voidtreckerexpress | Peter Parker around the train doing things

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Peter Parker around the train doing things

Who: Peter Parker &&& YOU!
Where: Various.
When: Kazoo, various.
What: Peter is just hanging around places and not sleeping. Why would he do that?
Warnings: Will warn via starter but past childhood trauma is probably the main one.

{ a. Lab time. Day 23 - mid afternoon }

Peter's in the lab working on his web fluid. There will be another mission next month, so he's gotta make sure his webs are good to go plus extra. He's carefully mixing the fluids and stirs until concoction sort of congeals and looks far more like his webs. Perfect.

He's left the door open so anyone is free to wander in while he works. They'll see him possibly making more fluid or transferring the mixture to tubes that attach to his web shooters. He's concentrating so hard he's sticking his tongue out slightly while gently biting it. He's not paying too much attention to much else so try not to startle him.

{ b. Lab time with Mr Stark. - Day 24 - Evening. - Closed to Tony }

Today, Peter's back in the lab but this time, instead of his webs he's working on the webshooters themselves. He'd noticed a slight delay in their response when he was testing the fluid earlier and so he's back in his stool, a screw driver in hand and looking at the inner workings of his webshooters to see what might be be causing with issue. The look okay to him-nothing is obviously broken. Maybe one of the tiny blades that sheers the fluid is damaged?

He looks around the lab briefly in search of a magnifying glass or something and then startles himself out of his chair when he notices he's got company. He crashes to the floor, taking the stool with him and then hops back up again.

"Mr Stark!" He squeaks more than he'd really meant to. "What are you doing-uh I mean-uh-hey. what's up?"

{ c. Club Insomnia Meeting. CW. Childhood trauma, potential mentions of death, guilt and poor coping mechanisms. | Day 25 - late night }

Peter Parker and Sleep are not great friends. It's fairly well known fact to those that he considers himself close to and anyone else that happens to be a member of club insomnia and Peter's been a platinum card carrying member since he was eleven. He hasn't even tried to sleep tonight but he gets the feeling it'd be useless to try anyway. And if he's gonna be awake he might as well do something productive. Like maybe something in the lab? There's plenty for him to do-plenty of notes to make, plenty projects for him to consider. Why sleep when you can be productive? The Train will make him sleep later anyway.

He stops by the diner car as he usually does and makes a pot of coffee, sitting down on the bench to play his DS while he waits for it to brew. He's sure that someone will wander in soon enough as this is a pretty popular hangout for those with chronic insomnia. This and the game car. Peter might head that way later but right now, there's more things he wants to do in the lab.

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Yondu comes in for his own cup of coffee. Tastes awful, but it's grown on him, and luckily he's one of those animals that's found caffeine pretty agreeable. And, well, sometimes you just end up with so much on your mind you can't put yourself to bed.

He finds the pot brewing when he gets there and goes to sit on the bench near Peter and wait for it to finish. He likes the kid enough that he doesn't choose some isolated part of the car that's not near him. But he doesn't stay up in his business, giving him space.

He listens to the noises of the DS for a bit, making a face at how odd they are. Before he finally asks- "Couldn't get to sleep?"

Peter's more or less got his full attention on his game when Yondu comes in. He'd just there for coffee and then it's off to the lab to find something that needs worked on. He glances up briefly when he's addressed and just gives half hearted shrug.

"Nah, but that's okay-there's plenty of things that need done so it's not a big deal." He states as if not being able to sleep is smallest of inconveniences and didn't really matter all that much. "But I gotta stay alert so-coffee." He gestures to the brewing pot before returning to his game.

"What things? This train is borin' as hell. I mean, I get keepin' busy, but hell..."

Yondu crosses his arms and leans his head back against the wall, casting an accusing gaze up at the ceiling. He didn't think people'd have to stay alert for chores, but maybe Peter takes 'em way more seriously than he does (the likelihood is actually very strong that he takes them more seriously).

"Well, I reckon I could use the coffee, too. Guess I lucked out you was makin' some fresh."

