Teddy and Steph - May 5
May. 5th, 2018 10:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ax_glitter posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
ax_mainTeddy meets Steph and Ben. It's not too long before he winds up with the little guy in his arms.
Cookies worked a lot better for stress relief than cake. Mixing a cake was nice and relaxing, but then it went in the oven and left Teddy with nothing to do but think for half an hour or more, and that was the thing he was currently trying to avoid. Bread had the same problem, even though the kneading was awesome, and one time he'd kneaded the dough so hard - so frustrated and scared - that he'd ended up baking a rubbery overworked lump.
So back to cookies it was, but not the brown sugar ones. He heard his mother's voice every time he even thought about that recipe. This one was new, from a recipe he'd found online, and it had enough complicated steps in it to keep his mind on his hands. Plus they were supposed to be a traditional Jewish cookie, so hopefully Billy would get a kick out of his attempts.
The first batch was in the oven - shaped into their little rolled crescents and smelling pretty good - and he started rolling out the second quarter of the dough while he waited.
Steph arrived in the kitchen with Ben tucked into one shoulder, a small bag slung over the other shoulder, and a booster seat tucked under one arm. This would be soooo much easier if she was still nursing the little guy, but that had stopped when she thought she wasn't going to see him again until summer. Formula and cereal it was then, with all the bother that went with them.
She only paused for a moment when she saw the big guy working at the counter. If Ben was any less hungry, she'd worry about the new face being a distraction for him, but he was already burbling over the half a fist he had stuffed in his mouth and was eyeing the pink booster seat with barely contained excitement.
"Hi!" Steph said as she pulled out a chair at the table and set the booster seat down. "Hope we're not interrupting anything."
"No, not at all-" Teddy glanced up, nodding at the new girl for a second before registering that she was two people. One and a half, anyway. "Unless you need the stove for something. I'm going to be here another hour, I think." He smiled at the little guy (girl? who could tell, at that size?) and nodded to him too. "Hey there."
"He's Ben, I'm Steph." She set Ben down in the booster and strapped him in, then moved around so she could secure it to the chair. "And nope, no stove. He's just having some cereal, and all I need for that is a bit of warm water."
"I think I saw you post in the journals. I'm Teddy," Teddy introduced himself, moving aside a little so Steph could have access to the stove. The second blob of cookie dough rolled out better than the first one, and he smushed it a little more just to be safe. "I'm not sure if I remembered to reply there or not, but uh - welcome anyway?"
Steph pulled some utensils and a box of baby cereal out of her bag. she handed the utensils to Ben and went over to the sink. "Thanks! I don't remember either - The first day or two are a bit of a blur, but things are going better now. Expecially since I'm allowed to bring the little booger in or visits."
The pieces fell into place then, and Teddy's face brightened. "Oh! That's who you are. Billy said something about bringing someone back and forth with a kid. How does Ben take to teleporting?"
"He's very suspicious." Steph smiled as she poured some cereal into a bowl. "I mean, he's in Mom and Dad's living room one moment, and here the next, but so far it hasn't bothered him enough to do more than give poor Billy a dirty look."
"Eh, Billy can take it. He's got two little brothers - they do a whole lot worse than glare." Teddy grabbed the jar of nutella and spread it on thick. The recipe called for blending up walnuts and stuff for the inside, but he wasn't feeling it today.
"You're seeing the final frontier before your first birthday, kiddo," he grinned at Ben, who really was pretty cute, for a small, really breakable person. "Enjoy living in the future."
Some warm water in the bowl and Steph was left with a wholey unappetizing mush, but as soon as she turned and Ben saw the bowl he started babbling in excitement. "Oh yeah, you're hungry all right." She sat down beside him and stuffed a spoonful of mush into his mouth. "You know Billy pretty well then?"
"You could say that." Teddy's grin faded slightly and he watched her reaction carefully. Everyone else had been cool so far, but sooner or later someone was going to show up who really wouldn't be happy with... But what did it matter? The majority of the school had his back. At least as far as this went. "He's my boyfriend," Teddy said firmly, a small part of him (a part of him that still felt small) bracing for impact.
Steph looked up, a little surprised at the admission, but as soon as her attention was on Teddy, Ben reached out and grabbed the spoon from her hand. "No..." But he was already shaking it, giving them both a small shower of cereal. She grabbed the spoon back. "Shoot, I'm such an amateur when it comes to this dude."
"That's nice though, you guys being together. Billy seems like a sweet guy."
"He is." That had gone okay. She hadn't recoiled or called him gross, so he'd take it. Steph was starting to wear Ben's lunch, though, so he grabbed a couple of paper towels and brought them over. "You look like you could use these," he added, his smile relaxing again.
Steph grinned as she took the offering. "Thanks. He's a handful sometimes, but not crazy bad." She started wiping up the mess on her shirt then stopped, looking up at Teddy with wide eyes. "Oh, you're his boyfriend. That's awesome. That means I can sneak you money for the teleporting."
