Failing to See

Talking Without Words
Word Count: 4307
Pairing: John/Rodney
Summary: It's Rodney's turn for toys!

Sequel to Failure to See

Thanks to kyrieane for reading and cheerleading.



John had been looking forward to a leisurely morning. He and Rodney were both off duty, and that usually meant early morning fooling around, followed by breakfast and then they'd separate to go do whatever they felt like.

But a radio call at three thirty in the morning derailed all of that. John was still blinking sleepily even as he pulled on his vest and clipped the P-90 to it. Oh, well, at least it wasn't his team that was late for check in this time. Now they just had to go fetch Lorne and his team out of whatever hole it was that they'd dug for themselves.

Teyla and Ronon were murmuring softly to each other, and Rodney's voice was raised above theirs for a moment. He appeared to be bitching about the early call, but he was gearing up as fast as the rest of them, and John knew that he didn't really mean it, so he ignored the bitching in favor of listening to Elizabeth.

"They're two hours overdue. The planet isn't inhabited, so they shouldn't have been attacked, but we can't raise them on the radio and there's no one at the 'gate."

Nodding, John checked his 9 mil and then shoved it back into its holster. "So, we're off to see what's taking them so long. Got it. Why were they there, anyway? If it's uninhabited, I mean?"

Elizabeth sighed. "Because Dr. Parrish had spotted some plants on his last visit that bore a superficial resemblance to some earth food plants, and he wanted to get more samples. It didn't seem like a bad idea to me - even with the Daedalus there's always the chance that we'll get cut off from Earth again, and knowing where we could get food would be a good thing."

He nodded again, and then glanced at the rest of the team. They were all ready, and even Rodney had settled down. Double-checking the fasteners on his vest, he led the way to the 'gate room. Glancing up at Chuck, he waited patiently as he dialed the gate. As soon as the horizon had settled, he triggered his radio. "Lorne? Simpson? Parrish? Addison?" He waited a moment, but only got static. "All right, folks, let's go."

Ronon led the way, followed by Teyla and Rodney, and John took their six. They came out into bright sunshine, which made them all blink after the relative darkness of Atlantis during her night cycle. Rodney already had his scanner out, and John moved over next to him as Ronon and Teyla spread out. "Anything?"

"I'm showing a profusion of life readings, Colonel. There's no way to tell with this scanner which is human and which are animals and the subcu isn't registering at all. But I am showing quite a cluster that way," he pointed, "and that would be the first place I'd check."

John glanced at the scanner and agreed. There were at least ten or fifteen little dots clustered together, so it was worth a look. They started out, and they hadn't gone far when John realized there was a major difference in their missions these days - Rodney wasn't bitching the way he used to. A glance at him showed why. Rodney had no reason to bitch. He wasn't huffing and puffing, nor was he sweating profusely. Instead, he was walking with a steady, even pace, one hand on his gun, the other holding the scanner so he could adjust their course as needed.

As they got closer, they could hear shouts and growls. Ronon's shoulders tensed, and Teyla became even more alert, if that were possible. John could feel his own muscles grow tight, and the three of them closed in around Rodney, as if to shield him.

They were moving slower now, letting the sounds guide them. They passed through a clearing, and heard a shout above the others. "Colonel! Look out!"

As one, they turned in the direction of the shout, only to see some sort of large animal loping towards them. It looked like a wolf, but had a huge mane, and was the source of at least some of the growling noises that they could hear. Rodney had already turned to run as Ronon took the shot, which, amazingly, missed. John couldn't bring up his gun fast enough and before anyone could get off another shot, the wolf-lion thing had tackled Rodney to the ground.

Finally, finally he managed to get his gun up, and took the shot, hitting the creature in the head. It gave a yelp and fell. "Rodney? Rodney!" John was already running, but Ronon beat him there, only to turn and crouch. "Sheppard!"

More of those things were coming, and for long moments, it was chaos as they shot as many of them as they could. The last few sniffed at their fallen comrades and then at them, before loping off.

