Challenge Fic(let?): Once More with Feeling
Title: Once More with Feeling
Author: Cyanne
Notes: My personal official canon stopped after The Ark. Carson is still alive, Elizabeth is still in charge, and the city of Atlantis is still on the original planet. I just wanted to say that in case it bothers anyone. No warnings other than that . Unbetaed, sorry. I'm just lucky I got it finished in time. Thanks velocitygrass, this comm. rocks and I love this challenge.
It was shortly after 9am when Rodney came bursting into John's room. Luckily John was already out of the shower and almost finished dressing, so Rodney probably wasn't going to make them too late. He hoped.
"What the hell, McKay? The whole point of not spending last night together was so we didn't see each other this morning before the ceremony." He hadn't slept well last night without Rodney next to him and was not happy that his sacrifice had apparently been in vain.
"It's a silly superstition," Rodney declared, literally waving it off. "I had to find a place to hide," he continued, making himself at home on John's bed. "If one more person tells me 'it's about time' I'm going to shoot them." He paused for a second. "Wow, you and your militaristic ways really have worn off on me, haven’t they? That's rather terrifying."
"I'm not spending my wedding night in the brig, " John told him, straightening the tie on his dress uniform and checking his hair in the mirror again. "Besides, we've already done the prison sex thing."
"Several times, " Rodney agreed. "That night on MG4-377 with the wall chains was pretty memorable. It’s a damn good thing we didn't wait until your stupid military caught up with the rest of the universe."
"Former military, " John corrected. Atlantis had declared independence almost three years ago and had her own armed forces now. "And yeah, I would have hated to have missed that first year."
They still had separate quarters, mostly because they had simply never gotten around to moving in together. They spent the vast majority of nights in the same bed, whether it be technically his or Rodney's, so it really didn't matter. Half of his stuff, including his guitar and skateboard, were in Rodney's room and his own quarters could barely hold all of the hardware that McKay had brought home over the years.
They would move next week, if their friends didn't do it for them while they were away. An exploratory team had found a luxurious set of rooms several years ago that had quickly been dubbed the honeymoon suite. John was very much looking forward to several nights alone there with Rodney.
"Happy anniversary, John, " Rodney said, as he pulled John down to sit on the bed next to him.
John put his arms around Rodney, hugged him close, and whispered into his neck, "Seven years together, five years married. Not bad." A small part of his mind hoped that he wasn't crumpling his dress uniform but it was outweighed by the joy of having Rodney in his arms. "And we haven't killed each other yet," he finished with a grin.
"Never thought I'd say it, but I'm glad for PX2-895 and their 'affirming rituals', " Rodney said, pulling back a little but still staying close. John could hear the air quotes in his voice. "Even if they weren't smart enough to know an ancient console from an altar piece."
By their tenth visit to Alcastria, it had become routine for the team to split up upon arrival. Teyla and Ronon set out to renew the ongoing trade agreement with the agricultural leaders. John and Rodney went to meet with the scientists' guild and check on some ongoing projects that the 'Lanteans were assisting with. The leader of the guild had a dual role as both priestess and chief researcher, which Rodney considered completely pointless but thankfully had stopped commenting upon after the fourth or fifth visit. She had asked if they wanted to "affirm their natural bond." Rodney had agreed with alacrity and John had backed him up.
To this day John still didn’t know for sure if Rodney had been aware of what he was agreeing to do. It was possible he had done it only in the hopes that the Alcastrians had some advanced technology they were hiding and participation in the ceremony would be their ticket in. He never felt the need to ask, and Rodney hadn't volunteered the answer either.
John himself still wasn’t sure what he had meant when he'd answered "yes." In short order though, he had found himself promising to love, be faithful to, protect in heart, mind, and body, in peacetime and in war, by any turn of events the fates decreed, one Meredith Rodney Ingram McKay. It was at Rodney's insistence that he also had vowed to "try very hard not to die."
Rodney had made the same commitments to John in return and they both had signed a sacred scroll. Sadly, a ZPM was not bestowed as a wedding present, but John still felt it was worth it. He was pretty sure Rodney did too.
By unspoken agreement they hadn't told anyone else about the ceremony, but over the years each had done his best to live up to the promises they had made. In the long run it wasn't the wedding but the marriage, as his grandmother had always told him.
They had let go of one another but were still sitting close on the bed, apparently neither in a hurry to get up and get moving. Not much different than any other morning in that sense, John thought. Rodney was absently rubbing John's left hand and John turned it to lace his fingers with Rodney's.
