing now, not quite a conscious effort anymore.

So, any argument he has is forgotten by now, and he averts his eyes to look at Billy's hair instead, one clawed thumb gently stroking the back of his boyfriend's hand. Yes, he's aware of that blush across his face, and yes, he's aware that he's not even trying to shift it away. That was a very good thing for him to hear.]

I guess I could try learning it.

[Billy's response to that is a light laugh, shifting their joined hands to rest on his chest instead. With Teddy's hand shifted the way it is, it's too heavy to hold up for long, though he doesn't mind whether he keeps it that way now- he's made his point.]

Teddy, it's really simple. Learn it if you want to, not because you should. Or don't learn it because you don't want to, not because you think you can't. You're allowed to do that, remember? Do what you want? I won't gripe about you infringing on my territory, honest.

[Quite the opposite, actually. Teddy's spent far too much time in his life doing things that other people wanted him to do, being what they wanted him to be, and he could very easily have lost himself in the process. And how much of a tragedy would that have been, when Teddy, the real Teddy, is such an unbelievably wonderful, kind, and generous person?

Why would anyone ever want him to be someone else?]

Do what I want, huh...

[It's still something of a foreign concept. Just a year ago he was hanging out with groups, his hair, eyes, height and body shape completely different, even his personality somewhat different, just to pander to what other people wanted, just to be liked. And now here he is, being himself, feeling completely comfortable in his own skin.

He smiles a little, musing, while his arm slowly shifts back to human form and that blush on his face fades away.]

And now I guess we're playing memory games, because do you remember when I fell? After Iron Man shot me out of the sky?

Ha, how could I forget that? I was so mad at him, I was ready to shoot him right out of the sky.

[He looks so affronted that it might as well have been him who'd been shot out of the sky. Since the war began he hasn't needed any particular excuse to be angry with their world's Tony Stark, but attacking Teddy is the best reason in his list.]

[Pfft, he can't help feeling a little touched by Billy's anger. So he grins as he starts to stroke his hair again, as if to soothe him.]

Down, boy. [But now to talk about what Teddy wanted to say.] I didn't have any way to save myself back then, so all I could do was fall and make a crater in the ground. Good thing it isn't there anymore. Anyway... I was useless for a little while, and that's why I wanted to learn to fly. So that wouldn't happen again, so that I could be better at what I do, and help you guys more.

It's the same thing with this. I want to learn how to use this stuff [He glances at the book, seeing how his hands are either full or busy.] because I don't want to be stuck in the middle of a battlefield and not know what to do if someone I care about is hurt, or even me. I don't want to be a liability because I don't know how to stop something from bleeding. I want to help people.

[His smile widens a little.] That's why I wanted to get into the hero business in the first place. Isn't this the same thing? I just don't get to punch things with it.

[Teddy's words - on top of the hair-stroking - are enough to both mollify and sooth Billy, his expression relaxing enough to look content once more.]

Sounds like you've got the right idea. And you decided for yourself, so you get bonus points for that.

[He'd never thought he would be so proud of something so simple as thinking for yourself - the one thing he's never really had a problem with - but knowing what he knows about the difficulties Teddy experienced not that long ago, even the smallest victories are something to celebrate.]

I can teach you what little I know, but if you want to get really good at it, you should try to get lessons from the clinic. Experienced doctors can give you better advice than someone who didn't take anything more advanced than a basic first aid course.

Basic first aid is about all I can understand right now, so...

[Teddy's smile turns into a grin, and he leans down while he shifts his hair, turning it into a braided bun on either side of his head, and he gives his best puppy eyes while still grinning and even chuckling while he speaks.]

Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope.

[...ff. Fffff. Pffffffft. Billy tries his best to fight the laugh, but it fights right back, and the image before him is so ridiculous that after a moment of somewhat breathless struggle he finally clenches his eyes shut and lets it go, hands lifting to press against his face in an attempt to muffle it.]

Oh mmf- Teddy, you are- oh my god, you're the biggest dork. If Luke Skywalker ever caught you doing that-

[PFFFFFFT.]

[Action] clearly the only solution is to make more

[Action] i am okay with this

[Action] I thought you wouldn't mind

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]