End of the World
Title: End of the World
Characters: Hesam, Peter Petrelli
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Word Count: 450
Setting: Season 4
Summary: Hesam and Peter are hanging out in the ambulance between calls, getting a bite to eat and sharing some small talk.
Notes: This was my first attempt to write for the heroes_contest "Favorite Couple" entry. I sat down to write Noah/Sandra, honest to God.
"What would you do if the world was ending?" Hesam asked Peter around his gyro sandwich.
Peter blinked at him for a moment and shrugged. "I dunno. I guess I'd try to help."
"Help the world end?" Hesam joked. He was in a good mood today. Work had been light, calls few.
Peter chuckled. "No. I mean, try to stop it. Is that possible in this … situation you have in mind?"
"No, not really. So what would you do?"
Peter exhaled heavily. "That's … that's what I'd do. If I couldn't stop it, then I'd try to make people's last moments easier."
"Time to hand out the narcotics," Hesam suggested with a smile.
"Maybe," Peter conceded. "I was thinking more, 'time to hold people's hands and hug them and tell them it's going to be all right'."
"When the world's ending?" Hesam said with a bit of disbelief.
Peter shrugged again, carefully eating one of the unpitted kalamata olives that had come with his salad and hummus. "Might as well. What would you do?"
Hesam chewed a bit, looking away. "I think I'd go home. Be with my family." His face changed to insightful as he looked back at Peter. "You, ah, still on bad terms with your family?"
"What's left of it," Peter said bitterly.
"End of the world … might be a good time to go make amends."
Peter shook his head. "No. I'm done with that. If it's the end of the world, my mother's probably the one responsible."
Peter said it with such conviction and certainty that Hesam got the impression Peter was dead serious. He wondered how much it must suck to be on that bad of terms with your own kin. After a few moments of depressing contemplation, he perked up and offered, "Hey, man. If the world's ending, I want you to finally come meet my family. You could give my brother a hug, tell my mom everything's going to be all right. There's no way she'd believe me, but after all the stories I've told her about you … you, she'd believe."
Peter snorted. "What kind of stories you been telling her about me?"
Hesam chuckled. "Just the truth, man. You're a hero." He put some more tzatziki sauce on his sandwich. "Kind of guy who, if the world was ending, wouldn't think of getting laid or stoned or taking off. You'd be out there trying to make it better for everyone, much as you could, right to the last second."
Peter eyed Hesam in surprise. He'd always thought his partner resented him, but underneath that was some admiration, he realized. "I think your answer's healthier," Peter said grudgingly.
Hesam shrugged. "Yeah. You know, we are what we are, healthy or not."
Characters: Hesam, Peter Petrelli
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Word Count: 450
Setting: Season 4
Summary: Hesam and Peter are hanging out in the ambulance between calls, getting a bite to eat and sharing some small talk.
Notes: This was my first attempt to write for the heroes_contest "Favorite Couple" entry. I sat down to write Noah/Sandra, honest to God.
"What would you do if the world was ending?" Hesam asked Peter around his gyro sandwich.
Peter blinked at him for a moment and shrugged. "I dunno. I guess I'd try to help."
"Help the world end?" Hesam joked. He was in a good mood today. Work had been light, calls few.
Peter chuckled. "No. I mean, try to stop it. Is that possible in this … situation you have in mind?"
"No, not really. So what would you do?"
Peter exhaled heavily. "That's … that's what I'd do. If I couldn't stop it, then I'd try to make people's last moments easier."
"Time to hand out the narcotics," Hesam suggested with a smile.
"Maybe," Peter conceded. "I was thinking more, 'time to hold people's hands and hug them and tell them it's going to be all right'."
"When the world's ending?" Hesam said with a bit of disbelief.
Peter shrugged again, carefully eating one of the unpitted kalamata olives that had come with his salad and hummus. "Might as well. What would you do?"
Hesam chewed a bit, looking away. "I think I'd go home. Be with my family." His face changed to insightful as he looked back at Peter. "You, ah, still on bad terms with your family?"
"What's left of it," Peter said bitterly.
"End of the world … might be a good time to go make amends."
Peter shook his head. "No. I'm done with that. If it's the end of the world, my mother's probably the one responsible."
Peter said it with such conviction and certainty that Hesam got the impression Peter was dead serious. He wondered how much it must suck to be on that bad of terms with your own kin. After a few moments of depressing contemplation, he perked up and offered, "Hey, man. If the world's ending, I want you to finally come meet my family. You could give my brother a hug, tell my mom everything's going to be all right. There's no way she'd believe me, but after all the stories I've told her about you … you, she'd believe."
Peter snorted. "What kind of stories you been telling her about me?"
Hesam chuckled. "Just the truth, man. You're a hero." He put some more tzatziki sauce on his sandwich. "Kind of guy who, if the world was ending, wouldn't think of getting laid or stoned or taking off. You'd be out there trying to make it better for everyone, much as you could, right to the last second."
Peter eyed Hesam in surprise. He'd always thought his partner resented him, but underneath that was some admiration, he realized. "I think your answer's healthier," Peter said grudgingly.
Hesam shrugged. "Yeah. You know, we are what we are, healthy or not."