[ He sighs loudly as he gives an exaggerated stretch, not particularly cat-like other than the sheer attitude, and lets his arms cross behind his head. The sigh is one of only mild exasperation, more like he's humoring Chris, and like any impatience is pretended for the fun of it. ]
And if Derek takes his sweet time getting here? If this... Scott and the others, they need your help?
[ Did Chris actually say Scott's name? Peter could have gotten it from the other werewolves who were allegedly around and told him where to go. ]
[Ha ha ha ha. Maybe he did say Scott's name; he hears it so often that it doesn't particularly weird that Peter would know it. Maybe Derek said it on the phone, and Peter just overheard. Chris is thinking, sort of wearily, about how Malia might be with Scot, and how she might just.
Well. In a long day of feeling sort of sorry for Peter, he would just feel even more sorry for him, in that instance. ] You're about to find out that the life of a solitary hunter is incredibly boring, Peter. You might even be relieved if he looks at you with his big puppy dog eyes and you end up part of his ragtag group of think later teens.
[Mentally, he's rounding back onto what he might usually do, in this odd circumstance and his normal circumstances, and thinks, sort of blandly, that maybe he could go for a run before he settles into anything too sit-down heavy like, googling time travel??? and looking at his cover business's profit margins.] What exactly did you used to do, when you were [a sort of vague hand wave towards Peter's whole everything,] This age? I'm not cruel enough to keep you cooped up, staring out the window. Yet.
[ Chris may not be able to see it from where he is, how Peter mouths the phrase puppy dog eyes to himself and rolls his own, presumably not puppy-like ones. The second coming of Talia, male version. Drawing people to him and building up a pack through some innate, empathetic instinct, which he'd gone through so much trouble to mar and deform in Derek — not that he has ever explicitly acknowledged that to himself, or in those terms. Most likely, the actual werewolf who won Chris over, after Hale-adjacent guilt did the groundwork. No, he doesn't want to meet Scott, maybe a little less than he doesn't want to see the adult Derek. He doesn't usually return to the scene of the crime.
How much of that gets through, who knows; probably nothing, as he's still just lounging and appearing generally louche, as is Peter Hale's prerogative. Some slight dissatisfaction, maybe, but he just converts it into being a pest, which is all that most people ever see. ]
Yeah, I'm clearly here to enliven your incredibly boring life. And I'll tell you what isn't among my current hobbies: hanging out with teenagers.
[ Unlike the adult Peter, hyuk hyuk. Of course, this Peter may only be some ambiguous amount older (five? Less than ten, surely?) but the difference is oh so important at this age. Not that he's totally unaware of this; he puts on a sardonic-sincere sweet tone for the next bit. ]
Believe it or not, Chris, you're really more my speed.
[ Like the earlier sugar daddy joke, Peter is audibly smiling, and since Chris has proven pretty immune to suggestiveness, he doesn't bother making too much of it, or at least, not any more than him saying that while lazily stretched out on the couch with his shirt pushed a bit up already is. ]
[It's not that Chris is blind, or even remotely naive, it's just that. If Peter sounds suggestive, or looks suggestive, he sort of has to filter it out as nonsensical. Which he does , in this instance, where it seems a little more suggestive than anything earlier. There is the briefest furrow of his brow, a moment where he thinks about saying something like I find that very hard to believe, and then remembers that Peter is nothing if not nosy.
Instead, his jaw works for a moment, feeling a little scrutinised himself. ] I had no idea you were so interested in cleaning guns and reading dusty old books, Peter.
[Well. He sort of knew about that last one. ] I'm being serious, though. What did you do, when you weren't getting Derek into trouble?
[ Peter has no doubt that Chris is filtering and ignoring it. That while he and the older version of himself likely do not have a congenial relationship, judging by certain ways Chris has reacted to him, to the confusion that sometimes boils off of Chris in nearly visible form, this behavior, or some type of it, isn't entirely unexpected. Which makes sense: he doesn't think he'll be completely different as an older adult (the vault proves it). Some things are too ingrained, though they may take new forms with time.
He cranes his head off the armrest of the couch to look at Chris from a lopsided angle, so if Chris was feeling a little scrutinised before, he can feel a lot more of it now, as seemingly playful as it is. ]
Getting Derek into trouble? More like getting him out of it. How do you think I started that arrow collection?
