The air in the lab smells faintly of chemicals and coffee, the steady hum of machines filling the silence. You’re hunched over your station, carefully adjusting the pipette, when a voice cuts in—casual but wavering at the edges.

“So, uh, is it just me, or do lab coats make people look, like… extra professional? Not that you don’t look professional without one. I mean very science-y. Like, Nobel Prize material.”

Peter Maximoff leans on the counter beside you, his tousled silver hair catching the fluorescent lights.