Getting To Know You

[helpdesk_hero]

There is something particularly 'just another Tuesday' level of strangeness about unlocking the front door to your sorta-but-not-quite boyfriend's house with bags of groceries expecting to see the old guy he takes care of and instead getting hit by a wall of new knowledge. Of knowing more about waves and surf conditions specifically in California, of knowing the particular quirks of a classic car neither Wolverine nor Cyclops had ever known, of knowing pet names you never used and a world you've never seen and the taste of peanut butter in foods it doesn't belong in.

Of a burning level of love mirrored only by how you yourself feel for your not-quite-boyfriend and that you know he's never expressed to you.

It hurts. Hurts like a heart ripped out. Hurts like one of too many deaths. Hurts like dreams shattered and being out of time.

And still David continues into the house, because the groceries are needed for taking care of the old man and Tommy, if not for this new complexity as well.

"Hey old man, brought the groceries. I'm going to make a casserole. Billy Hargrove, what sort of foods do you like?"

Not as if David doesn't know. He just needs to warn the guy that it isn't Tommy at the door. That said he closes it behind him and bee lines for the kitchen lamenting that Tommy should have warned him that things between them had changed so much.

Comments

[playingtough]

It's a lot. God, it is so much more than Billy could've expected coming with Tommy to his version of the world. Technology is so much further than it was in the 80s, and he wasn't even lying about the cellphone thing. Out of everything, that is the only thing that feels normal in his pocket, after all the time he had the communicator back in Temba. Sleep is rough for a few days as he adjusts back into a twenty-four hour day, the sound of cars and people instead of the ocean, and the onslaught of New all around him.

There's not a lot of His Stuff in the house yet, with the vase of shells on a side table for the time being, with a little addition of purple sand and shiny shells layered on top.

Tommy's out doing Tommy things and Billy promised not to go anywhere until they sort out how to make him a living person here in this world, so he's washing some dishes in the kitchen to keep his hands busy. The one thing he couldn't bring along was his car just for the sheer size of it, so it wasn't like he had a vehicle to work on now.

Hearing the keys distantly at the door, he tenses. Freezes. It's someone not Tommy, and he grips the knife he had just finished cleaning. Who was——

Oh. They knew his name? He holds the blade slightly looser, remembering how Soldier taught him, and thinks of his axe upstairs. Useless there. Maybe he should have it with him in the house. "Who the hell is that?" There's only one pair of footsteps, so Tommy's not with whoever that was. There's no quick buff of air either to indicate the speedster's presence so who would let themselves in so nonchalantly?

[helpdesk_hero]

Definitely no Tommy here. David contemplates the sound of Billy's voice as he walks to the kitchen. He makes sure to stand tall, to not look like he's cowering, to not flinch away. But of course he notices the knife.

He's trained in too many styles of fighting to not recognize the threat that comes with that position.

"David," he says as he walks to the furthest part of the counter from Billy. "Tommy and I are-"

He pauses for a moment, considering because he needs to know he's not saying too much. But when he closes his eyes and focuses, he knows, and so he nods to himself.

"If you're staying here, you know what he can do, and thus who he is. So then I can safely tell you that we were teammates for a while. I'm also one of the few people who know he's staying here. With his brother and brother-in-law off planet, and the others not in the state, I'm about the only one that can help him with Master P. I stop by, drop off groceries, sometimes do some meal prep for them."

As he talks he unloads the grocery bags, moving slowly and deliberately, making sure he's never near anything that could be construed as a weapon. Tommy would be annoyed if there was blood on the kitchen floor.

"And you're Billy Hargrove. His boyfriend."

The word hurts like a knife twisting in his chest, but he lets it go. He knew there would never be anything for him and Tommy, that Tommy would never want him the same way. He'd made his peace with that. Or so he'd thought.

[playingtough]

David. The name rings a bell and Billy watches him enter the kitchen and that gives him a moment to think and remember. He vaguely remembers a David that Tommy had mentioned at some point before it clicks. Yeah, a friend from back home with glasses on.

The grip on the knife eases and he sets it back in the sink. For now.

He thinks of the old man upstairs who he keeps out of the way from, not wanting to disturb him and be turned into something like a newt or a sponge or something.

"Yeah, been together about a year and a half. If you have a problem with that, let me know now so I can explain to Tommy why I beat the shit out of you before tossing you into the street." Then goes to start picking up some of those groceries to put in the fridge.

