Work Text:
Earth-90214B's sky almost seems to tremble when Peni Parker is finally drowned by the crushing weight of her own exhaustion, and slumps down in a heap of her gadgets and gizmos sprawled out on the worn and dark dining table.
Not so much deterred by the light thump that emits without much of an echo, Pete pauses from his absent-minded cleaning of the small kitchen that does not at all need to be cleaned only because the occasional yawn and the continuous clicking and tapping that had been chatting with one another for the past two and a half hours had followed said light thump into the deaf air, everything ceasing altogether.
He silently spins on his heel, eyes softening on the usually vibrant - now calmed - red of the jacket sat in his dining chair.
There is a barely audible buzz emitting from one of the futuristic tech items surrounding her. Which one specifically, he doesn't know, and he doesn't want to be caught fiddling with what he doesn't particularly know of whilst unsupervised by the expert. So he ignores it as he folds his cloth in his hands to finally rest it on the counter before he tiptoes over to what she had claimed as her temporary space and carefully pulls out a chair for himself.
He takes his seat, and eyes her carefully, monitoring for any stirring or sudden movements. Lousy with sleep, Peni simply remains motionless, with an exception of the way her back slowly rises and falls with every subconscious breath she takes.
Watching her, observing her silently, Pete hums. "Been there, darlin'."
The serene yellow of her small portable desk lamp further fills whatever the still white of his overhead kitchen light cannot. It bathes her face in a warmth he thinks looks swell on her, only daring to touch as deep as the dip of her eye sockets and not below to the lower half of her face shielded by the shadowy barrier she's made out of her arms to rest her head on. Pete also ignores how he managed to remember that the light was yellow without a second guess.
Pete pushes his cheaters further up on the bridge of his nose, watching as she quietly snoozes, and blinks his way through a chuckle. "Would be sawing logs compared to you, though."
He knows she can't hear him, maybe, he's not so sure, but he also knows he should probably button his chin before he accidentally wakes her up from the first break he's seen her take from everything for a good minute. Though, he himself has also learnt the hard way that sleeping in chairs, particularly hard wooden ones, slouched over a flat surface, isn't the best for your back. He ponders for one moment and stays where he is for two.
For both of their sakes, so Peni doesn't wake with a sore spine and so Pete doesn't have to feel guilty when she complains about it, Pete eventually sighs tiredly and pushes himself back up to his feet. Curling one arm over and under her back whilst the other slips under her legs, he slowly lifts Peni up off the chair, mindful of both her knees and her head as she's lifted from the table. On his way down, he finds that that buzz is humming from her desk lamp. He settles her in his arms, silently praying to himself that she doesn't wake up as her head lulls to sit just below his shoulder, across the upper chest, as he carries her off down the hall.
With some gentle manoeuvring and partially difficult balancing, Pete soon manages to pull the covers of his bed up to Peni's chin, not before noticing the screwdriver clutched within her locked fingers. He blinks at it and moves to slip it out of her grasp with a fond tug at his lips. He makes sure to tuck her in properly and then proceeds to double check his work. He lifts his hand to her jaw to gingerly close her mouth and doesn't make a second attempt when her lips part back open. When he's finally convinced himself that she's snug, he gives an affectionate stroke along her ruffled head of dark hair. Just like that; duck soup.
Leaving the bedroom door halfway closed, Pete shuffles back out the hall with a yawn, thinks about cleaning the kitchen one last time, and makes plans to crash on the couch, not at all bothered that his back will be sore in the morning instead of hers.