Shades of Gray (Part Twenty-Three)

... ONE MONTH LATER...

Elle stands in the bathroom with jeans in one hand and sweatpants in another. "Do you think it would be rude of me to wear sweatpants? My jeans don't really fit right anymore."

Sylar is brushing his hair in the mirror, and smiles. "Sweatpants are fine, sweetie. She'll understand."

"I can't believe Claire agreed to see us... She hates me. And you," Elle laughs.

Elle attempts to pull up her jeans, but fails when they get stuck on her stomach. She smiles and pulls them back off. "I was right. Jeans don't fit. God, this is weird..." She puts on her sweatpants and drapes a loose shirt over them.

"She wanted to see you... She knows what's going on between us."

She walks out into the room. "She's just curious, I guess," Sylar continues. "She's young. She has the right to be."

"You look great." Sylar drops his brush and kisses her, placing his hands on her hips. She smiles and kisses him back.

They take a taxi to a restaurant nearby, and walk in to get their table. Elle kisses Sylar's cheek before she sits down. "I'm glad she's meeting us here."

Sylar nods and smiles. "I wouldn't have let you fly, anyway."

Elle looks at the door as Claire walks in and takes off her coat. She walks over and sits down next to Elle. "Hi."

Elle smiles. "It's nice to see you, Claire."

She grins and smiles, then looks at Sylar. "Sylar..." she says in a disgusted tone. 

"Claire," he grins.

She turns back to Elle. "So, I heard you guys are... um... dating?"

"Yes. We have been for quite a while." She takes Sylar's hand and smiles.

Claire gives a grin but both Sylar and Elle can easily tell she's revolted at the thought of them dating.

"That's... great," she says. "Are you guys, like... gonna get married?"

Elle laughs. "I don't know. Maybe someday. But I doubt it."

Sylar smiles as Claire's face goes pale. A waitress walks over and smiles at everyone. "Drinks?"

"Water."

"Water."

"Um... water?" Claire says nervously.

Sylar smiles grimly at Claire and tilts his tead. "How's Peter?"

She gulps and gives a farce smile. "I think he's good."

Sylar gets the strange tingly feeling and raises his eyebrows. "What's he really up to, Claire?"

"I haven't... seen him in a while."

He tingles again, now getting angry. "Claire?" he growls. "Where's Peter?"

She pushes her chair away from the table and frowns. "I should get going. My dad's... waiting for me."

Sylar stands up angrily and stares at Claire. "I didn't need my power to know that was a lie." He leans against the table and slams his hands on top of it. Claire stands up and looks at him, terrified. Elle sits there, smiling at how angry Sylar has become.

"Tell me where he is." He uses his power of persuasion to get Claire to spill the beans.

"He's here. In New York. Looking for..." She trails off and closes her eyes. She turns to face Elle. "You. He wants you."