Ten Moments In Time (Harlan/Radu)
Title: Ten Moments In Time
Author: korepersephone
Pairing: Harlan/Radu
Rating: G to R
Theme: #10 [#10] for 30_kisses
Disclaimer: If I owned Space Cases, it never would have been canceled :(
Notes: I did a music/fic meme for this one. It seemed fitting since it uses ten songs. I will admit, it did take me longer than the duration of the song to write and I went back and listened to them again when I edited. The drabbles can be from the same universe if you really want them to be, though I wrote them as individual stories. Some probably wouldn't work too well together.
The Rules:
1. Pick a character, pairing, or fandom you like.
2. Turn on your music player and put it on random/shuffle.
3. Write a drabble/ficlet related to each song that plays. You only have the time frame of the song to finish the drabble; you start when the song starts, and stop when it's over. No lingering afterwards!
4. Do ten of these, then post them.
Warnings: This has not been beta-ed, please excuse any errors. Also, I have no idea if Star Surfing is even possible, so just go with it ;)
Ten Moments in Time
#1 - Surfing USA - Beach Boys
It was called Star Surfing, something that was all the rage with the youth on Earth, or so Harlan had told them. The ship would catch the outside edge of a solar flare and blindly ride the gravity wave. It took precision timing and careful watching of the controls, but those who could manage it increased their reputation.
It actually wasn't Harlan's idea to try it, as they had all first assumed, but Radu who had heard about it and wanted to know how it worked. It got them all interested.
Davenport was furious when she found out what they were attempting to do and Goddard looked suitably unimpressed with all of them. Until Davenport left the room.
Then he grinned and showed them how he learned to Star Surf when he had been in the Starcademy.
As Harlan looked over at Radu with euphoric glee when they made it back into safe space, Radu thought it was the best idea he'd ever had.
#2 - Christmastime (Oh Yeah) - Barenaked Ladies
It was a tradition that Harlan had insisted on keeping up with, since it was still big on Earth. The other casers had never really celebrated Christmas the way Harlan had as it hadn’t really spread to the other planets as much.
They had to improvise a lot but Rosie managed to grow something similar to mistletoe in the hydroponics, Suzee had somehow rigged up fake snow in the lounge and Bova organized a secret Santa exchange, claiming it would be the only way he would get a gift.
Radu pulled Harlan's name and, on the night, managed to get Harlan under the mistletoe. With the Christmas music reel that Davenport had found playing in the background, Radu stood on his toes and kissed Harlan lightly.
"Merry Christmas," he told a stunned Harlan.
#3 - Vertigo - U2
The asteroid field appeared suddenly on the radar, small but still dangerous. Goddard got them all to the Compost and began to instruct Harlan in precision and dodging tactics. The shields were on high but the ship still rattled ominously when hit.
Once he thought they were safely through, Harlan dropped his hands away from the controls. Just as he stepped down from the control center, the ship ran into one last one.
Radu had the best balance, of course, but even he could fall over if he wasn't prepared. He very quicky found himself on the floor with Harlan sprawled over his legs, staring up at him.
"You alright?" Radu asks.
"Yeah. Just a bit dizzy," comes the smiling reply.
"This is why we don't leave our post until ordered!" Goddard shouted at the both of them.
"Yes, sir," they replied, quickly looking away in case either one started laughing.
#4 - California Dreamin - Mammas & Pappas
"This is it, where I grew up," Harlan said sadly, arms crossed tightly across his chest as he huddled against the biting wind.
"I'm so sorry, Harlan," Radu replied, his voice low as he lays his hand lightly on Harlan's shoulder, squeezing gently. He shifted his gaze to the ruined tower of the distant church.
"We couldn't have known this would happen while we were gone."
"Yeah, well, a lot can change in seven years," Harlan replied, his eyes making the only movement as they flicked over to glance at Radu.
Radu bowed his head in front of the destroyed husk of Harlan's childhood home, his foot scuffing against rubble, the remnants of happier times. The scratching sound pierced the silence of a neighborhood now only inhabited by ghosts.
"I just wish you could have seen what it was really like, California winters were never this cold before," Harlan commented glancing up into the grey sky, the clouds a permanent cover, the only thing left behind, blanketing not only his town but others across the globe.
