SGA Fic: Ways John Sheppard Can Improve. John/Rodney. Light R.
Happy birthday, mezzo_cammin!
Title: Ways John Sheppard Can Improve
Author:
velocitygrass
Pairing: John Sheppard/Rodney McKay, mention of Ronon/Amelia
Rating: light R for brief mention of sex
Warnings/Content notes: ( skip) Teasing between Rodney and Ronon that could be considered mean (let's just say I consider Rodney and Jeannie's relationship perfectly normal sibling behavior; YMMV)
Spoilers: through 5x20
Word count: 2834
Summary: "What would you have me change, Rodney?" he asked, making it a challenge because this whole discussion left him a bit frustrated but also curious.
Prompt: "John, Rodney, of course. How about...broken New Year's resolution(s)?" by mezzo_cammin
Ways John Sheppard Can Improve
"I resolve not to put up with idiots any longer," Rodney said darkly.
John snorted loudly.
Rodney turned to glare at him. "What?"
"I believe that is a very wise resolution," Teyla said, and John could only admire how she was able to keep a straight face.
Ronon's eyes just became very big for a moment before he turned to Teyla and John. John smiled at him, trying to convey, "I'm right there with you."
"I resolve to visit the Athosians more often with Torren," she said.
John nodded understandingly. Their unvoluntarily long stay on Earth had reminded her of how much her people meant to her and how much she missed them even if she considered Atlantis her home now.
"I'll try to stop snoring," Ronon said.
They all looked at him.
"Amelia mentioned it," he clarified.
John didn't really want to know anything more, but Rodney was positively angry, grousing, "Oh, rub it in, will you!"
John exchanged a look with Teyla. After Keller's father had had a heart attack, she had chosen to stay on Earth with him, leading to their break-up. It was still a sore spot for Rodney.
"Maybe I should resolve not to put up with you any longer," Ronon said, challenge in his voice.
"Is that a threat?" Rodney asked.
"Hey, guys. We're a team. No fighting. Except for fun," John intervened.
"It would be fun," Ronon said with a grin towards Rodney.
Rodney glared at him.
"Ronon," Teyla chided gently.
Ronon leaned over to put an arm around Rodney, making him look alarmed for a second. "Don't worry, McKay. You'll find someone again," Ronon said generously.
There was a little stab in John's chest, but he dismissed it, knowing it was horrible of him to be happy that Rodney was alone again.
"We'll see about that," Rodney said, freeing himself from Ronon's arm. "What about you, Sheppard?"
John was alarmed for a second, thinking Rodney wanted to know how his love life was going, when Teyla helpfully said, "What is your New Year's resolution, John?"
Oh, that. John relaxed back into his seat, putting an arm on the back. "Nothing," he said easily.
Rodney eyed him critically. "Oh, of course. Colonel Perfect here doesn't need to change," he said sarcastically.
"Thanks for agreeing, McKay," John said with a grin.
Rodney huffed.
"There is nothing you would want to change about your life?" Teyla asked seriously.
"There's plenty. But I can't resolve to have the Wraith become vegetarians all of sudden."
"And there is nothing about the way you approach life that you think could use improvement?" she pressed on, for some reason looking towards Rodney for a moment.
John sat up straight. He chose to believe that she didn't actually know how much bringing Rodney into this hit its mark. He certainly wished he had more control over his feelings for Rodney, but the truth was resolving to get over Rodney wasn't going to work. He knew because he'd tried-more than once.
"There're just things I'm not gonna change this late in life," he said with a shrug.
Teyla looked like she wanted to talk more about this but thankfully let it go.
Rodney wasn't so kind though. "Giving up? That's not like you, Colonel."
"What would you have me change, Rodney?" he asked, making it a challenge because this whole discussion left him a bit frustrated but also curious.
Rodney looked surprised, then narrowed his eyes on John, thinking.
Ronon and Teyla exchanged an amused look, and John just waited for Rodney to rattle off a long list of Ways John Sheppard Can Improve, probably sorted by most pressing to relatively minor but still annoying.
Finally, Rodney straightened. They all looked at him expectantly. "Okay, fine. Don't change a thing," Rodney said quickly, picking up a few leftover crumbs of the muffin that had been dessert.
