Vegas Double
Title: Vegas Double
Rating: PG-13 for a bad word or two
Summary: HRG and Elle go to Vegas to try to stop Sylar and Claire’s wedding only to end up with more than they bargained for.
Spoilers: Minor S3
Disclaimer: Heroes is not owned by me, but by Tim Kring. I’m simply borrowing these characters for non-profit entertainment.
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“Is everything okay?” Elle asked as she looked to her partner with a letter in his hand. He looked angrier than he did the last time she had accidentally zapped him when trying to bag and tag one of their assignments.
“Car, now,” Noah ordered before brushing passed her.
Elle knew better than to argue when he was in a mood. Of course she would have liked some idea where they were going, but given that he was breaking nearly every speeding law on their way to what could only be the airport gave her an idea that this was something more than professional.
“Who are we picking up?” she asked as he nearly side-swiped another car.
“Sylar,” he growled.
With that Elle nodded. She should have known. Every rule and once of protocol went out the window when the cases involved Sylar.
Only what Noah couldn’t think to say through his blinding rage was that it had nothing to do with Sylar having killed anyone this time. No, the bastard had taken his daughter.
Not kidnapped, not abducted. Worse than either. From the note Claire had left he knew they were eloping to Vegas.
The second Elle saw where they were headed she knew what her partner was up to. Of course now that they were already on the plane she couldn’t really protest, but if nothing else she would finally get to go to Vegas without it being for work.
She nearly asked him how he planned to get there in time when Sylar could teleport them to wherever it was in Vegas they were flying, but quickly thought better of it. Bennet potentially being labeled as terrorist for trying to kill her then and there would do nothing to quicken their trip and having to bring The Haitian in to erase all of these people’s memories would be more trouble than it was worth.
“Do we even know where they are? Which chapel? Which hotel?” At least there was no need to play coy. After all she had covered for Claire and Sylar more than once.
“Why do you think I let you come along?” he asked, glaring over at her.
Shit. He knew.
It was after another several threats of being locked in a cell without her powers that Elle finally caved. She had a good idea they would already be too late to stop the wedding so she hardly thought it mattered.
“Dad?” Claire asked in near shock at the sight of him in the hotel.
“You,” he growled at a smug Sylar beside his daughter.
“Hello, Noah,” he smiled. “Or I guess, Dad, now.” On any other day he might have resisted that for Claire’s sake but this was just too good. Who knew he would find them on their way to dinner?
“Claire, you’re leaving with us.” It wasn’t a request.
“Bennet -” Elle tried.
“You should’ve told me long before now,” he stated to his younger partner.
“You didn’t tell him?” Claire asked, surprised she had kept her word.
Elle only shook her head. “Not until we were off the plane at least.”
“Well as much as I hate to break this up, we have room service and a honeymoon suite waiting for us,” Sylar smiled to his new wife.
“Claire,” Noah growled.
“Dad, I love you, but I love Sylar too. I wouldn’t have married him if I didn’t feel that I could trust him.”
“”He’s lying to you!”
“You of all people know I haven't killed anyone in two years. Unless you want to count the those trying to kill Claire or myself.” Sylar broke in.
“Come on,” Claire told Sylar as she took his hand. “I’ll see you back at home, Dad.”
“When you’re packing up?” he glared.
“Yeah,” she nodded, her voice so soft it was almost enough to break her father’s heart.
Ten minutes later Elle was following her partner’s lead to the hotel bar.
“How couldn’t you have told me?” he asked, not even looking over to her as she took a seat on the bar stool beside him.
“Claire’s a big girl, Bennet. Who she chooses to marry is up to her.”
“And yet you yourself were once with Sylar. Couldn’t you -”
“I’ve moved on,” she broke in with a sigh. It had been almost three years since then and she knew Sylar had never loved her. Not that she cared, he was a good enough lay, but still.
Noah was about to down his second scotch when he heard Elle sigh again. “I’m a big boy, Elle. I can drink what I damn well please.”
“Brain eraser,” Elle told the bartender a moment later. She then turned her attention back to her partner. “Bennet, she said it herself, she loves you. Her marrying Sylar isn’t because she wants to hurt you or punish you or even because she doesn’t need you anymore.”
“What is it about Sylar that turns you all into senseless, babbling, incoherent teenagers?”
Elle waved the bartender over that time and after ordering another brain eraser, she answered as best she could. “Sylar’s just one of those guys. For me it seemed obvious because we’ve both been villains and I thought I could make up for helping turn him into a killer. But after everything I realized I didn’t love him any more than he loved me and let’s face it, he’s been after Claire since day one. And he isn’t the only one who’s known who he’s wanted for the last five years.”
His fifth scotch and somehow his words weren’t even beginning to slur. “Says a woman who’s supposedly as single as I am.”
It was all weighing on him now. His divorce from Sandra, how she had left him. Now Claire’s secret wedding to his greatest advisory. It didn’t make matters any easier that it still sickened him to know that since his divorce the only woman he found himself with was Elle and he didn’t completely mind. Aside from the fact he knew he was too old for her and she likely had no interest in him.
