Here is Gone (Ficness)
Here Is Gone
I don’t own Young Avengers
Author: Aloysha Star
Beta Read by: Fullmetal Cute. Praise her, I demand it!
Rating: PG-13 for some hinting at naughty things.
Pairings: I’m not telling! You have to read it!
Summery: In which Eli is jealous, Kate’s confused, Cassie is disturbed, Teddy’s twin fetish is exposed, Billy is weirded out, and Tommy does his good deed for the decade.
Notes: Soo…I was in Graphic Arts and had no hope of seeing the projector image sans glasses and wrote this instead. I swear…no drugs were involved in the making of this story, which is quite the change for me.
Eli was the last to join them in the kitchen of Avengers’ Tower, as Captain America had pulled him aside to ask how he thought the others were coming along. When he’d agreed to come back as leader he hadn’t realized how much work went into it outside of actual fighting.
It was a damn headache, especially when Kate got involved. It was like she made it her personal mission in life to disagree with everything he said and make him as miserable as possible as often as possible. He was pretty sure she got immense satisfaction from seeing him get frustrated. He didn’t want to drag out any language that would make his grandmother slap him, but there were times when Kate was a real-
“I don’t know Tommy…it’s sudden.” Kate’s voice floated over the chatter from the other teens and made Eli turn to see her and Tommy standing off to the side talking. She was leaning against the counter and Tommy was standing in front of her, almost leaning into her in a way that was more than friendly. She was biting her lip and her hair was falling into her eyes.
She looked torn between nervousness and disbelief. The latter only grew when Tommy raised his hand, showing what looked like two tickets. She raked her fingers through her hair and shifted her weight nervously before shrugging. He couldn’t hear Tommy for some reason and he could only assume the blond was whispering to deliberately not be heard.
“Well…I suppose. You’re a really nice guy when you want to be after all.”
Was Tommy asking her out? Eli felt a spark of anger and clenched his fists as whatever Tommy said made Kate smile almost fondly and roll her eyes. She did seem to like Tommy more than any of the other Young Avengers did, seeming to relate to him more easily than she ever had with any of them. Eli couldn‘t even begin to understand what they had in common; a rich priss and some juvenile delinquent…but there was no denying their friendship.
Eli sure as hell didn’t like him, hadn’t liked him from the moment they rescued him and now…well he was pretty sure hatred was replacing dislike at a rapid race.
“Yeah yeah.” She shoved him back playfully. “So, Saturday? Seven-thirty…I’m sure I can make sure things go off without a hitch. A villain free evening.”
He was asking her out! Her! Kate! And she’d accepted! Had hell frozen over in the past few minutes? He couldn’t get Kate to do anything but harass him but she was agreeing to go one a date with that self-centered, egomaniacal jackass? What the hell did Tommy have that he didn’t, other than a really twisted sense of humor?
This was just too fucked up for words and…well, Eli wasn’t going to stand for it.
He was no coward after all and there was no way he was gong to let Kate go out with Tommy without her at least hearing him out first.
Eli very happily ignored the fact that no less than three minutes earlier he’d been ready to dub Kate Queen Bitch of the World and the bane of his very existence as he walked over to where Kate and Tommy were standing. Kate spotted him and smiled mildly while nudging Tommy slightly. The blond speedster turned and blinked at Eli, apparently surprised to see him.
He was going to be even more surprised when Eli beat the crap out of him…or maybe not. Somehow he didn’t think Kate was the type to go for chest beating and violence to gain her attention. She’d whine about being independent and not needing some idiot men to fight over her like a scrap of meat and then she’d kick Eli’s ass just to prove it and that would be really counter productive.
“Hey Eli.” Tommy greeted as he moved back a few paces. “What’s up?”
“Nothing.” Eli said gruffly, trying to work out a plan of action. Kate stared up at him while pushing her hair back again and he sighed. With Kate there was no other way than the direct approach; she wouldn’t accept anything less. “Kate I was wondering if…well…you get on my nerves. A lot. And you’re always arguing with me and trying to get me riled up for…whatever reason and it drives me fucking insane.”
Kate blinked then looked around. “Um. Okay. Well. I think I have to-”
“Go out with me.”
Kate’s eyes went wide and she made a small choking noise in the back of her throat. Tommy made a soft ‘hmm’ing noise then turned and walked away. If Eli had been paying attention he would have seen Tommy pull up a chair next to Teddy and turn up the TV just enough to drown out Kate’s outraged reply.
“What?!”
“Would you…like to go out? Sometime. With me. Maybe.”
“You…I can’t believe…you insult me and then ask me out? What the hell is wrong with you?”
Eli shrugged. “A lot, if this is anything to go by.”
She glared at him for a moment longer, lips set into a thin line. Then she rocked back on her heels. “What did you want to do?”
He blinked. Stared at her open mouthed. Blinked again and then swallowed. “Uh…I don’t know. Movies? Right now maybe? If you’re free?”
She shoved her hands into her pockets and nodded slowly. “Cool. Hold on one second.”
She darted around him and went over to Tommy, putting a hand on his shoulder with the casual ease that she didn’t have with anyone else and that Eli hated. She said something, making a few hand gestures. Eli expected Tommy to be upset or make a fuss but he just held up the tickets, pushed them into Kate’s hand, and then turned back around to watch the TV. Kate heisted for a moment then shrugged and turned back to Eli, who grinned.
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“What was that?” Cassie asked once Eli and Kate had left, oddly enough not arguing the way they usually did when within five feet of each other.
“If I had to guess? Eli heard me talking to Kate, assumed I was asking her out, and got all jealous and asked her out so I couldn’t have her.” Tommy said, not looking overly concerned. He popped a pretzel stick into his mouth, seemingly oblivious to the looks he was getting. Finally Billy spoke up.
