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Despite moving his stuff in, Tommy's been absent from the apartment for about a week. Which in truth probably meant good things for Pietro, because there would only be one speedster-appetite for the poor refrigerator to contend with.
However, all good things must come to an end, and the particular end is announced by a key opening a lock, a doorknob turning, and the door shutting behind him. "Honey, I'm hoooome!" announces the /younger/ platinum haired speedster as he arrives; there's no bags brought with him this time, just himself. He's wearing typical Tommy clothes; black leather jacket, green shirt underneath. Blue jeans and a pair of well-worn sneakers. Also, one of his hands is wrapped loosely in bandages from an encounter with a stationary object that he didn't /entirely/ win.
*
Surprise.
Several items fall off the sink in the bathroom, followed by the sound of someone putting them back — very quickly. The bathroom door opens, letting a cloud of steam billow out into the hallway, and Pietro Maximoff zips out into the living room, a towel around his waist.
Of course, all this happens into the blink of an eye, more or less. "Who is — ?" he remarks, spotting Tommy as he enters the apartment, then ducks back to the bedroom to get some clothes. Half a beat later, he flashes through the hallway to collect the towel he had left behind.
When he next re-emerges, he is dressed in pants, socks and a long-sleeved shirt, and leans against the bench in the kitchen. "Tommy, no?" he inquires, eyeing the… younger version of himself? The resemblance is uncanny. "Uh, hope you did not want to use the hot water. There… isn't any left. Sorry. What did you do to your hand?"
*
The thing about being a speedster? It means that events that happen in super-speed are percieved in normal time, much like events that happen in normal time happen in slow motion. So Tommy does spy the older version of himself running around — that /is/ a startling resemblance, to be sure.
While Pietro works on escaping the shower in order to get dressed, Tommy decides it's time for a snack. Moving at top speed to the kitchen, seizing a bag of chips and moving to catch up with his uncle - hopping up on one of the countertops. "Tommy, yes. you're Pietro, right? I've seen the results of your appetite." the younger version replies, grinning cheerfully.
As for his hand? It's waved about a bit — not a lot of pain to /move/ it, it seems. "I had a disagreement with a wall. You should see the wall, though." he retorts, sticking out his tongue. "Honestly, it probably wasn't the /smartest/ thing to do… but damned if I didn't feel better afterwards." Pause. "I showered before I left, it's cool." Granted, that was miles ago, but it was today, at least.
*
Pietro chuckles.
"Now you must be related to me;" says he with a bemused smirk on his face. "That sounds just like something I would say — this must drive Wanda mad…" The silver-haired, slightly older 'version of himself' lets out a chuckle, shaking his head from side to side.
"I like it."
The next few seconds are devoted to fixing himself a snack, as Pietro zips about the kitchen, and then the lounge. To anyone peering into the apartment from outside (hypothetically speaking) it mush surely appear as though events inside are occuring in fast-forward.
Pietro reclines on the sofa, an assortment of twinkies left on the coffee-table as well as a six-pack of beers. He is still smirking. "So tell me — this whole, 'oh, jeez, I have a family in all its weirdness now!' thing. It bother you? Billy said something about you having another family… and now this."
*
"Wanda and Steve both." Tommy agrees; lips curving up into an amused smirk before popping a couple chips into his mouth. Crunching is done at superspeed, as is swallowing; it allows for a better ease of talking. "…and really, they haven't seen the half of it yet. They've got some real surprises coming to them when it comes to me."
Of course, in fairness, this has been him playing nice. Thanks to advice from Lorna — then just known as Cute Girl #75, and also the girlfriend, they're getting off easy so far. Whether or not it stays that way? Unknown.
When Pietro moves from kitchen to lounge, Tommy follows in turn. yes, fast-forward is the way that it goes in this apartment. ….and that's only half of it.
Flopping down on the sofa as well, the teen chomps a few more chips before focusing his attention on the other man. "I don't have another family. I have people who the /state/ says are related to me, but Frank and Mary are /not/ family." …Tommy's pretty adamant about that. Sore subject? Maybe. "You bunch are getting a chance to be family; I'm going into this with some blind faith, which isn't something I like to do… but I tend to trust Billy on things. Plus, he was the one who brought me back to this, well, now."
