On the Outside Looking In
Title: On the Outside Looking In
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis - AU
Series: A snippet from the Keri ‘verse - Post Panor
Characters: Sora and some others
Rating: PG
Orientation: Het, with mentions of slash
Word Count: 1,746
Prompt: Voyeurism
Hurt Comfort Fill: “Planet Destruction”
Sora looked around the quarters she had been assigned. It was tiny, but leaps and bounds above her former dwelling on Genii. It pleased her greatly that the bedding was clean. She lifted the pillow and raised it to her nose, inhaling deeply. Clean, holding only the scent of laundry soap. And soft. She placed it down again and patted it. Nothing on Genii was clean, not anymore, not since the reactor accident that had sent them all fleeing the planet.
She had taken a chance, requesting asylum here, on Atlantis. She had come through and personally made the request of John Sheppard-Mitchell, the man that had once held her pinned to the floor with a boot on her neck. He had been surprised, but gracious about granting her request for sanctuary. Only a few other Genii had been as brave, he others still fearful of The Butcher’s wrath after all this time. Of her acquaintances, only Ladon had come here, less fearful of the Butcher after three years of trade negotiations and occasional visits to the city.
The breeze coming from the open window had a different clean scent; salty sea air. Sora sighed with contentment, her new life here might be difficult and awkward, but it would be better than the alternatives, and better than what she had before.
Knowing the layout of the major common areas from her previous visits here, she made her way to the mess hall to get a meal. Part of her compensation for the work she would do around the city was her room and board. She collected a tray and picked food that looked appealing. Then she found a seat in a corner and sat to eat, not minding the solitude.
She watched the Lanteans as they came and went. She recognized a few of the marines from security details that had followed her in the past. Interested in what they talked about, she watched and listened, trying to learn things she hadn’t been able to pick up while on trade missions. They were teasing one of their companions, something about him losing a bout of some kind that day. It was good natured and playful, a tone she had not seen or heard in a long time on Genii, where everything had been serious and frightening near the end.
A man waddled past her, his belly swollen. She gaped, watching him. The Lanteans were so odd, in that some of their men could have babies under certain circumstances. She had not been told the entire story, just some of the pertinent facts. She looked forward to finding out more about it, since it fascinated her.
The man awkwardly lowered himself into a chair. Another man, a balding middle-aged fellow, came over carrying two trays of food and sat down across from the first. It was quite obvious that they were a couple, not only was the older man quite solicitous of the dark haired pregnant one, Sora could tell from the long looks and the touches of hands that the two cared for each other. There were relationships like that among the Genii, but they were always secret. She had never witnessed a pairing like that firsthand. It made her a little jealous. No one had ever looked at her like that.
The older man tapped his radio and she heard him apologizing to “Paul’ as he got up to leave. He looked back twice as he left the mess hall. Paul went back to eating. No one else went over to his table, and Sora decided to indulge her curiosity. She had just picked up her tray and walked over towards him when he tapped his radio and began speaking. He gathered his tray and left quickly, still talking. She wished she had been more decisive earlier.
~*~
The balcony outside her room wasn’t very large, just wide enough that she could pull a chair out and sit in the fresh air. There was so much clean fresh here on Lantea. She fell into the habit of doing so each evening when her duty shift in Engineering was over. She was doing a lot of tedious cleanup work, but it wasn’t hard and she got to see different areas of the city. But she walked a lot, and was usually exhausted by day’s end.
She heard noise coming from beyond her railing. Voices. Climbing from her chair she crept over and peeked to see movement on a balcony two levels down and two over. She took a quick step back as she realized the two people clenched in a tight embrace were men. She couldn’t help her curiosity and she peeked over again, moving back to stand near the wall to stay out of sight.
They were kissing passionately. Hands roving everywhere. She knew she should look away, but she couldn’t, especially not when one of the men broke away from the kissing and knelt down before the other. Was he…??? She blushed and felt her heart thrum in her chest as she realized exactly what was happening. She wasn’t completely naive; she had just never seen a man do that with another man before.
Sora felt guilty, but she watched anyway.
She blushed when she realized she knew the man that had been on his knees. He was one of the few people she did know on Atlantis; Lorne had been her liaison for the trade meetings. How was she going to keep from blushing the next time she saw him? She ducked inside before the men realized she had been watching.
