Fic: Rules of Engagement (1/2). John/Rodney. NC-17.

[velocitygrass]

Title: Rules of Engagement
Author: velocitygrass
Pairing: John Sheppard/Rodney McKay
Rating: NC-17
Spoilers: up to Outcast
Word count: 21950
Summary: Apparently, he was going to marry Rodney McKay.
Note: Written for literal_sga. My prompt was Wife for Hire by Janet Evanovich. I haven't read it. This is based on the provided summary, which you can find after the fic. Many thanks to neevebrody for her wonderful beta skills :)


Rules of Engagement

"Say again," John said, trying not to panic just yet.

"I'm almost finished with my paper on-" Rodney began with flourish.

"The other part," John clarified, because he didn't need to hear about The Paper That Would Win Rodney McKay His Nobel Prize. That he'd heard enough about ever since their return from the Pegasus galaxy, when Rodney had decided to finally pursue this dream.

"Oh, uhm. We need to get married."

"See, that's what I thought I heard and it still doesn't make any sense. Nobel Prize. Us getting married. I don't see the connection."

"Well, if you'd listened you would. I need some lab time to prove my findings."

"Don't you usually start in the lab?"

"Only if you don't know what the results will be!" Rodney snapped. Then he seemed to realize that shouting at the man you're asking to marry-and no, it still didn't make any sense at all-wasn't the best way to make him say yes. "Sorry. Look, I know that it's an... unusual request."

"Unusual? It may have escaped your notice, but I'm a man and so are you."

"No kidding. But that only makes a difference in your country." Of course Rodney would feel superior about that.

"And in my job, as you well know, mainly the difference between still having said job and not."

Rodney had enough decency to look at least a bit contrite. "Yes, I know, but can you honestly say that you still want that job? I mean, not the title, the one that they're allowing you to do now that you're no longer commanding officer of Atlantis."

John opened his mouth to say that of course he still wanted the job. Yes, it wasn't the same, but really, nothing could ever be the same as being on Atlantis. And he knew he wasn't the only one who held that opinion.

But he couldn't say it. Too often, he'd complained to Rodney about the incompetence of his team, how much he missed Teyla and Ronon-and possibly even Rodney-and that he felt useless.

"What exactly do you want me to do instead?"

"You don't have to do anything. I'll provide for you obviously. It's the least I can do."

"I don't need providing for," John said stiffly.

Rodney rolled his eyes. "I'm just saying I'll pay expenses. We can rent an apartment or a house for the time."

"Right, and that time would be?"

"Three months. Six tops."

"I can't exactly return to the Air Force after a couple of months, divorced from another man."

"I... I know. But do you really want to keep doing this? Compared to what we did in Atlantis, these are milk runs. And if you do find something they'll send in SG-1. The only thing you're likely to get out of this is some horrible injury and let's not even get started on potentially fatal accidents."

"Rodney, you know that's part of the job."

"It doesn't have to be. Look, if you do this for me, I'll help you find a job that you'll love. How about test piloting new jets?"

"You could do that?"

"Do you have any idea how many companies have asked me to work for them? I'm sure I could arrange a package deal."

"That.... Okay, let's say that I am-hypothetically-willing to do this-"

"Yes!"

"Hypothetically," John insisted. Rodney unsuccessfully tried to hide his grin. John continued, "What I don't get is why you have to be married. Can they even do that? And why can't you just go to a different lab?"

"This lab is not just one of the best equipped it's also just an hour's drive away from Jeannie. And of course their official reason won't be that I'm not married. But I know someone who's on the committee that'll make the decision and he's told me that while they recognize my brilliance, they aren't too sure my presence won't be 'disruptive' to the atmosphere."

"And you being married would change that how?"

"The fact that I was single was just one more indication that I don't have the interpersonal skills that they desire. Richard told me unofficially that if I'd been married, it would have tipped the vote. So... I'll just get married."

"And you don't think it would look a little suspicious that you just happen to get married, when that's all they need to change their minds?"

"First of all, they don't know that Richard told me. Second of all, I have a good excuse. We couldn't get married as long as you were in the Air Force. And now that I've almost finished my paper, I've finally been able to persuade you to leave the Air Force so that we can be together."

"That... could actually work."

"See! Brilliant," he said, pointing at himself.

John could feel his mind getting used to the idea of marrying Rodney and that was just insane. "Why me?"

"You're the obvious choice."

John gave him a look.

"Well, you are. I don't have the time to go looking for a bride and as you said, it would be highly suspicious."

"You could have asked someone else. Katie?" Rodney glared at him. "Right, maybe not after your failed proposal. But... Jennifer?"

John felt a certain amount of trepidation. Ever since holographic Rodney had told him about Rodney's future he'd been waiting for something to happen between them. Even though it hadn't, it was always in the back of John's mind.

"I couldn't ask her to marry me. I mean fake ask. It would be weird. Plus, what if she meets someone? I can't ask her not to date, because she has to pretend to be married to me."

"But you can ask me?" John was insulted by that. Not that he was seeing anyone or planning to. It was the principle of the matter.

"Well. Are you dating anyone? I mean seriously dating. I'm not asking you to give up sex obviously. I'd just prefer it if you could be discreet. I really don't want them to think that you're sleeping around behind my back and I'm too stupid to notice."

"I think I'll manage for half a year. And if I happen to fall head over heels in love-"

"We'll just have to deal with it."

John nodded. Apparently, he was going to marry Rodney McKay.

~~

The days after their engagement, if you wanted to call it that, were a blur. John had to resign and was surprised to find that after the destruction of Atlantis, he didn't feel a huge loss at leaving the Air Force.

He gave up his tiny apartment in Colorado Springs, said good-bye to a couple of friends and found himself in a hotel suite that he shared with Rodney. "It would look weird, if we didn't share a room," Rodney had said and John had only nodded.

Strangely enough, it was the sight of the large bed that finally made John think about what all this meant. Ever since Rodney brought it up, he'd steadfastly thought about it as a favor he was doing for a friend. It had nothing to do with this thing he had for Rodney. Mostly he tried to ignore it anyway, because there was no point in thinking about feelings he might or might not have for Rodney, if there wasn't a chance in hell they'd ever be returned.

But the part of him that did a little skip when Rodney smiled at him enjoyed the idea of being married to Rodney in ways that had nothing to do with doing a friend a favor. He tried not to encourage that part of himself, but that was difficult, especially when it came out to play a day after his arrival, when they were looking for the home they'd share for the next few months.

"It's a bit small," John said, looking around yet another apartment. "What if Jeannie and her family want to stay over for a night?"

