seekevolution | Quarantine

Quarantine

News had a way of spreading a little too quickly. The moment Nathan had fallen at the press conference, media began having it's field day. Mohinder paid little attention.

He arrived at Odessa fourteen hours after the incident, severely jet-lagged and with a computer pre-loaded with all of the information that the Company thought he'd need. Mohinder had been down this road before, though never with such dire circumstances. The Shanti Virus was a subject near and dear to his heart, though it was far less stressful when all he needed to cure it was a bit of blood. Even though it was his own blood, at least he felt as if he was doing something.

Knowing from experience that not everything was black and white anymore, Mohinder kept his laptop and medical kit close at hand and made his way to the quarantine line with a grim look in his redrimmed black eyes. "Mohinder Suresh," he said, forgetting his title again for just a moment. "Doctor. You need to let me through."

The National Guard service man looked wary before radioing it in through the barricade. It was tense. Mohinder's shoulder bag slipped twice and he nearly dropped his sample kit. "All right, cleared to go in. Good luck, doctor."

Mohinder nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. He'd gone from New York to India and back again in two days, bringing Molly to stay with his mother. After what Sylar did to her, again, he could not risk leaving her in anyone else's care. Not with Matt gone.

Seeing the man, however, after he'd just gone off on this quest to find his father at the expense of helping him with a child they both sort of promised to look out for, did not make Mohinder smile. If anything, it only made the lines on his face etch in more deeply. He stood in front of him, looking as tired as Mohinder felt, ill fitting clothing a bit more rumpled than usual. Never mind, of course, that Mohinder had done his fair share of leaving too on his attempts to bait the Company through lectures across the globe. "Do I have a lab yet?" Mohinder asked. No greetings. No necessities. That's what happens when you abandon people, Matt.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Following Molly once Matt had given him the go-ahead, Mohinder lays as her opposite bookend, hand under the pillow to boost his head up a little. All he wanted to do was close his eyes and drift away. This place felt safe, not because they were far removed from the mess in New York, but because they were together again. If Odessa taught him anything, it was that pettiness didn't outweigh the goodness they each had. Though hardship had come to them all, there was a true enjoyment of one another's company. Mohinder found it precious enough to hold onto.

"We'll be here for a few more days and go home together. You still have school, after all. Miss Gerber isn't going to be too happy that I wasn't able to give an end date for the holiday I took you from school from as it is." Molly whined and Mohinder lifted his eyes over her head towards Matt. Perhaps he held the gaze too long and made an exaggerated yawn to cover it up. Poorly.

As Molly told them about an incident that happened two days ago, something Mohinder already knew he wouldn't remember in the morning, he listened in to Matt's desire to explain things to her.

She knows I broke my nose. And I told her you fell moving boxes. He didn't want to bring Sylar up, but Molly was a smart girl.

She would probably figure it out anyway. And if Matt was bringing it up, it meant he caught something from her thought pattern. Damn.

Are you awake enough to tell her now?

He terrorized her. Killed her parents. She needs to know that he's gone.

He thought it with a fierce protectiveness that overrode the exhaustion almost completely, something darker flickering into his eyes. It was clear that if for any reason Sylar wasn't gone, Matt would make sure. Whatever it took.

So he nodded and sat up straighter, waiting for Molly to finish her story. When she did and didn't quite get the reaction she'd expected out of either of them, she figured something was up and looked between them with an expectant yet somewhat wary expression.

Matt glanced at Mohinder but focused on Molly. He was a bit unsure on how to start.

"We need to tell you something, okay honey?" She looked a little more scared from the way he said it, but he stroked some hair behind her ear in a reassuring gesture. "Just what's been happening for a while. You know why you had to come here, right?"

Molly looked at Mohinder, clearly recalling what they'd talked about before he'd put her on the flight. "Yeah", she said, cautiously. "Because of the Boogeyman."

