Summary: Sometimes it seems to Billy like everyone is trying to steal his brother away from him.

Gypsies, Tramps, And Runaways

(They're all thieves!)

Part 1: Gypsies

Billy wasn't the jealous type. Not usually. Teddy would tell you, Billy wasn't any more possessive of him than the average guy was of his significant other. In large part, because he trusted that Teddy loved him back, and would never run off with someone else.

The same could not be said for Tommy. Not that Billy and his brother were dating or anything of the sort. But he didn't know if Tommy loved him. And he couldn't be sure that Tommy would stick with the Young Avengers.

He wanted him to. Both to love him, and stay with the Young Avengers. Because Billy really believed that Tommy was his twin, and weren't brothers supposed to stick together? But Tommy was . . . hard to understand. That was the politest way of putting it. He'd been on the wrong side of the law for awhile, and was unpredictable, impulsive, sometimes selfish, and he wasn't particularly fond of sharing his thoughts, if you wanted to go into detail. Billy knew he had reasons for acting the way he did. Tommy had been through a lot. More than anyone his age should have to. More than anyone at all should have to. Billy just wished that he would open up more, so that the team could help him work through whatever issues he had. But then, Tommy didn't seem too fond of the team as a whole either. He never hung out with them except when they went on patrol, or on nights when they had missions. All the rest of the team, they were all friends, but Tommy . . . Tommy didn't show any interest in being their friend.

In fact, the only person it seemed to Billy that Tommy had any interest in being friends with was that gypsy guy they ran into in the supermarket. Rajko. Tommy's "cousin" who wasn't really his cousin.

Tommy shared very little of his life with the team. It was assumed that Tommy was living in his room at their headquarters. They all had rooms there, but few of them used them for more than storage, or the occasional nap. Tommy seemed to spend more time in his than anyone else did in theirs, but when asked if he was living there, was evasive. And defensive. And paranoid, demanding to know who told them to ask him that. He flat out refused to talk about his parents, or if he'd contacted them, which Billy took to mean that he'd either tried, and it hadn't went well, or he was on such bad terms with them that he had no intentions of contacting them any time soon. Billy thought he would have been okay with it if Tommy had gone back to one or both of his parents to live with them, but for some reason the mere idea of Tommy hanging out with that Rajko guy, who wasn't his real cousin, grated at Billy's nerves like nothing else.

Tommy didn't talk about meeting up with Rajko, but it was pretty obvious when he did. He left their headquarters, or came back to it, wearing the fedora Rajko had given him, and a distasteful assortment of jewelry. Always several rings, and several necklaces, and several bracelets. Because just wearing one of each was clearly underachieving.

It ticked Billy off for reasons that he couldn't explain, knowing that Tommy was hanging out with his pseudo-cousin. But what really took the cake, was when that idiot Rajko had the audacity to track down Billy, and wanted to have a conversation with him.

"Hey." Rajko suddenly appeared in front of Billy as he was on his way to school one morning. "I want a word."

Billy jumped in surprise then glared. "You. Raichu, wasn't it?"

"Rajko," the gypsy boy corrected. "And you're Billy. Tommy's told me a little about you."

"Yeah? What did he say?" Billy asked warily. He wasn't sure he liked Tommy talking about him to his fake cousin.

"Not much, besides you guys might be brothers. Which, I must say, is a load of bull." Rajko gave Billy a cold look. "I don't know how you got him to buy that shit, but you and I both know it's not true."

"It might be true," said Billy. "And I think it is."

"I've looked at this from every angle, you know," said Rajko. "Tried to see it from your perspective, tried to see it from Tommy's. Tried to see what you could possibly gain from this. And I've still got nothing."

"I'm not trying to gain anything," snapped Billy. "I just think that he really might be my –"

"He's not."

"Kind of like how he's not really your cousin?" Billy asked.

"We're gypsies. We call all other gypsies our cousins. Ergo, he is my cousin. But he's not your brother. Not even your half brother. And nothing you say is going to convince me otherwise, because I know Tommy's mom," said Rajko angrily. "She left our way of life because she thought she was in love with a gadje, and now she can never come back. Not really. She wouldn't have cheated on the man who she thought was worth leaving behind her family, and everything she ever knew. Which means that you are not Tommy's brother, however much you look like him. I don't know what kind of a con you think you're running, and I don't care. I'm here to warn you to back the fuck off."

