New Fic: Old Habits
Title: Old Habits
Author: Crownglass39
Rating: PG
Word count: ~1000
Summary: Rodney just found out what happened on that alien ship, and he’s not too happy about it. Episode tag for 4x05 Travelers.
Warning: Spoilers for 4x05 Travelers.
Author's Notes: I just wrote this quickly while I was supposed to be making dinner. The damn thing just kind of came to me and I wanted to get it down quickly. As a result this is unbeta'd.
All FB loved and snuggled. All flames are used to toast marshmallows.
John just got his shoes off and sat on his bed heavily when his door opened (sans knock) and a very pissed off Rodney barreled in. He stopped just short of the bed, glared at John a moment, then smacked him upside the head. Hard.
“What the hell?” John yelled ducking away and swatting at Rodney’s hands like a 12 year old girl.
“Didn’t they teach you to defend yourself in pilot school?”
John glared back. “Pilot school Rodney?”
Rodney pointed at John with the Pointy Finger of Doom™. “Don’t give me that Mr. Colonel Hotpants!”
“Hotpants?” John mouthed in question but wisely kept silent. Even he knew not to get in the way of Rodney mid tirade.
“You just sat there and let her punch you three times?” Rodney’s face was getting redder and John could swear he could hear his blood pressure skyrocketing.
John sat back on his bed rubbing his head. “I can see I need to have a little talk with Dr. Keller about doctor-patient confidentiality.”
Rodney huffed. “Don’t be stupid, she didn’t tell me anything. I just hacked your files.”
“Again? I thought we talked about this Rodney!” John was capable of working up a good amount of righteous indignation if the situation called for it.
“Well if you wouldn’t be so stupid and would just tell me what really happened, I wouldn’t have to!” Rodney turned on his heel and stalked into the bathroom. The distance only muffled his voice slightly.
John fell back against his bed with a thump. There really wasn’t any way to win this conversation so he wasn’t even going to waste his time trying. He threw his arm over his eyes in an attempt to block out Rodney, but the pressure only made the mild throbbing behind his eye worse. He could hear the water running and Rodney puttering around in the bathroom. “I just didn’t want to worry you, Rodney,” he said softly knowing that Rodney probably couldn’t hear him in the bathroom.
“Too late,” Rodney replied standing over him with a wet washcloth in his hand. John couldn’t remember teaching Rodney stealth walking. Either Ronon’s been spending time with him or his headache was worse than he wanted to admit. Probably a little of both.
“What’s with that?” John asked, nodding towards the washcloth. Rodney looked at him as if he was one of the cute but stupid dog-things on planet KidKill.
“I’m going to check you out, obviously,” Rodney replied, dropping down on the bed beside him.
John pushed himself up on his elbows. “Keller did that already in the infirmary. I’m fine.” His voice didn't sound petulant. Nope. Not at all.
“Well I didn’t, Colonel, and I’ll be the judge of that.”
Looking closely at Rodney’s expression John could see the worry etched in the lines around his eyes and the tight way he was holding his shoulders. Okay then, he could let Rodney do this, he knew what it was like to nearly loose someone.
When Rodney came at his forehead armed with the washcloth, John just let him. He wiped at the already clean cuts with a scary amount of attention. He cleaned up the blood that trickled down John's neck and even found that spot behind his ear where a bit had dried and itched mercilessly.
“I really wish you’d stop doing that, Colonel.”
Uh oh. Two “Colonels” in succession meant that Rodney was really upset, even more so than he let on.
“Which one? Getting kidnapped, stunned or beat up?”
“All of it.” Rodney looked so broken that John wanted to scoop up the pieces and put them back together, like one Rodney-sized jigsaw puzzle.
“I’ll try to avoid the desperate hot alien women in the future, Rodney.”
“Don’t be a smart-ass, John; I can make it so you never have hot water in your shower again.”
Back to “John,” that was a good thing. Rodney was running his hand through John’s hair, checking for bruises, none too surreptitiously, he might add. John pushed his head into Rodney’s palm; he knew that Rodney had a weakness for John when he was cuddly. (Not that he’d admit to the cuddly part.) John thought that it reminded Rodney of his cat.
