Another Forgotten Birthday
Heidi sat at the kitchen table waiting for her husband to come home from work. After spending the day with her children Nathan's mother kindly agreed to taking the boys off her hands for the evening so that she and Nathan could celebrate her birthday in peace
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Until she said that.
Consider this your birthday present.
A memory surfaced in Peter’s mind, unbidden, unwanted. At first.
The day of Peter’s sixteenth birthday, Nathan had come home from law school and announced his intention to marry the woman who was now standing naked with him in the shower. It was all he could do not to bolt from the dinner table.
Peter was incredibly jealous of her then, but never said a word. He knew, even at his young age, that Heidi was the perfect woman for his brother; Nathan demanded nothing less than perfection. Peter wasn’t quite that, and he knew that too.
The only thought that eased his unhappiness was that Nathan needed her, just as he needed him; yet he feared that Nathan would need him less as time went on. The right thing to do would be to end it himself, save himself from inevitable heartache later. He’d tried, and failed.
Not tonight, he promised himself.
Later, long after their parents had gone to bed, Peter stood in the shower in their parents’ house, Nathan’s mouth on his neck, his soapy hands not only in his hair, but on his chest, down his back, over his ass, around his cock. It was wonderful and heartbreaking all at once, because Peter had to make this the last time.
“Nathan,” he moaned, struggling to be heard over his own hesitation and the rush of the water around them. “We can’t do this anymore. Not now that you’re getting married."
“That doesn’t change anything, Pete,” Nathan answered dismissively. “You know that. Come on, turn around. We don’t have all night, even if you are the birthday boy,” he finished, rubbing his cock against Peter’s hip insistently.
“I mean it. This is the last time,” Peter said once he obliged, more conviction in his voice than he actually felt. “You told me I deserved to get what I want on my birthday, and that’s what I want,” he moaned, as Nathan slid deeply inside him, that first thrust delivered with such precision that he thought he would come if Nathan even touched his cock.
“That’s what I want,” Peter repeated breathlessly, not sure what he even meant anymore, as Nathan slammed into him over and over. Eventually, Nathan’s hand moved over his thigh, wrapped around his dick.
“What do you want, Peter?” Nathan demanded, not moving until he got his answer.
It wouldn’t be the one Nathan expected, of that he was sure.
“For this to be the last time!” Peter gasped, not even believing himself, his body tensed in expectation as they approached the very brink of orgasm. Nathan came first, breathing hard against Peter's shoulder, and just as he finished, he jerked his hand forward once more and Peter shuddered in pleasure, coming so forcefully that it hit the shower wall.
“Impressive. Consider this your birthday present, then,” Nathan said, his voice thick with the satisfaction that Peter always felt from his brother once it was over. But there was something else he felt as Nathan exited the shower without another word.
Disbelief. Anger. What Peter himself felt when Nathan said those same words to him and actually meant them.
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"If my birthday present feels this good, I wonder how my Christmas present's gonna be," Peter sighed, fully immersed in his memory. A fantasy, really. Nathan had made it absolutely clear that the secret they had shared was nothing more to him now than a liability. They were brothers, and it was wrong, and it was dangerous. Nathan needed to wash his hands of it, of him, the one blemish on Nathan’s otherwise perfect life. Peter’s fear had finally been realized. Nathan no longer needed him.
Peter’s eyes flew open, his trance finally interrupted by the words he couldn’t believe he’d just said. That was something he would have said to his brother, not his brother’s wife!
“Heidi? Thank you for helping me. I can do the rest by myself. Nathan’s gonna be wondering where you are anyway,” Peter said, turning his back to her, ashamed of where his mind had gone thanks to an innocuous request.
His stomach felt sick, and his cock was positively throbbing now from the vivid imagery he’d seen inside his own twisted mind. Peter held on to the wall with his injured hand, and the pain just served to remind him of all the pain his brother had caused him; the tears ran down as he brought himself to release with the other, his face burning with shame, his heart nearly breaking all over again.
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He hadn't meant to do it, it just sort of happened but it was so much to take in that Heidi quietly thanked the stars when he gave her an out, any longer in his presence and she feared she would have collapsed from the sheer weight of it all, even now her hands trembled as she dressed but she hid that fact from Peter so not to alarm him.
