halfnhalf | 004 - Action/Voice

Entry tags:

004 - Action/Voice

[Action]

[Although Teddy didn't go on the draft, he knew plenty of friends who did. Once he was certain they were all accounted for, though some had gone through some heavy losses, he felt like he could relax a little. And with relaxation, it dawned on him that he hadn't really practiced his shifting ability in a while. Sure, there was his Hulkling form, but he knew that one. Knew it inside and out. What about others?

This is why he sits by the edge of the fountain, homework and pencil in hand, though he doesn't work so much as watch people over the top of the page. He's inconspicuous about it, as this is a hobby he's developed for some time now.

And when he's sure he's not in anyone's range of vision, he transforms, shifting into the form of the person he's got his eyes on. That's when he stops watching them and looks down at the body he's impersonating, just to study the shape, occasionally glancing up to make sure he has everything right. Even when the person's left, he still stays in that form for a few long moments before he shifts back, writing his answers in his homework once he's satisfied with the shape he's in.

Observe, learn, shift, hold. This is what he's learned over the years, though it's been a while since he's done this for selfless reasons. Just for practice, nothing more.]

[Voice]

[It's sunset and he's still outside, though he appears to be walking back home. There's just one thing on his mind, something that occurred to him while shifting.]

Anyone up for playing b-ball sometime? It's been way too long since I actually got to play against someone. Holograms just don't really cut it, you know?

[He would suggest football, but, well. When you've got the ability to possibly break someone in half with a good tackle, that probably isn't the best sport to go for.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Billy watches him shift, quietly delighted; it's still kind of weird to see, the distorted rippling of limbs and features, but in a deeply fascinating way, and the result is too entertaining to let it bother him in the slightest. Kirk in a storm trooper uniform? It's pretty funny.]

Hey, come on, you're a protector of the universal peace, aren't you? You're supposed to say something heroic, like "I'm going under cover to save a princess!"

Or maybe...

[He wraps an arm around Billy's waist and pulls him closer to his side, his back straightened and his chin up as if he was posing heroically despite sitting down, and gives him a smile, his eyes shifting to his normal blue color.]

I'm going under cover to save a prince! And look who I've just rescued.

[Billy leans in a bit, shoulder tucked up against the crook of Teddy's, and lifts a hand to gently flick his boyfriend's nose.]

Careful, captain, your baby blues are showing. And aren't we forgetting who the real prince in this relationship is?

[Oh, right - back to Kirk's color, then. Teddy makes a little face thanks to the nose flick, and he moves his arm from Billy's waist to around his shoulders instead. And though he'd like to lean in and touch foreheads with him, he's... not quite sure if he's all that comfortable doing so while shifted into someone else.]

No, I'm just a captain right now. Unless... Plot twist. You saved the prince. [Kind of fits, too.]

[Billy's okay with the closeness since he knows it's Teddy, but he's not about to cozy up too much either- due to both the altered appearance and how he knows they would look to anyone who might wander by and see them like this. He doesn't want rumours floating around that he's cheating on Teddy with anyone, even handsome space captains.]

Possible! Very possible. I wonder what I could save the prince from... starvation? Boredom? Homework?

Homework.

[He takes his homework he'd set aside with his free hand and holds it up, letting Billy see the paper. Teddy's worked out some problems, but a few in the middle and the end are giving him trouble.]

Math homework. If you save the prince from this, he'll reward you handsomely.

[Billy takes the sheet with an upturned brow, scanning over the questions until he spots the problematic ones. Well. That just won't do at all. He can't have his boyfriend falling behind.]

You're in luck, then. I'm practically a math super hero.

[...Which is totally not true, but it is one of his best subjects. Something about the logic of it appealing to him, as if he wasn't enough of a nerd already.]

Does this mean I can join the engineering crew?

[He probably would've figured it out before the day was over, but better to get it done and out of the way quickly with someone else's help than spend forever agonizing over it. Once Billy takes the paper, Teddy pulls his arm away to rest both hands against the stone he's sitting on, then takes the pencil at his side and holds it up for his boyfriend.]

I'll even spare you the red shirt.

Oh thank god. I don't think I can pull off a dramatic faked death scene to save my life. ...Which actually sounds kind of ironic, put that way.

[Billy accepts the pencil, twisting it between his fingers for a moment before jotting a note or two below one of the unfinished questions, simplifying it.]

Does this make it easier?

[Teddy takes both the page and the pencil back to look down at what Billy did for him. And with that bit of simplifying... Wow, it's a lot easier when it's done that way. His lips move as he works out equations in his head, then writes down the answer, before moving on to the next. There's a small pause, then he slowly simplifies like Billy showed him, and - wow. It really does work out that way.]

