eight lives left (claire vignettes)
Title: Eight Lives Left (Five Claire-centric Vignettes)
Author: missaliceblue
Rating: PG-13 for all of them. Some possibly incestuous hinting if you're pervy like me, but nothing overt at all.
Pairings: In the following order...Claire Bennet with: Nathan Petrelli, May, Hiro Nakamura, Matt Parkman, and Peter Petrelli.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
-------------
Title: The Day Nathan Petrelli Left Work Early
Pairing: Nathan/Claire
A few missed stops while she’d dozed off on the subway, a wrong turn and a misguided cab ride that drained her pocket change, and where the crap was she? She didn’t know New York. Was this even New York? The dilapidated tenements seemed to be crumbling from the inside out. Trash gathered at the edges of the street, and oh my Lord, was that a needle on the sidewalk?
Claire scanned the sky and bit her lip and a million thoughts ran through her mind.
She was in a crappy neighborhood.
She was blonde and still wearing her prep school uniform…a dark blue blazer and pleated maroon skirt.
She’d drained her cell phone talking to Peter last night and hadn’t bothered to recharge it before falling asleep late.
She had only lived in New York for six weeks.
She was alone. She was scared and alone.
She was invincible, that was true, but you’d be surprised how many times how many times that was a liability. Besides, Claire knew that there was a heck of a lot you could do to her that would hurt plenty, still.
Claire walked backwards until her back hit the brick wall of the corner market she was standing in front of. A stocky guy with greasy blonde hair and a knit cap approached her. “Too far from Upper West, eh, Chicken?” And then he laughed.
Claire didn’t respond. Thank god that he kept on walking.
Claire stood there for ages, arms folded and head down. Claire fumbled in her bag for her phone, whipped it out and kept it in her hand. No one had to know it was dead but her.
She peeked into the corner shop, hoping to use their phone collect but the guy behind the counter and everyone in the place turned and stared when they saw her and she couldn’t bring herself to walk in there.
The light faded. Panic rose in her heart, fresh and biting. Pretty soon it would be dark. What should she do? Walk? Knock on someone’s door and ask to use the phone?
“You worried? You lookin’ pretty worried, Chicken.” The guy with blonde hair was back, and this time he had a friend with him - a very tall, thin man wearing a leather jacket and looking bored.
“See ya waited for me. That was real sweet.” The guy raised his fingers to Claire’s chin, and she flinched.
All of the sudden, lights cut through the dusk and there was a screech of tires. A black limo stopped in front of Claire, and the window rolled down.
Claire sighed with relief when she saw Nathan’s head lean out, wearing a dark pair of glasses. “Gentlemen,” he said, smiling at the men in front of Claire. “Thanks for keeping an eye on my little girl.” He was always the politician.
Claire was still gaping when Nathan said her name gruffly. She remembered her feet and sprang into action, bulleting between the two figures and into the limo.
Nathan was staring straight ahead, with his knees crossed, showing off a few inches of his socks and leather Bruno Magli’s that were shined enough that she could see her reflection in them. A shine of blonde and tan.
Nathan whipped off his glasses, but continued staring straight ahead. “I do not have time for this shit, Claire.”
She wanted to cry with relief, throw her body across his and tell him Thank you Thank you, but his words immediately put her on the defensive. Shit?
“School called and said you’d ditched last period. I thought maybe you went off with some friends-“
“I don’t have friends,” said Claire darkly. “I just moved here.”
Nathan glanced at her swiftly, for just a moment. “Right. Well, there was no answer on your phone, so I called the house, and Pilar said you hadn’t come home…you can’t just take off, Claire. I need to know where you are. And what the hell were you doing here?”
“It was an accident!”
“Accident or not - this is a shitty neighborhood, Claire, and you’re not cut out for this kind of sightseeing, okay?” He was all but yelling at her.
Claire folded her arms and looked out the window. The sun was nearly gone. “I told you. It was an accident. I got lost.”
“That’ll do you a lot of good when you’re cut up into little pieces in the East River.”
“Jesus!” Claire shrieked.
Nathan shrugged. “It’s happened before. I don’t want it to happen to you.”
Claire slouched in her seat. “How’d you find me?”
