Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

When it rains, it pours—at least that's what it seems like it does here in the Pegasus galaxy. They'd managed to survive their encounters with space pirates, angry natives, uncooperative alien planetary systems, the occasional slide into insanity—or suicidal depression as the case may be—only to have more shit thrown at them. In this case it was a former teammate turned into an angry, insane drug-pushing bully who decided that holding his former friends hostage and pumping them full of really addicting drugs was a good idea.

On top of the suicidal depression it hadn't been a good few weeks, but between Kate and a really patient John, they'd worked him through it. Not all of it—he had a lot of shit in his past that he was really not ready to wade through yet—but he'd started on some of it. His feelings of inadequacy, for example. Even though he had trained with Ford and Teyla nearly two years ago, the lack of regular training was painfully obvious. So John had him working in the firing range improving his skills and the regular training was starting to pay off. He could hit the broad side of a barn now.

The thrill of accomplishment and John's approval—and the compliments on his improvement from the Sergeant in charge of the range—had gone a long way to boost his self-confidence in regards to off-world assignments. He still knew he was the weakest link, but he was getting better.

The hand-to-hand fighting with John had gone as badly as he'd thought, but when they'd moved to Teyla's stick training…that had gone a lot better. Not good, but better.

John had been talking about classes for everyone who went off-world. That there would be a required number of classes they'd have to regularly attend in order to quality for off-world missions. Rodney didn't like it, but John hadn't pushed that through yet. They still didn't have regular trainers for the various disciplines, so it was hard. Teyla and Ronon and John could only teach so much. And honestly, the rest of the military staff wasn't exactly happy about training scientists.

The semi-regular morning runs with John were helping, too, leaving him in a much better frame of mind afterward. It was different from sex, but in some ways just as good. That, however, was something he was refusing to admit to John. There was no way he was going to tell John that he was right when it came to the running thing.

After the week-long detox thanks to CrazyFord, Rodney was ready for a vacation, but the SGC had other things in mind. Several more weeks of work before they had to be subjected to mind-numbing meetings before finally—finally!—they would be allowed to go on leave for ten days.

And then John had to go and get himself stuck in a time-dilation field.

Rodney never wanted to see the look of defeat on his lover that he'd seen when they'd finally found him. It had hurt to look at him, to see him like that.

The sex the night they'd got back was tender and slow, as if John was reminding himself of how Rodney felt and smelled and tasted. John marked him several times over even though the marks from two nights ago were still clear on his skin.

John's fingers had slid across them reverently, possibly the only thing that confirmed to him how little time had passed on Rodney's side of the portal. Afterward, with John breathing deeply, his face pressed into Rodney's skin, he'd held him tightly, giving his lover the time and touch he needed to ground him. If there had been a wet spot on his chest, Rodney never noticed, too intent on comforting John.

And then they'd tried to blow up Atlantis. At least it hadn't been his staff this time out. No, instead it had been the Goa'uld-infested Caldwell.

That had been a surprise to everyone.

After everything was said and done, John questioned Caldwell about what other surprises he may have left in Atlantis. While Rodney didn't believe Caldwell's insistence that they'd discovered everything, John had let him go.

Granted, the SGC would have another go at him, but John trusted Caldwell's word—which was more than Rodney could say. His entire staff was going over their systems with a fine-tooth comb.

As soon as Rodney had heard, he found John in his office doing paperwork. "You just let him go."

John slumped into his chair, letting out a sigh before he raised his head ot look at Rodney. "News surely travels fast." He paused a beat before continuing. "He didn't have any other information, not right now. There was no point in keeping him here."

"He has plenty of information. He just wasn't sharing it with you."

"To be honest, I really don't care right now about what else the creepy snake did. I just wanted to know if Atlantis was further compromised. The SGC can handle the rest." John held out a hand to Rodney.

Letting himself get tugged, Rodney rolled his eyes. "Sometimes I wonder how you can be so Apple pie innocent. Of course he knew more. Of course Atlantis has been compromised. And the SGC? They don't care as long as the Wraith don't make it to Earth."

His lover chuckled. "Just because we know the snake sent more information, doesn't mean Caldwell himself actually knows it. And... to be honest I'm hoping this will settle things down a bit. He'll never like me, but I'll take not actively trying to oust me from Atlantis. He didn't know anything of any importance, not right now. If he remembers something later, he's not petty enough to withhold it. My guess is that he'll be remembering things for the next few months."

"If he didn't share them now, he won't be sharing them later." Rodney scowled. "And do you think the Trust is just going to give up?"

John arranged Rodney so he was balanced on the other man's knees—not comfortable for long term, but it allowed John to nose at the side of Rodney's neck. "Mmm, no, they won't give up, and we'll have to be extra careful now. And you're wrong. Caldwell might not like me, but he's not an evil man. He's not going to withhold critical information just because he can. Right now he's still reeling from nine months as a prisoner in his own head. Cut the man a little slack."

"Cut the man a little slack? I have my entire staff working on all of Atlantis' systems to see what else he might have booby trapped and you want me to cut him some slack. He almost got us killed or did you miss that?"

John shook his head. "I didn't miss it. But it wasn't him that tried to kill us. I know it's hard to separate it, but... I guess after everything we've been through, I'm not going to convict a man for what his body did while under alien possession."

Rodney snorted. "This isn't just about him being a host to a Goa'uld. This is about him as a man and about the fact that he was leaning far enough into the Trust's objectives before he was snaked that he made himself a prime candidate."

John caressed Rodney's face, thumb tracing the line of his jaw. Despite himself, Rodney found himself relaxing into the touch. "He'll be watched, pretty damn closely, for probably the next year if not more. But that's not our job, so I'm not going to worry about it."

"Of course it's going to be our job," Rodney groused, letting John's touch soothe him.

"But right now it isn't. Focus on our city, and let someone else worry about the rest. That's all we can do." John's voice turned a little playful. "Did I tell you that just before everything went crazy, I got the official time for the briefing and our leave?"

"No," he grumbled. "And when were you going to tell me that?"

"Surprise." John whispered it across Rodney's skin, making goose bumps pop up in his wake. "We'll finish mopping up the current crisis, but we leave in five days."

"Five days?"

"Mmm hmm. We'll brief with the IOA for five days, and then we have ten of leave time."

"Only ten?"

His lover chuckled. "It will be fine. You'll spend it deep in headspace."

Rodney shifted on John's lap, turning in toward his lover. "Did you make all our reservations?"

"Peter is taking care of it for us. He knows of some places, and can actually call around to see what's available. He said he'd make the reservations at the resort, and then I'll book us a flight when we get to Earth."

"Oh, god. You're letting them plan everything?"

John nipped at Rodney's collarbone, his eyes playful. "Not everything. But I can't exactly ask frank questions about what facilities and policies these places have over a secure email server monitored by the government. I gave Peter a vague idea of what I wanted, and he and Harry will find a place that matches our needs."

"I'm not sure I trust them. I mean, they got us a bondage bed for our wedding present."

John's grin was wicked. "Exactly. They know what I want to do with you. And to you."

Rodney rolled his eyes, pressing a quick kiss to John's lips. "I need to get back to work after that pathetic excuse for an interrogation. You know Miko could have done better. All she would have had to do was start up the waterworks and Caldwell would have been a puddle at her feet."

He could taste John's laughter as his lover pulled him in for a slightly deeper kiss. "I'll keep that in mind. Go ahead and get back to work. I'll see you tonight."

"Usual time?"

"Of course." John kissed him again, then released his grip to let Rodney slide off his lap.

"Try to stay out of trouble," he said as he moved to the door, John unlocking it for him with a mental command.

"Same to you. Don't blow anything up."

Rodney snorted. "As if. If anyone were to blow up things it would be the idiots trying to pass themselves off as scientists. At least Kavanaugh is leaving—again—with Caldwell. I won't have to deal with him."

John grinned again, shaking his head. "Go work. I'll see you tonight."

"Yes, sir," Rodney said, offering his lover a wobbly salute.

John's salute was much crisper, although the smirk that went with it was far from regulation.

Rolling his eyes, Rodney stepped into the hall heading down to the labs. Honestly, he was worried about Caldwell. He knew that the man knew far more than he let on and he had this thing against John. And now with his connection to the Trust…yeah, they weren't about ready to let him go too easily.

He wandered into the labs a few minutes later, the hum of computer equipment and murmuring conversations soothing in their own way. There were no missions scheduled so he had five days to focus on Atlantis and her systems.

"What's the status?" he asked, catching Radek's eye.

The Czech shrugged, pushing his glasses up his nose. "We have found no additional evidence of tampering thus far. Simpson and Miko are still combing through primary systems, however, and I am attempting to go through secondary systems. There are too many for us to check each individually, so I have prioritized based on how much damage could be done."

Rodney nodded. "Good. I'm going to go back in the logs and walk through everything that Caldwell touched."

Radek nodded. "I thought you might wish to tackle that personally. I have set up computers with logs for last several months pulled up already for you. I did not have time to sort through them, however, and distinguish who touched what, only systems that were accessed."

"How far did you go back?"

"I did not know time frame, so I pulled the logs from last four months."

"I need nine months. Is the script you used still on the computer? I only want to pull the entries with the times the Daedalus was in orbit."

Radek made a face, muttering a few choice curses in Czech. "He was under the influence that long? Most frustrating. Yes, script is still on computer. It will be difficult to check everything for that much time. For even four months, we are already facing more data than can be reasonably checked."

"Ah, but did you pull everything or just when the Daedalus was here?" Rodney started pecking away at the computer keys, closing windows and pulling up others as he wandered through the results Radek had pulled up.

"To be thorough we were checking it all. However, you are right. We will have to narrow search for now."

"Of course I'm right. I'm not an idiot, you know."

Radek waved his hand, turning back to his computer. "Was not talking about you. You check what we know Caldwell touched directly. The rest of us will handle more general searches."

Rolling his eyes again, Rodney threw himself into his work. Radek was right. There was a lot of data to go through even after he narrowed down the search criteria. It was going to take days to go through it all.

***

The days flew by fast for John. They finished cleaning up from the Caldwell debacle, and then John, Lorne, and Elizabeth did some very intensive briefing sessions, planning for the time when he would be on Earth, making sure almost every contingency was accounted for.

Confident his city was in good hands, and ready to face the IOA, John was in pretty good spirits when he and Rodney finally gathered at the Gate, a duffel each, with only a few illicit things packed away. Most stuff they could get on Earth—or already had—but a few things, like John's favorite Ancient cock ring, were coming along for the trip.

He glanced up at Elizabeth. "Any last minute instructions before we do this?"

The corner of her mouth twitched up in a half-smile. "Don't get in trouble."

"Aww Mom..." His grin widened at her eye roll. "Seriously, we'll be fine. We'll be back in a few weeks, and if there's something you need one of us to look at in the meantime, you can send it through with the weekly databurst."

"Five weeks, if my estimate is right."

He nodded. "You guys will be fine." His grin turned a little wicked. "And next time, it'll be you and Carson who are gone. Leaving Rodney and I to run the city."

"Oh dear god," came the Scot's hushed reply, which sent everyone within hearing distance into a chuckle.

Laughing, John was glad to see even his lover was trying—and failing—to hide a smile. "All right, let's get this show on the road. Dial us up, Chuck."

"Have a safe trip," Elizabeth said, "and an enjoyable vacation."

He nodded. "We will. See you in a few weeks." John looked back over at the sound of the gate connecting, the thrill that always went through him when he saw it still there, even though he knew it was just to the SGC.

"Adrenaline junkie," Rodney muttered only soft enough for John to hear.

Sending an amused glance Rodney's way, John kept his voice just as low. "And you love it."

Rodney raised an eyebrow, his crooked mouth twisting a little more, but there was laughter in his eyes. God. It had taken weeks to get the haunted look to go away, but it was so worth it.

This was going to be an awesome vacation. They were both grinning as they picked up their bags and headed through the Gate. Stepping out in the SGC, John glanced around—he hadn't been paying attention to who was supposed to be meeting them.

General Landry was there, along with some of SG-1, a few welcoming smiles greeting them as they walked down the ramp. It took less than a minute for Rodney to stiffen up entirely, his eyes narrowed as he looked around the gateroom.

John glanced around himself, wondering what had put Rodney on guard, even as he came to semi-attention and saluted their welcoming party, smiling. "General, Colonels, Doctor Jackson. Great to see you again."

"Welcome home, gentlemen," Landry said, answering for everyone as John and Rodney came to a stop at the bottom of the ramp. "Doctor Lam is waiting for you in the infirmary and then we can get your de-briefings underway before you meet with the IOA."

John chuckled. "Jumping right in, eh? Sounds good sir. I have a USB key with all the new reports, including the information and assessments on the whole Goa'uld incident. Would you like those now to start going over?"

"I'm sure they came through in the databurst," he said, dismissing John's offer. "Just give your bags to the Airman and he'll get you settled in your rooms."

Rodney shifted uneasily. "We'll be staying at my apartment."

John nodded. "McKay offered to put me up there again, sir, and since I get a little claustrophobic being trapped under this mountain, I took him up on it. Mind if we toss the bags in a locker, and pick them up on our way out later?"

"You'll be staying in the Mountain tonight," Landry said, offering no further explanation. Carter's smile had gotten a little forced.

John blinked. He couldn't disobey a direct order. "Ah, yes sir. If you don't mind, we'll go get our physicals then." He caught Carter and Mitchell's eyes, hoping they were planning to come along and explain what was going on.

Mitchell held his gaze offering an apology while Carter's slid away. "I'll let Doctor Lam know you're on your way. Captain Harrow will escort you," Landry said, gesturing to the Marine hovering to the side.

Okay, what the hell? John kept an easy smile on his face, nodding. "Yes, sir. See you as soon as we're cleared, sir."

After handing off their bags to the second Marine, they followed Captain Harrow out of the gateroom and to the infirmary.

John stayed close to Rodney, enough that they couldn't be easily separated without making it an obvious issue. Fortunately no one tried, and they were sitting side-by-side on infirmary beds waiting for Doctor Lam. Glancing around to see that they were alone, John looked at his lover. "Okay, something's going on here. Any ideas as to what it is?"

"SGC paranoia," Rodney said quietly, eyeing the not-so-subtle guards standing nearby. "Carter wouldn't look at me when we arrived. That's how I knew. And that smile—fake."

"Paranoia? Over what? We've been working with them to arrange this briefing for months now." John shook his head. "Caldwell. That's what this is about, isn't it? They want to make sure we aren't compromised too, nevermind the fact that the snake came from the Milky Way, not Pegasus."

"And Caldwell's not due here for another week or so."

John sighed, running a hand through his hair. "So much for an easy briefing. Well, we aren't enemy agents, so while it might not be fun to do this, hopefully we can get through it relatively painlessly."

"Doubtful. And I wouldn't be surprised if our physical includes all kinds of invasive procedures."

Both John's eyebrows went up at that. Neither of them was wearing anything incriminating—they knew they were going to have a physical after all—and he had kept the marking over the last few days down to just the one spot, which could be passed off as a bruise. But still... "What? What do you mean?"

Before Rodney could answer, Doctor Lam walked in, a smile on her face. "Gentlemen, welcome back to Earth. Let's get you started," she said.

John did his best to paste on another easy smile. "We're all yours, Doc. Carson sent through our current medial records and tests, correct? I know we have to be re-tested for a lot here, but…"

"I have Doctor Becket's test results, but we're going to go through everything just in case. Doctor McKay, if you'll accompany Nurse Hardy, we can get you set up in the other room."

John and Rodney's eyes met for a long moment, and then John turned back to Doctor Lam, feeling uneasy. "You don't have to go to that much trouble. We've shared a tent off-world, and bled all over each other. Seeing a little bit of skin isn't going to hurt us. If it's all the same to you, I think we'd prefer to both stay here."

"It's not an option, Colonel."

He didn't like this. He didn't know exactly what was going on, but it didn't seem like they had a lot of choices here. After another long, non-verbal conversation with Rodney, his lover nodded slowly, sliding off the bed he had claimed earlier.

John watched as Rodney walked out with Nurse Hardy—vaguely wondering if there was a Doctor Drew or Nurse Drew around, too.

"Sorry about that, sir, but it's SOP," Lam said, fishing out a gown from the nearby cabinet.

"No offense, Ma'am, but I've been through this before. While this isn't unheard of, it isn't SOP either. I just wish I knew what the hell was going on here." His voice was quiet, but he pulled his shirt off, knowing the drill.

"After there's been any…incidents, everything buttons down for a while. You're just getting the brunt of it," she said apologetically. "I'll need you to strip down to your boxers. We'll give you a new uniform when we're done. Just place everything in the plastic bag except your boots. I'll be back in a few minutes."

He stared at her retreating back for a few long minutes. They were even taking his uniform? Shit. John emptied out his pockets, tossing his personal stuff onto the bed next to him. An Epipen, a little Ancient doodad he had pocketed—all it did was light up, but when he was going to be off-world for an extended period, it made him feel better to have that piece of Atlantis—and a few bits of paper with notes to himself over orders, team assignments and the like. His dog tags swung freely as he stripped the rest of his clothes off, unhappy, but unwilling to flagrantly disobey just yet.

The guard stood quietly, observing but not-observing. He remembered guard duty. It was never fun. With a quiet sigh, he placed his clothes in the bag, his personal effects he left next to him.

Doctor Lam returned a few minutes later, file folder in hand. "Oh, Colonel," she said, pausing at the edge of the bed. "I need all of your effects in the bag."

"I'm willing to give you the Epi-pen only if you give me a new one to replace it when I leave. The notes I don't really care about either—I already went over all this with Lorne before I left. But I'm not giving up my paper weight unless I'm promised I'll get it back."

She looked at him for a long moment before taking a few steps to the cabinet, pulling out a smaller plastic bag. "Put them in here. I'll make sure they make it to your room."

He relaxed slightly, placing everything in the bag. The weight he held out, letting it blink a few times. "I'm not trying to give you a hard time. But when I'm away from the city this long, it helps to have something like this to fiddle with. I'm used to her being in my head 24/7. Making the switch to not at all is a little like going cold turkey off some mild but addictive medications."

"I've heard that from some of the gene carriers," she said, putting the now-sealed bag on the counter next to the file folder. "Shall we get started?"

"And the stronger your gene, the worse it is, especially in the beginning." He gave her a slight smile, but held out his arms slightly. "Where do you want me?"

"We'll start with the easy stuff. Blood draws and a general physical assessment. Then we'll move into some additional procedures and then go to the MRI scanners for a few other imaging tests."

"Additional procedures?" John eyed her warily as she stuck him with a needle, making him wince. "I thought we just had to give blood and be cleared that we aren't carrying any diseases or anything."

"Not this time."

"And that would be the same reason we're not being allowed to stay off base tonight, I'm assuming."

"Some of the tests will need to be run first thing in the morning and I need to make sure you have been within strict environmental conditions."

"What kind of tests? And what do you mean by 'strict environmental controls'?" John eyed her warily.

She smiled. "You'll find out."

"Not doing much to ease my mind here, doc..." John winced again as more blood was drawn.

She offered an apologetic shrug. "Just relax and let us do our jobs. It'll be easier that way."

He sighed, but nodded, laying back on the bed when she gestured for him to do so.

He was poked and prodded and examined in more ways than he ever wanted to be. Doctor Lam was kind, but very thorough. Too thorough. He held back his temper when she examined his rectum, trying not to think about what his lover was going through in another room.

And then there were the MRIs. Multiple. From every angle imaginable. Rodney was going to be an absolute miserable basket case by the time they were done.

He'd gotten lunch and dinner in the infirmary, only to finally get released to an isolation room in the medical section around 1900 with a promise from Doctor Lam to return at 0600.

He was going out of his mind, about to start climbing the walls. And knowing Rodney wouldn't be much better—and probably worse—just ramped him up more. He paced the tiny room, circling it over and over, fucking freezing because they had only given him a thin pair of scrubs to wear and nothing else.

Had he known…John resisted the urge to punch the wall. It would just delay everything—the de-briefings and their vacation.

He didn't sleep at all. He paced, all night, getting more and more pissed as the night wore on. By the time Lam returned for him, he was so livid he was barely keeping his temper in check, and now was exhausted to boot. He didn't give her a welcoming reception.

"Morning, Colonel. A few more scans and tests and you'll be good to go," she said, setting the breakfast tray on the small bedside table.

He glanced at it, giving it a very obvious dismissal. He didn't say a word, knowing if he opened his mouth, what came out would be neither polite nor nice, in any sense of the word.

Lam raised an eyebrow, obviously feeling his mood. "I expect the tray clean when I get back in fifteen minutes."

"Fuck you." John didn't move from where he was standing in the corner, but he did glare at her. "Let's get the fucking physical 'examinations' over with so we can start the inquisition. What's next? The rack? Am I ever going to see the sky again, or is this just a long, polite way of imprisoning someone?" Yeah. Not polite at all.

"Do you think I’m enjoying this?" she asked, her tone turning just as angry. "I’m under orders, just like you."

"Right now, I really don't give a shit. I walked through the gate into what I thought was friendly territory only to be arrested and examined to within an inch of my life, and I still haven't been told why. I'm afraid my level of sympathy for you is pretty much zero right now. Enjoy your nice bed in your own home last night? I certainly fucking didn't."

"No, actually, I didn't. I was here working all night to make sure I didn't have to keep you any longer so you could leave the Mountain tonight. As for reasons, you need to take it up with General Landry."

He closed his eyes, trying hard to get a rein on his temper. Lashing out wasn't going to solve anything, much as he wanted to. "Where is McKay?"

"Right now? Under the MRI scanner. We had to re-do several of the scans from yesterday because he couldn't stay still."

"Yeah, because trapping a claustrophobic man in a small space for extended periods is designed to get great scans." He sighed. "Can we just get this over with? I'm not hungry, and I want my fucking clothes so I can get the hell out of here."

She sighed. "Follow me."

He did, going with her back out into the main infirmary. He sat where he was told, but otherwise didn't make any moves to help. He wasn't being uncooperative, but he was past being gracious about anything.

Within an hour a set of BDUs appeared on the bed next to him as Lam was scribbling something else in his chart.

He pulled them on, feeling a little better now that he was actually dressed. But his anger was still simmering, and he hadn't seen Rodney since yesterday. "Am I done? And is McKay free to go, too? I want to see him."

"He still has several tests to complete. He wasn't as…cooperative as you were."

"I want to see him." John glanced around, trying to get an idea of where they might have taken Rodney. He hated being stuck in this maze-like complex where every hallway looked alike.

"I'm sorry, Colonel, but that is not possible right now. He'll join you in your de-briefing as soon as he's finished here." The Marine in the room straightened, eyeing John carefully, but making it clearly evident that they weren't above using force.

John couldn't stop the slight snarl he made, noting with grim satisfaction the flicker of unease in Lam's eyes. "I was only 'cooperative' because I know damn well if I wasn't I would be thrown in fucking prison, doctor. I'm not allowed to disobey orders, but kindly remember McKay is a civilian. You're lucky he let you touch him. He's my team member and my responsibility. I think I've been pretty damn accommodating so far, but this is one thing I'm not going to just let go. I'm not leaving until I see McKay and see for myself that he's still in one piece. Because frankly, we've been treated better as POWs, and I don't care if you're under orders or not. I want to see my teammate."

Lam held John's eyes, not backing down. "Doctor McKay signed a contract and agreed to abide by it. He understood he would be subject to any measure of tests and evaluations at the behest of the IOA or SGC."

"I don't really care. I'm not leaving here until I see him."

She finally glanced away, looking at her watch. "He should still be in the MRI room and until the tests are completed you won't be able to."

John was off the cot and headed that way—or what he hoped was that way—before she could stop him. He heard someone talking into a radio behind him, but he ignored it, managing to find Rodney quickly. He snarled again at the restraints they had on his lover, holding him still. John just barely restrained from throwing a punch at the terrified technician who jumped out of his way. "Rodney? Hey, buddy, you okay?" His glare to the scurrying staff was completely at odds with the tone he directed at his lover.

But Rodney was silent, the MRI machine working away.

"Sir," the technician said, stepping closer, putting his hand over the microphone that was connected directly with the scanning room. "He's listening to music. It was the only way to get him calm enough for the scan. He'll be out in less than five minutes. None of us want to have to start again."

John clenched his fists, but nodded. "I'll wait."

The technician nodded, settling back down at the computer console, his eyes on the screen as the machine continued its scan. From the numerical coding, it looked like this was scan three—of this test.

John didn't know how long he had before someone came to get him—or arrest him for real—so he leaned against the wall, watching Rodney, eyes sweeping his lover's body. What he could see of it anyway. Now that he wasn't seeing red, he could see the restraints weren't actually tight. They were probably just there as reminders not to move, rather than actually keeping him secured to the bed. The other man's frame was tense, but John didn't see any signs of major distress. That was something at least. He would feel better after he could talk to Rodney.

As the tech has promised, less than five minutes later and a nurse was entering the scanning room, easing the bed out of the small tube. Rodney's eyes were closed tightly, a small pair of headphones in his ears. Her touch was light and Rodney turned toward her, opening his eyes as she removed the headphones and restraints. They were talking quietly as he helped ease him upright, his body trembling slightly. She pointed toward the control room and Rodney turned immediately, eyes narrowing.

John knew he was being examined as closely as he was examining Rodney—and he had to conclude that neither of them looked great. They had both had a pretty shitty day and night, but at least Rodney was in one piece and looked sane. Anger he could deal with. The hopelessness... John wasn't sure he could do that again.

"Sir," the tech said quietly, grabbing John's attention.

From the narrow gaze Rodney was giving him, John had a feeling he was going to get yelled at later. With a quiet sigh, he turned. "Yes?"

"I can give you five minutes, but then we have to take him down the hall."

"Thank you. How many more tests does he have?"

"Two more and then a psych evaluation."

John flinched a little. His own psyche eval was all he had left to complete, and after this little stunt... It was official, the SGC sucked. With a nod, John moved into the room with the MRI machine. "Hey, buddy."

Rodney's eyes were glued to him, his face paler than John would have liked. "Hey," he said, his voice rough.

Aware that they were being watched, John couldn't pull his lover into his arms like he really wanted to. But he did hop up on the bed and bump their shoulders together. "So, as a welcome back to Earth party, I rate this as a one. I'm not very impressed with the decorations, and alcohol would have been nice."

Rodney bent his head and laughed, the sound edging on desperate. "I just need this to be done," he said quietly.

"Yeah." John swallowed hard. "Soon. They said you have two more tests, and then the psych eval. I don't think there are any more MRIs left though. So that's something, at least."

"Yeah. Yesterday's didn't go so well."

"Since I'm guessing they did the same tests on you as they did on me...Yeah." John sighed, bumping their shoulders again. "I'm thinking comfort food for dinner tonight. We'll stop and pick it up on the way to your apartment. There may need to be chocolate involved for dessert."

"And alcohol," Rodney said quietly.

"I think there was still some left from the last time we were here." John looked up to see Lam and the hard-faced Marine trying to drill holes in his head with their eyes. "I think my time is up, buddy. Hang in there. It's almost over, okay?" He just hoped they would cut him some slack. A court martial wasn't really in his plans for this week.

Rodney snorted. "Not much choice."

John patted his lover on the leg, wishing he could do more. From the slight look of gratitude Rodney threw him, he knew his lover had taken it as it was meant—as comfort and a promise for later. Sliding off the bed, John sighed and moved back over to Lam. On the plus side, he wasn't so angry he couldn't think anymore. On the downside, he was now so fucking exhausted he couldn't think.

Lam gestured to the Marine beside her and a moment later John had a mug of coffee in his hand. "The General's waiting for you, Colonel."

Wincing, John sipped at the bitter brew, throwing her and the Marine a brief look of gratitude. "No psych eval?"

"No, sir. Wasn't required."

Huh. John closed his eyes for a moment, gathering up his reserves. He had to be Colonel Sheppard if he was going to get through this briefing. With any luck, today's briefing would be short. "All right, take me to your leader."

Lam rolled her eyes, but gestured for John to walk next to her, the Marine following behind. "If it's any consolation, I'm sorry."

He sighed. "I know, and I am sorry. This just took me by surprise, and being... examined... that completely isn't pleasant on a good day. I still feel like a prisoner, but that's not your fault."

"I understand."

"Thanks for the coffee."

"I thought you could use it."

Since he had almost drained the cup, he finished it off and handed it back. "More than a little." With another nod, he left her at the door to the infirmary ward and followed his escort through the winding halls. When he arrived in the briefing room, he noticed SG-1 was there, and collectively winced at his appearance.

Mitchell and Carter offered him an apologetic smile, while Jackson simply rolled his eyes and looked at Landry. "Was this really necessary?"

John glanced at the general, who was also taking in the fact that while he had been given new clothes, John hadn't been allowed to shower or shave since he got here. And he was pretty sure the circles under his eyes would clue them in as to how much sleep he got last night. Curious as to the general's answer, he gave the other man a half-hearted salute and dropped into a chair without waiting to be given permission. Without the cold fury, he was really tired now.

"It was out of my hands," Landry said simply. "We'll try to keep this brief, Colonel."

John nodded, and was about a heartbeat away from kissing Jackson when the scientist's huge travel mug of the good coffee was pushed across the table. "I'm sorry to say I don't know how coherent I'm going to be today. I'll do my best to answer any questions you have, though."

Landry nodded and then proceeded to grill him about everything that had happened over the course of the last few months. Four hours later—and several more cups of coffee—and John was just about done.

He had to pause and rethink his last statement when he got quite a few concerned looks his way. Replaying it, he realized he had started slurring more words than not. He shook himself slightly. "Sorry, sir. What was the question again?"

Landry narrowed his eyes and turned to Carter. "Can you see what's been keeping our good Doctor? Also, check on the status of their ride."

He managed to track her moving out, swallowing another few huge sips of coffee, finishing off the latest cup. It was keeping him conscious at least. He was pretty sure he was hungry, but that concern had been set aside in favor of just staying awake for now. "Right, the space pirates. I was briefing you on their organization—"

"It can wait," Landry said instead, cutting him off.

"Sure. But with all due respect sir, unless you keep me talking, I'm going to just pass out on your nice table here." He glanced over at Mitchell, who was directly next to him. "They took a lot of blood. And I'm pretty sure refusing breakfast was a bad idea, but I was kind of pissed off at the time."

Mitchell rolled his eyes. "And they call me the dumb one." He turned to Landry. "Can we pick this up in the morning before they meet with the IOA, sir?"

John was fairly sure he had just been insulted, but he decided he really didn't care if it got him out of here. Now he just had to find Rodney...

A few blurry minutes later and there was a turkey sandwich in front of him and Mitchell gave him orders to "eat". Carter had yet to return.

Working on autopilot, John pulled off small bites, eating slowly. By the time he had gotten most of it down, he was feeling a little better. Still more than a little out of it—the copious amounts of caffeine probably hadn't been a good idea on top of everything else. He was at least able to get his brain semi-online. "McKay all right?"

He got a shrug from Mitchell. "Haven't heard from Carter yet."

John tried to shake off the thick wool over his brain. "I need to get to him. He was having a hard time this morning. I need to make sure he's okay."

"We're trying to get your ride home lined up right now. You're done for the day, so let him come to you."

Home... god that was where the bed was, and it was sounding better and better. But... "If he's having a panic attack, I can help."

"I'm sure you can, but we've got it. Just…relax."

He snorted. "If I relax, I'll be unconscious."

"Maybe," Mitchell conceded with a nod. Carter entered a minute later and it was only then that John realized Landry and Jackson were no longer in the room.

He hated being so out if it that he hadn't even noticed them leaving, But that wasn't important right now. "McKay?"

"Doctor Lam is bringing him topside in a few minutes. Think you're ready to go home?" she asked, looking at John.

"God, yes. What time do I report in the morning?" John stood slowly. The room spun a little, but he knew it was a lot less than it would have been if he hadn't eaten anything.

"0900," Carter replied. "Daniel's going to follow the pool car and help get you settled and make sure you have everything you need for the next few nights."

He blinked a few times until there was just one of her. "Oh. Okay. I have no idea what's at the apartment. Alcohol. I remember we left some of that."

Carter made a strange face as he walked with him to the elevator. "Yeah, that might not be what you actually need, Sheppard."

"Probably not." He tried for a smirk. "Right now, I just want another sandwich and my bed, to be honest with you. Do you at least know if that was all the torture, or will there be more surprises later?"

"On the medical front, I think you're done. As for the IOA…" she let her voice trail off as they stepped into the elevator, the doors closing a few seconds later. She hit the button for the top floor. They'd have to transfer elevators to get to the surface, but they were halfway there.

"Any ideas why they seem to be on a witch hunt? I can understand being a little paranoid after Caldwell, but Atlantis is pretty isolated. We only have the people the SGC clears to send."

"Right now it doesn't matter," she said with a sigh. "We've had some incidents here, small things, but it has everyone on edge." They switched to the second elevator, their last leg until they got to the surface.

He sighed. "Right. So for whatever reason McKay and I get to bear the brunt of it. Lovely. Are we at least still going to get our leave time? Because to be perfectly honest with you, Colonel, the last six months have been pretty hellish. We're both badly in need of some down time."

"Yes. None of that has changed as far as I know," Carter said with a smile. "And from what I read, you certainly can use it."

He nodded. "As much as I love my city, I envy you guys sometimes. When you go home, you get to shut down for the day and have a life outside of being a military officer. It'll be nice to not be Colonel Sheppard for a few days."

Carter smiled and nodded, ushering him out of the elevator and through the last check-point. John could already see the outside light. "I'm not sure I could live here all the time. There's always something to do."

"Exactly." He sighed. He was still feeling a little wobbly, although at least he wasn't seeing double anymore. As they reached the surface, he started looking around for Rodney.

"Your car should be…" Carter started only to break off when she spotted an idling dark Town Car. "Here you are and," she said, ducking briefly, before turning to John with a smile. "I think McKay's already asleep in the back seat."

John managed a small chuckle. "Since we're being driven home, someone sending a car for us tomorrow?"

"Yes. Daniel has all that information for you. He'll be following you home to make sure you're settled and to do any grocery store runs if you need anything."

This time he did smile, and actually managed to salute without killing himself. "Thanks. I'll see you tomorrow then, Colonel."

Carter smiled. "We drew straws and Daniel won. I think he might be expecting a meal before you head home."

Laughing, John let her lead him to the car. "Nice to know babysitting us was the winning draw and not the losing."

"Well with the possibility of food," she said, opening the rear passenger door for him. And she'd been right. Rodney was out cold, his face pressed to the glass on the other side.

"Of course. It's the least I can do." John climbed in, just barely restraining himself from crawling all the way over and snuggling up against Rodney's body. "Once I can think straight again, we'll plan something. Thanks again."

"You're welcome," she said, glancing behind the car. "And it looks like Daniel's set and ready to go. Get some rest and we'll see you tomorrow morning."

She closed the door, and John slumped down. Temptation was too great—and it could be passed off as just being comfortable with each other—so John swung around and laid across the back seat, his head on Rodney's leg. Yes, much more comfortable than leaning against the window.

He didn't realize he had fallen asleep until someone was shaking him awake.

Daniel was hovering at his door, hand resting on John's shoulder. "It'll be more comfortable inside."

"Nnng." John sat up, blinking, the fog around his brain not giving up so easily. He did shake his lover gently though. "R'ney? Le's go to bed. Be more comfy."

His lover sniffed, but didn't wake.

"Come on. Let's get you inside and then we can come back for him," Daniel suggested. "The Airmen already brought in your bags and left them in the living room. I actually sent him to the store in my car for some of the basics—eggs, milk, bread, coffee."

"Coffee?" John latched on to the most important of that list. He gave Rodney another shake, but when his lover still didn't move, he wasn't coherent enough to resist Daniel taking his elbow and steering him inside. John blinked around the apartment blearily. It felt like forever and yesterday since he had last been here.

"Where do you want to go? Spare bedroom? Living room?"

He opened his mouth and then closed it again, just enough cells firing to prevent him from outing himself spectacularly. "Living room," he finally said. "I have to make sure Rodney is in and settled before I can rest."

Daniel nodded, helping John to the couch. "I'll be back in a few minutes. Let's see how cooperative McKay's gonna be."

John didn't sit back, knowing he was at the end of his resources. The intensive tests and stress of the last twenty-four hours had wiped out what little reserves he had. As it was, he cringed knowing he had done even part of a briefing in this condition. Oh well, tomorrow was soon enough to worry about that. He was just grateful when, a few minutes later, Rodney came stumbling in with Daniel's help. "Hey, buddy."

It was Daniel who replied. "He's not very…coherent," he said, already steering Rodney toward the master bedroom and the very big and obvious fetish bed.

John pushed himself up, wobbling, but not falling over, and moved to Rodney's side. He was grateful, in a way, that it was Jackson helping them. As the civilian on a first-contact team, John was pretty sure he had received his fair share of coddling from his teammates. It wouldn't cover every move John made, but he hoped that, along with his own exhaustion, any slips would be shrugged off. "I can get him settled if you want. I need to make sure he's okay anyway."

"No trouble," Daniel said, waving him off. "The Airman has my car anyway so you're stuck with me until he gets back."

John sighed, trailing along behind them. He saw Daniel's eyebrows go up when he saw the bed, but John did his best to pretend he didn't know what the bed was for. Instead he went for the "bed, what bed? What really big bondage bed are you talking about?" level of ignorance. Once his lover was sitting on the edge of the big bed, John knelt down to start pulling off his lover's shoes so he could at least be a little comfortable.

