Heroes of Tomorrow -3- Houseguest (Mis)understanding
Title: Heroes of Tomorrow
Author: Del Rion (delrion.mail (at) gmail.com)
Fandom: Heroes
Era: Post season 4
Genre: Action, drama
Rating: M / FRM
Characters: Claire Bennet, Noah Bennet, Edgar, Ando Masahashi, Hiro Nakamura, Peter Petrelli, Micah Sanders, Mohinder Suresh, Sylar, Molly Walker (+ various other Heroes characters)
Summary: The road from hero to superhero isn’t easier or less bumpy than the one from citizen to becoming a hero in the first place. With the will of the many and injustice to fight, there are those who will stand up and do what others cannot - whether it means saving the world, or getting burned while trying.
Work in progress.
Pairing: Peter/Sylar
Warnings: Violence, slash (m/m).
~ ~ ~
-3- Houseguest (Mis)understanding
Peter and Hesam had come to the Seminar and Conference Center to check on an old man who had started to feel unwell during his meeting. He would be fine with a little rest and fluids, though, and could go to his doctor for a checkup on his own.
While on his way out, Peter spotted a familiar face. At first he couldn’t quite believe it, but as he stepped closer to the man, he had to smile a bit. “Mohinder,” he greeted softly.
The Indian turned around and gave him a slight smile. “Hello, Peter.” It was like old times, almost. “On duty, I see,” Mohinder said next, nodding at Peter’s uniform.
“Yeah,” Peter smiled.
He liked the EMT uniform since it felt almost like his own secret superhero costume; when he was wearing it, people knew he was out there to do good.
“What brings you here?” Peter asked Mohinder in return. He hadn’t thought the man would show up after Sylar went all the way to India to convince him to join their little team of super-heroes. And besides, if Mohinder wanted to join up, he wouldn’t have been in a place like this, but would have contacted one of them instead.
“I’m here with Mira, actually,” Mohinder said, guessing what he was thinking. “She’s attending the seminar here, and I came to join her for the trip.” He said it firmly, as if to signal to Peter that that was all he was here for.
“That’s nice,” Peter replied. “Maybe you and Mira could come over and we could eat and talk. Of course, that is, if she wants to,” he added. She hadn’t really approved of Mohinder’s research in the past, and maybe meeting some of his friends from that world wasn’t her idea of fun.
“Maybe,” Mohinder mused, “if she thinks she would like that.” He didn’t sound all that confident about it either. “Sylar still staying with you?” Mohinder inquired after a bit.
“Yes,” Peter said easily enough. For some reason people who knew about Sylar’s past - and especially those who knew about Peter’s past with him - felt like it was the question to ask every time they saw Peter. That was why he didn’t even bother to wonder about it anymore.
“When you see him, tell him not to visit me again,” Mohinder told him instead of telling him how immoral it was to keep Sylar around.
Peter frowned. “He came to see you after that one time?”
Mohinder shook his head. “No, but once was quite enough.”
Peter guessed that was a fair request, but it still irritated him at times. “He has changed, you know. He’s one of the good guys now.”
“You think so?” Mohinder asked him. “Because I’ve been wondering how you of all people could want him around, especially in your own home. The man killed your brother.”
Peter’s jaw tensed. Reminding him of Nathan’s death was a dirty trick, but Mohinder was not the first to use it - nor would he be the last. “I was with him for three years,” he said simply. “I had a lot of time to think about it then, and I’ve… had my revenge. Sort of.”
The other man was looking at him steadily, his dark eyes doubtful. “I don’t think he can change, and even if he does, can it repay his past deeds? The people he killed? He’s not a wanted fugitive for nothing.”
“Now you sound like someone who has a grudge against him,” Peter noted. “Are you incapable of giving him a second chance because of that? Because one of the people he killed was your father?”
It was Mohinder’s time to square his jaw as ugly memories whirled in his head. “It doesn’t make matters any better,” he finally decided.
Peter nodded, then shrugged. “Well, I know what kind of man he wants to be now.”
