InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Come on Thunderchild!!"

Carol Danvers (cpt_marvel) wrote in snapthread,
@ 2019-04-03 18:30:00

Entry tags:

carol danvers (mcu), peter b parker (sv)

Who: Carol Danvers and Peter Parker
What: Showers, Beer, and Singing!
Where: A random convention somewhere
When: Wednesday evening
Rating:Lowish? Maybe swearing?

Carol had been itching to go exploring through the doors for days now, but there had definitely been some hesitancy since talking to Tony about what might be on the other side. From what she'd seen over the communicator, it looked like people were coming and going freely from the same strange place. Whatever this "convention" was, there was plenty to report back. And she had to admit it, curiosity was getting the better of her.

She was dressed down for this, electing to leave her uniform at home. Even if she ran into trouble, she figured she could handle it. Unless there was a sudden alien attack or something. What were the odds? Right?

Carol didn't hesitate much, opening the door and stepping into...well, what was this place? It was clearly a large overly lit and crowded convention hall, but Carol wasn't really ready for just how big it all was. She was used to the idea that comic "conventions" were just something very geeky people did in dingy and dark comic store basements. This was entirely different. All around her people were wearing costumes, t-shirts with the faces of superheroes on them, and...wait, was that Rogers? No. Just some 17-year-old acne-ridden kid in some serious cosplay.

It reminded her too much of Los Angeles.

"Okay, maybe this wasn't a great idea..." She was considering going back through the door when something caught her eye. A comic book stand with a familiar looking face drawn on a large vinyl banner. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me..." Tony was right. Carol was pretty sure that it was the older version of him drawn on the banner and as she came closer, she saw various comic books ranging from "Iron Man" to "Thor". Curiously, she reached for an Avengers comic to start flipping through it, smirking when she realized that whatever this place was, it was definitely nothing she'd seen before.

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pbandparker
2019-04-04 02:35 am UTC (link)

If there was one thing that Peter knew it was Comic-con. He'd never been, well... okay no, that was a lie, he'd been, but he'd never been as himself, but in this place that didn't really seem to be a problem. So you know going through to see what it was all about when what was on the other side was a known quantity - that felt like a time when Peter could be sure that he could go through and actually survive this whole portal to an unknown world thing. And well, he'd heard there might be showers on the other side - and that was a possibility he could simply not pass up.

So he'd gone to check it out, wearing the costume because why not and then once he was there feeling like maybe the costume was not the greatest idea - considering just how many other vaguely spider-esk people there were in attendance. But maybe that was for the best, he was just one more Spider-man among many he blended better like this. Oh god he'd forgotten about fanart, yeah this was maybe not the greatest place in the world, and yet it was comfortable in a way - in it's familiarity.

And then there among the masses he saw her, he'd seen her around town a bit already since she arrived, the way he'd seen a lot of them around town since they arrived even if he hadn't been the one to find them, and even if they hadn't really spoken yet - but she bore the look of someone who was realizing that this whole thing was a lot bigger than any of them had realized before stepping through that door.

"Uh, hi." He said stepping up beside her where she was flipping through a comic book with some very familiar looking faces inside. "You're from... well through the door, right?" He asked her, just to be sure, because maybe it could be a very good cosplay, but his senses were telling him that she was exactly who he thought she was. "I'm Peter, I don't think we've actually had a chance to talk yet. But well.... safety in numbers?"

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cpt_marvel
2019-04-04 02:44 am UTC (link)

Carol tried to ignore the guy at first. She wasn't trying to be rude, but she'd met plenty of assholes in her day and most of the time men walked up and started talking like that it was because they expected certain things from her. So, she just kept flipping through comics until he mentioned the door.

That caught her attention. Carol looked over at him, seeing he was dressed in some sort of costume. Like a hundred other people around them. "Yeah...Carol." She lifted a hand to shake his, her eyes still a little suspicious of him.

"How did you know I was from the other side?" Was it that obvious? Carol wasn't sure she would be able to tell so easily with everyone buzzing around her. Suddenly, she wondered if she should have brought her armor after all.

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pbandparker
2019-04-04 03:24 am UTC (link)

Yeah the Spider-Man thing had probably been a mistake but it wasn't like he had some alternate identity costume lying around to use for times like this. But maybe this was the moment he'd been talking to Jan about, when they needed new costumes! Too late for that now, he'd just have to roll with it and live with being one of many. It was pretty obvious though that she didn't know him, and Peter felt a little... exposed just taking off the mask, but he supposed maybe he should, it wasn't like they were at home, it wasn't like he was staying here. Hopefully this wasn't a place that actually had a Peter Parker neighborhood Spider-Man.

