Chilly Boulder, Thursday Afternoon

[selfhelphero]

Billy and Topher had originally made plans to go out for an ice cream date over the weekend, but that idea had been hampered by the whole pony thing. So, of course, the day they rescheduled for was the day the island was invaded by goats. Of course.

"Tell me this wasn't our fault?" Billy said, once they were safely inside. He didn't really think it was their fault, but he had to admit, they were getting kind of a strange track record here.

[For the other awkward geek!]

Comments

[dollpocalypse]

"Yeah!" Topher agreed, somewhat startling the ice cream guy as he passed them their respective orders. "I mean. Yeah. Just because they're awesome and badass they get to boss you around? That's not fair. Can't you guys just... do it anyway?"

Beat.

"Okay, maybe not that."

It was Cap and Iron Man. Kind of spoke for itself.

[selfhelphero]

"Actually...well, yeah, we do it anyway," Billy said sheepishly. "Sometimes, everyone's too busy to notice us, and sometimes--there's a lot of bad stuff going on at home. Regular folks don't notice it but--what's left of the Avengers needs our help, and I think they're just uncomfortable letting us help when we're supposed to be, like, having fun and not worrying about the fate of the world. Like how the teachers here always tell us not to fight the stuff that comes to the island, but in the end, they always let us do it anyway."

[dollpocalypse]

"Like, as if you wouldn't be worrying about the fate of the world anyway if you weren't superheroing," Topher chimed in. "I mean, you can't exactly just go around and play video games if there's an invasion of evil stuff, or the multiverse is disappearing or something. Them not letting you do it just makes you guys more likely to get hurt when you do."

He gave a dramatic little huff. "People need to think more."

[selfhelphero]

Billy couldn't hide the devoted look he was giving Topher. "I wish more people thought like you do," he said. "We haven't gotten hurt yet. We're as careful as you can be when fighting crazy villains."

[dollpocalypse]

"So obviously you know what you're doing," Topher decided. "I mean. Okay, so -- I think this is okay to say? -- Peter, you know Peter? He basically spent the past, like, forever writing articles under a different name that made people in his home universe decide not to go to war. And they were really good and everything and he saved a whole bunch of people, but he couldn't do it under his real name 'cause he's a kid and no one would take him seriously anymore. And it's so stupid. I mean, once you prove yourself it shouldn't matter how old you are. We have enough superheroes and potential superheroes and geniuses and... champion essay-writers here that that should just be obvious."

[selfhelphero]

"Exactly! It's totally unfair," Billy agreed. "It sounds like what Peter was doing was really cool. I wish people would trust us, you know?"

[dollpocalypse]

"Yeah," Topher said with a nod. "Sorry. You know. That they don't."

[selfhelphero]

"It's not as upsetting when people I care about support me," Billy said, smiling at Topher over his ice cream.

[dollpocalypse]

"People you-- oh, you mean me." Most astute genius ever, obviously. "Yeah, no, I... definitely do that. Support you. I mean. Yeah."

Thank you for that important clarification, Topher.

"The careful part is important, though," he added. "So. No... getting hurt or anything."

It was really getting to be kind of weird, the amount of times he'd had to had this talk with his friends.

[selfhelphero]

"I won't get hurt, I promise. I've got magic and flying and no one can get to me if I don't want them to." Before he could think too much and stop himself, he leaned over to try to give Topher a peck on the cheek. For supporting him, of course!

[dollpocalypse]

That tiny noise Topher made? Totally not an unhappy one. Just in case anyone was wondering.

It was accompanied by a tiny bit of (also not unhappy) arm-flailing, so Billy probably got the idea.

[selfhelphero]

"You make me want to do that a lot. Just to see what kind of noises you might make," Billy said quietly. "All in the name of science and such."

[dollpocalypse]

Topher grinned. "It's hard to be quiet about it," he protested, but not with much force behind it. "Um." Okay, okay, he could do this-- "Here, you try."

And Billy was getting a slightly awkward, quick little cheek-kiss of his own. Wasn't he lucky?

[selfhelphero]

Considering how close the noise Billy made was to a squeal, yes, he was very lucky. "Okay, yeah, it is kind of hard to be quiet."

[dollpocalypse]

"See!?" Good god, boys. You were such giant nerds. "I don't get how people do that all the time. There's, like, a -- recovery period." Beat. "That was not the term I should've gone with."

[selfhelphero]

Billy snickered softly, biting his lip to keep from being too loud about it. "I know what you meant. Maybe it gets less tingly over time? If you do it a lot?"

[dollpocalypse]

"That makes sense," Topher conceded. "...especially because somehow I can't picture Ben and Ender making those noises all the time."

And they were definitely doing the other thing. He listened to radio.

"We could. You know. Test it more," he said, fiddling a little with his hands because flirting was hard, okay. "For science."

[selfhelphero]

"We could," Billy said, hesitating for only a moment before going in for another kiss. This time though, he didn't go for Topher's cheek. Science demanded he find out what an actual kiss would make Topher do.

[dollpocalypse]

An actual kiss, it turned out, caused Topher to flail his arms wildly but refrain from making any actual noise. Well, apart from the sound of his ice cream cup falling off the table and onto the floor. That would be due to the arm-flailing.

"Huh," Topher said, when it was done.

Then he grinned. A little sheepishly, but there it was.

[selfhelphero]

"I'm sorry"! Billy said quickly, leaning down to pick up Topher's spilled ice cream. "I didn't mean to--I'll get you more, I'm sorry." Then he noticed the grin, and smiled softly. "Sorry. I should warned you or something."

[dollpocalypse]

"No, no, it's okay," Topher said hastily. "I was mostly done." He took a breath, then rushed out, "Um. That was cool."

[selfhelphero]

Now Billy was grinning too. "It was cool for me too. Nice. Like, really nice. I could, um, do it again if you want?" See? He could learn to warn.

[dollpocalypse]

"Or I could," Topher offered, committed now that he'd said it. "I could just sort of..."

And that would be a somewhat awkward pause as he tilted his head in the manner that Jeff had described in class, hoping to avoid any awkward collision of noses.

See, he planned things.

[selfhelphero]

Who knew that Jeff's class could be useful for anything? But there was Billy, tilting his head a little as well, because this was awkward enough to begin with.

[dollpocalypse]

And then there was kissing! Obviously.

"You know, you'd think that'd be gross," Topher commented afterwards. "It isn't, so much. Movies lie."

Or Topher was just a baby and misinterpreted the way movie kiss scenes were supposed to be taken. That was also a possibility.