(6) Everything ...

(Line in bold is taken from various Season 1 episodes, not by me. Lines in bold italic, as well as the title for this chapter & the next, are paraphrased conversation between Sylar/Peter in the "I Am Become Death" episode.)

It was late in the morning when Sylar's eyes fluttered open. He closed them quickly again to avoid the bright sun streaming in through the window. He felt one arm around him, holding him close against Peter's side. With one hand, he began tracing lines down the center of Peter's chest as he slowly started to drift off once more.

Suddenly, Sylar was wide awake again. He pushed himself up a little to keep his eyes out of the sunlight as he stared down at Peter lying beside him. A slight shift under the covers told him everything. It wasn't a dream. They were, in fact, together in bed, skin to skin. What have they done? Sylar still couldn't believe how he had ended up in bed with this man. They had instantly hated each other at first sight so long ago ... but now? Everything was all turned around.

Peter stirred & woke up. "Hey ... " he sighed, his eyes slowly opening. He suddenly yelped & grabbed Sylar's hand for one moment, swapping powers, then flicked his fingers at the curtains, shutting them by telekinetic force. "That's better!" He rubbed his eyes with his other hand.

Sylar smiled for a moment, dragging his fingertips over Peter's skin. "About time we slept in," he said, stroking over the breasts.

"Don't get too attached to those," Peter said. "They're coming off in a few days."

Sylar pulled his hand away, snickering under breath. "I know. I'm just saying good bye to them."

"Really?" Peter flicked up his brow. "That's the best you can come up with?"

"I'm sure I can 'come up' with other things," Sylar replied, moving to sit over Peter's lap. He leaned down to kiss him. "How's that?"

"Mhm," Peter sighed, petting back Sylar's bangs before letting Sylar slip down between his legs.

The morning excitement only lasted a moment or two. Peter held Sylar next to him before rolling over to gaze down into those brown eyes for a long while.

"What?" Sylar finally asked.

"I'm just ... wondering how long this will last. I mean, I am a guy, after all," Peter said.

Sylar shrugged. "I got into this knowing you're transitioning. It'll be fine. It's everyone else who won't be. If anyone finds out what we just did ... "

"It's a good thing you've disappeared for a while, masquerading as me at the hospital," said Peter. "People think you've taken off again."

"You're Mom knows we're friends," Sylar pointed out. "I really hope she didn't see the past few hours in her visions."

"Kill me ... " Peter grumbled in horror.

"I've been trying for over four years," Sylar reminded him.

Peter pushed away from Sylar so he could get up. "She knows I've been looking out for you. I really hope she doesn't find out about this any time soon."

"Hopefully, she is still blocking me from her visions," Sylar said as he watched Peter get dressed.

"Right now, she's more interested in controlling Claire," Peter said. "She's been handling most of Claire's interaction with the public & introducing abilities to the world. I don't like it much, but at least it's keeping Claire out of my hair for now. She certainly wants to try taking you down but at the moment, no one knows where you are except Mom, me & you."

"There's no stopping Angela from telling Claire about us being friends," Sylar pointed out.

"Except me," said Peter. "She does know that Claire kills me in about five years & so she will try to avoid that. For now, she isn't saying anything. But I feel like we're living on borrowed time."

"We should try to keep this new development between us a secret until we figure out what to do," Sylar said, getting up to get dressed as well. "Let's just focus on finishing your transition."

"We leave for Texas in a few hours," said Peter, coming close to Sylar. "Are you sure you're ready for that?"

"That homecoming night you, Claire & I crossed paths for the first time," Sylar replied. "No one was supposed to die that night. I still don't get why Jackie claimed to be the cheerleader who walked out of a burning train. She paid for that lie with her life."

"I think Claire called her a bitch once or twice," Peter said. "Maybe she was one of those types stealing all the fame for herself."

"I never planned on killing a child," Sylar said. "Why didn't you Heroes save the cheerleader?"

"We did," said Peter. "We kept you away from Claire that night."

"But she doesn't need saving from me," Sylar said. "She can't ever die. There was no need for anyone to hide her from me. I think I just figured out why your timeline is getting messed up. Save the cheerleader, save the world. But Jackie died at my hands & you say these exposed abilities will cause the planet to explode. Jackie was the one who needed saving!"