"There is a very generous guest room," the realtor piped up.

Of course, she didn't know that that would be John's room and he couldn't exactly tell her. "I just think I'd like something bigger for our first home together." He stepped up to Rodney, right into his personal space.

Rodney didn't flinch away. In fact, by now he seemed to be okay with John in close proximity after the first touches on his arm and the arm around his waist had prompted a somewhat panicked look.

Rodney started playing along and put his hands on John's waist. "A house then?" he asked, with just a hint of exasperation, which John presumed wouldn't be out of place for a fiancé.

He grinned and turned to the realtor who was checking out the white wall opposite of them. "You do rent houses?"

"Of course."

Maybe it was playing the husband-to-be in front of their realtor, but John found himself contemplating the merit of each house as a real home for them. Then he realized that fake marriage or not, it would be their home, even if only for a few months and he wanted to make it as perfect as possible.

He'd only ever shared a room in college and of course on base, but that was hardly the same as living together with his best friend-husband.

The fifth house they looked at was bright and warm, homely in a way that the other places hadn't been. John knew all about large houses that felt empty and impersonal. Despite its size, this one felt intimate, almost small.

There were three guest rooms, which meant that even discounting the one he'd take, there'd be space for the Millers to stay and Madison could even have her own room. There was a big garage, inviting you to work on a car or motorcycle or possibly do some handiwork for the house. He wasn't sure if he was up to that, but it was good to know that he could.

"You do realize I'll be at the lab most of the time," Rodney interrupted his thoughts.

"But I won't be. Plus you'll have to come home at some point and I'd like it to be a real home." He walked towards Rodney. "I think it would be great," he said, running one hand down Rodney's arm until he could clasp their hands together.

Rodney looked as if he wouldn't deny him anything but was trying to fight it. John was pretty sure it wasn't acting, if only because he didn't think Rodney was up to that much subtlety.

"Please," he said and watched the rest of Rodney's resolve crumble.

"Oh, all right."

John grinned and pulled Rodney into his arms. And when Rodney squeezed back, John quickly kissed him on the cheek. Acting the part, he tried to tell himself, while the lovelorn part of him contemplated evenings on the couch, cuddled up to Rodney.

~~

Richard was, of course, surprised about the sudden wedding plans. But Rodney pressed on, explaining over the phone that it wasn't about getting the lab, that may have only influenced the timing of the matter. He told him that they'd get married the same weekend and silently hoped that Richard would buy it.

After a moment of hesitation, Richard told him there was going to be a little informal get-together that Thursday and that Rodney should come by and bring John, if they had time despite having to organize a wedding.

"We're in, I can feel it," he told John after he'd hung up.

"He wasn't suspicious?"

"Of course he was. They're not stupid. But they've invited us to a party. So we just have to appear to be in a happy, healthy relationship and that will hopefully show them that I'm easy to work with if you just get to know me a little better."

"I thought they weren't stupid."

"Haha, very funny. What are you going to wear?"

John looked up from the golf magazine he was reading. "Tell me you're joking."

"You're my trophy wife! You have to look the part."

John got up from the couch and stood in front of him, pulling himself up to his full height. Rodney gulped. "If you ever call me that again, I'll cheat on you with the pool boy. Where's your credit card?"

Rodney sighed in relief and got out his wallet. "We don't have a pool."

John snatched up the card. "Lucky for you."

"I'm coming with you!" Rodney said to John's retreating back.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," John said, holding the door open. "After you, dear."

~~

There was something strangely exciting about John dressing up for him. Actually, it wasn't just that. The whole idea of living with John had an appeal beyond facilitating Rodney's lab access.

John was buying things for their home. Rodney hadn't even started unpacking, when John had hung one of Lorne's paintings of Atlantis in the living room. There was hot coffee waiting for him in the kitchen when he got up.

They had only been there for a couple of days, but already Rodney felt it was home.

He'd planned this as a necessary step to finally ensure he'd get his Nobel Prize. Being close to Jeannie and her family was a bonus. Marrying John however had just been the most practical workaround for his problems.

Now though, as he was shaving in their bathroom, while John was getting dressed-putting on the clothes that he'd actually paid for himself, despite his jokes about being a kept man-Rodney couldn't deny that living with John was more than just a necessity.

He'd missed their daily contact after their forced return to Earth, even though they talked on the phone regularly, but he never would have thought that John suddenly standing in the door to the bathroom, holding up a tie and asking "Too formal?", would feel so right.

"The suit is enough," Rodney answered and John smiled and walked away with an easy beat in his step.

Rodney didn't think he'd seen him this happy since Atlantis had been destroyed. And seeing him like that almost made Rodney feel guilty, because truthfully he hadn't given a lot of thought to what this would mean for John. Except that it got him out of the job that Rodney knew he was unhappy with. But even that was in part selfish. After everyone they'd lost and leaving Teyla and Ronon behind in Pegasus, he didn't want to face losing John.

"Well, are you coming?" John called from below. "I'm not sure how fashionable they'd consider coming late."

Rodney quickly finished and slipped into his shirt and jacket.

John was waiting at the foot of the stairs, looking up at him, and something twisted inside Rodney's chest. He suddenly knew exactly how he'd feel if they were actually going to be married, how he'd be tempted to let the party be party and stay at home, getting John out of that black jacket and white shirt and....

He shook his head and rushed down the stairs. He had to concentrate on being the kind of person you'd want as part of your facility for the next few months instead of having fantasies that made no sense.

~~

John tried not to drive too fast for Rodney's sake. He still couldn't help needling him.

"You could buy me a real car."

"Why? You're soon-to-be too freshly married for a midlife crisis and I'd never be with someone who'd need it to cover up certain... inadequacies." John didn't need to look at Rodney to know he was smirking-and possibly looking at John's crotch.

"Size doesn't matter." John smiled inwardly, waiting for Rodney's reaction.

"Don't you dare tell anyone that," Rodney said outraged. "They'll think you're talking about me and believe me, you'd have nothing to worry about in that department." John couldn't help a sidelong glance towards Rodney. "If we really had sex," he added. "And for God's sake, keep you eyes on the road! They don't award the Nobel Prize posthumously, you know."

"Yes, dear."

~~

They arrived right on time, but still Rodney was fidgeting nervously once they got out of the car. John put one of his hands on Rodney's arm, the other on the small of his back. Then he leaned in and whispered, "We'll be fine."

Rodney turned towards him, took a deep breath and nodded. Then he gave John a quick grateful smile. John squeezed his arm.