There was a long, long pause. The light from the streetlamps slanted over her knees as she stared at them.
Finally Nathan responded, in a low voice. “Miss Molly Walker. You can tell her thanks the next time you see her.”
He’d called Matt, in California. He’d had them ask Molly where she was. Molly would’ve still been in school at the time. What a hassle that must have been. Must’ve had to pull her out of school and everything.
Suddenly, Claire felt bad. She was being a brat, for no good reason. After all the trouble Nathan had gone through and everything.
“Listen,” she began.
“Don’t, for God’s sake, say you’re sorry!” Nathan looked at her sternly. “Just…don’t do it again, okay? I’ll get you a pocket charger for your phone, or something. I can’t not know where you are.”
Claire scooted toward Nathan. His hand was underneath his chin as he stared coolly out the window. Slowly, she pulled it down and toward her hip, and snuggled against his chest.
She sighed when he pulled her against him and pressed a kiss in her hair.
-----
Title: L-E-T-S G-O
Pairing: Claire/May
Claire told herself that she spent so much time with May because May was the only girl that had been nice to Claire when she moved to Costa Verde.
“Psh, I wasn’t that nice at all,” said May, when they were sitting on the beach, enjoying the sunny afternoon together.
Claire nudged May’s leg with her toes. “Yes you were. You were the only reason I could stand coming to school!”
May laughed and put on her sunglasses.
Claire told herself that she spent so much time with May because May never asked questions and Claire liked that a lot.
“Don’t you think I’m secretive? West always said I was too secretive.”
May continued brushing her hair in the school mirror, pinning a ribbon up in her straight ponytail. “He was just jealous. He wanted to know everything at once.” May’s words were muffled by the scrunchie between her lips.
“Aren’t you supposed to like, tell your boyfriend everything?” Claire asked tentatively.
“Nah, I don’t think so. I mean,” May took the scrunchie out of her mouth. “You’ve got to figure that it takes time, you know. For trust.”
Claire told herself that she spent so much time with May because May was a girl, and that that stuff with Brody had scared the crap out of her and sometimes she woke up at night and felt arms stronger than hers holding her down, still.
“Not all guys are like that,” said May softly, as they both sat on Claire’s bed at 3 a.m. “A lot of guys are really nice.”
“No, you’re smart to avoid them all.” Claire’s hands were wrapped around her knees, and she rocked her lips against them. “Maybe I just suck at being with people.”
May laid her hand on Claire’s shoulder. “You don’t suck. You’re with me, and you’re doing fine.” May smiled that sweet, soft, shy smile at Claire, and Claire forgot about the tears that were trembling in the corner of her eyes.
Claire spent so much time with May because she liked her. May was nice and kind and funny, smelled pretty and sometimes when they were cheering, she would look over her shoulder at Claire and smile. Like they had both seen some great joke, and they were the only ones on the whole squad that got it.
-----
Title: Falling
Pairing: Hiro/Claire
When I was a little girl, all the kids in my class used to play a game called London Bridges. Now that I’m older I get the song - “London Bridge is falling down” - but back then I think we all thought the song was different. Funny how that works.
Anyway, this is how we would play. The girls would all hang down from the monkey bars, and the boys would stand underneath us and catch us. Each girl had a boy that was supposed to catch her. I usually had Zach, and he was kind of small and even though I was kind of small too he usually just broke my fall. I don’t think he ever caught me proper.
I’d get mad but not that mad because he couldn’t help it. Still, I wanted to be caught - was that so bad? Was that so freaking much to ask? I just wanted to be caught. I just wanted someone to catch me.
I love jumping, and I do it all the time, even now. I jump off of tall things, small things. One time I jumped off of a building and I landed on a car because the wind blew me to the side. I felt really bad about that. One time I jumped in my favorite blue sweater and my rib bones poked into it and it got ruined. I only jump in my crappy clothes now.
But sometimes when I am hanging out with Hiro and Peter and we’re doing a SUPER SECRET MISSION THING, I will jump in my nice clothes. I will run as fast as I can up ahead of them. I will run up on the ledge or on top of a water tower and Peter will yell from very far away, “Geez Claire we don’t have time for this.” It only takes a minute though, so I don’t know why he is complaining.
