(5) The Point Of No Return

The first priority was to get Peter's hormone therapy sorted. Using the Shape-shifting façade to appear as Peter, Sylar showed up to the Petrelli's private family doctor in order to get the refill. The doctor questioned Sylar about the facial scar while waiting for the pharmacist to get the new bottle.

Sylar merely repeated the story he & Peter had come up with before taking the bottle. As he turned to leave, the doctor said, "By the way, Peter, I noticed you didn't stutter once this time. You usually do when you come in for your refills."

Right. Of course. This whole transgender thing had caused a lot of insecurities for Peter since he had to hide it from all but the Petrelli family. Sylar could replicate the slight droop in the lips whenever he appeared as Peter, but he had to make a conscious decision to stutter under stress which was something he didn't think about. Once again, Sylar's silver tongue was the only thing that saved him. He turned back to the doctor, shrugged & said, "Doesn't always take." At that, he turned & left the clinic before the doctor could pry more.

Once back on the hormones, Peter had an easier time of certain things. The next step would be starting the surgeries as soon as doctors deemed it safe to do so after the horrific accident; none of them being aware of the Regen ability Peter had siphoned off Sylar to speed up his healing process.

Peter's main problem now was ignoring guys who still saw the woman instead, not knowing any better. It would be a while before the hormones would start dropping his voice back down to where it belonged & it would be even longer before he started the physical changes to his body again. In the meantime, he still had to put up with refusing wanna-be dates & disappointed looks whenever he said no. He stayed close to Sylar even when they were off duty, being used to the killer's presence for a while; not to mention, on the rare chance he, with the female body, ran into men of another sort of predatory nature, Sylar could instantly protect Peter or Peter himself could swap powers for something defensive as well.

They would often meet at a nearby restaurant either while on break or on days off, for Peter got more days off with Sylar around than Peter wanted.

"I've been thinking about trying to come out," Peter suddenly stated as he sat down at the outside diner table, across from Sylar.

Sylar leaned back in his seat a little. "It's a modern world. A lot more acceptance now, but there will still be some hate."

"I know," said Peter. "But right now, only you & Mom know who I really am. Not even Claire knows. She left the woman I appear to be a message at the hospital yesterday all about you. A long letter warning me about who you are. She said she had been in New York for a bit & saw us walking down the street together. She doesn't know that I'm Peter, just some woman."

"What did you tell her?"

"Nothing," Peter shrugged. "I haven't replied yet. She's gone back to California again & the only way I can answer her is if I call her or use Facebook. Both of which are still Peter Petrelli, not Noella Camp. She won't understand unless I tell her. Right now, she thinks I'm some clueless woman dating a known serial killer."

Sylar choked on his coffee. "She thinks we're dating, now?"

"Yeah. Gabriel," Peter began. "She sent me a lot of stuff on you. She has quite a bit."

"It's all on the internet."

"Gabriel," Peter grabbed a comic book from the center of the table, rolled it up & whacked Sylar over the head with it.

"Ow!"

"Focus!" Peter tossed the comic book aside. "I told you she exposed abilities mostly to get at you."

"Peter, there isn't much we can do about it," Sylar pointed out. "Besides, we are dealing with your second transition. I don't have time for Claire's war on me. Most of the time, I'm Shape-shifted to look like you, holding down your job until you get back to yourself. I'm only myself when we are together like this or at either of our apartments. It's probably a good thing since I need to lie low for a bit, anyway. You said this can take a few years. That should be long enough for me. My main worry is giving in to this hunger for knowledge that comes with this power I got born with. I know you insist I won't fall for it again, but I'm not so sure. This is the longest dry run I've had yet, but Peter, the thrill of the chase. The kill. I do miss it, sometimes."

"That's just your Intuitive Aptitude talking," Peter said. "I know how it works. I've had your power before. You're just going to have to trust me. Within a year, you should be able to fully control it."

"What happens in a year?"

"A lot," Peter said. "All good for you. I think Claire has something to do with it."

"Claire?" Sylar scoffed. "The girl hates me & with good reason. I killed both her biological parents & got to her as well. The only reason she is still alive is because of her power."

"The three of us are immortal," Peter said. "Well, I mean I will be again once I get my power fixed. She can't hate you forever. Wait a while. Then maybe reach out to her?"

"Peter, you're living in a fantasy world," Sylar replied.