John's mouth opened but no sound came out. He looked over to Teyla and Ronon, who looked equally surprised.
"I need to work," Rodney said and was out of his chair and gone without looking back.
Ronon's and Teyla's eyes went to John.
"What?" he asked. He had no idea what had just happened either.
"I believe Rodney just said that he would not want to change anything about you," Teyla said.
"Maybe he doesn't know where to begin," John said, looking at where Rodney had disappeared.
"Maybe he's too blind to see what's wrong with you," Ronon said.
"Hey!" John said.
"Do you want me to tell you? Cause I can," Ronon continued smiling.
John just glared at him. Then he got up. "I'll go ..." He gestured towards the door after Rodney.
~~
He found Rodney in his "Don't disturb me until people are about to die" lab.
"Busy?" John asked when Rodney didn't look up from the screen.
There was a moment of silence, then Rodney took a deep breath and turned around in his chair. "What can I do for you, Colonel?" he asked.
John was tempted to say, "Don't call me Colonel," but he wanted to get to the bottom of Rodney's general mood lately and his surprising answer earlier. "What's up?" he asked.
"I'm running some simulations. The power distributor has been acting up lately. It's not a problem yet, but I wanted to look into it before it becomes one."
"That's not what I meant," John said.
"Look, I'm busy here, so if that was all ..." Rodney said, not waiting for an answer and turning back to the screen.
"I tend to do all my reports in the last minute," John said, because this was probably the number one wish that his superiors had for a change of behavior.
Rodney turned back around. "As if I care," he said.
"I accept Lorne's offer to take over paperwork when it annoys me." John did feel guilty about this sometimes.
"Well, it's his fault if he offers. Why does Radek never offer to take over paperwork?" Rodney said, mostly to himself.
"I hardly answer my brother's mails even though he keeps writing," John said. Now that he thought about it, there were quite a few things that he wished he'd do differently.
"You're talking to the person who didn't contact his sister for years because she married a good man out of love," Rodney said. "Don't tell Kaleb I called him a good man. Or Jeannie," he added as an afterthought.
"I've seen my nieces once," John continued.
"I've seen my niece three times and none of those were strictly voluntarily. You really suck at this," Rodney said.
"Ronon just offered to tell me all that was wrong with me," John said.
"And I bet all of it involves you not being a brute of a man like he is. I don't need you to be fitter or stronger," Rodney said.
John was aware that Rodney had just used the words "I" and "need" and "you" in a sentence, and he had a feeling that they were getting somewhere even if he didn't want to speculate about where they'd end up. "What do you need?"
Rodney dropped his gaze. "Nothing. I already told you."
"What about the times you call me an idiot?"
"Those mostly involve one of your wild plans and as much as it pains me to admit it, they tend to work. And the other times ..." Rodney trailed off, but then looked at John. "If I never had to see you go on a suicide mission again, I'd be a happy man, but I can't ask you not to because I know you only do it when you have no choice."
Rodney looked so vulnerable that John wanted to hug him. Not that he would. Which really ... "I can't express my feelings very well," he admitted.
Rodney snorted. "Try at all. Though I should say voluntarily. You might not be aware of it, but it's pretty damn obvious that you care. About Teyla and Ronon and ..."
"You," John finished.
"Yes, me," he said, not looking at John.
"Is that a problem?" John asked, because Rodney didn't look happy about it.
Rodney looked up. "No, why would it be? Honestly, I'd feel .... Well, it wouldn't feel good if you didn't care about me as much as the others."
John still didn't know what was bothering Rodney. And something was definitely wrong. Ever since they'd returned from Earth, Rodney had been different. At first, he'd thought it was just Keller, but while Rodney was a bit more pissy at everyone, he was weird with John in a different way. There seemed to be something specific to John that had changed.
"Did I do or not do something?" John asked.
"No," Rodney said, but he didn't look at John, and he hesitated enough to tell John that he was on the right track.
"The first or the latter?" he pressed on.
"It's nothing you can change," Rodney said, carefully facing him again.
