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Preview: Hooke's Law by Zinnith
Title: Hooke's Law
Author: Zinnith
Pairing: John/Rodney, Laura/Carson
Rating: NC-17
Wordcount: 75 610
Genre: AU, Drama, Suspense
Warnings: Homophobia, PTSD
Notes: I just want to send out a quick thank you to the_cephalopod, wanted_a_pony, yarnaddict, sgamadison, everyone on team_bigbang, and of course the almighty f-list. This story would not exist without you.
THEY HAVE A PERFECT LIFE...
If M. R. McKay hadn't come along, if John had never found Entangled Particles on that table in that breakroom and fallen in love, where would he had been now? Dead on the ice? Rotting away in another posting somewhere, searching for thrills in a life that felt empty and flat every moment he couldn't spend in the air?
Maybe some things were impossibly to bury? Maybe some things found their ways to the surface, no matter how hard you tried to push them down again.
Losing the sky still hurt, a real, painful, tangible hurt that was there every second of every day. But John had never expected to find the same thrill and freedom in the sensation of Rodney's fingers against his skin and Rodney's lips against his. It was good, John decided. He'd found a place where he could belong, a place where he could be himself and begin to let go of old issues and masks.
BUT FOR JOHN SHEPPARD, NOTHING GOOD SEEMS TO LAST...
“Can I see?” John asked, reaching for one of the letters before Laura had time to snatch it away.
“No!” Rodney shouted, almost throwing himself over the table. “No, no, no, not that one! Give it back!”
“What is it, secret love letters?” John grinned and unfolded the paper.
His grin froze.
There were only three words, stark black against the pristine white paper. They stood out sharply and made John's stomach turn violently.
Die, filthy fag.
------
“I got a call from one of the members of the board today,” Hal said finally. He looked up at John, solemn-faced and serious. "There's been a complaint made against you."
John felt his stomach try to turn itself inside out. “Is it about me and Rodney?” he asked even though he already knew the answer. Should've known it was too good to last, he thought.
“I suppose you could say that.” Hal sighed and leaned back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling and the lazily spinning fan there. It struck John that he had never seen his boss look so old before. Hal was well over fifty but had always been so full of vitality and strength that he'd seemed no older than the children he was working with every day. Now, the lines in his face were deeper and his shoulders were slumped in a new way. “Like I say, it's stupid, but you have the right to know what it's all about. One of the parents doesn't like the thought of a gay man being around his son and he's threatening to withdraw his contributions to the center unless you're fired.”
NOW THE CLOUDS ARE GATHERING AT THE HORIZON. SOMEONE MEANS HARM AND THEY WILL NOT GIVE UP.
He heard it before he saw it, the sound of a whining engine, and was glad to have had at least that warning before the car came around a corner, far too fast. He looked back over his shoulder and was blinded by bright headlights.
John reacted without thinking, threw himself into Rodney's side and rolled them both towards the line of parked cars, out of the open. He heard Rodney yelp as they hit the ground and felt something in his knee protest as it slammed into the asphalt, but the sensation was too far away to register as important. Behind them, the tires of the attacking car were screeching, coming back for another run, and John hurriedly pushed Rodney in between two parked vehicles, covering Rodney's body with his own.
TO GET THROUGH THIS, THEY MUST STAND TOGETHER.
John could see it now. It wasn't even a decision; it was just the way it had to be.
“Okay,” he said. “Let's do this.”
Rodney didn't smile, he just reached out over the table and grabbed John's hand, held onto his fingers hard. “Thank you.”
COMING SOON TO A SCREEN NEAR YOU:
HOOKE'S LAW by ZINNITH
“What was that for?” Rodney asked when they parted for breath.
“Nothing,” John said, grinning in what was probably a very sappy way. “I just love you, that's all. Come on, let's go home.”
Author: Zinnith
Pairing: John/Rodney, Laura/Carson
Rating: NC-17
Wordcount: 75 610
Genre: AU, Drama, Suspense
Warnings: Homophobia, PTSD
Notes: I just want to send out a quick thank you to the_cephalopod, wanted_a_pony, yarnaddict, sgamadison, everyone on team_bigbang, and of course the almighty f-list. This story would not exist without you.
THEY HAVE A PERFECT LIFE...
If M. R. McKay hadn't come along, if John had never found Entangled Particles on that table in that breakroom and fallen in love, where would he had been now? Dead on the ice? Rotting away in another posting somewhere, searching for thrills in a life that felt empty and flat every moment he couldn't spend in the air?
Maybe some things were impossibly to bury? Maybe some things found their ways to the surface, no matter how hard you tried to push them down again.
Losing the sky still hurt, a real, painful, tangible hurt that was there every second of every day. But John had never expected to find the same thrill and freedom in the sensation of Rodney's fingers against his skin and Rodney's lips against his. It was good, John decided. He'd found a place where he could belong, a place where he could be himself and begin to let go of old issues and masks.
BUT FOR JOHN SHEPPARD, NOTHING GOOD SEEMS TO LAST...
“Can I see?” John asked, reaching for one of the letters before Laura had time to snatch it away.
“No!” Rodney shouted, almost throwing himself over the table. “No, no, no, not that one! Give it back!”
“What is it, secret love letters?” John grinned and unfolded the paper.
His grin froze.
There were only three words, stark black against the pristine white paper. They stood out sharply and made John's stomach turn violently.
Die, filthy fag.
------
“I got a call from one of the members of the board today,” Hal said finally. He looked up at John, solemn-faced and serious. "There's been a complaint made against you."
John felt his stomach try to turn itself inside out. “Is it about me and Rodney?” he asked even though he already knew the answer. Should've known it was too good to last, he thought.
“I suppose you could say that.” Hal sighed and leaned back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling and the lazily spinning fan there. It struck John that he had never seen his boss look so old before. Hal was well over fifty but had always been so full of vitality and strength that he'd seemed no older than the children he was working with every day. Now, the lines in his face were deeper and his shoulders were slumped in a new way. “Like I say, it's stupid, but you have the right to know what it's all about. One of the parents doesn't like the thought of a gay man being around his son and he's threatening to withdraw his contributions to the center unless you're fired.”
NOW THE CLOUDS ARE GATHERING AT THE HORIZON. SOMEONE MEANS HARM AND THEY WILL NOT GIVE UP.
He heard it before he saw it, the sound of a whining engine, and was glad to have had at least that warning before the car came around a corner, far too fast. He looked back over his shoulder and was blinded by bright headlights.
John reacted without thinking, threw himself into Rodney's side and rolled them both towards the line of parked cars, out of the open. He heard Rodney yelp as they hit the ground and felt something in his knee protest as it slammed into the asphalt, but the sensation was too far away to register as important. Behind them, the tires of the attacking car were screeching, coming back for another run, and John hurriedly pushed Rodney in between two parked vehicles, covering Rodney's body with his own.
TO GET THROUGH THIS, THEY MUST STAND TOGETHER.
John could see it now. It wasn't even a decision; it was just the way it had to be.
“Okay,” he said. “Let's do this.”
Rodney didn't smile, he just reached out over the table and grabbed John's hand, held onto his fingers hard. “Thank you.”
COMING SOON TO A SCREEN NEAR YOU:
HOOKE'S LAW by ZINNITH
“What was that for?” Rodney asked when they parted for breath.
“Nothing,” John said, grinning in what was probably a very sappy way. “I just love you, that's all. Come on, let's go home.”