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John didn’t remember his first trip to Rodney’s penthouse thanks to a round of drinking before hand. He did remember a lot of kissing, and petting, and saying, “Oh god I want to make love to your mattress,” but not any other details. So this time he made sure to actually look around and see what kind of place McKay lived in. It wasn’t hard, since this was supposed to be a picnic there, but Rodney spent a lot of time on the phone yelling or dictating (it was hard to distinguish the two) to Lorne and Ronon.
He spent a good five minutes lying on Rodney’s bed, wondering why Rodney ever slummed it at his one bedroom apartment and inherited mattress when he had this temple of perfection back home, but then realized it must be love. There was really no other explanation, and John felt himself grin like an idiot for a few minutes before he reluctantly pulled himself away. He was definitely going to suggest coming to Rodney’s place more.
The guest room had a futon with My Little Pony sheets (obviously where Madison slept) and six bookcases filled with law and science and, on a low shelf, children’s books. The only wall without bookcases was the one with the walk-in closet. Next to the door there were framed diplomas and awards and letters and John smirked at that. Rodney was the smartest man he knew, but with his ego he wasn’t really surprised at seeing proof of it hanging in his home. He’d bet McKay’s office had a matching wall.
Then he actually read over the awards, and it wasn’t what he was expecting at all. Oh, there was a law degree, but there was also a PhD of Astrophysics and a Masters of Engineering and letters from people he’d never heard of but, from the letterhead, were very important in their respective fields. Then there was the one from the President, one with an actual signature not something printed, praising Rodney’s innovation and commenting that he looks forward to seeing what Rodney produces in the future.
There was even one from Grade Six, a simple award and a blue ribbon and a picture of Rodney beside…
He stumbled his way into Rodney’s office and stood by the door. The instant Rodney hung up John said, “You really did build a nuclear bomb.”
Rodney blinked at him. “I told you that.” It was his slow, stupid tone. The one he used when he thought Lorne was being an idiot, or distracted. “I was kidnapped by the CIA and everything.”
“I thought…” Actually, he was sure Rodney was exaggerating, or improvising his past to impress John.
From Rodney’s scowl, John was willing to bet he could tell what John was thinking. “If I’d wanted to impress you, I’d have told you my yearly income.” He brightened a little. “Would that impress you? I mean, obviously you’re not kept, since you’re teaching Madison and those other mongrels, but if it would make you feel better-”
“Rodney,” John said, a little sharply. “I just…what’s with the wall?”
“The wall?” It took Rodney a minute to register what he meant. “Oh, yeah. That. Well, I did have a life before I met you.”
So did John. His involved a failed marriage, a brother he doesn’t speak to, being arrested for counting cards, and dropping out of college. He doesn‘t even think about his privileged life pre-high school anymore. “But…why’re you in law?” People like Rodney made thousands, even millions with their minds and discoveries. Why would he give that all up to work with a rather tedious legal system?
Rodney shrugged, but wouldn’t meet his eyes. “I got bored. Also, everyone I worked with was wrong, wrong, very, very wrong and I couldn’t stand working with such monumental stupidity another day.” John could tell it was a lie, at least a partial one, but Rodney quickly pre-empted any further questions along that line. “Has the Chinese arrived yet? I ordered it over forty minutes ago.”
“I brought food,” John countered, poking his thumb over his shoulder to where he’d left the bag from Whole Foods in the kitchen. “Why’d you order Chinese? You saw me bring it in.”
“I felt like Chinese. Also, they always overcook the chicken.” Rodney stood and headed for the table, ducking when John tried to hit him on the back of the head. “Can we leave the foreplay until after lunch? I haven’t eaten since six and I’m hypoglycemic.”
“And I’m the karate kid,” John shot back.
“That totally wouldn’t surprise me--do I smell steak fries?”
John rolled his eyes, but let the subject drop, for now. Rodney wasn’t his only source for personal history, after all.