He nuzzled into Rodney's hand (just a little). “If I don’t have any hot water, I’ll just have to share the shower with you.”
“Hmm...there are merits to that plan.” John relaxed back onto the bed while Rodney absently finger combed his hair. Rodney seemed much more relaxed and John didn’t want to break his calm by pulling away. Yeah, that was exactly it.
After a while, Rodney pushed two aspirin into John’s palm and then gave him a glass of water. John really didn’t like to be fussed over but it seemed to make Rodney happy so he acquiesced. It was all for Rodney’s sake. Really.
They laid back on the bed, Rodney still playing with John’s hair, just enjoying each other’s presence and the silence. Blissful silence.
“So why didn’t you?” Rodney asked after a bit.
“What’s that?” John replied, raising his eyebrow.
“Stop her, fight back!”
John let out a sigh. “Men don’t hit.”
“What’s that?”
“Mama always taught me that men don’t hit women. Ever. Little boys having temper tantrums hit and sometimes little boys come in big boy bodies...” his voice drifted off and it sounded to Rodney like he was repeating exactly what his mother told him. “But real men don’t hit.”
“Oh.” Rodney thought he got it. John rarely talked about his family and hardly ever brought up his mother. That he stilled called her “Mama” made something in Rodney’s insides ache. There was more to that story, more for another day.
“Yeah,” he sighed, “It was one lesson that my mother really ingrained in me especially when I said I wanted to join the military. I think there was more there that she didn’t tell me.”
Rodney didn’t have anything to say to that. There really wasn’t anything to say, so he just pushed his side more closely to John. John laid his hand against Rodney’s hip, not doing anything, just holding him.
“Well then, I guess you’re forgiven. Old habits die hard and all that.” Rodney wormed his hand over to John’s and brushed his finger along John’s wrist. John turned his palm up and opened his hand. An invitation. Rodney twined their fingers together.
“Well, do you think you could at least stop getting kidnapped?”
John turned towards Rodney, a smile crinkling the skin at the corners of his eyes, “For you Rodney, I’ll try.”
~fini~
Author: Crownglass39
Rating: PG
Word count: ~1000
Summary: Rodney just found out what happened on that alien ship, and he’s not too happy about it. Episode tag for 4x05 Travelers.
Warning: Spoilers for 4x05 Travelers.
Author's Notes: I just wrote this quickly while I was supposed to be making dinner. The damn thing just kind of came to me and I wanted to get it down quickly. As a result this is unbeta'd.
All FB loved and snuggled. All flames are used to toast marshmallows.
John just got his shoes off and sat on his bed heavily when his door opened (sans knock) and a very pissed off Rodney barreled in. He stopped just short of the bed, glared at John a moment, then smacked him upside the head. Hard.
“What the hell?” John yelled ducking away and swatting at Rodney’s hands like a 12 year old girl.
“Didn’t they teach you to defend yourself in pilot school?”
John glared back. “Pilot school Rodney?”
Rodney pointed at John with the Pointy Finger of Doom™. “Don’t give me that Mr. Colonel Hotpants!”
“Hotpants?” John mouthed in question but wisely kept silent. Even he knew not to get in the way of Rodney mid tirade.
“You just sat there and let her punch you three times?” Rodney’s face was getting redder and John could swear he could hear his blood pressure skyrocketing.
John sat back on his bed rubbing his head. “I can see I need to have a little talk with Dr. Keller about doctor-patient confidentiality.”
Rodney huffed. “Don’t be stupid, she didn’t tell me anything. I just hacked your files.”
“Again? I thought we talked about this Rodney!” John was capable of working up a good amount of righteous indignation if the situation called for it.
“Well if you wouldn’t be so stupid and would just tell me what really happened, I wouldn’t have to!” Rodney turned on his heel and stalked into the bathroom. The distance only muffled his voice slightly.
John fell back against his bed with a thump. There really wasn’t any way to win this conversation so he wasn’t even going to waste his time trying. He threw his arm over his eyes in an attempt to block out Rodney, but the pressure only made the mild throbbing behind his eye worse. He could hear the water running and Rodney puttering around in the bathroom. “I just didn’t want to worry you, Rodney,” he said softly knowing that Rodney probably couldn’t hear him in the bathroom.
