Balthier's hand in Peter's is solid and real, at least. There aren't even Spider-Man's gloves between them, since it's just Peter standing here, regardless of what happens in the memory.
Balthier turns and the world shifts around them, but…only a little.
There was a bunch that happened between then and now. Peter Quill losing his cool. Thanos nearly killing Tony (a terrible sort of irony now, in hindsight). Stephen seeing only one future out of millions in which they actually won.
But now they've just turned around and come face to face with the part of this memory Peter didn't want to see.
His hand tightens in Balthier's, probably too tight; Peter is a lot stronger than a regular person, after all, and this isn't exactly physical in the way that it would be without the shared mind space, but it's not not physical. He's cognisant of it on some level and doesn't crush the pirate's hand, at least.
Watching yourself die is a horrible experience. Also it's embarrassing? He was so scared at the time, after all, telling Tony he didn't want to go.
It hadn't hurt, not really. (He was already hurt at the time anyway.) But it was an awful thing, and unexpected, and inescapable. Maybe death always is, what does he know?
"Shit," he says. "No, no, shit."
They've got to pull out of this memory, out of this fight, before other people get hurt because of his own emotional distraction. Damnit, he knew better than to get in one of these jaegers, he just wanted to help, and…
but why be nice when i could be awful! tw death stuff
Balthier turns and the world shifts around them, but…only a little.
There was a bunch that happened between then and now. Peter Quill losing his cool. Thanos nearly killing Tony (a terrible sort of irony now, in hindsight). Stephen seeing only one future out of millions in which they actually won.
But now they've just turned around and come face to face with the part of this memory Peter didn't want to see.
His hand tightens in Balthier's, probably too tight; Peter is a lot stronger than a regular person, after all, and this isn't exactly physical in the way that it would be without the shared mind space, but it's not not physical. He's cognisant of it on some level and doesn't crush the pirate's hand, at least.
Watching yourself die is a horrible experience. Also it's embarrassing? He was so scared at the time, after all, telling Tony he didn't want to go.
It hadn't hurt, not really. (He was already hurt at the time anyway.) But it was an awful thing, and unexpected, and inescapable. Maybe death always is, what does he know?
"Shit," he says. "No, no, shit."
They've got to pull out of this memory, out of this fight, before other people get hurt because of his own emotional distraction. Damnit, he knew better than to get in one of these jaegers, he just wanted to help, and…