"No, I'm not," said Peter. "I've seen some things but I know I don't have all the facts. It's obvious something happens that will make you & Claire forgive each other, I just don't know what. I only saw the future for a short time. Just promise me, you'll wait a bit & see what happens?"

"Okay," Sylar gave up. "Fine."

"Just trust me," Peter smiled at him.

Sylar felt his breath catch for a moment at the sight of that soft short smile that went sideways with the disability. He had to remind himself again that this was Peter, regardless of the feminine traits that were showing. It would disappear once the surgeries started and then he would have Peter back. "So you want to come out?" He asked quietly in a voice he didn't quite feel was his own. He felt a sudden rush of worry, knowing someone somewhere would hate anything to do with transgender life. Sylar never killed anyone for their race or gender or culture. It was a literal power struggle he failed often & people would die for it. It was hard to understand hating someone just for their gender.

Peter nodded. "I don't want to hide any more. I'll keep the scar covered since you have to show up with it at the hospital but once we can change back, I can let it show as well. But everyone else ... I think it's time to show who I am."

Sylar closed his eyes for a moment before sliding both hands across the table to take hold of Peter's hands. "Not everyone will accept you."

"I know."

"Will you tell Claire soon?"

"I can't right now," Peter said. "Otherwise she will want to know why I'm not trying to kick your ass. You said it yourself, you need to lay low for a while. Pretending to be me for the next few years might help but I think Claire will find out about us sooner. Let's just wait a little while longer. Deal with her later."

"Alright," Sylar let go as he sat back in his chair. He finished his coffee. "Any chance Claire might forget about me?"

Peter had been looking down at his own hands from which those deadly fingers had just slipped from. It was somehow strange to think of Sylar as the predatory killer now. All he could see was a lost man waiting to be found underneath that bizarre killing power he had inherited from his father. But the reality was, the power was back now that they had woken up & time was once again finite before the ability would suddenly take over again. There was only one who could truly stop it from ever taking over & ruining everyone's lives again, including the life of Gabriel Gray, but that person did not exist yet. For that person to ever appear, another one who was already here would have to fully recover from being literally touched by Sylar's power.

But Claire's hate ran deep & Peter had no idea how to fix it. Like Sylar just said, there was good reason to hate him. At the same time though, Sylar & Claire needed each other. Peter closed his eyes for a moment. The big problem was time. Claire was already on the path to destroying everything. Time was running out for Sylar; running out for that other person. Time! Always in the way. What he needed was Hiro's power. What he needed was to be out as soon as possible so Hiro would know who was coming to copy his power. Peter needed to go back to the future to find what he had missed the first time around, a future where Claire kills him.

If only he had his own broken power fixed already. It used to be the same type of mimicry as Sylar's, being able to hold every ability at once. Now it was just only one at a time. Peter glared into the cup of coffee, wishing everything was back to normal now.

"OW!" Peter yelped, clapping a hand to his forehead. He felt a small sticky line. Checking his fingers, he saw some blood there. Unbelievable! Sylar had just slightly cut Peter's forehead with the telekinetic force, starting the traditional signature cut across that Sylar was infamous for to scalp someone to death. He glared at Sylar.

"Well SORRY!" Sylar grumbled. "But that seemed to be the only thing to get you to snap out of it."

"What?" Peter snapped through gritted teeth.

"I was joking about a way to make Claire forget about me, but you went off in la-la land by yourself," Sylar said.

Peter stared at his crazy friend for a moment as an idea struck him. "Whatever. I can't believe you did that to me!"

Their pagers went off. Both stood up. Sylar said with a wicked grin, "Relax. It's not much bigger than a paper cut." He handed Peter a napkin to wipe away the drop of blood. "It won't even leave a mark."

"Kirby Plaza," Peter snarled as he dabbed at the spot. That Plaza had been the place where their first big battle against each other had happened almost four years ago. Peter had failed since he was not handling a nuclear ability too well. He followed after Sylar as they hurried back to the hospital.

So far, the distraction of the high paced hospital life as well as having to deal with the re-transition seemed to keep Sylar occupied as he had yet to kill again since coming out of the nightmare. Sylar was constantly surprised at this new aspect of his life but Peter was ever more hopeful of that timeline he had a short glimpse of was the one that was manifesting now.

