[ He's right, of course, that has been the hardest part: looking at Nathan and knowing what's coming and being unsure of how to step around him. She lost him just when she was getting to know him, and resigned herself to never having the opportunity. She and Peter are two sides of the same coin, in that respect. He's had years and decades to know him and lost him over a prolonged period that shouldn't have happened to begin with, and she barely knew Nathan and lost him all the same. Now they're back at the middle again and no matter how much they're able to ground each other, in some ways it's never going to be quite enough. ]
I could say that it gets easier, and in some ways it does. Everything we do involves adapting, even the hard stuff. But you don't forget it. It doesn't ever go away. Every time I look at him, it's all I can think about. You just have to... I don't know, Peter. You just have to. [ And as for that last bit. ] He's not gonna die a second time, not here. He's got you and me to make sure of it.
[ It might be a false promise. Neither of them can determine or dictate what the ship decides. They can try, though. The future not being written in stone, and all that. ]
ikr now if only i could stay up late and still sleep a lot
Think we can keep him from going out and getting himself involved? The same guy who stormed the bridge and was at the front of the line?
[ Peter almost sounds amused but it's equal parts worry strewn through the words. If it was all that easy, they would've managed it already but with a brother that was once in the military and then dove head first into politics, the idea of keeping Nathan out of trouble seems almost ridiculous. But maybe it's simpler than he thinks it is; maybe Claire and Peter are enough to make Nathan stop and take a step back, to not be the one at the front of the line if only because they both can't take the hit of losing him another time. ]
I don't know, seems like that'll be the hardest part out of all of this. Ignoring fate all over again and making a new path- doesn't matter how many times he nearly died back home, this'll be something different. We'll make it be different, we've done it before. We'll make sure he doesn't go out and start finding as much trouble as he can, i'll- I don't know, i'll keep him from thinking he's still twenty. Man's gotta know his limits. [ He snorts; Petrelli's don't really know their limits, not ever. They walk all over them and keep going just to prove a point, but it's worth a shot. ]
[ Claire mirrors his tone. Even she knows that's impossible, and shouldn't try to stop him. But she would try to stand in front of him. And if it comes down to it, Claire isn't afraid to use that playing card to try and stop him from doing something similar to stepping in front of a train. ]
If it helps, I can remind him that he's old enough to have a daughter that's over eighteen. [ She's joking, which seems inappropriate, but sometimes you have to say something funny. Especially between the two of them. Things get way too serious way too fast. ] We don't have to stop him from doing anything that he's done before, just... we do what we always do for each other. We keep an eye out.
exactly! i want my four hours of sleep a night back
[ Ish. Peter isn't sure how well he's going to be able to keep that up, instead wanting to put himself in the line of fire in front of Nathan whenever possible. But his big brother is damn good at putting a target on his back by standing the tallest of them all and Peter, as usual, just isn't sure sure he'll be able to keep up. Even for Nathan's sake. ]
And hey, whatever you can tell him to help, I'll take it. It's not like he's going to feel all that bad for a brother who's almost in his- [ Those birthday's counted but they won't make sense to anyone but him. That doesn't mean it isn't a strain; something so simple turning around to bite him in the ass. ] -thirties. You'll give him more of a reason than I will. [ Especially since he wasn't reason enough the first time. ]
[ Claire doesn't put much faith in her own ability to discourage Nathan from doing anything. Experience dictates otherwise far too much. He's a freight train barreling down the tracks to whatever destination he has in mind, and she's just standing in front of it, trying to push it backward with outstretched palms.
Sometimes, though, maybe something she's said or done has switched the track at the last minute. ]
You mean about how you're getting old? [ The curl at the corner of her mouth reminds her that maybe now isn't the time to be teasing. ] No, I haven't been able to figure out how to bring any of it up. Even more than just... what happens. Just... any of it.
[ She's tried, a couple times, but something has always set her back. ]
[ He says it like a guy who's a little behind on the whole getting teased thing, like the only torment that's come his way as of late has been unwanted or nonexistent. Its not like he doesn't know how to tease back but he sure as hell feels a little left out, like he's not quite sure what path he's on and which way he's supposed to be going.
But dealing with Nathan is such a different beast that Peter can hardly stand it. His brother's an entity that he's grown used to thinking is gone, even if it's the last thing he wanted, that to now have to figure out how to put up with him all over again is a testament to their ability to stand tall despite the odds. Petrelli blood is a funny thing; useful at the worst of times. ]
He asked me about his own funeral. Like he was asking about the weather.
