Heroes fic--Childhood Memories
Title: Childhood Memories
Chapter: 3
Pairing: none, gen-fic
Author's notes: I've tried to make this chapter a bit longer. And I'm pretty blown away that you guys actually like it. I'm pretty excited about it and I'll do my best to keep up the good work.
3rd Person POV
Mohinder awoke in the morning to a mess of drool coating his neck and collarbone. He grimmaced and tried to pull himself free without waking Peter, who was still fast asleep. After pulling himself away, he gently eased the covers up around Peter's shoulders and grabbed some clothes before padding into the bathroom. After a quick wash in the sink he set about looking for Mohinder the lizard before he could cross paths with Peter again. He searched high and low for half an hour and was currently half under his couch, holding the very tip of the lizard's tail. The reptile struggled wildly and Mohinder continued to tug gently, worried that his strength would harm the little critter.
Just as he was about to pull Mohinder free he heard soft footsteps and a small coo like yawn. He jerked himself out from under the couch and turned to face Peter, all while craddling the lizard to his chest.
"Ah, good morning Peter. This is Mohinder. He's the one who crawled across your toes last night."
Peter blushed and fiddled with the hem of his T-shirt.
"Aren't you Mohinder?"
Mohinder smiled and put the lizard back in his cage and secured the lid. He turned back to the young boy and scooped him up.
"My father named him after me."
Peter wound his arms around Mohinder's neck loosely and looked at his shoulder, ashamed. He felt stupid now that it was morning. He chided himself mentally for not having the sense to just look instead of jumping to conclusions. He bit his lip and tucked his nose in Mr. Suresh's shoulder and waited for a scolding.
"Do you like waffles Peter?"
He squirmed in Mr. Suresh's grip and turned to face him. He blushed heavily when their noses bumped.
"You're not mad at me?"
Mohinder smiled and bopped his nose against Peter's.
"Of course not. I have a little girl, Molly, and she use to have nightmares. I'm very use to it Peter. You don't have to be sorry. Waffles or french toast?"
Mohinder sat Peter at the breakfast table and patted his head. Then he shuffled towards the cabnets and waited for a reply.
"Waffles please Mr. Suresh."
"You can call me Mohinder, or Momo, if you'd like."
Peter nodded happily and wiped up his face with the back of his hand. The teak chair was just barely taller than him standing, so his tiny bare feet dangled back and forth over the floor. His fingers traced the chili-pepper print on the placemat in front of him and wondered idly if his mother would find it tacky. He smiled down at the mats and scrunched up his nose, deciding that he liked them anyways, especially if his parents would find them ugly. His feet swung back and forth, faster and faster until his butt started to slip off the edge of the chair.
"Peter."
The young empath started and slipped the rest of the way out of the chair. Mohinder was tactful enough to not call his bluff when he righted himself quickly and smiled.
"Yes Mohinder?"
"Your mother sent you some things. Over there in that duffle bag are some clothes if you want to change. The bathroom is just down the hall from my room."
Peter nodded and inched out of the kitchen with an embarassed blush covering his face. When he was free of Mr. Suresh's warm gaze he ran to the black duffle bag and whipped open the zipper. On the very top of the pile was his favorite shirt, clean and folded, in the center of the bag. Peter giggled happily and pulled his light blue X-Men shirt out of the duffle and hugged it to his chest before digging for the rest of his outfit.
By the time he had finished Mohinder had Peter's waffles piled up on a bright green plate in front of the seat Peter vacated earlier. Peter hummed happily and climbed into his chair, ready to dig in. His stomach growled, unable to resist the food, but Peter waited. His mother had taught him to wait patiently, it was only polite. So he sipped on his orange juice and studied the mismatched dishes and decorations littering the kitchen, and waited.
Soon enough he was joined by a wild haired Mohinder, whose plate of waffles was significantly larger than his own. Peter watched with eager eyes as Mohinder's fork lowered to the plate and the prongs made contact with the topmost waffle. That was his cue, and he dug in. Mohinder watched in silent amusement as Peter tore through his waffles with all the fever of a young boy, but without making a single mess. He smiled around his own mouthfulls at Peter's small happy face, glad that he was over his night time funk.
"Are you enjoying breakfast Peter?"
