Chapter Text
The entire situation was fucked. He acted as if things were normal, continued to live each day as if everything was alright, as if there was nothing horrifically wrong. It was only when he was alone in his bunk, left to his own thoughts, that his stomach twisted and threatened to expel the food he’d had to force down a few hours prior. It was only when he was alone that Herc waited in the dark for the door to open, for light to spill across his floor, and for the real nightmares to begin.
It was Stacker, but it wasn’t. The sound of the Marshall’s dress shoes, the way his feet fell on the metal floor, that was familiar, that was all him. So was the way he stood, the way his jaw was set, and the way he held his hands in front of him, casually formal and all business. However the look in Stacker Pentecost’s eyes wasn’t him at all, wasn’t warm in the ways that Herc remembered from when things were good between them. No, in those eyes was a harsh maliciousness that had never been on Stacker’s face when it had actually been Stacker.
When the door to his bunk closed Herc couldn’t help but flinch a little as he sat up; this was a nightly ritual these days, but he’d hoped that maybe the Marshall would have been too busy preparing for their assault on the breach. A powerful hand fisted in Herc’s short hair, jerking his head back roughly, but the ranger refused to wince, staring defiantly at the… Thing that occupied the body of the man he loved and trusted. This resulted in a slow curl of those familiar lips, the look a twisted mockery of Stacker’s confident smirk, too wide and showing too many teeth.
"I can’t disagree with his taste." the creature practically purred, Stackers voice sounding vile, the inflections in all the wrong places.
"Fuck off." Herc spat. "I’ll get ‘im back."
"Not before the attack on the breach you won’t."
Herc schooled his expression, making sure the pain and hopelessness he felt didn’t show. He didn’t go through years of military training to let his emotions slip, even in the situation he’d found himself in. Deep down he knew that it was hopeless, that he’d most likely die before freeing Stacker of the thing currently in possession of his body, but he couldn’t help but cling onto foolish, painful hope.
"We’ll see about that, now won’t we?" Herc muttered, letting his lips quirk in a self-confident smirk.
"Keep fighting, Hansen, it just makes it all the more entertaining." the creature mused, leaning in.
"Keep fighting, Stacks." Herc breathed, knowing that somewhere, buried deep, Stacker would hear the hidden ‘I love you’; he always did.