(no subject)
TITLE: Deceit 6/?
AUTHOR: dragynflies
PAIRING: Elle/Gabriel
RATING: R for content
DISCLAIMER: Heroes cast is not mine.
SUMMARY: They’re learning very rapidly that for as much as they both care for each other, neither of them are very good at being in a relationship.
As per usual, this wouldn’t be any good without cruiscin_lan This whole chapter is because she ROCKS like…something that rocks a lot.
They’re learning very rapidly that for as much as they both care for each other, neither of them are very good at being in a relationship.
Elle has spent too many years taking orders, and her new found freedom means that Gabriel’s protectiveness towards her makes her feel smothered. Gabriel finds himself getting impatient with her even when she’s done nothing but exist in the too small apartment.
They’re in the middle of a screaming match about why Elle does or does not need to get a job (she wants one, he wants her to stay home) when she opens up her palm and goes to zap him.
The spark barely ignites, but it’s enough. Gabriel realizes exactly what she intended to do, and Elle knows immediately that no matter what she says, nothing will convince him that she’d forgotten he was missing his powers - including his healing - and that a zap the size of the one she meant to throw at him would have knocked him out, if not worse.
He stares at her in silence for seconds that drag into days, then grabs his jacket off the chair and storms out of the apartment without a word.
Xxxxxxxxx
He’s gone for hours. Elle finishes the dishes and looks through his books, trying to find one that will hold her attention longer than fifteen seconds, which is about how long she can go without thinking of Gabriel.
Elle does not like to wait.
She makes dinner from the random things they have in the cupboards, pieces together a pretty pathetic spaghetti sauce (a jar of Prego and a can of mushrooms) and boils the noodles.
Then she eats alone, leaning against the headboard of their bed, resting the bowl on her belly. She doesn’t really talk to the baby, doesn’t really think of the baby as someone yet, but as she turns her hand over and watches the little sparks fizzle out, she wonders just what her child is going to be like.
She doesn’t have the first idea how to raise a baby. She was sort of hoping Gabriel did - she doesn’t know much about his childhood, but damn, it can’t be any worse than the one she had, the one she doesn’t remember anyway. It’s becoming increasingly apparent, though, that he’s got no idea how to do any of this better than she does.
She falls asleep sitting up in bed, still in her clothes, waiting for him. When he comes back into the apartment, the door slams and she jumps, dumping what’s left of her dinner onto the floor and shattering the bowl.
“Where did you go?” she asks sleepily, rubbing her eyes. She’d like to tell him she’s just glad he’s home, but she’s pissed that he’d left her for the whole day, because she’s not the only one failing at this relationship.
“I fixed things,” he says, and throws all of the books off a shelf with a flick of his wrist. “Happy now?”
“What did you do?” she asks, trying to keep her voice steady and failing miserably. He’s scaring her, because she’s seen him look like this before, and it was right before he slit her head open and fucking killed her.
“It’s lucky you worked so hard with Mohinder to fix that vaccine,” he says, advancing on her, letting the electricity he took from her crackle between his fingers. Elle squeezes her hand together, silently begs the baby to let her spark, just one good one, long enough to knock him off balance so that she can go, “A little shot, a little help from Daddy…I’m good as new. Giving someone back their powers is a lot easier than creating them from scratch.”
“Gabriel, don’t do this,” she begs, hating how helpless she feels, hating the baby for taking away the one thing that really did make her special (she’d just about convinced herself otherwise, but everything was going to hell now…) and herself, for thinking they could be normal.
“Why not? You did.”
“I didn’t mean to…stop it, you’re scaring me.” She pushes herself up from the bed, moving away from him.
In the back of his mind, a little voice is screaming at him that he’s an idiot, that he needs to stop scaring her and that they need to talk like normal people. But they’re not normal people, and they’re not very good at talking, and this whole thing is going to hell right before his eyes.
Gabriel closes his fist around the electricity, and it goes out. Elle doesn’t know what to think, hates that she doesn’t know what to expect from him, and realizes that trusting him again (or trying to) was a mistake.
“I’m sorry,” he says, but it doesn’t sound like he means it. It sounds like he much prefers his powers to anything else, and that he’s done playing happy couple with a baby on the way.
Elle swallows hard, and moves around him, walking away. She takes a deep breath and finally says, “I think…I think I need to go.”
“Elle…” Gabriel can practically watch his entire future crumble - he doesn’t need any powers to see that.
“No,” she says, holding up a hand. She’s not nearly brave enough to waste time packing a suitcase, so she ends up half bolting to the door, snatching up her flats and her purse.
“Elle, please, I didn’t mean…”
She stops at the door, her hand on the knob, “No, and I didn’t either, and that’s the problem. Neither of us know what we’re doing, Gabriel, and I can’t pretend like I do anymore.”
She’s out the door before he can think of something good to say, and he just can’t go after her. He doesn’t know what to tell her, anyway.
He settles for blowing up the vase of flowers that he’d brought home for Elle not two days ago. It doesn’t make him feel any better.
Xxxxxxxxxxxx
Elle navigates the semi-unfamiliar streets, clutching her purse close to her. It’s dark and chilly out, and she’s dressed for sitting at home in her yoga pants and the dress shirt she stole from Gabriel’s closet. She knows she probably looks like a mess, but she’s familiar enough with the neighborhood that she knows she’s not going to stand out.
She finds the train stop without getting lost too many times, and buys a ticket that will take her to Hartsdale. Back to the Company, because she doesn’t think she can trust Arthur and Mohinder anymore - not after watching Gabriel.
As she sits alone on the train, she presses her palms against her stomach and wishes her Daddy was still alive.
