Title: Santa Claus and the Mistletoe Surprise
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Peter’s about had it with playing Santa at the family Christmas parties. This year Nathan tries to make it up to him.
Spoilers: None
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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Peter swore he would never forgive Nathan for this indignity. It was Christmas. It was their family’s annual Christmas party. He was too old for this!
“What? Just because I’m the only one who hasn’t gotten married and had kids, I’m the one stuck in the Santa suit?” he had protested to his mother.
“Come on, Pete, it won’t be that bad,” Nathan had tried.
“Then you do it,” he fired back.
“I can’t. The last thing I need is for my boys to think I’m Santa as well as Superman,” he had smirked.
Peter wanted to punch that smirk off of his. But somehow he had given up. He knew he would never get out of it.
Then Nathan just had to go and make it worse.
“Besides, you always look good in the suit,” he had winked before heading out of the room.
An hour into the party, Peter walked into the room, full red bag over one shoulder as he tried to keep from falling backwards as the little and not so little kids began to charge him.
God, he hated Christmas. It didn’t matter that they were family, he still hated this part.
“He’s not Santa!” Noah cried as he looked up at his father.
“Be nice,” Sylar warned. Trying to kill Peter was his job, well when he deserved it at least. He’d had to make some compromises when he married Claire and he wasn’t about to have his eldest take that from him at the tender age of seven.
“Do I have to?” he pouted.
“Yes.”
Noah sighed and went off, joining his younger sister and cousins.
“Where are you going?” Heidi asked her husband as he began to make his way over to his brother once the children had dispersed, each rambling on about whatever Peter had given them.
“To tell Santa what I want for Christmas,” Nathan smiled. He couldn’t help but chuckle to himself slightly. Not because his wife didn’t have a clue about a secret he kept buried deep from everyone but Peter, but because he could never resist teasing Peter at these parties. This year he was going to up his game just a little more.
“What do you want?” Peter muttered from behind the snowy white beard. He didn’t care how jolly he was supposed to seem, the kids weren’t around and the man who had forced him back into this costume for the fifth year in a row was right there.
“I didn’t think the presents were limited to just the children,” the older man stated, once again having to fight a smile at what he knew would follow.
“People of all ages can receive coal,” Peter grumbled.
“You can’t really be that upset,” Nathan drawled as he took a seat on his brother’s lap, making sure to keep most of his weight on his feet as not to crush the smaller man.
Peter winced at first as Nathan curled an arm around his shoulders next, but knew he was trapped either way. At least until he could say something to get Nathan off of him.
“How often are we able to do this with our family here?” he asked, leaning down to whisper the words into his ear.
“You do this every year.”
“Not like this,” Nathan retorted before taking the younger man’s earlobe between his teeth and nipping him gently.
More in surprise than pain, Peter nearly cried out. “What the hell -”
“What do you want for Christmas, Pete?”
“Serious?” he asked, looking up into his brother’s eyes.
Nathan nodded.
“To get out of this damned suit and never again have to be faced with this just because I’m the only single one left.”
Moving back to his ear, bringing his already silken voice down to a whisper, he told him, “I could help you out of the suit at least.”
Peter laughed for the first time that day. He knew his brother was married, of course, he didn’t care how much he flirted with him. It was always just harmless fun. That was what they did. The caring, full bodied hugs, the lack of acknowledgement of personal space, always touching, even kissing. For them it was routine, day to day life.
“What do you want for Christmas, Nathan?” he finally asked him, knowing if he didn’t get serious then that the kids in the next room would get one hell of a demonstration in human sexuality.
The older man smiled, this time looking right into his brother’s eyes as he quietly answered, “You, Pete. You under my tree wearing nothing but a bow and a smile.”
Again Peter wanted to laugh at first, but there was a seriousness in his voice he hadn’t heard in some time. Usually he kidded about these kinds of things, but nothing in his expression said that he was kidding this time.
“Nathan -”
Before he could say another word Nathan pulled the beard down just enough and his brother’s mouth was like a magnet to his. Within an instant his own softened beneath Nathan’s and returned the fevered kiss, letting his lips part against his brother’s and finally letting his tongue meet his.
“And here they complain about us finding the mistletoe,” Sylar commented with a roll of his eyes to his wife as she grabbed another tray of cookies for the kids.
Claire only laughed as she followed his gaze to her father and uncle. “Had to happen some time,” was all she finally said with a smile.
The End