revivalproject | Vay Cay

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Vay Cay

WHO: Billy Kaplan, Teddy Altman, OTA
WHERE: Risa
WHAT: Vacation, Date Night, Under Age Drinking.
WHEN: Risa Event
WARNINGS: None, Will update if needed

A vacation is sorely needed after these last few weeks, and apart from their dimension hopping adventure, this might be the first solo vacation of Billy's adult life. No parents watching over him, no twins to look after. Billy plans to enjoy himself.

The market is full of all sorts of exciting things, and Billy's eager to stock up on things the storm can't disappear on him if his magic shorts out again. Clothes, supplies, even a strange sort of idol that someone seems very keen on him purchasing, though he's not sure why.

The beach is pristine, like something out of a dream, and Billy even has one of those fancy tropical drinks. The kind that tastes so sweet you don't realize just how tipsy you're getting. And it's quickly replaced with another before it's even finished.

It feels like he and Teddy haven't had a real chance to catch up between everything that's happened since his arrival, but this is just the excuse they need to devote some time to just them. It's the sort of date night they couldn't possibly achieve back home without some serious leaning on the magic, and it's nice to pretend for a bit that things are normal again.
"So tell me about future Billy and Teddy," he prompts with a curious hum, leaning into Teddy's side, "Do we have a place yet? Have we picked a date?"

[OR feel free to throw a different starter at him]

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The first problem: clothes, and where to get them.

This was not the first time Tony had woken up somewhere completely unfamiliar and had the same problem to solve, and of those instances, this one was honestly among the most pleasant. He squinted his eyes open at first, listening for movement around him, sensing the empty room and very slowly deepening his breathing before pushing himself up on one hand to take in his surroundings. The breeze made the sheer curtains along the patio billow gently into the room, carrying with it the smell of the ocean and sweet, tropical flora; the floors were terracotta brown, with wicker and white furniture decorating one wide, open space with only one interior door opened to a separate bathroom. It was obvious what kind of place this was, but that wasn't helping Tony recall what he was doing there. It was almost the right time of year for the Alternative Energies conference in Vietnam, but Tony was pretty sure he would remember the flight, at least. It wasn't time to panic yet: he didn't feel hungover. But then, he didn't know if he could feel that anymore.

As Tony swung his feet to the floor, he kicked something tucked into the sheets with him to tumble then clatter noisily across the terracotta, sliding to a stop a few feet away, the sudden sound finally startling Tony and sending him flying after it to try to stop the disturbance, as though disturbing this tranquility might make the other shoe drop. Nothing happened. Instead, he was just standing naked in the middle of an unfamiliar villa, clutching what looked like a tablet in both hands like someone was going to try to take it away from him, alone and unmolested. He let his hackles drop, pursing his lips in annoyance at his own reaction and flipping the thing over in his hands a few times to try to figure out where it came from before pressing the buttons. Some kind of homebrew rig? Tony wandered absently through to the patio as he opened the first message, wondering at the lack of security on this thing... This message looked like spam nonsense. We bring all to Risa. Still no good indication where this tablet came from. Tony tapped around to the NET WORK, glancing up at the plants around him and listening again to try to get a firmer sense of where he was, and deciding very quickly that this was not Vietnam. And the 'NET WORK' looked like typical inscrutable social media chatter: not worth trying to read into what anyone thought was important to share with Twitter. He abandoned this as he passed back through the room.

In the bathroom, Tony availed himself of the complimentary toiletries, wondering at the alien packaging as the room slowly filled with steam and finding with every new bit of data gained, less able to place himself in space. That didn't mean he could just brazenly wander into a hotel hall in the undersuit-- if he was here because someone already knew he was Iron Man, that would make itself obvious soon enough-- so he grabbed the plush bathrobe and very carefully combed his hair to try to look more approachable and normal, before approaching the door that...slid open for him. It was so incongruous with the rest of the room's styling that Tony froze again, only carefully leaning out into the hall at first before daring to take another step.

