SGA fic: Try, Fly Again
Title: Try, Fly Again
Author: winkingstar
Rating: PG
Pairing: John/Rodney
Summary: What happened on their first date.
Wordcount: ~2,075
Disclaimer: Alack and alas, the characters of Stargate Atlantis are not mine. *tragic sigh*
Spoilers: AU, but possibly spoiler-ish for a special guest appearance by a character from the back half of season 4.
Warnings: Judging by the comments on the last story, flight attendant!Rodney has a tendency to induce choking, so please take care if you are eating or drinking while reading this. :P
Notes: Written for mcsmooch. Part of my Airport AU. All you need to know is that Rodney is a flight attendant for Pegasus Airlines, and he and John are about to have their first official date.
*
"Can I have another cookie?" the girl-Hermione, Harley, whatever-in seat 4A asked.
"No," Rodney replied for the third time. He hated it when he got stuck with an unaccompanied minor on one of his flights.
"Why not?"
"Because everyone only gets one."
"The flight attendant on the other flight gave me extra snacks."
"Well, she's not supposed to."
"You had two cookies. I saw you."
Insufferable brat. The woman across the aisle in 4B was now looking at him askance. "We're landing soon anyway," he said authoritatively.
"I think I'm gonna be sick," the girl announced cheerfully.
Rodney scowled and shoved a paper bag at her, eliciting a frown from 4B.
"I think a cookie might help settle my stomach."
"Fine." He pulled another cookie package from the cabinet and tossed it at the girl, who caught it with a triumphant grin.
The handset chimed and he picked it up gratefully. "Yeah?"
"Prepare for landing, McKay," Laura told him. "We'll be starting our descent in about ten minutes."
"Oh, thank god," Rodney muttered.
"Having fun with Harmony?" Laura asked. "Or can't wait for your hot date?"
"Shut up," Rodney hissed and switched the handset to PA mode. "Okay, people, we'll be starting our descent in a few minutes, so please put your chairs in their upright positions and put away the tray tables."
Rodney made his way through the cabin to pick up trash.
"Can I have another-" Harmony began.
"No," Rodney snapped. "We're landing now."
"Meredith, please be seated for landing," Laura's voice announced over the PA.
"Who's Meredith?" Harmony asked as Rodney reluctantly took his seat across from her.
He moaned faintly and made a mental note to kill Laura once they were back on the ground.
"Really? Your name's Meredith?" Harmony pestered. "That's a girl's name!"
"I had evil parents." Rodney scowled out the window at the coastline looming closer. Truthfully, he'd almost forgotten about the date until Laura mentioned it. Which was probably a good thing since otherwise he would have felt worried and nauseous all afternoon instead of just now. Nausea and flying were never a good combination. He glanced quickly over at Harmony in case she hadn't been playing the airsickness card just to get extra cookies, but she just smiled impishly. He glared at her and resumed looking out the window for the last few minutes of the flight.
"Welcome to Santa Barbara," Rodney announced over the PA once they had landed and were taxiing towards the terminal. "The local time is approximately 6:27pm and the weather is 54 degrees and cloudy because, yes, perpetually sunny southern California is a myth. On behalf of your Santa Barbara-based flight crew, thank you for flying with us on Pegasus Airlines and have a nice stay in not-so-sunny Santa Barbara."
When they finally stopped near the terminal, he had to wait for everyone else to get off before he could finally escort Harmony to the gate. No one was there.
"Meredith, I don't see my dad."
He wanted to say, Way to state the obvious, but her voice was kind of quiet and if there was anything worse than an unaccompanied minor it was a crying unaccompanied minor. So instead he said, "Yeah. Maybe he's waiting for you at baggage claim."
They walked next door to the baggage claim tent, where Harmony took a quick look around and then shook her head.
Crap. Of course he had to get stuck with a kid with a forgetful parent on the first night in years that he had a real date. "Well, let's grab your suitcase and then we'll go inside and call your dad, okay?"
