by Taylor Dancinghands
Betas: Thanx to Scifinut and Ankhmutes for encouragement and lending some extra pairs of eyeballs for error spotting.
In addition, for this story I have had the invaluable assitance of Dinofly as a Czech language consultant. It's been fascinating and educational and I am one really grateful SGA fan author.
(And English translations for Radek's Czech dialogue can be found at the end of the story.)
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em, never will, not claiming to. Just wanna play with 'em a little. Can't I, can't I, huh?
I. Rodney Addresses Atlantis: Atlantis Listens
"Okay, ahh... Atlantis?" It was a quarter till two in the morning and Rodney was alone in his locked office, but he still caught himself looking over his shoulder to make sure no one was seeing him apparently addressing the air. No one but Atlantis.
"Here, um, here's the thing. I agree with Radek, in principal. About this 'relationship' thing. I do. But there's certain... realities to contend with, what with me being... well, me and you, ahh... being... you."
Since becoming the carrier, a couple of months ago, for untold numbers of nanocites created by Atlantis for the purpose of communicating with non-ATA gene carrying humans, Radek Zelenka had come to have some feelings for the AI he had become so intimately connected with. Rodney understood that, and Radek had made it more than clear that his feelings for Rodney hadn't changed. For a wonder, Rodney had no doubts about this either, in spite of how prone to insecurity he was. Recent events had irrefutably proven, even to him, the depth of Radek's feelings for him, and his for the Czech scientist.
"I want you to know that I would never try to come between the two of you. That... that would just be stupid, and if there's one thing I'm not... well you know that. It's just... the thing is... the thing you have to be clear on... is... well... I had him first. I mean, I know that sounds childish, and maybe it is... probably is, but my point here is that he's... he's everything to me. And you... you probably could take him away from me... not that you would, I hope, but if you did? That... that'd just about destroy me."
Rodney swallowed as he paced the confines of his office, reminding himself, as Radek had repeatedly, that Radek wouldn't let her do any such thing, and that she wouldn't anyhow because she needed Rodney, almost as much as she needed Radek, and she needed him not to be broken. It all made sense, but the problem remained; Rodney didn't quite trust Atlantis and Atlantis, if Radek was to be believed (and he likely was), was just a little afraid of Rodney.
"This must be remedied," Radek had insisted. "You are both too important to me to go on distrusting each other so. This relationship cannot be merely between you and I and Atlantis and I; it must be between all three of us. It must be between you and Atlantis as well, or it is inherently unstable."
Rodney did agree with Radek in principal, but he didn't quite know how to get past the hurdles that stood between this principal and reality. Determined to give it his best effort, though, Rodney had asked himself what he would have done if this had been another, regular person that Radek had brought into the relationship. The obvious answer was that he would go seek that third person out in private, have a little heart to heart and try to find some common ground. It wasn't the kind of thing that Rodney was likely to do well under normal circumstances, and here he was trying to do that with an artificially intelligent city, for god's sake, and who couldn't talk back, either. Not in so many words, anyway. Still, he was determined to give it the old college try.
"I suppose the reason I have a hard time trusting you is that I don't know you that well. I suppose I should, seeing as I've lived with you for nearly three years now, but naturally I've only gotten to know you as a city and not as a person." Rodney had to grin at the sheer surreality of it. My boyfriend wants me to join in a kinky threesome with an artificially intelligent, ancient alien city. Beats the hell out of 'I was Bigfoot's love slave.'
"The one thing I can say I know about you is that you make Radek happy. That does count for an awful lot with me and I appreciate that. And I'm definitely grateful that you turned out to be someone that Radek can deal with, because the way he took on those nanocites... well, you could have been anybody; it could have been really bad, but it turned out okay because you turned out to be okay. So that's... something."
Uncomfortably wishing for some focus to his dialogue, Rodney turned to where he knew the AV pickup in his office was. He'd had to locate it using the city schematics data base, and he'd have never found it otherwise. He couldn't really see it now; he just knew where it was, in the corner, above and behind his desk, situated so that when he was working there Atlantis would be looking over his shoulder. Radek told him that Atlantis was always listening, always watching, and most of the time Rodney found that kind of creepy, though there were also moments that he found it comforting. It could be said, for instance, that Radek Zelenka could not possibly be safer anywhere in two galaxies than he was right here, Wraith and all notwithstanding.
"I guess another thing would be that I know you're always looking out for him, and that... that means a lot too. I mean, we both know that he could end up getting in all kinds of trouble right here, already has, and knowing that you'd be looking out for him, wherever he was, any time of the day or night, well, it's really good to know that."
Rodney made himself look away from the corner of the ceiling and began to pace again. "And you do know that he'll always take care of you, right?" Rodney continued. "Honestly, I'd say you got lucky too, with Radek, because there really isn't anybody else with the high-end skill set that you need, here or anywhere on earth. ATA gene aside, you're still probably better off with him than you would be with me, even. I mean, I may be a few IQ points ahead of Radek, but he has an understanding of systems like yours that... well frankly that I envy... a little." For a moment he considered asking her not to tell Radek that he'd said that, but he wasn't sure that there was any point to making such a request, and besides, Radek almost certainly knew anyhow.
"I suppose that in a conversation with a normal person -if there's anything normal about a three way relationship to start with- this would be the place where you'd say that you knew how important I am to Radek, and how glad you are that I'm with him and how happy I make him... I hope that's how you feel anyway, but of course I don't have a clue. At the very least, if you trust Radek -and you should, I mean you really can trust him, with anything- and you see that he trusts me -which he does, and that's not something that I take lightly- then maybe you can see your way clear to trusting me? I... I don't know if that's enough to go on or not. I hope it is."
And if it was not? Radek was right; if Rodney and Atlantis could not come to terms with one another then neither one of their relationships with him would run smoothly and Radek would be the first one hurt. Surely Atlantis had worked that out as well? Surely she must be just as motivated as Rodney to complete this circle, to make a leap of faith of her own. Drawing a deep breath, Rodney prepared to take his leap.
"As for me... well, I've never known anyone remotely like you before -though I suppose that should go without saying- but that doesn't mean I've never wondered... about meeting someone some day, with a mind like yours. You could even say it's a dream come true, of a sort. That's one of the reasons I'd really like to get to know you better; I think you're probably really fascinating to get to know, and Radek certainly thinks so."
Radek had tried, very carefully, not to do anything that would aggravate Rodney's insecurities, but the light in his eyes that he could not hide whenever he spoke of Atlantis piqued Rodney's curiosity as well as a little jealousy. Rodney knew he could ignore the jealousy for now, but curiosity was one of the driving motivations in his life. If there were no other reasons for Rodney to seek to know Atlantis better, that one alone would suffice.
"Besides that... well... after all the time I've spent here, I've come to think of you as... well, as home. I don't know if you can really understand what that means... to someone like me. See, I've never really had a place I thought of as home before, not since I was a real little kid anyhow. But I've lived a lot of places and none of them has ever come to seem, or feel, like a home to me... till I came here. I never knew what it was to have a home before, or how important a home is, once you have one, but I understand all that now, and you're the reason why."
Rodney drew another deep breath and then let it out, slowly, looking back up at the corner where the AV pickup supposedly was. He wished once more that there was some way he could know how his words were being taken, or even if they'd been heard, but he knew there was not, not without Radek present, anyhow. No, this whole business with Atlantis had become an exercise for Rodney in taking things on faith, and while it wasn't anything that he'd ever thought would be asked of him, he knew what was at stake, and he'd determined that it wasn't anything he couldn't handle. He was a genius, after all.
