"What's the matter with you?"
"I love you, too, Rodney," John Sheppard said as he rested his elbows on the table, massaging his forehead with his fingers, the slow motion from his scalp down to his eyebrows and back up seeming to provide little comfort.
Rodney sat opposite the colonel at the commissary table. He spoke softly to his tablemate when he said, "We're in public. You're only going to get so much out of me." John nodded, barely, though he was in complete agreement with McKay on that point. "Seriously, what's wrong?"
"Pressure's killing me." Rodney frowned. He knew that Sheppard had suffered several broken blood vessels in his nose, a massive nose bleed, and slight whiplash the day before while testing some extreme maneuvers in one of the jumpers, maneuvers that McKay himself had been anxious to see put to the test. Carson said that the bleeding was over but that John would be feeling the aftereffects of the trauma for a couple of days.
"John," Rodney said, eliciting no reaction from the ailing man. Rodney took a hold of John's left forearm, stopping the massage and grabbing Sheppard's attention. "Come with me."
John checked his watch. "It's still early for workaholic physicists, isn't it?"
"Yes, well, this workaholic physicist has better things to do today. Besides, Elizabeth will be happy to hear that I'm cutting out early for a change. Radek will likely kiss your feet when he hears that you were the reason."
John smiled. "Okay. Sounds like a plan." They rose in unison from the table. "When you talk to Radek, maybe you could convince him of some other form of payment than the foot kissing."
"You realize that was figurative, not literal, right?" Rodney noted.
"Figurative kissing seems a waste," John commented as he rubbed his hand over aching eyes.
"Agreed."
"I'd like some literal kissing," John said with yearning, though he really didn't look like he was up for much of anything. The darkness that had settled around his eyes was not the Air Force man's best look.
"Radek?" Rodney suggested, trying to keep things light but wincing nonetheless at how tired and pained John looked.
"Not really."
"Anyone else in mind?" Rodney asked.
"I'm sure you'd like to know," John teased.
"Not if it's someone other than me," Rodney answered confidently.
"Give me a second to think about it."
Rodney looked at John, and then shoved his elbow into Sheppard's upper arm. Hard.
"Ouch! Rodney, I don't feel good, can you watch it?"
"Sorry." John could tell that Rodney really was, and he knew that he had overreacted because, well, he felt like crap. "I'll make it up to you. I promise," McKay added, wiggling his eyebrows.
"I'm counting on it," John said as he opened the door to his quarters, a smile gracing his still pained face. He thought the doors locked as he stepped up and grabbed his 'literal' kiss.
"Yum," Rodney said, and then tapped his headset. "Elizabeth."
"Yes, Rodney," Dr. Elizabeth Weir responded.
"I'm following your advice and taking the rest of the day off. Could you please notify Dr. Zelenka?"
"I'd be happy to. I'm glad you're going to take the break."
"Not as glad as Radek will be when you tell him," Rodney commented assuredly.
"No doubt," Elizabeth replied, a smile to her voice.
"I'm with Colonel Sheppard. We're going to relax together," Rodney said, challenging Sheppard with his daring admission. "He's still not doing so great after playing with his Ancient spaceship."
"Cut him a break, Rodney," Elizabeth suggested. "You were the one who recommended pushing the jumper to its limits."
"Yes, well, obviously the jumper still has more to give. Our inferior human bodies are preventing us from finding the machine's maximum capabilities."
"That's it!" John Sheppard interjected. "It doesn't matter what the jumper can do if we can't handle the power of it."
"I don't know about that, Colonel. We learned that we can work them remotely," Rodney reminded him. "We just have to change our…"
"All right, gentlemen. This conversation doesn't seem especially relaxing. I trust I can leave you two and not have to come around to separate you later?"
John turned off his radio. "That would be quite a picture," he whispered, smiling sneakily.
"Shut up," Rodney whispered. Into the radio he said, "We promise to behave, Elizabeth. I assure you the cavalry will not have to be called upon."
"Thank you. Have fun. Weir out."
Rodney and John looked at each other with the same confused frown.
"Have fun?" Rodney asked.
"Yeah. What do you suppose…" John started.
"There's no way. No. There is no way that she could possibly know." Rodney sat on John's bed, shocked at the possible ramifications if Elizabeth really did know what he and John had been engaging in of late.
"I wouldn't worry about it," John advised as he removed his jacket followed immediately by his pants. "We've been discrete, and as quiet as possible," an eyebrow went up as he leveled an accusing stare at his partner. He opened a drawer and grabbed a pair of sweatpants, pulled them on and then headed to the bathroom.
"I have been as quiet as I can possibly be. And I would hold off on tossing stones, my friend. What about what you did on Saturday, hm?" McKay challenged.
John came out of the bathroom, talking around his toothbrush. "Yu 'ean wut yu did to 'e. We were a'one an' on da fa' side o' da shiddy."
Both of Rodney's eyebrows went up. "Shitty?"
John spit the toothpaste out. "You know what I said. No one was around, I could be as loud as I wanted. Besides, that was ALL your fault. All we really risked was injuring my vocals chords." Sheppard finished in the bathroom, sat next to Rodney on the bed and rested his head on McKay's shoulder.
