Emily (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
iluvroadrunner6) wrote2008-02-24 11:46 pm
iluvroadrunner6) wrote2008-02-24 11:46 pm
Adam/Elle - Friend Nor Foe
Fandom: Heroes
Title: Friend Nor Foe
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
iluvroadrunner6
Rating: FRT
Characters: Adam Monroe/Elle Bishop, mentions of Peter Petrelli, Hiro Nakamaura, Bob Bishop
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
psych_30 Prompt: 19. Separation Anxiety
fic_variations Prompt: ocean (#1)
Content Warning: Spoilers through 211: Powerless.
Summary: Elle finally feels confident enough to say good-bye, regardless of how it tears her apart.
Author's Note: Part of my Gravity series. Naturally, I can't write anything in order, so this is the end rather than the beginning. But it was where they were going to let me start, and hopefully, eventually, I'll get to show what got them here, but as of right now -- this is where they are. This is my first time writing Adam and Elle in this capacity, so any constructive criticism would be welcome. Lyrics and title are from "Gravity" by Sara Bareilles, which has taken over my brain, unfortunately.
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Heroes. They're owned by NBC. However, any and all original characters are mine, so please do not use them without my permission.
But you're neither friend nor foe though I can't seem to let you go.
The one thing that I still know is that you're keeping me down
He had been missing for months. Not a phone call, not a word, nothing. Last she’d heard, the company was still looking for him, any trace of him, but that had been months ago. Then again, it was possible that they could have found him by now—she hadn’t been near the company in ages. Shortly after the incident with Sylar, she just—left. She just couldn’t handle her father’s condescending tones, or the way he had practically incarcerated her after she went after Sylar. She had stopped him from killing Maya, Mohinder, and Molly. Mohinder had called her a hero. Bob, however, could only focus on the fact that she had broken protocol, and that Sylar had escaped with what was left of Claire Bennet’s blood.
So she listened to the yelling, listened to the speeches, listened to the reprimands. And when that was over, she left, putting the company behind her and trying her best to find her own way.
She made her way to Odessa, in search of Adam, her other rock. Maybe it was the way she was raised, or a result of what the Haitian did to her, but the male influence in her life was the one she needed the strongest. She followed her father like a puppy, did everything she could to please him, and from Day One of when she had met Adam, when he became her first toy and he took that first jolt she was captivated. She wasn’t sure what it was about him, but she wasn’t going to deny that the man had charisma. It was when charisma turned to affection and affection turned to love that she started giving him the same innocent devotion that she had her father, but this time there was a difference. Adam loved her. Adam was going to take care of her, long after her father was gone. Adam was going to be the one to protect her from the hell that was to come. That was his promise, the promise that she later realized was exactly what she wanted to hear, and was what made her follow him unquestioningly, like a doting puppy searching for the love of a master that he wasn’t necessarily so inclined to give.
Yet he still told her he loved her, in a voice that carried the sincerity of hundreds of years worth of practice. Not that she’d realize that at eighteen or twenty, not a girl who had been told fairy tales when she was younger, but never released into the real world to see that they weren’t necessarily real.
When she arrived in Odessa, she tried her best to track down someone who knew her and might give her some answers, but by the time she actually found Peter, there was nothing he could tell her. Hiro had taken him, and Peter didn’t know where, nor was he going to ask. And she guessed she could understand that—Adam had put him through a lot. But she still needed to find him, and she had swore in New York that she wasn’t going to stop looking until she did. There were obstacles when it came to Hiro, though. Adam might not be just anywhere, he could be in any time. She didn’t know anyone with Hiro’s power who would be willing to help her look for Adam, so she was pretty much on her own in that respect. And eventually, she got less interested in the looking for him, and more interested in the looking out for herself. She had no one left. She needed to be her own person now, instead of just the puppy following her master.
So she set down roots. Got a job, an apartment—a life. She made friends, and started her life over, no longer Elle Bishop, the girl who can shoot lightning from her hands and Company Girl, but she was just Elle, the perky waitress at the diner by the San Francisco Bay, who had gotten an apartment with a balcony so that she could see the ocean and feel the breeze on her face. She was living for herself for once, and not the whims of the current male figure in her life, and for once she actually felt—fulfilled. She felt good, even more so about herself, and she didn’t want to let that go. Not yet.
