bittersweet possibility | a tiger on the attack, ready to bleed

[agentstatus]

Who | Claire Petrelli and Gabriel Gray.
What | AU verse in which Claire is an agent working to hunt specials for the Company who's one step from being considered too dangerous to employ, and Gabriel Gray is a watchmaker who'd rather keep the Company, it agents, and Claire Bennet out of his life for as long as possible -- too bad she's fixated on

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[gearwinding]

Though he had been working in the back, piecing together another broken watch, he could still hear the chimes in the front of the store and perked up at the sound of them. A customer. That was a rarity. Better yet, maybe it was Chandra with more tests to run. They hadn't made any breakthroughs yet, but that didn't mean Gabriel had lost hope. He had to keep hoping. This was his one time chance to rise out of mediocrity. So many nights he'd spent kneeling at his bedside in prayer, wanting more than the pathetic futile life he'd been given, and finally they'd been answered. It had to be a sign, right? What else could it be? Even when Chandra was growing doubtful-- and he could tell he was, he could see it in his eyes-- Gabriel still kept hoping. Still kept praying for something more. The way he knew things sometimes, it had to mean something. No one had intuition this innate.

He made his way out from the back to greet whoever had come in. He was a little disappointed that it wasn't Chandra, but that didn't last very long in light of the girl he was seeing. Young girls hardly ever stopped by. Businessmen with rolexes and the elderly with their keepsake timepieces were his main clientele. Nobody cared about time pieces anymore. Hell, even Gabriel didn't. Not really. He knew that his shop was in one of Brooklyn's sketchier neighborhoods. And that it was easier and safer for girls, girls like this one, to find some kiosk in the mall who would replace the battery or change the band on their Hello Kitty wristwatch. And he didn't hold it against them. But this girl was here, looking like an angel, for him.

"Hey, um, can I help you with something?" He tried his best to force the words out of his mouth. Talking to girls still had a way of reverting him to a high schooler. God, this girl looked young enough to be in high school herself, and he still couldn't stop the war with his insecurities. His eyes wandered towards her wrist, ever observant. No watch? Huh. Maybe she was carrying it in her pocket.

[agentstatus]

When she heard him address her, Claire stopped browsing and looked up at Gabriel. Was. He. Serious? She hadn't signed up for sweater-vests. As hard-pressed as she was to keep her judgment to a minimum, the regen managed to muster up a smile for him. Considering what a social retard he looked like, it was probably safer that way.

Right. Playing nice.

She feigned surprise at how hastily he managed to come to her aide and brightened her smile, casting one last look around the store's walls as she tried to find a good excuse to be there that didn't involve his abilities. There was none. There was no way she'd be caught dead in there if it weren't for Gabriel.

"Oh, uh. Yeah, I just … I think I'm actually a little lost." The helpless, shy smile she worked up couldn't have looked more out of place amidst all the excessively dark makeup, despite the chuckling she attempted to make it more natural. "My dad, he works in the city and I was kind of hoping I could surprise him, but …" She shrugged, gesturing around. "I don't really come here often, so I don't know my way around. Pretty crappy surprise, right?"

Playing the family card up was bound to work. It was a flawless fallback, if she could come up with a good place to find Noah in the collective pile of crap that was Brooklyn. And assuming the fact that the shop was completely deserted wasn't a lucky bit of timing on her part.

[gearwinding]

A little lost. Well, that came as no surprise. And explained everything. He made his way from behind the counter to stand closer to her, but still leaning back against it. Her trap worked like a charm. When she seemed more vulnerable, he found himself more comfortable and willing to open up.

"Okay, well, when you say the city, do you mean Brooklyn, or…?" She couldn't have meant Brooklyn. Girls like her didn't have dads who worked in Brooklyn. They didn't have dads who worked in Queens, either. She was probably trying to get to Manhattan, and had some horrible subway mishap. He was creating the scenario in his mind at a rapid speed.

"Did you get off at the wrong subway station?" Speaking was important. Gabriel had a tendency to get lost in his head and forget words were necessary. Like right now. "I could try to help you. I'm not really-- I don't live here, though. I just work here. So I'm not sure… how much help I would be…" He felt like kicking himself right about now, but the word just wouldn't stop pouring out in their awkward staccato.

[agentstatus]

If he kept stumbling through his words like this, she really was going to kill him. But, that would mean apologizing to Noah, so she tried to keep from letting it bother her too thoroughly. She even managed to keep the smile on her face -- lying was getting easier. Then again, it was hard wired into her, given what kind of family she came from, so that wasn't surprising. She would be more surprised if it were difficult.

