Wine and Roses, Stargate Atlantis, OT3 Ficathon
Title: Wine and Roses
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Characters/Pairings: John Sheppard/Rodney McKay/Elizabeth Weir
Rating: R-ish
Author's Notes: The OT3 Ficathon request was for Rodney seducing Sheppard with lots of romantic schloompiness, and someone else competing for his affection as well. I was chugging along really well for a bit, until I realized the prompt also said no Season 2 bits...so I had to do some rethinking. I'm not sure this was exactly what garneteve was looking for, and the prompty bits kinda took a turn...but here it is:
Summary: Someone is sending flowers and chocolates and love poems to Major John Sheppard. There's only a few people on Atlantis it could be.
Warnings/Disclaimers: Don't own em. Don't sue. None graphic threesome.
It wasn’t that John Sheppard minded the attention, but it was beginning to drive him crazy. Three nights this week he’d come off of shift to find odd little gifts waiting for him in his quarters.
The first night, he’d been off on a recon mission, and it had ended…well, badly wasn’t the word he would use, but he had been covered in mud and in desperate need of a shower, when he’d found the mainland’s equivalent of a rose stuck in the handle of his door. No note, just the flower, a single, yellow flower.
Two nights later, when he’d spent most of the day in the infirmary following a little accident in sparring with Teyla, there had been a tin of candies, the kind they’d found in that little market on that world with the funny looking cattle. They tasted like chocolate, but were hard, like butterscotch and he had fallen in love with them at the time. The tin was just sitting there on his desk. Just like the flower, no note, no indication who had left them there.
It was a pretty limited list of people though that had access to his room, and on that list he couldn’t imagine anyone giving him candy…or a flower.
Now, as he read through the report from the last mission through the gate, he opened the door, dropping file folders filled with personnel reports on the chair as he crossed the room. He stopped at his bed, sitting long enough to take off his boots. As he reached for the report he’d set beside him, his eyes drifted to a roll of some sort of paper, tied in a blue ribbon, leaning against his pillow.
John looked around him, half expecting someone to jump out at him, and when no one did, he picked up the paper and unrolled it, one eye closed and the whole thing held at arm’s length as if it might explode.
It didn’t. He breathed in relief and unrolled it, angling it for better lighting.
I came so far to find you
And you’re still so far away
It burns my soul to look at you
And know…exactly what you’d say
If you knew my heart’s affection
The desire that burns within
So I pine alone in darkness
While you remain my friend.
It wasn’t signed. Not that he’d actually expected it would be. It was kind of creepy. Especially when he considered the people who could have possibly put it there. Sappy love poetry wasn’t something he’d come to expect here on Atlantis. Yet, here it was…and it would be a total lie to say it didn’t stir something in him.
Obviously, he’d picked up an admirer. He bit his lip while thought about it. Elizabeth could certainly get into his room if she wanted to…and while he could see her leaving him a flower or candy, the poem was too sappy even for her.
There was Teyla…but he’d been with her most of the day. He shook his head and set the paper aside, standing to shuck his uniform in favor of his favorite sweats, aiming to spend the evening finishing up some paperwork and calling it a night early.
There was a knock on his door that interrupted that thought and brought him padding across the floor in bare feet, his t-shirt still in his hand. As the door opened, John tilted his head in question. Elizabeth smiled back at him. “Elizabeth?”
“I brought you a present.” Her eyes sparkled and for an instant John’s heart skipped a beat thinking he’d finally found the culprit. That thought faded when she pulled another pile of file folders from behind her back.
John groaned and stood aside to let her in. “Really, you shouldn’t have,” he said dryly.
“They’re the last of the files on the personnel who are available to round out the new teams.” She crossed the room, her eyes scanning over the files already on his bed and landing on the blue ribbon and its scroll. She raised an eyebrow and he started gathering files, brushing the roll of paper aside and hoping she would leave it be. “What’s that?”
“Nothing.” John said, picking it up and hiding it behind his back. “You came to talk about personnel, not…this.”
Her smile was curious, and her eyebrow arched even higher. “Are you blushing, John?”
“No. No. It’s hot…work out. I was working out.”
“In bare feet?”
John looked down at his feet, then up at her, suddenly conscious of the fact that his chest was still bare and her eyes were on him. “Elizabeth!”
“What?”
John dropped the scroll and scrambled to pull his t-shirt on over his head. By the time he had it over his head, Elizabeth had managed to grab the scroll, her smile widening as she read the words. He reached for it, but she danced away to buy enough time to finish reading. “My, John…someone certainly has a crush on you.”
He made a face at her and ran a hand through unruly hair. “Tell me about it. I found that on my bed when I came in.”
“On your bed?” Suddenly she was a little more serious. “Someone was in your room?”
He nodded and gathered the files, gesturing toward the low couch in the other part of the room with his chin. “Second time this week, actually.”
“Why haven’t you said something before now?”