That caught him off-guard, but the oven started peeping before he could do more than start to shake his head. "If he said he didn't want it I'm not getting in the middle," Teddy said, heading quickly back across the kitchen to grab the rugelach out of the over before they could burn. The smell of hot cinnamon and chocolate hit him full in the face when he opened the oven, his mouth already watering. "Billy gets a decent allowance from his folks; he's not hard up."
Teddy ignored the reminders that tried to push in on him -- what did his own family's finances actually look like? Was he going to have any kind of support from now on, or... Nope. Not thinking about that today. He grabbed the potholders instead and hauled the pan out. "Though if you're in any of his classes, I'm sure he'd be happy to have another study-buddy."
Steph sighed. Back to paying Billy in food. "It's more Dad. He's one of those always-pay-your-debts guys, so he just slipped me the money and told me to make sure Billy gets it. I'll figure something out."
Teddy got back to slicing the dough circle in even wedges. "And Billy's one of those 'helping people out of the goodness of his heart' guys. It's kind of you to offer, and I'm sure he feels the same way. But if you've already offered and he outright refused, then isn't persistently trying to pay him off ignoring what he wants? You don't pay friends for gifts, you just make sure to catch them on the next go-round."
"Naw-uh, back in the hatch, Booger," said Steph as Ben tried to bat away the spoon. "I get all that, and Billy actually said he'd be okay with bratwurst because, Wisconsn - it's all cheese and sausages back home - but for Dad it's about cash. Rock and a hard place sort of thing. I'll figure it out one of these days."
"Stick it in a bank account in case Billy needs bail money one day," Teddy cracked, grinning. "Seriously, he's pretty stubborn. You're better off sticking with the sausage."
"Food it is!" She'd just have to be sneaky about it, maybe get her mom involved somehow. If Dad found out, well, maybe he'd get over himself. "Speaking of, what are you making?"
"Cookies," Teddy replied unhelpfully. "It's a roll cookie called-" he glanced at the recipe on his phone screen, though he definitely mangled the pronounciation. "Rugelach. I found the recipe and thought they looked neat. Want to be a test subject?" he offered, wiping his hands off on his jeans and levering a couple of the cooling batch off the baking sheet. "It's the first time I've tried this one, so no guarantees on anything.
"I guess he's too young for cookies," Teddy gave Ben a dubious look, then when the baby seemed to be grinning at him, made a silly face. "I actually have no idea when kids get teeth."
"Any time now, or at least that's what Mom said." Steph gave Ben the spoon. She hadn't given him too much cereal anyway - he was still on formula most of the time now - so he could have some fun with the dishes and she'd clean up after. "But yes, I will definitely test cookies for you!"
"Excellent. New victims!" Teddy grinned at her and slid the still-warm cookies off the spatula and onto the napkin in front of her. This was good; something simple, with someone who wasn't going to ask him strange questions. "Should I get him one? He'd have to gum it, but it's got to be tastier than that stuff. No offence," he added quickly, just in case.
Steph grinned. "None taken. Mom sort of insisted I feed him this, but honestly, I don't know why it's got to be baby cereal. I'm pretty sure they didn't have it a hundred years ago." She gingerly picked up a cookie and broke off a small piece. Ben's eyes widened and he tossed the spoon across the table by mistake as his hands started flapping in excitement. Steph giggled as she put a bit into his mouth. "I think he liked that before he even tasted it."
"They also didn't have pop tarts a hundred years ago either, and those are definitely a sign we've improved as a species," Teddy joked, not thinking about the words he chose. His throat closed up on him suddenly, and he headed back to the counter to finish rolling the next batch. "So, what's the verdict? Keep going, or toss the rest of this into the compost?"
She took a bite out of the remaining cookie, then smiled. "Oh gosh, that's good. Definitely keep going. Then give me your recipe so I can tell Mom to make me some too."
"I just got it off the internet, I can send you the link," he offered, rolling up the last one and arranging them on the second tray. "And have as many as you want. I'm going to hoard some for Billy and me, but the rest are going out in the lounge for whoever gets there first."
“Oh, well, I’ll take a few then. Can’t pass that up.” Ben couldn’t either, as he was already babbling and waving a chubby hand at the other cookie.
He'd been trying to keep his distance -- no mom wanted some strange boy fussing over her baby -- but the kid was really cute, and Teddy couldn't help his smile at the happy babbling. He'd been having way too many thoughts about moms and babies since the Skrulls had shown up, but every time he tried to sort it out he ended up chasing his own tail. He'd been younger than Ben when Anelle had sent him away. Had she missed him? Had he missed her?
"That's one happy kid," he said warmly, focusing on the here-and-now in an attempt to get out of his own head again.
“Yes, he is. He always is around me.” Which was true, and at home it had always been framed as Ben being happy to see his mom, but in a place where powers seemed to define things, Steph had allowed a little space for wondering. “He’s sort of immune to some of my powers, but... maybe not completely.”
"What are your powers?" Teddy slid the tray in to the oven, and headed back over to the table with the milk and a couple of glasses. "I see the sparkles, but do they do something specific?"
