Fic: All fall down - Heroes- Nathan/Peter
Jan. 15th, 2008 08:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kelly_girl
Title: All Fall Down
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Nathan/Peter
Disclaimer: Not mine, no money being made
Spoilers: No, happens sometime after S1, but no mentions of S2
A/N: This came about from a discussion with someone(i can't remember who so person, raise your hand!) about Nathan and
Somehow my brain went to an apocalypse with zombies so...yeah.
Summary: There are good days and bad ones
Nathan shifted a little from his statue-still position in front of the window and put the sawed off shotgun back into the holster tied to the side of his right leg. He could see out the front door, but he was nervous about not having a view for the sides of the house or the backyard.
After three months, the things-zombies, infected dead, revenants- whatever, were getting sneakier. Nathan kept an eye on Peter, who was busy making sure there was no one in the house. Just like the things had gotten better at sneaking up on people, people had gotten better at hiding. Nathan was pretty sure no one was alive, but Peter was busy melting the thick steel door that led to a panic room so he could be sure.
Nathan was estimating what a house like this cost in the hills of Louisville, Kentucky, when Peter walked in. He shook his head. Nathan gestured with his head at the door. “How many houses left to check?”
Peter wiped a gritty hand over his face, dusty streaks making his already stern face even fiercer. “Ten.”
Nathan checked out the sky. “No way we can get to them all before dark. Two more?”
He knew Peter wanted to argue against leaving potential survivors out here for another night, but after they started doing this whole rescue thing, Nathan had demanded that they go in at sundown. There were too many hiding places and the revs really came out at night. Peter nodded, his lips thin and chapped. He stepped off the porch, leaves crackling underneath his shoes.
The walk to the next house didn’t take long. They could have flown, but they flew so much these days that a short walk was nice. Silence followed them with the occasional sound of birds. This house was just as big as the one before, but the dried blood and body parts in the foyer had them only giving it a cursory once over.
In the next house, Nathan stood in front of the broken sliding glass patio doors and wished he had a pair of binoculars. There was only so much they could carry so he preferred weapons. The hedge he was staring at moved again.
Five revs burst out of the greenery and ran full speed towards him. Their arms were outstretched, determination and hunger etched permanently on their faces. Their clothes hung by tattered shreds and their mouths were caked with something Nathan didn’t want to contemplate.
A nasty smell behind him made him duck and turn. The thing wore the former outfit of a postal worker. Nathan pulled out his shotgun, but the man knocked it away.
“Peter!”
Nathan kicked outwards and heard the sharp crack as one of the thing’s knees broke. He managed to grab the sawed off and pulled the trigger while the thing was stumbling towards him. The head exploded and Nathan turned his head to avoid brain matter and bone. He looked for the five things that’d been running for the patio.
They were closer than he liked. These things got faster every day as their food source dried up. He got one of them right before the other four stopped, puzzled looks on their faces, right before they burst into fireballs. Peter landed in front of Nathan, his hands still emitting fire. He closed his hands into fists and turned to look at Nathan. His eyes flickered over Nathan’s black tee shirt, blue jeans and boots. Once he saw Nathan was okay, he relaxed.
“Ready to go?”
Peter nodded and they both took off, the air growing colder the higher they flew. They were working the Southern United States this month and they had a small place set up high in the mountains. It was virtually inaccessible but even so, there was an alarm system in place in case anyone came around.
There were ten other places similar to this around the country. Each was stocked with weapons, food, and water. Each safehouse, or as Nathan called them, safeshack, also had a CB radio. He and Peter were only one pair of rescuers that checked residences, rescuing people and gathering supplies.
Inside the two-room house, Nathan stripped and washed. He crouched in the tub, his body unable to relax enough to lie down in the white claw footed monstrosity. This place had no shower, but it had a natural water supply and a water heater. Two generators gave them electricity if they needed it, though they rarely did these days.
Nathan dried off, squeezing the extra water out of his hair. Three months ago, he was hanging out with Peter when the first reports came in from Miami. No one believed the frantic reporters or the shaky cell phone pictures. Nathan still can’t believe the apocalypse started on April Fool’s Day. It only took three days for the things, revenants, or revs, to reach New York.
Nathan realized immediately that since he could fly he didn’t have to run and hide like most of his fellow New Yorkers. He and Peter stayed together after Nathan got Heidi and the kids on a private jet to Australia. There were no reports there of revs. He’d gotten a quick phone call from Heidi and all Nathan knew was that they were safe.
