[It's something they need to discuss, there isn't space for not discussing it.
Peter also doesn't want to hurt Leo any worse than the rest of this likely has. It's, a dicey feeling. His husband shoulders enough guilt, enough shame for so many things he shouldn't. Peter doesn't want to add to it.
They always operate by the truth, and Peter knows that much. The brunette exhales a little, brows pinching together unhappily.]
I left our room, going to do something real quick and come back to bed. He was waiting in the hall outside our room. I thought he was there for "office" hours. Usually, both of us are already up by then, and I have people showing up to talk to me. I hadn't put a sign-up about our sleeping in, so...
[He waves his free hand tiredly.] I figured I'd see what he needed.
[Peter sighs a little. All of this feels... ridiculous in retrospect.
The remarks that felt cutting feel silly now. Peter keeps wondering how to even feel. He tries to give himself a little buffer with a bit of an explanation. Leo was always busy enough he was aware of Peter's "office hours", but not specifics.]
Some of the office hour stuff happens in our room if it needs to. I curtain off our bed, our things and talk with the person by the door. [He fidgets with the spoon still in his grasp.] I didn't want him there since you were asleep, so I mentioned to him, you were resting. For our privacy and to keep it brief. I figured he'd want to talk later on.
[He clicks his teeth together, unhappy at the recollection. He bristles openly. Able to be offended more openly now.] He just- asked me if you did this often. 'Sleep while you do the work'? Then kept implying you didn't do anything, I just-
[He clacks the spoon against the bowl a little irritably.] Sorry, I'm getting a little mad about it.
[One thing Leo has gotten good at in these years leading is listening. He listens patiently while Peter talks. The taking office hours in their room he'd known about, never felt the need to say anything since it didn't cause any problems before now.
And that is something he's mentioned to Donnie and Mikey for the room they're being moved to.
But for now, Leo nods.]
It's okay. Nothing to apologize for. [That kind of statement though... Hating him personally? For leading? Or....
If it's more than that, then Peter was right to try to warn them before he passed out. They just didn't know what they were being warned for.]
He wanted to talk about 'distribution of authority'. [Peter manages finger quotes with one hand, rolling his eyes a little. He manages to reign himself in again.]
It was just a very nice way to phrase he didn't like yokai being in positions of leadership, that they were drowning out human voices somehow.
He was elected by a group of people to come talk to me about this. He didn't name any names, but they chose him.
[It isn't often that anything actually scares Leo. But those words have ice running through his veins.
Not a second after he gets his breath again, Leo has his comm out to send a message to Mikey and Donnie. Group of humans have it out for the youkai, Peter was step one. Use discretion and best judgement to proceed while I look after Peter tonight.]
Did it sound like there were a lot of them, or a small group?
He didn't specify honestly. [Peter is trying to be calm about this. If nothing else has happened yet... It could mean Fitzberg's friends changed their minds.] He said if I couldn't look at facts objectively, they were going to take matters into their own hands.
[He hates this. Hates that he couldn't give the warning earlier.]
I know he's new, though, Carl Fitzberg. I brought him in two weeks ago. He was from Philly. He passed most of our checks just fine to join the colony here. He was not armed when he got here. I remember that.
[Leo keeps up his messaging with his brothers while they talk, giving them any information Peter gives him.]
We're going to find out where he got that from. And the ammo. The obvious attempt aside, that's precious material that we can't be giving out willy nilly. We'll definitely look into him and anyone he's been talking to.
[As much as teenage Leo hated that Don recorded everything, it's a boon right now. They can get footage of anyone the guy's talked to in the last two weeks, especially if it looks sus.]
His records came up clean, but... it wouldn't surprise me if he knew other survivors from the same city. That could be any easy enough connection. [Peter is speculating, and still trying to just eat his soup.]
We can probably exile him to a human only colony when we get things figured out. Maybe send anyone else working with him out too. [He rubs at his forehead tiredly.]
[And slow, forced exhale. The anger in his blood is fiery hot and he has to control that. Leader first. This is a leadership problem and not a Leo-And-Peter problem. If this is a group of humans who have it out for youkai, then a large part of their colony is at risk.
There's also the risk that they get seen as just sending their problems away to some other colony. It isn't an image he's particularly fond of, but in this case sending them to a human only colony instead of festering angrily in the brig might actually be better.]
Everything is just, in the air right now. [He agrees tiredly in turn. Peter isn't sure what other options they have right now, but they don't have to make a choice yet.
Peter gently reaches out to coax a hand across Leo's arm, offering a comfort in turn.]
That was how the conversation more or less ended before devolving into insults after he shot me, yes. [He side steps the aspects so focused on Leo, still wanting to spare his husband the frustration of it all.]
He mostly wished he aimed higher after he realized I wasn't completely human, apparently. [He rolls his eyes at the thought.]