Mohinder scoffed softly. “I’m beginning to wonder if your judgment isn’t clouded somehow…”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Peter asked him rather sharply, but before either of them could go on three people suddenly materialized from out of thin air: Hiro stood there with Ando and Sylar.
“Peter Petrelli,” Hiro said excitedly and bowed at him in his usual manner. “We have a mission!” Then his eyes found Mohinder, and he smiled even wider, bowing again. “Doctor Suresh!” he said, “you should come too!”
“I’m working right now,” Peter pointed out to the smaller man. “I can’t come. If you need me so desperately, you can wait a few hours until my shift ends, and then take us back in time to take care of whatever the problem is.”
Hiro frowned, looking displeased. “No, I cannot do that! We should not go back in time if we don’t have to! We could step on butterflies.” Ando nodded eagerly beside him; apparently he had no desire to step on butterflies either.
“Perhaps Mohinder should come,” Sylar noted, almost teasingly.
“Yeah,” Peter agreed, clapping Mohinder’s shoulder. “Go with them, have some fun.”
“Absolutely not,” the Indian said at once. “I said no to your offer once, and it still stands.”
Hiro looked most disappointed. “But we are trying to save the world!” For him, that was reason enough for everyone to join his crusade.
Mohinder didn’t get the chance to reply to that, though, before Hesam appeared beside them as well, giving Peter a slightly confused look. “Are you ready to go?” he asked.
“Yeah, sure,” Peter said quickly. “Just met up with some friends, got to talking.”
Hiro whirled at Hesam, bowed quickly, then launched into a plea of his own: “We need Peter Petrelli to come and save the wor-”
Peter clapped his hand over his mouth and gave a nervous laugh. “There’s a bit of a crisis, but it’s nothing to worry about,” he told his partner.
Hesam was giving them all a rather odd look. “Well, if it’s important, I can partner up with Stevens: I just heard on the radio that his partner injured his hand earlier today, and I could join him if you are needed elsewhere.”
“That would be nice,” Sylar said politely.
Hesam glanced at him, then frowned slightly, as if trying to figure something out. “Have we met before?” he asked Sylar then.
“Oh, maybe you’ve seen him in passing,” Peter hurried to say. “He’s kind of… staying at my place.”
“It’s nice, his home, although he’s never really there,” Sylar nodded.
“Well, that’s… good,” Hesam said slowly, giving both Sylar and Peter some strange looks now.
Peter felt that something was happening here that he didn’t want to happen. “Oh, it’s not like that!” he laughed, but it was a rather high-pitched sound.
“Like what?” Sylar asked him.
Peter shook his head at him sharply, to shut him up. Sylar was probably playing dumb on purpose, anyway.
“Well, it was nice meeting you,” Hesam said rather quickly and left the scene, not even asking if Peter was coming with him or not.
Peter groaned. “He totally thinks we’re together now,” he snapped at Sylar.
“Oh?” Sylar looked surprised. “What’s wrong with that? We do live together, after all.”
Peter just looked at him for a bit, wondering if it was just an act. “Together like that,” he finally said, putting the necessary weight on the last word.
“Oh!” Sylar said again, this time in a shocked tone. “Well, that’s too bad,” he decided a second later, rather flatly.
“Why did you have to keep on talking about staying at my place?” Peter asked him.
“I didn’t know it was a secret. It’s not like he cares.”
“Well, I care! And now he thinks…” He glanced at Hiro, who was still looking jumpy and expectant, probably waiting for Peter to say he was ready to go, then at Ando, who looked rather confused by everything that was going on, and finally he looked at Mohinder, who was frowning again.
Mohinder met his gaze. “Can we talk?” he asked Peter in a low tone, then glanced at everyone else. “Alone, please.”
“Oh!” Hiro said, managing to make it very different from Sylar’s comment. “We shall leave you alone for a moment,” he promised, then looked around. “Aisukurīmu!” he said in Japanese and dashed over to the direction of a cafeteria. Ando and Sylar followed him, although Sylar didn’t seem to be in any particular hurry to leave them.
Mohinder watched them go, then leaned towards Peter a bit, as if to make their conversation even more private. “I’m beginning to think that your involvement with Sylar is clouding your judgment.”
