Title: The Time Traveler's Wife
Genre: Romance
Rating: T
Pairing: Hiro x OC
Spoilers: N/A
Summary: "Yes, that's right. You're going. You've been gone for ages. You're already gone. You're still here. You've just arrived. I haven't even met you yet. It all depends on who you are and how you look at it. Strange business, time."
Word Count: 801
Warnings: N/A
Disclaimer: Not mine. Summary belongs to Doctor Who.
A/N: I am pretending Heroes: Reborn doesn't exist.
He's sitting in the bathroom that night, robe pulled tight around him as he rests his head in his hands. He doesn't what to Tenth Doctor this moment, but he doesn't want to go. He wants to stay here. He tells himself over and over that he will have this exact moment eventually. That he's still going back to Jamie. That, unlike the hordes of multitudes, he knows how happy his future will be. But there's a real, visceral part of him that does not want to leave his children.
"Alright, Hiro, you can do this." He's whispering, trying not to wake his sleeping wife, trying not to wonder what she will think when she wakes and finds him gone, trying not to picture Amanda's face when she crawls into their bed in the morning and his side is cold and empty. "Let's go."
Before he can chicken out, he forces himself to go. Thinking of Jamie, thinking of coming home to her, thinking of being close to her.
When he opens his eyes, he isn't even sure he went anywhere for a moment. He's still sitting in a bathroom. But, no, this bathroom is all hotel – little bottles of shampoo and conditioner sitting in their boxes on the marble counter, towels folded just so. He blinks, confused. When he hears a noise from the other room, he startles. He stands and takes a hesitant step towards the door, before shrugging and swinging it open.
"Yatta…"
Jamie is smiling shyly at him, a vision in lace and tulle.
Oh crap …
She is in her wedding dress, exactly as he remembers from before – his past, but also his future, and now his present. She makes a moue at his state of dress, in his bathrobe from his – their – house. "You already undressed." Her eyes glint as she glances askance at him and slowly, deliberately, turns around so he's staring at a lace covered back. "Unzip me?"
His mouth goes suddenly, abruptly, dry.
He should not do this – he should leave this to the Hiro of now. But his hand is reaching out, even as he tells himself that. Have they ever done this before? Should he know – things about her? The zipper moves slowly downward, his hands moving without conscious thought. Two gasps as his knuckles brush the smooth, flawless skin he is uncovering. He shouldn't be doing this, he shouldn't be doing this…
The dress crumbles with a muffled swoosh to the ground and Jamie turns as she steps out of it.
Suddenly, every ounce of chivalry that Hiro has for his other self is gone. How could he walk away from this? Creamy skin and delicate lace and garters, and the glinting of a diamond wedding band.
"My wife."
He does not really he has spoken until Jamie, smiling tremulously, opens her arms in invitation. "My husband," she echoes.
After that it is a medley of images that stand out in stark relief in Hiro's mind. Smooth skin, soft hands, strands of dark hair brushing his face. The sound of clothing falling to the floor, the rustling of sheets. He does not know if they have ever done this before, but he does not care. It is as natural as breathing – this heat, this want, this love.
He whispers to her in his native language, words of endearment, promises of eternity, because he cannot make himself remember English, he is too overcome. She does not seem to mind, offering her own benedictions in return.
Later, watching her sleep, he realizes how fiercely he just wants to live a life with her. Continuously. He wants to share every moment, every up and down, every first (yes, this one, too, but others). But his gift, sometimes it is hard to not use it. Who would not want to see this moments, see how their lives end up? And, knowing the happily ever after that awaits them, who would not want to live in those moments forever? No bad, but good.
He reaches out to trace a finger down the length of spine that is bared to him and when Jamie shifted restlessly, he pressed a swift kiss to the shoulder bone, settling her once more into sleep.
Then, before he could change his mind, he thought of a specific moment, and vanished -