FroggTales

Title: What They Seem To Be (Interlude)
Author: thefrogg
Beta: none
Fandom: Stargate: Atlantis
Pairing: Lorne/Ronon
Series: Rose!Verse
Author's Note: Sequel to By Any Other Name, after Lorne and Ronon return from Sateda.
About the Title: The title comes from the quote, "In real life, unlike in Shakespeare, the sweetness of the rose depends upon the name it bears. Things are not only what they are. They are, in very important respects, what they seem to be," by Hubert H. Humphrey.

splish-splish-splish-splish-splish-splish-plink!

The rock vanishes into the river, ripples of its passing fading into the current.

splish-splish-splish-splish-splish-splish-splish-splish-plink!

"Sir?"

Evan's shoulders tense; another pebble clatters to the ground, slipping through spaces between the boulders lining the bank.

Laura sighs. "Evan."

"Mmm." He can feel the vibration deep in his chest, a lower register than he usually manages to reach.

"Evan, none of this is your fault."

The hand on his shoulder, over the tattoos, burns. Evan bites his lip, unable to keep his skin from twitching.

"Sateda fell long before we got here."

"I know." He shrugs, suppressing a sigh of relief as Laura's hand falls away.

"Evan," Laura sighs. "You know...you know you can talk to me, this isn't going to. This is team, what happens off-world--"

"--stays off-world, yeah, I know. That's. Not it."

"Then...?"

Evan can hear the confusion, see Laura's eyebrows drawing together in his mind. "I just wanted to marry him, not...not join the Jedi Order."

To Laura's credit, she doesn't laugh. "Do you really think this," she touches the band circling his bicep, making him shiver, "doesn't mean just as much to him?"

Nocturnal insects chirp.

"Evan."

"I knew..." Evan sighs; the stones in his hand click together as he clenches his fist, pressing his thumb to his lips. "I knew there were things he wasn't telling me, things...I thought he'd tell me when he was ready. I wasn't expecting to hear about it from..." Pain ripples across his shoulders, tightening his muscles.

"From Ceris? From strangers?"

Evan nods mutely.

"You could ask him about it. Or...does Teyla know?" she adds at Evan's snort.

"I don't...probably. At least that I have--" and he shrugs, the tattoos shifting in the moonlight. "She hasn't said anything to me about it."

"Teyla's nothing if not discreet. She won't say anything unless you ask about it." Laura reaches up slowly to trace the lines over his shoulderblade.

Evan flinches hard, hissing through his teeth as he pulls away.

Laura's hand hovers midair in shock. "You can feel that? You can feel the difference between...Evan--"

Evan whirls, self-conscious and angry, so fast Laura takes a step back. "That is not up for discussion, Lieutenant. That's an order."

"Yes, sir," Laura answers softly, gently. "I wasn't about to tell anyone, you have my word." She waits for an answer that doesn't come. "I promise, I won't tell anyone about this. You can talk to me, sir, it won't go any farther."

"This is between Ronon and me."

"And Ronon hasn't said enough, obviously. You need to talk to someone about it, sir, and I already know."

"Fait accomplit?" Evan asks, turning back towards the water. He flings another pebble viciously at the water; it hits the surface with a loud plonk and sinks.

"If that works for you. Evan," she says after a moment, questioning.

"Hmm." The rest of the stones hit the ground in a clatter as he drops them, then sinks into a crouch, elbows on his knees. "Just lucky, I guess. You're the first person to surprise me."

"Touching them?"

"Yeah."

Laura steps forward, carefully making sure Evan can see her before gently resting two fingers on his shoulder, in the hollow left bare between his tattoos. "It hurts, doesn't it? When I touch them?" She already knows the answer, betrayed in his relieved sigh at her careful avoidance.

"It feels..." Evan swallows hard, ducking his head. "It feels wrong, like sunburn, or poison ivy. Raw. Like...like something's missing."

"So you block it out. And when Ronon touches them?"

Evan chuckles, low and wicked. "Trust me, I don't have any trouble with that."

Snickering, Laura shakes her head. "So you have tattoos that don't like anyone but Ronon touching them. You should really tell Carson. He needs to know."

"No." Evan shakes himself hard, settling again as Laura's hand drops from his shoulder.

"If you get hurt and someone has to-"

"Then you can tell him what he needs to know."

"Evan, it's not--" She stops and sighs at the caustic look he gives her. "Okay, okay. I promised."

"Thank you."

Laura waits for more, but gives up as silence stretches on. "You know, sir, of everyone in Atlantis, you're one of the last I'd ever expected to brood like this."

Evan gives her another look, full of disbelief and irritation. "You have a better idea?"

"Actually, yeah, I do."

~~~

The familiar, distant thud of explosives makes Ceris smile and lean back in his chair. The dead grove would be clear for planting by the time harvest was over.