Ronon's gruff voice fills the office,
".. got here, didn't see any people. McKay tripped on a root. There was some rocks. We came back. End of mission report."
Lorne is actively typing the words when he freezes and sighs, dejectedly saying "Not again."
Well, at least this time he's moderately more prepared. Sure, he's got like 4 days worth of memories of one day overlapping in his brain (mostly Todd) and everything is a bit fuzzy, but he knows that first things first - he's gotta send these reports to Woolsey.
Step two in his grand plan, cause baby he's got it all figured out - coffee.
The fresh cup of coffee warms his hands and his rumbling stomach. When was the last time he ate? If it's 18:30 now and he got back from lunch four hours ago... But in reality wasn't it more like 8 hours ago? Did him and Todd eat dinner last night? Does it even count? Why do the closest memories feel the farthest away? Lorne remembers the feeling of silk slipping between his fingers, clinging wet replaced with solid warmth. And a single word, "Stay." The rest is blurry, like when you wake up from a dream and try to grasp at the details.
His mind is racing and he's having trouble focusing, but he instinctively knows Keller would be no help, he at least remembers that much. He types rapidly into his laptop, pulling up every report the SGC has related to time travel and alternate worlds and he's quickly overwhelmed because it's 453 total reports that match his parameters. Second cup of coffee down and he's debating on who he can ask, who could help, or understand, or even believe him.
McKay is off world. Zelenka would report him to Woolsey who would direct him to Keller who would just run tests on him and give him an IV. Keller is smart as hell, but, see above. He could always try to dial out to McKay but again, good luck explaining who you need emergency comms to the head of the sciences department without sounding like you lost your mind.
The adrenaline rush from the start of the event (wave, loop, recurrence?) Is wearing off and Lorne can feel fatigue encroaching on him. He gulps down more coffee and stands up, determined to outpace it.
Maybe Todd can help.
Lorne walks determinedly to the mess, grabs a whole tray of pre-wrapped sandwiches, dumping them into a plastic bag he found like some sort of homeless raccoon. Then he heads to the gateroom.
Woolsey is there pacing around Chuck. The older man looks unsettled as always and is rubbing his hands together. The hands in question appear to be covered in oil.
"Ahh, Major Lorne, thank you for emailing me the reports. And don't forget about our guest. Please let Todd know I'm sorry I couldn't greet him, but it's time for my daily SGC check in. You two kids go watch a movie or something." With that he turns and strides off.
Lorne stands there, knuckles white from gripping his bag full of sandwiches tightly, and wonders how of all things, Woolsey is the most consistent part of his day. He faces the Stargate and smiles at Todd when the wraith pops out of the event horizon. Todd hesitantly returns his smile, and suddenly, an immense wave of dread washes over Lorne.
What if he's the only one who's stuck on repeat.
It wouldn't be right, to bother Todd or anyone else with this. He would just waste more time or come off as crazy. He's already getting odd looks over his sandwich bag (he's starving, ok?).
What if the repeater routine ends and everything continues as normal and he totally blows the entire alliance and Atlantis' future because he tries to get Todd involved.
The wraith in question is in front of him now, tilting his head questioningly, and his presence has a calming effect on the major, who feels like he can suddenly breathe for the first time in 30 minutes.
"Hello Major Lorne, I see you are prepared for my visit." Todd says low enough that it is meant only for him. He eyes up Lorne's bag of sandwiches with more interest than wraith typically exhibit about human food.
Lorne smiles and says such things as "How good to see you, Todd" and "Please, this way," and they leave the gate room behind pretty quickly. Lorne follows the familiar path to his quarters, and how many times have they done this now? Surely, if Todd was also stuck in the repeater routine, he would have said something by now?
Or what if he had said something and Lorne completely missed it? He's suddenly struck by the image of Todd, winking. Can wraith even wink?
Maybe he imagined it.
Lorne's rooms are consistent as always, and Todd takes up his usual post on the couch, closest to the wall. The major puts the sandwiches in the middle of the couch and goes to grab them drinks. He grabs a Coke for himself and a Fanta for Todd, cause it just feels right, and is rewarded with a rumbly "Evannn, this beverage is my favorite."
Before he can sit and relax, he grabs his flip folio of DVDs and hands it to Todd.
"Here, pick one that looks good to you. I'm starving so I'm gonna decimate some of these sandwiches."
Todd nods his consent and flips diligently.
After some food, Lorne is starting to feel more like himself, more in control of his emotions. Feeling like a shitty host, he offers some of the leftover bag sandwiches to Todd, who politely declines, but hands him a DVD. Lorne puts it in without looking without looking but recognizes the classic Disney movie right away.
Todd must be fucking with him to select Beauty and the Beast.
He glances over, but the wraith is sitting there, hands folded in his lap, looking innocent as can be. His long white hair cascades in a curtain over his shoulder, and it looks smoother than normal, like he's just brushed it. Evan fights the temptation to reach out and touch it.
Oh well, he thinks, at least not as many questions for this movie as Todd had for when they watched Iron Man.
