Fic: Wayward Angel 4/11
Jun. 29th, 2009 07:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
polgara_5Sooo sorry I didn't get this out yesterday. I was recovering from playing hostess to all of my relatives that came to my sister's wedding on Saturday.
Title: Wayward Angel
By: Polgara (melindoranightsilver@hotmail.com)
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: I own none of the recognizable characters. They belong to their respective creators and distributors. Alec Colson’s dialogue comes directly from the Stargate Episode 8.8 Covenant.
Distribution: My site – Worlds of Possibilities, ff.net, Wormhole Crossing, and TtH.
Spoilers: For Buffy everything is game, for Stargate SG-1 direct spoilers for season 8 episode 8 - Covenant - and anything before that.
Setting: Takes place several years after Chosen and starts during SG-1 episode 8.8 - Covenant.
Summary: Life is filled with moments. The decision in each of these defining times shapes who we are and who we will become. They push us forward and back, an intricate dance.
A/N: Chapter titles and lyrics at the beginning of each come from Kasey Chamber’s cd - Wayward Angel. Music was used as an inspiration for the entire piece.
A/N2: Super shout out to Ava for being my personal cheerleader through writing this. Seriously, without her, this may have never been finished.
A/N3: Much thanks goes to Copper, my wonderful beta!
This fic has already been completed. I will be posting every Sunday.
Any and all artwork linked within this fic was created by the lovely Ava.
My body shivers, my body it shakes
You rock the house with the
Love that you make
I’m growing weak with
This intangible ache
But baby keep it coming
For goodness sake.
~ Guilty As Sin
Buffy seethed as she stalked down the SGC corridors. Damn Jack and his manipulative nature. She could only marvel over the fact that his own team hadn’t murdered him over the years. Of course, they’d have to have noticed his manipulations to get upset. She, on the other hand, had recognized it almost immediately after he had successfully ensnared her.
Jack had called her into his office under the innocent pretense of seeing how she was doing. How she was fitting in. How were her relationships with the team? Did she have any troubles with the military personnel that he needed to fix? Then the conversation somehow slipped into how Sam and Daniel spent too much time on the base. She found herself agreeing and nodding in sympathy as he told her stories of his own attempts to force downtime on his former teammates.
Next thing she knew, he was giving her pointers on how to accomplish her mission. He shoved her out of his office and closed the door leaving her staring at the offending object in bewilderment before the weight of what just happened hit her like a ton of bricks.
She was supposed to take Daniel out on a date.
Okay, maybe not a real date, but out nonetheless. It was treading dangerously close to the borderline. Now that she was thinking about it, there had been a definite smirk on Jack’s face when he had ordered her out. That sneaky man was up to something but for the life of her she didn‘t know what it was.
Now she had to convince the man she had been, for the most part, avoiding for the past two weeks to go out with her on her weekly excursion to Elements. How the hell was she supposed to do that?
Jack had said that the easiest way to ensnare her prey was to catch him when he was distracted. Oh, but not when the distraction was his books or rocks. Rather when he was doing something that required attention but not necessarily brain power. If his brain wasn’t active, then it would be less likely he could come up with a viable excuse not to go.
The only time she could think of that would place him in that situation would be when he worked out in the gym. Which was the first place she headed for on her ‘mission’.
She hated working out on base. The military had strict regulations on what was considered appropriate clothing. She felt weighted down by the shirt and jogging pants. She’d feel more comfortable in a pair of shorts and a sports bra. Hell, they covered more than a lot of women’s everyday clothes. But, surprisingly, she had found that she actually enjoyed her job and didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize it.
A man she recognized as a marine on another SG team was exiting the gym as she arrived. They exchanged a brief smile and nod before passing each other. As soon as she stepped into the gym, the smell of sweat washed over her. It seemed that every gym had the odor steeped into the very structure of the place.
Her hazel eyes scanned the room and she was happy to note that only she and her prey were present. He was currently oblivious to her presence and it gave her an opportunity to calm her body down from the glorious sight she was currently gifted with.
