Third Base

Participants:

claire2_icon.gif magnes_icon.gif

Scene Title Third Base
Synopsis Magnes brings Claire to his place after the chaos on Staten.
Date October 17, 2009

Magnes' Room


It's late, around 3 or 4am, and Magnes is locking the door after seeing the trenchcoat wearing Claire into his room, his mood generally crap all night. "I killed a guy, he stole my ability and I was afraid of him using it to kill people, so I killed him. I killed someone… I may have killed a Triad too, but I'm not sure yet…"

"It happens, Magnes." Claire offers, hands clutching at the coat to keep it form drifting open. "I've killed people too." She toes off her ruined boots and pads softly over to sit on the edge of his bed, looking somewhat tired. "This is the first big test for you, can you mentally handle what you did." She lets go of the coat long enough to drag fingers through her hair, grimacing at the knots. "God.. I hate fire.. Reminds of when I had to try and sedate this guy that broke into our home.. The feel of the radioactive energy burning away my skin. He melted my brand new shotgun." That gets a heavy sigh.

"I know we're supposed to be open and stuff, but…" Magnes moves a hand around her waist, sitting next to her after pulling his mask and collar off. "I don't like that you go through that kind of pain, and it's probably good if a guy burning you alive isn't a factor in if I shoot him in the head or not…" It's clear he'd shoot a guy for doing that to her, but he quickly gets around to the killing a guy tonight thing. "I don't know, I think I can handle it, but, I feel so… wrong."

"It's better I got hurt then Richard," Claire points out matter of factly. "He wouldn't survive. So I take the punches so that others can live." She gives a slow shrug of a shoulder and gives him a soft smile. "As for it feeling wrong. Doesn't matter if they are good or bad, it will always feel wrong." Glancing down at herself, she frowns a bit. "You have anything like sweats I could borrow." She grabs a clump of hair and sniffs it, nose wrinkling. "And I might borrow your shower too, if it is okay."

"Seeing someone die and knowing I did it, it just felt so… real." Magnes stands and peels his black shirt off, throwing it down with his mask before heading to his hidden room behind the bookcase. When he comes back out, he has his grey police academy sweats, closing the door behind him. "They might be really big on you, but, you can roll the pants and sleeves up. Uh, are you wearing anything under that?"

Reaching under the coat, which reveals some shoulder in the process, Claire pulls out what remains of her bra. She eyes it with a remorseful look as it's destroyed beyond repair. "No." The word comes out a bit dry and irritated at the loss of clothing. Pushing to her feet again, Claire moves to intercept Magnes so that she can take the clothing. "Anything is better then this coat some homeless guy was wearing."

"Uh…" Magnes' brain sort of shuts off when she pulls out the bra, staring at the coat as he attempts to summon x-ray vision. "So, uh, you can use my shower. I mean, if you want." He'll remember that he killed a man in an hour or so.

Taking the sweats, Claire goes up on tip toes to brush a quick kiss across his lips, "Thank you. I promise not too be long." Slipping into the bathroom, the door shuts… but after a moment it opens enough so that Claire can peek around the edge of the door keeping modestly hidden. "Can you toss this stuff.. It's going to stink the place up." A bare arm tosses the coat and the charred scraps of whats left of her clothing on to the floor outside the door. Then the door shuts again and the shower turns on. It will take a bit longer then she thought to scrub away the smell of burned flesh from her skin.

Magnes leaves for a moment to toss the clothing into the dumpster out back, then walks back in to sit on the bed, staring at the bathroom door. He doesn't put another shirt on, figuring he'll take his own shower first before changing. "She's in the shower, in my shower, right behind the door…" he mumbles, temporarily forgetting a good portion of the day when faced with the prospect of a naked ex-cheerleader in his apartment.

There is the squeak of the shower handles as the shower shuts off again. It's quiet for a long moment before the bathroom door opens to let out a now clean Claire. Hair still dripping slightly from the shower, it clings to face and neck. Her hands fumble with the waist of the sweats, folding them and then rolling the waist so that it fits better there. "Your right these things are huge," she muses softly, glancing at him with a sheepish smile.

"I think I understand why you freaked out when I took a shower the other day." Magnes says with clear uneasiness in his voice, practically going into puberty at the sight of wet-hair-Claire. "I, uh, there's probably better fitting stuff in the other room…"

"I can make these fit." Claire murmurs, trying not to blush a bit. "Most of the stuff in there is not made for sleeping in." Waist taken care of, she moves on to the sleeves, taking a moment to comb hair out of her face. "Is it okay if I crash here?" She asks a bit hesitantly. "It's so late and all."

"Well I'm certainly not gonna say no." Magnes answers with a slight snicker, untying his sneakers as he tosses them into the pile with his shirt, then stands up and heads for the sword, cracking his knuckles. "I'm gonna shower too, you can watch TV, or one of my movies or something."

