The Art of Thinking Quietly (3/4)
Title: The Art of Thinking Quietly (3/4)
Characters/Pairings: Mohinder/Matt (eventually)
Rating: PG
Spoiler alert: Spoilers for 1st Season, particularly the last episode. Eventual spoilers for 2.01
Summary: After the events from last season, Mohinder finds himself taking care of Matt Parkman.
Notes: I don't own Heroes in the slightest. Sad face! So there is now going to be 4 parts instead of 3, italics are thoughts. much love to yaiyah Sorry this one took so long! I'm preparing to move back to NYC so thats taking up a bit of my time. I don't know when the next chapter will be up. I'm kinda stuck, but I'll get through! Comments are love!!
“Now Molly,” Mohinder said quietly, crouched down to eye level with the little girl outside Matt’s room. “Officer Parkman has been through a lot and isn’t completely better yet, so you’ll have to be careful, alright?”
She rolled her eyes, sighing overdramatically. “I know Mohinder, I’m not going to hurt him.” She gave him a knowing look, flashing one of her brilliant smiles. “I think you’re the one that needs to relax!”
“I need to relax? I’m not the one who’s going to rush in there screaming, and give the poor man a headache!” He teased back, trying hard to keep a stern face.
“I am not! Can we go in now please?”
Mohinder finally broke and smiled, raising his hands in surrender. “Alright, alright, let’s go see him.” He opened the door, and as he knew she would, she rushed in, shouting in excitement. He sighed, dropping his head for a moment. “I already have no authority,” he mumbled before joining them.
“Officer Parkman!” she shrieked, throwing herself on his bed. Matt groaned, but kept grinning, hugging the girl close. Mohinder watched them, and even though Molly was pressing herself against Matt’s barely healed chest, he couldn’t imagine a more perfect moment. “Did you miss me?”
“Of course I did! And please call me Matt, alright?”
“Molly, get off Matthew,” Mohinder scolded as he entered. Someone needed to be the voice of reason between these two.
Instantly, Molly remembered why he was in the hospital and gasped, tears welling up in her eyes. He cursed inwardly at himself, forgetting that due to traumatic events, she tended to get upset very quickly. “I’m fine Molly, you didn’t hurt me,” Matt assured her with a smile. “But it would be a better idea to sit at the edge of the bed.” She lit up again, and Mohinder gave Matt a grateful glance, sitting in his usual seat in the corner of the room to let them catch up. “So what did I miss?” And that question opened the floodgates.
Molly was talking a mile a minute, informing Matt of every minute that he had missed out on while he was recovering. To his credit, he was doing an admirable job of keeping up with her. Mohinder was barely listening to her, but was more focused on Matt at the moment. He was smiling, yes, but he was also very pale, and though he tried to hide it, there was a slight tremor to his hands. It was then Mohinder’s brain finally turned on and he realized what he had been missing this whole time. “Molly? Could you do me a favor and get some food for Officer Parkman? No junk food.” He needed to talk to Matt immediately, without Molly in the room. She nodded eagerly and bounced off, thankfully shutting the door on her way out. Mohinder moved over to the chair next to the bed, wondering how to bring this up. Luckily he was with a telepath, so he didn’t even have to voice his concern.
“Its really not that bad,” Matt argued.
“I can’t believe I didn’t realize it before. You’re a telepath, and we are in New York City. The sheer amount of people constantly around, the amount of thoughts, I can’t imagine how that must sound.”
“Its more of a constant buzz in the back of my mind. Only here its much louder and it just makes it a little harder to concentrate.” Mohinder gave him a pointed look. “Alright, it’s a little overwhelming, but I have to learn to deal with it.”
“Matthew, you look awful. You’re hardly able to deal with this on your own, but I think I may be able to help. Just tell me what you can about it. What happened when you first arrived in New York?”
