Look My Way
Title: Look My Way
Author: l57371
Pairing: Lorne/Parrish
Wordcount: 5138
Rating: NC17
Warnings: Obliviousness and sex. Not together, though.
Spoilers: None
Summary: If you don't look, you can never see.
Beta: Thanks, worship and virtual chocolate cake to both
sheamackenzie and also
fififolle for weeding out the Canadian spellings and stressing the importance of specificity. Good betas are better than diamonds!
“…and I know he’s busy but at the very least he could come by to see me at least once in a while, don’t you think so?” Katie Brown’s voice droned on in David Parrish’s ears as he tried to keep the semi-sentient plant’s roots from wandering out of the pot again. Delicately he poked and squirmed his fingers until all the flailing shoots were back safely in the dirt and quickly dumped more soil on top, hoping he’d trapped them this time. The last thing he needed was to be playing hide and seek with a walking flower again.
“Mm-hm,” he said distractedly, nodding slightly in Katie’s direction to prove he really was paying attention. “Absolutely, yes.” He pushed down gently on a root that was pushing up through the soil.
“I mean,” she continued as if he hadn’t even spoken, abandoning all pretext of examining the cell samples of the mushrooms in front of her. “I know he takes breaks sometimes, at least when the Colonel doesn’t bring him coffee and food in the lab. I’ve seen him in the commissary with the Colonel, drinking coffee on a break. Why doesn’t he come take those breaks with me?”
“Uh huh,” Parrish said again. Maybe the plant didn’t want to stay in the pot? He started looking around for a basin with high enough sides that the plant could wander around happily in without being able to climb out. He crouched to search through the bottom cupboards of the planting table.
“You’re not even listening to me anymore, are you? Oh, hi, Major,” Katie interrupted herself.
“Dr. Brown,” Parrish heard Major Lorne’s greeting before he saw the man. “Is Dr. Parrish…?”
“He’s hiding behind the table,” Katie said with a laugh in her voice. Parrish stood up.
“I’m not hiding,” he protested, waving the hand still holding the little plant pot and the runaway flower, one root wrapped around a finger tip. “I was just looking for a--. I wanted to try--. This plant is really…” He broke off as he felt his face redden and dropped his eyes to the troublemaking plant. There was no way he was going to try to explain how he’d lost the flower in the first place.
“Sure, doc, whatever you say,” Lorne smiled, watching him stammer. “It’s cute, whatever it is.”
“Oh, yes, it is, isn’t it?” Parrish said, switching topics easily. He stepped closer and held the little pot out so that the Major could get a closer look. “It’s kind of a cross between a miniature Dahlia and an Aster, only you have to watch out because it--” He stepped forward quickly and grabbed Lorne’s hand before it could touch the petals. “It seems to, uh, walk.”
Lorne looked up and raised his eyebrows. “Walk?”
“Walk, as in, it ran away last night and it took me an hour to find it this morning. The roots can move.”
“What, seriously?” Lorne asked, his smile widening and his hand reaching out to the flower again but not shaking off Parrish’s grasp.
Parrish watched as Lorne’s fingers caressed the petals softly and another root came out of the soil to probe at his fingertip, then wrapped around it the way the other had done to his. He looked at their two fingers, each wrapped in a flower root on opposite sides of the pot, then up at Lorne’s face, taking in the joy in the other man’s smile. Quickly he looked back down again and removed his other hand from Lorne’s in order to unwind the questing root.
“Was there something you needed, Major?” Parrish asked, eyes resolutely on the recalcitrant roots, face flaming.
“Not really, no,” Lorne replied. He didn’t step back once his finger was freed. “Except I thought you might like this.” He pulled a large leaf from his pocket and held it up to eye level, forcing Parrish to look up.
“Oh, that’s a … Wait, what is that?” Parrish put the little pot on the table behind him without looking and reached for the leaf in Lorne’s hand. It was huge, easily two hands across, and shimmered an iridescent purple with a blue and green design in the middle. “Are those… letters?” his whispered.
“Uh, doc?” Lorne’s voice sounded strained. Parrish blinked and looked up, eyes skating past Lorne’s face and immediately back down again at the leaf. “Your plant’s running away.” Lorne pointed vaguely at the end of the planting table where the flower was busily tipping itself over the edge.
“Oh no! Katie!!” Parrish yelled, tossing the leaf on the table and grabbing a pair of gardening gloves. Katie raced over from the other side of the lab, a large pot upturned in her hands.
“I’ll just, um, leave you to it then,” Lorne said. Parrish hardly heard the laughter as the other man reached the doors.
*****
“…and he never brings me anything either, you know,” Katie said stirring almost-milk into her not-quite-coffee. “We were supposed to have a picnic lunch a couple of weeks ago but he showed up over two hours late and didn’t actually bring the picnic.” Her chin was resting in her palm, elbow on the table, gazing forlornly into her mug. The muted sounds of the commissary buzzed around them.
“But it must be nice to have someone, even if he’s not around much,” Parrish replied, tracing his fingers over the lines on the large leaf. He knew he’d seen that shape before but he couldn’t place where.
“Sometimes I wonder if he even realizes we’re actually in a relationship,” Katie continued like she’d not heard even heard him.
“Well, at least you have a relationship,” Parrish said. “Some of us don’t have anyone, you know.” He tried to smile and make it a joke. It came out as more of a grimace.
“Oh, I’m sure you’ll find someone, David,” Katie said, patting his wrist. Parrish couldn’t tell if it was sympathy or condescension. “There’s always that new lab tech in the medical bay. She’s sort of cute.” Suddenly she launched up from the table. “Oh, there’s Rodney. Could you take that for me?” she said, waving at the coffee mug and departing at a near run.
“Sure, why not,” Parrish said quietly to absolutely no-one. He traced his fingertips over the leaf again.
“So I brought pie, but I don’t know if you’re a cream pie man or a fruit pie man.” Parrish jumped as Lorne sat down across from him, a plate in each hand. “And since you look like a man who needs pie, you get to choose.” He put both plates down in front of Parrish and held up two forks.
“Uh,” Parrish said, gaze fixed firmly on the plates before him. Oh, eloquent. Perhaps you’d like to drool now? He took a breath and tried again. “Um, pie, yes, pie is good.” He shut his eyes and wished briefly for a gate alarm. No luck.
