voidtreckernet | Backdated to Kazoo 16 - Late, late evening | Audio

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~x~peter parker [ou]

Backdated to Kazoo 16 - Late, late evening | Audio | Aimed at Close CR

[ Peter doesn't sound nearly as cheerful as he normally does this time, instead he sounds subdued and just exhausted. ]

S-so uh...

[ He sucks in a breath and rubs his eyes a moment. ] I guess I'm gonna be in Medical for tonight.

Before anyone starts freaking out-I'm fine. I'm okay. I'm healing-And I'll probably be mostly healed up by tomorrow or in two days at most.

And uh, Buttercup? I know I said I'd help you with that thing you asked about, but I think I may have to push that back a little.

Also, um can someone bring me My DS? I left it in the dressing car and I don't know if I'm allowed to leave just yet.

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[ Did he say "we'll"? It doesn't take long for him to figure out who else is likely to be joining Tony and he immediately feels guilty. And Pepper was concerned about his black eye this morning. Well, at least that had completely healed already. ]

What? No! You don't have to do that-I'm fine. Totally fine-it's been handled.

What's that? You're breaking up-- bethereinfifteenokaybye.

( To Pepper, he extends a hand once he stands from his seat at the table. )

Should we, I don't know, bring him a plate of something?

[ Pepper gives Tony a bit of a look when he bowls over Peter's audible protests, but it's not like those would have stopped either one of them. Taking Tony's hand, she lets him help her up from her seat. ]

Oh, that's a good idea, actually. I don't know how the medical on the train is, but hospital food usually stinks. He might not have had time to eat anything before... all that.

[ It's very practical! And caring, so it's an a+ plan as far as Pepper's concerned. As she takes the lead on putting something together, she mentions curiously, ]

I didn't know you knew Peter? I met him briefly out on the platform before he rushed off. He seemed like a sweet kid.

( Tony resists the urge to preen; of course it's a good idea, he thought of it. While he makes a terrible patient himself he knows, at least, that bringing a meal to someone in recovery rarely goes unappreciated. Pepper's once-regular offerings of post-hangover sandwiches and coffee were always a hit with him, anyway.

Noticeably, though she'll lead on this, he makes himself available to help her as they talk. )

He's from our world, actually, which... I didn't know until this morning, when he brought me the Mark 50.

Really? [ She frowns, puzzled as she thinks about that for a second. ] He gave no indication of-- whoa, wait.

[ Tony's words register in full just then, and she's distracted from her task of putting together a plate to bring to Peter. ]

He brought you what? Your... suit?

[ He didn't just say Mark FIFTY, did he? ]

( Tony is noticeably more focused on plucking an avocado from the overflowing bowl on the table, he's not being avoidant, you are. )

Yeah, you know, he's only ten years in our future. Mark 6 just came out of the fabricator back home and didn't even get a real- a real test flight and...

( He blows a breath out, rolls his shoulders back and looks up at Pepper, something wryly self-deprecating tugging at the corner of his mouth. He didn't confide in her when he was in crisis, just pushed her away even as he wanted so desperately to draw her in as close as he could, and tell her how he felt. That's what he'd like to do now, actually, but he just rolls the avocado under his hands with an idle motion, to keep them busy before he does something really stupid. )

I just thought.

( Wait, no. )

Maybe...

( A month and a handful of days ago, I didn't think I was going to make it to my 40th birthday. Swallowing that one, he shrugs, and reaches for a knife to end the avocado's misery. )

Ten years is a long time.

[ The prickle of mild annoyance (born out of fear, truthfully, still so afraid of this Iron Man business) that had started to creep up along Pepper's spine shrivels up and dies away the moment Tony begins to falter and meets her gaze, concern replacing it-- a different sort of fear blooming in the pit of her stomach, suddenly. She watches him closely in silence with a frown of worry, watches him fidget with the avocado and has a sinking feeling there's something he's not telling her. Something serious. ]

Maybe...? [ she prompts quietly, but then something in Tony's gaze shutters and he turns away to deal with the avocado. Pepper isn't entirely certain what that was, but it stays with her. ]

Yeah. It is.

[ It's only some months shy of ten years since she started working for him, she realizes suddenly, randomly. And ten years into the future, and Tony is still donning those suits? That's what she's supposed to take away from this? Her head spins-- she needs to properly process it all, but this isn't the time for it. She refocuses on the simple task instead, silently putting together a sandwich to add to the plate. ]

He's a good kid, ( he blurts out, unprompted, chucking away the avo pit and scooping out the yellow and green flesh. It's easier to talk with his hands at work, standing by Pepper at the counter like this. )

And he knows things I don't– things I'm not even sure I want to know yet.

( He eyes her, sensing it's not the right time, but he needs to get this out before he loses his nerve, before the day ends and the morning dawns and it'll be too easy to slip from accountability, like he did for weeks back home. )

I need to tell you something. Tomorrow, or the day after, whenever you've settled in.

