rp for changehistory: life swings like a pendulum back and forth between pain and boredom

[hadtobeahero]

If you got right down to it, Peter was getting a little stir-crazy. Understandable, given that he and Adam hadn't left the house when they could avoid it, both of them too afraid of being grabbed by Nathan and his men, but it didn't change facts. The walls felt like they were closing in, and in the off minutes where he didn't quite feel like

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[changehistory]

Adam knew there was a lot going on out there...it was still a vague sort of concept, out "there", in his head. He'd retreated too firmly when he'd managed to get away from Arthur, ran too far at least metaphorically, and pulled away from all of them. He wasn't going to be caged again, not after what he'd gone through, and most certainly not for any of them, not for those who'd put him there in the first place. If they'd not caged him, or let him follow through with his plan, or any number of things...

There was still bitterness there, and he pushed it down when Peter was around, not wanting to let it spill into them, spoil things between them, but when it came to wanting to help those people, they were truly those people. Oh, he'd be up for stopping Nathan if he came for them, if he tried to take Peter, or him, but it was hard to mobilize himself to give a damn about Parkman or the rest.

He kept those thoughts to himself, though, feeling Peter's restlessness. Losing him was an even worse thought, now that he'd found him, that he'd forgiven him even a little. If he knew how much he still...if he ever really dug deep into Adam's thoughts, Adam was pretty sure the boy would be gone, so he buried them deep. Today they weren't even on his mind, however, as he tried to find Peter, listening and not hearing him downstairs. He wandered upstairs and found their room empty, and climbed further to the attic, on a hunch.

Finding Peter out on the widow's walk, he leaned against the door that led out to it, half inside/half out, just watching him, worrying at his lower lip with his teeth.

[hadtobeahero]

Peter had heard him come up. Not that he had the benefit of Sylar's enhanced hearing anymore, but given that he hadn't moved from his place by the railing and how quiet things seemed today, it hadn't been hard to hear him coming up the steps to the attic. He didn't move immediately, though, didn't acknowledge him, instead staring down at the lawn for a long moment more.

Then, finally, he turned, leaning back against the railing a bit. He studied Adam for a moment, serious but not frowning, and then his lips were tugging upwards into a small, crooked smile. "Hey."

[changehistory]

"Hey," Adam said quietly, returning the smile with a small one of his own. He hesitated for a moment, then he stepped out onto the walk to move and lean against the railing, looking out over the view.

"It's a nice day," he said, voice still quiet, taking in the sun.

[hadtobeahero]

He turned back to the railing, draping his arms over it so he could lean into it, looking back out over the grass. "Yeah, it is," he agreed, casting Adam a little look before glancing away, again. "I was kinda thinking of taking a couple of laps around the house, but ... I don't know." Something was stopping him, he just couldn't say what.

[changehistory]

Adam tilted his head and studied him, a slight frown tugging his brow. He wanted to ask and he didn't, because the answer was one that made him afraid, honestly. It could force him to make choices he wasn't sure he was ready or willing to make, but he found the words coming anyway. "What's wrong?"

[hadtobeahero]

For a moment, Peter looked thoughtful, his mouth pressed into a line as he considered the question. He couldn't quite come to any kind of definitive answer, though, and so a moment later, he was shaking his head. "I don't know. I just feel kinda ... like I should be doing something." A pause, and then hastily, he added, "Not that I want leave or whatever. I'm just getting sort've stir crazy, sitting around. I blame the last year or so being non-stop, with Sylar and then what Nathan's doing now and everything. I'm starting to wonder whether or not I've forgotten how to just stop and chill out for a few minutes."

[changehistory]

Adam gave him a bit of a rueful smile. "I suppose I got a bit too used to it. We have more room here than I'm used to..." And the going out to snag food when they needed it, or out and about in the yard was still something of a luxury, especially after the coffin. Possibly there were traumas there he wasn't dealing with, yet, or reintegration issues. He didn't want to think about that, though.

"Maybe we really should go somewhere else," he suggested. "London or Paris or even Greece or Cairo."

[hadtobeahero]

Peter wasn't entirely sure a change of scenery would help much, but he humored Adam, tilting his head to one side, curiously. "I know we talked about going to London, but ... tell me what it's like there? I mean, I've seen pictures, but that doesn't really do much, you know?" It didn't capture the life or the things they could be doing there--the things they were missing out on, staying mostly confined to the house.

