skidmo_fic (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
skidmo_fic) wrote2007-01-19 10:08 am
skidmo_fic) wrote2007-01-19 10:08 am
Entry tags:
Speak to Us of Friendship (PG)
Title: Speak to Us of Friendship
Rating: PG
Pairing: McKay/Gaul
Spoilers: The Defiant One
Disclaimer: None of these characters belong to me...sadly
Feedback: yes, please.
Summary: Rodney and Brendan met long before Atlantis.
Author’s Notes: written for the![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
gatecreation episodes challenge. The title comes from Khalil Gibran’s “Friendship”.
“Gaul!”
A dark blond head snapped up from the sea of heads in the lecture hall. It’s owner had an unnervingly greyish tint to his skin, and Dr. Rodney McKay had an unnatural fear of someone vomiting during his lecture. His fear increased when the owner of said head replied in a weak voice, “Yes, Dr. McKay?”
“What is wrong with you? You look like you’re about to faint.”
“I get motion sick, sir.”
McKay rolled his eyes at the idiocy of this statement. “We’re in a stationary classroom, Gaul. How could you possibly be motion sick?”
Gaul swallowed, nausea-induced nerves stealing his customary confidence. Though he was only an adjunct hired to give a series of guest lectures on theoretical physics and some of the advancements he had made in the field, Dr. McKay was infamous for having a foul temper and not abiding anything that disrupted his lectures. He’d even been known to ban students from the classroom if they caused a distraction.
“Well? You haven’t answered the question, Gaul. How could you possibly be motion sick while sitting still in a stationary classroom? I realize that my intellect is dizzying, but I’ve never had someone have a physical reaction to my brilliance before.”
“I...er...it’s the, the uh...” He trailed off, gesturing feebly towards the screen behind McKay.
“The what, Gaul? The projector?”
“No, sir. The, uh, the laser pointer.”
McKay looked down at the device in his hand. “Really?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Huh.” Momentarily distracted by the idea, Dr. McKay quickly put the offending object down on his desk and continued with his lecture. Whatever he’d said about his intellect, there were several students who left the class feeling more than a little dizzy, master’s level students though they were.
McKay watched them file out of the lecture hall, more than usually disappointed in their sub-par intelligence. He noticed that Gaul was still sitting in his chair, looking pale, but definitely better than he had been before. McKay walked over to his desk.
“So none of your professors use laser pointers in their lectures, eh?”
Gaul glanced up at him, and McKay noticed that he was actually kind of attractive, for a pasty-faced grad student who had no doubt allowed the entire lecture to go over his head.
“Well, no. It’s actually quite a common practice.”
“So what’s different about my laser?”
“It’s not your laser exactly.”
“What, then? My massive intellect had you feeling woozy and the combination was just too much to endure?”
Gaul smiled a little, and McKay definitely did not notice how it made the young man’s eyes sparkle. “Actually, it was fine when you were using it properly.”
McKay’s brow scrunched up in confusion. “And just exactly how does one use a laser pointer improperly?”
“Well, you leave it on all the time, and you tend to gesture a lot when you’re talking.”
McKay was surprised when, instead of the fear he saw in most students eyes when faced with an actually conversation with him, he saw amusement. Having a student joke with him was completely undiscovered territory for Rodney, and he wasn’t quite sure what to do with it. He knew he was arrogant and that people tended to dislike him, but he did have a few friends, and he thought as he looked at this young man who, minutes ago, had been looking utterly nauseated, that there was something different about the way Gaul was joking with him. He couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was.
“Are you flirting with me, Gaul?”
“For someone with such a legendary I.Q., it sure took you long enough to pick up on that.”
“Huh.” For one small moment Rodney was speechless.
“So, wanna grab some coffee?”
“I, uh, don’t think that would be entirely appropriate, Gaul.”
Gaul shrugged. “Not if you keep calling me by my last name, it won’t.”
“Even so, er...”
“Brendan.”
“Brendan, right.” Rodney thought that the name suited him, but he shook the idea off. “Even so, Brendan, it’s probably not a good idea. I am, for all intents and purposes your professor.”
Gaul, no Brendan, grinned up at him before standing up and gathering his things. “So we talk shop. I’ve got a few questions I wanted to ask you about your theories on the possibility of interdimensional travel.”