Lorne chuckled. “Your choices today are banana cream, which I have on good authority is made from a mix and not actual bananas, or pie with those purple egg-timer shaped berries from the planet with all the feather skirts.” He leaned close to Parrish and dropped his voice to a confidential whisper. “I’d go with the purple berries, personally.” He took a fork and pushed the purple pie closer to Parrish, then held up the fork and grinned.
“I, uh, sure, that looks…” Parrish could feel his face getting redder with every word. He closed his mouth with a snap of teeth and took a breath through his nose. “Thank you,” he finally managed.
“No problem, doc.” Lorne pulled the banana cream pie closer and dug in. “Did you catch your runaway?”
“My run…? Oh, yes, we caught it. I’ve got it trapped under a cloche right now. I just hope it doesn’t get any bigger.”
“Who, Audrey? Of course she should get bigger!” Lorne was smiling and gesturing with the fork. “Bigger and stronger and then we can put her in charge of guarding the supply rooms. Think you can teach her to sing?”
Parrish had to laugh too. “I don’t know how many people would get the joke though. No, no singing in our little lab of horrors. No way to make any sounds at all, as far as I can tell.” He felt a flush of warmth go through him at the thought that Lorne had seen the same movie he did. He took another bite of the pie. Quickly his eyes flicked up and they nearly made it to Lorne’s face before he dropped his gaze back to the table.
“You got the joke, that’s good enough for me,” Lorne said, scraping up the last of the crust with his fork. He rose and picked up his plate and the mug that Katie had abandoned. “See you later, doc. Enjoy the pie.” He tossed off a grin and turned toward the door.
“David.” Parrish had opened his mouth before he even figured out what he was about to say. Lorne turned back.
“David,” Lorne repeated, lips curling into a small smile. “Enjoy the pie, David.” His voice was soft and low, pitched only for Parrish to hear. He didn’t turn away this time.
“I will, I mean, I am. Thank you, Maj-”
“Evan. Call me Evan.” Lorne spoke over him with a serious look on his handsome face, earnest and entreating.
“Thank you, Evan,” Parrish said, his voice husky and low, surprising himself. This time his gaze managed to briefly find Lorne’s face.
“Any time.” Lorne smiled a brilliant smile as he backed toward the entranceway a few steps before finally turning and and placing the plate and mug in the dish return by the door and disappearing through the doorway.
Parrish spooned up another bite of pie and chewed thoughtfully. Katie may have been frustrated with the small amount of time that McKay spent with her, but at least she had someone to spend time with. Major Lorne - Evan, he wants me to call him Evan - would never want him like that. And if you keep making a fool of yourself like that, he won’t want to spend time with you at all!
He sighed and took another bite. It really was good pie.
*****
The thumps and thuds of shifting debris echoed through the rest of the large room. David and Katie strained and pushed at the large chunks of ceiling cutting them off from the doorway, to no avail. There was very little light and David couldn’t even make out the dimensions of the room they were trapped in. It was the first available doorway when the ceiling started coming down, so that’s the one he pushed Katie into, falling in behind her as he did. He had immediately radioed for help and ten minutes later a squad of marines arrived, led by Major Lorne, to dig them out.
David shook his head and tried to clear the confusion from his mind. In one ear he had Katie gabbling away about how Rodney would come and Rodney would save them and Rodney would be a hero, but in the other ear, over the radio, he had Lorne - Evan - speaking to him, telling him all would be fine and asking him not to panic. His voice was soft and slightly breathless, probably from lifting and heaving the debris, and it was all David could do to try to listen to Katie and nod in the right places while Evan’s silky words caressed his ear.
“Still with me, David?” Evan’s words slid through his brain, sending shivers down his spine. “Everything still okay in there? Nobody’s hurt, right?”
“No, no, we’re both fine,” David replied, trying to put his weight against a smaller chunk of wall. He grunted softly with the strain.
“Wait, David, don’t try to move anything in there, okay?” Evan said, his voice a little sterner. “We’re having to go a little slower out here to make sure nothing else caves in, but if you start moving stuff around in there it could cause it to go anyway. You hear me?”
David immediately backed away from the mound of material. He hadn’t thought of that. “Sorry!” he blurted, raising his hands in surrender even though Evan couldn’t see him. “Of course, I should have realized.”
“It’s okay, David,” Evan chuckled, “just hang on and wait a little while longer. We’re nearly there.”
Katie looked at David with big eyes. She had backed away when he did even though she hadn’t heard the conversation.
“We’re supposed to just stay back and wait for them to get through from that side,” David explained. Katie nodded and clasped her hands together, staring fixedly at the pile.
For a few moments, all David heard were the grunts and heavy breaths of the marines as they worked. Then pieces on the inside started to shift and slide down the pile.
“Evan, it’s working!” David said excitedly, stepping toward the blocked doorway again. A hole appeared near the top, letting in a shaft of light that sliced through the dust and the gloom to the other side of the room. Suddenly the light was blocked out and Evan’s face was there instead.
“Hey, doc!” he called, a smile splitting his grime-streaked face. “Nice to see you, too, Doctor Brown. I need you both to back away while we get the rest of this cleared. It could slide and you don’t want to be standing there if that happens.”
They both took a few steps backwards and watched as Evan’s face disappeared and the hole started getting larger. Every once in a while, pieces would fall from the top and slide down the pile, smaller ones and large ones. Finally a large space was cleared and one marine stepped through it to assess the stability of the other side. Beside him, Katie shifted impatiently from foot to foot, wringing her hands together and straining to peer out the hole.
Finally the marine beckoned them over. He extended a hand to Katie and helped her to quickly scramble up the pile and out through the hole, then turned back to David and did the same. He stepped gingerly in the places the marine told him to step and climbed awkwardly out the narrow gap at the top. Once he got out he was faced with Evan, who caught his hand as the marine let it go, and helped him to climb down the other side, one hand holding David’s own and the other wrapped around his lower back, keeping him stable.
“Are you okay? You’re not hurt, are you?” Evan asked, anxiously peering into David’s face. David shook his head but Evan reached out and started running his hands over David’s arms and body anyway. David watched his eyes as Evan touched him, wishing that the touches meant something more than just checking for blood. Finally Evan’s eyes came back to David’s face and the worried crease between his eyes smoothed out a little. Evan’s face relaxed into a gratefully relieved smile and his hands stilled on David’s body.