All too soon it seemed, Noella Camp was starting to show the more manly body of Peter. This meant that Sylar would be on his own acting as Peter at the hospital. He started having random partners with him as the real Peter at last began taking less shifts as he was about to quit as Noella Camp & get rid of the character for the second time. Eventually, the day came when 'Miss Noella Camp' resigned altogether. Sylar knew it was coming. He could see the more masculine hair when they were home together. For a while, Peter shaved it off to hide his true identity but as the body became more developed, it was better to end things at work.

On Peter's last day, Sylar found him in the tiny hospital chapel sitting at the piano. Peter had picked up some way of playing when he had been with Emma who would sometimes tap the keys to see the sound radiate upwards in soft pastel colors; though, she could never hear the music, unlike Peter who had kept up on picking away at the piano, slowly self teaching himself while in the nightmare. At the beginning of that nightmare, the plucking piano would drive Sylar even more insane than he usually was as if Peter did it on purpose to piss him off.

But now, it was yet another thing Sylar silently admitted that he liked about Peter. He leaned against the edge of the black piano, listening to Peter pull out a few simple strands of music for 'You Raise Me Up'. Looking ahead at the front, Sylar could see the rows of candles on either side of the pulpit, noticing that two were lit.

"What are the candles for?" Sylar asked as the notes for 'so I can stand on mountains' softly sounded out.

Peter hit a stray note. He restarted the line as he said, "People light them for someone in need or for someone who died."

"Any idea who those two are supposed to be for?"

"One's for Nathan & one's for you," Peter replied, tapping out the next stanza.

Sylar turned to watch Peter. "Me? Really? Peter, you know I gave this up when I started killing people. Besides, if that is real, we both know where I'm ending up."

Peter shrugged. "Moses is a murderer & yet, he's alive in heaven right now."

Sylar gaped at him in the dimness, with the gentle soft lights of two candles flickering over them while Peter continued the song. Sylar finally said, "He killed ONE man! Literally everyone has lost count of how many I killed."

"God hasn't," Peter said, finishing the song.

Sylar could only stare as the last few notes tinkered off. The faith of this man was incredible. He suddenly understood that the new name Noella had picked when switching suited him just fine. Peter. Kefa in Hebrew. Little rock upon which his faith was built & nothing could prevail against it. Just like his namesake Saint; although, in a strange twist of fate, Peter had a speech impediment like Moses supposedly had. Sylar flicked up one dark, thick eyebrow for a moment, in much the same way Spock did, as he asked, "What would Nathan think of this?"

"He lit a candle for you as well when we first heard of you," Peter said, getting up from the piano. "So does Mom."

Does, as in present tense, Sylar realized. "Angela does this? Why?"

"It's the only thing she does now," Peter said. "Bare minimum of her Christian duty. But yes, she still lights your candle. But she doesn't keep it next to Nathan's like I do. She puts it in the farthest corner away from Nathan's."

Sylar watched in silence as Peter got up, closed the piano, then went to the front & puffed out the two candles before leaving. He remained silent as they headed to Peter's apartment.

From now on, Sylar would be alone out there for most of the day. Sure, there were other medics who would pair with him but they legitimately thought he was Peter Petrelli, not knowing they were currently working with the most dangerous person on the planet.

Sylar resorted to leaving the hospital completely during breaks now so they could still hang out together. Peter now showed up looking more like himself then ever, even managing to show a faint facial shadow.

"You're really starting to look like the sorry ass I've been trying to kill for a few years now," Sylar teased as they sat down at their usual table for coffee. "Just curvier." He looked Peter over. The one sitting across the table from him was resembling his long time enemy-turned-friend more & more every day. He could also see a hint of the true scar under the make-up.

"Those curves will straighten out soon enough," Peter said. He put his hands up to his chest. "Starting with these two."

Sylar snorted into his coffee. He put the cup aside as he said, "Are you trying to kill me or something?"

"It's on the to-do list," Peter replied with a straight face before showing his aquiline smile. "I'm starting to come out to a few people, now. Just close family friends."

"How's that going?"

"Alright, for now," Peter said. "It was good to see Heidi & the children again. Simon & Monty are really growing up."

Sylar had very vivid memories of Nathan's estranged family due to having Nathan's memories shoved into him. He remembered the young boys as if they were his own sons but knew that he had nothing to do with them. "You still see them?"

