for writer's block table: awake (rp for its_notluck)

[heroslayer]

Something shatters downstairs.

The sound is faint, not a window breaking but a cup, but it's enough to cut through the haze of faint awareness he's been floating in for the last few days and drag him gasping into full alertness. He lays there for a moment, staring blankly at the ceiling, trying to wrap his head around the sound and the odd, displaced feeling that comes with waking up somewhere you can't remember ever being, and then there's another crash from downstairs. He sits up abruptly, glaring holes in the twilight of the room, straining to listen.

He hears voices but nothing else, not even with his hearing, his focus shot to hell and wrapped in cotton, but it's enough to put him on edge. He can remember Samuel now and everything move he's made against them since he and Claire walked out of that damnable carnival, and he's quick to assume that they're under attack again. The barker has sent his cronies after them or come himself again, and he won't stand for it.

He moves to swing his legs over the edge of the bed and winces once he manages, teeth gritting, his muscles crying out from months and months of disuse. He ignores the pain, however, not even sure why it hurts in the first place, and staggers to his feet, a hand going to the nightstand to steady himself. And once he feels certain enough standing, he lets go, pushing away to move towards the door.

He gets exactly three steps away before the IV line tugs at his hand, and the shock of it is enough to send him off balance. He sprawls to the floor gracelessly, a snarl on his lips, and the voices downstairs stop abruptly.

A long, tense moment follows and then the sound of someone coming up the stairs chases the silence away. The door opens cautiously a moment later, and Peter pokes his head in, backlit by strange, flickering light. When he steps into the room, he realizes it's coming from the flames lapping harmlessly at his fingertips. He hums, amused, and tries to drag himself to his feet again.

"Whoa, hey." Peter is by his side in an instant, the fire at his hand dying suddenly, and wraps his arms around his waist. He doesn't even try to claw his way free as Peter hauls him back up to the bed. "Take it easy. You've been out of it for awhile."

Confused, he stares at Peter, trying to work out what the hell he means by that, and it all filters back to him slowly, a chill creeping up his spine as each snippet of memory returns. Giving Peter his original ability back. Passing out afterward. All of it. He opens his mouth to ask the other man just how long it's been, but he misses his chance, Peter sliding away from him to rush towards the door.

He pushes it open widely, yelling down the stairs, "Claire! He's awake!"

And Sylar can't help the stab of annoyance that follows when he realizes he must have been out of play for quite some time.


Muse: Gabriel Gray (Sylar)
Fandom: Heroes
Word Count: 526
Note: Pretty sure the ex isn't stalking me and my muses anymore, so ... Peter is hadtobeahero and all mine to use and abuse.

Comments

[heroslayer]

"I'll show you." He could probably do a better job of teaching her than Peter had been doing, if the sound when he'd come to had been any indication. Never mind that part of the problem probably had something to do with the fact that Peter was trying to teach from an empath's point of view rather than theirs, he was content to believe that Peter was just an idiot. "It's not that hard once you get used to it."

The offer was, apparently, not good for right that second, however, as he was showing interest in his breakfast now that the ice had been broken.

[its-notluck.livejournal.com]

"We'll worry about it later." She wouldn't rush him into using any of his abilities, not right after he had woken up. She wanted him to regain some strength before he tried helping her out.

Taking a bite of her food, she found herself starting to relax with a small smile as she watched him for a moment. Watching him eat actually made her feel better as well but nothing could beat the feeling of seeing him actually up and about.

"I've been looking for abilities." She kept her voice soft, not wanting Peter to overhear them. "I've found two. I think the one guy is a teleporter from what I've seen. The other crawls up walls." Which wasn't really that exciting but maybe Sylar would find a use for it.

[heroslayer]

He offered her a close-lipped smile around a bite of his breakfast, impressed and jealous at the same time. Despite her inexperience with her telekinesis, she shouldn't have been able to resist the need to understand. She should have killed, should have been unable to help herself as he hadn't been able to resist the lure of murdering Brian Davis, and it shouldn't have mattered whether or not she could cut her victim open. Want would have found a way and it irritated him that she had been able to show restraint where he hadn't -- not that he'd ever really wanted to, but still -- but it was also impressive. She had more control than him; he wondered why.

