Who: Pete and Lena Where: The hallway outside 1104 and then inside When: After the group plot, After This What: Peter is a little tipsy, Lena wants to talk about the circus-and Jeannie sucks at posting on time. Rating: Lets hope for all their sakes they keep it PG
Peter had no idea what time it was, he didn't much care. He'd just had an extremely long night that had started with the History Channel, had a detour to the locked room, and then ended up in Micah's apartment getting drunk and talking about the women in their lives. All in all he supposed it was a success, but he was feeling just a bit exhausted.
He was also still in his pajamas and bare feet so he was trying to get to his apartment as fast as he could before someone hollered out that there was a drunk man in Mario PJs wandering the halls singing Bad Romance as loud as he could. He was glad when the elevator behaved itself and he found himself back on the eleventh floor and headed toward his apartment. One thing he did not expect to find was Helena standing outside of his apartment getting ready to knock. He wasn't quite sure how to handle the situation so he just gave her a lazy grin as he approached her, "Are you stalking me?"
Lena had wondered if everyone else had also been transported to a strange circus of their own, and after she left the lobby and scaled the staircase, saw how eeriely quiet and empty everything was, that her worry really kicked into high gear. She didn't find anyone in P3 and it worried her but she couldn't sit there and wait. That would only make the waiting worse. She left him a quick note by the door, should he return while she was gone, and let him know that she was going to check on everyone.
Everyone of course really only meant two other people, and while she knew she needed to go up stairs to the roof, her feet took her down until she came to the old, familiar eleventh floor landing. She still had a key to the apartment but it seemed so strange to carry it around, and she was still clad in her nightgown although she had the good sense to grab her robe at least before running out again. She had just come to the apartment door, ready to knock, when she heard the elevator come up and a voice behind her a few moments later. It sounded like who she was hoping to see, and once she spun around and she saw him, she broke out into a huge grin.
"Thank goodness!" She couldn't even stop herself as she pulled him into a hug, just glad that he was perfectly fine and safe. It was a moment later that she pulled away, nervously tucking her hair behind her ear since it was only mostly inappropriate that she was hugging him. "I'm sorry. I was just really worried. Not stalking," she laughed softly before giving his shoulder a soft swat. "You're okay though, right?" He seemed okay. He looked unharmed and he was wearing his Mario pajamas - her favorite if she had to choose - and she was sure he'd be more sullen if some strange ordeal had ruined them.
Pete smiled and while he was surprised by the hug, he wasn't exactly complaining about it either and hugged her back. "I'm fine, no worries," he assured her and kissed the top of her head. He couldn't he held responsible, he'd been drinking.
He was smiling as he opened the door to the apartment and realized it was unlocked. He both pleased and annoyed that whatever had put him in that room had left his apartment unlocked too. He hoped his Xbox was still there as he walked in. "You didn't get to summon Cthulhu too did you?" he asked clearly not kidding, not even a little, as he waited for her to enter the apartment and closed the door behind her.
She frowned ever so slightly when he talked, getting just the hint of alcohol off his breath. He was allowed to drink in his circus? She wasn't sure how she felt about that. She was ready to walk him back into the apartment and that was it until he asked her the question. The confusion was easy to spot on her face and it momentarily distracted her so that she didn't quite hear the door closing behind her. "Cthulhu? What is that?" A few thoughts came to mid but she shook her head. "Did you go to a circus too?"
He raised his eyebrows at her when she asked about Cthulu and he wondered if she ever listened to his nonsense. He was too tipsy to care and he chuckled, "Lovecraft? Tentacley son of a bitch? Cloverfield Monster?" he said as he sat down on the couch and patted it so she'd come sit next to him.
"A circus?! You went to a circus?! Damn," he said leaning his head back on the cushion and sighing. "You went to a circus, another group summoned a Great Old One, and I let my friend shoot at me. Awesome. Stay classy, Bellum." He said giving a thumbs up to no one in particular.
Of course Lena listened to his... well she wouldn't call it nonsense per se. It was just that there was so much of it that she needed a few hints. Even with the few words he gave her, she was finally able to piece together what she thought he meant. "Oh! The green thing on the toy shelf? With squid chin?" It was weird looking but she thought she had remembered the right one. "Why would I summon that? How would I summon that?"
