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ajremixTitle: How to Woo a Superhero
Fandom: DCU
Rating: PG
Word Count: 859
Characters: Ted, Booster, JLI
In Response to: 30 days of Boostle - a secret admirer
Summary: Step 1: Get his attention.
It started with a pretty standard rescue operation that didn't even require more than the people on call for the night. It ended- the situation, anyway -with the abductee fawning over Beetle the entire way back and (as Bea gleefully told everyone that wasn't there) Beetle getting a phone number out of it.
Everyone had a good laugh over it and asked Ted if he was going to follow up. He just shrugged and said, "We'll see."
Booster, however, wasn't laughing. He said with a neutral expression, "I didn't know you liked men."
"Meh. My luck can't be any worse than with women, right?"
Ted did call the man later but it was to turn him down. Whenever any of this teammates asked why, Ted just deflected the question with a laugh.
Afterward, though, that was when it really started. A letter had come in for Ted while he was working on the team's transport with Scott. Bea sauntered in with a wide smile as she said, "Ted, you've got a letter!"
Busy trying to get parts fitted in correctly, Ted didn't look up from his work. "It's not a bill, is it? Of course the ones that would figure out my secret identity would be debt collectors."
"There's no name or return address."
"Is it a bomb?"
Scott laughed while Bea gave him a look. Booster just crossed his arms and looked ready to start stewing. "It's a letter."
"You'd be surprised what you can do with a letter."
She smacked Ted's shoulder with it. "Are you going to open it or what?"
"'M busy," he mumbled around a screwdriver. "You read it."
"Fine." With great flare, Bea tore open the envelope and unfolded the paper. Her grin nearly ate half her face. "Oh, my. I do believe this is a love letter!"
Booster was on his feet and reaching over her shoulder. "No point embarrassing Ted with that."
"Why would he be embarrassed?" Bea asked as she twirled away from Booster. "He didn't write it."
"Who wants stuff like that read out loud to people?"
"I don't care," Ted said from under a panel. "Read on, McDuff."
"Well maybe the rest of us don't want to hear it!" Booster snapped before stalking off.
Bea watched him go with a patronizing pout, "Aw, poor jealous Booster."
Scott shook his head. "Yeah, but who is it he's jealous of?"
More things started coming in for Ted, generally once a week, sometimes every few days. None of them had a name or return address and most of the team enjoyed speculating about it.
"Oh Teddy~ guess who got another letter~"
"These just came in for you, Ted. You've been pretty popular lately."
"Hey- bug butt! There's a package at the door for ya!"
"Beetle, this is yours."
"Here you go, Ted. That's sweet of him to keep sending you things."
Week after week they came and Ted accepted everything with a laugh and surprising grace, but he didn't talk to any of his teammates about it. Just smiled and shrugged and went about his day.
Eventually Tora had to say, "You should call him back. It's not nice to keep him hanging on like this."
Ted scratched at his head for a moment, debating. Then he smiled up at Tora and said, "Alright, I'll talk to him about it."
She beamed and bounced giddily. "What are you going to tell him? Are you going to go out?"
Ted laughed, "We'll just have to see what my suitor says, won't we?"
As sweet and courteous as Tora was, however, word still spread like wildfire through the Embassy and by the time Booster came in an hour later it had transformed from Ted giving the man a call to Ted having fallen for him through all the gifts and letters.
Booster, as he'd been since it all started, was oddly reserved as he said, "So I heard you may have yourself a boyfriend."
Ted shrugged, flipping through a magazine on the couch. "I wouldn't say that just yet, but it wouldn't be so bad getting serious about someone again."
"So you're going to get serious about someone you've only talked to once, just because they plied you with stuff?"
"I do like stuff."
"You don't know this person."
"Yeah, that's the problem with anonymous gifts and letters. They're nice and all, but it's kinda hard for me to respond when my admirer keeps hiding from me."
Booster's elbows rested on the back of the sofa and were Ted anyone else, he'd probably believe his nonchalance. "So what would you tell your admirer if you met them?"
"Well, one- they certainly know how to woo a man, unfortunately I'm already interested in someone. Second- I've known you long enough I can recognize your handwriting, Booster."
Ted could practically hear Booster freezing behind him. He looked up at the blonde with a significant look. "I'm thinking of grabbing dinner and a movie Friday. Care to join me?"
It took Booster a moment, but he caught on with a big, eager grin that Ted couldn't help admitting he couldn't get enough of. "It's a date."