"Occasionally," Peter shrugged. "Mostly when the kids want their grandmother." He stared at Sylar's exposed left shoulder where the Celtic triskele tattoo was as Sylar reached over to grab the sugar shaker to add some to his coffee. The movement turned the tattoo towards Peter's direction for a moment. It was the symbol that meant 'the flowing continuity of life' which was basically the exact opposite of what a serial killer was. Granted, Sylar had said that he had gotten that tattoo many years ago before his power had shown itself in full force only four years past. But perhaps it was a sign that Sylar would get his life back, just like how Peter had seen it.

"That's good," Sylar said. He finished his coffee & stood up to slip the paramedic jacket over his white sleeveless shirt. He switched his appearance back to Peter. "I better head back. See you tonight."

"See you," Peter waved Sylar away before heading home.

They used Peter's place during work days since he lived close to Mercy Hospital. He went to the couch & sat back to wait for Sylar to return. It was weird not having someone around now. The two of them had nothing but each other for ages that one day a long time ago & had continued staying close to each other at the hospital, as if watching over one another. But now that the physical changes back into the male body were becoming more visible, Peter had to wait.

Alone.

The shifts were long even though Sylar did not do double or triple but they never failed to find each other during Sylar's breaks. He would often come home late at night not from killing people as before but for taking care of his only friend by holding the position at the hospital, only to find that friend asleep on the couch waiting for him. Sylar would wake Peter up & send him to bed no matter what time

he got home. He made sure Peter would go back to sleep before using the couch for himself. Occasionally, Sylar would doze off on the edge of the bed next to Peter, waking up early in the morning. Sylar would catch himself gazing down at Peter for a moment before leaving for the next shift.

On days like that, Peter would wake up to find the apartment empty all day. Those were the times he would wonder why Sylar used the couch at all for sleeping or why Sylar didn't just stay on the other side of the queen-sized bed. What did it matter? They were friends now, right? Despite everything they had put each other through. Murdering Nathan. Crucifying Sylar for murdering Nathan & everything else they had done to each other. He suddenly started thinking about things they had never done to each other even though it seemed as if they had always come close. The next moment, Peter wondered why he was thinking like this.

It was very strange, missing Sylar's presence.

As the time for the first surgery, which would be the masculinizing chest surgery, came nearer, Peter had come out to several people that the Petrelli family had known. So far it had been successful to those that knew them. It was a relief to be back with familiar faces not only to be known properly but also to get everyone to stop asking Angela where her other son had gone off to for Sylar never visited Angela since she had known what was going on & would not appreciate seeing him in any form.

Strangers passing by in the street, who may have found out through the grapevine since the Petrelli clan was famous in New York; however, were different. Most didn't bother but there were some stares if they noticed the physical changes. It was fine except when Sylar was there. He would notice & all but glare right back in a silent challenge, often pressing protectively close to Peter's side. While together, Peter silently fretted that Sylar might go too far, but while by himself, he would find himself thinking back on those moments.

Despite the close calls, Sylar still managed to hang on to what shred of sanity he had left. Between Peter's job & keeping the real medic comfortable & ready for the physical process he was about to go through again, Sylar had little time to think about anything else.

Both were looking forward to starting the surgeries but for different reasons. For one, it was a huge step in the process but for the other, it was a walk into a nightmare. The surgeon was down in Texas. Sylar's biggest mistake was in Texas. He had killed a child, something he had sworn not to do. The girl was supposed to be Claire but he had grabbed the wrong cheerleader and attacked without even looking.

"You don't have to go with me," Peter told him more than once. "I've done most of these surgeries before. I'll be fine."

"It's too long for me, Peter," Sylar replied. "You can't leave me alone that long. I'm bound to slip up on my own. We started this together & I want to see it through to the end."

"First time I did this, it was just my family with me," said Peter. "Right now, Mom isn't talking to me much unless it's about Claire. It is nice to have a friend around during this time. Are you sure you'll be alright going back to Texas?"

"You're not the only one who won't be alone," Sylar said softly. Both glanced down as Sylar had slipped his hands into Peter's for a moment. Sylar just as smoothly pulled his hands free & touched Peter's face instead. "You need a shave, Peter," he said, stroking a finger over the rougher patches. He suddenly stepped back. "Besides, I already booked off the time from your job. I could use a bit of a break having to look like you all the time."