Rodney looked up with a slight blush and told him, "I like the idea of you wearing my ring."
"Me too," John agreed, barely managing to keep from blushing himself. It was all quite surreal sometimes.
Elizabeth was going to officiate and Teyla and Ronon were holding their rings for them. They, along with Radek, Carson, Evan, and Laura, had agreed to stand with John and Rodney as the formal witnesses, although John had no doubt the gateroom would be packed with as many people as could fit.
"You okay?" John asked. "You know, we could always call it off."
"Are you crazy? This city isn't big enough to hide from the mob that would be after us if we canceled. We're the social event of the year, and yeah, the irony in that is killing me." Small rant over, Rodney fell silent and John was content to sit with him and wait. Hearing Rodney being Rodney was enough to let him know that nothing major was wrong.
"I'm sorry, it's just… " he trailed off.
"Nervous, Rodney?" John asked gently, not willing to tease his friend over something this important.
"Yeah, " the other man admitted quietly.
"You're not the only one."
"It's obviously not the whole getting married thing, " Rodney said. "I think it's the getting up in front of everyone that's weird. Know what I mean?"
John nodded. "I don't even think we've actually kissed in public, have we?"
"Not intentionally, " Rodney said with a slight wince. John knew he was remembering Cadman catching them in a corridor a few years back, but everyone agreed that 'oh wow, we survived, I thought you were dead' celebratory kissing didn't really count. And John was positive that Carson had seen them more than once, probably also as a result of a crisis. It was going to be wonderful to be able to kiss Rodney anytime he wanted, without having to have an excuse. Not that there had been any need to hide, not for years, but old habits were hard get out of.
"Maybe we should practice," Rodney said, and his serious expression almost made John laugh. Instead he put his hands on Rodney's face and pulled him in for a deep, loving kiss. He would never tire of the way his lips felt sliding over Rodney's, never get enough of his lover's taste, of the way that Rodney kissed with everything he had and made John want to give it all back to him every single time.
After a long while they broke apart. Rodney gently stroked the back of John's head a few times before letting his hand drop between them. "Yeah, " he said with a smile, "I think we've got that down pretty good."
"C'mon, Rodney, " John said, taking his hand in his own and hoisting his husband up off the bed. "What say we go renew our vows?"
And they did.
Author: Cyanne
Notes: My personal official canon stopped after The Ark. Carson is still alive, Elizabeth is still in charge, and the city of Atlantis is still on the original planet. I just wanted to say that in case it bothers anyone. No warnings other than that . Unbetaed, sorry. I'm just lucky I got it finished in time. Thanks velocitygrass, this comm. rocks and I love this challenge.
It was shortly after 9am when Rodney came bursting into John's room. Luckily John was already out of the shower and almost finished dressing, so Rodney probably wasn't going to make them too late. He hoped.
"What the hell, McKay? The whole point of not spending last night together was so we didn't see each other this morning before the ceremony." He hadn't slept well last night without Rodney next to him and was not happy that his sacrifice had apparently been in vain.
"It's a silly superstition," Rodney declared, literally waving it off. "I had to find a place to hide," he continued, making himself at home on John's bed. "If one more person tells me 'it's about time' I'm going to shoot them." He paused for a second. "Wow, you and your militaristic ways really have worn off on me, haven’t they? That's rather terrifying."
"I'm not spending my wedding night in the brig, " John told him, straightening the tie on his dress uniform and checking his hair in the mirror again. "Besides, we've already done the prison sex thing."
"Several times, " Rodney agreed. "That night on MG4-377 with the wall chains was pretty memorable. It’s a damn good thing we didn't wait until your stupid military caught up with the rest of the universe."
"Former military, " John corrected. Atlantis had declared independence almost three years ago and had her own armed forces now. "And yeah, I would have hated to have missed that first year."
They still had separate quarters, mostly because they had simply never gotten around to moving in together. They spent the vast majority of nights in the same bed, whether it be technically his or Rodney's, so it really didn't matter. Half of his stuff, including his guitar and skateboard, were in Rodney's room and his own quarters could barely hold all of the hardware that McKay had brought home over the years.
They would move next week, if their friends didn't do it for them while they were away. An exploratory team had found a luxurious set of rooms several years ago that had quickly been dubbed the honeymoon suite. John was very much looking forward to several nights alone there with Rodney.
"Happy anniversary, John, " Rodney said, as he pulled John down to sit on the bed next to him.