They both jumped apart as someone cleared their throat. “If ye’re done, Major, I’d like to get the man under a scanner and see if there’s anything ye missed.” Carson’s voice sliced through the fog surrounding David’s brain and made him jerk backwards a little, feeling inexplicably guilty. There was just no way to feel right about overly enjoying a first aid exam from a teammate. Carson led him quickly to a gurney and he sat down and took in the scene around him for the first time.
A full squad of marines, dusty and in various stages of undress, were heaving pieces of debris large and small away from the pile and into large bins to be hauled away while Sheppard directed and McKay waved a scanner over the pile, the walls, toward the ceiling, everywhere. Katie fluttered around McKay, touching his arms, pulling on his hands. Sheppard stepped closer, a frown on his face, and directed McKay’s attention to the network of fine cracks in the ceiling a few meters further down the hallway. They conversed quietly together for a moment and then turned to go.
“Rodney, where are you going? What about me?” Katie called after him.
“I have to, um, go back to my lab for a minute for some blueprints.” He gestured vaguely down the hall toward Sheppard. “I’ll maybe see you later,” he called back over his shoulder. Sheppard gave her a small smile and a finger wave before he too disappeared around the corner.
Katie sidled over to David, still sitting on the gurney. “Did you see that? He was so worried he couldn’t stay to watch.” She smiled triumphantly. “But he’ll come see me later. He said so.” David just nodded as she went past him and over to the other gurney.
Evan stepped up to take her place. The worry line was back between his eyebrows. “You’re sure you’re okay?” He raised a hand but then lowered it again without touching.
David nodded and looked down at his feet dangling off the side of the gurney. “Yes, really, I’m fine. Nothing fell on me.”
“But you’re shirt’s torn,” Evan said, raising his hand again and this time taking David’s hand carefully and turning it to expose the elbow of his shirt. It was indeed ripped open.
“Oh,” David breathed out. He’d never even noticed. “That must have happened when I fell into the room.” Clumsy, he thought. Evan would never be that clumsy.
“And lucky you, that’s the only injury you seem to have,” Carson said, pushing the sleeve up so he could get at the scrape. “Everything else comes out clean, so we’ll just get this cleaned up and bandaged and you can be on your way, Doctor Parrish. And by on your way, I mean back to your quarters for a shower and some rest, not back to the botany labs.” The doctor fixed David with a stern look and kept staring until David nodded in acquiescence.
“Don’t worry, doc, I’ll make sure he gets there and stays there,” Evan said. David looked up at him sharply and was surprised to see his cheeks color under the grime. Evan smiled and dropped his eyes to the floor.
A few more minutes and Carson was done with the bandage, so Evan took hold of David’s upper arm lightly and helped him slide off the gurney and onto his feet. He swayed slightly as he took his own weight - the adrenaline was wearing off and it left him feeling light headed and a little stunned. His knees began to fold and Evan stepped right up to him, slipping his arm around David’s waist and pulling him close to his own body.
“Sorry, I’m … I don’t know what…” David whispered, his eyes closing tight to block out the spinning room.
“It’s okay, don’t worry about it, it’s just an adrenalin crash,” Evan said softly, right into his ear. “Can you put your arm around me and hold on?”
Parrish opened his eyes to a slit and managed to get his arm, which now weighed about a ton, up and onto Evan’s shoulder, then shut them tight again.
“You’ll feel better in a few minutes, I promise,” Evan said, lips brushing David’s ear as he formed the words. “Come on, let’s get you walking.”
Carefully David picked up one foot and set it down, then the other. He let Evan steer and soon he was down the hallway where McKay and Sheppard had disappeared, leaving the noise and the dust and dirt behind him. Evan’s voice was still in David’s ear.
“That’s it, that’s right, keep moving and you’ll be feeling better any minute now, come on, let’s get you back to your room and what would you say to a nice hot shower?”
“Hello, nice hot shower,” David replied automatically, the old joke coming to his lips without him even thinking about it.
Evan snorted softly, his shoulders hitching in a laugh. “Come on, funny guy, let’s keep going now. Wow, who knew, huh? Doctor David Parrish: Smart, good looking and funny. Well, I knew it. I knew the first two, anyway, and I always suspected there was a wicked sense of humor in there as well. Oh hey, look the transporter, we’re almost there.” They stepped inside the transporter and Evan let him go long enough to hit the location selector on the map. David stood up by himself and took a deep breath. “Okay now?” Evan asked.
“I think so, yes,” David replied, scrubbing at his gritty eyes. Suddenly he remembered, “Katie! Katie’s still down there, waiting for Doctor McKay!”
Evan chuckled. “She’s going to be waiting a long time then,” he said. David shot him a questioning look. “McKay’s gone with Sheppard, he’s not coming back, not for a while.” Evan looked up at David, a sly grin on his face. “Doctor Brown is a nice lady, I’m sure, but she’s really barking up the wrong tree. Even if McKay doesn’t realize it yet, he and Sheppard are together. They always have been. She doesn’t have a chance of breaking that up.”
The door to the transporter opened and the two men exited, Evan’s arm around David’s waist again, holding him close if not exactly upright. Slowly they made their way down the hall to David’s quarters. Finally David said, “I wonder how long it’ll take for her to figure it out?”
Evan smiled and opened the door.
Once inside, Evan asked, “Are you okay to take a shower? You won’t fall or anything?”
“No, I think I’m fine now,” David replied, pulling off the ruined shirt and tossing it toward an overflowing trash can. “I’m just going to…” he trailed off and pointed toward the bathroom. Evan nodded and moved to the door.
Once inside and the door shut, David looked at himself in the mirror. Filthy, dirt streaked, hair everywhere. He looked like a building had fallen on him. Well, it had. Part of one, anyway. He started the shower and stepped inside. “Hello, nice hot shower,” he whispered and smiled sadly. That was the closest Evan had ever been to him, and the most he’d been touched by someone else in ages. He closed his eyes and hung on tight to the memory of Evan’s strong arm around him, Evan’s hands running over his body, Evan’s breath in his ear.
Then he had to think of mold cultures while he willed down his erection.
He grabbed the soap and made short work of the grime coating his body, then grabbed a fresh towel and toweled off most of the water. He wrapped it around his narrow hips and stepped back out into the main room, intending to look for fresh clothes in his dresser, but stopped short when he saw Major Lorne - Evan! - still in his room, loitering at the doorway. Evan’s gaze raked down David’s body and back up again. His eyes grew wide.
