Title: Reason
Author: Harikari
Pairing: Sylar/Mohinder
Rating: NC-17 (Eventually)
Disclaimer: Don't own em'.
Warnings: Underage pre-slash/friendship (nothing graphic), eventual slash (very graphic), violence, angst, fluff, gore, strong language, AU, Sylar and Mohinder as kids/teenagers/adults, possible major spoilers for volumes 1 and 2, etc.
AN: This is an AU fic.  It's basically the result of me asking myself if there is any universe/situation in which Mohinder could forgive Sylar for the horrible things he does (I'm still not quite sure on the answer, hopefully it'll come with the last chapters...). And, yeah, the result of me wanting to 'see' Mohinder and Sylar grow up together.

Summary: In 1985 Mohinder's father moved his family to New York. In New York Mohinder met Gabriel Gray, a quiet boy with a dark secret. A very dangerous boy who very quickly developed an unhealthy attachment to Mohinder, a boy who was willing to do anything to keep Mohinder safe...

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Reason n. 1. an explanation or justification of an act, idea, etc. 2. a sound mind; sanity. 


Part One 


It all started on a Wednesday morning.

Mohinder was sitting on the couch in front of the television (the game show The Price Is Right was on, a young woman had just dominated at plinko and was jumping up and down and screaming, ecstatic). He was sitting on the very edge of the lumpy sofa, swinging his legs; the heels of his sandals were making a thump sound every time they bumped the piece of furniture.

His father was at work. His mother was bustling around the cubic apartment, dusting and muttering and shooting harried looks at the boxes scattered across the small living room's carpet. "Why don't you..." she started in Tamil, then trailed off. Mohinder tore his gaze away from the television's screen to stare at her.

She looked...different. Her eyes were dull, her posture was somewhat slumped, the expression on her face was sad and angry all at the same time. She noticed he was looking at her and lifted one half of her mouth in a smile. "Mohinder. No more TV. Why don't you go play?" This time she spoke in English and her eyes slid to the large window behind the television. Mohinder followed his mother's gaze. The window's blinds were pulled up and he could clearly make out the square expanse of grass and asphalt, surrounded by sidewalk, that their building sat directly across from. A park. A really horrible park with no play equipment and dry grass and hardly any kids.

"But-" he started, because he really didn't want to do what his mother was asking him to do. He wanted to stay inside and watch game shows and soap operas that he didn't quite get and avoid having to think about the fact that he was really, actually in the United States. That he was in New York. That he was very, very far away from home and friends and everything and anything that mattered.

"Mohinder. You'll be fine. I will watch you from here, I'll be able to see you through the window. And you need to get out. We've been here almost two weeks and you've only been out of the house a few times, and only to shop with me." She placed the feather duster she'd been using on top of the television and stepped close to her son, bent at the waist a little and slid her arms around his narrow shoulders before pulling him into an awkward hug. "Maybe you'll meet some friends."

"Fine," he relented. "I'll go to the park."

His mother smiled. "Just for a little while. And I'll be watching you. Still....be careful." And then she let him go.

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Mohinder looked left, then right. When he saw there was no traffic he sprinted across the street, away from his new apartment building.  His new home.

He froze when he hit the sidewalk that lined the park, stood staring at the stretch of green and gray before him. Except for a group of teenagers shouting and throwing a basketball around the court and a boy who looked about his age sitting under a large tree the park was empty.

Mohinder bit at his lip. He looked from the teenagers to the lone boy; headed for the large tree.

"Hello," he said once he had reached the spread of shade the tree provided.

The boy was eating an apple, watching the gaggle of teens and their game. He jumped at Mohinder's greeting, coughed.

"Oh. I'm sorry," said Mohinder. He felt suddenly nervous.  Smiled.

The boy with the apple looked up at him. There was a moment of deep silence, a moment during which the boy with the apple gazed into Mohinder's dark eyes. The boy seemed a little surprised at the sight before him, a little stunned. "Hey," came the reply.

Mohinder's nervous smile turned into a grin. He dropped down onto the grass beside the boy. "Hi. I'm Mohinder."

The boy nodded and launched the apple (now just a core) at a trash can that was sitting behind them, a little less than ten feet away, and missed. He made a face, a dramatic twist of his features into something intense and angry, then turned back to his new companion. "I'm Gabriel."  


Part Two