Chapter Text
The nightmares start seemingly out of nowhere, much to Ted’s dismay.
It seems as if dying had taken a harder toll on Ted than he had thought, and most nights he would jerk awake in a cold sweat, unable to shake the feeling that he was falling. Some nights, he would lay awake worrying that if he moved, he would just keep falling and never stop. He would press his palms to his closed eyes until he saw spots, focusing on Bill’s breathing from the bed next to his to remind him that he was here, in bed, in their room. He could feel the blanket on top of him, and his pillows, and the crumbs under his back from the chips he ate earlier. He wasn't falling.
Most times, he could eventually fall back to sleep, lulled by the sound of Bill breathing or the ticking of the clock. By morning, he usually would be able to brush off the nightmare and go about his day no worse for wear. Ted was easy like that; he bounced back.
Tonight, Ted jerks awake with a yell. Over his short, panicked breaths, he hears Bill snort awake. He would normally laugh, but he can’t get a hold on his breathing, which makes him panic more. He feels like he’s going to hurl.
“Ted? Dude, are you okay?”
He can’t say anything. He needs to get to the toilet. Ted flings back his blanket and tumbles out of bed, banging his shin viciously on the corner of a record box on the floor before slamming open the bedroom door and stumbling across the living room. He makes it just in time to the bathroom, collapsing on the floor in front of the toilet before he pukes. His face feels like it’s on fire, and he’s shaking like a leaf. What was happening to him?
He feels hands on his hair and he flinches back before realizing that it’s Bill crouched behind him. Ted’s breathing is still shaky while Bill slots in next to him on the cold floor like it’s nothing, curling a leg behind Ted’s back and tucking the other underneath himself. He smooths Ted’s hair back and out of the way just in case he hurls again, and Ted closes his eyes and rests his forehead on the toilet seat, listening to Bill’s breathing and trying to match it to his own.
“Did that takeout we ate for dinner not agree with you, dude? I told you that the chicken looked most atypical.”
Ted rolls his head back and forth in the negative, and his voice is rough when he says, “Nightmare, dude. A most heinous nightmare.”
Bill’s mouth twists. “It must have been outrageously heavy if it made you ralph.”
Ted coughs and spits into the toilet, feeling Bill’s fingers tighten on his hair to keep it from slipping into his face. He shivers violently, from both the taste of bile and the feeling of his sweat soaked shirt sticking to him, acutely aware of sitting on the cold tile floor in just his boxers. He feels gangly and coltish, his feet folded under him, and he stares at his and Bill's bare legs. Bill's knee presses against Ted's thigh as he pulls a towel from the rack down over Ted’s shoulders, and Ted focuses on the different tones of their skin and the way Bill is hairier. The hair is so fine and blonde that you hardly notice it; Ted always liked Bill's blonde hair.
The nausea is finally fading, and the comforting smell of soap scum and the dirty towel bring Ted the rest of the way back down. He leans back a little into Bill’s leg behind him while Bill reaches up to flush the toilet.
“Was it like when we were in Hell, dude?” Bill asks quietly, rubbing across Ted’s shoulders with his other hand.
Ted shakes his head, scrubbing his hands over his face as the time of night hits him. He feels exhausted, even more tired than that one time he and Bill stayed up until sunrise playing Zelda, and Bill’s eyes are even sleepier than normal when Ted finally looks at him, but he’s waiting to see what Ted needs before they go back to bed. Ted feels a rush of affection that blots out the rest of his panic, filling him to the brim with the warmth of his feelings for Bill.
Ted starts to climb to his feet, pulling Bill up after him, and they both sway for a second in each other’s space while holding on to one another. Ted brushes his teeth, and they both stumble back over to their dark bedroom. The towel gets thrown on the floor and Ted exchanges his shirt for one that’s less sweaty before dropping back into bed, only to find that the sheets are damp. He groans.
“Dude?”
“I sweated so much that the sheets are soaked, dude. This is odious.” Ted sighs before getting up to find the towel he tossed somewhere; better to smell unwashed towel than to be unpleasantly damp. Bill clears his throat in the way he does when he feels awkward, and Ted pauses, waiting to see what he has to say.
“You could sleep in my bed, dude. That way you don’t have to sleep on wet sheets, and… if you have another nightmare, I can wake you up!”
