I don't own YA.

Subtlety

"I'm not sure, man" the teen said, even as he continued climbing the stairs after the person he considered to be his best friend. They were running as fast as they could towards the roof, each step bringing them closer to the sounds of battle. Aforementioned best friend, one Greg Norris, never faltered, climbing the stairs two-three at a time. He clutched his phone in his hand, the device unlocked and on camera mode.

"Are you wussing out on me?!" Greg berated without ever looking back. "Can you imagine how much we could sell these pics for?! Like that Parker guy for the Bugle - that guy has luck, not skills!"
He let out a pan when he finally reached the top floor. He stared at the door leading to the roof, behind which came the sound of another explosion, and another battle-cry. A detached smile rose to his lips, and he reached for the handle.

"Wha- hey, it's stuck! Help me out here!"

His accomplice stalled, looking rather distraught. He obviously had different priorities than Greg did.

"Come on!"

The teen relented, and the two athletes pressed against the door together, forcing it open. They stumbled out into the light and the wind, and before either could properly regain his bearings-

"Woah!" Greg panted when two shadows passed over them, their owners struggling up in the air. Greg didn't quite know the villain, nor did he care - what he came for was his opponent, the Young Avenger known as Hulkling. For what felt like a small eternity, Greg stared at the young hero's face, taking in as many details as he could - the blond hair, the pierced ears, the facial outline, the physical build - but even a skilled athlete could only take in so much in the midst of battle. The two flew past, leaving Greg awed, with adrenaline pumping through his veins.
This - this was it-!

"Hey, Greg!" his co-conspirator called and grabbed his shoulder, snapping Greg back to reality.

"...right." He gasped and stumbled towards the edge of the roof. The rest of the fight came into view, with more villains he didn't care for, and- ah, there he was, Greg thought and held up his phone. Hulkling's infamous partner, the theologically problematic Wiccan. Greg snapped as many pictures as he could and hissed when the device failed to properly capture the visual manifestations of the mage's spells.

"Stupid 8-Mega pixel came- WOAH!" He exclaimed when he was pulled to a crouching position. A large chunk of debris flew past, far too close for comfort. Greg's heart skipped a beat when he looked down. Everyone, heroes and villains alike stared at them, and he realized too late he let out too loud a sound.

"Oh, shi-!"

It was the chance the bad-guys were looking for. Civilians were in the line of fire, and everyone knew very well - it was harder fighting while protecting someone.

"NO!" Someone cried out when an energy blast went flying towards the roof. Greg felt it again, that slowing of time. He saw the blast heading towards them, heard muffled sounds, tried calculating how far he'd manage to go if he moved - but he didn't, and then time moved again.
The blast hit, the roof broke, and the two were sent flying in opposite directions. Greg heard a muffled thud and a pained yelp. One of them landed on the roof, and had to worry about scraps and cuts and some nasty bruises.
Not Greg, though - Greg kept falling, surrounded by broken pieces of concrete that threatened to slam into him at any given moment. Ah; that was a long way down, he thought, but never even managed to scream - not even make a sound.

"Stop!"

Blue glow enveloped everything, forcing reality to abide by the spoken command. Everything around him stood still, frozen in mid-air. He himself was floating too, he realized, but differently - he was held, warmth pressing against his back and side, and a strong arm wrapped around his waist, holding him close - safe.

"Go limp, I've got you." The slightly hoarse, urgent voice said just when the breeze blew Wiccan's cape into Greg's line of sight. It made him look to his side where he found the young hero's face closer than he ever hoped to get. Recognition slowly crept through Greg's panicked mind, and it was more a pant that left him than anything else.

"Wiccan-"

"You even think 'no homo', I'm dropping you."

Greg pursed his lips, both hands holding onto Wiccan's arm. That made the hero snicker - a hero no older than Greg, himself...
"I-" He tried, but never managed to finish. Something exploded right-next-to-them- but a blue glow protected them.

"Wa-" Came the next panicked sound, and Greg squirmed in Wiccan's hold. The mage had very little attention to spare him right then, though. They were still in the middle of a fight, and Hulkling was in trouble.