He shrugged and staked a claim on the corner seat, dumping the files on the cushion next to him as she took the other corner. “To be honest, Elizabeth, I’ve been trying to figure out who it is.”
“I don’t like knowing someone can get into your room.”
“You could.” John said, and this time it was his turn to raise an eyebrow.
She tucked her feet under her and turned to face him. Her face looked shocked, but eventually she nodded. “You’re right, I could. Who else?”
John exhaled and shook his head. “You, security, maybe Rodney?” He chuckled. “Short list filled with people I doubt did this.”
Elizabeth sighed. “Maybe you should change your access codes.”
“I will.”
She nodded and picked up the first file. “Good. That makes me feel better.”
“Good. I’m glad.” He picked up another file. “Lt. Harris wants to be put on a team? I thought she was afraid to go off world.”
Elizabeth looked up at him. “She is, but she came to see me and asked to be put on a team.”
John frowned and skimmed through her report. “Any reason?”
“She didn’t say.”
“Okay.” He set the Harris file aside and reached for another one.
“So, you don’t think I would leave you sappy love poetry?” Elizabeth asked, as if they were still talking about Lt. Harris.
“What?”
“You said you doubted any of the people with the access to your room would do it.” She looked up at him, her eyes sparkling.
John watched her tongue as she licked her lips and he swallowed, turning his eyes back to the file in his hands. “Not your style.” John said, hoping that would be the end of it.
Elizabeth’s hand pushed the file down so that she could see his face, or maybe so he’d look at hers. “No, definitely not my style.”
“Elizabeth?”
“John?”
Her hand was on his, it was cool, but where it connected there was fire. John cleared his throat. “What are we doing here?” He licked his lips, looking at their hands, then up to her face.
“I’m touching you,” she said softly.
“I see that.” John’s whole body thrummed and he took a careful breath. “Why?”
She shrugged. “This is my style.”
He nodded slowly, his mind trying to wrap around this. “Okay.”
She pulled her hand away. “If it makes you uncomfortable, we can forget it. It certainly wasn’t professional of me.”
John’s body relaxed when her skin left his, but he shook his head. “Uncomfortable, yes. But that doesn’t mean…I mean…hell, I don’t know what I mean.” He stood up to pace away.
“Maybe I should go.” Elizabeth got up too. She moved to intercept him. “I just…well, I like you John…and we’re all the way out here with no way to get home, and I just thought I should put it out there, especially if someone else is sending you love poems.”
John nodded. “I get that. I appreciate your candor.”
She smiled. “No pressure, we can forget the whole thing.”
He caught her hand and squeezed it. “No. Let me think about it.”
“Good answer. I’ll show myself out.”
John let her go, his head swimming. A week ago his biggest concern was being the ranking military officer on an off Earth excursion that had awakened the most deadly enemy humanity had seen to date. Now he had to worry about romance on top of everything else. He wasn’t exactly the romantic kind. He paced for a few minutes more, but couldn’t get his mind to go much beyond the fire in his hand where she’d touched him and the curious arousal the poetry had brought. It only took about ten minutes before he put down the files and headed out of his quarters, finding himself outside hers in seconds. He smiled and she pulled him inside, kissing him deeply. He would probably regret this, but damn, he just didn’t want professional.
“Rodney, you wanted to see me?” John stopped in the doorway to McKay’s lab, leaning casually against the wall.
McKay looked up from his computer. “I called you an hour ago.”
“I was busy.”
McKay looked at him like he was insane. “For an hour?”
John made a face and came a few paces into the lab. “Personnel stuff. I’ve been with Elizabeth and Lorne working out new team assignments.”
“Oh.” Rodney looked a little miffed, but turned away before John could assess his mood. “I just thought you’d want the results of the DNA analysis.”
“I do.”
Rodney seemed to ignore him, fiddling with some settings on one of his devices. “Rodney?”
“Hmm? Oh, right. Sorry, I was working on something else since you didn’t come when I called.”
“I’m not your dog, Rodney.” John said, slightly irritated.
Rodney looked up at him, his face blotching with red. “What? No. I-never mind. The inhabitants of P48-X39 are definitely not ancients or descended from ancients. They have some non-human elements in them, but it doesn’t appear to be anything we’ve seen before.”
“Is that where the telepathy comes from?”
Rodney frowned at him. “Maybe. This kind of test doesn’t-“
“What about the Wraith?”
“What?”
“Could it be Wraith?”
Rodney scoffed, huffing as he put his fingers to his laptop and starting pushing buttons. “What makes you think-“
“Telepathy…the Wraith do that too.”
“Would you stop interrupting me?”
“Well?”
Rodney starred at him before finally shrugging. “I don’t know.”
“Can you find out?”
“I suppose.”
“Good. We can talk about it over dinner tonight.”
Rodney cleared his throat and looked away. “You-you’re inviting me to dinner?”