Swallowing down his mouthful of waffles, he studied her for a moment, his eyes sharp and shining, then shook his head. He'd find out later, if she could still exhibit such control under less than dire circumstances.

"The teleporter will be hard to catch," he said, focusing himself instead on that. "Too hard to keep in one place. It's why I never managed to kill Nakamura. The other one, though ... " That would be easier, even if he had more of a taste for teleportation than for being a Spider-Man wannabe.

[its-notluck.livejournal.com]

Claire had figured that maybe it was the worry over Sylar and being found out that had kept her from going crazy with need like he did at times. She had been more concerned about leaving bodies and drawing attention to them when they were supposed to be staying under the radar. That didn't mean she didn't hear the ticking because there were times when she thought it would completely drive her crazy to distraction but she had been lucky so far.

Watching him as his eyes sharpened on her, she considered what was running through his mind while she took another bite of her waffle.

"I've considered a couple ways to trap him. I thought of using my sexual manipulation ability even if I'm not his type at all." She chuckled faintly, thinking of what she had seen while tracking the guy. "But I don't think I'd have enough to keep him in one place once he started freaking out."

[heroslayer]

"We'd have to knock him out." Which wouldn't be any fun at all. What good was a hunt if he didn't get to see his mark struggle and beg futilely before he took what he wanted? "Either that, or we'd need something like the Haitian's power, first."

Who, for all he knew, might have been back in Haiti right now.

[its-notluck.livejournal.com]

"Then we'd have to find someone with his ability." Maybe she had gotten a little more blood thirsty over the last while but not so much so that she would go after the Haitian himself. He had done quite a lot for her over the years and she wasn't ready to burn that bridge.

"There's got to be someone with a similar ability." She decided after a moment, finishing her waffle. Rising to her feet, she walked over to slide the plate into the sink. "I could hit him with the one ability, make it hard for him to focus but it'd still be risky."

[heroslayer]

"Maybe." He doubted it, though -- or at least doubted that it wouldn't take an age to find them. Telekinetics were a dime a dozen; people with the ability to block the power of others, not so much so. "We might have better luck trying the whole ... "

He made a vague gesture, indicating real first power she'd picked up -- perfect memory or not, he'd forgotten about that one in an effort to compare Claire's difficulties with her telekinesis to his own when she'd first started.

"I seem to remember you keeping me pretty busy once with that." He couldn't help but flash her a slow, devious smile.

[its-notluck.livejournal.com]

The corners of her mouth twitched as she lost the battle with a devious little smirk that crawled onto her lips while she recalled the time she used the ability on him. "I did." She looked somewhat proud of herself till a chuckle eased out of her. "I also remember you being a little grouchy at me afterwards."

She figured it was because he hadn't wanted to be manipulated in any way. Still, it had taught her a bit about her ability and she wondered now just how far she could push it.

"He hangs out at a club near here. You could probably get closer to him, to lure him out somewhere, then I could get my hands on him. I could probably overload his senses so that he can't fight back or teleport away." It felt good to plot with him again and she couldn't deny the sick little thrill that ran through her because of it.

[heroslayer]

"Give it a couple of days," he suggested, finishing off his breakfast. He shot a glance at the ceiling again and collected his plate, getting to his feet slowly to carry it over to the sink. "Don't want Peter to get suspicious."

[its-notluck.livejournal.com]

Maybe it's because it's been too long, or maybe it's because she can't resist, but she slides her arms around his waist when he joins her at the sink. Leaning in against his side, she let out a little huff as he mentioned Peter. "Fine. I suppose you should take it easy."

"You know, he's gotten a lot bossier since you've been...out." That was the best way to explain it, really.

[heroslayer]

He put his arms around her in turn and felt some of the tension bleed out of him. He might not have spent four months away from her -- not really, not in his perception of time -- but considering how awkward she had been when he'd first awoken, it was a relief to know that little had really changed.

"He was trying to protect you," he said, shrugging. It was typical of Peter, really, even if Claire didn't exactly need protecting anymore.

[its-notluck.livejournal.com]

"That and I think he's suspicious." It was somewhat amusing to her that Sylar was making an excuse for Peter but they both knew he was right. Peter had dedicated quite a bit to protecting her and she suspected that need was stronger since the rift between him and Nathan.

