Fill: Mother's Love, 1/?exfatalistMay 27 2011, 14:58:40 UTC
A/N: A double fill, but I just couldn't resist this prompt!
Jeff cuts the crust off Billy's sandwich and slices it diagonally before fitting the pieces into a clear sandwich bag. Rebecca adds an apple and a bag of fruit-flavored gummy snacks to the Power Rangers lunch box open on the counter, smiling sidelong at her husband. After the box of juice, she adds one last thing: a brief note, written in big, kid-friendly letters, telling Billy she and his father love him very much and they both hope he has a good day at school today.
Overhead, there is the sound of thundering feet as their son takes the stairs at break-neck speed and Rebecca can imagine the heels of his shoes lighting up with each thud. The rubber soles of said shoes squeak on the kitchen linoleum when their excited five year old finally arrives and stops just short of barreling into the backs of his father's knees.
"Mom!" Billy exclaims, "I don't want to be late!"
"We won't be late, honey," Rebecca assures him, crouching down to be at eye level with him. She considers his hair over the rims of her glasses, then reaches out to brush his part into something more presentable. "Where's your backpack?"
"By the door!" he answers decisively, trying to squirm away from her attempts to fix his hair. Clearly, he had taken great care to do it already and she was messing up all his careful, adult, first-day-of-school preparations.
"Okay," she agrees, straightening up and offering her hand to him. Jeff hands over the carefully packed lunch and she leads Billy to the door to get his jacket and his backpack on.
He fidgets all the way to school, too excited to be nervous. Meanwhile, Rebecca feels just the opposite. When they finally arrive, she takes a deep breath and smiles happily at her son. "I'll see you this afternoon," Rebecca assures. "Don't be nervous, Billy. Just be yourself and have fun."
It's an unnecessary bit of advice. Billy smiles a big, bright smile and leans in to kiss her cheek. "I know. Bye, mom."
Rebecca watches him until he disappears into the school.
---
When Billy is seven, they talk about where babies come from and about how very soon he'll be someone's big brother. They tell him it's a very big responsibility and they know he'll be great at it, then ask him how he feels about having a new brother or sister. "It's okay, I guess," Billy answers in a serious, thoughtful way, clearly burdened by the idea.
He wonders all night and part of the next day if he can be a good big brother. What if he's not good at being a big brother? Maybe his parents will be upset with him. Maybe his new brother or sister won't like him.
In his lunchbox, there is a sandwich with the crust cut off and a tupperware box of orange slices next to a box of juice. Tucked under the freezer pack, his mom has left him a note like she usually only does on the first day of school.
Rather than addressing his current fears and worries about having another sibling, the note just reads: Billy, your father and I love you very much. And that's all he actually needs.
---
At ten, there's no need to have the same conversation they did when he was seven. Billy knows where babies come from and he's excited about the prospect of having another sibling. Though, he stipulates when his parents tell him the news, he would like another brother, because none of the girls he knows play video games.
"Is that a note from your mom?" asks a boy across the table from him at lunch.
Billy looks up from unfolding the piece of paper and feels trapped like a deer in headlights.
"No," he hesitates, shoving the piece of paper to the bottom of his lunchbox. "It's, uh, cheat codes." His brain supplies the name of a new video game and he thinks for a moment a lie that big wouldn't fool anyone. But it does. And they talk about the game for the rest of lunch, the note laying forgotten under his crustless PB&J.
Fill: Mother's Love, 2/?exfatalistMay 27 2011, 15:00:37 UTC
At eleven, Billy decides he likes crust on his bread, but doesn't like grape jelly anymore. By twelve, he thinks lunchboxes are totally lame and he wants to start getting lunch at school. When he's thirteen, he sighs at the thought of babysitting his brothers interrupting the cataloging of his steadily growing comic collection.
When Billy comes home with his first black eye and busted lip at fourteen, Rebecca scrutinizes him for a moment over the top of her glasses, but lets him thunder right up the stairs and into his room without a word. It isn't uncommon to hear Billy's door slam these days. Jeff says it's just a teenage phase, but Rebecca recognizes it as more than just that.