"Come on, let's get back to the ship," Radu said after a quiet moment. It was the only home Harlan had now. Radu knew the feeling. They turned and left through the unnatural darkness, hunched over until even their silhouettes were eaten by the gray.
#5 - A Thousand Miles - Vanessa Carlton
They were all separated after they returned, to be questioned, examined and who knows what else, and they all lost track of each other for a few weeks, spending time with their families. Except Radu didn't really feel like he had any family left, his had given him up for lost and he had never felt so alone, not even before they had boarded the Christa when he was already as good as an outcast in his own clan.
He just felt that his family of seven years was closer to him than his own kind were. So he lingered on the space station, not knowing what his future held. The past seven years had led up to this moment and now he felt like he was drifting through space without a line.
Until one morning when he found Harlan leaning against the wall outside his quarters, waiting for him.
"I've been accepted in to the Starcademy," were the first words he spoke.
"That's great Harlan, it really is," Radu said, sincerely happy. The years when they had fought were long gone by now.
"I told them I wouldn’t go."
"But that's your dream," Radu replied, confused as to why Harlan would turn down such an offer
Harlan smiled and held out his hand, "I told them I wouldn't go - without you."
#6 - Danny Boy - Eva Cassidy
Radu always knew it would end like this. Andromedans had far longer life spans than humans. He'd resigned himself to it long ago, the fact that he would outlive Harlan. They both knew it but they never discussed it.
But there was something he never told Harlan. Radu never mentioned that when an Andromedan had such a strong bond to someone, like the one he had with Harlan, then it was as if the extra time was sucked out of them when the bond was broken, and the pair passed within hours of each other.
It had only ever been seen between two Andromedans; a human and Andromedan relationship had never happened before, in known history. This was all new and Radu hadn't wanted Harlan to know until the end that Radu would go when he did.
Radu didn’t feared it, they had both lived long and well together, but Harlan's time had come that morning and Radu knew it would be soon for himself as well. Even now, he could feel the pull in him, the bond stretching between them, dragging him along.
"I'll be with you soon, love," Radu whispered over Harlan's forehead, kissing each closed eye before laying down next to him on their bed and curling up to his side, like he always did. Radu closed his eyes...
#7 - Radio - Smashmouth
All the fame had been fun at first. The Five, they were called, all young adults now and they never let the media forget it. They let loose and the public lived on every new article. They read about Suzee, scandalized by the budding actress-turned-fetish-model. They had many opinions, good and bad, about Rosie's protests and activism. Humans and aliens of all genders drooled over Bova's constant eligibility as bachelor of the year. But the one that caused the most uproar throughout the galaxy was when Harlan was caught with his hand down Radu's pants and tongue in his mouth in some dark alleyway outside of a sleazy bar on Titan.
That's when everything became real. It wasn't so much the fact that they were two boys, but that one of them was an Andromedan. Even as their own group stopped noticing things like that long ago, the rest of galaxy was not as forward thinking. The war was still too fresh in everyone's minds. Suzee spoke out for them but everyone thought she was involved with either or both of them. Rosie took on a new cause for them, but everyone thought it was a joke. Even when the handsome and mysterious Bova showed his support, everyone was sure they had paid him off.
Even they themselves knew they were all a little fucked up after their seven year isolation and were having more trouble adjusting to the normal life that the universe expected them to have. It would seem that the little group had become more insular in order to protect itself from the increased attention.
"Do you sometimes wish we were back on the Christa, exploring new worlds and not being mobbed every hour of the day?" Suzee asked of them one night. They were hiding out on Pluto were Bova's family owned some property. It was only a matter of time before they were found, though, and they were running out of places to hide.
Everyone nodded despondently and Harlan said from where he was laying on his back, head pillowed on Radu's lap, "I think I can get us a ship."
#8 - Stupid - Sarah McLaughlin
"You don't get it, do you?" Harlan yelled. "You don't understand what it's like to have that pressure on you! I grew up with stories of my war hero family members, about how it was all about the glory of fighting - killing -“
Harlan's hands were fists in the front of Radu's shirt and they stared angrily at each other, Harlan shaking a little in anger until Radu pushed back hard enough that Harlan slammed into the opposite wall.
Radu took his time walking across to Harlan, every movement deliberate, before he said in a soft voice, "and you wouldn't know what it's like to have such a large family that sometimes no one remembers your name."