Matt let out a dry chuckle. “I passed out. About five minutes into getting to the city, it was too loud and I just passed out. When I came to, Bennet told me to just focus on his thoughts until we left the city. Oh, and he and Ted made fun of me for the rest of the time.” Mohinder nodded, now understanding why Bennet had warned him before he left. Matt looked at him in complete surprise. “He warned you about this?” He sounded shocked and a little touched that the man would actually care.
Mohinder smirked. “Yes, but he made it as cryptic and vague as he could.” Matt chuckled, rubbing his forehead. “What sort of side affects are you experiencing?”
“Headaches. Well, actually migraines. The kind that are so bad you can hardly see straight and you feel sick. But some days they aren’t so bad. Today is ok.” This caused Mohinder to instantly frown.
“Matthew, you can hardly stop your hand from shaking, and you call that ok?” Matt shrugged helplessly. “What else can you tell me about it?”
“I can’t really turn it on or off, or control it at all really. So chances are if I’m near someone and they’re thinking, I can hear it all, which can be a bit of a curse.” Judging by the sudden distant look in his eyes, Mohinder guessed he had heard thoughts not meant to be heard with his ability. “And while we’re on the topic, I’m sorry for reading your mind this whole time. I don’t mean to eavesdrop,” he apologized with a sheepish grin.
“There is no need to apologize, I don’t expect you to be able to control what you hardly understand. Besides, I think I may be able to help you. If I can study your ability, I can learn how it works, and hopefully we can learn how to filter the background noise out, and even control when you want to listen.”
Matt grinned widely, the first true smile Mohinder had seen since he’d awaken. He found that it was infectious, returning it happily. “If you could, I’d be forever in your debt, Dr. Suresh. I was thinking about trying to find a place in the city, and now I have more of a reason to.” His smile faltered for a moment. “There’s nothing left for me in LA.”
Mohinder put his hand on Matt’s arm, ignoring the unfamiliar feeling in the pit of his stomach. “New York is the perfect place for new beginnings, my friend, and I’d say there is plenty here for you.” Matt nodded slightly, looking away from him for the moment. “I must admit, I’m a little worried about the idea of you living alone at the moment, dealing with these side affects on your own. Not to mention you’ve just been shot four times.” He hesitated for a moment, unsure why he suddenly felt so nervous. “There’s plenty of room at my father’s apartment. You are more than welcome to stay with me until you get back on your feet.” Matt frowned at him with a look that was a cross between gratitude, shock and disdain, and for a moment Mohinder wished he knew what the telepath was thinking.
“Dr. Suresh, that really isn’t necessary. I’m sure that I will be fine on my own, and I don’t need pity,” he protested, his male pride obviously overtaking logic.
“Matthew, I sincerely want to help you. I know we hardly know each other, but I promise you that pity has nothing to do with it. You won’t be imposing or a burden,” he assured, making sure to look Matt straight in his eyes. “In fact, you’d be more than welcome. I’m sure I will need plenty of help raising a certain little girl.”
Before Matt could argue again, an excited voice by the door interrupted them. “Officer Parkman is going to move in with us?!” Molly beamed, rushing over with a tray of questionable hospital food in her hands. She put the tray down before hopping onto Mohinder’s lap, still looking at Matt with wide eyes. “Are you?”
“Yes, Matthew, are you?” Mohinder couldn’t resist smirking at the other man over Molly’s head, only receiving a glare in response. Admittedly, it was a dirty trick to use the little girl as bait. Molly truly does want you to live with us, he thought, keeping eye contact. And so do I.
Matt’s scowl softened considerably before finally breaking into a grin. “I guess I am,” he said, his eyes never leaving Mohinder’s. Molly shrieked with excitement, and even Mohinder couldn’t keep from smiling.
He held his hand out to Matt. “Since we’ll be roommates now, I insist you call me Mohinder. I’m not your doctor, Matthew.”
Matt laughed, taking his hand firmly and shaking it. “Fair enough.” He couldn’t help but notice the other man looked worlds better now. He still looked exhausted and much paler than normal, but he didn’t look like the weight of the world was crushing him. He looked happy. Mohinder turned his gaze to Molly, who was apparently mapping out their living arrangements in great detail.
