Time to Leave - Peter

[st_hotflashes]

Venice was beautiful. She was glad they had managed to get to it as it near the recommended time the Inn's "travel agents" had told them to take before heading back 'home'.

She was standing in the middle of one of the squares that overlooked a large, old, beautiful church. She was waiting for Peter to bring back some gelato before they headed to the train. It felt... Bittersweet. This other world felt almost like home. The space and the diversity really helped Liz to relax. Spending time with Peter here, too, helped make things feel... Right.

She adjusted her pack on her shoulder as she waited.

Comments

[st_hotflashes]

She looked down at her backpack as if there would be answers there inside the pack. "Maybe... Maybe I could go to the embassy here.... except I don't think I'm actually an American citizen in this world." She paused and looked at Peter. "Maybe you can go back to the travel center and ask them for a new passport..." But who knew if they had essentially 3 days to do that with.

[st_arkintern]

"I don't want to leave you here for three days," Peter says. He starts rummaging through his own backpack and pulls out his wallet.

"I'm not sure we have enough money," he says. "You didn't have any holed away anywhere else, did you?"

[st_hotflashes]

She pressed her hand to her forehead and closed her eyes, inwardly kicking herself. "I should have been more careful." Hitchhiking was dangerous and would take much longer. If they walked it would take days.

The announcer said there was five minutes left until departure.

Liz shot Peter a look that was worried and hinted at desperate. "We... I think we need to get on the train."

[st_arkintern]

Peter takes a breath. "I can provide a distraction, I just need you to find a way inside."

He begins to dig through his bag and finds his mask. "Do you think you can handle getting my luggage on?"

[st_hotflashes]

She looked at him with a worried expression. "I can.... just, please be careful." In fact, the whole idea of him creating a distraction really bothered her more than she thought it would. Maybe it was because this was her fault and if something went

She stood and took a grip of the big rolling luggage. "...I love you." Just in case things went sideways, this felt important to state.

[st_arkintern]

"Love you too."

Peter pulls out the mask, zips up the backpack, throws it on his back, and races through the crowd of people to find someplace that isn't so crowded.

Everywhere, it seems, is crowded. He doesn't exactly have much time to pull this off, so he ducks behind a trash can, quickly looks around, then crouches down and pulls on his mask.

It's time to get this started.

Peter somersaults out from behind the trashcan, landing cleanly next to an old woman who nearly falls over from surprise. "Hey, guys!" Peter says with a wave.

A few people turn to look at him.

"Hope no one here's afraid of spiders!"

Peter flicks out his his hand, sending a string of webfluid racing towards the rail station roof. It catches, and Peter is just barely able to generate enough momentum for his feet to hit the ceiling. He immediately crouches down and starts crawling along the ceiling, glancing down only briefly to gauge the interest of the crowd.

Sure enough, everyone's eyes are on him -- as are their cell phones and cameras. He can't quite make Liz out in the crowd, so he's just going to buy as much time as he can manage for her to get on -- just in case she needs it.

[st_hotflashes]

This was the first time Liz felt nervous about Peter doing his thing. This time it was entirely her fault and if he got caught or something bad happened - that would be on her.

But when he seemed to have gotten everyone's attention, Liz didn't waste it. While the extra luggage was cumbersome, Liz managed to pass through the open lane meant for people in wheelchairs and down the platform. She wanted desperately to look up, but knew she needed to get on the train first.

She walked as casually as she could manage under the circumstances and the first chance she got, jumped on the train and pulled the luggage awkwardly on board after her. This particular section of the train was meant for first class passengers and had small, private cabins. Some could fit up to four, most were for two. She knocked on a few, awkwardly apologizing each time with a lame excuse before she came to one that was vacant.

The moment Liz could, she texted Peter her location.

[st_arkintern]

Peter's phone vibrates in his pocket. He can't look at it right now, but he does notice one thing:

The train's starting to move.

That means he has to move too.

"Whoa, don't mean to derail your entertainment, but I've lost track of time!"

Peter sends another shot of webfluid at the ceiling, then swings towards the departing train; cell phone cameras follow the smooth arc of his movement.

Peter lands solidly on the roof.

"See you!"

And with that, Peter performs a backwards somersault and latches onto the side of the train.

--

Peter crawls along the side of the train. "Hey, Karen?"

"Yes, Peter?"

"Can you track Liz's cell phone for me? I don't know where she -- whoa!" Peter flattens himself against the side of the train as they enter the tunnel. "-- where she is," he finishes, once they emerge.

"One moment." And true to Karen's word, it does only take one moment. "It appears she is three cars down."

"Thanks, Karen. I really owe you one."

"You're welcome, Peter."

Peter crawls along the cars, then finally stops at the first window of the third car. He cautiously peers in. And there's Liz. Peter raps against the window.

[st_hotflashes]

Liz had her head down starting desperately at the phone as she waited for a reply from Peter. When the tapping at the window came, she jumped, her phone falling to the floor.

She was on her feet in a second and after taking a moment to figure out how to open the window.

The moment Peter was inside, he would be getting a big, tight, squeezing hug.

[st_arkintern]

Peter climbs in and immediately pulls off his mask, just in time to get kissed by his girlfriend. Peter's legitimately caught off-guard by it, though in hindsight, he probably shouldn't be. He had kinda disappeared out of site, the train had kinda started moving, and he had not been on it when it started moving.

Peter pulls away. "Sorry," he says, breathless. "I just didn't know how else to keep them occupied."

A beat.

"I really should change out of these clothes, though," he says. The one disadvantage of not being able to make a change into the Spidey suit while stuck in a contained area -- sharp-eyed people could identify his civilian identity by clothing alone.

