#i just connected these dots like the continuity on this show is BONKERS

[dollypopup]

just realized how much sense it makes that the man who could undo Cressida's necklace in S2 with just one hand in the middle of a dance gave Pen a V for Victory and an O for You Know in that carriage

[kafus]

a likodot themed analysis of HZ049

hello it's been a while since my last truly longform post like this but guess who watched HZ049 today and is going absolutely fucking feral bonkers about it. it's me. and i have things to say about it of the likodot variety because if i don't get these thoughts out of my head i'll explode.

forgive me for my shipping bias because i'm not sorry. however i am slightly sorry for how messy this post ended up being my god i had a lot of thoughts but i did my best to make this at least somewhat entertaining to read and comprehensive. but it really is a long winding mess LOL. FULL OF PASSION AND ADORATION I LOVE THIS SHOW AND I LOVE LIKO AND DOT MORE THAN ANYTHING IN THIS WORLD

obviously there are heavy spoilers below the cut i'm going to be violently pulling apart all the scenes where these two interact and gnawing at all of it

so. first off. this episode displays massive growth in liko and dot's relationship by method of showing how much liko's behavior around gurumin has changed since these two met and since dot initially confessed to being gurumin. as we all know liko was a massive superfan of gurumin, and then when dot confessed to being gurumin... well liko's reaction was. Uh

well she was having a little bit of a crisis about it LOL. historically liko has gotten very flustered and panicked when reminded that dot is gurumin. and she has been really prone to fangirling still (ie. getting really excited about helping gurumin in HZ019 with the bakery stuff or helping gurumin with the pig town stuff in HZ036), despite knowing the person in the suit. she goes as far as to try to ignore that dot is in the suit entirely and keep them separate in her brain (shown for instance by her freaking out over seeing dot halfway in the gurumin suit in HZ039) because if she were to mentally cross those wires, she wouldn't be able to handle it.

but now in this episode, things have obviously changed a lot over time. the episode opens with a small scene that explains what dot is doing about gurumin while they are traveling on the terastal course (filming them beforehand and scheduling ahead of time lol) but liko and dot have a conversation about (a really CUTE conversation) about gurumin in the process.

do not get it twisted, liko is still very much a fan of gurumin, but this conversation is a lot more comfortable and grounded. she gets a notification about a new gurumin video and she's excited (and surprised because of the timing), but she is not panicking about it. and her first reaction to this information is to directly ask dot (with the softest expression fucking ever??) about it. this directly connects dot and gurumin together in a strong way. liko is no longer running from the fact that dot is the youtuber she looks up to, and in fact she's being pretty upfront about it.

not related to my main point, but i also just want to gush a little here about this scene more - dot reacts similarly to liko showing so much affection for her work in a similar way to how she reacted in HZ008 to liko complimenting her through the door - getting flustered about liko's genuine energy, but this time they know each other and are looking at each other face to face. liko's affectionate energy is enough to make her relent that maybe someday... she could film outside... which shows the sort of effect liko has on her. and also this becomes relevant later in the episode where dot literally does film gurumin videos outside - it's just good writing/foreshadowing lol

anyway, this continues later on when liko is the first to get worried about dot doing the battle livestream with nanjamo as gurumin instead of herself. i think if this situation had happened much earlier on, liko would have been thinking a lot more about the excitement of the idea of seeing gurumin battle in real life, but she doesn't even initially have that thought and have to backtrack, she's immediately worried about dot instead.

ironically, liko recognizing that gurumin isn't dot, as in gurumin is a mask that dot puts on instead of being representational of her true self, drives home liko's recognition of dot as gurumin even more. she understands the connection between dot and gurumin and what gurumin is to dot enough to have this concern in the first place - one roy initially doesn't understand, that is specific to liko. there is zero compartmentalization of dot being a youtuber here! liko is concerned about her friend who is an influencer, where she puts on a mask to be confident and outgoing. dot and gurumin are fully connected.

it's also worth acknowledging that liko holds the gurumin suit and is concerned about it being damaged but nothing more - unlike in HZ021 when she goes to dot's room to give her the suit after it's been washed and cleaned, and she's a little nervous and flustered about it still.