Peter stared at Sylar for a long moment as that sunk in. "Ohh ..." It made sense. A cheerleader died that night & now, the world was heading towards oblivion. "I never even thought of that," he admitted in a low voice.

"I don't think anyone did," Sylar said. "I think about it every day of my life since it happened. By the time I realized I had grabbed the wrong cheerleader, Claire was already gone. Jackie was dead at my feet & you had shown up."

"But Isaac's paintings showed Claire was the one in trouble," Peter said.

"That's just how everyone interpreted it," Sylar said. "It's the first time you met Claire. She ended up being relevant to you since you found out later Nathan had an affair & she is actually your niece. But Claire & Jackie were at the same school & you were the Hero that was supposed to be sent there to save a cheerleader. Claire was the link, not the target."

Peter rubbed his face with one hand, feeling the scar. "I guess I failed at being a Hero even back then."

"Well, now all you have to do is figure out how to stop the whole planet from exploding," Sylar reminded him.

"Great," Peter groaned. "At least that won't be for a while. First things first. I need to get back to being a guy." He put his hands onto Sylar's shoulders. "So, I looked at a map. We won't be anywhere near Odessa."

"I know," Sylar said, raising his own hands to cover Peter's for a moment before stroking down the arms. "This is very different."

Peter smiled before saying, "Everything will work out." He touched Sylar's cheek before pulling away & heading for the door.

For the next day or so, that line was all Peter could think about. He knew everything HAD to work out for the sake of everyone, or else Sylar's power would take over & he would go back to killing. Peter wanted it to work out. But he also wanted Sylar by his side. Peter suddenly understood the phrase 'can't have your cake & eat it, too'.

Sylar had to end up with a woman, most likely Claire, within the next few months & Peter no longer had any idea how to proceed with that. His original plan was maybe to borrow Hiro's power, skip to the future to find out what person he needed, then come back home & somehow play matchmaker. He had not planned on becoming close friends with Sylar & he certainly had not planned on falling for him.

Peter didn't plan on de-transitioning, either, But there it was. It was like this very crucial year was spiralling out of control.

On the morning of the first surgery, Peter lay awake long before the sun was up. Sylar was curled up beside him, sleeping soundly. Peter lightly passed his fingertips over the top of Sylar's hand resting on his chest. He was in a very dangerous place, trying to reconcile what he wanted—Sylar with him to keep not only him but the rest of the world safe—with what the world needed—Sylar sane & free from the madness with in. There was a very unsafe power available that Peter could use to make things easier to figure out. Sylar was born with it & now, here it was right next to him. Peter was tempted to take the Intuitive Aptitude & try to muddle through the mess he had just made. But would he end up making a bigger mess if he couldn't control that damning power? It was possible. He had seen it. But it was very difficult to do so.

Well. Not today. Peter was about to start the physical alterations to his body & did not need such mental torture to deal with on top of it while he was getting the surgery done or healing up afterwards. At least, this is what he kept telling himself until the sun came in through the window, waking up Sylar. Peter sat up as Sylar stretched cat-like beside him.

Sylar took one look at him. "You didn't sleep much, did you?"

"Not really," Peter admitted.

"Nervous?" Sylar asked.

"Maybe," Peter said. "I've done this before. I'll be fine." It wasn't really the surgery that was bothering him. He got up to start getting dressed.

"After today, you've got to be very careful around me or Claire," Sylar said. "You don't want to grab the Regen accidentally."

"I hope not," Peter said. "One transition is plenty. Two is pushing it. A third one?" He shook his head as he put on his jacket.

"I'll be ready with a bowl of coconut ice cream & soy milk for you once you're out of surgery," Sylar said.

Peter scoffed. "Almond milk."

"I know that," Sylar laughed as he followed Peter out the door.

The surgery lasted about three hours. While waiting, Sylar had found himself a pair of black gloves to use while handling Peter during recovery time. It was perhaps sheer dumb luck that Peter's current synthetic mimicry needed a literal touch to pick up an ability. Originally, Peter's natural born mimicry could soak things up by just being near the person & retain every power, which would have really messed the surgeries up by picking up Regen. For now, having to literally touch someone instead of being beside them would work in Peter's favor.

