fic: Elytra by bluejbird
Title: Elytra (or 'Bullet with Xeno-Hemiptera wings')
Author: bluejbird
Pairing: McShep.
Rating: PG
Summary: John didn't quite change back from the Iratus incident.
Spoilers: Conversion
Warnings: wing!fic. I've read a few fics where one of the boys have angel wings or birds wings or dragons wings or butterfly wings. And then I saw Conversion and thought 'hey, bugs have wings too!' and the idea for this was born.
A/N: The title is me trying to be clever- When I was trying to think of a title I kept thinking of the Smashing Pumpkins song 'Bullet with butterfly wings', and it kind of got mangled into a smart-arse sort of title and the Elytra part of the title is because they are so the coolest part of John's wings. And I'm glad the Entomology module I took at uni is finally useful for something. Unbetaed.
Feedback: Makes me ten types of happy, and concrit is always welcome too.
John was surprised no-one had noticed that his shirts were a little tighter across the shoulders, that he stood straighter, didn't slouch, to avoid the noticeable hardness across his shoulders and back.
But no-one had asked, no-one had questioned, which was lucky as he didn't know how he would feel when he saw their faces. Only Carson knew, and John thanked god that patient confidentiality prevented him from informing Elizabeth or Rodney. He couldn't face seeing the expressions in their eyes when they saw his back.
Which was why he was resolutely refusing to take his shirt off.
"Colonel," Elizabeth said warningly. "You need to let the Doctors check your back. You were shot!"
"I'm fine!" John insisted. "I can wait until Carson comes back."
"Don't be an idiot," Rodney said, folding his arms and staring down at John ominously. "What the hell is wrong with you? I saw the bullets hit you! They knocked you to the ground."
"They obviously missed," John replied. "I'm not bleeding! They didn't hit me!"
"You sure about that, Sheppard?" Ronon asked, and held out his hand. Sitting in his palm were three bullets, all neatly flattened at one end, as if they'd hit a very solid wall.
Rodney's head swivelled to look at the bullets then snapped up to meet John's eyes.
"Take your shirt off," he commanded.
"No!" John replied, folding his arms across his chest, eying Ronon's open palm with a grim look on his face. Rodney's hands were suddenly on the hem of his shirt, tugging it upwards.
"Hey!" John said, fighting to keep his shirt on.
"Stop it!" Rodney said. "Just. Let. Me- Oh."
John went rigid, and contemplated trying to hide or making a run for it, but changed his mind when he saw Ronon's hand rest on his gun.
"How long?" Rodney asked, and John sighed, giving in and letting Rodney pull his shirt off. He stood up defensively and turned around.
He heard the collective intake of female breath as Elizabeth, Teyla and the Doctors stared at his back. Only Ronon and Rodney were silent. John knew what they were seeing- he'd spent hours gazing at them in his mirror, watching the light reflect off them. They glistened a blackish-blueish-green, shining purple in some lights. They were hard and thick and smooth to the touch, curving down over his shoulderblades, points touching in the small of his back. John sighed and flexed his muscles, feeling them open, the hard outer shells raising high, the delicate blackness of his hindwings underneath stretching, shimmering like the taffetta of the evening dress his mother used to wear when his father had taken her dancing.
"Since the whole bug thing," John replied, his voice stiff, and he folded his wings back down.
"But Dr Beckett said-"
"That I was back to normal?" John cut Elizabeth off. "Yeah, well...I am. Kinda."
"You have wings!" Elizabeth pointed out.
John started to turn around to face her, and realised there was a pressure on his left shoulder he hadn't registered at first. He moved away, leaving Rodney with his arm out, fingers splayed in the position they'd been touching his wing, wonder and horror mixed in his eyes.
"Useful wings," Ronon said, and John broke their eye contact, staring at the floor. "Wings that stop bullets."
"They don't effect me," John said. "I've been carrying out my duties, haven't I?"
Elizabeth frowned. "I just don't think-"
"He said they don't affect him," Rodney broke in. "If the Colonel says he's fine, and Carson was happy to let him out of the infirmary...he's not been affected by it," Rodney repeated, then his hands fell to his sides and he hurried from the room.
Elizabeth watched him go. "I...I'll need some time to consider this, Colonel," she said. "Until then, your offworld activity is suspended.”
John nodded curtly. He'd expected worse than this. Then he glanced at Teyla and Ronon- her pitying gaze, his calculated one. He picked up his shirt, pulling it on and he hurried after Rodney.
