Be Careful What You Ask For (Closed to Peter)

[st_hotflashes]

Liz walked numbly through the Inn after having spoken with Emma. It was as if her body were on autopilot as her mind couldn't really focus or process anything directly. What it all meant, how she felt, if she was around to see it happen - these questions were like vague fog in her mind that she couldn't quite grasp.

She thought, ever so briefly, that she might find herself in front of Kitty or Piotr's door, but it was Peter's door she came to a stop at. Liz swayed a little as she stood there, staring blankly at the door. She did that for a good five minutes before she was able to will herself to lift her hand and knock. It was a quiet two rap knock.

When the door opened, when she lay eyes on Peter, the numbness seemed to ebb a little. She stared at him silently, then slowly her face began to twist and contort as anguish spread through her features. She didn't move an inch except for her face. Everything suddenly felt intense and Liz stood there, stiff, and started to cry unabashedly. Cried with every fiber of her being.

Comments

[st_arkintern]

"I don't know. It'd depend, I guess." Peter pauses, thinking. He's probably end up writing down a lot of the things he told Karen already. "Like today, I'd write something like..."

Peter speaks his next words more carefully, more deliberately:

"Today, Liz showed up at my door and she was really upset. I was really worried because this was probably the most upset that I've ever seen her. But I'm glad that she came to me. I'm always glad when she comes to me."

Peter stops there and thinks again.

"She told me that she'd found out with Emma's help that her ex-boyfriend had gotten another girl pregnant. I can understand why she feels the way she feels. Not just because she explained it to me, but also because I can sympathize even though I'm not actually a girl myself."

A beat.

"After that, we talked for a long time about a lot of things, like her friends and how we felt the first time we met and our favorite holidays and our favorite classes. I know some people might get bored talking about things like that all the time, but I think I could talk to Liz all day and not ever get tired of it."

He smiles at her. "And that'd be it for now. I might've added more if right now were the end of the day."

[st_hotflashes]

She listened and even though he spoke about Max and Tess, what he said felt really... nice.

By the end she was smiling.

"How do you do that?" She was smiling and looking at him with slight awe.

[st_arkintern]

"Do what?"

[st_hotflashes]

"Just... say something so amazing like that. So... perfect. Like you know exactly what to say to make me feel good or to make me smile." Liz found it rather charming.

[st_arkintern]

Now it's time for Peter to look embarrassed. It's a compliment, but Peter feels the sudden urge to apologize.

He manages to bite back the I'm sorry.

"I don't know," he says. "I tend to just say what comes to mind first. I'm not sure everyone would feel the same."

[st_hotflashes]

"Well... anyone who disagrees is wrong." She said it with a smile that was a little playful. "And I'd totally fight them on that."

Liz felt a surge of silliness come over her and she put her hands on her hips where she sat and furrowed her brow in an overly-serious expression. "I can be pretty intimidating."

[st_arkintern]

That draws out Peter's grin, and he laughs lightly, his shoulders shaking a little.

"Even Ms. Rasputin?"

[st_hotflashes]

"Especially Ms. Rasputin. I'd say to her-" Liz pointed a finger at Peter with a sort of pout-glare that was on the side of over-dramatic. "Hey! Ms. Rasputin. You should totally give Peter a chance or else." And then her hands went back to her hips.

[st_arkintern]

Peter bursts into laughter.

"I believe in you, Liz," he says, once he has his laughter under control. "But I really doubt you'll convince her. Even like that."

[st_hotflashes]

Liz's face is bright with laughter, too, but she's able to keep it to small bouts of giggle.

"What? You don't think that was intimidating?" She gave him a pout and then climbed to her feet, standing up on his bed. It was a little wobbly and she had to catch herself for a moment. "Hey! Ms. Rasputin! Nezhnyy telenok soset ot dvukh materi!"

[st_arkintern]

Peter doesn't even know what that means, but that doesn't stop Peter from laughing.

"What does that even mean?"

[st_hotflashes]

She wobbled on the bed, but still remained standing. "It, um." Then she blushed. "It's a Russian proverb. 'An affectionate calf sucks from two mother.' It's, um. It sort of means like, being nice helps you get benefits from different people."

[st_arkintern]

Peter smiles up at Liz.

"I don't know if she really thinks of it like that, though." Peter reaches up for Liz's hand. "She's had it tough. A lot of people here have. I feel really lucky."

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Liz manages to sick back down, though it's not exactly graceful. At least she had Peter to hold onto for the descent.

She didn't know much about Illyana or even Kitty, not really. She knew more about Kitty's love life than her past.

"Me too." The only really important person Liz had ever lost was her grandmother, and she had been able to say goodbye.

"Sometimes I wonder if we're, um. Like, outliers."

[st_arkintern]

"Yeah," Peter says. "Things haven't always been great for me, but I've always had someone in my life to support me. Usually multiple someones."

He squeezes Liz's hand. She was one of those people.

"Even that seems like more than what a lot of people here have had."

[st_hotflashes]

"That's why I liking trying to do small things for everyone. Like the gallery or the obstacle course." She paused. The gallery reminded her. "Have you spoken to Piotr lately?"

[st_arkintern]

"No, not really," Peter says, frowning. "I think he's been keeping to himself."

He thinks about the dance and how Piotr was absent then, too.

"Do you think he's okay?"

[st_hotflashes]

"I don't know." She drew up her knees again - she did that a lot when she thought. "I saw him a few days ago. He seemed happier, but I think he always looks like that around people, you know?

[st_arkintern]

"Yeah."

Peter frowns.

"Has he ever told you about -- about where he came from?"

[st_hotflashes]

"Only a little bit. That he's from communist Russia." She paused, her volume dropping a bit despite being the only two in the room. "He lost his sister and it was hard for him because he was gay."

[st_arkintern]

"Yeah," Peter says softly. "He told me that, too."

That was actually one of the people Peter'd been thinking of when he said that he felt lucky.

"Why'd you ask if I talked to him lately?"

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She shrugged softly. "I just thought maybe you guys talk more." Because they were both guys. "I know Illyana won't talk much about him... I don't think she hates him even if she comes off like she does."

[st_arkintern]

"It probably doesn't help that they're from different realities," he says. "Did you know that?"

[st_hotflashes]

"I only figured it out when Piotr told me about his sister." Which was why, she figured, that Piotr seemed to want there to be more with his sister here.

She paused. "I'd like to think that, even if I met another Maria or someone, from a different reality, that I'd still be friends with them."

[st_arkintern]

"Yeah, me too. With Ned," he says. Not with Maria, obviously.

Peter lets out a yawn. "You feeling tired yet?"