And then I jump. I let go of the bars and I fly, in the air. Falling. It’s the best feeling in the world. I wish you could feel it.
Hiro catches me. He always laughs and so do I. I wonder where he stops time at - if my hair is in my face or if I have a stupid expression…I don’t know. He stops it somewhere and then he walks over to where I am and he stands underneath me.
When he catches me my hair is usually over my face and he is spitting it out of his mouth and so I will brush it off of his hair. He tells me that I should be careful and not do this, because he might drop me some day. I don’t think he means it though, because he says it with that little smile that he only smiles at me and when he sets me down on the ground sometimes he takes too long to let go of my arms. Hiro has caught me every time and I think that he always will.
-----
Title: Compulsivity
Pairing: Matt/Claire
She always panted when she woke up - the rush of memory and the feeling of missing something. Panic on awakening in a place that she didn't recognise.
"Hey." She felt a warm hand on her forehead and then a charmingly familiar face was smiling over her.
"M-Matt?"
"Yup," he said, and he grinned at her again. She looked down, her neck stretching off of the metal gurney. Her body was mostly covered with a thin, clear plastic. Tossed over her middle was a black jacket. A black jacket that said NYPD on it.
She shivered. "How long was I out?"
Her eyes followed him as he stepped away from her, drifted toward the other end of the room. Her eyes focused and then...the bodies! There were at least twenty in this room alone. "Holy crap," said Claire, cutting off whatever answer might have come from Matt. "Why are there so many bodies here?"
Matt laughed - he always laughed nicely, even in the midst of a couple dozen dead dudes. "This isn't all that much, actually. There's more out there." He shrugged. "That’s just how the City is." Matt paused, the corner of his mouth rising at her sadly. "That’s why it took me so long to find you. Lots of faces to look at."
Claire poked a finger through the plastic that was wrapped around her body.
"They aren't all as lucky as you," said Matt softly.
Claire shoved the rest of her fingers through the plastic and sat up, holding her coat to her chest. "How long was I gone?"
"We lost you for a good couple days. Your dad called me - Nathan I mean."
Claire kicked her legs out of the plastic, and didn’t say anything.
Matt kept on with his explanation. "I could get into these places easier, I mean."
Claire sat up, wrapping the coat around her torso. "Easier than a congressman?" asked Claire darkly. "God," she said, as she looked at her fingers. "My ring."
Matt jumped forward from the empty gurney he was perched on. "It’s here, I'm sure. I'll go look for the bag and…" he paused. "I’ll try to find you something to wear out of here."
When he finally made it back, Claire had already grabbed one of the sheets off of the bodies and twisted it around her torso, like a long, strapless dress. She tugged Matt’s jacket over it, and zipped it up to her neck. "Find my stuff?" she asked.
"Your ring," said Matt, and he dumped the thin gold band into her hand. "No dice with the clothes. The rings all I could find."
"It’s all I had," said Claire, as she hurriedly slipped it back onto her finger.
Matt nodded and smiled at her, and she could feel his gaze on her even though she was looking at her feet.
"What happened, Claire? Come on. I read the report, but..."
"Jane Doe, suicide. Off a building. Happens every day, I bet," said Claire dourly, and she hopped back onto the gurney, her legs swinging loose. "I guess you pulled something out of me."
"Landed on a pipe. Right through the back, there," said Matt, and he patted her on the back of the head. His hand stayed, and she finally raised her eyes to his.
Warm brown, deep, and friendly like some sort of puppy that she wanted to whisper her secrets to.
"Is everything okay, Claire?" He was looking at her very seriously, and she felt her lips tremble into a little smile.
"I’m fine. I was just...mad. And now I made a fuss."
"It’s no fuss. I found you. " H e shrugged. “I found you and you're fine."
"My dad'll be mad."
"Nah. I'll take you home, and we'll just tell him about the pipe."
"He'll be mad.” She couldn’t explain it beyond that.
“We’ll say it’s an accident. My oath as a cop, to him.” He smiled at her again and shook his head. "It's gonna be fine, Claire.”
She looked deeply into his eyes. His brown eyes were still friendly, but they weren’t as open. He looked serious. Like he wasn’t just talking about her getting into deep shit with Nathan. Like he was telling her about…more.
