One Night in Bangkok ~ Murray Head

[playingtough]

WHO: Billy Hargrove, Tommy Shepherd, Max Mayfield, and YOU!!
WHERE: Agrii Ship
WHAT: Agrii New Tick
WHEN: New Tick things
WARNINGS: Billy’s got a gun weapon

The message gives Billy time. Time to pack up his axe, tape player, vase of shells, sleeping meds, and Tommy’s blanket he had been borrowing since coming out of the Warrens. In exchange, he had left one of his for his boyfriend in the diner. He hopes, while arranging all this stuff in his room on the ship, that they’re not going someplace with fireworks like last year.

Billy couldn’t be that lucky.



Under Pressure ~ David Bowie, Queen

This is almost worse than last year’s arrival.

The snow village was one thing, but this? With the aliens cheerfully greeting them, slinging a red and blue striped scarf around his neck? No. He doesn’t like it. One of the Agrii get too close to try and help with the accessory, and Billy pushes them. That gets him the space he wants and he moves at a quick pace further into the ship.

Even with his more… aggressive approach to the Agrii, some are still… bowing to him? As he walks. It’s enough to take some of speed out of his step. Why were they bowing to him? Fucking aliens. Was it something they had done down on Temba? The Warrens come to mind, the trip down into the depths of them with the rest of the group, but then he remembers the ordeal of the ship. Helping Soldier with his axe. Was it related to that? There was no telling.

But Billy walks slower, keeping quiet as he moves from the arrival party and bowing aliens.

Despite all of the decor glittering around all of them, Billy’s noticed something else. Even with all of the festive decorations and merry music, something doesn’t feel right. It feels… tense. Like the crest of tension right before a fight breaks out. That’s a feeling he’s familiar with and it puts him on edge a little himself as he tries to make his way towards the living quarters. There are different colors decorating Agrii, like they’re part of factions. It vaguely reminds Billy of politics back at home, how Neil had been a staunch supporter of red in the red versus blue Billy himself only half paid attention to on the television.

Video Killed the Radio Star ~ The Buggles

Now this he remembers from last year. The gifts. Everything was clearly labelled, but Billy couldn’t resist testing a couple not marked out for him. Which results in him getting a little zap from one of the robots roaming around on patrol. With a devious grin, he pushes one off of the table before retreating away from one of the robots starting for him. "Quit it, quit it, it was a joke!" he shouts at it when he’s got enough space between himself and it.

Finally he finds a large and flat one for him, a small box wrapped in orange, and one more pink one shaped with what he hopes isn’t a book.

Please don’t be a book.

He goes for the flat, large packaging first, ripping the paper until his mouth drops open enough to show his shock. In his hands is a brand new Hawkins High varsity jacket, with his name embroidered in fancy script on the right side. There’s a basketball patch stitched onto the right arm, and the ‘Class of’ in matching fancy script over the bold numbers of ’85’.

His own letterman jacket. Something Neil would’ve never paid for back home. Something he’d never get now. It doesn’t even cross his mind that they’re in Tommy’s colors, too. Happy coincidence.

Shrugging it on (perfect fit, holy shit), Billy moves onto the other packages. The orange wrapping gets pulled apart and a small box opened to find some brass knuckles. They fit his fingers great, and feel like a great weight. His axe was great, but what if he lost it? There were plenty of people in the city that were stronger than him - maybe this would even it out.

And then the last one, Billy pulls to him. More wrapping paper to litter the ground and he blinks at what are clearly DVD cases. Ten of them with various movie titles he recognizes. But what kind of shit was this? He cracks open Halloween and pulls out the disc to inspect it.

"Is this some weird fucking Frisbee?"

We Built This City ~ Starship [Closed to Tommy]

Message 1: mDe fort no boom in our room. thats where i’ll be if you need me tomothy

Message 2: < 3

And he has. Billy’s taken as many pillows and such as he could find to act as squishy walls. Over the top is a sheet, then a blanket, pulled down and tucked under the wall of pillows to help keep it in place. Inside, there’s a couple of pillows for them and a blanket, the tape player with its headphones ready to go, and the bottle of Billy’s sleep medications.

Oh, and something wrapped up in some green cloth under the tape player.

Fort No Boom is go. He repeats, Fort No Boom is a go.

Billy picks up a glass of water he brought with him, chugging half of its contents before pacing a little. They knew about the fireworks in advance, but would it be a different reaction knowing it ahead of time? Would it be easier now that he had someone with him from beginning to the end? Unlike last year, where Tae and Tommy stumbled upon him after the panic attack started.

Damn. He’s already feeling a little nauseous with dread. He continues to pace, with one hand going up to gently scratch at the scarring on his left arm.