Steph shook her head. “Not really. They’re just sort of a reflection of how much energy I’m putting out or something. I heal mostly, and sort of energize people if they need it – maybe I’m a sort of people battery? But it works on me too. I heal crazy fast, am crazy fast, and if you’ve got a flat tire and no jack, I can lift the car for you.”
"No kidding!" Teddy replied, genuinely impressed. "The healing factor must have made having this little guy a lot easier than it usually is. Does it work to enhance mutant abilities as well? You'll be in serious demand during powers training if it does."
“I don’t know.” Huh. That wasn’t something she had even considered. “Maybe I should see one of the doctors about that? What about you?”
Oof. Loaded question. Not that she knew that, though, and he really didn't feel like broaching the subject and doing the explaining. "A mixed bag," Teddy replied, keeping it light and easy. "Mostly I'm a shapeshifter, but it came with some other stuff. I've got healing as well, and enhanced strength, and I'm tougher to hurt. No extra speed, though." He nodded at her in appreciation. "I've always thought that would be a cool power to have." He took one of the cookies and bit into it, pleasantly surprised at the lack of awful.
“That’s pretty awesome though – shapeshifting, I mean. And the speed thing isn’t like some of the kids here. I’m fast but car-on-the-highway-fast, nothing like that Tommy kid.” He’d moved so fast she’d barely seen him move which was so far out of her range that she almost felt embarrassed claiming she was ‘crazy fast’ now. “Fast enough to catch a speeding baby.”
"Tommy's pretty fast, yeah. He says he's broken the sound barrier before, and while I haven't seen it, enough people have that I pretty much have to believe him." Teddy shrugged, then considered it for a second. "Jean-Paul and Jeanne-Marie are about the same, maybe faster when they're flying. I could probably get faster if I shifted into a cheetah or something, but it'd still be based on the animal's natural abilities. Not like you guys."
Ben was watching Teddy intently, maybe because he’d decided the he was the Cookie Man, or maybe just because he enjoyed the talking. Whatever the reason, it gave Steph a quick break to turn and raise an eyebrow at Teddy. “From what I’ve heard I’m really not in their club at all. Same with strength – lifting that car is a little tough, and my healing, well I heard there’s a kid here who’s pretty much indestructible.” She smiled and tapped a finger on her chin. “I was very impressed with myself before I got here and then every time I turn around, I find someone who can do what I can but a whole lot better.”
"Sure, but you're the only one who has that specific combination, and even if other people have similar bits and pieces, they won't ever be able to do the things you will," Teddy suggested, dipping his cookie in his milk to see what it would do.
"There are other shapeshifters here, but our powers work differently. Gar can become any animal that ever existed on Earth - my powers are whatever I can think up. So on the one hand, mine are better because I have more options, right? Except I have to understand at least a little bit about the biology and physics of what I'm trying or it won't work properly. He can do anything -- even Tyrannosaurs -- entirely by instinct, so his range is already huge. It's inspiring."
“Wow. How does that even work? How does he add that kind of mass out of nowhere?” Then Steph laughed. “Yeah, I’m wondering that and I magically heal people.”
"I have no idea," Teddy replied, laughing along with her. "It defies all laws of physics, but then my boyfriend can literally wish things into existence, so-" he shrugged helplessly. "Welcome to mutant high?"
“Thanks!” She began to gather up everything from Ben’s meal. He was still watching Teddy, but his eyelids were getting heavy, and he’d leaned his head against the back of his booster chair. Steph smiled and nodded at him as headed for the sink. “Look at him. I’ve been holding him all day, supposedly charging him up with my power, but he’s still ready for a nap at a pretty normal time for a baby. I suppose I should consider that a blessing.”
"I guess so. I don't know that much about babies, other than that naptime is sacrosanct." Teddy watched Ben fighting off sleep, something sweet and warm and kind of captivating about watching his eyelids flutter closed and pop open again. He didn't have any problems bigger than whether he could cram his entire fist in his mouth or not, the world still one big, exciting blur to be explored. Teddy was a little bit jealous of that.
He settled down, arms folded on the table and chin on his arms. Babies were kind of awesome. At least Ben was, assuming he was a reasonable example. Teddy hadn't given kids a whole lot of thought, not at sixteen and seventeen, except that on the one hand, he'd always kind of assumed he'd be a father one day. And on the other, he'd been grateful that he wouldn't have to worry about that happening by accident.
Or did he? That was a harrowing realization that sent a chill right through him. Human biology didn't apply to him. Namor was a human-Atlantean hybrid, so obviously humans were mixable. And while Teddy had been going down the wiki-hole on the data Zendao had left behind, he hadn't hit on anything at all yet about Skrull reproductive biology. Except that Skrull genders didn't work the same way as human ones at all.
What if- yikes. Teddy needed to do some reading, and fast. And then figure out if he and Billy needed to change anything about- yeah. Because as sweet as Ben was, that was an extra complication Teddy really didn't need in his life right then.
