Without a Goodbye
Title: Without a Goodbye
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Characters/Pairing: Sheppard/McKay
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,383
Orientation: Slash
Prompts: At Bottom
Content Notes: no standard notes apply
Summary: Rodney comes home to find John gone
Happy Holidays to
taste_is_sweet
“What do you mean he quit?” Rodney demanded into the phone. “He’s got how many years in? He can’t just up and walk away, you’ve got something wrong. Let me talk to someone with half a brain.”
It didn’t matter how many people Rodney talked to, the answer was always the same, in some variation. John Sheppard had retired, resigned, quit, all with no explanation. It took a call to Sam Carter to get him Sheppard’s new address, somewhere up north of San Francisco; some rural delivery route in some town that wasn’t even big enough for a proper post office.
He got in his jeep and headed for the back of beyond to find his erstwhile boyfriend. He’d gone to a conference, he was gone a week, all right, two, and John up and disappeared, without even leaving a note. The creep. Rodney was pissed. He was so going to let him have it when he caught up with him. Unfortunately, Sam had drawn the line at utilizing SGC resources to lock onto John’s emergency transponder to yank him back to the new base at Area 52.
As he pulled to halt in front of the mailbox on the side of the road, he sighed and pulled his cell phone out, dialing John’s number, as he had at least forty times since getting home and finding him missing. It went straight to voicemail, and this time he started talking instead of hanging up. He hadn’t wanted to max out the voicemail box in case he thought of something REALLY good to rant at him. “All right, Sheppard. I am trying to be calm. I am standing in front of the mailbox your mail is being forwarded to. I will stand right here until you turn up. Don’t make me use your emergency transponder to drag your ass out of the woods, because you know I have friends in high places and I can do that!” He couldn’t but John wouldn’t know he’d already tried to do just that. He hung up and sat there playing Angry Birds for a little while as he muttered to himself about unsympathetic and ungrateful SGC bureaucrats.
Movement near the trees caught his eye, and he looked over to see John standing there, wrapped in a green cloak, shifting from foot to foot in a way that told Rodney John was nervous and guilty. After so many years together, he knew John’s body language better than he knew his own. He got out of the car and slammed the door, leaning against the side and waiting for John to come to him.
“You owe me an explanation, at the very least,” he snapped as John drew closer. He seemed to be walking oddly. And the cloak was bulky, far bulkier than John’s size could account for.
John’s voice was off, a little trembly and nervous as he replied, “I didn’t know what to say.”
“It’s over, we’re done, I’m leaving, let’s talk, screw you, goodbye... all of those would have made a good start. What in the hell are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere, John?”
John stopped. “I can’t stay around people anymore Rodney. People wouldn’t understand. I had to come here, I had to come home to the woods. Society doesn’t accept... my kind.”
“Your kind? What, gay guys?” Rodney snorted and shook his head, rolling his hand for John to continue. “Lame excuse. Do better.”
He got mad, his lips pressed together in the kind of scowl that meant Rodney had pissed him off. Good, pissed off John meant honest John, John that didn’t carefully weigh every word before he went back at Rodney. “I couldn’t tell you, I could never tell you because I knew you wouldn’t understand. You might pretend not to care what people think or say about you, but I know you Rodney, and deep down, you want to belong. So go on back to civilization and forget you ever knew me. It’ll be better that way.”
“Bullshit! Shenanigans! This is crazy talk. What the hell happened while I was in DC? Did someone rag on you? Did you have a run in with someone at the grocery store? What John? I don’t accept this!”
Dropping his chin to his chest, John wouldn’t look him in the eye. “I thought I’d escaped it. I thought because of my dad, it wouldn’t happen to me. But it did. And now I can’t live in the city anymore Rodney, I can’t be around humans.”
Blinking at his choice of words, Rodney sputtered, “Humans? John, have you forgotten that you’re human?”
“I’m only half human Rodney. My mother wasn’t.”
John looked so miserable at the confession that some of Rodney’s rage dissipated. “Talk to me. What changed?”
“I did. I woke up the day after you left and they started erupting. I called my brother and he gave me the number of our great aunt and I came here.”
“Erupting?” He took a few steps closer and the fabric at John’s shoulders moved. “What’s that on your back, Sheppard?”
With a heavy sigh, John tugged the cloak off, letting it drop to the grass. The giant wings on his back fluttered, making Rodney take a step backwards. “What the hell, John?”
“My mother was faen, a fairy for all intents and purposes. The wings are part of the package.” He was blushing and still refusing to meet Rodney’s eyes.
Walking forward, Rodney stretched out a hand and touched one silky blue wing. It was thicker than he would have thought, given its appearance. Iridescent, like a peacock feather. “Holy shit John, you’re a friggin’ fairy! For real!”
