Fic: Fly Wishes to the Sky (McKay/Sheppard, NC-17)

[sgasesa-admin.livejournal.com]

Title: Fly Wishes to the Sky
Author: cathalin
Recipient: ca_pierson She said she loves aus and McShep, and likes stories with the Team and Zelenka (she also likes Carson, but he just didn't quite make it into this story, sorry!). I loved writing this, and I really hope she enjoys it.
Pairing: McKay/Sheppard
Rating: NC-17
Summary: John Sheppard owns a kite shop on the Oregon coast. He's had enough drama in his life, and has created a safe, if limited, life for himself. One day, Rodney McKay, a college professor in town for a conference, comes looking for a last-minute purchase before he has to leave town, and things start to change for both of them.
Spoilers: None-AU
Words: ~25K

Fly Wishes to the Sky

Please note, due to the size of this story, it is hosted offsite.

Comments

Re: *Claps!!*

[cathalin.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's so nice of lavvyan! I'm thrilled you liked this fic, with the set up of John owning a kite store. :)

I realized pretty early on that John would have to go to Rodney, after he'd been so terrible to him, but writing that scene went in a bit of a different direction than I thought it would. John had not been taking care of himself.:)

Thanks so much for the lovely comment; it was lovely to get it this New Year's.

[sasha-feather.livejournal.com]

This is a very sweet story! Nice job.

[cathalin.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it.:)

[sage]

*ADORES*

[cathalin.livejournal.com]

Thank you, you sweet thing.:)

[fanficfan.livejournal.com]

I really enjoyed this--the buildup of emotions and a relationship within a setting that is so vivid in detail and metaphor. And the badinage . . . I also appreciated the way Rodney veers from hesitancy to full-on sexual heat: I think the phrase "Well, hello" or "Hello, there" is what clinched the intensity of that arousal for me. And then its impact on John! Combined with all the sweetness here--a winner.

[cathalin.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! I'm glad the buildup made sense, and I'm glad you liked the badinage: that, to me, is a lot of what their relationship is about.:)

That's cool you mentioned Rodney's, "Well, hello" -- I think they'd been trying to suppress all that, being with the kids and all, but standing up next to John like that, Rodney couldn't help it.*g* I'm very glad the sexual heat came through: I think by then, they were pretty starved for it.

Thanks very much for your kind comment.

[beachlass.livejournal.com]

Oh wow - what a wonderful piece of world building, and character exploration. One of the best things about a well written AU is seeing the characters be themselves in a slightly different light, and you did it marvellously here.

I also think that you handled John's freakout and miserable behaviour to Rodney really well. He was a jerk, and believable so, and yet still so sympathetic. I think that's a hard balance to achieve, and you managed it. Gracefully.

[cathalin.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you so very much! I had a wonderful experience writing this, my first sga au, so I'm really glad it worked for you.:) I agree, it's always really cool to see the characters in a slightly different light, and honestly, it's tricky getting them just different enough, but still *themselves*.

I'm really pleased you felt John's freakout and behavior felt really jerky, and yet you were able to sympathize with him. That was a hard line to walk, and I really hoped that that worked, so it's gratifying to hear it did for you. And of course, writing the entire thing from tight John pov made that especially interesting!

Thanks so much for your kind comments.:)

[glitterdash.livejournal.com]

This has been on my to-read list for ages, and now I've read it, I wish I'd gotten round to it sooner! I really loved it -- the whole premise, John and Rodney's relationship, John being all messed up. Madison was so realistically written, too!

My favourite bit has to be: "Jeez, Uncle Mer! The wind-catcher in front of his shop is a rainbow!" Oh, John Sheppard, you big gay kite-flying man, you.

Thanks for writing such a wonderful story!

[cathalin.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you so much! I'm glad the premise worked for you -- it surprised me when I had the initial idea, and then I started realizing how well it could fit John, in a lot of ways. I really enjoyed writing Madison, so I'm glad she felt realistic -- hee, realistic for a genius young lady who would drive everyone nuts. *g*

That wind catcher was something John kind of told me about late in the fic -- he didn't want to hide that any more, once he was out of the service. I'm thrilled you liked that part! I liked the idea of John quietly hanging that up every day. And Rodney not noticing, of course! *g*

Thanks for he lovely comment. Also *loves your icon*

[danceswithgary]

Absolutely wonderful story - loved the kite design tie-in to John and Rodney's talents and Madison was a delight.

[cathalin.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! I had such fun letting them get to know each other through competition and building things.*g* I'm thrilled Madison was delightful: she might be a bit much in person.:) Thanks!

*is mesmerized by your icon*

[sobelle.livejournal.com]

Oh. My. God. This was SUCH a perfect love story! EVERY bit of it made me happy! Damaged!John doing penance. Forced to face life by Equally Damaged in his own way!Rodney. Surrounded by my favorite characters! The Oregon coast! The kites? so very cool... from the Afghani ~fighting kites~ to the Japanese wishing kite and the rest in between! So much more to point out but I'd end up repeating your entire story to you! LOVED it! I'll be commenting on this in the future as I read and re-read!

Your story has it's new home in my Favorites folder!! (oh, and teh sexor? HOTTER than the surface of the sun!!)

[glitterdash.livejournal.com]

Yes, the kite-owning worked wonderfully - particularly with the links to Afghanistan, that was so clever.

