"Safe and Sound"
By: Candice Lopez
A Peter/Jesse moment from "My Immortal": A Heroes Fanfic
**Hey guys, I know this story needs to be updated but this one-shot came to mind and I just had to write it. I'm off from school due to Spring Break so I'll try to update it as soon as I can. Yeah, I don't own any of the Petrellis, Meredith, or Sylar since they all, along with everyone in Heroes, belong to their creator Tim Kring. But I do own Jesse! The song "Safe and Sound" belongs to Taylor Swift and The Civil Wars.
****WARNING: Since this one-shot is set to the song of the same name by Taylor Swift and The Civil Wars, I wouldn't blame you if you started crying while listening to the song and reading this story. I'll admit to crying while writing the one-shot since the song + the emotions of the characters = Me crying a disgusting cry, lol. So, don't say I didn't warn you.
Why did Nathan have to die? Both he and Peter knew that Sylar was, and still is, after me and won't stop until he takes my power. I felt sick watching Peter as one of the Pallbearers and carrying, his only big brother, Nathan's casket on that dreadful day. The feeling only came because I felt guilty about the whole thing and that I was trying ever so hard to hold back the tears that I wanted to shed for Senator Petrelli. I... I really screwed up, haven't I? Why do I have these powers if all they were good for were to hurt the ones that I loved and cause me to hurt over everything that's happened? Why? I couldn't help but let one teardrop fall from my eyes as I saw Peter kiss the flag-covered casket and bid farewell to his brother. Angela, Peter and Nathan's mother, began to weep loudly at the sight and Meredith, Nathan's wife, joined her. I couldn't take anymore of this madness. I simply got up and walked away from the depressing sight.
I was already away from the crowd, sitting alone in an abandoned gazebo, when it started to rain. They say that when a great person dies, it rains. That's when I let a few more tears fall since the pain of holding them back was unbearable. A loud roar of thunder followed a flash of lightning when I heard Peter's voice call my name.
"Jesse?" He was soaked and his hair was drooping onto his face that was covered in raindrops masquerading as tears. I wouldn't blame him, but why he was talking to me really bothered me.
"Go away Peter or you'll end up like Nathan." My voice broke out into a sob when I said Nathan's name. He knew that I was hurting and he walked towards me. "I said stay away from me!" He took another step closer to me. "I'm warning you Peter. Just stay the hell away from me! Nathan's dead because of me!" He didn't pay any attention to a single word I said. Instead, he wrapped his arms around me like he would always do and pulled me closer to him. "I don't love you anymore, Peter Petrelli. Forget about me so you can be safe and take care of Angela and Meredith." Again, he didn't listen to me.
"Stop saying nonsense like that. I love you and you love me, and you know that." He was right. Even if I would pretend to hate him, deep down I'd only be kidding myself and look like a complete idiot. My arms wrapped themselves around his neck as my fingers ran through his luscious black hair.
"But Nathan's-" He interrupted me by saying,
"But Nathan nothing. I know that he wanted to protect you for me because he knew that I really do love you, Jesse. Even if it meant dying in the process, he still went through the trouble of protecting the both of us." He paused briefly to let a few tears fall. I knew that Peter was putting up a brave front for his brother and for the rest of the world as Senator Petrelli's younger brother. Even for me he was acting brave. He was hurt and there was no sense in him trying to hold it back for me. What is it with Men and holding back the hurt and pain they suffered from? To me, a real man would cry when he's hurt in the way Peter was.
"Peter... I..." More tears began to well up in my eyes again. They were the reason why it was so hard for me to speak at the moment where words were necessary. Or maybe they weren't. Could it be my mind telling me that actions spoke louder than words? It had to be since Peter began to make a hushing sound as he rubbed my back.
"Its okay, Jesse, I know what you want to say." No, he doesn't. Clearly I wanted to tell him that I was sorry that he was hurting. Sorry that Nathan is dead because of me. Sorry that because he chose to stay by my side, he would be putting himself at risk just to save me. And sorry that... I was slowly breaking his heart. I summoned up all the courage that I had in me to speak.
"No. Peter... I'm... I'm really sorry for everything. I hurt Angela, Meredith, the people who loved Senator Petrelli, and most importantly of all... you. I'm sorry I hurt your heart, Peter." He slowly pulled away and literally placed a hand over his heart when I said that. Tears were already falling when I saw Peter look even more hurt than before. He looked back up at me and pulled me close to him again. I couldn't hold the flood of tears back anymore. I held onto Peter with every bit of strength I had left in me and cried on his shoulder. His hands began to rub my back once more. I wasn't crying, per se, but more along the lines of having Niagara Falls pour down my face.
The rain continued to fall as both Peter and I shared a comforting yet tearful hug. The two of us really need each other, even if I blamed myself for the death of Nathan Petrelli. I could hear Peter sniffling and I knew that he wanted to let out any tears that he was holding back before heading back to face the crowd.
