7681/Just a chat amongst friends

Just a chat amongst friends
Date of Scene:	30 May 2019
Location:	Harry's Hideaway - Bar - Salem Center
Synopsis:	Logan and Peter have a talk over drinks... then fight in the parking lot.
Cast of Characters:	Wolverine, Spider-Man

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Wolverine has posed:
    Around the school things had been hectic. Tense. Definitely something in the air since the Professor had been shot, and the ever present threat of the Sentinels. They were events that cast long shadows and ultimately... for many of the people there they were left with this feeling of... impotence. This inability to affect the larger picture, an inability to take actions or being stuck in some endless cycle of waiting for the next thing to happen.
    It didn't sit well with some. Worse with most. But for the X-Man known as Logan...
    It had been in the hallway. A brief passing by. Faculty past faculty. No spider-sense warning likely considering there's no malice, nothing to tweak to the negative though Peter has known the Canadian mutant for a long time.
    So when Wolverine stopped in that hallway and seemed only then to actually /look/ at Peter, there might've been a moment of brief confusion as Logan gave the other crimefighter a grunt and then said in that rumbling tone of his. "Parker." He lifts a hand to point at him.
    "We." Those blue eyes meet hazel as Logan seems to give him a once over. "Have some drinkin' ta do." And like that, the law is laid down. No arguing it, he's heard that tone before but never towards him. The tone he's used with students, or with members of the Brotherhood. It's a tone that speaks of drawn blades and twisted scowls.
    It eventually led them to Harry's Hideaway. The traditional hang out for the team. Though this time of day it's dead save for a handful of locals. The door is pushed open roughly with one hand, shoved open and causing the bell to jangle and for the bartender to look up. Without looking at him, Logan asks, "What're ya havin'?" Though he rightly knows, Peter. He don't drink.

Spider-Man has posed:
Peter was in an interesting position at the School where most of his inherent anxieties could be broken down to actual young adult problems rather than the ever present threat of genocide. To say he would stand by while that happened to his students and friends would be false, but he cannot possibly know the feeling that accompanies a world that is willing to send Sentinels to destroy him just for who he is. Of course, he understands, and he even empathizes, but it's suffice to say that his problems are different and he'd be the first to admit it.

True that he has his OWN problems, some every bit as dangerous, but that's besides the point.

Right that moment he was on his way to the library with a phone in hand thumbing through messages when he heard Logan's usually quiet footfalls come to a stop facing him. Doesn't take spider-senses to know when the wild man is on the prowl and Pete glances up with a ready made smile in place until he sees the look in Logan's eyes and hears the tone of his voice. "We do?"

Innocent enough question, but there's no refusal or attempts to subvert the inherent demand behind what the other man has said.

He's quiet, awkwardly even, as they make their way to Harry's and slips in along with Logan with fingers combing into his hair. "Just a soda. Soda water if they don't have coke or whatever.." The question on his lips dangles there while searching out a place to sit, "What's up, Logan?"

Wolverine has posed:
    "Sure you don't want somethin' harder?" Is the response, given somewhat absently as Logan crosses the room, heading straight to the bar. Not actually looking at Peter as he moves, more the sense he's talking on auto-pilot or something else is on his mind.
    But that changes once he gets to the bar and says, "Hey Marty, two bottles of Jack and uh," He looks over his shoulder and waves a hand towards Peter, "And a soda."
    "Sure thing, Logan." Though the youthful twenty-something tender looks at Peter for a second, smiles, but then steps down the bar to start gathering the drinks. Once he's gone, Logan turns back then towards Peter and gestures widely towards one of the seats near the end of the bar. "I'll be there in a sec. Go grab some splinters."
    He'll wait then, as he starts to reach for his wallet to pay for things.

Spider-Man has posed:
"I don't drink." Peter says with a sheepish hand up rubbing at the back of his neck. Usually, not that embarassing a statement, but Logan has a way of making it a little more so than usual. Even more so when he tacks it on at the end of his order with expert comedic timing. Marty's glance doesn't help, innocent or not.

