#berteddy

[stuckinuniformdevelopment]

@albertbutyoucancallmebert

(Previous) Bert flinched when Inspector Heath knocked on the door and returned. At first he almost felt relieved, that maybe he could ignore this once more and focus on what the inspector had to say. But that was so cowardly and irresponsible. And luckily Heath offered to step back out! He felt bad for wasting her time, but he couldn’t leave Teddy in a state of unknowing. “Ah—” he cleared his throat, “O-one more minute, please..?”

“Sure,” Inspector Heath said with a thumbs up and indifferent expression. “I’ll go do a quick sweep of the area.”

When Bert requested more time Teddy had given him a dumbstruck stare. After a moment he nodded and returned Heath’s thumbs up. He wasn’t sure if he anticipated or feared what he’d say next.

Then Teddy glanced away and took a deep breath. He steeled his heart, clutched the seat of his chair, and waited while staring into Bert’s eye. If Bert was determined to see this to end then so was he.

[stuckinuniformdevelopment]

@albertbutyoucancallmebert

(Previous) Bert held out his hands, which Sherri Jr. crawled into. He sighed. “They have been leaving me alone, actually. Which ironically makes me uneasy. If they are not bugging me, they are bugging someone else.” Very suddenly, Sherri Jr. perked up, eyes and antennae focused on the open lab door. She jumped out of Bert’s hands all the way to the floor and scampered towards what caught her attention. She even let out a tiny rat hiss. “Sherri Albert Schwarzschild Jr!! You better not be hissing at the mail deliverer again!” Bert said as he hopped down from his chair to check what the commotion was at the door. Once he saw the subject of her distress, he scooped her back up, slammed the door shut, and leaned against it. Spoke too damn soon, he thought to himself. In a panicked attempt to lessen the cause for concern that will certainly befall Teddy, Bert could only think to say “It’s uh. Raining. Out there in the hallway. She doesn’t like rain.” He smiled nervously.

Teddy breathed a sigh of relief when Bert said that they haven't been a problem. That was nice of him to worry about whoever may be distracting them from him. But frankly, if it wasn't someone Teddy knew it wasn't his problem.

He was about to say that he hoped they were just busy with their newest member when Sherri Jr. hissed. That alone was only mildly surprising because he didn't know rats did that.

Bert's reaction, however, was an entirely different story. If Bert meant the sprinkler went off he wouldn't block Teddy in when there could be a fire.

So Bert was hiding something from him, something serious. And as much as Teddy wanted to stick around... he needed to go out to investigate.

Teddy hugged Bert while not caring about being more touchy than he should be with his crush. Why would he when it would be the last time he'd see his best friend in the foreseeable future?

"I'll miss you, Bert."

[albertbutyoucancallmebert]

@stuckinuniformdevelopment

(prev) A heart started to form in Teddy’s eye before being hidden with closed-lid smile when Bert said he not only loved him, but he was the dearest person in the universe for him. Even if prefacing it as should you know made the exact meaning ambiguous he was still happy about their friendship, whether it met his wild hopes or not! Once Bert stated that he didn’t want a relationship Teddy let out a relieved yet equally forlorn sigh. He folded his hands on his lap and patiently nodded along as Bert explained why. There was a long pause after Bert finished speaking. Finally, Teddy straightened his back, put his fists to his knees, and met the love of his life’s eye again as he replied with a flat, “I understand.” There was still a faint heart in his eye. Then he averted his eye while sheepishly rubbing his head. “I mean, would dating really change anything aside from modifying a few boundaries?” That was a genuine question largely— yet not completely— based on their forced separation. “I just…,” Teddy looked to his feet as he toyed with his bowtie. “… admittedly selfishly… wanted to check if what I saw earlier was real.” He paused to give Bert a bittersweet smile. “So I can stop dwelling on it.” Teddy may have outwardly looked glum yet he was struggling to hide his excitement, with his smile fighting to stretch further than this situation demanded. It was mutual! It wasn’t even a rejection! It gave him renewed determination to get away from the Glornists! Once they were gone he could ask him out for real! Screw the promises he made to Mike! It didn’t count when it was made under duress and soon-to-be irrelevant! The deal was he’d help the Glornch transition to his command if he protected him from his sister. And why would Reverend Miriam avenge Bishop Percival if she knew the truth?

Bert set his elbow on the table and rested his chin in his hand as he waited for Teddy’s response. He softly smiled when he said he understood, staring right at his vaguely heart-shaped iris. 

He briefly averted his gaze as he pondered his question about dating and boundaries. He supposed that was true. He then lifted his head with a wide eye at his admission.

“What you saw earlier? …Oh, in the bathroom?”

He looked away again, grinning and rubbing his head. “Hah… My face must have been red as a tomato.”

He let out a sigh. “Well, that's okay… I am very glad to have discussed this. It feels great to have gotten that off of my chest. But…” Something was still weighing on his mind.

Still staring at the table, Bert worked up the nerve to quietly ask, “Do you know… I mean, you probably know by now, my… infatuation… with Commander Peepers?”

He looked as far away from Teddy as he could as he resumed twiddling his thumbs. “I fear those feelings will not go away any time soon either, you know…”

[stuckinuniformdevelopment]

@albertbutyoucancallmebert

(Previous) Once Inspector Heath left, Bert breathed out a small sigh of relief, thankful that she didn’t seem inconvenienced. He glanced at Teddy to find him staring into his eye and looked away, feeling his face getting warm again. After a short moment, he finally worked up the nerve to look him in the eye and start over. “Teddy, you should know that I love you too,” he spoke steadily. “You are the dearest person in the universe to me.” Bert folded his hands onto the table and stared at them, breaking his gaze from Teddy. “But I have been shying away from these feelings for you because I do not want a relationship. Not right now, not like this, not while you are wrapped up with the Glornists.”

