Appointment for Romance by MamaDeb (Harlequin Challenge)
Title: Appointment for Romance
Author: MamaDeb
Rating: PG13
Pairing; McShep
Summary: So, his best friend is giving him things. That doesn't mean anything, right?
Size: 1350 words
Notes: Okay, finally doing SGA. Thank you, mari4212 for the fast beta.
Appointment for Romance
"Want to watch a movie tonight?" Sheppard leaned against the door frame.
"In case you haven't noticed, Colonel, I've been obscenely busy the last few days trying to keep this city hygienic." One day off world, and the entire - well, it wasn't quite sewage because the city floated, but the outflow arrangement - went offline and that idiot Zelenka refused to acknowledge his own idiocy and tried a solution that only half-helped and now he had to clean up - oh, funny - after that, too.
"I have noticed that the place is smelling a lot better. Which means you're finished, right?" He smiled. He did have the most amazing smile, and why was Rodney even noticing that?
"Just because the immediate problem is solved, and yes, even the potential of repetition for a good long time doesn't mean that I'm finished." He frowned. "Oh. I suppose it does."
"So, you want to watch a movie tonight? I'd say you earned a night off."
"I have earned many a night off, but no one is giving me..."
"Rodney."
"Yes! I'd like to watch a movie with you tonight."
"All right then. I'll meet you for dinner at seven, say, and then we'll go to my place?" It was physically impossible for his smile to get bigger, and it was even more impossible for him to look like he was glowing.
Rodney tried to shrug nonchalantly, which meant his elbow knocked over a jar of markers. "Sure."
"Then it's a date." And John knelt to pick up the markers.
~~~~
A month earlier, he'd dropped a whole huge Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate bar onto Rodney's lap. And then came back a half-hour later and stole a good quarter of it. Rodney was so outraged he could barely talk. Or maybe it was because John began licking his fingers after he'd brazenly eaten his ill-gotten gains right in front of Rodney.
A week later, he happened to mention that he'd just finished the latest by John Varley, and would Rodney like to borrow it, and Rodney was so thrilled at something NEW TO READ that he snatched it out of John's hands. John's hands were warm, and strong. And the book was not creased at all.
Last night, John had given Rodney his dessert. Which was vanilla pudding with chocolate sauce, and there'd been a fistfight already because they'd run short. Except that John had taken a fingerful of the pudding himself. Rodney could still see the white pudding dripping off John's finger. In fact, it played a big role in last night's pre-sleep fantasy.
"Date?"
"Appointment. Whatever." John straightened up and put the cup of markers on Rodney's desk again. He winked.
"What's the movie?"
He waved his finger in the air. That finger. "Ah-ah. Let it be a surprise." And maybe John had better have a talk with whoever was doing his laundry, since they'd let his pants shrink. Or maybe he shouldn't because tight was a good look for him. Especially when he walked away.
"He is courting you, then?" Zelenka walked in from the laboratory,
"I have no idea what you are talking about, Radek."
"Of course you do not know. It is something pleasant and has to do with other people. How would you know?" He grinned. "But the Colonel is giving you gifts of things you like. He is feeding you. He just asked you for date."
"Appointment! I don't know what they do in your country, Zelenka, but in Colonel Sheppard's, men do not go on dates with other men - especially men in that bastion of homophobic patriarchy called the US armed forces. We're friends. Best friends, perhaps, and that is odd enough considering that we have nothing in common but this place. Friends do things for each other. Like give them dessert."
"And what have you done for the Colonel, Rodney? Besides make his life more difficult?"
"I...I...I keep his city running. And I'm company for movies. And a place to dump books. And go to work!"
Courting him. As if he were some noblewoman in one of the novels his mother used to hide. Although, John wouldn't look bad in those tight breeches. He shook his head and glared at Zelenka, who laughed and went back to work.
He left the lab at 6PM - after all, the only things left to do could be done by any idiot, so he knew his staff was qualified. And just because he wanted to shower and shave and maybe put on something not a uniform for dinner - he'd been wearing those clothes for two days now and he needed to do that desperately. That's all. He did make sure his hair was neat, which was patently hilarious given that John's hair had its own life.
He met John at the door to the mess hall, and they went in line together. Which was, of course, a perfectly normal thing for them to do. Dinner was some sort of stew with various vegetable-like items and something that looked and smelled like meat, plus real noodles. And a bowl of fruit. It all looked vaguely edible. Of course, so far as Rodney was concerned, food was fuel, but as fuel went, it was nice to have something appetizing, or close to it, tonight.
