A Momentary Misunderstanding
Summary; Rodney Blackmails John
Words about 1200
Disclaimer the characters here within do not belong to me they are the property of MGM
“So this is blackmail?” Sheppard asks his voice angry and sullen
“why yes, yes I think it is” Rodney replies because Sheppard’s embarrassment is funny and really it’s got to be worth at least a few extra deserts and Sheppard is just being a sore loser. So Rodney smirks at him and turns waving smugly “see you at breakfast and oh make sure I get one of those cappuccino muffins” he adds as parting shot.
Sheppard is such a bad loser because all he does clench his hand the knuckles going white before he replies “cappuccino muffin”.
Rodney Goes back to the labs immerse himself in their newly acquired tech he is so close to figuring it out so close. He’s missing something so simple. It’s like the tech is written in base ten and he is looking at it in base fifteen. Meko of all people finally threatens to erase one of his boards of equations if he doesn’t leave this until morning and get some rest. Rodney is so surprised that he obeys without any more protest. Sometime between arriving here and now Meko has stopped being afraid of him and become assertive the marines must have rubbed off on her and oh dear god that’s a picture he doesn’t need in his head brain scrub now please. Meko and the marines he shudders.
He doesn’t really think about Sheppard and the blackmail thing until the next morning he sitting hunched over a cup of coffee morning the mourning the unfairness of life that a chief scientist officer doesn’t get the respect they deserve and someone should have saved him that last cappuccino muffin When it appears under his nose.
“Here” Ronon said gruffly Sheppard told me to give you this. Ronon grabs at his mass of rubbery eggs. And Rodney lets him take a few bites because muffin.
“So what did you do to Sheppard?” Ronon asks around a mouth full of Rodney’s eggs.
“Sheppard’s just being a sore loser.” Rodney says “and I didn’t do anything to him“. Apparently Sheppard’s embarrassment is worth some of the better muffins Rodney wonders idly how long he can keep this up. There should be brownies later this week in three days two hours and 27 minutes but who’s counting. Maybe just maybe he can get Sheppard’s brownie too. Ronon has finished off his eggs and shoves his chair back see you he mutters on his way to beat up marines or run or something who knows. So Rodney, in considerable better mood, gets more eggs and coffee then heads be to the lab. He is pretty sure that if he just attaches the… no that wouldn’t work, the ideas bad enough that one of his lab assistance could have thought of it.
He doesn’t see Sheppard again until later that evening. Sheppard and Teyla are eating dinner together in the mess Rodney puts his tray down next to theirs and begins his tirade of how stupid everyone he works with is. Teyla smiles at him, inserts a few gentle comments into the conversation and Sheppard says nothing his whole body stiff tense. Rodney finally is force to ask “Did your military people threaten to mutiny or what? What’s wrong with you?
“Nothing I fine”
“Really what’s wrong with you?”
“I am fine “Sheppard snaps then he stands up taking his tray and storms out of the mess well storms for Sheppard; Rodney and Teyla stare after him in disbelief.
“What’s wrong with him?”
“I do not know Rodney he has been angry all day perhaps he received bad news” Teyla responses “he will tell us when he is ready.”
Sheppard is still acting weird and casting him little odd looks when he thinks no one is watching, then if Rodney approaches Sheppard’s whole body tenses. Sheppard is hiding from him too he’s stopped dropping by the lab or stopping by to con Rodney into playing video golf. Rodney puts up with this ridiculous attitude for two days then he has had enough. He corners Sheppard in the Jumper bay.
“Look I know you don’t like to do the whole talk about feelings but this can’t continue we can’t work together like this there’s a mission soon so…”
“We’re not talking about this here” Sheppard interrupts hissing actually hissing at him. And jerks his arm away his eyes are soldier scary and almost scared. Rodney wonders what Sheppard thinks is going on because he clearly has snapped cracked gone crazy. Maybe Rodney should drag him to the infirmary and have some tests performed.
Sheppard adds “I will come see you later. I need to get back to work” his shoulders hunching protectively and Rodney knows, knows that Sheppard’s lying there is nothing going on that needs his attention. But Sheppard almost looks like he is afraid of Rodney the concepts so strange Rodney leaves him alone with the jumpers. He goes back to the lab to finish figuring out the device but its lost some of the allure he is seriously thinking of tossing it in the ‘we sorta know what it does but not really’ pile and moving on to one of the hundreds of other projects he should have finished yesterday or the day before. Sheppard still hasn’t told Ronon or Teyla what’s wrong with him and If Sheppard doesn’t show up tonight like he promised Rodney will get the rest of the team to force him to talk.
“Right, what do you want?” Sheppard says stepping in his room that night.
“What?” Rodney starts to say what are you talking about but Sheppard continues in a rush of words “I won’t do anything to put Atlantis or my job in jeopardy.”
Rodney gawks open mouthed at John.
“I want to know what the hell is wrong with you.”
“You’re blackmailing me” Sheppard shouts. “What do you thing is wrong with me”? Did you think everything could just continue the way it was? Well I am not that good at compartmentalizing and I didn’t think my best friend would do this to me.”
“What you’re mad about that? It was one muffin and ok it was a cappuccino muffin and I was going to take your share of the brownies but really it’s not like we have never stolen each other’s food before”.
“So you’re just going to hold it over my head forever” Sheppard says bitterly “until what, you need a favor?”
“Look” Rodney says reasonably “you just looked a little silly and really not even you can be so vain so your hair looked ridiculous and…”
“Wait that’s what you’re blackmailing me about? That stupid picture?” Sheppard sinks onto the bed.
“Well yeah. What did you think I was talking about?”
“Not that” Sheppard says shakily looking up at him. “Not that at all.”
And Rodney says “wait seriously, what did you think, was going on?” and Sheppard tips over on the bad and laughs with shaky half hysterical relief. Then he says “you can have the stupid brownie if you want it that badly.”