SGA Fic - Home
Nov. 15th, 2007 01:06 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
annundrielAnother older piece. Thanks to ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
trademybike for helping me clean it up a bit and pushing me to explain things instead of falling back on words like "somehow." It even allowed me to fit Walter in there! Barely.
John/Rodney. Set between "The Siege Part 3" and "Intruder." John needs a place to stay.
Home
The last place John hung his hat before Atlantis was Antarctica, so when it comes time to return to Earth after the Wraith attack he’s got no place to go. His choices are quarters at SGC or a hotel room, both impersonal and box-like. Nothing to get attached to. Maybe after the last few days that’s exactly what he needs.
He’s resigned himself to getting a hotel room somewhere (he needs a break from the endless gray corridors of Cheyenne Mountain and the immediate stress of not knowing his professional fate), but McKay finds out that he has no place to go when Sergeant Harriman asks John what his plans are once they’re through. After John tells him he’ll get a hotel or something, he figures that’s it. But the day they finish with debriefing, McKay shows up at the door to John’s temporary SGC quarters, bouncing nervously on his feet, asking John if he needs a place to stay.
“I’ve got a perfectly serviceable couch,” he says, not quite looking John in the eye.
John shrugs and accepts. As much as he keeps telling himself that it’s not weird to be back on Earth, it really, really is and keeping Rodney close by is reassuring in a way he doesn’t want to over-think.
When they get to Rodney’s apartment, Rodney actually seems a little reluctant to get out of the car and go in. He hesitates briefly with his key before finally shoving it in the lock and turning the doorknob.
The apartment is, huh, exactly what John expects from Rodney, actually. He might have thought the guy would have cleaned up a little more before going to another galaxy, but he supposes Rodney had other more pressing things on his mind than picking up. Which isn’t to say that the place is a mess; it’s just lived in, with books and magazines piled haphazardly on end tables and bookshelves.
Rodney gives him a quick tour, never actually leaving the entryway, and ends by gesturing vaguely at the living room. “Just, uh, make yourself at home,” he says, before moving into the kitchen. He’s acting stranger than usual, John thinks. He wonders if it’s coming down off of adrenaline or something else. He tries not to think that maybe Rodney asked him here because he wanted to keep him close.
John drops his duffel bag by the couch and sits down, slowly letting himself lean back into the cushions. He’s not completely relaxed when he hears a funny crunching sound. Looking between the cushion and the back of the couch he finds a half eaten bag of chips. He’s just looking cautiously into the bag when Rodney re-enters the room.
“We’re going to have to go to the store. I’ve made a li—.” He grinds to a halt when he sees John with the bag. He pales a little, hands clenching around the notepad he is holding.
“I found these in your couch, McKay,” he says, trying to dispel the look from Rodney’s face. “You sure it’s safe for me to sleep here?”
Rodney just stares at the bag in his hands. It’s kind of starting to freak John out.
“Rodney? You okay, buddy?”
Finally Rodney blinks, his eyes moving from the bag to John’s face. He’s still a little pale. “This is real, right?”
“What?”
“This—This isn’t something being created by aliens that want to keep me prisoner, is it? Or something I’ve created in my mind because I’ve finally snapped?”
John thinks he gets it then. He sets the bag on the nearest table. “No, Rodney,” he says. “No, as far as I know, this is as real as it gets.”
“But you’re here.”
Rodney still looks terrified standing in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room, as though the world is going to crumble around him, so John gets up and goes to him. “You asked me to be.”
“And that’s enough?”
“Yes,” John says, leaning into Rodney’s personal space. He can practically feel Rodney vibrating with tension.
He feels Rodney’s breath puff against his skin as he whispers, “This isn’t the best way to prove this isn’t in my head, Sheppard.”
But John thinks it is and he’s sure Rodney will see that in a minute, so he moves just that little bit further until they’re mouth to mouth. It’s a chaste kiss, but there’s no denying that it’s real. Nothing imagined could ever be as good as this. John knows Rodney understands when he lets out a tiny gasp, his mouth opening slightly and suddenly they fit together better than before.
John pulls away reluctantly. Rodney’s cheeks are flushed and there’s an extra glint to his eyes. John smiles at him. “We’re really here, Rodney,” he says, and he’s almost stunned with how right it all is.
Rodney gives John one of his rare, genuine smiles in return. “I suppose we are, John,” he says. “But I think I might need more proof. I am a scientist after all.”
