Rodney had been trained for his position from near infancy. He had excelled in his studies and been selected for the apprenticeship over candidates twice his age. Now, years later, Rodney held the second most powerful position in the village. There was no one else who could do what he did. That didn’t make it any less meaningless.

For the prompt 'AU: aliens'. Major Teyla Emmagen leaves for the Pegasus galaxy.

In his rational mind, Rodney knew that following a girl who'd dumped you was really, really pathetic.