He moved aside a bit as someone approached them. In the last second he changed his mind and let the hand from Rodney's back slip into Rodney's, clasping them together.

"Rodney," the man said, holding out his hand.

"Richard." Rodney slid out of John's grasp to shake the man's hand, but much to John's surprise, once he had, he took John's hand again. "This is Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard." He was pressing John's hand as he said it and John pressed back to calm him down.

"Retired," John said and shook Richard's hand. "It's good to meet you."

"It's good to meet you," Richard answered. "We were all quite curious to see what kind of man would be brave enough to face a lifetime with Rodney McKay."

Next to him, Rodney spluttered. "I think it took courage for both of us," John said quickly, trying to deflect an outburst.

"Ha," Rodney said. John squeezed his hand with a bit more force. "Hey!"

"How about we meet the others?" John asked Richard.

"Yes, of course. I suppose you will want to get back to your wedding preparations."

John nodded with a smile. Truthfully, the extent of their planning had been to obtain a license and find a Marriage Commissioner and the vague idea to have the ceremony take place in their garden. They did have a lot to do, but that wasn't the reason he wanted to go. If Rodney made a good impression on them, it would be best to leave as soon as possible, specifically, before Rodney could screw it up again.

Four introductions later, John could feel Rodney getting fidgety again. Rodney was terrible at small talk. Not that John enjoyed it himself, but you didn't grow up in the Sheppard household without learning a few things about presenting yourself and as much as hated it, he figured he might as well put it to good use for Rodney now.

John tried to lead the conversations, because while Rodney's enthusiasm about his work was a wonderful thing, these people already knew that he was brilliant and unfortunately talking about his own genius went hand in hand with insulting the lesser minds and this was the sort of thing that was to be avoided at all cost.

Food was always a good distraction, so he set out to get something to eat for Rodney. As long as Rodney had something in his mouth, he couldn't talk.

When John joined Rodney again with a full plate, he seemed to have come just in time.

"Oh please, I know that his 'theory' seems to have a few interesting points superficially, but his reasoning is as sound as a wet tissue. The man is an-" That was when John more or less shoved one of the mini-sausages into his mouth.

Rodney glared at him, then the glare changed as he took in the taste and saw there was more.

The woman Rodney had been talking to seemed to try to hide her amusement.

"These are good," Rodney said, pointing at the plate.

"I know what you like," John said smiling indulgently.

The woman-Mary something or other-looked between them and he could see in her eyes what he'd seen with the others. She was buying their act hook line and sinker.

It probably was a combination of things.

People tended to see what you told them to see. He'd been Patrick Sheppard's son to so many when he'd been young. Then later he'd been the hot-shot pilot with the black mark. But a few people, like Elizabeth, had always seen more than that. He felt a moment of sadness remembering her, accompanied by a bit of gratitude that she hadn't been alive to see Atlantis' destruction. These people in this room were told that they were seeing two people engaged to be married and that's what they saw.

Another reason it worked, John suspected, was that he and Rodney really did know each other quite well. They could finish each other's sentences and communicate wordlessly. Over the years, a certain amount of intimacy had developed between them. Or maybe intimacy wasn't the right word. Familiarity.

At least that's what it had been until recently. John recalled watching Rodney shave earlier. Sharing a household was a step towards intimacy, even if they didn't share a bed. And that was probably the last reason these people seemed to buy into their act: for John, it wasn't exactly an act.

He was still a bit surprised at how easy he found it to be openly affectionate with Rodney. Maybe this was just part of a natural development for him. Like the move from calling him "McKay" to calling him "Rodney". And after all, it wasn't as if he'd never touched Rodney before. Still, putting a hand on the small of his back or holding his hand was something he did deliberately, but didn't have to force himself to do. Which was strange, because public displays of affection had always felt awkward to John, even if he genuinely liked the people he shared them with.

John definitely liked Rodney. He more than liked him. He wasn't ready to put any other name on his feelings-that dreaded L-word-and he was trying not to let his feelings get out of hand, but the last couple of days had made it more and more challenging.

Sharing the large bed at the hotel had been easy. Maybe it was because they'd shared tents before and the bed was so large that they could leave a comfortable amount of space between them. The sight of a sleep-tousled Rodney in t-shirt and boxer shorts was somehow much more exciting, precisely because it was something that he wasn't used to. And the look of gratitude on Rodney's face when John greeted him with a hot cup of coffee did things to John's insides that were definitely new, at least on such a regular basis.

"I'm afraid we have to go soon," John told Mary.

Rodney looked as if he was about to protest, but instead he just shoved more of food on the plate into his mouth.

"Wedding preparations. I can imagine. I'm so glad you could make it."

John let Rodney finish the plate and then quickly dragged him back to the car.

"We could have stayed a bit longer," Rodney complained, once they were on their way back. "It was going great."

"Exactly. From that point on things could have only gotten worse."

"Hmm, I suppose you're right." He looked over to John as if surprised about that. Then his frown faded. "Thank you."

John was tempted to make a joke that he was just making sure he'd be provided for, but in the end he simply said, "You're welcome."

When Rodney smiled at him, John reached over and squeezed his hand.

~~

At home, Rodney immediately checked their answering machine.

"Damn, no calls," he said, getting out of his jacket.

"Whose call are you expecting?" John asked. He wasn't even sure how many people knew their new number.

"I thought maybe after seeing us together, all socially ept, they'd go ahead and confirm that I got the lab."

John laughed. "Rodney. They said, you'd have their decision next week. You can be glad if this works at all."

"What? We were perfect! They loved you. I didn't know you could schmooze like that. Except of course with pretty chieftain's daughters or half-ascended women."

"It's a hidden talent," John said, quickly continuing with, "What do you want to order for dinner?" He didn't really want to have a conversation about either where John had learned to work a crowd or half-ascended women.

"I don't care as long as it's edible. Though I'm not quite hungry yet. Maybe this would be a good time to talk about some of the wedding preparations that everyone mentioned."

John smiled. "For most people a wedding is quite a big thing."

Rodney sat down on the couch, kicked off his shoes and put his feet on the table. Then he looked at John hesitantly. "How was your first wedding?"

"A very big thing," John said, hoping Rodney would hear the finality in his statement.

Rodney watched him, then leaned his head back on the couch. "Jeannie is going to have my head for this."

John sat down next to Rodney. "For faking a marriage to get some lab time?"

Rodney straightened abruptly. "God no! She must never know. Do you hear me?"

John was a bit surprised to hear that. He'd assumed Rodney would tell her the truth before the ceremony. After all it was, in part at least, to be close to her. "You want to lie to her?"

