You’re One of the Good Ones
It was an understatement to say that Peter was excited about seeing where Steve lived. He had imagined the man’s apartment countless times, though he had imagined a shared space between them even more. He wondered if the man had a full size bed or a queen. Was he a pillow hoarder or a minimalist? Did he have a tv in his room or a bookcase or a record player? He seemed like the type to have a record player.
On Saturday, Peter went out early to buy some chips or something to take with him to Steve’s place. Steve had told him he didn’t need to bring anything, but he didn’t want to show up empty handed. He didn’t know Steve’s roommate or what she liked so he wasn’t sure getting her a gift would be the right idea either.
He decided on a few bags of chips just in case. Steve had said it would just be the three of them, but he didn’t want to get his hopes up. For all he knew, Steve could have invited others and just assumed they wouldn’t come. If that were the case, Peter was ready to figure out the reason Steve wasn’t willing to give him a chance.
After showering, Peter asked Scott for advice on what to wear. He’d told him where he was going and even though Scott seemed a little worried, he helped him out. They settled on jeans and a hoodie, with a t-shirt underneath. Scott told him casual was best at a kickback, especially if they were going to be eating. Peter thanked him and gave him a hug before heading out.
Steve’s place was somewhat close to the university. Peter still had to take a bus and worried he was going to be late when the bus took a while to show up. Still, it was early afternoon when he arrived. He double checked the address to make sure he was at the right place and then knocked.
A beautiful woman with dark red hair answered the door. She had a plastic crown on her head and a bright smile on her face. “Hi!” she said excitedly.
“Hi,” Peter repeated. “I’m uh...here for the birthday cookout?”
The woman scanned him up and down for a second and Peter felt naked and like he didn’t belong. “Are you Peter?”
Peter smiled at her. So she’d heard about him. Or maybe Steve had told her that he was coming. Either way, the woman didn’t look disappointed. “Yeah. Natasha?”
“That’s me! Come on in.”
Peter went inside the apartment and looked around. There was minimal decorating, though there were a few pictures scattered about. The biggest things in the room were the couch and the tv. It was one of those couches that took up the whole space and had recliners on either end. The tv was big and he could bet that the definition was high.
Natasha closed the door and said, “Steve’s in the backyard cooking the food.” She led the way out through a sliding glass door past the living room.
The backyard wasn’t too big, but it looked cozy enough. There was a table with benches in the middle and off to the side, Steve was standing in front of a grill with tongs in his hand.
“Hey, you made it!” he said when he saw Peter. He immediately went to hug him and then noticed the bag in Peter’s hand. “I said you didn’t have to bring anything.”
“I know,” Peter said. “But my aunt taught me to never go to a party empty handed.”
“I wouldn’t call this much of a party,” Natasha said, “but that’s a really sweet gesture.”
“I would’ve also brought you a gift, but I don’t know what you like,” Peter told her. “Happy birthday, by the way.”
“Thank you!” she replied. “Do you want anything to drink? There’s beer in the fridge. Or cider if you don’t like beer like Steve here.”
“I like some beer,” Steve said, going back to tend the meat.
Natasha shook her head at Peter and mouthed, “No he doesn’t.”
Peter laughed and said, “Uh cider would be good.”
“Gotcha,” Natasha said and disappeared into the apartment.
“Am I really the only other person here?” Peter asked Steve.
“Yeah,” Steve replied. “I told you she doesn’t have many friends.”
“But I’ve never met her so why invite me?”
Steve closed the grill and turned to Peter. “She wanted to meet you. I’ve talked to her about you.”
Peter blushed thinking about what Steve could have been saying about him. “Good things?”
“Duh,” Steve replied. “She thinks you’re too good to be true so I basically invited you over so she could assess you.” He laughed a little at that and Peter nervously laughed as well.
He didn’t know if Steve was joking or not, but if he was telling the truth, what would Natasha need to assess him for? Was she going to rule whether Peter was a good friend? Or was she going to tell Steve if he was boyfriend material or not? It made him worried to think that Natasha could be the one standing in the way of him and Steve being together. Or maybe that was all just in his imagination.
