Disclaimer: I do not own Heroes or its characters.

3

"'Till death do we part, Elle."

Their marriage vow.

Elle wrapped a blanket around herself and sat numbly on the couch, keeping her eyes on the door. She'd never expected it to become so cold without Gabriel's presence. She'd thought it would be freeing…she'd thought she would be running away from misery.

Now she only wanted to curl up against him. She would tell him everything. She would tell him that she loved him. She would tell him that she was jealous because one day she wouldn't be perfect anymore and then some other woman would steal his heart. She would tell him that she wanted to grow old with him. She would ask Gabriel to fix her—she didn't know how, but Gabriel was the most powerful man; he could fix everything. He could fix her heartache.

And there she'd thought she had matured and toughened up over the years…perhaps she had, for Noah. Noah had grown up to be everything she wanted him to be. Strong, resilient, independent, and happy. But despite everything, she was still the same insecure, needy Elle. She just wanted her Gabriel.

Was he really going to kill a telepath? Elle gulped and felt a chill roll down her spine. Gabriel had stopped killing many years ago. He hadn't done that for Elle, because she'd never asked him to. She had fallen for the sweet watchmaker, only then became captivated by the forceful serial killer.

She loved them both, for both of them were the building blocks that completed her husband. It had made her heart flutter to see a hint of Sylar today, somewhere buried under the careful mask of Gabriel.

Now that Noah had grown up without a demon dancing on his shoulder, would Gabriel revert to his old ways?

With her mind full of Gabriel and Sylar, Elle eventually fell asleep.

X X X

Elle stirred when she heard the lock turn. She woke up with a start and saw Gabriel walk in. He looked tired.

"Hey." Gabriel set down the keys on the table.

Elle's heart squeezed at the sight of him. She ran to him and hugged him tight. "Gabriel, I-I—" she stopped and frowned. Gabriel smelled like perfume. It actually smelled familiar.

"Uh…did you…" Elle trailed off, a bit puzzled.

"Did I kill a telepath? No. I was going to track one down, but…" Gabriel said in a low voice, his expression unreadable. "I went to Claire's."

A chill spread through Elle's chest and she took a step back, and then something caught her eyes. The sight of a red stain on the collar of his white T-shirt was enough to make her blood boil. She would have preferred blood on his shirt—but it was lipstick.

Claire's perfume. Claire's lipstick. He hadn't even bothered covering up his betrayal.

"You…" Elle shook with rage. Why did this hurt so much? It felt like he had killed her all over again. At least last time he'd had the mercy to actually kill her. But this time…she was not sure if the pain would go away.

First he fucked her then he killed her then he knocked her up and married her, now he cheated on her.

Her hands crackled with electricity and the lights in the house started blinking.

Gabriel glanced at the flickering lights then looked at her patronizingly. "Elle, stop."

"Shut up. Shut up," Elle said through gritted teeth. She shot a bolt of electricity at him.

Gabriel ducked and the electricity destroyed the glass cabinet behind him.

He lifted his hand and held Elle in place. "I said stop it!" He snapped.

Elle struggled to move. Great. Now he wouldn't even let her zap him. "You asshole! What're you going to tell Noah, huh? That you cheated on his mom with a 16-year-old cheerleader? You're fucking disgusting, Gabriel Gray!" She shouted as tears spilled down her face.

"What?!" Gabriel scowled, anger colouring his tone. "Don't you dare drag Noah into this. And Claire isn't even 16, and I—" He threw his hands up in annoyance. "Why does it even matter, Elle? You want a divorce. What do you care?"

"Why does it matter?!" Elle repeated, totally enraged. Realizing she could move now, she formed a ball of electricity in her hand and strode towards Gabriel threateningly.

Gabriel eyed her hand and warned, "Don't think I won't zap you back."

Elle clenched her teeth and closed her hand into a fist, and she punched him in the face.

"Ouch!" Gabriel fell back onto the couch, pressing his sore cheekbone with his hand. He was starting to think that Claire was an idiot and this plan was not going to work after all. He should have gone with killing the telepath.

"You don't even have the decency to wait till we're actually divorced?" Elle demanded, clutching her sore hand. "You just couldn't wait to get your hands on the immortal girl. You son of a bitch!" She tried to land a blow again.

Immortal girl?!

All of a sudden everything clicked, all the pieces fit together and it made perfect sense now. Gabriel grasped her wrist. "This is what it's about. Immortal. You're mad because I'm immortal."

"I'm mad because you're a fucking cheater!" Elle hissed and tried to pull her hand back. "Let go of me!"

"Elle, listen to me—"

"Let go! You fucking bastard!"

Gabriel held both her wrists in his hands and pinned her down on the sofa. "Listen to me!" He panted and looked at her tear-streaked face, "I didn't do anything with Claire—"

"I don't even need a lie detector—" Elle said, her tone full of contempt.

"Are you listening?!" Gabriel tightened his grip impatiently. "I did not do anything with Claire. I don't even like Claire."

Elle blinked her tears away and said sarcastically, "That makes perfect sense. That's why there's lipstick and perfume on you."