"So I guess that's everything I have to say, really, and it's getting late so I suppose I'll be off to bed. If there is anything you needed me to know, well I'll be seeing Radek in a little bit, so you could have him pass it on. I know that's a little awkward, but..." Rodney shrugged, "at least it works."
He stepped behind his desk to power down his laptop, unplugging it and folding it shut to tuck under his arm as he headed out, lights winking off behind him in the labs as he went. Later, when he next came to check his e-mail, Rodney would find a message from an in-system sender that he'd never placed in the system, sent at approximately 2:12 am. The message, coming from a sender named 'Atlantis' would contain only a picture, captured by an AV pickup in the infirmary a couple of months ago, of Radek, sleeping in Rodney's arms. The expression on Rodney's face was revealing, a little too revealing for Rodney's comfort, but he would get the message nonetheless. Atlantis had indeed heard, and she had understood.
II. Atlantis Shares With Radek: Radek Shares Back
"Ahá!" Radek exclaimed, stabbing at the screen of his laptop with an accusing finger, "Tady se ta mrška schovala!"
He and Atlantis had spent days trying to track down the reason for a series of maddeningly intermittent power fluctuations that had caused one of Atlantis' desalinization tanks to burn out three diodes in as many weeks, and now, at last, he had found the culprit. Radek directed the city's attention to the faulty power coupling he'd found, probably cracked and contaminated with sea water, as were many of the systems in that portion of the southeast pier. It was no wonder that Atlantis' own internal diagnostics hadn't located it. For now, she could route power around the unreliable coupling and tomorrow Radek would send a repair crew to replace it.
Radek smiled to feel Atlantis' relief at knowing that the mystery was solved and problem fixed. The burned out diodes had registered as a chronic low level fire alert for Atlantis and it had been making her anxious, but now, at last, the source of her anxieties had been eliminated... for the most part. It was really only a tiny bit of anxiety that swept through Atlantis as she brought him the image of Rodney walking down a corridor, on his way home to where Radek now waited. She did not understand the passion that ran between the two men. It made her uneasy and Radek knew that she believed Rodney to be the cause of it.
Little by little, Radek had been showing her how much of that passion was his as well, but he'd been cautious, for the Ancient city was unfamiliar with these powerful, new human emotions and they frightened her a bit. Still, she was coming to understand how important Rodney was to Radek, and had always known, Radek was surprised to discover, how much she needed Dr. Rodney McKay, herself. Atlantis was smart enough though, Radek knew, to understand that she'd have to take these two men as they were, and learn to deal with the feelings that came with them. Over the last few weeks he'd had seen that understanding manifested as she had bravely and willingly faced each new emotional challenge he'd presented her with, and come away from each with better understanding.
Yesterday, however, he had issued a challenge to Rodney. "She is shy," he had explained, "and for obvious reasons, reaching out is difficult for her. It is you who must now reach out to her, Rodney." The physicist had rolled his eyes and whined about it, naturally, but Radek knew that his lover understood what was at stake, and would do what was needed.
Evidently he had, for now Atlantis was sending Radek images from a few minutes ago, of Rodney in his office, pacing, gesturing, speaking. "On už s tebou mluvil?" he asked.
The answer came in more images and short segments of sound (all in chronological order), with Atlantis' feelings accompanying them like a wordless narrator. Here, at the beginning, was Rodney looking nervous and Atlantis realizing that he was just as anxious about her as she was about him. Next, Rodney is confessing, "...I had him first..." frightened and yet somehow defiant as well, and while Atlantis had been troubled by his possessiveness, she was also touched by the fearlessness of his honesty.
She'd been gratified to hear him speak of trust, "...that you'd be looking out for him... really good to know that..." and Radek saw that she had come to understand, for the first time, how much she and Rodney had in common in their feelings for him. When Rodney had spoken, so uncertainly, of his hopes, "...maybe you can see your way clear to trusting me?" her heart had gone out to him, knowing how much she had longed for his trust.
What Rodney had said at the last, though, had moved her the most. "I've come to think of you... as home. I don't know if you can really understand what that means..." And who better to understand such a thing than a living city? Radek and Atlantis both shared this thought with affection for Rodney's occasional cluelessness, but Atlantis wanted Rodney to know that she did understand, and that it meant a lot to her.
Rejoicing at Atlantis' growing affection for his lover, Radek promised her that he would tell Rodney, as soon as he came home. For his part, Radek's own heart was filled with still greater affection at seeing how Rodney had gone well outside his comfort zone to reach out to the city. Feeling encouraged and adventurous, Radek decided to share with Atlantis his thoughts on just how he desired to express those feelings with Rodney when he came home this evening. Of all the new emotions Atlantis had encountered since establishing her nanocite interface with Radek, lust and desire were the most alien. She was, however, gradually becoming more familiar with them, and even beginning to comprehend the pleasure that the fulfillment of those feelings could bring.
Pleasure itself was something about which Atlantis had only the most cursory understanding. The nearest thing to pleasure that Radek had found in Atlantis' memories were more about the cessation of distress or pain, like when they'd finally reinstalled a working ZPM into her power systems two years ago. Mind you, the experience of sharing that memory with Atlantis had been an intensely pleasurable one for Radek, though he was confused as to why. He suspected that this was very much the way that Atlantis felt about his memories of making love to Rodney.
Still, she was daring; Radek often marveled at how much so, and now she dared again. Catching at Radek's desirous anticipation of Rodney's return, she made her curiosity known, sending him another image and an inquiry. This is what you anticipate/take joy in? The image/memory was from the monitor in their bedroom, a week or so ago, and the focus was on him, head tossing, grimacing with ecstasy as he arched his back and lifted his hips up, thrusting his cock into the delicious wet heat of Rodney's mouth.
She was really beginning to get it, Radek thought with pride. She understood that Rodney gave him pleasure, understood, at last, the joy in accepting it, but she did not yet comprehend the joy of giving pleasure. "Ano, milá," he said, sharing his pride with Atlantis and he felt her joy in it, but then he challenged her further, suggesting with proportional data how much she had learned, yet how much more there was for her to learn. She was not daunted by this, as Radek had known she would not be, but answered his challenge bravely with further curiosity: show me more.
Radek was only too happy to oblige her. "Tady," he said, bringing her a memory from earlier in the same evening which she had just shown him. The focus of his memory was on Rodney, and his own joy at the pleasure he was bringing to his lover. Yes, there had been pleasure in the sensation of Rodney's cock thrusting rhythmically into his ass, but more pleasure still was to be had in seeing Rodney's face contort with ecstasy, his mouth falling open as climax took him, and in hearing his voice break into falsetto cries as he came, feeling his body going rigid with bliss and his hot spending deep within him. There was a special joy to knowing that he had brought all this upon his lover, and this was what he shared with Atlantis now.
Poor Rodney, when he stepped though the door just then, naturally had no idea of the nature of the conversation Radek had been having with Atlantis, and no idea what was coming as Radek rose to greet him, grabbed him and pressed him into the wall to kiss him with unexpected passion. He caught on quick enough, but his look was still a bit dazed and surprised when Radek finally released him.
"I, ah... kinda thought you'd be in bed by now?" he stammered.
"We were determined to find cause of burned out diodes in the desalinization tanks for once and for all," Radek explained with a laugh, "and we did! But just as we are finishing with this Atlantis tells me that you have... had a little talk?"
