Bricks in the Wall, Chapter 44: What I Like About You
Title: What I Like About You: Sylar
Characters: Sylar, Peter Petrelli
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Word count: 647
Setting: The Wall
Summary: What Peter likes about Sylar.
Notes: Thanks to DD3 for the idea. This isn't a story so much as a list - five points for each of them.
Sylar was hot. Peter felt horrible for that being the first reason, but he was very human and no one with eyes and an appreciation for the male form could see Sylar and overlook the fact that he was scorching. While Peter prided himself on seeing the inside of a person as well as the out, that didn't mean, at all, that he was blind to that outside. Eyes, mouth, strong features without being too rugged, hair (glorious hair, all over), lean, strong, tough, healthy, athletic … oh yes!
He wanted to make Peter happy. Again, Peter wanted to crawl under a rock for how selfish his reasons were. But to have a partner who idolized him? Swoon! He wanted to be looked up to, seen as a hero, appreciated and understood. Or at least appreciated. No kind word or gesture to Sylar went unnoticed and the guy was grateful for every one. Peter suspected that was deeply unhealthy of Sylar (or at least a powerful marker of the effects of past trauma still lingering in the present), but it attracted Peter like a moth to flame.
He needed Peter's help. Peter liked to pretend this was his big, unselfish reason, but deep inside, he knew he wanted the ego boost of knowing he had done something good for someone. It validated him to see people benefit from his efforts. And Sylar - Sylar needed a lot of effort. Peter knew it wouldn't be easy; he didn't want it to be easy. He wanted to be the one who had confounded everyone's expectations by helping someone no one else would bother with. He wanted people to look at what he was doing and talk about how noble he was - and not because it just looked noble, but because it was. Peter wanted to be able to wake up in the morning and feel good about what he was doing in the world. He wanted there to be at least one person whom he made a difference to, every day.
Sylar wanted to be with Peter. For some reason - hero worship, Nathan, self-defense, wanting to be a Petrelli-by-proxy, the most special, whatever - Sylar wanted to be in Peter's life and for Peter to be in his. And he was obviously willing to put up with a lot of shit to have that. Which was good, because Peter was aware he was, in his own way, very high maintenance. He was driven, prone to tunnel-vision, not a good team player, aggressive, moody, reactionary, fiery, abrupt … yeah, Peter was at times hyper-aware of his own flaws, but that didn't stop him from having them. They'd driven away so many potential lovers over the years. He was so grateful to have found someone who didn't act like they'd leave him as soon as the slightest other thing in their life changed.
Speaking of change, Sylar was willing to. Not only willing, but Sylar wanted to change who he was. In that thirst for self-empowerment, Peter saw an echo of his own overpowering drive to be what other people wanted. He knew that desperation to be found worthy, an inadequacy so deep that you were willing to sacrifice your very life to live up to the standards of others, to win fifteen minutes, not of fame, but of approval. Except Sylar did Peter one better and was willing to lose his soul for it. And he had, which was why he needed so much help. No one else in Peter's life had ever bothered to be a better person. When confronted with adversity, Nathan, Angela, Arthur, all of them and more, had simply doubled-down on being villains. Sylar was trying to be something else and Peter wanted to be right there supporting him in it.
XXX
Title: What I Like About You: Peter
Characters: Sylar, Peter Petrelli
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Word count: 516
Setting: The Wall
Summary: What Sylar likes about Peter.
Peter was kind. He was generous with attention and loving in his manner. He didn't stint on physical affection; he was a good lover. He was (usually) patient and tried to understand. He went out of his way to make sure Sylar enjoyed most of their interactions and that Sylar had what Peter thought he needed to thrive. Peter wasn't always correct in this, but his heart was in the right place and that was what Sylar valued the most.
Peter was true. He was honest and didn't try to deceive. He wore his heart on his sleeve. He wasn't trying to manipulate Sylar for his own ends and in fact, the idea never seemed to occur to Peter. Sure, Peter was fine with trying to get Sylar to do things for himself or for others, but when he did, he would just ask. It was always right out in the open and never the sort of thing where Sylar would do something and later discover Peter had arranged it so he'd gain some secret benefit.
Peter was … interesting. He was emotional. He was impetuous. He was complex and yet simple. He had dumb ideas and sometimes brilliant ones and he was perfectly willing to blurt them out (at least to Sylar; he tended to keep his mouth shut around people he didn't trust, which made Sylar so pleased that he was in Peter's inner circle). He was playful and childish at times in ways Sylar envied but felt he could never do himself. He was sensitive for all his obliviousness. Sylar liked that Peter was so easy to provoke or soothe, to turn this way and that to get the reaction he desired. He liked that Peter was reliable in his responses, yet not predictable, if you could see the difference.
Peter was respectable. He was from a good family, or at least one with a good name. If Virginia had been alive, and she hadn't died of shock at Sylar's lover being a man, then she would have been thrilled to have Peter as a son-in-law. His family was rich and high status, politicians and lawyers! He was handsome (which would have mattered a lot to Virginia, although to Sylar it was just a nice benefit). He was polite and could be proper when necessary. He was even visibly compassionate as a nurse and paramedic. Oh yes, Virginia would be ecstatic that her Gabriel had landed such a prize. He might have finally done something good enough for her.
Peter didn't seem to mind him too much and was willing to put up with living with him. He'd carved out a space in his life for Sylar to fit into, even taking him as a lover. Amazingly, he seemed satisfied with Sylar as a person, even if he objected at times to various behaviors. Behaviors could be fixed, Sylar knew (not that he always bothered, and sometimes it was more fun to watch Peter jump around in agitation). He had the feeling Peter wasn't going to turn on him some day and declare him a monster. (Now, he might come after him for something he did, but that was different.) It was … Damn! It was as if Peter actually liked him.
