TWO (Friday)
John was impatient, he wanted to get going but no, mama Weir just had to give them a two hour lecture about being careful and all that jazz. Sometimes John got this horrible suspicious feeling that Weir knew of his and Evan relationship. Not that she possible could, or could she? Whichever it was John did not want to know, and if she happened to know then he was happy that she had kept quiet about it.
Shifting from one foot to the other John did not listen to Weir, instead he watched with growing fascination Evan's dark and very soft hair. It was getting longer, it barley cut the standards for what was permitted, then again no one really cared about the length of someone hair on Atlantis, there was so many other things to take care of. He had always liked Evan's hair, ever since he ran his hand through it for the first time.
"Colonel Sheppard? Colonel Sheppard I'd be very happy if you were listening to me," said Weir.
John smiled; even though Weir's face was strict her voice gave her away, the lingering tingle of laughter that seeped through.
"I'm listening, can we go now?" asked John.
"Fine, you can go, Chuck please dial the gate," said Weir turning her attention to Chuck.
"Yes ma'am."
John and Evan went down to the gate room, both of them only had a small bag with them, dressed in more casual clothes than those that they normally wore while off world. After all this was slightly different from their usual trips off world. That of course, did not stop either of them from bringing weapons with them, John had a small hand gun and a knife and so did Evan. After such a long time living in the Pegasus Galaxy both had learned to place the unsafe before the safe and neither one of them felt comfortable leaving Atlantis completely without any form of protection. Knowledge in hand to hand battle was good and all but a bit misplaced if you went up against a wraith or a wraith dart.
"Finally I thought we'd never get to leave," whispered John to Evan with a dramatic sigh on the end.
"John!" muttered Evan but he did not sound angry more amused than anything.
"What! I'm sure you thought the same," said John.
John grinned; Evan did not answer but kept his eyes on the gate.
It felt as if it took forever for Chuck to dial the gate until they stepped through it, John always felt a surge of excitement when the gate opened. You could never know what would happen on the other side or what you would find there, already the knowledge that you travelled an insanely long way to another planet was enough to get his adrenaline to skyrocket.
John and Evan stepped through the gate at the exact same time, the liquid or whatever it was felt cool against John's skin for a short second.
When they stepped out on the other side of one of the many gates, John and Evan was met by Aeron, Aeron's bonded and equal Tharan and six other people of the Ioran Council.
"Welcome Colonel Sheppard and Major Lorne, we are glad that you accepted out proposal," said Tharan smiling at John and Evan.
"Ah, Tharan we're glad to have gotten this opportunity to get to know the Iories," said John nodding his head as if bowing, greeting the Iories in their native way.
"Please, follow me. I'll show you where you'll be staying for these three days," said Tharan.
When they walked past the others in the council they stepped back with their heads respectfully bowed as if John and Evan were some kind of royalty. Of course, in the Pegasus Galaxy they were respected as brave warriors, some people may not like them but they respected them for their skills as warriors/soldiers.
John and Evan's bags were taken and they were showed to the same house that the negotiations had taken place. They were offered some refreshments and fruits by a young woman who only gave them a small nod before she hurried out from the room.
"Ah I see Moreiva (Pronounces Mo-ri-va) has already made sure you have something to eat," said Aeron when he stepped into the room, "I hope it is to your liking."
"Oh yes, it's very tasty. What kind of fruit is it?" said Evan, genuinely interested.
"It's one of our local fruits, we call it Hanno," said Aeron, before sitting down by the table, "I am almost sure a small batch of Hanno was part of the agreement from our side."
Their conversation was light and Aeron was astonished at what Colonel Sheppard and Major Lorne told him. To think that there was a place where the wraith had not reached and that there was so many people living on one planet. Everything was so different from what he was used to but it was fascinating. They were so engrossed in their conversation that they did not notice it when Tharan slunk into the room.
"Amazing, simply amazing," said Aeron trying to create pictures of what he had been told in his head but it was impossible.
"Yeah, it's amazing and when you see it in real life it's even more so," said Colonel Sheppard.
