Company Men by Mahoy (Harlequin Challenge)

Title: Company Men
Author: Mahoy
Rating: PG

Spoilers: Not a damn thing
Genre: Slash, AU, Harlequin Challenge
Summary: Airplane designer John Sheppard has a new secretary who’s more than what he seems. 

Disclaimers: First fic, which means I am so far away from owning these guys it's beyond funny. Constructive criticism greatly appreciated.

John Sheppard flipped through the papers on his desk, shifting stacks distractedly before giving up and hitting the intercom.

"Marie, I can’t find the Takahashi files. Get your copy and bring it in here please?"

John stood braced against the desk for a second more before reaching for the switch again.

"And coffee. Please bring me some coffee."

A muffled crash sounded from the anteroom followed by muted curses, and John nervously watched the door as it shuddered under the weight of something falling against it, rattling the doorknob. He eyed the phone, and seriously considered calling security when the door finally burst open and sent the man standing behind it stumbling into the room.

Hopping briefly to regain his footing, the man strode across the floor juggling a thick manila file and a cup of coffee that sloshed over the edge of the mug with every step.

"Marie quit; she hired me as a replacement and made me swear not to tell you where she’s relocated to. Her filing system’s abysmal, so it was obviously way past the time for her to leave," the man said as he slapped the file down in front of John. "There’s the file, sign the first page and then … uh … there’s some more pages to be signed somewhere in the stack; they’re all marked with a big red ‘x’ so they should be too difficult for you to spot. Of course your scientists’ conclusions about the fuel rate are entirely wrong and I really think you need to reconsider this brand of coffee; it sucks."

John gaped, "I’m sorry. Who the hell are you and do you even know how to breathe?"

"Oh sorry, I’m D-, er, McKay, Rodney McKay," the man said.

The silence was deafening.

"I’m your new assistant."

The men continued to stare at one another until McKay’s chin lifted fractionally and his lips thinned in annoyance.

"Was there anything else?" McKay asked.

"Yes. Coffee?" John replied.

"Oh god, yes," McKay said as he tipped the mug back and downed half the cup before freezing to stare at John from behind the rim. "You meant for you didn’t you."

"Yes, but you look like you need it more than I do," John smiled briefly as a muffled "Shit" reverberated from the depths of the mug.

"Uh, sorry," McKay flapped his empty hand toward the anteroom, "I can get you another cup in just a second; I was brewing the third pot when you called."

"You’ve had two pots of coffee this morning? That explains so much," John muttered to himself as he stood from behind the desk. As McKay opened his mouth, John waved him off, "Look, I have a lunch appointment anyway; I’ll just grab something at the restaurant."

As he walked around the desk, the man in front of him practically vibrated with tension. John stuck out his hand, "Welcome to Pegasus Aerodynamics Mr. McKay. I’m sure we’ll get along famously, although I would suggest you switch to decaf."

"It’s D-, er, never mind," as he returned the man’s grip.

John smiled slightly before he turned toward the door, "I’ll be back around two Mr. McKay. Please make sure you straighten up in here and file the Takahashi papers." He stopped at the door and turned to McKay with a smile. "If you don’t like the current filing system, feel free to create your own."

John grinned outright at the loud snort that followed him down the hall.

************ 

John returned to his office later that afternoon to find his desk covered in paper. He took off his suit jacket, throwing it over a chair as he leaned over to look at the prospectus, specs and blueprints littering his desk. As he flipped through the pages of a proposal, John heard a hesitant step behind him.

"Ah, Mr. McKay," John began without looking up. "Do I want to know what this is and why it’s in my office?"

There was a muffled cough before the deluge erupted. "OK, right, well you see, this has to do with … OK look, you design airplanes, right?" At John’s eye roll, McKay waved his hands expansively. "Right, obviously, but look at this. You’ve had your scientists working on a fuel cell that’s supposed to increase efficiency by a factor of 10."

John nodded, waving at him to continue.

"It’s not going to work."

John sat up. "What do you mean, it’s not going to work."

"Just what I said," McKay snapped as he pawed through the papers as he looked for specifics. "Look, I’ve been working on a prototype cell that will increase efficiency by a factor of eight as well as be self-sustaining." He shoved a handful of papers at John. "I just need you to look at this."

John huffed out a disbelieving laugh. "A self-sustaining fuel cell? That’s impossible."

"Of course you might think that, but you’d be wrong," McKay said fervently.

"OK, who the hell are you and why should I be listening to this?" John asked.

McKay stared briefly before he spat, "Rodney McKay, my name is Dr. Rodney McKay. Look, I’ve been trying to meet with you for months to discuss my proposals but they’ve been turned down flat by your science team; Kavanaugh has had it out for me ever since I beat him for the adjunct chair at MIT 10 years ago. I just liquidated all my assets, which admittedly weren’t very much, but there were enough for me to bribe your secretary to leave town just long enough for me to get in here and at try to get you to look at my work."

Silence descended as John walked back around to his chair and slowly picked up his coat with a glanced at his watch. "Look, I’m supposed to be at the airport in and hour and a half --"

McKay’s mouth tightened and a corner drooped precipitously as he glanced down at the papers in his hands. "Right, fine, I understand you’re busy." The man stalked over to the desk, sweeping up the papers into messy piles.

"McKay, Dr. McKay … RODNEY!" John huffed a laugh. "I’m flying to San Diego for a meeting and it’s a long flight," he said. "I’m probably going to stay overnight, so let me drive you to your place so you can pick up a change of clothes, then I promise you can have the whole flight to persuade me to fire my research staff."

Rodney continued to straighten the desk as he considered the offer.