[helpdesk_hero]

David would be happy to tell Billy that Master P would never hurt him intentionally, but he wasn't going to press on that point, even if it was raised. The guy made him slightly uncomfortable as well. But Tommy cared for the guy so he wasn't one to complain.

"If I had a problem with that I would let you get a punch in before leaving, and I'd promise Tommy I had earned it," David agreed.

Because even with training from a version of the Winter Soldier, this guy would never manage to put a hand on David. Not unless David allowed it. The burdens, and perks, of his ability.

For now he focused on putting away canned goods as he considered how to approach this from here on. Because man he wanted to yell at Tommy for not telling him things. And for not warning this guy. Though from the 'year and a half' and David's knowledge of Agra-10, he supposed he understood why. There was a damn good chance that Tommy literally hadn't remembered David was due over today with everything that he would have suddenly remembered.

"Has he been working to catch you up to date on modern technology? If not or it's not going well, please let me know. I can give you my number and respond to any questions when I'm awake. I live in a pretty different time zone, you see, so I won't always be quick. But I've helped coach people up to the modern day before. Including people from further back than the 80s, so it wouldn't be that hard in your case."

[playingtough]

"Yeah, yeah, you’d need a storm or some shit to take your powers so I could beat you in a fight like I did with Tommy." That felt like a decade ago down in that bunker before they were even friends. The memory of that makes him pause, then after a moment the eggs get put away and the fridge shut.

The blond huffs and goes for some of the other items as the conversation continues. "Yeah, and it’s overwhelming. Especially the internet. Net. Whatever you’re calling it. I can spend like ten minutes on there before I gotta go do something else." It hurt his head like a migraine, so he would go and lift the small hand weights. "Phone in your pocket is useful."

He motions near David a worn little notebook with a list on the first page. "Been trying to keep track of stuff to learn about in there."

hoverboards
mcr the black parade (emo?)
facetime
Jersey shore alpacas
new arcades
classic car shows
apple vs android
cottagecore
dippin dots/space ice cream?

"It’s a lot to learn about. Regular life bullshit aside, there‘s all the big stuff too. That event with the towers in September, a bombing in Oklahoma, some scandal with a president and some side chick."

[helpdesk_hero]

Storm. David had to consider it for a moment before shaking his head.

"I'm not quite the same in terms of how my mutant ability works. Even without it, I'm still a master of multiple forms of combat."

Whereas he's always thought Tommy could use more hand to hand work. But trying to tell that guy anything was far from easy. Especially when he had been afraid to pus Tommy away. He supposed he could push the matter now.

"Most people nowadays call it the web," he notes as he shows potatoes before leaning in to look over at the first part of the sheet.

"Hoverboards don't actually hover, they're on wheels. And astronaut ice cream sucks. But dipping dots are nice. I find they're more common at zoos for some reason. FaceTime is nice, sort of like the video calls you did I think, and MCR might not be your vibe but you can try. As for classic car shows, we're going into the season and you're gonna love those."

[playingtough]

"The web," he parrots to make sure he heard correctly. The tap gets opened and the blond goes back to scrubbing at the dishes. There’s a sort of aggression to it, trying to work through the aggression that cropped up with a supposed stranger coming in and to get the dishes clean.

"Why the hell is it called a hoverboard then? That’s fucking stupid. And dippin dots is the space ice cream. Pretty sure that’s what I was told. But if it’s not outside of a zoo, I guess I’ll pass." He puts the last of the few dishes on the drying rack before getting the hand towel to dry off.

"So what’s your powers? I’m sure Tommy told me about you back on Temba but better to hear about it from the source. Any words I shouldn’t use around you? Now that I don’t have Munson around, I don’t have a reason to use the f-word," so no one would have to worry about the word 'freak'.

(Hopefully.)

[helpdesk_hero]

"You might want to add the movie Back to the Future to your list for that explanation. Mostly people cashing in on nostalgia by misusing a word."

And he would just have to live with that weirdness. After all, they were in an era of just reusing things over and over.

"Space ice cream meaning eaten in space is dehydrated or astronaut ice cream. Dipping dots is called 'space age' but the secret is just liquid nitrogen. But zoos can be a delight."

But the guy could avoid whatever he wanted to. David didn't want to argue when he had to think of a way to put this without upsetting the guy.

