A Petrelli Family Affair (2/3) [Angela femslash!]
Title: A Petrelli Family Affair (2/3)
Fandom: Heroes
Rating/Genre: PG/femslash (with hints of het and slash)
Characters/Pairing: Nathan, Heidi, Angela, Arthur; Angela/Heidi
Summary: How did it happen that Nathan Petrelli married a girl like Heidi? They liked to spend time together; not exactly like dating, but there was a connection between them, and he introduced her to the family… They all got along very well, and Heidi and Angela became good friends. But for some reason, Arthur and Angela did not seem to have the same opinions about their son’s friend and supposed lover…
Word count: 1 876
Spoilers/Warnings: No.
Notes: This story became longer than I thought it would, so I’m posting it in three parts. Part One is here.
‘Nathan, my boy’, Arthur Petrelli said one night when there were just the two of them for once, ‘tell me about this girl of yours, your lovely Heidi. How long have you known her?’
‘I don’t know, dad.’ Nathan squirmed. ‘Maybe six months? Yeah, something like that. I haven’t really thought about it, how long I’ve known her, I mean.’
His father, comfortably seated in an armchair, sipped his whisky. He seemed to have something to say, and he seemed to be going to take his time. Nathan wasn’t sure he liked the thought of that.
‘I understand’, Arthur said finally, ‘time isn’t always an issue. Have you met her parents?’
‘No, I haven’t. They live in Europe, remember; in London. They moved there when Heidi had finished high school. She just came back to New York three years ago.’
‘But’, Arthur went on with his inquiry, ‘she has told them about you, I presume?’
‘I don’t know’, Nathan shrugged his shoulders. ‘Yeah, I guess so - I mean, I think she’s pretty close to her parents so it would make sense for her to tell them about people she’s seeing regularly.’
‘Yes, she does spend a lot of time with us - and don’t get me wrong; I like her very much. So. Nathan, tell me…’
Here it comes, Nathan thought. He clenched his fists in his pockets and he thought his heart skipped a beat or two, but apart from that, he felt that yes, he was ready - as ready as he would ever be.
‘Nathan, tell me… Is she the one?’
Nathan exhaled and tried to make his shoulders relax.
‘I don’t know, dad. I think she might be, yes.’
Arthur smiled warmly.
‘But, dad… I’m not going to ask her to marry me, I mean, not yet. I mean, I’ve known her for less than a year, and I don’t want to rush into anything.’
‘That’s very good, son.’ Arthur nodded. ‘I’m glad that you’re taking this seriously. I just wanted you to know that I’m taking it seriously as well - I would be very sorry if I had to watch you mess this up. Heidi is perfect for you - she is beautiful, she’s smart and she understands your ambitions as well as any of us, her manners are excellent and she’s very good-natured. So no more of your little “adventures”, eh? Take good care of Heidi.’
Nathan gulped and swallowed the rest of his drink.
‘I do want to try to make things work with her…’
‘That’s good. Make sure you try hard enough. We couldn’t wish for anyone better.’
Was there a warning in his father’s voice, something hard? Nathan looked down on the empty glass in his hand and tried to get away from the impression that something had been decided over his head.
He raised his head and looked his father in the eyes. His father had always understood him and wanted what was best for him. His father had taught him to see to the broader picture and to take one step at the time but always keep the end goal in mind. His father and he always wanted the same things.
Heidi was perfect for him; yes, that was true.
Through his mind flashed images of other girls. There was this blonde with endless legs, and the one who was virtually insatiable, and the fiery one with all the wild antics, and… but there must have been a reason why nothing serious ever came out of those flings. They were not the right kind of girls. They were for having fun, none of them was the one. He also remembered that dark-eyed guy with the softest skin he had ever felt and the oh so voluptuous red mouth, and…
Nathan did his best to try to fight off these thoughts. Heidi was different from all others; his father was right. She was intelligent, determined, sophisticated, well-bread, beautiful, and got along so well with his family…
But not yet, though, Nathan told himself. It’s too soon to say the big words.
