❦ you strangle people with a piercing stare

[stressbaking]

It was another unexciting night in Ned's newly unexciting life. He swept up the Pie Hole and waved to Olive as she retreated upstairs, a lame smile tugging at his lips. Everyone was gone and he couldn't be more grateful. Every smile takes another piece from him; each pleasant word, each attempt at pretending it was all okay. Okay is the furthest

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[askedtobe]

Claire had jumped, and everything had gone to hell. Sylar might have called it a Brave New World, but there were mutant registrations and questionnaire's and experiments and everything was going wrong. He wasn't going to let himself be tracked like some animal, not when he was still trying to deal with the aftermath of being sequestered in Sylar's mind for years. Not when he still hadn't properly grieved for Nathan

[stressbaking]

"No," he called out before he caught up with himself, blinking heavily. "It's alright. Have a seat." Ned took a breath, gesturing to the booths lining the walls. For his little city, the Pie Hole was comfort and home and warm, and if he tried to take that away from a lonely passerby he really had lost his heart. Chuck would be ashamed of him

[askedtobe]

Peter's more invested than watching the other man than he is in actually saying anything. Maybe because he feels a bit like he's lost his voice over the past years-- months? Days. Peter didn't know, he kept feeling like time was slipping through his fingers before he could grab hold. His life had stretched out and then snapped back in the blink of an eye and it still all felt wrong. And in the middle of it all, he'd lost himself and didn't know how to put the pieces back together

[stressbaking]

Ned forced a smile, though it wasn't unpleasant, clasping his hands behind his back. He imagined for just a second that he was holding Chuck's hand

[askedtobe]

Peter had only managed a marginal amount of sleep, not that he was surprised. With or without caffeine, sleep was a nightly battle, and one that he never looked forward to. Especially not when he was looking forward to the next day, which was even more of a rarity. And instead of fighting sleep because of dreams, he fought it because of how badly he wanted it so that the next day could hurry up and arrive

[stressbaking]

Ned had spent the whole morning daydreaming. It was a far cry from the usual guilt trodden way in which he went about his morning routine, and Olive had immediately taken notice of his bizarre good mood, circling him like a great white at feeding time. Carefully side-stepping all her questions, he practically danced around the small kitchen all morning, baking more pies than he ever really needed to. His giddiness made his heart skip a beat every time the doors chimed, looking for Peter's familiar form in every customer that walked in

[askedtobe]

Peter had to blink a couple times after she'd been sent away by Ned, feeling a bit like he'd been set upon by a tiny hurricane. He'd had his share of dealing with small blonde woman, but none of them quite like that before. Even Elle hadn't been as much of a force to be reckoned with. But even so, the enthusiastic greeting was quickly glossed over and forgotten about as Ned stepped forward, and Peter couldn't help but smile back

[stressbaking]

The words warmed Ned more than he cared to admit, feeling for once like he was an important part of someone's day. It really did make poor Olive only that much easier to ignore. Tugging on his cardigan idly, Ned was uncharacteristically happy to abandon the pie shop in search of adventure. Structured adventure of which he had detailed out the itinerary in his head, but adventure all the same

[stressbaking]

The next morning, Ned found himself in an irritatingly good mood. Even Olive noticed and had taken to glowering at him from behind the bar. He paid her no mind, however, setting out all the pies for the day's consumption as he none-too-successfully discreetly watched the door.

What would the day bring that yesterday had not. He could scarcely contain his excitement, which was a strange reaction indeed to returning to Coeur d'Coeurs, a task usually filled with dread and called to mind unpleasant images of his past.

Somehow, with Peter added to the mixture, it seemed not only doable but something he wanted to do, and not just for the other. Peter made him remember things the way they should be remembered, with the good things on top, and the bad layered under like a delicious crust. Sometimes, just as with pie, getting to the bottom layer could cause unpleasant consequences.

And still, he was willing to try, for as long as Peter decided to stick around.

[askedtobe]

Peter had a similar morning to the one he'd had the day before, accompanied with another night of a rather substantial lack of sleep. Though, he might've gotten to snag a few hours, he spent most of the time rolling about and thinking, which was no different than usual. Thinking about where he was supposed to go next, what he was supposed to do. If staying here was even an option he could allow himself to consider for more than a few wistful moments, or if it could be allow it to be an actual reality

[stressbaking]

He had to stop himself from rushing to Peter's side, like a foolishly overexcited child. Flashing Olive a smile, who then rolls her eyes and disappears, he does make his way over -- albeit slower than his heart would've preferred.

"Are you ready for another Papen County adventure?" he asked warmly, noting again how tired Peter looked though he would never say anything aloud. He knew all too well what nightmares could lurk in the dark, and keep a person from a night's rest.

[askedtobe]

Watching as Ned made his way over, Peter chewed on his lower lip to try to subdue a smile. But it didn't even come close to working and after a second he just gave up, offering the other man a lopsided grin. At least so far he hadn't been barraged with questions from Olive today, which really only meant good things were yet to come. Though, that was really only one of the few reasons he couldn't complain.

"Yeah, of course." He gave a quick nod, taking a step back towards the door, clearing his throat as he tried to pull back on his own excitement. "How about you, ready to go?"