“But it’s really big for an apartment in New York!” Mohinder chucked, shaking his head. He knew the apartment was hardly big enough for two grown men and a young girl, but they would manage. “I already have my room set up, but there’s another room that you and Mohinder can sleep in!” Mohinder’s eyes widened, and immediately tried to hide his face, praying he wasn’t blushing. Matt on the other hand burst out laughing, clearly amused by either from Mohinder’s embarrassment or Molly’s arrangements.
After his laughter died down, Matt grinned at Molly. “I think that’s moving a bit too fast,” he joked, taking the opportunity to wink at Mohinder. Heat rushed to his cheeks again, and he found himself praying that Kali would be merciful and just take him now. “I’m sure I’ll be fine on the couch, right Mohinder?”
“Absolutely not. I will be taking the couch, and you will take my room for the time being.” Matt gave him an incredulous look. “I’m sure sleeping on a couch that may as well be a rock is a perfectly acceptable way to recover from four gunshot wounds,” he said calmly, not attempted to hide his smirk.
Matt attempted to give him a look of mock outrage, even though his eyes sparkled with mischief. “Well then I’m not going to be happy about!” That was when Molly burst into giggles, and soon all three were laughing. Mohinder looked at them both, feeling almost overwhelmed by the unfamiliar sensations of being truly happy and feeling completely safe with them both. Like he had no reason to ever be alone again. It was daunting really, but he decided that he wanted it to last as long as it could. Molly climbed back onto Matt’s bed, this time mindful of his chest, and the two were acting like children again. Mohinder watched them, unable to wipe the grin from his face. Shaking his head, he thought to himself, a geneticist, a girl who can find people by a mere thought and a telepath moving in together. Dysfunctional hardly begins to describe it. Matt looked right into Mohinder’s eyes, and gave him a shy smile. “Personally, I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Mohinder suddenly felt lighter than he ever thought was possible. Perhaps this was what infinite joy felt like? Keeping his eyes locked with Matt’s, he thought happily, neither would I.
x-posted at heroes_fic
Characters/Pairings: Mohinder/Matt (eventually)
Rating: PG
Spoiler alert: Spoilers for 1st Season, particularly the last episode. Eventual spoilers for 2.01
Summary: After the events from last season, Mohinder finds himself taking care of Matt Parkman.
Notes: I don't own Heroes in the slightest. Sad face! So there is now going to be 4 parts instead of 3, italics are thoughts. much love to yaiyah Sorry this one took so long! I'm preparing to move back to NYC so thats taking up a bit of my time. I don't know when the next chapter will be up. I'm kinda stuck, but I'll get through! Comments are love!!
“Now Molly,” Mohinder said quietly, crouched down to eye level with the little girl outside Matt’s room. “Officer Parkman has been through a lot and isn’t completely better yet, so you’ll have to be careful, alright?”
She rolled her eyes, sighing overdramatically. “I know Mohinder, I’m not going to hurt him.” She gave him a knowing look, flashing one of her brilliant smiles. “I think you’re the one that needs to relax!”
“I need to relax? I’m not the one who’s going to rush in there screaming, and give the poor man a headache!” He teased back, trying hard to keep a stern face.
“I am not! Can we go in now please?”
Mohinder finally broke and smiled, raising his hands in surrender. “Alright, alright, let’s go see him.” He opened the door, and as he knew she would, she rushed in, shouting in excitement. He sighed, dropping his head for a moment. “I already have no authority,” he mumbled before joining them.
“Officer Parkman!” she shrieked, throwing herself on his bed. Matt groaned, but kept grinning, hugging the girl close. Mohinder watched them, and even though Molly was pressing herself against Matt’s barely healed chest, he couldn’t imagine a more perfect moment. “Did you miss me?”
“Of course I did! And please call me Matt, alright?”
“Molly, get off Matthew,” Mohinder scolded as he entered. Someone needed to be the voice of reason between these two.