Lorne has seen this movie a million times, it was his sister's favorite. He finds himself singing along quietly to the rude song Belle sings about every single member of her "poor provincial town" and thinks she did deserve the comments they made about her. Todd seems interested in the movie enough and he sips his orange Fanta slowly, savoring it. Lorne regrets that it's his last can.
"Hmm Evan, why is it that the beast is living alone surrounded only by servants? Where is the rest of his hive?"
"Everyone else is scared of how big he is and how he looks."
"He would make a great commander or Second, I think. The size would intimidate enemies."
"Is that why you're High Commander? Cause you're the tallest?"
Todd chuckles. "No, but I am very old and this is respected among the wraith. I held a high position before my imprisonment so I had a loyal hive when I returned. The rest joined me because I could offer them things their queens could not, such as a long term future."
"Well the beast has nothing to offer, I guess. That's why he's alone."
"Everyone has something to offer. Perhaps he has not realized it yet."
"Well I won't spoil the story for you, Todd."
"Is this what your home on Earth is like?" Todd asks when Belle is shown to her fancy room.
Lorne smiles wistfully.
"No, I don't really have a home back there still. I used to have an apartment but there was no point in keeping it. Everything I own is either here, or in a storage unit near my sister's house."
"But who feeds your servant candles and wardrobes there?"
"Tooooodd that's not a real thing haha." The wraith smiles at him, and Lorne is sure he was just fucking with him.
He yawns and thinks that there's no one he would rather share his couch with on a lazy weekday evening.
In the background, the movie drones on. The beast is angry about having dinner with Belle and he's saying "That's the most ridiculous idea I've ever heard! 'Charm the prisoner.' " and he mildly considers if Todd is the prisoner in this scenario, or if he is. It all comes down to who's charming who.
Suddenly Todd perks up. Lorne glances at the screen, and Belle and the Beast are having a snowball fight. A smile is spreading on the wraith's face.
"Major Lorrrrrne we must try this."
"Try what? You want to play in the snow?"
"Yes I would like to try this activity."
Lorne has a flash of a memory of a water balloon fight with Todd. It seems ridiculous and totally not plausible, they don't even have balloons. But it makes him smile nonetheless.
"Sure, alright. Let's find a planet with a stargate that's got snow on it and we can go and have a snowball fight. I'll need some warmer clothes though. Maybe gloves. "
Sometime after the classic Beauty and the Beast title song and the dancing, but before the transformation finale, Lorne's exhaustion has caught up with him and his eyes drift closed. It's not surprising that he's exhausted: it may still be the same day but in reality he hasn't slept in almost 24 hours.
He's wearing his sparkly yellow BDUs and descends down a grand staircase. At the bottom, Todd, 3 feet taller than usual, is waiting, except his coat is blue instead of black. The wraith has his long hair tied in the back with a matching blue ribbon. He bows and offers his hand, feeding slit glowing menacingly. Evan takes it without hesitation.
They twirl around. Music is playing and Lorne feels warm and safe. Todd is leaning over him, warm breath on his face, and he smells like sandalwood and birch. Their faces are drawing closer together and Lorne can feel his heartbeat speeding up, blood pounding in his veins. He closes his eyes in anticipation. And waits.
When he opens his eyes, he's burrowed into Todd's unbuttoned jacket, his left arm tucked behind the wraith's back and his right hand clutching the soft fabric on the front of Todd's shirt. Todd is warmer than expected and does in fact smell like hints of sandalwood and birch. He's not sure how long he was asleep, but it was obviously long enough to get comfortable, and the movie is long over. The DVD player display shows 22:38. Lorne feels his face flush and detangles his limbs from the jacket and the wraith wearing it, avoiding eye contact.
"Did you have a good dream, Evan? You were humming for a while, during."
"Yeah, sorry about.." Lorne gestures wildly to Todd and the couch and himself, "I used to sleep walk as a child, and I guess maybe I sleep… cuddled you..?"
"It was acceptable. Though you seemed chilled, so I shared my jacket with you. "
Evan didn't even know the wraith had more layers of clothing beyond their uniform like black leather jackets and pants. It makes sense, in some way. Leather isn't the best feeling against the skin and tends to retain too much heat. But he hadn't considered Todd undressing much before, so it still came as a surprise.
"Yeah that.. Thanks, that was uhh.. Nice." In an attempt to change the subject, he asks Todd, "Did you enjoy the rest of the movie?"
"Indeed. It has given me much to consider. Though I disagree with the transformation in the end. I am hopeful that even without, the beauty would have loved the beast as he was."
It's a simple enough statement, and one many people before had agreed with, from Lorne's experience. But the serious tone of Todd's voice combined with the themed dream he just had about the subject matter made him feel like there was a greater meaning to Todd's words. Was Todd suggesting that Evan is the beauty to his beast? The thought seemed so absurd, but it felt true.
But then again, maybe he was talking about Sheppard. After all, the wraith and his CO did have a deep bond most people didn't understand. The thought hurt something deep within Evan. He wanted to be the one.
Tale as old as time.