Australia closed their borders an hour after he got the call. A few days later he heard they were shooting planes that tried to land and sinking boats that tried to dock.
Everywhere else seemed to have them, and during one of Mohinder’s theory sessions he postulated that because the infection was first noticed in a Miami International Airport possibly meant that there was a strong chance someone from another country had come in with the disease. No groups claimed it as a bioweapon. They were all too busy trying to survive.
Nathan lay on the bed while Peter took his turn in the small bathroom. He was reading ‘Huckleberry Finn,’ one of his favorite books, when Peter came out, warm and smelling like Ivory soap. Nathan put the book back in his backpack, and turned the oil lamp down until the glow illuminated the golden tone of Peter’s skin.
Peter climbed into his lap, a knee on either side of Nathan’s waist. Nathan smoothed his hands up and down the warm muscles of Peter’s back. They kissed and something inside Nathan relaxed; they had another few hours of safety. The world was trying to end and he had no clue if they’d win, but this was something familiar and powerful. It got him through the long, nasty days.
When Peter and some of the others with powers had announced they planned to help, Nathan had been dead set against it. He and Peter fought back and forth until Peter had grabbed Nathan’s hands, looked into his eyes and said, “I don’t want to do this alone, or with somebody I don’t know. Help me.”
At first Nathan was just there to watch Peter’s back. Then he got involved a few times, people clutched to his chest as he flew them somewhere safe. He and Peter, everyone, all made mistakes at first, but they learned. Now he and Peter wore flightsuits over long distances, and carried slim weather resistant backpacks.
They learned that revs died with no brain and that fire was a good thing. They also learned that people with powers infected by the revs turned, but their powers didn’t survive the changing. Getting bit once or twice was dangerous, but didn’t bring on the change. After that, the victim might as well go outside and join the rest of the things. Nathan learned to like the kick of his shotgun as it helped him clear the way to rescue someone, or help Peter.
Peter tugged on Nathan’s boxer briefs. “Take these off.”
Nathan smirked and brushed a thumb over one of Peter’s nipples. “Why don’t you do it for me?”
Peter tried and Nathan wrestled with him until they were both naked and Nathan was on his stomach, his head resting on his crossed arms. Peter sat on Nathan’s thighs and massaged his back. He groaned as Peter found every tense muscle and kneaded them until they gave in.
Peter’s fingers dipped and stretched Nathan wide open. His next groan was quieter, but just as heartfelt. He wanted to snap at his brother and demand he get on with it, but he knew that would only make Peter go slower. He was a damn tease, and these days, rarely got to enact his sexual torture on Nathan.
He decided to magnanimous and let Peter lick and suck until they were both panting and hard. Then his brother did something with his tongue, followed by a soft bite of teeth and Nathan snapped.
“Jesus, Peter, just fuck me already. Do you need a map?”
Peter laughed and pushed inside him at the same time. Nathan lowered his head and breathed deep. All worries, all thoughts disappeared and he reveled in the power of Peter’s hips as he thrust in and pulled out. Nathan gasped and bit his lip when Peter’s movements finally hit that sweet spot inside him.
Peter slowed down and made sure he did it again and again. He moved lazily and only laughed at Nathan’s efforts to make him go faster.
“Fuck, Peter, stop playing around!”
“Shut up and let me drive.”
Nathan spread his legs farther and growled when finally Peter sped up. The bed rocked back and forth until Peter stilled and came, a groan tangled in his throat. His fingers were warm as he stroked Nathan like an expert. Nathan spilled into his hand minutes later.
They dressed in tees and soft cotton pants in case something happened and they needed to leave quickly. Nathan could still feel the cold, crisp air of flying with only a thin pair of boxers on a few weeks after they’d started doing the whole rescue and recovery thing.
A group of revs had found their hideout and they’d had to fight desperate and dirty to get somewhere where they could fly off to safety.
He curled behind Peter, one hand on his brother’s stomach, their legs slowly twining together.
Nathan thought about supplies, until he fell asleep with the hope that tomorrow they’d encounter nothing that would damage the fragile way of life they now had.
The morning sun played over the bed, but the floor was freezing as Nathan got up to go to the bathroom. Afterwards, he went outside and floated above the house to make sure no one was approaching. Yes, they had alarms but Nathan was overly cautious and he’d discovered that if he just gave in to his occasional paranoia his day went better.
Inside, he made coffee and ate a crappy energy bar while he waited for the water to boil. The food supplies offered up cans of beans, some corn and some pears. There were crackers and bottled water along with beef jerky and flour. Nathan stared at the flour. He had no clue how to make biscuits from scratch but his mouth watered at the thought.
