The Prisoner of Zenda: 4 of 4 -- Epilogue
Written for the reel_sga challenge
Pairings: Primarily McKay/Sheppard with bits of Weir/Kolya, Wier/Zelenka, and Dex/Teyla
Total word count: 30665
Overall Rating: NC-17; this part R
Beta'd by the fabulous lamardeuse
The Prisoner of Zenda
Epilogue
Six Months Later
The large cream-colored envelope found Rodney at the university. He could almost feel the admin's breath on his neck as he sorted it to the top of the stack of journals, conference announcements, and junk mail. He smoothed a finger over the royal seal that secured the thick letter. He'd hoped he'd never have to see that symbol again. He'd only worn it on his finger five days, but it was burned in his memory like a brand.
Not willing to give the admin a show, he slipped the letter in among his other mail, then carried the lot of it to his office and closed the door.
Part of him wanted to shred the thing unopened. There really was nothing he wanted from that damned country. Nothing at all. He'd even rearranged his research so that he didn't need to go back to their university physics department - it wasn't that hard. There's more than one way to skin a neutrino, after all.
The rest of him, though, burned with curiosity. It was obviously something Official. Probably an invitation to the Royal wedding. After all, Rodney was family. Then, Rodney had a horrible thought. What if it the King had finally come out of the closet? What if this was an invitation to a commitment ceremony for the King and John?
What if he stopped being an idiot and just opened the damn thing already?
His glance flicked between the letter opener and the shredder. The fact that it was too thick to shred decided him. He reached for the opener and sliced open the heavy envelope.
It was an invitation. There were all the pieces. Second glueless envelope inside the first, extra cards with invitations to extra events, and an RSVP card, complete with stamped, self-addressed envelope.
Rodney closed his eyes. He was being ridiculous. If nothing else, King Rodney V would never come out of that closet. And Rodney could refuse a wedding invitation - he was busy and he wasn't even that close a relative, so really, there was no reason to even think he'd have to go back and see things - people - he didn't want to see.
Rodney pulled the invitation out of its envelope and focused on the thick black letters:
Her Illustrious Majesty
Teyla, Queen of R-
requests the honour of your presence
as She and General Ronon Dex, Duke of Zenda
are joined in the bonds of holy matrimony
on Saturday, the twentieth day of March
two thousand and five
at one o'clock in the afternoon
Grand Cathedral
Strelsau
Rodney knew it. A goddamn invitation to a goddamn royal wedding.
Wait. Teyla. And Dex. Getting married. Princess Teyla and Colonel Dex. No... Queen Teyla, and General Dex. Queen Teyla? When did that happen? Did King Rodney die of his injuries after all? Rodney began to regret all the effort he'd gone to to be oblivious to any event that happened after he left that small country.
Dropping the card his desk, he swung his chair around to the computer. A few well-chosen search strings and he had the past half-year before him in a half-dozen browser windows.
Rodney looked at the rest of the stuff that came in the envelope. Someone had done his homework. The return card envelope had the right amount of Canadian postage for international airmail. There was a reception invitation card, and, to his surprise, a handwritten note on the same heavy card stock.
Dear Dr. McKay,
We hope you are able to attend. You would be our honored guest for all the festivities. We are deeply grateful for services you have performed for our kingdom and ourself, and welcome the opportunity to demonstrate to you the high regard in which we hold you.
-- Teyla, R.
Huh. Someone must have told her about the whole substitution scheme. Dex, probably.
The note was very flattering. It was certainly everything his ego could have wanted. The trouble was, when it came to that country it was Rodney's heart, not his ego, that called the shots.
Without knowing what had happened to John, Rodney felt frozen. The last thing he wanted was to see John with the former King - and the King, the ex-King, would surely be at his cousin's wedding. Maybe he could write Colonel - no, General Dex and get some news. He had a few weeks before he had to respond. Dex already knew how pathetic Rodney could be. Maybe it wouldn't be too embarrassing.
