Nine

"Once upon a time, there was a beautiful kingdom. In that kingdom lived a wild man who drowned himself in liquor and only raised his sword in exchange for wealth. One day the wild man found a magical sword in the snow. When he extracted this sword he found it imbued him with great power. However, he had no skills and so could not use the sword for its true purpose.

"The wild man met a dragon along his travels. The dragon offered to teach the man all the ways of the sword. The man agreed, and with the dragon's help he mastered the sword and gained all the power it promised. With it the man became a great hero. He fought against many evils, saving villages and taking on great quests to prove his bravery and strength. The man even won the heart of the princess and loved her very deeply.

"One day the dragon came before the man, demanding payment for all he taught. His required price was the princess. The man stood before the dragon, drawing out his blade and cutting out his own heart. He presented it to the dragon, saying, 'My love is here. Take it'. And with that, he died."

"What kind of story is that?" his lover complained. The two were stretched out on the bed with the sheets strewn over their naked bodies. Their hands were linked together and the younger man's head rested on Adam's shoulder.

"You can't expect them all to be happy, love," the immortal scolded fondly, the fingers of his other hand moving lazily along his lover's bare chest. Since the day they met he'd been attracted to Peter. The boy possessed such natural good looks, and he was the only person Adam ever knew who could understand how it felt being broken by grief and time.

Peter shifted in bed so he rested on his side. Adam watched in mild curiosity, his fingers continuing their gentle travel over the boy's body. Peter pressed a kiss to Adam's neck, carefully making a line down to the older man's chest. Pleasant shivers rippled through his body. When they started this, Peter was uncertain and a little clumsy. Now he showed confidence whenever they were intimate and Adam loved watching the boy gain more experience.

"I can feel your heart beating," Peter whispered, his breath teasing Adam's skin.

"It was a metaphor, love," Adam explained patiently.

"I know." He felt another soft kiss feather right over the place where his heart beat. Adam swallowed, letting go of Peter's hand so he could comb through the boy's hair. He felt so content here. Why he had to wait four hundred years for this he couldn't understand, but he finally had it now.

Adam gently pushed Peter back, bending his head down to capture the empath's mouth in a kiss. They didn't have sex every night but it was very frequent. Tonight they started out talking with each other. Adam loved the sound of Peter's voice and Peter seemed to love listening to him. Adam didn't need sex to enjoy Peter, but it certainly helped that they both couldn't keep their hands off each other.

Sharing the story of Kensei and the Dragon brought up so many other things about Adam's past he still kept hidden. That he shared this much was a big step forward; he never trusted anything else with that information. Peter knew about Adam's thirty-year imprisonment at Hartsdale, and who'd been responsible, but Adam still hadn't mentioned the virus or that he killed Peter's mother.

How could he have possibly known he would meet Peter Petrelli years later, and fall helplessly in love with the boy? Adam regretted very few things in his life, and a large part of him still felt fully justified in killing that woman. However, for the first time he felt he had to apologize. He wondered if his lover would ever forgive him for it.

Adam ended their kiss, fingers running along Peter's jaw. He was rewarded by a slight smile from the younger man. Peter's hand rested over Adam's heart to feel it beating against his touch. Adam could heal from any wound, but only with Peter was he able to heal from the most painful cut of them all. Adam smiled, brushing his lips over the boy's scar.

"Don't," Peter said. His eyebrows twitched and he turned his head away from the older man. Adam watched him patiently but the boy didn't turn back to meet his eyes.

"Peter…" Fingers combed through his hair and it was that feeling that encouraged him to meet his lover's eye. Adam smiled softly, fingers continuing their gentle progression through the dark hair. Peter leaned forward a little into the touch. Adam met him halfway, their lips connecting in a kiss.

Peter let out a soft sigh of contentment. His hands moved to bring the immortal closer. Adam moaned softly in approval, his own hands winding around the boy's body. He loved how their bodies fit together. Like puzzle pieces to form a complete picture. Adam parted from their kiss to press his lips against Peter's forehead. The younger man quickly jerked back as if he'd been burned.

"I said don't," he snapped irritably.

"Peter, honestly, why do you always pull away?" Adam complained.

"My scar," the other responded. "I don't like… it being touched." He turned away again, feeling self-conscious.

"And why is that?" Adam asked him.

"I know it's an ugly deformity," Peter said, tracing the cut with a finger. "People always stare at it. And it won't heal away."

"So I noticed," Adam nodded. Silence hung between the two men, then Adam spoke again. "Are you ever going to tell me how you got it?"

"I don't know." Peter let out a sigh. "It was so long ago. It doesn't really matter anymore. Nothing's going to change it."

"If it doesn't matter, then let me touch it." Peter hesitated but eventually turned to face Adam once again. He couldn't seem to resist the immortal, a quality Adam found very charming in the lad. Adam smiled and leaned forward to press a kiss on Peter's scar. The younger man twitched but didn't pull away. Adam continued his slow kisses, following the path cutting into Peter's skin. He didn't like that the mark cut into Peter's beautiful skin, and he wished his blood could make it go away. But this scar was a part of Peter now, and Adam loved it as much as the rest of his boy.

"Don't." Peter closed his eyes, the word choking out barely above a whisper.

"Don't what, love?" Adam purred.

"… Don't stop," Peter whispered back.

Adam smiled slowly. He was more than happy to obey that request. Adam found he couldn't resist Peter, either.