Blind Date by Bethynyc (dating challenge)
Jun. 18th, 2007 02:49 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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sga_flashficTitle: Blind Date
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
bethynyc
Pairing: Sheppard/McKay
Rating: PG-13
Notes: Written for the![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
sga_flashfic dating challenge. Many thanks to linaerys for the beta!
Warnings and Spoilers: None
Word Count: 1088
Disclaimer: I don't own them. MGM, Sci-fi, and other corporate entities do. I'm not them.
Summary: AU, set in New Jersey.
“No.”
“Why not?” Jeannie voice rose, and Rodney could tell exactly where Madison got her whine.
“Because. I am not going on a blind date. Period, end of story.” Rodney folded his arms and glared at his sister. She pressed her lips into a thin line and proceeded to tell him, loudly and in minute detail, exactly why he was going on this date, no ifs, ands, or buts.
~~~
“I don't know Lorne. I mean, do we have anything in common?” John glanced in the mirror and smoothed his shirt. Lorne, his TA, always joked about setting him up on blind dates, but this was the first time he arranged something concrete.
“John, it'll be fine.” Lorne's voice echoed tinnily from the speaker phone. “He's a physicist, you're a mathematician. Talk about number theory or something.”
John looked at the card Lorne had given him that afternoon, and frowned. “Talk number theory at a karaoke bar?” he asked.
“Just don't be late. Jeannie will kill me.”
With a sigh, John checked his wallet. “How do you know Jeannie again?”
Lorne chuckled, sounding strange over the line. “My girlfriend's roommate is Jeannie's husband's TA. I met her at the Lit department social.”
“Ah, university life is so incestuous.”
“Get a move on, John, or you'll be late. Have a good time, and I'll see you Monday.” With that, Lorne hung up.
John took one last look glance in the mirror. This better be better than his last date, which ended in a car crash, or else Evan Lorne was covering John's office hours for the rest of his life.
~~~
John arrived at the bar with a few minutes to spare, and took a moment to glance around. The place was packed, and he had no clue how he was going to find this McKay guy in the crowd. On the stage, two men were doing a creditable imitation of ABBA, with all the moves.
John was still standing right next to the door when it opened, and a man walked in. He wore khaki pants and a sports jacket over a blue button down shirt that made his eyes glow clear blue even in the low light of the bar. Upon taking in the scene, complete with the crowd singing along to “Take A Chance On Me,” he groaned. “I'm going to kill Jeannie.”
John perked up. This must be his date. “You McKay?”
The newcomer jumped, his expression a mix of nervousness and annoyance. “What?”
“You Rodney McKay?” John yelled over the cheering crowd.
“Yeah, oh yeah!” McKay brayed back. “You, uh, John Sheppard?”
John nodded, and took McKay by the elbow and led him outside. Once the door was shut, the noise cut to the point where only the thumpa-thumpa of the bass line could be felt rather than blasting through their bodies.
They moved to the side to let someone in, the music, “It's Rainin' Men,” blared and cut out as the door opened and closed again. John looked at Rodney and chuckled. “We have to figure out who decided that was an appropriate place for a blind date.”
“Yes.” McKay answered, “And then we torture them. Mercilessly. I'm sure it was Jeannie, she delights in putting me in awkward positions, really.”
John cocked his head and smiled. McKay was a trip. “You want to, um, hit the diner or something?”
“What? Oh, sure, good idea.” Together they crossed the street and walked down the block to the diner.
The Golden Dove was one of those old-fashioned diners taken over by new management ten years ago. They decided to remodel the restaurant into a Gernsbackian brushed-chrome monstrosity, to bring in customers seeking that 1950s road-trip experience. Luckily, they kept on the kitchen staff and didn't bother changing the menu, so the food remained high quality. John and McKay were seated promptly, and their waitress, Shannon, promised faithfully that no citrus would go anywhere near Rodney's order.
