seekevolution | The Storm

"Yeah, about the same as when you left it," Peter said, still able to smile despite everything. "I dropped off the rest of the supplies and put notes wherever there were some people holding up. Oh-- Hold on." Matt was still buckling a belt that would need a few new holes in it really when Peter blinked out and back into the room holding a massive stuffed elephant. "That's the last of it," he said and plopped down on the edge of a bed still warm from body heat.

It'd been awhile since he smelled anything really clean, but this-- This was nice.

"You've got a shower? It works?" Peter was still just a kid at heart, he'd grown up in body but maybe not to much in his head. "Are you going to use it? Actually, you should. You look like a dirt ball."

A lazy, teasing smile kept right on going.

Peter lost Nathan but, in a way, gained Matt Parkman.

Matt was a lot nicer to him than Nathan.

Matt's eyes widened faintly at the sight of the elephant, and he shook his head but went up to give Peter a quick but well earned hug. They'd been through a whole lot together and Peter had quickly become one of the few people Matt really felt that he could trust and count on. And there was understanding between them too. You didn't spend a month together without some discussion and even if they hadn't had a few talks there would always be the more-than-enough-knowledge that they had each other's backs.

He gave Peter a reproachful look when he leant back though. "Wow, thanks", were the words he chose in response, but not actually having taken offense he squeezed the younger man's shoulder briefly before he let go and picked up his t-shirt with some distaste.

Yeah, well. He had a point.

"You can shower after me", he offered, and waited for the nod before he left the room. He found a towel in the bathroom - probably the one Mohinder had used before he left - and when he stepped under the water he felt immediately better.

New York had been almost branded to his skin. The dust, the grime, sweat and dirt and blood, and getting to rinse it off was such a relief.

It wasn't a long shower, but Molly woke from the sound of the water running. She was a little uncertain at finding Peter instead of any of her fathers, but she recognised him and knew he was okay, so she gave him a small smile when she approached him.

He'd probably get another hug when she saw the elephant, though.

A hug Peter most certainly received. He just needed one from Mohinder and then he'd unlock the achievement from this little group. Peter was more than pleased by it, happy to see the girl so happy, and didn't say no when she offered to make him cereal in the kitchen.

"Wow, milk-- I never thought I'd miss milk so much," Peter joked, tucking into his second bowl when Matt came out of the bathroom in dirty clothes but looking much better. He had his mouth full of Cheerios when he stood up. Food was nice (very nice) but being clean was so much nicer still and Peter ducked away into the bathroom to wash the grime from his skin.

Hopping off of the chair, Molly was once more full of hugs and then poured Matt something for breakfast too. Her eyes were singularly focused on him the whole while as if she was afraid that he wasn't real, or that he'd turn to sand and water.

When Mohinder did make it back, that slash on his throat pronounced even now, he'd find Molly sitting in Matt's lap, small hand against his large palm, telling him in half words and half thoughts about their month apart while Peter sat beside the stuffed elephant ate spaghetti and meatballs from a can.

He'd even managed to shave, how amazing was that? Matt didn't really have the genes for full-on beard growth but with the dark, prickly stubble gone he both felt and looked a lot better, even if there were still remainders of dark circles under his eyes.

Peter looked a lot better too with his hair clean. It had been getting much too long and you could tell even more on Peter how dirty it had been, greasy strands frequently tucked behind his ears. But he was smiling now, and eating, and it made Matt glad to see given his recent tendency to fast.

But Molly made him the most happy. He couldn't quite stop touching her, if it was by smoothing her hair back or kissing her forehead or bruhing his fingers on her face. But he listened and took in the loneliness and fear and worry of this last week. The weeks prior hadn't seemed too bad and when she had a fun story to share about another kid she'd met back in Atlanta Matt managed to laugh, even if they both fell silent for a moment after with the quiet contemplation of what might have happened to that friend.

When Mohinder came back Molly interrupted herself to give him a hug too. She always did now, in greeting. She was scared not to anchor them to her after everything that had happened; every separation an ordeal and every reunion worthy of celebration.

Matt rose as well, eyes on the cut on Mohinder's skin for a moment before he looked at his face, and went up to take the one of his hands Molly hadn't claimed.

They really were family. Peter would notice with that bittersweet feeling but a small smile. He missed his own - but with the knowledge that he could see them at any point without fear of spreading the illness, it wasn't too bad.

Just, well. Nathan would always be a loss.

"How did it go?" Matt asked, and there was more to him now, the real him and not the makeshift soldier in the way he looked at Mohinder.

