Title: The Annals
Author: hazelnutcoffee12, hazelnutcoffee on lj
Rating: G
Word Count: 1497
Pairing/Character: Peter, Nathan (no pairing but maybe if you squint)
Summary: Peter thinks it's all too fitting because Nathan's slowly turning into the lawyer their father always wanted him to be, cold and biting, but there are still some patches of the old Nathan that shine through, rare bits of sunshine Peter treasures more than he'll ever admit.
Spoilers/Warnings: Not many but The Company Man just to be safe
an·nals
1. A chronological record of the events of successive years.
2. A descriptive account or record; a history
3. A periodical journal in which the records and reports of a learned field are compiled.
i. summer
Peter learns to swim in one of the warmest summers on record. His nanny is also a certified lifeguard, young and tan and too smart to be a nanny if it weren't for the glowing recommendation she'll receive from Mr. Petrelli when she moves on to bigger and better things than his young son. Despite the perks and the alternate job description that comes attached to the recommendation, she seems to genuinely enjoy Peter and his antics.
"That's it Peter! Keep paddling – no, no, keep your face out of the water."
Nathan ignores Danielle's encouraging words and concentrates on the newspaper in front of him. The July air is sticky and the print runs underneath his sweaty hands, ink marking his palms and making him frown.
He glances up at his baby brother, struggling to doggy paddle in the shallow end of the pool, and tries not to let his eyes linger on Peter's nanny, gorgeous and lithe in a red bikini. He's caught anyway and an easy smile graces his face when Danielle winks at him.
Nathan's fifteen – almost sixteen – but he looks seventeen and he knows the Petrelli good looks and charms will help him later, when Peter's asleep and Danielle is talking dirty to her boyfriend on the phone and his parents are out at some event, doing whatever it is they do when they go out. Nathan idly decides to get Maggie Walsh to come out with him and he's debating his chances of getting past second base this time when Peter's whiny voice breaks into his reverie.
"Danielle, I'm hungry," he says, climbing the ladder out of the pool and standing on the edge, shivering. His teeth are blue from too much time in the water and his bathing suit is slick against his skinny legs. "Will you make me a peanut butter sandwich?"
"Sure Peter," Danielle says breezily. "Let's just make sure Nathan'll watch you while I go inside."
Peter runs over to him and stands too close to his lounge chair, small drops of water dripping from his hair onto Nathan's arm. "Will you watch me Nathan? Danielle's gonna make me a sandwich!" he shouts, like Nathan hadn't just heard the entire exchange.
"Fine," Nathan drawls lazily and goes back to reading the paper. Peter is still standing there and he's little and silently pleading with his puppy dog eyes and Nathan feels his resolve crumble. He's weak when it comes to Peter, he knows, and it's totally uncool to dote on your little brother the way Nathan dotes on Peter, especially when you're in high school but Peter stole his heart the day he came home from the hospital, pink and impossibly small and wearing a hat that was about six sizes too big.
"What, squirt?" Nathan sighs but his frustration is mostly for show.
Peter shifts from foot to foot, more water splattering the patio. "Watcha reading?"
"The newspaper, silly," Nathan grins and Peter giggles, high pitched and happy.
"Can I try?" asks Peter, because he's learning, slowly, to read.
Nathan sighs again, this time more exaggerated, and Peter grabs his arm with his pruned fingers and shakes him. "Naaaaathan," he says, laughing, because Peter recognizes the game and plays his part perfectly.
Nathan lifts up the newspaper and Peter's small frame jumps into the lounge chair with him. He's still damp from the pool and it's a shock against Nathan's warm flesh but Peter settles in so perfectly against him, he doesn't mind. "Ok, my little fish," Nathan says. "Read to me about the stock market."
Later, when Danielle comes out with two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and a glass of milk – "sorry that took so long Peter! your dad needed help with something" - she finds the Petrelli boys curled up against each other, asleep in the warm summer heat.
ii. winter
Nathan gets married in the dead of winter, on one of the few days that isn't bitter and bleak. Peter thinks it's all too fitting because Nathan's slowly turning into the lawyer their father always wanted him to be, cold and biting, but there are still some patches of the old Nathan that shine through, rare bits of sunshine Peter treasures more than he'll ever admit.
