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It was one of those days that Rodney would rather forget. Everything went wrong. Now he was in a bar getting drunk.
The day started as normal. McKay wanted to spend the morning reading through the lecture he was due to give at the university in the late afternoon. The scientist made himself comfortable in his reading chair, the sheets of paper were on his lap and a cup of steaming coffee was on the table next to him. In short, everything was fine.
Suddenly the silence was over. A member of his team from the science lab had called him because there were problems that couldn't wait until next week. As Rodney reached for the papers, he knocked over the mug and spilled the coffee all over the papers.
"Crap!" thought Rodney.
"I will make a new printout later," he said to himself.
He made his way to work. When he got there, they were already waiting impatiently. It was actually his day off to give the presentation to the faculty. But if they called him anyway, the problem was much bigger. McKay was informed that his colleague Radek had been injured during an experiment. The scientist went to the lab. Dr. Zelenka was being treated by a doctor. He had caught some splinters when he held his forearms protectively in front of his face. The test tubes on the shelf were broken into thousand of pieces. Fortunately, the other employees were not injured.
"I was lucky," Zelenka exclaimed.
Rodney glanced briefly around the lab. He actually wanted to shout at the other scientist, but decided not to. Because when Rodney took a closer look, he realized that the equipment had suffered far less damage than he had initially thought. Things could be replaced, people could not. In the debriefing, Rodney, Radek and the rest of the team reviewed their previous calculations. They were not wrong. In the case that they repeated the experiment, they would have to be even more careful. Of course they wanted quick results, but not at any cost. The substances they were investigating were still largely unexplored, so they didn't know the actual effect. They had been a little too naive.
The incident at work had, of course, taken up more time than Rodney had expected. So he couldn't make another printout of his presentation. But that wasn't a big problem. McKay would take his laptop with him.
When Rodney got home, he had a quick shower and changed into fresh clothes. He chose jeans and a white, well-ironed shirt. And comfortable shoes. He threw on a dark blue jacket and left the house. After the event at the university, McKay wanted to go out to eat in a restaurant. That was what he was looking forward to most.
Rodney arrived at the college on time. He even had a few minutes to settle in. He wanted to switch on his laptop, but... Where the hell was it? McKay wondered if he'd even taken the computer with him or if he'd forgotten it on the subway. He couldn't remember. It was a disaster!
McKay had no choice, he had to come up with something. Fortunately, he was a genius. A genius with an excellent memory. Since he didn't have a computer, he couldn't connect it to the projector. That meant Rodney had to improvise. He was pretty annoyed.
In the meantime, it had become very quiet in the lecture hall. The scientist raised his head. The room was full of people of different ages who were looking at him curiously and expectantly. Rodney knew that he had to get through this now. He had to talk for all he was worth. To be honest, if there was one thing Rodney could do the best, it was talk. And the way he talked!
Until the microphone gave up the ghost. Of course, the replacement microphone didn't work either. Rodney would have loved to shout out his frustration. But he held back bravely. He sounded out the situation, stepped out from behind the lectern and looked for a position in the room where he could be easily seen and heard. And then, as if it wasn't enough, the fire alarm went off shortly before the end and everyone had to leave the auditorium. It was exasperating! The organizers then decided not to go ahead with the event and to cancel it. McKay was asked to come back at a later date and repeat the whole thing.
And now Rodney was sitting in this bar, staring into his drink. In between, he popped a few peanuts and pretzel sticks that were everywhere on the tables into his mouth. This was not the sumptuous dinner he had imagined.
McKay had retreated to a secluded spot in the bar. He had finished his drink quite quickly and was now feeling a little woozy (partly because he didn't have much in his stomach, of course). Rodney decided to call it a day and stop looking for explanations. It was no use anyway. He just wanted to sit here and switch off. Maybe do a bit of people-watching. Rodney wanted to order another drink, but as somehow none of the waiters responded to his hand signals.
„It's obvious on a day like this“, he thought, rolling his eyes. He got up and walked a little shakily towards the bar.
"What'll it be?" the barman asked.
"Same as before," Rodney answered.
"Okay. Will you stay at the bar, or where can I take it to you?"
"I'll sit back there." Rodney pointed with his hand to one of the tables in the back.
"All right." The bartender nodded to Rodney.
Just as McKay turned to go to his seat, he bumped into a man.
"Bloody hell, can't you watch where you're going?" Rodney rumbled.
"Don't you have eyes in your head???" he grumbled.
The scientist scowled at the stranger. Only now did he see that the other man was holding a glass and that the orange contents had splashed onto his shirt.
Rodney's gaze softened immediately, not least because the man was a real feast for the eyes. Tall and strikingly handsome. He seemed to be about Rodney's age. He had raven-black hair, sensitive eyes and dark eyebrows. He also had broad shoulders and slight bow legs. He was dressed normally, cream-colored shirt and jeans. The shirt was open enough to show his dark chest hair. Rodney swallowed, his throat went very dry and all at once he was sober again.
"I'm s..s..sorry," Rodney stammered. "Please, let me clean this up, okay?"
Rodney picked up a couple of napkins from the counter that the bartender had put there after watching the scene. McKay awkwardly dabbed at the man's shirt.
"It's all right, it's not that tragic," the black-haired stranger remarked.
The scientist glanced at the man's shirt. He had only made the stains even bigger by wiping around.
"Listen, take your shirt off. I can wash it and bring it back to you," McKay said.
"Wow, that's quick! And we haven't even introduced ourselves yet."
The man pulled his shirt out of his pants and began to unbutton it. He grinned at Rodney as he did so.
"Uh... Wait a minute... That's not what I meant," McKay responded in panic.
"Don't worry about it. I just wanted to lighten up the tense situation. It seems you could use some distraction."
"By the way, I'm John. John Sheppard. And you?"
