He's not going mad. He thinks he would know, if he was. After all he's a trained nurse, and they covered mental illness at least twice. Besides, he's not the only one. There's Nathan and as much of a jerk as his brother can be sometimes he wouldn't lie about something like this. And there's Hiro Nakamura from the future, who also exists in the present, who he's even spoken to. And Isaac. Isaac, who doesn't know what to do with himself, who doesn't know whether to believe in his gift or not. And that, surely, is the proof.
He's grasping at straws, he knows that, trying to justify his actions by the only means he can.
He's not going mad.
He has no proof – not yet – but soon, soon he will, when he finds the cheerleader and saves her, when he and Isaac and Hiro and who knows how many others save the world.
He's not going mad. Peter knows that as much as he tells himself that, he has no proof. He could still be wrong, and it could all be a delusion. So when Isaac actually smiles at him, after Peter's finished the painting for him, he doesn't have a second thought about what that smile does to his heart rate. If he's going mad, then it doesn't matter; he's probably imagining this too. And if he isn't, then so much is changing that this is just one more thing.
He smiles back; grins even, and on impulse hugs him, because they're one step closer to saving the world. Peter can tell Isaac is shocked by the contact. He's probably not been this close to anyone – except Simone – in years.
"Thanks," the artist says hesitantly.
"Hey, no problem." Peter replies. "It's the least I can do… I know you want to get off the drugs, and if I don't need them to paint… well, maybe you can learn not to as well?" He pulls back, smiling.
Isaac nods uncertainly. Peter smiles at his expression. "Isaac – if I can help, at all, I'm here – okay? You won't have to take the drugs to paint again, I'll do the painting for you – I promise. I mean," he half-smiled, "I'm nowhere near as good an artist as you, but I can try."
And Isaac nods again, this time with a little more certainty. He smiles back, clearly confused by the young nurse's concern.
So what if he is going mad?
Peter kisses him, and takes him in his arms. He never expected Isaac to kiss him back, but the artist does, and even his stubble doesn't feel weird. It feels as natural as flying. Isaac takes his hand, and leads him to his bed, and the night passes like a dream.
In the morning, he thinks maybe he is going mad, because that was amazing. Nathan wouldn't approve, but Peter doesn't care anymore. Mad or not, his life has more direction now than it has since he finished high school, and this is just one new and wonderful part of it.
He has Isaac on his side, and Hiro, and they're going to save the cheerleader and prove to everyone that they're not insane. And then they're going to save the world.