A Soul To Keep (PG)
Title: A Soul to Keep (cheesy, I know)
Rating: (PG)
Summary: That "Now I lay me down to sleep" thing? Rodney thinks John really needs to do just that.
A/N: For the philosophy_20 prompt #13 (Love Beyond Desire). I don't have all that much to say about it - just this: For a slash pairing, this prompt is a challenge in itself. ;)
~~~
A Soul to Keep
"Well, it's about time you came back."
The cell door had opened with a slight creak and the Colonel was pushed inside, shooting Rodney a dark look that made the words of relief die a quick death in the scientist's throat. He yanked his arm out of the guard's grasp, stalked over to the wall opposite the door, and leaned against it, arms crossed in front of his chest as he glared at their two young captors. Both guards ignored him, and turned to leave.
"Hey! What about food? I'm severely hypoglycaemic, not that you would know what that means, but if you don't feed me, I'll die." Seeing the guards' blank looks, Rodney added "Oh, believe me, it won't be pretty," for good measure.
The young man who had manhandled Sheppard into the cell gave a slight shrug.
"Food will come if the Darom decides to keep you."
Rodney was still sputtering when the door closed. The moment the key turned in the lock with a loud clang, Sheppard pushed away from the wall and started to pace. Rodney watched him from his place on the narrow bed.
It had been almost 48 hours since their capture, and knowing Sheppard, the man hadn't allowed himself to rest at all. Rodney's own sleep had been broken by nightmares, suspended by the fear of being left behind one way or the other, but at least he had managed to get a little nap here and there. If Teyla and Ronon were to break them out, they'd need to be alert. Both of them.
He told Sheppard as much, and the man actually snarled at him before he resumed his pacing. The constant motion was starting to make Rodney feel a little seasick. Or maybe that was his blood sugar. The two power bars he had hidden for cases just like this one - and he wouldn't tell where, even under torture - had been eaten long ago. How the fuck did he keep getting into these situations, anyway?
Back and forth, back and forth, and finally, Rodney snapped.
"Colonel, for God's sake, come over here and sit down before you pull something."
Sheppard didn't even pause.
"It's been two days. Our reinforcements should come any minute now."
"Yes, and you're no use for anyone if you fall down before we're three steps along the hall, so please, sit down."
Another glare, but then Sheppard huffed and let himself flop down on the mattress beside Rodney, leaving enough space between them that their shoulders didn't touch. Rodney frowned at the way the soldier's eyes wouldn't quite focus, his pupils sluggish and widely dilated.
"What did they give you?" he asked.
Sheppard shrugged.
"Something to make me talk."
"And did you?" He could have bitten off his tongue the moment the words were out. But Sheppard just sighed.
"Not in a way that would help them." He grinned a little. "'s why they kept me so long."
The words were starting to slur, and Rodney's concern grew.
"Maybe you should lie down for a bit."
"Nah, 'm good. When our boys come, we need to get out of here as fast as we can."
There was a stubborn set to Sheppard's mouth, and this time, Rodney knew better than to argue.
They sat like that for a while. Rodney was staring into space, worriedly chewing on his bottom lip, listening for the sounds of gunfire. All he could hear was their quiet breathing. A sudden, heavy warm weight against his side jerked him out of his doze. He looked down.
Sheppard blinked up at him from his place on Rodney's shoulder, his eyes glazed and tired.
"Sorry," he murmured, trying to push himself upright again, but Rodney wouldn't have it. He slung his arm around his friend's shoulders, forcibly pulling him back in to rest more comfortably against his side. He could feel the fine tremors that were running through Sheppard's body.
"Why don't you let me take this watch, Colonel?"
Sheppard stared at him for a few long seconds, then he gave a little sigh, and relaxed.
"Jus' for a little while," he murmured, closing his eyes and wriggling a little closer. Moments later, he was fast asleep.
Rodney looked down at the exhausted man in his arms, and carefully swallowed around the lump that was suddenly wedged in his throat. After Duranda, this amount of trust was… humbling. They had never talked about it again, but he had tried to make up for his mistake, and Sheppard knew that. And after a few weeks of hurt, angry silence, they had started to drift closer once again. The relief Rodney had felt at that had frightened him a little.
They shouldn't have been friends in the first place. Rodney had never bothered to hide anything about himself. He was petty, egoistic and arrogant, hard to cope with and even harder to like, and he knew it - an attention whore if there ever was one. Alright, so somewhere between the Milky Way and Pegasus he had obviously developed some surprise leadership skills and discovered that yes, there were in fact some things worth dying for, such as the right kind of other people. Still, that didn't make the rest of his personality any... prettier, if a personality could be pretty, and sometimes he wondered what Sheppard did even see in him.
