[ He nods slowly. ]

Yeah. I'll-- I'll be back. Just, you know. [ He picks at his shirt. ] Should probably get decent.

[ Fast forward to later in the-- evening? Morning? Time of the day, anyway, and Peter's exiting Glitch's room with a bit of a limp. His muscles are sore and aching and fuck, electrocution is the fucking worst. The burn on his back is starting to sting, and he knows he'll need to patch it up sooner rather than later. ]

You think you still got any first aid supplies left?

Yeah. [ He winces as he shifts his shoulder. ]

Gonna need painkillers, probably. And should probably slap a bandage on it soon.

[ he hesitates, then seeming to reach a decision -- mostly borne out of necessity -- he heads that way. ]

Sorry to turn your place into a makeshift hospital.

[ typical nerdddd

Gingerly shrugs out of his coat and pulls off his shirt, folding both mostly out of politeness than because he feels the need to. ]

[ Peter swallows down the painkillers before he sits heavily on the edge of the mattress, turning his back to the wizard a little cautiously. His burn is about the size of a saucer, though the most affected part is right between his shoulder blades.

He's quiet for a second, letting Charlie survey the damage, then, ]

I promise, I don't usually dive into the patient-nurse role playing thing after only two dates.

What, you don't count me bringing two dying people to your doorstep as date number two?

[ As for the second bit, Peter turns to look at him over his shoulder; the expression on his face says, Why is this even a question? He keeps the look on his face for a second or two longer, as if expecting an explanation, but then he answers of his own accord. ]

Kid was gonna hit you, so I made sure he didn't. Didn't exactly have time to be gentle about it, though. Sorry.

[ Rather than hold Charlie's gaze, he turns back around to look down at the bedspread. ]

I told you, man. [ He keeps his voice light. ] I haven't been avoiding you. Just bad timing.

[ Once the Ravagers knew how well Peter could lie, they schooled him in the art of controlling his body language, of feigning fear to lull his opponents into making a stupid move; of faking confidence to gain a person's trust. He can pretend to be happy or sad, angry or devastated, can cycle through them at a drop of a hat.

But Charlie catches him off-guard with the way he speaks so bluntly -- it's why he suddenly goes rigid before forcing himself to calm down, to get his body under control again. And with the way the wizard called him out, with the way Peter reacted, it's far too difficult for the thief to keep pretending, isn't it?

For a few seconds as he's collecting himself, he keeps his head bowed, then he turns a little. There's a scar beneath his left collarbone, raw and red, skin raised and puckered from inexpertly stitching the wound closed. The surface wound, at least, has healed, but the damage beneath that has had a lingering effect.

He keeps his expression and voice carefully blank. ]

The people I'm friends with, I know what they're capable of. Gamora is the galaxy's deadliest assassin. Hell, probably the deadliest person, hands down. Drax can rip off a guy's jaw, crush a skull with his bare hands. Groot can skewer a dozen men on an arm and swing them around like a lasso. Rocket can fix together a bomb that'd blow up a small planet, just using scraps from a ship.

But that's fine. I've seen what they can do when they're desperate, when things went to shit and their lives were on the line. I know what I'm getting into, so I have no one to blame but myself for getting involved.

You see where I'm goin' with this?

[ He gives a tight little nod, at first, but then he pauses, lets out a breath. ]

No. I guess you told me. You said you could move stuff, right?

I just didn't put two and two together. Didn't figure out the extent of it.

[ He winces. ]

Yeah, think I remember that one.

[ He snorts at that -- mostly because the mental image of anyone fighting naked is ridiculous. ]

Yeah-- [ he says it dryly ] --fight you naked. I'll keep that in mind.

[ He at least gets a small smile for his troubles. ]

I'm pretty sure most folks just call that sex, you know.