Gabriel suppressed a smile. "Well, I did see Claire. I figured if I could get the truth from Claire then I wouldn't have to kill to find out. I told her about you wanting to divorce me and your crazy dream. She didn't tell me anything, but she gave me Peter's shirt with lipstick stain on it. She said I should be able to get the truth from you if I riled you up enough."

Elle stared at Gabriel, wide-eyed and stunned. Gabriel could almost hear the gears in her brain turning, processing the new information. "…You don't like Claire?"

Gabriel huffed a sigh. "No, I've never thought of her that way." He stroked her cheek. "Are we good now?"

He might have been obsessed with her power, and intrigued by how she coped with her unwanted immortality. Not to mention, extremely guilty for terrorizing her the entire time, but he was not going to go there.

Elle lowered her gaze for a moment. "Maybe you'll like her in a few hundred years."

Gabriel exhaled deeply. He didn't like to think about the endless time stretched out before him. "I don't know what's going to happen in a few hundred years. But if I had a choice, I would always choose you, Elle."

"But—"

Not wanting to hear anymore, he cupped Elle's cheek and kissed her with new found possessiveness. One day he would have to let her go, to a place he could not follow. But until then, she was his. His hand traveled down and slipped under her sweater, caressing her smooth skin.

Elle caught his hand and tried to sit up. "Gabriel…you…you don't have to do this if you…don't want to," she finished in a small voice.

Gabriel frowned, confused. "Do what?"

Elle gestured between the two of them, "…this."

Gabriel stared at her. Then he made a sliding motion with his finger, unzipping her sweater and revealing the laced bra inside. He placed her hand on his hardness and arched an eyebrow at her. "Help me understand why I wouldn't want this."

Elle frowned and sputtered, "Well…but I kept trying last week and you didn't want me."

Gabriel furrowed his brows and tried to think back to the previous week. "I told you I was tired."

"Exactly." Elle pursed her lips. "That's what men say when they aren't interested."

Gabriel rolled his eyes at her. "Yes, but that's also what men say when they are actually tired. Peter got me to help take down a special who sucked energy from the people around him. I was exhausted for the whole week."

Elle made a small "Oh."

"And I didn't tell you 'cause I didn't want you to worry," Gabriel added.

"Oh," Elle responded.

"And you were going to divorce me because of that, and your crazy dream." Gabriel shook his head incredulously.

Elle shifted her eyes away, her expression sheepish.

He grinned. "How're you going to make it up to me?"

She pounced on him like a cat. She stripped him out of Peter's stupid shirt and unbuckled his belt with her mouth, torturously slow. She giggled when Gabriel grew impatient and picked her up and pushed her back on the dining table.

She was a happy Elle, Gabriel loved her and wanted her and belonged to her.

Elle sat on Gabriel's lap contently after their lovemaking. She listened to his heartbeats as her mind wandered. "You know, Gabriel," she suddenly said, "I was jealous because someday I'll die and then somebody else will steal your heart."

Gabriel stiffened. He knew nothing of the far future, but he also knew that rash promises would do more damage than good.

"But that's okay. I want you to be happy even if I can't be there with you," she continued relaxedly.

Gabriel smiled a lopsided smile affectionately. "Didn't expect that from a sociopath."

She shocked him and earned an "Ow".

"I still wish I could grow old with you though," Elle added a little sadly.

Gabriel blinked, and then widened his eyes as a thought crossed his mind. He couldn't give her immortality. He couldn't even take away his own, but there was something that he could do.

A small smirk played on his lips as he said, "What if I could make that happen?"

Elle's head snapped up to look at him, her blue eyes large and hopeful. "You could?"

His eyes crinkled as he smiled. "What're you willing to do for that to happen?"

"Anything!" Elle blurted out without thinking.

Gabriel looked at her with amusement. "So you'll wash the dishes when it's your turn and stop seducing your way out of it?"

Elle pouted. "Fine."

"Same with laundry?" Gabriel went on.

Elle frowned. "Fine."

Gabriel had to bite back a laugh at her reluctant face. "And stop walking around naked when I'm fixing watches."

Elle's frown had turned into a glare now. "FINE."

Gabriel laughed and kissed her. "Alright, how old do you want me to look? 40? 50?" Then Elle's mouth dropped open in astonishment as Gabriel's appearance shifted. Lines appeared on his face and grey hair appeared at his temples. He looked more sophisticated, maybe 45.

Elle burst out laughing. Of course, Gabriel could shapeshift. How come she never thought of that? "Oh my God…that's genius."

She touched his face excitedly. "I know, I know. Make yourself look 70, then everybody will think you're lucky to have a hot blonde as your wife."

Gabriel scoffed. "They'll probably think you're a gold digger."

Elle giggled and poked his face. "Can you make yourself look like Orlando Bloom? I would very much like to have sex with Orlando Bloom. Oh and a young Brad Pitt. And Leonardo DiCaprio." She smiled slyly. A woman could have her fantasies.

Gabriel narrowed his eyes at her. Bad…bad girl.

"You better not call those names in bed," He growled.

Elle yelped as Gabriel picked her up and carried her upstairs. She gave him a small zap just for fun.

She really was a happy Elle.

-End-

Author's note:

I'm happy 'cause Elle's happy.

Please kindly review if you have enjoyed the read!