Chapter: 3.2--Date
Notes: Snapshot--a record or view of a particular point in a sequence of events or a continuing process.
Rating: T - R (not yet M, though)
A/N: Part two of snapshot 3, Rating is to be safe, Reviews Rock. ENJOY.
Well, bless my soul
You're a lonely soul
Cause you won't let go
Of anything you hold
"Say (All I Need)" /OneRepublic
"Just name a place or a time, and I'll take you. For your first date. Our first date."
--
(Family)
Her features twisted, not sure what to make of his request, and so she didn't answer. But she couldn't keep the stray thought that was her true answer from rising to her mind.
"I'm sorry, Peter, I don't know why I thought that--" she knew he had read her mind.
"It's not a problem, Elle, we just have to lay low."
"Really?" she squealed, eyes ablaze with anticipation.
He nodded, and wrapped an arm around her slender waist. She interloped her arms around his neck, and he pulled her to rest her chin on his shoulder, and he squeezed his eyes shut.
He hadn't yet mastered the art of time traveling, but her hold put him at ease, and he was able to travel back those 19 years, to that small house outside the city.
"Wow," Elle gasped when they arrived. The night was cool, the stars lit up the clear night sky, and lights were all on within the house.
She put her hand into his, and led him to a window where they could peer inside. She let it go when she spotted a familiar scene, and her hands pressed on the glass, like that would draw her closer. They were staring right into the kitchen, where a little 6 year old and her grandma sat at the table. The grandma ate some soup, but the little girl sat with arms crossed, and food untouched.
"I forgot what she looked like," Elle whispered, not to Peter directly.
"All I remember is my mom saying I had her eyes," a half-smile crept on her lips," but now that I see them, hers are so much more beautiful."
The grandma's lips then started moving, and Elle vaguely remembered what had been occurring that night.
"Is there any way we can go inside?" she turned to Peter. He paused, but still conceded.
He took her hand, and he transpired them through the wall.'You can't let go of me. If you do, you'll be visible.'
She nodded, and held a tight grip on his hand as they traveled to the kitchen. At first, they stood at the entrance of the kitchen, Elle peering at her 6 year old-self, gulping hard at the girl she used to be. She had always been a little bratty, what with being an only child and all, and she remembered her mom always complaining about this. But her dear old daddy would just shrug her mom off, saying it was just a phase. Matter of fact, the only times Elle would ever behave would be when her mom gave her a little pleading look.
Now, her kid self sat refusing to eat, and her grandma kept trying to get her to touch her food. But little Elle sat with a pout, refusing to open her mouth for anything.
Elle started moving to her grandma, until she stood right beside her. She pulled Peter, and made him crouch a little so she could kneel beside her grandma.
Her grandma had long, glorious gray hair, pulled back into a long braid. Her skin was frail, full of wrinkles and freckles, her skin the color of a dulled bulb. But her eyes, they weren't dull. They were luminous, bright, tender, soft, loving and a glorious blue. She was beautiful. Elle's free hand hovered over her grandma's hand, the one that rested on her thigh as she spoke to little Elle. But then she paused, and her head swiveled to the side.
Elle suppressed a gasp, and her hand froze. Her grandma sat silent, her eyes glancing around the room, a look of confusion on her face, as though she could sense another's presence.
"Grandma!" little Elle screamed.
Elle dropped her hand, and turned to her former self.
"Yes, sweetie?"
"I don't want to eat this! I want candy!" the girl threw her hands on the table.
"Elle, if you just eat your food, then maybe--" her grandma reached out to touch her hand.
"NO!!!" came her high-pitched scream. And it came back to Elle, why this scene was so familiar. This was the night. That night sparks flew from her frail little body, igniting a fire that would put her grandma in critical condition. The night she walked away, with a couple first degree burns, because her grandma saved her first, and put herself second. The night that would put her grandma in a two-day coma, until her daddy convinced her mommy to pull the cord.
And Peter didn't have to read Elle's mind to know this, because he had been looking intently at little Elle, wanting to know Elle as a whole. He didn't have to read her mind, because after little Elle began whining and screaming, blue sparks began appearing from her tiny fingers.
The grandma didn't notice at first, until she attempted touching her granddaughter's hand again, only to be shocked. Surprised, she had looked down at the shocking hand and seen the coming sparks. The grandma jumped up and stared in horror as electrical currents enveloped the little, oblivious girl.
"Elle! Elle, stop! Look what you're doing!"
"Don't tell me to stop!" but little Elle pried her eyes open, and when she glanced down at herself, and saw all the blue enveloping her.
Peter looked at Elle, who had suddenly clutched him. 'Oh my God,' kept running through her mind.
Their eyes snapped to the grandma, who kept screaming "Stop what you're doing, Elle!"
They stared back at little Elle, who instead of whining, starting crying. "I can't, I can't!" Elle cried. That's when the sparks stopped enveloping her, and started shooting out. Her grandma ducked, and the sparks shot at the walls, at the utensils, and everything else, and then, it hit a cereal box. The first fire.
