January, Part 1:
Classes Begin - Monday, January 7
Holiday: Martin Luther King Day (No Classes) - Monday, January 21
Grad/Fac Seminar (Speaker: Dr. T. Cassidy) – Friday, January 25
oooOooo
From:
To:
I believe the point has been made. Can we arrange a time for the extra chairs to be removed?
Dr. Altman
From:
To:
The chairs have been tagged and entered into the system, and cannot be removed from the office at this time.
N. Romanova
Client Services
Facilities Management
Even keeping three of the chairs for his office, the stack of boxes made an impressive pile in the hallway. Teddy's eye was twitching harder the longer he stared at them. He slapped the 'For Pickup' label on the pile and strode off toward the department lounge. It was going to drive him nuts having to pass by the pile every time he entered or left his office, but what other choice did he have?
Sooner or later, they were going to have to come and get them.
His mailbox was already jammed tight with the regular junk that heralded the beginning of a new term. Teddy stood over the overflowing wastebasket and flipped through the pile, tossing things as he came to them. TA forms – keep. Beerfest sponsorship; toss. Curling competition? Toss. People actually played that?
A pair of arms slid lightly around his ribs and squeezed. "Welcome back, hot stuff," Darcy teased, slipping past to fit a couple of envelopes into some of the other boxes. "Ready to face the eye-rolling hordes for round two?"
Teddy grinned and tugged at one of her curls as she bounced by. "I was born ready," he joked, already feeling the strain across his shoulders loosen and dissolve away. "I think it'll be a good term."
"That it will. They're doing quiz nights at the grad house this term; first one's on Saturday. You in?"
Teddy shook his head as he finished going through the pile of paper. Vegans Against Tuition Hikes? "Sorry, Darce; not this week. I have plans."
The light in her eye when he said that should have been his first clue that he'd made a serious tactical error.
"Plans, do you?" Darcy insinuated herself between Teddy and the mailboxes, and grinned up at him. "What sort of plans, Teddy Ruxpin?"
"Hey now. It's just 'catching a movie' plans, nothing exciting." He headed around the corner but Darcy was trailing him, a hound on the scent.
"A date!" she exclaimed cheerfully, and boosted herself up to sit on the counter in the lounge. She was just about his height this way, her thick-framed glasses pushed up on the top of her head to hold her hair at least nominally in check. "Spill. Is he cute?"
"It's not a date," Teddy insisted, keeping his eyes resolutely on the mug on front of him and the pot of hot coffee. "I'm going to see a movie with- a friend."
He stumbled but only barely. He didn't have to keep Bill's name out of it; it wasn't any secret that they were friends. But given the mood Darcy was in, if he did say anything, gossip would have him and Billy not only dating but part of some kind of torrid long-term love affair by the end of the day.
"I have guy friends that I'm not into, you know." Not this one, but that's hardly the point.
Darcy pursed her lips, and that was definitely her 'disappointed' face. "So he's not gay, is what you're saying."
"Yeah, he is. Wait. That's not the point, Darce. Straight men and women can be just-friends. So can queer guys."
"You enjoy his company." She poked him in the shoulder.
"That's hardly-"
"You find him intellectually stimulating?"
"Darcy, can we not-"
"You want to do obscene things to his naked and quivering body," she declared with a certain amount of satisfaction.
Teddy's mouth worked soundlessly for a moment, and his ears flushed hot.
"It's so a date. Give him time," she soothed, so off the mark that she was going to end up on the fucking moon. "He'll realize it too."
"Go away, Darcy," Teddy insisted. He collected his mug and headed for the hallway without waiting for her to reply.
His boxes were waiting for him.
"Building yourself a pyramid?" Eli jibed as he walked by, but he ducked into the department office instead of waiting for a response. Teddy was still sorting through his keys to find the one for his door by the time Eli reappeared with his mail in hand. Teddy gave up on the one-handed key-fumble and fell into easy step with Eli as he headed back to his office.
"Come on in. I'd come hang out in yours, but I'm waiting for a phone call. How was the flight?"
"Sucked." Teddy followed him in and took over Eli's guest chair, stretching his legs out in front of him. "I got stuck between two screaming kids on one side and The Honeymooners on the other. How was your Christmas?"
"Really good. Grandma sent me home with a half-dozen containers of leftovers, though. Every Christmas I think wow – turkey! I should have this more often. And then I remember why I can't touch it eleven months of the year."
"Did she make pumpkin pie again? I could take that off your hands." The coffee was hot and nutty when he took a sip; another one of Pepper's weird expensive blends. A dog barked somewhere in the distance. "Did you see anyone over break?"
"You heard about Darcy and Tom, I take it."
"Bill told me, yeah. Are they really dating?"
"Apparently. And before you ask, no, that doesn't mean I moved in on Kate. She's been pretty clear."
"I wasn't going to say anything," Teddy affected innocence as best he could.
Eli scowled. "Then you're the only one." He swung back in his chair, though, clasped his hands behind his head in a gesture of studied nonchalance. "And I get the whole 'need to focus on my career, no time for anything serious' thing. I do. I wouldn't like her half as much if she wasn't so amazingly dedicated."
"But?"
Eli's eyes darted to the desk calendar in front of him, every date meticulously filled in with notes and times. "By the time my dad was my age, he already had three kids. He sucks as a role model, but really. When is a good time for something serious, if not now? We're established in our careers; Kate got tenure last year. You can't just expect the skies to open and announce 'now! Now! Go forth and establish a meaningful connection with another human being.'" He waved one hand in the air in demonstration. "There are timelines for these things."
Teddy had a suspicion, and he very maturely resisted the urge to laugh. "You had it scheduled, didn't you?"
"Damn straight," Eli jabbed a finger at his desk calendar with a grin. "PhD by 28, marriage by 32, kids by 35 so the youngest will be out of my hair and into a dorm room in time to let me retire at 60. Time's wasting."
It was kind of nice to know that he wasn't the only one in this group of theirs who was seriously screwed up when it came to relationships. "You're over-thinking this," Teddy laughed.
"That's probably true." Eli replied. He flicked an eyebrow upward, his mood shifting. "On a different subject," he drawled, and Teddy could see it coming- "Darcy pinned me down in the office just now. She said you have a mystery date? I thought bros told each other these things."
Teddy was going to kill her. Or hide under his desk until it all went away. "It's not a date."
"She seemed pretty sure it was a date."
Eli was leaning forward with his interrogation-face on, and Teddy was only saved by the phone ringing. Eli scowled and held up a hand, kicked forward so his feet landed on the floor again. "Sorry – I've got to get this."
Teddy wrapped both hands around his coffee and sipped at it while he waited.
"No, you ordered fourteen copies of volume forty. I needed forty copies of volume fourteen," Eli said into the phone, the scowl settling in to stay. "...I didn't even know there was a volume forty.
"No, for the love of god; don't put it on the shelves. Some of them might actually buy it."
He mouthed a silent apology at Teddy, and mimed shooting himself in the head. Teddy bit back a chuckle and rose to his feet. Eli's door closed softly behind him as he left.
A small rubber ball rolled by.
The barking yellow torpedo hit him from the right, knocking his feet out from under him and sending his coffee flying. Teddy yelped and caught himself against the wall. Two girls ran by in hot pursuit, the blonde in front grabbing for the leash that the large golden retriever was dragging behind him.
"Cap, no! Stop! No! Sorry!"
"Oh my god you crazy dog! Stop! Down sit STAY!"
