Starring:
Summary: Someone returns at 4 a. m., someone else wakes up, and another person comes to their door.
Date It Happened: May 15th, 2007
The Four A. M. Return
Jane and Elle's apartment, Greenwich Village, Manhattan, NYC
Four a. m. All is quiet in the apartment she shares with Elle Bishop, or at least Jane expects it will be. Outside the door, in the building hallway, she carefully slides her key into the lock and turns it, the knob turning at the same time, and opens the door. Slowly, quietly, she pushes it back and steps through. Carpet muffles the sound of her heeled boots on the floor, and she turns to close the door with as much care as used to open it. Elle, in her mind, is probably sleeping and she doesn't want to wake her up. After securing the door she moves toward the main room, intending to set down her guitar case and the pack near it.
Elle is, in fact, asleep. At the moment, she is stretched out on the couch, where she'd apparently been watching television. There are bracelets on her wrist that might be recognizable as Elena's. The television is on…she apparently was watching it when she fell asleep. Something about the movement stirs her though, and she makes a mumbled noise.
Stopping just inside the doorway, glancing at the set and the sleeping blonde, Jane's slightly giddy smile widens. Nothing is said, yet, time is spent simply watching to see if she continues to wake up before she takes a few more steps across the room toward the array of instruments and the one empty stand. A yawn surfaces and she covers her mouth, trying to suppress it, but the sound still comes out to some degree.
Elle looks back to her roommate. She sits up. "Hey…how are you?" the blonde yawns, hair a bit tousled. Her roommate looks to be in a good mood.
"Oh." Jane replies with a quiet laugh. "Hey, Elle. I'm… good. Was trying not to wake you." Now that she's not succeeded, the brunette finishes crossing the room and sets her gear down. She's got on a man's button front shirt that looks a bit misaligned, a black tank top with Annie Lennox from the Eurythmics across the front, and a dark red skirt that stops just above her knees. Her face? It's still got that giddy smile, an expression Elle might have seen on her own face a time or two in a mirror after intimate acts.
Elle looks a little puzzled at Jane's attire…and then blinks. "Did you just…" She looks at Jane, eyes widening a bit. "You did, didn't you??" Giggle.
"I did," she admits, blushing a bit. With gear set down, Jane moves over to a chair and sinks into it. Her head tilts back and the feet go up as she reclines. Her eyes close as she adds "It was a… really good night."
Elle smiles. "I'm glad." she says. "My night was good too. But it wasn't -that- good. So you and Jaden?"
Her eyes stay closed, Jane remains reclined with that quietly giddy smile in place. "Yeah," she answers slowly. "I wanted to be mysterious, so I left something with him and came home while he was still sleeping." A few moments later she's sitting more upright and about to stand. "I kinda think it's bedtime now." Another slow yawn starts to escape, she covers her mouth as eyes settle on Elle's bracelets. "Those are new."
Elle blinks. "Wow, I thought it was the guys who walked out while we were sleeping." Not that Peter ever has. But you know, TV. Elle nods, and lifts the arm with the bracelets. "They're Elena's." she says.
"That sometimes happens. It… just seemed to fit, you know?" She laughs for a moment, remembering how it played out. "I went there, let myself in, he was asleep on a couch. So I left a trail of cookies across his house, his favorite cookies, to follow. He woke up and found me a bit later, I'd set up one of his favorite movies and changed to be a bit like someone in it…" The rest she keeps to herself. "Elena's? Hey, that's really great, Elle. You and she talked again?" The smile widens beyond that from her lingering pleasant mood.
Elle laughs. "That sounds really cool. Maybe I'll have to find out what Peter's favorite movies are. And yes. I went over, and we talked some. I gave her shoes and she gave me these. And I met her dad. Briefly."
The brunette laughs a bit, picturing Elena with the shoes. "Elena's father can be a little like a bear at first, yeah? She's kind of proud sometimes about getting gifts, which is cool, you know, wanting to earn things most of the time, but… once I did something nice for her and she groused about the money a little, until I gave her a pear and got her to just relax, enjoy." Jane rises to her feet and takes a few steps. "Movies, things he likes, things you like. You talk, you listen, and sometimes the mood just comes together to do something unusual, spontaneous." She stops near Elle, opening up to hug the blonde. "I'm glad things are good between you two. They're good between us too, I… just hadn't said that yet."
Elle laughs just a little at that. "I could see that. And…maybe. I'm still a little worried after the other day. I haven't seen him since that morning." Her voice is concerned. She hugs Jane tight. Janey-bears beat teddy-bears any day of the week. "I'm glad." she says. "She accepted my apology, and then we just talked, a lot, and then we talked more today."
