VI.
CAMERON
A month and almost two weeks had passed since Norman Fields had arrived on Atlantis, turning everything upside down. That also meant it was almost a month and a week since Cam had last held John, ever since Fields had had those cameras installed and the curfew put in place, finding a moment alone with his lover had gotten harder and harder. The itch he had felt in the beginning had left for a while but about two days ago it had come back with a vengeance, itchier than ever and Cam had no way of dealing with it. It made it very hard for him to concentrate on anything, especially when he was in the same room as John.
That was why he had come up with a plan; the problem was just that there were so many things that could go wrong. What the plan relied on was the dedication and the devotion the members of the Atlantis expedition had for each other and their loyalty towards him and John, after all it was not the best kept secret that they were a couple. Which was why he was on the way to talk with Rodney, if he wanted this plan to work he needed the genius' help. If everything went right then Fields would not be any wiser about what would play out among the inhabitants on Atlantis. Cam was actually kind of proud of himself for coming up with this small plan.
From what he had been observing, Cam was not the only one in need of a small break. He had run into a somewhat stressed out looking Major Lorne two days ago who when confronted about it had just brushed it off in his normally calm manner. Later when Cam had discreetly asked John about it in the mess-hall, his lover had looked a bit uncomfortable and said he had noticed the same thing but there was not much they could do about it, especially with Fields having eyes and probably ears too, scattered all over the city.
"Ah Doctor Zelenka! Is McKay around?"
"Just follow the shouts of fear and panic," was the tired answer.
Cam patted Zelenka on the shoulder and gave the Doctor an encouraging smile but did not stay to chat. Instead he did as he was advised; when he arrived Cam could not help but grin at what he saw. McKay really had a way with his "minions" because that was what the other scientists were. Taking pity on the poor souls looking like they were about to burst into hysterical sobs, Cam cleared his throat.
"McKay, may I have a word with you in private?"
"Can it wait? I'm a bit busy fixing a mistake my stupid minions made which by the way not even my niece whose like seven wouldn't have done!"
"No, I need to speak with you right now."
There was a moment of silence before McKay shouted a agitated "Fine!"
Cam was shooed into a small office, which he had never known existed. McKay was muttering the whole time between sipping on his coffee.
"So what's so important that you could not say out there?"
"I need your help with a little something," said Cam with a smirk.
He knew half the battle was already won, and he was even surer that when McKay heard what the plan entailed then he would be onboard.
"And what is it you need my help with?"
"No one can hear us?"
"Nope, Asgard tech."
"Good."
"Just spit it out, Commander! I don't have all day!"
"Well hypothetically if I wanted to spend an evening with someone in my quarters without Fields finding out… Those cameras are so all seeing…"
Cam watched how McKay's facial expression went from not so impressed to something better described as 'the cat ate the canary'.
"Well… hypothetically speaking Commander as the highest authority on Atlantis it's your duty to make sure we take every precaution against intruders here on Atlantis so that the people here are safe, you could say it's a recurring thing because of the few ZPM's and because we let the systems 'rest'," said McKay.
"As we're speaking hypothetically here Doctor… if I asked you to do this would you oblige, I mean it's very important that our systems work and that out ZPM's have enough power to sustain us," commented Cam offhandedly.
"Well of course I would, it's my job as first scientist to make sure everything about Atlantis is whole and working, after all."
"Good, good, how fast could you do it?"
"Commander you're talking to a genius here, tomorrow then there's enough time to set it up and fool that slime ball Fields."
"Well then Doctor, I'll leave you to it." And with those words Cam left McKay to sort out some small details.
STARGATE: ATLANTIS
Cam had to raise his hat for McKay, the man was really good. In under about two hours after his small chat with the PhD Doctor, there was an email in his inbox, which had been sent to everyone on Atlantis, telling the inhabitants of the power down that they would have the following day or more accurately evening. Reading between the lines told Cam more than any word in the email did and he knew that by the day was over everyone except for Fields would know to play their part in this small scheme.
He would not be surprised if Field demanded they have some meeting about this, as no one had ever talked about it before, but Cam was sure that, at least he hoped, it would go well. Cam had barely read the message and logged out when his earpiece buzzed.
"Mitchell."
