Connor was good at pretending. It had been a month since he realized he was in love with a member of the team, and so far it seemed that no one had been able to tell. Well, more than once he had seen Stephen giving him a probing look, as if to figure out a puzzle, but Connor would just smile brightly and Stephen would eventually smile back.
Outwardly, no one could tell.
Until the future predator came through an anomaly and Helen showed up.
Connor had tried to ignore it, really, but it was hard when he saw the way Helen watched Stephen. Like she owned him, like she knew something about him the rest of them didn't. He saw the way Stephen was around her, uncomfortable, like he was hiding something.
Connor was trying to pretend he didn't see it, he kept talking to Cutter about the predator, but in the back of his mind the questions were swimming around and around. He was distracted when he went to get the devise out of Cutter's truck, still wondering what he- and everyone else- had missed when it came to Helen Cutter and Stephen Hart.
Than he heard the loud noise coming from the devise… and for the first time in a month, Stephen was the farthest thing from his mind. Connor climbed into Cutter's truck carefully, pulling the door closed behind him and sitting in the middle of the back seat- as far away from the windows as he could get.
Than the truck began to shake and Connor knew he was in trouble.
But, of course, Abby and Stephen had come to save the day. Stephen shooting the creature when it came after Abby, than wrapping the girl into a tight hug. Connor felt his stomach clench and his head throb. He was the one that had almost been killed, why was Stephen comforting Abby?
Abby ran off only a moment later to get Cutter, and Stephen had quickly walked over to Connor. Connor was still lying on the ground, trying hard to catch his breath and ignore the panic that had set in. "Connor?" Stephen asked slowly, kneeling down beside the younger man.
Connor swallowed hard, sitting up. Stephen was once again giving him that probing look, only this time it was mixed with something else. Anger? "Are you alright? And don't lie to me this time," Stephen snapped, his blue eyes flashing.
Connor flinched slightly. "Scared me, that's all."
Stephen narrowed his eyes, but held out a hand to help Connor to his feet. Connor hesitated for a moment, not sure he wanted to actually touch Stephen, but when he saw Stephen's eyes flashing once again, he slowly grasped hold. Stephen's fingers tightened around his and he pulled Connor up- hard. Connor lost his footing, falling forward onto the hard body in front of him.
"Next time, take someone with you," Stephen said in a low voice, his breath landing on Connor's lips. Connor felt his eyes close automatically as Stephen moved closer, pressing his lips against Connor's.
Connor was frozen. Stephen was kissing him. Stephen! This had to be a dream… maybe it was heaven. Maybe he really had been killed and this was-
Stephen pulled away, a frown on his face. "Connor?" Stephen whispered. "If I read everything wrong, than I'm sorry, but-"
"No! Not wrong, I just didn't think that you would…that I… you said I wasn't your type," Connor said quickly, only to watch as a small smile broke out Stephen's face. Stephen leaned forward, once again pressing his lips against Connor's.
Connor responded this time, pressing hard into the kiss, wrapping his arms around the hard body in front of him…
…only to get pushed away. Connor's back hit Cutter's truck hard as Connor's eyes opened in shock. Stephen sent him an apologetic look before turning around, and Connor followed his gaze. Cutter was coming toward them quickly, Abby at his heels. Oh, that made sense, then.
That was the first kiss of many. Connor found himself at Stephen's flat most nights- especially since Stephen seemed to be ignored by the rest of the team now that his affair with Helen had come out. Stephen didn't want to talk about it, he didn't want to talk about Cutter's new obsession with the mysterious Claudia Brown, didn't want to talk about the possibility that what Cutter said was true. He just wanted to be with Connor.
Connor was fine with that. They talked about other things- Stephen's travels, books, movies, and anything else that didn't have to do with the ARC.
It was great. For months, Connor would head over to Stephen's and they would just…be together. Connor even managed to get Stephen to watch Star Wars and Star Trek on occasion. And then they would go to Stephen's room and Connor knew that Stephen was the person he wanted to be with for the rest of his life.
Stephen was just as good at pretending as Connor. They pretended nothing was going on. They pretended that Connor was just as upset with Stephen as Abby was. But Connor was fine with pretending around other people, as long as they didn't pretend while they were with each other. Connor had even been hanging out with a girl, Caroline, that Abby thought he was involved with. Connor just decided to ignore the fact Caroline thought so, too.
Which, of course, is why Connor felt his heart break into small pieces the day he walked into Stephen's flat and saw him kissing Helen Cutter.
Stephen had seen him standing there and instantly told him it 'wasn't what it looks like'. Connor had just walked away, ignored the multiple calls, and eventually had to start pretending, once again, that Stephen Hart meant nothing to him.
Stephen didn't believe him, so Connor decided he would prove it. He started dating Caroline, pretending that he really was interested in her. Stephen became more and more distant, until he stopped trying to call Connor all together.
Than he was asked to leave the ARC. Connor pretended he didn't care, but in truth, he could barely get out of bed in the morning. What was the point when he knew Stephen wasn't going to be there?
Than the day came when the truth, about everything was revealed. Leek, a traitor. Caroline, working for Leek. Helen, involved in it all. Connor refused to believe Stephen knew about any of it, and was thankful for the first time that Stephen wasn't at the ARC. That meant that Stephen wasn't there with them, in danger. That meant Connor didn't have to worry.
They escaped, meeting the Special Forces men outside the building. They had found them. Jenny was telling the Captain to find Cutter, that he was inside the building with Leek and Helen.
Connor asked to borrow a phone. He tried to call Stephen. He had to tell him what was going on, to tell him about Helen, about Cutter. To tell him, for the first time, that he loved him.
Only Stephen didn't answer. So, Connor tried again. And again. And again. And then he began to panic. Stephen was safe, he was just ignoring the call because he didn't recognize the number. There was no way that Stephen was in danger. None.
Connor was still dialing the number when the Special Forces men carried out Cutter. Connor was startled to see the tears running down Cutter's face, and for a moment, he stopped dialing. Cutter barely looked at them, wrapping his arms around his stomach. "Stephen… Stephen didn't make it."
And Connor's world broke.