We have this now - Peter

[st_x5_494]

Alec had gotten back to the room about an hour or so before the other world closed up. It felt a little weird to be going back to a place with far less freedom and far less things to do. It was almost like choosing to go back to prison.

He pushed any of those thoughts aside. There was no time to dwell.

He was currently taking a shower, but there was a peculiar addition to the room. On Peter's bed was a little kitten that was currently pouncing at the small hills made from the bedding and bounding up and down the bed itself as if chasing some imaginary assailant.

Comments

[st_arkintern]

Ace is still pawing at something in the corner of the room.

"What, did the women pounce on things?"

[st_x5_494]

"They would probably have preferred that." He thought about some of the questionable choices Max had made, including trying to sleep with him. "They go through heat about twice a year."

[st_arkintern]

"What?"

Peter blinks.

"They couldn't just... edit that out?"

[st_x5_494]

He shrugged a little. "It only showed up by the time they hit puberty. By then it was too late. They fixed it in the X-6es. Probably wasn't worth it if they could. We used to get this other disease - progeria. Was killing us off until they fixed that."

[st_arkintern]

Peter's glad that Alec doesn't have progeria.

"You know, it's really nice of you to bring Ace home with you," he says. "You could have left him there."

[st_x5_494]

"like I said, he followed me home." He made an effort to look serious and grumpy about it.

[st_arkintern]

Peter doubts that the events went down exactly as Alec describes, but...

"You could have sent him back home," he says. "But you didn't."

[st_x5_494]

He shrugged. "I thought you could use a friend." A change in tactics now. It waa definitely not because Alec felt for the abandoned kitten.

[st_arkintern]

"But you're my friend."

[st_x5_494]

"Am I?" For a moment he kept his expression neutral, then sighed and gave in. "Fine, I'm your friend. But this one... Has a tail." And is adorable and fuzzy, but those words couldn't seem to leave his mouth.

[st_arkintern]

"You're just as an effective friend without one."

[st_x5_494]

He crossed his arms stubbornly over his chest. "I could just let him go outside and be wild." Which would never happen, but he bluffed it anyways.

[st_arkintern]

"You wouldn't do that," Peter says. "Because you're a good person."

[st_x5_494]

"I am the one who almost got you and your girlfriend arrested." And therefore, somehow, he was a bad guy.

[st_arkintern]

"We could have said no, but we didn't," Peter shoots back.

[st_x5_494]

Alec's eyes narrow just a little for just a moment. "Why do you care so much?"

[st_arkintern]

"Why do I need a reason to care?"

[st_x5_494]

He lifted his arms up. "That doesn't even make any sense!" Alec stared at him for another moment, sighed, then moved to his room and came back in a second with a satchel.

He placed it on the bed. "Here. Look." Be distracted.

Alec hadn't been planning to share it just now, but Peter was forcing his hand because he needed a way to distract Peter. Inside were a bunch of chemicals in a cooler. They all were industrial grade chemicals in vials with the names of the chemicals and the words "Helmholtz Association on each one.

[st_arkintern]

Peter had learned the art of deflecting well from his housemate. But sure enough, when Alec returns with the cooler, he's suitably distracted. Peter's eyes light up at the chemicals inside.

Peter looks at Alec, wide-eyed.

"Where'd you get these?"

[st_x5_494]

He shrugged. "I borrowed them from a place that had enough they weren't going to miss a few." Probably, anyways.

[st_arkintern]

"Borrowed?" Peter says, eyes narrowing. "You can't just borrow whatever you want."

[st_x5_494]

"Sure I can. It's not like they stopped me. It's basically their fault for lack of security." Alec had no qualms about stealing from people.

[st_arkintern]

"Just because they have lax security doesn't mean you should steal from them," Peter says, frowning. "How would you feel if someone stole something from you?"

[st_x5_494]

He sighed a little. "Would it make you feel better if they tested on animals and had a section that was dabbling illegally in viruses?" Max always had that 'it's okay to steal from bad guys' thing.

[st_arkintern]

"Well, yeah," Peter admits, begrudgingly. "Kinda."

Peter looks through each of the vials, then looks over at Alec. Ace is still pawing at something in the corner.

"Are you sharing your resources with the enemy?" The enemy being him.