InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Man! I feel like a woman."

Alpha Peter (pbandparker) wrote in snapthread,
@ 2019-08-21 23:24:00

Entry tags:

claire temple (mcu), peter b parker (sv)

Who: Claire and the Spider Creep
What: So uh a thing happened
Where: Around town
When: After Vegas

Vegas had been.... something all right. Peter wasn't certain he'd ever be able to go back to the city after everything when he did finally make it back to town again. Between the alien attack and the massive hang over he'd had to fight through, to say nothing at all about the marriage that had apparently felt like a good idea when he'd been far too drunk to consent to such a thing. It turned out that the Elvis that had married them had written Sonny and Cher on the paperwork and so in the end the marriage hadn't actually been as binding as Peter worried it might have been. The last thing he wanted was to have a second divorce on his hands.

Though that didn't mean that everything was fine and good now of course. Peter knew that much and he still had the drunk messages he'd sent Claire on his phone to prove it. So there was some work to be done and as much as Peter would have loved to just pretend like none of it never happened - favoring the old adage that what happened in Vegas stayed in Vegas - he knew that sometimes things came back with you.

He'd been working on building them a couple of fans for the house, allowing Claire some space, and giving himself something to do that wasn't just sitting around internally screaming at what an idiot he'd been. He just finished up one, sitting on the porch of their little house, hoping for some breeze to help with the stifling heat, when he saw her.

"Hey," Smooth Parker, "I was kind of hoping we could talk." He told her, because they'd been headed toward something maybe, it had felt that way, just as much as it felt like he'd ruined it now, and Peter knew how important it could be to say things and not just expect someone to read your mind the way he had in the past. And Claire deserved at least a conversation, if she wanted to tell him that she wasn't interested now, well he wouldn't blame her or hold it against her, but he hoped they might still be able to talk.

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donewithnights
2019-08-22 10:06 pm UTC (link)

Claire wasn't mad exactly, she wasn't sad either, maybe just disappointed? Yuck, that was worse. At the time she'd been surprised, a little left out, but on reflection maybe that made sense. Carol was super, about as super as they got and super probably attracted super. Sure they'd figured out it wasn't legal, but they'd done it and maybe she was reading into it, but from where Claire stood that meant something. She certainly hadn't married anyone in Vegas.

So she was a little less shiny, with a little less spring in her step. Because all of this had got her thinking about how he was Spider Man and sure he was a human disaster but she was just a nurse from the city. Of course that didn't make her less, just kind of different, maybe too different. Besides all that was getting ahead of herself, they'd sort of been doing something maybe, but it hadn't been anything official or anything at all really. Just a tease about what might come next.

She'd been lying in the grass near the rive pond thing, hoping for a break from the heat there, but there was no break to be found and in the end she'd wandered back, greeted by Peter sitting on the porch with a hey and something awkward.

"Sure," Claire agreed with a nod. It was better to clear the air now, not share a house with it for all eternity. She climbed the stairs before taking a seat beside him, lifting her hair off of her neck to try to get a breeze on her sweaty hairline.

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pbandparker
2019-08-23 02:39 am UTC (link)

Peter had something sitting heavy and hard in the pit of his stomach since he'd realized what he'd done and the longer it sat and festered there the less he was going to be able to get over it - so just getting it out there and talking with Claire about it, figuring out where they went from there felt important and necessary. So there he was being brave and asking to talk rather than running from it the way he might have done at another time in his life.

Of course starting the talk was something else entirely. He could say he wanted to talk but then he had to do the talking and that felt like a hurdle he wasn't certain he could get over, but Claire deserved that at least.

"I'm gonna be honest. I don't have the slightest clue where to start." He admitted, because that felt like the only way he could really get to the start he needed. "I don't really know how Carol and I got to the point that any sort of relationship seemed like a good idea let alone a marriage." However impermanent. Because he had to go with his gut and his gut said that even drunk he would have wanted it to be a temporary thing. Carol was great and all, but he didn't feel about her the way he'd need to if he was really going to marry her. They were much better partners in crime than they were anything else.

"And you and I - we've been kind of doing something, something we haven't put a name to yet. And I think I've probably derailed all of that after a night of making some very questionable choices. So I completely understand if you'd rather not do -ah... anything now." And he didn't know if he was asking her to do something now or if he was just kind of leaving the door open. It was hard to say really.

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donewithnights
2019-08-24 12:00 am UTC (link)

The thing is that Claire liked honest, she loved it even and Peter had that in spades. Real honest, like so honest it was awkward honest and she found it cute and endearing. But that only kind of ticked her off in the moment, because she wanted to be annoyed, she didn't want to feel fond there. She didn't get jealous, people were their own selves and she'd been in plenty of open relationships. But it had hurt to want to spend time with him and he was busy spending time marrying someone else. Feelings were complicated.