"Hey, hey," Jane replies in a soft voice, arms wrapping around the roommate and enveloping. "I think he'll come around, or you can go to him. Just… be open, let it be natural between you, not feel forced on either side. No relationship is without rocks and challenges to rise above."
Elle nods. "I hope so. I just don't have a lot of practice at any of this. I feel like I'm screwing it up." She says. "I'm sure I'll hear from him soon." A forced good mood, the smile is there, but it doesn't quite dispel the worry in her eyes.
Destiny is an odd thing. They wouldn't know that someone's walking up to their door, because he's actually being pretty quiet about it. Considering the hour, Peter would have hesitated at knocking, but things don't turn out that way when he spots the light on under the door. There's a glance at his watch, turning a glowing light on so he can see, before he takes a deep breath and /very softly/ knocks. In case someone just left the light on, he doesn't want to wake anyone up.
The hug remains, Jane holding the blonde close to her and not speaking for a moment until her head lifts. "Elle? Did you… hear something?" She's pulling back and glancing around the corner toward the door, then walking toward it. "Is someone out there?"
Elle frowns. "I thought I heard something." Of course, it's Elle, and paranoia is a way of life. The short blonde moves to have a clear line to the door, and lightning balls appear in each hand. "Check the door, but stand clear if you open it?" That way if someone's messing with their door, Elle can roast 'em.
Someone is at the door, but Peter is unaware of exactly what's going on through the door. The crackle of electricity blends with the light flicker of the television. But he could swear he hears a buzzing sound.
She looks through the peephole while Elle stands watch with lightning at the ready, and on seeing the man there steps back. A quiet smile is offered as Jane turns to walk toward her bedroom and sleep, saying simply "It's for you, Elle."
Elle looks over at the brunette checking the peephole. Peter. OhGodOhGodOkayDon'tPanicElle. Deep breath. She unlocks the door, and opens it. Her hair is tousled a bit, and she's in a t-shirt and jeans. Oh, and Elena's bracelets. "Hey there."
And there's Peter, standing at the door. He raises a hand to give a small, rather shy hint of a wave. "Hi— um— didn't wake you, right? I know it's— late. Or really early, but…" He trails off, looking sheepish. There's so much he'd like to say right now, but— he's standing out in a hall at four in the morning. Which means he needs to keep his voice down.
Down the hall, out of sight for both of them, the still slightly giddy Jane opens her bedroom door, steps through, and closes it after her. She lies down on the bed, closes her eyes, and contentedly drifts off.
Elle shakes her head. "No, Jane came in late. I just got up a few minutes ago." She motions him inside. "Come on in." Door is closed and locked behind him. She's working HARD to keep all her nervousness out of her expression.
"Oh," Peter says, glancing back towards Jane's room just in time to see the door close shut. With her locking up, he looks back, hand going to the sleeve of his shirt to tug on the cuffs. A sign of nervousness for him. One she's seen enough times in the past. "Sorry, I didn't stop by. How're you doing?"
Elle is trying not to fidget, herself. "Good, good." she says. "I was over at Elena's most of the afternoon. Can I get you anything?" she offers.
"No— I'm good," Peter says softly, but a confused expression has formed around his eyes. "You were at Elena's most of the day?" It doesn't seem as if he expected that at all.
The blonde nods. "I talked to her…later that afternoon, after you came by. Apologized for what happened. We talked a while. So tonight, I brought Chinese over to her place. And shoes. And she gave me these!" She indicates the Elena-bracelets on her arm. "And I met her dad. He's kind of weird. Nice. But weird."
"That— that was really nice of you," Peter says, sounding stunned. In fact, she might have zapped him for how stunned he sounds. He looks down over the bracelets, and then reaches up to touch her face, one hand running along her cheek, while the other pushes back her less-ruly than normal hair… and leans the distance between their heights to nudge his nose against hers. "I'm glad."
Elle looks a bit chagrined. "I shouldn't have did what I did. So I wanted to apologize. But she said she understood, and she said she was sorry for hiding things from me, and she understood why I freaked out." There's a pause, and then out of the blue: "What's your favorite movie?"
As he's already leaned down, it doesn't take much more to give her a brief kiss on her lips. Peter's proud of her— but after a moment he pulls back, "My favorite what?"
Elle returns the kiss, almost urgently before she reins it back in. "Your favorite movie?" she asks. Has nothing at all to do with Jane's return from late-night shagging. Nopenope.
It just sort of— came out of nowhere. "Uh— I dunno. I guess— well— I like the first Matrix movie. But the sequels are kind of lame," Peter says after a few moments, trying his best to think of something. And— that's one he always rather liked. Funny, huh?