"You're such a smart ass sometimes," Peter grumbled while heading for the washroom. "About time I can shave again. Can't wait until I'll be back to normal."

"You probably still have another round or two with the monthly cycle first," Sylar pointed out.

"Don't remind me," Peter groaned after he had trimmed down the bit of fuzz finally appearing. "I'm hoping just one or two more."

"Peter, the pager's going off," Sylar called out from the kitchen.

"Alright, see you some time tonight then."

It turned into a long night shift. Though the sound of the city never ceased, Peter felt more alone than usual. He lay back on the sofa, waiting for Sylar to return & eventually fell asleep there. It wasn't until early the next morning when Sylar finally came home. He gave the couch a small shake to wake Peter up.

"I don't know how you do three shifts in a row when you're doing this job, Peter," Sylar complained. "This one went into overtime. Bit too long for me."

"But you did it anyway," Peter pointed out. "You're just not used to it."

"Why aren't you in bed?" Sylar asked.

"I fell asleep out here, obviously."

"You stayed up, waiting for me, didn't you?"

"So?"

"You need proper sleep if you want to have a good recovery from those surgeries you're about to start," Sylar said as he moved around in the kitchen looking for something to eat. He leaned on the open fridge door. "You need to keep the fridge full, Peter. We talked about this. Frequently!"

Peter just shrugged pathetically. "I forgot." He came into the kitchen & pulled the door wider out of Sylar's grip. "What do we need?" He looked around at the empty shelves. Usually, Angela showed up from time to time to put some things in the fridge & cupboards, keeping an eye on her workaholic son, but she had yet to set foot in the place since Sylar was often there now.

"Pretty much everything," Sylar pointed out. "But certainly milk for now, unless you want to eat your cereal dry?"

"I'll go get it," Peter muttered as he stretched.

"It's still dark out."

"I'll take Edgar's speed from you," Peter said, touching Sylar's hand for a moment. "Be right back." He was gone in a flurry before Sylar could even blink. Sylar turned the coffee pot on so the water would be ready for when Peter got back in a few minutes, only to find that the coffee container in the cupboard was empty.

Sylar rolled his eyes, letting the cupboard door bang shut. He turned away & with a sudden, wicked grin, he went out after Peter, using the speed ability to catch up. Unfortunately, it was the first time Sylar used it & at the same time, Peter was using it to get back home. The pair collided with a sickening thud as they tipped over to the cement sidewalk in a spray of milk from the exploding jug. Stunned, both lay back for a moment, staring at the dark sky. Rain began to fall.

Sylar sat up first. "I'm so glad I took Claire's power right now. I'm no longer sorry about it!"

Peter slowly got up, shooting a glare at Sylar. "Why didn't you just stay home? I said I would be back in a few minutes!"

"We're out of coffee."

"Oh, is that all it is?" Peter was still fuming, gingerly rubbing over his body.

"Do you want the Regen?" Sylar offered a hand.

"Yes, but it would undo the hormone therapy since I'm not fully settled as a man yet," Peter tersely replied. "I'll wait. Walk it off."

Sylar got up & silently followed. They went back to the apartment without using any ability or even considering why either had gone out in the first place. The rain began to fall in a torrential downpour & by the time they got into the lobby of the apartment building, both were soaked & looked for all the world like a couple of drowned kittens.

They entered the bedroom & began peeling off wet clothes. Sylar went to grab towels to dry off & handed one over. Peter took it & wrapped it around himself before shivering violently.

"We can't even make a hot drink since we didn't get the milk," Sylar said.

"Oh I got it," Peter corrected him. "Some crazy person knocked it out of my hands."

"I am legally criminally insane," Sylar just grinned pathetically, reaching over with an extra towel to help dry off Peter's shoulders faster.

"Gabriel, what am I going to do with you?" Peter teased.

"I think it's the other way around," Sylar let the towel he was using on Peter drop to the floor as he lifted one hand to push back Peter's wet bangs before tracing the scar going down with a finger. Wait, could it be? He let his finger pass over the dead nerves at the side of Peter's mouth, still feeling, still probing. "You have some rather unusual hidden desires in you, Peter," he said softly, placing his hand on Peter's shoulder. "But not hidden to me."

"Gabriel."

"It's Lydia's empathic power," Sylar went on. "One of few I didn't kill. Soaked it up doing ... other things with her."