i've always talked about how there's a bit of a difference between shipping liko and dot, and liko and gurumin - not that those two sectors have zero overlap, but that to liko, gurumin and dot were usually kept so separate mentally that fans online could often be sorted into camps of being interested in the running silliness of liko's fascination and flustered behavior with the whole gurumin thing, and liko and dot's connection with each other as normal (girl)friends... liko has progressively adjusted more to dot being gurumin and has had moments where she is able to set aside her fangirl heart to be there for dot (like when she mentions dot being gurumin in her little supportive speech in HZ027), but this episode shows that in a much more drastic and meaningful way, and now those two sectors are FULLY overlapping canonically. i think it is overall a sweet and good thing for them that liko is able to see dot as a whole and directly appreciate her creative skills/work. it is obviously meaningful to dot!

TLDR;

HZ039:

HZ049:

you get the point.

NOW. onto the SECOND thing i want to talk about. the thing i've dubbed LIKODOT TELEPATHY. aka holy shit these girls understand each other without words. liko and dot understand each other on an intrinsic level and often notice when the other is worried, or pushing themselves too hard, or etc. that is EXTREMELY evident in this episode through liko's concern towards dot.

going back to the first scene before the opening theme, liko detects immediately when dot comments on roy's upbeat attitude that dot might be feeling nervous about her upcoming battle, and immediately offers reassurance.

(unfortunately i have to put aside my ramble about liko's continued lack of self esteem and her putting herself down here for another time because otherwise this post will get so off-topic and longer than it has any right to be, but you get the point. also holy shit dot saying "you don't have to fuss so much" but smiling and saying that line like she's happy to have liko fretting about her makes me CRAZY. I LOVE THEM SO MUCH. BUT. coughs. ANYWAY)

then, like i mentioned earlier, liko is the first to be worried about dot in this episode. she's the first to notice dot's anxious/shutting down behavior:

the first to recognize that dot might actually walk away unhappy if she were to do her terastal exam as gurumin instead of herself:

and the first to recognize that her filming videos outside is not as genuinely upbeat and happy as it may seem:

(two quick side notes about this, i really like how the writing puts emphasis on liko's concern by contrasting roy's total lack of it multiple times - NOT that he doesn't care of course, but just that liko understands dot particularly well and is in touch with dot's feelings in a special way that roy isn't. additionally, it makes me feel crazy that dot probably got the idea to film outside from liko's affectionate encouragement in the first scene in the episode... like, she's basically trying to use liko's advice to hype herself up and get through this... of course she would!! trusting liko's words has always ended up positively for her!! liko is such a massive support for her!! and liko acknowledges herself that yeah she said that but that isn't what she meant. GOD. i'm so insane about these girls)

this is notable not only because it's very sweet that liko is so concerned about dot, but also because dot doesn't really understand this herself. she is trying so hard to put on the gurumin facade, to run away from her anxiety as far as possible, to avoid the bad. and yet despite her attempts to cover her true feelings up as much as possible, even from herself, liko sees straight through it. dot cannot mask around liko, she understands regardless, sees the parts of her she doesn't want to acknowledge.

the contrast between dot's understanding of herself and liko's understanding of her is immense. directly after dot boldly proclaims that she feels so much stronger as gurumin and happily mentions that she has nanjamo's permission to do their battle as gurumin is when liko finally confronts her. the difference in mood is startling, almost, and easily shows that contrast. i need to break down this confrontation in detail cause it makes me insane

first, liko is still too nervous to say what she wants to say, but as per usual with LIKODOT TELEPATHY (tm) dot immediately notices liko going into her polite i-don't-want-to-inconvenience-you voice and pushes for what the matter is. she can tell immediately that liko has a problem even though liko hasn't said anything yet.

liko doesn't want to rock the boat and is overly gentle with her words (once again i have to push aside my ramble about liko's confidence problems AGH) but finally speaks her piece about the situation.

