John plopped down on the opposite couch, watching Rodney blatantly stare at his chest. He could only imagine what was going through the man's head; yet another fantasy about Rodney that would receive his full attention…later.

It still seemed too unbelievable that, with only four people living along this hallway, Rodney was right next door. The Rodney that he'd shared chance meetings with three times before. That had to be coincidence, right? Certainly nothing to denote the intervention of fate or destiny.

Coincidence was the only option. Because, although John distinctly remembered each encounter, even the first one when he was only four years old, their interactions barely made an impression on Rodney, as he could never recall John. Every time their paths crossed, John tried a little harder to be memorable, and still nothing.

Until today.

Shaking his head, John decided to put an end to the silence, as well as his guest's gawking. "So I take it you didn't find what you wanted."

Rodney's cheeks flashed a deep red, and his eyes whipped up to meet John's. "What?"

"My sunglasses."

"My sunglasses," he corrected. "And…I have no idea what you're talking about." His eyes wandered the apartment guiltily.

"Of course." As if it hadn't been obvious what Rodney wanted the instant he stepped into John's apartment. Well…for a moment there, John could pretend his neighbor had been there for him, not for the sunglasses. What was so special about those sunglasses anyway? John had his reasons for wanting them, but why did Rodney want them back so badly?

"Right." His gaze still purposefully avoided John's general direction.

"I'm getting kinda hungry. You want to grab something to eat?"

Rodney's eyes finally focused on him again. "What?"

"Dinner. I'm asking you if you'd like to go to dinner."

"Like a date?"

"We've had sex, Rodney. It seems only fair that we get a meal out of the deal too, even if it is a few years late."

He blinked. "Okay."

"I'll drive. Just give me a minute to get dressed, and feel free to search the apartment again, if you want."

--------

Rodney opened the car door, and sat in the passenger seat of the black sport's car. Really, could this guy be any more of a 'hot guy with hot wheels' cliché? And McKay was about to ask him that when something caught his eye. Suspended oh so innocently from the driver's visor were his sunglasses! No wonder the guy let Rodney search his apartment!

Unable to stop himself, his arm shot out to grab them, but his neighbor's hand wrapped around Rodney's wrist and held him away from his goal.

"How about we take a night off from the custody battle?" his neighbor asked.

Huffing, Rodney conceded as his hand was released, "Fine."

"Good. I'm John Sheppard, by the way. Now, let's see how long we can make it before I have to introduce myself to you again."

-tbc-