Daniel had obviously been in there for a while. His hair was damp and plastered to his forehead. The black shirt he wore was sleeveless, showing off his arms. Her skin flushed as she watched the shift of muscles under his skin as he lifted the weights. The cotton of his shirt clung to his body and her fingers itched to trace the muscles outlined in the fabric.
With no small effort, she forced her gaze back to his face. She giggled slightly at his glasses sliding down his nose. He set the weights down and absently pushed them back up his face.
“Hey,” he said, blinking as she stepped closer.
“Hi,” she said, trying to decide where the best place to start her workout was. The last thing she wanted Daniel to think was that she came into the gym for the express purpose of having this conversation. She opted for the mat and began stretching.
Buffy could feel his quizzical eyes on her. “Have you been busy?” He finally asked.
“A little. Why?”
“It’s just been a while since you’ve been down to my office,” he replied, using a towel to wipe the sweat off of his face.
“Oh, that,” she said nonchalantly as she bent over to touch her toes. Her heart jumped a little, apparently he had been aware of her avoidance.
“I thought maybe I bored you or something,” he admitted softly.
“What?” She asked, standing back up and looking at him in surprise. Of all of the things she would have thought he thought, that wasn‘t on the list. “No! You couldn’t bore me. I was just worried that I was bothering you,” she finished lamely.
He frowned and slowly said, “No, I would have said something, like I do with Jack.”
“Oh, I thought you were just being polite,” she stammered before sitting on the mat. She spread her legs apart and then folded her body over one leg.
“So you’ll start stopping by again?” He prompted her.
Buffy kept her face hidden as she smiled. He had missed her. At least that was something. “I suppose.”
“Well, that was encouraging,” he said dryly, she could almost hear the eye roll.
Daniel had unwittingly given her the opening she needed. She looked up at him, but stayed in the stretch. “On one condition.”
He crossed his arms and hugged his body, making his muscles bulge slightly. “And what’s that?”
“You hang out with me tonight. Off base,” she said, sitting up.
“That’s it?” He asked suspiciously.
“That’s it,” she said, stretching over the other leg.
“I suppose I could do that,” he said. His brow furrowed as if he was still trying to figure out the catch.
“Great! Swing by my place around nine,” she said with a grin.
“Why so late?” He asked.
“I’ve got to do some shopping first.”
“Oh, okay. Nine it is,” he said, grabbing his towel and walking out the door.
“That was way too easy,” she muttered to herself. She couldn’t help but worry that this was all going to come back and bite her on the ass.
XXXXXXXXXX
Daniel frowned to himself as he forced the bartender to accept the tip. Never had he met any type of wait staff that refused tips before. In fact, this whole evening had been rather bizarre.
First, Buffy had answered the door in very distinct civilian clothing that seemed to show copious amounts of skin. She stepped onto her small porch and locked her door. After placing her keys into a small bag, she smiled up at him. “Ready?”
He blinked owlishly at her. “For what?”
“To go to Elements, remember,” she said, leading him back to his car.
“What?”
“That was the deal. You hang out with me tonight and I’ll hang out in your office more,” she said, looking at him over her delicate shoulder with an indescribable look on her face.
“I remember that part,” Daniel said, his forehead creasing as they stopped at the passenger door. His brain worked feverishly at trying to recall the conversation. “But I don’t remember anything about Elements.”
Buffy rolled her eyes. “What else did you expect? It’s Friday.”
“Pardon?”
“I’ve told you guys a hundred times that I go to Elements every Friday and Saturday.” She pouted a little and he was shocked at how much it pulled at him. “I just thought you’d remember,” she said in a small voice.
Suddenly that devilish look that Sam gave him as he left the base made so much more sense now. She knew what he had gotten himself into and let him walk ignorantly into this situation.
Now that he was thinking about it, Jack also seemed pretty smug during their meeting that afternoon. At the time he had chalked it up to Jack having gotten away with some prank because he was now ‘the man’, but it could have meant more. Which meant…
“Jack had you set me up,” he accused.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she scoffed. She gestured to the car door. “If we don’t leave soon, I won’t get my table.”