[ Peter's kind of ashamed by his own answer, second guessing whether or not he should've spilled the whole ordeal or not. Maybe it would've been better, taken care of it now instead of later when Nathan'll ask again. But Peter's just not sure and what's done is done. ]
[ There's nothing to be ashamed of in saying nothing. Believing as much would make Claire a hypocrite of the highest degree. It's this nebulous unknown that they tiptoe around without ever crossing into, each one of them as unsure as the next. Claire can't find anything to fault. ]
I'm not surprised that he asked. [ Her tone suggestions the truth in that. ] In the context of being here... I'm not sure that it really matters. There's no... undoing it. Just means that everything in between counts that much more.
If he asks again, i'd take telling him about his funeral over what's happened since then. I mean, not about you but about Sylar. [ But Peter's not even sure that's true and it leaves him silent for a few more seconds. He has no idea what he'd tell Nathan, and he's not entirely sure if it's to protect his brother or himself. ]
We can keep him from finding anything out, but i'm not sure what the point's gonna be for too long. He wants to know what's happened, he'll what to know what's happened to us without him. I know it's his only chance to find out but I don't... I can't just tell him my life's gone on without him in it. I know it's what he'll want to hear but I can't say it.
[ Something fills her chest rapidly and deflates just as quickly, some nervous energy dispelled when he affirms and reaffirms. Claire tries no to let it show through the white noise of his call. Once it settles, something different takes its place at the mention of Sylar. ]
It's what he would want even at home and whatever afterlife is there, Peter. That's what I was trying to tell you, at the ambulance. You don't honor his memory but putting it on a shelf and never moving from staring at it.
[ She feels like she's back with his blood all over her hands and down into the grooves of her fingernails. The metallic tang is almost tangible, in her mouth. ]
[ Peter knows how it sounds and Claire's words make him shrink back, shoulders dropping and words quieting into something frustrated and lost. He's horrible at this, he knows that, he learned it the painfully hard way but Nathan doesn't know that and it's the worst part. His brother wasn't there for his fucked up mourning process and now Peter can't help but feel like they were emotions he shouldn't have struggled with to begin with. Emotions he shouldn't be struggling with all over again.
He just can't help but feel like it shouldn't be Claire's responsibility to help him move on. ]
I've done everything but honor his memory. [ Peter shakes his head, trying not to wallow and failing miserably. ] Maybe he'll stop asking.
[ She would never want him to feel unjustified or wrong in his approach, but, still, it's frustrating. Everyone grieves in their own way, but if it means, in his case, that he's going to run out and do something reckless, Claire is fine with telling him how stupid he's being. Without having to confirm it, she knows that what she had said about Nathan being so pissed hadn't been a mistake. She just hates the idea of Peter having to deal with anything on his own.
Besides, she's the only one who gets to act reckless in this family. ]
[ Oh, c'mon, they share the reckless behavior gene. Peter even had it long before Claire was born, but it's not something he's inclined to brag about. If anything, it's something he'd prefer to brush under the rug while doling it out anyway - nailguns, anyone? Rash behavior has become his middle name and now he's struck trying to figure out how to behave in a world that's turned back the clock and expects him to deal with space all at the same time.
It's a little much all at once, but Peter snorts, shaking his head even if she can't see it. 'That's not how this works', he wants to say. There's no one else to do it, so he has to. All the reasons he's given himself before still exist but they're nothing he'd say out loud. Well, sort of. ]
But it's what i'm best at, Claire. [ He's teasing, or at least he's trying to. ] I feel like i've completely lost track of time. Five years and I don't even know what you've been doing. Apart from what I saw at the carnival. It's like I lost everything except Sylar.
[ He might actually be teasing, trying to, but Claire takes what he says to heart in a way that she's sure he'll anticipate. They do the same thing: try to turn things into a joke or find the humor in all the bleakness to make bearing the weight they have to shoulder a little easier. Peter can't hide from her, though, and he can't kid a kidder. Over the years she has gotten very good at hiding things and also very good at knowing when he isn't being entirely forthcoming.
Speaking of years... ]
I feel like time has no meaning in a place like this. We're all pulled from spots that are so completely different, it almost makes you wonder why trying to keep all of it in a cohesive line makes any difference at all. [ Of course it does, for reasons like the ones they've been discussing. ] I I've been here, you know. Just trying to... survive? Keep it together? Figure things out? I don't know. This is just like college but in space and maybe if college was made of nightmare fuel.