"Because Sylar stole the medicine that cured him," Mohinder said, perhaps not sugar coating it as well as he should have. Molly turned to look at him, though her back remained firmly planted against Matt's chest. Mohinder could appreciate that. Matt was the protector. The brawn. He might like his hair stroked (speculation on Mohinder's part as Mohinder simply liked to stroke his hair) but that didn't make him any less formidable.

Mohinder thought that he ought to sit up but, alas, his head glued to the pillow and a yawn in the back of his throat, Mohinder stayed where he was. Perhaps it would give Molly the impression that he wasn't worried--

And honestly, Mohinder wasn't. Sylar had been disposed of. Peter took him somewhere that he could never hurt anyone again. Or, if not that, a place where it would take several life times to discover him again. Mohinder didn't mean to be a little morally gray in that area, but after he was gone, it wouldn't matter so much. He just wanted to protect his family.

"He found us again, back in New York," Mohinder started before Molly pulled up her knees and stared up at the cut on Matt's forehead. "It's all right. He's done. Dead for certain. We made one hundred percent sure of it this time," he promised.

The corner of his braised lips turned upwards as he reached for her.

"It's why it's safe for you to come home again. You should see our new apartment. No more Matt on the couch."

"He's really gone?" Molly asked, just to be sure, gripping Mohinder's hand. At the confirmation from both of them she was relieved but in that way that seemed so very emotional and Matt wound one of his arms tighter around her. The poor girl had seen too much of Sylar as it was. Knowing he was gone and that she was safe again made her tear up slightly, but she smiled, anyway. She had a certain degree of stubbornness and such a spark to live.

"Where's the new apartment? Can I pick colors for my room?"

Matt smiled into her hair, eyes drifting towards Mohinder's. "Hmm. You can hang up a whole lot of pictures, how's that sound?" It depended on how long they'd been planning on staying there, how much work they were going to do. "The walls are all painted white right now, how boring is that?"

Molly laughed a little and rubbed at her eyes with her knuckles. "A lot."

Nuzzling her shoulder, Matt added, "We can talk more about it later, okay?" Yawning, he added, "Or you can bother Mohinder. I need my beauty sleep. You two are already pretty enough."

Molly giggled at that, told Matt that Mohinder might not like being called pretty and proceeded to make herself comfortable. Right there. It seemed that she'd really meant it when she said sleepover. At least the bed was large enough for the three of them and Mohinder didn't mind having the girl as a buffer for now.

At least he'd get to stay with Matt again.

"It's too early to sleep," Molly complained and Mohinder had to laugh at her whining, even when she matched Matt's yawn and insisted on pulling up the blankets. It might be warm outside, but the room was chilled. She might have two warm men to provide her with body heat but she still was little.

"You're right. You need to change out of that sari or you'll be sorry," Mohinder quipped, knowing Matt and Molly would be both groan. He wasn't disappointed. "Go put on your pajamas."

"All right!" she bounced and races across the house, leaving Mohinder laying there gazing at a very sleeping American with a smile tattooed across his mouth.

"I think you were right in telling her," Mohinder replied, sitting up slowly. "I also don't think you should sleep in your jeans. I'll leave you to get changed." He slipped out of Matt's bed and stretched. No, he wasn't planning on coming back. If he fell asleep quickly enough, Molly might let him be and allow Matt to get some unmolested sleeping in for once.

"Okay, mom."

Matt teased because it felt easy and natural at this point, what with all the relief and giddy joy he felt with this makeshift little family of his. There was still something awkward in the air between him and Mohinder at times but part of it was curiosity and that's what had Matt study that stretch briefly before he got out of his jeans and socks and changed shirts again to sleep in the one he'd arrived in rather than the one that was still reasonably clean.

He was just sliding under the covers when Molly all but ran into the room again, and if Mohinder thought he might have managed to fall asleep in the few short minutes she'd needed to change, he'd find that he was wrong. She'd grabbed him by the hand and insisted he'd come pretty much right away.