A heart started to form in Teddy’s eye before being hidden with closed-lid smile when Bert said he not only loved him, but he was the dearest person in the universe for him. Even if prefacing it as should you know made the exact meaning ambiguous he was still happy about their friendship, whether it met his wild hopes or not!

Once Bert stated that he didn’t want a relationship Teddy let out a relieved yet equally forlorn sigh. He folded his hands on his lap and patiently nodded along as Bert explained why.

There was a long pause after Bert finished speaking. Finally, Teddy straightened his back, put his fists to his knees, and met the love of his life’s eye again as he replied with a flat, “I understand.” There was still a faint heart in his eye.

Then he averted his eye while sheepishly rubbing his head. “I mean, would dating really change anything aside from modifying a few boundaries?” That was a genuine question largely— yet not completely— based on their forced separation.

“I just...,” Teddy looked to his feet as he toyed with his bowtie. “... admittedly selfishly... wanted to check if what I saw earlier was real.” He paused to give Bert a bittersweet smile. “So I can stop dwelling on it.”

Teddy may have outwardly looked glum yet he was struggling to hide his excitement, with his smile fighting to stretch further than this situation demanded. It was mutual! It wasn’t even a rejection! It gave him renewed determination to get away from the Glornists! Once they were gone he could ask him out for real!

Screw the promises he made to Mike! It didn’t count when it was made under duress and soon-to-be irrelevant! The deal was he’d help the Glornch transition to his command if he protected him from his sister. And why would Reverend Miriam avenge Bishop Percival if she knew the truth?

[stuckinuniformdevelopment]

@albertbutyoucancallmebert

(Previous) Bert warmly smiled when Teddy said he was lucky to have him. At first it almost felt weird to hear it out loud, but he was a powerful person, wasn’t he? He was a lieutenant! In charge of an unconventional yet successful robot ant army. That was a nice confidence boost he didn’t know he needed. And then Bert was hit with “I love you,” once again opening up a can of his mixed feelings that were too strong and complex to sum up in a nice little response. But this time he couldn’t just stare silently; Teddy was seated right there, surely expecting something in return. Bert could feel his face get warm as he thought about what to say back. It could be as simple as saying “I love you too,” because that much was true. In fact, he kind of already did when he included himself in the list of people who loved and would protect Teddy. But in this cold interrogation room, in the face of the uncertain trials and tribulations that lay ahead, to say it with the romantic connotations that the phrase had begun to take on felt… not ideal, at the very least. But then again, perhaps these were the circumstances that made it worth saying. Who knew when he would see Teddy again? Bert briefly looked to the side, then back at his friend with a determined face, still lightly pink. “Teddy, you should know that… I…”

At first Teddy was excited to see Bert’s face turn pink and curiously tilted his head as he closely studied Bert’s expression. Was he... concerned? Worried? One thing’s for sure: He didn’t seem particularly happy.

That made him realized that getting flustered didn’t necessarily mean that his feelings were reciprocated. It just... well... could mean that Bert was uncomfortable with his overly intimate displays of affection.

Glorn. In hindsight that was pretty mean of him. He shouldn’t toy with his heart and get him worked up on purpose. Especially now when they were both under a lot of stress.

Teddy nervously fidgeted with his bowtie as he waited for Bert to reply. What’s done is done, right? Shouldn’t he take the chance to confirm his feelings instead of making them both awkward for nothing?

Oh. Fuck. Could Bert honestly reject him in this situation? Teddy averted his eye when Bert did. Then he saw how determined he was and shied away while a pang of fear struck his heart. Stopping him now would only do him a disservice.

Bert never got to finish.

Whether they liked it or not Inspector Heath had abruptly returned. She knocked on the door before walking in. Then she smiled and got ready to ask something before she noticed how flustered the both of them were.

“So, erm,” Heath awkwardly scratched her cheek. “Should I step back out or what?”

Was this some forbidden love thing? It’d explain why Doctor Walters brought an adversary of the Glornch with him for emotional support. Then again: They could have just independently met in the labs without knowing of each others’ respective connections to that den of treachery.

[stuckinuniformdevelopment]

@albertbutyoucancallmebert

(Previous) Bert returned Teddy’s strained smile with an uneasy smile. He didn’t seem very convinced. Was Bert being naive again? When he thought about the people in his own life who cared about him—there weren’t a lot, but there were a few good folk—he felt blessed! Just a couple of years ago, he had next to no one. But when faced with a threat as big as Percival and the Glornists, then… Yeah, perhaps that wasn’t very many at all. Bert quietly sighed and stared at the Glornist files until Teddy spoke up about Judith. “Hm, I would say it is worth asking!” he said as he put a smile back on.

When Teddy thought about Judith his smile became more genuine and he gave Bert a thumbs up. She was certainly a valuable ally! And so was someone else who was feeling rather unappreciated...

“I’m lucky to have you, Bert. You’re one of the most powerful people I know.”

Well, aside from Commander Peepers. Yet he’d rather not draw attention to his refusal to let him get involved again.

Then Teddy paused for a moment. He wanted to do a little experiment while they were still alone. And it didn’t count as a confession when he had already said the same thing, right? He just wanted to check to make sure he wasn’t mistaken earlier. Even if he wasn’t sure what he’d do if Bert truly saw him in a romantic light.

“I love you,” Teddy said with a fond, gentle smile and faint blush. “You’re nice too.”