Archive of Our Own ^beta

Phil had been saving up money for both him and Theodore to go to a hockey game that was taking place near Derry. It took him a few weeks, but now, with the money in his pocket, he was outside Teddy’s house to pick him up. He was in a very basic outfit. A blue button up, his classic grey zip up and some jeans. He had texted Teddy five minutes ago and there was no sign of him other than a thumbs up emoji he sent back. 

After what Phil would dramatically describe as hours, Ted walked out of his house in a burgundy cardigan, cream button up underneath and brown pants. He used his cane to help him down a few stairs the Uris’ had in front of their house and walked towards Phil, limping slightly.

 “I can’t believe you were able to convince your parents to go out late.” Phil stated when the car door had opened, looking past Teddy, towards the house he had just left. “And I can’t believe you were able to save up enough money from your minimum wage job to buy us tickets in time for this game.” Ted said, slowly getting into the passenger seat of the brunette’s car. “Me too honestly,” 

Phillip started up the car and started to drive towards their destination. Ted placed his dark orange cane next to him near the door. Ever since the theater incident that happened when they were younger, Teddy needed a cane to go anywhere and he had a permanent limp. Phil, though not suffering from a lifelong injury like Ted, has a small scar on his cheek that almost connects to the corner of his mouth and minor nerve damage in his left arm. They’ve both learned how to deal with these injuries with time though.

As they drove, the car filled with small conversations and the sound of the radio playing random songs. The lyrics, ‘A smile is something special, a ribbon is something rare’ came from the speakers, causing Ted’s face to scrunch up a bit. He reached over and turned one of the dials, changing the channel. “That song always gives me the creeps.” He said, placing his hands back in his lap, playing around with the hem of his cardigan. “I think it’s nice” Phil smiled as he started to hum the tune. 

“You’re weird” The shorter one flicked the taller’s upper arm. “I thought we established this already” Phil had a small smirk on his face before giggling a bit, Ted joining in soon after. It took them a bit to arrive at the arena and it almost took them ten minutes of driving around the garage just to find a parking spot. “Jesus, there’s a lot of people here” Ted said, looking around at all the cars and people walking towards the front doors. “Yeah, I saw pictures online, the stadium looks huge.” Phil backs into an empty slot on the 5th level, sighing as he turns off the car. 

Phil gets out first, stretching his arms above his head before letting them fall. “I haven’t driven for that long in a minute, damn.” He walked around the front of his car to the passenger side. “Do you need help?” He asked, noticing Ted was still getting out of the car. “Nah, I’m fine, just give me a minute.” The curly haired teen stood up, closed the door with the hand that wasn’t holding his cane. They walk towards the center pillar that contains the stairwell and elevator, a few people with their kids opening the door and starting down the stairs. “Im guessing you don’t wanna take all those stairs?” Teddy let out a half assed laugh at Phil's question. “Yeah hell no, you know I hate stairs now.” He shifted his weight to his good leg and lightly hit Phil’s ankle with his cane. 

They waited outside the two elevators, waiting for one to open for them. There were one or two stares from people, mainly kids, due to Phil's scar. He heard one kid who was walking past them whisper, “woah, that's a gnarly scar” presumably to their sibling. Phil let out a sigh, putting his hands in his pockets as the metal doors slid open. Once in the elevator, the brunette leaned against the back wall. “I swear, it’s like people haven’t seen someone with a scar before.” He mumbled. Ted put a hand on his shoulder, “Well most haven’t seen a huge scar on someone's face before, especially little kids.. Or they’re staring because you look so bad.” He joked, jabbing his elbow into Phil’s arm. “Says you,” The taller teen smiled before putting a hand in Teddy’s curls and shaking it, messing up the shorter’s hair. 