Faith ~ George Michael [Closed to Max]

‘come to cockpit.,Shitbird’

It was a space for the two of them. Billy and Max have had a couple of sibling talks in here, and without their permission, or some dick with Engineering overriding it, they can sit here and talk with someone accidentally walking in on them.

It’s also quiet, if you ignored the hum of the ship’s workings around them. It’s just a hum, nothing compared to the Camaro when she’s fired up, but this is… nice. Soothing at least.

Billy’s got his feet up on the dash, the notebook on his communicator open as he practices the texting. Still slow, but there’s been improvements at least.

Comments

[playingtough]

'I love you,' Tommy repeats. Billy lets it echo around in his head like a mantra to drown out the fear that's threatening to boil over again. He sniffs again, and another time, but slowly he's calming down. Slowly but surely in his boyfriend's arms he's putting himself back together. Despite that, he's not trying to get out from that embrace.

Instead, he sighs and relaxes against Tommy. Like his mind has finally flipped the switch from terror back into safety. He was safe. Tommy loved him. Billy practically goes boneless in that cocoon of arms and love, and then returns it with his arms wiggling under and around to hug the guy back.

"Sometimes think I don't deserve shit like this, but fuck, I'm glad you're with me, babe. I... I love you, too."

[doubled_speed]

"Yeah, I don't think I deserve it often either," Tommy admits, his voice soft and fond. 'Sometimes we have to accept the fact that we're maybe worth more than we really believe for ourselves."

[playingtough]

"I can accept for now that you see something better in me than I can, and what you see is worthwhile." It’s a quiet admission, allowed while hiding away from the night terrors and spooky shit that wasn’t there. "I’d be a wreck without you, Daisy Dukes."

He really would. Billy rubs his hands up and down Tommy’s back and picks his head up enough to press a kiss to that chin. And because the guy deserved to hear it often as well, there’s another "I love you, too. I love you, Tommy. I deserve you."

[doubled_speed]

Well damn, that's not something he expected to hear. But he smiles. He can be someone's strength.

"You really deserve better than me, but I'm glad to be what you want."

[playingtough]

"Nu-uh, none of that talk. Sounds like you're shit talking my boyfriend and that's not allowed in Fort No Boom." He finally pries himself off of Tommy long enough to look around the little fort he's made for them. The pillows get fluffed up some, and he pulls the guy's blanket up over them (though Billy lets his feet stick out from the bottom for temperature regulation).

He reaches up to stroke a careful finger over Tommy's cheek. "I'm pretty sure I deserve you and no one else like this. And you being just yourself is what I want." A small pause. "And that better include you being a sassy shit."

[doubled_speed]

Really? Tommy laughs softly. His boyfriend is gentler with him than he would have expected.

"You know I'm made of enough sass to satisfy," Tommy promises him. "And you're it for me."

Maybe not forever, he doesn't know if he might get a portion of his own brother's lifespan. But definitely while he can be.

[playingtough]

He's allowed to be gentle like this. With another boy. Billy loves that they don't have to hide here - he doesn't have to hide - and that there's going to be a queue if his dad ever showed up. Or Tommy's Frank and Mary did.

"I love your sass. And ass. The whole package is pretty fucking good," he tells the guy with some of his usual arrogance seeping into his tone. "And of course I'm it for you. You won't find anyone as amazing as me on Temba or here in space. You're stuck with a hot menace for a boyfriend, sorry."

[doubled_speed]

Billy might be the only one who would care about hurting Frank and Mary. Though Tommy would love to see Tony lay into them verbally.

"You really are a hot menace," Tommy agrees with a bark of laughter. "Love that about you. Menaces really do it for me."

[playingtough]

Tony can verbally lay into Frank and Mary after Billy’s done with them. He wants to be first in line for it.

He gives Tommy a serious face for a moment, then joins in with the laughter. He stifles a yawn, then rummages around for the his headphones. They don’t get put on, but close to the boys‘ head so he can hear it without wearing it.

"Probably not that late, but I’m thinking sleep is in order. That okay babe?"

[doubled_speed]

"You're always welcome to sleep when I'm around. I won't judge you," Tommy promises, nestling a bit closer. His job here today is to keep the other man together. However together looks for him.

[playingtough]

Having Tommy with him is enough to keep him together tonight. That’s all he wanted, and glad he has it. He clicks his tape on and hears the notes from the guitar before tucking his face in between the linens and Tommy’s neck.

From there he tucks his body in as close as he can to his partner‘s, letting the protection and warmth offered to him lay over his body like a blanket would. He’s safe. They were safe. For tonight, that’s all he wanted. And Billy has it, easing himself into a sleep far better than he thought he’d get on a night like this.