“Admit it. Jack had you trick me into getting some downtime. I caught on to his little game years ago and now he’s found a new ally,” he said appalled by the thought.
“Actually, Jack tricked me into tricking you,” she sullenly admitted, crossing her slender arms across her chest.
“Great, just great,” he said, throwing his hands in the air in disgust. He stalked away from her as he placed his hands on his hips, but stopped just a few feet away.
It hurt that she would stoop so low. If Jack had tricked her, did that mean she actually didn’t like him? That she didn’t want to spend time with him and that was the real reason she had stopped coming to his office.
His gut twisted painfully at the thought. And here he had been foolishly thinking they had connected somehow. He had really been looking forward to this evening.
“Just go ahead without me,” he said finally, not turning to look at her. “I’ll just go home and get out of your hair.”
“What?” She asked.
The surprise in her voice made him turn around. “I’m sure the last thing you want is me tagging along. I mean, Jack had to trick you into asking me out which means I must not be very high on your list of friends.”
Her hazel eyes flashed with ire. “Hey! Jack may have tricked me, but only because I always thought you’d turn me down if I asked. It’s not like I know a lot of people here. You’re always so damn busy with your books and this never really seemed like your thing.”
“How would you know?” He challenged. The vise that had been twisting in his stomach loosened at the knowledge that she did want to spend time with him.
Buffy sent him a withering look. “Daniel, you live on a level so far above everyone else.” She held up a carefully manicured hand to prevent him from interrupting. “You do. That’s not to say you act like a snob or a know-it-all or even that it‘s a bad thing, but hanging out at the local club doesn’t really fit into your mold.”
“Okay… it doesn’t,” he grudgingly admitted. “But did you have to trick me? I might have said yes.”
“Might have being the operative words there,” she said with a sigh. “Listen, just… go home and we’ll forget this ever happened,” she said in a weary voice as she began digging around in her purse.
Daniel’s breath caught in his throat. Now that the option was given to him, he found he really didn’t want to go back home. Back to his empty, cold apartment. He quickly walked over to her before he could change his mind and placed his hand over hers, stilling her movements. “I’d like to go with you,” he said softly.
“You don’t have…”
“I know, but I want to.” He suddenly found himself blessed with her ‘megawatt’ smile. Something that was all too rare.
“Shall we then?” she cheerily asked.
After that, the ride to the club had gone smoothly enough. They managed to put the incident behind them and since they had cleared the air they were much more relaxed.
Elements wasn’t what he had expected either. The bouncer at the door let them in without the cover charge and the entire wait staff seemed to be on a first name basis with Buffy.
“Thought you didn’t know anyone,” he said over the music as they sat down with their drinks.
“They aren’t my friends,” she said with a shrug.
“Then what’s with the preferential treatment?” He asked.
She blushed and he found it endearing. “I’ve helped out a couple times with rough customers so they give me free drinks. Granted, I usually just drink plain diet coke so they’re not losing a lot.”
“Really?” He asked in surprise. Not that he thought she was a heavy drinker, but he assumed that she consumed alcohol while she was here.
“I’ve had some bad experiences,” she said with a wince. He knew from her tone not to pry. His own experiences with alcohol weren’t always pleasant.
Now, an hour and a half later, he found himself pondering the mystery that was Buffy Summers. He knew that he shouldn’t let it, but that first impression still lingered. Sometimes it was hard for him to equate the warrior he saw emerge in battle with the vapid valley girl who entered the briefing room that first day. Yes, he knew she had been putting on an act, but it stuck, though she had proved time and again that she would do anything to get them all home safely.
He also knew that she was smarter than what she let on, but she was always hiding it. At times he felt that she was content to let those around her do the discovering and explaining while she ‘played dumb’. But she wasn’t. Anyone who could sit for hours and read the books on his shelves, and then not only talk about them, but argue viewpoints spoke volumes about her intelligence. It was as if Buffy constantly wore some type of mask, only showing what people expected to see. It left him to wonder just who she truly was.
