Fic: Caffè Nero
Rating: PG
Word Count: 393
Disclaimer: Heroes characters belong to Tim Kring.
A/N: For the Plaude Bingo prompt "anniversary - miles apart." A Thanksgiving present from me to you- something vague and mostly dialogue. ... Enjoy!
Summary: Established relationship, um, what it says on the prompt, pretty much.
It seems a perfectly arbitrary date to Claude, but he still finds himself walking down the street in a strange city, phone pressed to his ear.
“Are you there yet?”
“No, not yet, keep your trousers on.”
“Okay... How’s the assignment going?”
“Not bad. Pretty normal, as these things go.”
A snort, “You would call southern Italy normal.”
He sniffs at the sea air, “Place is a place is a place, most often.”
“I wish I was there.” It comes out a little rushed. Claude tries not to wince.
“Wish you were too.” His heart swells slightly at the audible breath on the line. “All right, this looks good.”
“Okay, great. You know what to do?”
“Yeah, yeah,” he frowns, “Christ, look at that queue.”
“You wanna try somewhere else?”
“Nah, let’s get on with it.” He endures the line with chatter about Peter’s day flowing into his ear. He gets to the front and makes his order.
“Did- did you just speak in Italian?” Peter asks, sounding shocked.
“That’s an important phrase to know in any language, Pete.”
“You’re learning Italian over there, aren’t you?” His voice has dipped low and Claude can’t entirely hold off a smile.
“Maybe a bit.”
“That’s so hot.”
“Down, boy.” His order is placed before him, “Grazie tanto.”
“You suck,” Peter says around a laugh.
“Later,” he promises. Peter’s laugh goes a little strangled. “So... got my black coffee and I’m takin’ a seat over here. Any part of this little ritual I’m forgetting?”
“No... no. I mean, since I’m not there...”
“‘S about six in New York, yeah? I’m almost sure that was the right time.”
There’s a long pause. “Yeah, it’s... wait, what time is it over there? It’s... it has to be almost midnight.”
“Uh huh. So I was right. Good.”
Another pause, not quite as long. “I didn’t know what time it was, the first time. You could’ve done it earlier.”
“Yeah, well, too late now.”
“You’ll be up the rest of the night with that caffeine.”
It’s Claude’s turn to pause. “Maybe.”
“Claude...” He braces himself. “I... I’ll see you when you get back. Okay?”
“Yeah.”
“Miss you.”
“Miss you too.”
“You get in at nine, right?”
“9:25.”
“Okay. I’ll see you.”
He can’t resist, “Buona notte.”
Hearing Peter’s smile is almost as good as seeing it. “Yeah, yeah. Buona sera.”
Word Count: 393
Disclaimer: Heroes characters belong to Tim Kring.
A/N: For the Plaude Bingo prompt "anniversary - miles apart." A Thanksgiving present from me to you- something vague and mostly dialogue. ... Enjoy!
Summary: Established relationship, um, what it says on the prompt, pretty much.
It seems a perfectly arbitrary date to Claude, but he still finds himself walking down the street in a strange city, phone pressed to his ear.
“Are you there yet?”
“No, not yet, keep your trousers on.”
“Okay... How’s the assignment going?”
“Not bad. Pretty normal, as these things go.”
A snort, “You would call southern Italy normal.”
He sniffs at the sea air, “Place is a place is a place, most often.”
“I wish I was there.” It comes out a little rushed. Claude tries not to wince.
“Wish you were too.” His heart swells slightly at the audible breath on the line. “All right, this looks good.”
“Okay, great. You know what to do?”
“Yeah, yeah,” he frowns, “Christ, look at that queue.”
“You wanna try somewhere else?”
“Nah, let’s get on with it.” He endures the line with chatter about Peter’s day flowing into his ear. He gets to the front and makes his order.
“Did- did you just speak in Italian?” Peter asks, sounding shocked.
“That’s an important phrase to know in any language, Pete.”
“You’re learning Italian over there, aren’t you?” His voice has dipped low and Claude can’t entirely hold off a smile.
“Maybe a bit.”
“That’s so hot.”
“Down, boy.” His order is placed before him, “Grazie tanto.”
“You suck,” Peter says around a laugh.
“Later,” he promises. Peter’s laugh goes a little strangled. “So... got my black coffee and I’m takin’ a seat over here. Any part of this little ritual I’m forgetting?”
“No... no. I mean, since I’m not there...”
“‘S about six in New York, yeah? I’m almost sure that was the right time.”
There’s a long pause. “Yeah, it’s... wait, what time is it over there? It’s... it has to be almost midnight.”
“Uh huh. So I was right. Good.”
Another pause, not quite as long. “I didn’t know what time it was, the first time. You could’ve done it earlier.”
“Yeah, well, too late now.”
“You’ll be up the rest of the night with that caffeine.”
It’s Claude’s turn to pause. “Maybe.”
“Claude...” He braces himself. “I... I’ll see you when you get back. Okay?”
“Yeah.”
“Miss you.”
“Miss you too.”
“You get in at nine, right?”
“9:25.”
“Okay. I’ll see you.”
He can’t resist, “Buona notte.”
Hearing Peter’s smile is almost as good as seeing it. “Yeah, yeah. Buona sera.”