"I, uh... I've seen you?" He said wincing at how that sounded because yeah it was creepy and Peter was just that sort of guy he supposed. "I mean you know just around, I haven't been following you or anything." He was going to have to show her his face just so she didn't get the wrong idea, or maybe she'd get even more of the wrong idea? He didn't know. Whatever.

Peter pushed the mask up. "Sorry I just, I've got a sense too, you know I feel it around people who are you know different." He shrugged, "And I felt it and thought maybe it was someone I knew but then I saw it was you and I thought maybe I should just say hi and now I'm wondering just how much of a mistake that was."

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cpt_marvel
2019-04-04 03:38 am UTC (link)

It was too late. She was getting the wrong idea. That was pretty obvious from the way she was eyeing him- something between disturbed and a glare. Carol really didn't like the idea of someone following her. Even if he was from Starklandia (Was that what they were calling it now? It was as good a name as any).

Slowly nodding, Carol stared at the guy's face before looking back at the book. "It's alright. This place just has me a little weirded out." She put the first comic book down and glanced up to stare straight into her own face- well, sort of her own face. She reached for the comic and started flipping through it.

"Captain Marvel." She muttered, staring at the frames. Okay...yeah, this was definitely surreal. She recognized the scenes on the pages then closed the book and put it down.

"Whoa! Love the costume!" Someone commented from behind the booth and Carol looked at the person. Costume? She frowned and glanced down at her leather jacket and jeans. "You're a dead ringer for Captain Marvel. Can I get your picture?" The bearded little man pulled out his phone and Carol looked at Peter. "Oh yeah! Spiderman can be in it, too. Maybe you can pretend to punch him??"

Carol raised her eyebrow and looked amused at the notion as she looked back at Peter, clearly asking whether or not he'd go with it.

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pbandparker
2019-04-04 03:58 am UTC (link)

Yeah this was definitely a mistake, Peter could feel it - not in a spider sense kind of way just in a guy with an occasionally punchable sort of face kind of way. But she nodded eventually and admitted to being weirded out by all of this. "It's a little different for me too," He told her, "I mean they have comic-con where I'm from, but it's not quite like this." A little too on the nose from what he'd seen, a little too much speculation about who they were spending their time with, it was weird okay. And Peter was used to weird but this was a special kind of weird.

He tilted his head as she read over a comic that seemed like it might have been based on her before she closed it looking away from it all. Yeah definitely weird. He'd been getting ready to maybe offer a little support or something when they were interrupted by someone who didn't know him, at least not immediately but instead called out what he saw as her Captain Marvel costume, despite Peter getting the distinct impression that it was less costume for her and more every day wear. I mean jacket and jeans didn't exactly scream hero wear, but what did he know - he ran around in tights.

And then the fan suggested he be in the picture too. He looked at Carol as well for a moment and then shrugged, "Why not?" It wasn't like they were going to stick around for whatever fallout there could be from this. "I'm game if you are." He said looking at her.

"Oh man this is gonna be so great," The guys said clearly gleeful with his camera ready to get the picture of a lifetime. Peter pulled the mask back down because obviously he wasn't Spider-Man without it. "Okay just you know pretend like you're gonna hit him!" He stood back holding a hand out like he was lining up the shot just the way he wanted.

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cpt_marvel
2019-04-04 04:13 am UTC (link)

The little guy was serious. Carol wasn't sure how what she was wearing was a costume or why the man seemed to recognize her at all. Peter seemed okay with it as if he'd done this before. "Sure...but does it have to pretend?" She looked at Peter with a smirk that said she might just hit him anyway.

Of course, she didn't. She lined up for the shot, though it felt really weird to just stand there like that as the man took the photo.

"Thank you! Oh man, wait until Paul sees this! He's gonna freak, you're a dead ringer."

"You're welcome." Carol grabbed Peter by the arm and started to pull him away from the strange little guy with the camera.

"Okay, that was weird. How did he even know it was me?" She didn't see what would make her stand out. The only thing she was wearing that was even her own was her flight jacket, and that hardly screamed "superhero". So she thought. "And how come he didn't recognize you? I mean, your face- not the weird red pajama thing."

