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John finishes the garbage haul and leaves the truck behind Citrus Hill City Hall. He'll move it in the morning, since he's got just light duty at the Mayor's office (just two Alachua County meetings later in the week, which enables him to sleep in - with Rodney). He debates changing out of his coveralls, but smiles at the thoughts of what an inappropriately-unzipped coverall - and the sight of peeking flesh - does to Rodney, so he decides not to change - for as long as Rodney lets him.
Rodney's been in Citrus Hill a little over a year, and John's yet to broach the subject of them moving in together. Both houses have their conveniences; Rodney's is more out in the country - quiet, and gives them plenty of privacy. But then there's John's house in the middle of downtown, near Laura, Bernice, and JoeJoe, and of course work. One of these days he'll decide. Until then, he'll let the DOD keep picking up the check for Rodney's rent, which, along with the impromptu visit from General O'Neill & crew and the mess that they left (mostly of Teal'c's doing; the man had a way with structures he deemed unnecessary), was paying for renovations in all of Sheppard's rentals.
John checks his cellphone, seeing a text message from Rodney that says, "Order's called in and ready. Don't be late - I'm hungry!". Their usual Tuesday night gathering started with takeout from Skeeters, and ended up with snuggling up on the couch with a movie. When he'd left Rodney's Sunday night, Rodney'd been downloading bootleg copies of Doctor Who from the 60s, so John figures he's in for a nice, long night on the couch.
Walking into Skeeters, John nods to Fred and Ethel Pemberton; they were at their usual Tuesday table, Mister Pemberton nodding back to John, who smiles as the couple entwines arthritic fingers across the table like a couple of teenagers. "Miss Melanie," he says with a tip of an imaginary hat to the elderly waitress, and is then pulled into a hug.
"Skeeter," Miss Melanie calls as she releases John. "John's here for pickup," she adds, then takes the bill from John's hand, John waving off the change.
As Skeeter hands him the brown paper bag, John asks, "So what's for dinner tonight?"
Melanie just shakes her head as Skeeter rakes a hand over his stomach. "You might want some Pepto first..." He pulls out the ticket and announces, "One order wonton soup, two spring rolls, one gumbo, four fried chicken breasts, okra, sweet corn, collard greens, and two Big Biscuits for dessert."
"And sweet tea," Melanie adds, quickly crossing to get a large Styrofoam cup and fill it with ice, then top it off with a fresh batch of the sweet brew. "I'd never hear the end of it if I forgot that man's sweet tea."
It's true. While Rodney had initially balked at "all things Southern", he had quite taken to sweet tea. Once introduced, he was like a junkie looking for his next fix. John had once asked Rodney which he'd rather give up - coffee or sweet tea. The look of complete despair that covered the man's face was enough for John to want to pull him into a hug and never let him go, John ignoring Rodney's muttering of "That's just mean!" throughout the rest of the weekend.
John balances the heavy bag and Rodney's extra large cup of sweet tea and slowly walks to his nearby truck. He settles both into the seat next to him, first strapping in the food, then making sure the oversized cup was firmly planted into the cup holder. When all is right, he finally makes his way into the light evening traffic for the fifteen-minute ride to Rodney's place.
Pulling up, John sees that the kitchen area is dark, though there's a light shining from the den window. He grabs the food and spots the new phonebook sitting on the passenger seat, so he takes the food in first, deciding to make a second trip for the rest. "McKay?" he calls out as he enters. "Dinner!" he hollers just after putting the bag on the table, then turns on the lights before returning to his truck to get the rest of their things.
He grabs the sweet tea and a phone book, then the change of clothes that he keeps in his truck (though with all the clothes he's left at Rodney's, there's really no need) and heads back into the house. "Hey," he says as he walks back into the kitchen, Rodney already pilfering a spring roll from the feast. He approaches, grabbing Rodney's ass (while muttering "Easy target") and then stealing a crumb-laden kiss, asking, "How was your day?"
"Sweet tea?" Rodney asks, happily groaning his approval when John hands over the cup. "Thank you," he says, taking a swig and making a happy sound before swallowing down the sweet treat, giving John a kiss with just enough tongue to share the taste.
John's dazed a bit; he's still in awe about what a hint of tongue from Rodney still does to him, even after a year. He figures one of these days he's gonna have to tell the man he loves him, as if his offers of bubble baths and elephant ears from the County Fair weren't evidence enough. As he comes out of his daze, he remembers the phone book in his back pocket, saying, "Oh yeah," and fishing it out, handing it over to Rodney before grabbing a plate to dish out his own dinner.
"Oh, oh, oh..." Rodney says, abandoning his own plate and opening the Lilliputian book. "Ha!" he says with a triumphant grin before shoving the book John's way.
John accepts the book, scanning the page until Rodney directs his eyes to a single listing:
- McKay Ph.D, Ph.D, M. Rodney.........378-4376
"Seriously, Rodney?" John asks. "How the hell did you manage that?"
"Do you know how little it takes to bribe some local-yokel here in this little backwater town?" Rodney asks as he grabs the second spring roll, which John yanks from his fingers and bites in half at Rodney's fake pout. "Seriously," he says as John gives way to Rodney's forlorn look, feeding him the rest of the deep-fried treat.
"I don't know... What is Eula May's price?" John asks, figuring Miss Eula May Bell down at the local branch of SBC could be bought, though he never considered it. "A good bottle of wine?"
Rodney tsks, then chews and swallows the half spring roll. "As if," he scoffs. "All it took was a day-old box of Piggly Wiggly donuts and a twelve pack of Molsons - which she called 'exotic' since it's Canadian."
John laughs and shakes his head. "Jeez, McKay," he says, a deeply fond smile on his face as he leans in to steal another kiss. He gets a whiff of himself and the aroma that a full day's work on the garbage haul has bestowed on him and starts to unzip his jumpsuit. "Hey, I got time to..." he says, motioning to the bathroom with his free hand.
Rodney waggles an eyebrow and grabs John by the hand, leading him towards the bathroom when the phone rings. John stutter-steps a moment, but Rodney just pulls him on, saying, "Don't answer that."
"But what if it-" John starts, then hears a voice bellowing from the answering machine. "Laura?" he asks, recognizing the voice.
"Yeah," Rodney says, the hint of a blush suffusing across his cheeks. "You wouldn't believe what Eula Mae would do to Laura's phonebook entry for a six month supply of Häagen-Dazs!"
John just laughs and follows Rodney into the bathroom, as a tirade of curse words flow from Laura's mouth, filling Rodney's answering machine until she's cutoff with a beep.