His voice remained in the back of her head, though—whispering to her every once in a while that he was waiting for her to find him, that he wanted her to find him. The more time went by, the more she was able to push that voice away, ignore it, hope it would eventually just disappear. With each day it got softer, and with each day things got easier, and she could feel herself start to move on.
Until the day a stranger in a hat and sunglasses walked into the diner and requested her table. She didn’t think anything of it until she got to the table, placing a glass of water down in front of him and giving him her best smile. “My name’s Elle, and I’ll be your waitress this evening. What can I getcha?”
“The hour you’ll be getting off work.”
At the sound of his voice, her heart dropped to her stomach, and she froze, unsure of what to do or where to go. She shook her head, after a moment, refusing to recognize him behind the glasses and, plastering back on the smile that had faltered earlier.
“Sorry, sweetie,” she said, her voice shaking only slightly as she did. “I’m not for sale, but maybe I can get you something from the specials—”
At that statement he only pulled off the glasses and looked back up at her, staring at her with an intensity that only brought old Elle back in spades, her cheeks flushing with the shame of knowing she had done something wrong—been on the wrong side of the team.
“That wasn’t a request, Elle.”
“Adam—”
“We need to talk.”
She sighed heavily, closing her eyes, and looking away from him, scribbling something down on her notepad, not meeting his eyes as she answered. “I have another forty-five minutes.”
“I’ll wait here then.”
“Can I get you a cup of coffee while you wait?” she muttered lamely, out of habit from dealing with the customers, but what could have been considered a hint of contempt behind the words.
“Coffee would be lovely. Regular, if you don’t mind.”
“I’ll be back in a second.” She paused as she started to walk away, before throwing back over her shoulder. “You better leave a decent tip.”
“Don’t I always?” The words were laced with charm and innuendo, the confident words of someone who thought he’s won, and she could feel herself getting sick to her stomach, and for some reason, that boosted her confidence slightly. Back when she was at the company, she would have had a playful comeback, and been eager to see what kind of ‘tip’ he had to give. Now—she just wanted him gone.
Forty five minutes felt like they had lasted the whole of her five hour shift and by the time she turned in her apron and collected her tips for the evening, he was waiting for her by the door, not willing to let her leave without him being close behind her. He wasn’t going to lose her, no matter how much she wanted to shake him and not have the conversation they were about to have. Because she knew there was no way this was going to end without tears, and she really wasn’t in the mood to be crying.
It was a long quiet drive back to her place and by the time they reached her apartment, she was contemplating not letting him inside. She was happier with blissful ignorance if not knowing where he was. She was happier not knowing. Now she knew, and it was tearing her apart inside, and she wasn’t sure she could handle it without reverting back to what’s easier—what she did before. Which was the last thing in the world that she wanted right now, but she was so terrified that it would happen.
She let him inside and dropped her keys on the table, before turning back to him with a small smile. “Can I get you something to drink?”
“I think I’ve had plenty to drink, Elle,” he replied, gripping her wrist, and pulling her in close to him. “I think I’d rather have something else.”
She placed a hand against his chest, pushing him away from her, and turning her head when he tried to kiss her, not wanting him to be any closer than he already was. Adam stopped, and pulled back, looking at her in confusion.
“What’s wrong?”
“I thought you said you wanted to talk.”
“I do—but I thought—”
“Then talk, Adam.”
Adam pulled back from her, running a hand over his chin. “This would be a lot easier if we just—”
“Adam—we’re not having sex.”
“I didn’t necessarily mean—”
“You’re not kissing me, you’re not touching me, you’re not making any kind of advance like that on my unless I let you, so please—just say what you want to say.”
Adam’s eyes hardened, and she felt something in her fingers start to loosen, the crackle of electricity running under her skin. She had seen the look on his face before, and if he advanced on her she was going to defend herself. He may be indestructible, but she was not. She hadn’t used her power in a long time, but she would use it if she had to.
“So this is how things are going to be?” he growled, giving her a look. “I thought you were someone I can count on, Elle.”