"Ready to continue?"
Aeron if not so used to his lover's tricks by now, would have fallen off the bench he was sitting on. Both Colonel Sheppard and Major Lorne flinched but neither one of them showed any signs of being taken by surprise with Tharan's sudden appearance.
"If you feel up to it, we have a small tour of the village made ready for you two," said Tharan to Colonel Sheppard and Major Lorne.
"Wouldn't say no even if I could," said Colonel Sheppard with a small grin aimed at Major Lorne.
"That's very kind of you," said Major Lorne digging his elbow into Colonel Sheppard's ribs.
"Well then shall we start?"
Aeron stood up from where he had been sitting, indicating for the Colonel and Major to follow Tharan who had already headed for the door. He had a good feeling about these few upcoming days. It was not often that Aeron was wrong in his analysis of people and he was almost 100 % sure he had not been mistaken about these two. He had not known them for very long but he was sure that when their stay was over Aeron would like them even more than he already did.
They had been lucky to get such a good deal with the negotiations and even though many would not care, he knew they had gotten a very good deal where their new allies gave more than what they got in return. Not many rumors spread this far and because they did not use their Stargate, he had heard Colonel Sheppard call it that, very often it left them a bit after the loop but maybe that was good in a way. Unnecessary rumors and problem usually skipped them because of this. Ioray was a calm planet with no enemies except for the wraith and this led to problems as they had nothing to defend themselves with when the wraith came, this deal with Atlantis gave them protection and a promise of help if something would happen and it calmed Aeron to know that they had allies out there.
Walking a step or two behind the Colonel and the Major, or John and Evan as Aeron was slowly starting to call them in his head, meant he had time to think and observe. John and Evan were happily listening to Tharan and his stories, once in a while asking a question or trying to speak with some of the locals that happily obliged their guests. It was nice to see that almost everyone in the village was outside, helping with the small tour. Not that Aeron was fooled, 50 % was out of niceness and 50 % was out of sheer curiosity.
Their bodies and faces were not much different from the Iories; it was the clothes and weapons, and of course, their manners and the way the held themselves that drew people in. Of course, they seemed to have left their weapons this time but that did not make their clothes any less odd. There was no discussion about it, you only needed one look two know that these two men were warriors. Honorable warriors who had seen a lot in their still young lives, Aeron could see it in their eyes. They still had many years of life ahead of themselves.
Aeron listened while they stood by the hot springs that you could find similar springs like these ones on earth too, they explained about a country named Iceland. An odd name for a country it seemed but for the two guests it did not seem odd at all. Aeron was fascinated; using the hot spring water to warm the houses was an interesting idea, not something they had ever thought of before.
"You mean there on this Iceland, they use the water to keep the houses warm?" said Tharan.
"Yes, when it's winter instead of using up expensive electricity, I'll explain it later to you, they use the water that runs underground," explained Evan.
"Ingenious," muttered Tharan.
Aeron had to stifle a giggle; it was so typical Tharan to get excited over something like that. He would not be surprised if some interesting changes were to happen after their guests had left. Not that he would mind, if it meant that they would go forward in their development then it was worth a try, and certainly easier than having to chop down dozens of trees to keep the fires going in the winter.
"Yeah it is, just don't ask us how they get the water," said John from where he was crouching by the water, "one of our engineers could probably help you find a way how to make t work."
"That is a very kind offer Colonel," said Tharan, trying to sound calm but Aeron could hear the excitement underneath it and by the gleam in Evan's eyes the Major could too.
"Why don't we continue the tour, I think you both would like to see the inside of the bath houses," said Aeron.
Taking a gentle grip around Tharan's upper arm, Aeron led the small group in the direction of the bath houses. There were all in all three bath houses, one big which was used by the older people and when there was something special going on and then there was two smaller which was more often used by the younger ones. One for the males and one for the females, these two were most in use as they were the ones used for cleaning while the bigger one was used for relaxing.
"Wow, looks like a roman bath," said John.
Aeron guessed the bath houses passed the first test, he had no idea what a roman bath was but it sounded fancy. He was very satisfied when Evan agreed with John, Aeron did not push for an explanation, he was sure he would get one later on.