"I don't want to lie to her. But believe me, the alternative is worse. Do you have any idea how she was about Katie?"

Actually John didn't. "You told her about the proposal?"

"It was her idea."

John's eyebrows rose. He knew that Jeannie could be as headstrong as Rodney, but making Rodney propose to someone? Then again, looking back at his own recent history, maybe it just didn't take that much. "You should consider marrying out of love at some point."

Rodney glared at him. "Thanks for the advice. That is the plan."

John tried not to make a face at that. The idea of watching Rodney marry some day.... He didn't want to think about it. Especially since there was a good chance he'd be Best Man. Of course, first he'd watch himself marry Rodney. Which brought him back to the whole not telling Jeannie the truth thing.

"If you don't want to tell Jeannie the truth, we'll have to tell her that we're in a relationship."

Rodney's eyes shifted to him, then away again. "Yes, I'm aware of that."

"You think she'll believe it?" John didn't add that you're marrying a guy, because that would be tantamount to asking if Rodney wasn't straight and he couldn't quite bring himself to do that. Truth was, he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know the answer.

Rodney sighed. "I hope so. She'll be surprised, because I never told her about us."

John fidgeted and then just couldn't help himself. "Is that the only reason she'll be surprised?"

Rodney looked at him, frowning. Then realization seemed to hit him. "Oh, you mean the guy thing."

"Yes, the 'guy' thing."

"I'll just tell her that the 'phase' I went through in college was more than that. She was the one who told me it was okay to be bisexual."

John's heart began to beat faster. Phase. Bisexual. He tried to tell himself that Rodney obviously considered himself straight, but still he couldn't fight the images of a young Rodney having sex with some guy. And then he couldn't fight the images of a not-young Rodney having sex with him.

"She'll probably feel smug about it too," Rodney ended in a huff.

John nodded and smiled weakly.

"So, uhm, do you want to invite anyone? Your brother maybe? Although he might think this idea is a bit weird."

"No, he'd think it was insane. Because it is insane."

"You're not backing out, are you?" Rodney asked, slightly alarmed.

"No, I'm not. I like this house," John said with a look around the large area that served as living and dining room and also included the kitchen separated by an isle.

Rodney looked around too. "I never had a house like this. It never seemed necessary."

John leaned a bit towards Rodney until their shoulders were touching. It was the same for him. He'd lived in tiny apartments, his parents' huge house and Nancy's house, none of which had ever felt like his home. But this house.... Suddenly he felt that he wanted Dave to see this.

It didn't matter that the marriage was fake and that they'd get an annulment or a divorce. He wanted to be able to say, "This is what I want. This is what makes me happy," and show his brother who he really was. Because fake marriage or not, that part would be true.

"You know. I think I will invite Dave."

Rodney turned to him. He hesitated before speaking. "You'll have to tell him not to tell Jeannie the truth."

"No, I think I'll just tell him that I'm getting married. If that's okay with you."

Rodney watched him for a moment. "Of course."

John tensed, waiting for Rodney to ask the obvious question. Wouldn't Dave wonder about John marrying a guy? But Rodney didn't. "Now that we have guests, I think we should look into organizing some food."

John nodded.

~~

When John called his brother, Rodney tried not to be too obvious about listening. But he only heard him ask if Dave had time this weekend, tell him that he was invited to John's wedding and that he was near Vancouver. Finally, John gave him their address and that was that, no mention of Rodney's name or gender.

Rodney tried not to read too much into this. Maybe John wanted to shock Dave. Rodney knew that there was some kind of history between them and they'd only began talking again after their father's death. He had to admit that a part of him was looking forward to see Jeannie sputter when she found out.

He loved her dearly, but the way she always thought she knew everything better including how Rodney should lead his life annoyed him more than he was usually willing to admit. Part of it might have been how the whole Katie thing had gone down. Of course, he couldn't blame Jeannie for it. It had been his own decision, but Jeannie had made her opinion clear and had pushed him in that direction.

He couldn't wait to see how she reacted to the news that he was going to marry John.

~~

The countdown to their wedding increasingly seemed to Rodney like a countdown to the obliteration of his straightness.

They spent Friday with various preparations. Dave and his family were supposed to arrive Saturday morning and would stay until Sunday. Jeannie and her family would come Saturday afternoon and leave after dinner. The wedding would take place Saturday afternoon, and so far, they still only had the Marriage Commissioner and a vague idea that a cake would be nice, and that it would be helpful if their guests had something to sit on.

When he came downstairs Friday morning to their large open kitchen/dining/living area, John wordlessly handed him a hot cup of coffee. A smile was playing around his face and Rodney wondered how one could get used to something in such a short period of time. He found himself already regretting that one day he wouldn't be greeted in the morning like that anymore.

During breakfast, he couldn't help eyeing the phone every now and then. He still thought after their very successful display as a happy, healthy couple, the committee would practically beg Rodney to join them in their facility. However, they seemed to be insistent on sticking with their schedule. After a moment, John put his hand on Rodney's.

"Patience, young padawan. They'll call next week."

Rodney wanted to glare at him, but John's smirk was completely disarming and when he removed his hand, Rodney missed it.

Next up was a visit to their bakery. John had gotten them fresh bread a few times on his morning run. So it was he who asked the woman at the counter if they also did wedding cakes.

"You're getting married," she asked dolefully, and Rodney could feel his blood pressure rising. He was standing right here and she was making nice with his fiancé.

"Yes, to me," he said, putting an arm around John's waist.

John looked a bit surprised by this display of possessiveness, but this was public so they were doing their act. He dutifully put his arm around Rodney's shoulder. "Yes, we're getting married tomorrow."

Her demeanor suddenly switched from mournful to the excitement of impending doom. "Tomorrow?! And you haven't arranged for a cake yet?"

Rodney was glad her interest in their cake took clear precedence over her interest in John. His relief lasted for all of a second, when they were unceremoniously dragged into a back room, where they spent almost an hour trying to explain that they really just wanted a simple cake for nine people. It wasn't unlike trying to tell the natives that they hadn't meant to despoil their sacred temple, initiate an old ritual, propose to anyone. Luckily, this time it didn't end in running for their lives, even though they hurried out once they'd ordered their cake for pickup the next day at 2 pm.

Their next stop was to a jeweler. At least here, they got a more sophisticated version of the "you're getting married tomorrow and haven't taken care of this yet?" panic. Once he got over the shock, the salesman was very nice though. He gave them a lot of indulgent smiles and Rodney really felt a difference from the time he'd bought an engagement ring for Katie.

