[heroes15] "Understanding."
”Sylar? What are you doing here? Sylar? Are you listening to me? Sylar? Why are you dressed like that? Sylar? Why are you wearing glasses? Sylar! Are you listening to me?”
It wasn’t until Gabriel felt a small hand on his shoulder shaking him that he realized that what he had been hearing wasn’t just in his head, it was an actual little girl that was talking to him. He frowned slightly, shaking his head to collect his thoughts again before he looked up and focused on the little girl in front of him, and slowly he tilted his head a bit to the side as he looked at her.
“Sylar! Why are you dressed all funny?” she persisted, and he pressed his lips together before figuring that the only way to get her to stop was to answer her.
“I’m not Sylar,” he replied quietly, casting his gaze down at the ground again. What was it with the world? Was it trying to tell him that he was meant to be something he wasn’t, and something he didn’t particularly want to become? Here was this little girl he had never seen before in his life asking if he was Sylar.
“Oh,” she said then, and Gabriel sighed to himself, assuming that she would go away then since he wasn’t who she wanted, just like everyone else who wanted Sylar and not him did. “Who are you then? Are you his brother? Because…he’s Peter’s brother, and they’re twins, but they don’t look alike. But, I supposed that you and him could be identical, and Peter could just be extra. But if Angela had three babies inside her at once, I feel really bad for her…”
Gabriel let out a soft snort of amusement at that statement and shook his head a bit, lifting his gaze to look at her once again, and even managed an ever so slight smile to her.
“My name is Gabriel,” he said simply to her, and he tilted his head a bit again when her eyes widened.
“Really? That’s Sylar’s real name. He doesn’t like using it though, he uses Sylar,” she said, and he gave her another bemused smile at the childlike wonder that shimmered in her eyes.
“I know, I’ve met Sylar,” he told her, and her eyes became even wider at that.
“Really? You know him?” she asked excitedly, and then paused for a moment. “Do you know who I am?”
He didn’t, but he paused for a moment, and a quick glance into her thoughts revealed who she was.
“You’re Molly, right? He’s talked about you,” he replied, though he couldn’t remember if he had ever actually mentioned the young girl. She seemed beyond pleased by that answer though and let out an excited little squeal.
“Yes, I am! He has? What has he said?” she asked, and he laughed softly at the way she was almost vibrating with excitement at that fact.
“Just a few things, all good things though. He made you sound like a delightful little girl,” he nodded slowly, and she seemed even more pleased with that as he watched her sit down next to him on the bench. “What are you doing here on your own?”
“I’m not alone! My babysitter is over there,” she replied and then gestured over to a girl that was sitting on a bench, seemingly more interested in her cell phone than the fact that the girl she was supposed to be taking care of was talking to some strange man.
He suddenly turned sharply to her and tilted his head a bit, looking down at her with an intense gaze, though one full of curiosity and wonder rather than malice.
“Are you special?” he asked quietly, and her eyes widened for a moment in fear. “I…I won’t hurt you, I promise.”
She bit her lip and glanced at the babysitter before, albeit a bit reluctantly, nodded slowly.
“What do you do?” he pressed, his eyes lighting up a bit, but it was becoming more and more obvious that he didn’t wish to harm her. There was something about her that was stopping him, he didn’t feel the need to take it from her by force, or at all really, he just wanted to know what it was that she could do.
“I find things,” she told him, and a wide smile spread across his face. “And people.”
“You do? How do you do that?” he asked curiously, showing genuine interest now as he turned more towards her, and she seemed to smile at the way he seemed excited about it, the excitement rubbing off on her too.
“I don’t know. I just…think about them and know where they are,” she replied with a slight shrug, modesty was apparently something she had learned, and it made his lips twitch with amusement.
“Really? That’s really, really cool, Molly,” he told her and grinned, and a grin spread across her face too when he said it.
“You think so? Really? I think everyone else has abilities that are much cooler than that…” she murmured, but Gabriel just nodded again.
“It’s super cool. When you grow up, you can use it for really good things, you know. Like…finding little kids that are lost, and stuff like that, maybe,” he said, tapping his chin in thought. “Or something equally awesome. Maybe if you can find things, you can search for buried treasure. Like a pirate!”
