Down the Rabbit Hole (PG)
Title: Down the Rabbit Hole
Author: lilyfarfalla
Word count: ~1,400
Ratings/Warnings: PG, and should be safe for people with triggers.
Summary: Yet another ceremony.....
Author's Note: Oh my goodness, this is ridiculous. But my bunny is feeling better today, and I wanted to celebrate that and our lovely boys and historic legislation at all once.
If it wasn’t the Wraith, it was killer rabbits, John thought bemusedly. News of DADT’s repeal had trickled through the Atlantis news network, and while there wouldn’t be any official policy changes from Earth for some months, if not more, he and Woolsey had decided in a private meeting that adding a brief line outlining the Lantean implementation policy (thought it was dumb to begin with, certainly not enforcing it now) to the weekly Atlantis newsletter would be sufficient.
John was slightly worried that the weekly letter, usually limited to information what the mess was serving that week and when the next wormholes to send data back to Earth were scheduled, might not be the best place for what was possibly the best news he’d gotten from politicians during his military career. But there was no way he was volunteering for speech making, so he let it lie.
Still, weeks after the news from Earth had come through and Woolsey’s policy had gone out, John still hadn’t gotten up the courage to do anything with his new freedom. Blaming the Wraith was probably fair, as blowing up a hive ship or two had taken some time and distracted him from wanting to kiss Rodney, but as for the killer rabbits…
Well, he thought, looking down into the slightly quivering bundle of fur in his arms, ‘killer’ was probably stretching the term a bit.
When the elders of MFX-820 mentioned that one small ceremony had to be completed before they would finalize the trade agreement with Atlantis, John pasted on a tight smile. Ronon pulled out one of his knives and began to clean his fingernails with it, while Rodney looked panicked and started edging towards John. Even Teyla stiffened up slightly. It had been a long year.
But the elders only smiled, and led John’s team over to a fenced-in yard next to one of their small houses.
“We have always honored the spirit of the Ha’Niebers,” Sakuel was saying. “They are a timid creature, but well-beloved by the spirits of fertility and kindliness.”
“And the Ha’Niebers are part of this ceremony?” Teyla questioned, hesitantly.
Sakuel nodded, smiling calmly at Teyla. “Truly, it is a very brief ceremony,” he said.
He opened a gate in the fence and stepped through, closing it behind him. The grass grew taller by the fence and there was a slight rustling. John tensed, hand reaching for his gun. Sakuel bent down to reach for something, and when he stood, he was holding a rabbit in such a way that its legs stuck out awkwardly in front while it swiveled its ears around at each of them.
“This is a Ha’Nieber,” said Sakuel.
John couldn’t help glancing over at Rodney, who caught his eye and whispered, “It must be bunnies.”
John choked back a laugh.
And that was the thing. John wasn’t not kissing Rodney because he was afraid of Rodney’s reaction. Oh, there were uncertainties, but John always performed action to talking, and even if all of his suspicions were wrong, if six years of being the first one the other ran to was just a wrong signal gone haywire, then John knew Rodney would forgive him.
But the way Rodney’s face lit up every time he made John laugh made John think that there was a high probability Rodney would kiss him back. John smiled, somewhat helplessly, as Sakuel handed a rabbit over to Rodney, who handled it like a pro.
And then suddenly Sakuel dropped a bundle of squirming brown fur into his arms, while saying “Be the floor, Colonel Sheppard.”
John struggled for a moment, the rabbit twisting in his arms, until its feet were firmly planted on his chest.
“Ookkk, rabbit,” he said under his breath.
Teyla was holding a black bunny as she had held Torren when he was still a baby, it’s head nestled into the crook of her elbow. Ronon at least looked vaguely uncomfortable, as Sakuel maneuvered a white rabbit to sit in his arms.
“And now that you all have your own Ha’Nieber,” Sakuel said. “We may begin the ceremony. Follow me!”
John and his team followed.
Sakuel led them to a small circular building. Once inside, John saw that the ceiling was incomplete, crossbeams letting in rays of sunlight and a soft breeze.
Sakuel instructed them to form a circle, facing each other.
“Now, we will let the Ha’Niebers act as our guides,” he said. “One at a time, you may each, gently, set your Ha’Nieber on the ground. Then, you must do as the Ha’Nieber does. I will go first.”
Sakuel set his rabbit on the floor next to his feet. The rabbit shook himself slightly, and then hopped over to the wall, where it sprawled out on the floor. Sakuel nodded and went to sit next to the rabbit.
“You see,” he said, rubbing one of the rabbit’s ears, “I am being told that I must sit and rest. Now the rest of you!”
Rodney’s rabbit leapt into the air once it was set down and then raced in circles around the room.
“Means you need to run with us, McKay,” Ronon laughed.
“Yes yes,” Rodney replied, running his own laps around the room.
Teyla’s rabbit yawned when it was set down, and then sat and tucked its legs underneath itself next to Teyla’s feet.
“I have not been meditating as much as I would like,” Teyla admitted, folding her legs and sitting down gently next to her rabbit. “Thank you for the reminder, little one,” she said, stroking its head.
