I don't own YA.
A Night Off
It was a Saturday night. Outside, couples and groups could be seen everywhere, enjoying an evening out they wouldn't have to wake up early after. It was a time of enjoyment and bonding, of letting go and unwinding, of fun - outside.
Inside it was different. Inside there was only one, a lonely teen who spent that evening like he did all others - in his "secret base", training for a fight against his very future. His teammates, usually eager to be there, were gone, having asked for a night off for reasons that were beyond him. He relented - rest was also important when preparing for war, after all. Yes, that's what he thought it was about. For one Nate Richards, Saturday night was nothing special, which was probably a good thing, seeing how he had no one to spend it with.
One could argue that neither did his teammates, at least the one who came back and ended up in the path of a wayward energy shot.
"Waaah!"
"Look out!"
Bright light filled the room with the discharge of electricity, enough to absorb Nate's attack and redirect it elsewhere. The happiness at neither suffering injuries was quickly subdued, however.
"...I set it on fire again."
"You did." Nate replied once he made sure Billy was ok. He then turned to put off the flames eating away at the wall.
"There goes the safety deposit", Billy muttered and gripped his staff with both hands, leaning on it. Nate smiled fondly before a thoughtful look settled on his face.
"Fixing it might be good magic practice for you." He hummed distantly and was rewarded with a mostly blank, mildly disturbed stare.
"You do realize I'm likelier to make the whole place crumble, yes?"
"Better here than out in the field, with innocents involved." Nate pointed out, and Billy had to agree, though reluctantly.
"That's true, I suppose."
His pose changed then, as did the air about him. He straightened up and threw his staff over his shoulders, holding it against the back of his neck.
"Well, I think we flirted enough."
"Fli-?!"
"Let's get some training done!"
Nate needed a moment to recover, but once he did, he found he had nothing to counter that with, and that he didn't quite want to, either. He set the simulation's difficulty, and they sprang into action.
–
It wasn't their first training session together, or the first one they teamed up, just the two of them, either. They covered basic maneuvers and strategies, Nate demanding they kept to the plan while Billy broke it, saving Nate in the process.
"Can we please not?" Billy asked and pressed back against Nate. The time traveler's face twisted into an awed expression and he glanced over his shoulder to find the other looking back, an almost amused smile on his lips. Nate took that look in, and how well they worked together, how secure it made him feel, to lean back and feel someone else behind him, supporting him...
This was it. This was what being Avengers was all about, he thought and charged up.
"If we keep this up, I might raise the difficulty."
Billy hesitated for a moment before replying.
"Sure, why not. Not like I have anything better to do. And it's not like Kang's set to 'easy'..." He growled and spun his staff, generating more electricity with every turn.
"Make it so!"
Knowing enough to pick up on the reference, Nate nodded and did as he promised.
–
"Next time you want to raise the difficulty-"
"I'll remind you to stop me."
The exercise ended with minor injuries and wounded pride. Both teens were on the floor, resting and hydrating themselves.
"You're improving", Nate said at the end of a short silence and turned to look at Billy quite enthusiastically, enough to make Billy shift uneasily.
"Yeah, I don't just set things on fire anymore, I burn them to a crisp, now..."
Nate shook his head. He wished, for a moment, that Teddy was there. Billy always seemed to accept compliments more easily from him, Nate thought - and then was oddly glad Teddy was absent.
"You use your powers more freely now. And the number of accidents is drastically lower than before. Yes, there's room for improvement, but that can be said about all of us."
It took him a moment, but finally Billy relented and accepted Nate's words with a shrug.
"I guess I'm making some progress. Still nowhere near Thor's level, though."
"That makes sense. After all, your powers seem to be more like the Scarlet Witch's-"
"Nowhere near her level, either!" Billy snorted, but somehow, Nate couldn't bring himself to object further. He knew by then how to tell Billy's self-deprecating jabs apart from such statements. This was a show of frustration with one's own strength and abilities, the kind that made one grow. A part of Nate wondered how powerful Billy'd become with proper training, and wished he had the chance to see that come to pass.