[ Pepper bites her lip at that. If the boy is from ten years into the future, she can't blame Tony. She can't even imagine the things that have happened during all that time-- and maybe she doesn't want to know, either. Sensing Tony's eyes on her, she turns her head, gaze sharpening a little when he goes on. Well, that's not ominous at all. Rare impatience pricks at her, but they have something else to take care of, first. Tomorrow would have to be soon enough. She nods once, decisively. ]

Tomorrow, then.

[ Hang settled in, that could wait. They work side by side for a few moments longer, Pepper making sure to sneak in some apple wedges and healthy stuff!! onto the plate as well. ]

Right. Think we're done here?

Good. Yeah.

( With that out of the way, he can relax, and focus on the task at hand. Of course, what to say tomorrow tugs at his sleeves, but he ignores it, looking over the plate they've put together with an approving nod. )

I think so. You make a mean sandwich, Miss Potts.

( Time to hike it to the Medical car, and at last check in on Peter. )

[ So much for not freaking out. Peter sucks in a breath and resigns himself to the fact he's about to have visitors. He appreciates the concern really, he just feels like it's being made into a big deal when it's not. ]

[ He winces slightly as he shifts a little to readjust himself as he leans back on the pillows. He's starting to doze lightly when Tony and Pepper finally make it to the medical carriage. When he hears them enter though, he snaps back to full wakefulness and tries to hide the wince half-way through it. ]

H-hey.

I'll add it to my resume, [ Pepper volleys back easily, picking up the plate carefully before they're on their way.

Letting Tony enter the room proper first after negotiating the narrow corridors, she falls more or less shoulder to shoulder with him soon after, smiling politely in Peter's direction even if a slight frown of sympathetic concern soon makes an appearance as well. ]

Hi, Peter. How are you feeling?

( He lets Pepper lead, she's better at this stuff. Tony studies Peter quietly, as if he can discern the full nature of Peter's injuries from where he's standing, disturbed that there's a culprit still aboard, throwing his people around.

...when did Peter become his people? )

We made you a sandwich. Mostly Pepper did, I... supervised. So what happened?

[ He's healing but there's still a lot of pain in his ribs. He's fairly certain if not for the genetic mutation that energy blast or whatever it was would have just vaporized him. ]

O-oh, thanks. You-you didn't have to do that though-really, I'm fine. I promise I've been through worse. [ and winces because it occurs to him that maybe that's not the best defense here. Moving on! ]

Um-just-uh... [ He glances over to where Seto's little makeshift room is and then away again. ] Someone attacked someone else and I intervened. I mean I wasn't just gonna let that happen. But I'm not sure it's my place to say anymore than that.

[ It really isn't the best defense, at all. Pepper's frown deepens still, if at all possible. ]

Nonsense. You need to eat something, [ she dismisses the protest with a little shake of her head, moving to bring the plate over to the little bedside table within easy reach for when Peter does feel like eating. It's always nice when someone else takes care of these things for you when you're not feeling 100%, and nobody will convince her otherwise.

Stepping back, she brushes her bangs from her eyes and sighs. ]

Well, that was good of you, Peter-- but please, be careful going forward.

( Following Peter's gaze, Tony too looks toward the makeshift room, brows knitting. Then he turns again, and dives right back into the conversation. )

Yeah, and ask for backup next time, alright? We're here to help.

[ Peter doesn't respond at first. He doesn't want to give either of them an empty promise and just opts to grab an apple slice from the plate to avoid the subject. ]

I didn't really have time to-I mean I heard-If I'd stopped to call someone for back up, I might have been too late and then there'd have been two dead people.

[ Pepper settles her hands on her waist, sighing deeply through her nose in resignation and frustration. She's already had to squabble over a similar issue with Tony, now Peter? ]

We just don't want you to get hurt. Your heart is in the right place, that's not in question, but that could have ended up really badly.

[ ...They sound kind of like his parents, don't they? ]

Excuse me-- dead people, plural? Did someone die?

( What the fuck, yo. )

[ Yup. Pepper is giving him some serious mom vibes, not that he minds. He just knows though that he's gonna make her worry and he's already feeling guilty about that. Sorry Pepper. ]

[ Tony catches him off guard a little and he glances up at him-wondering if he's been told about the less then permanent nature of Death here. Now might not be the time to mention it. Instead he sucks in a slightly shaky breath and picks as the sleeves of his hoodie. ]

Um, yeah-s-someone uh... k-killed a-another person on-on the train and tried to-to kill s-someone else but I-I stopped them. [ And then got smashed into a wall but honestly he's not worried about that-it's the seeing a dead body-especially one so close in age with him that has him all freaked out right now. Superhero or not-Peter Parker is a teenager and there are still things that he can't just shrug off. ]

...but if I'd been earlier then I could have s-saved the other person too..

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Backdated to Kazoo 16 - Late, late evening | Audio | Aimed at Close CR

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