darker_london | Whoa... (Peter, Lydia, Brianna)

Peter heard the sounds of heavy music coming from upstairs and immediately he assumed it was Tasha, listening to some music to let go of some of the stresses of her job. Peter smiled and he left his work behind, quite eager to cheer her up if that was what she needed, or to listen or to sit in silence...anything. When he reached her room, however, she was not in it. The music was coming from down the hallway. Lydia's room.

Peter moved down to the open door and he peered through to see Lydia and her friend Brianna dancing around to what he now recognised as VNV Nation, thanks to Lydia and Tasha's repeated attempts to educate him.

"Oh my God, Lyds, your Dad is totally skeezing on us." Peter heard the words from Brianna's mouth and he rolled his eyes in exasperation. Brianna was not one of his favourite people. She was rude to pretty much everyone, and she insisted on calling Aly 'ethnic' and speaking to her in a slow, calculated manner as if she couldn't understand English. And it had only gotten worse since Aly had spent time in a mental institution. Peter wouldn't have been surprised if Brianna had run from Aly yelling something about being infected by crazy.

"Hey, Dad!" Lydia grinned at him, clearly not bothered in the least by the fact that he had appeared in the doorway. She certainly knew he wasn't 'skeezing'. She danced over to him and kissed his cheek. "Brianna's visiting!"

"Yes, I see." Peter tried to sound slightly more chipper about that than he felt. "Hello, Brianna."

"Is dancing a sin, Peter?" Brianna asked, not halting the swaying of her hips for a moment. If anything, her movements became much more deliberate. Peter didn't care so much that she addressed him as if they were friends, because he had never much perscribed to the idea that younger people should address him as 'mister'. But he did notice that she had asked him a question that pertained to his past as a priest. And he was well enough used to people using underhanded ways to point out other's less desirable qualities. He knew that was what she was doing now.

"I've never thought so." Peter said, intentionally sounding slightly bored. "Can I get you anything to ea-"

"That's so good because dancing is awesome. And sensual, you know?" Brianna smiled widely at him, and she took a few steps forward before performing what could only be described as a 'desperate sexy dance' that Peter found in no way sexy, and wouldn't have even if she were his age. Peter had never been impressed by people exploiting their sexuality. Being proud of it, sure. But blatant flaunting of it? He found it pitiful and quite sad.

Lydia rolled her eyes and she left Brianna to be annoying while she flopped on her bed and flipped open a magazine.

I'll get you later for abandoning me! Peter informed her psychically. If only... "It can be, I suppose-"

"Hey, wasn't your ethnic wife a stripper?" Brianna asked, looking incredibly interested. Peter's mouth fell open and before he could gather his wits together to reply, Brianna's questioning had continued. "Did she become a stripper to leave her home country? That must be so hard. Did you make her stop dancing because you were jealous? Maybe that's why she stopped eating, you know? Maybe stripping actually made her feel sexy and you make her stop."

Peter couldn't believe what was coming out of this girl's mouth and when he glanced at Lydia for help, she was pretending to read her magazine with a look on her face that he could clearly read as, 'you deal with it, you're the adult'. "My wife was born in London, and as far as I am aware, she has only had jobs as a waitress, an usher at a movie theatre, and a docent at a museum. And I certainly wouldn't make her do anything-"

"You made her go to hospital didn't you?" Brianna asked, loudly.

"That's...different-"

"You think I could be a stripper?" Brianna asked, twirling around proudly.

"I am not going to answer that question!" Peter was beyond incredulous now. And he wasn't about to tell a fourteen year old his thoughts on her stripping since it was probably quite illegal, and since he would have said no anyway as that was his opinion, it might harm her psychologically. If anything could...

"Because you were a priest? Hey, when you were a priest, did you have altar boys?"

Peter arched one eyebrow and he opened his mouth to speak, when his daughter finally came to his rescue. "Oh, Bri, seriously. He's like the least likely person to have altar boys or marry strippers or skeeze on my friends. Stop being lame, he's not going to admit to some terrible thing." Lydia sighed. "She wants to know why you got kicked out of the priesthood."

"Ah. Why didn't you ask?" Peter raised his eyebrows at Brianna.

"Adults don't tell kids shit." She answered, at least that, honestly.

"Some adults don't. If you had asked me, I would have told you. The official reason was that I had a daughter, though that had happened before I became a priest. The actual reasons mostly had to do with the fact that I didn't think it was the Church's job to tell people how to think. Which...as you can expect...wouldn't be looked on so highly in a priest, as that tends to be a priest's job..."

"So they fired you for being a skank before you gave up sex?"

Peter sighed. "If having a monogomaous relationship with the woman I loved is considered being a 'skank' then I suppose so, yes." Peter glanced over at Lydia, though she wasn't outwardly upset at all. "If you'll excuse me, I have to go...away."

Lydia laughed at that and when Peter escaped into the hallway, Lydia followed him. "Hey, Dad?" She asked, stepping up to his side.

"Yes, Lydia?"

"I think you're pretty cool." She beamed at him and leaned her head against his arm.

"I think you're pretty cool too, Lydia." Peter said fondly. "Did she call me a skank?"

Lydia snorted. "She totally did."

"Oh, this is going to amuse me for years. Have fun, Honey. And if you need something, come ask me? I don't think I'll be coming up to ask you again."

Lydia laughed and she winked. "Fair deal." And then she disappeared into her room again, leaving Peter to thank everything that had ever and would ever exist, that she was his daughter and not Brianna.