A Nice Hot Bath

by Kyn_Moonlight

URL: http://www.area52hkh.net/ask/kmoonlight/hotbath.php
Summary: Maybe it shouldn't have surprised John, but he was really getting to like having a nice hot bath. And a nice hot Rodney

It shouldn't have been a surprise, in retrospect, John thought, settling deeper into the hot water. From what they told him, Ancient was a precursor to Latin, but he'd pretty much put that out of his mind with the technology and the Wraith and other more pressing concerns to focus on. Besides, Atlantis bore a much stronger resemblance to the Chrysler building than the Parthenon. Wait, that was Greek. The lovely, steamy hot water cradling his sore muscles was also making him a little foggy. He knew the Coliseum was Roman, but that wasn't a good example; it was too deteriorated and entirely the wrong kind of structure to start with. Rodney would know if he were here. He knew everything. Except, probably, the reason John didn't want him to be here just now.

But, anyhow, Chrysler Building. And desk chairs from Staples, or the Ancient's equivalent. Though the showers could probably have given them a clue. He'd seen more luxurious showers in field camps, but they were happy the city had running water, and if the bathrooms were a little minimalist, they had other worries.

John had lots of other worries, even though he couldn't think of them at the moment, which if he thought about it, was probably a good thing, because lounging chin deep in lightly-scented warm water with the soft sounds of a splashing fountain echoing quietly off the smooth sea-toned tile was supposed to make him forget them. He sighed happily and shifted around to get more of his tense neck muscles underwater. Yep, nothing like a late-night bath to ease away all your concerns.

So back to... what was he thinking about? Oh right, Romans, Ancients, baths. The Romans had baths. A lot of really nice, really big, really public baths. And, well, they weren't Ancients, but there had to be more similarities than the languages, didn't there, and after all the crappy showers should have given them a clue. And he was sure he made more sense than this when the hot water wasn't melting his brain along with his tensions.

So Ford, wonderful Lieutenant Ford, who definitely deserved the Medal of really-useful-accidental-discoveries in the line of duty or something, found The Baths, with the capital letters They deserved, one day the other week. Then he found John, who wasn't nearly as hard to find, he was sure, and McKay, who was easy enough to find if you looked in his lab or wherever there was food, or over the past week, in The Baths. But that was before they'd seen The Baths, so he was in his lab. Where he belonged. Not being hot and wet and hot.

That was among the things that surprised John, which unlike the Baths, should. That Rodney was hot when wet and naked. That he'd seen Rodney hot and wet and naked. That Rodney had no hesitation being seen hot and wet and naked. Well, he might not have known he was hot, but he couldn't have failed to notice the wet and naked part. He was smart after all. And John certainly noticed, even being somewhat less smart. Not a lot, mind you, but still.

Another surprise there, that he'd noticed. And that he'd thought so. He should have been thinking of Teyla or even Elizabeth all hot and wet and naked, but the also hot and wet, but not so naked Ford, when he was dry and dressed, but not a lot less hot, had managed to find more than one bathing room. The Grand Hall, as John thought of the room he currently occupied, and the much smaller and more opulently appointed one, which the women appropriated, because there were fewer of them, and he suspected, because Weir and Teyla were in charge, so they could. The rationale being that for anti-frat, or ethics or respectful working relationships or some such thing it would be 'bad' for men and women to be in the same Baths, which given the hot, wet, naked factor, was probably a good call.

Besides, separate facilities meant they didn't have to time-share with the women, like a couple of those strange SGC locker rooms he could never figure out in his week and a half there, and that he didn't get stuck with some inconvenient part-time off-hour access privileges, which is what would have happened instead of simultaneity. Of course, he was here, half asleep in the middle of the night anyhow even though he could have been here whenever he wanted, so the hours weren't such an issue.

So, apparently, seeing other guys naked wasn't supposed to be bad for his ethics or respectful working relationships, which was a load of hooey considering his new obsession over Rodney's wet skin. And what was 'hooey' anyhow, and what did one load it into? Rodney would know. Maybe he'd ask him next time they ended up here at the same time, which if John had anything to do with it, they wouldn't, because McKay would just get all bright and happy and babble-y over having something to explain, or snarky and ranting and waving his hands around in exasperation over such an inane question, both of which surprisingly, when combined with wet and naked somehow only managed to compound the hotness.

