ext_1675 (![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png)
laceymcbain.livejournal.com) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
crack_van2008-01-07 11:24 am
laceymcbain.livejournal.com) wrote in crack_van2008-01-07 11:24 am
Entry tags:
Waltz Tango Foxtrot by out_there (NC-17)
Fandom: STARGATE ATLANTIS
Pairing: Sheppard/McKay, McKay/OFC
Author on LJ:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
out_there
Author Website: Amazed by the Mathematics
Why this must be read: Stargate Atlantis lends itself particularly well to AUs. Talented authors seem to be able to transplant the characters into a variety of settings and keep the core characters essentially the same. I also like the subtle hint of WTF? in the title because if that's what you think of when you think John, Rodney and ballroom dancing, you HAVE to read this story.
When the story begins Rodney has a girlfriend. A girlfriend who wants him to learn how to dance for an upcoming wedding (not theirs!). And being Rodney - and wanting to continue to enjoy the benefits of said girlfriend - he goes to the Pegasus School of Dance and meets John Sheppard, instructor extraordinaire. Rodney's not a natural at the dance, one might say, and so he signs up for extra lessons to help him. The result is classic McShep banter, a confused Rodney, break-ups, make-ups, and a make-you-smile ending. I think one of the reasons I like this so much is that it isn't 100% simple for the boys. There are screw-ups and miscommunications of massive proportions along the way, but that's so much in character, you'll sympathize. And you'll root for them to get through it and get back to the way things are supposed to be. Hot and happy.
"I want to be able to dance in public without looking like a barely trained baboon."
John almost laughed. "You're not that bad."
"Oh, please," Rodney said, rolling his eyes, "don't humor me. It demeans us both."
"You have promise. You're just really, really tense."
"I live tense. That's not going to change. I need to find a way to fake the looseness thing." Rodney shifted on his feet. He hated this feeling of asking the teacher for extra help. He'd never had to do it in school: he'd always been the one ahead of the teacher, finishing the extension work with ease. But they were subjects that made sense -- English, math, physics, chemistry -- not irrelevant, meaningless things like dancing. "That's where you come in."
"You want me to loosen you up?" John asked, his hazel eyes twinkling. There was something in his smile that made Rodney forget to breathe for a nanosecond, made him almost forget what he was going to ask. It was odd.
"No. I want private lessons. Without, you know, having to mention it to Christine. Because it's bad enough that something this stupid and pointless is somehow beyond my intellectual ability to master. I don't need my girlfriend knowing that too." Rodney pulled at the hem of his Oxford shirt. "Are there any nights you're free?"
John smiled. It wasn't the same species as the thought-stopping one, but it was in the same genetic line. "How about Fridays? Or Mondays? Those are my best nights."
"How about both?" Rodney asked, and John blinked. "Oh, come on. The wedding is five weeks away. I think I need all the lessons I can get."
"Christine won't mind?"
Rodney snorted. "She's always busy grading papers. She wouldn't notice if I was abducted by aliens three nights a week."
Read the Story / Feedback the Author: Waltz Tango Foxtrot
Pairing: Sheppard/McKay, McKay/OFC
Author on LJ:
out_thereAuthor Website: Amazed by the Mathematics
Why this must be read: Stargate Atlantis lends itself particularly well to AUs. Talented authors seem to be able to transplant the characters into a variety of settings and keep the core characters essentially the same. I also like the subtle hint of WTF? in the title because if that's what you think of when you think John, Rodney and ballroom dancing, you HAVE to read this story.
When the story begins Rodney has a girlfriend. A girlfriend who wants him to learn how to dance for an upcoming wedding (not theirs!). And being Rodney - and wanting to continue to enjoy the benefits of said girlfriend - he goes to the Pegasus School of Dance and meets John Sheppard, instructor extraordinaire. Rodney's not a natural at the dance, one might say, and so he signs up for extra lessons to help him. The result is classic McShep banter, a confused Rodney, break-ups, make-ups, and a make-you-smile ending. I think one of the reasons I like this so much is that it isn't 100% simple for the boys. There are screw-ups and miscommunications of massive proportions along the way, but that's so much in character, you'll sympathize. And you'll root for them to get through it and get back to the way things are supposed to be. Hot and happy.
"I want to be able to dance in public without looking like a barely trained baboon."
John almost laughed. "You're not that bad."
"Oh, please," Rodney said, rolling his eyes, "don't humor me. It demeans us both."
"You have promise. You're just really, really tense."
"I live tense. That's not going to change. I need to find a way to fake the looseness thing." Rodney shifted on his feet. He hated this feeling of asking the teacher for extra help. He'd never had to do it in school: he'd always been the one ahead of the teacher, finishing the extension work with ease. But they were subjects that made sense -- English, math, physics, chemistry -- not irrelevant, meaningless things like dancing. "That's where you come in."
"You want me to loosen you up?" John asked, his hazel eyes twinkling. There was something in his smile that made Rodney forget to breathe for a nanosecond, made him almost forget what he was going to ask. It was odd.
"No. I want private lessons. Without, you know, having to mention it to Christine. Because it's bad enough that something this stupid and pointless is somehow beyond my intellectual ability to master. I don't need my girlfriend knowing that too." Rodney pulled at the hem of his Oxford shirt. "Are there any nights you're free?"
John smiled. It wasn't the same species as the thought-stopping one, but it was in the same genetic line. "How about Fridays? Or Mondays? Those are my best nights."
"How about both?" Rodney asked, and John blinked. "Oh, come on. The wedding is five weeks away. I think I need all the lessons I can get."
"Christine won't mind?"
Rodney snorted. "She's always busy grading papers. She wouldn't notice if I was abducted by aliens three nights a week."
Read the Story / Feedback the Author: Waltz Tango Foxtrot
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