"I'll see you downstairs." She said quietly as she made her way back downstairs to her family. As she walked down the stairs she let herself really think about what had happened. She had experienced something, a memory? Not her own. Heidi could feel everything that Peter felt and it was quite the cavalcade of emotions; some that she understood, some she did not and it was those that concerned her, especially because she had seen those sorts of feelings come out during sessions with her patients and their origins were never good.
The most surprising feeling? Jealousy, at first Heidi, had believed it was directed at Nathan because of his happy family life but no, he was jealous of her because she got to be with Nathan?
Oh.
It actually made a lot of sense, even though she didn't want to believe reason Peter slept with her was to get back at Nathan in some capacity, that was starting to look like the truth. Heidi sighed, what was she going to do with this information? She couldn't very well bring it up over dinner. Great, she was a therapist who had no one to tell her secrets to. She stood at the bottom of the staircase and composed herself, it was time to put on a happy face. She walked back into the kitchen where her sons had half built their Lego Death Star.
"Hey, there is my boys." Heidi smiled and went over and kissed both on the head.
Simon frowned and gave his mother a concerned look. "Mommy, are you alright?"
She smiled and nodded, Simon was always the perceptive one. "Yeah baby I'm fine, you guys clean off the table alright? We're going to eat soon." She walked back into the other room where Nathan she could tell was on his third glass of alcohol.
"Having fun?" Her voice came out strained, the weight of the situation bearing down on her. Heidi's own father once said that if Nathan ever hurt her, he wouldn't hesitate getting out his shotgun and in that instant, Heidi wasn't against that idea at all.
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Heidi looked shaken and stressed, but Nathan only half-noticed it thanks to the adrenaline and the liquor running through his bloodstream. His mother was really a piece of work sometimes.
"Where the hell have you been? I go out to the kitchen because it’s way too quiet in there, and there’s a Goddamned mess all over the table and the floor and you and Peter are nowhere to be found? Why is your hair wet? I thought you showered this morning,” Nathan said, alarm bells starting in the back of his mind, remembering what Ma had said to him before she’d kissed her grandsons and left.
Maybe there was something to his mother’s psychic bullshit after all. Nathan’s memory of the morning after Heidi’s birthday was fuzzy at best; he’d come home from a tryst with his secretary, and Heidi had locked him out of his own damn bedroom. What had she been doing in there?
Sleeping off a bottle of wine, you idiot. What else? You didn’t even acknowledge her birthday, what would you expect her to do?
Peter had evidently been there at some point in the evening, but that wasn’t out of the ordinary; Peter and Heidi were sort of like girlfriends in a way. He’d come home in the evening plenty of times to find his brother and his wife with their slippers kicked up on the coffee table eating popcorn and ice cream and watching Hallmark movies for Christ’s sake.
Yes, Peter had left his sweater and his dress shirt on the couch, but that wasn’t all that was there; one of his own suit jackets had been underneath those. He might have left it there himself, but he just couldn’t be certain. His missing tie from the evening after had never turned up, either.
There had also been two wineglasses, one with Heidi’s signature red lipstick, one without. Maybe Peter had gifted her a bottle of wine and had a drink with her. Hardly anything to be suspicious about, right? Heidi had received plenty of gifts - a scented candle, jewelry that his sons had picked out for her with the help of Heidi’s father, and a huge bouquet of roses and lilies that had remained the centerpiece of their dining room table until Heidi switched them out for poinsettias and lilies for the holidays.
Nathan pinched the bridge of his nose and pushed the thoughts away; they were ridiculous and probably just a result of his own habitual philandering. Ma had no fucking idea what she was talking about. Peter would never do something like that to him.
Oh, really? He might be the good one, but he’s a Petrelli by nature. You hurt him, and he lashes out, hurts you right back. Wouldn’t sleeping with Heidi be the best revenge?
No. No way in hell was that possible. Peter wouldn’t have the balls to seduce his wife. His brother was like a sixteen-year-old kid around women of Heidi’s caliber. Even if the manipulative little bastard tried, Heidi wouldn’t allow it.
Nathan decided that was enough of that line of thinking: any more and he’d be the one to ruin their Christmas instead of his younger brother and his refusal to accept reality.
“Where’s Pete? Sulking in his bedroom like he used to when he was in high school?” Nathan said, smirking and refilling his glass.
