"Do you have the slightest clue where you're going?" Dr. Rodney McKay asked as he strolled through a section of Atlantis that he had not explored before. Though he fashioned himself the 'expert' on all things remotely Atlantean, the fact was that there was a large portion of the previously surveyed areas of the Ancient outpost that McKay had yet to explore and play with himself, what with missions, recovering from injury and illness, saving Atlantis and its inhabitants countless times, yadda, yadda, yadda. And now here he was, going along with a man who was direction challenged, at best. And he was carrying the man's stuff. Just add one more title to the ever-growing list, Rodney thought.
Rodney McKay: Manservant.
Colonel John Sheppard had returned from a recon of this section just days before. His report, filled with the memorable embellishments of a would-be writer that Rodney found wonderfully endearing and took great pleasure in reading, had been, ultimately, a disappointment. At least according to the report. The area had turned up more living quarters; it was comforting to know that the likelihood of overpopulation on Atlantis seemed slim to none, and apparently none had left town. With the threat of the Wraith, storms, attacks from the likes of Cowen, a killer nanovirus and Rodney's own penchant for getting his own science staff killed…McKay let that train of thought go as he re-focused on the task at hand.
And the bag in his hand. Something smelled good, the aroma and the time of day, morning and Rodney had only managed a cup of coffee thus far, worked in concert to make Rodney's mouth water and his stomach growl. He was glad that the background hum that typified life on Atlantis would hide the latter fact from the man who was practically jogging up ahead of him.
"Are we in a hurry?" Rodney asked from behind. "Other than the fact that I'm starving. It's not very nice of you to make me carry this."
"I'm a mean man, McKay. The sooner you learn that the better." Rodney grinned at the quick and clever retort, and decided his view from the back was exactly what he needed to take his mind off of his grumbling stomach; there would be no more complaining on this jaunt, at least not about Sheppard taking the lead.
The route that Sheppard had taken was circuitous, indeed serpentine, as though the colonel was purposefully trying to get them lost, or the far more likely scenario, he wanted to assure that no one would be able to readily find them.
Rodney could live with that. It had been quite a while since they'd spent any time together. McKay felt like he had been through hell and back when Sheppard was lost behind the portal. Since the colonel's return from the Cloister, they had made little progress on their burgeoning feelings for one another. Even before Sheppard's disappearing act, their relationship had not progressed beyond a lot of kissing, some significant necking and maybe just a little groping before they had become entangled in one problem or disaster after another, or worse than that, a very missing colonel that Rodney had grown quite fond of.
And since Sheppard's return, they had both been pulled in opposite directions, Sheppard by Elizabeth Weir and working though a plan to seek out more allies and by his military obligations. Rodney had become easily preoccupied by the complex repairs, maintenance and new discoveries that Ancient technology by its nature entailed; it was both an incredible opportunity and an awful curse for McKay's brilliant mind and endless curiosity.
This field trip could not have come at a more opportune time. They had been so desperate to spend time together that they had been slipping up in public. At least it felt like they had been. Their recent playful exchanges, few and far between though they had been, seemed to have entailed more suggestive language than in the past.
And neither man, in the frustratingly infrequent times that they'd seen each other these past days, had been able to keep their hands off one another: a light touch on the arm, a slap on the shoulder in shared camaraderie, easing the stiffness of a sore neck. Or John rubbing Rodney's back after he'd spent over seven hours uncomfortably ensconced under a dodgy piece of ancient equipment…a piece of technology that just happened to provide a critical power conduit for life support in a full quarter of the inhabited part of Atlantis, and could only be fixed by the genius with the bad back.
Yes, those touches, that talking…something was happening, changing, evolving for these two men. And the fact that Rodney was enjoying the view so much from the rear…of that rear so much was the final predictor of what would inevitably happen.
Rodney wanted, no, he needed this man. Big time, and in a very big way. John Sheppard was driving him to distraction. The man he was seemingly following to the ends of the Earth, or rather, Atlantis, was just the prescription he needed filled. Well, once he filled his stomach.
"Stop!" Rodney commanded. John halted, true to his military training, and turned to look at McKay. The scientist noticed now that they were close to an outside exit. The light shone behind Sheppard, putting the man in near total silhouette, the slim, lean lines a picture of beauty in the eyes of one genius Canadian physicist.
