thewatchmaker: (Gabriel is still there)
Character: Rachel Pirzad and her father from Alphas. Virginia Gray from Heroes (Sylar's mom) many mentions of Gabriel Gray.
Genre: Gen
Author: [livejournal.com profile] thewatchmaker
Fandom: Alphas and Heroes
Word count: 865
Rating: G
Prompt: 078. Two match-makers. 77/100 for [livejournal.com profile] 100_fairytales
Toula Portokalos: Nice Greek girls who don't find a husband, work in the family restaurant. So here I am, day after day, year after year, thirty and way past my expiration date. Vol3.week39 for [livejournal.com profile] scifi_muses
Notes: Crossover set in a very AU world where Gabriel might not be Sylar yet, and where Pirzad Cleaners is right down the block from Gray & Sons.
Spoilers: None for either series.


The slender woman clutched the bundle of sweater vests and slacks against her chest as she stepped off of the curb when the light turned green. Her own sweater was wearing thin in spots, but it was her favorite. Her son had given it to her for Mother’s Day five or six years ago, and she wore it almost every day. Pirzads’ Cleaners was only a couple of blocks from Gabriel’s apartment and his shop, and she’d been more than happy to drop off his cleaning for him even though she’d had to take the subway and a bus to get there.

Virginia Gray was a woman with a mission, and she hadn’t been above using Gabriel’s spare key to steal his laundry to put it into motion. She’d met Rachel Pirzad and her parents at church, and thought that she was a lovely girl. She’d have introduced Gabriel to her, but he’d been out of town buying parts of his watchmaker’s shop. Virginia was starting to fret about Gabriel. He’d been finding too many reasons to miss church the past month.

As she reached for the door to the cleaners, the target of her mission pushed it open from the inside, and Virginia was hit with a wave of warm air that smelled of clean clothes, starch and steam.

“Rachel,” Virginia said, giving Rachel a quick smile as she wedged her elbow against the door to keep it from closing. Her long brown hair framed her heart shaped face, and Virginia was happy to see how sensible her clothes were. There was nothing trampy about Rachel Pirzad at all. She was a good girl. “What a surprise. I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Hello, Mrs. Gray,” Rachel replied returning the older woman’s grin. “I’m just on my way to work. My ride is almost here.” Rachel had no doubt of that. She’d gotten the warning phone call from Dr. Rosen, and when she’d listened for his mini-van he was only a block away. “But my father can help you. I have to go.”

Virginia let out a sigh as she watched the girl climb into the front seat of a dark blue van. She spent a few moments taking in the view of the driver. He was an older man, which made Virginia happy. He was much too old for Rachel, so she didn’t have to worry about that part of her plan being ruined. She did hope that the Gary they mentioned wasn’t an eligible bachelor, but then she knew no one could compete with her Gabriel.

“Ma’am?” Virginia’s attention was diverted towards Rachel’s father who was reaching for her bundle of Gabriel’s laundry when he recognized her. “Mrs. Gray. Let me get that for you. What are you doing here so early in the day?”

“Well after our talk, Mr. Pirzad,” she said as she followed him to the counter. “I was trying to get Gabriel here to meet Rachel, but he’s out of town again. My boy is very busy with his business, and he doesn’t trust anyone to get the parts he needs for his work. So I decided that if his clothes were here, that he’d just have to come and pick them up when he gets back.”

Rachel’s father started sorting through the bundle of sweaters and writing up a ticket for Virginia while listening to her plan. “I think you might be onto something. Rachel’s always off early for her job, but some nights she gets to help me out here. Your Gabriel’s shop is just down the street, isn’t it?”

“Yes, Gray & Sons. You can’t miss it. There’s a big sign out front, and he has the prettiest windows.” She was proud of Gabriel’s shop even if it did tie him back to his deadbeat father. She wished that he could have been more, and she kept trying to find him a better job. But now, finding him a girlfriend seemed like a much better idea. “I think he and Rachel would hit it off. He’s very special, my Gabriel, and he needs a special girl.”

“My Rachel.” Pirzad tilted his head and hid a chuckle as he handed Virginia the ticket for the cleaning. “She’s a very special girl, and I’m proud of her. She has a very important job, but I’d like to be a grandfather. I think this is a good plan you’ve got. I’ll be sure to call Gabriel to pick up his cleaning on a night when she’s working.”

“Wonderful. I should get out of your way,” Virginia said as the door chimed again, and Virginia had to get out of the way as new customers came in.

“Have a good day, Mrs. Gray,” he called after her as she stepped out into the morning sunlight.

“Gabe will love her.” Virginia clutched the ticket in her hands, and then carefully folded it twice over before tucking it into her pocket next to Gabriel’s spare keys. She made a mental note to tack it on the wall next to his bulletin board where he had notes about his travels with the routes marked out in string. “He’ll be so surprised.”
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