ax_hulkling (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ax_hulkling) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
ax_main2018-06-02 10:00 pm
ax_hulkling) wrote in ax_main2018-06-02 10:00 pm
Entry tags:
Teddy and Warren | End of Year Party
The guys take a break from the social whirl to catch up a little.
Life had gotten deeply weird over the last few months, but at least school parties were predictable. Teddy could practically feel some of the knots in his shoulders untying themselves as he flopped onto the grass, a can of pop in his hand. Billy was circulating, but like a boomerang, he'd inevitably be coming back Teddy's way. So for the moment Teddy could simply try to turn off his brain, and chill.
Warren was still a little breathless from the last dance with JP, so he found himself a beverage and glanced around for a place to sit one out. And there was, "Teddy!" He moved over to join the guy on the fringes of things, fluffing out his wings so he could sink down onto the ground beside him. "Good strategy. Grass. Phew, I'm dating the damn dancing queen."
"You're the one who hooked up with an Olympic athlete," Teddy smiled at Warren's arrival, shifting over slightly to make room. "You have no-one to blame but yourself."
"I know it. But dem abs..." Warren raised his glass in a silent toast to his still-dancing boyfriend, then drank deeply.
Teddy chuckled, resting back on his elbows as he watched their classmates on the dance floor. "Things are still good?" he asked eventually. He hadn't talked to Simon since - yeah, since asking for his help. He needed to fix that at some point. "You guys have been under some unreal amounts of stress this year."
"I'm over the stress," Warren said by way of agreement. He blew upward, sending artfully tousled blond bangs flying. "I definitely wouldn't be handling it without them. It's a lucky thing, finding people who can really help you stay on your feet. You know?" He looked at Teddy when he asked--he obviously meant it as a question, not rhetoric.
Teddy's eyes automatically went to the dance floor, found Billy - talking animatedly, his hands moving, his smile wide. "Yeah," Teddy replied, grabbing on to that little burst of contentment inside and holding tight. "It really is." He pulled his attention back to the conversation at hand, though, because they were talking about Warren, not him. "Do you guys have summer plans?" Teasing him about summer homes or private islands would be tone-deaf, considering the stunts his parents had pulled, so Teddy left it at that.
Warren followed his gaze and smiled, then shook his head. "Work work work. Shinobi always tells me I should take a vacation--as in from life, possibly forever. But sadly I lack the resources he still has." Warren chuckled though, obviously not bothered by the fact. "What about you?"
"Staying here, most likely," Teddy picked his way carefully through that particular minefield. "I have a lot of reading to catch up on." That and he still wasn't all that thrilled about the idea of going home. He wasn't exactly angry with her anymore, but it was easier to deal with the feelings he did have from a couple of hours away. Maybe that made him a coward, or maybe he just needed to keep some of his stressors to a minimum. Maybe that was the same thing. "Now that finals are over I don't really have much of an excuse not to."
"Ahhh." Not that Warren had expected Teddy to say he was heading to outer space... Warren knew the basics, but hadn't pushed--and a party was no place for it. "Speaking of. Probably not the best spot for a serious conversation, but if you want to talk sometime, it's cool. Family is fuckin weird. And summer manages to make it weirder.
"Thankfully I'm not expected home any time soon." Warren raised his glass to that and took a long drink.
"Cheers. That it is, and that it does. And thanks." Teddy tipped his can to Warren just because, though chugging Dr. Pepper really didn't have the same impact as alcohol would -- if he could feel it. There were times when he kind of regretted having the healing factor. Not most of the time, just times like this, when taking the edge off of things and making them go happy and blurry sounded like it'd be a really nice idea.
"It's been disorienting, having everything I thought I understood about my place in the world being upended all at once. I'm wrapping my head around it, I guess. It's slow going." The specifics of his circumstances weren't the same as Warren's -- he'd lost his old life, pretty much, while Teddy was supposedly gaining all kinds of power and prestige. (Sure; that and five bucks would get him an ice cap). But still. The sucker-punch to his paradigm was similar.
