Returning

"Hey," John said, not looking up as he took a shirt from his bag and stuffed it back in his dresser.

"Hey." Rodney stepped further into the room. John was still in jeans and a white shirt. For a weird moment Rodney wondered what he'd worn to the funeral. "How was it?"

"Not as bad as I thought. Ronon cleaned out the buffet table." John tossed a couple of dirty socks in the direction of his laundry bag.

"Bring an alien to dinner, and--" Rodney stopped because that sentence wasn't going anywhere. He took a step closer to John. "Heard about the replicators."

"Figured you had." John's bag was empty now, and he just stood there, next to the bed, looking down into it.

"That was a good idea, burning him up in the atmosphere, and putting her in the VR, that was good, too."

"Thanks."

John was still standing there, looking down, and Rodney should've let Teyla come because he was bad at this. He didn't know what to say or do, and he was pretty sure John didn't either. Reaching out, he rested a hand on John's arm, right over the inside of his elbow.

John looked up. There was loss in his face, real loss, and Rodney knew how that felt. He hadn't had the greatest parents in the world either, but he'd still hurt when they died. Rodney took a step closer and John turned toward him, and somehow Rodney ended up with arms around John's waist and John's face tucked against his shoulder.

He should probably say something soothing like, "it'll be okay," but Rodney has never much liked platitudes, and John doesn't either. Plus, the holding seems to be working, seems to be what John needs. Maybe Rodney needs it a little too, because he hadn't been able to stop thinking about John the entire time he was gone.

Okay, so worrying was a more accurate description than thinking. He'd worried. It was what he did, but now John was here, with his arms tight around Rodney's shoulders and Rodney was pretty sure that was a good thing.

He slid a hand up John's back, and John squeezed him a little more tightly for a moment, then he let go. Rodney had no choice but to let go, too.

Ducking his head, John lifted a hand to the back of his neck.

Rodney shifted his own gaze to the side. "You want to get something to eat? The mess made those brownie things yesterday and the rumor is that they saved a whole tray just for you."

"You want some of my brownies, don't you Rodney?" For the first time since Rodney had entered the room, John looked directly at him.

"Of course I do."

"All right. Let's go," John said, moving toward the door. Rodney fell right into step beside him and they stepped out of John's quarters together.

~~~

Lamardeuse has written the same scene from John's POV here.