For his appointment with his best friend. Of course.
John snagged a table in the corner. "We are not going to talk about Atlantis tonight. Is that a deal, Rodney?"
"What do you want to talk about?" What else was there?
He snagged a lump of fauxpotato. "I don't know. Anything. Tell me the mistakes Varley made in his novel. You haven't, yet."
Oh, he could do that. "Let's talk about the whole travel thing, shall we?"
"Let's." Rodney went on at length about the space drive used in the novel and the impossibilities of star drives in general, except for the ones they had now, and how cool was that? Except no one knew. And then the whole memory thing and the identity thing, and how the space station worked, and then they both digressed to the math of the situation, which was something Rodney loved. And he pushed his bowl of fruit over to John because he wanted to see John smile. And John did. And grabbed his hand.
And it really was a date, and Rodney could feel his brain start to melt because no way was he on a date with John "Captain Kirk" Sheppard of the USAF, except that he was, and John had gorgeous eyes.
They deposited their dishes and left the mess hall, taking the desserts with them. And it turned out that John had smuggled in a copy of "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" on DVD, and while it probably lost something on the laptop screen, it was still a great movie. Completely impossible scientifically, but Rodney understood that about 40s serials, so that was cool.
And then John started feeding Rodney dessert. And licking his fingers. "You're...you're courting me?"
John laughed and stole a piece of fruit from Rodney's bowl. "I'm trying to get into your pants. I figure if I tease you enough, maybe you'll notice me."
"Notice you? You big idiot - you're - you're almost as gorgeous as Sky Captain, with much prettier eyes, I might add. And you're straight. I don't tilt at windmills, you know. And how do you know I'd be interested in a man anyway?"
"Yeah, well. I kinda sensed it. And apparently you never heard of don't ask, don't tell. I'm real good at not telling, which means I had to be real good at finding out what guys weren't asking. Am I wrong?"
"Well, actually." Rodney pulled John's head down and kissed him. Hard. He let go. John's mouth, in the light of the screen, was dark red. "For a wonder, you're correct."
"So I don't have to give you my dessert anymore?"
"Only if you lick it off your fingers."
"Will do."
They never did see the end of the movie that night.
Author: MamaDeb
Rating: PG13
Pairing; McShep
Summary: So, his best friend is giving him things. That doesn't mean anything, right?
Size: 1350 words
Notes: Okay, finally doing SGA. Thank you, mari4212 for the fast beta.
Appointment for Romance
"Want to watch a movie tonight?" Sheppard leaned against the door frame.
"In case you haven't noticed, Colonel, I've been obscenely busy the last few days trying to keep this city hygienic." One day off world, and the entire - well, it wasn't quite sewage because the city floated, but the outflow arrangement - went offline and that idiot Zelenka refused to acknowledge his own idiocy and tried a solution that only half-helped and now he had to clean up - oh, funny - after that, too.
"I have noticed that the place is smelling a lot better. Which means you're finished, right?" He smiled. He did have the most amazing smile, and why was Rodney even noticing that?
"Just because the immediate problem is solved, and yes, even the potential of repetition for a good long time doesn't mean that I'm finished." He frowned. "Oh. I suppose it does."
"So, you want to watch a movie tonight? I'd say you earned a night off."
"I have earned many a night off, but no one is giving me..."
"Rodney."
"Yes! I'd like to watch a movie with you tonight."
"All right then. I'll meet you for dinner at seven, say, and then we'll go to my place?" It was physically impossible for his smile to get bigger, and it was even more impossible for him to look like he was glowing.
Rodney tried to shrug nonchalantly, which meant his elbow knocked over a jar of markers. "Sure."
"Then it's a date." And John knelt to pick up the markers.
~~~~
A month earlier, he'd dropped a whole huge Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate bar onto Rodney's lap. And then came back a half-hour later and stole a good quarter of it. Rodney was so outraged he could barely talk. Or maybe it was because John began licking his fingers after he'd brazenly eaten his ill-gotten gains right in front of Rodney.
A week later, he happened to mention that he'd just finished the latest by John Varley, and would Rodney like to borrow it, and Rodney was so thrilled at something NEW TO READ that he snatched it out of John's hands. John's hands were warm, and strong. And the book was not creased at all.