As soon as they left, John was on his feet again, running to Rodney's side, falling to his knees. There weren't any apparent injuries, and he was starting to worry that there might be something on Rodney's front when his head popped up. "Is that thing dead?" he demanded.

Relief made his stomach do lazy flips. "It's dead, Rodney. Now how about you get up?" Rodney grimaced, but rolled onto his back willingly enough, only to exclaim in pain. "What? There's nothing there!"

"Easy for you to say, Colonel. You didn't have what felt like a ton of bricks land on your back." But Rodney was moving to a sitting position, and as John climbed back to his feet to pull Rodney up, he stopped complaining.

John nodded at him, then yelled across the field. "Lorne?"

Four heads poked out from one of the trees, and Major Lorne waived at him. They disappeared, and a few minutes later the shapes of Major Lorne's team took shape, coming across the field. "Man, are we glad to see you," Lorne said, one hand on Parrish's arm to keep him from stepping in any of the blood from the various creatures in the field. "I have no idea how long we were up there."

"Lucky for you that these things don't climb trees. Everyone okay?"

"Yeah, we're all fine. Thankfully, Simpson heard them coming soon enough to get us all up trees before they got here, but the radios and the guns were on the ground. There's not much left of our campsite, sir - they pretty much busted everything up when they couldn't get at us."

"Well, let's see what we can salvage before we head home. Ronon, Teyla, Simpson and Adderly, you're all on watch while the four of us clean up, okay?" Just then, Parrish got a good look at the creature that had attacked Rodney, lying in a pool of blood.

"Oh, my," he said, woozily, as he swayed in place. Lorne hooked a hand under his arm and held him upright.

"Easy there, Parrish. It's all over with." Looking at John, he tipped his head towards the trees, and at John's nod, led Parrish back. "Let's get you sitting down for a little while."

"Stupid life science people," Rodney grumbled as they followed, but John noticed that his voice was softer than usual, and that he was watching Parrish anxiously.

"Rodney! You've grown as a person, you're not berating Parrish the way that I thought you would."

"Not much point to it, is there? Life science people have limited learning curves, or they'd be in the real sciences."

John chuckled; short circuiting Rodney's normal rant, and followed Parrish and Lorne under the trees. Their campsite was seriously trashed, with both tents shredded beyond repair. The guns had been dragged away, but finding them was rather simple, and most of the equipment was retrievable, if spread over a fairly wide distance.

By the time they'd managed to gather everything together, the sun was high overhead, and as they started the trek back towards the gate, Rodney was bitching about the heat. He'd apparently forgotten about the trauma of being tackled earlier, and that was all to the good. Now if only John could forget it.

As they crossed the gate, John noticed the reassuring small touches that Lorne kept giving Parrish, and he couldn't resist a few touches to his own scientist. Rodney turned to face him and gave him such an open, happy smile that he couldn't keep his own in check, smiling back.

On the other side of the gate, John led the procession down to the infirmary. He stayed with his men long enough to make sure that there were no side effects to the night spent in the trees, and then went to check on Rodney, who was complaining about his back being bruised by the monster that had attacked him. Carson seemed to be taking it in good humor, though, and John left them to it, going to debrief Elizabeth with Parrish, who'd already been cleared.

"So much for a day off," he sighed when they were finished, and Elizabeth smiled at him.

"I think we can change it for tomorrow, for both teams. Stay in radio contact, but if you want to go do something on your own, I think it would be fine."

John grinned. He knew that Elizabeth had her suspicions about him and Rodney, but she didn't ask and he wouldn't tell, giving them all a level of plausible deniability. In the meantime, she seemed to think the two of them were cute, going out of her way to give them downtime together.

"I don't know. Rodney might not agree to leaving the labs unsupervised two days in a row. Kavanaugh might blow up the city or something."

"I think we'll all survive Kavanaugh for another day." And with that, Elizabeth waved him out of the office, and he went to tell Rodney the good news. He made a small detour first, swinging past Rodney's quarters and picking up a few things.

He found Rodney in the lab, berating one of the new scientists whose name he could never remember. He didn't say anything, just moved up behind Rodney and laying a hand on the back of his neck. He could feel the tension draining out of him, and Rodney finished up with a "Now, go and fix it and do it right, for God's sake!" Then he turned to face John. "Is there something I can help you with, Colonel?"