Heidi looks beautiful and Nathan beams in unrepressed happiness when the priest announces them husband and wife. The reception is in a beautiful old hall in Heidi's hometown and Peter's not surprised at the subtle elegance of the room. He's uncomfortable in his tuxedo and is glad he didn't bring a date, even though Nathan said he could. He had scoffed at Nathan because Peter's sixteen years old and certainly not as smooth as Nathan had been at this age – who would he have asked?
Nathan never considered anyone else for best man and Peter gives a beautiful speech about always looking up to Nathan that isn't just for show. Afterwards, he gets a cousin to get him a beer from the open bar and he drinks it alone on the balcony outside the reception room.
"It's chilly out here," Nathan admonishes him and Peter, who knew it was his brother from the way his footsteps fell on the concrete, doesn't even bother to turn around. Nathan nudges him with his shoulder and holds out another beer. Peter accepts it with a small smile of thanks and the brothers lean against the railing and silently sip their drinks in the cold winter air.
iii. autumn
Peter announces his decision to be a nurse in the fall. Heidi, who has always been a big Peter supporter, is so happy he's found a career he can be passionate about, she cries. She's also eight months pregnant and Peter grins into her shoulder at her over-exuberance as her tears soak his shirt. Heidi pulls back, apologizing, but Peter's just glad he has someone in his corner.
His mother is confused at his choice and his father is downright angry that he isn't following the family mold but their reactions are expected and Peter shrugs them off. Nathan's reaction is the only one that really matters to him and it doesn't escape Peter's attention that Nathan's jaw clicks because he's upset and his words of encouragement are forced and tight.
But Nathan forces a smile and his hug seems genuine. Peter's still unsure how he really feels because Nathan's a politician now and Peter doesn't know if that's worse than when he was practicing law.
After a while, the hoopla dies down and the family returns to the meal at hand. They mostly ignore Peter's decision in conversation because the Petrelli family is old and established and doesn't deal well with change and innovation, especially not from the youngest member.
"Why, Peter?" Nathan asks after dinner, when they are getting ready to leave.
Peter is quiet for a moment. "Because I can't be like you," he says softly and turns his eyes to the curtains blowing in the early fall breeze.
iv. spring
Their father dies in the spring.
Peter is more upset than he expected to be and he's thrown by his reaction. Nathan gives the eulogy at the funeral and Peter watches his brother's composure falters briefly, feels his eyes prick at his brother's impassioned words. His mother leans on him heavily during the service, numb with grief, and Peter finally understands what his patient's families feel every day. They bury his body in the family cemetery and Peter wonders how long it will take his mother to be placed in the spot next to him.
Everyone congregates at the Petrelli home afterwards but Peter cannot handle the stuffiness of his childhood home or the pitying eyes of people he never liked. He goes out to the pool, sits in a long abandoned lounge chair and listens to the leaves sway above him, whispering to each other in the quiet.
Nathan joins him, just like Peter knew he would, and they sit in silence for a long time. Peter knows how ridiculous they must look, grown men in expensive suits and polished shoes, lying by a disused pool. He smiles at first and then he starts to laugh because Peter never was accepted by their father, not really, and even in death, he can feel Anthony Petrelli's disapproval.
Nathan's chuckles are slower than Peter's, less heartfelt, and eventually Peter watches as his brother fall apart. Nathan curls into himself on the lounge chair, swiping at his eyes furiously, and Peter's heart breaks for his brother, who tried so hard to please their father, he turned into him.
Peter's shoes make hollow noises on the concrete when he walks over and lies next to Nathan. He reaches down and grasps his brother's hand, still bigger than his after all these years, and squeezes lightly. "Don't cry my little fish," he whispers and Nathan lets out a shaky laugh at the old nickname.
Heidi looks for them later, after they've been missing for hours, and finds the Petrelli boys curled up against each other, asleep in the crisp spring air.