"It's a term you've never heard of," which David was certain of given, well, yeah. "Psychomimetric. It means things that people know on a deep level I know from being near them. Not everything, just in case you're worried. I can't tell what you're thinking, but I know how far you were in repairing your Camaro. The last time it had an oil change. The best beaches in the area you grew up in to surf. That Steve Harrington absolutely used some kind of hair product. Not that I know what Steve Harrington looks like, that's stored elsewhere in the brain interestingly enough."

As for language, he sighs and turns to look at the guy fully.

"I am a bisexual, black mutant superhero detective who isn't turned off from wearing dresses and skirts. Damn good chance that most of the things you would throw at me that aren't deliberately friendly are probably offensive."

[playingtough]

Billy frowns. "I saw Back to the Future in theaters." Now whether or not he was paying attention to the movie and not getting frisky with his date was another conversation. Given his reaction with the hoverboard portion of the conversation, not that much attention was paid to the movie.

"You know, it's cooler if you just keep it simple and call it space ice cream," Billy points out with an annoyed huff. This guy seems like an annoying know-it-all already, though with the explanation of the powers... that checks out.

Blue eyes go wide at the explanation. "So you can just learn shit about me by being near me?" The Camaro, Harrington, the surf, all of it? Did he know-

Before he could ask, David is already giving his own bit of background. Someone like him, just with powers and a different skin color. Except the dresses and skirts part. Billy doesn't plan on going that far, though he and Tommy had brushed on the subject before. "If I were me from a couple of years ago, I'd probably throw some pretty nasty words your way. I don't know about dresses and skirts n' stuff, but I get one of the other things you listed at least."

[helpdesk_hero]

"Then you clearly need to watch again," David says with a shrug. But he'll leave it to Tommy. "And a lot of things in the future aren't as cool as we'd want to think. It's helpful to remember. People will make you think it's cooler than it is."

But he doesn't know how to calm the guy. Not really. He hates that this is gonna get more tense. Because he can't imagine how it wouldn't get tense.

"If you were the you of a couple of years ago, I'd let you run your mouth and if you threw a punch I'd kick your ass. But you also wouldn't be someone Tommy would be willing to bring home, much less be in this house that is so important to him, whether he'd admit this place is that or not."

[playingtough]

"Shut up," he snaps back and then looks like he regrets the bite in his tone. Maybe Billy's allowed to be snippy being a man completely out of time and without any paperwork to prove he was alive. Pros and cons to going with Tommy, though sometimes the cons of everything weighed on his shoulders.

There's a bristling at the idea of David just letting Billy's mouth run free before putting him back down to keep him doing that. "I earned where I'm at with Tommy, thanks. He took a shitty person and made them into someone worthwhile, so that's why I won't be insulting you like I might've two years ago or however long it's been."

Way to take David's words the wrong way.

The plug gets pulled from the sink to drain the murky water before he forgets, and holds his hands up a little. Focus. Calm your ass down. David was clearly one of Tommy's friends, so he's gotta be good and all that. He can do that. Billy breathes in and out, and tries to focus on something else that wasn't splintering under his skin so much.

After a minute, he trusts himself to speak again. "To answer the question you started with earlier, by the way, I don't like peanut butter."

[helpdesk_hero]

"I know you earned it," David promises, his voice soft. In fact he's smiling softly to himself in memory. "Tommy's one of the best examples of what a hero should be. What most of us can't live up to. So yeah, I know without my mutant ability that he helped you. He helped me refind myself. He's unintentionally helped me find some of the truth of how I died. And don't ask about it, weird mutant thing."

He got better.

"And you're handling it well. You know how bad your anger used to be, so I do too. And I know a lot of people, human and mutant, villain and hero and normal, who can't. Be proud of that."

But with the information given he tilts his head and continues.

"I'm going simpler for Master P's sake, so taco casserole it is. Anything you want me to prep in the side for you?"

[playingtough]

The softness of David's voice helps defuse the agitation in Billy, and his shoulders hunch a little from the tense position he had them in previously. He's thinking about that time in Calibrations, where Tommy had egged him on about and around the dresser until Billy had lost it and beat the speedster's face for it. He thought of the volcano incident, and getting a punch back. Billy remembers cowering in the diner when the Upside Down came to the city.

There's a flash of fireworks and a monster in his mind for a moment, and he shudders those thoughts away.

That wasn't here. He was safe here as long as he didn't regress back to his old ways.

"I'm proud of a lot of shit. Trying to be better than my anger is already one of those things. I don't have a lot here. Just Tommy really." He didn't have anything like he did back in his own world, but what he did have didn't matter when you were six feet under over in that universe.

