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.

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He'd tried to wait up. Well. He'd tried to nap a bit so he'd be fresher for Matt but-- "Slept right through my alarm," he confessed sheepishly. "But I wanted to be sure you ate something warm and I wanted to see how your day went. I'll brew some tea."

He had no intention of falling asleep right now. He could sleep in an hour or two, when Matt wound down again. When they were too tired to stay awake together. For Mohinder, this sort of quality time was important. Far more so than sleep.

He was up in a flash, electric kettle boiling the water faster than the stove, and caffeine flickered through his blood before Matt could even finish his dinner. Mohinder wasn't expecting another make out session. He'd be fine with watching late night news or catching up on television shows with Matt on the sofa.

He'd be fine just talking about the case.

Did Matt realise just how important he was to Mohinder? It went so far beyond attraction.

Matt was watching him with a soft expression as he ate. He offered a few more details about it - the gang setup, the surprisingly good rapport between the people working on the bust - but there was a natural lull to the discussion right then that worked out well given the late hour.

Molly, despite being slightly fidgety in a way that likely wouldn't go away for years, wasn't having any nightmares. Matt checked fleetingly when he went to do the dishes but wasn't consciously touching any of Mohinder's thoughts. He caught the vague indication of the sofa, though, and remained standing for that reason when he wiped his hands on a towel.

"You know what I think we should do?" he said, an earnest quality to his voice. "Just ... talk, for a bit. What do you think?"

Mohinder looked a little tired still but less drowsy, and Matt was headed that way too now when the adrenaline of the bust had really faded away. But they were both awake and none of them aiming for sleep for a while yet.

They'd spent some time starting to get to know each other physically, so it might be a good idea to actually get to know each other as people. Without yelling, misunderstandings or a sole focus on their ward.

Talk? The way Mohinder's eyes glow away the remainder of sleep should have given Matt every indication that talking was probably the best thing he could have mentioned for the evening's entertainment. They'd talked, surely, but Mohinder still knew so very little about Matt that it might well fill a shoe box.

"Better idea," he countered just the same, standing up to stretch long legs. "I'll put on some cookies--" Molly had forced him to buy a tube of dough with her annoyingly blue eyes and horribly adorable smile. "You put on something more comfortable, and we'll talk over sweets and milk."

As much as he liked Matt in a dress shirt and slacks, tie loose and sleeves rolled up, he still preferred him in a tee shirt and sleeping trousers. It made him look...

Cuddly.

Perhaps he ought to keep that to himself.

After shooing Matt away and setting the oven for ten minutes, Mohinder straightened up the couch and poured two glasses of milk before he took his spot, turned to look towards where Matt would sit.

"Where do we start?" he asked when everything was settled and a plate of still too hot to eat cookies took up the space on the sofa between them. "Us? Molly...?" You?

Well, there was no way he would object to that. There was something slightly fluttery in him at the ease that had seemed to find itself between the two of them - something had changed and definitely for the better. In part because finally they were allowed to feel at least mostly safe, but maybe part of it had to do with the development of their ... well, their relationship. What if all that fighting hadn't strictly been about fighting? It was something to think about.

Not that Matt would, though, not at the moment. He settled into the couch, one leg crossed over the other, facing Mohinder and watching him as the thought hit him.

He made a yeah, well kind of face, momentarily looking out the window before he looked back.

"Yeah, I guess I should throw you a bone, huh?" he said in a light tone. He wasn't all that good at sharing on this level (something that likely had to do with a somewhat low self-esteem on his part) and there was a sense of avoidance there, if only because Mohinder had a way of asking quite piercing questions when he wanted.

That said - he didn't mind the idea too much. If they were going to do this they should do it right and getting to know each other on a more personal level was an appealing notion.

"Go ahead, shoot."

He'd actually meant it during their last yelling match, that Mohinder was free to ask. It had just come out wrong at the time. This was a far better context.

Really? He didn't need to project the question, not when his eyes had grown so very wide at the thought of being given free reign over his questioning. He paused to dip a cookie in his milk. right to the point that it would be left to crumble while he thought of all of the things he didn't know about Matt.

How he took his coffee, what sort of cereals he liked, even his favourite colour, those were all things he knew all ready. Living together long enough have provided typical first date question answers. And yet, this wasn't exactly a date. Perhaps they were beyond the need for that. Perhaps Mohinder would ask him out officially in a few days, once they could get away for dinner. Just the two of them...even if they'd certainly had their fair share of 'friend dates.'

He decided instead to investigate young Matt. He wanted to know about his childhood, about what he liked best about high school, about what made him desire to be a cop. He wanted insight into the man he was sharing parental duties with, one he was so very sure he could fall in love with if he just let himself.

If he hadn't done so already.

Matt paused to eat a cookie as well, mulling over the questions as they came and buying some time. He'd never particularly liked talking about his childhood but he wasn't going to dodge out of it. It was just a question about where to begin.