~*()*~
Since they started dating, Rodney only came to watch John teach once a week. The rest of the time Jeannie dropped off and picked up Madison. So it was fairly easy for John to ask Jeannie out for a cup of coffee (tea in his case) under the guise of ‘getting to know his potential sister-in-law better.’ So on Wednesday John took the afternoon off and brought Jeannie to Grodin’s Grinds down the street, putting on his most disarming smile.
Jeannie saw right through it. “Whatever he did, it’s between you and him. Also, I want to know absolutely nothing about my brother’s sex life.”
John slouched in his chair, though wasn’t as easy as if he’d worn his gi. In jeans and a tight t-shirt, it’s a little more constricted than he’s used to. He still managed what Teyla called his ‘aw shucks’ look without a hitch, though. “There’s nothing going on, Jeannie. Rodney and I are fine.”
“Uh huh. You know, in high school all his girlfriends broke up with him through me. It got to the point where he wouldn’t let me knock on his door because it meant he’d been dumped again.”
Well, that was interesting. Also, he made a mental note not to take the coward’s way out if they ever did break up. Not that it would matter since he’d be dead. Ronon would kill him. “I just wanted to know some background, here what your childhood was like.” He smiled sheepishly. “He doesn’t like to talk about it.”
“I’m not surprised. He was in high school by the time he was twelve and so far above his ‘peers’ that all three years were miserable. Our parents didn’t really help, they were always fighting. Dad pushed Rodney too far, and mom,” Jeannie stopped at that and looked into her coffee, “mom wasn’t there. I mean she was there, but she wasn’t,” she made a circular motion with her hand that John couldn’t interpret, but he nodded anyways. “What’d you want to know, exactly?”
It was already a little more than he was looking for, but it explained some of Rodney’s quirks, like waking up in the middle of the night just to touch his arm, his chest, his cheek. Why he got nervous when John didn’t snap back in discussions. He’d learned more right now that explained Rodney than he had after months of dating. “I was actually sort of wondering about the science stuff. I saw his PhD, and the letters-”
“And you’re wondering why he became a lawyer when he had so much going for him?” Jeannie smirked, taking a sip of her drink. “That’s the big mystery. Four years ago he just called me and asked if we could get dinner--you don’t know about the fight, do you?”
“No.” He’d seen Jeannie and Rodney fight. It was always intense and borderline violent and it was never, ever around Madison; though she was often the topic of the argument. “You and he had a fight?”
“Right before his first degree. I decided not to go through with a college education and invited him to the wedding and, well,” she ducked her head, “we didn’t speak for years. And like I said, he invited me to dinner and instead of his usual lab chic, he was dressed in a suit and told me he’d become a lawyer. And that his therapist suggested he should reconnect with his family.” Her smirk became sharp. “I threw my wine in his face at that.”
John would have too. “But it worked out, obviously.”
“Oh, yes. But he never explained why.” The smirk morphed into a frown, her eyes clouding over. “He said there was an argument, and that the administration wasn’t properly admiring his genius, but there was more. There was this edge when he explained it.”
Huh, so Rodney’s change in career was something he’d decided to keep even from his sister. And Rodney keeping a secret (well, a personal secret) was something John thought impossible. He was just so expressive.
“Did you ask him,” Jeannie said brightly, interrupting John’s musing.
“Yeah. He said he’d gotten bored with the theoretical. And that his peers were idiots.”
Jeannie sighed, then smiled gently. “Well, whatever it was, it did bring him back to me, and into Madison’s life. So I’m not really complaining.”
But it was a mystery, and John hadn’t thought Jeannie would give up on one so easily. She seemed to be like him, someone who just had to know things. And he knew that made him hypocritical, considering he liked to keep his own history to himself. And if he didn’t trust Rodney with his own past, why should Rodney trust him with his? “Guess it’s just one of life’s mysteries.”
Jeannie raised her cup in a mock-toast gesture. “To mysteries. And lawyers.”