It was either the quiet tone or Radu's broken expression that made Harlan pause. He could see the hurt in Radu's eyes and knew that if he dragged out the point, Harlan would lose him.
So he pulled Radu in closer, clutched him comfortingly, and let his silence speak for him.
#9 - In Pieces - Linkin Park
They pulled at each other's clothing as though there was no time for hesitation, no time to savor.
"Please," was the only thing spoken between them and that was all Radu needed to hear before he crushed his lips against the other boy's. Harlan's hands came up to Radu's neck, pulling him closer, hungrily sucking on his tongue as Radu wrapped his arms around his waist, the force of their hips pushed sharply together shot tendrils of pleasure up Harlan's spine until Radu twisted his hips just so and the pleasure spiked until he could no longer think.
They moaned into each other's mouths as their pants were undone and they began to stroke each other firmly, quickly as their foreheads rested together, breath mingling in the space between, hitching and panting until Harlan's hand stilled as he came. Radu worked him to the end before coming himself once Harlan regained enough of his senses to squeeze in just the right way.
They barely had a moment to catch their breath before breaking contact, looking away like nothing happened, like they did every time.
"No more," Radu said over the sound of running water as they cleaned up, his voice cold and absent.
Harlan nodded once, never looking at him. Only when he heard the door click did he glance at himself in the mirror, not liking the image he saw. It shattered with one punch.
#10 - Everywhere - Michelle Branch
Radu jumps slightly as a hand slips into his. He doesn't need to turn around to know who it is and he leans back into the broad chest, eyes fluttering closed.
"Hey," Harlan says softly, leaning in to rest his chin on Radu's shoulder. "What are you thinking about?"
How he never thought he'd have anything like this.
"Silly things," he replies instead, shaking his head slightly and turning around to look at Harlan. "Doesn't matter now."
Radu slides his arms up to wrap around Harlan's neck.
"Because I was thinking that I'd never see you again, after we land," Harlan tells him.
Radu turns his face into Harlan's neck, breathing in the comforting scent of him.
"Silly things," Radu says again, as though it's the most obvious thing in the world.
And maybe it is, but it still helps to hear it out loud.
They stay there, swaying slightly, as the blue of Earth slowly overtakes the blackness of space.
Poll The 'I like where these are going' poll
Author: korepersephone
Pairing: Harlan/Radu
Rating: G to R
Theme: #10 [#10] for 30_kisses
Disclaimer: If I owned Space Cases, it never would have been canceled :(
Notes: I did a music/fic meme for this one. It seemed fitting since it uses ten songs. I will admit, it did take me longer than the duration of the song to write and I went back and listened to them again when I edited. The drabbles can be from the same universe if you really want them to be, though I wrote them as individual stories. Some probably wouldn't work too well together.
The Rules:
1. Pick a character, pairing, or fandom you like.
2. Turn on your music player and put it on random/shuffle.
3. Write a drabble/ficlet related to each song that plays. You only have the time frame of the song to finish the drabble; you start when the song starts, and stop when it's over. No lingering afterwards!
4. Do ten of these, then post them.
Warnings: This has not been beta-ed, please excuse any errors. Also, I have no idea if Star Surfing is even possible, so just go with it ;)
Ten Moments in Time
#1 - Surfing USA - Beach Boys
It was called Star Surfing, something that was all the rage with the youth on Earth, or so Harlan had told them. The ship would catch the outside edge of a solar flare and blindly ride the gravity wave. It took precision timing and careful watching of the controls, but those who could manage it increased their reputation.
It actually wasn't Harlan's idea to try it, as they had all first assumed, but Radu who had heard about it and wanted to know how it worked. It got them all interested.
Davenport was furious when she found out what they were attempting to do and Goddard looked suitably unimpressed with all of them. Until Davenport left the room.
Then he grinned and showed them how he learned to Star Surf when he had been in the Starcademy.
As Harlan looked over at Radu with euphoric glee when they made it back into safe space, Radu thought it was the best idea he'd ever had.
#2 - Christmastime (Oh Yeah) - Barenaked Ladies
It was a tradition that Harlan had insisted on keeping up with, since it was still big on Earth. The other casers had never really celebrated Christmas the way Harlan had as it hadn’t really spread to the other planets as much.
They had to improvise a lot but Rosie managed to grow something similar to mistletoe in the hydroponics, Suzee had somehow rigged up fake snow in the lounge and Bova organized a secret Santa exchange, claiming it would be the only way he would get a gift.