"How long?" The question was quiet, thoughtful.

"What?" John got the second one off and stood, using the bed to keep from falling back on his ass.

"I know what it's like when you worry about every touch or look or word."

Jerking, John looked at him with wide eyes, too out of it to hide his reactions well. "W…what do you mean?"

Daniel's eyes were clear, even, non-judgmental. "You know what I'm talking about."

Fear spiked through him, clearing his head. John swallowed hard. "I..."

"I'm not going to say anything," Daniel said with a quiet sigh. "I’m in no position to talk, to make any kind of judgments."

Blinking a few times, John connected those dots. "Wait... you're...?" He did a rapid run through of what he knew of the Stargate program. Holy shit... "O'Neill?" It came out before he had time to stop it, and winced at his own complete and utter lack of tact. "You don't have to answer that."

Daniel had turned a light pink. "It's hard to be…discreet at times and right now the distance makes things even harder."

He had guessed right? John blinked a few more times, then glanced back at Rodney. Wow. "About a year and a half now."

The archeologist nodded. "That's what I thought."

Licking his lips, John couldn't bring himself to look back over, instead watching Rodney. "We that obvious?"

His lover was only upright thanks to the support of the corner bedpost. "No," Daniel said, shifting closer to the bed. "I've been told I'm observant."

Glancing over, John smiled a little shyly. "So…not a problem then? I like my job. I really don't want to lose it."

"I’m not going to say anything and others won't either. Not like some of us can throw the first stone."

Since Daniel knew anyway, John gave up and sat down next to Rodney, shifting to wrap an arm around him when his lover sort of leaned, falling against his side. "How long have you and O'Neill...?"

"It's been…on and off for eight years or so." He shrugged. "It's been rocky but fulfilling in its own unique way."

"Wow." John shook his head. Eight years... "It's... harder, doing what we do, and having this, and having to hide it. Some day when I'm not three steps from passing out again, if you're okay with it, I'd love to talk. I think you're probably the only person in existence who actually knows what it's like to try and do this, have this, and be teammates and colleagues at the same time."

Daniel offered a quiet smile. "Sure. I'm not sure how much detail I can go into, but…" He nodded. "I'll answer whatever I can."

John snorted softly, which turned into a smile when the movement made Rodney snuggle in a little and mutter at him. "I don't really want the dirty details. More... I'm not a civilian, and I think the scientists who go off-world, who put themselves in these situations because they want to... it's the bravest thing I've ever seen. And the hardest since I... care, a lot... about getting him home safe. I'd be interested to hear if you had found anything really helpful, or if it was too stifling. It won't be exactly the same as us, but..."

"But it helps to know, to hear about it from someone else." Daniel nodded. "I understand. And you look exhausted. Why don't you get yourself into bed? I'll wait for the Airman and then head out. I'll swing back in the morning around 0800 to pick you up. All of your paperwork is on the kitchen table and I think I saw a fat envelope from a travel agent. That might be your vacation stuff."

John wanted so badly to just curl up and go to sleep with Rodney pulled close, but he hesitated, feeling bad about leaving Daniel like that...

Daniel must have read his mind. "He shouldn’t be that much longer. I'll be out of your hair soon."

"Thanks." As the adrenaline rush faded, John found himself fading right along with it. The next thing he knew, gentle hands were pushing him back, urging him on to the bed. He pried open his eyes—when had he closed them?—to see a very amused Daniel. "Wha…?"

"Go to sleep. I'll lock the door behind me."

"'Kay." John finally gave in, managing to at least crawl to the middle of the bed. With Daniel's help they got Rodney up too, and before he knew it, John was curled around his lover, and he finally gave in completely to sleep.

When John woke next, the sun was low in the sky, the day mostly gone. The bedside clock blinked reassuringly at him, clicking over to the next minute.

4:02

His stomach gave a very loud protesting rumble. Sitting up, he scrubbed at his face. He felt grimy and still tired, but he also knew it would be better to get up for a bit and move around, then go back to bed early tonight. He looked down at his lover, still sleeping. John poked him in the arm gently a few times. "Hey, Rodney? If you can wake up, you probably need to eat."

Rodney snuffled into the pillow, burrowing in deeper.

Chuckling, John left him to sleep a little longer, padding out into the living room to see what Daniel and the Airman who had driven them here had left.

A few items of mail were on the kitchen table, including the really large envelope from a travel agent. The rest of the mail was in several bins next to the desk in the living room. A few packages, but mostly letters and magazines.

The fridge held a few things—mostly basics. He could make an omelet and toast and coffee. There was some pasta in the pantry along with a few other odds and ends.

What surprised him most was the pill bottle on the kitchen table next to the mail with Rodney's name on it. Prescribed by Doctor Lam. Diazepam.

He raised an eyebrow at it, resolved to ask his lover as soon as the other man was awake. In the meantime, John started a 'breakfast for dinner' meal for them both, opening the package from the travel agent first, curious as to what Peter had ended up booking them.

Two tickets were on top—first class to Hawaii. John's first thought was "holy hell, Hawaii," which was quickly followed by "surfing!"

He stared at them for a good long time—and if he bounced on his toes a little grinning from ear to ear, there was no one there to see him—before reluctantly setting them aside to see what else was in the pack.

There was a lot of paperwork and brochures and just…stuff. There were two shipping notices as well. FedEx receipts for packages to be held for guest check in. What the hell had they sent?

He flipped through a few more pages before finally finding their hotel reservations on Lanai Island—the most private and uncrowded of all the Hawaiian islands. The resort was exclusive and fully fetish. Besides the main hotel there were several "bungalows" spread out on the grounds. From the description in the brochure they sounded more like small homes than a bungalow.

And from the looks of the reservation, they'd been booked into one of them.

Holy hell.

Sun, sand, surfing, and bondage. John was pretty sure life just didn't get better than that. He wanted to go right now. Still bouncing a little, he gathered up the whole collection of stuff and went back into the bedroom. He dumped it on the bed, and crawled up to shake Rodney again, grinning like mad. "Hey, you have to get up and see this. It's our vacation stuff."

"Mmm?"

John bounced the bed a little. "C'mon. I wanna show you this. We're going to Hawaii!"

Rodney shifted on the bed, lifting a heavy eyelid at John. "What?"

Remembering the little bottle, John tried to tone it down. He straddled Rodney's legs and smiled. "Our vacation stuff is here. We're booked in a bungalow at a bondage resort in Hawaii, right on the beach."

It took a few seconds before John's words registered. Rodney opened his eyes a little wider and smiled up at John. "That's good."

John couldn't help it, he grinned again, and bounced, gently since he didn't want to hurt Rodney. "It's like the perfect vacation. You. Bondage. Sex. Surfing."

"Lots of sunscreen."

John nodded. "Of course. And from the brochures," he grabbed it and handed it over, "it looks like there are very specially equipped loungers on the beach. So I can tie you down with the hood pulled up for shade, and you can watch me surf one day. I miss surfing so fucking much."

His lover paged through the brochure, his eyes flickering over the pages. "I wonder if they have supplies available on site. I don't know how much we can get through on the airplanes."

John pulled out another brochure, which detailed some of the equipment the bungalows were stocked with, handing it over. "Oh, and there are a few slips for FedEx packages shipped there and waiting for us—no idea what those are. And for anything else other than a few of our favorites, like the ring and your plug, they have some stores on-site."

Rodney glanced up, a slightly worried expression on his face. "FedEx?"

Shrugging, John picked up and waved the slips. "You know Peter and Harry. There's no telling."

"No kidding." Rodney let his arms fall back to the bed, brochures still in his hands. "So, we're home."

Setting aside the papers, John stretched out so he was blanketing his lover. "Yeah. Yesterday and this morning really sucked. Daniel helped us get home, and will be by in the morning to pick us up, since neither of us was fit to drive." He caressed Rodney's cheek. "How are you doing?"

"Little…fuzzy," he said after a moment's thought. "Happy to be here even though I don't remember how that happened exactly."

"You were pretty out of it." John smiled softly. "I saw the bottle of valium on the counter. I'm going to guess Lam made you take one?"

"More than one. It was the only way to get me under the scanner."

"That bad, huh?" John kissed his nose. "How about now? Feeling better?"

"Really relaxed," Rodney said with a slightly drugged smile.

Chuckling, John had to kiss him for real, letting his tongue slip inside briefly. "I don't think you need to take any more of them. The worst should be over. As for now, I've got breakfast on. Oh shit! Breakfast!" John was up and back into the kitchen as he realized he had left eggs in the pan cooking.

They weren't entirely black, but were heading in that direction when he pulled the pan off the stove, dumping the ruined eggs in the sink.

"Well, shit." He sighed, cleaning out the pan. He called back into the bedroom as he cleaned. "I'm going to have to start all over again, Rodney, so if you want to come out here, it's probably better if I don't walk away and get sidetracked again."

He got an indistinct reply as he turned back to the stove and breakfast. A few minutes later, he heard shuffling feet and spotted a now-naked Rodney ambling out of the bedroom. He was rubbing his upper arms as he headed for the thermostat, shifting it a little higher.

Grinning, John was amused that his lover had taken the first available opportunity to strip. He could still remember Rodney's reluctance to be naked in the apartment at first. Now, if it was just them, the clothes came off pretty much immediately. "Another nice thing about Hawaii—it's warm enough there that you being naked for pretty much our entire vacation won't be an issue."

"I just worry about burning. I have fair skin," Rodney said, stepping close to John, wrapping his arms around his waist from behind. "And I don't like feeling this naked. No rings, no collar…"

Turning his head, John brushed their lips together. "I won't let you burn, I promise. I have plans for your body, and they don't include not being able to touch you. As for the rest... We're done with the physicals, I think, but I don't want to assume anything. We can probably get away with your collar at least, and while we're here the cock ring. If you want to go dig them out of our bags, I'll put them on you."

"I'll be back," Rodney said, already heading back to the bedroom before John's last word faded.

Grinning, John returned to the eggs, making sure he didn't burn them again this time. He had gone for easier this time, just frying up a few over easy, and plated them over toast. By the time he turned around, it was to see Rodney was back as well.

His lover had a shy expression on his face as he held out the collar, nipple rings, and cock ring.

It almost took his breath away, the surge of love and affection he had for this man. Setting down the plates, John pulled Rodney into his arms, kissing him deeply. "Love you so much."

Rodney kissed him back warmly, lazily, arms wrapping around to tug John closer.

They stayed like that for several minutes, making out and touching each other all over. Finally, though, John pulled back. "Lemme get you accessorized, and then we can eat before this gets cold."

"Eating would be good…as would other things," Rodney said with a smile.

"Oh, never fear, other things are most definitely on the agenda. I don't know about you, but I'm getting a little desperate for a shower. So shower sex!"

"Mmm…smelled worse."

"True, but I'm itchy and I really want to shave." John scrubbed at his beard—and it was a fledgling beard now.

"Smell like you."

"You like me unwashed?" John grinned as he finished attaching the items Rodney had brought.

Rodney rolled his eyes. "It just…smells more like you and I like how you smell. Not that you have a horrible odor or anything…"

John leaned in, inhaling against Rodney's stomach. "I get it. I feel the same way about you. When you get all sweaty and dirty, it's really hot. I have to work at not jumping you every five feet when you run with me."

"Well, it's hard to do that when we're moving."

Nuzzling, John flicked his tongue out to taste a bit, humming softly. It was an act of will to pull away again. "Food. Eggs are kind of gross if you let them get cold, and I've already thrown enough away today. I'm not making it a third time."

Rodney chuckled. "Okay. Where do you want me?"

John held up a finger, darting to the living room and returning with a cushion off the couch. He put it on the floor next to his chair, sitting down.

With a smile, Rodney lowered himself onto the cushion, clasping his hands behind his back. When he tilted his head and looked up at John through his eyelashes, John had to pause for a long moment, fighting the urge to jump his lover right there.

"You have no idea how beautiful you are, do you?" He had to reach out, touching, cupping Rodney's face in his hand. He didn't try to hide anything, letting Rodney see it all in his face, in his eyes.

Rodney turned his head, placing a kiss in the center of John's palm, leaning into his touch.

John made a soft noise, unable to put into words how full of emotion he was. He scooted his chair so Rodney could lean against him, needing the connection with his sub. Swallowing hard, John got a small forkful of food and held it out.

With an even gaze, Rodney held John's eyes, taking the fork-full from him.

They were both quiet, neither of them breaking the eye contact as John fed them both. The silence was warm, comfortable, wrapping around them both and dropping them each into their own headspace.

When John cleaned the plate off, he leaned down and captured Rodney's mouth in a deep kiss, his lover giving and taking in return.

When they broke for air, they were both panting a little. "Go start the shower, and make sure there's lube in there. I'll do the dishes and be right there. I need to be inside you, soon."

"Yes, sir," Rodney replied, pressing one last kiss to John's lips before rising to his feet, heading into the master bedroom.

John had to press hard against his groin to get some control, before quickly scrubbing the dishes and following his lover back. He heard the shower going, but Rodney wasn't in the main bedroom, so John started stripping.

Once he was naked, he headed into the bathroom finding his lover kneeling in the middle of the room, head bowed and waiting for him.

John took a few deep breaths before stepping forward. He pulled Rodney up, and they stepped into the shower together. He had to smile when he found the shower-cuff set they had bought to keep on Earth already waiting for him. Taking advantage, he locked them into place and then secured Rodney to the wall, hands high above his head, legs spread wide. John started with his back to the wall, so he could kiss and play, and then he would turn his lover and join them together after he washed the back side.

Rodney was so relaxed and pliable, making quiet, contented noises as John washed him, touched him.

Using his hands, the washcloth, and his mouth, John covered every inch of Rodney's body. Before he turned his lover, he kissed the weeping tip of the erection standing proud for him.

This was so perfect, so right. It was slow and sensual, giving them the time to simply connect.

When Rodney was re-secured to the wall with his ass out. John took his time. He washed and kissed and licked every square inch of his lover's back, before pushing his tongue as deep as he could inside him.

Rodney shuddered as soon as John's tongue pushed in deep, a quiet sobbing, moan his only verbal reply.

He rimmed until his tongue and jaw were aching. Grabbing the small tube of lube from nearby, John finally pushed a single finger inside Rodney's body. His lover didn't need a lot of prep these days, but John was in no hurry. He rested his head on the curve of those luscious cheeks, watching his own finger slowly disappear and reappear.

It took a few minutes before John heard the first break in his lover's voice, the first whimper, the first pleading sob.

Taking pity on him, John pushed a second finger in along with the first, still moving slowly, making sure he brushed against Rodney's prostate as much as possible.

"Please…" he whimpered, trembling and shuddering under John's hands.

"Shh. Just want to touch you for a while. So beautiful..."

Rodney quieted, letting John continue. He was breathing heavily, moaning with each exhale, letting himself get lost in the sensations.

Eventually, John pushed a third finger in, and then, because he could, a fourth.

His lover's channel was tight around his fingers at first, but slowly loosened as John worked him carefully. Maybe on vacation he'd fist him, put his whole hand inside. He could work Rodney up to it, stretching him wider with each successive day.

Curious, he brought it up, talking slowly as he finger-fucked his lover higher and higher. "Remember when I stretched you really far? What do you think about me fisting you? We could go slow, so it would be on the last day of vacation. That way you wouldn't be too sore early on for everything else I want to do to you."

"Not…not last…" Rodney finally whispered. "Sore…plane…"

Humming, John nodded without lifting his head. "You'd feel it the whole way home, and remember it, remember what it felt like to have me inside you like that."

"Want you."

"Soon."

"John…"

John nipped at the flesh he was nuzzling.

Rodney whimpered and John felt a tremor roll through Rodney's body.

Pulling his fingers free, John finally stood up. Because he had worked Rodney so loose, he was able to just glide right in, making them both whimper.

His lover sobbed a few more times, tugging at the restraints holding his arms above his head.

But John wanted slow. His balls were aching with the need to come, but he wasn't ready yet. He wanted this connection, and he wasn't ready to end it yet. So instead of fucking, he just pushed close, nuzzling Rodney's neck and pressing little kisses to wet skin.

John could feel his lover trembling; feel each and every shift of his muscles. Rodney was panting heavily, moaning with every breath, eyes closed tightly together.

"Just a few days of briefings," John whispered softly. "We can get through them, and then it's just you and me and the beach. No worries, no stress, no hurrying. I'll take you so slow and sweet, until we're both sobbing for release. By the end of the week, you'll be a puddle of pleasure."

"Please," Rodney begged.

John licked a few drops of water off Rodney's skin. "Not yet. I want to stay just like this, part of you, inside you."

"Vacation…please…"

"Soon. I want you to think of this when we're in briefings. Think about how I feel inside you, what we'll be doing in just a few days. Let it get you through, keep you calm when they try to provoke us. Because they don't matter. This is all that matters." John thrust his hips a little, then stilled again.

Rodney's breath caught in his throat and he groaned, nodding. "Yes."

With a little possessive growl, John nipped, and finally started to move, slowly, pulling almost all the way out before pushing completely back in.

The moans and groans that he pulled out of Rodney were perfect, beautiful.

His lover was incoherent with need by the time John finally started to speed up. He loosened the Ancient cock ring just enough so Rodney would be able to find release. "You can come when I do."

John got the barest nod in response as Rodney bore down, squeezing John's cock.

They were both too close to the edge to last much longer. A few more thrusts and John came with a deep growl, biting down hard on Rodney's shoulder.

His lover shuddered hard and came, his body stiffening momentarily before the orgasm rolled through him.

John stayed plastered against Rodney's back as they both shivered through the aftershocks. He didn't want to pull out, wanted to stay inside Rodney forever. Finally, though, he knew they were both getting a little pruney. He pulled out with a hiss, grabbing the washcloth to clean away the traces of their love before turning off the water, releasing Rodney and leading him out to be toweled dry.

His lover was so pliant and subdued, shifting when John moved him, barely holding his own body upright.

John led him back to the bed, pushing him down into it and crawling in close. He just wanted to hold Rodney right now, feel their hearts beating together.

"Sleep?"

"If you can stay awake for a little while, it'll be better. We slept most of the day, and I don't want us to get too turned around."

"Comfy."

"Me, too." John rubbed his nose into Rodney's neck.

Rodney purred pushing back against John, folding his hands over John's which were lying against his stomach.

There wasn't much space between them, but John tried to get them closer anyway, tightening his arms a little and pushing his leg between Rodney's to twine their ankles together. He didn't know how long they stayed like that, breathing in unison.

"Love you," Rodney whispered.

"Love you, too," John breathed it, pressing his lips to the bite mark from earlier.

"I want…want to just go away…get away from all of this."

"I know. We're almost there. We just have to get through a few days of answering questions, and then we're home free. To Hawaii and the beach and submission and sex."

"They used my sessions with Kate…threatened to keep me here."

John wanted to hurt whoever had said that. "I won't let them."

He felt Rodney shiver. "I…they touched me, John. They know I…know I've been taken…"

John's arms tightened again. "I figured they would. They did the same to me. I'm so sorry. If I had known that was coming..."

"They were convinced I'd been raped."

"What?" John sat up a little, turning Rodney so he could see him. "Why? Christ, I'm so sorry."

"They wouldn't believe me," Rodney said quietly, his eyes wide. "They wouldn't listen when I told them that it wasn't their business on how I spent my spare time."

John hugged his lover, pulling him close again. "Are they going to push it? You're a civilian and Canadian. It really isn't any of their business how or with who you choose to be with."

"I had to go through two psych evaluations. Please tell me they're done."

John sighed. "I don't know. I thought we were both done with that end of things, but... We'll get through it, okay? We have allies in the SGC."

Rodney huffed. "You mean besides the ones involved in the witch hunt?"

"Yeah." He kissed Rodney softly. "I know it's hard, but... we can't change it right now. All we can do is go in there, be on our toes, answer their questions, and get the hell out. So try not to let it worry you too much. I know that's asking a lot, but... I don't like seeing you upset over something we can't do anything about."

"They shouldn't have done it in the first place."

"I agree. I talked to Carter about it some. I guess Caldwell wasn't the only incident and now the IOA is overreacting, setting everyone on edge. It was just our really terrible luck that we walked into the middle of it."

"I knew they were paranoid, but that was…that was horrible."

He rolled them so he was pressing Rodney into the mattress. "What can I do to make it better?"

"Let's just go to the airport."

"If I didn't know it would result in me being hunted down and brought up on charges of desertion of post, I would."

"They wouldn't. They need you."

"Doesn't matter. I can't go AWOL without serious consequences." John smiled gently. "If I could, I would though."

"Time machine? Speed us through the next few days."

Chuckling, John kissed him. "It will be... well, not fine, but we'll get through it. We always do. And knowing what we have waiting for us when it's over will make it easier, if we let it."

"I'll be yours completely for ten days."

John hummed. "Exactly. It's all that matters. Just keep that in mind, and you'll do fine."

"You'll fuck me so much I'll be sore for days."

"And when you aren't getting actively fucked, you'll be plugged, caged, cuffed, restrained."

"Promise?"

Smiling a bit wider, since Rodney knew he took that word seriously, John nodded. "I promise. I'm going to take very, very good care of you."

And John got the unguarded, broad pleased smile that only he saw in rare moments. It took his breath away. "I have plans. So many plans for how many ways I'm going to make you fly."

"Only if I can make you fly, too."

"You will. I love feeling your hands on my body. I will want you to touch me, make me feel good, too."

"Want you aching and sore because you've come so much…"

John shivered a little at the idea. "Yes. God, yes..."

"Want you to feel so good, to do everything to me you've wanted…"

John had to lick his way into Rodney's mouth, moaning softly as he did. When they broke for air, he smiled down at his lover, his partner. "I think it's safe to say that by the end we're both going to be so pleasure-drunk, it will be hard to walk straight."

"I hope so." Rodney offered a shy smile.

"It's a worthy goal that we'll be shooting for."

"I hope I'll be having issues walking because you'd fucked me so much."

John hummed. "I snagged a tube of Carson's medicated cream before we left. So as long as I'm careful, and we use that to help counteract any soreness.... I want your ass to know exactly who it belongs to."

Rodney wrapped his arms a little tighter around John. "I think a little orgasm denial might be needed to make sure I understand…that I get the full picture."

Laughing, John nodded. "I think you may be right. And since we're going to be in a fetish resort, I'm going to take you out and show you off a little, too. You won't be going anywhere without me, and you'll be leashed if we're outside our bungalow. You'll be in much heavier gear that we usually use on a daily basis, so I can stop and play with you whenever, and however, I want."

"Even gagged and blindfolded?"

"Some of the time, yes. I like hearing you, and seeing your eyes, so not the whole time. But we will play with sensory deprivation."

"Okay," Rodney smiled, easily, sweetly until it morphed into a yawn. "Sorry."

Chuckling, John rolled off him. "S'okay. I'm right there with you, but we really need to try to stay up for a little while. At least until eight or nine tonight. Otherwise we'll get our hours completely turned around."

"It feels like I could sleep until next week."

"That's the valium still in your system. Unless you really, really think you need it, I don't want you taking any more. If Lam asks, we'll lie."

"The…they made me. I didn't want it, but I probably wasn't as…lucid or cooperative at the time."

"I know. It's not a big deal for one time, but I don't like how out of things it makes you. And you don't need it. You were just having an understandably rough day yesterday."

"They had just shoved things…" Rodney whispered, shuddering. "Carson's so much…gentler when he has to examine me. This was…it hurt."

John pulled his lover into his arms again, pressing soft kisses into skin. "I'm so sorry. I wish I could have done something to stop it, but I couldn't. When they were examining me I was hoping they were being... a little more considerate... with you, but..."

"No one should touch me there except you."

Tightening his grip, John tried to offer some comfort. "I know, buddy. If there was anything I could have done to stop it without landing myself in prison, I would have."

"Need a 'hands off' sign or 'do not enter' or something."

"We could get it tattooed across your ass. 'Property of John Sheppard. Do not touch.'"

"Mmm…maybe," Rodney said, shifting closer. "Think it would work?"

Chuckling, John shrugged. "Possibly, but I wouldn't want to mar those beautiful cheeks like that. If you wanted to get a permanent mark, I actually like the idea of matching tattoos, but I would want something that would compliment you."

"Mmm," Rodney said thoughtfully, not saying no. "If there was a plug or something all the time it would make it hard for other people to touch me inside there."

"You just want an excuse to always have your plug." John laughed softly, kissing Rodney's nose. "Not that I'm against that, mind you."

"It would make it difficult for someone to touch me there."

"We are just about to the end of your two-months without. I know you've missed it."

"Missed doesn't even begin to describe what I feel."

John hugged him closer. "I'm sorry. I hate having to punish you like that. But you know why I can't back down once we get to that point."

"Doesn't mean I like it."

"I know. I don't either." Trailing a hand down, John squeezed his lover's ass. "Tell you what; you've been very good the last few weeks. Better than just good, with everything you've had to deal with. And coming home started out surprisingly traumatic. You only had a few days left with no plug—given everything else, I'm willing to go ahead and let you have one again a little early. If you want to go get it, I'll let you wear it now, and to the SGC while we debrief this week, especially since I know it will make us both feel a lot more comfortable given the exams."

Rodney rocked closer, lips brushing John's. "Really?"

John smiled into the kiss. "Really. You've more than earned it."

"I've been good."

Kissing Rodney again, John smiled gently. "Go get your favorite—it's in my bag—and the lube."

"Can I…I need to use the bathroom first."

John nodded. "Go ahead and do what you need to. I'll be right here."

Rodney kissed him before crawling out of the bed and heading to the bathroom. It didn't take him long, but after the toilet flush John heard the water running, so his lover was probably cleaning himself up. A few moments later, he emerged and headed to John's duffel, rifling through and coming up with a mid-sized clear acrylic plug and the lube. He jumped up on the bed and gave John the items before shifting around again and offering his ass to John.

John took the time to caress, running his hand over each cheek, and all the way down the crack.

His lover hummed, letting his head hang down between his arms. "So good. Love when you touch me."

"I love touching you." John wasn't trying to tease, but he loved Rodney's ass. He leaned in, pressing multiple kisses to each pert cheek.

"Mmm…so good."

Slicking up a finger, John pressed it slowly inside Rodney. He didn't push in far, and he didn't try to hit his lover's prostate. But he knew how much Rodney loved being filled, and John wanted to erase the memories from yesterday. Replace them with this, with them.

After the shower sex, Rodney was still pretty loose, but he still moaned, shifting his knees to spread himself open wider.

John touched him, and kissed and licked and caressed. He resisted the urge to mark his lover—right now he wanted him thinking of pleasure, not pain—even pleasurable pain. Pulling his finger free, John slicked the plug and pushed it in slowly, until it was fully seated inside Rodney's body.

Rodney was purring and humming in pleasure and contentment, his cock red and hard and leaking.

John urged him to lie down on his back. Once Rodney was arranged on the bed, he started to lick and press light kisses all along his length, tasting the sweet flavor of McKay.

His lover was completely pliant and tense at the same time, letting his body react to the sensations John was providing. The noises were perfect—soft exhales and moans, all pleasure.

Since there was no rush after the shower sex orgasms, John took his time, drawing it out. He didn't even take Rodney completely into his mouth until his lover's hips had started making tiny, abortive thrusts. Smiling, John gave him what he was asking for—begging actually, profusely for—and started to blow him in earnest.

But first he made sure the ring was snug against Rodney's skin. There was no reason for him to accidentally come before John was ready—even if it was tomorrow.

John lost himself a little then, in the glide and slide of Rodney between his lips. Finally, though, his jaw was aching enough that he had to let the other man slip out. He licked and pressed kisses to the very tip.

Rodney whimpered as soon as John backed off, sliding up along his side. "Please…"

"Please what?" John pulled him back into his arms, holding his lover close again.

"Want to come…please."

He kissed Rodney's head, rubbing his nose in the soft hair a little. "No."

Rodney trembled in his arms. "Oh, god, John, please…"

He held him closer, but shook his head. "I don't think I'm going to let you come again tonight. Tomorrow I want you relaxed and focused on me and our upcoming vacation. The kind of relaxed you get when you're a little in headspace all day. It will help you get through the IOA shit as painlessly as possible."

He whimpered again, but didn't protest further.

John kissed him again softly. "Good boy. Very good. Just let yourself fall a little for me."

Rodney leaned into the kiss, wet and hungry.

He let his lover have down and dirty for a moment, and then took control, gentling it, slowly taking Rodney down yet another level, helping him slow his brain down and just relax.

It took a few minutes before Rodney finally stopped pushing for more, before he submitted, opening up for John.

Murmuring more praise between kisses, John reveled in the quiet time to just make out. They almost never just kissed for the sake of kissing. And he loved kissing. They should do this more often.

Threading his fingers through John's hair, Rodney pressed their mouth closer, letting John swallow his moan. He'd shifted his knee between John's legs, rocking up against him, cocks rubbing together.

The kisses ended almost naturally, both of them panting more than a little, just breathing each other's air. "Hey."

"Mmm," Rodney hummed, leaning in for another kiss.

John had to admit, he was hard, but so incredibly relaxed, he was starting to get sleepy. Yawning right in the middle of the kissing though—that he wasn't anticipating. It made him flush. "Sorry."

"It's fine," Rodney said, one of his hands drifting down to John's cock.

"If you get me off, I'll fall asleep." John didn't stop him though.

"And?" Rodney's hand gently touched the tip of his dick, finger dragging over the slit.

"Just warning you." John's voice was breathy as he spread his legs and arched slightly.

"I wanted to sleep before," he whispered, shifting on the bed, trailing kisses as he moved.

"It's late enough now that we can." John moaned a little as Rodney stopped to tease a nipple.

After spending a minute on first one, then the other, he shifted down again, his hands gentle as he turned John onto his back. Hovering over John's groin, he looked up at him through heavy lids. "Can I?"

John managed to nod, fisting his hands in the sheets to give Rodney free rein to play. "Whatever you want."

After a broad smile and a light kiss to the tip of John's dick, Rodney swallowed him down whole. John arched up, feeling his cock hit the back of his lover's throat.

Making a few incoherent noises, John closed his eyes, let his head tip back as far as it would go, and just let go, loving the way Rodney could make his whole body sing.

Suction and a few swallows brought John quickly to completion. Rodney swallowed down every last drop, milking him through his climax and then licked him clean. Then he settled down between John's legs and the end of the bed, his head on John's thigh, nose pressed into the crease of John's leg.

"Nng." John managed to thread his fingers through Rodney's hair, but otherwise, he was one big boneless puddle. His eyes slipped closed, and he felt himself sliding into sleep. "L've you."

Rodney shifted slightly and then John felt the blanket land on his stomach, covering his lover completely.

Smiling softly, John caressed Rodney's face a few times with his thumb, and then gave in to the pull of slumber.

***

Rodney woke up gradually, leisurely, surrounded completely in the warmth of the blankets and John. He hummed quietly, breathing in the scent of his lover, loving how it felt to be this close, this comfortable.

John's hand shifted in his hair, gently rubbing his scalp.

He felt, more than heard, John's rumble of a good morning.

Rodney shifted, trying to curl closer to his lover. He wanted to stay here, like this and forget about everything else.

John continued to pet him for a while, letting Rodney snuggle closer. Finally, though, the blankets were folded back enough for John to peek in. "Hi, there."

"Hi."

His lover smiled softly. "Comfy?"

Rodney nodded, closing his eyes and inhaling the musky scent of his lover.

John's body rumbled again, this time with a low chuckle. "We've got about an hour and a half before Jackson will be here to get us."

"Are you sure we can't stay here?"

John's nails dragged against his scalp, just enough sensation to send shivers down Rodney's spine. "I'm sure. Just a few days though, and then we'll be on vacation. God, am I looking forward to that."

"Hmm," he hummed in agreement, nuzzling the base of John's cock.

It was already half-hard, and quickly coming to attention, so to speak. "I'm going to give you a choice. You can blow me now, and spend the day with my taste in the back of your throat. We'll stay in bed like this until we absolutely have to get showered and dressed. However, if you choose that, you won't be allowed to come yourself. The alternate is that we get up now and get in the shower. If we do it that way, I'll fuck you and re-plug you, and you will be allowed to come. But it means we get up and get dressed now, and after the shower we have a light breakfast before Daniel gets here."

That was so unfair. He wanted both.

Opening an eye, Rodney looked up at John. "I…I can't choose. That's like choosing coffee or chocolate."

His lover smiled at him, the gentle, soft one that made Rodney's heart melt a little every time he saw it. "You have to choose. However, no matter which one you pick, I will have you tonight. I can't go that long without being inside you, not unless I have no other choice."

"Both?"

John shook his head. "No. You have to pick one or the other. It's a choice, but one I want you to make this morning. You need the little bit of headspace it will give you, as much as you need the physical connection."

"No, please don't make me."

John's fingers tightened imperceptibly in his hair although his expression was still soft. "You need this, Rodney. You can't have both. I know it's hard, but let yourself fall a little. Which one will get you to drop to the place where you can function, but you're relaxed, owned? I need you to choose because while I know you'll feel good either way, I don't know which one will help you the way I need it to the most."

Rodney closed his eyes again, feeling John's hands in his hair, letting it ground him. But he knew while this was perfect and wonderful, it wasn't going to do what John wanted. "For breakfast…before or after we get dressed?"

"If we go the shower and fuck route, I'll let you stay naked while I feed you. But you do have to choose soon, if we're going to have time for that. If we stay in bed, we'll just have time for a very quick shower, and you'll have to get dressed immediately after. And there probably won't be time for breakfast here, so you'll have to eat on your own at the SGC instead of being fed."

Opening his eyes, Rodney met John's gaze. "Shower."

Smiling, John sat up slowly, giving Rodney time to shift up as well. He pulled Rodney in for a brief kiss before sliding off the bed. "Good boy. Come with me."

Rodney followed John eagerly, already feeling his brain slowing down.

The water was started, and the shower cuffs secured to him, sending him even deeper. When the water was as hot as John wanted it, Rodney found himself led in and secured facing the wall with his hands high above his head, his legs spread as wide as they could go on the slippery tile. John's hands never left him, soft caresses and warm praise doled out in equal measure.

John's hands were sure and strong. Every touch sent him down and made him fly at the same time. Rodney took a breath and relaxed his body, making a concerted effort to let go.

"Very good." The cock ring started to buzz softly around his cock, and the plug was pulled free, quickly replaced with two of John's fingers.

He groaned, loving the feel of his lover, loving the touch—so intimate, so perfect. "So good," he whispered.

John found the special spot inside him, pressing hard against it. "In a minute it's going to be my dick inside you doing this. I'll take you long and slow, and when I start to get close, I'll speed up and fuck you so hard you'll feel it for the rest of the day."

"Oh, god, please…"

"You'll come so hard your vision will go white for a minute. And when you come to, the plug will be back in, holding me inside you. You'll walk around the SGC all day today knowing I'm with you, reminding you what we'll do tonight when we get home."

Rodney nodded, knowing exactly how that would feel, knowing that was what he wanted, what he needed.

"So good, Rodney..." John pressed kisses along the side of his neck, and then his fingers disappeared, to be replaced by the bigger, harder, hotter length of his cock.

"Yes…" he hissed, feeling John slide in.

True to his word, John started out slow, pulling almost all the way out, only to push back in a millimeter at a time.

He groaned, clenching his hands together into fists. This was perfect. This was what he needed.

John kept up that pace for what felt like forever, before his thrusts started to get a little faster, a little harder. "You're going to come, Rodney. Not now, but when you feel me claiming you, when the ring loosens, you're going to come."

Rodney nodded, moaning. "Need this."

John nipped at his collarbone, leaving a line of small marks where his shirt would cover it up. "I know exactly what you need."

"Yes. Yours…"

The sex got faster and rougher after that, until John was almost pounding into him. The deep groan and the sudden loosening of the cock ring, along with a rush of heat inside him, let Rodney know his lover was coming.

It only took one more thrust of John's cock deep inside him and Rodney felt his climax hit, pouring over him and through him. He groaned, his vision whiting out for a few seconds. He came to slumped against the wall as John pushed the acrylic plug into his ass, holding John's warm semen deep inside.

Humming softly, a wet, soapy washcloth started to caress Rodney's body, John's long fingers occasionally finding and working out a knot or two in the muscles.

Rodney felt so good, so loose, so pliant. He wished he could stay like this all day.

He went willingly when John turned him, cleaning his front half as carefully as his back, the cock ring tightening back down again against his skin. Finally, the water was turned off, and John unhooked him from the wall, pulling him close for a deep kiss.

Moaning into the kiss, Rodney opened up his mouth, touching his tongue to John's.

It was immediately sucked in and sucked on, John kissing him to within an inch of his life.

Rodney swore he could feel the kiss all the way to the soles of his feet. How did John know that this was what he needed, wanted?

His lover pulled back slowly, ending it with little nibbles to Rodney's lips. "I love you."

"Love you," Rodney whispered, lips brushing against John's. But there was one more thing he wanted…needed for this to last. "Chastity cage?"

John bit his bottom lip. "Let me think about it. I want to, but I don't know if the SGC will poke and prod again. After breakfast, I'll let you know what I decide."

"Yes, John."

That earned him another kiss. John dried them both off, pulling on a pair of boxers and BDUs, but leaving Rodney naked. In the kitchen, he cooked a quick breakfast and got them both fed, never letting Rodney get out of touch range.

