Amnesty challenge story
Title: Perfect Match
Author: Penemuel (g_shadowslayer)
Category: Slash - first time (not graphic)
Pairing: McShep
Challenge: Amnesty -- started for Bonding, continued for Telepathy, finally finished!
Word Count: 2993 per MS Word
Rating: If I were using MPAA ratings, this would be PG-13
Warnings: none, really, unless contemplated violence on someone who deserves it disturbs you
Disclaimer: They're not mine. If they were, subtext would be text.
Summary: Unexpected results from experimenting with Ancient tech
Perfect Match
by Penemuel
"Well, they both seem perfectly fine. If that thing did anythin' to them, I can't see it," Carson told Elizabeth.
She said, "Well, we got lucky this time," and then turned to fix Major Sheppard and Rodney with a stern glance. "From now on, I expect you two to exhibit a little more caution when you're examining Ancient artifacts. Do you understand me?"
Rodney merely nodded, but Sheppard answered, "Yes, Ma'am," in a crisp military manner. She raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't comment further when she saw from the look in his eyes that he was serious.
"Very well. Do either of you remember anything that could help us figure out what it does?"
"Well, it obviously responded to the Major first -- it started glowing the moment he got near it," Rodney began, a hint of annoyance in his tone.
"And I kind of felt like I had to pick it up," Sheppard added, glancing at Rodney.
"Except I reached for it at the same time," Rodney interrupted. Then, in response to the look he got from both of them, "What? It -- I don't know, it was pretty and I wanted to get a better look at it..." He couldn't quite keep the defensive tone from his voice.
"Yeah, it was," Sheppard answered softly, smiling at Rodney. Then he blinked and shook his head slightly as if trying to wake himself up. "So, if we're both okay, I could take a look at it and try to figure it out..."
"I couldn't get it to do anything at all when I took it from the two of you," Carson said. "Not a blink, not a blip."
"Well, you never have been overly comfortable at handling Ancient tech, so I'm not overly surprised," Rodney said. "Let the Major try." At the frown Elizabeth gave him, he heaved an exasperated sigh and added, "I promise I won't try to touch it at the same time again." He muttered something else under his breath that sounded like, "You'd think we were preschool kids..."
Sheppard sighed and said, "All right, let me try." Carson stepped out of the way, and he walked to the counter where the artifact lay. It was small, roughly square, and had the same kind of semi-organic geometric patterns that were on the chair, metal over glass. When he touched the surface with one finger, nothing happened. "Hmmn..." He picked it up, holding it carefully in his hand, and it still remained dark.
"Oh great, you broke it," Rodney grumbled. "Put it down and let me try it." Once Sheppard put it down, Rodney picked it up and turned it over, looked at the back of it and fiddled with something, then looked at the front of it again. "Wonderful. You did break it!"
"Me?" Sheppard blurted indignantly. "How do you know you're not the one who broke it?" Without thinking, he reached out to take it from Rodney and the instant they were both in contact with it, it flared to life. "Whoa..."
"Oh..." Rodney breathed, looking down at the glowing device in their joined hands, then up to meet Sheppard's equally stunned gaze.
"Well, now, isn't that interesting," Carson observed, gaze caught by the soft blue glow of the device, oblivious to the way the two men were staring at each other. "It isn't broken after all!"
Elizabeth frowned thoughtfully, looking from the device to them, then back. In a clear, commanding tone she directed, "Major, let go of the device for a moment."
"Huh? Oh-- yeah." He obeyed, and the instant he was no longer in contact with it, it deactivated again.
"Interesting. Now, touch it again," she directed, not missing the sadness that flashed in Rodney's eyes when the Major's fingers drew back. When Sheppard touched the device again, she was watching the two men as much as the object, and was not overly surprised when Rodney's smile returned at the same instant as the soft glow.
"Fascinating!" Carson said, looking at the device and then at the two smiling men. "Any idea what it does?" he asked, too intrigued by the device to really register the way they were looking at each other.
"I'm not sure," Sheppard murmured, reaching out the way he had when he sat in the chair. Yes, he could feel the city's systems awakening and responding to him -- and something else that he hadn't felt before. He probed gently, exploring the new sensation of warmth and closeness...
"Oh!" Rodney gasped softly, letting go of the device and stepping back suddenly. The device went dark and Sheppard suddenly snapped back to himself, blinking and confused for a moment.
"Rodney, what's wrong?" Carson and Elizabeth asked at the same time.