“We’re not ‘involved’,” Peter told him flatly. “He just happens to live in my place because, as you pointed out before, he’s a wanted fugitive.”
Mohinder shook his head. “He doesn’t need your protection, Peter! Hundreds of other fugitives get by just fine without your help. Send him off to Mexico if you have to, but don’t put yourself and everyone else at risk just because you can’t see him for what he really is.”
“For a man who didn’t want to get involved in any of this, you seem awfully concerned about us,” Peter told him, an edge to his voice that he couldn’t really keep away.
Mohinder took a step back, as if to draw an invisible line between them. “You’re my friend, and a good man.”
“Then trust me to do the right thing,” Peter pleaded, then watched as Mohinder walked away. Clearly the man has said his peace.
Sylar joined him a moment later, sucking on a Popsicle he must have just bought.
“You listened in, didn’t you?” Peter asked him flatly.
“Isn’t that rude, to listen in on people’s private conversations?” Sylar asked him back.
“Yes, but I know it doesn’t stop you,” Peter pointed out.
“No, it doesn’t.”
Looking at the other man, Peter tried to get the situation back under control. “We’ll have to talk about this, soon.”
“Is this the point in our lives where you threaten to throw me out, but never get around to actually doing it because you simply like having me around too much, regardless of all the issues it creates in your perfectly managed life?” Sylar mused.
Peter frowned. “What’s that got to do with anything?”
Sylar shrugged, licking his Popsicle some more. “I watch a lot of TV during the day. Romantic comedies.”
Peter really didn’t want to know, to be honest.
“What is there to talk about?” Sylar asked after a bit, surprising him.
“What do you think?” Peter shot back, then turned to walk towards the doors to get out into some fresh air.
Sylar grabbed him before he could get very far, though. “What’s the big deal?” he demanded to know, dark brow furrowed, eyes staring intently at Peter’s.
Feeling cornered, Peter pulled himself free and strode out to the street. Once again, he barely got down the steps before Sylar was there, stopping him. The Popsicle had miraculously disappeared somewhere.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Peter told the other man, then noticed that their ambulance was still parked down the street and Hesam was standing beside it. Apparently he was waiting for Peter after all; he looked up, spotted them, took a step and then stopped. Peter was ready to call out to him that he was ready to go when Sylar waved at his partner, and it was like something from some old, too-sweet goody-two-shoes drama where every character was too comical to be real.
“Stop it!” Peter told him “You’re only making it worse.”
“Then why don’t we show him how it really is?” Sylar asked him. And before Peter could even comprehend what he meant by that, Sylar framed his face with his hands and leaned down to kiss him, right there in the middle of the street. It lasted for a good five seconds, and when Sylar finally pulled back, his lips hovered only inches from Peter’s, his hands still on his face. “This is where we would ask Hiro to go back and do something ridiculous to stop us from doing this.”
Peter knew he should agree, but he felt frozen to the spot, the taste of Sylar’s Popsicle lingering on his lips. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to do that, although it would have been far less complicated. Finally, when he managed to regain his voice, he looked up at Sylar - which wasn’t very far since the man was still right there, their noses almost touching. “I didn’t do anything,” Peter informed him. “It’s all on you.”
Sylar actually smiled at that. “You know this is our life, right? No one else’s. We can keep playing by everyone else’s rules and wishes, but I spent three years with you in my head, and I know what both of us are made of.”
Peter wasn’t sure if that was a very romantic thing to say, or if it even made sense to him right now… He could hear a car starting near them and when he looked, the ambulance was pulling out into traffic.
So much for explaining it to Hesam.
Next Peter glanced towards the building he had just exited, and on the steps were Hiro and Ando, who both seemed a bit puzzled, and behind them was Mohinder who shook his head before returning indoors. Peter guessed it would be best if they didn’t talk for a while.
“If we’re going somewhere,” Peter called out to Hiro, “I need to change first.”
The round face broke into a wide smile and he strode down the steps, leaving Ando to follow him. “Hai, Peter Petrelli! Then we shall go and save the day.”