It was…perfect. As he was kneeling next to his lover, one of John's hands was always touching him, grounding him. He could lean into the touch, feeling John's fingers stroking against his skin, his cheek, through his hair, along his neck. It felt so good, so right.

When breakfast was over, John tugged him up, leading him back to the bedroom. Rodney found himself sitting right on the edge of the bed, legs spread wide so John could fondle him.

He moaned, arching into John's touch, into his hand.

"I'm going to taste you. Come whenever you want—when you're soft again, I'll put the cage on you." John smiled gently as he sank to his knees.

If it weren't for the ring John hadn't loosened yet, Rodney swore he would have come right then, watching John kneel before him. He moaned even before his lover's mouth touched him.

With a dirty chuckle, John licked the head of Rodney's erection, then swallowed him down, humming softly as he sucked.

Rodney lost all muscle tone almost immediately, his body falling back against the bed covers, spreading his legs even wider for John. He was John's whore, spreading his legs for him and only him. This felt so good, so perfect.

John took him to the edge of pleasure, forcing him to stay there with the ring tight against his balls. Finally, the ring came off completely just as John sucked hard right at the head of Rodney's cock.

Rodney gave into the pleasure easily, letting it roll through him. His breath caught in his throat as his cock pulsed in John' mouth.

His lover kept sucking right until it was on the edge of painful, then pulled off slowly, licking Rodney clean. The cage was carefully fit around him next, cupping his cock against his body. Locked there with a zip-tie until John decided it would come off.

Rodney moaned in contentment, loving the feeling of the cage, of how it held him.

A long, lean body fitted itself along side him, one of John's hands coming to rest in the center of Rodney's chest. "Hey, there."

"So good, John…so good," he whispered, curling into his lover.

"And that was just a taste." John's arms circled him, holding him close. "Remember this when someone starts to piss you off or upset you. Remember that all we have to do is stay calm and answer their questions, and then we'll be free and you can have this all day, every day, for our entire vacation."

Rodney ducked his head into John's shoulder as his lover's hands drifted down to his ass, cupping the cheeks, fingers drifting into the crack, massaging gently.

John just held him like that, letting Rodney relax into him, before he finally sighed. "We need to get decent before Jackson gets here."

He didn't want to move, but knew he had to so he nodded, moving where John's hands adjusted his body.

It didn't take long before they were both dressed, in uniform, Rodney curled back in John's arms. "See, not so bad, right?"

"I have to come up," he said quietly.

"I know. But you don't have to come up all the way. Today will be easier if you can find a place where you can function without losing this feeling."

Rodney took a breath and nodded. "I know. I don't know if I can, though."

John nodded. "It's okay. Try for me, all right? And no matter what, we'll relax together tonight."

"I know. Looking forward to it," he said quietly, the chime of the doorbell cutting off whatever other thoughts he had.

John kissed his head. "That'll be Jackson. Take as long as you need, and join us when you're ready."

"Okay," he said with a nod, watching as John moved gracefully out of the bedroom, tugging the door closed behind him.

From the living room, he heard the muffled sound of voices.

He knew he had to get moving, knew there would be traffic on the way to the Mountain. He'd driven the route enough to know and there was a Starbucks on the way…

Shoving himself upright, Rodney took a breath, and dragged his brain back into gear. He would need to be on his toes in these briefings, but the feeling of the cage and the plug would remind him of John, of his promises.

When he stepped out of the bedroom, he found John and Daniel sitting in the kitchen, chatting quietly.

"Hey," he said, leaning against the door frame. "Sorry about the delay. Are you ready to go?"

John's smile was warm. "Hey, not a problem."

"I was thinking about making a stop at Starbucks on the way. It's a drive-thru."

Daniel perked right up, and John chuckled. "I think that can be arranged. I could do with something bracing myself. I still can't believe I briefed Landry while I was so out of it yesterday..."

Rodney let the conversation flow over him as they moved out of the apartment and into Daniel's car. The drive to the Mountain—with a quick stop for coffee—went faster than Rodney anticipated. Oddly enough he was impressed with John's ability to keep up with Jackson's conversation.

"What do you think, Rodney?" John turned in his seat, looking back.

His gaze snapped up away from his coffee. "Sorry…what?"

Both men in the front seat chuckled. "You weren't really listening, were you?"

"Ah, no. Just…thinking." Or not-thinking as the case may be.

John reached back to squeeze his knee. "Don't worry about it. We're almost there."

Rodney nodded, letting his gaze drift to the passenger-side window. They were on the winding road leading to the Mountain, passing the last scenic overlook before the guard booths.

John and Daniel went back to chatting, their soft voices washing over him.

After flashing their badges at the gate, Daniel found a close spot and they headed in. Two security points and two elevators later and they were deposited on level twenty-seven just outside the main briefing room.

John took a deep breath. "All right, here we go again..."

"Leaving is looking much more like a better option," Rodney whispered.

"Just a few more days." John whispered back with a slight grin. "We survived the Genii, we can survive this."

"I’m not as confident as you are."

John shot him a grin filled with promises, then straightened up. Rodney recognized the mask that slipped over his lover's features, the one that would allow him to be Colonel Sheppard in front of superior officers. Then they both followed Daniel inside.

Landry was there, along with another General, coffee cups and folders in front of them. Great. A military firing squad, Rodney thought, following John into the briefing room.

John went over to a chair, but didn't sit, holding himself at rigid attention.

"Have a seat, Colonel, Doctor," Landry said, glancing up.

With a nod, John sat, Rodney taking the seat next to him. SG-1 filed in as well, grabbing the other seats with much less formality.

Jackson sent John a strange look that Rodney couldn't decipher and now wasn't the time to ask about it.

After that the briefing got started in earnest. They picked up from where John must have left off yesterday, filling in some holes, expanding on everything Atlantis had been up to lately.

The questions weren't hard, more or less filling in where they wanted further explanation for certain items in their reports. Less time was spent on their past incarcerations than Rodney expected. He had thought they would have been dragged over the coals for the slave incident or the space pirates or a half-dozen other things. The destruction of the solar system was barely a blimp on their de-briefing much to Rodney's surprise.

After several hours, Landry called a break for lunch. Everyone stood and stretched.

Rodney was on edge. It was going far too easily.

With a nod Rodney recognized from the field, John gave him the order to follow and stay close, even as he started chatting with Mitchell and Jackson. His lover raised an eyebrow. "So, you guys can laugh all you want, but there's no way I'll ever find the mess in this place by myself."

"I’m sure McKay knows the way," Carter said, smiling, throwing an amused look Rodney's way.

John threw him a startled look—Rodney remembered that he had never worked here, and John occasionally forgot Rodney actually had. "Right. Come on, McKay, we have an hour, and I'm starving."

"Do we have time to go up top?" Rodney asked, wanting to be outside for a little while, the need to be out from under the concrete growing.

"Sure. We have an hour, so lets grab a quick bite to eat, then walk up and get some fresh air."

"Outside, McKay? I didn’t think you knew what outside was," Carter said snidely, looking for a rise out of him, but right now it was just too much work. The afternoon was IOA meetings and he knew they weren't going to be easy,

To his surprise, John answered for him. "Rodney's the hardest working guy in Atlantis. Not only does he pull full duty as our CSO, he's also off-world half the time. I sometimes wonder when he finds the time to sleep."

"I didn't think he needed sleep," Carter commented as they came to a stop outside the main elevators.

John glanced back at him—his gaze was fond, but not intense enough that anyone who didn't know they were a couple would suspect. Rodney was startled to realize John was his best friend in addition to his lover and partner. "Oh, he needs it. That's what he keeps me around for—make sure he stops to eat, gets a little rest, jogs for reasons other than angry pitch-fork wielding natives."

"I still don't like the jogging," Rodney grumbled as the elevator doors opened.

"You're getting better though. And don't think I'll let you get out of it just because we're on vacation. You're coming with me at least once, so you don't lose all that hard-won conditioning."

"We'll see," Rodney said, rolling his eyes. But of course, news of a vacation caught Carter's attention.

"Vacation? Where are you going?"

The slight hesitation was only visible to someone who knew John well. "Hawaii. I told some friends we wanted somewhere tropical to get away for a few days, and they booked us both tickets." John's face took on the slightly dreamy cast it had last night, when they had first discovered where they were going. "God, I miss surfing…"

Carter chuckled as they got off on the elevator. "You have your own board?"

"I used to. It may still be in my storage unit, but it's been years since I've gone in there, so I have no clue what I've got anymore. I'll probably just rent one once we get there."

They moved into the mess and Rodney headed right for the pre-made sandwiches, grabbing one for him and one for John. He handed them over to John before making his way to the bottled water, grabbing two. John and Carter were still talking, but time was wasting. "Ready, Sheppard?"

John chuckled, giving Rodney another smile that reached his eyes, made them dance. He glanced down at the sandwich. "Yeah, I'm coming. What did you grab for us?"

"Turkey and cheese."

John bounced on his toes a little, grin widening. "Because really, if you're going to have a sandwich, why mess with anything else? Turkey is vastly superior to all other lunch meats."

Jackson glanced between him and John for a minute before shaking his head and heading for the coffee pot. Carter simply gave them another smile. "We'll see you in an hour in the conference room. I'm sure McKay will be able to get you back there without getting lost."

John grinned, and nodded, and a few minutes later they were alone and heading for the surface. John glanced over, his grin morphing into a genuine smile. "How are you holding up?"

Rodney held John's gaze before focusing on the elevator panel marking the floors they were passing. There were cameras in the elevators here, and he didn't doubt there were microphones, too. "Okay," he said after a minute. "Better once we get outside."

His lover nodded, leaning against the wall and looking good enough to lick—although from his expression, he wasn't doing it on purpose. "I don't know how the SGC personnel don't go nuts being underground all day every day."

Rodney shrugged. "I guess they get used to it."

John shuddered. "I could never get used to it. I'm not even claustrophobic and it creeps me out when I really think about it."

They stepped out of the elevator and into the second one, for the last ride to the surface. "It's all what you get used to. Most of these people have been stationed all over the world so..." He shrugged again. Only a few more floors to go before they could sign themselves out.

"I'm just grateful we get to have the beautiful city with stained glass windows, rather than the grey underground bunker."

"Windows are good."

They were finally stepping out of the elevators, and it didn't take them long to sign out and find a little picnic area to eat—they weren't the only ones who liked to get some fresh air sometimes. The sun was warm without it being hot, and John tipped his face up, a slight smile curving his lips as he soaked it in.

As Rodney settled down on the bench, he felt some of the tension easing. They had nearly two more days of briefings before they left on vacation. Unscrewing the top of one of the water bottles, he handed it to John.

"Thanks." John took it, drinking half before starting on his sandwich. After a few minutes, he broke the comfortable silence that had settled between them. "So, it's actually not going too bad. This is about what I was originally expecting when we first walked through the gate—clarifying and filling in details on the various reports."

"I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop, honestly," Rodney said, focused on his sandwich, picking at the wilted lettuce.

His lover sighed softly. "I have to admit, I am too, after our welcome. But let's think positive."

"I'm positive the IOA is not going to look kindly on the missing solar system in Pegasus."

"Hey, they wanted it as bad as you did. We all did." John shrugged. "And we did learn a lot from it. We might not have a weapon, but you guys got a lot of useful data from it—even if a ton of it is what not to do, that's part of science, right? Get it wrong a hundred times until you hit on the one, perfect solution."

"I hate this…bureaucratic crap they put us through. It's like they don't trust us to do our jobs," Rodney said, putting down his sandwich after only taking a few small bites. And that's really what it boiled down to. He didn't like being second-guessed by idiots who pushed paper and had no idea what they were talking about.

"True, but is it any different anywhere else? I don't know about you, but I've never not had some sort of oversight, someone who wanted reports filed and justifications of things. It would be nice if there wasn't so much of it, but in reality, if they're only getting two of the senior staff twice a year, that's a lot of ground to try and cover."

"I've worked for the US government since I was in my teens, what do you think?"

Chuckling, John nodded. "So see, it's nothing new. We'll play the game, and then we'll be in beautiful Hawaii in no time at all."

"Not fast enough," Rodney grumbled, taking a bite of his sandwich.

They chatted a bit longer, both of them enjoying the light breeze that was blowing. Finally though, John stretched. "We should head back down."

"I know," Rodney sighed, looking up at John, seeing the tension in his lover's body. "You okay?"

John hesitated, then nodded. "Yeah. It's just me being uncomfortable being quizzed by so many generals. That's never going to be easy, having that many officers in the same room grilling me. But let's go ahead and head down, get it over with for the day."

Taking a deep breath, Rodney nodded, trying to push away his uneasiness. The cage and plug helped, reminding him of John's promises for tonight, for later; reminding him that there was more than these petty men and red tape. He used to play the game, had become really good at it, but Atlantis had softened him in some ways, in things like this. It had also changed him, hardened him in other ways—the whole not dying thing provided sufficient motivation.

They walked back to the conference room in comfortable silence, both of them finding their seats quickly—they weren't the last to arrive, fortunately.

Rodney shifted several times, getting an odd look from John on the fourth squeak of the chair.

He leaned in, keeping his voice low. "You okay?"

He nodded. "As okay as I'm going to be," he said as the generals strode back in.

John nodded, straightening back up.

Rodney shifted again, watching as the generals took their seats, settling back in. They started flipping through several more file folders, pages turning as they got back into their interrogation mind-set.

John waited until everyone was settled, flipping his own folder to where they had left off. "Did you want me to pick up where we broke for lunch, sirs?"

"No," Landry said, flipping through several more pages. Rodney's stomach twisted a little as he waited for the General to continue.

John caught his eye and gave him a little half-smile, before taking a deep breath and waiting.

"Doctor McKay," one of the other Generals began—Hoston or Hanson or something—Rodney hadn't been paying attention. "In the past six months, you've found yourself in some very…difficult situations. While the results have ended in your favor, the IOA is concerned about the frequency of these…situations."

Rodney could feel his face beginning to pale a little. The IOA meetings weren't supposed to begin until tomorrow—or so he thought. "I…sorry," he said, shifting forward. "What did you mean?"

"You've had many incidents in the last several months that put your team in jeopardy. I'm asking you to explain them."

Rodney glanced over at John and then back at the General. "Me?"

John's eyes had narrowed. "With all due respect, sir, McKay is a member of my team, so any questions about that should be directed to me as the team leader, not him. And he hasn't put us in any more danger than we would have been in normally—in point of fact he gets us out of trouble we might not have survived without him."

"On the contrary, his incompetence in the field has put you at more risk than normal," the General countered, leaning forward. "And I'm interested in hearing from Doctor McKay about his…viewpoint on the matter."

"Actually sir, how much danger we encounter in the field, to what degree, and who plays a part in it is my determination alone. McKay can answer for himself if he wants to, he is a civilian, but when it comes to security matters and fieldwork, I am his commanding officer."

"On a number of these occasions, he's been on his own without any military support," the General said, his voice hard. "Don't worry, Colonel, we'll discuss your role afterward."

John's eyes narrowed slightly, and Rodney saw his muscles tense. "Doctor McKay is a qualified member of my team, sir. His skills and abilities have saved mine and many other lives on more than one occasion. He's not a soldier, sir. That's why we're there, to protect him so he can do his job. It's why there's a military presence at all in Atlantis, which, may I remind you, is a civilian-run and scientific operation."

The general shifted, his face closing down a little further. SG-1 stiffened in their seats. "There's no reason to remind me of anything, Colonel," he said, his voice cold. "But there is reason to explain how your team manages to be the one that always seems to be in need of a rescue—either singularly or as a unit. It seems to me that it's a case of overconfidence on the part of its green military commander and his failure to properly train the members of his team. Add two aliens—of which we cannot vouch for or trust—and you have a recipe for disaster, as your record has shown."

John's face went hard. "Personal attacks aside, sir," the sir was sarcastic, but just short of being outright insolent, "My team is one of two that makes first contact. And Lorne's team—the other first-contact team—doesn't get assigned the missions where we suspect trouble. I don't give my men the missions I'm not willing to run myself, which means we run into more trouble because we're taking more dangerous missions. And Doctor McKay, as well as Ronon Dex and Teyla Emmagan, are all more than well trained for what they're asked to do."

"Those were not personal attacks, Colonel, simply cold-hard facts based on the evidence supplied to us in your reports."

"I've kept my people alive for two years, one of those with no contact with Earth or any reinforcements, against an enemy previously unknown to us who views us as the main course at an all-you-can-eat buffet. We've performed above and beyond what anyone here expected, and survived for longer than you gave us credit for. Sir. That's my record."

The General tossed folder after folder on the table in front of John, describing each and every miss-step and mistake and issue. Rodney cringed at the mention of Brendal's name—his planet, now one of their allies. It was true, they screwed up a lot. More than most. He dropped his eyes, listening as each and every thud against the table put yet another nail in their proverbial coffin.

John didn't flinch however. "If you take any first-contact team's mistakes and put them all together, ignoring the times things went right, you can make anyone look bad." He glanced at SG-1 before turning back to the General. "No offense to any of you, but if you only looked at the missions that went wrong, how great would Earth's premier team look? And yet, how many times have they saved not only Earth, but the galaxy as well? Not to mention, in addition to being the first team on Atlantis, both Rodney and I hold command positions in the city—positions held by others here on Earth. We're doing two jobs. I won't pretend we don't make mistakes, but, with all due respect, sir, we're damn good at what we do."

"We've been though that exercise with the teams on Earth, Colonel, and they seem to measure up quite well. And if you're trying to say that you can't handle the job you've been assigned, I’m sure we can find you another posting."

"I do my job just fine, sir. The fact that every time I've returned to Earth, someone has tried—and failed—to take it from me tells you just how well I do it."

"We'll see, Colonel," he said focusing once again on Rodney.

"What do you want me to tell you?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest, trying to make himself appear as confident as John was.

"I want you to tell me why you're not a liability on an off-world team."

"I…" he began, only to break off immediately, all of Kate's words and work over the last few weeks rushing away. He glanced away, trying to think of something, anything. But he knew he was a liability on off-world teams.

Under the table, John's foot bumped his, offering what support his lover could, in a room full of military officers.

Rodney took a breath, turning back to the General. "The IOA are the ones who asked me to join the program, not the other way around," he said, trying to throw some of the tension back. "Why don't you tell me why you hired me?"

"I wasn't involved in that decision, Doctor. However, if you don't feel up to the task of performing your duties, we can find someone who is."

"I didn't say that."

"Then what are you saying?"

Rodney shifted in his seat, narrowing his eyes at the general as his uncertainty and anger began to fuel him. "I'm saying that if you think I can't do the job you hired me for then you should just fire me and get it over with already instead of pussyfooting through these…lame excuses and interrogation sessions."

Carter coughed across the table, and Daniel covered his mouth, obviously hiding a smile. The general, however, just managed to look even colder, if that was possible. "We're trying to ensure the best people for the job are the ones doing it, Doctor. That you can't tell me why you're that man doesn't reflect well on you."

"I'm a genius and I can run circles around you blindfolded and with my hands tied behind my back. Just because you get off on the power you have as a member of the IOA doesn't mean that you have the right to question us within an inch of our lives. And the physical exam was just another way to try to enforce your superiority complex." Rodney shoved back his chair and stood, his body strung out on anger and adrenaline. "We came here in good faith to go over the reports and missions, not to be treated less than human just because you enjoy your little power trip. I don't know and don't care what your agenda is. Fire me if you don't like what I'm doing or what I said. I don't care. When you've decided to stop grinding whatever axe you have with us, then I'll talk to you. Until then, I'm leaving. You know where to find me." He headed for the door without a backwards glance, knowing full well that he would probably end up in the brig. But right now, he didn't care.

"Doctor McKay." This time it was Landry who spoke. "This wasn't designed to be an inquisition, and I apologize it's gotten off track. Please, have a seat and we can continue with less... accusations, on both sides."

"On both sides?" Rodney huffed turning around, eyes fixed on Landry. John was still seated, his eyes a little wide showing his own surprise at Rodney's actions. "We've been nothing except forthcoming and all we've gotten in return is suspicion and insults. You'll have to excuse me, but I don't really have much faith in your platitudes."

Landry grimaced slightly. "To be fair, if I were in your place, I'd probably feel the same way. However, we do still need the information you have. If you'll have a seat, we do have additional questions. I believe Colonel Carter had some clarifications on some of the science reports?"

"If Carter has questions, she can ask me at another time."

"Rodney." John finally managed to find his voice, his tone more soothing than commanding. He glanced at Landry. "Sir, permission to take a brief break? Let tempers cool a bit before we continue?"

Landry glanced at his watch, before looking up, meeting both Rodney's and John's gaze. "Why don't we call it a night? I'll have Colonel Carter write up some of her questions and email them to you before the end of the day so you can address them in the morning. I'll do the same for you, Colonel Sheppard."

Nodding, John stood up. "I appreciate it, sir. We'll make sure we get the answers to you before we reconvene tomorrow morning. 0900?"

After a quick glance to the other scowling General, Landry nodded. "That would be fine. Did you need a ride?"

John glanced over at Rodney, one eyebrow going up in question. "Is your car here, or at your apartment?"

Rodney shrugged. "I don't know, I wasn't looking this morning and last night I was in no shape to look for anything."

Nodding, John looked back to Landry. "I'll have to get back to you on the ride, sir. I don't have a car, but McKay does, somewhere. At most, we'll need one back to his place, and then we can drive in tomorrow morning."

"Just requisition one from the pool," Landry said. "You know where the office is topside."

"Will do. Thank you, sir." John gave him a salute, then did the same for SG-1. He neglected to salute the stupid general; it probably wasn't just an oversight.

Rodney turned back to the door, moving steadily to the elevator and viciously swiping his card through the reader.

He was aware of John right behind him, although his lover was silent.

They stepped into the elevator when it came, avoiding the three Marines stepping out on level twenty-seven. Rodney stabbed a finger on the top button before settling back in the corner of the elevator, his eyes on the closing elevator doors.

John leaned against the wall, watching him. But he didn't look angry at Rodney. That was good.

It was a start at least.

They rode up to the transfer point in silence, making the switch quickly. When they reached the top floor they exchanged a brief silent communication and John moved to the small office just to the side of the check-point to get their car as Rodney waited relatively patiently by the exit, watching the birds fly through the air.

It didn't take long, and then they were sliding into a sedate sedan, and making their way down the mountain.

About half-way there, Rodney started shaking, the adrenaline and realization that he'd just insulted and yelled at several Generals hitting him full force. And, more or less, told them to take the job and shove it if they didn't like what he was doing.

"We're almost home. Just hold on for a few more minutes, okay?" John's voice was gentle, one hand coming over to rest on Rodney's thigh.

"I just…" he started, only to stop, his voice breaking. What could he say? He was an idiot. He might have just thrown away everything he cared about. For all he knew, he would end up as person non-grata from here on out.

John squeezed his leg. "It will be fine. Just try and hang on until I get us home, all right? It will be a lot easier for you if you're already naked and in my arms when we talk about it."

Mutely, Rodney nodded, turning his head to look out the passenger side window, but not seeing a thing.

It didn't take them much longer before they were home, John finding a spot near the front.

Rodney shoved himself out of the car even before John had put it into park, vaguely realizing they were parked next to his own car. Digging in his pocket as he headed for the apartment, he realized he didn't have his house keys, obviously leaving them behind this morning.

His lover was right behind him, reaching around to unlock the door. As he did it, he whispered softly in Rodney's ear. "Go directly to the bedroom and strip. I'll be right there."

With his thoughts whirling in every direction, it was just easier to nod, easier to simply follow direction. John would take care of everything.

His lover pushed the door open, letting them both inside. He went into the kitchen, while Rodney headed back to the bedroom.

Tugging off his clothes on the way, Rodney felt his body vibrating with the repressed anger and fear. He was struggling with his shoes, pants and boxers bunched around his ankles, when John walked in.

His lover set a glass on the side table, and then moved to Rodney, dropping to his knees. "Hold still for me, and let me get these."

"Stupid, fucking laces," Rodney cursed, sitting upright to let John help him.

John just worked at the knots, and then the shoes were gone, allowing Rodney to kick off the rest of his clothes.

He shifted up onto the bed, his eyes on John, watching him.

John just stood, kicking off his own shoes. He grabbed the glass he had walked in with, handing it over.

The liquid was clear and Rodney glanced up at John, question in his eyes. "What's this for?" he asked, the words tight, snapped.

John shrugged, climbing into bed next to him. "Thought you might be thirsty. It's just water. When I get really pissed off, I know my mouth always gets dry."

"You're not mad?"

Shaking his head, John put his arms around Rodney, careful not to slosh the glass. "No. Surprised you stood up to them, but you only said what I was thinking. I'm proud of you."

Rodney snorted. "We'll see how far that gets me."

John pressed his lips to the side of Rodney's head. "General Holmes doesn't like anyone, I don't think, and he's with the IOA to boot. But Landry knows you're vital to Atlantis, and Elizabeth would pitch a fit if they tried to go over her and refuse to let you back through. And they need us as much as we need them right now."

"Maybe," Rodney sighed, letting his body relax into John.

He could feel John's smile. "No maybes about it. Holmes will do his best to rile us both up, but unless we're caught fucking in the halls or start shooting random people, there's not much he can do."

Rodney let out another long breath. "I didn't mean to yell at them. I really didn't."

"You did good, buddy. You got angry, yes, but you kept your cool. And you walked away instead of really yelling. You forget—I've seen you in the labs. I was very impressed with the restraint you were showing, all things considered."

"I should check my email."

"In a bit." John tapped the glass. "Drink some of that, and then lay with me. We can go do email and be official again in a little while."

"I need to be able to come up with answers to their questions. I'm going to need time to—"

"I know." John cut him off, one hand stroking up Rodney's chest. "And I'll make sure I give you the time for it. But right now, what you need is to lie with me and let me hold you for a few minutes. Because you're upset and angry and you'll be able to focus better if you let me help you now."

Rodney opened his mouth to complain, to argue, but quickly let it snap shut without saying a word. He was tired—exhausted really—it was just easier to listen to John. He let out another breath and nodded. John was right.

That earned him a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth. He took the glass back and took a few long swallows, his Adam's apple bobbing as his throat worked. When he had consumed half the glass, he held it back out, one eyebrow up in question.

Shaking his head, Rodney watched as John took another sip before putting the glass on the bedside table.

Then he was back in John's arms, and being pulled all the way onto the bed, his back against John's chest, his ass snuggled against John's groin.

It only took a few minutes of silence before Rodney was talking again. "They had no right…he had no right…to do, to say what he did."

"Well, I guess he has as much right as anyone to his own opinion. But I have to admit I was a little surprised at how blunt he was about his intentions. Even Landry was a little taken aback." John hugged him closer.

"What does he have against us, against me? I've never even seen him before."

"I don't think it's you, personally. I know he doesn't like me because of my record before Atlantis. He was one of the ones who wanted to put Caldwell in charge. But I'm not sure what his ultimate agenda is. Maybe just more military control in Atlantis, instead of civilian."

"From the sound of it, it was certainly personal. You were there, you heard him. It was like he'd read through my file from Kate even though I know she wouldn't release that kind of information."

"He was fishing. He has just enough information from the reports to make some accusations. It was only sheer luck that he managed to find your one sore spot." John's hands spread wide against Rodney's stomach, stroking softly. "He wants to prove one of us is shit at our job, so he can go to the IOA and make a case for all of Elizabeth's choices of personnel invalidated."

"And so I gave him exactly what he needed. Great. Another screw up. I'm just proving his point."

"No, actually you made him look like the fool. I think he was hoping you would explode, start ranting and yelling like you do in the labs sometimes. But you didn't. You were angry, but you were collected, and you were the bigger man, walking away. From what I saw, Landry was impressed despite himself."

"But how did he know? He couldn't have just guessed. He had to know."

"He read the reports, and for all that he's a dick, he's not stupid. He tried a few shots in the dark, and when he thought he had found a target, he went for the kill."

"He had to know," Rodney repeated.

John's arms tightened a little more, and lips brushed against Rodney's shoulder. "He didn't. He just got lucky. But you handled it. You did good."

"I screwed up. I let him get me upset, angry."

"You didn't screw up. You're human, and anyone being attacked would get upset. I did, when he was doing it to me."

"I doubt it. You always hold it together."

"I was skirting the line of insubordination. If there wasn't another general there, along with several other officers, to vouch for me, I'm pretty sure he would have me up on charges right now."

Rodney shook his head, not wanting to argue, but not quite willing to let it go.

John's lips brushed against his skin again. "He doesn't have your psych records, Rodney. Kate would die before she'd let that happen."

"He can't be that damn lucky."

"It wasn't all luck. He knows you're a civilian, not originally trained for the field. And he saw the reports. He took an educated guess about where your insecurities would lie."

"And he was right about all of it, ever last damn bit of it."

"He was wrong, too though. You're not a liability in the field. You're good at what you do, very good."

"No, no he wasn't," Rodney whispered, closing his eyes, angry at General Holmes for catching him out, angry at himself for being weak and insecure.

John rolled them, so he was on top of Rodney. "Open your eyes."

"John, no," he said, trying to push his lover away.

His lover pressed down, unrelenting. "Open your eyes."

John's hands caught Rodney's, holding them in place, not offering him any other option but to obey. He finally wrenched his eyes open, trying to look anywhere except at John but that was impossible. He was too close, blocking out everything else.

"You are brilliant, and absolutely necessary on my team. Without you, we wouldn't be alive. Without you, we wouldn't know what to look for. Without you, we wouldn't have half the allies we do, trading for fixing their technology. Do you really think I would allow you in the field, put you in danger, if I thought you weren't cut out for it? If I didn't think you could take care of yourself?"

Rodney shook his head. "No, but—"

"No buts." John's expression was intense. "As protective as I am of you, as much as I value you, do you really think I would take you out into the field if I wasn't one-hundred-percent sure you could handle it?"

It was like John's eyes were drilling into his brain, pushing and demanding Rodney to believe him. He'd never felt that kind of conviction, determination. Licking his lips, he shook his head again, his answer whispered. "No."

"Believe in me then, if you're struggling to believe in yourself right now. I put my faith, and my life, in your hands because I know, without a doubt, that you'll be right behind me. Don't let the people who don't care about us beyond what they can use us for before we're tossed away have more power over you than the ones who love you, who know you, who wouldn't take anyone else besides you."

Rodney blinked once, nodding slowly. "I…okay." He didn't really think it was that easy, but he trusted John, knew he wouldn't lie to him—not in things like this.

John's expression, and the pressure against his wrists, eased slightly. "I know it's not easy, especially when it comes to emotions and insecurities. But when you doubt yourself, trust me, okay? I need you too much to let you walk into a situation where I didn’t think you could handle yourself."

"I do trust you." And he did. He trusted John like he never had trusted anyone before. Trusted him with his body, his mind, his heart, and his life. It was a struggle some days when his own issues surfaced, but when you got down to the basics, the nitty-gritty, he trusted John.

John smiled softly, leaning in to capture Rodney's mouth, his tongue tracing the seam before pushing inside, claiming, taking, possessing.

Rodney arched up into John's body, the fabric of his uniform scraping and rubbing in all the right places. He folded his fingers down over John's, grasping their hands together tightly.

They kissed until they were both panting, and the cage around Rodney's cock was starting to get a little painful. John's hips ground down, and the bulge from his erection was hot and hard against Rodney's thigh.

"God," he whispered, head rolling to the side as John licked down the side of his neck, nipping and nibbling at the skin.

One of John's hands skimmed down Rodney's chest, to curl around the cage. "Tell me when this hurts enough to need to come off. If it's not bad, I want to leave it on. Right now isn't about making you come; it's about making you feel good."

"Feels good," Rodney murmured, arching into his lover's hand, his body starting to come alive.

Humming, John's hand moved back up, as his head moved down to lick at a nipple. "Good. Just let me know if it starts to hurt."

There was something so erotic about this, about his cock locked away, about the plug in his ass, about being naked while John was fully clothed. He gasped when John bit down on his nipple, groaning in pleasure as the sensation ran through his body.

Seemingly at random, John drifted around his body. Sometimes it was a caress, sometimes a lick, sometimes a sharp bite.

Time had no meaning. Minutes seemed like seconds or hours, depending on the sensation, and Rodney gave himself up to them. He was falling down, the day's issues and problems, sliding away, fleeing from his mind as John replaced them with pleasure and touches and caresses.

When he had been reduced to a quivering puddle, John stretched out along his side, idly stroking his fingers through Rodney's chest hair.

It was still afternoon, the light shading toward the red of the late-afternoon sun and all he could think about was John and how his body felt under his talented hands.

"Better now?" John's voice was soft, barely cutting through the silence that had settled over them, warm and comfortable.

"Mmm," Rodney nodded. "No longer…vibrating."

John's soft chuckle was affectionate. "Good. That was the plan. Or at least, to get you vibrating for a much more pleasurable reason."

Rodney snorted, shifting closer to John. "Did you need help or anything?"

"Mmm. Trying to decide if I want to fuck you, have you blow me, or just enjoy the buzz of arousal and wait for a bit."

"Whatever you want," he said, finally managing to lift his arm, letting his fingers drift over John's clothed side.

John's eyes got a speculative gleam. "Want to try something different?"

"Anything you want."

"I'm going to blindfold you, and then you're going to touch me. Without sight, you can use your other senses. The way my skin feels. The noises I make. They way I smell." His lover's voice was a soft purr.

"That's not new. We've done that before," Rodney said quietly, offering a smile. "Or was there some other twist I should know about?"

"You'll see." John slid off the bed, getting the blindfold first, and tying it into place. Rodney then heard his lover moving around the room, and a few minutes later a warm body snuggled up close again. John was still dressed, and from the feel of it, was stretched out on the bed. "You can just touch for now. We'll get to the rest in a little while."

"You're leaving your clothes on?" Rodney asked shifting up onto his knees, one of his hands already on John's stomach.

"You can push them out of the way if you want. But I know how much you like being naked when I'm dressed. The way it feels against your skin."

"Mmm…I love how you feel," he said, letting his hands drift over John's body, feeling so familiar, so right. A brush against John's nipple got Rodney a quiet moan and he smiled, shifting to straddle his lover, pressing his ass against John's hardness.

That earned him another moan. With the blindfold on, it was like Rodney could feel every flex and pull of John's muscles underneath him.

"What do you want, John?" he asked, running his hands up and down John's sides, the fabric bunching and smoothing as he went.

"Right now, just this. Love your hands, love having them on my body."

"Do you like this?" he asked, dragging his nails against the fabric, feeling John squirm a little under him.

"God... yes..." John's response was a whispered moan.

Rodney continued, alternating soft and harder strokes before he slid his hands under John's shirt, stroking upward along his sides. He leaned down, capturing one of John's nipples in his mouth—on the second try—tasting fabric softener and John, leaving a wet patch on the shirt.

John was making soft noises in the back of his throat, his body arching into Rodney's mouth.

Sliding his hands under John's shoulders, Rodney set himself against his lover, pressing him down into the mattress as he teased and tasted John through his shirt. He loved the slide of the fabric against his skin, how John's body arched into his, how his legs entwined with his own.

He could feel a damp patch against his thigh, where John was leaking through his BDUs.

"So good," he whispered, moving up John's body, licking and tasting the curve of John's neck, nibbling at the lobe of his ear.

"Rodney..." John's hands came up, skimming Rodney's back, holding him close.

"Whatever you want," he said, breathing into his lover's ear, pressing his nose into John's hair, his hands still drifting over John's body.

He felt John shift under him, and a moment later a finger dragged across his lips. It was dipped in chocolate. The good stuff.

Humming, Rodney tilted his head, taking John's finger in his mouth and licking it clean.

John's voice was rough with arousal. "How would you like to lick this off my dick?"

"Do you want me to?"

"I want to watch you do it." John rolled them slightly, so Rodney was on his side. He could feel his lover shifting around, and then he was being guided, until he found John's erection.

Rodney could smell the chocolate and the pre-come and it was perfect. With a moan, he leaned in, misjudging a little and getting chocolate on his nose. But he didn't care as he adjusted and licked the tip, moaning at the taste.

John moaned right along with him. Whenever Rodney thought he had gotten all the chocolate, John's finger smeared a little more on for him to taste and lick.

He knew there were streaks of chocolate on his face, his neck, his hands, but he didn't care. He could feast like this for hours.

He could tell John was getting close to his orgasm when his lover's moans got a little more incoherent, and his cock started leaking more heavily.

Rodney had two options here: back off or swallow him down. It was a tough decision. He didn't want it to end, but he wanted to taste him, feel John pulsing into his mouth.

John whimpered when he paused, trying to decide on the best course of action.

But thinking about it, what he really wanted was for John to fuck his mouth. He sucked hard on the tip, pulling a strangled moan from John before pulling off entirely.

"No, nononono don't stop, so close..."

"Fuck my mouth?" Rodney asked, his voice rough, low.

"Oh god..." John moaned, and then Rodney found himself being flipped onto his back, a cock nudging at his lips.

He eagerly opened up his mouth, feeling John slide inside even as he settled over Rodney.

John didn't give him much time to adjust, before his hips were moving, gliding in and out. "Not...gonna last…much longer..."

But Rodney loved it, wanted it. He wanted to feel John press in deep, wanted to still feel it tomorrow, his throat a little sore from his lover.

John seemed to understand, not sparing Rodney at all, cutting off his air and brushing the back of his throat every time. Finally, John pulled out so just the head of his cock was between Rodney's lips, and with a deep groan was coming.

