Prompt #5
[I... really don't like this one. But it was my second attempt. The first time, the idea that really came to me, was rather unpleasantly dark, and I decided it wasn't for sharing. So this is the happy edit. Which sucks.]
The planned party had been a long time coming; apparently, Donna was no good at mass organisation. But, when the event finally did occur, Mohinder had to concede that it mostly filled its purpose of getting everybody together and making them forget about their woes for an afternoon.
A beach party. Between Tracy and Peter, transporting everybody to the nearest beach had not been a hassle at all. Matt had managed to procure a small barbecue set, and Mohinder's own diligence in the culinary department had meant they had enough food to create a small, but adequate, supply of barbecued food. Some of the women had managed to bring a volleyball net too, of all things, and for the majority that was more than enough to bring smiles to faces.
Mohinder appreciated it, of course he did. He was not as much of a killjoy as some people might believe, but he was still self-conscious enough to keep well away from the net and the other silly little games going on. Matt was up there, of course, with the pretence of playing along with Molly. The smile on his face, however, told a different story.
The geneticist did not care at all that he was sat alone whilst everyone else was playing and laughing. No, he was used to being solitary. Preferred it. He would have been perfectly content to just sit and watch, with a smile just like the ones spread across the faces of the others, but for one thing. Sylar.
It was stupid, how hard he had fallen. How much he had sacrified. If he threw out his fantasies of Sylar, he could be happy right now. It should not be hard, to accept that their relationship was a doomed one, move on and just be happy to have friends around him. A pseudo-family, even, in Matt and Molly. He knew all this, but he still could not bring himself to let go. Sylar was, for better or for worse, his all now. It was far from productive, but it was fact.
Still, he was happy enough right now. Happy enough to watch the others play. He just knew he would be so much happier if the others could accept Sylar as a changed man, welcome him into their fold. That way, he could have a warm body at his back right now, arms around him. But it was just a flight of fancy, it would never be.
A flash of light caught his eye, then. Like light reflecting off a polished surface, shining straight into the corner of his eye. Turning, curious, he spotted a figure on the very edge of the beach, loitering at the beginnings of the treeline. And if the figure was not unmistakable, Mohinder's recognition was clinched by the surface sending reflected light in his direction. A wristwatch. A timepiece.
No one would notice if he wondered off. They'd put it down as a character trait.
This party was not so bad, after all.
The planned party had been a long time coming; apparently, Donna was no good at mass organisation. But, when the event finally did occur, Mohinder had to concede that it mostly filled its purpose of getting everybody together and making them forget about their woes for an afternoon.
A beach party. Between Tracy and Peter, transporting everybody to the nearest beach had not been a hassle at all. Matt had managed to procure a small barbecue set, and Mohinder's own diligence in the culinary department had meant they had enough food to create a small, but adequate, supply of barbecued food. Some of the women had managed to bring a volleyball net too, of all things, and for the majority that was more than enough to bring smiles to faces.
Mohinder appreciated it, of course he did. He was not as much of a killjoy as some people might believe, but he was still self-conscious enough to keep well away from the net and the other silly little games going on. Matt was up there, of course, with the pretence of playing along with Molly. The smile on his face, however, told a different story.
The geneticist did not care at all that he was sat alone whilst everyone else was playing and laughing. No, he was used to being solitary. Preferred it. He would have been perfectly content to just sit and watch, with a smile just like the ones spread across the faces of the others, but for one thing. Sylar.
It was stupid, how hard he had fallen. How much he had sacrified. If he threw out his fantasies of Sylar, he could be happy right now. It should not be hard, to accept that their relationship was a doomed one, move on and just be happy to have friends around him. A pseudo-family, even, in Matt and Molly. He knew all this, but he still could not bring himself to let go. Sylar was, for better or for worse, his all now. It was far from productive, but it was fact.
Still, he was happy enough right now. Happy enough to watch the others play. He just knew he would be so much happier if the others could accept Sylar as a changed man, welcome him into their fold. That way, he could have a warm body at his back right now, arms around him. But it was just a flight of fancy, it would never be.
A flash of light caught his eye, then. Like light reflecting off a polished surface, shining straight into the corner of his eye. Turning, curious, he spotted a figure on the very edge of the beach, loitering at the beginnings of the treeline. And if the figure was not unmistakable, Mohinder's recognition was clinched by the surface sending reflected light in his direction. A wristwatch. A timepiece.
No one would notice if he wondered off. They'd put it down as a character trait.
This party was not so bad, after all.