2x5obsessions fic 1 - Baby Fat
Title: Baby Fat
Author: zinnydark
Fandom: Heroes
Rating: PG
Character(s)/Pairing: Zach, Claire, other assorted Bennets, some girl named Colette
Summary: Zach learns something he really wishes he hadn't.
Notes: Prompt: Reversed Roles. Can't write Zach out now, can you, bitches!
I just can't go with obvious things, can I? I have to be all... weird!
Beta by Amy_Star_
For 2x5obsessions. My Table
Zach remembered the first time he ever met Claire. She had smiled at him, proudly displaying a grin with more gaps than teeth. "Thach!" she had said with more cheer and love than he had ever imagined one word could hold. Then she had pulled him into a hug, arms still soft and warm with baby fat. Her father had looked on with pride, glad to see they were going to get along. Her mother, though, kept a tight-lipped smile, worry already starting to line her face. Later on, she'll tell the story of this day, how they had taken Claire aside and told her that she was going to get a new brother, one that hadn't grown in Mommy's tummy, same as her. How she had been so readily accepting, and had hugged Zach mere moments after meeting him, which had put him off terribly. Then Mrs. Muggles had started barking in all the excitement and scared him to tears. It all turned out okay, with a group hug and a trip out for ice cream.
But Zach remembers how it really happened.
Zach remembers a lot of things that the rest of his family doesn't.
He remembers when Lyle was born, and his father had shown up a day later, covered in blood with nothing to say. He remembers when Mrs. Muggles had bravely tried to protect her master from one of the subjects they'd been tracking, and how her death had bought them the precious few minutes needed to sedate him. He remembers each and every time his mother found a gun or questioned his father's business trips, every thought she'd ever had of another woman, another life.
He also has countless memories of a little boy, looking lost and alone and afraid. Or of blind fear, panic and scenery blurring past as he ranranran. Then it would fade into a blur of bright lights and looming figures, pain shooting through his neck and temples.
When he thinks about it, Zach knows he has seen more horror and pain and death in his sixteen years than most men would in all their lives. And most of it, he hadn't even really seen.
Not that he could tell most days.
Which is why he likes moments like this, where it's just him and his camera. This day, this moment, this cheerleading practice, is all his, and he has proof. These weak wrists, these shrieks, this girl tumbling from the pyramid and smashing her face on the bleachers...
Zach keeps the lens on his sister as she hides her face from her teammates. He feels his heart stop as she calls out that she's fine, just needs an icepack, racing towards the locker room with a hand over her nose.
He follows.
Claire stoops over the one of the sinks, washing the blood away from around her nose and mouth. A drop or two had found its way onto her uniform, but no one would notice unless they were looking for it. She doesn't notice him until she glances up at the mirror and practically jumps out of her skin.
"Jeez, Zach, can't you make some noise sometimes? Way to be a freak."
He just watches her, camera clutched in front of him as he rewinds. She sees, and rolls her eyes. "You're doing this for mom, aren't you. She's been freaking out since Colette sprained her ankle and wants you to make sure I'm being safe. Typical."
She turns back to the sink, flicking her hair in his direction. "You don't need to tell her anything, you know," she says with a smile as she scrubs at pink-tinged hands. "Just tape over it with something else, tell her you forgot, she won't-"
He sticks the view-screen in front of her face. He watches her watch herself pull her face from the bleachers, pulling her teeth from her lower lip, reaching up to pull her mangled nose back into shape before anybody sees. The cut above her left eye is just starting to close when she turns away and darts towards the school, calling out that she's fine, just needs an-
The camera is torn viciously out of his hand. Claire struggles with the buttons before tearing it open, ripping the tape from where it's still entwined with its inner workings. She tears at the ribbon like a woman possessed before smashing the empty case onto the bathroom tile, stomping on it a few times for good measure. When she turns to face her brother, hands gripping his shoulders with all her strength, her eyes are full of blind fear and panic and an urge to runrunrun and Zach feels like he's going to be sick.
"Don't... you can't... if Mom or Dad finds out about this..." She swallows hard and struggles for breath. Her eyes dart to the door Zach had been sure to lock when he came in, the possibility of someone else overhearing any of this too much for her to take.
So Zach takes his sister's face in his hands and turns her head until she meets his gaze. Then he smiles.
Her relief is palpable and her face is ready to split in two with the smile she gives him. "It's our secret now, right?"
He nods, to say 'not just yours, not anymore.'
"We'll be freaks together, then."
He laughs as best he can, then pulls her into a hug. She squeezes him extra hard around the middle, like she used to do when they were younger, arms no longer soft but just as warm.
"And you... you won't tell anybody?"
His heart breaks as he shakes his head into her shoulder. Then he gently pushes her back, hesitates slightly, then puts his hand over her face.
He doesn't take much. Just the camera, the smashed tape. He leaves their hug, though, because now that they're older they come few and far between.
Claire stands in the middle of the room, face blank and eyes blinking, as he gathers up the bits of tape from the floor and deposits them in the garbage. When she seems to snap back on, he's waiting by the door, a smile on his face and her gym bag in hand.
They walk across the school grounds closer than Claire has let them in years, and he watches her with a heavy heart. He knows what he has to do now. He would never tell their father, of course, because he knows - dear God, he knows - what would happen to her then. But he knows there's someone else. Someone whose face he can't quite make out in the sea of stolen memories that swirl in his head. All he knows is that she can be trusted, and that he'll be able to save his sister from what he one day will face.
"I guess you're not gonna let me ride on your handlebars after all that, huh?"