Molly might be just a little too big to be carrying around, but Mohinder still did it from time to time, especially now. She might be afraid of them leaving her, or afraid that they'll be killed, but she's become a touch stone for the normal, something that Mohinder so desperately needed.

It was one thing to keep busy and another to have something to keep busy for.

With Molly on his hip and a smile to Peter, Matt received the remainder of Mohinder's attention. "Arthur seems to think we'll be able to manufacture enough inoculation for the West Coast in a month. He's sending the formula to be independently verified. I argued that we ought to begin inoculations in the area instead but he seemed to think that the threat on this coast was more or less neutralised with time and, I will agree with him here, the West Coast has been more or less untouched and has suffered heavily from fearful rioting."

Peter's ears didn't exactly prick at the name. Arthur was fairly common, certainly, and Mohinder hadn't used a last name. Truthfully, he didn't know it.

"It's his facility and I don't have much of a problem so long as people are being helped. As for New York...the people there aren't infectious. It's more of a job for the military to establish control. Obviously, they're doing a fine job now but-- Red Cross could begin mobilizing into the various plagued cities as early as tomorrow. I believe Baltimore will be first, given how close it is to the Capitol."

Mohinder could certainly talk and the thought in Peter's mind right now, grinning in the corner? It's the accent that does it for you, isn't it?

Shut up, Petrelli. But it was thought with a sudden smile.

The accent was just one of the many qualities Matt liked about Mohinder but he hadn't really thought about it until now when it was pointed out to him. The teasing in Peter's mental voice actually served to put the affection he felt for the man at the forefront of his mind. He watched the way he held Molly and how his eyes focused behind those glasses and listened to the words. It was good news, really. A shot at turning things around. A month was a long time, but ...

But it was no longer up to him. And that was a relief.

He glanced at Peter, thinking along those lines. They no longer had any obligation to help.

"So that's it, huh? You could go back to your family", he said with a gentle inflection. "See your nephews. Your mom."

He'd have no objection if Peter wanted to stick around - he'd grown quite fond of the younger man and appreciated his company and suspected he would even moreso when they weren't perpetually in danger - but he'd come back to his family. It was only fair Peter should get to see his own.

To Mohinder, he added, "I don't really care how things are run so long as people get help. If I can help with that, then ..." A gesture. New York had become personal, somehow. He knew a lot of the people that were struggling there even if only by their faces. "But I want to make sure we stay together this time. No matter what."

No matter what.

Peter started for a moment, not about the teasing (though he'd been about to mention the Indian's ass as a reprise), and simply blinked at Matt as if it'd never occurred to him that he was allowed to head home. It sounded like a dream and he stood up, spoon left in the can.

"I... Well huh. Yeah, actually, I think I will. Listen, you guys ever want a place to stay, come up to Maine. Just have Molly find me. You'll always be welcome. We have a pool."

Molly blinked and looked up at Mohinder, arms around his neck. "Can we?"

Now that made him laugh. "Perhaps we'll do that when it's safer to travel," he promised. Peter offered Matt a hug and Mohinder hugged him as well.

Achievement obtained, Peter thought to himself.

After he left, Mohinder turned back to Matt. "They offered me a chance to oversee in San Franscisco but... I think I'd rather stay here. It's impeccably safe and well stocked and... I think it's time to settle in for a bit." Settling in into a space smaller than the first flat in Brooklyn would be a nightmare, but it would do for awhile.

No, not a nightmare. It would be heaven. There was food and water and most importantly two people Matt cared so deeply for it was still difficult to really grasp. Space was a non-issue. He didn't care.

"Yeah. Sounds good." For as long as they were able to, having somewhere to be, not effectively stealthing and being on the run? It sounded like everything Matt could want. Letting go of Mohinder to get a glass of water (water!), he then asked, "San Francisco, is that where they're going to ... what, move production?"

Of the vaccine?

You turn into a bit of a control freak after a while, so Matt wanted to know and had a few more questions as well. That said, he looked and seemed more relaxed, even just from the way he was leaning back against the sink.

"Communications all work here? Radio, TV, phones?" He didn't have his own anymore. He should get a new one.

Mohinder was happy to answer Matt's questions after he put Molly down and she went back to the elephant and the bed he and Matt had slept in to curl up. He did hope that, in the very near future, Molly would be able to go back to being normal again. New York might never be, but their girl deserved more than this.

She did seem to know when her dads had to talk, though, and while she was within ear shot (and more importantly, line of sight) of her new parents, she was fine with letting them have their moments. They seemed to need them.