Sort of. Sylar realized that he could not be close with Peter for a while. The less physical contact they had for the next several weeks, the better. Sylar stared out the window of the gift shop, thinking over the past few days. That moment in time where he had lain with Peter in a frenzied mess of twisted bed sheets & damp skin was foremost on his mind. It would be a long while before that would happen again.

Sylar looked down at the gloves he was holding in one hand. Again? He silently admitted that he would like nothing more than to throw Peter into bed & have his way with him once more, but that wasn't going to happen for a while now. In fact, the next time it would happen, it would be when Peter had completed the transition. Sylar rubbed his face with his free hand. That was going to be a very long wait!

During that time, Sylar was able to simply be himself. He had been posing as Peter for so long that he had now dropped off everyone's radar. So far, no one but Angela knew what was really going on & so long as Peter focused on his surgeries, most people would leave him alone instead of expecting him to be out chasing Sylar around.

But it was only a matter of time before people recognized Sylar's face again, or worse, see him & Peter together without any conflict. That would really rock the world of Specials once it got out that he & Peter were no longer enemies.

Sylar slipped the gloves on & went to find Peter who was currently sleeping off the anaesthesia in a recovery room. He sat in a chair next to the bed to watch Peter. He was now looking more like the man Sylar had first encountered at the high school that fateful night, but instead of seeing him as a rival, Sylar was now looking at the most beautiful thing that had ever wandered into his life. It wasn't even the physical appearance that Sylar was attracted to at the moment; although, Peter, like any Petrelli, was handsome as well, marred only by the scar—marred or perhaps enhanced.

Peter maintained a young innocent soul within him, almost to the point of naïveté. No matter what happened or what people put him through, Peter had always forgiven, always tried to make things right. His Hero complex got him into trouble more often than not, but that never stopped him from always trying to save somebody & his current target to save was now Sylar for some inexplicable reason only Peter seemed to know.

Sylar knew he was bound by this fate. Once Peter insisted on saving someone, get out of his way! He would try no matter the cost, even his own life. It suddenly struck Sylar as to why Peter may have been killed in the future, by Claire of all people. She must have found out that Peter & Sylar were on the same side. Peter would die protecting him! Was that it?

With a short gasp, Sylar stood up & moved to the left side of the bed. He put his hands on the railing & looked over Peter, still sleeping, his whole top wrapped up from the surgery. He placed the tip of his right index finger on Peter's right temple & slowly stroked across the forehead as if making his trademark death cut. But he only kept contact with his fingertip as he traced the usual line across without causing damage. The leather of the gloves slipped easily along.

"I used to want to do that to you," Sylar whispered. "No one is allowed to kill you but me & now, all I want to do is keep you safe." He slipped his hand down Peter's arm until he could grasp Peter's hand.

To battle Claire? Worse, fight her over Peter? When Sylar had first encountered the blonde cheerleader, he had been enamoured with her, not just for her immortal power but also her perfect body. Being a cheerleader had really toned that shape the Petrelli blood had given her. He had stalked her since she was fifteen, first for her power, which he had finally copied, then for her even though he was nearly twice her age at the time. He once had deluded dreams of making her love him eventually, once she had gotten over herself in a century or two, in a play of dark passion. They were both immortal & destined for each other.

Sylar was now revolted at the mere thought of trying to bed someone so young. He had barely waited for her to be legal before trying to propose marriage to her just hours before killing her biological father, Nathan. He once thought that the Intuitive Aptitude was telling him Claire was the one since they were both immortal.

But Peter was also (usually & will be again very soon) immortal. How had Sylar misinterpreted his birth power so badly? Sylar lifted his hand to Peter's brow once more, this time petting back some bangs, lifting a few stray locks out of the top part of the scar to put them aside. No, it was not Claire. It was never Claire & now he knew, it never will be. He leaned over, barely touching his lips to Peter's. "You have such oceans within," he whispered softly so as not to wake him before it was time. "In the end, I will always ... love you."

There. It was done. Sylar's fate was sealed with that whisper of a kiss & Peter finally had all the control over the killer.

Peter's eyes opened as Sylar pulled back. "... Ow ..." he moaned softly, slowly raising his hands to hover over his flattened chest for a moment before stretching out to find the control for the bed.

"I've got the remedy for that right here," Sylar said, holding up a small bottle of Tylenol-3.

"Mhm," Peter sighed, pushing the button to let him sit up completely. "Now the fun part begins." He took the glass of water & the two pills Sylar had passed him. He swallowed the pills & the water before asking, "What's with those gloves?"