"I-- it surprised me. Sorry," he said, shaking himself out of his confusion and looking around. "I could feel..." He trailed off, then shook himself again and focused. "Major, is that what it feels like when you're in the chair?"
"Everything kind of waking up around you, starting to answer you -- it's almost like--"
"Some kind of music," Rodney finished for him with a wistful look. Then his gaze went distant for a moment and when he focused again there was sadness in his eyes. "Do you hear that all the time?"
"It's always there," Sheppard answered softly, "Kind of like the background hum of the ventilation and heating in McMurdo. You don't really notice it most of the time, unless--"
"Something is either wrong or different. Yeah," Rodney finished, frowning slightly.
And then Carson cleared his throat and Elizabeth said, "I think that's enough experimenting today, gentlemen. We still don't know what it does -- do we?"
"I don't think so," Sheppard said, still a little distracted. "We can go now?"
"Yes, but if you have any problems, you come right back here," Carson said sternly.
Sheppard nodded and Rodney said, "Yes. Yes, of course," with only a shadow of his usual attitude. Still looking distracted and thoughtful, they turned and walked out together, leaving Carson and Elizabeth standing in the infirmary, puzzling things over.
***
Rodney woke up suddenly, unsure what had woken him. It was obviously early morning, judging by the light in the sky, and far earlier than his usual wake-up time.
Rolling over and wrapping his arms around his extra pillow, he tried to get back to sleep and nearly managed it. Floating in that half-light of drowsing, his mind actually calm and quiet for the moment, he let himself drift. And that's when he felt it again, and instantly knew what had woken him.
A warm, gentle probing at the edge of his mind, and somehow he recognized the feel of it. Knew instantly who it was reaching out and sensing around; could feel how drawn to him -- and vice versa -- it was. "Major..." he breathed, shivering as the sensation brushed his mind again. "This can't be happening..."
He snapped awake, and the probing sensation vanished, leaving him wondering if he had actually dreamed the whole thing.
***
"Morning, Rodney. You're up early," Sheppard said from the table. Rodney frowned slightly and carried his tray over to seat himself across from him.
"Something woke me up and I couldn't get back to sleep," he answered.
"Any idea what it was?" Sheppard asked, studying him with concern and curiosity.
Rodney fixed him with a penetrating stare and asked, "Do you do that every morning? Probe around the city and see what answers?"
Sheppard's eyes went wide, and, to his credit a faint blush crept across his cheeks. Then he cleared his throat, and quietly asked, "That was you?"
This time it was Rodney's turn to blush, and mentally he cursed himself for being so obvious. "That was me." Then he cocked his head and asked, "What the hell did that thing do to us?"
"I don't know," Sheppard answered quietly. "Do you think we should talk to Carson about it?" Please say no...
"Don't worry, Major, I was going to say no," Rodney answered automatically, only realizing after he said it that Sheppard's lips hadn't moved. "Um..." Oh, very intelligent, Rodney. Although in my defense, he woke me up early, and this is instant...
"It's still caffeine, isn't it?" Sheppard asked, his eyes going wide as he realized Rodney had only glared at the cup, not voiced his thoughts.
"Oh shit," they both said softly.
***
The second time Rodney caught himself going through the MH-53J's pre-flight checklist he growled with frustration and shut down his laptop. "Headache," he explained as his team looked at him questioningly. "If you need me, I'll be in my quarters. But you'd better not need me," he grumbled, hopping off his stool and heading for the door.
Once he was out of the lab and walking down the corridor he tried to mentally recite the periodic table, first in order of atomic number, then alphabetically. Each time, he got about half way through when the multiplication tables started interfering again.
Damn it, Major! he thought, gasping softly when he felt a What? in response. He sighed and keyed the comm to Sheppard's frequency, then said, "Major Sheppard, we need to talk."
The response was almost instantaneous, and he wasn't really sure if he heard it through the comm, or in his head. "My quarters or yours, Rodney?" And then a moment later, before he could even formulate an answer, a feeling of warmth and All right, yours. He sighed and continued on to his quarters, finding Sheppard leaning against the wall across from the door, waiting.
"I knew you'd feel more--"
"Inside, Major. Then we talk," Rodney said, cutting him off. The door slid open and he stood to one side, waiting for Sheppard to enter. Then he followed him in, let the door slide shut, and locked it.
