Always - Chapter 6
Title: Always
Rating: Fiction Rated: PG-13
Author: ulaylablue
Summary: AU fic. Gabriel is a lovably clueless watchmaker and Elle is his sexually frustrated neighbor. Watch as hijinks ensue.
Chapter 6
“Really, Gabe, you don’t need to come with me,” Elle said for the third time just to get a rise out of him as she plopped herself onto her worn white couch and adjusted her strappy red shoes. She had chosen to wear a slightly more revealing than usual outfit tonight but had already wrapped herself up in a warm, cream and black plaid, calf length peacoat by the time Gabriel had arrived at her door. From the corner of her eye, she carefully watched his face stiffen and had to work to suppress a grin. There was no way she was going to that party without him but he didn’t need to know that.
“Of course I’m coming with you,” he said firmly. “How else are you going to be able to leave early so we can see Attack of the Killer Clowns?” Elle snickered.
“I could always just fake a stomach ache and bail out,” she reasoned. She was an expert faker.
“Elle, if anyone’s going to fake an illness, it’s going to be me. Peter doesn’t give a crap if I live or die.”
She chuckled at his dour face. He really had no idea how cute he was being.
“Now, that’s just not true, Gabriel,” Elle stated in mock indignation. “He’s a nurse. That means he cares about everyone. I’m pretty sure that even includes you.” At this, Gabriel stopped flipping through the magazines on her kitchen table and looked up at her with his eyebrow quirked indignantly. How he was able to convey indignance with just one eyebrow, she wasn’t sure. She gave him her most innocent look.
"It’s true, Gabriel. I’m sure he’d give you the exact same care that he would any other faceless stranger.”
“How nice for me,” he commented dryly. Elle watched as his eyes went dark with annoyance. It was so easy to get him riled up lately. He noticed her snickering and rolled his eyes. “Ready to go, yet? The sooner we get there, the sooner we can leave.”
“Patience, Gabe. Perfection takes time.” Elle rose from her seat and gave him a wink on her way past him to her bedroom. She saw his lips twitch in amusement despite himself. When she was in her bedroom and safely out of his line of sight, she gripped the top of her vanity weakly and took a deep breath as she sagged against it. Oh god, he looked so good tonight! He was wearing a black wool coat and dark jeans that hugged him perfectly. And his hair! She'd never seen him style it like that before. She loved the adorable side part he normally wore but tonight he had it slicked up into a spiky little 'do that was just begging to be mussed. Did he even realize what he was doing to her?! Breathe, Elle, breathe, she told herself and took five deep, calming breaths to pull herself back together. When she was feeling collected enough, she smoothed her hand down the front of her coat, quickly grabbed her purse off the top of the vanity and walked out to where he was still leaning against her kitchen table to hook her arm in his. “All set!”
Gabriel smiled down at her and she took a moment to enjoy the sensation of his arm tucked snuggly next to her own. Even their arms were a perfect fit! From this close, she could smell the subtle scent of his aftershave and allowed herself one tiny little, surreptitious breath of it. Her toes immediately curled in pleasure and her eyes slid shut. Good grief. He smelled so good! His aftershave was faint but there was something just so…manly about it. It made her want to stand up on her tip toes and just bury her face in his neck. And just like that, her fingers began to gently caress the fine black wool of his coat sleeve all on their own. She felt him shift slightly as he drew her arm in closer to his, like he always did, with his other hand.
“Tired, Elle?” she heard him murmur as the back of his hand ghosted over her forehead and continued to the side to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Her eyes opened to see him peering down at her intently and she returned his look with a dreamy smile. “Do you want to stay in after all?” he asked hesitantly. She immediately snapped back into awareness. They were definitely not staying in! Not when she was hoping a night out amongst other people, specifically handsome Petrelli people, would galvanize him into admitting that he felt more than a best buddies type of affection for her.
“No! No, of course not. I promised Pete I’d be there. So we have to go,” she responded, setting off at once and all but dragged his reluctant body through the door. As nice as their nights staying in were, she did not need another best buddies movie night with him at the moment. Hanging out with him casually for the last couple of years and being “one of the guys” had gotten her nowhere. It was time to show Gabriel how very attractive she could be to the opposite sex. She had heard that nothing made a girl more appealing than being desired by other people and she was banking on it. So what if she was being a bit of a coward when it came to letting Gabriel know how she felt? The solution to her problem was obvious. He needed to instigate things between them. It was only fair after all. She had all but thrown herself at him earlier and he hadn’t even noticed! Well, she would be sure to give him a show that he would not be able to miss tonight.
“Ten minutes,” he groaned as they neared Peter’s door.
“The movie doesn’t even start for another two hours. Let’s just stay for one hour and then we can go.”
