To Kill A Watchmaker - Heroes - Claire/Gabriel - 6/11
Title: To Kill A Watchmaker
Pairing: Claire/Gabriel
Rating: PG-13
Wordcount: Part 6: 3394 words
Disclaimer: Characters and situations belong to NBC and the show's writing and production staff.
Spoilers: Up to the end of Season3 + one small season 4 spoiler
Request: inspired by this original request by freaky_anomaly on sylar_claire: the main points being: Claire meets Gabriel before he becomes Sylar; he does not become Sylar in the story; they have all their abilities; Gabriel is the sweet, socially awkward, shy type; Gabriel is a virgin (or at least very inexperienced).
Author's Note: Many thanks to cameroncrazed for providing another pair of eyes!
Sorry the delay between parts seems to be growing, but on the other hand, at least they're also getting longer...
Summary: Claire goes back in time to kill Sylar just before his power manifested, but discovers that Gabriel Gray isn't yet the man she's looking for.
When Claire finally woke the following morning, it was close to 10:00 am. She stared in disbelief at the clock on Gabriel's bedside table. She couldn't remember a time when she had been sufficiently relaxed to sleep in so late. Sleep had been in short supply after Sylar re-emerged from his Nathan persona, more unhinged than ever and bent on revenge.
Claire noticed a note on the bedside table, scrawled in a large, jagged handwriting: Claire - I've gone to work will be back at 12 with groceries - Gabriel. There were two twenty-dollar bills under the note, along with a set of keys. Gabriel might not want to sleep with her, but he was certainly very trusting.
It occurred to Claire that Gabriel was also just a little creepy. Although she had worn his NYC shirt in bed, and had no reason to believe that Gabriel would have seen anything more than her fast asleep under the covers, Claire wasn't sure she liked the idea of him sneaking into the bedroom while she was asleep to leave a note and some money on the bedside table. He must have been incredibly quiet as he prepared for work.
On the other hand, Gabriel was being very kind and thoughtful, so Claire decided to dismiss his Sylar-like tendencies and got out of bed to start her day. In the bathroom, she discovered that the shower above the bathtub didn't work -- so much for Gabriel's natural aptitude for fixing things -- so she had to take a bath, washing her hair with a plastic cup she found in the kitchen. Gabriel's shampoo made her hair feel sticky and heavy. Claire used one of his disposable razors to shave her legs and underarms, and resolved to use the $40 to buy herself some basic toiletries.
After dressing in the same clothes as the day before, and adding new underwear to her mental shopping list, Claire decided to go out for breakfast rather than fixing herself something in Gabriel's little ill-equipped kitchen. A brief exploration of the area outside revealed that Trenton Place had various run-down but useful stores, a small theatre and a coffee shop serving blueberry pancakes.
Claire managed to find all the items she needed and returned to Gabriel's apartment in good spirits. As he was still not home, Claire changed into the clean underwear she had bought and washed her hair again -- still with the cup, this time leaning over the bath -- but with the shampoo she usually used. She brushed her teeth and even smiled as she looked at her reflection in the mirror.
Feeling normal for the first time in months, Claire explored the apartment. Now that she could see it in daylight, she realised that Mohinder had visited it some months later; the photographs he had taken were in Primatech's file on Sylar. Claire looked in the closet behind the mirrored door. She remembered the photos Mohinder had taken: this was where Sylar had hidden his map of people with abilities. It was also where he had repeatedly written "Forgive me" and "I have sinned" on the concrete wall at the back.
But there was nothing nefarious in there now; just the mattress Gabriel had slept on the previous night, some spare sheets and blankets, and a few boxes which seemed to contain more of his grandparents' belongings. The concrete alcove at the back of the room was visible and bare except for a couple of pipes crossing it.
"Kind of freaky, isn't it?"
Claire nearly jumped out of her skin. She spun around and found Gabriel standing behind her in the living room. He wasn't wearing his glasses and although his hair was neatly combed, it wasn't gelled. His clothes seemed less nerdy too, though Claire wasn't sure why, as he was wearing a plaid shirt and buttoned cardigan. Maybe it was because the top button on his shirt was undone. Or maybe it was just the absence of glasses.
"I've never worked out what that room was originally for," said Gabriel, indicating the storeroom behind her. "Hiding liquor during the Prohibition, maybe?"
"You look different," said Claire.
