Yeah. [ Peter nods softly, looking down at the tops of his sneakers for a moment, almost as though to give Varian some privacy, not wanting to stare at him too openly. He gets it, gets how it's not okay, how it can never be okay, and there's really... nothing that can be said for that. It's horrible. ]

This place has.... made me see my family here, too. [ Not as Wastes, but in other.... forms, and his expression tightens for a brief moment as a flicker of ache dances across it. Dead things, ghosts, monstrous twisted versions, things that had to be.... put down. It's an awful cruelty, what this place does. Digs itself into your soul and memories, finds what lives there, makes it into some twisted version.

He clears his throat after a moment, looks back up. Fern and Luna, sources of comfort for the both of them... There's a lot surrounding the little group of four (...five, counting Paimon? ...Six, counting the thing in Fern's head? Holy shit) ]

I'm sorry. About what happened. I know I already said that, but— There's been something wrong with him. Maul did something to him, and I should've... I should've been more careful. I probably shouldn't even have gone to prom, shouldn't have... taken him there, had him around all those people. [ The demon. Paimon could've done a lot worse, with how fucked up he's been. Looking back, Peter resents himself for it. ]

I guess I just wanted... one normal thing, you know? Going to prom with Luna. Saying goodbye to school. Stupid. [ Peter exhales the word, quietly. ]