Radu pulled Harlan's name and, on the night, managed to get Harlan under the mistletoe. With the Christmas music reel that Davenport had found playing in the background, Radu stood on his toes and kissed Harlan lightly.
"Merry Christmas," he told a stunned Harlan.
#3 - Vertigo - U2
The asteroid field appeared suddenly on the radar, small but still dangerous. Goddard got them all to the Compost and began to instruct Harlan in precision and dodging tactics. The shields were on high but the ship still rattled ominously when hit.
Once he thought they were safely through, Harlan dropped his hands away from the controls. Just as he stepped down from the control center, the ship ran into one last one.
Radu had the best balance, of course, but even he could fall over if he wasn't prepared. He very quicky found himself on the floor with Harlan sprawled over his legs, staring up at him.
"You alright?" Radu asks.
"Yeah. Just a bit dizzy," comes the smiling reply.
"This is why we don't leave our post until ordered!" Goddard shouted at the both of them.
"Yes, sir," they replied, quickly looking away in case either one started laughing.
#4 - California Dreamin - Mammas & Pappas
"This is it, where I grew up," Harlan said sadly, arms crossed tightly across his chest as he huddled against the biting wind.
"I'm so sorry, Harlan," Radu replied, his voice low as he lays his hand lightly on Harlan's shoulder, squeezing gently. He shifted his gaze to the ruined tower of the distant church.
"We couldn't have known this would happen while we were gone."
"Yeah, well, a lot can change in seven years," Harlan replied, his eyes making the only movement as they flicked over to glance at Radu.
Radu bowed his head in front of the destroyed husk of Harlan's childhood home, his foot scuffing against rubble, the remnants of happier times. The scratching sound pierced the silence of a neighborhood now only inhabited by ghosts.
"I just wish you could have seen what it was really like, California winters were never this cold before," Harlan commented glancing up into the grey sky, the clouds a permanent cover, the only thing left behind, blanketing not only his town but others across the globe.
"Come on, let's get back to the ship," Radu said after a quiet moment. It was the only home Harlan had now. Radu knew the feeling. They turned and left through the unnatural darkness, hunched over until even their silhouettes were eaten by the gray.
#5 - A Thousand Miles - Vanessa Carlton
They were all separated after they returned, to be questioned, examined and who knows what else, and they all lost track of each other for a few weeks, spending time with their families. Except Radu didn't really feel like he had any family left, his had given him up for lost and he had never felt so alone, not even before they had boarded the Christa when he was already as good as an outcast in his own clan.
He just felt that his family of seven years was closer to him than his own kind were. So he lingered on the space station, not knowing what his future held. The past seven years had led up to this moment and now he felt like he was drifting through space without a line.
Until one morning when he found Harlan leaning against the wall outside his quarters, waiting for him.
"I've been accepted in to the Starcademy," were the first words he spoke.
"That's great Harlan, it really is," Radu said, sincerely happy. The years when they had fought were long gone by now.
"I told them I wouldn’t go."
"But that's your dream," Radu replied, confused as to why Harlan would turn down such an offer
Harlan smiled and held out his hand, "I told them I wouldn't go - without you."
#6 - Danny Boy - Eva Cassidy
Radu always knew it would end like this. Andromedans had far longer life spans than humans. He'd resigned himself to it long ago, the fact that he would outlive Harlan. They both knew it but they never discussed it.
But there was something he never told Harlan. Radu never mentioned that when an Andromedan had such a strong bond to someone, like the one he had with Harlan, then it was as if the extra time was sucked out of them when the bond was broken, and the pair passed within hours of each other.
It had only ever been seen between two Andromedans; a human and Andromedan relationship had never happened before, in known history. This was all new and Radu hadn't wanted Harlan to know until the end that Radu would go when he did.
Radu didn’t feared it, they had both lived long and well together, but Harlan's time had come that morning and Radu knew it would be soon for himself as well. Even now, he could feel the pull in him, the bond stretching between them, dragging him along.
"I'll be with you soon, love," Radu whispered over Harlan's forehead, kissing each closed eye before laying down next to him on their bed and curling up to his side, like he always did. Radu closed his eyes...