Steph rinsed out the bowl and spoon and put them aside to dry, then grabbed a bottle of formula out of the fridge before turning to watch Teddy study Ben. He was cute, exactly the type she’d be checking out on the sly if he wasn’t already taken. And if she didn’t have the consequence of the first and last time she’d done that falling asleep in his booster seat. She sighed.
“Well, I’d better get the little booger back for that nap. Hopefully he’ll get a good long sleep now that he’s got a bit of your cookies stuffed in him.”
Teddy sat up, without a name for the confusing blend of emotions muddling around in his head at that moment.
(Moms and babies, and him and babies - would he be forced into some kind of alliance match? If they tried maybe he'd just grab Billy and run and make a life with him somewhere else where babies were a thing and alien empires weren't. Someday- someday. All his future 'somedays' were going to be so different than any way he could possibly have imagined them.)
"Here, let me get him for you," Teddy offered, standing up. She had her hands full already, and moving -- doing something, anything -- was a whole lot better than sitting and thinking. (Maybe this was how Tommy felt half the time. No wonder he was a pain in the ass.)
“Okay, but actually I could use your help with him?” Maybe not so much, but he’d offered and if she could get everything packed up for the return trip to her room without having Ben in one arm it would be a relief. “Would you mind holding him for a sec?”
That sounded a little more involved than just taking the kid out of his seat and passing him over, but if he could be helpful- Teddy glanced at the timer on the oven. Fifteen seconds left- "Give me two seconds and I'm all yours," he promised, jogging quickly over to rescue the tray of cookies and turn the oven off, just in case this took longer than a couple of minutes. "Okay. Now that I won't burn the school down, not a problem."
The booster seat thing had a couple of baby-retention straps on it, but they didn't seem too complicated. "Is there a trick to it? I know you have to hold little babies' heads for them," he asked, suddenly feeling like a bit of an idiot for not knowing.
Steph smiled. “No trick. He’s old enough that you don’t have to worry about that and besides, you just have to hold him up to your shoulder like this,” she grabbed a tea towel and pressed it against her shoulder before tossing it onto the counter again, "and he’ll probably cuddle right in.”
A couple of clicks and she had Ben free. His eyes flickered open for only a second when she picked him up and not at all as she passed him over to Teddy.
Teddy took Ben, hands under the arms, and he was a lot more solid than Teddy had expected. Okay, good. He was that much less likely to accidentally break him. "Hey," Teddy nodded at Ben when he cracked an eye open to check out the new situation, only to close it again. "That looks like an 'okay' to me, hm?" Teddy said, almost to himself more than anyone else.
He followed Steph's example, tucking Ben up onto his shoulder, one arm finding itself under the baby's butt and the other hand secure across his back. It felt weirdly natural, not at all as weird as he'd been expecting, the warm lump of kid cozy rather than terrifying. Teddy'd half-expected a poop smell or something, but other than the half-sticky cereal still spotting his hands, he even smelled nice. Hunh.
It was enough to make Steph melt. Ben looked tiny against Teddy's shoulder, and suddenly all Steph wanted to do was snatch him but and hold him close herself. He'd grown so much since she'd brought him home from the hospital, a little thing that didn't do much more than sleep, and now he was changing so fast, most of it while she was here at school. Ugh, it hurt to think of.
"You have a talent," she said softly as she packed everything up.
"You think?" Teddy glanced up over Ben's fuzzy little head, keeping his voice low to make sure he didn't wake him up. Not that it seemed likely; Ben had conked out like Steph had said he would, his face smushed up against Teddy's shoulder. He wasn't Teddy's -- both he and his mom were basically still strangers -- but the wave of protectiveness all but swamped Teddy nevertheless. That and the certainty that yeah, someday, he wanted this. "He seems pretty chill in general. You're obviously doing a good job."
Steph frowned. "I'm not doing much of a job at all, being here while he's at home most of the time, but at least I know what I'm doing. I've got a few neices and nephews I practiced on before he came along." Steph put her bag over one shoulder and held out her arms. "I think I'm ready to take him."
Teddy carefully shuffled Ben down into his arms and passed him back over, that same wistful feelings-tangle cropping up in his chest again. Very little of it had anything to do with Steph and Ben, though, so he carefully kept it all to himself. "All good?"
"All good, thank you." she whispered as Ben's warmth settled into her. The hurt faded, chased away by that warmth and his steady breathing, and Steph decided that even if she wasn't tired, she was going to curl up beside him in bed when they got back to her room and enjoy the time she did have with him.
He felt like he was intruding on something private, and backed away. He had a couple of trays of cookies to finish, and some thinking to do. And, maybe, a couple of phone calls to make. Assuming he could get up the courage to try. "What room are you in?" he asked softly. "I'll bring some cookies over for you before the locusts swarm."
"213, and thank you. For the cookies and for the help; it's really nice to bring a baby into the school and have people like you make me feel welcome."
"Two-thirteen," Teddy repeated dutifully, scraping the cooled batch onto the plate and making room for the next set. "And you're welcome. And so is he. Believe me, after all the weird that goes down around here, it's nice to see something as normal as family."