"Me back off?" demanded Billy. "You should be the one who backs off. I'm not running any kind of con. I genuinely think he's my brother, even if the how and why of it is complicated. But you? You're not his cousin. You're just some random guy –"

"No, I'm his family. And I'm not buying what you're saying. You're not his brother, even if you do look like him. And I don't like how you're influencing him."

"Influencing him how?"

"Messing with his head. Making him more like a gadje than a gypsy. Ever since he met you, he's been doing stupid, dangerous stuff."

Billy tensed. If Tommy had told his "cousin" about how they were superheroes, there could be trouble. Their secret identities in the hands of a stranger would be bad. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that not only has he been shying away from petty crime, he's actually been working to prevent violent crime. Last week he stopped a mugging, where the guy had a switchblade, and yesterday he jumped into the middle of a gang fight and disarmed everyone," growled Rajko. "I can see you asking him to stop pickpocketing and conning. That would make sense if, and I'm not saying I believe it, but if you really think he's your brother. I can even get you messing with his head enough that he won't let me pickpocket people when he's around which, by the way, is freakin' annoying. But making him think it's not just okay, but obligatory to try to stop people with guns and knives . . . you're going to get him killed you stupid gadje moron!"

"Tommy . . . he what?" Billy could barely believe what Rajko had just told him.

"He thinks he's some kind of hero! Claims he's turned over a new leaf, and I know it's your fault!" Rajko said angrily. "He was never like this before he met you."

"Did you think that maybe it was juvie that changed, him, not me?" Billy asked, even though he didn't believe that himself. Not with what he knew about the juvie Tommy was in.

"No, I don't think, mainly because he said, in so many words, that he was trying to be better so he'd fit in with you and your stupid crowd!" said Rajko. "So tell me, where do you get off telling him to jump headfirst into gang fights? Where do you get off telling him to turn his back on our way of life?"

"I never told him to jump into gang fights!" shouted Billy. And it was true. He'd told Tommy to take out the Super-Skrull, and the Kree army, and dozens of super villains, but he'd never told Tommy to take a stand against any crime he saw happening on the street. That Tommy would go and do that on his own made Billy feel very proud of his brother. Like he was getting through to him maybe after all. No, not maybe. Definitely. It was a very good feeling, knowing that his brother was actively trying to fit in with the team, in his own way, even if showing it was difficult for him.

"Well, you said something that made him think that's what you wanted him to do," Rajko shouted back at Billy. "And I'm telling you now, you need to stop it. Stop screwing with his head, stop pretending you think you two are brothers, and stop trying to make him like you! Like a gadje. Because he's not one of you. He's Romani. We're his family and he belongs with us! And in a month, he'll be leaving here with us."

"What?" Billy felt like Rajko had just drenched him in ice water. "What do you mean?"

"I mean gypsies don't have permanent residences. We travel. We'll be leaving New York, and we'll be taking Tommy with us," said Rajko.

"You can't do that!"

" Of course I can. He's family. He belongs with his own kind, and while I appreciate your friend giving him a roof over his head while he's in the city, you had to now it wasn't going to be permanent. He may plan never to go back to his father's place in Jersey again, but if he comes with us, eventually he will find his mom. You have to know that's what's best for him."

Billy found himself at a loss for words. He just gaped at Rajko. Tommy hadn't told him anything about never planning to go back to his father, or not even knowing where his mother was. He couldn't even imagine what it must be like, to never want to see one of his parents again, and have no idea where the other was. Unless you counted the Scarlet Witch being a third parent of his. And he wasn't positive that was true.

"So, what I'm telling you now is that you're not doing Tommy any favors screwing with his head like you are," said Rajko. "So knock it off."

"You knock it off," Billy growled at Rajko. "And don't think you can just take my brother away."

"Don't think that you can just take my cousin away."

The two teens glared at each other. And kept glaring at each other. For several minutes. Neither of them wanted to be the first to look away and admit defeat. So even though Billy knew he was going to be late to school, he stood there and glared at Rajko for all he was worth.

They might have stood there all morning, if not for a passing police officer who saw them and realized something was up.

"Is there a problem, kids?" the officer asked, looking at them suspiciously.

Rajko immediately broke his glare away and raised his hat to the cop. "No problem, officer. I was just leaving." He beat it out of there quickly after that, melting into the crowd as only someone with a log of practice at disappearing could do.