"Of course, I'll be there in five."
"This'll be interesting…" murmured Cam heading for the conference room.
On his way for this last minute meeting set up by and angry Fields, Cam almost walked straight into Lorne who was heading in the same direction. They was almost there when Lorne spoke.
"I must admit I didn't expect that email, sir." AKA. That's an interesting plan, sir.
"It came a bit fast but Doctor McKay assured me it's better to do it now." Thanks Major, I just hope it'll go down right.
"Don't you worry about it sir, everyone are ready for it." Don't worry sir, no one likes Fields here and they're all loyal to you and what better way to stick it to the creep than by doing this?
"Yeah you're right Major."
"Of course I am sir, am I not always?"
"Well I can't deny that."
They shared a laugh but stopped when they arrived by the big doors leading in to the conference room, schooling their features the two men stepped inside. Fields, McKay and John were already there. Doctor Keller was not far behind him and Lorne, not being able to leave a patient just like that.
Fields looked so angry that Cam was just waiting for the steam to start pouring out from the man's ears, everyone else were looking neutral. Cam knew that his plan had a few flaws and this was one of them, him and McKay being the only ones who actually knew exactly what was going on, why and when meant that if Fields targeted someone else in the room, then there could be some problems, maybe.
"What is this? Why have I not heard of it before?" asked Fields in a loud voice.
"Because you haven't been here before when we've done it," said McKay sounding bored, "either way I sent you an email like everyone else and even the papers that explains why we're doing this, that should be enough for you or do you want to die?"
"You sent me a hundred and eighty-seven pages of mumbo jumbo!" almost shouted Fields waiving a thick folder filled with papers.
"Oh come on, it's not that hard to understand, and it's not mumbo jumbo!"
Cam took the folder from Fields and looked it through and he had admit he could not have done it better himself, he barely understood every sixth word and even that was debatable. There was no way Fields was able to understand any of it, especially when there were passages written in the Ancients' language. No one else had yet said anything.
"Well let me enlighten you then, Mr. Fields. We do this because it keeps the systems in control and makes it possible for us to find hackers or other problems, it's easier to do it at night because everyone will be in their own quarters so no one will care that their doors are locked and that there's no light or running water, you like everyone else will follow procedure which means that by ten you'll be in your quarters when the shield will be activated and all doors will be locked, the systems shut down etc. and you won't leave before the door's lock is opened from the outside meaning everything is back on and running again."
Fields looked ready to explode but did nothing. Looking around the room, blue eyes met green ones. Cam could not wait for tomorrow, he needed it so bad, he needed to touch and feel and taste his lover. Suddenly the room seemed very hot, and Cam forced himself not to yank at his collar, and instead refocused on the IOA member in the room. Lorne and Keller was not saying much, both standing quietly on the side following the exchange.
"So are we done? I unlike some people in this room actually have work to do," huffed McKay with his nose in the air.
"Yes, we're done," growled Fields through clenched teeth not looking or sounding very pleased.
Cam sent an appreciative nod towards McKay who looked very proud indeed of himself. Fields did not stay around to chat and stormed out from the room, he had lost this round and he knew it. Everyone in the room knew it and that was what made Cam's victory even better. Even if it really would have felt good to rub it into Fields' face, Cam held himself; nothing good would come out of that temptation, at least not in the long run.
STARGATE: ATLANTIS
If Cam had thought he felt itchy before then it was nothing compared to what he was feeling right now. It was as if the knowledge that things were finally happening was making things worse. He felt almost as nervous and exited as the first time he and John had had sex.
Staring at the clock, Cam felt like shooting something preferably someone, it was only a quarter past twelve and he was already having a hard time concentrating. This was not going to be an easy day, not at all. When they had announced what would happen the evening before, that the every now and then "occurring, energy counting" was once again to be held, a certain hope spread throughout the city. This was like a miracle from above, showing that they were not quite yet ready to bow down before the likes of Norman Fields.