He really would have expected Rodney to be a lot more self- conscious. Like Ford, who he wouldn't have expected to be. Not that Aiden had anything to be self-conscious and shy about. He was seriously hot. Not as hot as Rodney, but that would probably be debated by an impartial observer, which John decided he wasn't. He was surprised by which of the Atlantis crew took to The Baths with barely a blink, and which enjoyed the social soaking in hot water but couldn't fathom public, or rather semi-public, nudity. So shy - cute but shy - Ford in his swimming trunks was a surprise. Carson, yeah, he wasn't surprised their doctor wasn't comfortably exhibitionistic, or Bates for that matter. Although it was kind of a shame that they weren't, because they had a little hot going on too. He was a bit taken aback by how many people actually brought swimwear with them, but when he'd called Beckett on it, he'd said, "When you think 'Atlantis' you think water don't you, so, best to be prepared I thought." Ford had just told him they were on the official list of things they were allowed to pack, so he assumed they were there for a good reason.

So, aside from Aiden and a few of the more uptight of the Marines, he figured it was a military/civilian thing, given communal showers and such. Which was why, he was surprised yet again, when one evening he'd wandered in for a nice relaxing soak after an afternoon of testing the drives on a few of the 'Jumpers and found a whole geek- pack of blue-shirts, sans the shirts, and the pants, and pretty much everything else, obliviously technobabbling in one corner of the pool. He'd frozen in place in shock for a second, finding a somewhat separate corner of his own before stripping and settling in for his slightly-disturbed bath.

They were still chatting happily when they climbed out to dry and dress. Grodin was in garish boxers and one of the Mediterraneans was in a red Speedo. Most of the others had been nude, though once out of the mitigating water, were quickly dressing and avoiding eye contact, but Rodney, the ever-infuriating McKay, stood there in nothing more than the towel draped around his neck as he finished whatever point he was making. His weight balanced mostly over one foot made his butt curve and protrude in a way that made it look more round and firm than overly-fleshy, and the casual tension of his hands on the towel showed off the unexpected muscles of his upper arms and chest. All sparkling with water droplets. John shifted his focus to the stomach he knew, even in clothes, was a little less flattering, but that just drew his eyes to other areas that weren't flabby but were jiggling slightly from his animated conversation. Rodney had caught his glance and waved nonchalantly before toweling off his hair and sorting his pile of khaki and blue from the others.

John had gotten to see the display at closer range a few times as well, when he, Aiden and Rodney had come in together to unwind and assess after a mission or relax on a night off. McKay was just as casual, and Ford, while he'd change into his trunks without hiding in a dressing room, wasn't willing to ditch them yet. They'd spent some time in comfortable quiet, just soaking or talking, but one friendly disagreement had escalated to a shoving, laughing, splash-fight. Ford was saying something about finding some allies they could trade with for a rubber ducky, when John, still half wrestling with them both, felt one flailing leg make contact with parts of Rodney it would have had no opportunity to meet if they'd stayed safely in his lab, or even in his clothes. John had drawn out the talking and joking till he could get out of the water and into his towel without calling attention to the fact he'd noticed, or how much he'd liked noticing.

Which was why he was sneaking in for his bath when it was deserted, and trying not to think about wanting to see or feel those parts again. He could, of course, have just taken a shower and gone to bed, but he wanted his bath. He'd never been one for baths before this; they seemed to be more tepid, sticky things for children and old ladies. Except for hot tubs. In California he grew up with hot tubs, and they were great because you got to settle in already heated water, with your drink nearby on redwood decking and just sit there while pretty girls would be shy and flirtatious but take off their clothes anyhow. The Baths were even better, though. Comfortably warm all the time, steps in several places to use if you were tired or sore, seating ledges at a few different levels in scalloped recesses to give you a little privacy or a small social setting like a booth at a diner, which kept it from feeling like one big, too warm, too shallow swimming pool. He did kinda miss the drinks and pretty girls taking their clothes off. Though his memories were overlapping with Rodney taking his clothes off, which he was deciding, might be a fair trade.

He was working his way back into convincing himself that a good team commander couldn't afford those kinds of thoughts, even when he was light years -- quite literally -- away from the disapproving military hierarchy, and that he should really pay more attention to things around him so there were a lot less surprises, good or bad, in the future, and letting all the tension of both seep out of him when he heard the scuff of a black leather cross-trainer near his lolling head. He blinked his eyes open to see Rodney dropping a towel next to his.

