Disclaimer: Heroes was created by Tim Kring and shown on NBC - I don't own any of it or the characters. Situations in this story are totally fictional and should not be seen to promote any sort of behaviour.

Story Title: Desiring The Impossible

Author: Keira-House M.D.

Pairings: Claire/Peter

Summary: It's one of those things nobody ever talks about … one of those things they'd never act on … one of those things that will always be there, no matter what anyone says. Claire/Peter - AU after season 1

Important Information: My OTP for Heroes is Claire/Sylar but I adore the friendship between Claire and Peter. This fic deals with what I see as blatant sexual tension and flirting when Claire and Peter first met, before they know they're related, and the consequences when they discover Nathan is Claire's father. Also, go to the top of my profile to find a link for banners for each of my fics.

"You're totally my hero."

She had him at those words … no, to be honest she had him the minute they bumped into each other, with her sad little smile, sweet demeanour and the fact that she didn't seem self-absorbed like every other cheerleader he'd ever met.

"I'm just a cheerleader."

Except she wasn't just anything, she was the girl who'd saved him from the farce of an existence he'd had before and given him a purpose. She was the one who always understood him and made the world a little brighter with just a word or a look.

That one night, when they'd escaped Sylar together and she'd saved his life by just being there with her power, they had formed a bond that would last a lifetime (or many lifetimes in their case).

When Claude had pushed him off the building, all he'd thought about was her face and it was that memory that allowed him to heal himself.

When he found out that she was his niece, he couldn't help but curse inside at the evil twist of fate.

Because she still had that sweet, sad smile that brightened when she pulled the glass shard out of his head and told him they were even.

When his mother suggested it was better that she go off to France he felt like tearing her head off because only his mother could be so interfering and annoying and still make it sound like she was trying to do the best thing and keep Claire safe.

But in the end he'd persuaded Claire to stay and he'd given her the gun and it had felt like it might have been their last moment together. He'd felt a sudden urge to kiss her but he didn't because she was his niece and it was wrong.

Then there had been a flurry of activity as Hiro had managed to (temporarily) kill Sylar and Peter had realised he was the one who was going to explode.

It had been Claire who had finally made Nathan see that the whole of New York blowing up would not be a necessary thing as Angela seemed to think and he'd flown Peter up into the clouds to explode in solitude and away from the bustling city full of people.

Nathan had been disfigured by burns and had almost died, but a bit of Claire's blood had fixed him up and everyone's relief had been evident, or so he had been told for he hadn't been there.

Somehow the explosion had sent him to Australia where he'd healed thanks to Claire's power but unfortunately sustained some temporary memory loss. It took him five months to remember everything and as soon as he realised who he was he was on a plane back home.

He didn't tell anyone he was coming - it would have been difficult to anyway because his phone was fried and even though he has his memory back completely he had always been useless at remembering phone numbers. So he just decided to surprise everyone.

Claire was the first one he saw and she'd just dropped the glass in her hand, stared at him for what seemed like forever and then jumped into his arms, sobbing and hugging and kissing his cheek.

He knew then that he was doomed but he would never do anything about it because it was, is, wrong and he couldn't bring that darkness into the life of someone as pure and bright as Claire.

Claire kissed him properly once, only once.

They'd kissed before, in a familial and friendly way. He kissed her forehead or head, she pecked him on the cheek. They did it all the time because they're so close that when they're around each then they are almost always touching (a lifeline for each other).

But once, she kissed him in a way that couldn't be termed familial in any way, shape or form.

She loved it and hated it at the same time because she'd never do it again.

They'd kicked the staff out of the huge kitchen in the Petrelli Mansion and they were baking some of Claire's famous cupcakes together.

Well, she was baking them and Peter was stealing bits of icing and sugary decorations (it's strange how childish he tends to act with her when he's so serious most of the time, but she enjoys it too).

Claire had flour on her cheek and Peter brushed it off in a manner similar to what he did whenever she was feeling down, and his skin was warm against hers and she just couldn't help but kiss him.

It wasn't the first kiss she'd had but it was by far the best because it wasn't teenage hormones fuelling it but true, unbreakable love.

It was everything she'd ever wanted in a kiss and she cried when it was over.

Peter told her he understood and when she looked in his eyes she knew he was telling the truth because she knew that what she felt for him, he felt for her, even though they both knew they could never act on it.

So they went back to the way they were before - he showed her all the sites in New York, she taught him how to bake cupcakes without burning them and they watched movies together in an attempt to educate each other (but no matter what Claire said, Peter maintained that he would never like Titanic … even if she did catch him almost tearing up at the ending).

They were family and that was all they'd ever be … but there was always an undertone between them, one people could only faintly detect, that reminded them of how much they loved each other … but it was never more, it never could be.

Nathan loved throwing parties, or rather Heidi loved throwing them, while Nathan and Angela loved the connections they could make. However, they decided to throw an annual Christmas party just for the heroes (and friends like Claire's adoptive family), and it was the one time of the year that Nathan opened his doors without an ulterior motive.

It's good for them all to get together because they're often so busy saving the world that they don't see one another nearly as often as they wish:

Peter continued with his nursing and was a superhero on the side (multiple powers were very helpful in multi-tasking).

Claire donated blood as often as was safe (for use on dire cases only, often children with incurable diseases) and counselled those with out of control powers because she could get close to them without being hurt.

Nathan carried on along his political road with help from Angela, promoting the interests of 'specials', though only when it was beneficial for him (sometimes it seemed like he was a politician before a special).

Mohinder worked in his lab, Matt at the police force, Molly helped track missing people, Hiro … well no one was quite sure what Hiro got up to and the others did their daily jobs with a little hero work on the side.

The problem with these parties was that bringing so many super-powered people together was bound to lead to trouble, and year after year, something always happened.

There was the time that Angela, of all people, got drunk and actually told each of her family members that she loved them - in a way that sounded like she actually meant it (none of them had ever really recovered from that shock). Then one time Micah accidentally set the electronics in the house haywire and they all had to sit in the dark and stay away from the TVs too because they were shooting sparks) for half an hour while he got it under control. Most of the time it was amusing, but occasionally something serious happened.

The most memorable thing was probably the one everyone tried to forget the most; Molly, then aged thirteen, had innocently asked Claire how long she and Peter had been dating.

There was nothing accusatory in her tone, it was the first time Molly had been able to go to the party (she had been otherwise busy before) and she was unaware of the relation between Claire and Peter (no one had thought to tell her and they really looked nothing alike, Claire got most of her features and her long blonde hair from her biological mother).

The silence was followed would forever go down in heroes history as quite possibly the most awkward ever witnessed, and as Matt and Mohinder pulled Molly aside to explain the niece-uncle relationship between Claire and Peter, Nathan's eyes widened, Angela closed her eyes in annoyance and everyone else tried to act as if they weren't watching.

To be honest, Molly could have been forgiven for thinking that Claire and Peter were dating because, when she'd asked her question, they'd been sitting laughing together while one of his hands gripped one of hers tightly.

This was not an unusual occurrence and most of the group of heroes knew that, aside from the times Peter was at work or Claire was at college, one would always be where the other was.

Claire lived permanently at the Petrelli Mansion with Peter, Nathan, Angela, Heidi and both Simon and Monty (when they weren't away at school), but considering how busy with politics both Nathan and Angela were, the only ones often around aside from her were Peter and Heidi. She liked the latter, and Heidi had always tried to make her feel welcome, but there was also a barrier between them because Claire would always be the illegitimate daughter who was unnaturally close to her uncle.

So that left Peter and their relationship had blossomed since the narrowly prevented destruction of New York city. She'd never completely got over the hero worship, after all he had saved her life from Sylar, but after a while it made up such a small proportion of her feelings for him that it was unnoticed almost completely.

Because Peter wasn't just a hero to her, he was a friend, the only person she could truly trust, the one who could always make her laugh and the one she loved more than anyone else.

They did everything together and no one ever discussed the strangeness of a sixteen year old girl and her twenty-six year old uncle going out all the time, not even when it continued as the years passed. Nathan often seemed to want to say something, but he never thought too much of it, Angela had a knowing look but never spoke, Heidi didn't feel it to be her place to get involved but occasionally looked disapproving and Noah disliked the whole idea of Claire living with her biological family but never said anything because he seemed to sort of like Peter (who had, after all, saved Claire's life).

Life after the Kirby-Plaza-Almost-Exploding-All-Of-New-York incident was fairly dull for the most part. Sylar had disappeared and while he eventually cropped up in south America he didn't seem to be killing all that much and went all over the world searching for powers, though he never came near north America.

Occasionally, a group of the heroes set out in an attempt to find and capture him - Claire always asked to go and was never allowed thanks to the combined forces of Peter, Nathan and Noah - but they never could catch him.

Claire, while not happy about the people dying, was pleased that she didn't have to see Sylar, who scared her more than she would ever admit to anyone except Peter, who knew all her secrets.

But overall, aside from their powers they could almost act like a normal group of family and friends. Neither Claire nor Peter wanted to break the group and this, as well as the fact that it was wrong, prevented them ever acting on their feelings.

But then of course, Molly made an innocent mistake and any sense of 'we know its there but they don't act on it so we won't say anything' went out of the window.

At Molly's words, both Claire and Peter had gone pale, and as Nathan began to look like he would explode, tears trickled down Claire's cheeks and she pushed her chair abruptly back before disappearing through a side door.

Peter, after only a few seconds of hesitation, shoved his chair back even more violently and went after her with a determined but slightly sorrowful look on his face. Nathan looked ready to drag his brother back, muttering about propriety and incestual implications, but Angela kept him back with just a look.

"Let him go after her," said Angela sternly, "he's the only one who can calm her down and they both need this. I've seen it in my dreams and you needn't worry because they'll never do anything, despite what they might feel."