Cam kept daydreaming for most of the day, once in a while shuffling through his papers trying to look like he was working if someone came knocking on his door. Not that anyone would have cared either way, it was not so much of a secret that it was Major Lorne that made sure all the important papers were signed, which meant that all urgent papers that Cam or John signed all came from Major Lorne who had put them in a file apart from the rest of the not so important papers. It was kind of nice not having to sort through the huge piles of paper that ended up in his office, but on the same time Cam felt a bit bad knowing that when his desk was empty when Lorne's desk and office was overflowing with paper. Not that one ever noticed, the man really knew how to keep things tidy, maybe he could ask the Major for some tips later on.
Taking at least five extra coffee pauses over the course of four hours, when nine o'clock rolled in, Cam was ready to get the hell out of his office and have a relaxing evening. With all the coffee he had been drinking he felt a bit more awake than normally as he usually kept himself from drinking more than seven cups a day, not wanting to end up like most of the scientists and even some of the soldiers who practically lived on the bitter liquid.
Walking from his office to his quarters, Cam watched the people under his command. There was a certain excitement in the air; everyone knew what was going on and the stakes. If they got caught there would be no mercy, everyone would be in the line of fire. Some hid their feelings better than others, whispers and laughter spread all over Atlantis, no one would let this opportunity slip through their fingers.
Cam wondered absentmindedly whether they would have any lube left in the city after this evening, it would be a bit embarrassing trying to explain to Caldwell why they wanted to bring a few hundred bottles of lube from earth to Atlantis, the organic lube that Parrish and his colleague had managed to create was good but it was a so called limited edition as you could not make much of it in one go. No Cam was sure that would not fly with the people on earth or Caldwell, how Lorne had gotten four big boxes with lube smuggled with the Daedalus was still mystery to Cam and everyone else on the base. And if they were to go by Lorne's secretive smile every time someone asked or hinted about it, then it would also stay a secret.
Because if there was one thing most people on Atlantis knew about Major Lorne, then that was that the man knew how to keep a secret he was better at keeping his private life private than even John and that said a lot about the man. He probably had more secrets than half of Atlantis' population put together, not much was known about the major that was not work related. This was of course one of the reasons a lot of people found themselves intrigued and fascinated by the "mysterious" Major Lorne.
Of course Cam would love to find out more what made Lorne tick, but on the same time he had his own mystery to solve, called John Sheppard. O'Neill had really made a fantastic job in finding the two most private and crazy people but still competent enough to run Atlantis. Then again, somehow Cam always fancied that there was something more than John's ATA gene and Lorne's good reputation that got them both shipped to the Pegasus Galaxy, both personally vouched for by General Jack O'Neill. Not that there was an overly big chance that he would ever find out what that little piece of information was.
Cam sat down with a sigh on his bed, forty-five minutes left before he would once again be able to hold his lover. Never before had Cam had a problem with waiting, he maybe did not always like it but it had not bothered him, but right now he wished for nothing more than to be able to move the time forward. Sitting there on the bed waiting, Cam thought he would drive himself crazy counting the minutes that passed.
He was not sure if he had somehow fallen asleep sitting up or just hypnotized himself into a, some sort of daze but suddenly when he came back to the land of the living, the clock was ten. In a matter of minutes everyone would be locked in, with only the shield to protect them if someone decided to attack. It was as if he was sitting on pins and needles, and then the door to his quarters slid open and closed. Just because Cam did not hear John did not mean that the other man was not in the room, he had really honed his John-radar whilst working on Atlantis. Then again with the amount of people being able to sneak up on his aka, Teyla, Ronon, Lorne, Jinto when the kid wanted to be sneaky and a whole heap of other people so it was good that he at least could sense one of them.
Cam felt how the bed dipped behind him and then there was a pair of arms around his neck, a body pressed to his back. It felt nice, and for a moment neither one of them spoke or did anything and instead just enjoyed the moment. A small sound rang through Atlantis just at that moment, and then everything went dark. It was an odd feeling; usually there was the sounds of the air conditioner, or the transporters, or the buzz of the computers but when all of it was cut, the only sound Cam could hear was his own and John's steady breathing.
"Wow, I really didn't think the change would be so distinct…" whispered John.
"Yeah, but it's peaceful in a way," said Cam speaking in a low voice.
"Mmm…" mumbled John nuzzling Cam's neck.
It felt nice, it was a normal occurrence before Fields John would cuddle up or lean against Cam burying his nose on the crook of Cam's neck. To be able to have this familiarity and intimate moment back, even if it was just for a short while it meant a lot to Cam.
