Fic - Resisting the Darkness (SG-1/Hunger Games)
Title: Resisting the Darkness
Summary: Daniel knows the struggles of personal darkness and shares his experience with some new friends. Stargate SG-1/The Hunger Games crossover
Rating: PG
Spoilers/Warnings: For SG-1, there was some referencing to Absolute Power. For Hunger Games, big spoilers for Mockingjay. There is also minor (and I do mean minor) reference to canon ships in from both fandoms.
A/N: Written for Gen Fic Day's Alphabet Soup. R was my letter. Not really sure how this turned out... I guess I'll leave it up to you all to decide if you like it or not. In the timeline of Hunger Games fandom, this is post-rebellion.
Daniel watched the pair of men from the opposite cave wall, contemplating them and the current predicament he now found himself in. He still hadn’t quite grasped how he’d managed to get mixed up in another fine mess before he’d been thrown for a loop by people he’d felt he could maybe trust.
“So what did you call it?” He questioned, rising to his feet gingerly. He favored his right leg, sporting its latest gash. Just another scar to add to the ones already obtained over the years.
Grey eyes glanced over a shoulder as he moved towards the pair slowly. They seemed unsure by Daniel’s silence-breaking question.
He pointed to the other man, unconscious against the cave wall. “With him,” Daniel swung a hand out towards the mouth of the cave. “Out there.”
“Hijacking,” Gale answered. “Peeta’s been hijacked.”
Daniel awkwardly placed himself down next to the pair, watching as Gale meticulously cared for the superficial wounds scattering Peeta’s arms. His eyes lingered on the handcuffs binding the unconscious man’s hands together.
“It’s a mind altering thing?” He questioned.
He got an incredulous glance for it. “You saw what happened.”
“I did…” Daniel drew out, hoping Gale would elaborate. When the silence stretched on, he sighed. “Look, I’m trying to understand how a guy like Peeta, who I’d thought I’d come to know well enough since we found ourselves stuck here, could flip like that.”
Daniel closed his eyes and dropped his head. “I’m just looking for a reason to trust here.”
“Then you picked the wrong people.” A slurred voice answered. Daniel and Gale turned their attention on Peeta, who was now gazing at them with half-lidded, pain-filled blue eyes.
“Peeta,” Gale’s response was a mix between greeting and admonishment.
Peeta grabbed Gale’s hand between his cuffed ones. “We can’t be trusted, Gale.” He mumbled, his face a contortion of sadness. “We break promises.”
Daniel watched Gale’s face pale. It took him a moment before he found the right words to answer with.
He pulled his hand from Peeta’s and placed it on his tear-stained cheek. “You haven’t broken any promises, Mellark.”
Lips trembling, Peeta whispered. “I hurt her.”
Gale shook his head. “No, you didn’t.”
Daniel frowned when Peeta frowned in confusion. “Not real?” Couldn’t he remember what had transpired just before they sought refuge in the cave? Peeta had suddenly seemed to lose his mind, trying to attack the woman Daniel had seen he cared about deeply. He and Gale had subdued Peeta before that could happen, but not before Peeta’s knife had found home in Daniel’s thigh. Daniel was confused about the sudden shift in personality then and the lack of memory now.
“Not real.” Gale confirmed. He brushed back the sweaty blonde hair hanging in Peeta’s eyes. “I’d never let that happen.”
“You should’ve been the one.” Peeta mumbled, a resigned look in his troubled eyes.
Gale shook his head. “See, I did break a promise, remember?” Peeta’s eyes closed. “The one promise that never should’ve been broken. I failed. I always would’ve failed. But not you.”
Peeta shook his head this time. “I’m a monster.”
“No,” Daniel finally broke in, gaining a surprised glance from Peeta and a wary one from Gale. “You’re not a monster.”
A shaky, cynical smile is what Peeta offered in return. “No offense, but you’ve hardly known me long enough to decide, Daniel. You don’t know all the things I’ve done.”
Daniel shrugged in return. “I know enough from what I’ve seen, including whatever just happened out there.” He pointed toward the cave mouth. Peeta glanced that way before finding his eyes once more. “That, whatever it was, wasn’t natural. Any darkness inside you, it’s forced. I could see that.”
“How do you know?” Peeta whispered, his lucidity having slipped back into uncertainty.
It was Daniel’s turn to offer a cynical smile. “Just take it from someone who’s seen enough personal darkness to know.”
Peeta accepted this response, seeming to see the truth in Daniel’s words. He then looked at Daniel hesitantly.
“I stabbed you?”