She nodded, looking close to tears, so Rodney quickly dug through his messenger bag, pulled out a chocolate bar, and held it out to her. "Thanks, Meredith," she said, taking the chocolate. The impish smile was back.
Rodney sighed forlornly at the sacrifice of his chocolate for someone who was so easily restored to impishness.
She pointed towards the pile of baggage being unloaded and said loftily (around a mouthful of chocolate), "The pink one with the green ribbon is mine."
Rodney looked at her expectantly. Harmony looked back at him, blinking innocently.
"Oh, for crying out- I'm not getting your bag for you," Rodney said. "I am not a porter."
She pouted and her eyes started to sparkle alarmingly.
"Okay, fine," Rodney muttered, stalking over to pick up the hideous pink duffel bag. "Come on," he snapped, having returned to where Harmony was contentedly munching Rodney's chocolate bar.
Rodney led the way back to the terminal, stupid pink duffel bag banging against his leg. "What's in this bag? Cement?"
"Books."
"And, what, you're going to wear the same clothes the whole time you're here?"
"I brought an extra set of clothes, and I'll make my dad buy me some new ones. Books are far more important," she replied, smacking her lips over the last bit of chocolate. Rodney was sorely tempted to swing the lethally book-laden bag at her, but resisted the urge with an effort. He should get Flight Attendant of the Year for putting up with this brat.
She paused in front of the door to the terminal and looked imperiously back at Rodney. He glared and held the door open for her before following her in.
"Hey, Rodney," John drawled.
Rodney stopped short in the doorway and was promptly smacked in the back by the closing door. Harmony snickered. He shot her another scathing look and then tried for some semblance of composure before turning back to John, who was smirking and leaning impossibly against nothing in that distressingly hot way of his. "Hi," Rodney stammered.
"Nice bag," John said.
Rodney dropped the pink monstrosity in front of Harmony. "Ow! You dropped it on my foot!" she complained.
"Deal with it," Rodney growled.
"Aw, Rodney, that's not very nice," John said.
Harmony's face instantly melted into a pout. "My dad was supposed to pick me up, but he's not here, and Meredith is being mean." Her voice quavered dramatically.
"I am not being mean," Rodney said. "I gave you cookies and chocolate and carried your stupid bag and-"
"Hi, I'm John. What's your name?" John interrupted.
"Harmony." She beamed at him.
Rodney scowled.
Harmony attached herself to John's arm and asked in a trembling voice, "Can we go call my dad now?"
John looked shiftily down at where she clung to his arm. "Why don't you let Rodney help you with that? I don't work here."
"But he doesn't like me," she whined.
"I don't not like you," Rodney protested, somewhat uncertainly. He spotted Radek coming towards them and breathed a sigh of relief. "Hi," he said briskly. "I've got an unclaimed child here. Please tell me you have a parent."
"No, not exactly," Radek said slowly. "He is somewhere between here and L.A."
"What?" Rodney spluttered.
"He called about an hour ago," Radek explained. "He said he was sitting in traffic on the 101 in the outskirts of L.A."
"You mean I'm stuck with her for at least another hour? I'm not a babysitter. What am I supposed to do with her for all that time?"
"We could go upstairs and get some dinner," John suggested. "You hungry, Harmony?"
"Yes, John," she said, batting her eyes as though he'd asked her out on a date.
"The airline is so paying for this," Rodney muttered.
Radek nodded apologetically. "Give me the receipt tomorrow and I will fax it to Chuck. Good night." He turned and hurried out of the terminal.
"I have to go to the bathroom," Harmony announced.
"Over there." Rodney gestured vaguely to the other side of the terminal lobby. "Sorry," he said to John as soon as Harmony had disappeared. "She's an unattended minor and I'm stuck with her until her deadbeat father shows up. But you don't have to stay. I'll totally understand if you mmph-"
John had cupped a hand around Rodney's jaw and tilted his chin up to kiss him. "'S'okay," he murmured against Rodney's lips. "I'll stay."
