[Fic] What Pandy Did
Title: What Pandy Did
Pairing: Pete/Carl
Genre: Fluff
Rating: E
Summary: Written for the Tumblr prompt, "The things Pandy was privy to before the pandy killer came along".
Notes: Over on Tumblr/AO3 we're having a ficathon to write some stories to keep us going during quarantine lockdown! Feel free to join in by sending prompts or writing some fic! You can read what we've written so far here.
Pandy has been with Peter longer than anyone. Through countless house moves, in numerous countries, Pandy has been as loyal to Peter as Peter has to him. Even as Peter got older, never one to give a toss about convention, he was happy and even proud to keep Pandy around. Going away to university was a big upheaval, but of course Peter wanted Pandy there - a comforting presence, a reminder of home and family and love, when he was otherwise quite alone.
But he wasn’t alone for long. Even before they moved out of home, Pandy had heard Carl’s name before, from Amy Jo as she told Peter tales about him, said how well they’d get on, if they met. And they do meet, and soon enough Pandy is being packed into a suitcase once more, and when Peter brings him out again, it’s a bit different to any of the places Pandy has ever lived with Peter before.
It’s bare, and stark, and cold, and Pandy worries that it might be a shock to Peter’s system, after the comfortable life he’s led up to this point, but Peter doesn’t seem to mind at all. It’s an adventure, it’s an experience, it’s new and he’s making his own way - and he’s doing it all with Carl, so it’s all worth it.
Carl had been a little surprised when he first met Pandy, but he seemed rather impressed at the strength of Peter’s dedication to him, that Peter would bring him along with him like they’d come straight from Brideshead Revisited. Carl does get a bit embarrassed at first when Peter takes Pandy out to the park with them, but he soon gets used to it. Pandy thinks Carl rather likes the quizzical looks they get when Peter carries Pandy out with them - it gives him a chance to look at people defiantly, like he wants to say “What you gonna do about my pal and his stuffed panda, eh?” to anyone who stares too hard. Pandy rather likes that. He likes to feel protected, and he likes knowing Carl wants to protect Peter, too.
Pandy can definitely see why Peter likes Carl. He’s handsome, he’s funny, he’s clever, he’s charming - and he brings out in Peter something Pandy has never seen before. Pandy has seen Peter with all sorts of people, girls and boys, bad and good - but he’s never seen Peter quite like this. But it's not that Peter seems like he's changed, or like he's putting on an act around Carl - more like, Peter seems more free than ever to just be himself, to take up all the spaces in the world that he's ever wanted to, with someone who lets him, someone who understands him completely.
In all their years together, Pandy has certainly never seen Peter look at anyone the way he looks at Carl. Nor has he seen anyone look at Peter the way Carl does. Pandy knows what Peter is like, and he's often wondered if he'd ever find someone who accepted him exactly as he is, who fitted so perfectly around him like pieces of a jigsaw. So it makes him feel kind of like a proud sibling, the way he can see that Carl admires Peter and wants to create something special with him, but even more than that, he can see how Carl knows him like no one else ever has.
Pandy has suspicions, after a while, that it's not just a deep friendship, not just a meeting of minds or a budding creative partnership. The way Peter giggles when he's with Carl, he's never heard him giggle like that before. The way they sit so close when Carl wants to teach Peter something new on the guitar. The way they stay up so late, just talking, when the electricity is out and they've no money for the meter, so they just sit in flickering candle light, until the candles burn down to nothing, but even when it's dark they still don't want sleep to take them away from each other.
And one night, in the dark, Pandy hears a sound nearby, one he's heard before, the unmistakable sound of a kiss. And then another, and another, and they don't stop for a long while. There's other sounds too, of clothes being taken off and cast around, and bodies shifting and hands touching and skin on skin, and he hears Carl murmur something that makes Peter laugh.
"OK," Peter responds. "If it makes you feel weird, I'll move him, alright?"
And then Pandy finds himself very briefly airborne, before landing on a pile of clothes at the foot of the mattress where he usually lives. It's a bit undignified, for sure, but Pandy is relieved. He's been close to Peter through a lot in his life, but he really doesn't need to be so close for this.