Again, Peter just shrugs. "Make more web fluid, work on notes for other versions of webfluid, work on the web shooters. There's all sorts of things I can keep myself busy with in the lab."

He turns back to his game long enough to pause and save it before closing the lid on his DS. "I can't really promise anything as far as taste-I don't make it super strong or anything-just like one scoop for every two cups of water-it's what my uncle taught me so." He lets out a sigh and glances over at the coffee pot, won't be long now.

"Guessing you couldn't sleep either?"

He frowns at the coffee pot. "I don't know what's the right way. I just drink whatever's left from the last fella what made it. Didn't really do the coffee thing out in Kree and Xandarian space so much."

There are coffee-like drinks in space. He just never really went for it.

"You mentioned your aunt an' uncle a little that once when the train had a goddamn case of magical flatulence or whatever that was. When you got young? That one."

Mostly-empty periods by virtue of the lateness of the hour means Ghost doesn't have to book it through the dining car's crowd. Which means he has enough time to actually notice people.

Which means that the vaguely upset teenager hanging out at one end of the table? (Why is it even one giant table anyway, don't trains usually have booths for this.)

Yeah, so. Peter gets one (1) chocolate mug cake set at his elbow. Enjoy that, kid.

Peter pauses a moment, his mind going to May and Ben again and being eight and not knowing where they were-not knowing that Ben wasn't even... He shakes his head a moment to get the thought out.

"Uh, yeah-I mean they're the ones that took me in after mom and dad-" He swallows. "But now it's really just May and me. Sorta." He admits before getting up off the bench to grab a cup off coffee.

Peter looks up as he gets the feeling that something's close by. It's not a danger sense just a 'hey! something's happening!' He glances down and sees the cake set. Not that he's complaining but why was he given this?

"Uh, thanks?" He voices.

"Sorry to hear that. Sounded like a real good fella."

Ah, the good old-fashioned 'find something else to do'. Yondu can take a cue, real or imagined, and waits for Peter to get his coffee so he can have the space over there to himself.

"Things that are meant to keep ya alert also make ya anxious. Had enough bad accidents because of crew that forced themselves awake. I know the train forces us all to sleep but, y'know, you oughta keep an eye out for it."

Why not, Peter.

The culprit isn't really trying to hide - Ghost is carrying a mug of his own, though there's a liquid of some sort inside that one. Asian guy, scruffy, short by train standards (which is to say, not a giant protagonist like in the movies), currently dressed in a PJ shirt that's a slightly out of date meme format - KEEP CALM AND THINK MUG THOUGHTS.

He gives Peter a brief wave with his free hand, and then says, "You looked like you needed it." The voice comes from the phone clipped to his belt, but, well, you've seen weirder around here, right.

Kitty knows a little about Peter's trouble sleeping, though she isn't quite sure of the reason for it. All she really knows is that he has a tendency to stay up, and she worries.

And she's not entirely sure why she's up that particular night, or how she ends up in the dining car. But when she sees him there she wonders for a moment if it was more than just a coincidence.

No matter what the reason, she walks over to where he's sitting. "Peter?"

Rich wanders in shortly after the coffee has finished brewing, and he lights up immediately. He probably shouldn't have any caffeine when he's been struggling with his restless sleeps for a while now, but eh. It's never had the biggest effect on him anyways.

He pours himself a cup before sitting across from Peter with a small smile.

"Hey. What're you playing?"

"He was." he states, thinking about all the things Ben had done for him.

Peter pours himself a cup and proceeds to add more cream and sugar to his coffee than should probably be legal but he's fine. This is just how he takes his coffee because he's not a huge fan of anything bitter. Hence all the sugar.

"Oh, I know. If I didn't think I could handle working in the lab I wouldn't bother and besides, it's not like I'm ever not anxious." About what, he's not sure. Life in general maybe? The people around him? The constant fear that something is about to go disastrously wrong?

"At home, I used to stay up and just do homework."

He has definitely seen weirder. He might have even seen weirder back home. It's hard to tell with his life.