"You're his boyfriend?" Harmony asked accusingly.
"Um," Rodney said, flushing and stepping back. He wondered if they would ever get to kiss without someone interrupting them or Rodney freaking out.
"Yeah," John answered.
Rodney blinked at him and smiled tentatively. Then Harmony flounced over and attached herself to his arm again. "Let's go to dinner, John."
John looked at Rodney and shrugged helplessly. Rodney sighed and picked up Harmony's pink bag again.
"So," John said as they climbed the stairs to the café, "we're ordering the most expensive stuff, right?"
"Of course," Rodney huffed. "And lots of it."
"Yes!" Harmony cheered.
They found a table by the windows since it was still sort of light out. Harmony snagged the seat across from John and propped her chin on her hands, staring at him dreamily. Rodney hovered at the end of the table, debating over whom to sit next to and wondering vaguely if this was still sort of a date. John grabbed his sleeve and tugged him down into the chair next to him.
They ordered three hamburgers, a steak, and spaghetti "to start with." The fourth time that John stole some fries off of Rodney's plate, Rodney smacked his hand away and said, "You had your own fries! Stop stealing mine, you scruffy-looking nerf-herder."
"Hey, who's scruffy-looking?" John attempted to pout but failed miserably at biting back his grin and they both burst into laughter.
Harmony choked on her soda as John laughed his awful har har har. Rodney felt somewhat sympathetic, as he had had pretty much the same reaction upon first hearing that laugh. She coughed a few times and stared at John.
"What's a nerf-herder?" she asked, after a few minutes.
"Um, someone who herds nerfs," Rodney said. "You know, from Star Wars."
"Oh," Harmony said, "I've never seen that."
John and Rodney stared at her.
"What, seriously?" Rodney asked.
She nodded. "Yep. Never seen it."
"You poor thing," John said.
"I almost wish we were keeping you for the night so we could initiate you," Rodney said. Then he repeated, for extra emphasis, "Almost."
When the waiter brought the dessert orders out, Rodney eyed Harmony's lemon meringue pie warily. "Keep that on your side of the table unless you want to kill me," he said.
"Why?" Harmony asked.
"I am fatally allergic to citrus," Rodney explained.
Harmony looked at him over a spoonful of pie. "That's sad," she said, sounding sincere. "There's lots of good things that are made with citrus."
John smiled into his sundae and Rodney quickly took a bite of his cake.
A few minutes later, a voice called over the airport PA system, "Harmony, please report to the Pegasus Airlines service desk."
Rodney paid for the food and tucked the receipt carefully into his bag. John picked up Harmony's bag and they headed back downstairs.
"Daddy!" Harmony called, running across the terminal to hug the man standing by the Pegasus desk.
"Sorry I'm late, honey," the man said, giving her a one-armed hug. "I had a meeting earlier that ran over and then I got stuck in traffic. You okay?" She nodded. As John and Rodney drifted up behind her, he added, "Thanks for looking after her."
"Um, sure," Rodney said. John handed over the pink duffel bag.
"Ready to go?" the man asked.
"Yeah," Harmony said. They turned to go. "Oh!" She turned around. "I don't not like you, too, Meredith," she said solemnly.
"Um, thank you?" Rodney said.
She beamed and waved goodbye to them before leaving with her dad.
Rodney checked his watch. "I should, um, go home." He gestured towards the terminal doors. "Early flight tomorrow. Sorry we were babysitting all night. I, um...." He trailed off.
John leaned in and kissed him again, one hand curling around his jaw and the other resting lightly on his hip. Rodney closed his eyes and willed himself to relax into the touch, heart racing. And this time, no one interrupted them.
"So," John said when they broke apart. "D'you want to try again tomorrow? I'm going back to Colorado for a week on Thursday to clear out my apartment and stuff."
"Oh," Rodney said, somewhat dazed. "Tomorrow's good."
"Same bat-time, same bat-place?" John asked with a smile.
"Yes." Rodney smiled back and thought he might be in love.
