I like making things and playing with a wide variety of headcanons. I believe in keeping fandom separate from the powers that be (cast/crew/creators), the transformative nature of fanworks, and the classic principles relating to DL;DR and curating your experience.
My fave is loosely John, I love space and physics and maths so it was inevitable <3 But I also love everyone haha
My AO3 username is onereyofstarlight (as is my main on tumblr), but I am exceptionally behind on archiving, so this is def the place to find everything :)
please feel free to send me a message if you want to chat :D And like most writers, I do love comments if you're so inclined... no matter how old the work ;)
This fic was take down a while back due to being targeting for spam. Reposting and I hope those who enjoyed this in the past and those new to it both get to have fun reading :) Following the fic, I'm indulging myself by being extremely obnoxious and adding the original fic notes and comments on the post at the bottom of this post because everyone was so nice :)
Uh so.. enjoy!
Gordon can't sleep and John gives him a call
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Today is the third day in a row I’ve woken up at 5:30am without an alarm and I don’t know what to tell you about that. In other news, only 90 more papers to mark and then term is ooooooooooooover :DDD and lockdown is slowly lifting and the sun is back n the evenings and it’s feeling like to world is possible again :D Totally irrelevant to this, of course, but I hope you enjoy this lil bit all the same. It has been too long!!
Gordon lay still, eyes squeezed shut and holding the waking world at bay. The thin light of dawn struggled through the net curtains that shimmered in the breeze. He didn’t need a clock to tell him that it had only been an hour or two since he’d collapsed into bed following a rescue that was already leaving an ache in his muscles.
The comm beside his bed gently beeped and he rolled over, blindly groping for the call button.
“Good morning, Gordon.”
“Shut up, John.”
“You wouldn’t have answered if you’d been asleep.”
“I was pretending. That counts, doesn’t it?”
“I’ve tried it before. Never fools him.”
Gordon groaned and pulled the pillow down over his head.
“How long do I have to go?”
“Another seven hours minimum.”
“Consecutive?”
“Afraid so.”
“Well, shit.”
A decade of training had left him with the mixed blessing of waking right on sunrise, no matter the time when he finally slipped into slumber. Without fail, he woke to a chorus of birds singing and a magical fifteen minutes of golden light. Normally, this wasn’t a problem – personal space was hard to come by in a large family – and he had learnt long ago to treasure the time before everyone else woke for the day.
The problem came with too many late night rescues that left him emotionally shattered and physically exhausted, unable to sleep and yet unable to leave his room without well-meaning brothers insisting he go back to bed.
“Did you need anything?”
Gordon decided against pointing out that John had been the one to call him.
“Can you turn back the clock? Or let me have at your time machine.”
A long suffering sigh emitted from the speaker next to his bed.
“I don’t have a time machine, Gordon.”
“Kidding, John. Although I still don’t know how you get everything done without one.”
“I can send you some excellent online courses in time management if you’re stuck for things to do while you’re trapped here.”
“Tell me that’s not how you spend your nap time when you’re down on the island.”
“Scott’s not going to let you out of this room until he thinks you’ve gotten enough sleep, you know that.”
“Yeah, but–”
“Wait.”
The light that streamed through the net curtains was gaining strength and with it, the restless feeling deep in Gordon’s bones was sparking into life.
He fiddled with the commsphere that projected over his bed, flipping aimlessly through datastreams and news channels as he waited for John to finish with his crisis.
A flick of his hand projected the world clock before his eyes, each second ticking over feeling longer than the last. It had only been ten minutes.
Six hours fifty to go.
He eyed the innocently blinking London time, wondering if John would forgive him if he cut off the call in favour of interrupting Lady Penelope’s early evening.
“I’m going to have to go,” said John, popping back into view. “I’ve just sent Scott to Chile, but he’ll need me too. You’re welcome, by the way. Virgil’s set to sleep until noon.”
The comm was dead by the time he had sprung out of bed, but Gordon was sure he could feel the surge of gratitude for his brother from orbit. John had effectively given him the day off and helped him avoid the wrath of brothers who couldn’t seem to understand that nothing he tried could ever trick his body out of its diurnal rhythms. Maybe he’d send up some of the liquorice they both liked so much.
The exhaustion had drained away by the time he reached the breakfast bar and he smiled hopefully at Kayo who was cooking.
“You should be in bed.”
“Can’t sleep. Want food. Give me yours.”
“Take Alan’s.”
“Hey!”
“Should have gotten it earlier, shrimp.”
Gordon laughed, relaxing into the sounds of his gently bickering family and the faint crash of waves on the rocks far below.
It was a good morning after all.
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END
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Original fic notes (posted 7:02am, 23 September 2020)
Today is the third day in a row I’ve woken up at 5:30am without an alarm and I don’t know what to tell you about that. In other news, only 90 more papers to mark and then term is ooooooooooooover :DDD and lockdown is slowly lifting and the sun is back n the evenings and it’s feeling like to world is possible again :D Totally irrelevant to this, of course, but I hope you enjoy this lil bit all the same. It has been too long!!
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Replies <3
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Reblogs <3
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Original Response to everyone being lovely (you can see why I was so reluctant to delete the original 😭💕)
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Finally thank you to the 33 people who originally liked the post <33 I couldn't think of a non-obnoxious way to save and archive your support but know I read each name before farewelling the original
I thought we had banned this game on Tracy Island (for good reason).
Apparently Gordon and Alan have both bet a month's worth of chores that they can beat each other at Monopoly, and therefore have summoned everyone else to play too. My question is, what happens if neither of them win? I would ask what I get if I win, but I'm not sure adding more stakes is a good idea.
