Author: Porthos
Rating: T, to be safe
Summary: As a general rule, geeks don't date blonde cheerleaders. But every rule has its exception.
Spoilers: vague references to Lost City, Hide and Seek
Author's notes: I seriously woke up with this story in my head, and the image of Rodney throwing a temper tantrum, telling me to write it. (So my muse is an agitated McKay, who knew?) Anyway, I have a lot of stuff in the works, but I'm graduating and moving this month, so it's been pretty slow going. But I have so many plot bunnies in my head right now that I think I saw little cotton tails sticking out of my ears, so I plan on getting them out as soon as I can. ;)

And once again, thanks to everyone in advance for reviewing. You're all angels, and I totally feed off this stuff.

oOo

Rodney stepped out of his shower and began drying off. He didn't want to leave the bathroom, because he was afraid that she'd be gone, and then he'd realize that the last six months had only been a dream. Wrapping his towel around his waist and grabbing another to scrub dry his hair, he ventured outside his bathroom and into the bedroom.

He smiled when he saw that Elizabeth was not only still there, she was awake and reading a book. Even though she was covered with blankets, Rodney noticed with a grin that she still hadn't dressed herself from last night.

On impulse, he launched himself onto the bed, landing next to her with a thump and a bounce. He yanked the book out of her hands, tossing it over his shoulder. "Rodney, I was–" Elizabeth's protests were cut short by his lips on hers. Giving in to the kiss, she felt Rodney grab her around the waist and roll with her across the bed, wrapping and tangling them both in the sheets. She broke the kiss, laughing as his eyes twinkled. "Good morning to you, too."

He kissed her gently, then asked, "What time do you have to be at work?"

Elizabeth grabbed his wrist and read his watch upside down. "In about an hour."

Rodney began to pout. He really acted like a 12-year-old sometimes. "You're the boss. Can't you be a little late?" Momentarily silenced by her mock glare, he brightened and asked, "What are you doing for lunch? Major Sheppard and I found this little secluded balcony with a view, and I won the rights to it for the day." Rodney blinked, recalling exactly how he had won it. "You know, for a supposed Mensa candidate, he's shockingly bad and Prime-Not-Prime."

Elizabeth smiled. "Rodney, you really should find a more constructive outlet for your boredom than competing with Major Sheppard."

"What? I can't help it if I'm better at math than he is." He pushed a lock of dark hair behind her ear. "Or at seducing beautiful, brilliant brunettes."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "First of all," she held up one finger, "you didn't seduce me, I seduced you. And second of all," she held up two fingers, then bit her lip as if she was about to confess some dirty little secret. "I'm really a blonde," she finished in a stage whisper.

Rodney started to laugh, but at the look she gave him, he stopped. "You're being serious?" He was shocked at her nod. "But…" he stuttered. "And you're…" he motioned to her hair. "How?"

"I dyed it before you met me," she answered simply. "Just after joining the Stargate program. I suppose I thought people would take me more seriously," she shrugged.

"But we've been on Atlantis for almost two years now. Wouldn't it…" Rodney paused in thought. Elizabeth could almost see the gears turning in his ever logical mind, and expected a light bulb to go off above his head when realization struck him. "Hair dye?" he asked, incredulous. "Your one personal item was hair dye?"

She smiled, embarrassed. "Enough for one year. After we reestablished contact with earth, I was able to restock."

Rodney wasn't listening, however. He was lost in his own thoughts. "So, that's why Dr. Jackson never let me tell dumb blonde jokes around you." He didn't catch Elizabeth's raised eyebrow at that comment. There would be explaining later. He rolled onto his back, staring at the ceiling. "Huh. And here I thought you were the exception to my rule."

Elizabeth smiled, then patted his stomach through the multitude of blankets. "If it makes you feel any better, I usually prefer a man with a belly."

That knocked him out of his stupor. "Hey! I'll have you know that with all the running and jumping and near death experiences and…running…anyway, I've shed quite a few lab pounds since coming to Atlantis," he finished defensively, obviously misunderstanding her.

Elizabeth resisted the urge to swat him. "Rodney, I meant that you're the exception to my rule."

"Oh," Rodney said. "You're being serious again?" She raised her eyebrows and nodded again, suppressing a giggle. He patted his own stomach and looked at it, as if examining it through the bulky bedcovers. Finally, in a helpful, matter of fact tone, he said, "There's still a little pudge there."

Elizabeth burst out laughing and buried her face in his neck. When her giggles had subsided, she looked up at Rodney's smiling face. "I love you," she said.

"You've said that already," he replied, examining her gorgeous face. He ran a hand through her hair, making her smile widen.

"I thought it beared repeating." She leaned in and pressed her lips to his. As the kiss deepened and Elizabeth was thinking that she really wanted to get the two of them untangled from these covers, Rodney abruptly broke the kiss. "Rodney, what–?"

"Hold on, I just had a thought!" he replied agitatedly. Elizabeth rolled onto her back, sighing heavily. "There's a shocker," she mumbled, not bothering to hide her disappointment.

Either Rodney was oblivious to her comment, which was likely, or he chose to ignore her, which was far less likely. "So," he continued, "you're really a blonde."

Elizabeth smacked her hand over her face. "Yes," she grumbled. Hadn't they just covered this?

"And you were a cheerleader in high school," he pressed on.

Elizabeth peeked out from between her fingers. "Rodney…" she began in a warning tone. He had promised never to speak of that again.

"And we're still engaged?" Rodney made motions with his hands between the two of them.

"Yes," she said, removing her hand from her face. Where was he going with this?

A huge, smug grin slowly spread across Rodney's face. "Sheppard is going to be so jealous."

Elizabeth's eyes widened in shock at his comment. "Rodney! Don't you dare–" But before she could finish, Rodney kissed her in a way that made her realize she was going to be very late for work. But she somehow didn't mind.

oOo

Author's notes: Okay, so what did you think? Reviews are wonderful, especially from anyone who would like to beta for me, since I struggle with getting the character's voices right, especially Rodney. And hopefully everyone caught on that I was poking fun at the fact that the original actress playing Weir was a blonde…Anyway, thanks for reading!