Pairing: Pete/Carl
Genre: Fluff
Rating: E
Summary: Written for the Tumblr prompt, "The things Pandy was privy to before the pandy killer came along".
Notes: Over on Tumblr/AO3 we're having a ficathon to write some stories to keep us going during quarantine lockdown! Feel free to join in by sending prompts or writing some fic! You can read what we've written so far here.
Pandy has been with Peter longer than anyone. Through countless house moves, in numerous countries, Pandy has been as loyal to Peter as Peter has to him. Even as Peter got older, never one to give a toss about convention, he was happy and even proud to keep Pandy around. Going away to university was a big upheaval, but of course Peter wanted Pandy there - a comforting presence, a reminder of home and family and love, when he was otherwise quite alone.
But he wasn’t alone for long. Even before they moved out of home, Pandy had heard Carl’s name before, from Amy Jo as she told Peter tales about him, said how well they’d get on, if they met. And they do meet, and soon enough Pandy is being packed into a suitcase once more, and when Peter brings him out again, it’s a bit different to any of the places Pandy has ever lived with Peter before.
It’s bare, and stark, and cold, and Pandy worries that it might be a shock to Peter’s system, after the comfortable life he’s led up to this point, but Peter doesn’t seem to mind at all. It’s an adventure, it’s an experience, it’s new and he’s making his own way - and he’s doing it all with Carl, so it’s all worth it.
Carl had been a little surprised when he first met Pandy, but he seemed rather impressed at the strength of Peter’s dedication to him, that Peter would bring him along with him like they’d come straight from Brideshead Revisited. Carl does get a bit embarrassed at first when Peter takes Pandy out to the park with them, but he soon gets used to it. Pandy thinks Carl rather likes the quizzical looks they get when Peter carries Pandy out with them - it gives him a chance to look at people defiantly, like he wants to say “What you gonna do about my pal and his stuffed panda, eh?” to anyone who stares too hard. Pandy rather likes that. He likes to feel protected, and he likes knowing Carl wants to protect Peter, too.
Pandy can definitely see why Peter likes Carl. He’s handsome, he’s funny, he’s clever, he’s charming - and he brings out in Peter something Pandy has never seen before. Pandy has seen Peter with all sorts of people, girls and boys, bad and good - but he’s never seen Peter quite like this. But it's not that Peter seems like he's changed, or like he's putting on an act around Carl - more like, Peter seems more free than ever to just be himself, to take up all the spaces in the world that he's ever wanted to, with someone who lets him, someone who understands him completely.
In all their years together, Pandy has certainly never seen Peter look at anyone the way he looks at Carl. Nor has he seen anyone look at Peter the way Carl does. Pandy knows what Peter is like, and he's often wondered if he'd ever find someone who accepted him exactly as he is, who fitted so perfectly around him like pieces of a jigsaw. So it makes him feel kind of like a proud sibling, the way he can see that Carl admires Peter and wants to create something special with him, but even more than that, he can see how Carl knows him like no one else ever has.
Pandy has suspicions, after a while, that it's not just a deep friendship, not just a meeting of minds or a budding creative partnership. The way Peter giggles when he's with Carl, he's never heard him giggle like that before. The way they sit so close when Carl wants to teach Peter something new on the guitar. The way they stay up so late, just talking, when the electricity is out and they've no money for the meter, so they just sit in flickering candle light, until the candles burn down to nothing, but even when it's dark they still don't want sleep to take them away from each other.
And one night, in the dark, Pandy hears a sound nearby, one he's heard before, the unmistakable sound of a kiss. And then another, and another, and they don't stop for a long while. There's other sounds too, of clothes being taken off and cast around, and bodies shifting and hands touching and skin on skin, and he hears Carl murmur something that makes Peter laugh.
"OK," Peter responds. "If it makes you feel weird, I'll move him, alright?"
And then Pandy finds himself very briefly airborne, before landing on a pile of clothes at the foot of the mattress where he usually lives. It's a bit undignified, for sure, but Pandy is relieved. He's been close to Peter through a lot in his life, but he really doesn't need to be so close for this.