So, instead of voicing her annoyance, she chuckled warmly at the obvious fluster in his tone, and ducked her head in coy embarrassment.

"This is Brooklyn?" Biting her lip, she shrugged a little, giving an obviously exaggerated grimace as she admitted her mistake. "I was shooting for Queens." Gabriel, she knew, lived in Queens. It would be easier to get him to guide her around if her goal was on his way home, considering how late it was getting in the afternoon -- Gray and Son's was unlikely to get another customer for the day, and convincing him to lock up early shouldn't be too hard if she was helpless enough. They always wanted to be the hero.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't even be here, I'm just some stranger, I mean, why would you want to help me, right? You've probably got … work." She gave a nod vaguely toward to the back room. "I'll find a subway map or something, I don't want to take up more of your time just because I'm a total airhead. I'm sure I'll find it eventually." Definitely a good idea to make sure he knew just how much she needed his help, and just how 'above and beyond' he was going for her. Why, he was practically her hero. The whole charade was nauseating, but it'd make getting him alone and grilling him easier. After a pause, she realized it might be wise, in this case, to make sure he knew she wasn't fully dismissing him. Guys like Gabriel would take anything as a rejection and clam up immediately.

"I mean, you've already been a huge help, I just don't want you to feel like you have to or anything," she added, flashing another winning smile. "Thank you."

[gearwinding]

"Oh, I live in Queens." It was like shooting fish in a barrel. Not that Gabriel knew. He just knew that she needed help, and something in him desperately wanted to help her. He was never the hero. Just the guy who stood on the sidelines, paralyzed by fear and insecurity while the real hero acted.

"It's not a big deal. I, um, I doubt there's going to be much more business today." He gestured around them and tried to force a smile. "Obviously."

Maybe he was being too eager to help. As soon as the thought entered his mind, it sent him reeling. "I live in Ridgewood, though. If it's too far from there, um… I don't know. If I'd know where you're looking for, I mean. I'll still try to help you."

And that was when his mouth and his mind went their separate ways, and he found himself plagued with a distinct inability to shut the fuck up. He wanted to stop talking and over-explaining, but he couldn't. "I don't think you're an airhead. … Not that I know you or anything, but it's really easy to get lost. It happens to me sometimes, and I live here. In the city. Not ... here." He paused to make a nervous chuckling noise. "Really, it's not a big deal. I don't mind helping you." He offered his hand out to her, realizing she still didn't know his name.

"I'm Gabriel."

[agentstatus]

Giggling light-heartedly was a sure fire way to keep looking like the airhead that he didn't seem to think she was. He was downright adorable -- by adorable, of course, she meant nauseatingly saccharine. Every awkward reassurance had her trying harder to resist the urge to just whip out her gun and smack him one with the butt of it. He could definitely use it. Maybe then he'd stop begin such a gullible asshole.

When she did get the chance to kill him, Claire concluded, she'd be doing the poor bastard a favor. For now, though, she acted as though she didn't already know all of the information he was spewing at her. Like she hadn't read over it a dozen times before she even thought of coming out here. In retrospect, any sense of apprehension she'd felt about this assignment was laughable.

"Like the angel," Claire returned, a carefully crafted sense of awe and amusement clear in her bright green eyes. "Guess I picked the right watch shop to ask for directions in. I found an angel to guide me home." Her smile became shy and she looked down, laughing and finally taking his hand, acting as though it had taken that time to get over her surprise that he was named after an angel. Inwardly, she was just hoping she could make it through the next hour without getting cavities. "I'm Claire."

He was trying to back down a little, though. She could tell with the neighborhood specification, but she wasn't going to let that happen. So she let her hand linger a little longer than necessary in the handshake before shyly drawing it back.

"He's in Astoria. But, really, any help you can give me is way more than enough, I mean. Obviously," she held her hands out to gesture at the building. "I couldn't even make it to the right part of New York on my own, just getting in the right direction would be a step up." Her expression became gradually more relaxed -- fond, even. "I owe you big time."

[gearwinding]

"Yeah," his face started to flush at the comparison. It was nothing he hadn't already heard; his mother in particular liked to harp on all his angelic qualities, both real and imagined. "I'm not really an angel though. I just… happened to be in the right place at the right time." As his eyes wandered down to her hand gripping his, the redness in his face started spreading. But then she took it back, and the moment was gone all too soon.