Sheppard gave him a chagrined smile, ran fingers through his already-mussed hair, then quietly said, "I'm sorry?"
"You're making it impossible to concentrate!" Rodney began, pacing further into the room and then turning to face him again. "I'm trying to analyze some readings and my mind's off getting ready to take off in a helicopter! I'm trying to figure out how to squeeze more power out of our limited resources and there my mind goes, cleaning a P-90. It has to stop!"
"Rodney, it's been three days now -- I don't think it is going to stop," Sheppard said, trying to soothe him. "And don't think you're making it easy for me to concentrate, either..."
"You have no idea, Major," Rodney said quietly. "No idea at all."
Sheppard frowned, soothing becoming frustrated in the blink of an eye. "Oh? Well, why don't you enlighten me, then, Rodney? Because I really don't think you know how distracting you are, with your mind that never stops working, even while you're jerking off and making those hot, sexy sounds!" And then he stopped dead, eyes wide, mouth open in shock. Oh shit -- that was not supposed to come out!
Rodney stared at him, blinked and opened his mouth to say something, then just continued to stare. He was acutely aware of -- and knew Sheppard could feel -- his mind misfiring on all cylinders. Finally, he remembered how to speak, but all he managed was, "You... what?!"
"Oh come on, Rodney, our minds have been in contact with each other since that device joined them -- you have to have felt something!" Sheppard said with an exasperated sigh.
Rodney was acutely aware that standing there, gaping, was not the most attractive look on him, but he still couldn't make words come out of his mouth. You -- me?!
"You were never supposed to know. It was supposed to stay hidden... but how am I supposed to hide it from you when we're in each other's minds all the time?"
Sheppard sounded almost desperate, and Rodney figured he knew why. Trying to appease him, he smiled slightly, mentally running through theories and possibilities. "Well, obviously it's got to be something that device did to us," he said, suddenly finding his voice. But then Sheppard shook his head, and his eyes went wide again.
"No, Rodney, it isn't," he answered quietly. "The only thing that device has done is made it impossible to hide how I feel."
"And how you feel is...?"
Sudden warmth wrapped around him, that gentle probing returning and bringing with it the sudden hot flash of desire and yearning. He gasped, staring in surprise at Sheppard, who met his gaze boldly and said, "Oh, about like that..."
"How-- long?" Rodney asked, his legs suddenly wobbly and his face warm. Sheppard hadn't backed off on the contact this time, and he could feel his body responding eagerly even as his mind kept demanding to know what the hell was going on.
"I don't really know," Sheppard answered. "It kind of grew -- guess the first time I realized there was something physical about it was when..." He trailed off, and Rodney gasped at the sensations rushing through him: Protectiveness, anger, jealousy...
"When... what? What brought that on?" Rodney asked, surprised by the intensity. But, he reflected, that was what Sheppard was good at. Intensity. Sure, he hid it behind a lazy facade, but behind that, hot, smouldering intensity. And-- oh...
Sheppard gasped softly at the surge of arousal coming from Rodney and met his gaze. You want me, too?
Duh? Then, realizing he still had not received an answer, he cleared his throat and repeated, "When, Major?"
Sheppard sighed, glancing away for a moment, and Rodney got the distinct impression that he was trying to get that inexplicable response down to a manageable level. It wasn't really working. And then there was a flash of memory -- dark stone chamber, the smell of fear, and a voice Rodney never, ever wanted to hear again. Kolya.
He blinked, blinked again, then stared. "You don't really think I was going to go with that maniac, do you?" he blurted.
Sheppard sighed and answered, "I knew you were stalling to try and protect us, but--" He sighed again, and the protectiveness was back full-force. "I didn't trust him not to try to take you away..."
Rodney stared in shock. "You wanted me, and you thought he was going to-- Oh..." He sat down on the bed suddenly, his knees finally giving up on him.
"Rodney?" Sheppard stepped forward, startled by the look in his eyes and the flash of fear he felt. Then his eyes narrowed and he asked, "He didn't actually do anything to you, did he?"
The barely coherent mental babbling had him almost convinced that the answer would be yes, until Rodney shook his head and answered, "No. But he made it abundantly clear that once we got back to his... lair," and here Rodney's lip curled with distaste, "that would be a significant part of the victory celebration..."
I'll kill him.
Rodney couldn't help it -- the thought was so matter of fact -- like Sheppard had just said he was going for a walk -- he started laughing. And when Sheppard gave him an alarmed look, he made a helpless gesture and tried to stop laughing, but didn't really manage it. "Sorry!"