"Oh." Gabriel self-consciously raised his hand to his eyes. "Yes, um, I thought I'd try life without glasses. I had some old contacts." He glanced at himself in the mirrored door and looked away hastily. "I'd forgotten just how, um…" He gestured towards his eyebrows. "The glasses kind of hide them."
Claire laughed out loud. "Oh, they're fine, Gabriel. You look…" She was about to say that he looked handsome, but wasn't sure how he would react after the previous night. "You look good."
"Thanks. Um, I have to deal with the groceries," he explained. "Then I'll show you something."
Claire followed him into the kitchen, hoping that the "something" would be nothing ominous. It occurred to her that instead of sleeping in, she should have made sure she stayed with him. On the other hand, that brought to mind the image of Gabriel needing Claire's protection as he went about his life, lest he unexpectedly turn into Sylar. There had to come a point when she could trust him. She just wasn't sure now was the time.
Gabriel tidied away the groceries he had bought, though Claire saw him trying to slip something into a kitchen drawer unnoticed. She made a mental note to find out what it was later.
"Okay, so, I have to show you this," said Gabriel.
Gabriel flexed his hands and rubbed them on his cardigan as if preparing to play a piano concert. He looked nervously at Claire, before focussing intensely on the drying rack. Claire's heart sank; she knew that look all too well. The drying rack shifted slightly on its own, scraping on the kitchen counter. A fork sprang out of it into the sink.
"What did you do?" asked Claire in a small voice, scared of hearing the truth.
"What?" Gabriel looked confused, as if tired out by the effort of using the telekinesis. "Oh. Same thing I did yesterday." He smiled. "It was amazing! This guy walked into my store this morning and said Dr Suresh had told him to contact me about his power." He pointed at the drying rack with delight. "That power. Isn't it amazing?"
Claire smiled weakly but nothing seemed to dampen Gabriel's childish enthusiasm for Sylar's signature power.
"This guy, Brian Davis, didn't appreciate what he had," said Gabriel. "He said he wanted me to 'cure' him. I couldn't believe my ears! The guy was a moron. He can move things with his mind and he's whining about it? But I could see this power's potential immediately. Rapid healing is fantastic, of course. But it kind of makes sense; your body can heal itself anyway. But this… Acting on things with the mind, being able to interact with the physical world using only a thought... This is incredible!"
"What happened to Davis?" asked Claire, desperately hoping that history hadn't repeated itself, with Davis as Gabriel's first victim.
Gabriel shrugged. "I suggested that he learn to use his ability for something useful. Even if it's just reaching for his coffee cup at work, amusing his kids, that kind of stuff. He seemed happy with that and went back to his menial little life." He paused. "On some level, I kind of sympathised with him not wanting things to change. It's really weird to think that one week ago, I was just a watchmaker, and, literally overnight, I've acquired accelerated healing and telekinesis. I guess if I'd been more content with the life I had, I might have had some trouble adjusting too."
Gabriel gave Claire a dazzling smile as he continued. "But I feel great! Finding out about this power I have is the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me. And being able to get other powers… I thought it might work differently because I wasn't attracted to Davis like I am to you, but when I looked at him, watched him moving things, it felt the same. Like I needed to know how his power worked. But I knew all I had to do was be a bit patient. That was hard. Waiting while he whined and showed me what he could do. Having to wait for that 'click' when I knew how good it would feel when it came." He bit his lip and frowned, as if trying to mimic how he had felt, before smiling again. "Then it came. The knowledge hit me and I could feel the telekinesis there in my brain, just waiting to be used and tested, sort of like a muscle that just needs to be exercised to achieve its full potential. I have you to thank for that. For showing me how to do it."
"Yeah."
Not for the first time, Claire felt at a loss. Her first instinct had been correct; she needed to stay with him all the time to prevent Gabriel from turning into Sylar. After less than twenty-four hours, he had already acquired the two abilities that had made Sylar such a terrifying opponent. Perhaps it really was Gabriel's destiny to become the most powerful man on Earth and there was nothing Claire could do.
"Hey." Gabriel touched her arm. "Sorry, I guess you can't really understand how it feels. I'm freaking you out again."
Claire let him rub her arm awkwardly, but her mind was racing. She asked herself how many more abilities Gabriel would accumulate before he grew impatient and decided to cut out the observation period.
