"You should," Tommy said. Because they hadn't had to work that hard to make him. Because he hadn't even bothered trying to fight it after a while. Because he'd do stupid shit like try to tickle Teddy when they were bored and Teddy would try to shift his ticklish spots around, or Tommy would dream about being trapped and not being able to breathe and Teddy would kiss him when he woke up and pet his hair and talk to him and Tommy would think thank fuck you're here, even though he shouldn't. Because he was screwed up enough that instead of wanting to book it away like Teddy, who wanted it bad enough to drug him and shove him on a ship, he missed it and had fallen for his brother's boyfriend while he was in an alien sex zoo.

Yeah. Billy SHOULD blame him. Tommy blamed himself. He blamed the fucking alien perverts too, but. He blamed himself. He even blamed Teddy a little, for leaving him alone, and that was just pathetic.

He jumped when Billy started yelling and setting the letter on fire, the room doing that same odd little freeze that Tommy thought meant he was having some kind of brief panic that had him vibrating too fast. He breathed to slow down until it looked normal again.

He winced. "It's probably becausehe'sfreakedout. About what happened. He doesn't want to see me. He knocked me out to get me on the ship to send me here. Maybe he's afraid if he looks at you ..." he'd see Tommy? Or he'd see Billy hating him for what they did?

Fuck, he didn't hate Tommy did he? They'd been ... needing to be away, to not see him. Tommy could understand it. But Teddy had been his whole world and the only reason he was sane. A lifeline. The thought that he felt like he did about Teddy and Teddy couldn't stand the thought of him, it made Tommy feel like he wanted to throw up.