"We all thought being mutants made things crazy..." Warren sighed in sympathy and clapped Teddy on one shoulder. Being some kind of... alien princeling, or whatever was going on with Teddy... that was a whole other world of weird. Literally. "I mean, it's kind of exciting too, though, don't get me wrong. Just a lot."
"That's one way to put it." Teddy grimaced. "Namor's been trying to help me learn the politics side of all of this, believe it or not. Nothing specific, just, 'how to diplomat without getting shanked across a conference table.' Even that's slow going. My 'regal demeanor' apparently needs a lot more work," he finished, a wry twist to his smile.
"I would pay to be a fly on the wall during those sessions." Warren chuckled. "I wouldn't think Namor would be the best one to send as a diplomat, if you didn't want him shanked, but what do I know?"
"What are my choices?" Teddy shrugged helplessly. "He's the only royalty I'd ever exchanged even two words with, before all of this. I know Loki's around, but it feels different talking to a guy whose country has a seat at the UN, especially when aliens don't officially exist."
He sighed, finished his drink and squished the can between his hands, bleeding out some of the frustration with the quick, easy motion. "Let's face it, I'm not exactly suitable royalty. I grew up in a 900-square foot Brooklyn walk-up, and the sum total of my international relations experience was playing Civ Six and watching the seniors at my old school prep for model UN. I've got a lot of catching up to do."
"An unexpected infusion of new ideas and customs into a government can lead to good things," Warren pointed out. "Not knowing shit about your people, I still think you could bring something new to the table. Maybe that's what they need?"
"Namor seems to think so. He's all about 'they'll do what I say or else.'" Teddy frowned. "'My people.' It sounds so strange. Like I just got used to the idea that I'm a mutant, not a regular human, and now I'm neither. But they're going to expect me to be able to fit in, and live up to whatever image they have in their heads of a 'crown prince.'"
Warren thought for a second. Then ventured to ask a more personal question than he probably ever had before: "Do you want to? Fit in or be their crown prince?"
That made Teddy pause for a long, thoughtful moment. "I don't exactly have a choice, do I? What I want doesn't come into it. The Skrull Empire is a hereditary monarchy, I'm the current Empress's only kid -- so far, I guess -- and they didn't sound like there was anyone else waiting in the wings. And if I said no, and they decided they wanted me anyway, Earth can't stand up against a space armada."
"No. No, I don't guess we can." A future for Worthington Industries, maybe... but not today, and certainly not tonight. Warren took a deep, thoughtful drink. "So it seems the simplest thing both for you and the planet is to roll with it, I guess. I mean... it might not be so bad. If you're the Emperor, they can't exactly tell you what to do, right? Hereditary monarchy usually works like that. Unless it's a parliament situation and you end up..." Warren almost made a Charles II reference, because he was drunk. Instead he made a face. "Well, you know."
It took Teddy a second to make the connection, but when he did he laughed, breaking the dire mood that had started to settle in. "Thanks, I think. I'll do my best not to get impeached, or whatever they do to misbehaving monarchs. I'm assuming they're not going to take it well if I try and turn the place into a democracy. 'Elect someone else, I'm going home.'" He snorted softly. "Billy's worried that we're going to find out I was betrothed to someone at birth. I'm pretty sure that's not a thing."
Warren made a face that suggested he was pretty sure it was, but he had to admit, "Probably not, officially. Seems pretty backwards, and what with all the space travel, your people can't be. Hereditary Monarchy aside--which probably works for them, so hey."
"I don't know that advanced technology automatically leads to social equality and rights to self-determination," Teddy replied, thinking aloud more than picking a fight. "Just look at every other episode of the Twilight Zone and most of Black Mirror for that one."
"Black Mirror gave me nightmares once," Warren admitted with a chuckle. "You're right, though, I'm being way too optimistic."