"Claire's a nice name." He stated simply, eyes wandering from where her hand used to be back to her face. He wanted to say she reminded him of an angel, but he caught his tongue in that particular instance. She probably heard that kind of thing all the time.

Astoria was… well, kind of out of the way, honestly, but he wasn't going to tell Claire no now. He would have agreed to help her even if it included a detour to Mexico. "That's not too bad," He was quick to reply and smile, trying to cover up his momentary hesitation. "I can take you to the right subway station, at least. And then you can call a cab from there. You know where he works, right? The company, I mean." A brief pause while he realized how dumb that sounded. "Of course you know."

He made a quick scan of the shop, rushing to close up and help Claire find her father. A bitter voice in him quipped about how nice it must have been to have a father, one who worked in Astoria no less. He pushed it down, switching off the indoor lights and the sign outside. Not that it mattered. No one else was going to come today, it was useless to think otherwise.

[agentstatus]

"I don't know, Gabriel," she made sure to emphasize his name, as if somehow that would make it sound more angelic. It wouldn't, but ideally it would get the point across anyway. "Don't you believe in destiny? Right place at the right time only goes so far, I mean, I bet you I could walk the length of this street and not find a single other person who'd be so willing to give me a hand. That makes you pretty special, if you ask me." It was like a key word. Dropping hints, testing the waters. They all liked to think that they were special, Claire had quickly realized as much, but really they were just freaks. Herself included.

"I think I should be able to find my way from the subway station. I mean, I could just tell the cabbie the company name and he'd be able to find it probably, right?" She moved to turn over the hanging open/closed sign for him while he hit the lights, tracing her fingers down the glass and facing away from him as she spoke, staring outside at where she'd pulled her car over. She'd have to come back and pick it up later. No big deal.

This conversation had done a lot for her in terms of discerning where his ability started and ended. Either it wasn't fully formed yet, he hadn't realized how to access it, or it didn't expand to just sight. Regardless, he didn't seem to have noticed that she was so much like Brian Davis in so many ways yet. Lucky for him. He had no idea what he could do. He hadn't been dragged through test after test, beaten and dragged to the breaking point and back again.

Then again, he was going to die for it instead. It balanced out, really. All she needed was the slightest excuse, any inclination that this sweater-vest wearing lameass might possibly go all Hannibal Lecter again and she could put him down like a dog.

"You probably don't believe in that stuff, huh?" She asked in a quiet, thoughtful voice in order to pull herself out of her own thoughts. Brooding wasn't going to keep him chasing her like a puppy. Of course, she didn't believe in that crap, either. People dealt with what got handed to them and the only thing that foretold what that was going to be was the shitty person that was dealing it out. In this instance, though, that shitty person was her, and she just happened to be pretty good at pretending she wasn't one. "Fate and destiny and all that. My dad thinks I'm stupid for it, but it's stuff like this that really proves it for me, you know? I'd be super lost without you. You're like my hero or something."

[gearwinding]

That was because most of the people on this street would probably mug her, but he wasn't going to say so out loud. There was no need to make poor Claire more scared of New York than she had to be. "This street isn't a very good example," he settled on instead. But he did believe in destiny, and the fact that Claire was talking about it made him feel better about his beliefs. Like they were more okay, more validated somehow.

His eyes lit up at the word special. It was something he heard so rarely, not from anyone who wasn't his mother, not from anyone who mattered. There had been Chandra, and now … Claire. Maybe she was special, too. He could feel it. He knew she was different in some way, but he wasn't sure how. Whatever it was, it made him want to stay with her in whatever capacity he could.

"Well, if you're sure you'll be okay from there. But I don't mind escorting you. I want to make sure you get to your dad and everything." He bit his lip and smiled, oblivious to any negative thoughts she might have been thinking about him.

Although he had held back initially, her prompting him about destiny made him go for it and respond this time. "I do, actually. Everything happens for a reason." Gabriel smiled, this one more natural-seeming than the last. "I'm glad I could be your hero."

The words felt strange in his mouth. They tasted wrong, somehow. He chalked it up to his inexperience regarding the matter.

[agentstatus]

She didn't turn to look at him quite yet, instead mulling his words over. He was right, to some extent. Everything happens for a reason. But, it wasn't some higher power orchestrating that. It wasn't fate or some higher purpose. It was the individuals who made the most careful of plans to bring people to that point. Just as she'd been carefully dropped into Noah's lap to hand over as soon as it was time for her to learn how her real family did things, so it was Gabriel's turn to learn what "fate" had in store for people who were "special."