"Look, let's just forget about it for a moment," said Gabriel calmly. "Let it sink in. So… do you want some lunch?"
Claire cheered up a bit. Gabriel wasn't Sylar yet and it seemed churlish to be so down about a new power that made him so happy. Claire felt that as Gabriel was being so kind to her, the least she could do was be nice to him. She was also finding him disturbingly attractive, as if the new power had given him added confidence.
"I'll cook!" she offered. "If you have some eggs and cheese, I can make a cheese omelette!"
Gabriel let her get the eggs and cheese from the refrigerator and gave her a frying pan. Claire wasn't a great cook, but she had made herself a few successful omelettes in the past.
"Thank you so much for lending me that money," she said once the egg mixture was sizzling in the pan. "You are so sweet."
Gabriel was still standing beside her; embarrassed, he raised his hand to his eyes automatically to fiddle with his glasses. Realising that he wasn't wearing them, he lowered his hand again and settled for looking bashful. Claire had noticed Gabriel's innocent admission that he was attracted to her while he was talking about Davis, but Gabriel seemed reluctant to take things any further and she felt sorry for him.
"I'm sorry. I'm embarrassing you again," said Claire. "I'm going to stop. I promise no more kissing or inappropriate remarks."
"Oh." He scratched his head. "I didn't mean… It's… It's not that I don't like you. I mean I guess you like me and you obviously know me very well. You know more about me than I do. And I appreciate that. I mean, I like you too. It's just that I really don't know you."
"That's okay," said Claire, though she felt disappointed. To cover her reaction, she reached past Gabriel for a spatula to poke the omelette.
She heard Gabriel breathe in slowly as she leaned across him, and realised with a horrible sinking feeling that he was smelling her hair. She remembered Sylar sniffing her at the Stanton hotel and moved away from Gabriel.
"You smell of peaches," he said gently.
"Yeah, I bought myself some shampoo this morning," said Claire, poking the omelette.
"I love peaches," said Gabriel, seemingly unaware of her reaction. "They're my favourite fruit. It's, um, a nice smell." He paused. "I'm sorry. I guess it's a bit weird to be smelling your hair. Lilly used to have a go at me for doing that kind of thing. I just like… Um, I'll lay the table."
Claire nodded though Gabriel wasn't looking at her anymore, rooting around in cupboards and drawers to collect the items they would need to eat. Claire glanced over when he opened the drawer containing the mystery item, but wasn't able to see what it was. She heard Gabriel lay the table behind her, before becoming aware of his large body looming over her shoulder.
"Um, Claire, that omelette is overcooked."
"It isn't burnt," she protested.
"But it is overcooked. It's going to be kind of hard."
Claire reached for the knob to turn the burner off, but Gabriel caught her arm, his large hand easily spanning her wrist. The feeling of his soft hand wrapped around her arm made Claire's heart beat faster.
As Claire watched, the frying pan shifted jerkily off the burner. The dial on the cooker turned slowly, first in the wrong direction, causing a burst of flame to rise from the burner. Then it spun the opposite way, extinguishing the supply of gas to the burner. Gabriel was obviously practicing his new ability.
He let go of Claire's arm and picked up the frying pan.
"Never mind," said Gabriel, inspecting the flat, brown omelette in the frying pan. "We'll just cut it up have it with the salad I bought. It's still food."
As they sat down to their second meal together, Claire thought about how she could keep an eye on Gabriel. That led her to wonder how much longer Gabriel would be willing to let her stay with him. It was unlikely that he would agree to let her be his live-in guiding conscience for more than a few days. She also had to consider the practicality of staying for more than a week in his apartment with only one bed, a broken shower and no TV. Not to mention the creepy plastic-covered chair.
"I should look for a job," said Claire. "I'm going to need clothes and some more stuff, so I need to earn some money. Then I'll be able to move out."
"There's no hurry," said Gabriel. "You could help out at the shop for a while. Until you get sick of being with me 24 hours a day, that is. I'll give you money for clothes if you need some. I got a couple hundred dollars out this morning. That should get you started if you want to go shopping this afternoon."
"Gabriel, I can't accept that," protested Claire. "I just need a while to get myself sorted out."
"I get that you don't want to owe me anything more. But I really can't let you stay here and wear the same clothes every day." Gabriel poured her some water. "I'll lend you that much and then nothing else, okay? You can work in the shop this week and we'll say anything else I give you is payment for your work. I've been meaning to sort out some of the stuff in the office for years, so I figure you can help me."
