Feet of Clay [Heroes, Hiro Nakamura/Ando Masahashi, G]
Title: Feet of Clay
Author: eyesdelight
Rating: G
Word count: 282
Summary: Woe to a world that needs heroes.
A/N: Set after Hiro's return to the present. Original prompt: Heroes, Hiro/Ando: Trapped in an elevator - "You're a superhero! Do something!"
I watch him settle back into his job. He's eager to please, willing to help. He tackles everyday mundane tasks with rare enthusiasm. He's diligent with his work, now, slowly rising up the office ranks. He's even taking lessons from his sister on how to run a business.
I press him for information about his adventures, but he dislikes speaking of them. The past has changed him, made him jaded. The alteration is subtle, but it's there. I want to say that I missed him, that my life didn't seem whole without him.
The stupid things people say when they're in love.
His power. He was once so proud of it, so convinced that he was destined for greater things because of it. Now he hides it. Now he suppresses it. He's become the secret identity. He's all Clark Kent and no Superman.
Once I tried to force it out of him. On our way to a company meeting, I made sure we were the only two passengers on the elevator. I hit the emergency button before he could stop me.
"We're trapped," I said. "You need to get us out."
He looked devastated.
Worse, he was furious.
"But this is the chance you're waiting for!" I said. "You want to help, right? That's what a hero does!"
"I'm not a hero! I never was a hero. Those stories my father told to me, they were all fake! The myth was just a man. A weak, selfish man."
I told him the truth. Overly sentimental but I said that I always thought of him as my hero.
"You must never idolize heroes," he told me. "For they will always let you down."
Author: eyesdelight
Rating: G
Word count: 282
Summary: Woe to a world that needs heroes.
A/N: Set after Hiro's return to the present. Original prompt: Heroes, Hiro/Ando: Trapped in an elevator - "You're a superhero! Do something!"
I watch him settle back into his job. He's eager to please, willing to help. He tackles everyday mundane tasks with rare enthusiasm. He's diligent with his work, now, slowly rising up the office ranks. He's even taking lessons from his sister on how to run a business.
I press him for information about his adventures, but he dislikes speaking of them. The past has changed him, made him jaded. The alteration is subtle, but it's there. I want to say that I missed him, that my life didn't seem whole without him.
The stupid things people say when they're in love.
His power. He was once so proud of it, so convinced that he was destined for greater things because of it. Now he hides it. Now he suppresses it. He's become the secret identity. He's all Clark Kent and no Superman.
Once I tried to force it out of him. On our way to a company meeting, I made sure we were the only two passengers on the elevator. I hit the emergency button before he could stop me.
"We're trapped," I said. "You need to get us out."
He looked devastated.
Worse, he was furious.
"But this is the chance you're waiting for!" I said. "You want to help, right? That's what a hero does!"
"I'm not a hero! I never was a hero. Those stories my father told to me, they were all fake! The myth was just a man. A weak, selfish man."
I told him the truth. Overly sentimental but I said that I always thought of him as my hero.
"You must never idolize heroes," he told me. "For they will always let you down."