John put his arms around Rodney, hugged him close, and whispered into his neck, "Seven years together, five years married. Not bad." A small part of his mind hoped that he wasn't crumpling his dress uniform but it was outweighed by the joy of having Rodney in his arms. "And we haven't killed each other yet," he finished with a grin.
"Never thought I'd say it, but I'm glad for PX2-895 and their 'affirming rituals', " Rodney said, pulling back a little but still staying close. John could hear the air quotes in his voice. "Even if they weren't smart enough to know an ancient console from an altar piece."
By their tenth visit to Alcastria, it had become routine for the team to split up upon arrival. Teyla and Ronon set out to renew the ongoing trade agreement with the agricultural leaders. John and Rodney went to meet with the scientists' guild and check on some ongoing projects that the 'Lanteans were assisting with. The leader of the guild had a dual role as both priestess and chief researcher, which Rodney considered completely pointless but thankfully had stopped commenting upon after the fourth or fifth visit. She had asked if they wanted to "affirm their natural bond." Rodney had agreed with alacrity and John had backed him up.
To this day John still didn’t know for sure if Rodney had been aware of what he was agreeing to do. It was possible he had done it only in the hopes that the Alcastrians had some advanced technology they were hiding and participation in the ceremony would be their ticket in. He never felt the need to ask, and Rodney hadn't volunteered the answer either.
John himself still wasn’t sure what he had meant when he'd answered "yes." In short order though, he had found himself promising to love, be faithful to, protect in heart, mind, and body, in peacetime and in war, by any turn of events the fates decreed, one Meredith Rodney Ingram McKay. It was at Rodney's insistence that he also had vowed to "try very hard not to die."
Rodney had made the same commitments to John in return and they both had signed a sacred scroll. Sadly, a ZPM was not bestowed as a wedding present, but John still felt it was worth it. He was pretty sure Rodney did too.
By unspoken agreement they hadn't told anyone else about the ceremony, but over the years each had done his best to live up to the promises they had made. In the long run it wasn't the wedding but the marriage, as his grandmother had always told him.
They had let go of one another but were still sitting close on the bed, apparently neither in a hurry to get up and get moving. Not much different than any other morning in that sense, John thought. Rodney was absently rubbing John's left hand and John turned it to lace his fingers with Rodney's.
Rodney looked up with a slight blush and told him, "I like the idea of you wearing my ring."
"Me too," John agreed, barely managing to keep from blushing himself. It was all quite surreal sometimes.
Elizabeth was going to officiate and Teyla and Ronon were holding their rings for them. They, along with Radek, Carson, Evan, and Laura, had agreed to stand with John and Rodney as the formal witnesses, although John had no doubt the gateroom would be packed with as many people as could fit.
"You okay?" John asked. "You know, we could always call it off."
"Are you crazy? This city isn't big enough to hide from the mob that would be after us if we canceled. We're the social event of the year, and yeah, the irony in that is killing me." Small rant over, Rodney fell silent and John was content to sit with him and wait. Hearing Rodney being Rodney was enough to let him know that nothing major was wrong.
"I'm sorry, it's just… " he trailed off.
"Nervous, Rodney?" John asked gently, not willing to tease his friend over something this important.
"Yeah, " the other man admitted quietly.
"You're not the only one."
"It's obviously not the whole getting married thing, " Rodney said. "I think it's the getting up in front of everyone that's weird. Know what I mean?"
John nodded. "I don't even think we've actually kissed in public, have we?"
"Not intentionally, " Rodney said with a slight wince. John knew he was remembering Cadman catching them in a corridor a few years back, but everyone agreed that 'oh wow, we survived, I thought you were dead' celebratory kissing didn't really count. And John was positive that Carson had seen them more than once, probably also as a result of a crisis. It was going to be wonderful to be able to kiss Rodney anytime he wanted, without having to have an excuse. Not that there had been any need to hide, not for years, but old habits were hard get out of.
"Maybe we should practice," Rodney said, and his serious expression almost made John laugh. Instead he put his hands on Rodney's face and pulled him in for a deep, loving kiss. He would never tire of the way his lips felt sliding over Rodney's, never get enough of his lover's taste, of the way that Rodney kissed with everything he had and made John want to give it all back to him every single time.
After a long while they broke apart. Rodney gently stroked the back of John's head a few times before letting his hand drop between them. "Yeah, " he said with a smile, "I think we've got that down pretty good."
"C'mon, Rodney, " John said, taking his hand in his own and hoisting his husband up off the bed. "What say we go renew our vows?"
And they did.