Work Text:
"Hey" Sheppard greeted McKay as he waltzed into the lab, which for once seemed to be empty; apparently McKay was the only one working on Saturday.A dull ‘Hey’ was the only response to his cheeriness. McKay was engrossed in his laptop’s readings on his latest tests."You needed something?" Sheppard asked as he fiddled with the papers strewn haphazardly across the end of the tabletop.
"Hmm?" McKay looked up, puzzled, having heard very little of what Sheppard said. He frowned at Sheppard and then his face lit up quickly as it tended to do with an ‘AH!’ and he shook a finger at Sheppard. "Yes, yes!" McKay got up from his stool and stood near Sheppard, leaning oh so casually on the tabletop. John tried not to smile at the evident effort McKay applied to the ‘look cool’ atmosphere he was obviously trying to emit. "I hear that you go ah… running yes?" MacKay made it a question, but Sheppard knew it wasn’t.
"Yes?" He gave his answer in question format as well.
McKay was talking now like he had played this out in his head and it wasn’t going the way he planned. He paused and frowned again slightly at Sheppard’s one word answer. "Umm… well, are you planning to do that today?"
"Yeah, later, probably." Sheppard said, smiling. McKay’s actions were piquing his interest.
"Probably? Well, that implies that there is a possibility you won’t be going," McKay said as he retreated to his comfort zone of cutting into people.
Sheppard just chuckled, playing along "Well then, yes. I most certainly am going running this afternoon."
"Well," McKay said, sounding uncomfortable again. He picked up his pencil and twirled it on the desk, watching it as he did so. "Could I, ah…" McKay paused once more.
Sheppard just watched, amazed at McKay’s range from needling to uncertainty and then brazened again as McKay visibly steadied himself, squaring his shoulders and looking at Sheppard. "Can I go with you?" McKay asked his chin.
Sheppard just smiled, raising his eyebrows.
MacKay saw his expression, as he quickly looked up and immediately went into defensive mode.
"I know I may not be perceived as a runner, but Canadians are great athletes! Americans think they’re on top of the world in sports, among other things, but Canadians do rather well in the Olympics. You can’t rule us out." McKay rambled on, arms flying now.
"How does the athletic ability of your country give an accurate assessment of your ability?" Sheppard asked, smiling as McKay flushed, which drew up images from other times when McKay had been flushed because of another reason and not from anger or embarrassment.
"I’m just stating that you shouldn’t count me out," McKay said, staring him down, challenging him.
It took all of Sheppard’s effort to not laugh. It was cute the way McKay was almost seething.
"Don’t worry, McKay. I wasn’t counting you or the whole of Canada out. You can come running with us if you want to." Sheppard smiled easily at him as he leaned nonchalantly on the papers.
"Oh." The fight seemed to have been ripped out of him, and he stood there stupidly for a moment. "Well," he began again, licking his lips. Sheppard resisted the urge to follow the tongue with his own. "then umm.. I’ll meet you later then," he said with a slight smile, but his eyes grew wide, smile disappearing again "Wait!" McKay’s ease left again looking as if it had been replaced by fear.
"What?" Sheppard asked, alarmed as he looked around double checking the perimeters.
"Us? Are there going to be more people with us?" McKay asked, worry showing through.
"Well yeah, Ronon usually goes with me." Sheppard said relaxing back into surfer-boy. "But if you think he’ll have a problem with you tagging along, I don’t think Ronon will mind."
"Well, maybe I’ll go some other time. I don’t want to make a spectacle out of myself." McKay said flippantly, but Sheppard could tell he was disappointed. He also couldn’t help but smile.
"A spectacle, Rodney?"
Rodney cut him off before he could finish his train of thought. "Yes, yes." He waved Sheppard off, apparently dismissing him. Instead, Sheppard reaches for the radio he’s wearing and connects to Ronon’s.
"Yo, Ronon buddy, you wanna go running tomorrow? I’ve got some stuff to finish from our last mission that the Madam wants ASAP." He said, smiling at Rodney, who looked about to freak out if he’d mentioned Rodney wanting to go.
After a few seconds, Ronon’s laid back drawl returned through the radio. "Sure."
"Well then, how about four?"
"Ah, yeah." McKay said slightly taken aback making Sheppard aware he was blushing slightly.
"Okay. Four, near the docks, it shouldn’t be as warm then," Sheppard said. He smiled seductively and turned, heading towards the door. He heard a loud, relieved sigh as he turned the corner. He chuckled to himself.
---
McKay looked down at the flooring of the pier, trying to steady himself, hands on his knees, gasping for air like a fish out of water. He was going to die. What had he been thinking! Sure, go running with Sheppard. Sure he’d get to spend time with just Sheppard. Sure he’d be ‘hanging’ with Sheppard in a real life situation. And sure it was date-like, to Rodney at least, but it’d be the only one he’d get, because he was going to die.
Sheppard appeared silently next to him and McKay did his best not to give a startled screech as Sheppard’s hand on his sweaty back alerted him to his presence. He’d kind of lost his peripheral vision and the haziness was creating a tunnel. As it was, he let out an air deprived squeak, which seemed to be the only noise he could make, as he sucked in air.
"Stand up straight, put your hands up behind your head, you’ll breathe better." Sheppard said trying to help him straighten up but as McKay did hastily that tunnel closed and he felt himself falling down hard, right on his ass.
