Fandom: Heroes
Title: Handle with Care
Author: Paynesgrey
Rating: R
Pairings: Peter/Claire
Genre: Dark/Angst
Word Count: 496
Warnings: sexual allusions, incest
Spoilers: end of Volume 4
Notes: Written for the "Look" theme at
pairechallenge Summary: Peter protects her and keeps her all to himself.
The moment she tells him about Sylar’s intentions, he vows to protect her so the monster never looks at her again.
Claire’s offended. He knows she can’t get hurt, but Peter fusses over her anyway. When she tells him he’s not her mother, the complaint falls on deaf ears.
Peter doesn’t give her enough credit. He thinks that Sylar will snatch her away, torture her for years, and keep her hidden from him.
“He can’t have you. I love you too much,” he proclaims, and he pulls her away again.
Five years after Nathan is not Nathan anymore, Peter gives into his frustration and grief, and they run away to a far off place where no one will find them.
She starts to resent him, but she can’t leave him. She loves him that much, so she allows him to treat her like glass and protect her from the Sylars of the world. She lets him because he loves her back, and this is the only way he’s strong against Sylar when he feels so weak.
They’re living in a hovel near the Gaza Strip, and Claire makes a home out of a hole. She shifts their scant belongings around and shakes the dust from the blankets. Peter looks at her frowning, thinking of yesterdays when his cheerleader was innocent, blonde and safer among family. She releases her dark hair from the burqa and lets the clothes fall to her feet.
“Claire,” he breathes, watching her heatedly, but he can’t form the right words. He’s desired her for too long. They’ve been running it seems forever, but all this time, Claire realizes his true intentions. Jealousy fuels his wanderlust, and where Sylar can’t reach her, Peter can keep her for himself (even if Claire chooses to never let him this close).
She glares at him angrily. Her skin isn’t as tanned as it used to be, trapped underneath dark clothes hiding her in an alien crowd.
His hands reach out, but she pauses and hovers in front of him like precious gold. She lifts her head challengingly. “We have to stop running.”
She wants to confront Sylar and fight him, and Peter knows it.
“We can’t,” he whines sternly.
She bends down and picks the clothes up from the floor. Peter’s grab is faster and in a quick tug, he catches her and pulls her against his chest. He trails a delicate finger down her soft arm and kisses her chin.
“I have to protect you,” he says tenderly, but Claire is tired of hearing that phrase. She shoves him on the ground and squeezes her thighs around him.
She fiddles with the zipper on his pants and tells him harshly, “No, Peter, I’m the one who protects you.”
His muscles relax as Claire’s mouth conquers his. He melts into her and his hands trail over her body, loving and so wrong for the first time.
The heavy sigh that escapes their kiss is the mark of his concession.