John nodded and crossed his arms. “Teyla is cooking dinner for Elizabeth and I. She’d like it if you would join us.”
John pretended not to notice that Rodney deflated a little even as he nodded. “Yeah, okay.”
“My quarters, 6ish.”
John sauntered off, wondering about the odd exchange. Rodney had puffed up when he’d offered the invitation, but seemed to be disappointed when he’d realized it wouldn’t be just the two of them. It wasn’t like he’d never shared a meal alone with Rodney. In fact in the last month they’d seemed to get one or two late night meals in the mess hall together every week. In fact, Rodney was always a little different then, when it was just the two of them.
John stopped in his tracks and turned to look behind him at the door to Rodney’s lab. “Shit.” He groaned and ran a hand through his hair. Rodney.
Now he didn’t know what to do. A part of him wanted to march back into the lab and make him confess…although to be honest, he couldn’t imagine how either of them would respond to that. He shook his head and started walking again, angling for the gym. He needed a good work out, and time to consider…it made so much sense now…the nervous way Rodney acted when they were alone together, the licking of his lips, the stammering…the complete loss of snarkiness when they weren’t talking about work…and Rodney certainly had access to all of the things John had been finding left for him.
Elizabeth was the first one to his quarters, her smile deep and wide as she pulled a bouquet of flowers out from behind her back. John rolled his eyes and took them. “I couldn’t resist.” She grinned, her eyes sparkling.
“Well, they aren’t roses…” John said dryly, smiling himself. They weren’t, but they were blood red and beautiful. “But what’s a romantic dinner without flowers?”
She raised an eyebrow. “Romantic?”
John bobbled his head and shrugged. “At this rate? Anything is possible.”
“Oh? More soupy poetry?”
“No…worse.”
“Worse than pining in darkness?”
John settled the flowers into a glass and set them on the low table already set with dinner plates. He turned to her and put his hands on his hips. “Worse. I think I’ve figured out who it is.”
“Oh?”
He nodded and moved toward her. “Yes. And I don’t know what to do about it.” Truth was, with her there, and the last few nights between them, all John could really think about was getting her to kiss him. He took a tentative step closer, reaching one hand to draw her to him.
She let him pull her closer, a small smile playing on her lips. “Are you going to tell me?”
The corners of his lips turned up too, but before he could answer there was a knock of the door. John sighed and went to answer it. “Speak of the devil.”
“And he appears.” Rodney finished for him, then thrust a bottle of wine toward him. “I brought this. It’s the last of the bottles I brought from home.”
“You brought wine?”
Rodney shrugged. “I like good wine. I’m picky.”
John smirked. “Oh? I hadn’t noticed.”
Rodney rolled his eyes as John took the bottle and turned to show it to Elizabeth. “Look, Elizabeth, Rodney brought us wine.” He wiggled his eyebrows and Elizabeth chuckled. Her eyebrow shot up as she realized what he was actually saying and her smile grew.
“It goes with the flowers.”
“Flowers?” Rodney asked, his voice oddly pitched. “Someone brought you flowers?”
As Rodney looked at him, John was watching Elizabeth point to Rodney as she mouthed his name. John nodded minutely. An idea was beginning to dawn so John waved a hand dismissively and drew him into the room. “Yeah, you know? It’s the strangest thing. Someone has been leaving me gifts for days now. Candy, flowers…” He looked at Elizabeth and did his best to communicate his thoughts with a look.
“Even poetry.” Elizabeth added as Rodney started to blush.
“It’s flattering, really.” John said, moving to uncork the wine. “Wish I knew who I knew who it was.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah, so I could say thank you.”
Rodney cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably. John set the bottle down on the table and walked over to Elizabeth. “Which reminds me, I haven’t thanked you for helping me with those files yesterday.” He pulled her close and kissed her lightly, casually, as though it were common, something he did all the time.
Rodney shuffled behind him, the tiniest sound of distress coming from his throat and John grinned against her lips. “Go with me.” John whispered so that only she could hear. He pressed her against him a little, letting the heat that was building in him at the wicked turns his thoughts were taking telegraph to her.
She nodded and John turned to Rodney as though nothing had happened. “Now, Teyla regrets that she can’t join us, but something’s come up on the mainland and she had to go out there to deal with it. So, it’s just the three of us.”
John opened the boxes that Teyla had brought the traditional Athosian food and set them around the table. “Here, Rodney, why don’t you sit here.” John held out the chair and smiled as Rodney sat down, looking uneasy. “Elizabeth you sit there, on Rodney’s right. I’ll sit here.” He slipped into his seat on Rodney’s right and poured the wine. “To secret admirers and good friends.”
Rodney practically choked, his face flushing even redder.
John just smiled and started passing dishes. They ate quietly for a few moments and the blush seemed to fade from Rodney’s face. Just about the time is was nearly gone, John moved his leg to connect his knee with Rodney’s. “More wine, Rodney?”
