Steve J. and Pietro, backdated to Nov 18
Nov. 18th, 2014 11:33 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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om_mainAfter Jack kicks him out post-apology, Pietro goes to make sure Steve isn't horrible. Steve is, in fact, cool.
Pietro knew he should probably leave it alone, but--as usual after a Srs Talk with Jack, and possibly even more than that--he was uneasy. For five seconds there, he'd honestly thought Steve must've said something horrible to Jack about his past. But as their conversation had gone on, he'd wondered if Jack wasn't just being... well, Jack, about it.
Still, he had to check. Just to know if he really did have more to apologize for than he'd initially thought. So when he rolled up on Steve in the hall, he said, "Hey, hi, I'm back from Italy. You got a minute, man?"
Steve had just come back from training and he was pretty sure he wasn't fit to be in company, but it wasn't often that Pietro pulled Steve aside and he couldn't help but remember the last time. He nodded. "My room?" he suggested.
Pietro nodded and tried to walk as patiently as possible. As soon as they got to their destination, though, he closed the door behind them and it all came out: "Okay so I'm not totally sure what Jack told you on his birthday about him and his family but I just want to make sure you don't hate him because of it?"
"Hate him?" Steve repeated, frowning. "What? Of course I didn't...did he say that?" And now he was worried that Jack thought Steve hated him. Nothing could be further from the truth.
"No," Pietro said immediately. "Not even. He just--you know that thing Jack does where he acts like everyone should hate him, so you can't really tell if someone actually said a hateful thing or if he just wishes they did or thinks they should've?"
"So it's not just me, then?" Steve asked quietly. It wasn't quite the same problem he had. He sometimes wondered whether Jack thought he wanted to break them up, but it was a similar problem to the one Pietro was talking about.
"Yeah, no, Jack's self-loathing--I'm amazed it fits into this house, honestly." Pietro grimaced; there was nothing joking about him, not even remotely flippant, for once.
"I'm worried about him," Steve said with a sigh. "Not angry. I never did get a chance to thank you for telling me. I don't think he would have told me." No, he knew that Jack wouldn't have and that was what bothered him.
"Yeah, sorry there was no warning." Pietro clasped Steve on the shoulder and smiled wryly before dropping his hand again. "It was a shitty thing to do, take away his right to tell you what he wants when he wants--but I figured you of all people would understand why I didn't want to leave him alone with it. Couldn't go off to Italy without knowing someone would take care of him, you know?"
"I think if Jack had his way, no one would know," Steve pointed out. "And he's wrong. If it helps, he went digging through my past without asking." Although he'd taken it a lot better than Jack had.
"Why am I not surprised." Pietro snorted. "It does help--I mean, not that I was unaware that his standards are different for himself and others in weird ass ways, but hey."
"Otherwise known as 'Jack can be an idiot'," Steve said fondly. "But we both already knew that."
"Seriously." Pietro blew a sigh upwards, sending his bangs flying. "Anyhow, he started to go all self-loathing while he was bitching me out for telling you--which, again, that's totally fair if he wants to bitch me out, because I knew he didn't want anyone to know and I brought you in anyhow, and I stand by that decision.
"But you can get why I wanted to check that, you know. It hadn't gone south because of that decision. Because then I'd have a lot more to apologize for. And also be pissed."
Steve nodded slowly. He wasn't always sure what to think about Pietro, but in this case at least, he agreed. "No, I'm not in any way, shape, or form mad at him. I don't even know why he'd think that." Which was now worrying him. Had he maybe been giving Jack too much space to clear his head? He hadn't talked about what Jack had said that night because he'd thought that's what Jack had wanted, but maybe he should have pushed.
"I wasn't worried so much about mad as I was about, you know. Loathing or something." Pietro grimaced. "He thinks just because he hates himself, we're all about to start, too."
"Loath--" Steve started and cut himself off, shaking his head. Sometimes he just didn't understand what was going through Jack's head.
"It's not a reflection on you," Pietro said, expression wry. "I mean, I'm guessing you know that. I guessed you knew him, which is why I told you as much as I did in the first place. I'm glad I was right." He smiled.
"No, I know," Steve replied absently, his mind already working on adding this new clue to the puzzle that was Jack Harkness. "Sometimes he looks like he's waiting for the other shoe to drop," he admitted before wondering why he was even telling Pietro of all people this.
Pietro nodded. "Exactly. It's hard not to take it personal. I mean, if I were you, I probably would, not gonna lie. But it's not. It's just. Weird when you're, uh. With someone."
Probably because Pietro was here, Steve thought finally. "Weird?" he asked. "What's weird?"
"You know, like, stuff that you know is just personality," Pietro said with a shrug. "It's weird because it's hard not to take it personally, but it's just... how they are. The significant other, I mean."
"Oh," Steve answered, mulling that over. "Yeah, I guess it is weird." And a part of it was that he wasn't sure how much to take personally and how much was just...Jack. That was a part of the dating process, he guessed.
Pietro smiled wryly. "Well, what part of our lives isn't?
"Anyhow, thanks. And sorry if it seems like I'm, I don't know, checking up on you. It's not like that. You get it."