Characters: Sylar, Peter Petrelli
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Word count: 647
Setting: The Wall
Summary: What Peter likes about Sylar.
Notes: Thanks to DD3 for the idea. This isn't a story so much as a list - five points for each of them.
Sylar was hot. Peter felt horrible for that being the first reason, but he was very human and no one with eyes and an appreciation for the male form could see Sylar and overlook the fact that he was scorching. While Peter prided himself on seeing the inside of a person as well as the out, that didn't mean, at all, that he was blind to that outside. Eyes, mouth, strong features without being too rugged, hair (glorious hair, all over), lean, strong, tough, healthy, athletic … oh yes!
He wanted to make Peter happy. Again, Peter wanted to crawl under a rock for how selfish his reasons were. But to have a partner who idolized him? Swoon! He wanted to be looked up to, seen as a hero, appreciated and understood. Or at least appreciated. No kind word or gesture to Sylar went unnoticed and the guy was grateful for every one. Peter suspected that was deeply unhealthy of Sylar (or at least a powerful marker of the effects of past trauma still lingering in the present), but it attracted Peter like a moth to flame.
He needed Peter's help. Peter liked to pretend this was his big, unselfish reason, but deep inside, he knew he wanted the ego boost of knowing he had done something good for someone. It validated him to see people benefit from his efforts. And Sylar - Sylar needed a lot of effort. Peter knew it wouldn't be easy; he didn't want it to be easy. He wanted to be the one who had confounded everyone's expectations by helping someone no one else would bother with. He wanted people to look at what he was doing and talk about how noble he was - and not because it just looked noble, but because it was. Peter wanted to be able to wake up in the morning and feel good about what he was doing in the world. He wanted there to be at least one person whom he made a difference to, every day.
Sylar wanted to be with Peter. For some reason - hero worship, Nathan, self-defense, wanting to be a Petrelli-by-proxy, the most special, whatever - Sylar wanted to be in Peter's life and for Peter to be in his. And he was obviously willing to put up with a lot of shit to have that. Which was good, because Peter was aware he was, in his own way, very high maintenance. He was driven, prone to tunnel-vision, not a good team player, aggressive, moody, reactionary, fiery, abrupt … yeah, Peter was at times hyper-aware of his own flaws, but that didn't stop him from having them. They'd driven away so many potential lovers over the years. He was so grateful to have found someone who didn't act like they'd leave him as soon as the slightest other thing in their life changed.
Speaking of change, Sylar was willing to. Not only willing, but Sylar wanted to change who he was. In that thirst for self-empowerment, Peter saw an echo of his own overpowering drive to be what other people wanted. He knew that desperation to be found worthy, an inadequacy so deep that you were willing to sacrifice your very life to live up to the standards of others, to win fifteen minutes, not of fame, but of approval. Except Sylar did Peter one better and was willing to lose his soul for it. And he had, which was why he needed so much help. No one else in Peter's life had ever bothered to be a better person. When confronted with adversity, Nathan, Angela, Arthur, all of them and more, had simply doubled-down on being villains. Sylar was trying to be something else and Peter wanted to be right there supporting him in it.
XXX
Title: What I Like About You: Peter
Characters: Sylar, Peter Petrelli
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Word count: 516
Setting: The Wall
Summary: What Sylar likes about Peter.
Peter was kind. He was generous with attention and loving in his manner. He didn't stint on physical affection; he was a good lover. He was (usually) patient and tried to understand. He went out of his way to make sure Sylar enjoyed most of their interactions and that Sylar had what Peter thought he needed to thrive. Peter wasn't always correct in this, but his heart was in the right place and that was what Sylar valued the most.
Peter was true. He was honest and didn't try to deceive. He wore his heart on his sleeve. He wasn't trying to manipulate Sylar for his own ends and in fact, the idea never seemed to occur to Peter. Sure, Peter was fine with trying to get Sylar to do things for himself or for others, but when he did, he would just ask. It was always right out in the open and never the sort of thing where Sylar would do something and later discover Peter had arranged it so he'd gain some secret benefit.
Peter was … interesting. He was emotional. He was impetuous. He was complex and yet simple. He had dumb ideas and sometimes brilliant ones and he was perfectly willing to blurt them out (at least to Sylar; he tended to keep his mouth shut around people he didn't trust, which made Sylar so pleased that he was in Peter's inner circle). He was playful and childish at times in ways Sylar envied but felt he could never do himself. He was sensitive for all his obliviousness. Sylar liked that Peter was so easy to provoke or soothe, to turn this way and that to get the reaction he desired. He liked that Peter was reliable in his responses, yet not predictable, if you could see the difference.
Peter was respectable. He was from a good family, or at least one with a good name. If Virginia had been alive, and she hadn't died of shock at Sylar's lover being a man, then she would have been thrilled to have Peter as a son-in-law. His family was rich and high status, politicians and lawyers! He was handsome (which would have mattered a lot to Virginia, although to Sylar it was just a nice benefit). He was polite and could be proper when necessary. He was even visibly compassionate as a nurse and paramedic. Oh yes, Virginia would be ecstatic that her Gabriel had landed such a prize. He might have finally done something good enough for her.
Peter didn't seem to mind him too much and was willing to put up with living with him. He'd carved out a space in his life for Sylar to fit into, even taking him as a lover. Amazingly, he seemed satisfied with Sylar as a person, even if he objected at times to various behaviors. Behaviors could be fixed, Sylar knew (not that he always bothered, and sometimes it was more fun to watch Peter jump around in agitation). He had the feeling Peter wasn't going to turn on him some day and declare him a monster. (Now, he might come after him for something he did, but that was different.) It was … Damn! It was as if Peter actually liked him.