"Thanks. I will get in touch with my family too," promised Claire. "And then I'll let you get back to your life. I just need to think about what to tell them. I'm not their Claire anymore."
"Maybe you should consider returning to your own time and seeing how things panned out after the changes you've made." Gabriel spread his hands. "After all, your friend who sent you here must be around in this time. Maybe you can find him and convince him to send you back?"
"Maybe."
It hadn't occurred to Claire that the present-day Hiro could send her back to her own time. On the other hand, Hiro was probably still in Japan and Claire couldn't remember when his powers had manifested. She did remember Hiro telling her that he had travelled back to this time to try and save his girlfriend Charlie Andrews from Sylar. But there was no reason to believe he would have done that now that Gabriel's destiny had changed. Claire glanced at the drying rack. At least, she hoped Gabriel's destiny had changed.
"Talking about people with abilities, Dr Suresh called this morning," said Gabriel. "He has some more possible candidates with powers he wants me to meet. He's also got the go-ahead to get me a brain scan at Columbia."
"Don't go."
Gabriel looked at her in surprise, his dark eyes wide under the heavy eyebrows. "He wants me to be his Patient Zero. Someone he can study and use to convince other people with abilities to work with him. You don't want me to help him?"
"I guess I don't know how things will turn out." Claire sighed. "But Suresh led Sylar to a load of people with abilities and he murdered them all. At least twelve victims in the first six months."
"Including Brian Davis, I suppose?" asked Gabriel.
Claire nodded. "And Dr Suresh."
"And Dr Suresh?" Gabriel blanched. "Even after he revealed my power to me and helped me realise my potential?"
Claire wasn't sure that was how Dr Suresh's relationship with Sylar had gone, but she said nothing.
Gabriel shook his head. "But I didn't kill Davis today. Doesn't that suggest that things are different this time around?" He frowned. "Are you really still afraid I'm going to start killing people?"
"I don't know," admitted Claire.
"But you think staying away from Dr Suresh makes it less likely?"
Claire nodded.
"Okay," said Gabriel slowly. "I'll go with you on this one. But I would still like to meet some people with abilities, to see what else is out there. And maybe acquire the more useful ones."
"I don't think that's a good idea."
Gabriel seemed irritated. "Why? Are you afraid I'm going to take all their powers and what, become addicted or something?"
"You're already immortal and omnipotent," snapped Claire. "If you still want more powers, then, yes, I'd say you're becoming addicted."
Gabriel seemed taken aback. "Immortal? Your power makes me immortal?"
"Yes. You can't die," said Claire, aware that she was echoing Sylar's words to her. "I can't die. I guess we'll just keep regenerating forever, unless we lose our powers or something destroys our bodies completely."
"Ah," said Gabriel thoughtfully. "I suppose some abilities should come with a health warning, then. Wow. That's, um, unexpected." He sipped some water. "I guess I'll have plenty of time to get to know you better."
He didn't look very happy at this prospect. Claire was relieved to find at least one difference between Gabriel and Sylar in this respect. On the other hand, Sylar had acquired her power after suffering torture at the hands of the Company; his motive had been his immediate survival, the immortality a bonus he only seemed to gloat about later on.
"I'm sorry," said Gabriel. "You're right; I should give it a few weeks before I meet anyone else with an ability. I'll just go back to being a simple watchmaker for a while."
"There's nothing wrong with being a watchmaker," said Claire with a smile. "Or leading a normal life."
Gabriel lowered his eyes and pretended to eat, though Claire noticed that he was just moving the food around.
"I was wondering," he started hesitantly. "Would you like-- Tonight, instead of staying here, we could… I mean, we're neither of us very good cooks and it would be nice to, um…" He cleared his throat. "Maybe we could have dinner or something. I mean outside. In a restaurant."
Claire looked down at the tough strips of dark brown egg on her plate. She laughed.
"Yeah, that's a good idea." Gabriel smiled bashfully, still looking down in his plate, and Claire decided to help him out a little. "Actually, I found this coffee shop this morning, just a couple of blocks away from here, and they have a band there in the evening. Maybe we could get some dinner and then go there?"
Gabriel gazed at her wide-eyed for a moment, looking rather as if all his Christmases had come at once. Then he smiled more confidently and nodded.