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pbandparker
2019-04-04 04:53 am UTC (link)

"Yes, yes it should absolutely be pretend," Peter said holding up his hands, he was pretty sure she was joking but well the thing was, he'd just kind of maybe said he was following here, even when he totally wasn't so he couldn't be entirely sure that she wasn't going to hit him.

Thankfully no punch came, they just posed for the shot and were thanked way too eagerly by the guy who seemed to be very pleased with his find before Carol was pulling him in the opposite direction. Yeah he was really glad she hadn't hit him.

"Yeah, yeah really weird." Peter agreed nodding, "I'm gonna guess this is probably one of Carol's looks," He said waving a little to her outfit, "You know from the comics, or maybe there's a cartoon, there are cartoons sometimes." he offered. "As for me?" He shrugged, he thought it had more to do with the suit, "This is probably pretty distracting," He said waving to his costume, "People look here and not here," He lifted a hand up toward his face, "So they don't really see you even when you have the mask off." At least that was the current theory.

"Maybe he just thought you were hot and paid more attention to you too." He suggested and then wanted to smack himself in the face for saying something like that to her, no matter how true it might have been. People would be less likely to look close at a guy when they were much more interested in the woman beside him.

"Wanna get off the floor? Maybe see what else is around outside this part of the convention?" He offered, hoping maybe to make peace that way, with some actual exploration rather than just fending off requests for photo ops.

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cpt_marvel
2019-04-04 05:06 am UTC (link)

She wasn't going to get used to this. Maybe it would have been a better idea to wear the suit and see if they would just ignore her the same way they ignored Peter? Somehow she doubted it.

As he tried to explain why she stood out more than him, she continued to give her most deadpanned expression, both understanding his point but not having to agree or like it. Yes. Leaving this place was a good idea. "Lead the way."

Carol followed him out through the overly crowded hall, occasionally seeing glimpses of people she recognized from Starklandia- or sort of recognized. They were on posters, people were dressed like them, there were even statues and action figures. It was overwhelming.

When they finally got into the main hall, there was room to breathe. Though, not much. The hall seemed a little easier at least, and it appeared as if the convention hall was part of a hotel. She saw the concierge's desk and glanced at Peter.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but when was the last time you had a hot shower?" The mischief in her eyes probably told him exactly what she was thinking. This could be their only chance in a long time to see a real bathroom.

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pbandparker
2019-04-04 06:47 am UTC (link)

Yeah that look on her face told him everything he needed to know about what he just said. All in all Peter was just relieved to get out of there, both unpunched and not grabbed by anyone eager for another picture. It was all a little less tense outside the hall, sure there were still plenty of people out here but not nearly as many as there were on the convention floor. It felt like it was easier to breathe out here.

So it was a hotel, figured really, these sort of things often ended up in hotel ballrooms and things like that. But it was sort of strange too after a month spent in Starklandia to be reminded of things like this out here in the something that looked so much like the "real" world. He was obviously getting far too used to the place they had been stuck that this felt like a novelty to him and not the other way around.

He was just going to ask Carol what she thought they should do now that they were out in the main hall when she asked him about taking a shower, and for a moment Peter thought maybe it was because he smelled, and what a nightmare that would have been. But then he caught that look in her eye and then nodded.

"Yeah, it's been a while and a shower is a thing I am desperately in need of. Wanna try our luck see if we can't get a room or two? Maybe some room service while we're at it?" Either that or come back down and eat in the hotel restaurant, there was bound to be one in a place like this, or a bar at the very least. Yeah a bar sounded like a great idea

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cpt_marvel
2019-04-04 01:02 pm UTC (link)

Her smiled broadened just a little and she walked toward the main desk. The boy behind it did a double take as she approached, putting her arms on the counter and doing her best to not look scary. "Hi...we'd like a room."

"I-I'm sorry, Miss, but we're completely booked up." The boy looked intimidated like he knew her or something and was too scared to say no. Or maybe something else. Carol frowned and glanced at Peter then back at the boy.

"Oh?? I thought my boyfriend here made a reservation." She glanced over the desk at the computer, getting an idea. "Check for Parker." Carol again looked at Peter, her eyes giving him an indication that he should clearly come up to the counter. "Maybe you could help him, Pete?" Carol stepped back and looked around to find an open computer nearby- bingo. There was a terminal behind another empty counter twenty feet away and the rest of the staff was occupied. Carol did her best to look nonchalant as she slipped closer, and luckily everyone else seemed too busy notice. As the boy fussed with Peter, Carol got to work. It took her about a minute and then...