Cookies worked a lot better for stress relief than cake. Mixing a cake was nice and relaxing, but then it went in the oven and left Teddy with nothing to do but think for half an hour or more, and that was the thing he was currently trying to avoid. Bread had the same problem, even though the kneading was awesome, and one time he'd kneaded the dough so hard - so frustrated and scared - that he'd ended up baking a rubbery overworked lump.
So back to cookies it was, but not the brown sugar ones. He heard his mother's voice every time he even thought about that recipe. This one was new, from a recipe he'd found online, and it had enough complicated steps in it to keep his mind on his hands. Plus they were supposed to be a traditional Jewish cookie, so hopefully Billy would get a kick out of his attempts.
The first batch was in the oven - shaped into their little rolled crescents and smelling pretty good - and he started rolling out the second quarter of the dough while he waited.
Steph arrived in the kitchen with Ben tucked into one shoulder, a small bag slung over the other shoulder, and a booster seat tucked under one arm. This would be soooo much easier if she was still nursing the little guy, but that had stopped when she thought she wasn't going to see him again until summer. Formula and cereal it was then, with all the bother that went with them.
She only paused for a moment when she saw the big guy working at the counter. If Ben was any less hungry, she'd worry about the new face being a distraction for him, but he was already burbling over the half a fist he had stuffed in his mouth and was eyeing the pink booster seat with barely contained excitement.
"Hi!" Steph said as she pulled out a chair at the table and set the booster seat down. "Hope we're not interrupting anything."
"No, not at all-" Teddy glanced up, nodding at the new girl for a second before registering that she was two people. One and a half, anyway. "Unless you need the stove for something. I'm going to be here another hour, I think." He smiled at the little guy (girl? who could tell, at that size?) and nodded to him too. "Hey there."
"He's Ben, I'm Steph." She set Ben down in the booster and strapped him in, then moved around so she could secure it to the chair. "And nope, no stove. He's just having some cereal, and all I need for that is a bit of warm water."
"I think I saw you post in the journals. I'm Teddy," Teddy introduced himself, moving aside a little so Steph could have access to the stove. The second blob of cookie dough rolled out better than the first one, and he smushed it a little more just to be safe. "I'm not sure if I remembered to reply there or not, but uh - welcome anyway?"
Steph pulled some utensils and a box of baby cereal out of her bag. she handed the utensils to Ben and went over to the sink. "Thanks! I don't remember either - The first day or two are a bit of a blur, but things are going better now. Expecially since I'm allowed to bring the little booger in or visits."
The pieces fell into place then, and Teddy's face brightened. "Oh! That's who you are. Billy said something about bringing someone back and forth with a kid. How does Ben take to teleporting?"
"He's very suspicious." Steph smiled as she poured some cereal into a bowl. "I mean, he's in Mom and Dad's living room one moment, and here the next, but so far it hasn't bothered him enough to do more than give poor Billy a dirty look."
"Eh, Billy can take it. He's got two little brothers - they do a whole lot worse than glare." Teddy grabbed the jar of nutella and spread it on thick. The recipe called for blending up walnuts and stuff for the inside, but he wasn't feeling it today.
"You're seeing the final frontier before your first birthday, kiddo," he grinned at Ben, who really was pretty cute, for a small, really breakable person. "Enjoy living in the future."
Some warm water in the bowl and Steph was left with a wholey unappetizing mush, but as soon as she turned and Ben saw the bowl he started babbling in excitement. "Oh yeah, you're hungry all right." She sat down beside him and stuffed a spoonful of mush into his mouth. "You know Billy pretty well then?"
"You could say that." Teddy's grin faded slightly and he watched her reaction carefully. Everyone else had been cool so far, but sooner or later someone was going to show up who really wouldn't be happy with... But what did it matter? The majority of the school had his back. At least as far as this went. "He's my boyfriend," Teddy said firmly, a small part of him (a part of him that still felt small) bracing for impact.
Steph looked up, a little surprised at the admission, but as soon as her attention was on Teddy, Ben reached out and grabbed the spoon from her hand. "No..." But he was already shaking it, giving them both a small shower of cereal. She grabbed the spoon back. "Shoot, I'm such an amateur when it comes to this dude."
"That's nice though, you guys being together. Billy seems like a sweet guy."
"He is." That had gone okay. She hadn't recoiled or called him gross, so he'd take it. Steph was starting to wear Ben's lunch, though, so he grabbed a couple of paper towels and brought them over. "You look like you could use these," he added, his smile relaxing again.
Steph grinned as she took the offering. "Thanks. He's a handful sometimes, but not crazy bad." She started wiping up the mess on her shirt then stopped, looking up at Teddy with wide eyes. "Oh, you're his boyfriend. That's awesome. That means I can sneak you money for the teleporting."