Instantly, Molly remembered why he was in the hospital and gasped, tears welling up in her eyes. He cursed inwardly at himself, forgetting that due to traumatic events, she tended to get upset very quickly. “I’m fine Molly, you didn’t hurt me,” Matt assured her with a smile. “But it would be a better idea to sit at the edge of the bed.” She lit up again, and Mohinder gave Matt a grateful glance, sitting in his usual seat in the corner of the room to let them catch up. “So what did I miss?” And that question opened the floodgates.
Molly was talking a mile a minute, informing Matt of every minute that he had missed out on while he was recovering. To his credit, he was doing an admirable job of keeping up with her. Mohinder was barely listening to her, but was more focused on Matt at the moment. He was smiling, yes, but he was also very pale, and though he tried to hide it, there was a slight tremor to his hands. It was then Mohinder’s brain finally turned on and he realized what he had been missing this whole time. “Molly? Could you do me a favor and get some food for Officer Parkman? No junk food.” He needed to talk to Matt immediately, without Molly in the room. She nodded eagerly and bounced off, thankfully shutting the door on her way out. Mohinder moved over to the chair next to the bed, wondering how to bring this up. Luckily he was with a telepath, so he didn’t even have to voice his concern.
“Its really not that bad,” Matt argued.
“I can’t believe I didn’t realize it before. You’re a telepath, and we are in New York City. The sheer amount of people constantly around, the amount of thoughts, I can’t imagine how that must sound.”
“Its more of a constant buzz in the back of my mind. Only here its much louder and it just makes it a little harder to concentrate.” Mohinder gave him a pointed look. “Alright, it’s a little overwhelming, but I have to learn to deal with it.”
“Matthew, you look awful. You’re hardly able to deal with this on your own, but I think I may be able to help. Just tell me what you can about it. What happened when you first arrived in New York?”
Matt let out a dry chuckle. “I passed out. About five minutes into getting to the city, it was too loud and I just passed out. When I came to, Bennet told me to just focus on his thoughts until we left the city. Oh, and he and Ted made fun of me for the rest of the time.” Mohinder nodded, now understanding why Bennet had warned him before he left. Matt looked at him in complete surprise. “He warned you about this?” He sounded shocked and a little touched that the man would actually care.
Mohinder smirked. “Yes, but he made it as cryptic and vague as he could.” Matt chuckled, rubbing his forehead. “What sort of side affects are you experiencing?”
“Headaches. Well, actually migraines. The kind that are so bad you can hardly see straight and you feel sick. But some days they aren’t so bad. Today is ok.” This caused Mohinder to instantly frown.
“Matthew, you can hardly stop your hand from shaking, and you call that ok?” Matt shrugged helplessly. “What else can you tell me about it?”
“I can’t really turn it on or off, or control it at all really. So chances are if I’m near someone and they’re thinking, I can hear it all, which can be a bit of a curse.” Judging by the sudden distant look in his eyes, Mohinder guessed he had heard thoughts not meant to be heard with his ability. “And while we’re on the topic, I’m sorry for reading your mind this whole time. I don’t mean to eavesdrop,” he apologized with a sheepish grin.
“There is no need to apologize, I don’t expect you to be able to control what you hardly understand. Besides, I think I may be able to help you. If I can study your ability, I can learn how it works, and hopefully we can learn how to filter the background noise out, and even control when you want to listen.”
Matt grinned widely, the first true smile Mohinder had seen since he’d awaken. He found that it was infectious, returning it happily. “If you could, I’d be forever in your debt, Dr. Suresh. I was thinking about trying to find a place in the city, and now I have more of a reason to.” His smile faltered for a moment. “There’s nothing left for me in LA.”
Mohinder put his hand on Matt’s arm, ignoring the unfamiliar feeling in the pit of his stomach. “New York is the perfect place for new beginnings, my friend, and I’d say there is plenty here for you.” Matt nodded slightly, looking away from him for the moment. “I must admit, I’m a little worried about the idea of you living alone at the moment, dealing with these side affects on your own. Not to mention you’ve just been shot four times.” He hesitated for a moment, unsure why he suddenly felt so nervous. “There’s plenty of room at my father’s apartment. You are more than welcome to stay with me until you get back on your feet.” Matt frowned at him with a look that was a cross between gratitude, shock and disdain, and for a moment Mohinder wished he knew what the telepath was thinking.
