Stillane ([info]stillane) wrote,
2005-10-10 18:07:00

McShep Snippet

I should be doing actual work. Am I? Yeah, riiight. Instead, I'm failing to fic. I've got a plot that wants to be, but I want to cover the background first. So, in the meantime, I've got an entirely unrelated McShep bit that won't go away. It's just slightly bigger than a double drabble, nothing grand or profound. I'm just trying to overcome my shy-writer syndrome. Also, I have no beta. As always, all feedback is welcome.

Title: Small Things

Fandom: SGA

Pairing: Sheppard/Mckay

Rating: PG-13? Very mild

 


The way he put underlings in their place. John always knew they loved him, because people that smart didn’t take that kind of abuse from just anyone. It didn’t mean either side had to be all warm and fuzzy about it. He was a bastard, and a tyrant, but he was their bastard. Funny how most relationships involving him were like that.
 
The way he was anything but suave. The man drooled, for God’s sake. He couldn’t flirt worth a damn, had to be told when it was necessary at all. Political correctness somehow eluded him in any given situation. Most things deriving from the same root as “polite” did.
 
The way most mules would have felt outclassed by his brand of stubborn. No one was safe from it, either. Friend, foe, and authority figure alike were all subject to that unique style of grit. Quiet determination it wasn’t. Hell, quiet he wasn't. John sometimes thought he used his staff as training for the verbal barrage he’d launch at inconvenient obstacles. He wondered if they knew they were cannon fodder, and thought they probably did.
 
The way he gasped John’s name, every time. The way his eyes went grey in moonlight. The way his smile got more crooked when he was tired. The way his bravest moments were always the silent ones. The way his hair had exactly one style. The way his hands had many.
 
They say you miss the small things. John knows they’re wrong. He misses everything.



Tags: fic, mckay/sheppard, sga

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  • 38 comments

[info]itsthewa

October 11 2005, 21:19:24 UTC 6 years ago

Jeez, that was lovely. Eloquent and so sad.

[info]stillane

October 11 2005, 23:35:14 UTC 6 years ago

Whee! Someone actually read it, and - bonus! - enjoyed. Thank you. And I love your icon.

[info]terrio

October 12 2005, 00:59:54 UTC 6 years ago

Ack, WHERE'S RODNEY???

meeep

[info]stillane

October 12 2005, 01:45:22 UTC 6 years ago

Ah, that is the question. If I can ever get the fic bunny that won't die out of my head, I may get to revist this one. I know where he is, and Sheppard knows, but the two don't necessarily agree. I think that's most likely because I believe in happy endings far more than Sheppard does. I really thought this would be a one off, but I wouldn't be averse to it growing a plot on me. Eventually.

[info]stellahobbit

6 years ago

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[info]stillane

6 years ago

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[info]stellahobbit

6 years ago

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[info]tingler

October 12 2005, 01:20:27 UTC 6 years ago

Mmm, nice!

Especially liked those last few lines. Wasn't expecting that twist at the end either.

[info]stillane

October 12 2005, 01:47:50 UTC 6 years ago

Thank you! I'm a sucker for the sucker punch, myself, but they're so hard to write. Honestly, I wasn't planning this to be sneaky. It surprised me, too.

[info]bluebrocade

October 12 2005, 01:25:10 UTC 6 years ago

That was sad and sweet. But now I want to know what happened. Did Rodney die? Did they break up? ::sniff::

[info]stillane

October 12 2005, 02:21:34 UTC 6 years ago

*points to comment above* Well, it wasn't a break-up, that much I can tell you. As to whether this will ever sprout legs and a tale, *shrugs* Maybe?

[info]lydiabell

October 12 2005, 06:54:56 UTC 6 years ago

Oh, poor John. I like how his love for Rodney comes through in an understated way. He's not so open, so that seems right for him.

[info]stillane

October 21 2005, 22:51:11 UTC 6 years ago

I feel terribly remiss in not responding to your comment for so long. It got lost somewhere in the nowhere that is my brain. Thanks so much for reading. I find it very hard to write John from an outsider's perspective, just because so little gets through, and what does is often meant to mislead. I took the easy way out and went inside his head :> Thanks again for stopping by.

[info]silens_unus

November 14 2005, 08:35:18 UTC 6 years ago

Right, so I'm demanding you write a follow-up piece to this. You can't just leave me hanging. You can't leave John hanging. You just, you can't. I love you and your writing so much. Please continue this.

[info]stillane

November 18 2005, 06:56:43 UTC 6 years ago

*whistles innocently and twiddles thumbs* I'm honestly not sure if this one will go anywhere or not. I've got a few other projects in the works (and RL is looking to kick me rear for the next few weeks), but I keep coming back to this and thinking, "Huh. So what did happen there?" I might yet pick it up again.

Thanks so much for reading! I'm very happy you liked it, even if it is a little frustrating :>

And, also: still with the icon love. Hee. Penguins.

