Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/540993.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      Heroes_-_Fandom
  Relationship:
      Nathan_Petrelli/Peter_Petrelli
  Character:
      Nathan_Petrelli, Peter_Petrelli
  Stats:
      Published: 2007-10-19 Words: 4013
****** Yes or No? ******
by Fabrisse
Nathan was on a date when the call came. He hated pagers, but the case he was
currently working on had so many meetings at odd times, in odd places that he
was forced to carry one.
The number was one from a precinct on the Upper East Side which was strange,
but Nathan excused himself and made the call from a bank of payphones near the
back of the restaurant.
The call had nothing to do with a case. A cop he'd worked with was calling to
let him know his brother had been arrested. Jimmy was keeping him out of
booking, but that wouldn't work for much longer. Nathan had to get down there
before Peter was booked.
He excused himself from his date. She wasn't someone he'd been pursuing
seriously, so he wasn't worried about the consequences.
Nathan made it to the police station and found Jimmy. The place was packed.
Teenagers and young adults were in every chair and the holding cells were full.
"There were reports of thumping. When we investigated we found a rave going on
in a series of tunnels under a couple of apartment blocks."
"What's my brother charged with?"
"Nothing right now. He's higher than a kite, but we can't get him on possession
and the couple of girls near him said they'd supplied him not the other way
around." Jimmy gave a low chuckle. "I wish I had girls trying to get me into
bed at his age."
"Into bed?"
"They were trying to get him loved up, as the kids are calling it. Ecstasy,
touching, dancing – and lots of under aged sex. At least these girls were his
age. We've run into a few people who are using it to blur consent issues."
"Any idea who was providing the drugs?"
"No. Frankly, I'm embarrassed that something like this could have been
organized in my precinct without hearing a word about it."
"So. Are we waiting for him to be booked?"
"Not this time. If I find out he had something to do with organizing it, you
bring him back."
"You think that's likely?"
"If I thought he'd done anything but attend, I'd have called you after I booked
him."
"Point taken."
"What about the girls he was with?"
"They're giving false names, unlike your brother, and are too panicked to call
their parents."
"Have they been booked yet?"
"No."
"If Pete gives you their names, can you release them without booking?"
"Same conditions. And I'll hold you 'Mr. ADA's office' to seeing those
conditions are met."
"Fair enough, Jimmy. I owe you for this."
"I'll collect, Nathan."
Thirty minutes and five phone calls later, Nathan and Peter left. He'd called
his parents and told them that Peter would be staying at his place tonight and
through the weekend. They hadn't even known Peter had gone out on a school
night.
***
On a February night, Peter was half naked and swaying. Nathan took off his coat
and scarf and wrapped Peter up in them. Jimmy offered to have a squad car drop
them at his apartment, and Nathan decided it was too cold to look for a cab.
Peter kept bobbing and weaving, trying to snuggle against him. The drive seemed
longer than it actually was.
When they got to Nathan's apartment, Peter shrugged the coat off and kept
moving to a beat only he could hear. He took off Nathan's suit jacket and tried
to remove his brother's shirt.
"Beautiful Nathan. Perfect. I love you."
"I love you, too."
Peter slipped one arm around his brother's neck and began to reach up for a
kiss.
Nathan diverted him to a kiss on the cheek and tried to ignore the hips
brushing against his.
"Dance with me."
"You're high, Peter."
"I love you."
"Yeah, Jimmy told me about that. You love everybody right now."
"Not like I love you."
"That's because I'm your brother."
"Not brother. Lover." He undid Nathan's tie and slid it off him.
"Ooookay. Peter. Look at me." Nathan held him by the shoulders and tried to
make eye contact.
"So beautiful." Peter traced the lines of Nathan's face with gentle fingers.
"Thank you. Pete." Nathan shook him. "You're not yourself. I'm taking tomorrow
off. I'll call your school and tell them you're sick. But you have to stop
trying to make passes at me."
"'S it because I'm a guy?"
"Not really."
"'Cause I've practiced. Want to be good for you."
Nathan's eyes widened. "Peter. If you were a girl doing this, I'd be saying
no."
