seekevolution | Summer

Summer

Though Mohinder didn't buy into the saying that there could be such a thing as love at first sight, the way that Simon Petrelli looked at Molly when they were first introduced made him reconsider and then immediately close his thoughts so Matt wouldn't worry. Mohinder gently pulled her long hair back from her shoulder so his hand could rest upon it, Molly in a bright red and yellow sundress,and said shoulder covered by a small yellow half jacket. They'd both been pleased to find it at Walmart on the drive up from Fort Lee to Maine, taking the long, scenic route even though Peter had offered them a chance to teleport.

Why teleport when they could have more time together and see the country? Molly needed a little break away from enclosed spaces and the forests along their mountain roads in New York and at the southern border of Canada was just the ticket.

Of course, there had been blighted areas, places where the virus had broken out, or worse, where communities had closed their doors and grown violent. They had just guided their black SUV around the problem areas and stuck to rural hotels on the interstate.

Now, standing in the foyer of what looked like another hotel and yet, knowing it was a family summer retreat, Mohinder could feel Molly yearning to go explore...and the eldest of Peter's nephews more than willing to guide her.

They were both the same age. They'd both been without playmates (what nearly twelve year old counts their brother as a playmate?) for a long while. Mrs. Petrelli, gracious despite her furtive glances at Matt, finally gave them the go head. "Show Molly to her room. Gently, Simon. She's not one of your trucks." Molly glanced back up at Mohinder and he nodded.

"I'll come find you shortly."

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"What? Roofs don't fix themselves?" Peter asked and Monty cackled uproariously. Mohinder himself couldn't help but grin. Simon...was more subdued. He smiled, but he seemed more of a quiet boy. That suited Molly just fine. During dinner, Mohinder noticed him leaning over from time to time to whisper in the girl's ear too and while he could have easily asked Matt to find out what it was about, even kids needed their privacy.

There couldn't be anything too harmful here and he just needed to let go a little before he truly was labeled the 'unfun parent.'

Thanking Angela for her vegetarian selections and making sure Molly had all of her food before dessert came out of the kitchen by their private chef, Mohinder settled back against the old, fine wood of the chair and ate as slowly as possible.

When was the last time they'd had a home cooked meal?

This. Was. Bliss.

Despite frequent outbursts of the kids, or Peter, the atmosphere was light and airy. And Mohinder couldn't have been more thankful.

Maine was beautiful. This plot of land was just isolated enough to make it seem like they were the only people alive. He and Matt had been living separate but very crowded lives and it was good just to reconnect, stress free.

After dessert, Heidi told Simon to take his brother and Molly to the play room and the kids left with Uncle Peter, a video game fantastic, trailing behind. "Such a good boy, but you'd think he was still fourteen," Angela said with a sigh.

"I don't", Matt said without really reflecting, and when eyes turned to him as a result, he almost clarified in a slightly reluctant way. "I wouldn't have lasted in New York without him. If he's acting like a teenager, I don't know. I'd say that's a pretty good sign after all of that."

It was said respectfully, but with a familiar dark undertone. Heidi gave Matt a long look, and then nodded.

"He wasn't the same for a while. He spent a lot of time ... out."

"Flying, dear, you can say it", Angela said, clearly sparing Nathan a thought.

Matt ran a hand over his neck, not sure about the solemn quality of the discussion, but knew it couldn't be avoided given all that had happened to all of them. He shared a brief look with Mohinder for no real reason other than the fact that Mohinder had quickly become one of the few stable things in his life, and he liked grounding himself by him.

"I should check on the children," Heidi said immediately and stood. Just that fact alone ought to have made her more comfortable around the thought of her husband and her brother-in-law with abilities but she was still nervous. Thus far, her two boys didn't show any sign at all of abilities and for that, she was grateful. Molly seemed like a lovely girl, but Heidi knew her story and it worried her too. Not that Molly would have a poor effect on her children, exactly, but simply that she wouldn't fit in with well bred and proper gentlemen. Heidi wasn't pretentious. She wasn't pompous. She was just being a mother.

That left Mohinder with Angela and Matt until he realised that Matt might want to have a conversation. He took his leave to walk around the footpaths leading to the empty stable. It no longer smelled of horses but the structure was beautiful. What he could see of it at least. There were lights all over the place and Mohinder could imagine what summers here might have been like for Peter.

It all felt magical.