"If it's something I've done I could try not to do it again. If it's something I haven't done ..." John didn't finish, trusting Rodney would get the idea.
"It's my problem not yours," Rodney said. "This really should be something I resolve to deal with."
"Why?" John asked, honestly puzzled. It was unlike Rodney to let others' behavior slide like that. And he couldn't imagine what could bother Rodney about John suddenly after five years.
"Look, I really should check the power relay, and I'm sure you have things to do, reports to finish early," Rodney said, adding the last with half a smirk that didn't reach his eyes.
"I can't try to help if you won't tell me what's wrong," John said, completely ignoring Rodney's obvious attempt at distraction.
"You can't help. I appreciate that you want to but it's as if I asked you to get Jennifer back, to make her care more about me than her father."
John was taken aback by that. He literally took a step back. He hadn't expected that. He would have sworn this was about him. And it had been about him just a moment ago. John had no idea why Rodney made it about Keller now. "Did I ... do you think I should have been more supportive of you when she ... left? I know I'm not very good at, you know, comforting, but if you needed more, if you need more, I can try. I ... Do you want a ... hug?" John asked, because that was the only thing he could think of.
Rodney started laughing. It wasn't a particularly happy sound though. He stopped, looking up at John. "Yeah, okay. Let's have a hug," he said, though he sounded resigned, almost bitter.
John was still willing to give him what he asked for. It was all he could go by, and even if he felt incredibly awkward about hugs-and doubly so about hugging Rodney given his feelings for him-he was willing to do it for Rodney. He walked closer to Rodney's desk.
Rodney got up and stepped forward until he was facing John, standing closer than John could remember.
"Uhm, so," John said and stiffly lifted his arms. God, he was really bad at this.
Rodney moved forward and wrapped his arms around John without hesitation. John slowly lowered his hands until they lay very lightly on Rodney's back. Rodney's head was pressed close to his, and John tried not to think about how easy it would be to turn his face and ...
John could feel Rodney squeeze him tightly for a moment before he withdrew, face turned away.
"Rodney?" John asked, not letting go and actually putting his arms around him more firmly for a second in order to keep Rodney from moving away.
"Thank you," Rodney said, but still didn't look at John.
John knew that he was close to figuring this out. He could feel it. "What do you need?" he asked.
Rodney closed his eyes, but didn't say anything.
John leaned forward until his forehead rested against Rodney's temple. "I want to help," he whispered.
"I'm sorry," Rodney whispered back, then turned his face and kissed John.
John was too stunned to react for a moment. Before he could return the kiss, Rodney stopped and moved away. John was too shaken to hold him in place. Rodney had kissed him. Rodney had kissed him and looked completely miserable about it, and John didn't understand a thing.
Keller had left him, and Rodney had been obviously upset about it. And now he'd kissed John. It made no sense. "What about ... Jennifer?" John asked.
"She asked me to stay with her," Rodney said, gazing at a far away place. "She asked me to marry her. She asked me to have a life with her on Earth."
That didn't answer John's question in any way.
"But I couldn't," Rodney continued. "I couldn't leave," his eyes focused back on John, "you."
"You left her because you couldn't leave me?" John asked. It was so hard to imagine.
But Rodney said, "Yes."
"You left her for me?" John asked again, because he still couldn't wrap his mind around this, after a year in which Rodney's growing relationship with Jennifer had been a constant source of misery in his life.
Rodney snorted unhappily. "That would require you to be receptive to the idea, which you obviously aren't."
John blinked. Rodney thought that he didn't- "I am," he said.
Rodney frowned.
"Rodney, I've always- I am," John repeated moving closer to Rodney again until they were face to face. "I just didn't think you felt the same. What with you dating one woman after another."
"It was two," Rodney pointed out, looking at John as if he didn't quite believe him.
"It was enough to make me believe you weren't interested in me and would never be," John said.
"But you are," Rodney said.
"I've been for a long time," John said, moving even closer until their lips were only inches apart.
Rodney looked at him, gaze wandering all over John's face. "I had no idea until Jennifer asked me to leave you."
"That's okay. I forgive you," John said with a smile, closing the distance between them.