The Colonel's own lazy, laid back attitude had dimmed over the course of the last two years, the darkness he tried to hide simmering a little closer to the surface. Rodney had never been good at reading people, and Sheppard made it even harder with his smoke and mirror smiles and jibes. Except that even he could see that the man was a hero, someone who would give his life for practically anyone, someone who believed in the Right Thing To Do. Sometimes, that frightened him.
So by all rights, they should have clashed and taken no prisoners, but instead, somehow they had just… clicked. And Rodney had surprised himself more than once by his willingness to follow the man into the most stupidly dangerous situations, to do anything - anything - Sheppard demanded of him. His reward had been something he wouldn't give up for all the Nobel prizes in the world. Friendship. Something that he didn't have all that much experience with, and shouldn't scare him quite as bad as it did.
Sheppard's deep and even breaths were warm and moist against the side of Rodney's neck. The soldier's face was pale, dark lashes and coarse stubble a stark contrast. There were more lines around eyes and mouth, a slight frown even in sleep. Atlantis had made them all a little harder. A little more tired.
But they could still laugh together. Play around with the weirder ones of the Ancient artefacts, interrupted by Elizabeth's lectures that never quite stopped them. Watch that damn Hail Mary tape even though the Daedalus had brought a seemingly endless variety of DVDs, including all kinds of sports. Running around Atlantis, thrilled at the possible discoveries they might make.
Friendship, right. He might never find a wife he'd get to know as well as he knew Sheppard. Oh, he didn't know much about the man. Where he had grown up, if he had any siblings, why the hell he had never joined Mensa - mysteries, hidden away behind wall after wall of evasive manoeuvres. But he knew Sheppard, knew how he would react in most given situations, had seen him laugh, curse, fight for his life, and dance at a party. On the risk of sounding tacky: It was the person that counted, not the history.
So yeah, friendship. Love. Whatever. Not in the physical sense, of course not; he was straight, and so was Sheppard. If love was the right word at all. And just who was defining feelings, anyway? If Rodney wanted to call it loyalty, he could. If he wanted to call it respect, he could.
And if he wanted to call it love, the deepest relationship he'd ever shared with a person, he'd dare anyone to contradict him. Sheppard included.
His back started to ache where he was pressed uncomfortably against the cold wall, and his arm was going numb, but he didn't move, quietly listening to Sheppard's slow breathing. It was oddly comforting, a reminder of countless nights spent together in a tent offworld.
In the distance, the faint sound of gunfire. Rodney shifted a little, bringing his mouth close to Sheppard's ear.
"Hey," he whispered. "Time for duty."
~~~
End.
Rating: (PG)
Summary: That "Now I lay me down to sleep" thing? Rodney thinks John really needs to do just that.
A/N: For the philosophy_20 prompt #13 (Love Beyond Desire). I don't have all that much to say about it - just this: For a slash pairing, this prompt is a challenge in itself. ;)
~~~
A Soul to Keep
"Well, it's about time you came back."
The cell door had opened with a slight creak and the Colonel was pushed inside, shooting Rodney a dark look that made the words of relief die a quick death in the scientist's throat. He yanked his arm out of the guard's grasp, stalked over to the wall opposite the door, and leaned against it, arms crossed in front of his chest as he glared at their two young captors. Both guards ignored him, and turned to leave.
"Hey! What about food? I'm severely hypoglycaemic, not that you would know what that means, but if you don't feed me, I'll die." Seeing the guards' blank looks, Rodney added "Oh, believe me, it won't be pretty," for good measure.
The young man who had manhandled Sheppard into the cell gave a slight shrug.
"Food will come if the Darom decides to keep you."
Rodney was still sputtering when the door closed. The moment the key turned in the lock with a loud clang, Sheppard pushed away from the wall and started to pace. Rodney watched him from his place on the narrow bed.
It had been almost 48 hours since their capture, and knowing Sheppard, the man hadn't allowed himself to rest at all. Rodney's own sleep had been broken by nightmares, suspended by the fear of being left behind one way or the other, but at least he had managed to get a little nap here and there. If Teyla and Ronon were to break them out, they'd need to be alert. Both of them.
He told Sheppard as much, and the man actually snarled at him before he resumed his pacing. The constant motion was starting to make Rodney feel a little seasick. Or maybe that was his blood sugar. The two power bars he had hidden for cases just like this one - and he wouldn't tell where, even under torture - had been eaten long ago. How the fuck did he keep getting into these situations, anyway?
Back and forth, back and forth, and finally, Rodney snapped.
"Colonel, for God's sake, come over here and sit down before you pull something."
Sheppard didn't even pause.
"It's been two days. Our reinforcements should come any minute now."
"Yes, and you're no use for anyone if you fall down before we're three steps along the hall, so please, sit down."
Another glare, but then Sheppard huffed and let himself flop down on the mattress beside Rodney, leaving enough space between them that their shoulders didn't touch. Rodney frowned at the way the soldier's eyes wouldn't quite focus, his pupils sluggish and widely dilated.
