TITLE: Gravity
RATING: PG
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing (dammit)
SPOILERS: 1x21
SUMMARY: Peter and Claire discover buried feelings while running from the company.
PAIRINGS: Peter and Claire
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I started writing this after ep 19 aired, and added a bit after seeing ep. 21. I guess the plot is a little AU, but technically with a few minor points removed, it could probably fit into the current or future episode storylines.
Peter grabbed Claire's hand and jerked her away from the road. "This way," he shouted as they ran towards the tree line. Flashlights pierced the darkness behind them as their pursuers closely followed. People from The Company had somehow disabled the car that Peter and Claire were driving in, and they had to move fast to avoid capture.
Running through the woods at night proved not to be as easy as it looked. Thick brush surrounded the trees, its sharp fingers scratching and prodding at their clothes as they passed. Claire screamed as a branch cut into the delicate flesh of her cheek. "Are you okay?" Peter asked, taking a closer look. As he watched the bloody wound closed.
"Yeah," she answered, out of breath. "Do you know where you're going?" she whispered.
"No," he answered honestly.
They moved as silently as they could, their hands still clasped tightly together. As they continued deeper into the woods, the light grew dim, making it harder and harder to find their way. Finally, they stopped moving all together when it became too difficult to see in front of them.
Claire listened to the silence around her, surprised by how eerily quiet it was. The only real sound she could hear was the light whisper of the wind filtering through the leaves of the trees above. Feeling frightened, she moved closer to Peter, curling her arm around his. Knowing that she could heal from injury did nothing to prevent the fear of what could happen to her in the hands of The Company. That thought made her shiver, and Peter turned in an attempt to look at her.
She couldn't see his face, but could feel its gaze upon her. Peter was taller, but not so much that she couldn't lean up to kiss him if she dared, and indeed he was so close that she could feel his breath against her skin. She shivered again, but this time it wasn't from fear. Almost of its own free will, her free hand stretched out to him, making contact at his chest. Timidly, her fingers traveled upwards to his neck and paused, afraid to move any further. Claire swallowed nervously, and bit down on her lip, unsure of what to do next.
Peter's body went rigid at her touch and his heart hammered in his chest. His mind tuned out unwanted thoughts, and could only feel her body curved against him. As if pulled by an irresistible gravitational pull, his head lowered slowly towards hers. His lips barely touched the top of her head, and he swayed slightly, inhaling her sweet smell. Without realizing it, his other hand had traveled up her side, and now rested against her soft cheek.
"Peter," Claire whispered thickly, as she raised her face up to kiss him. The moments ticked by in slow motion, the silence broken only by the sound of a twig snapping. Peter whirled around to see their pursuers upon them with their flashlights swirling.
Now able to see, Peter jerked his head up to the sky and parted the canopy of trees that trapped them. "Hold on," he told Claire, who nodded and wrapped her arms around his mid section tightly. Bending his knees deeply, Peter focused all of his energy, feeling it pool in his gut like a fireball, and then blasted into the sky, clutching a bewildered Claire to his chest.
They landed behind a rundown looking apartment building and Peter released her reluctantly. When she could form words again, Claire squealed, "Oh my God! I can't believe we flew! I mean, I knew you said you could fly, but we REALLY FLEW!"
Peter gave a strained smile and looked at the ground. Claire looked around and frowned. "Where are we?" she asked.
He nodded towards the building. "That's where your Dad is staying," he told her.
"My dad?" Claire wrinkled up her forehead in confusion. "Why would my dad be here and not at home?"
"Not Nathan," he explained. "Your other dad."
She shook her head a little. "But why . . .No, Peter, I want to stay with you."
"It's safer here."
"Safer? It doesn't look safe. Who can protect me better than you?" She began to look panicked, and even though he didn't want to, Peter put on a look of resolve.
"You don't belong with me. You need to stay here."
Tears began to well in her eyes, and she looked away in frustration. It took a great deal to keep herself from crying, and equally took as much for him to stay away from her. As her tears fell, he resisted the urge to brush them away.
"Why are you doing this?" she whimpered, and the words echoed through him. Why indeed? Something had happened to him the moment he'd met her. His life suddenly had meaning; a purpose greater than just existing. In saving her life, he felt hopelessly connected to her, almost as if his own life somehow depended on it. What a cruel joke destiny had played on them both that she and he should share the same blood!
Nothing could happen between them, and even as his rebellious heart fought for control, he stamped down on it with great difficulty to keep things right. Even considering any kind of relationship with Claire was out of the question, not just because of the wrongness of the situation, but because it would be a betrayal of Nathan. The battle being waged within him between his head and his heart began to make him angry.
"This thing with you and me," he began in an elevated voice. "It can't go anywhere Claire. We're family. You're my niece. We can't be anything more than that. It's wrong, and you and I both know that."
Claire cried openly now, and covered her face with her hands. What he said was the truth, but it still broke her heart. "Well, maybe . . ."
"There is no 'maybe' Claire." He stepped away from her, and pointed to the door of the apartment building. "7B," he said, and before she could protest, he rocketed away from view. Claire watched him disappear in anguish, and a ball of pain knotted in her belly. Of all the people to fall in love with . . .
Peter flew to the top of a nearby building, and watched Claire standing alone on the street. He felt a hundred different emotions, all coming at him at once: sadness, guilt, fury and the hint of something else that he forcibly hid away deep inside.
From his vantage point, he watched as she wiped her tears away and smoothed her hair back before weakly stepping through the entrance. He'd delivered Claire as Mr. Bennett had requested, and tried to ignore the feelings that lurked inside.
"There is no maybe," he repeated to himself before leaping into the sky. He flew hard and fast into the night, trying desperately to just forget. The moon loomed large above him, and he wondered, just for a moment, what it would be like to touch it.