She sat next to him on the couch, noting to herself that she shouldn't spend too long there. Still, it was hard to say no to Peter, and she had missed just talking to him. She often wanted to call or message him but she always felt like she had given up that right to be friendly with him, or at least to initiate friendly chatter. She was about to elaborate on the circus when he told her what he had been doing. "Wait, someone shot at you?" She quickly looked him over again, somehow afraid that she had missed some obvious wound and would now need to call an ambulance. "You said you were fine!" It was hard to keep the worry from creeping back into her voice.
He snapped his fingers, "That's the one," he said when she figured out who he was talking about. He also thought about her question carefully wondering whether or not he would summon Cthulu if given the chance. He settled on yes. "Why wouldn't you?" he said turning his head on the couch cushion and grinning at her.
She looked worried, and he reached over and took her hand, "I'm fine hon, I swear. She missed, that was the whole point."
What sort of question was that? Why wouldn't she? She gave a half eyeroll and a half laugh. "Because it's sort of creepy looking." That seemed like a logical answer.
Lena instinctively squeezed his hand, her mind turning over who this she was, this friend who was shooting at him. There was a small flicker of something that could have been like jealousy, if it hadn't been squashed so quickly. "Could you start again? What happened? Why did anyone have to shoot anyone?" Despite all that had happened in her own big top tent, Pete's experience sounded significantly worse, and that didn't sit well with her.
Pete nodded, "Definitely creepy looking, and terrifying, but seriously awesome." he assured her.
He sighed, he really was okay. He was feeling better after making sure Iris was safe, and having a good time with Micah, now Lena was here and honestly this night wasn't so bad after all. "I was watching TV, ended up in this room with Cole, my friend Iris, this other guy John and in order to get out people had to tell a lie they'd told, and then had to shoot at someone else. Nothing like middle of the night trust exercises to really make it easy to hand over that rent check at the beginning of the month."
The "seriously awesome" appeal of that thing on the toy shelf was debatable, so she simply took his word for it.
She was quiet as he explained everything but her simply confused expressed deepened as did her frown. That was completely different than what she had experience, and judging from his offhand comment that someone else got to summon the squid thing, she realized that everyone had something different. "Yeah," she said simply. "Our trust exercises weren't particularly fun either. What ever happened to just closing your eyes and falling backwards. There's nothing wrong with the classics."
"It always reminds me of the Geico commercial when the Gecko gets smushed by the CEO," he said chuckling a little. He was still holding her hand and he wasn't showing any intention of letting go. More than that he was trying to think of a way to keep her interested enough that she wouldn't go running off again. "Do you want some waffles? I got a new waffle iron that won't burn the place down." He said looking at the clock. It wasn't exactly breakfast time, but it was still morning!
"Waffles?" She also looked at the clock when he did. "It's a bit early, don't you think?" Nevermind that in the Kelly household there was never such a thing as too early or too late for breakfast. She would be lying if she wasn't curious about this waffle iron that he had. She always did weakness for fun kitchen gadgetry. "But you can still show it to me if you like?" Just a quick show and tell and then she could excuse herself.
He smirked at her when she said it was too early, "I've never heard since nonsense," he said giving her hand a squeeze as he stood up and brought her right along with him and led her towards the kitchen. He opened up the cupboard where they kept all of their fun kitchen gadgets and he pulled out the sleek black waffle iron and set it on the counter and plugged it in. She was going to eat these waffles if it killed him. He opened up the device to show it to her. "It beeps when it's done," he said clearly pleased with himself as he went about getting out a mixing bowl and waffle ingredients.
She made sure to make the all the appropriate awed sounds and hand gestures and they weren't completely feigned. She wished she had a waffle iron but she wasn't exactly living in a space where she could effortlessly decide what went into the kitchen cupboards. She refused to dwell on that little thought anymore than she had to and instead let herself be distracted by Peter's hunt for ingredients. "Are you really going to make me waffles?" she laughed. "Come on, you know you don't have to." It was an half hearted argument, very much like the ones they often had in the past. Lena was a good cook but Peter was amazing at breakfast, so she never really minded him taking point. But she never could outright let him without a few small protests.