Under other circumstances, John might have been annoyed at McKay's fussiness, but for some reason he found it entertaining. Most people would have mentioned allergies and changed the subject; McKay had a whole prepared speech. He might be a bit of a hypochondriac, but he definitely wasn't boring. When he finally wound down his diatribe about food and allergies, John took the opportunity to jump in. “So, Evan told me you were a physicist?”
Rodney looked up, mouth full of fries, “What?”
“Your job? Physicist?” John ignored his baked potato and snuck a fry off Rodney's plate. “Any specialty in particular?”
Rodney grimaced. “Like you'd get it.”
“Try me.” John cocked an eyebrow at him and stole another fry. “I teach mathematical theory at Rutgers.” He cut off a big piece of chicken fried steak and smiled around it at his date.
Rodney started with dismantling string theory and they were off and running, with topics ranging from hockey vs. football to the Riemann zeta hypothesis to which version of Star Trek was most likely to happen in the near future. They sketched formulas on napkins and the back of place mats describing exactly how lightsabers could work, if only they had the right equipment. They also discussed just how they would get their revenge on Jeannie and Evan, but couldn't come up with anything that was both suitable and non-fatal.
Mournfully, Rodney stared into his coffee. “Madison would kill me if I did anything permanent.”
“You're afraid of a preschooler?”
“You haven't heard her whine.” Rodney drained his cup and John refilled it from the carafe.
“No,” admitted John, “but you'd be surprised how much freshman can sound like four-year-olds. Especially when they're used to begging their way to a better grade.”
With an odd half-smile, Rodney cocked his head at John. “This was a good date, despite how it started.”
John leaned forward. “I've thought of an appropriate revenge.” He grinned wickedly.
“Oh? Do tell.”
~~~
At seven o'clock in the morning, Jeannie was busy feeding Madison breakfast and trying to persuade her that, no, Cheerios belonged in the bowl, not on the floor, when the phone rang.
Exasperated, she picked it up. “Hello?”
“Oh, my god, Jeannie, thank god. Listen, I can't stay on long, he'll be back in a minute. He's, oh Jeannie, I'm not going to be able to sit for a week, and in a minute or two, we're going to go at it again. I knew you wanted me dead, but, wow, what a way to go!”
Author:
bethynycPairing: Sheppard/McKay
Rating: PG-13
Notes: Written for the
sga_flashfic dating challenge. Many thanks to linaerys for the beta!Warnings and Spoilers: None
Word Count: 1088
Disclaimer: I don't own them. MGM, Sci-fi, and other corporate entities do. I'm not them.
Summary: AU, set in New Jersey.
“No.”
“Why not?” Jeannie voice rose, and Rodney could tell exactly where Madison got her whine.
“Because. I am not going on a blind date. Period, end of story.” Rodney folded his arms and glared at his sister. She pressed her lips into a thin line and proceeded to tell him, loudly and in minute detail, exactly why he was going on this date, no ifs, ands, or buts.
~~~
“I don't know Lorne. I mean, do we have anything in common?” John glanced in the mirror and smoothed his shirt. Lorne, his TA, always joked about setting him up on blind dates, but this was the first time he arranged something concrete.
“John, it'll be fine.” Lorne's voice echoed tinnily from the speaker phone. “He's a physicist, you're a mathematician. Talk about number theory or something.”
John looked at the card Lorne had given him that afternoon, and frowned. “Talk number theory at a karaoke bar?” he asked.
“Just don't be late. Jeannie will kill me.”
With a sigh, John checked his wallet. “How do you know Jeannie again?”
Lorne chuckled, sounding strange over the line. “My girlfriend's roommate is Jeannie's husband's TA. I met her at the Lit department social.”
“Ah, university life is so incestuous.”
“Get a move on, John, or you'll be late. Have a good time, and I'll see you Monday.” With that, Lorne hung up.
John took one last look glance in the mirror. This better be better than his last date, which ended in a car crash, or else Evan Lorne was covering John's office hours for the rest of his life.
~~~
John arrived at the bar with a few minutes to spare, and took a moment to glance around. The place was packed, and he had no clue how he was going to find this McKay guy in the crowd. On the stage, two men were doing a creditable imitation of ABBA, with all the moves.
