Put on your cape

Felix knows she should probably be more careful in a lab full of dangerous chemicals, but sometimes she isn’t and that’s why she keeps extra clothes there. She had just gotten some chemical on one of her favorite shirts and was tugging it off. She hears footsteps coming toward the lab, but is unfazed. “Tell me who you are because I can’t turn around to look right now.” 

Break time and light work loads means extra time to visit the friends. ( One of the little joys of Peter’s day. ) Since he hasn’t seen Richard in a while, he decides to make a stop at the labs. The light tone of a voice takes him by surprise. He stands by the doorway and cranes his neck inwards to take a look. A hand flies up to cover his eyes almost right away as he takes quick steps back. “Uh, sorry!” He calls out. “It’s Peter. I didn’t know the lab was... Occupied like this.”

“Oh, actually yes–But with the amount of people here I do require a few breaks here and there.” Her ability would always go into overdrive when she was around crowded places like this. “And you could never be a bother to me, Nami. I always enjoy your company.” She chuckles a little at Peter’s comment. “I suppose I am a bit young in my appearence. Though, my work is relatively insignificant compared to Nami’s. I’m merely Mr. Dexters personal assistant.”

Nami shakes her head furiously from side to side, and follows it with a small raspberry noise. “It doesn’t sound glamorous but it’s still a big position!” She smiles up at Moria. “I enjoy your company too.”

Peter blinks blankly a few times. “W-wow.” He’s speechless and is desperately mentally grabbing at straws in trying to find a proper response. “Nami’s right. That’s a really, really impressive position. You must be very good at what you do.”

Nami gives Moria a big reassuring nod. “Mandatory attendance or not, Moria here is still one of the hardest workers I know! Are you working right now though? I don’t wanna be bothering you.”

“Wow,” Peter can’t help but show his surprise. “You just looked so young I didn’t even think you were one of the workers. --But then again Nami here is one of our best employees. What do you do in Nexus?”

Nami wraps her arms around Moria almost instantaneously when Moria came within hugging distance. “It’s so good to see you here. I thought I was gonna have to look everywhere for you.” She frowns a little to show Moria how just the thought of that made her upset. “Oh, Moria. This is my ‘uncle’ Peter Petrelli. Uncle Peter, this is my very very good friend Moria.”

“Hey there, Moria.” He’d shake her hand but Nami already has the girl in a death grip of a hug. Instead he settles for a small wave and a friendly grin. “Are you here for kicks or are you a big science fan as well?” 

“–Ah. Uncle Peter. Uncle Peter, look I think I see my friend there! I wanna introduce you to her!” Nami cups her hands around her mouth and calls out for her friend. “Moria!”

“Nami, don’t-- Inside voice, Nami. It’s a bit more packed here than I imagined but we could’ve walked over to her.”

“The Rogue– they don’t like deserters.” She felt her eyelids tingle like twinkling stars, and forced it to stop. She would not cry. If she cried, she would tell, and if she told, she’d be dead as soon as the Rogue found out– and then Peter would probably be next. And if not Peter, if they were as smart as she knew they were, they’d go after someone he loved. Peter had a lot more to lose than she did, and she simply couldn’t bare the idea of causing someone that kind of pain.

He sighed. This was a familiar tale by now. With these types of things, it was easy to join but hard to make a clean break. Both Nexus and the Rogues had too much info in wraps to let out to the public. “You’re still so young. You really shouldn’t have to feel like someone’s constantly out to get you when you should be focusing on things like your music and education instead.” He turned his body to face her and show that she had his full attention.

Marina answered with a smile, not having the words to respond properly. She fingered the edge of her dress nervously, as she stood there, not sure if she should sit down, or wait for him to do so. It was her house, though. He was probably waiting for her to sit down, right? That’s how it worked didn’t it? She couldn’t very well ask him, but oh, what if he was waiting on her? How awkward would that be?

The way she stood looked really stiff. He felt the need to tell her to take a seat but he quickly remembered he was the guest. He intended to continue standing with her and talk about her music until her guards eased down, but the atmosphere shifted in the opposite direction. 

@Peter

Peter’s hands clenched up at the sound of the knock. He knew the knock was too slow and light to signal any real danger. By this time he picked up on the front desk secretary’s habit of either pounding on the door like she put her whole weight into it or rapidly knocking like she unloaded assault rifle. This was nicer though, and more pleasant. “Come on in!” He waved his hand in an inward-circular motion to tell her to come inside. “What have you got there?” He couldn’t stop the stupid grin on his face from growing even more. Sure, it was great to see a familiar face again, but when that face brought food he ejected from his seat ASAP. “Let me help you carry all of that. Wow, are you here to rub these things in my face or are we about to have an impromptu lunch? I’m joking by the way.” He maneuvered around his desk and over to her, holding his hands out and waiting for her to hand off whatever she could bear to part with. 

The young girl’s cheeks brightened at the compliment, her eyes falling downwards. “Thanks. It’s– not finished yet.” She admitted, “there’s something missing.” She spoke sadly. There was no ending, and it put her on edge how she advanced so slowly in the composition of the end. She’d written tons of things before. Tons and tons, with endings and all, but this was her most personal piece yet, and she couldn’t even finish it. She needed it to present to Juilliard, and it wasn’t finished!

He eyeballed all the scraps of paper on the floor and chuckled. That was exactly how his floor looked prior to Claire moving in. Argh, his mind was jumping from one person to the next when Marina deserved his full attention. “Ah, nothing for me. Thanks. Don’t wanna inconvenience you. Don’t even worry about the ‘mess.’ I feel at home, honestly.” If her apartment was truly like his, she probably only had water to offer and he remembered with vivacity how embarrassing it was to offer his guests water in a coffee mug because he didn’t have anything else to give out. 

We Are Our Own Dragons | Marina & Peter

It took him a while to internalize that the music had stopped. It took him even longer to realize that the music reminded him of some one from his past. The sound was at a higher pitch than he remembered and the girl in front of him had red hair instead of blonde. The stark differences snapped him out of his little daze. The blank expression was replaced by a brighter one. “Hey, Marina,” he waved with his head tilted to see her through the small door opening. Handshakes were too formal for them now. Waves were casual. Friendly. Perfect for them since they were barely acquaintances.

"The guy who rescued me from my drunken stupor? Seems you’re always coming to my rescue, huh? I would adore some help, if you don’t mind of course?"

"Ah, that would definitely be me. I wouldn't really say rescue. Assistance is more like it."

"It almost seems like I never left…"

"... --Hey. It's Peter. It's been so long I don't blame you if you don't remember me-- I didn't even know you left. Do you need a hand with those?"

"Big surprise, something they’re doing doesn’t sit right with everyone."

"You're right. Things never will get better as long as people keep seeing things in terms of us vs. them."

"Damn. I can’t find any information on this…"

"You too, huh?"