The dog skidded out at the end of the hall and took off around the corner, the girls scrabbling and scrambling to follow suit. He heard one last plaintive wail in among the whirlwind of barking before silence fell again.
The fabric sticking to his thighs was hot and wet, and his coffee a spreading pool on the floor. Teddy bent to pick up his mug (not chipped, thankfully, despite the fall), and tried to wipe himself down. No good; he needed paper towels, and water-
The dog barked again, somewhere off in the distance. Teddy started walking back to the lounge. One shoe squished in time with his footsteps.
He heard Steve and Jess before he turned the corner, Steve's voice clear and distinct. "Are you hiding?
"I'm not hiding, I'm avoiding," Jess clarified. Teddy made a little half-wave to her as he came in, made a beeline for the counter and the roll of towels there. "They're camped out in front of my office again."
Steve flipped through his mail and frowned at her. "Who are?"
"'I wrote my name on the exam so that should count for two points' kid, and 'your grading rubric is massively unfair and now I won't get into law school' kid. Thankfully, 'I skipped most of your lectures because I was hung over but I tried real hard and deserve points for that' kid appears to be taking the day off. Hi, Ted."
Thank god he'd worn black pants. Teddy blotted the worst of the coffee out of the fabric and threw the wad of paper towels into the garbage can. Nothin' but net. "Hi, guys."
Jess gave him a little golf-clap at his throw and patted the chair next to her. "Did you have a good trip?"
Teddy grabbed the chair and turned it to sit. "It was nice to see my folks for a while, but it was quiet." Was that barking getting closer?
"It's smart to get away from the craziness for a while," Steve nodded. "Did you get much of a chance to relax?"
The low and distant noise was definitely getting nearer, the barking louder every passing second. At least eight feet were stampeding back down the hall, punctuated with gasps and "stop!" and "no, dumb dog!"
"You can't have that dog in here!" Eli's voice rose above the general din.
"Head him off!"
"Izzie, go around!"
More running, then Teddy heard a yelp and a slide of fur against tile, and he knew – he couldn't see anything from here and yet he knew with absolute certainty and he held his breath-
There was a deafening slam and a shriek and a yelp of outrage.
And then the sound of exactly sixteen boxes thump-thump-tumbling to the ground.
There was a pause.
The barking started again, and there was Eli shouting. A pair of female voices tumbled over one another with explanations and Pepper stomped out of the office with a look of murder in her eye. Teddy's pants were covered in coffee, dark enough to hide the stains, but not the smell of dark roast that was going to follow him around the rest of the day. Doors were slamming down the hallway, and Darcy was out in the hall making cooing noises to the dog. Janet the Custodian was going to be offended for weeks, half the department was obsessed with his social life and he was surrounded by lunatics.
And nowhere else in the world (not since mom) had ever felt so much like home.
Teddy didn't bother trying to hide the grin.
"Yeah, I did. But it's really, really good to be back."
oooOooo
"I saw you; you totally teared up at the end. Don't even try to deny it." Teddy bumped his arm against Billy's as they jostled through the crowd down the hall toward the lobby.
He loved the old art-house theater with its tiny screening rooms and real popcorn. It looked like they'd replaced some of the seats in the last fifteen years (though his aching tailbone wasn't entirely sure), but other than that it was exactly the same as the last time he'd been here. Before.
The French films had been his mother's favorites, and she'd brought him to them all once he'd started taking the language in junior high. 'It'll help improve your ear,' she'd said, and counted their movie trips in his homework log. He'd felt so special, so grown-up, sitting with her over coffee afterwards; she'd listened like his dumb kid observations had been as worthwhile as anyone else's.
Being crammed in to the small screening room beside Billy had been distracting, Billy leaning in close to see the subtitles around the head of the guy in front. Teddy had brushed Billy's hand more than he should, grabbing for popcorn, tussling a little over armrest space. He could have reached out a half-dozen times over the course of the film, bumped it with his own too insistently to be an accident. Could have slid his fingers through Billy's and settled there, Billy's hand in his and their fingers entwined.
Except that was the kind of thing you did on a date.
"Because that was an utter bait and switch," Billy complained, dragging him back to the here-and-now. He bumped Teddy's arm right back, and shot a furtive glance at Teddy's side before jamming his hands casually into his pockets. "You don't suggest a kung-fu movie to a guy-"
"Wire-work, not kung-fu."
"-and then deliver a romantic tragedy in four acts."
"But you agree it was good." Teddy stepped aside to a slightly emptier corner of the lobby and waited for an answer.
"It was brilliant." Billy stopped as well, half-silhouetted in the late afternoon light. His skin looked golden, caught that way, shadows exaggerating the strength of his jaw, his cheekbones, his mouth. "And the fight choreography was amazing. All I'm saying is that if – if – there was any suggestion of tears beyond a trick of the light, it was due to being caught off-guard."
Teddy laughed, winding his scarf around his neck. "Because you have a problem admitting that you're actually a big old romantic at heart?"
"Me?" Billy flashed him a brilliant grin, and the more he kept doing that, the harder Teddy found it to look anywhere but at his smile. "I was born bitter and cynical. You, on the other hand, were forged entirely out of sunshine and puppies."
"Billy!" The voice called from across the lobby. Nate? Had he followed them here?
Teddy turned and Billy looked up, and the younger man who approached and flung an arm around Billy's shoulder looked vaguely familiar and not at all Nate-like. Thank goodness for that. There were two of them, he realized after a second, the guy followed closely by a girl in layers of cotton skirts, a long braid of brown hair hanging over one shoulder.
Two young men who looked so much alike. Billy, with his similar coloring and not much else. Tom on the outside of it all.
"This is my baby brother, Aaron," Billy said, as Teddy nodded and extended a hand. "And his fiancée, Robyn. This is Ted." A half-beat, a darted glance, and- "a friend from work."
Any resemblance between Billy and Aaron was superficial at best; the dark hair, for one, and their eyes. Aaron was probably about Billy's height, but gave the impression of being larger; of taking up more space in the world. Aaron took Teddy's hand with an easy grip and a surface smile.
"Nice to meet you." Teddy shook Robyn's hand as well and she smiled at him a little uncertainly.
"You work at NYCU?" she asked.
"I'm teaching early modern history; I started in September."
"Aha - I knew I remembered the name." Aaron looked at Teddy more carefully, cataloguing him and filing him away. "You're the reason Bill's been surgically attached to his phone for the last few weeks."
"No, that would be because nothing in the world is more boring than listening to Mom freak out about wedding plans." Bill replied easily.
"Don't look at me," Robyn poked Aaron in the ribs, and she smiled at Billy. "I wanted to elope. Sunny beaches, surf and sand, send a 'snooze, you lose' card out afterwards with the photos."
"You know they'd have hunted us down. We'd wake up one day to a horse head in the bed."
Robyn giggled. "Oh sure, the Jewish mafia strikes again."
"It's June, right?" Teddy asked, more for something to say than anything else. "Congratulations."
"And the mothers and grandmothers have been collectively melting down for a year already," Bill replied. "Speaking of which-"
"You're throwing off the plate count now," Robyn cut in. "Unless we just go ahead and give you a plus-one anyway-" and she looked at Teddy like she was dying to ask. Aaron stepped on her toe.
"About that," Aaron started, frowning at Billy. "Have you talked to Nate lately?"
The guilty look that crossed Billy's face was a small dash of cold water, and Aaron's expression was unreadable. "Not since last week. Why?"
"I was just wondering how he was holding up."