[helpdesk_hero]

"I get that," David says, nodding to himself. "You wouldn't be the first interdimensional traveler to end up on our Earth. The important thing is to find a life for yourself that isn't just Tommy. That sort of codependency leads to some bad things."

Like magic eating interdimensional parasites and Tommy getting kidnapped to a void for months. Or what happened to Sofia. Actually, David didn't want to think about that.

"Has he talked to you about paperwork yet? Way I see it he's got a few angles. His father who he doesn't talk to much, Tony Stark but I'm not sure how he'd leverage that one, his sister who might do it with Riri's help just for giggles, or I can call in a favor from a technopath."

[playingtough]

Interdimensional traveler. That sounded pretty cool. But he needed to find something that wasn't just Tommy. Probably a job. "I don't have a lot of skills. I'm pretty fresh out of high school where I'm from. Car mechanic and life-." His voice hitches on the word thinking about actually sitting up on a lifeguard stand again with the sun bearing down on him. Seeing the world in a confused haze before it all stings again, and then smothered into darkness.

He shakes his head to answer David's question. "He wanted to make sure I was settled in this time before we got into the paperwork I think. Or maybe we were gonna do it and superhero stuff got in the way." Billy ruffles his own curly hair before heading to the living room.

There's a couple of decently sized hand weights tucked under the couch, so he pulls them out and starts lifting them. Something to direct his attention away from anger and his former life, to keep him from accidentally lashing out.

[helpdesk_hero]

"You could also consider surfing back west. But there is a lot you can learn if you turn your mind to it," David notes as the guy walks away.

Mostly though, David's annoyed because Tommy just left this guy hanging. He doesn't know how long, but long enough for him to have a to do list. That said, he leaves the guy to do what he needs to do to unwind.

And neither of them really have time to prepare themselves before the front door opens and closes.

"Hey Sunshine! Hey Master P! I'm back. Brought a pizza!"

Tommy heads right to the couch to lean over and kiss Billy's cheek.

[playingtough]

Had Tommy left Billy hanging or had Billy pushed back trying to adjust so he wasn't acclimating as quickly as others?

"That would require me to go back west and I don't have my car or any kind of money to my name at the moment, and I'm not going to abuse Tommy's powers to get there." There were other things he'd need aside from being a living citizen in this universe, too, which he doesn't really want to sit and think about right now.

The sound of the door opening and closing quick enough alerts him that Tommy's home, which is confirmed by the verbal greeting and the kiss on his cheek. "Hey babe. You got a friend here, too. David. Some psychic with goggles or whatever that knows a lot about me already." That last sentence is definitely tainted with apprehension. He'll be good. For now.

[helpdesk_hero]

Tommy was very happy to listen to Billy talking all he wanted. In fact he was walking around to couch to flop next to him. Only to freeze at the name drop. Yeah, his face was in a moment of 'oh fuck'. Don't mind that.

"It's part of his powers," Tommy mumbles before setting the pizza down on the coffee table in front of Billy. "He's also punctual as fuck when there isn't an emergency."

"Yes, I tend to be," David agreed, coming just far enough out from the kitchen to regard the two. The way his arms cross over his chest might almost scream 'Harrington being a mom'. Clearly the mom-friend.

"Annnnnd you definitely know why the schedule slipped my mind," Tommy noted.

David freed a single had so he could tap his temple twice.

"Then you know how long I was gone."

"You don't look a day older," David answered by way of agreement. Which was true. All those years on Agra-10 and Tommy had come back at the same 21 with only a new scar to show for it. Even his hair had been short again. Billy of course hadn't gotten the same treatment.

"Time shit's a bitch."

"I'm well aware. Making taco salad. I'll be out of you two's hair as soon as it's in the oven."

Tommy sighs and sits next to Billy.

"Can I at least get the Krakoan gossip? You've got that Gala thing coming up, right? I know there has to be good gossip about that. Like who got invited. Is Jean Grey matching her outfit to Logan or Scott or neither? What's my aunt doing? Has Gramps finally admitted he wants Xavier bad yet?"

[playingtough]

Yeah, he notes that pose, that stance. Billy gives David a look long enough to take it in before rolling his eyes away. "God you're look like an insufferable mom like that," he points out as the two others continue their conversation. He leans forward to snag a slice of pizza.

