Roommates and sleepovers (Peter, then Annie eventually)

[st_x5_494]

Alec liked Sunny. Not in a like-like sort of way, but she had fire in her he could definitely appreciate and she ever wanted to take him to bed to sort out any further aggression, he would totally be willing to do that. But after that and a run - he hated arrival day - he ended up back down the hall to his room. He pushed over the door and saw Peter lying face down on his bed. Alec was almost tempted to just back out of the room.

He didn't.

"Well, that's not a good sign." He sighed. "What happened? Did you fall and hurt your face again? Maybe you farted in front of Liz?"

Comments

[st_arkintern]

"No," Peter mumbles into the mattress. "My daughter from the future showed up today."

He does not elaborate any further.

[st_x5_494]

Whatever he thought Peter was going to say 'daughter from the future' was not it. Alec actually is at a loss of words for a moment.

"Uh... okay." He blinked. "And by future daughter, you mean like... someone you think is really cool and you'd like to have a daughter like that one day."

Alec was pretty sure he knew the answer to that. So, instead - "Is she cute?"

[st_arkintern]

"No," Peter says, his voice still muffled by the mattress. "My actual daughter. For real."

That'd been weird. Really weird. And while he thinks he managed to be okay around her, now that she wasn't around... he wasn't sure he was actually as okay anymore as he was when he was around her.

Peter finally turns his head so it's facing out, but he doesn't yet move from his spot on the bed.

"She's really cute," he says. "And she has powers like mine."

[st_x5_494]

Alec was experienced in a lot of things - a lot of things - but daughters was not one of them. At least having them. He had been chased out for sleeping with daughters before.

"So there's a mini-you running around now at the inn." There was sarcasm on the tip of his tongue, but there was something so pathetic about the way Peter was lying that Alec couldn't seem to muster saying the quip. "And now you plan to....?"

[st_arkintern]

"I don't know," Peter says, because he doesn't have the faintest clue. "I really want to take care of her, but I don't really know how to."

Even though she technically wasn't his kid yet, he still felt responsible for her.

[st_x5_494]

"Uh, news flash Peter. You're not an adult." He put up his hand. "I know, I know. Look, you're responsible and shit, but this is a kid - I'm assuming it's a kid or else this conversation is really weird. This isn't all on you just because you decided not to wear a condom some point in your future."

[st_arkintern]

"I know," Peter says. He was more willing lately to acknowledge he's not an adult than he was in the past. "But I know that future-me would want someone to look after her."

And who better than him?

"Besides, she's eight. She's not old enough to do much by herself."

[st_x5_494]

"I'm not saying abandon her. If she's really your kid and has your powers then you should probably help her while she's here. What I'm saying is, like, get help. Whole units of officers raised my unit. And look, I'm not saying me either. I am less qualified than you to be in charge kf a kid."

He knew that much for certain.

[st_arkintern]

Peter seems mildly offended, and he doesn't know why because it wasn't like Alec could have known.

"I'm already going to help her with her powers," he says.

[st_x5_494]

"So what .. are you wanting to -" Alec had to think hard about what parenting might actually look like. It was hard. "Brush her teeth, give her a bath, and make sure she eats her veggies?"

[st_arkintern]

"I don't know," Peter says, because he's not sure what to do and this suddenly feels like a lot of responsibility for just him -- just like Alec pointed out. But he also doesn't feel like he can ask anyone else to help take on the responsibility.

"I just don't want her doing everything on her own. She's eight. She needs people."

[st_x5_494]

"Did you ask her if she has any people yet? There's a lot of bored people here. I'm sure there are some who would love to help."

Why did he suddenly think of Clarice and why did he want to smile?

"What about Mary? She's been a mom"

[st_arkintern]

"Don't you think it'd look like I was abandoning her?" he asks. "I don't want her to feel like I'm just..."

How does he even explain this?

"...unloading her on someone else."

[st_x5_494]

Alec had no idea. This was not in his wheelhouse.

"Isn't it more like... sharing?" He rubbed the back of his neck. "Peter, you don't even really know this girl yet. She doesn't know you. Maybe just taking it step at a time right now is the best way."

[st_arkintern]

"I mean," Peter says, pushing himself upright. "She does know me, sort-of. Future-me's her father."

So it wouldn't be precisely accurate to say that Annie doesn't know him.

"When I was trying to take her inhibitor bracelet off, everything just kinda clicked into place. It was exactly how I would have designed it and everything --"

Peter swallows.

"-- everything seemed so easy even though I'd never made anything like that before."

Where was he going with this? Even Peter's not sure.

[st_x5_494]

He pinched the bridge of his nose, mostly because he needed a moment to think as he leaned against the table.

"You're right. You're still fundamentally you. But you're sixteen right now. You haven't gone through all the experiences future you will go through and unless your future self told detailed stories of what you were like at this age, she has no idea what a sixteen year-old Peter Parker looks like either." Probably, anyways.

"I'm not saying don't be there for her. You should. I'm saying, don't put all the weight on yourself. And... and if you're enjoying it, that's okay too. You're also allowed to be happy about this." Even if the roles were refused, Alec would be terrified.

[st_arkintern]

"Okay," Peter says to that. It all makes sense to him... even though he's not sure how to feel about it.

"You aren't giving me a hard time," Peter observes aloud, as if fishing for some sort of answer as to why.

[st_x5_494]

Alec looked a little like he was caught off-guard. Peter was right, of course. Somehow his brain had sort of stopped functioning the way he normally did - it worried him.

"Well, I was waiting for a good time to congratulate you on the fact you now at least have proof you get laid."

And now all was right in the world of Alec again.

[st_arkintern]

Peter shot Alec a look.

"I'm going to get laid," he insists, almost petulantly. "When I'm ready."

Which is obviously not right now.

[st_x5_494]

"Obviously. You have proof walking around. You apparently forgot the condom that time." Alec preferred 'the look' over Peter looking worried any day.

[st_arkintern]

"Maybe I wanted to have kids," Peter shoots back. "I want to have kids already now."

Just not right now.

[st_x5_494]

He held up his hands. "To each their own on that one." Alec had no interest, thank you.

Alec caught himself again. He was hovering around what he figured was the touchy subject of who mom was.

[st_arkintern]

"She's just so cute, Alec," he says. "And she's got powers like mine and she tries really hard to be strong and it's just --"

He takes a breath.

"She's just so good."

[st_x5_494]

A really small voice told him he wasn't allowed to get attached to another Parker, but there was something really endearing about how Peter talked about a future kid.

Peter was definitely a better person than he was.

"Well, you got the doting father thing down.... You'll probably do fine."

[st_arkintern]

"Maybe," Peter says. "I don't know." Maybe he does.

"I just haven't had a father since I was little," he says. "I had Ben for awhile after that, but then he died. And then there was Mr. Stark after that, but..."

Peter looks down at his hands; he's somehow knotted them together somewhere during this conversation.