As he approached the lobby, it was clear he wasn't the strangest dressed person enjoying their stay, and it took Tony a moment to recognize what was supposed to be an employee uniform. He had joined some kind of weird, alien, sex-cult retreat. The lady he told that the flight lost his luggage seemed very baffled by the idea, and touched him far more than she should have in a professional setting, but very helpfully directed him toward 'replicators' with a smile that faded very quickly when he squinted skeptically at her. She then offered "Or perhaps the market?"

The unfamiliar intimacy wasn't a unique problem. Most people here seemed to welcome it (sex-cult veterans, obviously), so Tony was hyper aware of anyone who seemed, like him, not to have found their footing with the local custom yet, and hoped he wasn't as obvious as a few of them. The goal was to blend in, so Tony was standing at a rack of clothes and debating between a muted, shapeless sweater (totally unremarkable) and a very small swimsuit (the national costume, if he had to guess), when he spotted a woman pushing herself up against a very young looking kid. Tony watched for a moment through his lashes, head still down like he was admiring what little fabric there was in the shorts he had selected, as she playfully ran her fingers up the statue the kid was carrying around.

Billy really wasn't sure where the intence interest was coming from. He hadn't been this aggressively pursued by a woman since the Young Master's Enchantress, and that had at least been for show. This seemed a whole lot more real, and Billy bashfully tried to extract himself from the situation, though each attempt at distancing himself only brought her closer.

"I'm not- um- I'm engaged, actually so-....and gay. Very gay. So uh...okay- you're super close now-" He held up his hands like he meant to keep her at a distance, still holding the idol that had attracted this attention in the first place, not that he knew that.

The only response Tony could hear well was a melodic giggle as the woman repeated, "Gay?" like she couldn't imagine what that even meant. Maybe it didn't have a lot of meaning in this place, but the kid did seem to be genuinely uncomfortable, even from here, and this lady only seemed to have eyes for that thing he was waving at her now. The customs might have been different here, but there had to be some standards. Tony could blend in later.

He pushed his way through the racks to sidle up next to the pair, his sartorial choices casually slung over his arm like he was just here to browse the wares. "Hey, kiddo," he interrupted just as the woman opened her mouth clearly ready to say something that might even make Tony blush, "what are you doing with that?" He plucked the strange little statue out of the guy's hand, insisting, "Stop messing around," then thrust it toward the woman, forcing her to quickly catch it lest it drop to the floor. "You're supposed to be helping me pick." Clearly, this wasn't the least obtrusive way Tony have broken up this Very Special Episode, because the woman looked flabbergasted, holding the statue awkwardly between her palms with her fingers splayed, like she finally figured out there just weren't things she was supposed to touch.

"Gay. Yes," Billy repeated, brow creased as it became clear that didn't seem to hold any meaning, or at least didn't seem to deter her. "And engaged," he tried to remind.

And then all at once his knight in shining armor (or fluffy bathrobe, in this case) came to his rescue, and Billy was caught up in a whole lot of WHAT. He flushed a little, but nodded quickly, eager to get out of this predicament. "Right, sorry- great talking," he agreed, though that grateful look quickly turned to a sort of delighted surprise once they were a few feet away.

"You are about the last person I expected to swoop in and rescue me. How long have you been here, Mr. Stark?"

At least he wasn't the only Terran around. That was Tony's hypothesis, anyway: there was no way this was Earth, not with those weird flowers all over the place, but he hadn't been to many other planets where he could count on being recognized as readily. Iron Man, maybe. Tony Stark, only where they wanted to kill him on sight. Was it luck, then, that Tony had found a fellow Earthling? Unlikely. He was going to hang onto this one until he figured it out, though.

"In the store? Not long. If you did anything else embarrassing, that's between you and your best friend back there." He wasn't ready to reveal too much, because Tony didn't know what he could have been admitting to. Oh, I just got here, please take advantage of me vs. I've been here a while, I'm also a local sexual predator. Neither felt great. "And it's Tony, please," he corrected before that habit got too entrenched and he'd have to find another Terran just to train them better. Shaking out the sweater, he asked, "What do you think?" and held it up against the bathrobe, trying to get a sense of how it would wear.