Matt laughed and allowed her to curl up into a little ball next to him. "Scoot over", she ordered him, and he obeyed. "Come on, Mohinder! You can fit right ... here."

Molly had it all figured out and Matt didn't feel like arguing with her because in the end, what she really wanted was the same thing he wanted. Which was for all of them to be together and safe and happy.

"You heard her", Matt murmured, face halfway into the pillow at that point, sleepy enough to not really think about it. He likely would in the morning. Right then however he was already shutting down.

Managing only to tug on his tank top at the last minute, Mohinder gaze Matt an apologetic look as he joined the two under the covers. Molly quickly made himself comfortable and while Mohinder had been initially sleeping with his back towards Matt, Molly's insistence at holding his hand didn't allow for that.

At least his mind was centred on the girl and that made this a lot easier since his awful mental faux pas with ranging thoughts their last day at the old flat and on the airplane. Molly might not have been tired, but Matt was asleep as Mohinder's head hit the pillow and the Indian followed suit shortly after.

Early to bed meant early to rise for the little girl and she was up and out from between her two protectors the moment she smelled breakfast cooking in the kitchen. Grandma Suresh helped her to dress and did her hair for her while Mohinder moved first from Molly's left over warm spot to Matt's much more warm spot as he'd done each and every time they shared a bed.

His fingers curled lightly in the larger man's t-shirt, knees touching Matt's upper thighs as he rolled halfway at the waist so both of his own shoulders hit the bed. Mohinder really was a strange one and certainly lived up to being an octopus when he had space to spread out.

Matt slept deeply for a change. He'd been right about needing a change of scenery and it seemed like it was helping all of them, and the knowledge that they wouldn't be returning to the apartment of Bad Things helped that calm further. Molly didn't have any bad dreams and Matt knew this simply because they didn't wake him. Mohinder's mind was fairly quiet as well and his own was completely silent, or at least he'd remember it that way.

When Mohinder eventually partially curled up against him he shifted in his sleep to accomodate for that, dipping his head to seek out the other man's shoulder, nose and mouth pressed lightly against the curve between shoulder blade and neck. It was a natural progression of sleeping with someone else in that proximity and being so relaxed, really. The hand that wound up somewhere near Mohinder's ribs was probably more about the underlying protectiveness Matt frequently embodied.

And that's how Molly found them when she bounced in. She paused for a moment but definitely not a long one before she climbed up on top of their legs.

"Come on, you guys! There's breakfast!"

Waking up to having one's feet squashed wasn't the most comfortable thing but the rest of his body was somewhat blissed out and warm and he ignored the little voice for two seconds longer than he normally would have. Mohinder cracked one eye at the little girl perched above them and then glanced down at the arm crossing his midsection. He touched it lightly, feeling warm, moist breath on his skin and hated every moment that he knew would follow once Matt woke.

No more closeness. Perhaps that was for the best.

Molly climbed off of them and given that Mohinder had more room on his side, knelt at the curve of his side and leaned over them. "I saw your eyes open, Mohinder!" she called out, and poked Matt not so subtly on the cheek. "We have a lot to do today! Wake up!"

Mohinder's hand lingered against Matt's forearm, skin tones setting each other off nicely. He tried not to move otherwise and just enjoy the way this felt. "You'd think it was Christmas," he murmured. "Molly, what time is it?"

"Time. To. Wake. Up!"

Matt actually wound up borrowing even further into Mohinder's shoulder to escape the assaulting little girl. "Sshh, Molly, we're sleeping", he tried in a half-asleep voice that didn't manage to sound authoritative at all, somewhere halfway between Mohinder's skin and the pillow. He moved his hand up vaguely to blindly shield himself from her when one of her hands came down between them so she could support herself and continue her little attack.

He could practically hear the way she wrinkled her nose in protest. "No you're not!"

