Author:
sethozPairing: John Sheppard/Rodney McKay
Rating: PG-13
Recipient:
fluffyllama. She asked for back-on-earth, humour and first time. Hope this is ok!Spoilers: The Siege 1-3
Summary: "The. Name," Jeannie growled, her expression one that Rodney dimly remembered seeing in his mother's face when someone had come between her and the last Christmas turkey. It had scared the shit out of Rodney then too.
Do Not Meddle in the Affairs
There was a lot in the world that scared Rodney McKay. Most involved his own death, one that was possibly painful and included screaming. The past year, the things that scared Rodney seemed to coexist with a certain John Sheppard, a man who seemed to relish danger and regularly tried to get himself blown up or killed. Often with Rodney along for the ride.
It was only when he stood there and watched a tiny blue dot surrounded by many red ones that he finally understood why he allowed himself to be put in danger even though he hated it and screamed a lot. It was, Rodney felt, a hell of a time to discover you had been so deeply in denial that you had managed to fool even yourself. Then the blue dot was gone and it didn't matter - didn't matter that he had worked out he was in love with John Sheppard, that he probably had been for some time. Didn't matter that he was suddenly gay, or at least bi. Nothing mattered except John was gone.
Then, just as suddenly as John had been gone, he was back. He was back with his charming smile and laid back attitude, as if he hadn't died out there, and of course he hadn't.
He had to Rodney.
To those left behind. For an incalculable time, they had all thought John was dead and John was acting like it was no big deal. Rodney didn't know what to do, how to cope with a dead, not-dead John or his realisation that John was a lot more than a face to him. After the Wraith had been defeated, Rodney had fled, not wanting to face John. It had been easy to avoid John... for two hours.
Rodney didn't really remember the conversation after that. It had been angry and sleep deprived and at some point Rodney had jabbed a finger into John's chest, getting up close and personal. He thought he might have even called John by his first name, but any clear memory was wiped out by The Kiss.
It deserved, Rodney thought, capital letters because it was a capital Kiss. It was the ending he didn't like to dwell on, on the way John had stumbled back, a shocked look on his face, muttering something before turning and practically running away. Rodney watched him go, still in shock.
The next thing Rodney really remembered was stepping through the gate and being back on Earth, John a couple of steps in front of him, never quite looking at Rodney. The whole thing made Rodney's chest ache which was silly, he had gotten over his asthma years ago. Still, Rodney knew that at any time, John would want to talk to him, would say something meaningless and in doing so rip out Rodney's heart.
Which was why as soon as the debriefing had been done, along with the mandatory visit to the infirmary and the offer of a vacation had been given, Rodney had gone. Rushing to the one person he could think of - Jeannie.
The look on Jeannie's face had been one of dismay when she had opened the door to find Rodney standing there, a single suitcase in his hand and a tired expression on his face. She had let him in without a word, leading him upstairs to an empty bedroom. Jeannie silently grabbed some clean sheets and made the bed while Rodney watched, hearing the muffled sounds of children yelling downstairs.
"I thought you were dead," Jeannie stated blandly as she finished the bed, smoothing down the sheet. Without waiting for an answer she carried on. "Dinner is in two hours." With that, she was gone, the door banging shut behind her. Rodney stared around the room, at the flower wallpaper and the generic furniture. Sighing, he dropped the suitcase on the floor and moved over to the window, his arms wrapped around himself.
He was with his sister, fulfilling a promise he had made to both of them so why did he feel like he had just cut part of himself off?
The two hours passed quickly, as Rodney unpacked and then went for a wander outside, scowling into the wind. Canada hadn't changed much in the past five years since he had been here last. When Rodney finally returned to the house it was to a much quieter one.
"The kids and Nick have gone to his parents for a couple of days," Jeannie said, her lips tightened into a scowl as she started to dish out food. She brushed some of her dark brown hair out of her eyes, huffing as she did so. "You and I, Doctor McKay are going to have a little chat about family and the like."
