A Note From Lara: Well, I was just sitting around in physics today, not paying attention as per usual, and this just jumped into my head. It's not in any kind of continuity, being way ahead of where the show is now, but I suppose I would have to call it post Volume 5 if I had to say anything at all.
"You're leaving?"
"It just seems like the right thing for now," Emma said, trying to shake the thought that this felt oddly like a breakup. Because that wasn't what was between her and Peter. Not that she'd necessarily mind that, but a guy like Peter being interested in her seemed unlikely. No, they were friends, and that was alright. "I need to get some time off to sort out... reality. What my life will be now."
Four weeks ago she was pulled into Peter Petrelli's world, and everything turned upside-down. Four weeks of magic and mystery and intrigue and mayhem (mostly mayhem). And as much as she'd found she enjoyed it, it also scared her. She'd been caught up so quickly, she'd never had a chance to acclimate.
Peter nodded, looking strangely forlorn with his hands in his pockets and his hair in his eyes. "Yeah, that's probably best," he said. "I wish I'd had time to adjust when it started for me. So... you go. Figure things out."
Emma forced a smile, wondering why she suddenly hated the idea of leaving her job. "I'm not really sure when I'll be back," she apologized. "But... I'll see you around."
It seemed too small, her farewell. It wasn't enough. Emma had never been a very touchy-feely person, but this was Peter. She leaned across the intervening space and kised him lightly on the cheek. And she forced herself to walk away.
She hadn't gotten very far when Peter caught her wrist and halted her in her tracks. She turned to face him. "Emma," he whispered. Then he kissed her.
It had been a long time since Emma had been kissed, but she was very sure she'd never been kissed like this. His hands at her waist drew her to him, pulling their bodies closely together. His lips were very gentle, but there was a desperate urgency behind it that set her heart pounding. It was as if he was trying to tell her something, trying to let her know something he wasn't able to say out loud. It was as if...
It was as if he loved her.
But that couldn't be, Emma was sure. Or at least, she was sure until he finally relinquished her lips and pulled back enough to meet her eyes. That made her wonder, because he definitely looked like he might be in love with her. He appeared a little dazed, and there was that familiar crooked half-smile on his face. He didn't say anything; he just watched her, waiting for her reaction.
And she had no idea what that was. Emma couldn't deny that she'd wondered if maybe there was something more than friendship between them for some time, but she'd been burned too many times to make the first move. She hesitated, then gave him an uncertain smile. "Wow," she said softly.
Peter still looked slightly elated, but his eyes were very serious when he spoke. "Maybe I shouldn't have done that," he said, "But I don't regret it. These last few weeks, working with you, getting to know you... Emma, I think I'm falling for you."
She was floored. It was the single most romantic moment of her life, and it was happening in an ambulance bay. But she could have cared less, because this whole time, he had been feeling the same things! As she couldn't find the words to tell him what she was feeling, she settled for kissing him right back.
Sure, she was quitting her job- the file job, at least- and sure the rest of their lives were completely up in the air after everything that had happened with Samuel, but Emma was sure that, for the first time in a long time, everything was going to be alright.