He sighed dramatically. "Worth a shot", he muttered moreso to himself and Mohinder rather than Molly, who had resorted to pulling on the other man's arm.

"Come oooon", she whined, and then traded that tone in for a more mature one rather suddenly. "You always tell me to get more early so there's more time to do stuff."

Matt relented with that, lifting his head to look at the girl and then offered her a tired grin. "Alright, okay, we're coming. Just give us a minute."

"I'm coming back in here if you're not up!" she promised-slash-threatened them before she ran off again. Matt shook his head and raised himself up on his arms and sort of ... accidentally looked at Mohinder, really. But he couldn't immediately look away after the fact, only now realizing how closely they'd woken up, Mohinder's hair practically in his eyes, him more or less breathing his co-parent in.

He cleared his throat with an awkward little laugh and rubbed his eyes to break the spell. "Uh, morning", was the offered greeting when he sat up straight.

"So I've been led to believe," Mohinder mutters, turning away from Matt with his eyes still closed, only to give the other man a rather unabashedly sensual view of long, bronze-skinned arms curling around his ribs and the back of a neck that really was too long but looked perfect to press tiny kisses against. He gave quite the exaggerated, huffing sigh and tried to pull the back of his shirt down without much help. "I feel like I could have used another hour."

Grousing was not going to help his cause, however, and Mohinder dragged himself awake slowly by staring at the wall between yawns. When he did manage to push himself up, it took a little bit of time to untangle himself from the sheets before he planted his feet firmly on the floor.

He looked unabashedly adorable when he finally looked at Matt from the doorway and ruffled up his curls back with one hand. "See you in a moment," he said simply enough and left.

The stubble would just have to stay and he was much too tired to bother with contacts, so he found his glasses instead. Zahra looked at him as he sat next to Molly and offered him a cup of strong coffee. "Difficult night?" she asked in that annoyingly knowing way of hers.

"Had to share a bed with a little monkey, so yes!" he replied and put a hand on Molly's shoulder when she looked ready to go back and find out what was taking Matt so long.

Had Mohinder not stopped Molly from checking up on him, she would have found Matt sitting at the edge of the bed for a moment with his head in his hands. The reason for this being that his heart had done a weird little thing when Mohinder had looked at him in that sleepy fashion before he left and Matt couldn't for the life of him ignore it. Thing was that he didn't really know how to acknowledge it, either.

So that would eat at him for the rest of the day - awesome.

But he didn't take too long and after making sure he felt at least mostly awake he put on his jeans and went into the kitchen, smiling politely in greeting at Zahra and ruffling Molly's hair when he sat down on the other side of hair, making her squirm and roll her eyes.

Mohinder was wearing glasses, the bastard. Since when did that actually matter? Oh, just this morning, probably. It made him look different, but not in a bad way. It was ... distinguished, Matt supposed. As opposed to the usual pretty. He didn't say anything to him but stole the occasional glance.

"So what's the plan for today?"

That dominated most of the talk around the table.

"Firstly, I think we could go to the markets," Mohinder said, his eyes on Molly the majority of the time. Matt was being awkward and he assumed, rightly, that it was because of him. Tonight he'd sleep in his own bed...or better yet, send the two home to New York while he finished up here. Matt needed to return to work and Molly had to go to school. It wouldn't be the first time they'd dealt with life outside of him and they always did fine.

Mohinder wasn't worried about that. He'd like to stay on here to ensure a good recommendation and perhaps be able to start teaching again. At this rate, he'd even take a high school, though a university would be best. He could teach Indian if they didn't need an evolutionary biologist or geneticist with a half decade of lab research experience under his belt. He had small thoughts of NYU in his head... A good school. A high paying one. And if he could attain tenure, Molly's future was set.

"After, you can come with me to the university where I worked or perhaps you and Matt could accompany my mother to the temple." Very no-nonsense here, folks.