~ { end } ~
Author: winkingstar
Rating: PG
Pairing: John/Rodney
Summary: What happened on their first date.
Wordcount: ~2,075
Disclaimer: Alack and alas, the characters of Stargate Atlantis are not mine. *tragic sigh*
Spoilers: AU, but possibly spoiler-ish for a special guest appearance by a character from the back half of season 4.
Warnings: Judging by the comments on the last story, flight attendant!Rodney has a tendency to induce choking, so please take care if you are eating or drinking while reading this. :P
Notes: Written for mcsmooch. Part of my Airport AU. All you need to know is that Rodney is a flight attendant for Pegasus Airlines, and he and John are about to have their first official date.
*
"Can I have another cookie?" the girl-Hermione, Harley, whatever-in seat 4A asked.
"No," Rodney replied for the third time. He hated it when he got stuck with an unaccompanied minor on one of his flights.
"Why not?"
"Because everyone only gets one."
"The flight attendant on the other flight gave me extra snacks."
"Well, she's not supposed to."
"You had two cookies. I saw you."
Insufferable brat. The woman across the aisle in 4B was now looking at him askance. "We're landing soon anyway," he said authoritatively.
"I think I'm gonna be sick," the girl announced cheerfully.
Rodney scowled and shoved a paper bag at her, eliciting a frown from 4B.
"I think a cookie might help settle my stomach."
"Fine." He pulled another cookie package from the cabinet and tossed it at the girl, who caught it with a triumphant grin.
The handset chimed and he picked it up gratefully. "Yeah?"
"Prepare for landing, McKay," Laura told him. "We'll be starting our descent in about ten minutes."
"Oh, thank god," Rodney muttered.
"Having fun with Harmony?" Laura asked. "Or can't wait for your hot date?"
"Shut up," Rodney hissed and switched the handset to PA mode. "Okay, people, we'll be starting our descent in a few minutes, so please put your chairs in their upright positions and put away the tray tables."
Rodney made his way through the cabin to pick up trash.
"Can I have another-" Harmony began.
"No," Rodney snapped. "We're landing now."
"Meredith, please be seated for landing," Laura's voice announced over the PA.
"Who's Meredith?" Harmony asked as Rodney reluctantly took his seat across from her.
He moaned faintly and made a mental note to kill Laura once they were back on the ground.
"Really? Your name's Meredith?" Harmony pestered. "That's a girl's name!"
"I had evil parents." Rodney scowled out the window at the coastline looming closer. Truthfully, he'd almost forgotten about the date until Laura mentioned it. Which was probably a good thing since otherwise he would have felt worried and nauseous all afternoon instead of just now. Nausea and flying were never a good combination. He glanced quickly over at Harmony in case she hadn't been playing the airsickness card just to get extra cookies, but she just smiled impishly. He glared at her and resumed looking out the window for the last few minutes of the flight.
"Welcome to Santa Barbara," Rodney announced over the PA once they had landed and were taxiing towards the terminal. "The local time is approximately 6:27pm and the weather is 54 degrees and cloudy because, yes, perpetually sunny southern California is a myth. On behalf of your Santa Barbara-based flight crew, thank you for flying with us on Pegasus Airlines and have a nice stay in not-so-sunny Santa Barbara."
When they finally stopped near the terminal, he had to wait for everyone else to get off before he could finally escort Harmony to the gate. No one was there.
"Meredith, I don't see my dad."
He wanted to say, Way to state the obvious, but her voice was kind of quiet and if there was anything worse than an unaccompanied minor it was a crying unaccompanied minor. So instead he said, "Yeah. Maybe he's waiting for you at baggage claim."
They walked next door to the baggage claim tent, where Harmony took a quick look around and then shook her head.
Crap. Of course he had to get stuck with a kid with a forgetful parent on the first night in years that he had a real date. "Well, let's grab your suitcase and then we'll go inside and call your dad, okay?"
