Morning Run (Closed to Peter

[st_x5_494]

Alec believed Peter when he said he'd be up. He knew Peter would take the challenge seriously, too, because the kid had this wish to show people he could do things. He just hoped Peter was actually ready for the amount of running today - almost 50 miles - and that he could keep up.

He padded out of his room in jogging pants and a t-shirt and eyed the room. "Ready or not, time to get your ass kicked."

Comments

[st_arkintern]

Peter can feel his face warm as Alec pulls him over his back. Peter can't even remember the last time someone carried him on their back. He had to be eight or nine.

"You don't have to carry me!" Peter protests, struggling against Alec's arms. "If you just let me rest a little bit longer, I'll be fine!"

[st_x5_494]

"No, you need more than a little longer. Trust me." And Alec began to walk in the direction of the Inn, ignoring Peter's struggles. "I can carry you like a princess, if you'd rather."

[st_arkintern]

"How do you know?" Peter shoots back. He does not even acknowledge the threat of the princess carry.

[st_x5_494]

"You know I've been doing this a long time, right? Or did your brain turn to mush when your legs did?" Alec's speed wasn't leisurely, but it wasn't a run. It was somewhere in between. "Besides, I've noticed more predators out here lately. You're a good target."

[st_arkintern]

"I could still fight someone without the use of my legs," Peter protests, clearly offended at the near-lethal combination of being carried by his roommate and being told he'd make a good target.

[st_x5_494]

"I would literally pay to see that." Alec did not stop to put Peter would as bait though.

[st_arkintern]

"Put me down and I'll show you."

[st_x5_494]

"Make me put you down." Alec decidedly did not put him down.

[st_arkintern]

Peter decidedly did not hit Alec, even though his place on his back would make it easy for him to land a blow on Alec. Instead, Peter resigns himself to his fate.

"Just... don't take me inside like this."

[st_x5_494]

"Listen, we have about a two hour hike back" less if Alec decided to run. "By the time we get close you can lean on me and by then we can come up with a manly excuse like we ran into to bears and we fought them with our bare hands or something."

[st_arkintern]

"If someone sees us, I won't be able to live it down," Peter says gloomily. "Besides, neither of us looks beaten up enough to have fought bears. No one would believe us."

[st_x5_494]

"I can punch you in the face. Want me to punch you in the face? You could punch me back." This was Alec's solution.

[st_arkintern]

"Bears don't punch people in the face," Peter points out. He doesn't want to punch Alec. He also doesn't want to be carried by Alec any more than he's being carried already.

[st_x5_494]

"Fine, what do you want our cover-story to be then?" Alec's imagination wasn't very broad.

[st_arkintern]

Peter doesn't want a cover-story. He wants to lay down here until his legs start working again even if he has to fight a bear without the use of his legs. And the more he thinks about it, the more embarrassing it feels like it's going to be when they get inside. And if Liz sees them, she'll make a big deal out of it, and that'd be worse.

"Just put me down."

[st_x5_494]

"Fine."

Alec stopped and childishly placed Peter on his feet on purpose and took a step back to let Peter fend for himself.

[st_arkintern]

Judging from the way Peter's legs begin to immediately fold beneath him, it looks like he's about to collapse to the ground just like he did the last time he attempted to stand up.

This time, he doesn't. Not completely. One leg bent lower, one leg bent higher, Peter's standing at only 2/3rds his height.

But he's still standing.

Judging from the expression on Peter's face, though, he's having a hard time holding even that.

[st_x5_494]

Alec crossed his arms over his chest, watching the whole ridiculous thing. "You want some help?" He didn't move though. The ball was in Peter's court.

[st_arkintern]

"No," Peter says, letting himself fall back and onto his rear so he's sitting. "I'm just going to stay here."

[st_x5_494]

Alec eyerolled. What Peter was trying to do to make sure point, but that right there was why Alec was sure Peter was going to be in over his head some point soon.

He decided to sit after ten minutes of silently staring at Peter with quiet judgement.

Silence over took the for a while, and then, "You gonna start training with your Star-Lord friend?"

[st_arkintern]

Peter doesn't know why Alec doesn't go. He has his web-shooters and it's not as if he's completely helpless. Peter presses his lands to the top of his thighs and presses down on them like he did before, but doesn't say anything. Not even when Alec finally sits down beside him.

It's not until Alec actually talks to him that Peter actually speaks.

"What?"

Peter looks over at Alec, puzzled. "No," he says, brows furrowed. "I mean, not unless he wants to."

[st_x5_494]

Alec didn't really have time to respond before he tensed. Out from the sparse surrounding brush came five rather hungry hyenias.

He muttered a "Son of a bitch" under his breath as he stood up. Were these things even native to California?

"Peter?" Just to check in the kid was going to be ok.

[st_arkintern]

"Got it," Peter says. Peter presses his middle finger against his web-slingers to activate them.

Then, arm extended, he sends a shot of web-slinging fluid towards the face of one of the animals; it stumbles back in surprise, clawing and snapping at the new intrusion.

"Sorry!" he yells in its direction. "It'll dissolve later!"

[st_x5_494]

"You know they can't banter back, right?" Alec watched as the other Hyenas split up and turned instantly more aggressive and on-guard. Their eyes were much more on Peter than on Alec's.

Peter, the wounded gazelle.

Alec never thought he'd have to kick an animals ass before. At least not one that wasn't half human. Two suddenly came at him from two different angles and Alec reached out to stop the one jumping up at him which meant the other one's teeth found purchase in his thigh. Alec let out a curse as he kicked back, sending the Hyena into the air.

[st_arkintern]

The second Peter saw Alec get bit in the thigh was the moment he knew he needed to get up. He tried to push himself up off the ground, but even when he was pushing it, he couldn't get up much further than he did before.

There's four of them left. Two on Alec, and the other two rounding Alec from either side.

"I'm really sorry about this," he tells the hyena lunging towards him. He sends a string of web-slinger fluid towards the maw of one of the hyenas, then using his upper-body strength, spins him right towards the other hyena.

The hyenas don't make impact, but the tight line of web-slinger fluid trips up the other hyena when he gave it a spin. While the other hyena is down for the count, that one scrambles up, and when it growls it becomes abundantly clear that it isn't. The hyena races towards him.

Peter tries to shoot out another string of spray, but only a short line comes out. He presses his finger against the webslinger again, but nothing comes out.

The cartridge was empty.

"Oh, come on!"

Why didn't he grab a new cartridge before he left?