Adult-FanFiction.org : Television / Streaming

Brother's Keeper	By : Bloodylocks Category: G through L > Heroes Views: 3679 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own Heroes or the characters, and no financial gain is made from this story.

Chapter List
- 1-Brother's Keeper
- 2-Ch. 2
- 3-Ch. 3
- 4-Ch. 4
- 5-Ch. 5
- 6-Ch. 6
- 7-Chapter 7
- 8-Chapter 8
- 9-Chapter 9
- 10-Chapter 10
- 11-Chapter 11
- 12-Ch 12
- 13-Ch 13
- 14-Ch 14
- 15-Ch 15
- 16-Ch 16
- 17-Ch 17
- 18-Ch 18
- 19-Ch 19
- 20-Ch 20
- 21-Ch 21
- 22-Ch 22
- 23-Ch 23
- 24-Ch 24
- 25-Ch 25
- 26-Ch 26
- 27-Ch 27
- 28-Ch 28
- 29-Ch 29
- 30-Ch 30
- 31-Ch 31
- 26
- 27
- 28
Chapter 27
That night, Nathan tried to make sure his younger brother was as comfortable as possible. He did not want to mother the boy too much but he also wanted to keep the attempt at independence going smoothly. He asked if Peter wanted a pajamas to keep warm - resulting in a no - and offered an extra blanket.
Once the boy was tucked in, Trixie included, Nathan sat at the edge and gave his little brother a kiss. The way this scene was playing out, he almost expected Peter to ask for a bedtime story.
�Sleep well, buddy.�
�I�ll try,� Peter replied with a smile.
�Remember that I�m always here in case you need me.�
�Uh huh.�
Turning out the bedside lamp, the older man caressed his brother�s cheek before leaving, the two of them exchanging one more good night.
After some debating with himself, Peter decided to ask Nathan to leave the guestroom door slightly ajar, both because of the extra light this would provide him with and an irrational fear that Nathan would not be able to hear him call out in case he needed his big brother�s attention during the night.
Hugging his plush dinosaur to his skinny, naked chest, Peter Petrelli closed his eyes, determined to ignore the eerie feeling of isolation and solitude and the prospect of potential bad dreams. He tried to convince himself that Nathan was only one small shout away, but unable to see his brother through the wall, the thought gave him little comfort.
*
Nathan spent the final forty minutes of the day reading � something he could rarely do nowadays, with Peter to distract him � and a few minutes past midnight, he put the journal away, pleased to note that so far, there had been no sounds from the room next door. As he prepared for bed, he briefly considered looking in on his brother to check on how he was doing, but ultimately decided against it. Peter had expressed true sincerity on wanting to sleep by himself, and Nathan had to respect those wishes and show that he had faith in his little brother.
Quietly padding down the hall, he passed the guest room with a wary ear, hearing nothing within, and continuing on his way. Hoping this was a good sign, he entered his own room and left his own door open as well.
�Good job, Peter,� he muttered as he settled into bed.
Sometime later, Nathan stirred from sleep by a peculiar sound. Waking fully, he looked around in the darkness of his room before he heard the noise again. A quick glance at the red digits of his alarm clock let him know that it was 03:14 AM. Rubbing his sleep-heavy eyes, the lawyer listened attentively for a repeat of the sound that had awakened him. Not having Peter beside him in the queen-sized bed felt a bit odd after these months of sharing it with his baby brother, and Nathan had to admit he missed the presence of his sibling, despite the countless times his sleep had been disturbed by Peter.
Nathan was slipping back into sleep when the sound was heard again, and this time there was no doubt where it had originated. The nature of the sound could not be mistaken either. It sounded very much like a stifled sob.
Nathan�s first instinct was to instantly jump up and hurry to the other room like a madman, but as he rose from the bed, he remembered the last time Peter slept in the guest bedroom. He had hurried to the boy so quickly that it had startled his brother even more. Thus he forced himself to take his time, despite the horrible sound of his baby brother�s cries.