Of course, those two things were quite polar opposites, but it seemed to amuse her as she began to giggle, and he wrinkled his nose just a bit as he laughed.
“So, why do you look like Sylar?” she asked once she had finished laughing, a question that he had been expecting really, and he frowned, because even he didn’t fully know how to answer that.
“Because…and this is going to sound completely insane. I am him? I’m…him before he turns into Sylar. God that does make me sound crazy. But uhm, Peter, do you know Peter? Petrelli? He says that there are alternate timelines, and you can meet yourself from the future or the past…and…it’s really weird, it doesn’t even make sense to me,” he said and frowned again as she nodded thoughtfully.
“Oh, that’s kinda cool,” she mumbled, though she seemed to be in deep thought over something.
“Is there something wrong, Molly?” he asked softly, not wanting to press her, but he could tell that there was something wrong, and he worried that it was his fault.
“What? Oh…no, uhm, can I ask you a question?” she asked, looking up at him with wide eyes.
“Well, you already did,” he started to joke, and gave her a gentle nudge. “But you can ask me as many as you want.”
“Uhm…do you know someone named James Walker?” she asked, and though he was tempted to read her mind to find out just why she seemed so upset about it, he didn’t, that would be too much of an invasion of privacy. He furrowed his brow in thought for a moment, and then sighed softly, shaking his head.
“No, I’m sorry, Molly, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of anyone by that name, let alone know him… Is it someone that Sylar knows? Maybe he met him after my timeline… Or, I can check the books I have at my shop, to see if he’s come in. Why?” he asked, tilting his head a bit as he looked at her with concern, but she just slowly shook her head.
“No, no, it’s okay, don’t worry about it,” she replied, but she still looked rather disgruntled, and Gabriel didn’t know what to do about it.
“I’m really, really sorry,” he said quietly, but she just shook her head again.
“No, don’t be sorry, Gabriel, it’s okay,” she told him, and though she was smiling at him, he could tell that it was a forced one.
“Oh…okay, well, if I find him, I can let you know?” he offered, but that just made her face crumble a bit and he groaned softly. “I..I’m so sorry, Molly, I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“No, no it’s not your fault,” she said quickly, shaking her head as she balled her fists up and wiped her eyes, not looking at him as she said it though. He muttered a soft curse under his breath because he had definitely not intended to upset her, and he could only hope now that she wouldn’t be mad at him for making her cry.
“It’s okay, Gabriel, don’t look sad. I’m not mad at you,” she said suddenly, pulling him from his thoughts, and he couldn’t stop himself from laughing. Here she was the one who was crying and needed comfort, but instead she was trying to comfort him.
“Alright, Molly, I’ll smile for you,” he told her and forced a smile on his face, and she mirrored the image, a forced smile as well, but they didn’t comment on that fact, even though it was painfully obvious.
“Molly?”
Their wordless conversation was cut off by the sound of a panicked woman’s voice, and the both of them turned sharply to look towards where they babysitter had been sitting texting, and now was standing looking around panicked, obviously thinking that she had lost the girl she was supposed to be taking care of.
“Molly? There you are…what are you doing?” she asked and then hurried over to the two of them, scowling a bit as she stared him down.
“What are you doing, talking to a little girl, creep?” she snapped at him, and Gabriel groaned softly to himself, he’d feared that would happen.
“Hey! Don’t talk to him like that! His name is Gabriel. He’s nice,” Molly quickly snapped at the other woman, and Gabriel looked a bit surprised at her. “He’s…uhm…he’s Sylar’s brother!”
“It’s alright, Molly, I have to get going anyway. It was really nice meeting you though,” he said and got up, but before he could leave there were suddenly thin, child arms around his waist, and a face pressed against his stomach.
“Will I see you again?” she asked, and looked up at him with wide eyes. He cast a nervous glance over at the babysitter who didn’t seem at all amused by the situation, but he turned his attention quickly back to her and nodded.
“Yeah, you will, if you want to. I’ll come to this park every day, and if you see me, you can just come over and say hello, okay?” he smiled, and then kneeled down to give her a tight hug.
“Okay,” she nodded, her arms going around his neck as she hugged him back, before he got up again, and after another quick pat on the head he walked briskly away, deep in thought as he did so.