[changehistory]

Adam bit his lower lip and considered for a moment. "It's been decades since I was there, of course, but...it's beautiful. All that history...There are buildings still standing that were there when I was a child. Places that filled me with wonder and terror both. And there's always something going on. Theatre that's on the cutting edge--you could see a different show every night of the year and never run out. Trains run all over the country...you can get to almost anywhere and never need a car much until you get really far out, and even then, the bus will get you there. I suppose it's a lot like New York in some ways, but I always found it a more..." He searched for the word. "People are nicer than they are in New York. More likely to smile at you on the street, offer to help you or say hello, or to sit around and chat in a pub, still."

[hadtobeahero]

"Sounds good," he answered genuinely, one side of his mouth tugging upwards into a half smile. Truth be told, while people had a tendency to be so damn cold in New York, he missed the city. There was something about it--all that life, always going no matter what time of day it was--that had caught him at a very young age and just wouldn't let go.

"I just--" A pause in which he took a deep breath, before offering Adam a small, near-apologetic look. "If we went there, we'd be away from Nathan, right? So, we could go out and see it all? I could show you off, and watch you have to turn down pretty English girls."

[changehistory]

Adam nodded. "I think it would be safe, yes. They have no authority there...and getting all of his men there to capture us wouldn't be very stealthy anyway, so...yes. We could go out, live our lives, not have to hide." He'd probably recommend a name change, at least for what they told people. Senator Petrelli was garnering international attention, after all, and Peter's last name would be easily noticed.

He gave him a bit more of a smile. "I think it could be good for us. A new start...away from all of this."

[hadtobeahero]

Peter nodded, more than willing to agree, his smile agreeing a little. "You could show me the sights," he offered, hopefully. "Like the Tower of London. Or, uh ... the London Eye?"

At least he thought that was what it was called, and he wasn't about to admit that he'd only heard of it while watching Doctor Who, right before his abilities had manifest and the world had gone to hell. He was sure that Adam knew that he was something of a geek--was half-certain that that, perhaps, was what made him so endearing--but he didn't want to admit just how deep that love of sci-fi ran. Their lives should have been enough of that for both of them for a lifetime, after all.

"You know ... just play tourist for a couple of days."

[changehistory]

"The London Eye?" Adam looked at him a little blankly. It could be called that or anything else for all he knew--it hadn't been there in 1977, and he was still a little bit behind the times on just what had opened where. Nor had he caught up on Doctor Who, yet, though he'd been fond of it back in the day.

He shrugged off not knowing what it was, though, and gave Peter a smile. "I can definitely show you the sights. The Tower is amazing, as is Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament. Covent Garden and the palaces. I heard someone say they'd rebuilt the Globe, even, which would be amazing to see. They closed it a couple of years before I was born and pulled it down the year I was born, but my mother used to tell stories about going there when she was a child, and my grandfather had helped rebuild it after it burned back in 1614."

[hadtobeahero]

"Yeah." Peer nodded a bit, shooting him a vaguely apologetic look before trying to explain. He hadn't stopped to think that Adam probably hadn't seen it, given that he'd been locked away for so long. "It's this Ferris Wheel in London. They opened it on New Year's Even, back in 99, and it's kinda cool. They do their New Year's celebrations there, like New Yorkers do in Times Square, and you can see the whole city from the top and stuff."

And now it was his turn to shrug, glancing back out at the view briefly, before returning his attentions to Adam. "The Globe?" he repeated, eyebrows raising. "You mean like the theater Shakespeare used to do his plays in?"

[changehistory]

"That sounds amazing. I think we should definitely see it," Adam said with a nod, giving him a smile. "It will be something new for both of us...something we can experience together." Rather than him just catching up, or teaching, or...something. It was a nice idea, getting to see something for the first time with Peter by his side.

He nodded, still smiling, though he looked a bit amused. "Yes, like the theatre Shakespeare used to do his plays in. He died only 28 years before I was born, Peter...my grandparents were well into adulthood--had seen him perform many times. In fact, my father was already born, even, though my mother wasn't for a few years after his death."

[hadtobeahero]

Again, he nodded, the grin coming back to his face in earnest, now. "We'd have to go on New Year's Eve," he told him, trying to tone down his enthusiasm just a bit, so that he didn't look like a complete lunatic. "I mean, we could go and see it before then or whatever, but I get the feeling that ringing in the New Year there is kind've an experience, like--like watching the ball drop, you know?" And if he was going to have to miss seeing the fireworks on Times Square, he was sure as hell dragging Adam off to celebrate New Year's in London.

Sobering a bit, he listened as Adam talked about Shakespeare and his family, before he was nudging him with his shoulder, playfully. "Well, excuse me for being bad at history." A pause, and then, "Your grandparents ever talk about him?" They must have, if the other man knew that they had seen him and his player perform, but he was curious as to whether or not they had said anything more. Were Shakespeare's shows held in such a high regard then as they were now? Or was the saying about people being more famous after they were dead true?