Fandom Snowflake Challenge - Day Seven
Day 7
In your own space, create a fanwork. A drabble, a ficlet, a podfic, or an icon, art or meta or a rec list. A picspam. Something. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.
It seemed like an omen that the McSheplets Challenge #167 - Lost in Translation - was also issued today, so I’ve combined the two. Not beta’d and written at 10:30pm so I apologise for any errors.
snowflake_challenge
McSheplets
“So, tell me again what happened.” Sam asked patiently, eyeing her Military Commander and Chief Science Officer with caution.
“Well Colonel Supergene here decided to play with one of the new pieces of Ancient tech we picked up on PX4 299. One of the linguists, Barker or Parker or whatever her name is, had been working on translating the writing on it but she’d gone for lunch when the Colonel came in.” Rodney began.
“It was just sitting on the desk and I just happened to read what she’d written and decided to see if it actually worked.” John interrupted.
“So what did she think it said?” Sam asked before the two managed to get into another argument over the subject. John’s head dropped as a flush spread over his face. Sam had to fight back a smile.
Rodney looked over at John in frustration before continuing.
“Well, originally she thought it said that it helped the user find their soul mate. But as she was eating her lunch she realized that the word wasn’t find but bond, so the tech helps the user bond with their soul mate.” Rodney explained. “We finally found reference to it in the database and it explained that the Ancients didn’t exactly fall in love and marry the way we do, but when they found their soul mate they use the tech to create a lifelong bond which can only be broken by death.”
“And…?” Sam asked.
“Well, at the same time as picking up and initializing the tech John poked me.” Rodney explained.
Sam looked from one man to the other, not really following.
“I’m missing something here aren’t I?” She questioned.
“Ah, I overlooked the part in the instructions that said that the user had to be holding the tech and touching their soul mate at the same time didn’t I.” Rodney stated with a smug grin.
“I see. I think.” Sam replied with a frown. “So the tech thought the two of you were soul mates and bonded you. I suppose you have worked closely for over four years and you are close friends, so the Ancient technology would sense that there was a connection between you.”
“Sam, we’re as good as married!” John exploded, standing so suddenly that his chair fell over backwards. “I feel drawn to him all the time now. I want to know what he’s doing, how he is. I can’t stay away from the damn lab.”
“Hey, hey, hey. Take it easy. Having a hissy fit over it isn’t going to change anything.” Rodney rose and grabbed John’s shoulders.
“McKay, it’s alright for you.” John pulled out of his grip. “You’re a civilian, people know you’re bisexual. This will ruin my career!”
“John, wait.” Sam interrupted. “I know you haven’t spent much time at the SGC but things like this happen regularly to SG teams. Some teammates have been married several times on several different planets and, despite DADT, the SGC is far more willing to overlook same sex partnerships than the military in general does.”
“Yes, yes, but you’re forgetting, Sam, this is going to ruin the Colonel’s reputation. If people think he’s bisexual it will ruin the girl on every planet thing he’s got going.”
“McKay, I do not have a girl on every planet. I don’t know where you get that idea from.” John took a step back, ducking his head and the flush spread across his face again.
Sam looked thoughtful at John’s response, curious that John had immediately denied having a girl on every planet but hadn’t denied being bisexual.
“So, how deep a connection have you two got anyway. Is there an attraction there to start off with?” She asked, curiosity getting the better of her.
Rodney turned back to the table and sat down, with a last glance at where John stood on the far side of the room. He took a deep breath for courage.
“To be honest, he blew me away the first time I saw him sitting in the Chair in Antarctica. At first I thought it was just because of his gene and what he could do with the Ancient tech but as I got to know him better I realized it was more than that. I always thought he was straight though, even knowing how the SGC turns a blind eye to same sex relationships.” Rodney admitted.
Sam turned to where John was pacing along the back wall, hands clenched into fists.
“John?” She questioned softly.
Rodney turned and looked over at John. Face pleading for understanding.
John stopped and stared at them both for a moment before sighing deeply. He walked slowly back to the table, picking up his chair and sitting down.
“I’m not bisexual.” He started slowly, putting hand up to stop the interruption Rodney was about to make. “I’m gay. I’ve known it a long time but tried to ignore it because I wanted to fly.”
“But you were married.” Rodney started.
“Yeah, and look how well that turned out.” John admitted softly. “Nancy realized pretty quickly that I wasn’t really into the marriage and she guessed the reason why. Luckily she agreed not to use it as a reason for the divorce. She just said that we grew apart due to my being overseas. I haven’t ever had a serious relationship with another man, just one night stands.” He dared to look up and met both their gazes before staring at Rodney. “I would never have said you were my type at all but we clicked straight away. I didn’t want to risk our friendship if it didn’t work out.” He dropped his gaze and slouched back in his chair relieved that the confession was over.
“So if I understand this correctly,” Sam said slowly. “You are both attracted to one another and you’re now bonded for life, which means there’s no risk of the relationship not working out.”
“Well, when you look at it like that…no.” Rodney agreed.
“So we’re all sorted then?” Sam asked with a bright grin.
“I guess…” John responded cautiously. “What do we tell everyone and what will the SGC say?”
“Leave the SGC to me, I can handle that one. As for everyone else, well, I don’t think it’s going to come as a surprise to anyone on Atlantis. Apparently most of the personnel already think you’re an item, they’re just waiting for the pair of you to get a clue.” She grinned as she rose and turned to leave the room, turning back as she had a thought. “Oh, and by the way, there are some great apartments in Tower 4 which would make wonderful married quarters, they even have balconies. You might want to take a look.”
Sam definitely didn’t giggle but it was a close thing as she stood and took in the horrified looks on their faces before walking out, leaving the pair in stunned silence to contemplate their future together.