[ It probably won't be lost on Chris either that Peter just. Isn't answering. Not really. Almost as if the younger one somehow knows that the older one still maintains so much secrecy, not only in the present but about the past as well. ]
And don't think you can pretend that's all you do. You're tired of this life, sure, but you're also bored of it. Or you were before I showed up. Now you're having steak for dinner, and an engaging mystery for dessert.
[ Peter grins, confident in his assessment although the 'bored' part is absolutely projection on his part. And yes, he did sort of frame things so that he's the engaging mystery, though he didn't use a suggestive tone when additionally saying the mystery was dessert. That's just cheesy. ]
[He's quiet, after the fact. For a moment, or three, eyes feeling heavy with a different kind of exhaustion as Peter speaks. He hasn't had someone verbalise having his number down so well in a while. Being confronted with it outside of his own inner back and forth isn't new, of course; it's just new coming from someone who, ordinarily, he sees maybe once or twice a month.
The moments pass, though, and Chris is good at getting on with it, no matter how tired he is. ] It's hard to be bored, [he says instead of anything else, and tries, at least, to smile wryly,] in Beacon Hills.
[He misses, sometimes, when he was a sort of aloof and slightly frightening figure hovering behind Allison and pointing his gun at Scott. Maybe that Chris that would less patient with Peter, and less likely to say:] Especially when there's mystery desserts on the horizon. [How many times can Chris wilfully ignore a suggestive sentence? Well, if history is anything to go by --
He leans forward, palms rubbing onto his thighs. ] I haven't really used the kitchen, you know, properly. So you're going to be on your own, there.
[ So many of his internal reactions ride a smudgy line between things that he rarely tries to classify them to himself anymore. Just stuck perpetually in the middle of the most garbage Venn diagram ever, where he can't even name the attraction he feels to both the low mood Chris unwillingly shows, and the way he grudgingly levers himself out of it. It's not really compassion. It's not quite predatory. It is opportunistic, but he can't define the opportunity. Only that he can sense that he could get in there if he keeps at it, even if he doesn't know what he would do if he did.
None of which he tries particularly to hide in his expression, and it's probably business as usual if Chris looks up from moving past his exhaustion to find Peter sitting up now and staring at him intently. But he doesn't load any more suggestiveness into his verbal t-shirt gun. Chris might get the distinct impression that his oddly soothing tone is a form of mockery in itself, like an exercise of mercy. No more insightful (lucky shot?) comments for now. The reward for slinking away from the truth is that Peter pretends (poorly) not to see him. ]
What a shock.
[ Because surely the reason Chris only had corn in the house was that he cooked everything else already, right? ]
Still hours to go before you inexplicably trust me to cook your steak. What about til then, old man? You want to check anything out? The preserve? Or just lie low?
[He is almost careless in his answer; almost says the preserve, like the burned out husk of the Hale House doesn't exist along its path, surrounded by trees and shallow emptied graves. He catches himself only because he thinks about it, the rot slightly worse than it had been two years ago when Peter clawed Kate's throat almost out.
But then again, how long can he dance around the reality of Peter's future, here? It's just not practical.]
We can head to the preserve, if you feel up to it. I could make a call, find out where the other you spends his off time these days. They might not know, but, if you wanted to nose around your stuff ... [If anyone would know where Peter's new place is, would be Malia.] My routine's out the window, here. Might be something at the old Hale place, but it's not -- as a warning, you probably won't like it.
[ Rude as fuck, Chris, although Peter seems highly amused by the proposal. Perhaps also by the warning, which he seems set on pretending is unnecessary. Like he wouldn't be upset to see it. Maybe he wouldn't find it as devastating as it should be, but mostly, he just wouldn't want to show that kind of emotion in front of Chris. Why he feels that way is both a complicated thing, and an easy to grasp one; if their positions were reversed, he's sure Chris would be the same. ]
Let's do that, then. No need for me to go poking around anywhere else.
[ Fitting with that line of reasoning, his tone maintains its levity in agreeing to avoid the house in the preserve. Only the fact he doesn't even refer to it with any specificity suggests there's any darker emotion beneath it. ]
[The image of Peter's place that Chris has in his mind is made of the various hoarding places he keeps. Artefacts, expensive trinkets and furniture; all things Peter likes, but are probably disposable when it really comes down to the crux of it.