i want to mention here as well, these two situations are very different, but the similarities of dot noticing liko pushing herself back in HZ027 and then liko recognizing dot pushing herself in kind... SIIIGH

dot's reaction is to stammer with MUCH less confidence than before that she wasn't forcing anything. she's taken offguard by liko's concerns, but it's evident she recognizes what liko is saying within herself and is grappling with trying to maintain her mental wall after liko has cracked it in half with her words. liko was right and saw right through her, and dot isn't sure how to handle it. she avoids eye contact and everything.

this is where i bridge my conversation about likodot telepathy into talking about dot's characterization and growth as a character, so bear with me - quaxly attempts to drive the point liko is making home by separating dot from the gurumin suit, but afterwards is... The Scene. liko tries to bring the conversation back to what they were saying before, but at this point dot is overwhelmed by quaxly's actions and feels socially/emotionally cornered and... she explodes and screams at liko.

i think it's an interesting part of her personality that she is prone to irritable/angry outbursts and yelling when she has her buttons pushed too far and i'm glad that remains consistent for her, especially because...

the last time dot yelled directly at liko like this was in HZ008. the situation is actually quite similar with dot being pushed too far into a situation she doesn't know how to handle by liko reaching out to her more than she is ready for, causing her to lash out. but some MAJOR things have changed since then - obviously, the first time was through the door before they really knew each other, before liko had even seen her face, but this time it's up close and personal and they know each other. but secondly, at the beginning of the show, dot is irritated and overwhelmed by pretty much any attempt at conversation. she has come such a long way that now she's brought to screaming by something much, much more massive, with the whole being streamed live while battling in real life thing, showing how much she has overcome since then... and not only that!! thirdly! the first time, liko was encouraging gurumin, sharing how much of a fan of gurumin she was, and now this second time, it's in reaction to liko essentially telling her "i don't think you actually want to be gurumin in this situation". point is, the amount of growth dot has had is ironically so easy to see in her screaming at liko here because of the sheer level of contrast between the two times it's happened.

by this happening again, it also gives dot the chance to recognize her own shitty behavior and apologize for yelling later even though liko (nor roy) were asking for an apology - in fact they seemed to be surprised that dot wanted to apologize in the first place, like they had forgotten all about it. i think both liko and roy are used to shrugging off some of dot's more irritable behaviors, but this time dot noticed herself that she messed up and takes that moment to say sorry, which is sweet of her and once again a moment of character growth.

considering that dot also follows this up with the statement that she will take her terastal exam as herself, the apology is also connected to it - like she recognized that what liko was saying, the thing that made her yell, ended up being true. it was liko's genuine attempt to help her. and now that she's come to that conclusion on her own, she can see that yelling was even more misguided.

and that's my final conversation topic about this episode - the fact that dot came to that conclusion on her own. yes, liko cracked the wall she was putting up and gave her that starting push, but dot went above and beyond to take that crack and then smash that wall into pieces without liko's help. which despite what it sounds like i think is extremely important for these two's dynamic moving forward.

i'm going to spare you the analysis of dot's fear of cameras, why she hides behind gurumin, as well as a breakdown of the whole part of the episode with varoom bc i'm trying to talk mostly about likodot here, but assuming you've watched the episode you know what i'm talking about. here, i'm focused on the part where liko exclaims that they have to help dot, and dot denies her help and says she wants to handle it on her own, and then from this experience she is able to conclude she wants to do her terastal exam as herself.

this is massive. for so long, liko has practically dragged dot along and held her hand through tackling new experiences... sometimes literally lol, thinking about the scene in HZ027 where liko drags dot to chase after terapagos by the arm. but anyway, on top of that, this is also different from her standing up to her mom in HZ041, which was ALSO massive, but a large part of that episode consisted of liko's interventions, and she was pushed into that situation where she really had no choice in the matter. she had to if she wanted to stay on the brave asagi which was non negotiable. but here? there was nothing stopping dot from just taking the help and running from the cameras. in fact it probably would have been much easier to do that. but she wants to prove herself, and not because she has to to get the thing she wants, but just because... she wants to. she wants to succeed on her own.

