Sarah Altman knows who Billy Kaplan is long before she ever lays eyes on the boy.
She knows him from the way her son says his name.
From the way he speaks about him with reverence.
From the way just the sound of his ring tone makes Teddy's face light up like nothing else.
She knows that Billy Kaplan is special.
Because her son wouldn't have chosen someone who wasn't.
Still, when she finally meets the raven haired boy who's captured her son's heart, she can't say she isn't surprised.
The first time she opens the door to her apartment and sees him standing there he doesn't look like much.
The boy is just a tad shorter than Teddy, his hair just the right amount of being too messy and he looks scrawny compared to her son's other friends.
His voice is timid, if not down right shy and she can't help but dislike the way he's avoiding her gaze.
She lets him in any way and calls Teddy down from his room.
She continues to stare at Billy Kaplan as they wait for Teddy to come out and still she can't see anything remarkable or special about the boy.
Not until Teddy enters the room.
Then everything about the boy seems to change without changing at all. It's like watching a shift that's so subtle she can't quite name what's been changed.
Teddy merely had to stand next to him and suddenly she could see it.
How his shortness made him the perfect high for Teddy to place his head on top of his while holding him. How his hair was just messy enough to be cute. Even how his lanky frame was perfect for Teddy to hold and protect.
The more Teddy looks at him with his besotted expression, the more lovely the boy seems to become.
There's just a softening in his features as he looks at Teddy. An adoring look in his eyes that is aimed right at him.
They step together without a word between them, in a way and at a distance that can't be mistaken for anything other than intimate.
Somehow Billy's voice seems the perfect volume as he mutters a quiet: "Hey T." To her son.
Teddy's smile is blinding in return as he automatically touches Billy's arm in a half grasping and half caressing motion.
His voice is just as soft Billy's as he replies.
"Morning B."
For a moment she feels almost like an outsider in her own home as she watches them.
They've completely forgotten that she's there and she finds that she doesn't mind.
It's comforting to know that in a world devoid of Skrull or Kree influence that Teddy can have this kind of life.
A safe normal life with a safe and normal boy who seems to adore her son as much in return as he does.
So as she watches them leave for whatever activity they have planned for the day she can't help but smile as she sees their fingers intertwine once they think they're too far away for her to see.
Because it's not everyday she gets to see something so special.
I wrote the first line and just kind of rolled with it. I must have written one line a day for like the past month. I wrote this last one and thought: I'm done. It's over. Time to cut my losses and move on. I've got much better Wickling ideas to work on.
Please just read and review.
Yours truly,
Jessica499499