Chapter Text
Ronon Dex walked into the meeting room and picked a chair by the door. He sat down and leaned back in the chair, waiting for all the senior staff to show up. Ronon hated meetings. He thought they were boring, even if most of the information included in these meetings were needed for future operations. Ronon still had a hard time sitting still, even after four years of living on Atlantis. But he was observant and a good listener, even if some may have thought otherwise.
John Sheppard was at the other end of the table, going over notes on his tablet.
"Morning." He gave Ronon a nod and went back to work, absently spinning the tablet's stylus in his free hand.
Rodney McKay came in next, engrossed in his own tablet and muttering to himself. He was complaining about someone's equations from what Ronon could gather.
Teyla Emmagan and Jennifer Keller came in next, chatting with each other. Jennifer sat next to Rodney, who had smiled fondly and looked up from his tablet at hearing her voice. Out of the corner of his vision, Sheppard squirmed in his seat and bit his lip, still scrolling down on his tablet. Ronon felt himself smirk. Sheppard and McKay really had something they needed to work out.
Richard Woolsey strode in briskly, with his laptop in his arm. He gave the room a warm smile. Ronon had begun to respect Woolsey. He was a good leader in his own right. He was earnest and competent, even if he lacked the tenacity of Dr. Weir and confidence of Col. Carter. Still, he was a good man.
"Good morning. Are we missing anyone?" He asked, looking around before taking his seat at the head of the table.
"We're still waiting for Zelenka." Sheppard replied.
"Very well." Woolsey nodded. "As I recall, he just returned with the Daedalus from Earth an hour ago, so he's probably just getting his bearings. I'm sure he'll be here shortly."
Radek Zelenka was due back today from a two-week, well-deserved leave to visit his family back on Earth. Ronon noticed how tired Zelenka was all the time, so he hoped Radek enjoyed his leave. Along with McKay, Zelenka had to be one of the most overworked people he knew. Of course, when you were essentially the right-hand man to someone like McKay, you had to keep up.
Just then, Radek strode in, and Ronon felt himself sit up straighter at what he saw.
Radek looked very different. The first thing Ronon noticed was that his hair was shorter. It was cropped close to the top of his head, and he had brushed half of it to the side, with little spiky wisps of hair sticking up. It made him look refreshed and vibrant. Ronon quite liked it.
The second thing he noticed was that he was without his glasses. He must have gotten contact lenses, which, if Ronon recalled, were these lenses that people stuck on top of their eyeballs to make them see better. Ronon didn't understand why a lot of people preferred them over glasses, as that method sounded tedious and irritating, but to each their own. Either way, Ronon would have to get used to seeing Radek without his glasses.
"I'm sorry that I'm late." Radek said with an apologetic smile, taking a seat at the table.
"That's quite all right, Dr. Zelenka." Woolsey replied. "We were just about to get started."
"Looking good, Radek." Jennifer said with a grin. "Nice haircut."
Radek smiled warmly, the corners of his eyes crinkling while doing so. "Thank you, Dr. Keller."
Ronon's chest did another weird turn when Radek smiled, and he found that he didn't know what to do with that.
"Let's get started." Woolsey said, and Ronon was thankful he didn't have to think about why he suddenly felt strange at Radek's presence. It was time to focus on the meeting.
But then it was time for Zelenka to talk about a project he was working on that could boost the ZPM's power, and as he stood and explained this for everyone, Ronon couldn't help but notice another thing about Radek that he knew deep down but had no choice but to look closer at, now that Radek was without glasses.
He had beautiful eyes.
They were a deep blue color, the color of the ocean that surrounded the city they lived in. Ronon enjoyed looking into the ocean's depths, and it seemed that Radek's eyes had that same tranquil effect on him. Whenever Radek looked at Ronon, it was never with harshness or anger, but patience and kindness, and often with concern whenever Ronon had come back from a mission all beat up and bloody, or whenever Ronon needed help when they happened to be off world together.
His eyes always lit up every time he had a breakthrough in his work, or whenever someone made him smile, which in Ronon's opinion was not enough. They were gentle yet expressive, and looking back, Ronon always had a sense of calm looking at Radek, like he could trust him, and he did.
Ronon knew all of this. Why was he getting all mushy over a haircut and contact lenses?
