Hi!
For one thing, I am not a native English speaker and would appreciate any constructive criticism.
For another thing, the ideas came up at night when I was musing about what Todd and John could talk about in a relationship like the one I want them to be in, so yes, they are lovers.
Enjoy yourself!
With his hands on his hips Sheppard turned to scowl at his partner and groaned sullenly, "Todd, just look what you've done!"
He didn't appear as unapproachable as he wanted to, only clothed in a pair of sweatpants, but was it too much to ask that the Wraith stopped that smug grinning? It was his fault and his alone that he was in this predicament.
"Have you any idea how hot it'll be today? I can hardly go out wearing a turtleneck." He had thought about it when he had admired Todd's work in the mirror. He wouldn't even be able to cover it up with makeup.
Stepping up to the wet Wraith, that had just moments ago left the shower and joined him in the main room, Sheppard poked his index finger into the bare chest of his partner, "This is nothing to be proud of."
Todd's expression suddenly changed into a frown, "I am proud of you as my mate, but I am not allowed to show it in public. Now you want me to stop showing it in private, too?"
Sheppard sighed and searched his partner's eyes, "I am yours and you should already know that. But, honestly, this looks more like a shark bite rather than a normal hickey and how am I supposed to explain that to anyone?"
Chuckling, Todd raised a hand and gently stroked his thumb over his cheek, "Instead of explaining we could simply demonstrate how it happened", the Wraith bend forward, his tongue darting out and teasing the wounded skin around the bite marks on his neck and shoulder.
"Unless, of course, you really don't want anyone to know", now his partner gave him a little peck on the cheek, "Then I would strongly suggest staying here out of sight of everyone else, until the mark has healed, and spending time with me while hoping that I don't want to taste you again."
He nestled up to Todd, hiding his face in the Wraith's shoulder, but hissed, "You're incredible, you know." The Wraith's deep laughter made his body rumble as he bowed his head, "I know, Sheppard." Like that they stood there for what seemed to be an eternity, until suddenly the door slid open, revealing the athosian leader, "John, are you –"
While she stopped midsentence and midstride, he quickly pulled away from the previously reassuring embrace and madly searched for words to justify what she had seen. He found none, "Teyla, please, it – "
His team member and friend stared from him to Todd with wide eyes. She took in the unfamiliar picture of a familiar Wraith, with nothing more than a towel around his hips, before she blushed ever so slightly and glanced back at Sheppard. Her gaze hardened and he expected everything except what she really said, "What happened to you?"
He blinked confused before he looked questioningly at his partner, who had stayed eerily impassive since Teyla's appearance. If he found out that the Wraith had sensed her approaching and not told him, he would made him pay. With a broad grin, that showed his teeth, Todd answered for him dryly, "I was hungry, so I chose to take a bite."
Thinking about it that way, it sounded almost insane and he felt his skin crawl as he touched his neck, "Teyla, he –" "John", she interrupted him quietly and shook her head, "are you happy?"
He would have said yes out of habit, but something in the Athosian's voice told him to think. So he thought about all the times he had wanted to see the Wraith suffer, even or especially the one next to him. And he thought about their first encounter when he had met a totally different Wraith, who had had no hope, but gave him exactly that. Sheppard thought about how this Wraith became his Wraith. But he also thought about his friends, that had always been at his side, no matter what.
He took a deep breath, "I wouldn't be any more if I lost you about this. Any of you." Sheppard avoided Teyla's eyes until she cleared her throat. Preparing for the worst, he was surprised to see her smile gently, "As long as he doesn't hurt you, it is no concern of mine who you share your life with."
His team member turned and narrowed her eyes on his partner, who on his part nodded curtly. She left without another word and he let out a breath he hadn't known he had held.
"You knew she was coming, didn't you?" He asked tiredly, but not exactly angry. Todd tilted his head, "I told you that your people respect you too much as to condemn you. They trust you, John Sheppard. Your friends know as well as I do that you would never betray them."
"Yes, so you've said", moaning, he let himself fall face first into the far too soft mattress of the bed. He would have to do something about that if he was going to stay here now and then. Sheppard just needed to make up a good excuse because it may seem suspicious if he demanded another mattress for the Wraith who barely slept anyways.
Thinking about strange things, he ended up going over the latest confrontation with the athosian woman in his team. Teyla had obviously searched for him and it really shouldn't surprise Sheppard that she had come down here this quickly. After all, when Todd was visiting Atlantis, he was the only one who voluntarily spend his time with the Wraith and that had to attract attention.
His partner had once mentioned in front of the others that he was the tastiest human he had ever met and they all seemed to worry about that statement more than he did. He was so in for it.
His musings were interrupted by swift fingers gliding through his unruly hair and he leaned into the touch, albeit grudgingly. Twisting his neck slightly, Sheppard looked up at Todd, who was fully clothed by now and sat next to him.
Scrutinizing the complicated fastening on the dark shirt and trousers that hid countless tattoo patterns, he really wondered how the Wraith managed to dress without any problems while he had yet to find out how to undress him. He pushed those thought to the back of his mind and instead raised his eyebrows, "Could you at least control yourself during the meeting today?"
"Why should I?" The hand that had ruffled through his hair before, followed down the curve of his spine and he knew his partner deliberately tried to tickle him. Attempting not to squirm, he bit out trough gritted teeth, "There'll be some big shots present and the military doesn't really approve of relationships like ours."
A clawed finger stopped dead in its tracks and Todd's face darkened. His partner snapped, "You mean you'll be punished because you strengthen the alliance between our races?"
Sheppard actually shrunk as he answered, so as to not become the target of the Wraith's wrath, "It's not exactly that we are from different quarters. Rather, you are considered male", he saw the corners of Todd's lips twitching, "and same sex relationships aren't very popular with my folk."
Considering the hard expression, Sheppard wasn't surprised about the snarl. It would be a very demanding meeting. But, as always, he would simply try and calm the heated atmosphere when something happened. Until then, he had enough time to enjoy with his partner. Rolling over and moving so that his head lay in the Wraith's lap, he pulled him down for a long and passionate kiss.