AUTHOR: dragynflies
PAIRING: Elle/Gabriel
RATING: R for content
DISCLAIMER: Heroes cast is not mine.
SUMMARY: They’re learning very rapidly that for as much as they both care for each other, neither of them are very good at being in a relationship.
As per usual, this wouldn’t be any good without cruiscin_lan This whole chapter is because she ROCKS like…something that rocks a lot.
They’re learning very rapidly that for as much as they both care for each other, neither of them are very good at being in a relationship.
Elle has spent too many years taking orders, and her new found freedom means that Gabriel’s protectiveness towards her makes her feel smothered. Gabriel finds himself getting impatient with her even when she’s done nothing but exist in the too small apartment.
They’re in the middle of a screaming match about why Elle does or does not need to get a job (she wants one, he wants her to stay home) when she opens up her palm and goes to zap him.
The spark barely ignites, but it’s enough. Gabriel realizes exactly what she intended to do, and Elle knows immediately that no matter what she says, nothing will convince him that she’d forgotten he was missing his powers - including his healing - and that a zap the size of the one she meant to throw at him would have knocked him out, if not worse.
He stares at her in silence for seconds that drag into days, then grabs his jacket off the chair and storms out of the apartment without a word.
Xxxxxxxxx
He’s gone for hours. Elle finishes the dishes and looks through his books, trying to find one that will hold her attention longer than fifteen seconds, which is about how long she can go without thinking of Gabriel.
Elle does not like to wait.
She makes dinner from the random things they have in the cupboards, pieces together a pretty pathetic spaghetti sauce (a jar of Prego and a can of mushrooms) and boils the noodles.
Then she eats alone, leaning against the headboard of their bed, resting the bowl on her belly. She doesn’t really talk to the baby, doesn’t really think of the baby as someone yet, but as she turns her hand over and watches the little sparks fizzle out, she wonders just what her child is going to be like.
She doesn’t have the first idea how to raise a baby. She was sort of hoping Gabriel did - she doesn’t know much about his childhood, but damn, it can’t be any worse than the one she had, the one she doesn’t remember anyway. It’s becoming increasingly apparent, though, that he’s got no idea how to do any of this better than she does.
She falls asleep sitting up in bed, still in her clothes, waiting for him. When he comes back into the apartment, the door slams and she jumps, dumping what’s left of her dinner onto the floor and shattering the bowl.
“Where did you go?” she asks sleepily, rubbing her eyes. She’d like to tell him she’s just glad he’s home, but she’s pissed that he’d left her for the whole day, because she’s not the only one failing at this relationship.
“I fixed things,” he says, and throws all of the books off a shelf with a flick of his wrist. “Happy now?”
“What did you do?” she asks, trying to keep her voice steady and failing miserably. He’s scaring her, because she’s seen him look like this before, and it was right before he slit her head open and fucking killed her.
“It’s lucky you worked so hard with Mohinder to fix that vaccine,” he says, advancing on her, letting the electricity he took from her crackle between his fingers. Elle squeezes her hand together, silently begs the baby to let her spark, just one good one, long enough to knock him off balance so that she can go, “A little shot, a little help from Daddy…I’m good as new. Giving someone back their powers is a lot easier than creating them from scratch.”
“Gabriel, don’t do this,” she begs, hating how helpless she feels, hating the baby for taking away the one thing that really did make her special (she’d just about convinced herself otherwise, but everything was going to hell now…) and herself, for thinking they could be normal.
“Why not? You did.”
“I didn’t mean to…stop it, you’re scaring me.” She pushes herself up from the bed, moving away from him.
In the back of his mind, a little voice is screaming at him that he’s an idiot, that he needs to stop scaring her and that they need to talk like normal people. But they’re not normal people, and they’re not very good at talking, and this whole thing is going to hell right before his eyes.
Gabriel closes his fist around the electricity, and it goes out. Elle doesn’t know what to think, hates that she doesn’t know what to expect from him, and realizes that trusting him again (or trying to) was a mistake.
“I’m sorry,” he says, but it doesn’t sound like he means it. It sounds like he much prefers his powers to anything else, and that he’s done playing happy couple with a baby on the way.
Elle swallows hard, and moves around him, walking away. She takes a deep breath and finally says, “I think…I think I need to go.”
“Elle…” Gabriel can practically watch his entire future crumble - he doesn’t need any powers to see that.
“No,” she says, holding up a hand. She’s not nearly brave enough to waste time packing a suitcase, so she ends up half bolting to the door, snatching up her flats and her purse.
“Elle, please, I didn’t mean…”
She stops at the door, her hand on the knob, “No, and I didn’t either, and that’s the problem. Neither of us know what we’re doing, Gabriel, and I can’t pretend like I do anymore.”
She’s out the door before he can think of something good to say, and he just can’t go after her. He doesn’t know what to tell her, anyway.
He settles for blowing up the vase of flowers that he’d brought home for Elle not two days ago. It doesn’t make him feel any better.
Xxxxxxxxxxxx
Elle navigates the semi-unfamiliar streets, clutching her purse close to her. It’s dark and chilly out, and she’s dressed for sitting at home in her yoga pants and the dress shirt she stole from Gabriel’s closet. She knows she probably looks like a mess, but she’s familiar enough with the neighborhood that she knows she’s not going to stand out.
She finds the train stop without getting lost too many times, and buys a ticket that will take her to Hartsdale. Back to the Company, because she doesn’t think she can trust Arthur and Mohinder anymore - not after watching Gabriel.
As she sits alone on the train, she presses her palms against her stomach and wishes her Daddy was still alive.