Moonlight of Your Soul 7/8
Mar. 24th, 2005 05:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gilascaveWhoo! Done! Now just the last bit of editing, and ...writing the sequel. ;-)
Chapter Seven
"Really, I am fine," Radek said. It was the third time Carson had asked if he really wanted to do this and still he did not look convinced. Radek felt like a small boy being taken to his first day of school; his mother had held his hand and asked him, over again, if he really wanted to go or if he wanted to put it off for a year. He'd only been four years old, but straining at her hand to get inside where there were books to read and magnificent things to learn.
Carson was not holding his hand, but Radek knew if he said a single word, Carson would find a reason to hang around the astrophysics labs all day. Or drag him back to his quarters and keep him safely tucked away.
"I'll just--" Carson began, giving the hallway towards Radek's lab a nod.
Radek frowned and did not budge. "You will go that way." He pointed in the other direction, towards the infirmary and Carson's office.
Carson hesitated, then smiled sheepishly. "So you'll meet me for lunch?"
"I will. But only if you go to work, and let me do the same, so we *can* meet."
He knew what Carson was doing. What he wanted -- what Radek wanted, as well. But if he allowed Carson to escort him the entire way to his lab, then he knew Carson would find some reason to stay for a bit. 'A bit' would stretch to an hour, then two, then the entire morning.
As much as Radek knew he would like that, he felt it would only attract even more attention. He just wanted to act as though everything were normal.
Carson frowned, slightly, then took a step towards the infirmary. "You're sure?"
Radek sighed. "An early lunch, then. Now, go." He shooed Carson off, then very deliberately turned and walked away. He did not hear Carson's footsteps for several moments, but eventually Carson turned and walked away as well.
It was rather nerve-wracking to walk alone down the corridor, despite the absence of anyone else. They'd seen very few people since leaving Radek's room, and those they had encountered had not spoken to him. There had been no hostility in the silence.
But he understood why Carson had been so insistent that he could accompany Radek the entire way. Why in fact he'd suggested they take the day off and stay in Radek's quarters. He was almost tempted to turn back and tell Carson he accepted the offer.
He knew that the more he put this off, the harder it would be. He could not hide forever, so Radek kept going, knowing that he had to get this over with.
Fortunately it was not a long walk and he passed no one else in the hallway. When he spotted the door to the astrophysics lab, he found himself quickening his steps. Then he stopped just inside the doorway.
"What--" He swallowed the question, for it was very quickly obvious what was going on. He headed towards his workstation -- avoiding Drs Kavanagh and Richardson who were picking up boxes loaded full of their belongings. Richardson paused when he saw Radek; Kavanagh made his way forward.
"Excuse me," Kavanagh said in a sharp tone, reaching past Radek to take a small box of portable memory from the shelf. Radek moved aside, hoping he would just take it and go. But Kavanagh stopped and sneered down at him. "We're moving to a better facility down the hallway." He looked over his shoulder at Dr. Saito. "You're still welcome to join us."
Dr. Saito did not look up, hunched over her keyboard. Radek could not tell if it were he or Kavanagh she was distressed by.
"Suit yourself," Kavanagh said. He turned, knocking into Radek with the edge of the box he was holding. "Watch it!" he snapped, despite being the cause of the collision.
Radek said nothing, just wanting them to go, already. If they did not want to be here and work in the same space as himself -- he was happy to be rid of them. He took a step sideways, trying to make more room for Kavanagh to walk past.
"Oh, I forgot," Kavanagh said and he walked back over to his former workstation. He picked up his coffee mug, shifting the box onto his hip to carry it with one arm. Richardson was hovering at the doorway and Radek could smell the tension and fear rolling out of him like thick, cloying salt.
Kavanagh headed towards the door, walking past Radek again. As he passed, he hit Radek solidly in the chest with his hand.
"Kurva!" Radek jumped as hot coffee spilled down his chest. He glared at Kavanagh, who was smirking.
"Watch it, Wolfboy," Kavanagh said. "You could have spilled that all over my computer. Remember we can't replace it if it gets ruined."
Radek bared his teeth. "And you should remember that tonight is another full moon. Srac!"
Kavanagh's anger vanished in a second as he stumbled backwards a step. He recovered himself and shook his head. "And you'll be hiding in your room again with that faggot--"
Radek had his hand on Kavanagh's shirt, twisting the fabric tightly in his hand before he could complete his sentence. "Neser me," he said quietly. "If you piss me off I will demonstrate just how not human I am, no matter what I look like."
There was a rush of fear from Richardson, who ducked out of the lab and hurried away. Kavanagh stank of it as well, underneath his arrogance. He knocked Radek's hand away and sneered. "Why *anyone* would-" he began.
