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sga_flashfic2005-03-23 11:07 pm
sethoz.livejournal.com) wrote in sga_flashfic2005-03-23 11:07 pm
Entry tags:
Culture Clash Challenge:- Skin by Sethoz
Title: Skin
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sethoz
Rating: R [for Adult Themes]
Pairing: McKay/Sheppard
Category: Angst/Slash
Challenge: Culture Clash
Notes: Hints at possible abuse. 647 words.
Summary: It was on the second night that he first discovered the scar.
Skin
It was during the second night they spent together as something more than friends that he first discovered the scar.
The body under him was new at the time, with flesh his fingers hadn't had time to fully explore. The first time had been too quick, a frantic touching of flesh, the relief that both had survived a brush with almost certain death. It had been over quickly, so quickly and he hadn't been sure if there would be a second time.
There was.
This time was slower, more careful. There had been no injuries, no near death to warrant the sudden and inexplicable need for each other, just a silent understanding that he wanted to feel the body under him again, wanted to hear the moans as the other man came.
They had rested in his quarters after the event, his fingers slowly tracking their way over his skin, relishing the warmth, such a change from the restricting material he had always felt if he had touched that part of the body before.
He let his hand memorise the arms, in case this wouldn't happen again, wanting something more than a memory that would fade over time. He had wanted the memory of skin. As the tips of his fingers brushed down the left thigh, they had touched something rough.
A quiet intake of breath was the only reaction from either of them. Slowly he had let his fingers trace the scar, following the jagged cut, the raised area feeling alien to his touch. He had opened his mouth, perhaps to ask when the other had suddenly pushed him away, slipping out of the bed and silently dressing. He had left without a word or backwards glance and for nearly a week there was nothing more.
This time, it was he who had been surprised as the other had come to his room, again silently, looking him in eyes and saying everything that needed to be said without speaking a word. They had removed each others clothes then, and he had used every inch of will power he had not to look down at the scar.
In the aftermath, he had let his fingers trace down there, in a lazy fashion, his eyes closed as if he wasn't really awake. He found the scar quickly, letting his fingers lightly brush over it, then moving on. The scar had a brother. He can't remember if it was there before, he hadn't had the time to check last time.
Both feel rough and raw, as if they were new. But he knows that sometimes scars feel that way, such as the one his Uncle Nick had on his chest. It had never seemed to heal and remained red. The body tenses under him in a warning and he removes his hand.
This time, they spend the whole night together, wrapped in each other's arms. It shouldn't be something that feels so comfortable, two men in an embrace. But it does.
They come together most nights now, and slowly things change. They talk more, when before the sex had been done in an almost shameful silence. They look into each other's eyes and smile. He plays with the scars, and after a while, he knows he can do it without the other leaving.
One night, as he kisses them for the first time, he glances up into his lover's eyes. They stare at him and plead. Plead for him to ask this time, to show that he does care about these marks. They tell him without words that he needs to tell someone about their origins, be it from an accident or design.
But John Sheppard can't ask. He's still military and the culture of 'don't ask, don't tell' is still firmly embedded in his brain, despite the fact that he sleeps with men.
And Rodney McKay doesn't tell.
::fin::
Author:
sethozRating: R [for Adult Themes]
Pairing: McKay/Sheppard
Category: Angst/Slash
Challenge: Culture Clash
Notes: Hints at possible abuse. 647 words.
Summary: It was on the second night that he first discovered the scar.
It was during the second night they spent together as something more than friends that he first discovered the scar.
The body under him was new at the time, with flesh his fingers hadn't had time to fully explore. The first time had been too quick, a frantic touching of flesh, the relief that both had survived a brush with almost certain death. It had been over quickly, so quickly and he hadn't been sure if there would be a second time.
There was.
This time was slower, more careful. There had been no injuries, no near death to warrant the sudden and inexplicable need for each other, just a silent understanding that he wanted to feel the body under him again, wanted to hear the moans as the other man came.
They had rested in his quarters after the event, his fingers slowly tracking their way over his skin, relishing the warmth, such a change from the restricting material he had always felt if he had touched that part of the body before.
He let his hand memorise the arms, in case this wouldn't happen again, wanting something more than a memory that would fade over time. He had wanted the memory of skin. As the tips of his fingers brushed down the left thigh, they had touched something rough.
