Work Text:
Understanding
by Pixie Child
glitery_insane_pixie_child@yahoo.ca
"No way pal. You want a piece of him, you've gotta get through me first." Where that came from, he has no idea. With Harper, courage and suicide can have a very fine line between them. Even more so then healthy attraction and sexual harassment. He knew he surprised Dylan, but sure as hell no more then he surprised himself. What was he thinking, jumping in between Captain Terrific and a lunatic bent on reviving a myth about a shattered vase? Although he's pretty proud of how he handled himself, even if Dylan did end up having to save him.
Even so, he fells funny taking the little badge from Dylan. It seems to mean so much to his captain though, so he accepts it without mocking him or joking. "Does this mean I can order Rommie around?" Much. He can't help himself, the jokes keep it from becoming too serious which usually lead to him saying something even dumber. Like blurting out how much the gesture of choosing him for the mission meant, which he already did or how receiving the metal meant a lot to him because he could tell how much it meant to Dylan to give it to him. Thankfully, his question doesn't manage to spoil the moment, Harper notices, as Dylan cracks a smile.
"You can try." Had it been Beka, Tyr, Rommie or even Trance, they would have rolled their eyes and told him to get lost. They'd have been mad or at least disappointed that he couldn't stay serious and keep quiet for more then a minute. But Dylan just gives that crooked, sexy half-smile half-smirk and jokes back. And he doesn't leave the room feeling like a jerk.
.../...|...\...
"Did I say it was worthless? No. It's priceless."
Had anyone else said that, it would have been a joke. But there was something in Dylan's voice that had him envying the captain's romanticisms rather then laughing at them. Maybe he's spent too much time on this ship and his grasp on reality is slipping, but it's just as possible that Dylan's simply given him something to believe in aside from himself and he's finally coming to terms with it. For that, he has Harper's respect. Real respect, not fear or need, but something that wouldn't go away even if everything that they've been building in the last two years came falling down around them.
Seamus Zelazney Harper's never had any feelings towards another guy before, aside from hare, fear or jealousy, but now there's Dylan. Dylan, who's given them all some belief that the universe isn't just out to screw them. Well, most of the female population and half the men seem to be out to screw Dylan, but in a totally different way. Not that he thinks of Dylan that way. He's never had any inclination that he'd want that. Except...
Dylan's been a lot of firsts. Maybe this is another one.
Harper removes the pin and sits on the edge of his bed. It's cool, the light reflecting off the back of it as he turns it over in his hand. Then the exhaustion finally hits and he flops onto his back.
This, whatever it is, can not end well. But he's got hope. And that's something he hasn't had since both his parents were alive.
end