*
"Man after my own heart," Pietro comments in between mouthfuls of Twinkie, washing them down with beer. "The State is always trying to tell you where to be, what to think… if they could keep up, they might have a clue. I am not being this optimistic, heh."
He pauses for more beer.
"Billy seems like a good kid — and you can trust Wanda, although don't… piss her off too much. Sis can be vicious when she wants to be — turned all the Twinkies into sponges, and the beer to 'sparkling water' after I… well, put a red sock in with her white laundry."
He grins at that.
*
Cue the swiping of one of the cans for himself; finger flicks to pop the top open, and a brow arches at the topic of conversation. Honestly, these are all things that he could see /himself/ saying in another life. Or at least in a few years.
"You can say that again. Who you're related to, what you have to do, what you're not allowed to do." He makes a face at that, shaking his head. "Not that I ever really /listen./ Much more fun to just do what I want, you know?"
Drinking some beer himself now, he considers for a few moments. Listens to the advice given about the family. "Billy is a good kid. He's about as white-bread as it comes… hell, he'd never even tried booze until I kinda… forced the issue a couple weeks ago." Grin. "It was hilarious. I coulda sworn he was gonna start dancing on a table with a lampshade or something — and I'll keep that in mind about Wanda. Not /too/ much."
Pause.
"So what about you? How's it feel to have nephews that are about your same age?"
*
Pietro laughs.
"I'd have paid money to see that," says he — toasting his nephew with a near-empty can of beer. "And then, of course, stolen it back again. Yes, I think Billy is… what Sis might have been, if, you know, other stuff hadn't happened. What can I say? Life has, at least, been interesting — none of the, 'go to work, pay your bills, pay your taxes, go to work, pay your bills…' crap."
The slightly older speedster shudders.
As to the question Tommy has just asked him, he cracks open another can of beer — then motions to the six-pack (now a four-pack) for Tommy to help himself — and shrugs his shoulders.
"I think…" says he as he lounges back on the sofa, one arm draped along the back of it. "It was shock, yes? At first." He holds up two fingers held closely together. "Little bit. I got over that pretty quickly. The age thing… not half as strange as the 'alternate timeline/possible from future' thing? Bah — I leave that stuff to Wanda and her fancy-pants boyfriend."
He looks over at Tommy and cracks a lopsided grin.
"I reckon it'll be fun. The universe is more messed up than our family anyway."
*
"Well. I /am/ looking for money." Tommy replies, tone thoroughly amused for a moment. "But I think I've got a better deal to make. /I/ will get Billy drunk again, and make sure that you're in a position to see it…" Tommy trails for a moment, dramatic pause used to whet the man's appetite for the hilarious sight. "…/if/ I can bring my girlfriend to stay over here for a while. The place she's staying really isn't the greatest… to the point where it's basically not gonna be viable to live there in a day or two, and we haven't exactly gotten the funding together to move in /properly./"
Granted, he /almost/ managed that, he's pretty sure, and he's got a couple options in mind for how else he might be able to achieve it. "Man. Wanda as Billy? That… I can't picture it. She's… kind've a bad-ass, you know?" Of course, maybe it's because it's his sister that he can't see it. Much as the way Tommy can't see how bad-ass Billy is in his own right. When sober. Speaking of sober, Tommy takes another swig from the beer. /He/ can hold alcohol.
"Try being the one living it. I've got Miley Cyrus screaming in one ear and the Beatles being British in the other all the time." he makes a face at this. "Whatever Billy and Wanda did… it stuck me with two /sets/ of memories. Memories of if I'd grown up now and the memories of when I'd been before. It gets really annoying at times. Especially when I remember when there's no such thing as Doritos yet." Frown. "If you /are/ anything like me, you're gonna love when /those/ happen."