That night, as she tried to sleep, she couldn’t stop thinking about the scene on the lower balcony.
She imagined things that she knew she shouldn't. Imagined doing what she had just watched while someone else watched her the way she had watched them.
~*~
A few days later, she saw motion again on Lorne’s balcony. It was the other man, walking circles. Sora realized he was holding a baby, patting its back. She vaguely remembered hearing that Lorne had children, she had not known his spouse was a man.
She leaned on her railing, listening intently as she realized Lorne’s man was singing to the baby. He had a very nice voice. She wondered if the baby was a boy or a girl. She watched, smiling as he held the baby away from himself and dancing the tiny person in the air before cuddling the child once more. It still shook her, seeing the Lanteans as they went about their lives, expressing happiness. She had not heard or seen so much laughter since she was a young woman, before the troubles started on Genii. It made her happy and sad at the same time. For what she had not had then and what she didn’t have now.
Lorne came out on the balcony and joined his partner. He took the baby and happened to look up, spotting her there. He smiled and waved. She returned the greeting hesitantly. Embarrassed to be caught watching, she turned and ran back inside. She didn't think she'd be able to fantasize about them anymore.
~*~
A returning gate team brought some of the weather through with them into the Gate Room and Sora went up to assist with the cleanup. She had a mop and bucket and was doing the floor on the balcony outside the Gate Control Room, which had been hit with a gust of wet wind and debris through the Gate.
Not far away, Sheppard was engaged in conversation with a fair haired man. It took her a few moments to realize that the healthy officer she was watching was the same one she had dragged, sick and dying, from Koyla’s holding cells three years earlier.
She watched them for bit, glad to see that he seemed fully recovered after his near-death experience. He reached over and slapped Sheppard on the shoulder before he turned and walked away towards the offices. Sora was close enough to see that Sheppard had a soft look on his face as he watched Mitchell walk away. It was hard for her to believe that the man in front of her was The Butcher of Lantea.
Maybe someday, someone would look at her that way. She imagined someone like Sheppard caring for her, what it might be like.
“Settling in?” he asked as he turned and saw her there.
She felt her cheeks blush and she shook away her daydream. “I am thank you. Doctor Zelenka has been very patient and kind. He explains things very well.”
Sheppard nodded. “Radek’s a good guy.” It looked as if he meant to say something else, but someone in the Control Room called to him and he moved away. “See you around, Sora.”
It was not the same man at all. She watched him move around behind the glass as she mopped the walkway. He was speaking easily with people, smiling and even laughing. Nothing like she would have expected.
It was so different here. She wondered if she would ever fit in. Thus far, no one had treated her poorly because she was Genii. They had all been very good to her. At times, she felt it was more than she deserved.
“Whoa, sorry, excuse me.” Someone bumped into her and caught her by the arms to keep her from falling. Sora looked up to see a man about her age in a black uniform. He dropped his hands away and stepped back. “Didn’t mean to mess up your floor.”
“You didn’t. The Gate did that.”
“I haven’t seen you around before; I thought I knew everyone that worked in Engineering.”
She smiled and dropped the mop into the bucket. “I just started. I came from Genii.”
He pursed his lips together. “I heard a few of your people came. I know how tough it is losing your home and starting over. I’m Matt, Matt Scott.” He stuck his hand out.
Remembering that the extended hand was the Lantean’s manner of greeting, she clasped it quickly before letting go. “I’m Sora.”
“Pleased to meet you, Sora. Have you been to movie night yet?”
Movie night? She shook her head and leaned on the mop handle. “No, I haven’t, should I have?”
“Well yeah! Twenty hundred tonight, rec hall on level fifteen of building four. You should come; I’ll save you a seat.”
“I’ll consider it,” Sora said airily, without committing to anything. “I need to get back to work; maybe I’ll see you later, Matt.” She smiled as she turned back to her bucket and mop. She had no idea what movie night was, but she would ask Doctor Zelenka.
She peeked over her shoulder and saw that Matt was watching her. She blushed and turned away quickly, feeling his eyes following her as she moved away.