[ Although, considering her college experiences maybe that isn't too far off the mark. For a moment, Claire chews on her lip. ]
I hate hearing you say that. Everything except Sylar. It sounds all wrong.
I've started to think that time has whatever meaning you want it to have. And maybe it doesn't matter because we don't remember it, but while we're here it still means something. It's our reality. Like you said- we're all just figuring out how to survive, how to get by. How to live in this, and without the passing of time nothing we're experiencing is all that real.
I don't know. [ Peter's voice dwindles off for a few seconds, trying to gather his thoughts. ] Five years trying to stay sane might've made up my mind a little.
But It just is what it is, Claire. I don't even know if it's all that wrong anymore, he's just who I have. And I know I have you too, that's not what I mean. But you- you're somewhere else. All Sylar has is me. [ Peter says it the best way he knows how because he doesn't know how to make it easy. He doesn't know how to take the sting from the facts and can't begin to imagine what it's like for Claire to hear. He knows it hurts, that it's wrong, but he can't change what he's grown into.
[ She wants to say that she's come to the conclusion that time has no determination in her life because what is time to someone who's going to live forever? The thought is a lonely one, and it makes her feel precariously balanced on the line between panicking and resignation. Given the context of the conversation, it also leaves her terrified at the thought of being trapped with Sylar for the rest of forever, but at this point she isn't sure whether the sentiment would be understood or not. Sympathized with, probably, and she can't doubt Peter's capacity for empathy, especially when it comes to her. But it's different.
Distantly, she realizes that she feels a little sick. ]
I would have killed him. Found a way somehow. I told him, back when - [ Her voice catches, as the sequence of events catches up with her thought process, and she swallows bile. ] I told him that I would try to find a way every day to kill him. He came to school, you know. He created this whole illusion and k - [ What, Claire, forced himself on you, again? Pretended to kidnap your only friend so you could face some harsh truths? ] I get it. I get that you were trapped somewhere for so long, and I'm sorry that I was somewhere else. If I could have been there with you I would have, you know that. You've got me here, every step of the way.
[ He's not trying to wrack up the sympathy points, he really isn't. He isn't even reaching for empathy, but he doesn't know what he's reaching for in its wake. ] I couldn't get us out, just like I couldn't save Nathan- Emma, on my own. I couldn't bring him back, couldn't get him to stay. I wouldn't have needed Sylar if i'd just been able to do it on my own. And I couldn't do it. And now it's just- It just is and I don't need you to feel like it's your fault or like you could've been there to save me. It just happened and there isn't any going back. We'll go on, just like we always do.
[ Peter's not entirely sure about that. Without his abilities, without any number of things, he still doesn't feel whole. Hell, he's not sure he feels whole without Sylar around but they shared brainwaves for five years and it's something he can't discount. It's infuriating but like he's told Claire, it just is what it is. And now he has to keep going. ] I know I do. I know I have you.
[ She doesn't have to be sorry. That doesn't mean that she won't be until she manages to suss all this out, until she can gather it all up and put it away. ]
As long as you don't forget that. [ As frustrating as it would be, Claire really does want to argue the point of fault with him, because if she takes a lot onto her own shoulders, then he is the most realistic representation of Atlas she has ever come across. She just isn't sure she has it in her to break through. ] I'll keep reminding you if I have to.
I won't. [ There's something comforting, however small, in knowing he has one person on his side. He's not sure if he can even factor in Nathan when his brother feels so far out of the spectrum of knowing that even Peter has a hard time looking him in the eye but he's here. And he's supposed to be here for him. But that's just not how it works when Claire is here, in all the ways Peter knows she can be. And that's something. ]
You can remind me as much as you want.
[ a beat ] I should let you go. Let you get back to- whatever it was you were doing.
[ She will, too. Every day. Like an alarm. She can't stand the thought of him regressing the way that he had, danging from a wire, hanging on a trigger finger. Too much has happened, both here and at home, for them to abandon each other or even entertain the idea. He's always managed to be a rock for her, and, Claire thinks, she has for him as well. No matter how much she might doubt herself, that one thing has always been constant. ]
I wasn't doing anything, not really. [ Which gives her a thought. ] Let's make it a point to see each other on a regular basis. I think everyone in this place needs a little consistency. That can be ours.