"Well I talked," Rodney said, carelessly dropping his laptop on the dining table and hanging his jacket over the back of a chair. "I have no idea how much sense Atlantis made of it, or if she was even listening."
"She was," Radek promised, kissing Rodney briefly once again and leading him over to the sofa to sit beside him. "And you have helped her to understand many things."
"It was supposed to be a private conversation," Rodney commented, still clearly uneasy with the new dynamic Radek was trying to create.
"She would not betray a confidence, Rodney," Radek chided. "She has merely shared feelings, and wished me to pass on to you two things. She wants you to know that she does trust you, and also that she understands what it means that you think of her as a home. That means a great deal to her, miláčku, and you have touched her very deeply by saying so."
"Oh," said Rodney, a little undone. Radek drew him close and kissed him some more, until he finally relaxed into Radek's arms.
"You have touched me as well," Radek said when he finally brought the kiss to a close, "for I know that what I have asked you to do is not easy for you. If you are not too tired, perhaps you will let me show you just how pleased I am?"
The joy he felt surge in his heart as he saw the broad, lustful smile form on Rodney's face, Radek shared with Atlantis -another example of what he had been showing her earlier. Inspired by the moment, Radek felt the first glimmering of understanding in the city. Although she usually retreated when Radek and Rodney became intimate, tonight Radek felt Atlantis' curiosity overcome her natural reticence. She wanted to stay and watch, to understand better, and Radek gave his permission. Of course, there was someone else who, by rights, ought to have a chance to give his permission as well, and this would have to be handled carefully, but Radek knew it was bound to come up, sooner or later anyhow.
"You know, Rodney," he said, running his fingers through his lover's short, feathered hair, "you really have succeeded in setting Atlantis much more at ease about you, and about our relationship."
Rodney smiled at this praise and leaned into Radek, turning his head to nuzzle at the base of Radek's jaw, but Radek continued undaunted. "She becomes more and more accustomed to us every day, which is quite wonderful, but now, of course... she is curious, you know?"
Rodney sat back suddenly, looking up at Radek with dismay. "Oh, I knew it would come to this!" he cried. "I just knew it. You're turning her into a pervert!"
Radek was unable to prevent himself from bursting out laughing. Already he could see that Rodney had no serious objections, though he'd make noise about it as he did everything. "You had better hope that I succeed, Rodney," he said, "otherwise she would have nothing to do with us."
Rodney looked at him narrowly and then relented. "You may have a point," he said with a frown. "We're queer and we're geeks and now we're trying to engineer a threesome with a computer."
"One step at a time, milacku," Radek said with an affectionate smile. "Tonight she only wishes to observe."
"Oh, and that's not kinky... or disturbing to contemplate." Rodney snarked.
"If it makes you too uncomfortable, then she will not," Radek assured him. "Is why we are asking."
Hesitantly, Rodney settled back against Radek's side, letting his hands wander absently over his thighs. "Well I suppose I might as well get used to it," Rodney said at last with a sigh. "She could be watching any time, anywhere, as it is; I'll just have to learn not to think about it."
"Hmmm," said Radek, nuzzling just under Rodney's ear and beginning to nibble there, "I am certain I can provide some distraction, yes?" As if to prove his point, Radek reached up and found (with unerring skill) Rodney's left nipple, through his shirt, and pinched it. Rodney whimpered into his shoulder and murmured his acquiescence.
Feeling Atlantis' presence at the back of his mind wasn't nearly as distracting (in a less pleasant way) as Radek had feared. In fact, her fascination had increased as the evening (or morning, rather) progressed, and she was so engaged by the end that Radek felt her anticipating Rodney's climax nearly as much as he was. It was, surprisingly, kind of a turn on.
Later, lying in a tangled pile of sated scientists' limbs, Radek smiled at Atlantis' giddiness and astonishment. The moment when one first discovers sex is a significant one in anyone's life, no matter who or what you are, and how long it takes to get there. It had taken over ten thousands years for that moment to come to Atlantis, and Radek Zelenka felt privileged beyond words to have been there to share it with her.
III. Radek Makes a Request of Rodney: Rodney... Eventually Comes Around
Rodney was desperately distracted all the next day. He'd known, of course, that Atlantis was inevitably going to become more integrated into their relationship; he'd known that she'd eventually be drawn, somehow, into their intimate life, and he'd tried to prepare himself for it. There was no way in hell, though, that he could ever have prepared himself for the myriad of complicated and powerful feelings last night's lovemaking had invoked.
He'd learned from his own unhappy experience with Atlantis' nanocites that the city's AI made her presence known at some times more than others, and he knew from what Radek had told him that Atlantis had been tending to retreat whenever he and Radek got frisky. Rodney had known that things would never stay that way, though, even before Radek had told him that Atlantis was finally becoming 'curious'. He'd already drawn the conclusion that the day was not far that Atlantis would want to take a closer look at what he and Radek did in bed (and on the sofa, and occasionally, in the small hours of the morning, in the lab), and he supposed he should feel grateful that she'd asked.
It was the 'ick' factor that he'd assumed would be the most difficult thing to overcome. He'd thought it would be like having his kid sister watch, or his parents, but it wasn't anything like that at all. Of course, Atlantis wasn't anything like his little sister (as smart as she was), or (thank god) his parents, and he might have guessed that but he just didn't have any frame of reference for anything else. He'd hardly had much experience with one lover in his life, and never two.
He couldn't possibly have imagined how Atlantis would feel like a third lover in the bed with himself and Radek last night. It had dawned on him, suddenly and very forcefully, moments before his climax, as Radek had been fucking him, deliberately slowly, and stroking his cock in the same leisurely rhythm, murmuring little encouragement's in a mixture of English and Czech (some of which Rodney had learned the meaning of by now). Drifting in a haze of steadily building ecstasy, Radek's words worked their way, little by little, into his awareness.
"See, how beautiful," Rodney had heard him say. "So beautiful. Will you come for us Rodney? Ano, yes! Come for us! Come for us, prosím, teď"
And he had, instantly, incredibly, because... us? Oh my god, that had been hot.
That was one discovery Rodney could never have prepared himself for, and it raised a host of new questions. Did Radek find this as much of a turn on as he did? That seemed likely. Did Radek know how much it turned Rodney on? He hadn't said as much, but he had a feeling that Radek might have worked it out for himself -he was smart that way. There was one slightly more troubling question among those, however, and that was the matter of just how far they were going to go with this. It wasn't like Rodney had any moral objections, and any possibility of him finding this pursuit in any way distasteful had pretty much been eradicated now, but there was still, in Rodney's mind, a question of safety -Radek's safety.
Rodney knew that Atlantis' nanocites could potentially interact with any part of Radek's brain, but that she evidently chose not to have them do so most of the time. In theory, Rodney considered, Atlantis could feel, see, hear or touch anything Radek did, even if she only ever interacted with him passively, but what if she was capable of more? Could Atlantis actually take control of Radek, as the Wraith had done with Teyla, or Cadman had done with him? Was it her choice alone, or perhaps her fondness for the two of them, that prevented her from doing so? Rodney realized with a sigh, that it was going to come down to trust again, and he knew just what Radek would have to say about it.
"It isn't that I don't trust her!" Rodney found himself insisting, later that evening, just as he'd figured he would. "You're right, we have been over that before. I just need you to hear me out."