Rodney jumped, but didn’t actually move his leg. “What? Yes…please. More wine.”
John poured and flashed a look at Elizabeth. He felt Rodney jump, and while he couldn’t tell what Elizabeth actually did, it obviously had flustered the scientist.
“So…you were going to have the results of the DNA tests for me.”
That seem to relax Rodney and he nodded. “Yes, you were right. I won’t know for sure until I get the full results in tomorrow, but there are certainly some similarities to what we’ve seen in the Wraith tests we’ve done. Now,…”
John let him ramble on, his eyes on Elizabeth’s as he licked his lips. He kept one knee pressed to Rodney’s and stretched his other leg out to stroke her leg with his foot. Just as Rodney was winding down, John slipped a hand under the table and onto his thigh. His voice squeaked as he tried to continue, and Elizabeth raised an eyebrow.
“You okay, Rodney?”
Rodney cleared his throat again and nodded, reaching for his wine glass and draining it. “I’m fine, Elizabeth.” He dared a glance at John, who only smiled. As Rodney started talking again, John moved his hand up along Rodney’s thigh.
Rodney’s voice quavered and John didn’t even ask this time, just picked up the bottle and poured more wine. He wasn’t sure how far Elizabeth was willing to take this…or for that matter how far he was willing to take it…but he was having too much fun to stop now.
“What was I saying?” Rodney asked suddenly, his face gone twelve shades of red. He bit into his lower lip and for some reason, that made John’s cock twitch.
“Something about hormones.” Elizabeth said, leaning on one hand to watch Rodney. John noticed her other hand was missing and when he looked at her arm where it disappeared, Elizabeth smiled. Two seconds later, Rodney hissed and jumped back.
“Yes…hor-hormones.” Rodney stuttered as he stood. “I-I-“ His cock was obviously hard, pressed against his pants and he turned quickly. “I should…I should go.”
John stood and grabbed his hand, pulling him back. “Why? Are you going to tell me now it isn’t what you want?”
“But…Elizabeth…is…and I…How…”
John stopped him with a hand on his lips. “You’re rambling Rodney.”
“I-um. What…are you doing?” Rodney pulled his face back, shock and arousal both at play on his sharp features.
“I was going to kiss you.” John said. Somewhere in the last few seconds he had gone from playing to very aroused and very serious.
“What?”
“I need to thank you…for the gifts.”
“The…oh god…” John took that as an invitation and closed the gap between them, pressing his lips to Rodney’s. Rodney went stiff, his entire body rigid and still. John ignored him and kissed him more insistently, gesturing Elizabeth closer. Elizabeth’s eyes sparkled with mischief as her hands slithered around Rodney’s waist from behind. Rodney gasped and John took the moment to slip his tongue into Rodney’s mouth.
It had been years since his last time with a man, but it came rushing back to him, and he pulled Rodney closer. Elizabeth pressed kisses to the side of Rodney’s throat before John captured his mouth with his own. John got a little bolder, sliding one hand down Rodney’s chest and between his legs, cupping his hard on. “Ah…Major…I…ah…”
John pressed a kiss along the same path that Elizabeth’s had taken, then whispered in his ear. “I think at this point Rodney, you should probably call me John.” He squeezed a little and Rodney shuddered, coming suddenly and unexpectedly. “I guess that answers that.”
“Oh god…” Rodney pulled away, out from between them, swiping his hands over his face as John and Elizabeth closed the distance and leaned into one another to watch him. “Oh…god…”
“He’s going to explode.” Elizabeth whispered.
“He already has.” John whispered back, holding up his hand which was vaguely damp.
“I…wasn’t…and then…and she’s…and you’re…”
“How long should we let him ramble?”
“How far do you want this to go?”
She turned in his arms and cupped a hand to his cock. “I couldn’t help but notice you aren’t exactly turned off by him.”
John groaned a little. “How far, Elizabeth?”
“Rodney.” Elizabeth said, though her eyes never left John’s. “Come over here.”
“Oh god…” Rodney groaned, a touch of whine coloring his voice. He came closer, hesitantly, and when he was close enough, she pulled him closer, taking his hand and pressing it into John’s groin.
“Does that answer your question?” she asked and John kissed her hard.
“Yeah…” His eyes rolled back as those two hands manipulated him. “But maybe…” he drew a shaky breath. “Bed. Now.”
If anyone would have told him he’d find himself waking up curled around Rodney McKay with Elizabeth Weir spooned around his back, after a night of…things he wasn’t sure he had words for, Major John Sheppard would have had them checked out by medical. As it was, he wasn’t sure if he should haul them all in to see Beckett, maybe the wine was drugged…maybe the roses, okay not roses, but maybe they were…bad…somehow.
Rodney groaned and shifted, reminding John that his cock was still buried inside the other man and rousing to the memories of the activities that had led them there. Maybe there was something bad…but this? John was pretty sure that this was the beginning of something wonderful.