~~~
He didn't even bother knocking on Rodney's door, just though 'open' and walked in.
Rodney was sitting on his bed, his head in his hands.
"Rodney."
He looked up, and even in the darkness of the room, John could see his cheeks were glistening.
"Rodney, I-"
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Rodney said, but there was no emotion in his voice. "Get out. Please."
"I need to-"
"You don't need to do anything," Rodney said, and there was an edge to his voice now.
"Please-"
"No!" Rodney shouted, standing suddenly and striding towards John. "You don't get to burst in here and say 'please' and that you 'need' anything. You've got no right."
John held his palms up, stepping backwards, but Rodney still advanced on him.
"Is this why?" Rodney asked, a hand pushing into John's chest, shoving him backwards. John stumbled, then backed up. "Is this why you've been avoiding me?" he shoved again. "Is that it?"
John nodded, and Rodney's face crumbled and he gave one last, hard shove and John fell back against the wall.
"I thought it was me," Rodney said, his hands balled in the front of John's shirt. "At first I thought it was the whole bug thing- that you still felt...different. And then weeks went by. Weeks, John! And you never once...I thought that you couldn't stand to be near me, that...that you didn't love me anymore."
John felt a lump start to form in his throat. "No, never," he said, his voice hoarse. "I just...how do you show this to someone?" he asked, and this time he pulled his shirt off himself. He lifted a hand to Rodney's cheek, wiping away tears with his thumb, and Rodney's hands were splayed on John's bare chest. And then John leaned in and kissed him and Rodney's hands were moving, sliding round his back, running his fingers over the smooth hardness.
"I don't know," Rodney whispered in his ear. "Once I would have thought it would be impossible to show someone else something like...like those. But then, once I would have thought it was impossible for me to tell my best friend I loved him, and even more impossible to find that he'd wanted to tell me the exact same thing."
John sighed, relaxing against Rodney's chest. "I thought...I thought you wouldn't want to touch me. I...God, Rodney, I saw your face when we left for the bug planet. When you saw what I'd become. You didn't come and see me during my transformation."
Rodney stared at him. "Is that what you- oh for the love of God- I didn't come and see you because I assumed you wouldn't want to see me. I assumed you'd be going all crazy and martyrish and refusing to see anyone. I didn't feel like being told to go away."
"Oh," said John. "I..."
Neither of them spoke for a long moment.
"Can you fly?" Rodney asked, all scientific curiosity that made John laugh.
"No," he said. "I can sort of hover a few feet off the ground, but they're not big enough to fly with."
"Oh," Rodney said, looking sorry, and John knew that sympathy was all for him, for the desire to fly Rodney didn't understand but still respected. "Useful, though. With the bullets and all."
"Are we...are we okay?" John asked, twisting his neck to glance back at his wings.
Rodney rolled his eyes and tugged John towards the bed.
"Are you kidding? I've been wandering around with a broken heart thinking my boyfriend had gone off me, so finding out he has wings? Not such a big deal."
"Oh," said John. "Good."
Rodney kissed him and ran a hand up under one elytron, trailing fingers over the veins in his wings in a way that made John shiver and his wings vibrate in a soft hum, batting gently against Rodney's palm.
Rodney chuckled and pushed John onto the mattress. "So, this hovering thing," he said conversationally, kissing his way down John's chest. "How much weight do you think they could support?"
John raised an eyebrow. "You want to have sex in mid air?"
Rodney shrugged. "It'd be an experience," he said, defensively. "It was just a thought."
"Well, lay off the MREs for a bit and then we'll see," John said and Rodney glared, then stuck his hands into John's pants.
"Wait," John said, putting his hand on Rodney's chest. "You don't...do you think Elizabeth is going to have me sent back to Earth?"
Rodney made an impatient noise. "You are so selfish," he complained. "Wasting precious sex time with stupid, pointless questions that you already know the answer to. But no," he said, expression softening when he saw John's face. "Of course she won't send you back. Atlantis is your home. Besides, you're too much of a freak now to go back to Earth," he added and kissed John again.
"Ha ha," John said weakly, but it was a strangely comforting thought, as if he finally belonged in Pegasus, in Atlantis now, as if the wings had made him a part of this galaxy.
"So, that hovering-sex thing," he said conversationally, when they were both naked and hard and desperate for the other's touch. "You want to give it a try?"
Rodney gave him an eager grin, and John laughed, moving his shoulders so his wings spread wide open behind him.
