nostalgiabomb | riverview: ic contact;

[He looks a little surprised at the list — though he supposes he shouldn't be, now that he really thinks about it. Mercenary stuff, right? Or kinda like one. He's in the presence of a real rebel, this one, doing things Lil' Pete would've only daydreamed out when he was stringy and awkward and marathoned Star Wars movies into the early hours (that last one didn't necessarily change).]

Hey, how dare you. That was totally a big budget film.

[He sits for a moment though. Collecting his thoughts, a little smile pulls at his lips.]

You know what I was doing at fifteen, before all this happened to me?

Studying. Struggling in P.E. Reading. Studying more. Maybe building something out of old radio parts. But then this happened to me, and... Once this kind of thing happens to you, you can't just — be that person anymore.

[He lazily punches a loose hand into his palm.]

You do more, because it's your responsibility to do more.

Edited 2018-06-22 09:19 (UTC)

[ He squints, expression pinching in a sort of exaggerated way. (Though to be fair, almost everything Peter does is exaggerated.) ]

I mean, yeah. I get what you’re driving at, but you are doing more. That’s what I’m trying to say.

Like— [ His gaze wanders a little as he tries to figure out the best way to phrase this. It takes him a few seconds before he finally thinks of something. Then, ]

You ever seen Die Hard?

[ ... Peter was way too young to see that film, considering it was out the last year he was on Earth, but Gramps was never really particular about those movie ratings. ]

[Peter is absolutely about to say, but it's not enough if it's not all I can do or something even more illogical. But then Peter's got him in that 'sitting and waiting for adult supervision' mode where he twiddles his thumbs and expects a life talk.]

... That really old Bruce Willis movie they play during Christmas?

[Yes.]

What?

It’s not that old.

[ ... wait. No. You threw him off his groove, Little Pete, and he huffs out a sharp, annoyed sigh. ]

Forget that.

What I’m trying to say is— so the robbers take over the building, right? And the main bad guy brings in the president of the company and is like, “Give me the codes—” [ He doesn’t even attempt Alan Rickman’s cadence, just kind of uses a generic deep bad guy voice. ] —and the president can’t, so Hans kills him? And meanwhile, Bruce Willis is hiding to one side and hears the whole thing, but he doesn’t do anything to stop the guy from getting killed?

So then Bruce Willis goes off and he gets pissed at himself for not stepping in, because he didn’t want to get caught. And he beats himself up for it. But then he goes on to save the day, all while barefoot and in a tank top.

[ ... Peter is certainly glossing over a lot of plot points, but that’s the basic idea. ]

You see what I’m getting at, here?

[... Peter, Die Hard is three decades old...

And you know, he gets what you're trying for, but he's still gonna be a little shit.]

I'm gonna have early on-set balding?

[ Peter falls silent for a moment.

Beside him on the nightstand is a dual cassette tape deck with a jury-rigged wire adapter for either his Zune or his comm device. Peter might not be as techy as the kid or as Stark, for instance, and the end result of his cobbled together adapter isn’t quite as polished as it could be, but he’s not bad. And apparently while he’s been bedridden, he’s been making more of those mix tapes. He never got a chance to finish all of them, and after the mess with the cultists, he thinks he owes a few more folks at least a small gift.

So what’s the point of this diversion?

The point is, Peter plucks up an empty plastic cassette case and lobs it at the kid’s chest.

u lil brat. ]

Whuh! Hey! It's a legitimate question!

[But he couldn't exactly mask the smile hidden in his offense, when he's hit. And it leaves him with an answer to a question he'd been mentally asking himself since he crawled in through the window: should he ask about Thanos? The answer is a resolute no.

Big Pete is in decent spirits, and he doesn't wanna screw that up for him.]

I get it, okay, I get it: As long as you do the right thing in the end, you're doing okay. Save the day where and when you can and don't brood about it in the rain. Right?

... What?

[ He looks so confused. ]

Where the hell did you get all that from?

I was trying to say you should wear the proper footwear if you’re fighting bad guys. Did you see that part when he had to walk on glass? Brutal.

[ listen if li’l pete is gonna be a shit, big pete can be a shit too. ]

[Peter looks genuinely #shook for a moment, but it lapses into a snort-huff-laugh.]

No, right, I totally knew that. Always wear nice shoes.

Maybe next time I get money [because he just paid a bunch of kids to do a play i fucking can't-], I can actually afford to get some. [He pops one foot up in the air, showing a beat-up nike trainer that is literally fraying at the stitches. Lord, they have seen some things, these poor kicks.] I bought some pants last week? Like, nice pants that have never been worn.

My god. [ In the flattest voice and with the most wooden expression in the universe. ] You’re movin’ on up.

[ Like the Jeffersons.

But Peter drops the act after a second or two, relaxing a little. ]

With that important life lesson out of the way—

You doin’ alright?

[—Ah?

He looks blankly at him for a beat, plopping his foot back down.]

Uh, yeah! Everything's good, real good. Barely any hiccups. A lady thought I was stealing her dog so I got hit in the head with a cane, [He points one finger in one direction, then the other in the opposite direction, crossing his arms.] but I was helping unsteal it from someone else who stole it, so that was kind of a. A mixed deal. But it was a really cute dog.

And I helped clean up these little crab things?

They're everywhere at the amusement park, and it's seriously gross.

[ He lets the kid ramble for a while, then, ]

Right. Okay.

You're telling me what you're doing, not how you're doing.

[He thins his lips (well, even thinner than they already are).]

I'm fine... Solid. No complaints here, really. Just... truckin'.

[... The 'how' answer is much shorter than the 'what' answer.]

