Primeval: "Thunderstorm" (Lester/Connor) - English

[dunderklumpen.livejournal.com]

Author: dunderklumpen
Pairing: Lester/Connor - friendship or preslash - your interpretation
Prompt: "Thunderstorm" for the summer challenge 2009 over at 120_minuten .
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1.055 words.
Summary: Sid and Nancy aren't the only ones nervous about the thunderstorm.
A/N: The german original can be found here.
Disclaimer: Primeval is the property of Impossible Pictures.
Beta: Thanks to darkhorse_99. She was so kind and looked it over.

"Thunderstorm"

Loud thunder woke him. He blinked sleepily into the darkness that surrounded him and heard the rain which drummed hard against the window frames. When sudden lightning flooded the room, he realised that it was a thunderstorm that had forced him out of sleep. Tired, he rubbed his eyes and turned around in order to sleep again when he heard a squeaking noise. Alarmed, he sat up, listened but couldn't hear anything over the sound of the thunder and constant knocking of the rain. Carefully, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and pushed his bare feet into the slippers. He would check it, just to confirm that he hadn't imagined things. He hardly believed that it could be thieves - more likely Connor who wandered through the flat in the middle of the night. He sighed deeply and gazed at the red numbers on the alarm clock: 3:10.

Quietly he opened the door and listened - there was the whining again.

'Like a baby,' he thought and went in the direction of the living room. He stopped on the threshold. A small lamp lit up the armchair in the corner. Not enough to see the room properly but enough to recognize Connor on the couch. On his lap he had the two Diictodon babies which nervously tried to escape his grasp.

"Nancy," Connor whispered annoyed, "stay calm!"

Lester sighed and stepped into the living room.

Connor looked up and guilt washed over his face.

"I'm so sorry that they woke you. But I just can't calm them down. They're scared of the storm."

As if the weather wanted to emphasize his words, it thundered loudly. Sid let out a heart wrenching whimper. He struggled and slipped slowly from Connor's knees. The young scientist tried to grab the dinosaur, to put his hand under Sid’s stomach, but the little Diictodon wriggled out of his grip. At the same time Nancy had started to struggle as well and Lester watched Connor who literally had both hands full.

Another sigh of resignation left his mouth while he went to his flatmate. Calmly, he took Sid and lifted him up before he could reach the floor and escape. Then he sat down onto the couch next to Connor, the dinosaur on his lap. His flatmate gave him a thankful look and shifted Nancy so that he could hold her steady but gently. He stroke over her head and mumbled quiet words Lester didn't understand but which seemed to calm down the dinosaur cub. A lightning bolt lit the room followed seconds later by thunder. Sid shrieked, afraid, and Lester began to imitate Connor, caressed the head and back of the little Diictodon.

"Hush," he mumbled and was surprised when the dinosaur actually stopped his struggling. So the two men sat together, busy with calming Sid and Nancy on their laps. Five minutes later, which only were filled with the sounds of rain on the roof, it seemed as if the Diictodon babies had fallen asleep.

Connor grinned at Lester. "Thank you," he said.

 Lester nodded silently then a sudden clap of thunder exploded violently, rattling the windows. The dinosaurs didn't care. They ignored the storm and seemed to feel safe in the presence of the men. Connor on the other hand was a different story. Lester didn’t escape how he paled visibly at the thunder.

Connor felt a hand on his shoulder and the unexpected touch took him out of his thoughts.

"You're ok?" Lester asked with underlying concern in his voice.

Connor nodded.

"It's ridiculous," he answered tensely, "I run through anomalies, fight with dinosaurs and future raptors, but a stupid thunderstorm gets to me."

Lester smiled. "We all have things we're afraid of or feel uncomfortable with," he replied unmoved. "That's human."

"That's childish," Connor said annoyed. "Totally irrational and... and ridiculous..."

Lester squeezed Connor's shoulder so that he remembered that he still touched him. Connor didn't know why but in a strange way the warmth of Lester’s fingers seeped into his skin and soothed his nerves.

A lightning bolt lit the room and silence followed. Quietly he counted the seconds until the thunder growled again. He came to six.

"Six kilometres," he commented as if he could read Connor's thoughts. "The storm is moving further away."

Connor swallowed, his hands still on Nancy's back. They stayed on the couch and said nothing. It was neither uncomfortable nor awkward. On the contrary - both men sat next to each other and listened to the wind which whistled around the house corners. Every time a new thunderclap growled, Connor felt how Lester squeezed a little tighter, how he convinced him silently that everything was fine.

The storm quieted down and when the rain stopped Lester let go. Connor felt the emptiness of the warm hand on his shoulder and saw how his friend carefully rose so he didn't wake Sid. With a few steps he was at the open cage and laid the dinosaur baby into it. Sid smacked his lips and moved in his sleep but his eyes stayed closed. Connor rose as well and laid Nancy beside her brother. The two Diictodons immediately searched for each other's warmth and Nancy put her head on Sid’s back.

Connor looked at Lester whose gaze was on the inseparable two. A smile played at the corners of his mouth while he watched them. But when he felt Connor’s eyes on him it disappeared, changing to the stoic and unnerved face which Connor knew so well from work. That was nothing he was afraid of. Before Lester had the chance to turn around and go back to his room, Connor took his arm. Lester looked surprised at him.

“What…,” he started but the young scientist interrupted him.

“Thank you,” he said and smiled.

Lester watched him, stern but not unfriendly. “Go to bed, Connor,” he answered. “It’s already five o’ clock and we have to be at the ARC in four hours.”

Connor grinned. “Good night,” he replied and let go of Lester’s arm. He took a last look at Sid and Nancy before he left.

Lester’s eyes followed him while he rubbed absentmindedly over the place on his arm where Connor had touched him. He could still feel the warmth of his hand on it.