open post;

[nostalgiabomb]

( x )

Comments

[nostalgiabomb]

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.

[animated]

[ He purses his lips. Considering... recent developments, he has mixed feelings on getting back to Earth, but he needs to do some serious thinking on that front, so he doesn't say anything. ]

I'll write you a check.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ 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.

[animated]

Did I really drag you all the way to my room just so we could talk about how much money I'm gonna owe you?

[nostalgiabomb]

Yeah.

[ Although after a beat he leans in and presses a kiss to his lips. ]

Doesn't mean we can't multi-task.

[animated]

Wow, Peter. You sure know how to kill a mood.

[ That kiss was nice, though. Maybe he'll go in for another one. ]

[nostalgiabomb]

[ 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. ]

[animated]

[ 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. ]

[nostalgiabomb]

[ 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.

[animated]

[ He wrinkles his nose a little, trying to seem annoyed. ]

I was gonna say- I know I'm out of practice, but I hope I'm not that out of practice.

[nostalgiabomb]

No, you're fine. Better than fine, actually. Just-- mind wandered. Sorry.

[ A beat, then he adds wryly, ]

Kind of cradle-robbing, huh?

[animated]

Yeah, no. Let's not think about that.

[ Or about the fact that Charlie is going to outlive him anyway. ]

In wizard years, I'm pretty much your age anyway.

[nostalgiabomb]

Oh, they have wizard years.

[ And he's still sort of laughing. ]

So, what, does it work like dog years? Seven to one?

[animated]

... Yeah, okay. I might have made that up.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ 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?

[animated]

Man, fuck off.

[ And he gives Peter a shove, grinning. The mental image of some of the people he knows in wizard hats doing dumbass things like making roses disappear is hilarious to him. ]

[nostalgiabomb]

[ 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?

[animated]

Oh my god. Stop. Just stop.

[ nooo he's laughing too hard. This isn't even fucking funny, god dammit Peter ] Also, joke's on you. My ID puts me at a nice, even 29.

[nostalgiabomb]

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.

[animated]

[ He lists to the side bit when shoved, but bounces back to bump Peter's shoulder with his own ]

Twenty-nine isn't an even number. Hello Peter, welcome to the joke.

[nostalgiabomb]

Hey, I dunno. For all I know, in the wizard world, up is down, down is up, and purple isn't a terrible color.

[animated]

... Okay, you lost me on that last one.

[nostalgiabomb]

-- Don't worry about it.

Purple sucks, though.

[animated]

Oh... kay.

I'll keep that in mind when buying Christmas presents.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ -- Huh. Peter hasn't celebrated a Christmas since--

... He thinks 1987. Huh. That's weird to think about. His expression doesn't fall -- this conversation is too entertaining to dampen it with his issues -- but it's a touch more sober than before. ]

I'm sure it'll be fine. Just make sure you keep the receipts.