That caught him off-guard, but the oven started peeping before he could do more than start to shake his head. "If he said he didn't want it I'm not getting in the middle," Teddy said, heading quickly back across the kitchen to grab the rugelach out of the over before they could burn. The smell of hot cinnamon and chocolate hit him full in the face when he opened the oven, his mouth already watering. "Billy gets a decent allowance from his folks; he's not hard up."
Teddy ignored the reminders that tried to push in on him -- what did his own family's finances actually look like? Was he going to have any kind of support from now on, or... Nope. Not thinking about that today. He grabbed the potholders instead and hauled the pan out. "Though if you're in any of his classes, I'm sure he'd be happy to have another study-buddy."
Steph sighed. Back to paying Billy in food. "It's more Dad. He's one of those always-pay-your-debts guys, so he just slipped me the money and told me to make sure Billy gets it. I'll figure something out."
Teddy got back to slicing the dough circle in even wedges. "And Billy's one of those 'helping people out of the goodness of his heart' guys. It's kind of you to offer, and I'm sure he feels the same way. But if you've already offered and he outright refused, then isn't persistently trying to pay him off ignoring what he wants? You don't pay friends for gifts, you just make sure to catch them on the next go-round."
"Naw-uh, back in the hatch, Booger," said Steph as Ben tried to bat away the spoon. "I get all that, and Billy actually said he'd be okay with bratwurst because, Wisconsn - it's all cheese and sausages back home - but for Dad it's about cash. Rock and a hard place sort of thing. I'll figure it out one of these days."
"Stick it in a bank account in case Billy needs bail money one day," Teddy cracked, grinning. "Seriously, he's pretty stubborn. You're better off sticking with the sausage."
"Food it is!" She'd just have to be sneaky about it, maybe get her mom involved somehow. If Dad found out, well, maybe he'd get over himself. "Speaking of, what are you making?"
"Cookies," Teddy replied unhelpfully. "It's a roll cookie called-" he glanced at the recipe on his phone screen, though he definitely mangled the pronounciation. "Rugelach. I found the recipe and thought they looked neat. Want to be a test subject?" he offered, wiping his hands off on his jeans and levering a couple of the cooling batch off the baking sheet. "It's the first time I've tried this one, so no guarantees on anything.
"I guess he's too young for cookies," Teddy gave Ben a dubious look, then when the baby seemed to be grinning at him, made a silly face. "I actually have no idea when kids get teeth."
"Any time now, or at least that's what Mom said." Steph gave Ben the spoon. She hadn't given him too much cereal anyway - he was still on formula most of the time now - so he could have some fun with the dishes and she'd clean up after. "But yes, I will definitely test cookies for you!"
"Excellent. New victims!" Teddy grinned at her and slid the still-warm cookies off the spatula and onto the napkin in front of her. This was good; something simple, with someone who wasn't going to ask him strange questions. "Should I get him one? He'd have to gum it, but it's got to be tastier than that stuff. No offence," he added quickly, just in case.
Steph grinned. "None taken. Mom sort of insisted I feed him this, but honestly, I don't know why it's got to be baby cereal. I'm pretty sure they didn't have it a hundred years ago." She gingerly picked up a cookie and broke off a small piece. Ben's eyes widened and he tossed the spoon across the table by mistake as his hands started flapping in excitement. Steph giggled as she put a bit into his mouth. "I think he liked that before he even tasted it."
"They also didn't have pop tarts a hundred years ago either, and those are definitely a sign we've improved as a species," Teddy joked, not thinking about the words he chose. His throat closed up on him suddenly, and he headed back to the counter to finish rolling the next batch. "So, what's the verdict? Keep going, or toss the rest of this into the compost?"
She took a bite out of the remaining cookie, then smiled. "Oh gosh, that's good. Definitely keep going. Then give me your recipe so I can tell Mom to make me some too."
"I just got it off the internet, I can send you the link," he offered, rolling up the last one and arranging them on the second tray. "And have as many as you want. I'm going to hoard some for Billy and me, but the rest are going out in the lounge for whoever gets there first."
“Oh, well, I’ll take a few then. Can’t pass that up.” Ben couldn’t either, as he was already babbling and waving a chubby hand at the other cookie.
He'd been trying to keep his distance -- no mom wanted some strange boy fussing over her baby -- but the kid was really cute, and Teddy couldn't help his smile at the happy babbling. He'd been having way too many thoughts about moms and babies since the Skrulls had shown up, but every time he tried to sort it out he ended up chasing his own tail. He'd been younger than Ben when Anelle had sent him away. Had she missed him? Had he missed her?
"That's one happy kid," he said warmly, focusing on the here-and-now in an attempt to get out of his own head again.
“Yes, he is. He always is around me.” Which was true, and at home it had always been framed as Ben being happy to see his mom, but in a place where powers seemed to define things, Steph had allowed a little space for wondering. “He’s sort of immune to some of my powers, but... maybe not completely.”
"What are your powers?" Teddy slid the tray in to the oven, and headed back over to the table with the milk and a couple of glasses. "I see the sparkles, but do they do something specific?"