It was as he said, they'd been kind of doing something. What with the dancing and the flirting like it was their job. They'd been taking it slow for a bunch of reasons, like feeling each other out and being scared and having broken ribs or the flu. Vegas might have been a nice place to shift from slow to fast, but he'd been getting real fast with Carol.

Claire fanned herself as she let out a sigh. "If there's some kind of inner longing for one another, I don't want to get into that, you know?" She said as she looked across at him. "I'm not a place filler until the girl you married finally gets her act together and sees how great you are." Because there were lots of things she'd be okay with, but that wasn't one of them.

"So if there's some thing there? Do me a favor and let it go."

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pbandparker
2019-08-24 05:00 am UTC (link)

Peter couldn't help but make a face when Claire suggested there might be some kind of inner longing he had for Carol or maybe Carol for him? He didn't really know, but what he did know was that both he and Carol were relieved to find that the whole thing was something they could dissolve easily and move on with their lives.

"Oh god, no." He said in a rush, "That is not - not at all a thing. Carol is .... well she's great, a good friend, but her and I?" He'd been getting ready to say never gonna happen only it kind of had happened, sort of. Not really, but enough that they'd gotten married over it, which was still baffling to him. "It's not a thing. I honestly don't know what I was thinking at the time."

But he'd clearly been in a place where he wasn't doing a lot of thinking, because it'd have never have happened if he'd been doing even a little bit of that.

"You are not a filler for anything or anyone." Not Carol, not Bobby, not even MJ. "I'd have to be even more of an idiot than I already am to look at someone as amazing as you and just see a place holder." And Peter could own up to being an idiot a lot of the time. He knew how to do that really well, it was kind of his brand. But he had sort of hoped he'd figured things out well enough that he could keep the idiocy relegated to his crime fighting and not in his relationships. And here he was proving himself wrong all over again.

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donewithnights
2019-08-24 11:03 am UTC (link)

If he'd told her that being with Carol was something he wanted, then Claire would have supported him in that. They were friends, they got along and shared a house, sometimes a platonic bed and despite how it hurt to think he'd just go off and get married on her she also knew not everything was about her. It was hard work being so utterly understanding and decent.

But god it was nice to hear him reassure her, throw in a few easy compliments to help heal a fractured ego. "I'm not angry you got married, I'm not angry at all I just," Claire fanned herself a little more vigorously, trying to will the air to move and cool them off some. "I got there and I wanted to find you, enjoy it with you and you, well you were busy and that sucks that you didn't want the same thing."

And that was it, that was the crux of it all and why it hurt now. Claire had wanted to see him and his priorities has been somewhere else.

"And it's your loss, because I looked down good in that bikini," Claire said as she poked him with her foot, like an affectionate little kick.

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pbandparker
2019-08-25 05:52 am UTC (link)

It was just another version of something he'd heard before, I'm not angry just disappointed and that was somehow worse really - because Peter wanted to be someone who didn't disappoint, who was as good as he claimed to be so often. And yet he was reminded again and again that he wasn't that as much as he tried to be.

"Yeah," He agreed with a sigh, "It really does suck. I think I'd have had a much better time if I'd given it five minutes and gone with you instead." He agreed - he didn't think he'd have had the same splitting headache with a hangover that he'd gotten with Carol, nor did he think he'd have ended up in jail overnight if he'd been with Claire either. All in all the trip could have been much improved if he'd just thought a little bit longer about who he wanted to be there with.

He couldn't help the sort of huff of laughter when she told him that she'd looked good in the bikini she'd worn during the trip too and he was even more sorry that things had gone the way they did. "I believe that, considering how good you look the rest of the time - it's no surprise."

"Instead I got a version of one of Cher's worst looks to date." He shook his head, the whole thing was a mess and he really wished he remembered the tipping point where there little bit of gambling had turned into what it became in the end.

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donewithnights
2019-08-25 11:37 am UTC (link)

Claire didn't want to hit him with the old 'disappointed' stick. But she was disappointed. It had been a long time since she'd met someone who turned her head and while maybe that was a bit of a theme with cute guys there, they'd been dancing around each other and him getting married to someone else kind of put a dampener on all that.

Damp but not extinguished.

Peter was always a little flirty, but the extra compliments were absolutely called for and she smiled as she gave a little shrug. Well yes. Obviously. "You missed out," Claire said and she didn't say it just to remind him, to rub it in or be a jerk, but a simple statement. "Doesn't mean you have to next time."