"What did they give you?" he asked.
Sheppard shrugged.
"Something to make me talk."
"And did you?" He could have bitten off his tongue the moment the words were out. But Sheppard just sighed.
"Not in a way that would help them." He grinned a little. "'s why they kept me so long."
The words were starting to slur, and Rodney's concern grew.
"Maybe you should lie down for a bit."
"Nah, 'm good. When our boys come, we need to get out of here as fast as we can."
There was a stubborn set to Sheppard's mouth, and this time, Rodney knew better than to argue.
They sat like that for a while. Rodney was staring into space, worriedly chewing on his bottom lip, listening for the sounds of gunfire. All he could hear was their quiet breathing. A sudden, heavy warm weight against his side jerked him out of his doze. He looked down.
Sheppard blinked up at him from his place on Rodney's shoulder, his eyes glazed and tired.
"Sorry," he murmured, trying to push himself upright again, but Rodney wouldn't have it. He slung his arm around his friend's shoulders, forcibly pulling him back in to rest more comfortably against his side. He could feel the fine tremors that were running through Sheppard's body.
"Why don't you let me take this watch, Colonel?"
Sheppard stared at him for a few long seconds, then he gave a little sigh, and relaxed.
"Jus' for a little while," he murmured, closing his eyes and wriggling a little closer. Moments later, he was fast asleep.
Rodney looked down at the exhausted man in his arms, and carefully swallowed around the lump that was suddenly wedged in his throat. After Duranda, this amount of trust was… humbling. They had never talked about it again, but he had tried to make up for his mistake, and Sheppard knew that. And after a few weeks of hurt, angry silence, they had started to drift closer once again. The relief Rodney had felt at that had frightened him a little.
They shouldn't have been friends in the first place. Rodney had never bothered to hide anything about himself. He was petty, egoistic and arrogant, hard to cope with and even harder to like, and he knew it - an attention whore if there ever was one. Alright, so somewhere between the Milky Way and Pegasus he had obviously developed some surprise leadership skills and discovered that yes, there were in fact some things worth dying for, such as the right kind of other people. Still, that didn't make the rest of his personality any... prettier, if a personality could be pretty, and sometimes he wondered what Sheppard did even see in him.
The Colonel's own lazy, laid back attitude had dimmed over the course of the last two years, the darkness he tried to hide simmering a little closer to the surface. Rodney had never been good at reading people, and Sheppard made it even harder with his smoke and mirror smiles and jibes. Except that even he could see that the man was a hero, someone who would give his life for practically anyone, someone who believed in the Right Thing To Do. Sometimes, that frightened him.
So by all rights, they should have clashed and taken no prisoners, but instead, somehow they had just… clicked. And Rodney had surprised himself more than once by his willingness to follow the man into the most stupidly dangerous situations, to do anything - anything - Sheppard demanded of him. His reward had been something he wouldn't give up for all the Nobel prizes in the world. Friendship. Something that he didn't have all that much experience with, and shouldn't scare him quite as bad as it did.
Sheppard's deep and even breaths were warm and moist against the side of Rodney's neck. The soldier's face was pale, dark lashes and coarse stubble a stark contrast. There were more lines around eyes and mouth, a slight frown even in sleep. Atlantis had made them all a little harder. A little more tired.
But they could still laugh together. Play around with the weirder ones of the Ancient artefacts, interrupted by Elizabeth's lectures that never quite stopped them. Watch that damn Hail Mary tape even though the Daedalus had brought a seemingly endless variety of DVDs, including all kinds of sports. Running around Atlantis, thrilled at the possible discoveries they might make.
Friendship, right. He might never find a wife he'd get to know as well as he knew Sheppard. Oh, he didn't know much about the man. Where he had grown up, if he had any siblings, why the hell he had never joined Mensa - mysteries, hidden away behind wall after wall of evasive manoeuvres. But he knew Sheppard, knew how he would react in most given situations, had seen him laugh, curse, fight for his life, and dance at a party. On the risk of sounding tacky: It was the person that counted, not the history.
So yeah, friendship. Love. Whatever. Not in the physical sense, of course not; he was straight, and so was Sheppard. If love was the right word at all. And just who was defining feelings, anyway? If Rodney wanted to call it loyalty, he could. If he wanted to call it respect, he could.
And if he wanted to call it love, the deepest relationship he'd ever shared with a person, he'd dare anyone to contradict him. Sheppard included.
His back started to ache where he was pressed uncomfortably against the cold wall, and his arm was going numb, but he didn't move, quietly listening to Sheppard's slow breathing. It was oddly comforting, a reminder of countless nights spent together in a tent offworld.
In the distance, the faint sound of gunfire. Rodney shifted a little, bringing his mouth close to Sheppard's ear.
"Hey," he whispered. "Time for duty."
~~~
End.