darker_london | Hit me! (Peter, Aly, and Razvan)

Peter was glad for the treadmill he had in his office. He still hadn't really spent much time at home, opting to hover around Tasha in a way he was sure was bound to get annoying some day. So far, however, Tasha didn't seem to mind so much. In those moments when Peter did need somewhere else to be, he could sneak off to his spacious office and read or study or run. And right now, he needed to run.

He had been doing just that for the past thirty minutes when the door to his office opened. He didn't hear it over the noise of Rammstein, which was playing loudly over pretty much anything. But he felt her. "ALY!"

"What the hell is that noise?!" Aly shrieked, though she knew. She made a beeline for his stereo and she turned it off.

"IT'S RAMMST...oh. It was Rammstein." Peter slowed the treadmill to a walk and then a stop, and he stepped off of it, taking deep breaths so he didn't get a cramp in his side.

"I could hear it down the hall. I shudder to think what Abby was thinking if she's in her office." Aly smiled though. She was just teasing him.

"Abby was probably dancing. She's a hardcore lady." Peter smiled and he pulled the towel he had waiting for him and he draped it over his shoulders. "Either that, or she was realising I am her boss and so I win." Peter gave Aly an inquiring look then. She was wearing some kind of track suit, though the top was just a sports bra. She was so thin it hurt him to see. She looked better than she had in the hospital, but she still hadn't regained her curves thanks to cutting back on anything that wasn't a vegetable when she started to put the weight back on.

She still looked healthier than Tasha. By a very large margain. "Aly, did you walk through my hospital like that?"

"Yes I did, Peter! Do you have a problem with it?"

"On the contrary." Peter grinned in a completely dorky way. "I like it when people know how lucky I am. Though I am wondering why you are dressed for what looks like a lingerie marathon...."

Aly snorted. "Well I wanted to use your little office gym, but you beat me to it. David's jumping up and down because he says I need to know how to defend myself."

Peter stared at her for a moment and then he sighed and draped the towel over his head, obscuring his wild hair so that he looked like a strange gym-nun. "Aly, uhm...I don't know if you should be doing this kind of physical activity when you're..." Peter groaned. This was hard, and he wasn't a goddamn psychologist! He could find words for other people, but this was his wife and he was scared for her. It made wording difficult. "I know you're feeling better, and I love that. But you're still...Aly, you're very thin..."

"I already got the lecture from David," Aly pressed her hands through her hair, much like her brother would have done in an uncomfortable or stressful situation. "And I ate more carbs this morning than I think I have seen in months... And I'm not crying in a corner in the dark, so...I think we're good here."

"I'm glad, Aly."

"Great, so come on. Train me."

Peter blinked. "Er...what?"

Aly laughed and she moved forward to pull the towel off of his head. She tossed it onto the treadmill and then she grinned at him, placing herself directly in front of him. "I want to see if I understand David's defensive abilities. Hit me."

Peter's eyes widened in horror. "Are you out of your mind?!"

"No! You won't be able to touch me. I don't think. Come on, hit me!" Aly grinned again and she danced around a little, in a way that was supposed to look like boxers when they're readying for a strike. She was playing, in her own weird way. "Come onnnnn, Peter! Try to hit meeee!"

"I am not going to try to hit my wife, training or no!" Peter squeaked, backing away from her. "You're crazy! And your big brother too!"

Razvan entered the room and he raised his eyebrows at the rather odd scene in front of him. Still, he figured it was normal to see Peter terrified of women. Especially women wearing not much up top, even if this one did happen to be his wife. Peter had been a priest for a very long time. "Er...I was just bringing you an update on Paul, Chief. Everything's fine." Razvan set the file folder on Peter's desk and whe nhe turned around, Peter's slip of a wife was beside him.

"Try to hit me, Razvan! I want to see if I can block it."

Razvan took this at face value, and he lashed out, trying to fling a punch at her face. Aly blocked it easily and he smiled at her in an approving way seconds before Peter's own fists slammed into his cheekbone. Razvan staggered away and he bent over, placing one hand against his now pounding and painful left cheek. "OW!"

"You just tried to hit my wife!" Peter yelled at him.

"She told me to, you crazy bastard!" Razvan yelled back.

Aly just stared at the kerfuffle she had caused while David rejoiced that Peter had just punched Razvan in the face. Sure, Razvan had proven himself since the days of Fort Haven, but sometimes it was nice to see him fail. Just because. "I'm sorry!" Aly squeaked, holding her arms up in surrender. "But hey, I can do it!"

"Yes yes, whoop-de-fucking-doo. I'm going to find some ice for my new bruise and you two can celebrate your victory by having some overdue, pommy sex where you say things like 'pardon me' and 'oh goodness'." And Razvan slunk off.

"That was a rather long brush off," Aly mentioned to Peter, keeping her eyes averted now that sex had been brought up.

"That's Razvan for you. I didn't mean to hit him. I snapped. Apparently I snap..."

Aly gave him a fond look and she moved to kiss his cheek. "Bleh! Sweaty."

"Oh don't you complain. I just punched a demon. I think my hand is dying." Peter made an effort to look pitiful.

"If you're trying to work on my sympathy, you already have it. Might as well not put in the effort. And see, this is what happens when you refuse to hit me."

"I AM NOT... Okay, Aly, I'll work with you, but I am not going to hit you!"

Aly bounced up and down and she clapped twice. "Oh yay! Can I have a dummy to beat up then! Please? Or a kicky bag?"

Peter chuckled. "You can have whatever you want, Xena. And I'm sure you could show me a thing or two as well."

"Can I hit you?"

Peter looked bemused. "I'd rather you didn't, though I am wondering why that sounds like such a thrill for you...?"

"I have my big brother in my head, and you're sleeping with his little sister. Sometimes there's an urge there..."

"That's...reassuring.." Peter grabbed his towel back from the treadmill. He felt disgusting and he wanted a shower. "I'm going to take a shower. Do you...erm...do you want to come?" Peter's ears turned red, and he wondered if David was listening. God this was awkward. But he missed his wife, dammit.

Aly smiled, wide and affectionate and completely her. "I would love to, Peter."

"And then we're going out to lunch because you need to eat more."

"Yes, sir." Aly laughed. "And then we're going shoe shopping because those running shoes look ridiculous on you."

"Hey!" Peter cried out, but he didn't care. He was just pleased that things seemed to be okay. At least for now.

And hitting Razvan hadn't been entirely unpleasant either...