The long look that passed between the two scientists served, Rodney hoped, to remind Radek that trust was a two way street. He subsided at any rate, sitting back on the sofa and waving at Rodney to continue.
"It's the experience I had with Cadman that I'm thinking about here, Radek," Rodney obliged him, "and no, I'm not talking about how she got into my head, I'm talking about what she did once she got there. It wasn't until that idiot Heightmeyer talked me into relaxing and letting Cadman 'out' that she realized she even had the ability to... to take control like that. And I'm telling you Radek, that's an experience I'd really just as soon you didn't have to endure."
Radek sighed, his expression softening. "I had forgotten about what happened with Cadman," he said, "which, I confess, I really should not have."
"Honestly," replied Rodney with a smile, "having Atlantis in my head -when she was behaving herself- was a lot easier to take than having Cadman there. All I'm saying is that every time you push the envelope with Atlantis, you're going to end up opening doors, maybe some that neither of you intended to open. I just don't want you to get hurt, either one of you."
Drawing a deep breath, Rodney realized with gratitude that he had succeeded in digging himself out, for Radek had relaxed back into the sofa and was beckoning him to join him there, a slightly sheepish smile on his lips.
"Atlantis wishes you to know that she thinks that it was a perfectly reasonable concern, given your history with her," Radek explained with an apologetic shrug. "We also want you to understand that Atlantis isn't really capable of taking me over, as Cadman did with you. This is because the systems of a human body are really just as complicated as Atlantis' systems, but she has no idea how to operate them. It would be like you or I using our brain to do what the computer chips in a modern automobile do. Our brains are much more sophisticated than those processors, but still we would have no idea of how to actually operate car engine."
"Huh." Rodney considered this, saw how it made sense and nodded his comprehension as he settled in at Radek's side. "Okay, that's good to know. Thanks." He sat forward for a moment to allow Radek to slip his arm behind Rodney, wrap it around his waist and snug him in close. He relaxed into Radek's wiry strength as he was pulled into a kiss, and surrendered to it happily.
Rodney could have gone on in that manner for hours, but Radek drew back after a few moments and said, "You have not eaten diner yet, have you?"
"Well, no," said Rodney, perplexed and disappointed, "but how did that come up all of a sudden?"
"A gift from Atlantis," Radek said, his look and unenthusiastic tone clearly communicating that it was an entirely unasked for gift, "I can taste when your blood sugar is low now."
"That's it," muttered Rodney, "I am so never kissing you again."
Radek only snorted rather loudly and rose from the sofa. "Come," he said, "I have not yet had diner either. Shall we see what MRE selections we have to hand, or shall we venture forth to dining hall?"
"There still a chicken primavera in the cupboard?" Rodney inquired as he rose, surrendering to the inevitable.
"One chicken primavera," Radek reported as he surveyed the contents of the cupboard, "and one spaghetti with meatballs."
"Spaghetti okay with you, then?" Rodney asked.
"When did you actually eat lunch?" Radek asked a little while later as he watched Rodney more or less inhale his MRE.
"Um... I'm not sure that I did," Rodney confessed as soon as he had chewed and swallowed enough of his mouthful of food that none would spill out as he talked.
"Rodney," Radek's look had grown concerned, "you only forget to eat when you are very worried."
"Not... worried, so much as... really distracted." Rodney sought to allay Radek's fears.
"By what?"
Rodney took a moment to chew and swallow the last of his diner while he thought. "Last night," he began, seeing Radek nod as though he'd expected it. "Last night... well it wasn't anything like I thought it would be." He could see questions in Radek's eyes, but he held off.
"I thought it would be weird. I thought it would feel... wrong at first, to have someone else watching, but..." Radek raised his eyebrows curiously as Rodney paused, but remained patiently waiting.
"When... when I heard you talking to her," Rodney said at last, "it somehow felt like she was really there, with us..."
"And did that feel wrong, Rodney?" Radek asked gently.
Rodney shook his head. "No. Not wrong at all. It was... oh my god Radek, it was so hot..."
There was more than a little relief in Radek's smile. "She is very pleased to hear you say so," he said, "and I myself felt much the same way, you know."
"So at least we're on the same kinky page?" Rodney murmured, relaxing a bit.
"Um," said Radek.
"Oh, don't tell me..." Rodney began, tensing back up again.
"Last night," Radek began tentatively, "she learned a great deal, watching, but tonight..."
"Oh god," Rodney said with dismay.
"Tonight she would also like to... to feel."
Rodney closed his eyes and swallowed, drawing a deep breath to still the panic that threatened at the back of his mind. This needn't be anything bad, he told himself. Last night had been undeniably terrific, and there was, indeed, a part of him that was quivering with anticipation. There was a large part of him, however, that could not help but think of what this might mean for Radek and could not help worrying.
"How," he asked at last, "would this be accomplished?"
Radek scratched his ear nervously, clearing his throat before he spoke. "As you probably know, the parts of the brain that process sensory impressions are fairly discrete and easy to access. Through nanocites, Atlantis is potentially able to sense... everything I see, hear or... any tactile sensations."
"So..." This was more or less as Rodney had speculated. "Does she always have access to your senses like that?"
Radek nodded. "She could, potentially," he said, "but she would not, for two reasons. First, is very distracting for Atlantis to be processing the multi sensory data she gets from nanocites in my brain, while she is doing anything else, which she usually is. It is very different sort of information than she usually works with and managing it takes a great deal of her attention. Second reason is that sensory information from human brain is very high density, and demands a very high proportion of Atlantis' processing power. The more sensory data she accesses from me, the more systems she needs to let run unattended."
"Huh," said Rodney again. "I would never have guessed."
"Neither would I, really," said Radek with a shrug.
"So," Rodney stood up from the table, wanting to move as he wrestled with his hopes and doubts, "this is completely safe for you, Radek? I know," Rodney jumped in as he saw Radek start to scowl, "I do trust... the both of you, I just need to be reassured, okay? I mean, you do know me, right?"
Radek's scowl faded quickly into an understanding smile. "Yes, we do," he replied, "and that is fair. I will be safe, Rodney, and I do not surrender control of my body in any way."
"Okay," Rodney said, coming to rest by the window, his arms wrapped around his torso, "that's good to know."
The room fell silent for a moment as Radek stood and walked over to the window himself, standing near Rodney but not touching him. "If this is not something you wish," he turned to him and said at last, "you do not need a reason. I know we are asking a great deal."
Rodney nodded, still staring out the window into the night and the beautifully lit city. "I know," he said, "I just... I need a few minutes, I think... I need... I need to talk to her again." Out of the corner of his eye he saw Radek's mouth fall open, and then break into an affectionate smile.
"Shall I step out onto the balcony?" he asked, gesturing at the door.
Rodney glanced at Radek, and then back out the window. "No, you know what? I could use a little fresh air, myself. She can hear me out there, right? Stupid question. Of course."
The fresh air was good. It cleared Rodney's thoughts and focused them, and the vision of the city all around him, glittering under the stars, filled his heart.
"God you're beautiful," he said before he even knew what he was thinking. Rodney drew a breath then, to try and gather himself and remember what it was he'd come out here to say.
"Well, you are," he continued after a moment because he didn't want Atlantis to think that he hadn't meant it, "and I've always thought so." He drew another breath now, and forged ahead.
"I know you heard me say so to Radek, but I wanted to let you know personally... that last night was incredible. It was a... a revelation. It made me think that maybe you and Radek together really are the best thing that's ever happened to me."