“Really? You’ve read my theories?”
“No, but I can pretend I have if you’ll go out with me.”
***
Rodney never really got used to the idea that one of his students not only wanted to socialize with him, but actually wanted to date him. This was nothing new though, Rodney had never gotten used to the idea that any of his partners (not that there had been many) actually wanted to date him.
Brendan himself was certainly something new. He was smart enough to keep up with Rodney on the (quite common) occasions when Rodney would want to discuss his work over dinner or during a movie or even (just once) during sex. He didn’t get upset when Rodney missed a date because he had been caught up in research, and he never complained when Rodney forgot their anniversary/Valentine’s Day/Brendan’s birthday. He understood that Rodney’s desire for knowledge, his love of the thrill of discovery was the most important thing in Rodney’s life and probably always would be. And he was okay with that, which was not something Rodney had ever experienced before.
That was probably why Brendan wasn’t upset when Rodney came home to the apartment they’d been sharing for a little over a month and said that he’d been offered a position with the U.S. Air Force and he was going to be moving to Nevada.
Brendan just smiled and nodded and asked if Rodney needed any help packing.
***
When the time came to pick a team of scientists for the Atlantis Expedition, Rodney was busy enough with his work at the Ancient outpost in Antarctica that he allowed someone else to compile an initial list as long as he had final say over who actually made it onto the team.
He was about half-way through the stack of applicants when he opened a file to see a very familiar smile beaming up at him, and he felt a surge of pride when he read the words, “Dr. Brendan Gaul, PhD. Engineering, Applied Mathematics.”
It was the only file he approved without once suggesting the applicant might have experienced some sort of head trauma as a child.
***
Rodney had no delusions of Brendan greeting him with open arms and willingly picking up their relationship where they’d left off seven years ago. Brendan seemed to be operating under the same parameters, and they saw little of each other for the first several months they were in Atlantis. Rodney was occupied with his off-world missions and saving the city from imminent disaster, and Brendan had his own projects to keep him busy.
Rodney was almost surprised when Brendan showed up in his office one day to tell him about the Langrangian point satellite he’d discovered.
For a moment, Rodney couldn’t remember why he’d ever left Brendan. His eyes were shining with the thrill Rodney was only too familiar with, and he felt a deep pride that he’d once been this man’s teacher, as well as his lover. And when Brendan requested to be allowed to go on the mission to explore the satellite, Rodney had immediately acquiesced.
***
Sheppard found Rodney sitting in front of his laptop in his lab, staring off into the distance. He didn’t think the scientist had even noticed him come in, until Rodney said, “He told me that I’d changed.”
“Who did, McKay?”
“Brendan. He said he knew I wanted to be out there helping you.” Rodney turned to face the major, giving him a half-hearted half smile. “I don’t know if I ever told you that I used to be his professor.”
“You used to be a professor?” Sheppard asked, a hint of a smile in his voice.
“Just an adjunct. I did a series of guest lectures at Brendan’s university. He got motion sick during the third class.”
Sheppard leaned against Rodney’s desk, raising one eyebrow as he asked, “How on earth...”
“Laser pointer. Apparently I wave my arms a lot when I’m lecturing.”
“Ah.”
Rodney was staring absently at a point somewhere over Sheppard’s left shoulder. “I’m not sorry, you know.”
Sheppard just waited, knowing Rodney would say what he needed to eventually.
“I mean, of course I’m sorry about what happened. I never would have given him the gun if I’d known...” He broke off for a minute and turned back to his laptop so Sheppard wouldn’t see the tears. He was thinking of how Brendan, even with god knows how many years of his life sucked out, had teased Rodney about being jealous of his youth and his brain. For a moment, Rodney had been able to believe they’d never stopped seeing each other. When he spoke again, his voice cracked momentarily, but he blustered on. “I’m not sorry I chose him for the expedition. I’m not sorry he came. I’m not even sorry I let him go with us to see the satellite. I can’t work out if I’m sorry I suggested going down to the planet or not.”
“You couldn’t have known, McKay.”
“I know. And he understood.”
Rodney was silent for several minutes and Sheppard patted him awkwardly on the shoulder before saying, “Let’s grab some dinner.”