The kiss was slow and careful, as if both of them were afraid that hasty movements would make it all disappear. Their lips moved minutely against each other and their mouths opened up a bit, allowing them to breathe each other.
John moved a hand into Rodney's hair, angled his head and deepened the kiss. He still couldn't quite believe that this was happening, but Rodney's movement against his lips, the way his hands ran up and down his back and the way he sounded slightly out of breath told him again and again that it was happening.
They moved until Rodney was leaning against the desk and John was pressed against him. One of Rodney's hands found its way beneath John's shirt, and John shuddered at the feeling of Rodney touching his skin like that. The kiss was definitely neither slow nor careful now. Rodney was panting, his mouth opening up even more, letting John in.
John moved his tongue into Rodney's mouth, thrusting against him not just with his tongue but also his groin, feeling their dicks harden against each other.
Suddenly Rodney pulled away. "We need to move this," he said between heavy breaths. "To a place with a bed."
John nodded in agreement. He couldn't bring himself to let go however. Rodney seemed to feel the same because he moved forward to kiss John again.
They made out like that, John moving forward more and more until he had Rodney bent almost far enough to lie on his desk. "Okay, we really need a bed. My back's killing me," Rodney said, gently pushing John up.
John stepped away, pulling Rodney with him. "Sorry," he said, giving him a quick kiss in apology.
"I forgive you," Rodney said with a smile, running a hand down John's arm. "Your room or mine?" he asked, clasping their hands together.
~~
A week later, John walked down the hall, humming to himself. He could still feel all the places Rodney had touched him last night, his breath on the back of John's neck when he'd fucked John, the whispered words later as they'd lain together.
Life was good.
"What the hell is up with McKay?" he heard someone in a lab he passed.
"I don't know, but I hope it won't stop. He's almost human," the answer came promptly.
John walked on, smiling to himself. Rodney was much more relaxed these days. John fondly remembered how he'd left Rodney completely boneless two nights ago, after a spectacular, jaw-aching blow job.
He was really sure that it wouldn't stop anytime soon. And if it meant that Rodney couldn't keep his New Year's resolution, he didn't think either of them cared.
John was right on track with keeping his. He wouldn't change anything for the world.
Title: Ways John Sheppard Can Improve
Author:
velocitygrass
Pairing: John Sheppard/Rodney McKay, mention of Ronon/Amelia
Rating: light R for brief mention of sex
Warnings/Content notes: ( skip) Teasing between Rodney and Ronon that could be considered mean (let's just say I consider Rodney and Jeannie's relationship perfectly normal sibling behavior; YMMV)
Spoilers: through 5x20
Word count: 2834
Summary: "What would you have me change, Rodney?" he asked, making it a challenge because this whole discussion left him a bit frustrated but also curious.
Prompt: "John, Rodney, of course. How about...broken New Year's resolution(s)?" by mezzo_cammin
Ways John Sheppard Can Improve
"I resolve not to put up with idiots any longer," Rodney said darkly.
John snorted loudly.
Rodney turned to glare at him. "What?"
"I believe that is a very wise resolution," Teyla said, and John could only admire how she was able to keep a straight face.
Ronon's eyes just became very big for a moment before he turned to Teyla and John. John smiled at him, trying to convey, "I'm right there with you."
"I resolve to visit the Athosians more often with Torren," she said.
John nodded understandingly. Their unvoluntarily long stay on Earth had reminded her of how much her people meant to her and how much she missed them even if she considered Atlantis her home now.
"I'll try to stop snoring," Ronon said.
They all looked at him.
"Amelia mentioned it," he clarified.
John didn't really want to know anything more, but Rodney was positively angry, grousing, "Oh, rub it in, will you!"
John exchanged a look with Teyla. After Keller's father had had a heart attack, she had chosen to stay on Earth with him, leading to their break-up. It was still a sore spot for Rodney.
"Maybe I should resolve not to put up with you any longer," Ronon said, challenge in his voice.
"Is that a threat?" Rodney asked.
"Hey, guys. We're a team. No fighting. Except for fun," John intervened.
"It would be fun," Ronon said with a grin towards Rodney.
Rodney glared at him.
"Ronon," Teyla chided gently.