Glancing at his bandaged wound, Daniel couldn’t help but wince. “Yeah.”
Peeta looked truly pained when Daniel’s attention returned to him. “I’m sorry.”
“That wasn’t you.” Daniel offered an understanding smile. “And I’ve gotten a lot worse, believe me.”
Peeta grew silent after that, his gaze falling to his shackled hands. Daniel watched him wring his hands together on an endless look, occasionally pulling tight on the bindings around his wrists. It wasn’t too long before Gale was finished cleaning up Peeta’s arms.
“Okay Mellark,” Gale sighed. “Time to rest.”
Lost in his own thoughts, Peeta merely nodded. The motion of his hands continued as he shifted into a lying position and closed his eyes.
Daniel lingered a moment by Peeta as Gale made his way over to the meager fire they’d coaxed into existence when they’d first gotten in the cave. When Daniel finally limped over that way, Gale immediately turned his attention on him.
“How do you seem to know so much about personal darkness?” He questioned suspiciously as Daniel placed himself down by the fire.
Staring into the flames, Daniel’s mind wandered back to an instance when he was shown just what lingered deep inside his heart. “I’ve had some experience a time or two.”
Gale gazed at him intently. “And?”
“And…” Daniel squinted, unable to find the right words to say. “And…I just know what it’s like to have evil inside you.” He couldn’t help the slight sarcastic laugh that escaped. “Literally and figuratively.” He glanced up to find Gale giving him an uncomprehending look.
“I’ve dealt with many demons, and not all of them were flesh and blood type monsters.”
Gale nodded slowly, understanding. Daniel watched him carefully, his thoughts lingering on something Peeta had said.
“When you two were talking about promises…”
It seemed Gale had been expecting the inquiry by the sad smile that came to his lips.
“You’re not the only one with demons.” He looked at Daniel, who lifted his eyebrows in a ‘carry on’ gesture.
Gale sighed and sat back. “I made a promise to protect someone…someone special.” He shrugged, feigning nonchalance. “And I couldn’t keep that promise.”
“It’s never that simple.” Daniel replied.
Shrugging again, Gale looked at him. “It isn’t.” He glanced over his shoulder back at Peeta. “But I’m doing what I can to make up for it.”
Daniel took in the way Gale was looking at Peeta. “You care about him a lot.”
It surprised him when Gale answered in the negative. “No, I don’t.” The look on Gale’s face when his grey eyes returned to meet Daniel’s blue was one of pained acceptance. “But she does.”
Understanding dawned, though Daniel still doubted his outright denial of caring. “Ah.”
Gale shrugged for a third time. “Plus,” He sat forward again. “Mellark is the best out of all of us.” He poked at the fire with the tip of an arrow he had pulled from his quiver. “He’s overcome something that nobody else ever has. He’s stronger than me. Better than me.”
Clearly he cared more about Peeta than he was letting on. A strange feeling spread across Daniel’s chest. He felt as if he was gazing upon someone he was more than familiar with. It hit him hard that he could imagine the very man in his mind saying the same things about him. He felt an ache of loneliness, the long weeks of being stuck in this future catching up to him.
He scooted closer to Gale, the need to provide comfort prevalent. Though it was born of a desire to provide comfort to a friend that wasn’t there, Daniel felt it would be enough.
“You’re not a bad person.” He said softly. “You’ve just made bad decisions.”
Gale snorted and looked at him. “Voice of someone who knows again?”
Daniel smiled gently. “What can I say? I’m experienced.”
Gale watched him for a moment before laughing lightly and rolling his eyes. “You know, you’re just like Mellark.” He shook his head and clasped his hands together. “Too charming to dislike.”
Leaning back on his hands, Daniel winced as he stretched out his injured leg. “I don’t think anyone is as charming as Peeta.”
Gale laughed again. “It’s not an easy task to convince Katniss Everdeen to fall in love with you.” He shot a sideways glance to Daniel, defeat in his eyes. “Like I said - better than I ever was or could be.”
Daniel tilted his head in acquiescence. He understood the throes of jealousy that could only be brought on by a woman cared about. His mind drifted to Vala, out in the woods with the woman who had captured the hearts of both the men he now found himself with.
It seemed Gale’s train of thought had followed his. “You think Katniss and your crazy partner are giving them trouble?”
He laughed. “Vala? She is trouble incarnate.”
“Sounds like Catnip.”
Daniel shared a look with Gale and they both laughed again, their conversation reducing into better understanding each other. And Daniel began to think that he could trust these people, the future Earth’s rebels and fighters for freedom, more than just maybe.