"Get out!" Radek snapped. He did not want to hear anymore, did not want to smell Kavanagh for one more second. They were welcome to go work on the other side of the planet if they liked and good riddance to them both.
Kavanagh hesitated and Radek took a step towards him. Kavanagh retreated one more step then said, "I'm glad to get out of here." He glanced around the room as though including them all in his insult.
But he left and Radek let him go. He wished he could follow through on his threat -- although he was not convinced anyone would blame him if Kavanagh turned up in the morning missing a few limbs. He paced back and forth, still very much wanting to bite someone.
"D..dr. Zelenka?" Dr. Saito took a hesitant step forward and he looked over to see her holding out a towel.
He forced himself to calm down and nodded. "Thank you." She scurried forward to hand him the towel, practically leapt away, then stopped.
"I...that is...." She stopped and looked down, almost trembling.
"Perhaps we can get some decent work done with them gone," Radek said, trying to calm down for her sake, if nothing else.
"I'm sorry," Dr. Saito blurted, glancing up at him briefly. "I came in and they were saying...horrible things. Dr. Kavanagh told me to go, as well, but-- That is... are they true? The things he said?"
"I do not know what he said," Radek told her. There was really no way to clean the coffee from his shirt, he decided as he dabbed at the stain. It had spilled everywhere and the damp cloth was already turning cold against his skin. Luckily the fabric had protected him from being burned -- or Kavanagh would likely have more than just an irate wolf at his throat.
"He...he said...Dr. McKay!" Dr. Saito's eyes flew wide and she leapt back.
"Morning, what-- Radek, what happened?" Rodney hurried over, frowning at Radek's shirt and glancing uncertainly at Saito.
"This was Kavanagh," Radek told him. "Dr. Saito was helping me."
"Kavanagh! What did he-- where is he?" Rodney whirled, then stopped, frustrated at finding Kavanagh absent.
"He is gone. He and Richardson both. Have moved to another lab where they are not distressed by the presence of a scientist smarter than they are."
"They left because of me? Finally," Rodney said, though his humour was obviously forced.
Radek rolled his eyes. "Rodney, if Kavanagh were going to leave this lab because of you, he would have done so the first time you corrected his math."
The corner of Rodney's mouth quirked, despite his anger. "That was actually kinda fun. I thought he was going to pass out from choking."
"Which is no doubt why you did it." He sighed. "I need new shirt." Which meant making that walk back to his quarters and back again. He'd been looking forward to holing up here for the rest of the day -- except for lunch, he reminded himself.
"I've got one in my office," Rodney said. "I keep a change of clothes here--"
"For those times you spill hydrochloric acid on yourself," Radek finished.
"I never spill -- does this *look* like a chemistry lab to you?" Rodney was leading him towards his office; Radek followed, grateful he would not have to make the long trek past all those potential seeing eyes -- but on the other hand, he could have returned to his quarters and stayed there.
"My mistake," Radek said. "It must have been something that only smelled and behaved like hydrochloric acid. Which would be...let me think...." He trailed off as though trying to recall what other chemicals it might have been. "Hydrochloric acid?"
"You know what? Never mind. I'm not lending you my shirt." Rodney had already grabbed it out of a small cabinet, but he folded his arms and glared at Radek.
"Give me your shirt, Rodney," Radek said.
"No."
"Or I will be forced to tell Carson how I worked all morning in a cold shirt that stank of coffee."
"And he'll get mad at Kavanagh," Rodney pointed out. "Which, by the way, remind me to tear him a new asshole at the next staff meeting."
Radek nodded. "And you think Carson will not say, 'Rodney, why did you not lend poor Radek your clean, unused shirt?'"
Rodney narrowed his eyes. "I think I liked you better when you two were pretending you weren't together." He held out the shirt and Radek accepted it.
"We were not together," Radek pointed out as he removed his soaked shirt and dropped it on the floor.
"Excuse me! Dirty up your own office."
"I do not have my own office," Radek reminded him. He put on Rodney's shirt and tugged at it -- a size larger than his own, but it was serviceable. He tugged at it again as though trying to decide what to do with the extra fabric.
"I really do *not* get that," Rodney said. "I mean, yeah, sure, don't want to tell the guy you're sleeping with that 'hey, I'm a werewolf, want to come home and meet my folks?' Not that that's an option at the moment, but still." He shook his head.
"Are we discussing my personal life, or are we fixing your calculations for charging a new ZPM?"
"Fixing? *Fixing*? I think you misspoke. There is nothing wrong with my calculations."