Next time they were near Mohinder’s Rocky Mountain base of operations, he was definitely visiting that diner some enterprising people had opened. Money was an unknown value these days, but the last time he’d met with Mohinder, the doctor had said something about a barter system. Nathan would gladly trade something for a good breakfast. He looked at Peter as a muffled voice came from the bed.
“I smell coffee.”
Nathan reached under the sheets and tickled Peter’s hip. “And? If you don’t get up, it’s all mine.”
Peter stuck his head out from the covers and frowned. Nathan wished he had a camera because his brother with bedhead and lines from the sheets pressed into his face looked adorable.
He poured the coffee into sturdy cups and held one out. It left his hand and floated to Peter who sat up and grabbed it. He drank it down, his gulps oddly sexy to Nathan. He wondered if they had time for a quickie. Peter’s hazel eyes met his and his little brother gave him the dirtiest smirk he’d ever seen. “We’ll save that for tonight.”
Nathan laughed and got dressed. These days dressing included the holsters for his shotguns, two nine millimeters, and a knife. He’d named his favorite weapon, the sawed off shotgun, Angela, in honor of his mother. She’d never made it out of Manhattan.
The sun was up and they needed to get started. He pulled out the map he had and studied the terrain they’d be going over. More suburbs, probably all deserted but even with all of Peter’s powers they still had to search the houses. Any weapons they found, they kept.
Supplies like medicine, food, clothes were not their responsibility this trip out. In a few weeks they’d switch to finding and transporting supplies to a big pickup point, but for right now, they were on rescue duty.
Peter was ready in minutes and then they argued over Peter eating. Nathan finally told him, “If you’d eat something, we could be gone already. Just eat the damn canned pears.”
Peter frowned but ate them and they took off. The neighborhood they landed in was full of half-burned houses and overturned cars. Their search was quick but thorough. Nathan couldn’t wait for Peter to get some sort of X-Ray power. Then they could go a lot quicker. The work was time consuming and they haven’t found anyone this trip out.
Most people were dead, revs, or had already found a safe haven. There were a few places outside of the hard to reach towns in the Rockies, where they’d found themselves after the revs got into the bigger cities and went crazy with violence and mayhem.
They don’t visit the compounds unless they know the people that are in charge. Most of them are nervous, wary and tend to react to two men walking up to their tall, guarded gates with a ‘shoot now, question later’ attitude.
Nathan still mocked Peter for the time he’d walked up to one alone and got a shotgun blast to his chest for his troubles. That particular group of people got really mad when Peter got back up. They made sure not to try and drop off survivors at that place again.
They took a break and sat on the roof of what used to be a bank. Nathan dreamed of a good turkey sandwich but in reality he was eating crackers, jerky and a tin of smoked oysters he’d found in someone’s house. He licked his fingers and offered some to Peter. Peter shrugged and ate a few. He wrinkled his nose at the taste. “How can you eat that?”
Nathan ate the last one and savored it. “Because it’s good. I love them and before we go back to debrief with Mohinder I plan to find a lot of them and store them somewhere.”
Peter laughed. “You’re crazy.”
Nathan nudged his brother’s shoulder and kissed him. “Yeah, but since we’re related, that means you’re crazy too.”
Peter stood, oddly graceful on the angled roof. “Let’s visit that neighborhood we were in yesterday. I got a feeling about it.”
It was Nathan’s turn to shrug. “Fine with me.”
They searched more houses and schools, banks and malls. They found no one, not even any revs. Peter stopped, turned mid-air, and flew so quickly that Nathan had a hard time keeping up with him. They landed on the roof of a house. Inside the smell of mildew and the iron coppery scent of blood was thick throughout the house.
The scrabble of fingers and the low mumble moan of revs caught Nathan’s attention. There was seven of them, maybe more. The ‘boom’ of his shotgun was deafening in what looked like a finished basement. The revs turned away from the door they were trying to pry open and started for him. Three turned and ran for Peter.
Nathan took out two before one of them dove for his legs. Nathan cursed and pulled a short sword from a sheath across his back. He refused to see the blond hair and former green eyes of the thing sinking its teeth into his thigh.
He hacked and got the sword stuck in the revs skull. He left it there for a minute and pulled a smaller shotgun out and shot another one that had hesitated for a microsecond. Blood rained down on him, sticky and cloying. He put the shotgun against the thing gnawing on his leg and blew it to pieces. He reloaded quickly, his leg burning and blood pooling beneath him.