Later, when she suspects Billy might be ready to talk, she brings his dinner up to his room, along with an ice pack and something for the cut on his lip. The argument starts small, with her urging him to eat and his dramatic response that he isn't hungry, but ends in frustration. It takes all of her resolve to keep from outright punishing him for not telling her what happened, as Rebecca knows how counterproductive that can be when dealing with a teenager, but as a mother she's desperate to fix whatever it is.
"It's just some jerk from school, mom," Billy finally says two weeks later, holding up the note she slipped into the front pocket of his backpack (in lieu of the lunchbox she used to pack for him when he was younger). "He doesn't do anything at school, so none of the teachers will catch him. He gets off the bus at my stop and then -- "
"What are you going to do?" she wonders after Billy refuses to finish his sentence. Of course it's better to give Billy opportunity to deal with this on his own. It isn't just a character-building experience.
He shrugs a little, then offers her the smile she's been missing for weeks. "Can I get a bike?"
---
The meeting is long and ridiculous. By the end of it, Rebecca is so annoyed that she gives serious thought to a private school until she remembers most have waiting lists Billy should have been on sixteen years ago to enroll now. "What a pompous ass," she declares, spitting toothpaste into the sink as if the drain were the principal's face. "That boy has been harassing Billy for years. As sad as I am -- as sorry as I am -- about what happened to him, they can't possibly be serious!"
"Honey," Jeff placates from bed, already sans glasses and relaxing into the pillows. He came to the school straight from work and hasn't had a moment's peace all day. "Billy hurt that kid pretty badly. I know he didn't mean to, but he did."
"They want us to send him to a different school, Jeff. That ass actually said 'people like your son.' How can you be so calm about this!?"
He sighs. "Maybe the principal is right. There are schools for kids like Billy. Special schools. He wouldn't be bullied anymore."
"That's bullshit, Jeff! He'll be bullied anywhere he goes if he doesn't learn to take a stand for who he really is! I'm not sending him to Elisabeth Irwin just to get -- "
"What?"
"What?" Rebecca counters, looking confused from the bathroom doorway.
"What are we talking about, here?" Jeff wonders. "I'm talking about whether or not our son is actually a mutant, like his principal said."
"Is that the only thing you think he was talking about?" She crosses from the doorway and settles onto the edge of the bed on her husband's side. "Jeff, our son is gay."
Fill: Mother's Love, 3/4exfatalistMay 27 2011, 15:05:46 UTC
Teddy is on his second heaping plate of eggs, courtesy of Jeff's nervous cooking, before he explains where the two of them have been.
"They had Billy in prison," the boy across the kitchen table explains, looking just as pained as Rebecca feels. "In a place called the Negative Zone. It's this anti-matter universe Reed Richards discovered. They put a prison there for all the unregistered heroes being held awaiting trial. I, uh. Captain America asked me to -- er -- help break in and rescue everyone from our side. Billy was -- "
"Is he okay?" Rebecca urges, needing to know on no uncertain terms. The boys arrived back home last night and Billy has been asleep for almost twelve hours.
"I think he's just tired." But there's an uncertainty in Teddy's voice that speaks volumes of his own worry. "He didn't say he was hurt. It's probably just -- you have to have your molecules scrambled to even go to the Negative Zone without exploding -- "
In the kitchen, Jeff drops his spatula.
"Sorry," Teddy offers with a wince.
Rebecca reaches across the table and rests her hand on Teddy's with a small, strained smile. "Thank you for bringing him back to us. How are you? We haven't seen much of you since your mother died. Where are you staying? Are you still in school?"
Teddy blushes and looks down at his plate. "I'm okay. I still can't believe she's gone, but ... I'm gonna be okay." After a pause, seeming to remember the other questions, Teddy looks up and smiles bravely. "We've been underground with Cap. Safe houses, that sort of thing. Neither of us has been in school since Registration."
"Don't worry," Rebecca urges, "I'll sort everything out for you. You can stay with us, if you want."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Really?" Billy asks from the doorway. Having not thundered down the stairs in his usual hurry, no one seemed to have noticed his arrival until he spoke up.