“Count on for what?” she said, her eyes narrowing as she placed her hands on her hips. “For sex? If that’s the case, well, sorry, Adam—that ship’s sailed.”
“Elle.” His face softened slightly, moving closer to her slowly and reaching out for her with his arm. “I just want to get what we had back. I want to be partners again.”
Elle watched him, and she could feel part of herself melting at the look in his eyes, wanting to run to him and promise that she would be his partner again, be there for him again, but she couldn’t, and she just stood rooted on the spot, shaking her head. “I can’t, Adam. Not like we were before.”
“We don’t have to be exactly like we were before,” Adam said, his eyes searching hers for some sign that she would cave, some sign that she was just toying with him, but she wasn’t. She didn’t back down, she held her ground, where months earlier she would have run back to him with open arms, and supported him no matter what. He saw that, and pressed things further, moving closer to her again. “Elle, you’re all I have left.”
Her eyes closed and she looked up at him, tears starting to pool in her eyes as she did. “Then I guess you have nothing.”
His eyes hardened again, and he started to move in on her, eliciting sparks from her fingers as she backed away from him. “After everything I did for you, everything I did for us, this is how you’re repaying me?!?”
A ball of electricity formed in the palm of her hand, and she looked back at him over the sparks flying into the air. “I think you should go, Adam.”
“We could have been great together, Elle.”
“Adam, please. Just go.”
He was quiet for a minute, before gritting his teeth and glaring back at her. “You’re making a big mistake.”
“Don’t make me make you leave.” Her voice was so quiet a pin drop would have been louder, but it was loud enough for him to hear. He glared back at her one last time before storming out of her apartment and slamming the door loud enough to make the walls in the apartment rattle. She just stood there, staring at the door, and once it hit her that he was really gone, her legs buckled slightly relief that she was finally free washing over her. She didn’t have to hold up the façade anymore, and she was free to fall apart under the pressure.
Which was aptly fitting, because really, all she wanted to do was cry.
Title: Friend Nor Foe
Author:
iluvroadrunner6Rating: FRT
Characters: Adam Monroe/Elle Bishop, mentions of Peter Petrelli, Hiro Nakamaura, Bob Bishop
psych_30 Prompt: 19. Separation Anxietyfic_variations Prompt: ocean (#1)Content Warning: Spoilers through 211: Powerless.
Summary: Elle finally feels confident enough to say good-bye, regardless of how it tears her apart.
Author's Note: Part of my Gravity series. Naturally, I can't write anything in order, so this is the end rather than the beginning. But it was where they were going to let me start, and hopefully, eventually, I'll get to show what got them here, but as of right now -- this is where they are. This is my first time writing Adam and Elle in this capacity, so any constructive criticism would be welcome. Lyrics and title are from "Gravity" by Sara Bareilles, which has taken over my brain, unfortunately.
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Heroes. They're owned by NBC. However, any and all original characters are mine, so please do not use them without my permission.
But you're neither friend nor foe though I can't seem to let you go.
The one thing that I still know is that you're keeping me down
He had been missing for months. Not a phone call, not a word, nothing. Last she’d heard, the company was still looking for him, any trace of him, but that had been months ago. Then again, it was possible that they could have found him by now—she hadn’t been near the company in ages. Shortly after the incident with Sylar, she just—left. She just couldn’t handle her father’s condescending tones, or the way he had practically incarcerated her after she went after Sylar. She had stopped him from killing Maya, Mohinder, and Molly. Mohinder had called her a hero. Bob, however, could only focus on the fact that she had broken protocol, and that Sylar had escaped with what was left of Claire Bennet’s blood.
So she listened to the yelling, listened to the speeches, listened to the reprimands. And when that was over, she left, putting the company behind her and trying her best to find her own way.
She made her way to Odessa, in search of Adam, her other rock. Maybe it was the way she was raised, or a result of what the Haitian did to her, but the male influence in her life was the one she needed the strongest. She followed her father like a puppy, did everything she could to please him, and from Day One of when she had met Adam, when he became her first toy and he took that first jolt she was captivated. She wasn’t sure what it was about him, but she wasn’t going to deny that the man had charisma. It was when charisma turned to affection and affection turned to love that she started giving him the same innocent devotion that she had her father, but this time there was a difference. Adam loved her. Adam was going to take care of her, long after her father was gone. Adam was going to be the one to protect her from the hell that was to come. That was his promise, the promise that she later realized was exactly what she wanted to hear, and was what made her follow him unquestioningly, like a doting puppy searching for the love of a master that he wasn’t necessarily so inclined to give.