"Except they do not work," Radek reminded him, wondering if he should try tucking the shirt in or not. It fit well enough, really, and it smelled of Rodney, even after being laundered. It was not a bad thing, of course, but it was very disconcerting.
"Just because an element or two of the mathematics is missing does not mean that what I have is *wrong.* And I am *not* that much larger than you. The shirt fits."
"It is quite huge here," Radek said, holding his hands over his middle.
Rodney folded his arms again. "It is not. Don't you have work to do?"
Radek grinned. "The sure sign of a losing position. Change the topic and abuse one's questionable authority."
"I am not losing the argument, I merely have a lot of work to do and so do you." Rodney pointed towards the outer lab. "I think you should get back to it."
Radek moved towards the door, happy to drop the discussion since he was winning. Rodney followed him out and Radek asked, "Is it all right if Kavanagh gets a large bite taken out of him?"
Rodney wrinkled his nose. "Eew. Why would you want to put your mouth--"
"Oh, do not even make me think that. Hovno. Now I can't do it." Radek shook his head. "It is too bad; he needs biting."
"Is...everything OK?" Rodney suddenly asked in a serious tone.
"Yes, it is fine." Radek nodded, not sure to what extent he was lying -- but he was not going to sit around fretting over persons like Kavanagh and Richardson. He had never cared for either, so if they chose to absent themselves from him, it was for the best.
"I can talk to Elizabeth if you don't want to."
Radek frowned at him. "I do not intend to tell Dr. Weir anything. This is nothing." He gestured towards his shirt and the empty workstations.
"It isn't *nothing*," Rodney began.
"It is nothing," Radek insisted. "Kavanagh bites with baby teeth -- they do not even break skin. He is harmless." He saw the look on Rodney's face, and sighed. "And I promise that if there *is* anything, I will tell Dr. Weir."
"And me -- if people on my team are giving you a hard time, I want to know about it."
"Yes, fine. I will tell you, too. And now I do have work to do." He went to sit at his computer and heard Rodney take a step after him before stopping. There was a shuffle, as though Rodney could not decide which way to go, before he finally stalked over to Saito's station and demanded an update.
Radek turned to his work, hoping to lose himself in it for the remainder of the morning. He rubbed at his chest. It was not so unusual to have Rodney's scent nearby as he worked. But -- after his encounter with Kavanagh -- it was comforting to have it quite so close.
end chapter seven
Chapter Seven
"Really, I am fine," Radek said. It was the third time Carson had asked if he really wanted to do this and still he did not look convinced. Radek felt like a small boy being taken to his first day of school; his mother had held his hand and asked him, over again, if he really wanted to go or if he wanted to put it off for a year. He'd only been four years old, but straining at her hand to get inside where there were books to read and magnificent things to learn.
Carson was not holding his hand, but Radek knew if he said a single word, Carson would find a reason to hang around the astrophysics labs all day. Or drag him back to his quarters and keep him safely tucked away.
"I'll just--" Carson began, giving the hallway towards Radek's lab a nod.
Radek frowned and did not budge. "You will go that way." He pointed in the other direction, towards the infirmary and Carson's office.
Carson hesitated, then smiled sheepishly. "So you'll meet me for lunch?"
"I will. But only if you go to work, and let me do the same, so we *can* meet."
He knew what Carson was doing. What he wanted -- what Radek wanted, as well. But if he allowed Carson to escort him the entire way to his lab, then he knew Carson would find some reason to stay for a bit. 'A bit' would stretch to an hour, then two, then the entire morning.
As much as Radek knew he would like that, he felt it would only attract even more attention. He just wanted to act as though everything were normal.
Carson frowned, slightly, then took a step towards the infirmary. "You're sure?"
Radek sighed. "An early lunch, then. Now, go." He shooed Carson off, then very deliberately turned and walked away. He did not hear Carson's footsteps for several moments, but eventually Carson turned and walked away as well.
It was rather nerve-wracking to walk alone down the corridor, despite the absence of anyone else. They'd seen very few people since leaving Radek's room, and those they had encountered had not spoken to him. There had been no hostility in the silence.
But he understood why Carson had been so insistent that he could accompany Radek the entire way. Why in fact he'd suggested they take the day off and stay in Radek's quarters. He was almost tempted to turn back and tell Carson he accepted the offer.
He knew that the more he put this off, the harder it would be. He could not hide forever, so Radek kept going, knowing that he had to get this over with.
Fortunately it was not a long walk and he passed no one else in the hallway. When he spotted the door to the astrophysics lab, he found himself quickening his steps. Then he stopped just inside the doorway.