Uh huh.

[ Normally Peter isn't in the habit of prying into other people's business, but the kid had, like, started spilling his guts just a handful of minutes ago. It gives Peter the impression that Pete either has something he wants or needs to get out, and—

... Listen. Peter isn't exactly the best person for this, but, well. He's the one they've got right now.

Another beat of silence, then, ]

I'm gonna throw something at you again if you don't tell me the truth.

[If Peter were actually older and wiser (read: stupider), he could be a hell of a lot better masking the fact that he's got a lot going on in his head. But the kid is a creature of spontaneous chatter, and it's a real goddamn struggle to try and keep his mouth shut when someone older than him prods him for answers. May's really, really good at that.]

It's—

[He stops, feels kind of stupid, fidgets with an almost dejected defeat.]

I just had a lot happen at home before I got here, and then I learned some really crazy stuff about the future, and then all of this happened; it's just a lot to wrap my head around. [He rubs a thumb on his palm, tracing lines.] And even if it was all something worth dragging out, I'm pretty sure the people I know from home have a lot on their plates, so. You know.

I'm solid. It's just me stressing over things I can't change, honestly.

That's really it, Big Pete.

[ Hearing the kid mention the future makes Peter's expression darken briefly, makes his gaze skitter down to the bedspread.

Now, doesn't that feel familiar?

The fact is, Peter's been putting a lot of little pieces together. Or at least he was before the whole— kidnapping thing. Mantis had explained what she could of what had happened after the shit with Ego – just a quick Cliffs Notes of what went down, because Peter and Gamora were both eager to hear what the fuck was happening with Thanos.

So she gave them a rundown on that, too. A little inexpertly, but she got the important parts across. And she mentioned meeting up with three men from Earth: Doctor Weird, the Armored Man, and a Spider. Peter had figured that the Armored Man might have been Stark, but it was only way later, and super late in the day after the all-out war at the park, that he realized that "a Spider" was Little Pete.

He picks at the covers for a second, pinching at a crease in the blankets. Then, with an obvious reluctance, even if he tries to keep his voice as conversational as possible, ]

... The name Thanos mean anything to you?

[He goes still - a special feat to achieve for the likes of him.

So much for trying to keep the air lighter... Way to go, Parker.]

... Not yet, it doesn’t. But I guess it will, sometime when I get back.

Mantis told you?

[Why wouldn’t she?]

Edited 2018-06-23 06:47 (UTC)

Yeah. She did.

[ He glances down at Groot, who's fast asleep, then past Pete's shoulder to the open door of the bedroom, listening intently. Gamora should be at work with the Perimeter Guard, but there was no telling, really. She could've made her way back early, just to check in on him.

But when he doesn't hear anything, he lets out a breath, reaching up a hand to scrub at the good side of his face. ]

I've never seen the guy. I just know he's supposed to be, like, the scariest bastard to ever exist. Has this weird goal of wiping out, like, half of all life.

[Peter looks after where the other looks — just to fit in, sure, but he also uses that extra hearing of his to try and sense anything in the other room. And once Big Pete seems comfortable talking, Peter gives him his full attention, brows knitted together as he takes it in, bit by bit.

By the time Quill's done explaining, though, he looks —

Kinda freaked out and speechless for a second there, actually.

Sorry, Big Pete, did you wanna explain that a lot less horrifically???????]

[ that

that... was the less horrific explanation........

Peter sees the look of abject horror on the kid's face and offers a sympathetic shrug. ]

Yeah. I know. That's about how I reacted when Gamora told me more about him, too.

[O-oh, cool, cool cool, less horrific. Cool.

He swallows down the feeling of being really tiny in the grand scheme of doom and potential mass murder and nods. Alright, no, no time to let that kinda thing totally shut you up, Peter Parker.]

How exactly is he gonna do something that crazy? There's no way.

[ Another nervous glance toward the door, like he expects Gamora to barge in at any second.

She hadn't reacted well to Mantis' story; mentions of Thanos tended to have that effect on her. Peter's a little worried that if Gamora overhears him offering up these explanations, it might set her off all over again. ]

You sure you wanna know?

[ Considering the way Little Pete had completely frozen like a deer in headlights. ]

[There's definitely hesitation at first, there's no doubt. Is this all of the shit that Mr. Stark was stuck thinking about? Is this why he came back stabbed and on edge? The concern is palpable, the hairs on his arms and neck standing on end. It's not his haywire spider senses; it's all him.

But he sighs softly.]

I'm gonna be involved, so I might as well know what we're all getting into, right?

[He's not sure if Mr. Stark would want him to know, if this is all connected.

But he's here, and it's a conversation happening. So.]

Yeah. I guess so.

[ It's really the only reason Peter's willing to offer up the information. He knows that the kid gets involved – god only knows why – and that he's there with them on Titan.

(A part of him had felt like this was all some weird prophecy from a sword and shield movie. "And you shall stand among dust and stone with three fellow Terran warriors...") ]

... How 'bout you tell me what you know, and I can fill in the blanks?

[ Because he already messed up the kid once. If he overshares, he might actually send Little Pete into a catatonic state. ]

Uuuum. I know we end up on a planet called — Titan? And I came with a couple of other people to help beat this Thanos guy. I'm assuming one was Mr. Stark, because Mantis called him the Armored Guy, so I might've... I dunno, been helping him out.

[He's pretty sure Tony would be completely against it, so either it's so utterly grave a situation that he's made exceptions, or Peter has once again made terrible life choices behind Mr. Stark's back.]

There was a wizard guy. I have no clue who that is, but I guess he's with us?

And we were on one of Thanos' ships, and —

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

1/2