“You asked Kate out?”
“Of course not.” Tommy glanced at the other teen. “I was asking if she thought Eli would got for pale, skinny, and male. He must have missed that part.”
Vision was the one who spoke next, a good idea since the other three were struck silent yet again. “I was under the impression you didn’t like Eli.”
“We didn’t even know you were…” Cassie trailed off, a small frown in place. “Eli? You hate Eli.”
Tommy and Eli hadn’t made any attempt at keeping their mutual dislike a secret: Tommy complaining very loudly whenever he had a chance about Eli stopping his Evil Scientist Revenge Plan and Eli complaining about Tommy’s tendency to get violent at the drop of a hat.
“I’ve adjusted.” Tommy said, still not looking at all bothered. Cassie frowned then reached out and patted his hand awkwardly. He went rigid for a moment, looking down at her hand over his. “Why’re you touching me?”
“Well…Eli kind of ran off with Kate and since you liked him and all I thought…” Cassie pulled her hand back, blushing slightly. Tommy’s face went from blank to disgusted.
“What? Eww, I would…eww. Never, that’s disgusting. How…uh. I think I’m going to be sick.” Tommy became paler, almost gray, and shook his head as if trying to rid himself of a bad image.
Teddy arched an eyebrow at Tommy’s reaction. He’d never seemed to have a problem with him and Billy, usually regarding them with rolled eyes and jokes about PDA. Billy frowned and Teddy sighed, almost tasting the violence that was about to ensue.
Billy wasn’t a fighter by nature but when Tommy was involved his fuse always seemed to get much shorter and his tendency to throw the first punch that much higher. They were like oil and water, only more combustible. Like water and sodium. That worked.
“I was just doing my good deed for the decade. The tension between those two was driving me nuts.” Tommy said, tilting his head slightly. “Certain people should just fuck and get it over with before other people are forced to set them up and ruin their reputations. I have an image as an uncaring asshole to consider, you know? I can‘t go around seeing up idiots and buying concert tickets and pretending to be interested to get their butts in gears, it‘s just not me.”
“So, what…you were trying to make Eli jealous?” Cassie asked, smirking slightly.
“Kate actually, but as long as it worked…don’t hug me. It wasn’t that good a thing. Ack, Vision, get your girlfriend!” Tommy wailed, batting at Cassie rather ineffectively as she leaned over the table and hugged him. Vision made a noise like a cough but otherwise did nothing.
“Damn.” Tommy muttered, arms falling to his sides. This was entirely too much human contact for his own personal comfort.
“That was really nice of you.” Teddy said, agreeing with Cassie’s silent sentiment. “Even if you did do it in a very underhanded and sneaky way.”
“I try.”
“So you weren’t interested in Kate or Eli?”
“Billy, I thought you knew me better than that by now.” Before Billy could say anything though Tommy was smirking widely in his direction. “I’m a true believer in Self Love.”
Cassie let go of Tommy rather quickly then, pulling back so fast she bumped into Vision who put a hand up to steady her before standing.
“Perhaps we should go. You mentioned you needed help in math?”
“Yeah.” Cassie muttered, all but running from the kitchen with Vision following at a slightly more subdued pace. Tommy did have a way of making others so uncomfortable they had no option but to flee.
“What?” Billy, who never knew when to leave well enough alone, in Teddy’s opinion, asked.
“…I’m a narcissist.” Tommy said with a grin that bordered on the perverted.
Teddy too was a pervert, and so he picked up on what Tommy was saying while Billy continued to stare semi-blankly. He just wasn’t following along…well he kind of thought he was but something about the way Tommy was picking his words seemed to hint at something more than jerking off. And Billy couldn’t help but be curious; Tommy wasn’t big on revealing things about himself and something about him just put Billy out of sorts. Just being in the same room with his silver haired double messed with his perception of things, going so far as to effect his magic more than once.
Billy just didn’t get him.
“So what, you jerk off in front of mirrors?”
“Sure.” Tommy blinked slowly. “That’s not quite where I was going with that though. I was leaning more towards the having no real sex life because up until now I haven’t found anyone as sexy as myself, line of thought.”
“Oh.” Billy let that sink in then scooted away from Tommy slightly. Sure, the other teen was on Teddy’s other side…no reason to take chances. “Teddy-”
“Well of course Teddy can watch.”
“What?” This time they said it together but Teddy’s ‘What’ was more of a ‘really?’ while Billy’s was more of a ‘Sick bastard’. Billy wasn’t so distracted that he didn’t hear his boyfriend’s tone. He looked up sharply. Teddy blushed darkly, bowing his head.
“I know; I’m going to hell.”
“Fine, if you two are going to make a fuss I guess he could join in.” Tommy said, voice resigned.
Teddy groaned, resting his head on the tabletop. He was going to hell in a flaming hand basket. Though, really, he was a normal red-blooded half Skrull half Kree (Billy had suggested he’d be called a Skree. Teddy hadn’t much liked the idea.) Wasn’t he allowed to have a bit of a twin fetish? It didn’t say anything about Billy, except maybe that Teddy liked him so much he wouldn’t mind having two of him.
That was his reasoning anyway.
“I hate you.” Billy muttered, leaning back in his chair.
“I know.” Tommy said, reaching for another pretzel.
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Rejoice in the pointlessness of it all! I do.
Oh. Yeah. I hate livejournal's new formatting thingie...I spent more time trying to get this right than I did writting it. Oh well, if you catch any errors of the formatting nature let me know. I'm going to go sulk in the privacy of my kitchen now.