"I just figure that if early arranged marriages were a thing there wouldn't be any official questioning about who my father was, and I wouldn't have gotten shipped out of the galaxy in the first place." Teddy shook his head at himself, laughing softly. "Good God, that sounds ridiculous even in context. Time for a subject change. Tell me something cool."
Warren couldn't think of anything cooler than being an alien prince, honestly. But he'd try. For Teddy. "Uhhh... GE stock is up a few points? Jean-Paul looks great in jeans? I'm thinking about getting my ears pierced?
"Sorry, man. Intergalactic paternity questions are hard to beat."
Teddy huffed a soft laugh, and shook his head at Warren. "If you're serious about getting your ears done, I'll give you the name of the place I go to in the city. Tara's really great."
"Text me, dude. I am dead serious. That'd be awesome." Warren smiled a little dopily--because drinking. "I really like the cuff Gilmore made for my wing. Made me want more shiny stuff."
Teddy pulled out his phone and searched for the shop's contact information while they talked. "It's kind of addictive," he agreed. "As a warning, though, Tara thinks I'm 21 and in college. So if you mention me-"
"You're 21 and in college." Warren chuckled, raising his glass in salute.
"Much obliged." Teddy found the contact and sent it to Warren's number, then shoved his phone back in his pocket. "Use a fake ID once and everything snowballs from there," he explained sheepishly.
Warren had never had to use a fake--if he wanted anything, he just went to the HFC. But now, he was feeling that. Big time. "I got your back. Thanks, man," he said as he knocked back the rest of his drink. "You want anything? I'm gonna grab another."
"I'm good, thanks," Teddy waved him off.
"Then I'll check you later. Your Highness--or whatever." Warren laughed and stood.
“’Whatever’ will be fine,” Teddy laughed, and flopped back on the ground, eyes to the stars, as Warren headed off. This was something he was going to miss, if and when. The warm happiness he’d been feeling most of the evening started to fade, replaced with that creeping anxiety that he hated.
And that was the thing, wasn’t it? The longer he put off having those conversations, the longer he stressed out about ships showing up again and hauling him away from everyone and everything that made him feel this good, this at home… the worse that not-knowing got.
Time to get it over with. Maybe not tonight, but soon.
Life had gotten deeply weird over the last few months, but at least school parties were predictable. Teddy could practically feel some of the knots in his shoulders untying themselves as he flopped onto the grass, a can of pop in his hand. Billy was circulating, but like a boomerang, he'd inevitably be coming back Teddy's way. So for the moment Teddy could simply try to turn off his brain, and chill.
Warren was still a little breathless from the last dance with JP, so he found himself a beverage and glanced around for a place to sit one out. And there was, "Teddy!" He moved over to join the guy on the fringes of things, fluffing out his wings so he could sink down onto the ground beside him. "Good strategy. Grass. Phew, I'm dating the damn dancing queen."
"You're the one who hooked up with an Olympic athlete," Teddy smiled at Warren's arrival, shifting over slightly to make room. "You have no-one to blame but yourself."
"I know it. But dem abs..." Warren raised his glass in a silent toast to his still-dancing boyfriend, then drank deeply.
Teddy chuckled, resting back on his elbows as he watched their classmates on the dance floor. "Things are still good?" he asked eventually. He hadn't talked to Simon since - yeah, since asking for his help. He needed to fix that at some point. "You guys have been under some unreal amounts of stress this year."
"I'm over the stress," Warren said by way of agreement. He blew upward, sending artfully tousled blond bangs flying. "I definitely wouldn't be handling it without them. It's a lucky thing, finding people who can really help you stay on your feet. You know?" He looked at Teddy when he asked--he obviously meant it as a question, not rhetoric.
Teddy's eyes automatically went to the dance floor, found Billy - talking animatedly, his hands moving, his smile wide. "Yeah," Teddy replied, grabbing on to that little burst of contentment inside and holding tight. "It really is." He pulled his attention back to the conversation at hand, though, because they were talking about Warren, not him. "Do you guys have summer plans?" Teasing him about summer homes or private islands would be tone-deaf, considering the stunts his parents had pulled, so Teddy left it at that.
