Chapter Text
"Come on Lie, stop being such a cocky inflexible dog and just go with it." Luna said with an eye roll as she stirred around in her salad. Of course Lie wasn't listening since he was too busy sitting in his corner and pouting about being assigned a... partner. It wasn't for support either, no, it was because they thought that he needed back up. Him. Lin Lie. Back up. He had literal shards of an immortal sword embedded in his fists, he was more than capable of doing this mission on his own. But no, strange had other plans.
He huffed as he thought back to his words. "Peter's a good kid. I'm sure you'll like him. He's just your age and more than capable of keeping up with your fast pace." Yeah sure. He was gonna see if that Peter kid really was capable of keeping up with him.
Luna tilted her head, resting against the palm of her head. "Since when has your ego gotten so big? I can't remember you being so unwilling to work together back when we were at the agents of atlas." Lie listlessly poked around in his food. "That was different. I guess... I was used to you guys being my team. This is different... this organisation is just so large. I don't want to work with possible nuisances. I'd rather stay on my own."
Luna scoffed. "And have you ever thought that maybe this poor guy doesn't want to work with someone so self centred and demeaning too?" Lie couldn't help but feel offended at that. "What's your deal?" "My deal is that ever since the agents of atlas were disbanded, you've somehow developed into an egotistical douche bag who trusts no one but himself. You think of everyone below you, but maybe, just maybe, everyone has a reason for being here and you're not the only capable hero the universe has to offer." With that she got up, leaving a more than confused, but somewhat lost in thought Lie behind.
He rarely saw Luna so angry. But... she had a point. When did he turn so bitter? Back then he could remember feeling happy to be assigned a partner. "Shared pain is less pain" he can remember is what he used to say. Perhaps it's connected with his past few years as the only iron fist of K'un Lun. All those years of being the lone protecter, being able to only rely on himself while facing the criticism of never being able to hold up to Danny Rands name. Perhaps it made him a bit bitter. And perhaps it made him want to prove himself everywhere he went.
He got up with a sigh, ruffling his hair before he cleaned up the leftovers. Luna gave him a much needed reality check. He shouldn't be so negative and brooding, his partner was perfectly capable himself and probably was assigned with him on this mission for a reason. What was his name again? Peter. Since Luna was still mad at him, maybe Susanne could help him with who this guy really was. Perhaps he just needed to get the know the guy to get rid of this uncomfortable feeling.
Sue storm was busy on cooking duty, something Lie immediately could tell as he had tasted the food. Susanne just prepared the best food. As he peeked inside, placing a soft knock on the door, the woman turned around with a smile, her blonde her tucked into a hair net. "Hey there Lie, is there something I can help with?" "Uh- yeah actually. Do you know a guy named Peter? Around my age... probably?" He said, going off from the information Strange had told him. "Peter? Yeah I know him pretty well. Is there something you need from him?"
Lie felt relieved that he didn't have to go through all of his contacts to get a hold of this guy. "Yeah... I mean, I'm his partner for his next mission and we've never met before. Thought we should maybe at least talk before you know? So it doesn't get too awkward." He said with a nonchalant shrug.
"If that's the case then I would check by the laboratory. Peter likes hanging around there and testing out new stuff. If he's not there then he's either by the training area or in the cafeteria. Oh- he's brunette and wears a blue-red spandex suit. Don't tell him I said spandex though, or he might get a little dramatic..."
Lie chuckled at that. "Alright, thanks for the tip. See you around Sue." Lie felt appreciative of now having at least a physical appearance to go by. And to his surprise he really didn't need to look too long as the suspect was easily spotted in a white lab coat, underneath the red-blue spider suit, while tinkering around with something, just as Sue had told him.
Now that he was actually here, Lie felt out of place. But since he already went through so much trouble, might as well at least greet him. "Hey, Peter right?"
