Fic: Renegotiation by miera
I seem to have never posted this one. Oops.
Title: Renegotiating
Author: miera_c
Summary: After "Epiphany" John decides it's time to change some things in his life.
Pairings: Weir/Sheppard
Main characters: Elizabeth, John
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: None
Spoilers: up to "Epiphany"
Beta: havocthecat
Disclaimer: Not mine, we only wish they were.
Author's Notes: Originally a pinch hit for the swficathon, Sheppard and Weir are negotiating. On what? Their romantic relationship.
Showered, shaved and still feeling more than a little unnerved by his six month exile that was really only a few hours, John goes to Elizabeth's quarters.
He never goes to her quarters. She never comes to his, except when he is mutating into a giant bug. It's some sort of mutual unspoken agreement that they spend enough time together at work, so following the other person home probably isn't a good idea.
That was an old rule, though. John has decided it's time to make some changes.
"Oh, hey," she smiles and gestures for him to come in. "How're you doing?"
John shrugs. "It's good to be back."
Something in his voice makes Elizabeth put on her Concerned Leader Look. "John, you know we would've come for you, no matter what. Even if it had taken six months on our end."
He doesn't want to talk about that, because realistically, if anyone was missing for six months, priorities would require abandoning the search. Then again, he and his team had just gone missing for several weeks thanks to Ford. Elizabeth hadn't given up, even in the face of everyone including the SGC and IOA telling her to.
"I know." He shoves his hands in his pockets and rocks nervously on his heels. "I guess if I had to be stuck somewhere for that long, there are worse places," he says, thinking of Ford and his experimenting on the team.
"Like a Hive ship?" She raises an eyebrow knowingly.
He's forgotten how freakishly in synch her thoughts could be with his. And without any weird, Ascension-related telepathic abilities.
That reminds him of why he's here and he clears his throat. "Um, look, I came by because I left something out of my report." Elizabeth looks at him worriedly and he swallows. "About Teer."
He just stares at her for a second until Elizabeth says, "Oh." It's not very bright in here but he thinks Elizabeth's cheeks turn a little pink. He can practically see her weighing her words. "If it's not relevant to the outcome of the mission, Colonel, then I don't see any need to change the report from how it is now." She avoids his eyes. "Your private business should stay... private. We owe you that much, at least."
"Elizabeth." He knows what he wants her to think, but as usual he's not good at articulating why she should. "I was there for a long time, and I was thinking you weren't going to come for me and I was never getting out." That only makes her expression get more remorseful and the last thing he wants is her feeling guilty right now. "And Teer had these psychic abilities. She said she knew who I was and when I would appear in the cloister a long time ago. And she foresaw some... other stuff, too."
This time Elizabeth raises both eyebrows. "You mean she...?"
"Yeah." He shifts uncomfortably.
"Okay," she says slowly. "That's a little-"
"Creepy?"
"Well, yes."
He nods.
Elizabeth shakes herself. "Look, John, I appreciate you letting me know, but this is really none of my business."
"Technically, no, but I felt like you should know." She gives him a mystified look and he tries to explain. "I missed you. I mean, I missed Teyla and Ronon and even Rodney, but I missed you, Elizabeth."
He's moved closer without thinking about it, and her eyes are huge in the dim light. Her fingers reach for his face and she mutters almost to herself, "We just got you back." He knows she's thinking of his team being kidnapped by Ford and then nearly dying on the Hive. He'd seen the relief and the joy in her face when she ran down the stairs to meet them. Elizabeth's been slipping lately with her whole stoic façade. Her emotions are coming through more than they used to, probably more than she intends.
But she's still Elizabeth, so she snatches her hand back before she can touch him and tries to backpedal away. He catches her fingers and won't let her go.
"John," she says warningly. When he moves forward again, into her personal space - more so than he usually is - she looks up at him frantically. "John, we can't do this."
"We can," he tells her, though he doesn't do anything but stand there. "That's why I'm here. I think we need to renegotiate some things, Elizabeth." He knows it's slightly ridiculous that he came here to confess sleeping with another woman before bringing this up, but Teer had reminded him of what he didn't have, and now that he's back, he doesn't want to waste more time thinking about his life instead of living it.