"Gabriel!" Peter moved back. Sylar's hands slipped down Peter's arms as he continued feeling, not so much physically as empathically, sensing every emotion going on inside.

"I've been picking things up from you for a while now," Sylar said. "Every time we touch as we pass each other. But I don't even need her ability. I've caught you watching me, sometimes. Don't deny it, Peter."

"Deny it?" Peter scoffed. "You're the same way! I've been swapping through your powers. I've copied Lydia's a few times." He went to sit down on the edge of the bed. "You've been avoiding me. Among other things I've felt from you when I've had the empathic ability, is one desire to leave me in peace. But you're right. It HAS been going on a while. Ever since we got stuck in the nightmare world & it hasn't changed since we got out."

Sylar leaned back against the windowsill. "Yes, I have been avoiding you. Avoiding the issue. But you're doing it to me as well and we both know why! Peter," Sylar moved closer to him & leaned in, putting his hands on either side of Peter's hips. "If it weren't for the fact I murdered your brother in cold blood, I would kiss you now!" They both stared at each other for a long moment. Nathan was certainly Sylar's problem, but it was someone else who was stopping Peter. Sylar straightened up & added, "You have given me a hell of a lot more than I deserve. Your forgiveness. Your friendship. Even your own apartment & job. But your love? I dare not ask for something I have no right to have!"

"Love? Hmm," Peter stood up as well. "Strong word."

"I can see it without the use of any ability," Sylar said. "My God, Peter! What would Nathan think? Not to mention your mother? Claire?"

Peter hesitated before saying, "I don't think my brother would have wanted me to turn bitter with hate. If he was still here—"

"But he isn't, Peter & it's my fault."

"Yes & no," Peter sighed. "If Nathan was here, he would see you the way I do. Just a man like anyone else who got stuck with a power he didn't ask for. Got used by others. Noah Bennet, especially! He basically turned you into a weapon. If your power was left alone, you could have had a different life & you do. I've—"

"Seen it in the future," Sylar interrupted. "Yes, I know. But that doesn't change the past. All these what ifs never happened. What happened was I ended up being the most deadliest serial killer in the world, past, present & thanks to Claire's power, future. What I did has gone down in history, already."

"What you did is over with," Peter insisted. "You are your own worst victim. Whatever happened to that nerdy man named Gabriel Gray? That is who I see now & if my visits to the very near future is anything to go by, that is who you will remain. Sylar is done. Just a power locked inside you. I've had your power too, don't forget & in another timeline, I'm-I'm ... I'm the one who killed Nathan!"

Dead silence followed that declaration.

Sylar's lie detection ability remained silent. Peter had killed Nathan? After a long minute, Sylar finally found his voice. "Excuse me, what & how?"

"We're both guilty!" Peter retorted. "In a different timeline, when I got your power, I went crazy too. I ended up killing someone the same way you do, cutting through the forehead. That someone was Nathan. If you hadn't have killed him last year, I will a few years from now. That's why it's easier for me to accept you. I've been there. I understand what you go through, more so than anyone else! Nathan would have wanted you fixed if only he had the chance to see you under that killer mask. So that's just what I'm going to do."

By now, Sylar was sitting in an armchair, both hands over his face. In a hoarse whisper, he asked, "Does your mother know about this?"

"Nope," Peter said as he strode towards Sylar. His hands let go the towel wrapping his body as he leaned forward to place them on either side of Sylar, onto the arms of the chair. Sylar barely had time to register the fact that the towel was on the floor & the only thing Peter was wearing was the Helix, a symbol that looked like one side of a DNA strand & meant 'Godsend', hanging from a leather strap around his neck, before Peter lifted a hand & ran his fingers through Sylar's damp hair, making him look up, which in turn made their faces close together. "So like it or not," Peter went on. "You & I are stuck with each other."

Peter leaned a little closer, just barely hovering over the fraction of a space between their lips. He knew he shouldn't. This would really screw up the timeline! It already had some changes. Nathan died earlier. Peter had de-transitioned. Or at least, there was no indication of that happening when he had been in the future for a short time. But for the first time, Peter finally thought of himself. He no longer cared & in that heated moment, he suddenly rushed forward, pressing his lips hard onto Sylar's at last.