John was still standing right next to the door when it opened, and a man walked in. He wore khaki pants and a sports jacket over a blue button down shirt that made his eyes glow clear blue even in the low light of the bar. Upon taking in the scene, complete with the crowd singing along to “Take A Chance On Me,” he groaned. “I'm going to kill Jeannie.”
John perked up. This must be his date. “You McKay?”
The newcomer jumped, his expression a mix of nervousness and annoyance. “What?”
“You Rodney McKay?” John yelled over the cheering crowd.
“Yeah, oh yeah!” McKay brayed back. “You, uh, John Sheppard?”
John nodded, and took McKay by the elbow and led him outside. Once the door was shut, the noise cut to the point where only the thumpa-thumpa of the bass line could be felt rather than blasting through their bodies.
They moved to the side to let someone in, the music, “It's Rainin' Men,” blared and cut out as the door opened and closed again. John looked at Rodney and chuckled. “We have to figure out who decided that was an appropriate place for a blind date.”
“Yes.” McKay answered, “And then we torture them. Mercilessly. I'm sure it was Jeannie, she delights in putting me in awkward positions, really.”
John cocked his head and smiled. McKay was a trip. “You want to, um, hit the diner or something?”
“What? Oh, sure, good idea.” Together they crossed the street and walked down the block to the diner.
The Golden Dove was one of those old-fashioned diners taken over by new management ten years ago. They decided to remodel the restaurant into a Gernsbackian brushed-chrome monstrosity, to bring in customers seeking that 1950s road-trip experience. Luckily, they kept on the kitchen staff and didn't bother changing the menu, so the food remained high quality. John and McKay were seated promptly, and their waitress, Shannon, promised faithfully that no citrus would go anywhere near Rodney's order.
Under other circumstances, John might have been annoyed at McKay's fussiness, but for some reason he found it entertaining. Most people would have mentioned allergies and changed the subject; McKay had a whole prepared speech. He might be a bit of a hypochondriac, but he definitely wasn't boring. When he finally wound down his diatribe about food and allergies, John took the opportunity to jump in. “So, Evan told me you were a physicist?”
Rodney looked up, mouth full of fries, “What?”
“Your job? Physicist?” John ignored his baked potato and snuck a fry off Rodney's plate. “Any specialty in particular?”
Rodney grimaced. “Like you'd get it.”
“Try me.” John cocked an eyebrow at him and stole another fry. “I teach mathematical theory at Rutgers.” He cut off a big piece of chicken fried steak and smiled around it at his date.
Rodney started with dismantling string theory and they were off and running, with topics ranging from hockey vs. football to the Riemann zeta hypothesis to which version of Star Trek was most likely to happen in the near future. They sketched formulas on napkins and the back of place mats describing exactly how lightsabers could work, if only they had the right equipment. They also discussed just how they would get their revenge on Jeannie and Evan, but couldn't come up with anything that was both suitable and non-fatal.
Mournfully, Rodney stared into his coffee. “Madison would kill me if I did anything permanent.”
“You're afraid of a preschooler?”
“You haven't heard her whine.” Rodney drained his cup and John refilled it from the carafe.
“No,” admitted John, “but you'd be surprised how much freshman can sound like four-year-olds. Especially when they're used to begging their way to a better grade.”
With an odd half-smile, Rodney cocked his head at John. “This was a good date, despite how it started.”
John leaned forward. “I've thought of an appropriate revenge.” He grinned wickedly.
“Oh? Do tell.”
~~~
At seven o'clock in the morning, Jeannie was busy feeding Madison breakfast and trying to persuade her that, no, Cheerios belonged in the bowl, not on the floor, when the phone rang.
Exasperated, she picked it up. “Hello?”
“Oh, my god, Jeannie, thank god. Listen, I can't stay on long, he'll be back in a minute. He's, oh Jeannie, I'm not going to be able to sit for a week, and in a minute or two, we're going to go at it again. I knew you wanted me dead, but, wow, what a way to go!”