Title: All Dressed Up
Author: Ami Ven
Prompt:
writerverse phase 23, challenge 30, prompt 25 décolletage
Word Count: 1,400
Rating: G
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Pairing(s): John Sheppard/Rodney McKay
Setting: part of my
How About Forever verse
Summary: “Meet me at the main elevator at sixteen-hundred hours. Dress nice, but casual.”
All Dressed Up
“I’m not a woman,” said John.
“Okay…” Rodney said, warily.
By all definitions of biology, John was a woman. His DNA had been altered by a random Ancient device that had read his apparently-unconscious desire to have Rodney’s baby and given him the equipment to do it. But even Rodney knew better than to say that.
“And I’m not having some kind of delayed freak out about all this,” John continued. “I am perfectly comfortable with my gender, current sex, sexual orientation, condition, and general wellbeing.”
“O…kay…” Rodney repeated.
They were on Earth under Carson’s orders, to get John checked out by a doctor actually specializing in obstetrics. Apparently it was one thing for a geneticist-turned-general practitioner to deliver Charin Emmagan after a routine pregnancy (no Wraith involved this time) but Carson had drawn the line on this, so the SGC had read an old colleague of his into the program. All the tests had indicated a normal pregnancy, about three months along. The obstetrician had still seemed a little weirded out by Ancient-machine gender-changes, but John was reassured by the results, and planning to enjoy a few days on Earth until they gated back to Atlantis.
“I’m just… curious,” said John, bringing Rodney’s thoughts back to the present. “You’re a scientist, you can understand that.”
Rodney frowned. “I feel like I shouldn’t agree to anything until I have more information.”
John laughed and crossed their SGC guest quarters to catch his hand. “Never change, McKay.”
“What were you curious about then?” he asked.
“I’m not a woman,” said John. “But I look like one. On Atlantis and here in the SGC, no one treats me any differently, because they all know what happened. But here on Earth, off-base…”
“You want to see what it’s like to be a woman?”
John shrugged. “It’s a unique opportunity.”
“It is,” Rodney agreed. “But from what I’ve heard, being a woman in public kind of sucks.”
“Maybe,” allowed John. “But I can handle it for one night. I still have all my combat training, and I’ll have a brave, dashing guy right there to save me if I need him to.”
Rodney frowned and John laughed again.
“You, McKay,” he said. “I meant you.”
“Oh,” said Rodney, ridiculously pleased. “Okay. I can do that.”
“Great,” said John. “I know you’ve got some official Science Department stuff to do while we’re here, so why don’t you meet me at the main elevator at sixteen-hundred hours? Dress nice, but casual.”
“What?”
“Dress for a date, Rodney. Nice but not too nice.”
John kissed him briefly on his way out, and Rodney stared after him for a full minute before he remembered that he was due in the labs.
Bill Lee and several other members of the Earthbound SGC science team had a few Ancient devices they wanted his expert opinion on. Fortunately, it was nothing too complicated or too dangerous, because Rodney’s mind was not entirely on his work.
It had been a long time since he’d been on a date with a woman - or woman-shaped person, whatever - and longer since he’d been on a date on Earth. This whole thing was John’s idea, so presumably he knew what they’d be doing, but Rodney couldn’t help being a little nervous.
“Hey, McKay,” said Sam, ducking into the lab - she’d been in several times already, but they hadn’t talked much. “You still have that leather jacket?”
“Um, yes,” he said, feeling very confused.
“Wear that tonight,” she said, and disappeared again.
Rodney almost didn’t have enough time to change before meeting John. When he hurried into the corridor, there was only one other person there, and for a split-second he didn’t recognize John in the beautiful woman who turned to smile at him.
“Sheppard, I - wow.”
John grinned.
He was wearing a dress, black velvet that clung in all the right places - although Rodney might be imagining the slight swell of his middle, because he wasn’t far enough along to be showing yet. The dress had long sleeves and a low rounded neckline that made a dramatic contrast between skin and fabric, falling to mid-thigh above his knee-high wide-heeled boots and creating an overall look that had Rodney momentarily speechless.
