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[ Familiar is right. Logan picks one of the drills up, cocks his head at it because, Christ, he can't remember the last time he's held a normal power tool, and then feels its weight in his hand before he puts it back where it came from. ]

A prosthetic arm. [ God, "helpful" is right. Logan touches a few of the other tools, sparing the kid a brief glance, and thinks that there are far too many of these things here for just one guy.

But he remembers the mention that other people could come and use these tools to build their own things, so... ]

You in the mood to build anything right now? [ He puts the saw in his hand back on the shelf. ] After you disable my camera, we could pass by the hardware store.

Whoa - really? You wanna - I mean, yeah! Of course, absolutely!

[ Can one person be so enthusiastic? Oh, yes. You can if you're Peter Parker. He nodnodnods, eager to not only build something (and partake in some kind of hardware store field trip) but to prove his value by taking a look at Logan's phone. ]

[ Smiling slightly, Logan lets out a soft chuckle. ] All right.

[ The Fluid's pulled out of his pocket, then held out with a raised brow. ] When you "disable" a camera, do you do something with the... uh... "software"?

Or can you take the whole thing out?

Well, you could take the whole thing out but - uh. I don't wanna wreck the rest of your phone's capabilities. And, you know, maybe one day you might wanna bring the function back.

If I disable its connection from the inside though ... no harm done. I think. I never tried to mess with one of these phones before.

[ Mostly because he actually gets a lot of use out of his camera app. And the video function is kind of useful too. ]

[ "You might wanna bring the function back", Peter says, and Logan gives him a look like kid, who do you think I am-- until he remembers, huh, the kid doesn't really know him, so it's probably best to tone the attitude down.

Albeit reluctantly. ]

Okay. [ So he'll trust him with it and watch Peter do it without asking a thing, mostly because he won't understand it, anyway. ]

How long you been tinkering with things?

[ Peter flips through the Fluid device, scrolling endlessly like he's searching for something. He'll probably need to use one of the computers here to get into it, but ... yeah. He'll probably need a little time to get through it.

Hope you don't have a busy day ahead of you, Logan! ]

Hm? [ Sorry, sorry, he was a little distracted. ] Oh. Like, forever, I guess. [ Which is like, a few years, given Peter's age. ] I mean, my uncle ... he taught me a lot about how things worked. I kinda just continued from there.

Takes a lot of talent to "just continue".

[ Logan doesn't mind following Peter around the lab if he needs to move. It's actually... really familiar, doing that. He remembers flittering about with Hank, too, although he'd been a lot more of a brat than he is with Peter, now.

But he figures in this scenario he's supposed to play the responsible adult. ]

What's the most complex thing you've made?

[ He'd say his webshooters and the fluid ... but that's definitely not gonna come out through his lips. Spending all-nighters getting those gears to turn liquid into elastic, solid, dissolvable string? Yeah. He's pretty proud of that stuff.

Peter thinks about all of the other things he'd done back home in his tiny little room, all the things he'd made after his uncle died.

(And he smiles and shrugs at the complimentary comment.) ]

I mean, aside from the arm, I guess this computer I made from a bunch of different computers. By the end, it was kind of like, this Frankensystem. Kinda cool.

[ It was very retro. ]

Franken... system. [ What Logan gets from this, first and foremost, is a Mary Shelley reference. And the appalled lit professor part of him has to say, ] You know Frankenstein was the name of the doctor, right?

[ But! It is impressive to consider, both on the hardware and software side. He might not know shit about programming, but he knows enough about building to be aware of the complications of combining different technical designs. ] So this computer had all the "power" of the others combined, or? You just made a new one out of other parts?

[ Pfft.

Peter nods, making a sound. ] Of course I know that, yeah. I mean ... it's just like, one of those things people say. It's not the same when you say something like, 'Frankenstein's Monster's System' you know?

[ Aaaanywho ... ]

It was more like, I made a decent working one out of a bunch of parts. I don't think the power of the old systems was gonna be enough, and besides, most of the internal stuff isn't compatible with each other.

For fun?

Uh - yeah.

[ He sounds almost embarrassed. ]

It also kinda reminds me of my uncle when I get to do stuff like that.

