Coup de Foudre by Zinnith
Aaaand this one is for argosy who wanted to read something about storms and/or being struck by lightning, so I had to do some potentially harmful things to the boys. No worries, no-one gets badly hurt and there is a kiss at the end ;)
1024 words and unbeta'd because I'm still so very late. You know I'm not a native English speaker, right?
Coup de Foudre
The clouds have been gathering all day and it started raining sometime around noon. By now, it's gushing down and there are vague rolls of thunder far away, threatening to come closer. To Rodney, it seems wise to wait on the mainland until the storm has passed, but Sheppard has other ideas.
”It's okay, Rodney,” he drawls, in that irritating way that makes the name sound more like 'Rawd-nee'. ”We can fly above it.”
”Do you have any idea what happens when you get struck by lightning?” Rodney asks as he follows Sheppard into the jumper. ”A lightning bolt can reach temperatures of up to 30.000 degrees, and that's in Celsius, by the way.”
”We'll be fine, McKay, sit your ass down,” is Sheppard's only response as he takes place in the pilot's seat. Rodney anxiously watches the angry sky above. The storm hasn't quite reached the mainland yet, but storms travel fast on Lantea and it'll be upon them any moment now.
But he always finds it hard to refuse Sheppard, especially when he looks like that, ruffled and stubbly and with his hair all over the place. They've been at the mainland all day, Rodney fixing the Athosians' naquadah generator and Sheppard helping secure things and prepare for the storm. It's been hard work and Rodney can understand that Sheppard wants to get back to Atlantis as soon as possible, but it doesn't stop him from running the numbers in his head.
”One chance in 576.000 to get struck by lightning,” he says out loud. ”The chance of actually getting killed by lightning is about one in 2.320.000, and of course that's if you're an American. Oh, and those figures apply to Earth, so I'd say the possibility for us right now? Would be quite high. Especially considered that we're about to fly right into a thunderstorm. It's like finding the tallest tree around to stand under, only more stupid!”
”Rodney,” the Colonel says again, his voice as close to a whine as Rodney's ever heard it. Sheppard looks weary, that's the only word for it, and well... maybe it won't be that bad. Sheppard is an excellent pilot, they can get above the storm and be back in Atlantis in half an hour. Atlantis, where there are hot showers and they'll start serving dinner in the mess any time now.
There's also the naked skin of Sheppard's neck between his collar and his hair (something Rodney tries not to notice unless he's very tired, which he is right now), and the slightly slumped way he holds his shoulders, so Rodney only hesitates for a moment before sitting down in the co-pilot's chair.
”Just for the record,” he states. ”I'm strictly against this.”
”Noted,” Sheppard answers without even looking at Rodney.
”So, what are you waiting for? The longer we stay here, the closer the storm gets, so chop chop!”
The jumper starts up with a high pitched whine. Just as they take off, there's another roll of thunder, so close now that Rodney might have to grab hold of something and hold on tight, not that he's scared or anything.
”Don't worry, Rodney, we'll be fine,” says Sheppard beside him, the smile audible in his voice as he steers the jumper higher and higher .
That's exactly when the lightning hits. Rodney knows a thing or two about lightning. For example, the average lightning bolt carries an electric current of 40 kiloamperes. It heats the nearby air to about 10.000 degrees Celsius, almost twice the temperature of the Sun's surface. Being in the way of one is a really, really bad idea.
He doesn't know if it's because they haven't had the time to reach a higher altitude, or if it's because Sheppard really is that good a pilot, or if they were just plain lucky, but when Rodney opens his eyes and smells the ozone and the burned-out circuits, he finds that he's still alive.
They've crashed into a copse of trees, about an hour from the Athosian settlement, if Rodney remembers his geography right. There's smoke rising from the control panel but nothing seems to be actively on fire, so Rodney wipes the blood from his forehead (how did that end up there?) and sits up in his chair.
Sheppard is frighteningly still, his head resting against the control panel, and Rodney is almost afraid to touch him until he sees the slight rise and fall of his shoulders that indicates that the Colonel is still alive. He hesitantly reaches out a finger and pokes him.
”Sheppard? John? Are you all right? I really, really hope you're not dead or severely injured because I don't want to trek back to the village in this weather. John?”
There's a moment's silence, during which Rodney is certain that he's going to die of a heart attack, and then Sheppard groans and sits up, looking around the jumper, out through the windshield at the rain outside, and then finally at Rodney. His eyes are crossed in an extremely concussed way, as if he's trying to look at the tip of his own nose.
”Huh,” he mutters in a raspy voice. ”Guess you were right. We should've waited.”'
And Rodney can't help it. They were just hit by lightning, for heaven's sake, and even though he doesn't have the statistics for that happening on this planet, they're still damn lucky to have survived both that and the jumper crash. If there was an Atlantis lottery, they should buy a ticket. And maybe Rodney might possibly be a little concussed too (that could be an explanation for the blood), and maybe it's just because Sheppard looks unusually young and unguarded, but Rodney just has to lean over into Sheppard's chair and kiss him.
Sheppard (John) looks surprised at first, then confused, and then he blinks his eyes and smiles. ”Should've done this earlier,” he mumbles as he reaches out to curl a shaking hand around Rodney's neck and draw their lips together again, all while the alarms of the damaged jumper beeps around them and the rain keeps beating heavily on the windshield.