Pete takes a deep breath and points in the direction of the seats as he's headed that way. Once there he slips up on one and flips his hair backwards out of his face, "I need a haircut.." Said to himself, realizing just then how much he's having to brush it out of his eyes.

Wolverine has posed:
    Marty comes back with the two bottles of whiskey and then the medium red plastic cup of soda with some ice that's still fizzing from the spigot. Logan extracts some green from his wallet and hands it to Marty, then pushes another bill into his hand and gives him a nod after murmuring something else. But once that's done he rounds and steps away.
    Walking with one of the bottles under his arm, the other in his left hand, and Peter's drink in the right, he takes up the corner seat perpendicular to Peter so they can look at each other when they talk. He sets the coke down and pushes it slightly towards Peter, then slices off the top of the first bottle with a quick slash/snikt of a claw that's barely seen for a tenth of a second.
    "First thing's first, kid." The old Canadian frowns and looks down the bar, then only this time now meets Peter's eyes. "When we're done drinkin' in here. We're goin' outside. And we're gonna have a fight." His tone is matter of fact, as if this is the way of the world and there's no choice in it.
    "Nothin' you can say is gonna change that fact. So just get used ta it now."

Spider-Man has posed:
There's a lot of things about what's happening here that would damage someones calm. The extra money passed between patron and barman, the choice of seats taken across from him, and even the snikt of a claw slicing through the top of the liqour bottle. Even if it hadn't been followed with a very real promise for future violence, Peter would be on edge.

When the affirmation that there will be violence comes out, however, he clears his throat. Having been sipping coke at just that moment he nearly chokes trying to clear it from his wind pipe and stares wide eyed up at Logan, "What? Why? Did you have your heart set on being the new Chemistry teacher? I really don't think that's any reason to fight.." While he lowers his voice to speak that word, he stresses it a little so that it's clear that he's taking it serious how serious Logan is.

"What if I say no thanks? Is that off the table?"

Wolverine has posed:
    His blue eyed gaze is steady, even as he looks straight on at Peter and takes in a deep breath, then lets it slowly out of his nose in a tone that might be akin to exasperation but doesn't quite reach there. No ire is in his gaze, no malice. Just the steady look of a man with a task in front of him.
    "Sometimes a man makes an obligation to a woman. Gets her to agree to spend her life with him. Now I might be old fashioned. But that's somethin' that you can't let go unanswered." He then tilts back the bottle of whiskey and proceeds to down it quickly with several swallows. Just a steady trio of gulps, then the bottle is set down with a clink upon the tabletop.
    There's a flush to his cheeks, but other than that it seems the stuff doesn't affect him too much. "I know some view it as old fashioned, and that may be. But it's how I am. And it's a pity, cuz I do like you, Parker."
    Then his tone sharpens and his brow furrows. "But you did wrong."

Spider-Man has posed:
Peter's mouth couldn't possibly hang open any wider than as Logan is explaining why he's about to get his butt kicked in a parking lot. While he's sitting there catching flies, he just blinks a few times and tries to arrange things in a pattern that makes sense. Confusion written on his face in the kind of way that latin must look if it's written upside down. "This is about Betsy and me?"

His mouth snaps closed and the confusion is replaced with... well it isn't anger, but more pain. "So, let me see if I follow." Forget the cola, Pete can't even remember he has one at the moment, nor even remember what he was going to say. His head lulls backwards with his eyes closed, his palms sit flat upon the tabletop. "No, you're right. I did what I did."

For a few seconds he chews the inside corner of his mouth, "But I have one thing to ask before we go get this over with.." He says this with his head snapping up to stare at Logan, "Did she tell you why?"