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"Where have I been?" Heidi looked offended, what did he think she had run out into a blizzard or something? "Peter spilled his milk and I went upstairs to help him get cleaned up." She answered matter-of-factly. "What was he going to do, ask you? You'd tear each other to shreds." That was just the way Peter felt right now and Heidi wasn't about to aggravate the situation. She was waiting for him to raise his voice and yell at her with some inane jealous bullshit that she was just not in the mood for, not now. There was however an interesting question there, hidden amongst the rage and alcohol, who was Nathan jealous of?
There was a war going on in his head, like he had been trying to figure something out yet he was coming up blank and it frustrated him to no end. Heidi was happy about that, he could use a little frustration, she sucked her lips wondering if that was Peter's influence. Nathan's words about his brother made Heidi's skin crawl, a wave of rare anger flashed in her eyes as she balled her fists trying to keep calm. "You'd know all about that, wouldn't you?" Oh yeah, that was definitely Peter's influence.
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He ignored the cheap shot Heidi had taken at him about his own tendency to brood and sulk; that wasn’t important compared to her explanation for her absence.
Heidi’s hair was wet because she’d helped Peter get cleaned up after he spilled milk everywhere? Despite his childish insolence, Peter was still a grown man who could take care of himself.
Not with one hand. He’s not supposed to get the sutures wet.
There it was, a rational explanation for it, but after what his mother had told him he couldn’t help the jealousy that swelled in him, filled him nearly to bursting. Maybe his brother wouldn’t be the one to ruin their Christmas at this rate. Where was his wife's sudden burst of anger coming from? What, was she taking Peter’s side of all this? Had Peter told her the real reason they’d been at each other’s throats earlier before they'd gotten in the car outside the hospital?
Nathan got to his feet and set his drink down on the end table. “I’ll be right back. We’re not done here.”
He stepped into the kitchen, where his two sons had just finished clearing their Legos from the table. Nathan hadn’t forgotten how Monty had scolded him for swearing; he wasn’t about to make that mistake again. He definitely had a few more choice words on the edge of his tongue.
“Hey, guys. Why don’t you go upstairs and wash up? Let your Uncle Peter know we’re having dinner soon. Show him some of the stuff you two got for Christmas, and we’ll call you down when everything’s ready,” Nathan directed, ruffling Monty’s hair, giving Simon a smile.
“Okay, Dad,” they answered in unison. Once they’d clambered up the stairs out of earshot, Nathan re-entered the living room and picked up his drink, then walked around her in a circle, feeling almost predatory, waiting for just the right time to strike. He inhaled, stared her right in the eyes, and started in on her.
“Well isn’t that just heartwarming? That's some real Christmas spirit there: you playing doctor to my brother the nurse,” Nathan spat, his voice positively dripping with sarcasm. “So let me get this straight. What you’re telling me is that you took my brother upstairs - in my house - and took a shower with him? Are you fucking serious, Heidi?”
Are you fucking him, Heidi?
What Nathan had really wanted to say of course, but he had stopped himself at the last second. Instead he would let her answer, let her give herself away just like he would do to one of the defendants he examined in court. The only difference here? There was no sense in accusing her yet unless he had the evidence to prove it.
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Well good, Heidi was in the mood for a fight. Hopefully, the kids wouldn't be waiting at the top of the stairs listening in on their conversation. If she were lucky, the boys would have found Peter and decided to keep him company while mommy and daddy talked.
When he came back, Heidi suddenly felt like she was on trial. She had seen those moves before when Nathan was in court; he was famous for getting people to crack thanks to that steely gaze of his, people often mentioned how good he was and Heidi could see why the glare he was using right now could downright kill a man. She hated to admit it but it was actually kind of hot, it had been a while since she'd seen that sparkle in his eyes.
No matter how hot, she wasn't going to crumble, Heidi gave her husband an annoyed look. "Are you fucking serious, Nathan? Peter is injured, I'm not going to take advantage of him while he's in a vulnerable state." Even though she had wanted to at the time but yeah, that was off the table now, hell she wasn't even sure she could look at him again after what had happened upstairs.
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“‘While he’s in a vulnerable state’? What, you’re waiting for him to heal up so you can ‘take advantage’ of him then?” Nathan scoffed. He stopped circling her, now standing so close he could reach out and touch her.