The figure that was previously so engrossed in his work finally looked up from the counter. His head whipped around, messy chocolate coloured hair bouncing until he finally caught sight of Lie. "Yup, that's me!" He spoke awfully cheerful. "And you are? Sorry, I can't remember having seen you around." He said sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck.
"It's fine, we haven't met yet. I'm Lie, I'm sure you already heard from me about next mission?" Peters eyes light up with a sense of familiarity. "Ah yes. Strange told me about you! What brings you here? Need something fixed?"
Lie shook his head. "No not really, I just wanted to drop by and say hi. Get to know you before we risk our lives together, you know?" He chuckled.
While Lie was acting cool and nonchalant during this whole conversation, he had to admit to himself that Peter was more than just handsome. Tanned skin, a few freckles adoring his face and an awfully lean build for his sweet face. However Lie was still more muscular, of course.
"Ah, I see. Well, if you ever have anything that needs fixing, I'm your guy. Computers, Laptops or even your tv remote." He shrugged. "I've grown to like fixing peoples things." "Is that so? What an odd hobby to have. Is that what you're doing right now?" He asked as he looked at what Peter was working on. He chuckled at that.
"Odd you say huh? But no, this time I'm working on something for myself." He said as he placed the device on his wrist. With a swift motion that seemed more like muscle memory than anything else, white web shoot out of it, covering the wall in front of him. "I'm trying to control the dosis better... so that I can control how far it spreads out. Makes it less sticky though."
He shrugged as he placed the web-shooter back at the table. Lie seemed impressed. "Wow, I've heard about spider-man before, but it's the first time I'm actually seeing someone shoot out a web like it's second nature." Peter grinned at that. "What, your world don't got a spider-man?" Lie made a vague hand gesture at that.
"It's complicated. K'un Lun is pretty isolated from the rest of the world. It's one of the seven capital cities of heaven, so it's not exactly on the globus. That's why I've only heard about most heros so far." Peter seemed interested in Lies story. "Wow, so you're an actual country bumpkin?" He teased, making Lie glare at him. He raised his arms in defence. "Just joking around."
“So,” Lie said, leaning against the workbench while Peter tinkered with one of his web-shooters. “Is this all you do in your free time? Tinker with stuff?”
Peter snorted. “Would it make me seem cooler if I said no?”
Lie raised an eyebrow. “That depends. What do you do for fun?”
Peter tilted his head, considering. “Well, I like to swing around the city, make bad jokes, save people from imminent doom… oh, and I occasionally eat an entire pizza by myself in my room. That last one’s a real highlight.”
Lie smirked. “Sounds lovely.”
Peter shrugged, not looking up from his work. “Eh, I make do. What about you? What does the great Iron Fist do when he’s not punching things?”
Lie hesitated. It had been a long time since anyone had really asked. “I train. Meditate. Sometimes I read.”
Peter blinked. “Wait, wait, wait. You read? Like, actual books?”
Lie frowned. “Yes? Why is that so shocking?”
Peter grinned. “I just… I don’t know. You give off serious ‘too cool for books’ energy. What do you even read? Ancient scrolls? ‘The Art of War’?”
Lie scoffed. “I read normal books.”
“Uh-huh,” Peter said, unconvinced. “Name one.” Lie actually had to think for a while. Now that he thought about it, there weren’t too many books he can remember reading purely for enjoyment. “I liked ’The Hobbit’. Luna recommended it to me. ”
Peter gasped dramatically. “No way. Lie, do you secretly have nerd tendencies? Are you hiding a stack of fantasy novels under your bed?”
Lie rolled his eyes. “You’re unbearable.”
Peter waggled his eyebrows. “And yet, you’re still here.”
Lie hated that he didn’t have a comeback for that.
Surprisingly, Peter was easy to talk to. That was a problem. Because now Lie found himself visiting Peter more often than not. And he knew he was running out of good excuses to do so other than actually enjoying Peters company.
Except… well his Laptop could be working faster now that he thought about it. It wasn’t like he totally made that up so Peter would come over to his room to fix it. He only… half made it up.
