Miles To Go by Miriel (R) (Amnesty 2006, Exhaustion Challenge)
Title: Miles To Go
Author: miriel
Beta: Both scififreak and saklani2 weighed in, though SFF gave final approval because Saki went to bed.
Pairing: Elizabeth Weir/Ladon Radim
Rating: R
Author's Note: This is actually a snapshot from a larger universe (surprise, surprise), and when I've explained the concept for this bit (the snapshot) reactions have ranged from "Great mental image!" to "OMG! Bleach NOW". Not quite sure what to make of that. This is set in the universe that spun off from canon with Bridges Revisited (a re-mix of Bridges You Cross) following The Return 1 & 2.
Elizabeth had been awake for 20 minutes when she finally pulled herself out of bed. She knew, because she’d been checking her watch every time she couldn’t fall back to sleep. It was ridiculous, because she’d slept just fine for three years without a lover beside her. There had never been cause or opportunity in the years after Simon, and she had been all right with that. Atlantis came first; her people came before her own wants and desires.
After only a few months of his presence, when his people could spare him and never more than a few days at a time, suddenly she couldn’t go back to sleep without him. She could sleep without him, and she could sleep beside him, but her body refused to make the adjustment if he left in the night. They’d tried it at first, in an attempt to avoid unfortunate questions in the morning. After the second sleepless night, they’d switched to simply waking early enough to avoid the patrols (or late enough that he could claim ‘diplomatic meeting’).
Except now it was 0320, and he wasn’t in bed; he was in the shower, where he’d been since she woke to find him gone. With a sigh, she rolled over and pushed herself upright. She certainly wasn’t getting anywhere lying there, and she was just alert enough to be concerned. The sound of the shower had been constant, not the changing noises normally associated with bathing. As she stood, she grabbed the pajama top she'd inherited from one of the Athosians and pulled it on.
Not bothering to knock, she triggered the door and stepped inside. The room was filled with steam, and she wondered how long he'd been in here before she had noticed his absence. As she drew closer to the shower, she could make out his still form underneath the spray. She knew that the Genii had all demonstrated a mild fixation with the hot showers the city provided, but he'd been in and out of the city for close to six months now; the novelty should have worn off long ago. As she came closer, she noticed that his hands were braced against the wall at shoulder height, and his head hung down between them. He looked broken.
"Ladon?"
He didn't respond, and she realized that his eyes were unfocused. After a moment of debate, she shucked her shirt and stepped under the spray beside him, placing a careful hand on his shoulder. "Ladon, are you all right?"
He blinked and turned to her, dropping his arms to his sides as his eyes slowly refocused. "Elizabeth?"
She nodded, and slid a careful hand down his chest. She knew better than to ask if he was all right; 'all right' didn't exist for people in positions like theirs. There was 'coping' and there was 'broken'; she had hoped to never see him broken. "I missed you. You know I can't sleep when you're gone."
"I'm sorry." He caught her hand and brought it to his lips, placing a gentle kiss on her palm and watching her shiver in response.
"Planning another coup?" She said the words lightly, with a hint of teasing buried under the otherwise serious accusation.
He laid a kiss on the pulse point as her wrist, sucking on the delicate skin until she moaned before pulling away. His eyes were serious when he spoke. "If it were best for my people, I would. However, it would take a great deal for this alliance to lose its value to my people."
She curled her fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck, glad that he'd finally had a chance to cut it back to its shorter length. "And what about our alliance?" She leaned forward and kissed him lightly, more tease than actual promise. "Does it have...value?"
He groaned, and let his forehead fall forward to rest against hers. His voice was harsh, and almost too quiet to hear over the falling water. "Never doubt the value of this." He shifted, and she had just enough time to think that there was a first time for everything before he pressed her against the wall and she lost herself in the heat of his kiss. It tasted of desperation and sorrow, of responsibilities too large for any one person to shoulder, and enough regrets to last a lifetime; she knew that she must taste the same. He pulled away, panting harshly. "Never."
