SGA WIP: Our Own Reality. 11/?. John/Rodney.
33,651/70,000.
In this chapter: Just one scene. The mission review covers that mission.
This is set at the beginning of season 5. The fic will be John/Rodney, NC-17, and include a warning for ( skip) behavior that is technically sexual harassment (though I hope you'll understand John).
Our Own Reality 11/?
The whole touching thing hadn't completely taken off, but Rodney had made his point and he was willing to steer John in the right direction when necessary.
This meant that if John stood unnaturally far away when Rodney showed him something on his scanner, Rodney would take a step towards him and close the distance. John acknowledged it with a sheepish grin, but didn't say anything.
He also did make an effort not to put a physical distance between them.
As far as other things went, like hanging out and talking: It still felt different to Rodney sometimes, though he had a hard time qualifying the difference.
Looking at the recordings for comparison wasn't quite successful. He did notice the difference in John's behavior towards Rodney, but they had passed the three months mark in the timeline of John's experience in the machine which meant they was an obvious explanation for the way John looked at Rodney in the screen. They were either already a couple or were soon going to become one.
Rodney wasn't sure if there would be a definitive sign where he'd be able to say for sure that they were together. John didn't edit out as many things, but there had been a certain flirtatious note in their banter for a while now, specifically the mission where Rodney had been kidnapped.
So it could very well be that three months machine time would turn into four and Rodney would only be able to say that they were a couple now without saying when exactly it happened.
He did find himself curious though, watching their interactions on screen more carefully again.
Before Sheppard had come up with his crazy but apparently working plan of playing strangers, Rodney had felt far too bitter to really be interested in the relationship as it unfolded on screen between them.
Now, however, that they were in smoother waters again, the curiosity that Rodney had first felt about that relationship was back.
In those first two weeks worry over John had prevailed though and it was only now that he really started to imagine what that relationship had been like.
He hoped that he would be able to tell the difference, to see what their life as a couple had been like. At least in a professional setting.
Of course, he would love to see more than that but since John chose to cut even moments that had to be harmless, considering they sometimes took place in front of Teyla and Ronon (and more rarely even natives), Rodney didn't think there was any way he'd get to see those recordings other than downright stealing them.
And while the curiosity was killing him, he still had a sense of both self-preservation and decency. He certainly wouldn't risk the friendship that was building between them again.
So the mission reviews were all that he got and at this point in the timeline, Rodney was more eager for them than ever.
The question whether or not he'd be able to tell the difference was answered in the next mission review meeting the team held. The answer was a resounding yes.
More than that, Rodney had hoped to notice something in their behavior or just the way they looked at each other, but what he got was much more.
The mission had started out bad and quickly gotten worse. They'd been surrounded within seconds of stepping through the gate. Neither Sheppard's friendly explorers shtick nor Teyla's attempts had made any difference.
The team was disarmed, and the natives showed a keen interest in their weapons. When they asked where they'd come from, John told them about a tiny little planet of no interest to them. He also wouldn't tell them the gate address to which the leader took exception.
He signalled to the biggest of his soldiers and the sizable man came up and punched John so hard that he fell to the ground, lips bleeding.
Everyone in the meeting room, except John, winced as they watched it. John seemed almost serene considering that things looked really bad. But then he knew how it would turn out.
"You will talk," the leader said on screen, with a smile that made what he said all the more threatening.
Then they were dragged away and John was parted from the others and thrown into a cell.
"Okay, I'll just fastforward through this part," John said.
Rodney raised an eyebrow at that. They'd watched their share of things that weren't the height of excitement, but as John fastforwarded through two hours of sitting on a dirty looking cot Rodney understood. Plus, if he had the burning desire to watch it, he could still do that with his own copy.
Then the tape was returned to normal speed and soon the leader entered again, flanked by two guards.
"Colonel Sheppard, have you by any chance changed your mind about telling me the gate address of your 'little planet'?"
John pretended to think about it. "Uhm. Nope. Not really."