"You smell like coffee." Cam laughed at John's comment.
"I wouldn't be surprised; I've probably drunk more coffee than McKay today."
Manhandling John from where he was sitting behind Cam to so that they were sitting side by side, Cam enjoyed the closeness. Sneaking an arm around John's waist, Cam pulled them both down so that they were lying on their backs on the bed. Like this, it was easier for him to roll over so that he was on top of John, leaning down to capture John's mouth in a hot kiss. Yeah, it had absolutely been too long, Cam decided as he almost became instantly hard when they kissed. Not that he was the only one; he could feel John's hardness pushing against him as his laid between his partners legs.
Grinding down, the only response Cam got was a low moan. It was as if someone had touched a light switch, Cam was sure he had never gotten faster out of his clothes as he did now, or that he had ever seen someone else slip out of theirs in the time John did. Cam bit back a moan, but could not help but draw a deep breath when he watched the dark haired man on the bed. John was gorgeous; everything from his dark tousled hair to his perfectly sculptured body was perfect, just the sight and the knowledge that all of it was his, made Cam hard.
It was dark in the room, the only light coming from one of the moons outside, Cam was glad he did not need to see John to feel him. Running his hands up and down John's torso, Cam pulled John into another heated kiss. They were slowly rocking against each other, their cocks touching, and the pre-cum smearing over their stomachs. Cam reached for the lube in the top drawer of his nightstand where he had put the tube to be easily accessed; for once he was happy he and John had decided to skip the condoms. It had been an easy decision, they had both gotten tested, not that the chance that John would have had anything had been big as he had not had "real" sex with anyone since he arrived on Atlantis, and as they had been monogamous and neither one of them slept around made things so much easier for them. First of all they did not have to worry about getting condoms and for the second they did not have to worry about getting them smuggled into Atlantis which was the hardest part and for the third now he did not have to fiddle with the small packages in the dark.
Coating his index finger with a generous amount of lube, Cam pushed it inside his dark haired lover. He moved it in and out a few times before he added another finger, moaning at the tightness surrounding them. Pushing in a third finger, Cam brushed them over John's prostate making John moan and writhe underneath him. Even though he just wanted to bury his cock deep into John's ass and fuck the man senselessly, Cam forced himself to take it slow. Biting down on John's right nipple, Cam kept up a steady rhythm with his hand letting his fingers pump in and out once in a while touching John's prostrate making the man moan. Cam could feel John pushing up against him, trying to create more friction between them but Cam used his bigger body to his advantage keeping his lover in place.
"Cam…" moaned John, low in his throat." Don't tease me…"
"Am I teasing you? My poor baby… you want me to fuck you, hard and long until you can't think straight," whispered Cam huskily breathing puffs of breath into John's ear.
His left hand, not occupied and covered in lube, was moving up over John's chest and all the way over his torso and down his hip only to move all the way up again. Cam could feel how close to the edge John was, his breath was ragged, his pupils were blown and he was making small needy noises in the back of his throat. Taking pity on John (and himself) Cam reached once again for the bottle of lube, this time smearing it over his own cock which was standing to attention pre-cum leaking from the tip.
Cam let out a groan when he felt his cock sink deep into John's tight ass, just the feeling of being totally surrounded by that wet closeness almost made him come. He waited until he felt John relax and then he started to move, first slowly but after a while faster and faster. Capturing John's lips, Cam groaned when he felt John suck on his lower lip, it did not take much before he felt that familiar tingling feeling in his lower back.
"Oh yes baby you feel so good, so hot and tight," groaned Cam his hand closing around John's erected cock.
"Cam… I… I'm coming!"
Cam buried himself as far as he could into John's ass just as he came, shooting his load inside of his lover. John came a millisecond later, shooting his load all over Cam's chest and stomach. Cam did not care about the sticky white seed as he slumped down on top of John, breathing hard. He was seeing stars; he had not had an orgasm like that in some time.
"Jesus…"
"Couldn't agree more," panted Cam.