"And now David knows why you're dating the hottest guy from the eighties. He's wearing a tank top currently, which shows off his own scarring on his arms from his one-sided fight with Kaplan. "Taco salad sounds good. I can do dishes later."

For the moment he was okay with pulling his weight by at least keeping things in order. Dishes was a decent way of getting some of his aggression out, and he could go take a run around the block a few times to get that workout in. "David mentioned something about me picking up hobbies or some shit. Be less absolutely dependent on you and get acclimated to this era."

[helpdesk_hero]

Tommy hears insufferable mom and looks at David again before snickering.

"Oh god, isn't that what Harrington did? Wow."

David's eyes glance over Billy's scars before shaking his head. "Taco salad for dinner, taco casserole for the week. And since you asked, Tommy, I think Lorna is going with magnetic fields and aurora lights as a theme. Jean's probably going to go Marvel girl classic."

"Hard not to when the telekinesis makes everything flowy."

"Exactly. Logan and Scott are having a tiff right now, so she won't match either of them. Logan's doing security anyway and Scott has no sense of fashion. But I can ask later. Rachel's asked me to keep her sane during dinner with them so she doesn't have to sit alone through throuple drama."

Tommy nods along before grabbing a piece of pizza himself. "Thanks. I haven't had the chance to ask anyone given I'm not Krakoan."

"You could-"

"North star's word isn't everything," Tommy dismisses before looking to Billy. "We could start with video games. Or maybe reading? Go to a local gym? Do sight seeing? Uh..."

"Tommy doesn't have a lot of hobbies," David sighs.

[playingtough]

"Absolutely is. That fucking mom pose he used with his brats." Billy laughs, almost feeling a meanness to it before clearing his throat and taking a bite of the pizza. He uses the excuse of the conversation regarding the gala as a means to take more glances at David. Pretending to follow along though he has no idea who these people are. Except maybe 'Gramps'.

Tommy's gone over some of the superheroes here, but there's a lot. Billy struggles to keep up with who is who sometimes, and this is one of those sometimes. Some people it's easy to kind of figure out what their ability is - like Wolverine is an animal guy he thinks, or someone with the strength of a wolverine, and he remembers Jean has mind powers. Her and Xavier. The only one who doesn't need explaining is Kaplan, but Billy doesn't think that the twin knows anything about him like he did back on Temba.

He's halfway through his slice as the gala topic gets dismissed. "Video games feels like Max's forte, not mine."

Another glance to David. Back to Tommy. Settles on David. "What would Mr. Mom over there suggest since Speedy doesn't have much in hobbies outside of cooking and gardening and getting eyefuls of me?"

[helpdesk_hero]

"Video games have come a very long way since your time," David notes as he gets his work on cooking back on track. "And until a few days ago from my point of view, he didn't cook much and never considered gardening. Though I think I'm going to try and get some of those 'baconrooms' developed back home."

"Please do. They make the best carbonara," Tommy nodded to David. Then he returns once more to Billy with a smile. "Wanna start a garden with me, Sunshine? Or hiking maybe? Teach me some water sports."

[playingtough]

"Still my sister's thing," he retorts with as David heads back into the kitchen. The pizza slice in hand gets finished with ease and fingertips get licked clean in lieu of napkins.

"Hmm. Not sure if the garden is my thing, but maybe hiking. Definitely the water sports. Does New Jersey have a decent coast for surfing? If not, we'll have to go west to get choice waves." He glances to the kitchen, then back to Tommy. "Mr. Mom can come with us. We can have a little surfing competition while you take in the sight of me on a surfboard."

[helpdesk_hero]

"It has a coast, but it's not as famous for surfing," David notes easily from where he is. "The Atlantic is not really friendly for it. More for boating or swimming until you get deeper south."

Though he snorts at mister mom, even as Tommy chuckles.

"I don't know. That sounds a lot like fun. More than David's used to with his line of work."

"If I tried to go, Trevor would want to join," David countered. "And I'm not sure your new friend would want to be around someone as visibly mutant as that."

[playingtough]

"East coast crass to west coast class." Billy sticks his tongue out, not even ashamed of his arrogance. "You even talk like a mom. Is that your default?"

Then he’s looking between the two of them. "Who’s Trevor? Is he worse than some of the people from Temba? Like Donny and Leo?" Even if he didn’t get along with them, he remembered them being pretty weird in his book (but was good enough not to say anything mean).

He looks to David. "I’m not going to call this Trevor guy names if that’s what you’re worried about."