She rolls her eyes. "Like what? Nothing changes the bottom line, that I'm the leader of this expedition and I can't afford to appear compromised because of a personal relationship."
Her temper is up and it riles him enough to goad her. "Seriously, you think people haven't already speculated about this? Repeatedly?"
Elizabeth winces and he knows with that weird, gut-deep understanding of her that he can't explain that someone has done more than speculate in her hearing. They'll deal with that later, because he's not about to let Elizabeth get harassed over him, but for now, he puts his anger aside.
"I'm not saying it's going to be easy," he tells her. How often has he said these same words to her, but about something work related? "But it's worth the risk."
Her eyes fall to his lips and that's enough. John surges forward, wrapping his other arm around her back and kissing her before Elizabeth can start talking or thinking and tell him no.
There's a long moment when he thinks she's just going to not respond until he stops, but then her lips are pressing back against his and one of them - he's not sure which - groans.
The dam bursts, the floodgates open, whatever metaphor is convenient, and the kiss becomes frantic and hungry immediately. Months of curiosity and buried lust come to the surface and John drags Elizabeth closer, his hands running over her back, touching her cheek, her skin, while Elizabeth's arms wrap around his neck.
Her mouth is hot and sweet and he reluctantly lets her pull away to breathe. He nuzzles her jaw line, trails kisses down her neck while she pants in his ear. "I thought about this, while you were missing," she confesses in a whisper.
"You hadn't thought about it before?" he teases, lingering at a spot along her throat that makes her fingers clench on his shoulder. He sure as hell has. A lot.
Her other hand smacks the back of his head lightly. "I meant telling you."
"Oh." Her ears are apparently very sensitive, because when he starts nibbling Elizabeth sags against him, which feels incredibly good even through their clothes. He has to work to pay attention to what she's saying.
"I thought that if you came back, I didn't want to let you go off and risk your life again without knowing..." Elizabeth falters and John tears himself away from the taste of her skin to look at her. He's awful at this kind of thing, which is why he prefers to stick with "show, don't tell" in this kind of situation, so he's not going to make her say it. At least not right now.
So he cups her face in one hand, his thumb brushing against her cheek. "Why didn't you tell me?"
She looks away. "I convinced myself it was just grief and worry."
He stills. "Did you really believe that?"
A slightly mischievous look crosses her face, something she rarely lets show. "No, not really." Her hands are resting against his chest now, and she looks down at them. "It's just what I told myself to justify not doing anything about it."
"Elizabeth." He lifts her chin. "I just had six months to do nothing but come up with reasons and excuses. I don't want to do that any more."
He could never force her into anything, so he doesn't move, just waits. It's up to Elizabeth to take the next step. However small the physical movement might be, the decision is a lot bigger, and he'll let her make that choice.
When she kisses him and her body presses flush against his, he feels a strong sense of victory. His hands slip up under her shirt to stroke over warm, bare skin along her back and Elizabeth arches forward, her hips pushing against his very nicely.
She gasps a little, and draws back just enough to look at him. "We'll talk later?"
He nods, already intent on her mouth again. "Later. After. Whenever you want."
"Oh, don't tempt me like that, Colonel," she all but purrs and it should not be that hot hearing his rank from her right now, but it is. "An open invitation for long, heartfelt talks about our feelings?"
He groans, because while she's teasing him, her fingers are stroking along his jaw and her body is rubbing ever-so-slightly against his. He just can't concentrate when Elizabeth is acting both sexual and predatory at the same time.
Her expression shifts a little, though. "I did like the beard, you know." She leans forward and kisses his clean-shaven cheek gently.
He chuckles. "Well, if I'd known it would help convince you, I would've kept it." He starts tugging her along as he backs towards the bed.
"You could always grow another one."
He nods. He could do that. Elizabeth is pushing his jacket off his shoulders and eyeing him in a way that makes his heart thud in his chest. She could ask him for pretty much anything right now and he'd give it to her as long as she didn't stop looking at him like this.
