damned_institute | Day 29: Sun Room

It was with some relief that Yuuhi awoke the next morning, in his own bed, sore and tired and achy. He would've slept more had they let him, his face down in the pillow, away from all the others and their questions and their concern. He didn't want to see them, but he managed a little smile when the nurse came in and didn't object when she lead him out into the open hallway that had been splattered with blood, plenty of it his, just last night.

The Chapel or the Sun Room? He felt he had good reason not to be terribly religious and had a feeling he wouldn't be very welcome there anyway. The Sun Room would be nice though. It was bright and cheery and he could always doodle or write notes on the community board if he'd nothing better to do. Besides, the nurse was kind enough to let him take a book with him.

He found a seat on one of the couches, far from the entrance and seated himself in the far corner, legs scrunched up against his chest so he only took up one of the cushions. He opened up where he'd left off, fingers carefully turning the worn pages of Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz.

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It had taken a good several minutes, but JJ finally stopped bubbling over with excitement.

Sort of.

He planted his hands on his hips and frowned. This was getting stranger by the minute. "Well...then who are you if you're not who I think you are?"

What was he supposed to say? This guy had mentioned Spider-man, and Peter didn't want the stranger jumping to any conclusions and assuming that was who he was, but it seemed wrong to give a fake name. With all the lying he already did, faking who he was would probably leave a bad taste in his mouth.

Maybe the other patient wouldn't make the connection. After a long enough pause, Peter glanced up and sighed. "Peter Parker...?" he provided hesitantly.

JJ squinted, trying to decide if this guy was playing him or just plain crazy. Or, like, maybe extremely dedicated and absorbed in his work.

Then again, they were at a...

Never mind.

He chuckled nervously. "Oh, hahah...I guess you must be really into your role, huh?"

"Role?" Peter blurted out, not having the presence of mind to keep his thoughts to himself at this point. This was just getting way too weird.

"Look, I think you're kind of confused," he said as he adjusted in his seat. "I'm not whoever you think I am. Like I said, my name is Peter Parker."

He felt kind of bad, actually. Just like Saber, this guy seemed to be a few screws loose. He hadn't meant to crush his dreams or anything like that. "I'm sorry...?"

JJ's eyebrows shot up. "I'm confused. Uh-uh, no way, I think -- "

He paused, hands planted on his hips until his eyes lit up with a sudden spark of an idea.

"Can I see your wrist?" he blurted.

Because there would totally be nothing there and this guy would clearly be nothing more than...too into his work. The other possibility was just too crazy for him to consider. Even if it would be kinda pretty awesome. Really awesome, actually. But right now, ensuring that he was sane was more important than having a cool story to tell when he got home.

There was only one reason this blue-haired guy would be asking that, and Peter felt himself tense up. He only barely stopped himself from pulling the long sleeves of his shirt further over his wrists.

But if the other patient knew that much, then how was he supposed to weasel out of it?

It didn't help that he was now getting a look like he was crazy, especially since he wasn't entirely sure what he had done to merit it. Considering that both of them seemed to be working on a misunderstanding, maybe this would clear it up. He didn't particularly want to be mistaken for someone he wasn't, after all.

So, in the end, Peter heaved out a sigh and extended his hand forward to show the other man the strange markings on the underside of his wrist.

JJ stared. He wasn't sure how many times he blinked, but it didn't matter technically because none of it seemed to help him regain his bearings.

Whoa.

This should've been a very cool discovery, but it actually wasn't feeling that way. At all. It was more holy crap than anything.

"Oh my God. You can't be -- you -- " He spluttered. "You can't be real!" It was only fortunate there was a couch behind him for him to fall down in. "This is nuts. You're totally not supposed to be real. I think I'm crazy."

Peter wasn't certain what that reaction was all about, but it made him pretty uncomfortable. This guy had forced him to admit to who he was, and now he was going on about how it wasn't possible? That was hardly fair.

He pulled his sleeve down over his wrist again and sighed, eyeing the other patient with a raised eyebrow.

"Pretty sure I'm real," he said, shrugging. "I'm not sure what that says about you, but..."

This conversation had gone from bad to worse, and while they hadn't finished working anything out, he wasn't sure he wanted to at this point. With a glance around, Peter started to get to his feet. "Maybe I should go."

Day 29: Sun Room

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