Hands tried to alleviate his impact speed, but McKay barely noticed. He wasn’t sure how long he sat there as the world floated in and out. The world seemed to have gone pale, the sky was a bright white as were the edges of his vision. He slowly began to realize he was in fact sitting on his ass and Sheppard was kneeling next to him, holding him up, and watching him with a worried look on his face.
"Sor.. sorry." McKay managed to breathe out once the world didn’t seem to be running as fast as they had been.
"No, it’s my fault. I should be sorry, we should have stopped earlier or gone slower. I should have stopped you once you started to look a little pale." Sheppard said, almost tripping over what he felt was his fault.
McKay tried waving away Sheppard’s apology but decided to focus on breathing instead. He shifted so he was supporting himself now, arms behind him, propping him up. He threw back his head gently to create the best possible air way for his lungs to get the oxygen of which they’d been deprived. Sheppard moved away so as to sit next to him and McKay didn’t realize until that moment how close they’d been. He closed his eyes, trying not to show his shame and how bad he sucked at life.
-o-o-
Sheppard watched McKay for any more signs of fainting and dizziness as he sat back, and he took his opportunity to observe him. Sheppard soaked in the view of Rodney’s neck which was thrown back and the rest of Rodney’s sweaty body splayed out on the concrete. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he struggled to swallow. His chest still heaved as did the little bit of stomach that Sheppard secretly adored.
They sat there for a while and once Rodney seemed to regain some control of his body’s functions, he brought his head up and tilted it against his shoulder looking over the pier.
Sheppard joined him, realizing he’d been staring. He was glad Rodney seemed too tired to notice anything.
"You feel any better?" Sheppard asked.
"Yeah." Rodney breathed more than said.
"You should eat when we get back." Sheppard said, and Rodney just nodded. Sheppard cursed himself for not thinking to bring a powerbar.
They sat that way for a long time, Rodney breathing and Sheppard splitting attention between Rodney and the view from the pier.
"It’s very peaceful down here." Sheppard said softly after a while and then laughed "Great place for a date!" Sheppard tried to cancel out the thoughtful admission with silliness. ‘That was lame, great job Shep’ he berated himself. He glanced quickly at McKays’ now hunched form, whose flushed face seemed to have reddened further, if that was even possible. Realization seemed to dawn on him "Is that what this was?" Sheppard asked gently.
Rodney looked away, which practically confirmed his guilt. Rodney realized something about running then or physical exertion in general, besides the fact that he really sucked at it, he knew that part but not the part that when his body was too tired and too exhausted to do little more than collapse he didn’t have the ability to build up a defense. His brain seemed to slow the more exhausted he was "No" was the best he could do as he blurted it out.
"Is that why you didn’t want Ronon to come?" Sheppard asked softly ignoring Rodney’s weak protest.
"Well I do suck at this." McKay said unwillingly admitting more than he meant too. It seemed at the peak of his physical exhaustion his barriers had crumbled along with his blood oxygen content.
Sheppard smiled gleefully at the admission, but McKay didn’t see it.
McKay sat up and trying to backpedal said, "Well, not really a date. I know you don’t like any of the stuff I usually like and this was the only good thing I could think of doing together." He winced he really was admitting more than he had ever intended. "I didn’t want to just be one of your occasional good times, whether it was good or not." He looked down at his hands now, angry at himself for confessing so much, he wasn’t ever going running again.
"Rodney …" Sheppard said softly trying to get Rodney to look at him when that didn’t work Sheppard scooted closer and leaned over and placed a hand on the other side of Rodney’s body near his hip, leaning on it. He quickly took Rodney’s chin in his hands before Rodney could move away, and kissed him.
Rodney’s lips were hot against his and his skin was warm and damp. It was different, new, and he loved it. Those heated lips began pushing back and Sheppard smiled into the kiss.
They finally broke apart after a while and Rodney made a mild complaint about not being able to breathe again. Sheppard took the moment to add softly "I never considered you just a good fuck, Rodney. I haven’t had any interest in anyone else since we started," he gestured between them "whatever we’ve been doing." In the beginning, it had been physical attraction but for Sheppard, and he realized now for Rodney too, it had turned into more than just physical.
"You haven’t?" Rodney asked surprised "What about all the girls? Every mission you seem to have one of them attached to you."
"I guess I swing either way, but I do have to keep up an image. Don’t ask, don’t tell does a number on people." Sheppard said, smiling sadly. "I’m sorry I’ve made you feel insignificant. And that I made you feel the need to go running with me to make a different kind of connection. Though it was a rather smart idea." Sheppard continued softly. He wasn’t use to making this kind of admission.
Rodney leaned in slightly, asking for a kiss. John felt his heart swell and he gave it. The kiss was almost chaste, much different from the one they’d shared earlier.
This time Rodney pulled back, smiling excitedly. Getting right to the heart of things, he asked "So are you going to ask me to be your boyfriend or what?"
John laughed out loud at the surge of his own overflowing happiness "Will you?"
"Duh!" Rodney tried for arrogant but at the moment he was too happy to be egotistical, and he laughed too. "Exclusively, of course."
"Yes." John smiled new possibilities occurring to him. He kissed Rodney this time with more heat and drew an arm around Rodney’s side, bringing them closer together.
"God we’re sappy." John said when they broke apart for breath, breathing harder than the running had caused him to.
"Yeah" Rodney whispered as he nuzzled Johns’ flushed cheek. He liked it though.
end