“I borrowed this from Vala,” said John. “I’m a little taller than she is, but she said the skirt wasn’t too short.”
“Not at all,” Rodney agreed. “And - are you wearing stockings?”
“There’s curious and then there’s shaving your legs. Stockings seemed like the easiest solution,” said John, guiding them into the elevator. “And you clean up pretty nice, too, McKay.”
Rodney had tried to find his nicest pair of jeans, then added a blue button-down shirt he knew John liked and the gray waistcoat from his three-piece suit, under his leather jacket.
“Yeah?” he asked.
John bumped their shoulders together. “Yeah.”
“Yeah,” Rodney repeated. “But you look… I mean, don’t get me wrong, I think you’re just as attractive as a man, but… Huh.”
“What?” asked John, sounding genuinely curious. “C’mon, McKay, you can’t have brilliant scientific ideas in the middle of our date and not share them.”
“It’s not exactly-” Rodney began, then frowned. “Wait, you want me to interrupt our first real date with whatever scientific ideas pop into my head?”
“I like the way your brain works,” said John. “Always have. So, let’s hear it. What did you figure out?”
“I don’t know,” said Rodney. At John’s raised eyebrow, he added, “Psychology is hardly a real science, colonel. It’s all tell me about your mother and how does that make you feel. But maybe this is more neurobiology, which would make it actual science.”
“Make what actual science?”
“Sexual attraction,” said Rodney. “I’ve been pretty solidly bisexual since grad school, and I know that what I find attractive about women is different than what I find attractive about men. But this is scientific proof of that, right here.”
John frowned. “But you do still find me attractive, right?”
Rodney rolled his eyes. “Of course I do, Sheppard, don’t be ridiculous. But when you look like this, not in the same way. I mean, I’ve seen you without your shirt on dozens of times when you were a man, even since we started sleeping together. And while I could certainly appreciate the overall view, somehow this - girl you - is much more fascinating.”
“It’s the cleavage,” said John.
“No,” said Rodney. “I mean, yes, that doesn’t hurt, but it’s the whole thing, the…the décolletage.”
“Décolletage?” repeated John, laughing.
“That is the proper term for-” Rodney waved his hand vaguely in front of his own throat.
“Of course it is,” said John.
“And there’s really not much difference,” said Rodney. “Even accounting for the cleavage. Can I try something?”
“Um, sure,” said John, in a tone that clearly warned against trying anything untoward in a public corridor.
But Rodney just took a step closer, settling his hands on John’s hips so he could lean in to press a feather-light kiss to John’s collarbone.
John shivered.
“That doesn’t seem very scientific,” he said, sounding breathless.
Rodney smirked. “I don’t know, I’ve gotten a lot of data.”
“You can tell me your conclusions later,” said John, smiling, and slid his hands up Rodney’s chest to catch the open edges of his jacket. “I just… it still doesn’t feel real. Being pregnant. I know that was the point of this, but…”
“But maybe if you tell some random strangers on Earth who think you’re a girl, it’ll make your brain go along with it.”
John huffed out a laugh. “Guess what, Rodney? The baby’s yours.”
“I knew that,” Rodney grumbled, but he understood how John felt - it seemed unreal that they were here, together and expecting a baby. “Do you have a plan, then, all dressed up like this?”
“Yep. Sam recommended a nice restaurant. You buy me dinner, pull out my chair, hold the door - not necessarily in that order. Let me find out what’s it’s like to be treated like a lady.”
“Sure,” agreed Rodney. He slid his hand along the velvet fabric to rest his palm on John’s middle. “Like the mother of my child.”
John kissed him, and drew away. “C’mon, we have reservations.”
“You really did plan this.”
“Under Dr. and Mrs. McKay.”
Rodney blinked. “That is - you - why is that hot?”
John laughed and tucked his hand into Rodney’s elbow.
THE END
Current Mood:
hot