Even now, while she was in what he would consider a place of relaxation and entertainment, she was wary. Her eyes strayed to the doors and assessed any possible threat around her. She wasn’t obvious about it, but he had spent too much time around the military not to notice. To the untrained eye, however, she looked like an innocent woman out for a night on the town.
No one could look at her and deny that she was beautiful. She moved with an easy, supple grace that many could try to emulate, but they’d fall flat in the attempt. It wasn’t just her outer beauty that drew him toward her, but the warmth of her personality. She brightened every room she was in, even if she didn’t say a word.
It was as if she were a flame and he was the moth helplessly drawn to it. He knew it was dangerous but each step took him closer and he hadn’t been singed yet. The whole thing could utterly consume him and destroy both of their careers if it went badly. Reason enough to stay far away.
But he didn’t.
Couldn’t.
Even if she never returned his feelings, he would stay close to her warmth. A way to melt the ice that seemed to have settled around his heart when Sha’re had died. Refusing entrance to someone who could hurt him.
From the dance floor, Buffy saw him and waved. She had tried a few times to get him to join her, but he had politely declined. He contented himself watching the ebb and flow of the people around him; letting the carefree and fun atmosphere of the place seep through him.
Buffy didn’t seem to mind his reluctance to dance. She would take breaks and sit and talk with him. Sitting close together he could almost imagine that this really was an actual date.
Her body rocked effortlessly with the music and his vision tunneled on the seductive roll of her hips. He felt his body stir as he watched her sinuous movements and he was reminded why he had never suggested that Buffy spend any time with him outside of work.
Before he had even realized he had done it, he placed his empty beer bottle on the bar and made his way to Buffy. He wasn’t even sure why. He could barely slow dance, let alone any of the moves he had seen the others doing as he had watched them.
But something primal in her had called to him and his own baser instincts had answered. She probably wasn’t any more aware of what she was doing than he understood the reason for going to her.
He was saved by the slower beat of the next song as he drew Buffy close to him. She looked up at him in surprise but didn’t comment as her slender arms wrapped around him. One of his hands settled between her shoulder blades while the other slipped to just below her waist and right above the gentle slope of her ass.
His senses contracted to the space they occupied as he felt her delicious heat seeping through the thin cotton of his shirt. He could easily detect the soft, flowery scent of her shampoo as his head dropped closer to hers.
She titled her face up so that their breath could mingle and he could see the hesitation and confusion glittering from within her hazel eyes. Underneath it all he could see something else lurking. Something that was all together surprising. Desire.
His heartbeat sped up at the thought that maybe she felt the same way. That she saw him as a temptation. A piece of forbidden fruit that she had successfully resisted. Until now.
Taking it slow and giving her every chance to stop him, he closed the miniscule distance. A light brush of the lips and he felt her gasp.
Since she didn't push him away, he brought his lips to hers and applied a little more pressure. He felt her fingers clutch at his shirt as she pulled him closer still.
Her lips parted and her tongue darted out, inviting his to dance with hers. His hand slid up from her shoulders to bury itself in her hair. All that mattered in the world at that moment was the way she tasted and how he really wanted to get her home.
Panting for air, he broke the kiss and looked down at her. Her eyes were darkened with lust, but there was fear.
“This is going to change everything,” she said, barely loud enough for him to hear over the music.
It would. He couldn’t lie to her and say it wouldn’t. The nature of their relationship had already changed, and by that, so had the team dynamics. Whether Sam and Teal’c ever found out, it would affect their thoughts and behaviors in the field.
That was enough to stop this from going further. They could be putting others in jeopardy over this.
Yet, at the same time, he wanted this for himself. He had sacrificed and lost so much over the years that he wanted this chance for happiness. A selfish need, but everyone was entitled to have it all.
He sealed his lips over hers again. Her tongue traced the contours of his mouth and left him breathless. He tugged gently at her lower lip with his teeth before releasing her.