I loved how John was brave enough to do that - I think our John's life would be a little bit easier if only he had a rainbow kite outside his room!

Mm, I realised I needed a Vegas icon. I mean, really, everyone does!

fly wishes to the sky

[tymbrimi.livejournal.com]

This is an awesome story, I started crying for john about halfway through, and I almost never cry (somehow I got that kids were important early on in the story, which was interesting!) I just finished the kite runner, and it was very moving to give that human face to john's "black mark". The sex was absolutely fucking fantastic- And McKay would totally not be able to resist mocking him for the fainting thing haha
Anyway, I loved the slow build to their relationship, thank you so much for writing it!

[iolandasblog.livejournal.com]

What a beautiful story! I took it with me on my holiday and enjoyed it bit for bit. And then a second time. Thank you so much!

[springwoof.livejournal.com]

Lovely story! the sex scene was very hot, and the romance was beautiful and a little heartbreaking (oh, John! you almost ruined it!) and the characters were well-portrayed. I thought Madison and Torren in particular were well-done; believable children, engaging characters, without being too cute or precious. And the whole emotional symbolism of kites for John, the whole flight thing, was so well done and organic. and I liked the bit about Rodney's assholery at the end--nice insight about relationships. kudos.

[horridporrid.livejournal.com]

This was gorgeous. And so sweetly real. I love how they had the hot, "Oh, I'm so physically attracted to you andmaybesomethingmore!" sex and then had to tangle the actual, heavy-lifting, relationship stuff. And I love John's background.

And I adore Madison and Torren!

In conclusion: I very much enjoyed this fic. :)

[bluflamingo.livejournal.com]

Oh, that was lovely. I love that it seems like the relationship will be so easy, and then it's not, even though they both want it. And the kites were great, especially the wish kite. You almost made me want to go gliding, and I'm *terrified* of heights.

Fly Wishes to the Sky

[sunnyd-lite.livejournal.com]

They nod, and back off a little. Not all the way, because that's how they are with each other. But enough that John can breathe. ahh team/family
"True, but if you look at the reverse side, you will see that I compensated--"
"What, with the size of your writing? Just because it's bigger doesn't mean that it's right. *snerk!* Classic McKay & Zelanka

Madison stirs in her blankets. Her voice is heavy with sleep. "Jeez, Uncle Mer! The wind-catcher in front of his shop is a rainbow!" mouths of babes! Plus Rodney's pick up method is much like John telling Teyla about family *grin*

Rodney lifts his head up as if to speak, and John just knows it's going to get weird, but then Rodney's eyes go a little big at something he sees over John's shoulder. "Oh my god, why didn't you tell me you have a Playstation!" Clearly it's tru luv! (although, given John's knowledge of Torren's video games, not a surprise!
Just a handful of the many perfect notes in this story! Thank you!

[cathalin.livejournal.com]

Oh, what a wonderful comment to get.:) I'm so thrilled you liked this. First of all, I'm really glad you see that they are both equally damaged, or at least incomplete. Though the focus was on John's background, I'm really glad it came through how barren Rodney's life is, and hopefully, how much better it'll be with John in it, and all he brings.

This was one of those writing experiences -- pretty common, actually -- where I didn't completely realize the ramifications of my basic idea until I'd thought about it a long time and poked around with the basic idea. When I realized all the ways in which kites would be particularly apt for John, I was so happy.

Thanks for mentioning the sexings! I'm glad to hear it was hot; they deserve that.:) It was really fun writing them meeting and falling in love, and writing the buildup of sexual tension between them...I really enjoyed that, so I'm glad it paid off.

Thanks as always for your lovely comments!

Re: fly wishes to the sky

[cathalin.livejournal.com]

Hee, I *knew* someone would call me on the UBC thing: totally my fault, with incomplete research. I will fix this in the version I post on my LJ, etc., and thank you!

I'm sorry it made you cry, but gratified in a way, because I do think that John's background here *is* sad. Oh, very cool you just finished Kite Runner -- I read it quite a while ago, and it made quite an impression, though I didn't really realize at first how kites would resonate at multiple levels in this fic, at first.

I'm thrilled the sex worked -- I really wanted it to in this fic, with them having that long drawn out attraction, then *finally* getting to have sex. I had a blast writing the slow build to their relationship, getting to write them falling in love, and I'm thrilled you liked it.:)

Hee, the fainting surprised me! And Rodney would absolutely have to bite his tongue every day not to mock! But John understands.:)

Thanks so much for your lovely comments!

[cathalin.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you so much. I appreciate your kind words very much, and am so glad you enjoyed this fic. I really enjoyed writing it.:)

[cathalin.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you so much for this comment! I'm glad the children seemed okay: honestly, I think Madison is borderline too-precocious, but when I thought about it, I do think that Rodney would've been much like her, if he'd had a supportive family, so...:)

OH JOHN indeed. He did, indeed, almost ruin everything, but he called on that inner strength and toughed it out, and I was so glad for him! The kite thing ended up being more powerful than I'd thought it would be, so I'm thrilled you liked that as well.

Hee, well, you can imagine that these guys wouldn't always be Mr. Sensitive. I'm glad that worked, portraying Rodney as being a bit of an asshole, because that's probably what he would be like.:)

Thanks so much for commenting!