strangetrip | "No One Told Me Why I'm In Berlin"

Entry tags:

"No One Told Me Why I'm In Berlin" - Tag Peter and Alec

When Liz found out that the new world was actually Earth and Europe, she couldn't quite hold back her excitement. The fact that the year was, according to the people at the desk, 2018 meant she was going to be closer to Peter's time than her own. She would finally be able to experience what his world was like, even just a little bit, and learn more about the internet and scientific advancement and maybe watch a few of Peter's favourite films they couldn't get at the inn.

"I still don't know why I'm here." Alec sat across from the two teenagers on the train heading to Berlin looking appropriately put-out despite not actually feeling that way. The truth was, he had never been to Europe and he had seen that semi-embarrassing video that Peter had of his trip to Germany and maybe, just maybe, he wanted to see it. Though he told himself he was actually just chaperoning because the world could be dangerous and both Liz and Peter were naive and believed the best in people, even when they shouldn't.

Liz was dialing another phone number on the smartphone she had been given. Thankfully she had enough practice with Peter's to be able to use the one she had and not look entirely inept. So far there had been no answer with Maria's house and the number for the Crashdown was out of service. Her home got a busy signal. She also knew it was a possibility everyone had moved or something. Then suddenly her face lit up - the Roswell police department was on the other end.

"Hi, um. Yes. I was wondering if I could speak to Sheriff Valenti please?" A pause. "Sheriff Valenti. Valenti." Another pause as her excitement lessened. "Okay, well, um. Can you at least tell me if there was a record of a Sheriff Valenti on the force?... How can you not know that." She caught herself as the words came out more tense and annoyed. Liz took a breath. "Yes, I'll hold." And hold she did. The more she waited, the more her expression dampened. Finally, there was a voice again. "Oh.. okay. Yes. Thank you. Goodbye."

She hung up. "They, um. They have no record of him working there. So I guess.. this isn't my world."

Alec shrugged, still looking out the window. "This isn't mine either. We can be twinsies, if you want."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Liz looked up at the vent, then looked back to Peter and nodded. "Yeah, I think so." Outside there was the sound of a door crashing opening and police shouting in German. They weren't going to have a lot of time.

Peter bends down, and folds his hands together so Liz can use them as a foothold.

"Just let me know when you got it."

Even though she knew Peter was strong, it didn't stop her from worrying about him getting tired or hurting himself. Still, she focused on the task at hand, managing to pry the metal grated down. She didn't let it drop, but rather placed it on a nearby shelf.

The shouting was getting closer. "Okay, it's off." She whispered this time because she thought they might be heard.

"I'm gonna push you up, okay? You go in first."

Peter rises to his feet in an attempt to make it easier for Liz to crawl into the vent.

Liz was not a star athlete by any means which meant that she had to work hard to climb. Peter's extra push was helpful and she managed to pull herself up, though not overly graceful. She disappeared into the vent.

Outside, someone tried the door handle.

Peter scrambles up the wall and past the vent. He'd been dreading this even when he pushed Liz inside, but the second someone was turning the door knob, he knew he had no time to hesitate. He just went in.

But now that he was in, it felt like everything was closing in around him, the same way it was when the Vulture collapsed the warehouse and pinned him in. He knows that this is different, that he's safe, that the vents aren't going to cave in, but as his back skims the top of the air duct, that same claustrophobic feeling overwhelms him and he just

stops.

Just as Peter climbed in, the door was kind ked open. There was some talking in German and then it sounded like they were gone.

Liz, too, had stopped moving, so she didn't realize Peter was frozen until the police disappeared and she started to slowly crawl. It took her a moment to realize she didn't hear movement behind her and she struggled to look back - it was a tight space.

"Peter?" Her voice was quiet because she didn't want to be heard by anyone else but him.

It feels as if the air duct is closing in on him.

He knows logically that it isn't, but logic isn't helping at the moment. All he can think about is how warm it is and how tight everything is and how his breath is quickening and --

Peter begins to back out of the air duct.

Before he even started to back out, Liz felt like something was wrong. She had no idea what that something was, but when he started to climb out, she felt her chest tighten.

When she felt him leave, she crawled backwards and out of the vent too. Or at least that was her intent. As she lowered herself down, she realized the floor was a lot further down, but she'd attempt the jump anyways.

As soon as he's safely back in the closet, he drops down to the floor and presses his back against the wall. He looks up at the ceiling and takes one slow breath after another. He's not in the duct anymore, but somehow he can't shake the feeling he had inside of it.

Liz's dismount is not nearly as graceful and she stumbled as she landed, but didn't fall flat on her back. Her eyes briefly we t to the slight open door. People were clearly still walking around and flashlights were moving around. Then her eyes went to Peter and immediately she was concerned. She moved to him quickly.

"Are you okay?" She kept her voice low as she took in his posture and his expression, her own face riddled with concern.

"Yeah," Peter says quietly, tenting his hands over his mouth and nose. "I'm fine. I just -- I need a minute."