"We're almost there, I swear," John offered eagerly. Rodney tilted his head and squinted, the sun now peeking over Sheppard's right shoulder and nearly blinding him. "I promise you won't be disappointed." John took a couple of steps closer to McKay and grabbed his arm, forcing the scientist to walk alongside him. This was good, too, being this close, but Rodney definitely missed the nice view.
They neared the end of a long hallway, with an exit to the outside on the left and a door to the right leading toward Atlantis' interior. Rodney leaned toward the exit, but John's hand was still warmly clasping his arm, and McKay felt himself steered in the opposite direction.
"It's over here," John said, smiling a smile so warm, so happy, that Rodney's heart began to hammer at what it predicted. John opened the door and waved elaborately, inviting Rodney to step through the doorway ahead of him.
Rodney blinked as his eyes adjusted to the now subdued lighting and looked suspiciously at Sheppard.
"Go," John encouraged. "I don't want to, um, lead the witness, as they say." John Sheppard didn't realize, he couldn't realize in this state that he was in that in his eagerness he had already done that. His face, his nervous energy, his enthusiasm for the day's events had already foretold of something very special.
McKay walked through the dimly lit corridor, Sheppard right at his heel. He pushed the next door open himself, and gasped at the sight before him. Rodney turned to John, his eyes wide and his mouth open.
"What…" Rodney started.
"Don't," John said, putting his fingers up to Rodney's mouth. "Just for a minute."
Rodney had to search deep for every last reserve of self control that he possessed in order to not take those fingers into his mouth. John had an agenda here; Rodney needed to follow the program to its fitting conclusion.
He looked around more closely this time. They were near the edge of a lake, the long, sloping, grassy bank leading down to an expansive, clear blue circle of water. As his eyes headed towards the distance, the next sight was reflected in the water's mirror: towering snow-capped mountains, upside down, a cloudless sky with a different blue, a brighter blue than that of the lake water. Rodney raised his eyes to the horizon and saw the real thing, not the mirror image on the still water.
But it wasn't the real thing, was it? They had never left Atlantis…and this view? Rodney had seen this before.
"It's not…" Rodney started.
"Real?" John finished for him. "No."
"Of course it's not," Rodney said, feeling a little flushed. "Then it's…" Rodney began again, his hand reaching in the still air to find just the right words to describe what he saw…what he felt.
"A holodeck," John supplied, smiling that brilliant smile once again. Rodney soaked in that sight before he spoke again and burst Sheppard's bubble.
"Well, it's not a holodeck. That's fiction. Great fiction, wonderfully imaginative fiction, science fiction, I'll grant you, but fiction nonetheless."
"Okay, it's 'like' a holodeck," Sheppard replied, finger quoting in the air, a little frustrated by McKay's reaction.
"You're right," Rodney smiled, regretting that he'd bothered to point out the obvious, "it's a lot like a holodeck. The technology, I wonder…" Sheppard cut him off.
"Tell ya what," the colonel said as he steered McKay down the slope, closer to the water's edge. They stopped under a stand of trees just short of the lake.
"It's so mild here by the lake, yet there's snow up in the mountains," Rodney marveled. That was more like it, John Sheppard noted. He really didn't want this moment ruined by talk of the hows and whys of the Ancient's Star Trek invention. He wanted this: Rodney in wonder at the sight. Rodney remembering one of the few good times that he'd had as a child, the trip to Banff and the glories of the lakes and glaciers he had explored and learned to love in the one great excursion in his childhood. John remembered McKay telling him how surprising the warmth was as he viewed the majestic, snow-covered mountains. Rodney had spoken of this time with awe, and with the wonderment and eager discovery of a child; Rodney McKay was not much different today as an adult, John thought affectionately.
Rodney had told Sheppard this story more than once, though it was likely that McKay wouldn't remember that. Rodney wasn't a good drunk. He wasn't a mean drunk; he was more a melancholy drunk. The fact that he never spoke of this time in his life except for when he was more than a little looped told John just how dear those memories were to his friend.
John had programmed in views of Banff and the surrounding area from all around: this isolated small lake, the more well-known Lake Louise, Sulphur Mountain, Emerald Lake, the amazing natural wonders of Glacier National Park, Takakkaw Falls, Moraine Lake, the red and yellow mud ochre mineral pools called Paint Pots in Kootenay National Park, Icefields Parkway, Weeping Wall, Bridal Veil Falls, Hoodoos. Sheppard had tried to remember all of the sites Rodney had visited on the Canadian side of the Rockies; he felt like he had taken the trip with McKay, he had heard the story so often.