Ronon leaned over to put an arm around Rodney, making him look alarmed for a second. "Don't worry, McKay. You'll find someone again," Ronon said generously.
There was a little stab in John's chest, but he dismissed it, knowing it was horrible of him to be happy that Rodney was alone again.
"We'll see about that," Rodney said, freeing himself from Ronon's arm. "What about you, Sheppard?"
John was alarmed for a second, thinking Rodney wanted to know how his love life was going, when Teyla helpfully said, "What is your New Year's resolution, John?"
Oh, that. John relaxed back into his seat, putting an arm on the back. "Nothing," he said easily.
Rodney eyed him critically. "Oh, of course. Colonel Perfect here doesn't need to change," he said sarcastically.
"Thanks for agreeing, McKay," John said with a grin.
Rodney huffed.
"There is nothing you would want to change about your life?" Teyla asked seriously.
"There's plenty. But I can't resolve to have the Wraith become vegetarians all of sudden."
"And there is nothing about the way you approach life that you think could use improvement?" she pressed on, for some reason looking towards Rodney for a moment.
John sat up straight. He chose to believe that she didn't actually know how much bringing Rodney into this hit its mark. He certainly wished he had more control over his feelings for Rodney, but the truth was resolving to get over Rodney wasn't going to work. He knew because he'd tried-more than once.
"There're just things I'm not gonna change this late in life," he said with a shrug.
Teyla looked like she wanted to talk more about this but thankfully let it go.
Rodney wasn't so kind though. "Giving up? That's not like you, Colonel."
"What would you have me change, Rodney?" he asked, making it a challenge because this whole discussion left him a bit frustrated but also curious.
Rodney looked surprised, then narrowed his eyes on John, thinking.
Ronon and Teyla exchanged an amused look, and John just waited for Rodney to rattle off a long list of Ways John Sheppard Can Improve, probably sorted by most pressing to relatively minor but still annoying.
Finally, Rodney straightened. They all looked at him expectantly. "Okay, fine. Don't change a thing," Rodney said quickly, picking up a few leftover crumbs of the muffin that had been dessert.
John's mouth opened but no sound came out. He looked over to Teyla and Ronon, who looked equally surprised.
"I need to work," Rodney said and was out of his chair and gone without looking back.
Ronon's and Teyla's eyes went to John.
"What?" he asked. He had no idea what had just happened either.
"I believe Rodney just said that he would not want to change anything about you," Teyla said.
"Maybe he doesn't know where to begin," John said, looking at where Rodney had disappeared.
"Maybe he's too blind to see what's wrong with you," Ronon said.
"Hey!" John said.
"Do you want me to tell you? Cause I can," Ronon continued smiling.
John just glared at him. Then he got up. "I'll go ..." He gestured towards the door after Rodney.
~~
He found Rodney in his "Don't disturb me until people are about to die" lab.
"Busy?" John asked when Rodney didn't look up from the screen.
There was a moment of silence, then Rodney took a deep breath and turned around in his chair. "What can I do for you, Colonel?" he asked.
John was tempted to say, "Don't call me Colonel," but he wanted to get to the bottom of Rodney's general mood lately and his surprising answer earlier. "What's up?" he asked.
"I'm running some simulations. The power distributor has been acting up lately. It's not a problem yet, but I wanted to look into it before it becomes one."
"That's not what I meant," John said.
"Look, I'm busy here, so if that was all ..." Rodney said, not waiting for an answer and turning back to the screen.
"I tend to do all my reports in the last minute," John said, because this was probably the number one wish that his superiors had for a change of behavior.
Rodney turned back around. "As if I care," he said.
"I accept Lorne's offer to take over paperwork when it annoys me." John did feel guilty about this sometimes.
"Well, it's his fault if he offers. Why does Radek never offer to take over paperwork?" Rodney said, mostly to himself.
"I hardly answer my brother's mails even though he keeps writing," John said. Now that he thought about it, there were quite a few things that he wished he'd do differently.
"You're talking to the person who didn't contact his sister for years because she married a good man out of love," Rodney said. "Don't tell Kaleb I called him a good man. Or Jeannie," he added as an afterthought.