She nodded, opening eyes that had closed of their own volition. He was staring at her intensely and she looked away, unsure just what he saw when the walls around her soul were down. She hated the vulnerability of these moments almost as much as she needed it. Unwilling to address the issue at three-thirty in the morning, naked and soaking wet, she went for her next best option. She pressed herself against him, able now to feel his arousal against her hip as she whispered a simple request in his ear. "Love me." She laid a kiss behind his ear, in the place she had learned through trial and error was guaranteed to make him forget just about everything. "Please."
He shuddered against her, and left behind whatever it was that had been weighing so heavily upon his mind. He kissed her hot and deep, hands moving her with a purpose as he woke nerves that had been hovering on the edge of awareness, leaving her gasping for breath and moaning while she tried desperately not to crack her head against the wall. When he had decided upon a course of action, Ladon could be ruthless in achieving it. It was something she had respected at the negotiating table (and had caused her no small amount of worry when he had first taken over the Genii), but she'd not anticipated its benefits in the bedroom. As she arched against him, barely registering the shower wall, she was reminded just how lucky she was to have stumbled into this relationship.
She felt him shift, and whimpered in protest as he pulled away and rested his head on her shoulder. "Elizabeth, we should - I don't have anything..."
She shook her head; this was her time, damn it. She could be irresponsible for a few hours. He was probably sterile anyway, and they both knew it. "It's all right. Please, just...Let go."
"All right." He skimmed a hand down her torso, brushing lightly over first one breast and then the other before slipping between her legs. She moaned as he brushed her clit, bucking against him in an attempt to gain more pressure, but he withdrew instead, settling both hands at her waist. Realizing what he planned to do, she opened her mouth to protest; she was not going to explain to Carson that she'd broken her arm having shower sex, and she knew how risky it was. Before she could form the words, however, he was inside her, and oh. Maybe there was a reason people did this.
For a brief time, there was nothing outside of the shower - no Wraith, no Alliance, no Earth. Their relationship was built on a mutual emotional give and take, and it had shaken her badly to see him so broken earlier. His movements were hard and fast, desperation audible every time he whispered her name, every time that whisper shook just a little and it had nothing to do with the force of his thrusts.
She came before he did, and he slowed while she gasped and clenched around him. When she had calmed, he began moving again. She squirmed, and he allowed her to shift so that she had one leg braced on the ground. As she resettled, she could feel the tension in his movements, knew he was close, but also knew he was holding himself back. She reached up, and trailed a gentle finger down the side of his face. "Let it go, Ladon. I'll catch you, but you have to fall. Let me catch you."
That was all it took, and the last of his control slipped away. He buried his face in her neck and thrust three, four times before coming with a sharp cry. She held him through the aftershocks, until his breathing steadied out and he pressed a kiss to her shoulder as he slipped out of her. He rested his forehead against hers, a furrow appearing as his concentration wavered. "Wait, we have a procurement meeting at nine, don't we?"
"Mm-hmm." She stifled a yawn, closing her eyes and shifting to rest against his shoulder. After a moment's thought, she concentrated and felt the water obligingly turn off.
"Think anyone will notice if we don't show up?"
She tensed and opened her eyes, unable to tell how serious he was by the tone of his voice. She was relieved to find a teasing glint to his expression. "Somehow, Chancellor, I have the feeling your presence would be sorely missed at this particular policy meeting."
He sighed, and palmed the shower door's control with the hand not currently wrapped around her waist. "It was worth asking." He grabbed a towel and stepped back to wrap it around her shoulders before grabbing another for himself. "Sleep with me?"
She smiled sleepily at him. "It's how I sleep best."
He returned the smile, but there was a note of sadness in it that brought her back to fully awake. "Me too."
She frowned at him as he led the way to her bed. "Ladon, what's wrong?"
He shook his head, and bent to help her retrieve the downed comforter. "Nothing more than yesterday. I've been finding I don't sleep so well alone anymore."