John smiles as Rodney leans back in. Who’s he to deny science?
trademybike for helping me clean it up a bit and pushing me to explain things instead of falling back on words like "somehow." It even allowed me to fit Walter in there! Barely.John/Rodney. Set between "The Siege Part 3" and "Intruder." John needs a place to stay.
Home
The last place John hung his hat before Atlantis was Antarctica, so when it comes time to return to Earth after the Wraith attack he’s got no place to go. His choices are quarters at SGC or a hotel room, both impersonal and box-like. Nothing to get attached to. Maybe after the last few days that’s exactly what he needs.
He’s resigned himself to getting a hotel room somewhere (he needs a break from the endless gray corridors of Cheyenne Mountain and the immediate stress of not knowing his professional fate), but McKay finds out that he has no place to go when Sergeant Harriman asks John what his plans are once they’re through. After John tells him he’ll get a hotel or something, he figures that’s it. But the day they finish with debriefing, McKay shows up at the door to John’s temporary SGC quarters, bouncing nervously on his feet, asking John if he needs a place to stay.
“I’ve got a perfectly serviceable couch,” he says, not quite looking John in the eye.
John shrugs and accepts. As much as he keeps telling himself that it’s not weird to be back on Earth, it really, really is and keeping Rodney close by is reassuring in a way he doesn’t want to over-think.
When they get to Rodney’s apartment, Rodney actually seems a little reluctant to get out of the car and go in. He hesitates briefly with his key before finally shoving it in the lock and turning the doorknob.
The apartment is, huh, exactly what John expects from Rodney, actually. He might have thought the guy would have cleaned up a little more before going to another galaxy, but he supposes Rodney had other more pressing things on his mind than picking up. Which isn’t to say that the place is a mess; it’s just lived in, with books and magazines piled haphazardly on end tables and bookshelves.
Rodney gives him a quick tour, never actually leaving the entryway, and ends by gesturing vaguely at the living room. “Just, uh, make yourself at home,” he says, before moving into the kitchen. He’s acting stranger than usual, John thinks. He wonders if it’s coming down off of adrenaline or something else. He tries not to think that maybe Rodney asked him here because he wanted to keep him close.
John drops his duffel bag by the couch and sits down, slowly letting himself lean back into the cushions. He’s not completely relaxed when he hears a funny crunching sound. Looking between the cushion and the back of the couch he finds a half eaten bag of chips. He’s just looking cautiously into the bag when Rodney re-enters the room.
“We’re going to have to go to the store. I’ve made a li—.” He grinds to a halt when he sees John with the bag. He pales a little, hands clenching around the notepad he is holding.
“I found these in your couch, McKay,” he says, trying to dispel the look from Rodney’s face. “You sure it’s safe for me to sleep here?”
Rodney just stares at the bag in his hands. It’s kind of starting to freak John out.
“Rodney? You okay, buddy?”
Finally Rodney blinks, his eyes moving from the bag to John’s face. He’s still a little pale. “This is real, right?”
“What?”
“This—This isn’t something being created by aliens that want to keep me prisoner, is it? Or something I’ve created in my mind because I’ve finally snapped?”
John thinks he gets it then. He sets the bag on the nearest table. “No, Rodney,” he says. “No, as far as I know, this is as real as it gets.”
“But you’re here.”
Rodney still looks terrified standing in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room, as though the world is going to crumble around him, so John gets up and goes to him. “You asked me to be.”
“And that’s enough?”
“Yes,” John says, leaning into Rodney’s personal space. He can practically feel Rodney vibrating with tension.
He feels Rodney’s breath puff against his skin as he whispers, “This isn’t the best way to prove this isn’t in my head, Sheppard.”
But John thinks it is and he’s sure Rodney will see that in a minute, so he moves just that little bit further until they’re mouth to mouth. It’s a chaste kiss, but there’s no denying that it’s real. Nothing imagined could ever be as good as this. John knows Rodney understands when he lets out a tiny gasp, his mouth opening slightly and suddenly they fit together better than before.
John pulls away reluctantly. Rodney’s cheeks are flushed and there’s an extra glint to his eyes. John smiles at him. “We’re really here, Rodney,” he says, and he’s almost stunned with how right it all is.
Rodney gives John one of his rare, genuine smiles in return. “I suppose we are, John,” he says. “But I think I might need more proof. I am a scientist after all.”
John smiles as Rodney leans back in. Who’s he to deny science?
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2007-11-15 07:53 pm (UTC)(My only bit of criticism would be the second paragraph having the super-long-sentence-of-dooooom.)
♥
(no subject)
Date: 2007-11-16 10:14 pm (UTC)Thanks! Glad the voices worked for you!