Small TSBU ficlet.
I am alarmed. We're watching the Reptiles and Amphibians episode of Life, with the Komodo dragons. Trevor's watching them hunt the buffalo and laughing his head off. Seriously, kiddo, I really, really hope you're finding something else funny.
daybreak777 was musing that she wanted to see Gage and Vireem die. Can't say I blame her at all, and I've always meant to do this. I killed off Vireem in The Space Between Us, but Adama never killed Gage.
However, Adama wasn't always the one in power, was he?
Title: Justice for All
Summary: The Space Between Us universe- whatever happened to Gage?
Characters: Tom Zarek, Felix Gaeta, Louis Hoshi
Warnings: heed the warnings for the original fic, as usual. (If you haven't read the original, this probably doesn't have much power.)
"I need to talk to you."
Louis- Admiral Hoshi, Felix's mind corrected- turned around to face the President of the Colonies standing in the CIC. "How'd you get in here?" he asked.
"I knocked. Frak, Hoshi, how do you think?" Tom shot back, but there was no heat in it. "I told the marines I needed to speak to the Admiral and they let me in."
"You couldn't have just called?"
Tom flicked a grin. "They wouldn't have put me through." Hoshi snickered, but the humor faded from Tom's face. "I need to talk to you," he repeated.
"All right," Louis relented. He turned to Felix. "Mr. Gaeta, you have-"
"And Felix, too."
Felix and Louis both exchanged puzzled glances, but Felix just shrugged. "All right," Louis said. "Mr. Conoy, you have the deck."
"Yes, sir."
Felix struggled to his feet, leaning heavily on the crutches. Navigating the CIC was still awkward with all its steps, and they were at the end of a long shift. But Tom and Louis both waited for him, and Tom didn't seem to be in a hurry to talk.
"Should we go to our quarters?" Louis asked. "We don't have a study like Adama, but-"
"No. There's someplace else." Tom led them down the corridors, his face dark and grim. Felix wanted to ask, but there was something hanging over this whole proceeding that made him keep his mouth shut. Judging by the line between Louis's eyebrows, he didn't understand it either.
They were down by the launch tubes, and Felix couldn't help but shiver. This was a place he avoided whenever he could, and he noticed Tom didn't look at him as they walked past the airlocks. He was so lost in trying not to think that he didn't even notice the marines until they were there.
Louis frowned. "What's this?" he asked.
"Justice," Tom said shortly. He opened the door to the control room and held it as Felix and Louis walked in. As soon as Louis saw the man standing in the airlock, hands bound, he recoiled violently back against the wall.
"What the frak," he began, pale down to his lips. Felix stared at him. In the week he'd been back, he hadn't seen anything like this. He looked back out at the man, and finally recognized his face. His mouth went dry.
"Gage."
Tom nodded, but his eyes were fixed on Louis. "The button is yours if you want it."
Louis leaned against the wall, still white, his eyes closed. Felix looked away, finding himself staring at the man in the launch tube. Gage was watching them, and a smile was playing at the edge of his lips. As Felix watched, he actually took a few steps towards the window, his eyes on Louis. But when he noticed that Louis's eyes were still closed, he turned to Felix, and the smile deepened as their eyes met. As Felix watched, Gage's mouth began to move.
"Don't press it," Tom said, when he noticed Felix's hand on the button. "Whatever that frak is saying, Louis doesn't need to hear it."
Felix moved his hand away, but he couldn't take his eyes off Gage. He seemed like a lot of what he was saying was the same thing over and over. Felix concentrated, and finally, he got it.
I'd do him again. Just let me at him, and I'd frak him again.
He'd only felt this kind of murderous rage once before, and when he turned back around and looked at Louis's white face and the way his hands were straining against the wall, trying to hold himself together, he couldn't stop himself. The key was already in the controls; he turned it and hit the button. The airlock opened, and Gage went flying out into space.
Tom nodded. "I thought that might happen," he said quietly. Felix raised his chin and glared at Tom, daring him to make an issue out of it, but Tom actually looked satisfied.
Felix turned to Louis, who was watching him now with red-rimmed eyes. For a long moment, silence stretched between them, and then Louis finally broke it. "Thank you," he whispered.
Felix limped over, leaned one of his canes against the wall, and did the best he could to draw Louis into his embrace. It was awkward, stiff, and he realized that Louis wasn't comfortable right now, so he backed away. Tom shot him a sympathetic smile, and Felix gave a small smile back.