She nodded, looking close to tears, so Rodney quickly dug through his messenger bag, pulled out a chocolate bar, and held it out to her. "Thanks, Meredith," she said, taking the chocolate. The impish smile was back.
Rodney sighed forlornly at the sacrifice of his chocolate for someone who was so easily restored to impishness.
She pointed towards the pile of baggage being unloaded and said loftily (around a mouthful of chocolate), "The pink one with the green ribbon is mine."
Rodney looked at her expectantly. Harmony looked back at him, blinking innocently.
"Oh, for crying out- I'm not getting your bag for you," Rodney said. "I am not a porter."
She pouted and her eyes started to sparkle alarmingly.
"Okay, fine," Rodney muttered, stalking over to pick up the hideous pink duffel bag. "Come on," he snapped, having returned to where Harmony was contentedly munching Rodney's chocolate bar.
Rodney led the way back to the terminal, stupid pink duffel bag banging against his leg. "What's in this bag? Cement?"
"Books."
"And, what, you're going to wear the same clothes the whole time you're here?"
"I brought an extra set of clothes, and I'll make my dad buy me some new ones. Books are far more important," she replied, smacking her lips over the last bit of chocolate. Rodney was sorely tempted to swing the lethally book-laden bag at her, but resisted the urge with an effort. He should get Flight Attendant of the Year for putting up with this brat.
She paused in front of the door to the terminal and looked imperiously back at Rodney. He glared and held the door open for her before following her in.
"Hey, Rodney," John drawled.
Rodney stopped short in the doorway and was promptly smacked in the back by the closing door. Harmony snickered. He shot her another scathing look and then tried for some semblance of composure before turning back to John, who was smirking and leaning impossibly against nothing in that distressingly hot way of his. "Hi," Rodney stammered.
"Nice bag," John said.
Rodney dropped the pink monstrosity in front of Harmony. "Ow! You dropped it on my foot!" she complained.
"Deal with it," Rodney growled.
"Aw, Rodney, that's not very nice," John said.
Harmony's face instantly melted into a pout. "My dad was supposed to pick me up, but he's not here, and Meredith is being mean." Her voice quavered dramatically.
"I am not being mean," Rodney said. "I gave you cookies and chocolate and carried your stupid bag and-"
"Hi, I'm John. What's your name?" John interrupted.
"Harmony." She beamed at him.
Rodney scowled.
Harmony attached herself to John's arm and asked in a trembling voice, "Can we go call my dad now?"
John looked shiftily down at where she clung to his arm. "Why don't you let Rodney help you with that? I don't work here."
"But he doesn't like me," she whined.
"I don't not like you," Rodney protested, somewhat uncertainly. He spotted Radek coming towards them and breathed a sigh of relief. "Hi," he said briskly. "I've got an unclaimed child here. Please tell me you have a parent."
"No, not exactly," Radek said slowly. "He is somewhere between here and L.A."
"What?" Rodney spluttered.
"He called about an hour ago," Radek explained. "He said he was sitting in traffic on the 101 in the outskirts of L.A."
"You mean I'm stuck with her for at least another hour? I'm not a babysitter. What am I supposed to do with her for all that time?"
"We could go upstairs and get some dinner," John suggested. "You hungry, Harmony?"
"Yes, John," she said, batting her eyes as though he'd asked her out on a date.
"The airline is so paying for this," Rodney muttered.
Radek nodded apologetically. "Give me the receipt tomorrow and I will fax it to Chuck. Good night." He turned and hurried out of the terminal.
"I have to go to the bathroom," Harmony announced.
"Over there." Rodney gestured vaguely to the other side of the terminal lobby. "Sorry," he said to John as soon as Harmony had disappeared. "She's an unattended minor and I'm stuck with her until her deadbeat father shows up. But you don't have to stay. I'll totally understand if you mmph-"
John had cupped a hand around Rodney's jaw and tilted his chin up to kiss him. "'S'okay," he murmured against Rodney's lips. "I'll stay."
"You're his boyfriend?" Harmony asked accusingly.
