Geeks in Love

"Rodney."

"Mmmm?"

"Rodney," John said again, letting his impatience seep into his voice. "Have you looked at today's data burst?"

Rodney answered without looking up. "No, not yet."

Reaching across Rodney's lab bench, John put his hand in front of Rodney's laptop screen.

"Hey," Rodney said, batting at John's hand.

"You need to. Now."

"Fine." Rodney saved his work, and John moved his hand away, watching as Rodney opened up the shared drive and entered the code which would get him access to the data burst.

"Page 103." As fast as Rodney read, John still didn't want to wait for him to get there. He knew Rodney had found it when his entire face lit up.

He looked up at John, his smile as big as John had ever seen it. John's own smile was just as big, and even though there were other people in the lab, for once he didn't care. "Working on anything important?"

Rodney shook his head, and John pressed the button on his radio. "Elizabeth?"

After a brief silence, she answered, "Yes, John?"

"Rodney and I are going to take the afternoon off, if that's okay with you."

He could almost see her frown, not so much at the time off as the request. They both took time when it was given, but rarely asked for it. "Everything okay?"

"Never better," John answered, his eyes on Rodney's.

"Okay then, have a good afternoon." He could hear the curiosity in her voice but Elizabeth was too much of a professional to ask, at least on an open radio connection.

"Thanks, we will."

"Radek," Rodney called, hopping off of his stool. "I'm taking the afternoon off. Don't interrupt me unless we're attacked."

Radek looked as puzzled as Elizabeth had sounded, but after glancing quickly from Rodney to John he made a shooing motion with his hands. "Go, play with the Colonel. We'll be fine."

"You heard the man, Rodney," John said, but he needn't have bothered because Rodney had already disconnected his laptop from the power supply and tucked it under his arm.

"My place or yours?" John asked when they were in the hall, leaning close and bumping his shoulder into Rodney's.

"Mine's closer."

That was the kind of logic John could get behind. Placing a hand on the small of Rodney's back, he urged him to walk faster. It didn't take much urging.

***

"Has anyone seen John and Rodney?" Elizabeth asked, glancing at her dinner companions. If anyone knew what was up, it would be one of the three of them.

Teyla shook her head. "I have not seen them all day."

"Sheppard and I went for a run this morning, but that's it," Ronon said with a shrug. Elizabeth was convinced he shrugged all the time just to attract attention to his shoulders.

"I have not seen them since Colonel Sheppard came to the lab and dragged Rodney away," Radek said.

"He dragged Rodney away?" Elizabeth had guessed that, but she wanted Radek to tell her what had happened without having to ask for a detailed account. She looked down at her dinner and speared some salad with her fork, appearing for all the world as though she was just making small talk. It was a skill.

"The colonel came in looking all," Radek waved his hands in two small, outwardly looping circles, "happy. He told Rodney to look at something in the data burst. Then Rodney started to smile, too, and then they left."

The data burst. What could have been in the data burst? She started to smile.

"Elizabeth," Teyla said. "You've figured something out."

"Maybe." She pressed the button on her radio.

***

John groaned. He hadn't felt this good in months, since the last time he and Rodney had done this. Off-world, when it was just them, when there was no chance of getting caught. They never did this here, not on Atlantis, not until now.

"John."

He covered Rodney's mouth with his own, not because he needed to keep Rodney silent, but because he wanted to feel Rodney's mouth under his, wanted to breathe his air as he moved slowly inside him. Rodney's hands were stroking his back and his tongue was lost somewhere in Rodney's mouth and his cock was surrounded by Rodney's heat.

Rodney pulled his mouth from John's, turning his head so John couldn't kiss him again. "John, radio."

Oh. He fumbled for the earpiece on the stand next to Rodney's bed and slid it into place. "Sheppard."

"John, I just wanted to make sure you were enjoying your afternoon off."

Enjoying? Yeah, you might say he was enjoying it. "Yeah."

"And Rodney?"