The leader only smiled again. "I thought so. Luckily, there is something that might motivate you. Like the lives of your team members."
John froze. "Look, there's no need to drag them into this. You don't want to go to our planet. You like our weapons? Then let's talk about trading. I'm sure we can find some common ground. How about a common enemy? I'm guessing you're no fan of the Wraith either."
"I interpret this as no." The leader turned to one of his soldiers. "Kill the first."
"No!" John said, throwing himself at the leader, put his was pushed to the ground by the guards.
"I'll be back in ten minutes. Perhaps that will give you enough time to remember."
The leader left and John was alone in the cell again.
It was hard to watch because Rodney-as would Teyla and Ronon-knew exactly what he was going through. They'd been in the situation so often, not knowing if the others were still alive and worse, not knowing if something they did or didn't do might have prevented it.
As they watched, they had the advantage of knowing that the leader wouldn't make good on his threat. But seeing John walking up and down the cell, Rodney still felt the terror that John faced right now.
He tried to rattle on the cot, which was bolted to the ground and wall, but it didn't budge at all. It seemed like a lot less than ten minutes when the leader was back.
"He put up quite a fight," the leader said.
"You're lying!" John said.
"If you choose to believe that," the leader said with a smile. "I'd show you his remains, but there isn't much left of what makes him recognizable."
John took a step towards him and the guards stepped immediately between them, holding John's arms. "Why would I tell you anything after what you just did?"
"I had hoped you'd want me not to do the same to your other friends. And it would be a shame. She's so beautiful."
"Touch her and die," John ground out.
"If you wish," the leader said, turning around.
John began to struggle, still held by the guards and the leader turned around to him again.
"When I come back I expect you to answer. I am a man of my word. If you tell me what I want to hear, you and your friend will be allowed to leave unharmed."
John snorted bitterly.
The leader turned and left, the guards going with him.
John started pacing again. As Rodney watched it on screen, he managed to think beyond John's immediate situation for a moment. He knew that the others weren't going to be killed. Would they storm in and rescue John? Had Woolsey sent another after they missed their check-in?
The leader came back on screen. "Beautiful," he said with a dreamy look on his face. "What a shame."
John's face was stone-cold and Rodney expected him to attack again, futile as it was, but instead he suddenly dropped to his knees, put his hands on his face and cried dramatically, "God, no!"
Teyla's eyebrow rose as she turned from the screen to the others. Ronon smirked. Rodney's eyes just widened a bit.
Then one of the guards was sent to pull John to his feet and Rodney could see their mistake a split second before John managed to pull the guard's uniform jacket aside and grab his gun.
He shot the other guard, decked the now unarmed one until he lay on the ground and had his arm around the leader's throat and the gun to his head before the other guards could even come close.
"Now if you don't want your leader's brain decorating the floor, I suggest you drop the weapons. Now."
The leader gave a minute nod and his soldiers dropped their weapons.
"Now get in there," John said, nodding towards the cell. "Keep your hands where I can see them."
He slowly moved out of the door with the leader tightly in his grip. The soldiers filed into the cell, leaving the key outside as per John's instructions.
Once they were inside, John checked the leader for any weapons on his body and locked the guards in the cell.
"Now take me to my team."
"You really don't want to see it," the leader said, looking quite unconcerned despite having a gun to his head.
"I will not leave without my team. You can either help me or not. But it should be obvious to you that if you do not want to help me, you're useless to me. Do we understand each other?" John underlined his point by pressing the gun a bit more into the leader's neck.
The leader seemed to lose a bit of his cool. "This way," he said, nodding down the hall.
They ended up in front of a cell and John managed to open it with the key chain he'd kept from before. Inside he found Ronon, alive and well.
Ronon stared at him wide eyed. Then rushed towards him and punched the leader in the face, knocking him out cold.
"Hey! I was hoping he'd-" John stopped as Ronon pulled him into a bear hug. "Okay. Breathing would be good," he eventually managed to bring out.
