darker_london | Coming Clean (Kat, Peter and some Jane)

Peter had chosen Aly. And ever since arriving back in London, she had been making him aware that she was quite pleased with his choice. As usual after Peter returned from a trip, even if he had only been gone a day or so, his children hung around him as if they were worried he might disappear again. Peter thought it was possibly the best thing ever. He was surrounded by his family and Aly had made paella, and he was the luckiest man in the world.

Still, he couldn't bask in the love of his family forever. He felt he had some explaining to do, and even if he didn't think he owed an explanation to his friends, he did feel he owed one to his family. To Kat.

Peter knocked on Kat's door, and it was almost immediately answered by his Aunt Jane. She was wearing some sort of horrible collaboration of hot pink and lycra, and Peter knew it was supposed to be a dress, but it looked more like a body sock which didn't hide a single curve of her body. He tried to concentrate on her face, but a moment later she was hugging him tightly and he had to touch the neon pink, elastic thing stretched across her body. "H..hi, Aunt Jane."

"Darling!" His aunt pulled away from him and she spread her arms and posed. "I'm a woman about town! I'm hot to trot! What do you think?"

"I...I think..y...you're...is Kat here?" Peter finished lamely, his expression desperate. Lucky for him, Jane didn't notice at all that he had fumbled for words and changed the subject. In her mind, she heard him say she was fabulous. And she knew.

"She's just upstairs. OH aren't you darling!" She reached up to pinch his cheek, and Peter's lips thinned as she stared at her. And then she kissed him on the lips, which made his stomach curl up and hide. It was somewhat akin to a bad touch, and when Kat saved him a moment later, his expression was pure adoration and relief.

"Mum! Stop molesting your nephew! Jesus Christ, she has one cocktail and she's ready to give you a lapdance." Kat clomped down the stairs and she grabbed Peter's hand so she could pull him away.

"Er...please d..don't do that." He glanced at Jane as Kat pulled him up the stairs, but Jane just smiled smarmily as she followed.

"Did you just come to visit, Peter?" Kat asked him once they crested the stairs into her living room. "Obviously you didn't come for Queen Jane to drool on you."

"Er...no." Peter glanced at Jane again as she set herself down on the sofa. "I wanted to talk to you."

"Sure thing. Bedroom. The girls are with Ethan and Kali at Victoria's and Theo is a sleep, bless him." Kat led Peter into her bedroom and she smiled at him. "Alright, Big P, what's up?"

"Will she be alright out there?" Peter asked nervously.

"She's not going to drown herself on the sofa or anything, Peter. Even if she did totally bogart my fucking dress."

"That's your dress?!" Peter squeaked.

"Yes, because I am twenty-five and it looks hot on me. That woman is fifty...something and she shouldn't be wearing my dress!" Kat had gotten her slim body from her mother and Jane still cut a good figure, but Peter still really agreed. There were some things lycra should never do. And one of them was clothe his aunt.

"How has she been?"

"Oh...you know. She insists on being 'one of the girls' despite being the age of two of the girls. It's sweet though. We're bonding, as much as that isn't obvious today. You did not come over here to ask about my mother though. What's up?"

Peter took a deep breath. "I wanted to talk to you about...Svetlana."

Kat looked up at him and then she took a seat on her bed, crossing her legs primly. She arched one perfect eyebrow, and then she grinned at him and nodded. "Go on then, you dog."

Peter groaned and he pulled her desk chair over so he could sit on it backwards. "There was nothing...doggy about- Fuck, pretend I did not say that." And Peter hid his face in his hands.

"HAH!" Kat slapped her knee and then reflected how very much she was a man. "Come on, Peter. What the hell happened?!"

Peter peeked out from behind his fingers and then he lowered his hands slowly. "It was while Aly was deciding I was the Devil and she didn't want to be with me anymore. I though I had lost my wife and I was lonely and Svetlana was there... I guess I was spilling my heart out to her about...let's not beat around the bush, my wife is a complete hottie. And I'm...well-"

"Peter, shut up, there is nothing wrong with you!"

"I have Bozo hair and my idea of a good time is reading ancient tomes in dead languages! I am lucky she lets me breathe the same air as she does, alright? And I know it. And I was saying...I was never going to find someone else who would love me like she did...does. At the moment, it felt like 'did'. And Svetlana...admitted she did."

