Prompt 254: Misunderstandings

Fingers danced over his sides, hot breath gushed against his neck, pressure building in his gut flaring out in beautiful spikes of pleasure powered by his partner's movements. He was right there, right on the precipice.

"Fuck," John panted, hands and toes curling against the bed sheets. "Fuck, Rod—Rod—"

"Oh fuck you!"

The speed Rodney left the bed gave him whiplash. The heat of his body disappeared, leaving him shockingly empty in a startling way he had not been expecting. 

"What the hell just happened?" John deadpanned sitting up and looking over to find Rodney already tugging his pants back on. 

"You know, I knew all of you liked him more than me, despite the little ego stroking you all gave me after he left. Yeah, I'm not perfect. Sorry if I'm a little rougher around the edges. Sorry, I'm not as fit as he was," Rodney gestured at the expanse of his body before tugging his shirt back on.

"But this?" He continued scooping up his socks and shoes, shoving them under his arm and not bothering to take the time to put them back on as he headed for the door. "Screw you John."

John scrambled out of the bed quickly putting himself between Rodney and the door, still completely clueless as to what had just happened. "I have no idea what you are talking about," he pleaded, shifting to block the scientist as he attempted to shoulder past him. 

"You said his name!"

Furrowing his brow, John thought. He hadn’t really been paying attention to what he'd been saying, but clearly, he had said something to set the other man off so he tried to recall what it was. He'd been moaning, there’d been some panting involved, and he'd said…

"Rodney, I was not talking about Rod. I was saying your name,"John huffed with a small chuckle.

Rodney did not seem convinced. "Last time I checked I still go be Rodney, not Rod which is what you said. Twice I might add!" 

John chuckled again and rolled his eyes. "I was about to cum, excuse me for not being able to get out the second syllable!"

"Really?" Rodney said, shoulders visible relaxing a little as some of the anger left him.

"Yes really, and I have definitely said that before in bed "

"I don't remember you ever saying my name that way," Rodney countered, narrowing his eyes at the soldier.

"Probably because you never had a reason to care." Reaching out, John took Rodney’s shoes from him and tossed them to the floor. "Now, you gonna finish what you started or leave me hanging?"

Leaning in, he nuzzled just under the other man's ear. "Hmmm? Rod-ney?"

Prompt 149: Dodge a Bullet

The mission had been hell fire. They had been prepared for it, knew it would be. John and his fellow soldiers decked out in full gear, armed to the teeth with everything they might need. Stealth got them in, bigger and better weaponry got them out. 

They came through the Gate hot. Bullets following them, pinging against the interior of the command room. Thankfully no ricochet injuries were sustained. John's men from the mission were not all as lucky. Medical staff bustled in, taking those that needed care. John stood by watching them work and just breathing, willing his heart rate to slow.

"Sir," Lorne called from his side, and John turned to see the other soldier staring up at his helmet.

John unbuckled it and pulled it off. His throat seized up at what he found. A large bore hole on the back, blown out exit wound on the front. 

"I'll make sure it's decommissioned," John said, dropping it to his side, fingers loosely gripping the chin strap.

Lorne nodded and just looked at him. Neither of them said what they both were thinking. If the helmet had been sitting a little lower on his head, if he'd been turned a little more to the left, if he'd been running a fraction of a second slower—he wouldn't be here. Skull and gray matter scattered across the rock quarry they had been sprinting through, memories and thoughts evicted from his skull like sand poured from an hourglass.

John didn’t turn in the helmet. He took it to his quarters after the debriefing. Setting it in the middle of his desk and he stared at it. John'd had more than one near death experience. Why this one mattered he wasn't sure, but looking at it and seeing how close he'd come and knowing he'd been completely oblivious to it—this one felt different somehow. More organic, more meant to be. Yet here he still was, shell shocked and alive. 

A knock at his door had John jumping in his skin, breath catching in a stuttered gasp. 