"Not pretty enough."
That got an amused chuckle from Nathan. "The girls you were with tonight
thought you were pretty enough."
Peter's brow knit. "But not good enough for you. I've seen the girls you're
with. Beautiful like you."
"Peter. Jimmy told me this would take about eight hours for you to come down."
"Want to touch you."
"Tell you what. Let me get you something to drink. You can sleep in my bed with
me tonight, so I can keep an eye on you."
"No clothes."
"Yes clothes. Drink first. I'll find you something that feels really good for
you to wear to bed."
Peter still seemed to have a hard time staying still, so Nathan put an arm
around him and pulled him along to the kitchen. There was some powdered
Gatorade that Nathan kept for heat emergencies, and he figured a few
electrolytes might help. He gave Peter a glass and then filled a glass to put
by the bed. Jimmy had warned him about both dehydration and water intoxication.
Nathan was trying to walk a fine line.
"Come on. Let's find you some pjs." Nathan rummaged through a drawer until he
found some silk pajamas a girlfriend had given him.
Peter liked the feel and began rubbing them against his skin.
"Put those on."
Much to his surprise, Peter just stopped and stripped. Nathan averted his eyes
and went to grab his own pajamas. He usually just wore the pants and was
wondering where the top part was hiding when Peter came up behind him.
"No tops. I want to feel your skin."
"You promise not to wriggle once we lie down, and I'll agree to that."
"I get to sleep with you." There was a warm smile on Peter's face.
"Yeah, sleep. Right now." Getting Peter to settle down took precedence. He'd
deal with unbrushed teeth in the morning.
"I like these pajamas." Peter kept running his hands over his thighs.
"You can have them." Nathan turned the light off.
After about five minutes, Nathan worked out that spooning up behind Peter
solved his craving for skin and kept him from touching Nathan. He heard Peter
give a deep sigh.
"You're going to pretend this didn't happen tomorrow." Peter's voice was quiet
in the dark.
"If you want to talk about this when you're sober, we'll talk. Your choice,
Peter."
Peter brought one of Nathan's hands to his lips and kissed and sucked the palm.
"Promise?"
Nathan shifted his hips away so Peter wouldn't feel his reaction. "Yes. I
promise."
***
Nathan woke up at his usual time, in spite of too little sleep. He changed into
winter running gear, and left a note for Peter before he went out.
He threw the note away when he came back. Peter was still snoring.
Coffee was on for him. He had orange juice for Peter. The last thing his
brother needed was more stimulants.
Eggs, chicken sausage, and whole grain bread were also in his shopping bag.
First he called his office and asked one of the secretaries to bring him some
documents to work on. He didn't have court until Tuesday, so he explained part
of the situation to his boss and got permission to stay home.
Then he called the school and told them Peter wouldn't be in. He left his
number for the teachers to call with homework assignments.
Nathan was on his second cup of coffee when the door buzzed. He went downstairs
to get his work and pay the cab fare. When he came back upstairs, Peter was
awake.
"Do you mind if I shower before I make breakfast? Or do you want to go first?"
"No, you go first. I'll do some yoga to wake me up." Peter wouldn't look at
Nathan.
"I didn't know you'd started doing yoga."
"Yeah."
Nathan decided to leave it there and got ready for the day.
When he came out Peter was sitting on the floor in a deep twist. "There's a
disposable razor under the sink. Do you want chicken sausage with your eggs?"
"Sounds fine."
It wasn't like Jimmy hadn't warned him about this side of Ecstasy, too. He
hoped breakfast would perk Peter up, because really the only worse than a
weekend with a sullen teenager was a weekend in February with a sullen
teenager.
Peter looked a little happier when he came out of the bathroom. "I have a pair
of jeans here, but could I borrow a sweater or something?"
"Grab a t-shirt too, if you need it."
Once he was dressed, Peter poured himself a cup of coffee which Nathan promptly
took away from him. "Ecstasy is a stimulant. No coffee today."
"Great." He slumped on the kitchen stool. Nathan handed him a glass of orange
juice and then put two plates of food on the counter and sat beside him.