Rodney was experimenting with how he would phrase his letter to General Dex when someone knocked on his office door.
“Office hours start at two,” he called.
The door opened anyway, and a head poked through the doorway.
“Actually, Dr. McKay, I was hoping for a private conference.”
“Jo...Captain!”
There must be something weird about the airflow when the door was only partially open, because for an instant there was no oxygen at all in Rodney's office.
“It's Major now. Or John. John still works.”
Rodney jumped to his feet and pulled John all the way into the room. He had to force his hands to let go of John's arm and it took as much strength as he could muster to step away so he could close the door again.
“What are you doing here?!”
“Here, Canada? I'm the military attaché at the consulate. Here, your office? Officially, I'm supposed to convince you to come to the wedding. Her Majesty really wants to thank you for what you did for the country. I'm pretty sure there's a decoration involved.”
“Officially.”
“Yeah.”
“Is there an unofficially?”
“Well...yeah.” Suddenly John looked shy.
There was a long silence.
Rodney waited and watched the color rise in John's cheeks. Whatever this was, it was either very bad, or very good. Hope began to unfurl in Rodney's chest. The longer the silence lasted, the more Rodney was sure this was going to be very, very good.
Finally John swallowed and looked briefly into Rodney's eyes before staring a the floor again “Unofficially, I asked for this posting. I was hoping you would be OK with me being in the same city for a while. Maybe getting together for dinner or a movie every so often?”
“Dinner or a movie.” Rodney kept his voice flat.
“Yeah.”
“Dinner. Or a movie.”
John was starting to get flustered. “Look, McKay, it's a big city. If you don't want to see me, I can stay out of your way. I just thought...”
Rodney took pity.
“Just dinner or a movie? How about dinner and a movie. Maybe a hockey game. We could go up to Toronto to see the Jays play. Or you could come to my place and meet my cat.”
“Um...”
Rodney was enjoying this. They were on his turf now. “While we're there, maybe we could have some oral sex.”
John's head snapped up and he began to smile. Jeez! It sure took him long enough to get that Rodney was messing with him. “Yeah, McKay, oral sex would be good.”
“Finally. I thought I'd have to hit you over the head and drag you by your hair!”
“Hey! I may be a dumb grunt, but eventually I get it.”
Rodney couldn't resist. He made a 'c'mere' gesture with both hands, “Then come get it, Major.”
John didn't need to be told twice. He was across the room and holding Rodney in an instant. He looked briefly into Rodney's eyes, and must have seen the welcome there, because he lowered his mouth to Rodney's and kissed him.
At the first touch of John's lips, Rodney moaned. This was everything he'd ever wanted. All those months of loneliness and despair, second-guessing himself, trying to figure out if it was real or if he was just a substitute while John waited for his royal look-alike. All of it was washed away as John kissed him with a sweet passion that could not be faked.
The world faded away and there was nothing but the kiss. Rodney reveled in it. He'd been sure he'd never get this again. In his solitary bed, Rodney had tried to remember everything about his one night with John. Now that he had the man with him again, he realized how pale his memories had become.
John's lips were firm against Rodney's, moving deliberately against Rodney's mouth, coaxing Rodney to respond. His tongue danced along the seam of Rodney's lips, and when Rodney opened to him, teased slowly into Rodney's mouth.
Rodney had no patience for this delicacy. He brought his own tongue to tangle with John's, tasting again what he'd missed all these months. When John's tongue retreated, Rodney's followed into John's mouth, reaching for more of the essence of John. Rodney couldn't help it. He brought his hand up behind John's head and gripped his thick hair. Then he deepened the kiss, trying to tell John with his mouth how much he'd missed him, how much he needed him.
John moaned and moved his own hands. One went behind Rodney's neck and the other slid downward to cup Rodney's ass and pull him in tight against John. Rodney felt John's hard cock, a partner to his own, press against his thigh. He shifted his hips a little, and they were lined up. It felt so good, and when John thrust gently forward, Rodney found himself answering it with his own hips. Then they both were thrusting, slowly, luxuriously, their bodies moving together as if they had done this forever.