Ted can practically hear Bill’s smile in the dark, proud of his suggestion. Ted grins, a feeling of relief washing through him; he didn’t realize how much he was dreading getting back into his bed. “A stellar suggestion, my most excellent friend!”
Ted shifts his trajectory, abandoning the search for the towel as he climbs onto Bill’s bed. It’s a twin, both of their beds are, and the feeling of warmth radiating from Bill’s body makes Ted feel like he’s slipped into a hot bath- warm and comfortable and safe. He sighs happily and rubs his face on Bill’s pillow, smelling unwashed hair and the faint scent of Bill’s shampoo.
Bill shifts until they’re facing each other, curled like parenthesis on the tiny bed. Ted can see the glint of the faint light from behind the curtain in Bill's eyes, and can feel his breath ghosting across the space between them. It feels startlingly intimate, changed since they used to share a bed during sleepovers.
They lay there for a while, long enough that anyone else would think they had fallen asleep, but they both know the other is still awake. They don't often talk about serious stuff, but when they do, it always ends up quiet like this, hidden in the dark. It's like when they were kids, making a pillow fort so they could crawl inside the dim, warm space to whisper their secrets: A place just for the two of them.
"I keep dreaming that I'm falling," Ted whispers into the dark, his voice raw. "Or that I've been pushed from a high place and the ground is right there, but this time… I could die for real."
"But you didn't, dude. We didn't."
"Yeah, but this is my subconscious, dude. It doesn't know that."
Bill hums and reaches out, running his hand lightly down Ted's arm until he finds Ted's hand, which he squeezes.
Ted swallows a couple of times, feeling the terror like eyes on the back of his head, waiting to catch him unaware. "The worst part is… I wake up when I'm about to hit the ground, so I jerk awake, which is bogus. Then I'm laying there, and you saw how it is… But sometimes, I feel like if I even move an inch, the bed will just tip me out and I'll fall through the floor. And... maybe, I won't stop falling."
Bill huffs out a breath. "Why didn't you wake me up when you felt like that, dude? I could've helped."
Ted shrugs, feeling chastised and a little embarrassed at his confession. He still doesn't really get it himself, other than the way the feeling grips him and won't let him go.
"Well," Bill says, squeezing Ted's hand. "When you feel like you're going to fall, I'll just put my arm over you. It'll be like a seat belt. I'll keep you from falling through the floor!"
Ted smiles and squeezes Bill's hand in return. "A most excellent idea, Bill!"
They whisper to each other a bit longer, giggling about nothing, and eventually, they fall back asleep.
---
When Ted wakes up, he feels sticky and sweaty, groaning in the dark room. Another nightmare? Ted checks in with himself. No… he's missing the totally bogus feeling of having just dropped off a high cliff, and his breathing and heart rate are relatively normal. Also, Bill is pressed up against his back, still asleep, which wouldn't be so if he had startled awake. Ted can feel his shirt is sticking between his shoulder blades where Bill drooled on him, and the contrast between the warm press of his cheek and the gust of his breath over the wet spot makes Ted shiver.
Ted wiggles a little, trying to stretch out the stiffness of being stuck in a twin bed with another dude for half the night, and Bill huffs and wiggles closer, tip to toe, clutching at Ted tight around his chest. Bill's boner presses up against him, hot and hard between the two thin layers of cotton boxers, and Ted feels all the blood in his body fight between going to his face and his cock in a rush that leaves him almost dizzy. He very quickly goes from a basic morning chub to 'need to jerk off before getting up' half hard, which will need to be fixed. Ted clears his throat.
"Dude, you are totally poking me in the ass."
His voice is rough and low when he speaks, and he hears Bill murmur something sleepily from behind him, obviously not awake enough to realize that he's grinding against Ted. Ted feels like cheeks are hitting 100 degrees, at least- maybe he's getting sick? He would get up to get a thermometer, but Bill's arm is wrapped around his middle to hold him in place. Ted cant help but suck in a breath when Bill's forearm skims over his stomach to land below his belly button, letting out a slightly hysterical giggle at the combination of the ticklish feeling and the shot of lust that makes his cock twitch in his boxers. Bill pushes up against him again with a harsh exhale, and his arm slips a little lower, his fingers curling and scratching over Ted's skin. His pinky is just brushing the top of Ted's pubes where his boxers have ridden down, and Ted shivers.