Wolverine has posed:
    "She didn't tell me anythin', kid." Logan turns his gaze away then and looks down the bar at some of the other patrons down the way. All of them looking roughly Logan's apparent age, all grim haggard men getting their daytime drank on. For a time he just sort of looks at them, then shakes his head as his eyebrows rise. "She didn't have ta."
    "I ain't exactly a paragon of success where it comes ta the relationship thing. But you get to a point... where two folks are gonna link themselves tagether? Them against the world? Nothin' else matters."
    Then he gives a small shrug before tilting the bottle back and taking three more swallows. Though after he finishes this one there's a satisfied 'ahh' at the end of it and his nose is a little reddish. He looks sidelong towards Peter and says, "Anyways."
    He dismisses whatever his train of thought was with a little rough wave of one hand then he says, "After we finish our drinks, we're gonna go outside. And fight." When he says that last it's with such finality, that it might be almost daunting.

Spider-Man has posed:
There's a satisfied nod that follows and Peter breaths out a long sigh, "Good." He says that one word quietly, his eyes following the trail of the bottle from Logan's guzzling back to the table. His own drink turns upon the table in one absent motion of his fingers. "I like you too, Logan, but what happened between Betsy and me isn't anyone elses business. It was hard enough without someone standing on the outside trying to play spectator to a sport that doesn't need them."

Love is not a spectator sport.

It's clearly a battlefield..

"Damn you Pat Benatar." Murmured quietly as he guzzles his soda.

"Before you kick my ass, however, I want it clear that I took absolutely no pleasure from what happened. I love Betsy more than anything or anyone. I'm not weaseling out or trying to change your mind, I just want it out there that what happened hurt me just as much as her."

Wolverine has posed:
    "Yeah," Logan says as he pushes the empty bottle away and then this time just twists the top off the next, though part of the neck breaks with a grindy crackle. "Always does, kid."
    With that said he leans back and tilts the bottle up into the air, taking a few more steady swallows quickly, over and over as his adam's apple works until the last drop. Then he sets the bottle down and his eyes are a little dilated, with his features twisted as if he had just taken a bite of a really rotten onion. "C'mon."
    He slides off his stool, a little unsteady but not as severe as someone who just drank two bottles of Jack deserves. "Finish yer drink, I'll be waitin'. Hurry though." He starts to walk down the hallway past the jukebox and the KENO machine. He calls over his shoulder. "You take too long and I'll need ta take a leak."
    And with that he shoves the door open to the back with a whoomphf and disappears from view.

Spider-Man has posed:
Pete watches the neck snap on the liqour bottle and cranes his head back to stare at the ceiling, inner monologues being what they are, this one is decidedly finalistic. When Logan steps up and heads out back, Pete stays where he's been sitting for a few extra seconds. There isn't much cola left and he nurses it for as long as he can. "Alright, Peter Parker, time to go face the music." Pushing out from the bar with a hop off the chair.

While he's headed for the exit through which Logan headed he's combing through his hair with his fingers in a constant anxious manner. It isn't that he's scared, it is hardly the first time he's fought someone, but this feels entirely different. For once he doesn't feel like he has much of a moral high ground, no matter what he tells himself about why he had to break the engagement off with Betsy... or even if he actually WANTED to break things off at all.

That was never a question anyone asked.

"I bruise easy." He says as he's coming outside with his hands up in an awkward fisticuffs as one might have learned from watching any number of silent movies or Three Stoogies episodes.

Logan might be the only person at the mansion who knows he's Spiderman based entirely on the Wolverine's incredible sense of smell, but Peter doesn't go all acrobatic dodging... nor does he just stand there and take an ass whoopin'. He might have earned this fight, but he doesn't deserve to be plastered!

"I have to meet with my Aunt later too, please don't make me lie to her about a black eye."

Wolverine has posed:
    When he arrives outside, Logan's out there and leaning beside a garbage dumpster and then lifting his head to aim a squidgy eyed gaze over towards Peter. He then pushes off and away from it, stepping out and towards the youth. Lifting his chin he gives a nod as if agreeing with Peter and then he says simply, "No promises."
    And that's when his fists come up.