Ronon’s rabbit tried to leap out of his arms several times before he got it close to the ground, and then it dashed over to Teyla and her rabbit, and tried to hide between them.
“Perhaps you must learn to trust in others to protect you,” Sakuel suggested. Ronon looked skeptical.
“Your turn, Colonel Sheppard,” said Sakuel.
John set his rabbit down. It paused for a moment, and then hopped over to Ronon and Teyla, sniffing each of their rabbits briefly, before hopping to where Rodney and his rabbit were sitting. John’s rabbit then started licking Rodney’s rabbit on its forehead, only pausing to allow Rodney’s rabbit to return the favor.
John had a brief moment of panic. There was no way he was licking Rodney in this open air ceremonial hut.
“Ah,” said Sakuel. “Licking is how rabbits show affection. You should show more affection towards your friends.”
Ronon let out a noise that sounded a bit like a laugh interrupted by an elbow to the ribs, and John pretended that his face wasn’t beet red and went to sit next to Rodney and the rabbits. He clasped Rodney’s shoulder and shook it a little, avoiding eye contact.
“Excellent!” said Sakuel. “Now our negotiations are truly complete. Please come and visit our planet at any time, and if you are in need of guidance, the Ha’Niebers are always available!”
On the walk back to the gate, John lagged behind with Rodney.
“So, McKay,” John said. “Do you think Woolsey would let us all adopt a few pet rabbits?”
“Ha!” Rodney snorted. “As much as I’m sure Zelenka would like to train them to carry messages, since I still haven’t been able to bring my cat through to the city, I don’t see why any other fuzzy animal should be allowed.”
John jostled him gently. “We’ll get your cat through someday McKay, no worries.”
Rodney glanced quickly at John’s face and then away. His cheeks were slightly red. “You would, wouldn’t you.” He said fondly. “You’d smuggle an unknown object through time and space if I asked you. Ridiculous.”
John’s heart flipped over, and he stopped abruptly, grabbing onto Rodney’s wrist.
“Colonel?” Rodney said worriedly. “Are you ok, are you allergic to rabbits, should I-”
But John interrupted him with a kiss, just a press of lips to lips, unexpected and inelegant, but Rodney shivered against him, and John kissed him again and again, eyes and cheek and brow, and his lips again and again until Rodney laughed aloud.
Rodney pulled away slightly and met John’s eyes. “Decided to take the rabbit’s advice to heart then?” he asked.
And John laughed deeply, grabbed Rodney around the waist and licked a stripe up his neck. Amidst Rodney’s cries of disgust, John thought to himself contently that rabbits weren’t half bad.
Author: lilyfarfalla
Word count: ~1,400
Ratings/Warnings: PG, and should be safe for people with triggers.
Summary: Yet another ceremony.....
Author's Note: Oh my goodness, this is ridiculous. But my bunny is feeling better today, and I wanted to celebrate that and our lovely boys and historic legislation at all once.
If it wasn’t the Wraith, it was killer rabbits, John thought bemusedly. News of DADT’s repeal had trickled through the Atlantis news network, and while there wouldn’t be any official policy changes from Earth for some months, if not more, he and Woolsey had decided in a private meeting that adding a brief line outlining the Lantean implementation policy (thought it was dumb to begin with, certainly not enforcing it now) to the weekly Atlantis newsletter would be sufficient.
John was slightly worried that the weekly letter, usually limited to information what the mess was serving that week and when the next wormholes to send data back to Earth were scheduled, might not be the best place for what was possibly the best news he’d gotten from politicians during his military career. But there was no way he was volunteering for speech making, so he let it lie.
Still, weeks after the news from Earth had come through and Woolsey’s policy had gone out, John still hadn’t gotten up the courage to do anything with his new freedom. Blaming the Wraith was probably fair, as blowing up a hive ship or two had taken some time and distracted him from wanting to kiss Rodney, but as for the killer rabbits…
Well, he thought, looking down into the slightly quivering bundle of fur in his arms, ‘killer’ was probably stretching the term a bit.
When the elders of MFX-820 mentioned that one small ceremony had to be completed before they would finalize the trade agreement with Atlantis, John pasted on a tight smile. Ronon pulled out one of his knives and began to clean his fingernails with it, while Rodney looked panicked and started edging towards John. Even Teyla stiffened up slightly. It had been a long year.
But the elders only smiled, and led John’s team over to a fenced-in yard next to one of their small houses.
“We have always honored the spirit of the Ha’Niebers,” Sakuel was saying. “They are a timid creature, but well-beloved by the spirits of fertility and kindliness.”
“And the Ha’Niebers are part of this ceremony?” Teyla questioned, hesitantly.
Sakuel nodded, smiling calmly at Teyla. “Truly, it is a very brief ceremony,” he said.
He opened a gate in the fence and stepped through, closing it behind him. The grass grew taller by the fence and there was a slight rustling. John tensed, hand reaching for his gun. Sakuel bent down to reach for something, and when he stood, he was holding a rabbit in such a way that its legs stuck out awkwardly in front while it swiveled its ears around at each of them.
