Gravity had changed.
Connor had studied many scientific subjects in the past, computers and dinosaurs being his favourites, but until recently he'd paid very little attention to gravitational force.
Now something was different though. His interest was piqued when it came to his attention that gravitational pulls were different than they used to be, and they were working well in his favour.
It'd happened quite recently. He'd always been more than a bit jealous of the way that his best friend, flatmate, and not-so-secret object of devotion Abby Maitland always seemed to gravitate toward their co-worker Stephen Hart, but about a month ago that invisible tug had just evaporated. Connor'd noticed immediately that she'd stopped standing so close to him, that her eyes didn't always wander to Stephen anymore, and that she'd stopped talking about him.
And then gravity had changed again and suddenly Connor found Abby gravitating towards himself instead. It'd have been an outright lie to say he wasn't well pleased at this new development. He'd first noticed it after crashing into her for the second time in one day, not realising how close she'd been standing to him. After that he'd paid a lot more attention and it seemed that more often or not, she was there. He was pretty sure she wasn't aware of her behaviour, and he certainly wasn't going to mention it to her since he just knew that'd make things weird between them, but he was going to enjoy it while it lasted.
He began to take advantage of her close proximity in order to touch her, just little touches, ones she might not even notice for all he knew. Sometimes when he worked his arm might brush against hers more often than not. Sometimes instead of walking around her, his hands would find their ways to her shoulders, gently moving her out of his path before he continued on with what he was doing. And when he wanted to return to his original position, she was usually right there in his way again. He had no complaints.
The gravitational pull between himself and Abby just grew stronger. He began to notice the small indications of annoyance on her part when he went too long without touching her. Her brow would furrow and she'd begin shifting constantly with impatience. Connor secretly observed her and came to the conclusion that she hadn't a clue what was upsetting her, but he'd ask her to pass him something and let his hand brush against hers as she did and suddenly she'd be fine again. He knew that his little touches were just simple reminders to her that he was there, that he was present, and that he was always there for her if she wanted him to be.
Connor loved the fact that Abby needed him, but overtime it also began to bother him. It bothered him because she didn't seem to feel comfortable enough to take what she need from him. She stood close, but she never initiated the touch. He decided to test her one day. It was probably a bad day to experiment with her. They'd just had what he liked to call an anomaly-gone-wrong. The creatures that had come through had been large, dangerous, and plentiful and two soldiers were in the medical unit in a pretty bad way and Connor had had quite the close call himself, even if he'd come out nearly unscathed, minus the scratch on his shoulder.
Abby was standing close to him again, and Connor knew that it was now more than ever that she needed to be reminded that he was still there for her, that he'd survived another day in this madness they lived in, but he refrained from reaching for her. He purposely put a bit of space between them. Not a lot, he wasn't angry with her or anything like that, just enough that he wouldn't brush against her by accident while he worked. Abby moved closer and Connor immediately put the distance there again. He wanted Abby to touch him. He wanted to know that she knew that she could come to him at any time.
He watched as Abby's mood grew foul and before long her shuffling became the occasional foot stamp. Her arms crossed and she stood there scowling at him, but he pretended to remain oblivious as he fiddled with a circuit board he was playing with. He wasn't sure that she knew what was upsetting her, but he could tell that the longer he waited, the more she was catching on. Her cravings for his touch were getting strong enough that they were seeping their way into Abby's consciousness, and that was a good thing. If she knew what she wanted, she could just reach out and…
He frowned as Abby suddenly slammed her hands against the desk and stormed off without looking at him. Maybe he'd taken his little experiment a bit too far. And suddenly he felt extraordinarily guilty. She'd needed him, and he'd not been there for her.
He tried to validate his actions in his mind, to tell himself that he had to get her to the point where she could come to him too, but it didn't work. Any excuses he made up didn't change the facts. How was Abby supposed to know she could come to him when she needed him, if he wasn't there for her?
The little nagging voice in his head pointed out that he could try the one thing he'd been avoiding doing with her for ages. He could always go find her and, well, they could try… he gulped at the thought… they could try to talk.
Talk. Yes, that's what they should do. Definitely. He'd just get up and walk into the menagerie right now, he knew she'd be there, and they'd talk.
Only he wasn't entirely sure what to say to her, wasn't even the slightest bit sure if he was being honest with himself. He didn't even want to imagine her reaction to 'Hey Abs, sorry I didn't brush my arm against yours when I reached for the pliers.' No, that wouldn't do at all. He'd think about it and then he could talk to her when they got home, in private, that'd be better. In the meantime he'd… he'd what? Go to her and give her something, tea maybe, and let his hand touch hers as he did? Just so she felt better? Suddenly the gravitational forces seemed silly and simple. The little touches weren't enough for him.