[Peter's hand on his arm means Peter can fell how Leo's muscles suddenly go taut with those words.
The audacity of this human - They bring him in and give him someplace safe and he throws it in their faces. His hands clench into tight fists on his thighs, but his expression stays as calm as ever.]
We'll send him to the Chicago colony then. Soon as there's another group heading out.
[Peter winces a little at the feeling. He strokes his fingers along his husband's arm, still trying to offer some semblance of comfort.]
Him and anyone else who participated in- this can go. [Peter agrees plainly back.] It shouldn't be hard to figure out accomplices. We'll make sure to send word ahead to the Chicago colony that they could be trouble.
[He just wants to hold his husband, ease both of them back down to something normal.]
[He finishes messaging his family and rests his hand over Peter's on his arm. It's... they'll be fine. Peter will rest, they'll get moved somewhere more secure. And they'll get these... speciesists? Out of here for the safety of everyone else.]
[He debates with himself on whether to relay the insults, but opts not to get deep into it. Brushing over it feels easier.] Nothing particularly pertinent, at least. The actual threats are a lot more pressing than if he thinks any of us are freaks.
['Freak'. It isn't anything new. Right when the war started, when the humans in Manhattan were just realizing they shared their world with an entire civilization of youkai and mutants in their city's underbelly, the sentiments had been thrown around a lot.
It's only been after the first few years that desperation and cooperation won out over prejudice.
Or so Leo thought.]
He'll have to come up with something more original than that. [Thinking Leo was some kind of evil mastermind keeping a human as his own plaything, well. That's a little more original.]
His originality kind of dried up with calling Yokai demons, and being weird about us. I didn't exactly talk with him long enough to get an idea about either.
[There were inklings of it, but not enough for Peter to get the weird gist of what Fitzberg and his friends thought was happening.]
[Never did sleep well in infirmaries. Hospitals, the whole thing. No, for now, he's settled comfortably in his chair squeezing Peter's hand softly. But his voice goes quiet, again just for the two of them despite having the small bit of privacy soundproofing Donnie gave. A plea.]
[Always things to do. Always the safety of everyone in this base for Leo to think about, arrangements to be made for the brig and the shuffling out whomever was involved in this. Investigations, interrogations sure to happen at some point soon. All of that on top of Peter and Leo being moved to a different location in the base, and Leo requesting specific adjustments-
And all Leo really wants to do is climb onto this shoddy medbay cot with his husband and hold him and cry in relief that Peter's fine. That feeling of holding his weight and feeling Peter's blood dripping down his front and his hands slick with Peter's blood as he sewed him back up isn't something Leo wants to risk reliving in his dreams. Or nightmares, he supposes.]
I know, Leo. I know. [He pats his husband's arm again, able to swallow down the disappointment. He masks it with eating, glad for something to actually do.
He wants so many things, but he can't have them.
It's easier to fall into old habits, making a brief joke between bites.]
You get to watch the excitement and thrills of me eating soup.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Peter also doesn't want to hurt Leo any worse than the rest of this likely has. It's, a dicey feeling. His husband shoulders enough guilt, enough shame for so many things he shouldn't. Peter doesn't want to add to it.
They always operate by the truth, and Peter knows that much. The brunette exhales a little, brows pinching together unhappily.]
I left our room, going to do something real quick and come back to bed. He was waiting in the hall outside our room. I thought he was there for "office" hours. Usually, both of us are already up by then, and I have people showing up to talk to me. I hadn't put a sign-up about our sleeping in, so...
[He waves his free hand tiredly.] I figured I'd see what he needed.
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Okay... so. Came to talk to you. What then?
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The remarks that felt cutting feel silly now. Peter keeps wondering how to even feel. He tries to give himself a little buffer with a bit of an explanation. Leo was always busy enough he was aware of Peter's "office hours", but not specifics.]
Some of the office hour stuff happens in our room if it needs to. I curtain off our bed, our things and talk with the person by the door. [He fidgets with the spoon still in his grasp.] I didn't want him there since you were asleep, so I mentioned to him, you were resting. For our privacy and to keep it brief. I figured he'd want to talk later on.
[He clicks his teeth together, unhappy at the recollection. He bristles openly. Able to be offended more openly now.] He just- asked me if you did this often. 'Sleep while you do the work'? Then kept implying you didn't do anything, I just-
[He clacks the spoon against the bowl a little irritably.] Sorry, I'm getting a little mad about it.
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And that is something he's mentioned to Donnie and Mikey for the room they're being moved to.
But for now, Leo nods.]
It's okay. Nothing to apologize for. [That kind of statement though... Hating him personally? For leading? Or....
If it's more than that, then Peter was right to try to warn them before he passed out. They just didn't know what they were being warned for.]
Go on.