That stupid voice of logic in Rodney's head interrupted him. It reminded him that he was way too old to come in his pants, and also, weren't there a few questions Rodney needed answered before he fell into bed with John again?
Rodney reluctantly pulled away. John made the separation extra hard by leaning forward, chasing after Rodney's lips and was that a whimper?
It was difficult, but Rodney faced it manfully and stepped back. He took a couple of calming breaths before he tried to talk.
"Captain, I really am glad to see you. Well, of course I am. I mean, I don't greet every long lost acquaintance like that, but last time we saw each other you had commitments that kept you from being with me, and I have to know if you still have those commitments. Because really, I can't go through that again. So if you're going home in six days or six weeks or six months, I think I'm going to have to pass on this." Rodney waved his hand between them.
“It's Major, and I no longer have those commitments. Well, my posting here is for two years, and I do have my commission, but as long as Telya rules, I can get posted pretty much anywhere I want. So I'm here as long as I want to be.”
“But what about him? Why aren't you with the King. Ex-King. The other Rodney. Does he even have a last name?”
“What makes you think I'd be with him?” John teased.
“Oh, please. Genius here. You two were obviously together at some point.” Rodney saw John start to frown, and worried that he'd gone too far. “Or...no. I take that back. You don't have to tell me. Really, I shouldn't have asked.”
“No, it's OK. I want to tell you. I'm just not sure how to explain.” John looked distant for a second, then continued. “Remember when I said we were friends? Well, we were. Friends with benefits. It kind of grew out of being in the Personal Guard. It was my job to protect His Majesty, and it was just better for him to have someone he could trust. He really was very unhappy. I did what I could. It wasn't true love or anything. Not for either of us.”
“So when he abdicated?”
“When he abdicated, he needed to go where he could just be Rodney. I think he's in Australia now, learning to scuba dive or something.”
“Didn't he want you go with him? Didn't you want to?” Rodney tried not to let his insecurity show in his question. He suspected he wasn't all that successful.
John pinned Rodney with a singularly intense look. “McKay, I'm still his friend, but the “with benefits” part ended the morning you agreed to shave your beard.”
“When I...?”
“It wouldn't have been fair to the King, now would it? Being used as a substitute for the man I really wanted?”
“Really wanted?” Rodney felt warmth blossoming in his chest.
“Uh-huh.” John was smiling at him.
Rodney had to ask, “Still really want?”
“Oh, yeah.” John's smile grew lascivious.
Rodney felt his own smile grow. “Me, too. Really want. You, that is. I really want you.”
“Glad to hear it.” John's voice dropped a register. “So, you said something earlier about your apartment? And sex?”
“Oral sex. I said oral sex.”
“I'm generalizing. See, the way I figure it, we left things a little uneven.”
“Uneven.” Rodney wasn't following. All this talk of sex had him a little dazed.
“Yeah. I'm thinking, to even things out, I get a blowjob, and then you get to...”
“Shut up! Shut up right now or I'll never be able to walk to the car.”
Rodney opened the door of his office, grabbed a Sharpie and wrote in fat black letters on the outside of the frosted glass window:
Family Emergency. Office Hours Canceled til Tuesday Afternoon.
He capped the pen and tossed it onto his desk. Then he grabbed John's hand and started towing him down the hall, closing and locking the door automatically.
“C'mon, Captain...Major...John. After we even things out, we can make them uneven again.”
“Yeah. I bet we can keep them uneven for a looong time.” Rodney knew John was laughing at him, but he just didn't care.