Even the thought of them cheers him up. And not looking at the chips as he pops them into his mouth makes it almost so that he can trick his mind into believing that the chips /are/ Doritos. It's still not quite the same, but it's a start. "Steve is.. interesting. When I first met him, I thought he had the world's largest stick up his ass." From the sounds of it, a shared sentiment. "…but he's put up with me so far. Even when I told him Hope was pregnant. /That/ surprised me."
…the part he leaves out? That this was a prank they were pulling on the Sorcerer Supreme. Will it be assumed, or will the wrong assumption be made?
*
In all of that, there is one thing that stands out the most. Sitting here, on the sofa — eating Twinkies and drinking beer — bonding with his lookalike nephew, Pietro homes in on the singular detail that strikes the strongest chord in him:
"Doritos? What the hell are Doritos? It sounds like a pizza-joint. Dorito's. Hmm." The silver-haired man frowns, then burps, then swallows another mouthful of beer.
"I don't know even know what it is and I want one…" He glances sidelong at Tommy and cracks another grin. "Who is Miley Cyrus? Is he like Miles Davis? I do not know this name — but the Beatles, yes. I assume Hope is the girlfriend? I won't ask the stupid question, 'is she pretty?' — you're my nephew, so she must be. And fun. Has to be fun. If she's a red-head you're in trouble. Look at Wanda."
He raises his eyebrows, giving Tommy a sagely nod of his head that says something like: don't say I didn't warn you. "I cannot comment on having two sets of memories — just one set is bad enough. How does your head not…?" and he pantomimes a 'head-explodey' gesture with both hands around his skull (despite holding a Twinkie in one, and a beer in the other).
*
"Doritos are — will be — God's gift to mankind. They're these tortilla chips, with this amazing cheese-y flavor, and…" Tommy's eyes go a bit glassy, living in memories for a moment. "…it shouldn't be long. I think they were a sixties thing. But they're the best and you're going to love them when they happen."
Comparison of Miley Cyrus and Miles Davis? Almost makes Tommy choke on his beer. /Does/ make him snort some out through his nose. "Not unless Miles Davis has a second show where he dresses in fishnets and rides buck naked on a wrecking ball." Let him stew on /that/ particular point for a moment.
"Right — Hope's the girlfriend. Gorgeous, gorgeous girl and a ton of fun." Pause. "Fun and /fast./ She keeps up with me. With me! I couldn't even believe it when I saw it, but the first time we met she actually /ran away from me./ Granted, it was probably 'cause I wasn't expecting it, but… /that doesn't happen./"
It was love (or something like it) at first flee. "…and yes. Redhead. Plenty of trouble. But I love trouble." A smug grin to that; he's usually the source. Usually. "Man… you're telling me. I get so many headaches when something comes up that I can't quite place in one set or the other."
*
Pietro's expression goes from 'distressed confusion' — courtesy of picturing a 'buck naked' Miles Davis swinging on a wrecking ball, an image that won't be vanishing any time soon — to 'wide eyed horror'.
This is largely due to the notion of a girlfriend that can truly, physically 'keep up' with a Maximoff speedster. Pietro lets out a whistle, cranes his head back so he can look up at the ceiling and mutters some expletive in Transian.
"Ooohh, nephew…" says he in a quiet, foreboding tone of voice — with no small dash of 'rueful humour' in it. "You will never get away with anything. Anything. Of all the gorgeous, fun girlfriends in all the world…"
He trails off, starting to chuckle. When he turns his head (still leaning back on the sofa) toward Tommy, he holds out a closed fist for the traditional 'bump'.
"Is happy for you — happy and horrified, but still happy. Is being not entirely a picnic, our family," he continues after a brief pause. "We attract our share of trouble — and then steal the rest of the world's share, also. Still, sounds like you and Billy fit right in. Is Hope… from your 'other time, other place'? Or from… ah… 'now-ish'?"
*
That look on Pietro's face? That draws a grin from Tommy. He knows exactly what's being pictured. Score one for him.
"Oh, I dunno. Hope kinda /thinks/ like me, too. If I'm getting into trouble, odds are that she wants to come along for the ride — like I said about pranking Steve, she went all-in on it with me."
He was so proud about that. It might not have worked out quite as planned, but it /did/ show that she'd go along with him on things like that, and that was good enough for him. Fistbump is returned in kind, and then its time for another swing of beer.