"I just thought I'd let you know that Elizabeth gave us tomorrow off as well, seeing as how we were big heroes this morning."

Rodney grinned at him. "Oh? Did you have any ideas of what we might do with our new found freedom?"

"I thought we might go explore some of the other areas of the city. Just the two of us."

"Well, I should..." John showed Rodney a hint of one of the items he'd liberated from Rodney's nightstand, and he swallowed heavily. "I should leave Radek in charge. Okay, boys and girls. Two days without me, so don't use it as time to find a way to sink the city." John turned to leave, noting with satisfaction that Rodney was following him without a word.

After their experience with the nanovirus, the Atlantis team had instituted procedures for exploring the various labs throughout the city, and John wasn't willing to deal with the protocols. Besides, he knew what he was looking for. Without checking to see if Rodney was following, he led the way to the transporter, selecting an area of the city that had been marked tentatively as living quarters.

Rodney was already breathing heavily as the transporter delivered them to a spot in the western portion of the city. John smiled and did what he'd wanted to do all day - he pulled Rodney in for a deep, knee-weakening kiss.

He responded eagerly, opening his mouth for John's tongue, and it was all he could do to remember that he didn't want this to be fast and hard in a hallway. They didn't have to be on duty again for thirty-six hours. He could take his time. Breaking the kiss, he tried to ignore Rodney's small whimper. "This way."

Several doors were stuck open on the hall, and John gave each a cursory glance as they made their way down. John stopped at the first closed door, and had to really work to will the door open, but it was worth it when he did.

These had obviously been quarters for someone high status, because the room was much larger than their quarters back in the occupied section. More importantly, they had an absolutely huge bed. Turning to face Rodney, he said softly, "Strip."

Rodney looked like he wanted to argue, but when John ostentatiously pulled the toys out of his pockets and laid them on the bed, he shut his mouth and turned his attention to his boots. John had more practice, though, and was already naked by the time Rodney got started on yanking down his pants. While John waited, he pulled the dust cover off the bed, revealing a naked mattress that was fairly clean.

As soon as Rodney was naked, John pulled him in for another of those scorching kisses. "God, I thought I'd lost you today," he said.

Mouth crooked, Rodney ran a soft hand down the side of John's face. "Well, I thought I was pretty damn lost," he said, but his voice held none of the humor that John should have expected with a comment like that.

Neither of them said anything further, pressing their bodies together from shoulders to thighs. Eventually, John tipped them over onto the bed, blanketing Rodney warmly, still kissing.

When he finally pulled back, Rodney looked at him with wide eyes. When he opened his mouth to say something, though, John quieted him with a finger across his lips, shushing him. Kneeling up on the bed, he pulled free the gag that Rodney had bought. Normally, Rodney talked all the way through their encounters, and that made it hard for John to stay in control. Just this once, he was going to get his way.

Rodney started to shake his head, but John smiled. "My turn. You promised, remember?" John wasn't sure what he'd do if Rodney refused, but he figured that Rodney's sense of fair play wouldn't allow him to deny him.

With a glare that John could feel, Rodney opened his mouth, and John slid the ball into place, quickly fastening it behind his head. He lifted Rodney's arms and placed them above his head, pressing them into the bed as a silent way of saying, "Stay there."

The harrumph sound that Rodney made was muffled, but John couldn't help the smile. He traced the lines of the gag with his finger, remembering letting Rodney take away his sight the night before, and he knew that this was as hard, if not harder. Rodney relied so much on his voice, but he'd just let John take it away from him.

Rodney's eyes grew wider, and then he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. The ever-present tension in Rodney's body flowed away and he surrendered to John. John couldn't help closing his own eyes for just a moment, letting the meaning of that surrender sink through him. The trust that Rodney was showing was so overwhelming, John nearly didn't know what to do. Opening them again, he looked down at Rodney, where his fingers were resting against the leather of the gag, and smiled.