So, really, it's a funny possibility that Peter could have more arrow traps there. It just seems a tedious addition for a place that is mostly on known by maybe three people, tops. Speaking of which:] If anyone can break in, [he says, looking down at his phone. Malia is saved in the same formal manner as everyone else, minus a last name. He's been assuming that it's a complicated thing, the surname. ] - It'll be you.
[Malia is a fast replyer, but the messages are a series of questions, keysmash and question marks. He makes various exasperated faces before the address is finally sent, and with his brows furrowed, he looks at Peter like he has reached some kind of understanding. (It's that Malia is just as unable to shut up as her dad.)] I'm ready when you are.
[ Nothing in his tone of voice suggests he minds it, though he does mind Chris preoccupying himself with his phone, even if it's not for very long. Peter gets himself up off the couch, watching the expressions, and has wandered a bit closer by the time Chris looks up, if not so close that he would be able to try to look at the phone. He wouldn't dream of indicating nosy interest at this point, as if those messages were worth acknowledging as a source of distraction. ]
Waiting on you, Mr. Popular. [ He detours to grab a bottle of water out of the fridge and glances over at Chris with an inquisitive wiggle of it — does he want one? ] Lunch after?
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And if Derek takes his sweet time getting here? If this... Scott and the others, they need your help?
[ Did Chris actually say Scott's name? Peter could have gotten it from the other werewolves who were allegedly around and told him where to go. ]
Guess you'll just have to take me with you, huh?
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[Ha ha ha ha. Maybe he did say Scott's name; he hears it so often that it doesn't particularly weird that Peter would know it. Maybe Derek said it on the phone, and Peter just overheard. Chris is thinking, sort of wearily, about how Malia might be with Scot, and how she might just.
Well. In a long day of feeling sort of sorry for Peter, he would just feel even more sorry for him, in that instance. ] You're about to find out that the life of a solitary hunter is incredibly boring, Peter. You might even be relieved if he looks at you with his big puppy dog eyes and you end up part of his ragtag group of think later teens.
[Mentally, he's rounding back onto what he might usually do, in this odd circumstance and his normal circumstances, and thinks, sort of blandly, that maybe he could go for a run before he settles into anything too sit-down heavy like, googling time travel??? and looking at his cover business's profit margins.] What exactly did you used to do, when you were [a sort of vague hand wave towards Peter's whole everything,] This age? I'm not cruel enough to keep you cooped up, staring out the window. Yet.
no subject
How much of that gets through, who knows; probably nothing, as he's still just lounging and appearing generally louche, as is Peter Hale's prerogative. Some slight dissatisfaction, maybe, but he just converts it into being a pest, which is all that most people ever see. ]
Yeah, I'm clearly here to enliven your incredibly boring life. And I'll tell you what isn't among my current hobbies: hanging out with teenagers.
[ Unlike the adult Peter, hyuk hyuk. Of course, this Peter may only be some ambiguous amount older (five? Less than ten, surely?) but the difference is oh so important at this age. Not that he's totally unaware of this; he puts on a sardonic-sincere sweet tone for the next bit. ]
Believe it or not, Chris, you're really more my speed.
[ Like the earlier sugar daddy joke, Peter is audibly smiling, and since Chris has proven pretty immune to suggestiveness, he doesn't bother making too much of it, or at least, not any more than him saying that while lazily stretched out on the couch with his shirt pushed a bit up already is. ]
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Instead, his jaw works for a moment, feeling a little scrutinised himself. ] I had no idea you were so interested in cleaning guns and reading dusty old books, Peter.
[Well. He sort of knew about that last one. ] I'm being serious, though. What did you do, when you weren't getting Derek into trouble?
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He cranes his head off the armrest of the couch to look at Chris from a lopsided angle, so if Chris was feeling a little scrutinised before, he can feel a lot more of it now, as seemingly playful as it is. ]
Getting Derek into trouble? More like getting him out of it. How do you think I started that arrow collection?