[ Logan's head tilts. ]

...I like cigars because they remind me of my father.

[ It seemingly comes out of nowhere, but he's been asking so many questions, it makes sense to even the playing field a little. ]

Drawing, too. But I don't know how to draw anything without having something to copy. [ He shrugs. ] I'll do it anyway, sometimes. When I miss him.

[ At that, Peter looks up at Logan, almost as though he might be looking for the joke or the lie in his words. He hasn't really spoken about his uncle since he'd died, greatly because he feels an endless abyss of guilt over it, but also because it tends to make his aunt sad.

But Logan is so sincere, and when he continues, it's comforting. He nods, glancing back down at the Fluid device in his hands so it looks as though he's speaking to it when he asks: ]

Was your dad like, an artist?

[ The point is that he understands. The point is that there're people you remember most when you do things that they loved-- Peter with his uncle, Logan with his father.

Nothing binds a friendship quite like loss, he thinks.

The question has him shaking his head. ] Nah. Our family owned an estate and we had workers come for their nine to five, so he was more like a business owner, I guess. [ He doesn't really know the term. ]

I was sick all the time, though, so I'd stay inside. I don't know how old I was when Father suggested drawing for a hobby.

And out of all the indoor things I did, that was the one that made him smile most.

That's a really nice memory.

[ Peter nods, still looking at the Fluid device though he's since stopped fiddling around with it the moment they began to talk about their families and the people they lost back home. ]

My memories of my uncle were good ones too.

[ Maybe all but the very last one, but he doesn't say so. ]

Doing stuff like fixing things around the apartment. He always used to say he wasn't as smart as my dad or whatever, but I didn't believe him.

No offence to him, but you were probably right not to. [ Believe him, that is. Logan smiles slightly. ]

There're lots of different ways to be smart. Lemme tell you, I bet half of these Sleepers wouldn't even know how to fix their own houses if things went to shit.

[ He sighs a bit. ] I gotta fix mine too one of these days, once I have enough cash. It's been messed up to hell.

Yeah.

[ Peter smiles too.

And he agrees wholeheartedly with Logan's definition of smartness. He's good with building stuff, chemistry, maths, but put him in a social situation and he's 'Penis Parker', the loser with the one friend.

According to Flash, anyway.

Maybe he's wrong too.

Peter's friends with the Avengers, after all. ]

What do you mean? Where do you live?

I mean what I mean. [ Messed up is as accurate as can be, especially given he isn't the type for exaggeration. ] I live on Howard Hill, and... [ There's a moment of silence, like Logan's mourning something. ]

There's a hole in my kitchen wall, for one thing.

O ... kay.

[ Peter hesitates, wondering if he should know what Howard Hill is like because that might give him a little more context, or maybe it'll explain why things would be 'messed up to hell' as Logan says.

He's got no idea, as it is. ]

I mean, was it like that when you moved in? I guess you can't just call up a plumber here, can you?

No, wasn't like that. [ He shakes his head. ] We had a wendigo in there a couple days ago. Now part of the counter's destroyed, there's the whole wall thing, I gotta replace some tiles, and my oven door's busted.

[ He tries to think about anything else he's missing. ]

...one cabinet's half-gone too, I think. Wasn't a good day for anyone.

My plan was to fix it once my paycheck finally got in.

A what? Isn't that like - [ No, that's a stupid question. Whether things here are made up or real, all bets are off in Deerington. Nightmares are made real. Just about everything can be made real.

Peter just nods. ]

I'm not really a handy-person but - uh. If you ever want some help with stuff, like simple stuff, I can totally do it.

After you already fixed my phone? [ Not that Logan doesn't understand the need to be useful somehow, though. He chuckles, nodding his head. ] ...but yeah. Sure, kid.

I'll pay you in food and pop. [ There's a definitive tone to his voice that indicates he's not taking "no" for an answer. ]

[ Peter is about to protest, reassure Logan that it's as much fun for him as it is productive for Logan's roommates if he helps out.

Buuut. Yeah. He gets it. He hears the tone.

So he nods, his mouth twisting into a smile. ]

Okay, deal.

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me talkin' out of my arse

i love fake tech talk

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