Long Times Past
Sylar sat at his work table and leaned over the tiny time piece in front of him. Even after all these years, he still enjoyed working on the clocks. Sometimes they were the only thing that kept the hunger away. He adjusted his monocles to better see the small pieces. This one was proving to be a challenge. He loved it. There weren't many things left to challenge him. All at once the clocks around the room chimed noon. He sat back and stretched his arms over his head. His work room was filled to the brim with clocks of all sizes. Their clicking was loud and completely in sync. The sound gave him a strong satisfaction.
He rubbed his hands over his eyes as he considered what to have for lunch. His thoughts were interrupted, however, by a knock on his front door. He frowned. Who could that be? He hadn't ordered anything online lately, and he never had any visitors. Not anymore. He walked to the front door and threw it open. His mind froze in its tracks. Standing on his front step was the last person he had thought would be there. It had been a long time since he had last seen her, but she looked the same. Her blonde hair was long and wavy and her green eyes had that same shine he always remembered. She was smiling at him, and he knew he was supposed to be saying something, but for the life of him he couldn't figure out what.
"Hi Sylar." Claire breathed.
"What are you doing here?"
Her smile faltered. Maybe that hadn't been the best thing to say, but he genuinely wanted to know.
"I wanted to see you."
He raised an eyebrow. "Why? It's been thirty years since we last spoke."
She bit her lip. "Can I come in?"
He stared at her for a moment longer before nodding and moving aside. She walked in and looked around the room. She took in his furniture and the layout and all the pictures hung around the walls.
"This place is beautiful."
He nodded, not knowing what else to do. He stood awkwardly near the door, not sure whether to sit or to offer her something to drink. It wasn't every day that the woman he had been in love with for over seventy five years complimented his home. She sat down on the couch and he dropped into the chair across from her.
"How have you been?" she asked.
He shrugged. "The same. It's always the same now."
Her eyes filled with sadness and knowledge far beyond her young appearance.
"Yes, I know what you mean."
They had lost almost everyone by now. Peter had died two years ago. Emma the year before that. He had taken Peter's death really hard. He was his brother, and one of the few people he had really loved. He was tired of losing people, but he knew he would always lose them. That was the curse he had gotten when he had taken Claires power all those years ago. Back then eternity had sounded so great. The power to never die. That had been before he had let people in. Kassy had lost Hiro four years ago. To say she had taken it badly would be an understatement. She reminded him now of a college girl. She partied every night and slept all day. He had been trying to find a way to snap her out of it, but so far nothing had worked. He realized that Claire was staring at him.
"Sylar I've missed you."
He blinked at her. "You have?"
She nodded. "Yes."
"Where's West?"
She bit her lip and looked away. "He died."
Oh. So that was it. West was dead and she had immediately run to him. Well that was too bad for her. She had chosen West all those years ago. She had married him and had a life with him, all while he had been alone. Well now he would turn her away. He would tell her to just walk out that door and not come back. He wished he could believe his own lies. He wanted to hate her. He had always wanted to hate her. That would make his life so much easier. Hate was easier to feel than love. But he couldn't. Just seeing her face right now was enough to make him want to pull her into his arms.
"West died five years ago."
"Oh." He frowned. "That long ago?"
She nodded. "Kassy never told you?"
He shook his head. "We don't talk about you."
Claire's eyes saddened again. "I'm sorry for hurting you Sylar. I never wanted to do that."
He shrugged. "It was a long time ago."
"But you obviously haven't forgiven me."
He sighed. "Claire there is nothing to forgive. You didn't love me."
"Yes I did."
"But not enough."
"It might have been." She whispered. "But I was afraid. What would have happened if I hadn't been afraid? All the things we could have done."
"There's no point wondering about what could have been. Not when you're immortal."
She nodded. "Do you remember the last time we spoke?"
"How could I forget?"
He remembered it perfectly. He had been walking up the street to his at the time apartment. He was nearly to his stairs when he had seen her. She had been standing there, staring with wide eyes up at his building.
"Claire?" he had called.