“Too late,” Rodney replied standing over him with a wet washcloth in his hand. John couldn’t remember teaching Rodney stealth walking. Either Ronon’s been spending time with him or his headache was worse than he wanted to admit. Probably a little of both.
“What’s with that?” John asked, nodding towards the washcloth. Rodney looked at him as if he was one of the cute but stupid dog-things on planet KidKill.
“I’m going to check you out, obviously,” Rodney replied, dropping down on the bed beside him.
John pushed himself up on his elbows. “Keller did that already in the infirmary. I’m fine.” His voice didn't sound petulant. Nope. Not at all.
“Well I didn’t, Colonel, and I’ll be the judge of that.”
Looking closely at Rodney’s expression John could see the worry etched in the lines around his eyes and the tight way he was holding his shoulders. Okay then, he could let Rodney do this, he knew what it was like to nearly loose someone.
When Rodney came at his forehead armed with the washcloth, John just let him. He wiped at the already clean cuts with a scary amount of attention. He cleaned up the blood that trickled down John's neck and even found that spot behind his ear where a bit had dried and itched mercilessly.
“I really wish you’d stop doing that, Colonel.”
Uh oh. Two “Colonels” in succession meant that Rodney was really upset, even more so than he let on.
“Which one? Getting kidnapped, stunned or beat up?”
“All of it.” Rodney looked so broken that John wanted to scoop up the pieces and put them back together, like one Rodney-sized jigsaw puzzle.
“I’ll try to avoid the desperate hot alien women in the future, Rodney.”
“Don’t be a smart-ass, John; I can make it so you never have hot water in your shower again.”
Back to “John,” that was a good thing. Rodney was running his hand through John’s hair, checking for bruises, none too surreptitiously, he might add. John pushed his head into Rodney’s palm; he knew that Rodney had a weakness for John when he was cuddly. (Not that he’d admit to the cuddly part.) John thought that it reminded Rodney of his cat.
He nuzzled into Rodney's hand (just a little). “If I don’t have any hot water, I’ll just have to share the shower with you.”
“Hmm...there are merits to that plan.” John relaxed back onto the bed while Rodney absently finger combed his hair. Rodney seemed much more relaxed and John didn’t want to break his calm by pulling away. Yeah, that was exactly it.
After a while, Rodney pushed two aspirin into John’s palm and then gave him a glass of water. John really didn’t like to be fussed over but it seemed to make Rodney happy so he acquiesced. It was all for Rodney’s sake. Really.
They laid back on the bed, Rodney still playing with John’s hair, just enjoying each other’s presence and the silence. Blissful silence.
“So why didn’t you?” Rodney asked after a bit.
“What’s that?” John replied, raising his eyebrow.
“Stop her, fight back!”
John let out a sigh. “Men don’t hit.”
“What’s that?”
“Mama always taught me that men don’t hit women. Ever. Little boys having temper tantrums hit and sometimes little boys come in big boy bodies...” his voice drifted off and it sounded to Rodney like he was repeating exactly what his mother told him. “But real men don’t hit.”
“Oh.” Rodney thought he got it. John rarely talked about his family and hardly ever brought up his mother. That he stilled called her “Mama” made something in Rodney’s insides ache. There was more to that story, more for another day.
“Yeah,” he sighed, “It was one lesson that my mother really ingrained in me especially when I said I wanted to join the military. I think there was more there that she didn’t tell me.”
Rodney didn’t have anything to say to that. There really wasn’t anything to say, so he just pushed his side more closely to John. John laid his hand against Rodney’s hip, not doing anything, just holding him.
“Well then, I guess you’re forgiven. Old habits die hard and all that.” Rodney wormed his hand over to John’s and brushed his finger along John’s wrist. John turned his palm up and opened his hand. An invitation. Rodney twined their fingers together.
“Well, do you think you could at least stop getting kidnapped?”
John turned towards Rodney, a smile crinkling the skin at the corners of his eyes, “For you Rodney, I’ll try.”
~fini~