"Later in the evening you will both get the chance to test the baths, I think you will find it very relaxing," said Tharan.
"I'm looking forward to that very much," said John looking at the big pool with warm water.
While John and Evan looked around, Tharan explained to them about their bathing system and how things ran so smoothly to which Evan compared it with something they had on their home planet called public baths and said it worked similarly to how the Iories kept everything organized.
"Shall we continue?" asked Aeron, "there is not much left of the tour but we have prepared a small feast which will start soon and then we will let you enjoy the baths."
The tour ended shortly after, it was all very fascinating and Evan had slowly let his guard down. He enjoyed himself immensely and he had a gut feeling he would feel even better after the baths. He could hardly wait to get to test them, like John had said they were liked roman baths and hopefully they would be as good.
He and John were escorted to a big table were all kinds of food had been laid out, there was jugs filled with water some with wine, at least he thought it was wine, and different refreshments, Evan had not had the time to feel hungry but when he saw the vast selection of food in front of him, Evan heard his stomach grumble.
It seemed as if every single person from the village was there, everyone sitting round one big table. He and John had been seated at one end of the table beside Tharan and Aeron, with some other members from the council.
"Wonder if it all tastes as good as it looks," whispered John in Evan's ear.
Evan could not help but agree with John, the food looked delicious and he was sure you could not find this kind of food even at a five star restaurant.
Evan could not remember, the last time he had had such a good time. The conversations going around the table was light and easy, with a lot of laughter. For every minute that went past he could feel John's walls crack and lower, not completely but partly at least. It made Evan happy, there were not many people that could make John do that which gave Evan yet another reason for him to like the Iories.
There was no alcohol, as the Iories did not drink but it did not bother Evan the least. He was not one big on alcohol from the start, and he wanted to keep a clear head if something would happen, one could never know for sure. Especially with both him and John in one place, something always seemed to happen when they went off world together, Evan had prayed long and hard before they left Atlantis that this time trouble would not follow them and so far nothing had happened.
Tharan, even though not having known either the Colonel or the Major from before, found himself enjoying their company immensely. Their reputation had of course even reached the ears of the Iories and so when the mysterious inhabitants of Atlantis came through the Stargate, Tharan had been very excited and he could happily claim that he had not been disappointed with what he had been offered or seen. They were different from any people Tharan had ever met, their lives so unlike from what you could find in the Pegasus Galaxy.
Just thinking of all the things they could learn, the inner explorer in him as Aeron used to say was over the moon, he was hanging on every word that came out of Colonel Sheppard's mouth about earth. Not that he was the only one, when he let his eyes travel over the big table; Tharan smirked when his eyes fell on Aeron and Major Lorne and a few others that sat around the two of them in a deep discussion about something.
"Amazing, and you all live together?"
"Oh no, no. Earth is one planet but the land mass is divided, earth is divided into continents which then is divided into countries, different countries have different languages and different ways much like different planets here," explained Colonel Sheppard to the best of his abilities.
It was not easy trying to explain something which was totally obvious to you but something which the other person had not even heard about. Tharan was utterly fascinated and when it was time for the company to break up, he had not even noticed that most people had already left to take care of their evening chores. Aeron would show Colonel Sheppard and Major Lorne to the bath house, before he also retired for the night.
"Well, I hope the food was good and that you will enjoy the bath house."
"The food was delicious, and I'm sure we'll enjoy the bath too," reassured Major Lorne both Tharan and Aeron, "I for one am so stuffed I'll probably sink to the bottom and by the amount of food Colonel Sheppard ate I'd say he enjoyed it too."
Both Tharan and Aeron laughed at that, half of it was from relief that the food had been accepted and the other part was from the interesting facial expression on Major Lorne's face when he talked about Colonel Sheppard. Said Colonel was still sitting in the same place he had been sitting the whole evening, head on the table muttering about never being hungry again.
"Are you ready to move, sir?"
"Ugh…"
"Sir?"