They ate in silence for awhile. "You don't have to keep me this weekend. I'm
sorry you were called. I gave him Mom and Dad's phone number."
"Sergeant Robertson and I worked on a case together last year and we're working
another currently. Jimmy called me because he recognized the name."
"I wasn't doing anything but dancing."
"And drugs."
"Like you never did drugs when you were my age."
"Military school. Even our rebellions were conservative. Of course, I was a
pack a day smoker at your age and prided myself on how well I held my liquor."
"You smoked?"
"I quit when I found out I'd been appointed to the Academy."
"Not even weed?"
"Don't tell me you're smoking pot too?"
"I've tried it a couple of times, but that's all. And you didn't answer my
question."
"I had a few days leave in Amsterdam and went to a hash bar. That's the only
time I tried it."
"So the great Nathan Petrelli doesn't have any vices."
"Ambition is a vice. It keeps me away from the others. American voters are
notorious prudes, no matter what their own behavior is like."
"I know you have work, even if you are babysitting."
"If you can let me have two or three hours now, we can go out to lunch and find
something to do this afternoon."
"Yeah. Fine. Did I leave a book here last time?"
"Check your bookshelf."
Nathan grabbed a glass of orange juice and began to work. He looked up a couple
of times, and Peter had either found his book or found something else to read.
Four hours later, Nathan finished his most pressing assignment.
"You at a good stopping place, Pete?"
"Yeah."
"Pizza?"
"Can we go to that Greek place and get falafel?"
"Sure."
As they left the building, Peter said, "I guess I was right. We aren't going to
talk about it."
"I told you. It's your call. I thought maybe you didn't remember it."
"Ecstasy doesn't work that way."
"I'm going to be a prosecutor for a moment here. Did you bring the drugs last
night?"
"No. Dark Jen knew someone who was supposed to have pretty pure stuff. She and
Bliss brought back enough for all of us."
"And you just took a pill someone offered you."
"After a really fucked up week, I didn't want to be me for awhile."
"Okay."
"Mom said you never had times like this. You always knew what you wanted, and
you never caused any trouble."
"Next time Mom tries the 'Nathan was a perfect teenager' crap on you, remind
her of two little words. Boarding. School. Ma doesn't have a clue. And the only
parental advice I remember getting from Dad when I was your age was 'for God's
sake, don't knock up your girlfriend.' Speaking of which… that's not the
problem is it?"
"No. I'm careful. Carol broke up with me two weeks ago, so I suppose she could
scare me to death sometime in the next two weeks."
Nathan nodded. "Any boyfriends?"
Peter stopped and stared at his brother. "No. God."
"Nathan, can we get the food to go? Take it back to your place?"
"Sure, Pete."
***
"You wanted to come back and talk. Talk."
Peter looked down at his food and fiddled with the various things on his plate.
Finally he blurted out, "You wouldn't even kiss me last night."
"No. You were high. I didn't want you to wake up this morning embarrassed or
ashamed -- or thinking I'd taken advantage of you."
"I wouldn't have been ashamed. I love you." Peter closed his eyes and continued
before Nathan could say anything. "I'm in love with you."
Silence fell.
Peter broke it. "Aren't you going to say anything?"
"Ninety percent of things I can think of to say would make you think I don't
take your feelings seriously and the other ten percent would make you angry."
"I don't disgust you?"
"Never."
"You're not going to tell me I'm too young to know what love is?"
"I don't know anyone else whose heart is as open as yours is. I trust you know
the difference between love and attraction or infatuation."
"Good." Peter looked puzzled.
Nathan smiled a little. "It's an old lawyer's trick. Don't fight when your
opponent expects it."
"You don't mind that I find you attractive."
"Not to sound vain, but you're not the first person to make a pass at me."
"Not even the first guy?"
"I didn't have the advantage of coed schools."
"Oh."
"By the way, who told you you were too young to know about love?"
"My English teacher. She said no one could know what real love was like as a
teenager."
"She's full of crap. Some people will never know, but I don't think age has
anything to do with it."