For a moment Cam did not move, enjoying the feeling of lying on top of John but he had to move. Pulling out Cam rolled onto his side, his arms around John so that he was spooning up behind his lover. He did not care that they should probably wash up and change the sheets that they could do tomorrow. Right now he only wanted to hold his lover close and forget everything else but the amazing sex they just had had. Pressing a soft kiss to John's neck Cam fell asleep, cherishing the fact that he was not alone and that John was there with him in the bed.
RODNEY
When the Commander departed and Rodney was left alone in the small and cramped office, he was not sure what to do. Yes, the commander had sounded serious and Rodney actually had to admit that it was a very sneaky plan. In the end after fifteen minutes of much thinking, Rodney decided that Mitchell had been serious and that this small plan would be executed in some way with or without Rodney's help, and so went in search of his apprentice.
Sage Warner was one of the newest people working with Rodney and one of the few ones he could stand. When she had graduated four years ago and her thesis had been published Rodney had been very impressed and after meeting her when he was speaking at some science convention, he had offered her a job with the SGC in Atlantis. She had of course happily accepted and so far Rodney had not regretted his choice. She was brilliant, of course not as smart as him but close, in a way she was a bit like Sheppard, an acquired taste that you had to get used to. Not that he minded she was one of the few that did not mess up all the time too badly and she could hold her own in a verbal fight and not back down or break down crying.
"Sage!"
"Yes Boss?"
And of course it did not take away any points that she had taken to calling him Boss. Which no one else did so it was always easy to tell when she was the one speaking to him.
"I need you to do something for me," said Rodney when he sat down in the chair beside her.
"Of course Boss, what is it?"
"I need you to write a very long with many abstract words essay on why we once in a while have to turn off all the electricity and energy in the city to make sure there are no intruders and to keep our ZPMs working, ok?"
"But Boss we don't… OH, oh I see," breathed Sage, grinning wickedly, "so whose idea was it?"
Rodney watched as she turned to her computer, and immediately started to write. This was also one of the reasons why he liked her, she was fast on the uptake and very dedicated, then again she absolutely hated Fields, and had used some very colorful language to describe him, they had been lucky that Fields had not been around to hear it or else she would be back on earth already.
"It was actually the Commanders idea," admitted Rodney.
"Whoa, the Big Boss is getting antsy, not that he's the only one and then again, if I was the one dating Colonel Sheppard I'd have broken a long time ago, that man's a major hottie," said Sage dreamily.
"Sage…"
"What it's true! Colonel Sheppard is like super hot! If he wasn't taken by Commander Mitchell, then I'd so totally have made my move already."
"I can imagine that…"
"Come on, we can't all have our own super sexy Major to keep us company, speaking of Majors, I haven't seen Major Lorne in some time, is he okay?"
"Why do you ask me that? And he's not my super sexy Major."
"Oh come on Boss, like I don't know that the two of you've been spending a lot of time together."
"We've watched a few movies and eaten twice together in the mess hall, that's not a lot!"
"Uuhh, you're getting defensive. Come on, it's obvious that you like him, you love him, and he likes you too, or else he would have killed you already."
"I'm not talking with you about this, just write the text, I've got things to do."
"Boss seriously, open your eyes, he always smiles when he sees you then again he does smile at everyone, either way, he want to spend time with you, how much more evidence do you need? Why don't you take your chance while you have it, it's not as if anyone will know you snuck into his quarters, I mean Major Lorne and Colonel Sheppard have quarters separated from everyone else and Colonel Sheppard will be too busy in Mitchell's quarters which also are separated from the rest so no one will know about it!"
"And what if he doesn't like me back? Have you thought about that?" asked Rodney his frustration clearly showing.
"Not possible, believe me for once Boss, don't let this great opportunity slip through your fingers because you're scared, he's probably scared and unsure too, you've got nothing to lose."
"Okay enough! just make sure you get that done as fast as possible and print it out for me okay, I've got some things to get fixed, why don't you debrief the rest of the hooligans."
"Of course Boss, many big words, I'm an expert on saying a lot whilst saying nothing!"
"I know that's why I asked you to do it."
"Have a nice day Boss, and don't chicken out!"