The End Originally posted at http://rinkafic.dreamwidth.org/
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis - AU
Series: A snippet from the Keri ‘verse - Post Panor
Characters: Sora and some others
Rating: PG
Orientation: Het, with mentions of slash
Word Count: 1,746
Prompt: Voyeurism
Hurt Comfort Fill: “Planet Destruction”
Sora looked around the quarters she had been assigned. It was tiny, but leaps and bounds above her former dwelling on Genii. It pleased her greatly that the bedding was clean. She lifted the pillow and raised it to her nose, inhaling deeply. Clean, holding only the scent of laundry soap. And soft. She placed it down again and patted it. Nothing on Genii was clean, not anymore, not since the reactor accident that had sent them all fleeing the planet.
She had taken a chance, requesting asylum here, on Atlantis. She had come through and personally made the request of John Sheppard-Mitchell, the man that had once held her pinned to the floor with a boot on her neck. He had been surprised, but gracious about granting her request for sanctuary. Only a few other Genii had been as brave, he others still fearful of The Butcher’s wrath after all this time. Of her acquaintances, only Ladon had come here, less fearful of the Butcher after three years of trade negotiations and occasional visits to the city.
The breeze coming from the open window had a different clean scent; salty sea air. Sora sighed with contentment, her new life here might be difficult and awkward, but it would be better than the alternatives, and better than what she had before.
Knowing the layout of the major common areas from her previous visits here, she made her way to the mess hall to get a meal. Part of her compensation for the work she would do around the city was her room and board. She collected a tray and picked food that looked appealing. Then she found a seat in a corner and sat to eat, not minding the solitude.
She watched the Lanteans as they came and went. She recognized a few of the marines from security details that had followed her in the past. Interested in what they talked about, she watched and listened, trying to learn things she hadn’t been able to pick up while on trade missions. They were teasing one of their companions, something about him losing a bout of some kind that day. It was good natured and playful, a tone she had not seen or heard in a long time on Genii, where everything had been serious and frightening near the end.
A man waddled past her, his belly swollen. She gaped, watching him. The Lanteans were so odd, in that some of their men could have babies under certain circumstances. She had not been told the entire story, just some of the pertinent facts. She looked forward to finding out more about it, since it fascinated her.
The man awkwardly lowered himself into a chair. Another man, a balding middle-aged fellow, came over carrying two trays of food and sat down across from the first. It was quite obvious that they were a couple, not only was the older man quite solicitous of the dark haired pregnant one, Sora could tell from the long looks and the touches of hands that the two cared for each other. There were relationships like that among the Genii, but they were always secret. She had never witnessed a pairing like that firsthand. It made her a little jealous. No one had ever looked at her like that.
The older man tapped his radio and she heard him apologizing to “Paul’ as he got up to leave. He looked back twice as he left the mess hall. Paul went back to eating. No one else went over to his table, and Sora decided to indulge her curiosity. She had just picked up her tray and walked over towards him when he tapped his radio and began speaking. He gathered his tray and left quickly, still talking. She wished she had been more decisive earlier.
~*~
The balcony outside her room wasn’t very large, just wide enough that she could pull a chair out and sit in the fresh air. There was so much clean fresh here on Lantea. She fell into the habit of doing so each evening when her duty shift in Engineering was over. She was doing a lot of tedious cleanup work, but it wasn’t hard and she got to see different areas of the city. But she walked a lot, and was usually exhausted by day’s end.
She heard noise coming from beyond her railing. Voices. Climbing from her chair she crept over and peeked to see movement on a balcony two levels down and two over. She took a quick step back as she realized the two people clenched in a tight embrace were men. She couldn’t help her curiosity and she peeked over again, moving back to stand near the wall to stay out of sight.
They were kissing passionately. Hands roving everywhere. She knew she should look away, but she couldn’t, especially not when one of the men broke away from the kissing and knelt down before the other. Was he…??? She blushed and felt her heart thrum in her chest as she realized exactly what was happening. She wasn’t completely naive; she had just never seen a man do that with another man before.
Sora felt guilty, but she watched anyway.
She blushed when she realized she knew the man that had been on his knees. He was one of the few people she did know on Atlantis; Lorne had been her liaison for the trade meetings. How was she going to keep from blushing the next time she saw him? She ducked inside before the men realized she had been watching.
