Of the same kinds, class, or nature

Title: More Than You Bargained For
Pairing: John Sheppard/Cameron Mitchell
Rating: PG
Summary: John didn’t mean to start hoarding ancient technology, it just sorta happened.
Word Count: 1620
A/N: Pinch hit for sg_flyboys. Thanks to wojelah for betaing.



“And we can go grab some burgers after we pack your unit up - do you think we can get it all in one trip?” Cam kept talking before John could answer him, “Doesn’t matter, cause if there is, we can always take two trips, and then get the burgers . . . “ Cam was going on and on so John tuned him out, mentally kicking himself for even mentioning that he had a storage unit in the first place.

It wasn’t the storage unit that was the problem, but what was in it. John hadn’t meant to gather up an a giant stash of Ancient technology, but by the time he finally learned what it all was, he only had time to pack a bag and then he was off to Atlantis and he thought he was never coming home and he was on thin ice with Sumner and he hadn’t wanted to well, get into trouble. Then the first time he was home he was so busy getting promoted and hiring people, that it hadn’t felt like the right time, but now here he was, sitting in Cam’s living room trying to find an excuse not to move the items in his storage unit into Cam’s shed, because Cam was saying it was silly John had a storage unit when Cam had space in a shed right on his property, and they could travel between the universes easier, so John should just keep his stuff there because he would stay with Cam anyway - which Cam hoped wasn’t being too presumptuous - and that all made sense to John, but didn’t fix the fact that John had a storage locker full of Ancient artifacts. And he loved Cam and didn’t want him to think he was some sort of weird hoarder. A weird hoarder of possibly scary Ancient things.

It had started back at the Academy - he had stopped at a garage sale and had been drawn to a small metal box that warmed to his touch. He used it as a hand warmer, though his friends didn’t believe him because it never got warm when they touched it. But he kept it on his desk and he just felt . . . a connection to it even though it was just a box.

A year after the hand warmer, he found a glowing rod at an estate sale, and then there were the three garbage can looking things he picked up at a dump (long story) that hummed and rattled when he touched them, and the silver board he found in the basement of a place he rented for a few months on leave that one time that recharged everything he set on it . . . and well, by the time he left for Antarctica he had a storage facility full of things. Things that only grew warm or glowed or lit up when he touched them (and he had stopped asking others along the way if things worked the same for them because then he would get these looks and he didn’t want to be the weird guy with the odd devices). And none of them had seemed dangerous - except there was the one that he touched once and it had felt really weird and awful and so he bought a safe and put it in the safe, and now knowing what he did, it probably was some sort of Ancient evil science machine and Rodney and Elizabeth would totally yell at him for touching things without knowing what they were even though he had no reason to know he was holding a classified alien device at the time.

And now he was worried if he took Cam to his storage unit, Cam would freak out or freak out and tell Sam on him and he did not want to be there when Sam told Rodney and then there would probably be some sort of inquiry and an audit and god knows how much paperwork he would have to fill out. All because over the years, before he even knew what the stuff was, he had amassed about 60 different Ancient artifacts and he kept them in a storage unit in Colorado.

A storage unit of 60 different Ancient artifacts that were all muddled up with no real organization other than things that lit up in one pile, things that turned hot in another, things that hummed on one side, things that beeped on the other, but, aside from the one thing in the safe, nothing was packed with care, and the more he thought about it, he was pretty lucky he hadn’t blown up all of Colorado.

And now his boyfriend wanted to run by John’s storage unit and move them all into his shed and --

“Earth to John, seriously, Shepard!” Cam’s voice and accompanying finger snapping, pulled John out of his obsessing and he looked up to see Cam standing next to where he was sitting on the couch. “So, that was a nice little head trip you took there.” Cam sat down on the couch next to John and put his hand on John’s knee. “Look, if this is about the shed and storage unit and you think we are moving too fast, I get it, and I’m sorry - I don’t want to push or make you uncomfortable . . .” Cam paused for a second and turned away from John, looking as if he was searching for the right words.

“MystoragelockerisfullofAncientdevices.” John said as fast as he could, taking advantage of Cam’s pause.

“What?!” Cam pulled his hand off of John’s knee and quickly turned his head so he was looking right at John. “Did you just say your storage locker is full of Ancient devices?”

“Yeah.” John answered a little sheepishly. Cam stared at him waiting for him to elaborate, but now that the words were out, John didn’t really know what else to say. The minutes ticked by as they both just sat there, staring at each other. John could tell Cam had a lot of questions but wasn’t sure what to say and John had a lot of answers, but wasn’t sure how to get them all out there.

Cam broke the silence first. “Ok-ay then. So. How does one get a storage locker full of Ancient devices?”

John turned so he was sitting sideways on the couch facing Cam. “You know how I never see it coming?”

“Seriously, that is what you are going with - you didn’t see it coming?” Cam shook his head as he spoke and turned on the couch so he was fully facing John.

Cam had a good point there, so John tried to explain a little more of just how he got into this mess. “Well, okay, I saw it coming, but I didn’t know what they were, and then by the time I did, I didn’t know what to do about it. So that’s my story. I have 60 -”

“SIXTY?!” Cam face turned a little purple as he spoke.

John grinned sheepishly, “give or take a few, but yes, there are about 60 Ancient artifacts in the storage unit and honestly, they haven’t blown up yet, and the SGC requires so much paperwork for stuff like this - ” John trailed off as he spoke, making little helpless hand gestures, because he knew Cam knew exactly what kind of trouble this all was.

“Oh hell. I’m calling Vala. And Sam, and Teal’c and Daniel.” Cam got up as he spoke and headed toward the counter where his cell phone was sitting.

“No!” John jumped up and moved to intercept Cam before he reached the phone. “You can’t call Sam! Vala, I get, but Sam, Sam will -”

“Sam will get you out of this mess. We’re SG-1. A boyfriend with a storage locker full of Ancient devices is not the weirdest thing that has happened to any of us. Vala will think of someway to smuggle them into the SGC and Daniel and Sam will make it sure it seems like they were always there, and Teal’c will be Teal’c. Dude, it will be fine.” Cam grabbed his phone but didn’t make any move to dial it.

John flopped back on the couch and thought for a second. He couldn’t believe Cam was okay with this, but this was a relationship - you take the good, the bad, and the flat out weird. And Cam had made some good points - this wasn’t the wackiest or even weirdest thing that had happened to them this week, and SG-1 would totally have his back. “Okay. Call in the cavalry. and it’s not like you lost your pants this time, so they can’t even make fun of you.”

“Seriously, guy who has a secret storage locker of Ancient tech is making fun of me for occasionally losing my pants?” Cam pretended to look mad, but he was texting while he spoke, so he was calling in SG-1. When he was done, he set the phone down on the end table and put his arm around John.

“The fact you have to say occasionally is what makes it hilarious.” John grinned and leaned back into Cam’s embrace. “So you want to make out until back-up arrives?” John wiggled his eyebrows a little and tilted his head up toward Cam.

Cam didn’t say anything but leaned down to kiss John and John knew that somehow he had managed to land the best boyfriend ever and he was going to enjoy every minute they had - the good, the bad, and the weird.