"Yeah, no problem," Billy echoed. "I've got to get to school."

Billy was very careful around Tommy for the next few months. He was worried about Rajko's threat of taking Tommy away, and did everything he could to give his brother a reason to stay. Thankfully, Teddy was very understanding, especially after he told Teddy about what happened with Rajko. Teddy didn't want to see Tommy leave the team either. They made an effort to hang out with Tommy more, and tried to take an interest in what Tommy did. As the first month after that conversation with Rajko drew to a close, Billy found himself growing more and more anxious, worried that Tommy would leave them. But he didn't. In fact, he never even brought up leaving the team and running off with the gypsies. And Billy was too afraid to bring up the topic on his own.

It was Cassie who finally breached the topic, without even meaning to.

"Hey Tommy, how's your gypsy cousin?" she asked one day while Tommy was watching some crime drama show on TV, and Billy was sitting beside him, doing homework during commercials.

Billy tensed, not sure he wanted to hear the answer, but also insanely curious.

"He's good. He's in New Mexico now," said Tommy, not noticing that Billy was turning green with worry. "We found this place that makes the best chimichangas ever in Phoenix."

"Wait, what?" Billy found himself asking.

"Huh?" asked Tommy.

"You . . . New Mexico? What?" Billy stammered.

"Super speed, remember?" said Tommy. "I can get to the other side of the country in seconds."

"That's so cool," said Cassie. "But what did your gypsy cousin go to New Mexico for?"

Tommy gave Cassie an annoyed look. Billy got the idea he didn't appreciate her liking to use the word "gypsy" so much, but he didn't say anything about that to her. "Most Romani don't stay in one place forever," he told her. "Most of us don't have permanent homes."

"So Rajko knows you have super speed?" Billy asked, dreading the answer. Because if Rajko knew that, then he knew Tommy was Speed. And if he knew Tommy was Speed, he had a good idea who his teammates were.

"No," said Tommy. "Or if he does, it's not because I told him."

"Then how do you explain how you get from New York to New Mexico every time you want to hang out with him?" asked Cassie.

"He kind of doesn't know that I'm still living here," Tommy explained.

"But . . . but how?" asked Billy.

"What do you mean how?" asked Tommy. "I just haven't told him."

"But they don't think it's weird that you're always disappearing?" Billy asked.

Tommy shook his head. "It's not like I'm pretending to live with them."

"What? They don't ask where you're living?"

Tommy shook his head again.

"I – what- why not?" Billy asked, indignant on his brother's behalf.

Tommy shrugged. "No one really cares what I do or where I live."

Billy wanted to protest that. Because he did care what Tommy did, and where he was staying. He just wasn't sure how to show it. Or how to say it without sounding like an idiot or an over emotional sap.

"Well, that's probably useful at times, right?" asked Cassie. "I just wish my mom and stepfather didn't care what I did. You're really lucky that you don't have to worry about anyone nagging you."

Tommy shrugged. "Yep. Lucky. That's me. Now quiet, please. The show's back on."

Billy frowned as he put his homework aside. He knew he should have been feeling relieved. Tommy wasn't leaving the team and running off with his gypsy relatives. He'd figured out a way to spend time with his cousin, and still stay with the team, thanks to his powers. He wouldn't be quitting, ditching them in favor of his Romani relatives and friends. That should have made Billy feel good. It should have been a victory.

But it wasn't.

Because Billy realized that in some ways, he and the rest of the team were no better than Tommy's family. They'd never acted like they cared where Tommy was living, or what he was doing either. And all that it would take from Billy to fix that was one question, one comment, just one time where he opened his mouth and asked Tommy what his living arrangements were, and if he was okay with them, or if maybe he'd prefer something different, and if there was something Billy could do to help.

But Billy didn't know how.

And it was a cold comfort that apparently the rest of Tommy's family didn't know how either.

Part 2: Tramps

"Come with me! Join my guys!" both Speed and Coat of Arms said in unison, as the fake Young Avengers prepared to make their exit, aided by Enchantress's magic. Surprise creased both their faces as they processed the fact that the other one had just said the exact same thing, then again, they spoke in perfect harmony. "What? No!"

Then Coat of Arms lunged toward Tommy and put one hand on his shoulder, while using another to block the stream of energy Osborn had fired at Tommy. She kissed him full on the lips, then let her hand trail down his chest as she stepped back. "But I'll try to see you . . . soon."