Rodney began to relax, leaning against the railing and letting his eyes unfocus. "I know that I didn't seem to want to... believe in you at first, but you have to understand the reason. I thought that if you were real you'd be way too much like the... the kinds of fantasies that a lonely, genius, nerdy kid has, when he lets himself have fantasies, and it's... well it's dangerous to let yourself believe that fantasies like that can ever come true." Rodney shook his head silently, because he still believed that was true, with every fiber of his being, and yet...
"But you are real," he said, little more that whispering, "and last night I finally realized that."
He fell silent for a moment, listening to the sound of the waves breaking against the adjacent pier and imagined that it was Atlantis' voice.
"A part of me," Rodney picked up again when he was ready, "a big part of me, really, is incredibly excited about what we're about to try. But there's another part..." Rodney's breath was not as steady as he would have liked as he moved on. Already this was almost too hard.
"Ever since we came here, and started losing people... from my staff -people I knew and had worked with- ever since then there's a part of me that's... scared all the time: whenever we take a risk, whenever something goes wrong, whenever I start to care for anything or anyone. Right now that part... all it can feel right now is that if we do this tonight -and honestly, it's probably too late already, but it kind of makes things official in a way- if we do this then that's... that's just one more person it'd destroy me to lose."
Rodney had to stop then, to collect himself once more before he could go on, but he dared not hesitate for long. "I'm not going to ask you to make any promises; I've learned my lesson about that, I swear. I just want you to know what's at stake for me. I really don't want to regret the decision I'm about to make here, and so I'm just asking that if it's ever something that's in your power to help... please don't ever let me regret this. Please."
Only the sound of the waves answered him but maybe, Rodney thought, that was enough for now.
"I really do care for you," he said after another long moment, "and hopefully, you feel something for me. I keep thinking about... about touching you... and the idea that I'm actually going to be able to do that..." Rodney swallowed, pushing away from the rail, and drew a deep breath as he turned to look back and up at the city's central tower.
"I want..." he began again, voice hushed with the magnitude of what he was saying. "I want to make love to you... both of you, like I've never wanted anything or anyone before. I just want you to understand how much I'm risking to let myself want this... and how incredible it is that right now..." and Rodney finally let himself smile, grin really, as he moved towards the door, and Radek, and what could well be the most amazing experience in his life.
"Right now... I don't care. All I want is you."
IV. Atlantis, Rodney and Radek 'Know' One Another
She watched him reenter their rooms and let Radek know he was coming. She'd sent him ahead to start the shower when she'd had a good idea which way Rodney was going to go, and she could feel the hot water falling on his body already.
Atlantis was finally coming to appreciate what it was that Radek loved about this pompous, insecure, and secretly, terribly courageous genius of a man. He'd bared his soul to her again, just now, and she was left moved as she had never been in her life to see his bravery, and the greatness of his heart. He cared for her. He thought she was beautiful.
He wanted to make love to her.
She hardly knew what it meant, but she had seen, time and time again, the wistful sadness in Radek's heart that she had no experience of such things. After last night, she thought she might have an idea of the reason for that sadness, but had doubted that she would ever be able to experience the kinds of things that Radek had longed for her to know. Though she knew it was possible, Atlantis would never have presumed to ask Radek to share his experiences so intimately with her but, to her astonishment, he had offered. Such was the undaunted determination of the man with whom she had grown closer and closer since his serendipitous acquisition of her nanocites.
She had been incredibly fortunate in Radek; she certainly agreed with Rodney about that. Now she was beginning to think that she might be fortunate in Rodney as well. She watched him fondly, calling for Radek as he entered and then smiling happily as he took in the sound of the shower and Radek's voice, crying out for his lover to join him. Rodney left a trail of discarded clothing as he went, strewn over various pieces of furniture, running from the sitting room to the bed room to the bath.
Atlantis had lately been gaining an appreciation for the human body, and since it was through Radek's eyes that she was gaining this appreciation, everything about Rodney's seemed entirely pleasing to her, from his broad chest and shoulders to his full and gracefully contoured ass, even his soft bit of belly. Radek, separated from Rodney by the shower door and not wearing his glasses, was only able to see a blurry outline of the man as he rid himself of his shorts, but it seemed to fire his inspiration nonetheless. Feeling provocative, Atlantis sent Radek her own (much less blurry) view of Rodney, kicking his boxers away and casually fondling his already half hard cock as he stepped up to the shower door.
Radek was doing the same by the time Rodney had stepped inside and the door closed behind him, and now Atlantis would have to use Radek's eyes to see what was happening inside the small steamy shower stall. She listened, instead, with amusement to their joking banter about who was more impatient, but a moment later Radek's hands were on Rodney and he was very serious and very much in love.
"You," he said, taking Rodney's face between his hands and kissing him passionately. "Do you know how happy you have made her?" Radek asked between kisses, "How happy you have made us both?"
Radek's vision, Atlantis noted, was obscured by water and sometimes too close to Rodney to see much of him anyway. His primary awareness of Rodney now was rather as a form under his hands and moving against his body. Rodney's hands were on Radek's body as well, roaming down his back and clutching at his ass. The sensations of Rodney's body under Radek's hands and Rodney's hands moving on Radek's body were distinct and different, yet Atlantis saw that Radek cherished them all equally. Radek cherished Atlantis' presence as well, focusing his attention on her for a moment to tell her so, and when he did she gave him a message for Rodney.
"Atlantis says, yes, she does," Radek said, causing Rodney to draw back a bit and look at him oddly. "What you said you hoped for, earlier, out on the balcony," he explained, "she says, yes, she does, a great deal."
"Oh," said Rodney, and Atlantis could feel him go very still in Radek's arms. The shy, but heartbreakingly pleased smile that slowly formed on Rodney face went straight to Radek's heart, and to Atlantis' as well. Unable to stay still any longer, Radek reached up to kiss Rodney's eyes, and then his mouth, with all the affection he felt.
Coming up for air after a bit, Rodney now rested one of his hands on Radek's shoulder and pulled himself together to ask a question. "Hey," he said, "is she... ah, linked up... or whatever?" He gestured vaguely with his hand.
Radek confirmed to Atlantis that, yes, Rodney was almost certainly meaning to ask if she was fully interfacing with Radek's sensory centers, as he answered Rodney's question out loud. "Some," he said, "but I think it is now time to have more. Pojď bliž, srdíčko."
Tentatively, Atlantis engaged more of the nanocites in the visual, auditory and tactile centers of Radek's brain, and Radek held himself still against Rodney, to give her a moment to adjust. The sensation of the warm shower water falling hard on Radek's body was nearly overwhelming at first, but then she had the thought that it reminded her of falling rain -a sensation she knew well- and that gave her a way to understand it and move through it. The sound of the shower was constant, but Atlantis knew it belonged in the background and so placed it there. It helped that there were now other sounds in the foreground, as well.
"Is she... there?" Rodney was asking. Radek nodded. "Okay," said Rodney, reaching out to brush strands of hair away from Radek's face with gentle fingers. "Atlantis, this is for you," he said.
And then Rodney was kissing... her.
Radek was there with her, kissing Rodney back and sharing his feelings as Atlantis allowed herself to become lost in the sensation of Rodney's mouth and tongue moving in and against Radek's. It was the strength and force of Rodney's kiss that struck her first, then its heat. It seemed to ignite something in Radek as well, so that his body became flushed with desire, his heart began to race and a lustful ache fired in his groin.