Comments and feedback are definitely appreciated!
~Pip
Summary: Daniel knows the struggles of personal darkness and shares his experience with some new friends. Stargate SG-1/The Hunger Games crossover
Rating: PG
Spoilers/Warnings: For SG-1, there was some referencing to Absolute Power. For Hunger Games, big spoilers for Mockingjay. There is also minor (and I do mean minor) reference to canon ships in from both fandoms.
A/N: Written for Gen Fic Day's Alphabet Soup. R was my letter. Not really sure how this turned out... I guess I'll leave it up to you all to decide if you like it or not. In the timeline of Hunger Games fandom, this is post-rebellion.
Daniel watched the pair of men from the opposite cave wall, contemplating them and the current predicament he now found himself in. He still hadn’t quite grasped how he’d managed to get mixed up in another fine mess before he’d been thrown for a loop by people he’d felt he could maybe trust.
“So what did you call it?” He questioned, rising to his feet gingerly. He favored his right leg, sporting its latest gash. Just another scar to add to the ones already obtained over the years.
Grey eyes glanced over a shoulder as he moved towards the pair slowly. They seemed unsure by Daniel’s silence-breaking question.
He pointed to the other man, unconscious against the cave wall. “With him,” Daniel swung a hand out towards the mouth of the cave. “Out there.”
“Hijacking,” Gale answered. “Peeta’s been hijacked.”
Daniel awkwardly placed himself down next to the pair, watching as Gale meticulously cared for the superficial wounds scattering Peeta’s arms. His eyes lingered on the handcuffs binding the unconscious man’s hands together.
“It’s a mind altering thing?” He questioned.
He got an incredulous glance for it. “You saw what happened.”
“I did…” Daniel drew out, hoping Gale would elaborate. When the silence stretched on, he sighed. “Look, I’m trying to understand how a guy like Peeta, who I’d thought I’d come to know well enough since we found ourselves stuck here, could flip like that.”
Daniel closed his eyes and dropped his head. “I’m just looking for a reason to trust here.”
“Then you picked the wrong people.” A slurred voice answered. Daniel and Gale turned their attention on Peeta, who was now gazing at them with half-lidded, pain-filled blue eyes.
“Peeta,” Gale’s response was a mix between greeting and admonishment.
Peeta grabbed Gale’s hand between his cuffed ones. “We can’t be trusted, Gale.” He mumbled, his face a contortion of sadness. “We break promises.”
Daniel watched Gale’s face pale. It took him a moment before he found the right words to answer with.
He pulled his hand from Peeta’s and placed it on his tear-stained cheek. “You haven’t broken any promises, Mellark.”
Lips trembling, Peeta whispered. “I hurt her.”
Gale shook his head. “No, you didn’t.”
Daniel frowned when Peeta frowned in confusion. “Not real?” Couldn’t he remember what had transpired just before they sought refuge in the cave? Peeta had suddenly seemed to lose his mind, trying to attack the woman Daniel had seen he cared about deeply. He and Gale had subdued Peeta before that could happen, but not before Peeta’s knife had found home in Daniel’s thigh. Daniel was confused about the sudden shift in personality then and the lack of memory now.
“Not real.” Gale confirmed. He brushed back the sweaty blonde hair hanging in Peeta’s eyes. “I’d never let that happen.”
“You should’ve been the one.” Peeta mumbled, a resigned look in his troubled eyes.
Gale shook his head. “See, I did break a promise, remember?” Peeta’s eyes closed. “The one promise that never should’ve been broken. I failed. I always would’ve failed. But not you.”
Peeta shook his head this time. “I’m a monster.”
“No,” Daniel finally broke in, gaining a surprised glance from Peeta and a wary one from Gale. “You’re not a monster.”
A shaky, cynical smile is what Peeta offered in return. “No offense, but you’ve hardly known me long enough to decide, Daniel. You don’t know all the things I’ve done.”
Daniel shrugged in return. “I know enough from what I’ve seen, including whatever just happened out there.” He pointed toward the cave mouth. Peeta glanced that way before finding his eyes once more. “That, whatever it was, wasn’t natural. Any darkness inside you, it’s forced. I could see that.”
“How do you know?” Peeta whispered, his lucidity having slipped back into uncertainty.
It was Daniel’s turn to offer a cynical smile. “Just take it from someone who’s seen enough personal darkness to know.”
Peeta accepted this response, seeming to see the truth in Daniel’s words. He then looked at Daniel hesitantly.
“I stabbed you?”
Glancing at his bandaged wound, Daniel couldn’t help but wince. “Yeah.”
