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wickedwords
Title: Bananas and Raspberry Creme
Author: Rachael Sabotini (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
wickedwords)
Other Info: PG. John/Rodney. 1000 words
Summary: It's weird being back on Earth after the last year in Pegasus.
z_rayne did a fabulous job of betaing this for me, thanks! Written for the final round of atlantis_lvw, the story came in second. The theme was ‘first time’, and we had a 1000-word-count limit. In addition, you had to include some form of communication that wasn’t in English. I have to say that this contest was both a challenge and a lot of fun. Thanks to everyone who participated, either as an author or as those who read the stories and voted.
Bananas and Raspberry Creme
Blinking in the bright light of the SGC, Rodney felt the muscles in his jaw tighten as he gazed at the grey, windowless walls. He already missed Atlantis.
"General," Elizabeth said, inclining her head slightly at Landry, who was stepping up to the gate to greet them.
"Good to have you back." Landry extended his hand to her, clapping the other on Rodney's shoulder, and gruffly greeted the whole group. "Dr. McKay. Dr. Beckett. Major Sheppard."
Out of the corner of his eye, Rodney caught John's salute, which was creepy in and of itself. Add that to Elizabeth's false smile, and Carson's high-pitched babbling, and Rodney couldn't wait to finish up the weeks of debriefing and go home.
Their first night back, Dr. Lam summoned them to the infirmary, surprise, surprise.
"It's standard procedure, Doctor." The nurse patted the infirmary bed. "We just need to run a few blood tests."
"I know that," Carson huffed. "This may be the first time I've had a post-mission exam, but I've done more than my fair share. And no one has been off planet in the last two weeks, so I don't see why--."
"Atlantis is off-planet to them," Rodney muttered, hopping up on the bed across from him. "As far as they're concerned, we've spent the last year off-planet. No wonder they want to turn us into pincushions."
"Relax, Doc." John brushed by Rodney, and leaned against the bed next to him, his arm pressed against Rodney's thigh. "It only hurts a tiny bit, and they might even give us some candy when they're done."
He winked at the nurse, and Rodney glanced away, his stomach tightening. He told himself it was because he hated needles.
The second night Mitchell, Carter, Jackson, and Teal'c stopped by Elizabeth's room to welcome the prodigals home, and somehow Rodney, John, and Carson ended up there as well. They spent the night talking about 'stupid things that happened off-planet,' which mutated into a whacked-out version of charades based on mission reports.
"Oh! Oh!" John yelled as Jackson mimed combing long hair. "Ancient priestess!" Jackson stretched his hands out and John continued on: "Ancient priestess captures team leader for DNA experimentation, and when rescued, he's missing his pants."
Rodney rolled his eyes. Of course, John would get that one.
They crashed at Elizabeth's, and Rodney woke up sweaty, with an aching back and a stiff neck from spending the night on the floor. Staring up at the ceiling, he could hear John breathing softly next to him, the warmth of it making his cheek tingle. For an instant, Rodney wondered what the hell planet they were on, and rolled closer to John before the alarm went off.
The third night, Rodney watched as John picked up a spoonful of macaroni and cheese, letting the sauce dribble out onto his plate, before scooping up another bite and doing the whole thing again. Another couple of attempts and Rodney was close to grabbing the spoon when John let it fall onto his tray. "Let's play hooky," he said, rubbing his hand through his hair and staring intently at Rodney.
"Play hooky? Are you insane? Just because Elizabeth had us all over for a slumber party last night--" In the harsh light of the SCG, so different from the pale light of Atlantis, Rodney was able to see details more clearly. He noticed the way the lines were pulled tight around John's eyes and mouth, the way his hand clenched on the tray, and clamped his own lips shut. "Fine," he muttered. "Hooky it is." Rodney snapped his fingers. "We'll go to my apartment."
"You kept your apartment?"
"When I left, I figured it would only be a month or so till we got back, so I just left everything set up on automatic withdrawal." Rodney tilted his head to one side, wishing they still had transporters. Things just moved faster in Atlantis. "I think I kept paying the cleaning service too." Damnit, he should have known the mist planet was a fantasy, because no way would his housekeepers leave a bag of cheese-- He slapped John on the arm. "I think we need a snack run first."
Rodney had forgotten what grocery stores were like. They made it two feet inside the Whole Foods, and ground to a complete halt at the aisles of produce stretched out before them. "Oh my God." Rodney pressed his hand to his chest as stared at the aisle, then glanced back at John. "There must be fifty kinds of coffee here."
"Don't buy more than you can drink in a week."
Rodney snorted. "Do you know how much coffee I can drink in a week?"
"Good point." He smacked Rodney's shoulder nodded down the aisle. "I've got to pick up some stuff myself. I'll meet you at checkout."
A bag of cheese puffs, a bag of cheese snaps, a bag of Oreos, a six pack of beer, three bags of coffee later, they finally made it to Rodney's apartment. It turned out that John's 'incidentals' were more than just toothpaste.
This time, Rodney remembered what planet he was on as the morning sunlight drifted into the bedroom. He wrapped his arm around John, enjoying the feel of John's cheesy morning breath on his neck, and wondered if the weird orange powder would ever wear off. "We've got to get back," he said, stroking John's arm.
"Let's play hooky." John burrowed his head into Rodney's armpit.
"We already did that, remember?"
"It's all a blur of bananas and raspberry creme."
Rodney stared at John, blinked twice, and rolled out of bed. "I need coffee," he grumbled.