Heidi was actually trembling slightly, and her blue eyes flashed with anger like nothing he’d even known her to be capable of. Nathan had never seen his wife quite like this before, and while it shocked him, it also excited him. The part of him that wasn’t twisted up in a jealous rage wanted to drop the whole argument and take her into the laundry room where they could vent their frustrations in a more passionate and satisfying way.
The look on her face, the way she stared back at him defiantly, even the way she held her stance before him -- everything about this reminded him of his brother.
No. Don’t you dare, Petrelli.
There was absolutely no way Nathan could ever allow himself to think about Peter like that again. Not anymore. It was over and done with.
Too late.
Swift and all-consuming lust began to burn in his belly, the intense heat spreading into his groin, his pulse quickening. However, Nathan refused to let the unwanted thoughts persist any further. Peter had already done enough damage, according to their mother.
You’re paranoid. You hurt Peter in the worst way, and now you’re imagining he'd get back at you in the most vengeful manner possible.
But what if she’s right?
“God damn it,” Nathan swore under his breath. Enough!
He took one step back, softening his hard glare slightly; hopefully Heidi would notice the smile playing on his lips as he chose his next words.
“Have I ever told you how beautiful you are when you’re angry? You look like you’re gonna either kiss me or kill me, baby.”
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Nathan's intense gaze made Heidi shiver, now was not the time to get turned on by this, she was angry damn it! And yet she felt drawn to him, Nathan was a hard person to say no to, something that Heidi realized Peter had trouble doing when it came to him as well
Then the feelings of paranoia and lust surfaced, Heidi wondered where the first one had come from, Angela most likely, that woman was pure poison. Lust though really? She was yelling at him, angry for reasons she couldn't explain. Of course, he would find that hot. Finally, after he had realized that yelling wasn't getting him anywhere, the charm surfaced, how lucky he was to have that as a fallback option. Heidi gave him a sly smile in response. "Yeah, haven't decided which yet."
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Just like you would if Peter were standing here instead.
Nathan banished that thought immediately; he’d never fantasized about his brother when he was with his wife, and he absolutely wasn’t going to start now.
He returned her smile with his own and countered, “I suppose that means if you don’t decide in the next minute, I’ll have to decide for you, baby.” Nathan considered himself in control of this situation, but he knew his desire for her made itself evident in his voice, thanks to the dull ache that was building below his belt.
“Just a heads up -- I would always make the choice that involves not dying,” he finished. Instead of advancing on her, he swallowed the rest of his Scotch and set his glass down on the end table again.
He was well aware he was pressed for time, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t work his charm on her a little longer. Locking his eyes with hers, Nathan loosened his tie, the motions of his fingers slow and deliberate. He tossed it on the loveseat, and then started on the buttons of his shirt.
“It’s kind of hot in here, don’t you think?” Nathan suggested, stopping the impromptu striptease at the second button, deciding to roll up his shirtsleeves instead. He was sure Heidi would see the gesture for what it signified - he was ready to get his hands dirty. He glanced briefly at the closed door of the laundry room and then back to his wife’s bright-blue gaze.
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She raised an eyebrow as he gestured to the laundry room, that was his plan? Really? Though she supposed it was the best place, it was unlikely they would be interrupted in there. Her thoughts briefly turned to Peter and what he would think of this? He'd be upset, probably. Heidi just hoped it wouldn't make him want to put glass through his other hand. I'm sorry, Peter.
Heidi stood, moving close to her husband and giving him a light kiss. "You're an asshole." She grinned and pulled him into the laundry room where she climbed up onto the dryer, taking off her panties in anticipation.
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Nathan grasped her wrist gently, and said,"Wait. I want to feel just how hot you are for me, baby." He slipped his hand in between her legs and circled her clit with his fingers, and then whispered, "Jesus Christ, Heidi." He could swear he'd never felt her this wet for him before.
“I think we ought to argue like this more often,” Nathan moaned before he sealed his mouth over hers in a heated kiss. He took just a moment to run his hands up and down the length of her thighs, savoring first the softness of her skin, and then the way her muscles tightened right before he thrust himself inside her.