When she looked at him he had seen a barely hidden panic lurking beneath the forced calm of her face. He had rushed to her, worried that someone had tried to hurt her. It had been forty five years and yet he had still felt the urge to protect her just as strongly as when they had lived at Laura's house.
"Claire, what's wrong?"
"Um, nothing. Nothing's wrong."
"Then what are you doing here?"
She stared at him for a moment before shoving an envelope into his hands. He had taken it and slid it open. Inside were several pictures. When he looked at them he had realized they were the picture of the first time they had gone on a date.
"Claire, why are you giving me these?"
"I… I just wanted you to have them." She said as she turned and hurried down the street.
He had chased after her. "Claire wait! What are you talking about? You're telling me you came all this way after forty five years to give me some pictures?"
"Yes!" she had cried.
"But why? I don't get it."
"You don't have too."
"Claire stop!" he had shouted, grabbing her arm.
"Don't touch me!" she had shrieked.
He dropped her arm immediately.
"Don't touch me like that Sylar. I'm married."
"Yeah Claire I know that." He had sneered, feeling his anger rise. She had no right to treat him this way. She was the one who had just showed up on his doorstep.
"I just want to know why you are here. Why are you giving these to me?"
"Because I don't want them anymore!" she had shouted.
It had been like a slap to the face. There had been so much anger and frustration in her eyes. He had wondered what he possibly could have done to make the woman he loved hate him so much. He had thought for sure that he would never see her again. Yet here she was, sitting in front of him. He forced his mind to focus on present times.
"Why do you bring it up Claire?"
"Because the last time we spoke I lied to you."
He raised an eyebrow. "How did you lie to me?"
"I told you I was there to give you those pictures, but that's not why I had come. I had left West."
Sylar opened and closed his mouth. He had not been expecting that. "What are you talking about?"
"We had been married for forty years, and I just hadn't felt the same way about him as I had when we got married. When he looked at me I felt like he was judging me. He grew old while I stayed young. So I left him and came to you. I never stopped thinking about you. But when I got here I felt like that same scared little girl I had been before. I felt like a terrible person. How could I leave West, while he got old, to be with you? How could I betray him like that? I had decided to turn around and just leave when you saw me. And when I saw your face I knew that if I let you talk me into it I wouldn't leave. I would have stayed with you. So I pushed you away and I ran back home."
Sylar stared at her. What was he supposed to say to all of this? What could he do with this new information?
Claire settled back into the couch but sat back up as she dug her hand into the cushion. He pulled out a pink flip flop. She raised her eyebrows.
"Oh. Am I… is there… are you seeing someone?"
He couldn't help but smile at the jealousy in her tone.
"No, that's Kassy's."
"Oh, good."
"Good?"
She reddened slightly as she looked at him. "Sylar, all those years ago, when you told me how you felt…"
"Yeah?"
He remembered that day. It had been one of the worst days of his life. He had given Claire to West. Claire stood and began to pace around the room.
"Well, that day, you said something."
Her pacing made him nervous so he stood and put his hands in his pockets.
"Claire, what is it?"
"You said you would wait seventy years if you had too. I know that it's been seventy five years but…" he eyes searched him "Am I too late?"
He wanted to say yes. That he didn't want her anymore. He was over her and he didn't need her in his life. She had stayed away from him for seventy five year and she couldn't just walk in here and have him on demand. He opened his mouth to say this but what came out was very different.
"I love you Claire. I would wait forever."
Her face broke into a smile as she ran to him. He lifted her up as she pressed her lips to his. It had been so long since he had last kissed her. In that moment he was no longer a one hundred year old immortal. He was a stumbling thirty year old man that fell in love with a blonde cheerleader. She pulled herself up further and grasped his hair. He chuckled and pulled away.
"Easy there cheerleader."
Claire frowned at him. "Sylar it's been nearly eighty years since I was a cheerleader."
He smirked. "Old habits."
She shook her head and smiled. "So, what's next?"
He took a step back. "Claire, would you like to go to dinner with me?"
She beamed at him. "I would love too."
Let me know what you think in the comments!