Announcement: Okay, since so many people have been asking about Conner's possible crush on Kaldur, I'll be answering here: as far as my current plans for this story go, Conner will not be involved in a romantic relationship. He has enough with trying to get used to platonic relationships. But, he will be growing closer to some people than others, and some of the interactions might have romantic undertones. But this is simply because it's something I like to do; I'm quite fond of this thing called 'ship tease', where there are hints for possible future relationship but resolution isn't necessary.
Conner Has Two Daddies (and a Robot Nanny)
Chapter 7
When Ted's inner clock woke him up around seven in the morning, Booster was still softly snoring beside him in the bed. By now Ted had grown used to the sound but he had complained when he and Booster had first started sharing a bed, only for Booster to rebuke that Ted snored too. They had ended up setting a recorder up in their room to solve the dispute and the results had led Ted to decide that he was in no position to complain about Booster's decibels.
To the sentimental part of Ted, Booster was always attractive, even like this with his face scrunched up with sleep and cheek smushed up against the pillow. But Ted would have to admit, even if only to himself, that lately Booster had gained a whole new level of appeal to himself, as Booster seemed to almost shine whenever he was around Conner. Ted liked seeing it; liked seeing Booster so sincerely happy. And Conner himself seemed to really like Booster, at least if the boy's, smiles, albeit soft, around the blond were a clue. And it made Ted feel more certain about the success of this entire endeavour.
Those thoughts had Ted in a good mood as he changed and left the bedroom. The good mood apparently also made him careless, which he noticed when he practically jumped out of his skin at the sight of Conner sitting on the living room couch, seemingly doing nothing except staring at the late night / early morning chat on TV.
"Morning, kiddo." Ted sat down beside the boy. "You're up early."
Conner shot a quick look at Ted before turning his gaze back to the television. "Not really," the boy mumbled, although he appeared slightly embarrassed. "I sometimes get up even earlier."
"Anxious about today?" Ted guessed. Conner shifted restlessly and the man smiled. "It's okay. You told Booster you haven't even tried flying since that one time so it's natural to be nervous."
"I guess I'm kind of nervous about today," Conner finally conceded. The youth worried his bottom lip for a moment before looking up at Ted imploringly. "Do you think I'll be able to do it?"
While Ted was an incurable pessimist, he wasn't one to dampen a child's mood on an important day. "Look, kid. I'm an inventor, I'm always trying new things. Sometimes my experiments blow up in my face, more often literally than not." Ted gave Conner a serious look. "It's not about whether or not you succeed with your first try but about whether or not you'd keep trying even if you fail." The brunet chanced a grin. "I think you'll keep trying until you get it right. And you will get it right."
Conner was silent for several moments, thinking Ted's words over. Then the youth nodded once. "Okay," he said. "Thanks, Ted."
"You're welcome, kid." Ted grinned at Conner, but frowned thoughtfully when the boy still seemed to be troubled over one thing or another. "Is there still something?"
"Will you be coming to the lesson too?" Conner blurted out. "I mean, I know you don't fly but will you be there?"
"What's that?" Ted smiled playfully at the boy. "Don't you trust Booster by himself?" The brunet considered this a moment and chuckled. "Smart move, I wouldn't either."
"That's not it!" Conner blurted out, completely flustered and Ted wondered if he was perhaps just a tad cruel to tease the boy in such a way. The teen's voice lowered into an embarrassed grumble when he continued: "There's no reason for it, I'd just, you know, like it."
Ted grinned at the youth. "Then of course I'll be there." The brunet shrugged sheepishly. "Actually, I'm flattered you'd ask." He watched Conner tuck his head down, ears a bright red. The kid was really rather bashful once he got used to people. But it was unlikely that shyness would last, not with him and Booster looking after him. And they would look after him, for as long as they could.
To be continued...
Author's Notes: I've found that the shows that have a host going through text messages from lonely people with too much time in their hands are perhaps the biggest waste of time (for me) and money (for the people texting the show). Although sometimes people actually discuss politics in a worthwhile manner instead of the standard "lonely man of 35 seeks a woman of 20-30 from this or that area" messages. Still, the last minutes of that before my morning cartoons started were often almost painful to read.
Apologies for the lapse in updates; I got distracted by comic books.