~~End~~
Pairings: Primarily McKay/Sheppard with bits of Weir/Kolya, Wier/Zelenka, and Dex/Teyla
Total word count: 30665
Overall Rating: NC-17; this part R
Beta'd by the fabulous lamardeuse
The Prisoner of Zenda
Epilogue
Six Months Later
The large cream-colored envelope found Rodney at the university. He could almost feel the admin's breath on his neck as he sorted it to the top of the stack of journals, conference announcements, and junk mail. He smoothed a finger over the royal seal that secured the thick letter. He'd hoped he'd never have to see that symbol again. He'd only worn it on his finger five days, but it was burned in his memory like a brand.
Not willing to give the admin a show, he slipped the letter in among his other mail, then carried the lot of it to his office and closed the door.
Part of him wanted to shred the thing unopened. There really was nothing he wanted from that damned country. Nothing at all. He'd even rearranged his research so that he didn't need to go back to their university physics department - it wasn't that hard. There's more than one way to skin a neutrino, after all.
The rest of him, though, burned with curiosity. It was obviously something Official. Probably an invitation to the Royal wedding. After all, Rodney was family. Then, Rodney had a horrible thought. What if it the King had finally come out of the closet? What if this was an invitation to a commitment ceremony for the King and John?
What if he stopped being an idiot and just opened the damn thing already?
His glance flicked between the letter opener and the shredder. The fact that it was too thick to shred decided him. He reached for the opener and sliced open the heavy envelope.
It was an invitation. There were all the pieces. Second glueless envelope inside the first, extra cards with invitations to extra events, and an RSVP card, complete with stamped, self-addressed envelope.
Rodney closed his eyes. He was being ridiculous. If nothing else, King Rodney V would never come out of that closet. And Rodney could refuse a wedding invitation - he was busy and he wasn't even that close a relative, so really, there was no reason to even think he'd have to go back and see things - people - he didn't want to see.
Rodney pulled the invitation out of its envelope and focused on the thick black letters:
Her Illustrious Majesty
Teyla, Queen of R-
requests the honour of your presence
as She and General Ronon Dex, Duke of Zenda
are joined in the bonds of holy matrimony
on Saturday, the twentieth day of March
two thousand and five
at one o'clock in the afternoon
Grand Cathedral
Strelsau
Rodney knew it. A goddamn invitation to a goddamn royal wedding.
Wait. Teyla. And Dex. Getting married. Princess Teyla and Colonel Dex. No... Queen Teyla, and General Dex. Queen Teyla? When did that happen? Did King Rodney die of his injuries after all? Rodney began to regret all the effort he'd gone to to be oblivious to any event that happened after he left that small country.
Dropping the card his desk, he swung his chair around to the computer. A few well-chosen search strings and he had the past half-year before him in a half-dozen browser windows.
- Prince Kolya dies in coup attempt. King Rodney V injured, but recovers completely. Radek of Hentzau, co-conspirator, still at large.
- Princess Teyla celebrates 25th birthday. Country celebrates with her, but wonders when the royal wedding will be.
- King Rodney V comes out of the closet. Abdicates for the good of the nation.
- Princess Teyla crowned Queen in the country's second coronation in six months.
- Queen Teyla announces engagement to Ronon Dex, Duke of Zenda, long time adviser and friend of the royal family.
Rodney looked at the rest of the stuff that came in the envelope. Someone had done his homework. The return card envelope had the right amount of Canadian postage for international airmail. There was a reception invitation card, and, to his surprise, a handwritten note on the same heavy card stock.
Dear Dr. McKay,
We hope you are able to attend. You would be our honored guest for all the festivities. We are deeply grateful for services you have performed for our kingdom and ourself, and welcome the opportunity to demonstrate to you the high regard in which we hold you.
-- Teyla, R.
Huh. Someone must have told her about the whole substitution scheme. Dex, probably.
The note was very flattering. It was certainly everything his ego could have wanted. The trouble was, when it came to that country it was Rodney's heart, not his ego, that called the shots.