Ted's cock is ready to go now just from having Bill's warm body pressed against him, tenting obviously against the front of his shorts. He can feel where Bill's stomach is pressed against his back where their shirts have ridden up and how sweat is making their skin stick together, and he shifts enough that Bill clutches him and presses hard against his ass. Ted stills, and Bill presses against him again, making this sweet little noise in the back of his throat that has Ted's cock twitching another time. Ted slowly moves his hand down, slipping his fingers through the slit of his boxers to pull himself out. Bill's already hard; if he wakes up Ted will just convince him that it's a bit of boner-touching between friends and that'll be that. With that settled, Ted wiggles a little to get more comfortable, grinning to himself, and starts to jerk off at a leisurely pace. He puts in a cursory attempt to keep his arm from knocking into Bill and startling him awake, but pretty soon Bill is wiggling and pushing against Ted with more frequency, snuffling in the way he does right before he wakes up. He burrows his face into the space between Ted's shoulder blades and huffs out a tiny moan that makes Ted tense up and let out a soft breath, speeding up his hand.
"Dude?" Bill's voice is rough when he speaks. Ted can feel him lifting his head from where it was nestled in the warm space between Ted's back and the sheets, and the drool spot shifts and sticks to Ted's back, cold without Bill's breath on it. Ted shivers and slows his hand down, but he keeps it on his cock, touching without moving his arm, squeezing and running his fingers over himself. His face feels hot with arousal and a little bit of embarrassment, like he got walked in on, but he can't make himself stop. Bill is more than half awake by this point, but he's still hard against Ted, nestled in the hot space where Ted's ass meets his thighs. That's a good sign, right?
"Morning, dude. This is a totally non-heinous way to start the day." Ted's voice cracks a little on the greeting, betraying his nerves. Bill won't like… punch him, right? While Ted is definitely more of the pacifist between the two of them, he still feels like Bill wouldn't do that. Hopefully.
"Dude, are you jerking it right now?" Bill sounds incredulous, but not angry, and Ted twists his head around to look at Bill, his hair falling into his eyes. He blows up, finally getting his bangs out of the way.
Bill's face is splotchy with his flush, his lips wet and red, his pupils dilated, and his hair is a riotous mess of curls as he props himself up on one elbow to look at Ted. His brow is furrowed, and he still has sleep in the corners of his eyes and creases from the pillow on his forehead. Ted feels like his face just gets hotter, embarrassed and turned on, getting this close of a look at Bill while his dick is still pressed against Ted. Ted swallows and then clears his throat, his hand finally stilling on his own cock.
"Well, my most excellent colleague, you were the one who was pressing his boner against me in his sleep."
Bill's face flushes even harder, as if he's just recognizing actually how turned on he still is, boner hardly flagging where they're pressed together. His hand twitches where it's resting against Ted's stomach, and he grumbles, "Shut up, Ted."
Ted shrugs, grinning at Bill as best he can with his neck twisted around. "It's cool, dude! Sometimes you just have morning wood, most dudes do."
Bill rolls his eyes and tries to not look flustered, but he's still not moving from where they're pressed together. His ears are red, now. "Shut up, Ted."
Ted huffs and settles his head back against the pillow, starting to feel a little awkward with his dick still in his hand, and he swallows before glancing at Bill out of the corner of his eye. Bill is looking down Ted's body, at Ted's hand, where he's holding himself out of his boxers. Ted's cock twitches involuntarily, and Bill let's out a breath against the curve of Ted's neck as his hips push forward. Ted shivers but still doesn't feel like he can go back to jerking off, even with Bill watching him and his hips twitching forward against Ted's.
"Dude… can I…?" Ted's face is flaming, he feels like he's going to spontaneously combust, all the places where Bill is touching him feel like he's being covered in molten lava, but in a totally non-heinous way. Bill's breath is hot against the exposed curve of his neck, and Ted gets a wash of goosebumps down his arms and legs. He shifts, feeling more and more awkward by the minute, and finally Bill flattens his hand with purpose across Ted's tummy, holding him still and pushing against him for real. Ted huffs out a breath at the feeling and pushes his hot cheek into the pillow, wishing he could flip it over to the cool side, before he starts to move his hand again, his wrist bumping against Bill's arm, the sound of his movements combined with their harsh breathing loud now that they're both fully awake.