"Yeah, just give me a minute," groaned Colonel Sheppard.
After the Colonel's given minute, the four men made their way over to the big bath house. There was a small path made out with candles that lightened up the small road so that when the Colonel and the Major were done would find their way back to their room. There was not much room in the village and so they had to share a room, not that they seemed to mind very much.
Some of the women had been kind enough to place out some towels and things for John and Evan to wash themselves with. Both had taken clean clothes with them so there would be no trouble on that part. It was nice and all to live in a different galaxy, exploring nee planets and meeting new people but there was one thing most people on Atlantis agreed on and that was that the inhabitants of the Pegasus Galaxy's clothe sense was not very good, more than once had someone written in a report "pajama clad loonies".
Thanking Tharan and Aeron one last time, and then John and Evan was alone in the big bath house. It was warm in there and when they popped their heads through the door leading from the changing room into the room with the big pool, they could see the steam rise from the water.
"Holy Maria, does it look like we've been hit with some good luck for once?" gushed John with a childish grin on his face.
"Well my good Colonel, I think you're right," said Evan responding with a smile of his own, "so shall we get into the pool?"
"You said the magic words Major."
Evan watched as if in a trance when John shed his clothes, first the jacket then the shirt, with the boots socks and pants following. When John stopped by the pool, the only thing he was wearing was his boxers. Evan knew that his eyes were glued to John, but he just could not tear his eyes from the strong physique in front of him. Unconsciously licking his lips, Evan stared at John's behind when he stripped off the last piece of clothes covering his body.
With a loud splash disappeared John from Evan's line of view.
"Are you coming, or are you going to be staring at nothing for the rest of the evening?"
Evan was called back to reality by John, who was standing in the pool water dripping down from his head and shoulders. Removing his own clothes, Evan did not waste a minute of their precious time they had. When his body sunk under the water Evan could not help but close his eyes, a half audible moan slipping from his mouth. The water was warm and relaxing, the temperature just right.
Not that Evan was the only one enjoying the water. John had almost had the same reaction as Evan, only his had been hidden by the water as he had dived into the pool. It was an amazing how the warm water felt against his skin. When people had talked about skinny dipping and how amazing it was, John had never really thought much of it, after all how different is it from swimming with a pair of shorts, now standing in the warm water John understood what those people had been talking about. First of all it felt different, he felt freer like this and there was a certain thrill in swimming nude.
John was enjoying himself to a hundred percent, the pool was shallower on the side where he and Evan was standing and got deeper at the other end, there were a few steps you could sit on and on both the long sides of the pool were made like a one step stair where you also could sit and enjoy.
Snapping out of his thoughts, John let his gaze fall on his companion. Evan had moved from where he had been standing, and was now sitting on the left long side of the pool, eyes half closed and almost completely relaxed. A small grin formed on John's lips and his cock twitched when he moved his eyes over Evan's body. Even though Evan was sitting in the middle of the pool the water level did not reach higher than to Evan's stomach, only about a centimeter or two over his bellybutton, showing off a very nicely toned upper body.
Moving as quietly as possible through the water, John stopped when he was standing straight in front of Evan, if he moved even a centimeter closer then, they would be touching. John was mesmerized by Evan, at moments like these it always surprised him of how much he actually cared for the other man. John had never felt love like this, when he had been with Nancy, it had been more because his father had liked her than because he felt anything towards her. He had been in a few other relationships but they too like with Nancy just did not work out because of his work, with Evan it was nothing like that. Evan understood him, working in the same field helped a lot too. From the first time John met Evan, he had trusted the Major. It had not taken long before they had become good friends, which had much to do with the fact that they worked so closely 24/7 and their mutual efforts in keeping Atlantis and their allies safe from the wraith.
John slid down beside Evan, close enough for their shoulders to touch. He had never been a person big on affection, especially physical contact, but Evan was always touching something. At first John had been a bit uncomfortable when Evan would press up against him or hug him, but after some time John had just learned to adjust and even come to like it. Always when John had been on a mission that went wrong or something bad happened, when evening came and John and Evan were alone in their room, Evan would crave the contact of another human being as if feeling John's pulse his warmth was the only way for Evan to be sure that he was ok.