Kat's green eyes grew as wide as saucers. "I mean, I knew she had decided you were married and she decided you were married and your kids were her kids so she called you 'Daddy', but I didn't know she full on loved you. Oooh, did she call you 'daddy' while you were doin' it?" Kat's expression grew impish.

"Bonita Kathleen!" Peter practically shrieked. "I can assure you the second anyone said that while...you know, being intimate, there would be no more intimate happening..."

"You'd go as flaccid as the Pope?" Kat asked easily and then she laughed when Peter turned a little green.

"That's...lovely imagery, thank you. And yes, if you must know such things. That...that Svetlana is not something I want to think about. Ever. Ever." Peter closed his eyes then, willing the memories of what Svetlana had did to him when she had been lost to the depths of insanity. She had forced him to do terrible things, and she had done terrible things to people he loved, and that person was so far away from the woman she was now, he couldn't actually believe such terror was in Svetlana's past. "That's not the woman I love."

"So you love her too, then?"

Peter sighed and he nodded, not quite able to meet Kat's eyes. "It was stupid. We slept together because I was sad and lonely and Aly had basically dumped me. I should not have used my friend like that. I hate that I did it. And kept doing it." Finally, he forced himself to look at her, but he didn't see judgement in her eyes. Come to think of it, Kat was probably the right person to talk to about this and it made him wonder why he hadn't before. "I didn't realise it was happening. It just...one day, I realised I loved her. And I had to make a decision because by then Aly had stopped spouting poison every time anyone saw her. I think I could finally see that Aly was saying terrible things, but not meaning them. As I should have seen from the beginning, but I was too caught up...too distracted by Thomas' death. So I took her at her word when I shouldn't have. And eventually I went to see her and I told her she either needed to divorce me then, or work on things with me. I scared her into admitting... She never wanted a divorce in the first place. So then I had to break Svetlana's heart. I had to do it to one of them. And Aly was the one I made my vows too."

"Sucks." Kat said, nodding.

"Yeah." Peter let out a breath then and he smiled weakly at her. "It's working with Aly. It's good. I love her so much. So much it still makes me breathless, but I do feel like there's this experience sitting there that I will never have. I don't blame Aly for that. This was my decision and I remain glad I made it. But I won't ever know if I would have been happy with Svetlana. If it would have worked."

Kat was nodding then, looking far-away. "I know. I know, Peter. I feel that way about Thomas. If we had been together when he had been brought back...fuck. It would have been...well, I think about it. I don't know how it would have been. Or if he would have been gone... I'll tell you what though, I am so jealous that Spectre is James' father and Mary gets to be his mother. If Thomas was still with me, James would be mine and he is so...well...beautiful and wonderful. Apparently I just want all the kids."

Peter refrained from the topic of James because it was still a sore subject with him, but the subject of Thomas was easy enough to talk about. "You know...it's really good to talk to someone who knows how I feel."

"I do. I know I love Thomas and I always will, but I love Alessa too. And what I feel for Thomas doesn't detract from that. You know...when I'm not being a big whore."

"...Kat..."

"Don't patronise me, I know I fucked up. It's okay. And other than that, my statement is still true. And what you feel for Svetlana doesn't mean you're not happy with your wife. Even if it might have meant that in the beginning. It just means you love more than one person and you're the one who has to deal with that. You and Svetlana. You are the ones it sucks for. Everyone else..." Kat shrugged. "They should keep their opinions to themselves. Honestly though, Peter. Anyone who doesn't know you're a faithful guy is a retard."

"No one says it quite like you, Kat," Peter said, amused. He was smiling, however. She really did know what to say. "Thanks, Kat. A lot. I'm sorry I didn't say anything."

"It's no one else's business," Kat shrugged. "Not even mine. Though thank you for telling me now." Kat reached out to pat his arm. "You look like you could use a mocktail."

"Oh, don't you dare!" Peter shook his head firmly. "Those damn fruity drinks put me off my head, mock or no. It's all the sugar. I jitter. I'll have tea."

"You're such an old lady," Kat informed him, jumping up and off her bed.

Peter snorted, thinking just how much alike she and Thomas were. "I know, Kat. I've been told."