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stargateficrecRec Category: John Sheppard/Rodney McKay
Pairing: John Sheppard/Rodney McKay
Category: AU, angst, epic
Warnings: None
Author on LJ:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
smittywing
Author Website: Smittyworld
Link: The Best Things in Life are Free
This story has been a long time in-progress, and the author finished it as part of the![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
14valentines challenge. I feel lucky that I get to recommend this to people who don't like to read WIPs, as the epic length of the story was incredibly satisfying to me; the author took all the time that she needed to let the story develop fully without a lot of extra scenes, so the pacing holds together even when the story is read in one gulp. I'd say it's one of the best High School Aus that I have read, maintaining the integrity of the characters while translating the universe to its new setting--a setting inspired by the movie "Can't Buy Me Love", which makes it something of a homage to teen movies of the 1980s and gives it a fabulous sense of time and place. There are also several shorter stories that follow-on from the main epic, set in the same universe; there are linked through the index page I noted above.
"This is crap, I can't see a thing," Rodney sighed, stepping away from Radek Zelenka's telescope.
"Maybe you are not looking at the right thing," Radek suggested, peering in the telescope himself.
"No, it just doesn't have enough power." Rodney sighed and scrubbed one hand through his hair. "Don't worry about it. When I get my new telescope tomorrow, we'll be able to chart anything we want."
"Yes, yes, your telescope. Your extremely expensive and high-technical new way of spying on John Sheppard."
"Oh, shut up," Rodney snapped but he didn't put much heat into it. Radek was his best friend and had known about his crush on John for nearly the entire summer. Some days it felt like Rodney had always had a crush on the boy next door and he had to remind himself that his family had only moved to the base a year and a half before. Radek's family had arrived shortly after the McKays, and it was a good thing, because nobody else at that high school was even close to Rodney's intelligence. Not even John Sheppard, Rodney knew, but his adoration was equal to his adoration of Cheryl Tiegs, Christie Brinkley, and Patrick Dempsey. Maybe even equal to his adoration of Rob Lowe. Maybe even greater, because John was real and had strong, capable hands that threw footballs and twirled his pencils in study hall, and he had hair that flopped over his eyes and jeans that were tight enough in all the right places.
Radek had picked up on his interest instantly and after an initial observation of, "So you like boys as well as girls? Why should I care?" he pretty much let Rodney obsess without comment.
Rodney found an empty patch of floor in Radek's room and sat down. John Sheppard was handsome and athletic and cool and popular. His father was a colonel and John had been accepted to the Air Force Academy pending a nomination from his representative and excellent mid-year grades. Everyone assumed he had it in the bag. Rodney was smarter than John, brilliant, in fact, but he didn't have anything in the bag. He had a lot of outstanding requests for admissions materials and twice that many scholarship applications, and he knew that they'd be knocking down his door any day now, but so far he'd heard nothing.
"You have your worrying face on," Radek said. "John is no longer dating Elizabeth Weir. They broke up when she graduated. Maybe you should see what he thinks about liking boys."
Rodney snorted. Radek didn't often give advice, which was the only reason Rodney had for not reaming him for his stupidity. That and Radek tended to think the best of people and Rodney wasn't quite bastard enough to squash that. "Right, or he and his football buddies will introduce my head to the toilet in the men's locker room."
Radek shook his head. "You have no positive thinking," he scolded.
"No," Rodney agreed, staring at the sky out the window. "But tomorrow I'll have the best telescope ever made and that'll make up for a lot."
Pairing: John Sheppard/Rodney McKay
Category: AU, angst, epic
Warnings: None
Author on LJ:
smittywingAuthor Website: Smittyworld
Link: The Best Things in Life are Free
This story has been a long time in-progress, and the author finished it as part of the
14valentines challenge. I feel lucky that I get to recommend this to people who don't like to read WIPs, as the epic length of the story was incredibly satisfying to me; the author took all the time that she needed to let the story develop fully without a lot of extra scenes, so the pacing holds together even when the story is read in one gulp. I'd say it's one of the best High School Aus that I have read, maintaining the integrity of the characters while translating the universe to its new setting--a setting inspired by the movie "Can't Buy Me Love", which makes it something of a homage to teen movies of the 1980s and gives it a fabulous sense of time and place. There are also several shorter stories that follow-on from the main epic, set in the same universe; there are linked through the index page I noted above. "This is crap, I can't see a thing," Rodney sighed, stepping away from Radek Zelenka's telescope.
"Maybe you are not looking at the right thing," Radek suggested, peering in the telescope himself.
"No, it just doesn't have enough power." Rodney sighed and scrubbed one hand through his hair. "Don't worry about it. When I get my new telescope tomorrow, we'll be able to chart anything we want."
"Yes, yes, your telescope. Your extremely expensive and high-technical new way of spying on John Sheppard."
"Oh, shut up," Rodney snapped but he didn't put much heat into it. Radek was his best friend and had known about his crush on John for nearly the entire summer. Some days it felt like Rodney had always had a crush on the boy next door and he had to remind himself that his family had only moved to the base a year and a half before. Radek's family had arrived shortly after the McKays, and it was a good thing, because nobody else at that high school was even close to Rodney's intelligence. Not even John Sheppard, Rodney knew, but his adoration was equal to his adoration of Cheryl Tiegs, Christie Brinkley, and Patrick Dempsey. Maybe even equal to his adoration of Rob Lowe. Maybe even greater, because John was real and had strong, capable hands that threw footballs and twirled his pencils in study hall, and he had hair that flopped over his eyes and jeans that were tight enough in all the right places.
Radek had picked up on his interest instantly and after an initial observation of, "So you like boys as well as girls? Why should I care?" he pretty much let Rodney obsess without comment.
Rodney found an empty patch of floor in Radek's room and sat down. John Sheppard was handsome and athletic and cool and popular. His father was a colonel and John had been accepted to the Air Force Academy pending a nomination from his representative and excellent mid-year grades. Everyone assumed he had it in the bag. Rodney was smarter than John, brilliant, in fact, but he didn't have anything in the bag. He had a lot of outstanding requests for admissions materials and twice that many scholarship applications, and he knew that they'd be knocking down his door any day now, but so far he'd heard nothing.
"You have your worrying face on," Radek said. "John is no longer dating Elizabeth Weir. They broke up when she graduated. Maybe you should see what he thinks about liking boys."
Rodney snorted. Radek didn't often give advice, which was the only reason Rodney had for not reaming him for his stupidity. That and Radek tended to think the best of people and Rodney wasn't quite bastard enough to squash that. "Right, or he and his football buddies will introduce my head to the toilet in the men's locker room."
Radek shook his head. "You have no positive thinking," he scolded.
"No," Rodney agreed, staring at the sky out the window. "But tomorrow I'll have the best telescope ever made and that'll make up for a lot."
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no subject
Date: 2008-03-17 04:26 am (UTC)great rec~! stayed up till 5 am reading it ^^;; and now i've got a craving for more high-school theme sheppard/mckay fics. would you be able to rec any others under this category?
many thanks!!!
no subject
Date: 2008-03-18 04:43 am (UTC)