Rodney swallowed it down, gagging a little as it came too fast for him to get it all down, a trail dribbling down the side of his mouth.

He could hear John's harsh breathing, and feel the trembles of aftershocks. Finally, his lover was pulling out, and a moment later was wrapped around Rodney. "Mmmm."

Ducking his head, Rodney fit himself just under John's chin, as close to his lover as he could get.

"So good..."

Rodney hummed in agreement, feeling as if he'd run his own marathon.

"Nap now." John sounded like he was half asleep already.

Wrapping his arms even tighter around John, he nodded. He could work later. Much later.

***

When John woke up, he had an armful of warm, happy scientist. Rodney was still sleeping, so he took the opportunity to just look his fill, his chest feeling tight with all the emotion it was trying to contain.

Finally though, nature called. Careful to slip out without waking his lover, John padded into the bathroom and taking care of business. He decided to let Rodney sleep a little more, and went to boot up the laptops—he knew his lover would want his own at some point tonight—leaving the email program to download new messages while he puttered in the kitchen. The little light on the answering machine was blinking, so he absently hit it as he stared into the pretty much empty fridge.

"Oh…hi…I wanted to call and…oh, this is Daniel Jackson by the way if you didn't recognize my voice…I just wanted to call and make sure everything was okay. Give me a call if you need anything," he said, ending with his cell phone number.

Shaking his head, John grabbed the cordless and dialed the number as he moved on to the pantry, trying to decide if he could make a meal out of two eggs and what looked like a package of stale crackers. Maybe if he stared long enough, something edible would magically appear. The sad part was—stranger things had happened.

"Jackson."

"This is Sheppard. You called earlier?"

"I called….oh yes, I did. Before. McKay alright?"

John huffed at the pantry. No magic food. "He was a little shaken, but a little better now, I think. Any fall out I need to worry about when we get in tomorrow?"

"General Holmes wasn't happy," he said. "Threatened the General will all kinds of things. I…while I have to admit, General Holmes probably deserved it, it doesn't make it any easier to take."

"Daniel...?" John was used to following odd conversations with scientists, but Jackson managed to confuse the hell out of him. "What happened to Holmes? And who threatened who?"

"What?" Daniel said, before continuing a beat later. "General Holmes started threatening Landry about McKay and his actions. Something about taking care of that 'damn, arrogant scientist,' or something like that." John could almost hear the shrug. "I have to agree with McKay that it seemed like some kind of a witch hunt, but that wasn't exactly the time or place to do it. And from the color of McKay's face, I was nearly certain he was going to pop a blood vessel or have a heart attack in the main briefing room. Is he okay? Calmed down? I think Sam already sent over the questions."

John processed all that information, then shook his head. "Yeah, we talked, and he calmed down a bit. He is worried though—you said something had happened to Holmes? After he threatened Landry...?"

"Something happened to him? No, nothing happened. What did I say?"

John thought hard about banging his head against a wall. No wonder O'Neill was a little crazy. "You said Holmes probably deserved it. That implies something happened to him. I'm sure Landry didn't take kindly to being threatened."

"Oh, that. No. He deserved McKay's rant."

"Ahhh." Wandering back out of the kitchen, John decided they would either have to call for a pizza, or go out for food. "So should we expect any fall out from today? I know that's what has Rodney worried."

"Honestly, I don't know. I think there's another General or two coming in for the rest of your briefings. I'm not sure if General Holmes is staying or not. He was storming around the briefing room earlier. Was actually interesting to watch from an anthropological perspective."

"Did he honestly expect we would just roll over and let him shoot us? We're on the senior staff of a base in another galaxy—we're not exactly push-overs."

"I know that and you know that and Landry…and well, you know how they are at the IOA. He's actually one of the ones trying to convince the IOA that we're expending too many resources fighting a war in another galaxy that's not ours, especially since we're already facing the Ori threat in our own. It wouldn't surprise me if you start to hear more rumblings about personnel allotments and supplies and cutting back unnecessary expenditures. I mean, we're here and we get the same kind of run-around."

John sighed. Like they needed another battle to fight. "Great. Because when a life-sucking alien is trying to kill me, I really want to be counting bullets and worrying about whether I have enough to take him down before he gets me."

"Anyway, I called to check in on you and McKay and to see if you needed anything."

"I think we're better than we were this afternoon. Rodney's still napping, and when he gets up we'll take care of these emails, and then go get something to eat."

"Good, good. Call me if you need anything, or if you need a ride in the morning or something."

"I will. And thanks—I appreciate all the help." John shook his head again, dropping to the couch with his laptop.

"Not a problem and if you want to talk about…anything, you know where to find me."

"Depending on how this week goes, maybe we can get together this week some time and do dinner. I owe you anyway for getting us home last night in one piece."

"I'm not going to say no to John Sheppard food, but when are you heading out on vacation?"

Flushing, John chuckled. "Ahh.. Thanks. And we head out at the end of the week. We planned for a week of briefings, and then ten days of leave."

"Really?" Daniel sounded surprised.

"Yeah, why?" John was scrolling through his email absently, deleting anything that was obviously junk.

"I only think you're on the schedule for briefings for the next day and a half. Least that's what I saw."

"Huh." John scratched his head. "Well, I won't complain if they want to start our leave early. I'll have to double-check the tickets and see when, exactly, we're booked for. I had a friend handle all the arrangements."

"A friend?"

"Yeah. It was easier than trying to do it myself from another galaxy. It's a little hard to call for reservations when you're several million light years away." Curious, John set his computer aside and went to look at the tickets. He hadn't actually done more than see where they were going. It would probably be useful to know what the dates were.

"I’m sure McKay could have figured out something to make your reservations during the databurst, some superfast connection to the internet."

"Probably, but why go to all that trouble when Peter was more than happy to help?" He found the itinerary and pulled it out of the packet of paperwork that had been waiting for them when they arrived.

And there it was. A United flight, connecting in Honolulu to Lanai City, departing at 11:20 am in three days.

"Ah ha. We're leaving in three days. Perfect. We can brief for the next few, then have some time to pack."

"So when's dinner?"

Laughing, John put the paperwork away. "How's tomorrow night? I don't actually have any food in the house though, so we'll have to stop on the way back to the apartment to pick something up."

"Just let me know the time to show up," Daniel said. "I have a mission in three days, but otherwise it's business as usual."

"I'll catch you at the mountain during the break tomorrow, and we can work out the details."

"I'll be in my lab. McKay knows the way."

"Perfect. I'll find you then. And thanks again, Daniel. We both appreciate the help."

"Not a problem. Have a good night and enjoy your dinner…whatever you end up doing tonight."

Laughing, John hung up the phone. He stretched, and decided to go check on Rodney before he sat down to get some work done.

He shifted, putting the computer on the coffee table and hoisting himself to his feet. As he turned he caught sight of Rodney standing in the doorway of the master bedroom, naked apart from the accoutrements John had added and the blindfold, which was still in place. He looked sleep rumpled and warm, his skin pink, creased in places where the sheets had left marks.

"Hey there, buddy." John moved across the room, reaching out to pull Rodney into his arms. "I didn't know you were awake yet."

"Just…just woke up," he said, molding into John's body. "You were on the phone?"

"Mmm hmm. Daniel Jackson had called and left a message wanting to make sure you were okay. I called him back, and we chatted for a bit. Holmes was irritated, but Landry stood up for us, it sounds like. It should be fine tomorrow."

"Good, good," Rodney said vaguely, either still asleep or slightly in headspace. John wasn't sure. "I'm hungry."

John pressed a kiss to his lover's forehead. "We don't really have any food here. So I can get us dressed and we can go out, or I can order a pizza. Which would you prefer?"

"I don't want to go out."

"Pizza it is then." John led his lover to the living room, guiding him down to the couch. "Stay here while I go find the number, okay?"

"Should be on the fridge," he said, slumping into the cushions. "No anchovies."

It didn't take John long to order a couple of pizzas—and a box of cheesy bread because it sounded good—and rejoin Rodney on the couch. He pulled the other man into his arms. "It'll be here in about half an hour. Until then, we can just stay here like this. After we eat, we can get to work on the stuff the SGC wants."

"This is good," Rodney said, sighing quietly as he shifted closer to John. This was a totally different Rodney than a few hours earlier. He was calmer, no longer vibrating.

"Really good." And it was. It was relaxing, soothing to just have Rodney here, curled close. "I checked the dates, and verified the briefing schedule. We fly to Hawaii in three days."

"Please tell me it's first class."

"Hell, yes." John laughed softly. "I specified that when I asked Peter to make the arrangements. Especially on a flight that long, there was no way I was going to go coach."

"There is no reason to fly coach when I have plenty of money to cover first class."

"I agree. Plus, first class gives us more opportunities to play. It's a lot more private."

Rodney snorted. "Interested in joining the mile high club?"

"I'm a pilot, what do you think?"

"That you're already a member, several times over."

Blushing, John chuckled a bit ruefully. "You wouldn't be wrong. But that was in my past, and I haven't joined with you. We need to rectify that."

"Mmm," Rodney said, snuggling closer. "Too bad they don't have special charter flights."

"Maybe next time. Or, you know, I could fly you around in a puddlejumper—your very own charter service."

"Maybe."

"Only maybe? As I recall, puddlejumper sex was pretty damn hot."

"For it to work right, I think we need to be chauffeured. You know, to make sure the membership is correct."

"True." John grinned into Rodney's shoulder. "Well, we'll see what we can do on the flight over, and next time, I'll look into chartering us a flight somewhere."

"Surprised the resort doesn't offer special flights for their more important guests."

"We can look into it when we're there. They might, and if we like it and decide to go back, it could be an option."

"Or for next time."

John shook his head slightly. "For now, just relax okay? And dream about all the ways I'll make you feel good."

"All relaxed," he said, his hand stroking along John's side. And honestly for Rodney, this was actually pretty relaxed for him—without a good fucking or climax that is.

"I see that." John couldn't help the slight shiver of arousal that went through him at Rodney's touch.

Rodney's hand slid lower, hovering over John's hipbone.

John hummed at the contact, letting it relax him, too.

"Can I touch you?" Rodney asked quietly.

"Please."

Rodney sighed in pleasure as his hand closed around John's length, stroking him.

With a soft exhale of a moan, John melted into the couch, giving in to the pleasure of Rodney's hands on his body.

His lover was focused just on his dick, stroking and caressing with his hand. At some point later—John had no idea how long—Rodney shifted, whispering in John's ear. "I…I'd really like to feel you come."

John moaned, his hips moving up into Rodney's hand almost against his will. "I... I'm close..."

His lover tightened his grip, speeding up his strokes, twisting at the top a little just the way John liked it.

A few more strokes, and John was coming, his orgasm spilling out of him. As he came, he turned his head, pressing an open mouth against Rodney's skin.

Rodney stroked him through his climax, gentling his touch until he was simply holding him. With his ear pressed to John's chest, Rodney was curled into him, humming contentedly.

Slowly, John's pants turned into little kisses. "Love you."

"Love you, too," he replied. "You're just…amazing to me."

John's skin got a little warm, and he pulled Rodney closer. "Always."

The doorbell interrupted their couch cuddling.

"Pizza." John untangled himself from Rodney, calling out to the door. "Just a sec!"

Rodney shifted on the couch, leaning against the cushions, looking decidedly vulnerable naked and blindfolded.

It made John's heart skip, as he darted into the bedroom to grab a pair of sweats and a t-shirt to pull on. He was sure he looked debauched, but there wasn't much he could do about it. On his way to the door, he grabbed the wallet the SGC had kept for him, pulling out some cash.

A pimply teenager was standing at the door, looking bored and snapping his gum. "Here."

John flashed him a smile, grabbing the boxes. "Thanks. How much do I owe you?"

"Thirty. Plus tip." He eyed John before his gaze slid into the room behind, checking out the apartment.

John was very glad the couch wasn't in direct line of sight from the door. He moved to slide the boxes onto the hall table, and rifled through his wallet, pulling out $40.

"I don't have change."

"All I have are $20s, so take it and enjoy." John flashed him another smile.

"Yeah. Thanks." He snapped his gum and shoved the cash in his pocket as he turned and headed back to his car.

Shaking his head, John closed and locked the door. He brought the pizza into the living room—no reason they couldn't eat on the couch. "I'm not sure I can feed you hot pizza without dripping cheese and sauce all over both of us. And hot food plus naked skin don't work well together." He sat back down next to his lover.

"Let it cool."

Chuckling, John opened the box of cheesy bread. It was a little easier to eat, so he took a bite, then brushed it against Rodney's lips. "Or we could start with this."

His lover didn't hesitate, opening his mouth to take a bite of the bread, humming in appreciation as he chewed.

"So I was thinking, for the flight out, you're going to be wearing your jeweled set under your clothes—the full set. I'd have you wear more, but I don't want to risk setting off metal detectors. In addition, I'm going to run a light chain between the nipple rings and then down to the cock ring, so every time you move, you'll get little tugs of sensation."

"You could always add it in the airport once we're past security," Rodney said before John pressed another bite of the bread to his lips.

"I could. I was considering either having you wear or bringing along the acrylic plug. It won't set off the detectors either. Once we get to the resort, you won't be wearing much. I'll bring along an outfit or two for you, but those will mostly be for traveling. I'll want you naked and leashed for the bulk of our vacation, even when we're out and about. That's one of the benefits of this kind of resort."

Rodney shivered, a smile on his lips. "I can wear it."

"Good boy." John leaned in to kiss him briefly before returning to feeding him. "When we are out in public at the resort, I'll probably have a full chastity belt on you—one that has both a cage and a plug, that I can lock down. I want to show you off, but that doesn't mean anyone else gets to touch you."

Rodney swallowed his next bite before replying. "Anything you want, John. I…I guess you'll give me an enema every morning or something, make sure everything's easier during the day."

"We'll see. I will be leaving you pretty much free at night, in terms of things inside you, to let your body have some recovery time. We'll be playing pretty hard during the day, so you'll need it. I plan to make use of all the toys and tools the resort provides for us. You won't be able to sit down for a week when we get back."

"But I thought…" Rodney paused, but continued a few beats later, his voice quieter. "I thought I'd be filled the whole time."

Cupping Rodney's face, John caressed him with a thumb. "I don't want to hurt you. But I'll tell you what, we can take it on a day to day basis. If you aren't sore, and I don't think it will hurt, I'll let you wear one of the smaller plugs at night. I plan to leave you very well-fucked every day. There will be dildos, so you'll be filled even when I'm not hard—so you might welcome a little break. But I'm willing to see how you feel and re-evaluate there, okay?"

"Okay," he said, nodding slightly. "But I really want this to be…intense and just…" He shrugged.

John nodded, even though Rodney couldn't see him. "I know. And it will be. I want to give you this, help you stay in your happy place for the entire trip if I can."

"You can." Rodney was so firm, confident.

"Mmmm." John had to kiss him again. "I have some plans. Mostly I'll wait and see what we have access to, what the layout of the place is. But I do know you're going to come so much your dick will ache and you'll be filled and taken so often that by the end I'll be able to slide right in with no prep at all."

"Oh…" Rodney exclaimed in pleasure, leaning forward again, catching the corner of John's mouth before readjusting and pressing his lips to John's in an open-mouthed, wet and dirty kiss.

John hummed, taking control of the kiss and letting it go on for several minutes. He pulled back with a little nibble to Rodney's bottom lip. "Pizza should be cool enough to eat now."

"You taste better."

"Thank you, but I'm not nutritious enough to stave off a hypoglycemic reaction." John kissed him again lightly before grabbing a slice for them to share. "So, after we eat, we're going to get some work done. Since I know your questions will be more involved than mine, I'll make you a deal. Finish in an hour or less, and you'll get a blowjob and some fingering. Finish in one to two hours, which is about what I figure you need to do it well, and you'll get fucked through the mattress tonight. Finish in two hours or more, and the cage will stay on, but I'll tie you down and play with you for a bit, maybe come in your mouth again, before we go to bed."

"You're going to force me to work?"

"Afraid so. It has to be done tonight, and I'd rather do it now than have it hanging over our heads. I was hoping the incentives would help."

"And it doesn't pay for me to rush through it."

"Exactly." John grinned. "I want you to do a good job, not rush just to get back to bed. I glanced at the questions Carter sent when I booted up our computers, and I figure the one to two hour range is about what you'll need to go through them."

"You're mean and evil," Rodney said, pouting slightly.

"And you love it." John finished off the slice they had been eating and stood up. "I can be nice too though. For instance, you've had the plug in today, but I could be convinced to trade it out for a vibrator if you wanted to be filled while we work."

"I can't sit with a vibrator in," he sniffed.

As he walked the pizza into the kitchen, John gave his partner an evil grin—which was even more fun since the other man couldn't see it. "Oh, we'll see about that. But not tonight. It was an offer, not an order. For now."

Rodney huffed, his arms crossed over his chest. His head had turned as if he could follow John with his eyes, which made his appearance all the more amusing. "It doesn't change the physical make-up of the vibrators we own. I can't sit with one of them inside of me no matter how hard I try."

"If you sink down onto it, instead of having it in and then trying to sit, it will work. How do you think fuck-furniture works? And yes, the resort has some of that, and yes, you will be sitting in some of it." John stripped off his clothes again, leaving them on a chair in the kitchen.

"It won't work," Rodney repeated.

"Okay. So you'll just work in what you've got on for now." It was a silly thing to argue about, and John wanted to head it off before he was forced to do something he didn't want to.

"Of course if you can convince me otherwise, I might have to change my opinion."

John let his chuckle turn dirty. "I'll wait to convince you at the resort."

"If you can."

John leaned over the couch, pressing his mouth to Rodney's again. "It will be fun trying."

Rodney hummed into the kiss. "Maybe."

After a few more feather kisses, John stood again. "All right, I'm going to take the blindfold off now. The sooner we get to work, the sooner we can get back to sex."

"The work can wait," he whined, shifting away from John.

"No, it can't, unfortunately." John kept his voice gentle.

"Yes, it can."

"Rodney." John caught his lover's face, holding it tight enough that Rodney couldn't pull away again. "I wish I could say screw it and just cuddle with you all night, but we need to get this done. We told the SGC we would. And the faster we start, the faster I can bring you back down and make you feel good."

John almost thought Rodney would argue with him, but he let out a long breath and nodded slowly. "Fine," he said quietly.

That earned Rodney another brief, soft kiss before John pulled the blindfold off. "I'm really proud of you. I don't tell you that often, but I am. You're one of the bravest, smartest, most beautiful people I have ever known."

Rodney blushed, his cheeks turning pink. "You're just biased," he blustered.

John shook his head. "I am, but I would think that even if I didn't love you. I'm proud you're my partner, my lover, and my teammate."

"Even when I'm a whore for you?" Rodney's question was quiet, but it was a bombshell. It was also the first indication he'd seen that Rodney was embarrassed—at least a little—by his own needs.

John gathered the other man in his arms. "Oh, buddy, love, you're not a whore, not at all. We both like the dom/sub relationship, but there's nothing at all wrong with that. We're a couple, and we make each other feel good."

Rodney held onto him tightly. "Sometimes it's just…overwhelming how much I need you and the…connection, the headspace. I don't know how I did it before we started…this."

"I don't know how I ever lived without you either," John said softly. "But enjoying what we do together, how I make you feel, isn't wrong. Neither is craving that connection. We're lovers and partners before we're anything else, and wanting to be close to each other is part of that."

"Sometimes…sometimes I feel like I need your cock more than I need or want food and for me…that dependence scares me a little but it's also exhilarating."

John pressed kisses into everything he could reach. "God, I love you so damn much. I just want to take care of you, Rodney. Give you everything you want, everything you need."

"Just you. Want to make you happy, want to feel like this all the time."

"You do, Rodney. You make me happy every day."

Rodney captured John's face in his hands and leaned in for a sweet, soft and yet demanding kiss. There was tongue and wet and then his lover was devouring his mouth, tumbling them back onto the couch.

John let him have it, let Rodney run things for the moment, knowing the other man needed this, badly.

But when he felt Rodney's hand reaching for him, wrapping around his hardening cock he knew he had to stop this before this got too far.

Catching the hand, John pulled it up, breaking the kiss to press his lips into Rodney's palm. "I'll let you touch me later, as much as you want."

"Need you now," Rodney panted, already shifting his body to move down the couch.

"Rodney, we have to get the stuff done for the SGC..."

But he ignored John, ducking his head to breathe on John's cock, licking the tip and moaning.

"Oh fuck..." John tried to be strong, but his head fell back, and his cock gave a hard twitch. Somehow he found the strength to curl his fingers in Rodney's hair, holding him still and making them both whimper. "I want you to promise me that if I give you this now, you'll get your work done without giving me a hard time about it."

"Just let me…please."

"Promise me, and then you can."

"John…" Rodney whimpered.

"I want this too, but I..." His voice cracked slightly as Rodney's breath made him want to thrust up. "We have to get some work done, and I need you to be with me here."

"Your whore," he whispered, hovering inches from John's cock. "Want it, need it, please…"

"No." John forced himself to sit up, draw Rodney into his arms again. "You're not a whore. I won't let you think of yourself that way."

His lover was certainly single-minded tonight, his hand snaking down between them and grabbing John, stroking him.

The moan got out before he could stop it. "Rodney... Please... Just promise me, and then I'll let you have whatever you want..."

"You…just you…need you…"

Despite his resolve, John wasn't immune to the desperation in his lover's voice, couldn't help but respond to it. Neither of them would be able to work until they got this out of their system, and John just prayed that Rodney would calm back down again if he let him touch, taste. So he did the only thing he could—he leaned back and offered himself up.

With a moan of surprise, Rodney slid down John's body, enveloping his cock with his mouth, sucking and licking and humming. John could feel the tip grazing the back of Rodney's throat, but his lover didn't back off. Instead he settled down more comfortably, one arm looped over John's leg and hip, hand cupping John's ass cheek.

And then his lover proceeded to simply suck him—slowly, lazily—as if he had all the time in the world.

Wanting to give Rodney as much time as he needed, John swallowed hard, fisting the couch cushions. "If you… if you want me to last... for any length of time…I'm going to…to need some help."

But Rodney didn't pause, didn't falter, humming contentedly as he sucked John's brain cells out of his dick.

John bit the inside of his lip, and just held on for dear life.

By the time John's arousal crested high enough for him to tip over the edge into orgasm, Rodney had been sucking him for nearly half and hour. It had been thirty minutes of sheer pleasure and torture.

Because he had denied himself for so long, it was one of the stronger releases John had had in a while. His world went white, then black.

When he came to, Rodney's mouth was still wrapped around his dick even though it was soft and spent. The scientist was humming contentedly, purring quietly.

"Nnng."

How many times had he come this afternoon? John actually thought he'd lost track.

He shifted on the couch, raising an eyebrow at the stronger hum from his lover, and the way his hips were suddenly pushed down into the couch.

It was like Rodney just tightened his hold on John's leg and ass, nuzzling into the crease between John's leg and torso. Apparently the day spent in submission under John's desk was not an isolated incident.

"Is the cage getting painful at all?"

A negative sound was Rodney's only reply.

John ran his hands through Rodney's hair. "Do you have any idea how hot it is that you're doing this, and I know you can't even get hard?"

Rodney purred louder, sucking a little at John's spent cock.

It was almost painful, his dick so sensitized. It made him moan softly.

His lover stopped after a few seconds, his eyes closed, chest rising and falling evenly. He wasn't sleeping, that much was sure, but he'd certainly pushed himself down into subspace.

After the last few days, he knew Rodney needed this. So as much as he also knew they needed to get the SGC stuff done... with a soft sigh he let them have this. It was still pretty early in the evening, after all. And forcing Rodney up would be counter-productive.

Rodney continued to suck him randomly, purring and humming in contentment throughout the next hour or so. When John finally felt his lover shift, letting John's cock fall from his mouth as he nuzzled into John's groin instead, he began to pet his head, running his fingers through his lover's hair.

"Hey, buddy. How are you feeling?" John's voice felt rough with all the emotions he was feeling.

Rodney offered a hum in reply, a positive-sounding noise.

"Comfortable?"

"Mmm."

"I need to get my laptop and get some work done. I'll let you stay down a little longer. If you want to get under the desk, you can keep doing this while I work."

Rodney just snuggled in closer to John's groin.

John hummed a little himself, then started to sit up.

Rodney clamped his arms around John's mid-section, holding him in place.

"You're not going to let me work either?" John was feeling pretty damn mellow, and more than a little amused.

"No. Stay." Words. He'd gotten something more out of Rodney than a hum or purr or grunt.

Screw work. "All right. But why don't you come up here where I can hold you?"

"Comfy."

John raised an eyebrow. And this from the man who complained about mattresses and his back. He was scrunched up in some strange fetal position on like a third of the couch and he was "comfy".

John scritched his nails against Rodney's scalp. "I can't wait to get you on vacation, keep you like this for days on end."

"Mmm."

Chuckling, John tried to shift again, in an attempt to get more comfortable and give Rodney a bit more room.

Rodney just latched on tighter once again, becoming the immovable object.

"I'm not going anywhere, buddy. Just trying to adjust my position. If you want me to stay here for a while, I need to move so my back's not at a funny angle." John continued to pet his lover gently.

It took almost a minute before Rodney finally loosened his hold on John, letting him shift on the couch.

John found a much more comfortable position, shoving a pillow behind him for some support, and letting his legs fall open so Rodney could more easily snuggle between them.

And as soon as John stopped moving, Rodney shifted immediately and settled down between his legs, his nose bumping against John's cock. He shoved one of John's legs with his shoulder, humming in contentment when John finally lifted his leg, laying it over his shoulder and down along his back.

John swallowed hard, as a pleasant shiver ran through his body as Rodney once more, carefully, took him back into his mouth. It was warm and wet and so fucking perfect.

Even without the suction or the humming or nibbling, this was…really nice and amazing. And Rodney's couldn't come, couldn't even get an erection and he was already plugged.

If this was how their whole vacation went, John was pretty sure he was going to be as much of a puddle as Rodney by the end. And damn if he wasn't just fine with that.

John closed his eyes and simply enjoyed the sensation, the quiet cuddling they never had the chance to do on Atlantis. At some point later, he startled awake, realizing the living room was pitch black.

"Rodney?" John kept his voice quiet, not wanting to startle the other man if he was awake.

His lover sucked at him a few times before stopping.

John hummed—he was half-hard from the attentions his cock was receiving. "I need to get up and check the time."

Rodney didn't fight him this time when he moved, his dick dropping from his lover's mouth.

John ran a hand through Rodney's hair before slowly standing up. "Good boy."

His lover purred quietly, but otherwise didn't move. It was late, John realized, padding into the kitchen. Really late.

Great. All right, they would just have to take care of the questions in the morning, get up early and do them. He walked back to the couch. "Come on, buddy, let's go to bed."

Rodney didn't acknowledge John's words, curled into the end of the couch, his body silent and still.

John reached out, running a hand over Rodney's shoulder. "Rodney?"

His lover arched his body, pressing into John's touch.

Smiling, John caressed again. "Come on. Let's move to the bed. It will be a lot more comfortable."

Rodney followed John's hand, raising his body off the couch in order to get closer. Using it to his advantage, John kept his hand close, shifting just far enough away to have Rodney move forward. At one point, his lover had no option except find his feet in order to follow John, in order to have John's hands on him.

He smiled when Rodney rose to his feet, and rewarded him by allowing him to step close, press their bodies together.

He purred softly, rubbing up against John.

John curled a hand around Rodney's jaw, holding it still so he could brush their lips together, not allowing Rodney to deepen it. Then he stepped back, drawing the other man along with him.

Rodney went easily, eagerly. John could see his lover's eyes, blown wide, mostly pupil, the ring of blue barely a sliver.

Still deep in headspace, then. It made him smile, letting Rodney see how much he loved him. In the bedroom, he arranged Rodney carefully on the bed, and curled against him, pressing them closely together.

His lover shifted several times, plastering himself even closer before finally stilling, his hand over John's where it rested on his hip.

He had set the alarm before crawling into bed with Rodney, making sure it was early enough that they could get some work done before heading in. For now, he just closed his eyes and held his lover close.

"Thank you." The words were so quiet John wasn't sure he heard them.

He pressed his lips against Rodney's temple. "Sleep. I'll be here when you wake up."

"I…can't we leave now?"

"Three days. We can survive the SGC for that long. And then if you're comfortable with it, I'll help you drop down even before we leave for the airport. I can't let you go too deep, but I will let you start your submission then."

"Started already."

"We do still have to work. You have to answer the questions Carter sent you before we head in tomorrow. But I promise, get through the next few days, and I'll make it worth it."

"Thought we just had to look them over."

"We'll deal with it when the alarm goes off. For now, sleep. Relax."

"Am relaxed," Rodney said and John could hear the smile in his voice.

Smiling, John nuzzled a little. "Good."

"So good," he hummed.

"Can't wait to have you all to myself for ten days."

"Have me now."

"But I still have to bring you back to work." John kissed him again briefly. "We can't start or vacation early, as much as I'd love to."

"Can you fuck me?"

John moved a hand down, cupping the cage still around Rodney's dick. "Now?"

He arched into John's touch. "Yes, please."

He continued to caress, letting his hand roam. "If I do, you still won't come."

"So good," he repeated with a moan.

John lifted his head, tilting it slightly. "If I told you I was considering not allowing you to come until we were in Hawaii, what would you say?"

Rodney whimpered. "Really?"

"Considering it, yes. This cage is plastic, and if it can pass through the SGC detectors without setting them off, it can pass through airport security. But that's a big step—and one of the ways I've punished you before. It wouldn't be a punishment, and I would need to know you wouldn't think of it that way, would enjoy it, if I decide to follow through."

"I…I like…waiting…waiting for you. Pain…pain a much better deterrent."

John gave him a serious look. "I don't want it to be about pain, or a deterrent for anything, right now. Later in the week, yes, I'll probably spank you, and push you further than I have before to sink you as deep in headspace as I can get you, and then keep you there. But right now, it would be about helping you cope with the SGC."

"For punishment," Rodney clarified. "Pain works better than the cage. I…I like the cage…like waiting, like it when you control it."

John smiled. "Good to know. I prefer to offer you rewards for good behavior than punish you for bad, but I'll keep that in mind. Right now, then, I'd like to keep the cage on you. I'd like knowing that you're waiting, that you have something to anticipate when we arrive. And I like knowing it will keep you at least partially down, even when we're working."

"I’m all yours," Rodney whispered, arching up into John's body, lips pressing to John's.

Humming, John rolled, so he was on top, pressing Rodney into the bed as he deepened the kiss.

Rodney's arms wrapped around him, fingers digging into his muscles. The scientist spread his legs, allowing John to settle closer. Rodney's tongue tangled with John's for a while, rubbing and caressing before finally submitting to John's tongue.

He plundered, claiming. He was hard again, and shifted his hips, rubbed his cock against Rodney's stomach. Levering himself up a bit, he worked a hand down, rubbing against the plug still in Rodney's ass.

"Please," Rodney begged, arching between John's hand and body.

Working his way down, John pushed Rodney's legs up, draping them over his own shoulders. "God, you're so beautiful spread for me like this."

"Want you, please, John…"

John practically folded Rodney in half as he levered up enough to snag the lube. When he was back down, he slicked himself up before pulling out the plug, tossing it aside and pressing into his lover before Rodney had a chance to process it.

Rodney moaned as John slid in deep, as his balls pressed up against the back of John's ass. His hands fisted in the sheets next to his body, sweat beading along his hairline.

"God, so tight..."

"So good…please, move, please…"

Moaning, John started to thrust. Knowing Rodney couldn't come, couldn't even get hard, left John free, in a way. He was usually so focused on his lover's pleasure, he mostly ignored his own. Now, though, he just took what he wanted, let himself be a little selfish.

And from the sounds Rodney was making, he was loving every single moment of it. He was begging for it, begging John for more, begging him to let go and fuck him.

But John ignored him. This was, at the moment, not about Rodney. He continued to move slow, luxuriating in the tight heat, enjoying the way Rodney's body caressed his cock on each thrust.

When he realized John wasn't going to speed up, his lover tried to shift, tried to make John change his pace. His hands reached up, clutching at John's forearms.

"Hands above your head. This isn't for you right now." John froze, panting hard. "Your body is here for my pleasure, and I'll take it how I want. You don't get to decide the pace."

Rodney whimpered. "John, please…"

"No. You're mine."

"Please," he whispered even as his hands shifted, clutched together above his head.

"Good boy." John gave three fast, hard thrusts before returning to his slow and easy pace.

Rodney was melting beneath him, his hole slick from the lube and John's pre-come.

Closing his eyes, John just moved. Sweat was dripping off him, and he let himself get lost in the pleasure. After fucking Rodney for what felt like hours, his orgasm washed over him, leaving him shaking and blown apart. He managed to lower Rodney's legs and pull out before he collapsed to the bed.

The scientist was panting heavily and whimpering next to him, a soft moan with every exhale.

"Mmmm." John rolled, pressing his body against Rodney's.

Rodney's body trembled, his ankle wrapping around John's, but otherwise still.

John was still too sated to do more than press sloppy kisses against Rodney's skin. Finally, he managed to get his brain online enough to find language. "Y'okay?"

"Hurts," he whispered.

John pushed up onto an elbow, kissing the corner of Rodney's mouth. "Close your eyes and breathe with me."

Rodney obeyed immediately, his hands tightening over his head.

John rubbed slow circles against Rodney's chest, kissing his face lightly, keeping his breathing even.

It took a few minutes before Rodney brought his breathing in line with John, chest rising and falling in synch.

"Better?"

He nodded. "Little."

"Good." John found his mouth and kissed his lover lazily for a moment. "I'm going to get a washcloth to clean us up a bit."

"'kay."

He rolled off the bed and padded to the bathroom, taking care of cleaning himself before going back out to his lover. When all the traces of come had been cleaned away, he crawled back into bed, pulling Rodney into his arms. "Now sleep. We're getting up early tomorrow."

"Yes, sir," he whispered, cuddling into John, his body pliant from a good fucking.

Taking a deep breath, feeling incredibly relaxed, John closed his eyes and let go.

The next day they got up early, and took care of the email from the SGC. Rodney didn't complain; was, in fact, pliant and so perfect John had to fuck him again in the shower before they left for work.

The meetings weren't as bad as the day before, centering mostly on science and technical questions in the morning, and then strategy and supply needs in the afternoon. By the end of the day, John was pleased to see that while Rodney wasn't in deep headspace, he was a lot more relaxed than he would have been otherwise. His lover hadn't even gotten upset enough to yell about anything, just rolling his eyes a few times when people were being especially dense.

Finally, they were dismissed for the day, and he and Rodney wandered down to Jackson's office. John poked his head in the door of the cluttered room, afraid if he stepped too far inside, he'd never find his way out again. "Hello?"

"Just go in already," Rodney grumbled. "You might get pelted by a book, but it's safer than the science labs on Atlantis."

John eased a single foot through the door. "Daniel? You in here? Should I put together an S&R team?"

"Very funny, Colonel," came Daniel's dry reply. "McKay's right, nothing here to harm you unless you try to unbalance the books."

Easing his way inside, John eyed the piles—plural—of books warily. "Riiiight. We're done for the day, so I wanted to stop by and see if we're still on for dinner."

"Tonight?" Daniel asked, raising his head, his blue eyes wide behind the glasses.

John raised an eyebrow. "That was the plan, yes. But if you're busy, we'll just catch you another time."

"No, I just didn't realize tonight was tonight," he said with a slight wince.

Shaking his head, John looked for a place to slouch against, but finding none, settled into a relaxed version of parade rest. "Are you at a stopping point, or should we go ahead? I need to stop at the grocery store anyway—there is nothing edible in the apartment at the moment."

The sound of shifting books and artifacts echoed in the room and John turned to look at Rodney who was holding several things back from tumbling over the edge, even as he focused on one in the back of the shelf.

"I…no, it's fine. I just forgot, honestly," Daniel said.

"Rodney?" John tried to see what his lover was peering at. "Find something cool to steal?"

"Does that look Ancient to you?" he asked, pointing with his chin at the object he couldn't get his hands on.

"Ancient?" Daniel asked, padding over to the two of them. "Oh, yeah, probably. Jack couldn't get it to turn on so we figure it's dead."

John dodged around stuff and reached back, snagging the small item off the shelf and pulling it out.

Rodney shoved the other items back on the shelf, using the now empty space so everything wouldn't tumble off. "Give it here."

Chuckling, John handed it over. He hadn't even tried to think it on. He had learned that lesson early, and now waited for Rodney or Radek to tell him when something new should be activated.

"Huh," Rodney said, turning it over several times in his hands before looking at Daniel. "Can I have it?"

Daniel was peering at it, moving closer to stare. "Do you know what it is?"

"Where did you find it?" Rodney asked instead.

John knew that meant 'yes', but he stayed out of it. His lover was obviously up to something. Daniel shrugged. "I don't remember. I can track down the logs if you want."

"Yes. Do that," he said, still examining the object. After about a minute—and when Daniel hadn’t moved—he glanced up. "Aren't you looking?"

"Oh, you mean now?"

"Why would I mean any other time except the present?" Rodney asked, rolling his eyes.

Rolling his eyes, Jackson made his way to a laptop in the far corner of the room, pulling something up. John moved closer to his lover, leaning down so he was whispering against Rodney's ear. "What is it?"

"Not sure."

John peered at the little thing. "Want me to try turning it on?"

