[for Peter]

[onlyforthedream]

The last time I saw Peter, the situation was charged, to say the least, and as such I'm not positive that he'll show up today. Our training sessions have been going well- he's stronger, his balance better; he's nearly as sure footed if not quite as dexterous as he was when he was powered. He learns fast and, despite his concentrated efforts to fill every possible moment he can with patter, he's focused and dedicated. I hope he shows up today.

Even if we don't get down to training, we still have matters to address. At least, that's the impression I got.

Comments

[onlyforthedream.livejournal.com]

"Then he's going to get hit," I say bluntly.

"I'm sure he could be less respectful if he tried, but I won't necessarily be on hand to stop Bucky or Thor if he goes too far. He's pushing my own patience to the limit." I shake my head a little.

"None of us expect to be friends, that's not the nature of the business, but some respect is due or someone's going to stop caring that outside of the suit, Tony's just a man, and try to take it out of his hide." I stop, my hands anchored on my hips, my jaw tense.

I don't want this to happen, but it's being set up as an inevitability. Peter can't warn Tony off this path any more than I can. He may listen to Peter, but he'll do as he pleases. At this point, I don't even know why I care.

Except maybe I feel like something would be irreparably broken that shouldn't be. Which isn't a feeling with much weight- there's really nothing to break.

"It doesn't matter," I murmur, shaking it off, all of it, loosening up the joints in the shoulder that was so egregiously injured so many months ago.

"Feel free to be in a huff. I won't bring it up around you again. Don't worry."

[daretodo]

"Pfft. I'm not worried," I reply, rolling my eyes. This is a blatant lie, of course, but only as it pertains to Tony getting his face punched in by Bucky, the All Grown Up Boy Wonder. That much, at least, I am kinda worried about.

In the same breath, I also know that it's not my job to protect Tony, even if it's my inclination. After everything him and Pepper have done for me, he's practically family, and that's not something I say about just anyone. Still, I'm not blind to the fact that he's a jerk more often than he isn't, and if there's one thing I've learned the hard way, it's that actions have consequences -- and that they should, so that the big mistakes don't get repeated, if you're smart about it.

Tony's one of the smartest people I've ever met, but I honestly don't know if he's got it in him to learn this particular lesson without taking a fall first. It took a few near-death experiences between the two of us to become friends, after all. His track record for this sort of thing just isn't the greatest.

"But I am done being the mediator."

At the end of the day, I'm nobody's keeper. While I would've preferred if my few friends here who haven't disappeared yet didn't want to kill each other, Cap's right. It's not the nature of the business.