“Question is, will that stop you?” He asked, his voice rough and deep.
A full-fledged smile broke out over her features and it was all the answer he needed.
Title: Wayward Angel
By: Polgara (melindoranightsilver@hotmail.com)
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: I own none of the recognizable characters. They belong to their respective creators and distributors. Alec Colson’s dialogue comes directly from the Stargate Episode 8.8 Covenant.
Distribution: My site – Worlds of Possibilities, ff.net, Wormhole Crossing, and TtH.
Spoilers: For Buffy everything is game, for Stargate SG-1 direct spoilers for season 8 episode 8 - Covenant - and anything before that.
Setting: Takes place several years after Chosen and starts during SG-1 episode 8.8 - Covenant.
Summary: Life is filled with moments. The decision in each of these defining times shapes who we are and who we will become. They push us forward and back, an intricate dance.
A/N: Chapter titles and lyrics at the beginning of each come from Kasey Chamber’s cd - Wayward Angel. Music was used as an inspiration for the entire piece.
A/N2: Super shout out to Ava for being my personal cheerleader through writing this. Seriously, without her, this may have never been finished.
A/N3: Much thanks goes to Copper, my wonderful beta!
This fic has already been completed. I will be posting every Sunday.
Any and all artwork linked within this fic was created by the lovely Ava.
My body shivers, my body it shakes
You rock the house with the
Love that you make
I’m growing weak with
This intangible ache
But baby keep it coming
For goodness sake.
~ Guilty As Sin
Buffy seethed as she stalked down the SGC corridors. Damn Jack and his manipulative nature. She could only marvel over the fact that his own team hadn’t murdered him over the years. Of course, they’d have to have noticed his manipulations to get upset. She, on the other hand, had recognized it almost immediately after he had successfully ensnared her.
Jack had called her into his office under the innocent pretense of seeing how she was doing. How she was fitting in. How were her relationships with the team? Did she have any troubles with the military personnel that he needed to fix? Then the conversation somehow slipped into how Sam and Daniel spent too much time on the base. She found herself agreeing and nodding in sympathy as he told her stories of his own attempts to force downtime on his former teammates.
Next thing she knew, he was giving her pointers on how to accomplish her mission. He shoved her out of his office and closed the door leaving her staring at the offending object in bewilderment before the weight of what just happened hit her like a ton of bricks.
She was supposed to take Daniel out on a date.
Okay, maybe not a real date, but out nonetheless. It was treading dangerously close to the borderline. Now that she was thinking about it, there had been a definite smirk on Jack’s face when he had ordered her out. That sneaky man was up to something but for the life of her she didn‘t know what it was.
Now she had to convince the man she had been, for the most part, avoiding for the past two weeks to go out with her on her weekly excursion to Elements. How the hell was she supposed to do that?
Jack had said that the easiest way to ensnare her prey was to catch him when he was distracted. Oh, but not when the distraction was his books or rocks. Rather when he was doing something that required attention but not necessarily brain power. If his brain wasn’t active, then it would be less likely he could come up with a viable excuse not to go.
The only time she could think of that would place him in that situation would be when he worked out in the gym. Which was the first place she headed for on her ‘mission’.
She hated working out on base. The military had strict regulations on what was considered appropriate clothing. She felt weighted down by the shirt and jogging pants. She’d feel more comfortable in a pair of shorts and a sports bra. Hell, they covered more than a lot of women’s everyday clothes. But, surprisingly, she had found that she actually enjoyed her job and didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize it.
A man she recognized as a marine on another SG team was exiting the gym as she arrived. They exchanged a brief smile and nod before passing each other. As soon as she stepped into the gym, the smell of sweat washed over her. It seemed that every gym had the odor steeped into the very structure of the place.
Her hazel eyes scanned the room and she was happy to note that only she and her prey were present. He was currently oblivious to her presence and it gave her an opportunity to calm her body down from the glorious sight she was currently gifted with.