"With her, the only thing I gotta worry about is making sure I don't sleep around. Because like you said… I wouldn't get away with it. No chance, not with this one. You'd like her, though. Pretty sure of that."
As for their family stealing all the world's trouble? That is rewarded by a laugh, and enthusiastic nodding, "Oh, you're tellin' /me./ I thought it was bad enough /before/ I hooked up with the bunch of you, but… I was talking with that Lorna girl, and /she's/ apparantly had a lot of crazy happen to her too… and you're saying it, and I've /seen/ it from Wanda," Who else shows up in Greenwich Village with a live shark? As for timelines?
"Uh. She's… kinda from further in the future than Billy and I are. Apparently, the world goes to hell. She didn't even know what pizza and movies are."
*
"Well is not that just depressing…" Pietro snorts, shaking his head. "More reason to eat as much pizza and see as many movies as possible now, no?" A grin follows.
There is always a silver lining.
"This reminds me: I was going to see something tonight — you're welcome to come along if you want. No idea what's on; I usually wait until I get there and decide. And… swap around all the screening times on the board, just to mess with people."
The man smirks.
He will never grow up — no matter what his little sister has to say about it. "I've met Lorna… she seemed swell. Bit cranky. I dig the hair, though." He squirms a little uncomfortably; his first meeting with Lorna did not go so well — considering he was a vampire at the time, and she was… delicious. The second meeting wasn't much better.
A great deal of screaming.
And being thrown into walls.
Pietro finishes another beer and puts the can on the coffee table. Glancing back over at Tommy, he smirks. "So. Feel like getting into some trouble? If there's nothing interesting going on in New York tonight, we can always stroll over to some other place, no?"
*
"That's kinda the message I take from it. Make sure she gets to experience as many of the /good/ things of now as I can. Especially since it means I get to indulge, too. Y'know. Not that I need an /excuse,/ but at least I get a point to make when Billy tries to lecture me. Like he will if he ever finds out about the chocolate factory we broke into."
Which has probably happened before. Possibly multiple times. A day.
"Sure, I'm game for that. I should stop by the house back in Jersey to give Hope a heads up on things, but… it's not like that takes long for people like /us./" Not at all. Even taking the scenic route around the ocean.
"Oh, that's /right!/ They still use the numbers on the boards to tell people the showtimes here. In /my/ time they have electronic numbers, so you have to kinda sneak into the ticket booth during a shift change if you wanna mess with the times. The big boards outside clubs are still about the same, though. I used to carry around some spare letters just so I could mess with them."
It's another trait that the two have in common, the whole never growing up thing. Which is impressive despite the not-so-easy lives they grew up /with./ "Yeah. Lorna's not sure about us yet either. She says there's some kinda test that can tell if the bunch of us are related or not, but she wants to talk to her dad about it first. Apparantly /he/ wasn't too fond of Wanda when they first met." Probably the same reaction Tommy would've had in another life.
"Are you kidding me? I'm /always/ feeling like getting into some trouble. You lead, I'll follow. Unless you're not as fast as they say, in which case I'll be sure to let you catch back up." There's a bit of a grin of challenge that puncuates that — he's been curious. The remainder of the can is chugged, and the empty is left on the table.
*
Pietro is up on his feet, properly dressed for a run — and with the food and drink on the coffee table all packed away — in a heartbeat or so. He halts by the door, glancing back at Tommy.
The man is smirking.
"I'm not as fast as I was — long story — but is getting back there. One way to find out. C'mon — with the two of us I feel like raising the stakes, or something; can only swap around all the chips in the casinos so many times before it is being boring, you know? I'd pick on Wanda's boyfriend more if he weren't… all 'supremely sorcerering'. No desire to be the fastest frog in the world. I like to find things I know Wanda disapproves of… but can't do anything about. Is a good policy to live by, if you ask me." He opens the door.
"Shall we go? Loser buys dinner."
Pietro hesitates, putting a hand to his brow. "What is wrong with me? Loser steals dinner, yes? Yes."
*