Hopefully Matt would come out and join him soon, once he and Angela had finished having their say in things. That, however, wasn't going over so well. Angela did tell Matt that he didn't need to apologize, but made it perfectly clear that he was only there for Molly's and her youngest's sakes.

Matt was both grateful and scared when Mohinder left, but oh well - might as well get it over with. It felt like so long ago now that he'd caused the poor woman a nosebleed by making her do something against her will and although he knew she'd probably slap him for thinking of her in those terms, he still felt sorry. He felt bad. He felt justified still considering everything that had gone down, but he could have handled the situation differently.

"Maybe you don't need to hear it, but I need to say it, okay?" he found himself protesting all too early in the conversation for his liking. "I'm sorry about what I did to you. I shouldn't have. I get that now."

He hadn't really realized up until then how violating it really could be, to hear people's thoughts. To manipulate them. The worst part was really how easy it was, and he never wanted it to become as easy as it had been for his dad.

All that hopefully came through, even if Angela wasn't impressed with him. He told her that she didn't need to like him, that was fine, and that he'd steer clear of her if she preferred that, but that he hoped they'd at least manage to look past what had happened while they were both living under the same roof.

If she considered that or not wasn't clear. She gave him a raised brow and asked quite simply, "Was that all, Parkman?" and Matt nodded, said "I guess it is" and then he left.

Well, he'd tried. He felt better for it. And a bit tired.

It took him a while but he found Mohinder eventually and wasted no time in coming up to him to rest his chin on his shoulder and breath out a sigh as he wound his arms around his partner. He wasn't quite yet paying attention to how pretty the setting was, but other than a softly murmured "Hi", he was fairly quiet.

In a way, he was expecting Mohinder to ask what he'd talked to Angela about, and felt a little spooked by the notion. Because Mohinder didn't know that he'd made her do something. They hadn't really talked too much about that aspect of what he could do. They hadn't really talked about the things Mohinder had seen him do, either.

Mohinder didn't know at all what Matt had done to her, just that she'd been part of the investigation he'd been leading and that she obviously was angry at him. Honestly, Mohinder thought that the issue had been about Nathan's death. Matt had been right there with him when it happened. Mohinder had been called in after. Or perhaps something about New York? He honestly didn't know and... And he trusted Matt to have his secrets.

"Hi," he replied happily once Matt was back and the faint sound of children reached them even out here over the backlit tree tops. God, he could spend eternity out here, basking away in this bliss.

Or, at least a little while longer. He'd get bored, he knew. He'd want to get his hands into something more interesting. He could never just sit around and do nothing. Lacing his fingers over Matt's larger hands, Mohinder leans back against him now. "Is everything all right?" He just wants to make sure. Animosity is never good to have with one's hosts.

Matt didn't like the feeling of conflict that rose up in him at the question. He found that he wanted to lie. It would have been easy to be dishonest about something like that, just a detail, really. And he had that sudden thought that he could make Mohinder believe him if he wanted, or just make him forget that he'd asked.

But it was exactly that thought that made him realize he had no choice but to be honest. Mohinder could help keep him away from all those ideas. And while he didn't like his own reasoning, it was true that Angela didn't matter that much to him, and he still didn't think he'd been entirely in the wrong about what had happened, but if he could have thought like that about Mohinder, who did matter, a whole lot more ...

So he withdrew from Mohinder after pressing another sigh into his shoulder. That was the 'no' that went unsaid, and he was quiet for a moment. Leaned against a wall.

"I did something to her", he offered reluctantly. Reluctantly both because he still thought it would be easier not to talk about. But that's only because he was scared of what Mohinder would think, same way he'd been scared enough to not tell him he could do these things at all until back after Odessa.

Something to her made Mohinder think 'immediate' though it was ridiculous. Matt could have caused her to forget about Nathan, or about his role in it, but he doubted Matt would go that far for something so seemingly minor. And still, he was nervous, nervous enough to swallow and tilt his head down and wait for the verdict.

"What sort of something did you do?"

Each potential answer was dismissed because Mohinder knew in his heart, in his mind that no. Matt could never hurt someone purposefully. And if he had to, it would be because he had no choice at all. Or someone was being hurt.

Sort of like what he'd done to that man in New York when he nearly dragged Mohinder off, nothing but evil in his eyes.