“Sorry, I - I just wanted to make sure you were okay, that you - you weren’t going, y’know, fall or … or anything.” The words rushed from the other man’s mouth while his eyes bounced from David’s eyes to his lips to the water still clinging to his chest hair, then down to the towel and back up again.
“No, I’m … I’m good, I’m fine,” David said, watching the other man’s eyes dance over his body. He was torn between diving for a sheet to cover himself and tearing the towel off. Instead he just stood still. His tongue poked out to lick his lips, and Evan’s eyes followed that too. “You’re looking at me,” he whispered. Stupid! he thought.
Evan took a step closer, then another. “Yeah,” he whispered back. “I’m looking at you. I always look at you.” He slowly reached his hand out and touched David’s pectoral muscle with his fingertips lightly. “But you never look at me.”
Out of habit David’s eyes dropped to the floor.
“David,” Evan said, his voice a husky rasp. He reached out and brought his hand up under David’s chin, gently coaxing his face up again. “David, please look at me.”
David wrenched his gaze up, jerking his eyes quickly to Evan’s face and forcing himself to meet the other man’s steady stare. He stood stock still, hyper aware of his own breath sounding ragged in the silence, gaze locked with Evan’s. His vision narrowed down to just the wide, dark pupils of Evan’s eyes thinly ringed in blue and his own blood roared in his ears, a loud rushing sound that pounded with the beat of his heart. Finally he blinked and, like a spell being broken, his gaze dropped again, resting now on Evan’s lips, parted slightly, glistening from being licked. Evan’s eyes dropped as well, and he dragged his fingertips lightly over David’s lips as he looked.
David swallowed harshly, then pursed his lips slightly, barely kissing one fingertip.
Evan’s voice was harsh, guttural. “God, David, say you- do you-?”
David cut him off, quickly lunging forward and pressing his lips against Evan’s, sliding against him inelegantly and not caring. “Want... I want...” was all he managed before Evan kissed back, capturing David’s lips with his own, flicking the tip of his tongue lightly against the pressed closed seam of his mouth. Evan’s arms went around him and pulled David roughly against his chest as they kissed, tongues sliding together and parting only to come together again. Finally they broke apart, only just far enough to suck in a breath to continue, then came together again, softer, gentler, exploring rather than fighting.
Evan groaned low in his throat and David felt it rumble in his own chest, sending shock waves through his body and straight to his groin. His hips jerked forward into Evan’s, dislodging the towel. Evan pulled back slightly and looked down, watching as the towel slid from David’s hips and pooled on the floor over his feet. Now there was nothing at all to hide David’s interest and he felt his cheeks redden even more, the flush spreading over his chest and up his throat. He was standing, completely naked, separated from Evan by scant inches, while Evan still wore his complete uniform, including tac vest and boots. Never had he felt more exposed. Evan looked back up and his lips curled into a lust-filled smile. He brought up his hands and lightly pushed against David’s chest until he had no choice but to take a step backwards. Evan kept pushing until the backs of David’s knees hit the bed and he fell back onto it. Evan dropped to his knees.
“Oh... my god,” David groaned, clenching his eyes shut.
“No,” Evan said, sliding his hands up David’s thighs, “Open your eyes. Watch me,” he ordered.
David’s eyes flew open and he leaned back on his elbows, staring down his own chest, wide-eyed.
“That’s better,” Evan said, and licked his lips as his gaze dropped to David’s hard, twitching cock, which stood upright from the thatch of sandy curls. Without preamble, he dipped his head and sucked the head of David’s cock into his hot mouth.
“Ngghh,” was all David managed to say.
Evan’s lips slid up and down while his tongue worked against the underside, first fluttering against the vein then flattening out and pushing against the roof of his mouth. Just as David thought he couldn’t take any more, Evan pulled back and ran the tip of his tongue over the head, dipping into the slit and fluttering against the bundle of nerves just under the head. David groaned again and helplessly jerked his hips upwards, trying to grunt out a warning to Evan.
Even merely sucked him back down, working the base of David’s cock with his hand, and David had no choice but to come spectacularly hard, crying out with each pulse as Evan swallowed it down. Finally the spasms eased and the white hot haze that had come over his mind lessened. He became aware of his own heartbeat pounding and his breath panting in the silence of the room. Evan’s face was pressed against his thigh, one hand stroking his hip gently. His hand was still tangled in Evan’s shirt so he used it to pull the other man onto the bed with him.
Evan landed beside him, and David found out what he was doing with his other hand. Evan’s pants were undone and he was stroking himself, his hand flying on his own hard cock.
“No, me, let me,” David said, covering Evan’s hand with his own and matching his rhythm.
“God yes, oh my god, yes,” Evan panted, and David leaned over him and covered Evan’s mouth with his own, not so much kissing as just capturing his breath, his words. He kept his hand moving, squeezing tight and sweeping his thumb over the head on the upstroke. Soon Evan was thrusting up into David’s hand as he pumped Evan’s cock, and David could feel the throb and twitch as he started to come. He pulled back and swept his gaze over Evan’s face, taking in the clenched shut eyes, the open mouth, the tendons standing out in his neck as he shot his release over David’s hand and onto his own shirt.
“Oh god, David,” Evan groaned as he came.
“Evan,” he whispered back, slowing his strokes as the orgasm passed. Evan reached out a shaky hand and David caught it in his own, bringing it to his lips. Finally Evan’s eyes opened and he turned his face to David’s. David looked down at their clasped hands.
“No, David,” Evan whispered, “Look at me.” David’s eyes came up again and met Evan’s. “I’ve been waiting weeks for you to look at me, months.”
“I didn’t dare,” David whispered back. “If I looked at you, you’d know how I felt.”
“If you’d looked at me,” Evan said lazily, a smile curling his lips, “You’d know I feel the same way.”
David smiled in return. “We made a mess of your uniform, Major,” he said with a laugh.
“It was a mess before that. And both messes are your fault,” Evan said, turning over onto his side and sliding his arms around David, pulling him flush against his body. “I love getting messy like that.”
David laughed lightly. “What would you say to a nice hot shower?”
“Hello, nice hot shower,” Evan replied, waggling his eyebrows before leaning in for a slow, deep kiss.
“Funny guy,” David said, sliding off the bed and pulling Evan with him. “Who knew?”