Peter guessed that was the best he could do today, since he wasn’t going back to work to finish his shift after all.
to be continued…
Story info
Author: Del Rion (delrion.mail (at) gmail.com)
Fandom: Heroes
Era: Post season 4
Genre: Action, drama
Rating: M / FRM
Characters: Claire Bennet, Noah Bennet, Edgar, Ando Masahashi, Hiro Nakamura, Peter Petrelli, Micah Sanders, Mohinder Suresh, Sylar, Molly Walker (+ various other Heroes characters)
Summary: The road from hero to superhero isn’t easier or less bumpy than the one from citizen to becoming a hero in the first place. With the will of the many and injustice to fight, there are those who will stand up and do what others cannot - whether it means saving the world, or getting burned while trying.
Work in progress.
Pairing: Peter/Sylar
Warnings: Violence, slash (m/m).
~ ~ ~
-3- Houseguest (Mis)understanding
Peter and Hesam had come to the Seminar and Conference Center to check on an old man who had started to feel unwell during his meeting. He would be fine with a little rest and fluids, though, and could go to his doctor for a checkup on his own.
While on his way out, Peter spotted a familiar face. At first he couldn’t quite believe it, but as he stepped closer to the man, he had to smile a bit. “Mohinder,” he greeted softly.
The Indian turned around and gave him a slight smile. “Hello, Peter.” It was like old times, almost. “On duty, I see,” Mohinder said next, nodding at Peter’s uniform.
“Yeah,” Peter smiled.
He liked the EMT uniform since it felt almost like his own secret superhero costume; when he was wearing it, people knew he was out there to do good.
“What brings you here?” Peter asked Mohinder in return. He hadn’t thought the man would show up after Sylar went all the way to India to convince him to join their little team of super-heroes. And besides, if Mohinder wanted to join up, he wouldn’t have been in a place like this, but would have contacted one of them instead.
“I’m here with Mira, actually,” Mohinder said, guessing what he was thinking. “She’s attending the seminar here, and I came to join her for the trip.” He said it firmly, as if to signal to Peter that that was all he was here for.
“That’s nice,” Peter replied. “Maybe you and Mira could come over and we could eat and talk. Of course, that is, if she wants to,” he added. She hadn’t really approved of Mohinder’s research in the past, and maybe meeting some of his friends from that world wasn’t her idea of fun.
“Maybe,” Mohinder mused, “if she thinks she would like that.” He didn’t sound all that confident about it either. “Sylar still staying with you?” Mohinder inquired after a bit.
“Yes,” Peter said easily enough. For some reason people who knew about Sylar’s past - and especially those who knew about Peter’s past with him - felt like it was the question to ask every time they saw Peter. That was why he didn’t even bother to wonder about it anymore.
“When you see him, tell him not to visit me again,” Mohinder told him instead of telling him how immoral it was to keep Sylar around.
Peter frowned. “He came to see you after that one time?”
Mohinder shook his head. “No, but once was quite enough.”
Peter guessed that was a fair request, but it still irritated him at times. “He has changed, you know. He’s one of the good guys now.”
“You think so?” Mohinder asked him. “Because I’ve been wondering how you of all people could want him around, especially in your own home. The man killed your brother.”
Peter’s jaw tensed. Reminding him of Nathan’s death was a dirty trick, but Mohinder was not the first to use it - nor would he be the last. “I was with him for three years,” he said simply. “I had a lot of time to think about it then, and I’ve… had my revenge. Sort of.”
The other man was looking at him steadily, his dark eyes doubtful. “I don’t think he can change, and even if he does, can it repay his past deeds? The people he killed? He’s not a wanted fugitive for nothing.”
“Now you sound like someone who has a grudge against him,” Peter noted. “Are you incapable of giving him a second chance because of that? Because one of the people he killed was your father?”
It was Mohinder’s time to square his jaw as ugly memories whirled in his head. “It doesn’t make matters any better,” he finally decided.
Peter nodded, then shrugged. “Well, I know what kind of man he wants to be now.”
Mohinder scoffed softly. “I’m beginning to wonder if your judgment isn’t clouded somehow…”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Peter asked him rather sharply, but before either of them could go on three people suddenly materialized from out of thin air: Hiro stood there with Ando and Sylar.