Peter twisted two of the revs necks until their heads popped off. It was nasty and gruesome, but fire was too risky in such close quarters. The last rev was treated to a fist through its head. It fell back and Peter rushed to his side.
Nathan nodded at the small door. “Go see who’s in there. We don’t need anymore surprises. He grunted in pain as Peter pulled off his own shirt and made a tourniquet for Nathan’s leg.
Nathan gripped his shotgun and watched Peter approach the door. He touched it and frowned before burning a hole next to the lock. Inside was a little girl, about nine years old. She was crying, her hair matted and her face dirty.
Peter gathered her close and hushed her. He closed his eyes and Nathan could practically feel his will as he calmed the girl down. Peter pulled a harness out and quickly attached the girl to his body. Nathan accepted Peter’s help and limped his way out of the house. Peter clutched the girl close. Nathan leaned against the wall of a once white gazebo. “Take her to the Harris compound. I’ll go back to the safehouse.”
Peter’s teleportation skills were shaky, but if he’d been to the place he wanted to go, they improved. They’d been to the Harris compound in Colorado numerous times so he should be okay.
Peter shook his head. “I can take us all back to the safehouse. You need to get that leg bandaged. Any other bites?”
Nathan sighed. Peter was right. His leg was throbbing and it’d be hard to try and fly with it.
Nathan nodded. “Think about today only, Peter. Don’t get lost.”
Nathan leaned into Peter’s side and closed his eyes. He hated traveling this way, but before he knew it they were inside the safehouse and he sat down heavily on the bed. Peter unhooked the now sleeping girl and laid her on the bed. Peter gathered supplies, then stripped off Nathan’s blood soaked pants.
The wound slowly seeped blood, but there were no tell-tale signs of infection. They’d learned those early on: the purple and red streaks, the nasty smell and the person’s inability to talk.
He hissed as Peter disinfected the bite and put a butterfly bandage on it. Nathan managed to slip on a pair of loose jogging pants and then lie down. He waved a hand at the girl. “Go on and take her to the compound. I’ll be okay.”
Peter stroked a thumb over Nathan’s jaw. They stared at each other for a long moment before Peter picked the girl up and disappeared. Nathan closed his eyes and dozed. The bed moved and he snapped his eyes open to find Peter back, sitting beside him. He was reading Nathan’s copy of Huckleberry Finn and between them lay a small bowl of oranges, apples and cherries.
Nathan cleared his throat. “Hey. You get her situated?”
Peter closed the book and picked up an orange. “Yeah. She told me her name was Lisa, and she thanked me for saving her.”
Nathan watched Peter peel the orange, the sharp citrus smell filling the entire room. He held out his hand and got a wet pulpy piece. They ate the orange silently and then ate another. Nathan took the wet wash cloth Peter got for him. He wiped his mouth. “Someone at the compound is doing good with the fruit.”
Peter nodded. “Yeah, they are. It’s a big hit.”
Nathan narrowed his eyes at Peter. “Did you get this from the compound?”
Peter shrugged. “I stopped by California. Those fruit trees are just going to waste. I took some back to the compound though.”
Nathan sighed. He worried about Peter’s control during teleportation. Peter could end up anywhere and in any year.
“Be careful.” Nathan knew he’d said it before but he had to keep saying it in hopes that Peter heard him, really heard him. They’d both lost so much and Nathan couldn’t lose Peter.
Peter squeezed his hand. “I will. I promise. Now get some sleep. I have a surprise for dinner.”
Nathan went back to sleep while watching Peter read. Tomorrow they’d go out again and try and find someone to save. Peter needed to do this and Nathan needed to make sure Peter was safe while being a hero. Everything else worked out around that.
End
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Nathan/Peter
Disclaimer: Not mine, no money being made
Spoilers: No, happens sometime after S1, but no mentions of S2
A/N: This came about from a discussion with someone(i can't remember who so person, raise your hand!) about Nathan and
Somehow my brain went to an apocalypse with zombies so...yeah.
Summary: There are good days and bad ones
Nathan shifted a little from his statue-still position in front of the window and put the sawed off shotgun back into the holster tied to the side of his right leg. He could see out the front door, but he was nervous about not having a view for the sides of the house or the backyard.
After three months, the things-zombies, infected dead, revenants- whatever, were getting sneakier. Nathan kept an eye on Peter, who was busy making sure there was no one in the house. Just like the things had gotten better at sneaking up on people, people had gotten better at hiding. Nathan was pretty sure no one was alive, but Peter was busy melting the thick steel door that led to a panic room so he could be sure.
