Fic: Horizontal (No Precious Time Series, 14/28)
Title: Horizontal (No Precious Time Series, 14/28)
Author: The Time Being/SGAtlantisLight
Fandom: Stargate: Atlantis
Genre: Smutty angst, H/C
Rating: NC-17 overall, though some chapters are lower
Author's Notes: Part of the No Precious Time Series. Beta and encouragement from a lot of people, but especially lapislaz, mice1900, and inkscribe.
Warnings can be found here for those who can't read without them. These contain plot spoilers so do not read unless you can't live without knowing.
Disclaimer: I own them all! But, alas, not in this universe.
Previous chapter
"My sexual orientation? Horizontal, usually." - bumper sticker
"Seriously, you've never seen Ghostbusters?" John asked for the third time.
"I have never seen it," Radek confirmed again.
Carson handed the popcorn over to Radek who passed it to John. "Then this will be an extra treat."
Rodney snorted. "We're talking Ghostbusters, Carson."
"It'll be fun," John said.
Carson looked over and smiled secretly to himself to see some of the worry lines smoothed from John's face. He'd known it would be good to get John out for an evening. He could still feel the strain between Rodney and John, but it was lessened here, slowly leaching away.
"You know Bill Murray only agreed to do this movie so they'd let him do The Razor's Edge," John commented.
"Oh. Excellent movie!" Radek said, grabbing a handful of popcorn.
John stared at him. "You've seen The Razor's Edge but you haven't seen Ghostbusters."
Radek shrugged. "American comedy. It's..." He shrugged.
"Not dark enough for your Eastern European sensibilities?" Rodney suggested.
"I thought you didn't like this movie," Radek said.
"It's stupid, but at least it doesn't make me want to drink myself into a coma."
Radek muttered something under his breath
"Too bad we don't have any marshmallows," John said.
"Why would we want marshmallows?" Radek asked.
John grinned. "You'll see."
"Can we get started already?" Rodney demanded peevishly.
"All right, all right," Carson interjected as John opened his mouth to say something. He hit 'play' and settled back against Rodney, hand curling around Rodney's knee. He caught John flash a quick glance their direction, a flicker of envy crossing his face before it was gone. Carson considered moving his hand, but decided that might just tempt him to touch other places, making matters worse.
They watched for about an hour, Carson and Radek exchanging amused glances as both Rodney and John quoted bits of dialogue with the movie. All the while, John got more and more fidgety. Shortly before John and Radek were to arrive, Carson had jerked off while holding Rodney, breathing in the scent of his lover, so he was okay to wait a while yet. He did admit, though, the extra scents lingering in the enclosed room were sinking into him, becoming a vague sense of need in the back of his mind.
Carson hit pause. "I think I need to stretch and get a wee bit of tea. Can I get anyone else anything?"
Radek stood and headed toward the bathroom. "I will take tea as well."
John shifted. "Just something to take a couple pills with, Carson." He sat for a moment more, then stood and headed for the bathroom door, where he started pacing.
Rodney sighed. "I guess since I'm the only one, coffee is out of the question." He waved at Carson. "You know what I like."
Carson headed into the kitchen and puttered about, fixing tea. Rodney liked his coffee black and unsweetened, but preferred his tea almost overly sweet and with milk. Carson had always found it amusing.
While the tea steeped he began looking through the refrigerator, pulling out a single bottle that had set neglected because neither he nor Rodney wanted to claim the last one. He looked up when the bathroom door opened, intending to ask Radek how he liked his tea, but never got that far.
John's hands came up and he pushed Radek back into the bathroom and followed himself. There was a quiet 'oof' sound and then the door slid shut. Carson looked to Rodney in alarm, wondering if they should do anything. Just as he thought he might have found his voice, there was a string of low, breathless Czech from the vicinity of the bathroom and an answering moan in John's voice.
They both stood in shocked silence for several moments as the voices in the bathroom ebbed and flowed, and then the tea was done, providing Carson a distraction.
When the two men emerged from the bathroom, John's whole bearing was looser. Radek was blushing furiously and looking anywhere but at them. Carson broke the silence by handing John the bottle.
"Hey! Coke! Thanks, Carson. It's been ages."
"Hey!" Rodney protested.
"Oh. Sorry. Did you want it, Rodney?"
There was a beat, then Rodney shrugged. "It's okay. You can have it."
Carson made sure to make Rodney's tea extra sweet, just the way he liked it.
