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]

"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.

[st_x5_494]

He walked over and put a hand on Peter's shoulder. "Hey, I didn't have a father and look how I grew up " he paused. "Okay, bad example."

And then suddenly there was a knock at the door.

[st_ayedhidden]

Annie had been trying to sleep for over an hour now. Her room was big and it had a ghost. Even though the ghost was friendly, it was kind of scary. The inn was so much bigger than anything she knew.

In pink Madonna Inn PJs, Annie approached Peter's room. Tucked in the corner of her elbow was a small plush Spider-Man the size of a small teddy bear. She had small bags under her eyes already forming.

Annie knocked quietly.

[st_arkintern]

Peter's the one to answer the door and it takes just one look at her face for him to know something is wrong.

And immediately, Peter is stumped for words to say.

So instead, he offers her his hand. "You wanna come in?" he asks, offering her a smile. "I was just telling Alec about you and I'm sure he'd like to meet you."

You're not bothering me.

[st_x5_494]

Had this been anyone or anything else, Alec probably would have been okay. As it was, he stood up straighter from where he had been leaning, almost standing at attention, but not quite. He also looked subtly like a deer in headlights.

"Uh... Hey." He raised a hand and nodded, forgetting to smile because there was apparently a female Peter mini-me here now

He cleared his throat. "I should, you know, go do that thing."

[st_ayedhidden]

Annie took Peter's hand without hesitation and instantly felt better. Even when the guy in the room looked like he was kind of scared of her.

"I couldn't sleep," she said quietly.

[st_arkintern]

"You wanna sleep here?" he asks kindly.

He looks over at Alec and shoots him a please be nice to her, PLEASE look at him.

"This is my roommate, Alec," he says, gesturing to him. "He's my best friend here, so you can trust him."

[st_x5_494]

It wasn't that Alec was trying to be mean, it was he had no idea how to handle a kid. In fact, the way Peter was so... casual around her - it was something that Alec quietly was impressed with.

He cleared his throat. "Yeah, that's me... best friend." Which might have been the first time he ever said that out loud or truly acknowledged it. Truthfully, though, Peter was family to Alec.

"You can, uh... use my bed. I can just go sle--" probably best not to say with someone. "-have a... sleepover. With a friend. Braid hard and stuff."

Was it bad form to drink in front of eight year-olds? He felt like he needed a drink.

[st_ayedhidden]

Annie giggled softly as Alec babbled, but she covered her mouth to be polite. He seems nice, but really silly.

"Can I?" She asked, looking to Peter. "Just this once, I promise... it's all just really new."

[st_arkintern]

"You can come over whenever you want," Peter says leading her to the edge of his bed. "Except when there's a sock on the doorknob. Then I'll need you to write to me in your journal. Did you get one?"

Peter looks over at Alec and gives him a grateful if you need to leave, you can nod.

[st_x5_494]

Alec's shoulders visibly relax and he exhaled quietly. He probably didn't say anything permanently scarring to the child, right?

"I'll, uh, make sure there's candy here next time. Or something." Kids like candy, right? Right?

He cleared his throat, nodded to Peter, and exited as quickly as possible while looking casual.