"Shut up." Wiccan growled, making Greg turn to stare at him. What he found was a bright blue light almost leaking out of the teen-hero's eyes, and a matching glow covering his free hand which he held out at the battlefield.
"You'll bite your tongue."

Each one of their foes was locked up in a magical orb, one that instantly filled with electricity. It was far from a deadly charge, just enough to knock them out. In short, Wiccan got angry - so the fight was over.

–

"Greg!" The teen's friend yelled when he finally found him, now safe on the ground. Greg didn't reply, his attention focused in full on his savior. As soon as they landed, Wiccan rushed to Hulkling's side, leaving the human teen in a daze and rather unsteady on his feet. The spellcaster was currently back in the air, putting back together the building. He looked impressive, regal and almost majestic, like he belonged there rather than on the ground. Greg recalled what it felt like to be held by him, how safe and steady it felt, strength- no, power radiating out of him, dazing Greg who hardly expected something like that out of the mage. He let out a small sigh that sounded almost longing.

"Hey... you ok?"

"...yeah." Greg replied finally. "Not even a scratch."

Not far from them, Hulkling watched the two, a solemn look on his face. He didn't cheer up, not even when his boyfriend rejoined him and spelled them home.

–

"Of course, it was all planned. My bud Wiccan and I, we planned it out from the start!"

Billy couldn't hold his juice in his mouth to save his life. Tommy dodged the spit-shot with ease, and even brought him a towel to clean up his mess. Billy growled his gratitude before glaring at the TV.
Greg was on screen, grinning smugly as he told the reporter how it was all planned, that he was to act as a diversion, and didn't you see how as soon as Greg showed up, Wiccan got stronger?!
Billy pressed both hands to his face, then dragged them down slowly.

"Of all the people I could've saved..." He muttered and earned himself a raised brow from Tommy.

"Not much love lost here, I take it." The speedster remarked. Billy's eyes settled on the name displayed at the bottom of the screen, teeth clenched and a bitter taste filling his mouth.
'Greg Norris'...

"None whatsoever."

"He does look like a douche." Tommy replied before studying Billy. There was anger in the brown eyes, the likes of which Tommy rarely saw his twin display. He recalled each time that happened, and every time it did - Teddy was involved. Tommy knew better than to pry, though, and so talked about what he did know.

"Hey, it's a good thing you saved him." He insisted. "Oh, don't give me that look!" He berated then, seeing the skeptic look Billy was giving him. "Yeah, I don't know what your beef with him is. But who cares? You're a good guy- better than him, at least, from the looks of it. Letting people you dislike die isn't 'us' - it's the bad-guys' style."

Billy fell silent for a while after that. It pacified him enough to let his anger quell, at least, and it was replaced with concern and worry for Teddy. Billy knew well even mentioning Greg was like punching Teddy in the gut; he didn't want to think what the media circus around the guy was like.

"Hey, where's the Tedster?" Tommy asked, and snapped Billy back to the present. Billy blinked, only to deflate next.

"Basketball practice." Even though he told Teddy to skip...

"Good. At least he's missing out on this charade."

Greg was in the middle of portraying how he's actually the group's morale support, and gives Hulkling occasional pep-talks. And that was the guy he saved, Billy thought bitterly, the guy he caught, and... held so tight-

"I need a shower." Billy declared and headed towards the bathroom.
Tommy sputtered.

"Whaaaat?! But you just had one!" He protested. "You better not finish the hot water! I hate speed-showers! ...hey, you listening? Oy, Bil- keep your clothes on in front of me, Jesus!"

–

Greg. Greg, Greg, Greg. And then some Norris, just for diversity's sake. That was anything anyone at school seemed capable of talking about, haunting and taunting Teddy wherever he went. It was enough for some people to recall Teddy and Greg were once best friends, and so Teddy was asked about Greg, if he ever suspected 'anything like this', and hey, why did they 'break up', anyway?
He was almost looking forward to practice just so he could foul on Greg. Of course, fate had other plans, and Greg himself approached Teddy towards the end of classes.

"Hey, Altman!" Greg greeted and wrapped an arm around Teddy's shoulders. His smile was warm and welcoming, like it was when they were friends. It sent an unpleasant chill down Teddy's spine.

"Got a sec?"

All eyes were on them, leaving Teddy without much of a choice but to follow. The two took refuse in the bathrooms, which were currently vacant, away from too many prying eyes and ears. For a while neither said anything, and eye contact was only made for the briefest of moments. Greg also kept his distance, a fact Teddy was quite grateful for. After all, alone, who knew what a freak like him would do, right?

"So, uh. Been a while, huh." Greg hummed almost casually, hands in his pockets as he leaned against the wall. Teddy said nothing, his eyes constantly trained on Greg.

"...yeah, I didn't think this'd be easy." Greg admitted and rubbed the back of his neck.
Teddy snorted back and looked away.

"What do you want, Greg? Just spit it out."

Greg nodded and seemed grateful - now he could ditch the pretense of niceness, at least.
"I need a favor."

The words hung in the air as bad smell would, making Teddy scrunch his nose. He looked Greg over for a moment, and finally shook his head.
"No."

"Hey, wait!" Greg exclaimed when Teddy turned to leave. The blond gritted his teeth and turned to glare at his once-friend.

"No, I know what this is about. Your big chance, this whole show you're putting on, lying left and right. You want me to change into Wiccan and confirm your bullshit, don't you? Maybe even stage something. Well, you can forget about that, I'm not doing that." Teddy just barely managed to keep from yelling, a knot forming in his gut and throat.
Greg looked back with a pretense of indifference before snorting.

"Please, I'm not dumb. Even if I thought you'd go along with it, it's too high profile." He shook both head and hand. "No, this isn't anything like that, don't worry."

That statement left Teddy quite baffled, and for a moment he wasn't sure how to proceed.
"What is it, then?" He asked, clearly impatient and on edge.
Greg shifted a bit before he replied, and the expression on his face took Teddy by surprise. Was that... was that bashfulness?!

"I was wondering if maybe you knew him." Greg said in a somewhat hushed voice and gave Teddy what could only have been a hopeful look. Teddy blinked back.

"Know who?"

The other teen palmed his face.
"Wiccan, that's who! You have powers, he has powers, maybe you know someone who knows someone who knows, superhero grapevine." Greg went on, rather oblivious to Teddy's growing distress.
Greg was interested in Wiccan?! Of all the people Greg could've asked about, all the people Greg could've had that expression over... something sank inside Teddy, leaving him feeling nauseous.

"I was thinking that- hey, are you listening?" Greg frowned and tried to decipher that look on Teddy's face. "What's with that look? Oooh, I get it." He snorted and scrunched his nose. For a moment Teddy tensed, but when Greg talked again, he felt like laughing, almost.
"You're a fan! He's your little 'Avenger Baby', isn't he?"

Well. He wasn't wrong, Teddy thought, but didn't see the need to share that.
"That's not how you ask for a favor." He said with a snarl, one that was met with a snort.

"I'm not really asking. You know, if you don't feel like answering, I can always tell everyone what a freak you really are-"

The look in Teddy's eyes moved from panic to rage. He always wondered why that certain incident between them wasn't well known. To think it was so it could be used as blackmail material...

"It's ok if you don't know, though." Greg said without much delay and turned to leave. "I guess I expected too much of you. You're no hero - just a freak."

Teddy was shivering with rage by then, but he managed to hold it in long enough for Greg to leave. Only then did his fist meet the wall, smashing the porcelain tiles. The pain was sharp, but it served to focus his mind. He palmed his face with his other hand, teeth digging into his lower lip. He didn't quite care about his own situation anymore, only one thought running through his mind -
He had to protect Billy from the poison that was Greg Norris, no matter the cost.

–

Teddy's mood was foul throughout the rest of the day. If it were up to him, he wouldn't have talked, but the longer he kept quiet, the more worried Billy became, until finally Teddy had very little choice but to oblige.

"Greg's looking up info on you." Teddy growled.
Billy blinked back.

"Me-me, or-"

"Wiccan-you."

"Oh." Billy replied and sounded a bit relieved.
"Well, that makes sense, I guess? I mean, if I were saved by a superhero, I'd look up info about them."

"Especially if you knew someone else with powers, right?" Teddy muttered under his breath and reached to half hug himself.
The statement made Billy worry, though in a somewhat more urgent manner.

"You don't think he knows about you, do you?"

