Title: Happily Ever After
Author: Ami Ven
Prompt: (very, very late) birthday present for
outsideth3boxRating: G
Word Count: 450
Fandom(s): Stargate Atlantis
Pairing(s): John Sheppard/Rodney McKay
Summary: “I swear that if I’m still alive, I will always, always come back to you.”
Happily Ever After
“I’m fine,” John insisted, even as he tried not to hiss in pain when Rodney pressed a bandage to his side.
The scientist rolled his eyes. “Yes, colonel, you’re so fine that you’re bleeding all over the floor.”
“It’s mostly stopped,” said John, leaning carefully back against the cavern wall and closing his eyes. “I’m not in danger of bleeding out on you.”
“Maybe not this time,” Rodney said, and there was something in his voice that made John open his eyes to look at him.
Rodney was still sitting beside him, his thigh warm against John’s hip, both hands splayed over John’s ribs, not really holding the bandage in place, but just resting there.
“Hey, buddy,” said John. “You okay?”
“No, I’m not okay,” said Rodney. “Because you keep trying to get yourself killed.”
“I don’t-” John began.
“Then you just don’t try very hard to stay alive,” Rodney interrupted. “I need you, Sheppard, do you understand that? It’s not just that I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you, it’s that I honestly don’t know what I’m capable of if I lost you.”
“Like Old Rodney,” John said, quietly.
“Yeah,” agreed Rodney. “Do you know, when you told me that in an alternate timeline, I spent my life figuring out a way to send you back home, the only thing I thought was Of course I did. And if you did something as stupid as dying, instead of just getting sent thousands of years into the future, I have no idea what I’d be forced to do to get you back.”
“Rodney, god,” said John, because he didn’t know what was bigger than giving him an entire lifetime, but he had no doubt that Rodney could do it. He took a deep breath. “Look, Rodney, I can’t promise not to try and protect you, and I can’t promise I won’t die. But whatever time I have for rest of my life, it’s yours. And I swear that if I’m still alive, I will always, always come back to you.”
“You’d better,” said Rodney. “Or I’ll come find you. Even if you’re not alive.”
John chuckled. “Deal.”
“Deal,” Rodney agreed. “Now, our emergency beacon is in much better shape than you are, so when we don’t dial Atlantis in twenty minutes, and they send Teyla and Ronon and probably Lorne’s whole team after us, it’ll be easy for them to find us.”
“Okay,” John said. He closed his eyes again, leaning sideways until his head landed on Rodney’s shoulder. “We’ll give them half an hour, then.”
Rodney shifted their positions so that John was completely pressed against him. “Half an hour. Okay.”
THE END
Current Mood:
addled