[ The phaselock catches him by surprise, but the sound is so familiar that he smiles a little behind his mask (even as he's thinking, goddammit, Maya, you had one job--).
He catches sight of her, finally, as he's ducking beneath a wild swing, and he sees his beloved blasters lying forgotten on the ground. He dives for them, grabbing them up and twisting onto his back to shoot at the guy he'd been tussling with -- not electricity this time, but bursts of fire lancing red hot into the man's chest, made all the more lethal by Maya's slag.
He twists again, aiming himself in Maya's direction, and slams the heels of his palms down onto the triggers for his jet boots. He skids along the ground on his back, firing at the guards as he goes.
He stops just short of her and gets to his feet. ]
I think we've stuck around long enough, sweetheart.
[ by the time Peter comes shooting down the hall, there's only a handful of guards left, and his shots land true more than once. If there's anyone unfortunate enough to remain standing, they meet a messy end by Maya's sniper fire.
She gives Peter something of a Look, which is all the warning he gets before she's in his face, jabbing a finger into his chest ]
[ He wants to reply, "I'm kind of the leader, here," or "Way to defy a direct order," but there are muffled shouts from up the hall and Peter just grabs her hand and starts running. ]
[ The mental image of rats in a maze occurs to her, and she shakes it off. They're going to get out of this. Never mind that, presumably, the only way out is through the courtyard, which is sure to be crawling with guards, and possibly innocent people. Never mind that they have no idea where they're going, and are up against unknown numbers. They've gotten out of worse scrapes before. Probably.
Okay, she can't think of any right now, but she's sure they have.
As they run, she puts her rifle back into her digistruct device- running with that thing in one hand is just asking for it- and out comes her little Jakobs pistol.
She's keeping her eyes out for doors, vents, anything. Oddly, she swears she can smell laundry detergent, and if that's the case, then the laundry is as good as anywhere to hide.
But the laundry is below them, apparently, because there's another door- by the look of it, another laboratory-like room- and just out side of it, a square, metal door set about waist-high in the wall. ]
[ If she could see it, his expression would be screaming, "Are you fucking serious?" with just a hint of "Oh, fuck no." Because there's a weird, icy feeling that crawls into his veins at the idea of sliding down some dark, confining and suffocating space with walls on every side--
But it's their only option, and he knows it, and he holsters one of his blasters and yanks the door open for her. ]
Thankfully it's not a sheer drop, but the angle is still rather steep, and her tennis shoes don't have enough grip to slow her descent. As it is she goes careening into the darkness, and when she finally sees the light at the end of the tunnel, she braces for impact.
She lands in a bin of laundry, hard enough to send it toppling over (fucking action movies and their disregard for things like physics). For a moment she's trapped in a tangle in white linen, and she has to fight her way free. Once freed, she shoves everything back in the bin, and slides it back under the exit point of the chute as quickly as she can. ]
[ Okay, he's not like, right behind her? Because he has to convince himself that he's not going to get stuck in there, or that the chute isn't going to randomly close in around him and trap him and that, really, it's not that bad and it'll last maybe five seconds if that, and don't be a fucking coward, Peter--
Eventually sheer necessity forces his hand when he hears voices and the stamping of feet drawing closer. It's with an aggravated groan that he forces himself to jump down the chute, and he's damn lucky the door shuts behind him of its own accord, because he thinks he just heard someone rounding the corner--
But that doesn't matter because he's sliding down the chute and even with the lights in his mask it's really fucking dark and suddenly he's thirteen again and getting stuck in a ventilation shaft after the engineering crew on the Eclector sent him in there to help with repairs, and those bastards had left them in there as a joke and fuck if he gets stuck in here he's going to flip his shit--
It's only seconds he's in the damn thing, probably, but it feels like ages, and by the time he hits the laundry bin and tumbles to the ground, his breath is coming in short gasps and fuck this job, fuck everything about it. He slams his knuckles against the trigger to disengage his helmet and wrestles his way out of the sheets and he's not panicking you're panicking. ]
[ Never would she have pegged Peter as claustrophobic, but with the way he's breathing and flailing and clearly panicking, she can put the pieces together. He pulls the last sheet off his head and Maya's right there, hands on his shoulders ] Peter- Peter--
[ He grabs onto her hands, and he'll deny it later, but his grip is seriously clingy and desperate. But he nods at her direction and, yes, breathing's good. Breathing is a thing his lungs are supposed to do.