Hesitant, he waited for the answer and as Matt explained it, there was no fear or disgust in Mohinder's eyes. Perhaps a little sadness, but not at the act. Because Matt was forced into the act. "You needed to do it," Mohinder said solemnly. "You had to in order to protect people. Some things are morally gray for a reason."

Suddenly, Matt was pacing again. He was agitated. It wasn't a good enough answer, because he'd not actually discussed part of the problem. He shook his head. "She said I was my father", he said. "That if I took that secret from her, I was as good as him. Or as bad as him, I guess. And what if I am?"

He paused, giving Mohinder that haunted, hollowed out look. He didn't look much like the person Mohinder had found in New York anymore. He'd gotten back some color and meat on his bones, had shaved and finally cut his hair, was wearing clothes that weren't bloody or dirty, but it seemed like that look would never quite go away in moments like these.

Moments of self-doubt.

"I'm not. Not yet. But I could be, and it's getting so damn easy ..." He trailed off, not sure how to articulate that. What was it that was easy? Oh, a lot of things. And he'd gotten good, too. Precise, stealthy, powerful.

He looked indecisive for a moment, then pressed his lips together rather than saying anything more.

Getting this out was important and so, even when Matt's voice broke, Mohinder let him prattle through it on his own terms. It was poison, those thoughts. It needed to be leached. And Mohinder was there to help him through it, right there, unflinching, right up until Matt said 'not yet.'

"Not ever," Mohinder replied, venomously himself. "You are not the man that locked our daughter in a nightmare. You would never, never hurt someone without reason."

Moments of self-doubt were fine, but Mohinder felt himself having to reach out over a cliff to keep Matt from falling. Perhaps he was being dramatic. The geneticist always was.

"It's easy because you can handle yourself. Your morals are in place, your desire is always to help someone. I know what you can do and I am not afraid of you." He waited for that to sink in. "And I will never be afraid of you." The corner of his lips tilted upwards. "Because you are a good man Matthew Parkman. And you know it in your heart as much as I do."

Matt had half a mind to protest - not because it was untrue that he'd never hurt someone without reason, but because he knew it would be easy to do it even without one. That's what rattled him most. Not so much what he did with his power but the knowledge of what he could, and the knowledge of what others had.

But when Mohinder said that he wasn't afraid of him, that's when Matt felt truly reassured amidst the surprise. He hadn't fully understood how much he'd wanted to hear something like that. His throat worked for a moment before his eyes dropped and a faint smile made itself known.

He remembered yelling that at his father, that he was a good man, needing to make himself believe just as much as him. Hearing someone else say it made him feel a lot better and he sank back against the wall he was leaning against with a soft laugh.

"Thanks. That's ..." Nah, he decided, trailing off. Nevermind. "What would I do without you, huh?"

In Mohinder's opinion, it was like being allowed to carry a weapon, or even drive a car. You could easily kill a person with each and yet, most people that carried guns did not go around blowing people apart with them. Matt's mind was a gun. His will could be bullets. But unlike a weapon, Matt could heal, could soothe, could diffuse as much as he could hurt.

And he'd proven, time and time again, that he was capable and willing to try that first. Mohinder said nothing at all that he didn't believe in any way. This wasn't ego stroking, just truth.

Matt's head lowering, the way he leaned back against the wall, just made Mohinder want to invade his space. And so he did, fingertips against Matt's chest as he smiled up at him.

"Well, for a start, you'd be eating a great deal more pizza and not spending a fortune in condoms."

Matt snorted, and reached out to hug Mohinder closer so that they were leaning together.

"Uh, sorry? You think we're up to a fortune?"

Not that Matt was particularly lewd by nature, but he raised his eyebrows slightly to mark the joke Mohinder himself had started. He was comfortable with the wall for support and Mohinder in his space and he felt pretty damn lucky at that moment. Moreso when he heard the kids laughing some distance away.

It was a temporary stay, and they all knew it, but the sense of peace it offered was a welcome one.

Bright and early the next morning, Peter and a motley crew of children set off with planks and tools in metal buckets to head to the tree house for some fixing. Monty and Peter could be heard singing as they went and Mohinder stood out on the balcony and listened, cup of coffee in one hand and serene smile on his face, seen in side view, from the bed.