He was vaguely uncomfortable with the way Matt stared at his plate, eating healthy amounts of the pancakes his mother had made (yes, Matt, they do pancakes in India!). He would have given anything to be a telepath this time around, if only to see how badly he'd chased Matt off.

"Mohinder", Molly looked at him with a tricksy little smile, "I already told you I want to see where you work!"

Matt was a little amused in turn but mostly listened to them as he ate - actually listened, not mind-listened. He caught Zahra giving him contemplating looks once or twice and that made him kind of uncomfortable given the conversation he'd overheard between her and Mohinder the day prior, and he stopped looking at Mohinder altogether as a result.

It made him want to reconsider spending time with her for the day, but he wouldn't back out on something like that and was curious enough to want to see the temple for himself. He'd just deal with any awkwardness as it came, he told himself. He was good at it. Usually.

And as everyone agreed on an approximate schedule and that they'd have lunch out and that they'd meet back at the Suresh home for dinner and socialization after their respective errands, breakfast was finished.

It was a warm day out and Molly was beyond excited to get to show them her favorite parts of the market, particularly to Matt, since it was all new to him.

While it seemed like an ideal place to focus on Molly and on his own childhood, showing Matt around the market and describing how it had changed over the years was putting entirely too much focus back on the other man.

Rows upon rows of vendors sold all sorts of things from pottery and spices to fine fabrics and gold jewelry. Fortune tellers yelled at them in broken English to get their attention and Molly flitted around trying all of the free samples. Perhaps Mohinder indulged her a little too much but he did buy her a little too much...namely anything she looked remotely interested in.

"Gold to girls in India is sacred," he explained to her, clasping a wide necklace around her neck. "It's considered an investment, a bit like a bank account." When the women at the vendor applauded how fine Molly looked, he couldn't help but grin.

He'd never thought of sharing his culture this way with someone. Molly's nod was solemn. "I'll take good care of it." And she hugged him.

Bags of tea and fresh spice joined the stock pile to bring back to New York, Matt the unfortunate bag carrying victim. It would be time for temple services soon. It probably wasn't too late for Matt to back out and hit the university instead.

Matt was enjoying watching the two of them together. They had such a cute rapport and looked genuinely happy, something he knew he likely did as well just from being around them. Molly was entranced by all the things to see and do in a way that was entirely contagious and Matt was laughing as she dragged the group along to point things out. Even moreso when she took on that particular tone children had when she explained some of the things she'd picked up from Zahra, looking to Mohinder for confirmation and agreement.

"Don't spoil her too much", Matt teased, good-naturedly. But he knew he wouldn't have treated her any differently if their roles were reversed. As it was, he too had fun with all there was to look at and taste, although there was no hiding the mild caution and skepticism that came along with having gone half a lifetime without doing many new things.

India was loud, he decided, in a completely different way from the US. Less controlled, in a way, definitely more chaos, but there was a pattern to it he knew he couldn't see just because he wasn't used to it. All in all not a bad experience. It was great not having to look over your shoulder because it meant you could actually pay real attention to the things around you.

He didn't mind being a packing mule much either. And no, he had no plans on backing out, actually, despite feeling a bit nervous about the outing. It'd probably be better to spend some time away from Mohinder anyway, cause he still hadn't sorted out what the hell was going on or what he wanted to do about it. You didn't have a good perspective if you were too involved, he'd learnt that quickly on the force, even as a street cop. Don't get personal. Everybody knew that one even if most ignored it.

Molly, Mohinder, India. Such an unlikely turn of events.

Those were the things on Matt's mind when they eventually picked a spot for lunch.

The little fried cheese balls in Matt's lunch were not too spicy or too sweet and the meal was therefore a success across the board. They went their separate ways at the university, Mohinder giving the car over to his mother to come and pick them up again after the service. Molly waved furiously to the departing car and Mohinder-- He finally felt as if he could relax. Constantly worrying about what Matt overheard was becoming a nightmare.