Billy shrugged, a study in careful nonchalance. "He's fine. He's staying at a friend's place. He said he'd let me know when he finds an apartment so we can figure something out with the furniture and start forwarding his mail."
Oh. That made sense; mail and money and end-of-relationship logistics didn't mean that they had been talking about anything else.
Like how nice it might be not to have to deal with all those logistics.
The lobby had half-emptied while they'd talked and Robyn grabbed Aaron's arm with impatience. "We're not going to be able to get seats! Come on."
It only took a moment to make their goodbyes and nice-to-meet-yous, and then they were off. Teddy shrugged into his coat and caught Robyn glancing back at him, a few words audible as they wound their way through the crowd.
"So... are they dating?"
"I'm not sure."
"But I thought you said-"
And then they were gone, around the corner and out of earshot.
"Sorry about that. Aaron's social skills stopped evolving somewhere between stamp collecting and middle management." Billy's shoulders hunched, and he buttoned his wool coat up to meet his dark red scarf.
Teddy shrugged it off. As appealing as the idea was, it wasn't like Nate was going to just vanish into the ether now that he was Billy's ex. "I hadn't noticed. And it was nice to meet some of your family."
"You're unreal," Billy laughed, pushing the door open and leading Teddy outside. He paused, glancing at his watch in the waning afternoon light. The wind caught the edge of his scarf and whipped it around his face, red fringe dancing in the air. He pushed it back, in a gesture that looked like long habit. "I'm starved," he said, looking unsure and making the statement sound like a question. "Did you want to-?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I could totally eat." And with that any awkwardness was gone, Billy uncurling under Teddy's smile. "There used to be a great noodle place not too far from here, but I have no idea if it's there anymore."
"We can find out? It's not too bad out, for January. I don't mind the walk if you don't."
It did still exist, even if it did take an hour to find it. Billy's cheeks stayed a little flushed as they sat in the restaurant, even though they'd been inside in the warmth for ages already. The conversation had somehow wound its way on to the subject of families again; not usually Teddy's favorite topic.
Billy made it easy.
"They were ridiculously supportive, almost embarrassingly so," he was saying. Teddy reached his chopsticks across the table to steal some of the last few udon from Billy's bowl. "They didn't start their own PFLAG chapter or anything, but it was a close call." Billy pushed his bowl into the middle of the table in tacit permission. "Mind you, Bubbe Rose has spent the last six weeks trying to enroll me on J-Date."
Teddy paused, noodles in mid-air. "Tell me you're joking."
"She behaved herself while Nate was around, but now that he's out of the picture... She can cope with this 'faygele funny business,'-" Billy put on an approximation of a Yiddish accent, pinched his fingers together and talked with his hands in the air. Teddy had to force himself to breathe so that he wouldn't choke on the laugh. "But at least William should be bringing home a nice Jewish boy, so he doesn't break his poor grandmother's heart."
Billy rolled his eyes and dropped the act. "She means well, and she's amazingly open-minded for ninety-five. But I consider it divine intervention that she gets stuck halfway through the survey questions every time."
There was that pang again, something stuck between longing and envy, that seemed to always crop up around Billy's stories about his family. Whatever they'd been through they were tight-knit now, in and out of each other's homes and lives like his had never been.
He'd never quite been able to let go of that fantasy.
"How about you? What was your mom's reaction like?"
Teddy faltered.
So much for 'sunshine and puppies.'
It had been easy for Billy, from the sounds of things. He'd had Nate, his parents hadn't batted an eye; he'd always had that soft place to fall.
He wouldn't understand. More than that, he'd know.
But worse than Bill not-knowing was him continuing to think that Teddy was something brave, or wonderful.
He pushed a limp sprig of basil around the bottom of his bowl, watching the trails it left in the broth that clung to the porcelain.
"I never told her," he said, after the silence had gone on too long. He didn't look up.
"I meant to. I thought I had time. That it would be easier when I had a boyfriend. Or if she guessed. Anything to avoid having to do the whole 'mom, we have to talk' routine."
He chanced a quick glance. Billy didn't look surprised, or disapproving, or disappointed in him. He just looked like Billy, a little sad and a little concerned. "But it didn't come up," Billy prompted him quietly, resting his arms on the table between them.
"It never did. And then she got sick."
The words didn't stick in his throat anymore; fifteen years dulled the edges of so many things that should have stayed sharp.
"I was fourteen when she was diagnosed and for two years everything was about hospitals and appointments and tests; I told myself that it would be selfish to drop something huge like that on her. That I couldn't make things be about me when she needed to focus on getting better. Even when my uncle came down to help and things got a bit easier - I just thought, 'it's not the right time.'
"And then she died. And I never did tell her the truth about who I was."
"She knows," Billy murmured, his voice thick. He grabbed for Teddy's hand and squeezed, and Teddy didn't fight it. "I'm sure of it. And she'd be so proud of who you've become."
Billy's fingers laced through his, and Billy's thumb stroked gentle circles over Teddy's palm. The pressure and the warmth of his hand and the glide of skin on skin was soothing, almost hypnotic. Teddy closed his fingers to keep him there.
Billy's thumb never stopped moving, pressing firm against the base of Teddy's thumb, the sensitive skin of his palm. His touch was a living thing, a deep stroke into the tension in Teddy's hand, then a light caress that barely skated across the edge of sensation.
The dark mood and self-recrimination ebbed further out of him with every gentle circle, a tide pulling away from the shore. And as it vanished something warmer took its place.
Darker than caramel, darker than maple; Billy's eyes were a shade that Teddy couldn't name. Those eyes were staring into his when he looked up to find them, and the heat and compassion there sent an answering coil thrumming low in Teddy's gut. Billy's lips were slightly parted, just like his, and his touch burned like fire on Teddy's skin.
His mouth was dry, his heart pounding in the base of his throat. The answering pulse would be flickering at Billy's wrist.
He could do it right now; pull his hand in close, press his lips against the soft skin there, taste the strong line of the tendon with the tip of his tongue and watch to see how Billy's face would change, his breathing quicken.
Billy moistened his lips, took a breath-
"Will that be the bill, gentlemen?"
Teddy let go, flustered. The pressure of Billy's fingers ached between his own like a phantom limb. Billy laughed nervously and fumbled in his coat pocket for his wallet.
The moment was gone, lost in the arguments over who was paying, and sorting out coats, and exactly how juvenile it was to still add the words 'in bed' to the end of every cookie fortune. (Very, the verdict turned out to be, but 'others admire your flexibility' was probably both the best and worst fortune Billy could have gotten, considering.)
The walk from the restaurant back to Billy's apartment was a winding one, more subdued in the evening darkness. Teddy's breath puffed out, crystal-white under the streetlamps as they passed. Billy had his hands in his coat pockets again, which was probably for the best. Teddy wouldn't have been able to resist grabbing one, otherwise, and locking their fingers together again.
This was better, it had to be. Walking side by side, chatting with that easy back and forth about movies and comics and nothing important at all. If he could force himself to be happy with this as it was, there was every chance that he could have it always. And wouldn't friendship be infinitely more satisfying than some brief and blistering affair that would inevitably crash and burn?
Because Teddy didn't get to keep good things.
His face was half-frozen by the time they got to Billy's building, the spotlights out front managing to be both welcoming and cold at the same time. "Come inside and thaw," Billy ordered, holding his gloved hands up against Teddy's bright pink cheeks. "You're going to end up with frostbite."