He thought he heard Rodney whisper something, before he stood up to follow Sheppard to the mess.
It sounded like, “He always understood.”
fin
Rating: PG
Pairing: McKay/Gaul
Spoilers: The Defiant One
Disclaimer: None of these characters belong to me...sadly
Feedback: yes, please.
Summary: Rodney and Brendan met long before Atlantis.
Author’s Notes: written for the
gatecreation episodes challenge. The title comes from Khalil Gibran’s “Friendship”.“Gaul!”
A dark blond head snapped up from the sea of heads in the lecture hall. It’s owner had an unnervingly greyish tint to his skin, and Dr. Rodney McKay had an unnatural fear of someone vomiting during his lecture. His fear increased when the owner of said head replied in a weak voice, “Yes, Dr. McKay?”
“What is wrong with you? You look like you’re about to faint.”
“I get motion sick, sir.”
McKay rolled his eyes at the idiocy of this statement. “We’re in a stationary classroom, Gaul. How could you possibly be motion sick?”
Gaul swallowed, nausea-induced nerves stealing his customary confidence. Though he was only an adjunct hired to give a series of guest lectures on theoretical physics and some of the advancements he had made in the field, Dr. McKay was infamous for having a foul temper and not abiding anything that disrupted his lectures. He’d even been known to ban students from the classroom if they caused a distraction.
“Well? You haven’t answered the question, Gaul. How could you possibly be motion sick while sitting still in a stationary classroom? I realize that my intellect is dizzying, but I’ve never had someone have a physical reaction to my brilliance before.”
“I...er...it’s the, the uh...” He trailed off, gesturing feebly towards the screen behind McKay.
“The what, Gaul? The projector?”
“No, sir. The, uh, the laser pointer.”
McKay looked down at the device in his hand. “Really?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Huh.” Momentarily distracted by the idea, Dr. McKay quickly put the offending object down on his desk and continued with his lecture. Whatever he’d said about his intellect, there were several students who left the class feeling more than a little dizzy, master’s level students though they were.
McKay watched them file out of the lecture hall, more than usually disappointed in their sub-par intelligence. He noticed that Gaul was still sitting in his chair, looking pale, but definitely better than he had been before. McKay walked over to his desk.
“So none of your professors use laser pointers in their lectures, eh?”
Gaul glanced up at him, and McKay noticed that he was actually kind of attractive, for a pasty-faced grad student who had no doubt allowed the entire lecture to go over his head.
“Well, no. It’s actually quite a common practice.”
“So what’s different about my laser?”
“It’s not your laser exactly.”
“What, then? My massive intellect had you feeling woozy and the combination was just too much to endure?”
Gaul smiled a little, and McKay definitely did not notice how it made the young man’s eyes sparkle. “Actually, it was fine when you were using it properly.”
McKay’s brow scrunched up in confusion. “And just exactly how does one use a laser pointer improperly?”
“Well, you leave it on all the time, and you tend to gesture a lot when you’re talking.”
McKay was surprised when, instead of the fear he saw in most students eyes when faced with an actually conversation with him, he saw amusement. Having a student joke with him was completely undiscovered territory for Rodney, and he wasn’t quite sure what to do with it. He knew he was arrogant and that people tended to dislike him, but he did have a few friends, and he thought as he looked at this young man who, minutes ago, had been looking utterly nauseated, that there was something different about the way Gaul was joking with him. He couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was.
“Are you flirting with me, Gaul?”
“For someone with such a legendary I.Q., it sure took you long enough to pick up on that.”
“Huh.” For one small moment Rodney was speechless.
“So, wanna grab some coffee?”
“I, uh, don’t think that would be entirely appropriate, Gaul.”
Gaul shrugged. “Not if you keep calling me by my last name, it won’t.”
“Even so, er...”
“Brendan.”
“Brendan, right.” Rodney thought that the name suited him, but he shook the idea off. “Even so, Brendan, it’s probably not a good idea. I am, for all intents and purposes your professor.”
Gaul, no Brendan, grinned up at him before standing up and gathering his things. “So we talk shop. I’ve got a few questions I wanted to ask you about your theories on the possibility of interdimensional travel.”
“Really? You’ve read my theories?”
“No, but I can pretend I have if you’ll go out with me.”