Daniel had obviously been in there for a while. His hair was damp and plastered to his forehead. The black shirt he wore was sleeveless, showing off his arms. Her skin flushed as she watched the shift of muscles under his skin as he lifted the weights. The cotton of his shirt clung to his body and her fingers itched to trace the muscles outlined in the fabric.
With no small effort, she forced her gaze back to his face. She giggled slightly at his glasses sliding down his nose. He set the weights down and absently pushed them back up his face.
“Hey,” he said, blinking as she stepped closer.
“Hi,” she said, trying to decide where the best place to start her workout was. The last thing she wanted Daniel to think was that she came into the gym for the express purpose of having this conversation. She opted for the mat and began stretching.
Buffy could feel his quizzical eyes on her. “Have you been busy?” He finally asked.
“A little. Why?”
“It’s just been a while since you’ve been down to my office,” he replied, using a towel to wipe the sweat off of his face.
“Oh, that,” she said nonchalantly as she bent over to touch her toes. Her heart jumped a little, apparently he had been aware of her avoidance.
“I thought maybe I bored you or something,” he admitted softly.
“What?” She asked, standing back up and looking at him in surprise. Of all of the things she would have thought he thought, that wasn‘t on the list. “No! You couldn’t bore me. I was just worried that I was bothering you,” she finished lamely.
He frowned and slowly said, “No, I would have said something, like I do with Jack.”
“Oh, I thought you were just being polite,” she stammered before sitting on the mat. She spread her legs apart and then folded her body over one leg.
“So you’ll start stopping by again?” He prompted her.
Buffy kept her face hidden as she smiled. He had missed her. At least that was something. “I suppose.”
“Well, that was encouraging,” he said dryly, she could almost hear the eye roll.
Daniel had unwittingly given her the opening she needed. She looked up at him, but stayed in the stretch. “On one condition.”
He crossed his arms and hugged his body, making his muscles bulge slightly. “And what’s that?”
“You hang out with me tonight. Off base,” she said, sitting up.
“That’s it?” He asked suspiciously.
“That’s it,” she said, stretching over the other leg.
“I suppose I could do that,” he said. His brow furrowed as if he was still trying to figure out the catch.
“Great! Swing by my place around nine,” she said with a grin.
“Why so late?” He asked.
“I’ve got to do some shopping first.”
“Oh, okay. Nine it is,” he said, grabbing his towel and walking out the door.
“That was way too easy,” she muttered to herself. She couldn’t help but worry that this was all going to come back and bite her on the ass.
XXXXXXXXXX
Daniel frowned to himself as he forced the bartender to accept the tip. Never had he met any type of wait staff that refused tips before. In fact, this whole evening had been rather bizarre.
First, Buffy had answered the door in very distinct civilian clothing that seemed to show copious amounts of skin. She stepped onto her small porch and locked her door. After placing her keys into a small bag, she smiled up at him. “Ready?”
He blinked owlishly at her. “For what?”
“To go to Elements, remember,” she said, leading him back to his car.
“What?”
“That was the deal. You hang out with me tonight and I’ll hang out in your office more,” she said, looking at him over her delicate shoulder with an indescribable look on her face.
“I remember that part,” Daniel said, his forehead creasing as they stopped at the passenger door. His brain worked feverishly at trying to recall the conversation. “But I don’t remember anything about Elements.”
Buffy rolled her eyes. “What else did you expect? It’s Friday.”
“Pardon?”
“I’ve told you guys a hundred times that I go to Elements every Friday and Saturday.” She pouted a little and he was shocked at how much it pulled at him. “I just thought you’d remember,” she said in a small voice.
Suddenly that devilish look that Sam gave him as he left the base made so much more sense now. She knew what he had gotten himself into and let him walk ignorantly into this situation.
Now that he was thinking about it, Jack also seemed pretty smug during their meeting that afternoon. At the time he had chalked it up to Jack having gotten away with some prank because he was now ‘the man’, but it could have meant more. Which meant…
“Jack had you set me up,” he accused.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she scoffed. She gestured to the car door. “If we don’t leave soon, I won’t get my table.”
