Late for the Sky, Chapter Four
Title: Late for the Sky
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Booster/Beetle
Spoilers: Through the end of 52. Not entirely canon-compliant.
Disclaimer: All characters and music are copyright their respective owners.
I have quite a few notes, so those will all go under the cut.
[chapter one] [chapter two] [chapter three]
Notes: First off, sorry this has taken so long in getting out. The whole fic is already written, it's the art that got held up. Speaking of, I tried a different art style this chapter, let me know what you think. The round robin is still going on. If parties are still interested, let's try and finish that thing up. Shameless self promotion: if you comment at this entry I'll write you a drabble. Not only should you do that, you should also write something for doctorv's Pornfest. And lastly, be on the lookout for the Domestic Boostle Challenge, sponsored by wonderfish and me.
Booster watched Ted as he surveyed the apartment, muttering to himself in a way only Ted could. He seemed genuinely impressed with the place, as he rightly should. The apartment complex was almost brand new, the apartment itself had never been rented out before, and he’d actually been able to afford an interior decorator. So for once, he wasn’t living in some crummy hole in the wall where he often ended up raising his own cockroach farm.
“There are no moldy pizza boxes on the floor. There are no festering piles of dirty laundry. It doesn’t smell like feet in here. If I needed proof that you aren’t the same lazy-ass slacker Booster I knew, this is it,” Ted said. “I’m actually ashamed to still have shoes on.”
“Don’t be. And I’ve only stopped being a slacker in the past year or so. Part of the complicated mess my life became after you…after Ted died. All of this is me trying to…y’know, keep on keeping on. Or whatever,” he shrugged.
Ted smiled. “Well, it’s a really great place, Booster. I’ll actually enjoy sleeping on this couch, I think.”
“Couch? Like hell you’re sleeping on the couch. The bed’s big enough for the both of us, and it’s not like we haven’t shared before. Okay, maybe not us specifically, but…”
Ted sighed and consented, allowing Booster to drag him into the bedroom. Booster absently wondered if this was a bad idea, unsure of what sort of relationship Other Ted had with Other Booster. He and the Ted of this world were best friends, but there was some sort of weird, quasi-flirting thing going underneath, and unfortunately, Ted had died before they could really parse things out.
“Hello, sir. I take it you were successful,” Skeets piped from atop Booster’s dresser.
“Yeah, but I picked up a stray. Can I keep him?” he asked, waving at Ted.
Ted walked over to the dresser and scrutinized Skeets carefully. “Busted propulsion system, Skeets? I can probably fix that for you.”
“Thank you, sir. Michael has been somewhat negligent with regards to my upkeep.”
Booster threw a sock at Skeets. “Shut up, Skeets. You’ll get fixed. Just don’t forget, the last time I had you taken for repairs, you got a giant evil caterpillar dropped into your mainframe. Now pipe down, we’re taking a nap.”
“Yes, sir. Nice to see you again, Beetle sir.”
“You too, Skeets. I’ll need to go out and get some clothes and stuff at some point,” Ted pointed out, trying to stifle a yawn. “The Scarab can do civvies, but I don’t want to rely on it clothing me all the time.”
“No, we’ll go out, that way we can just stay out for dinner and I don’t have to cook. It would’ve been leftover night if you hadn’t shown up,” Booster replied. “Sorry about the drippy faucet in the bathroom, by the way. That started a week ago and I just never got around to fixing it.”
They climbed into bed, Booster pulling a throw blanket from the foot and chucking it over the two of them. Ted started snickering as he mashed down the pillows with his arm.
“God, I feel like we’re in preschool, having nap time. If there are juice boxes in your fridge, I might just die.”
“I don’t remember ever having nap time in preschool,” Booster muttered.
“Obviously the future doesn’t believe in naps,” Ted quipped.
“Maybe not, but I am all for them in the present.”
Thankfully, Booster’s bed was large enough for two grown men to sprawl out like dead starfish. Booster was asleep in moments; Ted took a few minutes more. He’d spent those few minutes just lying there, watching, and trying to steal more blanket than his allotted half.