“You're going to be fine,” he repeated.
Suddenly there was a lump in her throat the size of a baseball and she could barely manage to swallow it down before she hopped off of the gurney. “If you say so.”
“I do,” said Matt confidently. She blinked as she walked out into the bright light of the world, wearing a sheet, but it was okay. She had Matt’s jacket wrapped tightly around her and that made her feel much better.
-----
Title: Forever
Pairing: Peter/Claire
“Shh! I’m reading this, and it’s very serious,” said Peter.
Claire was trying her hardest not to giggle, which she was sure sounded immature and silly.
“Hey, I don’t make fun of the stuff you read!” He was clearly teasing her, but she never seemed to mind when he did it.
“Yeah, because I don’t read anything this…fascinating,” said Peter, and he continued to peruse her copy of Seventeen, his legs crossed as he sat on his mother’s couch.
“Oh, stop. I didn’t even buy that. I don’t even know who did,” said Claire, defending herself.
“I’m gonna make you take this quiz,” said Peter.
Claire covered her face with her hand. “Please don’t.”
“I think it’s really important that we decide which guy you date this summer, Claire.” Peter spoke seriously, holding the quiz up to her. The glossy pages were splattered with the eager, bright faces of several young men.
“Let’s not,” said Claire, as she stood and tried to take the magazine from him. “I have places to be!”
He held it away from her. “Okay, I’ll give it back after you take it, okay?”
“You just love to embarrass the hell out of me, don’t you? Fine.” Claire flopped into the large chair opposite the couch.
“This shouldn’t be hard at all. Just answer from your heart, okay? That’s what they suggest here,” said Peter.
Claire rolled her eyes and tried her best to push the smile off of her face. “I’ll try my best.”
Peter tucked a piece of his hair behind his ear. “Alright. First question. Your love and you are looking in the mirror. What color hair does your love have?
Claire sighed. “This is stupid.”
Peter looked at her expectantly. “I’m waiting.”
“Ugh, fine. Brown.”
“Brown. M’kay. Now. Your love takes you to a movie. Do you see a rough ‘em up action film, a dreary indie, a sweet and sensitive dramedy, or a raunchy college frat flick?”
Claire nodded. “Sweet and sensitive.”
“Now we’re getting somewhere. Your love takes you to meet his parents. You go up to see his room. Is it…an artsy mess with paintings everywhere, covered with bikini clad bimbos, bare except for a picture of you and him, or filled to the brim with books?
“The books. For sure.” Claire answered quickly and with enough assurance in her voice that Peter’s eyes flicked to hers.
They stared for just a second, until Claire cleared her throat and said, “Are we done here? This sucks.”
“No. One more.” Peter’s eyes scanned the page and he hesitated.
“Well? Come on,” said Claire impatiently. “Scott’ll be here any minute.”
The mere mention of Claire’s sorta-boyfriend was enough to make Peter all business again.
“How long do you see you and your love being together? How does forever sound, he’ll be my high school sweetie, this summer is looking hot (without him), or I’ve got a date for tomorrow night and it ain’t with him?”
Peter put the magazine down onto his lap and leaned his head against the couch. He stared at his niece with eyes that were almost half-closed. Claire knew he was trying to tell her something…or something.
“How does forever sound?” Claire took a deep breath spoke her answer like it was a question itself.
Peter just nodded, and stood up. He was smiling as he dropped the magazine in her lap. “Congrats. You’re looking for a dark and sensitive do-gooder who’s in for the long term.” He smirked at her. “Isn’t Scott going to South Carolina for the summer?”
Claire practically sputtered as Peter walked out of the room. “Shut up! I’ve got all the time in the world!”
Peter’s laughing lilt echoed through the halls. “Me too, Claire…you and are the only ones that do.”
Forever. Claire smiled as she tossed the magazine off her lap and grabbed her coat.
-----
a/n: i ADORE claire bennet. she is my favorite character on heroes by far. hopefully you enjoyed the vignettes. this is dedicated to numbereleven who asked me to write hiro/claire AGES ago and, as always, to my darlingest eowyn_girl who recently had a birthday and is writing of late all sorts of nasty things that i like to read. <3 you netsis.
