riverview | Video | HAPPY... LATE... BIRTHDAY???

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Video | HAPPY... LATE... BIRTHDAY??? | @p.parker

[The feed is mostly full of textbooks, the spines all turned enough that they're legible; it's math, chemistry, social studies, all the fun things nobody misses from high school. And on the right side of the screen is Peter, sitting with his cheek on his palm and his elbow pressed beside a blank page of paper. He looks kind of sleepy, like he'd just nod off if he didn't have the feed to focus on.]

So I've got this essay I need to write by tomorrow, and I'm having a hard time getting — personal, and all that. The prompt's asking about what inspires you, specifically. [He looks to read it word-for-word:] 'What motivates you in your day to day life?' And I mean, I've got a lot of motivations, but trying to put it to paper is giving me a wicked case of the fogbrain.

[He tucks his pen under his nose, holding it with his upper lip for a moment before letting it fall pitifully to the table. He sighs.]

What motivates you guys? Into doing what you do? What makes you put your shoes on in the morning, huh?

And don't just say 'to avoid stepping on pointy stuff barefoot'. That's a cheap and obvious answer—

[Peter startles violently as birthday music blares behind him, so much so that his pencil goes flying through the air and RIP's somewhere off-screen. Pam the pancake making robot seems to be flying onto the scene in the background with freshly made pancakes and festive lights blinking all over her.

A little lighter arm pops out, preparing to light a lone candle on the stack of flapjacks.

Peter mutters, mortified:]

...I thought I disabled Birthday Mode for repairs...

[He looks back at the robot with his hand pressed to his temple, and clears his throat.]

... Pam, uh. My - my birthday was two days ago. Two days. It's August 10th. And, uh, it's... it's the 12th now.

[Peter watches as the AI seems to try to process this, tapping his finger on the table and thinning his lips at the awkward silence. Pam's little plate-holding robo-arms lower slightly, the generic birthday MIDI file slowing to a depressive stop as the party-themed lights and lighter are shut off together. A pause of nothing. Then she turns and dejectedly wheels away into the community kitchen with her plate of pancakes.]

Wait, Pam — Aw, c’mon, I can still eat them! Hey—

[Peter drops his arms.

... Note to self, fix her internal clock...]

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Well, happy belated birthday, Peter! You're definitely going to need to come over for dinner. [There's a teasing note to her voice.] I promise it won't be pancakes.

[But there will be birthday cake. Sorry Peter.]

But I think Pam needs a hug though. As for what gets me through the day and wakes me up: finding answers to things, honestly. Big things, little things, just finding truth.

Heh, I'd love to. Especially since I've learned I can't turn down dinners around here.

[He smiles a bit more brightly, some of the exhaustion lines smoothing on his face.]

I'm guessing when you say answers, you mean the big deals. Supernatural deals. Not the answer to x in an equation.

Hey, if you're ever hungry you know you can just turn up. Richard always makes enough food for an army.

Well, not always supernatural ones, but I love a good investigation, honestly.

Thanks, Alex! Sounds like a deal.

[He's bad at following through, but he'll try harder this time. Better to look normal and not having any trouble with anything, after all.]

Mr. Strand seems like he really loves feeding people in general.

He took me to a nice cafe once.

[Don't mind her, Alex is just thinking back to the time when he was living on power bars and she needed to drag his ass back to the land of the living.

Oh also, she's definitely popcorn.gif ing over here while reading that Richard thread.]

Dr. Strand does like to do that, even if he doesn't admit that he actually does care about people.

[Did she just give him ammo? Maybe, maybe not.]

You can come by tonight, if you want. But only as long as there's no attempted carbon dating. I'd prefer to have my partner still in one piece.

[Oh, watching that little text war, are we?]

I promise, no attempts. And I'll — be there for sure, since you'll have me.

... After I finish some homework.

[He... may or may not fall asleep at your dinner table, fair warning.]

[Wouldn't you be, if you were her?]

Awesome. I have no idea what he's cooking, but I do promise it'll be good. He hasn't made a bad meal in the entire time he's been cooking for me.

What kind of homework do you got?

[Alex may or may not understand that on a very deep level and would let him sleep and not drown in soup or whatever.]