It also gave Mohinder a few hours to show Molly off and to get his ducks in a row for a job and, hopefully, extended work visa in New York. Several of his old students bumped into him as well. It made for a particularly lovely afternoon.

At least for Matt's sake, the service at the temple wasn't that bad either, though it was likely boring until it came time to give offerings and Zahra brought him up to the statue of Kannon, one of the deities of peace and love, to lay flowers and fruits at her feet.

It was only after the last sutra was read that she engaged Matt in anything other than pleasantries. "My son is very fond of you."

And an afternoon that Molly enjoyed as well, most likely; she was a smart, observant and curious girl who had many questions to ask and actually listened and made sure she understood the explanations. And in a place like the one where Mohinder worked there were plenty of things to look at and ask about.

On Matt's end of things, he hadn't minded the service too much. Boring in places and strange, absolutely, but an interesting experience and Mohinder's mother hadn't been anywhere near as intrusive as he'd anticipated. Not that he completely counted that one off, but he'd been fairly relaxed for the most part.

Of course, he felt a bit like jumping two feet in the air when she did drop that bomb on him. And what a bomb, too.

"I-I, uh- you think?" he managed after a second's worth of deer-in-the-headlights. He felt a bit like he'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. It was downright bizarre.

"Oh yes. A mother can tell these things," Zahra chuckled, knowing perhaps that Matt was uncomfortable though she clearly didn't care to address those particular feelings at the time. She led Matt out of the temple, large golden statues following them in various positions down the hallway. "And I know you care for him as well."

She didn't intend to let up, not this time, and not at this rate. Her motherly senses were tingling and her child's happiness and safety were certainly things she was interested in.

His engagement to Mira, arranged, had been the wrong move, she knew. They had a lot in common, but Mohinder was a dreamer. He needed someone more stable. Despite homosexuality being frowned upon in India, his mother never minded when he beat around the pronound bush from time to him.

She just liked to vet his potential mates.

"Though he does not believe it to be in the same fashion. Have you spoken about this? Raising a child together will try your relationship at times and you must be on the same page, no matter what that relationship is."

If only he'd had invisibility instead of this mind thing, huh? That would have made escaping from this kind of discussion a lot easier. But Matt was forced to politely follow and listen, in part because he was entirely visible and in part because he ... actually was that polite. And good-natured. He'd always be the good cop.

He was struggling a little with what to say though but Zahra didn't seem to actually expect an answer from him at that little observation. Which was probably a good thing, because Matt wasn't sure how to say yes, I care about your son because we're a team and Molly would break if anything happened to him or yes, I care about your son because despite his fuck-ups he's really not bad at all to be around, or yes, I suddenly care a whole lot that your son wears glasses.

So instead he just kind of swallowed, and listened, and when there was a question, he felt kind of helpless.

"Um", he started, and for a while, that was that. Focus, Parkman. Your power is a mind power. Come on, be smooth. "Maybe not as much as we could have, ma'am", he wound up with, congratulating himeslf on his steady tone. "But we know we're on the same page as far as Molly is concerned."

And that's really the most important thing, is what went unsaid.

She wasn't entirely satisfied by the answer in some respects but she let it go. "What you both are doing for that girl is incredible," she told Matt as they wound their way back to the car. "That you both care for her, deeply, is hardly something that could go unnoticed and though Mohinder only briefly told me of her circumstances, that she is blossoming after such hardship is a commendation to you both."

She lifted the hem of her burnt orange sari to step down from the curb and climbed into the car. Matt wasn't at the end of the conversation, however.

"I have often worried that Mohinder would never see the potential of finding someone that might understand him... He has sold himself short on so many occasions that I did not believe myself to ever be a grandmother. I want you to know that my home is always open to you and yours, Mr. Parkman. In return, I would ask only that you protect Mohinder and that beautiful girl. And be gentle with my son's heart. He means well, but often oversteps himself. Shall we see if they're ready to return home?"