Thank God neither door had been closed. Nathan carefully opened the door to the guest room and entered, his eyes adjusted to the dark and easily seeing the twisted, miserable form on the twin sized bed.
Peter still moaned and sobbed as he lay curled up in the sheets. In sleep his face would often retain a strange serenity about it, but every so often, his visage matched the nature of his cries.
�Peter?� Nathan whispered, hand stretched out toward the boy, but there was no response from his brother.
Peter�s skinny arms were wrapped impossibly tight around the stuffed body of his childhood dinosaur friend, and he gave small squeaks and sobs of distress every two or three seconds. Then Nathan realized that on some level, his brother was still asleep.
�Peter?� Nathan repeated, considering whether or not he should touch the boy. Waking Peter now would most certainly frighten him, but at least it would free him from the steel grasp of his current nightmare.
�Buddy?� The older man gently brushed Peter�s hair from his forehead, letting his hand rest on the clammy brow for a moment.
�Mmnn�� Peter gave a moan restrained by clenched teeth and shut lips. A tear escaped from under a closed eyelid.
The cold sweat was filmy beneath Nathan�s palm, and he stroked at his brother�s hair, as though the younger man were a puppy. A frightened, small thing which needed rescuing. �It�s okay, sweetheart,� Nathan whispered, leaning in close.
Peter only whimpered.
//Perhaps I could� perhaps not�//
Nathan threw options about in his head, looking up at the open doorway. He did not want to leave Peter in such a state, but the twin bed was hardly a comfortable space to share between two people. Taking the boy to his room might only cause an unnecessary waking.
Peter mumbled something frantic, sleep slurring his words beyond comprehension. Nathan saw in the darkness the strained chords beneath a thin sheet of skin that was Peter�s scrawny neck. Tensing, the younger man turned over. Taking the chance, Nathan placed his hands in the warm place where his little brother had turned away from. Within seconds, Peter was on his back again, only this time with a set of hands beneath him.
Nathan made sure he had a secure hold on his baby brother before standing up with his bundle, still wound up in damp blankets. Peter continued to whimper as he was carried, and his legs, no longer supported by the mattress, kicked anxiously in the air.
�It�s alright... it�s alright....� Nathan chanted, his arm muscles flexing as the boy grew increasingly restless in his arms.
In his dream world, Peter was perhaps being carried away by one of his rapists and torturers. Peter�s nervous writhing and kicking did not stop when he was placed in his familiar spot in Nathan�s bed; in fact, the blanket still wrapped around him like a cocoon was probably making him feel trapped and thus anxious. Nathan crawled in beside him, carefully peeling away layers of sweat-damp fabric from his baby brother�s body.
�Petey? Calm down, baby, please. I�m here now.�
Something that sounded an awful lot like his big brother�s name left Peter�s mouth, but Nathan could not be sure. Wrapping his arms around the boy, he hoped that maybe his physical presence could do a better job soothing Peter than his words.
Another man sounded, but this time it was without the urgency of someone afraid. Peter sounded tired, even in sleep, and his moan elicited surrender to whatever was happening to him. Nathan hoped this was a good sign. Sure enough, Peter nuzzled into the warm body holding him, and his body relaxed within the living cocoon that was his older brother�s protective embrace. Another whimper came, but went just as quickly. Nathan sighed quietly and thought with a small bit of sadness that Peter had tried so hard to assert some independence, only to be rewarded with nightmares.
The effort had to count for something though, right?
The lawyer nuzzled his brother in return and received a sigh, almost dreamlike in nature. Holding back an amused chuckle, Nathan simply held on. Peter would not have to worry about nightmares anymore tonight.
*
Peter at first felt disoriented more than anything when he woke up; hazy, as if he was having a hangover, except without the nausea and headache. It took him a good while to recall yesterday�s events; his mother�s visit, his minor meltdown and his initially strong resolve to start sleeping on his own again.
