Transposition and One More Try by boudecia7 (NC-17)

[perdiccas.livejournal.com]

Fandom: HEROES
Pairing: Nathan/Luke
Length: ~8k in total
Author on LJ: boudecia7
Author Website: Fic Masterlist

Why This Must Be Read: In these two companion fics, Luke gets an internship at Nathan's office and slowly comes into his own, becoming more independent and self-reliant. His relationship with Nathan isn't easy, particularly in 'One More Try'; boudecia7 has done a great job of articulating the emotional minefield that is a relationship with such a great age difference and power imbalance, and that realism is why this fic stands out so much for me.

I also love the parallels boudecia7 has drawn between Nathan's unexpected compassion for Luke and his steadily worsening relationship with Claire. Nathan is wonderfully in character, using his power and influence to help Luke but never really extending himself or putting himself at risk on Luke's (or Claire's) behalf.

Excerpt:

Charity means different things to different people of course, but to someone with a name like Petrelli it’s generally an offering of the least personally taxing kind: money, far more than the average person could manage and yet never enough to make nearly a dent in a lifestyle that affords the freedom to make any choice, follow any path, that one likes. Even Peter, the bleeding-heart disappointment of the family, enjoys the luxury of poor decision-making. He didn’t risk anything by abandoning politics to attend nursing school, and even now he has the family’s wealth and power to fall back on if he changes his mind. Money eliminates risk, provides the chance for an instant do-over. Make a wrong turn and break down, and a limo ride back to the main road is only a phone call away.

Luke’s had none of that, yet he sits there sulking at me that he won’t take charity with the same misdirected teenage pride that Claire asserted this morning. In a way youth is a kind of wealth as well.

Transposition and One More Try