-fin-
Additional note: Everything Rodney knows about lightning, I learned from Wikipedia.
1024 words and unbeta'd because I'm still so very late. You know I'm not a native English speaker, right?
Coup de Foudre
The clouds have been gathering all day and it started raining sometime around noon. By now, it's gushing down and there are vague rolls of thunder far away, threatening to come closer. To Rodney, it seems wise to wait on the mainland until the storm has passed, but Sheppard has other ideas.
”It's okay, Rodney,” he drawls, in that irritating way that makes the name sound more like 'Rawd-nee'. ”We can fly above it.”
”Do you have any idea what happens when you get struck by lightning?” Rodney asks as he follows Sheppard into the jumper. ”A lightning bolt can reach temperatures of up to 30.000 degrees, and that's in Celsius, by the way.”
”We'll be fine, McKay, sit your ass down,” is Sheppard's only response as he takes place in the pilot's seat. Rodney anxiously watches the angry sky above. The storm hasn't quite reached the mainland yet, but storms travel fast on Lantea and it'll be upon them any moment now.
But he always finds it hard to refuse Sheppard, especially when he looks like that, ruffled and stubbly and with his hair all over the place. They've been at the mainland all day, Rodney fixing the Athosians' naquadah generator and Sheppard helping secure things and prepare for the storm. It's been hard work and Rodney can understand that Sheppard wants to get back to Atlantis as soon as possible, but it doesn't stop him from running the numbers in his head.
”One chance in 576.000 to get struck by lightning,” he says out loud. ”The chance of actually getting killed by lightning is about one in 2.320.000, and of course that's if you're an American. Oh, and those figures apply to Earth, so I'd say the possibility for us right now? Would be quite high. Especially considered that we're about to fly right into a thunderstorm. It's like finding the tallest tree around to stand under, only more stupid!”
”Rodney,” the Colonel says again, his voice as close to a whine as Rodney's ever heard it. Sheppard looks weary, that's the only word for it, and well... maybe it won't be that bad. Sheppard is an excellent pilot, they can get above the storm and be back in Atlantis in half an hour. Atlantis, where there are hot showers and they'll start serving dinner in the mess any time now.
There's also the naked skin of Sheppard's neck between his collar and his hair (something Rodney tries not to notice unless he's very tired, which he is right now), and the slightly slumped way he holds his shoulders, so Rodney only hesitates for a moment before sitting down in the co-pilot's chair.
”Just for the record,” he states. ”I'm strictly against this.”
”Noted,” Sheppard answers without even looking at Rodney.
”So, what are you waiting for? The longer we stay here, the closer the storm gets, so chop chop!”
The jumper starts up with a high pitched whine. Just as they take off, there's another roll of thunder, so close now that Rodney might have to grab hold of something and hold on tight, not that he's scared or anything.
”Don't worry, Rodney, we'll be fine,” says Sheppard beside him, the smile audible in his voice as he steers the jumper higher and higher .
That's exactly when the lightning hits. Rodney knows a thing or two about lightning. For example, the average lightning bolt carries an electric current of 40 kiloamperes. It heats the nearby air to about 10.000 degrees Celsius, almost twice the temperature of the Sun's surface. Being in the way of one is a really, really bad idea.
He doesn't know if it's because they haven't had the time to reach a higher altitude, or if it's because Sheppard really is that good a pilot, or if they were just plain lucky, but when Rodney opens his eyes and smells the ozone and the burned-out circuits, he finds that he's still alive.
They've crashed into a copse of trees, about an hour from the Athosian settlement, if Rodney remembers his geography right. There's smoke rising from the control panel but nothing seems to be actively on fire, so Rodney wipes the blood from his forehead (how did that end up there?) and sits up in his chair.
Sheppard is frighteningly still, his head resting against the control panel, and Rodney is almost afraid to touch him until he sees the slight rise and fall of his shoulders that indicates that the Colonel is still alive. He hesitantly reaches out a finger and pokes him.
”Sheppard? John? Are you all right? I really, really hope you're not dead or severely injured because I don't want to trek back to the village in this weather. John?”
There's a moment's silence, during which Rodney is certain that he's going to die of a heart attack, and then Sheppard groans and sits up, looking around the jumper, out through the windshield at the rain outside, and then finally at Rodney. His eyes are crossed in an extremely concussed way, as if he's trying to look at the tip of his own nose.
”Huh,” he mutters in a raspy voice. ”Guess you were right. We should've waited.”'
And Rodney can't help it. They were just hit by lightning, for heaven's sake, and even though he doesn't have the statistics for that happening on this planet, they're still damn lucky to have survived both that and the jumper crash. If there was an Atlantis lottery, they should buy a ticket. And maybe Rodney might possibly be a little concussed too (that could be an explanation for the blood), and maybe it's just because Sheppard looks unusually young and unguarded, but Rodney just has to lean over into Sheppard's chair and kiss him.
Sheppard (John) looks surprised at first, then confused, and then he blinks his eyes and smiles. ”Should've done this earlier,” he mumbles as he reaches out to curl a shaking hand around Rodney's neck and draw their lips together again, all while the alarms of the damaged jumper beeps around them and the rain keeps beating heavily on the windshield.
-fin-
Additional note: Everything Rodney knows about lightning, I learned from Wikipedia.