"I miss Mountain Dew." Rodney actually sounded mournful.

"Cherry Coke," John said, idly splashing his feet in the water. It was hot out, but John had finally cajoled Rodney away from the lab and out to one of the piers with him. Rodney had looked both impressed and envious when John had asked Atlantis for shade and there was an immediate unfurling of an awning from somewhere in the wall. Despite the shade, it was still stifling, and John could feel a steady line of sweat running down his back.

"You suck," Rodney said. "You even sweat pretty."

John gave him a sour look. "It's just sweat."

Rodney frowned. "Well, on you it looks good. Everything on you looks good." He frowned again. "Except that bug. That was bad."

John couldn't help reaching up to the small scar on his neck. His fingers slid on sweat, but he found the little raised area.

"That might have been a stupid thing to say." Rodney sounded uncertain. "Let's...uh...forget I said anything. Like, anything after 'Mountain Dew'."

John shrugged, then dropped his hand from his neck, deliberately ignoring Rodney. "I just hate those things."

"No kidding," Rodney said. "It was only trying to suck the life out of you."

"That wasn't the worst part," John said slowly. He considered what he was about to say, then just said it. "I don't like stuff around my neck."

Rodney looked closely at him. "You wear dog tags," he said, his tone suggesting that it was obvious.

John reflexively touched the chain. It was a completely automatic action. He'd seen other soldiers do it, too. It was like someone touching a cross or pendant under their shirt - comforting somehow. "The chain isn't close around my neck," he said. He slid his hand up to rest against his throat, then immediately moved it away.

"Huh," Rodney said. "Neck injury? Childhood trauma? Too-small uniforms?"

John blew out a breath. Only Rodney. "No," he said. "Nothing weird. I just don't like it."

"Huh," Rodney said again. "Never?"

"Not really." John was starting to get a little weirded out by the conversation. Maybe they should skip back to the soft drinks. "Why do you want to know?"

Rodney looked away, then looked out across the expanse of water. "I just..." Rodney said. "I don't know - I was just...looking at it."

"My neck?" John put his hand back to his throat for a second. He just, it felt strange - always had.

"Yeah." Rodney still didn't look at him.

John pulled one knee up and turned so he could see Rodney better. "Is there something about my neck?" Rodney kept looking away. "Rodney?"

"So," Rodney said, glancing at John and then away again. "No one's ever...no one you've been with has ever..."

John caught on. Rodney wanted to get closer to his neck. To him. Rodney wanted to touch him, wanted to maybe lick or suck or bite the sweaty skin. Rodney was right - everyone he'd ever been with had wanted to touch him there. He'd always distracted them; redirected the touches and kisses.

"You..." John said. "I mean, you want to...?"

"Doesn't everyone?" Rodney said with a sigh.

"I don't think so," John said blankly. He didn't think so.

Rodney gave him a pointed look and a frown. He sighed. "Yes, Sheppard. They do. I'm just one in the crowd. It's a little annoying - I've gotten used to standing out."

John smiled; he couldn't help it - Rodney sounded so aggrieved. John laced his fingers together on his upraised knee, then rested his chin on them. He considered his choices. He could try to laugh it off as a joke; he could find a way to gently rebuff Rodney; or he could just go with what he wanted for a change.

John closed his eyes and flipped a three-sided mental coin. When he opened his eyes and looked up, Rodney was looking at him with curiosity and resignation. John cleared his throat. "So, you want to...you know..."

Rodney rolled his eyes. "Let's set this down in caveman terms: me, genius; you, flyboy. You, hot; me, interested. You, straight; me, gay. Friendship go boom."

John frowned for a second, then tried to fight the smile that wanted to break through. He lost the fight, and the laughter came bubbling out of him. Rodney gave him a funny look before also starting to laugh. They kept going until they were both breathless, eventually tapering off into giggles.

Once he was under control, Rodney scrambled to his feet, wiping his eyes. He moved back a couple of steps. John struggled to his feet and caught him around the wrist.

"It doesn't," John said, trying to gather his thoughts. "The friendship. It doesn't go boom, Rodney." John leaned in, and it took Rodney a beat to catch on. He gently disentangled his wrist and put his hand on John's hip. John took two steps forward and slid his hands over Rodney's shoulders to his back.

John was the one who initiated the kiss, pulling them tight together, relaxing as Rodney's hand came to rest on the small of his back. When the kiss was over, John looked at Rodney for a long moment. He took a deep, steadying breath and slowly tilted his head to one side.

It felt strange - it felt like he was giving something away, like he was trusting Rodney with something essential.

Rodney tightened his hands down on John's shoulders. "God, John. Don't tease me, okay?" His voice wasn't 100% steady.

John's wasn't either when he answered, "I'm not." He took in a deep breath.

John expected Rodney to fall on him, to pretty much attack his bared throat, but Rodney didn't. "Close your eyes," he said. John breathed out and closed his eyes. He couldn't help bracing himself, but he relaxed just a little when Rodney didn't do anything at all.

John opened his eyes a crack. "Rodney?" he said. "Whatcha doin'?"