and i think that's really important in the context of not just dot herself, but likodot, because while it is very sweet of liko to constantly be pushing dot and leading her to further self understanding and more confidence, and i will always be emotional about liko essentially caring for her to the point of dot braving ending her time as a NEET, the end goal for that should always be that dot is given confidence in herself to exist as a person independently of liko's pushing, for her own sake.

i think it's also incredibly meaningful that liko saw this happen - she experienced running out to help dot like usual, and then actually having her advances denied, but not for bad reasons this time... she gets to see dot be a better version of herself and come to that conclusion liko tried to push earlier, on her own accord, in her own way.

i say all this because i want liko to be able to love dot not as a person to fix but also just... a person. i want what liko has done for her to cause dot to be a better person outside of what liko does, for herself. and i want liko to be able to love the wonderful and more confident person dot becomes as a result. do you understand. am i making sense. GAH. i am so worked up about this. i'm holding them both in my hands and shaking them violentlySJDFJFSD

god. thank you for reading if you've actually come this far. i am going to end off this messy and deranged casual "essay" with a couple of notes i wasn't sure how to fit anywhere else.

one, i think it's very nice that when roy thinks dot's in trouble, liko is sure enough in dot's intelligence and battling skills to say with great confidence that dot MUST have a plan

and TWO, AHHHH I'M SO EXCITED FOR THE NEXT EPISODE AHHHH AHHHHHH WE ARE GOING TO GET EVEN MORE DOT CHARACTERIZATION AND GROWTH AND SHE'S GOING TO FACE HER MENTOR FIGURE HOW AM I GOING TO HANDLE IT AFTER ALREADY WRITING THIS MUCH ABOUT THE FIRST EPISODE IN THIS TWO-PARTER AND ALSO WHAT WAS THIS GAY SHIT IN THE EPISODE PREVIEW AHHHH AHHH

thank you for coming to my ted talk. goodnight tri state area

[monaisme]

Day 25: car accident

Day 25: car accident

The streets of New York were insane at the best of times; breaks screeching, horns honking—and the perennial favourite, cab drivers cussing a blue streak at every pedestrian who dared cross the street... with or against the light. The ridiculous thing about New Yorkers though, was that every year, the snow fell, and every year, New Yorkers forgot how to drive—

And that was exact reason that Peter Parker had made the conscious decision to stick to the nice, safe sidewalks, thank you very much. He couldn’t even regret it as he froze his butt off while he walked down the street and through the blowing snow.

The thought had just flashed through his mind when he skidded on a patch of ice, his arms flew out and he windmilled until he managed to steady himself. He’d hoped that no one had seen him but hope was for fools. The homeless man standing in the alleyway made eye contact with him and started to applaud. Sighing, Peter gave a steep bow, “Thank you very much! My next performance is at 7pm!” The man laughed heartily and Peter dug into his pocket, hoping to find some loose change. He managed to find a forgotten five dollar bill and handed it over to the man. He definitely needed it more than Peter. “Hey, man,” Peter called out over the howling wind. “Go get yourself a hot chocolate or something, okay?”

The man took Peter’s offering and smiled. “Thank you, good sir. First a show, and now dinner!? This is my lucky day!” With the tip of an invisible hat, the man moved out of the alleyway and into the street.”

Peter watched after him for a second, then called out, “Hey!”

The man turned back to Peter who was approaching him again.

“What do you need, young one?” He asked.

Peter pulled his gloves off of his own hands and pressed them into the man’s chest. “Please, take these, and... just stay safe, okay?” Peter couldn’t help but worry about him, and all the others who wouldn’t find shelter tonight.

The man gave Peter a nod and waved his gloves and five dollar bill. “I have a guardian angel, it seems, I’ll be fine.” He gave Peter his own look, “Now you, get out of the snow, too, you fool! Go!” He winked at him, and shooed him off.

Peter waved to the man and they parted, Peter taking one last look around before heading off.

Yeah, that was another issue he was having with the weather today, and Peter wasn’t sure what to make of it. He’d stepped outside and his spidey-sense blasted. He was trying to be extra diligent, make sure he caught the problem when there was a need but...  

The wind gusted and Peter burrowed further into his coat even as he shivered. That was all the incentive he needed to get moving again.