Lazy summer days would be too soon at an end but having Molly so happy just made Mohinder happy. Though the night before had been teasing about their actions between the sheets, he turned towards the shape, still dressed from breakfast, lounging on the bed. "You have three seconds to get those trousers off," Mohinder said, smirking with the knowledge that they had several hours alone, "before I break the zipper."

Simon stayed right by Molly and pointed out a few of his friends that came to say hello. Peter only glanced at him once, but didn't reprimand him so he figured that was all right. Animals were all over the place. One or two sticking around long enough for Molly to see? That shouldn't be a problem.

"Do you like humming birds? Grandmom has a feeder around the stables."

Matt didn't manage that in three seconds, but he did tug Mohinder into bed with him.

Molly, meanwhile, was absolutely delighted to be outside. You appreciated this kind of thing a lot more after having been cooped up in facilities so often. And New York didn't really have forests or beaches, so she felt more at home here, amongst the greenery and with the waves not too far off.

She'd decided that she really liked the Petrellis, even the sterner ones. Peter was fun and friendly and even though Monty was still kind of little she liked him too because he was nice to her and sometimes he seemed to notice things nobody else did.

She liked Simon most though even if he sometimes was a bit of a butt. Sometimes without meaning to, like with her, and sometimes because he got kinda impatient, like with Monty, but they had more things in common than they'd thought and his power was really amazing.

She looked predictably excited. "Yeah!" And as they veered away from the other two, she asked just because she was curious. "Are birds your favorite? You talk to them a lot."

From what she'd seen, it looked like there was a preference. Or maybe it was just that there were more birds around than anything else.

"I dunno, maybe. Birds are always around. And they can fly," Simon said, seemingly fixated on that. It wasn't exactly his fault, he had some father issues. Absent a lot growing up, absent now completely. They'd actually known their uncle more than their father, sad as that was. Peter was the one that came to little league games and was always at their birthday parties.

Simon couldn't remember any birthdays save for the last one that his dad attended, and scheduled for the cameras. That was right before the whole first New York thing.

Simon didn't want to go back there every again, honestly. New York just swallowed people up and kept them away from him.

"Plus it's a little hard to get rabbits into your room at night." He was lonely. Even he pretended he wasn't. "What's your favorite animal?"

Molly was starting to get a feeling for that loneliness, even if it wasn't a very conscious thing. She hadn't been lonely growing up but she'd started feeling more and more lonely the last few months - well, until Matt came back and Mohinder's work was done and they came to Maine. But there'd been a while there where she really had felt lonely and she didn't want to feel that way again.

"I don't know", she said, thinking. "Maybe rabbits. It's hard picking a favorite, there are so many."

She was smiling as they got to the stables.

"Can you tell them apart? Do they have names?"

She was so curious. It was such a different ability from hers.

"They're not really like people," Simon muses. "I mean, yeah they sort of have names but it's more like smells. Especially for rabbits. Birds have songs. Their voices are different and that's how they tell each other apart. You can't really talk to them like you talk to people. But.. There's enough to get by with." The rabbits and the birds that follow them slowly make Molly look a little bit like a Disney princess and Simon turns suddenly, Peter and Monty further ahead and still singing some stupid song about a train. "Hey. Do you want to be my girlfriend?"

He's not even a teenager but he knows how important that is. It's like family. His dad had girlfriends before and why couldn't he?

"They can't take us away from each other if we're boyfriend-girlfriend," he says, innocent of reality. Simon's disconnect might mirror Molly's in that way. Their role models haven't exactly been the sort to explain these things and kids television is full of young couples hanging out and holding hands.

Molly had to think about that for a moment, but it wasn't a very long one. No, she hadn't really had a talk about it. Boyfriend-girlfriend meant that you had something other people didn't have, but in her world, there wasn't a lot more to it. You were friends except you held hands more and maybe hugged and kissed, but you didn't really kiss until you were married.

That's why she'd figured Matt and Mohinder would probably get married. They kissed each other like they wanted to.

"Okay", she said, easily enough. "But I could find you anywhere, anyway." Just an observation. Her ability wasn't cool or amazing, not the same way Matt's or her father's or Simon's was, but she knew that it was useful and important. She would always be able to help keep people together.

"I could find you anywhere too," Simon said immediately. "Or... I could send one of my friends to find you. But even if we can find each other it doesn't mean that we can be together." Keeping people together was his primary goal with this endeavor. Besides, he wanted to rub it in Monty's face that he had a girlfriend. He was really mature for a pre-teen, huh?