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Master List
Pairing: Claire/Gabriel
Rating: PG-13
Wordcount: Part 6: 3394 words
Disclaimer: Characters and situations belong to NBC and the show's writing and production staff.
Spoilers: Up to the end of Season3 + one small season 4 spoiler
Request: inspired by this original request by freaky_anomaly on sylar_claire: the main points being: Claire meets Gabriel before he becomes Sylar; he does not become Sylar in the story; they have all their abilities; Gabriel is the sweet, socially awkward, shy type; Gabriel is a virgin (or at least very inexperienced).
Author's Note: Many thanks to cameroncrazed for providing another pair of eyes!
Sorry the delay between parts seems to be growing, but on the other hand, at least they're also getting longer...
Summary: Claire goes back in time to kill Sylar just before his power manifested, but discovers that Gabriel Gray isn't yet the man she's looking for.
When Claire finally woke the following morning, it was close to 10:00 am. She stared in disbelief at the clock on Gabriel's bedside table. She couldn't remember a time when she had been sufficiently relaxed to sleep in so late. Sleep had been in short supply after Sylar re-emerged from his Nathan persona, more unhinged than ever and bent on revenge.
Claire noticed a note on the bedside table, scrawled in a large, jagged handwriting: Claire - I've gone to work will be back at 12 with groceries - Gabriel. There were two twenty-dollar bills under the note, along with a set of keys. Gabriel might not want to sleep with her, but he was certainly very trusting.
It occurred to Claire that Gabriel was also just a little creepy. Although she had worn his NYC shirt in bed, and had no reason to believe that Gabriel would have seen anything more than her fast asleep under the covers, Claire wasn't sure she liked the idea of him sneaking into the bedroom while she was asleep to leave a note and some money on the bedside table. He must have been incredibly quiet as he prepared for work.
On the other hand, Gabriel was being very kind and thoughtful, so Claire decided to dismiss his Sylar-like tendencies and got out of bed to start her day. In the bathroom, she discovered that the shower above the bathtub didn't work -- so much for Gabriel's natural aptitude for fixing things -- so she had to take a bath, washing her hair with a plastic cup she found in the kitchen. Gabriel's shampoo made her hair feel sticky and heavy. Claire used one of his disposable razors to shave her legs and underarms, and resolved to use the $40 to buy herself some basic toiletries.
After dressing in the same clothes as the day before, and adding new underwear to her mental shopping list, Claire decided to go out for breakfast rather than fixing herself something in Gabriel's little ill-equipped kitchen. A brief exploration of the area outside revealed that Trenton Place had various run-down but useful stores, a small theatre and a coffee shop serving blueberry pancakes.
Claire managed to find all the items she needed and returned to Gabriel's apartment in good spirits. As he was still not home, Claire changed into the clean underwear she had bought and washed her hair again -- still with the cup, this time leaning over the bath -- but with the shampoo she usually used. She brushed her teeth and even smiled as she looked at her reflection in the mirror.
Feeling normal for the first time in months, Claire explored the apartment. Now that she could see it in daylight, she realised that Mohinder had visited it some months later; the photographs he had taken were in Primatech's file on Sylar. Claire looked in the closet behind the mirrored door. She remembered the photos Mohinder had taken: this was where Sylar had hidden his map of people with abilities. It was also where he had repeatedly written "Forgive me" and "I have sinned" on the concrete wall at the back.
But there was nothing nefarious in there now; just the mattress Gabriel had slept on the previous night, some spare sheets and blankets, and a few boxes which seemed to contain more of his grandparents' belongings. The concrete alcove at the back of the room was visible and bare except for a couple of pipes crossing it.
"Kind of freaky, isn't it?"
Claire nearly jumped out of her skin. She spun around and found Gabriel standing behind her in the living room. He wasn't wearing his glasses and although his hair was neatly combed, it wasn't gelled. His clothes seemed less nerdy too, though Claire wasn't sure why, as he was wearing a plaid shirt and buttoned cardigan. Maybe it was because the top button on his shirt was undone. Or maybe it was just the absence of glasses.
"I've never worked out what that room was originally for," said Gabriel, indicating the storeroom behind her. "Hiding liquor during the Prohibition, maybe?"
"You look different," said Claire.
