Chapter Text
Everything seemed to be happening so quickly, where moments ago, Peter had the television tuned to the Merv Griffin show peacefully, and now he was watching over a passed out stranger in his home. He didn't know who it was, how it was, nor what it was. Peter wasn't the biggest believer of all things supernatural, but what else could possibly explain the figure unconscious on his couch? It'd crashed into the backyard in something wrecked beyond comprehension, all of the pieces scrambled around, busted. He held his freshly brewed cup of coffee close; he was going to need the caffeine tonight.
Peter sat in the reclining chair, just a few feet away from the couch, sipping his hot drink slowly from the mug in his hands, thinking thoughtfully. Should he call 911? Would they think he went absolutely crazy? Probably. He rubbed a hand over his face, sighing through his nose heavily. That's when he made the decision to get up and carefully walk over, really getting a look at him, now that he was indoors with better lighting. The man's skin sparkled in silvers and blues, lips black, and strange markings, almost like paint or makeup, surrounded his eyes. It had long, dark hair and ears that pointed outward.
"I need a goddamn cigarette," Peter mumbled, shaking his head, walking out of the front door to have a smoke outside.
The night was strangely warm at this hour, no one else was awake or seemed to have been stirred by the loud crash in Peter's backyard, earlier. A relief, really; he didn't want any of the attention on him. Especially not with a possible alien in his living room. It was the only reasonable explanation for the strange skin coloring, the broken up pieces of material, and the sudden change in air temperature. Now he really did sound crazy. He put his cigarette out, leaving the remnants in a glass ashtray and walking himself back inside. By now the alien, as he'd self determined, was stirring awake, letting out pained noises, hands moving to clutch as his head and his left side.
"Well, damn, you're awake." Peter mumbled, frozen in place. He wasn't sure if he should make any attempt to get closer to this thing or not.
It blinked a few times, trying to figure out where exactly it was now and where that foreign voice was coming from. It sat up slowly, letting out a pitiful whine and it clutched its side. Peter noticed his gorgeous eyes, almost like staring into a miniature galaxy behind them.
"Uhm.. hi?"
He looked up lazily at Peter, and now he could take in this strange silver and black outfit the.. spaceman.. was wearing. But what struck him the most was that it seemed more afraid of Peter than Peter was of it. Peter made careful and cautious steps towards the alien, who seemed to be shaking now in fear.
"Easy there, I'm not gonna hurt ya." He put his hands up slowly, finally standing right in front of him, curiously looking at his reactions, making an effort to not alarm him any further. He slowly lowered down to the floor, easing his body between the alien's legs; it looked intimate enough. His eyes flicked over to where its hands were.
"Can I see?"
It looked at him hesitantly, seemingly understanding Peter, but it just couldn't respond, for what reason, Peter was unsure of. He slowly pulled his hands away, revealing the bit of his outfit that had ripped just enough to show the scrapes he'd received, yet instead of red blood, it was a strange, blue hue. All things considered, the injury was not that bad, but the alien most likely had a low pain tolerance.
"Come with me."
He stood up, extending his hand out for the alien to grab. It gently placed its hand with long, black nails into his, getting up with Peter's support and leaning against his side. He was much taller than Peter, even now when he was slightly slumped over, maybe six feet tall or more. Peter helped guide it to the bathroom, rustling through a drawer for some bandaids.
"This might seem weird, but I'm going to need you to remove your top, do you understand that?"
The alien didn't respond, tilting his head to the side slightly. Peter sighed, pulling on the black fabric.
"Off."
He definitely understood that now, unzipping it from the back and starting to pull off the whole thing. Peter felt his face get hot, especially seeing that this alien was completely naked in front of him. From what he got a glimpse of, he was definitely confused on the gender of this thing now, and it was strangely attractive looking.
"Oh jeez.." he looked away, cheeks still burning, grabbing a washcloth to clean up the injury, then placing bandaids over the areas quickly.
"Okay uh.. I'll go get you some clothes, and we can fix your.. space suit.. another day." Peter told him, leaving the bathroom momentarily to grab something loose and easy, like shorts and a shirt.
When he returned, he found the alien fascinated with the mirror, touching the glass, wide eyed. It was almost like it was trying to comprehend the material, how it seemed to just reflect his every move flawlessly.
"I uh, hope these fit ya."
He turned his head to look at Peter, taking the clothes and putting them on just fine on his own; it was very similar to putting on his normal clothes! He was delighted by the fabric, how soft and gentle it was on his skin, and it smelled like the human, making his head spin. The alien was so happy with them, he never wanted to take these new clothes off.
It didn't take long for him to get settled in, Peter making him a little bed on his couch, feeding him new foods that he was so excited about. Apparently, it really loved pasta and coffee, since that's what Peter could provide at such a late hour. New flavors and scents were filling the alien's senses, and he was excited. By now he was just looking and touching everything to learn about it from Peter, like drums, books, his coat, and now, playing cards.
"You play games with them. Like.. poker, rummy, blackjack.."
The alien let out a pleased noise, cooing at the cards and looking through them. He didn't understand a single thing about them, but he loved how they looked, showing each one to Peter for more information about them.
"That's an ace. Ace of hearts."
Oh how he loved this new playing card object! And its silly name too.
"Ya know.. you need a name. I can't just keep callin' you alien. What about Ace? Like your card there."
He was absolutely starstruck, gasping and staring down at the card and then Peter, letting out the most excited, squeaky noise he could, eyes glowing, quite literally, from the pure joy. Ace loved his new name, oh he loved it so, so much! He was definitely going to enjoy spending his time here on Earth with Peter.