therealmagicboy:

Forcing himself to place his arm around Teddy’s wide shoulders took a lot more effort than the action warranted, he stretched up and willed his heart to steady as he felt Teddy cradle him in his impossibly stong arms and take off. And it was so different to Nate’s steady hover; he could feel the wind pull his hair in all directions and sharing this with Teddy was exhilarating - and Teddy hadn’t protested so he couldn’t hate him that much, right?

And then - Oh, Billy thought almost as soon as he felt the shift in Teddy, we’re falling. And Teddy was clearly panicking, arms locked tight and hunched over Billy’s body, and if they were to go, at least he’d been held like this at least once in his life, safe in Teddy’s arms, his face the last thing Billy would ever see… But - No, he could stop this, he could, he had to because Teddy was going to die if he didn’t and no, no, no, I want to stop falling, I want to stop falling, I want to stop falling.

Billy reached and reached and pulled at his power with all he had because in the instant he’d looked to Teddy and glimpsed at his face, he’d been wracked with the knowledge that they were actually going to die if he didn’t do something, so he let his power swell and prickle along their skin and focused so hard it hurt and he couldn’t do anything except try and steady them. I want to stop falling, I want to stop falling, I want to stop falling.

And Billy was focusing so hard on what was happening inside himself that he didn’t notice that on the outside they’d slowed down and were paused mid-fall. At least, not until Teddy started shifting.

The trees rushed up to meet them as the ground got closer and closer. Billy’s lips were moving but the words were lost in the roar of the wind. His eyes started glowing blue and he felt energy thrumming across his skin. This wasn’t like Billy’s usual lightning, this was something else, and Teddy didn’t recognise it.

Billy’s brows were furrowed as he mouthed the words, and Teddy was so caught up in his panic that he barely noticed their descent slowing. But slow it did, and then it stopped, and they were hovering in mid-air at head height. Billy was still mumbling, and Teddy could finally hear him.

I want to stop falling, he repeated over and over, eyes still filled with blue. Had Billy done this?

Suddenly realising that Billy now was the one holding him up, Teddy quickly shifted back to his normal, lighter form. The change broke Billy’s trance, distracting him from his chanting. His eyes returned to their normal brown, and they fell the last few feet, landing in an unceremonious heap on the grass.

He could hear Eli and Nate shouting and running over to them, but it was muffled compared to his focus on Billy, who was sprawled across Teddy’s chest. He carefully sat up, and Billy looked up at him, grinning wildly, a far-off look in his eyes. Teddy felt the same, the huge amount of adrenaline his body had produced in response to such peril making him shake. Almost detached, he felt tears tracking down his cheeks.

“What the hell,” Teddy took a huge, shuddering breath, “was that?”