Besides, you couldn't convince her otherwise that seeing them kiss like that was ever a bad thing. It meant her family was really really. She might not have a mom-figure any more but both Mohinder and Matt filled in that role at different times.

And there was always Grandma Suresh.

"Everything works here. The towers are all right. Television is a little bit more sketchy. News programs are a bit guarded and the country has pockets of martial law invoked but--" All right. Matt working the taps was both cute and sad at the same time. Mohinder moved in beside him, hand to his back in an affectionate, understanding way. "But yes. They can synthesis the serum here in small doses, so I believe I'll tell Arthur that I will stay to oversee that aspect of it."

Matt drank half of the water before he put the glass down with a small nod and a sense of relish. He reached out to brush his hand over Mohinder's shoulder as he listened, dusting off something imaginary or real, it hardly mattered.

Molly was thinking about all of them. That suited Matt fine; so was he. Things were slowly grounding themselves when they were all together again.

"Arthur", he mimicked. Or questioned. He lifted his eyes to Mohinder's. "You always that familiar with the boss?"

It wasn't hostile or jealous, but had a somewhat wary edge even beneath what might have been teasing if he'd had a bit more reason or energy for it.

Mohinder stopped to think -- difficult to do with the way Matt kept touching him -- and shook his head. "I actually don't know his last name. Pinehearst, likely. This is his facility," Mohinder grinned. "I suppose that private sector pharmaceutical research is a bit more lax than the rest of the world. It's actually fairly pleasant. He employes a fair bit of people like you and Molly as well. They're all just as willing to talk about their abilities too. So strange. I suppose that this is a safe haven for them."

Mohinder couldn't help but smile. This was a truly beautiful place and now that Matt was back, Mohinder thought that he might truly be able to enjoy his time here. His job was done with the inoculation. He might be able to start on his original research again...

If he'd just saved the world -- he didn't quite think of himself that loftily actually -- couldn't he have a little leisure?

"Some of the people here are truly remarkable. What Arthur has created here is wonderful. I really need to find you some new clothes."

Matt had to think about that. A safe haven? After all the ordeals leading up to New York - twice - he hadn't considered it possible. Hadn't thought about it at all. He'd been abducted twice, held against his will, experimented on and then been on the run, and his idea of normalcy hinged on not letting anyone know about any of that. About what he could do. It'd lead to more of the same.

To talk about it ... that someone would employ people like him willingly, it didn't quite add up to his experiences. Or, well. Thompson had, but Thompson had also been the person pulling those strings that Matt hated.

Maybe he was paranoid.

"I'd kill for a new shirt", he agreed after a moment. "Molly says I smell."

Dropping his hand to loosely cross his arms, he leant his hip against the sink, still watching Mohinder. Rather closely. For several reasons.

"This Arthur guy. You don't think he's one of us?"

Yeah, sorry, tunnel vision. It was what made most sense to Matt though. Normals didn't tend to trust specials so easily. Unless it was about exploiting them?

"Well you do!" the peanut gallery called and Mohinder laughed. He didn't mind the smell so long as the man underneath it was real and healthy. He'd live happily with the rest. That said, there were likely clothing in Matt's size to be had easily. Pinehearst was a wonder in self sufficiency. Mohinder had been lucky enough to get Molly a few things to wear as well upon arriving. They'd not exactly had a lot of time to pack and the roads and shopping malls were not conclusive to retail purchases for the last week or so.

Mohinder was just moving to the door when Matt stopped him. More questions. So many questions.

He felt a bit like he was teaching again.

"I never asked. I'd assumed he would volunteer the information. For men like Arthur, and men like my father, he likely has--" or had? "-- a child with abilities. Molly, will you be all right here if we go to storage?"

"Can you bring up some ice cream?" she challenged and Mohinder smirked.

"It's six in the morning."

"There's always ice cream in the soft serve machine in the cafeteria," she promised and Mohinder decided to just give in and lead Matt to the lifts.

Matt followed, running a hand over the back of his neck, shooting a look at Molly before he walked out the door and let Mohinder close and lock it behind them. He hadn't paid a lot of attention when they arrived but now when he was looking around in a more attentive way he was struck again not only by the cleanliness and apparent organisation around them, but by the structure as well.

The building seemed very big.

"They have everybody who works here living here?"

Yeah. More questions. He didn't actually realize how many he was asking, but it was a way of orientation. Preliminary defense. He kept close to Mohinder, hands in his pockets but arms brushing every now and then.

And when someone walked past, Matt kept his eyes on her and moved subtly closer to the other man.

