TEAM COOL: last stand, "Playing it Cool"
Title: Playing it Cool
Author: secondalto
Team: Cool
Prompt: last stand
Pairing(s): McKay/Sheppard
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Some mild swear language
Word count: ~1,100
Summary: In which there is good news, a fight and more good news.
Author’s Notes: with many thanks to xdawnfirex for beta work. And no, the title is not a pun on the team name, it just seemed appropriate.
Once you've read the story, please take a moment to vote in the poll below. Ratings go from 1 (low) to 9 (high), so all you need to do is enter a single number in that range into each text entry box. You'll be able to see the prompt in the header above.
More details about the voting procedure can be found here.
“Well once again your country has proven itself to be not entirely stupid or ignorant and got something right.”
John looked up to see Rodney standing in front of his desk, bouncing and smiling a little. John went back to the paperwork he was filling out.
“We get a lot of things right. What did we do now, McKay?” he asked.
John only ever called him McKay when he was angry or annoyed, so John imagined that Rodney was making a face. He was too busy to take a look.
“The latest news from Earth just came in five minutes ago I’m guessing you haven’t seen it.”
“No, McKay, I’ve been a little busy,” John said, gesturing to his desk, “Why don’t you tell me what this news is?”
“The US Supreme Court struck down both DOMA and Prop 8. And after the repeal of DADT I’m feeling more inclined to like your current government.”
“Good news for the President, maybe we should send him a note. Dear Mr. Obama, Rodney McKay approves of you. Bad news, he’s Canadian so it doesn’t really matter.”
“Scoff all you want, but this is good news. We can get married and your federal government will legally recognize it. Welcome to the club, Canada’s had gay marriage since 2005.”
John sighed. “Yes, I know, you’ve been saying that ever since we started dating, it’s getting old.”
“I’ll find something else to be triumphant about later, right now I want to hear your reaction.”
“My reaction?”
“Yes, Sheppard, your reaction, I would have thought you’d have something to say.“
John glanced up, seeing an expectant look on Rodney’s face.
“Not right now, give me time to process it, or at least time to finish up here. Dinner tonight, my room?”
“Sure, I’ll bring the food.”
John just nodded and went back to his paperwork. Little did Rodney know that John had been planning something for a while now; he just hadn’t found the right time to execute it.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The rest of the day was fairly uneventful in the grand scheme of things. A minor power fluctuation and the loss of communications for two hours was a pain to deal with but John was used to these everyday kinds of mishaps. Atlantis was thousands of years old, so what if she had a slight tantrum every now and then when faced with modern equipment? He was heading back from the mess with a bottle of wine that he’d wheedled from the chef. He knew Rodney was waiting and he wasn’t entirely sure what kind of mood he’d been in.
The door to his room opened and he saw that Rodney had the food all laid out and was putting the last of the dishes on the table. Rodney looked up and smiled, pulling out the chair for John.
“I see you managed to bribe Johnson for a bottle of his best pinot. What did you promise him?”
“Priority on the next leave rotation; his sister is getting married.”
“Seems you have a heart in there after all,” Rodney joked.
“Just don’t let it get around,” John grinned.
Rodney sat and they began eating, talking about their day. John poured out a second glass for them both towards the end of the meal, sitting back and waiting for Rodney to bring up the subject of marriage.
“So, I was wondering if you had time to think about the news,” Rodney finally said.
“A little yes,” John replied.
“And?”
“And what?”
“Do you want to get married? I mean we’ve been dating for ever….”
“Three years, Rodney.”
Rodney waved him off. “I practically live in your room now. All the stupid rules are gone now, the one about asking and telling has been gone for a year now….”
“Our relationship was the worst kept secret in Atlantis, no one needed to ask and we certainly didn’t need to tell. Hell even people on other worlds knew. Technically we’ve been married,” he stopped to count in his head. “Eighteen times now, I really don’t know why we have to do it again.”