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Characters/Pairings: John Sheppard/Rodney McKay/Elizabeth Weir
Rating: R-ish
Author's Notes: The OT3 Ficathon request was for Rodney seducing Sheppard with lots of romantic schloompiness, and someone else competing for his affection as well. I was chugging along really well for a bit, until I realized the prompt also said no Season 2 bits...so I had to do some rethinking. I'm not sure this was exactly what garneteve was looking for, and the prompty bits kinda took a turn...but here it is:
Summary: Someone is sending flowers and chocolates and love poems to Major John Sheppard. There's only a few people on Atlantis it could be.
Warnings/Disclaimers: Don't own em. Don't sue. None graphic threesome.
It wasn’t that John Sheppard minded the attention, but it was beginning to drive him crazy. Three nights this week he’d come off of shift to find odd little gifts waiting for him in his quarters.
The first night, he’d been off on a recon mission, and it had ended…well, badly wasn’t the word he would use, but he had been covered in mud and in desperate need of a shower, when he’d found the mainland’s equivalent of a rose stuck in the handle of his door. No note, just the flower, a single, yellow flower.
Two nights later, when he’d spent most of the day in the infirmary following a little accident in sparring with Teyla, there had been a tin of candies, the kind they’d found in that little market on that world with the funny looking cattle. They tasted like chocolate, but were hard, like butterscotch and he had fallen in love with them at the time. The tin was just sitting there on his desk. Just like the flower, no note, no indication who had left them there.
It was a pretty limited list of people though that had access to his room, and on that list he couldn’t imagine anyone giving him candy…or a flower.
Now, as he read through the report from the last mission through the gate, he opened the door, dropping file folders filled with personnel reports on the chair as he crossed the room. He stopped at his bed, sitting long enough to take off his boots. As he reached for the report he’d set beside him, his eyes drifted to a roll of some sort of paper, tied in a blue ribbon, leaning against his pillow.
John looked around him, half expecting someone to jump out at him, and when no one did, he picked up the paper and unrolled it, one eye closed and the whole thing held at arm’s length as if it might explode.
It didn’t. He breathed in relief and unrolled it, angling it for better lighting.
I came so far to find you
And you’re still so far away
It burns my soul to look at you
And know…exactly what you’d say
If you knew my heart’s affection
The desire that burns within
So I pine alone in darkness
While you remain my friend.
It wasn’t signed. Not that he’d actually expected it would be. It was kind of creepy. Especially when he considered the people who could have possibly put it there. Sappy love poetry wasn’t something he’d come to expect here on Atlantis. Yet, here it was…and it would be a total lie to say it didn’t stir something in him.
Obviously, he’d picked up an admirer. He bit his lip while thought about it. Elizabeth could certainly get into his room if she wanted to…and while he could see her leaving him a flower or candy, the poem was too sappy even for her.
There was Teyla…but he’d been with her most of the day. He shook his head and set the paper aside, standing to shuck his uniform in favor of his favorite sweats, aiming to spend the evening finishing up some paperwork and calling it a night early.
There was a knock on his door that interrupted that thought and brought him padding across the floor in bare feet, his t-shirt still in his hand. As the door opened, John tilted his head in question. Elizabeth smiled back at him. “Elizabeth?”
“I brought you a present.” Her eyes sparkled and for an instant John’s heart skipped a beat thinking he’d finally found the culprit. That thought faded when she pulled another pile of file folders from behind her back.
John groaned and stood aside to let her in. “Really, you shouldn’t have,” he said dryly.
“They’re the last of the files on the personnel who are available to round out the new teams.” She crossed the room, her eyes scanning over the files already on his bed and landing on the blue ribbon and its scroll. She raised an eyebrow and he started gathering files, brushing the roll of paper aside and hoping she would leave it be. “What’s that?”
“Nothing.” John said, picking it up and hiding it behind his back. “You came to talk about personnel, not…this.”
Her smile was curious, and her eyebrow arched even higher. “Are you blushing, John?”
“No. No. It’s hot…work out. I was working out.”
“In bare feet?”
John looked down at his feet, then up at her, suddenly conscious of the fact that his chest was still bare and her eyes were on him. “Elizabeth!”
“What?”
John dropped the scroll and scrambled to pull his t-shirt on over his head. By the time he had it over his head, Elizabeth had managed to grab the scroll, her smile widening as she read the words. He reached for it, but she danced away to buy enough time to finish reading. “My, John…someone certainly has a crush on you.”
He made a face at her and ran a hand through unruly hair. “Tell me about it. I found that on my bed when I came in.”
“On your bed?” Suddenly she was a little more serious. “Someone was in your room?”
He nodded and gathered the files, gesturing toward the low couch in the other part of the room with his chin. “Second time this week, actually.”
“Why haven’t you said something before now?”
