Cool With It

Rodney shows up at 2000 right on the dot, just like always. Their Friday night chess matches are something Rodney is never late for, even though it's been months since they played a game.

Board tucked under his arm, Rodney walks in without waiting for John to answer the door, abandons the board on a table and sits on the edge of the bed. "Hey."

"Hey," John answers. He's leaning against the wall behind his bed, legs stretched out in front of him, book in his lap.

Placing one hand on the far side of John's hips, Rodney kisses him. It's a nice kiss. All of Rodney's kisses are. Nice is pretty much the baseline for Rodney's kisses; they go up from there.

Rodney teases John's lower lip with his teeth, sucks a little. John sighs but he doesn't move, doesn't lean into the kiss or raise a hand to hold Rodney in place like he usually does. "Something wrong?" Rodney asks, frowning at him.

"No," John answers with a shake of his head and an attempt at a smile.

Rodney leans in for another kiss and then pulls back. "Tell me what's the matter."

John looks away because this is just too embarrassing. "I'm, um, not in the mood."

"Oh."

There isn't any reason for him to not be in the mood. He hasn't been beaten recently or had the life almost sucked out of him. No one died. His day had been pretty ordinary, nothing stressful or difficult, at least not any more than usual.

Pressing a hand to John's forehead, Rodney says, "You're not sick, are you?"

"I'm fine."

"You don't feel feverish."

"Because I'm fine."

"All right." Rodney pulls his hand back. "I should go."

"Stay," John says, placing a hand on his arm.

Rodney's expression turns puzzled. "You want me to stay? Even though…"

John nods.

"Oh, um, okay." After a moment, Rodney starts to smile. "You realize what this means, right? Staying without sex."

"Yeah."

Rodney leans closer and John wraps his arms around Rodney's shoulders, pressing his face into the curve of Rodney's neck, enjoying the familiar smell. John totally gets what staying without sex means, and he's cool with it. Very cool.