Author: l57371
Pairing: Lorne/Parrish
Wordcount: 5138
Rating: NC17
Warnings: Obliviousness and sex. Not together, though.
Spoilers: None
Summary: If you don't look, you can never see.
Beta: Thanks, worship and virtual chocolate cake to both
sheamackenzie and also
fififolle for weeding out the Canadian spellings and stressing the importance of specificity. Good betas are better than diamonds!
“…and I know he’s busy but at the very least he could come by to see me at least once in a while, don’t you think so?” Katie Brown’s voice droned on in David Parrish’s ears as he tried to keep the semi-sentient plant’s roots from wandering out of the pot again. Delicately he poked and squirmed his fingers until all the flailing shoots were back safely in the dirt and quickly dumped more soil on top, hoping he’d trapped them this time. The last thing he needed was to be playing hide and seek with a walking flower again.
“Mm-hm,” he said distractedly, nodding slightly in Katie’s direction to prove he really was paying attention. “Absolutely, yes.” He pushed down gently on a root that was pushing up through the soil.
“I mean,” she continued as if he hadn’t even spoken, abandoning all pretext of examining the cell samples of the mushrooms in front of her. “I know he takes breaks sometimes, at least when the Colonel doesn’t bring him coffee and food in the lab. I’ve seen him in the commissary with the Colonel, drinking coffee on a break. Why doesn’t he come take those breaks with me?”
“Uh huh,” Parrish said again. Maybe the plant didn’t want to stay in the pot? He started looking around for a basin with high enough sides that the plant could wander around happily in without being able to climb out. He crouched to search through the bottom cupboards of the planting table.
“You’re not even listening to me anymore, are you? Oh, hi, Major,” Katie interrupted herself.
“Dr. Brown,” Parrish heard Major Lorne’s greeting before he saw the man. “Is Dr. Parrish…?”
“He’s hiding behind the table,” Katie said with a laugh in her voice. Parrish stood up.
“I’m not hiding,” he protested, waving the hand still holding the little plant pot and the runaway flower, one root wrapped around a finger tip. “I was just looking for a--. I wanted to try--. This plant is really…” He broke off as he felt his face redden and dropped his eyes to the troublemaking plant. There was no way he was going to try to explain how he’d lost the flower in the first place.
“Sure, doc, whatever you say,” Lorne smiled, watching him stammer. “It’s cute, whatever it is.”
“Oh, yes, it is, isn’t it?” Parrish said, switching topics easily. He stepped closer and held the little pot out so that the Major could get a closer look. “It’s kind of a cross between a miniature Dahlia and an Aster, only you have to watch out because it--” He stepped forward quickly and grabbed Lorne’s hand before it could touch the petals. “It seems to, uh, walk.”
Lorne looked up and raised his eyebrows. “Walk?”
“Walk, as in, it ran away last night and it took me an hour to find it this morning. The roots can move.”
“What, seriously?” Lorne asked, his smile widening and his hand reaching out to the flower again but not shaking off Parrish’s grasp.
Parrish watched as Lorne’s fingers caressed the petals softly and another root came out of the soil to probe at his fingertip, then wrapped around it the way the other had done to his. He looked at their two fingers, each wrapped in a flower root on opposite sides of the pot, then up at Lorne’s face, taking in the joy in the other man’s smile. Quickly he looked back down again and removed his other hand from Lorne’s in order to unwind the questing root.
“Was there something you needed, Major?” Parrish asked, eyes resolutely on the recalcitrant roots, face flaming.
“Not really, no,” Lorne replied. He didn’t step back once his finger was freed. “Except I thought you might like this.” He pulled a large leaf from his pocket and held it up to eye level, forcing Parrish to look up.
“Oh, that’s a … Wait, what is that?” Parrish put the little pot on the table behind him without looking and reached for the leaf in Lorne’s hand. It was huge, easily two hands across, and shimmered an iridescent purple with a blue and green design in the middle. “Are those… letters?” his whispered.
“Uh, doc?” Lorne’s voice sounded strained. Parrish blinked and looked up, eyes skating past Lorne’s face and immediately back down again at the leaf. “Your plant’s running away.” Lorne pointed vaguely at the end of the planting table where the flower was busily tipping itself over the edge.
“Oh no! Katie!!” Parrish yelled, tossing the leaf on the table and grabbing a pair of gardening gloves. Katie raced over from the other side of the lab, a large pot upturned in her hands.
“I’ll just, um, leave you to it then,” Lorne said. Parrish hardly heard the laughter as the other man reached the doors.
*****
“…and he never brings me anything either, you know,” Katie said stirring almost-milk into her not-quite-coffee. “We were supposed to have a picnic lunch a couple of weeks ago but he showed up over two hours late and didn’t actually bring the picnic.” Her chin was resting in her palm, elbow on the table, gazing forlornly into her mug. The muted sounds of the commissary buzzed around them.
“But it must be nice to have someone, even if he’s not around much,” Parrish replied, tracing his fingers over the lines on the large leaf. He knew he’d seen that shape before but he couldn’t place where.
“Sometimes I wonder if he even realizes we’re actually in a relationship,” Katie continued like she’d not heard even heard him.
“Well, at least you have a relationship,” Parrish said. “Some of us don’t have anyone, you know.” He tried to smile and make it a joke. It came out as more of a grimace.
“Oh, I’m sure you’ll find someone, David,” Katie said, patting his wrist. Parrish couldn’t tell if it was sympathy or condescension. “There’s always that new lab tech in the medical bay. She’s sort of cute.” Suddenly she launched up from the table. “Oh, there’s Rodney. Could you take that for me?” she said, waving at the coffee mug and departing at a near run.
“Sure, why not,” Parrish said quietly to absolutely no-one. He traced his fingertips over the leaf again.
“So I brought pie, but I don’t know if you’re a cream pie man or a fruit pie man.” Parrish jumped as Lorne sat down across from him, a plate in each hand. “And since you look like a man who needs pie, you get to choose.” He put both plates down in front of Parrish and held up two forks.
“Uh,” Parrish said, gaze fixed firmly on the plates before him. Oh, eloquent. Perhaps you’d like to drool now? He took a breath and tried again. “Um, pie, yes, pie is good.” He shut his eyes and wished briefly for a gate alarm. No luck.