Teddy snorted.
"I doubt he thinks highly enough of me to think I'm an actual superhero. To him, I'm just a-"
The word died on his lips. He wasn't allowed to wallow in self-pity for long, though. Billy ran his hand through Teddy's hair and offered him a small, reassuring smile.

"Hey, we'll get through this, it's what we do." He offered and leaned closer. "Between the two of us? We'll be ok. And push comes to shove?"
He trailed off and waited until Teddy looked at him.
"I'll zap him."

At that, Teddy managed to laugh. Billy smiled and used the chance Teddy's guard was down to attack all the places he knew were ticklish.
They could worry about Greg tomorrow. Right then, he wanted to make Teddy smile and laugh.

–

Greg did prove to be something to worry about. Teddy was certain the guy was stalking him during school, and even tailed him after classes were over. Seeing how Teddy was on his way to meet with Billy, things couldn't have been much worse. It was almost enough to make Teddy call the whole thing off and just head for home, but thankfully Greg faded from view halfway towards the shopping center. Billy did seem quite intent on this outing, so Teddy let out a sigh of relief and decided to brave it.
He was rewarded with the unfortunate news that there were errands to run, first.

"C'mon, let's get this over with, first. Then we can enjoy ourselves." Billy coaxed gently and offered Teddy a warm smile. "It's just some stuff mom asked me to get..."

"...Fifty Shades of-"

"She's either hate-reading it, or writing a thesis about it, or both."

"Keep telling that to yourself."

"Of course, how else will I sleep at night?"

"Shivering in my arms." Teddy flashed Billy a grin that was met with an exasperated smile and a quirked brow.

"If it comes to that, I'll hold you to that offer." Billy half threatened and reached to tap a finger against Teddy's nose.
"I'll get the book, you get the rest of the stuff, and we'll meet back here?"

For a moment Teddy hesitated, but finally nodded.
"That sounds like a plan." He finally said and waved after Billy.
Greg was gone, and Billy was more than capable of taking care of himself. There was nothing to worry about.
And yet, why did Teddy have such a bad feeling about this?

–

Because apparently, Greg was still around. Billy became aware of that fact in the book store, between bursts of self-loathing and ignoring the odd looks he got when he stepped up to the counter with all three books in the trilogy.
"Gift-wrap, please." He muttered at the bashful looking girl next to the register.
Eager to get out of there, Billy paid and took the books, but stalled on his way out. Unless he was even more paranoid than he thought he was, Greg was stalking him. If Billy went back to Teddy, Greg would follow, right? And if he did, he'd run into Teddy, which was a bad, bad thing as far as Billy was concerned.
But could he lose him? No, then Greg might still run into Teddy, and it might take too long, anyway. Deciding then that the best option was to take a direct approach, Billy found a mostly out-of-the-way place and toyed absently with his phone. If Greg wasn't following him, he'd walk on and Billy'd go back to Teddy. But, if Greg was as crazy as Billy thought-

"Hey."

Billy barely managed to browse through the menu to his game folder when he was approached. He tensed, but kept his eyes trained on his phone, feigning ignorance.

"...excuse me?"

There was a hand reaching out, so Billy looked up, refusing to give Greg an excuse to get physical with him. They already did enough of that the other day.
Greg stood still for a moment before he withdrew his hand.

"Ah, you were listening." Greg snickered softly and seemed to regain some of his confidence. He rested a hand on his hip and grinned.
Billy wasn't impressed.

"Can I help you?" His voice was distant and quite hostile, but it wasn't enough to push Greg away.

"Maybe. I believe we have a mutual acquaintance? Teddy-"

Billy's hold over his phone tightened, as did his jaws. He braced himself, but Greg never finished. A scream came from nearby, followed by something not unlike an explosion. Panic and chaos spread like wildfire, but that was for the better, Billy thought and lost Greg in the sea of people.
Ditching him aside, there was a crisis to take care of, and if Wiccan was already on the scene, he'd do his best to help.

–

It was a human error that made the small restaurant catch fire. With Wiccan's powers, the crisis was easily contained, and he let out a sigh of relief. The area was still relatively barren, with hardly any onlookers back from safety. Billy had half a mind of spelling the place back to normal (he liked that place), when a call, practically a challenge, rang through the empty space.

