#there could be mcshep in this but it would be very hidden between the lines
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Inge! sorry I'm a little late to the party, but do you still take prompts? if yes, I'd like to request a friendship piece for either Rodney&Teyla or Rodney&Ronon (w/ or w/out a dash of McShep is good for me) pretty please? thanks! <3
Not that late at all, and what a lovely warm prompt! Thank you. :D
I went with Rodney & Ronon, but also kind of Rodney & Teyla and maybe Ronon & Teyla, and also John is around, and itâs almost teamfic? Also, Jeannie.
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The door to Johnâs quarters slides open exactly like his own would, which he expects, but he stops cold after two hasty steps into the room anyway. He turns back to the door to check, and in the process has to look past the Johnny Cash poster above the bed and the surfboard leaning against the wall and the giant brick of a Tolstoy book on the nightstand, so yeah, he decides in the end, without stepping out to doublecheck - these are Johnâs quarters. Thereâs not a single thing out of place, except, well, the obvious.
âMcKay,â Ronon grumbles. It sounds like a greeting. Like Ronon, sitting fully clothed on the edge of Johnâs made bed, is saying hi.
âWhat are you doing here?â Rodney asks, by way of saying hi back.
âMeeting Sheppard.â Ronon grins, in a way that looks a little dangerous. Thatâs a good sign with Ronon, who has no problem looking a lot dangerous, if he wants. âUnless you want to spar with me.â
Rodney does not. Rodney thinks thatâs a little too predictable for him to say out loud; quite honestly, he thinks John is crazy for endangering his life that way voluntarily every week.
Rodney looks back at the door again, which has slid closed, and in front of which the person heâs been looking for has not suddenly materialized in the last ten seconds. âWhere is John?â
âNot here.â
Rodneyâs nerves make him skip the snappy comeback. âAny idea where he might be?â
âWhy?â Ronon asks.
Which is more than enough to make Rodney spill his guts. He was barely holding it in, anyway. âI think Jeannieâs mad at me, and Iâm not sure why.â He frowns and starts to pace back and forth and rub his hands together. Heâs a multitasker. âI donât think I did or said anything rude lately, but her emails are shorter than usual, and she didnât even sign the last one. Itâs really not like me to overthink these kinds of things, because I donât care what people think of me anyway-â Thatâs a lie, heâs come to realize in recent years, but itâs a comforting one to repeat out loud, sometimes. âBut, you know, I think I was the bad guy for not contacting Jeannie all those years and weâve only just started being brother and sister again, so Iâve been trying to put in the effort, and now I think sheâs mad at me.â He stops marching and gives the too long, didnât read version. âSo I need someone to tell me what I did wrong, so I can fix it.â
Ronon levels a look at him. âAnd you need John for this.â
The look says more than the words, and it has a point, of course. Johnâs not known for his exceptional social grace and skill. Rodney wags his head a little, considering how to justify his choice. John is his best friend, but heâd feel a little pathetic saying that to Ronon, who heâs pretty sure is also Johnâs best friend. âHe had some surprisingly clever insights about my relationship with Jeannie last time she was here,â is what Rodney lands on, reluctantly. He spots Johnâs golf stuff in the corner, and wistfully thinks back to being able to just ramble at John without Ronon sitting there, judging him.
Ronon leans back, planting his hands behind him on the mattress. âI could help,â he offers, out of the blue.
Some deep, deep blue. Blue enough to make Rodney stare, hands stilling mid-wring. âYou?â Rodneyâs not trying to be offensively puzzled, but he thinks heâs allowed a little surprise. If John is dubious in his social grace, Ronon is a tripping hazard. âYou could help?â
Ronon stares back like a challenge. âYeah.â
âOkay,â Rodney says. He waits and looks at Ronon expectantly, but nothing happens. Ronon just looks back at him mutely. âPlease?â
âWhat would Teyla do?â
âHuh?â Sheâs not here, either - if Rononâs help is just sending him to chase someone else around the city, thatâs not very helpful at all.