“Dr. Suresh, that really isn’t necessary. I’m sure that I will be fine on my own, and I don’t need pity,” he protested, his male pride obviously overtaking logic.
“Matthew, I sincerely want to help you. I know we hardly know each other, but I promise you that pity has nothing to do with it. You won’t be imposing or a burden,” he assured, making sure to look Matt straight in his eyes. “In fact, you’d be more than welcome. I’m sure I will need plenty of help raising a certain little girl.”
Before Matt could argue again, an excited voice by the door interrupted them. “Officer Parkman is going to move in with us?!” Molly beamed, rushing over with a tray of questionable hospital food in her hands. She put the tray down before hopping onto Mohinder’s lap, still looking at Matt with wide eyes. “Are you?”
“Yes, Matthew, are you?” Mohinder couldn’t resist smirking at the other man over Molly’s head, only receiving a glare in response. Admittedly, it was a dirty trick to use the little girl as bait. Molly truly does want you to live with us, he thought, keeping eye contact. And so do I.
Matt’s scowl softened considerably before finally breaking into a grin. “I guess I am,” he said, his eyes never leaving Mohinder’s. Molly shrieked with excitement, and even Mohinder couldn’t keep from smiling.
He held his hand out to Matt. “Since we’ll be roommates now, I insist you call me Mohinder. I’m not your doctor, Matthew.”
Matt laughed, taking his hand firmly and shaking it. “Fair enough.” He couldn’t help but notice the other man looked worlds better now. He still looked exhausted and much paler than normal, but he didn’t look like the weight of the world was crushing him. He looked happy. Mohinder turned his gaze to Molly, who was apparently mapping out their living arrangements in great detail.
“But it’s really big for an apartment in New York!” Mohinder chucked, shaking his head. He knew the apartment was hardly big enough for two grown men and a young girl, but they would manage. “I already have my room set up, but there’s another room that you and Mohinder can sleep in!” Mohinder’s eyes widened, and immediately tried to hide his face, praying he wasn’t blushing. Matt on the other hand burst out laughing, clearly amused by either from Mohinder’s embarrassment or Molly’s arrangements.
After his laughter died down, Matt grinned at Molly. “I think that’s moving a bit too fast,” he joked, taking the opportunity to wink at Mohinder. Heat rushed to his cheeks again, and he found himself praying that Kali would be merciful and just take him now. “I’m sure I’ll be fine on the couch, right Mohinder?”
“Absolutely not. I will be taking the couch, and you will take my room for the time being.” Matt gave him an incredulous look. “I’m sure sleeping on a couch that may as well be a rock is a perfectly acceptable way to recover from four gunshot wounds,” he said calmly, not attempted to hide his smirk.
Matt attempted to give him a look of mock outrage, even though his eyes sparkled with mischief. “Well then I’m not going to be happy about!” That was when Molly burst into giggles, and soon all three were laughing. Mohinder looked at them both, feeling almost overwhelmed by the unfamiliar sensations of being truly happy and feeling completely safe with them both. Like he had no reason to ever be alone again. It was daunting really, but he decided that he wanted it to last as long as it could. Molly climbed back onto Matt’s bed, this time mindful of his chest, and the two were acting like children again. Mohinder watched them, unable to wipe the grin from his face. Shaking his head, he thought to himself, a geneticist, a girl who can find people by a mere thought and a telepath moving in together. Dysfunctional hardly begins to describe it. Matt looked right into Mohinder’s eyes, and gave him a shy smile. “Personally, I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Mohinder suddenly felt lighter than he ever thought was possible. Perhaps this was what infinite joy felt like? Keeping his eyes locked with Matt’s, he thought happily, neither would I.
x-posted at heroes_fic