"Oh! Peter Parker? Wait- is that your real name??" The boy made a face and stared up at him. Yeah, this had to be a joke. "Room 227. " Carol had come over again, grinning and taking the cards they were handed.

"Told you so. Thanks!"

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pbandparker
2019-04-04 06:14 pm UTC (link)

Peter wasn't entirely sure how they were going to go about getting a room but then Carol took care of getting them started, just walked right up and asked for one - which yeah, that was probably the way to do it. Right why hadn't he thought of that, whatever. His plan had been crazy and a little over the top this was better.

Of course then they were suddenly dating for the sake of their ruse and Peter did his best not to look wide eyed as he stepped up to the counter. Together he and the guy at the counter talked it over, "Conventions, am I right?" the kid looked harried enough by all the activity so Peter tried not to press too much, or not too hard at least. But he kept him talking while he looked even a little distracted because maybe Peter's plan had been a little nuts but it looked like Carol had something in mind.

And then suddenly his name came up in the system. Peter winced when the kid asked if it was his real name. "Uh I mean yeah, my parents." He shrugged, "Big fans, you know how it can be." So so weird, it was one thing to be a Peter Parker among the multiverse of them, it was something else to be looked at like his name was something out of a story instead of a real actual name that people just had.

"She's always right," Peter said with one last laugh for the kid as Carol came up and took the cards for their room. And they made their way upstairs to the room they'd managed to get for themselves. He slid the keycard in and opened the door, "Oh man, I've had a lot bad to say about hotel rooms in the past, but never again." It wasn't the fanciest room in the world, but it certainly was miles ahead of the little home he'd been living in for the last month. "A shower." Peter said emotionally as he opened the bathroom door to reveal a shower that was probably bigger than the shower he had back at home.

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cpt_marvel
2019-04-04 07:00 pm UTC (link)

Carol was looking pretty smug as they took the elevator p and found the room. Okay, she was never a fan of hotels, but this wasn't so bad. Plus, it had a real bed and shower. She couldn't remember the last time she saw a bed like this. Definitely before the Kree.

Peter was checking out the shower while she walked to look out the window, wondering if it might be possible to step outside of this place. Then she stepped across the room, looking into the bathroom and then at Peter. "I'm going first. No arguments. I can guarantee you it's been way longer since I've had a hot shower than you." Hot showers were an uncommon phenomena in space, and she would be taking full advantage of this. "You can watch TV."

And with a grin, she basically pushed him out of the bathroom and closed and locked the door.

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pbandparker
2019-04-05 02:21 am UTC (link)

Peter was pretty much ready to just get out of the suit right there in that moment and climb in when Carol instead stepped in front of him and practically shoved him out letting him know she was going first. He pouted at her, "That's just plain cruel, I'll have you know." He said but didn't try and argue, it was a hotel after all they wouldn't run out of hot water anytime soon, and if Carol had gone longer without a hot shower he supposed she was owed. And he was nearly positive that if it hadn't been for Carol they wouldn't have gotten a room in the first place.

So peter flopped himself down on the bed and groaned out a sound of pure bliss. Like he was a man who had a mattress on the floor back home, he wasn't picky about his sleep situation, but a real bed, with pillows like this? Yeah it was perfect, they were absolutely going to have to steal these pillows. He wasn't a petty criminal, but this hotel had plenty of spares, and they were in need. Surely it was something like charity for the hotel to give them pillows.

He didn't bother with the tv, there wouldn't be anything worth watching on anyway, and he was far more into this bed than he realized he'd be. Yeah, Carol could have the first shower, he had the bed, and that was pretty great as far as he was concerned.

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cpt_marvel
2019-04-05 02:32 am UTC (link)

She really had missed a hot shower, more than she could have ever imagined. And especially since arriving in that weird town. Standing under the running water, she actually considered if it would be possible to stay in this new world just to take advantage of running water.

But, eventually, she grew bored and finally shut off the water and stepped out. When the door opened again, Carol was in a hotel robe, hair wrapped in a towel and looking way more relaxed than she had since she'd fallen back to...wherever their "home" was now.

