[fic][DCU, Ted, Booster, PG] Time Capsule
Jan. 27th, 2011 07:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ajremixTitle: Time Capsule
Fandom: DCU
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1412
Characters: Booster, Ted
Summary: Booster had been obsessed with Ted even before they met.
When Booster was in the fifth grade, his class took a fieldtrip to the Gotham History and Anthropology Museum all the way on the rich side of the city. It was the trip he was looking forward to since it was announced to the class at the beginning of the year. He loved history back then- they were real life adventure stories of people struggling and overcoming and it all seemed so alien because it happened so long ago, but it was all true.
He had been so excited that day and the chaperone of his group threatened to make him hold her hand the entire day if he didn't stop running around. Wasn't like he could help it- Booster had wanted to see everything that he completely forgot about the assignment they were supposed to be finding answers for. Everything was fighting for his attention.
And then he saw the time capsule.
It wasn't really a new artifact- it was found almost a century ago and put on display in the last twenty years but it was still considered an extremely important piece of the past. It was dated back to the late 20th, early 21st centuries and the items inside were incredibly well preserved. It had paper made from actual wood pulp, photos taken by various types of cameras (film, polaroid and digital), examples of the changing technology (portable cassette player, portable compact disk player, digital music player), some random items of interest ranging from computer parts to books by Stephen Hawkins and Carl Sagan to plastic models of various types of vehicles and even an autographed poster of the 1985 Chicago Bears. But the piece that was the pride of the exhibit, the one that kept it circulating throughout history museums across the country- even parts of the world -was the journal.
It was a surprisingly detailed and meticulously kept book that spanned the course of almost thirty years of history with entries that ranged from everyday mundanities like school and work to thoughts about current events and doodled blueprints for various types of gadgets and theories (some of which were hilariously and naively wrong, but endearing because of it). It was that journal that made Booster slip away from his group, flipping through the pages transcribed in the projector display. It struck some kind of chord inside of him- here was a kid from hundreds of years in the past and it almost felt like Booster was watching him grow up the further he read. He knew about the school courses he loved and hated, he knew about the girls he crushed on, he knew about how hard he tried to impress his dad and yet always managed to fall short (and boy could Booster related), Booster knew all his plans and hopes and dreams and it made him wish he could go back to the past and meet him, thought that maybe they could be friends...
The teacher eventually found him while he was reading about college years and was wondering about all the entries about an archeology professor. Booster was lectured all the way back to the bus and was given a warning that he wouldn't go on any more fieldtrips if he went off like that again. Booster just nodded without listening, already planning on seeing if the journal was in any database he could access at home.
It was. Even more than that, there were pages and pages of speculation and thoughts and references to various parts of the journal. Some of the more interesting ones was the idea that the writer was one of the superheroes that were so prevalent at the time (which, reading some of the later pages, Booster could easily see). Another was the thought that he was a man that unintentionally sabotaged his own efforts because he had a subconscious need to struggle against adversity and prove himself (Booster couldn't understand why anyone would do that, but considering how many time the writer restarted his company, he could see why people would think that). The one that intrigued him the most, though, was the one about the writer either not realizing or hiding his attraction to men- something that was apparently a bit risqué at that time. It was difficult to find where the idea came from, but when the argument outlined the parts of the journal that hinted toward it- namely the archeology professor, a few rarely mentioned other men and his best friend -Booster could find himself believing it. He wanted to believe it because he was... he was kind of in love with the guy in that vague way that he wished he were still alive, that they could talk and hang out together. Booster wanted to know everything about him.
Then Booster found out his name: Theodore Stephen Kord. And he poured himself into finding out all he could. He read every bio, looked up the charities and scholarships that used to be in his name, searched for his businesses and the technologies that came out of it and his heart broke every time he read about the sudden and (according to some circles) suspect death. Booster didn't know if he agreed with them or not- dying from a medical condition that was (presently, anyway) preventable at such a young age was so incredibly sad but Booster didn't want to believe that anyone would want to actively hurt, let alone kill Ted. And when Booster realized how depressed thinking about Ted's death in any capacity, that he was dead period made him also made Booster realize that he wasn't just kind of vaguely in love with Ted. He kind of really was. It of course didn't hurt that he was rather handsome in his pictures with a big, easy smile and mischievous eyes (which so easily slid into thoughts of if his hands were calloused or his lips chapped or if he would lean against Booster the way he did his best friends in the few pictures of the two together).