Author: missaliceblue
Rating: PG-13 for all of them. Some possibly incestuous hinting if you're pervy like me, but nothing overt at all.
Pairings: In the following order...Claire Bennet with: Nathan Petrelli, May, Hiro Nakamura, Matt Parkman, and Peter Petrelli.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
-------------
Title: The Day Nathan Petrelli Left Work Early
Pairing: Nathan/Claire
A few missed stops while she’d dozed off on the subway, a wrong turn and a misguided cab ride that drained her pocket change, and where the crap was she? She didn’t know New York. Was this even New York? The dilapidated tenements seemed to be crumbling from the inside out. Trash gathered at the edges of the street, and oh my Lord, was that a needle on the sidewalk?
Claire scanned the sky and bit her lip and a million thoughts ran through her mind.
She was in a crappy neighborhood.
She was blonde and still wearing her prep school uniform…a dark blue blazer and pleated maroon skirt.
She’d drained her cell phone talking to Peter last night and hadn’t bothered to recharge it before falling asleep late.
She had only lived in New York for six weeks.
She was alone. She was scared and alone.
She was invincible, that was true, but you’d be surprised how many times how many times that was a liability. Besides, Claire knew that there was a heck of a lot you could do to her that would hurt plenty, still.
Claire walked backwards until her back hit the brick wall of the corner market she was standing in front of. A stocky guy with greasy blonde hair and a knit cap approached her. “Too far from Upper West, eh, Chicken?” And then he laughed.
Claire didn’t respond. Thank god that he kept on walking.
Claire stood there for ages, arms folded and head down. Claire fumbled in her bag for her phone, whipped it out and kept it in her hand. No one had to know it was dead but her.
She peeked into the corner shop, hoping to use their phone collect but the guy behind the counter and everyone in the place turned and stared when they saw her and she couldn’t bring herself to walk in there.
The light faded. Panic rose in her heart, fresh and biting. Pretty soon it would be dark. What should she do? Walk? Knock on someone’s door and ask to use the phone?
“You worried? You lookin’ pretty worried, Chicken.” The guy with blonde hair was back, and this time he had a friend with him - a very tall, thin man wearing a leather jacket and looking bored.
“See ya waited for me. That was real sweet.” The guy raised his fingers to Claire’s chin, and she flinched.
All of the sudden, lights cut through the dusk and there was a screech of tires. A black limo stopped in front of Claire, and the window rolled down.
Claire sighed with relief when she saw Nathan’s head lean out, wearing a dark pair of glasses. “Gentlemen,” he said, smiling at the men in front of Claire. “Thanks for keeping an eye on my little girl.” He was always the politician.
Claire was still gaping when Nathan said her name gruffly. She remembered her feet and sprang into action, bulleting between the two figures and into the limo.
Nathan was staring straight ahead, with his knees crossed, showing off a few inches of his socks and leather Bruno Magli’s that were shined enough that she could see her reflection in them. A shine of blonde and tan.
Nathan whipped off his glasses, but continued staring straight ahead. “I do not have time for this shit, Claire.”
She wanted to cry with relief, throw her body across his and tell him Thank you Thank you, but his words immediately put her on the defensive. Shit?
“School called and said you’d ditched last period. I thought maybe you went off with some friends-“
“I don’t have friends,” said Claire darkly. “I just moved here.”
Nathan glanced at her swiftly, for just a moment. “Right. Well, there was no answer on your phone, so I called the house, and Pilar said you hadn’t come home…you can’t just take off, Claire. I need to know where you are. And what the hell were you doing here?”
“It was an accident!”
“Accident or not - this is a shitty neighborhood, Claire, and you’re not cut out for this kind of sightseeing, okay?” He was all but yelling at her.
Claire folded her arms and looked out the window. The sun was nearly gone. “I told you. It was an accident. I got lost.”
“That’ll do you a lot of good when you’re cut up into little pieces in the East River.”
“Jesus!” Claire shrieked.
Nathan shrugged. “It’s happened before. I don’t want it to happen to you.”
Claire slouched in her seat. “How’d you find me?”
There was a long, long pause. The light from the streetlamps slanted over her knees as she stared at them.
