There's a Connection

[chimeramimicry]

"There's a Connection"
Who:  Peter and Nathan
When: Pre Season 1

It took ten minutes to actually get inside the building.  People wearing his last name on their chests and bags was a usual sight.  He wasn't presumptuous enough to actually wear a pin himself, though he kept one in his satchel.

Peter saw his brother cross in front of the glass, talking on the phone, and he tried to wave at him, but of course, the man had better things to do than glance out windows.  Nevermind that.  Peter finally pushed his way through the revolving doors of his brother's campaign headquarters and sighed as even more people clogged the small reception area.

"Nathan!"  He needed just a bit of help to catch up to his brother and not be stuck with the teaming masses.

Comments

[dontflywithme.livejournal.com]

"I've tried to treat you like an adult, Pete. I even offered you a position in my campaign, helping my manager, but you turned me down. The only thing left to do is try to shut you up about your silly dreams and help you focus." His voice was a bit more stern than before.

[chimeramimic.livejournal.com]

Peter was getting tired of this and it showed on his face. By this point, he would usually be apologizing, hanging his head down and waiting for his brother to like him again. Nathan's approval had only very recently stopped being so important to him. "Maybe I'm happy doing what I am," he lied.

Being a hospice nurse was not what he was meant to do.

[dontflywithme.livejournal.com]

"Watching people die? Peter, its obvious you're not happy. Anyone in their right mind wouldn't be happy doing that. I'll place my offer back on the table, if you'd like to come work for me." He turned to face his brother.

[chimeramimic.livejournal.com]

Peter put his glass on the railing before he dropped it or it spilled. "Yeah, just what I want to do," he murmured, grinning awkwardly, trying to be civil. "I don't want to work for you."

He was trying to be gentle. He really, really was.

"You offer lousy benefits and I don't think I have what it takes to lie on your behalf."

[dontflywithme.livejournal.com]

"Watch your mouth, Pete. I don't lie." He did, but only when he had to, and he didn't appreciate Peter smearing his work with negativity, especially at a party to celebrate said work.

[chimeramimic.livejournal.com]

Nathan had been smoozing him out of things for years with his half truths and his bullshit. Peter, more than anyone alive, knew that. Nathan wasn't transparent, but Peter had seen some of his darkest times...he had no idea that there was worse...but what he did know was bad enough.

Peter sighed. How many times could he use "I love you" as an excuse to be an asshole? Probably not anymore.

"All right...spin then. I can't do it."

[dontflywithme.livejournal.com]

Nathan shook his head and was tempted to murmur 'story of your life, Pete' but he stopped himself. Alcohol tended to make him even more of an asshole, and he knew it. Did he care? No.

[chimeramimic.livejournal.com]

Peter frowned lightly at the side of his brother's face. So, now they were playing the ignoring game? And Nathan called him a child! "I'm gonna get out of here. It's really not me scene."

[dontflywithme.livejournal.com]

He chuckled bitterly. "Course you are. You do realize that ma will kill you if you leave without mingling some more, right?"

[chimeramimic.livejournal.com]

Tilting his head, Peter started to laugh. "Yeah, well, think of this as me growing up, Nathan. Catch you later."

[dontflywithme.livejournal.com]

"You're not leaving, Peter." His tone solidified that fact. Nathan shot back the rest of his drink and then set the glass down.

[chimeramimic.livejournal.com]

Shaking his head, Peter turned as he backed out of the balcony. "Jesus Christ, Nathan. I am. See? This is me leaving. Stop being such a dick!"

[dontflywithme.livejournal.com]

He stalked after Peter, having had too much booze to deal with his childish, flighty nature. Nathan grabbed hold of Peter's arm and yanked him away from the door. "Don't be such a baby, Peter! Sometimes we have to do things for our family that we don't enjoy, but we do them with a goddamn smile and swallow our pride!"

[chimeramimic.livejournal.com]

"How the hell is my presence here helping you at all? You're not even downstairs 'mingling!'" Fed up and frustrated, Peter glanced down at the way that his brother held his arm and frowned. "Let me go."

[dontflywithme.livejournal.com]

"No." He tightened his grip, even pulling Peter close enough for his brother to feel hot, alcohol-heavy breath on his face. "I've been down there mingling for hours. You haven't. I needed a break. You didn't. But you followed me up here like a helpless dog, Pete."

[chimeramimic.livejournal.com]

Peter tried to rip his arm out of Nathan's and only bruised himself in the process. Nurse versus Navy Vet. Who was going to win? The answer was annoyingly obvious. "This isn't a fundraiser for me," he replied. "I don't have to do whatever the hell--" Peter winced. 'Nathan, you're hurting me."

[dontflywithme.livejournal.com]

"Maybe that's what you need, Pete. How do you train a brat? Show them a little bit of pain. Ma should have sent you off to join the army. You'd be a fine specimen of a man right now, not an antisocial nurse."

No more alcohol for Senator Petrelli.

[chimeramimic.livejournal.com]

Well that was uncalled for! Peter flinched at his brother and frowned. Nathan knew quite well that Peter had been sheltered, not because he wanted to be, but because their mother seemed to enjoy clinging to her youngest.

Nathan could travel with his friends for senior week. Peter didn't have many friends because he was never allowed to go to parties and was too much of a 'gentle boy' to sneak out. Nathan went to Annapolis for college. Peter? NYU. He didn't move out until last year, and then it was only because he had begged his mother to let him go.

How could he know that he was being 'saved' for the one task he was born to do? Dying for his brother's sake was noble. Dying and killing a city so his brother could be president was not.

"Let go, Nathan."

[dontflywithme.livejournal.com]

"Make me. You think you're a man, Peter? Show me how much of a man you are." His eyes were wild with passionate anger, Arthur Petrelli's genes sparking inside of him. Like father like son.

[chimeramimic.livejournal.com]

Peter was not above hitting his brother, but not here. Not at this party. He was better 'trained' than that. "That'll look real good on the polls, huh?"

[dontflywithme.livejournal.com]

"Nobody can see us, Pete. Come on." He leaned in closer, their noses nearly touching. "Either make me let go, or I'll drag you down to the party like this. Like you're a child."

[chimeramimic.livejournal.com]

"Again, people will see," Peter said, pulling his head back. "Jesus, how much have you had tonight?"

[dontflywithme.livejournal.com]

"You know what? Fine. Leave." He gave Peter a shove and walked to his desk, sitting down to make a call. "See you later."

[chimeramimic.livejournal.com]

Well, now he was in nurse mode. Or, maybe it was just another extension of puppy mode. Peter trotted after his brother, took the handset out of his grip and replaced it in the cradle. "Nathan, look at yourself."

[dontflywithme.livejournal.com]

Nathan held up a finger. "Don't." He picked the phone back up and dialed again, calling one of his campaign managers to check the polls. Maybe Peter was right about him, and he was a big dick. Maybe the public saw that, and he wasn't in favor to win.

The idea ate away at Nathan's stomach.