John tried to focus enough to answer with a complete sentence. It wasn't easy when he was balls deep in Rodney's ass. "He's enjoying it, too."

"I'm glad. Will we see you for dinner?"

"Don't know." Rodney squeezed him and John didn't quite manage to bite back his groan, part of it slipping through. "Gotta go. Busy." He pulled off the ear piece, dropping it to the floor. "Do that again."

Rodney did.

***

Elizabeth covered her mouth, keeping in her laughter.

"Elizabeth?" Teyla asked again.

"They're fine." She couldn't keep the grin off her face. "I think…" She leaned forward and the others leaned toward her. "I think they were having sex."

Radek's eyes widened. "Rodney and… having…"

She nodded. "That's what was in the data burst. The American military has changed the rules prohibiting homosexual sex. John can no longer be discharged for having sex with Rodney."

"And you think that's why they were both smiling earlier," Radek said.

"And why they disappeared together." Elizabeth's grin broadened. "Plus, when I radioed there was groaning."

"Elizabeth," Teyla scolded, lightly slapping her arm. But Elizabeth could tell she was as amused as Elizabeth was.

John and Rodney stumbled into the mess almost an hour later. Elizabeth, Radek, Teyla and Ronon were lingering over their coffee, none of them willing to admit that they were lingering in hopes John and Rodney would show up. They weren't disappointed. The two were freshly showered, hair still damp.

There was no longer a line for them to go through, but they grabbed a couple of sandwiches and came over to join their friends after what appeared to Elizabeth to be a small discussion.

She tried to hide her grin as they sat beside one another on Radek's side of the table.

"Did you have a nice afternoon off?" Teyla asked.

"Aside from one unnecessary interruption," Rodney shot Elizabeth a glare. "Yes, we did."

"Good enough that you needed a shower," Ronon said conversationally.

Elizabeth bit the inside of her lower lip to keep from laughing.

"Did you know there is a bruise on your neck?" Radek asked Rodney, pointing at a purple area that was barely visible above his collar.

Rodney slapped his hand away. "Yes, I am well aware of that, thank you."

John, who had been ignoring them all in favor of his sandwich, nudged Rodney with his arm. "Maybe we should tell them."

"Fine. You do it. I'm eating. And you know how you hate it when I talk with my mouth full." Rodney took a big bite of his sandwich and looked defiantly at John.

"Tell us what?" Elizabeth asked, folding her hands and resting them on the table in her 'all ears' position.

"Rodney and I we're…" John stopped, looking for all the world like he was trying to gather his strength. "We have a relationship."

She had to admit that that was a word she never thought she'd ever hear from John Sheppard's mouth. Good for Rodney that he could get John to say it.

"We are all aware of your friendship, Colonel," Teyla said with a smile that could have melted butter.

This time Elizabeth had to suck on her lower lip, and her abs were shaking with suppressed laughter.

"It's not a friendship, exactly." John glanced at Rodney out of the corner of his eye, then at the floor with a hopeful expression. When it didn't swallow him up, he said in a hushed tone, "It's more, um, romantic."

Elizabeth's shoulders were shaking now, because there was no way John Sheppard applying the word romantic to himself in any capacity could not be funny.

"I fail to see why this is so amusing," Rodney said, his glare intensifying, making Elizabeth glance guiltily away.

"We are not amused, Rodney. We are simply happy for you," Teyla said, reaching across the table to rest a hand on Rodney's arm.

"I'm amused," Ronon said.

"Me, too," Radek added, grinning in a way that made him look oddly handsome.

"Me, too," Elizabeth admitted. "But Teyla's right, we're also happy for you."

"Well, thank you," John said.

"Happy enough to give us shared quarters and a double bed?" Rodney asked.

"King-sized," John said.

"I'll see what I can do."

Rodney beamed at her, and Elizabeth returned the smile. After running Atlantis for four years she should be used to seeing geeks in love, but it still made her smile every time.

And maybe giggle a little.

Or a lot.