"You know about my dad", was how he chose to eventually start. There was no hiding the bitterness in his voice even if he tried to conceal it as he talked about his father. Frequent disappearances, unexplained visitors, moving around and a certain cruelty in the man that had always been there - he'd never hit or beat either of them up, Matt or his mother. But he'd been good at putting them down. Had been impatient and disinterested with them but had given them money and the occasional affection that meant Matt had been upset when he left before that too had turned into bitter resignation.

He shrugged as he relayed this, not quite looking at Mohinder, slowly eating another cookie.

"I didn't want to be like him", he said after that. "Still don't. I guess that's when I figured, you know ... he's a criminal. Cops go after criminals, make sure they don't hurt anyone else. My dad - I don't think they ever got to him. Makes sense now, since he can do what I can do, but ... other people. I wanted to help put them away."

He'd figured it out when he was fairly young. In a subconscious way it was probably the furthest he could get from being his father, and that's why he clung to it, but mixed with that was a genuine desire to help people out.

Mohinder might have been a professor, but he could do more than lecture. He was actually a fantastic listener, never once interrupting Matt even when he stuttered or fell silent to find the right words. Mohinder's patience, when it came to things like these, seemed endless. Putting a better picture of Matt together in his mind wasn't just of utmost importance to their relationship, if it ever became one formally, but because he was honestly curious.

They'd already discussed all sorts of aspects of his ability, from a scientific stand point to a social one. Mohinder didn't bother to question any of it, though recently learning that Matt could manipulate thoughts and return them was still a little disconcerting. He liked to think of himself as being more or less accepting of those sorts of things, however.

Mohinder polished off five cookies himself before his milk was finished and he set his glass aside, watching Matt as he did so with dark eyelashes only momentarily obscuring his gaze.

"What about for relaxation? You have to take a holiday once in awhile. Are you a beach man?"

Matt was grateful for that. He appreciated the silence because he could tell it was attentive rather than judgmental and it allowed him the space to properly tell the story.

He was momentarily confused at the drastic change of subject, but he caught on quickly enough, shooting Mohinder a look that quickly morphed into a grin.

"Dude, I grew up in California. Do you even have to ask?"

There'd absolutely been a lot of beaches in Matt's life and the sound of waves and laughter mixed together was one of his favorites. It was something he hadn't realized he'd missed while in New York.

"What about you, what do you like to do when you're not bending over microscopes or playing house?"

"Bending over microscopes and playing house," Mohinder replied easily enough. "My social life hasn't exactly been all that social since I was a child. And even then, you heard my mother." He changed his tone to effect an Indian accent. "Mohinder was a good boy, always smiling, but his best friends were books rather than other children his age," he quoted his mother as saying to Matt at dinner one night.

He wasn't putting himself down, he simply didn't have time for a lot of people. All of his romantic interests, of which there had been several, were colleagues or roommates. People that lived or worked closely with him.

Matt, in that way at least, fit Mohinder's type.

"Costa Verde was the first time I've ever seen a beach by an ocean without flying over head. Even when I was sent to the Dominican Republic, I'd never stepped foot out of the city." All work and no play made Mohinder a very dull person. Luckily, New York's changed all of that.

Matt stared at him for a second, then gave him a somewhat disbelieving smile over his shoulder when he too leaned to set away his glass. "Alright, we're so taking Molly to the beach when it gets warm enough. And by that I mean me and Molly are taking you. You clearly need to learn how to live a little."

They'd established partial roles early on - Matt had usually been the one to goof around more with the other two and that probably showed now in the teasing light in his eyes. Settling his shoulder back against the back of the sofa and catching the beginning of Mohinder's answering smile, Matt thought unbidden that Mohinder at the beach would be one hell of a sight.

"So ... what? Loner by choice, not by nature?" he asked after another moment, searching Mohinder's face.

"I wouldn't exactly say that I'm a loner," Mohinder said, pushing the empty cookie plate aside and to the table with their empty milk glasses. He might not look like it, and he certainly might not sound like the sort, but tactile touch was extremely important to him and... They could talk and touch at the same time. Quite forward, certainly more forward than Janice had ever been, Mohinder leaned back against Matt and pulled one large arm around his waist. Because he could. Because he wanted to. Because Matt's shoulder made an excellent pillow.

If he ended up shocking Matt a bit by that somewhat catlike need for physical affection, he didn't notice.

"I'm a bit singled minded you might say. Monorailic." A one track mind never sounded so scientific until it was put that way. "But you know that. We had a few dozen arguments about putting my pursuit of the Company before Molly's well being." He wasn't accusing Matt at all.

The thought actually made him smile.

"You're the only person in my life that's ever tried to snap me back to the real world." His fingers lightly cradled Matt's elbow. "I can't begin to express my gratitude for that. It takes companionship and caring to realise just how lonely my life had been."

"I, er - really?"

