"atonement" - chapter 2
Finally!
I finished a new chapter- I should whip myself more often =)
This chapter really stressed me out, but I'm positive that the next ones will be easier to write <33
Again huge thanks go to my wonderful beta penelope_tweedwho practically beta-ed along with my writing this time. I love you :*
Enjoy!
Title: Atonement- Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned
Fandom: Heroes
Rating: PG-13 (for now)
Ships: Peter and Claire
Summary: It had been years since Peter had last felt any pain, but right at that moment, knowing that his next words would be the end for everything he held dear, he had felt like his chest had been cracked open and left to bleed.
Notes: Spoilers for s3, differs after "It's coming"
Disclaimer: Not mine. Not even the pairing. It's canon, Kring just doesn't see...
Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2
Chapter 2:
I'm falling apart
I'm barely breathing
With a broken heart
That's still beating
In the pain there is healing
In your name I find meaning
(Lifehouse - Broken)
“I need you to listen...”
Pain.
Peter felt like something cold and razor-sharp was clenching and tearing at his heart. He sat in the darkness of his old apartment, watching over Claire who had fallen sound asleep on the couch.
“It's really me. Please, Claire... You have to trust me.”
Even after thirteen years of living with her, he was still taken aback by the infinite trust she had in him.
Not for a second had she doubted it was really him standing before her. Nor did she even question how he could be standing right in front of her when just hours ago the father he had thought to be dead and buried had deprived him of all his abilities.
She had looked at him, eyes open and full of surprise, silently asking him to go on while she sat down on the couch that she was now sleeping on. It had been years since Peter had last felt any pain, but right at that moment, knowing that his next words would be the end for everything he held dear, he had felt like his chest had been cracked open and left to bleed.
“I know this must sound weird, but... Whatever happens tonight, you have to leave me alone. Please, promise to leave me alone...”
She had looked at him, remaining so very silent for what seemed like an eternity, and then stood up and gave a slight nod. It took every strength he had left not to flinch when she lifted one hand to gently tuck a strand of hair behind his ear.
“You look a mess. Sit down and try to relax a bit while I get you something to clean up.”
He had left by the time she came back.
It was not until late at night when she had finally fallen asleep- eyes red and swollen from crying because his past self was groaning in agony in the other room and it broke her heart to keep her promise- that he had returned. Even now, sitting in the old armchair Nathan had given him when he first moved into this apartment, he could still remember how he had been haunted by the face of his father and the woman he had seen Claire become.
Now he sat and watched the beautiful girl that for the past fourteen years had been his world; mourning the night that would never be now and the dawn that would never break...
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
The present - another life
“I'm sorry it had to come to this...”
It hurt.
Peter had fallen of a roof, he had been shot, stabbed in the back of the head with a shard of glass, and exploded in the sky over New York City in a brilliant radioactive display, but none of that compared to the pain that he had felt the moment his father had ripped his abilities from his body. For the blink of an eye, trapped in the fatal embrace of the man that had once given him life, he was sure he would lose his mind to this insufferable pain...
“Peter! Wake up!”
He woke up with a startled shout when he felt a cool hand touch his shoulder. He hastily tried to scramble to the far end of the bed, but the sweaty sheets became tangled and hindered any effective movement. The panic swelled and pressed out against his chest, spreading and filling everywhere inside of him, making it feel impossible to breathe. “Shhh... Peter, it's me, Claire... It's okay.”
She grabbed his wrist with a strength he never knew she possessed, tugging him back toward her and away from the edge of the bed. It wasn’t until his erratic gaze finally settled on her, recognized her, that his movements stilled and his breathing slowly steadied.
“Claire...”
“I'm here. It's okay...” She climbed further onto the bed and tentatively wrapped her arms around his trembling shoulders. One hand reached up to card through his damp hair. ”It was just a bad dream. You're safe now.”
“You're wrong...” Peter's voice was weak as he pressed his face into her neck, his skin still boiling hot against hers. “It's real. Everything... I... I'm powerless, Claire.” A choked sob escaped his lips before his voice dissolved into tears of despair and hopelessness.
Claire pulled him closer, fully enveloping him in her arms, whispering sweet, soothing nonsense into his ear and wishing for all the world that her powers could take away his pain.
And though Peter had sworn to himself that he would not to fall asleep, not until this living nightmare was over, he soon found himself reluctantly sagging in Claire’s embrace as a warm and comforting blackness washed over him...
When Peter opened his eyes again, the first rays of sunlight were softly caressing his face. Groaning, he looked around the room, his clearing vision settling on the sleeping woman whose arms were still wrapped around him. He took a moment to admire how the sun painted the most wonderful displays of light on her hair.
And before he was aware of it, he found himself lost in the very sight of her; knowing that starting from now things would never be the same...
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Gone now.
All of it.
Peter blinked against the sudden sting of tears and quietly got up from the armchair.
Every fiber of his being longed to stay and continue to watch Claire, who was so beautifully at ease in her sleep. But dawn was near and there was still one last thing he had to do.
The dull pain in his chest already told him that the course for a new future had been set, but he knew he couldn't trust either himself or Claire with it when he was gone.
He needed help- and he knew he would find it in the most unlikely of places.
So he knelt down beside the couch and placed a feathery kiss to Claire's forehead.
“Forgive me. I love you.”
With one last look full of longing, he closed his eyes and disappeared.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Peter next found himself in a room that was Spartan and sterile. Closed roller blinds shut out the early morning sunlight and other than the constant beeping of various monitors, it was deadly silent.
He took a deep breath and sat himself down on the edge of the only bed in the room.