Last night, John had given Rodney his dessert. Which was vanilla pudding with chocolate sauce, and there'd been a fistfight already because they'd run short. Except that John had taken a fingerful of the pudding himself. Rodney could still see the white pudding dripping off John's finger. In fact, it played a big role in last night's pre-sleep fantasy.
"Date?"
"Appointment. Whatever." John straightened up and put the cup of markers on Rodney's desk again. He winked.
"What's the movie?"
He waved his finger in the air. That finger. "Ah-ah. Let it be a surprise." And maybe John had better have a talk with whoever was doing his laundry, since they'd let his pants shrink. Or maybe he shouldn't because tight was a good look for him. Especially when he walked away.
"He is courting you, then?" Zelenka walked in from the laboratory,
"I have no idea what you are talking about, Radek."
"Of course you do not know. It is something pleasant and has to do with other people. How would you know?" He grinned. "But the Colonel is giving you gifts of things you like. He is feeding you. He just asked you for date."
"Appointment! I don't know what they do in your country, Zelenka, but in Colonel Sheppard's, men do not go on dates with other men - especially men in that bastion of homophobic patriarchy called the US armed forces. We're friends. Best friends, perhaps, and that is odd enough considering that we have nothing in common but this place. Friends do things for each other. Like give them dessert."
"And what have you done for the Colonel, Rodney? Besides make his life more difficult?"
"I...I...I keep his city running. And I'm company for movies. And a place to dump books. And go to work!"
Courting him. As if he were some noblewoman in one of the novels his mother used to hide. Although, John wouldn't look bad in those tight breeches. He shook his head and glared at Zelenka, who laughed and went back to work.
He left the lab at 6PM - after all, the only things left to do could be done by any idiot, so he knew his staff was qualified. And just because he wanted to shower and shave and maybe put on something not a uniform for dinner - he'd been wearing those clothes for two days now and he needed to do that desperately. That's all. He did make sure his hair was neat, which was patently hilarious given that John's hair had its own life.
He met John at the door to the mess hall, and they went in line together. Which was, of course, a perfectly normal thing for them to do. Dinner was some sort of stew with various vegetable-like items and something that looked and smelled like meat, plus real noodles. And a bowl of fruit. It all looked vaguely edible. Of course, so far as Rodney was concerned, food was fuel, but as fuel went, it was nice to have something appetizing, or close to it, tonight.
For his appointment with his best friend. Of course.
John snagged a table in the corner. "We are not going to talk about Atlantis tonight. Is that a deal, Rodney?"
"What do you want to talk about?" What else was there?
He snagged a lump of fauxpotato. "I don't know. Anything. Tell me the mistakes Varley made in his novel. You haven't, yet."
Oh, he could do that. "Let's talk about the whole travel thing, shall we?"
"Let's." Rodney went on at length about the space drive used in the novel and the impossibilities of star drives in general, except for the ones they had now, and how cool was that? Except no one knew. And then the whole memory thing and the identity thing, and how the space station worked, and then they both digressed to the math of the situation, which was something Rodney loved. And he pushed his bowl of fruit over to John because he wanted to see John smile. And John did. And grabbed his hand.
And it really was a date, and Rodney could feel his brain start to melt because no way was he on a date with John "Captain Kirk" Sheppard of the USAF, except that he was, and John had gorgeous eyes.
They deposited their dishes and left the mess hall, taking the desserts with them. And it turned out that John had smuggled in a copy of "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" on DVD, and while it probably lost something on the laptop screen, it was still a great movie. Completely impossible scientifically, but Rodney understood that about 40s serials, so that was cool.
And then John started feeding Rodney dessert. And licking his fingers. "You're...you're courting me?"
John laughed and stole a piece of fruit from Rodney's bowl. "I'm trying to get into your pants. I figure if I tease you enough, maybe you'll notice me."
"Notice you? You big idiot - you're - you're almost as gorgeous as Sky Captain, with much prettier eyes, I might add. And you're straight. I don't tilt at windmills, you know. And how do you know I'd be interested in a man anyway?"
"Yeah, well. I kinda sensed it. And apparently you never heard of don't ask, don't tell. I'm real good at not telling, which means I had to be real good at finding out what guys weren't asking. Am I wrong?"
"Well, actually." Rodney pulled John's head down and kissed him. Hard. He let go. John's mouth, in the light of the screen, was dark red. "For a wonder, you're correct."
"So I don't have to give you my dessert anymore?"
"Only if you lick it off your fingers."
"Will do."
They never did see the end of the movie that night.