Peeta looked truly pained when Daniel’s attention returned to him. “I’m sorry.”
“That wasn’t you.” Daniel offered an understanding smile. “And I’ve gotten a lot worse, believe me.”
Peeta grew silent after that, his gaze falling to his shackled hands. Daniel watched him wring his hands together on an endless look, occasionally pulling tight on the bindings around his wrists. It wasn’t too long before Gale was finished cleaning up Peeta’s arms.
“Okay Mellark,” Gale sighed. “Time to rest.”
Lost in his own thoughts, Peeta merely nodded. The motion of his hands continued as he shifted into a lying position and closed his eyes.
Daniel lingered a moment by Peeta as Gale made his way over to the meager fire they’d coaxed into existence when they’d first gotten in the cave. When Daniel finally limped over that way, Gale immediately turned his attention on him.
“How do you seem to know so much about personal darkness?” He questioned suspiciously as Daniel placed himself down by the fire.
Staring into the flames, Daniel’s mind wandered back to an instance when he was shown just what lingered deep inside his heart. “I’ve had some experience a time or two.”
Gale gazed at him intently. “And?”
“And…” Daniel squinted, unable to find the right words to say. “And…I just know what it’s like to have evil inside you.” He couldn’t help the slight sarcastic laugh that escaped. “Literally and figuratively.” He glanced up to find Gale giving him an uncomprehending look.
“I’ve dealt with many demons, and not all of them were flesh and blood type monsters.”
Gale nodded slowly, understanding. Daniel watched him carefully, his thoughts lingering on something Peeta had said.
“When you two were talking about promises…”
It seemed Gale had been expecting the inquiry by the sad smile that came to his lips.
“You’re not the only one with demons.” He looked at Daniel, who lifted his eyebrows in a ‘carry on’ gesture.
Gale sighed and sat back. “I made a promise to protect someone…someone special.” He shrugged, feigning nonchalance. “And I couldn’t keep that promise.”
“It’s never that simple.” Daniel replied.
Shrugging again, Gale looked at him. “It isn’t.” He glanced over his shoulder back at Peeta. “But I’m doing what I can to make up for it.”
Daniel took in the way Gale was looking at Peeta. “You care about him a lot.”
It surprised him when Gale answered in the negative. “No, I don’t.” The look on Gale’s face when his grey eyes returned to meet Daniel’s blue was one of pained acceptance. “But she does.”
Understanding dawned, though Daniel still doubted his outright denial of caring. “Ah.”
Gale shrugged for a third time. “Plus,” He sat forward again. “Mellark is the best out of all of us.” He poked at the fire with the tip of an arrow he had pulled from his quiver. “He’s overcome something that nobody else ever has. He’s stronger than me. Better than me.”
Clearly he cared more about Peeta than he was letting on. A strange feeling spread across Daniel’s chest. He felt as if he was gazing upon someone he was more than familiar with. It hit him hard that he could imagine the very man in his mind saying the same things about him. He felt an ache of loneliness, the long weeks of being stuck in this future catching up to him.
He scooted closer to Gale, the need to provide comfort prevalent. Though it was born of a desire to provide comfort to a friend that wasn’t there, Daniel felt it would be enough.
“You’re not a bad person.” He said softly. “You’ve just made bad decisions.”
Gale snorted and looked at him. “Voice of someone who knows again?”
Daniel smiled gently. “What can I say? I’m experienced.”
Gale watched him for a moment before laughing lightly and rolling his eyes. “You know, you’re just like Mellark.” He shook his head and clasped his hands together. “Too charming to dislike.”
Leaning back on his hands, Daniel winced as he stretched out his injured leg. “I don’t think anyone is as charming as Peeta.”
Gale laughed again. “It’s not an easy task to convince Katniss Everdeen to fall in love with you.” He shot a sideways glance to Daniel, defeat in his eyes. “Like I said - better than I ever was or could be.”
Daniel tilted his head in acquiescence. He understood the throes of jealousy that could only be brought on by a woman cared about. His mind drifted to Vala, out in the woods with the woman who had captured the hearts of both the men he now found himself with.
It seemed Gale’s train of thought had followed his. “You think Katniss and your crazy partner are giving them trouble?”
He laughed. “Vala? She is trouble incarnate.”
“Sounds like Catnip.”
Daniel shared a look with Gale and they both laughed again, their conversation reducing into better understanding each other. And Daniel began to think that he could trust these people, the future Earth’s rebels and fighters for freedom, more than just maybe.
Comments and feedback are definitely appreciated!
~Pip