Turning back toward the tower, he thought of the project he and Mr. Stark were working on. It was a little late given the situation, but the idea of an enhanced heater in his— his senses flared.

*meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep*

Peter jumped back a couple of feet, throwing his arms out wide to keep some of the others pedestrians back and up on the sidewalk with him. A car came careening through the intersection, spun out and came to a stop after its rear tire jumped up the curb mere inches from where Peter and the others would have been standing. A police officer rushed past them all, well—as fast as he could for the ice, already reporting the incident and calling for a tow truck.

A throat cleared behind him, and with a sheepish grin, he lowered his arms and mumbled an ‘I’m sorry.’ The cluster of people sidestepped Peter and the debris and went on their way. Peter stayed to confirm that he didn’t need to provide a witness statement, which wasn’t necessary when the driver was obviously driving like a ‘dumbass’ in front of the a police officer. Peter wished the cop good luck with his night, and continued on his way.

What should have been a twenty minute walk had extended to thirty minutes, and then forty. His spidey-sense was going bonkers and it made no sense at all. A fender bender did not warrant this much discomfort, ‘cause that was the best way to describe it. Picking up groceries that scattered had when someone fell to the ground definitely did not warrant this much discomfort. It was a snow storm, not his first—and not even his first as Spider-Man.

His senses flared again, but this time there was nothing for him to deal with, to help with, to anything—

It was going to drive him insane.

Peter looked behind him and wondered what he was missing. It had to be something else, right? But he saw nothing, and he wouldn’t now as the snow fell heavier, obscuring anything farther than a few feet in any direction of him.  

He pulled the collar of his coat tight again, and wished he had a scarf.

And again, he felt the heat of warning.

The streets were emptying. People were finally using their brains, getting off the roads and heading indoors, thank goodness. It was one less thing for him to worry about.

His senses had him on edge.

Peter’s thoughts briefly fell to the homeless man, hoped he’d found a place to be warm.

Suddenly, the back of his neck burned with an intensity he’d felt only in times of extreme danger. No. He couldn’t wait to figure it out anymore. He had to move. Peter knew Manhattan almost as well as Queens by now and knew he just had to cross the street and turn left, then he’d be only a street length from Mr. Stark and safety and a lab and maybe hot chocolate if he played his cards right.

The barely useful streetlight overhead flickered and then went out, as did the line of lights that dotted the path Peter had intended to follow, as far as he could tell.

He needed to run—get to the tower before it was too late.

Peter glanced to the left, saw headlights in what he hoped was the distance, and then checked to the right. Again, the lights looked far enough away that he’d be safe to cross.

The rapid fire click of an extendable baton being set to length resounded in his ears louder than the howling of what was now a punishing wind and Peter ducked before whoever could connect. The man muttered a ‘shit’ and lashed out again. Peter dropped again, but not quick enough for all of the stimuli the snow and sound were providing. The baton cut into his cheek and clipped his ear, and Peter clutched it in pain even as he dropped lower to the ground.

He couldn’t focus.

Gloved hands grabbed at the scruff of his coat, throwing him off balance, and started dragging him away. Peter scrambled for a foothold, but the ice gave him nothing. He tried to pry the man’s fingers off of him, but his own were too stiff from the cold to grasp anything.

A large vehicle appeared out of the snow and darkness. Peter could hear the sliding door open, could hear words like ransom and intern and Stark...

And then he could hear the sound of a fist connecting with bone, but it wasn’t his fist, and it wasn’t his bone. The grip on him weakened, giving Peter the break he needed to step away from his abductor and escape. He tried to make out the shapes in the blizzard but everything was happening so fast and he was still trying to understand.

The two forms continued to fight, when one slumped to the ground. The victor stood a little bit straighter and hurried towards him. He was preparing himself to fight again when the face of the homeless man from earlier in the evening was in his face. He grabbed a fistful of Peter’s sleeve and yanked as he rushed past. “RUN!”

Peter didn’t need any convincing and the two men bolted across the street, barely dodging a couple of straggler drivers trying to get home. “C’mon! This way,” he called out over the wind, and moved towards where he knew safety was waiting for them. The man hadn’t let go of Peter’s coat so they moved in tandem toward the tower.