“Admit it. Jack had you trick me into getting some downtime. I caught on to his little game years ago and now he’s found a new ally,” he said appalled by the thought.
“Actually, Jack tricked me into tricking you,” she sullenly admitted, crossing her slender arms across her chest.
“Great, just great,” he said, throwing his hands in the air in disgust. He stalked away from her as he placed his hands on his hips, but stopped just a few feet away.
It hurt that she would stoop so low. If Jack had tricked her, did that mean she actually didn’t like him? That she didn’t want to spend time with him and that was the real reason she had stopped coming to his office.
His gut twisted painfully at the thought. And here he had been foolishly thinking they had connected somehow. He had really been looking forward to this evening.
“Just go ahead without me,” he said finally, not turning to look at her. “I’ll just go home and get out of your hair.”
“What?” She asked.
The surprise in her voice made him turn around. “I’m sure the last thing you want is me tagging along. I mean, Jack had to trick you into asking me out which means I must not be very high on your list of friends.”
Her hazel eyes flashed with ire. “Hey! Jack may have tricked me, but only because I always thought you’d turn me down if I asked. It’s not like I know a lot of people here. You’re always so damn busy with your books and this never really seemed like your thing.”
“How would you know?” He challenged. The vise that had been twisting in his stomach loosened at the knowledge that she did want to spend time with him.
Buffy sent him a withering look. “Daniel, you live on a level so far above everyone else.” She held up a carefully manicured hand to prevent him from interrupting. “You do. That’s not to say you act like a snob or a know-it-all or even that it‘s a bad thing, but hanging out at the local club doesn’t really fit into your mold.”
“Okay… it doesn’t,” he grudgingly admitted. “But did you have to trick me? I might have said yes.”
“Might have being the operative words there,” she said with a sigh. “Listen, just… go home and we’ll forget this ever happened,” she said in a weary voice as she began digging around in her purse.
Daniel’s breath caught in his throat. Now that the option was given to him, he found he really didn’t want to go back home. Back to his empty, cold apartment. He quickly walked over to her before he could change his mind and placed his hand over hers, stilling her movements. “I’d like to go with you,” he said softly.
“You don’t have…”
“I know, but I want to.” He suddenly found himself blessed with her ‘megawatt’ smile. Something that was all too rare.
“Shall we then?” she cheerily asked.
After that, the ride to the club had gone smoothly enough. They managed to put the incident behind them and since they had cleared the air they were much more relaxed.
Elements wasn’t what he had expected either. The bouncer at the door let them in without the cover charge and the entire wait staff seemed to be on a first name basis with Buffy.
“Thought you didn’t know anyone,” he said over the music as they sat down with their drinks.
“They aren’t my friends,” she said with a shrug.
“Then what’s with the preferential treatment?” He asked.
She blushed and he found it endearing. “I’ve helped out a couple times with rough customers so they give me free drinks. Granted, I usually just drink plain diet coke so they’re not losing a lot.”
“Really?” He asked in surprise. Not that he thought she was a heavy drinker, but he assumed that she consumed alcohol while she was here.
“I’ve had some bad experiences,” she said with a wince. He knew from her tone not to pry. His own experiences with alcohol weren’t always pleasant.
Now, an hour and a half later, he found himself pondering the mystery that was Buffy Summers. He knew that he shouldn’t let it, but that first impression still lingered. Sometimes it was hard for him to equate the warrior he saw emerge in battle with the vapid valley girl who entered the briefing room that first day. Yes, he knew she had been putting on an act, but it stuck, though she had proved time and again that she would do anything to get them all home safely.
He also knew that she was smarter than what she let on, but she was always hiding it. At times he felt that she was content to let those around her do the discovering and explaining while she ‘played dumb’. But she wasn’t. Anyone who could sit for hours and read the books on his shelves, and then not only talk about them, but argue viewpoints spoke volumes about her intelligence. It was as if Buffy constantly wore some type of mask, only showing what people expected to see. It left him to wonder just who she truly was.
