selfhelp | [Action, July 11th-13th]

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[Action, July 11th-13th]

[To say that Billy is a bit of a basket case right now would be a severe understatement. His mom is here. His admittedly teenage and therefore doesn't-know-who-he-is-and-kind-of-alternate-universe mom, yes, but that doesn't seem to make the intensity of his feelings about the matter any different. One small comfort is that they're getting along (so far), and their shared powers gives them common ground, but there's still that lingering... risk that he can't stop thinking about. That he won't be able to keep his secrets, that eventually everything will come crumbling down. He's terrified of that.

The first day, he does little else but fret and mull over it, after separating from Wanda; Teddy's kind enough to cancel any of his daily doings, since he's in no state to be pretending like everything's normal. It had been hard enough with Wanda the first time. Today, though, he feels much better. His head is more clear, he's found his center of calm, and he spent at least half the day and night before meditating so he figures he has a firm grasp on his sanity again.

There are certain things that he knows he needs to do, especially since he ditched all his usual priorities the day before, so he's made himself a list, and today he's going through it all. It is as follows: He swing by the art gallery and removes some of his work, namely anything that features the Scarlet Witch (only a couple of pieces, mind you, and they're his, but art theft is still art theft). He attends training with Logan and begs for forgiveness about skipping the day before (beg may be an overstatement of what actually happens because he isn't really sorry at all). He'll attend X-Men Training and try to perform decently despite feeling ridiculously scatterbrained. And finally, he'll probably talk to some Very Important People in the process of completing the rest of his list.

In the end, well... he's decided to track down Wanda again, maybe not now, but some time in the near future. Because despite his fears and misgivings, despite everything he's likely to say to everyone else - that it's a bad idea, that he'll mess things up, that he'll accidentally reveal himself - the temptation of sharing his powers with hers, teaching her, helping her, is too strong to resist. This is about more than a lost family, now. This is about magic.]

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[She's been worried, of course. Ever since she got the message from Teddy that Billy wouldn't be at their home the day before, Pepper's wondered what happened. But she knows just how hard it can be to bear that news, so she doesn't question Teddy, instead letting the conversation end with a short thanks. Hopefully when Billy feels up to it, he'll give them answers.

What she sees when she runs across him next, however, provides anything but.]

Billy? [Of all the things she expects when she walks into the art gallery, seeing someone taking down one of the pieces isn't on the list. But it isn't only a single drawing, as Pepper realizes when she sees the gaps nearby.] What's going on?

[He jumps at the sudden voice, twisting around, one hand on his chest, the other gripping the sketch he'd been in the middle of rolling up.]

Oh my god. Pepper! Um. Sorry. I didn't know you'd be here today.

[God, they're his pictures- why does he feel like he's been caught red-handed pillaging the place?]

I'm here every Friday. [Every weekday, in fact, unless the Malnosso intervened. But it's a retort given without thought, because the apology isn't an answer. So she looks to Billy again, meeting his gaze.]

Billy, what are you doing? Why are you taking down your drawings?

[Oh, right, explanation. Um.]

I was gonna leave a note. And it's just... a couple. The ones with the Avengers.

[He's still wide-eyed, chewing idly on his lower lip, searching for a good explanation for this.]

[Hopefully he finds it soon.]

But why? Did something happen?

[Especially since she's not letting up. Pepper takes a step forward, that old worry renewing itself as she tries to figure out what on earth could have caused this.]

[He fidgets, going back to rolling up the drawing as gently as he can while still being in kind of a hurry.]

Um... I don't know, I just figured it was time for something new... I mean, they've been up for months, wouldn't, like, a landscape be nice...?

[Wow, he is so terrible at this. He could always teleport away, but that'll just bite him in the ass later... ugh, he was really hoping he wouldn't get caught.]

[He really is bad, yes. Especially to someone who is used to dealing with Tony Stark's fast-talking on a daily basis, and Pepper crosses her arms over her chest. As worried as she is, sometimes there has to be a line, and she doesn't answer the question about a landscape. Instead she just looks at him expectantly, waiting for him to answer what she's already asked.]

[Goddammit. Somehow her quiet look is more effective than an actual argument, so he finally just groans and leans back against the wall with a quiet thump, looking down.]

Yeah, it was a stupid idea anyway. Um... you remember how I said my mom was an Avenger? The Scarlet Witch?

I'm not saying you have to leave the pieces up; they're your artwork. [And if Billy truly wants them removed, then Pepper will do so. That's always been her policy, after all. But to make that choice so suddenly, and his attempt at just sneaking them away--both of those things have gotten her concerned, and she closes the distance between them as Billy slumps back against the wall.]

