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You mean the tab we started the moment we let you join the crew?
The one payin' for your meals and incidentals and the bribes we'll be lookin' forward to to get you back home?
That tab?
The one payin' for your meals and incidentals and the bribes we'll be lookin' forward to to get you back home?
That tab?
Just wanted to make sure we had the same one in mind.
I think that total brings us up to-- [ He pauses, eyes wandering as he does the mental math. ]
-- a pretty big number. Lots of zeroes.
I think that total brings us up to-- [ He pauses, eyes wandering as he does the mental math. ]
-- a pretty big number. Lots of zeroes.
[ Despite having mentioned it, Peter hasn't thought that far ahead. "One day at a time" has pretty much been how he's lived his life, so thinking about the future, about whether or not he'd ultimately end up saying goodbye? Hasn't crossed his mind.
And honestly, even if he did think about it, he'd probably assume Charlie would wander out of his life once they figured out how to get him home. That's just how his life works: people come and go.
So for the moment, he just shrugs. ]
I'll hold you to it, Uncle Pennybags.
And honestly, even if he did think about it, he'd probably assume Charlie would wander out of his life once they figured out how to get him home. That's just how his life works: people come and go.
So for the moment, he just shrugs. ]
I'll hold you to it, Uncle Pennybags.
Yeah.
[ Although after a beat he leans in and presses a kiss to his lips. ]
Doesn't mean we can't multi-task.
[ Although after a beat he leans in and presses a kiss to his lips. ]
Doesn't mean we can't multi-task.
[ Hey, if he does, Peter sure as hell won't stop him.
Because whenever they kiss, it makes that feeling come back, warm and pleasant, rolling through his chest. It makes the tips of his fingers tingle, makes his face flush like sitting in a spa too long. It reminds him of summers spent at the lake near Gramps' cabin, when the water would lap against him as he floated on its surface, when the sun would beat down and turn his skin red. It reminds him of the first time he piloted the Milano on his own, staring out into the black expanse and feeling free for the first time in a long while.
It's safety and freedom and and excitement and strangely, familiarity all rolled into one, and he's liking it more and more with every kiss. ]
Because whenever they kiss, it makes that feeling come back, warm and pleasant, rolling through his chest. It makes the tips of his fingers tingle, makes his face flush like sitting in a spa too long. It reminds him of summers spent at the lake near Gramps' cabin, when the water would lap against him as he floated on its surface, when the sun would beat down and turn his skin red. It reminds him of the first time he piloted the Milano on his own, staring out into the black expanse and feeling free for the first time in a long while.
It's safety and freedom and and excitement and strangely, familiarity all rolled into one, and he's liking it more and more with every kiss. ]
[ For Charlie, it's a sense of belonging, so intense it makes his heart ache for more. He likes to think that after so many years, he's pretty well-adjusted. He knows who he is and what he wants and is okay with where he's at in his life, but he doesn't know if he can leave this feeling behind, not matter what caused it.
It's the first time in a long time that things have felt okay.
So, yes. He kisses Peter again- drawing it out, letting it linger. If they spend the rest of the night just making out like stupid teenagers, he'd have no complaints at all. ]
It's the first time in a long time that things have felt okay.
So, yes. He kisses Peter again- drawing it out, letting it linger. If they spend the rest of the night just making out like stupid teenagers, he'd have no complaints at all. ]
[ He thinks, damn, he's good at this.
Then he realizes, Well, he's had, like, seventy-years to perfect it.
Then he thinks, Shit, he's old.
And suddenly he's laughing a little because wow, that's one hell of an age difference.
Charlie's soulmate is pretty much the worst. ]
-- Sorry. Adrenaline winding down.
Then he realizes, Well, he's had, like, seventy-years to perfect it.
Then he thinks, Shit, he's old.
And suddenly he's laughing a little because wow, that's one hell of an age difference.
Charlie's soulmate is pretty much the worst. ]
-- Sorry. Adrenaline winding down.
No, you're fine. Better than fine, actually. Just-- mind wandered. Sorry.
[ A beat, then he adds wryly, ]
Kind of cradle-robbing, huh?
[ A beat, then he adds wryly, ]
Kind of cradle-robbing, huh?
Oh, they have wizard years.
[ And he's still sort of laughing. ]
So, what, does it work like dog years? Seven to one?
[ And he's still sort of laughing. ]
So, what, does it work like dog years? Seven to one?
[ He's pretty sure it's still the giddiness from the adrenaline winding down, but that makes him laugh a little more. ]
Nah, come on, let's figure it out. What's a wizard year, like three to one? Four to one? At the end of a wizard year, do you guys all put on your wizard hats and make roses disappear?
Nah, come on, let's figure it out. What's a wizard year, like three to one? Four to one? At the end of a wizard year, do you guys all put on your wizard hats and make roses disappear?
[ He winces when Charlie gives him a push, if only because he hit on a sensitive bruise, but he's still too amused by this. And Charlie laughing along is only encouraging him. ]
Do I have to show you ID? Like, if the cops bust down the door right now, would they accept, "But Officer, he looked forty!" as a legitimate excuse?
Do I have to show you ID? Like, if the cops bust down the door right now, would they accept, "But Officer, he looked forty!" as a legitimate excuse?
Oh, you liar. [ And he gives him a light shove back. ]
Also? I didn't finish my schooling, but I remember enough to know that twenty-nine isn't an even number.
Unless that works different for wizards, too.
Also? I didn't finish my schooling, but I remember enough to know that twenty-nine isn't an even number.
Unless that works different for wizards, too.
Hey, I dunno. For all I know, in the wizard world, up is down, down is up, and purple isn't a terrible color.
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