“An hour? Are you kidding me? Twenty minutes tops. That’s enough time for you to say hi to everyone, get a drink, congratulate Peter, and for us to leave before he breaks out the board games.”
“We don’t want to be rude! We have to stay for at least thirty minutes. And don't even pretend you're too cool for board games! Who was the one who made me stay up until two AM last month just so you could bankrupt me at Monopoly? But,” Elle raised her voice, cutting off his protests as he opened his mouth. “If you really can’t stand sharing the same breathing space as Peter Petrelli for a measly thirty minutes, you don’t have to go. I can come pick you up afterward if you want.” His mouth closed with a snap and his jaw set. Elle smiled at him and batted her eyelashes prettily. They both knew she had won. They were in front of Peter’s door now and Elle could hear music and laughter coming from the other side. She was just about to raise her hand to knock when Gabriel swiftly turned her around and pushed her up against the door, bracing both of his hands on either side of her face. She froze in surprise. His brow was furrowed and he was looking at her with a mixture of consternation and affection and something else that she didn’t dare put a name to. He leaned in ever so slightly until they were nearly touching and Elle sucked in a sharp breath.
“Thirty minutes and don’t you dare leave me alone with him,” he growled in a soft, low tone that she had never heard from him before and her mouth softly dropped open into a tiny "o".
His voice had never sounded so sexy. Correction - no one's voice had ever sounded so sexy.
She sagged against the door as his commanding gaze locked with hers and his tall form loomed over her. His hard, long body was so very close to her own and his eyes trapped her as effectively as his arms. The combination of his scent, his gaze and his nearness all worked to turn her into jelly.
He bent even closer and the tips of her bangs brushed the side of his face as he brought his lips to her ear. "You owe me for this, Elle," he murmured and she could hear the smile in his voice. She owed him?? Owed him what?? There was no way he could possibly mean what she thought he meant. All that innuendo in his voice…it had to be her imagination. Didn’t it?
A strangled whimper escaped her. He was going to be the death of her.
"Thirty minutes." And then he reached down with his hand and abruptly twisted the door open. Elle felt it fall away from her as the noise of the party erupted around them but instead of falling, she felt Gabriel's arms slide around her waist, bringing her downward momentum to a quick halt as he easily caught her in a dip. She grabbed onto his arms in panic and quickly looked up to see him smirking down at her, his eyes alive with laughter. Her mouth worked for a moment but nothing came out. The cheeky bastard was laughing at her! From over her shoulder, applause and whistles broke out amongst Peter's guests and Peter's uncertain voice cut through. Elle turned her head to look at him from a semi-upside down position.
"Elle, that was...quite an entrance. Are you all right?” Still wrapped up in Gabriel’s arms, she felt the rumble of his quiet laughter and was torn between wanting to elbow him in embarrassment or maybe just closing her eyes and enjoying that delicious rumble for a few more seconds…she settled for glaring at him.
"Hey, Pete -" she started.
“You know Elle - always falling at the wrong time,” Gabriel answered for her as he set her on her feet, his arm snaking around her shoulders and pulling her up against his side. She turned her head to give him a death glare but the intimate smile that he sent her way was so arresting that she couldn’t help but smile right back as a wave of warm flooded through her. The way he was looking at her, it was the same way he always did and yet..not. There was a message in those eyes. And then Peter's cool voice broke through the moment.
"Right," Peter uttered calmly, staring directly at Gabriel, who lifted his eyes from Elle's to smile blandly at him. "Nice to see you, Gabriel. Didn't think you were coming."
"Oh, I hope you don't mind, Pete. I invited -"
"Well, Elle needed someone to keep her company." Elle blinked at Gabriel's pleasant tone as he cut her off again. He never cut her off - and now he had done so twice in the same minute.
"That's real thoughtful of you, Gabe. But I can assure you she wouldn't have been lonely," Peter replied in the same friendly voice.
"Well, Elle's a girl who grows bored pretty easily." She looked between the two and noticed they had matching, genial smiles on their faces as they stared at each other over her head, completely ignoring her.
"Yeah, I'm sure you'd know. You both have been such good friends for such a long time."
The odd smiles on their faces grew wider as they chuckled at each other in an overly friendly fashion and Elle began to shift uncomfortably in Gabriel's tight grip. His arm didn't budge.
"Speaking of friends," Peter continued, "there's some people who wanted to meet Elle. You don't mind if I steal a quick minute of her time, do you Gabe?" And with that, Peter reached out with his hand, clearly moving to take Elle's arm.
"Of course not. Elle and I love meeting new people," Gabriel answered quickly, tightening his steel like grip and imperceptibly pulling her away. Peter's hand dropped. And then, strangely, they both laughed good-naturedly again. Elle glanced between their stiffly smiling faces uneasily as a sinking feeling settled in her stomach.
Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea after all.
Rating: Fiction Rated: PG-13
Author: ulaylablue
Summary: AU fic. Gabriel is a lovably clueless watchmaker and Elle is his sexually frustrated neighbor. Watch as hijinks ensue.
Chapter 6
“Really, Gabe, you don’t need to come with me,” Elle said for the third time just to get a rise out of him as she plopped herself onto her worn white couch and adjusted her strappy red shoes. She had chosen to wear a slightly more revealing than usual outfit tonight but had already wrapped herself up in a warm, cream and black plaid, calf length peacoat by the time Gabriel had arrived at her door. From the corner of her eye, she carefully watched his face stiffen and had to work to suppress a grin. There was no way she was going to that party without him but he didn’t need to know that.
“Of course I’m coming with you,” he said firmly. “How else are you going to be able to leave early so we can see Attack of the Killer Clowns?” Elle snickered.
“I could always just fake a stomach ache and bail out,” she reasoned. She was an expert faker.
“Elle, if anyone’s going to fake an illness, it’s going to be me. Peter doesn’t give a crap if I live or die.”
She chuckled at his dour face. He really had no idea how cute he was being.
“Now, that’s just not true, Gabriel,” Elle stated in mock indignation. “He’s a nurse. That means he cares about everyone. I’m pretty sure that even includes you.” At this, Gabriel stopped flipping through the magazines on her kitchen table and looked up at her with his eyebrow quirked indignantly. How he was able to convey indignance with just one eyebrow, she wasn’t sure. She gave him her most innocent look.
"It’s true, Gabriel. I’m sure he’d give you the exact same care that he would any other faceless stranger.”
“How nice for me,” he commented dryly. Elle watched as his eyes went dark with annoyance. It was so easy to get him riled up lately. He noticed her snickering and rolled his eyes. “Ready to go, yet? The sooner we get there, the sooner we can leave.”
“Patience, Gabe. Perfection takes time.” Elle rose from her seat and gave him a wink on her way past him to her bedroom. She saw his lips twitch in amusement despite himself. When she was in her bedroom and safely out of his line of sight, she gripped the top of her vanity weakly and took a deep breath as she sagged against it. Oh god, he looked so good tonight! He was wearing a black wool coat and dark jeans that hugged him perfectly. And his hair! She'd never seen him style it like that before. She loved the adorable side part he normally wore but tonight he had it slicked up into a spiky little 'do that was just begging to be mussed. Did he even realize what he was doing to her?! Breathe, Elle, breathe, she told herself and took five deep, calming breaths to pull herself back together. When she was feeling collected enough, she smoothed her hand down the front of her coat, quickly grabbed her purse off the top of the vanity and walked out to where he was still leaning against her kitchen table to hook her arm in his. “All set!”
Gabriel smiled down at her and she took a moment to enjoy the sensation of his arm tucked snuggly next to her own. Even their arms were a perfect fit! From this close, she could smell the subtle scent of his aftershave and allowed herself one tiny little, surreptitious breath of it. Her toes immediately curled in pleasure and her eyes slid shut. Good grief. He smelled so good! His aftershave was faint but there was something just so…manly about it. It made her want to stand up on her tip toes and just bury her face in his neck. And just like that, her fingers began to gently caress the fine black wool of his coat sleeve all on their own. She felt him shift slightly as he drew her arm in closer to his, like he always did, with his other hand.
“Tired, Elle?” she heard him murmur as the back of his hand ghosted over her forehead and continued to the side to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Her eyes opened to see him peering down at her intently and she returned his look with a dreamy smile. “Do you want to stay in after all?” he asked hesitantly. She immediately snapped back into awareness. They were definitely not staying in! Not when she was hoping a night out amongst other people, specifically handsome Petrelli people, would galvanize him into admitting that he felt more than a best buddies type of affection for her.
“No! No, of course not. I promised Pete I’d be there. So we have to go,” she responded, setting off at once and all but dragged his reluctant body through the door. As nice as their nights staying in were, she did not need another best buddies movie night with him at the moment. Hanging out with him casually for the last couple of years and being “one of the guys” had gotten her nowhere. It was time to show Gabriel how very attractive she could be to the opposite sex. She had heard that nothing made a girl more appealing than being desired by other people and she was banking on it. So what if she was being a bit of a coward when it came to letting Gabriel know how she felt? The solution to her problem was obvious. He needed to instigate things between them. It was only fair after all. She had all but thrown herself at him earlier and he hadn’t even noticed! Well, she would be sure to give him a show that he would not be able to miss tonight.
“Ten minutes,” he groaned as they neared Peter’s door.
“The movie doesn’t even start for another two hours. Let’s just stay for one hour and then we can go.”