He'd thought more about Jeannie that day than about Katie. He'd thought about what it would feel like to relate to her in that way, too, to know what it meant to have a family to come home to or even to stay home for every now and then. In retrospect, the fact that his proposal had been more about being closer to Jeannie than about Katie should have clued him in that it wasn't a good idea to propose to Katie, but then hindsight is 20/20.

With John though, Rodney didn't think about Jeannie. He didn't even think about himself. He just liked the way John looked at each ring. He took it and ran the tip of his finger over the surface as if he needed to feel it. Rodney suddenly thought back to when he'd shown John his engagement ring. He couldn't remember Katie with it at all, even though he knew that she'd found it, but he still remembered how John had held it and made fun of it.

He definitely wanted John to have a ring that he liked, even if they pretty much looked all the same to him.

After looking at a few of the rings, John eventually tried one on. Rodney couldn't help the irrational pride at seeing the golden band on John's finger.

It wasn't even as if he would wear it more than once. Then again, maybe they would wear them as part of their "act". Even then, it would be just for show but still it made Rodney feel good to see John with this symbol that marked him as taken, promised to Rodney.

"What do you think?" John asked and Rodney just nodded.

The salesman magically produced another ring and presented it to Rodney. Rodney looked from him to John, who watched him with an expression that Rodney couldn't read at all.

He put on the ring. The salesman smiled. John quickly looked at Rodney's face then back to his hand. Rodney hardly saw the ring. But he felt it, felt a sudden sense of belonging.

"It's good," he said, feeling completely stupid, but then John put his arm around Rodney and pulled him close until their foreheads touched.

Rodney found that he had to remind himself they were just acting the part. He wanted to run his hand up John's side and wrap it around him. He wanted to move his head to the side against John's temple, his lips along his cheek. He wanted to kiss John.

Rodney could hardly breathe. They were acting, but they'd never kissed, not on the lips and it would probably take things too far. So he decided not to go there.

Eventually it was John who pulled back and kissed him on the cheek, as he'd done when they'd found their house. Rodney ever so slightly leaned into the kiss.

"We'll take them," they both said at the same time. John laughed and Rodney relaxed.

The salesman smiled at them. "What would you like to have engraved?"

"Is there time for that?" Rodney asked.

"Of course. You can either pick them up later this afternoon or tomorrow or we can send them to you. You're getting married here?"

They confirmed that they were and started discussing what to engrave into the rings, if anything.

Rodney just had to look at John to know that they didn't want anything that related to time. This wasn't about "forever". "Love" was pretty much out too.

"To the end of the world and back," John half-joked, but to Rodney this invoked images of John flying a bomb that he'd built into a Hive ship.

"I don't think there are any right words to express what we are to each other," Rodney eventually said.

"We could simply add the date and your names," the salesman suggested.

"John and Rodney," John agreed.

It felt right to Rodney too. No last names. This wasn't about their professional relationship. This was about something that he wasn't even sure existed, except that in the last few days, he'd felt it loud and clear. Although truthfully, he'd felt it before at times. Mostly in a situation of life and death. It was the feeling that if he lost John, he'd lose a part of himself.

That it was "John and Rodney" and not "Rodney and John" didn't disturb Rodney for some reason. Maybe because he could still hear Elizabeth's exasperated "John, Rodney". Maybe because with John he'd learned not to put himself first. If all else failed, he could say it was the alphabetical order.

"Yes," he said.

~~

When they stepped out of the jewelers, Rodney's stomach rumbled and a look at his watch confirmed that it was past lunch time. They had spent over an hour to get the rings, or more precisely to select them, because they'd still have to go back and fetch them later that afternoon. That as well as buying furniture for the garden, some flowers to make the table a bit more festive and ornamental ones for the suits that they'd bought when they'd shopped for the party. They'd still have to organize dinner, although as a back-up plan, they planned to just order something on the day. But Rodney would really prefer not to have his wedding dinner come out of boxes.

He had to eat first though. Now. They walked along the street looking for the next restaurant and despite his hunger, Rodney kept thinking about them being a couple going out for lunch. He couldn't have explained the difference to just getting a bite with a friend. They weren't even holding hands or anything, although Rodney thought about it. He felt ridiculously pleased every time John took his hand. But Rodney didn't quite dare to try it. They'd never really negotiated what was fair game in their act and he didn't want to push it.

When they came across a small restaurant, Rodney put his hand on John's arm, stopping him. He left it there while he scanned what they offered. He was acutely aware that just a bit over a week ago, if they'd gone for lunch, he simple would have said, "How about this one, Sheppard?" Now, after just a moment of hesitation, he slid his hand down John's arm where it slipped easily into John's hand.

They held hands until they were seated. The restaurant wasn't fancy, but that suited Rodney just fine. A perky waitress in her thirties came over to their table. Rodney watched her checking John out as she took his order and unlike in the bakery, he didn't feel the need to stake his claim publicly. Maybe it was that he'd just held hands with John after buying rings and a cake for their wedding. It was hard to feel threatened after that.

There would always be women flirting with John. Rodney knew that. And at that moment, he didn't feel too bad about it. John couldn't help who he was after all. And he didn't flirt back, Rodney noted. In fact, when he had given his order, he smiled politely at the waitress and then turned to Rodney, really smiling and reaching over to casually put his hand over Rodney's for no apparent reason.

The waitress saw it and, after a moment of surprise, smirked at John. He raised his eyebrows as if to say, "Sorry, no chance." Rodney felt his stomach doing strange things. He really had to eat soon.

The waitress took Rodney's order and left them with a smile that was friendly, not flirty, and was directed at both of them. John slowly took his hand away and leaned back into his chair.

Rodney wasn't sure why John had done it. The flirt would have gone nowhere anyway and they didn't have to appear to be a couple in this little restaurant. There was no one around who they had to fool and they probably wouldn't come back here.

Then again, Rodney had started it by taking his hand. Maybe John had taken that as a cue to do their act here too. Rodney felt slightly disheartened by that. Then he chastised himself, because it really shouldn't matter either way.

It was just an act and the how and why of it didn't change that fact.

~~

John kept telling himself that he wasn't taking advantage of Rodney. After all Rodney had initiated at least some of the public displays of affection that they'd shared that day. John had only acted in kind. And Rodney hadn't complained.

John wasn't quite sure what to think of that. He knew why he acted the way he did: this was his chance to live the life he'd always wanted to live, even if he hadn't really known it before now.