"Yes, mom," Teddy teased, but the heat was welcome. It seared through his chilled skin and sent his face tingling when the glass doors closed behind them. The elderly doorman looked them over and nodded at Billy, then turned back to his folded newspaper and his crossword puzzle. "Oh man; I can feel my face again. That's better."
Billy's glasses fogged up instantly from the temperature change, and he shoved them to the top of his head. He stripped off his gloves and put his palms against Teddy's cheeks one more time, the heat seeping into Teddy's bones more deeply than Billy's warm hands should have accounted for.
Teddy breathed out slowly and Billy looked up. His fingers curled, sinking into Teddy's hair and scraping lightly against Teddy's scalp. Teddy shivered and his hands came up despite themselves, rested lightly on Billy's hips. The thick layers of wool and denim added bulk; Teddy knew what his hips looked like, what they felt like against his own, divided only a couple of layers of cotton. His hands clenched at the thought, Billy warm and solid between them.
Billy worried at his lower lip, left it gently swollen from his teeth and glistening. "What would you do if I asked for a kiss goodnight?" he asked, tilting his head.
He could pull him in, wrap his arms around Billy's waist, press flush against him and let their bodies lock. Teddy wanted to taste him, to open his coat and flatten his hands against Billy's bare skin, run his hands up under the dark grey sweater that looked so unbearably soft.
"That would make this a date, wouldn't it?" Jokes were easier; they didn't have to mean anything.
Billy only raised an eyebrow. "Wasn't it? Dinner and a movie feel pretty date-like. You even walked me home, wonder of modern chivalry that you are. I'm pretty sure this fits all the standard definitions."
He had lost before he'd begun. "There you go, using earth logic again."
It would still be possible to step back. To take his hands off of Billy's hips, let go of the fabric bunching between his fingers. He could walk away now and it would be awkward, but not impossible.
Or he could lean in, lean in and breathe in the scent of Billy's hair, that citrus-sweet aftershave, the faintest hint of popcorn.
Billy's lips were soft, but he had known that they would be, and they parted for him as easily as the first time. Teddy closed his eyes and pressed his mouth against them again. He traced the curves there, the round swell of Billy's bottom lip that trembled a little when he sucked on it, when he bit down with a feather-light touch.
His hands tightened compulsively on Billy's hips, and he hung on desperately to a couple of belt loops. Billy traced the edges of Teddy's lips with the tip of his tongue before pressing in, licking his way into Teddy's mouth. Billy's hands flattened against the sides of Teddy's head, his fingers buried deep in Teddy's hair. Billy's tongue sank deep into him, careful and questing. He tugged gently at Teddy's hair, and the sensation was fire radiating from Billy's clever fingers.
A cough sounded from the desk – the doorman that Teddy had forgotten about completely – and Teddy broke the kiss, cheeks flaming and grin sheepish. Billy laughed breathlessly, and Teddy pulled him in. Not to kiss, this time, just to hold him close and protect this single, perfect moment.
Teddy nuzzled into Billy's hair, pressed his forehead in against Billy's temple and stayed there. Stop over-thinking things for once. Just ... be happy.
Eventually – a minute later, five, it hardly mattered – Teddy straightened, and Billy took a deep breath that Teddy swore he could feel in his own lungs. "Get out of here," Billy ordered. He grabbed for Teddy's hand and gave it a last, tight squeeze. "I enjoyed the hell out of today."
Teddy relaxed back into it, that thing they were together.
"So did I." He leaned in, then, brushed one final chaste and tender kiss across Billy's lips before turning up the collar of his coat against the cold. "Good night."
Billy smiled. "Good night." And he stood in the lobby, watching as Teddy left. And when Teddy turned one last time before trudging off, Billy was there at the glass. Teddy waved and he lifted his hand to wave back, silhouetted darkly against the light.
oooOooo
Something was different.
That wasn't entirely accurate. A lot of things were different, especially after the weekend. But this one, specifically, had to do with the boxes.
Teddy stared at the pile for a moment, trying to figure it out. Still sixteen of them, still where he'd left them. Maybe Janet had moved them a bit when she'd cleaned?
Then he saw it.
The label Teddy had placed on his pile of boxes was gone. In its place was one which read:
Fire Hazard
Please remove hallway obstruction as per municipal fire code,
Article 92.3C.1 Delays may result in financial penalties.
"Oh, for fuck's sake."
January, Part 2:
"I've got to find something to do with them," Teddy sighed, leaning back a little precariously in his own chair.
Billy frowned, hands wrapped around his second coffee of the day. "But Facilities won't accept the return. What do you want to do?"
"I don't suppose any of the engineering kids need things to blow up?" Teddy joked, but the image was actually immensely satisfying. "Any plans to build a catapult in one of your seminars?"
The look on Billy's face suggested that he was giving that actual consideration. "Not on the syllabus, unfortunately, but maybe as an honors project…" but then he shook his head, and a gleam came into his eye. "Hold that thought."
"What?" Teddy watched as Billy unfolded himself from the chair, coffee in his hand. "You do know that I wasn't serious about the 'blowing things up' part, right?"
"Don't worry," Billy replied, and he tapped a finger against the side of his coffee cup as he considered something. "You're done by five?"
"I have an evening class this semester; I'm done by seven."
"Even better. Meet me back here at nine, no- nine-thirty. The place should be empty enough by then."
That didn't sound good. Well, no – it sounded interesting, but also like the sort of opening sentence to a story that would end with 'and it seemed like such a good idea at the time.' Teddy pinned Billy with a look. "Before I agree to anything, what exactly do you have in mind?"
Billy only smiled, and the hint of glee in that grin made Teddy a little nervous. "Trust me," he said. "Nine-thirty tonight." And he slipped out.
That didn't help at all.
oooOooo
The building was pretty much empty by the time Teddy got back to the office, and Billy was waiting in the hallway with a wheeled dolly and a wide smile.
"So are you ever going to tell me what your master plan is," Teddy asked, strolling up to meet him, "or are you going to keep me guessing the whole time?"
"What's a relationship without a little mystery?" Billy joked, but he patted the handle of the dolly proudly when Teddy came close. "I have it all figured out. The Arts center is just next door. Scenography has an entire back room full of extra furniture they've scavenged. We can ditch them in there and no-one will ever notice."
"They won't notice an additional sixteen chairs showing up out of the blue?"
"It's a big shop." That wasn't an answer, not really.
Teddy tried to think through all the angles. It seemed way too easy. "The building should still be open, but won't all of the stage doors be locked? It's not like the lecture halls."
Billy dangled a key ring from one finger, and grinned in challenge.
Teddy stared. "How did you get the keys to scenography?"
"I didn't; I went one better. This is Darcy and Pepper's Jesus key. It'll open ninety percent of the doors in the arts complex. All we have to do is load up the dolly, wheel the boxes over, and find somewhere unobtrusive to hide them."
Teddy was stuck on the whole key thing, and he blinked at Billy. "Wait. 'Jesus key'?"
"Yeah, no idea." Billy shrugged. "Either because it's got 'JC' stamped on it, or because it works miracles. Are we doing this thing, or are you chickening out on me?"
"You're going to eat those words, Kaplan."
"Then get the boxes loaded and let's go."
The boxes were lighter than they looked, and it didn't take long to get them piled on the dolly. And that was a shame, because Billy had rolled his shirtsleeves up before he started and the weight was just enough to get the muscles taut in his forearms, sinuous lines of power under his skin. Teddy could easily watch him move for hours, obsessing over the shift and play of his shirt across his shoulders. Billy caught him staring, but just once, and all he did was flush slightly pink.