"Of course not," Steve answered with a bit of a smile. "It's him you're checking up on."
"Precisely."
Pietro knew he should probably leave it alone, but--as usual after a Srs Talk with Jack, and possibly even more than that--he was uneasy. For five seconds there, he'd honestly thought Steve must've said something horrible to Jack about his past. But as their conversation had gone on, he'd wondered if Jack wasn't just being... well, Jack, about it.
Still, he had to check. Just to know if he really did have more to apologize for than he'd initially thought. So when he rolled up on Steve in the hall, he said, "Hey, hi, I'm back from Italy. You got a minute, man?"
Steve had just come back from training and he was pretty sure he wasn't fit to be in company, but it wasn't often that Pietro pulled Steve aside and he couldn't help but remember the last time. He nodded. "My room?" he suggested.
Pietro nodded and tried to walk as patiently as possible. As soon as they got to their destination, though, he closed the door behind them and it all came out: "Okay so I'm not totally sure what Jack told you on his birthday about him and his family but I just want to make sure you don't hate him because of it?"
"Hate him?" Steve repeated, frowning. "What? Of course I didn't...did he say that?" And now he was worried that Jack thought Steve hated him. Nothing could be further from the truth.
"No," Pietro said immediately. "Not even. He just--you know that thing Jack does where he acts like everyone should hate him, so you can't really tell if someone actually said a hateful thing or if he just wishes they did or thinks they should've?"
"So it's not just me, then?" Steve asked quietly. It wasn't quite the same problem he had. He sometimes wondered whether Jack thought he wanted to break them up, but it was a similar problem to the one Pietro was talking about.
"Yeah, no, Jack's self-loathing--I'm amazed it fits into this house, honestly." Pietro grimaced; there was nothing joking about him, not even remotely flippant, for once.
"I'm worried about him," Steve said with a sigh. "Not angry. I never did get a chance to thank you for telling me. I don't think he would have told me." No, he knew that Jack wouldn't have and that was what bothered him.
"Yeah, sorry there was no warning." Pietro clasped Steve on the shoulder and smiled wryly before dropping his hand again. "It was a shitty thing to do, take away his right to tell you what he wants when he wants--but I figured you of all people would understand why I didn't want to leave him alone with it. Couldn't go off to Italy without knowing someone would take care of him, you know?"
"I think if Jack had his way, no one would know," Steve pointed out. "And he's wrong. If it helps, he went digging through my past without asking." Although he'd taken it a lot better than Jack had.
"Why am I not surprised." Pietro snorted. "It does help--I mean, not that I was unaware that his standards are different for himself and others in weird ass ways, but hey."
"Otherwise known as 'Jack can be an idiot'," Steve said fondly. "But we both already knew that."
"Seriously." Pietro blew a sigh upwards, sending his bangs flying. "Anyhow, he started to go all self-loathing while he was bitching me out for telling you--which, again, that's totally fair if he wants to bitch me out, because I knew he didn't want anyone to know and I brought you in anyhow, and I stand by that decision.
"But you can get why I wanted to check that, you know. It hadn't gone south because of that decision. Because then I'd have a lot more to apologize for. And also be pissed."
Steve nodded slowly. He wasn't always sure what to think about Pietro, but in this case at least, he agreed. "No, I'm not in any way, shape, or form mad at him. I don't even know why he'd think that." Which was now worrying him. Had he maybe been giving Jack too much space to clear his head? He hadn't talked about what Jack had said that night because he'd thought that's what Jack had wanted, but maybe he should have pushed.
"I wasn't worried so much about mad as I was about, you know. Loathing or something." Pietro grimaced. "He thinks just because he hates himself, we're all about to start, too."
"Loath--" Steve started and cut himself off, shaking his head. Sometimes he just didn't understand what was going through Jack's head.
"It's not a reflection on you," Pietro said, expression wry. "I mean, I'm guessing you know that. I guessed you knew him, which is why I told you as much as I did in the first place. I'm glad I was right." He smiled.
"No, I know," Steve replied absently, his mind already working on adding this new clue to the puzzle that was Jack Harkness. "Sometimes he looks like he's waiting for the other shoe to drop," he admitted before wondering why he was even telling Pietro of all people this.
Pietro nodded. "Exactly. It's hard not to take it personal. I mean, if I were you, I probably would, not gonna lie. But it's not. It's just. Weird when you're, uh. With someone."
Probably because Pietro was here, Steve thought finally. "Weird?" he asked. "What's weird?"
"You know, like, stuff that you know is just personality," Pietro said with a shrug. "It's weird because it's hard not to take it personally, but it's just... how they are. The significant other, I mean."
"Oh," Steve answered, mulling that over. "Yeah, I guess it is weird." And a part of it was that he wasn't sure how much to take personally and how much was just...Jack. That was a part of the dating process, he guessed.
Pietro smiled wryly. "Well, what part of our lives isn't?
"Anyhow, thanks. And sorry if it seems like I'm, I don't know, checking up on you. It's not like that. You get it."
"Of course not," Steve answered with a bit of a smile. "It's him you're checking up on."
"Precisely."