The conversation seemed to end at that, with Jeannie handing Rodney a plate of food and carrying it into the dinning room. The taste of real Earth food still hadn't lost its novelty to Rodney and he gulped it down, sighing in pleasure at the taste.
"It is good, you know Rodney," Jeannie said suddenly. "To know you're not dead. Of course, a video message once every five years isn't exactly the best way to keep in touch with your only sister. Would it have killed you to write a letter now and then? Or pick up a phone?" Jeannie said, her tone one that Rodney knew only too well. It was the same tone Rodney used when one of his scientists had been spectacularly dumb. She opened her mouth again then slowly closed it again, a faint frown on her face.
"What's wrong with you?" Jeannie asked bluntly.
"Nothing." There was quiet for a couple more moments as Jeannie stared, searching his face for something.
"There is someone isn't there. Someone special. Who hurt you. I know that look," she said, a scowl on her pretty face. Rodney shifted uncomfortably, his mind flashing back to the last time he had seen John, as the man exited a room, turning towards the elevator. There had been something in John's eyes then, as he looked at Rodney, something Rodney didn't understand. The doors closed on John mouthing the start of his name.
Jeannie stared at him silently. Rodney stared back, feeling a twitch developing in his left eye. What on earth had compelled him to visit his sister, even with her hellish brood gone?
"The. Name," Jeannie growled, her expression one that Rodney dimly remembered seeing in his mother's face when someone had come between her and the last Christmas turkey. It had scared the shit out of Rodney then too. Rodney thought about not answering, about ignoring her, but he was tired. Too tired. So he answered, answered without thought, giving Jeannie not only John's name, but his rank too.
"Oh Rodney, Rodney," she sighed, her expression growing more soft. "You can never do anything the easy way can you." Rodney stared at her, his dirty secret dancing in front of his eyes as he did so. She didn't know. How could she? She had heard the rank and the sex and had put two and two together... she hadn't know about the extra one, that flung the safe sum into new and dangerous territories.
"He kissed me," Rodney blurted out, letting the words escape and hang in the air before him. And that was the secret. Rodney hadn't kissed John. John had kissed Rodney and then run. "He kissed me and then he left." Jeannie stared at him in shock, the scary expression returning.
"Description. Now. I'm going to hunt him down and kill him," Jeannie vowed. Rodney smiled briefly but remained silent. Jeannie breathed deeply though her nose and stood up, taking the two empty plates away. She paused at the sink, chewing her lip before turning and walking resolutely upstairs, and into the guest room. A cell phone rested on the dresser and she picked it, turning it over in her hands. Quietly she slipped out of the room and into her own, closing the door behind her. A quick scroll through the recorded numbers showed no 'John Sheppard', a fact Jeannie thought odd. In fact the only name she knew was that of Dr. Elizabeth Weir. She remembered Rodney mentioning the name in his message.
"Hello, is that Dr. Weir?" Jeannie asked, having called the number. "I'm Jeannie, Rodney's sister. I hope you can help me..."
###
Rodney woke late the next morning, staring up at the ceiling for a few long moments before sighing and getting out of bed. He didn't know what he was going to do today. Visit Tim Horton perhaps? He dressed slowly, and wandered downstairs, not hearing any sign of his sister. There was a large yellow post it note stuck to the fridge and Rodney shook his head as he moved forward to read it.
Rodney;
Gone to pick someone up from Toronto International Airport, be back around lunchtime. Touch my room, you die. Burn anything, you die. Blow up my things - again! - and you die. In fact, don't touch anything besides basic food. I want my house to be still standing when I return.
Jeannie.
"Well, that's just typical!" Rodney snapped, yanking open the fridge. He showed up and she left. Grumbling, Rodney began to make himself some coffee, all the while muttering about ungrateful sisters.
The rest of the morning past quickly, Rodney going over some possible replacements for his team. He forced himself to not think about John or the fact he was going to have to face him at some point.