I remember, yes. [She can even pick out the woman in the piece Billy had been trying to take down when she got in. Her eyes move to the artwork, then back to him as she waits for Billy to go on.]

[He fidgets uneasily, glancing over at the sketch. She looks different, yes, but there are names on the sketch, and he has no idea if she has a costume, or could eventually get one, and maybe there are similarities, and- ...it's just risky. There's too much he doesn't know yet.]

She's... actually here. In Luceti. But she's no older than I am, and... I don't think she's from my universe, either.

[To say it's awkward would be the most severe of understatements.]

[She doesn't say anything in reply at first; instead Pepper stares at Billy as each part of what he says sinks in. His mother's there, but not the age she should be, or even from the right place. Instead she's from a time before Billy's birth, and a universe where he may never even exist.]

Oh...oh god! [Then it clicks, and Pepper again looks to the artwork with new understanding.] And you don't want her to see something that could have her asking about her future--or the future of her alternate self.

That's the gist of it, yeah. I don't think it's right to tell her about a future that might not even happen- [As scary as it is to imagine that-] So I figure, better safe than sorry, right?

I see. [She could definitely understand those reasons. She hadn't wanted to hear a lot about Billy's world because her thinking had run along those same lines, after all. But when it came to parents things got so much trickier, and Pepper thinks back to a particular meeting on a bridge.]

Does Tony know about this yet? If you were going to tell him.

Edited 2013-07-14 04:42 (UTC)

Not... yet. [His response is uneasy, since he's still not sure about who he's even going to tell about this. It actually wasn't his intention to tell anyone beyond Teddy and Kate.] I was gonna go over there after I finished up here. To be honest, I wasn't really sure what to tell him about why I missed yesterday...

[There's a lot to be read in that pause, and Pepper nods slowly.] Here. I'll help you take down the pictures. [And think of ways to rearrange the display in the meantime.

First, however, is the matter of Tony, and why Pepper brought him up specifically.] You could tell him the truth. He might understand better than you think. After all, he went through something like this with Howard.

[He murmurs a quiet "thank you" for her help, getting the sketch he's still holding carefully rolled up. Thankfully he hadn't wanted to spam the gallery with his fanboying, so there were only a couple of pieces to bring home.

Howard, though... he'd forgotten about that. He had barely spoken to the man - a mutual lack of interest as well as very little in common, really - but he hadn't been aware of how the situation with Tony had gone.]

That... makes a lot of sense. I didn't think of that.

I think it's safe to say you've been pretty preoccupied. [Her smile sympathetic, Pepper moves on to the next piece, lifting up the frame and turning it over to open it.] But maybe Tony's experience can help you some--even if it's just by giving you someone to talk to who will understand.

[Preoccupied is definitely the word for it.]

I guess I can't complain much when I know I'm not the only one. I mean... at least we get along. It could've been a lot worse.

That's true. [It could’ve been like Howard and Tony were, before or after Howard found out the truth. But Billy’s history with his mother was vastly different that Tony’s. She’d encouraged him even without realizing Billy was her son, while Howard never seemed satisfied with anything Tony did.] And maybe you’ll have the chance to know her in a way that wouldn’t be possible in your world.

...Yeah. Don't get me wrong, I'm... happy. Mostly. I know that we can still be friends.

[It's that awkward, unspoken secret that's bothering him. The thing that will probably hang over his head every time he sees her or speaks with her.

How long can he hide that?]

But you can’t be her son. [Which has to be a heavy weight for him. She’d seen all the ways Howard’s presence got to him, before and after he’d found out the truth. It isn’t exactly the same; Billy’s relationship with his mother is much better than Tony’s with Howard. But maybe that makes it harder in some ways.]

I think it’s important to remember what you do have. Get to know her. That may help you figure out what to do too.

[More like he has no relationship with her. They've never met. But he's been dying to, all this time. Ever since Kl'rt revealed the truth about him.

Her words ring true, though, and he can't help but acknowledge the wisdom of it. Even if he wishes he couldn't.]

Yeah... I guess I've got a lot more thinking to do.

I guess so. [She smiles sympathetically to him as she hands over the last piece. It isn’t easy, but she’s sure Billy will do what’s right.]

You know I’m here if you want to talk, right?

...Yeah, I know. [He stands there awkwardly for a moment, then tucks the rolled piece against his shoulder, smiling weakly.] Does... that mean I'm forgiven for the art theft?