“I hate you,” John muttered as Rodney ran a finger along the edge of the wing, which reached from about a foot over John’s head down past his ass. He was a scientist and he was fascinated.
“Shut up, no you don’t. Can you fly?”
“Don’t know yet, they’re still not fully dry yet, they have to like cure or something for a while. And I’m heavier than most of the others, because of my human blood. I might not be able to get off the ground. Why aren’t you freaking out?”
“Because you’ve already done enough freaking out for both of us.” Rodney crossed his arms and glared at John. “So now what?”
John shrugged miserably. “I stay here, you go back to the city?”
“No. I don’t like that plan. That’s got too much distance and breaky-up stuff in it. I might have resisted at first, but I got used to having you around, Sheppard.”
At Rodney's refusal to play along, John huffed angrily and waved an arm in the direction of the interstate. “I can’t be out there. Don’t you understand? My people have to hide. If I try to stay out there, I’ll be outcast by both societies, if not outright killed by one or the other.”
“They would kill you for letting their secret out, letting people know that fairies exist?”
“Something like that. Look Rodney, don’t make it harder. I’m sorry it’s over.” John’s eyes were red rimmed and very wet and Rodney knew he didn’t mean what he was saying, he didn’t want Rodney to go.
He looked around at the trees. “You aren’t living in the woods, are you, like, in a cave or in a little grass hut or a giant mushroom or something?”
“No, there’s some cabins about two miles back.”
“Electric?”
“Yeah. Indoor plumbing, satellite dishes. They’re fairies, not Amish.”
Rodney sighed. “Okay, so where do I park the jeep?”
“Huh?”
“Show me the cabin. I’ll go back to the city and get things settled in a day or two, get our stuff from the apartment, have my mail forwarded.”
John looked up at him and a smile quirked at the corner of his mouth. “You mean you’ll stay here?”
“I can work from anywhere, Sheppard. As long as I can plug in my coffee pot and my computer, I’ve got an office. And...”
“And?”
“And you’re here. And that’s the most important reason.” A moment later, his arms were full of John Sheppard, kissing him passionately and holding him, and Rodney knew he’d said something right. Something exactly right.
The End
Prompt: Hurt Comfort: Ostracized from Society
Prompt: Dark Fantasy: Fairie Originally posted at http://rinkafic.dreamwidth.org/
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Characters/Pairing: Sheppard/McKay
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,383
Orientation: Slash
Prompts: At Bottom
Content Notes: no standard notes apply
Summary: Rodney comes home to find John gone
Happy Holidays to
taste_is_sweet
“What do you mean he quit?” Rodney demanded into the phone. “He’s got how many years in? He can’t just up and walk away, you’ve got something wrong. Let me talk to someone with half a brain.”
It didn’t matter how many people Rodney talked to, the answer was always the same, in some variation. John Sheppard had retired, resigned, quit, all with no explanation. It took a call to Sam Carter to get him Sheppard’s new address, somewhere up north of San Francisco; some rural delivery route in some town that wasn’t even big enough for a proper post office.
He got in his jeep and headed for the back of beyond to find his erstwhile boyfriend. He’d gone to a conference, he was gone a week, all right, two, and John up and disappeared, without even leaving a note. The creep. Rodney was pissed. He was so going to let him have it when he caught up with him. Unfortunately, Sam had drawn the line at utilizing SGC resources to lock onto John’s emergency transponder to yank him back to the new base at Area 52.
As he pulled to halt in front of the mailbox on the side of the road, he sighed and pulled his cell phone out, dialing John’s number, as he had at least forty times since getting home and finding him missing. It went straight to voicemail, and this time he started talking instead of hanging up. He hadn’t wanted to max out the voicemail box in case he thought of something REALLY good to rant at him. “All right, Sheppard. I am trying to be calm. I am standing in front of the mailbox your mail is being forwarded to. I will stand right here until you turn up. Don’t make me use your emergency transponder to drag your ass out of the woods, because you know I have friends in high places and I can do that!” He couldn’t but John wouldn’t know he’d already tried to do just that. He hung up and sat there playing Angry Birds for a little while as he muttered to himself about unsympathetic and ungrateful SGC bureaucrats.
Movement near the trees caught his eye, and he looked over to see John standing there, wrapped in a green cloak, shifting from foot to foot in a way that told Rodney John was nervous and guilty. After so many years together, he knew John’s body language better than he knew his own. He got out of the car and slammed the door, leaning against the side and waiting for John to come to him.
“You owe me an explanation, at the very least,” he snapped as John drew closer. He seemed to be walking oddly. And the cloak was bulky, far bulkier than John’s size could account for.