Bill is pushing steadily against Ted's ass now, the hot, hard line of him making Ted twitch and gasp each breath. Bill's hand is sweaty on Ted's stomach, fingers twitching and pressing with each push of his hips, holding Ted right where he wants him. Ted bites his lip to try to stifle a breathy moan that comes unbidden from the back of his throat, and he tries to keep his rhythm as he feels Bill press so close, making their shirts riding up with every push of his hips. Bill rests his forehead in the crook of Ted's neck, and Ted can feel his lips and his teeth and his breath on his skin, pushing him faster, wanting to come. Ted feels like he's burning up, every twitch of Bill's hips pushing him closer, and he screws his eyes up to keep from busting too soon, wanting it to last.
Bill lets out these little noises, a string of uh, uhn, uhn, against Ted's neck as he pushes the last couple of times against Ted before stilling, hips and cock twitching. Ted can feel Bill coming, the way his breathing goes all funny, the way his body tenses and relaxes in waves, the way his hand presses and clutches at Ted's tummy, keeping him where he needs him, and the way his cock pulses, hot and tucked away, like a secret. It's hotter than porn, hotter than a babe's nice rack… it might just be the hottest thing Ted's ever experienced.
His hand speeds up on his cock as he tries to finish before Bill comes to his senses, or whatever's going to come next. He's never been this turned on before but still fighting to come; almost like having someone else with him has changed the playing field of masturbation, or something. Ted's hips twitch forward and he tries to keep his breathing in check, but he can feel Bill's cock softening against him, and the way Bill's hand is stroking his tummy up and down over his happy trail is making all these noises bubble up inside him. He lets out a little moan into the pillow, and feels Bill tense up behind him.
Ted tenses too, but Bill's hand just slides down, making Ted's thighs shake as he circles the base of Ted's cock with his forefinger and thumb. Ted's hips push forward and then back, not knowing how he wants to be touched, just knowing that he wants. Bill's hand strokes up, knocking Ted's fingers out of the way, and starts to jerk Ted's cock for him.
Ted turns his head as much as he can into the pillow to moan, louder than any of the noises either of them have made, and Bill squeezes around him and presses his face against Ted's shoulder. Ted can feel how warm Bill's cheeks are, and the hot wetness where Bill's mouth is open and panting against Ted's skin. Ted cant help but shiver and shake in Bill's arms, hands clutching at nothing, feeling like he's going to fly apart, all his focus is on Bill's fingers jerking him. It’s the first time anyone's ever touched his cock.
Bill suddenly lets go of him, and Ted turns to look at his friend's face, brow furrowing, a "dude, wha?" coming out of his open, wet mouth. Bill is panting, just as flushed as Ted thought, as he pushes himself back up onto his elbow. The look of arousal on his face sends a jolt through Ted's body, and his cock twitches, eager.
"Put your head on my arm, dude, c'mon." Bill motions, and Ted shuffles with the urging of Bill's hand on his hip, pulling and shifting until Ted's head is on Bill's bicep, Bill's arm curled under his neck and around him, holding his chest. They're pressed cheek to cheek now, Bill curling over Ted's shoulder to watch as he takes Ted's cock back in hand. Ted moans into the skin of Bill's arm, hips pushing forward into Bill's fingers, feeling shaky and close, so close to coming he can taste it in the back of his throat. Bill's cheek is hot on his jaw, and Ted feels wrapped up in Bill, smelling his shampoo and clean sleep sweat and dirty sheets.
"Ah, ah, Bill, I'm gonna-" Ted bites out and trails off into a groan as he jerks and comes all over Bill's fingers, hand flying down to cover Bill's hand with his own. He squeezes, eyelashes fluttering as his breathing hitches on a moan. He can feel Bill groan softly in return through the press of his lips on Ted's jaw, soft and sweet, while he works Ted through the most intense orgasm he's ever had.
Ted shivers and squeezes his softening cock one last time, feeling Bill's fingers wet with his cum- he came on Bill's hand! Bill jerked him off! before he tucks himself away. He turns his head into the skin of Bill's arm, panting and coming down, and Bill shifts and wipes his hand on the sheet. Ted giggles, giddy with his orgasm and the feeling of being held by his best friend.
