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Rodney rolls in to the bakery before dawn looking shiny-eyed and punchy. John's busy baking the morning pastries and making up the boxes for his deliveries, and while he wants to be pleased to see Rodney, he's just too tired to summon up much enthusiasm.
"I saved the world last night," Rodney announces, rocking on his heels happily.
"Again?" John pushes his palms hard against his brow and temples, trying to rub some energy in through his skin. Lucky thing his hands are more awake than the rest of him, pouring batter and shaping dough and racking trays without his conscious intervention.
"Again," Rodney beams, punchy and manic and probably doped up on pills, if past experience with world-saving astrophysics is anything to go by.
John grabs for the strawberry plum muffin batter and grates out, "Congratulations."
"You're welcome," says Rodney. "That is; congratulations, thank you, yes, but also, you're welcome. Since I'm sure somewhere in there you intended to thank me on behalf of the grateful people of Earth." Yep, definitely pills.
Looking down, John finds he's just poured about half a pound of honey into his silicone mini loaf pans. His hands aren't that much more awake than the rest of him after all. "Rodney."
"Mm?"
"Make there be coffee."
Rodney heats water, mixes it with the cold brewed coffee syrup and adds enough milk to the cup to make it immediately drinkable without burning John's tongue; John gulps it down in one long pull.
"You didn't sleep well," Rodney infers, making him another cup right away.
"You didn't sleep at all," John elides. He's not ready to admit that he doesn't sleep as well lately alone. Maybe later he'll cop to it. Like in a year or two.
"No, but that's why they give me the good drugs. Don't waft that coffee at me, it smells so good, and I'm supposed to be coming down. Wait, better idea. Drink it and let me kiss you."
John does, why not, and Rodney takes John's jaw in both big hands and sucks the coffee off his tongue so fiercely that okay, between that and the caffeine?
Now John's awake.