Teddy swatted his hand away, fixing his hair as the elevator opened again, now showing a small lobby. They both walked off the lift and towards the door leading to the busy city streets. The duo saw a few people jaywalking to get to the entrance faster, but due to Teddy not being able to run, they didn’t want to risk him getting hit by a car. Oh, and they didn’t wanna get arrested too but they weren’t really thinking about that.. They took the long way, walking over the sidewalk once the electric signs said they could. Once the couple got to the entrance, they saw the long lines going out into the sidewalk, both groaning at the same time. 

They hopped into the shorter looking line and waited for about five minutes before they were able to get in the building. The guards made them both walk though a metal detector before handing them their tickets and letting them in. “Do you want to go get some food or drinks before the game starts?” Phil asked, putting their tickets in his back pocket. “Honestly, I just want to find our seats and sit down, my leg is starting to bother me and there’s a lot of people..” Ted complained, ending his sentence with a sigh.

Phil could see he wasn’t lying or trying to joke around so he pulled out the tickets and found their seats pretty quick. Phil had gotten Ted a handicap seat that was on the ground floor so he didn’t need to walk any stairs. Teddy smiled at the fact that Phil made sure he was comfortable in any situation. The pair sat down and looked out into the rink. The players were warming up currently, either stretching or hitting the puck into the net. The crowd wasn’t too bad, some people have already sat down, others are walking around, getting food or just mingling. Teddy let out a small sigh of relief when he sat down, leaning his cane against the small barrier in front of them. 

Phil dug in his pocket for a second, pulling out his wallet and taking out a twenty dollar bill before standing up. “I’m gonna go get a drink before it starts, do you want anything?” He asked, looking down at the Jewish boy. “Um, a bottle of water please?” Ted tilted his head back slightly to look at the taller. “I’ll get us one to share, less money to spend” Phil planted a small kiss on the top of Teddy’s head. “Cheapskate.” Ted murmured under his breath, crossing his arms as Phil left to navigate through the crowds. 

Behind him, he heard a pair of girls whispering to themselves, though not quietly. He heard them saying “Are they dating? That’s weird.” or “Eugh..” before they were called by their father to join him at their seats. The curly haired teen rolled his eyes, deciding to focus on the players skating around rather than other people’s opinions about him. He saw a small boy standing in front of the glass that surrounded the rink, slightly banging on it. One of the players looked over and picked up the puck he was using, throwing it over the glass to the kid. The child had the biggest smile on his face, showing his parents the puck he caught. Teddy felt himself start smiling at the happy child who was celebrating.

Phil walked up and sat in his seat next to Ted, noticing a small smile on his face. “Whats got you so happy?” He nudged Teddy's arm, handing him the water bottle he had. Ted sniffed, wiping his nose, trying to pull off nonchalance. “I don’t know what you mean.” He crossed his arms again, looking out onto the now empty rink. “Oh come on, I saw that” Phil poked Ted’s side, causing him to flinch away, smiling. “Fine, but I will be bugging you about this in the car.” The brunette faced forward, watching as the lights dimmed. 

“Ladies and Gentlemen!” The announcer started speaking as the last few people started walking to their seats. “Jeez, he’s so loud” Phil complained, picking up the water bottle Ted had placed down and taking a sip from it before returning it. “That's the whole point of an announcer, dumbass” Teddy moved his leg and bumped the other’s leg slightly. “Yeah yeah, but does he really have to yell everything, he’s already speaking into a microphone.” The taller slouched in his chair, causing his knees to hit the barrier. The dirty blonde rolled his eyes and shook his head. 

The first period was pretty boring. Neither team scored, the mascot did a small shirt toss on the opposite side of the stadium from Teddy and Phil, and some guy started yelling, creating a chant that Phil participated in. Theodore thought it was stupid. Phil looked up at the score board. About six minutes left of the first period. He looked over at his significant other who was semi-engrossed into the game. Phill leaned over to talk to Teddy better. “Do you wanna go see the food options before the crowd in the hallways get bad?” He asked, causing Ted to turn his head. “Sure, I’m up to walk for a bit.” They stood up, leaving the loud stadium and into the never ending hallway that circled the whole place. Phil grabbed Teddy’s free hand to not get lost as some people had the same idea as them.