And for just that instant, it felt like home.
Author: Rachael Sabotini (
wickedwords)Other Info: PG. John/Rodney. 1000 words
Summary: It's weird being back on Earth after the last year in Pegasus.
z_rayne did a fabulous job of betaing this for me, thanks! Written for the final round of atlantis_lvw, the story came in second. The theme was ‘first time’, and we had a 1000-word-count limit. In addition, you had to include some form of communication that wasn’t in English. I have to say that this contest was both a challenge and a lot of fun. Thanks to everyone who participated, either as an author or as those who read the stories and voted. Blinking in the bright light of the SGC, Rodney felt the muscles in his jaw tighten as he gazed at the grey, windowless walls. He already missed Atlantis.
"General," Elizabeth said, inclining her head slightly at Landry, who was stepping up to the gate to greet them.
"Good to have you back." Landry extended his hand to her, clapping the other on Rodney's shoulder, and gruffly greeted the whole group. "Dr. McKay. Dr. Beckett. Major Sheppard."
Out of the corner of his eye, Rodney caught John's salute, which was creepy in and of itself. Add that to Elizabeth's false smile, and Carson's high-pitched babbling, and Rodney couldn't wait to finish up the weeks of debriefing and go home.
Their first night back, Dr. Lam summoned them to the infirmary, surprise, surprise.
"It's standard procedure, Doctor." The nurse patted the infirmary bed. "We just need to run a few blood tests."
"I know that," Carson huffed. "This may be the first time I've had a post-mission exam, but I've done more than my fair share. And no one has been off planet in the last two weeks, so I don't see why--."
"Atlantis is off-planet to them," Rodney muttered, hopping up on the bed across from him. "As far as they're concerned, we've spent the last year off-planet. No wonder they want to turn us into pincushions."
"Relax, Doc." John brushed by Rodney, and leaned against the bed next to him, his arm pressed against Rodney's thigh. "It only hurts a tiny bit, and they might even give us some candy when they're done."
He winked at the nurse, and Rodney glanced away, his stomach tightening. He told himself it was because he hated needles.
The second night Mitchell, Carter, Jackson, and Teal'c stopped by Elizabeth's room to welcome the prodigals home, and somehow Rodney, John, and Carson ended up there as well. They spent the night talking about 'stupid things that happened off-planet,' which mutated into a whacked-out version of charades based on mission reports.
"Oh! Oh!" John yelled as Jackson mimed combing long hair. "Ancient priestess!" Jackson stretched his hands out and John continued on: "Ancient priestess captures team leader for DNA experimentation, and when rescued, he's missing his pants."
Rodney rolled his eyes. Of course, John would get that one.
They crashed at Elizabeth's, and Rodney woke up sweaty, with an aching back and a stiff neck from spending the night on the floor. Staring up at the ceiling, he could hear John breathing softly next to him, the warmth of it making his cheek tingle. For an instant, Rodney wondered what the hell planet they were on, and rolled closer to John before the alarm went off.
The third night, Rodney watched as John picked up a spoonful of macaroni and cheese, letting the sauce dribble out onto his plate, before scooping up another bite and doing the whole thing again. Another couple of attempts and Rodney was close to grabbing the spoon when John let it fall onto his tray. "Let's play hooky," he said, rubbing his hand through his hair and staring intently at Rodney.
"Play hooky? Are you insane? Just because Elizabeth had us all over for a slumber party last night--" In the harsh light of the SCG, so different from the pale light of Atlantis, Rodney was able to see details more clearly. He noticed the way the lines were pulled tight around John's eyes and mouth, the way his hand clenched on the tray, and clamped his own lips shut. "Fine," he muttered. "Hooky it is." Rodney snapped his fingers. "We'll go to my apartment."
"You kept your apartment?"
"When I left, I figured it would only be a month or so till we got back, so I just left everything set up on automatic withdrawal." Rodney tilted his head to one side, wishing they still had transporters. Things just moved faster in Atlantis. "I think I kept paying the cleaning service too." Damnit, he should have known the mist planet was a fantasy, because no way would his housekeepers leave a bag of cheese-- He slapped John on the arm. "I think we need a snack run first."
Rodney had forgotten what grocery stores were like. They made it two feet inside the Whole Foods, and ground to a complete halt at the aisles of produce stretched out before them. "Oh my God." Rodney pressed his hand to his chest as stared at the aisle, then glanced back at John. "There must be fifty kinds of coffee here."
"Don't buy more than you can drink in a week."
Rodney snorted. "Do you know how much coffee I can drink in a week?"
"Good point." He smacked Rodney's shoulder nodded down the aisle. "I've got to pick up some stuff myself. I'll meet you at checkout."
A bag of cheese puffs, a bag of cheese snaps, a bag of Oreos, a six pack of beer, three bags of coffee later, they finally made it to Rodney's apartment. It turned out that John's 'incidentals' were more than just toothpaste.
This time, Rodney remembered what planet he was on as the morning sunlight drifted into the bedroom. He wrapped his arm around John, enjoying the feel of John's cheesy morning breath on his neck, and wondered if the weird orange powder would ever wear off. "We've got to get back," he said, stroking John's arm.
"Let's play hooky." John burrowed his head into Rodney's armpit.
"We already did that, remember?"
"It's all a blur of bananas and raspberry creme."
Rodney stared at John, blinked twice, and rolled out of bed. "I need coffee," he grumbled.
And for just that instant, it felt like home.
