They've been here before, Sylar and Elle. Fighting against each other for reasons long forgotten.
It's all very cyclic, Sylar thinks. Talk, fight, not kill, make-up, break-up, repeat.
Of course, sometimes, there are variables.
That's usually where Elle enters the equation. Usually, they'll be fighting when she asks him a question. Sometimes, it's loud, a "Why did you kill me?" type-of-question. Sometimes, it's a quiet whisper from a broken little girl, "I don''t want to fight anymore. Can we stop?" The last question has only ever been asked once before - "Kill me? Please?"
Tonight will be the second time Elle has begged for death.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Sylar," Elle growls. She's finally found him again. This time, he was hiding out in a mostly empty warehouse.
"Elle," he says slowly. He knows she has a ball of electricity behind her back, waiting for him.
They begin to circle one another as she says, "Long time no see."
"I could say the same to you."
"I've been busy. On important missions."
"Elle, I'm hurt. I'm not important?" Sylar mocks.
Elle's eyes flash angerly. "No. You're not."
She fires her first ball of electricity at him, which he expertly dodges.
"You're just a workout," she says.
It's Sylar's turn to grow angry, so he slams some crates into her side.
"Likewise, Love," he calls back to her.
Elle pushes herself up and darts behind one of the crates.
"What are you gonna do now, Babe? That's your only active ability, other than mine."
She knows how to push his buttons.
Sylar is seething where he's standing. Fine. He was going to be easy on her tonight. Not now.
He flings a strand of electricity in her direction, which she dodges by moving to a different crate.
"Now Elle, that wasn't very nice of you," he says, sending a sound wave in her direction.
She sees it coming and dodges behind the next crate. "Damn it," she curses. Elle hates being wrong.
"It also wasn't very correct."
Tired of playing cat and mouse, Elle stands from her hiding spot and hits him with the biggest blast of electricity she can muster. And this time, she doesn't miss.
Elle doesn't allow him the second it takes to regenerate from the ash. She continues to pound him with spark after spark until she is completely worn out.
She falls to the floor, directly across from him, watching, as she waits for him to fully regenerate.
When he does regenerate, and sees her lying on the ground, Sylar's attack plan fades away. He sighs, his shoulders slumping, and stays where is he.
"Is that all?" Elle asks quietly, her breathing heavy.
"Yeah," Sylar nods, "that's all."
"The go ahead."
Sylar tilts his head slightly to the side, confused.
"If that's all, then go ahead and kill me."
Sylar stands, moves next to her, and lays there. He takes her tiny hand in his larger one, and she doesn't protest.
"I'm not going to kill you again, Elle. That's one mistake that I'm never going to repeat."
"Not even if I beg?"
"No."
There's a puase, then Elle smiles as she says, "What if I say I'm bringing peach pie and I bring like, grape instead?"
Sylar laughs. "I might be tempted, but no."
Elle rolls over so she's slightly on top of him. He gently brushes her bangs out of her eyes.
"I don't want this to be like all the other times, Gabriel. I don't want to fight anymore," Elle says.
"So, let's not," he says.
"But what if-"
He silences her with a kiss.
"No. No what ifs. No past. Just here. Now."
Elle smiles, then stands, pulling him up with her.
"Let's go back to my place."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
And that's how the cycle was broken.
The fighting didn't end of course, it just became arguments with words, like normal couples.
About four months after their fight at the warehouse, Elle told Gabriel she was pregnant.
They married a few weeks after Elle's announcement, with Elle complaining about how fat she looked the entire time.
Their baby, a boy, Noah arrived on May 21, 2008.
And his parents were never happier.