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Lt. Col. John Sheppard ([personal profile] deploy) wrote2017-11-11 05:50 pm

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volitaunt: (Default)

[personal profile] volitaunt 2019-06-09 12:51 am (UTC)(link)
[ He can't read John's face. He's not sure what he wanted to see there. Something. Anything. A guide for what to say next. ]

I don't-- [ Honest, he thinks. Just be honest. ] I don't know what you want it to mean. I don't know if you even want me to say it.
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[personal profile] volitaunt 2019-06-09 02:14 am (UTC)(link)
[ It almost, almost silences him. Shelve it, John says. I don't want you to worry about it. Come back to it later in a better state of mind.

We've got bigger problems, worry about yourself first, nothing means anything if--]


No.

[ He fingers the dog tags gently. He's so tired, and it hurts so much, and he can't let this go, not again. If he lets it go this time he's going to let it go forever. He knows that. If he lets it go this time, that's it. The hope for anything between them is gone. ] You know, back when you were sick, before we knew you were sick, I came to talk to you in the shuttle hangar. You don't remember it.

[ He can't look at John, but he doesn't stop talking. If he stops there's the chance he won't start again. ]

I wanted to tell you right then that I'd fucked up, that I wanted to give things another shot, that I'd run scared and you deserved better. You told me to stop pretending I cared. You told me I just wanted to make myself feel better, that the only thing I missed when I said I missed you, was someone following after me like a dog. That I got off on your rank.

[ He pushes off the floor, gathers himself and get to his feet. This isn't the kind of thing to say from the ground. ] How much of that was because you were sick?
volitaunt: (Default)

[personal profile] volitaunt 2019-06-09 02:49 am (UTC)(link)
[ It cuts so deep to hear that, that Poe almost just drops it right there.

But he started this, and John said those things so long ago now. A year, almost. Almost a year exactly.

This time, he looks John in the face. This time he needs to see whether or not there's a point to all of this.]


How much of it would you mean if you said it now?
Edited 2019-06-09 02:50 (UTC)
volitaunt: (102 - dlNim9d)

[personal profile] volitaunt 2019-06-09 03:09 am (UTC)(link)
Okay.

[ Said quietly. His hand drops from the dog tags. He's not sure he'll be able to stand holding on to them, depending on what comes next. But this... whatever it is, it's been too long in coming, for them. It's been way too long in coming. ]

So tell me.
volitaunt: (Default)

[personal profile] volitaunt 2019-06-09 04:12 am (UTC)(link)
[ He wishes any of it surprised him. He wishes he didn't understand why John would think it. But he does, he gets it, and every word sinks like a stone into him, adding weight to everything dragging him down.

He swallows, throat tight, and then says: ]


My turn.

[ He doesn't ask for permission. He doesn't wait for John to decide that maybe he doesn't want to hear what's going on from the other end. He doesn't wait to second-guess himself. He just starts talking. ]

I've missed you since I ran away. I've wanted to be with you since I realized what I lost. I knew it was my fault. I knew I had to prove to you that I deserved another chance. And you never let me do it. You've been punishing me for screwing things up ever since it happened. Every time I tried to... to explain, or to talk to you, you shut me down or shut me out.

You told me you didn't want anything to do with me, and then you busted in to a cave full of cultists and saved my life. And when I tried to talk to you after, it was like that never happened. Like it was an obligation. Like it didn't mean shit.

Then you tell me... what happened with Kylo Ren, and I thought--

[ He swallows, fists clenching and unclenching, instinct more than anger. But he is angry, isn't he? There's a part of him that is angry. He's been trying for so long, it feels like. He's wanted this for so long, and every time he gets close he gets punished for wanting it so much. ]

We might die, yeah. We might die, and maybe none of this will mean anything to anyone else, but it matters to us, it matters right now, and I--

[ He licks his lips, lifting his gaze to John's beautiful, beautiful eyes. ]

You act like there's ever going to be a good time for me to say I love you, but guess what, John. There's never going to be a good time. Never. So... [ Deep breath. Exhale. ] Do you want to take the chance to have something we can carry with us when we leave? I'm willing. I want to try. But you have to be willing to try too.

[ He can't stop himself from touching the spot on John's shirt where the tags would hang, brushing his thumb across fabric. ] Do you want me to say it, or do you want your tags back? Because... I think that's where we are.

volitaunt: (120 - 3NWehDf)

[personal profile] volitaunt 2019-06-12 10:04 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm really not.

[ He's soft-voiced, now. He cups John's chin gently, lifts his face so they're looking each other in the face again.

Poe kisses him, gently, lips pressed to lips, the tip of his tongue brushing John's mouth.

He can smell the coffee and the soap this place supplies, and the undertone of John, sweat and gunmetal. He presses his forehead against the other man's, still gentle. ]


I just love you, John.

[ His free hand goes around John's waist, not tight, not possessive--John can move away and Poe won't stop him. ]

I love your spirit. I love your strength. I love how much you love, even if....

[ A pause, and he closes his eyes. ] Even when it scares you.

I love you. I want to try to do this, to do it right. I want every minute we can have.

[ He's so tired. Heart and soul. He left part of himself in Riverview, and he's not sure it ever came back, even when John showed up. His spirit had been amputated and cauterized, and the only thing that had happened in Hadriel was infection.

Maybe they will die here. Maybe it will stick this time. But maybe that would be okay, if they could do it together. ]
volitaunt: (Default)

[personal profile] volitaunt 2019-06-17 07:14 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Poe sags, relief washing through him in a tidal wave. He's not sure what he would have done if John hadn't said some kind of yes. He has no idea. Fallen apart again, broken completely.

But here, instead, is something good. Something precious and breakable to hold on to in this awful place.

He rests his forehead against John's, closing his eyes, trying to swallow the knot constricting throat and voice. ]


Thank you. I love you. Thank you.