"Did you fall in love at my age?"
"No. But I have a friend who married at eighteen. They've been together for
thirteen years. Three college degrees completed -- and she's nearly done with
her PhD -- two kids, and a mortgage. They knew. They knew at fifteen."
"Is it all right if I go take a nap?"
"Sure, Pete. It'll let me do some more work and then we can have the weekend
for fun. Want to see a movie tonight?"
"Yeah, there's one I've been wanting to go to."
"Go. Nap. We'll grab food before we go out."
***
Nathan realized Peter had a couple of tricks up his sleeve too. The movie his
little brother had been wanting to see was Jeffrey. It had been around long
enough that it was in the smallest theater of the multiplex, and it looked like
they might be the only people there.
Peter chose the middle of the back row, and Nathan wondered whether his little
brother was going to try the old yawn and stretch move. Instead, Peter
surprised him by pulling Nathan's arm around his shoulders after the movie
started. Once or twice, Peter rested his hand on Nathan's thigh or shifted his
shoulders to get more comfortable, but there was nothing more overt. Nathan
found himself relaxing, enjoying the warmth of having someone resting at his
side.
He found himself enjoying the movie, too. It wasn't one he'd have chosen, but
the acting was good, and it twisted the romantic comedy tropes in interesting
ways.
Afterward, they stopped for pizza. Peter asked if they could go to the
Cloisters sometime over the weekend because he could get extra credit in his
history class if he wrote a report on it. Nathan agreed readily. The only odd
thing was Peter telling him he couldn't have a beer with dinner. Since
everything was going so smoothly, Nathan decided not to press the point and had
a ginger ale instead.
The walk home wasn't bad. They talked about the movie some more, and what Peter
was studying, even a little about Nathan's latest case.
When they walked in the door, Nathan looked at the clock. It was just after
eleven.
"You know your pull-out couch sucks. You never have enough blankets either."
"Not to mention you wait hours to make it in the morning." Nathan smiled at the
familiar bitching. "Sleep in with me if you like."
"Yeah." Peter wandered off to the bathroom and came out a few minutes later.
He'd found the silk pajama bottoms that Nathan had given him, but Nathan was
surprised to see he was shirtless. "I hate sleeping in a top."
Nathan gave a shrug and completed his evening ablutions. He wore what he
usually did to bed, which meant he was shirtless too.
Peter had already made himself comfortable on his side of the bed. He watched
as Nathan got in and turned out the light.
They didn't do this often, but Nathan knew they wouldn't fall asleep quite yet.
It had happened at school and at the Academy. Dark was when the questions came,
the confidences shared. He'd found out about Peter's first kiss in this bed in
the dark. And his first love and heartbreak had been whispered in Nathan's ear.
Nathan had told him about his first girlfriend and how hurt he was that she
broke up with him by telling him at a party and walking out with another guy.
Darkness made the words safe.
"When I took my nap, I was confused. I thought about what you said, disarming
by not fighting."
"Yeah."
"But when I woke up, I realized you couldn't say 'yes' to anything I was
asking."
Nathan's voice was low. "I don't recall too many questions."
"You were the one who taught me the unspoken questions were the most important.
And you couldn't say yes."
Nathan started to speak, but found his mouth stopped by sweet, soft lips. The
kiss was just barely on the other side of innocence, a little wet, lips
slightly parted. It was in the realm of plausible deniability, though; all
Nathan had to do was pull away.
Peter pulled back. Even in the dark, Nathan could see his eyes boring into
Nathan's, questioning. Peter gave a quick half smile and put his hand on
Nathan's neck.
This kiss was knowing. Peter explored Nathan's mouth with his tongue and
invited Nathan into him, flicking against the underside of Nathan's tongue as
he sucked it into his mouth.
When this kiss broke, Peter continued. "I also realized you hadn't said no."
"I should have."
"Society would agree. There are laws against most of the things I want to do
with you."
"There are."
"Turn on the light."
Nathan pulled away reluctantly, but did as Peter asked. Peter looked like a
debauched angel with his lips parted and puffy from kissing.