"Do you think there's a reason for this, Gabriel? For us to meet like this." It was genuinely thoughtful, her tone, and she kept staring out the window. A part of her really wanted to know the answer. A tiny part of her that still wanted to remember storybooks about unicorns and Candyland was actually genuinely interested in what he had to say. But, that part was worn around the edges and tucked away in a box somewhere. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she felt guilty and frustrated with herself for letting it sneak through that much.

To combat it, she turned to face him, expression hardening briefly, but almost instantaneously reverting to the warmth that he was going to need to be able to expect from her. For now, she was going to follow Noah's little game plan and see where it took her. They were banking on the hope that Gabriel might never realize what he could do if Suresh stopped whittling away at him, but Claire didn't share their optimism. It was for that reason exactly that she'd chosen to come armed in the first place.

An false chuckle of embarrassment worked its way through her and she shook her head demurely.

"Sorry. That's probably a weird question. Umm, is that just about it? I don't want to rush you or anything, I just … Well. You know. It might get dark soon." The city at night -- no normal little girl would dare risk it, and Claire was supposed to be a normal little girl. For the time being, anyway. "You should be careful too, I mean, you don't work here all alone, do you?"

[gearwinding]

"For us to meet like this? Well … " He paused thoughtfully, reciprocating her sincerity and ignoring her effort to halt the topic. He'd done that himself too many times. Even with apologies, that didn't mean you didn't still want to know. "Maybe it's as simple as I'm supposed to help you today." A smile. "God has a plan for everyone." It wasn't much better than the god works in mysterious ways cliche, but it could be a reassuring, sometimes. There was a small amount of comfort to be found in faith.

But he didn't want to force his beliefs on her-- they were mostly habit, drilled into him by his mother-- so he tried to leave it at that. Gabriel moved towards the door. He had to hold it open for her. Had to be a gentleman. Had to be perfect.

"It's not a weird question. And don't worry about it." He was still all smiles. "I do, actually." The whole story was a bit more grim than that. It wasn't that he liked working in Gray & Son's alone. They were long, dismal, thankless hours. But he couldn't afford to hire anyone else on, even if he wanted to. And he wasn't sure that he would have, even if it were an option. Who else would want part in this quickly sinking family business? Maybe his mother was right. He should have left it alone, should have let it die with the vague memories of his father. Just another decrepit antique he left behind.

But there was a chance he was still out there, and he couldn't give up on that. And despite what Virginia Gray had to say about where his talents would be better suited, he did make a damn good watchmaker.

Maybe she was concerned for his well-being. He could feel that kind of vibe. But it wasn't a big deal. He left before it got too dark, kept to himself, and no one bothered him. Some days it felt just like high school. Like he'd never be more than invisible.

[agentstatus]

Yeah, idiot, the reason's to kill you. His answer just pissed her off, but she managed to keep her expression from showing it safe for one brief twitch in her smile. The religious overtones were enough to make her want to punch him out then and there, but she refrained and instead headed out the door as he held it, giving a thankful smile.

"And you go all the way home to Ridgewood by yourself afterward?" The surprise was genuine, at least. Even in the evening, the subways could be a scary place for guys like Gabriel. It was a miracle he hadn't been mugged yet with that ridiculous fucking sweater-vest. She just couldn't get over it. Instead of berating him for being the moron she now believed him to be, she gave a slow, impressed nod.

"I get freaked just visiting my dad. You never really know what a person's capable of, and there are a lot of sketchy looking people in New York." She tucked her hands into her pockets, stepping out into the chilly spring weather of the city. "You must be pretty brave. That, or you're secretly Superman under those glasses," she threw an obviously joking smile his way, chuckling.

It wasn't a joke, though. Not in the slightest. Given his aptitude, he could easily have dozens of stolen abilities hiding behind those glasses. If it was this easy for her to play up being the nice, innocent little lost girl, how easy would it be for him to pretend to be a harmless watchmaker?

Therein lied her problem with the assignment. She needed a sign of some kind to get the okay to kill him. But, if he were really that far off the deep end already, he'd know exactly how not to give one. It was a conundrum, and one that she didn't want to risk. Her palm itched for the familiar metal of her gun, but she just clenched her hand into a fist at her side.