"Who is it?"

"Just me," Rodney's voice floated through the door. 

John let him in and the sight of the other man shifted something in his chest. Something long out of place smoothly settling like a key in a lock—click.

"I heard about how bad this one was for you. Your men," Rodney said, wringing his hands, face sullen. "Are you…okay?"

Instead of answering John pointed to his desk, to the helmet. He saw the other man's brow furrow as he looked at it, the meaning of the broken gear not lost on the scientist.

"It's mine. From today."

When Rodney looked back at him, his eyes were wide, a touch of fear darkening their blue depths. 

Two steps closed the distance between them, and John's heart was hammering as hard as it had been during the fire fight. His hands on Rodney's neck and shoulder were not gentle when he tugged him in. Gripping hard with desperation, he pulled Rodney into a kiss. Deep and ungraceful, rushed by adrenaline.

Rodney gripped him back, hands fisting into the material of his shirt sleeves. 

"Why now? Why this time?" The scientist asked.

"I don't know," John answered honestly. Why now? Why when it had been just a bullet and not an explosion, or a hive ship, or a natural disaster. 

John kissed Rodney again and decided the reason didn't matter. 

Prompt 131: Underwear

When Rodney accidentally left a pair of boxers at his place John hadn't noticed. They had wound up in the hamper, baged up and sent off with John's clothes for washing. And since they left with his belongings, they came back with them. This was when John noticed them because when he pulled the powder blue rubber duck and bubble printed boxers from his sack of clean laundry, he'd laughed. Rodney's choice of horrible printed boxers always amused him, and he did nothing more than tuck them in his drawer with a mental note to return them later.

Only he forgot to because more often than not, when Rodney was in his room they got distracted with each other rather quickly. So the stupid ducks sat in his drawer untouched for quite some time.

Until one evening post shower when John was getting ready for bed. He reached into his dresser to grab some ball shorts and instead came up with horrible–yet cute–boxers. He was halfway through the motion of putting them back when he decided, why not, and tugged them on instead. Rodney was built thicker than him and they fit easily over his narrow hips, about a size too big. Perfect for sleeping in.

So John did just that. Crawled in bed, grabbed his book and settled in for the night. A chapter later, eyes growing heavy he turned off the light and was halfway asleep when the thought drifted back into his head.

You're sleeping in Rodney's boxers.

He fell asleep smiling.

After that, they became John's favorite thing to sleep in. He wore them at least once a week, sometimes more. There was something oddly domestic about it, wearing his partner's clothes. It made him feel closer to Rodney in a way–which was silly because as far as John knew, Rodney didn’t even know he'd left them. It was a simple luxury that John had never gotten to indulge in. All his relationships had been with women. With men he'd had hookups, flings, simple and casual interactions that were nothing like whatever this undefined but definitely emotionally invested thing he had with Rodney was.

And he liked it. Liked having a little piece of the other man to slip into and cuddle up with when Rodney was too busy to stop by or too worn out from long missions. It made John smile, and really there was no harm in having such a simple little secret.

**********

Fresh clean and ready to fall into bed, John stepped out of his bathroom to find Rodney occupying his bed. Casually reclind with his hands tucked behind his head, eyes closed in a light sleep.

"Hey," John greeted, always happy to see the other man.

"Hm?" Rodney hummed, rousing from his brief nap. "Oh…"

He sat up, rubbed his eyes, and then pointed at John with a crooked little smile. "I've been looking for those."

Blushing, John glanced down at himself. He was dressed in Rodney's boxers and an old tank top. "Uh, you left them here."

"You were them a lot?" Rodney asked, reaching out and taking John's hand to tug him towards the bed.

"Sometimes. I mean not a lot," John lied and blushed harder, strangely embarrassed at being caught with them.

"Hm, cute."

Rodney kissed him and said nothing else about it.