The intensity of Booster's interest- historical and otherwise -in Ted faded through the years, but the memory of it always stayed with him. He couldn't help thinking how his first few relationships would compare with Ted, couldn't help wonder if Ted would've been impressed with his football skills, couldn't help but hope that Ted would've been proud of the things Booster did and could do despite all the variables that were fighting against him.
Then Booster's mother got sick and he couldn't stop thinking about Ted's death. Then he started gambling and all thoughts of Ted went out the proverbial window. And then, in a bought of desperation and needing to get out of that place, that time, Booster decided to go to Ted's time. He knew it would've been impossible to find Ted, but Booster felt a connection to that period. Knowing that Ted was there somewhere was exciting and Booster took that chance, made a huge splash as a superhero and eventually Ted once again left his mind in favor of fitting in to the new time and his new stardom.
Ted had nearly gone entirely from Booster's mind by the time he was brought into the Justice League and the enjoyment he got from hanging out with the Blue Beetle satisfied Booster on a level he didn't realize he was dissatisfied at. When Booster invited Beetle to go out for lunch and he saw who was under the cowl for the first time... Booster felt his breath freeze in his lungs and it was almost like his heart stopped.
"You," he stumbled slightly, trying to cover up his reaction, "look kinda familiar..."
Beetle laughed and raked a hand through messy auburn hair. "Well, maybe if you follow certain science or business news." He stuck his hand out to Booster. "Ted Kord."
He found him. He found him. Booster grabbed the hand that was indeed calloused and nearly pulled Ted in to press against lips that did look chapped. Instead he just grinned and said, "Thought so." The connection Booster had felt as a child to someone that died so long in his past, it seemed to form back just as quickly, just as strongly the other way and there were no kind ofs about it. Booster fell completely in love with Ted and there was no amount of words to express his joy when he found that that, too, was returned.
Fandom: DCU
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1412
Characters: Booster, Ted
Summary: Booster had been obsessed with Ted even before they met.
When Booster was in the fifth grade, his class took a fieldtrip to the Gotham History and Anthropology Museum all the way on the rich side of the city. It was the trip he was looking forward to since it was announced to the class at the beginning of the year. He loved history back then- they were real life adventure stories of people struggling and overcoming and it all seemed so alien because it happened so long ago, but it was all true.
He had been so excited that day and the chaperone of his group threatened to make him hold her hand the entire day if he didn't stop running around. Wasn't like he could help it- Booster had wanted to see everything that he completely forgot about the assignment they were supposed to be finding answers for. Everything was fighting for his attention.
And then he saw the time capsule.
It wasn't really a new artifact- it was found almost a century ago and put on display in the last twenty years but it was still considered an extremely important piece of the past. It was dated back to the late 20th, early 21st centuries and the items inside were incredibly well preserved. It had paper made from actual wood pulp, photos taken by various types of cameras (film, polaroid and digital), examples of the changing technology (portable cassette player, portable compact disk player, digital music player), some random items of interest ranging from computer parts to books by Stephen Hawkins and Carl Sagan to plastic models of various types of vehicles and even an autographed poster of the 1985 Chicago Bears. But the piece that was the pride of the exhibit, the one that kept it circulating throughout history museums across the country- even parts of the world -was the journal.
It was a surprisingly detailed and meticulously kept book that spanned the course of almost thirty years of history with entries that ranged from everyday mundanities like school and work to thoughts about current events and doodled blueprints for various types of gadgets and theories (some of which were hilariously and naively wrong, but endearing because of it). It was that journal that made Booster slip away from his group, flipping through the pages transcribed in the projector display. It struck some kind of chord inside of him- here was a kid from hundreds of years in the past and it almost felt like Booster was watching him grow up the further he read. He knew about the school courses he loved and hated, he knew about the girls he crushed on, he knew about how hard he tried to impress his dad and yet always managed to fall short (and boy could Booster related), Booster knew all his plans and hopes and dreams and it made him wish he could go back to the past and meet him, thought that maybe they could be friends...
