Title: "Disconnect"
Summary: He could understand why she would wear unconnected headphones at work. He knew what it was like to crave silence, to want to be alone. Spoilers for "Ink"
Notes: I've been trying to write something about this for awhile, but didn't feel like I was getting anywhere until now. Basically, I found Peter's reaction, or maybe I should say dialogue, after he sees Emma's unconnected headphones in "Ink" to be interesting. I wondered what his motivation was behind it.
As he waited for his report, Peter's eyes followed the wire of the file clerk's headphones, finding it unconnected to any music player. He tilted his head, frowning at the odd sight, a bemused smile crossing his face.
"Who are you listening to?" he asked.
The file clerk looked up from shuffling the papers she had printed out for him, apparently startled.
He pointed to his ears, then at her. "Your headphones," he explained.
She glanced down, seeing her unconnected plug, seemingly at a loss for what to say.
He could understand why she would wear unconnected headphones at work. He knew what it was like to crave silence, to want to be alone. The city was full of noise—traffic, street music, construction, people talking and bustling about. It was nice to be able to just take a breather, to enjoy some solitude. If you had to get that peace and quiet by wearing headphones to discourage small talk at work, then so be it.
Who was he to judge? He didn't even own a television anymore. The only things that made any chatter in his apartment were his police scanner, his answering machine, and on rare occasions, his clock radio. He wasn't sure when it had happened exactly, but somewhere in the past six weeks, he had gotten used to the silence that was a byproduct of his new lifestyle. It made things less complicated for him, and after having uncovered a few family skeletons in the last year, he appreciated a simpler, quieter life.
So, when he saw the uncomfortable realization dawn on the clerk's face that he had caught her in her ruse, Peter decided not to make a big deal out of it.
"It's cool," he assured her. "I like that band too."