***
"I cannot believe you did that!" Radek said, rounding on John once they were far enough from Carson and Rodney's apartment. He'd spent the rest of the evening blushing so hard he thought it might be permanent.
"I'm sorry. I just needed--"
"Ne, ne, ne, ne! You do not get to excuse your behaviour like this. You are grown man! You can control your impulses."
"I didn't hear you complaining while you were coming down my throat," John answered.
There was a shocked 'eep!' and they both turned to see Stackhouse, wide-eyed, backing away, hands raised high. "Sorry. I'll just... uh... Sorry."
Radek buried his face in his hands as the Marine disappeared around a corner. "Ach Bože, tomu neveřím."
"Okay, okay. I'm sorry. I lost it. Satisfied?"
Radek jerked his head up and glared at John. "You think 'I'm sorry' will cover the awkwardness of having to work with Rodney tomorrow? We had sex in his bathroom!"
"Pretend it never happened. It's not like he's going to bring it up."
"Is this your answer to everything?"
"Look, can we not argue about this here in the hall?" John motioned to the transporter less than four metres away.
Radek gave him another look. "Fine! After you."
John stalked into the transporter and stabbed the location nearest Radek's apartment as soon as Radek followed him. They walked to Radek's apartment in silence and then stood, glaring, as the doors slid shut.
"Sorry," John said sullenly. "I'm just so fucking tired of- of... sneaking around and pretending that everything's normal and I'm not having sex every two to four hours just to feel fucking human!"
"You think I don't know this?" Radek demanded. "I do! But I also know what people will think. First, they will think we have feelings for each other. And when you leave, they will think I should be heartbroken. If I explain this is just arrangement, they will think I am taking advantage."
"You're not!"
"But how are you qualified to say, when you're so desperate? You can't. You are under the influence of this virus. You cannot truly consent."
"Are you calling yourself a rapist, Radek?" John asked, voice measured.
Radek pushed his glasses up his nose and met John's gaze, feeling his heart pound. "I suppose I am, in some ways."
John went rigid, his face white. "Goddammit, Radek, don't you ever say that again. You. Are not. A rapist. And I am not some wilting lily you've... plucked."
Radek reached out and caught John's flailing hands, stilling them. "I know. But I also know how this would look to others. I don't want to lose their respect. I'm sorry that this means you have to keep pretending. Perhaps there is someone else?"
John sighed, his eyes going distant and sad. "Not that I can have."
***
Elizabeth rubbed the back of her neck and closed the JAG reports. All the necessary personnel for a series of courts martial were already on their way to Atlantis. It would have been easier if they could have let the matter be dealt with on Earth, but too many of the important players in the drama were Pegasus natives or crucial personnel. She just had to hope this wouldn't devolve into some sort of circus.
She looked up as her door slid open and raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Ronon? What's all this?"
Ronon set the tray he was carrying down on her desk. "Late dinner for you. You shouldn't skip meals."
She gave him a wry grin. "And you're going to make sure I eat properly?"
"Someone needs to," he answered, then picked up the extra pudding cup and spoon on the tray and dug in, his grin knowing and slightly feral around his spoon.
***
Rodney awoke to Carson returning to the bed with a frustrated groan. "What?" he asked. "I thought we'd done enough before bed."
Carson curled against him, his erection pressed into Rodney's thigh. "The bathroom still smells like them."
Rodney shifted uncomfortably. "Oh." He didn't want to think about John and Radek and what they'd done in the bathroom. Didn't need to remember the low moan of John's voice, the breathless Czech, the way Radek's face blazed red, or the way John's posture was at once relaxed and slightly apologetic. He'd watched John pop a couple of painkillers and then wash them down with the bottle of Coke, head tilted back, the line of his long throat cast in relief, swallowing. Just like... God, he was getting hard just from the memory.
Carson's fingers ghosted over Rodney's belly and then slowly slid downward. He chuckled. "I take it I'm not the only one affected by his bit of almost-exhibitionism."
Rodney shuddered. "Sorry."
Carson leaned over and kissed him. "It's all right, love."
Rodney slipped his arms around Carson and pulled him close. "I'm still sorry."
"Hm," Carson said and kissed him again, and then let his hands and lips and body express his forgiveness.
***
Radek awoke to the quiet scrape of stylus on computer pad. He rolled over, noting the other side of the bed still felt vaguely warm. "John, what are you doing?"