The End.
Author: bluejbird
Pairing: McShep.
Rating: PG
Summary: John didn't quite change back from the Iratus incident.
Spoilers: Conversion
Warnings: wing!fic. I've read a few fics where one of the boys have angel wings or birds wings or dragons wings or butterfly wings. And then I saw Conversion and thought 'hey, bugs have wings too!' and the idea for this was born.
A/N: The title is me trying to be clever- When I was trying to think of a title I kept thinking of the Smashing Pumpkins song 'Bullet with butterfly wings', and it kind of got mangled into a smart-arse sort of title and the Elytra part of the title is because they are so the coolest part of John's wings. And I'm glad the Entomology module I took at uni is finally useful for something. Unbetaed.
Feedback: Makes me ten types of happy, and concrit is always welcome too.
John was surprised no-one had noticed that his shirts were a little tighter across the shoulders, that he stood straighter, didn't slouch, to avoid the noticeable hardness across his shoulders and back.
But no-one had asked, no-one had questioned, which was lucky as he didn't know how he would feel when he saw their faces. Only Carson knew, and John thanked god that patient confidentiality prevented him from informing Elizabeth or Rodney. He couldn't face seeing the expressions in their eyes when they saw his back.
Which was why he was resolutely refusing to take his shirt off.
"Colonel," Elizabeth said warningly. "You need to let the Doctors check your back. You were shot!"
"I'm fine!" John insisted. "I can wait until Carson comes back."
"Don't be an idiot," Rodney said, folding his arms and staring down at John ominously. "What the hell is wrong with you? I saw the bullets hit you! They knocked you to the ground."
"They obviously missed," John replied. "I'm not bleeding! They didn't hit me!"
"You sure about that, Sheppard?" Ronon asked, and held out his hand. Sitting in his palm were three bullets, all neatly flattened at one end, as if they'd hit a very solid wall.
Rodney's head swivelled to look at the bullets then snapped up to meet John's eyes.
"Take your shirt off," he commanded.
"No!" John replied, folding his arms across his chest, eying Ronon's open palm with a grim look on his face. Rodney's hands were suddenly on the hem of his shirt, tugging it upwards.
"Hey!" John said, fighting to keep his shirt on.
"Stop it!" Rodney said. "Just. Let. Me- Oh."
John went rigid, and contemplated trying to hide or making a run for it, but changed his mind when he saw Ronon's hand rest on his gun.
"How long?" Rodney asked, and John sighed, giving in and letting Rodney pull his shirt off. He stood up defensively and turned around.
He heard the collective intake of female breath as Elizabeth, Teyla and the Doctors stared at his back. Only Ronon and Rodney were silent. John knew what they were seeing- he'd spent hours gazing at them in his mirror, watching the light reflect off them. They glistened a blackish-blueish-green, shining purple in some lights. They were hard and thick and smooth to the touch, curving down over his shoulderblades, points touching in the small of his back. John sighed and flexed his muscles, feeling them open, the hard outer shells raising high, the delicate blackness of his hindwings underneath stretching, shimmering like the taffetta of the evening dress his mother used to wear when his father had taken her dancing.
"Since the whole bug thing," John replied, his voice stiff, and he folded his wings back down.
"But Dr Beckett said-"
"That I was back to normal?" John cut Elizabeth off. "Yeah, well...I am. Kinda."
"You have wings!" Elizabeth pointed out.
John started to turn around to face her, and realised there was a pressure on his left shoulder he hadn't registered at first. He moved away, leaving Rodney with his arm out, fingers splayed in the position they'd been touching his wing, wonder and horror mixed in his eyes.
"Useful wings," Ronon said, and John broke their eye contact, staring at the floor. "Wings that stop bullets."
"They don't effect me," John said. "I've been carrying out my duties, haven't I?"
Elizabeth frowned. "I just don't think-"
"He said they don't affect him," Rodney broke in. "If the Colonel says he's fine, and Carson was happy to let him out of the infirmary...he's not been affected by it," Rodney repeated, then his hands fell to his sides and he hurried from the room.
Elizabeth watched him go. "I...I'll need some time to consider this, Colonel," she said. "Until then, your offworld activity is suspended.”
John nodded curtly. He'd expected worse than this. Then he glanced at Teyla and Ronon- her pitying gaze, his calculated one. He picked up his shirt, pulling it on and he hurried after Rodney.
