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"Rodney, John, would you come to my office for a moment?"
Rodney met John in the hall on the way to Sam's office.
"Word on the street is that now that the Stargate program has finally been declassified, I'll finally get my due. Cover shot," he said, moving his hands to underline each word.
"You seem very happy," John said, sounding almost surprised.
"Of course I'm happy. It's about time my genius was finally recognized by the world at large. I'm actually surprised it's happened so quickly. I've only published a very condensed preliminary text for now, and it's not as if anyone on Earth would be able to understand it without many years' worth of theoretical background that has never been made available before."
"You're talking about astrophysics," John said carefully.
Rodney stopped for a second and gave him a look. John was really being dense today. He shook his head and walked on.
"Of course I'm talking about astrophysics. We've worked wonders in engineering, chemistry, and just about anything imaginable, of course, but that is what will change the way the world looks at...itself."
John looked away and didn't say anything more. Rodney frowned. It wasn't like John to be jealous of such a thing.
"Ah, Rodney, John, there you are," Sam said, pointing at the chairs.
They sat down.
"So which is it?" Rodney asked brightly. "Time Magazine Man of the Year? Although they might as well make it Man of the Century."
"It's actually 'Person of the Year' now," John said helpfully.
Sam looked at him, then at Rodney, then back at John. "He doesn't know yet?"
"Nope," John said.
"Doesn't know what?" Rodney said, the smile slipping from his face.
"There have been numerous requests for interviews, of course. The publicity department is going through them all and will send us a list with suggestions on what to accept. This however they felt was best discussed with you two directly."
Rodney looked over at John as if wondering who could possibly want both him and John on a cover. John glared at him. "Why, thank you very much, Rodney."
"It's not that. I just assumed they'd want you for something like Air Force Weekly. Oh, do they have military magazines with centerfolds?"
"I'm not sure if I should be flattered or insulted," John said dryly.
"Think of it, you'd hang in the locker of every pilot, gay or straight," Rodney said with a grin.
John grinned back.
"Which brings us back to the subject at hand," Sam interjected.
Rodney turned to her.
"The magazine that has requested a cover story with both of you is The Advocate," she told him.
"It's a gay and lesb—" John began to explain.
"I know what it is," Rodney said, mouth forming a thin line.
"When they heard that two of our top officers were married, they were very interested in hearing your story," she continued.
"Because obviously my biggest achievement while on Atlantis was bagging him," Rodney said acidly, pointing his thumb at John. Then he softened and turned to him. "I didn't mean—"
"I know," John immediately said. Rodney quickly patted his hand for a second.
"I'm sure there will be scientific journals that would be happy to interview you about your work on Atlantis. This is, of course, a private matter. And you obviously don't have to do it. Just think about it," she said.
Rodney looked at the floor, the corners of his mouth turning downward.
"We don't have to give them an answer immediately, do we?" John asked Sam.
"No, take your time," she said with a look at Rodney.
John got up and nodded. "Rodney?"
Rodney looked up.
"We can go now."
"Yes." Rodney nodded and got up as well. "Sam."
She nodded at them and they left.
"It's not that I mind," Rodney said outside.
"It's okay, Rodney. You don't have to explain."
"But I want to explain. I'm not ashamed of you."
John snorted. "I would hope not."
"It just...it shouldn't be a big deal. I don't see anyone asking Keller to be on the cover of a magazine because she's with Ronon."
"Well—"
"Yes, of course, there'll be yellow press about all of us, but that's not what I meant."
"I understand, Rodney. We don't have to do it," John said quietly.
"You want to," Rodney said.
John stopped walking and so did Rodney. They looked at each other for a long moment.
"Yeah, I want to," John confirmed.
"Okay, then we'll do it."
"Rodney, I want you to be okay with this."
"I just don't understand. You've saved this galaxy more than once. You've changed worlds. And now you're going to answer questions about what it was you first noticed about me and how you felt when Don't Ask Don't Tell was repealed."
"That changed my world."
"Oh God, is that what you're going to tell them? That it was the happiest day of your life when you could finally ask me out to dinner and stay the night instead of stealing into my room for a quickie?"
"This isn't about the galaxy. I know that you're proud of your work and you should be, but the end of Don't Ask Don't Tell matters to me. It matters a lot and not just because I can be with the person I love and not have to lie about it and hide it, but because others can as well. I'm proud that the SGC paved the way for the Air Force as well as the other branches of the military. And I'm proud that we might have played a role in that, however small."
Rodney nodded. John smiled.
"Of course, the real reason you started your little campaign was so that we could requisition bigger beds," Rodney said.
John laughed. "Don't tell me it wasn't worth it."
"No, it really was," Rodney said dreamily.
"So, I'll tell Sam we're okay with it?"
"Yes, dear," Rodney said with a sigh.
John looked up and down the hall, gave Rodney a quick kiss, and started walking back to Sam's office.
"I reserve the right to ask for sexual favors in return," Rodney called after him.
John stopped and turned around. "You don't really need to. You've covered that pretty well in our vows, haven't you?"
"I say there can never be enough sexual favors," Rodney said, grinning.
John waggled his eyebrows and walked on. Then he turned around again and said, "And for the record, it was your hands, your eyes, and once you turned around, your ass," before continuing on to Sam's office and leaving a smiling Rodney standing in the hall.