"What's so funny? I will, you know..."
"Oh, I believe you, Major. And it's appreciated, really. It's just not the typical engagement present..." And even as the words left his lips, Rodney's brain was wondering what on earth he was thinking (nothing, obviously!) and whether he was trying to scare the Major away.
And if he was scaring the man away, why, then, was he grinning like that and reaching out to cup his chin and meet his gaze? And then he was murmuring, "I'd get you a more traditional one, but one, you don't seem the type for diamonds and two, it might not be a good idea to flaunt it at first..."
"Major..." he whispered, and that didn't seem right anymore with those eyes looking right into him, so close that he could stretch a little and kiss him and... John...
Rodney...
And then they were kissing and their minds were twining around each other, and Rodney asked, What about don't ask, don't tell?
And Sheppard laughed and said, Don't worry, I won't let myself know anything about this...
***
Rodney carried his tray over to the table where Sheppard was already working on his breakfast, and joined him, trying to restrain a grin as Sheppard greeted him aloud ("Morning, Rodney.") and mentally (You looked so cute sleeping I didn't want to wake you up...).
"'Morning, Major," Rodney answered, then added, I almost never get to see you sleeping -- although considering your hair, you probably don't look much different...
Choosing to ignore that until they were somewhere private, Sheppard said, "So, I hear you discovered a bit of information about our mystery device?"
Rodney nodded and said, "Yes -- apparently it was... well, for all intents and purposes, it was used to determine whether two people were a good match or not. The bond it forged would give them the ability to see each other's thoughts, so that they could learn more about each other..."
"You're kidding me. That thing's... a marital aid?!"
"Well. I guess you could call it that. Without all of the lewd implications attached to that phrase, if you ask me."
"Really? 'Cause I got the impression that--" And Rodney kicked him in the shin, shutting him up for a moment. Until the door slid open and two loudly arguing men walked into the mess, and he smirked. "Guess it's a pity you discovered that after Bates and Kavanaugh had that little tussle over whether that box of artifacts belonged in the lab or in the secure area, huh?"
"Oh, I don't know," Rodney said with an answering smirk, "They seem like a perfect match to me!"
***end***
Author: Penemuel (g_shadowslayer)
Category: Slash - first time (not graphic)
Pairing: McShep
Challenge: Amnesty -- started for Bonding, continued for Telepathy, finally finished!
Word Count: 2993 per MS Word
Rating: If I were using MPAA ratings, this would be PG-13
Warnings: none, really, unless contemplated violence on someone who deserves it disturbs you
Disclaimer: They're not mine. If they were, subtext would be text.
Summary: Unexpected results from experimenting with Ancient tech
Perfect Match
by Penemuel
"Well, they both seem perfectly fine. If that thing did anythin' to them, I can't see it," Carson told Elizabeth.
She said, "Well, we got lucky this time," and then turned to fix Major Sheppard and Rodney with a stern glance. "From now on, I expect you two to exhibit a little more caution when you're examining Ancient artifacts. Do you understand me?"
Rodney merely nodded, but Sheppard answered, "Yes, Ma'am," in a crisp military manner. She raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't comment further when she saw from the look in his eyes that he was serious.
"Very well. Do either of you remember anything that could help us figure out what it does?"
"Well, it obviously responded to the Major first -- it started glowing the moment he got near it," Rodney began, a hint of annoyance in his tone.
"And I kind of felt like I had to pick it up," Sheppard added, glancing at Rodney.
"Except I reached for it at the same time," Rodney interrupted. Then, in response to the look he got from both of them, "What? It -- I don't know, it was pretty and I wanted to get a better look at it..." He couldn't quite keep the defensive tone from his voice.
"Yeah, it was," Sheppard answered softly, smiling at Rodney. Then he blinked and shook his head slightly as if trying to wake himself up. "So, if we're both okay, I could take a look at it and try to figure it out..."
"I couldn't get it to do anything at all when I took it from the two of you," Carson said. "Not a blink, not a blip."
"Well, you never have been overly comfortable at handling Ancient tech, so I'm not overly surprised," Rodney said. "Let the Major try." At the frown Elizabeth gave him, he heaved an exasperated sigh and added, "I promise I won't try to touch it at the same time again." He muttered something else under his breath that sounded like, "You'd think we were preschool kids..."