"If you fall asleep in there, Major, you'll drown."

"'m not sleeping," he protested with a lazy smile, but grasping the excuse of drowsiness to close his eyes while he heard Rodney undressing right over his head. "You're up late."

"I was finishing up some tests on that square green thing and wanted to have all the results in before I could sleep on them. Besides, I'm a big boy. I can stay up past my bedtime if I want to. And, apparently, you're up late too."

There was a splash and a ripple against John's shoulder, but not enough displacement for a whole person, and since the voice was still somewhere above him, he concluded Rodney was now sitting on the rim of the pool kicking his feet in the water. "No," John said languidly, "I'm apparently sleeping."

"Obviously not."

"Yep," he answered. "Somebody told me so, and he knows pretty much everything about pretty much everything, so I have to believe him." He cracked one eye open and glanced up at lots of Rodney-skin, then tugged on the nearest ankle. "Get in if you're getting in. You'll give me a stiff neck looking up at you."

"I've heard a hot bath is good for that," Rodney said, earning him a harder ankle tug. "Stop it. You'll make me fall. I'm getting in already, all right?"

John made the mistake of opening his eyes again just as Rodney shifted his weight to his arms to slide into the water, not only highlighting those nicely defined arm muscles, but arching his whole body in a way that thrust his hips and coincidentally, or not so coincidentally since they were somewhat connected, his cock, forward exactly at John's eye level. He jerked back, but unfortunately, taking the ankle still clasped in his hand with him made Rodney overbalance and fall, sputtering and squirming, pretty much right into John's lap.

John grabbed him tightly around the waist to keep him from submerging his head, or whacking his knees on the shallow floor, which only got him a lap full of squirming, wet, naked Rodney, when his lap was already, quite noticeably, a bit busier than he'd ever intended in response. Of all the things he'd never thought he'd encounter in the Pegasus Galaxy, a lap-dance from Dr. Rodney McKay had to hit the top of the list.

He would have expected an angry tirade, but Rodney just laughed, wiping the water out of his eyes.

"Umm," John said as Rodney's squirming pressed him right against John's cock.

"Someone's awake," Rodney observed with another little wiggle.

"Umm," John said again, but the parts of his brain still unmelted by the water were seriously liquefied by hot, wet, naked, lap-Rodney, who wasn't showing any inclination to be a non-lap-Rodney anytime soon, which if John could think, he was pretty sure he'd think was a very good thing. "Um," he tried again.

"You already said that," Rodney smirked.

"Well, it's a valid point."

"'Um' is a valid point? It's not even a whole word, let alone a point."

John settled Rodney a little more comfortably in his lap. He liked his lap-Rodney so he shifted around a bit to get more cock-to-cock contact before he could think better of it. "And your point?"

"Umm," Rodney said, pleasantly distracted by the shifting around.

"Exactly!" he said triumphantly.

"I think the hot water's melted your brain."

"Yeah," John nodded, agreeably, thrusting his hips up experimentally. "Other parts are still plenty firm."

John would have expected to be more disturbed, or for things to be more difficult between them, but he'd had enough of unrealistic expectations, and he was relaxed and happy so he just tightened his arms, and leaned in to brush his lips against Rodney's. That felt better than the bath, so he did it again.

They pulled apart, both licking their lips, and came together for a longer, wetter kiss. John blinked hard and pulled away, taking a deep breath to be the one to say something responsible, but Rodney shook his head.

"What?" John asked, confused.

"Don't ask if I'm sure, or if I've ever done this before. You know damn well that if I don't like something, or don't want to do something, you'll hear about it. Just... can we do this without overanalyzing it and talking ourselves out of it again?"

He didn't even give John a chance to respond more than a half nod, he just claimed his mouth in a kiss. His lips were firm and confident, but gentle in a way that conveyed something deeper and far warmer than casual lust. The combination of caring and hunger quelled any of John's doubts and warmed him in places neither the water nor the raw physical desire had.

"Up," Rodney panted against his mouth after they drew apart with a slow trailing of tongues across one another. When John just looked at him puzzled, he patted the rim of the tub next to John's head. "Up. I want to suck you without drowning."

"You want...?"

"I just said so, didn't I? Really, John, do you have to be so difficult all the time?"