Even now, while she was in what he would consider a place of relaxation and entertainment, she was wary. Her eyes strayed to the doors and assessed any possible threat around her. She wasn’t obvious about it, but he had spent too much time around the military not to notice. To the untrained eye, however, she looked like an innocent woman out for a night on the town.
No one could look at her and deny that she was beautiful. She moved with an easy, supple grace that many could try to emulate, but they’d fall flat in the attempt. It wasn’t just her outer beauty that drew him toward her, but the warmth of her personality. She brightened every room she was in, even if she didn’t say a word.
It was as if she were a flame and he was the moth helplessly drawn to it. He knew it was dangerous but each step took him closer and he hadn’t been singed yet. The whole thing could utterly consume him and destroy both of their careers if it went badly. Reason enough to stay far away.
But he didn’t.
Couldn’t.
Even if she never returned his feelings, he would stay close to her warmth. A way to melt the ice that seemed to have settled around his heart when Sha’re had died. Refusing entrance to someone who could hurt him.
From the dance floor, Buffy saw him and waved. She had tried a few times to get him to join her, but he had politely declined. He contented himself watching the ebb and flow of the people around him; letting the carefree and fun atmosphere of the place seep through him.
Buffy didn’t seem to mind his reluctance to dance. She would take breaks and sit and talk with him. Sitting close together he could almost imagine that this really was an actual date.
Her body rocked effortlessly with the music and his vision tunneled on the seductive roll of her hips. He felt his body stir as he watched her sinuous movements and he was reminded why he had never suggested that Buffy spend any time with him outside of work.
Before he had even realized he had done it, he placed his empty beer bottle on the bar and made his way to Buffy. He wasn’t even sure why. He could barely slow dance, let alone any of the moves he had seen the others doing as he had watched them.
But something primal in her had called to him and his own baser instincts had answered. She probably wasn’t any more aware of what she was doing than he understood the reason for going to her.
He was saved by the slower beat of the next song as he drew Buffy close to him. She looked up at him in surprise but didn’t comment as her slender arms wrapped around him. One of his hands settled between her shoulder blades while the other slipped to just below her waist and right above the gentle slope of her ass.
His senses contracted to the space they occupied as he felt her delicious heat seeping through the thin cotton of his shirt. He could easily detect the soft, flowery scent of her shampoo as his head dropped closer to hers.
She titled her face up so that their breath could mingle and he could see the hesitation and confusion glittering from within her hazel eyes. Underneath it all he could see something else lurking. Something that was all together surprising. Desire.
His heartbeat sped up at the thought that maybe she felt the same way. That she saw him as a temptation. A piece of forbidden fruit that she had successfully resisted. Until now.
Taking it slow and giving her every chance to stop him, he closed the miniscule distance. A light brush of the lips and he felt her gasp.
Since she didn't push him away, he brought his lips to hers and applied a little more pressure. He felt her fingers clutch at his shirt as she pulled him closer still.
Her lips parted and her tongue darted out, inviting his to dance with hers. His hand slid up from her shoulders to bury itself in her hair. All that mattered in the world at that moment was the way she tasted and how he really wanted to get her home.
Panting for air, he broke the kiss and looked down at her. Her eyes were darkened with lust, but there was fear.
“This is going to change everything,” she said, barely loud enough for him to hear over the music.
It would. He couldn’t lie to her and say it wouldn’t. The nature of their relationship had already changed, and by that, so had the team dynamics. Whether Sam and Teal’c ever found out, it would affect their thoughts and behaviors in the field.
That was enough to stop this from going further. They could be putting others in jeopardy over this.
Yet, at the same time, he wanted this for himself. He had sacrificed and lost so much over the years that he wanted this chance for happiness. A selfish need, but everyone was entitled to have it all.
He sealed his lips over hers again. Her tongue traced the contours of his mouth and left him breathless. He tugged gently at her lower lip with his teeth before releasing her.
“Question is, will that stop you?” He asked, his voice rough and deep.
A full-fledged smile broke out over her features and it was all the answer he needed.