They walked over to a small booth that was placed in the wall. There wasn’t any line yet thankfully so they were able to look at the menu and take their time. Eventually they walked up to the counter, about to order. “Hello!” The cashier said happily. She looked around sixteen, probably just got the job because of her excitement but no one else was in the space with her. “Hi! Uh, can I get two slices of cheese pizza?” Phil asked, letting go of Ted’s hand to pull out and open his wallet. “Of course, is that it?” The couple nodded before the cashier turned around and grabbed two slices of pizza from the rotating display and placed them in two trays. “That’ll be fifteen dollars.” She said, smiling at them both. Phil handed her a twenty dollar bill and she opened the cash register, grabbing the change and handing it to the taller.

 As he put the money in his wallet, the girl spoke up again. “I just wanted to say, you guys are a cute couple! You know, I’ve never seen a gay couple before!” Teddy furrowed his brows in confusion. “Um, Thank you..?” He said before Phil grabbed their food and they headed off. Once they were far enough, Phillip started laughing. “What the hell, that was so weird??” He said between his giggles. “I know, who just says ‘I’ve never seen a gay couple before’ with full confidence to a couple” Ted wasn’t laughing but he was a bit baffled at the lady’s comment. “Apparently she does.” Said the taller one, calming down from his giggle fit. 

Getting back to their seats was a bit harder than when they left since more people had gotten up and filled the hallway. A few assholes bumped into Ted and called him slow as they passed. “Ugh, I hate crowds,” Teddy said, sitting down in his seat. “Maybe next time we go out, we’ll go to a less crowded place..” Phil said, feeling guilty about making Theodore walk through a packed place. 

Ted put his pizza tray in his lap, lifting his hand to put on the brunette’s shoulder. “It’s not your fault Phil, so stop looking so sad,” He moved his hand and patted Phillip’s cheek, causing him to giggle a bit. “Thanks.” He turned his head, kissing the palm of Ted’s hand. “Ew, you got lip balm on my hand” The shorter complained, pulling his hand away, wiping it on his thigh. “It’s not gonna kill you Teds” Phil rolled his eyes, a small smile on his face. “You don’t know that.” After Ted wiped his hand off, he grabbed his slice and took a bite out of it. 

Once intermission ended, the couple finished their pizza as the announcer stated the second period was starting. They placed their trays on the ground next to their feet to throw away the next time they got up, but it was bothering Phil. Due to his height, he had barely enough room as it is in his chair and now, because he didn’t want to knock the trays over, he had less space. He grabbed the trays and stood up. “I’m gonna go throw these away, I’ll be right back” He said, Teddy giving him a little nod as he watched the hockey players skate around. 

Teddy watched the puck move from player to player, moving down the rink, towards the enemy’s goal. One of the players shot the puck and instantaneously, there was loud screaming coming from the crowd and a buzzer going off. Teddy winced, putting his hands over his ears which did not help the noise. He closed his eyes as the buzzer continued to go off. Suddenly Teddy wasn’t at the hockey stadium anymore, he was in a red theater room, a lot younger than he was two seconds ago. He heard his friends yelling, Phil screaming for Teddy to move. His breathing quickened and hiccuped. It felt like he was dying. He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t do anything. Sharp pain shoots through his leg as he tenses, making feel like he’s back in death’s grip.

Then, he heard a voice. It sounded like Phil but he felt miles away. He opened his eyes, a blurry cast over them. He hiccuped and blinked, trying to clear away some of the tears that formed. “Hey hey, breathe, you’re okay..” Phil spoke, his voice soft and calm. He had placed a hand on his shoulder and another on the side of his face. “Look at me, follow what I'm doing.” The brunette spoke before he took a deep breath then slowly let it out. Teddy tried to follow, his breath a lot more shaky than Phil’s but it helped. Slowly, his breathing returned to normal, with the occasional hiccup. Phil wiped the tears that were falling from the shorter’s eyes.