John could see in Rodney's face that he was reliving that cherished vacation in his mind.
"Slow down, Rodney. We've got all day." Sheppard took the food from the scientist and set it on the ground. "This is just the beginning," John added as he took his backpack off. Rodney watched as John pulled out a large red and white checked tablecloth from the pack. His eyes grew big again, but his smile was even more so. He helped Sheppard lay their blanket under the tree, but not too far under…just enough for some dappled shade, as it really was a resplendently perfect day for a picnic.
"You remember well, Grasshopper," Rodney said as he stepped into John's personal space. John blushed slightly.
"I wanted to make it special. Doctor Z helped me figure it out."
"I'll deal with Zelenka later. But you…you kept Ancient technology from me?" Rodney asked warningly as he put his arms around John's waist and drew him close, their lower bodies touching temptingly. "That was very, very naughty," he whispered into John's ear, taking a small nip as he spoke. Rodney's hands seductively fondled John's butt and allowed no space to form between their eagerly throbbing groins. The colonel shivered slightly, but he tried to cover it with a firm return of the embrace.
"I guess I need to be punished," Sheppard said seductively into McKay's neck.
Rodney licked John's ear and then laid small kisses along Sheppard's cheek and chin as he took his own circuitous route to John's mouth. When he finally arrived at that delicious destination, he said, "I don't know. I think you've done…" he lightly kissed John's lips, and then continued, "other things…" Rodney pushed his tongue into John's mouth, forcing his way in hungrily and making himself at home. He finished the kiss with a flourish, licked his lips and finally added, "to save you from such a fate."
John looked disappointed and said, "Sometimes punishment is a good thing." He took Rodney's mouth this time and ravished it to his own liking. The kiss was out of control quickly, a sustained crescendo that could not climax; both men needed to break for desperately needed oxygen. Besides, climaxing could wait for a time more appropriate, though neither man felt that a good climax was too far into their futures.
They looked at each other…and burst out laughing.
"You should see your lips," John giggled, grabbing Rodney's arm to keep from tumbling to the ground.
"Oh, really?" Rodney queried, a smirk on his face. "Nobody would recommend you for Botox treatment right now either." Rodney snorted a little as John laughed harder at the comment.
"And what are you talking about? 'Punishment is a good thing'?" Rodney slapped John hard on the back of the head, which finally did John in and forced him to the ground, laughing uncontrollably. Rodney lifted his head and rolled his eyes and took in the beauty all around him again. He ventured a quick look down at John and he suddenly felt overwhelmed by…everything.
McKay looked up once again at the magnificence of the lake and the snow-covered mountains of Banff. Tears came to his eyes, and he shook his head back and forth in wonder. He felt a hand on his hip and he looked down to find John Sheppard on his knees looking up at him with a mix of concern and…love? Yes. It was love, he recognized the look and the feeling, as what he saw in John's face mirrored his feeling as perfectly as the lake had mirrored the snow-capped mountains and clear blue sky. Rodney smiled through the tears.
"Are you okay?" John asked.
Rodney joined John on the ground. They faced each other on their knees, and joined seamlessly in a passionate kiss. They pulled back once again, one with tears in his eyes, the other firmly resolved to not go there. For Rodney's sake.
McKay put his hand on Sheppard's chest, placing it over John's heart, looked deeply into his friend's eyes and said, "Thank you."
John placed his hand overtop of Rodney's and squeezed it tightly. "You're welcome."
They looked at each other for the longest time, marveling at how happy, how perfectly happy they felt, knowing that they were taking this new direction together. It was good and it was right, and it was definitely just a little bit scary. But scary had become relative out in the Pegasus galaxy. To John and Rodney, that made the direction they were going as obvious…as crystal clear as the lake before them.
"You wanna have lunch?" John asked lightly.
Rodney looked at John and grinned. "I'm definitely hungry," he answered as he forced Sheppard to the ground, taking John's mouth in his own as they lay blissfully beside the beautiful Canadian Rockies.
John finally and truly understood what Rodney had been talking about all this time regarding the glories of that country to the north of the US of A. It was easier to comprehend now that he had one of the great wonders of Canada right there in his arms.
The End.