'Mischances Moping', or 'A Ship’s Commencing' by Hyperfocused (Coping Mechanism Challenge)
Title: Mischances Moping, or A Ship’s Commencing
Author: Hyperfocused
Pairing: McKay/Sheppard
Rating: R
Wordcount: 5 things for two characters, in ten drabbles.
A/N: Denial, Avoidance, Repression, Substitution, Fantasy. An arrangement rearranged. Set against Outcast, The Shrine, and First Contact (but not necessarily in episodic order).
John: Lead In
“So, creepy life-sucking vampires aside, it looks like you’ve got a good thing here,” General O’Neill tells John on a visit to Atlantis.
“We’re working on that, and yes. Atlantis is special - to all of us.”
O’Neill nods, but John can tell there’s more he wants to say. “What is it , sir?”
“One thing I’ve learned, Colonel Sheppard -- John -- is that home is what, and who, you make of it. Take that however you like -- unofficially. Atlantis is a hell of a long way from Earth.”
“I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean, General,” John lies.
Rodney: Daniel
“So you and the Colonel.” Dr Jackson starts, like they need small talk while there’s a secret lab to uncover.
‘What about Colonel Sheppard?”
“You’re together.” Daniel lowers his voice. “Don’t worry. I know how that goes.” It’s true, his thing with General O’Neill is a barely hidden secret.
“Don’t be absurd. Me and ‘Kirk’?”
“You can mock the soft sciences all you want, Rodney, but trust me. He wants more from you than just a video golf and dvd buddy."
“Colonel Sheppard is a good friend.” That’s all he’ll ever be, because Rodney would rather have that than contempt.
John: Naiad Cove
John likes it when his team's arrival on a planet is met with friendly expectation, but the inhabitants of this particular planet are a bit too friendly for comfort. Beautiful women with flowing “Breck Girl” like hair, bikinis that seem to be made of tiny fish scales, and lilting voices. John is reminded of tales of mythical sea women.
“Won’t you stay and play awhile?” Nyra cajoles.
“Thank you, but I’m afraid that just isn’t possible,’ John tells her. He doesn’t regret it at all.
The only thing he’s sorry about is that Rodney seems convinced John’s made a sacrifice.
Rodney: A Naive Doc
Rodney likes Jennifer. She’s bright, pretty and safe and he doesn’t question things (like John) when they’re together, because the universe is still full of mysteries to be solved, not least of which is, what the hell is happening to his memory? He has to trust that she’ll help him figure that out.
“I like you like this", she tells him, and he’s still himself enough to know there’s something very, very wrong.
“Where’s John?” he asks, not quite too far gone to see her flinch before she smiles and tells him “Don’t worry, your friend will be back soon.”
John: Pier Snores
John can justify certain kinds of thoughts about Rodney. What it might be like to sink inside of him, bite that tendon on his neck, fuck him until he shuts the hell up. Rodney’s got that ass, after all. Everyone notices, and John won’t believe he’s the only man who wants it. He knows he won’t act on it.
It’s those other feelings that scare him more. Rodney screaming in the middle of the night, diminished, pliable, hardly himself at all, falling into terrified sleep beside him on a windy pier. The ones where Rodney needs him just as much.
Rodney: Series Porn
It doesn’t take a genius to score even the good porn, and since Rodney is a genius, he can do it two galaxies, with nobody knowing
The lead is kneeling in dress blues, a costume that almost looks right. The man being blown is bulky, and broad shouldered, and Rodney pretends the equations on the prop whiteboard make some kind of sense.
If it turns out his favorites all have this pink-lipped, spiky-haired, lanky guy named “Joe”, well, that’s just a coincidence, right? Better to work it all out one-handed at the laptop, then risk telling John how he feels.
John: Bits I Stun Out
John wishes Rodney could come to the hell that will be his father’s funeral with him. He doesn’t know if he could hold it together, and the fear of what he might admit makes him tell Rodney it’s okay, and joke that ‘those kids will be your funeral, anyway.”