They were so close. The streetlights were still out save for those being powered by the arc reactor in the Avengers Tower. Traffic was non-existent and there wasn’t a pedestrian in sight. The storm had brought New York to its knees.

And yet, one of the men still pursued them—and was gaining.

There was no way they were going to outrun him, and the man Peter was running with seemed to understand that too. They’d have to fight. They stopped and stood their ground.

“Once I’ve got this guy goin’ again, you run to the Stark building, got it?” His new partner instructed over the wind. “Get help!”

Yeah, no. There was no way Spider-Man was leaving a man behind. Peter didn’t answer, just planted his feet as solidly as he could for the ice and snow.

It was over before it started.

The man who’d already tried to grab Peter came barrelling into them out of the whiteness, knocking Peter to the ground with enough force that his head bounced after it hit the icy concrete. He’d barely managing to move his new companion an inch.

Peter tried to focus on the fight, honestly, but his head was hurting and his cheek was stinging. He couldn’t feel his ears, and he was fairly certain he was concussed. He tried to sit up, but the swirl of the snow and the press of the wind had Peter on his back and panting in an effort to not vomit. He could only turn his head to watch to see the outcome.

The storm chose this exact moment to give a brief reprieve. The wind calmed, the snow lightened, and Peter could see it all.

The bad guy lunged for Peter’s friend, and rather than be there for impact, he simply stepped aside and the man flew forward into the street from his own momentum. The problem was that this coincided with his partner speeding around the corner in order to collect their bounty—Peter. When he turned the corner and saw what was about to happen, he slammed on the breaks. If they had chosen any other day, this plan would have worked, but he hit a patch of ice and lost control of the van.

Peter closed his eyes to the impact, but was certain he’d never forget that sound of metal hitting flesh for the entirety of his days.

Peter forced himself over onto his side and vomited.

A rush of footsteps came from the direction of the building he’d been trying so hard to get to, but they all stopped when the homeless man planted himself over Peter and demanded that they all stop. “I don’t know who the hell you are, but until this kid says you’re okay, then you just stay back! Capiche?”

Peter once again forced himself to move, glanced over to the new additions to the party and smiled. “It’s okay,” he panted. “Friends,” and then proceeded to take a break from the festivities.

* * * * * *

“Peeee-ter.” A voice whispered by his ear.

Peter rolled over in his super comfy bed and pulled the blanket over his head.

“Peeeeeee-ter. It’s time to wake up, Peter. You have compa-neeeee.”

“Noooo, wanna s’eep.” He mumbled.

The voice, Mr. Stark, Peter had figured it out by now, was insistent. “You need to wake up and say thank you to the man that saved your life last night, kiddo.” He pulled the blanket back from Peter’s head. “It’s sort of the polite thing to do, ya’ know?”

Peter’s eyes flew open, then snapped shut again as the brightness of the room overwhelmed him. “ow.”

Mr. Stark got off the bed and rushed to shut the curtains. “Sorry, kiddo. I thought the concussion would have resolved by now. I guess I was wrong.”

“’S’okay.” He smiled a little and tried to open his eyes again. It was... better? And he needed to wake up anyways, right? He sat up in his bed, only barely recalling a conversation that he could sleep in his own bed instead of the med bay. His hand flew up to his bandaged cheek.

“Yeah, about that. It’s probably healed already, but we have company so I thought it best to keep up the aesthetic until he was gone, okay?”

He was still feeling a little slow on the uptake, but Peter got that. “Okay,” he agreed and moved to get out of bed... albeit very slowly.

Mr. Stark kept watch as he sauntered over from the window, making sure nothing went wrong. When he was satisfied, Mr. Stark chuckled and smirked. “Kid, you have got a real knack for picking up strays. Seriously.”

Yeah, Peter was definitely struggling to keep up. “What do you mean?”

A new voice comes from the doorway. “I think he means me.”