**********

The next morning, John woke up alone. It was a normal occurrence but one he wasn't overly fond of. Rolling over to Rodney's side of the bed he buried his face in the other man's pillow, chasing the remainder of his scent from the night before.

As he shifted and settled back in, fully content to snag a few more minutes of rest–something caught his eye. Stretching out over the edge of the bed he grabbed the ugly bright green boxers laying on his floor. They had slices of watermelon printed on them, and John recognized them easily as the same pair he'd pulled off Rodney the night before.

He balled them up in his hand and resettled into the bed. Tomorrow they would go out with John's laundry. The day after that they would return and gain a new home in his drawer right next to the rubber ducks.

Unspoken

John sat at his desk, staring at the cursor blinking on his screen. Mission reports sucked. Mission reports detailing the near death and stupidly risky brain surgery of your best friend? Those sucked ten times worse. He already couldn't get the images out of his head. Rodney's dazed expressions and awkward movements as his body and mind were stolen from him. Taking a deep breath, he looked to the ceiling, staring at the light there until dots danced across his vision in an attempt to chase away the thoughts.

A swift rapping came at his door and he shut his eyes, rubbing his palms into them in an effort to correct his vision. "Come in," he hollered.

It was Rodney. Alive and well, granted very tired looking and with a bandage still across his forehead. "Uh, hi."

"Hey," John greeted back and stood walking around to be next to his friend. "She released you? I hadn't heard."

The scientist humed softly, not quite meeting John's eye as his hand drifted up to lightly touch said bandage. He seemed off–nervous but not in the panicky way his nerves normally presented.

"Everything okay?" John prodded shifting closer and thinking the door closed.

"I, uh, this is awkward," Rodney started and cleared his throat. "About when I was sick, I remember a lot of what happened actually, and about that night…"

John swallowed tightly as a lump settled in his throat, choking him off. Yeah, he remembered too. Was trying really hard not to. It hurt, it hurt too much.

Rodney rushing to his room, pounding on his door, bursting in and holding onto him like he–John–was the only anchor left to his sanity. How frantic Rodney had been about waking up without him there. The unspoken things that had passed between them in that short conversation, that had hung high and loft above them as they sipped beer together under the stars.The evening hard and touching, intimate and depressing all at once.

"What about it?" John made himself say and he knew it came out tight and froggy.

"I'm sorry for how I acted, for running here and– I mean because that was ridiculous, right? Acting like that, like you were–" he drifted off, the last few words being spoken softer, sadder as he lost momentum.

"No," John rebuffed quickly, taking a half step closer. He wanted to reach out to grip Rodney's shoulders just like he had that night. Wanted to say so many of those unspoken things, but he didn't know how.

Rodney met his eyes, and John knew he didn't have to say anything. He couldn't pretend like things hadn't shifted between them, and if the soft nearly pleading look in Rodney's eyes was any give away he couldn't either. So John did it–did what he'd wanted to that night and held back because Rodney had been sick and vulnerable, and it wouldn't have been fair.

Dipping in to kiss the other man was easy for multiple reasons. One because he was already so close; and two, because Rodney didn't put up a fight. Stood there and let it happen, meeting him halfway, head subtly inclining to John as he moved.

"Did I say something I don't remember that night?" Rodney asked when they parted. His tone was thoughtful, and John got the impression that he was asking himself the question more than anything.

"No," John supplied, bringing his hands up to hold Rodney like he had that night. Hands on his shoulders squeezing with reassuring and possessive fingers. "You didn’t have to say it."

"Maybe I want to," Rodney said back, but those were the last words said for some time as John pulled him in for another long deserved, well overdue kiss.

Okay for some reason this one gave me trouble. I hope you like what I came up with! Thank you fro sending a prompt 💜 (Also, realizing a I'm about to post it that I wrote this from the wrong pov for the prompt....sticking with it anyway.)

35: Things you say at the top of your lungs

The alarm was loud, and blaring at an ear splitting pitch that made Rodney feel like his head was being cracked open from the inside out.