Sheppard sighed and said, "All right, let me try." Carson stepped out of the way, and he walked to the counter where the artifact lay. It was small, roughly square, and had the same kind of semi-organic geometric patterns that were on the chair, metal over glass. When he touched the surface with one finger, nothing happened. "Hmmn..." He picked it up, holding it carefully in his hand, and it still remained dark.
"Oh great, you broke it," Rodney grumbled. "Put it down and let me try it." Once Sheppard put it down, Rodney picked it up and turned it over, looked at the back of it and fiddled with something, then looked at the front of it again. "Wonderful. You did break it!"
"Me?" Sheppard blurted indignantly. "How do you know you're not the one who broke it?" Without thinking, he reached out to take it from Rodney and the instant they were both in contact with it, it flared to life. "Whoa..."
"Oh..." Rodney breathed, looking down at the glowing device in their joined hands, then up to meet Sheppard's equally stunned gaze.
"Well, now, isn't that interesting," Carson observed, gaze caught by the soft blue glow of the device, oblivious to the way the two men were staring at each other. "It isn't broken after all!"
Elizabeth frowned thoughtfully, looking from the device to them, then back. In a clear, commanding tone she directed, "Major, let go of the device for a moment."
"Huh? Oh-- yeah." He obeyed, and the instant he was no longer in contact with it, it deactivated again.
"Interesting. Now, touch it again," she directed, not missing the sadness that flashed in Rodney's eyes when the Major's fingers drew back. When Sheppard touched the device again, she was watching the two men as much as the object, and was not overly surprised when Rodney's smile returned at the same instant as the soft glow.
"Fascinating!" Carson said, looking at the device and then at the two smiling men. "Any idea what it does?" he asked, too intrigued by the device to really register the way they were looking at each other.
"I'm not sure," Sheppard murmured, reaching out the way he had when he sat in the chair. Yes, he could feel the city's systems awakening and responding to him -- and something else that he hadn't felt before. He probed gently, exploring the new sensation of warmth and closeness...
"Oh!" Rodney gasped softly, letting go of the device and stepping back suddenly. The device went dark and Sheppard suddenly snapped back to himself, blinking and confused for a moment.
"Rodney, what's wrong?" Carson and Elizabeth asked at the same time.
"I-- it surprised me. Sorry," he said, shaking himself out of his confusion and looking around. "I could feel..." He trailed off, then shook himself again and focused. "Major, is that what it feels like when you're in the chair?"
"Everything kind of waking up around you, starting to answer you -- it's almost like--"
"Some kind of music," Rodney finished for him with a wistful look. Then his gaze went distant for a moment and when he focused again there was sadness in his eyes. "Do you hear that all the time?"
"It's always there," Sheppard answered softly, "Kind of like the background hum of the ventilation and heating in McMurdo. You don't really notice it most of the time, unless--"
"Something is either wrong or different. Yeah," Rodney finished, frowning slightly.
And then Carson cleared his throat and Elizabeth said, "I think that's enough experimenting today, gentlemen. We still don't know what it does -- do we?"
"I don't think so," Sheppard said, still a little distracted. "We can go now?"
"Yes, but if you have any problems, you come right back here," Carson said sternly.
Sheppard nodded and Rodney said, "Yes. Yes, of course," with only a shadow of his usual attitude. Still looking distracted and thoughtful, they turned and walked out together, leaving Carson and Elizabeth standing in the infirmary, puzzling things over.
***
Rodney woke up suddenly, unsure what had woken him. It was obviously early morning, judging by the light in the sky, and far earlier than his usual wake-up time.
Rolling over and wrapping his arms around his extra pillow, he tried to get back to sleep and nearly managed it. Floating in that half-light of drowsing, his mind actually calm and quiet for the moment, he let himself drift. And that's when he felt it again, and instantly knew what had woken him.
A warm, gentle probing at the edge of his mind, and somehow he recognized the feel of it. Knew instantly who it was reaching out and sensing around; could feel how drawn to him -- and vice versa -- it was. "Major..." he breathed, shivering as the sensation brushed his mind again. "This can't be happening..."
He snapped awake, and the probing sensation vanished, leaving him wondering if he had actually dreamed the whole thing.
***
"Morning, Rodney. You're up early," Sheppard said from the table. Rodney frowned slightly and carried his tray over to seat himself across from him.
"Something woke me up and I couldn't get back to sleep," he answered.