***
Rodney never really got used to the idea that one of his students not only wanted to socialize with him, but actually wanted to date him. This was nothing new though, Rodney had never gotten used to the idea that any of his partners (not that there had been many) actually wanted to date him.
Brendan himself was certainly something new. He was smart enough to keep up with Rodney on the (quite common) occasions when Rodney would want to discuss his work over dinner or during a movie or even (just once) during sex. He didn’t get upset when Rodney missed a date because he had been caught up in research, and he never complained when Rodney forgot their anniversary/Valentine’s Day/Brendan’s birthday. He understood that Rodney’s desire for knowledge, his love of the thrill of discovery was the most important thing in Rodney’s life and probably always would be. And he was okay with that, which was not something Rodney had ever experienced before.
That was probably why Brendan wasn’t upset when Rodney came home to the apartment they’d been sharing for a little over a month and said that he’d been offered a position with the U.S. Air Force and he was going to be moving to Nevada.
Brendan just smiled and nodded and asked if Rodney needed any help packing.
***
When the time came to pick a team of scientists for the Atlantis Expedition, Rodney was busy enough with his work at the Ancient outpost in Antarctica that he allowed someone else to compile an initial list as long as he had final say over who actually made it onto the team.
He was about half-way through the stack of applicants when he opened a file to see a very familiar smile beaming up at him, and he felt a surge of pride when he read the words, “Dr. Brendan Gaul, PhD. Engineering, Applied Mathematics.”
It was the only file he approved without once suggesting the applicant might have experienced some sort of head trauma as a child.
***
Rodney had no delusions of Brendan greeting him with open arms and willingly picking up their relationship where they’d left off seven years ago. Brendan seemed to be operating under the same parameters, and they saw little of each other for the first several months they were in Atlantis. Rodney was occupied with his off-world missions and saving the city from imminent disaster, and Brendan had his own projects to keep him busy.
Rodney was almost surprised when Brendan showed up in his office one day to tell him about the Langrangian point satellite he’d discovered.
For a moment, Rodney couldn’t remember why he’d ever left Brendan. His eyes were shining with the thrill Rodney was only too familiar with, and he felt a deep pride that he’d once been this man’s teacher, as well as his lover. And when Brendan requested to be allowed to go on the mission to explore the satellite, Rodney had immediately acquiesced.
***
Sheppard found Rodney sitting in front of his laptop in his lab, staring off into the distance. He didn’t think the scientist had even noticed him come in, until Rodney said, “He told me that I’d changed.”
“Who did, McKay?”
“Brendan. He said he knew I wanted to be out there helping you.” Rodney turned to face the major, giving him a half-hearted half smile. “I don’t know if I ever told you that I used to be his professor.”
“You used to be a professor?” Sheppard asked, a hint of a smile in his voice.
“Just an adjunct. I did a series of guest lectures at Brendan’s university. He got motion sick during the third class.”
Sheppard leaned against Rodney’s desk, raising one eyebrow as he asked, “How on earth...”
“Laser pointer. Apparently I wave my arms a lot when I’m lecturing.”
“Ah.”
Rodney was staring absently at a point somewhere over Sheppard’s left shoulder. “I’m not sorry, you know.”
Sheppard just waited, knowing Rodney would say what he needed to eventually.
“I mean, of course I’m sorry about what happened. I never would have given him the gun if I’d known...” He broke off for a minute and turned back to his laptop so Sheppard wouldn’t see the tears. He was thinking of how Brendan, even with god knows how many years of his life sucked out, had teased Rodney about being jealous of his youth and his brain. For a moment, Rodney had been able to believe they’d never stopped seeing each other. When he spoke again, his voice cracked momentarily, but he blustered on. “I’m not sorry I chose him for the expedition. I’m not sorry he came. I’m not even sorry I let him go with us to see the satellite. I can’t work out if I’m sorry I suggested going down to the planet or not.”
“You couldn’t have known, McKay.”
“I know. And he understood.”
Rodney was silent for several minutes and Sheppard patted him awkwardly on the shoulder before saying, “Let’s grab some dinner.”
He thought he heard Rodney whisper something, before he stood up to follow Sheppard to the mess.
It sounded like, “He always understood.”
fin