Warren followed his gaze and smiled, then shook his head. "Work work work. Shinobi always tells me I should take a vacation--as in from life, possibly forever. But sadly I lack the resources he still has." Warren chuckled though, obviously not bothered by the fact. "What about you?"
"Staying here, most likely," Teddy picked his way carefully through that particular minefield. "I have a lot of reading to catch up on." That and he still wasn't all that thrilled about the idea of going home. He wasn't exactly angry with her anymore, but it was easier to deal with the feelings he did have from a couple of hours away. Maybe that made him a coward, or maybe he just needed to keep some of his stressors to a minimum. Maybe that was the same thing. "Now that finals are over I don't really have much of an excuse not to."
"Ahhh." Not that Warren had expected Teddy to say he was heading to outer space... Warren knew the basics, but hadn't pushed--and a party was no place for it. "Speaking of. Probably not the best spot for a serious conversation, but if you want to talk sometime, it's cool. Family is fuckin weird. And summer manages to make it weirder.
"Thankfully I'm not expected home any time soon." Warren raised his glass to that and took a long drink.
"Cheers. That it is, and that it does. And thanks." Teddy tipped his can to Warren just because, though chugging Dr. Pepper really didn't have the same impact as alcohol would -- if he could feel it. There were times when he kind of regretted having the healing factor. Not most of the time, just times like this, when taking the edge off of things and making them go happy and blurry sounded like it'd be a really nice idea.
"It's been disorienting, having everything I thought I understood about my place in the world being upended all at once. I'm wrapping my head around it, I guess. It's slow going." The specifics of his circumstances weren't the same as Warren's -- he'd lost his old life, pretty much, while Teddy was supposedly gaining all kinds of power and prestige. (Sure; that and five bucks would get him an ice cap). But still. The sucker-punch to his paradigm was similar.
"We all thought being mutants made things crazy..." Warren sighed in sympathy and clapped Teddy on one shoulder. Being some kind of... alien princeling, or whatever was going on with Teddy... that was a whole other world of weird. Literally. "I mean, it's kind of exciting too, though, don't get me wrong. Just a lot."
"That's one way to put it." Teddy grimaced. "Namor's been trying to help me learn the politics side of all of this, believe it or not. Nothing specific, just, 'how to diplomat without getting shanked across a conference table.' Even that's slow going. My 'regal demeanor' apparently needs a lot more work," he finished, a wry twist to his smile.
"I would pay to be a fly on the wall during those sessions." Warren chuckled. "I wouldn't think Namor would be the best one to send as a diplomat, if you didn't want him shanked, but what do I know?"
"What are my choices?" Teddy shrugged helplessly. "He's the only royalty I'd ever exchanged even two words with, before all of this. I know Loki's around, but it feels different talking to a guy whose country has a seat at the UN, especially when aliens don't officially exist."
He sighed, finished his drink and squished the can between his hands, bleeding out some of the frustration with the quick, easy motion. "Let's face it, I'm not exactly suitable royalty. I grew up in a 900-square foot Brooklyn walk-up, and the sum total of my international relations experience was playing Civ Six and watching the seniors at my old school prep for model UN. I've got a lot of catching up to do."
"An unexpected infusion of new ideas and customs into a government can lead to good things," Warren pointed out. "Not knowing shit about your people, I still think you could bring something new to the table. Maybe that's what they need?"
"Namor seems to think so. He's all about 'they'll do what I say or else.'" Teddy frowned. "'My people.' It sounds so strange. Like I just got used to the idea that I'm a mutant, not a regular human, and now I'm neither. But they're going to expect me to be able to fit in, and live up to whatever image they have in their heads of a 'crown prince.'"
Warren thought for a second. Then ventured to ask a more personal question than he probably ever had before: "Do you want to? Fit in or be their crown prince?"