A quiet intake of breath was the only reaction from either of them. Slowly he had let his fingers trace the scar, following the jagged cut, the raised area feeling alien to his touch. He had opened his mouth, perhaps to ask when the other had suddenly pushed him away, slipping out of the bed and silently dressing. He had left without a word or backwards glance and for nearly a week there was nothing more.
This time, it was he who had been surprised as the other had come to his room, again silently, looking him in eyes and saying everything that needed to be said without speaking a word. They had removed each others clothes then, and he had used every inch of will power he had not to look down at the scar.
In the aftermath, he had let his fingers trace down there, in a lazy fashion, his eyes closed as if he wasn't really awake. He found the scar quickly, letting his fingers lightly brush over it, then moving on. The scar had a brother. He can't remember if it was there before, he hadn't had the time to check last time.
Both feel rough and raw, as if they were new. But he knows that sometimes scars feel that way, such as the one his Uncle Nick had on his chest. It had never seemed to heal and remained red. The body tenses under him in a warning and he removes his hand.
This time, they spend the whole night together, wrapped in each other's arms. It shouldn't be something that feels so comfortable, two men in an embrace. But it does.
They come together most nights now, and slowly things change. They talk more, when before the sex had been done in an almost shameful silence. They look into each other's eyes and smile. He plays with the scars, and after a while, he knows he can do it without the other leaving.
One night, as he kisses them for the first time, he glances up into his lover's eyes. They stare at him and plead. Plead for him to ask this time, to show that he does care about these marks. They tell him without words that he needs to tell someone about their origins, be it from an accident or design.
But John Sheppard can't ask. He's still military and the culture of 'don't ask, don't tell' is still firmly embedded in his brain, despite the fact that he sleeps with men.
And Rodney McKay doesn't tell.
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Thank you for not drawing the "mystery" out interminably (did I spell that righ? Beta? ;) and killing the beauty of the whole thing.
I would love to read more with this kind of depth. I'm torn between begging for more - and wanting it to stay just the way it is and not ruin the subtlety that makes it lovely.
Just wow.
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Very powerful, and a wonderful twist. Cool take on the challenge. *claps*
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Yes, and such cheloid scars can still burn and hurt, regardless of how many years it has been (I've been told it has to do with one's type of skin and that it tends to run in families).
Back to the actual fic comment:
Too short, too short! Did I mention too short?
Anyway, this was... too short. :)
Minor typo?
'Restricting material' maybe?
Re: Minor typo?
Too short... but good right?
'Restricting material' maybe?
*coughs* I knew that. That's the reason why I shouldn't post things so late into the night. *changes it* Thanks for pointing that out. :)
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But, I had to tell you that I really liked this. And you know I would be willing to read a continuation of that.../nag nag nag/ :)
Re: Minor typo?
Absolutely. If it was not so intriguing and full of possibilities, I'd be satisfied by a short vignette! :)
*trying to subtly increase the pressure so you feel compelled to write a 50 page follow-up with lots of fascinating details*
Pretty please?
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But that means I have to decied what casued the scars!!! It means I have to think and work!
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Re: Minor typo?
You want more? I have to write more???
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Hey, you know now that you are saying that. Sounds good to me *g* You do all the hard work and me...I'll get to enjoy the benefits. :)
Sounds pretty good to me *g*
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I have no idea where I would go with this... well beside's Rodney having a nervous brakedown, forcing John to face up to it...
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A lot of people are asking for more [one of my friends even threatned to take away all my McKay toys if I didn't...] but it all depends on if I can actually get any insipration to write more. Don't want the second part to be all rushed and rubbish.
Thanks again!
Re: Minor typo?
Well... no pressure: a mere hundred pages more will do! :p
(That's readers for you: so demanding!) :D
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Of course if you write a sequel I will read it, lol
Re: Minor typo?
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(Anonymous) 2006-02-02 12:11 pm (UTC)(link)lovely understated writinng, and ouch for the ending, but wow.
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lovely understated writinng, and ouch for the ending, but wow.
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Yeah, bit of a painful ending I agree.
[There is a sequel to this story, BTW. You can find it in my memories]
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