Rodney did not even dignify her last sentence with an answer. He knew she was right but on the same time there was this small nagging feeling in the back of his mind that always surfaced when he thought he liked someone and so far that nagging feeling had been right, no one liked him enough to stay for a longer time. Keller, Brown everyone had always left him in the end because he was too insensitive or too brash or too much himself and that was not love. Because if there was one thing Rodney knew and had taken to his heart when he was younger and spent some time with his mother, that was if you loved someone then you accepted both the bad and the good in that person.
Shaking away the distracting thoughts, Rodney got to work. First he hacked into the Atlantis computers, then again that was not hard as he did it every other day and no one cared because he was the one who had made the new system and he was usually the one who over rode it under rode it and middle rode the programs to fix it or to do something else. When he was inside, Rodney continued to make fake records of this happening before; he made sure to put in about four or five every year at a time just to be sure if Fields decided to take a look. When that was done, he typed up a short note which he sent out to everyone on the base, attaching a small extra note to a few people, knowing it would spread faster this way the real message to everyone else but Fields.
Rodney had to admit that he was very proud of himself, in about two hours he had most things fixed and done. Of course, there were a few things that needed to be done but it would not take too much time or effort on his part. Now he just hoped Mitchell would take care of the rest, meaning Fields who surely would have something to say about this. Rodney just did not have the patience.
STARGATE: ATLANTIS
"You sent me a hundred and eighty-seven pages of mumbo jumbo!" almost shouted Fields waiving a thick folder filled with papers.
It really was a struggle for Rodney to not break out in song, Fields had no idea what was going on his comment had been like a declaration of stupidity. Sage was really good when she told him she was ready and that she had made it as long as possible, he had thought something around maybe fifty pages, not a hundred and eighty-seven pages, she was a god sent. Gathering himself, Rodney hoped that no one had noticed his small celebration in his head and instead of smiling let a small sneer cover his features turning his nose up in the air.
"Oh come on, it's not that hard to understand, and it's not mumbo jumbo!" Yes it was but he was not going to tell Fields that now was he?
Taking a deep breath, Rodney mentally prepared himself for a rant; thank god he did this so often so he did it almost without thinking when he started. It was as if his mouth was disconnected from his brain, he just spoke and spoke and spoke, trying to sound as nasty as possible, knowing Fields would not like it but would not be able to do anything about it.
"Well let me enlighten you then, Mr. Fields. We do this because it keeps the systems in control and makes it possible for us to find hackers or other problems, it's easier to do it at night because everyone will be in their own quarters so no one will care that their doors are locked and that there's no light or running water, you like everyone else will follow procedure which means that by ten you'll be in your quarters when the shield will be activated and all doors will be locked, the systems shut down etc. and you won't leave before the door's lock is opened from the outside meaning everything is back on and running again."
Rodney had to take a few calming breaths, it was amazing how easily he could work up anger and annoyance when he was close to Fields. Glancing at Evan who was standing quietly beside Keller, Rodney made a huge deal out of looking at his watch.
"So are we done? I unlike some people in this room actually have work to do," huffed Rodney.
"Yes, we're done," growled Fields through clenched teeth not looking or sounding very pleased.
Rodney could not help but feel and probably looked proud too, when Fields stormed out from the room. It felt so good upping the slimy man, and by the small grins on everyone else's faces they thought so too. Finally there was a small glimmer of hope for their future that just a few hours ago still looked grey and gloomy, and the best part was that Fields had absolutely no idea about it.
Now he just had to come up with what to say to Evan, maybe he could ask Sage for advice, she always seemed to know about stuff like this. Hopefully he would not freak out and be a coward about it, he had to do this, he had to tell Evan how he felt or else he may never get the chance. He had for the last time chickened out, even if it meant losing the friendship he now had. No, Rodney would not let it go that far, and he had to admit that Sage was good when it came to understanding other peoples' emotions and had actually done some matchmaking earlier that had ended well so maybe she was right this time too. At least Rodney hoped she was right, with his luck one could never be too sure.
Finding Sage was never hard as she did not leave the labs very often. When Rodney came back from the meeting, he found her by her computer flirting with one of the nurses which was on her break. It was about three years ago when one of the computer nerds had made this Atlantis chat room, it was like any other chat room except it was only used on Atlantis and by its members. No fees, no nothing except for a username and a password and voila, now you could easily talk with anyone on Atlantis privately.