Nathan wasn’t even sure that Heidi wanted to hear any big words, but his father seemed convinced that this was right, and he was probably right as usual.
And they hadn’t even had sex yet. That was something he certainly wasn’t going to tell his father. He didn’t even want to think about it.
***
Heidi, on the other hand, thought about it, and she had to be honest with herself; she wasn’t sure that she never had wanted to sleep with Nathan, but she became increasingly sure that she didn’t want to right then.
The reason for that was very simple: she wanted someone else.
It wasn’t easy, but when she had acknowledged the fact once, she couldn’t ignore it: she wanted Angela, more than she had ever wanted Angela’s son, or wanted anyone for that matter.
This insight came to her one day when Angela bluntly asked her if she was pregnant.
Heidi stared at the older woman she had come to think of as a friend.
‘Of course not, Mrs. Petrelli. What makes you think that?’
‘You’re not?’ Angela looked at her with something that could be relief. ‘Oh, never mind, it was just that Arthur suggested that Nathan might want to pop the question soon, so to speak… He seems to think that as you spend so much time with Nathan…’
Heidi tried to make her laugh sound confident and relaxed. She didn’t really like Arthur Petrelli very much. He was always kind to her, very correct, but he also always kept his distance, as if he was judging and evaluating her. Angela, too, had her quirks and authoritarian ways, but Arthur looked to her like a downright control freak hidden under a very polished surface. And Nathan seemed to care a great deal about his opinions on most matters.
‘I think that Mr. Petrelli is a bit old-fashioned,’ Heidi suggested, ‘am I right? I guess he doesn’t really understand the small print when it comes to modern friendship and, um, dating…’
‘No, I supposed he doesn’t. I’m not sure if I do either. Are you… in love with my son, Heidi?’
Heidi was quiet. Love? What did it really mean? She seemed to have a lot of warm feelings toward almost everyone in the Petrelli family. And it seemed like all of them, even Arthur in his own way, liked her. She knew that they were a very good match in many ways, Nathan and she. And there was something about that family, something that she couldn’t quite put her finger on, that made her want to belong to them.
On the other hand, sometimes the opposite feeling crept up on her; a vague hunch that whispered to her that she should rather stay away.
‘We have a very special connection’, she finally said, ‘in fact, I think that Nathan is the best friend I ever had.’
‘Best friend? That’s good…’
Angela seemed to hesitate. She paced up and down the room in her high heels, like she was trapped and tried to find her way out. That seemed odd to Heidi, because she was used to think of Nathan’s mother as a woman always in control of her words and her actions.
Angela stopped in front of Heidi and looked at her fondly.
‘It’s just that I care about you, you see. And I’m afraid that Nathan will not be good for you in the long run. If you get married. You might… get hurt.’
‘Mrs. Petrelli, what do you mean? Nathan would never hurt me; he would never be violent toward anyone.’
Angela sighed and bit her lip, then started pacing up and down the room again.
‘Oh, no. I didn’t mean that. But…’
‘Besides’, Heidi continued, ‘no one has talked about getting married. And if you must know, I’m not even sleeping with him…’
Angela stopped with her back turned on Heidi. She exhaled loudly and then she turned around.
‘You didn’t have to tell me that’, she said gently.
Heidi moved closer to the other woman.
‘Oh, but I think I did’, she said and put her hands on Angela’s shoulders.
‘Tell me, Mrs. Petrelli; what are you so worried about?’
‘You should call me Angela’, the other woman said softly. ‘Heidi, if you could see what I see…’
Then she stopped and looked like she could bite her tongue off. Heidi silently shook her head.
‘What, about Nathan? Look, the only thing I see about him is that I like him, and he makes me laugh.’
‘He makes you laugh? That’s a very good thing. True friendship is a very important thing, I’d say. But is it enough?’
‘Enough to build a life on?’ Heidi sighed. ‘I really don’t know. Angela, does your husband make you laugh? Is he your friend?’
