stargateficrec | The Way It Works, by wickedwords (adult)

(Hopefully it's not considered cheating if I rec a story written for me; I'm running into a problem finding stories, since about a third of the L/Z was either written for me or by me....)

Rec Category: Other Slash
Pairing: Lorne/Zelenka
Warning: none
Author on LJ:

wickedwords
Author's Website: House o' Fanfic
Link: The Way It Works

Why This Must Be Read: Evan and Radek have a misadventure -- and what happens afterwards is by turns sweet and wistful and downright hot. Radek in particular is characterized beautifully....

Evan spent a couple days in the Atlantis infirmary, undergoing treatment for dehydration and some of the more interesting parasites he'd picked up in the prison camp. Radek was lucky and got out early, once his throat improved and Keller verified a fortunate lack of parasites.

"I will drop in," Radek said, his voice scratchy but near-normal. "Make sure you have everything you need."

Evan gestured at the laptop and pile of DVDs he'd been given, along with a number of books. "I'm good," he said, his heart hammering, but playing it cool. He was lucky he wasn't on the heart monitor anymore. "I'm still pretty tired, so I'll probably sleep a lot."

"Yes, well..." Radek's voice drifted off as he looked at Evan, his brow furrowing. "It is hard to believe this is real."

"It's real, doc," Evan said past the lump in his throat. "It's Atlantis. We're safe."

"For some value of safe, yes." Radek glanced quickly around the infirmary, then laid his hand on Evan's arm, brushing his thumb against the hair. "I... When." He swallowed, a look of confusion crossing his face. "I do not know what to say. I would have died without you."

"It's okay. I save your life, you save mine. That's the way it works here, right?" Evan twisted his arm around, snagging Radek's hand with his own, and giving it a small squeeze, unable to resist. "I thought everyone knew that."

Radek's face lit up momentarily, his care-worn features brightening as their hands linked. "Yes. I--" He started as the nurse came in, and pulled his hand away.

Evan immediately missed the warmth and weight of it. He couldn't help but watch as Radek scurried out of the door in his scrubs, his head down as he headed back to his room. Evan thought it was a bad idea for him to be on his own right now, but there really wasn't anything he could do about it. No one had replaced Heightmeyer yet, so they had to manage without a shrink on staff, and he couldn’t imagine asking McKay to keep an eye on him. Radek had to get on with his life, and Evan had to get on with his own.