"Uh... thanks." He repeats again, this time without the question behind it. "But it's not unusual for me to be up at this time. I was here last night too. Not that I don't appreciate it-it's just-I looked like I needed it?"

His knee is bouncing gently from what the way he's sitting and his head is down, focused on his game. At least, until he hears her voice and stops what he's doing and glances up. She's not usually up around this time-at least not that he's aware of.

"Hey, you okay?" He asks, looking her over carefully.

A shrug. "Looked like heavy thoughts." Felt like heavy thoughts, but Ghost isn't comfortable enough to out himself as a telepath to every random person he's stuck on the train with. "You don't have to explain shit, just..."

Another shrug. "Sometimes a little kindness helps."

"Oh hey. Uh... Rich, right?" He asks as he's joined in the dining car by another boy. He glances back down at his game and resumes what he was doing.

"Pokemon Y." He answers casually as if there isn't an actual Pokemon Champion around the train somewhere. It's okay though because he's already talked to her about the games. She thought it was weird. "I'm trying to finish filling out the pokedex. I'm like... ten away."

She hesitates for a moment before she nods. "Yeah, I think so," she replies. She can't really say why she's up, other than worrying about him.

Sliding into the bench next to him, she lightly nudges him with her shoulder. "How about you? What are you doing up?"

Yondu doesn't want to admit that he can't tell if he means some kind of school assignments or chores. He was taught by other slaves, never went to school, so he's a lil' fumbly over that.

But he sits forward, elbows on his knees.

"I figure bein' cooped up with a bunch of people you barely know don't help with feelin' so wired up. So how long you been not sleepin'? How much did you get back home?" Without the train forcing sleep.

"Yeah. And you're Peter." He knows he hasn't mistaken him, if only because he knows his comic books, but he's still trying not to be weird about that.

"Hey, sweet! I haven't played one of those games in forever. Think my brother took them with him to university." Which is fair enough. He's the one who bought them. "Which ones are you still looking for?"

Honestly, Peter did a little bit of everything at night when his brain wanted to keep going. However, May was a generally neat person so things were kept pretty clean aside from maybe an occasional footprint or two on the ceiling.

"Uh..." Peter falters, stirring his coffee gently. "Since I was eleven, I guess?" He offers as if he's not sure on that one. "I mean I-guess it was really when I was ten but-I was eleven when I stopped trying to sleep."

"Oh..." He glances down at the mug cake set again. Looked like heavy thoughts? "I don't-I don't know know-I mean I was thinking about stuff I can do in the lab." If he'd been thinking about anything else he wasn't aware of it. Shit. Was he dissociating again?

... "Thanks for your concern." He manages, trying to figure out how he looked like he was having heavy thoughts. He was thinking about how Sleep probably wasn't going to happen-he remembers that.

He moves his other leg from where it's resting on the bench to make room for her to sit. She looks okay, just concerned. But as far as he knows she's one of the ones that doesn't have chronic sleeping issues. Does she know that he does, though? He doesn't want to worry her any more than she already is.

"Um... I couldn't sleep. Thought I'd do something productive." He offers, it's not exactly a lie so it's easier to spin than something outright.

"Unfortunately." Peter confirms, whether or not he's joking is a little unclear but it's probably best to assume that he isn't having an existential crisis at the moment. He's fine, really!

"Uh-right now I'm looking for Zapdos-I found him earlier but it flew away. It was tragic." He sighs, shaking his head. "I still don't have uh..." He pauses the game to open up his pokedex. "-Mewtwo, Zygarde, Larvitar, -uh Goodra..."

"Hold up, when did you get them powers?"

So he's guessin' this kid had something real bad happen around the time of or just before he turned eleven. He's pretty sure he don't know him good enough to ask, an' it wouldn't be fair to know. Likely knowin' Aunt May and Uncle Ben's names isn't even fair. His head's all full of backstories the train gave him by making people being vulnerable that he ought not have.

(Honestly, it made him act more decent to everyone knowing how they were as kids than he woulda just left to himself.)