Ronon let him go. "He told me you're dead. You and the others."
"That sounds familiar. Let's go get the others, before they notice what happened."
They looked at each for a moment, and Rodney could see the unspoken question: 'Do you really think the others are alive too?'
John turned on screen, and they left, locking up the cell before continuing down the hall.
"Let's hope this is the right way," John said. They came up to another cell. John opened it and after another shared look between him and Ronon, they entered.
Inside they found Teyla, also alive and well, though visibly upset. Though it soon turned into relief.
"John, Ronon," she said, coming closer.
"Yeah, I know. They told us you were dead too," John said.
Ronon put an arm around her and squeezed her for a moment.
"Rodney?" she asked, still looking slightly anxious.
"I'm sure he's okay," John said, though he dropped his gaze, not looking at either her or Ronon.
Rodney had nearly forgotten about his virtual counterpart, so caught up was he with what was happening on screen. Now though he began to wonder how virtual Rodney had fared in the situation.
The team minus Rodney went along the hall, rounding a corner before immediately stepping back again, since there were two guards.
They backed away a bit further and John signed for them to draw the guards away and take care of them. He handed his weapon to Teyla.
Teyla and Ronon nodded. Ronon then disappeared around the corner, shouting, before coming back out, moving the other way. John saw Ronon take care of the first guard following and Teyla coming behind the second one.
He didn't wait for them to finish, instead immediately ran towards the door in the hall.
Rodney expected to see John enter and quickly get his counterpart out, but instead he hesitated in front of the door, leaning a bit towards it and closing his eyes.
He wasn't sure if virtual Rodney was alive, Rodney realized, and as John took a deep breath on screen, Rodney found himself doing the same.
He loves him, Rodney remembered then and knew that within the next seconds he'd know whether they were together or not.
John opened the door and ... came out with Rodney a second later.
Rodney blinked. Teyla and Ronon turned to each other.
John, who'd concentrated on the screen for most of the mission review, looked at them, quickly, before dropping his gaze.
On screen the team went on to fight their way to the gate, but Rodney wasn't paying attention any longer.
Of course. They were at the three months mark. And the look on John's face. The fear of losing Rodney. He could easily imagine John going in and being unable to hide what he felt. Virtual Rodney had to have noticed and this must have led from one thing to another.
Rodney tried to pay attention again at the screen, and indeed, even through their making their way out of the compound, they couldn't keep their eyes from each other. And god. John was looking at his lips. His slightly more red than usual lips.
They'd kissed. That had probably been their first kiss. Heat of the moment, thank god you're not dead, I don't care about the consequences kiss. Wow.
The team finally made it through the gate, John and Rodney exchanging one last look full of promise and desire and love, and then the tape stopped.
Teyla looked between John and Rodney, then quickly got up. "Thank you very much for sharing this with us," she said.
Then she gave Ronon a pointed look and the two of them left John and Rodney alone.
Rodney didn't know what to say. He was still pretty much floored by being able to see this. Or not as the case was, but in this case the surrounding part of the hole left a shape that left little to the imagination.
Or much, if you wanted to look at it differently. Rodney found his imagination running wild for sure.
"I, uh. Thank you," he mumbled, unable to say anything else.
John only nodded weakly.
Rodney hesitated for another moment. Then he fled.
He went straight to his room this time, starting up his notebook and looking for the files that John tended to upload right before their meetings, so that they were available when they left.
Rodney started it up and immediately skipped to the cut.
Seventy seconds.
Rodney re-watched the moments surrounding the cut, John's look and the shared looks between them as they escaped. He felt his pulse quicken watching it, even with its central part removed.
He could imagine what must have happened. He could conjure up an image in his mind, but it wasn't enough. He needed to know what had happened between them.
He needed to know what had been so life changing that John couldn't ever forget it. He needed to know the relationship the meant so much to John that he'd given up parts of their friendship for it.