'We have to do something,' Elle looked to Peter.
'We can't Elle.'
'Yes, yes we can. We can stop Elle, and put out the small fire.'
'We need to go.'
'But, she's going to die because of this.'
'Elle, we can't change what's done. Let's go.'
Elle stopped pulling, and turned to look at Peter. He was right, changing the past was far too dangerous. She nodded, she pulled herself into his chest. She bit her lip, and clutched his shirt, waiting to be taken out of there as she could begin feeling the rising heat of the flames, and she tuned out the anguish screams, until it all disappeared.
(Rollercoasters)
"It's okay, Elle, you can look now," he kissed the top of her head. She pulled away reluctantly, making sure they were gone from the scene. She dabbed at her eyes and exhaled in relief in being away from that thing.
"I'm sorry," he raked his hand through her hair. "I just thought of a time when you and your grandma were together, and that's where it took me," he caught her gaze.
"It's not your fault, Peter. It did suck, but…I got to see her again," she shrugged, down casting her eyes. When her eyes saw the dirt-covered floor, she realized they weren't back home.
"Where are we?"
He grinned and tilted her head to look around.
"Knott's Berry Farm."
"What?!" she laughed.
"I thought it was best to start you off in the middle. If I took you to Disneyland for your first roller coaster ride, you'd be offended and disappointed. And Six Flags would be too much, but Knott's is…"
"Just right," she finished his thought. Looking around, she spotted a big, pink roller coaster. "Okay. Let's go on that one," she pointed to the roller coaster.
"Uh, that's the accelerator, maybe we should try the Ghost Rider first."
"Why?"
"It's…the Accelerator is 62 seconds long Elle, but it feels like 30 seconds for a reason."
"So, it's really fast, it can't be that bad," but he still squinted his eyes, unsure whether to take her on that one.
"Please?" she brought her hands to her chin, pouted, and opened her eyes wide to give him a cute puppy dog face.
"Fine," he rolled his eyes. At least she hadn't spotted the Silver Bullet, right?
--
"That was amazing! It was so fast, but so short, but my stomach got all these flops--it was amazing!" Elle squealed when they got off the ride.
"I mean, it would have been better if we didn't have to stand in that frickin' line," she complained to Peter.
"I told you, we couldn't just cut." The two walked side by side, towards the exit of the theme park.
"Well, you're supposed to be romantic. Standing in line for an hour and a half is not romantic," she linked her arm through his
"You act like you weren't having your fun in that line," he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, rubbing her chilled skin.
"It was just so fun watching all those people freak out about all the shocks they kept getting!"
"Fortunately, they just thought there was a lot of static in the air," Peter muttered.
"Oh, silly people. Don't they know there's only a lot of static when Elle's around?"
He smiled at her, because sometimes she really did think the world should revolve around her eccentricities.
"So, you're sure you don't wanna try another one?" Peter asked.
"Uh, not for tonight. This dress isn't exactly theme park material, if you know what I mean," she laughed.
"Yeah, but I know a place that doesn't require any sort of attire, formal or casual." he whispered into her ear when they reached the exit.
"What are you suggesting, Peter, because contrary to popular belief, I am a good girl."
Yeah, try saying that about Elle in a straight face.
"Come on," Peter rolled his eyes and drew them to a corner, where he transported them to another location.
(Swimming)
It was cold, windy, and really dark. All of which Elle pointed out, and all of which Peter dismissed.
"I am not going in there," Elle rubbed her bare arms, speaking through gritted teeth.
"You're going to have to if you want to learn how to swim," Peter cupped her face and gave her those sad eyes of his.
"No. I'll just electrocute myself."
"You have control over your powers, Elle, nothing will happen," he helped her in rubbing her cold arms.
"Yeah, but what I don't have control over is the whole freaking out thing."
"Elle, look at me. The water isn't that bad. Except that it's freezing--at first, but your body will get used to it, and you won't feel cold."
"No," she seemed adamant in her decision.
"Please?" he nudged her nose and pressed his lips to hers.
"Uh uh," she nodded her head in a no.
"Uh huh," he smiled, lingering on her lips.
"Fine," she sighed.
He grinned, and kissed her before pulling away to take off his less than appropriate for swimming, clothes.
She, however, did not move, but rather stared at him amusedly. Peter sure did look like the most scrumptious teddy bear she'd ever encountered, and she felt a tad disappointed when he kept his boxers on.
"You might want to take off that dress, Elle," Peter said after taking off his clothes.
She turned around, and pulled her hair back. "Zipper," she said over her shoulder.
He obliged, pulling down the zipper slowly, trailing a finger down her exposed skin. Her breath hitched, and her knees buckled a bit when he kissed the nape of her neck.
She released her hair, and pulled down the dress, leaving her in her strapless bra and panties.
Peter was left mesmerized by the sight of her, and his heart seemed to be beating too quickly, and his beating too irregular. She turned around, and he could see the blush that had come over her features. His eyes turned to take in the frontal view of her, and he wasn't sure he could control himself with her being half-naked.
