The first thing Nick heard as he entered the break room was Connor asking yet another off-the-wall question of his companions.
"Which would be worse to run into on the other side of an anomaly, graboids or sandworms?"
"Connor, we've talked about this. No monsters during meals." Abby punched him on the shoulder, then turned her attention back to her salad.
Connor rubbed his shoulder. "But these are imaginary monsters!"
Nick smiled to himself as everyone at the table stopped eating and turned to stare at Connor. Exasperation and amusement warred on Abby's face and Stephen looked like he was trying not to burst out laughing.
"That doesn't make any sense, Connor," Stephen said.
Ryan grinned as he set his food down and took a seat between Stephen and Abby. "What're graboids?"
"Giant worms that appear out of nowhere, attack the tiny rural town of Perfection, Nevada, and eat most of the population, only to later be listed as endangered species and become a tourist attraction. No one knows if they're alien or a previously undiscovered species."
"That sounds scarily familiar," Stephen said with a perturbed look.
Nick grabbed his sandwich and bottle of orange juice from the fridge and moved to join the group at the round table.
"And sandworms?" Abby asked, curiosity obviously having got the better of her. Nick found he wanted to know the answer as well, even though he knew better than to ask by now.
"Gargantuan desert worms in Dune. The by-products of their life cycle create the exceedingly valuable psychotropic drug 'spice.'"
The look of distaste on Abby's face was priceless. "Their excrement is a drug? That's disgusting, Connor."
"Not quite. And it's not like I thought it up! Blame Frank Herbert." His face took on a thoughtful cast. "I once had a dream that I was a worm-riding Fremen—"
"Thanks, but we don't really need to hear about your fantasy life, Connor," Stephen muttered. Nick heartily agreed.
Connor threw a crisp at him. "Right, like I'd tell you lot about it."
As the laughter died down, Ryan spoke up. "Those earwig things in Wrath of Khan gave me nightmares as a kid. Mum threatened to make Dad sleep on the couch for a month if he ever took me to another film like that."
Connor finished chewing as he eagerly bounced in place, like a puppy being wagged by its tail. "Oh, yeah, those were disgusting. Not anywhere near as bad as the Flukeman in that X-Files episode, though."
Stephen shuddered. "I really hope we don't run into something like that. I would not want to be stuck in a drain with it."
"Tom will save you if that happens, Stephen." Abby turned to Ryan with a laugh. "Won't you, Tom?"
"Of course. Always glad to ride to the rescue."
"Stephen would make a cute postmodern damsel in distress," she snickered.
"We could sell the movie rights and fund our research at the same time," Connor added.
Nick laughed softly to himself as Stephen put his hands up in mock surrender. "Thanks, guys, but I think I'll pass. Connor, you're welcome to take my place. I'm sure you'd be much better at it than I would."
"Ta muchly." Connor rolled his eyes and turned his focus back on his meal. Abby leaned over and made a sotto voce comment that had Connor laughing and offering her his bag of crisps. She gave him a smug grin as they continued their conversation at a low murmur.
Nick turned his attention back to Stephen in time to see Ryan stand up and cuff Stephen on the shoulder. "We still on for this weekend?"
"Yep."
"Need me to bring anything?"
"Nah, it's sorted."
"Great, see you then." Abby and Connor looked up and waved at Ryan as he left, and he smiled back before heading out.
The satisfaction that washed over Nick as he watched Ryan leave surprised him. That he felt anything at all toward the man except gratitude for his frequent rescues of Nick's team took him by surprise, but it was the intensity with which he wished Ryan far away from Stephen that shocked him. He felt like a kid being told to share his toys at the thought of having to share Stephen's free time with someone else. He knew he had no reason to be this possessive of Stephen, but logic never seemed to stop him when he felt this strongly.
His stomach twisted and he looked down at his food, no longer hungry. Stephen was an intelligent and attractive man with many friends and plenty of romantic prospects. He rarely saw Stephen pick anyone up—usually they came on to him and he just let it happen.
Much like just now.
Just because he was the only person Nick truly considered a friend didn't mean that Stephen was his and his alone. And it certainly didn't mean that now that Nick was finally over Helen that Stephen would want anything to do with him.
And on that depressing note, it was time to leave. Just one more ridiculous meeting to go to before he could get out of here.
Nick gathered up his mostly uneaten meal and tossed it in the bin. He started back to the offices set aside for their use to grab the paperwork he needed to finish before the debriefing.
"Wait up, Cutter." Nick heard Stephen jogging the few steps behind to catch him up. "What's with you?"
"Sorry?"
Stephen fell into step. "You didn't say anything and you didn't finish eating, despite the fact that we used up a ridiculous amount of energy running away today."
"I just want to go home and put my feet up and have a drink instead of listening to bloody Lester read us the riot act about letting the damn Pteranodon go."
