Fanfic Recs by coprime

Fan Mail (Casey, Dan | G | 1,997 words): Casey has to do a story on NASCAR; he doesn't want to. This is a crossover (sort of--none of the other characters appear, they're merely talked about) with another fic that is a NASCAR AU for Stargate:Atlantis. It's got perfect Sports Night banter between Casey and Dan, like it could have been from the show.

Excerpt:
The sounds of arguing came from Dana's office. So Dan did the sensible thing: he waited outside the door for Casey to come out, and then asked, "I don't want to know, do I?"

"You don't."

"But if I don't know, I'm going to get ambushed by this. I'm going to have Natalie threatening my manhood and Jeremy probing me for information, and it'll all end badly."

Casey grimaced. "Please don't use the words 'probing' and 'Jeremy' in the same sentence."

"Okay, Jeremy will be pumping me for information."

"That's not any better."

"Yeah, well, I'm the one who'll end up suffering if you don't tell me. So tell me."

Exotic Particles (Rodney McKay-Parker | G | 1,006 words): Parker meets Rodney in a coffee shop. This is a fun, little crossover between two characters who frequently don't get how to people.

Excerpt:
"I didn't say you could sit there," the man said without looking away from the screen. His fingers worked independent of his mouth it seemed. Hers did too.

"I didn't ask," she said.

The man looked up at that, transferring his frown to her.

Her smile slipped away. "I'm supposed to ask, aren't I? That's a polite thing. I never get that right."

"Politeness is..." he waved his hand in a complicated spiral that she decided meant not worthy of my time.

5 Things Chuck Sees (But Wasn't Supposed To) (Chuck | PG13 | 605 words): Being the gate technician, Chuck sees a lot. This is...surprisingly dark for a 5 Things fic, a genre that generally includes a humorous component somewhere in the five things. It's an interesting look at a side of what life in Atlantis would be like if the show were real.

Excerpt:
1. The look on Elizabeth's face every time someone doesn't come home. He's sure no one else notices, she's always so careful to hide it.

Let Me Hear Your Balalaikas Ringing Out (Miko Kusanagi, Radek Zelenka | G | 1,440 words): Miko has a temper. This is a great little look at two minor characters and who they are beyond their work.

Excerpt:
Miko was barefoot, in a pair of soft leggings and a dark red tunic. It looked Athosian-made, and he wondered who she had traded for it. But what really caught his attention was her hair, which streamed over her shoulders like a dark wave. He had never seen her with her hair loose before. Always, in the labs, it was pulled back from her face; tightly contained, just like her temper.

Atlantis Santa (McKay/Zelenka | PG | 7,759 words): Rodney and Radek get each other for the Secret Santa exchange. Oh, this is completely unapologetic fluff, and it's great. I keep rereading this story because it's full of happy-making and always leaves me smiling. Also the image of Rodney and Radek playing in the snow like little kids is just too cute for words.

Excerpt:
Rodney set his drink aside, eyes narrowing in suspicion. He crossed his arms in a defensive move that was both obvious and entirely unconscious. "Oh? And may I ask what the great Dr. Zelenka deems worth— Ooomph!"

Whatever Rodney was about to say next was forgotten in favour of colourful cursing when a hastily formed snowball hit him squarely in the face.

"Zelenka! You wily, backstabbing, son of a—"

"Yes, yes, I am evil incarnate. But that does not change the fact that the score is now 1-0. To me."

The Moon Comes Around (McKay/Zelenka | PG13 | 6,426 words): Radek accidentally walks in on Rodney while he's masturbating in the shower, and then things are weird for them. Okay, so this may hit people's embarrassment squick, but I don't get that gleeful vibe where it feels like the author is using embarrassment to teach a character a lesson. Instead, I like it because Radek's emotions -- his frustration and anger and heartache -- are so viscerally powerful that I feel them along with him. It's well-written and solid and fantastic with a touching resolution.

Excerpt:
At first, Radek is understanding. Apparently Rodney is the type to be embarrassed about that sort of situation. And so Radek leaves him alone for a day, and then two, pretending not to notice that Rodney is avoiding him. By day three, he cannot help but think that Rodney should be over it, moving on. Yes, it was embarrassing, but not that embarrassing. He's also tired of being regulated to one of the smaller labs, because he's getting the feeling that he's being punished, and really, the fact that the image of Rodney in the shower keeps popping into his head at the most inopportune moments ought to be punishment enough.