John had to smirk. “And how often can you say that in this day and age?” He grinned as she laughed.
~*()*~
Lorne was essentially Rodney’s one-man fan club. He called Rodney his ’mentor’ and built a webpage dedicated to him and his history and success and called at odd hours. John thought it was stalker-like behavior, but apparently Rodney had had a stalker in the past, and Lorne ‘didn’t exhibit the typical psychological indicators as such.’ Also, as John learned while getting to know Rodney’s assistants, Lorne was just weird.
As in, had a Masters of Geological Engineering and was getting a law degree while working as a clerk weird.
“It was expected,” Lorne said, typing something one handed while his other was holding a sandwich. There was a plate for it, but apparently Ronon had already stolen the other half, and Lorne wasn’t going to make that mistake twice. “My grandfather founded an engineering firm. They paid through the Masters.” He smiled. “Then Rodney called me an idiot in the library and told off my father. It was awesome.”
John would be jealous of Lorne’s admiration, but he was pretty sure the man was straight. At least, the way he and Ronon talked about Teyla, it certainly sounded that way (and no, he was never, ever going to repeat those conversations on pain of death by Women’s Self Defense Course). Also, the man seemed to like John after doing a quick background check, so John figured that if anyone could explain the lawyer mystery, it’d be him.
“No idea, actually. I didn’t meet the Doc until he was in law school.” He grinned. “Did I tell you he helped me pay for that? And talked to the administration to get me admitted.” John just nodded. He knew Lorne had gotten a degree as a legal assistant, and was now attending classes at night to be an actual lawyer. “Ronon might know. He’s been Rodney’s friend forever.” Ronon grunted, having finished what he stole of Lorne’s sandwich he was now eating through the jelly-filled donuts. Rodney seemed to have an endless supply of them at the office.
Ronon was still a bit of a mystery for John. He’d joined John for a drink once or twice when Rodney had to work late, but other than always wearing a leather trench coat and, on one occasion, chaps, John knew nothing of the man. “Been his friend forever, huh?”
Ronon shrugged one shoulder. “He crashed a rush to tell everyone to shut up. He couldn’t study, and something about their collective IQ being far less valuable than his.” John had a feeling that Ronon was more than just a spectator. “It took balls. He was, like, sixteen. The smallest freshman could break him in half.”
John waited, but Ronon turned his attention to the donuts again. He wondered if all days Rodney was away were like this, and if so, what exactly Ronon did to earn his keep. Lorne seemed to be doing all the work. “So, what, he joined?”
“They threw him out on his ass. He called my dreadlocks stupid” He shrugged again, giving up on the pastries. “Always had a soft spot for terriers.”
Lorne looked offended on Rodney’s behalf, but John just grinned. “So he let you stick around?”
“He told me ROTC was stupid, especially since I seemed to have a brain. Sent me letters during my deployment reminding me I had a teaching degree.” John raised his eyebrows at that. “Picked me up when I came back, told me he needed a personal assistant and that I looked worse without the dreads.”
“And you just took the job?”
Ronon grinned, but didn’t answer the question. “Whatcha want, Sheppard?”
John was not going to be intimidated by Ronon. He wasn’t. He slouched a little more against Lorne’s desk. “Just wondering why he became a lawyer. No one seems to know.” Lorne, John noted, stopped typing and turned to look at Ronon as well.
Ronon actually seemed to pause, considered something, before he answered. “He was ejected from a contract negotiation. It was some invention Zelenka made.” John didn’t know Zelenka except by reputation, some sort of engineer that got Rodney muttering a couple times a week. “Told Radek he was being robbed blind by GeniInc. He reviewed their contracts, found they used legal loopholes to screw a bunch of other scientists.”
Lorne nodded. “That makes sense. Most scientists the Doc cold calls think they’re too smart to need lawyers, that they can figure out any legal contracts. And intellectual property lawyers don’t always understand the scientists’ stuff.” He hunched slightly. “I know I don’t.”