Then, in a rush, Rebecca is on her feet and pulling Billy into a hug.
"Mom -- " he gasps. "Need -- to breathe."
She only lets him go a little bit, just enough to keep from squeezing his ribs too tight, holding onto him like he might not be real. "You scared me to death," she whispers.
"I'm sorry, mom. I'm so sorry, I ... " Billy pauses, tone of voice going soft and actually happy, "I'm grounded forever, aren't I?"
"Yes. Yes, you are."
---
As Billy writes his note to Teddy before slipping away to Latveria, he thinks about all the notes Rebecca Kaplan -- his mom -- left him over the years. In his lunchbox, in his backpack, stuck to the fridge, or taped to his bedroom door. Your father and I love you very much, all of them would read at some point. She signed all of them Love, Mom with a heart, too. When the team broke him out of the Avengers' headquarters, he didn't even think twice about telling his mom and dad what was going on. If Cap hasn't told them otherwise, they still think he's under observation. If Cap has, then they're probably worried sick.
He pushes aside the sheet of paper for Teddy and works on something else, quick and apologetic and so heartfelt it hurts.
Half a world away, Rebecca Kaplan is sitting on the couch with a box of tissues when the next tissue in the box is replaced by stiffer paper. She tugs it free and breathes a sigh of relief to see Billy's handwriting.
Mom, it reads, I want you to know I love you very much and I'm sorry about everything I've ever put you through. I don't know why I'm doing this, except it matters to me for reasons I can't explain. Just know that I'm okay and I'll be home very soon. Tell Dad I love him and I'm sorry. Love, Billy.
Fill: Mother's Love, 4/4exfatalistMay 27 2011, 15:07:21 UTC
When it's all over, Billy finds himself leaning against Teddy and is relieved to have Teddy's arms around him in return. It feels like forgiveness and he needs that more than anything.
"Was it worth it?" Teddy asks. His voice is strained and Billy knows why. He's been chasing a ghost, chasing the idea of the Scarlet Witch, for nothing. As many excuses as he produces, as many justifications as he gives himself, Billy knows it's always been his obsession with his favorite Avenger and the suggestion that somehow the two of them are linked. Calling her 'mom' just gets under Teddy's skin and Billy knows what his boyfriend thinks: Teddy lost his mom, tragically, and would give anything to get her back, so he just doesn't understand why Billy isn't more grateful for the mother he's known all his life.
Sadly enough, Billy doesn't know why, either.
Teddy's arms tighten around him when he finally, finally, lets go of the tears he's been holding back for so long. "I want to go home," Billy says softly, burying the admission against Teddy's broad chest and torn uniform. "I miss my mom."
Teddy relaxes, practically melting away from his confused and tense posture, and reaches up to stroke Billy's hair. "I know," he answers. "Let's go home."
Re: Fill: Mother's Love, 4/4exfatalistMay 27 2011, 15:54:54 UTC
Double fill? I am NOT complaining! :D Especially because I adored this to BITS. I love all the canon references, especially the ones to Billy's sibilings and to the Civil War arc! Teddy was a very welcome guest - I like how he's there for Billy but he just... lingers in the background and their relationship is not the main focus of the story. That's what I like the most about it in canon as well. You also inadvertently satisfied my Jeff Kaplan cravings: ["What are we talking about, here?" Jeff wonders. "I'm talking about whether or not our son is actually a mutant, like his principal said." "Is that the only thing you think he was talking about?" She crosses from the doorway and settles onto the edge of the bed on her husband's side. "Jeff, our son is gay."] I LOVE this man. (And I ship Jeff/Rebecca almost as much as I ship Vizh/Wanda - which is saying something!). Thank you so much for writing this! Happy anon is happy.
Re: Fill: Mother's Love, 4/4exfatalistMay 27 2011, 16:10:31 UTC
Ahhh, this comment makes me so happy!
One thing I've always appreciated about Young Avengers is that the writing never beats you over the head with Billy and Teddy either being gay or being in a relationship. It's nice and subtle and just there.