Claire gave a huff of a laugh as she kicked him again. It was too hot, her hair was frizzy and a bead of sweat dripped down the length of her spine, but it was nice to get everything out in the open. "You can fuck off if you think we're hanging wedding pictures in the house," she said. Claire leaned back in the chair a little, more relaxed now they were talking and some of the tension eased. "It wasn't all bad, while you were rotting in jail I got a little Vegas smooch. I'd tell you about it, but you know the rule."

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pbandparker
2019-08-26 03:30 am UTC (link)

"I don't plan on missing it next time." He said honestly, Claire had first dibs on his dance card from here on out. Whether it was for things like Vegas or just parties here around town. Peter wanted to spend that time with Claire, he wanted to be near to her and to prioritize her over some of his other friendships.

He didn't know where they'd end up exactly, and he wasn't about to start guessing but he wanted them to have the chance to see.

Snorting Peter shook his head, "God no, that's not something you're gonna have to worry about," Carol planned on putting up the one picture they had of everything up at the bar, but it didn't really scream wedding exactly, sure maybe if you got up really close, but it could just be two people dressed up as Sonny and Cher and having a good time? At least that's what Peter told himself, maybe he'd web over it if it came to it eventually.

"Yeah?" He asked surprised when she told him she'd gotten a smooch while in town. And then laughed, "You'd have to kill me." He finished the rule for her nodding solemnly like he fully understood though Peter could admit his curiosity was piqued. He pushed himself up to his feet then and offered Claire a hand. "Wanna help me set up these fans inside and see if we can't catch a little relief from this weather?" He asked her. He'd finished his work and they should all be able to sleep comfortably tonight. Sure it wasn't the air conditioning of Vegas but it was a damn sight better than nothing at all.

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donewithnights
2019-08-26 12:31 pm UTC (link)

Intentions mattered and if he wanted to be around next time, wanted a chance to maybe get to a next time? Well Claire would be hard pressed not to give him one. Because even annoyed or sad or whatever she'd been, she was annoyingly fond of him. Because he'd found her with no pants on and taken her home and given her his favourites to wear and Claire was an idiot for a disaster.

She wanted to just let it go, to move on from the whole awkward thing and just not read into it and Peter made that easy to want to do. "And no ring," Claire said as she inspected his hand, because wouldn't that ruin just about every mood that had ever mooded.

Claire smiled, a little mysterious and a lot flirty. "I don't kiss and tell," she said as she licked her lips. Peter offered her his hand and she only hesitated for a moment before she took it, hauling himself up to her feet. "Fans seem like a pretty good idea," she said with a little nod. Cooling the house down seemed like an excellent way to start making things up to her.

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pbandparker
2019-08-26 10:11 pm UTC (link)

"No, no ring." He agreed, his hand held out looking at where there had been a ring for a few hours before he'd had to get rid of it. It was strange, having one on again, after MJ he wasn't sure he'd ever wear one again, and waking up married to Carol with one on was not the way he wanted to find he had one again. So he'd gotten rid of it. Needing it out of his sight almost as much as he'd needed to make sure the marriage wasn't a real one.

So yeah, that was no problem. Carol was a friend and nothing more than that. And Peter was more than happy with things remaining exactly like that between them. He wasn't sure how it would all shake out in the end but he hoped at least that they'd be fine.

Claire was a little bit of a tease, but it was warranted and he grinned as she told him she didn't kiss and tell. She was allowed. And as much as Peter might have liked to ask, he wasn't about to try and do that either to himself or her. "It's no air conditioning, but I think they'll be a big help." He told her, and he had a feeling at least one of the Starks would figure out something for heating and cooling, now that they'd spent some time in cooled air it was the sort of thing that Peter was quiet certain they could all use a bit more of.

He offered her one of the fans and grabbed the other two to go with the fan he'd already set up inside, and they could start to get this cooling thing under way as soon as possible. "I'm better at chemical engineering," He admitted, "But small mechanics I can handle fairly easily." And something like a fan was easy enough in theory, just a motor really.

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donewithnights
2019-08-27 06:12 am UTC (link)

There was no ring and it was a relief, Claire liked that naked hand, long fingers and spidertastic. All trace of it was gone and Claire wanted to move on, like Pyro had said. Claire needed to get past this or move on out and she didn't want to, she really didn't want to because even annoyed she was still into him.

This was no good reason to rush it, they'd been going along just at their own speed and she didn't want to jump the gun now because of this awkwardness. There would be a moment, a good moment and it would be theirs. Or there wouldn't and they'd move on together just as friends. But either way it needed to be about just them, not Carol or anyone else.

"Huh, I'm better at construction, like constructing ice cream sundaes," Claire said as she carried the fan inside. Maybe it would help cool them down, but when Claire looked at him she got the feeling they were just heating up.

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