Totally worth it.
Getting the loaded dolly down the ramp wasn't bad, but pushing it up the hill between the buildings was awful. The morning's rain had combined with a cold snap to lay a thin sheet of ice over everything, and Teddy fought and dug his feet in to get purchase. By the time they managed to shove it up and over the lip of the loading bay behind the stage doors, they'd lost boxes off the top three times, Billy scrambling to right them while Teddy braced the dolly against gravity.
The key worked as advertised, thank god; the idea of having to haul the entire thing back down the hill was enough to give Teddy nightmares.
Billy knew his way around the building, pulling the cargo elevator open and directing Teddy to the prop shop and storage rooms without batting an eye. The storage room was a cluttered disaster, piles of furniture stacked haphazardly under hand-lettered signs that read things like 'Colonial' or 'Baroque (don't fix it)', and ancient shelves bending under the weight of dented boxes.
"So how did you know about this?" Teddy asked, as Billy pushed a couple of hollow lions out of the way to make a path from the door.
Billy gestured for him to start pushing the boxes in, and grinned sheepishly. "I got drafted to help direct one of the plays my first year here. The director had a scheduling conflict and I knew the script. Don't run over Napoleon."
Teddy turned the dolly as sharply as he could to avoid the plaster bust of the emperor, and snickered. "Oh my god, you're a theater nerd. I bet you were in drama club in high school."
"Was not." Billy looked affronted, grabbing onto the end of the dolly as it started to overbalance. "Liking theater doesn't make you a 'theater nerd.' I was a classic video-games and comic books nerd."
"What do you mean, 'was'?"
A large wardrobe filled with gruesomely-painted fake body parts sat far out from the wall enough that they could lever the boxes behind it, stacked three-wide and five-high. Billy had to balance on a bright purple end table to get the last one in, and he wobbled enough on the dismount that Teddy had to lunge to keep him from hitting the floor. He caught Billy around the waist, breathless and laughing, only pushing him away once Billy wiped a streak of sawdust off his hand and down Teddy's shirt.
He had a matching smear of shop dust on his face and Teddy rubbed at it with his thumb, accidentally catching the corner of Billy's mouth. Billy's breath hitched a little and his pupils spun wide.
Voices echoed through the door and footsteps stopped outside. There was the sound of a key in the lock. Teddy froze, his hand cupping Billy's jaw and the pad of his thumb pressing a gentle dent into Billy's bottom lip.
"Come on," Billy grabbed his hand and pulled him back through the storage room into the scene shop proper, stumbling through the half-dark of the work lights. There was another door at the far end and he dragged Teddy out through it, collapsing back against the hallway wall. He laughed, and Teddy sagged back beside him, grinning.
"We're going to get caught." Teddy poked him. "We left the dolly in there. I never imagined I'd get fired for breaking-and-entering."
"We're not going to get caught. And even if we did, it's not breaking and entering if you have a key." This whole thing was absurd, but Billy was there beside him with mischief in his eyes and a triumphant grin. "Live a little, Altman."
Billy's eyes crinkled up at the corners when he smiled. There was sawdust on his shirt and on his winter coat, and his hair flopped, unruly, over his forehead. He shoved it back from his face, dark strands tangling in his fingers.
Teddy needed him, this beautiful, laughing man.
Fuck everything.
Teddy rolled off the wall and planted his hands on either side of Billy in one swift, sure motion. He ducked his head and hesitated, looked into Billy's eyes to be sure that he could – that he was still allowed. Billy stared back at him with wide-eyed desire, and Teddy forgot how to breathe.
He kissed Billy. He pressed his lips against Billy's and crowded him against the wall. Billy wrapped his arms around Teddy's shoulders and pulled him down. He opened his mouth to the kiss and flicked his tongue over Teddy's lips. Teddy pushed one leg between Billy's; he needed to be closer, to tangle in him and ride against the hard muscle of his thigh. Billy's mouth was hot and wet, red lips and panting breath and desperation.
"Wait." Billy grabbed a fistful of Teddy's shirt and twisted it, pushed him back to put air space between them. "Teddy, stop. Don't – you can't start this again if you don't mean it. You're not going to have another crisis of conscience on me, are you?"
He was and he wasn't, and Teddy closed his eyes. "I'm not," he answered. The terror shot through him again, fierce and undimmed. He opened his eyes and stared into Billy's, his mouth gone dry. Even the layers of clothing he had on couldn't stop him from feeling utterly exposed. "You're not going to call Nate next week and ask him to move back in, are you?"
A series of expressions flickered through those dark eyes – surprise, guilt, and understanding – and Billy shook his head. "No. I won't. Even-" he swallowed, his throat bobbing a little and Teddy wanted to put his mouth on it, just there; feel the movement under his lips. "Even if you do change your mind. I'm not going back."
Teddy kissed him before he'd finished speaking, stealing the last word from his lips. "Not changing my mind," he said firmly, bending his head to taste Billy's throat, mouth along his jaw line. He could feel Billy's heart beating there under his tongue, a throbbing heated pulse flickering as rapidly as his own.
Billy's thigh was solid between his and he rolled against it. The pressure was a desperate relief against his cock, now fully hard and aching. Billy's hands dropped to Teddy's waist, his hips stuttering in jerky half-formed movements. He pulled at Teddy's shirt, slid his hands beneath. His fingertips were hot on Teddy's skin, his own cock hard against Teddy's hip. Billy arched against him and Teddy groaned, the friction a burning, living thing beneath his skin.
"Hang on," Teddy broke away, braced his hands on the wall and tried to breathe. His pulse was roaring in his ears, fire licking up and down his skin and exposed nerves. "We can't, here. My place-"
"Too far." Billy's voice was low and hoarse, his eyes all but black with desire. "Hold that thought," he instructed, sliding his hands out from under Teddy's shirt and pressing one finger against his lips.
Teddy sucked on the end of it, flattened the tip of his tongue against the pad and Billy shuddered. "Stop that," he murmured. He dragged his finger away slowly, ran it down over Teddy's lower lip.
"Damn it; where's the key?" he ransacked his pockets while Teddy sagged against the wall and tried to slow his heart. Everything in his body was straining toward his groin, and the throbbing ache in his cock. Christ; all Billy was going to have to do was breathe on him and he was going to go off, like some idiot teenager.
"Here-" Billy unlocked the door beside them. It opened into a small room, a mirror on one wall, a couch, a set of shelves and an old piano. "The green room," Billy explained breathlessly, and grabbed Teddy's hand to pull him in. Lights on, door closed, Billy flipped the lock.
"Here?" Teddy hesitated, but only for a second.
"I'm sure a lot worse things have been done on that couch."
Then Billy was on him, his mouth pinning Teddy's in a glorious, urgent mess. Their teeth clashed and Teddy's tongue was in Billy's mouth, wet and dirty and hot.
Teddy pulled at Billy's shirt, tugged it free from his slacks. He ran his hands up Billy's stomach, splayed his fingers out over all that soft skin and hard muscle. Billy pushed him backwards and he stumbled, Billy's hands working at his belt buckle as they went.
Three steps, Teddy mouthing at Billy's jaw, his throat, the pulse below his ear; then he caught the edge of the couch behind his knees and fell backwards. Billy dropped to his knees without hesitation, slid between Teddy's legs and ran his hands high up over Teddy's thighs. Teddy bucked up into the caress, Billy's thumbs skating close to the outline of his cock where it pushed against his pants.