âAsk yourself,â Ronon says. âWhat would Teyla do? And then do that thing.â
Rodney is right back to baffled. Heâs not sure he ever left - heâs talking to Ronon Dex about feelings. âIs that how you handle a problem?â
âNo.â Ronon leaves a pause there. Rodney finds himself unexpectedly distracted by the question if Ronon talks so little because he really just doesnât have much to say, or because finding words takes effort. âI glare at it until it goes away.â
Rodney huffs a laugh out of pure surprise, because that almost sounds like a joke. It may not have been, but either way Ronon doesnât glare at him, which Rodney takes as a sign that he hasnât just become a problem.
âAnd if that doesnât work-â Ronon continues, which Rodney feels is surprisingly talkative of him, until he lets that sentence hang unfinished.
But Rodney can do that, now. Finish Rononâs sentence. âWhat would Teyla do?â
Ronon nods. He looks a little smug, like thereâs a dead Wraith around here somewhere. âYeah.â
âOh,â Rodney says, both because he would have guessed that Rononâs backup plan would involve a lot more knives (though it could, potentially, still involve knives sometimes - Teylaâs very good with those) and because thatâs actually good advice. If thereâs one person who would know how to get someone to tell them whatâs wrong, itâs Teyla.
And if Teyla thought somebody she loved might be mad at her, but she wasnât sure why, she would... ask. She wouldnât go into a tailspin and try to guess at the answer while assuming it had to be her fault, she would ask why and listen and then talk it out.
âOh my God,â Rodney says, feeling like a whole new world just opened up to him. âWords.â
Ronon pulls a face. It looks a little like a sympathy wince.
Rodney flings a hand out at him. âThank you!â
âThank Teyla,â Ronon says, which Rodney thinks is a little weirdly modest for the galaxyâs greatest Runner who just counseled him through a family emergency, but they can work on Rononâs ability to accept gratitude later, over lunch or something.
For now, Rodney sweeps out of the room, because he needs his computer so he can type so he can get Jeannie to tell him whatâs bothering her so he can be a good brother, and apologize only once he knows what heâs apologizing for. God, Teylaâs smart.
As luck would have it, John is just stepping out of the transporter when Rodney storms towards it. âHey,â he says, slowing to a stop when Rodney doesnât. âWhat are you doing here?â
âAsking you for help.â Rodney brushes right past him with a pat to his arm; no time.
âYouâre going the wrong way,â John calls after him.
âIâm fine! Ronon helped me by making Teyla help me help myself with Jeannie.â
âWhat?â
The last thing Rodney sees before he steps into the transporter is Johnâs bewildered face. Itâs clear John is left with some questions, but Rodney doesnât need to hang around for that. Ronon can take over; thatâs what Teyla would do.
Or, Rodney thinks, what a friend would do.
(Turns out, in the end, that Jeannie was never even mad at him to begin with - her next email is much longer, and details all the mundane little circumstances that piled up and left her very stressed last month but that she didnât think Rodney had wanted to hear about (it involves a flu and lice and a car that wouldnât start and visiting in-laws and school play preparations and a lost teddy bear and half a dozen other little things Rodney is glad he doesnât have to deal with in Pegasus), and then she calls him very attentive for picking up on her mood and sweet for thinking to ask if everything is okay.
The next day Rodney bribes one of the botanists to cut a bouquet for him and gives it to Teyla, and he hoards one of the last pieces of pie at dinner until Ronon shows up. âWhatâs happening?â John asks, suspicious. Maybe Rononâs explanation wasnât all that comprehensive after all.
âEmotional intelligence,â Ronon says around a full mouth, spewing little pieces of pie across the table, and Rodney nods solemnly.
Thatâs not what Teyla would do, because sheâs smiling at them both, but close enough.)
#there could be mcshep in this but it would be very hidden between the lines#(i have two prompts left and if one of those is yours - it's still coming! somewhere the next few days hopefully)#my fic#sga#*#stargate atlantis#ronon dex#rodney mckay
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