Wait... something was not right. He was back in Nathan�s bedroom. His brother was in fact still in bed, snoozing only a few inches from him.
How the hell had he ended back in here? Peter could clearly remember going to sleep in the guest bedroom � tightly wrapped in two layers of blankets, as the room contained no space heater � and yet he woke up next to his brother. Peter decided to shake his brother awake.
�Nathan?� he called softly, nudging at a strong shoulder. Nathan snorted as he woke, looking nearly as confused as Peter felt when he woke up a moment ago.
�Oh, hey sleepyhead,� Nathan finally greeted him.
�Speak for yourself,� Peter replied, eyebrow raised. �Didn�t I go to sleep in the other room? That�s what we had agreed on, right?�
A look of realization dawned on the lawyer�s face as he rubbed at his eyes. �Oh, good lord. Yes, last night.� Yawning, he sat up in bed and composed his thoughts enough to explain. �Last night I heard a noise, so I got up to investigate. It was you. You were having a nightmare.�
Peter�s expression was a mixed bag. He seemed a little relieved to know what had happened, but regret shone in his eyes. �Should have known this would happen��
A large hand stroked at the base of Peter�s skull, thumb and forefinger tickling the skin behind the ears. �You tried. You were ready to do it,� Nathan reassured him. �That�s what�s important.�
�Turns out I wasn�t... I don�t remember anything, though... coming here or the nightm�� Peter said, cutting off his sentence when he realized he could actually remember bits and pieces after all. He had dreamt about being tied up and at the mercy of his dead kidnappers... as well as his father, Arthur Petrelli, who had coldly stood by without raising a finger to help him. He had had a variation of the dream several times in the past, but Nathan usually woke him up before it could progress so far. What he didn�t remember, however, was returning to Nathan�s bed.
�How did I get here...?�
�I heard you crying through the walls,� the older man told him. �I know we agreed you sleep on your own last night, but I couldn�t simply ignore such a sound of anguish from my little baby. So I went to check on you and thought it best to bring you back here.�
Peter gazed at the discarded blankets he remembered from the guest bedroom. Trixie, however, was nowhere to be seen. �Where is she?� he blurted out before he could even consider what he was saying. Looking around anxiously, he started to get up from the bed to search for the toy. �I went to bed with her, right?�
�Oh, Trixie,� Nathan said, realizing who �she� was. �You had her in your arms when I carried you. Maybe she fell out.�
Peter had to appreciate how invested his big brother was in his well being. Rather than say Trixie was dropped, Nathan suggested she fell, as though she were alive. If only� Peter could not help but grin at the thought, even as he hurried out from the bedroom.
�Here she is!� he exclaimed, returning to the room and holding the plush dinosaur.
Nathan smiled at the sight of the old childhood friend. While he could not remember when exactly the toy was given to his baby brother, he could remember that she was removed from the toy box one day and in an instant became honorary companion to little four-year-old Peter. Throughout the house, wherever young Peter went, Trixie followed (or in the real case, was lugged around). A moment that really stuck out in Nathan�s memories was watching the little boy sit at a plastic table as he created crayon drawings. Not one to be left out, Trixie was in the adjacent seat, paper and crayons laid out before her.
Nathan smiled to himself when he thought back to the occasion. It was one of his fondest memories of Peter�s childhood, and he had preserved it tenderly throughout the years. He could still remember the look of utter focus on Peter�s face and the concentrated crease between the four-year-old�s brows as he let the crayons fly across the paper.
Peter had never been a skilled artist � at most he could create stick figures � but the desire to create and express oneself was strong in all children.
�Nathan?� The lawyer was pulled out of his reverie by Peter shaking his shoulder.
�Yeah, bud?�
�Where did you go?� Peter asked.
