A/N: I know it's been forever since I've written anything, and for that I apologize, but I just don't have the time what with school and college stuff. So…yeah, life somehow snuck up on me and I'm stuck puzzling through Calc. But don't let me distract you, try reading - you just might like it.
It was funny how a person could get fixed on a certain object. Well, maybe not funny, but it was definitely entertaining, especially grilling them over their new found "obsession."
"For the last time, Rodney," John's voice rose higher in distress, "I am not obsessed. I am not infatuated. I am simply looking at a paperclip."
Rodney grinned, his eyes lighting up at how easily John had played into his hands.
"And that, colonel, is why I have the PhD and why you are a Mensa person." Rodney shook his head, unable to believe the man who was staring at a paperclip. "Besides, what's so dire about a paperclip, anyway?"
John glanced away from his paperclip long enough to give Rodney a sour look, before returning his gaze back to it. "It's like gold." His voice was soft, reminiscent.
"It's a yellow paperclip, I doubt it would last long in your grip if it were gold." Rodney retorted with his usual sarcasm.
John shook his head. "No, that's not what I mean. It's…like gold," he emphasized, clearly distressed with his inability to get across his meaning. "It holds things together. Keeps things organized."
Rodney snorted. What? He couldn't help it! Honestly, if you found the person you most admired staring at something as commonplace as a paperclip, what would you do?
"You mean everything you're not?"
John looked up from his paperclip, giving a heated glare to Rodney.
"That's not what I mean. And I don't expect you to understand." To Rodney's surprise, John clipped the paperclip onto a strap on his pants, hanging it for the world to see.
"Why are you wearing a paperclip?" Rodney asked, amused in spite of himself.
John didn't answer for a minute. Or two. Or three. Just as Rodney was going to re-ask the question, John turned to face him.
"It's my lucky charm, alright? Are you happy?" John smirked at Rodney's puzzled look.
"Of anything that could be a lucky charm, you chose a paperclip?"
John let a full smile dawn on his face. "Of course, Rodney, I know sometimes underwear is better."
Rodney squeaked before dashing away, leaving an amused colonel watching the dust settle from the scientist's hasty beaten path.
"So, how long do you think that will keep him silent?" John asked as a laughing Teyla and a bemused Ronon appeared from around the corridor they'd been hiding in.
"Not long enough, I fear," Teyla managed, her laughter becoming contagious.
"Good one, Shep, never thought I'd see McKay go red before." Ronon grinned feral-like.
John laughed, tugging at the paperclip to loosen it from his belt clip.
"Oh crap." Teyla and Ronon turned towards him questioningly. "It's stuck!"
Laughter echoed as John shook his head and wondered how he was going to explain a yellow paperclip on his pants. Oh well, he decided, best saved for another time.
A/N: I know everyone has their little quirks - some quirkier than others - but everyone has something they obsess over. For me, yes, it's paperclips. They're like my lucky charm, and as retarded as that seems -you can quit laughing now- there is just something so fascinating about a bent piece of wire. And no, I'm not a simple person. I'm actually quite deep when I want to be. Seriously.
So if anyone draws any inspiration from my short one-shot, go ahead and create a scene with a character having an obsession with an unusual object, or commonplace item. And if you keep it clean, so much the better! Should prove interesting, no?