Complementary Colors and Analogous Colors by yin-again (NC-17)

[danceswithgary]

Rec Category: Sheppard/McKay
Pairing: Sheppard/McKay
Category: AU, First Time, Romance
Warning: Slash
Author on LJ: yin_again
Author's Website: http://yin-again.com/
Link:

Complementary Colors
Analogous Colors

Why This Must Be Read:

This AU has Rodney as a brusque, yet brilliant artist looking for the perfect model for a concept he's working on. John fills that slot and then adds more than posing to Rodney's artistic process. The Rodney and John characterizations are sharp-edged and believable, with Rodney's obsession with artistic integrity leading him to make his own paper and paints and John's vulnerability hidden beneath a mask of casual indifference, both isolated until they cross over into each other's empty spaces.

The descriptions of Rodney's work are fascinating with wonderful sensory details, as are the observations of the model he's immortalizing. A lovely set of stories to read and finish with a smile.


Excerpt:

When the doorbell rang Monday morning, Rodney was up to his elbow-length latex gloves in oil paint. Oil paint that he was making by hand. Of course he made his own paint - he considered the process to be akin to a combination of the sophisticated science of polymer chemistry and intuition. Not surprisingly, he was better at the chemistry part.

Rodney mostly worked in watercolor - he was well known for coaxing deep colors from a medium more well-known for delicate washes and intricate detail. He had his own recipes for watercolor. However, the "stained glass" effect on the previous day's sketch would require the slickness and luminosity of oil. He was going to have to counteract the medium's tendency for colors to blend together, as he needed sharp divisions between panels - maybe extra drying time, but that would make the bitch last for weeks. He was considering mixing media, but had not quite determined the best way to go.

The doorbell rang again, and Rodney pulled his hands out of the vat and stripped the gloves off, hurrying across the studio.

He opened the door and said, "Yes!"

The man standing there was perfect. Young-ish, male, tall, lean and with sharp features.

Rodney grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into the studio, kicking the door shut behind him. He had a sudden thought. "Oh, please tell me you're from the agency. Please don't tell me you're my new neighbor or from the building commission or you just hit my car in the parking lot."

The guy leaned back against the door in an easy slouch. "I'm from the agency," he said. He reached forward and touched the side of Rodney's face. While Rodney gaped at him, he held up two fingers with a smear of blue on them. "You had paint on your face."

Rodney lifted up the hem of his shirt and wiped the blue from the man's fingers and then, as an afterthought, he used the tails to scrub at his own face.

"You are exactly what I need," Rodney said. "Take off your clothes."

"Okay," the guy said slowly. "I'm John Sheppard."

Rodney grabbed his hand, shook it, then used the grip to pull John further into his studio. "Rodney McKay. Clothes off, on the couch - there's a screen over there if you have delicate sensibilities."

John started to walk slowly across the studio. "Wasting light, wasting light, wasting light," Rodney called after him, practically running to the easel to set up a huge pad of watercolor paper. "Hurry up," he yelled.

"What, no robe?" John stuck his head around the screen.

"What?" Rodney yelped. "Oh, god - you've only done classroom, haven't you? I was kidding about the delicate sensibilities. Move."

...

Comments

Thanks

[sporangia.livejournal.com]

Thanks for this wonderful recommendation. I have not encountered many AUs where John or Rodney is a visual artist. I would love to know about any other fics especially where John is the artist and Rodney meets him in a universe where Rodney isn't a scientist. Thanks again.

Re: Thanks

[danceswithgary]

Thanks - I'm glad I could bring you something new. You might try asking for similar stories at sgagenrefinders.