“Peter Petrelli,” Hiro said excitedly and bowed at him in his usual manner. “We have a mission!” Then his eyes found Mohinder, and he smiled even wider, bowing again. “Doctor Suresh!” he said, “you should come too!”
“I’m working right now,” Peter pointed out to the smaller man. “I can’t come. If you need me so desperately, you can wait a few hours until my shift ends, and then take us back in time to take care of whatever the problem is.”
Hiro frowned, looking displeased. “No, I cannot do that! We should not go back in time if we don’t have to! We could step on butterflies.” Ando nodded eagerly beside him; apparently he had no desire to step on butterflies either.
“Perhaps Mohinder should come,” Sylar noted, almost teasingly.
“Yeah,” Peter agreed, clapping Mohinder’s shoulder. “Go with them, have some fun.”
“Absolutely not,” the Indian said at once. “I said no to your offer once, and it still stands.”
Hiro looked most disappointed. “But we are trying to save the world!” For him, that was reason enough for everyone to join his crusade.
Mohinder didn’t get the chance to reply to that, though, before Hesam appeared beside them as well, giving Peter a slightly confused look. “Are you ready to go?” he asked.
“Yeah, sure,” Peter said quickly. “Just met up with some friends, got to talking.”
Hiro whirled at Hesam, bowed quickly, then launched into a plea of his own: “We need Peter Petrelli to come and save the wor-”
Peter clapped his hand over his mouth and gave a nervous laugh. “There’s a bit of a crisis, but it’s nothing to worry about,” he told his partner.
Hesam was giving them all a rather odd look. “Well, if it’s important, I can partner up with Stevens: I just heard on the radio that his partner injured his hand earlier today, and I could join him if you are needed elsewhere.”
“That would be nice,” Sylar said politely.
Hesam glanced at him, then frowned slightly, as if trying to figure something out. “Have we met before?” he asked Sylar then.
“Oh, maybe you’ve seen him in passing,” Peter hurried to say. “He’s kind of… staying at my place.”
“It’s nice, his home, although he’s never really there,” Sylar nodded.
“Well, that’s… good,” Hesam said slowly, giving both Sylar and Peter some strange looks now.
Peter felt that something was happening here that he didn’t want to happen. “Oh, it’s not like that!” he laughed, but it was a rather high-pitched sound.
“Like what?” Sylar asked him.
Peter shook his head at him sharply, to shut him up. Sylar was probably playing dumb on purpose, anyway.
“Well, it was nice meeting you,” Hesam said rather quickly and left the scene, not even asking if Peter was coming with him or not.
Peter groaned. “He totally thinks we’re together now,” he snapped at Sylar.
“Oh?” Sylar looked surprised. “What’s wrong with that? We do live together, after all.”
Peter just looked at him for a bit, wondering if it was just an act. “Together like that,” he finally said, putting the necessary weight on the last word.
“Oh!” Sylar said again, this time in a shocked tone. “Well, that’s too bad,” he decided a second later, rather flatly.
“Why did you have to keep on talking about staying at my place?” Peter asked him.
“I didn’t know it was a secret. It’s not like he cares.”
“Well, I care! And now he thinks…” He glanced at Hiro, who was still looking jumpy and expectant, probably waiting for Peter to say he was ready to go, then at Ando, who looked rather confused by everything that was going on, and finally he looked at Mohinder, who was frowning again.
Mohinder met his gaze. “Can we talk?” he asked Peter in a low tone, then glanced at everyone else. “Alone, please.”
“Oh!” Hiro said, managing to make it very different from Sylar’s comment. “We shall leave you alone for a moment,” he promised, then looked around. “Aisukurīmu!” he said in Japanese and dashed over to the direction of a cafeteria. Ando and Sylar followed him, although Sylar didn’t seem to be in any particular hurry to leave them.
Mohinder watched them go, then leaned towards Peter a bit, as if to make their conversation even more private. “I’m beginning to think that your involvement with Sylar is clouding your judgment.”
