epidemiology | I ALWAYS THOUGHT I MIGHT BE BAD, NOW I'M SURE THAT IT'S TRUE

CHARACTERS: peter & sonia & maya & then sonia again AND MAYBE MORE??? we will see...
DATE: post cure and until the end of their time in woodhurst
WARNINGS: manpain about eating people probably
SUMMARY: getting S L A P P E D, ramen, & science museums

SONIA.

( it's about three days after his cure, maybe closer to four, when he finds himself back at Sonia's door. he's armed with the heartbreak of last night and the messages left on his magitek, of a newfound friend and confidant desperately trying to reach him.

Sonia already knows he's back to himself again, she'd been there when it happened, yet she hasn't seen hide nor hair of him since then. it's much harder, to face people in person, when Peter would very much like to crawl in a hole and never come out, or at least crawl into the sewer and distract himself curing literally every infected there, like maybe it'll relieve even an ounce of the guilt blooming in his lungs.

it won't, and neither will making another apology, yet that didn't invalidate that Sonia deserved to hear one.

he hasn't announced himself, he's just here; he hasn't stopped to consider that his presence might not be very welcome when he knocks on the door. at least Sonia won't have to be surprised as to who is behind it, when he hears her moving toward the door (yeah, he even knows its her by the sound of her footfalls), he calls, ) It's me.

MAYA.

( it's been a bit more than a week, and Woodhurst is already starting to show signs of improvement. the overwhelming numbers of infected are starting to even out, the people of the city are starting to find their path toward recovery and it's slowly and surely hinting back towards something like a normal city in the 90s.

Peter has not been spending a lot of time doing much beyond madly trying to cure whatever infected he could find, not since his uncomfortable apology tour to half the team is over. and trying (and mostly failing) to sleep sometimes. don't say he never learns anything, y'all!

he'd be happy to keep himself to mindlessly working — no time to think when you're mindlessly working — but Maya is pretty persuasive, he's noticed. she isn't wrong that he owes her something like a hundred dinners, and they'd better even some of the score while they were still in a place he could buy her food. it's just a matter of getting there... you know, if they survive the moped ride. )

Have you driven this thing yet? ( he asks, not realizing the doom he is definitely walking right into by trusting Maya to do the driving. there's only one helmet, who gets it? Maya, apparently, he'll survive better if it comes to that. he plunks it on her head without asking, and it doesn't fit great over the topknot but whatever. her head is still vaguely safer for it. )

SONIA. (AGAIN. I KNOW.)

( his last meeting with Sonia hadn't gone the best, but they'd found a decent conclusion in the end. it'd certainly been something Peter had wanted to improve on, though; he's pretty new to making and maintaining friends, and Sonia is one that is important to him. he realizes from experience how hard making the cure had been on both of them, and he knows how difficult it'd been to deal with being infected, too.

now that their time in Woodhurst is drawing to a close, they've only got so much time left for potentially distracting themselves from the weight of the mission. they need a break, and Maya has been good at reminding him that people still need those. Sonia definitely does, and he hopes that a trip to the Science Exploration Museum will be a good one. she's dealt with enough of the dark side of science... why not have a little fun with it, for once?

the place is locked up; a lot of Woodhurst is still in recovery after Bristol. still, Peter is not going to be deterred. they're getting in there and Sonia is going to have Fun and that's the long and short of it. ) I know a way in, but you're going to have to trust me. ( a more difficult feat than it used to be, isn't it? )

WILDCARD.

want a thing? throw me a prompt, and I will throw you a spider! you can always catch me via pm or at ~meowed if you wanna plot something!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[To be fair, that woman really should have looked before bursting out of random doors with zero warning and high speed. Living through the zombie apocalypse has made the already jumpy Maya even jumpier, so even if Peter hadn't stepped in, she probably would have managed to stop the moped before hitting her. Peter does step in, though, being... totally unhelpful and resting his head on her shoulder like a nerd.]

[Doesn't it hurt his neck to bend that far down??]

-Sorry!!

[She's properly chastised though (Peter you jerk) and slowly down a little as she drives back onto the street.... maybe that's enough drag moped racing.]

[At least until they get food]

Hey, hey, it was awesome and you know it! Don't be lame. [he did move pretty quickly, though... he wasn't kidding about the enhanced senses and reflexes] You're pretty quick, though! Spidery senses, right?