Mainly English. But a little math on the side.

I'm honestly better at the more technical stuff, since I have a hard time putting my thoughts into words? Sometimes I feel like pulling teeth out of my head would be easier than answering an essay prompt.

Well, I seriously am hopeless at math... [No really, just ask some of the people who have needed to explain that stuff to her.] But I did major in journalism, which meant a lot of english classes for me, so I can help if you want.

That'd be great, thanks! It's good to get a little insight from someone who knows what they're doing.

Sure, not a problem! Bring it over and we can work on it after dinner if you want.

Gotcha! I'm on my way.

[You'd better expect some knocks to your door soon, Alex.

Man, this kid sure is fast. He must sprint to the tram. Obviously.]

[Alex is surprised by how fast he is, she's not going to lie, and one brow goes up when she lets him in, because good lord.]

Wow, Peter, were you nearby?

[He hops on his feet, looking a little more energized.

Or maybe delirious from not sleeping as much...? Naaah, we'll go with the first one!]

I figured I'd do a speed run, since I was already kinda close! Good exercise.

How's it going?

[Alex is just going to stare at him, because Peter, you're talking to someone who practically has a phD in dealing with not sleeping. So, she's just going to frown at him as she leads the way into the large kitchen.]

I'm okay. But how long has it been since you've had a good night's sleep, Peter?

[He opens his mouth, closes it. Opens it again.]

... Recently!

[Nice cover. Really nice.]

[Oh Pete. Just Oh Pete. Alex is going to shake her head at him.]

From one person who has sleep issues to another, that sounds like bullshit to me, Peter. What's going on? Do you need to talk about it? I'm a good listener.

[He bites his lip and shakes his head.]

Nothing! Nothing worth talking about, I mean. I've just been working really hard on some stuff.

... I know I need to sleep more, m'sorry.

[Alex knows that placating statement. She's made it more times than she can count herself actually. So she's just going to stare him down for a second before clearly saying that she doesn't believe him with a single word.]

Okay.

[#record skip]

Okay?

[He looks caught off-guard by how easily she accepts this, bless.]

Look. I've been there. I know how bullshit it is to be tired and to tell people to tell you to sleep. All I can do is over an ear and suggestions if you want them.

[And there's a beat.]

I have a lot of them. Suggestions I mean. Or ears too.

[He sighs after a moment, smiling just a little.]

It's nothing, really. I'm good. I'll be good. Just a lot of stuff from home, and — and things nobody can change, and it's not really something I can go into. You know? But I'm fine. I promise, I'll be fine.

[Maybe just half-dead from sleep deprivation, but we've all been there.]

Trust me, no one gets 'it's not really something I can go into' like me now.

[She's not supposed to talk about demons and the show and Simon and all of that stuff. Which makes sense but is also extremely difficult to do for her.

However, her voice drops soft and low.]

There's every chance you're not going to be fine, Peter. Sleep deprivation, it wears on you. It makes you think that things are different than they are. People, relationships, shadows in the corners of your eye, all of them get so much worse when you can't sleep. If you need to talk to someone, I am here.

[There's a small beat, along with a thin smile.]

Trust me, I didn't sleep for over two years back home.

Two years? W-wow. No, I — I promise, I sleep more than that.

I just... overextend a little.

[He looks like he's gonna admit something, maybe say something relating to his own issues...

But instead:]</small. Um... What happened to make you sleep so little?

Yeah, two years. Victor seems to think it's something like a miracle that I'm not dead or seriously ill from it.

[And Alex just looked him in the eye before she added:]

And yeah, I overextended too. And then had too many movie nights. Catching up on work was literally hell and all of that. I used every excuse in the book even after my friend Nic dragged me to a sleep therapist, and my bosses needed to give me a vacation so I could sleep.

[Alex let off a sigh, before she turned to fill the tea kettle.]

It's sort of a long story, that's kind of involved, but let me say I did have reasons for not sleeping. It wasn't as if I just stopped. Some things happened, and they kind of messed my head up for a while.

[Demons. She's talking about demons. Oh, and finding a body. And maybe causing the end of the world. All of that.]

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