A Room at the Arms, Monday Morning

[whenshewasnice]

There were a couple of mostly empty food service carts in the room. Crumbs in the bed. Several messages on Natalie's phone now that it wasn't dead to the world outside Fandom again.

Natalie was not aware of these things. She wasn't even aware of how her cheek was smushed against Peter's shoulder, or how her arm was draped over him.

But she would be soon, most likely.

[ooc: For the former husband.]

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[lockestheway]

Something was wrong. Peter wasn't sure what it was, but it laid somewhere behind the narrow cone of his consciousness, and it was most definitely wrong.

A little suffocating, actually.

He took in a deep breath and found his lungs weren't obstructed, which shifted the wrong to the realm of the metaphorical. Hm.

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie shifted a little, which drew her a little closer to consciousness. Which in turn began to give her the impression that something was off.

She frowned in her half-sleep, half-wakefulness.

[lockestheway]

... Okay, that was definitely someone else.

That was the wrong: there was somebody in the bed with him. Peter opened his eyes-- and had to squint against the light.

"Ugh."

[whenshewasnice]

"Mm?"

Dammit, guess she had to wake up. Her eyes fluttered open. Well, open-ish. Enough to see –– what was that, a chest? For a second, a false memory told her that was exactly right and how it was supposed to be.

But that faded quickly. She pulled back.

[lockestheway]

There went the suffocating feeling.

Peter almost missed it now that it was gone. Weird.

He turned his head and caught sight of a lot of blonde hair. And then a face. "Env-- Nat?"

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie pushed some of said blonde hair back. She blinked a few times, trying to clear her head.

"Yes."

[lockestheway]

Huh.

"Remind me not to attend any more Fandom mixers," Peter said, after a pause.

[whenshewasnice]

"I'll mark that in your calendar as a permanent reminder."

Her voice was a little flat. Always a sign that she was processing things privately. She pushed herself more upright and rubbed a hand over one eye.

[lockestheway]

Peter had the exact opposite idea: he collapsed back against the blankets.

"Is there any food left?"

He was familiar with Nat's 'processing' tone, and had nothing particular to contribute just yet. Changing the subject seemed safe.

[whenshewasnice]

"I don't know." But she glanced around anyway, then pointed at one of the carts. "Maybe in that one."

[lockestheway]

Peter shot her a brief glance.

Then he slipped out of bed and padded off in the general direction of that cart. He thought about putting some pants on - they were just over there - but. Well. Frankly, Nat had seen all of it already, and not just over the weekend.

"I think there's a sandwich left," he offered. "You hungry?"

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie wasn't in a hurry to protect her modesty, either. It was nothing new, and her body wasn't the thing she was most concerned about hiding right now.

She shrugged. "Sure."

[lockestheway]

Peter pulled the sandwich apart into two halves and offered her one.

How long did Natalie's processing generally last? It'd been a while since the last time.

He wasn't sure what to think of it all, himself, but he was happy to compartmentalize until such time as he had more idea of whether anything needed salvaging or not.

[whenshewasnice]

It lasted as long as it needed to. Her brain was buzzing uncomfortably with what felt like everything, even though she knew that was an exaggeration, and would subside as she woke up a little more.

She took the half of a sandwich. "Should call for coffee."

[lockestheway]

Peter took a bite of his half of the sandwich.

"Probably," he agreed.

He chewed thoughtfully. "Are you okay?"

[whenshewasnice]

"Yes."

It was the stock answer, out of her mouth before she'd really even considered the question. With just about anyone else, she would probably have let it be.

But. "I don't know."

[lockestheway]

Peter chewed that over, too, and then sat back down on the bed.

He still felt remarkably calm about it. He wasn't sure why.

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie offered nothing further for the moment. She chewed on her sandwich and tried to force her brain in order.

Preferably any order that did not involve her old standby of wanting to shut down entirely.

[lockestheway]

Peter debated whether reaching out and touching her hand would help anything.

He was a little lost, here. So he took another bite of his sandwich and then reached past Natalie for the phone.

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie watched him do that without moving. Instead, she finished her sandwich.

Maybe in a second she'd find some words. And at least she was directing some of her attention towards him, now, rather than her hands.

[lockestheway]

"Can we get a truckload of coffee up in the room, please?" Peter asked. "Yes. Yes. Thank you."

He put the phone down and looked at her again.

[whenshewasnice]

"Thanks," Natalie said, because that seemed like a start. She looked pretty tired for someone who'd had a good night of sleep. Tired and young. "Maybe coffee will help."

[lockestheway]

"Well, it's a start," Peter said, rubbing the back of his neck.

Now he was getting nervous.

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie knew she had that effect sometimes. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"So now what?"

[lockestheway]

"We could just go back home and pretend this never happened," Peter said. "Or say 'hey, that wasn't so bad, but let's get back to the business of not living in an alternate future'."