“Hey, Mum. It's me...”
I finished a new chapter- I should whip myself more often =)
This chapter really stressed me out, but I'm positive that the next ones will be easier to write <33
Again huge thanks go to my wonderful beta penelope_tweedwho practically beta-ed along with my writing this time. I love you :*
Enjoy!
Title: Atonement- Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned
Fandom: Heroes
Rating: PG-13 (for now)
Ships: Peter and Claire
Summary: It had been years since Peter had last felt any pain, but right at that moment, knowing that his next words would be the end for everything he held dear, he had felt like his chest had been cracked open and left to bleed.
Notes: Spoilers for s3, differs after "It's coming"
Disclaimer: Not mine. Not even the pairing. It's canon, Kring just doesn't see...
Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2
Chapter 2:
I'm falling apart
I'm barely breathing
With a broken heart
That's still beating
In the pain there is healing
In your name I find meaning
(Lifehouse - Broken)
“I need you to listen...”
Pain.
Peter felt like something cold and razor-sharp was clenching and tearing at his heart. He sat in the darkness of his old apartment, watching over Claire who had fallen sound asleep on the couch.
“It's really me. Please, Claire... You have to trust me.”
Even after thirteen years of living with her, he was still taken aback by the infinite trust she had in him.
Not for a second had she doubted it was really him standing before her. Nor did she even question how he could be standing right in front of her when just hours ago the father he had thought to be dead and buried had deprived him of all his abilities.
She had looked at him, eyes open and full of surprise, silently asking him to go on while she sat down on the couch that she was now sleeping on. It had been years since Peter had last felt any pain, but right at that moment, knowing that his next words would be the end for everything he held dear, he had felt like his chest had been cracked open and left to bleed.
“I know this must sound weird, but... Whatever happens tonight, you have to leave me alone. Please, promise to leave me alone...”
She had looked at him, remaining so very silent for what seemed like an eternity, and then stood up and gave a slight nod. It took every strength he had left not to flinch when she lifted one hand to gently tuck a strand of hair behind his ear.
“You look a mess. Sit down and try to relax a bit while I get you something to clean up.”
He had left by the time she came back.
It was not until late at night when she had finally fallen asleep- eyes red and swollen from crying because his past self was groaning in agony in the other room and it broke her heart to keep her promise- that he had returned. Even now, sitting in the old armchair Nathan had given him when he first moved into this apartment, he could still remember how he had been haunted by the face of his father and the woman he had seen Claire become.
Now he sat and watched the beautiful girl that for the past fourteen years had been his world; mourning the night that would never be now and the dawn that would never break...
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
The present - another life
“I'm sorry it had to come to this...”
It hurt.
Peter had fallen of a roof, he had been shot, stabbed in the back of the head with a shard of glass, and exploded in the sky over New York City in a brilliant radioactive display, but none of that compared to the pain that he had felt the moment his father had ripped his abilities from his body. For the blink of an eye, trapped in the fatal embrace of the man that had once given him life, he was sure he would lose his mind to this insufferable pain...
“Peter! Wake up!”
He woke up with a startled shout when he felt a cool hand touch his shoulder. He hastily tried to scramble to the far end of the bed, but the sweaty sheets became tangled and hindered any effective movement. The panic swelled and pressed out against his chest, spreading and filling everywhere inside of him, making it feel impossible to breathe. “Shhh... Peter, it's me, Claire... It's okay.”
She grabbed his wrist with a strength he never knew she possessed, tugging him back toward her and away from the edge of the bed. It wasn’t until his erratic gaze finally settled on her, recognized her, that his movements stilled and his breathing slowly steadied.
“Claire...”
“I'm here. It's okay...” She climbed further onto the bed and tentatively wrapped her arms around his trembling shoulders. One hand reached up to card through his damp hair. ”It was just a bad dream. You're safe now.”
“You're wrong...” Peter's voice was weak as he pressed his face into her neck, his skin still boiling hot against hers. “It's real. Everything... I... I'm powerless, Claire.” A choked sob escaped his lips before his voice dissolved into tears of despair and hopelessness.
Claire pulled him closer, fully enveloping him in her arms, whispering sweet, soothing nonsense into his ear and wishing for all the world that her powers could take away his pain.
And though Peter had sworn to himself that he would not to fall asleep, not until this living nightmare was over, he soon found himself reluctantly sagging in Claire’s embrace as a warm and comforting blackness washed over him...
When Peter opened his eyes again, the first rays of sunlight were softly caressing his face. Groaning, he looked around the room, his clearing vision settling on the sleeping woman whose arms were still wrapped around him. He took a moment to admire how the sun painted the most wonderful displays of light on her hair.
And before he was aware of it, he found himself lost in the very sight of her; knowing that starting from now things would never be the same...
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Gone now.
All of it.
Peter blinked against the sudden sting of tears and quietly got up from the armchair.
Every fiber of his being longed to stay and continue to watch Claire, who was so beautifully at ease in her sleep. But dawn was near and there was still one last thing he had to do.
The dull pain in his chest already told him that the course for a new future had been set, but he knew he couldn't trust either himself or Claire with it when he was gone.
He needed help- and he knew he would find it in the most unlikely of places.
So he knelt down beside the couch and placed a feathery kiss to Claire's forehead.
“Forgive me. I love you.”
With one last look full of longing, he closed his eyes and disappeared.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Peter next found himself in a room that was Spartan and sterile. Closed roller blinds shut out the early morning sunlight and other than the constant beeping of various monitors, it was deadly silent.
He took a deep breath and sat himself down on the edge of the only bed in the room.
“Hey, Mum. It's me...”