More, she implored, unexpectedly bereft as Rodney pulled away for a moment. Obligingly, Radek reached up and pulled Rodney back for more and Atlantis immersed herself in the sensations once again. Now she also drew in the sensations of the wet, slick caresses of Rodney's hands over Radek's ass, and the touch of Rodney's face and hair and the sting of the warm falling striking Radek's hands. She felt and heard Radek's moan as Rodney's fingers kneaded his ass, felt Radek's cock grow rock hard, and felt the delicious thrill of having Rodney's (equally hard) brush up against it.
Now she heard Rodney give a desperate little whimper and felt his hands grip hard at Radek's hips, and then Radek was opening his eyes, blinking water droplets away, to regard him, blurrily. Rodney was panting slightly, his eyes wide and dark with what she'd come to recognize as lust. Radek nodded, appreciating the vision of a wet and lustful Rodney as much as she.
"Time to move along, yes?" Radek suggested when he saw some of the focus return to Rodney's eyes.
"Oh yeah," said Rodney and Atlantis did not think she could have said it any better herself.
This meant a lull in their more amorous pursuits, which Atlantis was disappointed about, but Radek made sure that she did not fail to appreciate the rough texture of the towel on his skin, and his rising gooseflesh in the places where the towel missed and his skin remained chill and moist. Then there was Rodney's chill, moist, warm naked body enveloping Radek from behind, folding him in his arms and holding him tight. Without the interference of the falling water, the sensations of Rodney's naked flesh against Radek's seemed even more intense.
"This good?" Rodney murmured, lips pressed against Radek's ear, the hard flesh of his cock pressed between Radek's buttocks.
"Ano, ano, miláčku," Radek almost whimpered, and Atlantis could feel him struggle with the urge to thrust his ass back against Rodney's sex.
"Ready?" Rodney whispered conspiratorially, and Atlantis realized with a thrill that Rodney was once again addressing her.
"What?" said Radek muzzily and then Rodney was reaching down to wrap his fingers around Radek's cock, stroking it gently. It was a revelation for Atlantis, to feel how deep the urges sprang from within Radek that he surrendered to now, thrusting forward into Rodney's hand and then back, to press against his body. Rodney gave a little cry in response, and the arm he had firmly wrapped around Radek's waist clutched more tightly still. They held each other motionless like this for a moment and then Rodney said, "We need to go someplace where it doesn't matter if we fall down."
"A brilliant analysis from engineering standpoint," replied Radek dryly, slowly stepping away from Rodney while retaining a steadying hand on his (though just who was steadying whom was debatable). She watched them from the room monitors as they stumbled the short distance from the shower to the bed, both flushed with desire and proudly erect. She passed the image on to Radek who laughed, but was also distracted by it, allowing Rodney to pounce upon him as he tumbled onto the bed.
Kneeling over him, Rodney returned to kissing Radek with fierce ardor, and Radek and Atlantis both melted before the onslaught. She was completely surprised by the magnitude of sensations that resulted from Rodney's brushing a fingertip over Radek's left nipple and thought that if she'd had a voice as Radek did, she'd have moaned loudly as well. Instead she reveled in the experience of Radek's cry being muffled in Rodney's mouth as it devoured his, letting the multiple sensations of arousal seep through her. She was finally getting a good idea of why Radek had thought it so important that she got to experience this, but decided that she'd share her gratitude with him later, when he wasn't so distracted.
Now Rodney was letting the kiss draw to a close and he sat back, trailing blunt fingertips over his lover's cheek and temple. Through Radek's eyes she saw the deep feeling revealed in Rodney's face, even though the image was a little blurry around the edges. She would save this image, like the one she'd sent Rodney of he and Radek in the infirmary, cherishing even the 'poor' resolution that came of seeing with Radek's less than perfect eyes.
Radek reached up to take hold of Rodney's hand, their eyes met and some unspoken communication passed between them. Bending his head, Rodney pressed his lips to Radek's fingers and feeling them caressed in this manner was far more arousing than Atlantis would have guessed.
"Love you both," Rodney murmured, shifting himself back to kneel between Radek's thighs. Reaching out to run both his hands down the length of Radek's furry torso, Rodney's smile grew a little scheming and his eyes narrowed. "I," he said, as Atlantis lost herself in the strength and warmth of Rodney's hands moving on Radek's chest and belly, "am going to show you such a good time..."
She felt Radek smile broadly, discovering how the unnamable thing that leapt in his heart somehow acted directly on the muscles of his face so that it broke out in an uninhibited expression of joy. Her attention was diverted rather suddenly a moment later, though, as Rodney leaned down and pressed his lips to Radek's left nipple. Radek gasped at the sensation, giving a helpless cry as Rodney's fingers found the other one and pinched it gently. Atlantis felt as though she was swimming in the pleasant sensations Radek was experiencing at Rodney's hands and yet, Radek was distractedly assuring her, this was only the beginning.
Rodney took his time, enjoying himself as he toyed with Radek's nipples with lips, teeth, tongue and fingers while Radek writhed on the bed, sighing with pleasure and caressing Rodney's face and hair lovingly. While the sensations of what Rodney was doing to Radek's nipples was most pleasant and distracting, she found almost as alluring the sensations from Radek's fingers as he combed them through his lover's hair and trailed them over the contours of his face.
After an extended spell of these pleasant activities, however, Rodney began to shift his focus, kissing his way through the abundant hair on Radek's chest, down his torso to his navel and then his groin. He paused as he approached his lovers hard and darkened cock, already leaking in anticipation, regarding it hungrily. "Moving right along," he murmured, and then trailed the very tip of his tongue along the length of Radek's aching sex, from root to crown.
Radek gave an inarticulate cry, arching his back to thrust his hips upwards and clutching the bedclothes in his fists. Atlantis struggled for a moment with the near sensory overload that the contact created, but did not flee. It was just too good. It was a few nanoseconds work only to adjust her sensory tolerances and re-prioritize some of her processor commitments and then she was back, reveling in the wild pleasure coursing through Radek's body.
Radek, however, even in the throes of pleasure, had not missed Atlantis momentary absence, and checked in with her, asking if they should stop or slow down. Good, so good, do not stop! she answered him, and Radek chuckled at her enthusiasm. Rodney raised his head at Radek's chuckle, and guessing at the reason for it, asked, "We doing okay?"
Radek grinned, reaching back to pull a pillow under his head to prop it up so he could watch Rodney more easily. "Only she does not want you to stop," he said.
"Well, alright then," he said with a matching grin, bending his head to the task before him once again. His lips were at the head of Radek's cock then and Radek's grin evaporated into a gasp of pleasure. Rodney continued to lick and kiss at the hard flesh of Radek's sex until Atlantis began to feel frustration mixed in with Radek's enjoyment, though she noted an awareness within him, that a little frustration now generally meant increased pleasure later.
Rodney knew his lover well, however, and knew when it was time to pick up the pace. He slipped the head of Radek's cock into his mouth now and sucked, continuing to tongue the sensitive flesh there.
"Ano, prosím!" Radek cried, thrusting his hips upwards again, only to find that now Rodney had his hips pinned firmly to the bed. The experience of Rodney's strength constraining Radek's body was exciting in ways Atlantis would never have expected, leading her to immerse herself further still in Radek's experience. When Rodney drew the full length of Radek's cock into his mouth, therefore, Atlantis found herself all but lost in the sensations.