If the sudden way Mohinder curled up with him was surprising, his words were decidedly moreso. Matt looked down at him, feeling stunned, and for that reason accepted the proximity with some uncertainty. But he still wound up with his chin somewhere on top of Mohinder's head. It felt natural.

"I didn't think you did", he said after a moment's of silence, voice close to the other man's hair. "Appreciate that, I mean. You always seemed happier with your numbers. Well, and Molly. You light up with her."

He lifted his free hand to rub over his eyes.

"Sorry I kept giving you such a hard time about that, by the way."

The whole Company thing. His criticism had been justified in the end but Matt wouldn't pull an 'I told you so' even if he'd get paid for it. In hindsight, it just seemed unnecessary, the few dozen fights, hushed voices if Molly was close by or all-out yelling if she wasn't. That, if anything, had been one hell of a strain on them. They could've handled that better. Done away with all that hostility.

Mohinder's laughter reverberated through his back and against Matt's chest. His eyes fell onto Molly's door, the girl inside asleep with her hair done up in braids so it would be wavy in the morning. He could spend many evenings like this, though perhaps it was silly to imagine a future when they'd only just been given a chance to really try for a present.

"I don't want to say that you were right," he teased. "It might inflate you ego to portions even I couldn't manage." His head shifted until it was tucked neatly under Matt's head and his fingers traced little patterns in pale skin.

It was indulgent. He couldn't apologise for that either.

"You were right though. They were using me. Both sides. Well it doesn't matter now. You were just trying to protect me from myself and protect Molly from what was obviously folly."

Matt breathed out through his nose in response, not quite a snort but similar enough, and splayed his fingers against Mohinder's side when he shifted. The teasing didn't offend since he didn't have that kind of ego and couldn't imagine having one. Instead, it all felt surprisingly good-natured despite the topic.

"Someone's got to try", he said back, eyes falling to Mohinder's fingers on his arm. I wouldn't use you he added mentally, soft enough that maybe he hadn't meant to project it.

It was easier to think certain things than say them. It was fortunate his ability allowed for that kind of communication. Although Mohinder's tone had been light enough it wasn't difficult for Matt to figure out he had to have issues about that sort of thing, about perpetually being used as a pawn, even without the doubts that had laced his mind when he'd told him about so many things back in Odessa.

He didn't want him to doubt the two of them. Whatever it was they were doing, yelling or teasing or this thing (cuddling? to think they were actually cuddling) it had always been genuine.

I'm glad that someone is you.

Matt's fingers along his ribs did give Mohinder pause, but only for a moment. This was what couples did, even if they were a couple in cohabitation and romantic sparks only. Mohinder didn't need to put a name to it. He was happy to spend the night talking and sharing Matt's warmth.

The only trouble, however, was that as comfortable as this was, he also just wanted to fall asleep.

Mohinder covered a yawn with his hand, unwilling to sit up just yet. "Tomorrow will you make it to dinner? I can hold it back a little if I give Molly a treat after school." It was amazing what some peanut butter and apple slices could do.

They were coming to the end of the school year, at least. That also meant that they were going to have to discuss summer options for their girl. Mohinder could have her tag along with him to work on the days he taught, but she might enjoy summer camp too and--

Another yawn. Certainly time for bed.

Matt didn't know what to say to that thought, so he didn't. "I'll call if I can't", he confirmed the spoken words instead, but it would take one hell of a lot to keep him away from home. He practically hadn't seen Molly for two days, something he was all too aware of, and he missed her. Missed all three of them together, definitely.

He laughed slightly and disentangled himself from Mohinder when he heard his thoughts speed up and despite his protests, stood and offered him a hand to help pull him up from the surprisingly comfortable sofa as well. He stifled a yawn with his free hand. They really were contagious.

"Your thoughts are slipping again", he said with half a smile. "Or uh, racing."

Bed wouldn't be a bad idea. For his own part, he was surprised not to feel very tired at all, but he knew that he'd likely fall into a deep sleep the moment he laid down regardless.

Once they were both standing Matt held onto Mohinder's hand for a moment before he let go and something a little more self conscious entered that smile. "This was ... nice", he said, because he felt it should be adressed. It really had been, though. He could get used to it.

"Slipping." Mohinder liked that concept and he smiled, sleep in his eyes, just managing to keep from inviting Matt to bed with him. Not yet. They need more of these sessions, even if the offer wasn't in any way sexual. He just liked the idea of sleeping beside the other man. Hand to Matt's chest, Mohinder pressed a hand against the detective and leaned in to kiss him. "It seems I've slipped again. I'll see you tomorrow."

Matt was left watching Mohinder head back to the kitchen with the cups and the plate and, a moment later, the sound of the door to his bedroom shutting would complete the evening. It'd been a very long, strange, and heartbreaking journey from Kirby Plaza to this point.

But it'd all been worth it.

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Quarantine

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