Chapter Text
Rodney loaded up his tray and headed up the steps to find a table, spying John in the corner. Usually he would join him, but he watched as Mitchell slipped into a seat opposite. Of course, John wasn’t alone, why would he be now. They were in the beginnings of a match and that involved a lot of time spent together on and off duty. Rodney glanced around, spied an empty table for two in the furthest corner away from them and everybody else and scuttled over with a grimace as he caught Mitchell turn his head and look over at him before turning back to John with a comment.
John watched Rodney slip into a seat, his back to them, a purposeful move to seclude himself from them and the rest of the people lunching.
“C’mon, he is a little strange,” Cameron said with a small smile like they were sharing a joke.
John managed to keep the grimace off his face and ducked his head to continue eating without replying. It had been on the tip of his tongue to ask Cameron if Rodney could join them for lunch but he swallowed the request down as Cameron made it clear he wanted to be alone with him. It wasn’t unusual, once it had become clear they were pursuing a match they needed to figure one another out and Cameron needed time to set his boundaries for John to settle into. John knew Rodney was a certain, taste, for some people. Cameron just needed to get used to him was all, that was if Rodney actually spoke to him ever again.
Things had moved pretty quickly, John hadn’t been drawn to a Dominant so strongly before and the feeling was mutual from Cameron who seemed equally as surprised by the attraction and compatibility. But attraction aside, John was finding the adjustment unsettling as always was the case when pursuing a match; it had been a long time since he’d committed to a Dominant and he instinctively knew this match would be a challenge in every part of his life. He knew Cameron was worth it, but he knew in choosing Cameron, Rodney was hurting and that cut him up more than Cameron understood. It was his own fault, he’d gotten caught up in the whirlwind of courtship that Cameron had thrown him into and now he found it difficult to try and find the words to explain Rodney’s place in his life.
Cameron was talking about taking a shuttle to the mainland; to practice his flying skills as well as to continue touching base with the Athosians. John also suspected it was because he had developed a taste for Halling’s fruit cobbler – sweet and addictive sustenance from the gods, or so John thought. He figured Cameron would think it almost blasphemous because of Cameron’s devotion to his grandmother's cooking, so he kept that to himself.
“Uh Earth to John,” Cameron grinned, leaning over and ducking his head to catch his eye. “You even listenin’ to me?”
“Yeah, a flying lesson to the mainland, touch base with the Athosians” John smiled smugly, lifting his head and staring back into those blue eyes. He could lose himself in those eyes and the thrum of desire he felt most of the time around Cameron knotted tighter in his stomach as they glinted back at him. “And Halling’s fruit pie.”
Cameron laughed, giving a look of mock hurt, “I never mentioned the cobbler, how dare you accuse me.”
“In that case, maybe we can fly further along the coastline, there’s still places to be explored,” John laughed, not believing a word of it.
Cameron backtracked, looking pained at the thought of missing out on Halling’s perfect pastry sweetstuffs, “It would be rude not to stay for a bite to eat. You know they’ll extend an invitation.”
John laughed before sobering as he glanced past Cameron and caught sight of Rodney’s stiff, ramrod straight back. He was in hearing distance enough to know they were being jovial. John ducked his head again, finishing off his food quickly.
“So, jumper bay in thirty minutes?” John asked as he pushed his tray aside.
He looked up to find Cameron watching him with a thoughtful, curious gaze. Cameron stared at him silently for a few moments longer, long enough for John to feel uncomfortable and he squirmed in his seat.
“Yeah, thirty minutes,” Cameron agreed after the pause.
John bid him a quick ‘see you later’ and stood with his tray. He had to walk past Rodney to exit and he wanted to sit with him a moment, say hi and catch up. But it was like Rodney knew he was near because he hunched down and punched a finger into the data pad he had with him and John felt you could slice the tension with a knife. Grimacing he marched right on past, dumping his tray to be washed and heading into the halls without a backward glance.