Sheppard's distinctive voice calling Ronon's name broke through his thoughts, and by the time he looked up to face Sheppard, Zelenka was finished with his presentation and was seated again.
"Did you hear what I asked you?" Sheppard asked, looking at Ronon with a tinge of confusion. "Do you have any more intel on the natives of P4X-496?"
Ronon suddenly wished he wasn't there and cursed himself for being so distracted. He shook his head, hoping this stupid meeting ended soon. "No, it looks like they moved their camps after the Wraith attacked, like I suspected. No one was around when Teyla and I went there yesterday, and there was no sign of any new casualties. "
"We'll keep an eye out for them when we go to P4X-591 tomorrow." Sheppard nodded. "They may have moved planets, and the last thing they need is the Wraith finding them again."
The group nodded, and the meeting concluded after some other loose ends were tied up. Ronon found himself sighing silently with relief. The last thing he needed were frivolous distractions, which were apparently Radek's pretty eyes.
"Thank you, everyone." Woolsey said briefly before walking out. Rodney and Jennifer walked out together, with Sheppard glancing at the couple as they left before trailing slowly behind them. Teyla smiled at Ronon as she approached him.
"Are we still due to spar later in the gym?" She asked, the sight of Radek still in his periphery gathering up his laptop. He made a motion to push up his glasses, then paused as he realized they weren't there anymore. He shook his head before walking out of the room, mumbling to himself in Czech.
Ronon glanced at Radek as he left before turning back to Teyla. "Yeah, I'm still free."
"Great." Teyla grinned and nodded. "I'm looking forward to beating you once again."
Ronon chuckled. "Is that so?"
"It is." Teyla maintained her grin. "Just because I haven't had as much time as I used to, doesn't mean I don't still have it. And from what I gathered during the meeting, you need something to focus your mind on."
Ronon grunted, feeling his face heat up. "Yeah, okay."
The thing about having Teyla as a friend and teammate is that she was also observant. Ronon only hoped she wouldn't ask any questions because Ronon had no answers for why Radek suddenly had him pulled in. A good training session in the gym is just what he needed.
The afternoon sun shone through the stained glass windows as Ronon walked to the gym, leaving a stunning colored gradient washing over the city's walls. Ronon has always admired the beauty of his home for the past four years. As he entered the gym, he was surprised by another thing that he apparently admired, even though he only found this out recently.
Radek was there, punching with a measured pace on the stationary dummy, wearing boxing gloves. Ronon observed that Radek wasn't breathing hard at all, nor sweating, which meant he had just started his workout. He was wearing a tank top and jogging pants.
This led to the fourth thing that Ronon noticed that day about Radek. He was getting buff. He had broad shoulders, his biceps were gaining definition, and his back flexed as he punched steadily. Ronon hardly ever saw him in the gym, so he must have started working out more in the last year.
Ronon's gaze was led downwards as he studied Radek's stance. The fifth thing that Ronon noticed that had his face heated even before he started his work out was that Radek had a pretty nice firm butt.
Ronon found himself staring a few seconds too long at Radek's ass, and he turned away quickly, coughing involuntarily.
Ronon internally cringed at himself as Radek turned toward the noise and looked at him.
"Hello, Ronon." Radek gave him a friendly smile. "I didn't know you wanted to use the gym as well."
Ronon found himself returning the smile. "I was waiting for Teyla, but I can come back-"
The static of Ronon's radio cut him off, and Teyla's voice came over his personal channel.
"Ronon?"
"Yeah, go ahead, Teyla." Ronon stepped out of the gym momentarily to answer.
"Torren is not feeling well. He's been lethargic since this morning, and now he's coughing with a slight fever. I'm going to take him to the infirmary just to be sure it's nothing serious. We will have to move our workout to another day."
"That's okay." Ronon replied. "Hope he feels better."
"As do I." Teyla replied. "I will hopefully see you later. Teyla out."
Ronon walked back into the gym. Radek looked at him inquisitively.
"Is she on her way?" Radek asked. "I will let you do your workout and come back another time. "
"No, Torren is sick, so she's taking him to the infirmary." Ronon replied.
"Oh." Radek gave a sympathetic look. "Poor little guy."
Ronon just nodded in response. He turned to leave the gym but hesitated. He turned around again. Radek was stretching his arms over his head, giving a satisfied groan as he stretched his body over to one side.