~~~
He didn't even bother knocking on Rodney's door, just though 'open' and walked in.
Rodney was sitting on his bed, his head in his hands.
"Rodney."
He looked up, and even in the darkness of the room, John could see his cheeks were glistening.
"Rodney, I-"
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Rodney said, but there was no emotion in his voice. "Get out. Please."
"I need to-"
"You don't need to do anything," Rodney said, and there was an edge to his voice now.
"Please-"
"No!" Rodney shouted, standing suddenly and striding towards John. "You don't get to burst in here and say 'please' and that you 'need' anything. You've got no right."
John held his palms up, stepping backwards, but Rodney still advanced on him.
"Is this why?" Rodney asked, a hand pushing into John's chest, shoving him backwards. John stumbled, then backed up. "Is this why you've been avoiding me?" he shoved again. "Is that it?"
John nodded, and Rodney's face crumbled and he gave one last, hard shove and John fell back against the wall.
"I thought it was me," Rodney said, his hands balled in the front of John's shirt. "At first I thought it was the whole bug thing- that you still felt...different. And then weeks went by. Weeks, John! And you never once...I thought that you couldn't stand to be near me, that...that you didn't love me anymore."
John felt a lump start to form in his throat. "No, never," he said, his voice hoarse. "I just...how do you show this to someone?" he asked, and this time he pulled his shirt off himself. He lifted a hand to Rodney's cheek, wiping away tears with his thumb, and Rodney's hands were splayed on John's bare chest. And then John leaned in and kissed him and Rodney's hands were moving, sliding round his back, running his fingers over the smooth hardness.
"I don't know," Rodney whispered in his ear. "Once I would have thought it would be impossible to show someone else something like...like those. But then, once I would have thought it was impossible for me to tell my best friend I loved him, and even more impossible to find that he'd wanted to tell me the exact same thing."
John sighed, relaxing against Rodney's chest. "I thought...I thought you wouldn't want to touch me. I...God, Rodney, I saw your face when we left for the bug planet. When you saw what I'd become. You didn't come and see me during my transformation."
Rodney stared at him. "Is that what you- oh for the love of God- I didn't come and see you because I assumed you wouldn't want to see me. I assumed you'd be going all crazy and martyrish and refusing to see anyone. I didn't feel like being told to go away."
"Oh," said John. "I..."
Neither of them spoke for a long moment.
"Can you fly?" Rodney asked, all scientific curiosity that made John laugh.
"No," he said. "I can sort of hover a few feet off the ground, but they're not big enough to fly with."
"Oh," Rodney said, looking sorry, and John knew that sympathy was all for him, for the desire to fly Rodney didn't understand but still respected. "Useful, though. With the bullets and all."
"Are we...are we okay?" John asked, twisting his neck to glance back at his wings.
Rodney rolled his eyes and tugged John towards the bed.
"Are you kidding? I've been wandering around with a broken heart thinking my boyfriend had gone off me, so finding out he has wings? Not such a big deal."
"Oh," said John. "Good."
Rodney kissed him and ran a hand up under one elytron, trailing fingers over the veins in his wings in a way that made John shiver and his wings vibrate in a soft hum, batting gently against Rodney's palm.
Rodney chuckled and pushed John onto the mattress. "So, this hovering thing," he said conversationally, kissing his way down John's chest. "How much weight do you think they could support?"
John raised an eyebrow. "You want to have sex in mid air?"
Rodney shrugged. "It'd be an experience," he said, defensively. "It was just a thought."
"Well, lay off the MREs for a bit and then we'll see," John said and Rodney glared, then stuck his hands into John's pants.
"Wait," John said, putting his hand on Rodney's chest. "You don't...do you think Elizabeth is going to have me sent back to Earth?"
Rodney made an impatient noise. "You are so selfish," he complained. "Wasting precious sex time with stupid, pointless questions that you already know the answer to. But no," he said, expression softening when he saw John's face. "Of course she won't send you back. Atlantis is your home. Besides, you're too much of a freak now to go back to Earth," he added and kissed John again.
"Ha ha," John said weakly, but it was a strangely comforting thought, as if he finally belonged in Pegasus, in Atlantis now, as if the wings had made him a part of this galaxy.
"So, that hovering-sex thing," he said conversationally, when they were both naked and hard and desperate for the other's touch. "You want to give it a try?"
Rodney gave him an eager grin, and John laughed, moving his shoulders so his wings spread wide open behind him.
The End.