Since his first crush on Dave Kasinzky, he'd been very aware of what was expected of him, by his family, his friends and later the military. He'd always had to make compromises and for the most part, he'd been okay with that. You couldn't always have what you wanted. He had responsibilities. He'd made decisions that had consequences. Not being allowed to openly be with a man had been one of the consequences. He'd lived quite well with it over the years and truth be told, he'd always told himself that there wasn't much that he was missing.

He'd been wrong though. Being able to walk into a restaurant, holding hands with Rodney was liberating. John knew that Rodney's acts of possessiveness were some strange sort of jealousy and his own pride. For John, it was showing the world who he was and not having to hide a part of him.

That he wasn't really with Rodney, didn't seem important. And if he thought about it, what were they really lying about? They were going to get married. They did live together. They had known each other for years, getting closer and closer. The fact that they didn't have sex seemed almost insignificant.

They were carrying out the new garden chairs for the ceremony and as Rodney tried to navigate his chair around the long table, John could see a bit of skin where Rodney's shirt had ridden up.

Maybe not completely insignificant.

They arranged the chairs in two rows of four with a bit of place between them. They chose a spot in front of the house where there was a nice trellis on the wall and a bit of ivy wended its way towards the roof.

John looked at Rodney, who seemed almost sad.

"It's not much of an aisle," John said with a shrug.

Rodney turned to him. "What? Oh. No, it's not that. After all there'll be no bride to walk down the aisle."

"Good point." John looked at Rodney who was staring in the general direction of the chairs again. "What then?"

"I wish Teyla and Ronon could be here."

John hadn't expected that. They sometimes talked about them, about Atlantis, but Rodney was the kind of person who tried not to dwell on the past when there was nothing to be done about it. Which wasn't a bad way to live really.

He stepped up to Rodney and put an arm around his shoulder.

"I know this isn't even a real marriage, but I still wish they could see us."

John got the distinct impression that Rodney felt stupid for admitting it. And he really shouldn't.

John put his hands on Rodney's shoulders and spun him around to face him. "I miss them too. And we are getting married."

"We're getting married, because I want to be close to my sister while trying to win a Nobel Prize."

John smiled. "So? People get married for all kinds of reasons." He thought of Nancy, but dismissed the thought, because it was nothing he wanted to dwell on the day before his wedding to Rodney.

"I guess they do," Rodney said, getting a far away look for a moment. "It could be worse. We actually like each other."

John was a bit curious about what brought on this particular observation, but he was quick to agree. "Yes, we do." He still had his hands on Rodney's shoulders and now he pulled him closer into an embrace.

After only a moment's hesitation, Rodney's arms folded around him as well.

John quietly sighed against Rodney's temple. This whole experience was wonderful for him, but in moments like these, he kept thinking about what else he wanted. He wanted to kiss Rodney-all the time. He wanted to touch him more than he did. He wanted to say more than he did.

But this was about helping Rodney, so he settled for brushing his lips against Rodney's cheek, hoping it wouldn't be too much.

Rodney did a quick intake of breath. John pulled back enough to look at him. Rodney seemed flushed, but not with anger.

"We'll have to kiss each other tomorrow," he blurted out.

John had thought about that, once or twice or a couple of dozen times. "I know."

"Maybe we should..." Rodney trailed off, flushing again.

"Practice?" John asked with a smirk. His heart began to beat faster at the idea, and they were still standing close with their arms around each other, so close that Rodney might notice. But he couldn't help teasing Rodney.

Rodney spluttered, indignant now. "Well, yes! It can't look like we've never kissed before. I mean each other. And excuse me if I feel a bit nervous about doing it in front of my sister and my little niece."

"Okay, okay. Just imagine we've done it a million times before."

"A million? You do realize that even if we kissed a hundred times a day that would still only be 36,500 kisses a year. We would have had to start almost thirty years ago."

"Twenty-seven years and five months. Minus a few days," John said with a grin. His math skills always threw Rodney off.

Rodney pressed his eyes closed. "I'll just imagine we've kissed before."

John would have loved to know what he imagined. He himself had imagined kisses everywhere from soft and hesitant to almost violent with passion. Not that he would have admitted that even to himself just a week ago. Stray thoughts were all those had been.

Rodney opened his eyes again. "Okay."

"Okay?" John asked.

"That's what I just said, weren't you-"

John kissed him.

Rodney's lips stopped moving. John closed his eyes and waited for them to start again. When they did, he opened his mouth a bit, and Rodney's hands inched up along John's back.

John tried to hold back. He wanted nothing more than to coax Rodney's mouth open, to taste him before covering his whole body in kisses. But they were just practicing-for their wedding kiss which would take place in front of a stranger, their siblings with spouses and nieces aged four to nine.

Rodney's mouth did open and the hint of tongue John felt along his lips shot straight to his groin. Then Rodney's lips and tongue were gone.

"O-kay," he said breathlessly.

John didn't say anything, but dropped his arms and moved his body away a bit to make sure Rodney wouldn't notice how much he'd enjoyed it.

"I think, I think we're good," Rodney stuttered, unable to look at John.

"Yes," John simply said, trying to look away as well, because Rodney's lips were wet and red and so damn kissable and he wanted to be back there now.

"We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow," Rodney said, finally looking at John again.

John nodded.

"Okay. See you tomorrow." Rodney hesitated then awkwardly patted John on the arm, before leaving.

John gave him a quick smile and watched him go. Rodney really had a nice ass. John covered his eyes with his hands. He must have been crazy when he said yes.

~~

John took off for a run on his wedding day, as he had all the other days. He avoided the bakery, too afraid they'd want to discuss the cake some more. Dave was going to arrive soon and they still had to move John's clothes to the Master bedroom.

He just hoped things wouldn't be awkward with Rodney.

Back at home, he took a shower and made coffee. Then he tidied up the room a bit, moving the few unpacked boxes into the storeroom and carried the empty ones out to the trash.

When he was done, Rodney was still nowhere to be seen, so John took a cup of coffee and made his way up to his groom.

"Rodney," John said, knocking on the door.

"Wha?" came Rodney's mumbled voice.

"It's already 8:30. Dave will be here in a little over an hour. We still have to move my stuff from the guest room," John told him through the door.

There was a noise, some cursing, then the door opened to reveal a hellish looking Rodney. John held up the cup of coffee.

Rodney looked at him, bleary eyes full of gratitude. "This is why I married you," he said and took the coffee.

"We're not married yet," John pointed out. "But speaking of which, what should we tell them? About how we got together."

Rodney inhaled half a cup of coffee and made a dreamy noise. John wasn't sure he'd heard him, but then Rodney said, "Why would we need to tell them anything? We met through work. We fell in love. Put in a few saving-each-other's-life moments and we're there. Unless you want something else to explain how you fell for a guy."