"I'll accept any decision you make. But you have to decide." Peter came closer
and ran a gentle finger over Nathan's jaw. "I'm in love with you. I want to …
express it physically in every way I can think of. And since you were a
teenaged boy once, I'm pretty sure you know how many ways I can come up with."
Nathan responded to the teasing tone with a half smile.
Peter continued. "There are only two words in your vocabulary: yes and no. If
you say no, I'll never bring it up again. I'll even sleep in that damned
uncomfortable pullout of yours. But I'm not going to let you have the luxury of
'it just happened' or 'I never agreed to it.' I'm sixteen. This can't be all on
me."
"I'm supposed to be …"
"Yes or no. You don't get to play the big brother card, or the role model card.
You did the right thing last night. I appreciate it. I wouldn't have been
ashamed, but I would have felt like I'd forced something."
"There are other considerations."
"Then say no."
Nathan couldn't believe how adult Peter looked. He certainly didn't need to be
convinced that Peter knew what he wanted. All he had to do was decide. The
right thing would be to say no. He'd looked it up once. Incest was a class E
felony with a one to four year prison sentence for each count. And what did it
say about him that he'd felt obliged to find out.
Peter was still staring at him. His eyes were full of hope and fear, love and
sadness as he watched Nathan deliberate. Just like that, Nathan's decision was
easy. He couldn't let Peter be sad. He reached out and rubbed his brother's
shoulder. "Yes."
No one should be able to look so joyful, so quickly. Nathan found himself
pinned back as Peter explored his body with hands and lips and tongue.
Nathan pulled on Peter's arm and got his attention. "We have all weekend.
Everything doesn't have to be right now."
He was met with a sweet, aching kiss. Peter climbed on top of him and pressed
their chests together as they discovered each other's hot spots. Peter was
teasing Nathan's ear with his teeth, when Nathan felt his pajama pants untied.
Strong hands slid underneath and pushed them down his hips. Nathan decided to
help and lips pressed to lips, he pressed up and felt Peter's silk-clad
erection brushing against his own. He parted his legs and grabbed Peter's ass
feeling the clench and relaxation as he tried to get the maximum sensation.
"Take your pants off too." Nathan heard his own voice rough with need.
Peter's stunned expression and kiss swollen lips were nearly too much for him.
Nathan clasped his cock tightly to keep from coming as Peter stripped.
"What do you want, Nathan?"
"Did you really practice blowing someone?"
Peter nodded and began to shift down Nathan's body. "No. Later. I want to suck
you off too, but I like the kissing too much."
He reached into a bedside drawer and found a mostly empty tube of lube. "We'll
get more tomorrow. Condoms too." Peter nodded and continued to watch Nathan.
"So here's what I want right now. Slick your cock up, and slide it under mine."
Peter did as he was told, and Nathan tightened his legs.
"That feels good." Peter found himself prodded to move. He captured Nathan's
lips and began to thrust between his thighs. Nathan's cock was trapped between
them and Peter adjusted himself enough to rub the very last of lube onto his
weeping erection.
Nathan hissed with pleasure and Peter rocked his hips again. They wrestled with
the tops of their bodies, trying to kiss and stroke and lick and touch every
part they could.
Peter's thrusting was getting faster and he was making such interesting noises
in his throat that Nathan began to writhe in time. He flipped them over so that
Peter was driving up, and it trapped his cock more tightly between them giving
him the friction he craved.
He looked down to see Peter closing his eyes and biting his lip. Nathan bit his
lip for him which made Peter open his eyes. "I want to see you come. I want you
to see me when you come."
Peter reached up and dug his fingers deep into Nathan's back. He arched. There
were broken sounds from the back of his throat, and he gave one last push
upward.
"Nathan."
Nathan felt Peter tremble under him and his ass and thighs were wet with
Peter's spunk. He pushed his cock against Peter's belly and came hard. He
kissed Peter deeply, trailed his lips down to Peter's ear.
"I'm in love with you, too, little brother."
He heard a quiet, "Thank God," before Peter turned his face to beg another
kiss.
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