“Come on, Bennet. You can’t do this to yourself. This wasn’t your fault.”
When he didn’t answer, she ordered herself another drink. And another. And another. Until they were met with the bartender asking them if they needed a cab.
“We have money. Could you get us a room?” Elle asked before falling slightly against Noah.
“I can,” the older man sighed as he stood on wobbly legs.
“Make it a big one,” Elle told him before resting her head on the bar.
Elle was the first to awake the next morning in the large bed. Her head felt at least twice its usual size and even as she was still lying down the room seemed to spin above her. With a pained groan she turned to her side it was then she realized she wasn’t alone in this bed.
From the sight of his bare arms and chest she began to realize she likely wasn’t the only one missing her clothes. Why had she let herself get so drunk?! With another look to her companion she realized just how uncomfortable this could get. Best to rip the band aid right off, she decided. The skin attached be damned.
“Bennet?” she asked, trying to wake him. No response, still out cold. “Bennet!” she demanded, nudging him for good measure. He stirred slightly and rolled over towards her. “Bennet!” she urged again, this time zapping his side with a bright blue bolt of electricity.
With that he sat straight up and turned wide-eyed to her. First from the shock and pain. And then from the fact Elle was beside him, holding the bed sheet to her otherwise nude form.
“Elle? What are you doing in my room?”
“Your room? Look around, Bennet. Looks like it’s our room. As in yours and mine and the one we shared last night where we did God knows what. Tell me you remember.”
Noah brought a hand to his forehead. No way was this happening. He had let Sylar get to him, there was no doubt about that. He was why he had been down in the bar drinking for half the night with Elle and obviously the reason he was here now with her.
“You don’t remember anything, do you?” she finally asked.
“No,” he sighed. “You?”
“Nothing after you went off to get us the room. I don’t even know how we ended up here. Or like we are.”
She sat up, rested her back against the solid oak headboard and brought her hands to her face with a deep breath to keep from hyperventilating. When she brought them back down she saw the only thing left that could have shocked her. Third finger, left hand, she couldn’t mistake it if she tried. It was big and it was real and only a man like Noah Bennet would have gotten it for her.
“Bennet?”
“What, Elle?” Would this morning never end?
She couldn’t bear to look herself. “Look at your left hand. Tell me you don’t see what I think you’ll see.”
“Shit,” he sighed at the platinum band. Part of him hoped it was fake but if it was he would have already felt the irritation beginning. No, he had obviously put money into this. Somehow. For some reason. Did he love Elle? It was too early for a question like that.
“What now?” she asked, slightly sucking her lower lip in as if trying to cling to what was left of her composure while she waited for her answer. She hated that she even had to ask and she was fearful of his response. She would never admit it if she could help it, but part of her had wanted this. Certainly not in this way, but being the new Mrs. Noah Bennet had been a fantasy she had indulged in more times than she cared to remember.
“An annulment sounds almost mandatory given the circumstances.”
“Because we were drunk or because it’s me?” she shot back before she could think.
“Elle -” he looked to her then and too easily saw her anger. She never had been good at concealing it. “You can’t be serious. We don’t even remember last night or what led up to this.”
“Can you really say that it doesn’t make perfect sense? We’ve known each other how long? You’ve trusted me with more than a few of your biggest secrets when we’re perfectly sober late at night on stakeouts. And you know better than anyone how hard it is for people to gain my trust and yet whenever there’s something I need -”
“You come to me,” he nodded. “You do realize you’re currently married to a man who’s shot you not once but twice in the past? You can honestly see beyond that?”
“I tried to kill Claire both times and shot at the second,” she shrugged. “It’s not like I didn’t deserve it. I guess the question now is can you look past the times I’ve almost killed her? And have almost gotten you killed?”
“I really don’t know.” It was an honest answer. One that made the younger woman’s heart stop.
“Well, then beyond all of that. If it wasn’t for those times, could you really say that being married to me would be such a bad thing?”
“Do you even know what you want, Elle? What you really want? Not just fantasies?”
“I love you, Noah,” she blurted out. She wanted to kick herself the second she said it, but it was too late. Way too late by the look in his nearly bulging blue eyes.
He knew he had his answer then. He loved her too. It didn’t matter the times they had almost killed each other, in some perverse way that had made them stronger.
“Elle?” Claire asked on her way into the house two days later.
Wearing no more than one of Noah’s shirts that fit her almost like a dress, the slightly older blonde smiled. She and Noah had spent the last thirty-six hours living as the newlyweds they had found themselves to be, once having gotten mostly comfortable with the idea of being married to one another despite how it had come about. Both had forgotten Claire had planned on coming back for some her things, though as Claire had never specified when she would be there it was somewhat understandable Elle hadn’t expect this to be the day. Hence why she had been so comfortable heading down to what was now their kitchen dressed as she was.
Seeing Claire’s stunned expression, Elle couldn’t resist. She smiled as she told her, “Don’t worry, Cheerleader. I won’t make you call me Mommy.”
The End