Maybe I'm Blind but I'm Not Deluded - R
So I wrote OT3 Fic, of a sort.
It's Cam/Sam/Lorne and kind of sort of R. General casting spoilers for Atlantis Season Four.
Many, many thanks to
shutthef_up for making sure it didn't totally suck.
Maybe I'm blind but I'm Not Deluded
They were drunk. Really, really drunk. In all of the years Cam had known Sam, he’d never seen her quite this drunk, and while he didn’t really know Major Lorne, Cam was damn sure the man usually didn’t drink to the point of slipping off logs. Cam knew he was keeping pace with them as his entire body felt warm and sluggish, as if he had spent hours in a warm bath.
Sam had nicely allowed Cam to do a brief rotation through Atlantis under the auspices of 302 training, but he was positive it was because Teal’c had sent a message that he was being annoying. Cam couldn’t help it - he was bored and no new galaxy dominating demi-god had come along to play yet.
Now he found himself on some routine trading mission with Sam, Major Lorne and a lot of moonshine that would make his Granma weep with envy. He leaned back against the tree with the clay mug dangling from his fingertips and out of half-closed eyes, he watched his best friend twirl stems of grass between her forefinger and thumb.
Cam loved Sam’s longer hair, not that he’d ever tell her, but it somehow made her look more content. Or perhaps she’d found her place in another galaxy, a thought that soured in his belly. A stray hair fell from the loose braid and brushed against her cheek. He bit back the urge to reach out and tuck it behind her ear, but he’d known Sam long enough to know that he risked pulling back a bloody stump. So instead, he settled on watching the shadows it tossed across her face.
A larger shadow melded with the faint one on her cheek and Cam realized that Lorne had reached out to do just what Cam desired. Man was braver than he thought. Lorne lifted the lock and tucked it behind Sam’s right ear and then for reasons unknown, left his fingers touching the very tip of her ear. Sam turned her head and just stared at him. Lorne’s lips twitched into something that resembled a smile and his fingers left her ear to trail down her neck before retreating back to the log Lorne was resting against. Cam watched Sam watch Lorne’s hand and then she turned away, but not before he saw what was on her face.
“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,” Cam huffed out. He was sure he knew all of Sam’s faces, but never had he seen such sheer lust, and the intensity of it went straight through him. He looked back at Lorne, but the Major seemed oblivious to the impact he’d just had on Sam. Lorne’s fingers, the same ones that had affected Sam, were drumming an unconscious rhythm on the log he was leaned against, his opposing knee drawn up to his chest. The uniform was taut against his leg, revealing a natural firmness born of running and climbing. And Cam was not noticing that at all.
Instead, he swung back around to see Sam now staring at him, that same look in her eyes. It was almost predatory and she seemed to be conveying something, but for once Cam had no idea what the message was. Instead he took another swig of the moonshine and moved his eyes across the horizon, in a vain attempt to appear unaware of whatever was unfolding in front of him. Because it was something - he wasn’t that stupid - but he wasn’t sure of he should beat a quick retreat to give them space or stay to give Sam a professional out.
He heard the rustle of leaves and felt the familiar weight of Sam slide up next to him. She wrapped her arm around his waist and rested her head in his lap. As much as Sam was uncomfortable with strangers touching her, she had no problem reaching for those she loved when she needed it. It was common for her to fall asleep with her head in the lap or on the shoulder of one of her teammates. Except this time, Cam could feel her fingers ghosting over the skin above his waist and he jumped because it confirmed something was going on and his brain was just not processing it fast enough.
Cam swallowed hard and willed his body to just shut up as her gentle touch was spreading warmth throughout him, especially when Sam snuggled in closer. Cam took another swig of moonshine, then another glance around the fire and found another set of eyes watching him with intense heat. Lorne’s face was unreadable, but his body was tense and his fingers had stilled the syncopated beat. The men’s gazes met and held; Cam swore under his breath and shifted his weight in a desperate attempt to distract himself from the knowledge that a part of him was much more comfortable with Lorne staring at them than he should be. Sam gently pinched his waist before reaching her other hand out to Lorne.