Brow furrowed, Liz stared at him for a moment trying to figure out what was happening. The look reminded her of Maria when she was having an anxiety attack. Her eyes lifted to the vent, then back to Peter. She realized it was probably the space.

Outside there was some talking in German.

Liz paused. "I can... I'll go out there and draw them away. " They didn't have to crawl through the vent, not if it was too hard for him... Even though Liz wondered what the authorities would do with a minor who didn't seem to have any parent or guardian.

"You can find Alec and bail me out, okay?"

Peter's hand snaps to catch Liz's wrist.

"No, don't go. I'm fine. I can do it."

Peter takes a breath and stands up, then weaves his fingers together again for her to use it as a foothold.

Again, he takes another breath.

Liz's heart ached for a moment. She looked back up at the vent. She didn't want to put him through that. She paused, then nodded, though she continued to look worried.

As she climbed back up, Liz had a plan. She had no idea if it was going to work. When she was inside, she crawled further - she had seen a t-junction ahead, and then turned around and came back so that Peter would be facing her. She'd have to crawl backwards, but that didn't matter to her.

Peter takes a breath and crawls up the wall and through the duct. He takes one deep breath and then another, trying to keep his attention focused on what's in front of him instead of what's around him.

One breath, then another.
One breath, and then another.

And as he focuses on what's in front of him, everything around him doesn't feel quite real. Peter knows that he is there, and that everything around him is there, too; he can feel the cool metal against his palms as he crawls forward and he can feel his back brush against the roof of the duct.

But somehow it feels like he's some other place watching some other teen crawl through the air ducts, and not himself.

It's only when he reaches the t-ship intersection and finds Liz there that his mind finally snaps back into its proper place. He manages to let out a breathy "hey" at her. A hey that he hopes sounds more steady than he feels.

The 'hey' isn't very convincing, but Liz smiled to him. She reached out and touched his hand which was hard and awkward to do, but she needed to do anyways.

"Just keep looking at me, okay?" Even if she had to navigate with her feet and they'd go a little slower, Liz wasn't going to let him deal with how he was feeling alone. "And if we need to stop we stop."

Peter nods wordlessly and follows, his head still spinning. But there's something about Liz being there that levels him. It's somehow easier to breathe.

Crawling backwards meant it was slow going and awkward when they came to a turn or something, but they were managing. Of course, Liz realized they didn't really have an idea of where they were going. They had no map, after all. Liz figured even if they could just find a stairwell, that would help.

"You're doing good" she kept her voice at a whisper and she maintained her smile, trying to come off as reassuring.

There was a moment the floor under her changed and she realized she was under a vent. She glanced down and saw someone. It looked like Alec, but it was hard to tell from above.

"...Alec?" And that was about as much as she was able to get out before the vent gave way and she plummeted down into the room.

Peter follows after her slowly, trying once again to focus on Liz and just Liz. And when Liz talks to him, he really does feel a little better.

But then, he watches as she says Alec's name and then the vent gives way from beneath her, and though he scrambles forward, she's fallen and --

"Liz!"

Alec only had a second to react, but he had heard his name. It wasn't as graceful as he'd like the catch to be, but Liz fell soundly in his arms. "She's fine." He deposited Liz on the ground and looked up. "I thought I said get to the roof, not come find me."

Because the room he was in was currently barricaded and there was banging from the other side.

Peter presses his lips together. He can't seem to shake this uneasiness.

"You guys should come up here," he says. "We can keep moving -- find some way out of here."

Alec could hear something was wrong with Peter. "What's wrong with you?"

"He's fine." Liz answered quickly, but Alec took one look at Liz's expression and was not convinced.

There was more banging at the door, like they had brought some sort of device to knock the door down.

Alec lifted Liz back up, who made eye contact with Peter with a worried expression again. She couldn't maneuver back around like she had been before and she wasn't sure if he'd want her to with Alec around. "Recite me your favourite movie monologues, okay? Start with the one from Bladerunner."

Alec grumbled. "Anytime now."

Liz pressed a kiss against Peter's lips and then climbed the rest of the way through - she was glad she was in pants.

"Keep going until you can make a right. I got the rear." Just in case.

"Okay," Peter says uneasily. He crawl along the side of the duct to avoid the gap that Liz crashed through, then situates himself back down onto the floor of the duct.

Peter struggles to think of the lines as he crawls behind Liz, and then suddenly they pop into place.

Hesitatingly, he begins:

"They bought it. Incredible! One of the worst performances of my career and they never doubted it for a second. How could I possibly be expected to handle school on a day like this?"

He takes a breath as he pushes through after her; the duct is starting to feel oppressive again, and he's trying hard to push that back. He tugs at the words again, then keeps at it.

"If I go for ten, I'm probably gonna have to barf up a lung, so I'd better make this one count."

Liz really wanted to stop and turn around somehow and just hug Peter, but she knew the best way to help right now was to find a way out and so she kept her eyes open for some sign of up or stairs.

Alec had... no idea what Peter was doing. It was like he was having some sort of stroke or something. "If this is some sort of foreplay sex thing, can you guys wait until we're out of this building?"

Edited 2018-07-02 03:26 (UTC)

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject