Peter goes to the bathroom, walks to one of the sinks, and leans forward against it to stare at himself in the mirror.

He supposes he should have some more introspection today.

Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Okay, with that out of the way.

What had he been expecting? Sure, in text Don almost sounded normal, but it would've been very dumb to expect anything more than that given the past ever.

But...

But the thing is...

He's so fucking lonely.

That's the long and the short of it. He's so fucking lonely, all the time, his potion of "make everything better" only works on a felt sense but he still has no real friends, no real human connection, because there are no humans. And there was a part of him, a dumb, foolish, unrealistic part of him that had hoped maybe something like this would... help. Help fill the void, the hole in his heart that craves companionship. Everything is so surface-level, everything is so stale. He needs something real.

But he won't have it. Short of another miracle like himself, some spontaneous emergence of someone, he'll have to work for it. Somehow. He learns magic more slowly than the NPCs, but he's definitely more creative, and there might be a way to do it.

He'll fucking invent artificial intelligence if he has to.

But he might have to. And he needs to stop, stop... hoping. Stop wondering if he'll find something, someone, just around the corner. It's not going to happen.

It's not that he's never going to ever be able to find companionship. Not only are there reams of magic he hasn't explored yet, things beyond his reckoning, but he's literally just finding out about even more powerful things that are completely untreaded ground. It's possible, he's certain of it. He will be able to get more people, to not be the only one in the world.

All it'll take is surviving and not losing himself before he gets there.

But if he wants that, then...

...he'll need to change the way he approaches things. He'll need to push his hopes and dreams into the back of his mind. Keep pursuing them, of course, but... stop staking his day-to-day feelings on them. He can't, he won't... last... if he keeps letting reality get the best of him like that.

He needs to take the world as it comes, no more than it is. Accept it. Let his understanding of the world wash over him, be a citizen in it rather than keep himself as a constant observer and commentator, always outside, always watching, always waiting. He's not going to find real connection, but maybe, if he allows himself to, he'll find company.

He splashes some water on his face and dries it then returns to the table, where Don is fiddling with his phone. Peter catches a flash of Simstagram there before Don puts his phone down, and smiles. Of course.

"Sorry about that," he was feeling some existential depression.

"It's fine," says Don with an easy smile of his own.

"So, I see you posted our video to Simstagram."

"It got so many views, I've never had so many haters before." He seems to find this amusing.

"I'm sure. I imagine your followers were a lot more used to you with the hot beach babes from your page and not really expecting to see someone else's dick."

"I've never been with a guy before."

"Well, I hope I'm a good first impression."

"You're very attractive," he says earnestly.

"Why, thank you, you're very attractive yourself. Maybe you and I could go to the beach together and add some snaps to your Simstagram to start your story as bisexual idol."

"I'd love to go to the beach with you!"

"And for the record I'm also into girls so if you want to bring some of your girlfriends with you..."

He looks—shocked. "You're okay with that?"

"Of course! I'm not expecting to be your only beau, here."

"...wow."

"What?"

"Most people don't like it when I get with other people."

"It's hot," Peter shrugs. "And I don't want to tie you down."

"I'm a free spirit," agrees Don. "I don't want to be tied down."

(Peter has just learned that Don is Noncommittal.)

No shit.

"Well, I'm polyamorous," he thinks, "and I don't feel jealousy."