"Any idea what it was?" Sheppard asked, studying him with concern and curiosity.
Rodney fixed him with a penetrating stare and asked, "Do you do that every morning? Probe around the city and see what answers?"
Sheppard's eyes went wide, and, to his credit a faint blush crept across his cheeks. Then he cleared his throat, and quietly asked, "That was you?"
This time it was Rodney's turn to blush, and mentally he cursed himself for being so obvious. "That was me." Then he cocked his head and asked, "What the hell did that thing do to us?"
"I don't know," Sheppard answered quietly. "Do you think we should talk to Carson about it?" Please say no...
"Don't worry, Major, I was going to say no," Rodney answered automatically, only realizing after he said it that Sheppard's lips hadn't moved. "Um..." Oh, very intelligent, Rodney. Although in my defense, he woke me up early, and this is instant...
"It's still caffeine, isn't it?" Sheppard asked, his eyes going wide as he realized Rodney had only glared at the cup, not voiced his thoughts.
"Oh shit," they both said softly.
***
The second time Rodney caught himself going through the MH-53J's pre-flight checklist he growled with frustration and shut down his laptop. "Headache," he explained as his team looked at him questioningly. "If you need me, I'll be in my quarters. But you'd better not need me," he grumbled, hopping off his stool and heading for the door.
Once he was out of the lab and walking down the corridor he tried to mentally recite the periodic table, first in order of atomic number, then alphabetically. Each time, he got about half way through when the multiplication tables started interfering again.
Damn it, Major! he thought, gasping softly when he felt a What? in response. He sighed and keyed the comm to Sheppard's frequency, then said, "Major Sheppard, we need to talk."
The response was almost instantaneous, and he wasn't really sure if he heard it through the comm, or in his head. "My quarters or yours, Rodney?" And then a moment later, before he could even formulate an answer, a feeling of warmth and All right, yours. He sighed and continued on to his quarters, finding Sheppard leaning against the wall across from the door, waiting.
"I knew you'd feel more--"
"Inside, Major. Then we talk," Rodney said, cutting him off. The door slid open and he stood to one side, waiting for Sheppard to enter. Then he followed him in, let the door slide shut, and locked it.
Sheppard gave him a chagrined smile, ran fingers through his already-mussed hair, then quietly said, "I'm sorry?"
"You're making it impossible to concentrate!" Rodney began, pacing further into the room and then turning to face him again. "I'm trying to analyze some readings and my mind's off getting ready to take off in a helicopter! I'm trying to figure out how to squeeze more power out of our limited resources and there my mind goes, cleaning a P-90. It has to stop!"
"Rodney, it's been three days now -- I don't think it is going to stop," Sheppard said, trying to soothe him. "And don't think you're making it easy for me to concentrate, either..."
"You have no idea, Major," Rodney said quietly. "No idea at all."
Sheppard frowned, soothing becoming frustrated in the blink of an eye. "Oh? Well, why don't you enlighten me, then, Rodney? Because I really don't think you know how distracting you are, with your mind that never stops working, even while you're jerking off and making those hot, sexy sounds!" And then he stopped dead, eyes wide, mouth open in shock. Oh shit -- that was not supposed to come out!
Rodney stared at him, blinked and opened his mouth to say something, then just continued to stare. He was acutely aware of -- and knew Sheppard could feel -- his mind misfiring on all cylinders. Finally, he remembered how to speak, but all he managed was, "You... what?!"
"Oh come on, Rodney, our minds have been in contact with each other since that device joined them -- you have to have felt something!" Sheppard said with an exasperated sigh.
Rodney was acutely aware that standing there, gaping, was not the most attractive look on him, but he still couldn't make words come out of his mouth. You -- me?!
"You were never supposed to know. It was supposed to stay hidden... but how am I supposed to hide it from you when we're in each other's minds all the time?"
Sheppard sounded almost desperate, and Rodney figured he knew why. Trying to appease him, he smiled slightly, mentally running through theories and possibilities. "Well, obviously it's got to be something that device did to us," he said, suddenly finding his voice. But then Sheppard shook his head, and his eyes went wide again.
"No, Rodney, it isn't," he answered quietly. "The only thing that device has done is made it impossible to hide how I feel."
"And how you feel is...?"
Sudden warmth wrapped around him, that gentle probing returning and bringing with it the sudden hot flash of desire and yearning. He gasped, staring in surprise at Sheppard, who met his gaze boldly and said, "Oh, about like that..."