[gearwinding]

As she exited, he locked the door behind her, making sure it was shut tight. Still unable to see anything in Claire's expression except sunshine and light, he kept smiling back. It wasn't that far to the nearest subway station from the shop, so he led the way, hands jammed in his pockets.

"It's not that bad." He heard the shock in her voice and tried to reassure her. "Most people aren't like that. Most of the time. Most people don't even notice me, so." His smile wavered to a fraction of a smile. It was rough to make that kind of admission about himself, especially when he was trying to impress Claire-- was he? Yeah, he guess he was. But he trusted her. He wasn't sure why, but something about her said that she was trustworthy.

He bowed his head to hide the grin Claire's joke forced out of him. "Ha! No, I'm not Superman. I don't really consider myself brave, either. Just careful. You … where are you from, anyway?" Gabriel gave her a sideways glance. It wasn't New York, apparently. As much as he wished it was. But maybe she lived somewhat close. Like in New Jersey. That would increase the likelihood of him seeing her again. It was a really slim chance, but he still couldn't help but hope for it.

Excluding Chandra, who was more like a surrogate father, really, Claire was the closest thing he'd had to a friend since… maybe ever. Based entirely on their few minutes of interaction. It was hard to find someone who would hold a real conversation with him for that long, without shutting him down for being too strange or awkward. Or who would hold a conversation with him at all, outside of the typical workplace niceties. It was enough to drive him mad sometimes.

[agentstatus]

Where was she from? Texas, she supposed. Kermit. Nathan's big mistake. Obviously, that wasn't going to contribute to her answer to Gabriel, though. She needed something close enough to give her an excuse to come back, but far enough out of the city to explain her apprehensions. Somewhere within a half hour's commute, to explain her father's presence in the city.

"Elizabeth," she responded promptly with a smile. "It's right next door. Well, in New Jersey, but practically next door. Dad comes to the city for work. It's not nearly big like New York is, but, you know. It's home." She shrugged a little. Wouldn't that be a nice life for some little blonde thing to have. Having a dad she could go visit at his work after school, leaving her little white picket fence to journey through the city and try to track him down. Nothing like what she actually had back at the Primatech headquarters.

"It must be nice to live here, though. I mean, it's so glamorous," she looked up at the too-tall buildings, chuckling and spinning around a bit as they walked along the sidewalk. Her hands left her pockets so she could hold them out as she spun. "You have to meet all kinds of exciting people, huh? Interesting people." The subtle push was there in her tone, but she was careful not to go overboard. She wanted information about who he'd been talking to, to find out if anyone else knew what the Company knew, but she didn't want to scare him away by demanding too much too soon.

[gearwinding]

"Oh. That sounds nice." He had no idea how nice is actually was. Gabriel had never really been that far outside of the city. And from what he knew about New Jersey, it seemed to be… the opposite of nice, actually, but if it was where Claire lived, it couldn't have been that bad.

He couldn't take his eyes off her as she started spinning around, dumb grin fixed in place. "Parts of it are." Not any of the parts Gabriel inhabited. Working class neighborhoods at best, slums at worst. Nothing someone like Claire would have been interested in. But Astoria was a good neighborhood. She would be okay there. And she'd have her dad. Part of him wanted to invite her to Manhattan, to give her the picture book tourist attraction version of the city she deserved to see, because he thought she would have liked it. But he barely knew her, and he wasn't that bold.

Oh, right. She asked him a question. He took a hand out of his pocket to readjust his glasses. "No, not really." He chuckled a little. "This, uh, investment banker guy asked me to fix his rolex awhile ago. I guess he was pretty important. But he wasn't that interesting." The words were on the tip of his tongue, he wanted to tell her how he met Chandra Suresh and everything he hold him, how he was interesting and special and Claire didn't have to look any further.

But he held his tongue in that instance, too. He couldn't scare Claire away like that, and he was afraid that he would.

[agentstatus]

"An investment banker? Gabriel, we need to work on your definition of the word interesting." It was the first genuine reaction he'd garnered from her, and as soon as she realized it, she swore it'd be the last. She ceased her spinning and continued a straight, casual walk down the sidewalk at Gabriel's side, only a brief look of discomfort skirting across her expression. It was covered up as quickly as it appeared.

"I think you're holding out on me. You can do better than that, everyone needs their watches fixed at some point, you must have met everyone." Again, she worried that maybe she was pushing him too hard, but there was a fine line to be walked with these things. He needed to know that she wanted to hear about the oddities, but not that she was clearly aware that they existed.