Yet he still told her he loved her, in a voice that carried the sincerity of hundreds of years worth of practice. Not that she’d realize that at eighteen or twenty, not a girl who had been told fairy tales when she was younger, but never released into the real world to see that they weren’t necessarily real.
When she arrived in Odessa, she tried her best to track down someone who knew her and might give her some answers, but by the time she actually found Peter, there was nothing he could tell her. Hiro had taken him, and Peter didn’t know where, nor was he going to ask. And she guessed she could understand that—Adam had put him through a lot. But she still needed to find him, and she had swore in New York that she wasn’t going to stop looking until she did. There were obstacles when it came to Hiro, though. Adam might not be just anywhere, he could be in any time. She didn’t know anyone with Hiro’s power who would be willing to help her look for Adam, so she was pretty much on her own in that respect. And eventually, she got less interested in the looking for him, and more interested in the looking out for herself. She had no one left. She needed to be her own person now, instead of just the puppy following her master.
So she set down roots. Got a job, an apartment—a life. She made friends, and started her life over, no longer Elle Bishop, the girl who can shoot lightning from her hands and Company Girl, but she was just Elle, the perky waitress at the diner by the San Francisco Bay, who had gotten an apartment with a balcony so that she could see the ocean and feel the breeze on her face. She was living for herself for once, and not the whims of the current male figure in her life, and for once she actually felt—fulfilled. She felt good, even more so about herself, and she didn’t want to let that go. Not yet.
His voice remained in the back of her head, though—whispering to her every once in a while that he was waiting for her to find him, that he wanted her to find him. The more time went by, the more she was able to push that voice away, ignore it, hope it would eventually just disappear. With each day it got softer, and with each day things got easier, and she could feel herself start to move on.
Until the day a stranger in a hat and sunglasses walked into the diner and requested her table. She didn’t think anything of it until she got to the table, placing a glass of water down in front of him and giving him her best smile. “My name’s Elle, and I’ll be your waitress this evening. What can I getcha?”
“The hour you’ll be getting off work.”
At the sound of his voice, her heart dropped to her stomach, and she froze, unsure of what to do or where to go. She shook her head, after a moment, refusing to recognize him behind the glasses and, plastering back on the smile that had faltered earlier.
“Sorry, sweetie,” she said, her voice shaking only slightly as she did. “I’m not for sale, but maybe I can get you something from the specials—”
At that statement he only pulled off the glasses and looked back up at her, staring at her with an intensity that only brought old Elle back in spades, her cheeks flushing with the shame of knowing she had done something wrong—been on the wrong side of the team.
“That wasn’t a request, Elle.”
“Adam—”
“We need to talk.”
She sighed heavily, closing her eyes, and looking away from him, scribbling something down on her notepad, not meeting his eyes as she answered. “I have another forty-five minutes.”
“I’ll wait here then.”
“Can I get you a cup of coffee while you wait?” she muttered lamely, out of habit from dealing with the customers, but what could have been considered a hint of contempt behind the words.
“Coffee would be lovely. Regular, if you don’t mind.”
“I’ll be back in a second.” She paused as she started to walk away, before throwing back over her shoulder. “You better leave a decent tip.”
“Don’t I always?” The words were laced with charm and innuendo, the confident words of someone who thought he’s won, and she could feel herself getting sick to her stomach, and for some reason, that boosted her confidence slightly. Back when she was at the company, she would have had a playful comeback, and been eager to see what kind of ‘tip’ he had to give. Now—she just wanted him gone.
Forty five minutes felt like they had lasted the whole of her five hour shift and by the time she turned in her apron and collected her tips for the evening, he was waiting for her by the door, not willing to let her leave without him being close behind her. He wasn’t going to lose her, no matter how much she wanted to shake him and not have the conversation they were about to have. Because she knew there was no way this was going to end without tears, and she really wasn’t in the mood to be crying.