Steph shook her head. “Not really. They’re just sort of a reflection of how much energy I’m putting out or something. I heal mostly, and sort of energize people if they need it – maybe I’m a sort of people battery? But it works on me too. I heal crazy fast, am crazy fast, and if you’ve got a flat tire and no jack, I can lift the car for you.”
"No kidding!" Teddy replied, genuinely impressed. "The healing factor must have made having this little guy a lot easier than it usually is. Does it work to enhance mutant abilities as well? You'll be in serious demand during powers training if it does."
“I don’t know.” Huh. That wasn’t something she had even considered. “Maybe I should see one of the doctors about that? What about you?”
Oof. Loaded question. Not that she knew that, though, and he really didn't feel like broaching the subject and doing the explaining. "A mixed bag," Teddy replied, keeping it light and easy. "Mostly I'm a shapeshifter, but it came with some other stuff. I've got healing as well, and enhanced strength, and I'm tougher to hurt. No extra speed, though." He nodded at her in appreciation. "I've always thought that would be a cool power to have." He took one of the cookies and bit into it, pleasantly surprised at the lack of awful.
“That’s pretty awesome though – shapeshifting, I mean. And the speed thing isn’t like some of the kids here. I’m fast but car-on-the-highway-fast, nothing like that Tommy kid.” He’d moved so fast she’d barely seen him move which was so far out of her range that she almost felt embarrassed claiming she was ‘crazy fast’ now. “Fast enough to catch a speeding baby.”
"Tommy's pretty fast, yeah. He says he's broken the sound barrier before, and while I haven't seen it, enough people have that I pretty much have to believe him." Teddy shrugged, then considered it for a second. "Jean-Paul and Jeanne-Marie are about the same, maybe faster when they're flying. I could probably get faster if I shifted into a cheetah or something, but it'd still be based on the animal's natural abilities. Not like you guys."
Ben was watching Teddy intently, maybe because he’d decided the he was the Cookie Man, or maybe just because he enjoyed the talking. Whatever the reason, it gave Steph a quick break to turn and raise an eyebrow at Teddy. “From what I’ve heard I’m really not in their club at all. Same with strength – lifting that car is a little tough, and my healing, well I heard there’s a kid here who’s pretty much indestructible.” She smiled and tapped a finger on her chin. “I was very impressed with myself before I got here and then every time I turn around, I find someone who can do what I can but a whole lot better.”
"Sure, but you're the only one who has that specific combination, and even if other people have similar bits and pieces, they won't ever be able to do the things you will," Teddy suggested, dipping his cookie in his milk to see what it would do.
"There are other shapeshifters here, but our powers work differently. Gar can become any animal that ever existed on Earth - my powers are whatever I can think up. So on the one hand, mine are better because I have more options, right? Except I have to understand at least a little bit about the biology and physics of what I'm trying or it won't work properly. He can do anything -- even Tyrannosaurs -- entirely by instinct, so his range is already huge. It's inspiring."
“Wow. How does that even work? How does he add that kind of mass out of nowhere?” Then Steph laughed. “Yeah, I’m wondering that and I magically heal people.”
"I have no idea," Teddy replied, laughing along with her. "It defies all laws of physics, but then my boyfriend can literally wish things into existence, so-" he shrugged helplessly. "Welcome to mutant high?"
“Thanks!” She began to gather up everything from Ben’s meal. He was still watching Teddy, but his eyelids were getting heavy, and he’d leaned his head against the back of his booster chair. Steph smiled and nodded at him as headed for the sink. “Look at him. I’ve been holding him all day, supposedly charging him up with my power, but he’s still ready for a nap at a pretty normal time for a baby. I suppose I should consider that a blessing.”
"I guess so. I don't know that much about babies, other than that naptime is sacrosanct." Teddy watched Ben fighting off sleep, something sweet and warm and kind of captivating about watching his eyelids flutter closed and pop open again. He didn't have any problems bigger than whether he could cram his entire fist in his mouth or not, the world still one big, exciting blur to be explored. Teddy was a little bit jealous of that.
He settled down, arms folded on the table and chin on his arms. Babies were kind of awesome. At least Ben was, assuming he was a reasonable example. Teddy hadn't given kids a whole lot of thought, not at sixteen and seventeen, except that on the one hand, he'd always kind of assumed he'd be a father one day. And on the other, he'd been grateful that he wouldn't have to worry about that happening by accident.
Or did he? That was a harrowing realization that sent a chill right through him. Human biology didn't apply to him. Namor was a human-Atlantean hybrid, so obviously humans were mixable. And while Teddy had been going down the wiki-hole on the data Zendao had left behind, he hadn't hit on anything at all yet about Skrull reproductive biology. Except that Skrull genders didn't work the same way as human ones at all.
What if- yikes. Teddy needed to do some reading, and fast. And then figure out if he and Billy needed to change anything about- yeah. Because as sweet as Ben was, that was an extra complication Teddy really didn't need in his life right then.