"Promise me something, Jesse?" I nodded my head since it was hard to speak. "Promise me that you'll never say that you don't love me unless you actually mean it 100%." He wanted to make this somewhat less depressing than it already was and I didn't know if I should say something back.
"You wanna seal that promise with a kiss, Mr. Petrelli?" He laughed and it made me glad to see that beautiful smile of his all over again.
"Fair enough." He pressed his lips onto mine and I returned the kiss. There's simply no way you could refuse a kiss from a guy like Peter Petrelli, even if you tried. "I love you, Jesse, and don't you ever forget it." One last roar of thunder and then something strange happened. Before I could reciprocate my feelings for Peter, the sun began to shine its bright light onto the world. This had to be some kind of a miracle, right? Or maybe, I don't know if it's possible, I think Nathan was smiling down on Peter and I as he watched us from Heaven. "Don't worry, Nathan, I'll protect Jesse like you did. I promise I'll be a hero." He looked at me briefly. "For her." The sun shone a little brighter and I knew this had to be Nathan smiling. Nathan loved me like a sister and he was happy that someone like me was in love with his younger brother.
"Jesse, you're like a sister to me, so I wouldn't mind it if you thought of me as your big brother. I'd actually like that. Welcome to the Petrelli family, Jessica Dawson." Nathan said those words to me when Peter and I attended his wedding to Meredith and I had caught the bouquet. I would never allow anyone to address me as Jessica, but the Petrellis were the only exception to that little rule of mine. Peter kept looking up at the sky and taking in every last ray of sunlight his brother was giving him from Heaven. I didn't want to disturb him but there was only one thing I could do that might cheer him up. Our song. I swallowed any tears that were lingering or aching to be released and then began to sing.
"I remember tears streaming down your face
When I said, "I'll never let you go"
When all those shadows almost killed your light
I remember you said, "Don't leave me here alone"
But all that's dead and gone and passed tonight" When I began to sing, within a second, Peter turned to look at me with a surprised look on his face. I told him that I hardly ever sang in public or for anyone who asked. That's why he was upset when I told him that I refused to sing at Nathan and Meredith's wedding. But he was listening to every word that came out of my mouth since this was our song.
"Just close your eyes
The sun is going down
You'll be alright
No one can hurt you now
Come morning light
You and I'll be safe and sound
Don't you dare look out your window darling
Everything's on fire
The war outside our door keeps raging on
Hold onto this lullaby
Even when the music's gone
Gone." I really wasn't in the mood to start crying again since it wouldn't be a pretty picture. Plus, I didn't want to think of myself as a crybaby in front of Peter. It was interesting to see the look he was giving me. He took a seat on the stairs leading into the gazebo and just stared at me with total fascination. He knew that I had dubbed this song 'our song' since I was a big fan of The Civil Wars and a secret Taylor Swift fan.
"Just close your eyes
The sun is going down
You'll be alright
No one can hurt you now
Come morning light
You and I'll be safe and sound
Oooh, Oooh, Oooh, Oooh
La La (La La)
La La (La La)
Oooh, Oooh, Oooh, Oooh
La La (La La)" I could see some tears forming in his eyes and this was making it hard for me to continue singing. But I had to finish the song because I know he would be upset if I didn't. He was enjoying the show and it brought a smile to my lips. I closed my eyes for the last part of the song since I didn't want to see him cry anymore. I heard sniffling sounds coming from him and knew I had made the right choice in closing my eyes before ending the song.
"Just close your eyes
You'll be alright
Come morning light,
You and I'll be safe and sound...
Oooh, oooh, oooh, oooh oh oh. [x7]" I opened my eyes to see what happened and there was Peter, silent tears streaming down his face. I walked over to him and pulled him into another tearful hug since he really needed it. He held onto me like he never wanted to let me go, just like I did. "Peter?" He pulled away just so he could face me.
"Jesse, I thought I'd never hear you sing. But... that was beautiful, and I know that Nathan would've loved to have heard you sing it. Our song." Nathan would've gotten' a kick out of it and ask me to sing it whenever he was in the room. I kissed him and let one more teardrop fall before saying,
"Peter Petrelli, I love you so much. I never want to lose you and I know that Nathan would've agreed with me on that statement." The two of us actually shared a laugh as we held onto each other as Peter kissed me tenderly. It stopped raining and I was happy that I wouldn't go hoe soaking wet. "Can I ask you something?"
"Anything, Jesse." I really wanted to get this weight off of my chest since it was already hard for me to breathe.
"When you come here to visit Nathan, can I come with you?" Slowly, a smile was forming on his lips.
"Sure. But I think you'd have to sing to him when we come and visit." With another laugh, I answered.
"I think I should've sang at the wedding." He held onto my hand as we walked away from the lonely gazebo and back to the group of mourners.
I know that there will be days where I will cry over the death of Senator Nathan Petrelli. But, with Peter by my side, I think I'll know when to hold back the tears and only cry when its actually necessary. Although, I think I can guarantee that I'll be singing a lot more now.