Work Text:
In four months, Ted feels more at home in Rip's time bunker than anywhere he's ever been. As an engineer, the lab has the best atmosphere he's ever experienced, with Rip allowing him to tackle as many side projects as he wants with all the seemingly random time equipment scattered about.
And though he doesn't have to pull on a costume, he still gets to save the world by assisting Rip in the lab when missions are running. During times like those, sometimes there is nothing more important than watching the beat of Booster's heart on a monitor. While it's difficult to get a visual when Booster and Skeets are in the time-stream--Ted's working on it, though--their voices come through just fine. So when Booster's in a tight spot, Ted can banter with him like he's there and it seems to help Booster through, despite Rip's eye-rolling.
Ted's free time seems to be wrapped up with Rani, who has taken to Ted like a second father figure. He was terrified of her at first, with her future education putting her at about the same technical level as Ted. But her skills were rough and she needed experience to go with her knowledge, so Ted plays games with her and they color diagrams and Ted's teaching her how to be his most awesome lab assistant.
In between all that, he talks to Michelle as she stops by with groceries or picks up Rani to do "girly things". With Ted in the lab, she found it was better for her to be the bunker's link to the current time period and set up camp in an apartment in the nearest town. Ted's beginning to find it difficult to keep up with what's going on outside with researching all the different mistakes throughout history, so Michelle's visits seem to drag him out of the dark waters of time. On occasion, he gets startled that she's talking about his world, or rather the world he would be a part of if he hadn't died over 6 years ago. Future tech and historical data mix in his mind so that current politics and world events don't settle in as being related to him. It's more than a little scary when he realizes it, but then Michelle moves on to pop culture and technology and Ted uses the information to compare against what he can cook up in the lab.
With a little help from Rip and some connections he's managed, Ted can get his gadgets out onto the market. And thanks to Wayne Enterprise buying out shares and merging it in with it's own tech division, thus saving his company, Ted can still release his work under Kord Industries. The irony isn't lost on him, but he's in a thousand times happier place now than he was when he first went to Bruce for help, so Ted doesn't see the need for hard feelings.
So when Michelle brings him a newspaper clippings of how his iKord digital tablet is outselling all other tablet devices 3 to 1, of how iKord tablets have innovated the medical industry with real-time record keeping, and of how school boards are looking into replacing actual textbooks with iKord tablets because they are cheaper and easier to update, Ted's in a rush to tack the clippings to the wall in his and Booster's room.
He throws open the door to find a perfectly engineered behind in navy briefs. Booster's reaction time is fast as he hikes his sweatpants up and whirls around at breakneck speeds.
"Oh crap, I thought you were Rani," Booster exclaims in a panic, hands still bunching his sweatpants around his waist as if it secured his privacy.
"Doesn't seem to let knocking stop her, does it?" Ted knows he's wide-eyed and staring at Booster, butt he can't seem to help it. He means but. Really, his brain does.
"I was thinking a lock would be nice-" Booster starts.
"But she'll just figure out how to bypass it," Ted finishes for him. He watches Booster ease his death-grip on his sweatpants and adjust them, to where they’re hanging comfortably off his trim hips. At that point, Ted's mouth has gone dry and he quickly blinks, turning his attention to his news clippings.
"Those from Shel?" Booster grins, sitting on the bed with his back against a propped up pillow.
"Yeah," Ted hands over a clipping, fumbling with getting his brain in gear. "The iKord is... It's..."
"It's amazing," Booster says, reading. He glances up and smiles warmly. "You are practically glowing, you are so proud."
Ted rolls his eyes, knowing that the glow was probably a blush for other reasons. "I, uh, no..."
"Oh, come on," Booster teases. "That's your baby, and it's doing great! Be proud!" He hops up to dig around in his bedside table drawer, unearthing a tape dispenser. "This is head of the bed material."
The walls of their room were covered with clippings, Ted’s technological marvels encroaching on Booster’s achievements as a Time Master. By agreement, the wall over the head of their shared bed was considered prime real estate, saved for potentially world changing events. So when Booster places the clip he’s holding next to an article about the daughter of Gotham’s police commissioner becoming paralyzed by maniac and a xeroxed copy of Jonathan Kent’s birth announcement, Ted sits down on the edge of the bed and watches him.
“Is it really a big deal?” Ted frowns. “I have all the tech in the world, in history at my disposal. I, essentially, cheated."
Booster holds out his hand for the other articles. "Cheating," he says, "is giving people a rocket that will instantly take them to Mars. If anything, you are a building block. You are assisting behind the scenes, to better educate and heal the future generations that will build the rocket that takes people instantly to Mars."