"I had an idea."
Radek sighed and slid out of the bed, wrapping the blanket around his shoulders for warmth and headed over to the couch where John was sprawled. He picked up John's bare feet and sat down, settling them in his lap. "Show me."
"Give me a minute," John said. He worked quickly and then turned the notebook so Radek could see.
Radek scanned over the new design, the smooth flow of lines and the numbers and calculations beside it. "I am seeing some wraith influence."
"Maybe," John answered.
"It's good. Very organic, very streamlined."
John smiled. "I'm not going to get this past the SGC, am I?"
Radek shrugged. "You never know." He handed the notebook back to John. "Are you finished for now?"
"I think so."
"Good. Come back to bed. Your thinking is keeping me awake."
***
Carson sat up suddenly in bed. Rodney made a moan of protest, not really awake. Carson's heart was still beating wildly, the nightmare fresh and raw in his mind. He scrambled out of bed, ignoring Rodney's incoherent complaint, and made his way to the desk. He pulled up various records and stared at them. Small puncture on his finger. Small one on Lorne's. Even the Genii who'd also been inoculated had them. "They took blood."
"Mmmf?" Rodney asked from the bed.
"They took blood. That's why the victim's immune system rarely reacts against the virus and why it's not contagious! They use the blood to tailor the virus."
Rodney sat up, blinking. "What?"
"Each infection is different. The pathogen I carry isn't the same as the one in John or Colonel Lorne or any of the former slaves."
"Tailored so the body doesn't recognise it as anything foreign," Rodney said.
Carson nodded. "Only I don't think they know what they're doing with it, so occasionally it doesn't work."
"So, can you cure it?"
Carson sighed. "I don't know. If each pathogen is different, a cure for one might not work on another. It's like curing the common cold." He chewed on his lip. "I need to better understand what's part of the natural viral code and what's borrowed from the host. I need to map the genome-- several of the viruses' genomes from different hosts-- to find that out."
"That could take..." Rodney shook his head, obviously having no idea. "Weeks?"
"Under the best of circumstances, weeks," Carson agreed.
"Damn. I don't know if all of you have got weeks, Carson. I don't even know if I've got weeks and I'm not even infected."
He looked up and met his lover's eyes. "I know, love. I know."
Next chapter
Author: The Time Being/SGAtlantisLight
Fandom: Stargate: Atlantis
Genre: Smutty angst, H/C
Rating: NC-17 overall, though some chapters are lower
Author's Notes: Part of the No Precious Time Series. Beta and encouragement from a lot of people, but especially lapislaz, mice1900, and inkscribe.
Warnings can be found here for those who can't read without them. These contain plot spoilers so do not read unless you can't live without knowing.
Disclaimer: I own them all! But, alas, not in this universe.
Previous chapter
"My sexual orientation? Horizontal, usually." - bumper sticker
"Seriously, you've never seen Ghostbusters?" John asked for the third time.
"I have never seen it," Radek confirmed again.
Carson handed the popcorn over to Radek who passed it to John. "Then this will be an extra treat."
Rodney snorted. "We're talking Ghostbusters, Carson."
"It'll be fun," John said.
Carson looked over and smiled secretly to himself to see some of the worry lines smoothed from John's face. He'd known it would be good to get John out for an evening. He could still feel the strain between Rodney and John, but it was lessened here, slowly leaching away.
"You know Bill Murray only agreed to do this movie so they'd let him do The Razor's Edge," John commented.
"Oh. Excellent movie!" Radek said, grabbing a handful of popcorn.
John stared at him. "You've seen The Razor's Edge but you haven't seen Ghostbusters."
Radek shrugged. "American comedy. It's..." He shrugged.
"Not dark enough for your Eastern European sensibilities?" Rodney suggested.
"I thought you didn't like this movie," Radek said.
"It's stupid, but at least it doesn't make me want to drink myself into a coma."
Radek muttered something under his breath
"Too bad we don't have any marshmallows," John said.
"Why would we want marshmallows?" Radek asked.
John grinned. "You'll see."
"Can we get started already?" Rodney demanded peevishly.
"All right, all right," Carson interjected as John opened his mouth to say something. He hit 'play' and settled back against Rodney, hand curling around Rodney's knee. He caught John flash a quick glance their direction, a flicker of envy crossing his face before it was gone. Carson considered moving his hand, but decided that might just tempt him to touch other places, making matters worse.