He needed to know, not just this kiss, but what it had meant to them.
In this chapter: Just one scene. The mission review covers that mission.
This is set at the beginning of season 5. The fic will be John/Rodney, NC-17, and include a warning for ( skip) behavior that is technically sexual harassment (though I hope you'll understand John).
Our Own Reality 11/?
The whole touching thing hadn't completely taken off, but Rodney had made his point and he was willing to steer John in the right direction when necessary.
This meant that if John stood unnaturally far away when Rodney showed him something on his scanner, Rodney would take a step towards him and close the distance. John acknowledged it with a sheepish grin, but didn't say anything.
He also did make an effort not to put a physical distance between them.
As far as other things went, like hanging out and talking: It still felt different to Rodney sometimes, though he had a hard time qualifying the difference.
Looking at the recordings for comparison wasn't quite successful. He did notice the difference in John's behavior towards Rodney, but they had passed the three months mark in the timeline of John's experience in the machine which meant they was an obvious explanation for the way John looked at Rodney in the screen. They were either already a couple or were soon going to become one.
Rodney wasn't sure if there would be a definitive sign where he'd be able to say for sure that they were together. John didn't edit out as many things, but there had been a certain flirtatious note in their banter for a while now, specifically the mission where Rodney had been kidnapped.
So it could very well be that three months machine time would turn into four and Rodney would only be able to say that they were a couple now without saying when exactly it happened.
He did find himself curious though, watching their interactions on screen more carefully again.
Before Sheppard had come up with his crazy but apparently working plan of playing strangers, Rodney had felt far too bitter to really be interested in the relationship as it unfolded on screen between them.
Now, however, that they were in smoother waters again, the curiosity that Rodney had first felt about that relationship was back.
In those first two weeks worry over John had prevailed though and it was only now that he really started to imagine what that relationship had been like.
He hoped that he would be able to tell the difference, to see what their life as a couple had been like. At least in a professional setting.
Of course, he would love to see more than that but since John chose to cut even moments that had to be harmless, considering they sometimes took place in front of Teyla and Ronon (and more rarely even natives), Rodney didn't think there was any way he'd get to see those recordings other than downright stealing them.
And while the curiosity was killing him, he still had a sense of both self-preservation and decency. He certainly wouldn't risk the friendship that was building between them again.
So the mission reviews were all that he got and at this point in the timeline, Rodney was more eager for them than ever.
The question whether or not he'd be able to tell the difference was answered in the next mission review meeting the team held. The answer was a resounding yes.
More than that, Rodney had hoped to notice something in their behavior or just the way they looked at each other, but what he got was much more.
The mission had started out bad and quickly gotten worse. They'd been surrounded within seconds of stepping through the gate. Neither Sheppard's friendly explorers shtick nor Teyla's attempts had made any difference.
The team was disarmed, and the natives showed a keen interest in their weapons. When they asked where they'd come from, John told them about a tiny little planet of no interest to them. He also wouldn't tell them the gate address to which the leader took exception.
He signalled to the biggest of his soldiers and the sizable man came up and punched John so hard that he fell to the ground, lips bleeding.
Everyone in the meeting room, except John, winced as they watched it. John seemed almost serene considering that things looked really bad. But then he knew how it would turn out.
"You will talk," the leader said on screen, with a smile that made what he said all the more threatening.
Then they were dragged away and John was parted from the others and thrown into a cell.
"Okay, I'll just fastforward through this part," John said.
Rodney raised an eyebrow at that. They'd watched their share of things that weren't the height of excitement, but as John fastforwarded through two hours of sitting on a dirty looking cot Rodney understood. Plus, if he had the burning desire to watch it, he could still do that with his own copy.
Then the tape was returned to normal speed and soon the leader entered again, flanked by two guards.
"Colonel Sheppard, have you by any chance changed your mind about telling me the gate address of your 'little planet'?"
John pretended to think about it. "Uhm. Nope. Not really."