Nathan was estimating what a house like this cost in the hills of Louisville, Kentucky, when Peter walked in. He shook his head. Nathan gestured with his head at the door. “How many houses left to check?”
Peter wiped a gritty hand over his face, dusty streaks making his already stern face even fiercer. “Ten.”
Nathan checked out the sky. “No way we can get to them all before dark. Two more?”
He knew Peter wanted to argue against leaving potential survivors out here for another night, but after they started doing this whole rescue thing, Nathan had demanded that they go in at sundown. There were too many hiding places and the revs really came out at night. Peter nodded, his lips thin and chapped. He stepped off the porch, leaves crackling underneath his shoes.
The walk to the next house didn’t take long. They could have flown, but they flew so much these days that a short walk was nice. Silence followed them with the occasional sound of birds. This house was just as big as the one before, but the dried blood and body parts in the foyer had them only giving it a cursory once over.
In the next house, Nathan stood in front of the broken sliding glass patio doors and wished he had a pair of binoculars. There was only so much they could carry so he preferred weapons. The hedge he was staring at moved again.
Five revs burst out of the greenery and ran full speed towards him. Their arms were outstretched, determination and hunger etched permanently on their faces. Their clothes hung by tattered shreds and their mouths were caked with something Nathan didn’t want to contemplate.
A nasty smell behind him made him duck and turn. The thing wore the former outfit of a postal worker. Nathan pulled out his shotgun, but the man knocked it away.
“Peter!”
Nathan kicked outwards and heard the sharp crack as one of the thing’s knees broke. He managed to grab the sawed off and pulled the trigger while the thing was stumbling towards him. The head exploded and Nathan turned his head to avoid brain matter and bone. He looked for the five things that’d been running for the patio.
They were closer than he liked. These things got faster every day as their food source dried up. He got one of them right before the other four stopped, puzzled looks on their faces, right before they burst into fireballs. Peter landed in front of Nathan, his hands still emitting fire. He closed his hands into fists and turned to look at Nathan. His eyes flickered over Nathan’s black tee shirt, blue jeans and boots. Once he saw Nathan was okay, he relaxed.
“Ready to go?”
Peter nodded and they both took off, the air growing colder the higher they flew. They were working the Southern United States this month and they had a small place set up high in the mountains. It was virtually inaccessible but even so, there was an alarm system in place in case anyone came around.
There were ten other places similar to this around the country. Each was stocked with weapons, food, and water. Each safehouse, or as Nathan called them, safeshack, also had a CB radio. He and Peter were only one pair of rescuers that checked residences, rescuing people and gathering supplies.
Inside the two-room house, Nathan stripped and washed. He crouched in the tub, his body unable to relax enough to lie down in the white claw footed monstrosity. This place had no shower, but it had a natural water supply and a water heater. Two generators gave them electricity if they needed it, though they rarely did these days.
Nathan dried off, squeezing the extra water out of his hair. Three months ago, he was hanging out with Peter when the first reports came in from Miami. No one believed the frantic reporters or the shaky cell phone pictures. Nathan still can’t believe the apocalypse started on April Fool’s Day. It only took three days for the things, revenants, or revs, to reach New York.
Nathan realized immediately that since he could fly he didn’t have to run and hide like most of his fellow New Yorkers. He and Peter stayed together after Nathan got Heidi and the kids on a private jet to Australia. There were no reports there of revs. He’d gotten a quick phone call from Heidi and all Nathan knew was that they were safe.
Australia closed their borders an hour after he got the call. A few days later he heard they were shooting planes that tried to land and sinking boats that tried to dock.
Everywhere else seemed to have them, and during one of Mohinder’s theory sessions he postulated that because the infection was first noticed in a Miami International Airport possibly meant that there was a strong chance someone from another country had come in with the disease. No groups claimed it as a bioweapon. They were all too busy trying to survive.
Nathan lay on the bed while Peter took his turn in the small bathroom. He was reading ‘Huckleberry Finn,’ one of his favorite books, when Peter came out, warm and smelling like Ivory soap. Nathan put the book back in his backpack, and turned the oil lamp down until the glow illuminated the golden tone of Peter’s skin.
Peter climbed into his lap, a knee on either side of Nathan’s waist. Nathan smoothed his hands up and down the warm muscles of Peter’s back. They kissed and something inside Nathan relaxed; they had another few hours of safety. The world was trying to end and he had no clue if they’d win, but this was something familiar and powerful. It got him through the long, nasty days.