Chuckling, Ted hands over the papers. "I was going to say that sounded really thoughtful, coming from you. But then I realized it was probably something Rip told either you or Rani."
"Hardy har har. Just for that," Booster floats to the ceiling and starts taping the articles there. "Try reading them now!"
"Hey!" Ted laughs, kicking off his shoes and climbing to stand on the bed. He wobbles just a little before he starts bouncing. He tries grabbing for Booster's leg, but gets his sweatpants instead.
"No pantsing! That's cheating!" Booster howls, leaving the clippings half tapped to save his pants. When Ted tugs harder, Booster turns to dive-bomb his friend, tackling him to the sheets.
The bed rocks and creaks underneath their combined weight and force of their movements as they wrestle to pin each other. Neither were above dirty moves, like pinching and tickling. A squeal from Ted due to a well placed poke in the ribs has Booster laughing so hard he is forced to give in because he couldn't breathe. Ted has him down in a pin easily with a breathless, "Gotcha now, you dirty bastard!"
In that moment, Ted's smile and laughter fades. Below him, Booster looks perfect--tousled golden hair, flushed cheeks, and velvet laugh to go with his million dollar smile. Ted can't stop the guilt from crushing him, no matter how many times he shoves it down and tucks it away. He almost didn't have this.
Booster must recognize the look on Ted's face, because he reaches up with both hands to trap Ted's head between them.
"No," he whispers, the wistful smile finding it's way onto Booster's lips. "Let it go."
Ted looks at that smile and knows he put it there. That sad, bittersweet smile is all his fault. "I can't," he says.
"Why? I can. Why can't you?"
Because as long as Booster can pull out that smile, Ted can't forget. "I left you behind. It hurt you."
"I'm better now," Booster says with surety, a cocky smirk trying to hide away the smile that haunts Ted. "I don't think you have anywhere that you can run off to, anyway."
Ted ducks his head to make a smartass remark, but it dies on his lips as he notices the slight twitch of Booster's pulse thrumming along the side of his neck. It's a particular rhythm, a beat Ted has learned well from watching Booster's health on monitors for the past four months. And it's pounding out a dance fit for a nightclub.
He raises his head and catches Booster's eyes darting to his, to Ted's lips, and to his eyes again. Ted's mouth is dry and he can't seem to breathe, but his brain is working just fine as it fits the pieces in place.
All this time, Booster's smile wasn't so much melancholy as it was hopeful. Hopeful that Ted would stop beating himself up over something that can't be changed and enjoy his new life, his second chance. That he would stop figuratively crying over abandoning Booster and just...
Ted closes the distance between them, pressing his lips to Booster's gently. Booster doesn't hesitate, whimpers a moan into Ted's mouth and gives in to the kiss. Ted can't stop the smile on his lips and gives a pleased hum, his tongue dipping into Booster's mouth to taste a faint hint of coffee, toothpaste, and something warm like honey. It's a scorching, slow play of lips and tongue, burning the breath in Ted's lungs. And when Booster's tongue teases at the crease of the corner of Ted's lips, Ted gasps a groan like he could die happy just like this.
Booster’s fingers tickle at Ted’s wrist braced by his head as he reaches to hold on. Ted wants to tell him he’s not going anywhere but his mouth is busy, nipping at Booster’s bottom lip. Smiling into the kiss, Booster makes an almost purr-like sound in his throat, and Ted sucks at his lip, pulling back until it slips free. Ted looks down at him through heavy lidded eyes, watching Booster’s lazy, pleased smile.
“Is it always this nice to let go?” Ted teases, reaching up to tangle his fingers in Booster’s halo of hair.
Booster hums, his blue eyes darker than midnight as they slowly open. “Hmm, you should do it more often. That glow looks really good on you.”
“You talk like I’m pregnant or something,” Ted snorts. “If anyone glows, it’s you, Mr. Shiny Butt.”
“Oh, so you look?” Booster asks, his free hand threading into the curls of auburn hair behind Ted’s ear, his other hand still holding on to Ted’s wrist.
“Kinda hard not to, with it being gold and, you know, genetically engineered to perfection,” Ted chuckled, nuzzling his nose against the tip of Booster’s. “So, I guess I understand now why you didn’t so much as need me, as you wanted me.”
Booster wags his eyebrows. “I offered you my bed. So you could sleep with me. That didn’t tip you off?”
“So I’m a little dense,” Ted shrugs. “Shut up and kiss me.”
Tightening his fingers in Ted’s hair, Booster drags him into another kiss.
Which is quickly broken as the bedroom door swings open.
“Oh... Heeeeey! Mikey and Teddy! Sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!”
“You know that lock we were talking about?” Booster sighs.
Ted covers his face with his hands. “I’ll work on something,” he says.