[info]the_moonmoth

February 9 2006, 16:06:39 UTC 6 years ago

Oh, ouch, that didn't go where I thought it was going, but that just makes the final impact all the better.

The way his smile got more crooked when he was tired. The way his bravest moments were always the silent ones. The way his hair had exactly one style. The way his hands had many.

And that's just gorgeous.

[info]stillane

February 12 2006, 03:29:41 UTC 6 years ago

Thank you. Oddly enough, I think I just figured out which of the fics that have yet to be written this goes with. It's not that this is part of that one, just maybe a spinoff thereof? Not sure how it fits, but it's definitely related. Huh. Ambushed by my brain again.

[info]the_moonmoth

6 years ago

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[info]stillane

6 years ago

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[info]ajali

March 29 2006, 22:16:10 UTC 6 years ago

That was really nice - the style started off simply but the end hinted at so many more things! I have no idea what fandom it is, so i wouldn't be an appropriate beta, but i would love to beta one's you've written in fandom i AM familier with - i found you and added you to my flist solely on account of your Supernatural fic 'Somatic'. That's easily one of the most moving Supernatual fics i have read, and i love how you left questions still unanswered at the end - not enough to say there is more to come, but enough to say 'I, the author, consider my audience to be intelligent, so therefore I don't need to spell things out for them and can leave some details vague just to stretch their minds.'
I'm currently penning my first EVER fanfic although i have written 200 pages of an original story, so if you are willing maybe you could possibly beta mine if i ever get it close to posting quality?

Ayubowan!

Ajali.

[info]stillane

March 30 2006, 20:44:59 UTC 6 years ago

Hiya.

This little one is for Stargate: Atlantis, which tends to share my brain with Supernatural these days :> I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed Somatic so much. On the subject of betaing: life is going to be a little bit insane hearabouts for the next month or so, and you are probably better off having someone else be your primary reader during that time frame, but I would be glad to take a look at your fic when it coallesces. I'm guessing it's in Supernatural? My email is in my info, when you get to the shipping stage. *g*

Best of luck with the writing!

[info]ajali

6 years ago

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[info]titc

April 6 2006, 03:37:10 UTC 6 years ago

Ow! *sniffles*
I really liked this!

[info]stillane

April 9 2006, 23:21:45 UTC 6 years ago

Thank you!

[info]eaivalefay

April 10 2006, 04:51:03 UTC 6 years ago

I (finally!) read this, in preparation to read The Ratio of Burning. (*grin* I am so awfully behind on things. I have all your fics bookmarked though!) And I am glad I did. You have such a beautiful way with words. And...where's Rodney? *cries* I am nervous about reading Ratio now.

[info]stillane

April 10 2006, 04:56:46 UTC 6 years ago

I am nervous about reading Ratio now.

*evil laugh* You should be.

No, seriously, just... hang in there. If it's any consolation, it beat the daylights out of me as a writer. You shan't suffer alone. *g*

[info]eaivalefay

6 years ago

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[info]sandrainthesun

April 10 2006, 06:42:57 UTC 6 years ago

They say you miss the small things. John knows they’re wrong. He misses everything.

That just broke me. It's wonderful. Thank you.

I've read through some of your other stuff and I adored it, esp. the episode tags.

[info]stillane

April 11 2006, 04:01:08 UTC 6 years ago

Wow. Thank you. Glad to hear you've been enjoying kicking around the place, and that you liked this one. :>

[info]z_rayne

April 10 2006, 23:33:57 UTC 6 years ago

I have no idea how I missed this originally, but wow. And ouch.

[info]stillane

April 11 2006, 04:05:39 UTC 6 years ago

Thank you. And chances are you missed this one because it was the very first time John and Rodney ever put in an appearance in my writing brain. I don't even remember whether I was adventurous enough to post it to a comm. I was very, very shy, and prone to meeping quietly. Kind of hard to believe that wasn't so long ago. I feel like I've aged decades in net years. :>

[info]z_rayne

6 years ago

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[info]poisonshock

April 11 2006, 04:58:03 UTC 6 years ago

beautiful and so sad!!!

[info]stillane

May 1 2006, 20:51:35 UTC 6 years ago

Ack! How the heck did I lose this comment? My apologies!

Thanks so much for reading the story! I'm so glad to hear that you liked it, even if I am quite slow in saying so. *g*

[info]archerlass

May 12 2006, 00:18:35 UTC 6 years ago

I love John's view of Rodney. And those last several lines really hurt. Nicely done!

[info]stillane

May 12 2006, 05:03:53 UTC 6 years ago

Thank you! Glad to hear you liked it!

[info]terrible_tues

August 11 2007, 11:12:45 UTC 4 years ago

I'm astonished at how effectively you turned this into a sad fic with just the last line. Very powerful little story, and I can imagine that it would fit right into the middle of The Ratio of Burning.

[info]sparrowhawk17

August 12 2007, 18:16:52 UTC 4 years ago

Beautiful, and so very John. I loved it.
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