“I’ll be here when you get back, and we can talk. Or not. I could just bring the beer and scientifically improbable DVDs.”
“You’d do that for me?”
“Anything, John. Colonel.” Rodney hurries from the room, but when Ronon appears to make the trip beside John, John knows who to thank.
Rodney: Obit Suits Nut
“So Ronon told me all about it. I’m sorry. About the replicator stuff, certainly, but mostly about the rest of it.”
“Thanks.” John was tight lipped. “I’m fine, though.”
Sure he was. Rodney had felt more relaxation in a straight-backed Siberian chair.“I wanted to be there for you.”
“It wouldn’t have been any fun.”
. “Asshole. I didn’t imagine Ferris wheels and football, or even Tim Horton’s and hockey. I just meant, maybe I could have helped.”
“You can help now,” John says, but he holds back from saying how. Rodney waits. He isn’t surprised when John kisses him.
John: Fan Stay
Shit. Shit. Shit. He shouldn’t have done that. What the hell was he thinking? “Sorry. I don’t know-I guess I’m still not thinking clearly.”
“I am,” Rodney says, and kisses him again. It’s good, so good, and so bad at the same time. John knows they should stop. Rodney doesn’t really want this.
“Anything, John. I told you. Anything you need.”
“I don’t want to talk. I just want you. I want this.” He can accept recriminations later. For now, this will be everything to him.
“We can do that,” And with hands and mouth, he makes John forget.
Rodney: Fast Nay
When Rodney wakes up, the bed’s rumpled, but he’s alone. Crap. The colonel hasn’t gone far. Rodney can hear the shower running. Is he washing off the evidence or wishing the whole night would go away? Rodney supposes he should have expected it.
He’s pulling on his clothes as John comes out, in just a towel. ‘You aren’t leaving, are you?”
“It’s my room. But yes, clearly you don’t want to be anywhere near me. I’ll go to the lab and you can slink away quietly.”
“Don’t go.” John moves into Rodney’s space, and drops the towel. “Don’t ever go.”
Author: Hyperfocused
Pairing: McKay/Sheppard
Rating: R
Wordcount: 5 things for two characters, in ten drabbles.
A/N: Denial, Avoidance, Repression, Substitution, Fantasy. An arrangement rearranged. Set against Outcast, The Shrine, and First Contact (but not necessarily in episodic order).
John: Lead In
“So, creepy life-sucking vampires aside, it looks like you’ve got a good thing here,” General O’Neill tells John on a visit to Atlantis.
“We’re working on that, and yes. Atlantis is special - to all of us.”
O’Neill nods, but John can tell there’s more he wants to say. “What is it , sir?”
“One thing I’ve learned, Colonel Sheppard -- John -- is that home is what, and who, you make of it. Take that however you like -- unofficially. Atlantis is a hell of a long way from Earth.”
“I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean, General,” John lies.
Rodney: Daniel
“So you and the Colonel.” Dr Jackson starts, like they need small talk while there’s a secret lab to uncover.
‘What about Colonel Sheppard?”
“You’re together.” Daniel lowers his voice. “Don’t worry. I know how that goes.” It’s true, his thing with General O’Neill is a barely hidden secret.
“Don’t be absurd. Me and ‘Kirk’?”
“You can mock the soft sciences all you want, Rodney, but trust me. He wants more from you than just a video golf and dvd buddy."
“Colonel Sheppard is a good friend.” That’s all he’ll ever be, because Rodney would rather have that than contempt.
John: Naiad Cove
John likes it when his team's arrival on a planet is met with friendly expectation, but the inhabitants of this particular planet are a bit too friendly for comfort. Beautiful women with flowing “Breck Girl” like hair, bikinis that seem to be made of tiny fish scales, and lilting voices. John is reminded of tales of mythical sea women.
“Won’t you stay and play awhile?” Nyra cajoles.