Peter nodded and continued pouring the ingredients into the mixing bowl, "Of course I'm really going to make you waffles. You came all the way over here to check on me, it's obviously the least I can do. Sit down." He said nodding toward one of the barstools.
She opened her mouth to protest but she closed it immediately, thinking it wasn't the time to admit that he wasn't the only one she was worried about. Besides, it wouldn't be so bad. She was starting to get a little hungry. She slid onto the barstool, elbows on the counter, chin atop her hands as she watched him. There was a moment of quiet as she tried to think of appropriate small talk, finally settling on her strange experience. "I was stuck in a circus." There was a sort of incredulous little sound, not so much with how weird it was, but how common the weird occurrences were becoming. "No guns, thankfully. But certainly not all that fun either. We had to do all sorts of strange things. High wire walking and knife throwing and all sorts of things. It was really bizarre."
Pete was running the mixer when she started talking about what she had been up to in her own little room. He chuckled, "You were throwing knives and walking the high wire? That's pretty awesome, Lena," he said clearly impressed.
He wasn't much for small talk, and certainly not while he was a little drunk and when he was talking to his own wife. He grinned at her as he stopped the mixer and started to pour the first waffle of the batter into the waffle iron carefully. "Did you find yourself yet? I bet you were the last place you left you," he asked giving her a cheeky smile, but it wasn't as loaded as it could have been. It was honestly just a touch of teasing, because it was still his Lena, and because he was genuinely curious how she was doing.
Lena laughed. "Don't be too excited. I wasn't the one throwing anything. All I had to do was convince everyone to pick up these heavy dumbbells. They thought I was completely crazy. But I did walk the wire. It was... scary." She laughed once more, unable to hide such things from Peter. "It was so high! And I'm not even afraid of heights! The blindfold made everything worse, but Aiden helped me across. That was helpful. More than helpful." She didn't think she needed to explain who she was referring to.
His question was light and coupled with a smile, but Lena's answer was a sheepish grimace as she doubled over on her stool. "I'm... a few steps to the left?" Her laugh turned a little more nervous as they entered more serious territory. "Job market is terrible. It's been sort of difficult." As soon as she said it, she remembered that Pete himself was looking for a job. "But I'm trying?" Her voice kept rising, turning everything to a question, clearly showing she wasn't sure herself. "I'm going back to Columbia in the fall. I just need to find something in the mean time."
Pete was glad that Aiden had been there, he was a nice guy, and even though they barely knew each other he did trust him and he was glad that Lena hadn't been in a room full of unfamiliar faces. "That sounds awesome, I wish you had pictures of that. That's definitely something for the mantle."
He chuckled when she said she was a few steps to the left and he conceded that the job market sucked, "If I ever manage to find a job you can work for me," he said chuckling. "Any hours you want and you can still scold me for leaving wet towels on the floor."
He was going around the kitchen getting plates, and Lena's choice waffle toppings, as the first waffle cooked. "What have you looked for?" he asked curiously the desire to assist her was strong and he was hoping that he was able to do so, "I'm always looking for work so I can definitely help you." He opened the waffle iron and took the perfectly cooked belgian waffle out easily and put it on a plate and dressed it up just he way she liked and he slide it across the bar towards her clearly pleased with himself. "Breakfast." He said winking at her. He poured the second half of the batter into the waffle iron and watched to see if she approved, though he was pretty sure she would.
She laughed as he said she could work for him. "You don't want me working for you. I'm quite good at being able to tell when you're actually doing research, and when you're reading some tech blog about some new upcoming gadget you've had your eye on." She gave him a teasing look, silently daring him to deny it.