"Sage… God I can't believe what I'm going to say… I need your help."
"Wow Boss, can you just like repeat yourself, I don't think I heard you."
"I said Sage, I need your help, please?" pleaded Rodney sitting down beside her.
They were the only two in the lab at that moment, except for a very nervous scientist whose name Rodney could not remember and would not even dare listen in on his and Sage's conversation. Not that it would have been possible either as the mousy scientist almost ran out from the lab with his computer under his arm when Rodney stepped in.
"Of course you need my help, you want to sweep the sexy Major Lorne off his feet and ravish him until he's screaming your name," said Sage giving Rodney a lecherous grin.
"Sage… can you just for one moment not be such a pervert?"
"Nah, where's the fun in that? Either way, you know I'm right."
"So? It won't matter if he doesn't like me, and I've got no idea what to say to him!"
"Oh come on Boss, just tell him plainly that you love him and don't stall or else he'll think you don't like him and then he'll be freaking out over nothing," lectured Sage
Rodney, "and then you just go with the flow, kiss him, grope him whatever, Boss seriously it's not as if you haven't done this before."
"I know! But this is different, Evan's not Brown or Keller he's special and I really don't want to screw this up, okay?"
"I get it, but don't worry; it'll go fine believe me when I say he likes you more than as a friend."
"Let's hope so…"
"I know so."
STARGATE: ATLANTIS
"Oh god, oh god, oh god… OH GOD!"
Rodney was completely freaking out, why did he think this was a good idea? Not that he could chicken out now, he was four steps from Evan's quarters there was no sign of Sheppard and the lockdowns last face would begin locking all doors and transporters in a matter of minutes, so there was no chance he would get back to his quarters before that.
He was dressed casually in a t-shirt and a pair of faded jeans which were his favorites. Sage had made such a big deal out of what he was wearing that he had in the end let her pick his clothes. Not that he thought he looked much more different from how he usually looked but according to Sage this was much better. Yes he knew that over the years running from the enemies he had gotten in a bit better shape, not that he had abs or anything like Sheppard and Ronon but he was absolutely much more fit now that when he got to Atlantis for the first time, and his stamina had improved. The t-shirt he was wearing made his arms look good and even though it was tighter it was not too tight, showing that he was maybe not toned but still fit, it was a good choice on Sage's part but he still did not get why he could not have taken his usual clothes, it was not as if Evan had not seen him in them.
Mustering all the courage he had and a bit more, Rodney knocked on the door. He could hear a muffled 'just a minute' and just as his courage was on its way to fail him, the door opened and Rodney stood face to face with Evan. It always took him by surprise how good looking Evan really was, that dark hair he just wanted to run his hands through and those eyes, so calm and beautiful that seemed to hide so much. Rodney knew he had it bad for the shorter man but he could not muster up the strength to care.
"Rodney?"
"Hi… c-can I come in?"
"Oh sure…" Evan sounded confused, then again Rodney could not blame the guy, after all he had not said anything about coming for a visit.
"Thanks…"
Rodney had been inside of Evan's quarters a numerous of times since they had put up those cameras but it felt as if he for the first time actually looked. Not that the room in itself looked any different from his own, four walls, big windows and a bed and a drawer and a door leading to a bathroom. Rodney's eyes fell on the easel and the half finished painting which seemed to portrait an animal, he was not sure what kind of animal it was but he had seen them on some planet here in the Pegasus Galaxy, moving his gaze over the room it fell on the messily made bed and then on an sheepish Evan, who was wearing a sweater and a pair of sweats as he usually did after he had taken a shower.
"Sorry… it's a bit messy…"
"That's okay, I don't care," said Rodney and he really did not. It was not that messy, "I just needed to talk to you."
"Talk?" Rodney was not sure if he was imagining it but he thought Evan sounded worried and maybe a bit scared.
"Yeah…, I just can't ignore this anymore. God knows this isn't easy and I hope you won't hate me. Jesus this isn't supposed to be this hard, and now I'm rambling…" Rodney stumbled over the words.
Taking a step forward Rodney took a deep breath trying to get the dizziness to go away, he was standing in front of Evan. Looking into those mesmerizing eyes, Rodney was a bit taken aback by the look in Evan's eyes, there was worry mixed with uncertainty in them.