"Well, not the entire staff; I’ve worked with Dr. Zelenka and he’s not entirely stupid and I’m sure not everyone in your employ is an idiot," he sniffed and then shot John a look. "But then again, I could be wrong."

************

The pair made a quick stop at Rodney's shabby apartment and John stayed in the car while the scientist grabbed clothes his kit bag and made sure the cat had enough food and water for the night.

Once the LearJet 60 left Vancouver airspace, Rodney wasted no time in spreading out; papers carpeted the floor and hung from the back of every seat as he explained to John his theories. And John listened -- up to a point.

Eventually, John sat back and just watched Rodney's face as he talked; eyes shining with enthusiasm and voice rising and falling with emotion as he talked; hands waving in the air to sketch obscure symbols or to punctuate a point.

After two hours of scientific theory that went quite a bit beyond John’s expertise, he raised his fingers to Rodney’s mouth.

"OK Rodney, I’ve got it," he said with a smile at the other man’s stunned expression. "You’ve sold me on the process; what do you need."

"You," Rodney blurted. He flushed bright red, then frantically looked around the cabin to avoid the other man’s gaze while touching his lips where John had touched him. At John’s raised eyebrows, Rodney continued. "I mean Pegasus Aerodynamics is known for its cutting-edge designs and you haven’t shied away from controversial theories, at least you didn’t before you allowed Kavanaugh free reign in your labs. Look, I’m looking for an opportunity here. Give me time and a little leeway and I’ll make you the richest man in the world."

"I’m already rich, Rodney," John said with a mocking grin, then leaned back with a feigned sigh. "But it’s always nice to be financially stable."

Rodney leaned forward intently, "I’ll make you so stable the San Andreas Fault couldn’t crack you."

John laughed and touched the slightly dazed man lightly on the arm. "Let’s finalize this over dinner; I know a great place with a view of the city."

************

Once Rodney knew he had the job, he relaxed enough to enjoy the meal at Mille Fluer and the pair spent the evening talking about their childhoods, college life and what had led them to a probably overpriced French restaurant on the Pacific coast. John talked about leaving the Air Force after a tour in Afghanistan and Rodney talked around top secret government contracts and dealing with professional jealousy.

He was still talking when John opened the door to the suite he’d reserved at the Four Seasons Aviara.

"–understandable that they hated me; I made them look like the incompetent morons they are ..." he spun in place, looking around the suite before coming to a halt in front of John. "Hi, um, where’m I sleeping?"

John stood there for a moment before throwing his keys on the console and stepping into Rodney’s personal space.

"Would it be too forward of me if I suggested my bed?"

Rodney’s mouth hung open, which really wasn’t a good look for him, then shut with an emphatic snap of teeth. "I’m not really that easy," he ground out. "I usually like to know the person just a little more than 15 hours, and oh, I don’t know, actually be wooed a little in the process."

John rolled his neck back and glanced heavenward before stepping even closer to the angry scientist. "Rodney, you do realize that I didn’t actually have a meeting here; I made it up specifically to get you on the plane so we’d have that time, as you so quaintly put it, to get to know each other and go over your work, which is brilliant by the way. Then, of course, there was the $500 meal we just shared, although I’m not sure you even tasted the escargot you were throwing down your gullet."

"I ate snails?" Rodney asked incredulously before he shook his head and resumed glaring at John. "That’s irrelevant!" he sputtered. "You don’t even know me."

"You think so?" asked John as he wrapped his hands around Rodney’s biceps. He leaned forward, brushing their cheeks together as he placed his lips near Rodney’s ear.

"I’ve followed your career for years, Rodney," John whispered. The other man shuddered at the warmth and the brief touch of lips to his sensitive lobes. "I know everything about you. The good, the bad ... hell, probably some of the stuff you don’t even remember.

"I saw you once, you know; at a physics conference. You headed a panel on constraining cosmological parameters by the cosmic inversion method. God, I didn’t understand half of what you said, but there was just something about you! Twenty minutes into the talk and half the audience was howling for your head," John laughed softly at the memory. "You just sat there, so sure, so smug in your beliefs as if to dare anyone, including God himself, to disagree with you."

John drew back slightly to ghost his hands over Rodney’s face, his thumbs gently stroking his cheekbones.

"Rodney, I’ve been half in love with you for years," he said hoarsely. "I’ve been putting together a job package to try and lure you to Pegasus; to me. You almost gave me a heart attack this morning when you stormed my office, but if you hadn’t shown up today, you would have eventually seen me storming through your door within six months."

Through it all, Rodney had stared at John slackjawed; eyes narrowed as he listened to John’s explanation.

Suddenly, his face softened with wonder as he saw the truth in John’s eyes. “Oh hell, I really am that easy,” he muttered as he lunged at John, one hand shoved into the other man’s ridiculous hair, the other pressed insistently against John’s cock.

John grunted as they toppled onto a couch, and Rodney immediately leaned up to slam their lips together. Their first kiss immediately gentled into a soft exploration of mouths, teeth and tongues as Rodney sighed deep in his throat before slipping down to mouth at John’s jaw and neck.

“Oh god, I’ll double your salary,” John groaned as Rodney continued his exploration with both hands and lips.

“I already took the job, John; you don’t have to butter me up. Trust me, you’re going to get lucky here,” came Rodney’s muffled reply.

“Don’t care; I’m still gonna double your salary – you’re totally worth it,” John said, eyes closed and head thrown back. “We’re gonna set the world on fire Rodney."

The squirming body froze as Rodney’s head popped back up to look John in the face. “OK, wait – you are speaking metaphorically, right?"

John tightened his grip around his surly scientist/secretary, bit him gently on the chin and laughed.