Title: When Words Are Enough
Author: animehime20/serina-phantom
Fandom: Young Avengers
Pairing: Teddy Altman(Hulkling)/Billy Kaplan(Wiccan)
Rating: T
Disclaimer: I do not own Young Avengers.
Warning: Some spoilers, perhaps, from Young Avengers, Young Avengers and Runaways: Civil War and Avengers: Children's Crusade.
Summary: A collection of 50 words made into single sentences revolving around Billy Kaplan/Wiccan and Teddy Altman/Hulkling's relationship. For they are meant for each other, and they wouldn't have it any other way.
Me: Hello, everyone! My name is Ke-chan, more commonly known as animehime20, but I am also known as serina-phantom. Well, actually, that one switches between me and Lucy, or me and Lucy together, but you all get it.
Lucy: Anyway, Ke-chan and I are new to the Young Avengers fan fiction world, so we're both a bit nervous about it.
Me: We both discovered Young Avengers during the summer, and we got really in to it. One of the things that attracted us was that they had a canon gay couple, and that's a great thing for Marvel, so we got really in to it immediately.
Lucy: Ke-chan and I have quite a few fan fiction ideas for Young Avengers, but we wanted to post something like this first before we did anything else, more or less to get our feet wet with it before we dive in to the pool.
Me: We hope everyone will enjoy this, and we hope our fan fictions will be good in the future.
WHEN WORDS ARE ENOUGH
01. LOVE. If someone had asked him three years ago what he was, Teddy would have answered, "A mutant."; if someone asked him now, Teddy would smile and say, "I'm in love."
02. TEARS. He lays awake the whole night fighting back tears and pillowing his head on Teddy's chest, feeling Teddy's tight arms around his shoulders, listening to the flutter of his heartbeat, just trying to reassure himself that they're alive and safe from the Warden.
03. FLYING. For their first date, they go flying; Billy and Teddy both agree it was the best first date in the history of first dates.
04. SORROW. Physical pain is something he can live with; the emotional pain when he watched the Warden stab the scapel in Teddy's abdomen was so much worse.
05. DEATH. Everyone was more than certain that—when Hulkling perished in the battle—Wiccan would go insane, but he didn't because Teddy had helped him learn control; he just screamed and cried and cursed and sparked until he collapsed into a deep, tear-stained sleep a few hours later.
06. HEAVEN. This is heaven, Wiccan decides as he curls up in Hulkling's arms after the Skrulls and the Kree finally depart.
07. COLD. And in that moment, with the gaping hole blown in his apartment wall, Teddy captured by the Super Skrull, and his mother weeping in his arms, it seemed to Billy that the whole world had gone cold, and nothing would ever make it warm again.
08. JOY. For Billy, the greatest source of joy is sitting on a couch coiled against Teddy while watching a movie marathon, listening to him laugh every time Billy "fanboy spazzes" about the characters and the scenes.
09. HELL. This is what Hell must be like, Teddy thinks as he awakens to find Billy's side of the bed totally empty and a single letter trying to explain his invasion of Latveria.
10. JOKE. Tommy's mocking question on whether or not Billy danced naked in the woods with animals as a part of some creepy witchcraft ritual earned him a punch in the nose, a black eye, and a free trip to Mars—all of which Teddy found hysterical.
11. WITCHCRAFT. After waking up naked in a briar patch with his hands bound, Tommy vowed to never mess with Teddy when Billy was practicing his magic ever again.
12. SPRING. Hawkeye knows why Wiccan loves the spring so much—it's green, just like Hulkling.
13. KISS. Their first kiss was much more an act of impulse than anything else; and as they looked back on it, every kiss that followed paled in comparison to how wonderful the first was.
14. SIZE. Teddy was completely embarrassed when he finally realized that when Billy had asked him what size he was, he was referring to clothes.
15. HURT. Nothing drives Hulkling closer to his namesake's enraged personality quite like seeing Wiccan hurt.
16. TASTE. He tastes like blood and grime and smoke and toxin, but after such a close battle and so many near-death experiences, Billy needs Teddy more than ever, and frankly, he doesn't give a damn what Teddy tastes like: he's Teddy, and that's enough.
17. LOSS. Wiccan thought losing his powers would be something he couldn't live without, something he'd give anything to get back; as he clung to Hulkling's back so they could fly away, he realized that he would give almost anything to get them back.
18. SPACE. Teddy can't help but smile as his boyfriend has a sterotypical fan moment aboard the Skrull ship, shrieking, "We're in space! Teddy, we're actually in space! Are you seeing this? Look! There's the earth! Oh my God, we're in space!"
19. NIGHTMARE. This is a nightmare, it has to be, Billy thinks over and over as the Warden stabs Teddy in the stomach once again.
20. FATHER. Billy has one sure-fire cure for the hiccups: "Teddy, you're going to be a father."
21. JEALOUSY. At first Teddy thought Billy was angry with him when he saw him glaring at him in the morning; then he realized that Billy wasn't angry, and that he was merely jeaous of Teddy's ability to shapeshift his hair into model-perfect strands every morning instead of fighting with a comb.
22. FEAR. Nothing made his heart hurt or his pulse race faster than when Billy blinked up at him with empty eyes and whispered, "Who are you?"
23. HATE. "I hate this game!" Billy declares as Teddy wins yet another round of Uno.
24. LUST. The moment lasts an eternity and is as fragile as glass: several breathless moments between Billy's lustful gasp and his quiet moan for more.