He appeared- on the surface at least- to be handling this all pretty well, but Billy supposed the Avengers did the whole kidnapped by aliens thing a lot more than he had so far in his life. Eventually you must get used to that kind of thing.

"...Tony." Yeah, that still felt kind of weird. Like calling Cap 'Steve'. It felt like a privilege he hadn't quite earned.

He twisted a face at the sweater. "I mean...it's better the robe. Though the robe might fit in better around here. But I could whip you up something more like what you're used to if you wanted."

So far, no one else did seem that concerned about Tony's outfit. Much stranger things were strolling along the promenade, and if the locals thought he didn't really fit in, they were kind enough not to judge an alien custom. Still, it didn't feel great, and getting back into something Tony was 'used to' could do wonders for a guy's confidence. Especially after that direct hit the guy gave him for his sweater choice-- it wasn't like Tony thought it was high fashion, but he didn't have to give Tony that look.

Still frowning at this reaction, Tony tried, "I'm not really worried about the tailoring, I've got a breeze under here, I'm not fussy. Sorry, do you work here?" Tony knew the answer to that, but he didn't have another way of making sense of the offer as the guy put it.

Shopping is an actual and literal pain in the fucking ass. More than a pain in the ass. It's a menace to society that one has to do it. Still, they are needed, and when you've got a twin brother who is basically the same size as you, it's sorta stupid not to combine your shopping efforts, right? Because then you can get things that two people can wear and double the wardrobe just like that. Plus, you know, doubles as quality time for the twins.

So there's Tommy, moping a bit, as he follows behind Billy, frowning into shop windows.

"Please tell me we're not going to be working on buying anything 'sexy' for the fiance. I don't think I could handle going into a store like that with you."

"I mean, that wasn't the plan," Billy tries to reassure, cheeks flushing a bit. Though there does seem to be a lot of 'sexy' available, it might be unavoidable. "I can't pull that kind of stuff off."

He frowns a little, peering into another shop before concluding, "It doesn't look like we'll get anything too warm, but something's better than nothing." And it'll be warmer weathers soon enough back on Temba, assuming it follows Earth's seasonal patterns.

"Okay, well, my only rule here is that if we get graphic tees, they can't be too nerdy, right? Not if we're sharing them. Not that we have to share everything. Just pointing shit out."

Of course he's trying to tease his brother. It works, right? He hopes so.

Billy murmured under his breath, fingers lighting up with a blue glow Tony might find familiar, and a moment later Tony would find a fitted suit under his robe. And some shoes as an afterthought.

"Do I look like I work here?" Billy asked, arching a brow, "You're handling this all a lot better than most people."

Of course it works. Billy laughs, giving Tommy a look. "Like you don't like nerdy stuff too. At least I own it," he teases right back. Though he's not sure they'll find too much in the way of graphic tees here. Still...it's nice, being out with Tommy without the pressures of Temba.

Tony had been handling it, but this little bastard just had to go glowy hands and do magic, that was undeniably magic, most evidenced by the total lack of respectful consent that all magic users seemed to share despite the very immediate lesson they had all just shared in the matter. Losing his carefully cultivated cool to avoid drawing attention, Tony recoiled as he suddenly found himself in clothes, sucking in a sharp breath and squeezing his eyes shut. This was fine, it had happened, now Tony had to deal with it. He counted his slow breath out, focusing on unclenching his fists before opening his eyes, one at a time as though he expected the kid to come at him with a rabbit in a hat next.