‘I don’t know’, Angela said slowly and her eyes began to shine. ‘Maybe it used to be like that once… But now - not so much.’
There was sadness in Angela’s voice; that much she could understand. But what did she really want? What was the meaning of all that?
Heidi didn’t know if she dared to guess what Angela wanted, but she knew what she wanted. She wanted to kiss Angela. Why had she never realized that before? Because she really did want to feel those beautiful, red lips against her own… So Heidi kissed her.
It was as simple as that. It was easy, it was soft. It made Heidi warm and dizzy, made her body tingle all over.
‘I’m sorry’, she whispered softly, ‘that your husband doesn’t make you laugh. You are a beautiful, magnificent woman and you should have lots of laughter in your life.’
Angela put her arms around Heidi’s waist and pulled her body closer.
‘Forgive me if I’m not laughing right now.’ Angela’s breath was hot as she mumbled the words into Heidi’s ear. ‘I would rather just keep doing this.’
‘Yes’, Heidi replied and marvelled at the sensation of soft lips at her ear lobe, ‘yes, Angela.’
‘Yes?’ Angela said, ‘To be honest, I didn’t know if you would ever dare…’
‘Why, were you waiting..?’
Angela didn’t answer. She just kissed her.
Heidi didn’t quite understand why both Nathan’s parents were so interested in their son’s love life, and in so different ways. She had never talked to Nathan about marriage, but she had had a feeling for a long time that they were still somehow “meant to be”. Perhaps passion and romance weren’t everything? Wouldn’t friendship be a better ground to build a life-long relationship on? After all, many people thought that true love must be something less romantic and irrational, something that grew with time and took some work.
Heidi weren’t impatient for Nathan to “pop the question”, but she used to think that if he did ask her one day, she might very well say yes.
Now, on the other hand, she thought that perhaps she had been wrong about all that. Angela looked at her with passion in her eyes, and her touch made Heidi’s skin burn and ache with a violent need for more. Perhaps Angela was the Petrelli she was meant to be with.
Fandom: Heroes
Rating/Genre: PG/femslash (with hints of het and slash)
Characters/Pairing: Nathan, Heidi, Angela, Arthur; Angela/Heidi
Summary: How did it happen that Nathan Petrelli married a girl like Heidi? They liked to spend time together; not exactly like dating, but there was a connection between them, and he introduced her to the family… They all got along very well, and Heidi and Angela became good friends. But for some reason, Arthur and Angela did not seem to have the same opinions about their son’s friend and supposed lover…
Word count: 1 876
Spoilers/Warnings: No.
Notes: This story became longer than I thought it would, so I’m posting it in three parts. Part One is here.
‘Nathan, my boy’, Arthur Petrelli said one night when there were just the two of them for once, ‘tell me about this girl of yours, your lovely Heidi. How long have you known her?’
‘I don’t know, dad.’ Nathan squirmed. ‘Maybe six months? Yeah, something like that. I haven’t really thought about it, how long I’ve known her, I mean.’
His father, comfortably seated in an armchair, sipped his whisky. He seemed to have something to say, and he seemed to be going to take his time. Nathan wasn’t sure he liked the thought of that.
‘I understand’, Arthur said finally, ‘time isn’t always an issue. Have you met her parents?’
‘No, I haven’t. They live in Europe, remember; in London. They moved there when Heidi had finished high school. She just came back to New York three years ago.’
‘But’, Arthur went on with his inquiry, ‘she has told them about you, I presume?’
‘I don’t know’, Nathan shrugged his shoulders. ‘Yeah, I guess so - I mean, I think she’s pretty close to her parents so it would make sense for her to tell them about people she’s seeing regularly.’
‘Yes, she does spend a lot of time with us - and don’t get me wrong; I like her very much. So. Nathan, tell me…’
Here it comes, Nathan thought. He clenched his fists in his pockets and he thought his heart skipped a beat or two, but apart from that, he felt that yes, he was ready - as ready as he would ever be.