Steph rinsed out the bowl and spoon and put them aside to dry, then grabbed a bottle of formula out of the fridge before turning to watch Teddy study Ben. He was cute, exactly the type she’d be checking out on the sly if he wasn’t already taken. And if she didn’t have the consequence of the first and last time she’d done that falling asleep in his booster seat. She sighed.
“Well, I’d better get the little booger back for that nap. Hopefully he’ll get a good long sleep now that he’s got a bit of your cookies stuffed in him.”
Teddy sat up, without a name for the confusing blend of emotions muddling around in his head at that moment.
(Moms and babies, and him and babies - would he be forced into some kind of alliance match? If they tried maybe he'd just grab Billy and run and make a life with him somewhere else where babies were a thing and alien empires weren't. Someday- someday. All his future 'somedays' were going to be so different than any way he could possibly have imagined them.)
"Here, let me get him for you," Teddy offered, standing up. She had her hands full already, and moving -- doing something, anything -- was a whole lot better than sitting and thinking. (Maybe this was how Tommy felt half the time. No wonder he was a pain in the ass.)
“Okay, but actually I could use your help with him?” Maybe not so much, but he’d offered and if she could get everything packed up for the return trip to her room without having Ben in one arm it would be a relief. “Would you mind holding him for a sec?”
That sounded a little more involved than just taking the kid out of his seat and passing him over, but if he could be helpful- Teddy glanced at the timer on the oven. Fifteen seconds left- "Give me two seconds and I'm all yours," he promised, jogging quickly over to rescue the tray of cookies and turn the oven off, just in case this took longer than a couple of minutes. "Okay. Now that I won't burn the school down, not a problem."
The booster seat thing had a couple of baby-retention straps on it, but they didn't seem too complicated. "Is there a trick to it? I know you have to hold little babies' heads for them," he asked, suddenly feeling like a bit of an idiot for not knowing.
Steph smiled. “No trick. He’s old enough that you don’t have to worry about that and besides, you just have to hold him up to your shoulder like this,” she grabbed a tea towel and pressed it against her shoulder before tossing it onto the counter again, "and he’ll probably cuddle right in.”
A couple of clicks and she had Ben free. His eyes flickered open for only a second when she picked him up and not at all as she passed him over to Teddy.
Teddy took Ben, hands under the arms, and he was a lot more solid than Teddy had expected. Okay, good. He was that much less likely to accidentally break him. "Hey," Teddy nodded at Ben when he cracked an eye open to check out the new situation, only to close it again. "That looks like an 'okay' to me, hm?" Teddy said, almost to himself more than anyone else.
He followed Steph's example, tucking Ben up onto his shoulder, one arm finding itself under the baby's butt and the other hand secure across his back. It felt weirdly natural, not at all as weird as he'd been expecting, the warm lump of kid cozy rather than terrifying. Teddy'd half-expected a poop smell or something, but other than the half-sticky cereal still spotting his hands, he even smelled nice. Hunh.
It was enough to make Steph melt. Ben looked tiny against Teddy's shoulder, and suddenly all Steph wanted to do was snatch him but and hold him close herself. He'd grown so much since she'd brought him home from the hospital, a little thing that didn't do much more than sleep, and now he was changing so fast, most of it while she was here at school. Ugh, it hurt to think of.
"You have a talent," she said softly as she packed everything up.
"You think?" Teddy glanced up over Ben's fuzzy little head, keeping his voice low to make sure he didn't wake him up. Not that it seemed likely; Ben had conked out like Steph had said he would, his face smushed up against Teddy's shoulder. He wasn't Teddy's -- both he and his mom were basically still strangers -- but the wave of protectiveness all but swamped Teddy nevertheless. That and the certainty that yeah, someday, he wanted this. "He seems pretty chill in general. You're obviously doing a good job."
Steph frowned. "I'm not doing much of a job at all, being here while he's at home most of the time, but at least I know what I'm doing. I've got a few neices and nephews I practiced on before he came along." Steph put her bag over one shoulder and held out her arms. "I think I'm ready to take him."
Teddy carefully shuffled Ben down into his arms and passed him back over, that same wistful feelings-tangle cropping up in his chest again. Very little of it had anything to do with Steph and Ben, though, so he carefully kept it all to himself. "All good?"
"All good, thank you." she whispered as Ben's warmth settled into her. The hurt faded, chased away by that warmth and his steady breathing, and Steph decided that even if she wasn't tired, she was going to curl up beside him in bed when they got back to her room and enjoy the time she did have with him.
He felt like he was intruding on something private, and backed away. He had a couple of trays of cookies to finish, and some thinking to do. And, maybe, a couple of phone calls to make. Assuming he could get up the courage to try. "What room are you in?" he asked softly. "I'll bring some cookies over for you before the locusts swarm."
"213, and thank you. For the cookies and for the help; it's really nice to bring a baby into the school and have people like you make me feel welcome."
"Two-thirteen," Teddy repeated dutifully, scraping the cooled batch onto the plate and making room for the next set. "And you're welcome. And so is he. Believe me, after all the weird that goes down around here, it's nice to see something as normal as family."