"So what, are you going to give me some lessons, coach?" she cocked an eyebrow, hoping she'd get his attention back to her face.
"What? Oh yeah, let's go," he grabbed her hand and dragged her to the shoreline.
It took a lot of coaxing and time before she went past the tide. Thereafter, she wouldn't let go of him. He told her how to extend her arms, how to move her legs, and even held her by the waist so she could practice. But she couldn't get the hang of it, so after a while Peter figured it was best to leave the lessons for another time, and instead they splashed around in the shallow end of the ocean.
"God, I think I drank some of that awful water," Elle waded to Peter.
"At least you're not freezing anymore, right?" he helped her inch closer by holding her hand.
"Hmm, for the most part," she shrugged nonchalantly, eliciting a laugh from him.
"Come here," he grabbed her waist and pulled her roughly so she wouldn't be more than an inch from him.
She giggled, feeling all those stomach flops times ten.
"Thanks for all of this, Peter. It's been the best birthday ever," he had never seen such a beautiful smile from her, the widespread happiness lighting up her blue orbs.
"No problem," he caught her lips, kissing her passionately, with a necessity he had never felt.
Her hands held the back of his head tightly, then her soft, frail fingers traced the muscles of his arms, gripping his forearms.
His tongue ran over the roof of her mouth, massaging her gums, as he held onto her waist tightly, pulling him hard against her. He proceeded to lift her, pulling one of her legs around his waist, and automatically her other leg wound around him. Elle's arms returned around his neck, and her tongue had begun fighting his, all the heat almost making them forget the fact that they were standing in an ocean.
"Elle…" her name moved with their mouths.
"What?" her little whisper.
"We should go…" he couldn't stop kissing her.
"The dress…" she murmured after several moments.
He laughed at her preoccupation and stopped their kissing.
She looked at him like a kid whose toy got torn away at the worst possible moment.
"Is the dress really what you want Elle?"
Laughing she nodded 'no' and delved back into his kiss. Her head tilted as Peter nipped at her neck, she declared, "Let's get outta here."
And Peter Petrelli more than obliged.
(Contours)
His eyes draped over her body, drinking in her pale, clear flesh that clasped her soul. He swept a hand over a breast, eliciting a soft 'oh' from her, and he moved his hands down over her firm stomach, thumbing her belly button. He bit his lip as his memory etched her curves into his brain, and a million ways to touch her, kiss her, love her riddled his mind.
He saw her chest rising ever so slightly, and his eyes clawed their way to her eyes. She crashed her lips onto his, pulling him down, gripping his hair, and all thought made itself elusive, with instinct taking over. Never could he have imagined the ease with which his body could melt with another's, and never had another fever have had such accuracy.
"Peter," she whispered fiercely in his ear, the pleading making him sink deeper into his affection for her. Her hands traveled down his torso, gripping him from behind, and he couldn't help but thrust into her without so much as a warning.
She groaned into his ear at the intrusion, and he could even hear her biting her lip from the agony. And that groan alone was already driving him over the edge.
Her breath was uncontrolled, uneasy, surprised, and was trying to adjust. He nudged her to look at her face, and all the clouds of lust swirling in her bright blues pulled him into another dizzying kiss, and when he looked back at her she confirmed the struggle she'd been having to be fading. Her eyes had been closed, brows furrowed, lip bitten in that moment he had thrust, but that had almost left her now.
This had been undoubtedly her first time, and it was his alpha-male tendency, and the machismo that made him fall for her more--just knowing he was the first to have her like this, in his bed, to make the first proclamation on the loveliest of lands.
She nodded, and he dug deeper into her, and he kissed her crown sending reassuring touches, waiting for her, until she kissed his lip tentatively to indicate her readiness.
His thrusts made her moan, whisper his name in such tones that made him harder, and all his senses went into overdrive. The screams, the scratches, the scent, the taste of her ever-fresh skin, only tainted by the likes of him. No sensation had ever made him feel so alive, insane, and good simultaneously.
Her hair clung to her forehead, the nape of her neck and shoulders. Time was lost, but their actions were the very essence of their settings. Sighs, touches, moans stayed afloat, amidst their fever-laden room.
He collapsed on top of her, hands caressing his head and back, so tenderly and reflexively.
He moved beside her, left sloppy kisses by her lips, on her neck and shoulder, until he rested in the nook of her neck.
She inched down, to meet his eyes, eyes that if she thought were adorable once, were absolutely beautiful now. He could say the very same of her eyes.
"Hey," she grinned to him.
"Hey," he grinned back sloppily.
She brought a finger up to his nose, grazing it softly before emitting a little spark. His brow furrowed, but a smirk still crept onto his lips. A giggle escaped her, and she pressed her lips to his. He chuckled as well, and pulled her into his chest, needing her to be close. He watched her fall asleep, combed her hair, laid their with his eyes trained on her soothing features. He too was lulled to sleep eventually, all the while keeping her to his chest, holding her to his heart.