"Um," Rodney said, flushing and stepping back. He wondered if they would ever get to kiss without someone interrupting them or Rodney freaking out.
"Yeah," John answered.
Rodney blinked at him and smiled tentatively. Then Harmony flounced over and attached herself to his arm again. "Let's go to dinner, John."
John looked at Rodney and shrugged helplessly. Rodney sighed and picked up Harmony's pink bag again.
"So," John said as they climbed the stairs to the café, "we're ordering the most expensive stuff, right?"
"Of course," Rodney huffed. "And lots of it."
"Yes!" Harmony cheered.
They found a table by the windows since it was still sort of light out. Harmony snagged the seat across from John and propped her chin on her hands, staring at him dreamily. Rodney hovered at the end of the table, debating over whom to sit next to and wondering vaguely if this was still sort of a date. John grabbed his sleeve and tugged him down into the chair next to him.
They ordered three hamburgers, a steak, and spaghetti "to start with." The fourth time that John stole some fries off of Rodney's plate, Rodney smacked his hand away and said, "You had your own fries! Stop stealing mine, you scruffy-looking nerf-herder."
"Hey, who's scruffy-looking?" John attempted to pout but failed miserably at biting back his grin and they both burst into laughter.
Harmony choked on her soda as John laughed his awful har har har. Rodney felt somewhat sympathetic, as he had had pretty much the same reaction upon first hearing that laugh. She coughed a few times and stared at John.
"What's a nerf-herder?" she asked, after a few minutes.
"Um, someone who herds nerfs," Rodney said. "You know, from Star Wars."
"Oh," Harmony said, "I've never seen that."
John and Rodney stared at her.
"What, seriously?" Rodney asked.
She nodded. "Yep. Never seen it."
"You poor thing," John said.
"I almost wish we were keeping you for the night so we could initiate you," Rodney said. Then he repeated, for extra emphasis, "Almost."
When the waiter brought the dessert orders out, Rodney eyed Harmony's lemon meringue pie warily. "Keep that on your side of the table unless you want to kill me," he said.
"Why?" Harmony asked.
"I am fatally allergic to citrus," Rodney explained.
Harmony looked at him over a spoonful of pie. "That's sad," she said, sounding sincere. "There's lots of good things that are made with citrus."
John smiled into his sundae and Rodney quickly took a bite of his cake.
A few minutes later, a voice called over the airport PA system, "Harmony, please report to the Pegasus Airlines service desk."
Rodney paid for the food and tucked the receipt carefully into his bag. John picked up Harmony's bag and they headed back downstairs.
"Daddy!" Harmony called, running across the terminal to hug the man standing by the Pegasus desk.
"Sorry I'm late, honey," the man said, giving her a one-armed hug. "I had a meeting earlier that ran over and then I got stuck in traffic. You okay?" She nodded. As John and Rodney drifted up behind her, he added, "Thanks for looking after her."
"Um, sure," Rodney said. John handed over the pink duffel bag.
"Ready to go?" the man asked.
"Yeah," Harmony said. They turned to go. "Oh!" She turned around. "I don't not like you, too, Meredith," she said solemnly.
"Um, thank you?" Rodney said.
She beamed and waved goodbye to them before leaving with her dad.
Rodney checked his watch. "I should, um, go home." He gestured towards the terminal doors. "Early flight tomorrow. Sorry we were babysitting all night. I, um...." He trailed off.
John leaned in and kissed him again, one hand curling around his jaw and the other resting lightly on his hip. Rodney closed his eyes and willed himself to relax into the touch, heart racing. And this time, no one interrupted them.
"So," John said when they broke apart. "D'you want to try again tomorrow? I'm going back to Colorado for a week on Thursday to clear out my apartment and stuff."
"Oh," Rodney said, somewhat dazed. "Tomorrow's good."
"Same bat-time, same bat-place?" John asked with a smile.
"Yes." Rodney smiled back and thought he might be in love.
~ { end } ~