"I've seen my nieces once," John continued.
"I've seen my niece three times and none of those were strictly voluntarily. You really suck at this," Rodney said.
"Ronon just offered to tell me all that was wrong with me," John said.
"And I bet all of it involves you not being a brute of a man like he is. I don't need you to be fitter or stronger," Rodney said.
John was aware that Rodney had just used the words "I" and "need" and "you" in a sentence, and he had a feeling that they were getting somewhere even if he didn't want to speculate about where they'd end up. "What do you need?"
Rodney dropped his gaze. "Nothing. I already told you."
"What about the times you call me an idiot?"
"Those mostly involve one of your wild plans and as much as it pains me to admit it, they tend to work. And the other times ..." Rodney trailed off, but then looked at John. "If I never had to see you go on a suicide mission again, I'd be a happy man, but I can't ask you not to because I know you only do it when you have no choice."
Rodney looked so vulnerable that John wanted to hug him. Not that he would. Which really ... "I can't express my feelings very well," he admitted.
Rodney snorted. "Try at all. Though I should say voluntarily. You might not be aware of it, but it's pretty damn obvious that you care. About Teyla and Ronon and ..."
"You," John finished.
"Yes, me," he said, not looking at John.
"Is that a problem?" John asked, because Rodney didn't look happy about it.
Rodney looked up. "No, why would it be? Honestly, I'd feel .... Well, it wouldn't feel good if you didn't care about me as much as the others."
John still didn't know what was bothering Rodney. And something was definitely wrong. Ever since they'd returned from Earth, Rodney had been different. At first, he'd thought it was just Keller, but while Rodney was a bit more pissy at everyone, he was weird with John in a different way. There seemed to be something specific to John that had changed.
"Did I do or not do something?" John asked.
"No," Rodney said, but he didn't look at John, and he hesitated enough to tell John that he was on the right track.
"The first or the latter?" he pressed on.
"It's nothing you can change," Rodney said, carefully facing him again.
"If it's something I've done I could try not to do it again. If it's something I haven't done ..." John didn't finish, trusting Rodney would get the idea.
"It's my problem not yours," Rodney said. "This really should be something I resolve to deal with."
"Why?" John asked, honestly puzzled. It was unlike Rodney to let others' behavior slide like that. And he couldn't imagine what could bother Rodney about John suddenly after five years.
"Look, I really should check the power relay, and I'm sure you have things to do, reports to finish early," Rodney said, adding the last with half a smirk that didn't reach his eyes.
"I can't try to help if you won't tell me what's wrong," John said, completely ignoring Rodney's obvious attempt at distraction.
"You can't help. I appreciate that you want to but it's as if I asked you to get Jennifer back, to make her care more about me than her father."
John was taken aback by that. He literally took a step back. He hadn't expected that. He would have sworn this was about him. And it had been about him just a moment ago. John had no idea why Rodney made it about Keller now. "Did I ... do you think I should have been more supportive of you when she ... left? I know I'm not very good at, you know, comforting, but if you needed more, if you need more, I can try. I ... Do you want a ... hug?" John asked, because that was the only thing he could think of.
Rodney started laughing. It wasn't a particularly happy sound though. He stopped, looking up at John. "Yeah, okay. Let's have a hug," he said, though he sounded resigned, almost bitter.
John was still willing to give him what he asked for. It was all he could go by, and even if he felt incredibly awkward about hugs-and doubly so about hugging Rodney given his feelings for him-he was willing to do it for Rodney. He walked closer to Rodney's desk.
Rodney got up and stepped forward until he was facing John, standing closer than John could remember.
"Uhm, so," John said and stiffly lifted his arms. God, he was really bad at this.
Rodney moved forward and wrapped his arms around John without hesitation. John slowly lowered his hands until they lay very lightly on Rodney's back. Rodney's head was pressed close to his, and John tried not to think about how easy it would be to turn his face and ...
John could feel Rodney squeeze him tightly for a moment before he withdrew, face turned away.
"Rodney?" John asked, not letting go and actually putting his arms around him more firmly for a second in order to keep Rodney from moving away.
"Thank you," Rodney said, but still didn't look at John.
