The smell of fresh coffee ticked Radek's nose, and he buried his face into the pillow, certain it was just a remnant of his dream of Earth. Coffee had run out months ago on Atlantis, and the current substitute, while providing much needed caffeine, tasted and smelled more like watered down cherry Coke. Extremely watered down cherry Coke, according to Rodney. The Daedalus wasn't due back for another month, and they had promised to remember coffee this time. Rodney was taking bets on whether or not they did.The coffee smell hadn't gone away, he realized. In fact, it was getting stronger. Turning his head, he sniffed at the air, opening his eyes to see a blurry stainless steel mug being held out to him. Looking up, he saw the blurry form of his lover behind the mug. He thought John was smiling, but without his glasses, it was hard to tell.
Turning onto his back, Radek sat up and took the mug from John. Sniffing carefully, he sipped at the contents and almost spit them back into the mug when he realized it was fresh, hot, *real* coffee. He looked up at John, blinking. John sat on the bed and slid Radek's glasses onto his face. As John came into focus, Radek saw he was smiling.
"Where did you find real coffee?" he asked, taking another sip. He savored the taste, even as he realized he was going to have to use a lot of mouthwash before he left for the labs, maybe even a full shower, too. If Rodney caught even a hint of real coffee on Radek, he'd hound him mercilessly until Radek turned over his source to shut the man up.
John moved back to lean against the wall, and Radek leaned back against him. John was only wearing his jeans, so Radek knew he couldn't have gone out of the room for the beverage.
"I never used my individual rations that the SGC included in our packs," he said as he slipped an arm around Radek. "Coffee really doesn't do a lot for me. So I saved it for a special occasion."
Radek hummed his appreciation as he drank. "What is the special occasion?"
John didn't answer, so Radek twisted to look up at him. The hazel eyes were staring at nothing, but there was an underlying emotion in there that Radek couldn't quite place. "John?" he asked quietly.
John looked down and focused on him, the odd emotion still in his eyes. "I'm sorry, I overheard Heightmeyer talking to Elizabeth. . ." he trailed off.
Radek finished his coffee and reached across John to set the mug on the table. That explained John's mood lately. "Whatever she said about me, she is wrong."
John quirked an eyebrow. "What makes you think she was talking about you?"
Radek leaned back against John. "Dr. Heightmeyer is forever trying to get me to talk about this, us," he said with a gesture. "She has all sorts of theories about our relationship, but she is wrong."
John snorted. "That sounded like Rodney."
"Occasionally, he has a point. But I was serious," he said, turning to face John again. "I know you do not say you love me simply because I let you suck my blood, and I do not love you because you feed from me."
John regarded him thoughtfully. "I do love you," he said quietly.
"I know," Radek said quietly. He could see it John's eyes whenever he looked at Radek. "You brought me real coffee." He smiled up at John. "I love you, too."