Finally Nathan responded, in a low voice. “Miss Molly Walker. You can tell her thanks the next time you see her.”
He’d called Matt, in California. He’d had them ask Molly where she was. Molly would’ve still been in school at the time. What a hassle that must have been. Must’ve had to pull her out of school and everything.
Suddenly, Claire felt bad. She was being a brat, for no good reason. After all the trouble Nathan had gone through and everything.
“Listen,” she began.
“Don’t, for God’s sake, say you’re sorry!” Nathan looked at her sternly. “Just…don’t do it again, okay? I’ll get you a pocket charger for your phone, or something. I can’t not know where you are.”
Claire scooted toward Nathan. His hand was underneath his chin as he stared coolly out the window. Slowly, she pulled it down and toward her hip, and snuggled against his chest.
She sighed when he pulled her against him and pressed a kiss in her hair.
-----
Title: L-E-T-S G-O
Pairing: Claire/May
Claire told herself that she spent so much time with May because May was the only girl that had been nice to Claire when she moved to Costa Verde.
“Psh, I wasn’t that nice at all,” said May, when they were sitting on the beach, enjoying the sunny afternoon together.
Claire nudged May’s leg with her toes. “Yes you were. You were the only reason I could stand coming to school!”
May laughed and put on her sunglasses.
Claire told herself that she spent so much time with May because May never asked questions and Claire liked that a lot.
“Don’t you think I’m secretive? West always said I was too secretive.”
May continued brushing her hair in the school mirror, pinning a ribbon up in her straight ponytail. “He was just jealous. He wanted to know everything at once.” May’s words were muffled by the scrunchie between her lips.
“Aren’t you supposed to like, tell your boyfriend everything?” Claire asked tentatively.
“Nah, I don’t think so. I mean,” May took the scrunchie out of her mouth. “You’ve got to figure that it takes time, you know. For trust.”
Claire told herself that she spent so much time with May because May was a girl, and that that stuff with Brody had scared the crap out of her and sometimes she woke up at night and felt arms stronger than hers holding her down, still.
“Not all guys are like that,” said May softly, as they both sat on Claire’s bed at 3 a.m. “A lot of guys are really nice.”
“No, you’re smart to avoid them all.” Claire’s hands were wrapped around her knees, and she rocked her lips against them. “Maybe I just suck at being with people.”
May laid her hand on Claire’s shoulder. “You don’t suck. You’re with me, and you’re doing fine.” May smiled that sweet, soft, shy smile at Claire, and Claire forgot about the tears that were trembling in the corner of her eyes.
Claire spent so much time with May because she liked her. May was nice and kind and funny, smelled pretty and sometimes when they were cheering, she would look over her shoulder at Claire and smile. Like they had both seen some great joke, and they were the only ones on the whole squad that got it.
-----
Title: Falling
Pairing: Hiro/Claire
When I was a little girl, all the kids in my class used to play a game called London Bridges. Now that I’m older I get the song - “London Bridge is falling down” - but back then I think we all thought the song was different. Funny how that works.
Anyway, this is how we would play. The girls would all hang down from the monkey bars, and the boys would stand underneath us and catch us. Each girl had a boy that was supposed to catch her. I usually had Zach, and he was kind of small and even though I was kind of small too he usually just broke my fall. I don’t think he ever caught me proper.
I’d get mad but not that mad because he couldn’t help it. Still, I wanted to be caught - was that so bad? Was that so freaking much to ask? I just wanted to be caught. I just wanted someone to catch me.
I love jumping, and I do it all the time, even now. I jump off of tall things, small things. One time I jumped off of a building and I landed on a car because the wind blew me to the side. I felt really bad about that. One time I jumped in my favorite blue sweater and my rib bones poked into it and it got ruined. I only jump in my crappy clothes now.
But sometimes when I am hanging out with Hiro and Peter and we’re doing a SUPER SECRET MISSION THING, I will jump in my nice clothes. I will run as fast as I can up ahead of them. I will run up on the ledge or on top of a water tower and Peter will yell from very far away, “Geez Claire we don’t have time for this.” It only takes a minute though, so I don’t know why he is complaining.