“Thank you, but I’m afraid that just isn’t possible,’ John tells her. He doesn’t regret it at all.
The only thing he’s sorry about is that Rodney seems convinced John’s made a sacrifice.
Rodney: A Naive Doc
Rodney likes Jennifer. She’s bright, pretty and safe and he doesn’t question things (like John) when they’re together, because the universe is still full of mysteries to be solved, not least of which is, what the hell is happening to his memory? He has to trust that she’ll help him figure that out.
“I like you like this", she tells him, and he’s still himself enough to know there’s something very, very wrong.
“Where’s John?” he asks, not quite too far gone to see her flinch before she smiles and tells him “Don’t worry, your friend will be back soon.”
John: Pier Snores
John can justify certain kinds of thoughts about Rodney. What it might be like to sink inside of him, bite that tendon on his neck, fuck him until he shuts the hell up. Rodney’s got that ass, after all. Everyone notices, and John won’t believe he’s the only man who wants it. He knows he won’t act on it.
It’s those other feelings that scare him more. Rodney screaming in the middle of the night, diminished, pliable, hardly himself at all, falling into terrified sleep beside him on a windy pier. The ones where Rodney needs him just as much.
Rodney: Series Porn
It doesn’t take a genius to score even the good porn, and since Rodney is a genius, he can do it two galaxies, with nobody knowing
The lead is kneeling in dress blues, a costume that almost looks right. The man being blown is bulky, and broad shouldered, and Rodney pretends the equations on the prop whiteboard make some kind of sense.
If it turns out his favorites all have this pink-lipped, spiky-haired, lanky guy named “Joe”, well, that’s just a coincidence, right? Better to work it all out one-handed at the laptop, then risk telling John how he feels.
John: Bits I Stun Out
John wishes Rodney could come to the hell that will be his father’s funeral with him. He doesn’t know if he could hold it together, and the fear of what he might admit makes him tell Rodney it’s okay, and joke that ‘those kids will be your funeral, anyway.”
“I’ll be here when you get back, and we can talk. Or not. I could just bring the beer and scientifically improbable DVDs.”
“You’d do that for me?”
“Anything, John. Colonel.” Rodney hurries from the room, but when Ronon appears to make the trip beside John, John knows who to thank.
Rodney: Obit Suits Nut
“So Ronon told me all about it. I’m sorry. About the replicator stuff, certainly, but mostly about the rest of it.”
“Thanks.” John was tight lipped. “I’m fine, though.”
Sure he was. Rodney had felt more relaxation in a straight-backed Siberian chair.“I wanted to be there for you.”
“It wouldn’t have been any fun.”
. “Asshole. I didn’t imagine Ferris wheels and football, or even Tim Horton’s and hockey. I just meant, maybe I could have helped.”
“You can help now,” John says, but he holds back from saying how. Rodney waits. He isn’t surprised when John kisses him.
John: Fan Stay
Shit. Shit. Shit. He shouldn’t have done that. What the hell was he thinking? “Sorry. I don’t know-I guess I’m still not thinking clearly.”
“I am,” Rodney says, and kisses him again. It’s good, so good, and so bad at the same time. John knows they should stop. Rodney doesn’t really want this.
“Anything, John. I told you. Anything you need.”
“I don’t want to talk. I just want you. I want this.” He can accept recriminations later. For now, this will be everything to him.
“We can do that,” And with hands and mouth, he makes John forget.
Rodney: Fast Nay
When Rodney wakes up, the bed’s rumpled, but he’s alone. Crap. The colonel hasn’t gone far. Rodney can hear the shower running. Is he washing off the evidence or wishing the whole night would go away? Rodney supposes he should have expected it.
He’s pulling on his clothes as John comes out, in just a towel. ‘You aren’t leaving, are you?”
“It’s my room. But yes, clearly you don’t want to be anywhere near me. I’ll go to the lab and you can slink away quietly.”
“Don’t go.” John moves into Rodney’s space, and drops the towel. “Don’t ever go.”