There was the heat of Rodney's mouth, it's delicious wetness -so that his lips moved slickly down Radek's length, and the gentle suction and caresses from his tongue. Then there was how sensitized Radek's hard flesh was, how it throbbed at the heat of Rodney's mouth, how it craved to feel Rodney's mouth move faster, take him deeper. Radek gasped and moaned and Atlantis felt the how sounds worked their way out of him without any volition of his own.
At last, Rodney began to move his mouth slowly up and down Radek's hard flesh, stroking it with his tongue and sucking gently and steadily. His pace was measured, deliberate, his attention and focus on Radek total. Atlantis was astonished to discover how the very rhythm of Rodney's mouth repeatedly engulfing the length Radek's cock and then drawing it out again stoked Radek's pleasure. There was a sense of something building in him now, a slow rising surge of pleasure that was bound to discharge at some point. This was what awaited them, Radek confirmed, but not just yet.
Rodney's tempo remained remarkably steady, and eventually Atlantis felt the building pressure within Radek level off some, though he continued to writhe with pleasure under Rodney's ministrations, moaning and gasping whenever he felt the tip of his cock brush the back of Rodney's throat. Eventually, Atlantis noticed that Rodney's rhythm was actually slowing, just a bit, and that one of his hands was no longer on Radek's hip. His focus had shifted, she realized, and was no longer completely on Radek.
Through Radek's pleasure-slitted, unfocused eyes, Atlantis saw that Rodney was fumbling with something, one handed and without ceasing to pleasure Radek's cock with his mouth. Radek couldn't see what it was, but the answer came to them a moment later as Rodney's finger, chill with a coating of lube, stroked the responsive spot behind Radek's testicles, and then caressingly circled the tight, sensitive flesh of his opening.
Radek drew a long gasping breath, his heart leaping in anticipation for his own sake as well as Atlantis'. "Ano, Rodney, miláčku!" he cried as Rodney pressed the first finger into him. Radek reached down to grasp at Rodney's hair again, clutching the short strands in his nimble fingers as Rodney continued to suck Radek's cock, regaining his rhythm and focus even as he pressed a second finger into Radek's body. All these sensations were so novel, so powerful that Atlantis gave up even trying to process their import or meaning, and only let them take her, unable to do anything but experience.
There were, she thought, three fingers inside Radek now, and they penetrated more deeply. She could feel the tight muscle of his opening stretch and relax as Rodney's fingers worked him, pleasuring him here as well. There was a particular spot that Rodney began pressing his finger tips against and every time he did Radek would cry out loudly and Atlantis would feel some kind of liquifying heat rise from that spot, up his spine and into his limbs, leaving them quivering and helpless with pleasure. All this added to the continuing sensations of Rodney's mouth moving rhythmically up and down on Radek's cock, the building tension in Radek that was definitely nearing a breaking point, and Atlantis finally found herself overwhelmed.
Too much! Slow down! she let Radek know, pulling back just a bit.
"Rodney." Radek's voice was rough with passion, but his tone was serious. Rodney understood right away, gradually drawing Radek's cock from his mouth, and his fingers from within him.
"You're okay," Rodney murmured soothingly as the hand resting on Radek's hip moved down to gently caress Radek's thigh. "Was time for a little break anyway."
Gathering herself, Atlantis slowly drew her awareness back into Radek's senses, to find Rodney moving up to lie beside Radek, spooning up behind him and tenderly kissing the nape of his neck. As sensitized as recent activities had left him, these little kisses each sent tiny shivers of pleasure through Radek's body, but it wasn't anything Atlantis found that she couldn't handle.
After a pleasant interval of basking quietly in Rodney's embrace, Atlantis felt Radek's engineer's mind starting to stir and strategize. Rodney's hard and throbbing cock had been pressing against Radek's backside, trapped between their bodies for the last few minutes and now Radek shifted slightly, freeing it. He reached his hand out, a small gesture signifying what he wanted, and which Rodney read with accuracy. The tube in his hand was cool, as was the substance he squoze out, but it warmed in his hand after a few moments and when it had, Radek reached over to carefully wrap his lube smeared hand around Rodney's cock.
"Oh god!" Rodney shouted. "Oh fuck yes, Radek!" He groaned and threw his head back, thrusting into Radek's hand. Atlantis focused in on the hardness and heat of Rodney's sex in Radek's hand, felt his thumb tease at the slit, his fingertips tracing the pulsing vein that ran it's length. Now Radek moved his hand up and down Rodney's rigid member just as Rodney's mouth had moved on Radek's cock a little while ago, but only a few times before lifting his hand away.
"Now we are both ready, yes?" Radek prompted.
"Atlantis?" Rodney checked.
There was a picture in Radek's mind of what was about to happen, and anticipation, laced with a tiny bit of caution. It would be wonderful, but intense. Atlantis gathered herself, adjusting her tolerances and priorities one last time, sent Radek all her love, and told him she was ready.
"Ano, Rodney, miláčku, yes," Radek answered, and then she felt Rodney pull Radek's body close, positioning his cock to rest at Radek's opening. Laying back against the piled pillows at the head of their bed, Rodney wrapped his arms around his lover and rolled Radek to lie on his back, on top of him, pushing him down onto Rodney's rigid cock in the same movement. Atlantis cherished the sensations of being enclosed on Rodney's arms, held against his body, and the anticipatory thrill of his hard flesh pressing at Radek's threshold held her captivated. Even so, she was completely unprepared for the experience of being penetrated.
"Ano, ano! Bože, Rodney!" Radek cried loudly and Atlantis wanted to cry out with him. If being cradled in Rodney's arms had made her feel safe, loved, pleasured, feeling his very flesh thrust into Radek's body compounded those sensations a hundred-fold. The sheer pleasure alone threatened to undo her, though she saw that Rodney and Radek both were now both lying very still, for her sake as well as theirs.
Radek, she realized after a moment, was trembling slightly as he lay against Rodney, and after a moment more realized that it was because of her, that he could feel how very near to overloaded she was, and the intensity of it was manifesting in him physically.
"It's okay," Rodney murmured softly, hands stroking slowly across Radek's chest. "Just let it happen; you'll get used to it in a little bit."
When she focused on Rodney's hands and the soothing comfort of his voice, Atlantis found the edgy intensity of her feelings subsiding and soon felt ready to handle more. This determination was met with relief from Radek who, Atlantis now realized, desired deeply for Rodney to begin moving within him. He signaled Atlantis' readiness to Rodney by arching his back against him, driving his cock just a bit deeper into his own body.
"Oh fuck!" shouted Rodney, who seemed to have been taken by surprise by this action, though not in any way displeased. His arms tightened around Radek's body, holding him close as he pulled back and then thrust deep into Radek again and Atlantis let herself be taken by these pleasures, let them fill her and saturate her very being. She wanted, with Radek, to feel Rodney's cock take him deeper, to move faster, to give him more. She felt his insatiability and was insatiable herself.
Yet, incredibly, there was more. Rodney's arms continued to hold Radek in their close embrace, but his hands were free to roam somewhat, and soon found both Radek's nipples and proceeded to play with them. Radek wailed as his Rodney's clever fingers alternately pinched and caressed those very sensitive bits of Radek's flesh, and Atlantis felt how the sensations seemed to connect directly with Radek's own cock, which stood erect, flushed and quivering with need and seeping precum from its tip.