"What--" He swallowed the question, for it was very quickly obvious what was going on. He headed towards his workstation -- avoiding Drs Kavanagh and Richardson who were picking up boxes loaded full of their belongings. Richardson paused when he saw Radek; Kavanagh made his way forward.
"Excuse me," Kavanagh said in a sharp tone, reaching past Radek to take a small box of portable memory from the shelf. Radek moved aside, hoping he would just take it and go. But Kavanagh stopped and sneered down at him. "We're moving to a better facility down the hallway." He looked over his shoulder at Dr. Saito. "You're still welcome to join us."
Dr. Saito did not look up, hunched over her keyboard. Radek could not tell if it were he or Kavanagh she was distressed by.
"Suit yourself," Kavanagh said. He turned, knocking into Radek with the edge of the box he was holding. "Watch it!" he snapped, despite being the cause of the collision.
Radek said nothing, just wanting them to go, already. If they did not want to be here and work in the same space as himself -- he was happy to be rid of them. He took a step sideways, trying to make more room for Kavanagh to walk past.
"Oh, I forgot," Kavanagh said and he walked back over to his former workstation. He picked up his coffee mug, shifting the box onto his hip to carry it with one arm. Richardson was hovering at the doorway and Radek could smell the tension and fear rolling out of him like thick, cloying salt.
Kavanagh headed towards the door, walking past Radek again. As he passed, he hit Radek solidly in the chest with his hand.
"Kurva!" Radek jumped as hot coffee spilled down his chest. He glared at Kavanagh, who was smirking.
"Watch it, Wolfboy," Kavanagh said. "You could have spilled that all over my computer. Remember we can't replace it if it gets ruined."
Radek bared his teeth. "And you should remember that tonight is another full moon. Srac!"
Kavanagh's anger vanished in a second as he stumbled backwards a step. He recovered himself and shook his head. "And you'll be hiding in your room again with that faggot--"
Radek had his hand on Kavanagh's shirt, twisting the fabric tightly in his hand before he could complete his sentence. "Neser me," he said quietly. "If you piss me off I will demonstrate just how not human I am, no matter what I look like."
There was a rush of fear from Richardson, who ducked out of the lab and hurried away. Kavanagh stank of it as well, underneath his arrogance. He knocked Radek's hand away and sneered. "Why *anyone* would-" he began.
"Get out!" Radek snapped. He did not want to hear anymore, did not want to smell Kavanagh for one more second. They were welcome to go work on the other side of the planet if they liked and good riddance to them both.
Kavanagh hesitated and Radek took a step towards him. Kavanagh retreated one more step then said, "I'm glad to get out of here." He glanced around the room as though including them all in his insult.
But he left and Radek let him go. He wished he could follow through on his threat -- although he was not convinced anyone would blame him if Kavanagh turned up in the morning missing a few limbs. He paced back and forth, still very much wanting to bite someone.
"D..dr. Zelenka?" Dr. Saito took a hesitant step forward and he looked over to see her holding out a towel.
He forced himself to calm down and nodded. "Thank you." She scurried forward to hand him the towel, practically leapt away, then stopped.
"I...that is...." She stopped and looked down, almost trembling.
"Perhaps we can get some decent work done with them gone," Radek said, trying to calm down for her sake, if nothing else.
"I'm sorry," Dr. Saito blurted, glancing up at him briefly. "I came in and they were saying...horrible things. Dr. Kavanagh told me to go, as well, but-- That is... are they true? The things he said?"
"I do not know what he said," Radek told her. There was really no way to clean the coffee from his shirt, he decided as he dabbed at the stain. It had spilled everywhere and the damp cloth was already turning cold against his skin. Luckily the fabric had protected him from being burned -- or Kavanagh would likely have more than just an irate wolf at his throat.
"He...he said...Dr. McKay!" Dr. Saito's eyes flew wide and she leapt back.
"Morning, what-- Radek, what happened?" Rodney hurried over, frowning at Radek's shirt and glancing uncertainly at Saito.
"This was Kavanagh," Radek told him. "Dr. Saito was helping me."
"Kavanagh! What did he-- where is he?" Rodney whirled, then stopped, frustrated at finding Kavanagh absent.
"He is gone. He and Richardson both. Have moved to another lab where they are not distressed by the presence of a scientist smarter than they are."
"They left because of me? Finally," Rodney said, though his humour was obviously forced.
Radek rolled his eyes. "Rodney, if Kavanagh were going to leave this lab because of you, he would have done so the first time you corrected his math."
The corner of Rodney's mouth quirked, despite his anger. "That was actually kinda fun. I thought he was going to pass out from choking."
