Contemplation
Peter and Gabriel watched as Claire fell to her temporary death after jumping from the top of the Ferris wheel. Gabriel swallowed hard, fearing for a repeat of Nathan’s manhunt, but still remaining hopeful for a world where Specials could live in peace, out in the open. “We should get out of here before the media shit hits the fan.” Peter said, tugging lightly on Gabriel’s sleeve, snapping him out of his reverie. Gabriel nodded, eyes still on Claire, before turning to follow Peter. However, he didn’t take more than two steps before pausing again. He realized that he had no place to go. Before, when he was hunting Specials, he would just move to motel to motel as he searched for his next victim. Now Gabriel realized that that sort of Nomadic behavior would just be inconvenient. Peter looked back when Gabriel stopped, “What’s the matter?”
“Uh, I don’t have any place to stay…” Gabriel said, eyes averted.
“You can stay with me.” Gabriel looked up,
“Really? You’d let me stay at your place?” Peter nodded,
“Of course,” Peter placed a hand on the other’s shoulder, “C’mon,” he finished softly.
Gabriel entered the apartment, looking at his surroundings. There wasn’t much to look at. The apartment seemed to be empty, save for a few newspaper articles on the far wall and a queen-sized bed in the bedroom. “I know it’s not much, but I just never found much point in furnishing this place. I don’t really spend much time here,” Peter said, glancing at Gabriel. Gabriel grinned,
“Too busy chasing after super-powered serial killers, huh?” Peter chuckled,
“Yeah. I’m glad that’s over with.” Gabriel nodded, resisting the urge to apologize, and sat down on the living room floor, leaning against the wall. Peter sat next to him, “What are you going to do now?” Gabriel shrugged,
“I don’t know. I have a feeling that my shape-shifting power is going to come in handy a lot more often, though. Change into somebody not in trouble with the police.” Gabriel frowned. He really didn’t like using that power, especially after that identity crisis.
“Is the FBI still looking for you?”
“I would assume so.”
“I’ll try to do something about that. Being Nathan’s brother, I have a little bit of political power.” Gabriel looked at Peter, a little appalled. Peter wouldn’t look back at him. It made Gabriel feel a little sick that, after all he’d done to Peter, after killing his brother, the other man was still willing to use his brother’s post-mortem power to call in a favor for him. Gabriel didn’t feel like he deserved that much kindness. He looked away from Peter, opting instead to look forward. They sat there in silence for a while, until Gabriel felt a hand on his shoulder. Gabriel looked back towards Peter,
“Hm?”
“Sylar? Are you… are you ready to go to bed?” Gabriel had a feeling that wasn’t what Peter had wanted to ask, but he didn’t press. He just nodded and stood up.
“Oh… and call me Gabriel.” Peter gave him a small, crooked smile.
“Of course.” Gabriel smiled back and followed Peter into the bedroom. “I hope you don’t mind sharing the bed. I don’t have anything else you can sleep on.”
“I don’t mind,” Gabriel responded. He took off his shoes and lay down with his back to Peter.
Gabriel had always been an insomniac and now, with his mind buzzing from the past few years, or rather days, he found it impossible to fall asleep. So, inevitably, Gabriel found himself listening to Peter’s breath slow into the easy rhythm of sleep. He felt awkward, lying there next to his sleeping former archenemy. He felt as if he was an intruder on Peter’s life. He turned to face Peter. The smaller man was sleeping on his back, one hand on his stomach and the other at his side. Gabriel watched as Peter’s chest rose and fell, remembering a time when he would have taken this opportunity to kill the other. Now he couldn’t imagine ever hurting the man. He was the only person willing to save him. Gabriel eyes traveled to Peter’s face. He couldn’t make out much detail in the dark, but Gabriel could see that the other’s face looked peaceful. Gabriel realized that he rarely got to see such a relaxed expression on Peter’s visage. He was so used to seeing the other man’s features contorted in rage or pain, that Gabriel found the calm expression made Peter look strange to him. Still, Gabriel preferred it this way. Gabriel was suddenly overcome with the overwhelming urge to touch the other. This was not unusual for him. He’d been having that urge since Peter had shown up in his nightmare. Gabriel chalked it up to being without human contact for so long. He found that the only way to deal with these urges was to either think about something else or… Gabriel reached out and lightly ran his fingers over the side of Peter’s face… indulge them. When Peter didn’t stir from the contact, Gabriel scooted closer to the other’s form. He pressed his hand to Peter’s chest, feeling the other man’s heartbeat. It had been a long time since Gabriel had felt something warm and alive beneath his fingertips without simultaneously wanting to still it’s heart. Gabriel sighed, drawing his hand away. The other man had given much up for him. It didn’t seem right, after all Gabriel had taken. Gabriel bit his lip. He wondered when he had fallen so deeply in love with Peter. He knew it hadn’t always been like this, but he couldn’t seem to remember a time before he had these feelings. It took every fiber of his being to resist throwing himself at the other man. Gabriel swallowed hard and closed the last bit of distance between their bodies, throwing an arm over Peter’s form and burying his head in the crook of Peter’s neck. Gabriel whimpered slightly, realizing that his resolve was slipping.