Bad Day - Young Avengers

Title: Bad Day
Characters: Teddy, Billy
Summary: In which it's one of the worst days in Teddy's life, but thankfully, there's one thing that can help - as soon as he gets back home.
Word Count: 799

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It most certainly was not Teddy's day. It began with them sleeping in, given that he and Billy acted their gender and age and kept each other up the previous night. Now, they did manage to make it to school on time, mostly thanks to Billy's powers, but the morning rush left Teddy in a foul mood. He was less accepting of his classmates' antics, but that only marked him as more appealing a target, as they knew they'll be rewarded for their efforts with annoyance and maybe even rage.
It was in that upset mindset that Teddy faced a pop-quiz in one of his most hated subjects. It was enough to make him decide to hold back the next time Billy tried to get him to study, and not seduce the mage instead (as fun as that was).
Almost certain of his failure, Teddy had to brave the rest of the day with the knowledge Billy forgot his phone at home due to their morning rush, and so Teddy was deprived even that much comfort.
Just when he thought all he had left to go through was basketball practice, one of the seniors got into a quarrel with one of the freshmen and the ball, which ended up flying in a random direction, found itself connecting with Teddy's face.
Though it healed soon enough, it still hurt, but at least it got him off the rest of the practice session. Rather than to the nurse's office, Teddy took on home instead. And of course that on the way back he came across a back-alley robbery. It ended quickly and without casualties, save for the shirt he ruined when he transformed. Now, that might not have been that bad, but he liked that shirt...
No, it was certainly not Teddy's day.

Teddy let the door slam behind him when he finally walked into the Kaplans' apartment, wearing the basketball team's uniform's shirt. Billy's brothers who were playing in the living-room looked up at him in surprise and Teddy growled a half-hearted greeting before turning away. It was, without a doubt, one of the worst days of his life, and as resilient and occasionally optimistic as Teddy was, even he was about ready to snap. He wanted to scream, punch and break something, or someone, do something, anything to help him vent-
And then he passed by the kitchen, only to drop his bags by the dining table before he retraced his steps. By the counter he found him, still lightly flushed from cycling his way home and then showering, bare-foot and with a peanut-butter covered finger in his mouth. Billy was there, the one person in all existence Teddy wanted to see, to be with right then.
He was hugging the guy from behind before Billy even managed to turn around fully. In fact, he still had his finger between his lips when Teddy pressed his face against his shoulder. For a long moment the only movement either of them made was Billy pulling his then-clean finger from his mouth and reaching for a towel.
Oh, he was worried alright, and concerned, and halfway to vindictive in light of Teddy's distressed state, but then Billy felt Teddy relax against him. Concluding it wasn't that bad, he let himself smile and rested his hands over Teddy's arms.

"Long day?" Billy asked in no more than a whisper, his voice warm and fond.
Teddy replied by nodding his head against Billy's shoulder and inhaling deeply.
Billy hummed to himself before reaching into the bag holding the slices of bread and then pulled two more slices out.

"You know, I hear peanut-butter and jam sandwiches make for passable comfort food..."
His smile widened when he felt that Teddy moved his head and rested his chin over BIlly's shoulder, rather than try and hide behind it.

"So-" Billy continued, head resting against Teddy's. "Why don't you hit the shower, and we can stuff our mouths while you tell me all about it?"

It was hard to tell for sure, given their positions, but Billy saw enough to let himself sigh silently in relief ; Teddy was smiling again, ever so slightly.

"That... sounds great, actually." Teddy admitted as he tightened his hold around Billy's body.
"But... if you washed with me--"

Billy pointedly refrained from looking aside at the puppy look he knew was aimed at him.

"Sorry, already cleaned up. But I will give you a backrub later."

The offered compromise sounded alluring enough, and Teddy made a small, approving sound. Billy in response shifted a bit and craned his neck so he could nuzzle against Teddy's hair.

"Welcome back, Tee."

A full, proper smile finally found its way to Teddy's lips, and he pecked Billy on the cheek.

"I'm home~"