When Peter and some of the others with powers had announced they planned to help, Nathan had been dead set against it. He and Peter fought back and forth until Peter had grabbed Nathan’s hands, looked into his eyes and said, “I don’t want to do this alone, or with somebody I don’t know. Help me.”
At first Nathan was just there to watch Peter’s back. Then he got involved a few times, people clutched to his chest as he flew them somewhere safe. He and Peter, everyone, all made mistakes at first, but they learned. Now he and Peter wore flightsuits over long distances, and carried slim weather resistant backpacks.
They learned that revs died with no brain and that fire was a good thing. They also learned that people with powers infected by the revs turned, but their powers didn’t survive the changing. Getting bit once or twice was dangerous, but didn’t bring on the change. After that, the victim might as well go outside and join the rest of the things. Nathan learned to like the kick of his shotgun as it helped him clear the way to rescue someone, or help Peter.
Peter tugged on Nathan’s boxer briefs. “Take these off.”
Nathan smirked and brushed a thumb over one of Peter’s nipples. “Why don’t you do it for me?”
Peter tried and Nathan wrestled with him until they were both naked and Nathan was on his stomach, his head resting on his crossed arms. Peter sat on Nathan’s thighs and massaged his back. He groaned as Peter found every tense muscle and kneaded them until they gave in.
Peter’s fingers dipped and stretched Nathan wide open. His next groan was quieter, but just as heartfelt. He wanted to snap at his brother and demand he get on with it, but he knew that would only make Peter go slower. He was a damn tease, and these days, rarely got to enact his sexual torture on Nathan.
He decided to magnanimous and let Peter lick and suck until they were both panting and hard. Then his brother did something with his tongue, followed by a soft bite of teeth and Nathan snapped.
“Jesus, Peter, just fuck me already. Do you need a map?”
Peter laughed and pushed inside him at the same time. Nathan lowered his head and breathed deep. All worries, all thoughts disappeared and he reveled in the power of Peter’s hips as he thrust in and pulled out. Nathan gasped and bit his lip when Peter’s movements finally hit that sweet spot inside him.
Peter slowed down and made sure he did it again and again. He moved lazily and only laughed at Nathan’s efforts to make him go faster.
“Fuck, Peter, stop playing around!”
“Shut up and let me drive.”
Nathan spread his legs farther and growled when finally Peter sped up. The bed rocked back and forth until Peter stilled and came, a groan tangled in his throat. His fingers were warm as he stroked Nathan like an expert. Nathan spilled into his hand minutes later.
They dressed in tees and soft cotton pants in case something happened and they needed to leave quickly. Nathan could still feel the cold, crisp air of flying with only a thin pair of boxers on a few weeks after they’d started doing the whole rescue and recovery thing.
A group of revs had found their hideout and they’d had to fight desperate and dirty to get somewhere where they could fly off to safety.
He curled behind Peter, one hand on his brother’s stomach, their legs slowly twining together.
Nathan thought about supplies, until he fell asleep with the hope that tomorrow they’d encounter nothing that would damage the fragile way of life they now had.
The morning sun played over the bed, but the floor was freezing as Nathan got up to go to the bathroom. Afterwards, he went outside and floated above the house to make sure no one was approaching. Yes, they had alarms but Nathan was overly cautious and he’d discovered that if he just gave in to his occasional paranoia his day went better.
Inside, he made coffee and ate a crappy energy bar while he waited for the water to boil. The food supplies offered up cans of beans, some corn and some pears. There were crackers and bottled water along with beef jerky and flour. Nathan stared at the flour. He had no clue how to make biscuits from scratch but his mouth watered at the thought.
Next time they were near Mohinder’s Rocky Mountain base of operations, he was definitely visiting that diner some enterprising people had opened. Money was an unknown value these days, but the last time he’d met with Mohinder, the doctor had said something about a barter system. Nathan would gladly trade something for a good breakfast. He looked at Peter as a muffled voice came from the bed.
“I smell coffee.”
Nathan reached under the sheets and tickled Peter’s hip. “And? If you don’t get up, it’s all mine.”
Peter stuck his head out from the covers and frowned. Nathan wished he had a camera because his brother with bedhead and lines from the sheets pressed into his face looked adorable.
He poured the coffee into sturdy cups and held one out. It left his hand and floated to Peter who sat up and grabbed it. He drank it down, his gulps oddly sexy to Nathan. He wondered if they had time for a quickie. Peter’s hazel eyes met his and his little brother gave him the dirtiest smirk he’d ever seen. “We’ll save that for tonight.”