The leader only smiled again. "I thought so. Luckily, there is something that might motivate you. Like the lives of your team members."
John froze. "Look, there's no need to drag them into this. You don't want to go to our planet. You like our weapons? Then let's talk about trading. I'm sure we can find some common ground. How about a common enemy? I'm guessing you're no fan of the Wraith either."
"I interpret this as no." The leader turned to one of his soldiers. "Kill the first."
"No!" John said, throwing himself at the leader, put his was pushed to the ground by the guards.
"I'll be back in ten minutes. Perhaps that will give you enough time to remember."
The leader left and John was alone in the cell again.
It was hard to watch because Rodney-as would Teyla and Ronon-knew exactly what he was going through. They'd been in the situation so often, not knowing if the others were still alive and worse, not knowing if something they did or didn't do might have prevented it.
As they watched, they had the advantage of knowing that the leader wouldn't make good on his threat. But seeing John walking up and down the cell, Rodney still felt the terror that John faced right now.
He tried to rattle on the cot, which was bolted to the ground and wall, but it didn't budge at all. It seemed like a lot less than ten minutes when the leader was back.
"He put up quite a fight," the leader said.
"You're lying!" John said.
"If you choose to believe that," the leader said with a smile. "I'd show you his remains, but there isn't much left of what makes him recognizable."
John took a step towards him and the guards stepped immediately between them, holding John's arms. "Why would I tell you anything after what you just did?"
"I had hoped you'd want me not to do the same to your other friends. And it would be a shame. She's so beautiful."
"Touch her and die," John ground out.
"If you wish," the leader said, turning around.
John began to struggle, still held by the guards and the leader turned around to him again.
"When I come back I expect you to answer. I am a man of my word. If you tell me what I want to hear, you and your friend will be allowed to leave unharmed."
John snorted bitterly.
The leader turned and left, the guards going with him.
John started pacing again. As Rodney watched it on screen, he managed to think beyond John's immediate situation for a moment. He knew that the others weren't going to be killed. Would they storm in and rescue John? Had Woolsey sent another after they missed their check-in?
The leader came back on screen. "Beautiful," he said with a dreamy look on his face. "What a shame."
John's face was stone-cold and Rodney expected him to attack again, futile as it was, but instead he suddenly dropped to his knees, put his hands on his face and cried dramatically, "God, no!"
Teyla's eyebrow rose as she turned from the screen to the others. Ronon smirked. Rodney's eyes just widened a bit.
Then one of the guards was sent to pull John to his feet and Rodney could see their mistake a split second before John managed to pull the guard's uniform jacket aside and grab his gun.
He shot the other guard, decked the now unarmed one until he lay on the ground and had his arm around the leader's throat and the gun to his head before the other guards could even come close.
"Now if you don't want your leader's brain decorating the floor, I suggest you drop the weapons. Now."
The leader gave a minute nod and his soldiers dropped their weapons.
"Now get in there," John said, nodding towards the cell. "Keep your hands where I can see them."
He slowly moved out of the door with the leader tightly in his grip. The soldiers filed into the cell, leaving the key outside as per John's instructions.
Once they were inside, John checked the leader for any weapons on his body and locked the guards in the cell.
"Now take me to my team."
"You really don't want to see it," the leader said, looking quite unconcerned despite having a gun to his head.
"I will not leave without my team. You can either help me or not. But it should be obvious to you that if you do not want to help me, you're useless to me. Do we understand each other?" John underlined his point by pressing the gun a bit more into the leader's neck.
The leader seemed to lose a bit of his cool. "This way," he said, nodding down the hall.
They ended up in front of a cell and John managed to open it with the key chain he'd kept from before. Inside he found Ronon, alive and well.
Ronon stared at him wide eyed. Then rushed towards him and punched the leader in the face, knocking him out cold.
"Hey! I was hoping he'd-" John stopped as Ronon pulled him into a bear hug. "Okay. Breathing would be good," he eventually managed to bring out.