"Can I?" Billy had Teddy's belt open and his hand was on Teddy's zipper. He looked up at Teddy, knelt there between his thighs. His hair was a disheveled mess and his lips wet and wanton-red, and fuck; Teddy could come just from that sight alone.
"Please," Teddy gasped out, reached out to cup his hand along Billy's jaw, his hips bucking up and chasing the pressure as Billy pulled the zipper down. "God, Billy."
It only took a second for Billy to push the zipper back, to slide his hand in and cup Teddy's erection through the light blue cotton of his boxers. But then - Billy sat back on his heels and just stared for a moment, his teeth worrying at his bottom lip. Teddy squirmed under the weight of his gaze, was about to lean forward and beg for him to do something, get up here, kiss him-
Then Billy splayed his hands out on Teddy's thighs and leaned forward, ran his mouth along the length of Teddy's still-trapped cock. His lips caught for a second on the damp patch where Teddy was already leaking, the fabric drawn tight across his cockhead.
Teddy groaned and his hips bucked up into that fleeting sensation. Billy's hands curled around his hips and held him in place. He brushed his lips slow as torture along the whole length of Teddy's cock.
Teddy needed to strip away the last of their clothes and get inside him, to hold him steady and thrust deep into that slick heat.
And then it was gone again.
"Fuck, Billy," Teddy growled. "You're killing me."
Billy chuckled, low and dark, and mouthed him again, the gentle pressure firing sparks behind Teddy's eyes. Teddy bit his knuckle to stop himself from shouting and bringing campus security down on them both. "I've barely started."
Billy closed his mouth over the head of Teddy's cock, the wet cotton muting and spreading the sensation and the heat. His tongue traced patterns there, the wetness of his mouth sealing the fabric to the skin beneath. Billy sucked him in, pulled at Teddy's boxers with his teeth and licked a long-slow-wet stripe up Teddy's cock.
The sensation was gentler, spread out and not enough, the cold air hitting his wet skin through the fabric every time Billy took his mouth away
"Please." Teddy begged, he begged and rocked against Billy's hands. If he could just get closer to Billy's mouth, sink between his lips, drown inside him-
Billy hooked two fingers in the elastic of Teddy's boxers and pushed them down his hips; just enough to free his cock and let it rise up to lie flat against his stomach. Teddy looked down at himself, at Billy's fingers wrapping around the familiar shape, his cock throbbing red and beading pre-come along the slit.
Billy leaned in and wiped it away with his tongue. He pressed his lips to the tip, then without any warning at all, opened his mouth and took Teddy deep.
Holy mother of fuck!
The couch was rough under Teddy's fingers when he dug in, white-knuckled. He had to salvage some control, stop himself from grabbing Billy's head, pulling him down, thrusting in and in and in.
Billy's hands held him still. His lips and tongue moved in little circles, dancing around the rim, over the head, down along that sweet cluster of nerves below. He dropped a hand and stroked himself, rocking into his own fingers in time with the way he was working Teddy with his mouth. "Don't," Teddy begged, and Billy frowned up at him, pulled off and sat back. "I want to touch you." The words were hard to find through the haze in his brain, but Billy sucked in his breath.
He put both hands on Teddy again, cupped the weight of Teddy's balls and tugged on them. He sank his slick, sweet mouth back down on Teddy, pulling off and teasing, then mouthing and licking him down to the root. Teddy grabbed for him, cupped the back of Billy's neck with his hand, the short hairs there prickling at his fingers.
Billy took him in deep, so deep, the flat of his tongue pushing up against the underside of Teddy's cock. He swallowed around Teddy, the sensation everywhere and everything all at once. Teddy looked down; Billy was staring up at him, his lips gleaming wet with spit and pre-come, Teddy's cock vanishing between them.
"I'm close. I'm going to come; fuck!" Teddy threw his head back and strained against Billy's hands, the thumbs that dug into his skin and promised sweet bruises in the morning.
"Go," Billy urged him, pulling off only for a second before sinking back down onto him. Teddy rocked up into him once, twice, fire tightening in the pit of his stomach, and then he was gone.
Lightning raced along his limbs, snaked along his arms and legs, sparked in his fingers and toes and the back of his neck. He came and Billy swallowed him down, wrapped his hands around Teddy's hips and his thighs, stroked and petted and tucked up under his half-unbuttoned shirt.
Teddy collapsed, his head banging back against the wall as he fell. The couch caught him and he moaned. Billy was laughing, pressing kisses along Teddy's stomach, his hip, the tip of his cock, oversensitive and sore. Teddy hissed and Billy tucked him away gently, gave his softened dick an affectionate pat. Teddy burst out laughing and Billy rose to his feet. His hard-on tented out his slacks, insistent and gorgeous and begging to be tasted.
Teddy sat up and chased him, grabbing for Billy's hands. He pulled him down, kissed him and thrust his tongue inside that unbelievable, perfect mouth. He tasted himself, and couldn't resist sucking on Billy's lower lip to get the last few traces. Billy moaned and Teddy bit at his throat. He mouthed at Billy's collarbone, laved his tongue along the dip and hollow in the middle. He pushed Billy's shirt out of the way impatiently, tasted and nipped at what skin he could find, leaving little pink welts behind.
Teddy grabbed at Billy's pants and Billy thrust against him, rubbed shamelessly against whatever part of Teddy's hands he could reach. His hands twisted in Teddy's hair and guided Teddy's mouth to where he wanted him, his cock straining against the fabric that confined it.
Teddy made the mistake of looking up. Billy was looking down at him, lips parted and eyes half-closed, his shirt askew. Teddy froze, the perspective all off. Something lanced him, thick and heavy in the center of his chest, and he couldn't breathe.
"Teddy?" Billy cupped his cheek, and Teddy leaned into the touch.
"Bad angle," he muttered. "C'mere." He wrapped his arms around Billy and pulled him down to the couch. Billy settled with his back against the cushions, Teddy kneeling between his legs.
The air untangled in his chest. Safe now.
He leaned over Billy and kissed him, slow and deep, Billy's hips rolling up against him with undisguised urgency.
"Please, Teddy." Billy begged. He hooked his arms back over the arm of the couch to give himself leverage, splayed himself open for whatever Teddy chose to give. Teddy fumbled with Billy's waistband, all thumbs. He finally got the button and zipper open and shoved the layers of pants and briefs down Billy's hips. Billy's cock sprang free, thick and dark and gleaming wet at the tip.
That. I want that.
He splayed his hands over Billy's hips, pressed his nose and mouth against the crease of his thigh. Billy trembled underneath him, arching his head back and complaining louder the longer Teddy stayed there, just breathing. Teddy pressed a closed-mouth kiss to the base of Billy's cock, just to feel him jump and hear him swear, then licked slowly up along the vein. Billy started talking and didn't stop, an endless, barely-coherent litany of "oh god" and "holy shit" and "I want" spilling from him as Teddy tasted his skin.
He slid the flat of his tongue over the head, under the ridge and around. Billy made a soft keening sound that was magic and Teddy did it again, slow and slick.
It was too bad he didn't still have the tongue piercing. That had been an amazing feeling, dragging the warm metal ball along the length of a cock, the texture and the pull of steel on skin. But this was good too, his tongue sliding easily over Billy's rigid length, the smell of sex and lust coiled around them. And over all of it was Billy, and the taste of his pre-come, salt-sour and so intensely male.
Teddy breathed hot over Billy's balls, nuzzled the dark curls of hair at the base. Billy's cock was heavy on his tongue, a solid weight that captured all of Teddy's focus.