"I don't feel good," the colonel whined.
"I know you don't," Rodney said sympathetically, turning to lay a gentle kiss on John's particularly mussed up hair. Rodney stood and walked to a chest of drawers. He pulled out something shimmery, John couldn't tell exactly what it was, though he really wasn't trying very hard; it hurt too much to focus.
Rodney quickly undressed down to a t-shirt and boxers, looked at Sheppard and instructed, "Scoot over." John obliged and moved toward the foot of the bed. Rodney got comfortable at the head of the small bed and said, "Come here, lean back." John started to look behind him. "Just lean back," McKay insisted. The colonel finally conceded and laid heavily back, Rodney's legs opening to allow him to rest his head on the physicist's stomach.
"Mmmm, that's nice. Have you been enjoying some extra donuts on the sly lately?" John asked as he snuggled in. He knew that Rodney hadn't, especially now that he 'knew' Rodney so much better these days.
"Ha, ha, ha," McKay returned as he started a slow and easy massage of John's scalp.
"Oh, man. That feels really good. What's under my head? It's nice."
"A pillow I got from one of the Athosians as a thank you for fixing their plow," Rodney answered as he continued the light massage.
"You fixed a plow?" John asked.
"I'm 'Fix-it Man', aren't I?" Rodney said sardonically.
"I thought you were 'Answer Man'?"
"Same thing." Rodney stopped the massage. John heard the flip of a cap and then felt warm fingers on his temples, working languorously toward his forehead, relaxation coming to him for the first time in almost two days.
"Jesus, Rodney," John commented, words failing him as he tried to explain how those amazing fingers felt.
"Just relax," Rodney suggested quietly. McKay's fingers moved down John's cheeks and then hovered at his ears, smoothing the oils around his lobes and then slowly working down to the base of his neck. John's occasional moans of pleasure were Rodney's guide that the sweet ministrations were helping to ease the pain of the seemingly boneless man now sprawled on top of him.
The scent of the oil was intoxicating to the colonel…maybe Rodney had acquired it from the Athosians as well. But it was nowhere near as intoxicating as the feel of Rodney's fingers caressing him.
Rodney moved his hands from John's neck and pulled the colonel's t-shirt up. John leaned up slightly so that Rodney could pull the shirt over his head and remove it completely. McKay reached his arms around his lover's neck and rested both hands on John's chest. He leaned down and placed a kiss on the unruly mop of hair, thick with tufts heading every which way.
Rodney whispered, "Let's not come back all bloody like that again, okay?" John could feel his now favorite masseuse breathing heavily into his scalp. Sheppard knew that he'd scared more than one person with that last crazy maneuver and then stepping out of the jumper covered in blood.
"Hey," John said, starting to rise to get a better look at his friend.
"Lie still," Rodney pleaded, pressing his hands firmly into John's chest and holding him in place.
"I'm sorry," John said, resting his head back against the restful comfort of the handmade pillow and the emotional comfort that Rodney provided.
"I know you are," Rodney said into his hair. "I've been wrong to use you as a guinea pig for every Ancient toy, and for target practice yesterday."
"That's not what you do."
"I encouraged you to take the jumper…"
"I agreed," John interrupted.
"Yes, but you have that gene."
"What? The ATA gene? So do you."
"Not 'that' gene," Rodney countered. "The thrill-seeking gene. The Air Force, 'gotta get me some speed' daredevil gene. I need to remember that when I come up with these ideas and send you into harm's way. I have to remember that you like it." Moments passed, Rodney's fingers beginning an easy dance through the hair on John's chest. John didn't feel the need to contradict what Rodney had just said; it was all true.
"Feels nice," John said, his eyes closed, his arms resting atop Rodney's thighs. He felt cocooned in Rodney – there was no feeling in the world quite like it.
"Good," the scientist said, the word sounding rough coming from McKay. Sheppard could tell that Rodney was still thinking about the precise moment that he had stepped from the Ancient craft the previous day.
"I'm okay, Rodney," John assured, taking his hands and placing them over McKay's, stilling the pleasant effects on his chest, at least temporarily, in order to assure his lover was paying attention.
"I know," he replied, sounding this time like he meant it. "You're really feeling better?"
"I could fall asleep, this feels so good."
"I would normally object to such a reaction to my expert handling," Rodney started. John smiled as that sounded far more like his Rodney. "But this time I'm going to let it slide. Carson says you should sleep."
"He knows what he's talkin' 'bout," John slurred as he headed toward slumber.
"He's getting better at it all the time," Rodney retorted, followed by another kiss to the top of John's head.
Sheppard laughed at the remark, but chose not to comment on it. Rodney's issues with medical science never seemed quite as impassioned once Carson fixed Sheppard up for the physicist.
John knew he wouldn't last much longer, the cozy warmth of Rodney McKay was a sure bet that he'd be asleep in seconds. But he had to say this, the most important words he could say to the most important person in his life: "I love you."
John felt Rodney rest lips lightly on his head. Another kiss, a heavy sigh, a tight squeeze, and then John heard a soft, "Right back atcha." John smiled as he fell into a wonderfully peaceful and pain free sleep, Rodney McKay a warm and comforting quilt wrapping John Sheppard's soul.
The End.