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[nostalgiabomb]

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[animated]

[ He falls quiet, pursing his lips ]

Do you mean the whole thing or mostly just the last part?

[nostalgiabomb]

All of it.

[ Well, no, that last bit was-- especially terrifying, but mostly because of the oh fuck, oh fuck, I'm going to die, I'm going to die, and I couldn't save him and--

No, no need to think about that. First things first. ]

What-- at the end, when everything...? [ Ah, yes. Words. ]

[animated]

That would be the part I'm talking about, yeah.

[nostalgiabomb]

Just-- surprised me.

[ -- and it was sort of gross, mostly the squelching. He doesn't envy the person who has to clean up that mess. He takes a breath and looks up at him. ]

What was it?

[animated]

You know that tattoo on my shoulder? [ Peter should- he's run his tongue along it more than once ]

It's a spell. That spell.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He's quiet a moment, then nods. ]

Emergencies only, right?

[animated]

That's... yeah. Pretty much. Second time I've ever used it.

[nostalgiabomb]

When was--

[ ... No, he probably shouldn't ask. Charlie's expression is sort of screaming hesitance, reluctance -- and it doesn't matter when the first time was, anyway. Peter knows about it now, which is really all he was after, so he shakes his head. ]

Nevermind. Don't answer that.

[ He's quiet a second, then adds, ] Pretty intense shit.

[animated]

If you really wanna know, I don't mind. I figure I should be able to share this kind of stuff with you by now anyway.

[nostalgiabomb]

Only if you want. It can always wait.

[animated]

[ he sort of shrugs- or at least he tries to. ]

I'm not really going anywhere any time soon. How about you?

[nostalgiabomb]

Was thinking of spending the night at karaoke.

[ he says, sounding like a smoker with laryngitis who just ran a marathon. ]

[animated]

Pfft. Let me know how that goes.

[nostalgiabomb]

Will do.

Got time 'fore I leave, though.

[animated]

Remember how I told you I left home? I didn't go far. Couple of towns over, maybe. Rented a small apartment- the place was a dump, but for a while, it was home.

One night someone broke in. Tried to kill me in my sleep. I woke up and found some guy with a knife just... standing over my bed. It was the scariest fucking thing I'd ever experienced.

He tried to take me out, I rolled out of the way, but not before he caught me with that blade right across the chest. [ You were wondering about those scars, weren't you, Peter? ] I had no idea who this guy was, but I'd bet anything he was a wizard- he moved too fast, didn't seem fazed when I sent things flying across the room at him.

He was either some guy my dad hired to get rid of me- which I honestly wouldn't put past him, as pissed off as he was about my being a "disgrace"- or some guy some other wizard had hired in order to get on my dad's good side. I never got the chance to ask him, because he beat the shit out of me. Stabbed me again for good measure.

I thought I was going to die, and I panicked, and I used the spell- I call it my "Last Resort", and for good reason. I sat there and watched, bleeding and horrified as everything in my little apartment did its level best to kill the bastard. Ultimately, the carpet uprooted itself and smothered him to death.

[nostalgiabomb]

... What the fuck.

[ Okay, you know what? He wanted to kick Charlie's parents' teeth in, but now he wants to seriously fucking kick their asses. What the fuck. ]

Your dad's a fucking dickbag. [ ... yeah, eloquence has never really been Peter's strong suit. ]

[animated]

[ There's a beat of silence, as Charlie sort of stares at Peter.

And then he laughs- a little too hard, perhaps, because it sends him into a short coughing fit,but he's still smiling even when it's passed. ]

That's probably the most apt description of my father I've ever heard.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ The beat of silence makes him think that maybe that wasn't the right thing to say, but the laugh makes him sigh, relieved. ]

Yeah, I've got a gift, I guess.

[ And he squeezes Charlie's arm gently. ]

I'm-- really sorry you had to go through that bullshit

[animated]

I spent a lot of time hating my circumstances, hating everything that had happened to me, but in the end I realized that I chose to leave because I couldn't stand to lie to myself. I needed to embrace everything- even the bullshit, because it's just as much a part of where I came from as the good stuff- and move forward.

I'm not gonna sit here and tell you I forgive my family for any of the shit they pulled, but it's part of why I'm here, right now. It's part of why I pissed off whoever I pissed off and they dropped me on your head. It's part of why I had the power to save your life. If I had to go through all of that to get me to this moment, I'm okay with it.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He's quiet for a long moment, because-- there's a lot of shit he wishes he could change for him, but he knows he wouldn't change ever meeting him. ]

I-- I'm glad I met you, too. And-- thanks for the save.

[animated]

Any time, Peter. A million times. Whatever it takes.

But I'm serious- once all of this has blown over, you're taking me dancing.

[nostalgiabomb]

Man of my word, aren't I?

[animated]

Just making sure we're on the same page.

[nostalgiabomb]

You gotta heal up first, though. Sure you don't need anything?

[animated]

I don't think so.

... Do we know what happened to those other two whack-jobs that jumped us?