It takes a few moments before he just kind of sags with a mumbled apology, and a quick, "I'm fine," before looking around. ]
[ She takes his hand and gets to her feet- though once she's standing, she doesn't let go ] I still have my sweater in my digistruct. We're good.
Well, almost good.
[ She surges forward and kisses him- and honestly, it's a little desperate. She thought she was going to lose him, and then they were being chased and he had his mask on anyway, and dammit, she just needed to do this, okay? ]
[ -- Yep. This is okay. Totally okay, even if he does make a little surprised noise at first, but he relaxes into it, even if he's still jazzed up on fight-adrenaline and fear-adrenaline and we-need-to-talk-about-you-going-against-the-plan-adrenaline, but.
Screw it. Maya is here and they're not dead and, yeah, he needed that too. When he pulls back, he brushes her hair from her face. ]
[ She leans into his touch a little. It's nice, having a moment like this, even if it's fleeting, and coming on the heels of imminent danger. ] That's what I'm here for.
Yeah, I'd rather not spend any more time in the Laundry of the Damned than we have to.
[ There's shelves and shelves of sheets and pillowcases and bins everywhere. One set of double doors leads to what Maya presumes is where they do all the washing, but there's another door on the opposite end of the room. She grabs Peter's hand and leads him in that direction. ]
... If anything good has come out of this, though, it was kind of fun pretending to be married for a little bit.
[ -- URK, um, he literally stumbles at that, but it's only because he was busy twisting around, getting one of his blasters into the digistruct device. Honest. ]
I-- guess I hadn't really, either. [ But then again, he never saw himself in a steady, monogamous relationship, either, and here he is. ] I mean, in general terms, anyway. Just-- marriage is weird. Is all.
Yeah, better not dig yourself any deeper there. [ She's amused as she says it, and she leans up to give him a a peck on the cheek. As far as she's concerned, they're practically married anyway, but man, if she ever wants to watch Peter stammer and flail around a bit, now she knows all she has to do is bring up the "m" word.
She puts her gun back into her digistruct device and pulls out her sweater, slipping it back on ]
Wisely, he keeps his big trap shut as he stows away the rest of his gear (and for a moment he thinks, "but what if I just hide one blaster--" before he realizes that's stupid, and he can just call them back out at a moment's notice anyway).
He slips his hand into hers before managing to wrestle his expression from tight-lipped and panicked and I'm on the verge of saying a lot of stupid things to something far more serene. ]
[ He pushes the door open, and it looks like they've exited into a quiet, nondescript corner of the facility. No guards in sight, luckily, and if anyone's in the area, they don't seem to pay the couple any mind.
He thinks for a moment, trying to remember the blueprints they had only had a few hours to look over before the two of them were thrown into the fray-- and if he remembers right, the courtyard should be-- that way. He heads off down the path, walking at a steady pace (even if he seriously wants to run full pelt to the exit). By the time they reach the courtyard, the presentations had long been over (he thinks, Oh, gosh darn it). The stage is still intact, and there are still people hanging around the area, and he thinks he spots Tukkir speaking to his adoring fans.
Peter keeps his head ducked down towards Maya, as though they were in the middle of an intimate conversation, though he keeps his eyes peeled for anyone paying them too much attention. ]
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He catches sight of her, finally, as he's ducking beneath a wild swing, and he sees his beloved blasters lying forgotten on the ground. He dives for them, grabbing them up and twisting onto his back to shoot at the guy he'd been tussling with -- not electricity this time, but bursts of fire lancing red hot into the man's chest, made all the more lethal by Maya's slag.
He twists again, aiming himself in Maya's direction, and slams the heels of his palms down onto the triggers for his jet boots. He skids along the ground on his back, firing at the guards as he goes.
He stops just short of her and gets to his feet. ]
I think we've stuck around long enough, sweetheart.
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She gives Peter something of a Look, which is all the warning he gets before she's in his face, jabbing a finger into his chest ]
Don't you ever do that to me again.
Now let's go.
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Okay, she can't think of any right now, but she's sure they have.
As they run, she puts her rifle back into her digistruct device- running with that thing in one hand is just asking for it- and out comes her little Jakobs pistol.
She's keeping her eyes out for doors, vents, anything. Oddly, she swears she can smell laundry detergent, and if that's the case, then the laundry is as good as anywhere to hide.