"We have to be very conscious of what we're doing around each other," Sylar said. "We can't just randomly touch each other for a long time."

Peter placed the empty glass aside. "Hmm, kinky."

"What?" Sylar just stared at him.

"Black leather. Forbidden love. Now a rule of no touching for an extended period of time," Peter said as he held up one hand & tapped a different finger on it as if ticking off a list. "Shall I order a whip, next?"

Sylar blinked long & slow like an owl. "I don't like pain!"

"You sure about that? The way you used to murder people was brutal beyond reason," Peter pointed out.

"I never killed anyone with sexual pain, Peter!" Sylar groaned in horror as Peter delicately & deliberately tried to control his laughter so as not to aggravate his surgical wounds.

"Aw, the slave needs a little training, I see," Peter said with a straight face.

"Right, I'm going to go back to trying to kill you any chance I get."

"You even have a kink name set up," Peter went on between gasps of air. "Sylar."

Sylar's eyes went wide. "What the frik am I getting into with you?"

"Oh Gabriel! Your face," Peter wiped his eyes. "Don't make me laugh when I'm fresh out of surgery!"

Sylar crossed his arms, glaring. "I like seeing you in pain," he accidentally said an instant before he understood that Peter would twist his words.

"Good," Peter said. "Your first training session is complete."

Sylar let his arms drop to his sides. "Why are you always so inappropriate?"

"You have to admit, you kind of walked into that one," Peter defended, still snickering while trying to keep his chest steady.

Sylar would never admit to that. "When do I take you home, again?" He already knew, but was hoping to get Peter off the subject. He really should have known better.

"Why, so you can beat me?"

Sylar's forehead connected with the little metal table. "Everything I say gets ruined."

"You're too easy," Peter replied. "Just too easy!"

Sylar looked up so he could pull his glasses off & shot Peter a glare, earning more stifled, controlled laughter. "I never knew you were like this until Nathan's memories got put into me," Sylar said. "You were always a bad boy."

"I try to be," Peter said. "I have two faces. One for the world; one for God."

"I noticed," Sylar complained. "You often talked that way when others started picking on you for being a tomboy back in school. Before you realized you were transgender. Using such humor helped to deflect their comments."

"That's what Nathan would always say," Peter said. "You're probably seeing those memories."

"Some of his best memories are about you," Sylar said. "I'd like to ask you if we should call in the doctor to check up on you now that you're awake, but you'll probably twist that as well."

"I'm sure I could come up with something," Peter smiled.

Sylar ignored the taunt as he pressed the button to summon a doctor. He stayed to one side while Peter was examined. The gauze wrapping his chest was changed & he was given another dose of painkillers.

It was two days before Peter was released from the hospital. He had to move very carefully & spent the nights sleeping in a chair. It was hard to lie down completely while still recovering from having his whole chest dug into & re-shaped.

Thanks to Nathan's memories, Sylar knew what to do to take care of Peter since Nathan had been the one helping his brother through it the first time. Peter wasn't allowed any lifting for the first two weeks & neither could he put his arms up over his head either. He had to concentrate when getting up or sitting down, always taking care to not strain his chest muscles too much. Sylar often stood by so that Peter could lean on him.

After a week & half, they were able to return to New York. Peter double checked to make sure the sofa was in the same place before slowly sinking into it. Sylar handed him the bottle of Tylenol-3 & a glass of water. After Peter downed it all & gave the empty glass back, he said, "So Claire knows."

"About us?" Sylar gasped. "She's the last person who should know."

"I mean about me being transgender." Peter said. "She had texted me a few days ago, wondering where I am & how I was doing. So I told her that I'm finally going forward with a complete transition."

"How'd she handle it?"

"She's perfectly fine with it," said Peter. "I was pretty sure she would be. I mean, she's bisexual & queer as well, anyway."

Sylar felt there was something missing. "So, what's the issue?"

"She started asking if I knew where you had gone off to," Peter said. "I brushed it off. Said I'm too busy for a while with the surgeries & don't have time for you."

"Thanks, Peter," Sylar said with a wry smile.

"She understood that," Peter shrugged. "But I can only use that excuse for so long." He sighed & put his head back along the top of the couch.

