Disclaimer: I do not own Heroes.

18 December, 2009

Claire and Sylar sat side by side at the bar, Sylar sipping a glass of wine and Claire taking pulls of a glass of dark beer. They had decided to spend some time out in the city, and had been pushed in the direction of a quieter bar, but still very classy. Neither of them were particularly interested in going out and drinking, but it was a little harder to explain that alcohol wasn't the way to relaxing.

"I don't get it," Claire shrugged, "also this kind of tastes stupid."

"How can it taste stupid," Sylar laughed sharply, inhaling the scent of his glass of wine

Claire set the mostly full glass on the wooden bar top, "It just does. Okay, maybe it's because my taste buds are in perfect condition, but this is terrible."

Sylar pulled her beer away, "It is also an acquired taste, try this."

Claire rolled her eyes as Sylar held his glass of rosy white liquid to her mouth, so she could take a sip. She let it spill over her tongue, welling under her tongue for a moment before swallowing. "Still not great," Claire made a little face, "but it is better than beer."

Sylar set his glass in front of her before taking hold of her beer, "Trade you."

Leaning into him slightly, Claire kissed his jaw, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Sylar slipped an arm around her waist, pulling her a little closer. "And I agree, I don't get it either."

"Right," the words slipped out in an odd expression of excitement. "Bars are weird, a bunch of people paying triple what they would at a grocery store for a drink, standing around and being stupid."

"It's a mating ritual," Sylar pointed out, "check out the guy in the corner, if he unbuttoned anything else it would indecent."

Claire turned slightly, watching surreptitiously out of the corner of her eye. She spotted the guy immediately. He was wearing a brilliant red shirt that had a very deep cut, several buttons undone. Claire could see an unhealthy amount of skin and it was sickly looking at that, very pale with a hint of yellow.

Sylar's breath hit Claire's ear, making the skin flush, "Watch how he approaches women and how they run."

As a practiced predator, Sylar had called it precisely, each woman the guy approached retreated in double-time. Claire ducked her head against Sylar's broad shoulder to muffle the laughter.

"Is anyone sitting here," a voice interrupted Claire's fit.

She looked up sharply to see a couple, both dressed in comfortable clothes.

Sylar pasted a smile on his face, "No, please, feel free."

"Thank you," the woman smiled blindingly, extending her hand to Claire, "I'm Sara and this is Dave."

"Claire," Claire shook the dark-haired woman's hand.

"Gabriel," Sylar offered easily, "nice to meet you."

Dave nodded and shucked his coat, sitting down at the bar, "What brings you folks out tonight?"

"Uh," Claire shrugged, "just a night out really."

Sylar pressed a kiss to her cheek, "We just wanted to get out of the hotel for the night."

"Oh," Sara cooed excitedly, "are you in town visiting family?"

Claire shook her head, taking a deep gulp of her wine, "Not really, getting away from them, actually."

"Wish I could do that," Dave sighed wistfully, glancing around Sara so he could throw a knowing look at Sylar.

"Well," Sylar exhaled, "we also wanted a white Christmas, you just don't get that in Texas."

"The snow is beautiful in the city," Sara smiled. "So what do you guys do in Texas?"

"Paper Company," was the unanimous answer. Sylar frowned congenially, "Claire and I both work for a paper company in Texas."

"Is that how you met," Sara fired off immediately.

"No," Claire leaned back into Sylar for comfort. "We met at a homecoming game I was cheering at."

Dave smiled, "I can't imagine working with my girlfriend. How do you manage?"

"Wife," Sylar corrected absently, "It has its moments, we disagreed a lot, in the past, but we've overcome it."

The tiny blonde attached to his side rolled her eyes, "Don't listen to him. We still disagree, but we haven't gone for each other's throats it weeks. It's progress really."

"Sweetheart," Sylar chuckled falsely, "Don't exaggerate. She's a kidder."

Dave's head tilted in Sara's direction, "You've never seen her go for it."

"Shut up," an elbow met Dave's ribs causing him to grunt in pain. "Hey, it is trivia night, Dave and I usually get slaughtered by ourselves, want to team up?"

Claire's mouth opened, moving wordlessly. Luckily Sylar jumped in, "We would love to!"

"Awesome," Sara cheered, "let's grab a table and sign up before all the good spots are taken."

"Question seventeen, What is the first question posed in the lyrical masterpiece that is "Iron Man" by Black Sabbath," the quizmaster called.

"Oh," Dave gritted his teeth, "I know this…Losing something."

"Has he lost his mind," Claire whispered eagerly, ignoring the hand that was sliding lower and lower on her back, brushing against her bottom.

Sara scribbled the answer on the paper as the next question was called, "In 2008, a teenager in the UK legally changed his name to what amalgamation of superheroes?"

"Oh," Sara jumped, "I know this!" Her pen flashed against the paper the words Captain Fantastic Faster Than Superman Spiderman Batman Wolverine The Hulk and The Flash Combined covering the paper.

"And I thought you had an ego," Claire smirked at Sylar.

"Port Said is in which North African Country?"

"Egypt," Sylar and Claire said in tandem.

Dave clapped his hands in glee, "We may actually have a chance to win this!"

"Who wrote the book Catch-22."

"Joseph Heller," Sylar tapped the paper distractedly.

Sara did a little happy dance in her seat, "How do you two know all of this?"

"I did a lot of reading when I was younger," Sylar brushed off the question. "And Claire, she's just brilliant."

"I'm not," Claire rejected, "I just liked watching Jeopardy with my dad."

"Nathan," Sylar frowned, "no."

"Noah," Claire confirmed, whispering in his ear, "Before everything went to hell."

"Last question of the game, folks. 'Champagne Supernova' ends with three questions, what is the third?"

Claire snapped back to focus, her whole face lighting up, she closed her eyes, letting her ears tune out the rest of the world. She hummed softly, eyes flicking back and forth as she mentally searched for the song, for the lyrics.

"How many special people change," she breathed the lyrics, her voice lilting up at the end of the question, "How many lives are living strange?" Claire gritted her teeth and breathed out forcefully, "Where were you…when we were getting high."

"Are you sure," the brunette across from Claire asked, "There is an ice cream maker riding on this."

"Yes, Sara," Claire nodded her head, "Final answer."

"Okay, the truth awaits," Dave high fived Sylar and Claire before taking the completed answer sheet and racing up to the front to turn it in.

Leaning against her husband, Claire groaned happily, relaxing into his warmth, his hand stroking her hipbone and grazing her bellybutton. "Having fun," she asked lightly.

"Yeah," Sylar told her, "this almost seems normal, although maybe we're not a couple who double dates."

Looking up at Sylar, Claire tilted her head and kissed the corner of his mouth, "Agreed."

The rest of the night passed in a less rushed manner. The foursome had easily won the ice cream maker, which Claire and Sylar had insisted Dave and Sara take. Their drinks were also comped, which led to some very intriguing questions about how 'Gabriel' and Claire were still totally coherent after multiple rounds of shots.

Sylar had shrugged off the questions and easily escorted Claire to a cab where he soundly kissed Claire and set them in the direction of home. Curled in the back of the cab, Claire wallowed in the scent of Sylar. He made her feel warm right down her spin and to her toes, and just mellow, everything was easy with him.

"Someday you will find me, caught beneath the landslide in a champagne supernova in the sky," Claire sang softly, "a champagne supernova in the sky."

Sylar held her a little tighter, letting her smooth, clear voice sink into his bones. "I like it when you sing," he murmured.

A/N: 19/25. It is officially Winter Break, except for some serious grading I have to get done. So happy holidays, also gotta love some trivia!