"Oh." Gabriel self-consciously raised his hand to his eyes. "Yes, um, I thought I'd try life without glasses. I had some old contacts." He glanced at himself in the mirrored door and looked away hastily. "I'd forgotten just how, um…" He gestured towards his eyebrows. "The glasses kind of hide them."
Claire laughed out loud. "Oh, they're fine, Gabriel. You look…" She was about to say that he looked handsome, but wasn't sure how he would react after the previous night. "You look good."
"Thanks. Um, I have to deal with the groceries," he explained. "Then I'll show you something."
Claire followed him into the kitchen, hoping that the "something" would be nothing ominous. It occurred to her that instead of sleeping in, she should have made sure she stayed with him. On the other hand, that brought to mind the image of Gabriel needing Claire's protection as he went about his life, lest he unexpectedly turn into Sylar. There had to come a point when she could trust him. She just wasn't sure now was the time.
Gabriel tidied away the groceries he had bought, though Claire saw him trying to slip something into a kitchen drawer unnoticed. She made a mental note to find out what it was later.
"Okay, so, I have to show you this," said Gabriel.
Gabriel flexed his hands and rubbed them on his cardigan as if preparing to play a piano concert. He looked nervously at Claire, before focussing intensely on the drying rack. Claire's heart sank; she knew that look all too well. The drying rack shifted slightly on its own, scraping on the kitchen counter. A fork sprang out of it into the sink.
"What did you do?" asked Claire in a small voice, scared of hearing the truth.
"What?" Gabriel looked confused, as if tired out by the effort of using the telekinesis. "Oh. Same thing I did yesterday." He smiled. "It was amazing! This guy walked into my store this morning and said Dr Suresh had told him to contact me about his power." He pointed at the drying rack with delight. "That power. Isn't it amazing?"
Claire smiled weakly but nothing seemed to dampen Gabriel's childish enthusiasm for Sylar's signature power.
"This guy, Brian Davis, didn't appreciate what he had," said Gabriel. "He said he wanted me to 'cure' him. I couldn't believe my ears! The guy was a moron. He can move things with his mind and he's whining about it? But I could see this power's potential immediately. Rapid healing is fantastic, of course. But it kind of makes sense; your body can heal itself anyway. But this… Acting on things with the mind, being able to interact with the physical world using only a thought... This is incredible!"
"What happened to Davis?" asked Claire, desperately hoping that history hadn't repeated itself, with Davis as Gabriel's first victim.
Gabriel shrugged. "I suggested that he learn to use his ability for something useful. Even if it's just reaching for his coffee cup at work, amusing his kids, that kind of stuff. He seemed happy with that and went back to his menial little life." He paused. "On some level, I kind of sympathised with him not wanting things to change. It's really weird to think that one week ago, I was just a watchmaker, and, literally overnight, I've acquired accelerated healing and telekinesis. I guess if I'd been more content with the life I had, I might have had some trouble adjusting too."
Gabriel gave Claire a dazzling smile as he continued. "But I feel great! Finding out about this power I have is the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me. And being able to get other powers… I thought it might work differently because I wasn't attracted to Davis like I am to you, but when I looked at him, watched him moving things, it felt the same. Like I needed to know how his power worked. But I knew all I had to do was be a bit patient. That was hard. Waiting while he whined and showed me what he could do. Having to wait for that 'click' when I knew how good it would feel when it came." He bit his lip and frowned, as if trying to mimic how he had felt, before smiling again. "Then it came. The knowledge hit me and I could feel the telekinesis there in my brain, just waiting to be used and tested, sort of like a muscle that just needs to be exercised to achieve its full potential. I have you to thank for that. For showing me how to do it."
"Yeah."
Not for the first time, Claire felt at a loss. Her first instinct had been correct; she needed to stay with him all the time to prevent Gabriel from turning into Sylar. After less than twenty-four hours, he had already acquired the two abilities that had made Sylar such a terrifying opponent. Perhaps it really was Gabriel's destiny to become the most powerful man on Earth and there was nothing Claire could do.
"Hey." Gabriel touched her arm. "Sorry, I guess you can't really understand how it feels. I'm freaking you out again."
Claire let him rub her arm awkwardly, but her mind was racing. She asked herself how many more abilities Gabriel would accumulate before he grew impatient and decided to cut out the observation period.
"Look, let's just forget about it for a moment," said Gabriel calmly. "Let it sink in. So… do you want some lunch?"