"Right. Sure. That explains why you were scowling at Ryan like you wanted to rip his head off."
Nick abruptly stopped walking. "I was not."
"Yes, you were, which tells me there's something wrong. Now what was it?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." He should have known better than to think Stephen wouldn't notice his silence; he frequently picked up on more than Nick was comfortable with him knowing.
After a moment, Stephen tilted his head and looked at Nick like he'd just figured out the answer to a question Nick didn't know had been asked. The smile that spread slowly across his mouth was knowing and somewhat unnerving. "You're jealous, aren't you?"
"What?" Nick scoffed. "Don't be daft."
"No, you really are."
"I—"
"Barring any anomalies appearing, Ryan's coming over to watch the match on Sunday. We're not going to engage in whatever torrid activities you obviously had in mind."
"I didn't think—"
"Oh yes, you did. Admit it."
Nick crossed his arms and frowned. "No, I did not."
A laugh escaped Stephen, and his face lit up with genuine amusement in a way that caused a shiver to run down Nick's spine. "God, you're a bloody-minded bastard."
"You're only just now figuring that out? I didn't think you were that slow."
"You're one to talk."
Nick shook his head in exasperation before he asked, almost against his will, "Why didn't you invite me?" He wasn't entirely sure he'd managed to keep the slight hurt that he felt at being left out from his voice.
Stephen stared at him for a moment. "You despise football, Nick. 'I'd rather be eaten by a Gorgonopsid' was how you put it the last time I invited you over on match day."
"That's beside the point." Nick felt a bit like a five-year-old being told no, but somehow that wasn't stopping him.
Stephen raised an eyebrow. "Right. Because we all know that you have the patience of a saint when faced with participating in activities you enjoy even less than talking to Lester." Nick's mouth twitched as he tried to suppress a grin.
Stephen was having a hard time not laughing at the absurdity of their conversation, too, but he continued. "I figured it'd be a good way to get to know the guy in charge of the big guns and soldiers so I can use them when we need them without having to argue over job scope and clearance during an emergency when we really don't have the time."
"That's surprisingly forward-thinking of you."
Stephen rolled his eyes. "Why, thank you, Professor Cutter."
Nick turned back toward the lifts and started walking again. "Oh shut it, you know what I meant."
"Of course I do, because apparently I'm a mind reader. I wonder what else I could learn with my heretofore unknown ability?"
"Don't become a comedian."
"That's very helpful, thanks."
Nick pressed the button for the lift and shot a sideways look at Stephen as they waited. "You know me, always glad to help."
The doors slid open and they entered the lift. Stephen pressed the button for their floor, then turned toward Nick, crowding him into the corner before speaking again. "You know, all you had to do was ask. It's not as if I've been throwing myself at you forever."
Nick stilled, one hand tangled Stephen's shirt, unsure if he was trying to pull Stephen closer or hold him back. He blinked in surprise. "Wait, what—really?"
"Really," Stephen replied with a small smile. "You just weren't ready to give up on Helen yet, so you never noticed."
Nick felt giddy with relief. "That's because it's your job to tell me things like that."
"Oh? Since when?"
"It's part of the lab tech contract, didn't you read the fine print?"
Stephen laughed, the sound genuine and heartfelt, and Nick felt the weight on his shoulders drop off without a thought. "I'm just the muscle."
Nick swallowed in anticipation. "I'd say something about it being very fine muscle, but that'd be too trite, I think."
He heard a soft sound as Stephen's breath caught in his throat before the space between them disappeared and he found himself being thoroughly kissed. He threaded one hand through Stephen's hair as the kiss deepened; it was softer than he'd ever let himself imagine. One hand stroked up and down his side and the other cupped his nape as he explored Stephen's mouth and lips. They were so closely entwined now that he could feel the shiver that ran through Stephen's body, and Nick moaned, unable to keep quiet any longer.
They broke apart when the lift chimed, leaving Nick light headed and his heart pounding. The kissing had ended far too soon, but since this was definitely not the time or place, he focused on catching his breath as he followed a grinning Stephen out of the lift.
Stephen jogged a little ahead, then turned so he was walking backwards. Nick took a moment to enjoy the view; Stephen's dark hair was sticking out in all directions and his cheeks were tinged pink. Even backwards, he moved gracefully down the hallway, his body language more open and relaxed than Nick had seen in a long time.
His perusal ended as his gaze rested on Stephen's kiss-swollen mouth, which curled in a devilish smile as he spoke.
"So, Nick, do you want to come over and watch the match?"
Alyse, Temaris, Tiriel, and Tauna: thanks, ladies! :)
And, of course, thanks to Veronica, who rocks and patiently stays up with me rewriting and kicking my behind to get the story finished. A million thanks, sunshine.