Elle nods, just sort of filing it away in her head. "I like the bracelets." Yep, topic change again! "Elena said they reminded her of my lightning balls. She liked those, and I had her hold one a bit to see what it felt like." Sort of. Elle helped.
Whirl. Peter's never going to understand why his favorite movie just came up. Ever. Instead he looks at her blinkingly. "You— let her hold one?" Man, he's so confused.
Elle nods. "Sort of. I mean, well…" Easier to show than tell. "Put out your hand, palm up?"
"Okay…" Peter says, holding his hand out, palm up as asked. There's a long look at her face, unsure, but trusting at the same time.
Elle puts her hand under his, her palm to the back of his hand. There's a tingle…not painful, but more like mild pins-and-needles, in the middle of his hand, and then one of her trademark lightning balls appears in the palm of his hand. "It's really just me changing the focus point on the current…" she explains, a little sheepishly. "But she liked it and thought it was pretty, so…" So Elle did it.
There's a long pause, as he looks down at the ball of electricity in his palm. Peter knows she brought it forward— but he can feel it in a way that he's sure Elena couldn't have. The other hand, the one without a ball of lightning, raises up and— a crackle appears there, then forms into the same shape. "I'd wondered how you made those…" It helped to actually /feel it/ in his hand. Spreading his fingers wide, he disipates the one he called up before he loses control of it.
The blonde can't help but smile as Peter makes his own, and she moves her hand away from his. "So, we talked." He doesn't need to know about what. "And then her dad came home, and tried to give me an entire gallon of chocolate ice cream. And a spoon. Weird guy. So after we finished, I came back home, fell asleep till Jane got home. And that was my day. How about yours?"
"Didn't do— that much actualy," Peter has to admit with a hint of a flinch. It's hard to really say he did anything when— he really didn't. "You could probably say I was sulking. If you could remember the time I was stuck in a cell all day you'd know I'm pretty good at that."
Elle looks a little amused. "I know." she says. "I went back and watched some of the security tapes. You're cute when you pout." She smiles up at him. "But you're cuter when you smile." And she goes up on tiptoe to give him another kiss.
That surprises him a bit, but— the kiss works wonders. Peter's arms slide down til they're at her waist and he pulls her up tight against his body. Still has an advantage of height, but luckily for her— he's not a foot taller or anything. When he pulls back, she'll be greated to a tired version of his lopsided and flawed smile. Not a perfect smile, this man. But that doesn't mean it's not still cute. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about… Elena," he apologizes again. "I'm glad that you're getting alone. She's… one of the nicest people I've met." A slow intake of air later and he asks, "Not that there's much night left— but do you mind if I stay?"
Elle smiles. Some of the tension leaves her when she sees that smile on his face. Not that she's not still nervous, or that her paranoia isn't shrilling at her. But at the moment, she's telling her subconscious to take a hike. "Not only do I not mind…but I think it's a pretty good idea. Or we can go to your place." She offers either, not sure which would make him more comfortable.
There's a long pause. Peter could take her back to his place… But it'd be a long walk. She could bring her car, sure, but the parking is awful. Then— He remembers a conversation he had with Heidi. A snippit of it at least. "We could go to my place if— Do you want to fly?"
Elle bites her lip a little. Please, no airsick. "If you like." She's deferring quite a bit tonight. Elle's usually more pushy. But not tonight.
The reluctance is spotted, though. Peter pauses, then shakes his head. "Nevermind. I— I don't know, I guess I thought it'd be different. You didn't really like it when I'd fly you around before." He shakes his head, and then reaches down to take her hand, sending a light static charge into his skin, before he pulls her towards /her/ bedroom and not the front door.
Elle explains why in a hurry. "I get airsick." She makes a little face. But she takes his hand, and lets him pull her into the bedroom.
"Guess part of me thought it was circumstance," Peter admits, opening her bedroom door and pulling her inside, before he closes— and locks it. "But I'll remember that. You get airsick. No flying unless it's a legitimate emergency."
Elle heads over towards the bed, taking a moment to take her jeans off. "Not unless you want to be cleaning yarf out of your hair." She offers, making a little face. "Which is kind of not so romantic."
There's that smile again, a little more on the genuine side, as Peter takes off his jacket and lays it across a chair. The tennis shoes follow after a moment, and then the shirts are pulled over his head. For the moment, the jeans are left on. "No, not /my/ idea of romance."
Elle still has her t-shirt on. "So…" she says, as she sits on the bed, and pats it. "Tell me what your idea of romance is." It's a slightly coy smile. That one, at least, -is- reminiscent of when she used to visit him in the cell.