Booster dreamt of Ted, though of which Ted he wasn’t sure. He didn’t think it even mattered. They were fragments of memory, snatches of conversation, cemented together with fantasies his subconscious provided. They blended together until Booster couldn’t tell what was real and what wasn’t. Well, okay, he knew the erotic fantasies had never happened, Ted had never so much even kissed him. Sometimes Booster wondered if Ted knew exactly how he felt, but pretended that it wasn’t happening. Ted was a product of his times, and his times didn’t jive with homosexuality. Booster, as he explained many times, wasn’t gay though. He was a product of his times as well, and the future saw no difference between straight or gay, gender preferences had been completely eliminated.
Booster woke when he realized he couldn’t move his arms, thinking that Monarch had come back for the one he’d replaced and took the other one as collateral. In reality, he was tangled up in his throw blanket and Ted, who was also tangled up in the blanket. Ted had pressed himself as close as he could get to Booster, his head pillowed on Booster’s shoulder. Interesting development, this. Booster glanced over at the clock, five minutes to three. Probably a good time to get up and get moving again.
“Ted?” he murmured, shaking his shoulder slightly. “Hey, wake up.”
Ted opened one eye lazily. “Hrmgnph?”
“Articulate. Come on, you wanted to go get stuff,” Booster said, trying to get the blanket off them.
“Time ‘s it?” he mumbled, rubbing his eyes.
“Just about three.”
“Two-fifty-seven,” Skeets corrected.
Ted nodded, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. “Let’s get out of here before I fall asleep again. Do you think my credit cards will work?”
“If they don’t, I’ll cover it,” Booster assured him, reaching under the bed for his shoes. “I got a commission bonus last week, so I’ve got a little extra play money.”
“I thought you couldn’t get a credit card. Or maybe that’s just in my world.”
Booster shook his head. “No, I had to have fake paperwork drawn up for that. Fortunately I know enough hackers to legitimize my existence in this time period. But yeah, I’ve got a Visa if you need it.”
“Hearing you be responsible is still creepy,” Ted sighed. “Are those red high-tops? Never pictured you the red high-tops kind of guy.”
“Bea bought them for me as a joke gift, but they’re actually really comfortable.”
Ted nodded and slid his own shoes back on. Booster didn’t notice him palming something from his shoe to his jeans pocket. “All set?”
“Yeah, let me get my keys, we’ll take my car,” Booster replied. “Hold down the fort, Skeets.”
Ted followed Booster out the door and down to the garage. Parked in an isolated corner was a blue Volkswagen Beetle convertible. Ted grinned.
“You didn’t.”
Booster threw an arm around his shoulders. “Ted, say hello to the new Bug.”
“Bug? I’m sorry, I don’t…I thought this was just...y’know, a Blue Beetle.”
“Oh, right, you fly. Um. Bug was Ted’s airship thing. It was big and conspicuous, but when you needed to make a transcontinental journey in a hurry, it was the only way to travel.”
“Ah. Dan had something like that.”
Ted noticed a picture taped to the dash when he slid into the passenger’s seat. Booster had stuck down a photo of himself and Beetle, hamming it up for the camera, L-Ron’s hands (if they could be called hands) at the edge of the image, mechanical fingers in the lens, so to speak.
“So this is other Ted, huh? No offense, Booster, but he’s kind of fat.”
Booster chuckled. “Yeah, Ted had his vices, and those vices came with a side of fries.”
“My vices go for a long run,” Ted replied, pulling something out of his pocket and twisting it through his fingers. “Shall we go?”
Booster nodded and took the car out of park. He was going to have a hard time getting used to this, he was sure of it. Having Ted around. Having a Ted who wasn’t exactly his Ted around. It probably would’ve been weird if it had been the same old chunky Ted back after three years. But, he kept telling himself, any Ted was better than no Ted. Except maybe an evil Ted. Booster hoped this wasn’t secretly an evil Ted.
