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Video; UN: p.parker

[The feed opens with Peter on his bed.

Not hungover, thank you.

But he looks a little rumpled, in that healthy way, a way that says he's actually gonna sleep early today.]

Ummm. So... This is weird. I, okay — here it goes.

Number one... Hey, hi, I'm — I'm 16-year-old Peter Parker. Not the puny one in the Iron Man mask anymore. But thanks a lot if you helped me out, back there; it means a lot. I was a little bit of a handful and all, but you guys were awesome babysitters? That's kind of embarrassing, but you know, that's just how a Parker rolls.

[Peter breathes out a sigh after a moment's hesitation, leaning back from the feed and tapping a pen on a notebook on his knee that is probably too full of science mumbo-jumbo and math notes — among other things. Liiiike bullet points on what to say for this message. He feels like he's got butterflies in his stomach, honestly. Which is stupid. But he's never been great at having an audience; you wouldn't catch him in drama with all those actor-types.

Okay, Pete. Just go down your list, you got this.]

Mr. Stark — Tony Stark, that is... and Sam Wilson, they've gone home. Captain America, too. A lot of people have: people from my world, some from worlds like it — and friends I got to make from wildly different places have left, too. And I just... wanna say, this place has been so good to me, you know? Sure, some really messed up stuff happened here and there, but. But it's been a place where I could think. And make new friends. And be way more open than I was back home.

I just know what I have to do now. It's been eating at me for a while, so... Decisions made. And all that.

I'm gonna take the next portal they can give me, and I'll be going home as soon as I get the word. [Some people know what that means. A lot of people don't, and he doesn't plan to tell them the grim reality behind it] There's a ton I have to do back home, responsibilities I gotta tend to and things I gotta be a part of, for better or worse. And it's not right for me to put it off. Like... how you avoid studying for the SATs until the night before? Yeah, it's super irresponsible.

... I don't know when it'll be exactly. I guess nobody does. Or else we wouldn't get pulled here or pushed away.

But yeah.

[He swallows.]

Anyway. I'd like to do as much as I can on my dumb to-do list thing, for this really weird and long vacation I've been on. I wanna hang out with all my friends who're still here and really just... have a lot of fun? Until I go back to my usual life. I hate goodbyes, so I'm not gonna think about saying them right now, but I just wanted everyone to know you've been so awesome, and I've learned so much, and I've had a blast.

... Mostly. Not including being hungover.

[He smiles a little more, warm and confident in his words.]

And, um, for certain people, I've got something else to tell them?

But I'll let you know in a more private feed.

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No, I didn't tell him. I thought you might want to do it yourself.

I... I don't think that's a good idea.

Sometimes I regret telling you and some of the others... I dunno. It sucks that the people I did tell have to deal with knowing now. I could've just kept quiet and nobody'd have to worry. It was kind of dumb in hindsight.

[It was just... He'd wanted to tell someone, people he trusted, because he'd been so freaked out and scared. Part of it feels selfish, now that he's sitting in his thoughts.]

He's going to know something's up, Pete. Of course he is. If nothing else, the bucket list thing would have given it away, but I understand that.

And I don't think you should have kept quiet, I think keeping quiet would have torn you up inside. Sometimes things like that need to be shared.

... He's gonna be upset.

[At Peter, for Peter, with Peter — but upset nonetheless.]

How... should I tell him?

He is going to upset. Very upset, honestly. But I'd be truthful and direct.

And no matter what happens during the conversation. Honestly, no matter what, you need to say goodbye to him, Peter.

For the love of god, please do that.

[Richard has abandonment issues out the ass, and given that Stan and Simon are both gone without goodbyes...]

... Alright. I — I know. I know I need to say bye. I definitely will.

[His eyes water, and he swallows thickly.]

I am sorry, though. For making things harder. You know I love you guys, right?

We know. Richard will be angry and bitey, but he knows too. He's just... not good with the loss of people he cared about. He's had to deal with it a lot.

And I think you remind him of Charlie.

[Who he... lost for twenty years because of some demon bullshit, so yeah.]