They say one's whole life flashes before their eyes at the point of death with the best moments being clear while the rest was foggy & already passing away. But for Sylar, who was immortal & could never die, this moment. This weird, strange, crazy, heated moment. The instant he felt the medic's lips on his own, that flash happened for Sylar. Not his whole life. Only from when the eclipse had appeared along with the abilities manifesting in everyone who had unknowingly been born with them. The past four years whizzed by in his mind. The clearest bits were whenever he had encountered Peter. All their battles, the powers they had used against each other. The Hero versus the Villain. That lop-sided grin Peter had. The stutter. The purity. The rage. The faith that would condemn Sylar but for Peter insisting on saving him. The last two scenes were when he had been trapped with Peter in the nightmare realms before ending abruptly in shades of gray at Nathan's body collapsing into the chair as he died, a bright red slit across the throat & dripping down Nathan's body to the floor. Sylar's newest nightmare that happened to be a fact of reality he would have to live with for the rest of eternity.

Sylar gasped & tried to pull back, but it only allowed Peter more access to his mouth as Peter crawled into Sylar's lap, still holding on, trapping Sylar in the chair. Sylar knew he should push Peter away. He didn't deserve any of this. But oh! How he wanted it & he was also keenly aware that the only thing currently between him & Peter was his own large towel wrapped around himself. He felt his hands slide up Peter's sides & move towards the spine, holding the medic in place over him as they fought a very different battle between them, of tongues.

Peter pushed Sylar's towel away & stood up. He stepped backwards to the bed. As he dropped down onto the edge, Sylar felt himself being pulled up from the chair & yanked forward. Peter had copied the telekinetic force, the ability Sylar most favored for killing people. Next thing either of them knew, both were lying on the bed, with Sylar directly on top of Peter. Both groaned at the feeling of heat between them.

Sylar looked down at Peter lying naked under him. How the hell did it come to this? They were supposed to kill each other. Code of the Heroes to destroy the Villains. "I think," Sylar gasped between short breaths. "If we do this, there is no going back."

"We passed the point of no return a long time ago," Peter replied in a low voice.

Sylar leaned over to whisper in Peter's ear, "Yes, I suppose we did."

Peter took advantage of Sylar's closeness to wrap his arms around him and flip them over. Once more, he found himself sitting over Sylar's spread out form, but this time, he was about to nail him in a very different way. They gazed at each other for a moment, knowing the other was thinking of that incident.

Peter put a hand on Sylar's shoulder, close to the Celtic symbol. He switched powers. Now with Lydia's empathy, he was able to feel Sylar's deepest desires. "I know what you want," he said as he pressed his body hard & fast down onto Sylar's hips, like any man would do for a good thrust. He froze instantly, feeling something other than what he had expected to feel.

Sylar had pushed up to meet Peter's thrust, but now he held himself still, sensing Peter's hesitation. "Are you alright?"

"That ... kind of hurt," Peter admitted.

Sylar forced himself to slowly relax. "Am I too big for you?"

"Um, no," Peter said. He started to follow Sylar down. "It's better now. But ... well, I forgot I'm kind of a virgin at the moment."

"I'm not sure why my lie detection ability didn't go off at that," Sylar said. "Because the whole friggen world knows you are the incarnation of Captain Kirk."

"Shut up, Spock," Peter ordered. "My male body has been done many times. I never had sex until after I transitioned. So this body ... well, it's new. For this. I mean. Like I said, I forgot."

"Ohh, sorry. I should have thought of that. I went in rather roughly."

"It's fine," Peter shrugged. "It's over now & besides, I'm the one who initiated it."

"I guess I'm a virgin at this too," Sylar said. "I've never done this with a guy before, even though I've always been open to any relationship."

"Neither have I," Peter said. "But I've never considered other guys, until now." He lay down over Sylar & stroked his fingers through that dark brown, nearly black hair before kissing him again.

Sylar held Peter close, moving with him in a slow & steady rush as both threw aside their old lives. Both were responsible for Nathan's death in one timeline or another. Neither would fight each other ever again. Peter would probably one day lose his Hero status as others realized he was no longer going after Sylar, or worse, was now in a relationship with him. How long could they even keep this silent? It was only a matter of time—again—before they would be caught. All they had left was each other.

Oh, but that wasn't entirely true, now was it, Peter? There was someone that Sylar needed & it was not the medic currently grinding him into the bed.