Yeah. Yeah, it really does.

[He looks at Billy again, then sets the paper and pencil aside while he shifts the stormtrooper outfit to something more casual, what Teddy would wear.]

Now, I think I told you the prince would reward you. [And with that, he shifts again, this time changing from Kirk to himself.] Thank you for rescuing me, Billy Kaplan.

Edited 2013-04-12 02:10 (UTC)

Just call me the Math Magician.

[Billy grins, although it's somewhat half-hearted; it's a bit tough to be all smiles when he's still feeling powerless and kind of pathetic. Last time he was out of magic it only lasted a week, and while Teddy's presence has helped keep his spirits up, the shapeshifting is also a reminder of the power he doesn't have right now.]

My costume would be pretty lame if I switched to that super-persona, though, I bet. All numbers and TeX symbols.

[Teddy can tell, and truth be told, he's a little worried, too. It's been a long time since his magic was taken away, after all. Teddy loves him with or without it - it's not the magic he fell in love with, after all. But seeing Billy half-hearted like this... It breaks his heart a little.

He doesn't point it out, though; Billy's doing his best and teasing despite it. That's good enough for Teddy. Instead, he moves closer and wraps an arm around Billy's waist, and finally gives in to the urge to do more than that by resting his other hand against the crook of Billy's neck.]

Math Magician or Wiccan or whatever, you're still my hero.

[Billy hums his approval, cuddling closer and sliding his hands up Teddy's chest to wind around his neck, pressing their foreheads together. Teddy's been so patient with him, and comforting as well, so he really is trying to stay positive. And honestly, for the most part he's fine. It's not like anything else is wrong with him, he just misses his magic.]

Any time you need me to heroically save you from Count Calculus or something, just call on me. ...And I'm glad you waited till you were normal again before doing this. Good looking as he is, I don't think I could make out with Captain Kirk.

[Hint hint, that's what he's aiming for sooner or later.]

I don't think I want any rumors going around about you making out with Captain Kirk, either.

[He smiles, the expression fondly amused, and he gives Billy's nose a little nuzzle with his own before he presses their foreheads together again.]

And besides... I still haven't really rewarded you yet.

[He doesn't give much more warning than that. It looks like Teddy's going for "sooner", because he raises his hand to press it against Billy's cheek, then leans in to kiss his lips. It's slow and gentle, a prelude to what he has planned next.]

[Billy would respond to that - something cheeky like being the talk of the town, maybe - but suddenly his mouth is otherwise occupied, and he finds that he doesn't mind at all. He leans into the kiss, opening up to it with quiet enthusiasm, feeling a slight tingle spreading between them, starting at his fingertips and working its way up to his lips, so potent it's almost electric.]

[No.

Wait.

....Zzzzzzzzap.

Very electric, actually.]

[Teddy was just about to deepen it further when -

Zzzzzzzzzap.

It turns out to be really be electric, enough for Teddy to feel like he's being pushed back by the static between their lips. He widens his eyes and blinks a few times, just to get a feel on what just happened, and then he stares at Billy while rubbing his fingers across his lips, which are still tingling quite a lot.

... That electricity actually felt really familiar. That realization, plus the way Billy looks and what just happened, makes him smile, then let out a chuckle.]

Billy...

[Billy's face is immediately red, leaning back as well with widened eyes. His hands grip the material of Teddy's shirt, static making little strands of his hair stick up in all angles, and he launches right into a flustered babble.]

Oh my god. Oh my god, I can't believe- that hasn't happened for like a year- I'm so sorry. Are you okay? That wasn't you, was it? Maybe it was you. Are you shifting into an electric eel now or something? Can you even do that?

[He pauses - mostly for air - and his gaze falls about half a foot to stare at something other than Teddy, which turns out to just be Teddy's chest instead, though he's obviously not really focusing on it. His fingers curl more tightly, breath catching a little as he takes in air.]

...That... wasn't you.

[A statement this time, not a question. A realization.

It was me.]

Billy - Billy.

[Teddy tried to tell him, but with him rambling like that, it's a little hard to get a word in edgewise. But now that Billy's quieted down, staring at Teddy's chest and understanding seeming to dawn on him, he finds himself smiling again - it's a little ridiculous, a huge smile and all.

He covers Billy's hands over his chest, then pulls them away, twisting his own hands so that he can entwine his fingers with his boyfriend's. Then he leans in slightly, just enough so that he can speak quietly.]

Try your magic now.

[Billy's gaze shifts to their joined hands, his fingers tensing against Teddy's, brows furrowing a little. At first there's just confusion, then bewilderment, and then finally focus. That was electricity. That was a message from his body, the very core of him, telling him that it's time. That the wait is over. Hesitantly he begins to chant, at first so faintly it's almost silent, gradually rising in volume.]

