Heroes Fic--Non-Settled World Fic
Title: Childhood Memories
Chapter: 1
Summary: A special turns Peter into a little kid and now he's Mohinder's responsibility.
Author's Note: Okay, so I'm not giving up on my Settled World Verse, but just know that Childhood Memories has nothing to do with Settled World. I had this image of a small Peter rubbing his eyes and holding a blanket and coming into Mohinder's room saying 'I had a nightmare, can I sleep with you?' And then Momo is all like 'The cuteness...I can not refuse!'
3rd Person POV
"We have a problem."
When Mohinder Suresh was jerked from his sleep by an insistant knocking, he swore under his breath that it had better be for a good reason. He had stumbled blindly through his darkened apartment and threw open his front door without checking it first. He had then blinked in a slow and confused way as Noah Bennet stated they had a problem. The company man was standing in his apartment hallway holding a small child to his chest. The child was a pale and petite, and shaking ever so slightly in Noah's tight grip. The child's nose was pressed firmly into Noah's neck and under a wild mass of soft black hair Mohinder could make out the sound of a thumb being sucked.
"A-and that problem would be?"
Noah hitched the child farther up on his hip. The jostling movement elicited a small whimper. Mohinder's gaze shifted from the child's wild mess of a hair to the baggie white shirt the child was swimming in. Mohinder was able to steal a glance at small black shorts before Noah caught his attention again.
"Mohinder, meet Peter."
"Peter?"
"Peter Petrelli. Peter, would you like to tell Mr. Suresh how old you are?"
Mohinder's mouth dropped open as the boys head shook back and forth and then tried to curl further around Noah. The company man made comforting noises and rubbed a hand along Peter's back.
"He's a nice man Peter, just tell him how old you are."
Mohinder watched in awe as Peter's small pale face turned away from Noah's neck enough to look shyly up at him. Mohinder had his suspicions about what Noah was telling him, but those watery hazel eyes and those little crooked lips were definatly Peter's.
From around a wet and pikened finger, Peter murmered five. Mohinder smiled sweetly and waved, not at all offeneded by the sniffle he got in return. He stood aside and ushered Noah and Peter in before locking his door and switching on the light. Noah eased Peter onto the couch, something he looked entirely displeased about. He ducked his head, covering his face in a mass of unruly black hair, and sucked harder on his thumb.
Noah pulled Mohinder aside and crossed his arms.
"I have a flight to catch. I can't take him with me, and I know for a fact this will wear off in a week or two. Can you take him?"
Mohinder cast a quick look in Peter's direction, worried that he'd heard something, then turned back to Noah.
"Take him? I am not a nanny Bennet! Something horrible has happened to Peter and it needs to be dealt with. You can't just drop him off here like you're taking your child to daycare."
Noah held his hands up and made an angry shushing noise.
"This is because of a special alright. He's regressed and he only has his memories up until when he was five. I'd take him to Angela but he'd notice how much older he looks. I'd send Claire out here but she's busy. You're the only one I trust with him."
"What about Emma? Or Sylar...Gabriel, whatever he goes by these days. Aren't they friends now? Aren't Peter and Emma dating?"
Noah rubbed the bridge of his nose and stepped closer to Mohinder.
"I don't have to tell you that there are people out there who would jump at a chance to hurt Peter. He's safe with you. And Sylar's off with the carnival. I don't have a compass anymore, he's unreachable at the moment."
Mohinder sighed and mentally weighed the pros and cons of calling Matt to speak with Molly. Unease rolled around in his stomach and made him relent. He still wasn't ready to trust Sylar. Mohinder sighed and pressed his palms to his face.
"Does he have any clothes?"
Noah shook his head and checked his watch.
"He doesn't yet but Angela's sending someone here with clothes, a toothbrush, and some toys. He'll be here soon."
Mohinder's jaw ticked, angry at Noah's assumption.
"Well I suppose I have no choice then."
Noah didn't even bother to hide the joy he felt over riling Suresh up. He smirked at the geneticist and waited for a snide comment, any comment. But nothing came. Mohinder knew better than to get into an argument when there was a distraught child nearby. The two of them glared at eachother for nearly a minute before a soft yawn caught their attention. They looked over to where Peter was curled into a tight ball on the couch, shivering lightly.
"Angela said he was always cold, because he was so tiny."
Mohinder nodded and jogged quietly into his room before digging a large fleece blanket from his closet. He tucked it around Peter carefully and brushed his bangs back, revealing a tear stained, pinkened face fast asleep. Mohinder debating easing the thumb out of Peter's mouth, but decided that since no gap was aparent in the adult Peter, no damage must have been done as a child.
While Mohinder had been tending to Peter, Noah had let in Angela's assistant, taken the bag, and then dismissed him. Mohinder's jaw ticked again, this time angry that Noah had invited a stranger into his home.
"Anything else Bennet? Or can I go back to sleep?"
Bennet shook his head and tossed a large black duffle bag at Mohinder before taking his leave. Now alone with Peter, Mohinder sank into a crouch and studied the young boy's face. His mind fluttered through different what if's and possible problems. He worried that this wouldn't be reversable, or that Peter would find out about Nathan. He worried that Peter would be frightened of him. He worried that something would happen to him. And as he stood and made his way to his bedroom, he worried that Peter would remember everything when he changed back.
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