She clapped her hands together softly as she stared down at the waffle, cutting into it as she thought over his question. "Everything, to be honest. At first I was trying to find something that had flexible hours? I figured I should work all summer, establish myself a bit, and then be able to request a part time schedule in the fall. But there haven't been that many options, probably since we're coming up to summer and every student ever is looking for a summer gig. So I tried going for an office setup, but there's a huge hole in my resume." No real need to explain why there was one. "I was thinking maybe I could try being some secretary in a law firm. I know a little bit, clearly someone rubbed off on me. But I don't have any references to back up these wild claims of mine. So we're back to square one. I'm giving it another week before I throw the towel in and go to a Starbucks job fair."
She noticed he was watching her and she quickly turned her attention to the waffle, eating a bite before giving him a dreamy sigh. "You're still the breakfast king," she laughed softly, and took another bite. "How about you? How's the job hunting going?"
Peter listened carefully as she went on about the job search, it was true he seemed to be having an easier time of it. Everyone was eager for a lawyer who was still fresh faced and not jaded. They were all going to be chomping at the bit to change him. He was slicing a banana for his own waffle and he popped a slice in his mouth and chewed with a thoughtful look on his face, "I'll tell you what, when I find a job I'll make sure they let me bring my secretary with me. I know you want to try and do everything on your own, but it doesn't hurt to throw some favors around to get your foot in the door," he said nodding once as if this solidified it all.
He grinned when she said he maintained his crown as breakfast king and he pumped the air with his fist before he went about getting his own waffle onto a plate. "My job hunt is different, I've got plenty of people willing to help or vouch, or whatever. But I'm taking my time being as picky as possible. I was helping out the kid upstairs with the baby problem but now it looks like he's taken off and pawned the kid off on someone else, so that'll be a phone call I make tomorrow morning. Try to figure out what's in the kid's best interest. I'll tell you what though, babies don't pay too well." He said grinning, clearly not caring too much about money in that case at all.
"Your secretary, hm?" He seemed so sure of himself and his promise that she could only laugh and cut another piece of her waffle. She wasn't sure if it was the early (or late) hour, or that alcohol that she had caught on his breath earlier but she was sure he was going to regret that later on. Instead she said simply, "We'll see," and made a mental note to let him off the hook later.
She was nodding quietly, not just out of politeness but also glad that he was taking his time to really find something he loved. He had jumped on his job with Vlad for financial security, even when it wasn't the law he wanted to practice. She was really happy to see that he was going to try his hand with something he was passionate about. The mention of a baby made her eyebrows rise. "A baby?" Her voice went soft and sharp at once; she adored babies and was appalled that someone would so casually try to rid of one. She knew better than to ask who's it was, although he probably knew she was brimming with curiosity. "Check for the silver spoon before you let them out of your sight. But you'll remember to check next time, I'm sure."
She gestured for him to hurry up and sit down with his own waffle. She always hated eating by herself. "Other than babies skipping out on the bill, is anything really catching your eye? I know you said you were being picky but are you leaning in any particular direction?"
"Yep, I'll start demanding shit right off the bat so they know I'm serious," he said giving her his best "serious" face which was not at all his actual "serious" face. But she'd know that.
He laughed and raised his eyebrows clearly surprised by her reaction to the news of a baby being in his midst, he found it amusing and pushed back any and all thoughts about the very serious conversation he'd been meaning to have with her before she beat him to it with her very serious conversation. "Yeah, a resident moved, left the baby with someone who was not at all ready to have a baby, then he left and I'm pretty sure he did the same thing. But, I'll work it out," he said obviously sure of himself on this one. It definitely wasn't going to drop off of his radar anytime soon.
He moved over and sat down next to her at the breakfast bar and started eating quite happily. It was nice having a meal with Lena again, hell it was nice having a meal with someone other than the internet, but Lena especially. "No," he said honestly. "I don't know what I'm looking for, I mean...I kind of want to go back to Legal Aid, but they can't really afford anyone new, so I was thinking about a small firm, but the economy sucks, so I was thinking about the District Attorney's office, but they aren't looking for anyone right now either. I'm about to go tend bar and hand out the legal advice for free while I'm pulling pints."
Her smile only widened in the face of such seriousness. "Well I'm convinced," she teased right back.
She couldn't help but pout as he relayed the circumstances of the baby. "That's awful," she said, sighing. Honestly, who left babies? There were services out there for just this sort of thing. And with neighbors like theirs? Who would ever think that was a good idea? But if Peter said he would fix it then she had faith. He'd straighten things out.
