revivalproject | Indictment

Entry tags:

Indictment

WHO: Absolutely everyone.
WHERE: The diner.
WHAT: A decision has to made about threats to the community.
WHEN: After an attempted murder, a chaotic rescue, and an awkward reunion. Now.
WARNINGS: Nothing yet. Mark it if something comes up because...
NOTES: Structurally, this is a mingle, so you can decide what part of this is actually important to you. What you talk about in here doesn't have to be directly Beck-related, but for details about the incident, further organizing, and if you want to determine what your characters might have done/seen/heard in the meantime, this post is still good!

[NETWORK//text @ everyone]

Come to the diner. We have to talk.
If you don't show up, I'll assume you agree with me because you're incredibly intelligent and graceful. The city of Temba thanks you for your contribution to our justice system.

This was the last thing Tony wanted to do. The diner at least felt familiar, neutral--somewhere he could be in control, without having all of the attention on him. Being able to bask in the attention would have been so much easier. As it was, that felt like he would be inviting everyone to really examine the cracks in the armor. They were here because he had already lost control.

As if that didn't already feel enough like an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, Tony found himself standing in a circle of seats that he had arranged, the tables pushed up against the walls, and couldn't honestly say how much that had been intentional. He raised a lip, and looked to Felwinter as though he would have any illuminating insight about productive interior design. He seemed like he wanted to be here even less than Tony did. Beck was his charge for the time being, though, and as awkward as it was to stand in his stupid chair-circle with the pair of them, Tony did appreciate having Felwinter there to keep an eye on their...problem. Even if having witnesses to his restless energy made it all the more humiliating. Felwinter couldn't sit on Beck forever just to make sure he didn't lure anyone else off the edge of a cliff, so they were all going to have to survive a little humiliation.

"I think the coffee's done," Tony declared, with absolutely no idea what state the coffee was actually in and readily moving toward the kitchen regardless. "Do you want one? I'll get you one. Do you do that sort of...?" He was still talking, and what Felwinter did or didn't eat and drink might have otherwise been something Tony pushed him about, but he was already mentally in the kitchen and trailed off as he went, flapping a hand to wave off any refusal of his offer or explanation about Felwinter's digestive situation. Maybe he would just stay in the kitchen and listen, let Beck hang himself.

Tony took a deep breath, pushing his sunglasses up his nose and squaring his shoulders, readying himself for a performance.

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"He-he looked after me so it's really hard for me to think he'd try to kill someone, especially Tony. Who he doesn't even really know-or at least that's what he told me. Maybe that was a lie too." He sucks in a breath and sits up again.

"I don't... I think I just need some time to process." He's really tired of losing the people in his life. No one's dead this time, thankfully, but he can't trust Beck again.

Steve nods and looks back around the room. This didn't seem like the best place for that processing to happen, but Peter would know best for himself. Probably.

"Sleep would probably help with that," he suggests with a small smile. "Are you here to just find out what happened? Or are you a character witness?"

"I don't know." Peter admits. "I don't know what good I'd be as a character witness since I didn't clock he wanted to murder someone." He says bitterly.

"Maybe sleep would help but the adult I was living with is kinda wanted for murder and I'm fifteen so kinda don't really have a place to stay at the moment." He winces at his own sarcastic tone. "...Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude."

Steve's heart goes out to him. He remembers being alone. But even then, he'd had Bucky. Peter didn't seem to have anyone right now that he wanted to turn to. Steve couldn't imagine how lonely he must be.

"You can stay with me if you like? It's nothing much. I have a place in the hotel area. It's small but I don't mind the company, honest."

Part of him wanted to just accept the offer-after all he could probably trust Captain America, right? Although they were kind of on opposite sides that time in Germany. Or would be...

"I-I really don't want to impose. I'll figure something out." Peter turns the offer down. Besides, right now seemed like a poor time to be concerned about where he was going to stay when someone was on trial for attempted murder.

"It's no imposition, I promise. You just let me know if you change your mind or if nothing else works out. The last thing you should be worried about right now is where to spend the night."

He offers Peter a small smile.

"It's gonna be okay. It doesn't feel like it will right now, but this is the worst part. Things are gonna get better..."

"You know, people keep saying that and I have yet to see them get better. Or, if they do it's short lived and everything gets twice as bad." He says sardonically. It's been a sad constant in his life that if something good happens something twice as bad is just around the corner to keep him on his toes.

"You're fifteen," Steve said.

"Most of my life has been being sick, poor, and too weak to do any of the things I wanted to do. It wasn't until I was well in my twenties that someone looked at me and decided I was worth something more."

He nudged Peter with his shoulder, trying to just knock the misery off him a little.

"This isn't the end of things. Trust me."

"Yeah, me too." Peter says in that same sardonic tone. "And then I got bit by a Spider that gave me my powers-which I don't have asthma anymore so that's nice-but two weeks in my uncle died in a home invasion that I inadvertently caused."

He sucks in a breath when he realizes he's got an uncomfortable lump in his throat. "I'm just... so damn tired of everything blowing up in my face."

Steve hisses out an exhale, sympathy clawing at his throat. That was, admittedly, a rough start. And with him only being fifteen? He could understand why Peter was so defeated with just another blow hitting him after all the other ones.

"I'm sorry. I am so sorry, Peter. No one should have to go through all of that. Especially in so few years... I don't blame you for being tired of it."