John knew that he was close to figuring this out. He could feel it. "What do you need?" he asked.
Rodney closed his eyes, but didn't say anything.
John leaned forward until his forehead rested against Rodney's temple. "I want to help," he whispered.
"I'm sorry," Rodney whispered back, then turned his face and kissed John.
John was too stunned to react for a moment. Before he could return the kiss, Rodney stopped and moved away. John was too shaken to hold him in place. Rodney had kissed him. Rodney had kissed him and looked completely miserable about it, and John didn't understand a thing.
Keller had left him, and Rodney had been obviously upset about it. And now he'd kissed John. It made no sense. "What about ... Jennifer?" John asked.
"She asked me to stay with her," Rodney said, gazing at a far away place. "She asked me to marry her. She asked me to have a life with her on Earth."
That didn't answer John's question in any way.
"But I couldn't," Rodney continued. "I couldn't leave," his eyes focused back on John, "you."
"You left her because you couldn't leave me?" John asked. It was so hard to imagine.
But Rodney said, "Yes."
"You left her for me?" John asked again, because he still couldn't wrap his mind around this, after a year in which Rodney's growing relationship with Jennifer had been a constant source of misery in his life.
Rodney snorted unhappily. "That would require you to be receptive to the idea, which you obviously aren't."
John blinked. Rodney thought that he didn't- "I am," he said.
Rodney frowned.
"Rodney, I've always- I am," John repeated moving closer to Rodney again until they were face to face. "I just didn't think you felt the same. What with you dating one woman after another."
"It was two," Rodney pointed out, looking at John as if he didn't quite believe him.
"It was enough to make me believe you weren't interested in me and would never be," John said.
"But you are," Rodney said.
"I've been for a long time," John said, moving even closer until their lips were only inches apart.
Rodney looked at him, gaze wandering all over John's face. "I had no idea until Jennifer asked me to leave you."
"That's okay. I forgive you," John said with a smile, closing the distance between them.
The kiss was slow and careful, as if both of them were afraid that hasty movements would make it all disappear. Their lips moved minutely against each other and their mouths opened up a bit, allowing them to breathe each other.
John moved a hand into Rodney's hair, angled his head and deepened the kiss. He still couldn't quite believe that this was happening, but Rodney's movement against his lips, the way his hands ran up and down his back and the way he sounded slightly out of breath told him again and again that it was happening.
They moved until Rodney was leaning against the desk and John was pressed against him. One of Rodney's hands found its way beneath John's shirt, and John shuddered at the feeling of Rodney touching his skin like that. The kiss was definitely neither slow nor careful now. Rodney was panting, his mouth opening up even more, letting John in.
John moved his tongue into Rodney's mouth, thrusting against him not just with his tongue but also his groin, feeling their dicks harden against each other.
Suddenly Rodney pulled away. "We need to move this," he said between heavy breaths. "To a place with a bed."
John nodded in agreement. He couldn't bring himself to let go however. Rodney seemed to feel the same because he moved forward to kiss John again.
They made out like that, John moving forward more and more until he had Rodney bent almost far enough to lie on his desk. "Okay, we really need a bed. My back's killing me," Rodney said, gently pushing John up.
John stepped away, pulling Rodney with him. "Sorry," he said, giving him a quick kiss in apology.
"I forgive you," Rodney said with a smile, running a hand down John's arm. "Your room or mine?" he asked, clasping their hands together.
~~
A week later, John walked down the hall, humming to himself. He could still feel all the places Rodney had touched him last night, his breath on the back of John's neck when he'd fucked John, the whispered words later as they'd lain together.
Life was good.
"What the hell is up with McKay?" he heard someone in a lab he passed.
"I don't know, but I hope it won't stop. He's almost human," the answer came promptly.
John walked on, smiling to himself. Rodney was much more relaxed these days. John fondly remembered how he'd left Rodney completely boneless two nights ago, after a spectacular, jaw-aching blow job.
He was really sure that it wouldn't stop anytime soon. And if it meant that Rodney couldn't keep his New Year's resolution, he didn't think either of them cared.
John was right on track with keeping his. He wouldn't change anything for the world.