"That was uncalled for," he pointed out icily, but he was carefully fingering his lapels under the robe now, trying to sense whether this was a real garment or the kid had just pulled some Emperor's New Clothes illusion on him. The magician was under the full weight of Tony's scrutiny then, too; an absolutely piercing stare that suggested Tony was counting Billy's cranial folds. He knew that magic. He knew this kid. This wasn't the way Tony remembered him, and as far as Tony knew it couldn't have been more then a couple months since he had seen him. Kids grew up so fast these days. "What do you mean, 'handling this'?" he asked, none of the easy affability that disentangled Billy from his predicament left in Tony's voice. Was 'this' the future?

Dude, Temba pressures will always be there. But for the moment Tommy has his brother and he doesn't have to share and that... is the best thing. He moves just enough to bump his elbow into his bro's side.

"Don't know. Think you got all the nerd, and I got all the cool."

They will. But they can pretend for right now, can't they? Pretend there isn't a huge mess waiting for them and just...enjoy themselves.

He half flinches away like he's tickles, and gives his brother a look, though it's really not as though he can deny that one. "Yeah, well...the nerd thing's starting to become cool, so what does that mean?"

"Wait, does that mean that being cool is nerdy? Damn, that's the worst," Tommy sighs. Yeah, that's a crush to the spirit.

But he smiles at Billy and throws an arm around his shoulders.

"But seriously, you and Teddy enjoying a real bed?"

Oh. Billy brows creased, and he looked at least apologetic for his apparent transgression. He'd gotten a little too used to just using his magic to help people here, and forgotten it wasn't always welcome. Or expected.

"S-sorry," he mumbled, a heat colouring his cheeks, "I just thought-"

Didn't matter.

He gestured vaguely around as though it were obvious. "The whole...alien kidnapping thing."

"The tables have turned...way too late to actually matter, but future nerds, they're going to have an awesome time."

The familiar gesture earns a smile, and Billy leans faintly into his side, looking a bit bashful as he nods. "I mean...yeah, it's been nice. I wanna try and do like...a proper date while we're here."

"Future nerds, maybe. But you, Billy, are a present nerd," Tommy grins. So yeah, the guy is going to deal with it. Still, he is glad his brother gets to be happy here with his guy.

"Think of something good. You both deserve it."

Enlightening. Clearly, Mr. Kaplan knew something, but wasn't offering much beyond what Tony could have worked out for himself: a) they were on an alien planet, b) Tony did not come here voluntarily. Tony wasn't sure which part of that Billy thought he was struggling with, but he tucked his hands into the pockets of his robe and glanced around, nodding like he might be realizing one of these facts now that Billy had gestured it to him.

"And you, you're just fine with it," Tony surmised, one hand coming out to slice a flat line, totally balanced. "And these people," it was Tony's turn to gesture vaguely around, "all seem to be 'handling' it. Should I not be handling it?" This was so much weirder than just figuring out how to get home on his own. This kid, being here, looking like that and acting like, naturally, they've been displaced to do a bit of shopping together, that's just what aliens are like, it was an incomplete equation. Tony glanced around again, this time looking up, like he might spot the cameras in the ceiling or the story producer hiding behind a potted plant.

"N...no, but I've been here for...a while, and most of these people aren't...part of this. The Agrii just brought us here for a kind of...vacation? We'll probably only bee here for a week. Maybe two."

Which means they really should soak this in while they have the opportunity.

"It's still kind of weird," Billy admits, "He's-...for him we're all good, but...I mean before the Agrii took me we'd only just gotten back together. I still feel so afraid I'm going to mess it up, and I have proof that I don't...for a bit at least."

So something good is in order. Something to help re-cement in his mind that they really are okay.

“Don’t be stupid. You guys are... you’re made for each other. He’s not made for you, but you’re both like... destiny? Makes a guy sorta jealous actually.”

Because he knows he can’t be like that for someone.

Billy flushes, and he nods, though some negging bit of his mind replays their break up in his mind and he tries to block it out.

"You'll find your person." Maybe he all ready has and doesn't know it.

“You’re assuming I get to have a person.”

And Tommy doesn’t assume that. AT all. He knows he’s a problem guy that people don’t want to deal with most of the time.

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Vay Cay

Market

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Clothes Dammit

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