Nathan laughed and got dressed. These days dressing included the holsters for his shotguns, two nine millimeters, and a knife. He’d named his favorite weapon, the sawed off shotgun, Angela, in honor of his mother. She’d never made it out of Manhattan.
The sun was up and they needed to get started. He pulled out the map he had and studied the terrain they’d be going over. More suburbs, probably all deserted but even with all of Peter’s powers they still had to search the houses. Any weapons they found, they kept.
Supplies like medicine, food, clothes were not their responsibility this trip out. In a few weeks they’d switch to finding and transporting supplies to a big pickup point, but for right now, they were on rescue duty.
Peter was ready in minutes and then they argued over Peter eating. Nathan finally told him, “If you’d eat something, we could be gone already. Just eat the damn canned pears.”
Peter frowned but ate them and they took off. The neighborhood they landed in was full of half-burned houses and overturned cars. Their search was quick but thorough. Nathan couldn’t wait for Peter to get some sort of X-Ray power. Then they could go a lot quicker. The work was time consuming and they haven’t found anyone this trip out.
Most people were dead, revs, or had already found a safe haven. There were a few places outside of the hard to reach towns in the Rockies, where they’d found themselves after the revs got into the bigger cities and went crazy with violence and mayhem.
They don’t visit the compounds unless they know the people that are in charge. Most of them are nervous, wary and tend to react to two men walking up to their tall, guarded gates with a ‘shoot now, question later’ attitude.
Nathan still mocked Peter for the time he’d walked up to one alone and got a shotgun blast to his chest for his troubles. That particular group of people got really mad when Peter got back up. They made sure not to try and drop off survivors at that place again.
They took a break and sat on the roof of what used to be a bank. Nathan dreamed of a good turkey sandwich but in reality he was eating crackers, jerky and a tin of smoked oysters he’d found in someone’s house. He licked his fingers and offered some to Peter. Peter shrugged and ate a few. He wrinkled his nose at the taste. “How can you eat that?”
Nathan ate the last one and savored it. “Because it’s good. I love them and before we go back to debrief with Mohinder I plan to find a lot of them and store them somewhere.”
Peter laughed. “You’re crazy.”
Nathan nudged his brother’s shoulder and kissed him. “Yeah, but since we’re related, that means you’re crazy too.”
Peter stood, oddly graceful on the angled roof. “Let’s visit that neighborhood we were in yesterday. I got a feeling about it.”
It was Nathan’s turn to shrug. “Fine with me.”
They searched more houses and schools, banks and malls. They found no one, not even any revs. Peter stopped, turned mid-air, and flew so quickly that Nathan had a hard time keeping up with him. They landed on the roof of a house. Inside the smell of mildew and the iron coppery scent of blood was thick throughout the house.
The scrabble of fingers and the low mumble moan of revs caught Nathan’s attention. There was seven of them, maybe more. The ‘boom’ of his shotgun was deafening in what looked like a finished basement. The revs turned away from the door they were trying to pry open and started for him. Three turned and ran for Peter.
Nathan took out two before one of them dove for his legs. Nathan cursed and pulled a short sword from a sheath across his back. He refused to see the blond hair and former green eyes of the thing sinking its teeth into his thigh.
He hacked and got the sword stuck in the revs skull. He left it there for a minute and pulled a smaller shotgun out and shot another one that had hesitated for a microsecond. Blood rained down on him, sticky and cloying. He put the shotgun against the thing gnawing on his leg and blew it to pieces. He reloaded quickly, his leg burning and blood pooling beneath him.
Peter twisted two of the revs necks until their heads popped off. It was nasty and gruesome, but fire was too risky in such close quarters. The last rev was treated to a fist through its head. It fell back and Peter rushed to his side.
Nathan nodded at the small door. “Go see who’s in there. We don’t need anymore surprises. He grunted in pain as Peter pulled off his own shirt and made a tourniquet for Nathan’s leg.
Nathan gripped his shotgun and watched Peter approach the door. He touched it and frowned before burning a hole next to the lock. Inside was a little girl, about nine years old. She was crying, her hair matted and her face dirty.
Peter gathered her close and hushed her. He closed his eyes and Nathan could practically feel his will as he calmed the girl down. Peter pulled a harness out and quickly attached the girl to his body. Nathan accepted Peter’s help and limped his way out of the house. Peter clutched the girl close. Nathan leaned against the wall of a once white gazebo. “Take her to the Harris compound. I’ll go back to the safehouse.”