Having Sylar's arms around her again was nice. She couldn't really explain the weirdness before but it was melting away now. Maybe she had feared that he would simply pass out and leave her alone again but he seemed more and more like himself as the moments passed.

"I missed you." It slipped out.

[heroslayer]

"I'm sorry," he murmured, genuinely but quietly, almost embarrassed by the apology. He looked away, finding something interesting to frown at on the floor, then looked back at her. "Did it work, at least?"

He'd hurt someone -- possibly Peter -- if the rare gift he'd tried to give hadn't taken.

[its-notluck.livejournal.com]

"Don't worry about it." She murmured back, resting her head against his shoulder for a second till she tilted her head back to look at him curiously. "Did what work?"

[heroslayer]

He looked down at her from the corners of his eyes, turning his frown on her. He had no real desire to start an argument so soon after his triumphant return, but really, he was convinced she should know damn well what he was talking about. Regardless of whether or not it had been four months. "Me giving Peter his ability back."

[its-notluck.livejournal.com]

But the thought of Peter having his abilities back was the furthest thing from her mind at the moment but she nodded even while he frowned at her. "Sorry." She offered a vague apology, pulling back. "But yeah, it worked."

[heroslayer]

Satisfied, he nodded and pulled her back against him, the frown fading. "Good. All that work for nothing would have been so irritating."

[its-notluck.livejournal.com]

"It's impossible for you to fail." She pointed out with a fond smirk as she tightened her arms around him again.

[heroslayer]

He hummed, amused, and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "Good to know your confidence in me didn't suffer any while I was gone."

[its-notluck.livejournal.com]

"How could it?" She asked with a sort of shrug, pulling back after he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "The only downside to Peter having his ability back is that he'll notice when he starts getting new powers suddenly."

[heroslayer]

"Maybe not," he said, pressing his lips together into a thoughtful line. He was silent for a moment, turning it over in his head, and then clarified. "Back when this all started, he had all of my powers, and he only ever used the telekinesis."

And the induced radioactivity that he'd stolen from Ted Sprague -- though, admittedly, that could have come from Ted himself -- but Peter could have been so much more powerful than that. He should have been able to hear him when he'd been spying on them in Kirby Plaza that afternoon. He should have been able to freeze him solid during the fight that took place that night. Peter could have done any number of things, yet it seemed he had no idea how to access them, if he was aware that he had his full power compliment at all, and hopefully that would hold true here.

[its-notluck.livejournal.com]

Claire had noticed that Peter seemed oblivious to some of his abilities and even unsure of how to control them. She had been there that night when he lost control of the radioactivity after all. That was probably just the downside of taking an ability without being aware, unlike Sylar who always knew exactly what he was going for and what he was taking. The same thing that he was teaching Claire or could at least teach her now.

"Well, if we're lucky, he won't notice for awhile." Not that it would really matter to Claire what Peter would say anyways. That seemed to matter less and less these days.

[heroslayer]

"Hopefully." He shrugged, then offered her a slow, devious smile. "If not, you can always blame it on me. He already knows what I like to do in my spare time."

And he could really give a damn what Peter thought of him.

[its-notluck.livejournal.com]

"Honestly, I really don't care if he finds out." Maybe that was easier said than to deal with but it was true at times. "Maybe it'd put his mind at ease if he knew I could look after myself better these days. Of course, knowing Peter..." She trailed off with a little chuckle.

Knowing Peter, he would just think Sylar was more of a monster than before and focus on trying to "save" her.

[heroslayer]

"Knowing Peter, he'd probably try and kill me for giving you the hunger."

He licked his lips and looked towards the ceiling, half-tempted to go upstairs and fill Peter in, just so he'd have an excuse to kill him. Not that he had any great issue with Peter -- he was a naive idiot, and time hadn't changed that, but he wasn't as obsessed with putting him out of his misery as he had been in his younger years -- but now that he was awake and had eaten, he found he was itching for a fight he knew he could win. It wouldn't be an easy one -- especially when Peter realized he had all his powers and Claire's -- but after all the losses they'd suffered at the hands of Samuel or all the times they'd been forced to retreat from the government, it would be worth it to be the last man standing for once. Maybe he'd even let Peter live for being such a good sport.