And then I jump. I let go of the bars and I fly, in the air. Falling. It’s the best feeling in the world. I wish you could feel it.
Hiro catches me. He always laughs and so do I. I wonder where he stops time at - if my hair is in my face or if I have a stupid expression…I don’t know. He stops it somewhere and then he walks over to where I am and he stands underneath me.
When he catches me my hair is usually over my face and he is spitting it out of his mouth and so I will brush it off of his hair. He tells me that I should be careful and not do this, because he might drop me some day. I don’t think he means it though, because he says it with that little smile that he only smiles at me and when he sets me down on the ground sometimes he takes too long to let go of my arms. Hiro has caught me every time and I think that he always will.
-----
Title: Compulsivity
Pairing: Matt/Claire
She always panted when she woke up - the rush of memory and the feeling of missing something. Panic on awakening in a place that she didn't recognise.
"Hey." She felt a warm hand on her forehead and then a charmingly familiar face was smiling over her.
"M-Matt?"
"Yup," he said, and he grinned at her again. She looked down, her neck stretching off of the metal gurney. Her body was mostly covered with a thin, clear plastic. Tossed over her middle was a black jacket. A black jacket that said NYPD on it.
She shivered. "How long was I out?"
Her eyes followed him as he stepped away from her, drifted toward the other end of the room. Her eyes focused and then...the bodies! There were at least twenty in this room alone. "Holy crap," said Claire, cutting off whatever answer might have come from Matt. "Why are there so many bodies here?"
Matt laughed - he always laughed nicely, even in the midst of a couple dozen dead dudes. "This isn't all that much, actually. There's more out there." He shrugged. "That’s just how the City is." Matt paused, the corner of his mouth rising at her sadly. "That’s why it took me so long to find you. Lots of faces to look at."
Claire poked a finger through the plastic that was wrapped around her body.
"They aren't all as lucky as you," said Matt softly.
Claire shoved the rest of her fingers through the plastic and sat up, holding her coat to her chest. "How long was I gone?"
"We lost you for a good couple days. Your dad called me - Nathan I mean."
Claire kicked her legs out of the plastic, and didn’t say anything.
Matt kept on with his explanation. "I could get into these places easier, I mean."
Claire sat up, wrapping the coat around her torso. "Easier than a congressman?" asked Claire darkly. "God," she said, as she looked at her fingers. "My ring."
Matt jumped forward from the empty gurney he was perched on. "It’s here, I'm sure. I'll go look for the bag and…" he paused. "I’ll try to find you something to wear out of here."
When he finally made it back, Claire had already grabbed one of the sheets off of the bodies and twisted it around her torso, like a long, strapless dress. She tugged Matt’s jacket over it, and zipped it up to her neck. "Find my stuff?" she asked.
"Your ring," said Matt, and he dumped the thin gold band into her hand. "No dice with the clothes. The rings all I could find."
"It’s all I had," said Claire, as she hurriedly slipped it back onto her finger.
Matt nodded and smiled at her, and she could feel his gaze on her even though she was looking at her feet.
"What happened, Claire? Come on. I read the report, but..."
"Jane Doe, suicide. Off a building. Happens every day, I bet," said Claire dourly, and she hopped back onto the gurney, her legs swinging loose. "I guess you pulled something out of me."
"Landed on a pipe. Right through the back, there," said Matt, and he patted her on the back of the head. His hand stayed, and she finally raised her eyes to his.
Warm brown, deep, and friendly like some sort of puppy that she wanted to whisper her secrets to.
"Is everything okay, Claire?" He was looking at her very seriously, and she felt her lips tremble into a little smile.
"I’m fine. I was just...mad. And now I made a fuss."
"It’s no fuss. I found you. " H e shrugged. “I found you and you're fine."
"My dad'll be mad."
"Nah. I'll take you home, and we'll just tell him about the pipe."
"He'll be mad.” She couldn’t explain it beyond that.
“We’ll say it’s an accident. My oath as a cop, to him.” He smiled at her again and shook his head. "It's gonna be fine, Claire.”
She looked deeply into his eyes. His brown eyes were still friendly, but they weren’t as open. He looked serious. Like he wasn’t just talking about her getting into deep shit with Nathan. Like he was telling her about…more.