“An hour? Are you kidding me? Twenty minutes tops. That’s enough time for you to say hi to everyone, get a drink, congratulate Peter, and for us to leave before he breaks out the board games.”
“We don’t want to be rude! We have to stay for at least thirty minutes. And don't even pretend you're too cool for board games! Who was the one who made me stay up until two AM last month just so you could bankrupt me at Monopoly? But,” Elle raised her voice, cutting off his protests as he opened his mouth. “If you really can’t stand sharing the same breathing space as Peter Petrelli for a measly thirty minutes, you don’t have to go. I can come pick you up afterward if you want.” His mouth closed with a snap and his jaw set. Elle smiled at him and batted her eyelashes prettily. They both knew she had won. They were in front of Peter’s door now and Elle could hear music and laughter coming from the other side. She was just about to raise her hand to knock when Gabriel swiftly turned her around and pushed her up against the door, bracing both of his hands on either side of her face. She froze in surprise. His brow was furrowed and he was looking at her with a mixture of consternation and affection and something else that she didn’t dare put a name to. He leaned in ever so slightly until they were nearly touching and Elle sucked in a sharp breath.
“Thirty minutes and don’t you dare leave me alone with him,” he growled in a soft, low tone that she had never heard from him before and her mouth softly dropped open into a tiny "o".
His voice had never sounded so sexy. Correction - no one's voice had ever sounded so sexy.
She sagged against the door as his commanding gaze locked with hers and his tall form loomed over her. His hard, long body was so very close to her own and his eyes trapped her as effectively as his arms. The combination of his scent, his gaze and his nearness all worked to turn her into jelly.
He bent even closer and the tips of her bangs brushed the side of his face as he brought his lips to her ear. "You owe me for this, Elle," he murmured and she could hear the smile in his voice. She owed him?? Owed him what?? There was no way he could possibly mean what she thought he meant. All that innuendo in his voice…it had to be her imagination. Didn’t it?
A strangled whimper escaped her. He was going to be the death of her.
"Thirty minutes." And then he reached down with his hand and abruptly twisted the door open. Elle felt it fall away from her as the noise of the party erupted around them but instead of falling, she felt Gabriel's arms slide around her waist, bringing her downward momentum to a quick halt as he easily caught her in a dip. She grabbed onto his arms in panic and quickly looked up to see him smirking down at her, his eyes alive with laughter. Her mouth worked for a moment but nothing came out. The cheeky bastard was laughing at her! From over her shoulder, applause and whistles broke out amongst Peter's guests and Peter's uncertain voice cut through. Elle turned her head to look at him from a semi-upside down position.
"Elle, that was...quite an entrance. Are you all right?” Still wrapped up in Gabriel’s arms, she felt the rumble of his quiet laughter and was torn between wanting to elbow him in embarrassment or maybe just closing her eyes and enjoying that delicious rumble for a few more seconds…she settled for glaring at him.
"Hey, Pete -" she started.
“You know Elle - always falling at the wrong time,” Gabriel answered for her as he set her on her feet, his arm snaking around her shoulders and pulling her up against his side. She turned her head to give him a death glare but the intimate smile that he sent her way was so arresting that she couldn’t help but smile right back as a wave of warm flooded through her. The way he was looking at her, it was the same way he always did and yet..not. There was a message in those eyes. And then Peter's cool voice broke through the moment.
"Right," Peter uttered calmly, staring directly at Gabriel, who lifted his eyes from Elle's to smile blandly at him. "Nice to see you, Gabriel. Didn't think you were coming."
"Oh, I hope you don't mind, Pete. I invited -"
"Well, Elle needed someone to keep her company." Elle blinked at Gabriel's pleasant tone as he cut her off again. He never cut her off - and now he had done so twice in the same minute.
"That's real thoughtful of you, Gabe. But I can assure you she wouldn't have been lonely," Peter replied in the same friendly voice.
"Well, Elle's a girl who grows bored pretty easily." She looked between the two and noticed they had matching, genial smiles on their faces as they stared at each other over her head, completely ignoring her.
"Yeah, I'm sure you'd know. You both have been such good friends for such a long time."
The odd smiles on their faces grew wider as they chuckled at each other in an overly friendly fashion and Elle began to shift uncomfortably in Gabriel's tight grip. His arm didn't budge.
"Speaking of friends," Peter continued, "there's some people who wanted to meet Elle. You don't mind if I steal a quick minute of her time, do you Gabe?" And with that, Peter reached out with his hand, clearly moving to take Elle's arm.
"Of course not. Elle and I love meeting new people," Gabriel answered quickly, tightening his steel like grip and imperceptibly pulling her away. Peter's hand dropped. And then, strangely, they both laughed good-naturedly again. Elle glanced between their stiffly smiling faces uneasily as a sinking feeling settled in her stomach.
Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea after all.