25. ANGER. The last emotion Teddy feels before he blacks out is anger: at Noh-Varr for capturing them, at the Warden for hurting Billy by jamming those damn devices into his ears, and at himself for passing out and leaving Billy to suffer.
26. HEARING. After Billy bellows "TOMMY!" for the fifteenth time that evening, Teddy is convinced that the speedster is trying to make him deaf.
27. ALONE. After waking up so many times with Teddy entangled around him, opening his eyes to the empty side of the bed only increases the pain that comes with the knowledge of how alone he truly is.
28. SUMMER. Teddy smiles and nods when Billy turns to him and murmurs, "Nothing's better than a campfire on the beach during a summer's night."
29. SUN. "Go away, sun," Billy grumbles, rolling away from the glowing yellow window and burying his head in Teddy's shoulder, determined not to let another Monday ruin his moment with his boyfriend.
30. MOON. As they lay in the fields, far away from everyone else, Billy realizes that the moonlight makes Teddy's eyes silver; silver is now officially his favorite color, besides green.
31. AUTUMN. As Teddy jumps into the pile of leaves and sends them scattering across the lawn for the tenth time, Billy tries to hide a smile as he asks, "What's the point in me raking them if you're just going to ruin them again?"
32. NOON. In school, 12 o'clock is Billy's favorite time—Teddy always sends him a simple text that says: I love u :)
33. LONELINESS. He knows he can't, but as he stands before the entrance of Latveria, the loneliness almost forces him to teleport himself back to the bedroom and into Teddy's arms.
34. KILL. When Wiccan suddenly sees the gunman point the machine gun at Hulkling, he shrieks the beginnings of a spell with enough power and anger to kill, but a worried look from Hulkling forces him merely electrocute the man into unconsciousness.
35. WINTER. With his ragged black hair and slim winter clothes, an old black bomber jacket (Teddy's) wrapped around him, Billy looks like some kind of huge raven, out of place in the city landscape—and when he shivers and leans against Teddy for warmth, Teddy is reminded of why he loves winter.
36. CYCLE. There's a cycle they seem to follow, unless they get really lucky or it's the weekend: wake up next to each other, kiss, go eat breakfast and get ready for school, kiss, go to school, text, meet up after school, kiss, go hang out together or do their homework (which ever comes first), make-out, get interrupted by some villain downtown, come home hours later exhausted, make-out, get interrupted by Tommy, chase Tommy (a pointless effort on Billy's part), curl up in bed hours later, fall asleep, and happily do it all over again.
37. SMELL. "I'm stealing your shampoo," Teddy declares as he emerges from the bathroom with a red bottle; Billy just rolls his eyes.
38. ANNOYANCE. Tommy knows exactly how to annoy Billy: "So, what's it like being a mom?"
39. EVENING. Friday night's are wonderful—Tommy's usually hanging out with Kate and Eli, his parents aren't home, his siblings are at their friends, and he and Teddy have the whole house to themselves.
40. REGRET. Teddy would never do anything to hurt Billy, and Tommy knows it; but that doesn't stop him from cornering him and saying, "Listen and listen good, Altman. Billy's my brother—break his heart and you won't live long enough to regret it."
41. TOUCH. Their fingers brush slightly during training—it's enough to make them both blush, Iron Lad flash them an approving thumbs-up, and Eli grumble.
42. LAUGH. Billy absolutely hates his laugh—Teddy's convinced it's his favorite sound in the world.
43. INSANITY. "I swear," Billy growls at the open door from his position on Teddy's lap, "if Tommy interupts us one more time—just one more time—I'm going to go insane."
44. HOPE. "You'll see him again," Cassie reassures; all Billy can do is nod slowly, look at the dark sky where the Skrull ship once was, and hope.
45. MIDNIGHT. It's more commonly known as the witching hour, and Teddy just won't let it go.
46. POWER. Billy's probably the most powerful of all of them, without really knowing it, and Teddy will be damned if he lets Cap and the Avengers lock him up because of it.
47. BLOOD. Wiccan hopes Hulkling won't notice just how injured he is; it isn't until the blood seeps through to the point of dripping and Wiccan collapses that Hulkling finally sees it, and everyone within two miles can hear his horrified pleas to his boyfriend and shouted commands to his teammates.
48. SEA. As they stood ankle-deep in the water, entangled in each other's arms and clinging as if they would disappear otherwise, the only sounds are their heavy breathing, their sobs, and the calming rush of ocean waves.
49. MORNING. It's too early in the morning to be awake after what happened in the Cube, so Teddy pulls Billy closer to his body to stop the offending sun from bothering him.
50. PERFECT. Billy Kaplan is viewed by most of his classmates as a nerdy teenager with ratty black hair, wide brown eyes, and a scramy frame; after a battle, he's Wiccan, a tiny superhero covered in grime and blood and muck who the Avengers view as dangerously overpowerful—and to Teddy Altman, Billy Kaplan is the most amazing person in the world, and he's 100% perfect.
Me: Yes! Three hours of typing and searching through dictionaries later, this fic is finally finished!
Lucy: I think it turned out awesome.
Me: I do, too, but then again, authors do tend to love their work. Anyway, I really hope it entertained the readers, and I hope it was okay.
Lucy: Please review kindly, as we are new to this and we're worried about it; if you didn't enjoy it, then please go search for something that suits your tastes. The internet is full of them, and there are some amazing authors of Young Avengers fan fiction out there, so go look some of them up too.