Lorne chuckled. “Your choices today are banana cream, which I have on good authority is made from a mix and not actual bananas, or pie with those purple egg-timer shaped berries from the planet with all the feather skirts.” He leaned close to Parrish and dropped his voice to a confidential whisper. “I’d go with the purple berries, personally.” He took a fork and pushed the purple pie closer to Parrish, then held up the fork and grinned.
“I, uh, sure, that looks…” Parrish could feel his face getting redder with every word. He closed his mouth with a snap of teeth and took a breath through his nose. “Thank you,” he finally managed.
“No problem, doc.” Lorne pulled the banana cream pie closer and dug in. “Did you catch your runaway?”
“My run…? Oh, yes, we caught it. I’ve got it trapped under a cloche right now. I just hope it doesn’t get any bigger.”
“Who, Audrey? Of course she should get bigger!” Lorne was smiling and gesturing with the fork. “Bigger and stronger and then we can put her in charge of guarding the supply rooms. Think you can teach her to sing?”
Parrish had to laugh too. “I don’t know how many people would get the joke though. No, no singing in our little lab of horrors. No way to make any sounds at all, as far as I can tell.” He felt a flush of warmth go through him at the thought that Lorne had seen the same movie he did. He took another bite of the pie. Quickly his eyes flicked up and they nearly made it to Lorne’s face before he dropped his gaze back to the table.
“You got the joke, that’s good enough for me,” Lorne said, scraping up the last of the crust with his fork. He rose and picked up his plate and the mug that Katie had abandoned. “See you later, doc. Enjoy the pie.” He tossed off a grin and turned toward the door.
“David.” Parrish had opened his mouth before he even figured out what he was about to say. Lorne turned back.
“David,” Lorne repeated, lips curling into a small smile. “Enjoy the pie, David.” His voice was soft and low, pitched only for Parrish to hear. He didn’t turn away this time.
“I will, I mean, I am. Thank you, Maj-”
“Evan. Call me Evan.” Lorne spoke over him with a serious look on his handsome face, earnest and entreating.
“Thank you, Evan,” Parrish said, his voice husky and low, surprising himself. This time his gaze managed to briefly find Lorne’s face.
“Any time.” Lorne smiled a brilliant smile as he backed toward the entranceway a few steps before finally turning and and placing the plate and mug in the dish return by the door and disappearing through the doorway.
Parrish spooned up another bite of pie and chewed thoughtfully. Katie may have been frustrated with the small amount of time that McKay spent with her, but at least she had someone to spend time with. Major Lorne - Evan, he wants me to call him Evan - would never want him like that. And if you keep making a fool of yourself like that, he won’t want to spend time with you at all!
He sighed and took another bite. It really was good pie.
*****
The thumps and thuds of shifting debris echoed through the rest of the large room. David and Katie strained and pushed at the large chunks of ceiling cutting them off from the doorway, to no avail. There was very little light and David couldn’t even make out the dimensions of the room they were trapped in. It was the first available doorway when the ceiling started coming down, so that’s the one he pushed Katie into, falling in behind her as he did. He had immediately radioed for help and ten minutes later a squad of marines arrived, led by Major Lorne, to dig them out.
David shook his head and tried to clear the confusion from his mind. In one ear he had Katie gabbling away about how Rodney would come and Rodney would save them and Rodney would be a hero, but in the other ear, over the radio, he had Lorne - Evan - speaking to him, telling him all would be fine and asking him not to panic. His voice was soft and slightly breathless, probably from lifting and heaving the debris, and it was all David could do to try to listen to Katie and nod in the right places while Evan’s silky words caressed his ear.
“Still with me, David?” Evan’s words slid through his brain, sending shivers down his spine. “Everything still okay in there? Nobody’s hurt, right?”
“No, no, we’re both fine,” David replied, trying to put his weight against a smaller chunk of wall. He grunted softly with the strain.
“Wait, David, don’t try to move anything in there, okay?” Evan said, his voice a little sterner. “We’re having to go a little slower out here to make sure nothing else caves in, but if you start moving stuff around in there it could cause it to go anyway. You hear me?”
David immediately backed away from the mound of material. He hadn’t thought of that. “Sorry!” he blurted, raising his hands in surrender even though Evan couldn’t see him. “Of course, I should have realized.”
“It’s okay, David,” Evan chuckled, “just hang on and wait a little while longer. We’re nearly there.”
Katie looked at David with big eyes. She had backed away when he did even though she hadn’t heard the conversation.
“We’re supposed to just stay back and wait for them to get through from that side,” David explained. Katie nodded and clasped her hands together, staring fixedly at the pile.
For a few moments, all David heard were the grunts and heavy breaths of the marines as they worked. Then pieces on the inside started to shift and slide down the pile.
“Evan, it’s working!” David said excitedly, stepping toward the blocked doorway again. A hole appeared near the top, letting in a shaft of light that sliced through the dust and the gloom to the other side of the room. Suddenly the light was blocked out and Evan’s face was there instead.
“Hey, doc!” he called, a smile splitting his grime-streaked face. “Nice to see you, too, Doctor Brown. I need you both to back away while we get the rest of this cleared. It could slide and you don’t want to be standing there if that happens.”
They both took a few steps backwards and watched as Evan’s face disappeared and the hole started getting larger. Every once in a while, pieces would fall from the top and slide down the pile, smaller ones and large ones. Finally a large space was cleared and one marine stepped through it to assess the stability of the other side. Beside him, Katie shifted impatiently from foot to foot, wringing her hands together and straining to peer out the hole.
Finally the marine beckoned them over. He extended a hand to Katie and helped her to quickly scramble up the pile and out through the hole, then turned back to David and did the same. He stepped gingerly in the places the marine told him to step and climbed awkwardly out the narrow gap at the top. Once he got out he was faced with Evan, who caught his hand as the marine let it go, and helped him to climb down the other side, one hand holding David’s own and the other wrapped around his lower back, keeping him stable.
“Are you okay? You’re not hurt, are you?” Evan asked, anxiously peering into David’s face. David shook his head but Evan reached out and started running his hands over David’s arms and body anyway. David watched his eyes as Evan touched him, wishing that the touches meant something more than just checking for blood. Finally Evan’s eyes came back to David’s face and the worried crease between his eyes smoothed out a little. Evan’s face relaxed into a gratefully relieved smile and his hands stilled on David’s body.