He shrugged and staked a claim on the corner seat, dumping the files on the cushion next to him as she took the other corner. “To be honest, Elizabeth, I’ve been trying to figure out who it is.”
“I don’t like knowing someone can get into your room.”
“You could.” John said, and this time it was his turn to raise an eyebrow.
She tucked her feet under her and turned to face him. Her face looked shocked, but eventually she nodded. “You’re right, I could. Who else?”
John exhaled and shook his head. “You, security, maybe Rodney?” He chuckled. “Short list filled with people I doubt did this.”
Elizabeth sighed. “Maybe you should change your access codes.”
“I will.”
She nodded and picked up the first file. “Good. That makes me feel better.”
“Good. I’m glad.” He picked up another file. “Lt. Harris wants to be put on a team? I thought she was afraid to go off world.”
Elizabeth looked up at him. “She is, but she came to see me and asked to be put on a team.”
John frowned and skimmed through her report. “Any reason?”
“She didn’t say.”
“Okay.” He set the Harris file aside and reached for another one.
“So, you don’t think I would leave you sappy love poetry?” Elizabeth asked, as if they were still talking about Lt. Harris.
“What?”
“You said you doubted any of the people with the access to your room would do it.” She looked up at him, her eyes sparkling.
John watched her tongue as she licked her lips and he swallowed, turning his eyes back to the file in his hands. “Not your style.” John said, hoping that would be the end of it.
Elizabeth’s hand pushed the file down so that she could see his face, or maybe so he’d look at hers. “No, definitely not my style.”
“Elizabeth?”
“John?”
Her hand was on his, it was cool, but where it connected there was fire. John cleared his throat. “What are we doing here?” He licked his lips, looking at their hands, then up to her face.
“I’m touching you,” she said softly.
“I see that.” John’s whole body thrummed and he took a careful breath. “Why?”
She shrugged. “This is my style.”
He nodded slowly, his mind trying to wrap around this. “Okay.”
She pulled her hand away. “If it makes you uncomfortable, we can forget it. It certainly wasn’t professional of me.”
John’s body relaxed when her skin left his, but he shook his head. “Uncomfortable, yes. But that doesn’t mean…I mean…hell, I don’t know what I mean.” He stood up to pace away.
“Maybe I should go.” Elizabeth got up too. She moved to intercept him. “I just…well, I like you John…and we’re all the way out here with no way to get home, and I just thought I should put it out there, especially if someone else is sending you love poems.”
John nodded. “I get that. I appreciate your candor.”
She smiled. “No pressure, we can forget the whole thing.”
He caught her hand and squeezed it. “No. Let me think about it.”
“Good answer. I’ll show myself out.”
John let her go, his head swimming. A week ago his biggest concern was being the ranking military officer on an off Earth excursion that had awakened the most deadly enemy humanity had seen to date. Now he had to worry about romance on top of everything else. He wasn’t exactly the romantic kind. He paced for a few minutes more, but couldn’t get his mind to go much beyond the fire in his hand where she’d touched him and the curious arousal the poetry had brought. It only took about ten minutes before he put down the files and headed out of his quarters, finding himself outside hers in seconds. He smiled and she pulled him inside, kissing him deeply. He would probably regret this, but damn, he just didn’t want professional.
“Rodney, you wanted to see me?” John stopped in the doorway to McKay’s lab, leaning casually against the wall.
McKay looked up from his computer. “I called you an hour ago.”
“I was busy.”
McKay looked at him like he was insane. “For an hour?”
John made a face and came a few paces into the lab. “Personnel stuff. I’ve been with Elizabeth and Lorne working out new team assignments.”
“Oh.” Rodney looked a little miffed, but turned away before John could assess his mood. “I just thought you’d want the results of the DNA analysis.”
“I do.”
Rodney seemed to ignore him, fiddling with some settings on one of his devices. “Rodney?”
“Hmm? Oh, right. Sorry, I was working on something else since you didn’t come when I called.”
“I’m not your dog, Rodney.” John said, slightly irritated.
Rodney looked up at him, his face blotching with red. “What? No. I-never mind. The inhabitants of P48-X39 are definitely not ancients or descended from ancients. They have some non-human elements in them, but it doesn’t appear to be anything we’ve seen before.”
“Is that where the telepathy comes from?”
Rodney frowned at him. “Maybe. This kind of test doesn’t-“
“What about the Wraith?”
“What?”
“Could it be Wraith?”
Rodney scoffed, huffing as he put his fingers to his laptop and starting pushing buttons. “What makes you think-“
“Telepathy…the Wraith do that too.”
“Would you stop interrupting me?”
“Well?”
Rodney starred at him before finally shrugging. “I don’t know.”
“Can you find out?”
“I suppose.”
“Good. We can talk about it over dinner tonight.”
Rodney cleared his throat and looked away. “You-you’re inviting me to dinner?”
John nodded and crossed his arms. “Teyla is cooking dinner for Elizabeth and I. She’d like it if you would join us.”
