Coming Back Home (Closed to Peter)

[st_x5_494]

His talk with Kitty and some more time alone caused Alec to return to the Inn. He smelled, but he was used to that, however he did miss showers. Despite the ability to live off the land for at least a month, there were some comforts that Alec missed. Plus he figured he needed to find out how badly he left things with Peter.

He was ready to be told to move out - however he could manage that, anyways.

Alec pushed through the door noticed the note on Peter's bed immediately. The kid wanted to talk - shocker. He dropped his pack and went to hit the shower.

Comments

[st_x5_494]

He listened and didn't necessarily disagree with Peter, perhaps for once. The kid had obviously thought a lot about it. "You're not thinking like a soulless money-making machine." Peter would never be in charge of something like Manticore.

"How many time have you actually watched this movie?"

[st_arkintern]

"This week?" Peter asks. "Nine."

[st_x5_494]

There was a blank stare in his direction. And some blinking. Definitely deadpanned.

"...Nine." A question, but somehow a statement at the same time.

[st_arkintern]

"Including this one," Peter says quickly, gesturing to the VHS player.

"You weren't here, so I had a lot of free time," he explains, as if this is a totally reasonable solution to that particular problem.

[st_x5_494]

"You know there are other films in the inn, right?" He paused. He knew Peter had a Star Wars one. "How many times have you watched that one about Star Wars?"

[st_arkintern]

"Uhhh..."

Peter is pretty sure Alec doesn't actually want the answer to that question.

[st_x5_494]

His fingers went back to the bridge of his nose. "We need to get you more of a life."

[st_arkintern]

"I have a life," Peter protests. "It's just been forever since an Other-World portal opened and there's nothing out there and I've already read every interesting book in the library."

[st_x5_494]

"Sure there are. There are things. We could go hunt. There's definitely rabbit and shit out there." Alec had no idea there were worse things, but still. "You could, I don't know, take up... log chopping or something."

Something manly.

[st_arkintern]

"Log chopping?"

Peter gives Alec a bewildered look. Rabbit he could see, but --

"Do you chop logs back home?"

[st_x5_494]

Alec shrugged. "Sure, why not? I mean, I would if I had to. Half of surviving in the wood is using the trees for stuff." Alec could survive off the land for months, really, if he needed to. "At the very least how about you come on my runs with me. Maybe we'll be able to get your stamina up."

[st_arkintern]

"My stamina's already good," Peter says, as if Alec's suggestion was a personal affront to his ability.

"But yeah," he says begrudgingly. "I'll go."

[st_x5_494]

"Okay. I do 50 miles a day." He wasn't even kidding. He'd been doing 30 since he was six. "It'll be good for you."

[st_arkintern]

"How long does it take you to do 50 miles a day?"

[st_x5_494]

"If you time it right? Exactly four hours. Brings you right back here so you don't have to walk back." He could push himself and do less, but he kept a constant speed for training. "...We can ease you in."

[st_arkintern]

"No," Peter says defensively. "I can do four hours. I spend four hours patrolling the city every day."

Or he did.

[st_x5_494]

Alec heard the defensiveness in his tone and his lips twitched in a bit of a smile. "Alright. Sure. Just don't fall too far behind." He winked playfully.

[st_arkintern]

Wink or no, he's taking what Alec says as a Serious Challenge.

"I'm not going to fall behind!"

[st_x5_494]

"Good. Then you should get some sleep because we're doing it in the morning. 6 am." He looked at Peter with a bit of a challenging face. Secretly he changed the time. Normally Alec ran at five in the morning.

[st_arkintern]

"Okay," Peter says to this, very seriously. He'll be ready.