"I need to… I need to be alone for a bit," Louis said, drawing in a deep, shaking breath. "Felix, are you going back up to the CIC?"
"I can do that, yeah. Will you be okay?" The anger was still simmering, and the worry for Louis was turning into a sharp, aching pain in his stomach.
"I'll be fine," Louis muttered. He nodded to Tom, and then left.
"He'll be all right," Tom said to Felix. "Do you want me to walk with you back to the CIC?"
"Yeah." Felix glanced at his watch. "There's not much time left in my shift, but I think that Louis probably went back to our quarters."
"Probably." Tom opened the door for Felix and held it as Felix made his way through.
"You knew I was going to push the button, didn't you?" Felix asked as they made their way back through the airlocks.
"I wasn't sure. I thought Louis might do it himself."
"Hmm." Felix stopped by airlock A15. "You know," he said, "I'd like to think you just brought me down here to be support for Louis, or because you have some idea how I feel knowing what happened to him. But I know you, Tom. That's not why you did it."
"I never said it was," Tom said, standing back. He looked at the airlock. "This was yours?"
"This one was mine."
Tom shrugged. "You said you forgave me. And maybe you really have- maybe you're a better man than me. It wouldn't surprise me. But I wanted you to understand."
That's what I felt like when I thought you all sold us out. That's why I almost had you killed.
"I see," Felix said. He sighed, leaning against the wall, the metal cool through the fabric of his uniform and under his skin. "There are differences."
"Of course there are. I was wrong, then," Tom said smoothly. "But we were right today. That frak did not deserve to step on Earth, and Louis deserved to know that he'd never come at him again." Tom's face was hard, but Felix found himself smiling a little. Tom's brows furrowed. "What?" he asked.
"It's just nice to hear you call him Louis," Felix said. "When I got on that Raptor, you two hated each other."
"Well, there were other things I was wrong about," Tom admitted. He sighed, and then reached out and ruffled Felix's curls in a rare gesture of affection. "I'm sure a psychologist would have a field day with the hows and whys of a lot of it, but I don't really care."
"Me either," Felix admitted. He glanced back down the airlocks. "I should feel guilty. There was no trial. But the truth is, I don't feel guilty at all."
"There was a trial," Tom said. "It just didn't take place in a courtroom. And we both know he did it."
"Yeah," Felix sighed, thinking of Louis's white face in the airlock. "We do."
***
When he came home that night, Louis had composed himself, and some instinct told Felix not to talk about it. They continued on with their evening as if nothing had happened. They ate dinner, Louis helped Felix with his exercises, and they did their paperwork together at the table in the quarters they'd claimed.
Louis had commandeered the side of the bed that was against the wall. He'd never said as much to Felix, but Felix realized that it would be that way for the rest of their lives; that Louis wouldn't be comfortable sleeping without the solidity of a wall against his back. Felix usually didn't mind, because he slept with his back against Louis's front, Louis's arm around his waist, and that was what was most comfortable for him. But tonight, he minded.
He wanted to hold Louis against him, to offer him the comfort that Louis kept giving, to whisper in his ear that he was safe, to be his rock when he had nightmares. So when he slid into bed and Louis anchored him into his usual spot, Felix turned over so they were facing each other.
Louis mistook it, and before Felix knew it they were kissing. Not that he minded; the feeling of Louis against him was still unfamiliar after so long. Louis's skin was warm under his palms, and Louis's hands moved over his body with a forgotten confidence. Felix gave himself over to it, all thoughts forgotten in the heat of the moment and their bodies moving together.
They lay together after, on their sides, forehead to forehead, chest to chest. Felix touched Louis's cheek, not sure what to say.
"Thank you," Louis said, a small smile playing on his lips. "I needed that."
"I did, too," Felix answered. His hand opened further until he was cupping Louis's cheek. Louis covered it with his own hand.
"I wasn't just talking about the sex," he whispered.
"Oh."
"I don't want to…" Louis shook his head, and Felix rearranged them so that he was on his back, but Louis's head was on his shoulder and his back could still be pressed against the wall.
"Don't talk about it if you don't want to," Felix whispered. "Just sleep. I'm here."
"I know." Louis hesitated, but slowly, he relaxed against Felix. Felix wrapped his arms around Louis and held him close, stroking his hair as Louis closed his eyes. Louis fell asleep almost immediately.
