[Stargate: Drabble] "Good Surprise" [John/Rodney, G]
Title: Good Surprise
Author: Ami Ven
Rating: G
Word Count: 700
Prompt: mcsheplets challenge 270 ‘other side of the deadline XI’ (258 ‘luxury’)
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Pairing(s): John Sheppard/Rodney McKay
Setting: part of my Home on the Range ‘verse
Summary: Rodney hadn’t had a lot of experience with good surprises, until John came along.
Good Surprise
Not long after John had moved into Rodney’s cabin, he’d begun taking over all of Rodney’s correspondence. The inventor did nothing to stop him - he’d always considered the buyers for his designs to be a necessary evil, and John seemed more than willing to take on this chore, too. Rodney never read the letters John wrote, but the ones he received from even his earliest clients were more pleasant and professional than they ever had been before.
Rodney didn’t usually pay much attention to those letters, though, skimming through the boring social pleasantries to find the requirements or changes for the designs he was working on. But, one afternoon, he was half-way through a letter from the Carter Railroad Company when he came to a halt, frowning.
“Sheppard?” he called.
John, who had been flipping through the new Sears & Roebuck catalogue, didn’t look up. “Yeah?”
“What’s this?”
“Letter from Carter’s,” he said, turning another page. “Least, that’s what it said on the envelope.”
“I can see that,” said Rodney. “I mean, what is this part written here, about them sending a package?”
John’s expression brightened for a second, then he caught himself and shrugged. “Nothing. Probably train parts, or something.”
“Train parts,” Rodney repeated. “What are you up to, Sheppard?”
“It’s a surprise,” the former soldier said, and refused to say anything else.
For the next week, Rodney tried everything to get the secret out of him - asking nicely, demanding an answer, asking first thing in the morning before John had his first cup of coffee, even once right in the middle of sex - but every time, John just smiled and repeated that it was a surprise.
“It’s a good surprise,” he added, a few nights later, when Rodney had huffed and rolled away from him in bed. John pressed a kiss just below the inventor’s ear. “At least, I hope it will be good. I just… this is your work, Rodney, I only help out, and I wanted to do something nice for you.”
Rodney rolled over quickly. “Are you kidding me?” he demanded. “I couldn’t do any of this without you.”
“You did just fine before me,” said John, softly.
“I existed before you,” Rodney corrected. “I was… you have no idea how much better my designs are now, with you. Not just that I can do more, with your help, my work is just better, you make me better.”
“Rodney…”
“I just don’t like not knowing things. I suppose I haven’t had too many good surprises in my life.”
John’s expression softened. “What about me?”
“You were the best surprise,” said Rodney, and leaned up to kiss him. “I can wait until your secret surprise package arrives. Whatever it is, I’m sure I’ll like it.”
The supply train arrived the following week, carrying several crates marked for Rodney - one of which was a train component for him to evaluate - and a smaller one stamped with John’s name. The former soldier grinned and loaded it onto their wagon, and Rodney just managed to contain his curiosity until they got home.
“Well?” he demanded, as John set the box on their kitchen table and pulled off the lid.
Whatever was inside was packed with straw, wrapped in burlap, in a metal box that was -
“Cold,” said Rodney, surprised. “It’s cold!”
John grinned. “I’ll have to tell Carter it worked. It’s an experimental refrigeration thing, ice in a vacuum-sealed container. They wanted to test a new product, and I wanted to be sure it wouldn’t melt.”
“Sure what wouldn’t melt?”
Instead of answering, John pried open the lid of the metal container. Inside was a half-melted mixture of ice and water, surrounding a package sealed in oilcloth. John unwrapped it, then presented the box to Rodney.
He read the brightly-colored package. “Chocolate?” he read.
John nodded. “It’s something new. It’s like the chocolate you drink, except it’s a solid, with sugar already in it. You eat it just like that.”
“You…” Rodney began, then gave up in favor of pulling open the wrapper. He broke off a tiny corner and popped it into his mouth. “Wow.”
“Good surprise?” asked John, and Rodney pulled him in for a chocolate-flavored kiss.