"McKay. Dr. Rodney McKay." he replied.
"Oh, a doctor! I'd love to be treated by you!" John winked at Rodney.
"Um, I'm not that kind of doctor. I have a PhD in astrophysics and a few other sciences, if you want to be specific."
"I do!" Sheppard laughed heartily.
Yes, Mr. Sheppard did indeed provide a distraction. But in a different way than Rodney would have liked. At least here in public.
"Too bad." Sheppard said, and Rodney's cheeks turned pink.
"What kind of drink was that anyway?" Rodney tried to distract John from his current state.
"A cocktail. A Bellini. Don't you know that one?" John looked surprised.
"Consisting of Prosecco and peach juice," he added.
"Does it taste good?" McKay asked skeptically.
"The cocktail is pretty sweet. But I like it sweet," Sheppard continued, smiling at Rodney. When their eyes met, a warm shiver ran through McKay.
"Oh God," Rodney thought. "Is this man flirting with me???"
The next moment, he felt the blood rush to a very specific spot on his body.
"Um, shall we sit down?" he asked, trying to get to his table in a conspicuously inconspicuous way. John watched him with amusement and followed Rodney.
"Bartender, two Bellinis, please," Sheppard called towards the bar. The bartender nodded to Sheppard.
"You just have to try it!" John smiled happily at Rodney.
Rodney still felt warm, but at least he was sitting and could hide the bulge in his pants under the table. He wouldn't be able to get up any time soon.
"So, what's a man as handsome as you doing in a bar?"
He hadn't really said that now, had he? McKay shook his head inwardly. Why was he babbling so much stupid stuff in front of this man? Sheppard had to think he was crazy!
"Well, probably the same as you. Just switching off after a busy day. I'm a pilot for one of the local airlines and you always have to be focused and can't afford to make any mistakes," he said.
"But I'm off today," he added.
"And thanks for the compliment, by the way! Well, I mean the good-looking man and all that.....“
„I think you're pretty... cute." Sheppard grinned.
That was too much for Rodney. His head and ears were burning. John knew exactly what he was doing and McKay admitted defeat. Once he had accepted that, he loosened up and regained his eloquence. Perhaps the cocktail, which had indeed been very tasty, had also played its part. McKay's mouth was working properly again. And the situation under the table had also calmed down.
John and Rodney talked about God and the world. About McKay's scientific work, John asked many questions and listened attentively to Rodney's explanations, but Sheppard also had some interesting stories to tell about his life as an aviator. Both men also noted common interests, such as spending hours watching movies or series on DVD. Batman was very popular with both of them.
Suddenly their lively conversation was interrupted by the barman asking them to pay as the bar was about to close. The time had passed so quickly and Rodney was really surprised about that. It had been really pleasant with John. McKay was a little sad that the evening was now over. So they paid and left the bar.
Out in the fresh air, the scientist abruptly felt dizzy, which reminded him that he had been drinking alcohol. He hadn't noticed it so much inside, but now the drinks were having an effect. Rodney couldn't take too much. To keep his balance, he clutched John's hips and felt his hard muscles. Rodney's knees gave way, but he was lifted up and held by two strong arms. Both men were now standing close together, looking deep into each other's eyes.
"I'd best take you home," John said quietly, his voice sounding worried and kind of serious.
"Can you walk or should I get a cab?"
"No cab. Walking will be fine. It's not far. But maybe you can give me a hand," Rodney replied tensely, still overwhelmed by the brief intimate moment they had just shared.
"Okay," John said. "Then hold on to me."
Rodney had a strange feeling as he gripped John's waist. But it was still pleasant.
The coolness of the night cleared Rodney's head again. Although he felt like he could walk on his own again, he didn't let go of John. He wanted to feel the warmth of his body a little longer, knowing that this would soon come to an end.
They covered most of the distance without speaking a word, interrupted only once by Sheppard's question about Rodney's condition.
"Here we are," McKay said suddenly. He broke away from Sheppard and turned to face him. Rodney felt a little uncomfortable at that moment, unsure of how to say goodbye to John. This day had been one of the oddest he'd ever experienced. But the evening was great!
"Thanks for a nice evening," Rodney finally said as the silence between them dragged on.
"Likewise," John responded, pulling the corners of his mouth up into a shy smile. He didn't really seem to know what to say either. Instead, he held out his hand.
"Give me your cell phone," he asked Rodney.
The scientist tilted his head, but then pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it to the pilot.
Sheppard saved his number and then tapped on Call. The next moment, his smartphone vibrated in his pocket.
"When there's another Netflix marathon of Batman movies, get in touch," John said.
He handed the smartphone back to Rodney and took a step forward and then he gave him a kiss on the cheek.
McKay stood very still. He felt John's warm, firm lips on his skin, felt the light scratching of his stubble. Oh, it had been far too long! The crickets chirped around them and the stars shone down from the clear night sky above them.
"It's almost like a movie," Rodney thought.
Then Sheppard took a step back and they came back to reality. John moved further away from Rodney, but without breaking eye contact.
"See you soon," John said, continuing to walk backwards.
"Yeah, see you soon," McKay mumbled.
John turned and walked slowly down the street. Rodney watched him for a long time until he had disappeared into the darkness. Then McKay turned around and opened the door to his house. Just as he had closed the door, there was a soft pling of his cell phone. He pulled it out of his pocket and smiled as he looked at the display. He had received a message from 'Flyboy' (the name John had saved in Rodney's mobile).
"It was really nice with you today. I haven't had such a good time in a long time," McKay read.
"Have a good night!" 😴 💤
"P.S. I hope to see you again before the next Netflix marathon." 😊
Rodney was on cloud nine! After all the crap he'd been through today, meeting John felt like winning the lottery.
As they say: all's well that ends well...