He continued that soft touch, trailing his fingers over Rodney's neck, down over his broad chest, pausing to tweak his nipples. He loved Rodney's nipples - they were so sensitive to what he did. Like now. He'd barely brushed them with the tips of his fingers, and they had perked right up, accompanied by a gasp from Rodney and an unintelligible moan.

Unable to resist, he leaned down and took one nipple into his mouth, sucking gently. He felt the muscles in Rodney's chest tighten and release, and a soft sound that could have been a groan, or a muffled word. Flicking his tongue over the tip, he held on tight as Rodney arched below him, arms shifting.

When he finally released the bit of flesh and knelt back up, he realized that Rodney had moved so that he could hook his hands over the edge of the mattress, clinging tightly. Fingering his nipple gently, he gives Rodney a heated look. "You okay?" Rodney nods, eyes wide. "Need me to stop?" This got a vehement shake of Rodney's head, and the look in his eyes was clearly one of You fucker. Stop and I'll kill you.

John wanted to laugh, but the sound dried in his throat as he looked at Rodney's face. Instead, he slowly lowered his mouth back down to Rodney's chest, exploring it with his tongue, broad swipes across muscles, the tip over his ribs. Only when Rodney was shuddering under his ministrations did he stop again. This time, the look on Rodney's face was pure pleading and need, and it called to John in ways that he didn't understand. Lying down next to Rodney, he wrapped his arm over his chest, pressing close.

The bad thing about the gag was that John couldn't kiss Rodney, so instead he nipped at the soft skin behind his ear, whispering lewd things into it about how good Rodney looked. "Maybe we should make a trip back. Pick up some restraints." Rodney whimpered and squirmed, and John caught his breath. He'd done that; he'd make Rodney sound like that.

His cock was nestled up against Rodney's thigh, and as he squirmed restlessly, the pressure was good. But it wasn't what John wanted. They had time, and he didn't want to just rut mindlessly against Rodney, he wanted to take their time and do it right for all the times they hadn't.

It took an act of will for John to sit back up, but somehow he managed it. While he watched Rodney's face, he reached for the other toy he'd left on the bed. Long and thick, it looked like metal, but felt like rubber in his hands, and as he studied it, it started to glow softly and vibrate in hand. Rodney whimpered again, spreading his legs lewdly in what was an obvious attempt to beg.

Setting the toy back on the bed, John shifted till he was between Rodney's legs. Lying down on his stomach, he shrugged his shoulders underneath Rodney's thighs, lifting his ass up. With his thumbs, he spread Rodney's cheeks, studying the small hidden hole that was revealed.

Rodney whined and planted his heels in John's back, lifting himself higher, and John swallowed. He'd never done this before - Rodney knew that - but he wanted to. Taking a deep breath of air that smelled of Rodney's clean male scent, he leaned his head forward and dragged his tongue along Rodney's entrance.

The silence from above was total - John wasn't even sure that Rodney was breathing. When he glanced up, he could see the muscles in Rodney's stomach twitching as he held his breath. "Breathe," he said, and Rodney sucked in a huge, whooping gasp, and then started to obviously try to say something that was neatly muffled by the gag.

John didn't need to be a mind reader to know that Rodney was begging for him not to stop, and he ducked his head low and started to lick in earnest. It didn't taste bad, just musky, and as the last of his fears were assuaged, he started to try sliding his tongue into Rodney.

The cry that got made him that much more determined, and he did everything he could think of to make it even better for Rodney. Deep sucking kisses, fucking him with his tongue as deep as he could get it. Pulling back and tracing circles around Rodney's hole. He even used his teeth, just lightly, loving the inarticulate sounds that Rodney made.

When his jaw demanded he stop, he rose to his knees, looking down at Rodney, who looked pleasure-drunk. He was no longer making any noise, and his eyes were half-lidded. His cock was hard and tight against his belly, wet at the tip and when John ran a single finger down it, it lifted as if begging to be touched.

Picking up the lube from the bed, John slicked his fingers and slid one inside Rodney's unresisting opening. That got Rodney's attention back on the proceedings, and he canted his hips, obviously trying to take more. John smiled and added a second finger. "God, you're hot like this, Rodney. So eager, so willing. I'm going to make you feel so good."

