mad_muses march set 1.1.1 [quote]
“I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway...you rarely win, but sometimes you do.” -Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird
It wasn't fair.
It made her wonder if maybe God was playing some kind of joke on her, if he was in the middle of a spiteful game with her because she would always elude his grasp. Or maybe it was that other being that so many people were scared of, the being that she believed existed in the eyes of the one person who could understand her on some level. Not fully, he chose this and she didn't but he was the only one who understood the long road in front of her. It doesn't matter that he's set the path for himself on the day his fingers traced over the grooves of her brain, it’s the same road with all the twists, the bumps and the fact that it would never really end.
She hates that she can talk to him about it but she also hates that she is turning to him to fix the problem. At one time she had vowed to destroy him, to hurt him as much as he had hurt her and now here she was talking to him. She watched the way his thick brows conveyed a lot of his emotion, lifting in surprise or dropping when he was annoyed or confused. He could use them as shields as well, a thought that amused her a little as they talked quietly. For a moment the war was called off as she leaned against the wall, listening and tossing out her own answers once in awhile.
Then he finally laid out what he wanted in turn for his help and she nearly choked as she stared at him in surprise, her stomach twisting as she looked at him. She wasn't sure that she could agree, not even when he told her the reason why. Not that it was much of an explanation, it was vague and the look he gave her told her not to push any further. It was like saying "Because I can" and there was nothing she could say to change his mind.
Better the devil you know than the one you don't.
She can't remember where she had heard that saying or why it was suddenly in her head but there it was as she looked at him. Her mind turned to the Hunter, the man who was willing to do anything that it took to get rid of them. She's not sure Sylar can end the whole fight but perhaps he can deal a good enough blow to really hurt them. He'll be careful about it too, he's smart and that's one of the reasons she hates him but she can admire him on some levels too.
So she agrees and he smirks, pleased.
She's pretty sure that if her dad knew, either one of them, then she wouldn't be off limits anymore but she didn't care. It actually makes her feel a bit stronger as she walks away, knowing that she had managed to gain a rather strong ally to their side. Not because he owes any of them anything even if she thought he did, he wouldn't agree. He just simply can't stand what the other side is doing, he doesn't want to be caged and he doesn't want anyone else taking what could be his. He's not going to let them hide powers from him when they were his for the taking because that's what he believes; he believes everything is his for the taking.
She's not there when the blow is dealt to the other side but she knows when the Hunter is killed, it's a sigh of relief to her. They're going to try to clean up quickly; no one really wants any of this to get out. She's not sure that the fight is totally over; she doesn't think that the government that knows about them is really going to let it all go. They're not comfortable with a group of people being more powerful than them but they're going to lay low for awhile which means they can all breathe a bit easier but they'll never stop looking over their shoulders.
It's at the community college, two years after she last saw him when suddenly she sees him again. He's standing against the wall outside one of her classes, almost blending in if it wasn't for the intensity of his gaze and the aura about him that had others giving him room as they edged about him. When he finally saw her, he pushed away from the wall and she stopped dead in her tracks as she watched him move towards her. She swallowed thickly as he caught her arm, giving her a look to let her know that he wanted to talk. She barely glanced at her two friends as she walked away with him, barely touching the ground as she had to move double time to keep up with him.
He doesn't leave for a couple months but then suddenly one day he's gone and she figures that he has gone off hunting. She waits for him to return, always watching but he never does which doesn't really surprise her. So she tries to focus on something else, like moving nearly across the country when it takes a hold of her to do so. She wants, no, she needs a new life and so she makes it. Her dad finds her a year later but barely talks to her after she walks into her apartment to find her sitting at the table in her kitchen. He has some pictures sprawled out in front of him and the look in his eyes is hard but she doesn't back down. She hasn't really talked to him since before the fight started and she really didn't really say anything to stop him from leaving again.
By finding her, he knew that it was her that brought his sworn enemy into the battle and he knew the price. That's probably why she'll never hear from him again.
It's nearly four years later when finally she finds Sylar.
Not that it was that hard, he was living at his father's place and it creeps her out. Not the house itself, it's the stuffed bodies of the dead animals all around her. It's amusing, considering all she had been through and all she had seen, that the dead animals creep her out but it's the beady little eyes that make her squirm as she stood in his living room. When he finds her, he doesn't really look surprised but he looks expectant. He actually smiled at her, almost eagerly as he stepped forward and angled his head in silent inquiry.
For a moment she merely watched him before she motioned him forward, leading him to the front door where she stopped and waited for him to reach her side. Sitting there quietly on the floor was a little boy, making soft engine like noises as he drove a little toy truck around after a little toy car that was moving around all on its own. His hair was darker than Claire's, not quite black but it could pass for such a dark shade if it were wet. His chin and mouth weren't hers but when he looked up, the eyes were definitely Claire's as he stared owlishly at them.
Claire smiled a little bit before she looked over at Sylar, crossing her arms as she could see the different thoughts and emotions on the features of the man beside her. "Is this...?" He started as he looked over at her.
She looked amused for a moment but she managed to resist the urge to roll her eyes as she nodded, "Yes." She looked at the boy on the floor. "This is our son."