She slipped between the sheets and patted the space beside her. "I know exactly what you mean."
~ Finis ~
Author: miriel
Beta: Both scififreak and saklani2 weighed in, though SFF gave final approval because Saki went to bed.
Pairing: Elizabeth Weir/Ladon Radim
Rating: R
Author's Note: This is actually a snapshot from a larger universe (surprise, surprise), and when I've explained the concept for this bit (the snapshot) reactions have ranged from "Great mental image!" to "OMG! Bleach NOW". Not quite sure what to make of that. This is set in the universe that spun off from canon with Bridges Revisited (a re-mix of Bridges You Cross) following The Return 1 & 2.
Elizabeth had been awake for 20 minutes when she finally pulled herself out of bed. She knew, because she’d been checking her watch every time she couldn’t fall back to sleep. It was ridiculous, because she’d slept just fine for three years without a lover beside her. There had never been cause or opportunity in the years after Simon, and she had been all right with that. Atlantis came first; her people came before her own wants and desires.
After only a few months of his presence, when his people could spare him and never more than a few days at a time, suddenly she couldn’t go back to sleep without him. She could sleep without him, and she could sleep beside him, but her body refused to make the adjustment if he left in the night. They’d tried it at first, in an attempt to avoid unfortunate questions in the morning. After the second sleepless night, they’d switched to simply waking early enough to avoid the patrols (or late enough that he could claim ‘diplomatic meeting’).
Except now it was 0320, and he wasn’t in bed; he was in the shower, where he’d been since she woke to find him gone. With a sigh, she rolled over and pushed herself upright. She certainly wasn’t getting anywhere lying there, and she was just alert enough to be concerned. The sound of the shower had been constant, not the changing noises normally associated with bathing. As she stood, she grabbed the pajama top she'd inherited from one of the Athosians and pulled it on.
Not bothering to knock, she triggered the door and stepped inside. The room was filled with steam, and she wondered how long he'd been in here before she had noticed his absence. As she drew closer to the shower, she could make out his still form underneath the spray. She knew that the Genii had all demonstrated a mild fixation with the hot showers the city provided, but he'd been in and out of the city for close to six months now; the novelty should have worn off long ago. As she came closer, she noticed that his hands were braced against the wall at shoulder height, and his head hung down between them. He looked broken.
"Ladon?"
He didn't respond, and she realized that his eyes were unfocused. After a moment of debate, she shucked her shirt and stepped under the spray beside him, placing a careful hand on his shoulder. "Ladon, are you all right?"
He blinked and turned to her, dropping his arms to his sides as his eyes slowly refocused. "Elizabeth?"
She nodded, and slid a careful hand down his chest. She knew better than to ask if he was all right; 'all right' didn't exist for people in positions like theirs. There was 'coping' and there was 'broken'; she had hoped to never see him broken. "I missed you. You know I can't sleep when you're gone."
"I'm sorry." He caught her hand and brought it to his lips, placing a gentle kiss on her palm and watching her shiver in response.
"Planning another coup?" She said the words lightly, with a hint of teasing buried under the otherwise serious accusation.
He laid a kiss on the pulse point as her wrist, sucking on the delicate skin until she moaned before pulling away. His eyes were serious when he spoke. "If it were best for my people, I would. However, it would take a great deal for this alliance to lose its value to my people."
She curled her fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck, glad that he'd finally had a chance to cut it back to its shorter length. "And what about our alliance?" She leaned forward and kissed him lightly, more tease than actual promise. "Does it have...value?"
He groaned, and let his forehead fall forward to rest against hers. His voice was harsh, and almost too quiet to hear over the falling water. "Never doubt the value of this." He shifted, and she had just enough time to think that there was a first time for everything before he pressed her against the wall and she lost herself in the heat of his kiss. It tasted of desperation and sorrow, of responsibilities too large for any one person to shoulder, and enough regrets to last a lifetime; she knew that she must taste the same. He pulled away, panting harshly. "Never."