That night, as she tried to sleep, she couldn’t stop thinking about the scene on the lower balcony.
She imagined things that she knew she shouldn't. Imagined doing what she had just watched while someone else watched her the way she had watched them.
~*~
A few days later, she saw motion again on Lorne’s balcony. It was the other man, walking circles. Sora realized he was holding a baby, patting its back. She vaguely remembered hearing that Lorne had children, she had not known his spouse was a man.
She leaned on her railing, listening intently as she realized Lorne’s man was singing to the baby. He had a very nice voice. She wondered if the baby was a boy or a girl. She watched, smiling as he held the baby away from himself and dancing the tiny person in the air before cuddling the child once more. It still shook her, seeing the Lanteans as they went about their lives, expressing happiness. She had not heard or seen so much laughter since she was a young woman, before the troubles started on Genii. It made her happy and sad at the same time. For what she had not had then and what she didn’t have now.
Lorne came out on the balcony and joined his partner. He took the baby and happened to look up, spotting her there. He smiled and waved. She returned the greeting hesitantly. Embarrassed to be caught watching, she turned and ran back inside. She didn't think she'd be able to fantasize about them anymore.
~*~
A returning gate team brought some of the weather through with them into the Gate Room and Sora went up to assist with the cleanup. She had a mop and bucket and was doing the floor on the balcony outside the Gate Control Room, which had been hit with a gust of wet wind and debris through the Gate.
Not far away, Sheppard was engaged in conversation with a fair haired man. It took her a few moments to realize that the healthy officer she was watching was the same one she had dragged, sick and dying, from Koyla’s holding cells three years earlier.
She watched them for bit, glad to see that he seemed fully recovered after his near-death experience. He reached over and slapped Sheppard on the shoulder before he turned and walked away towards the offices. Sora was close enough to see that Sheppard had a soft look on his face as he watched Mitchell walk away. It was hard for her to believe that the man in front of her was The Butcher of Lantea.
Maybe someday, someone would look at her that way. She imagined someone like Sheppard caring for her, what it might be like.
“Settling in?” he asked as he turned and saw her there.
She felt her cheeks blush and she shook away her daydream. “I am thank you. Doctor Zelenka has been very patient and kind. He explains things very well.”
Sheppard nodded. “Radek’s a good guy.” It looked as if he meant to say something else, but someone in the Control Room called to him and he moved away. “See you around, Sora.”
It was not the same man at all. She watched him move around behind the glass as she mopped the walkway. He was speaking easily with people, smiling and even laughing. Nothing like she would have expected.
It was so different here. She wondered if she would ever fit in. Thus far, no one had treated her poorly because she was Genii. They had all been very good to her. At times, she felt it was more than she deserved.
“Whoa, sorry, excuse me.” Someone bumped into her and caught her by the arms to keep her from falling. Sora looked up to see a man about her age in a black uniform. He dropped his hands away and stepped back. “Didn’t mean to mess up your floor.”
“You didn’t. The Gate did that.”
“I haven’t seen you around before; I thought I knew everyone that worked in Engineering.”
She smiled and dropped the mop into the bucket. “I just started. I came from Genii.”
He pursed his lips together. “I heard a few of your people came. I know how tough it is losing your home and starting over. I’m Matt, Matt Scott.” He stuck his hand out.
Remembering that the extended hand was the Lantean’s manner of greeting, she clasped it quickly before letting go. “I’m Sora.”
“Pleased to meet you, Sora. Have you been to movie night yet?”
Movie night? She shook her head and leaned on the mop handle. “No, I haven’t, should I have?”
“Well yeah! Twenty hundred tonight, rec hall on level fifteen of building four. You should come; I’ll save you a seat.”
“I’ll consider it,” Sora said airily, without committing to anything. “I need to get back to work; maybe I’ll see you later, Matt.” She smiled as she turned back to her bucket and mop. She had no idea what movie night was, but she would ask Doctor Zelenka.
She peeked over her shoulder and saw that Matt was watching her. She blushed and turned away quickly, feeling his eyes following her as she moved away.
The End Originally posted at http://rinkafic.dreamwidth.org/