"Your turn." She came over and flopped onto the other side of the bed. "Think we should try room service?" Again, she was grinning. This was as close to a vacation as she'd had since her days in the Air Force. And even then, the only time she had ever splurged on a hotel was when she and Maria had visited Vegas.

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pbandparker
2019-04-05 04:40 am UTC (link)

Peter was dozing, not quite asleep when Carol finally showed up again, announcing that it was his turn in the shower before she joined him on the bed. She looked like she'd made good use of the facilities, looking comfortable in her robe and towel turban - how did women do that thing, he'd always wondered, even when MJ managed it he never could quite figure it out.

"Oh yeah, room service is a must - something not cooked over a camp fire would be amazing." Sure it was fine for what they were dealing with, and being fed at all was better than starving, but Peter was itching for some real food again, it was part of why he'd started his pizza making plan, but that was going to take a little time to work out fully, so until then room service was absolutely the way to go.

Pushing himself up Peter found the menu and tossed it on the bed beside Carol. "Look through that see if they have anything worth ordering." He was sure they did, what hotel didn't have at least something that was considered passable on the menu?

"I'll be back." He announced, after all he'd gotten up and if he wasn't going to be laying back enjoying the bed he was definitely going to be in the shower. And that was exactly what he did - Peter had maybe spent a lot of time in the shower back at home, but this was something different, this wasn't crying in the shower for hours which he absolutely did not do - it was luxuriating in the pure bliss that was functional plumbing and hot water heaters. God this was absolutely something they needed to get to work on back in Starklandia, pizza was all well and good but they needed hot water heaters. He'd have to talk to Tony about that when they got back. But for now there was the shower, he scrubbed down every inch of himself and his hair and then repeated the entire process until even he felt like he didn't have a good excuse to be in there any longer. And only then did Peter eventually find his way back out again, in the other provided robe but minus the towel on top of his head.

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cpt_marvel
2019-04-05 11:35 am UTC (link)

Carol was happy enough to look through the menu and put it on the room. "You sure you wanna trust me with this?" She was grinning as she reached for the phone. Too late now. She was going to take full advantage of the room and ordered a pizza along with a couple of hamburgers and fries. Hey, she hadn't been back home in a while and there were things that just weren't the same across the galaxy.

By the time Peter was back, the food had arrived and Carol was sitting up on the bed, enjoying a slice of pizza and staring at the news (of all things). There was a look on her face that was unreadable, but something in her eyes displayed a hint of loss. Things had changed so much since the last time she was on Earth. Even more than since she'd first been taken in 1989.

"Is Donald Trump president where you're from?" The question came as soon as he stepped out of the shower. She nodded to the food spread out on the table for him to go at. "Seriously, how did that happen? I feel like I'm missing a lot of what was going on back home." It was actually surreal. She'd been so concerned with the big picture, saving worlds and being a hero, that she'd lost sign of all the little things she'd left behind. And how her own homeworld was suffering.

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pbandparker
2019-04-05 06:19 pm UTC (link)

Honestly after he'd gotten in the shower he might have trusted Carol with just about anything, whether it was the room service order or anything else. And when he came out to see she'd ordered pizza and burgers Peter knew his trust had been well placed in her. He sat down with her and grabbed a slice of pizza for himself sighing a happy sound as he chewed his first bite.

He was surprised though when Carol asked about the president and he frowned, "What the wrestling guy?" He wondered that didn't sound quite right but maybe that was real in some other place. "I mean small things can snowball in big ways, so someone says something maybe ten years back and it plants a seed and then things end up coming out in crazy ways." The multiverse was crazy because yeah they were similar in a lot of ways, but there were always things that were different. Some bigger than others, some more insane than others, but they had to be different, or else they'd be in the same dimension, right?

"It's impossible to know how exactly each universe divides off the ones around it, they're just running along side one another in most ways, but I think just seeing the collection of people we have already in Starklandia proves that even if we're similar we come from places that are very different. I don't think you can take responsibility for the way things ended up back home for you." He told her, "I mean it's like the butterfly effect, you'd have to know what tiny little decision or action was made for things to end up the way they are and often they're so small that no one could see them coming, not even you."

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cpt_marvel
2019-04-05 10:16 pm UTC (link)

"The Billionaire. Did he wrestle when you're from?" She couldn't really imagine that in her universe. Then again, could she have imagined any of what she was now experiencing? "Yeah..." She was familiar with the Butterfly Effect and the dangerous outcomes of even the smallest deviation from a plan. But this was seeing it at a whole new level.