They watched for about an hour, Carson and Radek exchanging amused glances as both Rodney and John quoted bits of dialogue with the movie. All the while, John got more and more fidgety. Shortly before John and Radek were to arrive, Carson had jerked off while holding Rodney, breathing in the scent of his lover, so he was okay to wait a while yet. He did admit, though, the extra scents lingering in the enclosed room were sinking into him, becoming a vague sense of need in the back of his mind.
Carson hit pause. "I think I need to stretch and get a wee bit of tea. Can I get anyone else anything?"
Radek stood and headed toward the bathroom. "I will take tea as well."
John shifted. "Just something to take a couple pills with, Carson." He sat for a moment more, then stood and headed for the bathroom door, where he started pacing.
Rodney sighed. "I guess since I'm the only one, coffee is out of the question." He waved at Carson. "You know what I like."
Carson headed into the kitchen and puttered about, fixing tea. Rodney liked his coffee black and unsweetened, but preferred his tea almost overly sweet and with milk. Carson had always found it amusing.
While the tea steeped he began looking through the refrigerator, pulling out a single bottle that had set neglected because neither he nor Rodney wanted to claim the last one. He looked up when the bathroom door opened, intending to ask Radek how he liked his tea, but never got that far.
John's hands came up and he pushed Radek back into the bathroom and followed himself. There was a quiet 'oof' sound and then the door slid shut. Carson looked to Rodney in alarm, wondering if they should do anything. Just as he thought he might have found his voice, there was a string of low, breathless Czech from the vicinity of the bathroom and an answering moan in John's voice.
They both stood in shocked silence for several moments as the voices in the bathroom ebbed and flowed, and then the tea was done, providing Carson a distraction.
When the two men emerged from the bathroom, John's whole bearing was looser. Radek was blushing furiously and looking anywhere but at them. Carson broke the silence by handing John the bottle.
"Hey! Coke! Thanks, Carson. It's been ages."
"Hey!" Rodney protested.
"Oh. Sorry. Did you want it, Rodney?"
There was a beat, then Rodney shrugged. "It's okay. You can have it."
Carson made sure to make Rodney's tea extra sweet, just the way he liked it.
***
"I cannot believe you did that!" Radek said, rounding on John once they were far enough from Carson and Rodney's apartment. He'd spent the rest of the evening blushing so hard he thought it might be permanent.
"I'm sorry. I just needed--"
"Ne, ne, ne, ne! You do not get to excuse your behaviour like this. You are grown man! You can control your impulses."
"I didn't hear you complaining while you were coming down my throat," John answered.
There was a shocked 'eep!' and they both turned to see Stackhouse, wide-eyed, backing away, hands raised high. "Sorry. I'll just... uh... Sorry."
Radek buried his face in his hands as the Marine disappeared around a corner. "Ach Bože, tomu neveřím."
"Okay, okay. I'm sorry. I lost it. Satisfied?"
Radek jerked his head up and glared at John. "You think 'I'm sorry' will cover the awkwardness of having to work with Rodney tomorrow? We had sex in his bathroom!"
"Pretend it never happened. It's not like he's going to bring it up."
"Is this your answer to everything?"
"Look, can we not argue about this here in the hall?" John motioned to the transporter less than four metres away.
Radek gave him another look. "Fine! After you."
John stalked into the transporter and stabbed the location nearest Radek's apartment as soon as Radek followed him. They walked to Radek's apartment in silence and then stood, glaring, as the doors slid shut.
"Sorry," John said sullenly. "I'm just so fucking tired of- of... sneaking around and pretending that everything's normal and I'm not having sex every two to four hours just to feel fucking human!"
"You think I don't know this?" Radek demanded. "I do! But I also know what people will think. First, they will think we have feelings for each other. And when you leave, they will think I should be heartbroken. If I explain this is just arrangement, they will think I am taking advantage."
"You're not!"
"But how are you qualified to say, when you're so desperate? You can't. You are under the influence of this virus. You cannot truly consent."
"Are you calling yourself a rapist, Radek?" John asked, voice measured.
Radek pushed his glasses up his nose and met John's gaze, feeling his heart pound. "I suppose I am, in some ways."
John went rigid, his face white. "Goddammit, Radek, don't you ever say that again. You. Are not. A rapist. And I am not some wilting lily you've... plucked."