She laughed softly at the thought of him setting up shop at a bar. "Is that where that's from?" She realized the vagueness of her request and she leaned closer to him slightly, giving him a dramatic sniff by his mouth for any more traces of alcohol. The breakfast food did a good job of masking it though and she pulled back with a grin. "Well, either way, I'm sure you'll find something that suits you. And if not, you could always go become a chef." To emphasize her point she cut another portion of waffle and ate it with a dreamy sigh. "Maybe that's the ticket. Some sort of law office slash diner combo. Ingenious! There. I've solved your problem." The smirk she tossed him over her shoulder was all sorts of smug.
"That's all that matters, if I've got you convinced I'm square," he said easily.
He was about to fall off his stool as she moved closer to him, was this going to be easier than anticipated? He realized quickly that she was talking about the smell of the booze on his breath and he gave her a lazy smile, his cheeks blushing just a bit at having been caught. "Nah, that was just a little post traumatic nightcap," he said winking at her. He did laugh when she decided his calling was a diner/law office combo and he nodded as he leaned toward her as well leaning his forehead against hers. Despite the closeness it was still pretty innocent compared to what he wanted to do, and he tried to keep the mood as light as possible as he chuckled. "You missed your calling, hon. You've got guidance counselor written all over you," he said teasingly as he poked her in the side playfully.
It was difficult to pull away when he leaned in close. When times were good between them, they were really good, and this only reminded her of that. She didn't immediately pulled back though, not really wanting the moment to end, nor wanting to make everything incredibly obvious and awkward. His poke at her side gave her a good exit and she leaned away with a soft whine. “Nooooo, none of that. I’m going to fall.” Once sat properly again she gave him lazy grin of her own. “Clearly my guidance counselor wasn’t very good then. I think I’ll set up shop in one of your booths at law diner. So really, your diner has three draws: legal advice, breakfast, or life coaching. I think this is a very sound business plan you have on your hands here, dear.”
Peter chuckled, "I'd catch you, I'm a little tipsy but I'm still spry," he assured her. He leaned his head on his hand as he listened to her talk, still looking at her, but not trying to stare her down. "You're welcome to it, I'll get you a little sign, bring you all the breakfast you want, tell you when you're breaking the law," he said clearly pleased with this ridiculous idea.
He stopped looking at her only long enough to take a bite of his waffle and he chewed for a bit contemplating the million different thoughts flying through his mind. He set his fork down and turned on the stool again to look at her. "Lena," he said easily. "I'm glad you're here. It's been way too quiet." He said honestly. He wasn't trying to make her feel badly, he just wanted to let her know that her absence was noted and not particularly liked.
"And I owe you an apology," he said and put his hand up before she could argue with him. "Not because of what happened, but because I just let you get up and walk out of here. I love you so much, and you don't let someone you love just get up and walk out of your life without fighting for it. Because I know you were unhappy, and I know you have a lot of things you want to figure out, and I support that a hundred percent. I just want you to know that once you're done working all that out, we're still going to work out. You will find yourself, and you will do amazing, beautiful, wonderful things in this world, because you are amazing and beautiful and wonderful. But I also know that I have some work to do, and I have some things to figure out. But I'm not giving up on us, it was wrong of me to ever think I should. And it was wrong of me to watch you leave, I thought I was doing that for you. Letting you go off and be happy without me and live a full life that you couldn't have with me. But when you're done, when we've got ourselves figured out we're going to realize that the one thing that's missing is this marriage. Because it means more to me than any job, any house, any town...This, me and you, is what matters. And I think you know that too." He gave her a grin and a wink, "And this is just the tip of the iceberg, because everything we had, even the shitty fights and the not paying attention to each other, and the getting way too comfortable before we even hit thirty...It's all worth it, baby. It's all worth making a complete ass out of myself over. Even if you don't think so, I'm fighting hard enough for the both of us right now. You fought quietly for a long time, Lena. So...I just wanted to let you know, this is me...Fighting for it. For us."