�Just zoning out, sweetheart,� Nathan replied with a smile. �Thinking back on our childhood.�
�We weren�t children at the same time...� Peter said, a hint of sadness in his voice.
�On your childhood, Petey. Do you remember when you were four and had Trixie draw pictures for you?�
�Oh come on, don�t bring that up...� the boy murmured, obviously embarrassed.
�You were sooo cute,� Nathan insisted, his tone now teasing rather than nostalgic. �Not that you aren�t still cute as a button!�
"Naaaathaaannnn," Peter whined, and it was a tone that his brother recognized very well. Annoyance was shifting back into amusement. Nathan always knew how to make his brother smile. Almost always, he thought.
A finger found its way into Peter's armpit and the boy yelped and winced away forcefully. "Aww," Nathan said. "Even that was cute!"
"I'm nooooottttt!" his little brother insisted, turning his back to the older man and curling up into a tight little ball.
"Not so fast, cutie," Nathan responded, throwing his arms around the little squealing ball.
Suddenly the years had gone backwards and Nathan felt as though they were young again, a big brother indulging in a wrestle with an energetic little boy. He was inspired to make a very theatrical roar as Peter climbed over him, trying to gain the upper hand.
Peter's next move took Nathan aback so much that he did not have enough presence of mind to shield himself from it. The boy decided to make Nathan taste some of his own medicine and forcefully shoved his small hand into the man's armpit. Half a second and a baffled "ooff" later, Peter had gotten his big brother onto his back and straddled him, pinning the bigger man's wrists above his head.
Grinning practically from ear to ear, Peter was ecstatic over once having managed to get the upper hand during a wrestling match with his brother. �I got you now!� he squealed, bouncing up and down on the lawyer�s mid as though he were a cushion.
Nathan, having regained his composure, chuckled as well. He could easily have thrown Peter off; the boy was almost insubstantial and had clearly no idea how to keep an opponent locked for real. Yet he didn�t and allowed Peter to gloat over his victory.
"Looks like you realized how to find a target's weakness," he mused aloud.
Peter chuckled before diving his face into Nathan's other armpit, planning to blow a raspberry there and tickle him further. Nathan of course flinched and laughed, but he laughed the most when Peter reeled back, giving a face that silently but perfectly said "yuck!"
"Do I need a shower?" Nathan asked past his own laughter, eyebrow raised.
Face scrunched in a disgusted grimace, the younger man shook his head. "It's not that."
"What then?"
"I got a mouthful of deodorant," Peter replied, his tongue out.
Nathan laughed harder and gave a noise of sympathy. "Poor guy," the lawyer said. "It's like when we fed you strained peas as a baby. You made that exact same face."
"Did not," Peter grumbled.
Now that his hands were no longer pinned down, Nathan reached up to tweak his brother�s nose. �You�re cute when you sulk too,� he said with a wink, emitting another �ooff� when Peter suddenly thumped his fist against his chest.
�Quit teasing!�
�If you quit hitting me, I will.�
�Deal.� Peter lowered his head onto the older man�s shoulder and exhaled against his neck. At the moment he did not care that he was naked and sitting astride Nathan in something that could be interpreted as a very sexual position.
�Can we stay in bed a little longer today?� he asked.
�Why? You sleepy or you just wanna cuddle?�
�Not sleepy...�
"Alright," Nathan said, faking skepticism. "But if you fall asleep, that's against your word."
Peter rolled his eyes as he closed them, and gave a long comfortable sigh. The two of them remained on the bed for several minutes before Nathan thought to speak of something which might or might not break the peaceful atmosphere.
"So you really want to do this, huh?"
"Do what?" Peter asked, tilting his head to look up at his brother, though from the position he was in, he could only see the older man's chin.
"Are you sure that you want to go to the Thanksgiving dinner? Not that you have to stay or go. It's all your choice, bud."
Peter resumed the original place where his head lay, enjoying the warmth of the skin and the sound of his brother's heart. "I'm sure."