He added what he'd been thinking some time prior, after a moment. "If these people have cell phones to spare, I need one. I think mine got ran over."

Most of Matt's idiosyncrasies, Mohinder didn't even notice. He was too busy discussing the building, too busy talking at length about how car it went underground, how it had been able to accommodate all of them once Fort Lee went on high alert and a curfew was called. "The labs are even more extensive. Being able to house scientists has been a small blessing. It's almost as if this sort of disaster had been planned for."

Mohinder was at ease, however. Waiting for the lift, he leaned lazily against the wall. His lab, he explained, was on the third floor. The offices were on the seventh. There weren't any children here, however.

"So I'm rather certain this place isn't meant to house an entire work force. But the cafeteria really is a thing of beauty. Some new clothing first. We might want to burn what you currently have on now..."

Planned for. Right. Matt mulled that over and it wasn't the type of remark he'd forget. The company had been playing god with the virus, a former member had wanted to release it. What was this Pinehearst, really?

But he didn't say anything about it right then. Told himself that look, he was in a seemingly safe place for the first time in a month and he had his family again, so why not try to relax for once?

He listened, put it to mind. Third floor. Good to know.

Once they got to the storage he had to agree even more strongly with Mohinder that yeah, the clothes he was wearing right now had no right to keep existing. The storage was big, too. It had a lot more than Matt had thought, not that he'd been sure what exactly he'd expected, and when Mohinder tossed him a clean white t-shirt he felt relieved to pull the gray, bloodied and dirty one over his head with a faint smile of "Thanks."

Though Mohinder often said things without thinking, sometimes he didn't stop to reflect on his own insights either. He'd navigated the storage area enough to know where everything was. Food, water, toiletries, clothing, there were pallets of everything for the taking should one have access...and Mohinder, as one of the top researchers here, certainly had access to anything he wanted. And that included a more private room when much of his staff had to bunk up together.

He didn't realise he'd been getting preferential treatment either. The world turned and quite a bit of it just flew merrily over his head.

Perhaps that's why Mohinder took the time to smile somewhat less than serenely at Matt a moment later, eyes purposefully lingering over him. "You know, you really ought to shower again before sullying those new clothes."

There was a shower in all of the labs. Some more private than others. Mohinder's office even had a full bathroom.

And Matt had promised a bit of clothing ripping when they next met up, hadn't he?

It wasn't Mohinder's fault that his mind went there of all places. Those sorts of feelings happened quite a bit when people survived the horrors they both had. And yes, he was certain that Molly would be fine for a little while.

Matt hadn't really been thinking about it, not since that moment at the loft where it had been all heat and no thinking, but he'd had to start thinking again all too soon and about too many things for that to really linger in his mind. The exhaustion had played its own part as well.

Now, when it was on Mohinder's mind ... he could hear it, could in a distant way sense it too, and it was like he realized all over again that for all intents and purposes they were together. Moreover, it had a bit of an effect. Of course it did. At times in New York he'd called to mind that dream of Mohinder's from what felt like ages ago now and it always made something coil deep in his stomach. With the way Mohinder looked at him now, it hit him again.

So it didn't take him very long to get something different in his eyes, a muted kind of light when he entirely purposefully went up to Mohinder and put his hands to his sides and backed him slowly into the nearest wall. He was close. He was smiling slightly. He hadn't put the shirt on; instead the fabric was bunched up against Mohinder's torso.

"What, right here?"

He wasn't referring to the shower.

"Perhaps not right here," Mohinder said, hardly minding the way Matt's intimidation tactic had turned into something entirely too sensual. He'd never be able to see it as anything else from now on. Instead, Mohinder's lips tilted upwards as his head did, that line on his throat covered by the shadows of his chin as his fingers touched just above the scarred bullet wounds.

He probably shouldn't like them as much as he did.

His hips lifted slightly though it wasn't at all difficult to align his own with Matt's if he stood on his toes.

"I think we might well be disturbed. And there's a certain lack of soap and water to do the job." He did find Matt so very attractive, even gaunt and tired and covered in bruises.

Matt pressed into him when he shifted. Not much, honestly, but it made for a very clear indication of what they were talking about. There was a ghost of a laugh at the way Mohinder phrased what he was saying and he moved closer, but in the end he didn't kiss him and stepped back after what felt like a long moment of that intimate proximity.

Not right here, then.

He pulled the shirt over his head, picked up a pair of jeans they'd scouted moments earlier and raised his eyebrows Mohinder's way when he turned to find him still looking at him. It managed to look both innocent and challenging at the same time which took quite a few of the extra years Matt had gained over the last few weeks off his face.