"Still polite to asks." She comments as she watches him head in for a shower as well. Claire glances at the TV and considers, but instead she moves to sprawl out on his bed with a deep relaxing sigh. "God what a night." She lifts her hands and looks over the newly healed skin, smooth and unmarred. It hurt to get burned, but not as bad as most people would think. Letting the hands drop again, she turns her head slightly to glance at the bathroom door.

"Still polite to asks." She comments as she watches him head in for a shower as well. Claire glances at the TV and considers, but instead she moves to sprawl out on his bed with a deep relaxing sigh. "God what a night." She lifts her hands and looks over the newly healed skin, smooth and unmarred. It hurt to get burned, but not as bad as most people would think. Letting the hands drop again, she turns her head slightly to glance at the bathroom door.

He stays in there for quite a while, around twenty minutes or so, but when he comes out he's wearing his Squirrel Girl t-shirt and baggy blue jeans. One wonders if he sleeps in blue jeans all the time or just when Claire is there, but, who knows. Magnes heads over to the bed and sits next to her, his short damp hair sticking against his forehead as he lstares down at her. "So, uh, there was a guy there tonight. He did this big purple hole thing. It was so strange, I could feel it, it was like, gravity. It was sucking gravity itself into it, it was the most strange thing I've ever felt…"

When he sits on the edge of the bed, Claire curls onto her side and tucks the pillow better under her cheek so that she can turn her head enough to look at him. Stifling a yawn, she nods a bit. "Yeah. I almost got sucked into that hole.. Luckily it closed before I got to it. All of tonight was just… weird and just a huge mess." She sighs softly.

Magnes slides into bed next to her, pulling the covers up as he faces her too, not bothering with the pillow. "I feel like I should be out there with you for this stuff, to protect you. And uh, I have something to say, and you might not like it. See, uh, I had a talk, with Gabriel. And uh, he sort've put my life in perspective and… made me feel better. I haven't been very stressed at all since I spoke to him. Does that bother you?"

A variety of emotions cross Claire's face before she settles on looking rather unhappy. "You talked to Sylar?" Her tone is flat and filled with her irritation at the idea.

"Yeah, but it was mostly a business thing at first. But then, like, he told me things, and he understood a lot of what I was going through, made me understand myself a little more, I guess. Please don't be angry, I know he's dangerous, I'm being cautious, and I know a lot about how to keep him under control." Magnes explains, moving a hand to rest on her cheek, that he partially escapes to be smacked away. "He told me that somehow he found out stuff about the future, that me and him become partners in SCOUT. Like, at some point I hit rock bottom, but he has his life together, and he helps me into the group. He says the future's likely changed, but, I just thought it was interesting."

Even as he explains, Claire does not look happy at all about it. Brows dropping a bit more. "Sylar will never not be dangerous. He wanted to kill me for my ability, I'll never be able to forgive him for the friends and family he killed and hurt along the way."

"I know that, Claire, god, you're my girlfriend, you think I don't think about the fact that he tried to kill you? But don't you think it's best that I'm friends with one of the most dangerous men on the planet, learning things about him, than just being in the dark and having the guy wander around doing god knows what? I have the guy's freakin' phone number. Any time I want I can call him up and toss him into the sky if he ever becomes a problem again." Magnes elaborates on his motives, sitting up in the bed to lay back against the wall. "I want to make Gabriel into someone who does good for the world. He may never be able to make up for anything he's done, but if in the future he really does become a force for good, how can I give up on that?"

Rolling up on her her hands and knees, leaning forward some Claire glares at him, "No.. I don't think it's best. All it takes is for his ability to take him over and your dead… giving him a powerful ability. He'll slice off the top of your skull and do whatever sick thing it is he does." Her face softens some. "I don't want that to happen to you."

"Claire…" Magnes reaches behind her neck, leaning in to press his forehead to her's. "If you really want me to stop, if you never want me to go near him again, I won't. I have my beliefs about him, but like I said, you come first, so, you say the word and it's over with him."

Her eyes close as forehead touch, Claire's face still one of worry and irritation. "I don't trust him not to hurt you or kill you." Claire murmurs, eyes opening and straining to look at him with their foreheads touching. "It's safer for you not to be around him. You couldn't survive him, if he wants it.. he'll take it with no remorse."

"I've been trying not to use my ability around him, I don't wanna tempt him, but now the news is talking about me like I'm freakin' Superman… So maybe you're right." Magnes releases her neck, giving her a small peck on the lips. "Alright, I won't see him again if I can avoid it, I promise, Claire." Then, trying to get her mind on something else, he says, "But I think I know what I wanna do with my life."

"Thank you." Claire visibly relaxes as he makes that promise, moving to leans back to where she's kneeling on the bed, hands resting on her thighs. "What do you want to do with your life?" She looks curious to see what he has to say. She moves to lay on her stomach, the hem of the sweatshirt riding up slightly. Her arms curl around a pillow and tucks it against her chest as she looks up at him.