Smiling happily now, Simon's arms almost pumped at his sides by the time he heard Peter's voice for them to catch up. "Your parents will never forgive me if you two get lost in the woods and eaten by a bear!" he called, prompting Simon to grin at Molly.

"A bear would never eat us. He'd probably let us ride him," he boasted.

Molly wrinkled her nose. Not in distaste, but in humor.

"No he wouldn't!" she protested just because of Simon's tone. Okay, and because it did seem incredulous, but mostly it was about taking him down a peg. So they were a very young couple but with the typical bickering already settling in. "There aren't bears here."

It was a question when it was said like that. She'd never seen a bear. The prospect was both scary and really cool.

Peter overheard them as they caught up and he shot them an easy grin, but raised an eyebrow faintly at Simon.

"You bet. So let's make sure we stick together, okay?"

"There are bears here. Black bears. Dad use to say he say them somethings." Simon liked being right but bringing up their father was generally a bad thing around everyone. Peter went quiet. Monty took ahold of his hand. Simon just looked annoyed.

He didn't get it. His dad was dead. Crying about it and being upset about it was stupid because nothing could bring him back. He had the wrong kind of power. The sort he wasn't allowed to tell anyone about but Uncle Peter... And now Molly.

He almost was a little too rough when he took Molly's hand, but his palm was warm and he looked like he was trying to stay calm and brave.

It sucked being the older brother sometimes.

Molly took in the silence with that maturity she'd gained all too quickly the last few months, but she reserved a particular look for Simon when he reached for her. After a moment, she squeezed his hand because maybe he needed that. Or wanted it. He had this kind of impatient look but she knew there had to be more to it than that.

Peter seemed sad. Monty seemed even sadder.

"I've never seen a bear", Molly said with that confidence some kids had when they changed the subject, or at least the focus of it. It was decisive. "Except in the zoo, but those weren't black bears."

Simon opened his mouth to say something but Peter immediately cut him off. The urge to show off was powerful. Peter knew it. He lived through it. And it cost him so much. If he'd only gone about it more slowly, if he'd only listened to Nathan-- But no. He'd been a fool. He still believed that much, though it hurt.

He'd done a lot of good...and a lot of bad. This was a blessing and a curse. It had to be hard for a kid to grasp it. He understood. But keeping secret and safe was better than being loud and proud.

As close minded as that seemed.

"Well there aren't any bears at the tree house. I'm going to need everyone's help, all right? This is a big job." Monty blinked up at Peter, eyes a little wet, and then nodded.

"Yeah, I can help," the youngest Petrelli said with a half frown and half smile. "I can help, Uncle Peter!"

"I know you can", Peter cemented the statement, and they were at the tree house shortly thereafter. Molly let go of Simon's hand when they all started climbing up. If Peter caught the older kids holding hands he didn't say anything about it.

They had some planks and nails and a hammer and rope, and Peter was the one to climb to the roof to do most of the work. If he flew just a little to get up more smoothly it was subtle, but Molly thought she saw it. But she understood why he wouldn't do that so anyone could really see. Monty was younger than them and like Simon had suggested, he'd probably be scared even if he knew.

There were a few blankets in the tree house but Molly thought there should be new ones, and pillows. She bundled them up and put them in a corner so they'd be out of the way when Peter extended an arm through the hole in the roof and asked for a plank, which the younger Petrellis helped give him. Molly was over quick enough to lend a hand if it was needed.

"We should have a sleepover here", she said with cautious excitement, looking up at Peter's sudden smile above her from where she stood next to Simon. "It'd be fun."

"That's not up to me," Peter chuckled. "You'll have to ask your respective parents. And I don't want to hear 'uncle Peter said it'd be okay.'" He'd been thrown under the bus enough thanks to family members. He didn't need the next generation following suit.

Peter looked up at the newly patched roof of the top most floor as Monty came over to lean against him. "I don't want to sleep out here," he said as quietly as possible. For an eight year old, that's not really all that quiet.

And Simon heard him. "So sleep in your room. Molly and I will sleep out here."

Peter smirked. When did he have his first girl-boy sleep over? Oh that's right. Never. His mother was entirely too careful with him, as if he might break, and Peter never really had friends growing up. He just played by himself or bothered Nathan when the twelve years his senior boy was home.

Simon's eyes fixed on Molly. "Me and you. It could be fun."

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