They both jumped apart as someone cleared their throat. “If ye’re done, Major, I’d like to get the man under a scanner and see if there’s anything ye missed.” Carson’s voice sliced through the fog surrounding David’s brain and made him jerk backwards a little, feeling inexplicably guilty. There was just no way to feel right about overly enjoying a first aid exam from a teammate. Carson led him quickly to a gurney and he sat down and took in the scene around him for the first time.
A full squad of marines, dusty and in various stages of undress, were heaving pieces of debris large and small away from the pile and into large bins to be hauled away while Sheppard directed and McKay waved a scanner over the pile, the walls, toward the ceiling, everywhere. Katie fluttered around McKay, touching his arms, pulling on his hands. Sheppard stepped closer, a frown on his face, and directed McKay’s attention to the network of fine cracks in the ceiling a few meters further down the hallway. They conversed quietly together for a moment and then turned to go.
“Rodney, where are you going? What about me?” Katie called after him.
“I have to, um, go back to my lab for a minute for some blueprints.” He gestured vaguely down the hall toward Sheppard. “I’ll maybe see you later,” he called back over his shoulder. Sheppard gave her a small smile and a finger wave before he too disappeared around the corner.
Katie sidled over to David, still sitting on the gurney. “Did you see that? He was so worried he couldn’t stay to watch.” She smiled triumphantly. “But he’ll come see me later. He said so.” David just nodded as she went past him and over to the other gurney.
Evan stepped up to take her place. The worry line was back between his eyebrows. “You’re sure you’re okay?” He raised a hand but then lowered it again without touching.
David nodded and looked down at his feet dangling off the side of the gurney. “Yes, really, I’m fine. Nothing fell on me.”
“But you’re shirt’s torn,” Evan said, raising his hand again and this time taking David’s hand carefully and turning it to expose the elbow of his shirt. It was indeed ripped open.
“Oh,” David breathed out. He’d never even noticed. “That must have happened when I fell into the room.” Clumsy, he thought. Evan would never be that clumsy.
“And lucky you, that’s the only injury you seem to have,” Carson said, pushing the sleeve up so he could get at the scrape. “Everything else comes out clean, so we’ll just get this cleaned up and bandaged and you can be on your way, Doctor Parrish. And by on your way, I mean back to your quarters for a shower and some rest, not back to the botany labs.” The doctor fixed David with a stern look and kept staring until David nodded in acquiescence.
“Don’t worry, doc, I’ll make sure he gets there and stays there,” Evan said. David looked up at him sharply and was surprised to see his cheeks color under the grime. Evan smiled and dropped his eyes to the floor.
A few more minutes and Carson was done with the bandage, so Evan took hold of David’s upper arm lightly and helped him slide off the gurney and onto his feet. He swayed slightly as he took his own weight - the adrenaline was wearing off and it left him feeling light headed and a little stunned. His knees began to fold and Evan stepped right up to him, slipping his arm around David’s waist and pulling him close to his own body.
“Sorry, I’m … I don’t know what…” David whispered, his eyes closing tight to block out the spinning room.
“It’s okay, don’t worry about it, it’s just an adrenalin crash,” Evan said softly, right into his ear. “Can you put your arm around me and hold on?”
Parrish opened his eyes to a slit and managed to get his arm, which now weighed about a ton, up and onto Evan’s shoulder, then shut them tight again.
“You’ll feel better in a few minutes, I promise,” Evan said, lips brushing David’s ear as he formed the words. “Come on, let’s get you walking.”
Carefully David picked up one foot and set it down, then the other. He let Evan steer and soon he was down the hallway where McKay and Sheppard had disappeared, leaving the noise and the dust and dirt behind him. Evan’s voice was still in David’s ear.
“That’s it, that’s right, keep moving and you’ll be feeling better any minute now, come on, let’s get you back to your room and what would you say to a nice hot shower?”
“Hello, nice hot shower,” David replied automatically, the old joke coming to his lips without him even thinking about it.
Evan snorted softly, his shoulders hitching in a laugh. “Come on, funny guy, let’s keep going now. Wow, who knew, huh? Doctor David Parrish: Smart, good looking and funny. Well, I knew it. I knew the first two, anyway, and I always suspected there was a wicked sense of humor in there as well. Oh hey, look the transporter, we’re almost there.” They stepped inside the transporter and Evan let him go long enough to hit the location selector on the map. David stood up by himself and took a deep breath. “Okay now?” Evan asked.
“I think so, yes,” David replied, scrubbing at his gritty eyes. Suddenly he remembered, “Katie! Katie’s still down there, waiting for Doctor McKay!”
Evan chuckled. “She’s going to be waiting a long time then,” he said. David shot him a questioning look. “McKay’s gone with Sheppard, he’s not coming back, not for a while.” Evan looked up at David, a sly grin on his face. “Doctor Brown is a nice lady, I’m sure, but she’s really barking up the wrong tree. Even if McKay doesn’t realize it yet, he and Sheppard are together. They always have been. She doesn’t have a chance of breaking that up.”
The door to the transporter opened and the two men exited, Evan’s arm around David’s waist again, holding him close if not exactly upright. Slowly they made their way down the hall to David’s quarters. Finally David said, “I wonder how long it’ll take for her to figure it out?”
Evan smiled and opened the door.
Once inside, Evan asked, “Are you okay to take a shower? You won’t fall or anything?”
“No, I think I’m fine now,” David replied, pulling off the ruined shirt and tossing it toward an overflowing trash can. “I’m just going to…” he trailed off and pointed toward the bathroom. Evan nodded and moved to the door.
Once inside and the door shut, David looked at himself in the mirror. Filthy, dirt streaked, hair everywhere. He looked like a building had fallen on him. Well, it had. Part of one, anyway. He started the shower and stepped inside. “Hello, nice hot shower,” he whispered and smiled sadly. That was the closest Evan had ever been to him, and the most he’d been touched by someone else in ages. He closed his eyes and hung on tight to the memory of Evan’s strong arm around him, Evan’s hands running over his body, Evan’s breath in his ear.
Then he had to think of mold cultures while he willed down his erection.
He grabbed the soap and made short work of the grime coating his body, then grabbed a fresh towel and toweled off most of the water. He wrapped it around his narrow hips and stepped back out into the main room, intending to look for fresh clothes in his dresser, but stopped short when he saw Major Lorne - Evan! - still in his room, loitering at the doorway. Evan’s gaze raked down David’s body and back up again. His eyes grew wide.