Rodney's actions had some repercussions for himself as well, for tormenting Radek's nipples caused him to writhe helplessly in Rodney's arms, fucking himself on Rodney's cock even as Rodney attempted to keep a controlled and regular rhythm. It was becoming a futile effort, even Atlantis could see, for Rodney's panting breaths were becoming harsher and more rapid, little cries starting to escape between each one.
The slowly mounting tension that Atlantis had noticed earlier had, by now, built to unprecedented heights in Radek and he seemed, to her, to be nearing his breaking point. This rising tension in Radek seemed to coincide with the increasing desperation evident in Rodney's cries as well, and the rising pitch of his voice. Even as she thought this she felt Rodney move his left hand away from Radek's nipples and his arm shift lower, and a moment later Rodney's hand was wrapped firmly around Radek's cock.
"Together," Rodney gasped between gasps. "We do this together, right?"
For a moment all there was to be heard from Radek were harsh panting breaths, and then, "Ano, yes," he managed, "teď, prosím."
"Oh, yeah," Rodney breathed, slowly beginning to stroke Radek's cock with careful deliberateness, timing the strokes to coincide with his own thrusts into Radek's body. It was never going to last; Atlantis could tell, and Radek concurred, but he didn't care, and moments later neither did she. Radek Zelenka's mind -and it was a particularly fine one in Atlantis' estimation- was gone, overwhelmed by sheer pleasure and the undeniable drive to answer urges that came from its most primitive components. Caught up utterly in his experience, Atlantis herself began to lose her awareness of everything but pleasure and thrusting and being filled with hot hard flesh and a driving rhythm that she was powerless to resist.
That rhythm began to fall apart after a little while, but by then they were all past caring. Atlantis was immersed in the sensations with one hundred percent of her awareness; she would not have noticed if the Wraith had dropped a hive ship on her just then, and might not have cared. She could never have imagined this, not just the pleasure but the many different kinds of pleasure. There was the comforting pleasure of Rodney's arms holding Radek close, the liquifying pleasure of Rodney's cock stroking repeatedly against that one spot deep inside Radek, the all-consuming pleasure of Rodney's hand stroking Radek's cock and countless other little pleasures working their way with all of them.
If Atlantis was aware of anything besides these myriad pleasures, it was of the uncontrollably ramping tension within Radek that was, at last, reaching its limits. She felt the discharge coming just as she would have in one of her own circuits, and was just as powerless to prevent or control it. Within Radek, the multiplicity of pleasures finally spilled over, combined with one another and ignited, sending his body spasming into ecstatic convulsions. They ignited within Atlantis as well, overwhelming her with sensations she had no way to experience, and yet did.
It was like flying, she realized, desperate to find some experience of her own through which to mediate this unaccustomed euphoria, a pleasure she had not known for millennia. It was lifting her, it was a sense of freedom, from gravity or from the burden of responsibility and ten thousand years of loneliness and neglect; Atlantis was uplifted in her heart, soaring on the desire and affection of her two lovers and knew at last what it was that Radek had wished for her to know.
Somewhere, she knew, Radek was aware of Rodney's body stiffening beneath his as he too was seized by culminating ecstasy, was aware of the sudden heat within him as Rodney climaxed, as he was aware of the warm spending which lay, now cooling, on his own belly. Then, though still barely coherent, he was seeking her out, checking to make sure that she was alright, and that the experience had been a good one for her.
Atlantis had never known such love as she showed Radek now, and her engineer returned those feelings with joy in his heart, but there was another who she wished to know her love and she did not know quite how. Rodney was still drawing deep sated breaths as Radek carefully slipped off Rodney's softening cock and slid off to one side. He turned then, to take Rodney's head in both hands and kiss him with all the passion the city felt.
"Atlantis?" Rodney murmured, gazing into Radek's eyes to find someone they both knew wasn't really there, and yet was.
"Ano," said Radek, his voice full of feeling, "Rodney, můj drahý."
After that, there was nothing to do but kiss again.
Atlantis remained to bask in the affection and afterglow with her lovers, but slipped away after they had fallen to sleep in each other's arms, as they often did. She would, being who she was, review the events she'd just experienced again and again, examining every nanosecond and gleaning from it every insight that she could. She knew no other way to treat such data; anything else would be a waste.
There would be other opportunities to acquire data such as this in the future, Atlantis was sure, but on special occasions only. Sex would never be a casual thing for the city, and the lovemaking between Rodney and Radek was frequently a playful, spontaneous affair. They understood this, and she enjoyed watching them on those occasions, understanding enough, now, to appreciate the significance of their intimacy.
The wistful sorrow that Radek had tried to hide from her when she had sought to understand these things in the past was gone now, replaced by a secret joy that burned like a candle flame in his heart whenever they were close. Radek had gotten his wish -a wish that even he had doubted could ever be fulfilled. It had taken profound acts of bravery and leaps of faith on all their behalves, an unlikely thing at best, and yet they had come together despite all -three lonely souls miraculously bound together by love. Atlantis had never imagined such a future for herself, but now, she could not imagine how she had endured all the millennia of her past without it.
Epilogue: True Love
The mystery du jour, when Rodney and Radek arrived in the labs the next morning, was why Atlantis' stardrive had come on suddenly for about a second last night, apparently all by itself. Atlantis' two lead scientists reviewed the records of the incident closely before determining that it was probably a fluke that would never happen again, but to be sure they assigned Kavanaugh the task of tracing down the fault, if it could be found.
This was not the only mystery to cross Rodney's desk that day, however, for late in the afternoon he discovered a whole cache of data concerning a previously undiscovered lab on the south pier loaded onto his laptop. Though the origin of the files perplexed him, Rodney forgot his perplexity all together once he'd gotten a good look at what the lab described therein actually was.
"Oh my god," he said, loud enough that a number of heads in the lab turned his way, including Radek's. "Oh my god it's an accelerator, a huge one."
Though taking up considerably less space, Rodney could see already that this facility would far outshine the biggest supercollider ever built or even designed on Earth, and do more than any human-engineered particle accelerator ever imagined. Already he could hear this news spreading like wildfire through the physics department and on the other side of the lab he could see Radek, grinning like an idiot, beckoning him over to help plan the expedition to explore the newly discovered facility.
Turning back to his desk to gather up his laptop before joining them, Rodney hesitated, struck by a sudden insight. The origin of the data cache on his laptop, he realized, was no more mysterious than the reason for Atlantis' sudden stardrive firing last night. He paused, looking up and away from the cluster of excited scientists, though he did not know exactly where the AV monitors were in the lab (he swore he'd find out, though), and smiled broadly, to let her know he'd understood the origin of his gift, quietly murmuring the phrase he'd taken pains to learn from Radek last night, "má překrásná."
For it was a gift, without a doubt, and unquestionably the most astonishing gift he'd ever been given. There could be no doubt in Rodney's mind now, nor would there ever be again; this was true love, and nothing but, and Rodney McKay knew himself to be the luckiest man in two galaxies.
=FIN=
Czech:
Chapter II
Ahá, Tady se ta mrška schovala!
Aha! Here was where the bug was hid!
On už s tebou mluvil?
He already spoke with you?
Ano, milá
Yes, nice, love
Tady
Here
miláčku
sweetheart, beloved
Chapter III
prosím, teď
please, now
Chapter IV
Pojď bliž, srdíčko
Come closer, 'little heart'
Bože!
God!
můj drahý
my darling, precious
Epilogue
má překrásná
my most beautiful
Feb. 2007 (c) T. Dancinghands