Rodney made small sounds, pressing down on John's fingers, practically fucking himself on John's hand. As he loosened up, John slid his fingers free and picked the plug back up, slathering it in lube. Placing the tip of the toy at Rodney's entrance, he said, "You want it? Come on, I know you do." Then all he had to do was hold it steady as Rodney pressed into his hands, forcing the toy to slide deep inside himself. John gave it a little help, sliding it past its widest point and getting the toy settled, then palmed the part of the toy still outside Rodney, and thinking on at it.

When it started to vibrate, slowly, Rodney made a muffled noise and his hips jerked up, as if he was trying to fuck the empty air. That gave John ideas. With one hand, he held Rodney down by his hip. "Don't come, Rodney, just lie there and take it for me."

Rodney whined, but his thrashing slowed, and John grinned down at him. Releasing Rodney's hip, he slicked up his other fingers, watching as Rodney's eyes got wide, and then slid them down, behind himself and into his own entrance. Rodney's hands tightened on the edge of the bed, and his breathing sped up as he realized what John was going to do.

John didn't take long, just getting himself slick, before sliding his fingers back out and wrapping them around Rodney's cock, using the remains of the lube on his fingers to wet Rodney's cock. It took some arranging to get himself in position, but he managed it, and slowly slid down Rodney's cock.

His eyelids fluttered at the pleasure overwhelming him, but he forced them open and looked down at Rodney, who was gasping, clutching the bed like it was going to fly away. His jaw worked, but no sound made it past the gag.

He could only guess how overwhelming this was for Rodney, fucking and being fucked at the same time, unable to say or ask for anything. He leaned forward, resting his hands on Rodney's forearms, and started to move. The change in angles pressed Rodney's cock right where he wanted it, and each stroke drove him higher and higher.

Rodney's eyes were wide, staring at him, and his hips were moving slowly, pushing him deeper into John's ass. The obvious emotion and heat in Rodney's eyes overwhelmed John, forcing him to close his own eyes. Leaning down further, he started to whisper into Rodney's ear. "You feel so good inside of me. Hot and thick, so right." Rodney made soft sounds, turning his head to nuzzle at John's hair.

Eventually, John had to move, cock demanding more than this slow rocking. He sat up straight on Rodney, thigh muscles quivering with the effort of lifting himself up and down, balls drawn up tight against his body. Squirming slightly, gasping at the way Rodney's cock felt, he managed to get a hand on the plug still vibrating inside of him. Faster, harder he willed it, and he can tell from Rodney's frenzied moans and the way that he started thrashing that it worked. He rode it out, willing down his own orgasm with an iron hand.

Once Rodney settled again, though his eyes showed just how frantic he still was, John started to really ride him, moving up and down in measured strokes, his wet hand on his cock, jerking himself off. Rodney's eyes were locked on him, the intensity of how blue they were startling. His orgasm was building, outstripping his ability to control it, and he could feel the lightning caressing all of the nerves in his body. "Close, Rodney, so close... Gonna come, gonna..." and then he started to come, striping Rodney's chest and stomach. At the first touch of his come to Rodney's skin, Rodney made a louder noise, a cry, and John could feel the warmth flooding him.

His movements slowed and eventually stopped, leaving him slumped on top of Rodney, trying to catch his breath. Below him, Rodney twitched, his eyes fluttering shut, and John realized that plug was still buzzing. Somehow he managed to work one hand down so as to turn it off. Leaving it in place, he slid off Rodney's cock, sprawling next to him on the bed. Rodney made an inquisitive sound, and John huffed a laugh, reaching up with hands that were shaking to undo the gag.

"Oh, my god," said Rodney, turning gingerly so that he could gather John up in his arms. John smiled and moved closer to Rodney's comforting bulk. They weren't cuddling - or at least they wouldn't call it that - but there was something reassuring about being held like this. He thought he could stay there awhile.

Rodney was talking about how intense it had been, and how good it had felt, and John gradually drifted off to the sound of his voice.



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