"How-- long?" Rodney asked, his legs suddenly wobbly and his face warm. Sheppard hadn't backed off on the contact this time, and he could feel his body responding eagerly even as his mind kept demanding to know what the hell was going on.
"I don't really know," Sheppard answered. "It kind of grew -- guess the first time I realized there was something physical about it was when..." He trailed off, and Rodney gasped at the sensations rushing through him: Protectiveness, anger, jealousy...
"When... what? What brought that on?" Rodney asked, surprised by the intensity. But, he reflected, that was what Sheppard was good at. Intensity. Sure, he hid it behind a lazy facade, but behind that, hot, smouldering intensity. And-- oh...
Sheppard gasped softly at the surge of arousal coming from Rodney and met his gaze. You want me, too?
Duh? Then, realizing he still had not received an answer, he cleared his throat and repeated, "When, Major?"
Sheppard sighed, glancing away for a moment, and Rodney got the distinct impression that he was trying to get that inexplicable response down to a manageable level. It wasn't really working. And then there was a flash of memory -- dark stone chamber, the smell of fear, and a voice Rodney never, ever wanted to hear again. Kolya.
He blinked, blinked again, then stared. "You don't really think I was going to go with that maniac, do you?" he blurted.
Sheppard sighed and answered, "I knew you were stalling to try and protect us, but--" He sighed again, and the protectiveness was back full-force. "I didn't trust him not to try to take you away..."
Rodney stared in shock. "You wanted me, and you thought he was going to-- Oh..." He sat down on the bed suddenly, his knees finally giving up on him.
"Rodney?" Sheppard stepped forward, startled by the look in his eyes and the flash of fear he felt. Then his eyes narrowed and he asked, "He didn't actually do anything to you, did he?"
The barely coherent mental babbling had him almost convinced that the answer would be yes, until Rodney shook his head and answered, "No. But he made it abundantly clear that once we got back to his... lair," and here Rodney's lip curled with distaste, "that would be a significant part of the victory celebration..."
I'll kill him.
Rodney couldn't help it -- the thought was so matter of fact -- like Sheppard had just said he was going for a walk -- he started laughing. And when Sheppard gave him an alarmed look, he made a helpless gesture and tried to stop laughing, but didn't really manage it. "Sorry!"
"What's so funny? I will, you know..."
"Oh, I believe you, Major. And it's appreciated, really. It's just not the typical engagement present..." And even as the words left his lips, Rodney's brain was wondering what on earth he was thinking (nothing, obviously!) and whether he was trying to scare the Major away.
And if he was scaring the man away, why, then, was he grinning like that and reaching out to cup his chin and meet his gaze? And then he was murmuring, "I'd get you a more traditional one, but one, you don't seem the type for diamonds and two, it might not be a good idea to flaunt it at first..."
"Major..." he whispered, and that didn't seem right anymore with those eyes looking right into him, so close that he could stretch a little and kiss him and... John...
Rodney...
And then they were kissing and their minds were twining around each other, and Rodney asked, What about don't ask, don't tell?
And Sheppard laughed and said, Don't worry, I won't let myself know anything about this...
***
Rodney carried his tray over to the table where Sheppard was already working on his breakfast, and joined him, trying to restrain a grin as Sheppard greeted him aloud ("Morning, Rodney.") and mentally (You looked so cute sleeping I didn't want to wake you up...).
"'Morning, Major," Rodney answered, then added, I almost never get to see you sleeping -- although considering your hair, you probably don't look much different...
Choosing to ignore that until they were somewhere private, Sheppard said, "So, I hear you discovered a bit of information about our mystery device?"
Rodney nodded and said, "Yes -- apparently it was... well, for all intents and purposes, it was used to determine whether two people were a good match or not. The bond it forged would give them the ability to see each other's thoughts, so that they could learn more about each other..."
"You're kidding me. That thing's... a marital aid?!"
"Well. I guess you could call it that. Without all of the lewd implications attached to that phrase, if you ask me."
"Really? 'Cause I got the impression that--" And Rodney kicked him in the shin, shutting him up for a moment. Until the door slid open and two loudly arguing men walked into the mess, and he smirked. "Guess it's a pity you discovered that after Bates and Kavanaugh had that little tussle over whether that box of artifacts belonged in the lab or in the secure area, huh?"
"Oh, I don't know," Rodney said with an answering smirk, "They seem like a perfect match to me!"
***end***