"Here," she says, her fingers raking through his hair. Her nails graze his scalp, which feels fantastic, and he grabs for the hem of her shirt roughly. "Safe in Atlantis. Where I can keep an eye on you," she tells him, helping strip the red shirt up and off.
He nods again. "Not going anywhere," he promises. The sight of Elizabeth shirtless makes him realize this is really happening. It's not a dream or a fantasy. She's really here, he's really back now. Finally.
"Though, I gotta say," he tells her as his hands wander over her body, brushing against soft skin and curves while her scent fills the air between them. "If this was waiting for me, I think I might be more careful not to be late so often."
Her upper body is bare now and his hands are very busy making Elizabeth squirm and gasp, but she hears the unspoken question in his words. "We'll have to see what we can do about that, then," she tells him with a grin.
He hasn't felt this happy in a long time.
Elizabeth pushes him down onto her bed and then yanks his shirt up. He lifts his arms to help her and then grunts when she straddles his lap. He doesn't know what he was expecting when he came here intending to get her into bed tonight. He's fantasized about this plenty of times, but somehow Elizabeth being this aggressive is a million times hotter than his best fantasy.
Okay maybe not the one with the leather, but definitely all the others.
She senses his thoughts wandering, because she pushes herself up off his shoulders. "What?"
It's on the tip of his tongue to say the words he usually would do anything to avoid, but he's afraid he'll sound ridiculous. Or will scare her. Elizabeth's not much better at relationships than him, he knows that from her infrequent personal confessions.
Instead he leans forward, his face pressed against her neck, breathing her in for a moment. Her arms tighten around him in response. He's almost afraid he imagines it but he feels her breath warm against his ear as she whispers, "You're home."
With a swift move, he flips Elizabeth onto her back on her narrow bed. They're going to have to do something about that too, but for now he'll manage. He settles on top of her and even though they both still have their pants on, his body fits against Elizabeth's perfectly. He looks down at her. Her eyes are still wide, and her lips are pink from kissing him. Her hair is a mess of curls on the pillow and her bare chest rises and falls with a breath.
He wants her with everything in him.
"I am now," he tells her and moves to kiss her and get rid of the rest of their clothes, intent on not wasting any more time.
Title: Renegotiating
Author: miera_c
Summary: After "Epiphany" John decides it's time to change some things in his life.
Pairings: Weir/Sheppard
Main characters: Elizabeth, John
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: None
Spoilers: up to "Epiphany"
Beta: havocthecat
Disclaimer: Not mine, we only wish they were.
Author's Notes: Originally a pinch hit for the swficathon, Sheppard and Weir are negotiating. On what? Their romantic relationship.
Showered, shaved and still feeling more than a little unnerved by his six month exile that was really only a few hours, John goes to Elizabeth's quarters.
He never goes to her quarters. She never comes to his, except when he is mutating into a giant bug. It's some sort of mutual unspoken agreement that they spend enough time together at work, so following the other person home probably isn't a good idea.
That was an old rule, though. John has decided it's time to make some changes.
"Oh, hey," she smiles and gestures for him to come in. "How're you doing?"
John shrugs. "It's good to be back."
Something in his voice makes Elizabeth put on her Concerned Leader Look. "John, you know we would've come for you, no matter what. Even if it had taken six months on our end."
He doesn't want to talk about that, because realistically, if anyone was missing for six months, priorities would require abandoning the search. Then again, he and his team had just gone missing for several weeks thanks to Ford. Elizabeth hadn't given up, even in the face of everyone including the SGC and IOA telling her to.
"I know." He shoves his hands in his pockets and rocks nervously on his heels. "I guess if I had to be stuck somewhere for that long, there are worse places," he says, thinking of Ford and his experimenting on the team.
"Like a Hive ship?" She raises an eyebrow knowingly.
He's forgotten how freakishly in synch her thoughts could be with his. And without any weird, Ascension-related telepathic abilities.
That reminds him of why he's here and he clears his throat. "Um, look, I came by because I left something out of my report." Elizabeth looks at him worriedly and he swallows. "About Teer."