“Because those don’t count!” Rodney yelled. “Not really, not in the eyes of the law. I want all the benefits that come with saying that you are my husband, I want a ring on my finger, I want to actually know that in all the ways that matter to the stupid, pigheaded, arrogant, fucked up bureaucrats that we are married. If you have nothing to say about that John Sheppard then I’m not sure that I want to know you anymore. I’ve had it up to here with your nonchalance.”
John’s grin grew the more Rodney ranted. He casually reached into one of his TAC vest pockets and palmed what was in there. When Rodney stopped he stood up and touched Rodney’s arm, trying to get him to calm down.
“Meredith Rodney McKay,” he started.
“I hate when you use my full name,” Rodney whined.
“I only do it to make sure you’re paying attention. You are mine, never doubt that. Never. It doesn’t matter to me what anyone, even the federal government, has to say about that. You are mine and I am yours. It’s been that way from the beginning even if we were both to blind to see it. But if it really matters that much to you, I just have one thing to say. Marry me.” He held out two rings for Rodney to see.
Rodney stood there open mouthed and speechless. He took one of the rings, looking it over.
“It’s engraved. What does it say?”
“It has our initials and the date we started officially going out.”
“Closet romantic, that’s what you are. When did you get these?”
“A couple of months back, I was actually thinking of doing this on our anniversary.”
“Oh. Sorry,” Rodney said, looking sheepish.
“It’s okay, we just have to decide on a date now. And a place,” he said taking the rings back and tucking them into a pocket.
“Canada. I want Jeannie to be there.”
John smiled and pulled Rodney into a hug. “Of course. But let’s talk to Woolsey, he’s a lawyer and can tell us if my government would recognize the damn thing.”
“Yes, yes, of course,” Rodney said, impatient about something. “Can we have ‘we’re engaged’ sex now?”
John huffed out a laugh. “Yes, let’s do that now.” And he laughed more as Rodney tumbled them onto the bed pulling at John’s shirt.
**
Poll
Author: secondalto
Team: Cool
Prompt: last stand
Pairing(s): McKay/Sheppard
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Some mild swear language
Word count: ~1,100
Summary: In which there is good news, a fight and more good news.
Author’s Notes: with many thanks to xdawnfirex for beta work. And no, the title is not a pun on the team name, it just seemed appropriate.
Once you've read the story, please take a moment to vote in the poll below. Ratings go from 1 (low) to 9 (high), so all you need to do is enter a single number in that range into each text entry box. You'll be able to see the prompt in the header above.
More details about the voting procedure can be found here.
“Well once again your country has proven itself to be not entirely stupid or ignorant and got something right.”
John looked up to see Rodney standing in front of his desk, bouncing and smiling a little. John went back to the paperwork he was filling out.
“We get a lot of things right. What did we do now, McKay?” he asked.
John only ever called him McKay when he was angry or annoyed, so John imagined that Rodney was making a face. He was too busy to take a look.
“The latest news from Earth just came in five minutes ago I’m guessing you haven’t seen it.”
“No, McKay, I’ve been a little busy,” John said, gesturing to his desk, “Why don’t you tell me what this news is?”
“The US Supreme Court struck down both DOMA and Prop 8. And after the repeal of DADT I’m feeling more inclined to like your current government.”
“Good news for the President, maybe we should send him a note. Dear Mr. Obama, Rodney McKay approves of you. Bad news, he’s Canadian so it doesn’t really matter.”
“Scoff all you want, but this is good news. We can get married and your federal government will legally recognize it. Welcome to the club, Canada’s had gay marriage since 2005.”
John sighed. “Yes, I know, you’ve been saying that ever since we started dating, it’s getting old.”
“I’ll find something else to be triumphant about later, right now I want to hear your reaction.”
“My reaction?”
“Yes, Sheppard, your reaction, I would have thought you’d have something to say.“
John glanced up, seeing an expectant look on Rodney’s face.
