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_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..."

[st_arkintern]

Peter thinks about that.

"Yeah, I mean, that'd probably be a problem," he admits. "Especially since we only have a limited time here." Neither of them knew what happened if you were still here when the portal closed.

He takes a breath. "I wouldn't want anyone back home to find out about me either," he says. "But if they did back home... it'd probably be better than anywhere else. Mr. Stark and the others would take care of me."

He's sure of that.

[st_hotflashes]

And Liz realized suddenly just how much she couldn't take care of him. Not like that, anyways. She could do a lot of things, but protecting him physically maybe not. She decided she'd have to think of some ways she could be useful in that way - maybe Quill would know. She'd ask Alec, but she wasn't sure he wouldn't just blow her off.

She shifted her gaze to the window. There was a blur of trees and fields. "I'm sorry I can't actually be someone like Web Weaver for you." He voice was quiet and a little distant.

[st_arkintern]

Peter looks at Liz, utterly bewildered. He's not sure where this is coming from. Was it because it'd been a close call getting back to the train? Or was it because she couldn't provide the distraction that he could?

Peter's still not sure.

"You're better than Web Weaver," he tells her. "You're Liz Parker."

[st_hotflashes]

His words brought a smile to her lips abd even though there's the question 'maybe one day that won't be enough', she leaned against him and kissed the side of his face.

"Thank you." And she tried to push the thoughts of doubt away. Everyone kept telling her to live in the moment, right?

Liz went quiet for a moment, closing her eyes. After a few moments she spoke again. "You always smell... Really nice."

[st_arkintern]

"Yeah?" Peter smiles at that. He was always kinda self-conscious about how he smelled since it wasn't like he could smell his stuff. "I just used the stuff in the hotel." He hadn't exactly packed up his shampoo from the inn for this trip. Even though he was sure Alec had.

[st_hotflashes]

She smiled stronger. "No, it's not that kind of smell." Liz lifted her head and looked at him. "You have this... Smell. It's always there, even when you use different soaps. Your hoodie used to smell like it too."

[st_arkintern]

"You think?"

It feels weird knowing Liz is smelling him. But... if she likes it... it might not be worth feeling self-conscious about.

[st_hotflashes]

"I dont know how to explain it..
It's like...who you are? Like if I closed my eyes, I could tell it was you."

She blushed because she didn't think she was making much sense. "I'm sorry, that's probably really weird to say."

[st_arkintern]

"Yeah, a little," he says, laughing lightly. "But if you like it, it doesn't matter if it's weird. I don't mind it."

[st_hotflashes]

She ducked her head a little, letting her legs unfold back to the sitting position. Somehow being weird around Peter felt safer than other people. She let the silence sit around them for a moment.

"...do you think that guy will come back?" They had 16 hours and the train made a lot of stops.

[st_arkintern]

Peter's lips quirk up.

"If he does, we can just start making out again."

The obvious solution.