“Sorry, I - I just wanted to make sure you were okay, that you - you weren’t going, y’know, fall or … or anything.” The words rushed from the other man’s mouth while his eyes bounced from David’s eyes to his lips to the water still clinging to his chest hair, then down to the towel and back up again.
“No, I’m … I’m good, I’m fine,” David said, watching the other man’s eyes dance over his body. He was torn between diving for a sheet to cover himself and tearing the towel off. Instead he just stood still. His tongue poked out to lick his lips, and Evan’s eyes followed that too. “You’re looking at me,” he whispered. Stupid! he thought.
Evan took a step closer, then another. “Yeah,” he whispered back. “I’m looking at you. I always look at you.” He slowly reached his hand out and touched David’s pectoral muscle with his fingertips lightly. “But you never look at me.”
Out of habit David’s eyes dropped to the floor.
“David,” Evan said, his voice a husky rasp. He reached out and brought his hand up under David’s chin, gently coaxing his face up again. “David, please look at me.”
David wrenched his gaze up, jerking his eyes quickly to Evan’s face and forcing himself to meet the other man’s steady stare. He stood stock still, hyper aware of his own breath sounding ragged in the silence, gaze locked with Evan’s. His vision narrowed down to just the wide, dark pupils of Evan’s eyes thinly ringed in blue and his own blood roared in his ears, a loud rushing sound that pounded with the beat of his heart. Finally he blinked and, like a spell being broken, his gaze dropped again, resting now on Evan’s lips, parted slightly, glistening from being licked. Evan’s eyes dropped as well, and he dragged his fingertips lightly over David’s lips as he looked.
David swallowed harshly, then pursed his lips slightly, barely kissing one fingertip.
Evan’s voice was harsh, guttural. “God, David, say you- do you-?”
David cut him off, quickly lunging forward and pressing his lips against Evan’s, sliding against him inelegantly and not caring. “Want... I want...” was all he managed before Evan kissed back, capturing David’s lips with his own, flicking the tip of his tongue lightly against the pressed closed seam of his mouth. Evan’s arms went around him and pulled David roughly against his chest as they kissed, tongues sliding together and parting only to come together again. Finally they broke apart, only just far enough to suck in a breath to continue, then came together again, softer, gentler, exploring rather than fighting.
Evan groaned low in his throat and David felt it rumble in his own chest, sending shock waves through his body and straight to his groin. His hips jerked forward into Evan’s, dislodging the towel. Evan pulled back slightly and looked down, watching as the towel slid from David’s hips and pooled on the floor over his feet. Now there was nothing at all to hide David’s interest and he felt his cheeks redden even more, the flush spreading over his chest and up his throat. He was standing, completely naked, separated from Evan by scant inches, while Evan still wore his complete uniform, including tac vest and boots. Never had he felt more exposed. Evan looked back up and his lips curled into a lust-filled smile. He brought up his hands and lightly pushed against David’s chest until he had no choice but to take a step backwards. Evan kept pushing until the backs of David’s knees hit the bed and he fell back onto it. Evan dropped to his knees.
“Oh... my god,” David groaned, clenching his eyes shut.
“No,” Evan said, sliding his hands up David’s thighs, “Open your eyes. Watch me,” he ordered.
David’s eyes flew open and he leaned back on his elbows, staring down his own chest, wide-eyed.
“That’s better,” Evan said, and licked his lips as his gaze dropped to David’s hard, twitching cock, which stood upright from the thatch of sandy curls. Without preamble, he dipped his head and sucked the head of David’s cock into his hot mouth.
“Ngghh,” was all David managed to say.
Evan’s lips slid up and down while his tongue worked against the underside, first fluttering against the vein then flattening out and pushing against the roof of his mouth. Just as David thought he couldn’t take any more, Evan pulled back and ran the tip of his tongue over the head, dipping into the slit and fluttering against the bundle of nerves just under the head. David groaned again and helplessly jerked his hips upwards, trying to grunt out a warning to Evan.
Even merely sucked him back down, working the base of David’s cock with his hand, and David had no choice but to come spectacularly hard, crying out with each pulse as Evan swallowed it down. Finally the spasms eased and the white hot haze that had come over his mind lessened. He became aware of his own heartbeat pounding and his breath panting in the silence of the room. Evan’s face was pressed against his thigh, one hand stroking his hip gently. His hand was still tangled in Evan’s shirt so he used it to pull the other man onto the bed with him.
Evan landed beside him, and David found out what he was doing with his other hand. Evan’s pants were undone and he was stroking himself, his hand flying on his own hard cock.
“No, me, let me,” David said, covering Evan’s hand with his own and matching his rhythm.
“God yes, oh my god, yes,” Evan panted, and David leaned over him and covered Evan’s mouth with his own, not so much kissing as just capturing his breath, his words. He kept his hand moving, squeezing tight and sweeping his thumb over the head on the upstroke. Soon Evan was thrusting up into David’s hand as he pumped Evan’s cock, and David could feel the throb and twitch as he started to come. He pulled back and swept his gaze over Evan’s face, taking in the clenched shut eyes, the open mouth, the tendons standing out in his neck as he shot his release over David’s hand and onto his own shirt.
“Oh god, David,” Evan groaned as he came.
“Evan,” he whispered back, slowing his strokes as the orgasm passed. Evan reached out a shaky hand and David caught it in his own, bringing it to his lips. Finally Evan’s eyes opened and he turned his face to David’s. David looked down at their clasped hands.
“No, David,” Evan whispered, “Look at me.” David’s eyes came up again and met Evan’s. “I’ve been waiting weeks for you to look at me, months.”
“I didn’t dare,” David whispered back. “If I looked at you, you’d know how I felt.”
“If you’d looked at me,” Evan said lazily, a smile curling his lips, “You’d know I feel the same way.”
David smiled in return. “We made a mess of your uniform, Major,” he said with a laugh.
“It was a mess before that. And both messes are your fault,” Evan said, turning over onto his side and sliding his arms around David, pulling him flush against his body. “I love getting messy like that.”
David laughed lightly. “What would you say to a nice hot shower?”
“Hello, nice hot shower,” Evan replied, waggling his eyebrows before leaning in for a slow, deep kiss.
“Funny guy,” David said, sliding off the bed and pulling Evan with him. “Who knew?”