"You are him."

Billy's eyes widened. He turned towards Greg, who stood not too far from him, and was staring at Wiccan as one would a rare and exotic beast. There was excitement and awe mixed in with some adoration shining in his eyes, and Billy felt a shiver run down his spine.

"I'm sorry, what?"

Greg looked around, mostly to make sure there weren't too many people there before he smiled. It was an excited smile, one that seemed oddly friendly, but only served to worsen Billy's already bad feeling.

"The guy I was just talking to- Altman's friend!"

Billy's fists clenched at his sides.

"I mean, he was there one moment, and the next - there you were! Oh, don't worry, I won't tell anyone!"

"That's reassuring to hear!" Wiccan heard himself say - from afar.
His eyes widened as he looked behind Greg to see - Billy. The guy stared at both Wiccan and Greg with an incredulous look on his face. He pushed his bag higher on his shoulder and stepped closer.

"And flattering, but unfortunately, I don't have such awesome powers."

Wiccan scratched his nose in a flattered manner, only to tense the next moment, seeing how Greg didn't seem too amazed. He approached Billy, a daring look in his eyes.

"No, you don't." He practically hissed.

"See, I told you-"

"But-" Greg interjected, and smirked.
"You are a shapeshifter."

Yeah, Teddy didn't really think it would work. He hoped so, but still couldn't quite give up the act. If he did, he'd be admitting Billy was Wiccan to the last person he wanted to know.

"The hell-"

"Your bag." Greg explained. "I saw his bag, Altman. That's yours."

Teddy didn't even manage to panic. The triumphant look faded from Greg's face, and was replaced with confusion and a touch of fright. Behind him, in the air, Wiccan was- Blue eyed? He was casting a spell, but, what-

"An innocent mistake." Teddy heard from behind him and turned towards... Teddy, who was holding Billy's own bag. He stood by the accused and glared at Greg with no small amount of hostility.

"What- but-" Greg stuttered and turned to stare up at Wiccan, who was floating and on his way to leave.
"How?!" He demanded.
The superhero shrugged.

"Beats me. Well then, gentlemen. By your leave~"

Wiccan vanished, leaving the scene behind him.

"Great, thanks a lot." The blond hissed at Greg. "I didn't even manage to take a picture! C'mon, Billy, we're done here." He huffed and reached 'Billy's hand to pull him away.

"Wait, but I- it had to be him! What happened?!" Greg demanded.

"You forgot your medication." Teddy offered, and enjoyed how the words sounded in Billy's voice. He then let 'himself' guide him away, following him into one of the more secluded alleys.
No sooner were they alone did 'Teddy' fade away, leaving Billy's bag floating in mid-air. The mage himself was there, back in his civics and smiling softly at his spitting image.
Teddy on his part took a moment to take in what happened, and then snickered.

"So that's what it feels like to see me be you?"

"Not quite." Billy snorted while Teddy changed back. He then reached for his floating bag and threw it over his shoulder. "I mean, I know it's still you in there. This?" He shrugged.

"I see your point." Teddy nodded and leaned against the wall. "Nice improvisation there, though."

"I figured he'd have a hard time blaming you if 'you' were there. And even if he does figure out I can do that-"

"It'd be too much of a conspiracy theory for anyone to really believe." Teddy finished and leaned against Billy when the guy leaned against the wall next to him.

"Let's hope so, at least." Billy replied and reached to hold Teddy's hand.

They stood there like that for a moment, relaxing now that the threat seemed to have gone.

"So much for the date, though, huh, what with the cops and media lurking around." Teddy muttered with no small amount of disappointment.
Billy tightened his hold on Teddy's hand.

"Maybe it's for the best. I'd feel dirty, walking around all day with those books in my bag."

Teddy offered him a lopsided grin.
"You're curious, admit it."

"And you're sleeping on the couch tonight." Billy remarked and pushed himself away from the wall. "C'mon-" He continued, ignoring Teddy's objections and pleas. "I could do without further trauma today."

"That does sound like a good plan." Teddy relented finally and pulled Billy close, an arm around the mage's waist. He let himself accept that that specific disaster was mostly averted, and buried his face in Billy's hair, inhaling his scent as the mage teleported them home.