Chapter Text
-Do you trust your soul?
When the Theia had asked him that question, Juno had answered with an immediate yes . Not because of righteousness, or because he trusted human conscience or anything like that, he trusted his soul because it had pointed him towards the most perfect man he had ever met.
If he wanted to be petty, he’d blame the whole Theia business on Nureyev.
He didn’t though, and he tried to think of his soulmate as little as possible, meaning, only every waking second and also when he wasn’t awake.
As he waited with Rita and Jet on the martian desert he couldn’t help but remember the last time he had been alone on these sands. Sure of his demise and with no hope left.
He had been crawling to nothing, blood dripping from his defective eye, and mouth dryer than the sand below him. Jet had asked him if he wanted to die, he had answered something smart, but the truth was that he just wanted to do something for himself for once.
If he could choose he’d have lived to get into a ship and go looking for a thief who was probably galaxies away from him now. He hadn’t thought of dying because the possibility of leaving Nureyev alone just wasn’t there. He had kept crawling because his body told him he needed to get somewhere, or rather, to someone.
Now here he was, finally ready to head into the unknown and praying to the universe that he would see that man again. This time he’d be ready for him.
Peter would never be caught stooping so low as to be considered petty , he was a refined intergalactic thief, all his moves were elegant and calculated, so when he learnt that they’d be picking up Juno on the Ruby7 in the middle of the desert he did not spend an hour thinking up the most devastating pose he could use to drape over the car so Juno could see all that he left behind and regret it to the deepest part of his soul. He didn’t.
But if he happened to be draped on a particularly devastating manner over the car as the dust settled and the lady of his dreams, and nightmares, stared dumbfounded up at him, well, that was merely a lucky coincidence.
Maybe he wasn’t as youthful and beautiful as he had been the last time they saw each other but Peter had spent two hours fixing his makeup, doing his hair and choosing what to wear. The poor detective didn’t stand a chance
Peter had everything planned in his head, down to Rita’s reaction, and failure to avoid using his old alias. What he didn’t plan for was Juno being… Juno. That is, unpredictable and never going along what Peter wanted.
Instead of standing besides Jet and Rita with his eye wide and admiration clear in his expression, he was doubled over, face scrunched up and coughing up a lung. He merely raised an eyebrow at Jet, who shrugged before explaining,-He didn’t want to put on his mask.
Of course he didn’t. That stubborn lady would rather die from asphyxia than do what he’s told. Peter held in a sigh, that wasn’t at all dreamy ( hold yourself together, Peter )
As Juno kept trying to get air into his lungs, Peter dragged his eyes to Rita, who was looking at his excitedly. She knew far too much about everything and, if what he had heard was true then she knew more than he’d like. Peter gave her a wink, then he put a finger to his lips asking her to keep his secrets for now, Rita responded with a smile that promises at least a thousand different questions. Later.
By then the detective is getting better and Peter redirects his attention to him. Still on top of the car, he makes an effort to relax even further over the hood. Summoning all the acting skills he’s amassed over the years he manages to sound calm and composed as he speaks to the lady that has been on his mind since he left him alone on a hotel room all those nights ago.
-Hello, Juno.