Billy noticed the longing in both their eyes as Enchantress's spell enveloped Coat of Arms. And he noticed Tommy take a step toward her, one hand stretched outward as though he'd just changed his mind. But if he had, it was too late. Coat of Arms and the rest of the punks who'd stolen the name "Young Avengers" had disappeared.

It was just a damn good thing that Osborne and his two phony Avengers decided to retreat with their tails tucked between their legs, because if they'd stayed, Billy would have gone all chaos magic on them. He could feel possessive rage simmering inside him.

Who did that crazy artist slut think she was, trying to steal away his brother?

When they got back to their own base, the others called for pizza and broke out the sodas to celebrate. Billy watched as Tommy slunk away, unnoticed, toward his room, then followed, suddenly and irrationally worried that Tommy was going to try to go find Coat of Arms.

He knocked on Tommy's door, then opened it without waiting for an answer. Tommy paused in the act of stripping off his uniform and raised an eyebrow at Billy.

"Do you mind?"

"Sorry," said Billy. "I just wanted to talk."

He didn't even have time to blink before Tommy had used his speed to finish changing and was sitting cross legged on his bed. "Talk," he ordered.

"I heard what you and Coat said to each other," said Billy.

"Okay," said Tommy. "So?"

"So I know that she invited you to go with them," said Billy.

"I know that too. I'm the one she invited," Tommy reminded him. "Is there a point to this conversation?"

"You chose to stay with us." Billy refused to verbally acknowledge the worry that was burning a hole in his gut, that Tommy might change his mind.

"Obviously, or else I wouldn't be here. Having this conversation with you. Again, is there a point to this?" asked Tommy.

"Kind of," said Billy. He wasn't really sure what the point was himself though. He wasn't sure what he'd set out for when he decided to talk to Tommy. "I was wondering why she thought you'd go with her."

Tommy raised an eyebrow at him. "Um, because we're friends? Because I told her she was hot, which she correctly took to mean I'm into her? Or maybe because we have a history. Take your pick."

"History?" asked Billy. He'd thought that Tommy just had a crush on the sorta superhero. "Did you two actually date once?"

"Yeah. Because dating someone's real easy in juvie," said Tommy very sarcastically.

"Well were you two a couple there?"

"Why do you want to know?" asked Tommy. "I don't see how this is your business."

"Can't I be interested in your history?" asked Billy. "We're brothers, after all."

"So you say," muttered Tommy. Then he sighed. "Well, I'm not sure what brought this bout of nosiness on, but no, Lisa and I were never an item."

"Lisa?"

"Coat's real first name," clarified Tommy. "I know her last name too, but I'm not going to tell you her full secret ID anymore than I'm going to tell you hers."

"Fair enough," said Billy.

"We were friends in juvie. Not boyfriend and girlfriend. Just friends. We watched out for each other the best we could, for as much as that was worth." Tommy's gaze darkened as he remembered his time in juvie.

"Like . . . like watched out for each other if someone else wanted to beat you up?" asked Billy.

"You're mistaking juvie for high school," said Tommy. "Things aren't that cut and dry in juvie. Especially not if they headhunt you for their specialized weapons project. I'd go weeks without seeing Lisa. Sometimes even when I did see her, I wasn't exactly in a position where I could talk with her or anything, but she still did her best to be there for me."

"What do you mean?" asked Billy.

Tommy shot him a disgusted look. "Do I have to spell it out for you? They fucked with my head big time in juvie, Billy. As in they cut my brain open, and I lost days, maybe weeks after the procedures, missing time I have little to no memory of, but probably spent drooling and catatonic. The few flashes that I do have of those days have Lisa in them, and more than once I came back from them and found her sitting beside me in the rec room, or feeding me in the cafeteria . . . or forcing me to fingerpaint in my mindless state for her stupid art experiments, but the point is, she was there for me when no one else was."

Billy felt sick. He suddenly remembered the questions Tommy had asked him after he'd been freed from the Negative Zone, and how Tommy had been checking his scalp. At the time Billy had thought he was being a jerk, pretending he thought Billy had lice or something. But had Tommy really been checking for incision marks?

"You – you never told me they cut open your head before," said Billy. He had to fight the urge to throw up at the very thought.

Tommy glared at him. "Yeah I did."

"No, you didn't!"

"I told you they fucked with my head."

"I didn't think you meant that they cut open your head! God!" Billy covered his mouth with one hand, fighting back his gag reflex. "Tommy . . . I . . . damn . . . I didn't know. I'm sorry, I didn't know."

Tommy shrugged. "It's fine –"

"It's not fine!"

"It means the others probably don't know. I don't want them knowing."

"But . . . they'd want to help you," said Billy.

Tommy gave a nasty laugh. "Help me? At least two of them want to put me back there. So as far as I'm concerned, they can take their help and shove it up their –"

"Help you work through it, I mean," Billy tried to clarify.

"They can't help me," Tommy said flatly. "Because all that telling them about it would do would be to make me relive it. Yeah, that would be a big help."

"Tommy –"

"Lisa was the one who helped me. And she was the only one whose help I needed," said Tommy. "And yeah, she might have just been using me for her art, but that doesn't really matter to me."

"It should," said Billy. He knew that going off about Coat of Arms doing that was getting away from the important issue, but if the mere idea of her had bothered him before learning she made Tommy fingerpaint when he was half brain dead for her stupid art projects, then now . . .

"Don't be a hypocrite, Billy."

"What?"

"Her using me for her art is no worse than you guys using me for my powers, so cut her a break already," said Tommy.

"You know we're not using you anymore, right?" asked Billy.

Tommy looked at him like he was stupid. "Of course you are."

"No, we're not. Even if you wanted to quit right now, we still wouldn't let anyone put you back in juvie," said Billy. "You don't have to use your powers to fight for us anymore if you don't want to."

Tommy raised an eyebrow again. "So if I were to decide right now that I wanted to go join Lisa's team . . ."

Billy's heart dropped into his shoes and he opened his mouth to respond, but didn't know what to say and ended up gaping like a fish.

Tommy started laughing. "The look on your face, little bro . . . I wish I had a camera."

"You're not really going to leave us, are you?" asked Billy.

"You really have to ask that?" Tommy rolled his eyes. "With all head cases on that team? Those guys are worse than I ever was, what with the racist, sexual harassment robot, Black Magic Barbie, the Punisher Wannabe, and that giant bitch. And don't get me started on that prick Melter. That maniac was seriously trying to disintegrate me! Like he could!"

Billy smiled, both at Tommy's brazen dismissal of the Melter's ability to hit him, as well as the confirmation that his brother wouldn't be going anywhere.

"It's too bad though. Lisa's really hot." Tommy glanced out his window and sighed. "I know you can't appreciate it, but take my word for it. She is smoking. And . . . nice."

Nice? Billy's eyebrows rose, but his incredulous look went unnoticed by Tommy. Because Tommy was . . . was he really moping over a girl?

That was when Billy realized.

He likes her. A lot. Hell, he might even be in love with her!

This did not make Billy happy. Tommy deserved better than some crazed artist super villain who led a team of even crazier murderous super villains.

There was a soft knocking on the open door, and Tommy and Billy both looked over to see Teddy standing there. "Hey guys, pizza's here. Everything okay?"

"Yep! Everything's good. Unless you guys ordered pizza with pineapple on it. Pineapple does not belong on pizza!" declared Tommy. A second later he had disappeared, and a second after that, his angry shouts could be heard from below.

"Everything okay?" asked Teddy again, slinging an arm around Billy's shoulder as his boyfriend walked over to join him.

"Yeah," said Billy. "Just making sure Tommy was alright after, you know, all that."

"With Coat?"

Billy nodded . . . and wondered if he could get away with maybe casting a spell that would make Tommy forget about her. She wasn't good enough for his brother anyway.

Part 3: Runaways

"Shh, Mol, it's okay. You're safe," said Tommy, so softly and tenderly that Billy barely recognized it as his brother's voice. "No one can hurt you now."

Billy paused outside his brother's door (left open because the Runaways had all been constantly coming and going, then coming back, their need to keep an eye on their youngest now that they had her back acting like its own gravitational force). What he saw when he looked inside Tommy's room was enough to make his heart melt.

Molly was tucked into Tommy's bed, curled up under the covers, but had scooted all the way over to the edge of the bed to be closer to Tommy, who'd pulled up a chair. She was holding one of his hands with both of her own, like it was a lifeline, and had pulled it between the pillow and her head, and seemingly fallen asleep with her cheek pressed against it. Tommy smoothed down her hair with his free hand when she whimpered in her sleep, as though in the grips of a nightmare.

"Hush, puica," said Tommy, still in that same soft voice, though he'd slipped into the Romani language. His next sentence was completely unintelligible to Billy, but it was clear that whatever he said was comforting and affectionate.

Klara was on the other side of Tommy's bed, also under the covers and sleeping soundly. And Karolina sat in a chair on the side of the bed opposite where Tommy was sitting, but she had leaned forward and fallen asleep, and was currently drooling on Tommy's blankets.

Billy knew the entire Runaways team was exhausted. He doubted that any of them had slept since Molly went missing. It had been scant hours since they'd shown up at the Young Avengers headquarters to ask for help, explaining how Molly had been arrested for truancy, but hadn't busted out yet, and they hadn't heard from her since. Sometime after they said the word "arrested" but before they finished telling the Young Avengers everything they knew, Tommy had run out, and then returned, cradling Molly in his arms, and had carried her to her team as she sobbed with her face pressed against his chest.

At first the Runaways had only been able to stare in shock. Then when they realized that they had her back, their joy had been great enough to drown out Eli's anger at Tommy having run out to save Molly without bothering to wait for his team to come up with a plan. But Eli's complaints had been largely dismissed because it was clear that whatever had happened to Molly while she was in the system had been really bad. And Billy had a sinking suspicion that Tommy had pulled her out of the same facility that had tried to turn him into a living weapon. They hadn't gone into details. Yet. Billy knew that once things were settled down, Kate would have him go over everything he'd done, but for now Molly and the rest of the Runaways were getting some much needed rest.

Billy knew that he should have either continued on his way or let Tommy know that he was there, but he also knew that the moment Tommy realized he was there, this rare glimpse he was getting of his brother being so sweet and caring would vanish. He had never seen Tommy like this before. It made him wonder what else he didn't know about his own brother. Was this the way Tommy used to always be, before juvie and the experiments, and attempts to turn him into a weapon?

"I was so scared." Molly's hoarse whisper made Billy's eyes widen. He'd been sure she was asleep. Tommy, however, did not seem surprised, which in and of itself was even more surprising. Billy couldn't believe Tommy would act so . . . nice if he knew that there were witnesses who were conscious.

"It's alright to be scared," Tommy told her.

"You wouldn't have been," sniffed Molly.

"Puica, I lived at that place for months, before the Young Avengers came and got me out. I was scared all the time," said Tommy.

"You lived there?" asked Molly, eyes wide.

"Yeah," Tommy said. "That's how I knew to look for you there. It was the first place I checked when your team told us you'd been arrested."

"I'm sorry your team didn't find you faster," whispered Molly.

"They weren't my team at the time," Tommy explained. "I didn't join the Young Avengers until after they busted me out."

"Is that why you joined them?" asked Molly.

"One of the reasons, yeah," said Tommy. "And because they needed my help with something right after they got me out. And because my goofy looking brother was on the team."

"But he looks just like you," said Molly.

"Are you saying I'm goofy looking?" asked Tommy, looking mock offended.

And then Molly actually laughed. Weakly, but it was a real laugh. And the smile on Tommy's face when she laughed was brighter than the sun.

"Actually, I think your brother's cute," said Molly.

"Don't tell him that. It'll go straight to his head. And his head's too big as it is," warned Tommy.

"But you're twins. Your heads are the same size."

"Now you're saying I have a big head? That hurts, Mol."

Molly giggled. Then sobered very suddenly. "When . . . you were at that place, did they want to cut open your head too?"

The bright mood vanished, like a candle in a dark room snuffed right out. Billy could actually feel his eyes sting, when Tommy answered in a cracked voice. "Yeah. They wanted to alright."

"But . . . you were there a lot longer. Did they . . . ?"

Tommy nodded.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I survived. And that which doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, right?" said Tommy, trying to smile, but the expression looked broken on his face.

"But you didn't know anyone was going to come for you," said Molly, tears in her voice now. "Did you?"

"I . . ." Tommy winced and hesitated. "No," he said finally. "I didn't."

"I'm sorry, Tommy. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. I survived. So did you. And now we're both stronger for it," said Tommy.