‘Nathan, tell me… Is she the one?’
Nathan exhaled and tried to make his shoulders relax.
‘I don’t know, dad. I think she might be, yes.’
Arthur smiled warmly.
‘But, dad… I’m not going to ask her to marry me, I mean, not yet. I mean, I’ve known her for less than a year, and I don’t want to rush into anything.’
‘That’s very good, son.’ Arthur nodded. ‘I’m glad that you’re taking this seriously. I just wanted you to know that I’m taking it seriously as well - I would be very sorry if I had to watch you mess this up. Heidi is perfect for you - she is beautiful, she’s smart and she understands your ambitions as well as any of us, her manners are excellent and she’s very good-natured. So no more of your little “adventures”, eh? Take good care of Heidi.’
Nathan gulped and swallowed the rest of his drink.
‘I do want to try to make things work with her…’
‘That’s good. Make sure you try hard enough. We couldn’t wish for anyone better.’
Was there a warning in his father’s voice, something hard? Nathan looked down on the empty glass in his hand and tried to get away from the impression that something had been decided over his head.
He raised his head and looked his father in the eyes. His father had always understood him and wanted what was best for him. His father had taught him to see to the broader picture and to take one step at the time but always keep the end goal in mind. His father and he always wanted the same things.
Heidi was perfect for him; yes, that was true.
Through his mind flashed images of other girls. There was this blonde with endless legs, and the one who was virtually insatiable, and the fiery one with all the wild antics, and… but there must have been a reason why nothing serious ever came out of those flings. They were not the right kind of girls. They were for having fun, none of them was the one. He also remembered that dark-eyed guy with the softest skin he had ever felt and the oh so voluptuous red mouth, and…
Nathan did his best to try to fight off these thoughts. Heidi was different from all others; his father was right. She was intelligent, determined, sophisticated, well-bread, beautiful, and got along so well with his family…
But not yet, though, Nathan told himself. It’s too soon to say the big words.
Nathan wasn’t even sure that Heidi wanted to hear any big words, but his father seemed convinced that this was right, and he was probably right as usual.
And they hadn’t even had sex yet. That was something he certainly wasn’t going to tell his father. He didn’t even want to think about it.
***
Heidi, on the other hand, thought about it, and she had to be honest with herself; she wasn’t sure that she never had wanted to sleep with Nathan, but she became increasingly sure that she didn’t want to right then.
The reason for that was very simple: she wanted someone else.
It wasn’t easy, but when she had acknowledged the fact once, she couldn’t ignore it: she wanted Angela, more than she had ever wanted Angela’s son, or wanted anyone for that matter.
This insight came to her one day when Angela bluntly asked her if she was pregnant.
Heidi stared at the older woman she had come to think of as a friend.
‘Of course not, Mrs. Petrelli. What makes you think that?’
‘You’re not?’ Angela looked at her with something that could be relief. ‘Oh, never mind, it was just that Arthur suggested that Nathan might want to pop the question soon, so to speak… He seems to think that as you spend so much time with Nathan…’
Heidi tried to make her laugh sound confident and relaxed. She didn’t really like Arthur Petrelli very much. He was always kind to her, very correct, but he also always kept his distance, as if he was judging and evaluating her. Angela, too, had her quirks and authoritarian ways, but Arthur looked to her like a downright control freak hidden under a very polished surface. And Nathan seemed to care a great deal about his opinions on most matters.
‘I think that Mr. Petrelli is a bit old-fashioned,’ Heidi suggested, ‘am I right? I guess he doesn’t really understand the small print when it comes to modern friendship and, um, dating…’
‘No, I supposed he doesn’t. I’m not sure if I do either. Are you… in love with my son, Heidi?’
Heidi was quiet. Love? What did it really mean? She seemed to have a lot of warm feelings toward almost everyone in the Petrelli family. And it seemed like all of them, even Arthur in his own way, liked her. She knew that they were a very good match in many ways, Nathan and she. And there was something about that family, something that she couldn’t quite put her finger on, that made her want to belong to them.