No, he will see it. That's what they were training for, after all. The four of them, even if right then they were only two-
That thought made Nate blink. It was just the two of them, because they agreed to take the night off. But there Billy was, in uniform, training. He did wonder about it before when Billy came in, and preferred to focus on that curiosity rather than the odd warmth that welled inside him.
"So... what happened to your night off?"
Billy blinked at first before trying his hand at a careless shrug.
"I got restless. I guess I'm not used to just lying around whole days anymore."
"It means your body's getting stronger!" Nate exclaimed, only to be glared at.
"It also means I have a harder time sitting through a movie. Kept feeling the need to move, to do- something. You ruined my life."
Somehow, there just wasn't enough venom in Billy's voice to concern Nate, especially in light of that smile that kept tugging at the corners of his lips.
"What movie did you try to watch?"
"Tread with care, young Padawan. You'll get me ranting."
"I think I can live with that."
Billy huffed playfully before blinking, a thoughtful look on his face.
"...no."
"No?!" Nate gasped and seemed hurt. He stared at Billy, who seemed unsure of whether or not the idea he had was a good one.
"No, I-" He tried before taking a moment to put his thoughts into words. "I could just show you. If you come over, I mean."
The concept itself seemed foreign, alien, even. Nate wasn't used to going out, least of all in that time-period. For a good while they just stared at each other, each waiting for the other to do or say anything first until finally, Billy shrugged.
"You don't have to. I just figured watching it'll take less time than having me tell you about it." He muttered, in the process snapping Nate out of his daze - shock, even.
No, that wasn't good! He wanted to go! To hang out with a friend, do something with someone that wasn't training or being bullied by them. He wanted to spend some more time alone with Billy, but it seemed that wasn't in the cards.
Just as Nate finally mustered the courage to answer, a look of recognition rose to Billy's face. There wasn't any reason for it that Nate could see, and so he looked behind him, only to swear inwardly. They were no longer alone, it seemed, and the person standing at the doorway, looking hesitant and unsure, meant the end of their quiet alone time. For if there was one thing Nate knew about Teddy Altman, it was that Billy had an unhealthy tendency to gravitate towards him, and the two could keep each other occupied for hours.
And there he was, just- standing there.
"Guess nights off aren't for you either, huh?" Billy asked, and finally Teddy approached.
"Looks like it" he said, tone stabilizing once he and Billy made eye contact.
"What did I catch you in the middle of?"
"Just a break" Billy replied easily enough, and the only thing rivaling the unexplained relief on Teddy's face was the annoyance Nate felt.
"Hey, Ted-" Billy's voice cut through the invisible tension again with ease that seemed unfair. "Tell Nate that getting me to rant is a bad idea."
"I'm not so sure, Kang does like to talk. We could consider it part of training."
He was rewarded with a staff to his side, and he pulled away. Billy settled down the next moment and looked back and forth between the other two.
"That aside, the offer still stands." He said, making Teddy blink.
"Offer?"
"Movie-night." Nate said, almost interjecting. Teddy looked bewitched by the mere concept, as though deciding how to feel about it.
"We could call Eli up, I'm sure he can make time for us." Billy added, in the hopes that would help tip either's opinion. Teddy looked from Billy's enthused face to Nate, who looked away before Teddy did.
"I was actually hoping for some movement..." Teddy claimed and earned a small 'oh' from Billy who rose to his feet at that.
"Well, we did sit down for a while. How about it, Nate? Are you up for another round?"
The smile Billy offered him was endearing, and Nate found himself standing before he could stop himself.
"Alright, I'm in."
"Ah, but Nate?"
"Billy?"
"...the difficulty setting."
"...right."
"What's up with that?" Teddy asked with a blink. He was first answered by a snort and a bratty grin.
"I'll tell you about it later, when it won't hurt Nate's pride."
It was a suggestion both other teens seemed comfortable with, as it spared Nate's pride and meant he didn't have to be there when the two interacted in that special way only they did.