There's quite a lot that he considers to be romantic. Peter hesitates for a moment, before settling down on the edge of the bed next to her. Reaching over, he takes one of her hands, one of his hands going under, while the other presses on he hand from above. Sandwiching her hand, really. "Right now— I want to wake up with you laying next to me. That's why I came here— I was lonely."
Elle nods. "I missed you. I was worried." She admits. She squeezes his hand a bit, a little current going through. "Wasn't sure…after the other morning…if you were coming back." And she went a little psycho over that.
The hand is brought up to his cheek, resting there. Actually, Peter's got a bit of stubble, instead of his normally cleanshaven cheeks. Not too much, but it's felt with her hand more than it would have been before. "Sorry. Just needed to sort a few things out. Not that— they're completely sorted yet," he admits with a reluctant glance. "But I'm here."
Elle nods. "And I'm glad." she says, warmly. "Elena says we need to go on a water ride."
After a quiet inhale, Peter nods. "I'm sure I can arrange that. I know were we're going to go. Just better hope the world doesn't fall apart before we get there."
Elle looks at him, concerned. "Can I help?" she asks, hopeful. . o O (Trust me, Peter. Please.)
"I don't mean…" Peter starts, then suddenly blinks and glances over at her, as if he's surprised by something. His mouth works for a instant, before he hesitates. "Well— There is one thing. Two really. But— neither of them your father would probably approve of…" Which makes him really hesitant to ask of her.
Elle nods once. "I didn't ask if the Company could help you." she says, softly. "I asked if I could."
"Not sure there's a difference in this…" Peter says, looking away for a moment. "I need a dose or two of the Haitian Pills. The— the drug cocktail that you— that the Company gave me for the months I was there in the facility."
Elle flinches as if -slapped- when he says he's not sure if there's a difference between the Company and her. She manages to keep most of the hurt out of her voice. "I'll see what I can get."
"Elle I didn't mean…" Peter starts, noticing the flinch even if she keeps it out of her voice. "You have to go to the Company for these things." There's a sigh, as he realizes the damage is already done anyway. "The second is about a girl named Cara Hayes. I'd need to see if the Company has any files on her medical records." There's another hint of hesitation, "The paintings by Isaac, one of them had a vial with a bio-hazard symbol breaking— and a month ago there was an outbreak in Sinai that locked down the emergency room. And she was involved— but her files are gone. She's missing. And the doctor who did the bloodwork can't remember what was wrong with it, except that it wasn't what they thought." Keywords. Can't remember.
Elle nods. "I know where some of the pills are." The ones she pocketed rather than give to Peter. Waste not, want not. "I'll check and see what I can find out about her in the files."
"Thank you," Peter says, before he looks down worriedly. "I just don't want you to get in trouble. I can't— if your father thinks that you're betraying him again…" There's sudden tension closing up his throat. His breath shakes a bit before he continues, not looking up at her again yet, "Already had to rebuild your life once because of me."
Elle smiles a little. "I'll be careful." She promises. "Neither of us can go on doing what we do if we don't trust the other one to take risks, remember?" He gave her much that argument when she got on his case for being a gun target.
But it's different when he's the one taking the risk! Or— okay, it's not. Peter can't help but look a little— browbeaten, before he nods. "All right. As long as you're careful."
Elle smiles. "I'll be careful. I promise, okay? I do take advice. Sometimes." A wry grin.
"Good," Peter says softly, leaning against her for a few moments. "If I think of anything else I know you can help with— I'll let you know." Those would be the two that he can think of now. The others— too many promises of secrecy over them. His paintings, for instance.
Elle nods. "All right." She lies down in the bed, looking to him warmly. "I don't want you to ever leave." she says in a small voice. Honest, at least.
There's a long pause between what she says and Peter moving. Standing back up, he undoes his pants, and sheds them, leaving leaves what he's wearing underneath on, before he joins her on the bed, moving in close to do something nostalgic— for him. Take her hand in a curious way, as if he's trying to figure out how it fits with his. "I'm sorry I scared you," is all he can really say.
And it can't be remembered, but she does the same thing she did back in the cell…sets her fingertips to crackling, so electricity arcs from her fingertips to his, before they touch. "It's all right. I screwed up. But I'm trying to fix it.
"I know," Peter says, putting their hands together after the surge, not jerking his hand away like he would have before. Maybe he /is/ starting to like it. Or at least not associate it with bad things. Sneaking his fingers between hers, he holds onto her hand and leans in. "I know you're trying."
The kiss returned, though there's a hint of tiredness in the way he does it. Peter leans in to press his forehead against her cheek. "Sure. Even if I end up working that day… nothing says we can't so something together in the evening. Let's talk about it in the morning— which'll be in a couple hours now."
Elle smiles. "All right. Come here. Let's go to sleep." Hugging. Closeness. NO SEX HAPPENS.