"Thanks", he said quietly, sincerely grateful. He really was appreciative of her praise. It meant a lot that she thought as much. In a way that his and Mohinder's efforts were recognised, yeah, but mostly for the fact that Zahra saw it as something good and could see the positive effects on Molly.

It meant that they were doing the right thing. That was really all that mattered.

It was also clear that she wanted him to do right by her son, and that was a topic that was a little more blurry. Matt nodded, though, listening despite his own embarrassment and slight desire to run away from the topic altogether. He recalled it at Odessa, the way he'd actually wound up telling Mohinder that power or not, he still made a difference. Was that what she meant, selling himself short? It wasn't unlikely.

He hadn't really thought about Mohinder that way, either. But then, new ways to think about the man seemed to be cropping up a bit all over the place today.

Biting the inside of his cheek lightly, he gave her a thoughtful look, but he nodded. What else could he say other than "Yeah, sure"?

The drive back was mostly in silence and Matt found that he was thinking a whole lot more than he really wanted to, but when they arrived at the university and Molly and Mohinder were both waiting for them, he found himself grinning all the same.

"He-heey! How was school?"

That one was for Molly when she practically ran up to them.

"On her way to an advanced degree," Mohinder reported, smiling as well behind his glasses. "She taught a few lectures and charmed her way into some free ice cream."

"Mohinder!" Molly laughed as she took Matt by the hand. Having either of them leave again, for the next few weeks, was going to be difficult. Even if it was only for a little while. "It did make me miss school a little bit though. They don't have arts and crafts at the university though." Allow the girl to chatter away while Mohinder crossed the plaza at a more leisurely pace, eyes on Matt the whole way, at least until he realised he'd been made out again.

Hopefully this wouldn't become a massive problem, though holding all of these feelings in was starting to tear at him.

His own fault and he knew it.

Climbing into the backseat with Molly, they were whisked back home and Mohinder spent the time before dinner trying to pack Molly up and get the things he'd bought safely into his own luggage. At least playing Tetris with tea and spices kept his mind from Matt--

Oh, who was he kidding? Of course it didn't. Not when he could hear Matt talking to Molly across the hall.

That talking was the leadup to some laughs and giggles as Matt teased the girl and deliberately misunderstood some of the things she tried to tell him from having looked around the university. She called him silly a few times and he simply retaliated by calling her smartypants. It was an easy little dialogue, a cute back and forth, with Matt's love and warmth for the girl evident even when he deadpanned at her.

They left Mohinder alone for the most part but after Molly had told him most of what she had on her mind and went to see if Zahra wanted any help with making dinner, Matt found himself leaning on the door frame to the room Mohinder was in and watching him as he finished up packing.

It was when he looked up that Matt colored slightly and lifted his eyes towards the ceiling. Not an eyeroll, but personal exasperation. What had he just been doing? Come on.

He cleared his throat.

"So, probably a stupid question", he said, voice caught between uncertainty and feigned nonchalance. "What's with the glasses, anyway?"

There were any number of stupid questions Matt could ask but he wasn't expecting that. His mind had snapped shut when he noticed the larger man looking in on him and almost knocked his bag clear off the bottom of a bed he hadn't even used. Tonight, perhaps, if Molly would let them, Mohinder would gladly stay here where it was safe and he didn't have to wake up with Matt so deliciously close to him.

A glance over his glasses at the asked question, however, gave him pause. "I hadn't felt like putting in my contacts," he said, eyebrow arching. "After a few days in Odessa having to spit into them to keep them from drying out and sleeping in them so I wouldn't lose them, I thought I'd give my eyes a break from little bits of plastic shoved against them."

Mohinder pulled off his glasses in a move that was unintentionally sexy and turned his massive brown eyes in Matt's direction.

"Better?" Matt was a bit of a multi-coloured blob at the moment, so it was hard to know the answer.

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