"You alright?" Sylar asked as he walked around to stand behind Peter.

"Just a little tired," Peter said.

"Hang on to your ability," Sylar said, pulling off one glove & touched Peter's forehead. "You're a little warm."

"Well, without the Regen, I could end up under the weather," said Peter. "I'll be fine."

Sylar pulled the glove on again. "Regen can cure all but two conditions, cancer & death. It can prevent both but not cure it. If you're still not feeling well soon, you should get checked."

"Yes, Mommy," Peter muttered.

"I mean it, Peter," Sylar wasn't playing. "The only thing allowed to kill you is me."

"Gabriel, I'm not dying," Peter replied. "I probably just need to sleep in a better position. Sitting up all the time is not very comfortable. I'll be fine."

It turned out that Peter wasn't fine. By the fourth week, his physical recovery was nearly done. He was able to sleep lying back & no longer felt sore. But he had started feeling sick & even throwing up almost daily. After one particularly rough morning, Peter finally agreed to seeing a doctor.

"It's gotta be the hormones," Peter tried to convince both of them as they headed to the private doctor for the Petrelli family. "I'm having a reaction to them. There are a few different types." He opened the door to the clinic & let Sylar in first before following. "I need to get my tests for the hysterectomy done anyway, so I might as well get everything over with."

"I really hope it's just a reaction, Peter," Sylar said. "Otherwise, take the Regen & we'll just start over again."

"I really hope I don't have to do that again," Peter said.

Sylar waited in the guest room for almost two hours while Peter was checked, poked & prodded. He was given something to help the nausea as well & sent home to wait for the results.

It would be another week or two for those to be ready. In the meantime, while Peter's illness seemed to clear up, perhaps with the medicine or it had just finally run its course, his behaviour on the other hand, seemed to change. He started eating more, even going so far as to steal an apple Sylar was just about to bite into on one occasion & he was starting to get temperamental at the pettiest of things.

Sylar glared at the apple that Peter was now finishing. "What? I'm hungry," Peter all but snapped, tossing the core away.

"You usually go for days without food," Sylar said.

"Only 'cause I'm too lazy to go out & get it," Peter said. "Mom usually gets stuff for me but she doesn't come around any more since you're here."

"Sure, blame me," Sylar said.

"I am!" Peter snarled before pulling out his phone that had been chiming. "What?"

Sylar raised one eyebrow in a Spock-ish sort of way at Peter's tone, even over the phone. He was snapping at everybody.

"Alright, I'll stop by to get them," Peter said with a slightly impatient sigh. He put his cell phone away & looked at Sylar. "Test results are in. I'll go grab them & pick something up for dinner on the way back." He headed for the door.

"Peter?"

"Yeah?" Peter glanced back for a moment.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine, Gabriel," Peter grumbled before leaving.

Sylar went out onto the balcony & glanced down to watch Peter come out into the street & walk away. Peter was anything but fine & Sylar was seriously considering using the Aptitude on him. He could use it without killing. It just made abilities work better if he could see them before copying. But he didn't need Peter's synthed mimicry since his own natural one was way better & abilities was the last thing on his mind right now, anyway. He just wanted to look through Peter to see if there was anything wrong.

It was nearly an hour later before Peter returned. He placed two pizza boxes on the coffee table, one with a large V (for vegetarian) marked on its top, before kneeling down on the floor beside the table. It was a while before he could look Sylar in the eyes.

"So ... um ... we need to talk," Peter said in a hushed voice. He seemed shocked.

"Yeah, I think we do," Sylar agreed.

"You remember me telling you how I saw you have control of yourself in about five years?"

Sylar hesitated. He wasn't expecting that topic to be brought up. "You've mentioned it a few times."

"I also said that it would start sometime this year," Peter added. After Sylar's silent nod, Peter went on. "So when, uh, well ..." He stopped, focusing on his words, but ended up shaking his head.

"Stand up," Sylar ordered, getting up as well, putting the glasses aside. He lifted a finger, pulling Peter up. "I'm going to look into you."

"Alright," Peter agreed without even thinking. Sylar was momentarily stunned at just how much trust Peter had in him now. "Just be careful. There are three of us here, ok?"