�Mom will be proud,� Nathan said reverently. �And so will I.�
�Dad would probably prefer I didn�t come...� Peter said quietly, and the anguish in his voice made Nathan hate Arthur Petrelli ever more.
�Don�t worry about Dad,� he said from between clenched teeth. �I�ll make sure he doesn�t hurt you.�
�You promise?�
�I promise, baby. No one�s ever hurting you again.�
Peter shivered, and Nathan mistook the shiver for chill. Pulling the covers back over them both, he hugged his brother even closer. No words were spoken between them for a long time, but Nathan couldn�t help noticing Peter�s hand carding through his chest hair in repeated, circular motions.
�Jealous?� he asked jokingly and caught the hand in his own.
"Mmm..." Peter gave a wordless mumble and laughed. "It's nice on you, but I dunno how you stand having so much."
"After so many years, I got used to it," Nathan replied, his fingers rubbing at the small hand enclosed in them. "Speaking of hair, how are you doing in that department?"
Peter nibbled at his bottom lip. "Ummm... I haven't checked lately. I still have a little fuzz on my lip, I think. But I had to look really close."
Lost in thought, Peter raised himself into a sitting position and spread his legs. The dim light from outside caused him to squint as he closely searched for any hair on his chest or belly. Then, when he could not see anything obvious, he softly applied his fingertips, feeling the skin for anything thicker.
"Aww..." he said, his shoulders slumping. In his reaction, he might as well have said, "rats."
"Not even a little treasure trail?" Nathan asked sympathetically.
Peter shook his head with a morose expression. Indeed, there was not even a downy trail of hair from his navel down to his groin, and almost all guys had one, some thicker than others. Nathan�s own was a good example.
�It�ll come, little buddy,� the lawyer said, rubbing the back now facing him. �Give it time. You�re a late bloomer. You always were.�
Nathan himself had been exactly the opposite, having started growing pubic hair at eleven and chest hair at thirteen. By the time he started junior high, he had been swarthy enough to shave every three or four days.
�How can this be?� Peter asked imploringly. �I mean, Dad�s hairy, and you�re hairy. Most Italian guys I know are hairy... Why not me?�
�Like I said...�
�Is Mom hairy too?�
Nathan felt the need to hold back the chuckle which instantly escaped in response. "I'm not sure that's something you normally ask women..." he said within the snicker before clearing his throat. "But no, I don't think she's hairy."
When Peter went silent, his face still turned away and unseen, Nathan continued. "You probably got it from her side of the family. I probably got all the hair from Dad's side."
Several agonizing seconds later, Peter finally turned to his brother. "Yeah, I think so," he said with a shrug.
Nathan ruffled his brother's hair and gave a reassuring smile, though he could not help but think about what his little brother had said. Peter definitely did not inherit the hairy appearance from Arthur Petrelli. Had his real father been the same as Peter himself? Most likely they�d never know, which was probably for the best. His true lineage was something that Peter was going to remain blissfully unaware of.
As if the boy had sensed his brother�s thoughts, he suddenly asked, �Nathan, is there something I should know?�
The older man just barely managed to suppress a flinch. �What do you mean, Pete?�
The fingers burrowed in Nathan�s chest hair dug slightly deeper into the lawyer�s toned pecs.
�For a moment you looked really... weird. Like you were thinking about something you haven�t told me,� the boy said after a brief pause of silence.
�I�m just thinking about Thanksgiving,� Nathan lied. �You can still change your mind, if you want to.�
�I want to go.� Now Peter�s voice bordered on irritation. �I can�t hide from Dad forever.�
�No, I suppose you�re right...� Nathan admitted that his baby brother had a point, though he couldn�t help but worry that Arthur Petrelli would find some way to inflict further misery on his wife�s unwanted bastard boy.

TBC...
- 26
- 27
- 28
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Brother's Keeper