"So...this is not your universe. And definitely not mine." She'd finished the pizza, sliding off of the bed and walking back to the bathroom to change back into her regular clothes. She paused at the door, though, staring at the TV. "You drink? Do you think we can find a bar around here?"

Because even if part of her just wanted to lay down and enjoy the bed, another part was anxious for something else. She hated sitting still. And this place offered a lot of comforts from home. Plus, the longer they stuck around the room, the more likely hey might be of getting caught.

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pbandparker
2019-04-05 10:50 pm UTC (link)

"I don't think he's a billionaire where I'm from." But Peter shrugged he might have been, he didn't exactly keep track of people like that. Peter shook his head, "Yeah no it doesn't seem to be where I'm from, they have conventions but they're not exactly like this either. We're certainly not the stars of our own comic books." He said shaking his head, this place was familiar, but not so much so that he felt some desire to stay to try and make this some new version of home.

Still a real bed was tempting as was more room service but then Carol suggested drinks and well if there was one thing Peter knew, drinking alone was a damn shame and he could use one. "All these hotels have bars I'm sure, we going to find one?" He asked perking up, it was probably best because after a shower and real proper food he was in serious danger of passing out, but if they got up and went adventuring for drinks, well that'd keep him awake.

"Lemme just, you know." He nodded to the bathroom where he'd left his suit. The robe was nice though and he was tempted to take it, but a Spider-Man wandering around in a bathrobe? Yeah that wouldn't go unnoticed. Suited up once more he and Carol hit the road leaving behind what was truly a gift of a room and went to see what they could find in the way of a hotel bar.

"Oh look, they've even got karaoke." Peter said delighted when they did actually find the bar on the second floor overlooking the main lobby with a little stage and screen off to one side.

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cpt_marvel
2019-04-06 12:16 am UTC (link)

Okay, she was really starting to like this guy. Her grin widened a little and she quickly went to change, feeling so much better having eaten a real meal (well, pizza and burgers) and showered. It was amazing what such things could do. Carol hadn't felt this relaxed in ages. In fact, she couldn't even remember the last time.

She finished her burger while Peter got ready, just glad that they were at a weird convention where the spider suit wasn't as big of a deal.

As it turned out, finding a bar wasn't hard a all. And when Peter said karaoke, Carol grinned and brushed past him straight for the bar to order a beer on the room's tab and looking far, far too pleased with herself when it was handed to her. She even ignored the bartender's annoying wink as she drank half of it down in one go then glanced at Peter, smirking. "Don't judge me. I've been waiting 30 years for this." She took a seat at the bar and leaned forward, taking another sip and going on.

"So...Spider-Man, what's your story?"

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pbandparker
2019-04-06 02:39 am UTC (link)

Yeah if he'd known this was what it was going to be, Peter would have absolutely opted for some regular clothes, but the suit had seemed like a good idea when he hadn't been sure what exactly he'd find on the other side of the door he'd stepped through. He felt safer in it, even without the mask on, it was just something of a security blanket, the one piece of his life that had stayed with him and never left.

Yes, that was as depressing as it sounded. Peter could accept that was the direction his life had taken.

But anyway there was a bar! And a bar was a great distraction, and the sort that they probably wouldn't have for a while. So he got himself a drink, adding it to their room tab and giving a look to the bartender after he winked at Carol. That guy didn't know they were just two people out to steal some hot water and a couple of drinks, that winking wasn't cool.

"Hey, no judgement from me." Peter held up both hands, "You wanna do shots or whatever, you go girl." He snapped his fingers in a small z shape and grinned as he got his own drink. He very nearly snorted into his drink when she asked him about his story with that sort of tone.

"Uh... I mean radio active spider bite, saving the city again and again and again, helped the avengers every now and then but mostly I'm just a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, so I prefer sticking a little more closely to home when I can." He rattled off the sort of quick run down of his basic story.

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cpt_marvel
2019-04-06 02:53 am UTC (link)

She made a weird face when he did the snapping gesture, clearly not familiar with that one. "Oh, we are definitely doing shos. In fact." She raised a hand to order the first round of JD shots from the creepy bartender before turning back to Peter. And it was her turn to almost spit out her drink with the radioactive spider story.

"Sorry- a spider bit you?" Okay, she couldn't talk. She'd been impulsive enough to shoot an unknown engine core and watch it blow up in her face....so there was that.