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It was supposed to be a simple mission on a planet they had traded with before. As Lorne fastened his vest, he knew there was no such thing as simple in this galaxy. Particularly once he found out that Mitchell was tagging along with his former teammate. Lorne had left the SGC for Atlantis just before Mitchell joined, but he’d read enough reports to know that the man had lived up to the myth that all members of SG1 were brilliant, self-sacrificing, and bat-shit insane - but in a good way.
A few hours into the mission and Lorne found himself desperately wishing he was back on that planet with the Unas, Teal’c, Dr Jackson, and O’Neill. He had thought that particular combination was a recipe for embarrassing situations, but these two were catapulting it to a whole new level. Lorne was perfectly aware that he had a mild crush on Col. Carter, but he placed her into the same category as his crush on Nigella Lawson: mild, never gonna happen, but no problem watching her work. But after watching Mitchell casually flirt his way through the mission, the way he teased smiles out of Col. Carter and how they both seemed to shine around each other, his mild crush had extended to both of them and he was soundly screwed.
And now they were all drunk and Lorne was wishing he was back in Atlantis, because there was something going on and he had no idea what it was or if he was even a part of it. He wasn’t sure what made him reach out to tuck Col. Carter’s wayward strand of hair behind her ear, let alone gently caress the neck on which he focused during incredibly long meetings. She jerked her head around and just stared at him with a look that was dark and she looked incredibly annoyed at him. He jerked his hand away and breathed deeply. He was so screwed if she decided to kick his ass. And once she had broken his bones, Lorne knew damn well that Mitchell would grind them into paste.
So he sat there, trying hard to still his body from the tension that was racing through it. He felt Mitchell’s eyes on him, and when Lorne met his gaze (because despite his somewhat hippie upbringing - his mom didn’t raise a coward), his blood went cold with what he saw there. Mitchell’s face betrayed nothing, just a hard stare that swept up and down Lorne’s body before shifting back to Carter. There was no doubt that his death was being plotted.
Lorne had never felt like such a third wheel in his life, aware of tension that swirled between the two. Images are always painted in the brain first and Lorne’s mind infused the situation with more light, more heat, less clothes. He closed his eyes and let the images wash over him.
He imagined Carter’s paler skin shifting against Mitchell’s slighter darker pallor. He imagined fingers skimming across scars whose beginnings were witnessed by the other. A gasp was filled in as well as a deep-throated chuckle, the kind of laughter that always weaves into the passion of old friends. He imagined how many puddle jumpers he’d be cleaning with toothbrushes if either of them had a clue what his brain was doing.
He opened his eyes and saw that Carter had moved to sit next to Mitchell. Her head was pillowed in his lap, eyes closed and a look of contentment had fallen over her. Oddly, though, Mitchell wasn’t touching her; he looked panicked by her proximity. Lorne watched his head fall back against the tree that propped him up. Once, then twice and his lips twitched out a “fuck” before taking a few swallows from his mug. Mitchell suddenly flinched and tried to jerk away from Sam. Lorne glanced down and saw that the Colonel’s fingers had slipped under Mitchell’s shirt and were lightly tracing patterns on his skin.
Mitchell’s face reddened and Lorne wondered if he sat here very quietly, if the images from his brain would manifest in front of him. After all, he’d been an extra good boy this year.
“Cam, knock it off. You’re scaring Lorne,” Sam said, her voice thick with sleep and rich with promise. Lorne looked at her and she was staring back at him. She reached her other hand out to him and continued, “The fire is dying and it’s going to get cold. Come here, Lorne.”
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When Teal’c had sent a message through to her, begging her to take Cam off his hands, along with a similar plea from Daniel, it was only natural for Sam to agree. She missed them all more than she could tell them, and if it meant she got to play with one of them - fantastic. When one of their trading partners had invited her to a party celebrating some weird holiday, it was only natural for Sam to take Cam along. When the local leader had handed them all local moonshine, it had only been natural for her to swallow half the glass in the first gulp.
What was unnatural was the heat was pooling in her belly as the combination of the alcohol and the proximity of the two men with her. Sam had always bitten back the urge to nip at Cam’s neck whenever he laughed and his eyes crinkled up. But they were friends - just friends, even when she felt him get semi-hard those team nights she ended up sleeping in his lap.
Major Lorne was just pretty, and when she realized that the one from her reality was just as charming as the one from the twisted reality she had spent too much time in, she was more than pleased. When she realized that this Major Lorne looked at her in the same way the other one had, her heart had smiled. Not that she would ever do anything about it, because Sam was a good girl, a good officer, and a better commander.