There was a squeal of breaks outside and Rodney jumped. It seemed as if Jeannie's driving hadn't improved. Mildly curious to see who she had picked up, Rodney powered down his notebook and walked outside.
Jeannie climbed out of her car, tossing the key to Rodney as he stepped forward, peering into it. There, sitting in the front and looking ever inch like someone about to face the firing squad was John Sheppard.
"Oh my God," Rodney shirked, staring at John who was still sitting in the car like a repentant school boy before spinning on his heel to glare at Jeannie. "What did I tell you about meddling?"
"Do not meddle in the affairs of geniuses for they are subtle and quick to anger, yadda, yadda, yadda," Jeannie answered, giving Rodney a dismissive wave. She walked up the path to the house, without another backward look. "John Sheppard, get your skinny ass out of that car and into this house right this second!"
And John Sheppard, a man who had stood up to the Wraith, to the Genii, hell even to Elizabeth Weir, climbed out of the car and scurried into the house without a single word of complaint. Rodney shook his head as he locked the car before following them both inside. He really needed to learn that trick.
Inside Jeannie seemed to have disappeared, leaving John standing in the living room, his hands scrunched into his pockets.
"So, uh, it was brought to my attention that I was... well, a jerk," John said at last, apparently talking to the stuffed penguin toy on the couch. Rodney crossed his arms and glared.
"Oh really?" he sneered, wanting to end this as soon as possible. The faster John made some excuse about the kiss and left, the faster Rodney could start to plan the murder of his sister and lick his wounds in private.
"Yeah. About kissing you," John nodded, still talking to the toy. "I shouldn't have run off, I was totally out of line..."
"Forget it," Rodney said thickly, staring at the stuffed animal as well. He didn't see the quick glance John sent his way.
"I'd rather we didn't. Forget," John offered. "It was a pretty good kiss a-"
"Are you kidding?" Rodney exploded, finally turning to face John. "It was a great kiss! I'm a great kisser!" John looked over, his expression at once both amused and annoyed.
"You're a great kisser? I think you'll find I'm a great one too," John challenged, stepped towards him. Rodney lifted his chin defiantly.
"Nothing compared to me."
"Well, lets just see about that shall we?" John said quietly, having closed the distance between them. He reached out, cupping Rodney's neck and drawing him close. Rodney opened his mouth, pushing forward. The kiss was just as good as Rodney remembered, hot and passionate and just a little bit angry. It was as unlike kissing a woman as it could possibly be. The door opened and Jeannie's walked in, rubbing her hands together.
"Finally. Are you all sorted out? Moving on soon to the big gay sex? Because having Rodney moping about like some love struck teen was starting to seriously get on my nerves and he's only been here a day," Jeannie said, sounding obvious to the angry splutter Rodney gave.
"I was not moping!"
"Fine, fine, you were being a big girl's blouse. Happy now? Honestly you're worse than my eleven year old daughter," Jeannie muttered. John snickered.
"And don't get me started with you John Sheppard," she snapped. "You hurt my baby brother again and I will hunt you down. And not even your fancy training will save you from the slow agony I have in mind. Not only that..." Jeannie promised, advancing on John. "But nobody will ever, ever find your body. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"
"Perfectly clear Ma'am!" John answered smartly. He grabbed Rodney's arm and pulled him out into the hallway, shuddering slightly at the remembrance of the smirk on Jeannie's face - the world did not deserve two like Rodney McKay, no matter what he felt about the guy.
"John, John, John, John," Rodney chanted, digging his heels into the ground. "It's only the toilet that way."
"Fine. Where would you suggest?" John asked. Rodney looked around the hallway and shrugged.
"How about right here?" he said, leaning into John. John smiled and dipped his head into the kiss, neither noticing Jeannie leaving the room behind them.
The sound of Jeannie's pealing laughter bounced around the hall as she left them to it.
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