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cruiscin_lan) wrote2008-12-01 12:45 pm
Fic: Angel with a Broken Watch, Chapter 5
Characters/Pairings: Elle/Gabriel, The Haitian
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I do not own Heroes or any of its characters
Word count: 990
Spoiler alert: definite spoilers for episode 3x08, AU after that
Summary: It's in her best interest that she doesn't remember any of this...
Gabriel had his life under control, his hunger under control, so long as he was with Elle. She had no problem keeping herself under control; after all, she'd been trained for just that since she was four. Her power was something she relished, but she was also perfectly okay with restricting it when she was with him. After all, her life (and his) depended on it; if her power were discovered, he would covet it, and that covetousness might overpower the care he had for her.
So when she started to lose control over her ability, she began to worry.
She knew that when she didn't feel well, like when she was sick or injured or tired or in a bad mood, her power had a tendency to act up. After work she'd feel exhausted, almost faint, without explanation - even after slow days. She was feeling sore in ways and places she never had before. When she and Gabriel were amorous, he'd laugh and say "That tingles!" and she'd pretend she didn't know what he was talking about.
There had been a few even closer calls. He was used to showering before her in the morning, but several times she beat him to the bathroom after waking up nauseated. Heaving over the toilet, she could feel sparks trace their way across her face, and she was dreadfully afraid of Gabriel finding her out.
Her fear was so great that the Haitian could feel it - it left a sensation like invisible bugs crawling across his skin. It felt like she was standing at the precipice of a terrifying downward spiral. The Haitian found Elle's memories cycling around this deepening sense of anxiety. The more her power acted up, the more frightened she became, and the more her fear grew, the more her electricity found ways to express itself unexpectedly.
While making toast one morning, Elle shorted the outlet behind the counter. "I don't know what happened," she lied through tendrils of smoke when Gabriel emerged from the bathroom, freshly showered and fully dressed.
"Don't worry about it," he told her as he kissed her on the forehead. "After work today, I was thinking you could bring home some pie, and I'll rent a movie, and then we can..." He let his thought dangle in the air as he caressed Elle's face, his eyebrows peaked in an expression of lusty hopefulness.
"I don't feel like it today," Elle muttered. "I don't feel well."
Gabriel blushed. "Oh, is it... is it that time of the month?"
The look on his face was adorable, Elle thought, but she struggled to smile. His words were a stark reminder of what should be the case, but wasn't. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him lightly on the cheek, hoping he wouldn't notice how agitated she was.
"I'll rent a movie anyway," he told her, his cheeks still scarlet. "I'll stop by for lunch. See you later."
But when he left, Elle didn't go to work. Instead she wandered into the 7 train and didn't get off until she no longer recognized where she was, where Gabriel couldn't possibly run into her. She found herself on Roosevelt Avenue, surrounded by Indian restaurants and sari shops. She walked until she found a pharmacy, where she ducked in to make a purchase.
The aisle wasn't hard to find, and she didn't waste time comparison shopping. She simply grabbed one off the shelf and took it directly to the counter. She didn't look up as she shoved a handful of bills at the cashier. The longer this took, the more nervous she got; it took all of her self-control to keep from sparking the cashier as he handed back her change. She shoved the receipt and change into her pocket and headed to the back of the store where she had seen a sign for the restrooms.
The bathroom was awful. Paper towels were strewn across the floor, with grime caked up in every corner. One toilet was clogged with waste, another stall had no toilet paper. Through the process of elimination Elle found herself in the handicapped stall, her heart pounding in her ears. She thought the smell of stale urine would kill her before the test turned blue, or pink, or showed stripes, or whatever the hell it was supposed to do.
She had never been more scared in her life than when she compared the stick to the back of the box it came in.
Pregnant.
She shuddered as volts escaped from her hands, sizzling across puddles of moisture on the floor. Elle grabbed the handicapped bar in front of her to keep her balance, catch her breath, think for a second - but blue sparks danced across the bar, reaching upwards and outwards, reaching across any and all available surfaces. In a moment's time she had shorted out the lights, and was left shivering in the darkness.
She stumbled out of there, not even daring to wash her hands for fear of what might happen if she tried. She blinked for a moment as her eyes adjusted from the darkness to light, her mind racing. For the first time since she could remember since she'd caused that blackout in Ohio, her powers were out of control.
She couldn't go to work like this. She couldn't go back to Gabriel like this - if he knew, then he might... and she'd... she didn't want to think about what would happen. She panicked. With the change in her pocket she made a phone call to the only person she thought she could depend on, the only person who might know what to do.
"Daddy?" she whimpered into the pay phone. "Daddy, I'm sorry. I made a mistake. I don't know what to do."
Within an hour she was on a Metro-North train to Hartsdale, where Daddy was waiting at the regional offices of Primatech Paper.
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But it's exactly what she would do, because all her life she's only had him. Damnit.
I can't wait to read more, I am going to start fangirling you now.
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I almost wrote "fangirl-on-fangirl" action but that wasn't exactly the sentiment I was trying to express...
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Fic is perfect, honestly, but still pissed me off. Poor Ellie.
Are you going to be on AIM for Heroes?
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I kind of hope he does too LOL.
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Great chapter! I can't wait to read more. :)
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and Gabriel? you will show us what would turn him into Sylar?
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You have a way of writing Elle that makes me sigh - I wonder what the Haitian will think about the last couple of paragraphs. ...any hints?
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Intuitive aptitude does not translate into understanding girls, obviously!
(look at me, blatantly ignoring your question about hints... you'll just have to keep reading, lol...)
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Awesome twist. Poor Elle and Gabriel. :(