Teddy eventually uncovered his ears, his hands shaking in his lap. “M’sorry..” Is all he could get out. “Don’t apologize.. You couldn’t control it.” Phil said, letting go of his face and shoulder, now holding Ted’s hands in his own. They sat in silence for a second, the outside world becoming quiet background noise. “Are you okay now?” The brunette asked, running his thumb over the shaken teen’s hands. Teddy nodded, now having calmed down. “We can leave if this is too much for you,” The taller one said before getting cut off by the curly haired boy shaking his head. “You already spent the money for the tickets and took the time to get us here..” “That doesn’t matter, your comfort is way more valuable than some stupid hockey game.” Phil said firmly.

“Phillip. I’ll be fine, I promise. Let’s just enjoy the rest of the game, alright?” The smaller teen smiled at the other. Phil didn’t seem convinced but he sighed and faced the rink, still holding one of Ted’s hands. “Fine, but if anything else happens, we’re leaving.” “Fine by me,” Teddy leaned towards Phil, resting his head on his shoulder. The tired teen tried shifting to get into a more comfortable position, but ended up moving his hurt leg too much. “Ah fuck.” He said quietly, as he moved the hand that wasn’t being held to massage his leg slightly, mainly his thigh. 

Phil looked over, concern written all over his face. “You good?” He asked, squeezing Ted’s hand. “Yeah, my leg just hurts more than normal. I think I tensed it or something when I was freaking out..” The curly haired boy sighed, sitting up to relax his leg. “I have some ibuprofen in my pocket if you need it,” Phil said, pulling out a small white pill container labeled ‘Pain meds’. “How the hell did you get that past the security guards in the front??” Teddy asked, his eyebrow raised. “That's my secret to keep” The brunette smiled and handed Teddy the container. 

The latter rolled his eyes and took the small white box, opening it. He grabs two off-white pills before giving the container back to Phil to hold. Reaching down, he grabbed the half-drunk water bottle and unscrewed it, swallowing the pills with the water. He placed the bottle down again and leaned against Phil. “I’m tired.” Teddy said, putting his head back on Phil’s shoulder. “You’re always tired” The brunette joked, putting his head on top of Ted’s. The shorter teen’s hand came over and lightly hit his leg. “Hey!” Phil exclaimed as he smacked Ted’s hand. They both ended up giggling. 

A loud voice startled them both, saying that the second period was over. “Damn, it's been twenty minutes already?” The dirty blonde asked. “Huh, I thought this game would be a lot longer.” Phil shrugged, being careful to not move Ted's head too much. The intermission and last period go by fairly quickly. The home team ended up winning 2-1. Phil and Ted decided to wait in their seats for a little longer to let the huge crowd of people disperse. Eventually, they got up and walked towards the exit.

Phil opened the door for Teddy saying, “Ladies first.” with a toothy grin on his face. Ted hit his calf with his cane before walking out. “Your jokes are so stupid.” The shorter teen said, shaking his head. “Wha— I’d have you know that my jokes are amazing.” Phil declared, crossing his arms as they walked down the sidewalk towards the crosswalk. “Yeah sure buddy.” Ted stopped at the end of the cement, waiting for the electric sign to signal they could go. The brunette let out a huff, standing next to Teddy. 

They crossed the street and walked to the small lobby the garage had for the elevators and stairwell. There was a small line so they had to wait for a bit. A group of older men, presumably freshmen in college, came into the lobby and stood behind the couple. Sometime when they were waiting, Teddy had grabbed Phil’s hand just cause. One of the frat guys noticed and said fairly loudly to his group, “Yo look in front of us..”. As some of the guys turned to look at the pair, the first guy let out a chuckle. “I didn’t know they just let anyone in, especially a couple of fairies.” Another guy chimed in. Phil let out a sigh, letting his back face the frat group. “What the fuck is their problem..” Teddy whispered to his partner.