[ It probably won't be lost on Chris either that Peter just. Isn't answering. Not really. Almost as if the younger one somehow knows that the older one still maintains so much secrecy, not only in the present but about the past as well. ]
And don't think you can pretend that's all you do. You're tired of this life, sure, but you're also bored of it. Or you were before I showed up. Now you're having steak for dinner, and an engaging mystery for dessert.
[ Peter grins, confident in his assessment although the 'bored' part is absolutely projection on his part. And yes, he did sort of frame things so that he's the engaging mystery, though he didn't use a suggestive tone when additionally saying the mystery was dessert. That's just cheesy. ]
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The moments pass, though, and Chris is good at getting on with it, no matter how tired he is. ] It's hard to be bored, [he says instead of anything else, and tries, at least, to smile wryly,] in Beacon Hills.
[He misses, sometimes, when he was a sort of aloof and slightly frightening figure hovering behind Allison and pointing his gun at Scott. Maybe that Chris that would less patient with Peter, and less likely to say:] Especially when there's mystery desserts on the horizon. [How many times can Chris wilfully ignore a suggestive sentence? Well, if history is anything to go by --
He leans forward, palms rubbing onto his thighs. ] I haven't really used the kitchen, you know, properly. So you're going to be on your own, there.
no subject
None of which he tries particularly to hide in his expression, and it's probably business as usual if Chris looks up from moving past his exhaustion to find Peter sitting up now and staring at him intently. But he doesn't load any more suggestiveness into his verbal t-shirt gun. Chris might get the distinct impression that his oddly soothing tone is a form of mockery in itself, like an exercise of mercy. No more insightful (lucky shot?) comments for now. The reward for slinking away from the truth is that Peter pretends (poorly) not to see him. ]
What a shock.
[ Because surely the reason Chris only had corn in the house was that he cooked everything else already, right? ]
Still hours to go before you inexplicably trust me to cook your steak. What about til then, old man? You want to check anything out? The preserve? Or just lie low?
no subject
But then again, how long can he dance around the reality of Peter's future, here? It's just not practical.]
We can head to the preserve, if you feel up to it. I could make a call, find out where the other you spends his off time these days. They might not know, but, if you wanted to nose around your stuff ... [If anyone would know where Peter's new place is, would be Malia.] My routine's out the window, here. Might be something at the old Hale place, but it's not -- as a warning, you probably won't like it.
no subject
[ Rude as fuck, Chris, although Peter seems highly amused by the proposal. Perhaps also by the warning, which he seems set on pretending is unnecessary. Like he wouldn't be upset to see it. Maybe he wouldn't find it as devastating as it should be, but mostly, he just wouldn't want to show that kind of emotion in front of Chris. Why he feels that way is both a complicated thing, and an easy to grasp one; if their positions were reversed, he's sure Chris would be the same. ]
Let's do that, then. No need for me to go poking around anywhere else.
[ Fitting with that line of reasoning, his tone maintains its levity in agreeing to avoid the house in the preserve. Only the fact he doesn't even refer to it with any specificity suggests there's any darker emotion beneath it. ]
And hey! Maybe there'll be more arrow traps.
[ Haha! Fun!! ]
no subject
So, really, it's a funny possibility that Peter could have more arrow traps there. It just seems a tedious addition for a place that is mostly on known by maybe three people, tops. Speaking of which:] If anyone can break in, [he says, looking down at his phone. Malia is saved in the same formal manner as everyone else, minus a last name. He's been assuming that it's a complicated thing, the surname. ] - It'll be you.
[Malia is a fast replyer, but the messages are a series of questions, keysmash and question marks. He makes various exasperated faces before the address is finally sent, and with his brows furrowed, he looks at Peter like he has reached some kind of understanding. (It's that Malia is just as unable to shut up as her dad.)] I'm ready when you are.
no subject
[ Nothing in his tone of voice suggests he minds it, though he does mind Chris preoccupying himself with his phone, even if it's not for very long. Peter gets himself up off the couch, watching the expressions, and has wandered a bit closer by the time Chris looks up, if not so close that he would be able to try to look at the phone. He wouldn't dream of indicating nosy interest at this point, as if those messages were worth acknowledging as a source of distraction. ]
Waiting on you, Mr. Popular. [ He detours to grab a bottle of water out of the fridge and glances over at Chris with an inquisitive wiggle of it — does he want one? ] Lunch after?