Fiction: A Small Hitch
Title: A Small Hitch
Author: Rat-chan
Fandom: Heroes
Characters/Pairings: Nathan/Peter
Rating: PG-13
Wordcount: 1081
Spoilers: None whatsoever
Warnings: implied incestuous sexual situations, more heavily implied very light bondage
Disclaimer: Heroes belongs to Tim Kring, NBC, and all the people who distribute it worldwide
Author's note: This is my first Heroes fic at all as well as my first fic in a long time. It's fluff, 'cause fluff's easy.
Summary: A glimpse, past and present, of the ways Peter gets Nathan to do what he wants.
"Pay attention, Pete," Nathan Petrelli said firmly to his baby brother.
The boy thus addressed scowled, but returned his gaze to his brother's hands, which held the end of a length of rope. The other end of the rope made a small coil at the foot of the chair that Nathan had pulled up to his brother's bedside. "I am paying attention," Peter said, his voice pitched petulantly high.
"No. You're fidgeting," Nathan replied.
Peter mumbled a reply.
"Petrellis do not mumble."
"You promised to tell me a story if I learned that stupid clover hitch thing."
Nathan sighed. "It's a knot, and it's called the clove hitch. And I never promised. Now, we have one more knot to go."
Peter unhappily kicked his little legs where they hung off the edge of his bed. "Why do I have to learn to tie knots, anyway?"
"Because we're going yachting with Mr. Linderman tomorrow and Dad said I had to teach you. You don't want to disgrace the Petrelli name, do you?"
As usual, this question brought an intense frown to the youngest Petrelli's face. "No," was the soft answer. Peter's next words were said more strongly, "But I don't like Mr. Linderman. He smells funny."
Nathan nearly laughed at the aggrieved tone of voice. With effort he controlled his expression. "Mr. Linderman is a good, long time friend of our father, Pete," he said.
Peter started to retort to that, but the forced stern expression on his older brother's face made him swallow the words. With an exaggerated sigh, he asked, "What's the other knot I have to learn?"
"Well, this one is called a bowline, and..."
Peter intently watched Nathan as he showed the younger boy how to tie a bowline. Peter then listened intently as Nathan guided him through tying the knot himself.
"Now," Nathan said after Peter had finally succeeded in tying a bowline, "slip the loop over the bedpost and see if it holds."
Peter did, and it did. "I did it!"
"Yes, you did, Pete, and you did it very well." Nathan ruffled Peter's hair as he said this.
The little boy gazed up at his brother with wide, glowing eyes, happily absorbing the praise.
"Now, you'll tell me a bedtime story?" he asked, hopefully.
"Sorry, Pete. I'm tired and you need your sleep. Just show me one more time that you can tie the clove hitch, and then we'll both go to bed." Nathan's voice turned stern again.
Peter's happy expression fell once more into a frown and he half sat, half flopped back down onto his bed, sitting on part of the rope. Nathan picked up the other end of the rope from the floor and handed it to Peter.
Peter obediently began tying the clove hitch. Nathan smiled as the younger boy frowned at the rope in concentration, the tip of his tongue sticking out the corner of his mouth.
"You need to do it faster, Pete."
"I need more light," the boy complained. He shifted himself and the rope closer to the bedside lamp, pulling his legs and the remaining slack of the rope onto the bed. From this position, his body partially blocked Nathan's view of the rope.
"Now I can't see." Nathan stood up and moved to the bedside table.
"I'm not sure I got it right," Peter said, attempting to hide the knot from his brother's sight.
"Peter, let me see," Nathan said. And he reached his hands out to his brother's.
Peter then moved very quickly and very smoothly -- especially for a child his age. He looped the knot he was tying around his big brother's wrists and pulled it tight.
"Ha, ha, ha!" he laughed as dramatically as a small, floppy haired boy in pajamas could do. "Now, you're gonna tell me a bedtime story, Nathan!"
Nathan struggled to get out of the knot on his hands, but his teaching had apparently been too good. Next, he tried to slip the bowline off the bedpost, but with Peter's weight on the midsection of the rope, the knot could neither be slipped off nor untied.
"Pete, untie me!"
"Not until you promise to tell me a story!"
"Peter Petrelli, you will untie me, now." Nathan didn't shout, but the command was strong.
Peter's hands moved automatically to the knot at Nathan's wrists, then stopped. "Promise to tell me a story..." he said softly. "Please," he added, looking up at his brother through overlong bangs with wide, wavering eyes.
The hard lines of Nathan's expression subtly smoothed away. There was enough slack in the rope for him to brush the hair out of his baby brother's face.
"Your nanny can tell you a story, Pete. Now, please untie me."
"But I want you to tell me a story. Your stories are the best! Um, and, you didn't teach me how to untie the clover hitch."
"Clove hitch," Nathan corrected with a smile. "OK, you win. I'll teach you how to untie this and then I promise I'll tell you a bedtime story."
"I love you, Nathan!" Peter gave his brother a near flying tackle hug.
Nathan returned the hug as best he could. "I love you, too, little guy."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Two decades later]
"I can't believe that still works." Peter Petrelli said slightly breathlessly as he slid up his brother's chest. His fingers moved to the clove hitch that kept Nathan's wrists attached to the headboard.
"Yeah, well maybe I let it work," Nathan replied. He tried to look stern, but failed. Instead his face reflected the smile that was twinkling in Peter's eyes.
"Sure," Peter said as he finished unworking the knot.
Nathan pulled his hands down and attempted to work feeling back into them. His wrists were faintly red.
Peter shifted position next to Nathan. "Tsk, tsk, look what you did to your wrists, struggling like that," Peter scolded, taking over massaging the older man's hands.
"Well, Pete, I wanted to touch you."
"Well-" Peter's hands and his words stalled and a flush rose up in his cheeks. He mumbled something more.
"Petrellis do not mumble."
"I said I'm sorry, I guess."
"You guess?" Nathan chuckled. "Well, don't be too sorry. I suppose I'll sleep better for a little pleasant exercise." Nathan caressed one of Peter's still pink cheeks.
Peter lightly kissed the inside of Nathan's wrist. "I love you, Nathan."
"I love you, too," Nathan replied as he pulled those lips down to his own.
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Final notes: Hope that wasn't too much written cotton candy.
Feedback on characterization is more than welcome. Feedback on grammar will irritate me (with myself, because I checked).
Oh, and while comments like "Great fic!" are naturally welcome if I can get them, I'd like you to tell me what you liked about it and what can be improved. I'm still not as into the characters as I'd like to be as a writer (one reason for the not remotely omniscient 3rd person POV).
Knots reference: Animated Knots by Grog
Anywho, thanks for reading!