Felix waited until he was asleep before closing his eyes. "Tom's right," he whispered against the softness of Louis's hair. "I understand now. And I'd kill anyone who ever tried to hurt you again. That's how much I love you." Louis didn't stir, and Felix smiled, just a little, and then let himself drift off to sleep.
daybreak777 was musing that she wanted to see Gage and Vireem die. Can't say I blame her at all, and I've always meant to do this. I killed off Vireem in The Space Between Us, but Adama never killed Gage.
However, Adama wasn't always the one in power, was he?
Title: Justice for All
Summary: The Space Between Us universe- whatever happened to Gage?
Characters: Tom Zarek, Felix Gaeta, Louis Hoshi
Warnings: heed the warnings for the original fic, as usual. (If you haven't read the original, this probably doesn't have much power.)
"I need to talk to you."
Louis- Admiral Hoshi, Felix's mind corrected- turned around to face the President of the Colonies standing in the CIC. "How'd you get in here?" he asked.
"I knocked. Frak, Hoshi, how do you think?" Tom shot back, but there was no heat in it. "I told the marines I needed to speak to the Admiral and they let me in."
"You couldn't have just called?"
Tom flicked a grin. "They wouldn't have put me through." Hoshi snickered, but the humor faded from Tom's face. "I need to talk to you," he repeated.
"All right," Louis relented. He turned to Felix. "Mr. Gaeta, you have-"
"And Felix, too."
Felix and Louis both exchanged puzzled glances, but Felix just shrugged. "All right," Louis said. "Mr. Conoy, you have the deck."
"Yes, sir."
Felix struggled to his feet, leaning heavily on the crutches. Navigating the CIC was still awkward with all its steps, and they were at the end of a long shift. But Tom and Louis both waited for him, and Tom didn't seem to be in a hurry to talk.
"Should we go to our quarters?" Louis asked. "We don't have a study like Adama, but-"
"No. There's someplace else." Tom led them down the corridors, his face dark and grim. Felix wanted to ask, but there was something hanging over this whole proceeding that made him keep his mouth shut. Judging by the line between Louis's eyebrows, he didn't understand it either.
They were down by the launch tubes, and Felix couldn't help but shiver. This was a place he avoided whenever he could, and he noticed Tom didn't look at him as they walked past the airlocks. He was so lost in trying not to think that he didn't even notice the marines until they were there.
Louis frowned. "What's this?" he asked.
"Justice," Tom said shortly. He opened the door to the control room and held it as Felix and Louis walked in. As soon as Louis saw the man standing in the airlock, hands bound, he recoiled violently back against the wall.
"What the frak," he began, pale down to his lips. Felix stared at him. In the week he'd been back, he hadn't seen anything like this. He looked back out at the man, and finally recognized his face. His mouth went dry.
"Gage."
Tom nodded, but his eyes were fixed on Louis. "The button is yours if you want it."
Louis leaned against the wall, still white, his eyes closed. Felix looked away, finding himself staring at the man in the launch tube. Gage was watching them, and a smile was playing at the edge of his lips. As Felix watched, he actually took a few steps towards the window, his eyes on Louis. But when he noticed that Louis's eyes were still closed, he turned to Felix, and the smile deepened as their eyes met. As Felix watched, Gage's mouth began to move.
"Don't press it," Tom said, when he noticed Felix's hand on the button. "Whatever that frak is saying, Louis doesn't need to hear it."
Felix moved his hand away, but he couldn't take his eyes off Gage. He seemed like a lot of what he was saying was the same thing over and over. Felix concentrated, and finally, he got it.
I'd do him again. Just let me at him, and I'd frak him again.
He'd only felt this kind of murderous rage once before, and when he turned back around and looked at Louis's white face and the way his hands were straining against the wall, trying to hold himself together, he couldn't stop himself. The key was already in the controls; he turned it and hit the button. The airlock opened, and Gage went flying out into space.
Tom nodded. "I thought that might happen," he said quietly. Felix raised his chin and glared at Tom, daring him to make an issue out of it, but Tom actually looked satisfied.
Felix turned to Louis, who was watching him now with red-rimmed eyes. For a long moment, silence stretched between them, and then Louis finally broke it. "Thank you," he whispered.
Felix limped over, leaned one of his canes against the wall, and did the best he could to draw Louis into his embrace. It was awkward, stiff, and he realized that Louis wasn't comfortable right now, so he backed away. Tom shot him a sympathetic smile, and Felix gave a small smile back.
"I need to… I need to be alone for a bit," Louis said, drawing in a deep, shaking breath. "Felix, are you going back up to the CIC?"