Peter seemed startled by the question, because of it's suddenness. One cheek was pushed out by a particularly large bite of waffle. Mohinder hid his smile behind his hand and waited for Peter to swallow and wash it down with some orange juice.
"Very much Mr. Sur--Mohinder."
The geneticist nodded happily and looked Peter over. He had always imagined Peter as the comic book loving child but seeing it made it so much different. He looked even cuter this morning, all smiles and swinging feet. Mohinder wouldn't be surprised if Peter had dimples as a child. He'd keep an eye out for them.
"Peter, Mr. Bennet...well, the two of us don't always get along. He was rather short with me last night. Could you maybe tell me what you remember about last night before you got here?"
Peter's legs stopped swinging as he thought about what to say. He licked his lips and took a small sip of his juice.
"Mm, I woke up and Mr. Bennet was putting a shirt on me. My head hurt a little and there was a lady crying behind him. She was saying sorry, but I don't know what for. I cried a lot and..."
Peter's face burned a briliant red and he turned his attention from Mohinder to his plate.
"And what Peter? I promise I won't be angry."
Peter pushed his fork through the syrup on his plate and let his bangs fall in front of his face.
"I hit Mr. Bennet...and scratched him...and I bit his arm really hard. I tasted blood, and then he said a swear word."
"You were very frightened Peter. I can assure you that Mr. Bennet isn't angry with you."
Peter sighed and put his fork down.
"Well he said a swear...Um, then he called my mommy and she told me that her and daddy and Nathan had to go on an emergency trip. She said she wanted me to stay here and that I needed to be a good boy. But I was still really scared. I didn't know where I was. I always wake up when mommy or Nathan pick me up. Always! Nathan says I turn into a spider monkey and I squeeze him too tight."
Mohinder smiled despite the sadness in Peter's voice. He could already imagine Peter winding himself tightly around anyone who carried him and climbing all over them.
"When I woke up I was tired and dizzy and...and why didn't mo-mommy wake me u-up to tell me? Why Mo-Mohinder, why?"
Telling the story had taken all of the bravado from Peter. He was crying again, distraught over the thought that his mother didn't love him anymore, or that she had pushed him aside for Nathan, again. He pushed his palms to his eyes and crocodile tears poured down. Mohinder raised quickly from his seat and picked Peter up, cradling him to his chest. He made shushing noises and rocked Peter gently up and down. He rubbed one hand up and down the boys back and rested his chin on the crown of Peter's head.
"Your mother loves you very much Peter. She...She didn't want to ruin your summer by stealing you away on business. She knew you'd be bored there."
"S-She di-didn't saaaay g-goodbyeeee!"
Sobs racked through Peter's body and tugged on Mohinder's heart.
"Shhhh, it's alright. I have it on good authority that she...kissed all your face. She said goodbye and fiddled with your hair and everything. She thought you were awake enough to remember. You were probably just too sleepy to remember."
Peter's cries started to quiet as he took in what Mohinder had to say. He clung tight to Mohinder, digging his hands into the flesh of Peter's back.
"She did?"
"Of course. Your mother loves you very much and she gave you a wonderful goodbye."
Peter sniffled into Mohinder's neck and took deep breaths to stop his crying.
"Would you like to talk with her?"
Peter nodded franticly and wriggled down and out of Mohinder's grasp. Mohinder held on lightly until his toes made contact, then let him free. Peter bounced excitedly on the balls of his feet, waiting for Mohinder to dial a phone. Mohinder wiped away the rest of his tears and lead Peter to the house phone. His fingers hovered over the keys for a moment, unsure of the number. It had been stored in his cell so long he had trouble recalling it on memory. Peter whined quietly at his hesitation and Mohinder let out a slow breath and dialed.
Two rings later Angela Petrelli called out a terse 'Suresh' and Mohinder smiled.
"Your son wants to speak with you. And he wants to hear all about that goodbye he was too sleepy to remember. You know, where you kissed all over his face."
"Of course."
Mohinder was happy that she caught on without needing further explination and passed the phone down to Peter. The boy smiled happily and began babbling into the phone right away. Mohinder made his way to the kitchen to clean up breakfast and give Peter some privacy.
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Was X-Men around when Peter was a kid? And I'm avoiding the cell phone because they're a lot sleaker now and the way I figure it, Mohinder doesn't want Peter to know something's up.
Comments are love. <3