Rodney looked at him speculatively. This was as close to asking John if he was into guys as he'd ever come, but it still wasn't an outright question. "No, we can just go with a typical work romance, with missions and hiding. We can't really tell my brother anything anyway."

John wasn't sure how Dave would react. They hadn't really talked much about it after their father's funeral. It had been more about feeling each other out, getting to know each other again after all the lost time. And they'd really needed that.

"Okay, then I guess I should make some room in my closet."

"One more thing. How long have we been together?" John asked.

Rodney seemed to consider it. "Well, the last thing my sister knows of my love life was Katie, so after that I suppose. A year and a half?"

John nodded. "I'll go get my stuff."

~~

Rodney was nervous. He'd never met Dave and the bits of info he'd gotten out of Ronon could be counted on one hand. He wanted to look good for John's family. He already knew that Jeannie liked John and thought he was more of a catch than Rodney, for whatever reason.

He didn't want Dave to think he wasn't good enough for John, even though it should be obvious that John should count himself lucky.

Additionally, Rodney was dying to finally find out, if John had ever been with a guy in the past. He figured Dave's level of surprise would give him the answer.

Their kiss the night before had been... pretty damn spectacular. He couldn't remember it being like that with the guys he'd had sex with in college. Of course, those had been casual encounters, where kisses had been scarce anyway, just the first step to the main event.

And maybe John just really liked to kiss. Thinking bitterly about some of John's conquests on missions, Rodney knew that it didn't necessarily have to mean anything to John. Even if they did like each other.

He ran his hand through his hair once again when John came up behind him, pulled it down and put his arms around him. "Stop that. You look fine." A thrill shot through Rodney and he instinctively leaned back into John.

God, he'd go crazy this weekend. Holding hands in public was one thing, but with their families there, they'd probably be even more openly affectionate to convince them that this was real and last evening's kiss alone had been enough to make Rodney restless all night.

He'd replayed the kiss in his head over and over again and it hadn't stopped there. He couldn't remember when he'd last fantasized about having sex with a guy, but it couldn't have been as intense as imagining sex with John. He'd come so hard he'd nearly passed out, but after cleaning himself up, he couldn't sleep. He couldn't stop thinking about what that meant, whether maybe his sister had been right all along and he was bisexual or if pretending to be in love was just messing with his mind in strange ways.

Then there was the question if John would ever be interested in him in that way and above all the fear of losing John's friendship. That was something he wouldn't risk no matter what.

He stroked John's arm and then the bell rang and he could feel John's posture become rigid. Rodney wondered if he should answer the door himself when John finally moved away from him to greet his brother.

Dave looked nothing at all like John.

They didn't hug and John just opened the door to let them all in. Dave's wife smiled apologetically. "Where's the bathroom?" she asked looking down to the little girl clinging to her leg.

"Right around the corner," John said, pointing at the little arc that led towards the downstairs bathroom, the study and the garage.

"Thank you." She took the little girl's hand and walked past Rodney, giving him a quick smile.

Rodney smiled back, then turned back to John, his brother and the other girl. She was looking at Rodney curiously.

"Come in," John said. He took their suitcases and carried them inside, closing the door behind him. "I guess I'll show you your rooms."

Dave looked to Rodney, then to John.

"Right, right." John set the bags down and walked to Rodney. "Rodney McKay. Dave Sheppard."

The girl cleared her throat loudly. "And Susan Sheppard, of course," John added. She beamed.

They stood like that and Rodney thought he was going to burst any moment now, because he wasn't quite sure if this cleared up who John was going to marry or if they just thought Rodney was a friend.

"So, is Uncle John marrying you?" Susan asked.

"Susan!" Dave admonished her.

"What? You said it could be a man."

Oh God. Ohgodohgodohgod. John wasn't straight. John was... looking like all color had left his face. Rodney moved his hand to his back, but John blindly grabbed for it and took it in his own. "Yes, this is the man I'm going to marry," he said, looking at Dave.

Rodney could tell that they were communicating something that he couldn't understand. He squeezed John's hand in support in case he needed it. John looked at him, the color returning to his face. Then he leaned forward and without thinking, Rodney did the same and their lips met in a kiss.

Rodney's eyes closed and he opened his mouth just enough to feel John breathing into him and then they pulled away again, because act or not, making out in front of your brother and niece was just a no go.

When they pulled apart, he saw big eyes staring up at them.

"Susan," Dave said again.

"That is so weird," she said giggling.

"Susan, I explained to you-"

"That sometimes men fall in love with other men, I remember. I've just never seen it up close. It's not nearly as gross as Aunt Lydia kissing her boyfriends."

"What's with Aunt Lydia?" Dave's wife came back in with their other daughter.

Dave covered his eyes. Rodney looked over to John to see if this was bad, but John was only smiling, bordering on grinning actually. Dave recovered quickly. "Rodney, this is Charlie, my wife, and Claire, our youngest. Charlie, that's Rodney McKay."

"Uncle John's fiancé," Susan added, before Dave could say anything more.

She looked at Rodney, then John, then back to Rodney. "It's nice to meet you," she said with a wide smile and stretched out her hand. Rodney took it, smiling back.

~~

John came back down the stairs alone and joined Rodney in the kitchen. Rodney didn't quite know what to say, but he felt he had to say something.

"I guess I shouldn't have worried about how this would look."

"He suspected, I think."

Rodney straightened at that, because if Dave only suspected he could be wrong.

But John continued. "At the funeral he thought Ronon was my boyfriend."

The funeral. Rodney could feel jealousy rising in him. He'd wanted to go. He'd wanted to be with John then. Ronon had never mentioned this. Rodney was suddenly gripped by the irrational fear that it was true.

"After the whole replicator thing, I went back to him and explained that he was really just a friend. And I mentioned you."

This slightly mollified Rodney. "You did? What did you tell him?"

"Nothing. Just that we were friends." John wasn't quite meeting his eyes.

Rodney could stand it no longer. "How did he even come up with the idea that Ronon was your boyfriend? Assuming that you didn't do anything to make him think that." And okay, maybe he was pouting, but it couldn't be helped.

John gave him a look. "We didn't do anything. For Dave it was enough that he was there."

"Because you couldn't have just brought a friend," Rodney pressed on.

John's gaze fell. "Because wanting to be able to bring a boyfriend was why I left. At least one of the reasons."

"You're gay," Rodney had to say, because he'd waited to know since he began doubting his own straightness.

John looked up at him. "Yes." And there was something in his expression as if he was daring Rodney to say something about it.