“We’re not ‘involved’,” Peter told him flatly. “He just happens to live in my place because, as you pointed out before, he’s a wanted fugitive.”
Mohinder shook his head. “He doesn’t need your protection, Peter! Hundreds of other fugitives get by just fine without your help. Send him off to Mexico if you have to, but don’t put yourself and everyone else at risk just because you can’t see him for what he really is.”
“For a man who didn’t want to get involved in any of this, you seem awfully concerned about us,” Peter told him, an edge to his voice that he couldn’t really keep away.
Mohinder took a step back, as if to draw an invisible line between them. “You’re my friend, and a good man.”
“Then trust me to do the right thing,” Peter pleaded, then watched as Mohinder walked away. Clearly the man has said his peace.
Sylar joined him a moment later, sucking on a Popsicle he must have just bought.
“You listened in, didn’t you?” Peter asked him flatly.
“Isn’t that rude, to listen in on people’s private conversations?” Sylar asked him back.
“Yes, but I know it doesn’t stop you,” Peter pointed out.
“No, it doesn’t.”
Looking at the other man, Peter tried to get the situation back under control. “We’ll have to talk about this, soon.”
“Is this the point in our lives where you threaten to throw me out, but never get around to actually doing it because you simply like having me around too much, regardless of all the issues it creates in your perfectly managed life?” Sylar mused.
Peter frowned. “What’s that got to do with anything?”
Sylar shrugged, licking his Popsicle some more. “I watch a lot of TV during the day. Romantic comedies.”
Peter really didn’t want to know, to be honest.
“What is there to talk about?” Sylar asked after a bit, surprising him.
“What do you think?” Peter shot back, then turned to walk towards the doors to get out into some fresh air.
Sylar grabbed him before he could get very far, though. “What’s the big deal?” he demanded to know, dark brow furrowed, eyes staring intently at Peter’s.
Feeling cornered, Peter pulled himself free and strode out to the street. Once again, he barely got down the steps before Sylar was there, stopping him. The Popsicle had miraculously disappeared somewhere.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Peter told the other man, then noticed that their ambulance was still parked down the street and Hesam was standing beside it. Apparently he was waiting for Peter after all; he looked up, spotted them, took a step and then stopped. Peter was ready to call out to him that he was ready to go when Sylar waved at his partner, and it was like something from some old, too-sweet goody-two-shoes drama where every character was too comical to be real.
“Stop it!” Peter told him “You’re only making it worse.”
“Then why don’t we show him how it really is?” Sylar asked him. And before Peter could even comprehend what he meant by that, Sylar framed his face with his hands and leaned down to kiss him, right there in the middle of the street. It lasted for a good five seconds, and when Sylar finally pulled back, his lips hovered only inches from Peter’s, his hands still on his face. “This is where we would ask Hiro to go back and do something ridiculous to stop us from doing this.”
Peter knew he should agree, but he felt frozen to the spot, the taste of Sylar’s Popsicle lingering on his lips. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to do that, although it would have been far less complicated. Finally, when he managed to regain his voice, he looked up at Sylar - which wasn’t very far since the man was still right there, their noses almost touching. “I didn’t do anything,” Peter informed him. “It’s all on you.”
Sylar actually smiled at that. “You know this is our life, right? No one else’s. We can keep playing by everyone else’s rules and wishes, but I spent three years with you in my head, and I know what both of us are made of.”
Peter wasn’t sure if that was a very romantic thing to say, or if it even made sense to him right now… He could hear a car starting near them and when he looked, the ambulance was pulling out into traffic.
So much for explaining it to Hesam.
Next Peter glanced towards the building he had just exited, and on the steps were Hiro and Ando, who both seemed a bit puzzled, and behind them was Mohinder who shook his head before returning indoors. Peter guessed it would be best if they didn’t talk for a while.
“If we’re going somewhere,” Peter called out to Hiro, “I need to change first.”
The round face broke into a wide smile and he strode down the steps, leaving Ando to follow him. “Hai, Peter Petrelli! Then we shall go and save the day.”
Peter guessed that was the best he could do today, since he wasn’t going back to work to finish his shift after all.
to be continued…
Story info