John’s voice was off, a little trembly and nervous as he replied, “I didn’t know what to say.”
“It’s over, we’re done, I’m leaving, let’s talk, screw you, goodbye... all of those would have made a good start. What in the hell are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere, John?”
John stopped. “I can’t stay around people anymore Rodney. People wouldn’t understand. I had to come here, I had to come home to the woods. Society doesn’t accept... my kind.”
“Your kind? What, gay guys?” Rodney snorted and shook his head, rolling his hand for John to continue. “Lame excuse. Do better.”
He got mad, his lips pressed together in the kind of scowl that meant Rodney had pissed him off. Good, pissed off John meant honest John, John that didn’t carefully weigh every word before he went back at Rodney. “I couldn’t tell you, I could never tell you because I knew you wouldn’t understand. You might pretend not to care what people think or say about you, but I know you Rodney, and deep down, you want to belong. So go on back to civilization and forget you ever knew me. It’ll be better that way.”
“Bullshit! Shenanigans! This is crazy talk. What the hell happened while I was in DC? Did someone rag on you? Did you have a run in with someone at the grocery store? What John? I don’t accept this!”
Dropping his chin to his chest, John wouldn’t look him in the eye. “I thought I’d escaped it. I thought because of my dad, it wouldn’t happen to me. But it did. And now I can’t live in the city anymore Rodney, I can’t be around humans.”
Blinking at his choice of words, Rodney sputtered, “Humans? John, have you forgotten that you’re human?”
“I’m only half human Rodney. My mother wasn’t.”
John looked so miserable at the confession that some of Rodney’s rage dissipated. “Talk to me. What changed?”
“I did. I woke up the day after you left and they started erupting. I called my brother and he gave me the number of our great aunt and I came here.”
“Erupting?” He took a few steps closer and the fabric at John’s shoulders moved. “What’s that on your back, Sheppard?”
With a heavy sigh, John tugged the cloak off, letting it drop to the grass. The giant wings on his back fluttered, making Rodney take a step backwards. “What the hell, John?”
“My mother was faen, a fairy for all intents and purposes. The wings are part of the package.” He was blushing and still refusing to meet Rodney’s eyes.
Walking forward, Rodney stretched out a hand and touched one silky blue wing. It was thicker than he would have thought, given its appearance. Iridescent, like a peacock feather. “Holy shit John, you’re a friggin’ fairy! For real!”
“I hate you,” John muttered as Rodney ran a finger along the edge of the wing, which reached from about a foot over John’s head down past his ass. He was a scientist and he was fascinated.
“Shut up, no you don’t. Can you fly?”
“Don’t know yet, they’re still not fully dry yet, they have to like cure or something for a while. And I’m heavier than most of the others, because of my human blood. I might not be able to get off the ground. Why aren’t you freaking out?”
“Because you’ve already done enough freaking out for both of us.” Rodney crossed his arms and glared at John. “So now what?”
John shrugged miserably. “I stay here, you go back to the city?”
“No. I don’t like that plan. That’s got too much distance and breaky-up stuff in it. I might have resisted at first, but I got used to having you around, Sheppard.”
At Rodney's refusal to play along, John huffed angrily and waved an arm in the direction of the interstate. “I can’t be out there. Don’t you understand? My people have to hide. If I try to stay out there, I’ll be outcast by both societies, if not outright killed by one or the other.”
“They would kill you for letting their secret out, letting people know that fairies exist?”
“Something like that. Look Rodney, don’t make it harder. I’m sorry it’s over.” John’s eyes were red rimmed and very wet and Rodney knew he didn’t mean what he was saying, he didn’t want Rodney to go.
He looked around at the trees. “You aren’t living in the woods, are you, like, in a cave or in a little grass hut or a giant mushroom or something?”
“No, there’s some cabins about two miles back.”
“Electric?”
“Yeah. Indoor plumbing, satellite dishes. They’re fairies, not Amish.”
Rodney sighed. “Okay, so where do I park the jeep?”
“Huh?”
“Show me the cabin. I’ll go back to the city and get things settled in a day or two, get our stuff from the apartment, have my mail forwarded.”
John looked up at him and a smile quirked at the corner of his mouth. “You mean you’ll stay here?”
“I can work from anywhere, Sheppard. As long as I can plug in my coffee pot and my computer, I’ve got an office. And...”
“And?”
“And you’re here. And that’s the most important reason.” A moment later, his arms were full of John Sheppard, kissing him passionately and holding him, and Rodney knew he’d said something right. Something exactly right.
The End
Prompt: Hurt Comfort: Ostracized from Society
Prompt: Dark Fantasy: Fairie Originally posted at http://rinkafic.dreamwidth.org/