Boyfriend Replacement
Title: "Boyfriend Replacement"
Author: PrettySirenx
Rating: PG-13 (for language)
Characters: Sylar/Claire, HRG, Peter
Genre: general, angst, fluff
Spoilers: Picks up where season 3 left off. Use your judgment.
Disclaimer: I'm not the owner of Heroes.
A/N: Sequel to Realization. Can also be read as a stand-alone (though it would make slightly less sense).
Claire was giddy as she rushed to find Nathan. Her English professor had sent an email out cancelling class for the day, so she would be completely and utterly free to kidnap him and devote her day completely to father-daughter, getting-to-know you type activities.
They needed those activities. They weren’t so much father and daughter as they were polite acquaintances. Lately, he’d been acting different - not like the Nathan she’d gotten to know so well in Mexico. She wanted to try to bring out the him in him, instead of the hollow, but kind shell which walked around - it just wasn’t him.
“Mr. Petrelli is in his study,” said the maid.
And so, with every good intention, Claire knocked on the door. But there was no answer. She was always suspicious and slightly intrusive. Keeping with that, she very unashamedly opened the door.
“Oh God,” she said quietly, when she beheld who was inside.
It was Sylar, crouched down on the floor. He was shaking, rocking back and forth, his knees pulled to his chest. He looked broken and terrified.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
Surprise wore off quickly, as it always did when Sylar emerged from whence he came. Instead, looking at him made her heart break. He was suffering and she was unsure why. Her logic told her she shouldn’t care. He was awful. But still, she did care. Seeing him in that way was frightening almost. He was a far cry from the killer she’d always known.
Claire walked over to him and knelt down. Gently, she touched his shoulder.
“Are you okay?”
“Don’t touch me,” he said, pulling away from her as though her hands were fire touching his body. “I don’t deserve it.”
“Sylar,” she persisted, “Whatever you’ve done --”
Taking a classic move from her, he pushed her helping hand aside and jumped through the window, shattering the glass into glittering pieces upon the floor.
Claire’s heart pounded beneath her breast. She believed what she just saw, yet it still seemed unreal. For the first time in her life, she was worried about a monster.
She took out her cell phone and frantically called her dad.
“I’ve just seen Sylar.”
“What?” was his reply.
“Sylar - he’s alive. He was in Nathan’s office. Dad, something’s wrong.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m okay. He didn’t hurt me. But there’s something wrong - there’s something wrong with him.”
“Claire, this is very important. Go find Peter. Stay with him and don’t leave his sight until I get there. I’m on my way.”
Claire hung up the phone. Any time her dad said the phrase “Claire, this is very important”, there was always some sort of guilt behind it. Every fiber of her being told her he was hiding something. However, his conviction and urgency were usually telltale signs that she’d get hurt if she didn’t do what he said. So, she did. All haste, she found Peter.
When she made it to his apartment, she found he was expecting her.
“I just got off the phone with your dad,” he said. “He told me what’s going on.”
Claire collapsed onto the couch, confusion flooding her mind like a tidal wave.
“I’ve been trying to get a hold of Nathan,” Peter went on him. “He’s not answering.”
In the chaos Claire had stupidly and thoughtlessly forgotten about Nathan. Panic seeped back into her veins so quick, she felt as though it would drain her life in an instant.
“We have to find him,” she said, jumping up off of her seat.
They were heroes, after all. They couldn’t let one of their own - their own family, even - fall.
“No,” said Peter, placing his hands upon her shoulders firmly.
“Sylar wanted him dead before,” she insisted. “What if he already has him?”
“I’m sure he doesn’t. Nathan knows how to take care of himself.”
“It wouldn’t hurt to --”
“Yes, Claire, it would.”
“Why are you being so difficult about this, Peter?” she asked, searching deep into his brown eyes for the young ruffian she once knew, who relished in playing the hero.
His finger stroked her cheek in a way that made them both feel ashamed. His eyes bore deeply into hers, all sincerity.
“I have to protect you,” he said earnestly. “I wasn’t there for you when he took your power. In fact, I haven’t been there for you very much lately. And I know -- I know -- he has a thing about you, Claire.”
“No, he doesn’t,” she blurted, before she could really stop and think about it.
“It’s all been about you,” Peter said, dropping his hand away from her cheek as he began to pace. “Everything. He wants you for something. He’s obsessive. You can pretend as much as you want that it’s not the case but it is. And I can’t let you get hurt. Not by him - not again.”
Claire grabbed hold of him to keep him still. He was nervous and it made her more nervous to watch him act so antsy.
“I admire your heroics,” she said, pulling him close. “You’re my uncle. It’s sweet that you want to protect me. Even when I think I don’t need it.”
And there they stood. Claire held onto him with all of her might. She craved human contact more than anything lately. It was strange how an uncle could suffice for a boyfriend in a pinch. She did love him, even if her feelings for him had changed over time.
She shamed herself for wishing, for the briefest of seconds, that he was Sylar. Sylar was a more realistic boyfriend replacement. He wasn’t her uncle.