I also ship Jeff/Rebecca so much! He strikes me as such an adorable dork, especially with his whole "I didn't know, your mother had to tell me" thing in canon. Oh, Jeff. >:3
I had lots of fun writing this (as it's something I wish they'd address in canon), so I'm really glad you enjoyed it! :D
Jeff cuts the crust off Billy's sandwich and slices it diagonally before fitting the pieces into a clear sandwich bag. Rebecca adds an apple and a bag of fruit-flavored gummy snacks to the Power Rangers lunch box open on the counter, smiling sidelong at her husband. After the box of juice, she adds one last thing: a brief note, written in big, kid-friendly letters, telling Billy she and his father love him very much and they both hope he has a good day at school today.
Overhead, there is the sound of thundering feet as their son takes the stairs at break-neck speed and Rebecca can imagine the heels of his shoes lighting up with each thud. The rubber soles of said shoes squeak on the kitchen linoleum when their excited five year old finally arrives and stops just short of barreling into the backs of his father's knees.
"Mom!" Billy exclaims, "I don't want to be late!"
"We won't be late, honey," Rebecca assures him, crouching down to be at eye level with him. She considers his hair over the rims of her glasses, then reaches out to brush his part into something more presentable. "Where's your backpack?"
"By the door!" he answers decisively, trying to squirm away from her attempts to fix his hair. Clearly, he had taken great care to do it already and she was messing up all his careful, adult, first-day-of-school preparations.
"Okay," she agrees, straightening up and offering her hand to him. Jeff hands over the carefully packed lunch and she leads Billy to the door to get his jacket and his backpack on.
He fidgets all the way to school, too excited to be nervous. Meanwhile, Rebecca feels just the opposite. When they finally arrive, she takes a deep breath and smiles happily at her son. "I'll see you this afternoon," Rebecca assures. "Don't be nervous, Billy. Just be yourself and have fun."
It's an unnecessary bit of advice. Billy smiles a big, bright smile and leans in to kiss her cheek. "I know. Bye, mom."
Rebecca watches him until he disappears into the school.
---
When Billy is seven, they talk about where babies come from and about how very soon he'll be someone's big brother. They tell him it's a very big responsibility and they know he'll be great at it, then ask him how he feels about having a new brother or sister. "It's okay, I guess," Billy answers in a serious, thoughtful way, clearly burdened by the idea.
He wonders all night and part of the next day if he can be a good big brother. What if he's not good at being a big brother? Maybe his parents will be upset with him. Maybe his new brother or sister won't like him.
In his lunchbox, there is a sandwich with the crust cut off and a tupperware box of orange slices next to a box of juice. Tucked under the freezer pack, his mom has left him a note like she usually only does on the first day of school.
Rather than addressing his current fears and worries about having another sibling, the note just reads: Billy, your father and I love you very much. And that's all he actually needs.
---
At ten, there's no need to have the same conversation they did when he was seven. Billy knows where babies come from and he's excited about the prospect of having another sibling. Though, he stipulates when his parents tell him the news, he would like another brother, because none of the girls he knows play video games.
"Is that a note from your mom?" asks a boy across the table from him at lunch.
Billy looks up from unfolding the piece of paper and feels trapped like a deer in headlights.
"No," he hesitates, shoving the piece of paper to the bottom of his lunchbox. "It's, uh, cheat codes." His brain supplies the name of a new video game and he thinks for a moment a lie that big wouldn't fool anyone. But it does. And they talk about the game for the rest of lunch, the note laying forgotten under his crustless PB&J.
---
Reply
When Billy comes home with his first black eye and busted lip at fourteen, Rebecca scrutinizes him for a moment over the top of her glasses, but lets him thunder right up the stairs and into his room without a word. It isn't uncommon to hear Billy's door slam these days. Jeff says it's just a teenage phase, but Rebecca recognizes it as more than just that.