((Molly Walker is humanmapquest and is used with love and permission))
It wasn’t until Gabriel felt a small hand on his shoulder shaking him that he realized that what he had been hearing wasn’t just in his head, it was an actual little girl that was talking to him. He frowned slightly, shaking his head to collect his thoughts again before he looked up and focused on the little girl in front of him, and slowly he tilted his head a bit to the side as he looked at her.
“Sylar! Why are you dressed all funny?” she persisted, and he pressed his lips together before figuring that the only way to get her to stop was to answer her.
“I’m not Sylar,” he replied quietly, casting his gaze down at the ground again. What was it with the world? Was it trying to tell him that he was meant to be something he wasn’t, and something he didn’t particularly want to become? Here was this little girl he had never seen before in his life asking if he was Sylar.
“Oh,” she said then, and Gabriel sighed to himself, assuming that she would go away then since he wasn’t who she wanted, just like everyone else who wanted Sylar and not him did. “Who are you then? Are you his brother? Because…he’s Peter’s brother, and they’re twins, but they don’t look alike. But, I supposed that you and him could be identical, and Peter could just be extra. But if Angela had three babies inside her at once, I feel really bad for her…”
Gabriel let out a soft snort of amusement at that statement and shook his head a bit, lifting his gaze to look at her once again, and even managed an ever so slight smile to her.
“My name is Gabriel,” he said simply to her, and he tilted his head a bit again when her eyes widened.
“Really? That’s Sylar’s real name. He doesn’t like using it though, he uses Sylar,” she said, and he gave her another bemused smile at the childlike wonder that shimmered in her eyes.
“I know, I’ve met Sylar,” he told her, and her eyes became even wider at that.
“Really? You know him?” she asked excitedly, and then paused for a moment. “Do you know who I am?”
He didn’t, but he paused for a moment, and a quick glance into her thoughts revealed who she was.
“You’re Molly, right? He’s talked about you,” he replied, though he couldn’t remember if he had ever actually mentioned the young girl. She seemed beyond pleased by that answer though and let out an excited little squeal.
“Yes, I am! He has? What has he said?” she asked, and he laughed softly at the way she was almost vibrating with excitement at that fact.
“Just a few things, all good things though. He made you sound like a delightful little girl,” he nodded slowly, and she seemed even more pleased with that as he watched her sit down next to him on the bench. “What are you doing here on your own?”
“I’m not alone! My babysitter is over there,” she replied and then gestured over to a girl that was sitting on a bench, seemingly more interested in her cell phone than the fact that the girl she was supposed to be taking care of was talking to some strange man.
He suddenly turned sharply to her and tilted his head a bit, looking down at her with an intense gaze, though one full of curiosity and wonder rather than malice.
“Are you special?” he asked quietly, and her eyes widened for a moment in fear. “I…I won’t hurt you, I promise.”
She bit her lip and glanced at the babysitter before, albeit a bit reluctantly, nodded slowly.
“What do you do?” he pressed, his eyes lighting up a bit, but it was becoming more and more obvious that he didn’t wish to harm her. There was something about her that was stopping him, he didn’t feel the need to take it from her by force, or at all really, he just wanted to know what it was that she could do.
“I find things,” she told him, and a wide smile spread across his face. “And people.”
“You do? How do you do that?” he asked curiously, showing genuine interest now as he turned more towards her, and she seemed to smile at the way he seemed excited about it, the excitement rubbing off on her too.
“I don’t know. I just…think about them and know where they are,” she replied with a slight shrug, modesty was apparently something she had learned, and it made his lips twitch with amusement.
“Really? That’s really, really cool, Molly,” he told her and grinned, and a grin spread across her face too when he said it.
“You think so? Really? I think everyone else has abilities that are much cooler than that…” she murmured, but Gabriel just nodded again.
“It’s super cool. When you grow up, you can use it for really good things, you know. Like…finding little kids that are lost, and stuff like that, maybe,” he said, tapping his chin in thought. “Or something equally awesome. Maybe if you can find things, you can search for buried treasure. Like a pirate!”
Of course, those two things were quite polar opposites, but it seemed to amuse her as she began to giggle, and he wrinkled his nose just a bit as he laughed.