He just stares at her for a second until Elizabeth says, "Oh." It's not very bright in here but he thinks Elizabeth's cheeks turn a little pink. He can practically see her weighing her words. "If it's not relevant to the outcome of the mission, Colonel, then I don't see any need to change the report from how it is now." She avoids his eyes. "Your private business should stay... private. We owe you that much, at least."
"Elizabeth." He knows what he wants her to think, but as usual he's not good at articulating why she should. "I was there for a long time, and I was thinking you weren't going to come for me and I was never getting out." That only makes her expression get more remorseful and the last thing he wants is her feeling guilty right now. "And Teer had these psychic abilities. She said she knew who I was and when I would appear in the cloister a long time ago. And she foresaw some... other stuff, too."
This time Elizabeth raises both eyebrows. "You mean she...?"
"Yeah." He shifts uncomfortably.
"Okay," she says slowly. "That's a little-"
"Creepy?"
"Well, yes."
He nods.
Elizabeth shakes herself. "Look, John, I appreciate you letting me know, but this is really none of my business."
"Technically, no, but I felt like you should know." She gives him a mystified look and he tries to explain. "I missed you. I mean, I missed Teyla and Ronon and even Rodney, but I missed you, Elizabeth."
He's moved closer without thinking about it, and her eyes are huge in the dim light. Her fingers reach for his face and she mutters almost to herself, "We just got you back." He knows she's thinking of his team being kidnapped by Ford and then nearly dying on the Hive. He'd seen the relief and the joy in her face when she ran down the stairs to meet them. Elizabeth's been slipping lately with her whole stoic façade. Her emotions are coming through more than they used to, probably more than she intends.
But she's still Elizabeth, so she snatches her hand back before she can touch him and tries to backpedal away. He catches her fingers and won't let her go.
"John," she says warningly. When he moves forward again, into her personal space - more so than he usually is - she looks up at him frantically. "John, we can't do this."
"We can," he tells her, though he doesn't do anything but stand there. "That's why I'm here. I think we need to renegotiate some things, Elizabeth." He knows it's slightly ridiculous that he came here to confess sleeping with another woman before bringing this up, but Teer had reminded him of what he didn't have, and now that he's back, he doesn't want to waste more time thinking about his life instead of living it.
She rolls her eyes. "Like what? Nothing changes the bottom line, that I'm the leader of this expedition and I can't afford to appear compromised because of a personal relationship."
Her temper is up and it riles him enough to goad her. "Seriously, you think people haven't already speculated about this? Repeatedly?"
Elizabeth winces and he knows with that weird, gut-deep understanding of her that he can't explain that someone has done more than speculate in her hearing. They'll deal with that later, because he's not about to let Elizabeth get harassed over him, but for now, he puts his anger aside.
"I'm not saying it's going to be easy," he tells her. How often has he said these same words to her, but about something work related? "But it's worth the risk."
Her eyes fall to his lips and that's enough. John surges forward, wrapping his other arm around her back and kissing her before Elizabeth can start talking or thinking and tell him no.
There's a long moment when he thinks she's just going to not respond until he stops, but then her lips are pressing back against his and one of them - he's not sure which - groans.
The dam bursts, the floodgates open, whatever metaphor is convenient, and the kiss becomes frantic and hungry immediately. Months of curiosity and buried lust come to the surface and John drags Elizabeth closer, his hands running over her back, touching her cheek, her skin, while Elizabeth's arms wrap around his neck.
Her mouth is hot and sweet and he reluctantly lets her pull away to breathe. He nuzzles her jaw line, trails kisses down her neck while she pants in his ear. "I thought about this, while you were missing," she confesses in a whisper.
"You hadn't thought about it before?" he teases, lingering at a spot along her throat that makes her fingers clench on his shoulder. He sure as hell has. A lot.
Her other hand smacks the back of his head lightly. "I meant telling you."
"Oh." Her ears are apparently very sensitive, because when he starts nibbling Elizabeth sags against him, which feels incredibly good even through their clothes. He has to work to pay attention to what she's saying.
"I thought that if you came back, I didn't want to let you go off and risk your life again without knowing..." Elizabeth falters and John tears himself away from the taste of her skin to look at her. He's awful at this kind of thing, which is why he prefers to stick with "show, don't tell" in this kind of situation, so he's not going to make her say it. At least not right now.