"So you dress up in red spandex and run around the city being a hero. Were you a soldier before? Police officer?"

It wasn't that she was trying to be offensive, but Carol was trying to figure out why a man would decide to make this his career. She had trained to be a soldier. So had Rogers. And Tony...well, he just had a bunch of tech and too much time on his hand (she assumed). Peter seemed different.

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pbandparker
2019-04-06 03:24 am UTC (link)

Peter couldn't help but laugh when Carol ordered them a round of shots, oh this was going to be a mess but it was exactly the kind of mess Peter probably needed to get into these days.

"Uh... yeah?" He was actually a little surprised, sure maybe Carol didn't know him, know him, but it had been a while since he'd come across someone who didn't know Spider-Man at all. So that was something. "Yeah it was you know a whole thing, I was on a field trip and there was this spider." He shrugged it was crazy maybe, he knew how it sounded, it wasn't the first time he tried to explain it. It just got a little weirder every time was all.

"I was a high school student actually." Peter shrugged, he had never really had the background to become a hero, he was a nerd while he'd been in school still, far more interested in books and chess club than he was in most other things, until one day his whole world had been turned upside down. And even then his first thought hadn't been to save the world, or the city or anything like that, it had been to change his own life for the better without much thought for others.

And then he'd lost Uncle Ben and everything had changed. "I just - I was given these powers and I can help people with them, after a while it felt wrong not to do that, you know?"

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cpt_marvel
2019-04-06 03:36 am UTC (link)

"A field trip? Where the hell were they taking high school kids that radioactive spiders were a risk???" She handed him a shot after putting her beer on the counter and picked up her own as she listened.

But something in the way his face changed made her realize it was a lot more serious than that. Carol knew that look. Her smile faded just a little and she nodded. "You're right. That's how I feel, actually. Someone has to do the right thing." She raised her shot glass in a sort of toast before downing it and putting it on the counter, reaching again for her beer and nodding for the bartender to bring another. It couldn' hurt, right?

"I left the only family I had left to go save the universe..." She almost sounded like she regretted it. Almost. "It felt wrong not to." She finished her beer and sighed. Carol was conflicted. She knew that Maria would understand, but so many years had now passed and Monica would be all grown up. Yeah, maybe drinking wasn't such a great idea. Carol let the thought linger a moment before she reached for the next shot.

"So this place has karaoke?"

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pbandparker
2019-04-06 04:23 am UTC (link)

"To be fair the radio active spider was a potentiality that no one was prepared for." Peter said but shrugged. "I dunno I was part of a special program, science based so we got a lot of opportunities to do things that the average student might not get to do. And one of those things was checking out a particle accelerator - the spider just happened to be around and was exposed to some manner of radiation and then decided that I looked tasty."

What teen wouldn't want to be a superhero, especially in the world he lived in, with the Avengers and other heros running around saving the world. Why shouldn't he have been able to do the same thing? One thing Peter had learned over the last twenty-two years though - things were rarely ever that simple. He raised his glass with hers, toasting to the memory of Uncle Ben that had started him down this path. "It's easy to get caught up sometimes, in the sort of crazy things you can do, I was suddenly so strong, I didn't need my glasses anymore, I had these amazing reflexes. My life was going to be completely different regardless of what I did with these gifts. But I think eventually you either get to the point where you realize that doing the right thing, saving those who can't save themselves, that's all that really matters. Everything else? It's just a distraction, or I guess maybe you go bad. There's not many directions to go once you find out you've got superpowers."

He could see she understood that, even before she admitted that she'd left her family to save the universe. "It always helps when I think of it in smaller terms." He told her. "I don't save New York for New York itself, but I save it for my family," Even with Uncle Ben and Aunt May both gone now he still did it for them, and MJ - she was still there even if they weren't married anymore. She would always be his family. "I save it for the guy down at the deli who always makes the best chopped cheese sandwiches. And the little old lady who always gives me a fortune cookie when I help her find her way home." So maybe it meant that he lived a life scared of what it meant to get close to people but he saved the world so those people he cared about could keep on living their lives.

"Yeah," Yeah that's what they needed a couple more drinks and a song or two because they were heading down a path that would very quickly pass up maudlin and veer right into down right depressing. "Right over there, you just flip through the options and pick which song you want and go for it. I might need another drink before I'm ready for that."