Maybe that's part of what makes him worry, too. He saw Peter as a kid, not much older than Quill was when he first picked him up. He's not got no right to the worry, but it is there despite his say-so.

"You should probably talk to someone about it. Raven said she was lookin' into sleepin' stuff to help with dreamin' an' it might suit ya to ask her. The biggest reason I ain't is-" he gestures around his head "-I ain't Terran an' I got a head fulla wires. Don't mess with that too much."

Finally he gets up to go get himself a cup of coffee.

"Not exactly much of a lab." Someday, they'll have a lab car. ~~But not this time unfortunately~~. "There's not even elbow room in there."

Which is the main reason Ghost doesn't spend all of his time in it. "What kind of stuff were you working on? If you're stuck, rubber ducking it might help."

Does the kid even know what rubber ducking is? He looks modern enough that he might, considering he's playing a (vintage-ish, to Ghost) handheld.

"Oh, uh. A few months after I turned fourteen." Peter offers, not sure what the relevance of that is. He doesn't see information about his Aunt and uncle as being privileged as he's happy to talk about them-especially Ben even if it still hurts more than he wants to admit. Information about his parents, however, that's a lot more touchy, as is the reason behind his chronic sleeping issues.

"I could-maybe but I don't-I mean I have a enhanced metabolism so regular strength sleep aids wear off in about five to ten minutes for me. The powers are cool and all, but I got screwed over in a lot of other areas."

"Hey, I get that. But the grass is always greener, right?" It's hard to tell if he's joking, but Rich understands the sentiment anyways. He moves to a chair beside Peter so he can peek over his shoulder.

"Damn. Maybe there's one that's easier to snag? And then you can come back for Zapdos."

"I'll tell ya somethin' funny. I don't sleep too well here, either." He fills the cup and adds some cream and sugar to it. "Back when I's on my ship, we had this problem with bein' raided for a couple o' years. Now, we always run 'em off, but had us on this messed up sleep schedule. So we just started sleepin' in our common area in case we got attacked. Now we didn't exactly have the best beds anyway so we basically ended up in this fuckin' Ravager dogpile and would rotate out.

"Uncomfortable as all hell. Sometimes I'd catch some asshole tryin' to use me as a pillow." He didn't complain so much the rare times Quill did, when he didn't just drowse in the Milano. "But I slept. Like a damn baby, I'd sleep, 'cause I knew we'd all jump up together if we needed it."

He takes a sip of the coffee. "Ain't slept quite right since I got here."

He shrugs it off. "Not that I expect ya got the same problem, but we're about in the same boat with not feelin' comfortable enough to doze off." 'Cause he can still hear some of those men callin' out for help.

She hesitates for just a moment. She's familiar enough that she knows that he might not tell her what's wrong if she asks him outright. So for now, she'll just talk with him and wait for an opening.

"Yeah? What're you gonna work on?"

Peter can't help but think that sounds kinda nice though, like a family. Not The not being able to sleep but the mutual trust. He, unfortunately can never really have that again thanks to one monster that took that and a normal sleeping habit away from him. He has even a little freaked out by Casper even though he'd had no reason to be.

"No, I just... have a lot of um-night terrors." He admits. "About a lot of different things but enough of them and I just... really don't want to sleep. But then it just turned into a thing so even if I wanted to sleep I couldn't."

With some it was when it was the crew he liked. With some it was just waking up with another asshole in your bed, sucking his thumb. Or maybe that's how family worked, too. It's a little depressing to think about, considering the circumstances.

"An' you had 'em before you had any of this power stuff?"

He leans back against the counter, sipping his coffee, looking perplexed. "That sounds like you might have somethin' real wrong. I know if I had crew havin' that kinda problem, I woulda asked 'em to get checked out. Just because you live with somethin' for a real long time don't mean it's alright.

"But you're a smart kid. You don't need me to tell ya that."

'Something real wrong.' "It's wrong that it happened-but it's not-it had nothing to do with-Well-I-I don't know. It's not really anything that-" He sucks in a breath and takes a sip of his coffee again to try and calm his thoughts back down. Coffee might be a weird choice for that though.