“You're going to be fine,” he repeated.
Suddenly there was a lump in her throat the size of a baseball and she could barely manage to swallow it down before she hopped off of the gurney. “If you say so.”
“I do,” said Matt confidently. She blinked as she walked out into the bright light of the world, wearing a sheet, but it was okay. She had Matt’s jacket wrapped tightly around her and that made her feel much better.
-----
Title: Forever
Pairing: Peter/Claire
“Shh! I’m reading this, and it’s very serious,” said Peter.
Claire was trying her hardest not to giggle, which she was sure sounded immature and silly.
“Hey, I don’t make fun of the stuff you read!” He was clearly teasing her, but she never seemed to mind when he did it.
“Yeah, because I don’t read anything this…fascinating,” said Peter, and he continued to peruse her copy of Seventeen, his legs crossed as he sat on his mother’s couch.
“Oh, stop. I didn’t even buy that. I don’t even know who did,” said Claire, defending herself.
“I’m gonna make you take this quiz,” said Peter.
Claire covered her face with her hand. “Please don’t.”
“I think it’s really important that we decide which guy you date this summer, Claire.” Peter spoke seriously, holding the quiz up to her. The glossy pages were splattered with the eager, bright faces of several young men.
“Let’s not,” said Claire, as she stood and tried to take the magazine from him. “I have places to be!”
He held it away from her. “Okay, I’ll give it back after you take it, okay?”
“You just love to embarrass the hell out of me, don’t you? Fine.” Claire flopped into the large chair opposite the couch.
“This shouldn’t be hard at all. Just answer from your heart, okay? That’s what they suggest here,” said Peter.
Claire rolled her eyes and tried her best to push the smile off of her face. “I’ll try my best.”
Peter tucked a piece of his hair behind his ear. “Alright. First question. Your love and you are looking in the mirror. What color hair does your love have?
Claire sighed. “This is stupid.”
Peter looked at her expectantly. “I’m waiting.”
“Ugh, fine. Brown.”
“Brown. M’kay. Now. Your love takes you to a movie. Do you see a rough ‘em up action film, a dreary indie, a sweet and sensitive dramedy, or a raunchy college frat flick?”
Claire nodded. “Sweet and sensitive.”
“Now we’re getting somewhere. Your love takes you to meet his parents. You go up to see his room. Is it…an artsy mess with paintings everywhere, covered with bikini clad bimbos, bare except for a picture of you and him, or filled to the brim with books?
“The books. For sure.” Claire answered quickly and with enough assurance in her voice that Peter’s eyes flicked to hers.
They stared for just a second, until Claire cleared her throat and said, “Are we done here? This sucks.”
“No. One more.” Peter’s eyes scanned the page and he hesitated.
“Well? Come on,” said Claire impatiently. “Scott’ll be here any minute.”
The mere mention of Claire’s sorta-boyfriend was enough to make Peter all business again.
“How long do you see you and your love being together? How does forever sound, he’ll be my high school sweetie, this summer is looking hot (without him), or I’ve got a date for tomorrow night and it ain’t with him?”
Peter put the magazine down onto his lap and leaned his head against the couch. He stared at his niece with eyes that were almost half-closed. Claire knew he was trying to tell her something…or something.
“How does forever sound?” Claire took a deep breath spoke her answer like it was a question itself.
Peter just nodded, and stood up. He was smiling as he dropped the magazine in her lap. “Congrats. You’re looking for a dark and sensitive do-gooder who’s in for the long term.” He smirked at her. “Isn’t Scott going to South Carolina for the summer?”
Claire practically sputtered as Peter walked out of the room. “Shut up! I’ve got all the time in the world!”
Peter’s laughing lilt echoed through the halls. “Me too, Claire…you and are the only ones that do.”
Forever. Claire smiled as she tossed the magazine off her lap and grabbed her coat.
-----
a/n: i ADORE claire bennet. she is my favorite character on heroes by far. hopefully you enjoyed the vignettes. this is dedicated to numbereleven who asked me to write hiro/claire AGES ago and, as always, to my darlingest eowyn_girl who recently had a birthday and is writing of late all sorts of nasty things that i like to read. <3 you netsis.