st_hotflashes | Late Night Knocking

Liz had ended up going out to the spot she had shown Peter months ago and she just sat and thought and cried and repeated. When she finally made it back to the inn, she took a long shower and tried to sleep, but as the night waned on and she continued to toss and turn, Liz found herself in PJ bottoms, Peter's back-up shirt he kept at her place, and his hoodie. She hovered outside his room door wondering if he was asleep. Wondering if she should knock. Wondering.

After a moment, she knocked softly.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

st_arkintern

"I just..."

Peter takes a breath.

"I don't want to get my hopes up in case it doesn't or can't happen."

From:

st_hotflashes

"I know." She pulled back enough to look at him, her arms still at his shoulders. "I know. I think about that all the time, but... but people keep telling me to live in the here and now and when I think about the here and now - it includes a future with you."

She pressed her lips together, thoughtful. "I can't separate the two. I don't care if that makes me less grown up or - or whatever. I think... if you can't have hope here, then what's the point?"

From:

st_arkintern

Peter doesn't say anything. Instead, he pulls Liz close and settles his chin on her shoulder.

"Did you talk to Maria about it?" he asks.

From:

st_hotflashes

"No... Not yet." She wondered if Maria had an idea or if she thought she'd just come back. "I don't want her to think she's the one who made me think this because of what happened today... But I'm not sure how to tell her at all."

From:

st_arkintern

That makes sense to Peter. As vivacious as she is, he can't imagine she'd feel good about things if right after she arrived wtih some bad news, Liz told her she didn't want to go home.

"Are you going to tell her at all?"

From:

st_hotflashes

The pause probably told him more about how she didn't want to than her words.

"I have to... Eventually. It's not fair if I don't. She's my best friend." She paused again, shifting her head so she nestled against his a little. She glanced behind him to the wall. "Do you think I'm being a bad friend?"

From:

st_arkintern

"I don't think you're being a bad friend," he tells her. "You don't have to tell your friends everything. I didn't tell Ned that I was Spider-Man until he found out on his own."

From:

st_hotflashes

That sort of surprised her. "Was he angry at you?" About not telling him. She didn't know Ned except for what Peter said about him. She knew he was a nice guy, but that was about it.

From:

st_arkintern

"No, he was just really excited about it," Peter tells her. "It was really hard for him to keep his mouth closed about it. We actually made plans to have Spider-Man show up at other-Liz's house party and fistbump him, but then I ended up having to go fight bad guys."

A beat.

"I don't think I would have gone through with it, anyway." Not after that realization on the roof.

From:

st_hotflashes

That was a visual that Liz somehow had an easy and yet hard time picturing at the same time. She pulled back to look at him. There was a slight smile on her lips. The idea was kind of cute, even if she had questions. "Why did you want to do that? And, um... what's a fist bump?"

From:

st_arkintern

"Ned let it out that I knew Spider-Man and Flash was being a jerk about it."

As far as what a fistbump was...

Peter takes Liz's hand and curls her fingers into a fist, then balls up his own. Then he lightly strikes his fist with her own.

"Fistbump," he says, smiling at Liz.

From:

st_hotflashes

Somehow the fistbump makes her blush. Maybe it was the fact it was such a simple gesture and she hadn't know what it was - she figured it must be something that became popular in the future.

"One day Flash is going to realize you're amazing." Though she had a sneaking suspicion that maybe Flash already knew and that was why he picked on Peter. Most bullies were like that from her experience. "Not that Spider-Man isn't cool, but so is Peter Parker."

From:

st_arkintern

"I don't know if I believe that," Peter admits. "He's been giving me a hard time since middle school." Flash didn't seem inclined to let up now that they were in high school together, either.

From:

st_hotflashes

"Bullies are usually bullies because they feel threatened." She looked at him. "I know I'd feel a bit of competition if you and I were in some sort of competitive science thing. You're brilliant." She meant it too. She wasn't just complimenting him.

She realized she was still sitting on his lap. She leaned forward and kissed him, then carefully slipped off of his lap. "How are you and Annie, doing, by the way? I see her come into the clinic once in a while to talk to Loki."

From:

st_arkintern

Peter reaches for Liz's hand as she slips off his lap.

"She's been doing okay. I--" Peter takes a breath there. "I had to persuade to leave during the fight the other day. She didn't want to go."

From:

st_hotflashes

She considered that for a moment. She spent her time in the clinic which had arguably been less safe than the temple, but she remembered afterwards when Annie came looking for Peter ever so briefly.

"Sounds like someone I know." She squeezed his hand. "She did, though, right? She listened to you?"

From:

st_arkintern

Peter nods. "Yeah, eventually... When I came back to my room she was sleeping under my bed. She really was scared I was going to get hurt."

Peter smiles thinly. "I'm not really sure what to do sometimes."

From:

st_hotflashes

It was definitely scary when Peter was out there and she couldn't help him. It was probably even more so as an eight year old and then tripled that because Peter was her dad.

"My mom still says that about me sometimes." She offered what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "I think... I think you're doing a good job. I know she really loves you."

From:

st_arkintern

Peter looks down, embarrassed, and rubs the side of his nose, the way he always does when he's embarrassed.

"You really think so?" he asks.

From:

st_hotflashes

She nodded. "I'm not sure saying that, either. Her face lights up when you're around and she wants to make you proud. Those are good signs." Plus she was protective of him, but Liz didn't say that necessarily.

From:

st_arkintern

"Thank you," Peter says appreciatively. "I'm really glad."

He looks less glad and more relieved.

"Did you want to spend the night tonight?"

From:

st_hotflashes

"If you'll have me." She smiled just a little. She was already mostly in his clothes, but she couldn't quite bring herself to go back to her room right now, either. The further she got from her life right now, the better.