Title: Sylar and Gabriel

Rating: T (for mentions of violence and murder)

Summary: "Sylar was different when he was around Claire. He was Gabriel. Still, once Claire was out of sight and gone for the moment, Sylar crept back in." A study on how his character has two sides. Gabriel and Sylar. Who will win? Sylaire. Ficlet

A/n: OK, for legal purposes, Claire is 18 in this fic. xD And this is totally AU, I'm not really sure when it is set. I just had the idea, so I wrote it on a whim. Enjoy!

Sylar was different when he was around Claire. He was softer, gentler…he was human. Not only was he human, but he was Gabriel. Ever since he had become Sylar, bit after bit of Gabriel Gray had been stripped away, until there was almost nothing left. With every cold, heartless murder of men and women, another piece of the old him died. He became more and more evil, and less and less that quiet watchmaker that he used to be. The hunger for murder was incredible, the power he gained…amazing. So he never ignored the need that had been burned into him. He couldn't control it…he didn't want to at times.

That is, until he met Claire. Until he saw that he could still be loved, even as the wretched creature he had become. All of his life, all he ever wanted was to be special. No, it wasn't even that. He wanted to be loved, cherished, as if were already special for just being him. That was something he never got. Not from his mother especially, not even his friends…until he met Claire. Then for the first time, he knew what it felt like to be considered special, simply for being himself, and not for what he could do…for what he had done, because God knows that he wouldn't be loved for that. But for some reason, she did love him.

Still, once Claire was out of sight and gone for the moment, Sylar crept back in. It would be as if a shadow passed over him, and all of a sudden, the feelings of peace, happiness, love, would disappear from his heart and mind, and the incessant hunger would be back.

The thing was…now he wanted to control it. For her, for Claire, he didn't want to be this monster of a man, he wanted to be Gabriel. It was like Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde all over again. He was constantly changing. It was as if Sylar actually controlled him, was him, to a certain degree, and Gabriel was another part all together. He remembered back when they had first recognized their care for each other.

He could tell that she was repulsed by her feelings, yet drawn to him nonetheless. He, on the other hand, was relieved. He was relieved that the caring, human part of him still existed, and had been only buried deep into his heart, and not destroyed forever. Claire had tried to deny it, even he denied it, not wanting to one day be overcome by the hunger that had once consumed him for her power, and destroy what he was growing to love. Alas, it had been for nothing. They hadn't been able to hide how they felt for long. He had made himself who he was, but Claire was helping him with who he would become. He even found himself wishing that one day, Sylar's grasp would be gone from him, and Gabriel would once again take over.

…But he knew that it wouldn't happen.

He knew that Sylar was more powerful, he knew that one day, Gabriel would lose their games for good.

He knew it the night he watched her sleep in her bedroom, unbeknownst to anyone…the night that for the first time in so long, he felt that hunger for not her as a person, but for what she possessed, for her power. His fingers trembled, his breath shook, and his thoughts screamed in his head, telling himself to stop. That he loved her, to leave and never come back, for fear of hurting her…Still, he couldn't seem to stop himself, he couldn't let go of the need that had suddenly become so incredibly powerful and strong.

He slowly moved closer to the bed, his hand raised, shaking, as the Gabriel in him seemed to beg Sylar to stop. He fought with feelings, emotions, but the need for her power was like an addiction, like a drug, and he needed a fix. He got even closer to her, barely able to stop himself, almost letting go, when her eyes shot open, and filled with fear, and then relief when she saw tha tit was him.

"Gabriel?"

"No." He said softly, his voice shaking slightly, tears shimmering in his eyes, and finally the last of the old him seemed to burn away. "My name is Sylar."

The End

A/n: OK, I hope that wasn't too horrible. I just had this weird inspiration to write this and ran with it. I really hope to get 5-10 reviews for this one, so I'd LOVE feedback! I've only written one other Heroes fic, which is for Sylar as well, called 'Making Up For Mistakes Made'. Please r&r if you liked this one!