That made Teddy pause for a long, thoughtful moment. "I don't exactly have a choice, do I? What I want doesn't come into it. The Skrull Empire is a hereditary monarchy, I'm the current Empress's only kid -- so far, I guess -- and they didn't sound like there was anyone else waiting in the wings. And if I said no, and they decided they wanted me anyway, Earth can't stand up against a space armada."
"No. No, I don't guess we can." A future for Worthington Industries, maybe... but not today, and certainly not tonight. Warren took a deep, thoughtful drink. "So it seems the simplest thing both for you and the planet is to roll with it, I guess. I mean... it might not be so bad. If you're the Emperor, they can't exactly tell you what to do, right? Hereditary monarchy usually works like that. Unless it's a parliament situation and you end up..." Warren almost made a Charles II reference, because he was drunk. Instead he made a face. "Well, you know."
It took Teddy a second to make the connection, but when he did he laughed, breaking the dire mood that had started to settle in. "Thanks, I think. I'll do my best not to get impeached, or whatever they do to misbehaving monarchs. I'm assuming they're not going to take it well if I try and turn the place into a democracy. 'Elect someone else, I'm going home.'" He snorted softly. "Billy's worried that we're going to find out I was betrothed to someone at birth. I'm pretty sure that's not a thing."
Warren made a face that suggested he was pretty sure it was, but he had to admit, "Probably not, officially. Seems pretty backwards, and what with all the space travel, your people can't be. Hereditary Monarchy aside--which probably works for them, so hey."
"I don't know that advanced technology automatically leads to social equality and rights to self-determination," Teddy replied, thinking aloud more than picking a fight. "Just look at every other episode of the Twilight Zone and most of Black Mirror for that one."
"Black Mirror gave me nightmares once," Warren admitted with a chuckle. "You're right, though, I'm being way too optimistic."
"I just figure that if early arranged marriages were a thing there wouldn't be any official questioning about who my father was, and I wouldn't have gotten shipped out of the galaxy in the first place." Teddy shook his head at himself, laughing softly. "Good God, that sounds ridiculous even in context. Time for a subject change. Tell me something cool."
Warren couldn't think of anything cooler than being an alien prince, honestly. But he'd try. For Teddy. "Uhhh... GE stock is up a few points? Jean-Paul looks great in jeans? I'm thinking about getting my ears pierced?
"Sorry, man. Intergalactic paternity questions are hard to beat."
Teddy huffed a soft laugh, and shook his head at Warren. "If you're serious about getting your ears done, I'll give you the name of the place I go to in the city. Tara's really great."
"Text me, dude. I am dead serious. That'd be awesome." Warren smiled a little dopily--because drinking. "I really like the cuff Gilmore made for my wing. Made me want more shiny stuff."
Teddy pulled out his phone and searched for the shop's contact information while they talked. "It's kind of addictive," he agreed. "As a warning, though, Tara thinks I'm 21 and in college. So if you mention me-"
"You're 21 and in college." Warren chuckled, raising his glass in salute.
"Much obliged." Teddy found the contact and sent it to Warren's number, then shoved his phone back in his pocket. "Use a fake ID once and everything snowballs from there," he explained sheepishly.
Warren had never had to use a fake--if he wanted anything, he just went to the HFC. But now, he was feeling that. Big time. "I got your back. Thanks, man," he said as he knocked back the rest of his drink. "You want anything? I'm gonna grab another."
"I'm good, thanks," Teddy waved him off.
"Then I'll check you later. Your Highness--or whatever." Warren laughed and stood.
“’Whatever’ will be fine,” Teddy laughed, and flopped back on the ground, eyes to the stars, as Warren headed off. This was something he was going to miss, if and when. The warm happiness he’d been feeling most of the evening started to fade, replaced with that creeping anxiety that he hated.
And that was the thing, wasn’t it? The longer he put off having those conversations, the longer he stressed out about ships showing up again and hauling him away from everyone and everything that made him feel this good, this at home… the worse that not-knowing got.
Time to get it over with. Maybe not tonight, but soon.
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject