By Fabrisse
Series Title: Relationships
Section Title: Townie, part 3
Author: Fabrisse
Pairing: Nathan/Heidi
Rating: ADULT-EXPLICIT
Word Count: ~3400
Category: Drama
Spoilers: Pre Season 1, minor for Season 2 through Four Months Ago
Summary: Heidi comes in to Nathan's life
Warnings: Het, slash, incest
Betas: [info]snopes_faith and [info]riverfox
Notes: This came out of discussions at TwoP during the episodes Nothing to Hide and Six Months Ago about either how clueless Heidi was to the vibes between her husband and his brother or how complicit she was in the secret. Since the deleted scenes in Nothing to Hide give us Nathan at Annapolis and Angela calling Heidi a "townie" those two things have entered my personal canon. The overall story is in three parts, "Townie," "Brothers," and "Relationships." Each segment will have it's own rating, but the overall series is ADULT-EXPLICIT.
I'd like to thank [info]linaerys for giving me permission to post "Townie" even though it is predominantly a het story.
Heidi had to give Nathan points for style. Her father had just walked into her bedroom, which he had no business doing, and caught them in bed together. Nathan kissed her and handed her something to cover herself with (which turned out to be his shirt). Then he rolled over, discreetly slid on his trousers, and sat next to her on the bed holding her hand.
"This is what you get up to when your mother and I aren't home?"
Heidi glared at her father. "Did you ever think of knocking? I'm 25. Nathan and I are engaged. Sex is involved."
Nathan looked away to help keep a straight face.
"And you couldn't do better than this, this mafia person?"
"Petrelli is a northern Italian name. We were stone cutters. And somewhere there's a letter from one of my ancestors explaining to his son why he shouldn't vote for Andrew Jackson." Nathan's voice was deceptively mild.
"You stay out of this. I suppose it never occurred to you to ask me for my daughter's hand?"
"As Heidi just pointed out, she's an adult. I assume that her hand," he kissed the one he was holding, "and the rest of her, are hers to bestow."
"You aren't welcome in this house."
"Fair enough. What about the campaign? It's already common knowledge that I'm Heidi's fiance. It might look bad if I stopped participating."
"If Nathan's not part of this campaign, then I'm going back to New York with him. We can be married there in a week."
Nathan met Heidi's eyes and gave her an inner, "well played," which Heidi appreciated. They both turned and looked at her father who continued to stand and glower.
It was Nathan who broke the silence. "NYU Law School starts September 5. May I suggest a late August wedding, here, to help boost your 'family values' platform in the polls? In the meantime, my brother is coming down for the summer to volunteer on the campaign. We'll share a room at the campaign hotels."
Ned Abbott finally looked away. "When the campaign's in Annapolis, you and your brother can stay at the carriage house."
"That's very kind of you, Mr. Abbott." Nathan knew enough to be gracious in victory.
Heidi said, "Dad, never walk into my room again without knocking. I'll stay here, and that should help with the 'family values' voters. In return, you won't kick if I get in late or stay out all night occasionally."
Her father's jaw flexed, but he agreed. "Done. And now, Mr. Petrelli is leaving."
"Mr. Petrelli needs his shirt back, sir. I'll be out of here in under five minutes, I promise."
Mr. Abbott retreated and closed the door behind him.
Heidi reached over and pulled Nathan on top of her. "You could let him wait."
He kissed her quickly and said, "Better not to. It gives us more ammunition if we need it."
Heidi took off Nathan's shirt. He raked his eyes over her body. "Damn. I want to stay."
"Go. Find an hotel for tonight and Mom and I will have the carriage house ready for you and Peter tomorrow."
Nathan bent over and took one last kiss. "Thank you, sweetheart."
"Go before I chain you down."
"Promises, promises." And Nathan shut the door gently.
Nathan discovered that grooms are nearly superfluous to the wedding. Heidi was not unreasonable and having the wedding in Maryland meant that his mother's interference was reduced.
Sadly, Angela's influence was not eliminated. It would have been easier for Heidi if they'd been able to marry within their parish in Annapolis. Angela insisted on a Cathedral wedding and found a ready ally in Heidi's father. A large showy wedding would help him in the polls, and Mr. Abbott needed to make a big impression in this election -- which he was expected to lose -- in order to make his run for Senator in two years with the full support of his party.
A Cathedral wedding meant Baltimore, so Nathan and Peter ended up staying there in a furnished apartment, long enough to establish residency. A cathedral wedding also meant that the guest list would be huge and the reception a crush of strangers.
Nathan did what he could. He and Peter addressed envelopes and sorted replies. Nathan wrote the thank you letters for gifts that came from the groom's side.
Personally, Nathan was frustrated, although he and Heidi managed at least one night or afternoon a week together.
One odd advantage of Mr. Abbott disliking the idea of a wop -- and yes, he'd called Nathan that more than once -- for a son-in-law was that by keeping Nathan and Heidi apart, Nathan moved up in his advisory capacity to the campaign. His words were respected; his signature got things done.
Peter came with him and proved to be a secret weapon, especially on the Eastern Shore, where outsiders still had a hard time. He stuffed envelopes and listened to gossip. He photocopied and asked the older women about their kids and grandkids. Peter went door to door with fliers, and found out about people's hopes and dreams by saying yes when they offered him iced tea or lemonade. Based on the puzzle pieces Peter brought him, Nathan shaped Ned Abbott's strategy.
When Heidi looked down the long aisle, all she saw was Nathan. He'd only been off the cane for two weeks, but he stood firm and looked at her with such happiness and confidence that it was all she could do not to pick up her dress and sprint to him.
Bach's "Sheep May Safely Graze" and her father's tight grip on her arm kept her walking in measured time. Peter stood behind Nathan's shoulder, and that seemed perfectly right. Without Peter none of them would be here. Nathan might have contacted her after he was well, but neither of them could know for certain. So much might have gone wrong between his injury and their wedding.
Her father nearly faltered on the "who giveth this woman" because as much as he had come to respect Nathan, her father still hated him. With Peter at his side, she had no doubt that Nathan would fight for his bride if it became necessary. Heidi was pretty sure her father had no doubt about it either.
They elected to have a wedding mass where only the wedding party took communion. There were discussions and arguments about it all, but Peter, of all people, had finally put his foot down during one of the family meetings. In his opinion, a wedding mass was long enough without having to, in his words, "distribute milk and cookies to the whole congregation." Nathan couldn't stand or kneel that long.
Kneeling beside Nathan, holding his hand while accepting the bread and wine, taking their vows – all these were etched deeply into Heidi's memory.
When Nathan kissed her in front of the congregation, she caught a faint hint of scotch under the scent of communion wine.
Later, he whispered in her ear that if a couple could survive the greeting line at the reception, nothing about their marriage could hold any fear.
They had the formal toasts, cut the cake, shared a piece. Then the band began to play for their first dance. It took her a minute to recognize the song, but she caught Nathan's amusement when the penny dropped. Eight years earlier, he'd asked her dance to the same song. Heidi laughed in his arms.
***
When they got to their hotel room, Nathan carried her over the threshold.
"Why don't you fix yourself a drink while I go get ready for bed?"
Nathan saw mischief in her eye. "Of course. I'll change out here."
"No need to change, just get yourself a drink and have a seat." She motioned to a comfortable looking chair rather than the bed.
He smiled and played along.
Heidi didn't take long in the bathroom. She came out wearing something filmy in a shade of blue that made her eyes shine. Her nipples were pinked and excited and he could just see the shadow of her pubic hair through the draped fabric.
"You look stunning, Mrs. Petrelli."
"Thank you, Mr. Petrelli."
It was then that he noticed her lips. Heidi was wearing high gloss dark red lipstick. All his blood rushed south.
Heidi walked over and knelt in front of him. She unzipped his fly carefully and took his cock in her hand. When she started to bend her head, Nathan tilted her chin up gently so she could meet his eyes. "You don't have to do this."
She grinned at him. "I know."
Heidi leaned forward and took the head of his cock in her mouth. She tongued the underside and pulled back. "You'll have to tell me what you like."
"Anything you want to give me, sweetheart. It's not every day I get a fantasy to come true."
She held his eyes as she bent back down to her task. Nathan clutched the arms of the chair so that he wouldn't be tempted to hold her in place or try to fuck her mouth. "Suck harder, please." Heidi complied. Not long afterward, he stroked her face to get her attention. "I'm about to come."
Heidi released him from her mouth. He took her hand and wrapped it around his spit-slick cock. She pumped him a little tentatively, and he covered her hand with his to show her his rhythm. Heidi looked up at him with excitement in her eyes, and Nathan came.