Ronon felt a chill going through him, but he promptly ignored it. He had to either leave or say something, anything.
"You know, your fighting stance was good, but it needs work." Ronon told Radek, trying to look as casual as he could.
"Really?" Radek responded, furrowing his brow in confusion.
"Yeah, your knees weren’t bent enough. You have to bend them a bit more for freedom of movement. And you need to keep moving, or your opponent will have you on the ground in seconds."
Radek nodded. "Thank you for the tip."'
"You wanna spar a little bit?" Ronon found himself asking, confusing himself but going along with it.
Radek laughed lightly, running a hand through his hair. "No matter what I do, you will have me on the ground in seconds. And I don't expect you to go easy on me."
"Don't worry." Ronon smiled back down at Radek. "I'll just show you a few moves, and you can practice hitting a moving target."
Radek looked relieved, but still unsure of himself.
“So, this isn’t a full-on sparring session? Just practicing?” Radek asked, adjusting his gloves.
Ronon chuckled. “I promise to leave that pretty face intact.” Ronon internally kicked himself as soon as the comment left his mouth. Why the hell did you have to say THAT? He thought to himself furiously, feeling his face heat up.
Still, Radek didn’t seem to be offended by the lighthearted comment. He gave Ronon a quick smile in return and nodded. “All right then.”
Ronon put on a spare pair of gloves that were lying in the corner. Over the years, the gym had become semi-decently stocked. Boxing gloves and yoga mats had joined the fighting sticks in its usual corner, along with small weights and even a jumping rope. Ronon mentally prepared himself to spar with Radek, ridding his mind of any distractions, even if the man he was about to spar with had suddenly become a distraction in his own right. This was going to be interesting.
Ronon faced Radek as he went into a fighting stance, bending his knees as previously instructed, looking up at Ronon with a fire and concentration that resembled him at his most focused. He’d seen Radek when he was at full concentration. Nothing could shake his focus. It was actually fascinating to see Radek work. If Ronon was honest with himself, it was captivating to see his calloused yet nimble fingers fly over every computer he came across, carefully taking apart and putting together any kind of machinery he worked on. He wondered if those hands were as careful, or quick in…other activities.
“Are you ready to go?” Radek looked up at Ronon expectedly. Ronon internally shook off the flood of heat that rushed through his body and got into his own fighting stance.
“Ready.” Ronon looked down at Radek. “Now go ahead and give me a few hits, and I’ll move around. Don’t hold back.”
Radek gave him a challenging grin, and it lit a fire within Ronon that he didn’t remember feeling in a long time.
“I don’t intend to.” Radek replied.
Ronon started moving back and forth, putting his arms in front of him to protect his face and chest, and Radek struck with all his might, landing a few blows on his arms. Ronon really wasn’t moving all that fast, which was why Radek could easily hit him. Still, he could feel the strength of his blows. They left a familiar sting on his skin. They didn’t disable him; he could roll with these punches. Still, he was impressed with the strength of Radek’s hits.
“Pretty good.” Ronon commented, still moving back and forth. “You’ve been doing this a while, I see.”
“Yes, well they’ve been needing me off-world more lately.” Radek replied between labored breaths. “So I guess I need to get in better shape. Better late than never, yes?”
Ronon didn’t respond but sped up his movements in an effort to dodge Radek’s blows. Radek moved to compensate, lunging at him with every shift in stance that Ronon made. Radek’s skin was starting to glisten with sweat, and his hair was getting more mussed as he exerted himself to meet the demand. Ronon’s heart sped up with adrenaline and excitement. He halfway expected Radek to miss a lot of the time, but surprisingly his fists made contact almost every single time. Radek certainly had come a long way from when Ronon first met the man. He had gained strength and found courage that Ronon knew was in him all along. It was just waiting to come to the surface.
Radek grinned up at him. The fire in eyes had only grown, stoking the fire in Ronon all the more.
“Why don’t we ramp this up and actually spar? You know, hit me back?” Radek challenged. “I told you I do not expect you to go easy on me.”
Ronon considered this. He didn't know how skilled Radek was at hand to hand combat, but then again he'd never learn if he wasn't challenged to actually do so.
They were both wearing boxing gloves, so how much could it hurt?