But the laundry is below them, apparently, because there's another door- by the look of it, another laboratory-like room- and just out side of it, a square, metal door set about waist-high in the wall. ]
Peter! Laundry chute!
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But it's their only option, and he knows it, and he holsters one of his blasters and yanks the door open for her. ]
Go! I'll be right behind you.
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[ And in she goes, feet first.
Thankfully it's not a sheer drop, but the angle is still rather steep, and her tennis shoes don't have enough grip to slow her descent. As it is she goes careening into the darkness, and when she finally sees the light at the end of the tunnel, she braces for impact.
She lands in a bin of laundry, hard enough to send it toppling over (fucking action movies and their disregard for things like physics). For a moment she's trapped in a tangle in white linen, and she has to fight her way free. Once freed, she shoves everything back in the bin, and slides it back under the exit point of the chute as quickly as she can. ]
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Eventually sheer necessity forces his hand when he hears voices and the stamping of feet drawing closer. It's with an aggravated groan that he forces himself to jump down the chute, and he's damn lucky the door shuts behind him of its own accord, because he thinks he just heard someone rounding the corner--
But that doesn't matter because he's sliding down the chute and even with the lights in his mask it's really fucking dark and suddenly he's thirteen again and getting stuck in a ventilation shaft after the engineering crew on the Eclector sent him in there to help with repairs, and those bastards had left them in there as a joke and fuck if he gets stuck in here he's going to flip his shit--
It's only seconds he's in the damn thing, probably, but it feels like ages, and by the time he hits the laundry bin and tumbles to the ground, his breath is coming in short gasps and fuck this job, fuck everything about it. He slams his knuckles against the trigger to disengage his helmet and wrestles his way out of the sheets and he's not panicking you're panicking. ]
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You're okay. Breathe. Just breathe.
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It takes a few moments before he just kind of sags with a mumbled apology, and a quick, "I'm fine," before looking around. ]
Okay. So. Evil laundry room.
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Looks like it.
Logically, there's got to be a way from here into the housing complex, right?
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What do you think, hide our gear and sneak out? [ His eyes flick over to her tattoos, and he amends, ] We'll need to swipe a coat.
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Well, almost good.
[ She surges forward and kisses him- and honestly, it's a little desperate. She thought she was going to lose him, and then they were being chased and he had his mask on anyway, and dammit, she just needed to do this, okay? ]
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Screw it. Maya is here and they're not dead and, yeah, he needed that too. When he pulls back, he brushes her hair from her face. ]
Thanks for the save.
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Hate to be That Guy, but we're still on the clock and still liable to get riddled full of bullet holes, so we'd better get going.
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[ There's shelves and shelves of sheets and pillowcases and bins everywhere. One set of double doors leads to what Maya presumes is where they do all the washing, but there's another door on the opposite end of the room. She grabs Peter's hand and leads him in that direction. ]
... If anything good has come out of this, though, it was kind of fun pretending to be married for a little bit.
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You think so?
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Yeah? It was just... I dunno. Not something I really thought about before?
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And then his eyes kind of widen when he realizes what he said. ]
-- Shit, sorry. I just-- I mean, it's fine for most people, just, you know, I think I-- am going to shut up now so we can focus on escaping.
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She puts her gun back into her digistruct device and pulls out her sweater, slipping it back on ]
Shall we?
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Wisely, he keeps his big trap shut as he stows away the rest of his gear (and for a moment he thinks, "but what if I just hide one blaster--" before he realizes that's stupid, and he can just call them back out at a moment's notice anyway).
He slips his hand into hers before managing to wrestle his expression from tight-lipped and panicked and I'm on the verge of saying a lot of stupid things to something far more serene. ]
I think I'm ready to go home, now, sweetie.
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She pats him on the shoulder, a sweet smile on her face. ]
Me too, dear.
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He thinks for a moment, trying to remember the blueprints they had only had a few hours to look over before the two of them were thrown into the fray-- and if he remembers right, the courtyard should be-- that way. He heads off down the path, walking at a steady pace (even if he seriously wants to run full pelt to the exit). By the time they reach the courtyard, the presentations had long been over (he thinks, Oh, gosh darn it). The stage is still intact, and there are still people hanging around the area, and he thinks he spots Tukkir speaking to his adoring fans.
Peter keeps his head ducked down towards Maya, as though they were in the middle of an intimate conversation, though he keeps his eyes peeled for anyone paying them too much attention. ]
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