The teacher eventually found him while he was reading about college years and was wondering about all the entries about an archeology professor. Booster was lectured all the way back to the bus and was given a warning that he wouldn't go on any more fieldtrips if he went off like that again. Booster just nodded without listening, already planning on seeing if the journal was in any database he could access at home.
It was. Even more than that, there were pages and pages of speculation and thoughts and references to various parts of the journal. Some of the more interesting ones was the idea that the writer was one of the superheroes that were so prevalent at the time (which, reading some of the later pages, Booster could easily see). Another was the thought that he was a man that unintentionally sabotaged his own efforts because he had a subconscious need to struggle against adversity and prove himself (Booster couldn't understand why anyone would do that, but considering how many time the writer restarted his company, he could see why people would think that). The one that intrigued him the most, though, was the one about the writer either not realizing or hiding his attraction to men- something that was apparently a bit risqué at that time. It was difficult to find where the idea came from, but when the argument outlined the parts of the journal that hinted toward it- namely the archeology professor, a few rarely mentioned other men and his best friend -Booster could find himself believing it. He wanted to believe it because he was... he was kind of in love with the guy in that vague way that he wished he were still alive, that they could talk and hang out together. Booster wanted to know everything about him.
Then Booster found out his name: Theodore Stephen Kord. And he poured himself into finding out all he could. He read every bio, looked up the charities and scholarships that used to be in his name, searched for his businesses and the technologies that came out of it and his heart broke every time he read about the sudden and (according to some circles) suspect death. Booster didn't know if he agreed with them or not- dying from a medical condition that was (presently, anyway) preventable at such a young age was so incredibly sad but Booster didn't want to believe that anyone would want to actively hurt, let alone kill Ted. And when Booster realized how depressed thinking about Ted's death in any capacity, that he was dead period made him also made Booster realize that he wasn't just kind of vaguely in love with Ted. He kind of really was. It of course didn't hurt that he was rather handsome in his pictures with a big, easy smile and mischievous eyes (which so easily slid into thoughts of if his hands were calloused or his lips chapped or if he would lean against Booster the way he did his best friends in the few pictures of the two together).
The intensity of Booster's interest- historical and otherwise -in Ted faded through the years, but the memory of it always stayed with him. He couldn't help thinking how his first few relationships would compare with Ted, couldn't help wonder if Ted would've been impressed with his football skills, couldn't help but hope that Ted would've been proud of the things Booster did and could do despite all the variables that were fighting against him.
Then Booster's mother got sick and he couldn't stop thinking about Ted's death. Then he started gambling and all thoughts of Ted went out the proverbial window. And then, in a bought of desperation and needing to get out of that place, that time, Booster decided to go to Ted's time. He knew it would've been impossible to find Ted, but Booster felt a connection to that period. Knowing that Ted was there somewhere was exciting and Booster took that chance, made a huge splash as a superhero and eventually Ted once again left his mind in favor of fitting in to the new time and his new stardom.
Ted had nearly gone entirely from Booster's mind by the time he was brought into the Justice League and the enjoyment he got from hanging out with the Blue Beetle satisfied Booster on a level he didn't realize he was dissatisfied at. When Booster invited Beetle to go out for lunch and he saw who was under the cowl for the first time... Booster felt his breath freeze in his lungs and it was almost like his heart stopped.
"You," he stumbled slightly, trying to cover up his reaction, "look kinda familiar..."
Beetle laughed and raked a hand through messy auburn hair. "Well, maybe if you follow certain science or business news." He stuck his hand out to Booster. "Ted Kord."
He found him. He found him. Booster grabbed the hand that was indeed calloused and nearly pulled Ted in to press against lips that did look chapped. Instead he just grinned and said, "Thought so." The connection Booster had felt as a child to someone that died so long in his past, it seemed to form back just as quickly, just as strongly the other way and there were no kind ofs about it. Booster fell completely in love with Ted and there was no amount of words to express his joy when he found that that, too, was returned.
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