Over the Years

Part twelve

Disclaimer: This isn't mine. Never has been, never will be.

PETER

This was the first time Claire and I were supposed to go to a family dinner since we had started our little trip to hell. And, I haven't regretted it. I'm in love with her, as she knows, and I'm not ready to give her up yet.

But I'm still scared as hell to see if Claire and I can pull this off tonight.

We were standing at Nathan's apartment, waiting for someone to answer the door, and Claire was just as nervous as I was. "It'll be fine." I said, more to convince myself than her. She gave me a small smile.

"Of course it will." She said, sounding slightly unsure.

I squeezed her hand, then dropped it quickly as the door opened. "Claire, Peter!" Nathan said, smiling at us, "Come on in!"

We walked inside, Nathan giving Claire a soft hug. "Hello Peter." Heidi said warmly. "Claire."

I smiled and gave my sister-in-law a hug. "Great to see you Heidi."

Her smile widened. "Peter, where have you been? Now that you have Claire, you decided not to come around as much?"

I winced slightly, then put on a smile. "Well, Claire makes up for all of you."

Heidi laughed, then reached down to hug Claire. "Well, you both should come around more often." She smiled down at Claire. "You're welcome at anytime."

I smiled, guilt washing through my body. When I glanced over at Claire, I saw her wincing. "Thank you, Heidi." She muttered.

Nathan was looking at us impatiently. "Can we go eat now?"

Heidi ignored her husband. "It's true Claire. You're family."

Now I felt completely horrible. Claire glanced at me, then at Nathan. "I know." She said. It didn't sound like a good thing.

"Come on." Nathan said, ushering all of us into the dining room. "Lets eat."

I rolled my eyes at my brother. We sat at the table, then the maid starting bringing out the food. "So how is everything going?" Nathan asked us, "Both of you getting along and everything?"

I nodded. Claire was also nodding. "Yeah, we're getting along fine." We glanced at each other, then looked away quickly. "So, how have you two been spending your time?" Heidi asked us.

"Just hanging out." Claire said quickly.

I was just praying they wouldn't ask us what we were doing while 'hanging out.' But they didn't get to that. Nathan was looking at me disappointingly. "I think you need a job." Nathan said. "You need to start growing up."

I met his eyes. "Sorry. The whole blowing up thing kind of puts a job as a lower priority."

Heidi broke in before Nathan could say another word. "I'm sure Peter will get a job as soon as he is ready, Nathan. Until then, he has plenty of money stashed away." She tuned to me. "But if you need any help, just let us know."

I just nodded. We continued with pointless conversation, then it was time for me and Claire to leave. We said our goodbyes, then walked out the door. We were halfway down the street before Claire finally spoke. "Well, that was…fun."

I looked down and saw her biting her lip. I knew how she was feeling. "Claire…"

"I'm fine." She cut in, smiling at me. "We're fine."

I smiled at her, then looked around quickly. I kissed her softly. "Let's go home."