“So he decided to go to law school and help his fellow scientists out?”
“He wanted to screw over GeniInc.” Ronon gave them a feral grin. “They went bankrupt two years ago.”
Of course. Only Rodney would go through law school to take revenge on a corporation. “So how’d he move from revenge to legal guardian angel?”
Lorne snorted a laugh, but Ronon shrugged. “Something his shrink said. McKay said he’d miss the yelling, but he still gets to a lot.” He looked at Lorne, at the sandwich half back on the plate, and picked it up despite Lorne’s outraged protest. “Why’d you need to know, Sheppard?”
John offered his own shrug resisted the urge to slouch further. “Just curious.”
Ronon narrowed his eyes. “I’m gonna tell Telya to kick your ass.”
“She already does, buddy.” He slapped Ronon on the shoulder as he left the office to think about Rodney, and the law, and what to do with this information.
~*()*~
“I have a brother,” John told Rodney over dinner. Pizza. Despite the high-rise apartment and expensive equipment, Rodney was always most comfortable with college-type take out.
Rodney made a humming noise around his pizza slice that could’ve been either an acknowledgement or ‘don’t talk, good food’. After he swallowed, though, he squinted at John. “Yes, so?”
John shifted his shoulders, poking his own slice distractedly. “I have a brother. A younger brother.” He swallowed. “And I have money. Had. My family.” He hated thinking about that. When he was young it set him apart from his peers. In college, people thought that he always had money just because his family did. “My family invested in GE and Apple early on. And I had a horse that I used to ride and-” He swallowed. “I turned away from that, because I didn’t want to inherit the business.”
Rodney put down his slice and frowned. “I’m not dating you for your money. I met you as a poor karate teacher. Also, I know your financial situation. I’ve been to your apartment which, by the way? Plenty of room here. You’re cheaper than a maid.”
John growled a little at that. “I also had an ex-wife.” Who he also didn’t speak to, for different reasons. It wasn’t the best of divorces, though since he’d figured out he was gay, it didn’t hurt that much. “And I used to want to fly.”
Rodney was silent, then, “Why’re you telling me?”
“I know.” At Rodney’s expectant look, he sighed. “About GeniInc, and how you became a lawyer.” There was silence at that. “Ronon told me, and I know you didn’t want to talk about it, but-”
“But you wanted to know. Because you absolutely hate the idea of not knowing everything about everybody.” There was a thread of anger in Rodney’s voice, and John fought back a wince. “You’re exactly like my third cat. She shorted out half my equipment before sneaking into my lab and getting herself fried by a particle accelerator.”
Well, wasn’t that a pleasant story. “Sorry.” Which really wasn’t worth much, since he’d gone behind Rodney’s back to begin with and, really, relationships were built on trust, not…this.
Rodney let out a put-upon sigh, the one he always gave when dealing with someone incredibly slow-witted. “I still loved her, despite her annoyingly curious nature. Also, you’re so bottoming for a week.” John’s head snapped up. Rodney was still scowling, but it was his normal crooked one, not the angry I’m-going-to-make-you-regret-being-born scowl.
“So…you don’t mind me knowing?”
Rodney harrumphed. “Just don’t let it get around. I have a reputation to protect.” He pointed sharply at John. “Especially with Jeannie and those urchins of yours.”
John felt himself smirk as he made the ‘cross your heart’ motion over his chest. “I won’t let anyone know that you’re a big softie, McKay.” Rodney kicked him under the table, but not hard. “My softie,” he said a little more quietly, his ears burning.
“Hmph,” Rodney said, but his own cheeks were red. “Well, just don’t forget it.” He snatched another slice. “So what did you call your horse?”
“Puddlejumper,” John said, a little proudly. “He could jump across a small lake.” Rodney rolled his eyes, and John grinned, and just like that, things were okay.
He was still going to call in sick, tomorrow. He planned on having a sore ass and Teyla would only make things worse.