Molly sat up and flung both arms around Tommy. And Tommy gave a soft, fragile sounding laugh, and moved so that he was sitting on the bed, rather than in the chair, so that Molly wasn't hanging halfway off the bed.

"It's alright, puica. Everything's going to be okay."

"You keep calling me that," said Molly. "What does it mean?"

"Huh? Oh . . . um. 'My dear,' is an approximate translation, I guess. Or 'dear girl.' It's Romani. Sorry, I didn't realize I'd switched from English."

"Is Romani that other language you've been speaking?" asked Molly. "I've heard you use it a lot today."

"Yeah, sorry. I'll try harder to stick with English."

"You don't have to." Molly yawned. "I like your voice, no matter what language you're speaking."

"Oh. Um. Thanks."

"Will you sing to me?" asked Molly.

"What?" Tommy sounded startled.

"Please?"

"I don't really sing, Mol."

"Please try? For me? Please, Tommy? Please?"

And Billy watched as Tommy unbelievably broke down. "Alright," he sighed. "I'll try. But no throwing rotten tomatoes at me if you don't like what you hear, deal?"

"Deal."

Molly settled back down in bed, still holding onto Tommy's hand and waited.

"Umm . . . I'm trying to think of a song," said Tommy. "I don't know what to sing."

Billy couldn't help smiling as he watched his brother struggle now that he'd been put on the spot . . . by a twelve year old girl, no less.

"Sing me your favorite song," said Molly.

"Okay. I guess that's doable," said Tommy. Then paused. And that pause stretched on for almost half a minute.

"I'm waiting," said Molly.

"Don't rush me. I'm trying to gather my nerves," said Tommy. "I've never sung for anyone else before. And if you ever tell anyone of this, I will deny, deny, deny."

Molly giggled. Then Tommy started to sing.

And Billy's brother surprised him yet again. Not because he was a good singer though. It was clear he hadn't had much, if any practice. No real training. But he had a good voice. Clear and earnest, and he was making an effort, which was a lot more than Billy had ever thought he would.

And Billy got a feeling just like the one he'd had when he'd seen Tommy dancing with his gypsy "cousins." Not that his valiant attempt at singing was comparable in any way to the awe inspiring talent he had for dancing. It's just that the feeling Billy got was the same. How Tommy was able to let go of his worries when he was with other Romani, and laugh, and dance without any inhibitions, like he hadn't a care in the world, and like he was somewhere that he really felt he belonged. That was what Billy was feeling now, listening to Tommy struggling to sing for Molly, just to make her happy, after having single handedly rescued her from the fate he himself had been subjected to. It wasn't jealousy that Billy was feeling. Well, maybe it was a little, but overall it was more like regret that Tommy wasn't able to act that way around him.

Billy slipped away as Tommy started the second verse of what was apparently his favorite song. It wasn't a song Billy was familiar with, though he made a mental note to look up the lyrics online and find out who sang it and what it was called when he got the chance. He wanted to stay and listen to the whole thing, but he knew that if Tommy got even a glimpse of him standing there, listening, that he'd stop. And that wouldn't have been fair to Molly.

He made his way down to the kitchen, intent on getting a snack, but paused outside when he heard voices that didn't exactly sound very happy. It took all of three seconds to deduce that several of the Runaways were inside, having a not quite argument, and deliberately trying to keep their voices down so they wouldn't be overheard.

"I'm just saying that we should put the offer out there," Chase was saying. "You really think he's happy here?"

"They're his team," said Nico with frayed patience. "Besides, I thought you didn't like him."

"Not at first, I admit. None of us liked any of them at first," said Chase. "But the guy went and saved Molly all by himself and then had to deal with Patriot giving him the Nazi interrogation. That ain't right and you know it."

"He has a point," commented Victor.

"I know he has a point," sighed Nico. "It would be so much easier to disagree if he didn't have a point. But Speed's a Young Avenger. We can't just up and ask him to join our team. It'll look like we're trying to steal him from them. And the Young Avengers are our friends, remember?"

Billy had to fight back the dark anger that was starting to build up inside of him as he realized what the Runaways were talking about. Recruiting Speed. Recruiting Tommy. Billy's brother.

"We could just ask to borrow him for awhile, then forget to give him back?" suggested Chase.

"Even you don't think that will really work," said Victor.

"Hey, it could."

"Why are you being so dogged on this, Chase?" asked Nico.