When the wave of pleasure passed, he pulled his wife onto his lap and kissed her. "Thank you."
"Just a thank you? I guess I drained all your energy."
He kissed her again. "I think you'll find my battery recharges."
***
On a snowy night in February, Heidi decided she couldn't stand it any more. Simon was three months old, and Nathan hadn't touched her since before the baby was born.
He claimed to be visiting Peter on Wednesday nights, but he came home so much more relaxed that she was positive he was having an affair. She could deal with it, but she had to know. She picked up the phone and dialed Peter's apartment.
"Hello."
"Hi Peter, sorry to call so late, but I wanted to talk to Nathan."
She fully expected an excuse, but instead she heard, "Sure." The phone was blocked for a minute while Peter yelled to the next room, "Nathan, it's Heidi."
"By the way, before I turn you over to Nathan, want to have coffee tomorrow? Or, better yet, lunch? My Thursday schedule is weird, I have two classes: one at 8 a.m. and one at 8 p.m."
Heidi was taken by surprise. "Lunch would be great. Where should I meet you?"
"Tavern on the Green. It's been awhile since I've had a really good lunch."
From a distance, Heidi heard Nathan say, "If you've finished flirting with my wife, I'd like to speak to her."
"Sure, Nathan."
"Heidi, what's up?"
She didn't know what to say. "I just missed you, Nathan."
"I hadn't realized it was so late. I should have left an hour ago."
In the background, Peter called out, "My fault. Sorry."
"The weather's gotten bad. If Peter doesn't mind, why don't you stay there. The roads should be clear by morning."
"If you're sure, that would make it easier for getting to the office tomorrow." Nathan sounded tentative.
"I'm sure. Tell Peter I'll see him at 12:30 unless I hear different from him."
"I'll pass it along. I love you."
"I love you, too, Nathan."
"Good night, sweetheart." His voice was low and thrilling to her.
The phone disconnected before she said her good night. But she slept well for the first time in ages.
***
Peter was waiting for her when she arrived. Heidi was surprised to see him in a cashmere sweater and wool trousers. She was so used to seeing him in jeans. When she met his eyes, Heidi saw that Peter had been assessing her in the same way she was assessing him.
He greeted her with an arm around her waist and a quick kiss on the lips. "I can't believe Simon's only three months old. You look wonderful."
"I don't think I've seen you looking this good since the wedding."
Peter grinned. "Yeah, well, I don't often have a reason to dress up." He guided her gently with his hand around a chair and stayed close to her until they got to the table.
"Still, I hadn't expected…" Heidi's voice tapered off as she realized that her comments could be read as insulting to Peter's usual style.
"Heidi, you're married to an Italian man. There are two words that you need to know to understand him and all the other Petrellis: bella figura. We don't give a damn about what we do so long as we look good doing it."
Heidi laughed out loud. "Nathan tried to explain it to me once. I retaliated by explaining why Maryland crabcakes should never have bell pepper in them."
"Exactly. We all have things in our traditions that outsiders just don't understand."
They took a few minutes to look over and discuss the menu. The waiter appeared at their table, and Peter ordered for them both.
When he left, Peter said, "Nathan's happier than I've ever seen him."
"Really?"
"You on the other hand…"
Heidi wondered where to begin. "I love Simon. And I think I'm pretty good at the mother thing, but I miss talking to an adult. Nathan and I talk about Simon or his day at the office, but I don't feel I have much to contribute at the moment. Once we've put Simon in his bed, Nathan goes to his study. I'm usually asleep by the time he comes to bed."
"Nathan's leading his first major case, it's probably stress. Not that Nathan's the most talkative person at the best of times."
"I know men talk. Has he ever said anything about me?" Heidi was flushed with embarrassment.
Peter blushed a little himself. "No. When we were both single, Nathan gave me some advice. But I think marriage is different. Married men don't talk to single guys about their sex lives."
"I know there were a lot of women before me. The night we met, he was sneaking out to meet a girlfriend."
"Not to give away any secrets, but Nathan's past is probably a bit less colorful than you imagine. Remember, he was at all-boys schools from the time he was seven until he was seventeen."
"Cuts down on his numbers a bit?"
Peter's mouth twitched. "Let's just say, he was shocked to discover I didn't need the advice he was offering when he came back from Rwanda."
Heidi's eyes lit up. "And you seem so sweet."
"I learned very quickly in high school that if a girl invited me back to her house for a study session, we probably weren't going to be studying."
"Now that I think about it, you were pretty young to talk about casual sex when we had coffee at the Natural History Museum."
"I'd always hoped you hadn't caught what I said."
Heidi's face turned serious. "You know Nathan. Would he have an affair?"
"Are you asking me if Nathan's capable of cheating? Because the answer is: absolutely."
Heidi looked dejected. "That's what I thought."
"But if you're asking me if there's another woman in his life right now, I really don't think so."
"You'd know if there were, wouldn't you?"
"Heidi, you were saying earlier about needing adult conversation? May I make a suggestion?" When she nodded, he went on. "Ma has been complaining that the 'younger generation' isn't helping with charity committees the way the old guard used to. Why don't you find a charity or two – or an aspect of one of the big charities – and start helping out?"
"I think my husband is cheating on me and you think I should work on charity committees?" Heidi wasn't certain whether she should be peeved or just puzzled.
"Right now, you have time on your hands. Simon takes up a great deal of it, but as you were saying, there's no adult for you to talk to. You don't feel like you're interesting so you think Nathan's looking for someone who is."
Heidi stared at the young man across from her. "Don't tell me, you're taking Psych this term, right?"
Peter laughed, "Something like that. Or it could be all the Cosmo magazines my last girlfriend left at my apartment. A guy's got to have something to read."
Heidi began to giggle too. "I just can't see you with Cosmo somehow." They both quieted a bit. "You could be right. Nathan asks me about my day, but I feel like I've already covered everything when we finish talking about Simon. Maybe I do need an outside interest."
"Any ideas?"
"Well, speaking as the future mayor's wife, I could start by tutoring or seeing whether I could help raise money for afterschool programs."
"Mayor. You know Nathan won't settle for less than governor." Peter's crooked grin lit up the restaurant.
"Small steps, little brother, small steps."
The rest of the meal passed easily in brainstorming programs Heidi could work with.
When they emerged into the cold afternoon sun, Heidi was shocked to see how late it was. Peter guided her over the icy paths and hailed a cab for her. He kissed her goodbye just as he'd kissed her hello.
Heidi felt better than she had in weeks. Peter had talked to her, flirted with her. She was feeling sexy and happy. Chuckling quietly to herself, Heidi realized that Nathan didn't have exclusive rights to the Petrelli charm.
Later that night, after Simon had been put in his crib, Heidi kissed Nathan and walked toward their bedroom. Nathan followed.
***
The first weekend after Labor Day was, in many ways, the beginning of the social year. In the months since her talk with Peter, Heidi had put her art history degree to good use working with a program encouraging underprivileged kids to come to the museums. Nathan had won his big trial and was being groomed to take over one of the smaller ADA departments.
Tonight's cocktail party was the first night in ages they'd been out together. Peter was around somewhere, too.
Heidi wasn't familiar with the Himmelfarb's house, but she'd found the lady's room and was heading back to the party. She saw Peter sitting in a small study to her right and nearly greeted him until she realized he wasn't alone. His head rested against the back of a chair, and Peter made a low moan. Heidi never knew what possessed her to step into the shadows and watch, but she was entranced by the look of ecstasy on his face.
Peter spoke so softly that Heidi couldn't hear what was said, but the tone of it was tender, loving. When she was finally able to make out what was happening in the dim light, she realized a man was sucking him.
Whoever it was apparently knew what he was doing, because Peter seemed to be teetering endlessly on the knife edge just before orgasm. He murmured a few more words, and the man kneeling in front of him half-stood to lean up and kiss him. As the kiss broke, the light shone on the other man's face. Heidi stifled a gasp as she recognized Nathan.
Briefly, Peter turned toward the doorway but Nathan's bobbing head pulled his attention back.
Heidi's blood went cold. She needed to think, to figure it all out.
In a daze, she walked up the stairs where she found her friend, Jane, and explained that she had to leave because the nanny had called. In her head she heard herself patiently answering Jane's questions. No, she hadn't found Nathan. Would Jane be kind enough to pass the message to him.
She grabbed her coat on the way out and stormed toward the subway. She thought better of it, put on her coat, and kept walking.