kukkijar | Teddy Altman ; APPOINTMENTS

Really.

[It's said around a laugh again, this one more amused; his boyfriend is so, so cute like that. With an affectionate ruffle of Will's hair, Theodore lifts his head again, finally moving his arm away from his forehead to lean against the bed.]

And I think it'd feel great if you... kept doing that. [If Will wants to, anyway, though it looks like Teddy doesn't have to worry much about that.]

Um... uh. Okay. I'll-

[He stops himself, knowing any more words will just come out stupid, and leans in to carry on with what he'd been doing, this time with more confidence again now that he has Theodore's approval and permission. He still has no idea what he's doing, so he goes by instinct, rolling his tongue over the tip, taking in the length slowly to avoid choking himself, getting a feel for it and following the lead of the response he gets from Ted.

Funny- when he'd first stumbled upon the idea, he'd assumed it would be weird in practice, but as it is... it feels surprisingly natural to him.]

Teddy, we must speak. Now and in person.

I must ask that you do not tell Billy.

[It takes a moment for a response to come; it's a little strange being contact so urgently by Loki. He's a bit dubious, but he still responds.]

Where?

And why can't Billy know? [He and Billy get along better than he and Teddy - What does Teddy have to know that Billy can't?]

Wherever you are most comfortable.

Because this is in regards to him.

[Mia walks into the clinic on Friday with a small mission in mind. No one within the walls could have an easy time of life lately. She isn't working, not yet; instead, she crosses one hallway and takes a few quick steps down another.

And stops, several feet shy of the room that it is now second nature to find. Her target stands in the hallway, well clear of Billy's door.]

You're already here. [A surprise tactic might be best. Mia closes the distance between herself and Teddy, keeping her voice soft.] I'm glad, I was looking for you.

[God, it's been so hard.

Teddy had been leaning against the wall with his fingers on his temples, eyes shut with a frown on his face. It's hard, trying to be the support that Billy needs - that Billy wants him to be when he's acting the way he is. Sometimes, he's not there. Sometimes, he's there, but in such a way that it's eerie. Sometimes, the real him is there. But it doesn't happen often.

And the whole while, Teddy's thoughts about himself have gotten worse and worse. What can he do? What should he be? What does Billy want? What would he like about Teddy?

When he hears Mia's voice, too lost in his thoughts to bother picking up the footsteps, Teddy jerks out of his thoughts and looks at her - his eyes look green for a second, only to be blue again in the next, almost as if it didn't happen at all.]

Mia? [He smiles, it's as easy as it was two years ago.] What did you need me for?

[The smile is encouraging; the flash of frown and that odd sense she gets of something being not-so-right, they came beforehand and overtook all that encouragement.]

I need a lunch date. [Every way she thought to approach this, when she made the plan, rang false or felt too much like treating Teddy like a child. Plain truth is the best way to go. Few words, but real ones.] A very specific one.

[There's a long pause as he considers that. In regards to Billy... Hmm.]

Shot in the Dark. Meet you there in five.

[He knows Billy has a ward on him; it wouldn't be suspicious at all if he and Loki were sensed in the cafe. It's where Teddy works, after all.]

Specific?

[That smile, that too perfect smile, fades slightly as he looks at the door. Teddy hadn't actually left the clinic ever since he brought Billy here, so to leave now, with Billy so vulnerable, is...]

What kind of specific?

Done.

[And Loki is there, a little early even. This is a big enough deal he's not going to play games with it.]

You, specifically. [He forgets to eat so often that she's brought him food almost every day as it is, but this is different.]

[Teddy falters a little; yeah, that's what he thought. And the idea of leaving Billy's side doesn't appeal to him at all... Well, that is partially a lie, but Teddy doesn't want to dwell on it right now.]

So... if it's me you want, then - we'd have to leave, right?

[Loki you little showoff

Teddy arrives as promised, within five minutes. It's not too far away, after all; nothing here is too far away. He's not too surprised to see Loki there already. If this was a big enough deal that he needed to contact Teddy, then it had to be serious.

He doesn't bother ordering a drink first, instead sliding into the booth across from Loki right away.]

Hey.

[Loki has a half-finished glass of red wine on the table in front of him. He looks up as Teddy arrives and nods.]

Hello, Teddy.

Let's not waste time. You are aware that I have been teaching Billy from nearly the time we met, yes? Recently, his... attitude and practice of magic has changed, and I feel greatly concerned.

[Teddy frowns a little, eyes darting down to his hands for a moment before focusing on Loki again.]

... He's been careless, right? About how much he's using and what his limits are.

[It's not like he's blind; Billy's been using his magic so much lately, even for mundane little things. Teddy had thought it was cool at first, but there was a nagging thought, a concern in the back of his mind. Now, it shoots to the forefront of it.]

[...that's bad. That's really bad, if Teddy's noticing it to that extent.]

I cannot speak to what he does outside our time together. But he has been going behind my back. Most recently, he attempted to recreate a very unstable spell entirely on his own... after we had agreed that I should be there to... watch his back.

[His tone becomes very dry.] He didn't feel like waiting for me to get over being ten years old, apparently. Too much bother.

[He narrows his eyes. Really, Billy? You're getting that over-confident...?]

What spell was it?

The one he used to pull Jane and Tony out of the portal. Which as we both no doubt recalled, did not go at all well for him at the time.

That one?

[His eyes widen, and he stares down at his hands again. Yes, he remembers that one. It worked, it pulled through. But Billy passed out and started bleeding from the nose and had his magic completely wiped for a while. It saved Tony and Jane's lives, but what would it have done to Billy if it was used again?

And he was doing that behind Loki's back? Behind Teddy's?]

... No. No, it didn't. And he thought he could handle it himself...?

Apparently. And he was quite proud of himself.

And then very insulted when I pointed out he could have quite possibly hurt other people.

[Loki assumes Teddy already knows that he really could not care less about 98% of the enclosure.]

Which is something I find rather uncharacteristic of the Billy we both know and love.

[He knows. It speaks volumes to Teddy, that Billy really is in that 2% of people Loki cares about, and is the reason why he's here. Not just because Billy could be a threat at this point, but because he cares. And he knows that the last thing Billy wants to do is hurt other people.

So, he nods.]

He's told you how his magic works, right? It's based on what he wants. It's not really just want, though - he has to believe that it can happen. He has to want it so bad that he has to think of what it'd feel like if he did have it.

I may not know a lot about magic, Billy's or yours, but I know that the last thing Billy would ever want is to hurt other people.

[There's only a small pause, not enough for Loki to cut in, when Teddy speaks again.] That doesn't mean he sees what his magic could do. He can wish for a volcano without wanting to hurt anyone and it would still hurt people.

[Loki nods.]

I did try to point that out to him. Though I really wish I'd thought of that example at the time.

Yes, for a little while.

[As they become better friends, Teddy seems more and more ready to hide the way he's feeling from her. Like that fading but false smile.]

If the patients were as eager to stay here as you are, we'd have an easier time all around.

[On another day, Teddy might have felt a tiny bit of pride for using an example that Loki wanted to use. But it doesn't really mater today.]

So what did he say?

Teddy Altman ; APPOINTMENTS

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