"I tried already," Rodney said, glancing up with a sheepish expression. "Besides, if it wouldn't start for O'Neill you don't have a chance in hell. Sorry," he said with a shrug. "I remember seeing something in Atlantis that would attach to this or it would somehow fit inside."

"Huh." John bumped his shoulder against Rodney's, and a moment later Daniel walked back over.

"We found it at one of the ruin sites. P3X-299."

"And that means what exactly?" Rodney asked, his voice sharp, as if he were berating one of his scientists. He'd actually been getting more confident as the day progressed, no longer hesitating with his answers. John was happy to see it, glad to know that some of what he was doing might be paying off. "I need context."

Daniel didn't take offense, just pushed his glasses up his nose. "Well, as you know there aren't many Ancient sites in this galaxy. By the time they retreated back here, they were weary of war. They pretty much stayed on this planet. However, there are a few exceptions, mostly, from what we've been able to determine, small research outposts. This site was one of those. Most of the complex had been destroyed—there wasn't even a working database we were able to retrieve any information from—but we did find a few artifacts like this one, and some really rather fascinating wall carvings. They had been mostly worn away, but—"

"Yes yes, they didn't believe in anti-graffiti laws, I understand. So this was an Ancient outpost or Ancient complex?"

Jackson shrugged. "We couldn't tell. To be honest, there isn't much left of it. We assume the Goa'uld probably destroyed it at some point, but all that's still standing is one small room, and even that is partially collapsed. There's a lot of rubble around though. There's still a team surveying the site, looking for anything more."

"How extensive was the site? Could you tell?"

"It was hard to tell. It wasn't massive, I don't think, but it would have had a few labs, probably, and some central rooms."

"Are you sure?" Rodney stepped forward, his hands gesturing as he spoke. "Maybe you just found one section of a much larger base. The planetary designation means it would be far off on the side, closest to the edge of the galaxy on the way to Pegasus, probably a planet along the Daedalus' path but also housing a Stargate. Correct?"

Nodding, Daniel peered at the item again. "Yes. And like I said, it's very possible there was more there at one point. There's certainly a lot of broken rock. We assumed it was mostly natural, but I can't rule out that it's all from crumbled buildings. But why? What do you think this is?"

"I can have it, right?"

"Sure. It's just a paperweight here. But you have to promise to tell me if it turns out to do something."

"It's dead."

"But you think it might be useful for something, otherwise you wouldn't want it."

"Maybe." John rolled his eyes. Rodney couldn't lie about stupid little things, but the big things he had no problems with.

He decided it was time to step in. "All right, you two can geek out over the toys later. I'm starving, and I want out of this mountain."

Daniel's glance jumped to the side. "Oh. I need an hour at least."

Pinching the bridge of his nose, John reached deep inside himself to find patience. "I thought you said before you were ready to go."

"Did I say that?"

He gave up. "All right, we're going to head out. We'll stop at the store and meet you at the apartment. Anything you're in the mood for?"

"Coffee," Daniel said without hesitation.

John rolled his eyes. "I swear, scientists are all part caffeine. I meant food. What do you want for dinner?"

"Oh, that," Daniel said with a shrug. "Whatever you want. I don't want to put you out."

"I'll see what looks good then." John chuckled. He was highly amused by Daniel, who reminded him in some ways of Rodney. "We'll see you in about an hour and a half then?"

"Yes, yes," Daniel said, already headed back to his computer.

John put a hand on Rodney's elbow, steering him out the door. "We'll see you in a bit then. Don't lose track of time."

"You'll need to call him," Rodney said, his voice not even lowered in volume. "He'll forget."

John laughed at the affronted look Daniel tossed them as they moved out of the office. "I'll give him a call when we get to the apartment."

"Good idea," Rodney said. "We need to get enough food for a few meals."

"Yeah. I figure we can get enough to keep us fed for the next few days, and have something to come home to, as well. I'd like to see how the steaks look. If they have nice cuts, I might want to do that for dinner tonight."

"Good idea. You need more fat on your bones."

As they stepped into the elevator, both of John's eyebrows went up. He glanced down at himself. "You think I'm too skinny?"

"Boney."

"I'm lean. Built like a runner."

"Boney," Rodney said, his eyes sparkling with humor. "Those hip bones are dangerous."

John smirked and cocked the hip in question. "I need the bones to keep my pants from falling down."

"As if you actually try to keep them on in the first place," he whispered.

"Mmm. Well, I can't deny that pantsless is far superior to most other states." John gave his lover a heated once-over. "Especially on some people."

Rodney rolled his eyes. "Cameras…"

"Hey, you don't have to worry about inappropriate bulges..." John muttered, forcing himself to look away and taking a few deep breaths. He told his cock very firmly that getting hard in the elevator at the SGC was a bad idea.

"And you love every minute of it," Rodney whispered, the elevator doors opening a few beats later.

"Always." John took a few deep breaths before following Rodney out, heading to the second elevator that would take them to the surface. It was incredibly hard not to let his eyes drift down to admire the full ass on display ahead of him.

Rodney glanced over his shoulder and smirked, shifting on his feet as he waited, his ass moving with him.

John growled, deep in his throat, before he could catch himself. Fortunately, there was no one else around. He wanted to push Rodney against the wall, pull the BDUs down to expose those luscious globes, and kiss and mark them until the other man was panting with it.

Rodney just chuckled, turning back to the elevator, stepping inside when the doors finally opened for the last leg of their journey to the surface.

John retaliated by stretching as soon as he was in the elevator, letting his shirt ride up to expose a thin strip of skin.

But Rodney only smirked, shifting so he was facing the doors, his back to John.

"Mmmmmm." John kept his voice low, knowing his edge of arousal would be audible. He gave up the fight, and oogled a little, letting his eyes do what his hands couldn't. Yet.

When the elevator deposited them on the ground floor, Rodney strode out heading directly for the guard station. He bent over the table, angling his ass out as he signed his name to the roster. He moved through the gate a moment later, walking slowly toward the parking lot.

John had to shift, trying to hide the growing bulge in his pants. He really wanted to be inside that ass. He quickly signed out, and pulled the keys from his pocket, eyes glued to Rodney's ass.

Rodney kept walking, headed for the pool car. John knew they couldn't do anything until they were away from the Mountain, but Rodney was just so damn tempting.

Once they were in the car, John had to touch, He put one hand on Rodney's thigh, squeezing. "As soon as I get you home... God, that ass..."

"I thought we were going to the grocery store and you had to cook."

John groaned. He had managed to completely forget about that in the short walk. "Right. Food. God... I want to fuck you."

"I’m still full of your come," Rodney whispered, shifting his leg under John's hand.

John was hard now, his pants tight as they cleared the gate and started for the city. "I want to push you against a wall, pull your pants down just enough to expose you, pull out the plug and fuck you hard and fast. Fill you again, then push the plug back until I decided to do it all again later."

"So what's stopping you?" Damn it. Rodney was such a tease.

"Grocery store. We'll be quick, and before I call Jackson, I'm going to take you hard."

"You're going into the store like that?" Rodney asked, his hand sliding over John's thigh, his palm settling over John's cock and pressing down.

"Oh..." John's hips shifted up and his breath hitched. He bit his lip, forcing himself to keep his eyes on the road.

"You feel so good, John," Rodney whispered, pressing a little more.

John was panting now. "I can't... go into a store... if you make me come in my pants." He cut his eyes over. "Think you're coordinated enough to blow me while I drive?"

Rodney shook his head. "No, I don't think so."

"Damn." John whimpered as his lover started to knead John's cock through his pants. "What about if I park?"

"Where? Pretty open out here."

John started looking, grateful when he spotted a parking garage for a mall. He drove them all the way up, to the top. There were a few other cars around, but no people. "Please, Rodney..."

"Hmm?" Rodney hummed, unlocking his seatbelt and leaning closer to John. "You wanted something?"

"Your mouth. My dick." John popped the button on the BDUs, pulling himself out through the slit in the boxers. "Now."

"Right here?"

"Yes," John pushed the seat as far back as it would go, leaning it back. "I want you."

"I thought you were going to fuck me."

"God, I want to." John pulled Rodney over, kissing him deeply. "But that's a little hard in the car. Take the edge off for me now, so I can get through the grocery store. I'll fuck you as soon as we're home."

Rodney's voice was low, dirty. "Wouldn't it feel better to be deep in my ass?"

John whimpered. He loved when Rodney was playful like this. It turned him on so much it hurt. "You're the... engineer. Figure out how to make it work and I'll be inside you so fast you won't know what hit you."

"You'd like to take me right here, wouldn't you? Right in the middle of this parking lot. Anyone could see, anyone could walk into the lot and what an eyeful they'd get. My pants around my ankles, you pounding into my ass…"

"Yes...." John arched again. "Want to be inside you. Knowing you can't come, it's just for my pleasure, to show you off..."

"You want it bad, don't you?"

"Yes..." John hissed as Rodney wrapped his fingers loosely around his now-aching cock.

"How bad, John? How much are you willing to risk?"

"I want you. I don't care how, but figure out a way." John panted, curling his hand loosely around Rodney's arm.

Rodney leaned in, whispering in John's ear. "I love how you feel when you fill me, stretch me, fuck me. Feels so good."

John moaned. "Killing me..."

"I love it when you touch me, fuck me. You say I’m so tight, how I caress your cock…"

John broke, he tried to climb over the seat, growling with frustration when the confines of the car stopped him.

Rodney chuckled, low and dirty. "You need to take the seatbelt off first."

John fumbled with it, making another frustrated noise until Rodney reached around, unhooking and untangling him.

Rodney leaned into John, lips next to his lover's ear. "Wouldn't it be better to drive back to the apartment? We can go inside, you can fuck me, feel how tight and hot my ass is. And then, you can go to the store, leaving me home waiting for you…"

John moaned again, melting into the seat. He gulped in breaths, trying to get enough concentration to not kill them driving. Putting the seat back up, he pulled Rodney into a searing kiss. "You have one minute as soon as we walk through the door to be naked with that ass on display for me."

"Oh why?" Rodney said, his hand pressing down on John's erection.

Whimpering, John started the car again. "Going to take you hard and fast. Please Rodney... I need you..."

"Shouldn't I be saying that? I'm the one going without."

As he eased them back out into the street, John had to focus hard on not crashing. "You're not going without. You like having me inside you, playing with you, more than you like coming." John shot him a heated, approving look. "And I love that about you."

"Mmm, I do. You feel so good inside of me, filling me," Rodney purred, hand tracing patterns on John's thigh, fingers grazing over John's cock.

"On vacation, you're going to be filled so much... Even your greedy ass will be satisfied."

"I don't know about that. It's pretty greedy."

"That sounds like a challenge." John grinned. He loved that they could tease and laugh, even when he was so aroused it hurt.

"You know how it gets," Rodney whispered, his hands still moving. "When you take out the plug or your cock, it shivers, twitching, puckering and begging for more."

John made a soft noise, shivering with need. He was really, really glad they were almost home. "I'll make sure it gets all it wants."

Rodney pressed his hand to John's cock again. "As long as you get what you want."

Pulling into the parking lot, John threw the car in park and pulled Rodney into a hot kiss. "You. Always what I want is you."

"My ass is needy," Rodney whispered.

"I need your ass. It's a good combination."

"Wants to be filled with something other than the plug."

John kissed him again, then pulled back. "Upstairs. Get naked. Get that ass in the air so I can fuck it properly."

"No." Rodney smirked.

John moaned. "What do you mean, no?"

Rodney's eyes twinkled. "Make me."

Breath hitching, John grinned. "All right. But we have to get inside first."

Rodney smirked. "Make me."

John pulled him over, kissing his lover hard, plundering his mouth until Rodney opened up, moaning. Pulling back, John nibbled at the other man's bottom lip before kissing his nose and slipping out the door.

"What was that for?" Rodney exclaimed when John rounded the front of the car, all bluster.

"Because I wanted to." John grinned, opening Rodney's door. He wrapped his fingers around one of Rodney's wrists, squeezing slightly and tugging.

It didn't take much pressure to get him on his feet; that single touch, the grip around his wrist firm.

John knew how tightly the cuffs usually were around his lover's wrists. He tried to keep that same grip, tugging Rodney out and toward the door. He got the apartment door open, and as soon as they were in, he twirled Rodney and pushed him hard against the wall, pressing himself into the other man's back. "Mine."

Rodney pushed back, trying to shove John away.

John wasn't giving any though. Rodney had body weight, but John had training and he used it. He used one hand to keep his lover pinned, the other snaking around to try and unhook the buttons on Rodney's pants.

But Rodney shifted, managing to grab John's wandering hand with his own, fingers around his wrist.

John put his forehead against Rodney's shoulder, panting hard. He was so fucking turned on it hurt.

"You're not getting very far."

"S'because all my blood is in my dick. Makes it hard to think."

"Never stopped you before."

John shifted so he could press his aching groin against his lover, grinding into him. "I'm just catching my breath."

Rodney arched back into John, rubbing against him. "Oh why?"

John had to whimper. It felt so good. He decided to take a tactical risk, pulling Rodney away from the wall and pushing him to the floor face first, straddling his lover's thighs.

He huffed, the air rushing from his body as he landed on the floor. The few moments it took Rodney to catch his breath was all the time John needed to make sure he had Rodney good and pinned.

"Hmm, you were saying?"

"You're still…still not fucking me."

"Yes, but we're getting closer." John grinned. "You don't have any particular fondness for this shirt, do you?"

"What?" Rodney squawked. It wasn't an old shirt, but it was one of the shirts John wasn't that fond of. Besides, it would give them another excuse to go shopping.

Still grinning, John shifted so he could keep Rodney pinned with one hand, pulling his knife out of his boot—he was really glad he hadn't bothered to alter his habit of always being armed just because they were on Earth. With a quick slice, he ripped Rodney's shirt up the middle. The little bit of struggling Rodney did then allowed him to pull the material out. Moving fast, he used it as makeshift rope, binding Rodney's hands behind his back.

"John! My shirt! It was…you just…" Rodney struggled and squirmed beneath him, tugging at his now-bound wrists.

Now that Rodney couldn't stop him, John stood up, admiring his work. "Mmm, very nice. I'm going to get the lube and a clean plug. I'll be right back."

Rodney, though, wasn't giving up that easily. He immediately rolled onto his side, managing to get himself upright and shoved against the couch. He was still struggling to get his hands free.

John didn't take long, returning to the living room in less than a minute. He was impressed with the shirt—it was still holding.

"You cut my shirt!"

John grinned. "I had a better use for it. Besides, now I have access." He crouched down, reaching out to fondle a pert nipple.

Rodney shifted away from him. "Nonono, this isn't fair."

"You did say, and I quote, 'make me.'" Chuckling, John didn't let him get far. In fact, since he was here, he undid the buttons on Rodney's pants.

"Are you going to cut those off, too?"

"If I have to." Catching Rodney's face, John dove in for a kiss.

Rodney battled with him, not giving in easily.

John was patient. And horny. So he kept demanding, pressing, until Rodney finally surrendered, opening up and letting John inside.

He swallowed Rodney's moans, holding onto his lover's chin until he felt the first shifting of loosening muscles.

Pulling back slowly, John smiled against Rodney's lips. "Good boy."

"You don't fight fair," Rodney complained as soon as he caught his breath.

"Sure I do. I just play by my rules, not yours." He slid his hands down Rodney's body, under the material of his lover's pants.

Rodney shifted again, this time shoving his legs together and curling up a little.

"Still struggling?"

"What do you think?"

John shook his head. "I think I'm going to take you into the bedroom, tie you down, and really fuck you properly."

"I think you're going to have to work for it and time is getting away from you already."

Humming, John stood again. He got his hands under Rodney's arms, and pulled up, trying to force the other man to his feet.

Rodney didn't help him, instead making his body a dead weight.

Huffing, John raised an eyebrow. "You really want me to go to the grocery store with blue balls, don't you? Get me all hot and bothered, then don't let me fuck you."

Rodney smirked. "Maybe. Are you giving up already?"

"I could just take you here." Since Rodney was back on the floor anyway, John flipped him back to his stomach, yanking the loose pants down so they were bunched around Rodney's knees, effectively restraining them. And showing off that ass he had been burning for what felt like hours now. "So beautiful..."

His lover tried to roll back onto his side, but John wasn't having it.

He got hold of the plug and pulled, slipping it partway out before letting it slide back in.

Moaning, Rodney stopped shifting, his body starting to tremble for another reason. The only issue, though, was that with his pants bunched around his legs, there was no way John was going to fuck him like this. He didn't have enough room.

He decided to make sure Rodney was good and pliant first though. He slowly fucked his lover with the small plug, making tiny movements. "Think how good it will feel when it's my big cock doing this. Moving inside you, filling you."

Rodney's hands were clenching behind his back, opening and closing as John fucked him with the plug. He was panting and moaning, John listening carefully to the tone of his sounds.

When he heard the noises that meant Rodney had fallen over the edge, John let go of the plug, watching as it sank back into his lover's greedy ass. He yanked Rodney's pants the rest of the way off along with his boots and socks, and then urged his lover to get up on his knees.

"John…" he whispered, begging quietly as John shoved Rodney's legs apart.

Pulling the plug completely free, John had himself out and slicked up almost instantly. And then he was finally, finally pushing into that welcoming heat. "So good..."

Rodney groaned, pressing his cheek into the floor, trying to brace himself without the use of his hands.

John got a good grip on his lover's hips, holding him steady. He was too turned on for slow and sweet. As soon as he felt Rodney relax around him, John started to seriously fuck, taking Rodney hard.

It was rough and he knew Rodney was probably getting floor burn on his cheek, but John didn't care. In his own way, this was Rodney's own fault. Had he just sucked him off in the parking lot and played nice, they wouldn't be here like this. Although, this was damn fun.

He felt like he had been hard for hours, so it didn't take long until John was coming, pouring himself into his lover. With a sated moan, he collapsed down against Rodney's back. "So good..."

His lover whimpered, the extra weight sending him crashing to the floor.

John rubbed his face against Rodney's shoulder for a moment, then forced himself to sit up. He grabbed the plug he had retrieved from the bedroom—one of the largest they owned at the apartment, actually—and when he pulled out he pushed that in his place.

"Oh god…" Rodney moaned. "So big….god, John…"

"Mmm. Glad you like it." John got to shaky feet and reached down to help Rodney climb to his feet. "How are you doing?"

His lover shift on his feet, turning to face John, his eyes wide and nearly all pupil. "Filled….fucked…"

John had to steal a quick kiss. "Perfect. Come with me." He led the other man toward the bedroom.

"What? Why? We have to go out."

"No. I'm going to run to the store. You're staying here."

"But I thought—"

John cut him off with another kiss, then pushed Rodney to sit on the bed. "I'm going to put your cuffs on. Are you going to fight me again?"

"But I thought Daniel was coming over," he said, his eyebrows drawn together in confusion.

"He is. But he's not here now." John took advantage of the confusion to untie Rodney's hands and replace the torn shirt with the leather cuffs, locking them in place.

"But we have an hour, two at most," he said, shifting a little away from John. "What are you doing?"

John hummed to himself, pouncing before Rodney really knew what was coming. In less than a minute, his lover's hands were secured to the headboard. "I'm tying you up."

"But John!" Rodney's eyes had gone wide, voice higher pitched than normal. "We need to go to the store and get food for tonight. We can't just…do this now."

John smiled, kissing Rodney's nose. "There always time for this. Besides, I'm going to the store as soon as I get you set up."

"What do you mean? Wait! You're going to leave me here? Like this?"

John put cuffs on Rodney's ankles, and clipped them to the bed too. He loved the bondage bed—it made this so much easier. Next, he pulled out a set of nipple clamps, setting them where Rodney could see them.

"John, come on. I was teasing before."

"And I liked it. I love when you get in that mood." Smiling, John attached the clamps. "It gets me in the mood."

Rodney groaned, arching into John's touch, into the bite of the clamps. "John…"

John kissed him again, resting a hand in the middle of Rodney's chest. He gave them another moment, then with a sigh pulled back. He grabbed a headset for the phone off the bedside table and slipped it over Rodney's ear, placing the hand unit where Rodney could reach it, even tied. "If you need me for any reason, call my cell. I shouldn't be long."

"John! You can't…you can't just leave me like this!"

"I am. You can stay here and enjoy being filled, knowing I'm thinking about you all tied up and waiting for me."

Rodney shifted on the bed, tugging at the restraints. He moaned at the sensations, whimpering a little when he couldn't move.

John took another moment to admire his lover before slipping into the bathroom to make himself presentable again. When he was, he headed back out. "Call me if you have any problems. In the meantime, just relax and enjoy."

"Come on, why can't I go with you?"

"Because now I'm feeling toppy, and I want you tied to my bed."

"But Jackson's coming to the apartment! And it's my bed."

"He knows we're together. That's actually why we're having dinner with him. I'm interested in hearing his take on how to have a relationship and be teammates and friends at the same time. You want anything special from the store? Other than coffee?"

"Wait a minute, he knows? How does he know? I didn't tell him."

"He guessed, when he helped us get home the other night."

"What do mean he guessed? What did you do?"

John kissed him again. "I was intent on making sure you were okay. That's all. Don't worry about it. And I really have to go get food, if we're going to eat tonight."

"And you have to let me up, too."

John eyed his lover carefully, flicking idly at the clamps. "Do you really want up, or are you just protesting because you think you should?"

Rodney moaned, his eyes sliding shut as his body reacted.

"I'm thinking it's option B. You really want this, want to be tied down and plugged, owned by me, kept by me. In a few days, you'll exist just for me and my pleasure, and nothing else. For now, I'm going to let you have a taste of that now. You're going to stay here and wait for me to come home and play with you again."

He moaned again, louder this time, tugging ineffectively at the restraints. "John…" he whispered.

Licking his lips, John brushed their lips together again. "How about this: I'll talk to you the whole time? Over the phone. It would be really hot to be in the store, knowing I'm talking to you like this."

Rodney groaned, trying to arching into John, trying to deepen the kiss.

But John wouldn't let him. He pulled back and fished his own cell phone out of his pocket, along with the bluetooth headset. He put it on and dialed the apartment, making sure Rodney's was working. "I'll be right here in your ear, and I'll be back in the flesh in no time."

"John," he groaned and John heard it in stereo—in person and over the phone.

John pulled the keys out, and winked at his lover, heading back out. "So talk to me. Tell me what you're feeling right now."

"I hate you right now," Rodney whispered, but his tone was anything but mad.

"Tell me how the plug feels. What do the clamps feel like?" John grinned as he got in the car.

"The plug? Clamps! You want me to do what?"

"Tell me what they feel like. How it feels inside you, on you. When you shift, and they move, what does it make you think?"

John could hear Rodney shifting, his breathing altering. "Full. I feel full and stretched. It's hard, much harder than your cock."

Licking his lips, John was glad the grocery store wasn't all that far. He pulled into the parking lot, finding a spot quickly. "What else?"

"I…I like it. When I bear down on it, I swear I can feel it all the way down to my toes."

"Mmm." John had to work at not moaning—he was already getting a weird look from a little old lady as he grabbed a cart. "Do that now, a few times."

John could tell as soon as Rodney obeyed. His breathing hitched and he moaned, his body shifting against the bed. John could hear the swoosh of skin against the sheets. "Good…so good," he panted.

He had to shift a little, glad he had something in front of him as he walked through the store, grabbing what he needed. "What about the cage? How does that feel?"

"Secure…caress…"

Swallowing, John made his way to the meat counter. "Keep moving, feel the way everything holds you, moves inside you." He glanced over the cuts, pleased to see three very nice steaks. He pointed them out to the butcher. "I'll take these."

"Of course, sir," the butcher replied, reaching into the meat case and pulling out the items John requested.

"Feels good…want you…"

John's breath hitched—okay, so maybe phone sex while grocery shopping hadn't been the smartest of his ideas. He managed to say thanks as he took his wrapped package, hoping he sounded normal. He was thinking mashed potatoes and a salad to go with the meat, so he started for the produce section next. "When I get home, I'm going to take you, hard."

"Now?"

"Soon." John knew his voice was getting husky.

"Want to feel you touching me, caressing me, sending me higher and higher…" Rodney moaned quietly, breath hitching a little.

"Imagine it. Imagine my hands on you now, caressing you, touching you." John noticed another little old lady looking at him, and he blushed, bright red as he grabbed the vegetables he wanted.

"Want you," Rodney panted. "Your hands feel so good, know just how to touch me…"

John licked his lips again, rushing through the store to get the last of the things he needed. Butter, cream, coffee, eggs, milk, a chocolate cake and berries for dessert, and a variety of other things to last them for the next few days. "Are you starting to feel desperate for it? For me?"

"I love you, love when you do this, when you play with me…feels so good, makes me want more."

"And this is just a taste. You're going to have this for days. Just you and me, playing, making each other feel good."

"Please," Rodney begged, voice breaking on the word. "John…want you…"

"Soon. I'm in the checkout line now." John's BDUs were tight across his groin. He just hoped no one noticed.

"Please, John. Want your hands on me, want to feel you pressing me into the bed, kissing me, please…want you…I’m so full, it's so big…stretching me for you…"

A small moan slipped out before John could stop it. Both the cute cashier who looked like she was barely old enough to drive, and the woman she was checking out—the same one from the produce section, turned to look at him.

"Forget something?" the cashier asked innocently.

John licked his lips again. "Ah…no. I'm…I'm good. Thanks."

Rodney was still babbling in his ear, talking about his nipples and John's hands. "…good when you lick them, bite them…"

Biting his bottom lip, John resisted the urge to reach down and touch himself. He had to move carefully putting his items on the belt.

"Paper or plastic?"

"Um... plastic." John's voice was a little breathy, so he swallowed and tried to smile at her.

She returned the smile and began packing his groceries as she rang them up. Rodney had moved into his own little world, talking quietly, describing things that he liked and how they felt. Everything was tied together in a vast stream of consciousness with pants and moans and whimpers.

John loved hearing Rodney talk—this was only turning him on further, ramping him up. He was grateful when he was finally given the total, and could pay.

Handing over his credit card, he let him mind wander a little, signing on the line when she put it in front of him and gave him the pen. He was sure he could get Rodney to beg when they were on vacation, beg to be fucked, to be touched. That would be…really hot.

He didn't realize he had made a noise until he realized the cashier was looking at him again, this time with wide eyes.

"Sir?"

"Yes?" He handed over the pen, aware he was blushing again.

"Is there some kind of problem?"

"Ahh, no. I'm good. Better than good. Need anything else?"

"No, sir," she said, her eyes shifting to the older woman stacking items on the belt behind John. "One suggestion, though. Phone sex in the supermarket might not be a good idea."

He felt himself go completely hot, knowing he was probably a remarkable shade of red. "Um... I'm just... going to leave now..."

"Good idea."

Still flushed, John grabbed his cart and fled. That Rodney was still whispering dirty things in his ear just made it hotter, somehow. He tossed the food in the car, and pressed the heel of his hand against his groin as soon as he had the door closed behind him. "Oh god, Rodney..."

"…so full…wish it was you…wish you were touching me, holding me to the bed, fucking me…"

"I'm on my way now. Soon. I'll be inside you soon."

"…you feel so good…want you so badly…want to feel you…"

As he pulled into the parking lot of the complex, John groaned when he saw Daniel getting out of his car. Figured, the one time he had to be on time. However... jumping out of the car, John caught his attention and tossed him the keys. "Hey, wasn't expecting you yet. Mind bringing the groceries in for me?"

"Oh? I thought you'd be cooking already."

"Got a little sidetracked." Rodney moaned in his ear, making John lick his lips. "I got steak, so it won't take me long to make. If you'll bring it in…I have something I need to go do inside."

Daniel narrowed his eyes. "Do you need me to come back in a few minutes? Maybe go get some wine or beer?"

John grinned. "I didn't get any wine, so if you want some. Do you mind?"

"I know Rodney doesn't cook, so I'm guessing you have something…important to finish," he said. "I'll be back in about an hour."

"I don't need that long. Give me thirty minutes." John blushed. "Thanks, Daniel."

"Rodney might need longer. I'll get some red wine."

"I'm making steak, mashed potatoes, and a salad. I also got a chocolate cake and some tart berries and cream for dessert. By the time you get back, I should have everything pretty much ready."

"Good. I'll be back. Try to be…done," he said, waving his hand as he tossed John the keys and headed for his own car.

Grabbing the bags, John shoved everything in the fridge for the moment, heading into the bedroom. He tossed the phone aside and climbed onto the bed with Rodney. "Oh god, need to touch you."

"John…" Rodney whispered, arching into John's body as much as he was able. John tugged the headset from his lover's ear.

And then he was plundering his lover's mouth. John let himself get a little lost in the kiss, hands wandering over Rodney's body.

And his lover reacted perfectly. He squirmed under John, arching into his hands, moaning into his mouth.

He kissed his way down Rodney's chest, flicking his tongue against the clamps before moving lower. "I need to be inside you."

"Please," Rodney begged, the sound so sweet. John would have to unhook his legs in order to do that, though.

He moved quickly, getting his own pants unbuttoned and his aching erection pulled out. Bending Rodney's legs back, John pulled the plug free slowly, letting Rodney feel every inch as it came out.

His lover moaned, the sound coming from deep in his chest. As soon as John slid out the plug, he watched Rodney's hole, semen dripping out, the hole twitching, begging for more.

He needed to be in there. Grabbing the lube, he slicked himself and pushed in, loving how open and welcoming Rodney's ass was.

"John!" Rodney half yelled, half moaned, squeezing down on John's cock.

He knew they didn't have a lot of time to draw this out, so John found an easy pace, taking his pleasure and enjoying Rodney's body.

His lover was so open, so eager and willing. He was moaning and whimpering constantly, continually. Offering up all kinds of sounds for John.

"Rodney..." John moaned his lover's name as he came, shivering with the force of it. He stayed still for a moment, panting, head down, before slowly pulling out and fitting himself along Rodney's side.

Rodney tugged at the restraints still securing his wrists and moaned when he couldn't. He shifted his leg instead, wrapping it around John's as he panted and whimpered.

After giving them a few minutes of just being together, John sighed, lifting his head. "I need to go start dinner. Daniel will be back in about forty-five minutes."

"'kay," Rodney whispered, his body still trembling every few seconds.

"I'm going to go clean the plug, and put it back in you. Then I'm going to dress you again and tie you to the chair in the kitchen to keep me company while I cook."

"I thought Daniel was coming."

"That's while you'll be dressed instead of naked. I can untie you when he gets here. Probably." John rolled off the bed, grabbing the plug and padding into the bathroom, leaving the door open so he could still talk to Rodney.

"Can I go to the bathroom before you put the plug back in?"

"Yes. And if you want to wear the plug tonight and tomorrow, I'll need to clean you inside really well. UTIs aren't on the agenda for next week."

"No. Definitely not for you. There should be an enema kit somewhere in there."

John raised an eyebrow, glancing at the door as he washed the toy. "You have an enema kit? Why?"

It took Rodney nearly a minute to answer, his response hinted with embarrassment. "I got some the last time we were here."

"Huh." wandering back out, John gave his lover an appraising look. "That was good forethought. Though I have to admit I've never had or given one before, so this will be new to me. We'll deal with it tonight. For now," he unhooked Rodney's wrists from the bed. "Go take care of business and come on back out."

"I used to give them to myself when I was in Siberia."

"Huh." John had gotten himself tucked away, and was leaning against the bed while Rodney was in the bathroom. "What does it feel like?"

"I don't know. It was just something I did to make sure I was clean."

"As long as it doesn't hurt, that's fine." John smiled softly when Rodney reappeared.

"No, it doesn't hurt," Rodney said, moving right to John and wrapping his arms around him.

"Good." They kissed lazily for a moment, before John sighed. "I need to get the food going."

"I think I’m missing something," Rodney said quiet.

Smiling, John picked up the plug, one hand still resting against Rodney's hip. "Stick that pretty ass out for me, so I can take care of it."

His lover moved over to the bed and leaned over, spreading his legs for John and waiting.

John dropped to his knees and pressed a kiss to each cheek before he slowly pressed the pre-lubed toy into his lover, filling him once again.

Rodney moaned as his ass closed around the neck of the plug, holding it inside of him.

Standing, John urged Rodney to turn around. "I'm taking the clamps off now, and getting you dressed."

His lover allowed John to move him, shift him, his eyes blown out, mostly pupil. He leaned forward, brushing his lips against John's.

With lots of little kisses and caresses, John took off the clamps and got his lover into a loose pair of khakis and a soft tee-shirt, and led him out to the kitchen. He used a few straps to tie Rodney to the chair, so he would be able to see the whole room, and then retrieved the food that had been shoved into the fridge. First, he needed to get the meat in the broiler, then he needed to peel the potatoes and start them boiling.

Rodney was quiet, eyes half closed. He wasn't sleeping, more like a half-awake state. He leaned into any of John's touches, pressing kisses to palms and skin when he could.

He loved these quiet times, when they could be domestic together. When the doorbell finally rang, dinner was mostly done—the potatoes just needed to be whipped, but the meat was almost done, and the salad was ready. John unlocked the straps on Rodney's limbs, tucking them in his pocket. "That's Daniel. I'll be right back."

"Hmm?" Rodney opened his eyes, throwing John a puzzled look.

Chuckling, John gave him a quick kiss before moving to the door.

"Where are you going?"

"To get the door." John paused, looking back and giving Rodney a soft smile. "Daniel's here."

It took a long moment before recognition dawned. "Oh. Dinner."

The bell rang again, and John nodded before moving to open it. He smiled sheepishly at the scientist standing there. "Come on in."

"It safe?" Daniel asked poking his head in, taking a deep breath. "It certainly smells good."

"It's safe. We're in the kitchen. Since this isn't a big group, I figured we could eat there—it's less formal."

"Of course," he said, offering John two bottles of wine. He closed the door behind himself and shrugged off his coat, dropping it over the back of the couch.

John led the way back into the kitchen, glancing over at Rodney, who hadn't moved. "Want me to pour the wine?"

Daniel shot John a raised eyebrow. "Sure."

John waved Daniel into a chair, pulling out the wine glasses and pouring—although he only gave Rodney a half glass. His lover was already relaxed, and John didn't want him passed out later.

Rodney blinked twice, shaking himself a bit. "Jackson," he said quietly. "You found your way out of the labs."

Daniel nodded. "I wasn't going to risk missing a Sheppard meal. You look really relaxed."

"I'm surprised you know the word."

"I could say the same for you." Daniel smiled. "It's good to see you like this."

John caught Rodney's eye and smiled. He liked seeing Rodney this relaxed, too.

"I know how to relax," Rodney huffed, finally shifting on the chair. "I just choose to do it on rare occasions. I'm preparing for my vacation."

John had strained the potatoes, and was mashing them by hand, rather than drag out a mixer. He was using the island so he could still see and talk to the other men. "Two days and counting."

"It can't come soon enough," Rodney said with a soft smile.

Their gaze met, and for a moment John forgot about Jackson, caught in clear blue eyes and soft pink lips.

Daniel cleared this throat a few moments later. "Should I be here?"

Starting, John went back to mashing, feeling his face heat. He was doing a lot of that today. "Sorry. We'll behave."

"That kind of thing is what will get you in trouble."

"We're not as bad when we're in public." John shrugged. "But I don't see any reason to pretend when I'm in private, and not with people who already know about us."

"Keeping them separate is hard," Daniel said, taking a sip of his wine. "You'll give yourself away eventually. You'll be tired, you'll forget."

John glanced at him. "That happened to you?"

"Jack's not in Washington because he wanted the promotion."

John winced. "Their idea of punishing him was to send him to play politics? What if he had refused?"

"He didn't have the choice."

"At least he wasn't discharged. And he's still a respected member of the SGC. So it's not all bad, right?"

"We see each other four times a year, if that. You tell me."

John swallowed hard. "I... Wow. I'm sorry. There's not anything you can do?"

"They're not going to let him retire until they've wrung every last drop of blood from his veins," Daniel said quietly. "It's…we've decided to wait them out, but it's not easy. We slipped up, messed up. We didn't think anything would happen, figured we were safe. We were wrong."

"You could come to Atlantis." John blinked. He hadn't realized he was going to say that, but knew he meant it. If they wanted to come, even if it would mean his own position would change...

"No, we can't. Jack's doing some good here."

"You're a civilian—you can't just move to Washington?" John set the now-finished potatoes on the table with the salad, and went to the oven to check the steaks.

Rodney was listening carefully, taking everything in.

Daniel shook his head. "I'm a contracted employee of the US government and I've been assigned to work at the Cheyenne Mountain complex. Without prior authorization I can't just pick up and move to another assignment."

"So you're down to just seeing each other a few times a year." John's chest hurt just thinking about it. "I... How can you stand it?"

"Missions keep me busy. That and my research."

"More to life than work. I'd... I can't imagine not being able to touch Rodney, not see him."

Daniel glanced down at his wine, swirling it around. "If I can help you to make sure it doesn't happen to you…"

John put the steaks on a serving platter and joined the other two at the table. "I appreciate the help. I... Our relationship is a little different than most. If we were separated long-term..." he shuddered.

Daniel nodded, eyes glancing between John and Rodney, his gaze lingering on Rodney's wrist. John could see the edge of one of the cuffs peeking out from under his lover's sleeve. Whoops. "I can see that," Daniel said evenly. "It's actually quite an interesting lifestyle choice, going back hundreds of years."

They passed the food around, John smiling at Rodney, who seemed content to just listen for the moment. "It works well for us."