Radek reached out and caught John's flailing hands, stilling them. "I know. But I also know how this would look to others. I don't want to lose their respect. I'm sorry that this means you have to keep pretending. Perhaps there is someone else?"
John sighed, his eyes going distant and sad. "Not that I can have."
***
Elizabeth rubbed the back of her neck and closed the JAG reports. All the necessary personnel for a series of courts martial were already on their way to Atlantis. It would have been easier if they could have let the matter be dealt with on Earth, but too many of the important players in the drama were Pegasus natives or crucial personnel. She just had to hope this wouldn't devolve into some sort of circus.
She looked up as her door slid open and raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Ronon? What's all this?"
Ronon set the tray he was carrying down on her desk. "Late dinner for you. You shouldn't skip meals."
She gave him a wry grin. "And you're going to make sure I eat properly?"
"Someone needs to," he answered, then picked up the extra pudding cup and spoon on the tray and dug in, his grin knowing and slightly feral around his spoon.
***
Rodney awoke to Carson returning to the bed with a frustrated groan. "What?" he asked. "I thought we'd done enough before bed."
Carson curled against him, his erection pressed into Rodney's thigh. "The bathroom still smells like them."
Rodney shifted uncomfortably. "Oh." He didn't want to think about John and Radek and what they'd done in the bathroom. Didn't need to remember the low moan of John's voice, the breathless Czech, the way Radek's face blazed red, or the way John's posture was at once relaxed and slightly apologetic. He'd watched John pop a couple of painkillers and then wash them down with the bottle of Coke, head tilted back, the line of his long throat cast in relief, swallowing. Just like... God, he was getting hard just from the memory.
Carson's fingers ghosted over Rodney's belly and then slowly slid downward. He chuckled. "I take it I'm not the only one affected by his bit of almost-exhibitionism."
Rodney shuddered. "Sorry."
Carson leaned over and kissed him. "It's all right, love."
Rodney slipped his arms around Carson and pulled him close. "I'm still sorry."
"Hm," Carson said and kissed him again, and then let his hands and lips and body express his forgiveness.
***
Radek awoke to the quiet scrape of stylus on computer pad. He rolled over, noting the other side of the bed still felt vaguely warm. "John, what are you doing?"
"I had an idea."
Radek sighed and slid out of the bed, wrapping the blanket around his shoulders for warmth and headed over to the couch where John was sprawled. He picked up John's bare feet and sat down, settling them in his lap. "Show me."
"Give me a minute," John said. He worked quickly and then turned the notebook so Radek could see.
Radek scanned over the new design, the smooth flow of lines and the numbers and calculations beside it. "I am seeing some wraith influence."
"Maybe," John answered.
"It's good. Very organic, very streamlined."
John smiled. "I'm not going to get this past the SGC, am I?"
Radek shrugged. "You never know." He handed the notebook back to John. "Are you finished for now?"
"I think so."
"Good. Come back to bed. Your thinking is keeping me awake."
***
Carson sat up suddenly in bed. Rodney made a moan of protest, not really awake. Carson's heart was still beating wildly, the nightmare fresh and raw in his mind. He scrambled out of bed, ignoring Rodney's incoherent complaint, and made his way to the desk. He pulled up various records and stared at them. Small puncture on his finger. Small one on Lorne's. Even the Genii who'd also been inoculated had them. "They took blood."
"Mmmf?" Rodney asked from the bed.
"They took blood. That's why the victim's immune system rarely reacts against the virus and why it's not contagious! They use the blood to tailor the virus."
Rodney sat up, blinking. "What?"
"Each infection is different. The pathogen I carry isn't the same as the one in John or Colonel Lorne or any of the former slaves."
"Tailored so the body doesn't recognise it as anything foreign," Rodney said.
Carson nodded. "Only I don't think they know what they're doing with it, so occasionally it doesn't work."
"So, can you cure it?"
Carson sighed. "I don't know. If each pathogen is different, a cure for one might not work on another. It's like curing the common cold." He chewed on his lip. "I need to better understand what's part of the natural viral code and what's borrowed from the host. I need to map the genome-- several of the viruses' genomes from different hosts-- to find that out."
"That could take..." Rodney shook his head, obviously having no idea. "Weeks?"
"Under the best of circumstances, weeks," Carson agreed.
"Damn. I don't know if all of you have got weeks, Carson. I don't even know if I've got weeks and I'm not even infected."
He looked up and met his lover's eyes. "I know, love. I know."
Next chapter