On the other hand, sometimes the opposite feeling crept up on her; a vague hunch that whispered to her that she should rather stay away.
‘We have a very special connection’, she finally said, ‘in fact, I think that Nathan is the best friend I ever had.’
‘Best friend? That’s good…’
Angela seemed to hesitate. She paced up and down the room in her high heels, like she was trapped and tried to find her way out. That seemed odd to Heidi, because she was used to think of Nathan’s mother as a woman always in control of her words and her actions.
Angela stopped in front of Heidi and looked at her fondly.
‘It’s just that I care about you, you see. And I’m afraid that Nathan will not be good for you in the long run. If you get married. You might… get hurt.’
‘Mrs. Petrelli, what do you mean? Nathan would never hurt me; he would never be violent toward anyone.’
Angela sighed and bit her lip, then started pacing up and down the room again.
‘Oh, no. I didn’t mean that. But…’
‘Besides’, Heidi continued, ‘no one has talked about getting married. And if you must know, I’m not even sleeping with him…’
Angela stopped with her back turned on Heidi. She exhaled loudly and then she turned around.
‘You didn’t have to tell me that’, she said gently.
Heidi moved closer to the other woman.
‘Oh, but I think I did’, she said and put her hands on Angela’s shoulders.
‘Tell me, Mrs. Petrelli; what are you so worried about?’
‘You should call me Angela’, the other woman said softly. ‘Heidi, if you could see what I see…’
Then she stopped and looked like she could bite her tongue off. Heidi silently shook her head.
‘What, about Nathan? Look, the only thing I see about him is that I like him, and he makes me laugh.’
‘He makes you laugh? That’s a very good thing. True friendship is a very important thing, I’d say. But is it enough?’
‘Enough to build a life on?’ Heidi sighed. ‘I really don’t know. Angela, does your husband make you laugh? Is he your friend?’
‘I don’t know’, Angela said slowly and her eyes began to shine. ‘Maybe it used to be like that once… But now - not so much.’
There was sadness in Angela’s voice; that much she could understand. But what did she really want? What was the meaning of all that?
Heidi didn’t know if she dared to guess what Angela wanted, but she knew what she wanted. She wanted to kiss Angela. Why had she never realized that before? Because she really did want to feel those beautiful, red lips against her own… So Heidi kissed her.
It was as simple as that. It was easy, it was soft. It made Heidi warm and dizzy, made her body tingle all over.
‘I’m sorry’, she whispered softly, ‘that your husband doesn’t make you laugh. You are a beautiful, magnificent woman and you should have lots of laughter in your life.’
Angela put her arms around Heidi’s waist and pulled her body closer.
‘Forgive me if I’m not laughing right now.’ Angela’s breath was hot as she mumbled the words into Heidi’s ear. ‘I would rather just keep doing this.’
‘Yes’, Heidi replied and marvelled at the sensation of soft lips at her ear lobe, ‘yes, Angela.’
‘Yes?’ Angela said, ‘To be honest, I didn’t know if you would ever dare…’
‘Why, were you waiting..?’
Angela didn’t answer. She just kissed her.
Heidi didn’t quite understand why both Nathan’s parents were so interested in their son’s love life, and in so different ways. She had never talked to Nathan about marriage, but she had had a feeling for a long time that they were still somehow “meant to be”. Perhaps passion and romance weren’t everything? Wouldn’t friendship be a better ground to build a life-long relationship on? After all, many people thought that true love must be something less romantic and irrational, something that grew with time and took some work.
Heidi weren’t impatient for Nathan to “pop the question”, but she used to think that if he did ask her one day, she might very well say yes.
Now, on the other hand, she thought that perhaps she had been wrong about all that. Angela looked at her with passion in her eyes, and her touch made Heidi’s skin burn and ache with a violent need for more. Perhaps Angela was the Petrelli she was meant to be with.