"What're you laughing at, dude? It wasn't that bad, right?" Bill sounds nervous, and Ted turns so he can look his friend in the eye, grinning.
"Of course not, dude! That was most unrivaled, my esteemed colleague! The best orgasm a man could have asked for!"
Bill grins back at him, and they both try to do an air guitar, even with Ted's head still pinning down Bill's arm.
They shift onto their backs, breathing and coming down, and Ted suddenly has the creeping feeling of worry. Bill wasn't going to freak out, right? He seemed into it, Ted thought, with the lending a hand and the kiss that Ted maybe imagined. Did he imagine it? Maybe he jerked his head and smooshed Bill's face, that seems more likely. He’s suddenly very aware of Bill's arm hot against his neck, sticking together with sweat.
"Dude, are you freaking out?"
Ted shakes his head, his hair whipping Bill in the face, who sputters and giggles. Ted turns to look at him and Bill is looking back, so close that Ted can see the little freckles on his cheeks. "No way, dude! Or well … I'm moreso freaking out that you're gonna freak out."
"I'm not freaking out!"
They both lay there for another moment, looking at each other.
Ted hums, pursing his lips. "Well then, if we're both not freaking out, then maybe… we could do this more often?"
Bill laughs, and Ted can't help but smile. He loves Bill's laugh. "You sound like a bad porno, dude."
Ted goes up suddenly onto his elbow, indignant. "We were basically just in a porno, dude! But a porno… for us. Starring us. So it fits."
Bill giggles, and Ted laughs with him, eyes crinkling with the force of his grin. Bill smooshes his hand against Ted's face to push him away, and Ted goes, but in a fit of most excellent thinking, he cups his hand over the back of Bill's. It only takes a little shift before he can close his eyes and press his lips to the center of Bill's palm. It was most un-righteous that they had not kissed yet, and Ted hoped that would be rectified soon, but they had to start somewhere. Ted hears Bill's breath catch, and when Ted opens his eyes Bill is blushing again, blotchy and sweet, and his eyes are wide.
"Dude, your cum is all over that hand."
Ted shrugs, holding Bill's hand on his chest. “Whatever, dude. It’s my cum.”
“Bogus,” Bill says, shaking his head, but he doesn't pull his hand out of Ted's grasp. He's still flushed and soft looking from his orgasm, so Ted decides to just go for it and he leans forward into Bill's space. They stare at each other for a second, faces an inch apart, before Bill squeezes his eyes shut and pushes up to press his mouth to Ted's. He misses, catching the corner of Ted's mouth, and Ted turns his head to kiss his best friend full on the lips.
Bill's hand fists in the front of Ted's t-shirt, reeling him in and keeping him there, as if Ted would want to be anywhere else. His lips are chapped and he has morning breath, but all Ted can think about is the way Bill's bottom lip catches between his own and the press of his nose against Bill's cheek. They both use way too much tongue at first, because Ted cant help but suck Bill's lip into his mouth, and Bill responds by pressing closer with a moan vibrating in his throat. They're both eager and excited to get their hands on each other, made even better that it's the two of them and not anyone else. The sounds their mouths make are loud in the early morning room, thrilling and all theirs.
Bill's arm is still under Ted's neck, and he pets that hand down from Ted's shoulders to his back while their kisses slow down to something deeper. Ted feels a curl of giddiness and affection in his tummy, like butterflies, and he wiggles with a happy noise. He curls his arms around Bill's middle, planting his big hands hot on Bill's back, pulling and pressing until they're as close as possible. Ted can feel Bill's cock nestled up against his own through their boxers, a soft, intimate weight, and Bill's stomach is a flat plane of skin against his own tummy that Ted wants to touch. He slides his palm heavily across Bill's flank and across to his stomach, feeling the little hairs of Bill's happy trail against his fingers. Bill giggles into the kiss and they separate with a wet noise, grinning at each other.
"That was most excellent, Ted," Bill says, his eyes fixed on Ted's red, wet mouth.
"I wholeheartedly agree, Bill," Ted responds, petting Bill's happy trail with his thumb.
They air guitar, grinning and laughing, before they pull each other back in.