So he cups her face in one hand, his thumb brushing against her cheek. "Why didn't you tell me?"
She looks away. "I convinced myself it was just grief and worry."
He stills. "Did you really believe that?"
A slightly mischievous look crosses her face, something she rarely lets show. "No, not really." Her hands are resting against his chest now, and she looks down at them. "It's just what I told myself to justify not doing anything about it."
"Elizabeth." He lifts her chin. "I just had six months to do nothing but come up with reasons and excuses. I don't want to do that any more."
He could never force her into anything, so he doesn't move, just waits. It's up to Elizabeth to take the next step. However small the physical movement might be, the decision is a lot bigger, and he'll let her make that choice.
When she kisses him and her body presses flush against his, he feels a strong sense of victory. His hands slip up under her shirt to stroke over warm, bare skin along her back and Elizabeth arches forward, her hips pushing against his very nicely.
She gasps a little, and draws back just enough to look at him. "We'll talk later?"
He nods, already intent on her mouth again. "Later. After. Whenever you want."
"Oh, don't tempt me like that, Colonel," she all but purrs and it should not be that hot hearing his rank from her right now, but it is. "An open invitation for long, heartfelt talks about our feelings?"
He groans, because while she's teasing him, her fingers are stroking along his jaw and her body is rubbing ever-so-slightly against his. He just can't concentrate when Elizabeth is acting both sexual and predatory at the same time.
Her expression shifts a little, though. "I did like the beard, you know." She leans forward and kisses his clean-shaven cheek gently.
He chuckles. "Well, if I'd known it would help convince you, I would've kept it." He starts tugging her along as he backs towards the bed.
"You could always grow another one."
He nods. He could do that. Elizabeth is pushing his jacket off his shoulders and eyeing him in a way that makes his heart thud in his chest. She could ask him for pretty much anything right now and he'd give it to her as long as she didn't stop looking at him like this.
"Here," she says, her fingers raking through his hair. Her nails graze his scalp, which feels fantastic, and he grabs for the hem of her shirt roughly. "Safe in Atlantis. Where I can keep an eye on you," she tells him, helping strip the red shirt up and off.
He nods again. "Not going anywhere," he promises. The sight of Elizabeth shirtless makes him realize this is really happening. It's not a dream or a fantasy. She's really here, he's really back now. Finally.
"Though, I gotta say," he tells her as his hands wander over her body, brushing against soft skin and curves while her scent fills the air between them. "If this was waiting for me, I think I might be more careful not to be late so often."
Her upper body is bare now and his hands are very busy making Elizabeth squirm and gasp, but she hears the unspoken question in his words. "We'll have to see what we can do about that, then," she tells him with a grin.
He hasn't felt this happy in a long time.
Elizabeth pushes him down onto her bed and then yanks his shirt up. He lifts his arms to help her and then grunts when she straddles his lap. He doesn't know what he was expecting when he came here intending to get her into bed tonight. He's fantasized about this plenty of times, but somehow Elizabeth being this aggressive is a million times hotter than his best fantasy.
Okay maybe not the one with the leather, but definitely all the others.
She senses his thoughts wandering, because she pushes herself up off his shoulders. "What?"
It's on the tip of his tongue to say the words he usually would do anything to avoid, but he's afraid he'll sound ridiculous. Or will scare her. Elizabeth's not much better at relationships than him, he knows that from her infrequent personal confessions.
Instead he leans forward, his face pressed against her neck, breathing her in for a moment. Her arms tighten around him in response. He's almost afraid he imagines it but he feels her breath warm against his ear as she whispers, "You're home."
With a swift move, he flips Elizabeth onto her back on her narrow bed. They're going to have to do something about that too, but for now he'll manage. He settles on top of her and even though they both still have their pants on, his body fits against Elizabeth's perfectly. He looks down at her. Her eyes are still wide, and her lips are pink from kissing him. Her hair is a mess of curls on the pillow and her bare chest rises and falls with a breath.
He wants her with everything in him.
"I am now," he tells her and moves to kiss her and get rid of the rest of their clothes, intent on not wasting any more time.