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to be continued...
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Rating: PG-13
Characters: Booster/Beetle
Spoilers: Through the end of 52. Not entirely canon-compliant.
Disclaimer: All characters and music are copyright their respective owners.
I have quite a few notes, so those will all go under the cut.
[chapter one] [chapter two] [chapter three]
Notes: First off, sorry this has taken so long in getting out. The whole fic is already written, it's the art that got held up. Speaking of, I tried a different art style this chapter, let me know what you think. The round robin is still going on. If parties are still interested, let's try and finish that thing up. Shameless self promotion: if you comment at this entry I'll write you a drabble. Not only should you do that, you should also write something for doctorv's Pornfest. And lastly, be on the lookout for the Domestic Boostle Challenge, sponsored by wonderfish and me.
Booster watched Ted as he surveyed the apartment, muttering to himself in a way only Ted could. He seemed genuinely impressed with the place, as he rightly should. The apartment complex was almost brand new, the apartment itself had never been rented out before, and he’d actually been able to afford an interior decorator. So for once, he wasn’t living in some crummy hole in the wall where he often ended up raising his own cockroach farm.
“There are no moldy pizza boxes on the floor. There are no festering piles of dirty laundry. It doesn’t smell like feet in here. If I needed proof that you aren’t the same lazy-ass slacker Booster I knew, this is it,” Ted said. “I’m actually ashamed to still have shoes on.”
“Don’t be. And I’ve only stopped being a slacker in the past year or so. Part of the complicated mess my life became after you…after Ted died. All of this is me trying to…y’know, keep on keeping on. Or whatever,” he shrugged.
Ted smiled. “Well, it’s a really great place, Booster. I’ll actually enjoy sleeping on this couch, I think.”
“Couch? Like hell you’re sleeping on the couch. The bed’s big enough for the both of us, and it’s not like we haven’t shared before. Okay, maybe not us specifically, but…”
Ted sighed and consented, allowing Booster to drag him into the bedroom. Booster absently wondered if this was a bad idea, unsure of what sort of relationship Other Ted had with Other Booster. He and the Ted of this world were best friends, but there was some sort of weird, quasi-flirting thing going underneath, and unfortunately, Ted had died before they could really parse things out.
“Hello, sir. I take it you were successful,” Skeets piped from atop Booster’s dresser.
“Yeah, but I picked up a stray. Can I keep him?” he asked, waving at Ted.
Ted walked over to the dresser and scrutinized Skeets carefully. “Busted propulsion system, Skeets? I can probably fix that for you.”
“Thank you, sir. Michael has been somewhat negligent with regards to my upkeep.”
Booster threw a sock at Skeets. “Shut up, Skeets. You’ll get fixed. Just don’t forget, the last time I had you taken for repairs, you got a giant evil caterpillar dropped into your mainframe. Now pipe down, we’re taking a nap.”
“Yes, sir. Nice to see you again, Beetle sir.”
“You too, Skeets. I’ll need to go out and get some clothes and stuff at some point,” Ted pointed out, trying to stifle a yawn. “The Scarab can do civvies, but I don’t want to rely on it clothing me all the time.”
“No, we’ll go out, that way we can just stay out for dinner and I don’t have to cook. It would’ve been leftover night if you hadn’t shown up,” Booster replied. “Sorry about the drippy faucet in the bathroom, by the way. That started a week ago and I just never got around to fixing it.”
They climbed into bed, Booster pulling a throw blanket from the foot and chucking it over the two of them. Ted started snickering as he mashed down the pillows with his arm.
“God, I feel like we’re in preschool, having nap time. If there are juice boxes in your fridge, I might just die.”
“I don’t remember ever having nap time in preschool,” Booster muttered.
“Obviously the future doesn’t believe in naps,” Ted quipped.
“Maybe not, but I am all for them in the present.”
Thankfully, Booster’s bed was large enough for two grown men to sprawl out like dead starfish. Booster was asleep in moments; Ted took a few minutes more. He’d spent those few minutes just lying there, watching, and trying to steal more blanket than his allotted half.