Rodney grinned, then reached up to press the pad of his thumb to John's bottom lip. "Waiting," he said. "Stop peeking."

"'Kay," John said. As soon as his eyes were fully closed, he felt soft fingertips against his cheekbone and couldn't help lifting his head into the touch with a soft moan. The moan turned sharper when Rodney's fingers slipped down the line of his jaw, thumb stroking the spot just below John's ear.

"Oh," John said. "Rodney."

Rodney didn't answer, he just kept his thumb moving - the pad rasping against stubble.

"Uh, Rodney?" John said.

"Yes?"

"If you're trying to drive me insane, you could just do that thing where you complain a lot." John was getting a little impatient.

"Okay," Rodney said. "I was trying to be nice."

"Rodney," John growled. "This is not the time to turn over a new leaf."

In answer, Rodney stroked his hand lightly down the side of John's neck, continuing on to the slope of his shoulder. Despite the heat, John's skin pebbled and he shuddered. With his other hand, Rodney squeezed John's bicep. John stayed still - eyes closed, his hands down by his sides. He tried to figure out what Rodney's touches had done to him. The fingers on his lips and the side of his face had felt good, but it was the hot slick of Rodney's hand down the side of his throat that had him confused.

He hadn't hated it. Yeah, it had been weird - weird enough to set off his automatic reaction, but he hadn't tried to get away.

"Do it again," he said. Rodney touched a fingertip to the hollow between John's collarbones, and John made a soft noise that surprised him when it slipped out. "Good," he said on a released breath when he felt Rodney tense. "It's...good, think."

"Okay," Rodney said, then moved his hand to touch the back of John's neck. John leaned back into the touch.

"You ready to try something else?" Rodney asked, and John was struck by the look on Rodney's face - one that could be affection or kindness. Not what he'd expected at all.

"Okay," John said, trying to keep his voice even. He was pretty annoyed at himself for acting like a blushing maiden, but - damn it - it was hard to let down a wall that had stood for thirty years. He was startled when Rodney's hand dropped to his elbow, encouraging him to turn around and usher him to the spot at the steps they'd been before.

"Sit," Rodney said, and the hand on his elbow guided him to sit down on the second step, the one that was half-submerged. He sat, feeling the warm ocean water soak into his trunks.

He felt Rodney arrange himself on the top step. Rodney's legs bracketed him, and John rested his hands on Rodney's knees - just because he could - and leaned back. He was oddly touched when Rodney kissed the top of his head. When Rodney reached forward and started easing John's shirt off, he raised his arms to let it be lifted away, then placed his hands back on Rodney's knees. Cloth whispered against the back of John's head as Rodney took his own shirt off.

"Mmm," Rodney said, smoothing his big hands over John's shoulders. John pushed back into the contact, echoing Rodney's little noise with one of his own.

"I'm going to kiss your neck," Rodney said. "'S that okay?"

John sighed as Rodney's hands slid down his arms and to his hands, where he laced their fingers together. He let Rodney lean him slightly forward, and shivered as he felt he hot breeze of Rodney's breath just before the skin on the back of his neck prickled under a soft touch of lips. He moved his head to the side - not away but into the touch. Rodney hummed against his neck, and John started when Rodney's tongue touched his skin - a couple of quick flicks followed by a tentative glide up the tendon.

"Rodney?" John said, breathless.

"Mmm?" Rodney said. He didn't stop drawing tight spirals with his tongue behind John's ear.

"More?" John said, hoping that Rodney couldn't feel his hands shaking. Obviously, Rodney could, because he tightened his fingers down on John's, pressing their hands down harder onto his knees. John was shocked to realize that he liked it - liked the way it felt to have Rodney's body over his in a protective curl.

After that, John pretty much forgot to think at all. Rodney's mouth moved across the back of his neck, the hinge of his jaw, the tops of his shoulders. John tipped his head back, giving Rodney full access. John knew he was getting louder as Rodney covered as much of his neck as he could reach with sharp nips and soothing kisses, the scrape of stubble and the wet slide of his tongue.

Rodney's lips buzzed against John's skin when he asked, "Can you come from this?"

John gasped. "I, god, Rodney...I don't...god..." Rodney just lipped at John's earlobe and lifted their right hands from John's knee and into John's lap. John automatically curled his fingers, but Rodney pushed him aside to press the heel of his hand along the hard ridge of John's cock. Rodney kept up the pressure, and John arched his back, coming with Rodney's hands and mouth on him.

"Fuck, John," Rodney said against his neck. "Can I? Please say yes."

"Whatever you want," John said, neither knowing nor caring what the hell Rodney was talking about. He figured it out when he felt Rodney's cock against his back, rubbing hard. Rodney tightened his arms around John and gasped wetly into the back of John's neck as he came.

John let himself be tipped forward again, almost sagging in Rodney's arms, shivering under Rodney's languid kisses to neck and shoulders. "Was it okay?" Rodney whispered into his sweaty skin, for the first time sounding unsure.

"Yeah," John said. "More than okay." He could feel Rodney's smile against the back of his neck, and he turned his head to kiss the soft skin in the crook of Rodney's elbow. When a shudder wracked Rodney's body, John smiled.