Later, when she suspects Billy might be ready to talk, she brings his dinner up to his room, along with an ice pack and something for the cut on his lip. The argument starts small, with her urging him to eat and his dramatic response that he isn't hungry, but ends in frustration. It takes all of her resolve to keep from outright punishing him for not telling her what happened, as Rebecca knows how counterproductive that can be when dealing with a teenager, but as a mother she's desperate to fix whatever it is.
"It's just some jerk from school, mom," Billy finally says two weeks later, holding up the note she slipped into the front pocket of his backpack (in lieu of the lunchbox she used to pack for him when he was younger). "He doesn't do anything at school, so none of the teachers will catch him. He gets off the bus at my stop and then -- "
"What are you going to do?" she wonders after Billy refuses to finish his sentence. Of course it's better to give Billy opportunity to deal with this on his own. It isn't just a character-building experience.
He shrugs a little, then offers her the smile she's been missing for weeks. "Can I get a bike?"
---
The meeting is long and ridiculous. By the end of it, Rebecca is so annoyed that she gives serious thought to a private school until she remembers most have waiting lists Billy should have been on sixteen years ago to enroll now. "What a pompous ass," she declares, spitting toothpaste into the sink as if the drain were the principal's face. "That boy has been harassing Billy for years. As sad as I am -- as sorry as I am -- about what happened to him, they can't possibly be serious!"
"Honey," Jeff placates from bed, already sans glasses and relaxing into the pillows. He came to the school straight from work and hasn't had a moment's peace all day. "Billy hurt that kid pretty badly. I know he didn't mean to, but he did."
"They want us to send him to a different school, Jeff. That ass actually said 'people like your son.' How can you be so calm about this!?"
He sighs. "Maybe the principal is right. There are schools for kids like Billy. Special schools. He wouldn't be bullied anymore."
"That's bullshit, Jeff! He'll be bullied anywhere he goes if he doesn't learn to take a stand for who he really is! I'm not sending him to Elisabeth Irwin just to get -- "
"What?"
"What?" Rebecca counters, looking confused from the bathroom doorway.
"What are we talking about, here?" Jeff wonders. "I'm talking about whether or not our son is actually a mutant, like his principal said."
"Is that the only thing you think he was talking about?" She crosses from the doorway and settles onto the edge of the bed on her husband's side. "Jeff, our son is gay."
---
Reply
Teddy is on his second heaping plate of eggs, courtesy of Jeff's nervous cooking, before he explains where the two of them have been.
"They had Billy in prison," the boy across the kitchen table explains, looking just as pained as Rebecca feels. "In a place called the Negative Zone. It's this anti-matter universe Reed Richards discovered. They put a prison there for all the unregistered heroes being held awaiting trial. I, uh. Captain America asked me to -- er -- help break in and rescue everyone from our side. Billy was -- "
"Is he okay?" Rebecca urges, needing to know on no uncertain terms. The boys arrived back home last night and Billy has been asleep for almost twelve hours.
"I think he's just tired." But there's an uncertainty in Teddy's voice that speaks volumes of his own worry. "He didn't say he was hurt. It's probably just -- you have to have your molecules scrambled to even go to the Negative Zone without exploding -- "
In the kitchen, Jeff drops his spatula.
"Sorry," Teddy offers with a wince.
Rebecca reaches across the table and rests her hand on Teddy's with a small, strained smile. "Thank you for bringing him back to us. How are you? We haven't seen much of you since your mother died. Where are you staying? Are you still in school?"
Teddy blushes and looks down at his plate. "I'm okay. I still can't believe she's gone, but ... I'm gonna be okay." After a pause, seeming to remember the other questions, Teddy looks up and smiles bravely. "We've been underground with Cap. Safe houses, that sort of thing. Neither of us has been in school since Registration."
"Don't worry," Rebecca urges, "I'll sort everything out for you. You can stay with us, if you want."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Really?" Billy asks from the doorway. Having not thundered down the stairs in his usual hurry, no one seemed to have noticed his arrival until he spoke up.
Then, in a rush, Rebecca is on her feet and pulling Billy into a hug.
"Mom -- " he gasps. "Need -- to breathe."
