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]

"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.

[st_ayedhidden]

Annie watched Alec leave. Then she looked to Peter.

"I have one," She confirms with a nod. "It works like a phone or something, right?"

[st_arkintern]

"Yeah, kinda," he says. "You know how to use it?"

[st_ayedhidden]

"I think so," She replied, nodding. "There's instructions that came with it. Like a new toy."

Annie had yet to try the journal, but she knew of it. She only knew a few people to write to right now.

[st_arkintern]

"Whenever you have a chance, you should look it over," he says. "Just in case you need me and I'm not here or there's a sock on the door."

God, the sock on the door.

"Were you lonely?" he asks.

[st_ayedhidden]

Annie thought the sock on the door was strange. Maybe it's a superhero thing

"I couldn't sleep..." She said. "I normally have a single bed and a bunch of stuffies... and the sounds were all wrong in the dark."

[st_arkintern]

"I can see if someone has a night light tomorrow," Peter says. Maybe some extra pillows would help with the big bed. Peter's not sure; he'll have to think on it later. "Are you tired now, or wide awake?"

That will at least give him a better idea of what they should do next.

[st_ayedhidden]

Annie wanted to stay up. She sat up straight, but then rubbed her eyes.

"Are you staying awake?" She asked. eyes sluggish.

[st_arkintern]

"Not unless you're going to," Peter says. "I was about to head to bed when Alec came back."

A beat, and then:

"But if you wanted to stay up, I'd stay up with you," he adds very quickly.

[st_ayedhidden]

"It's been a really long day," She said, trying to sound adult. "We should get some sleep so we have energy in the morning."

Annie was repeating words of wisdom her parents gave her before bed often.

[st_arkintern]

"Makes sense," Peter concedes. He pulls back the covers for Annie to crawl under. "Did you have a bedtime back home?"

[st_ayedhidden]

"Eight o'clock on school days. 9:30 on weekends," She answered, smiling.

Annie crawled in excitedly. She thought the bed seemed automatically more comfortable than hers. She curled up on her side, hugging her plush toy.

[st_arkintern]

Peter tucks her in, then lays down on top beside her.

"Where'd you get your toy?" he asks, pointing to the little spider-plush.

[st_ayedhidden]

She rolled on her back and held up the toy toward the ceiling.

"It's part of a set I had since I was born," She answered. "I don't have Hulk anymore, but I still have Iron Man, Thor, Black Widow, and Captain America. But Spidey's my favorite."

She smiled and hugged him.

"I bring him to school in my backpack," She explained. "It's why I still have him here."

[st_arkintern]

Peter can't help but smile a little at Annie.

"What happened to the Hulk?" he asks.