She looked down at the plate, cheeks a bit pink and more than a bit embarrassed. She knew he wasn’t trying to make her feel terrible but she did anyway. “I’m glad I’ve come by too.” And she did. She missed just hanging out with him. Maybe she missed a few other things too but simply being around him and having light conversation was something she could own up to all the time.
He started to talk and even silenced her protests. The nervousness at what he was going to say was evident in her posture, and even though it faded away, it was because his speech was completely and utterly unexpected. That was the last thing she ever thought he would say. Her expression softened but she kept it from falling completely. When he winked she gave a little laugh, thinking that it was an opportune moment to interrupt but he kept going. By the time he told her, promised her, that he was fighting for them, Helena could feel tears starting to pool at the corner of her eyes. “Oh, Pete,” she breathed softly, trying to force the beginnings of a smile off her face. She didn’t want to encourage him, or give him the wrong idea but Peter was just so earnest about it, so damn sweet, she couldn’t help it.
There was a long, heavy moment between them as she tried to find something to say and failing miserably. Instead she lifted a hand to wipe away her unshed tears, a sheepish laugh bubbling up quietly. “It’s a bit early to be weepy, I think.” A sniff and a smile before she gave his waffle a pointed look, gave his shoulder a gentle nudge with her own. “You should eat that. It’s going to be cold soon and won’t be as good. I mean, it will still be good. You made them but, oh you know what I mean.” Now she could barely structure sentences properly but at least she was laughing at herself. “I’ll stop nagging. I’m sorry.” She ate another piece of her waffle, almost finished, and added, “Thanks for making me breakfast, by the way.” She didn't want to look at the door but really she should be going. She was doing enough damage just being there.
He wasn't sure how to feel about her reaction, but she hadn't run out screaming, and she hadn't brushed him off completely. He considered that a win. He put his hand on the side of her face when she said it was too early to be weepy and brushed her cheek softly with his thumb, "Well you joined the circus tonight, you're entitled," he said going along with the subject change for the time being.
"Yes ma'am," he said nodding once and turning back to his waffle. He took another bite but was feeling pretty amped up and not too hungry anymore. He forced a few more bites down and he chuckled, "Gotta watch the figure," he said smiling.
She finished the last few bites of her meal before he did, not hesitating to add, "Your figure is fine and you know it," she smirked, dabbing the corners of her lips with a napkin. Once he was finished with his, she reached over to grab his plate. "You cooked, so I can at least clear," she reminded him with a look, stopping any impending protests. Once the dishes were in the sink she looked over at the clock, and then at him, and gave him a little shrug and started towards the door. "Well... I really should be going. We've both had a pretty exhausting couple of hours." That was an excuse that she didn't think he could refute.
He didn't argue with her, truth be told he just wanted to watch her wandering around their kitchen again, and it was just as awesome as he'd anticipated. He looked at the clock when she did and he nodded, "Definitely an exhausting night," he said as he stood up from his seat and started walking her toward the door.
He reached for the doorknob to open it for her but stopped and turned to close the distance between them. He was kissing her before he even really got a chance to stop himself. He didn't care that she had a boyfriend upstairs waiting on her, he didn't care that he was probably about to get brutally rejected, he didn't care about any of it. He just wanted to kiss his wife. It had been way too long. He held her tightly and closely almost afraid to end it.
He had been reaching for the doorknob and she had been ready to say good night so the kiss caught her completely off guard. She wasn't stiff in his embrace - kissing him was all too familiar - but she tried very gently to still his lips and delicately disentangle from his embrace. She didn't want to embarrass him or upset him, but they really shouldn't be doing this. Her cheeks were pink and her expression wary, but she wasn't mad. She didn't have the heart to be mad at him. He had been drinking. That was what she would blame this all on. Instead her fingers came up to press gently on his mouth - a simple signal to stop - before she gave him a small smile and then a soft kiss, on the cheek this time. "...Good night, Pete." She couldn't really say much more than that.
He pulled back from her slightly and smiled at her as he opened the door for her, "Good night, Lena." He closed the door behind her and crossed the room to the couch and flopped down. He wasn't sure if this was progress or not.