Especially when Rodney is actually quite attractive, all broad shoulders and blue eyes, and Radek really would prefer not to notice his boss's good looks, because that just complicates things, and besides, it's just because Atlantis has forced him into the position of the stereotypically undersexed scientist that he finds himself fixated on the first person he's seen naked in months. Not that he's actually fixated, mind you. Still, the image of Rodney in the shower refuses to leave his head, and it is getting irksome.

On day five, he storms in the main lab, hands on hips, and announces, "You are being ridiculous, McKay." He belatedly notices that Kavanagh and Simpson are there as well, and ignores their startled looks as they glance away from their computers; instead he focuses on a certain scientist who pointedly hasn't looked up.

"Shouldn't you be in the jumper bay?" Rodney says coolly, not looking away from his laptop, and Radek's understanding is on the fast-track to becoming all-too-familiar irritation.

That Time McKay Came Back Naked (Lorne | PG | 974 words): The aftermath of a mission, one which Lorne had borrowed McKay for, gone hilariously wrong. This is just a lot of fun.

Excerpt:
Ward is wide-eyed and that's definitely the waist of McKay's BDUs hanging around his neck. He's fresh off of the Daedalus and Lorne has a feeling that he'll be back on it as soon as he can manage. Lorne'll be sure to suggest to Sheppard that Ward get whatever transfer he asks for, mostly because it's McKay he's scared of, not life in the Pegasus galaxy, and while one can become acclimated to Pegasus, the fear of McKay never really goes away.

Out & About (Lorne/Parrish | R | 15,445 words): Lorne and Parrish have several misadventures during the course of their relationship. Oh, hee. There's a lot of rather disasterous incidents that would probably discourage most people, but the boys just keep trying. It's kind of hilarious how much trouble they manage to get themselves into. And it's also sweet, if you can call getting second degree sunburns sweet.

Excerpt:
He couldn't help grinning as he watched David pick his way across the scattered rocks like a five year old. The botanist was chattering about something odd in the samples he'd been gathering when he trailed off. Lorne had been packing their gear, but turned at the pause in the descriptions of algal discoloration. David was staring at him, a worried look on his face.

"What's wrong?"

"You're burned."

He shrugged; he'd gotten sunburned as a kid, everybody did. You spent a week with that weird tight feeling and a little sandpaper sensitivity and that was all. He looked down, trying to see what David saw, but his chest didn't look too badly burnt. "It's really not that big a deal, Dave."

David was shaking his head, obviously not agreeing. "I think it is, Nick." The name sounded strange in normal conversation; he'd grown used to only being known by his last name. He watched David cross the remaining distance between them and press a finger against his chest before speaking again.

Mission Wilted Fern (Lorne/Parrish | PG13 | 3,989 words): Parrish's life is too stressful, so Lorne helps. So cute! I can't help but smile when I read it.

David stood silent and then groaned, sitting heavily on the bed. He gripped his hair, pulling at the ends. "My life is a mess."

"Your room is a mess," Evan said. "Your life seems fine."

"You don't understand. I think I'm having a breakdown or something. Everything sucks. Nothing feels right. I keep making mistakes at work because I can't sleep. I've started having anxiety again, so Dr. Heightmeyer put me on meds, which means I haven't…wanted sex a lot. Then, McKay broke up with Katie, so she's needy and I'm trying to spend time with her. McKay is…" David's face hardened. "I hate that man. There. I said it. I. Hate. Him. He refuses to approve any of my research and keeps putting me on these stupid third grade science projects. He's rude, he has absolutely no respect for botany, he…"

Lorne sat down next to him, carefully moving things out of the way. "McKay's a jerk, but that's nothing new."

"It's everything at once."

Evan finger-combed David's hair. "So, I'll fix it."

"Yeah, that'll work."

"No, I mean it. I'll fix it. We just need to get rid of some of the stress, get you off that medicine, and then we can have sex."

David laughed. "Ever the optimist."

If You Can't Beat Them (Lorne | R | 975 words): Lorne has trouble adjusting to the Pegasus Galaxy. Oh, poor Lorne. I laugh at his pain because his pain's hilarious.

Excerpt:
At the SGC, Lorne had been an incredibly successful officer: respected; consulted; decorated. He'd been promoted to Major at 26, after the particularly spectacular rescue of SG12 and 47 locals on P4S-258. General Hammond's speech had included phrases like 'outstanding bravery', 'beyond the call of duty', and 'owe their lives'.

Colonel Sheppard's speeches, although not delivered in any kind of professional capacity and only in the earshot of Lorne himself, always seemed to include phrases like 'better luck next time', 'we've all been there', and 'I promise not to show the video to anyone'.