"I can do that, yeah. Will you be okay?" The anger was still simmering, and the worry for Louis was turning into a sharp, aching pain in his stomach.
"I'll be fine," Louis muttered. He nodded to Tom, and then left.
"He'll be all right," Tom said to Felix. "Do you want me to walk with you back to the CIC?"
"Yeah." Felix glanced at his watch. "There's not much time left in my shift, but I think that Louis probably went back to our quarters."
"Probably." Tom opened the door for Felix and held it as Felix made his way through.
"You knew I was going to push the button, didn't you?" Felix asked as they made their way back through the airlocks.
"I wasn't sure. I thought Louis might do it himself."
"Hmm." Felix stopped by airlock A15. "You know," he said, "I'd like to think you just brought me down here to be support for Louis, or because you have some idea how I feel knowing what happened to him. But I know you, Tom. That's not why you did it."
"I never said it was," Tom said, standing back. He looked at the airlock. "This was yours?"
"This one was mine."
Tom shrugged. "You said you forgave me. And maybe you really have- maybe you're a better man than me. It wouldn't surprise me. But I wanted you to understand."
That's what I felt like when I thought you all sold us out. That's why I almost had you killed.
"I see," Felix said. He sighed, leaning against the wall, the metal cool through the fabric of his uniform and under his skin. "There are differences."
"Of course there are. I was wrong, then," Tom said smoothly. "But we were right today. That frak did not deserve to step on Earth, and Louis deserved to know that he'd never come at him again." Tom's face was hard, but Felix found himself smiling a little. Tom's brows furrowed. "What?" he asked.
"It's just nice to hear you call him Louis," Felix said. "When I got on that Raptor, you two hated each other."
"Well, there were other things I was wrong about," Tom admitted. He sighed, and then reached out and ruffled Felix's curls in a rare gesture of affection. "I'm sure a psychologist would have a field day with the hows and whys of a lot of it, but I don't really care."
"Me either," Felix admitted. He glanced back down the airlocks. "I should feel guilty. There was no trial. But the truth is, I don't feel guilty at all."
"There was a trial," Tom said. "It just didn't take place in a courtroom. And we both know he did it."
"Yeah," Felix sighed, thinking of Louis's white face in the airlock. "We do."
***
When he came home that night, Louis had composed himself, and some instinct told Felix not to talk about it. They continued on with their evening as if nothing had happened. They ate dinner, Louis helped Felix with his exercises, and they did their paperwork together at the table in the quarters they'd claimed.
Louis had commandeered the side of the bed that was against the wall. He'd never said as much to Felix, but Felix realized that it would be that way for the rest of their lives; that Louis wouldn't be comfortable sleeping without the solidity of a wall against his back. Felix usually didn't mind, because he slept with his back against Louis's front, Louis's arm around his waist, and that was what was most comfortable for him. But tonight, he minded.
He wanted to hold Louis against him, to offer him the comfort that Louis kept giving, to whisper in his ear that he was safe, to be his rock when he had nightmares. So when he slid into bed and Louis anchored him into his usual spot, Felix turned over so they were facing each other.
Louis mistook it, and before Felix knew it they were kissing. Not that he minded; the feeling of Louis against him was still unfamiliar after so long. Louis's skin was warm under his palms, and Louis's hands moved over his body with a forgotten confidence. Felix gave himself over to it, all thoughts forgotten in the heat of the moment and their bodies moving together.
They lay together after, on their sides, forehead to forehead, chest to chest. Felix touched Louis's cheek, not sure what to say.
"Thank you," Louis said, a small smile playing on his lips. "I needed that."
"I did, too," Felix answered. His hand opened further until he was cupping Louis's cheek. Louis covered it with his own hand.
"I wasn't just talking about the sex," he whispered.
"Oh."
"I don't want to…" Louis shook his head, and Felix rearranged them so that he was on his back, but Louis's head was on his shoulder and his back could still be pressed against the wall.
"Don't talk about it if you don't want to," Felix whispered. "Just sleep. I'm here."
"I know." Louis hesitated, but slowly, he relaxed against Felix. Felix wrapped his arms around Louis and held him close, stroking his hair as Louis closed his eyes. Louis fell asleep almost immediately.
Felix waited until he was asleep before closing his eyes. "Tom's right," he whispered against the softness of Louis's hair. "I understand now. And I'd kill anyone who ever tried to hurt you again. That's how much I love you." Louis didn't stir, and Felix smiled, just a little, and then let himself drift off to sleep.