Claire cheered up a bit. Gabriel wasn't Sylar yet and it seemed churlish to be so down about a new power that made him so happy. Claire felt that as Gabriel was being so kind to her, the least she could do was be nice to him. She was also finding him disturbingly attractive, as if the new power had given him added confidence.
"I'll cook!" she offered. "If you have some eggs and cheese, I can make a cheese omelette!"
Gabriel let her get the eggs and cheese from the refrigerator and gave her a frying pan. Claire wasn't a great cook, but she had made herself a few successful omelettes in the past.
"Thank you so much for lending me that money," she said once the egg mixture was sizzling in the pan. "You are so sweet."
Gabriel was still standing beside her; embarrassed, he raised his hand to his eyes automatically to fiddle with his glasses. Realising that he wasn't wearing them, he lowered his hand again and settled for looking bashful. Claire had noticed Gabriel's innocent admission that he was attracted to her while he was talking about Davis, but Gabriel seemed reluctant to take things any further and she felt sorry for him.
"I'm sorry. I'm embarrassing you again," said Claire. "I'm going to stop. I promise no more kissing or inappropriate remarks."
"Oh." He scratched his head. "I didn't mean… It's… It's not that I don't like you. I mean I guess you like me and you obviously know me very well. You know more about me than I do. And I appreciate that. I mean, I like you too. It's just that I really don't know you."
"That's okay," said Claire, though she felt disappointed. To cover her reaction, she reached past Gabriel for a spatula to poke the omelette.
She heard Gabriel breathe in slowly as she leaned across him, and realised with a horrible sinking feeling that he was smelling her hair. She remembered Sylar sniffing her at the Stanton hotel and moved away from Gabriel.
"You smell of peaches," he said gently.
"Yeah, I bought myself some shampoo this morning," said Claire, poking the omelette.
"I love peaches," said Gabriel, seemingly unaware of her reaction. "They're my favourite fruit. It's, um, a nice smell." He paused. "I'm sorry. I guess it's a bit weird to be smelling your hair. Lilly used to have a go at me for doing that kind of thing. I just like… Um, I'll lay the table."
Claire nodded though Gabriel wasn't looking at her anymore, rooting around in cupboards and drawers to collect the items they would need to eat. Claire glanced over when he opened the drawer containing the mystery item, but wasn't able to see what it was. She heard Gabriel lay the table behind her, before becoming aware of his large body looming over her shoulder.
"Um, Claire, that omelette is overcooked."
"It isn't burnt," she protested.
"But it is overcooked. It's going to be kind of hard."
Claire reached for the knob to turn the burner off, but Gabriel caught her arm, his large hand easily spanning her wrist. The feeling of his soft hand wrapped around her arm made Claire's heart beat faster.
As Claire watched, the frying pan shifted jerkily off the burner. The dial on the cooker turned slowly, first in the wrong direction, causing a burst of flame to rise from the burner. Then it spun the opposite way, extinguishing the supply of gas to the burner. Gabriel was obviously practicing his new ability.
He let go of Claire's arm and picked up the frying pan.
"Never mind," said Gabriel, inspecting the flat, brown omelette in the frying pan. "We'll just cut it up have it with the salad I bought. It's still food."
As they sat down to their second meal together, Claire thought about how she could keep an eye on Gabriel. That led her to wonder how much longer Gabriel would be willing to let her stay with him. It was unlikely that he would agree to let her be his live-in guiding conscience for more than a few days. She also had to consider the practicality of staying for more than a week in his apartment with only one bed, a broken shower and no TV. Not to mention the creepy plastic-covered chair.
"I should look for a job," said Claire. "I'm going to need clothes and some more stuff, so I need to earn some money. Then I'll be able to move out."
"There's no hurry," said Gabriel. "You could help out at the shop for a while. Until you get sick of being with me 24 hours a day, that is. I'll give you money for clothes if you need some. I got a couple hundred dollars out this morning. That should get you started if you want to go shopping this afternoon."
"Gabriel, I can't accept that," protested Claire. "I just need a while to get myself sorted out."
"I get that you don't want to owe me anything more. But I really can't let you stay here and wear the same clothes every day." Gabriel poured her some water. "I'll lend you that much and then nothing else, okay? You can work in the shop this week and we'll say anything else I give you is payment for your work. I've been meaning to sort out some of the stuff in the office for years, so I figure you can help me."