"What? C'mon", he said and gestured towards the door.

God, you'd think me to be a virgin, he thought to himself without actually meaning to broadcast that. He was just completely, one hundred percent needy in all the worst of ways and after Matt left him with that horrible tease, the geneticist just stared at his until he turned.

A heated sigh followed but Mohinder cleared his throat and quickened his step after the initial two nearly failed.

"More of a tease than I'd have imagined," Mohinder said roughly, but there was nothing there that wasn't pleased just the same. Promises for later were still promises. "Shall I show you Molly's beloved soft serve?"

Maybe a handjob under the table later--

Yeah, not his fault, all right? Mohinder was in his early thirties. Sex was still an important part of his psyche...even if he did push it out for science more often than not.

Matt halted and had to cough into his hand. He wasn't in all actuality much of a tease, or hadn't been rather, but maybe it had to do with Mohinder himself and the effects he had on him. That resolve or whatever you could possibly call the earlier moment would absolutely crumple if he kept thinking like that.

"Watch it, or you won't make it that far", he muttered back, looking up at the ceiling.

Jesus christ, now he was thinking about it. Entirely new. He'd recieved handjobs but never given them and now he was thinking about it. And he absolutely had half a mind to push him into a wall again, but knew better and once again shoved his hands into his pockets and kept his eyes, for the moment, fixed elsewhere.

"If you're going to pick up my thoughts, Matthew," Mohinder said, using his full name to bite back a laugh, "then you really ought to be prepared for what you find there. I'll have you know that I've been waiting for the outside of a month for you. Well, no, let's be honest." They walked side by side down the hall. Mohinder's hands were decidedly not in his pockets. How could they be when he wore his jeans so tightly? "Far longer than that. But what's a little while more?"

He punched his thumb against the up button for the lift and waited, smile almost serene. He'd never realised he'd have that effect on Matt. Obviously, the man found him attractive -- or they wouldn't have spent all of those late nights tussling and getting handsy -- but they'd been going so slow.

And Mohinder never minded that. Actually, it made it all the more special. He didn't just tumble into bed with someone that might tire of him quickly this way.

The lift came with a chime and Mohinder walked inside first and held the door for Matt. He watched the taller man as he plodded in after him, trying to detect a little colour on his cheeks...or perhaps a little bulge in his jeans.

"Of course, the longer we wait, the more my mind might continue to play out various interesting scenarios and you might end up getting stuck in a different sort of dream than the one you pulled me from in Odessa."

Edited 2014-02-24 23:38 (UTC)

He'd find both. Especially when Matt smiled suddenly in an entirely new, mixed way and once again couldn't help but trap Mohinder against one of the elevator doors, hands gripping the handle-rod-bar-thing that went along its interior on either side of Mohinder's hips.

"Yeah, well", he started, and there was a definite flush in his face when he looked up at Mohinder - looked up, because he was leaning on his arms moreso than standing up straight. "Maybe I uh, already got to hear one of those scenarios of yours. You dream really loud sometimes, Mohinder."

It wasn't the entire truth of what he was thinking about but you know what? Mohinder was pulling these lines with such teasing glee. It was only fair that Matt returned them similarly, even if he was a little out of his depth here, actually in a way kind of nervous. At the same time he figured, screw it. To hell with all that. They'd live through, what? Four near-death experiences and/or apocalypses together? Yeah.

He could handle this, and though he swallowed, his gaze was steady.

There might be nothing sexier in this world to Mohinder Suresh right this second than Matt flirting with him like that. He was so shy about it, take-control but also soft, as if feeling his way along without leaving his safety net too far. He liked each little push, each little nudge towards a dangerous sort of discussion. The elevator hadn't moved, no one was up this early to call it. So, sitting here, they were all alone.

Minus the video cameras most elevators had...that neither man was evidently thinking about right now.

Mohinder watched Matt with such amusement in his dark eyes and not so stealthily slid his knee between the larger man's legs. Yes. That indeed was the start of a Mohinder-caused erection. The Indian was proud of himself.

Matt responding to him this way... He didn't think that maybe Matt just wanted a little attention or that Matt might just want the furthest from Janice as possible (and Mohinder might really be that person). They had a connection. A genuine connection. A bond. No one could tell him otherwise.

He flushed a little himself when Matt told him that he'd spied on one of his dreams, but held his ground firmly. And worked at Matt's belt with sure, practiced hands. Mohinder didn't even break eye contact. "I'm afraid that I've also been told I can be quite loud outside of dreams too."

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