"And if you go back to some of the ancient civilizations, you find it mostly among the upper class, in societies where intellect was treasured," Daniel said. "Interestingly enough, it was encouraged and supported among the community and those engaged were respected. The societies usually flourished and progressed well from a cultural standpoint during those times."

John had never really thought about it before. "Huh. It makes sense though—it's part of why we work so well, I think. I take care of him so he's free to focus on the science and other important things. He knows I won't let him push himself beyond what he can handle, and if he starts to feel stressed, I'll take care of it." John reached over to squeeze his lover's leg.

Rodney offered a small smile, handing over the bowl of potatoes to Daniel after taking some for himself. "And John has been good about knowing when to push and when to back off. It's still a work in progress, but it's very rewarding when we're both in sync."

"It is hard sometimes. I have to balance between helping, and smothering. I hope I get it right more than I get it wrong. I think I do."

"Well, if McKay's current state of relaxation is because of you, then I think you're getting something right," Daniel kidded. "Because I would have sworn there was no way he would ever be this…mellow—even after sex."

"Should I be worried that you've thought about what my partner is like after sex?" John raised an eyebrow, teasing right back.

"I have my own partner, Sheppard. One's enough."

Laughing, John nodded. "Good. I can't imagine O'Neill likes sharing any more than I do."

"No, I don't," Daniel shot back with a smirk, taking a bite of his steak.

Shaking his head, John had to laugh again. "All right, so tell me what we can do? It's more or less an open secret on Atlantis. I have to admit, I have a hard time not shouting it from the proverbial rooftops that Rodney is mine, and everyone else needs to keep their hands off. I want people to know I have an amazing partner."

Jackson shook his head. "As much as you think Atlantis is different, it's really not. While DADT may be loosely enforced on base, there are some people—even open-minded ones—who would have an issue with your relationship. All it takes is one word, one slip of the tongue and everything could come crashing down."

Sighing, John took a few bites of food while he thought. "I'm not going to live my life in the shadows. Precautions and being careful are one thing. Pretending like I don't care everywhere except the bedroom isn't an option."

"It's for your own good."

"I can't, Daniel. I can be more careful than I have been, yes. But..."

Jackson leaned forward, his eyes intense. "I’m trying to help you. Jack and I…Jack and I were outted by someone we trusted and look where it ended up. Being careful is one thing. Being smart about it is better."

Flinching, John looked away. "I know. So what do you suggest? You didn't know until I was looped out of my mind, right? What else are we doing to give ourselves away?"

"Honestly? I knew when you were here last, or at least had the inkling. You were fighting like a married couple."

John glanced at Rodney, a wry smile on his face. "We don't do that very often."

Rodney snorted. "As if."

Grinning, John leaned over to press a kiss into the side of Rodney's forehead. "You don't feel the need to fight me very often. Well, not seriously anyway."

"Because I haven't needed to," he countered, rolling his eyes.

"That's not a bad thing."

"Either that or I've just become complacent and lazy."

"I have a ripped tee-shirt that says otherwise."

Rodney snorted again, letting his fork drop to his plate. "That was different and you know it."

"I do know it." John caught his lover's face and turned it so he could press a soft kiss into those crooked lips.

Daniel cleared his throat again.

John grinned, letting his hand drop and turning back to his meal.

"And my point about an old married couple was just proved," he said, shaking his head.

"You're telling me you and O'Neill aren't like that when you're alone, or with close friends?" John raised an eyebrow.

"Alone yes. Close friends? Maybe just Sam and Teal'c, but that's it."

"That has to be hard." John sighed again. "When he retires, what will you do then?"

"Probably quit, or maybe move to a consulting role. He has a few years on me so I'll probably end up working longer. We…we've talked about it on and off, even the possibility of moving off-world. We'll have to see what feels right when the time comes."

"How many years does he have left?"

Daniel shrugged. "Depends on how many people Jack's pissed off."

"What are you hoping for then? I can't imagine either of you are happy being separated like this. Long-distance relationships are hard."

Daniel huffed and took another bite of his dinner. "It gets lonely, but we've both dealt with long-term abstinence, so…" He shrugged. "We'll play the game until we can't anymore."

John glanced at his lover. "So give me some suggestions."

Rodney sighed and shook his head. "We've been down this road before, John, and I don't think you want to spend the night arguing about it."

"No, arguing is not on the agenda." He sighed. "However, I am willing to listen. Give me some ideas—I won't promise to take any of them, but if you point out my more obvious slips, I'll do my best to curb them."

"Stay professional, very professional in public," Daniel said quietly.

"We are friends—that's been established since the beginning. If we suddenly start being super polite to each other, people will notice."

"It's fine that you're friends and are familiar with each other, you are team members, but there are friends and friends, if you understand," Daniel said. "As much as it hurts, you can't let anyone know—anyone more than you've already told. As it is, I'm guessing it's already too many."

John nodded slowly. "Probably. It's all people I trust, but... okay." He looked at Rodney. "I'll do my best to curb it in public. I don't want to hurt you by outing us and getting us separated."

"I'm guessing romps in the supply closets might need to be curtailed, too," Rodney said with a half smile—teasing but serious.

"Hey, I only do that when I'm desperate." John grinned, then sobered. "I will be more careful. I know I've been a little lax with it—I guess I trust my people, and I hate not being able to tell the world how I feel about you."

"I trust you and I know I've been…accommodating," Rodney said, blushing slightly.

"Mmm. Accommodating isn't a bad thing. I'm the one who should know better." He reached over to squeeze Rodney's leg again.

"And I should have the ability to say 'not now' sometimes," Rodney said quietly. He looked over at Daniel who was quietly watching their conversation. "We've…you're right. More people know than should, but I trust them, we trust them. We can't go around second-guessing ourselves or jumping at every shadow."

Nodding, John leaned back in his chair. "Okay, so we'll be more careful in the future. We can't change the past, so that's all we can do."

"How many people know?" Daniel asked, food long forgotten.

They shared a look, and John started counting them off. "Elizabeth and Carson. Kate. You and Carter. Some friends of mine who aren't with the military. Cadman. Lorne and Parrish. Zelenka. I think that's it, right?"

"I'm not sure about Carter. I think she might know, but I didn't tell her. She might suspect," Rodney corrected. "There are some others who know that we're bi, but making the leap to us as a couple won't be that hard, especially since we share an apartment."

"You what?" Daniel's disbelief was tangible.

John smiled. "We share an apartment in Atlantis. And before you freak out on me, we aren't the only ones. Officially, Rodney and I are sharing because we're senior staff and setting a good example. We were running out of single rooms, and wanted to open the larger suites, but it means having a roommate. By volunteering, we started a rush. There are two rooms, so pretty much everyone except the people we named believe we each have our own."

"Who else are sharing?"

"My second and one of his teammates were right after us—they live across the hall—and I think almost all the others are filled now, right?" He glanced at Rodney to see if his lover knew. There were twenty suites total in their section, but John hadn't looked at the housing lists in a while, so he wasn't sure how many were full.

"They're all full," Rodney nodded. "I didn't pay attention to who."

"Yeah, me neither. Mostly people like us, who are teammates in the field as well."

"And this was approved?"

John nodded. "We needed to relieve the housing crunch with new personnel coming in, and because of its location, it took less power to occupy this section than to open up another wing of singles. The entire senior staff approved the plan, and it's been pretty popular, from what I've heard. It's a hard life, living in the middle of a battle zone like that. Having someone around, even a roommate, at the end of the day is helping lot of people cope with the day-to-day weirdness."

"I guess," Daniel said, not looking convinced. "It's just very…risky for you."

"Not as much as you'd think. Like I said, most of the base assumes we're doing it to set a good example—which we are. Someone from senior staff had to be the first, or no one would have done it. Rodney and I are already teammates. Not to mention, Elizabeth feels that she needs to keep some distance, and Carson needs to keep his room near the infirmary. So that left us as the only real options. Even if we weren't lovers, we'd be living together right now anyway."

"Somehow I doubt that."

Chuckling, John shrugged. "While I unofficially know that we aren't the only ones getting some added benefits from the suites, I also know there are a lot of people who are just roommates, too."

"All kinds of couples?"

John nodded again. "I'm not going to tell other people's secrets, but yes. There are all kinds, both of the legal and technically illegal kind."

"The scientists are allowed to shack up," Rodney said, rolling his eyes. "It's the backwards US military that has the issues."

"Hey, if I could repeal that, I would. If people know about O'Neill, and he's still so well-respected—a real hero—maybe people will start changing their minds..."

"Doubtful," Daniel said with a sigh, picking up his fork again and pushing around his potatoes. "Seems like it has just gotten harder lately."

"They won't let him retire, but they're making his life difficult?" John was surprised at that.

"His skills are needed and because of some of the…things he's done, they have him until they're done with him." Daniel shrugged. "What they really need is his gene and the loyalty he engenders from the members of the SGC command. They don't see it that way."

"He's got the years in though." John leaned forward, trying to understand. "If he wants to leave, how would they stop him?"

"I don't know and Jack won't say, but he can't leave. Not now."

John reached across the table, awkwardly patting Daniel on the hand. "If there's anything we can to do help..."

He shook his head. "Already tried. Jack's…trapped in a way."

"Still. If you think of anything, don't hesitate to ask us to help. And if we come across anything you could use, we'll make sure to pass it along."

"There's nothing to do, short of disappearing and we have too many ties, too much at stake to do that." He took a breath, focusing back on John. "But with you…I'd like to help you as much as I can so that way you don't find yourself in a similar position."

John smiled softly. "Thanks. I'd rather not find myself in a position to have to choose between never seeing Earth again, and being permanently bound to it. This is my home world, but Atlantis is home now."

"Jack and I don't have that option," he said. "We are really bound to this planet and these people. But a lot of my advice boils down to being careful, safe. To keeping the secret even though you'd rather yell it from the top of the spires."

"I can do that. Well, I can try at least. I'll let my times when we're either by ourselves or on vacation be enough—for now. I will say this though; when we decide to retire, all bets are off."

"And please don't tell anyone else."

"We won't. At least not intentionally. Other than Elizabeth and Carson, most of them have been accidents."

"And you can't afford them," Daniel said, his voice firm, the fingers gripping his fork so hard the edges turned white. "You don't understand. Sheppard. You know your standing in the military. They'll use anything they can against you to keep you from Atlantis, from each other. And McKay, have you looked at the fine print in your contract? I know you've worked for the government since you were young, but you might be surprised at just how much of your soul you signed away when you became part of the program. They might own more of you than they own of Sheppard."

John and Rodney exchanged a long look. When his lover shuddered slightly, John reached over, lacing their hands together.

"I don't mean to be the bearer of bad news, but sometimes we're just an investment for them. If they're not getting the results they want, they can change things, move things until they are working the way they want them. It's just…business, to them."

Sighing, John closed his eyes briefly. "We're... insulated from that, at least a little, in Atlantis. Or at least insulated from knowing about it. It's easy to forget about politics and playing the game when every day is a battle just to survive. Things like worrying about who people love and who they spend their off-hours with become so low a priority they don't even register anymore."

"But you need to remember that you're part of it. As soon as you step foot from Atlantis, you become fair game. And even there they can still reach you."

"We should make all the politicians serve in the front lines for a month or two. I bet then the priorities would align right."

"Doubtful. They'd find someone else to do it for them," Daniel said dryly.

"True." John shook his head. "And now that we've all depressed ourselves, let's try to enjoy dinner. What less dark gossip do you have for us?"

Daniel kept up a rather lively discussion with John throughout the rest of the night, but Rodney had quieted considerably since their conversation. He was eating and listening, answering questions directed at him, but otherwise remained silent. The small touches weren't being shrugged off, but his body had stiffened considerably, tension radiating from him once again.

After dessert, they had moved to the living room, and finally, the evening was wearing down. John yawned, stretching. "I don't know about you guys, but I think I'm about done for the night. We still have two more days to get through before we're free."

Daniel rose, offering John his hand. "Thank you again for dinner. It was fantastic as I knew it would be. And I'm sorry I brought such bad news, but I'd rather you know what could happen—and realize it already has."

John shook his hand, squeezing lightly. "You're more than welcome for the dinner, and thanks for the advice. I will take it to heart, especially when I'm on Earth. I know I need to be more careful. You just drove it home. I don't like it, but I will try harder."

"Good," Daniel nodded, his gaze shifting to Rodney. "Try and enjoy your vacation. The torture is almost over."

Rodney nodded, offering a small, resigned smile. "If we don't see you before we leave, have a good mission."

John saw Jackson to the door, then locked it, returning to Rodney. "Hey. How are you doing?"

"That's what I was worried about, you know, the witch hunt."

"I know. You were right, and I was wrong." John sat next to him, tugging Rodney over. "I did know it. I guess I just figured with all the SGC sees on a regular basis, this would be the last thing they would care about."

"I need to look at my contract, too."

"Tomorrow. It's late, and I don't know about you, but I really am exhausted."

"I need to find it tonight. I need to know if I'm as trapped as Jackson said I am."

John looked at him closely. "You know whatever it says, it doesn't change anything, right? I'll be more careful, but neither of us is planning to leave Atlantis or our positions there anytime soon."

"Don't you understand?" Rodney asked, turning to face John a little better. As he continued, his voice started to rise in volume. "No matter what we might want to do, we probably have no say in what happens to us. We might want to stay in Atlantis, but it really comes down to the fact that we're just some fucking pawns to the SGC to move when they feel like it because they have some greater strategy that they aren't going to tell us plebs about in the first place."

John cupped both his hands around Rodney's face. He let his lover see he was worried too, not trying to hide it. He kept his voice soft though, soothing. "I know. But we can't live our lives worrying about it. We'll plan what we can, and I'll do better in the future, but I'm not giving you up. Period. End of story."

"You might not have that option," he said, trying to shift away, but John held him in place.

"No. They might have the right to try and move us around, but they can't change the way we feel about each other. And they can't stop us from loving each other. You're too brilliant for them to let walk away, and next to O'Neill I have the strongest gene; and I have better control over it than he does because I use it more. Someone might—and I stress the might here—try to make our lives hard at some point, but we'll get through it."

Rodney sighed, closing his eyes. John could see the resignation in his lover's body, hear it in his voice. "I need to find my contract."

Knowing Rodney wouldn't be able to relax until he had read it, John kissed him gently, then sat back. "Okay. I'll help. Where do you want me to look?"

"I…I'll do it. I think I know where it is. I need to do this, John."

"I know you do. I just don't want you to let it worry you. Go find it then, and we can talk about it after you've read through it."

Rodney huffed. "Too late."

"I don't have any regrets." John held his lover's gaze. "There isn't anything I would change."

"I'll regret if our relationship gets you kicked out with a dishonorable discharge. You've worked far too hard for far too long to let that happen."

"You're more important to me than my career, Rodney. You're more important than flying. I'd walk away from it and never look back if it means I get to keep you."

"John, no," Rodney said, shaking his head. "Don't say that."

"It's true. I don't have any plans to hasten the choice along, but if it ever comes down to one, there is no choice—I'll stay with you." John needed to make Rodney understand.

"I won't let you give up flying. I know how much it's in your blood."

"I don't want to. I'm selfish enough to want it all. But, Rodney... The way I feel about you... it's more than flying ever could be."

Rodney leaned in, pressing his forehead to John's, breathing heavily as if he'd just run a marathon. They stayed like that for several minutes, just breathing in each other's air, allowing the connection to comfort them, calm them.

Finally, John tipped Rodney's face enough to press their lips together. The kiss was soft, sweet. They said the words to each other often, but somehow it was more tonight. It was all the things they couldn't articulate, emotions that were so beyond just 'love' that neither of them knew how to express it other than like this.

They let the kiss end naturally, their bodies pressed closely together on the couch.

"What do you need tonight?" John breathed it softly, letting his breath make the tiny hairs on Rodney's neck dance.

"I need to find my contract. Right now, beyond that, I don't know."

"Okay. Do that then, and we'll go from there. I want to get this resolved to at least the point where you're comfortable again before we go to bed. I don't want this to intrude on our vacation."

"We leave in two days."

"I know. But I don't want you stressing about it between now and then. I know you well enough to know that will make it hard to take you as deep, and as fast, as I want you to go when we do get off."

"This is important, John. It's important to me."

John nodded. "That's why I want to do it now. I don't want to put it off, and leave you to worry about it alone. Go get your contract and let's look at it."

"I'll be back in a bit," he said, headed for the spare bedroom.

John relaxed into the couch, stretching out. While he knew they had to take Daniel's warnings seriously, and he would be more careful, he wasn't overly concerned. He just hoped Rodney wouldn't let something stupid like this come between them—nothing had changed, they just had more information now.

He could hear Rodney shuffling around in the back closet, small thumps and scrapes as he dragged and moved things around. After nearly ten minutes, John got up, moving to clear the kitchen table and clean up a bit—anything to keep him busy.

He had just finished putting the clean dishes away when Rodney reappeared. "Find it?"

He had a thick pile of papers in his hand, some dog-eared and ratty, some still pristine. "I…yeah. Daniel was right."

"What does it say?" John moved behind him, wrapping his arms around Rodney's waist and trying to peer over his shoulder.

Rodney took a breath, leaning back against John. "I'm not an 'at will' employee. I'm a contracted employee of the US government and through a series of loop-holes that I didn't bother to read before, they own everything I find, everything I discover until the end of the contract—which is be determined by them—and the discoveries will be limited to what they deem acceptable for the work that was done. Meaning everything that's classified—which is virtually everything I do—will probably never see the light of day. And, any discoveries which are released according to their schedule, I won't even get full rights to the products created."

John pressed his lips to the side of Rodney's neck. "Okay, so what does that mean in real-world terms? Right now everything's classified anyway, so nothing will be released. But when they do eventually let stuff dribble out, do you really think they wouldn't give you the credit for it? They need the best and the brightest, and if they screw over people like you and Carter, they'll have a hard time getting them in the future."

"They could decide never to release any of my projects until I'm dead, John. It's up to them and their damn schedule. And I can't really quit, either—not if I want the one chance in hell of actually being able to publish something from all the work I've done."

Blowing out softly, John squeezed his lover closer. "So what do you want to do?"

"I don't know. I have to think about it, read it through a little more."

"Do you want to sleep on it, or do you need to do it now?"

Rodney took a deep breath. "I need to think about it. I don't think I'm going to be able to do anything about it now, or even a week from now. They own me, John. Own me and my work and for me not to realize that until some damn archeologist had to tell me…"

John squeezed again. "I'm guessing it's the same contract all the scientists of the SGC had to sign. Why don't you set it aside for now? When we get back to Atlantis, sit down with Radek and Simpson and some of the others. Bounce around some ideas, and even if it doesn't come to anything, it will make you feel better."

"I know. I was so careful about my other contracts with them. I should have known better, but the chance to go to Atlantis…"

"And they knew that. No one wanted to be left behind, not because of a clause in a contract. So a few politicians took advantage."

"A few?"

John shrugged against Rodney's body. "I'm guessing. I have no idea who had a hand in the contracts to be honest, especially not for the civilian personnel. Elizabeth would probably know, though."

"Maybe." Rodney sighed. "Do we need to do anything else? I think sleeping would be a good thing right about now."

John blew a small raspberry in the side of Rodney's neck, just because he could, and he wanted to make the other man smile. "Sleep would be a good thing.

"Now?"

"Yeah. Let's go get naked and cuddle."

Rodney snorted, the sound amused. Good. John had at least gotten a partial smile.

John blew another raspberry before drawing back, grinning.

"This is serious."

"I know it is." John turned his lover around so he could brush their lips together. "But right now there isn't anything we can do about it, so I'm reduced to trying to make you smile."

"I’m not in the mood."

John hugged him close, then let his hand drop down to curl with Rodney's. "Let's go to bed then."

"Do we need to clean up?"

As they walked into the bedroom, John shrugged. "I wouldn't mind a shower, but I can live without one too, if you're not up for it."

"I was referring to the kitchen, not us, but showering might be a good idea. I just don't know if I have the energy. You can go."

"I already took care of the kitchen. And why don't we take a quick one then. No shower sex, but I'll give you a soapy massage, see if I can help you relax a bit so you'll be able to sleep."

Rodney turned toward John, offering a small smile. "I won't turn down a massage."

Returning the smile, John slowly undressed his lover, letting his hands skim over each patch of revealed skin. He wasn't trying to arouse, but just to comfort and relax Rodney.

He leaned into John's touches, closing his eyes, giving himself to John.

John quickly stripped himself, then led Rodney into the shower. He made the water as hot as he knew Rodney could stand, arranging the other man so he was leaning facing the wall, head pillowed on his own forearms. John worked up a good lather with the soap and started to knead at the tense muscles in his lover's shoulders.

Rodney simply let John take care of him, moaning quietly as his lover worked the knots out of his back. He was slowly beginning to relax, but it wasn't quite enough for John. There was only so much relaxing that could be done standing up.

John worked his hands up into Rodney's hair, washing it, before he washed away all the suds. He took a few minutes to quickly clean himself, then shut off the water. "Come on. Go lay down on the bed where I can get better leverage."

"Are you sure?" Rodney asked, his eyes at half-mast, letting John dry him off.

"Mmm hmm. S'relaxing for me to put my hands all over you. Almost as relaxed as it gets you."

"Are you sure?" he asked again, turning toward John.

John leaned in for a quick kiss. "Very sure."

"You know you don't have to do this. We can just go to sleep."

Rolling his eyes, John grabbed Rodney's hand and led him back out, giving him a little shove toward the bed. "There's no 'have to' about it. I like touching you, and I wasn't kidding when I said doing this relaxes me as much as it does you. I want to."

"I just don't want you doing this because you feel like you have to," Rodney said, crawling onto the bed toward the center. He flopped down in the middle, arms and legs spread wide. "Mmmm….bed."

Chuckling, John climbed on top, straddling him. He started once more to run his hands all over his lover's broad, sexy body. "You feel so good..."

"Mmm…so do you."

John was half hard, and he shifted his hips, rubbing himself against Rodney's perfect ass. It was almost luxurious, the chance to just touch like this.

Once John dug in his fingers, it didn't take long for Rodney to really begin to relax under his hands. The hums and purrs of contentment started about ten minutes in.

John decided that even if he couldn't get Rodney to drop all the way into headspace tonight, if he could get his lover to a dreamy, relaxed place, he would count it as a win.

"Oh…right there," Rodney whispered as John hit a tense spot.

Focusing, John worked that spot until he felt the knot just give under his fingers. "Better?"

"Yeaaaaah," he said, drawing out the vowel.

That made John smile, his hands skimming, looking for more spots he could release.

He found another three, Rodney relaxing even more as each one of his muscles let go.

John kept up the massage until his hands were starting to ache. He started just running the palms of his hands over the smooth skin, almost hypnotizing himself with the repetitive motion.

"Sleep," Rodney whispered, the word barely reaching John.

"Mmm?"

Rodney shifted minutely, John's hand sliding to the side. "Sleep."

John blinked a few times, finally registering. "'Kay." Moving slowly, he crawled off, going for the light before curling into Rodney's body.

His lover snuggled in close, breathing deeply, evenly.

***

Rodney managed to sleep soundly through the night, waking up refreshed—much to his surprise. Daniel's comments—and revelation—had really unsettled him. The realization that his work wasn't really his own…

Yeah, that still didn't sit well. He needed to talk to Zelenka and maybe Simpson. See if their contracts were the same. He'd have to wait until he got back to Atlantis before he could do anything more about it. Right now he needed to make it through one more day of meetings and interrogations.

John stirred against him, snuffling into Rodney's shoulder, but not really waking up yet.

Rodney tightened his arms around him, shifting closer.

His lover made a happy noise, and Rodney felt a nose pushing into his skin.

"Morning," he whispered.

"M'r'ing."

"As much as I hate to say this especially after last night, we have to get up soon."

He got a warm puff of air and a tightening of arms. "Last day. Then vacation. Can't wait to have you to myself."

"Mmm…and you can do all kinds of things to me."

"And I plan to. Going to play with you hard."

"Push me to the edge?"

"Yes. Going to take you to it and keep you there."

Rodney hummed, cuddling closer. "You can do all kinds of things to me. I really want you to push me, take me places I've never gone."

John lifted his head, brushing their lips together. "I plan to. That's one of the reasons the cage is staying on now—I want you a little desperate by the time I let you come again. Want to take you soaring so high, you'll leave atmosphere."

"I'll wait as long as you want me to."

"Good. You're not coming until we get there, at the soonest. And maybe not right away, even then. See how I feel." John smiled. "Going to be a great trip."

"We need it badly, the vacation."

"Yeah. We really do." John kissed him again, then sighed. "All right, let's go do this. We can get through one more day."

"You think so? I'm wondering what other bombshell they're going to drop today."

"Think positive. We fly out tomorrow, and I don't want either of us stressed when we do."

Rodney snorted. "You really do come from another planet, don't you?"

His lover grinned as he sat up. "I'm an intergalactic man of mystery."

Rolling his eyes, Rodney waved his hand, smacking John's arm. "You are no James Bond."

Laughing, John rolled out of bed. "Sheppard. John Sheppard, at your service."

"And what service might that be?"

As he padded across the room, John sashayed his hips, glancing back over his shoulder. "It varies from person to person. For you... full service."

Rodney rolled his eyes again, shifting on the bed so he was on his side, watching John's body as he moved. He really was beautiful, all long lean lines covering muscles of steel that had the ability to slouch without causing permanent bodily injury to himself. To others was still up for discussion.

John pulled out clothes for both of them, walking back over to the bed. "Too bad we don't have a pole. I'd totally do a dance for you if we did."

"Would you really? Since when has pole dancing been on your resume?"

"I can dance. And it would be fun to watch your eyes bug out and your dick get all hard and weepy as I did it."

"Maybe," Rodney smirked.

Laughing again, John sat on the edge of the bed, leaning in and kissing Rodney softly.

"Mmm," he hummed into the kiss, arching up a little. They had morning breath, but he didn't care. He let his one hand move to rest on John's hip, thumb sliding gently against skin.

John deepened the connection, shifting so he could run a hand down Rodney's chest, thumbing at a nipple.

Oh yes, Rodney thought as he moaned. John's hands were so talented, knowing every spot to make him crazy, to make him feel good.

Breaking the kiss, John looked down at him, expression full of love. "I want to be inside you."

Rodney smiled, already feeling the tingle in his body from low-level arousal and knowing he couldn't come, wouldn't come until John wanted him to. "Where do you want me?"

With a groan, John got Rodney on his knees, head and shoulders on the bed with his ass in the air. Instead of just diving in, however, John just caressed him, pressing soft kisses into each cheek.

It was so…perfect. Every touch, every caress calmed him, reminded him of John's love and of his promises and of the time they had coming to them. John's fingers played with the base of the plug for several minutes before tugging it out, patting Rodney's ass as he shifted off the bed with a quiet "stay here". A quick glance showed John heading for the bathroom. The running water a moment later told Rodney that John was washing the plug so he could put it back in when he was done.

He shivered and smiled. John's come would be in him all day.

A few minutes later, a warm hand was on his back, rubbing. "Can you take me like this, with no additional prep?"

"Anything you want," he whispered, wanting to feel more of his lover.

Rodney felt the push of John's cock against his entrance. His lover moved slow—Rodney was tighter than when they usually did this, but it was perfect.

The lube on John's cock stopped it from catching, from hurting. They were both breathing heavily by the time John was fully sheathed inside of him.

"Oh... Rodney... God... you're so..." John was panting hard.

"Take your time. I'm not going anywhere," Rodney managed to say after a few moments had passed. "Take your pleasure, John."

"God... so tight..." John was panting hard.

"Here. Not going anywhere," Rodney said. It felt so good, felt so perfect.

Slowly, his lover started to move. Rodney could feel every inch out and back again, like he was being caressed from the inside out.

This would stay with him just as long as if John had fucked him hard. Every time he shifted today he would feel it, remember these moments.

John kept that pace for what felt like a long time, long enough for Rodney to get lost in the sensations. Finally though, his breathing started to speed up, and the thrusts got harder, faster.

Rodney forced himself to relax, felt John slide into him easier as his muscles molded to John's cock, letting him thrust in deeper.

John started to mutter soft words, dirty words, about how good Rodney was, how good he felt. The thrusts got even fast, and Rodney knew he was getting close.

"John, please," he whispered, wanting to feel his lover tip over the edge, fill him up.

With a groan, John's grip tightened on Rodney's hips, probably leaving new marks. A moment later, a rush of heat filled Rodney's body.

Rodney groaned, his own desperation on the edge, but held tightly under control thanks to the cage. But John felt so good, felt so good inside of him, filling him. He could feel the barest trickle of come sliding down the inside of his thighs.

John finally moved, pulling out slowly, and immediately pushing the plug in his place. He collapsed onto the bed next to Rodney. "Need to clean you out tonight, so you'll be ready for hard play when we leave."

His lover blanketed his body, spooning behind him and wrapping his arms around him. "Hmm," Rodney said, letting John's touch relax him, calm him.

Light, nibbling kisses were pressed into the back of his neck. "Love you."

"Today. Just have to last through today."

"Yeah." John held him for a bit longer before finally sighing. "We should get moving. Get it over with so we can officially go on leave."

"I know," Rodney said with his own sigh.

John kissed the back of his neck again, then rolled away. "We'll stop for the good coffee on the way in."

"Good coffee?" Rodney asked as he rolled onto his stomach, pillowing his head on his arms.

"Starbucks. I'll even let you get the triple venti mocha you love so much."

John had been watching his coffee intake ever since Kate had suggested it back on Atlantis a few weeks ago when he'd been…well, the truth was he'd been suicidal and depressed. The withdrawal headache had been hell, but not being so wired at night from the caffeine had helped him sleep. If John was offering for him to have the one drink that was like the supreme caffeinated and sugared beverage in the world then he must still be trying to make him feel better about last night.

"I could drink one of those."

John's smile was bright and happy as he ducked into the bathroom, washing himself quickly. "I thought you might. Just don't chug it, okay?"

"I'm guessing afternoon coffee would be out, then."

Grinning, John tossed over a set of clothes. "Yeah, no. I want you to sleep tonight. But if you have one this morning, it'll be out of your system by tonight."

"Oh why? Vacation starts tomorrow. I can sleep in."

"Nuh uh." John's hips were distracting as he wiggled his way into a pair of BDUs. "Our flight is pretty early."

"Are we staying here tonight or in Denver?"

"Here. The flight's not that early, but we will have to get up and get moving. I want us to be comfortable tonight though, and I don't know how late we'll be at the SGC."

"I thought it was supposed to be a half-day."

"It is, but I'm not going to get my hopes up. I don't want to be disappointed if someone decides to keep us a little longer."

"We still have to pack."

"I know. That's what we'll be doing tonight too. You won't need much since you'll be naked for the most part. I'll need a few things, but I'll be in my swimsuit for a lot of it, probably. I'm thinking we can get away with just one large suitcase."

"I'll be naked the entire time?"

"Most of it, yeah. Since this is a kink resort, no one will think twice about it if you're out in nothing but a cage and a harness, on the end of my leash."

Rodney shivered, just thinking about what they were going to do.

John moved back to the bed, his hand skimming down Rodney's side. "I'm going to enjoy showing you off, showing how beautiful you are, how responsive. Everyone there will want you, but I'm the only one who gets to have you."

"Mmm," he hummed, letting his eyes close.

He heard a soft chuckle, then lips brushed over his hip. "Come on. The faster we get there, the faster I can let you sink down and stay there."

"Or the faster the SGC sucks us into one project or another."

"Think positive." John tugged him out of bed, leading him into the bathroom where the traces of their morning activities were carefully cleaned away. Then Rodney was dressed, with lots of soft touches and kisses to his body along the way.

As John tugged on the last piece of clothing, Rodney's stomach growled and he smiled sheepishly. "I think it might be time for breakfast."

His lover grinned, nodding. "We can get muffins at Starbucks, too. A little pre-vacation treat."

"As long as they keep the lemon stuff far away from the chocolate ones."

"We'll be sure." John laced their fingers together as they walked out into the living room.

Rodney nursed his coffee until nearly noon, heating it up a few times during the morning. They'd separated them as soon as they'd stepped onto level twenty-seven. Thankfully Carter had led his interrogation. It made it a little easier to handle, but not by much. She asked hard questions, demanded answers even when he tried to side step them. She—they wanted to know why he'd made certain decisions and not others.

Lunch was spent in the mess, John looking nearly as beat up as he felt. It was an hour in the middle of a crowded room, but the quiet conversation and the feel of the plug and the cage kept him grounded.

John rubbed the back of his neck. "I think I'm almost done. You?"

"I hope so. I don't know how many more questions I can answer about Doranda."

John grimaced. "What do you think about grabbing take-out on the way back to the apartment tonight? I don't think I'll be up to cooking anything."

"That would be great. Chinese? I would love an egg roll."

"Sure. I could go for some lo mein. I haven't had it in ages."

"Fried rice. Sesame chicken."

John chuckled. "We'll get a variety of stuff and share, how's that sound?"

"Oh. And beef and broccoli."

John shook his head, but he was still smiling. "Let's see if they have any green tea, too. I could go for a cup."

Rodney made a face. "No tea. Oh…maybe dumplings, too. The fried ones."

Still laughing softly, John stood up. "Make us a list. I'll see you hopefully soon."

"Hmm…maybe spare ribs, too."

He caught the edge of John's snort of amusement as the other man moved out of range.

Rodney hummed to himself, making a mental list for dinner. He could already see there were a lot of pints on the agenda for tonight. Lots of grease and MSG and salt and….yum.

Another body dropped into the seat John had just vacated—Daniel. "What's got you looking so dreamy?"

"Take-out."

One of Daniel's eyebrows went up.

"Do you know the last time I had Chinese food? A year! Maybe more."

The other eyebrow went up, and Daniel laughed. "I forget you guys don't have access to the things we take for granted."

"I hope we get hamburgers too before we go back. Hmm…maybe we can get both tonight."

"Just don't make yourself sick. You're getting on a plane tomorrow, aren't you?"

"I think so," Rodney said, adding a few more things to the list. Cheetos would be perfect. Oh, and Cracker Jacks.

"Well, I know Sam's expecting you back soon. I'll walk with you, if you don't mind. I think you're almost done though. From what I heard, they only have a few more follow-ups, and then they're kicking you out for a week."

"Ten days," Rodney said, rising to his feet and leaving his tray. Someone else would grab it.

"Whatever." Daniel waved a hand in the air.

"I deserve every last minute of vacation time. You should try it sometime. Might loosen you up."

"What makes you think I don't?"

Rodney glanced to the side and rolled his eyes. "If I can tell you haven't had a vacation you know it's bad."

Daniel rolled his eyes right back. "It has been a while, but I probably take more than you."

"Maybe."

Daniel huffed. "Every time I try to take one, Jack tries to convince me fishing in a lake with no fish is a great idea."

"And Shepard's taking me to Hawaii." He pointed to his chest. "I burn easily. You do what you need to do."

"Team leaders." Daniel rolled his eyes, but winked at Rodney. "Can't live with them, can't shoot them."

"Maybe. I'd probably miss, but I've gotten better."

Daniel gave a startled bark of laughter. "Serves them right for insisting we waste time away from research learning to shoot guns."

"I…I like to know I can protect myself," Rodney said, taking a few beats to respond.

Daniel patted him on the arm. "I feel the same way. It helps, out there, knowing you're part of the team and can watch their backs as well as they watch ours."

"I hate that I've had to become a soldier, but I know it's necessary. I don't feel so much like the weakest link. I know I still am, but it's not as bad as before."

Shooting him a wry look, Daniel pushed his glasses up his nose from where they had slipped. "Believe me I can sympathize. When I started going through the gate, I was with two career military people, and Teal'c. If I wasn't getting captured, I was getting us shot at or wandering off and pissing Jack off. Remind me some time to tell you about my first ever experience going through the Gate, when we first discovered it. The soldiers with us then were pretty unhappy with me."

Rodney snorted. "I've heard about it. You do know I've been working on the Stargate program more or less from the beginning, right? Foremost expert here," he said pointing to himself.

"Ahh, you've heard about it, yes. But has it ever been from one of us who was there?" The other man gave him a sly look. "You've been doing this a while now—you know the official reports never tell the whole story."

"Do you actually think anyone's taken the time to tell me about it?" Rodney asked, pausing outside some lab. "When's the last time someone's offered to spend time with me who's outside my team? Before Atlantis—everyone hated me. I wasn't in anyone's gossip circle."

Daniel patted his arm. "Before you go back—and after your vacation—we'll get together again. I'll tell you the whole story. Jack and I were almost like different people then, it was so long ago. But you'd probably be interested in hearing it. And I'd love to tell you." He paused, looking thoughtful. "And for the record, I never hated you. Our paths didn't cross very often, but I've always thought you were kind of funny. Arrogant, yes. But funny."

Rodney snorted. "And now you're trying to make me feel better. You don't have to. I know where I stood before and I know where I stand now. I don't need your pity."

"It's not pity. And I'm a horrible liar, so you'd know if I was." Daniel chuckled. "Sam didn't like you much, I'll give you that. But it's only because you called her a blond bimbo. And I admit a lot of people were put off by you. But don't sell yourself short."

Rodney just huffed, shaking his head as he started to move back down the hall. Daniel was just trying to make up for last night. That's all this was.

"Hey" Daniel grabbed his arm. The archaeologist had a very earnest expression on his face. "I know you have to get back to the briefings, but really, don't sell yourself short. If I miss you before you leave, have a great trip."