"Thanks. I will get in touch with my family too," promised Claire. "And then I'll let you get back to your life. I just need to think about what to tell them. I'm not their Claire anymore."
"Maybe you should consider returning to your own time and seeing how things panned out after the changes you've made." Gabriel spread his hands. "After all, your friend who sent you here must be around in this time. Maybe you can find him and convince him to send you back?"
"Maybe."
It hadn't occurred to Claire that the present-day Hiro could send her back to her own time. On the other hand, Hiro was probably still in Japan and Claire couldn't remember when his powers had manifested. She did remember Hiro telling her that he had travelled back to this time to try and save his girlfriend Charlie Andrews from Sylar. But there was no reason to believe he would have done that now that Gabriel's destiny had changed. Claire glanced at the drying rack. At least, she hoped Gabriel's destiny had changed.
"Talking about people with abilities, Dr Suresh called this morning," said Gabriel. "He has some more possible candidates with powers he wants me to meet. He's also got the go-ahead to get me a brain scan at Columbia."
"Don't go."
Gabriel looked at her in surprise, his dark eyes wide under the heavy eyebrows. "He wants me to be his Patient Zero. Someone he can study and use to convince other people with abilities to work with him. You don't want me to help him?"
"I guess I don't know how things will turn out." Claire sighed. "But Suresh led Sylar to a load of people with abilities and he murdered them all. At least twelve victims in the first six months."
"Including Brian Davis, I suppose?" asked Gabriel.
Claire nodded. "And Dr Suresh."
"And Dr Suresh?" Gabriel blanched. "Even after he revealed my power to me and helped me realise my potential?"
Claire wasn't sure that was how Dr Suresh's relationship with Sylar had gone, but she said nothing.
Gabriel shook his head. "But I didn't kill Davis today. Doesn't that suggest that things are different this time around?" He frowned. "Are you really still afraid I'm going to start killing people?"
"I don't know," admitted Claire.
"But you think staying away from Dr Suresh makes it less likely?"
Claire nodded.
"Okay," said Gabriel slowly. "I'll go with you on this one. But I would still like to meet some people with abilities, to see what else is out there. And maybe acquire the more useful ones."
"I don't think that's a good idea."
Gabriel seemed irritated. "Why? Are you afraid I'm going to take all their powers and what, become addicted or something?"
"You're already immortal and omnipotent," snapped Claire. "If you still want more powers, then, yes, I'd say you're becoming addicted."
Gabriel seemed taken aback. "Immortal? Your power makes me immortal?"
"Yes. You can't die," said Claire, aware that she was echoing Sylar's words to her. "I can't die. I guess we'll just keep regenerating forever, unless we lose our powers or something destroys our bodies completely."
"Ah," said Gabriel thoughtfully. "I suppose some abilities should come with a health warning, then. Wow. That's, um, unexpected." He sipped some water. "I guess I'll have plenty of time to get to know you better."
He didn't look very happy at this prospect. Claire was relieved to find at least one difference between Gabriel and Sylar in this respect. On the other hand, Sylar had acquired her power after suffering torture at the hands of the Company; his motive had been his immediate survival, the immortality a bonus he only seemed to gloat about later on.
"I'm sorry," said Gabriel. "You're right; I should give it a few weeks before I meet anyone else with an ability. I'll just go back to being a simple watchmaker for a while."
"There's nothing wrong with being a watchmaker," said Claire with a smile. "Or leading a normal life."
Gabriel lowered his eyes and pretended to eat, though Claire noticed that he was just moving the food around.
"I was wondering," he started hesitantly. "Would you like-- Tonight, instead of staying here, we could… I mean, we're neither of us very good cooks and it would be nice to, um…" He cleared his throat. "Maybe we could have dinner or something. I mean outside. In a restaurant."
Claire looked down at the tough strips of dark brown egg on her plate. She laughed.
"Yeah, that's a good idea." Gabriel smiled bashfully, still looking down in his plate, and Claire decided to help him out a little. "Actually, I found this coffee shop this morning, just a couple of blocks away from here, and they have a band there in the evening. Maybe we could get some dinner and then go there?"
Gabriel gazed at her wide-eyed for a moment, looking rather as if all his Christmases had come at once. Then he smiled more confidently and nodded.
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