There was something relaxing about having Evan in his arms, as close as it was humanly possible. Evan was just one of those people that liked human contact, both physically and sociably that was probably what made Evan such a good officer.
John could feel Evan moving beside him and before he had the chance to say anything he had his lap full of Evan. It felt nice having Evan's bare body pressed up against him, sneaking his arms around Evan's waist John pressed their bodies even tighter together.
"I've been waiting for this the whole day," whispered Evan in John's ear.
"You're not the only one, "chuckled John.
Lazily kissing, John groaned when he felt Evan slightly move his hips rubbing John's cock in the process. It was already half hard and if he was to go by feeling alone then he would say Evan was a bit more than half hard already.
Moving his hands, John let them travel until they rested on Evan's hips and then lower to Evan's ass, giving it a light squeeze, which made Evan move his hips more, moaning when their cocks rubbed up against each other. If there was something which could make John hard and horny then it was Evan moaning. Hearing the soft moan coming from Evan's mouth this time was no different from any other time.
Slowly grinding up against each other, a slow and somewhat lazy rhythm created, started John to stroke Evan's now almost rock hard cock. Slow strokes all the way from the base of Evan's cock to the tip.
"John…," half moaned half whined Evan, even though it came out as a half choked purr as John had, on the same time with his other hand, gently touched Evan's balls.
It did not take long for Evan to come, nor much longer for John when Evan pressed as close as he could get the friction between their cocks enough for John not to be able to hold it anymore, shooting his load over Evan's stomach and chest, which was washed away by the water.
"Wow…."
"Yeah wow, I've never had sex in the water before," said Evan recovering faster from the mind blowing orgasm, even though his voice was still a bit hitched.
"Neither had I," admitted John with a small laugh nuzzling Evan's neck, "but I dare say I wouldn't mind doing it again."
Both laughed at that, chatting and joking with each other. There was a light mood in the pool, both relaxed and happy after their little make out session not that that stopped them from doing some more kissing and touching. No one could say that they did not take all out of the time they had away from Atlantis and the DADT and earth rules they had to follow.
"How long have we been here?" wondered Evan, glancing out from one of the windows high up under the roof.
"I don't know," said John watching Evan, "maybe we should get up, we've been here at least an hour I'd say."
"Yeah, we wouldn't want to wake up late tomorrow just because we stayed here for the whole night."
John could not help but laugh; it was such an typical Evan thing to say.
"Oh shush!" muttered Evan, splashing some water at John.
Not that it helped; instead it only served to make John laugh even harder. A good half an hour later, John and Evan were ready to leave. Hair still wet and in a good mood they made their way down to the village, following the small trail of candles that were put out to shed some light until they reached the small cluster of houses.
Moving as quietly as possible, Evan and John found their way to their room for the weekend. Even though they were sharing the room, a room very clearly inhabited by two people, they could both see that it was probably one of the better rooms in the village. It was spacious and nicely decorated, with a bed, a table with some flowers on it and a wardrobe.
"This room is really nice," commented John.
"Yeah, much better than some other ones I've slept in," said Evan plopping down on the bed beside John.
For a moment they just sat there, taking in the room and the colors.
"I think, that for once we've made some really good allies," said John.
"Absolutely, we were really lucky this time around."
Evan yawned and scratched the back of his head. It was really time to go to bed. He could not help but once in a while sneak a peek at John when he undressed. It was a sort of obsession for Evan, not that he would ever admit it out loud.
Lying under the soft covers beside John, Evan had not felt as relaxed in years as he did right at that moment. There was always something to worry about or happening that made it hard to just relax and fall asleep, but here on Ioray there were no such things.
"Good night John."
"Good night Ev…"
Evan giggled, John was already half asleep one arm around Evan's waist. Closing his eyes it did not take long for him to fall asleep. For once in a very long time Evan did not have nightmares or odd dreams leaving him feeling uneasy and bothered.
Second chapter up an running :) Reviews anyone?