[st_hotflashes]

Liz didn't want to let go, but she did because she knew she had to. She nodded and moved to the door, turning around to give Peter privacy.

"Do you think... They'll be looking for you now?" For some reason Liz couldn't help wonder, too, if Kitty was going to be mad for some reason.

[st_arkintern]

"I mean, maybe," Peter says, because there is that possibility to consider. "But all they saw was someone in a mask and plain clothes, so once I change, it shouldn't be a problem."

Peter drops his shirt down on a chair and rummages through his backpack for another one.

[st_hotflashes]

"I really am sorry, Peter." Liz was about to continue when she heard something in the hallway. She cracked the door open and a rather stern looking man was collecting proof of tickets.

Panic surged within her. She paused, her mind racing for a moment as the conductor went to the next room, getting closer.

In the moment, Liz went to her first solution. She turned around, moving the short distance to Peter and pushed him down onto the couch-like chair of the room. She straddled him as she pulled off her shirt, both of them topless and she unceremoniously revealing her homemade bra that she had tried to show him a few times now on their trip. She was only wear that and the matching panties because she had ran out of clean clothes.

Without even giving an explanation, live leaned forward and started to kiss him like they had been at it for more than a split second.

(ooc: bra is a simplified version with no bow or abdomen embellishments)

[st_arkintern]

"H--"

Peter tries to spit something out, but before he can, Liz's mouth is on his own and he swears he can hear someone at the door, but every time he tries to pull away, Liz comes at him urgently.

And then there's a rap on the door and the door opens and someone says something and Peter realizes, distantly, when the man starts talking --

it's someone collecting tickets.

Peter suddenly pulls her up and onto his lap, hoping to make the charade all the more obvious; he keeps his hands tucked beneath her thighs as he continues to kiss her.

Just as the ticket collector repeats something again, Peter's body begins to naturally respond.

[st_hotflashes]

For a moment all Liz could think about was please don't let me get arrested in my bra because she would probably literally die if she did. She just hoped the man would be too embarrassed and leave.

Being on Peter's lap, Liz did what came naturally to her - she rocked her hips into him as she kissed him. His hands where they were - that was a new sensation that left her a little flustered. It didn't help she could definitely feel him between her legs.

When the man asked something for a third time, Liz let out a small, breathy moan that was on purpose, but also, maybe, a little bit real. Then her hand moved behind her in desperation and she unclasped her bra.

If this didn't work, some stranger was probably going to see her half naked. She had to hope the guy wasn't that desperate for tickets.

[st_arkintern]

Peter hears the door shut behind him. Peter pulls away and lets out a nervous, breathy laugh.

"I can't believe that worked," he finally manages. He looks down at Liz and at the bra he hadn't seen until that moment and smiles, obviously pleased.

"Spider-Man bra, huh?"

[st_hotflashes]

She exhaled and then almost instantly blushed. She struggled to put the clasp back on, though at the moment with the adrenaline, it was almost like Peter was trying to clasp it back for her.

"Yeah, um... I meant to surprise you on your birthday, but..."

Finally she managed to get it to clasp back on.

[st_arkintern]

Peter smiles.

"It's nice," he says. "I like it."

He likes how she really gets into the whole superhero thing. It's strangely nice having someone to cheerlead you. Ned might have had his moments of fanboying, but it was definitely different with Liz.

[st_hotflashes]

She smiled when he said he liked it - she had been a little worried he would find it weird. That he liked it made things infinitely better.

Liz realized she was still sitting on Peter's lap. Her smile turned a little sheepish as she climbed off of him. "Um.. sorry. I should have, you know, warned you about that before it happened."

[st_arkintern]

"It wasn't like you had much time," Peter points out. Once Liz climbs off him, he starts sifting through his backpack, pulls out a new shirt, then shoves his old shirt and mask into it.

Peter tugs it on, then pulls out his cell phone; it'd buzzed in his pocket earlier. There's a notification from Liz on the home screen.

"Sorry I missed your text," he says, pulling it open to read it. It was weird, but sending text messages to Liz'd been one of the things he enjoyed about this trip. It just felt normal, like they were a normal couple and not two people trapped from different realities at an inn by mysterious forces.

[st_hotflashes]

The real question would be if the guy would come back. It was a question Liz was trying not to dwell on.

She looked around and took a second to find her own shirt, pulling it back over her head. Liz pulled her hair free of the neckline. "I was just... worried you might get caught or something." She paused. "Who knows what they'd do to you if you got caught."

And maybe Liz is projecting a little because she knew exactly what Max had gone through in the white room and it had not been pretty.

[st_arkintern]

"It'd be hard for them to catch me," Peter says. "I mean, I'm really strong and I can climb walls, and then there's my web-shooters."

Peter wouldn't want to fight anyone, but as long as no one was shooting at him, he'd probably be just fine.

[st_hotflashes]

"I know." And she did know. She knew Peter could handle himself and, ultimately, he'd be okay. Liz trusted him more than anyone else, and yet, she couldn't quite shake that feeling.

Liz sat down. There was enough space that she drew up her feet onto the couch and wrapped her arms around her knees as she peered over at him. "I guess... it just hit home not everyone is used to superheroes."

And what he did wasn't just dangerous in the physical sense.

[st_arkintern]

It didn't occur to him at all that Liz might not be talking about physical danger.

Peter sits down next to her.

"What do you mean?"

[st_hotflashes]

She put her chin on her knees thoughtfully. "I don't know, like... that people here, for example. They don't know who you are, right? And even if they did... it's not just bad guys who want to do bad things that can hurt you, but like, if there's a nosey reporter or something who figures out who you are outside of the mask..."