Dsclaimer: I do not own any of the characters featured in this fic, it's just a bit of fun, don't sue me!!

Title: Hiding from You

Summary: Nathan and Peter get into another arguement during their Mother's funeral, upset and angry Peter gets shoulder butted by Cadice but then it begins, Peter absorbs her power, shocked he runs into a near by bar and tries to figure out his new power and how him and Nathan can reconcile they're latest breakdown.

Rating(s): PG-13 (NC-17 in later chapters)

Warning(s): Bad Language and Alcohol.

Spoiler(s): Slight spoiler for episode 23 on the first series

A/N: Super thank you to karathephantom for the fic idea and being my beta.

Chapter 3

000

"Uh.. my name? Oh, my name is..."

"Shit, shit, shit! Calm down Peter, you can do this. Um... Shit!"

"Alex! My name's Alex." Peter laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck as he set his glass down.

"Nice to meet you Alex, I 'm Nathan." He offered his hand politely. He seemed sweet, in an open and kind way. But he was closed as well; something was a little off, like he enjoyed letting you think he was vulnerable. Those eyes seemed to hide something deeper and darker, like black chocolate. The type that was bittersweet and gave you that burning that made your nerves set on fire and made you crave more, and it kept jumping back to Peter, that constant tumble back to his eyes and his hair and his smell. God, Nathan couldn't get enough of the way Peter smelled of dolce and gabbana, the sweet musky tang mixed with the natural scent of Peter that he'd fatasized about tasting so many times before.

Feeling warm flesh grip against his skin, the soft feel of warmth from another's touch seemed to seep into his hand and give him a slight thrill that ran down his spine. The touch felt familar and unrequited all at the same time, and Nathan found himself slipping away from the touch, out of the sheer shock that his emotions were so vivid. But he never let it show. Keeping himself bottled was second nature, but this was strange, stranger then flying or someone coming back to life becuase something about this "Alex," called to him, seemed to call those feeling only Peter could conjure in the same fashion, through just being near him.

Taking another sip of his drink, Nathan began to relax a little more. He felt the slight burn ebb away, leaving a warm glow behind as he watched Alex down his drink quickly.

"Do you even like Vodka?" Nathan asked him with a chuckle as he watched the wince fade away from his features.

"Not really, but it does its job," he replied with a tired smile. Peter could feel it working, the soft buzz was starting to sink in and he was feeling more light hearted, the grief and pain of loss slowly becoming numb as the bartender topped him off.

"Sorry, I've had a rough day," Peter apologized. Looking at his brother, he could see why people found him attractive. Dark haired and charming, you could tell he was well-built underneath the Armani and Gucci suits that were tailor-made for him. The shark like smile and deep eyes could make any women - or man - melt on the spot, but Peter had always loved the scars on Nathan. The smooth line just under his jaw and the criss-crossed pink lines that adorned his chest alongside the round jagged shrapnel marks were all beautiful to Peter.

"I know what you mean," Nathan offered, noticing the slight glow that hummed round Alex. Maybe it was the alcohol taking effect, but he was captivated by the way Alex's light blond highlights glowed gently and his eyes grew glassy and black, like obsidian marbles framed by dark eyelashes.

"I shouldn't be so depressing, I'm supposed to be making things up to you. I just... I lost someone today, it's just been a shitty day all around." Peter sighed, running his finger around the rim of the cool glass.

"It's okay, it can't be any worse then mine. I buried my mother today, and I ended up pissing off Peter again... I try and protect him, but he's always so god damn difficult, he always has to do the big stunts and make a fool of himself. I love him, I can't stop loving him, but I want to throttle him most of the time," he finished, taking another sip of his drink and feeling slightly embarrassed at his long confession, but never letting it show.

Then he heard it the light rumble, soft and smooth like bubbling water tumbling over pebbles and rocks. That low chuckle that grew infectious, so that he found himself laughing along with the man next to him until they both ended up wiping stray tears from the corners of their eyes.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I couldn't help it. You just described the relationship I have with my brother." Really Peter was laughing at the lunacy of the situation. Nathan had never being this open with him. and hearing the way Nathan described their relationship, he was somehwat glad they agreed on the way they saw each other.

"So are you the older or younger brother?" Nathan asked catching his breath and taking another drink, running a hand through his hair before resting his elbows on the bar.

'I'm the younger brother... You?" Peter knew the answer, but it never hurt to keep up pretenses. He enjoyed this Nathan, open and conversational. Maybe this was happy, drunk Nathan, just-getting-there Nathan; whoever this Nathan was, Peter liked it, and he could already feel himself starting to forgive him. Not the forced forgiveness that so often came with siblings, but the true forgiveness, the type you only got when you had the patience to listen to the other person. Feeling the warm buzz spread and the heat grow in his cheeks, Peter knew he could watch him for hours.

"I'm the oldest," Nathan stated with a smile tipping his glass in a mock toast to his position in the family.

"Ah, the heir!" Peter joked, bowing his head, his smile growing to its full potential.

"Hey, don't even go there. It's not all it's cracked up to be, at least you're not expected to be perfect. Well, at least, Peter never was," Nathan said matter-of-factly, watching as his glass was refilled.

"Ah, yes, but there's the flaw. How do you ever feel like you're important to your parents if they never expect you to amount to anything?" Peter pointed his finger at his brother, the glass gripped with the others. The buzz intensified as liquid heat seeped into his body. He could already feel his mind clouding over, soft and slow, as he leaned on the bar.

"Bottom line is, parents suck and all they leave you with are their flaws-"

"And funeral expenses," Nathan finished for him. Both of them could feel the corners of their lips tugging and soon their soft chuckles had grown into uninhibited laughter.

Breathing heavily and facing each other now, Nathan could tell that he'd had enough to drink, but he kept his composure. He could tell "Alex" had had more than enough to drink as well; his flushed cheeks and glazed brown eyes gave it all away. But the only name he could think of as he though of this was the one he was trying to forget; the man with his eyes just pushed that name into his fogged mind.

Leaning forward, Peter could feel his limbs turn to jelly as he felt his body tip over. He felt the shock of falling, only to be jolted by a warm grasp. Tense and hard, it crushed him more than comforted. He felt warm breath over his lips; the smell of Scotch and faded coffee making him open his eyes.

"You wanna get out of here?" Nathan asked, his voice low and his warm breath ghosting over Peter's lips. It felt damp and laced with alcohol.