But right now, as the moonshine pulsed through her blood, Sam was fucking tired of being the good girl. Especially as all it had gotten her was a reduced car insurance rate. She sat leaned against a log with Lorne to her right and Cam across from her, thoughts tumbling through her mind faster than she could process. Even if she wanted to stop being “good”, any notion of a next step was a fallacy. She’d risk it all - career, friends, reputation - to save the universe, to do what was right, but the idea of risking it all to scratch an itch wasn’t logical or comforting. It was kind of stupid. Sam downed the rest of the moonshine in her mug to drown out the logical part of her brain.
A strand of hair escaped from her braid and Sam let it. One of the best things about having Vala as her best girlfriend was learning to embrace her girly side. Cassie had approved of the longer locks and shown her how to manipulate curl spray and de-freeze crème. As the hair danced against her cheek, she felt Cam’s eyes upon her. She was tempted to reach her arms up and stretch, but she was pretty sure he would throw something at her like last time.
She almost heard Lorne’s hand reaching for the hair before she felt the tips of his fingers gently tuck it behind her ear. Sam went completely still, her breath becoming shallow before she turned to look at him, curious at what she might see. It had been too long since someone had touched her with such deliberate care. She knew the Major painted and as his fingers traced her ear, over her jaw and down her neck, Sam had the oddest feeling of being priceless.
She held his gaze for just a moment before he pulled his hand away and looked down at the ground. She looked the other way and heard Cam mutter an oath. Lorne’s fingers drumming on top of the log made gentle waves that she felt in her back. Sam focused on Cam, who was busy staring at Lorne.
It was a look she was pretty sure she’d never seen on Cam’s face before. Like everything with him, she had to peel through the layers to find the kernel of truth. There was a bit of jealousy, a touch of venom, and perhaps a little bit of curious lust. Sam bit back a frustrated sigh and pondered if she should just toss up her arms and go find them more moonshine. But then Cam stared at her and the same look was directed at her, except there was loneliness in his face as well.
‘Oh Cam,’ she thought to herself as she crawled over to his side, wrapping her arms around his waist. His leg twitched under her cheek and to tease him, she began to tickle his side. It’d always amused her that every single one of her big, strapping male teammates were ticklish and the fate of Earth depended on making sure no one ever figured it out. She just wanted to lie for a moment, to soak up Cam’s heat and his undying love for her before she made her drunken escape. Her best friend was lonely and it was her job to make sure he was happy as he could be and well, if this was it, so be it.
She gave him another squeeze and went to get up, but first she looked at Lorne. His cheeks were flushed and she realized he was staring at the spot where her fingers were dancing on Cam’s skin.
Oh.
Sam tested a theory and lightly pinched Cam’s skin and felt him grow harder in response as the rest of his body jerked away in surprise.
Oh.
Sam took a deep breath and told the good girl part of her brain to take a night off. When she realized that Cam’s sudden movement had startled Lorne, she mentally walked out on a limb and said, “Cam, knock it off. You’re scaring Lorne.” She reached her hand out and continued, “The fire is dying and it’s going to get cold. Come here, Lorne.”
He stared at her hand and she felt Cam’s body go completely still. “Sam,” Cam whispered, “what are you doing?”
She ignored him and came up on her elbow. Sam smiled gently at Lorne and repeated, “Come here.”
She was tossed forward onto the ground as Cam scrambled to stand up. Both she and Lorne looked up at him as he jammed his hands into his pockets. “I’m just going to head back to town and leave you two kids,” he said.
Sam watched him turn around and she took one last breath before standing up and saying, “Cam, please don’t go.”
He whipped back around to stare at her. He glanced at Lorne and back at her. Since the Major was standing behind her, she had no idea what he was thinking or doing, but something Cam saw made him take a few steps forward until his hands were able to reach out and pull her closer to him. His right hand moved up to cup her cheek and his left gently squeezed her waist. “Are you sure, Sam?”
“No.”
“Good. Me either,” he said before he kissed her anyways, walking her backwards until she hit Lorne’s solid chest, whose hands moved to grip her waist and Cam’s elbow, lips ghosting over the tip of her ear.
And Sam was a very good girl.