He sucked on the tip and Billy jumped underneath him, thrust up into his mouth fast and hard enough to make Teddy gag and pull back.
"Sorry, I'm sorry-"
"It's okay." And it was. But his reaction had been amazing and Teddy tried it again, pressing down with his hands to hold Billy in place. He took just the tip in his mouth, sucked hard, then pulled off again with a slick and audible pop.
Billy cursed and Teddy licked a long wet stripe up his palm, wrapped his fist around the base of Billy's cock. Billy's eyes widened and Teddy dropped his head to suck the rest, pumped his fist to stroke in time with the movements of his mouth. That was easy, that was good, and he flicked his tongue around the ridge again, just to watch the taut arch of Billy's back as he writhed.
"Do it," he ordered, sinking his mouth down over Billy again. Billy thrust once, tentatively. The soft skin of his shaft slicked up and down in Teddy's hand, and he fucked Teddy's mouth with just the head. Teddy's lips closed around him and Billy shouted as he pulled back and popped free. Billy thrust up again with more confidence, a fast, sharp rhythm that filled Teddy's mouth just enough each time. The tang of Billy's pre-come flooded his senses, the obscene sounds of his mouth mingling with the sound of Billy's voice.
Teddy was half-hard again, untouched. He wanted Billy's hands next, Billy's cock splitting him open, to ride hot between his thighs and come across his stomach.
"Teddy, I - shit, I'm going to - Teddy!" Billy cried out, thrusting faster into Teddy's hand and mouth. Teddy closed his hand tight and sucked, his cheeks hollowing out and his eyes closed. Billy arched, dug in his nails, and then Teddy was swallowing again and again, his mouth flooded and Billy inside him, all his.
Billy's cock softened in his mouth and Teddy let him fall away with one last slick pop. He ran his tongue along the sweaty arc and curve of Billy's hip, and pressed an open-mouthed kiss against the trail of hair that ran down from Billy's navel.
Billy collapsed back against the couch, all but purring in his languor. He wrapped his legs up around Teddy's hips to pull him down, and Teddy curled around him possessively. Billy didn't stop shaking, and Teddy stroked his cheek with a thumb. Billy turned his face in to Teddy's chest, pressed against him. Teddy ran his hands over Billy's back, a couple of choking sobs wrenching themselves free before Billy's breathing evened out.
"Hey, hey-" Teddy murmured quietly. "Are you okay? I didn't hurt you, did I?"
"No, no-" Billy breathed deeply, curled up tightly against Teddy and hooked his leg over Teddy's knee. "I'm fine. I'm better than fine. I'm amazing. You're amazing. That was-"
"Let me guess," Teddy laughed softly when Billy seemed to have run out of steam. He kissed the top of Billy's head. "Amazing."
"You're psychic," Billy replied, his voice as drowsy as Teddy felt. He could easily stay here, wrapped up in Billy and the afterglow, tasting Billy in his mouth and holding him in his arms.
The old couch was poking a spring into Teddy's side, and he shifted to dislodge it. Billy turned in his arms and tipped his head up to kiss him, arm locking tight around Teddy's waist. It was less urgent now but had no less heat, the fire and desperation from before turned smoldering, their kisses long and deep and slow.
Teddy's dick was definitely getting interested again, and given another ten or fifteen minutes, he might be able to do something about it.
The loud rap on the door sent them both flying off the couch in different directions. "Building's closing!"
"Thank you!" Billy called back to what had to be security, picking himself up off the floor where he'd landed. Teddy zipped himself back up, tucked his shirt back in haphazardly, and didn't that just figure? The footsteps he hadn't heard approach headed away down the hall and Billy broke into slightly nervous laughter.
Billy was a beautiful mess, and Teddy couldn't resist the urge to run his fingers through his hair. There was no hope of calming it down, the tendrils flopping madly in all directions. Billy finished buttoning his shirt and he turned into Teddy's touch, pressed a kiss into the center of his palm. He wasn't as calm as he wanted Teddy to think, his darting looks tight and nervous. Maybe as nervous as Teddy felt, now that the initial rush was over, and they were – what? Dating? Friends and fucking? Or was it just the once, the rebound that Teddy had been so desperate to avoid?
Screw it. If Billy wanted out now, he was going to have to be the one to say it. Teddy bumped his nose against Billy's, tipped his head and kissed him, slow and sweet. And maybe, just maybe, he was going to get this one good thing to keep, because Billy was rising up on his toes to close the gap between them. He wrapped his arms around Teddy and kissed him back.
"Security's going to be back any minute now," Billy said mournfully. "And as appealing as the idea of getting locked in here with you is, it'll make things complicated tomorrow."
And then they'd both have had time to rethink this, and for neurosis and regret to get in the way, and- "Come back to my place," Teddy suggested impulsively. "Stay tonight? You can borrow one of my shirts for tomorrow. That's if you don't mind."
"Ten minutes ago," Billy said, leaning in to kiss Teddy again. "You had my dick in your mouth."
"Yeah," Teddy replied reverently. "That was awesome."
"I'm good with borrowing a shirt."
oooOooo
Billy was in his arms the moment Teddy let his apartment door close behind them. Teddy kissed him up against the wall of his front hallway, pulled him down the dark hall to the bedroom, shedding a trail of clothes along the way.
Teddy flicked the light on, kissed Billy again, let him undo the buttons on Teddy's shirt and push it off his shoulders. Billy's glasses ended up on the night table, their pants on the floor.
It wasn't fair, what this guy was doing to him. It was less than an hour since they'd been together and Teddy wanted him again, in every possible way. He hooked a finger into Billy's shirt collar and dragged it aside. Billy's collarbone was right there and Teddy licked it, dragged his tongue along the sweat-salty skin. He bit lightly and wanted it to mark, to be a red and purple reminder of what they'd done.
The bed was far more comfortable than the couch had been. Teddy pulled Billy down with him, tangled their legs, and traced the lines of Billy's body with his fingers, lips and tongue. The desperate, crashing urgency of before mellowed into languorous touching and bare skin, heat and sweat and slick-sliding hands.
And this time, when he mouthed Billy's stomach and flattened his tongue over the hollow of his navel, it was as a prayer, and a benediction.
Please, let me have this. Please let me stay.
Sometime later, as Billy was riding high over him and thrusting into Teddy's hand, he stopped to catch his breath. He hung his head, panting, dark hair brushing against Teddy's chest. "God, Teddy." He rolled his hips and slid his cock through Teddy's lube-slick fist. "You make me feel like I'm sixteen again. Like anything is possible."
Teddy tightened his grip to make Billy gasp; smiled against his mouth and bit the sound from his lips. He kissed Billy, held him tightly as he shook through his orgasm, his own body sated and warm. "It is," Teddy replied, curling around Billy and holding him close. "With you, I think it is."
oooOooo
Teddy woke up before his alarm. He rolled over and caught himself halfway, the warm body next to him incongruous and utterly new. It hadn't been a dream.
Bill Kaplan was in his bed.
The world was a beautiful place.
Billy was in his bed, sprawled out face-down and naked. The little bits of early morning sun that filtered between the bedroom curtains played across the expanse of his back, more defined and tautly muscled than the clothes he wore to work ever gave him credit for.
Teddy had to touch, he couldn't help it. There was still a chance, however unlikely it was beginning to seem, that this was a dream or mirage. Or more probably, that Billy would come to his senses, that he'd decide this wasn't what he wanted (that Teddy hadn't been good enough). And this would be the last opportunity he'd have to see, to touch, to taste. He leaned in and pressed his lips against Billy's shoulder blade. There was a hint of salt there on his skin, and beneath that, musk and something else utterly indescribable.