"Which is no doubt why you did it." He sighed. "I need new shirt." Which meant making that walk back to his quarters and back again. He'd been looking forward to holing up here for the rest of the day -- except for lunch, he reminded himself.
"I've got one in my office," Rodney said. "I keep a change of clothes here--"
"For those times you spill hydrochloric acid on yourself," Radek finished.
"I never spill -- does this *look* like a chemistry lab to you?" Rodney was leading him towards his office; Radek followed, grateful he would not have to make the long trek past all those potential seeing eyes -- but on the other hand, he could have returned to his quarters and stayed there.
"My mistake," Radek said. "It must have been something that only smelled and behaved like hydrochloric acid. Which would be...let me think...." He trailed off as though trying to recall what other chemicals it might have been. "Hydrochloric acid?"
"You know what? Never mind. I'm not lending you my shirt." Rodney had already grabbed it out of a small cabinet, but he folded his arms and glared at Radek.
"Give me your shirt, Rodney," Radek said.
"No."
"Or I will be forced to tell Carson how I worked all morning in a cold shirt that stank of coffee."
"And he'll get mad at Kavanagh," Rodney pointed out. "Which, by the way, remind me to tear him a new asshole at the next staff meeting."
Radek nodded. "And you think Carson will not say, 'Rodney, why did you not lend poor Radek your clean, unused shirt?'"
Rodney narrowed his eyes. "I think I liked you better when you two were pretending you weren't together." He held out the shirt and Radek accepted it.
"We were not together," Radek pointed out as he removed his soaked shirt and dropped it on the floor.
"Excuse me! Dirty up your own office."
"I do not have my own office," Radek reminded him. He put on Rodney's shirt and tugged at it -- a size larger than his own, but it was serviceable. He tugged at it again as though trying to decide what to do with the extra fabric.
"I really do *not* get that," Rodney said. "I mean, yeah, sure, don't want to tell the guy you're sleeping with that 'hey, I'm a werewolf, want to come home and meet my folks?' Not that that's an option at the moment, but still." He shook his head.
"Are we discussing my personal life, or are we fixing your calculations for charging a new ZPM?"
"Fixing? *Fixing*? I think you misspoke. There is nothing wrong with my calculations."
"Except they do not work," Radek reminded him, wondering if he should try tucking the shirt in or not. It fit well enough, really, and it smelled of Rodney, even after being laundered. It was not a bad thing, of course, but it was very disconcerting.
"Just because an element or two of the mathematics is missing does not mean that what I have is *wrong.* And I am *not* that much larger than you. The shirt fits."
"It is quite huge here," Radek said, holding his hands over his middle.
Rodney folded his arms again. "It is not. Don't you have work to do?"
Radek grinned. "The sure sign of a losing position. Change the topic and abuse one's questionable authority."
"I am not losing the argument, I merely have a lot of work to do and so do you." Rodney pointed towards the outer lab. "I think you should get back to it."
Radek moved towards the door, happy to drop the discussion since he was winning. Rodney followed him out and Radek asked, "Is it all right if Kavanagh gets a large bite taken out of him?"
Rodney wrinkled his nose. "Eew. Why would you want to put your mouth--"
"Oh, do not even make me think that. Hovno. Now I can't do it." Radek shook his head. "It is too bad; he needs biting."
"Is...everything OK?" Rodney suddenly asked in a serious tone.
"Yes, it is fine." Radek nodded, not sure to what extent he was lying -- but he was not going to sit around fretting over persons like Kavanagh and Richardson. He had never cared for either, so if they chose to absent themselves from him, it was for the best.
"I can talk to Elizabeth if you don't want to."
Radek frowned at him. "I do not intend to tell Dr. Weir anything. This is nothing." He gestured towards his shirt and the empty workstations.
"It isn't *nothing*," Rodney began.
"It is nothing," Radek insisted. "Kavanagh bites with baby teeth -- they do not even break skin. He is harmless." He saw the look on Rodney's face, and sighed. "And I promise that if there *is* anything, I will tell Dr. Weir."
"And me -- if people on my team are giving you a hard time, I want to know about it."
"Yes, fine. I will tell you, too. And now I do have work to do." He went to sit at his computer and heard Rodney take a step after him before stopping. There was a shuffle, as though Rodney could not decide which way to go, before he finally stalked over to Saito's station and demanded an update.
Radek turned to his work, hoping to lose himself in it for the remainder of the morning. He rubbed at his chest. It was not so unusual to have Rodney's scent nearby as he worked. But -- after his encounter with Kavanagh -- it was comforting to have it quite so close.
end chapter seven