#7 - Radio - Smashmouth
All the fame had been fun at first. The Five, they were called, all young adults now and they never let the media forget it. They let loose and the public lived on every new article. They read about Suzee, scandalized by the budding actress-turned-fetish-model. They had many opinions, good and bad, about Rosie's protests and activism. Humans and aliens of all genders drooled over Bova's constant eligibility as bachelor of the year. But the one that caused the most uproar throughout the galaxy was when Harlan was caught with his hand down Radu's pants and tongue in his mouth in some dark alleyway outside of a sleazy bar on Titan.
That's when everything became real. It wasn't so much the fact that they were two boys, but that one of them was an Andromedan. Even as their own group stopped noticing things like that long ago, the rest of galaxy was not as forward thinking. The war was still too fresh in everyone's minds. Suzee spoke out for them but everyone thought she was involved with either or both of them. Rosie took on a new cause for them, but everyone thought it was a joke. Even when the handsome and mysterious Bova showed his support, everyone was sure they had paid him off.
Even they themselves knew they were all a little fucked up after their seven year isolation and were having more trouble adjusting to the normal life that the universe expected them to have. It would seem that the little group had become more insular in order to protect itself from the increased attention.
"Do you sometimes wish we were back on the Christa, exploring new worlds and not being mobbed every hour of the day?" Suzee asked of them one night. They were hiding out on Pluto were Bova's family owned some property. It was only a matter of time before they were found, though, and they were running out of places to hide.
Everyone nodded despondently and Harlan said from where he was laying on his back, head pillowed on Radu's lap, "I think I can get us a ship."
#8 - Stupid - Sarah McLaughlin
"You don't get it, do you?" Harlan yelled. "You don't understand what it's like to have that pressure on you! I grew up with stories of my war hero family members, about how it was all about the glory of fighting - killing -“
Harlan's hands were fists in the front of Radu's shirt and they stared angrily at each other, Harlan shaking a little in anger until Radu pushed back hard enough that Harlan slammed into the opposite wall.
Radu took his time walking across to Harlan, every movement deliberate, before he said in a soft voice, "and you wouldn't know what it's like to have such a large family that sometimes no one remembers your name."
It was either the quiet tone or Radu's broken expression that made Harlan pause. He could see the hurt in Radu's eyes and knew that if he dragged out the point, Harlan would lose him.
So he pulled Radu in closer, clutched him comfortingly, and let his silence speak for him.
#9 - In Pieces - Linkin Park
They pulled at each other's clothing as though there was no time for hesitation, no time to savor.
"Please," was the only thing spoken between them and that was all Radu needed to hear before he crushed his lips against the other boy's. Harlan's hands came up to Radu's neck, pulling him closer, hungrily sucking on his tongue as Radu wrapped his arms around his waist, the force of their hips pushed sharply together shot tendrils of pleasure up Harlan's spine until Radu twisted his hips just so and the pleasure spiked until he could no longer think.
They moaned into each other's mouths as their pants were undone and they began to stroke each other firmly, quickly as their foreheads rested together, breath mingling in the space between, hitching and panting until Harlan's hand stilled as he came. Radu worked him to the end before coming himself once Harlan regained enough of his senses to squeeze in just the right way.
They barely had a moment to catch their breath before breaking contact, looking away like nothing happened, like they did every time.
"No more," Radu said over the sound of running water as they cleaned up, his voice cold and absent.
Harlan nodded once, never looking at him. Only when he heard the door click did he glance at himself in the mirror, not liking the image he saw. It shattered with one punch.
#10 - Everywhere - Michelle Branch
Radu jumps slightly as a hand slips into his. He doesn't need to turn around to know who it is and he leans back into the broad chest, eyes fluttering closed.
"Hey," Harlan says softly, leaning in to rest his chin on Radu's shoulder. "What are you thinking about?"
How he never thought he'd have anything like this.
"Silly things," he replies instead, shaking his head slightly and turning around to look at Harlan. "Doesn't matter now."
Radu slides his arms up to wrap around Harlan's neck.
"Because I was thinking that I'd never see you again, after we land," Harlan tells him.
Radu turns his face into Harlan's neck, breathing in the comforting scent of him.
"Silly things," Radu says again, as though it's the most obvious thing in the world.
And maybe it is, but it still helps to hear it out loud.
They stay there, swaying slightly, as the blue of Earth slowly overtakes the blackness of space.
Poll The 'I like where these are going' poll