st_hotflashes | Aftermath (Peter)

"Um." Peter has to think about how to describe this. "Someone who likes anthropomorphic animal people." He has to think about this. "Like Bugs Bunny but with more human proportions. Or like the cats in Cats."

Peter can't help but wonder how much exposure to the internet has educated him on things that Liz had no idea existed. Not science stuff or anything, but relatively mundane stuff like furries or Rule 35 or memes.

Liz did not spend the time she was exposed to the internet looking at the stranger side of the web so her exposure there was limited.

"Oh, um. I guess so?" She smiled a little. "Are there a lot of people who are, um, furries?"

She didn't realize furries often liked animals a lot.

"I don't really know," Peter admits. "I mean, there's a bunch of websites dedicated to furries and a lot of artists, too. There's even conventions."

But was that a lot? Peter's not exactly sure.

"The internet has a lot of stuff on it. I think there's something there for everybody."

Liz was always aware of how much more Peter knew that made him more 'worldly' than her. She wondered what she would have been like if she grew up with the internet like he had.

"Well, just for the record, I'd like you too, no matter what. Even if you ended up turning into an actual giant spider." Liz smiled to him.

"I really hope that doesn't happen," Peter says. Becoming a giant spider probably would have a negative impact on his ability to have relationships with others, especially the arachnophobic. "But if it does... it's nice to know someone has my back."

He smiles, then leans in to kiss Liz. It's been tough for the both of them and there's a part of him that's relieved that even though they're both probably still processing everything from the other day, they can still have these little moments of normalcy.

His kiss causes her shoulders to soften and she pressed forward a little. It was almost like she was going to cry, but the tears never came. There was just something comforting about Peter's kisses and his embrace.

She kissed him again and instantly she saw herself on the ground. She was barley breathing and Peter was over her. She felt the panic he felt as he looked at her, she felt the worry and responsibility, especially when he shifted and rocks fell on her.

I love you - she didn't remember him saying that to her.

She felt his worry they were both going to die... And in that moment she felt a sudden wave of sickness. Her skin warmed.

Liz tensed, her breathing halting for a moment, and the overwhelming emotion she felt from him caused her eyes to sting again. She blinked, then kept her eyes closed as she leaned her warm forehead against his.

Peter's breath catches in his throat when she sees her reaction to the kiss. He doesn't move his forehead away from hers.

"Liz, you okay?" he asks softly.

She wanted to kick herself.

"Sorry..." Liz was starting to wonder if she saw things more when one or both of them were thinking or feeling something strong. She hadn't seen anything in Europe, for example.

"You don't always have to apologize for it," he tells her, stroking her cheek with his thumb. "It's something that just happens."

She felt like she did, even if she knew he accepted it.

Liz opened her eyes and lifted her head. "This is the first time I saw something at the Inn." She paused. She hadn't expected the Inn to be off-limits or anything, but it was pretty recent. "It was, um, what happened in the cave, actually."

She had made a promise to always tell him what she saw.

"Oh," he says to that. And for an instant, he's not sure what to say at all. Finally he decides on it:

"Are you okay?"

She nodded, also trying to figure out what to say. She pressed her lips together softly.

"It's okay, you know. Um. If we're ever in danger again. It wouldn't be your fault, if something happened. And I wouldn't blame you."

"I know," he says. "About you not blaming me."

The not being his fault thing was something he wasn't sure he could process. Not after Ben.

She reached out to cup his cheek and leaned in, trying to meet his eyes. "I mean it. You can't be responsible for the two of us and I make my own choices. Like back on the space station. I wasn't going to leave you, but that was my choice." If they'd have blown up, it wouldn't be on him.

Her gaze softened a little. "I know it won't actually help me saying that, but I wanted you to hear it anyways." Just like she was always going to feel responsible for the flashes she saw. They were both kind of stubborn that way.

She searched his eyes for a moment, wanting to ask him something, but hesitated.

"I know," Peter says. There's a part of him who knows that getting over all the baggage that came with Ben's death isn't going to be easy. He's not sure if there's any way he can ever truly get over that. There was time when the guilt felt too much and the only thing he could really do was try and make up for it by being someone who acted, no matter what the risk.

Peter's gaze doesn't quite make Liz's own.

It broke her heart that she couldn't offer solace to Peter. She wasn't even sure there was a way to help him other than be there for him.

"I wish I could show you things, like I see yours. I wish you could feel the way I feel sometimes." Sometimes words weren't enough.

She paused. "Will you take me somewhere?"

Peter dampens his lips.

"Where do you want me to take you?"

Liz reached for the night stand and pulled out the drawer. Then out came the smartphone from Europe. She pulled up the map. It was useless without internet for actual directions, but she could still pull up the map. It was also a little inaccurate since according to the map on the phone they were surrounded by other buildings, too, but the landscape was the same.

It took her a moment to manipulate the map before she held out then phone for him to see. She pointed at a point on land, but close to a big body of water. Near the beach, actually.

"We could take on of the Inn's bicycles to get us there quicker." She didn't actually expect him to carry her all that way.

Peter's not opposed to the suggestion, but there's one thing he's still wondering.

"Why there?" he asks.

"Because there's something we both need to do there." She wasn't sure explaining it beforehand would be effective. She just had this... Hunch. It was based off some reading she did and something in her guy.

She gave a soft smile. "It's okay if you don't want to."

"No, no, it's fine," Peter quickly assures her. "Did you want to go now?"

Liz nodded. "There's enough time for us to do it and still have light to come back if we leave now." She wondered if Peter really was okay with going or if he was only doing it for her.

"Okay," Peter says, nodding. "Let's do it, then."

Riding as a passenger on a bike made Liz feel like she was twelve years-old again. It was a nice, nostalgic feeling, though she wondered if Peter had similar memories growing up in a big city.

When they got to their destination, it was a 40 foot cliff overlooking the ocean. The beach they had played on was close by, but at the edge of the cliff it was just straight down into deep blue. The ocean seemed calm today and the sky was clear.

Liz climbed off the bike and with the use of her cane, hobbled over toward the edge, looking out at the vast horizon.

Peter gently sets the bike down on the ground, then follows a few steps behind Liz. He stops when she does, but when she looks out at the horizon, he doesn't.

He just looks at Liz.

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