“So, wait, hold on,” Peter said, shifting on the bed so he was fully facing Lie. “You mean to tell me that in all your time in K’un-Lun, you never watched a single movie?” Peter asked as he screwed his Laptop open, scrunching his nose in pain as he saw how Lie didn’t clean the poor thing once.
Lie frowned. “We had different priorities.”
Peter gasped, hand over his chest in mock horror. “But that’s, like, a crime. What did you even do for fun?”
Lie shrugged. “Meditated. Trained. Read sometimes.”
Peter squinted. “Okay, yeah, I still can’t get over the fact that you read. But then again you probably didn’t have any other shit to do in your medieval timeline.”
Lie rolled his eyes. “I’m not from medieval times, you know?” “You don’t even have cars.” Lie hesitated at that. “No we do not but we have very fast goats.”
Peter couldn’t help but burst out laughing, making Lie frown.
He grinned. “Nothing, nothing. It’s just… I dunno. Kinda cute.”
Lie blinked. “What? The goats?”
No you.
Peter waved him off. “Nothing. Continue.”
Lie narrowed his eyes but didn’t press it.
For a moment, neither of them said anything. The quiet stretched between them, comfortable and not uncomfortable all at once. The only sound in the room was the clicking emitting from Peters work on the Laptop.
Peter turned his head, looking at Lie with something unreadable in his expression. “Y’know, you’re not as serious as you pretend to be.”
Lie scoffed. “I’m not pretending.”
Peter smirked. “Oh, sure. You’re all broody and tough, but I see through you. You’re just a guy who likes ‘The Hobbit’ and secretly wants friends.”
Lie rolled his eyes. “You talk too much.”
Peter grinned. “And yet, you still called me here.”
Lie opened his mouth for a retort but found that, frustratingly, he had none.
Instead, he looked at Peter—really looked at him. The way his brown eyes caught the dim light of the room, the way his hair was still a little messy from training earlier, the way he seemed so at ease, sprawled out on the bed like he had no worries in the world.
Lie was used to people keeping their guard up. Used to tension in every interaction, used to feeling like he had to prove something.
But Peter… Peter was open. Inviting. Like he wanted Lie there, just as he was, without expectations or pressure.
It was dangerous.
“Hey,” Peter said, softer now.
Lie raised an eyebrow. “What?”
Peter didn’t answer right away. He just studied him, his usual playful smirk replaced with something quieter. “You’re thinking really hard about something.”
Lie looked away. “It’s nothing.”
Peter hummed. “You’re a bad liar.”
Lie sighed. “You’re exhausting.”
“And yet, you still want me here,” Peter repeated, his voice quieter now, almost teasing but not quite.
Lie turned back to him, intending to say something—anything—to deflect.
But then Peter’s expression changed.
It was subtle. A shift in his gaze, his body language, the way his fingers twitched against the blanket like he was debating something.
Lie wasn’t sure who moved first.
One second, they were just looking at each other. The next, the space between them had disappeared.
Peter’s hand was warm where it rested against the mattress, close enough to brush against Lie’s. His breath was steady, but there was a question in his eyes, one that Lie wasn’t sure he had the answer to.
“Is this okay?” Peter asked, voice barely above a whisper.
Lie’s pulse was loud in his ears.
He could say no. Should say no.
But instead, he swallowed, nodded once.
Peter didn’t rush. He moved slowly, carefully, like he was waiting for Lie to pull away. But Lie didn’t.
And then Peter was close enough that Lie could feel the warmth of him, close enough that when their lips finally met, it was gentle, almost hesitant, like Peter wasn’t sure if this was okay.
Lie wasn’t sure either.
All he knew was that it wasn’t enough.
He tilted his head, deepening the kiss just slightly, just enough to feel Peter exhale softly against his skin.
And for the first time in a long time, Lie didn’t feel like he had to be anywhere else or that he had to be someone else. He felt like he could just be Lie.