Without knowing what had happened to John, Rodney felt frozen. The last thing he wanted was to see John with the former King - and the King, the ex-King, would surely be at his cousin's wedding. Maybe he could write Colonel - no, General Dex and get some news. He had a few weeks before he had to respond. Dex already knew how pathetic Rodney could be. Maybe it wouldn't be too embarrassing.
Rodney was experimenting with how he would phrase his letter to General Dex when someone knocked on his office door.
“Office hours start at two,” he called.
The door opened anyway, and a head poked through the doorway.
“Actually, Dr. McKay, I was hoping for a private conference.”
“Jo...Captain!”
There must be something weird about the airflow when the door was only partially open, because for an instant there was no oxygen at all in Rodney's office.
“It's Major now. Or John. John still works.”
Rodney jumped to his feet and pulled John all the way into the room. He had to force his hands to let go of John's arm and it took as much strength as he could muster to step away so he could close the door again.
“What are you doing here?!”
“Here, Canada? I'm the military attaché at the consulate. Here, your office? Officially, I'm supposed to convince you to come to the wedding. Her Majesty really wants to thank you for what you did for the country. I'm pretty sure there's a decoration involved.”
“Officially.”
“Yeah.”
“Is there an unofficially?”
“Well...yeah.” Suddenly John looked shy.
There was a long silence.
Rodney waited and watched the color rise in John's cheeks. Whatever this was, it was either very bad, or very good. Hope began to unfurl in Rodney's chest. The longer the silence lasted, the more Rodney was sure this was going to be very, very good.
Finally John swallowed and looked briefly into Rodney's eyes before staring a the floor again “Unofficially, I asked for this posting. I was hoping you would be OK with me being in the same city for a while. Maybe getting together for dinner or a movie every so often?”
“Dinner or a movie.” Rodney kept his voice flat.
“Yeah.”
“Dinner. Or a movie.”
John was starting to get flustered. “Look, McKay, it's a big city. If you don't want to see me, I can stay out of your way. I just thought...”
Rodney took pity.
“Just dinner or a movie? How about dinner and a movie. Maybe a hockey game. We could go up to Toronto to see the Jays play. Or you could come to my place and meet my cat.”
“Um...”
Rodney was enjoying this. They were on his turf now. “While we're there, maybe we could have some oral sex.”
John's head snapped up and he began to smile. Jeez! It sure took him long enough to get that Rodney was messing with him. “Yeah, McKay, oral sex would be good.”
“Finally. I thought I'd have to hit you over the head and drag you by your hair!”
“Hey! I may be a dumb grunt, but eventually I get it.”
Rodney couldn't resist. He made a 'c'mere' gesture with both hands, “Then come get it, Major.”
John didn't need to be told twice. He was across the room and holding Rodney in an instant. He looked briefly into Rodney's eyes, and must have seen the welcome there, because he lowered his mouth to Rodney's and kissed him.
At the first touch of John's lips, Rodney moaned. This was everything he'd ever wanted. All those months of loneliness and despair, second-guessing himself, trying to figure out if it was real or if he was just a substitute while John waited for his royal look-alike. All of it was washed away as John kissed him with a sweet passion that could not be faked.
The world faded away and there was nothing but the kiss. Rodney reveled in it. He'd been sure he'd never get this again. In his solitary bed, Rodney had tried to remember everything about his one night with John. Now that he had the man with him again, he realized how pale his memories had become.
John's lips were firm against Rodney's, moving deliberately against Rodney's mouth, coaxing Rodney to respond. His tongue danced along the seam of Rodney's lips, and when Rodney opened to him, teased slowly into Rodney's mouth.
Rodney had no patience for this delicacy. He brought his own tongue to tangle with John's, tasting again what he'd missed all these months. When John's tongue retreated, Rodney's followed into John's mouth, reaching for more of the essence of John. Rodney couldn't help it. He brought his hand up behind John's head and gripped his thick hair. Then he deepened the kiss, trying to tell John with his mouth how much he'd missed him, how much he needed him.