...I want... I-I want... I want I want IwantIwantIwantIwantIwantIwant...

[Initially, it does nothing, and he worries that it isn't back at all, but the truth is he doesn't really want anything. What he'd wanted desperately all this time is the one thing that was out of reach: for his magic to be back. And now it is.

Instead he shifts back to the basics: eyes closed, deep breaths, intense focus. Over time he feels the heat forming around his hands, spreading along his arm to cover the rest of his body, and a shaky, relieved smile crosses his lips. He's glowing, even if his eyes aren't open to see it. The experience is unforgettably familiar. He's glowing and it's magic.

A minute or so later, when he finally opens his eyes, the glow has eclipsed both of them, surrounded them and lifted them off the bench and at least two feet into the air.

And he grins like he could light up the sun.]

I want to fly.

[A memory surfaces, of the two of them sitting on Teddy's bed and practicing just like that, his mother's self-help books spread around them like ritual candles and holding hands to "better the flow" or something. It was a little more chaste, considering they had just started dating by that time.

Now Teddy looks all around - the glow around them, the ground below them, their entwined hands, and finally, up at Billy, and - and he looks so incredibly beautiful. It's not just the magic, but it's the smile, that dizzying smile that can make the world start spinning again and everything around him to become brighter, more colorful.

For a moment, Teddy has to stare, and his expression can only be described as joyful adoration. But then Billy states the obvious, and then Teddy has to state the obvious too.]

You're doing it... You got it! [He squeezes Billy's hands, allowing his legs to stretch and his body to tilt forward slightly.] Look at you - You got it!

I've got it!

[Billy can't help but echo the exclamation, eyes bright, kicking his legs a bit to get them turning in the air. It's sappy and silly and kind of childish but he's so happy at this point he can't bring himself to care. He's here with Teddy and he has magic again and he can fly...]

Hey- grab your stuff, okay? I want to go flying for real.

[His expression is eager and hopeful- he's not sure if Teddy's finished doing whatever he was hanging out here to do, but he really wants to go, and he wants to share this moment with the most important person he has in his life here. And sure, they've gone flying plenty of times before, and it's not like this time is particularly special, it just feels like it is.]

[Teddy can't help it - he laughs out loud when Billy turns them around, bright and happy, because Billy's joy is just that contagious. And in Teddy's humble opinion, Billy didn't even need to look hopeful for that request. He gives his hands another squeeze, then uses Billy's weight to push himself downward and outside of the magical glow.]

I think I can work flying into my schedule! [He didn't bring much, just his backpack along with his homework, which he's already stuffing away now that he's on the ground. He'd been thinking of sticking around and copying the appearance of more people, possibly with Billy beside him and comparing the original with the copy, but this? He really doesn't mind stopping his self-training for the day for this.

Once his backpack is on his back, he looks up at Billy with a big smile, contemplating something for a moment... and then he reaches up to take Billy's hands again. He pulls himself up into that magical field again, feeling himself go weightless once more, and he gives his boyfriend's hands a gentle squeeze.]

Ready when you are, babe.

[Billy responses merely with a cheeky grin, twining their fingers together and giving them a little push with his magic, allowing them to glide higher into the air and over the village. It's been a bit of a drizzly day, but for the moment the weather's behaving, giving the sky a soft grey look now accented by the gentle glow around their bodies. He keeps switching between looking ahead and looking at Teddy, feeling that same thrill he'd felt the first time they flew like this - the experience of owning the sky, of sharing it with someone special. There's really no words that could describe it that would equal the sensation. The wind is chilly but Teddy's hand is warm against his own, and he swears he hasn't felt this good in weeks.]

Oh my god, I've seriously missed this. I'm gonna spend all day teleporting from room to room.

[Teddy has a grin of his own as he looks out ahead of him, and with his posture, you'd think he was born to fly. It's certainly a far cry from the very first time Billy flew with him like this, with Teddy holding on tight and staring with wide eyes, only to slowly grow less terrified and more ecstatic with the realization that he's flying.

And now, he doesn't even think to wonder if Billy's powers are weak thanks to being gone for so long, if he should use his own wings or if he should ask if this is all right. All that he has is full and complete trust for his boyfriend and his abilities. And he has to admit that he's missed this - not just flying with Billy, but Billy using his power to fly them both.

He, too, alternates between looking ahead and at Billy, and when their gazes happen to catch, he gives a little chuckle and brushes their shoulders together. One of those times is when Billy speaks, and Teddy keeps himself close, shoulder to shoulder.]

Just don't get too lazy. I don't want to catch you pulling a Merlin and Higitus Figitusing the room on me.

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

1/2

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]