[ He says it like the snap of a whip, something sudden and precise and altogether blunt. Peter's not sure if it's because he hasn't said it yet or because he just needs her to know but it's there nonetheless, filling in the gaps between the response to her words and all the other things he's too bent out of shape to begin to try and say. ]
Yeah, sure. Sounds good. I wouldn't mind seeing you regularly- obviously, checking up on things, seeing how they're going with you. Been thinking I haven't been seeing enough of you, anyway. We can pick a time and a place or just go with what seems right. [ There's another moment of hesitation, waiting for the right second to say something that's never really wrong. But it's still important in the same way that it's been from the start, something their relationship centered around and brought to life in a moment where neither of them had anyone else. ]
[ Her grin is instant and small, and she's thankful that she's not having this conversation face to face, even if she's never had to feel abashed around Peter. That's the brilliance of their relationship, and why she's privately always felt that it worked so well in its conception. Claire has never had any reason to feel self-conscious around him. Right from the start, nothing was off the table. It didn't matter. She traveled halfway across the country on her own, just on a hunch, and it paid off and hasn't stopped paying off, regardless of how frustrated she's been with him in the past. ]
I know. [ She says it confidently, because she wants to impart that same confidence in him. ] You always are. Now you can just be there in space, too. [ In some way, it warms her, dispels all of the earlier anxiety - although she knows that will return - to know that, finally, for all the variables and insanities that the Tranquility throws their way, they are at least in the same place at the same time, together, for once. ] I'll text you.
[ It's there, the 'I know' and Peter instantly feels a weight that's been lifted that he hadn't been quite sure was there. But apparently he needed to say it more than he realized, a symbiotic understanding that was silently shared between them but couldn't be broken even in space. It just made sense, the way they functioned against each other and there was no changing the facts that they just worked. They made it through the worst of it with the wind at their backs and Peter knew the storm that was far too sharp between them could only last for so long. ]
Wouldn't want it any other way. [ He nods even though she can't see it; has to because he agrees with everything and can't help himself from a small act that dictates just how much he realizes in so few words. ] I'll wait to hear from you then.
[ Claire thinks that she can hear the movement of skin and air against the communicator, can imagine his head dipping in that way it does, confirmation, and she pushes her own blonde hair back from her face where it's fallen down around her ears, enclosing her and his voice in this tiny world while she sits cross-legged on her cot. ]
I'll talk to you soon, Peter. [ Ever-present warmth, there, in her voice. It doesn't matter. She can't stay angry or upset or frustrated or anything that doesn't involve putting half of who she is into loving him. He's Peter. ] Bye.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
oh good because i do love to sleep
I could say that it gets easier, and in some ways it does. Everything we do involves adapting, even the hard stuff. But you don't forget it. It doesn't ever go away. Every time I look at him, it's all I can think about. You just have to... I don't know, Peter. You just have to. [ And as for that last bit. ] He's not gonna die a second time, not here. He's got you and me to make sure of it.
[ It might be a false promise. Neither of them can determine or dictate what the ship decides. They can try, though. The future not being written in stone, and all that. ]
ikr now if only i could stay up late and still sleep a lot
[ Peter almost sounds amused but it's equal parts worry strewn through the words. If it was all that easy, they would've managed it already but with a brother that was once in the military and then dove head first into politics, the idea of keeping Nathan out of trouble seems almost ridiculous. But maybe it's simpler than he thinks it is; maybe Claire and Peter are enough to make Nathan stop and take a step back, to not be the one at the front of the line if only because they both can't take the hit of losing him another time. ]
I don't know, seems like that'll be the hardest part out of all of this. Ignoring fate all over again and making a new path- doesn't matter how many times he nearly died back home, this'll be something different. We'll make it be different, we've done it before. We'll make sure he doesn't go out and start finding as much trouble as he can, i'll- I don't know, i'll keep him from thinking he's still twenty. Man's gotta know his limits. [ He snorts; Petrelli's don't really know their limits, not ever. They walk all over them and keep going just to prove a point, but it's worth a shot. ]
right. like in the days of our youth
[ Claire mirrors his tone. Even she knows that's impossible, and shouldn't try to stop him. But she would try to stand in front of him. And if it comes down to it, Claire isn't afraid to use that playing card to try and stop him from doing something similar to stepping in front of a train. ]
If it helps, I can remind him that he's old enough to have a daughter that's over eighteen. [ She's joking, which seems inappropriate, but sometimes you have to say something funny. Especially between the two of them. Things get way too serious way too fast. ] We don't have to stop him from doing anything that he's done before, just... we do what we always do for each other. We keep an eye out.