Fandom: DCU
Rating: PG
Word Count: 859
Characters: Ted, Booster, JLI
In Response to: 30 days of Boostle - a secret admirer
Summary: Step 1: Get his attention.
It started with a pretty standard rescue operation that didn't even require more than the people on call for the night. It ended- the situation, anyway -with the abductee fawning over Beetle the entire way back and (as Bea gleefully told everyone that wasn't there) Beetle getting a phone number out of it.
Everyone had a good laugh over it and asked Ted if he was going to follow up. He just shrugged and said, "We'll see."
Booster, however, wasn't laughing. He said with a neutral expression, "I didn't know you liked men."
"Meh. My luck can't be any worse than with women, right?"
Ted did call the man later but it was to turn him down. Whenever any of this teammates asked why, Ted just deflected the question with a laugh.
Afterward, though, that was when it really started. A letter had come in for Ted while he was working on the team's transport with Scott. Bea sauntered in with a wide smile as she said, "Ted, you've got a letter!"
Busy trying to get parts fitted in correctly, Ted didn't look up from his work. "It's not a bill, is it? Of course the ones that would figure out my secret identity would be debt collectors."
"There's no name or return address."
"Is it a bomb?"
Scott laughed while Bea gave him a look. Booster just crossed his arms and looked ready to start stewing. "It's a letter."
"You'd be surprised what you can do with a letter."
She smacked Ted's shoulder with it. "Are you going to open it or what?"
"'M busy," he mumbled around a screwdriver. "You read it."
"Fine." With great flare, Bea tore open the envelope and unfolded the paper. Her grin nearly ate half her face. "Oh, my. I do believe this is a love letter!"
Booster was on his feet and reaching over her shoulder. "No point embarrassing Ted with that."
"Why would he be embarrassed?" Bea asked as she twirled away from Booster. "He didn't write it."
"Who wants stuff like that read out loud to people?"
"I don't care," Ted said from under a panel. "Read on, McDuff."
"Well maybe the rest of us don't want to hear it!" Booster snapped before stalking off.
Bea watched him go with a patronizing pout, "Aw, poor jealous Booster."
Scott shook his head. "Yeah, but who is it he's jealous of?"
More things started coming in for Ted, generally once a week, sometimes every few days. None of them had a name or return address and most of the team enjoyed speculating about it.
"Oh Teddy~ guess who got another letter~"
"These just came in for you, Ted. You've been pretty popular lately."
"Hey- bug butt! There's a package at the door for ya!"
"Beetle, this is yours."
"Here you go, Ted. That's sweet of him to keep sending you things."
Week after week they came and Ted accepted everything with a laugh and surprising grace, but he didn't talk to any of his teammates about it. Just smiled and shrugged and went about his day.
Eventually Tora had to say, "You should call him back. It's not nice to keep him hanging on like this."
Ted scratched at his head for a moment, debating. Then he smiled up at Tora and said, "Alright, I'll talk to him about it."
She beamed and bounced giddily. "What are you going to tell him? Are you going to go out?"
Ted laughed, "We'll just have to see what my suitor says, won't we?"
As sweet and courteous as Tora was, however, word still spread like wildfire through the Embassy and by the time Booster came in an hour later it had transformed from Ted giving the man a call to Ted having fallen for him through all the gifts and letters.
Booster, as he'd been since it all started, was oddly reserved as he said, "So I heard you may have yourself a boyfriend."
Ted shrugged, flipping through a magazine on the couch. "I wouldn't say that just yet, but it wouldn't be so bad getting serious about someone again."
"So you're going to get serious about someone you've only talked to once, just because they plied you with stuff?"
"I do like stuff."
"You don't know this person."
"Yeah, that's the problem with anonymous gifts and letters. They're nice and all, but it's kinda hard for me to respond when my admirer keeps hiding from me."
Booster's elbows rested on the back of the sofa and were Ted anyone else, he'd probably believe his nonchalance. "So what would you tell your admirer if you met them?"
"Well, one- they certainly know how to woo a man, unfortunately I'm already interested in someone. Second- I've known you long enough I can recognize your handwriting, Booster."
Ted could practically hear Booster freezing behind him. He looked up at the blonde with a significant look. "I'm thinking of grabbing dinner and a movie Friday. Care to join me?"
It took Booster a moment, but he caught on with a big, eager grin that Ted couldn't help admitting he couldn't get enough of. "It's a date."