Natasha came back with a hard cider for Peter, who took a sip hoping it wasn’t going to be gross. He ended up liking it and nursing it as the three of them talked. Peter learned that Natasha was a bartender at a different bar in the city named The Scarlet Witch. She called it a sister bar to Quicksilver, except The Scarlet Witch was more catered toward lesbians. Peter made a mental note to tell Carol and Hope about it.
Peter also learned that Natasha and Steve had met at a now defunct gay bar named Shield when she was bartending there and he had been a go-go boy.
“What?” he reacted with an open smile.
Steve distracted himself by serving them meat as Natasha continued. “Yeah, this guy loves to dance in his underwear and he figured he could make money doing it.”
“It was a living,” Steve replied, his face a little red.
“He got plenty of singles,” Natasha said. “Even some marrieds.”
“Shut up,” Steve responded, sitting down to eat his food.
Peter imagined a younger Steve on a stage just shaking that ass for everyone to see. He was glad Steve and Natasha couldn’t see the semi-erection Peter had under the table. He wished he could have known Steve back then.
They ate and talked some more. Peter got another hard cider as he let loose. He wasn’t as nervous with Natasha being so friendly and forthcoming with information about Steve.
At one point Steve went to the bathroom and Peter was left with Natasha. They were pretty much done eating, but Peter was picking at the scraps from one of the chip bags he’d brought.
“I like you Peter,” Natasha said.
“I like you too,” he answered, smiling.
“And I like you for Steve.”
“Oh?” It was all he could say when he was intrigued and surprised. He wanted to know what she meant.
“Don’t tell him I’m telling you this,” she said, taking a gulp of her beer. “I think he needs someone like you. Someone who’s sweet and charming, who isn’t going to isolate him and take him away from the people who care about him.”
“Did someone try to do that to him?” Peter asked, concerned but also wanting to know more.
Natasha nodded. “He had this ex who wasn’t good for him. He pretty much treated Steve like a rent boy. Kept him secret, only ever introduced him as a friend, and tried to only keep him in his own social circles. I met him once, maybe twice, but he didn’t seem like he wanted to build any kind of connection with me or his other close friends. And I almost lost Steve after telling him. But luckily he came to his senses and let the guy go.
“I pride myself in reading people really well. And as far as I can tell, you’re one of the good ones, Peter.”
Peter smiled sadly. He was still processing the information she had given him.
“He’ll realize that,” she continued. “But just know I’ll be watching you. I’m not letting anyone hurt Steve again.”
Peter nodded, not knowing if he was getting her approval or a warning or both. As friendly as she had seemed at first, the look she gave him was terrifying. She looked like she was being serious. And as much as Peter wanted to be with Steve, maybe it was a bad idea with Natasha there. Or maybe it was a good thing and she would keep him in check. Peter liked her, but only the nice side of her he’d gotten to know over the past few hours. This other darker side of her was unpleasant.
“What are you guys talking about?” Steve asked, walking back outside and sliding the door closed again.
Natasha put on that bright birthday girl smile again and answered, “About how you still have that holographic jockstrap you used to wear as a dancer.”
Peter snorted, if only to relieve the tension. It was scary how fast Natasha’s demeanor changed. Steve sighed, but with a smile. “It’s a cute jockstrap and it cost a pretty penny,” he said. “I wasn’t going to just toss it.”
“Oh, please,” Natasha said. “We both know you didn’t toss any of those jockstraps.” She turned to Peter and plainly stated, “He sold them online.”
“It was free money,” Steve said, his cheeks turning red.
“I’m not complaining,” Natasha replied. “We got a great apartment because of it.”
Peter looked back and forth between the two of them. While Natasha did scare him, he decided to take her words into account. If Steve ever did decide to give him a chance, he made himself a promise that he would never hurt Steve. He just hoped Natasha was right and Steve would eventually realize he was one of the good guys.