exactly! i want my four hours of sleep a night back
[ Ish. Peter isn't sure how well he's going to be able to keep that up, instead wanting to put himself in the line of fire in front of Nathan whenever possible. But his big brother is damn good at putting a target on his back by standing the tallest of them all and Peter, as usual, just isn't sure sure he'll be able to keep up. Even for Nathan's sake. ]
And hey, whatever you can tell him to help, I'll take it. It's not like he's going to feel all that bad for a brother who's almost in his- [ Those birthday's counted but they won't make sense to anyone but him. That doesn't mean it isn't a strain; something so simple turning around to bite him in the ass. ] -thirties. You'll give him more of a reason than I will. [ Especially since he wasn't reason enough the first time. ]
Have you told him anything?
me too ;; instead of like 11 hours
Sometimes, though, maybe something she's said or done has switched the track at the last minute. ]
You mean about how you're getting old? [ The curl at the corner of her mouth reminds her that maybe now isn't the time to be teasing. ] No, I haven't been able to figure out how to bring any of it up. Even more than just... what happens. Just... any of it.
[ She's tried, a couple times, but something has always set her back. ]
ikrikr IF ONLY
[ He says it like a guy who's a little behind on the whole getting teased thing, like the only torment that's come his way as of late has been unwanted or nonexistent. Its not like he doesn't know how to tease back but he sure as hell feels a little left out, like he's not quite sure what path he's on and which way he's supposed to be going.
But dealing with Nathan is such a different beast that Peter can hardly stand it. His brother's an entity that he's grown used to thinking is gone, even if it's the last thing he wanted, that to now have to figure out how to put up with him all over again is a testament to their ability to stand tall despite the odds. Petrelli blood is a funny thing; useful at the worst of times. ]
He asked me about his own funeral. Like he was asking about the weather.
UGH SORRY WORK IS EATING ME
What did you tell him?
WHAT'RE YOU SORRY FOR CRAZY
[ Peter's kind of ashamed by his own answer, second guessing whether or not he should've spilled the whole ordeal or not. Maybe it would've been better, taken care of it now instead of later when Nathan'll ask again. But Peter's just not sure and what's done is done. ]
I couldn't just tell him about his own eulogy.
BEING THE SLOWEST TO EVER SLOW
I'm not surprised that he asked. [ Her tone suggestions the truth in that. ] In the context of being here... I'm not sure that it really matters. There's no... undoing it. Just means that everything in between counts that much more.
OH MY GAAWWD YOU ARE NOT SLOW AT ALL SHOOSH
We can keep him from finding anything out, but i'm not sure what the point's gonna be for too long. He wants to know what's happened, he'll what to know what's happened to us without him. I know it's his only chance to find out but I don't... I can't just tell him my life's gone on without him in it. I know it's what he'll want to hear but I can't say it.
and then i replied three days later
It's what he would want even at home and whatever afterlife is there, Peter. That's what I was trying to tell you, at the ambulance. You don't honor his memory but putting it on a shelf and never moving from staring at it.
[ She feels like she's back with his blood all over her hands and down into the grooves of her fingernails. The metallic tang is almost tangible, in her mouth. ]
and then i still adored you anyway
He just can't help but feel like it shouldn't be Claire's responsibility to help him move on. ]
I've done everything but honor his memory. [ Peter shakes his head, trying not to wallow and failing miserably. ] Maybe he'll stop asking.
/rolls on
Besides, she's the only one who gets to act reckless in this family. ]
You have got to stop beating yourself up.
/gift wraps
It's a little much all at once, but Peter snorts, shaking his head even if she can't see it. 'That's not how this works', he wants to say. There's no one else to do it, so he has to. All the reasons he's given himself before still exist but they're nothing he'd say out loud. Well, sort of. ]
But it's what i'm best at, Claire. [ He's teasing, or at least he's trying to. ] I feel like i've completely lost track of time. Five years and I don't even know what you've been doing. Apart from what I saw at the carnival. It's like I lost everything except Sylar.
no subject
Speaking of years... ]
I feel like time has no meaning in a place like this. We're all pulled from spots that are so completely different, it almost makes you wonder why trying to keep all of it in a cohesive line makes any difference at all. [ Of course it does, for reasons like the ones they've been discussing. ] I I've been here, you know. Just trying to... survive? Keep it together? Figure things out? I don't know. This is just like college but in space and maybe if college was made of nightmare fuel.
