Love Under Duress

Everyday "I Love You"s

Pairing: Sheppard/McKay

"Tell him," a voice in his head- not his own- says loudly and clearly. Rodney starts and looks around curiously. He feels out of place. He thinks for a moment. Oh! He wasn't here a moment ago. He seems to remember being with the team offworld, and now he's here. It looks like some sort of coffee shop- He notices Sheppard sitting across from him, "Rodney are you alright?"

"Oh, Colonel Sheppard, thank god you're here too." Rodney let out a sigh of relief, "Do you know where we are?" He started muttering something under his breath about the locals on that planet, which seemed to only confuse Sheppard.

"Colonel Sheppard? Are you sure you didn't hit your head on something?" Sheppard asked, "The last thing we need on our fifth date is for you to get some sort of amnesia. Or maybe you're going crazy from stress." Rodney frowned, realizing that this was not the same man he had been bickering with on an alien planet seconds ago. An imposter? Some weird alien thing? Were the others going through this as well?

Then he blushed. Had Sheppard- John, he supposed he could call him- just said they were out on a date? No this was certainly some sort of weird alien simulation. He was sure of it. If he'd been dreaming, they'd probably be on Atlantis, not Earth. He'd been trying not to think about the dreams, but this setting brought them to the forefront of his mind.

"Yes, yes, you're right sorry. My bad. I think I got reality confused with a book I've been reading recently," he stammered out, realizing that if he was supposedly on a date, he should act the part. John smiled, forgetting it, "Cute."

He blushed, subconsciously wishing that the John in real life was this straightforward. He glanced down, noticing the half-eaten scone and half-drunk coffee set on the table. He picks up the scone and hopes there isnt any citrus in it as he takes a bite. Wait, that was a stupid thought. No Rodney McKay would ever order something like that, under risk of death.

He smiles back at John, who's talking about some book he reads. Rodney could vaguely remember him mentioning it back on Atlantis. Though, at the forefront of his mind, he's mostly thinking about how the hell he got here, and how to get out.

Not that this was bad. If Rodney hadn't had more common sense, he'd probably indulge in this for a while. Going on a date with John; the thought spurred other, similar thoughts that he'd become increasingly aware of recently.

Rodney, finished his scone, still thinking. "Y'know, I think might just love you," John said, pulling him out of his stupor. He responded immediately, deciding he had nothing to lose by saying it back, "I love you too."

Before he could think of anything other than John's contented smile, he was suddenly not there. He found himself cuddled on a couch, watching some shitty sci-fi action movie. He looked to his right, and as he expected, there was John.

John looked back at him, and spoke while shoving popcorn into his mouth, "Alright?" He had obviously meant to ask whether Rodney was alright, so he nodded. John smiled, and after a moment, he kissed Rodney on the cheek, and Rodney blushed. Rodney smiled, snuggling closer as he ignored the bad movie. This was a comfortable place to think, he supposed.

What had both situations had in common? John, obviously, and of course the fact that they were in a romantic setting. Going on coffee dates and cuddling while watching bad movies. It made him half want to defenestrate himself from the sappiness, and half want to stay there in that moment infinitely.

He and John dating really had no nefarious connotations, as far as weird alien things were concerned. Maybe the locals were slowly killing him and had put these scenarios in his brain so he wouldn't think about the fact that he was being slowly murdered to death.

Then why had the last one ended when they had said they loved each other? He remembered back to the beginning of the last scenario; the voice in his head telling him to "tell him". Hmm. He wanted to test something.

"I love you," he said, directed at John of course. He could see John smile before he was suddenly somewhere else. He was right, he thought. He was surprised that he'd figured it out so quickly, but it still left him confused. That explained how to get out of each separate situation, but not how to get out of the whole thing.

He noticed that he was yet again with John. They were holding hands on a park bench, and John was throwing bread to some ducks or geese or something. Rodney didn't really care. He decided to profess his love again, and he was promptly moved to another scene.

This was getting old, just how many of these scenarios could be conjured up? He was sitting in the grass and gazing up at the stars. He heard John's voice from behind him point out a pattern in the stars. They were stargazing.

"I love you," he said again. The dates were nice, but Rodney knew they weren't real. He needed to get back to the real John. The next was of him and John lying in bed in a dimly lit room. He could tell John was still awake by his breathing. He said it again.

Suddenly he was outside in some sort of village with John and a few others. "I love you," he said again to John, before he could notice that John was in uniform, his P90 hung off his vest as he loosely gripped it.

"Ah, McKay, I asked if you were okay," John said, confused, before registering Rodney's words. "Wait what did you say?" he said a bit louder, attracting the attention of Teyla and Ronan. Rodney was confused, somehow still not realizing that this was real- his intelligence was stupid like that sometimes.

"Hm? What did Rodney say-" Teyla asked before Rodney cut her off by repeating himself, starting straight at John. "Oh, did you two already confess your undying love for each other?" Ronan asked, "It was getting kind of annoying honestly."

It was at this moment that Rodney's brain decided to kick back on, and he visibly winced, realizing that he'd confessed his love- twice, no less- to the real John Sheppard. He finally stammered out a sentence, hoping it was worthy, "Oh, I- I mean... Sorry?" He winced again. God, this was hopeless.

Plus, it seemed that he had somehow broken Sheppard, as the man stood still, a shocked expression on his face. Maybe he'd been frozen by some weird Ancient device, which would certainly spare him some embarrassment. Unfortunately, the man promptly unfroze the moment Rodney thought it as if he could read minds.

"You... do?" Sheppard asked carefully. Rodney sighed, at least he seemed more confused than angry. He hoped Sheppard still wouldn't be angry when he regained his senses. "Well, I- I mean..." Rodney trailed off. It would've been so easy to just deny it, maybe say he'd accidentally said it. Twice.

But Rodney realized that would be untruthful. He did love Sheppard, even if he only realized it now. He glanced over at Ronan and Teyla. They were talking to some locals, and no longer seemed to care about Rodney's love confession. They'd probably just ask about it after the fact.

When Rodney stayed silent for another moment, the Colonel spoke up again, "You really mean that?" Rodney couldn't help but think he looked a bit hopeful. Whether that was just his imagination or not, it, in turn, made Rodney feel a bit more hopeful.

He gathered as much confidence as he could, "Yes. Yes, I do." He was still terribly nervous, but he figured it was now or never. Sheppard couldn't help but crack a smile, to which Rodney smiled in return.

"Hm, yes, that was easier than I'd thought it'd be," Rodney said. Sheppard rolled his eyes, pulling an arm around Rodney, "Idiot." Rodney frowned, "Hey I'll have you know, I have the smartest brain in all of-' Sheppard cut him off, "Oh shut up."

He planted a kiss on Rodney's cheek, before remembering the only people around- besides the locals- were Teyla and Ronan, so he went for his mouth. Teyla politely clapped when she noticed, and Ronan attempted a thumbs up, though he held it out a bit lopsided.

Rodney smiled. Maybe just this once, he should leave that weird experience he had out of his report. And maybe he'd be a bit nicer to the locals, who he suspected had something to do with it.