"What the hell is happening!" John yelled at the top of his lungs to be heard over the harsh shrill sound.

"I don't know!" Rodney shouted back, just as loudly.

Leaving the lab area Rodney headed for the control room with John in toe. For all he knew they were being paged over the com system but couldn't hear it. Regardless it was a safe bet they would both be wanted there.

Heading up the stairs to the main platform of the control room Rodney found Sam furiously typing at one of the consoles. 

"What's it doing!" He questioned loudly.

"I don't know! The city thinks we're trying to re-submerse it! There was a power surge, it must've crossed some wires!" Sam explained, yelling to be heard.

Rodney nodded, he had seen the aggressive strobe-like flickering of the lights down in the labs. Huddling up to a computer next to her he pulled up the core of the city's code and started digging. 

"Maybe we can do a manual reset!"

"Already tried! More complex than that!" Sam answered not looking up from her screen.

"Okay, I'm linking our stations. We can rewrite the audio programing for the city--"

"And shut down the alarm while we figure out what's really wrong!" Sam interjected and finished.

Rodney nodded in lieu of shouting at her and they got at it--reworking the code, breaking it down and rebuilding it.

"What's taking so long!" John questioned as the minutes ticked by.

"There's a lot of code here Colonel, it's not as simple as just checking off a few boxes!"

"Good thing you've got Carter to help or we'd be here all day at this rate!" John teased, leaning in closer so he didn't have to yell quite as loud as before.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Rodney shouted, tipping his head closer to John so he wasn't yelling quite as loud either.

"Just that this seems like it should be easy!" John said, and there was a look in his eye that told Rodney he was trying to push his buttons. 

It was a game they played, one they'd been playing from the very start of the expedition. John would get him all riled up and add to the pressure because it made him work harder, better, faster. Rodney refused to admit it worked even though they both knew it did.

"Easy! You try isolating and reworking code for an entire city!"

"Doesn't seem like it's giving Carter any trouble!" John countered with a little smirk.

"Are you implying she's smarter than me!"

"Your words not mine!"

"Oh you are--" and the alarm shut off, "--so not getting laid tonight!!"

Rodney's words echoed through the Gate room, bouncing off the walls in the new found quiet. 

Everyone in the Gate room--the other techs, the soldiers drawn in by the alarm going off--were staring at him and John. Next to them Sam was holding a hand over her mouth, the sound of laughter muffled behind it.

"Rodney," John gritted out firmly.

"I… um… uh," Rodney stammered, heat rising up his neck to stain his cheeks.

"Yeah, you definitely aren't," John grumbled, blush coloring his face so strongly even the tips of his ears had gone pink. He turned and stomped down the stairs and out of the Gate room. 

"Real smooth Mckay," Sam said, a laugh still in her voice.

"Oh just--shut up," Rodney squeaked, voice tight with embarrassment. Turning back to his computer he did his best to ignore the whispered gossip around him. 

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Ooooh good ones! Right away the crying ones jumped out at me, but I didn't know what to do with them. Came up with this and I think its my favorite so far. Thanks for the prompt 💜

8: Things you said while you were crying

Rodney stood in the open doorway of John's room looking in as the soldier packed his bag. His movements were slow and mechanical, his shoulders slumped from the weight on the news he'd received.

"Sheppard," Rodney finally spoke up, taking a few steps into the room.

"Hey McKay," John said, not looking up from his bag. He wasn't really doing anything with it at this point, was just shifting things around pointlessly.

"I ah, I asked to go back with you," Rodney admitted shyly. John looked up at him with hope in his eyes, and it hurt Rodney to have to dash it. "They said no… I have other obligations unfortunately. Poor timing I guess."

"Yeah well..." John said, with a lackluster roll of his shoulders.