“Not right now, give me time to process it, or at least time to finish up here. Dinner tonight, my room?”
“Sure, I’ll bring the food.”
John just nodded and went back to his paperwork. Little did Rodney know that John had been planning something for a while now; he just hadn’t found the right time to execute it.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The rest of the day was fairly uneventful in the grand scheme of things. A minor power fluctuation and the loss of communications for two hours was a pain to deal with but John was used to these everyday kinds of mishaps. Atlantis was thousands of years old, so what if she had a slight tantrum every now and then when faced with modern equipment? He was heading back from the mess with a bottle of wine that he’d wheedled from the chef. He knew Rodney was waiting and he wasn’t entirely sure what kind of mood he’d been in.
The door to his room opened and he saw that Rodney had the food all laid out and was putting the last of the dishes on the table. Rodney looked up and smiled, pulling out the chair for John.
“I see you managed to bribe Johnson for a bottle of his best pinot. What did you promise him?”
“Priority on the next leave rotation; his sister is getting married.”
“Seems you have a heart in there after all,” Rodney joked.
“Just don’t let it get around,” John grinned.
Rodney sat and they began eating, talking about their day. John poured out a second glass for them both towards the end of the meal, sitting back and waiting for Rodney to bring up the subject of marriage.
“So, I was wondering if you had time to think about the news,” Rodney finally said.
“A little yes,” John replied.
“And?”
“And what?”
“Do you want to get married? I mean we’ve been dating for ever….”
“Three years, Rodney.”
Rodney waved him off. “I practically live in your room now. All the stupid rules are gone now, the one about asking and telling has been gone for a year now….”
“Our relationship was the worst kept secret in Atlantis, no one needed to ask and we certainly didn’t need to tell. Hell even people on other worlds knew. Technically we’ve been married,” he stopped to count in his head. “Eighteen times now, I really don’t know why we have to do it again.”
“Because those don’t count!” Rodney yelled. “Not really, not in the eyes of the law. I want all the benefits that come with saying that you are my husband, I want a ring on my finger, I want to actually know that in all the ways that matter to the stupid, pigheaded, arrogant, fucked up bureaucrats that we are married. If you have nothing to say about that John Sheppard then I’m not sure that I want to know you anymore. I’ve had it up to here with your nonchalance.”
John’s grin grew the more Rodney ranted. He casually reached into one of his TAC vest pockets and palmed what was in there. When Rodney stopped he stood up and touched Rodney’s arm, trying to get him to calm down.
“Meredith Rodney McKay,” he started.
“I hate when you use my full name,” Rodney whined.
“I only do it to make sure you’re paying attention. You are mine, never doubt that. Never. It doesn’t matter to me what anyone, even the federal government, has to say about that. You are mine and I am yours. It’s been that way from the beginning even if we were both to blind to see it. But if it really matters that much to you, I just have one thing to say. Marry me.” He held out two rings for Rodney to see.
Rodney stood there open mouthed and speechless. He took one of the rings, looking it over.
“It’s engraved. What does it say?”
“It has our initials and the date we started officially going out.”
“Closet romantic, that’s what you are. When did you get these?”
“A couple of months back, I was actually thinking of doing this on our anniversary.”
“Oh. Sorry,” Rodney said, looking sheepish.
“It’s okay, we just have to decide on a date now. And a place,” he said taking the rings back and tucking them into a pocket.
“Canada. I want Jeannie to be there.”
John smiled and pulled Rodney into a hug. “Of course. But let’s talk to Woolsey, he’s a lawyer and can tell us if my government would recognize the damn thing.”
“Yes, yes, of course,” Rodney said, impatient about something. “Can we have ‘we’re engaged’ sex now?”
John huffed out a laugh. “Yes, let’s do that now.” And he laughed more as Rodney tumbled them onto the bed pulling at John’s shirt.
**
Poll