It wasn't fair.
It made her wonder if maybe God was playing some kind of joke on her, if he was in the middle of a spiteful game with her because she would always elude his grasp. Or maybe it was that other being that so many people were scared of, the being that she believed existed in the eyes of the one person who could understand her on some level. Not fully, he chose this and she didn't but he was the only one who understood the long road in front of her. It doesn't matter that he's set the path for himself on the day his fingers traced over the grooves of her brain, it’s the same road with all the twists, the bumps and the fact that it would never really end.
She hates that she can talk to him about it but she also hates that she is turning to him to fix the problem. At one time she had vowed to destroy him, to hurt him as much as he had hurt her and now here she was talking to him. She watched the way his thick brows conveyed a lot of his emotion, lifting in surprise or dropping when he was annoyed or confused. He could use them as shields as well, a thought that amused her a little as they talked quietly. For a moment the war was called off as she leaned against the wall, listening and tossing out her own answers once in awhile.
Then he finally laid out what he wanted in turn for his help and she nearly choked as she stared at him in surprise, her stomach twisting as she looked at him. She wasn't sure that she could agree, not even when he told her the reason why. Not that it was much of an explanation, it was vague and the look he gave her told her not to push any further. It was like saying "Because I can" and there was nothing she could say to change his mind.
Better the devil you know than the one you don't.
She can't remember where she had heard that saying or why it was suddenly in her head but there it was as she looked at him. Her mind turned to the Hunter, the man who was willing to do anything that it took to get rid of them. She's not sure Sylar can end the whole fight but perhaps he can deal a good enough blow to really hurt them. He'll be careful about it too, he's smart and that's one of the reasons she hates him but she can admire him on some levels too.
So she agrees and he smirks, pleased.
She's pretty sure that if her dad knew, either one of them, then she wouldn't be off limits anymore but she didn't care. It actually makes her feel a bit stronger as she walks away, knowing that she had managed to gain a rather strong ally to their side. Not because he owes any of them anything even if she thought he did, he wouldn't agree. He just simply can't stand what the other side is doing, he doesn't want to be caged and he doesn't want anyone else taking what could be his. He's not going to let them hide powers from him when they were his for the taking because that's what he believes; he believes everything is his for the taking.
She's not there when the blow is dealt to the other side but she knows when the Hunter is killed, it's a sigh of relief to her. They're going to try to clean up quickly; no one really wants any of this to get out. She's not sure that the fight is totally over; she doesn't think that the government that knows about them is really going to let it all go. They're not comfortable with a group of people being more powerful than them but they're going to lay low for awhile which means they can all breathe a bit easier but they'll never stop looking over their shoulders.
It's at the community college, two years after she last saw him when suddenly she sees him again. He's standing against the wall outside one of her classes, almost blending in if it wasn't for the intensity of his gaze and the aura about him that had others giving him room as they edged about him. When he finally saw her, he pushed away from the wall and she stopped dead in her tracks as she watched him move towards her. She swallowed thickly as he caught her arm, giving her a look to let her know that he wanted to talk. She barely glanced at her two friends as she walked away with him, barely touching the ground as she had to move double time to keep up with him.
He doesn't leave for a couple months but then suddenly one day he's gone and she figures that he has gone off hunting. She waits for him to return, always watching but he never does which doesn't really surprise her. So she tries to focus on something else, like moving nearly across the country when it takes a hold of her to do so. She wants, no, she needs a new life and so she makes it. Her dad finds her a year later but barely talks to her after she walks into her apartment to find her sitting at the table in her kitchen. He has some pictures sprawled out in front of him and the look in his eyes is hard but she doesn't back down. She hasn't really talked to him since before the fight started and she really didn't really say anything to stop him from leaving again.
By finding her, he knew that it was her that brought his sworn enemy into the battle and he knew the price. That's probably why she'll never hear from him again.
It's nearly four years later when finally she finds Sylar.
Not that it was that hard, he was living at his father's place and it creeps her out. Not the house itself, it's the stuffed bodies of the dead animals all around her. It's amusing, considering all she had been through and all she had seen, that the dead animals creep her out but it's the beady little eyes that make her squirm as she stood in his living room. When he finds her, he doesn't really look surprised but he looks expectant. He actually smiled at her, almost eagerly as he stepped forward and angled his head in silent inquiry.
For a moment she merely watched him before she motioned him forward, leading him to the front door where she stopped and waited for him to reach her side. Sitting there quietly on the floor was a little boy, making soft engine like noises as he drove a little toy truck around after a little toy car that was moving around all on its own. His hair was darker than Claire's, not quite black but it could pass for such a dark shade if it were wet. His chin and mouth weren't hers but when he looked up, the eyes were definitely Claire's as he stared owlishly at them.
Claire smiled a little bit before she looked over at Sylar, crossing her arms as she could see the different thoughts and emotions on the features of the man beside her. "Is this...?" He started as he looked over at her.
She looked amused for a moment but she managed to resist the urge to roll her eyes as she nodded, "Yes." She looked at the boy on the floor. "This is our son."