THE END
Current Mood:
blah
Author: Ami Ven
Rating: G
Word Count: 700
Prompt: mcsheplets challenge 270 ‘other side of the deadline XI’ (258 ‘luxury’)
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Pairing(s): John Sheppard/Rodney McKay
Setting: part of my Home on the Range ‘verse
Summary: Rodney hadn’t had a lot of experience with good surprises, until John came along.
Good Surprise
Not long after John had moved into Rodney’s cabin, he’d begun taking over all of Rodney’s correspondence. The inventor did nothing to stop him - he’d always considered the buyers for his designs to be a necessary evil, and John seemed more than willing to take on this chore, too. Rodney never read the letters John wrote, but the ones he received from even his earliest clients were more pleasant and professional than they ever had been before.
Rodney didn’t usually pay much attention to those letters, though, skimming through the boring social pleasantries to find the requirements or changes for the designs he was working on. But, one afternoon, he was half-way through a letter from the Carter Railroad Company when he came to a halt, frowning.
“Sheppard?” he called.
John, who had been flipping through the new Sears & Roebuck catalogue, didn’t look up. “Yeah?”
“What’s this?”
“Letter from Carter’s,” he said, turning another page. “Least, that’s what it said on the envelope.”
“I can see that,” said Rodney. “I mean, what is this part written here, about them sending a package?”
John’s expression brightened for a second, then he caught himself and shrugged. “Nothing. Probably train parts, or something.”
“Train parts,” Rodney repeated. “What are you up to, Sheppard?”
“It’s a surprise,” the former soldier said, and refused to say anything else.
For the next week, Rodney tried everything to get the secret out of him - asking nicely, demanding an answer, asking first thing in the morning before John had his first cup of coffee, even once right in the middle of sex - but every time, John just smiled and repeated that it was a surprise.
“It’s a good surprise,” he added, a few nights later, when Rodney had huffed and rolled away from him in bed. John pressed a kiss just below the inventor’s ear. “At least, I hope it will be good. I just… this is your work, Rodney, I only help out, and I wanted to do something nice for you.”
Rodney rolled over quickly. “Are you kidding me?” he demanded. “I couldn’t do any of this without you.”
“You did just fine before me,” said John, softly.
“I existed before you,” Rodney corrected. “I was… you have no idea how much better my designs are now, with you. Not just that I can do more, with your help, my work is just better, you make me better.”
“Rodney…”
“I just don’t like not knowing things. I suppose I haven’t had too many good surprises in my life.”
John’s expression softened. “What about me?”
“You were the best surprise,” said Rodney, and leaned up to kiss him. “I can wait until your secret surprise package arrives. Whatever it is, I’m sure I’ll like it.”
The supply train arrived the following week, carrying several crates marked for Rodney - one of which was a train component for him to evaluate - and a smaller one stamped with John’s name. The former soldier grinned and loaded it onto their wagon, and Rodney just managed to contain his curiosity until they got home.
“Well?” he demanded, as John set the box on their kitchen table and pulled off the lid.
Whatever was inside was packed with straw, wrapped in burlap, in a metal box that was -
“Cold,” said Rodney, surprised. “It’s cold!”
John grinned. “I’ll have to tell Carter it worked. It’s an experimental refrigeration thing, ice in a vacuum-sealed container. They wanted to test a new product, and I wanted to be sure it wouldn’t melt.”
“Sure what wouldn’t melt?”
Instead of answering, John pried open the lid of the metal container. Inside was a half-melted mixture of ice and water, surrounding a package sealed in oilcloth. John unwrapped it, then presented the box to Rodney.
He read the brightly-colored package. “Chocolate?” he read.
John nodded. “It’s something new. It’s like the chocolate you drink, except it’s a solid, with sugar already in it. You eat it just like that.”
“You…” Rodney began, then gave up in favor of pulling open the wrapper. He broke off a tiny corner and popped it into his mouth. “Wow.”
“Good surprise?” asked John, and Rodney pulled him in for a chocolate-flavored kiss.
THE END
Current Mood:
blah