He didn't.

~~

The rest of the morning flew by quickly. They showed Dave's family the house, talked about the Sheppard family business and then discussed what they should get for lunch.

Rodney kept mostly quiet, unable to stop thinking about John's revelation.

He'd known that something had happened between John and his family. If you looked for it, you could still see the tension between them, the somewhat forced politeness, although Susan in particular was always willing and able to say something to ease the tension.

But Rodney could see John's alertness, as if he was waiting for an attack. Dave was trying, that much was clear. He'd been friendly to Rodney and asked about his job. But he was tense, too, as if he was trying not to make a mistake.

Rodney wondered how a family could let it come to this point. Then he thought of his own relationship with his parents when they were still alive and with Jeannie. So, yes, maybe he could relate.

He stayed at John's side, trying to be there for him and John sometimes put his arm around him or held his hand and Rodney hoped it was giving him some amount of comfort and confidence. Even if his family failed him again, Rodney would always be there.

~~

After lunch, Dave offered to get the cake for them. Charlie and the kids played outside, while Rodney tried to prepare for his own face-the-sibling moment.

John was cleaning up after lunch when the bell rang. It was really too soon for Dave to be back, so Rodney nervously opened the door to greet the Millers.

"Mer," his sister said, enfolding him in a hug.

"Jeannie. Come on in, all of you."

"Rodney, it's good to see you again. You've got yourself a really nice big house." Kaleb looked over to Jeannie.

Jeannie gave him a look and Rodney frowned, but then he was distracted by Madison. "Uncle Mer, I've brought the microscope. We can check out bugs together."

"That's... really nice of you to think of me. Why bugs?"

"Why not?"

"Right. I'm not sure we'll have time for bug checking though. I actually have plans."

"Colonel," Kaleb said, looking over Rodney's shoulder. Rodney turned and saw John coming up behind him.

"Kaleb. Jeannie. Madison." The last he accompanied with something that looked vaguely like a bow.

Madison grinned at him. Kaleb looked at Jeannie, raising his eyebrows and she just shook her head. Rodney tried to remember to ask her later what that was all about, but first he'd have to get the important thing out of the way.

"What is it?" his sister burst out before he could say a word. "It's the lab, right? You got it!"

"Uhm, actually, I'll get word on Monday. But probably, yes."

"I'm sure they'll give it to you. So what are we celebrating then? Because I got the impression this would be more than just a family dinner." She looked over to John, then back to Rodney.

John took a step towards Rodney, but didn't say anything.

Rodney almost wished he would, because he somehow seemed to have forgotten how to form words. Jeannie still looked expectantly at him and Kaleb looked strangely self-satisfied.

"I'm..." Rodney began. Jeannie was so excited. Suddenly shocking her didn't seem as fun as he thought it would be. But there was no way out now. The Marriage Commissioner would arrive in an hour. "I'm getting married."

Jeannie stared at him, then her face fell. It hurt Rodney to see it. Then she turned to glare at Kaleb who was grinning widely.

"Mom bet Dad that we'd celebrate that you got the lab. Dad said it could be something else. He even guessed you could be getting married," Madison explained.

Rodney's appreciation for little girls who couldn't keep their mouths shut had grown a thousand times within the day. He looked at Jeannie, who looked a bit embarrassed, but was smiling now. Rodney sighed in relief.

"Wow," Jeannie said. Then she grinned. "Congratulations!" She hugged him fiercely and Rodney could only hug back. She pulled away and kissed him on the cheek.

Then she turned to John, smiled at him and said, "Congratulations," before pulling him into her arms as well. John's eyes widened a bit, but then he hugged her back.

Rodney couldn't believe that she simply assumed it was John he was marrying. But then Kaleb and Madison wanted to hug him too and he managed to hide his surprise.

"You didn't tell Kaleb anything, did you?" Jeannie asked John, suspicious.

"I told you, it was just a guess," Kaleb told his wife.

"You guessed that I was going to marry John?" Rodney asked, because he still couldn't see how.

"I just told Jeannie it didn't have to be the lab, because I figured if it was, we'd know within minutes, whereas marriage might be something you'd want to surprise us with."

"Speaking of which, why didn't you tell me? I told you years and years ago that it was okay to be bisexual. You didn't have to make up some girlfriend to cover for your relationship with John."

"Make up?" John asked, looking as disconcerted as Rodney felt.

"'Katie Brown'?" Jeannie asked, making air quotes. "The one that you wanted to marry and who conveniently disappeared once you were going to get married at which point I would have met her. Come to think of it, this explains your reaction when I compared you to John back when we were," she looked down at Madison, who was listening intently, "gone for while. I should have compared her to John."

"Rodney?" John asked, amused now.

"We need to get dressed," Rodney said sourly. He didn't think John needed anymore ego-stroking. He still had no idea why Kaleb had assumed he'd get married to John. He wanted to ask, but he was almost afraid what the answer would be.

Rodney was perfectly willing to admit that he was attracted to John now. Being told that this could have been inferred from his behavior before the last two weeks raised some questions that Rodney wasn't willing to face at this point.

"Let's give them a quick tour of the house and gardens and show them their guest room," John suggested.

Rodney nodded and led the way.

~~

By the time they'd shown the Millers around the house and introduced them to the Sheppards, Dave arrived with the cake, which managed to look like a wedding cake despite their instructions of wanting something simple. It even had two little grooms on top.

At that point the women started to panic because they had to get dressed, which in turn set off Rodney's own panic, because he didn't want to be late for his own wedding, and someone would have to greet and pay the Marriage Commissioner when she arrived.

He was still fighting with his cummerbund when John came out of the bathroom, where he'd gotten dressed.

John looked as hot as he'd imagined. Rodney sighed in frustration.

John came up behind him and looked over his shoulder in the mirror. "Can I help you?"

"Yes, please."

John somehow got the damn thing fixed and ready in under a minute. "Done," he said with a faint smile.

Rodney missed his arms around him. John had relaxed since the Millers' arrival, but he wasn't as physically close to Rodney as he'd been before his brother's arrival.

Or maybe it hadn't been since his brother's arrival, but since Rodney had found out that he was gay. Maybe John worried that his touches would be less welcome now or be misunderstood.

Rodney reached back to pull John's arms around him, clasping their hands together. John looked a bit surprised then leaned his head against Rodney's and hugged him closer for a moment.

Whatever this was-and he'd have a few months to find out-Rodney didn't think he ever wanted to give it up. He just hoped he'd figure it all out by the time he was finished with his experiments.

~~

On to part 2.