Rodney waited for him to finish the thought but he didn't. He went quiet, lips pressed tightly together and there was a sheen to his eyes that Rodney didn't understand at first. Then John sniffed harshly and tears started to fall. 

Rodney quickly turned back to the door, swiping it closed to give them privacy in John's moment of vulnerability. "Sheppard--John it's okay."

"No it's not!" John snapped looking up at him. Big fat tears were running down his face to seep into the collar of his shirt, and John looked angry and betrayed.

"Losing people is hard, even when you don't think it will be," Rodney said, stepping in closer.

John huffed and sat heavily on his bed. "That's the whole damn problem," he said, voice cracking roughly. "It shouldn't be hard."

Rodney sat down next to him, watching John's profile as he waited for him to continue.

"We never got along. We weren't close. Hell, even before I got stationed here we hadn't spoken in years," John paused, sniffing again and rubbing at his face as he took a few shaky breaths.

Rodney could see the tremble in his chin, the twitch to his jaw as John tried not to fall apart any more than he already had. It was painful to watch and Rodney wasn't quite sure what to say. "Not all families are close, but he was still your dad," he settled on lamely.

John snorted and looked over at him. "It was more than not being close. He hated me. Hated that I wasn't like him. Hated what I did for a living. Hated that I'm--" 

John broke off but Rodney didn’t need him to finish the sentence to know where it had been going. They'd never talked about it but Rodney knew; had picked up the subtle clues to John's preferences. The same clues he'd sent John's way.

"Everything that makes me, me, he hated," John finished. 

"John," Rodney started but didn't finish the sentence because he didn’t know how. 

He watched John hang his head, fists clenched on top of his thighs. Tears fell from his face, seeping in to make dark little dots all over his pants. 

Rodney raised a hand and hovered it over John's shoulder. He was almost afraid to touch him. There had always been tension between them. An unspoken level to their friendship that neither of them had the courage to acknowledge. John's vulnerability seemed like an unfair catalyst.

Next to him John let out a genuine sob and Rodney frowned deeply, hurting for his friend. He lowered his hand onto John's shoulder and squeezed tightly. The reaction was instantaneous.

John turned crumpling against him. Face pressed to his shoulder, hands gripping the front of his shirt, John broke down into harsh sobs. "It's not fair! He shouldn't get to make me feel like this!"

Rodney ducked his head down, gently resting his chin on John's head and wrapped the broken man in a tight hug. "Life's not always fair, I'm sorry John."

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Oh coming at me with the angst prompts 😭Thank you for sending one in!

10: Things you said that made me feel like shit

"Hey come in," Rodney said, opening his door and stepping back. He was surprised to see it was John, normally the soldier just let himself in instead of knocking.

"We need to talk," John said, taking only a single step into the room. He shifted his weight around and shoved his hands in his pockets looking uneasy.

"What's wrong?" Rodney asked suspiciously.

"It's just, uh… look Rodney I think we need to take a break," John said awkwardly, not meeting the other man’s eyes.

"What? Why?" Rodney questioned in shock. "Oh wait, is this about almost getting caught the other day?" 

He could admit it had been a close call. They'd been heatedly making out in the gear room, pumped up on post mission adrenaline, when Evan had walked in. John had shoved him off and behind a storage shelf just in time to keep them from getting caught, but only just barely. Really, Rodney wasn't entirely convinced Evan hadn't seen them. 

"That was nothing, it was just Lorne. He wouldn't have cared," Rodney said with a shrug, waving John off.

"You don't know that," John countered. "And even if he might not care, it's still against the rules and he would've had to report me."

"No, he wouldn't. We're millions of miles from Earth. No one cares about those regulations here John," Rodney sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Again,  you don't know that! And it's not a risk I'm willing to take."

"Are you kidding me? Since when are you a by-the-book guy? You do your own thing all the time," Rodney shot back, glaring at the other man.

"This is different Rodney. This could get me forcibly discharged."