"I'm not difficult," John told him, scooting backwards up onto the edge of the pool to prove it. "See, this is me not being difficult. This is me being easy." If blow jobs were on offer, he was always easy. He was very glad when he didn't get the teasing that he'd really left himself open for, so he spread his legs to let Rodney slide between them. Rodney did just that, with a crooked smile, trailing warm, wet hands up John's thighs and around his waist.

Rodney pressed a kiss to his wet chest, and nuzzled sensuously down his stomach, mussing his chest hair. He closed his mouth over the head of John's cock, just holding and licking till John was out of his melted mind with arousal and making breathless, inarticulate sounds of pleasure. When he slid down further, taking in almost all of him, John shivered and sighed.

Rodney was an evil genius, John decided, because the things he could do with his mouth were positively brilliant and wicked. And if intelligence was proportionally linked to sexual skills he'd definitely have to start dating higher on the IQ charts. Or, maybe, since Rodney was the smartest person in the galaxy anyhow, he should do anything he needed to hold onto him. He stroked his fingers through Rodney's hair in encouragement, which judging by the arms firmly snugged around his hips and the little happy moans vibrating his cock, was probably unnecessary. Rubbing his shins along Rodney's ribs, he enjoyed all the wet glide of skin on skin, till that perfect wet heat was gone from his cock and the arms from his waist.

Rodney's hands stilled his legs. "Don't tickle."

"What?"

"John," Rodney replied firmly.

"A'right." John tugged him back in with his crossed ankles and Rodney swallowed him whole in reward.

Those stronger than expected arms pulled him forward, till he was right at the edge of the pool, then Rodney's clever hands started stroking his cock, teasing his balls while his mouth kept doing wonderful, scientifically improbably things to him. He was never going to shut Rodney up again, since the exercise was clearly good for his tongue.

Totally lost in the pleasure, John curled over to place a kiss on the top of Rodney's head and found himself whispering his appreciation and encouragement.

"Ah, Rodney, that's it. Suck me. So good. God, Rodney, you're so good."

Rodney hummed his approval of the praise, and that just gave John even more to appreciate. When Rodney's fingers started wandering further back, tracing around his hole, he drew in a shuddering breath to protest, but ended up crying out in shocked pleasure instead, as the most intense orgasm of his life ripped through him. Oh, gods, and if Rodney wasn't already amazing enough, he swallowed and swallowed John's come, and gently licked and sucked him till the aftershocks calmed.

"Hmm, that was so good," Rodney sighed, placing little wet kisses along John's softening cock, and squeezing him tightly around the waist again.

John brushed his fingers wonderingly over Rodney's bowed head and shoulders. "I think I'm supposed to be the one saying that."

Rodney smirked up at him. "Can I help it if I really like doing that to you?"

"Not complaining here. Rodney, that was, wow, amazing."

Rodney's smile this time was softer and more hesitant. "Good," he whispered, then, "Come here." He pulled John into the water and into his arms, and John returned the embrace with gentleness and awe. He felt Rodney's hard cock between them, and rubbed against it.

"You're, um, not going to freak out now that you got off, are you?" Rodney asked with a level of resigned expectation in his voice that John found heartbreaking.

John shook his head. "Freaking on the inside; I'll get over it. You didn't get off yet." He rubbed against Rodney again. "What should I do for you?"

"Whatever you want."

"Because, as much as I hate to admit it, there's no way I'm going to live up to the standards you just set."

Rodney shrugged. "John, you could get me hot just by talking."

John shrugged back. "Well, that's something else you're better at than I am."

Rodney smiled softly and just rested his head against John's cheek. "Just touch me then. You're good at touching. Making things light up. Make me light up, John."

John nodded and wrapped his hand around Rodney's cock. Which was weird, but hot, and really, really nice. Forget pretty naked girls, hell, forget the Wraith and allies and everything else; he wanted touching Rodney to be his new job and hobby, and way of life.

And it would be nicer with kissing, he thought, so he cupped his free hand around the back of Rodney's neck and kissed. They nipped and licked and sucked at each other's lips and tongues until they were both moaning in pleasure, when Rodney gasped and thrust hard into John's tight fist. "Oh yeah, oh, John, just like that."

Rodney kissed him hard, then shuddered and bit his shoulder, coming in John's hand. "Oh, John, yes." He licked out the teeth-marks in John's shoulder and half-collapsed into a hug.

John just smiled and held him.

He really liked baths. And hot, wet, naked evil geniuses.