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It was just a very nice way to phrase he didn't like yokai being in positions of leadership, that they were drowning out human voices somehow.
He was elected by a group of people to come talk to me about this. He didn't name any names, but they chose him.
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Not a second after he gets his breath again, Leo has his comm out to send a message to Mikey and Donnie. Group of humans have it out for the youkai, Peter was step one. Use discretion and best judgement to proceed while I look after Peter tonight.]
Did it sound like there were a lot of them, or a small group?
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[He hates this. Hates that he couldn't give the warning earlier.]
I know he's new, though, Carl Fitzberg. I brought him in two weeks ago. He was from Philly. He passed most of our checks just fine to join the colony here. He was not armed when he got here. I remember that.
Someone in here gave him that weapon.
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We're going to find out where he got that from. And the ammo. The obvious attempt aside, that's precious material that we can't be giving out willy nilly. We'll definitely look into him and anyone he's been talking to.
[As much as teenage Leo hated that Don recorded everything, it's a boon right now. They can get footage of anyone the guy's talked to in the last two weeks, especially if it looks sus.]
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We can probably exile him to a human only colony when we get things figured out. Maybe send anyone else working with him out too. [He rubs at his forehead tiredly.]
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[And slow, forced exhale. The anger in his blood is fiery hot and he has to control that. Leader first. This is a leadership problem and not a Leo-And-Peter problem. If this is a group of humans who have it out for youkai, then a large part of their colony is at risk.
There's also the risk that they get seen as just sending their problems away to some other colony. It isn't an image he's particularly fond of, but in this case sending them to a human only colony instead of festering angrily in the brig might actually be better.]
We'll figure it out.
But- he mentioned that. And then shot you?
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Peter gently reaches out to coax a hand across Leo's arm, offering a comfort in turn.]
That was how the conversation more or less ended before devolving into insults after he shot me, yes. [He side steps the aspects so focused on Leo, still wanting to spare his husband the frustration of it all.]
He mostly wished he aimed higher after he realized I wasn't completely human, apparently. [He rolls his eyes at the thought.]
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The audacity of this human - They bring him in and give him someplace safe and he throws it in their faces. His hands clench into tight fists on his thighs, but his expression stays as calm as ever.]
We'll send him to the Chicago colony then. Soon as there's another group heading out.
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Him and anyone else who participated in- this can go. [Peter agrees plainly back.] It shouldn't be hard to figure out accomplices. We'll make sure to send word ahead to the Chicago colony that they could be trouble.
[He just wants to hold his husband, ease both of them back down to something normal.]
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[He finishes messaging his family and rests his hand over Peter's on his arm. It's... they'll be fine. Peter will rest, they'll get moved somewhere more secure. And they'll get these... speciesists? Out of here for the safety of everyone else.]
Anything else?
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['Freak'. It isn't anything new. Right when the war started, when the humans in Manhattan were just realizing they shared their world with an entire civilization of youkai and mutants in their city's underbelly, the sentiments had been thrown around a lot.
It's only been after the first few years that desperation and cooperation won out over prejudice.
Or so Leo thought.]
He'll have to come up with something more original than that. [Thinking Leo was some kind of evil mastermind keeping a human as his own plaything, well. That's a little more original.]
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[There were inklings of it, but not enough for Peter to get the weird gist of what Fitzberg and his friends thought was happening.]
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[He pats Peter's hand on his arm still, smiling gently and leaning in to kiss his cheek.]
We'll get you rested up and taken care of in no time. Just gotta rest here tonight.
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We'll get another cot rolled in here, so we can at least sleep next to each other, even if its in different beds.
[He has not forgotten, Leo.]
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Got some stuff I gotta work out while you're sleeping anyway. I'll sleep when we're back to our room and this is all sorted out.
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I'd really rather you get a little sleep too.
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[Never did sleep well in infirmaries. Hospitals, the whole thing. No, for now, he's settled comfortably in his chair squeezing Peter's hand softly. But his voice goes quiet, again just for the two of them despite having the small bit of privacy soundproofing Donnie gave. A plea.]
Please, Peter.
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He's disappointed in a way, but knows it doesn't matter very much. He just wanted Leo to rest. He wanted to hold his husband.]
Okay.
[There are always things to do. That never really changes.]
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And all Leo really wants to do is climb onto this shoddy medbay cot with his husband and hold him and cry in relief that Peter's fine. That feeling of holding his weight and feeling Peter's blood dripping down his front and his hands slick with Peter's blood as he sewed him back up isn't something Leo wants to risk reliving in his dreams. Or nightmares, he supposes.]
I'm not going anywhere. I'll be right here.
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He wants so many things, but he can't have them.
It's easier to fall into old habits, making a brief joke between bites.]
You get to watch the excitement and thrills of me eating soup.
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