Peter’s attention jumped to the familiar looking man. He was obviously freshly showered from the pink of his skin and his long, salt and pepper hair was washed and pulled back away from his face with a hair tie. The standard SI sweats and t-shirt told Peter that he’d been welcomed there, by Mr. Stark himself, it seemed.

—And then it clicked.

“Dinner and a show?” Peter questioned.

The man smiled and nodded, almost bashful. “I wasn’t exactly expecting to be a part of the seven o’clock, but yes. It’s me.”

Mr. Stark jumped in then, “Right! So! Peter, I would like to introduce you to Second Lieutenant Reginald Pritchard... ex-military, served in lots of bad places, would have to kill you if he told you about it, yada-yada-yada, and, it seems he is also your guardian angel.”

Peter thought on the night before and flushed as he realized how true that was. “You really did save my life yesterday,” Peter was overcome with gratitude. “Thank you so much, Mr. Second Lieutenant Pritchard, sir.”

Mr. Stark and their guest both laughed at his hyper-formality.

“You can just call me Reg, Peter, and to be fair, I’m pretty sure you saved mine last night, too. I would’ve frozen to death if we hadn’t had such a...” he hunted for the right word, “I guess such a ‘meaningful’ first meeting.”

Confusion marred Peter’s face, “What do you mean? I don’t...”

It was Reg’s turn for cheeks to flush. “Look, uh, Peter... I’ve been on the street for a lot of years, and met a lot of people...” Reg looked down at the floor and scrubbed at the back of his neck. “And some of them have been good, so don’t think it’s been all bad, but... well.” He scrunched up his face, trying to control his emotions. “It’s been a while since someone’s seen me as a real, live person and not...you know, as something to toss a buck at so they can feel better about themselves.”

Neither Peter or Mr. Stark knew what to say to that, but Reg plowed right through the awkwardness. “Yeah,” he cleared his throat. “So that’s why I was following you. To return this,” And Reg pulled an old, scratched and cracked cellphone from his sweatpant pocket. “You’d already walked away when I looked back and saw this on the ground. I figure it fell out when you gave me the fiver—anyways, I was trying to find you and kept getting corners wrong ‘cause of the snow. When I finally caught up with you...” Reg shrugged and handed over the phone.

Peter almost couldn’t process. “You saved my life and my phone.” He looked up at Reg and grinned. “I think I’m supposed to give you my first born or something now.”

Mr. Stark snickered while their guest looked uncomfortable. “How’s about you leave the repayment of this debt to me, okay?” Mr. Stark stepped forward and stood beside Reg. “I have some thoughts, but for now, he’ll be our guest anyways.” Mr. Stark returned to the bedroom window, and drew back the curtains once more. The sky had been bright not for the sun, but for the whiteout conditions still raging.

Peter’s jaw dropped, “Wow.” He looked at Reg, “We were outside in that?”

“Yup.”

Peter looked over to Mr. Stark. “I’m exhausted just looking at it!”

Mr. Stark rolled his eyes, “No, you’re exhausted because you’re recovering from an attempted kidnapping and concussion.” He walked past Peter to the bed he’d just left and pulled the blankets back. “You’ve had your visit, now back in bed. Dr. Cho will be up in a while to clear you. Okay?”

Peter grumped as he climbed back in and then grumped some more when Mr. Stark tucked him in, all while Reg watched from his place near the door.

Curious, but also trying to distract from the blow to his dignity, Peter asked, “Um, what happened with everything... out there last night?” Peter waved toward the window, like they needed the clarification.

Mr. Stark got really serious then. “With the snowstorm being one of the worst on record and people still driving, the city has reports of unprecedented amounts of vehicle pedestrian accidents. There was even a hit and run outside the tower yesterday.”

“Oh,” was all Peter could think to say. “So...” He glanced between Mr. Stark and Reg.

“So the vehicle was abandoned and the driver has apparently vanished. But it seems that the man who was killed was a real bad guy. Had a rap sheet a mile long.”

Peter gulped, “The driver got away?”

Reg smiled then, a dangerous glint in his eye. “I believe what Mr. Stark said, was that the driver vanished.”

Eyes connected then, and Peter understood.

He was safe.  

And maybe he should think about hibernating for the winter.

@febuwhump