“So, why do you look like Sylar?” she asked once she had finished laughing, a question that he had been expecting really, and he frowned, because even he didn’t fully know how to answer that.
“Because…and this is going to sound completely insane. I am him? I’m…him before he turns into Sylar. God that does make me sound crazy. But uhm, Peter, do you know Peter? Petrelli? He says that there are alternate timelines, and you can meet yourself from the future or the past…and…it’s really weird, it doesn’t even make sense to me,” he said and frowned again as she nodded thoughtfully.
“Oh, that’s kinda cool,” she mumbled, though she seemed to be in deep thought over something.
“Is there something wrong, Molly?” he asked softly, not wanting to press her, but he could tell that there was something wrong, and he worried that it was his fault.
“What? Oh…no, uhm, can I ask you a question?” she asked, looking up at him with wide eyes.
“Well, you already did,” he started to joke, and gave her a gentle nudge. “But you can ask me as many as you want.”
“Uhm…do you know someone named James Walker?” she asked, and though he was tempted to read her mind to find out just why she seemed so upset about it, he didn’t, that would be too much of an invasion of privacy. He furrowed his brow in thought for a moment, and then sighed softly, shaking his head.
“No, I’m sorry, Molly, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of anyone by that name, let alone know him… Is it someone that Sylar knows? Maybe he met him after my timeline… Or, I can check the books I have at my shop, to see if he’s come in. Why?” he asked, tilting his head a bit as he looked at her with concern, but she just slowly shook her head.
“No, no, it’s okay, don’t worry about it,” she replied, but she still looked rather disgruntled, and Gabriel didn’t know what to do about it.
“I’m really, really sorry,” he said quietly, but she just shook her head again.
“No, don’t be sorry, Gabriel, it’s okay,” she told him, and though she was smiling at him, he could tell that it was a forced one.
“Oh…okay, well, if I find him, I can let you know?” he offered, but that just made her face crumble a bit and he groaned softly. “I..I’m so sorry, Molly, I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“No, no it’s not your fault,” she said quickly, shaking her head as she balled her fists up and wiped her eyes, not looking at him as she said it though. He muttered a soft curse under his breath because he had definitely not intended to upset her, and he could only hope now that she wouldn’t be mad at him for making her cry.
“It’s okay, Gabriel, don’t look sad. I’m not mad at you,” she said suddenly, pulling him from his thoughts, and he couldn’t stop himself from laughing. Here she was the one who was crying and needed comfort, but instead she was trying to comfort him.
“Alright, Molly, I’ll smile for you,” he told her and forced a smile on his face, and she mirrored the image, a forced smile as well, but they didn’t comment on that fact, even though it was painfully obvious.
“Molly?”
Their wordless conversation was cut off by the sound of a panicked woman’s voice, and the both of them turned sharply to look towards where they babysitter had been sitting texting, and now was standing looking around panicked, obviously thinking that she had lost the girl she was supposed to be taking care of.
“Molly? There you are…what are you doing?” she asked and then hurried over to the two of them, scowling a bit as she stared him down.
“What are you doing, talking to a little girl, creep?” she snapped at him, and Gabriel groaned softly to himself, he’d feared that would happen.
“Hey! Don’t talk to him like that! His name is Gabriel. He’s nice,” Molly quickly snapped at the other woman, and Gabriel looked a bit surprised at her. “He’s…uhm…he’s Sylar’s brother!”
“It’s alright, Molly, I have to get going anyway. It was really nice meeting you though,” he said and got up, but before he could leave there were suddenly thin, child arms around his waist, and a face pressed against his stomach.
“Will I see you again?” she asked, and looked up at him with wide eyes. He cast a nervous glance over at the babysitter who didn’t seem at all amused by the situation, but he turned his attention quickly back to her and nodded.
“Yeah, you will, if you want to. I’ll come to this park every day, and if you see me, you can just come over and say hello, okay?” he smiled, and then kneeled down to give her a tight hug.
“Okay,” she nodded, her arms going around his neck as she hugged him back, before he got up again, and after another quick pat on the head he walked briskly away, deep in thought as he did so.
((Molly Walker is humanmapquest and is used with love and permission))