Nathan looked like he was about to protest but his mother glared at him and so he sullenly remained where he was. Angela left to talk to Matt Parkman and Nathan found himself accosted by Micah Sanders.

Micah had become much more acquainted with both Peter and Claire than Molly and so he knew all about their uncle-niece relationship and also, thanks to his observance, about the love they refused to act on.

"Don't worry Mr Petrelli," he said solemnly, "Peter will cheer Claire up and everything will be fine soon. You just have to remember how hard it is for them. They'll both live forever and the only ones they'll have are each other. Neither of them are ever gonna have a real romantic relationship unless they find someone else with Claire's power so they're allowed to be sad occasionally. They won't ever do anything, they're just too good for that, but don't say anything to ruin their friendship because its all they have left."

Micah smiled slightly and headed back towards his mother as Nathan stared slightly blankly at the teenage electronics genius. The difficulties of the boy's life had made him more mature than most his age, except perhaps Molly, and he gave pretty good advice. Not that Nathan would admit that he needed help from a teenager to make sense (and come to terms with) his brother and daughter's messed-up, strange, slightly dodgy relationship.

Claire appeared about ten minutes after her exit, slightly red eyes the only betrayal of previous tears, and gripping onto Peter's hand like a lifeline. Both acted as if nothing had happened and chatted with friends who tried not to seem too uncomfortable with the scene that had played out not minutes ago.

The rest of the party was perfectly normal (or as normal as a 'special' party could be) but the insinuations about Peter and Claire clouded it to its end and most people seemed decidedly happy when it was over.

The next year, and the year after that, and so on, there was never another mention of Peter and Claire's confusing relationship. Though as the years went by and new heroes joined the group, they were always briefed generally about the uncle and niece pair, and advised not to say anything about the unusually close relationship.

The two were partners in every mission they took on behalf of the heroes - this was mostly because her family were terribly overprotective of Claire and only agreed to active field work for her if she was partnered with Peter, whose powers were only matched by Sylar (who had thankfully slowed down his killing spree after a small incident in which he'd sliced Claire's head open to take her power, let her heal, and then spent the next fifty years on the run from a severely pissed off Peter).

After about two hundred years on earth, Sylar was not quite an enemy and not quite a friend, for it would take a long time before either Claire or Peter could forgive what he had done, but there was hope and that was what counted.

Claire had always envisioned having a family eventually, and while that desire had been dampened for a while by seeing how Noah's lies destroyed his marriage and how the Petrelli's seemed to have a dozen skeletons in every one of their many closets, it was still there.

Both Claire and Peter were quite sure they'd never love another as much as they loved each other, but they knew relationships, even marriage, and a family of their own might be possible for them eventually, even if it hadn't turned up yet - they had eternity after all.

It hurt less too, loving each other, for the years taught them the art of compromise in their relationship - they held hands in a gesture that could be seen as much in a familial way as a romantic one, and they kissed head, cheek, forehead (but never lips). They had their own friends (though with their immortality, the groups could never last too long) and they had brief flings with other people, special and normal alike. They found a way to live without each other, though they were always together.

They were happy - they were not together, for they'd always known that would never be - still, they were happier than they'd been before because no matter what happened they still had each other, they still loved each other and they had a purpose in life.

Save the cheerleader, save the world

Claire always thought it was a stupid phrase - she'd never considered herself important enough to affect the world. Years later Peter told her what he thought it really meant.

"It was a message for me Claire, specifically for me to save you. I'm sure others could have found a way but it was me because in saving you, we were able to know each other, to form a bond. I might have blown up, but your words to Nathan got him to fly me up and save New York. Then with all my powers, I could have lost it multiple times over the years, but you always stopped me by just being you. So in saving the cheerleader, I did save the world, but I saved me too, and I'll never forget that you did that."

So not quite as stupid as she'd thought, and in the end she was rather glad for that one sentence, because it brought Peter to her and together, she felt they could do anything. He was her biggest sorrow and greatest love - he made her feel alive and loved and cared for. In the end it didn't matter that it couldn't be romantic, because she eventually worked out that she didn't need that kind of love from him, since she would always have him anyway, no matter what.

For ever and eternity.

I'm still not quite sure what to think of this. It'll probably be my only Claire/Peter, though any Claire/Sylar fics I do will have plenty of Claire and Peter friendship/family. It didn't come out quite as I had it planned out in my head but I'm still quite fond of it. Constructive criticism and reviews are extremely welcome but if you don't like the slight incest implications then please don't flame because this is an entirely fictional situation and I'm not trying to promote any sort of behaviour, I am only responding to the sexual tension I believe was between the two BEFORE we knew they were related. After all, it would be a bit wierd to meet an uncle you never knew you had when you were sixteen and he was about twenty-six and be expected to have a normal uncle-niece relationship.

Anway, I'm babbling so thanks for reading. Feel free to check my other fics out: though there are no more Heroes ones at the moment, I have some Harry Potter, House M.D., X-Men and Primeval ones.