Romance dead?

[kirinin.livejournal.com]

Okay, so I just read yet another fic in which there are huge heaping piles of frustrated longing mixed liberally with terror... and yet the moment Rodney touches John, or vice-versa, they jump straight to the point.

What about the fics where they are normal human beings with actual reservations about falling into bed together? These don't even have to be articulated - after all, we *are* talking about two characters who are pretty poor at expressing their emotions. Just - it takes awhile before they kiss. And they don't jump into bed on the day they do. Romance - it can't be dead, right?

This is super open-ended, so please rec the fic(s) of this kind that you wanted to marry and have little McSheplets with. <3

Thank you as always, fen!

-K

Comments

[freemountin.livejournal.com]

Some nice ones here: http://community.livejournal.com/sgagenrefinders/448937.html
My favourite in the genre is probably Pru's Hindsight.

[kirinin.livejournal.com]

Thank you muchly! :)

-K

[springwoof.livejournal.com]

Two of my personal favorites in this "romance/dating" genre where the boys don't fall into bed right away both have one of the boys being a widower raising a child on his own, and believing himself to be straight. The other guy soon changes his mind on that score...

Have you read WesleysGirl's On Life and Living Series (http://home.comcast.net/~wesleysgirl/sgafic.html)? There, John's the widower.

In Elayana's The Neighborly Detective and the Tragic Woobie Widower (http://www.furholt.net/elaynas_den/_McShep_Woobie.htm), Rodney's the widower. here's the link to the Area 52 version (http://www.area52hkh.net/asm/masterelayna/neighbor.php). Be sure to read all the Woobie Widower series!

[kirinin.livejournal.com]

Thank you! These I think I have read, but it's nice to be reminded of good favorites. :)

-K

[michelel72.livejournal.com]

There's The 'Oh' Thing (http://community.livejournal.com/casa_mcshep/19154.html), in which Rodney proposes marriage with John because he wants someone to come home to; when John points out they aren't sleeping together, Rodney observes that he's heard married couples don't have much sex either, and they agree that's okay so they become roommates. Their relationship changes slowly from that point. I really like the gradual degrees of physical intimacy it conveys.

[kirinin.livejournal.com]

This sounds right up my alley. Thanks so much! :)

-K

[kirinin.livejournal.com]

That was soooo adorable. Thank you again.

-K

[michelel72.livejournal.com]

:> My pleasure.

Thank you for posting the search, by the by -- I'm fond of this aspect myself, so now I can just open a bunch of links from this page. Win!

[kirinin.livejournal.com]

Double-win, then. :)

-K

[sholio]

I really like this kind of story, too.

It's a pretty well known story so you may have read it already, but Cleave by amireal was the first John/Rodney story I read that made me realize, on a conscious level, that I prefer a long slow romance/courtship to the two of them immediately falling into bed once they acknowledge their feelings for each other.

The Hard Prayer by rheanna27 is a getting-to-know-each-other/falling-for-each-other apocafic.

Junk Cheap by devildoll has a fair bit of what one might call courting if one weren't talking about John and Rodney, and even after they do have sex, there's quite a lot of relationship still to work out.

I know that there are more I've read that hit this particular sweet spot with me, but I need to go to work ... I'll have to look around and see if I can dig up more of the others!

[kirinin.livejournal.com]

Thank-you so! And may I say you are an excellent squishy-feelings-wrangler yourself, but I've read most of it. <3

-K

[sholio]

Awwww, thank you! ^_^

The Slow Braille of Touch by beadattitude, while maybe not exactly what you're looking for, kinda hits the same sweet spots as the other sort, if that makes any sense? It's not really a long courtship but there's so much gentleness and tenderness that it's very obvious neither one of them is going to push one iota farther than the other one is ready for.

DADT, Damyata, Dayadhvam by trinityofone is a sweet story in which technology prevents them from touching each other without suffering pain. (It's also a beautifully scathing condemnation of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell.")

Si Muovo is a neat AU in which Rodney is a priest struggling with his feelings for John - it sounds like it could be really awful or very cracky, but it's neither; it's a gentle and slowly unfolding story with genuine sympathy for Rodney's struggle to choose between his religious calling and his emotions.

In Forget Me Not by maisierita, they've both had their memories stripped away and have to get to know each other again ... more than once. (Still a bit of the jumping into bed immediately, though. You know, I knew the trope was common, but I don't think I realized *how* common 'til I started going through my bookmarks trying to find stories with more buildup!)

Male Enhancement (The Soul & The Company Store Remix) by leahwoof is sort of the inverse, because the sex comes right off the bat -- John is a robot, and Rodney buys him -- but the romance happens slowly afterwards.

[kirinin.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much for the recs! I know what you mean by 'the Slow Braille of Touch'. I have a soft spot for fics of that sort, and have a 'touch' tag on my delicious. :)

-K

[(Anonymous)]

Its so easy by Ciar found on Wraithbait. Its a WIP, but no wham bam thank you ma'am(or should I say sir) sex. Its an AU with both John and Rodney working for the FBI.

What about this

[mikikat.livejournal.com]

I'd like to suggest Scenes From a Lesser War by Amireal. It's not quite what you want but the romance and dating happen after they have broken up.

http://www.unrealwords.com/thestuff/sga/scenes.html

Re: What about this

[kirinin.livejournal.com]

Thank you. That's a good one. :)

-K

[kisahawklin]

I'm not sure this is exactly what you're looking for, but there's a nice slow buildup and it's very romantic. Junk Cheap by devildoll.

[kirinin.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

-K

one more!

[springwoof.livejournal.com]

Have you read liketheriverrun's Slither (http://liketheriverrun.livejournal.com/28375.html)?

Re: one more!

[kirinin.livejournal.com]

...slither? I don't think so! Thank you, springwoof! :D

-K

You may also like.... :)

[taste-is-sweet.livejournal.com]

The fic Aegis (http://www.wraithbait.com/viewstory.php?sid=12188&warning=12) that I wrote (as Leah) with springwoof has a long, slow and angsty courtship. It's an AU where most of the expedition has super powers.

Also using my Leah name, I wrote Balcony Sessions (http://www.wraithbait.com/viewstory.php?sid=9), which is a series of fics from season one that is about the slow and occasionally very painful courtship of John and Rodney. John is very much in denial about who he is, which is a major factor.

These might interest you, though they might be too far afield since the stories end with the kissing (and maybe light groping), rather than showing the courtship part, but they definitely don't jump into bed together:

Down to the Bones (http://www.wraithbait.com/viewstory.php?sid=14353). Angstcakes. AU version of the episode "Common Ground".

Human Enough (http://www.wraithbait.com/viewstory.php?sid=13314). Another AU (I like AUs) where John can transform into, um, a centaur. Rodney kind of has a problem with that.

Taking On (http://www.wraithbait.com/viewstory.php?sid=198). Since I'm self-pimping to a horrid degree here, I'll just throw in that this is one of my own favourites. It has pining, really bad kareoke, Rodney whump, H/C and courtship through bad kareoke. Again the fic ends with the kissing, though, so it might not be your thing.

I hope you like any of those. :)

Re: You may also like.... :)

[kirinin.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you! And may I say I admire you as an author ever so. :)

-K

Re: You may also like.... :)

[taste-is-sweet.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you! What a lovely thing to say! :D

[winter-elf.livejournal.com]

Animal Husbandry by casspeach (AU) http://www.casspeach.com/sga_fic/animal.html

[kirinin.livejournal.com]

Thank-you, winter_elf! :)

-K