It was a long quiet drive back to her place and by the time they reached her apartment, she was contemplating not letting him inside. She was happier with blissful ignorance if not knowing where he was. She was happier not knowing. Now she knew, and it was tearing her apart inside, and she wasn’t sure she could handle it without reverting back to what’s easier—what she did before. Which was the last thing in the world that she wanted right now, but she was so terrified that it would happen.
She let him inside and dropped her keys on the table, before turning back to him with a small smile. “Can I get you something to drink?”
“I think I’ve had plenty to drink, Elle,” he replied, gripping her wrist, and pulling her in close to him. “I think I’d rather have something else.”
She placed a hand against his chest, pushing him away from her, and turning her head when he tried to kiss her, not wanting him to be any closer than he already was. Adam stopped, and pulled back, looking at her in confusion.
“What’s wrong?”
“I thought you said you wanted to talk.”
“I do—but I thought—”
“Then talk, Adam.”
Adam pulled back from her, running a hand over his chin. “This would be a lot easier if we just—”
“Adam—we’re not having sex.”
“I didn’t necessarily mean—”
“You’re not kissing me, you’re not touching me, you’re not making any kind of advance like that on my unless I let you, so please—just say what you want to say.”
Adam’s eyes hardened, and she felt something in her fingers start to loosen, the crackle of electricity running under her skin. She had seen the look on his face before, and if he advanced on her she was going to defend herself. He may be indestructible, but she was not. She hadn’t used her power in a long time, but she would use it if she had to.
“So this is how things are going to be?” he growled, giving her a look. “I thought you were someone I can count on, Elle.”
“Count on for what?” she said, her eyes narrowing as she placed her hands on her hips. “For sex? If that’s the case, well, sorry, Adam—that ship’s sailed.”
“Elle.” His face softened slightly, moving closer to her slowly and reaching out for her with his arm. “I just want to get what we had back. I want to be partners again.”
Elle watched him, and she could feel part of herself melting at the look in his eyes, wanting to run to him and promise that she would be his partner again, be there for him again, but she couldn’t, and she just stood rooted on the spot, shaking her head. “I can’t, Adam. Not like we were before.”
“We don’t have to be exactly like we were before,” Adam said, his eyes searching hers for some sign that she would cave, some sign that she was just toying with him, but she wasn’t. She didn’t back down, she held her ground, where months earlier she would have run back to him with open arms, and supported him no matter what. He saw that, and pressed things further, moving closer to her again. “Elle, you’re all I have left.”
Her eyes closed and she looked up at him, tears starting to pool in her eyes as she did. “Then I guess you have nothing.”
His eyes hardened again, and he started to move in on her, eliciting sparks from her fingers as she backed away from him. “After everything I did for you, everything I did for us, this is how you’re repaying me?!?”
A ball of electricity formed in the palm of her hand, and she looked back at him over the sparks flying into the air. “I think you should go, Adam.”
“We could have been great together, Elle.”
“Adam, please. Just go.”
He was quiet for a minute, before gritting his teeth and glaring back at her. “You’re making a big mistake.”
“Don’t make me make you leave.” Her voice was so quiet a pin drop would have been louder, but it was loud enough for him to hear. He glared back at her one last time before storming out of her apartment and slamming the door loud enough to make the walls in the apartment rattle. She just stood there, staring at the door, and once it hit her that he was really gone, her legs buckled slightly relief that she was finally free washing over her. She didn’t have to hold up the façade anymore, and she was free to fall apart under the pressure.
Which was aptly fitting, because really, all she wanted to do was cry.
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I loved how she fought to make a new life for herself and started working and rented an apartment to feel the breeze of the ocean on her face! :)
I so loved the ending....
I hope there is more actually!!!!
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There is going to be more, but I'm probably going to be going back to the beginning of their relationship, to show how they got to here, if that makes any sense.
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It makes total sense!!!!
This is m favorite pairing! :D
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loved it
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There's going to be more, but I'm probably going to be going backwards rather than forwards. My brain works in mysterious ways.
Hello
(Anonymous) 2008-08-15 02:32 am (UTC)(link)no subject
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