"Oh please," Rodney sneered. "Like they would really do that."

"Yeah Rodney they would! They've done it to hundreds of soldiers!"

"Not ones stationed in far away galaxies," Rodney pointed out, crossing his arms and tipping up his chin.

"Gah, you just don't get it!" John huffed angrily.

"You're right I don’t. Because the whole system is screwed up!" Rodney shouted back, just as angry.

"The system might be screwed up but I'm still part of it! I was at the top of the black list before I came here, my reputation was completely shot. Being stationed here is the last chance I'm gonna get, and you're not worth risking what's left of my career!"

The words echoed through Rodney's skull as loud and harsh as a flash-bang. 

John's face had gone sheet white, mouth hanging open. Rodney could see the regret in his eyes. He hadn’t meant to say it, but it was too late to take it back. 

"Get out, just go," Rodney said, numbness making him calm. He motioned to the door, hand shaking just a bit.  

John's mouth worked for a moment like he was going to try and argue, but all he did was huff out a broken sigh.

As the door slid closed Rodney sank down to sit on his bed. Head falling to his hands he refused to admit he was crying.

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Oh Nice!! What a good addition to the list 😁

23 (make your own): Things you said before you bothered to say hello

John sat down with his tray of food and glanced around the small mess hall. It must have been an off hour for eating as it was mostly empty. Given how far underground the arctic base was, John had no idea what time it even was or what meal this counted as.

The location was different but the food was the same. Even being part of a top level secret project didn't save the cafeteria from serving bland, basic food. Just as he was about to dig in, a tray was set down firmly across from him. 

Accompanying said tray was Dr. McKay--or at least John was fairly sure that had been his name they had yet to be properly introduced.

"I just sat down! That's it! That's the first thing you say? You activated the most powerful piece of Ancient technology we have and you say 'I just say down'. Do you have any idea what a waste of a reaction that was?"

"Uh," John blinked at McKay, taken aback by the aggressive and headlong start to a conversation.

"And who are you anyway, Major? Why are you out here? You're stationed at McMurdo right? No one ends up there without having pissed someone off. You better not have anything on your record that would prevent you from being part of our team. We need you here, you're joining the expedition. They did invite you, didn't they? They better have." 

He finally petered out and John was genuinely impressed with the amount of words the other man had gotten out in a single breath. 

"Well?" McKay demanded, frowning and crossing his arms.

Shaking his head John laughed softly and held out his hand. "Hi, I'm Major John Sheppard."

"What?" 

"Well, normally people say hello and introduce themselves when they meet someone. And since we'll be working together--because yes, they offered me a position here--it would be helpful for me to actually know your name," John explained, to the other man's confused look.

"Oh, I ah… right," McKay said, cheeks brightening with color. "Dr. Rodney McKay," he said, grabbing John's hand and shaking it firmly. "Hello."

John smiled as he let go of Rodney's hand. The scientist’s cheeks were still tinged pink with embarrassment and it was a cute look for him; brought out the color of his eyes. 

"Nice to meet you Rodney, I think. We're gonna have fun working together."

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Decided to start a new project! (Because you know, thats exactly what I need 🙄)

Prompt list drabbles 🥳

Really enjoyed writting a few shorter stories from this prompt list. I'm not used to doing bite sized, single scene stories to its something new and fun for me! If you would like a drabble send me an ask with the prompt you want to see. Rules are simple:

Drabbles will be posted here and on AO3. I will credit the user that requested the prompt when I post to AO3 (unless for whatever reason you do not want to be credited, in which case tell me in your ask). Story ratings will vary, but in general I'm gonna try to keep things G or T.

I make no promises for how fast these will be written after asks are received, but I will try to give a relatively quick turn around.

Prompts already filled/being worked on: 3, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 16, 18, 20, 22, 23, 26, 35, 36, 37, and 38. (To see ones already filled search for #prompt challenge on my blog or visit the series on AO3!)