John moaned and moved his own hands. One went behind Rodney's neck and the other slid downward to cup Rodney's ass and pull him in tight against John. Rodney felt John's hard cock, a partner to his own, press against his thigh. He shifted his hips a little, and they were lined up. It felt so good, and when John thrust gently forward, Rodney found himself answering it with his own hips. Then they both were thrusting, slowly, luxuriously, their bodies moving together as if they had done this forever.
That stupid voice of logic in Rodney's head interrupted him. It reminded him that he was way too old to come in his pants, and also, weren't there a few questions Rodney needed answered before he fell into bed with John again?
Rodney reluctantly pulled away. John made the separation extra hard by leaning forward, chasing after Rodney's lips and was that a whimper?
It was difficult, but Rodney faced it manfully and stepped back. He took a couple of calming breaths before he tried to talk.
"Captain, I really am glad to see you. Well, of course I am. I mean, I don't greet every long lost acquaintance like that, but last time we saw each other you had commitments that kept you from being with me, and I have to know if you still have those commitments. Because really, I can't go through that again. So if you're going home in six days or six weeks or six months, I think I'm going to have to pass on this." Rodney waved his hand between them.
“It's Major, and I no longer have those commitments. Well, my posting here is for two years, and I do have my commission, but as long as Telya rules, I can get posted pretty much anywhere I want. So I'm here as long as I want to be.”
“But what about him? Why aren't you with the King. Ex-King. The other Rodney. Does he even have a last name?”
“What makes you think I'd be with him?” John teased.
“Oh, please. Genius here. You two were obviously together at some point.” Rodney saw John start to frown, and worried that he'd gone too far. “Or...no. I take that back. You don't have to tell me. Really, I shouldn't have asked.”
“No, it's OK. I want to tell you. I'm just not sure how to explain.” John looked distant for a second, then continued. “Remember when I said we were friends? Well, we were. Friends with benefits. It kind of grew out of being in the Personal Guard. It was my job to protect His Majesty, and it was just better for him to have someone he could trust. He really was very unhappy. I did what I could. It wasn't true love or anything. Not for either of us.”
“So when he abdicated?”
“When he abdicated, he needed to go where he could just be Rodney. I think he's in Australia now, learning to scuba dive or something.”
“Didn't he want you go with him? Didn't you want to?” Rodney tried not to let his insecurity show in his question. He suspected he wasn't all that successful.
John pinned Rodney with a singularly intense look. “McKay, I'm still his friend, but the “with benefits” part ended the morning you agreed to shave your beard.”
“When I...?”
“It wouldn't have been fair to the King, now would it? Being used as a substitute for the man I really wanted?”
“Really wanted?” Rodney felt warmth blossoming in his chest.
“Uh-huh.” John was smiling at him.
Rodney had to ask, “Still really want?”
“Oh, yeah.” John's smile grew lascivious.
Rodney felt his own smile grow. “Me, too. Really want. You, that is. I really want you.”
“Glad to hear it.” John's voice dropped a register. “So, you said something earlier about your apartment? And sex?”
“Oral sex. I said oral sex.”
“I'm generalizing. See, the way I figure it, we left things a little uneven.”
“Uneven.” Rodney wasn't following. All this talk of sex had him a little dazed.
“Yeah. I'm thinking, to even things out, I get a blowjob, and then you get to...”
“Shut up! Shut up right now or I'll never be able to walk to the car.”
Rodney opened the door of his office, grabbed a Sharpie and wrote in fat black letters on the outside of the frosted glass window:
Family Emergency. Office Hours Canceled til Tuesday Afternoon.
He capped the pen and tossed it onto his desk. Then he grabbed John's hand and started towing him down the hall, closing and locking the door automatically.
“C'mon, Captain...Major...John. After we even things out, we can make them uneven again.”
“Yeah. I bet we can keep them uneven for a looong time.” Rodney knew John was laughing at him, but he just didn't care.
~~End~~