Ronon let him go. "He told me you're dead. You and the others."
"That sounds familiar. Let's go get the others, before they notice what happened."
They looked at each for a moment, and Rodney could see the unspoken question: 'Do you really think the others are alive too?'
John turned on screen, and they left, locking up the cell before continuing down the hall.
"Let's hope this is the right way," John said. They came up to another cell. John opened it and after another shared look between him and Ronon, they entered.
Inside they found Teyla, also alive and well, though visibly upset. Though it soon turned into relief.
"John, Ronon," she said, coming closer.
"Yeah, I know. They told us you were dead too," John said.
Ronon put an arm around her and squeezed her for a moment.
"Rodney?" she asked, still looking slightly anxious.
"I'm sure he's okay," John said, though he dropped his gaze, not looking at either her or Ronon.
Rodney had nearly forgotten about his virtual counterpart, so caught up was he with what was happening on screen. Now though he began to wonder how virtual Rodney had fared in the situation.
The team minus Rodney went along the hall, rounding a corner before immediately stepping back again, since there were two guards.
They backed away a bit further and John signed for them to draw the guards away and take care of them. He handed his weapon to Teyla.
Teyla and Ronon nodded. Ronon then disappeared around the corner, shouting, before coming back out, moving the other way. John saw Ronon take care of the first guard following and Teyla coming behind the second one.
He didn't wait for them to finish, instead immediately ran towards the door in the hall.
Rodney expected to see John enter and quickly get his counterpart out, but instead he hesitated in front of the door, leaning a bit towards it and closing his eyes.
He wasn't sure if virtual Rodney was alive, Rodney realized, and as John took a deep breath on screen, Rodney found himself doing the same.
He loves him, Rodney remembered then and knew that within the next seconds he'd know whether they were together or not.
John opened the door and ... came out with Rodney a second later.
Rodney blinked. Teyla and Ronon turned to each other.
John, who'd concentrated on the screen for most of the mission review, looked at them, quickly, before dropping his gaze.
On screen the team went on to fight their way to the gate, but Rodney wasn't paying attention any longer.
Of course. They were at the three months mark. And the look on John's face. The fear of losing Rodney. He could easily imagine John going in and being unable to hide what he felt. Virtual Rodney had to have noticed and this must have led from one thing to another.
Rodney tried to pay attention again at the screen, and indeed, even through their making their way out of the compound, they couldn't keep their eyes from each other. And god. John was looking at his lips. His slightly more red than usual lips.
They'd kissed. That had probably been their first kiss. Heat of the moment, thank god you're not dead, I don't care about the consequences kiss. Wow.
The team finally made it through the gate, John and Rodney exchanging one last look full of promise and desire and love, and then the tape stopped.
Teyla looked between John and Rodney, then quickly got up. "Thank you very much for sharing this with us," she said.
Then she gave Ronon a pointed look and the two of them left John and Rodney alone.
Rodney didn't know what to say. He was still pretty much floored by being able to see this. Or not as the case was, but in this case the surrounding part of the hole left a shape that left little to the imagination.
Or much, if you wanted to look at it differently. Rodney found his imagination running wild for sure.
"I, uh. Thank you," he mumbled, unable to say anything else.
John only nodded weakly.
Rodney hesitated for another moment. Then he fled.
He went straight to his room this time, starting up his notebook and looking for the files that John tended to upload right before their meetings, so that they were available when they left.
Rodney started it up and immediately skipped to the cut.
Seventy seconds.
Rodney re-watched the moments surrounding the cut, John's look and the shared looks between them as they escaped. He felt his pulse quicken watching it, even with its central part removed.
He could imagine what must have happened. He could conjure up an image in his mind, but it wasn't enough. He needed to know what had happened between them.
He needed to know what had been so life changing that John couldn't ever forget it. He needed to know the relationship the meant so much to John that he'd given up parts of their friendship for it.
He needed to know, not just this kiss, but what it had meant to them.