She giggles and dodges away when he tries to pinch her.
Author: zinnydark
Fandom: Heroes
Rating: PG
Character(s)/Pairing: Zach, Claire, other assorted Bennets, some girl named Colette
Summary: Zach learns something he really wishes he hadn't.
Notes: Prompt: Reversed Roles. Can't write Zach out now, can you, bitches!
I just can't go with obvious things, can I? I have to be all... weird!
Beta by Amy_Star_
For 2x5obsessions. My Table
Zach remembered the first time he ever met Claire. She had smiled at him, proudly displaying a grin with more gaps than teeth. "Thach!" she had said with more cheer and love than he had ever imagined one word could hold. Then she had pulled him into a hug, arms still soft and warm with baby fat. Her father had looked on with pride, glad to see they were going to get along. Her mother, though, kept a tight-lipped smile, worry already starting to line her face. Later on, she'll tell the story of this day, how they had taken Claire aside and told her that she was going to get a new brother, one that hadn't grown in Mommy's tummy, same as her. How she had been so readily accepting, and had hugged Zach mere moments after meeting him, which had put him off terribly. Then Mrs. Muggles had started barking in all the excitement and scared him to tears. It all turned out okay, with a group hug and a trip out for ice cream.
But Zach remembers how it really happened.
Zach remembers a lot of things that the rest of his family doesn't.
He remembers when Lyle was born, and his father had shown up a day later, covered in blood with nothing to say. He remembers when Mrs. Muggles had bravely tried to protect her master from one of the subjects they'd been tracking, and how her death had bought them the precious few minutes needed to sedate him. He remembers each and every time his mother found a gun or questioned his father's business trips, every thought she'd ever had of another woman, another life.
He also has countless memories of a little boy, looking lost and alone and afraid. Or of blind fear, panic and scenery blurring past as he ranranran. Then it would fade into a blur of bright lights and looming figures, pain shooting through his neck and temples.
When he thinks about it, Zach knows he has seen more horror and pain and death in his sixteen years than most men would in all their lives. And most of it, he hadn't even really seen.
Not that he could tell most days.
Which is why he likes moments like this, where it's just him and his camera. This day, this moment, this cheerleading practice, is all his, and he has proof. These weak wrists, these shrieks, this girl tumbling from the pyramid and smashing her face on the bleachers...
Zach keeps the lens on his sister as she hides her face from her teammates. He feels his heart stop as she calls out that she's fine, just needs an icepack, racing towards the locker room with a hand over her nose.
He follows.
Claire stoops over the one of the sinks, washing the blood away from around her nose and mouth. A drop or two had found its way onto her uniform, but no one would notice unless they were looking for it. She doesn't notice him until she glances up at the mirror and practically jumps out of her skin.
"Jeez, Zach, can't you make some noise sometimes? Way to be a freak."
He just watches her, camera clutched in front of him as he rewinds. She sees, and rolls her eyes. "You're doing this for mom, aren't you. She's been freaking out since Colette sprained her ankle and wants you to make sure I'm being safe. Typical."
She turns back to the sink, flicking her hair in his direction. "You don't need to tell her anything, you know," she says with a smile as she scrubs at pink-tinged hands. "Just tape over it with something else, tell her you forgot, she won't-"
He sticks the view-screen in front of her face. He watches her watch herself pull her face from the bleachers, pulling her teeth from her lower lip, reaching up to pull her mangled nose back into shape before anybody sees. The cut above her left eye is just starting to close when she turns away and darts towards the school, calling out that she's fine, just needs an-
The camera is torn viciously out of his hand. Claire struggles with the buttons before tearing it open, ripping the tape from where it's still entwined with its inner workings. She tears at the ribbon like a woman possessed before smashing the empty case onto the bathroom tile, stomping on it a few times for good measure. When she turns to face her brother, hands gripping his shoulders with all her strength, her eyes are full of blind fear and panic and an urge to runrunrun and Zach feels like he's going to be sick.
"Don't... you can't... if Mom or Dad finds out about this..." She swallows hard and struggles for breath. Her eyes dart to the door Zach had been sure to lock when he came in, the possibility of someone else overhearing any of this too much for her to take.
So Zach takes his sister's face in his hands and turns her head until she meets his gaze. Then he smiles.
Her relief is palpable and her face is ready to split in two with the smile she gives him. "It's our secret now, right?"
He nods, to say 'not just yours, not anymore.'
"We'll be freaks together, then."
He laughs as best he can, then pulls her into a hug. She squeezes him extra hard around the middle, like she used to do when they were younger, arms no longer soft but just as warm.
"And you... you won't tell anybody?"
His heart breaks as he shakes his head into her shoulder. Then he gently pushes her back, hesitates slightly, then puts his hand over her face.
He doesn't take much. Just the camera, the smashed tape. He leaves their hug, though, because now that they're older they come few and far between.
Claire stands in the middle of the room, face blank and eyes blinking, as he gathers up the bits of tape from the floor and deposits them in the garbage. When she seems to snap back on, he's waiting by the door, a smile on his face and her gym bag in hand.
They walk across the school grounds closer than Claire has let them in years, and he watches her with a heavy heart. He knows what he has to do now. He would never tell their father, of course, because he knows - dear God, he knows - what would happen to her then. But he knows there's someone else. Someone whose face he can't quite make out in the sea of stolen memories that swirl in his head. All he knows is that she can be trusted, and that he'll be able to save his sister from what he one day will face.
"I guess you're not gonna let me ride on your handlebars after all that, huh?"
She giggles and dodges away when he tries to pinch her.