Wait ... three? Sylar pressed Peter against the wall with the force power. He slowly advanced on him as if ready to attack. His eyes bore into Peter's as he searched through everything, his Aptitude leaping forward into the very soul held firmly in front of it, diving in deep until suddenly, Sylar saw it. He released both abilities, letting Peter stumble a bit against the wall. Sylar leaned over, hands on knees for a moment before gasping in shock. "You're PREGNANT?!"

"We didn't use protection when we had sex," Peter said.

"We're guys. We ... oh. OH!" Sylar had both hands on his face as he stepped backwards until he could drop into the nearest chair. Peter was a guy in mind only. His body was still female, only half altered to look like a guy, but only the top half, so far. Peter was still a woman down below & inside. All the bits that could reproduce were still there. Neither of them had thought about that & now, here all three of them were. "Peter, I didn't think about condoms!"

"Yeah, well, neither did I. Not like we need them since Regen keeps things clean, anyway."

"What does this have to do with the future?"

"I met your son."

"S-Son?!" Sylar gasped in a cracked shocked voice. He cleared his throat before saying in a stronger voice. "Wait a minute. You've known I was going to have a son since the time I was incarcerated in Primatech?!"

"Might have," Peter admitted. "That's how you do it, Gabriel. You learn to control your deadly power for the sake of your son. I saw it. You were doing it so well, I don't think Noah even knew you had powers."

"Noah?" Sylar glared at Peter. "Why the hell would I name a child of mine Noah? After what Noah Bennet did to me!"

"See, that's one of the reasons I thought the mother of your son was Claire," Peter said. "I thought you were being nice for her sake."

"One of the reasons?" Sylar seethed in a low voice. "What other reasons are there?"

"You were in the Bennet home," Peter said. "Claire had inherited it by then for a while, but I somehow manage to take it away from her. Don't know why, yet. In the future, she tells me I took everything from her. I'm not sure what that means yet, but your son was there. Couldn't have been more than four or five. Mr. Muggles was there. Noah called me Uncle. He also knew I wasn't the same Peter since he was seeing my past self tossed ahead in time & I didn't have the scar then. Noah only knows me with the scar. I would be a Great-Uncle to him since Claire is my niece. So I really thought she was the mother!"

"Claire hates me!" Sylar exclaimed. "I killed both her birth parents. I terrorized her. Ripped her apart to copy her power. Stalked her for a few years. Tried to force her to fall in love with me. How the hell could she end up with me in such a short time & produce a child?"

Peter held up his hands for a moment. "Well, actually, I was planning on erasing her memories of you soon if she didn't get over herself."

"She would heal that."

"Eventually," Peter shrugged. "But it doesn't matter now. I'm the one who ended up pregnant with your son."

Sylar looked over Peter. "You told me once you might be suicidal if you ever got pregnant. What are you planning to do?"

"Well, uh," Peter paused, focusing on his stutter showing up due to nervous energy. "Mmm—Not gonna lie. This pregnancy is not good for my mental health. A-A-Anyone else ... I would've aborted." A moment went by before he went on in a rush. "But you're the father & I've seen you with your son. I've never seen a more perfect father."

"Really?" Sylar half-smiled for a moment. He knew Peter wasn't lying. It wasn't because of the lie detector ability remaining quiet. Whenever Peter talked perfectly on topics he was so sure of, it was a sign of total confidence. Besides that, Sylar couldn't recall a moment when Peter had ever lied to him. "A son," Sylar mused out loud. "I'm going to have ... a son."

"Your son is the reason why you finally stop killing people for powers," Peter said. "But I have one condition."

"What?"

"If I do this for you," Peter began. "If I have this son, I need you to stand before God's very throne & swear to me that you will never set foot in Costa Verde again & never let Noah go there either."

Sylar looked at Peter. He was atheist. Peter knew that. Sylar had been raised Catholic as well as Peter, but he had learned to hate the very notion of God. Why would a God allow the ability of Intuitive Aptitude to exist or allow him to kill so many people? Why was Peter so ... terrified ... all of a sudden of a little coastal town all away across America in California? "What happens?" Sylar asked breathlessly. "Peter? Something happened in the future. What did you see?"

"I-I'm—mmm—mm not the-the only one," Peter tried, his stutter back. "Not the only one—C-Claire kills ... that day."

It hit Sylar like a bolt of lightning. He couldn't begin to believe what Peter was implying. Sylar gasped. "Claire kills my son? Does she hate me THAT much that she would murder an innocent child?"