"It's one of those things I may never be able to fully get over and that's hard to accept sometimes." He takes in a shaky breath, trying not to be too obviously uncomfortable.

Yondu thinks about it, pushing away from the counter and looking down into the cup before glancing sidelong at Peter.

"Sometimes it gets real easy to say that life just sucks. Especially in a place like this, where ever'body gets some kinda messed up. Talk to anyone an' they had somethin' near break 'em.

"But I think you gotta have the common sense to think 'it shouldn't be like that'. Sounds like you're a step ahead of some of us. Just acceptin' all this shit that happened. Commisseratin' 'cause it's damn awful an' we ain't got no other way to deal. It just gets stuck in our heads.

"But it's real hard to say out loud, 'that ain't right' an' follow through with that. Maybe you ought not accept it. Try to... put it somewhere else maybe, when you need to sleep or think. But I don't think 'accept' is the right thing anyone should do when life wrongs 'em."

He's been really bad for just accepting it. Spent most of his life doing it.

"It's not that easy. I don't-there's nothing I can do to change it and I don't want to hurt anyone-I just want to know why." he lets out a heavy sigh, trying to keep his hand from visibly shaking and runs a hand through messy curls.

"But it's-hopefully, Unlikely I'll ever seem him again so I'll never know but even if I could ask-I'm pretty sure I wouldn't like the answer. The best I can do is try to make sure it doesn't happen to someone else."

"No, I-I guess not." Peter admits, feeling a little miffed because he and Mr Stark-the previous one-the one form the future? It's complicated, okay? Were the ones to originally put the lab together and they had limited recourses. And for all the perfect balance Peter has he's still very clumsy. he hasn't figured out how that works either.

Also, he's a little too modern to know that saying because he definitely doesn't know what that saying means. however, he can take a guess.

"My webfluid, mostly. Before the shop allowed me to get the supplies I was trying to come up with a different formula for it. It was slow going and I went trough like two whole notebooks."

"Him?"

Uh oh. This is real specific. And long enough to keep him awake since he was real young. There's any number of options that this could be. Whatever happened to his folks, whatever happened to his uncle, some asshole who beat 'im or worse.

"Make sure what don't happen to anyone else?"

He's practically only holding that coffee cup now to keep his hands warm as he wanders over closer, brow knit up. He pulls out a chair with his foot and sits sideways in it, unable to hide the concern there 'cause this kid's got somethin' real heavy that he's takin' with him.

There's a hitch in Peter's breath and he very pointedly looks away, his fingers fidgeting and drumming against the coffee mug.

"Uh-... y-yeah... I-I don't really-I-I had this uh... friend. Th-that was older than me and-I-I don't really like to talk about it. I-I just-It was bad-really bad and I just-" He pauses a moment to swallow and take a deep breath in. "I just-I-I don't want to talk about it." Or else he might start to panic and freak out worse no one wants that. Least of all Peter.

"Don't sound like no kinda friend."

He's getting an idea. None of it good. Someone talked him or tricked him into something he wanted no part of, and he hates the suspicion it could be worse than violent or illegal but can easily look at his own past and figure the worst. Not that it ever happened to him. But he'd seen what happened to some of the nicer lookin' slaves, or the ones that had that as their whole job.

"Breathe. Take a moment an' breathe. Remember like I was tellin' ya in the triage car?" It ain't asthma, but it requires the same kind of concentrating. The same kinda messed up physical reactions happenin'. "Just like that."

And there's still not much elbow room, even by train standards, which is why Ghost never goes in there. Alas for the lab car.

"Can't say I'm familiar," Ghost says. It sounds specialty, but - "You formulate things yourself?" His curiosity is attracted, now, and he settles onto the bench next to Peter in kind of a flop. Science nerds will not be tamed.

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Peter Parker around the train doing things

c. Club Insomnia Meeting.

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c. dining car

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C - Dining Car

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CW: Sexual assault implications

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