Booster dreamt of Ted, though of which Ted he wasn’t sure. He didn’t think it even mattered. They were fragments of memory, snatches of conversation, cemented together with fantasies his subconscious provided. They blended together until Booster couldn’t tell what was real and what wasn’t. Well, okay, he knew the erotic fantasies had never happened, Ted had never so much even kissed him. Sometimes Booster wondered if Ted knew exactly how he felt, but pretended that it wasn’t happening. Ted was a product of his times, and his times didn’t jive with homosexuality. Booster, as he explained many times, wasn’t gay though. He was a product of his times as well, and the future saw no difference between straight or gay, gender preferences had been completely eliminated.
Booster woke when he realized he couldn’t move his arms, thinking that Monarch had come back for the one he’d replaced and took the other one as collateral. In reality, he was tangled up in his throw blanket and Ted, who was also tangled up in the blanket. Ted had pressed himself as close as he could get to Booster, his head pillowed on Booster’s shoulder. Interesting development, this. Booster glanced over at the clock, five minutes to three. Probably a good time to get up and get moving again.
“Ted?” he murmured, shaking his shoulder slightly. “Hey, wake up.”
Ted opened one eye lazily. “Hrmgnph?”
“Articulate. Come on, you wanted to go get stuff,” Booster said, trying to get the blanket off them.
“Time ‘s it?” he mumbled, rubbing his eyes.
“Just about three.”
“Two-fifty-seven,” Skeets corrected.
Ted nodded, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. “Let’s get out of here before I fall asleep again. Do you think my credit cards will work?”
“If they don’t, I’ll cover it,” Booster assured him, reaching under the bed for his shoes. “I got a commission bonus last week, so I’ve got a little extra play money.”
“I thought you couldn’t get a credit card. Or maybe that’s just in my world.”
Booster shook his head. “No, I had to have fake paperwork drawn up for that. Fortunately I know enough hackers to legitimize my existence in this time period. But yeah, I’ve got a Visa if you need it.”
“Hearing you be responsible is still creepy,” Ted sighed. “Are those red high-tops? Never pictured you the red high-tops kind of guy.”
“Bea bought them for me as a joke gift, but they’re actually really comfortable.”
Ted nodded and slid his own shoes back on. Booster didn’t notice him palming something from his shoe to his jeans pocket. “All set?”
“Yeah, let me get my keys, we’ll take my car,” Booster replied. “Hold down the fort, Skeets.”
Ted followed Booster out the door and down to the garage. Parked in an isolated corner was a blue Volkswagen Beetle convertible. Ted grinned.
“You didn’t.”
Booster threw an arm around his shoulders. “Ted, say hello to the new Bug.”
“Bug? I’m sorry, I don’t…I thought this was just...y’know, a Blue Beetle.”
“Oh, right, you fly. Um. Bug was Ted’s airship thing. It was big and conspicuous, but when you needed to make a transcontinental journey in a hurry, it was the only way to travel.”
“Ah. Dan had something like that.”
Ted noticed a picture taped to the dash when he slid into the passenger’s seat. Booster had stuck down a photo of himself and Beetle, hamming it up for the camera, L-Ron’s hands (if they could be called hands) at the edge of the image, mechanical fingers in the lens, so to speak.
“So this is other Ted, huh? No offense, Booster, but he’s kind of fat.”
Booster chuckled. “Yeah, Ted had his vices, and those vices came with a side of fries.”
“My vices go for a long run,” Ted replied, pulling something out of his pocket and twisting it through his fingers. “Shall we go?”
Booster nodded and took the car out of park. He was going to have a hard time getting used to this, he was sure of it. Having Ted around. Having a Ted who wasn’t exactly his Ted around. It probably would’ve been weird if it had been the same old chunky Ted back after three years. But, he kept telling himself, any Ted was better than no Ted. Except maybe an evil Ted. Booster hoped this wasn’t secretly an evil Ted.
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to be continued...
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