"No, no," Peter shook his head. "It wasn't on-on purpose. Th-There was an accident. She didn't ... mean it."

"She still!" Sylar started. He couldn't finish. Claire kills a child? His child?

Peter came to stand before Sylar, reaching out to take hold of his hands. "Hey, I've seen it happen. But it's the future. That's changeable. The past shouldn't be touched, but we can alter what hasn't technically happened yet."

"We need to cut Claire completely out of our lives," Sylar said. "Stay the hell away from her."

"I think I do that," Peter said. "It seemed like Claire & I go our separate ways soon. We were on opposite sides of the war coming over abilities."

"No," Sylar shook his head. "We need to stay out of it entirely. Not only to keep you & our—our son ..." He thought that over. 'Our son.' With Peter, of all people! "Keep you both alive," he went on. "But we also need to keep him away from Noah Bennet. Or anyone involved with the Company."

"Definitely stay away from the Company," Peter agreed. "I can only imagine what they would do to a child you would have."

"They would create a worse killer than me," Sylar said. "Especially if the child turns out like me. Peter, you know my power is genetic. My father had a killer instinct as well because of it. What if our son gets it?"

"Well, you know what they say," Peter began. "Third time's the charm. Besides, he has both of us looking out for him. From what you've told me of your own father, it doesn't sound like he had much of a life & you come from a sordid background as well. Let's get it right with Noah."

Sylar rolled his eyes. "I still can't understand why the hell I'd name a kid of mine Noah."

"That's the kid's name," Peter shrugged. "I met him. I'm just as confused about this as you are, but I'm glad the kid is finally in existence. You need this."

"So you've been telling me," Sylar muttered. "Ok fine. We keep the kid away from Claire & Noah Bennet & the Company. But literally everyone would want to study him just for the fact that we are his parents. A lot of people won't care that you are one of his parents, despite you being one of the Heroes. You were born with the same sort of mimicry I had & you say you'll get it all fixed. A child we both have? That would be a fine prize for anyone studying abilities."

"Believe me, I know," Peter said. "Gabriel? I need it."

Sylar didn't have to ask what it was. "No."

"We are locked away in my apartment," Peter said. "Besides, killing anyone is not going to help this. I'll be fine." His hands slipped up to Sylar's wrists, past the gloves & he copied the Intuitive Aptitude.

Sylar shook his head at him. "Yet people call me crazy."

"I'm fine," Peter said in a low voice. "I've had it once before. If I can understand the complexities of a watch, I can understand anything."

"A watch?" Sylar laughed softly in spite of it. He didn't know yet that Peter was using Sylar's own words he will one day say right back to Peter.

Peter inwardly smiled. He was already setting the path for some future events. "You're with me," he said as he stepped away. "You can stop me if I try anything." He went to the sofa & dropped into it. He passed one pizza box to Sylar before taking his own slightly cold pizza & started eating it. Both ate in silence, thinking over the predicament they were currently in, letting the dreadful ability work the way it was supposed to, without being tampered with by others who could never understand. Now, it was just the two of them working things out together.

It calculated every single possibility. Everything. Cause. Effect. Action. Reaction. How to change the future. Peter had it now & while Sylar was also coming to terms with this new turn of events, he kept one eye on Peter. Both were currently the most dangerous people on the planet. But Intuitive Aptitude was the best ability to have to put everything together & in this case, two heads were certainly better than one.

It was several hours later & late into the night before they became aware of their surroundings again. By now, the empty pizza boxes were put together on the chair Sylar had been sitting in earlier & both were now lying on the floor, propped up by some cushions taken off the couch. Sylar was lying in Peter's arms, head on his recently re-flattened chest. He carefully pushed himself away as he sat up.

"I know what to do," both said at the same time.

"Good," Sylar offered a hand to help Peter up. "Now swap that ability out for a safer one."

Peter glared but took Sylar's hand, switching to the nightmare telepathy, instead. "Noella."

"What?"

"No. Ell. Ah," Peter reiterated. "My dead name. Drop the ell & you get ..."

"Noah," Sylar clued in.

Dark Passion Play Album: The Poet & The Pendulum, by Nightwish; referenced three times. This song is actually about suicide/depression & was written by one who had attempted but survived & continues to write more fantastic music for Nightwish.