Heroes, "Mortal Coil" Peter Petrelli, Claire Bennet, rated T

[paynesgrey]

Fandom: Heroes TV
Title: Mortal Coil
Author: paynesgrey
Characters/Pairings: Claire Bennet, Peter Petrelli, Claire/Peter
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 717
Warnings/Spoilers: Character Death, Angst, AU, does not consider "Reborn" series. Some hinted uncle/niece incest.
Disclaimer: I do not own Heroes.
Notes: Written for the "flood" prompt for Summer Mini Challenge.

Summary: She always thought they'd stay young forever. Together.

Links: AO3 | FFnet

 

 

When Peter turns fifty, Claire notices the effects of time. She's confused. She's always thought they'll stay young together. Forever.

 

But now his hair is graying, and his skin is wrinkling at the edges of his eyes and smile.

 

She can't explain it right away, but soon she realizes - the more she stays away from him, the more his youth starts to fade.

 

She runs away from him anyway. She's too scared to watch him like this. She feels like she knows what his future entails better than he does.

 

--

 

The last time she sees him, he still has the boyish smile underneath the grit of agony and loss. Both of them have lost so many people to war and death, but only Peter shows it on his face. Claire looks in the mirror, and she's terrified she hasn't aged a day. She looks as though she could still attend the prom. 

(Claire never went to her prom; it doesn't bother her as much as it should.)

 

She points her gun at her reflection in the mirror and chokes back a breath.

 

She wishes she was done hating herself for being like this. No, not herself - Pinehearst. Because of them, she won't get old or feel pain. Worst of all, she won’t die. She used to think that Peter would have shared that with her. Claire bites her lip and sighs, lowering the gun.

 

She resists the urge to run away again, to go back to Pinehearst and do their bidding. Maybe she can even delude herself into thinking she's doing right by them. Of course, things are different now that Peter has returned. (He came back from the dead by her blood; Pinehearst foolishly thinks they can still use him.)

 

--

 

"Claire? What are you doing here?" She finds him again somewhere in Africa, hiding and no longer plotting to rebel against Pinehearst. He sits in the sand with white glossy eyes and has visions of the future. He keeps sitting and meditating until one vision is right for him. When she comes to him, she can tell she is not one of his prophecies.

 

He stands up and gently puts his hands on her arms, and he looks into her eyes and mind, and she lets him. He's taught her so many things, and she has regrets about him... regrets about betrayal and murder and abandoning her remaining family.

 

"I'm staying with you, Peter. For good." She leans her head into his chest, and he takes her into an embrace. It's so familiar because they fit like this, and she'll be damned if she'll let him get old without her now. He smiles at her knowingly.

 

Maybe she can save him. Maybe the closer she stays with him, day in and day out, he'll never get old. Then, she can make up for all her sins against him by being right here, letting her power seep into his. He smiles boyishly, and she thinks that her healing is taking effect. 

 

Or, so she hopes.

 

 --

When Peter takes her blood again, it doesn’t work. It just delays the inevitable. His breaths are ragged and shallow, and she wishes she had the power to go back in time. He was able to live longer with her, but it did not make him immortal. 

Life passes by her, years like minutes, a sun constantly setting, and when Peter takes his final breath, she can’t even cry for him. Despair washes over her like a flood, but she cannot produce tears. She’s lost that ability too. Instead, Claire releases a pained scream into the void. 

Nobody can hear her. Nobody else is left. 

Claire is the last of everyone, and she sits alone on a barren, dead planet. Nothing matters now, and once again the sun is setting. She lies next to Peter’s body, shifting close as she curls into him. She wishes he still felt warm, and in the scorching sun, she tricks herself into believing he’s still alive. 

She closes her eyes and wishes for sleep. Perhaps this is all just one bad dream. More than anything, Claire just wishes she will never wake up.

END

 

 

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