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_hotflashes]

She laughed softly that was more like a giggle.

"Okay. Um. Name three of the noble gases." She kept her finger lightly circling the pressure point slowly.

[st_arkintern]

"Helium, neon, and argon," Peter answers smoothly. "That was a an Academic Decathlon question. You'll have to try something harder."

[st_hotflashes]

"Okay." She bit her lip as she thought, moving on to Peter's ring finger and doing the same motions.

"What's the atomic structure of each of those?"

[st_arkintern]

"Two, Ten, and Eighteen respectively. There's been controversy over the placement of hydrogen and helium on the periodic table, though. When the noble gases were discovered back around 1900, they were known as group 0, because the elements were believed to have no chemical reactivity. Unlike most of the other noble glasses, helium has only two electrons in its closed electron shell's outermost electron orbital. The rest of the noble gases have eight. Some assign helium directly above neon in group 18 instead."

Peter takes a breath, then looks back at Liz.

[st_hotflashes]

Her fingers stopped moving as he went on passed the numbers and she stared at him. Liz forgot how to breathe. She stared at him until he finished, completely still listening to him. The more he talked, the more she felt something rise within her.

The moment he stopped talking she finally inhaled and blinked and then she leaned forward, hand still holding his, and kissed him with a sudden, heated intensity like she needed to kiss him or she was going to die.

[st_arkintern]

Liz's reaction is so completely unexpected that Peter is completely and totally caught off-guard. As soon as his mind finally registers what's going on, his mouth naturally responds; a single arm curls around Liz's back, holding her.

And then he remembers that he shouldn't mess around with Liz while she's emotionally vulnerable. He breaks it off before it can become more than that, then squeezes her hand.

"That excited about science, huh."

[st_hotflashes]

She blushed hard as she pulled back and bit her lip again. "It's um..." Liz looked down at his hand she was still holding, a little embarrassed. Maybe it was weird. It was certainly new to her - Max was not a science person.

"I just... It's kind of sexy when you're being so smart."

[st_arkintern]

Peter had been joking when he suggested his science nerdery was attractive. He's surprised to discover that his joke ended up being actual fact.

Peter blushes, and looks down at one of his socks.

"Oh," he says. "Most of the time I just got made fun of for it." Especially by Flash. Peter wasn't sure, but he got the feeling that Flash felt like he was in direct competition with him or something.

[st_hotflashes]

She shook her head, not lifting her own gaze because it was hard to be so open about this sort of thing, even with Peter. Maybe just because it were things she never knew she thought she'd be attracted to.

"I like it." She wet her lips. "...and when you speak Italian.. it's kind of hard to focus at all." Liz remembered back to the night he was drunk. "When you spoke to me the first time I almost couldn't stand up."

[st_arkintern]

Peter smiles at that. He's not sure why, but he somehow feels really happy knowing this.

"If you want, I can do it again," he says. "Later, when you're feeling better. The Italian and the science. Whichever you want, you can just tell me."

Peter was proficient in both.

[st_hotflashes]

She ducked her head just a little more, still embarrassed, but glad that he didn't seem weirded out about it. She heard herself admit something she didn't think she would - "I'm not sure I can control myself if you do that."

[st_arkintern]

"So you don't want me to?"

[st_hotflashes]

She looked up at the suddenly, almost panicked. "No!" She paused, then looked embarrassed about the panic.

Liz tried again with more calm, but her gaze dropped again.

"Lately, around you, when we do things... It's like I don't want you to stop. Like I'd do anything you'd ask of me. So... So what I'm saying is, um. That you might have to be the one to stop."

Her face felt like it was on fire. She hoped he wouldn't judge her too much for her words.

[st_arkintern]

Peter presses his lips together nervously.

"Does that mean you're ready to--"

Peter takes a breath. "--have sex?"

[st_hotflashes]

The question made her pause and she felt her chest seize.

"Um." She looked down, picking at imaginary fluff on her jeans. "Um, yeah. Yeah... I think I am."

Liz looked up pensively with a little worry. Would he be upset?

"Um. But that doesn't mean - that I need to or whatever. Not until you're ready too."

[st_arkintern]

"Yeah, yeah," Peter says, nodding. "I know. I just... I don't want you doing something you really don't want to do because you were suddenly caught up in the moment."

Peter reaches for Liz's hand. "You okay?"

[st_hotflashes]

Why did she feel so strange admitting it? Maybe it was because she'd been told by society girls weren't supposed to be so open about all of this.

"You don't... Think differently of me, do you?"

[st_arkintern]

And like many things today, Liz's question comes as a surprise to Peter.

"No," he says, still looking at Liz uncomprehendingly. It hadn't even occurred to him that Liz might even be worried about this. "No, absolutely not."

[st_hotflashes]

She looked up, her lips twitching a little as if wanted to smile but somehow reserved about the whole thing at the same time.

"You... Don't think I'm, um. easy?" That was her mom's word for it, but it was the first thing that came to mind.

[st_arkintern]

"No," he says. "I never thought that even once."

[st_hotflashes]

The smile that formed from his words was quick and genuine. She took his hand tentatively. "It doesn't have to be anytime soon... But - but when you're ready, I'm yours Peter."

She managed to say it all without looking away, but she was blushing feverishly.

[st_arkintern]

"Thanks, Liz."

It seemed like a weird thing to say to something like that, but Peter wasn't sure what else to say.

He lets go of her hand and leans across the little space dividing them and gives her a hug.

[st_hotflashes]

She hugged him back, smiling. It somehow felt really good to get that off her chest even though there was a quiet worry in her that every time they got into it now Peter would worry she was expecting sex.

When she pulled back, she looked at him quietly. She wanted to kiss him, she wanted to hold him, but she knew now might not be the best time, so Liz decided to change the subject.

"What's, um. What's a subject you didn't like at school?". She paused. "and PE doesn't count."

[st_arkintern]

That was an abrupt change of topic. But Peter takes it as a cue that the discussion is over. He's okay with that.

"I don't know," he admits. "I kind of liked all of them. There's just classes I liked less. What about you?"

[st_hotflashes]

Liz was worried if they kept talking about it they might go into more dangerous territory. School was safer.

"Creative writing." She felt silly for admitting it. "I wasn't very good at it because I was always trying to make things perfect."

She felt dumb. That should be an easy class.