Rodney nodded awkwardly, a stammered "thank you" following Daniel down the hall. He shook his head after a moment and turned, heading back to Carter's office. There was still a lot to be done.

She was there already, shoulders hunched and head down as she read something on her computer screen.

Looking up, she shot him a harried smile. "Hi. Is lunch over already? Sit down. I have a few more questions for you."

"Do you actually think I'd leave lunch early voluntarily?" he asked snidely as he settled into the chair he'd occupied all morning. There was a bottle of water on the counter next to his pad.

She waved a hand. "All right, I've been going over the coding you did for..."

Rodney held back a sigh, but listened, answering every question she asked and then some. He had to go back and explain several points she didn't grasp the first time through. If he had to do it a third time he swore he would have injured himself.

Three o'clock rolled around and Carter finally released him and he ran. Heading to the surface, he ended up sitting on a bench not far from where they'd parked, deciding this was a good place to wait for John. He needed to get out of the Mountain, out from under their fingers.

There was someone else's fingers he'd much rather be under.

About forty-five minutes later his lover wandered out, looking tired. His head was down, so Rodney didn't think he had spotted him.

Waiting until he was closer, he finally called out for him as he stood, walking toward John and the car.

John started, glancing up. A warm smile stretched his lips. "Oh, hey. I was going to call you when I was in the car, and see where you were and how much longer you were going to be."

"Carter cut me loose a little while ago and I couldn't stay inside any longer. You okay?"

"Good. And yeah, I'll be fine. Just a really long day." John moved closer. Even his hair looked a little flat. "I'm really happy we're skipping town tomorrow."

"Agreed," Rodney said with his own tired smile. "Do you need me to drive? You look beat."

After a moment of hesitation, John tossed over they keys. "Thanks. We still running through the take-out place on the way home?"

"How about we get them to deliver?" Rodney asked as he slid into the driver's seat, adjusting the chair since Mister Long Legs needed to sit in the back seat when he drove.

"Sounds like a plan." John shoved the passenger chair almost all the way back, closing his eyes.

Rodney let the silence stretch between them as he headed down the Mountain back into town. He flicked on a classical station and more or less put himself on auto-pilot. They reached the apartment without incident, the traffic lighter this time of day.

After pulling in the parking lot and finding a spot two over from where they'd been in the morning, he turned the car off, listening to the clicking of the engine as it began to cool. Taking a breath, he put his hand on John's arm, shaking him gently. "We're here."

Blinking his eyes open, John's smile was the warm, open one he usually wore for Rodney before he was completely awake. "Hey."

"We're here. If we're quick we can order before the dinner rush."

"'Kay." John shook himself, sitting up. "Sorry I fell asleep."

Rodney shrugged, climbing from the car. "It's fine. I did, too."

Chuckling, his lover got out, following Rodney toward the apartment. "Since we got here in one piece, I won't worry about it."

"Nothing to worry about. I've driven back and forth so many times I could do it with my eyes closed."

Once inside, John dropped onto the couch. "I'll eat whatever. Get some lo mein, and other than that, whatever you want is fine."

"Do you think if we pay them extra they'll make two other stops, too?"

"Dunno. What stops do you want them to make?"

"Hamburgers sound really good, too. But Cheetos and some pudding cups—you know, the good ones—and maybe some Cracker Jacks…"

John's head came back so he could look at Rodney upside down. "The snacks would be good to take with us, but why don't we wait on the hamburgers? We can't eat that much food, and then we can get one in Hawaii."

"Hmm…there's probably other things, too. Oh…like the onion ring things and Pringles and the Honey-Mustard Pretzels…"

"We can run into the grocery store on the way to the airport if you want."

"Hmm? Oh, no. I wanted it for tonight."

"We can't eat that much. We'd both be sick."

Rodney paused, looking down at John. "Oh. You think so? I used to do it all the time."

"Your body is in a lot better shape now, and not used to taking in that much junk. Trust me, if you eat that much, you'll be sick. I don't mind getting it for the trip, and if you want to see if they'll stop and bring it for us that's fine, but we're not having it tonight."

"But I love that stuff and it's not junk. They're healthy snacks."

"Pringles aren't healthy." John shook his head. "Neither are Cheetos. And I'm not saying you can't have it—just not all at once."

Rodney sighed, turning toward the kitchen. "Fine. I'll order dinner."

Inside, John was suddenly there, pressing against his back. "Hey. I'm not trying to pick a fight or anything here. I really just don't want you to be feeling sick tomorrow."

"Hey!" Rodney said, trying to move away but John held him tightly.

Arms came around his waist, holding him close, and John's breath was hot against his neck. "I don't want you to be upset."

"I’m not, really," Rodney said after a moment. "I'm just tired and…I don't know. Junk food was always a comfort before."

"Let me be your junk food then. After dinner, we'll play."

"We have to get up early."

"I know. I'm thinking I want to try your kits, to clean you out, so we can play on the trip without worry."

"We can't do anything for a while after an enema. It has to all just work itself out and then I need to wait several hours before we can have sex or anything."

"I know. But if we do it tonight, we won't have to worry about it tomorrow. And 'we can't do anything' is a bit of a misnomer. I can't fuck you, but there are other things we can do."

"Maybe."

John nuzzled a bit, pressing soft kisses into the side of Rodney's neck. "Trust me."

Rodney sighed. "I do trust you. It's just the last thing I feel is sexy after cleaning out my bowels."

He could feel John's smile. "Well, yeah. But you've never done it with a partner, like this, have you? I'm the first to admit this is all new to me, but it's very...intimate. So even if it's not sexy, it is a chance to be close."

"I've done it since we've been together, but usually when I know you're busy and I have the time."

"Huh. You didn't tell me that." John's thumbs had slipped under Rodney's waistband and were drawing small circles. "We don't have to do it now, but I know you wanted to be filled for the entire vacation. The only way I'm comfortable with that is if we take precautions to make sure you won't get any infections."

"Or you," Rodney said, pausing for a moment. "And I didn't think you needed to know about it. It's just something that should be done…you know, for good hygiene and all."

John kissed him again, another of the devastatingly gentle presses of lips to skin. "I'm not upset about it. Why don't you order us dinner? I'll go get us packed while we wait for it, so that will be one less thing to worry about later."

"Sure. You just want lo mein? Pork? Beef? Shrimp? All of the above?"

"Surprise me. And I plan to sample your stuff, too, so get enough of everything for both of us."

"Wait, I thought it was my stuff."

"I want to try it. You won't share with me?"

"I thought you only wanted lo mein."

"Well, that's all I want to order. But you're getting other stuff I want to try. I don't need a whole plate of it."

Rodney pressed back into John. "So you're just going to steal my food, eh?"

He got another nuzzle, and one of John's legs worked in between his. "Taste your food. I just want a few bites."

"I know how you are with bites. One leads to another, and another."

"I feed you most of it."

"I wasn't referring to those bites," Rodney said, rolling his eyes as John tugged him closer.

His lover gave a soft puff of laughter. "What can I say, I know what I like."

"I thought I was ordering food," Rodney said as John mouthed against the side of his neck.

"Mmmm. You're too damn tempting."

"John…" Rodney whined, squirming as his lover hit a sensitive spot.

Instead of backing off, John tightened his grip, and started to use his teeth, marking Rodney high enough that everyone would be able to see it.

He moaned, shuddering as the pain turned quickly to pleasure.

When he was done with the mark, John whispered in Rodney's ear, his breath sending shivers of sensation all through Rodney's body. "That's my favorite kind of bites."

"Mine…mine, too," he replied, panting a little.

"Go order dinner so we can get back to the good stuff."

"I…um…I can do that," he stuttered, his body already heading in the direction of the "good stuff".

"Good boy." John nipped again, then slowly drew back.

Rodney stood still for nearly a minute composing himself as John moved into the bedroom, preparing to pack for their trip. Finally turning back to the kitchen and the junk drawer that held all the menus, he dug out the appropriate one and ordered several pints of food: John's lo mein with beef, sesame chicken, egg rolls, soup, steamed dumplings—instead of fried, he was trying to be slightly good—shrimp with cashew nuts, and a ten ingredient fried rice. That should be enough. The restaurant told him it would take about thirty minutes—thank god for ordering at a weird time. Normally it was an hour plus.

John wandered back in. He had lost his shirt at some point, although he was still wearing his BDUs. "Okay, most of what we'll use, the resort will have. In terms of your favorites, though, you'll be wearing the jeweled collar and ring set on the plane, and I packed your heavier steel collar with the matching cuffs—those are what you'll wear once we get there. You'll be wearing the cage on the plane since it's plastic and won't set off the detectors, along with the plastic plug. I'm packing the Ancient ring, and your steel plug as well. Anything else you absolutely love and don't want to live without for a week?"

Rodney ran through the list again in his mind before replying. "They'll have the heavier leather stuff there? Posture collars, harnesses, cuffs, and the like?"

John nodded. "Yes. The room will be fully stocked with pretty much everything we could ever imagine to use. The only stuff we need to bring are favorite pieces you really love to have used on you, or that have meaning, like the collar set you'll be traveling in."

"The gags and such will be thoroughly cleaned I'm guessing. I've never been to a place like this."

John smiled, coming up to wrap his arms around Rodney. "Everything there will be sterilized. When the staff comes in to clean the room and make the bed, they'll re-sterilize everything we've used, and there will be stuff for me to clean it as well, if we want to re-use something immediately."

"Then I think you've gotten it all covered."

"Good. We're all set for tomorrow morning then. I have all the travel documents with the bags, so we just have to grab and go."

"Let me guess…I have one outfit. The one I'm wearing on the plane."

His lover grinned. "Close. I did pack you a few things you look especially hot in. Your leather outfit you wore to the club in Vegas, and a second pair of jeans along with a few of the tops that look phenomenal on you. I also tossed in your swimsuit, just in case I decide to have you wear it. Though to be honest, you will be wearing nothing but bondage gear for the bulk of the trip once we arrive. The clothes are really only for if we decide to leave the grounds and go exploring."

"Somehow I doubt I’m going to be leaving the hotel room."

"Oh you're leaving the room. You just won't be dressed for most of it."

Rodney rolled his eyes. "I guess we'll see, eh?"

John hummed. "I want to show you off. Make everyone jealous."

Leaning back a little, Rodney looked John in the eyes. "You do know that you don't have to prove anything, right? Even if we did nothing except hold each other the entire time and watch movies, I think I'd be happy."

John's smile was sweet, and almost painfully happy. "I know. I'm not trying to prove anything. I really am looking forward to this. And part of it is the thrill of knowing I can publicly claim you like I wish I could all the time."

"I’m yours whether the world knows about it or not. Nothing's going to change that."

"Mmm, you're just so beautiful, and I'm so damn lucky to have you. I want everyone to know it."

Rodney felt his cheeks flush. "I’m sure you'll find a way then."

John leaned in again, kissing Rodney deeply. "This is going to be a vacation neither of us will ever forget."

"I just need to forget for a little while," Rodney said quietly a few moments later, forehead resting against John's and they stood in the kitchen just holding each other. He was tired, mentally exhausted, and the past few days had simply drained whatever reserves he had left.

"I'll help you. All you have to think about from now until the end of our vacation is how good I'm making you feel."

"Once we get there after the hellish plane ride."

"Even that won't be too bad. We're in first class, so hopefully it will be quiet."

"It's still a hellishly long plane ride."

"Ahh, but you'll be at least partially in headspace. I hope. So it won't seem as bad."

"Hellishly long," he repeated with a sigh, closing his eyes.

Lips brushed against each of his eyelids. "It will be worth it."

"I know. I'm just…" He sighed again. "I'm tired of dealing with morons, of running for my life on a daily basis…I know it's a phase, but still…"

"Well, the only moron you'll be dealing with from here on out is me, and there will be no running for our lives, although I do plan to go jogging on the beach. I won't force you to come, but you'll be welcome to join me."

Rodney snorted. "I've been running with you now for a few weeks. I didn't think I had the choice of staying in bed while you ran."

John shrugged. "It's a vacation. I'd strongly like it if you keep it up with me while we're gone, but I don't want to fight about it either."

"Can I decide later?"

"Of course."

"Good because right now…right now no more decisions is a good thing."

John's hands swept up and down Rodney's sides. "Why don't you go get undressed? I can get the door when dinner gets here."

"There's cash in my wallet for the food," he said, reaching back to grab it from his pocket.

John took it from him, then patted Rodney's ass. "Go get comfortable. I set the cuffs out on the bed—bring them out when you come back."

"Before or after dinner is delivered?"

"Before. The delivery guy won't come in, so as long as you're in the kitchen, it won't matter. Find your cushion to kneel on, too."

"Okay," Rodney said quietly, John's quiet orders helping to ease some of his tension already. John was handling it, would handle it.

He headed into the bedroom, the suitcase mostly full on the floor next to the bed. He stripped easily, dumping his clothes into the hamper and putting his shoes away. The leather cuffs were on the dresser and Rodney picked up one of them, fingering it for a long moment.

It still amazed him sometimes that they did this, had this kind of relationship, that he enjoyed it as much as he did. It was freeing and powerful at the same time. And honestly, he couldn't imagine loving John more than he did. This just added something so much more….tangible, so more than flowers or chocolate or gifts ever could—he wasn't a girl in that sense.

Picking up the four cuffs and their padlocks, he moved back into the kitchen, grabbing his pillow just before he left the bedroom. John was puttering around, making a small pile of food for the trip. Nuts, snacks, dried fruit.

He glanced up, smiling. "Mmm, beautiful. Would you be uncomfortable wearing a harness under your clothes tomorrow on the plane?"

"I…" Rodney started only to break off. "I don't know. Wouldn't we have issues with security? The last thing I want to do is have some pimply teenager frisking me because the medal detector rang."

"Well, the harness is mostly just leather. I wouldn't be able to use padlocks, but we both know you wouldn't try to take it off unless I told you too, so it would be as good as a lock. And after we take off, it would let me play with you discreetly."

"How exactly? It's under my clothes."

"That's what blankets are for. No one would see if I pushed your shirt up a bit."

"But it's just a leather band."

John grinned. "I'm creative."

"But it's just a few leather bands across my chest." He didn't quite understand.

"It's a harness." John was very patient. "That means I can tie things to it. Like using a zip tie to keep your hands at your sides, for example."

"Wait. You'd tie me on the plane?"

"Mmm hmm."

"But on the plane?"

"Why not? We're in first class, so no one will bother us. And as you said, it's a long ride. I can't keep my hands off you that long."

"I just…worry, that's all."

John pulled him into his arms. "That's why I asked if it would make you uncomfortable. I want you relaxed and pliant, not tense and worried."

"I would probably be okay with the harness, but I don't know how I'd feel about actual bondage on the plane itself. Are you going to have me in cuffs, too? And I know you mentioned something about chains…"

John's expression turned a little dreamy. "You'll have your jeweled set on, the full set minus the cock ring, for the trip. The harness if you'll let me put it on you, and the cage and a plug."

"Which harness?"

"Depending on your level of comfort, either the one that just goes across your chest, or the one that has the attached cock ring, which would fit on under the cage."

"You mean the one with the strap that goes all the way around?" Rodney asked, his eyes widening. Besides the four chest straps, there was a two inch leather strap that extended down his chest. The ring allowed room for his cock and then the strap connected in the back to the other ones. That would…that would feel amazing, held tightly like that…

John smiled. "And then the cage over that, and the plug. There would be no doubts about who your body belonged to as we travel. And it will help remind you that for this trip, your only job is to relax and let me take care of you."

"Do you actually think I wouldn't have a problem with security?"

"Not really. There's not much metal in any of that, so there really isn't anything to set off the detectors. You've been going in and out of the mountain—which has a higher sensitivity—with the cage and plug with no issues, and all we're really adding is more leather under your clothes."

"Can I think about it?" he asked finally, handing John the cuffs he'd asked for.

Taking the cuffs, John nodded. "You'll need to tell me before we go to bed tonight so I'll know what to prep for, but you don't have to decide now." He locked the wrist cuffs in place, then knelt to lock the ankle cuffs on.

Rodney nodded. "Okay," he said, just as the doorbell rang.

Rising, John pressed a fast kiss to Rodney's lips. "Go kneel on your pillow. I'll be right there."

As John headed to the door, grabbing Rodney's wallet on the way, he moved to his place, settling in easily. After shifting a few times, he put his hands behind his back, clasped together, and waited, listening as John talked to the delivery person.

His lover wandered in a few minutes later with two heavy-looking bags, both wafting some really delicious smells his way. John set them both on the table, but before Rodney could do or say anything, he leaned down and clipped both the wrist and ankle cuffs together, and then pulled Rodney's hands back slightly so his hands were connected to his feet.

The position pulled his shoulders back a little and forced him to shift his stance, spreading his knees a little wider apart so there would be a little less strain on his arms. Tugging a few times, Rodney felt a flutter in his stomach that he got when we realized he was secured and couldn't get out. It was thrill and anticipation rolled together.

He might have moaned a little, his heart rate picking up a drop.

Long fingers sank into his hair, petting him for a few minutes. John also stepped close enough that Rodney could lean into him as he caressed.

He tugged at his bonds a few more times before turning his head in toward John's leg, pressing close as he breathed in, steadying himself.

"Very good," John purred. He pulled away slowly, sitting in his usual seat. He helped Rodney scoot forward, close enough to touch.

Rodney angled his head up, looking at John, drinking him in. Every now and then he'd offer a small tug or pull at his bindings, but they were secure, solid. Until John released him he wasn't going anywhere.

John had turned his attention to the bags of food, and was pulling everything out, organizing it. He found the egg rolls, and took a bite of one before holding it up for Rodney to do the same.

Widening his eyes, Rodney asked the silent question—Can I?—even before leaning forward. There was something about the feel of things right now he didn't want to presume.

John didn't break the silence, just smiled and made sure the food was easy for Rodney to bite into before he pulled it away and set it down.

Chewing, Rodney hummed in appreciation. It tasted so good.

For the next hour, John fed them both, letting Rodney sample a little bit of everything, making sure he got more of the things that made him hum again and again.

About halfway through, Rodney had let his eyes close, enjoying the taste and the intimacy of dinner like this. He felt himself beginning to relax.

Between bites, John's hands skimmed his shoulders, ran through his hair. The touches were all soft, more caresses than anything else.

He found himself leaning into them more and more, craving the touch, the sensation.

Finally, when he was feeling pleasantly full, the touches were no longer alternated with bites of food. Instead, John just let his hands skim over Rodney's body.

A quietly whispered, "please" and "John" finally dropped out of his mouth.

His lover rose, tilting Rodney's face up. "Open your eyes for me."

Rodney did so immediately, meeting his dom's gaze.

"When I unlock your feet, go into the bedroom and kneel on the floor. I'll be in as soon as I put the food away."

He nodded. "Where?"

"In the middle of the room is fine. I won't be long."

"Yes, John."

"Good boy."

John's hands were sure and firm as he unlocked the piece holding Rodney's hands and feet together, running his hands over his ass cheeks before he finally loosened his ankles as well. With one of John's hands under his elbow, Rodney rose to his feet and padded into the bedroom, kneeling on the floor at the foot of the bed. He closed his eyes and lowered his head, waiting.

Breathing in and out, he tried to blank his mind a little, tried to let the feel of the warm leather encircling his limbs relax him.

True to his word, John wasn't far behind. He made an approving noise, then went into the bathroom, emerging with an armful of towels and the enema kit. He helped Rodney up, and grabbed a pillow, so Rodney ended up on his knees on the towel, head and shoulders on the pillow on the floor, his knees spread wide, ass in the air.

"John?"

"Hmmm?" A warm hand down his back, along the curve of his ass.

"You don't have to do this. I can."

Instead of answering, his lover carefully put a blindfold over Rodney's eyes.

"John?"

"Just relax and let me have your body. Right now, this is what I want to do with it."

Taking a breath and pushing down some of his wariness and worry, he nodded. No one had ever done this to him, for him before.

John's hands continued to roam. "If I hurt you at all, tell me. Otherwise, no talking."

A whimper caught in the back of his throat.

The plug was slowly pulled out of Rodney's body, and a warm washcloth was there to wipe away the come that dribbled out.

When had John gotten that, he wondered, even as his hole twitched, opening and closing, the feeling of loss so distinct and strong.

Once everything on the outside was cleaned away, Rodney felt the nozzle of the kit being inserted. All the while, John continued to touch, making it almost sensual.

He wanted to relax, wanted just to feel, but his brain wasn't shutting off. It kept going through "what ifs" and worrying if John would do it right. It wasn't that he didn't trust him, but Rodney had always done this himself.

"Just relax," John murmured, even as the first rush of liquid started to fill Rodney. "How hard do you like it?"

"I…I don't know. I just did it."

"Okay. I'm gong to increase the pressure a little then. Let me know if it gets uncomfortable."

"You need to empty the whole bag," Rodney said.

"I know. I read the instructions before I started." John's voice was warm. "Once it's all inside you, you'll stay like this for about fifteen minutes, then you can go and flush it out."

"Closer to thirty or when I start to really feel it."

"Okay. You can tell me when you're ready then." A hand skimmed over Rodney's spine. "Do you have any idea how sexy you are?"

"This isn't sexy," he mumbled. "This is…" Humiliating wasn't the word. It wasn't, really. It was necessary for good hygiene. Rodney felt the warm water solution filling him, knew John was close to the end of the bag. There was a certain fullness and pressure that Rodney knew.

"This is sexy." John pulled the nozzle free slowly. "Knowing you're doing this so we can play and that you've done it before, for me... God, you have no idea how perfect you are."

"But it isn't sexy," he argued, louder this time. "It's just necessary. Like a prostate exam or a trip to the dentist."

"It's as sexy as we want to make it. People actually do play this way, you know. It's not something I want to add to our regular line-up, but there's something so intimate about it. Doing this to you, for you. I like being able to take care of you this way, too."

Rodney sighed quietly. "I know. This is just…weird. Even stranger than you fucking me in public if that makes any sense."

Chuckling, John's fingers moved to run through Rodney's hair. "We won't have to do it often, but I would like to do this for you, instead of you doing it yourself, if you're okay with that."

"But why?"

"I like taking care of you."

"I know, but why this?"

"This is part of it. When I say I like taking care of you, it's not just about sex or bondage games. It's about all of it, physical and mental."

Rodney took a breath, wiggling his fingers a little. "I know that I signed on the dotted line and you could just do this because I agreed to let you…I agreed to be your submissive. I just…I guess I just don't understand why you would want to. It's not sexy. It's not particularly kinky. It's just something that needs to be done."

"I don't know if I can explain it. I get the same pleasure from this that I get washing you, or feeding you. Knowing that you're trusting me to care for you. It's... I don't know why. But I like it. A lot."

"Oh."

"It makes me feel closer to you, in a way, I guess."

It took about a minute for John's explanation to percolate through his head. "Oh. Okay."

John fell silent then, although his hands never stilled.

A few minutes later he felt the first stirrings from down below and knew it was about time for the fun to begin. Sitting on the bowl for the next while was not going to be enjoyable. "John?"

"Yeah?"

"Moving to the bathroom might be a good idea."

He felt John rise, and a moment later Rodney was helped to his feet. John didn't take off the blindfold or unclip his hands, instead guiding him until he was sitting on the toilet.

Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to relax. "There's not much more you can do here," he said.

"Do you want me to leave you alone? I would just be in the bedroom in case you needed anything. Or I can stay and sit with you."

Rodney shrugged. "I don't know. It might be quick or it might not. I don't know."

Lips brushed against his. "Time doesn't matter. Tell me what you're more comfortable with."

"Just," Rodney said, turning his head away. "Not that. Not right now."

"Okay." John caressed his cheek. "I'll wait out in the bedroom, then. Yell when you need me."

Nodding, Rodney heard John leave and he bowed his head, not sure what to do with himself. Normally he'd read but now he couldn't. For all he knew he was sitting in the dark. Time had no real meaning, either.

His mind was twirling and spinning in tighter and tighter circles. But even as his mind wound tight, his body slowly relaxed, the enema doing its job.

He didn't know how much time had passed when a soft noise alerted him to John's return. "How are you doing?"

Rodney shook his head, shrugging his shoulders.

A soft hand ran down his shoulder and arm.

He shivered, leaning into John.

"Cold?"

Rodney shook his head.

"Need anything?"

"Think…think I’m done for now," Rodney finally whispered, craving his lover's touch.

"I want to take you to bed."

"I might have to come back."

"It's okay. If you do, we will." John helped him up, and took care of cleaning him up before leading him to the bed.

As soon as they were in bed, Rodney curled into John.

Strong arms came up around him, holding him close. "I love you."

"Love you," Rodney whispered. "Thank you."

John kissed his forehead, hugging him tighter. "Sleep if you can. If you need to get up, just tell me."

"I’m sorry. I said I wasn't going to be up for anything."

He got another brush of lips. "It's okay. We have ten days."

"I just…thank you," he finally said.

"Mmm. Dream of all the ways I'm going to ravish you."

Rodney settled down with a sigh, his mind finally slowing. He made two more trips to the bathroom that night, John helping, guiding, and caring for him each step of the way.

It was a pretty quiet night, broken only when the alarm went off, waking them both up.

Rodney simply nuzzled in closer, breathing in his lover. He was warm and comfortable. Safe.

John mumbled, and shifted around the bed. A moment later, the alarm stopped. "Need to get up so we have time to get ready and make the plane."

"Comfy."

"Ahh, but think how comfy you'll be later." He could hear John's smile, as his lover rolled out from under him.

"'m hungry."

"Breakfast is on the agenda." Rodney found himself being urged up into a seated position.

He followed John's lead easily, feeling the blankets drop into his lap.

His lover, true to his word, dressed Rodney in all the gear that had been promised yesterday, filling him and claiming him.

His hands remained secured behind his back, John working around them, fastening everything into place. He ended up standing beside the bed as John tightened the last strap on the harness, his finger running under the leather, making sure it wasn't too tight or too loose.

"Comfortable?"

"Seems okay," he said, nodding, his voice quiet.

"Good. I'm going to free your arms then, so I can do the cuffs you'll be wearing."

"Okay."

John worked quickly, and once the cuffs were in place, he dressed Rodney in a comfortable pair of jeans and a top loose enough that the lines of the straps wouldn't show.

"You're leaving the ankle ones?"

"Yes. Your socks will hide them."

He tentatively reached out, his hand drifting over John's arm.

His lover stepped closer, capturing Rodney's mouth. "So beautiful like this..."

Rodney melted into John, his arms wrapping around his lover's waist as he opened his mouth. John took the opening given, diving in.

It was like John wanted everything soft today. Even breakfast was sensual, eaten standing in the kitchen, pressed closely together, blindfold still covering Rodney's eyes. Even brushing their teeth turned into something intimate, so loving and gentle.

He was led to the living room and with a soft brush of lips and fingers, urged to sit and wait. When he opened his mouth to ask John what he was doing, a finger pressed against his lips, shushing him even before he was able to say a word.

Rodney nodded, listening as John moved around the apartment, getting the last few things together they needed. He waited patiently—well, semi-patiently. He could help John, but he didn't want to interrupt what his lover had in mind.

He heard John approaching a bit later and then there were hands on both of his knees and he could feel John settling before him.

"John?" he asked, the word whispered.

"Almost time to go." Hands traveled up Rodney's legs to settle against his waist.

"I could have helped you."

"Wasn't much to do."

"Still. You grabbed my laptop?"

"No. You won't need it. I am bringing mine, so if there's an emergency we'll have it, but I don't want you thinking about work."

"But, John—" he began, the words whining, but John cut him off before he got further.

"No. Your only job for the next ten days is to do whatever I tell you to. You aren't Doctor Rodney McKay, smartest man in two galaxies. You are Rodney, my submissive."

He took a breath, John's words striking him deeply inside. "I…" This was it. This is what he'd been waiting weeks for, want he wanted, what he needed. He nodded, letting out a long breath. He was ready. He wanted this so much he could taste it. "Yes, John…sir."

"Good boy." John's voice was a purr, and the words were accompanied by a thumb tracing the line of Rodney's jaw.

Rodney hummed, tilting his head a little, loving the feel of John's touch.

"All right, we're going to head to the airport now. That means I have to take the blindfold off. Since I can't use that, or the gag, I want you to try not to talk. If someone talks to you, you can respond and if you have something you really need to tell me, you can. But otherwise, I just want you to sit back and enjoy the ride."

"No talking?"

"As much as you can. It will start as soon as we step through the door of the apartment."

"Can we get more coffee?"

"At the airport, once we get through security. No sense buying something only to have to chug it or throw it away."

"It's like a two hour ride to Denver."

"Do you have a headache, or do you just want it?"

Rodney knew where this was going, but he still answered truthfully. "No, I don't have a headache."

"Then you can wait." John's thumb was still moving against his jaw. "I don't want you over-caffeinated for this trip."

He sighed. "Yes, sir."

"Believe me, you'll be so drugged on me, you won't miss it after a while." He felt John shift, and then the blindfold was tugged off slowly.

Rodney blinked slowly, his eyes focusing on his lover's face. The living room was dimly lit and from the look of things, it wasn't even morning yet. "What time is it?"

"Pretty early. We have a morning flight." Standing, John held out a hand.

Rodney snorted. "I'm on to you. That's why you kept the blindfold on and told me I can't talk once we leave the apartment," he said, letting John tug him to his feet. The blindfold ended up in John's pocket. "You didn't want to hear me complaining."

That got him a quick grin. "Strategic planning."

"That's just wrong."

Laughing, John tangled their fingers together and they started for the door.

John gave him the carryon, while he grabbed the single suitcase for two, for ten days. Yeah, he had no clothes in that. They packed the car quickly and settled in.

There wasn't much traffic on the road, and they made good time, John's hand resting on his thigh the whole time. Even the line in security wasn't long, and they quickly made it to the gate—John getting him the promised cup of coffee before they found seats.

Sipping at the sadly small and over-priced coffee, Rodney watched the people around them. John had placed them near the door, their back to the wall. They'd be one of the first ones to board.

When they did get on the plane, they found their seats—first class was actually very comfortable, and the seats were pretty private.

John ushered Rodney in, gesturing to the seat by the window. They were two rows from the nose of the plane on the right side.

"Comfortable?" John rested a hand on Rodney's thigh again, the tips of his fingers almost in the crease between his legs.

Rodney nodded. The harness was caressing him. With the straps, it was as if John was holding him.

After takeoff, once the seatbelt sign went off, John flipped a blanket over Rodney's lap. He quickly unbuttoned Rodney's pants, and slipped his fingers in to caress skin.

Turning his head to the side, he watched John's face as he touched him, loved the play of emotion his lover slowed to show through.

"Bring your hands against your sides, under the blanket." John's voice was a husky whisper.

A nod was his only reply as he moved his hands into the place John requested.

John pushed Rodney's shirt up just high enough to expose the harness. The cuffs he was wearing weren't meant for heavy play, but John was able to lock them to the rings in the leather against his sides at waist level.

The blanket was tugged into place, grazing over his shoulders and extending down to cover his toes. John leaned down and untied his shoes, tugging them off and setting them in the overhead compartment. His ankles were secured together a moment later and the chair reclined most of the way.

Rodney simply watched John move, watched the play of muscle under his clothes, gaze focused on the lines of his body.

"There. All set. Just relax and enjoy the ride." John settled back in next to him, snaking a hand back under the blanket to rest against Rodney's skin.

Shifting slightly, Rodney let the feel of the restraints soothe him. "John?" he whispered a moment later, realizing what was missing.

"Yeah?"

"Blindfold?"

John smiled. "Sure, if you're okay with having it on here."

"I…" Rodney said, licking his lips. "Yes, please."

John pulled the little strip of fabric out of his pocket, and tied it in place, plunging Rodney back into darkness.

He hummed, settling in deeper, John's hand against his skin. He heard the flight attendants talking quietly to the other passengers, to John, but otherwise ignored everything except the feel of the cuffs, the harness, the cage, the plug, John's hand…until at some point later, John whispered in his ear.

"Lunch is here. I'm going to sit you up so I can feed you."

"Can I?"

"Can you what?"

"Can I feed myself?"

"Why do you want to?" John didn't sound angry, just curious.

"It just…feels a little awkward to be so intimate here."

The blindfold was pulled off, and the first thing Rodney saw was John's smile. "I know. It's okay. I'm going to free one hand—the other stays where it is."

"Okay. Thank you," Rodney whispered as John adjusted the seat so he could eat. He released Rodney's right hand, helping with anything that required a second hand—like opening his water, or buttering his bread. Rodney was okay with that.

"We're actually not too much further out. Probably another hour before I'll need to completely unhook you to prepare for landing."

"I slept?"

"I don't know if you were sleeping or just really relaxed and zoned out." John grinned. "I'll take either."

"I thought this flight was going to be much more monotonous and painful."

"And I told you it would be fine." John chuckled softly.

"I know, but trapped on a plane…and we still have one more flight."

"Just a short hop. And then we'll be in Hawaii."

"Almost there," Rodney whispered, giving John a smile as he finished off his lunch.

"Oh yeah." John's expression could only be called a leer.

Rodney settled back into the seat, watching as the flight attendant removed his tray. John rearranged him, but didn't reattach his hand, instead threading his fingers through it. They stayed like that until they got the call that they would be landing in forty minutes. John used the time to unhook and re-dress Rodney, preparing them for their flight transfer.

It went smoothly, and the second flight was relatively short. In what felt like almost no time at all, they were stepping off the plane in Hawaii. They were really here. On vacation.

As soon as they entered the baggage claim area, there was a tall, young man standing with a sign that said "Sheppard" waiting patiently for them.

They exchanged a quick look, and John walked over. "Hi, I'm John Sheppard."

"Malcom, sir. I'll be escorting you to your accommodations."

"Great. We have one bag checked, so once we retrieve that, we'll be all set."

"If you'd like to describe it and you have your claim number, I can retrieve it for you while you wait in the car."

"Awesome." John grinned. He handed over the claim information, and described the black suitcase they had brought. "Which car is ours?"

"Juilian is standing just outside the door dressed in a black suit and holding a sign with your name. He'll show you the way."

"I think I love this resort." John grabbed Rodney's hand, tugging him along.

Rodney was just a little shell-shocked. No one was this nice or accommodating. "Is this for real?"

"Well, it is a full service hotel. They want to make our stay as perfect as possible. Anything we need, they'll provide it."

Rodney just shook his head as they stepped outside. Sure enough, Juilian was waiting and he directed them to the awaiting car. A limo. A huge truck-limo. Really obnoxious and really, really huge.

"Sir," Juilian said, voice cultivated and even. "Please make yourself comfortable. By the time we retrieve your luggage and arrive at the resort you will have approximately forty-five minutes. There are food and beverages inside."

"Perfect." They got inside, and...oh my...this limo wasn't your standard, everyday variety.

Toys and cuffs and straps and…just about anything you might need. Reinforced hooks in the ceiling and the floorboards and walls…it was a moving dungeon with dark tinted windows. "Oh…" Rodney said, eyes wide.

"Oh yeah..." John's smile was predatory. "When we arrive at the hotel, we'll be completely inside the compound. So you can strip now."

"Here? At the airport?"

John was already working on the laces of Rodney's shoes. "No one can see us."

"But we're at the airport!"

Glancing around, John suddenly smiled again. And grabbed a gag. Before Rodney had time to react, it was buckled on him, cutting off further protests. "From this point on, you are mine. You do not get to have a say in anything we do. You will be punished for any disobedience, which includes hesitating when I give you a direct order."

Rodney's eyes were wide, panting around the gag John had locked on.

"Take off your clothes."

John all dom was…yeah. It took him a few seconds before he started tugging off his clothes, but it was enough for John to notice.

As soon as he was naked, John pulled him over his lap, and gave his ass three hard, sharp smacks. "That was for hesitating. Now..." He found a set of heavy leather cuffs, switching them out for the ones on Rodney's wrists. His collar was also replaced with a plain, heavy leather version. "I'll put your steel collar on once we get to the room. For now, this will do."

Rodney squirmed in John's lap as his lover fastened his wrists together behind his back. John smacked him again, getting him to still as he reached for something else. Two heavy cuffs wrapped around his upper arms and Rodney heard the locks snap closed before John secured them to the harness he was already wearing, tugging his shoulders back a little.

"Mmm, there we go. Very nice." John purred as he stroked Rodney's body, tracing the lines of leather.

He moaned, wiggling a little. John, though, ignored him, reaching for something else. A few seconds later, he was plunged into darkness as a thick leather blindfold was put in place. He felt John fussing with something behind his head, vaguely realizing that he was somehow connecting the blindfold, gag, and collar, locking them all together. He moaned again, already beginning to feel himself falling a little.

"Good boy. Just relax. You can't stop me, and you'll enjoy this much more if you just let go and accept that you belong to me. Your body is no longer your own, and you don't get any input into what I decide to do with it."

Whimpering he nodded, but agreeing was easier said than done.

John seemed to know what he was thinking. He rearranged them so Rodney was sitting on the seat again, curled against John with strong arms around him. "I'm not going to push you faster than I think you can handle. Right now, I'm just going to hold you."

Rodney snuggled in close, as much as he could as he was bound, loving the feel and smell of his lover. A little while later he heard the trunk open and close and then they were moving.

John's hands started roaming all over his body, touching and caressing.

"When we arrive, I'm going to put the leash on you, and you're going to follow me. Nothing you're wearing currently will come off, and you will not be putting any additional clothes on."