"I really suck at this…," muttered Rodney when he noticed the anxiety shining in Evan's eyes, "I love you, okay? I love you Evan Lorne! Now I've said it, I hope you don't hate me for it!"
Rodney had expected Evan to say something or at least do something, but the man was frozen to the spot, staring wide eyed at him. He could feel his mouth moving, sound coming out but it was as if there was something covering his ears because he could not hear what it was he was rambling on about. He was completely incapable of stopping, he was so nervous and now this. In his haze he could see Evan's lips move but he could not concentrate on what Evan was saying.
He was cut off in the middle of his rambles when a pair of hands touched his face and he was pulled into a kiss. It was nothing but their lips softly touching and still it sent currents of electricity down his spine, filling his whole body with warmth.
"Rodney…" said Evan in that soft voice of his, "I like you too, I like you very much."
"Y-you do?"
"Yes Rodney I do and I've done it for a very long time now."
"Really?"
"Yeah although I didn't think you liked me…"
"Why wouldn't I like you? You're good looking, nice, fun to be around and you can actually uphold a conversation!" Evan smiled at Rodney's confession and Rodney swore he could see a small blush on the other man's cheeks.
"That's high praise coming from you."
"Yes it is, and you'd better take it!"
Evan sat down on his bed, Rodney following suit but instead of sitting down on the bed took the one empty chair in the room. It was quiet, and because of the absence of electricity, dark too. It was good Rodney had taken a few candles and a flashlight with him in a small backpack. It gave his hands something to do for a very short but needed time; also it was much easier to have a conversation when he actually could see his partner, when it had gotten dark outside.
Right at that moment Rodney was filled with the urge to call Sage, she had been very specific in how to break it to Evan, and he had screwed that up but she had said nothing about what to do next. Having hot and very loud sex even though very welcome, was not what Rodney had had in mind and he was not one of those that jumped in bed with a person right away even if they had known each other for a long time.
"So… um… I'm not really sure what to do next...," Evan confessed with a small shrug, "I mean you don't seem like a person who just jumps in bed with someone."
"No I don't, and I really want to do this right," said Rodney.
"Oh, okay."
"You know, take it slow, and make this actually work." Evan smiled sweetly at that.
"Yeah, me too."
Somehow that broke the ice. Their talk was stilted at first but as both got more comfortable and actually got it into their heads that the other one liked them, they got more and more back into their old habits both comfortable sprawled on the bed this time instead of the sofa as usually. They spoke about a little bit of everything, from the last wraith attack to the movie they had watched a few days ago.
It was nice, lying there feeling the warmth from Evan's body beside him. Rodney was not sure when he had felt this happy, or if he even had felt this happy ever before because one thing was sure and that was that he had never felt like this with either Katie or Jennifer. Reaching out his hand, Rodney brushed his thumb over Evan's cheek before he pulled the other man into a kiss. He loved the taste of Evan; it was everything and more that he had ever dreamt of. Evan's lips were soft and just perfect to kiss; if Rodney would have been allowed to decide then he would never stop kissing those enticing lips. Unfortunately it was not only time and duties that came in the way but also the lack of oxygen.
Breaking apart Rodney smiled at Evan who gave a small uncertain smile back, as if there was something he wanted to say but did not know how to.
"Evan? What is it?" asked Rodney softly, "Have you ever slept with a man before or is it something else?"
Rodney felt stupid, he had not even thought about the possibility that Evan had never been with a man before. Just because he had had a few flings over the years with different guys did not mean Evan automatically had done that, then again it was hard to say.
"Oh no… that's not it, I've been with guys before, it's just… I've never been known for being good at long term relationships, quite frankly the longest relationship I've had lasted four months, most not even two…" murmured Evan biting on his under lip.
It was not really what Rodney had expected but when he saw the worried look; he could not help but feel a surge of affection for the other man lying on the bed with him. He did not care even if Evan never would have had a long term relationship; it was not as if he was much better at keeping people around. Not only that but with Evan's job Rodney could understand that not many people understood the long time apart and all the dangerous work.
"Don't you worry about that, it takes two to tango and the same goes for a relationship, we'll go through it together okay?"
"Okay… together," whispered Evan.
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