The dryer banged loudly up against the wall once, twice, and Nathan’s eyes flew open, the noise rudely interrupting his complete enjoyment of his wife’s slick, tight heat.
“Shit!” he exclaimed. Heidi looked startled too, and Nathan couldn’t help but laugh. Thinking quickly, he slammed his hand down on the dryer start button and it rumbled to life; it would cover the noise, and the vibration of the machine’s drum turning would serve to heighten her pleasure.
“Now where was I?” he teased, relentlessly pounding into her again.
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Heidi smirked when Nathan said he wanted to feel her, she squirmed against his touch making sure he knew just how turned on she was. "Oh yeah? You like that? I have a lot of things I can be angry at you for." A lot of things.
"Nathan!" Heidi squealed right as the dryer banged loudly, scaring them both. Heidi laughed at both the situation and about how rare that he be caught so off guard. When he said the dryer going she raised an eyebrow at him curiously. "Kinky. Well if you don't know, I..." Heidi moaned loudly as she wrapped herself around her husband, drawing him close. "Fuck!"
Heidi's hands moved up around Nathan's neck and into his hair, even at his worse he still had gorgeous hair, Heidi often wondered how he did that. 'Must be a Petrelli thing' she shivered at the memory of her washing Peter's hair before and thanked God that right now she was with someone who didn't know what was going on inside her head. Heidi kissed Nathan hard, nibbling at his lip. "I love when you get all growly, tiger." There was just something about it she found irresistible.
Heidi kind of wished they weren't in the laundry room, it was a very small space but the vibrations of the dryer were making up for it.
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“Uncle Peter, are you in there?” Monty’s little voice sounded from behind the door. “Simon’s not mad that you got milk on his Legos. He wants you to come and play the new X-box game we got!”
Peter laughed and answered, “Just a minute, Monty. I’m getting dressed, and then I’ll come kick your butts, all right?”
Monty clambered down the hall back to the bedroom. “Uncle Peter said he’s gonna kick our butts!”
“Yeah, right!” was Simon’s reply.
After about twenty minutes, Peter had mastered the gameplay with the help of telekinesis in lieu of his right hand; he figured the boys would be paying more attention to the screen than to his controller.
“You beat me again!” Simon complained, passing off the controller to his little brother.
Monty’s little face screwed up in concentration as he readied his fingers on the buttons. “You’re not kicking my butt this time, Uncle Peter,“ he vowed.
Peter let him win, not making it obvious of course, and Monty cheered triumphantly. He watched Simon and Monty play each other for the next few minutes, feeling much better now. Spending time with his nephews always seemed to lift his spirits.
The smell of food drifted in through the open bedroom door, and Peter said, “Hey, guys. Go wash your hands and meet me downstairs. I think dinner’s ready.” Simon and Monty obediently went into the bathroom.
Peter exited the boys’ room and encountered Nathan in the hallway. He looked half-drunk and rumpled; his hair was sticking up every which way and there was lipstick on his collar. Peter gave him a disgusted look.
“You look like you just walked out of a whorehouse, Nathan. Don’t let the kids see you like that.”
“What are you, Ma? Fuck you, Peter,” Nathan replied, then slammed his bedroom door behind him.
Of course that was why the kids had come to find him. Heidi and Nathan had sent them upstairs so they could have a Christmas quickie. How fucking romantic.
He shook off the bitter thought, went downstairs and into the kitchen where Heidi was setting the various dishes out on the table. He slunk into a chair and played with a loose string at the bottom of his t-shirt, not sure what he should say, or if he should even say anything at all.
His empathy had blanked out once Heidi had left him alone in the shower, but Peter was well aware something had happened. He had felt her need to get away from him before… before what? He wasn’t sure.
This was going to be an incredibly awkward Christmas dinner, of that he was sure.
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She continued to think about this while she had gotten dinner prepared; turkey with all the trimmings, only the best for her boys and Peter seemed fond of it too. Her back had been to him when he came in but Heidi could feel an overwhelming sense of dread radiating from behind her. If she knew anything about the Petrellis, Heidi knew that they liked to keep to themselves, going too far into their world would immediately cause them to close up but she had to talk to Peter about what happened.
Heidi turned around to face him, her tone softened upon seeing her brother-in-law face to face. "Hey." She gave him a comforting smile. "We should talk."
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