She nodded, opening eyes that had closed of their own volition. He was staring at her intensely and she looked away, unsure just what he saw when the walls around her soul were down. She hated the vulnerability of these moments almost as much as she needed it. Unwilling to address the issue at three-thirty in the morning, naked and soaking wet, she went for her next best option. She pressed herself against him, able now to feel his arousal against her hip as she whispered a simple request in his ear. "Love me." She laid a kiss behind his ear, in the place she had learned through trial and error was guaranteed to make him forget just about everything. "Please."
He shuddered against her, and left behind whatever it was that had been weighing so heavily upon his mind. He kissed her hot and deep, hands moving her with a purpose as he woke nerves that had been hovering on the edge of awareness, leaving her gasping for breath and moaning while she tried desperately not to crack her head against the wall. When he had decided upon a course of action, Ladon could be ruthless in achieving it. It was something she had respected at the negotiating table (and had caused her no small amount of worry when he had first taken over the Genii), but she'd not anticipated its benefits in the bedroom. As she arched against him, barely registering the shower wall, she was reminded just how lucky she was to have stumbled into this relationship.
She felt him shift, and whimpered in protest as he pulled away and rested his head on her shoulder. "Elizabeth, we should - I don't have anything..."
She shook her head; this was her time, damn it. She could be irresponsible for a few hours. He was probably sterile anyway, and they both knew it. "It's all right. Please, just...Let go."
"All right." He skimmed a hand down her torso, brushing lightly over first one breast and then the other before slipping between her legs. She moaned as he brushed her clit, bucking against him in an attempt to gain more pressure, but he withdrew instead, settling both hands at her waist. Realizing what he planned to do, she opened her mouth to protest; she was not going to explain to Carson that she'd broken her arm having shower sex, and she knew how risky it was. Before she could form the words, however, he was inside her, and oh. Maybe there was a reason people did this.
For a brief time, there was nothing outside of the shower - no Wraith, no Alliance, no Earth. Their relationship was built on a mutual emotional give and take, and it had shaken her badly to see him so broken earlier. His movements were hard and fast, desperation audible every time he whispered her name, every time that whisper shook just a little and it had nothing to do with the force of his thrusts.
She came before he did, and he slowed while she gasped and clenched around him. When she had calmed, he began moving again. She squirmed, and he allowed her to shift so that she had one leg braced on the ground. As she resettled, she could feel the tension in his movements, knew he was close, but also knew he was holding himself back. She reached up, and trailed a gentle finger down the side of his face. "Let it go, Ladon. I'll catch you, but you have to fall. Let me catch you."
That was all it took, and the last of his control slipped away. He buried his face in her neck and thrust three, four times before coming with a sharp cry. She held him through the aftershocks, until his breathing steadied out and he pressed a kiss to her shoulder as he slipped out of her. He rested his forehead against hers, a furrow appearing as his concentration wavered. "Wait, we have a procurement meeting at nine, don't we?"
"Mm-hmm." She stifled a yawn, closing her eyes and shifting to rest against his shoulder. After a moment's thought, she concentrated and felt the water obligingly turn off.
"Think anyone will notice if we don't show up?"
She tensed and opened her eyes, unable to tell how serious he was by the tone of his voice. She was relieved to find a teasing glint to his expression. "Somehow, Chancellor, I have the feeling your presence would be sorely missed at this particular policy meeting."
He sighed, and palmed the shower door's control with the hand not currently wrapped around her waist. "It was worth asking." He grabbed a towel and stepped back to wrap it around her shoulders before grabbing another for himself. "Sleep with me?"
She smiled sleepily at him. "It's how I sleep best."
He returned the smile, but there was a note of sadness in it that brought her back to fully awake. "Me too."
She frowned at him as he led the way to her bed. "Ladon, what's wrong?"
He shook his head, and bent to help her retrieve the downed comforter. "Nothing more than yesterday. I've been finding I don't sleep so well alone anymore."
She slipped between the sheets and patted the space beside her. "I know exactly what you mean."
~ Finis ~