She only lets him go a little bit, just enough to keep from squeezing his ribs too tight, holding onto him like he might not be real. "You scared me to death," she whispers.
"I'm sorry, mom. I'm so sorry, I ... " Billy pauses, tone of voice going soft and actually happy, "I'm grounded forever, aren't I?"
"Yes. Yes, you are."
---
As Billy writes his note to Teddy before slipping away to Latveria, he thinks about all the notes Rebecca Kaplan -- his mom -- left him over the years. In his lunchbox, in his backpack, stuck to the fridge, or taped to his bedroom door. Your father and I love you very much, all of them would read at some point. She signed all of them Love, Mom with a heart, too. When the team broke him out of the Avengers' headquarters, he didn't even think twice about telling his mom and dad what was going on. If Cap hasn't told them otherwise, they still think he's under observation. If Cap has, then they're probably worried sick.
He pushes aside the sheet of paper for Teddy and works on something else, quick and apologetic and so heartfelt it hurts.
Iwantmomtogetthis, Iwantmomtogetthis, Iwantmomtogetthis ...
Half a world away, Rebecca Kaplan is sitting on the couch with a box of tissues when the next tissue in the box is replaced by stiffer paper. She tugs it free and breathes a sigh of relief to see Billy's handwriting.
Mom, it reads, I want you to know I love you very much and I'm sorry about everything I've ever put you through. I don't know why I'm doing this, except it matters to me for reasons I can't explain. Just know that I'm okay and I'll be home very soon. Tell Dad I love him and I'm sorry. Love, Billy.
---
Reply
When it's all over, Billy finds himself leaning against Teddy and is relieved to have Teddy's arms around him in return. It feels like forgiveness and he needs that more than anything.
"Was it worth it?" Teddy asks. His voice is strained and Billy knows why. He's been chasing a ghost, chasing the idea of the Scarlet Witch, for nothing. As many excuses as he produces, as many justifications as he gives himself, Billy knows it's always been his obsession with his favorite Avenger and the suggestion that somehow the two of them are linked. Calling her 'mom' just gets under Teddy's skin and Billy knows what his boyfriend thinks: Teddy lost his mom, tragically, and would give anything to get her back, so he just doesn't understand why Billy isn't more grateful for the mother he's known all his life.
Sadly enough, Billy doesn't know why, either.
Teddy's arms tighten around him when he finally, finally, lets go of the tears he's been holding back for so long. "I want to go home," Billy says softly, burying the admission against Teddy's broad chest and torn uniform. "I miss my mom."
Teddy relaxes, practically melting away from his confused and tense posture, and reaches up to stroke Billy's hair. "I know," he answers. "Let's go home."
Reply
Especially because I adored this to BITS.
I love all the canon references, especially the ones to Billy's sibilings and to the Civil War arc! Teddy was a very welcome guest - I like how he's there for Billy but he just... lingers in the background and their relationship is not the main focus of the story. That's what I like the most about it in canon as well.
You also inadvertently satisfied my Jeff Kaplan cravings:
["What are we talking about, here?" Jeff wonders. "I'm talking about whether or not our son is actually a mutant, like his principal said."
"Is that the only thing you think he was talking about?" She crosses from the doorway and settles onto the edge of the bed on her husband's side. "Jeff, our son is gay."]
I LOVE this man. (And I ship Jeff/Rebecca almost as much as I ship Vizh/Wanda - which is saying something!).
Thank you so much for writing this!
Happy anon is happy.
Reply
One thing I've always appreciated about Young Avengers is that the writing never beats you over the head with Billy and Teddy either being gay or being in a relationship. It's nice and subtle and just there.
I also ship Jeff/Rebecca so much! He strikes me as such an adorable dork, especially with his whole "I didn't know, your mother had to tell me" thing in canon. Oh, Jeff. >:3
I had lots of fun writing this (as it's something I wish they'd address in canon), so I'm really glad you enjoyed it! :D
Reply
Reply
Reply
So much of this was so just mnfgh, I have no words except that now I miss my mom. ;o;
Reply
Leave a comment