Luckily, Peter's not really in the mood to go into too much detail about about nightmare inducing his childhood was and right now adolescence isn't looking like it's going to be much better.

He just offers Steve a small shrug. "It doesn't really matter if I'm tired or not. It's not gonna stop. My only option is to keep going. It's just.. right now that feels more difficult than it usually does."

Steve doesn't have much else that he can say. "This is the worst part of it," he repeats. "I know that doesn't make it any better now, but you're gonna get through it. You have a lot of people here who are gonna be there for you if you need us."

He pauses and chews his lip, needing to just do whatever he can for the boy.

"Can I give you a hug? You look like you might need one..."

Is it the worst part of it? Or are things going to get even worse later? He's a little thrown off by that last question though and has to think about it a second. Did he want a hug?

...

Yes.

He'd gotten himself so worked up he hadn't noticed how badly he needed a hug. He gives Steve a small, sad nod before leaning into him and tried to ignore just how much the action made him feel like a child.

Steve didn't need more encouragement than that.

He leaned in and wrapped his arms around the smaller boy and just held him close. He knew firsthand how important physical comfort could be for someone. He knew even better what it felt like to not have it. So Steve took his time, just giving Peter a nice, long hug. And even when he shifted back, he didn't go too far.

"You're not alone," he stressed. "This whole situation on this planet might be crazy, but you're not alone here. Okay? You can come to me or Buck anytime."

The hug is nice. It's comforting and doesn't make him want to crawl out his skin like Beck's hug had done. It's then that Peter realizes he hasn't had a good hug since he'd last seen May and that's not a great feeling.

He swallows the lump in his throat and keeps his eyes closed tight, not ready to let go yet but he probably should.

"Um... thanks." He mutters as he finally does let go.

Steve squeezes both of Peter's shoulders and looks at him sympathetically.

"You don't have to thank me."

He pulls Peter close for a second hug, this one tighter and shorter than the first. When he lets go he looks the kid in the eyes as seriously as he can. "My best friend once told me that I didn't have to take care of myself alone. You don't either. Okay? So if you need a place to crash or just someone to talk to... or a hug? Just come find me."

It's honestly amazing what just a hug can do. He's not feeling a lot better by an stretch but everything doesn't feel quite so heavy.

"I might take you up on having a place to crash after all." He states after a moment. At least he knows Steve won't go crazy and try to kill someone so that was one less thing to worry about.

Steve beams at him and pats his back. "Sure, pal! After this is over, you, me, and Buck will walk back to the hotel and get some shut-eye. I'm recovering from being sick for awhile so you and I can both sleep in. I think we'll both need it."

And thus Peter does the impossible and gets Steve to accept a limitation of his own. Sure, it was in the process of getting Peter to sleep, but still. Mark calendars.

"Oh." Peter frowns at the suggestion of sleep. Right now he's fairly certain he's just gonna have nightmares and that's not exactly high on the list of things he wants right now. "I uh... don't.. really sleep that much uh... it's kind of an ongoing thing..." He offers nervously, playing with the hem of his sweatshirt.

"I'm.. it's fine. I'll be okay. Um, are you-you were sick?"

Steve flapped a hand dismissively. "I had a little pneumonia. It happens every now and then. Nothin' Buck and I couldn't handle."

He frowned a little at the talk about sleep though.

"So. Uh. Is the lack of sleeping due to your...powers? The spider? Like you're more nocturnal or somethin' like that?"

Peter frowns at that because while he hasn't had so much a cold since the Spider bite he remembers being sick and how often it landed him in the ER for dangerously high fevers and oxygen treatments.

"Uh.. I-you know I used to have asthma right? And I've had pneumonia at least once and I know from experience that that stuff can-if you'll excuse the language-can really kick your ass." If nothing else, concern for someone else is always a good distraction. Should Mr Rogers even be out here like this? Is this how May felt every he wanted to go outside? He probably owes her an apology.

Steve perks up a little at that. "You did? Huh. Well, ain't that a small world. Asthma is the pits, huh? Pneumonia ain't no walk in the park either but at least that goes away."

He shrugs and reaches into his pocket to produce his inhaler proudly.

"Billy made this for me when I got here. Works real swell. Better than the cigarettes I used to need. Helped a bit with being sick, too. Bucky wanted to go and ask for more help but I don't like bothering folk for small things. I bet you get that."

"Yeah, I wasn't allowed to do like anything and spent a lot of time at the hospital and I'm sorry." He gets completely derailed for a moment. "Did you say they gave you cigarettes for asthma? Were they trying to kill you?"

He knew that a lot of the time medical treatments in the past were backwards but seriously, they gave cigarettes to an asthmatic?

"Huh?" Steve looks at Peter in confusion, not sure why he would say that. "Yeah, asthma cigarettes. They were medicine. Not like the cigarettes other people would smoke."

Honestly they hadn't helped all that much so they might as well have been. Maybe they hadn't been a good idea.

"The inhaler is better though. By far..."

"Yeah, 'cause you're not inhaling smoke." Peter didn't really care who you were, he refused to believe that inhaling smoke was ever a good idea. "I mean, I guess major difference of the times but Cigarettes cause lung cancer and I guess they haven't realized that yet?"

He pauses a moment because this probably a weird time to be discussing this. "...Sorry, I didn't mean to get so derailed."

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usedtobesmoller - 2022-04-12 15:09 (UTC) - Expand

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