John pretended not to notice that Rodney deflated a little even as he nodded. “Yeah, okay.”
“My quarters, 6ish.”
John sauntered off, wondering about the odd exchange. Rodney had puffed up when he’d offered the invitation, but seemed to be disappointed when he’d realized it wouldn’t be just the two of them. It wasn’t like he’d never shared a meal alone with Rodney. In fact in the last month they’d seemed to get one or two late night meals in the mess hall together every week. In fact, Rodney was always a little different then, when it was just the two of them.
John stopped in his tracks and turned to look behind him at the door to Rodney’s lab. “Shit.” He groaned and ran a hand through his hair. Rodney.
Now he didn’t know what to do. A part of him wanted to march back into the lab and make him confess…although to be honest, he couldn’t imagine how either of them would respond to that. He shook his head and started walking again, angling for the gym. He needed a good work out, and time to consider…it made so much sense now…the nervous way Rodney acted when they were alone together, the licking of his lips, the stammering…the complete loss of snarkiness when they weren’t talking about work…and Rodney certainly had access to all of the things John had been finding left for him.
Elizabeth was the first one to his quarters, her smile deep and wide as she pulled a bouquet of flowers out from behind her back. John rolled his eyes and took them. “I couldn’t resist.” She grinned, her eyes sparkling.
“Well, they aren’t roses…” John said dryly, smiling himself. They weren’t, but they were blood red and beautiful. “But what’s a romantic dinner without flowers?”
She raised an eyebrow. “Romantic?”
John bobbled his head and shrugged. “At this rate? Anything is possible.”
“Oh? More soupy poetry?”
“No…worse.”
“Worse than pining in darkness?”
John settled the flowers into a glass and set them on the low table already set with dinner plates. He turned to her and put his hands on his hips. “Worse. I think I’ve figured out who it is.”
“Oh?”
He nodded and moved toward her. “Yes. And I don’t know what to do about it.” Truth was, with her there, and the last few nights between them, all John could really think about was getting her to kiss him. He took a tentative step closer, reaching one hand to draw her to him.
She let him pull her closer, a small smile playing on her lips. “Are you going to tell me?”
The corners of his lips turned up too, but before he could answer there was a knock of the door. John sighed and went to answer it. “Speak of the devil.”
“And he appears.” Rodney finished for him, then thrust a bottle of wine toward him. “I brought this. It’s the last of the bottles I brought from home.”
“You brought wine?”
Rodney shrugged. “I like good wine. I’m picky.”
John smirked. “Oh? I hadn’t noticed.”
Rodney rolled his eyes as John took the bottle and turned to show it to Elizabeth. “Look, Elizabeth, Rodney brought us wine.” He wiggled his eyebrows and Elizabeth chuckled. Her eyebrow shot up as she realized what he was actually saying and her smile grew.
“It goes with the flowers.”
“Flowers?” Rodney asked, his voice oddly pitched. “Someone brought you flowers?”
As Rodney looked at him, John was watching Elizabeth point to Rodney as she mouthed his name. John nodded minutely. An idea was beginning to dawn so John waved a hand dismissively and drew him into the room. “Yeah, you know? It’s the strangest thing. Someone has been leaving me gifts for days now. Candy, flowers…” He looked at Elizabeth and did his best to communicate his thoughts with a look.
“Even poetry.” Elizabeth added as Rodney started to blush.
“It’s flattering, really.” John said, moving to uncork the wine. “Wish I knew who I knew who it was.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah, so I could say thank you.”
Rodney cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably. John set the bottle down on the table and walked over to Elizabeth. “Which reminds me, I haven’t thanked you for helping me with those files yesterday.” He pulled her close and kissed her lightly, casually, as though it were common, something he did all the time.
Rodney shuffled behind him, the tiniest sound of distress coming from his throat and John grinned against her lips. “Go with me.” John whispered so that only she could hear. He pressed her against him a little, letting the heat that was building in him at the wicked turns his thoughts were taking telegraph to her.
She nodded and John turned to Rodney as though nothing had happened. “Now, Teyla regrets that she can’t join us, but something’s come up on the mainland and she had to go out there to deal with it. So, it’s just the three of us.”
John opened the boxes that Teyla had brought the traditional Athosian food and set them around the table. “Here, Rodney, why don’t you sit here.” John held out the chair and smiled as Rodney sat down, looking uneasy. “Elizabeth you sit there, on Rodney’s right. I’ll sit here.” He slipped into his seat on Rodney’s right and poured the wine. “To secret admirers and good friends.”
Rodney practically choked, his face flushing even redder.
John just smiled and started passing dishes. They ate quietly for a few moments and the blush seemed to fade from Rodney’s face. Just about the time is was nearly gone, John moved his leg to connect his knee with Rodney’s. “More wine, Rodney?”