“This is a Ha’Nieber,” said Sakuel.
John couldn’t help glancing over at Rodney, who caught his eye and whispered, “It must be bunnies.”
John choked back a laugh.
And that was the thing. John wasn’t not kissing Rodney because he was afraid of Rodney’s reaction. Oh, there were uncertainties, but John always performed action to talking, and even if all of his suspicions were wrong, if six years of being the first one the other ran to was just a wrong signal gone haywire, then John knew Rodney would forgive him.
But the way Rodney’s face lit up every time he made John laugh made John think that there was a high probability Rodney would kiss him back. John smiled, somewhat helplessly, as Sakuel handed a rabbit over to Rodney, who handled it like a pro.
And then suddenly Sakuel dropped a bundle of squirming brown fur into his arms, while saying “Be the floor, Colonel Sheppard.”
John struggled for a moment, the rabbit twisting in his arms, until its feet were firmly planted on his chest.
“Ookkk, rabbit,” he said under his breath.
Teyla was holding a black bunny as she had held Torren when he was still a baby, it’s head nestled into the crook of her elbow. Ronon at least looked vaguely uncomfortable, as Sakuel maneuvered a white rabbit to sit in his arms.
“And now that you all have your own Ha’Nieber,” Sakuel said. “We may begin the ceremony. Follow me!”
John and his team followed.
Sakuel led them to a small circular building. Once inside, John saw that the ceiling was incomplete, crossbeams letting in rays of sunlight and a soft breeze.
Sakuel instructed them to form a circle, facing each other.
“Now, we will let the Ha’Niebers act as our guides,” he said. “One at a time, you may each, gently, set your Ha’Nieber on the ground. Then, you must do as the Ha’Nieber does. I will go first.”
Sakuel set his rabbit on the floor next to his feet. The rabbit shook himself slightly, and then hopped over to the wall, where it sprawled out on the floor. Sakuel nodded and went to sit next to the rabbit.
“You see,” he said, rubbing one of the rabbit’s ears, “I am being told that I must sit and rest. Now the rest of you!”
Rodney’s rabbit leapt into the air once it was set down and then raced in circles around the room.
“Means you need to run with us, McKay,” Ronon laughed.
“Yes yes,” Rodney replied, running his own laps around the room.
Teyla’s rabbit yawned when it was set down, and then sat and tucked its legs underneath itself next to Teyla’s feet.
“I have not been meditating as much as I would like,” Teyla admitted, folding her legs and sitting down gently next to her rabbit. “Thank you for the reminder, little one,” she said, stroking its head.
Ronon’s rabbit tried to leap out of his arms several times before he got it close to the ground, and then it dashed over to Teyla and her rabbit, and tried to hide between them.
“Perhaps you must learn to trust in others to protect you,” Sakuel suggested. Ronon looked skeptical.
“Your turn, Colonel Sheppard,” said Sakuel.
John set his rabbit down. It paused for a moment, and then hopped over to Ronon and Teyla, sniffing each of their rabbits briefly, before hopping to where Rodney and his rabbit were sitting. John’s rabbit then started licking Rodney’s rabbit on its forehead, only pausing to allow Rodney’s rabbit to return the favor.
John had a brief moment of panic. There was no way he was licking Rodney in this open air ceremonial hut.
“Ah,” said Sakuel. “Licking is how rabbits show affection. You should show more affection towards your friends.”
Ronon let out a noise that sounded a bit like a laugh interrupted by an elbow to the ribs, and John pretended that his face wasn’t beet red and went to sit next to Rodney and the rabbits. He clasped Rodney’s shoulder and shook it a little, avoiding eye contact.
“Excellent!” said Sakuel. “Now our negotiations are truly complete. Please come and visit our planet at any time, and if you are in need of guidance, the Ha’Niebers are always available!”
On the walk back to the gate, John lagged behind with Rodney.
“So, McKay,” John said. “Do you think Woolsey would let us all adopt a few pet rabbits?”
“Ha!” Rodney snorted. “As much as I’m sure Zelenka would like to train them to carry messages, since I still haven’t been able to bring my cat through to the city, I don’t see why any other fuzzy animal should be allowed.”
John jostled him gently. “We’ll get your cat through someday McKay, no worries.”
Rodney glanced quickly at John’s face and then away. His cheeks were slightly red. “You would, wouldn’t you.” He said fondly. “You’d smuggle an unknown object through time and space if I asked you. Ridiculous.”
John’s heart flipped over, and he stopped abruptly, grabbing onto Rodney’s wrist.
“Colonel?” Rodney said worriedly. “Are you ok, are you allergic to rabbits, should I-”
But John interrupted him with a kiss, just a press of lips to lips, unexpected and inelegant, but Rodney shivered against him, and John kissed him again and again, eyes and cheek and brow, and his lips again and again until Rodney laughed aloud.
Rodney pulled away slightly and met John’s eyes. “Decided to take the rabbit’s advice to heart then?” he asked.
And John laughed deeply, grabbed Rodney around the waist and licked a stripe up his neck. Amidst Rodney’s cries of disgust, John thought to himself contently that rabbits weren’t half bad.