New Fic: Best Freinds Forever, Part 1, by kuonji (G)
Title: Best Freinds Forever (Part One: Wrecked!)
Author: kuonji
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Characters: Rodney McKay, John Sheppard
Pairings: none
Category: preschool kid!fic, fluff
Rating: G
Spoilers: none
Words: ~760
Summary: Little Rodney is building the most beautiful castle ever, with delicate turrets and perfectly cantilevered balconies. But then...
A/N: This series is complete, with four parts and an epilogue. I'm just posting it in parts as I edit (and also to be evil, bwahaha).
Best Freinds Forever
by kuonji
Part One: Wrecked!
"Ow!"
Rodney hunched forward, retrieving the wood block he had dropped and replacing it in its perfect position. The ball of paper hadn't hurt him. When his answering glares the first two times had had no effect, he simply ignored the further sallies. Reacting to bullies just made it worse. He was building a grand structure to be remembered. He didn't have time to be distracted.
The next incoming projectile was sharp, and when it poked itself into Rodney's side, he stumbled sideways in reaction. One foot knocked out one of the key foundation blocks, and Rodney watched in horror as the work of the last half an hour crumbled down around him with an unending, roaring avalanche of terrifying proportions.
Once it was finally over, he lowered his arms, raised for protection, and stared around him at the pool of wood blocks now surrounding his legs. All that remained of his beautiful castle.
He burst out crying.
In seconds, large hands were running over his head, patting down his arms and legs. "Where does it hurt, Rodney?" He ignored the question, turning instinctively into the circle of grown-up protection to sob his frustration and ill temper out into a sympathetic audience. The hands on him stuttered, then shifted to pet and soothe.
When he felt better, he stood back and started to wipe his nose with one hand. A tissue intercepted him, however, and he obligingly used the replacement. "He wrecked it!" he accused, when he was done.
"Who?"
Rodney whirled around and pointed furiously at the skinny, tousle-haired boy across the room. The boy was staring back at him, open-mouthed. "He was throwing things at me!" Rodney accused. "He wrecked my castle!" He felt the tears starting to come again. "It's all gone now!" he wailed. "I had it up to here" -- he gestured a foot above his head, only a slight exaggeration -- "and now it's all gone!"
"There, there. I'm sure you can build an even better one."
"I can't! That was the best castle I ever built!" Rodney pouted hugely, crossing his arms. He shouldn't have to rebuild his castle. Already, he was remembering the delicate turrets and the perfectly cantilevered balconies. He couldn't reproduce that. He wouldn't.
The grown-up sighed. "How about if someone else helps you?"
"NO!" Rodney screeched, incensed that the grown-up would even suggest such a thing. "All they do is mess things up!" He sat down on the ground with a thump, fully prepared to stew in his tantrum as long as he was allowed to.
He caught sight of the balls of paper scattered around the rubble of his castle. He clambered to his feet in a furious rage and stomped each one flat with his feet. "I hate him! I hate him! I hate him!" he screamed.
"I'm sorry."
Rodney, still panting from his exertion and his temper both, looked up to see the boy from the other side of the room, not three feet away from him.
"Your fort was really cool."
Rodney scowled. His gorgeous castle hadn't been 'cool', and it hadn't been a 'fort'. But he was somewhat mollified by the apologetic sincerity of the boy's face.
"Here." The boy bent down, sifting through the detritus of wood blocks there. He picked up a folded paper airplane. It was what had poked Rodney, the last thing that had caused the horrible accident.
The boy flattened it out with meticulous fingers, then shoved it at Rodney. Rodney took it huffily. He looked.
"BE MY FREIND" was printed in careful, capital letters across the middle, amid the wrinkles.
The boy looked away, then back. "Um," he said. "Sorry about your fort. Really." He turned around and ran back to his side of the room.
Rodney stared after him, clutching the piece of paper.
"There now, lad. You don't really hate him do you?"
Rodney climbed into the grown-up's lap. "He wanted to be my friend," Rodney confided in him.
"Aye, that he did. What are you going to do about it, then?"
Rodney frowned at the piece of paper. He re-read the simple sentence there.
"He spelled 'friend' wrong," he pointed out, petulant. He thought if someone wanted to be his friend, they should have at least spelled the invitation correctly.
"He did, didn't he? Why don't you go over there and tell him so?" the grown-up suggested.
Rodney looked up at the grown-up. He thought for a moment. Then he stood up and lifted his chin. "I will," he said.
Link to Part 2: Taller