Author: PrettySirenx
Rating: PG-13 (for language)
Characters: Sylar/Claire, HRG, Peter
Genre: general, angst, fluff
Spoilers: Picks up where season 3 left off. Use your judgment.
Disclaimer: I'm not the owner of Heroes.
A/N: Sequel to Realization. Can also be read as a stand-alone (though it would make slightly less sense).
Claire was giddy as she rushed to find Nathan. Her English professor had sent an email out cancelling class for the day, so she would be completely and utterly free to kidnap him and devote her day completely to father-daughter, getting-to-know you type activities.
They needed those activities. They weren’t so much father and daughter as they were polite acquaintances. Lately, he’d been acting different - not like the Nathan she’d gotten to know so well in Mexico. She wanted to try to bring out the him in him, instead of the hollow, but kind shell which walked around - it just wasn’t him.
“Mr. Petrelli is in his study,” said the maid.
And so, with every good intention, Claire knocked on the door. But there was no answer. She was always suspicious and slightly intrusive. Keeping with that, she very unashamedly opened the door.
“Oh God,” she said quietly, when she beheld who was inside.
It was Sylar, crouched down on the floor. He was shaking, rocking back and forth, his knees pulled to his chest. He looked broken and terrified.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
Surprise wore off quickly, as it always did when Sylar emerged from whence he came. Instead, looking at him made her heart break. He was suffering and she was unsure why. Her logic told her she shouldn’t care. He was awful. But still, she did care. Seeing him in that way was frightening almost. He was a far cry from the killer she’d always known.
Claire walked over to him and knelt down. Gently, she touched his shoulder.
“Are you okay?”
“Don’t touch me,” he said, pulling away from her as though her hands were fire touching his body. “I don’t deserve it.”
“Sylar,” she persisted, “Whatever you’ve done --”
Taking a classic move from her, he pushed her helping hand aside and jumped through the window, shattering the glass into glittering pieces upon the floor.
Claire’s heart pounded beneath her breast. She believed what she just saw, yet it still seemed unreal. For the first time in her life, she was worried about a monster.
She took out her cell phone and frantically called her dad.
“I’ve just seen Sylar.”
“What?” was his reply.
“Sylar - he’s alive. He was in Nathan’s office. Dad, something’s wrong.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m okay. He didn’t hurt me. But there’s something wrong - there’s something wrong with him.”
“Claire, this is very important. Go find Peter. Stay with him and don’t leave his sight until I get there. I’m on my way.”
Claire hung up the phone. Any time her dad said the phrase “Claire, this is very important”, there was always some sort of guilt behind it. Every fiber of her being told her he was hiding something. However, his conviction and urgency were usually telltale signs that she’d get hurt if she didn’t do what he said. So, she did. All haste, she found Peter.
When she made it to his apartment, she found he was expecting her.
“I just got off the phone with your dad,” he said. “He told me what’s going on.”
Claire collapsed onto the couch, confusion flooding her mind like a tidal wave.
“I’ve been trying to get a hold of Nathan,” Peter went on him. “He’s not answering.”
In the chaos Claire had stupidly and thoughtlessly forgotten about Nathan. Panic seeped back into her veins so quick, she felt as though it would drain her life in an instant.
“We have to find him,” she said, jumping up off of her seat.
They were heroes, after all. They couldn’t let one of their own - their own family, even - fall.
“No,” said Peter, placing his hands upon her shoulders firmly.
“Sylar wanted him dead before,” she insisted. “What if he already has him?”
“I’m sure he doesn’t. Nathan knows how to take care of himself.”
“It wouldn’t hurt to --”
“Yes, Claire, it would.”
“Why are you being so difficult about this, Peter?” she asked, searching deep into his brown eyes for the young ruffian she once knew, who relished in playing the hero.
His finger stroked her cheek in a way that made them both feel ashamed. His eyes bore deeply into hers, all sincerity.
“I have to protect you,” he said earnestly. “I wasn’t there for you when he took your power. In fact, I haven’t been there for you very much lately. And I know -- I know -- he has a thing about you, Claire.”
“No, he doesn’t,” she blurted, before she could really stop and think about it.
“It’s all been about you,” Peter said, dropping his hand away from her cheek as he began to pace. “Everything. He wants you for something. He’s obsessive. You can pretend as much as you want that it’s not the case but it is. And I can’t let you get hurt. Not by him - not again.”
Claire grabbed hold of him to keep him still. He was nervous and it made her more nervous to watch him act so antsy.
“I admire your heroics,” she said, pulling him close. “You’re my uncle. It’s sweet that you want to protect me. Even when I think I don’t need it.”
And there they stood. Claire held onto him with all of her might. She craved human contact more than anything lately. It was strange how an uncle could suffice for a boyfriend in a pinch. She did love him, even if her feelings for him had changed over time.
She shamed herself for wishing, for the briefest of seconds, that he was Sylar. Sylar was a more realistic boyfriend replacement. He wasn’t her uncle.