He whined, but a sharp slap stopped him immediately.

"No complaints. I already warned you that you wouldn't be wearing clothes for most of this trip. And I never intended to lock us up in our room."

Rodney nodded, breathing heavily against John's neck, John's hands continuing to touch and stroke and arouse.

"You're so beautiful like this. I love seeing you submit, seeing you just let go for me."

Rodney shifted against him, wanting to feel more.

He got a low, husky chuckle. "You haven't come in days. I bet your poor cock is starting to feel neglected. I miss the taste of you. I want to spend a lot of time relearning your texture and flavor before I let you find release."

He moaned, feeling his brain starting to slow, loving the sound of John's voice, the feel of his hands, his body.

He lost track of time, but suddenly John's hands, which had never stopped petting, were urging him to sit up. Rodney felt the snick of a leash being attached to his collar. "We're here."

Nodding, he followed John's lead, feeling the warmth of the outside air flowing over him as they walked to the registration desk. He felt…exposed, but knowing John was there helped.

John was holding the leash up close to Rodney's neck, forcing him to stay close. Having the blindfold actually helped—he had no idea if there was anyone looking at him or not. "Hello. John Sheppard. I need to check in."

"Yes, Mister Sheppard. Malcom called from the airport. Your cottage is ready. Would you like your bags brought to you? It is a distance to walk with your submissive and luggage."

"If you wouldn't mind sending it along, that would be great. Also, I had several packages waiting for me? Can you have those sent to our room?"

"Already there, sir," the woman said. "Julian will bring your luggage around now."

"Excellent. For dinner tonight, what are my options? I'd like to explore the grounds a bit if I can, as well."

"There are several restaurants on the grounds. All the details are available in a pamphlet in your cottage. The notes in your reservation indicated that you enjoyed cooking, so if you'd prefer to do so at any time, just let us know and we'll provide the ingredients if they are not already in the cottage." There was a shuffle of paper and then she continued. "We're here. Your cottage is here, one of our remotest and most luxurious. There are two bedrooms in addition to the public areas—living room and kitchen and dining room. They'd been outfitted according to your specifications. If there is anything you need, please let us know. Everything is included."

John hummed. "This place is amazing. One more question for you. I'm assuming the rule here is that if I bring my sub in public, people can look, but no touching without permission, correct? I don't want there to be any problems. Also, are there any restrictions about what I can do in public, or where I do it?"

"You are correct. This resort encourages consensual experiences. If you encounter any problems with any guests, please report it immediately. And, as long as what you practice is consensual, there are no issues. The grounds are secure and only guests and staff are permitted."

"Thanks. I appreciate the help."

"Here is your key, sir. There are keys in the cottage for the items there. We also have extra sets here in case they are lost or misplaced. One thing to note: if you decide to join another couple, please use only your locks. They are coded for each cottage or room."

"I don't intend to join another couple right now, but I'll keep that in mind if I decide otherwise."

"Understood, sir, but we have to inform you. Would you like Malcom to show you the way? He will be your main contact while you are here. His cell phone is speed dial one from any phone in your cottage. He's available 24/7."

"I think I can find it, but if we have any trouble, I'll give him a call. Thanks again." John tugged on the leash.

Rodney followed John's lead, moving from the air conditioned reception area outside into the warm Hawaiian air.

"It's beautiful here. Later, I'll take you around again without the blindfold, so you can see it."

Nodding, Rodney's only real option for responding to his lover, he sped up when John tugged a little harder on the leash, the ground under his feet sun-warmed and smooth. The air smelled exotic, sweet and spicy at the same time.

They walked for a while, silence comfortable between them.

John was humming softly. "We're here."

Rodney felt John move beside him, guiding him up a set of three stairs. He heard the sound of the key in the door and then they were stepping inside, cool air flowing over his body, making him shiver.

The floor inside the entranceway was cool—wood probably. They moved through the cottage, pausing in each room as John explored. Wood became carpet or throw rugs in places until he heard John's very contented hum.

"Oh this is nice. Very nice."

Rodney was tugged forward and he felt the edge of the bed against this thigh. It was higher than their bed. He'd have to climb up in order to get up on it, but for bending over it was perfect.

"I'm taking the blindfold off now. I want you to be able to look around before I do anything else."

John's hands were tugging with the buckles and locks at the back of his head. A few moments later and the blindfold was tugged free. After he blinked a few times, his eyes widened. The master suite was huge—as was the bed.

John had stripped off his shirt, and was poking around the room, holding up various things for Rodney to see. "The FedEx boxes are in the living room. I'll go get them and bring them in so we can see what they are."

Rodney nodded, letting his eyes roam around. John had attached the end of the leash to the thick bedpost, giving him a little room to move, but not much.

There were straps everywhere—the bed was liked the supped-up version of their bed at home. There was a suspension system in the middle of the room as well, along with all kinds of whips and toys and dildos and who knew what else all over the place.

Looking a little more closely at the bed and Rodney saw another suspension system built right into the bed. There were also hooks for other hanging and suspension equipment. John could secure him on his knees, his upper body held by a suspension system and if it was done correctly, he wouldn't be able to shift or move and holding the position for a long time wouldn't put any strain on him. John could take him several times like that…

His lover returned a moment later with two rather large boxes. He brought them to the bed, opening the first one. And pulling out a huge assortment of what looked like lengths of hemp, in a variety of colors. "Oh. Oh this is nice. I can do all kinds of things with this..." John stroked the rope, running it through his hands.

Rodney nodded, knowing the rope would leave marks on his body even after it was removed, but at the same time it would feel so nice against his skin. And yeah, there was a lot of rope. John could probably wrap him up from head to toe with all of it in several colors.

"We're gong to have fun with this. Shall we see what's in the other one?" John winked at him.

Another nod and then John was opening the second box, pulling out several thick leather cuffs and a collar, very high-end and professionally created. There was a pair of leather pants in John's size. And at the bottom was a tripod and a DVD camcorder.

John pulled a sheet of paper out of the very bottom of the box, eyebrows both almost to his hairline as he read it.

Rodney hummed, trying to get his lover's attention.

Looking up, John licked his lips, then started to read out loud.

John & Rodney-

Wanted to make sure you had a few things to play with before we arrive in three days. Enjoy your vacation. We won't bother you too much but we do expect a few dinners and lunches with you. Enjoy yourselves!

Peter & Harry

Grinning, John picked up the camera. "It will be great to see them, and thank them for all this. This place is amazing."

Rodney had to agree. If the rest of the cottage was like the bedroom, they were never leaving.

"For today, I want to play a bit, and then we're going to take a walk, and explore the hotel. Get some food at some point."

Yes. Food would be good. He wasn't hungry yet, but he was sure he would be.

"I'm going to unhook you, so I can reposition you." John quickly unlocked the clasps holding his arms behind his back.

The tension eased in his shoulder blades and shoulders and he let his arms drop to his sides, waiting for John to give him direction.

Using the suspension system on the bed, John arranged him so his arms were held high, and he was sitting up on his knees. The straps were tight enough that he couldn't sink down at all. And then his legs were pushed apart as wide as they could go, and locked into place as well.

He added some other straps to the cuffs on Rodney's upper arms, making sure he couldn't shift and giving Rodney a little extra support. Once that was done, John moved behind him, unbuckling the bottom of the harness he'd worn all day, leaving just the chest part of the harness on him.

Next, John came around and unlatched the cage, pulling it free. Immediately, the Ancient cock ring was slipped on, and started buzzing hard.

Rodney moaned, tugging at the restraints holding him in place, shifting a little more than John obviously wanted, getting a smack on his ass cheek.

With a soft moan, John suddenly swallowed him down, sucking hard and teasing Rodney's shaft with teeth and tongue.

Oh god. Rodney's eyes slid closed. He hadn't come in nearly a week and he needed it so badly. He moaned loudly, arching into John's mouth.

John just kept sucking and licking, driving him higher and higher.

He was whimpering and begging, moaning desperately around the gag.

And then John pulled off, sitting back and just looking at Rodney. "So fucking beautiful..."

Please, oh god, please…

John moved around the bed, and then the plug was being pulled out of Rodney's body, replaced with what felt like three fingers, pressing in deep.

He begged, pleaded, and sobbed, but John kept up the same damn pace.

Once his lover found his prostate, he began to press against it over and over, withdrawing his fingers only fractions of inches before pressing them in again, against the little gland, sending sparks of pleasure all through Rodney's body.

Rodney sobbed, needing and wanting more, needing to come.

Finally, the fingers pulled free. But Rodney wasn't left empty for long. John pressed inside, sheathing himself completely in Rodney's body. And then he stilled, one hand moving to curl around Rodney's blood-red and throbbing erection. "So beautiful…"

He whimpered and moaned loudly.

John started to stroke, his hips making tiny thrusts into Rodney's body at the same time.

He rocked back and forth as much as the restraints would allow, meeting John's thrusts. He was trapped between John's cock and his hand, rocking between both and loving the sensation inside and out.

"So tight, so good. Your ass was made for me, made to be filled, claimed, just like this. All the time."

He nodded, moaning and whimpering. John's other hand shifted from his hip up to his chest and began tugging and rolling his nipples, sending even more sensation through his body.

John's thrusts got faster, harder. "I'm gonna come, gonna fill you again, then plug you. And you'll walk around this whole compound knowing I'm still inside you."

If he didn't have the gag on, he'd be begging and pleading with John to finish him, to let him come. He was hurting for it, desperate.

He felt the warm rush of heat inside that meant John was coming. His lover and top went heavy, leaning against Rodney's back and panting hard.

Please, he whined into the gag, John's hands finally stilling, just holding onto him.

Lips pressed into his neck, and then John pulled out slowly. He must have grabbed a plug at some point, because a new one, bigger than the one he had worn on the plane, was pressed inside, filling him.

He groaned as his ass clenched around the plug, greedily sucking it into his body. Please, oh god, please…

Moving back around, John stretched out on the bed where Rodney could see him, lazily reaching up to stroke Rodney's erection a few more times.

No…nonononono. Rodney panted hard around the gag, his eyes open wide and pleading with his lover.

"You want to come, don't you?"

He nodded eagerly.

"Hmmm. The question is, should I let you come now, or make you wait until later?"

Now! Please, god, now. He pleaded with his eyes, his chest rising and falling as he hovered on the edge of desperation.

John swirled a finger over the tip of Rodney's dick, spreading the pre-come. "I want you to come so hard you pass out, and I don't really think you're at that stage yet."

Rodney whined. Loudly. He was there! Right there!

John just chuckled. "No, not nearly there. You're not even really in headspace yet."

Sobbing and whimpering, Rodney tried to shift closer to John, trying to get him to let him come now.

But the straps held him in place, even as the ring stopped buzzing and getting a little bit tighter at the same time.

No! Please, no!

"You've waited for a week. You can wait a little longer."

Rodney shook his head. No. He couldn't. No. Now.

Sitting up on his knees, John cupped Rodney's face with one hand, the other trailing down his side, missing all the erogenous zones. "Deep breaths."

Instead, Rodney rocked against John, sending shudders of arousal through his body.

His lover reached up, and suddenly the straps got tighter, holding him almost completely immobile. "Breathe for me, Rodney."

Whining, Rodney shook his head, climax the only thing on his mind.

John cupped his face harder, forcing him to look his top in the eye. "You aren't coming right now. And if you fight me, you won't come at all today. Right now I plan to let you, but not if you keep disobeying."

Rodney tried to beg, to plead, to change John's mind, but all he could do was whimper and moan.

"Shhh. I know. You want to come, want to feel that release, but you aren't ready for it yet. Trust me. I'll take care of you, and it will be better than you can imagine."

He whimpered again, wanting it so badly. John held his eyes for a long moment before obviously making up his mind, shifting off the bed. He walked around, tightening the straps so Rodney was spread wider, pulled tight and unable to move, to shift.

"You're going to stay there, like that, until I think you've fallen far enough into headspace. And that means you won't care whether or not you're allowed to come, because all you'll care about is pleasing me."

Rodney shook his head and closed his eyes, sobbing quietly. No, please, no…

John was back beside him, hands skimming down Rodney's back, along his arms. "Just let go. Stop trying to second-guess me, or get your way. You don't get to have things your way. Not while we're here. The faster you can accept that, the easier, and more pleasurable, this will be for you."

John stayed with him for a few minutes before shifting again, the blindfold going back on.

His top pet him, caressed him, loved him. Helping him pull back from the edge and start to slide into headspace.

It was a battle, but John got him there, pushing him down with each and every touch, every caresses.

"Very good. Such a good boy." John's praise was warm, as much of a caress as what he was doing with his hands.

Rodney slid down, submitting, John offering him no other option.

They stayed like that for a while. Rodney was still hard, but somehow it stopped being the most important thing. "Getting hungry?"

He nodded.

"I'm going to unhook your hands and move them back to behind your back. Then I'm going to untie you from the bed and take off the blindfold. You'll stay gagged until we get to the restaurant and I'm ready to feed you."

Rodney nodded again, his body more or less supported by the bonds holding him up.

John followed through, and a few minutes later Rodney was standing by the bed, John's eyes roaming over him. "You're going to stay hard while we walk over, and while I feed you. I want to show off how absolutely gorgeous you are like this, and I want everyone to be jealous of what my dessert is going to be."

He shivered, already feeling the eyes of others on him, John's voice already painting the picture. He tugged at the bonds holding his hands behind his back, both sets of cuffs secured, leaving him little room to move.

The leash was snapped back on, and wound tight around John's fist, forcing Rodney to stand close. His lover was just in his jeans, with no shirt, and didn't seem inclined to put one on. He tugged slightly, and started walking out.

Rodney kept his eyes on John, watching his body move, trying to anticipate where he might go, but only ending up tripping over his own feet instead.

Glancing back, John stopped, cupping Rodney's chin. "Need a little more lead to be able to walk comfortably?"

Leaning into the touch, he shook his head. Oddly enough it was easier following John when he couldn't see where he was going.

"Okay. We'll go slow. Feel free to look around. It really is beautiful here—I want you to be able to enjoy that, too."

With another caress along his jaw, John turned again, gently leading the way, his pace slower than before. Rodney's eyes darted around, spotting other couples scattered about in various states of undress and bondage. His eyes quickly returned to John, his cheeks feeling red. He couldn't just look at them. That was…weird.

They wandered down a few very lush pathways, and a few times Rodney caught glimpses of the ocean. Just before they got to a building he assumed was the restaurant, John tugged him onto an overlook, where they could see the private beach stretched out below them, the ocean an almost impossible blue beyond that. John made a soft, happy noise. "Oh, I am so going surfing tomorrow..."

Rodney leaned into John, who wrapped his arms around him. He sighed quietly as he shifted closer.

John pressed his lips into Rodney's temple, tugging him closer. "Look down there—see the cabanas? You can sort of see how they have straps for bondage. While I surf, I'll tie you so you can watch me."

He nodded again, spotting the things John pointed out, the tension in his body easing slightly. This he could do. The cuddling, the touching. He knew it was going to take more than a few hours or one session to get him down to where John wanted him, but he wanted to. He wanted to feel that, live in that space. It was just…hard to let go in a new environment like this.

They stood watching the waves for a few more minutes. Finally, John kissed him again. "Come on. I'm starving, so I know you are, too."

A light tug on the leash got Rodney moving again, heading down a path Rodney hoped John knew where it led. Thankfully, a few minutes later they emerged from the greenery and discovered a small building made of dark wood and open to the outside. Fans turned lazily in the ceiling overhead and tables of various heights and configuration were scattered throughout.

John nodded to a greeter who moved to meet them. "Good evening. I need a table for my sub and I. Preferably something that will allow him to kneel comfortably and be bound."

"We have several options available, sir," he said. "If you would like to have your sub on display, I can recommend one of the taller tables with the accompanying platform. It has several points for attachment and we have straps here if you require them. If you would prefer something more intimate, we have a normal table for you while your sub is on the floor in front of you, under the table. Again, there are various attachment points as well."

John looked Rodney up and down. "We'll take one of the higher tables. He's too pretty not to show off."

"Very well," he said, without even glancing at Rodney. He gestured for John to follow him. "Please come this way. We have several specials tonight including a Mahi tuna with a citrus rub which is absolutely delightful. I'd recommend it highly."

"Actually, my sub has a severe citrus allergy. Would you mind letting the kitchen know that? I carry an epi-pen with me, but I'd rather not have our vacation spoiled by having to spend it in the emergency room." John flashed a smile. "Can you recommend anything non-citrus? Or are there any substitutions we could use on the fish?"

"Oh," he said pausing, his gaze finally drifting to Rodney for a brief second. "Most of our dishes contain some kind of citrus—either in the glaze or marinate. I will need to check with the cook and see about getting something done specially for you. Will the grill need to be cleaned off before we cook your meal?"

John tapped his lips. "If it's not too much trouble, that would be great. I'm sorry to be a pain, but it really is a severe allergy. He stops breathing, and if he doesn't get help immediately, it would be fatal. I'd much rather take his breath away in other ways."

"Understood, sir. Here we are. Is this table to your liking?" The table was tall—more like stool height and the accompanying platform was two feet in the air. It was padded, but there were obvious areas to attach a sub's legs securely.

"Oh, yes." John practically purred, and tugged Rodney forward. "Kneel, and find a comfortable position. You'll be in it for a while."

"I will return in a moment," the waiter said as John helped Rodney climb up onto the platform. Rodney shifted a few times, settling into place. John adjusted his legs a few times, making his stance a little wider and checking to make sure it didn't hurt. Once he got a confirmation from Rodney, he used two straps on each leg, securing him to the platform. Once Rodney settled down, John added one more per leg, making sure Rodney couldn't rise up. A strap was added to his wrists and attached to the back of the platform, holding him in place from behind, while a last strap stretched from the ring on his collar to the front of the platform.

Yeah, he wasn't moving anywhere.

Settling in his own spot, John grinned and nudged Rodney's balls with the toe of his sneaker, the cock ring turning on to buzz softly at the same time.

Rodney moaned, his body shuddering. He tugged at the bonds, trying to shift away, but he couldn't, barely able to move in any direction.

"Mmm, perfect. And you're still hard for me, that's very good. That might even be worth ordering something decadent and chocolaty for after dinner."

He whimpered quietly and nodded. He never felt more open and exposed than right now, out in the open, in public. But John…he trusted John.

John's fingers curled around his face again, stroking lightly. "Thank you for doing this. I know it's not easy, but god... you're like every fantasy I've ever had right now. This is amazing, and I love you so much."

Rodney turned his head into the palm of John's hand, closing his eyes. He wanted to do this, wanted to get over his stupid paranoid fears about "Big Brother".

John continued to caress him. "I promise, I won't let anything happen to you."

'I know' he wanted to say, but all he could do was nod, letting John's touch ground him.

John's other hand buried itself in Rodney's hair, petting him. He didn't even know the server had returned until he heard John speaking again. "What did they say?"

"The head chef said he would prepare you a dish personally. Do you prefer beef, chicken, or fish?"

He could hear John's smile. "That's awesome, thank you. Fish, I think, for tonight. We are in Hawaii after all. And he only needs to make one plate."

"Of course. Can I bring you something to drink while you wait for your main course? Can I interest you in an appetizer?"

"Hmm, to drink, can you bring me something fruity and alcoholic, as well as a glass of water? And what would you recommend as an appetizer? Anything really outstanding?"

"Of course. Is pineapple okay as a fruit juice?"

John glanced at Rodney. "Is pineapple a citrus? Or can you have that? I never actually thought about it before. Nod if it won't kill you."

Rodney nodded. If pineapple was citrus he would have died several times over after eating sweet and sour chicken.

"Perfect. Yes, pineapple is okay, both for the drinks and the food. Thanks."

"I'll bring it right out."

When he was gone again, John went back to petting, looking around as other couples wandered in. One, a petite strawberry blond woman with a dark-haired man at the end of her leash, drifted over to their table. John nodded at her. "Evening."

"Evening. Did you just arrive?" she asked, her voice curious, but not overly.

"Today. I'm John, and this is Rodney."

"I'm Pam and this is Derek, my husband. Is this your first time here?"

"Yeah. We've gone to a club once, but this is our first actual vacation where we can play like this. It's very... freeing." John looked down to smile softly at Rodney.

Rodney leaned into John's touch as he felt Pam's eyes on him.

"It can be. He looks a bit tense though. It was how I could tell that you were new."

John chuckled. "He will drop hard and stay down later. We have stressful jobs, and this is the first day of vacation, so it will take him some time to unwind."

"That's why we come here for two weeks every six months," she said conversationally, her sub standing quietly and silently behind her, naked and unbound, linked to her by a single chain around his cock.

John smiled a bit wistfully. "I wish we could get away that often."

"It's our only vacation throughout the year, really. And I have to say that we need every second of it. Helps us to connect again."

John ran his hand through Rodney's hair, thumb rubbing against the gag. "It definitely is nice to be able to share this in public, instead of having to hide."

Rodney leaned into John's touch, taking the comfort he was offering. Pam and Derek simply took his gesture in stride. "He doesn't like public displays of affection?"

"He's still learning. We haven't done this much in public, and it's my kink more than his." John smiled softly at Rodney. "I have a very good, very brave sub who's willing to follow my lead, even if it makes him a little uncomfortable at first."

"That's great. Derek took to it like a duck to water the first time we tried it, now he asks for it more than I want it."

Chuckling, John glanced at the other man briefly before returning his gaze to Pam. "I plan to surf tomorrow—since you've been here before, no one will bother him if I tie him to a beach chair for a while, right?"

"I've never had a problem," she said shaking her head. "We've been coming here for three years."

"Perfect." John was still stroking. "Are there any group things, parties or anything?"

"Some, but they tend to be more casual between several couples. We don't know anyone well enough to offer."

John nodded. "I wouldn't mind a group thing, but I'm not into sharing. More playing in the same room so we can all admire how pretty they look when they fall into headspace."

"As far as I know, the ones I heard about involved swapping and switching partners. I'm like you in that I don't want anyone else touching Derek."

"Yeah, it's a little different when you have a permanent partner, than just a casual playdate. Rodney is mine; no one else touches him. But that doesn't mean I don't like showing him off. I'm the first to admit, I'm intensely proud of him."

Pam smiled. "I can tell. And if you don't have a thing for that ass of his…"

"And he loves having it played with." From his vantage point, Rodney could see John was getting hard again, a slight bulge building in his jeans. "I could spend hours on it, and in it, and doing things to it..."

"Good," she said with a smile. "But I should tell you that you're going to need to do something soon. Have you seen the way some people are looking at it? He's far too pale and unmarked for a sub in the tropics."

John glanced around, and then grinned. "Well, we have dinner coming, and we need to eat. I'll play with him after that. He hasn't been allowed to come in a week, so when he does it will be explosive."

"A week? Derek's only been able to last a day or two at most before he's sobbing. We're trying to work on his stamina, aren't we?" she asked, tugging her lover forward. He nodded, his eyes focused on her.

John grinned. "He actually enjoys orgasm denial, and there are times he begs me to make him wait just a little longer. We built up to it though, with a good cock ring and day-long sessions. He's ready now though, aren't you, buddy?" John nudged Rodney's leaking erection with his shoe again, making it bob.

Rodney moaned and nodded, shifting against the bonds holding him in place.

Leaning down, John swiped his tongue along the line of the gag. "Soon. You're being so good, I'm going to make you fly later."

Another moan followed by a whimper was Rodney's only reply. He closed his eyes, leaning into the small point of contact—John's hand—he had.

He could hear the smile in Pam's voice when she spoke. "He certainly sounds ready."

"I let him out of the cage for the first time in a week before we came down here, worked him up, and then forced him to back off again. So yeah, he's very ready. But just a little longer. I want him to ache for it. He just couldn't get hard the past week, I want him to be leaking and ready for me for a little while before I let him come." John returned to petting him, thumb making small circles.

Rodney concentrated on the sensation of John's thumb, feeling it drift over skin between the leather of the gag and collar, above the gag and across his cheek.

"How long have you had Derek?" John's voice was soft, but not directed at Rodney.

"Like this? Only a few years. We've been married for close to ten. We were getting bored of each other, constantly fighting. I was actually talking about a divorce. But then we saw a marriage counselor and we agreed for the first time in a long time—we could never go back to her." She shrugged. "We decided to try something different, try to spice up our marriage and see if we could work things out."

"Huh. And that worked, obviously. How did you decide who was the top, and who was the bottom?"

"We had been doing it the other way before…when we were fighting. We decided to change everything—once we decided it was a good idea to have sex again in the first place. Things just…happened."

"Wow. We've played a little with switching, but he's not comfortable topping at all, and my natural inclination is to top, even though I do enjoy being on the bottom every now and then. I can't even imagine making a permanent switch. That must have been rough."

"It…wasn't," she said thoughtfully. "Everything just felt right."

"I wonder if that's what caused your problems in the first place then, both of you trying to fill a role you weren't suited for? Let me know if I'm being too personal, but I have to admit, this really fascinates me. I plan to spend the rest of my life with Rodney, so I'm always interested in hearing how other people have made it a lifestyle."

"We're still learning," she said, her voice still open. "And I enjoy talking to others as well. It's hard to find a listening ear."

"Would you like to join us for dinner? The table has more than enough room, and that way you can secure your submissive while we ch\\destyt." Rodney could hear John's smile.

"Derek already ate, so he will simply be attending me," she said and Rodney heard the scrape of the chair. "Stand," she said a moment later. "No talking. Focus on me."

"I notice you don't use much gear. Is that just something you're not in to, or were you more in the mood to have obedience by choice instead of force today?"

"Mood, actually. Derek doesn't enjoy the bondage as much as I do. He prefers to release his submission easily. This is actually a reward for him. He spent the last twenty-four hours in bondage."

"That works. I prefer the reward route myself, over punishment. Not that I don't have to sometimes, but we both much prefer when I can promise something good for obedience, rather than take something away." The toe of John's shoe started to stroke Rodney lightly.

"But the punishment is fun," Pam said eagerly. Rodney, though, was focused on the feel of John's shoe on his cock, rubbing up and down his hard length. He was so desperate and needy.

John laughed softly. "Depends on whether it's punishment for play, or a real punishment for misbehavior. I enjoy pushing his limits, but I don't enjoy being forced to be the bad guy when he's being stubborn. I do it because he needs to know there are consequences and I'll always keep my promises, good or bad. But I prefer this way, making him moan and shake with pleasure because he's being so good."

"Derek enjoys being naughty and keeping him in line is a full time job," she said, but broke off when he waiter arrived. She ordered a drink and dinner as John's drink and appetizer were placed on the table.

Sipping on the drink, John smiled and glanced down at Rodney. "I'm taking the gag off now so I can feed you. You don't speak unless I ask you a direct question and tell you to answer."

Rodney nodded in understanding. He wanted to come so he wasn't about ready to object to John's terms—not that he was in any position to, really.

As soon as the gag was off, John captured his mouth in a deep kiss, tongue plunging inside, claiming his mouth.

Moaning, Rodney opened himself up for John, tilting his head slightly to allow John's tongue to go deeper. His mouth was sore where the gag cut in and from holding his mouth open, but it felt good.

John pulled back slowly, nipping at Rodney's lips. "So beautiful..." he whispered.

"More…" he whispered, the word falling from his mouth.

"Ah ah. no talking." John bit him softly, then pulled back. A moment later, the straw to the drink he had ordered was at Rodney's lips. "Since I don't want to get drunk, we'll share."

He took a small sip, the fruity flavor sliding down easily, the 151 rum burning a little. It was strong and on an empty stomach might not be the best idea.

John followed it up with a bite of food, pressed against Rodney's lips.

Whatever the appetizer was—Rodney had no idea—it tasted amazing. Sweet and tart and savory. He chewed, humming a little, letting his eyes slide closed.

John continued to feed him, and Rodney drifted, listening to his top chatting with the other dom for a bit. "...prefer this way. He has a tendency to inhale his food when left to his own devices, so this way I know he slows down and enjoys it. Not to mention, I love the intimacy of feeding him. If I have a choice, we eat this way now."

"And he loves it," she said, admiringly. "I can't believe the difference it makes in his body, how he stopped holding himself so tense."

John pushed another piece of food into Rodney's mouth, dragging it over his lips first. "This is one of the ways I help him drop into headspace. We've had a long week before we were able to get here, and then travel. I knew he would only get frustrated if I tried to force him down hard and fast. I prefer this way: helping him relax, letting him fall into it at his own pace. And once he's down, he'll stay down."

"He'll be like this all week?"

"This is nothing. He's just relaxing, not really in his headspace yet. When he's down, he'll be completely relaxed, and won't care what I do to him or with him."

They had somehow moved into dinner, Rodney realized absently, the taste in his mouth different than before. He tried shifting closer to John, but the bonds held him firmly in place.

His top must have sensed his movements, a hand drifting down over his shoulder even as John continued to feed him.

John's touch sent shivers down his back, pulling a quiet moan from his lips even as he nipped at John's fingers as they slid another piece of fish into his mouth.

"I would love to see him in headspace," Pam said, the clinking of cutlery and china a background symphony to her words.

"By tomorrow he will be. I'll continue to drop him all night and into the morning." Instead of another piece of food, John's thumb pressed into Rodney's mouth.

He sucked it in eagerly, tonguing the tip, savoring the taste of his lover.

"He's…that mouth…does he give good head? Oh…am I being too nosey? It's just that he's so…"

John's chuckle was low and sent little sparks of pleasure down Rodney's spine, even as his thumb swiped over Rodney's tongue. "He gives fantastic head. He can have me coming in under a minute if I let him."

"That's impressive. Sometimes I wish someone else was that talented with their mouth."

"Anyone can be. It's all a matter of practice and training. If you want, at some point this week, I'll have Rodney work me over while you and Derek watch. You can get at least an idea of what he's doing, and adapt it to yourselves."

"I'd like that…if you don't mind and we're not intruding. Derek could use the pointers."

John's chuckle was low again. "I did mention I have a public sex kink, right? I have to admit I get a thrill from being watched while I play with my lover, and I like watching other people enjoy themselves."

"You may have," she said with her own chuckle. "I think we might get along well."

"So what other toys do you use, if any? We're big fans of plugs—the worst punishment I have is to take his away for any length of time."

"I love paddles and whips. They make such pretty patterns. I love his ass red and smarting."

John's thumb swiped over Rodney's lips again, pushing deep for a moment before almost withdrawing. "We haven't played much with that, although we've been experimenting more with it lately. I was eyeing some of the stuff in the room when we got here. What kinds are your favorites?"

Rodney tried to chase it, but the restraints caught him, holding him in place. He moaned quietly, opening his eyes to look up at John.

"All of them, really. When you really need it to hurt, there's nothing better than the cane. The wide paddle gets a lot of skin, but the smaller one give you access to the inside of their thighs and their balls. When they're all red and warm and swollen…hmmm, it's so good."

John was looking at Rodney, and his eyes were dark, aroused. He let the tip of his thumb rest against Rodney's lips. "We're going to try that. I'm going to make your ass glow, and fuck you hard while it's hot."

There was no way he was going to be able to reach John's thumb, get it back into his mouth like this. He had to wait, wait on John to decide what he wanted to do, wait for John…for John. Between one breath and the next Rodney felt some of the world slip away.

"Oh, good boy." John purred, seeing it. His thumb slipped back inside, and Rodney knew he was being rewarded.

"Did he just…" Pam started, breaking off as Rodney began sucking John's thumb again, his eyes open and fixed on John.

John's gaze didn't leave his, pinning him in place. "Mmmm hmmm. So fucking perfect... And so completely mine."

He wanted John so badly, wanted to feel him inside him, filling him even more than the plug was.

John was hard, straining against his jeans. "I think I need to take him home and fuck him now."

Rodney whined, pleading. Pam's voice was breathy. "Likewise. Come, Derek, your work's not done."

John chuckled, finally breaking the eye contact. "I'll see you tomorrow I'm sure. Enjoy your evening—and let's plan a little mutual demonstration for later this week."

"We're in cottage Five. Call when you want to set something up."

"I will." John rose, his hand slipping out of Rodney's mouth. The gag went back on almost immediately, preventing Rodney from complaining, arguing, or having any say in what his top was doing.

He moaned and closed his eyes as John's hands fastened it on tightly before moving to the various straps. He had to pause mid-way through as the waiter asked if he wanted the leftovers sent to the room.

"That would be great, thank you." John got the last strap, and made sure Rodney's hands were still fastened behind his back. "Stand up, Rodney."

Rodney shifted back, John's hands helping him to his feet. He was a little unsteady from kneeling for so long, but John steadied him before snapping on the leash.

A hand curled around his erection, stroking him lightly. "Stay hard for me. I'm going to let you come soon."

Moaning, Rodney shifting forward slightly, leaning into John's hand as a shudder ran through his body. Soon. John would let him come soon. He held onto the words, the promise.

"You're so beautiful like this..." John mouthed his way along the gag and down Rodney's neck, nipping lightly at the skin.

Rodney closed his eyes and let the feelings wash over his body. He wanted to come so badly, but knew John would only let him come when he was ready. But right now…right now he felt so good, so alive. Every nerve ending was tingling, his entire body aroused. He wanted John so badly, wanted to come, to feel the rush of pleasure and completion.

John worked his way back up, nibbling on Rodney's ear a little. "Being so good. Going to make you fly so high..."

Nodding his head slightly, Rodney leaned into John, loving his warmth, the feel of his skin, his body.

John's hands skimmed his body, leaving trails of pleasure. Finally, though, his lover stood straight. "Let's go back to our room where I can ravish you properly."

Rodney hummed appreciatively, following as John tugged him forward with the leash. He left his eyes closed, trusting John to lead him.

In addition to the hand on his leash, John put a hand on Rodney's elbow, guiding him. They moved slowly, a soft, sweetly-scented breeze sweeping over them once they got outside.

The smells, the feel of John's touch and the breeze against his skin, made him shiver slightly, feeling his mind slowing. All that mattered was John. Only John.

Rodney didn't realize they were back at the bungalow until the breeze stopped, replaced with the faint tang of leather.

He opened his eyes, looking around, realizing they had come in through a secondary door, directly into the master bedroom.

John continued to lead him, moving directly to the suspension bar in the corner. Rodney's hands were unclipped from behind his back, and pushed above his head, where they were secured. John then went down on one knee, pushing Rodney's legs wide apart before he locked them to hooks bolted in the floor.

Rodney shifted, tugging at the restraints. He moaned and shuddered, anticipation growing in his stomach. If he was good, John would let him come. And god…he needed to come. So badly.

His lover moved around him, adjusting the bindings, tightening them down before finally stepping away with a small nod to himself.

"Perfect." He lowered his head to lick one of Rodney's nipples, teasing it with the tip of his tongue.

Ohgodohgodohgod!

A high-pitched moan accompanied a desperate tugging on the restraints, wanting less and more at the same time.

Chuckling, John blew on the moist nub, curling a hand around Rodney's erection again at the same time.

Rodney closed his eyes and threw his head back, whimpering. Oh god…

John continued along the same lines for a while, licking and biting a nipple, only to pull off and blow while he stroked Rodney's aching cock. Then he would go back to teasing again, his hand stilling and just holding Rodney loosely until the next round.

It didn't take long for John to reduce Rodney to sobs and whimpers and moans, desperate noises as his lover played with his body.

John was evil. Pure evil—and he loved every minute of it.

Finally, John stopped the teasing. Rodney was only vaguely aware of his lover moving, and didn't know what was coming until the plug was pulled out and John pushed in with one long, steady thrust.

His breath caught in the back of his throat as John settled in deep, a few drops of his earlier semen trickling down Rodney's inner thigh. John wrapped his arms around him, simply holding him as Rodney stretched to accommodate his lover. Rodney tried to wiggle, to shift, to get John to move, but his lover only tightened his arms around him, stilling his movements.

After a few moments, John began to move, slowly thrusting in and out, making Rodney his own again and again and again.

Every time Rodney shifted, rocking back against his lover, John paused, holding them both still for several minutes, their harsh breathing the only sound. It was only once Rodney relaxed that he would start again.

"Just accept. Just open up and let it happen."

He whimpered and nodded, trying to let go. It was easier said than done, however. All the tension from the past months was still there at the back of his mind. As much as he wanted to forget about it, he could feel it there hovering, just waiting to break through once again.

John started to move again, fucking him so slow, so sweet. Rodney focused on the sensations, on what John's cock felt like thrusting in and out of him.

He closed his eyes and wrapped his hands over the bar above his head, hanging on.

The ring began to buzz again, and John's hand came around to hold Rodney, effectively stroking him as they moved. "Are you ready to come? Can you taste it?" John whispered in his ear.

Rodney nodded, moaning low and deep.

"I want to feel you clench all around me, make me come, milk me."

With a whine, Rodney did just so, clenching down on John's cock as it rocked in and out of him, making the sensation even more intense.

His lover moaned, and began to thrust harder. "You can come when I do."

Rodney groaned and nodded, continuing to clench down on John. He wanted this so badly, wanted to come, wanted to feel his lover filling him again.

With a soft cry, John bit down on Rodney's shoulder, sudden heat filling Rodney's body. At the same time, the ring loosened, freeing his aching erection.

With a broken cry, Rodney felt his trapped orgasm finally breaking free. His breath caught in his throat as his body shuddered and he came hard, trembling as pleasure washed over him. He saw bright lights and stars before everything darkened, his consciousness running away from the potency of his pleasure.

***