“Whatever, just ignore them, we don’t need to be causing any trouble right now.” The taller one squeezed Ted’s hand. Another guy from the group spoke up. “I bet they're just here to see the guys in the rink, whatever freaky shit gay people think.” Ted had enough. He let go of Phil’s hand and walked closer to the group. “Do we have a problem??” He said, leaning on his cane. One of the taller guys in the group fully turned and stood in front of Teddy, crossing his arms. “Yeah, so? What’s a weak fag like you gonna do about it?” Phil was mentally freaking out. That guy could totally snap Teddy in half. 

He walked up to Ted, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Maybe we should just go..” He said quietly. The older guy let out a short chuckle. “Yeah, listen to your little boyfriend, freak.” That was Theodore’s last straw. He leaned on his good leg and hit the frat guy’s leg. “Ow, you fuck!” Just as the college guy was about to throw a punch, The security guard came over and stood between the two groups. “I don’t think you should hit a disabled person.” He said, crossing his arms. The frat guy scoffed before walking away, deciding to take the stairs, his group following behind him. 

“Thank you” Phil smiled at the security guard as the guard nodded his head before heading back to his office. Phil then looked at Teddy, holding both his shoulders now. “What were you thinking?! You could’ve got yourself killed!” He exclaimed, shaking his partner’s shoulders a bit. “They were calling us slurs Phil! I couldn’t just stand there and let it happen. Plus, I wasn’t hurt anyways.” Ted nearly yelled at the brunette. “It doesn't matter if you didn’t get hurt! I can't see you get hurt again, please.. Don’t do anything like that again.” Phil was on the verge of tears, his voice a bit shaky. 

Teddy then pulled him into a hug, feeling the taller one squeeze his arms around his shoulders before letting go, wiping away the tears he had. “Stop crying you big baby,” The dirty blonde nudged the brunette before walking over to an elevator that had opened. “Well I wouldn't be crying if it weren’t for you being a dumbass.” Phil followed behind him, leaning against the back wall like he did before. “I was standing up for ourselves” Teddy had stood next to him, leaning on the wall and his cane. While they went up, the shorter teen leaned his head against the taller teen’s arm. “I’m sorry for making you worry.. People like that just annoy me so much.” He let out a small sigh. “I see where you’re coming from, I just don’t want you getting hurt more than you already are, you know. I care about you.” Phil spoke softly, looking down at the lift’s tile floor. Teddy turned and planted a small kiss on Phil’s cheek, making him smile softly. “I know.” They sat in comfortable silence for the rest of the way to Phil’s car.

The pair got in the small car, the brunette starting before they started driving to the exit of the garage. Phil turned on the radio to a pop channel, letting the music fill the car. A Sabrina Carpenter song started playing, specifically Espresso. Teddy, who was looking out the window, watching the buildings pass by, started humming the lyrics subconsciously. Phil let out a little surprised huff. 

“I didn’t know you liked pop music?” He said and Ted’s face lit up like a red christmas light. He turned away, hiding his face. “I don’t know what you're talking about. It’s just a popular song.” “Yeah, a popular song that you know the lyrics too” Phil laughed a bit. “Says the one who knows all the lyrics to any Weezer song,” Ted snapped back, raising an eyebrow at the other as he turned to face him. The taller teen let out a scoff. “Weezer is peak music and I’ll die on that hill.” “Oh we know.” They both chuckled, Teddy resting his head back on the seat. After a few minutes of no talking and music still playing, Ted closed his eyes tiredly. “Oh, I wanted to ask—” Phil started, looking over and seeing his sleeping partner. He smiled and slightly turned down the loud music, continuing the drive home with no speaking. 

Teddy got awoken by someone shaking his shoulder. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. “Did I fall asleep?” He asked as he saw the car wasn’t moving and they were outside his house. “Yeah, I didn’t want to wake you.” Phil smiled at Ted as he yawned. “Welp, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?” He asked, grabbing his cane and opening the door. Phil just nodded. “Alright, bye Phil.” Teddy leaned over and gave his partner a small peck before getting out of the car. He waved at the car then walked up to his front door, entering his house. Phil waved back, smiling to himself before he drove home himself.