Peter’s teleportation skills were shaky, but if he’d been to the place he wanted to go, they improved. They’d been to the Harris compound in Colorado numerous times so he should be okay.
Peter shook his head. “I can take us all back to the safehouse. You need to get that leg bandaged. Any other bites?”
Nathan sighed. Peter was right. His leg was throbbing and it’d be hard to try and fly with it.
Nathan nodded. “Think about today only, Peter. Don’t get lost.”
Nathan leaned into Peter’s side and closed his eyes. He hated traveling this way, but before he knew it they were inside the safehouse and he sat down heavily on the bed. Peter unhooked the now sleeping girl and laid her on the bed. Peter gathered supplies, then stripped off Nathan’s blood soaked pants.
The wound slowly seeped blood, but there were no tell-tale signs of infection. They’d learned those early on: the purple and red streaks, the nasty smell and the person’s inability to talk.
He hissed as Peter disinfected the bite and put a butterfly bandage on it. Nathan managed to slip on a pair of loose jogging pants and then lie down. He waved a hand at the girl. “Go on and take her to the compound. I’ll be okay.”
Peter stroked a thumb over Nathan’s jaw. They stared at each other for a long moment before Peter picked the girl up and disappeared. Nathan closed his eyes and dozed. The bed moved and he snapped his eyes open to find Peter back, sitting beside him. He was reading Nathan’s copy of Huckleberry Finn and between them lay a small bowl of oranges, apples and cherries.
Nathan cleared his throat. “Hey. You get her situated?”
Peter closed the book and picked up an orange. “Yeah. She told me her name was Lisa, and she thanked me for saving her.”
Nathan watched Peter peel the orange, the sharp citrus smell filling the entire room. He held out his hand and got a wet pulpy piece. They ate the orange silently and then ate another. Nathan took the wet wash cloth Peter got for him. He wiped his mouth. “Someone at the compound is doing good with the fruit.”
Peter nodded. “Yeah, they are. It’s a big hit.”
Nathan narrowed his eyes at Peter. “Did you get this from the compound?”
Peter shrugged. “I stopped by California. Those fruit trees are just going to waste. I took some back to the compound though.”
Nathan sighed. He worried about Peter’s control during teleportation. Peter could end up anywhere and in any year.
“Be careful.” Nathan knew he’d said it before but he had to keep saying it in hopes that Peter heard him, really heard him. They’d both lost so much and Nathan couldn’t lose Peter.
Peter squeezed his hand. “I will. I promise. Now get some sleep. I have a surprise for dinner.”
Nathan went back to sleep while watching Peter read. Tomorrow they’d go out again and try and find someone to save. Peter needed to do this and Nathan needed to make sure Peter was safe while being a hero. Everything else worked out around that.
End
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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Date: 2008-01-15 04:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-15 11:44 pm (UTC)And yes, yes, Peter on top is always fun.
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Date: 2008-01-15 05:32 pm (UTC)They kissed and something inside Nathan relaxed; they had another few hours of safety. The world was trying to end and he had no clue if they’d win, but this was something familiar and powerful. It got him through the long, nasty days.
beautiful.
and this:
“Jesus, Peter, just fuck me already. Do you need a map?”
ROFL! I can hear Nathan say this in a very sarcastic way :P
ps, Nathan + Shotgun = always a good thing *g*
♥
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Date: 2008-01-15 11:47 pm (UTC)Thanks for the feedback. I always like to know what worked for readers.
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Date: 2008-01-15 06:50 pm (UTC)Jesus, Peter, just fuck me already. Do you need a map? EEEH! SO NATHAN!
This was seriously brilliant. I'm sure its just a one shot, but I would totally read more from this verse. I am a huge sucker for post-apocolyptical stuff. :D
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Date: 2008-01-15 11:51 pm (UTC)It is just a one shot right now but if I get anymore bunnies, I may add to it.
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Date: 2008-01-15 07:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-15 11:53 pm (UTC)Thanks for the feedback. Zombies plus Nathan shooting them makes me happy.
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Date: 2008-01-15 11:02 pm (UTC)You are brilliant! OMG, I loved every line :D
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Date: 2008-01-15 11:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-16 12:21 am (UTC)I'd love this even if not a fan of Heroes. It was a great read and I'd love you to write some more on it one day!
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Date: 2008-01-16 12:37 am (UTC)If I get any more bunnies I may add to it. Thanks for commenting.
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Date: 2008-01-16 02:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-16 11:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-17 07:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-18 01:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-21 07:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-12 06:49 am (UTC)What a great story!
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Date: 2008-02-14 06:59 am (UTC)