[ Although, considering her college experiences maybe that isn't too far off the mark. For a moment, Claire chews on her lip. ]
I hate hearing you say that. Everything except Sylar. It sounds all wrong.
no subject
I don't know. [ Peter's voice dwindles off for a few seconds, trying to gather his thoughts. ] Five years trying to stay sane might've made up my mind a little.
But It just is what it is, Claire. I don't even know if it's all that wrong anymore, he's just who I have. And I know I have you too, that's not what I mean. But you- you're somewhere else. All Sylar has is me. [ Peter says it the best way he knows how because he doesn't know how to make it easy. He doesn't know how to take the sting from the facts and can't begin to imagine what it's like for Claire to hear. He knows it hurts, that it's wrong, but he can't change what he's grown into.
What he's given up. ]
no subject
Distantly, she realizes that she feels a little sick. ]
I would have killed him. Found a way somehow. I told him, back when - [ Her voice catches, as the sequence of events catches up with her thought process, and she swallows bile. ] I told him that I would try to find a way every day to kill him. He came to school, you know. He created this whole illusion and k - [ What, Claire, forced himself on you, again? Pretended to kidnap your only friend so you could face some harsh truths? ] I get it. I get that you were trapped somewhere for so long, and I'm sorry that I was somewhere else. If I could have been there with you I would have, you know that. You've got me here, every step of the way.
no subject
[ He's not trying to wrack up the sympathy points, he really isn't. He isn't even reaching for empathy, but he doesn't know what he's reaching for in its wake. ] I couldn't get us out, just like I couldn't save Nathan- Emma, on my own. I couldn't bring him back, couldn't get him to stay. I wouldn't have needed Sylar if i'd just been able to do it on my own. And I couldn't do it. And now it's just- It just is and I don't need you to feel like it's your fault or like you could've been there to save me. It just happened and there isn't any going back. We'll go on, just like we always do.
[ Peter's not entirely sure about that. Without his abilities, without any number of things, he still doesn't feel whole. Hell, he's not sure he feels whole without Sylar around but they shared brainwaves for five years and it's something he can't discount. It's infuriating but like he's told Claire, it just is what it is. And now he has to keep going. ] I know I do. I know I have you.
no subject
As long as you don't forget that. [ As frustrating as it would be, Claire really does want to argue the point of fault with him, because if she takes a lot onto her own shoulders, then he is the most realistic representation of Atlas she has ever come across. She just isn't sure she has it in her to break through. ] I'll keep reminding you if I have to.
no subject
You can remind me as much as you want.
[ a beat ] I should let you go. Let you get back to- whatever it was you were doing.
no subject
I wasn't doing anything, not really. [ Which gives her a thought. ] Let's make it a point to see each other on a regular basis. I think everyone in this place needs a little consistency. That can be ours.
no subject
[ He says it like the snap of a whip, something sudden and precise and altogether blunt. Peter's not sure if it's because he hasn't said it yet or because he just needs her to know but it's there nonetheless, filling in the gaps between the response to her words and all the other things he's too bent out of shape to begin to try and say. ]
Yeah, sure. Sounds good. I wouldn't mind seeing you regularly- obviously, checking up on things, seeing how they're going with you. Been thinking I haven't been seeing enough of you, anyway. We can pick a time and a place or just go with what seems right. [ There's another moment of hesitation, waiting for the right second to say something that's never really wrong. But it's still important in the same way that it's been from the start, something their relationship centered around and brought to life in a moment where neither of them had anyone else. ]
As long as it's you.
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I know. [ She says it confidently, because she wants to impart that same confidence in him. ] You always are. Now you can just be there in space, too. [ In some way, it warms her, dispels all of the earlier anxiety - although she knows that will return - to know that, finally, for all the variables and insanities that the Tranquility throws their way, they are at least in the same place at the same time, together, for once. ] I'll text you.
no subject
Wouldn't want it any other way. [ He nods even though she can't see it; has to because he agrees with everything and can't help himself from a small act that dictates just how much he realizes in so few words. ] I'll wait to hear from you then.
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I'll talk to you soon, Peter. [ Ever-present warmth, there, in her voice. It doesn't matter. She can't stay angry or upset or frustrated or anything that doesn't involve putting half of who she is into loving him. He's Peter. ] Bye.
(no subject)