... That's, um. That's his daughter, right?

[He heard a little about her, from Strand. On the tram. But not... too much.

He wonders if he should be asking.]

Yeah, she is. Something happened when she was a teenager, and they lost almost twenty years of time.

[Peter, do not do that math okay. Yeah, Alex is younger than his daughter but it's totally not a big deal.]

They're okay now though, but...

[But those years were still lost.]

... Twenty years?

[No, sorry, he's definitely gonna do the math there.

Wow.]

Yeah. Twenty years.

[Alex sighs softly.]

I know. It's complicated.

[But she's not going to make excuses for who she loves for any reason. If she doesn't explain why she loves him when he's being a giant asshole, she's definitely not going to address the fact that he is, in fact, old enough to be her father.]

They reconciled recently but, it's a long time and he missed a lot.

... I'll bet.

[But look — he's not gonna ask about the obvious in turns of you and him, okay.

He will totally spear the topic of father and daughter, though.]

What happened, that they couldn't sooner?

[Alex just sighs softly, and there's weight in it.]

I did promise to tell you the whole story one day, didn't I?

Yooou might have said a thing or two like that, maybe.

[So obviously, you should tell him a little, to curb his appetite for knowledge.

And being nosy.]

[Well, considering how nosy Alex is, she can never fault anyone for that.]

Come over, I'd rather tell you in person, honestly.

Sounds good; you at the usual?

[God, how often does he go there now? Too often. Which is perfect, in his opinion.]

Yep! I'll put the kettle on for hot chocolate. We're probably going to need it.

[It's okay, Peter. When they go home (to possibly die in Geneva and end the world) they're gonna give him the house.]

... You're starting to know me a little too well, Miss Alex.

[And yes, he's still in the habit of adding 'miss' to her name.

Will it ever stop? Probably not.]

[Alex has stopped trying to get him to stop. She doesn't like it, but she's still trying to get him to stop.

But she laughs and lets him into the kitchen when he shows up.]

[Richard was sitting at the kitchen table holding a cup of tea, frowning.]

I hear Alex is telling you about my past.

[And Alex is just going to frown at him.]

Our past, actually.

[He winces behind his mug of hot chocolate, glancing between the two.]

... I don't wanna cause any trouble in your relationship.

[That was a joke, and he's trying not to smile with it, promise.]

It's fine. I wouldn't have told you about Charlie if it wasn't.

[He takes another drink of his tea, gesturing out to a more comfortable area. It was going to be a long explanation, and probably with visuals.]

It's also not as dramatic as Alex makes it out to be.

[It was easy to pass it off as something simple. After all, besides the strange things that happened from time to time, the previously believed clairvoyance and thoughts of seeing demons, his life had been relatively normal for most of his life. It was what was going on behind the scenes and without his notice that was strange.]

[Alex is just going to raise her brow at him, because of course he would say it. So, she's going to grab her coffee and yes, follow him into the living room because honestly why not? If nothing else it'll be an interesting change of scenery from where she normally has intense conversations.

Once everyone's seated, Alex just starts, because honestly, it's thirty shows not counting viewer stuff and sleep notes and everything else, and it's also three years.

So, she starts simply:]

So, you know that Richard is a paranormal investigator, and I'm a podcast reporter. Back home I started doing a show on interesting people with interesting jobs and the first one we picked out was a paranormal investigator. So, I started with some interviews and people who are big names on television and everything and everyone kept bringing up one person and what an ass he was.

[Guess, Peter, guess.]

So I called him eleven times. And then called his publicist, and basically everyone else I could think of before he called me back. Then during our interview I found out about his Black Tapes, which are the cases that he can't solve to his satisfaction. [And there's a quick smile as she adds:] Yet. [Because Alex knows Richard would interrupt her if she didn't.

In the end, the show turned out to be us reinvestigating his black tapes together, while I investigated him, and his life.

[He absolutely glances innocently at Richard, when she says 'an ass he was'.

Sorry, Mr. Strand. He looks apologetic, though!]

... Black Tapes, you said? What kinda' cases?

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