“All right then.” Ronon replied with a grin. “Just keep moving. Just like how I was doing. And don’t forget to protect your face.”
Radek gave a short nod and got back in his sparring stance. He started moving from side to side like Ronon was. Ronon jabbed at Radek's arms, but Radek reflexively blocked most of his blows. Ronon attempted to get a jab at the side of Radek's head, but Radek ducked every attempt Ronon made. He was impressed, and regretful that he had ever underestimated the shorter man.
For a couple of minutes, the two traded blows, every blow blocked by the other. Radek seemed to sense that he needed to change his strategy, so he strafed over to Ronon’s left, keeping an eye on Ronon. Ronon moved with Radek, and the two men circled each other in a careful dance. Radek’s pupils were wide and darkened as he stared Ronon down, wearing a challenging smirk. Ronon’s heart raced, not able to take his eyes off of Radek even if he wanted to. They were locked on to each other, waiting for the right move as they danced around each other.
Except at some point, Ronon had slowed, and his arms had dropped just enough. Ronon was taken by surprise by a quick one-two punch on his jaw, and he stumbled back slightly. Radek instantly frowned and stepped forward.
“Are you all right?” Radek asked, his eyes roving over Ronon to make sure he wasn’t hurt. Ronon chuckled breathlessly and nodded.
“I’m okay.” Ronon smirked. He could not have felt prouder of Radek than at this moment. Still, this was a full on sparring match, as Radek requested, and he took the opportunity to deliver a punch to Radek’s chest. Radek grunted at the contact, stumbling back, but recovering just as quickly. His hands immediately went back up.
“I told you not to hold back.” Ronon reminded his opponent.
Yet you just did, Ronon. Why?
Ronon shook off that still small voice that had started to become a nuisance and was both surprised and relieved when an actual voice came over the radio.
“Ronon, this is Dr. Woolsey.”
Ronon stood straight and held up a finger, signaling for Radek to pause.
“Yeah?” Ronon answered, turning his head ever so slightly.
“May I speak with you in person at your earliest convenience? It’s about the upcoming mission with AR-1.” Woolsey’s tone, while polite, suggested that the issue deserved prompt attention. Ronon suppressed a sigh.
“I’ll be there in about 30 minutes.” Ronon answered.
“I’ll see you then. Woolsey out.”
Ronon turned back to Radek, looking at him apologetically. “Sorry, but we gotta cut this short. Woolsey needs to talk to me.”
Radek’s eyes flashed a moment in disappointment, but he nodded. “Very well then. But you know…we should do this again some time. That was surprisingly fun.”
Ronon easily nodded in return, grinning at Radek. “Yeah, it was. But that means no more playing nice.”
“I wasn’t ‘playing nice’ in the first place.” Radek answered with a smirk, taking off his gloves. “You were the one holding back, I think.”
There was a teasing air in Radek’s voice, and Ronon tried to laugh it off half-heartedly, but his words hit Ronon like a punch to the gut. Radek was right. He could have easily dealt with Radek with more force. Even his first ever sparring match with both Teyla and John had been more swift and powerful. John had even chastised Ronon for dealing some serious blows to Teyla their first match, even though she welcomed them. Ronon remembered his first (and only) session with McKay. Rodney wore his fear readily on his face as he faced Ronon, and he took it much more easily on McKay, but only because he knew Rodney was much more inexperienced with hand-to-hand combat.
Radek, however, clearly had practiced, and his performance during their sparring session demonstrated that. So why had Ronon held back? He had an opportunity to deliver a blow to Radek’s head when he dropped his guard earlier, but he didn’t. He instead opted to hit him in the chest. Was he afraid to hurt Radek because he still somehow doubted his physical strength or fortitude? Or was it because thinking of Radek hurt, especially by his own hand, caused him discomfort? Judging by the way he felt his chest tighten, it seemed that Ronon answered his own question.
Still, why?
Ronon suppressed another sigh as he tossed the gloves back in the corner. He didn’t have time to really think about this right now.
“I’ll see you around.” Ronon waved to Radek, who waved and gave him a smile. He tried not to look at how disheveled and sweaty the man looked, and how he was a direct cause of it, and how he could be a direct cause of it in another situation.
Ronon was thankful that he needed a cold shower before his meeting with Woolsey.