[ Peter hasn't been doing this hero thing that long, really. He got bitten by that spider at 15 and met Tony Stark not long after. But the worst of it, all these things that piled on right after the other, Thanos and Tony dying and Quentin Beck and now the spell and everything, those are all in the past few months. Some of that was even in the past one month. He hasn't had any time to really deal with it or get used to the idea that people just die or disappear or you can't save them, and that there will always be some element of that. Tony had sort of tried to tell him about responsibility, but he did it in a Tony way, which wasn't actually very helpful. It wasn't a conversation he'd really had with May, but she had assumed that the older heroes would keep him safe, generally speaking.
There are things about the whole Thanos thing he absolutely did not and would not ever have told her, and for good reason. Though he'd tell her all of it if it meant he got her back, even if she'd be furious. That's just how loss and grief and regret go.
Peter finds himself smiling back despite all his twisted up messy feelings. ]
I wouldn't ever tell anyone else's secrets.
[ That's true, at least. Ned had come up with some absolute bullshit lies for him over the past couple years, but he'd have done the same for Ned in a heartbeat. Friends just do that! They keep each other's secrets.
Balthier might go on about how old and wise he is, and Peter has no idea how old he is, but he doesn't strike Peter as, like, one of the Avengers. He's not so far apart in age that he feels untouchable or unrelatable (all boomer tech memes aside). He's probably the closest actual friend Peter's made in this weird Confluence city so far, though he wouldn't have quantified it like that.
Despite his words about how he sucks at friends, he'll make others. Bart, Alina, someone else. They're there, too.
He returns the hug, probably too tight, because he needs something to hold onto in the worst way, and Balthier offered to literally be that for a minute. Peter is aware, though Balthier might actually not be yet, of his own strength, though. He's much, much stronger than he looks, and something like holding onto someone too tight without checking himself would be pretty painful for them. This isn't that! This is just…normal human too tight, luckily, hands tight in Balthier's shirt.
He'll check himself on that, too. He just needs a second. Human connection is good, actually! Who knew, right? ]
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There are things about the whole Thanos thing he absolutely did not and would not ever have told her, and for good reason. Though he'd tell her all of it if it meant he got her back, even if she'd be furious. That's just how loss and grief and regret go.
Peter finds himself smiling back despite all his twisted up messy feelings. ]
I wouldn't ever tell anyone else's secrets.
[ That's true, at least. Ned had come up with some absolute bullshit lies for him over the past couple years, but he'd have done the same for Ned in a heartbeat. Friends just do that! They keep each other's secrets.
Balthier might go on about how old and wise he is, and Peter has no idea how old he is, but he doesn't strike Peter as, like, one of the Avengers. He's not so far apart in age that he feels untouchable or unrelatable (all boomer tech memes aside). He's probably the closest actual friend Peter's made in this weird Confluence city so far, though he wouldn't have quantified it like that.
Despite his words about how he sucks at friends, he'll make others. Bart, Alina, someone else. They're there, too.
He returns the hug, probably too tight, because he needs something to hold onto in the worst way, and Balthier offered to literally be that for a minute. Peter is aware, though Balthier might actually not be yet, of his own strength, though. He's much, much stronger than he looks, and something like holding onto someone too tight without checking himself would be pretty painful for them. This isn't that! This is just…normal human too tight, luckily, hands tight in Balthier's shirt.
He'll check himself on that, too. He just needs a second. Human connection is good, actually! Who knew, right? ]