Billy turned his head and muttered into the pillow, shoved his hands up beneath it and kept his eyes resolutely closed. Teddy smiled against his skin. He brushed the flat of his palm against Billy's shoulder, followed the lines of his ribs and the arc of his back, the long plane of his side that curved up towards his ass.
He felt the shift in the air before Billy moved or opened his eyes. He was awake, the tension in his body different than it had been a few seconds ago. Teddy stopped moving and left his hand resting on Billy's hip. Any second now, he was going to pull away or grumble a complaint.
Billy nudged his hips up toward Teddy's hand, his eyes still firmly closed. It was an invitation, and Teddy's mouth went dry. He pushed the covers down to expose Billy's ass and legs, his thighs falling open just a little where he lay.
He was beautiful no matter what, but this, all laid out in front of Teddy, was almost too much. He had woken up half-hard, and the rush of blood and heat now left him aching. He cupped one cheek in his hand, splayed his fingers out to cover as much of that taut skin as he could. He slipped teasing fingers down the cleft between Billy's legs. He could feel but not see the incredibly soft skin of his perineum from this angle, the downy hair that covered his balls. He stroked him there, with just two fingers, traced light circles on his skin.
Billy moaned into the pillow, and the sound was lightning right to Teddy's dick. Billy kept his eyes closed and ground down against the mattress, everything tightening under Teddy's fingers. "Wait," Teddy leaned close and murmured into Billy's ear, flattened his other hand firmly against Billy's hip. Bill's dark eyes flew open and stared at him hungrily. Teddy kissed him, and it felt like drowning.
He didn't deserve this but he would take it; he would take it and run and never, ever look back.
He sat up so that he could run both hands down Billy's legs, tight and muscular, patterned with dark hair that made his skin seem pale by contrast. There was so much Teddy still didn't know about him. Did he work out, did he run? Teddy dragged the pad of his thumb over Bill's instep, rubbed deep into the muscle there.
"Biking," Billy muttered, and Teddy realized that at least some of that had been out loud. "I bike a lot in the summer."
"It shows," Teddy stroked him with both hands now, mapping out the textures of his calves, the backs of his knees, the freckle high on his inner thigh. "You have incredible legs." Billy was tense, had propped himself up on his elbows and was looking back over his shoulder to watch Teddy.
His eyes were so dark in the half-light that the golden brown had gone almost entirely black. Billy grimaced, trembled with the effort of not-grinding, not-moving while Teddy petted him. Teddy stroked his thumbs up the crease at the top of Billy's thighs, along his hips. He slid his hand between Billy's hips and the sheet, and wrapped his fingers around the base of Billy's cock.
Billy arched, bucked up against him, a hissed "Fuck, Teddy," ripping out of him.
Teddy just grinned and bit him lightly on the ass. Billy growled, and in a moment he'd turned, still inside the brace of Teddy's arms, to lie on his back. Those magnificent legs wrapped around Teddy's hips and locked behind him, Bill's arms dragging him in close.
That was almost too much already, Billy hot and strong against and around him, morning stubble sharp against his cheek, their cocks rubbing against each other. Teddy braced himself with one arm over Billy's shoulder, pressed up a little and laid his forehead against Bill's. It was another point of contact, another place where the electricity between them could spark and jump. It also gave him one hell of a view, the red heads of their dicks sliding rough between their bodies.
The lube was still on the nightstand from last night and he grabbed for it blindly, thrust against Billy as he fumbled. He found the tube and a moment later wrapped a slick fist around Billy's cock, already beading with pre-come.
He wanted to lick it off. He wanted to suck it and watch Billy's face when he arched and thrust, to taste the salt-sour flood on his tongue again. He wanted to ride it, to sink down onto Billy and be filled and stretched until the burn was so strong he couldn't think. He wanted to drive into him and watch Billy's cock jump, to die a thousand times buried deep inside of him. To stroke Bill until he came, shouted, cried.
Not this time, though. This time he closed his hand around Billy's dick. He stroked him slow, rocked his own hard cock against the groove of Billy's hip and gasped at the drag and pressure.
Billy's hips lifted into him and his nails dug into Teddy's back. Sharp spots of pain merged with the white-hot pleasure of the friction in a feedback loop that sent sparks flying behind his eyes. Billy fastened his mouth on Teddy's shoulder, nipped and sucked desperately at his skin.
Billy convulsed, crying out and mashing his lips against Teddy's. The kiss was artless and needy, all teeth and tongue and stale morning breath. Billy's come was a hot mess between them, and Teddy still needed, so desperately. He sucked on Billy's lips, lanced his tongue into his mouth and imagined it was his cock, fucking Billy's mouth, fucking into his body.
He thrust against Billy's hip, dragging through the slick-sticky mess, and it wasn't quite – wouldn't be quite enough. He wanted to crawl under Billy's skin and live there, be a part of him and have this, this always-
Teddy grabbed his cock, jacked himself tight and fast. Billy's hands moved restlessly down his body to clench at his ass, slip a spit-slick finger between and rub circles against the skin there. He pressed the pad of one finger against the tight ring of muscle, and Teddy's body opened for him.
Teddy came almost instantly. He came over his fist and over Billy's belly and it mingled with the mess already there. He dropped his head down into the crook of Billy's shoulder and panted, stroked himself slowly through it. He grazed his teeth against Billy's skin and bit down, lightly, a ground and an anchor, a point of contact to lead him back home.
He came back to himself a minute later with Billy's arms wrapped around him, their legs tangled and the sheets bunched up around their feet.
"Fuck," he breathed out reverently.
"I'm exhausted. Maybe next time?" Billy murmured against his throat, and Teddy could feel those warm lips curving up into a smile where they pressed into his skin.
Next time. Those were the two most magnificent words ever spoken, and Teddy laughed for the sheer joy of it. He looped his leg over Billy's hip and used his leverage there to pull him in closer.
"Deal," Teddy replied, and bent his head down to kiss Billy, long and tender (and still a lot like morning breath, but he really didn't care). The alarm went off halfway through, and he wasn't nearly done. He groaned and reached for it, smacking the nightstand a couple of times before he managed to turn off the shrill beep. Billy untangled himself and sat up, smoothed Teddy's hair down with his fingers.
"Do you suppose we'd still make it in on time if we tried for a joint shower?" Billy suggested, a little bit of wariness creeping back into his eyes as the mood of the moment passed away into more mundane things.
"It would save water," Teddy suggested, keeping his eyes locked on Bill. He wanted to get that smile back – not the slightly calculated one that Billy used half the time, but the real honest one that lit him up and set Teddy's heart on fire. "It would be the responsible thing to do." He nodded solemnly.
The smile came back and Teddy relaxed. "Well," Billy said, sitting up. He glanced at the tangled mess of the sheets and grimaced a little. "Never let it be said that we didn't at least try to be responsible."
They made it to campus about five minutes before Teddy's class started, but that was what TAs with cell phones and a key to his office were for.
And if anyone noticed the little trail of purpling bruises down Teddy's neck, or that Billy was wearing one of Teddy's shirts, they were polite enough not to say anything.
At least not to Teddy.
End notes:
'Cap' is borrowed with permission from isengard and her brilliant Young Avengers AU, I'll Cover You, available over at the AO3 (works / 589582). If you aren't reading it, you should be.