Rodney jumped, but didn’t actually move his leg. “What? Yes…please. More wine.”
John poured and flashed a look at Elizabeth. He felt Rodney jump, and while he couldn’t tell what Elizabeth actually did, it obviously had flustered the scientist.
“So…you were going to have the results of the DNA tests for me.”
That seem to relax Rodney and he nodded. “Yes, you were right. I won’t know for sure until I get the full results in tomorrow, but there are certainly some similarities to what we’ve seen in the Wraith tests we’ve done. Now,…”
John let him ramble on, his eyes on Elizabeth’s as he licked his lips. He kept one knee pressed to Rodney’s and stretched his other leg out to stroke her leg with his foot. Just as Rodney was winding down, John slipped a hand under the table and onto his thigh. His voice squeaked as he tried to continue, and Elizabeth raised an eyebrow.
“You okay, Rodney?”
Rodney cleared his throat again and nodded, reaching for his wine glass and draining it. “I’m fine, Elizabeth.” He dared a glance at John, who only smiled. As Rodney started talking again, John moved his hand up along Rodney’s thigh.
Rodney’s voice quavered and John didn’t even ask this time, just picked up the bottle and poured more wine. He wasn’t sure how far Elizabeth was willing to take this…or for that matter how far he was willing to take it…but he was having too much fun to stop now.
“What was I saying?” Rodney asked suddenly, his face gone twelve shades of red. He bit into his lower lip and for some reason, that made John’s cock twitch.
“Something about hormones.” Elizabeth said, leaning on one hand to watch Rodney. John noticed her other hand was missing and when he looked at her arm where it disappeared, Elizabeth smiled. Two seconds later, Rodney hissed and jumped back.
“Yes…hor-hormones.” Rodney stuttered as he stood. “I-I-“ His cock was obviously hard, pressed against his pants and he turned quickly. “I should…I should go.”
John stood and grabbed his hand, pulling him back. “Why? Are you going to tell me now it isn’t what you want?”
“But…Elizabeth…is…and I…How…”
John stopped him with a hand on his lips. “You’re rambling Rodney.”
“I-um. What…are you doing?” Rodney pulled his face back, shock and arousal both at play on his sharp features.
“I was going to kiss you.” John said. Somewhere in the last few seconds he had gone from playing to very aroused and very serious.
“What?”
“I need to thank you…for the gifts.”
“The…oh god…” John took that as an invitation and closed the gap between them, pressing his lips to Rodney’s. Rodney went stiff, his entire body rigid and still. John ignored him and kissed him more insistently, gesturing Elizabeth closer. Elizabeth’s eyes sparkled with mischief as her hands slithered around Rodney’s waist from behind. Rodney gasped and John took the moment to slip his tongue into Rodney’s mouth.
It had been years since his last time with a man, but it came rushing back to him, and he pulled Rodney closer. Elizabeth pressed kisses to the side of Rodney’s throat before John captured his mouth with his own. John got a little bolder, sliding one hand down Rodney’s chest and between his legs, cupping his hard on. “Ah…Major…I…ah…”
John pressed a kiss along the same path that Elizabeth’s had taken, then whispered in his ear. “I think at this point Rodney, you should probably call me John.” He squeezed a little and Rodney shuddered, coming suddenly and unexpectedly. “I guess that answers that.”
“Oh god…” Rodney pulled away, out from between them, swiping his hands over his face as John and Elizabeth closed the distance and leaned into one another to watch him. “Oh…god…”
“He’s going to explode.” Elizabeth whispered.
“He already has.” John whispered back, holding up his hand which was vaguely damp.
“I…wasn’t…and then…and she’s…and you’re…”
“How long should we let him ramble?”
“How far do you want this to go?”
She turned in his arms and cupped a hand to his cock. “I couldn’t help but notice you aren’t exactly turned off by him.”
John groaned a little. “How far, Elizabeth?”
“Rodney.” Elizabeth said, though her eyes never left John’s. “Come over here.”
“Oh god…” Rodney groaned, a touch of whine coloring his voice. He came closer, hesitantly, and when he was close enough, she pulled him closer, taking his hand and pressing it into John’s groin.
“Does that answer your question?” she asked and John kissed her hard.
“Yeah…” His eyes rolled back as those two hands manipulated him. “But maybe…” he drew a shaky breath. “Bed. Now.”
If anyone would have told him he’d find himself waking up curled around Rodney McKay with Elizabeth Weir spooned around his back, after a night of…things he wasn’t sure he had words for, Major John Sheppard would have had them checked out by medical. As it was, he wasn’t sure if he should haul them all in to see Beckett, maybe the wine was drugged…maybe the roses, okay not roses, but maybe they were…bad…somehow.
Rodney groaned and shifted, reminding John that his cock was still buried inside the other man and rousing to the memories of the activities that had led them there. Maybe there was something bad…but this? John was pretty sure that this was the beginning of something wonderful.