'Observational note number one:' he thought to himself, 'the Force of Gravity is not nearly as strong as the Force of Love.'
In the end, it was Lester who made up his mind for him. Connor was actually grateful when the man showed up and started ordering him about here and there to file reports and tweak the ADD. The boss' orders gave him no choice but to leave the touching and talking for when they got home, and it was nice not having to worry about his decision any longer. What would be, would be. Fate is a seemingly strong force too. Not sure where it fits in yet.
The problem with being so busy was that he hadn't actually had time to think about what he wanted to say to Abby. It was obvious that her mood had only worsened while she'd sat in the menagerie and talked with the animals all afternoon. She tried to hide it from him, but her posture and stony silence in the car on the way home told him she was angry. 'Course she was. He'd still not given her what she needed.
She got out of the car and slammed the door, storming towards their flat. Connor followed, determined to make up for his earlier mistakes. Abby would learn that he was there when she needed him; that was first and foremost on the list of importance. As soon as that much was established, then they would talk.
She'd reached about mid-living room when he grabbed for her and pulled her into a hug. He knew the subject of Abby better than he knew Gravity, but he still wasn't sure how she'd react. Worst case scenario she'd punch his lights out, best case she'd accept what she needed. She did the latter. Observational note #2: The Force of Gravity is stronger than the Force of Fear.
No, that was wrong. It'd been fear that'd kept Abby from reaching for him herself when she'd needed to. Correction to note #2: The Force of Gravity is weaker than the Force of Fear. It wasn't gravity then that had her hands clutching tightly to his shirt right now, holding him close, and Connor'd already figured out what the force was that was stronger than gravity. He tightened his grip on her, placing a couple of feather-light kisses in her hair.
They had to talk, he knew that still. He'd not actually decided what to say yet, but they definitely had to talk, right? Her hands moved from his chest to wrap around his waist and between her movements and the smell of her hair (was that grape-scented shampoo?), he was finding it a bit hard to think. To be honest, his mind was a right mess of blissful fog. His gran had always taught him to think before he spoke, but it was a lesson he'd always failed at anyway. He opened his mouth and the force he knew to be strongest won over instantly.
"I love you, Abs."
Immediately her grip on him loosened and she stepped back from him and he was about to panic, but she didn't go far. She moved only enough that she could look up at him, remaining still in his arms, her hands resting upon his elbows. She was smiling at him.
It was gravity that drew him closer again, but love that made him kiss her.
The kiss was short and sweet and she still wasn't punching him, which was an excellent sign that his observations about forces were right, even if he was pretty sure that no one would ever publish them as factual. It wasn't until he took her hand and pulled her over to sit with him on the couch that she finally spoke.
She shook her head, her eyes shining with amusement of all things, which was a much better alternative to the anger that'd been flashing in them earlier, and grinned at him. "What the hell brought this on, Connor?"
"Science observations, gravity, different forces…" he stammered out. Just because they needed to talk, it didn't make him good at it.
"Should I pretend to understand?" Her eyebrows were raised, her eyes merry, but he knew from her expression he was gonna have to do better than that.
"I-I just thought you should know," he amended. "You were upset. Abby, I don't want you to be too scared to tell me what you need from me."
She blushed, but didn't try to deny it. "I needed this," she admitted.
He nodded, "I know, Abs. You wanted something from me, I could see that. I felt bad not giving it to you, not touching you, but I wanted… I wanted…" He stopped, wondering how he could possibly explain it all to her.
She seemed to understand though. "You wanted me to reach out to you."
"Yeah," he muttered. "I didn't like it much that you didn't know you could."
"Was too risky when I didn't know how you felt."
"You should have known," he muttered, half to himself before focusing on her again. "I should have told you before."
She nodded, "I didn't exactly tell you either though, did I?"
"Do you love me, Abs?" He knew she did, he'd worked that out already in a roundabout way with his whole forces theory thing that probably only made sense in his own head, but it'd be nice to hear her say it.
" 'Course I do, Connor, 'course I love you."
"Good," he said, kissing her again. Then suddenly he grinned mischievously at her. "Abby, since I said it first, can I get out of dish duty for the night?" He knew she'd not be offended, Abby understood his sense of humour better than anyone else.
Abby smiled back at him, "Of course, Con, didn't you know? We're going somewhere posh tonight, your treat."
It'd be his pleasure.