"Well, I could say it's just so we'd have someone else to babysit Molly and Klara, since he's so good with them, Molly especially, but I think you know that would be BS too," said Chase. "Honestly, I don't really know. I just don't like the way that Patriot guy jumped all over him after he saved Molly, by himself, before we even finished explaining what happened. And considering how she was when he brought her back, how she clung to him and wouldn't let go, you know whatever they were doing to her was horrible. You'd think people would be happy when their teammate saved a kid, right? Isn't that what heroes are supposed to do?"

"There's probably more to the situation than we know," said Nico. "I think they all know that what he did was a good thing. The right thing. And they probably weren't as mad as they were worried about him."

"You really believe that? Because I don't."

"Okay, maybe not the more worried than mad at him thing, at least in Eli's case," said Nico, "But remember, they're not us. They have their own way of doing things, and it clearly works for them. I really don't think Speed would stick around here if he wasn't happy, do you? Not when he can be halfway across the world without a second thought. Besides, his brother's here. They're family. Trying to split them up would be just as wrong as all the people who've tried to split us up."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," muttered Chase. "I'm just saying though. If he's a member of their family, they should act like it."

That blunt truth cut through Billy's anger and jealousy and literally took his breath away.

"No more talking about this while we're here," said Nico. "The last thing we want is the Young Avengers getting ticked at us, especially after they helped us get Molly back."

"After Speed helped us get Molly back," clarified Chase.

"I mean it," said Nico.

"Okay. Fine. I'll drop it. But you know who's going to be bringing it up again as soon as she wakes up tomorrow, don't you?" said Chase slyly.

Billy slunk off again before the Runaways could leave the kitchen and headed back up toward Tommy's room. When he reached the doorway, Tommy was no longer singing. In fact, it looked like Molly really had gone to sleep this time.

This time Tommy seemed to sense Billy, or maybe because he wasn't completely focused on Molly, he saw Billy move in his peripheral vision. Whatever the reason, he looked up at his brother.

"Hey," Billy said softly, stepping inside.

"Hey," said Tommy. "If you're here to yell at me can it wait until tomorrow? Molly finally drifted off."

"I didn't come to yell at you," Billy said. "You did a good thing today. You made me proud to be your brother."

Tommy blinked. Then quickly covered his surprised look with a smirk. "As you should be. I mean, look at this. I've got three beautiful ladies in my bed. Well, two and a half, I guess, since Karolina's only halfway on my bed. I'm a playa. Joking," he hastily added. "I'm not a pedophile."

Billy shook his head. "You're something else."

"Yep. Something other than a pedophile. And for the record, even though Molly is wearing one of my shirts, I was not in the room when she changed. Karolina will bear witness to this."

"Don't forget to get some sleep yourself," said Billy. "You've earned it."

Tommy shook his head. "Molly's likely to have nightmares tonight. I'm staying here to wake her up if they get too bad."

"I'm sorry," said Billy.

"Huh?"

"I should have been there for you. To wake you up when you had nightmares."

"You were."

"No, I wasn't. I didn't even think –"

"You got me out of the biggest nightmare of all. That counts for something. Besides, what do you really think I would have done if you wanted to sit beside my bed while I slept?" asked Tommy.

"Er, good point. But I just . . . I've been thinking lately, and I realized, we don't, I mean I don't, well we, but especially me in particular –"

"Spit it out already."

"I'm glad you're with us," Billy told him. "I'm glad we found you, and that you stayed with us."

"Naturally. Because I am pretty badass," Tommy said. It was as close as he could get to saying "Thank you," to a comment like that, Billy realized, and he'd take it.

"And you know if any other team or group ever lured you away from us, I'd rain curses down upon them until they gave you back," added Billy, only half joking.

"Aw Billy. I didn't know you cared," said Tommy. Then he laughed. One of his real laughs. It was the first time Billy had heard one of them and known it was directed at him, and somehow it sounded so much better because of that.

And that cinched it. Now Billy was completely serious, about what he'd sort of joked about earlier. If anyone ever tried to take his brother away, they would face his wrath.

AN: For the record, Billy wasn't really serious about erasing Tommy's memories of Coat of Arms. It's like when you say about someone who annoys you, "I could kill her and I know a place where no one would ever find the body!" how you don't really mean it, but are just venting. That's what I was going for, but I guess I didn't portray that too well. Sorry!