[She drives them over to a good place to stop, finally, and lets him disembark first] I bet you'd be really good at juggling.

[apparently that's what she got out of that]

( he is a jerk, for letting the small girl take the heat for their reckless driving, but to be fair, she was the reckless driver. maybe she should drive safer if she does not want to be lectured by pedestrians! it's just a thought.

Peter does step off the moped first, and honestly it is a little remarkable he fits on the damn thing, when it's definitely made to suit people Maya's size. exactly why he'd thought to give it to her in the first place, though jury was out on whether he was regretting that decision now. the look on his face doesn't seem traumatized, though, so... he probably doesn't regret it too much. )

Juggling? Seriously? ( he has no idea how she got from fast reflexes to juggling, Peter even huffs a laugh. ) I have no idea, I've never tried. ( after a breath, though, he concedes, ) It was awesome. Like living through a 2 Fast 2 Furious movie at half the speed. You're some driver.

( really Peter??? really??????? )

[Nah. Maybe he should just be a gentleman and take the blame for everything..... or you, know, don't gift her tiny deathtraps in the future]

[Maybe he should have regrets. She turns it off and pats it]

Why not? Think of how much stuff you could juggle with your insecty instincts! You'd be the star of a circus.

[Peter, no]

...Too bad it was only half the speed. This guy is cute, but he doesn't go too fast. [pats the moped]

[she seems pleased by his praise, though]

Let's conquer the MLB scene before we worry about the circus. One career at a time.

( he is a bit curious as to how well he could juggle if he did it intentionally, if he's honest. juggling a few dozen vials of plutonium is one thing, what about those crazy bats and special frisbees? it's something he probably will never have the opportunity to know. Peter is still curious despite himself.

Peter eyes the moped seriously as they duck towards the ramen place, clearly contemplating. )

You know, I could probably make it a go a little faster, if I rerouted the battery and fished around the wiring a little.

( this officially deserves a Peter, no. italics and all. )

Let's worry about it after we eat, though, I'm starving.

I'm just thinking ahead! You are my star, after all.

[But hey, once they get some baseball under their belt, who knows? This is Maya, after all. If Peter's going to go along with every single crazy whim she gets into her head, it could very well happen.]

[Speaking of which--]

Seriously?!

[Her eyes light up at the idea, because Peter was a fool]

Fine, but you already owe me, plus you promised.

[He did no such thing]

Seriously, it shouldn't be too hard. I mean, I might have to Frankenstein it a little, but it would probably be okay.

( because 'Frankenstein" is always a word associated with safety, right? totally not something that should be at all intimidating to the girl who is supposed to drive the moped around.

but hey, Peter souped up some metal horses in Perdition's Rest and to his knowledge, nobody died.so. )

Okay, okay, ( he laughs with a shake of his head and palms lifted in surrender as he heads for the door and holds it open for Maya. well, he holds it open as in there's a gap between him and his arm for her to go through first. it's handy that she's so short, she can walk under his arm and the top of her topknot doesn't even touch his arm. ) Just remind me when we get back to Oska.

[Maya laughs in the face of danger]

[then she makes Phoenix or someone else deal with the consequences]

Yay! You're the best!

[Wow, he's a gentleman and he made her beam. Good job, Peter. She does take the opportunity to duck under the giant's arm, heading in first.] As if I'll let you forget! I can't wait to test this baby out back in home base!

You'll have to wait at least a little, but at least we have food as a good distraction.

( Peter could be flighty and forgetful at the best of times, he probably would need Maya to actually remember his promise about the moped to follow through. he'd probably have to be reminded of all the burgers he owed her, too. still, as long as she was willing to pester him, he'd provide on both accounts. he was a guy that stuck to his promises... for better or worse.

in this instance, perhaps for the worse, considering he was doomed to learn that for someone so small, Maya could put away just as much food as he could... and that was rather alarming, considering the fact he was twice the size and had three times the metabolism... oh well, a promise was a promise, and he'd foot the ramen bill.

the incredibly enormous ramen bill... thankfully he hadn't used much of his stipend during his woodhurst stay......... )

I ALWAYS THOUGHT I MIGHT BE BAD, NOW I'M SURE THAT IT'S TRUE

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wrap on yours?

mmmmaybe one or two more comments but sounds good

NO ENDS IT RIGHT NOW

(walter white voice) it's over when I say it's over

WRAPS HERE FOR REAL