"Well, you saw the stuff with me in Chinatown, right? And then FRONTLINE came. It was like, amazing. They're doing the things I get in trouble for. The NYPD wants to fire me because I'm bad PR or whatever, but I'm out there risking my life and stuff. But FRONTLINE, they're doing everything I am, it's their job, not to mention they have full body armor so they aren't exactly gonna get shot…" Magnes says the last part in a rather playful tone, moving a hand down to rest on her head. "I wanna talk to a FRONTLINE member, I wanna find out how to join. I think that's what I should be doing…"

"You are a bullet magnet."Claire teases, leaning over to nudge at his leg, while grinning up at him. "So that would be a plus." She purses her lips thoughtfully. "It is a government thing my dad put into place… But I dunno." She gives a little shrug of her shoulders, "Wouldn't hurt to check I guess."

"If it turns out to be unethical, I can always leave, I mean, I left a secret government organization already, so leaving a public one can't be all that hard. And it's better than going out there being a vigilante." Magnes shrugs, sliding under the covers, then closer to her as his hand slinks around to the edge of her shirt. "Hey, if I slide my hand up your shirt, are you gonna punch me in the face?" he asks, cheeks slightly red, because it's clear what he's asking.

"It's a military thing. I don't think they would let you out so easily." Claire notes, while he slides down again. Shifting onto her side, she freezes at his question. She swallows slightly suddenly very aware what he's asking, her cheeks turning pink. "I….. depends on what you plan to do with that hand," she jokes, clearly nervous. At least it's not a 'no'.

Magnes leans in for another peck, smiling, a little more confident when he notices her own uneasiness. "Well, how about we just see where it goes?" His hand, or the situation, he doesn't elaborate, but he's not pushing it, simply throwing it out there.

Licking her lips, Claire looks uncertain as she really considers this, though there is a light trembling under his fingers where they rest against her skin. Her hand moves to rest lightly against his chest as he leans in for that kiss. When he leans away again Claire can't help by smile a bit, "Yeah, I'm curious to see where it goes, too."

By morning, they're actually not floating, the blanket tucked into the sides of the bed keeps him firmly planted, though considering one arm is draped over her waist and his head is laying against her abdomen, she'll find her hair is suffering from a loss of gravity. He's sleeping quite soundly, since a guy who usually floats would have to be a hard sleeper.

Her head rolls one way and then the other, before her eyes slowly open and then squint against the bright light of the afternoon. It takes a moment to realize that she's seeing the light through a screen of hair. Reaching up she to try to brush the hair aside, gathering it up in her hand and twisting it before tucking it under her head. Then she reaches down to brush a hand across his hair and rest it there. Her eyes drift close again as she actually ponders drifting back to sleep again, it's just too peaceful at the moment.

"Claire…" Magnes mumbles from her stomach, though it's hard to tell if he's awake yet, he does press his face a bit closer. "Good morning." he says, confirming his awakeness. His eyes aren't open, and he doesn't seem to be in a rush to get up. "That was third base, right?" He grins, not needing to open his eyes to know the reaction her cheeks will likely have. He's just teasing.

Claire's cheeks warm up with a blush at the question and she doesn't answer the question. She's pretty sure he knows the answer to that and doesn't need to hear the agreement from her. "Morning." She turns her head to look at the clock.. "Or more like good afternoon." She lets her head drop back to the pillow again with a small smile.

Magnes crawls up so he's eye level with her, then reaches over on the floor for his shirt. "I think I've got my head together for the first time in a while. Today I'm gonna see about FRONTLINE. But first, I'm gonna spend some time with you. Just us, alright? I'm gonna go downstairs and make you breakfast on the back room stove, that's what we use for private stuff. Then we're gonna go on a date."

"Breakfast sound great." Claire admits with a chuckle, brushing his cheek with the back of her fingers of one hand. "But a date is not happening till I go home and get some proper clothes." She lifts her head to kiss him softly. Her head drops back to the pillow and she adds,"But I would definitely like to go out with you this evening after you talk to someone in FRONTLINE."

Magnes leans in for another quick kiss, sliding his shirt on before making his way out of bed, buttoning his pants and slipping his feet into his sneakers. "Anything in particular you want me to make?"

Pushing herself up to sit with her back against the wall, Claire uses both hands to push hair behind her ears and smiles sheepishly. "Just surprise me, Magnes. All I know is I'm hungry, probably from all that healing I did yesterday." She rests her cheek against her knee, watching him straighten his clothing.

"I'll be back. Find something on TV, I'll be up in about a half hour." Magnes smiles back at her, then he's out the door, heading down the steps. She can already smell pizza rising from below, unlike when she comes in the middle of the night when the ovens are off.


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